Home Sweet Home

I'm sorry if you are tired of hearing about it, but, its really really exciting for us!

Thursday we signed all the closing documents, and today, Monday December 31st just in time-we got the call from the Realtor that all the recording was done, and we are officially homeowners!  YAHOO!

As soon as that "sold" sign gets put up out there, we will snap a picture to share!  Then they'll take it down.

Did I mention how excited I am for my garden next spring?

The Christmas Rush is through

This years Christmas was AMAZING.  I must say, amazing.

I love having a house.  Tomorrow we go sign the closing documents.  **SQUEAL OF JOY!**

Even cooler, I found out that the first payment won't be until February-which is kinda like a blessing-help with the new utilities cost adjustments from our previous budget.  Oy.

But, being here, in a home, our home, was fantastic.  It may have gotten crazy, but I loved having my family and Travis' parents over.  We woke up, Travis all giddy and excited to open presents.  So much fun to occasionally see him act like a kid again.

We had a nice french toast breakfast and then just a lazy day while playing with new toys.  Travis got me a guitar.  I love it.  Already working on a few little hymns to keep me practicing and interested in learning new chords (cuz learning cords alone is boring!)

Also under the tree was a hot air popcorn machine, and a fondue fountain.   Very excited about those.

For dinner we had turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, green bean casserole, rolls, and Cindy's delicious cranberry apple marshmallow desert.  

The greatest fun of all was probably Christmas eve, our big surprise visitor!  We went to my mom's house for dinner and when we arrived were told to go upstairs with our eyes closed, and then to open them--when we did we saw Robin sitting on the Couch!  Kim Ivie bought her a ticket and they kept is secret and surprised all of us.

Anyways, I just wanted to take a minute and jot down some memories from this year-it really was grand.  In all honesty, last year was sorta a let down, but this year really felt like Christmas.  I look forward to many more to come!

Behold Your little ones-December 14, 2012

Our first modern prophet, Joseph Smith, who had lost many of his own children due to illness, mob brutalities, taught in empathy and by inspiration, 

"The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, 

that they may escape the envy of man, 

and the sorrows and evils of this present world;

 they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth;

 therefore, if rightly considered, 

instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil,

 and we shall soon have them again."

And quoting Joesph Smith, Elder Bowen, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ spoke in October regarding children, and the loss of such.  Like the Prophet Joseph, Elder Bowen's remarks were of empathy and compassion as he too spoke from poignant experience.  Is not the Lord Merciful? That he would inspire modern revelation to comfort us in such trying days? Elder Bowen, continued his talk titled, "Because I live, Ye shall Live also" by saying, 

"I would like to speak to those who have lost a child and have asked the question,

 “Why me?” 

or maybe even questioned your own faith in a loving Father in Heaven.

 It is my prayer that by the power of the Holy Ghost, 

I may bring some measure of hope, of peace, and of understanding.

 It is my desire to be an instrument 

in bringing about a restoration of your faith in our loving Father in Heaven, 

who knows all things and allows us to experience trials 

so that we can come to know and love Him 

and understand that without Him we have nothing."

I just want to add my testimony to his,

"I testify that this life is not the end. 

The spirit world is real. 

The teachings of the prophets regarding life after death are true. 

I have learned that the bitter,

 almost unbearable pain can become sweet as you turn to your Father in Heaven 

and plead for His comfort that comes through His plan; His Son, Jesus Christ; 

and His Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost.

What a glorious blessing this is in our lives. 

Wouldn't it be tragic if we didn't feel great sorrow when we lose a child? 

How grateful I am to my Father in Heaven that He allows us to love deeply and love eternally.

 How grateful I am for eternal families. 

How grateful I am that He has revealed once again through His living prophets 

the glorious plan of redemption."

There is a song we learned in Primary when I was little, and it has stayed close to my heart as is was one of my dads favorites, and it came out just a few months before he died.  The words bring me comfort today as they did then, while today I reflect on the Massacre in Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary.  It goes, 

"Isaiah says,

Jehovah has borne our griefs and sorrows.

He will raise me,

He will save me thru His love.

Isaiah says,

Jehovah was wounded for all our sins.

He will heal me,

He will seal me thru His love.

Isaiah says,

Jehovah can wash red sins to whiteness.

He will cleanse me,

He will claim me thru His love."

I pray for peace and comfort to the survivors and the families of today's tragedy.

Everybody kept getting up!

Today was Fast and Testimony meeting.

In the LDS church, every first Sunday of the month we skip 2 meals to serve as a fast offering to our heavenly father, and with the money we would have spent on those two meals, we donate to the church fast offerings and help those who can't afford a meals for their family.  More questions about it?  Read the articles here, here, and here.  Simply put, I know it works, I know that greater blessings come when me make a greater sacrifice, and I've seen miracles happen through it.

Anyways, along with fasting this first Sunday of each month, we have a testimony meeting.  A testimony meeting provides members of the congregation the opportunity to go up to the stand and proclaim the knowledge we have of our heavenly father, his love, and his influence in our life.  There is power in numbers, and there is strength to be gained by sharing your experiences and the experiences of those around you.

About 2 months ago, I made a promise to one of my activity day girls, that every time she went up, I would go up.  And it has amazed me how that promise, and her example have been such strengths to me.  It causes me to reflect upon my beliefs, my faith, my knowledge, and to hear her so simply stand and bear witness of things which she can't 100% understand, but does 100% feel and know is right, is faith inspiring.

Today, she went up, and I missed out.  She came to me afterwards and was disappointed, I could only express how sad I was that I didn't get the opportunity because of time, and the eagerness of the congregations participation this month.

After she went up, and I sat there reflecting, collecting my thoughts, and being a bit frustrated and the thank-a-monies that were happening and taking up all the time (grrr) I did have a few things that touched my heart that I wanted to share here, with whomever reads or follows this, in hopes that it will serve some greater purpose.

First, though I reflect now with a grr at the thankamonies, in the meeting I understood why people were compelled to go up and list the things they are grateful for.  Their families, their blessings.  The thought that came to me was how merciful the Lord is.  We speak in church often of the Tender mercies around us.  With it being November, many people are reflecting on the things they are thankful for and often, don't realize that these topics, experiences, people, feelings, are tender mercies from a Loving Heavenly Father, who knows them and knows their needs.
 
In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma wrote of our Savior,
    "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
     And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

In his wisdom and love, our Heavenly Father sent our Savior Jesus Christ to atone for us.  In that atonement, he came to know each and every one of us intimately.  He knows our fears, he knows our sorrows, he know the trials we face.  He faced them for us, and sacrificed himself to meet the laws of Justice, that he then in his innocence and perfection could stand as our advocate, and extend the hand of mercy in our trials, be they self inflicted or of a force greater than our control.  In the book of Nephi quoting the prophet Isaiah, it reads

    "But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.
    For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
    Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

I love the phrase "thy walls are continually before me"  It means that he's not out there some great mysterious unknown, uninvolved, person we are to fall and worship.  He is our Savior.  He's facing those walls and trials along the way with us, because he loves us, and he will help us through them.

Sometimes its hard to see his hand.  It's easier to recognise how a friend helped us, or how a thing worked out and we caught a lucky break.  But, I know, that it is the hand of mercy, these things we find ourselves so grateful for this month, are always there, and if you will but have faith, you can see how they are part of a grander plan, that they always have been there, and always will be there, if you just look for them.

One last thought,  Joseph B Wirthlin.  If you were to go to my very first ever blog post, you would find his his talk titled, "Come what may and Love it"  Essentially, I be live it is through faith in our Savior, and through recognizing his tender mercies that we can have peace and happiness.  That no matter what challenges we may face, we can say, "Come what may" and then learn to love it.  In the talk, Elder Wirthlin touches on the beautiful principle of Compensation.  He states, "The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."  I have witness this principle in my own life, in my friends lives, and I know the Lords promises are sure.

It everybody hadn't kept getting up, that is what I would have gotten up to share.  And I would have done so in our saviors name, with an amen.

When September Ends...

We put an offer on a house.  The news spread really fast!  But in case you hadn't heard, we did it.  

Not on my french doors and hot tubs house-but on a cute little ranch style home in town.  We are still waiting to hear from the sellers bank whether they will accept our offer or not.  So, keep your fingers crossed.

Also in September we crossed the 12 month mark.  12 months with no birth control and we're still not pregnant.  

On the other hand, my Sister delivered my new beautiful neice Lucy!  She's so stinking adorable!  And like her big sister Clara, looks much like a cabbage patch doll.

I've been staying busy with my buddy boy Liam, the hilarious baby brother of mine.  And starting today will be watching Mr Ashton B. On Tuesday/Thursday afternoons.  Occasional pop ins from the 3 yr old Soto twins might be happening more regularly as well.  I get them on Thursday!  

Especially because of this increased demand for watching childrens, I'm really starting to really want the house.  It would be nice for people to just drop them off at my place rather than me run to and from their places.  And the house we put an offer on has a small space where I could do private dance lessons.  Again, I like the idea of them coming to me.  Anyways, hopefully October will hold more news. 

French Doors and Hot Tubs

Travis and I have talked about a house

                             We've talked about going to the bank for a pre-approval

We've talked about what we like and what we don't like

                                                               We have talked about expenses

                                                                                         We've talked about income

We have talked about where

                                                                                                              We've talked about when

                                                         We have talked about why

                      We have talked about what ifs

                                                                                               and why nots

              We've discussed our family plans

                                                       Our career plans

  

                                                                                                                                 Our dream plans

When it comes down to it, we kept waiting, and waiting.  I felt daring just signing up for a free 8 hr seminar was maybe hoping for too much and maybe jumping the gun.

But I was just scared.           Big decisions take BIG guts is what I determined.   And, I called a bank.  

And easy as pie we got pre-approved for a home loan.  :)  Happy happy happy.

Wanna know what pushed me over?  I know it may not be the house we end up in, but its the house that makes me want to join the homeowner club.  

French Doors-are my FAVORITE.  This place had them all over. 

Hardwood floors, attached 2 car garage, bonus game/rec/whatever I want it to be room with skylights? oh baby!  Icing on the cake:  HOT TUB!  The cherry on top, this home was recently marked down into our price range.  I want to at least have the oppourtunity to see if this dream can come true.  There have been several other houses which I liked, and looked at and drove by, and then they got SOLD.  This place though we may not end up in it, will not be gone before I can hope, now I know that at least, it IS in our ballpark.  And though I know we may not end up there, knowing that that isn't an unrealistic option-makes me giddy.

NASA and dancing???

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120710.html


Watch the above link, smile, and say, "I will take dance Lessons this year!"

Really though, the video explains why I do so much love dancing.
Their explanation says it all.



(Don't forget to follow me at magicrhythmsdance.blogspot.com as well!)

Gender and Roles

President Ezra Taft Benson:
“You [women] were not created to be the same as men. Your natural attributes, affections, and personalities are entirely different from a man’s. They consist of faithfulness, benevolence, kindness, and charity. They give you the personality of a woman. They also balance the more aggressive and competitive nature of a man. “The business world is competitive and sometimes ruthless. We do not doubt that women have both the brainpower and skills—and in some instances superior abilities—to compete with men. But by competing they must, of necessity, become aggressive and competitive. Thus their godly attributes are diminished and they acquire a quality of samenesswith man”

President James E. Faust
“Before we were born, male and female, we made certain commitments and . . . agreed to come to this earth with great, rich, but different gifts. We were called, male and female, to do great works with separate approaches and separate assignments. “. . . Becoming like men is not the answer. Rather, the answer lies in being who you are and living up to your divine potential by fulfilling eternal commitments. . . .

My friend Raquel posted these along with a few other quotes on her blog recently in a discussion on feminism and the LDS perspective.  She expressed that she often hears women talk of how their family limits them and if it weren't for their children they'd be off in a career and living it up-well, those weren't her exact words, but it was along those lines.  I added a bit more of my own summarization there because I've heard it too.  And the subject hits close to my heart. 

I had a career, which I recently resigned from.  The "competition" of the work place was doing exactly to me what Ezra Taft Benson had described.  If I wanted to keep playing the political corporation game, I would have needed become more aggressive, and competitive.  I didn't wanna.  So I stepped out.  And I am SO glad I did.   I have time and energy now to focus on my eternal commitments.  To improve myself, and learn, and grow, and to be able to support my family from within.  I have an education, and I'm still seeking education, should the necessity arise for me to ever step up and be the breadwinner, am prepared to do whatever is necessary.  But for now, I'm developing my talents and skills where I'm needed most.  I am learning to support my family from the inside-and am ever grateful for the willingness and understanding of my dear husband to support us from the outside.  

I praise our father in heaven who in his wisdom created us so differently, that we might have joy in our complementing roles, and be one in our goals.  In our little family, there is no competitiveness, there is no aggression.  There is peace, and teamwork, and love.  And I know that that comes from our faith, and our understanding of the eternal plan of happiness. 

Let them cry let them giggle, let them be little.

       The greatest poem ever known

        Is one all poets have outgrown:

The poetry, innate, untold,

    Of being only four years old.

                                                    ~Christopher Morley, To a Child

My baby Sister turns 6 years old today.  

She is in First Grade, goes to dance, gymnastics, loves to read.
Many people are shocked when they find out that I have a 6 yr old sister and 3 yr old brother, but I find great joy in telling them how I was the youngest child for 17 yrs, and then in less than 2 became the middle child.  Elyse doesn't know it, but she changed my life.  If it weren't for her I wouldn't have had the courage to  make changes in my life that needed to be made then, at that time.  Because I made those changesI have had a fuller, more complete, more blessed life in the last 6 years.  I wouldn't have found the peace that comes from loving and forgiving.   If it weren't for this little girl, I wouldn't have had the guts to become the person I am today.  

She is such a light to all of us.

Happy 6th B-day Lysie!  We have to count your age with two hands!

Magic Rhythms

magicrhythmsdance.blogspot.com
check it out!

Time makes you bolder

“Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to start from scratch once again.” -Bikram Choudhury. 

I must admit, I've had some trouble coming to write about this, so I went to the trusty internet to find quotes that are much more eloquent than me. This first one describes much of how I feel right now. Starting from scratch. I am Melanie. I am a wife, a Activity Days leader, and daughter, a sister, an aunt. A medical Assistant. 

A medical assistant without a job. 

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” -Andre Gide 

Its really scary, but also very liberating and such a relief. I was so excited when I had my chosen grad plan, and I felt so confident. I loved it. I was even more excited when I got my job, a 401 K, health benefits. It was everything I'd hoped for. Security. Good people, nice hours, some flexibility. I guess if I feel shameful its because it really was a great oppourtunity. There are so many people who look for work and can't find it. So many people struggling to make ends meet, and I resigned, willfully from such security. 

“Lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at you.” -David Brinkley 

MY first two months, if you read my blog then, you may recall were a little rough. In the ortho department, I was picking the rhythm of things up slowly. I was frustrated, the people I worked with were frustrated. They moved me to OBGYN. 

LOVED IT THERE.

And I was succesfull. 

New managing staff, new co-workers who didn't mind my bazillion questions. 

As I had left ortho one of my co-workers had said,

"Maybe this isn't the field for you." 

I showed her. 

I was able to recover there and learn some valuable skills. 

It was a bit of a sanctuary.

In February when my provider was transfered to a different department, I went out to venture on new paths. I was ready. They used me in several departments as a fill in until one provider in Dermatology specifically requested me to stay with her. I really enjoyed working with her, and accepted the position. I was doing great. Not the field for me? Ha!

Then that co-worker became manager over my department. 

:-(

Suddenly my work wasn't enough. 

I was either doing something wrong or not doing something right.

“By changing nothing, nothing changes.” -Tony Robbins

So I resigned.

They told me I had problems prioritizing.

I realized they were right.

My goal to become a medical assistant was important. My acheiving that was important. Getting some expirience was important.

But Travis and I have other goals which are more important.

My "career" wasn't getting us closer to those goals.

“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” –Walt Disney

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” -Mark Twain

I've felt like I have to justify myself. I was in an environment where everyone there has their career and their family. I want my family to be my career. That's hard for them to understand, most of them get it when there are children in the picture, but Travis and I have not experienced that blessing yet. So, hence the feeling like I have to justify my choice. To them I say, Travis is my family. We may not have children, but we have eachother. If what I really want to be is a homemaker, children or no children what different does it make? Heaven knows I need some time to practice before children are added to the equation! 

“As soon as anyone starts telling you to be “realistic,” cross that person off your invitation list.” –John Eliot

So I'm just letting you know that this is my choice. Its interesting that this all came about in the midst of my preparation for a talk at church on the topic of agency, or choice. I've found as I reflect, that in our choices, we have joy. I will more greatly appreciate this opportunity because I know that of my own free will and choice, this is how I want things to be. Its not because our family grew and childcare was too expensive, or whatever reasons people use to justify staying home. It is because I want to put my families needs first. 

I always wanted my education and career for the purpose of security. My dad passed away when I was 8 yrs old. My mom went back to school full time and became an accountant. That was rough. For her, for me, for my sisters. A career that allowed me security and peace of mind in case unpredictable circumstances arose was therefore very important to me. I've met my goals, and I've acheived that. Its scary to think I'm not going to be in the workforce for some time, but CS Lewis here sums it up for me nicely:

“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” 

I'm so thankful for Travis and his support.

Photodump!

Over the weekend of July 18-22 we went on a rd/camping trip to Seward with our friends Stephen and Kendra Tibbs.  We had a blast!  Spent our time hiking and camping and Kenai Fjiord Touring with a delicious dinner at fox Island where I had Alaska King Crab for the first time.  I had been to Seward before, but only once when I was little and all I remember that we did was visit the sea life center.  So this trip tickled me pink!  I have a few more pictures, but they got saved to my camera memory itself and not the memory card, so....it'll be a small while before I can post those.