Families Can Be Together Forever

Last night was one I will always remember and will never forget. This sweet girl got to go to the Temple. We asked her how she felt after we left and she said "I felt so special and very beautiful!" I love this Gospel so much. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I love having the knowledge that families can be together for time and all eternity. What a wonderful blessing that is! We are so happy that she is part of our family and we know that Heavenly Father hand picked her just for us!

I Am a Mormon Monday: Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley and I blog over at The Power of One Girl (link). I have competed in nine different pageants and never took the crown, it was after the last pageant that I realized I was never meant to win, it was all about the journey. After trying to please and impress judge after judge, I came to the realization that Christ was the only one I ever need to please. Now I'm making it my life mission to empower girls to have strong self esteem through being comfortable in their own skin as they get on the journey to draw closer to Christ. I love speaking to young women groups about this message as well as writing down my life lessons and adventures. I am a Mormon because this gospel brings me a sense of peace and hope that can't be imitated. I am forever changed day by day through this gospel.

How do you live your faith?

I live my faith by striving to focus on my Savior daily. Christ-like attributes are something I strive to live my life around. The more I focus on humility and integrity, two attributes Jesus Christ was perfect at, the more my I draw closer to Christ and my confidence grows. As I devote my life to the will of my Heavenly Father, I find a greater sense of peace and happiness that can't be found anywhere else in this world. Making my faith part of my every thought, every word, every action, and every aspiration is what draws me closer to my Savior and builds a greater strength in my life that I would be lost without. 

What is hope to you?

Hope to me is believing things will get better and work out when you are at your lowest point. Hope is moving forward and always believing there is room for self improvement. Hope is the desire and expectation that promised blessings will come. Hope is the belief that Christ is always there and He will carry you through the difficult times in your life.

I hope to get married and become a mother. I hope to make an impact on teen girls and the way they feel about who they are and what they look like. I hope to make every day of my life a day for self improvement and becoming my absolute best self. I hope for success, happiness, love, and many opportunities to give of myself and serve others.

Blog - www.ashleyfrederickson.blogspot.com

Website - www.powerofonegirl.com

Twitter - www.twitter.com/powerofonegirl

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/powerofonegirl

Instagram - http://instagram.com/ashleymariefrederickson/

Pinterest www.pinterest.com/ashley5524

I Am a Mormon Monday: Meet Landon

I am a twenty-something gal, married to my best friend, mom to the cutest 2 year old boy in the world, foster mom, hoping to adopt, piano and voice teacher, with depression and anxiety, a deep love of theater and Coca-Cola. I am a Mormon!! 

Hello there.... I'm Landon!  I have been married to my prince charming for seven years.  We got married in the Portland, Oregon temple after meeting at BYU and have been enjoying life together ever since!  We had a difficult time getting and staying pregnant, but then we were blessed with our miracle child - he is now 2 and we simply adore him.  I can't have any more biological children, but we have always known that we wanted to adopt.  We felt very directed to pursue foster care and are hoping to adopt.  When I'm not chasing my kiddos, you can find me at the piano or singing.  I teach piano and voice lessons and love it!  I also love theatre and hope to go to graduate school to get my MFA in directing. I was raised in a Mormon household.  And, while I was baptized when I turned 8, my conversion to the church came when I was 12.  My family moved from Detroit MI to Portland OR when I was 12.  I was very unhappy about it and complained to everyone about having to leave the only home I'd ever known!  I prayed that our house in Detroit wouldn't sell so we wouldn't have to move.  Well, we moved anyway and lived in an apartment until the house sold.  One night, I broke down.  I felt so bad about seeing my parents so stressed and unhappy.  I knew they wanted to be in Portland and be closer to family.  I prayed (more liked begged!) that our house would sell - I remember pleading with God that the house would sell the next day!  When I came home from school the next day, my parents were at the bus stop waiting for me - I thought someone had died!  Turns out they had gotten and accepted an offer on the house!  It was then that I knew that God knows me, listens to my prayers, and cares about me!  This one experience has shaped my life.  I have always known that I can turn to God in prayer and He will listen with all the care and love of the perfect father. 

What is hope and what do you hope for?

Hope has been my anchor word, especially since becoming a foster mom.  My go to scripture lately has been Hebrews 6:19 "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."  My anchor is rooted in Jesus Christ because I know that he is firm and secure and never fails.  I have depression/anxiety and often times my worry spirals almost out of control.  But Christ is always constant and has the perfect balm to my fears.  Hope isn't just a nice idea.  Hope is a real and living thing.  It brings peace and reassurance.  I hope for happiness for myself, my husband, and children.  I hope for a successful adoption soon.  I hope for an eternal family.  

 How do you live your faith?

I live my faith by choosing moment by moment.  This life isn't easy.  But it's not meant to be.  Life isn't so much about who has it harder or easier, but about how we choose to deal with our challenges.  I choose faith.  And while my sphere of influence is small right now, mostly within the walls of my own home, I try to keep my focus on Christ and in such a way that would make Him happy.  I choose to pray with my children.  To pray with my husband.  To pray by myself.  I choose to smile, to share the happiness and love that I feel inside, to serve, to be kind and generous.  One of the things that I am working on is letting my faith be bigger than my fear.  Where faith lives, fear cannot enter.  I am working daily on putting my trust and hope in God.  It's not easy, but it's a much happier way to live! 

Pinterest

Blog 

Facebook
Instagram is @landonetw and @bannersoflove 

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If you are interested in being featured on my blog for I Am a Mormon Monday. Please contact me and I will add you to the list! Right now I am booked out through November.  

Email: bostonksox@gmail.com ***I look forward to hearing from you!***

I AM A MORMON MONDAY: MEET KALI

Happy Monday to you! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! Our weekend was filled with new house projects, gardening/yard work, and family. 
Guys........... today I am so excited today to announce that I Am a Mormon Monday is back!! I have had a few emails asking "Why aren't you doing I Am a Mormon Monday anymore!?!" I guess my answer to that is life kind of got in the way. Once I was done with my last feature on my blog, I kinda forgot about it until I got another email and decided that I should start it right back up again! So here we are!!
Today I am featuring Kali Matthews. She is wonderful. She is so devoted to the Gospel and has such a love and testimony of Jesus Christ. Her two boys are the cutest and just about two months ago they decided that they would like to become foster parents with an intent to adopt which is so great!
Take it away Kali!

Blog // Website // Facebook // Instagram

Hello. I'm Kali Matthews, blogger at www.kalimatthews.blogspot.com. I am one of 8 children and an Air Force Brat, so I've lived all over the United States, but ended up in Sunny California. Here's where I met a tall, dark, and handsome, mysterious basketball coach from the Singles Ward, and we were married in the Oakland Temple 7 1/2 years ago. We were blessed almost right away, with 2 wild little hooligans-- boys. They are crazy, fun, and keep us on our toes. We have felt very prompted lately to pursue adoption through Foster Care and are halfway through the certification process. We are very excited! When I'm not chasing my two boys around or macking on my Husband, you might find me photographing anyone and everyone, at church with the Young Women, or relieving stress in the weight room. You might occasionally find me in the kitchen or cleaning my house, but probably not.

I was blessed to have been born to an LDS family, a convert mom, and a dad relating all the way back to Brigham Young, but as I got older, and we moved around a lot, I had the opportunity to learn about many different cultures and religions. In New Jersey & Ohio, I attended several different churches with friends. There were great qualities about these churches, but for me, nothing could compare to the warm, peaceful, Spirit I felt at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Even though I grew up in the church, I took the missionary discussions at the age of 14 to further acquaint myself with the doctrine. I was also attending seminary and took the challenge to read the Book of Mormon daily and to pray and ask if it were true. I did just that, and for awhile, I wasn't really sure. Then one night, I had an experience that changed me forever, and I realized, that all along, I already knew. I'll never forget that powerful witness. Reading the Bible and Book of Mormon, daily, strengthen me and remind me of who I am and what my purpose is. 

What is hope? 

Well, I just Googled it & my favorite definition to come up was, "a feeling of trust". I LOVE that! I definitely feel like hope and faith are trusting in our Heavenly Father that good things are to come. I am a worrier by nature, so this is an important reminder for me. I hope to see my children raised to become people who change the world for the better. I hope to adopt in the next year or so. I hope to grow old and serve a mission alongside my husband. I hope I never ever get bedbugs {I have an irrational fear... see? worrier by nature}.

How do you live your faith? 

I live my faith by striving to be the best mommy and wife possible. I do believe the most important work you will ever do is within the walls of your own home. I also serve as Young Women's President in my ward. I told them I was probably too disorganized and inappropriate to be Young Women's President, but here I am anyway, and I'm working on both. I have a special love for today's youth, and feel like the girls in my ward are my own little sisters. It's been such a blessing and privilege to work with them and learn from them. I also love serving in the temple, and try to go as often as possible. It is such a beautiful place of peace and refuge from the world. Another way I live my faith, is just by trying to forget myself and serve others. I love Martin Luther King Jr's words,"Life's most urgent and persistent question is: What are you doing for others?" I've just realized that by serving others, my own problems are minimized, and I feel closest to my Savior, Jesus Christ, which is the greatest blessing of all. 

If you would like to know more about what I believe, click HERE.

Thank you, Kimberly for having me on your beautiful blog! I look forward to getting to know other featured bloggers!

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If you are interested in being featured on my blog for I Am a Mormon Monday. Please contact me and I will add you to the list! Right now I am booked out through November 3rd. Next open slot is for November 17th. Email: bostonksox@gmail.com ***I look forward to hearing from you!***

BREAK ME OFF A PIECE OF THAT KIT-KAT BAR!

Gimme a break! Gimme a break! Break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat bar!
The other day I was uploading some images onto my laptop of...lets just called her "E" from now on okay?  I was uploading some images of E. As I was putting all the pictures into the folder, I came across these pictures I took awhile back when I taught a lesson "I Can Prepare For Baptism" in Primary. I made these for the kids in my class and got the idea HERE. I thought it would be a great reminder for them and I know that they all love chocolate..who doesn't right!?!? I love having the opportunity to teach them. They have such a strong desire to learn about God and Jesus Christ. They make me want to be better. They are such an example to me and I love each and every single one of them dearly.   

   

JUST IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING....

I testify to you that there is s God! He is real and personal and loving. He is also just. The fact that we can see, hear, and experience, all testifies of this fact that He is real and that He has a wondrous plan that allows us to partake of His goodness and creation all around us every day. I challenge you to try and find God in everywhere you look and in everyone you meet.

I AM A MORMON MONDAY: MEET JEN

Hi!  My name is Jen and Matt and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple almost 13 years ago after I graduated from Southern Utah University.  A year later we moved to Phoenix, Arizona so Matt could attend dental school at A.T. Still University.  During school, we were blessed with two, rowdy little boys, and a year after Matt graduated dental school we were blessed with a third little boy.  A short 8 months later I could not believe I was expecting again.  I almost didn't dare even hope for a girl, but our wildest dreams came true and we were blessed with a princess in 2009.  One more baby blessed our family in 2012.

4 months after the birth of our son, I had a seizure in a grocery store.  My husband insisted we go to the ER and when we got to the hospital they ended up admitting me and performing several tests.  Never in a million years did we expect to hear that my seizure was caused by a malignant brain tumor.  We were beyond devastated.  Who was going to raise my babies?  My newborn?  What was going to happen?  I was not ready to die!

We do not believe for one second that it was a coincidence that we chose to attend dental school in Phoenix.  We would have never decided to build a practice and live here had we not gone to school here.  Barrow Neurology is one of the best neurological hospitals in the world and we live 40 miles away.  My surgery, radiation and chemo has all been through Barrow and we could not feel more blessed or be happier with my success.  The cancer I have is bad (Stage 3)--my doctors give me 3-5 years to live, but I am doing so well we cannot imagine that statistic being true.  In the meantime, I live each day to the fullest and remember that life is a gift we must cherish.

My Heavenly Father wrapped His arms around me and carried me through the most unimaginable trial of my life and I could not have made it without Him.

What is hope?

Hope is the ability want something enough to keep going.  Hope is what got me through my trial.  Hope is what gets me through everyday.  When times are hard, hope will get you through the next minute.  When times are good, hope can keep your future bright.  Without hope we have nothing.  I had many dark days where I would BEG my Heavenly Father to take my cancer away.  I would cry and plead with Him for hours until it suddenly hit me that this trial is His will for me and I needed to let it go.  Instead of hoping for a miracle cure for cancer, I needed to become at peace within myself and hope for a "good day tomorrow", hope to instill the proper truths and values in my children now so if I do pass away, they will carry those on.  Hope is a raw and beautiful emotion that I've become very familiar with.

How do I live my faith?

I pray to be an example to others everyday.  I believe in the power of prayer with ALL of my heart.  I am far from perfect, but try to speak kindly, include others, have patience (this one is the hardest for me!) and be loving to those around me.  I serve in the Young Women and really love it.  I read my scriptures daily and try to teach my children Gospel Principles as often as I can.  I love the Gospel and truly, truly cannot imagine my life without it.  How blessed we are to have a loving Father in Heaven and a Savior and an atonement.  My heart is so full when I think of all of my incredible blessings.  

Thank you for this opportunity Kimberly!  

You can follow me on instagram: @jenniferroper or visit our blog: theroperfam.blogspot.com.

................................................................................................................................................................. Interested in being apart of I Am a Mormon Monday?  Email me for details! bostonksox@gmail.com 

DOWN EAST BASICS: DAY TO DAY MAXI SKIRT #1

Josh and I just got back from Lake Havasu last Thursday night. We had a blast. It was so nice to finally get away, even if it was only for a few days. I can't tell you how much we both needed this little getaway from home. I had taken Friday off of work also, so that extra day PLUS the weekend was such a plus! 

On Friday, Josh and I slept in, had breakfast and then he took me out to a nice lunch and to two of my favorite places Deseret Book and Down East Basics 

Down East Basics had a buy one get 1/2 off sale going on, so you better believe I stocked up on all the skirts and dresses I could get my hands on! Josh kept coming to the dressing room with skirts and dresses "Oh..try on this one" and "How about this one?" He's too cute! I love him to pieces! 

Below is one of the maxi skirts Josh picked out. I love the color and fun print of this skirt, but the best part is its long....like touching the ground and being able to wear heels or wedges long......just the way I like them. 

Skirt // Top: Thrifted // Necklace: Down East Basics // Shoes: TJ Maxx // Sunnies: Ross // Watch: Target