So, it wasn't a real vacation with palm trees and beaches but it was a much-needed vacation from school! YAAAAY!!!  Kim and I had a short break from classes this week and it was wonderful!  I still worked at Timberview on Tuesday and Thursday but when I got home I was able to sit outside, enjoy the sun, read my book, and take Sendai for a walk without having to feel guilty that I wasn't working on school assignments.  

Speaking of sitting outside . . . Thursday late afternoon Dad and I were in the Kitchen talking when we heard this horrible noise outside - the kind of noise you know has got to be something you really don't want to see . . .

Apparently, a gust of wind came up and pulled the umbrella out of it's stand and on the way out it hit the table top and shattered it.  Such a mess!  A million pieces of tiny glass particles to pick up - not to mention I lost my favorite relaxation spot. We have been on the look out for a new table and hopefully can find something in the next couple of weeks.   

FAMILY NEWS ~

Paul is officially on my list of great dancers!  Anyone want a lesson?  (Thanks Sammi!)

Watch out Blythe and Chris - You have some serious competition 😃  

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOLLIE!

Hollie has a birthday next week but she celebrated with Emma this week. What a lucky girl with such great sisters!  Emma and Hollie had a sleepover and then went shopping and out to eat the next day.  I think we will celebrate Hollie for the next two weeks ~

BEN and EILIS were here over the weekend.  Ben loves trains so Josh took him to the train store at the Mall which could be every little (and big) boys dream store. One evening Josh told him he needed to have patience, and his reply was "I don't like patience".  What six-year-old does?  😄

FROM CHICAGO ~

Kim and Blythe got matching dresses and they are so cute! (the dresses and the girls)    

Kim and Chris were out last night and on their way home they stopped to see Spencer at the restaurant where he works.  

It's not fair that I only get to see him once a year 😞

We miss you, Spencer! 💕

AND since no one, and I mean NO ONE, sent me a Sunday Selfie today Dad and I decided to inflict you all with one of us 😊

Friday, I had a dental appointment, and our dentist, Dr. Murdock came in for a short visit before I had my cleaning.  He is so great - I worked with him when I was in Relief Society, and he was assigned as a High Councilor to our Ward.  He was telling me that he held a meeting for his dental team earlier that week and shared with them part of a conference talk by Elder Uchtdorf from April 2012.  I told him I would come home and read it - I did, and it was so good I wanted to share some of his thoughts tonight.  

"I imagine that every person on earth has been affected in some way by the destructive spirit of contention, resentment, and revenge. Perhaps there are even times when we recognize this spirit in ourselves. When we feel hurt, angry, or envious, it is quite easy to judge other people, often assigning dark motives to their actions in order to justify our own feelings of resentment.

Of course, we know this is wrong. The doctrine is clear. We all depend on the Savior; none of us can be saved without Him. Christ’s Atonement is infinite and eternal. Forgiveness for our sins comes with conditions. We must repent, and we must be willing to forgive others. Jesus taught: “Forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not … [stands] condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin”and “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

Of course, these words seem perfectly reasonable—when applied to someone else. We can so clearly and easily see the harmful results that come when others judge and hold grudges. And we certainly don’t like it when people judge us.

But when it comes to our own prejudices and grievances, we too often justify our anger as righteous and our judgment as reliable and only appropriate. Though we cannot look into another’s heart, we assume that we know a bad motive or even a bad person when we see one. We make exceptions when it comes to our own bitterness because we feel that, in our case, we have all the information we need to hold someone else in contempt.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, said that those who pass judgment on others are “inexcusable.” The moment we judge someone else, he explained, we condemn ourselves, for none is without sin. Refusing to forgive is a grievous sin—one the Savior warned against. Jesus’s own disciples had “sought occasion against [each other] and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened.”

May I add a footnote here? When the Lord requires that we forgive all men, that includes forgiving ourselves. Sometimes, of all the people in the world, the one who is the hardest to forgive—as well as perhaps the one who is most in need of our forgiveness—is the person looking back at us in the mirror.

This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon.  When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:

Stop it!" 

(The Merciful Obtain Mercy. April 2012)

I was talking with a friend this week about how hard it can be to forgive and often I don't think it can be done without help from our Savior.  Holding a grudge and being unwilling to forgive is such a huge burden to carry.  I hope you will all take to heart the words of Elder Uchtdorf!. Ask for Heavenly Father's help to forgive - it works! 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK AND KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ARE LOVED!!!