"Put the phone down! I repeat, put the phone down!"

Last week (before all this snow), the kids and I were at the park relishing in the warm (almost 60 degree!) air.  It was so nice to be outside again after a frosty cold winter.  We enjoyed swinging together, running and chasing around, having races on the slides.  Soon, a few other kids joined us, and then a few more.  When I looked up to see where their parents were, they had parents, but they were all glued to their phones.  When a few of them were doing tricks, or wanted mommy or daddy to watch them, they would call out to their parents, and sometimes the parent would glance up from the phone, and other times the parents would be too busy to see or hear their child.  So they would tell me, "hey, watch this!" and proceed to go down the slide, or do whatever they wanted me to see.  I thought it was kind of sad and it made me reflect.  I thought "do I do this?!"  Am I missing out on happy moments with my children because I'm too busy texting friends or reading through my friends Facebook statuses or playing Candy Crush or checking out the latest photos my buddies have posted on Instagram?  Granted, maybe some of these people were texting family, or were working from their phones responding to e-mails or something.  I have no idea and I'm not judging them.  But it was a good moment for me to pause, and take a moment to think about how I'm using the technology in my pocket and how much attention I give to my kids.  I think it's so depressing that this generation (and future ones with the way things are moving) might not be there for our kids because we are too busy with our social media life.  We might be there, but are we really there???

I've tried to use the before bed/after bed approach for me, where I can only use my phone during the day for phone calls.  Or every once in a while I use it when I'm looking up a recipe for a meal, looking something up for preschool, or "textersations" with friends (because let's face it, sometimes it's too loud and crazy to have a normal even 5 minute conversation this way we can text back and forth in between wiping off sticky faces and playing with blocks).  Then after they get to bed, and I get the kitchen cleaned up, and have some hubby 'n me time, do a little reading, I can get on my phone or computer and have some down time on my phone or computer.  Because everyone needs that.  This is why my "Instagram" photos become "#11pmgrams".

We talk about having such a connected world.  We might be connected online with someone half a world away that we might have gone to elementary school with, but are we really connecting with our kids when they come through the door after a long day at school?  I can't say I always am connecting as well as I could.  I need to try harder!

Here's my call -  for you, for me, for all of us to "put the phone down!  I repeat, put the phone down!"  And pick your kids up!  Stop, look, and listen to those little ones!  Someday, I think we will all have big regrets if we don't, and I am already feeling guilty about the way I handle technology somedays (like the days I'm working hard to catch up on the blog and don't pay as much attention to my kids as I should...).  Will you try too with me to put your phone (or tablet, or computer, or i-Whatever) down with me and pick your kids up, literally and figuratively?  Please, you help me, and I'll help you in this quest.  "I repeat, put the phone down!"

Getty Images.  http://ideas.time.com/2012/05/17/why-cell-phones-are-bad-for-parenting/

Is Eireanach gach einne ar La Fheile Phadraig!

"Is Eireanach gach einne ar La Fheile Phadraig!"  Gaelic translation: "On St. Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish!" Is that not true?  We can all celebrate and have fun on this holiday whether we are Irish or not.  We do have some Irish blood in our family on both sides, so we had a good wee time here celebrating St. Patrick's Day!
The kids enjoyed decorating for St. Patrick's Day at the beginning of the month and soon after started making plans for their leprechaun trap - scheming, making blue prints, getting supplies, decorating, and building together.  They really looked forward to the holiday and were sure they had what it takes to catch a sneaky little leprechaun, since they almost caught one last year, his shoes fell off as he was escaping and he left them.  They used a box and decorated it with rainbows and a pot of gold.  Emma wrote on it "Leprechaun Village.  Dear Leprechauns, St. Patrick's Day is my favorite holiday.  Pull red lever.  And we can become friends.  Welcome leprechauns!"  They filled it with doll house furniture.  They used a gumball machine and turned it upside down and cut a hole in the side of the box where the leprechaun would enter after lifting the lever, but then get trapped in the gumball machine.  They also put tape all around inside so the leprechaun would stick, just in case he got out of the trap.  They wrote a note to the leprechaun guiding them the way to go which said "Dear leprechaun, I will give you my gold in the morning.  Since I am not awake, please stay if you do, I will give you my gold rock.  So please stay.  Leprechaun village this way.  --->"  Lucy was a little confused at all this excitement and told me "Santa's coming tomorrow!"  He he!  The night before St. Patrick's Day came and the kids wanted to sleep together on Cal's full size bed.  They made a tent over it, so the leprechaun couldn't see them, but made a little space where they could see the leprechaun trap.  Their plan was to stay up all night so they could see it, but they got a little tired and fell asleep. And, just in case their trap didn't work, Emma had a jar which she could catch it in case the leprechaun tried running away.

The next morning Emma hopped out of bed quickly (this doesn't happen very often!) and was shocked to see the trap was gone.  She searched all over and found it in the fireplace.  Well, the leprechaun left the following "Legend of the Leprechauns" and left a note explaining that he was very appreciative that they were so friendly and made their box seem so much like home to him.  He said he almost got stuck but a friend came and helped him get loose.  He told them to enjoy their gift.  Emma quickly woke Cal up and showed him the note.  They looked in the trap and found a dollar bill for each of the little ones and some green candy.  They were excited, but a little bummed they didn't catch it this year.  Better luck next year!  I love that Emma is still a believer, it is so fun!  But I know all too soon, she will be beyond that.  So we're enjoying it while we can.

  LEGEND OF THE LEPRECHAUNS (from Family Fun)

Full of magic and trickery, the leprechauns remain in their hidden world until the night before St. Patrick's Day. On that one night of the year they appear throughout the world to dance and sing and frolic.

Disguising themselves as leaves and grass, and sounding like the wind and the crickets, they come and go unnoticed.

However, it is said that if a decorated treasure box is left empty under the moon, the leprechauns must fill the box with gold or jewels or gifts. But then they will hide the filled box in the most unlikely of places.

If the box is found on St. Patrick's Day, the treasure remains in our world. If not, the leprechauns may retrieve what is rightfully theirs. And though the leprechauns are very clever, it is not impossible to find the treasure because, unknowingly, leprechauns often leave a trail of greenery behind them.

For breakfast, of course we had to have{lime} green shamrock pancakes.  My mom always did that growing up, and it's something my kids always look forward to.  Then the kids got dressed.  All of the kids had new St. Patty's day shirt (thank you $3 Children's Place specials with free shipping). Emma's said "Irish Princess", Cal's was a football skull shirt, Lucy's said "Daddy's Lucky Charm" and Covey's said "Kiss me, I'm Irish!"  We went to Playgroup and played with some friends.  And then for mommy preschool, we drew pictures of what we think the leprechaun that visited looked like, went on a green hunt, and did some other activities.

 After school, we had leprechaun cucumber hats and shamrock pears for snacks.  Then we played and made dinner.  We made something new this year, Reuben crescent bake, per Dave's request.  I was not a fan, since I'm not huge on sauerkraut or corned beef.  But he loved it, and so did Cal.  We served it along with some green jello salad (gotta have pineapple and cottage cheese in there), spinach salad, and green punch.  I forgot to take pictures of dinner!  Emma set the table and decorated it, and it looked really cute, too!  For dessert, we had Lucky Charms treats, which Cal helped make.  Then we had a family night lesson and we watched part of Darby O'Gill and the Little People.  We then danced to Irish music, and practiced clicking our heels.  Cal got it down and was doing it so well!  It was cracking us up!

Some think it's overkill to celebrate holidays nowadays.  Tone it down a notch, they say.  I remember this article going around on FB last year and again this year around this time and I see this author's point.  But for us, most days for us are just full of the mundane - laundry, preschool work, reading, sweeping the floor, making food, homework, practicing, disciplining, chores...it's fun to have a few days a year that we can really enjoy the wonder and magic of childhood and go all out, because it won't be forever that the kids will think this is cool.  In a few years, they could care less.  But for now, they get so excited about it all.  And I want them to look back and remember that we did fun things together.  It doesn't take much extra time for me to throw green food coloring into our food, or plan out preschool activities centered around the holiday, or to think of a few ideas of fun things to do together.  Those few extra minutes of my time are worth every second of the memories we share, and the ones I hope they end up remembering.  I'm not posting this for anyone to feel bad that they "only" have their kids wear green, or even forgot to do that. All families are different and there's not one right or wrong way to do things for the holidays or anything in life.  I'm just posting so we can remember the good times we've had.  :)

Suess on the Loose

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.  Fantasy in a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.  Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities."  - Dr. Suess

One of our favorite things to do is read, and one of our favorite authors is Dr. Suess!  I remember when Emma was little reading Green Eggs and Ham several times in one day, day after day, to the point where we both had it memorized!  Cal and Lucy both love Dr. Suess, too.  Dr. Suess' birthday has also been dubbed "Read Across America Day".  In honor of this special day, we did some special activities.

We checked out some new Dr. Suess books we've never read before from the library, like the Blippo Seed and other lost stories.

We made some yummy treats, like Green eggs and ham snacks, the Cat & the Hat pizza, and Suess snack mix (CheeriO's for "Oh, the Places You'll Go", M&M's for "My Many Colored Days", popcorn cakes for "Hop on Pop", animal crackers for "If I Ran A Zoo" and goldfish crackers for "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish").

Our theme for Mommy preschool was based on all things Suess.  Their favorite thing we did was made these little stick puppets out of pasta we painted and a little Cat in the Hat (Lucy calls him Cat Hat), and the kids got a kick out of making him talk.  The kids also watched the Lorax in the afternoon.

That night, we went to the Suess on the Loose event at Emma's school.  They had a costume parade for all who dressed up like Suess characters.  There were some pretty good ones!  The kids picked out which characters they wanted to be.  Lucy dressed up like Daisy-Headed Maizy, Cal wanted to be the Lorax, and Emma was none other than the Cat in the Hat.  We used everything we had laying around the home.  For Lucy's, she put on an old dress up pink dress, and we glued a fake daisy to a headband.  Cal helped make his costume.  We cut out the moustache and eyebrows for the Lorax and glued them to old plastic glasses.  Then he painted a paper roll tube like a truffula tree and I helped him glue some crazy yarn to the top.  Emma wore all black clothes, and we cut out a felt circle for her tummy.  She wore a black and red tutu, white gloves, a scarf, and a hat from our dress up box, and we painted a nose and whiskers on her.

Mr. Cov just wore a Cat in the Hat onsie, which we also already had.  Emma called him Little Cat A (from the "Cat in the Hat Comes Back").  

They had some great activities at the school.  They had a crazy hat making art project.  The kids loved this, and it was fun to see some friends there.

They had popcorn and drinks, free books and goody bags for the kids, balloons, and a perfect photo op.  We only got pictures on this one, but they had some other cute ones!  Emma was running off with friends most of the time, which was fun for her.

"Oh the Places You'll Go" obstacle course.  Then they had the costume parade, and every child who was participating was entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card for each grade level or siblings.  Well, Callahan was one of the winners!  So that was pretty exciting!

Oh how we love the Olympics!

It's been a great few weeks here celebrating the Olympics, and now it's so sad to see them go!  I don't think I watch more TV the entire year than when the Olympics are on.  This year, Sochi 2014, was no exception!

A couple of weeks before the real deal, we got everyone pumped up by having our own Ryerse Silly Olympics for our Family Home Evening activity.  We made our own family flag and did an opening ceremonies, played great games such as Paper Straw Javelin, Whee Ball, and Thin Ice.  Good times!  I love how competitive we were (cough cough, Dave!  Lol!) at some of these fun silly things.

And, just in time for the opening ceremonies, we got a brand new TV!  For us, this is a big deal.  Dave's been dreaming about this day for 8 1/2 years, ever since we got married.  We have always had hand-me-down TV's, so this is our first purchase in the TV department. When we moved, our last TV died and we couldn't get it started again.  So we borrowed Julie's TV until we could find one for a good deal that was a good one.  Dave, of course, researched all of the makes and models to pieces to find exactly what he wanted, and we waited until Super Bowl time to purchase, because that's when TVs are cheapest.  When it arrived, Cal kept staring at it and saying "Woah!  Football!"  Like father, like son, I guess!  :)  It made me giggle!  Lucy kept saying "we have a BIG TV!" and Emma was excited that she'll actually be able to see the TV from the couch, though she still likes getting super close.

For the opening day, we got into the spirit of the day by making Russian food and learning about the culture.  We made Blinis (like a crepe only Russian) for breakfast, and learned a little bit about the geography and culture in Russia.  After school, we made some Russian tea cakes for a treat and made chicken stroganoff for dinner.  This was also a big deal as I've never made stroganoff in all of our married life, as Dave thinks it's worse than the black death.  But I had it lots growing up and liked it, and the kids loved, loved it and asked if we could have that more often!  We then enjoyed the opening ceremonies.  What a spectacle!  I always love the great presentation, music, history, art, and everything that goes into these.  The kids thought it was really cool, too!  I always get teary eyed watching them, is that crazy?  I love the feelings of unity and coming together as children of God rather than countries divided.  Watching it, I had the thought that we are more alike than different.  We all have families and hopes and ideals and dreams that are all similar.  I love the successes and triumphs and interesting stories associated with how each athlete made it to where they are and the behind the scenes stories.

A few other random thoughts...
.
Are these Russian mail order brides front and center?  (I thought I made a good funny, Dave cracked a little smile, probably out of sympathy!)
                                 

And, was Team USA thinking this was an ugly sweater party?  Ha ha, no, they were looking great!  I love their love for their country, their examples of hard work, dedication and enthusiasm.  Most of them are worthy of emulation!  Go Team USA!

A couple of my favorite olympic stories...

 Noelle Pikus-Pace, a woman who competed in Skeleton and won Silver, always emphasized the importance of her LDS faith and family.  She wore her Young Women medallion necklace at the games.  It wasn't about her, she and her family work together.  When she won, she ran up to her husband and said "We did it!  We did it!"  It's so refreshing to see that kind of attitude because usually in sport athletes, "it's all about me" is the usual mentality.   "Remember who you are and what you stand for" was her message to youth, but a good reminder for us all.  And about her family, she said "If I'm with my kids I'm not thinking about the track.  I'm not thinking about sliding.  In toning that down and putting that as a priority, my family will never be topped.  It will never be beat."  What an important thought for us all, no other endeavors, no matter how important, should be placed over our families!  She is a role model I'd love for my kids to look up to!
                                        

And then, it was disappointing for us all that Sean White, the Flying Tomato didn't do very well at this Olympics.  But this story really made my heart happy.  It's not all about the gold for this guy and I'm glad he's still got his head on straight after all of the glitz and glam of becoming famous while young.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/shaun-white-olympic-moments-and-mettle-without-a-color/2014/02/11/94fa0968-9354-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html

                             

We had some Olympic themed preschool days as well.  We made some Olympic necklaces by dying noodles with food coloring and rubbing alcohol, made our own torch and passed it around running all over the house, had our own ice skating competitions on our slick kitchen floor and more.

We enjoyed sitting at the TV many nights as a family and enjoying the bobsledding (Cal's favorite), figure skating (Emma's favorite), skiing (Lucy's favorite) and other events.  Can't wait for the next olympics in Brazil ...only 884 days away!

Love thy neighbor as thyself

We were asked to speak in our ward a couple of weeks ago.  The topic was the post title, and I thought I'd share some my thoughts here.  I'm a firm believer that the topics we get are for us to study and ponder more in depth and it's something to work on.  

Matthew 22:36-39.  “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Of all of the commandments, if the second and “great commandment” is to love our neighbors, how important is loving others?  The Savior always emphasized how we should treat others and he was the perfect example of how we should love others. 

President Uchdorf said: “Because love is the great commandment, it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our Church callings, and in our livelihood. Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships. It is the bond that unites families, communities, and nations. Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate. Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope. Love should be our walk and our talk.”

Now that we know we need to love our neighbors because it is a commandment, who exactly are our neighbors?  I think it means everyone!  For my purposes today, I’m going to divide “neighbor” up into four categories.  Our neighbors are our Family – Neighbors - Strangers - Enemies

First, Family – I believe love starts in the home and family and moves out from there. Home is a laboratory of love.  It is there we get the first taste of what love truly is and how to love others.  We learn how to love together. 

Sometimes we get so used to the people we live with, we might not treat them as kindly as we would others outside of the home, but we should treat them the best.  How guilty are we of becoming too casual in our relationships?  I know for me lately, sometimes I'll be using a not-so-kind tone of voice with my kids telling them not do this or that, and then the phone rings and I will answer in my sweetest voice "Hello?"  Being our best selves at home is one of our greatest goals.

Young men and young women (and the rest of us) there are some very wise words in the For the Strength of Youth booklet on how to love our families.  It says “Strong families require effort.  Your family will be blessed as you do your part to strengthen it.  Be cheerful, helpful, and considerate of family members.  Many problems in the home come from family members speaking and acting selfishly or unkindly.  Seek to be a peacemaker rather than to tease, fight, and quarrel.  Show love for your family members each day.  Share your testimony with your family through words and actions.  Your righteous example can make a difference in strengthening your family.  Honor your parents by showing love and respect for them.  Obey them as they lead you in righteousness.  Willingly help in your home.” 

On LDS.org, there is a special section right now all about love.  There are so many great articles, videos, and resources to study this topic in greater depth.   I love the song based on the scripture from John 13:34: “Love one another; as I have loved you.”  From the church website: “On this simple phrase hangs the success of every marriage and family. In the light of Christ’s love we see our family’s divine potential. We love them with all our heart, soul, and mind. And as we do, our ordinary family is transformed into an extraordinary one.”  Do we want an ordinary family or extraordinary one?

While Jesus was on the cross, though he was in such agony and pain, he was still thinking of and putting his family first.  Mary sat near the cross and He knew what sadness and heartache she was facing and how exhausted she must have been.  He then said to one of his disciple “Behold thy mother!”  Jesus had him taker her home.  What tender love the Savior truly showed to his family.  And there are so many unwritten stories I’m sure that occurred between Jesus and his mortal family. 

In my own life, I’ve been blessed to have always been surrounded by family who has loved me.  My parents loved and taught us growing up and still do, and my siblings have become my very best friends.  My husband and children are so loving towards their sometimes undeserving mother.  And they always make sure that I know I am loved, through notes or cards, a nice phone call or text, hugs and kisses, and telling me that they love me.  They have made all of the difference in my life and have helped me feel the love of our Heavenly Father and Savior through their love.  We have had our shares of ups and downs, but we continue to learn and love.  I love them so much and am grateful for them. 

Next, neighbors.  Our neighbors are all those with whom we associate – friends, those who live by us, co-workers, people at school.  In “My Gospel Standards” written for Primary children, it says “I will seek good friends and treat others kindly.”  We should all look for friends and surround ourselves with those with whom are uplifting to associate with.  We should be a friend to all, but make close friends with those who will encourage us to uphold our standards. 

Service is a huge part of loving others.  In the Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith, he tells us “our service in the Church expresses love for others and appreciation for the Lord’s infinite service.”  In this month’s New Era magazine, Sister Carol F. McConkie of the Young Women General Presidency stated “Service is synonymous with keeping the commandments of God,” and it represents our love for the Lord.  The Savior taught, “if thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments; thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shall serve him.”  At baptism we covenanted that we would serve God and keep his commandments.  As followers of Christ, we always strive to participate in His work, and that involves serving.”

I think also if we have a genuine love for others, teaching the Gospel and missionary work will come easy.  In “Teaching, No Greater Call” it states “If you have Christlike love, you will be better prepared to teach the gospel.  You will be inspired to help others know the Savior and follow Him.”

I believe the way we treat others shows how we feel about our Savior and Heavenly Father.  It is an outward expression of our inward love for Them. 

Christ was known for being a great friend.  With his disciples, probably some of his closest friends or neighbors, he cared for them by showing compassion.  One day, as they gathered, he washed the feet of his disciples, which was something someone lower in status would usually do.  They questioned him on why he was doing it, the Lord of all.  He taught them some great lessons on being clean and then told them “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”   He taught us how to be a friend.  

I have really had many neighbors I could count on and who made a difference in my life.  This is the type of neighbor and friend I want to be. When we lived in Spokane, though we were all so different in ages, race, religion, sexual preference, etc., we were all friends.  It was a race to shovel each other’s driveways, we had neighbors offer to help watch the kids, always dropping off treats or surprises for the kids, and enjoyed talking to each other out by the mailboxes in genuine concern and love for each other.  They were all great examples to me of how to be a friend. 

Strangers –  It is a little harder to love someone we don’t even know.  But we are commanded to love all, so strangers fall under that too. 

Mother Teresa, was a Roman Catholic nun made famous by humbly going about serving people for most of her 87 years in Calcutta, India.  She not only gave great us great words of wisdom, but showed us how to love others, just like the Savior did.  She loved the unlovable and untouchable, most of who she never knew.  She spent her life serving the Savior by serving others.  One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Mother Teresa.  I think it’s a great mantra for all of us.  “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”  We should leave people, all people, better than we found them. 

Jesus showed the same love to others, whether they were his friends or complete strangers.  When he was out teaching one day, some children and their parents approached him that he might bless them and pray.  But the disciples felt they were too busy and didn’t have time for others, who they probably didn’t know anyways and rebuked Jesus.  But Jesus took time for them and said “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me.”  He was always taking time to befriend, comfort, heal, strengthen, help, lift and love strangers.

Once my family went on a road trip, which we did frequently.  We were headed to California and this is one of those times when it seemed everything went wrong.  My dad decided to take the scenic route, and we ended up out on a Native American reservation on a dirt road.  To make a long story short, two of our tires got shredded and one went flat, and we only had one spare.  So we were stuck out in the middle of no where and hadn't seen any cars for miles.  Being young, my siblings and I were all worried we were going to die, so we began planning rationing our snacks and water, and wrote S.O.S. in the sand with some rocks, hoping a helicopter would fly by and come rescue us.  We waited and worried, said some prayers, and a while later, an old VW bus came bumping down the road.  They stopped, thank goodness, and asked what they could do.  We all piled in their van, and they offered us water and a ride to the nearest town so we could have a tow truck go pick it up and get it fixed.  I'm sure they've long forgotten about this experience.  But for my siblings and I, their kind act of service will never be forgotten.  A little gesture can go a long way.  

Finally, and I believe the hardest, love thy enemies.  Some of the most well-known scriptures from the Savior’s Sermon on the Mount include this verse from Matthew 5.  “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”  I like what it says after that though.  “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”  He loves all of His children, no matter who they are or what they've done.  Shouldn't we too?  Then he asks us questions in relation to this.  “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?  Do not even the publicans the same.  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?  Do not even the publicans so?  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven perfect. “ Loving our enemies is being perfect, like He is.  Loving our family, our friends, that’s easy.  But forgiving, and loving those who have wronged us is the true challenge. 

When the Savior was on the cross at Calvary, near death, he forgave all those who had abused, tormented, made fun of, offended in every way and who would kill him.  He said, “Father, forgive them.  They know not what they do.” I can't think of anything harder than that, but he freely forgave them.  

As an elementary school student, there was a girl and I that did not get along. For some reason, we just did not like each other.  I remember her telling me once that my headband was ugly and I was appalled.  At the end of the school year, i remember drawing a mustache on her picture in the yearbook.  We always went back and forth like this.  The next year at school, we both had a change of heart, forgave, and an enemy became a friend.  We became best friends and enjoyed many fun times together - playing at each other's houses, parties, sleepovers, and we played on the same sports teams.  My life became better from knowing her, and hopefully the same could be said of me.  

I would like to conclude with the words of our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson.  “My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness – be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers.  We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children.  He is dependent on each of us.  That service to which all of us have been called is the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Let us follow the example of our Savior and love our neighbors – our families, friends, strangers, and enemies – with all our heart, might, mind and strength as He did is my prayer.  I know the Savior Jesus Christ lives and has set the perfect example for us in all things.  I love Him and am so grateful for His love in my life.  It is everything.