Category Archives: Heroes

13 Things I’ve Learned From Posting 1000 Posts!!!!!!!!!

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I have reached a milestone!!! Today I’m posting my

1000th post!

Here are 13 things I’ve learned from posting 1000 posts!!!!!

1-It’s ok to be yourself. 

I have learned that even though I’m not perfect, I am lovable.

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2-It’s a great way to tell your story. 

I love to read over my stories and relive my experiences.

3-I love to talk about my family, and their history.

I have wonderful children! My grand baby is adorable! My ancestors are the bomb! We are all basically pretty great people!!!

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4-It’s actually very fun to have a blog.

It’s a happy, fun, exciting place to share my life!

5-I have lots of heroes, friends, and memories.

My heroes are the good examples in my life. I try to emulate their lives. My friends are golden and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Well, my memory may go, but I’ll still have my blog.

6-Funny things happen in life.

Laughter really is the best medicine. I wrote a post once about laughing at inappropriate times, and yes I have been known to do that. I just innocently try to live my life and funny stuff just happens. I start to giggle and it’s all over. Next thing you know I have a stomach cramp, and tears are streaming down my face. I am thankful that I laugh easily. Life is too short to not laugh hysterically when the opportunity presents it’s self.

7-There are some wonderful movies and TV shows out there.

Dory: “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming….what do we do we swim, swim!”

I need that reminder a lot.

8-Sometimes I don’t Have anything to say, believe it or not. And that’s ok.

I have been amazed at the lack of things to say, or when I can’t think of anything to post. I never thought I’d see the day. I am very social, I can talk to anyone, but I do like to be by myself and just sit still and read or relax sometimes.

9-Life is busy!

Life is busier than ever before. We’re all busy. It makes living adventurous! Sometimes finding time to do a blog post is very difficult, but I’m always glad when I do.

10-I really love Sunday’s the Best!

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Peaceful, inspirational, and spiritual! Spending the day thinking about God and His precious gifts, and looking for ways to bless others lives!

11-The world is full of Beautiful Places!

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Always focus on the beauty in this world. We are so blessed by Father above to live in such a beautiful place. Look for the beauty!

12-I have learned lot’s of lesson’s. 

I’m so glad I’ve written them down. I love to learn and I’m glad that challenges are not wasted by having to repeat difficult times. I so appreciate the lessons!

13-It takes a long time to write 1000 posts. 

Who knew it would take almost 5 years of blogging to reach 1000 posts, but I did it!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!

Heroes!

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An amazing hero of mine is Stephanie Neilson.

Watch the video the hear her story. She is an inspiration. She is an example that you can experience a most terrible tragedy and survive. She not only survives, but she has triumphed! She shares her feelings, struggles, life, and family with the world on her blog. You can read it here!

I am so thankful to have NieNie as a Hero!

Happy Birthday America!

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I love this country! I feel so blessed to live in the United States of America! 

“I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed his stamp of approval on the Constitution of this land. I testify that the God of heaven sent some of his choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and he has sent other choice spirits—even you who hear my words this day—to preserve it.

We, the blessed beneficiaries, face difficult days in this beloved land, “a land which is choice above all other lands” (Ether 2:10). It may also cost us blood before we are through. It is my conviction, however, that when the Lord comes, the Stars and Stripes will be floating on the breeze over this people. May it be so, and may God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives and fortunes that we might be free, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” -Ezra Taft Benson

Angels Among Us!

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DSC05542If you visit ourjoyfulnest very often you will know that life has been extra busy.

In the month of May, my oldest son got married, and my youngest daughter left on a LDS mission. Both of these events can, and usually do, require a lot of time for planning and money to make them happen. I am a firm believer that we are truly blessed, and we will continue to be blessed with the things we need (Key word: need).  We are always blessed by a loving Heavenly Father. We live in a wonderful neighborhood, and have amazing friends. We have had so much help from others. Our friends and neighbors and family have been amazing.

So during all of this planning and spending, getting ready for the wedding and preparing our daughter to leave for a year and a half, the thought crossed my mind a few times, “Are we going to have enough money?” Then I would push that thought out and think, “Of course we will, we have to!”

One day while busily going about my day, an envelope showed up on the back porch. One of the kids said that it was just sitting there. I opened it not knowing what to think. As I got to the card I could see cash peeking through from inside the card. The card says, “Just thinking thoughts of you”. On the inside of the card written by hand it said, “You’ve prayed me here, now what will you do with me.” My eyes filled with tears as I counted the money, lots of money.

An angel or angels came to our home and blessed us. Straight from Heaven. I cried and cried thinking about how thoughtful people are. It was truly a miracle in our lives. I hope to someday be able to thank those angels who blessed our family. I don’t know if it will happen, but I will most definitely pay it forward. I love you angels!

 

Heroes!

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Jacob de Jager

This is a picture of my companion, Sister Clark, Jacob de Jager, and me, when I was serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Texas many years ago. (Sorry, its out of focus.)

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As a missionary I would meet with many other missionaries often, these meetings were called Zone Conferences. We would gather to be taught and spiritually fed by wonderful leaders. One of the leaders I adored was Jacob de Jager. He was born in the Netherlands. He had a great accent, and a gift in expressing himself.

What a wonderful man. He was a spiritual giant. When he spoke I would be writing notes, and taking it all in as well as possible, hoping to be able to read what I wrote, and think about what he said again, and again.

On one occasion, a few of us missionaries were in one of the rooms of the church making copies and getting ready for the meeting that was about to start. Elder de Jager came in the room. We all stopped what we were doing to see him. He tip toed through the middle of the other missionaries, with his index finger up to his lips to say “Shhh.” When he got to me, he hugged me. He passed all of the other missionaries to give me a hug. Let me just say, these men usually don’t hug everyone.

He must have known I needed it.

Another neat thing that happened was when we were trying to get pictures with our Zone and it was confusing for a minute and then I kinda took charge and started organizing people and saying things like, “You stand here.” And “you two move closer together.” I’m organizing and bossing people around while my mission president and Jacob de Jager watch. It was funny, because a few minutes after, they both looked at each other and said I was going to be a good Mama and leader in my life. I loved that!

When he was around I always felt very special and important. One time he offered to do the ceremony, later, when I got married. I tried to call him to ask if he was available about a year or so later when I did get married, but he was out of the country. It’s ok, I knew he loved me. He loved everyone. He was an example of a true disciple of Christ. What a blessing to have these wonderful memories. I am so thankful I met, and got to know my hero Jacob de Jager.

Heroes!

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Gordon B. Hinckley is one of my heroes!

He was a prophet of God. It has been four years since he passed away. I can’t believe it’s been that long. I have watched him in awe for many years. Always amazed at all he accomplished. I say that because even though I never met him or knew him personally, he was always there, an amazing example. Always a part of my life, from a distance. He had the cutest sense of humor. I loved everything he said.

One time I was at a women’s conference at BYU (Brigham Young University). President Hinckley’s wife was giving a talk with her daughters. She was super cute and fun, too! But at the end of the talk President Hinckley came out to get her.

The crowd stood.

We all started singing, “We Thank Thee O’ God For a Prophet”.

The feeling in the Marriott Center was awesome! I knew he was a prophet! I already knew it before, but really knew it then, more than ever! I love him. He lived a good life. He was a wonderful person. He made me want to be better.

Some of his Wonderful words of wisdom:

“In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”

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“Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.”

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“Be grateful, be smart, be clean, be true, be humble, be prayerful.”

Gymnastics!

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I love gymnastics!

Growing up I did gymnastics everyday. I had so much fun!! I loved the stretching and flexibility and strength, that I learned. In junior high school, I was able to take a gymnastics class instead of the regular P.E. class, which was awesome considering that I ate, drank, and slept gymnastics. I also went to a gymnastics class twice a week at a gym. I think I knew deep down that it was not going to happen, but I wanted to be in the Olympics so bad.

One of my heroes during this time in my life was Nadia.

What an amazing gymnast! It was so amazing to see her do her routines. The skill and dedication it took to be as amazing as she was, is what I admired the most. I was never really great at gymnastics, I could do some fun tricks, back hand springs and flips and such, but I was very in touch with my body and how my muscles worked. I knew what my abilities were and what I could do physically. I was blessed to have only one fairly serious injury, and that was a broken ankle in 9th grade. It didn’t stop me though. I used to jump on the trampoline and tumble with my cast on. Even though my dream of going to the Olympics never happened, I was blessed with a fun and beneficial way to stay healthy and in very good shape for most of my youth.

5ooth post!!

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It has been 2 1/2 years! I am finally doing my 500th post! So I will reflect for a moment….I have done 101 posts on Family History, 6-10 posts on each of my children (but who’s counting), 70 posts on Elder Flexy-(it has been a year and 4 months since he left), 35 posts on Hermana Kelsey-(she’s been gone for 8 months), and 23 posts on my darling grandbaby, along with all of the “Beautiful Places” that I have posted about and the “Funny Things”, the “Bumper Stickers” and “Lessons.” You can’t forget my “Heroes”, and how every “Sunday” for quite a while has been the “Best”! This experience has been so fun and I am glad I started this journey. I have no plans to quit at anytime. So here are a few of my favorite posts from the last 500!!

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Isn’t she darling!

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Isn’t she darling!! What a fun girl.

She was putting her hands under the stream of water and every once in a while she would say “woohoo!” Being a grandma is the best. Happy Thursday everyone. Love, Joy

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Bloom where you’re planted!

Posted on  by joyful

I often think of a time in my early 20′s when I was serving as a missionary in San Antonio, Texas. Like most volunteer situations, we were usually assigned where we would be serving. Needless to say, the area we ended up serving at any particular time would not necessarily be where WE would choose. The President of our mission used to say a quote that to this day is one of my favorites. Bloom where you’re planted! which to me meant grow and do the best you can -no matter what situation life finds you in. We don’t always enjoy any or all experiences while we’re going through them, but even the hardest experiences make us better than we would be without them. Sometimes the Master prunes us back and moves us to new soil, in a place He knows we might struggle, but He also knows we need to grow in. He knows us and has a plan for us, what He wants us to become. If we can learn to Bloom!, He will help us.
“If ye contuinue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” -Colossians 1:23

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Sweet Angel!

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I’m pretty sure this is what an
Angel
looks like.
Who knew a person could love this much. I’ve heard it said that “the more we love, the greater our capacity to love is”. When I had my first child, I thought I could never love anyone as much as I loved him. Then I had another, and another, and one more still. And I realized, I loved them all more that words can say. How did this happen? Unless, my ability to love has grown. Now I’m a grandma and this little angel has come into my life. How could I possibly love another grandbaby as much as I love her? I can’t imagine it, but I know I will! Whenever that day comes.
Natasha = LOVE!
Love’s- nothing till you give it away, give it away, give it away……
You end up having more.
I love being a mom and a grandma!
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My Heroes!

Posted on  by joyful

When I was 5 years old, my best friend lived next door. We lived in the country so friends were few and far between, as they say. I spent quite a bit of time alone, not wanting to be too much of a burden to my friend, but once in a while I would go next door and he would be in the back of his house taking care of something important I’m sure. I really had a great time with my friend, when he could play. Sometimes I’d be gone for hours and my mom would wonder where I was. She would eventually find me…out in the field, plowing with my best friend. In case you couldn’t tell by now, my best friend wasn’t another 5 year old. It was Mr. Chard, a grandpa type who, like I said lived next door to me. I used to stand on the fence and say, “Mr. Chard, can you play?“ Even now thinking about him I miss him and his sweet and gentle way. This was many years ago; you could trust your 5 year old daughter with a man like Mr. Chard. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. I remember he never had time to “play”, but I remember riding the tractor next to him and plowing the fields for hours. It’s too bad that the world has changed. I would have never had a best friend when I was five if I didn’t have Mr. Chard. He has been gone for years, but this little girl will never forget his kindness and love.
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Lessons from the Mountain!

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See this mountain…I have been on top of this mountain.
I love this mountain. It represents so much. From the time I was a small child till now, I have looked in awe at it’s majesty.
One lesson I learned from the mountain is this – you can do more than you think you can. We have untapped abilities that are only used when we really push ourselves. My sweetheart and I decided one year for our anniversary to climb the mountain. That was about ten years ago. It was going to be a testimony to our marriage and the work and effort that got us to that point in our marriage. We started at about 8:00 am. We had a great time talking and enjoying each others company. We talked about our kids, our life together so far, our goals and dreams, and of course we talked about how much we loved each other. As the time went on the trail became steeper. There were many switch backs. There were also beautiful views and flowers along the trail. We had not prepared at all for this hike. No walking or special training to build endurance. We just went for it. I remember saying to my darlin, “Do you think I can do it?” and he would say, “YES! you can”. After 7 hours of hiking we reached the top. I was exhausted, and Brett was tired. Remember, we have to get back down. Some where in the middle of the hike I remember thinking, this is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I had given birth to 4 children and had gall bladder surgery, I was still thinking this is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We hiked down for 5 more hours, using different muscles than we used going up. Toward the end of the hike we both really had to concentrate to put one foot in front of the other. It was more quiet than the hike up, because we were saving our energy for hiking down. Finally we made it. We were so sore, I mean soooo soorree!!! I couldn’t even look at the mountain for months without shedding a few tears. But I did it! I didn’t know I could. Now I know, I CAN do hard things. It takes alot of effort, but I can do what ever I need to or want to do in life.You can too!
(Oh, by the way the hike was 16.o5 miles)

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A little motivation is a good thing.

Posted on  by joyful

 Have you ever noticed that sometimes the best motivation for a needed change in our lives is rarely fun or pleasant. When I was tiny (yes, I remember being tiny), about the time I was potty trained, I would go potty in the middle of the night and was either too scared or too tired to go back to bed, so I developed a habit of falling asleep on the rug in front of the sink. Sometimes I slept there the rest of the night. Sometimes I got cold and went back to bed.

When I was five, we moved to a very small farm house in the country while my Daddy was building our new home. Before we could even move into the farm house, a lot of cleaning up had to take place. In fact, the home had basically been abandoned and left empty for quite some time before we moved in. Mom and Dad had 5 kids at the time, and there was only one bedroom in the house. All of us kids slept in the one room. My three older brothers slept in a full bed, and I slept on an old army cot next to the crib where my baby brother slept. Mom and Dad slept on a hide-a-bed in the living room. Sometime in the moving process it was mentioned that there “sure were a lot of mice around”. This, of course, was a concern to me, because I thought they were scary. In the back part of the house was a small wash/storage room. Mom would keep her canning jars there, along with the washer and dryer. The first time I walked back in that room to get something I heard many of the canning jars shaking and rattling. I realized that the mice (not mouse) were running through the jars to escape. Ok, so now we are at the motivation part of the story. I don’t think I ever fell asleep on the rug in front of the sink ever again. I avoided the trip to the bathroom in the night time, all together. I was so good at going potty before bed and staying in bed. I became a parents dream.
I know, I know -he’s darling!!!
Just not in my house!
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Happy, Happy 100th POST!!! 100 WAYS TO CHOOSE JOY!!!

Posted on  by joyful

 

100 ways to choose JOY!
(in no particular order);)
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100-go for a walk
99-cuddle your sweetheart
98-jump on a trampoline
97-research your family tree
96-go for a drive
95-clean a closet
94-serve dinner at a shelter
93-play scrabble
92-cuddle a sleeping baby
91-watch “The Princess Bride”
90-read a good book
89-make a new friend
88-make treats for your neighbor
87-do some ironing
86-take a long hot shower
85-lay on the grass and watch the clouds
84-watch planes take off and land
83- give the dog a bath
82-call an old friend
81-look at your eyes in the mirror
80-go to a museum
79-let go of things you can’t
 do anything about
78-paint your nails
77-make play dough for the kids and play with them
76-sing a song at the top of your lungs
75-do the dishes by hand
74-finish a project
73-practice saying “I love you” to the mirror
72-take a nap
71-start a blog
70-clean out your purse
69-write a letter
68-count your blessings
67-read to a small child
66-braid someone’s hair
65-sit in a park and just watch
64-buy flowers for yourself
63-plan your dream house or your mansion in heaven
62-try cooking something new
61-go for a hike
60-kiss someone you love
59-forgive
58-go on a picnic
57-set some goals
56-write a special memory for your posterity
55-notice the little things
54-plant a tree
53-learn a language
52-sit in the sunshine
51-pray daily
50-have a song in your heart
49-visit a historical sight
48-one word: “chocolate”
47-visit a rest home
46-don’t JUDGE
45-give a massage
44-stand for right
43-believe in God
42-listen to beautiful music
41-play with someone’s hair
40-go for a run
39-balance your checkbook
38-dust your home
37-go to a farm when the baby animals are being born
36-read about great people
35-donate to a charity
33-drink clean water
32-use the toilet
31-”do unto others…”
30-share dinner with friends
29-shampoo, massage your scalp
28-clean up someone else’s mess, without anyone seeing you
27-take pictures
26-get a pedicure
25-”if you can’t say somethin’ nice,
don’t say nothin’ at all”
24-get things done (no moping)
23-have a candlelight dinner
22-start a rock collection
21-HUG
20-listen more
19-count the stars
18-watch ants
17-don’t compare your worst with someone else’s best
16-chew bubble gum and blow bubbles
15-be grateful
14-LOVE
13-feed the birds
12-create something from something else
11-SMILE
10-ride a horse
9-smell brownies
8-Listen to your heart
7-tend children for a tired momma
6-jump a rope
5-lotion your whole body
4-close your eyes and feel the breeze
3-take a class
2-fold laundry
1-Choose it! choose JOY!!!!
Thanks for reading and spending the last 100 posts with me!
 Love, Joy
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This seat is saved!!

Posted on  by joyful
So darling!!!!!
I had to take this picture!
My kids have sat in the same spot in our BMW (basic mormon wagon) for as long as I can remember. We’re not all in the car always at the same time, but when we are this is where my children sit. In these exact spots. I didn’t assign them places, they decided where they wanted to sit and it’s been that way ever since. I mean we’re talking years and years!
 This was our last family day, before Riley left, I had to snap a pic.
I love my children. I’m so proud of the people they have become and are becoming.  
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Thanks for reading!! Love, Joy

And another thing…

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…and another thing
 I love about Dori is…she has this short term memory. 
She says, “It runs in my family, or at least I think it does…where are they?” 
Well, I was talking to one of my friends about Dori and telling her why I love her so much, and she said, “If I could forget everything except the last five minutes, that would be great!” We both laughed. And then I thought about that, and decided that is just one more thing to love about her. She’s doesn’t hold a grudge, and she can’t stay mad, because she can’t remember she was even angry or upset!! If we were all more like that, it really would be great!! (sigh) I love Dori!

Heroes!

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Mr. Rogers!
“You are special!” I always felt special when listening to him. From the time I was a little girl, when I would question my worth, I knew I was special and of value, while listening to him. When I got older, doing housework, I would catch glimpses of him, while my children were watching. I knew he was helping them feel special too. His positive way of looking at life is an example of how to live. His life, and program, taught us to, “Love your neighbor as yourself”.