Book of Mormon Challenge

President Hinckley often stressed our making the Book of Mormon part of our lives. He was 97 when he passed away, and we would like to celebrate his life and teachings by reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days.


President Gordon B. Hinckley on the Book of Mormon
"I take in my hand the Book of Mormon. I read its words. I have read Joseph Smith's explanation of how it came to be. To the unbelieving it is a story difficult to accept, and critics for generations have worn out their lives writing books intended to refute that story and to offer other explanations than the one given by Joseph the Prophet. But to the open-minded, this critical writing has only stimulated them to dig deeper; and the more deeply they dig, the greater the accumulation of evidence for the validity of Joseph Smith's story. Still, as has been demonstrated for a hundred and fifty years, the truth of the Book of Mormon will not be determined by literary analysis or by scientific research, although these continue to be reassuring. The truth about the origins of the Book of Mormon will be determined today and tomorrow, as it has been throughout the yesterdays, by reading the book in a spirit of reverence and respect and prayer."



I have joined the 28,000 others in the challenge of reading the Book of Mormon is 97 days in memory of President Hinckley. Here's a link to the site if you are interested in joining in.



http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/

Oops, I forgot some resolutions

After reading my friend Sarah's blog, I realized that I forgot to put some stuff on my list (inspired by Sarah of course)


Health is going to be the major focus of 2008 for the Larson family. We would like to exercise more than we do and lose a couple extra pounds gained from these wonderful years of marriage.
I too need to eat more fruits and veggies daily (sometimes I go days without consuming either!)

Financially- all I can say is that we would like some more financial freedom this year. We hope to go on a vacation and finally take our "honeymoon" this year.

Be happier- to define this more so you don't think I am not happy. I don't want to let stuff get to me like I used to in the past. So what if my students are little rug rats one day or my boss doesn't know what the heck she is doing or my parents act like children... its worth getting so stressed out about. Let the good times roll I guess.

Gordon B. Hinckley

Our beloved Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints passed away on Sunday January, 27th.

We thank thee o God for a Prophet to guide us in these latter days. We thank thee for sending the Gospel to lighten our minds with his rays........

We thank thee for every blessing bestowed by thy bountious hand.

The best dog in the world!

We have the best dog in the world. He is so playfun and loving. I have really enjoyed having him as a companion while Dennis is at work at night. He cuddles on the couch with me at watched T.V, lets me chase him around the house and is catching on to some of the training and such Dennis and I have been doing with him.

We took him to the vet this last week and all he wanted to do was play with the other dogs while he waited. Now one thing you need to know about Monster is that he only barks when something is wrong and never wines. While we were waiting all he did was wine because he wanted to play. It was so cute.

Happy New Year

What a better way to end the year with a nice coating of snow. Too bad it wasn't here a week ago for Christmas. Oh well, better luck next year I guess. 2007 was a very interesting year that brought many ups and downs. As usually it is time for the New Years Resolutions. So here goes....

1. I would like to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover TWICE this year. I would like to make it a deep study- doing more than just my normal daily reading.

2. I would like to workout daily. This has made it to the list more than once and every year I start off strong and then fall short. I realize that as I am getting older, it is only going to benefit me in the coming years.

3. I would like to constantly be in the middle of reading a book. I ended 2007 doing well but there was some time in between books.

4. I would like to make more friends at our new ward. There are alot of close knit familes in our ward that don't really extend a hand out to those who are new. I want to be like Lindsey was when she moved into our old ward- take the lead and be the one to introduce yourself and make friends with them.

5. I would like to be a better wife. I know this sounds weird, don't get me wrong, I am a good wife. I just feel like sometimes I don't listen to Dennis when he talks about things as much as I should. I just kind of having this rushing mode all the time. I guess I can contribute that to my always being in fast forward mode. I want to make it a weekly thing to have date night and do out and do stuff or just stay home without any distractions and just talk. I want to just stop for a moment and appreciate the time I get to spend with my husband instead of just taking it for granted that he is always there.

6. I would like to adopt our first child by the end of 2008. This is a pretty long and sometimes drawn out process. I am confidant that the Lord will see things through for us.

7. Keep in contact with family members more than we did this past year.

8. I would like to improve my relationship with my parents.

9. I would like to improve my personal relationship with Heavenly Father.

I know there are may more things I could add to this list but we will leave it at that for now. Here's to a New Year!

It's a Boy!!!

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Larson family. This was by far the best Christmas present and I have ever received. I finally talked Dennis into getting a dog and I don't think we could have found a better one. A friend of a friend of mine was getting ride of their dog due to a few reasons (pregnant wife, small house...) I just happened to get an email from my friend on Thursday night about a dog that someone was giving away (this goes along with the husbands great gift of getting things for free.) So Friday night we went to go see the dog. I fell in love instantly. The dog is trained, well behaved and so loveable, not mention has a great personality. It just the last 48 hours we have had him, we have seen alot. He likes to put his front paws on the bathroom counter and look at himself in the mirror. We turned the music on last night and he stood in front of the speakers and tilted his head and just looked at them. He loves to dive over our couch and bed. We let him sleep with us last night and he hogged the bed. He slept in this morning until 10 and we had to drag him out of bed after we got up. Sorry to those of you who were waiting for the moment when the Larsons would no longer be able to sleep in- it doesn't look like that is going to be a problem!

The little boy who owned him named him Monster so we are keeping his name since he is 6 months already and knows his name. He is a pure bread blue american pit bull terrier. He is a really great dog- people are afraid of pit bulls because they have a rep of being mean dogs but its all in the way the owner treats the dog. Monster is a great dog and we are glad to have him in the family. We took him on a walk tonight with our neighbor and their dog and they loved it. They chased each other through the field and had a blast.

Christmas 2007

We had a very busy Christmas. First, Shanna and Deanna spent Friday,Saturday and Sunday night with us. We went to dinner, did some last minute shopping, made cookies, and watched movies. On Sunday, we went to our old ward and then off to the Cilleys to have Christmas with Donnas side of the family. All 20 of us were there. We exchanged gifts, ate dinner and then were surprised by Joseph arriving home from the Marines a day early! On Christmas Eve- we lounged around the house and then went to see a late night movie with Joseph and Andrea. We saw I am Legend- very interesting... not sure it was worth the time. Christmas morning we went to Donnas and opened our gifts, at breakfast and then headed over to Uncle Dales to eat some more. Dennis was very surprised to get the ladder he asked for from his mom along with a remote control VW bug. It was fun to see the 3 brothers outside Christmas morning racing them down the street.
We really enjoyed spending time with the family and remembering the true meaning of Christmas.

Also, Dennis and I started a tradition when we got married. We didn't have alot of ornaments for our first Christmas many years ago. We decided back then to buy each other an ornament every year. This year Dennis decided to be funny and bought me the biggest, ugliest, yet funny ornament I have ever seen. Just look at the picture and you will agree with me.

More books please!

I LOVE to buy new books. I enjoy snuggling up with a blanket, a cup of hot cocoa and a good book. 2 of my students gave me very generous gift cards to Borders and I went to buy some new books today. The last 2 weeks Of December at work are "child care" weeks. That pretty much means there is no curriculum and just babysitting. So, today I decided to do a movie marathon with the kids. We watched movies from 10:30a.m- 4:30p.m- stopping to eat snacks and lunch of course! The kids really enjoyed the relaxation and I really enjoyed reading 14 chapters of The Wednesday Letters- I am almost finished.

On to my Borders adventure.... I could stay in that store for HOURS- I guess its a good thing I was on my lunch break and was on a time limit. I went in the store with $60 in gift cards to spend. I am proud to say I only spent $30 of it today. I want to go see the movie P.S I Love You- we didn't make it there this weekend so I bought the book instead. I also bought- Family Wanted, Stories of Adoption- a topic that interests me at the present time. P.S I love you is a 500 page book and Family Wanted has 300. Let's see how long it takes me to finish the two. Now where is my hot cocoa?

21 Pieces of Advice to Never Forget

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. Y ou might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE . Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say "God bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson .

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

All I want for Christmas is........

1. A puppy

2. A new job

3. For all of our bills to go "POOF"

Called to Serve..... in Young Womens!

So I was called as the Young Womens advisor for our ward. I am absolutely thrilled! I am very excited to get to work with the youth and fufill a part of my patriarichal (sp?) blessing. Apparently, I am the only advisor in the ward- I am looking forward to learning all about Young Womens- given the fact that I joined the church after I would have been able to be a part of the program. I went to Young Women in Excellence tonight and all I can say is WOW! This is really where the Lord wants me to be. It feels so right!

The dark side....

With fall here and winter fast approaching, I decided to do something drastic and change my hair color. This time I let Dennis pick the color and my good friend Lindsey worked her magic. This is what she came up with. She is brillant!

Domestication...

I have decided that I need to do more things like sewing, gardening, and crafting. So a few weekends ago not only was I crafty in creating a "family board" at Enrichment night but I managed to plant some tulip bulbs in our front walk way and I will be starting on sewing a blanket this week. I promised myself that I would start scrapbooking before the end of the year- not sure if that's a good idea for the busy holiday season but I am daring!

I did it!!!!

I finally read an entire book! I was in the midst of reading like 5 different books and I finally finished one. I think I was able to do it because I find the topic very interesteing right now. This book, Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother is amazing! I really enjoyed reading it and it made alot of sense. Now if I could only finish Accepting Joy & Wednesday Letters.........

Plesant Surprise

I came home from work on Tuesday to a painted guest bathroom!! I was planning to spend my Saturday at home painting it but since Dennis was home all day he decided to surprise me and give me my Saturday. He said he didn't want me to have to spend my day off painting when he could do it while I was at work! He earned some extra brownie points. Now its on to the kitchen... or maybe I will make him do it while I am at work!

First Field Trip!!

We took our first field trip last week!! We visited Kuipers Apple Orchard. We got to see how they make cider, eat apples, learn how to pick apples and take a hayride. It was a great day and my kids were perfect- being 4 years old and their first trip ever!

Adoption

We have some exciting news, we have begun the adoption process. We will keep you posted on how everything goes. Hopefully in the next year we will have a new born baby :)

Another dose of depression

So, since no one really reads my blogs any more I feel that posting the way I feel has helped me cope with the issues in my life and so what if someone else reads it. I hate writing and blogging helps me feel better- it's a free form of therapy!
I have gone about my life so far as a go getter- I am abitious I have been told. If there is something I want, I do what I can to get it, and 99.9% of the time, I achieve it. But lately I feel that no matter how hard I try at certain things, life is out to get me. Let's just say at this point, the eternities are looking so much better to me as each say passes and one more thing adds to Tara's list of "take it in the gut!" Yesturday during my break at work, I wrote down names of friends of mine that are expecting and their due dates so that I would remember.(There are over 10 women on this list). Those friends that are expecting really don't talk to me about their pregnancies because they think it will upset me- I appreciate every willing attempt to do so but it feels like it only make matters worse- my best friend is amongst this list of ladies and she has been distant lately. I have been trying to get over the fact that Dennis and I can't have children of our own but everytime I get to a good feeling point something happens and then the feelings come back again. They are unexplainable- the pain is horrible. I feel like changing my profession because some days when I am at work playing with my students it makes me feel worse- it's like a daily reminder of my problems. Then again it's nice because I get to be a part of their lives 5 days a week.
I want to get a dog but Dennis wants to wait until we get a house with a yard so he doesn't have to get up in the middle of the night and walk it since we can't just open the door and let the dog out into the yard. I feel like every mothering opportunity has been ripped away from me- this is a basic instinct that so despretley wants to come out- this is the type of person I was born to be. How would someone who wants such a big family be denied that?
I just wake up everyday asking myself it today is going to be ok or if one more thing is going to get added to my list of things that suck in my life. Oh to add to it for the week- Dennis quit his job and is currently looking for another one- add the wait of that to my shoulders- it just seems like everytime I get the chance to get a head in life something comes along that puts me 10 steps back.

Two Years

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary by going away for the weekend to the place where we spent our wedding night- Embassey Suites in Oakbrook. We spent Saturday walking around the Oakbrook mall- it was nice to have Dennis shop with me- that hasn't happened since April! We had dinner at our favorite restaurant- Maggianos. It was so good! We finished the evening with a dip in the pool, a few movies, and a midnight run to the gas station for some late night munchies!

This was the view from our room on the second floor. It was great to see one of my favorite places- Chicago!

The best part about staying at Embassey Suites is the complimentary cooked to order breakfast. You can get omletes, french toast, pancakes, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, muffins, bagels, all kinds of fruit, and tons of juices. This was half the reason we decided to stay here again. Here is a preview of my breakfast- sorry you can't here the bag pipes playing in the background!!