Birthday Time

Happy Birthday Mom! 6/28

Happy Birthday Me! 7/27

Note to self: Don't work on your birthday! Haha. Since I worked in the evening time I made sure to have fun in the morning! Mom, Andrew, Anna-Marie and I had breakfast at Carol Ann's Cafe! For lunch Anna-Marie took me out to eat! And then I headed off to work! Work wasn't too busy so Rachel and I talked for most the night! My supervisor knows I'm a talker and came up to me and asked me, 'Are you okay Sarah? You haven't talked much tonight.' Little did he know I was talking with Ray in the front room for most the night!!! I told him I needed to save my eneregy for that night so I could party! I told hime I was talking with Ray and he just laughed! And I told him that it was my birthday! That evening before we were ready to clock out, my supervisor and someother workers gave me a little cupcake! It was so sweet! My Aunt Linda always has put my cousins and my siblings name on a local radio station to wish us a Happy Birthday. Well this year I won and I got a free iec cream cake from DQ!!! My sister was able to pick up my cake. When I arrived home I just had to laugh when I saw that cake!!! I saw this creepy kitty on my birthday cake...?!!?! (My family and I aren't fans of cats) Don't worry we still ate it!!!  

Yup, it's a creepy kitty!!!

James + Diana Jones

The most wonderful moment happend on June 10, 2010 James and Diana are now happy husband and wife!

'You are second to none. You are daughters of God.'

GOT WORT?

'Each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny' -Gordon B. Hinckley

On my spair time this summer I spent one week with super awesome young women from the age of 12-18! I never knew this would happen so soon, but I had the opportunity to serve as a Young Women's Camp Leader for my home ward. It was different being just a year or two older then the YCL's there at camp! When I first got to the camp site so many memories of my youth came running back into my head. But this year I had to put that behind me and think of the girls I was over. They needed me and in a way, I needed them. Throughout the week we had fun - playing games - dancing - swiming at the lake - making crafts - singing songs - canoeing for miles - cooking our own meanls every day - celebrating a Birthday -making a midnight shoping run to Wal-Mart.

It was about the second day at camp and I guess word had not gotten around the camp site that I was for a fact a leader.. not a young women! I was talking to another leader when she interrupted me and said, 'I'm so sorry, I thought you were a camper!' I just laughed. I told her that even though I'm only about a half an inch taller than the girls, I'm a YSA member, and I do have my own tent!

It was such a joy being with my two girls! I will never forget the fun we had eating ice cream at DQ plus having a Real Fruit Smoothie at McD's and the amazing spiritual time we had together on the canoe trip relating eveything we saw to our life and to the gospel. Then cooking togher and being able to learn together druing the mini classes. Knowing that each of us are loveable and capable. 'Be a women of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you. A woman's abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest.' -Jeffrey R. Holland 

Woman—Of Infinite Worth

A hop, skip and a jump.

April

What a month this has been! The Lord is really getting to me, for the better! With lots of prayers I can say, I'm in good health! I was scheduled to work on April 2, yes, and General Conference weekend. I kept telling myself to find someone else who could work for me but I settled for the thought, I can watch it on a later day. I went to work Saturday morning expecting to arrive home around 8:30- 9pm that night. I now know why you don’t miss your church meetings, because bad things happen to you! I had slipped on some water that was on the floor in the kitchen of the restaurant. I was caring some bowls and when I slipped the bowls fell and I fell on the bowls which of course broke. I got a pretty big cut on my arm, and hit my knee so bad I had to go to the ER. Talk about totally embarrassment in front of all the people I wok with… But I have to be grateful for caring workers that helped me in saying, ‘Sarah it’s going to be okay’ and ‘Okay Sarah, you need to breath in through your nose and blow out of your moth.’ When the EMS came with great personnel they asked me who they could call, I knew my family would be returning home from the chapel and my dad and Andrew would not be home till later that night because they would be at the Priesthood session of General Conference, so I told the EMT’s that my dad would be in a church meeting and I don’t want to bother him and I didn’t know if my mom would be home yet. When I arrived to the hospital I then felt like no one would be with me… until I said a silent prayer and knew I would have the sharp pain in my knee for just a short time. In a short while my dad appeared before my eyes! I find it so odd, but the first words out of my mouth were, ‘Sorry you had to come and leave Priesthood meeting.’ My dad was so caring and shortly after two wonderful caring girls from work stopped in to make sure I was okay and not alone. They tried so hard to make me laugh but I hurt so bad… Haha. By 10:45 pm my mom had then come, I had finished signing my name on the paper work, the nurse had washed my cuts, the Doctor glued my arm. At 11 pm I was able to leave with a wrapped arm, an immobilizer brace on my leg and crutches. This was not what I planed on doing at the beginning of the day!

I was on crutches up until Wednesday the 20th. This all has been my first time and I hope it will be my last! What an ordeal it comes down to not working when you should be attending your church meetings. I’ve been humbled with all of this. Follow-up appointments with the Doc., going back to work not as a Runner, but as a worker who had to have a sit down job which only means eyeing/ pealing potatoes and pealing labels off of jars, and best of all, using the elevator to go to and from my classes which is not located in a convenient area on campus! Fun stuff! I may still not fully understand why this happened to me, but to know no matter what happens I’ll be a better person through all of this!

I heart 5K’s and Temples

I was so excited to watch and cheer on Carrie as she ran a 5K on The OSU campus. She put a lot of hard work and effort into doing this. I was so excited to see her every time she passed me!!! At the very end I got her time… I thought it was way super good, but what do I know. I really don’t do races. I just do little jaunts up and down our road. ;)

Carrie and I were fully loaded after the race and were both able to go to the Temple. Little did I know the youth that were going were in our stake!!! Oh how I love the Perrysburg Ward Youth! It was just the Priest and Laurels with a few others that joined along. As I was talking to a few of them, you can see their great determination and eagerness to succeed in life as one young man in particular told me about his plans after HS. He is so excited to attend BYU for a semester or so and then serve a two year mission for our church. I know he is prepared to ‘Preach My Gospel’.

Happy

Congrats Anna-Marie!

In the year 2008 Carrie was in her cap and gown walking into the gymnasium as the first of our family members to graduate with her Bachelors Degree. Now as an alumni of Bowling Green State University she and the rest of our family was able to watch Anna-Marie in her cap and (Carries gown!) walk into the same gymnasium as the second to graduate from BGSU! Anna-Marie was eager for the day to come, that she jumped for joy at the end of the ceremony!

As friends in the YSA Branch we took a road trip to Kirtland, Ohio. In the mist of getting lots, making illegal turns, having a picnic and a bit of acceleration to the peddle, our group had a wonderful time viewing Historic Kirtland for the day and feeling the sweet spirit of THE Ohio!

It seems to me that weddings are all about planning! And I love it!! The Jones family will soon meat the Pratt's. We're taking a road trip to Utah!

March Happiness

March

Happy 26th Birthday Carrie!!!

As the snow still falls... when will spring come?!!?! The weather has been totally crazy, I'm calling it Global Cooling!

Diana was ablet to sing in the choir for the CES Fireside on the sixth. http://bcove.me/dlv87hva It was such an awesome sight to see when the camera went on her!!! Plus the music was just amazing!!!

Spring Break with out the spring. It was an awesome time not stressing myself too much with class work! The BG Relief Society invited the YSA to their Relief Society Brithday. It was filled with great food and wonderful women!

They not only invited us YSA, but also the BG Young Women! Makinzing and I are buddy duddies!!!

I was able to talk for quite some time with the BG Sister! They are just so super. Full of the love and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their familys are so blessed to have them in their lives.

As that week came to an end, Andrew, Anna-Marie and I were so excited to spend the weekend with Carrie and Joe! We spent some quality time talking and enjoing each other by simply having dinner together at Casa Lupita. Andrew loved speaking spanish to our waiter and I enjoyed telling hime about where I went when I went to Mexico the summer of 2010! He knew the places and were I went! It was great! When we got done, Andrew was prepared with a mormon.org pass along card and shared it with him! It really is fun sharing the gospel to others! When we got back to Carrie and Joe's we watched a funny movie! It was so gerat to laugh and have no one tell you to mello down!  

Andrew, Anna-Marie and I went onto BGSU Campus to watch Annie at her vocal resital. Then we went with Allison to have an early dinner at Panera Brad and just chated and enjoyed our time! When it came time to leave, we went to view Amy's photos at an Art show! Have I said yet that I love YSA?!!?!

Amy is a convert of the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has a wonderful testimony of the gospel and is willing to sahre the gospel in any way she can. So she shared it through her photos!

We all had lots of fun looking at the different kind of art. We are standing in front of quitips that were molded in different shapes! Carzy cool!

Anna-Marie was reconized in making the Bowling Green State University Deans List at an Open House on campus. We were so excited for her! She has made it so far! May seventh she will be graduating!!! Whoot! Whoot!

For the Love

February

Bing in the YSA Branch has really changed my life. For the better. I was called to be one of two Sunday School teachers! I'm was so super nervous. I felt totally inadequate... I'm one of the youngest ones in the Branch, and there are like four or five return missionaries, and I'm the one to theach them about the scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ?!!?! This is one big learning curve that I'll have to rely on hte Lord a lot for. But none the less, I felt peace when President Thacker set me apart. To know I'm to ba a teacher and Heavenly Father is mindful of me. He is humbling me and helping my weaknesses become my strengths, one lesson at a time! I sat down one night and watched a DVD about Joseph Smith. He had said, 'The Lord calls us in our weaknesses and qualifies us in his work.' I was able to give my first lesson on February the sixth! I had an interactive activity that went ten mins over the class time... opps! Overall, the lesson was great.

Now after church we have T to the third, Teach, Talk, and Treats! It was the 13th and having Valentine's Day the next day I wanted all the YSA to Fell The Love from me! So Anna-Marie made yummy cupcakes and I made chocolate heart molds to go on top of them! I had lots of fun staying up and doing that!

I'm so grateful for friends that live in the Coulumbus area and really close to the temple! Anna-Marie and I were not going to wake up at 4AM to get ready and go down with the YSA's to the temple. So I made arrangements to stay at a friends appartment Friday evening into Saturday. Rudi was so willing and welcoming to us. Ps. she is the best person to do your hair, make-up, and all that good stuff! Plus she is a wonderful listener, very caring and has a super cute smile! Anna-Marie made arrangements for Andrew to say with a young man in one of the wards down in the area which we found out is in Rudi's ward! I'm glad it all went well. We had a wonderful time!

On a side note, I went to our first Jr. Fair Board meeting! It was lots of fun meeting the new members and talking with the old ones like me! I'm pretty sure this will be my last. The board has given me so many leadership opportunities I will never forget.