Addison's Internship

I am so proud of Addison and her accomplishments this school year. She has done such wonderful work her junior year and making some fantastic choices about her future. First semester she took a Health Science class at ATEC which prepares students for careers in the medical field. She is still debating either a career in nursing or dental hygiene. She did so well in this class last semester that she was chosen to participate in an intern program this semester and will earn honors credit for this internship. She was the only one chosen from her high school and I am so proud of her! The first part of the nine weeks she attends the Fine Arts Center one day a week during third block and the other 4 days she is at a dentist office. The last half of the semester she will attend the Fine Arts Center one day a week as before but she will spend the remaining 4 days at the hospital I work and will shadow with a nurse in different departments. She has very much enjoyed it thus far and has learned ALOT at the dental office already. It will be awesome having her at the hospital soon, too. Great job, Addison! I am just so proud of her and especially the fact that she attends seminary, keeps her grades up at school, maintains a job which she uses her income to pay car insurance and her cell phone, loves serving as President of her Laurel class at church with the Young Women's program, and still manages to have a good time with her family and friends. You're an awesome girl, Addison, and I love you so much. Keep up the good work -- you're amazing!

President Monson

Thomas S. Monson Named 16th Church President
Thomas S. Monson is the new President of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

with Henry B. Eyring as First Counselor and

Dieter F. Uchtdorf as Second Counselor.

Excel?? Excel!!

This morning I rushed around getting ready with my half-unpacked stuff from our beach trip and hurrying Addison up for seminary. Then I rushed to take Joey home when he got off night-shift at 7 am so I could drive his truck to Columbia for class. All the while I was at the brink of tears thinking of Erika and so grateful she's okay after the accident yet concerned about how she and Jack would work out their transportation until they can find another car. It's tough trying to work and go to school and keep it all together but if anyone can do it these two can -- they love each other so much. Plus, I've missed her and Jack so much lately.

Well--I almost felt like I'd run a marathon by the time I arrived for class. It was a computer class - Excel 2003 and it was a fast-paced tough class but I made it. I think I know more about it...at least I hope so...the formulas are what stumps me most but I'll get it the more I use the applications.

It made me think, though, about the title of this computer program -- EXCEL. Maybe its name describes it - it is an action verb and requires progress. Hmmmm...this made me think even more...wow, and then this light came on! I've been a little bit (actually a lotta bit) tough on myself lately in trying to figure some things out. (maybe it's a mid-life thing after my surgery -- or maybe hormones?!?! I don't know.)

Well, after such a great weekend at the conference and some meditation today I'm realizing more and more about this EXCEL thing. It really applies to life in general. I can let it get the best of me (things I've been trying to sort out, that is) or I can excel - at my own pace and in one thing at a time...My daddy told me on more than one occasion during my adolesent years, "There is a time and a season for everything, Valencia, maybe this is not the time." There is so much I want to learn, so many things I want to accomplish, and so many goals I want to achieve. Some are more realistic than others but some are very attainable. I love President Hinckley's advice in many talks he's given over the years to "Try a little harder to be a little better." That's all it takes! And the harder you try the easier it becomes to excel in whatever it is you're working on, be it making better grades, being a better friend, losing weight and getting in better shape or whatever it is that we want to achieve. And just like the computer program can make so many things easier to organize when you're dealing with different data the same is true in life. If we put first things first in our lives and in the correct order we will excel. Hmmm...I feel lots better now and to think I'd so dreaded going into downtown Columbia today for a class. I learned alot more than I'd expected!

Excel...I quite like that word...

"Yielding our hearts..."

This weekend was one of the best I've had in a very long time for myself. Yes, I missed Joey and he and I have a wonderful time every time we're together and I missed Addi-Boo and her company. However, occasionally everyone owes themselves some much needed "me" time and this one was mine. I was with some of the best friends imaginable and we were all gathered together with a common cause and with common interests -- every one of us. Friday my sister, Tiawanna, our dear friends, Katie and Kristi and I left out around 5:30 for Myrtle Beach for an LDS Single Adult Conference. To be honest after I'd committed to going I wasn't very excited about it but WOW was I so wrong! We had such an awesome time! Katie is just a riot to be with and she kept us laughing. Kristy was our driver and what a luxury that was and Tiawanna kept us happy, too, making sure we had plenty of drink and snack stops--gotta love those Peanut M & M's!!! Our condo we stayed in at Plantation Resort was fabulous! We checked in Friday night and socialized some then headed out on the town a little. It was fun. Then Saturday was the most awesome day from beginning to end. The seminars were wonderful. The theme of the conference was "Yielding Their Hearts unto God" and the classes centered around this theme. The first class was "Yeilding YOUR Heart unto God" taught by another dear friend of mine, Joyce Fields. We learned some interesting facts about the human heart (even had a quiz!) and then we compared these to our spiritual and emotional heart. It was great and we even made homemade Valentine hearts! The next class was "Joy in the Journey" by Marsha Jensen and it was just as good. We were given a handout with 25 examples of everyday things which bring joy -- many that we take for granted. Some included were: I really laughed this week about something, I can think of 5 things that I use and enjoy that weren't invented 60 years ago, I am looking forward to something, Jesus Christ is my saviou, my reedeemer, my advocate with the Father. There were lots more but it really made you think about the things that truly bring joy, not just temporary happiness. At the end of class she gave out Almond Joys relating it the scripture, "All men are that they might have joy..." The last class was "Yielding our heart through making and honoring sacred covenants" and it was very informative as well. Following the classes we had lunch and then gathered in the chapel to watch the funeral services of President Hinckley which was broadcast live via satellite from The Conference Center in Salt Lake City. What a beautiful service and oh, how our dear prophet will be missed yet I'm so happy that he is reunited with his sweet wife whom he has greatly missed since her passing. We were so thankful to have attended this service. Afterwards we went back to the resort to get ready for the evening festivities. There was a dinner and a dance which turned out to be really fun. Kristy met a really nice guy and we all just had a great time line dancing and just laughing and having fun together. The Charleston group there who are good friends of Telene are so much fun! I don't think I've danced that much in a very long time! Today we attended church and enjoyed the testimony meeting, had a HUGE brunch and headed back home. The weather was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS making it tough to leave the beach, but it was nice to back at home with Addison and also Chloe. (though I don't think either of them missed me very much - Addi enjoyed her little bit of independence this weekend!) This conference and get-away was the greatest uplift I've had in a while and it was great to do some thinking about life and to have my testimony strengthened of not only the gospel but also my love of my savior. During the dinner/dance I got a call from Erika and could immediately tell something was very wrong. I think my heart stopped for a moment as I heard and felt the fear in her voice and tears. She'd been in an accident just moments before. They've had blizzards in Idaho lately with lots of snow and ice. She was on her way from work only about a mile from her home when she must've hit a patch of ice and her car slid across the road hitting an oncoming Chevy Tahoe. Luckily she escaped with just the impact of the airbag and I'm sure that today she is very, very sore. Nothing is worse than having your child, your firstborn child I may add, very far away and in pain, sobbing with tears and not being there to hold her and comfort her. My heart that I'd been learning so much about all day was aching and I've never wanted to be someplace else so bad in all my life. However, her dear sweet mother-in-law, Joanne was there with her and my love for Joanne grew a million times. She is an angel and I am so thankful for her taking care of my daughter when I couldn't be there. I know she loves Erika and that means the world to me. Erika and Jack are now without a car at all but last night when I spoke to her before going to bed she said they had a ride lined up for church this morning. Their Honda is probably totalled but she is safe and that's what matters. After the call from her I went into a classroom there at the church and knelt and said my prayers before calling Ethan. Ethan then called his sister to check on her and to help console her -- they have a special bond. Erika said Jack had run by foot to get to her when she called him - he is such a wonderful husband to her. As was told in a talk I heard recently, "Trials are tailor made for our needs...Our Heavenly Father will not take away the trial but will make our sorrows and pain easier to bear when we yield our hearts to Him..." There are so many trials we face and sometimes it seems it's those who try and struggle the hardest that are faced with some of the toughest. We have been promised in the scriptures that we will not be given more than we can stand and it is through tests and trials that we build our strength and our testimonies grow. Erika Lindsay, I love you, I love you more that I can ever express in words. You are an amazing young woman and you are doing such good things. Always stand strong and immovable in your faith no matter the trials and you will be so blessed. I am so very thankful that you are okay...vehicles can be replaced -- things can always be replaced -- you are what is important. I love you and I know you'll be sore, but just get some rest and remember to say your prayers. And to Kristy, Tiawanna, and Katie-- I LOVE YOU ALL so much and thanks for one of the best weekends ..... we have to do it again soon!

P.S. I loved these prints hanging our room at the resort!

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

It's been Joey's birthday since Friday and it's been so fun!! We've had a great time. It all began Friday night when Joey had requested that he and I, his parents, my parents, and the kids go to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Joey and Daddy had enjoyed talking about the turnip greens and corn bread since I was in the hospital over by Cracker Barrel last month. Well, we all went and really enjoyed it! I had some great photos but somehow accidently erased a bunch of pictures from my digital camera and I've been just sick about it! Anyway, we had a great time laughing and talking and Daddy enjoyed trying to play the game on the table of just leaving one golf tee in the triangle...I think he got down to three. I'm not sure how many Mr. Hornsby ended up with - but it was close! Joey enjoyed his turnips and plenty of cornbread! Then they brought him blackberry cobbler for his birthday. We were stuffed! It was great to be out for dinner for his birthday with our parents.

Saturday he spent the day with his kids playing and all and I stayed home doing not-so-fun Saturday household chores. Addison was a lot of help and we got done pretty quickly. Then she and I went out for a late lunch/early dinner date before she went to work. Instead of attending the adult session of conference I went to Ginger and Shaun's and had a great time watching the boys so Tiawanna could go to the conference. It must have been inspiration for her to go and not me because Ginger was called as Stake Relief Society President! Wow! I was so happy when they called me after conference and I'm thrilled Tiawanna was able to be there when they announced it. In the meantime I so enjoyed spending time with Spencer, Andrew, and Carson. They are growing up so fast and they always teach me something. This time Spencer demonstrated bowling on their Wii and Andrew took his turn showing me how to play baseball--and they are so good at it!!! It was amazing! They have such awesome personalities! After playing, dinner, picking up toys, and getting ready for bed we all got onto the sofa and Andrew said, "MicMic, let's cuddle and watch Shrek 2" so that's what we did. It was so fun and I look forward to our next evening together.

Sunday, regional conference was so wonderful. The talks were a real inspiration to me and it seems I have questions I've been pondering answered at every conference. I especially enjoyed Sis. Mary N. Cook's talk in which she counseled members, especially the youth to "stand strong and immovable in our beliefs" and to refer often to the "For the Strenth of Youth" pamplet. She commented that she has the YOU circled in Youth because it really applies to all, not just the youth. We were reminded to pray, study the scriptures, and obey the commandments. There are so many challenges and temptations facing the youth and adults alike today in the Church and we need to stand strong have faith as we make righteous choices.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the remarks of Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles as he made reference to having a map to get to a particular destination so you may arrive without dangerous unknown detours. Again we were reminded to pray often, study our scriptures, and obey the commandments of our Heavenly Father. It was a marvelous talk with some priceless advice. It was just a wonderful conference and concluded with President Thomas S. Monson of the First Presidency being the closing speaker. He gave a wonderful talk as well and passed on the love our dear prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who just hours later passed on from this life at 7:00 PM Mountain time at the age of 97. It was so sad when Erika called me just after 10 PM our time to tell me the news she'd just received in Idaho. I couldn't believe it and I know the whole earth mourns the death of our dear prophet but yet I know he must be so happy to be reunited with his beloved wife who died about 3 or 4 years ago. He expressed in one of the last general conference addresses how he missed his dear companion and oh how sweet they were together. I know he must be rejoicing today! He will be so missed...

Joey's actual birthday was yesterday so after conference Addison and I went to his parents' home for dinner with them for his birthday. Mrs. Hornsby had prepared a delicious meal with all the trimmings and I took a birthday cake and sweet potato pies Joey'd requested for his birthday! He loves them! We ate and had such a relaxing afternoon visiting with his parents -- they are so sweet! Later we took Abby and Alex back to their mom's in the evening and Joey and I went to the hospital to visit Aunt Jean who has suffered another stroke. I pray she will recover soon and ask for your prayers as well. She has had such a hard time since Uncle Buddy passed away in August and I know she misses his so much. Please remember her in your prayers as well as her children and grandchildren.

Today I worked and I'd wanted to surprise Joey with something special for his birthday from just me so I told him just to be over at 6 PM. I'd written him a letter with the "43 things I love about you" anyway and gotten him a "Fender" guitar shirt from me and the kids and he liked it alot. Still I wanted to do something else so I rushed home from work and got ready and he and I went out to Olive Garden for the all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and breadsticks and some stuffed mushrooms to go along. All I can say is YUM! This is his favorite place and he enjoyed his dinner. Then our waiters came over and sang Happy Birthday to him and brought an oh-so-heavenly chocolate cake! Just what we needed - more birthday sweets!! I'd planned to take him to the movies to see "Bucket List" following dinner but it didn't work out. We ate and laughed and ate some more. Time passed and got away past the movie time which was a good thing - I'm positive that after eating that dinner I would have snoozed through that movie! Ha! Instead we went to Ross's and browsed to try and walk off some dinner! Tomorrow is back to the healthy eating and the gym -- these week long birthdays and goodies aren't so good for my waistline. (it is there but just a little covered up at the present time! I'm working on it, though, spring's just around the corner!)

It's been a good weekend all the way into Monday for Joey's birthday yet sad for the passing of President Hinckley. I will remember Joey's birthday real well and the 27th of January, 2008 for both reasons. President Hinckley is probably my favorite prophet of my lifetime simply because I feel like I've grown so much in the gospel during the past 10 years and that's about how long he's been our prophet. (I think since 1995???) I learned so much from him and he just had the best personality about him. The youth of the church loved him immensely and he related to them so well. His quick wit and sense of humor were great traits he also possessed and made it so fun to listen to his words. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he was called of God to be our prophet, seer, and revelator in this day. His strong testimony of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will live on in the hearts and minds of so many for many years to come. He truly loved and taught the teachings of our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ.

I need to call it a night - it's really late and 5:30 comes pretty quickly in the morning. Sorry I wrote such a book tonight and if you're still reading this you must be truly be a friend and hope you're not too bored. I just had a lot I wanted to remember about the past few days and this blog is really more my journal than anything else and a way to share my everyday life especially with my children who now live away. Thank you for visiting and I hope you all have a good night's rest... sweet dreams.

A week of birthdays...

It's been a busy month of birthdays! Seems January is becoming more like September. In our circle of family and friends September is jammed packed with birthdays - especially in the family! It's always a fun-filled month because it seems we spend alot of time with our family making it extra special. Yes, it seems this month is just as busy and that's a good thing. However, I have a small dilema - my sweetheart's birthday is tomorrow, the 27th and I still don't know what to get him!! I had written myself a note with one idea on a post-it at work and had it on my desk at work yesterday. I was going to do the "43 Things I love about you" thing made into a card and framed. (OOPS! Don't tell him I told his age--he still thinks he's going to be 29 again! Ha!) Well, my dear came to the hospital yesterday to have lunch with me and saw the note on my desk and we had a good laugh. We had a great time having lunch but now my one idea is gone. I decorated his truck at his job for one birthday and he loved that and then one year I covered the ENTIRE inside of his truck with hearts with mushy sayings while he was at work and he was so shocked when he got off and had some buddies walking out with him! It was so funny!! Actually I think Erika and I did that twice - once for Valentines Day. Any other ideas????? I'm about out of time and wanted to find just the right thing...

Rainy Saturdays and Cold Sundays...

I LOVE rainy weekend days and cold Sundays in the wintertime. In one sense it almost forces me to stay in and accomplish some much needed chores yet on the other it's one of those natural luxuries of life that makes me appreciate HOME so much! Yesterday it was great to catch up all the laundry, get most of the housework done, and Chloe got a good bath. Some days it's just great to stay in your pj's and fuzzy socks all day long and yesterday was the day--and it WAS great! I finally showered and got dressed around 5:30, went out to vote, and went grocery shopping with Ethan in the brisk weather. Ethan has been holding out a secret with me and last night he shared with me this secret -- HE IS A GREAT LITTLE CHEF! I told him to get what he needed in the store and he prepared a wonderful dinner for our family, Joey, and Joey's kids last night. It was really good! (I was so happy that he finally got home this weekend - it'd been about 3 weeks since he'd been home and it's wonderful to have him around a couple days.) After the great meal we enjoyed watching "Ratatouille." I love these kinds of days.
Today was beautiful, too. Church was really good. The talks given in Sacrament Meeting were great reminders for all. One reference was to Julie Beck's talk given in conference and was a good reminder about the time we spend with our children - quality time. It seems we get so wrapped up in life sometimes that we don't take enough time for the most important things -- those things that create lasting memories and make the most difference not only in our lives but also in the lives of those we love the most. What will my children remember? That's the thought I had as I pondered the remarks today... My goal this year is to be a better person both spiritually and physically. Then hopefully the mentally and socially will be better as well. I also pondered the thought of living my religion...Do my peers know what I believe and if I'm the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints they ever meet have I left a good impression or have I let myself and them down? Am I striving to be more like Jesus everyday in my words and my actions? I am very short sometimes and not very patient and this is NOT the person I want to be remembered by. I have a quote by President Hinckley on a plaque I made and it says, "Try a little harder to be a little better." Another one I made is a quote by Abraham Lincoln and it reads, "Whatever you are - be a good one." These two just about sum it up -- my work is so cut out for me!
Tomorrow is my son-in-law Jack's birthday and I hope he has a fantastic one! He has spent his last two birthdays here in South Carolina with us so Jack, I'll really miss you tomorrow, and I wish now I'd sent you a cholocate/raspberry birthday cake! Not sure it'd taste the same after a few days through the postal service! Ha! I hope you and Erika have a great day and that your birthday will be the best!! I hope your package arrives soon. Happy Birthday, son, we love you!
Happy Week to everyone!