Easter and our NEW additions to the family...

Hello EVERYONE! We have 2 NEW family members...Rocky and Apollo! They are purebred Chihuahuas and were given to our family as an Easter gift by a good friend of mine. We sure LOVE em both! They get LOTS of TLC!! They even have helped me with my depression and anxiety, which is VERY nice! They are therapeutic little buddies!! Apollo (the brown one) is the runt and can fit inside my hand and Rocky (black and white) is the bigger brother and they play and wrestle with each other and it's SO fun to watch!! They are only 7 weeks old and we are in the "process" of training them to go on the pee pads, which works half the time. We will NOT give up until they are fully housetrained! Brock has really stepped up to the plate and worked with both dogs to get them trained and I thank him for that. We named the dogs BIG names because they are SO little and Rocky has become Brock's dog and Apollo is MINE! I was only going to get Apollo because I did NOT want 2 dogs, but Jentry seemed to get attached more to Rocky, in the time we spent with them and I couldn't say NO! I have NEVER been the kind of parent to say NO to things...especially SWEET puppies!!! LOL! :) I will keep everyone posted on how they are growing and when we finally get them housetrained. If anyone has GOOD ideas on how to properly train the dogs, please let me know. Otherwise, we are keeping at it and slowly but surely we will have them trained!! That I KNOW!! Jentry is SUN BURNED in the pics above...it needed to be said, because she is working at Lagoon on the weekends right now (she is even wearing her uniform in the top 2 pics). When school gets out she'll be working during the week too. She is ENJOYING it and she LOVES having her OWN money for CLOTHES, MAKEUP, FUN & ACTIVITIES with friends, and MORE CLOTHES!! :D

Easter was NICE! We are getting used to NOT having Jerry in the house now (it's been a month) and we decided to make the BEST of our Easter without him here! We wanted to keep up the tradition of coloring eggs, so you'll see in the TOP pic that we did do that and we watched Father of the Bride together on Sunday and they got their Easter baskets of goodies and I think we made a pretty good memory for this Easter!! We also talked about the Atonement and what Easter is REALLY about and I gave them each a card with "personal" messages for each of them and Jerry came by with a card for Brock and Jentry too. I want them to keep the ties with their dad and he is trying to stay in their lives the best he can, which I appreciate, as do the kids! So, Easter was NICE! We had a GREAT day! :)

I've been doing well with my MT work! We are approaching the BUSY months and I should have PLENTY of work to do! I also got a 2nd P/T transcription position with TTE Transcripts as an Independent Contractor and will start this coming weekend. I have been BLESSED in getting the MT jobs I have! MOST MTs that I graduated with are STILL waiting for a position, so I feel totally CONTENT with the work I've got! Medscript is ALL medical and hospital reports and TTE is more legal, financial, business (Microsoft, Oracle), internal sales calls, department meeting notes, and even interviews (American Idol, DWTS, and Glenn Beck) to name a few. I am "spreading my MT wings" and learning MORE than just how to transcribe medical and hospital reports, which I am taking on as GREAT experience in my field! Both companies have VERY high standards of accuracy, 99.5% to be exact! I have made that goal for Medscript and will be working on HIGH STANDARD work for TTE too! If after 30 days, I can't meet their HIGH standards, I will be removed from that job. Grammar, punctuation, sentence structures, spelling, good proofreading skills, knowing how and where to research certain terms, words, or phrases, and retaining what I learn is KEY to being a GREAT MT and that's what I'm striving for!! I hope to do well with BOTH jobs! It will help me become financially self-sufficient and will OPEN doors for me in the future, for higher paying MT jobs. As an MT, we have to work for "peanuts" until we gain the experience we need to make GOOD money, so it's IMPERATIVE to get 2-3 years experience, before I can make a satisfactory income and be able to exclusively work from home, which is my goal!! I LOVE the work and I learn something NEW every day! It's SO important to LOVE what you do...what's the saying?? "If you LOVE what you do, you'll NEVER have to work a day in ur life??" I am a BELIEVER!!!

To END with some "spiritual wisdom" I am taking the bishop's GREAT advice and getting UP earlier and working his daily GOSPEL STUDY program that he gave me a copy of...which consists of:

*Rise from your bed early.

*Exercise for a few minutes.

*Wash your body and make yourself clean and presentable (I added the presentable part).

*Dress for the day. WHAT??? No working in my pjs?? I try to get dressed 4 of the 7 days, so far, because working from home gives me the LUXURY of working in my pjs some of the days.

*Go to a quiet place.

*Kneel, subdue your spirit before Heavenly Father, and call upon Him. Talk with him in reverent prayer.

*Wait for His holy inspiration, pondering the scriptures or a recent general conference talk and think about the specific problems you face.

He asks these questions before giving the list above:

1. Do you want to feel the love of God more powerfully in your life?

2. Do you want to feel more in tune with His Spirit?

3. Do you want to have the heavens opened to you daily?

And then he goes on to say..."There is a way you can feel a daily renewal of God's everlasting love and drink from "the fountain of living waters". I speak of a morning devotional time spent in prayer, meditation, and scripture study. If you have a devotional every morning, even if only for a few minutes, you will be deeply blessed. I know this to be true."

He also gives many references to talks/devotionals to read and I've read through most of them. He is a TRULY inspired bishop when he gave me this DIRECTIVE! I appreciate his humble and loving demeanor! I am SO blessed to have such a WONDERFUL bishop and I have handed this Gospel Study program that he gave me...out to friends and family too. I am a BELIEVER in the things he speaks of above and I'm gaining a BETTER and STRONGER testimony EVERY day that I follow this plan! A BIG thanks to Bishop Gardner for being that Christ-like example to me and to all those in the Bountiful 2nd Ward! We are truly blessed to have him as our bishop for this season!

I will end with that...because that's enough to think on for at least another week... :)

I hope everyone has a GREAT week and I will be back to post here again next week! It's Britnee's (my Bitty Boo's) 22nd birthday on May Day, so I will have LOTS to talk about and pics to post by then! TAKE CARE and STRIVE FOR CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT DAILY in your lives! TTFN! :)

Wow...it's been OVER a month...time FLIES!!

Hello ALL! It's been a while and I'm sorry for that. I've had a BUSY month and have been making new hair and foot accessories (flowers for flip flops) and have MANY orders still needing to get sent out! There is NEVER enough time in a day, it seems. So, the 1st pic is Jentry modeling her flip flops with polka dot fabric flowers and purple korker ribbon bow centers. I've had FUN creating with different fabrics and I use a fabric stiffener to make the petals curl up a bit...so they look "flowery"! It is 3:15 a.m. and I just got done with ONE big order to send out tomorrow. The gal I made the CHEER BOWS, HATS, and FLOWERS for has been waiting patiently. I DO enjoy and I have been making a little bit of money to help since Jerry is gone now.

I am also working part-time as an MT and LOVE the job! I am ENJOYING the learning and I learn something NEW every day! It makes my brain work, which is a GOOD thing! LOL! I am trying to get my line count UP each week and so far this past month, I've done pretty darn good, except for 9 days that I was in a DEPRESSION and didn't wanna do anything. I have those darn days because of my medical history and I can usually shake the depressed mood after a few days, but this time it went a bit longer than expected. I am trying to get used to Jerry being gone and part of me wants him to come back home and the other part doesn't. I just have those kinda days, but what can I expect? I've been married to him for almost 16 years. I am hoping this is a hiatus and I'm giving him his space, but if it isn't and he's gone for good, then I have to learn to live and move on! One weird thing happened 3 days ago. I had a FULL blown panic attack! I have heard about them from others, but never experienced one. I mean I've had anxiety, but this was SO different. I couldn't breathe, my heart was racing, I was crying uncontrollably, I was shaking and irrational, and my words wouldn't come out right when I tried talking to my mom. She said she couldn't understand a word I said to her. It lasted almost 40 min. and when you're in one of those...40 min. seems like 3 hours! I hope that doesn't happen again!! I need to learn to meditate OR does anyone know ways to decompress or know of any books or help I can get? Please let me know if you do. I haven't exercised much...and YES, I'll blame it on the snow and bad weather we've had this past month. I will get right back to it this coming week. I love to take walks in the springtime. Just SO pretty out!!!

Okay...the 2nd pic is of my nephew, Ty, wearing the hat I made for him at his 2nd birthday party! He is SO darn cute! My brother and family are moving to TX for a job that opened up for him. His Master's degree in business has sure served him and his lil' family well! I'm ALL for a COLLEGE education and I hope my kids go to college! It's a GOOD way of ensuring your future and making decent money too! We will sure miss Jason, Melanie and Ty! They found a house 2 weeks ago and the movers will be moving them in 23 days! They have never lived out of the state of Utah and I hope they can adjust to Texas well. I know I missed my family when we lived in OKC for 3 years and I had to get back to MY home in UT! I hope to go visit twice a year because I took out my endowments in the Dallas, TX temple in 1995 (4 months after me and Jerry had our civil marriage). Jason's house is only a half an hour drive from Dallas, so I'm looking forward to visits. I would also like to take the 3 1/2 hour drive to OKC to attend their temple too. We moved before OKC had a temple. I served as YW's President for 2 1/2 years in OKC and I still write to 3 of the YW (now married and ONE going to school) and would like to visit them too.

And the last pic is that of my OLDEST daughter Britnee's Easter basket. She is 22 (May 1st) and lives in Logan, but Brock is going up to stay with his dad this weekend, so I'm gonna have him take it to her because we won't be going to Logan this Easter because I have NO car yet. I've always made her a basket and probably always will! I got her MOST of her FAVE Easter candy and Mentos and gum...plus I always put a little stuffed animal in their baskets too! I know she'll like the little homemade touches I made to it also. I put a HUGE pink Daisy on the basket handle and made her a black and white bow for her hair (she wears the things I make too) and she DID get her "traditional MONEY egg", although it's only $10, but it's the thought that counts huh?? I LOVE seeing the kids faces when they wake up and now that they are getting older...and will ALL be outta the house soon, I cherish the holidays, traditions, and times we share together MORE!!! Brock will be 18 in 4 months and then I will only have my SWEET Jentry here to keep her old ma company...and then in 3 years, she'll be gone! I HATE to think about that though. General Conference sure snuck up on us...and I loved the talks and watched EVERY session too. I like to also listen to a talk a night on LDS.org after Conference because I hear things that I didn't hear the FIRST time and to hear the words of our living prophet and apostles is such an AWE inspiring privilege that I want to listen to their words until I've almost memorized the talks! We are LUCKY to be members of the TRUE church on this earth! Do you ever think about how lucky and happy we should feel and be?? I do! I would love to hear from anyone reading this blog to relate comments about their favorite talk or talks and what you specifically learned from the talk or talks...so PLZ share!! Don't be SHY! I would LOVE to hear!

It's time to sign off now! I've been writing for an hour now and it's almost 4:10 a.m. I enjoy seeing other's blogs and I thank you for reading my blog and following and listening about my family and my life! Thanks friends!! I hope ya'll have a GREAT week! I will post again in a week or 2. So, until then, I hope everyone has a NICE week and remember to CTR and SERVE others! I ALWAYS tell my kids...REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!! It's an IMPORTANT thing to know!! OHHH...and something Bishop Gardner counseled me on was 4 things to do to BE HAPPY from a talk given by Pres. Hinckley....

1. Go to ALL church meetings. That is Sunday School, Sacrament, and Relief Society/Priesthood!

2. Pay an honest and full tithe.

3. Pray to our Heavenly Father morning and night.

4. Feast on the scriptures DAILY.

**If the Bishop is reading this....because I have a menopausal memory, did I get those 4 points right from President Hinckley's talk? Please advise or add ur thoughts and what is that talk called and where can people find it?

The bishop got back to me on which talk it is: "Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts Unceasingly" in the May 2007 Ensign by Pres. Hinckley. A VERY GOOD READ!!!! :)

And I'll add, if I may, have regular FHE, family prayer, family scripture reading, and hold a parent to child counsel often with each child....and YES...even teenagers!! :)

In my family we also have a family game night and a family movie night each week...but that's NOT doctrine, by any means, JUST tradition!!! I believe EVERY family should make their OWN family traditions! Can anyone tell me some of UR family traditions??? :)

TTFN! :)

I usually leave with a quote or a scripture and tonight it'll be a scripture from our FHE last Monday on Temples. It's in Doctrine and Covenants (not D&C cuz I'm trying to get used to that) 97:15 - And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it.

If I don't get back on til after Easter, I hope EVERYONE has a WONDERFUL Easter Sunday!!

Love, Shelly