Sweet Baby James - Our Newest Nephew

Ok friends....I'm back. I think. I am going to do my best to spend a few minutes blogging every week. We just have such an exciting life you know, it's hard to have time to do it and to know what to include, and you know I have a tendency to be long winded, but I'll do my best to keep it short.

In June, my sister Hannah had a baby boy!!!! Hurray! His name is James Michael Dimond, and he is adorable.
Congratulations Michael and Hannah! (Also Congrats to Michael for just accepting a great job offer from Microsoft in Seattle, WA. How cool is that!? Very. This wonderful family of three will be off to become Washingtonians some time this winter.)

What a cutie! Yes, I did frame these pictures and put them up in my house. And below is a picture of James and Aunt Emily, the Baby Snatcher; I am proud of that title.

I love being an Aunt!!! :) This is a more recent photo (about 2 months old). He has Hannah's dimple in his chin.

A Night at the Cleveland Orchestra

On Saturday, April 30th, Seth took me to see the Cleveland Orchestra for the first time. We loved it!!! Ton Koopman, the world-famous conductor of Baroque music directed Bach's Suite No. 1 in C major, Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks and Haydn's Symphony No. 104 ("London") in D major. Every piece was excellent, and it was so amusing to watch this brilliant and eccentric conductor. I wanted to clap after every movement, but you are supposed to wait until the end. But I thought every time it was the end! So I just waited until many other people clapped. I was just mesmerized by the beautiful sound, and by each instrument. It made me long to play the cello again (but I must first master the piano, so I have a while before that will happen). I bought my fancy dress to wear to the orchestra over a year ago, and finally we went! It was a gorgeous night, and I love the spring flowers and trees. What a date. Seth had even helped me go shopping for all my gardening supplies, and helped me garden all afternoon. What a husband I have! I am so in love.

The blessings of the gospel and the worldwide church

Because we are in the process of changing to a new ward (in our church, a ward signifies a congregation in a certain geographical area), I have been reflecting on the blessing of the gospel in my life. I am, of course, saddened to leave the Strongsville Ward because I will miss all the wonderful people we have learned to love there. But I feel comforted because I know the church is a worldwide church. It is true everywhere, and you can find it in every place that has allowed it to be. I am thankful to know that in the Shaker Heights Ward, we will have a bishop who has been called of God to guide and serve us. I am grateful to know that we will have callings (specific responsibilities that we are called to fulfill) in which we will have many opportunities to serve, learn and grow. I am thankful to know that we will have Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers, and we will also be called to that great work. There will be many people in our new ward whom we can reach out to and who will reach out to us.

I encourage all of you who have been members of the church for a long time to befriend a new member. Oh, how they need you, and how much more do you need them! My new friend, Shelly, who was baptized last year has been such a blessing to me. She has helped to remind me how precious the truths of the gospel are, and not to take them for granted. Most people don't know the comforting principles and truths that I know, which lead me every day. They do not know where to turn for peace, for revelation and guidance, for answers to their problems. Yet, I have been blessed to know, and I mustn't keep it to myself. I must teach it to my family, and my friends, and to anyone who has ears to listen. Today, Shelly said (something to the effect), "There are so many people who have moved in and out of the ward since I've come, and they don't seem so terribly upset by it. I think I am beginning to learn why. They have peace because they know that this life isn't it. They know what happens after this life and that we will have eternity to continue our relationships." She is right. It is so good to know that I will see my friends again, not just in this life, but that we can visit through the eternities.

I have been the Gospel Doctrine (Sunday School) teacher in my ward for a few months. Today I taught this lesson. "Lesson 9: “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God”," New Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (2002)

It contained this story:

Elder Marvin J. Ashton described a meeting in which a group of Church members considered the question “How can you tell if someone is converted to Jesus Christ?”:

“For forty-five minutes those in attendance made numerous suggestions in response to this question, and the leader carefully wrote down each answer on a large chalkboard. All of the comments were thoughtful and appropriate. But after a time, this great teacher erased everything he had written. Then, acknowledging that all of the comments had been worthwhile and appreciated, he taught a vital principle: ‘The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people.’”

Elder Ashton added: “The way we treat the members of our families, our friends, those with whom we work each day is as important as are some of the more noticeable gospel principles we sometimes emphasize” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1992, 25; or Ensign, May 1992, 20).

This makes me want to strive even more to treat my good, faithful husband with love; to let my parents know how much I appreciate what they have done for me; to call my siblings more often and be a part of their lives, and to let them know they are in my prayers; to reach out to those around me, no matter how different or even unfriendly. Everyone has a story; everyone has a trial (or many); everyone needs the love and compassion that we can each give to each other.

It is my hope that this week, I can do better to treat those around me how I would like to be treated. I will strive more diligently to follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and look to lift the hands that hang down and strengthen the feeble knees. I don't have much I can give, but I can smile at someone, or express thanks, or say a kind word or compliment. I can be patient with someone. I can fill my home with love.

You Can Start Gardening Today!

So I feel inspired to share with you all my excitement for learning to garden! Do I have much experience? No. I have grown my own container herb garden, and I helped my mother-in-law (an expert gardener) to prepare, plant, maintain, and harvest her backyard garden last year. I was so lucky to have that experience, and I learned a lot. I would still consider myself a 'greenie' (pun intended), but I believe that with research, hard work, and faith, we will learn and have success in our gardening endeavors.

I know that we have a living prophet on the ear

th today, President Thomas S. Monson. He is just as

much a prophet as Moses and Noah were. There are also apostles. There have been many apostles and prophets in our time who have counselled us to grow a garden.

The prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball has said: "We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden as neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities."

"Children should learn to work. Parents should not spend their nights and days trying to find something to interest their children. They should find something to occupy them and get them busy doing something that is worthwhile." - like gardening together as a family!

Spencer W. Kimball, "Family Preparedness", Ensign, May 1976, 124

The prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson has said:"There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own."

Ezra Taft Benson, "Prepare for the Days of Tribulation", Ensign, Nov. 1980, 32

Apostle, Elder L. Tom Perry has said: "There have been very few years in my life when I have not been responsible for a garden. Even now as a city condominium dweller, I still plant and ha

rvest a garden each year. Let me encourage you to draw close to the soil. Have your own experience in planting a garden. Then make application in your own life of this great principle of the law of the harvest."

L. Tom Perry, "The Law of the Harvest", New Era, Oct. 1980, 4

(www.lds.org is the website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is where you can find out more about prophets and apostles in our day and what they are teach us through the Lord's guidance).

This month, I also read these 2 wonderful articles from the March 2011, and September 2010 Ensign magazines. They are inspiring!

Seeds of Self-Reliance

Growing Green Beans and Families

Below are some great resources to help teach you how to get started:

www.providentliving.org also has a great website for gardening that will help you get started. It has separate pages for planning a garden, gardening in containers, recipes using garden produce, and links to gardening websites

www.eartheasy.com is one of my FAVORITE websites, and it is teaching me all about gardening.

It teaches a ton of the basics you need to know to start a backyard vegetable garden

the whole gardening menu on eartheasy.com from seed buying tips, organic lawncare to slug control

I am also excited to start composting - read all about it by clicking the link below:

Composting

Seth and I have opted to build our own raised garden beds because our backyard has a drainage problem, and it will be better for our backs, and for many other benefits. Click on that last link to see the instructions for creating and using your own raised garden beds. (They also have options for buying them if you want to)

Good luck with your own garden this year! And remember to start small (Seth keeps reminding me of this) You have to start with one thing, and then add another and another. You can't do it all at once. As you work at it, you will enjoy the blessings of your harvest, and the beauty you can create.

Settling in...kind of

Well, we moved in to our new place (our temporary place until we move again in May -just next door to the other (nicer) side of the duplex - we are going to unpack as little as possible). The day before our moved it snowed about a foot! CSU was closed for the day, so I had a snow day, which I was mostly glad of, but very worried about the move. Seth shoveled a lot of snow last weekend, to say the least. We were so blessed with helpers from our old and new ward. Our home teachers, Boyd Jensen and Tyler Kelly, a couple guys from elder's quorum Boyd Bills and Adam Gerber, and the missionaries, Elders Rangel and Trammel came to help Seth load the truck. (You should have seen how they packed that truck! It wasn't exactly neat, but everything got to our new place mostly in one piece). Then, I was concerned we wouldn't make it to the new house in time to meet our other helpers because the cleaning helpers I had lined up had emergencies at the last minute. Then, Sharon Bertasso called me just at the right moment (before panic set in), and said "I am guessing a lot of people have already called you to come help clean, so I wasn't going to call, but then I thought, I should call anyway just in case you need anymore helpers." "Yes!" I said, "You are an answer to my prayers. I didn't have anyone else call." It was so nice of her to come and help, and we made it in time for the unload.

Justin Baker, Frank Bishop, John Parker, Bishop Huxel (sp?), my friend Fouad Alsmail, and our bro-in-law, Jeff Brimhall all came to help us unload. Many of them came to help us after they had helped another family move that day, and Jeff had just returned from a 3 hour car drive. There was a ton of snow to shovel, and about 2 solid inches of ice covering the front stairs and porch. They had to use like a pick-ax to get through it. I was so worried about my precious piano, but after a lot of deliberation, (and a lot of praying on my part) they got it in safely with no damage. It's just a bit out of tune. That will be fixed after our next move. A couple pieces of our furniture were damaged, but not terribly. Our couch wouldn't fit in the door, so we had to take down a window from the sunroom, and it went in fine.

Funny things about this side of the house we are in now. The bathroom is so narrow that you can't sit down straight on the toilet without putting your legs in the bathtub. :) So you just have to sit side-saddle. I complained about it a little, and Seth reminded me that complaining never helps any situation (he is very right about that). So I decided to be grateful that we have a toilet at all, at least we don't have to use an outhouse, and it helped me to just laugh about it. (But, on the side we'll move to in May, you can sit down straight. I am so excited!). And yesterday, the kitchen sink pipe busted (and possibly the dishwasher too, we aren't sure). I am happy that I have such a wonderfully handy husband. He is trying to fix it right now, and I have no doubt of his success.

I am thrilled about our very warm and bright sunroom that runs parallel to the living room (on both sides of the duplex) It will be my piano/garden room. I love to play my piano in there, and I am going to grow my wheatgrass in there, and my indoor herb garden, with a few flowers to boot! Woohoo for gardening!

We are also going to build raised garden beds in the nice, big back yard and start a vegetable garden!

And, we love our wonderful neighbors the Schuller's, who have been so kind and helpful. And, I love our automatic garage we get to use now. I haven't had to scrape my car all week! :)

On the road again...

Well, I have been taking a break from blogging so that I can pack. Yes, Seth and I are moving again. We will be moving to a duplex in Cleveland Heights. That will be in the Shaker Heightss Ward. This wasn't our original plan, or even part of our first 2 plans, but the Lord has His ways of guiding us to where we need to go, so we'll go there. Our friends, the Schuller's live in one side of the duplex (the side we'll be moving into in May), and the other side is vacant, so we're moving into it because we need a place to live, and hopefully it won't be too hard to just move our stuff next door in May. (I hope May will be our last move for at least 4 years. That's my hope.... I wonder if it's possible).

Anyways, thanks for everyone's help. We couldn't do all this without the help we've received. I can see my own progress in this experience, in that I have bettered learned to ask for help when I need it and not to feel guilty about it. I always help others when I can, and it is important not to be prideful when you need to be on the receiving end. We all play both roles multiple times during this life. We need each other. Not just 'others needs me,' but that 'I need others too.' I am glad I'm learning that.

"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." (President Spencer W. Kimball)

4 Year Anniversary! - Feb. 3, 2011

Here's to 4 years of a wonderful marriage! and here's to an eternity more!