never an unanswered prayer

"My Son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.
And then, if thous endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
-(D&C 121: 7-8)Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me. As you know from my previous post I have been feeling pretty down in the dumps. I think we all get this way and I definitely had a continuous case of the Mondays. But I went to bed often praying for a better understanding and for comfort in these troubling times. Today prayers were answered. Daniel and I missed our ward meeting because my family was visiting but we were able to attend the later meeting. And what are all the talks on today?- Trials and how they are blessings in disguise. Is Heavenly Father amazing or what? Not only did he answer my prayers for a better understanding but he gave me comfort through the speakers today. One of the little girls in the family that spoke on trials referred to them as "swamp gas."- Yes, swamp gas. She went on to say that even though they might really stink they are a natural occurrence in life. How perfectly true is that? It solidified my feelings that maybe these trials are a learning opportunity and in the end they will give me a better appreciation for my many blessings in life. The father of the family said that sometimes Heavenly Father gives us trials because he sees that we are ready progress further and as we all know progression can be trying.-- I like to think of all my troubles this way. The mother stated we should not be depleting our emotional bank on the petty things we cannot change like stupid drivers or a poor exam but rather we should try to create humor out of our trials. I believe her examples was, "if a car cuts you off just recognize that he is probably trying to get your attention because he thinks you are really ridiculously good-looking." In short, there are never unanswered prayers. I feel so much better after today and I think I can stop complaining for the time being ;o) So lets change the subject?...

I have been trying to be Ms.Suzy home-maker ever since Laura Davis left my home! Plus, I have really bad anxiety and stress due to my lack of control when stressful situations arise- which I am finding occurs quite frequently in nursing school and crafts make it all better. After my last visit to the valley I was completely inspired by Becky and her valentines day topiary. It was very neat, made with all these pink and red candies. I loved it. When she told me she had made it, I thought, "I can do that." And so I did. Not exactly the same but my own-corky version of one! I figured instead of doing one for Valentines, St-Patty's, or even Easter that maybe I should just do one for spring? And guess what? I love it...


I have also been trying to sew. Turns out I suck at it. I guess we all can't be good at everything. On a brighter note, however, I am pretty darn good with a hot glue gun! Professional even ;o) So I have resorted to making little-girl hair clips. They are still kind of amateur but in time they'll hopefully be fabulous and I can share them with all your children!

I also was inspired by this sign I saw hanging in a really expensive store in Tempe. It was clearly for a child's room and read, "color outside the lines." Again I thought, "I can do that." And so I did. It is not complete in that I want to glue little alligator clips to it so that when Jaxon starts coloring for momma she can display is art in a cool-cool way by clipping them to this plaque.


Other than that Daniel and I are just really excited to be leaving to California in a week! It was a last minute idea but I am so glad we decided to do it because I could really use the break from it all. Daniel probably could, too. We are staying in a way horrible hotel but that is okay because it'll be part of the adventure. Sunday check in, 6 Flags and Mideval Times is on the Monday agenda, Tuesday at Disneyland, Wednesday at Seaworld (possibly), and Thursday home. I hope it is every bit of fun as I imagine it will be. Daniel always makes things fun, he is just the greatest thing EVER. And on that note I'll end things with a very funny Daniel moment:
As you know I love American Idol. Daniel, on the other hand, loathes American Idol- especially, Paula Abdul (who doesn't)? Anyway, I was watching on the the contestants sing Meatloaf's, "I Would Do Anything For Love," while Daniel is sitting next to me enthralled in his new book. And as this contestant is singing this song, I am listening to the the lyrics thinking, "wow, what is so bad that this guy won't do that he would do all those other awful things?" And so logically I ask Daniel his opinion.
Laura: "This song is so weird. He keeps saying he'd do all these horrible things like go to hell and back but he won't do THAT... I wonder what THAT is."
Daniel without looking up from his book, without cracking a smile, or changing the tone of his voice states..
"Share a dr.pepper, duh."
And that ladies and gentleman is why Daniel Opfel is the coolest kid I know and I'll love him everyday from now until all time.
I Would Do Anything For Love


<3Laura