Quote of the Day

"One time I became so interested in the speed of the work [of translating the Book of Mormon] that was accomplished by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith that I asked someone to research some of the other translations of scriptures for me to see how purely remarkable this work was. I found out that in translating the books of Moses from Hebrew to Greek, six men were called from each of the 12 tribes to perform the labor. Their project required 72 days, or 5,184 man days. Jerome was commissioned by the pope to translate the Bible from Hebrew to Latin; he worked on the project for 23 years, or 8,395 days. In the commission given by King James to translate the English version of the Bible from several other translations to what the king hoped would be the perfect English version, he selected 54 men who worked on the project for 4 years, or 78,840 man days."Now contrast that to the translation of the Book of Mormon, which for all intents and purposes started on 7 April 1829 and was completed by 30 June 1829-two men working 85 days, or 170 man days. It was truly a miracle. It could only have been done under the direction of the Lord."This great book is one tangible evidence that we have of the call of the Prophet Joseph Smith to bring about the long-awaited restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and again establish the Lord's Church on earth. According to prophecy, this time its establishment was to endure (see Isa. 2:2-3; Dan. 2:44). This being true, the Lord would carefully prepare his Church leadership to give continuity to the work."

L. Tom Perry, "By the Hands of His Prophets," Ensign, Aug. 1998

For the complete article click here.

A little inspiration from the weekend.

“I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel was never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand."

From a discourse given by Joseph Smith on June 11, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Since I was in Boston during General Conference, I've been studying the Conference addition of the Ensign. It always seems like particular talks were written just for me.

This one in particular speaks to me...

More Diligent and Concerned at Home

Could I Get About 10 More Hours In the Day Please??

Welcome Friday.

I could have sworn it was still Wednesday. Busy week!

Our new little townhouse is still a maze of boxes. I'm pretty much living out of my suitcase since I can't quite find any of my cold weather clothes. Oh well.

I have my kitchen and bathroom unpacked and useable. Yay me! This weekend's task... find the other three rooms. That, and finish decorating for Halloween. It's all about priorities. I mean, we only have our door and windows decorated. It's October 9th people and I haven't put up my Halloween trees! I know what you're thinking. Cut me some slack alright? I've had a few things on my plate lately.

Here are a few fun highlights from the week...

Baby Chace is finally here!

She is gorgeous! I can't wait to snuggle her. I just need to get over this sicky thing and loose the cough.

Court again yesterday.

The Juvenile case is closed. Which means beastly Laina, the guardian ad litem, and annoying Chris, the caseworker, are out of our lives. Joy!! Celia's dad has actually been pretty decent about things lately. I chalk it up to nothing short of a miracle. He's still pressing for more time with Celia and wants it formalized when we enter our agreement into district court. As it is, he's not taking her the full amount as it is. I'm not worried. Things actually are settling quite nicely. Now, I may be jinxing things by writing that. But, I can still hope, right?

I supervised my first Enrichment Night last night.

Randee was obviously a little indisposed, so I filled in. It went well. But, Randee was missed. She is so much better at these things than me! I called my brother in a panic about 20 minutes before it started because I realized I couldn't set up all the tables and chairs alone. Thank you Chace! You are a lifesaver.

Celia is sleeping quite contentedly in her own bed!

It's been a little bit of a struggle. I've spoiled her the past few years and out of pure laziness let her sleep with me. Heck, it's been just her and I for so long it was always much easier just to plop her in with me and snooze. Things are a bit different now. She's given us a little resistance, but not much. And aside from sneaking in with us in the wee hours of the morning after a bad dream, she's pretty much sleeping in her own bed all night.

And last but not least... married life in WONDERFUL!!!

Dan takes care of Celia and I in the most tender of ways. Take Wednesday night. We had my little nephew over while the baby was being born and he and Celia were running a muck. Then my neighbors came over for a visit with their three kids and I'm running around trying to coordinate last minute enrichment details. Plus the phone is ringing off the hook. Dan's worked a long day, but comes home and instantly pitches in without me having to ask. Thursday night too. While I was at the church he finished my grocery shopping and cleaned up my mess in the kitchen. Then he joined me at the church latter to help me clean up, even though the playoffs were on. I could go on. And on. And on. My husband is a saint!! He is always thinking of our needs first. I love that man!

Mrs Soliz

p.s. I'm posting pictures and our little travel log soon. Promise!

Yikes! What a surprise!

What a weekend! I was surprised Saturday afternoon to get a call from the bishop and even more surprised to receive a new calling. Relief Society 1st counselor. I was stunned, thrilled, and terrified all at once! I always get music callings or primary. Primary is definitely my comfort zone. I love those little guys! Aside from doing the Relief Society newsletter, I have never held a calling with the ladies. This is all new territory for me. Scary new territory! I'm not a super social person. So, I guess my Father in Heaven needs me to come out of my shell to help the sisters in my ward. My setting apart blessing was so beautiful I was blessed with strength and the abilities to serve the sisters. I was also blessed that my family would be blessed through my service. To be honest, the time commitment is the one thing that makes me leery of the calling. As it is, I don't have a ton of time with my sweet Celia. I do have a testimony of my blessing though. Already circumstances have changes to allow me some extra time with Celia this week. Many thanks to my Heavenly Father!

Another special thing this weekend? Dan was able to participate in my setting apart, which is something he's never done before. Having him there to share that special experience will be a memory I will always hold dear!

I love Primary!!

Love it! Love it! Unfortunately, that's not my calling. But, I am my mom's official back up sub when she goes out of town. So, I get to lead the music every few months. I love being there with the kids. They are amazing spiritual and I love hearing their comments and laughter. It's even more fun now that Celia is in Sunbeams. She is always so exited to be there and answer questions. Yesterday she was really on one. I couldn't help but sit in the back and just laugh. She invited just about every person to her birthday party and probably announced about a hundred times that she was turning four. My favorite little Celia saying though came when the teacher help up a picture of the temple and asked the children how it helps us to go to the Celestial Kingdom. Celia blurts out, "My mom found a handsome boy and she's going to get married to him!". That kind of answers the question! Oh that kid!

Rumor Mill

I wouldn't normally blog about something like this. But, it's bugged me for a few days. So I just want to throw it out there, not accuse anyone and set the record straight.
A couple that I really like in our ward had been interested in a pair of Dan's Dodger tickets. He has season tickets and is way cool with sharing them. So, he got the date of the game from the couple and did quite a bit of switching around to get the tickets for the day they needed. Normally it wouldn't be a big problem. But, since he is moving to Utah he split his tickets three ways with some friends. His friend had the tickets Dan promised the couple. So it took quite a bit of work to get the tickets. Unfortunately the couple's plans changed and they won't be using the tickets. Dan's nice, and so it was no big deal. We thought that was the end of it until I heard the rumor spreading around the ward. The rumor is something like Dan was going to charge the couple quite a bit of money for the tickets when he had promised them for free and that he backed out at the last minute and wouldn't let them have the tickets. Ouch. It makes Dan out to be a really stingy, dishonest person the way the rumor is told. Anyone who knows Dan knows that couldn't be further from the truth! I just want the rumor to stop. Dan will be moving here in less than two weeks and is planning on attending my ward. He really likes it there and we have a lot of friends. It's just not cool that this rumor is circulating. Especially since he's not here for people to judge his character for themselves. I hope this post doesn't offend anyone. I hope people understand that it's hard to move in to a new ward and make friends. Dan hasn't had much experience with family wards. Since joining the church, he's been in singles wards for the most part. I want so badly for this transition to be positive for him! After all, he's giving up his job, friends and family to move here to Utah to be with Celia and I. I don't know many other guys so willing to make the kind of sacrifices he has made for us. He is truly an amazing man! I am blessed beyond measure to have him in my life!

The Talk

Sunday was the bid day... Celia's first talk in Primary! We rehearsed about twenty times on Saturday and she was super excited. Of course as soon as we got to church she wanted to give her talk. I kept having to explain that we needed to wait just a little longer. I so wish I could have videotaped her little talk. (I'm just not sure that would have been so appropriate!?) The second middle exercises started she was on the stand, scriptures in hand and being "so reverent". Unfortunately, she was sitting cross legged and I had to whisper to her to keep her legs down. The whole primary could see her underwear! Oops! And she kept 'whispering' and gesturing to me, "Mom, it's time! Come up! Mom, hurry. It's time!" And she kept waving and winking to her friends and family in the audience. I was dying. It was like everyone was there just to see her! (Maybe, they were??) She did such a good job. She was confident and said all the words clearly and the kids all listened. I'm so proud! That's my girl!
p.s. I chickened out on having her talk on the Atonement. I know, I know. I should have let her. She talked on families. It was really cute, I think.

Little girl, big topic

The little mini is so excited... She gets to give her first ever talk in Primary next Sunday! Mind you, she's wanted to give a talk for going on two years now. A microphone and an entire room full of children and adults waiting on her ever word is Celia's absolute dream come true. In preparation for the big event, I asked her what she thought she wanted to talk about. She thought about it for a few moments, and then replied, "the Atonement!". Wow. Big topic! That's my Celia for you.

I am SO loving Christmas this year!

Last year... well, it was tough. But, already, this year is more than making up for everything! I am just so grateful to be surrounded by my family and friends. And Celia is super fun this year! She's excited about all the little Christmas activities and way into the being on the 'good list' thing.

Saturday, was our ward Christmas breakfast. Way fun! The food was great and Celia had a blast. She got to be Mary in the little nativity. I wish I would have gotten a picture of her staring moment. She lovingly cradled the baby Jesus and positively glowed. With the look on her face, you could practically read her little mind. "Yay! Everyone is looking at ME! Aren't I just the cutest Mary EVER?!" Oh, my little Celia... After her little production, she had a ton of fun running a muck with all her friends. It just makes me laugh. Wherever she is, she seems to be in the center of a group of kids. She is such the little social butterfly. She definitely didn't get that from me!

Celia was totally excited to see Santa. She kept saying, "Mom, look a really big shadow. He's coming!" When Santa did finally make his appearance, just guess who was the first to greet him? Yep. My little one. It went something like this. "Hi Santa! I'm Celia. I want all the pollies and ponies for Christmas. I'm on the good list!" I think she rehearsed it! And that was before she got to sit on his lap. I thought for sure she'd get nervous. But, nope. She grabbed her best friend Savannah's hand and marched right up to him. So cute!!

Saturday, we went to get a few more Christmas trees. I think we now have 7. Celia picked out a little tiny one that she just fell in love with. So we made it a bird tree. We coated pine cones with peanut butter and birdseed. Then strung up some cranberries, oranges and apples. It smells great. I just hope the little birds eat it. Celia will be heartbroken if they don't.

Sunday was a great day. I so needed the amazing spiritual uplift I got at church. The testimonies were so beautiful! I just love hearing others share their faith and experiences. They all voiced things that are so dear to my own heart. And the Relief Society lesson was so what I needed to hear. And so beautifully delivered. I am so fortunate to be in the ward I am. And I just got my new visiting teaching assignment. I'm so excited!! I can't wait to get to know my ladies!

Celia decorated her first gingerbread house Sunday night. It looks darling! I let her put the candy on. And she did such a great job. She's all into patterns lately. So she made little patterns all around the house. That, and she ate about 5 pounds of candy. Every time I turned around she was stuffing another candy something in her mouth. Oh well. Gumdrops are a good dinner, right?

After such a busy weekend, I was worried that Celia would wake up crabby. Mondays are usually pretty hard for her. She surprised me though. She quietly got out of bed and came to find me when she woke up. She sweetly said, "I had really good dreams last night." And she slept the whole night in her bed. So mommy got a good nights sleep too!

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October Conference!!

I love General Conference! How is it that so many of those talks were written just for me? Ok, maybe not just for me. But, they were definitely answers to prayers! And I so needed that spiritual uplift! Things are a little tough right now. I really needed to hear those messages of hope. I so needed that validation that there are others suffering and that I can affect positive change. I think I have it bad. But, there are so many others suffering more than I can even comprehend. My goal? Focus on serving others. There has to be good that I can do.
I was really proud of Celia. I totally didn't think she was listening during the last session. One of the speakers mentioned Lamen and Lemuel. She pipes up, "Mom I know Lamen and Lemuel!" and a bit later "Mom! Alma! I know him too!" She was so proud and I was too! We read scripture most every night. I think most of it goes right over her head. But, I'm always so surprised that she totally gets it. Right now we're reading 3 Nephi. Before we start, she asks me who the good guys are tonight, the Lamanites or the Nephites. And she has her favorite stories already. She loves the "heroes", Captain Moroni, Abinidi, Alma and her favorite, Nephi. But, her most favorite is when Jesus blesses the children. We've read that part several times. She always talks about when she sees Jesus and what she's going to do. Like sit on his lap and tell stories. Wow. Her faith and tender spirit is such an example to me!