Goals: A Final Stretch Review

You can read all about my new year's resolution project I've done this year where I treat every month as a new year by CLICKING HERE.

I thought I'd touch base and let you know how it has gone, so you too can perhaps feel inspired to fulfill your own monthly new year goal this January.

I started this year out, wanting each monthly goal to be a hefty one. A focused drive. A must-be-finished-within-30-days endeavour. And as I started to challenge myself in setting these big monthly goals, it became apparent that I needed to reflect on what I wanted to become after these special 12 months. What I desired of myself to be. The biggest desire. So I pondered upon my priorities. What matters the most in my life. What is at the top of my list. It didn't take long for me to be gently touched as to what that was.

More Christlike.

I simply want to be a better person this year. Better at forgiving. Better at practising patience. Better at serving my fellow man. Most especially my little family.

My faith (my religion) helps me be better. So with that in mind, I prayerfully chose a goal every month that would reflect that desire.

The results?

My eyes have been humbly opened to the long journey I have ahead of me to be what I truly desire to be. There is no finish line, because there is no end to it's progression. And may be, that's what I love the most about these goals - that I can continue them. That I can gain little by little the attributes needed to reach who I was always meant to be.

Instead of your typical physical body health/appearance goals that seem to be such a popular go-to new year goal, I challenge you to break free from the physical obsession and become more concerned with your spiritual nature. This is what I did this year, and it's benefits far suprasses any sort of physical focus I could have had.

The beauty of it is that when you become more fixated on your spiritual self, you're not the sole benefactor. You benefit those around you as well.

Happy almost new year every one! I hope it's been a great to look back on for you, but even more so I hope you can look on the future year with hope and excitement.



Heaven's slice is knowing to what cause you were born.

This December

I am following and participating the LIGHT THE WORLD CAMPAIGN this December.

Here is the link to do it too! (Click a day and join in serving!!)

There is an act of service attached to each day from December 1 - 25. I have read and done at least one thing it suggests to do each day so far and it has been so heart touching.

My life seems to have gotten quite busy lately. And now with the Christmas season upon us there is the added pressure to get all the gift buying done for everyone. A pressureful busy-nesss that I actually kind of resent more and more each year.

For me, it takes away from what the season truly means for me. That great gift of life after death brought forth through our saviour. The hope that that tiny babe born in Bethlehem brought to generations upon generations. The hope it has brought to me. To know I have my family forever through Christ my Saviour.

I LOVE the December season. I do. Everyone, myself included, seems to be more cheery and kind. There is more of an outpoor of service. Of kind words. Of visiting family. Of meals shared with an exchange of laughs and hugs. Of Christmas music filling the air and creating family memories and traditions. It truly is a most wonderful month.

But the STUFF part of this season is distracting for me. I don't need stuff.

No, actually, I don't want stuff. I literally have everything I could every want within the walls of my home.

I want this husband who loves me and whom I love. I want that loyalty and honesty that is between us. I want health for me and my family. I want my children to scream and laugh and run and play with a pure zest for life. I want them to know Mommy and Daddy love eachother and love them too. I want them to know who Jesus is and what prayer means. I want to be financially stable. I want to be allowed the opportunity to progress and thus not be racked with past guilts. I want to explore my talents, to hone in on my passions. I want kind, fun, loyal, and dependable relationships. I want to live in a land of freedoms. I want to live near exteneded family and a temple... Deep down, I don't think anyone really wants "stuff."

This 25 Ways to Follow Our Saviour' shows me what I can do that doesn't entail that distracting checkmark of things to buy to fill a gift bag for someone who doesn't have need for it. It shows me the real ways I want to give. To really make a difference. To take time to truly give of myself and not my debit card.

Everything I want I have. I know Thanksgiving is long past, but December is actually more of a season of Thanks for me. Because this is what rings in my ears all month long:

"Because I have been given much 

I too must give"

Heaven's slice is having this daily opportunity to give as He did.

She Got Married In The Temple???!

This is a sort of question/statement that sometimes slips out from people's surprised tongues on occasion.

This was a statement made from others about me once upon a time after my blissful wedding. And this, was may be, probably, a question/statement that's been said about many of you reading this. Regardless of your gender.

When I heard that this was said about me, was I angry? No, actually I wasn't at all. I saw it for what it was. A misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that hopefully someday would be explained to those whom are unfamiliar with Christ's atonement and temple ordinances. Truly, it was easy to shrug off the rumoured comments, because I had a strong grasp of what Christ's atonement meant for me in my life.

Getting sealed in the temple is a huge commitment. It is an eternally binding ordinance between your spouse and the Lord. A commitment of a forever. This commitment is comprised of many covenants - promises to deity. This is what we believe and strive for as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Because of the deep sacredness and proper authority channels of specific priesthood holders and temple sealers, there is a faith-filled journey of worthiness required in order prepare to make and keep these very serious covenants within the ordinance.

Regardless of who your are or what your past entails, entering the temple requires repentance. It requires you to be a better person. It requires you to build your faith. To use Christ's atonement in making amends and seeking forgiveness for those sins that have so easily besought you in the past. It requires that you strive to know your Saviour more deeply.

Here is a link that will take you further for more insight into our temples if you are curious:

Temples (click)


Also, here's a pretty awesome short video about temples too. It's even in drawing/cartoon form!

CLICK HERE FOR TEMPLE VIDEO

And here is one about temple clothing and garments, that I know lots of people are curious about:



In case the video doesn't work here's the link to click for it.

Feel free to snoop around lds.org for more information on this or any other "mormon" topics you  have desires to know about.



Heaven's slice is making and keeping temple covenants.

Where The Roses Are

I believe everyone has a talent. And these talents show themselves in a very beautiful and positive bloom.

Like a rose.

Sometimes however when we see another's rose we feel the need to put it down.

"That's not real"
"That's totally fake"
"Gag me"

We look at those online photos of their "perfect" family and status updates of how much they are "loving" life.

We get cynical. We get critical. And we start to complain that they aren't being real. That their rose is fake. Instead of being happy for the rose they are displaying and enjoying it's beauty, we desperately search for it's faults. The blooper photo. The vengeful ranting post. The scraps that were edited out.

Why do we do this to people? Especially to other women? Why do we condemn their rose for not being true and real instead of acknowledging the beauty that they have created?

Here is my answer.

We aren't paying enough attention to our own roses. We're not tending to them. We're not sharing them with the world. And we most certainly aren't around them near enough.

For some it's photography. For others it's paintings. Hairstyling. Nails. Humour. Sports. Cooking. Physique. Cleaning. Music... and for me, it's writing.

I really don't consider myself talented. But. I know that writing is my talent. Because that is where my positive outlooks burst through. My excited giddiness manifests. And my effortless energy surges. Also, my perfectionist/detailed side appears. A side which doesn't seem to appear anywhere else. I find great pleasure in trimming paragraphs and spell checking. I like getting to the meat and potatoes quickly and navigating emotion pulls through sentence structures. Grammar, thankfully, isn't actually so much part of the blogging world. It thrives more on how a conversation would stop or start itself. See my point? I could go on forever writing about how much I love writing. Because that is how excited I get about it! It's my rose.

And I've paid a whole lot more attention to my roses than I ever have since having children. I believe that's because when you lose yourself serving others you find yourself.

I've found as I've been developing and sharing my roses more to others, I feel so much joy upon seeing another's rose.

They are not competition. And they most certainly aren't fake.

They are beautiful.

And I am so grateful that they shared them with me. Even if it was only on social media, I am still grateful that there are people out there sharing their roses. The labour of love with detailed perfection of vision. Editting out flaws, and allowing us to see their talent bloom through.



Heaven's slice is being where your roses are and sharing them with not only yourself, but your family and the world.

Halloween Fun

Oh my how I love Halloween!

I'd love to say this pose was planned, but this is my daughter's new 'I forgot how to smile because you've taken too many photos of me' face. It worked out  pretty awesome for our theme though hey?!(Thanks for taking the photo MOM!!)

I had us pegged down to be Goldilocks and the 3 Bears since the beginning of the year (may be earlier). It was my little girl's favourite story to read for a long time and seemed pretty suiting given our family size.

And because my parents are awesome and don't get trick or treaters really anymore out where they live, they came in and handed out candy at our house while we went out with the kids! I must say my mom is pretty much the funnest halloween candy hand 'er outer there is. Someday I hope to be as fun as her!

And then after Goldilocks and Baby Bear went to bed, Momma Bear and Papa Bear watched a classic Halloween movie while looting the little's candy bags.




Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Yes. I know, it's chalk full of early 90's cheesiness and shall we say "ok" acting. But it used to be my favourite and I can still laugh and smile at a lot of the parts of the movie. I can't handle scary movies, so this movie gives me the "sense" of a scary movie without it being scary at all.







Anyways. Halloween was awesome this year!




Heaven's slice is this family of mine and mini chocolate bars.

My Week of Reading My Patriarchal Blessing

As a weeker I decided to read my patriarchal blessing every day. To find out what a Patriarchal Blessing is you can CLICK HERE.

Every day for 7 days I read it. And by the end of the 7th day it was pretty well memorized. I do have a gift of easy memorization, but none the less it was so wonderful to have that amazing blessing stored in my mind. I actually continued doing this for sometime after the weeker was done, because it was so profound to me. I seem to take these spectacular gifts in my life forgranted, and through reading my patriarchal blessing I was able to see more clearly how incredible it is to have this loving guide from my Heavenly Father to help me remember the purpose of my mortal journey.

This was probably my most profound and favourite weeker, and I challenge anyone that has theirs to do it as their weeker.


Heaven's slice is patriarchal blessings.

The 4 Year Difference

Photo credit: Meghan Holt Photography

Can you spot the changes in these photos?

Heaven's slice is looking forward to what the next 4 years will bring!

He Sees Your Try

Quite a few months ago I heard something that really touched and encouraged me to finally change my view.

I was in relief society, and as a discussion was commencing on a certain gospel topic there was a comment made from another sister (sister is what we call each woman in the church, as we believe all people are children of god, so we are all essentially brothers and sisters) She had stated that she tries to read her scriptures first thing in the morning before reading or perhaps even doing anything else. She went on to talk about how God has stated that he is a "Jealous God" and that '"Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and how by reading her scriptures first that it is like a sign she is giving to Him. This may not be exactly what she said, but that is what I took from it.

I'm sure I've heard this many times before, but this is the first time I actually listened. I always had this prideful kind of way about my morning hatred. I've purposefully not read my scriptures in the morning because I've felt like I'm not really alert enough to understand all what I'm reading. I'd get more out of it by doing it at night, or so I thought until now...

I took this into my life almost the day after I heard that comment. I began putting scripture reading as one of my first to-do's in the morning. Before any screen-related scrolls, I made sure that I had read my scriptures first. If I hadn't read them yet, I'd only watch gospel-related videos until I did. There was much effort and attention at first to place this habit into my life, but I now find I crave that symbolic gesture in the morning.

That sign I give to my Heavenly Father that I want to put him first in my life. 

I've found that since doing this, I've become more inspired this year than ever before. I feel a more frequent closeness to Heavenly Father and even more personal revelation given to me. I see lights at the end of tunnels, and dreams becoming more strongly known. I am also feeling more desirous to change faulted behaviours of mine. I feel that he has seen my try and he is blessing me for it.

Heaven's slice is putting God first.

Family Photos

I'll never get that photo of the 3am snuggle.

I'll never get the photo of the first time she told me I was her bestest friend in the whole wide world.

I'll never get the photo of the playful teasing banter of my husband and I have as we prep supper.

I'll never get the photo of those ordinary extraordinary moments in life that burst your heart. That create memories deep into your soul. Those moments where you are fully present and aware of the precious gift you have before you. For those moments are too special to photograph. They are sacred, and only for me.

...

But the photos I can get are worth every single penny! Amongst wind, short attention spans, and a friendly clingy kitten was a photographer talented enough to take on the challenge. It was so fun to get our precious family all dressed up and have an evening out playing at a kind neighbour's farmyard (I consider a neighbour anyone within a 10 mile radius, is that weird?. She created gorgeous poses and beatified our images in such a dreamy romantic way. I sure do love her style!

Huge thanks to Meghan Holt Photography!

Feast your eyes upon a few of our family photo treasures!

Heaven's slice is this precious family of mine.

Shooting Stars

Because of my love of this photo I decided to centre a post around it!

This photo is one of my absolute favourites. It not only has one of the loves of my life in it giving the face and outfit of ultimate coolness, but also Shooting Stars - my favourite flower. We were picking wildflowers right where I use to pick them growing up, and I couldn't help feeling nostalgic. 

Our lives are full of miracles, tender mercies, and beauty. If we have eyes to see them. 

A hands ability to artfully produce masterpieces. The sight of a perfect new bundle in your arms. A mountain's peak. An ocean shoreline. The diverse individual capabilities and talents of each and every human being.

There is wonder and there is good in the world. We have that handful of shooting stars. We all have that potential to dream. To soar. To reach. To change. To become.

But, there are also weeds that surround us. Under foot they tarry. They multiply. They challenge our focus. They entice us to look down instead of skyward.

If we're not careful about where our vision lies, these weeds will close our eyes to our dreams. Our handful of shooting stars.

We must look to the good. We must look up. We must find gratitude. We must find joy.

We must cling tight to our handful of shooting stars.

"God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe." 

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 'This, the Greatest of All Dispensations'

Heaven's slice is believing.

My Week of Wearing Dresses

I chose to do a week of wearing only dresses or skirts. Why? I don't really know, it just kind of fell into my head one day as an idea for a weeker. I do, I feel, have a lot of really cute dresses and skirts, so I guess may be I just wanted to put them to good use too.

So, every day for 7 days I wore a dress or skirt. I chose a week where there wasn't any camping, beaching, or riding involved, just kind of a chill week. Though I must say, picking a thousand beans from my garden and taking a recycling load to the dump wearing a tutu skirt did make me feel a little impractical...

The overall results from it?

I loved it!! Here's why:

1. I saved so much time and energy.
I loved not having a ton of choices on what to wear. I didn't have to spend all that time on the dreaded question "what do I wear today?" And I also didn't change in and out of clothes second guessing my choice. Dresses especially being a one item choice was particularly wonderful. I've been reading and pinning a lot about minimalist wardrobes or capsule wardrobes, and I think this kind of gave me a taste of that freedom. It was so refreshing to not have to exert all that effort in deciding a top and bottom from hundreds (slight exaggeration) of clothing options I have.

2. It made me feel pretty.
How can you not feel this way when you're wearing a dress? I have so much more to downsize in my wardrobe, but as far as my dresses go I feel they are totally minimized for the time being, AKA I only have dresses/skirts that I love and feel pretty in. So, I wore stuff every day that I loved and felt pretty in! It brought about an ambiance of class to my life.

3. I matched my daughter
She loves wearing dresses, so when I also chose to wear a dress she was overjoyed! We both loved matching each other.

4. It was comfy.
I forgot how comfortable maxi skirts are especially. They are a perfect lounge about ensemble.


I'll probably do this weeker again I loved it so much.



Heaven's slice is wearing a pretty dress.

Stronger By The Weeker

That wasn't a spelling mistake.

"Weekers" - are my 7 day to-do type goal. They're kind of like my candy goals. They give me a taste of what doing that daily would be like without the full commitment, so I can take it or leave it and trial more things into my routine(not that I really have a routine). It's kind of the change up for fun thing I do at least once if not 4 times a month.

You can read more about my "every month a new year" by clicking this sentence <---

They've actually been pretty fun. Here are just a few I've done so far:

No Facebook
8 glasses of water
Reading my patriarchal blessing
Yoga
No sugar ( I won't be doing it again unless I become deathly allergic to sugar and a doctor orders me to stop...)
Cleaning/tidying the house after the kids are in bed
Wearing a dress or skirt


I've continued implementing some of these on a more regular basis without even really trying/meaning to as they've become a sort of joy to do. I'd strongly recommend weekers for whatever goal you want to taste, but not fully commit to just yet. Stay tuned to future posts on some of the results of mine!

PS the photo has nothing to do with this post.



Heaven's slice is self betterment, and changing it up every once in a while!

The Two-Year-Old Conclusion

Now that I have a 3 year old, I feel I have full license to publish my thoughts on the "terrible two" stage.

First, they are NOT terrible. They are fun. So fun. They are just hilarious in their every venture. They walk and talk like they know everything and do so with full intent of action regardless of the firm mention of "No." It's incredibly entertaining and just a joy to have a two year old. Truly. It is.

It's just may be a little hard though on us parents because... Well... You can't go anywhere.

They get into everything, hit everyone, and run. Boy do they run. Fast.

Honestly, if I had no obligations to go to any functions or social gatherings, it would probably be the best stage EVER. I could let her roam freely and get into everything. It would be so fun, exciting, even crazy enjoyable as a parent. I mean I'd follow closely for safety purposes, but it would be easy peasy.

But alas, you have to still carry them out into the world. Groceries. Other peoples' houses. Appointments. Whatever else.  So, you have to teach them, the smaller version of yourself that wants to have more authority than you. And they will fight you daily for the illusive captain's chair you are desperately trying to keep your rear on.

But still. It's fun. So fun.

Three's chalking up to be a pretty fun year as well...

Heaven's slice is being blessed to have a two year old child in your charge.

Kick Off To The Itch

My husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary back in June/July and we did a ton of fun stuff to celebrate.


We did our first ever fun run!

Took the kids swimming and to a special western store that sported this awesome little trailer in the driveway!

Then of course we celebrated by going on our annual honeymoon with the baby in tow. Husband's year to plan. Food. Walking. Shopping. Exploring. The weekend did not disappoint.Thanks babe!!

Our annual photo on the drive. You can see ones from our other six years HERE and HERE

 The mansion tour was a huge highlight. It was amaze balls to say the least. We had to go separately because the boy decided he did not want to listen to the guide, but it was still awesome!!

Finished off by a tiny hike/jaunt up to amazing views with our annual hand/year photo. 

On our for reals anniversary day we picked up our favourite food at a couple restaurants and ate it at the rock we often visited while we were dating. It was super romantic and nostalgic. No photo, so you'll just have to trust how good looking we were in our fancy date night clothes.



We're pretty lucky we have each other... and Gold Bond Medicated Powder so the whole '7 year itch thing' is a non-issue.

Heaven's slice is a marriage that just keeps getting sweeter with time honey!!

The Rice Experiment And Your Body

I decided to give the rice experiment a go.














I made some rice, put the same amount in two identical jars, then put them in two similar side by side bedrooms in my basement.

To the positive one I gave it compliments. I mostly called it "PRETTY" and "BEAUTIFUL." Though  I also threw in a 'good', 'nice', and 'love you' every once in a while.

To the negative one I said mean things. Mostly I called it "FAT" and "UGLY." I also threw in an 'I hate you' every now and then.

After just one week a mouldy spot formed on the negative one. The positive one stayed nice, white and mould free. I continued doing it probably 5 times a week for a month and sporadically for another month. The same results continued; the negative one got mouldy and the positive one stayed nice and white. See for yourself:

 

So what does this have to do with our bodies?

EVERYTHING.

If saying mean or nice things to a jar of measly cooked rice proved negative and positive looking results, how much more true could it be to a living breathing being?

Lets say nice things to ourselves in that mirror and watch those physical flaws and emotional scars fade, shall we?



Heaven's slice is loving your body.