Tag Archives: Heavenly Father

The Legacy We Leave Behind

Last weekend marked the ten year anniversary of the unexpected passing of on of my best friends, Steve Gasser.  Ten years…I can hardly believe that its been ten years since I last got to see his smile and last heard his voice on the other end of the phone saying “Wazzzzzuuuuuppppp!”  I’d first met Steve […]

What “Father” Means To Me

As a little girl one of my earliest memories of my Dad was how he’d tuck me in bed at night and I’d make him check inside my closet to ensure there weren’t any monsters there. Once Dad had performed his safety check I would know it was safe to go to sleep.  My Dad […]

The Greatest Gift A Father Can Give His Daughter

The most influential man in my life turned 82 years old over the weekend. That man is my Father, Gerald Rees.  He is my rock, my exemplar, my advisor, my hero, and my friend. He taught me that that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to if I am willing to […]

I Stand All Amazed

This past weekend began with my family joining in on the worldwide day of fasting and prayer held on Good Friday where people of all faiths around the world came together to unite their prayers around the issues the world is facing with this pandemic.  It was such a beautiful way to kick-off the Easter […]

The Christ Child: A Nativity Story

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I’m so excited to have my children and grandchildren with me and my husband this year! There is no greater joy in my life then being with my family… I’m also excited that we’ll have many of my extended family coming over Christmas Eve as well to celebrate with our […]

To Fathers, Grandfathers, And All Those Men Who’ve Influenced Our Lives For The Better

This Sunday is Father’s Day and the subject of fathers is one that is incredibly near and dear to my heart today for several reasons.  One of those reasons is that my father-in-law is struggling still. He had his surgery last week but the nerve and muscle pain down his leg still hasn’t let up […]

The Best Way To Pay Tribute To Those We’ve Lost

“Every one of us has wept at a death, grieved through a funeral, or stood in pain at a graveside. I am surely one who has. We should all praise God for the assured resurrection that makes our mortal separations temporary and gives us the hope and strength to carry on.”   – Dallin H. Oaks […]

#BecauseOfHim We Can Rewrite Our Story

I’m so excited to celebrate Easter with my family this weekend.  Frankly, I’m excited for any excuse to get to spend time with my family. When I look at everything that goes on in my life, all the experiences I’ve gotten to have, all the amazing people I’ve gotten to interact with, all the places […]

Advice For The Overwhelmed

Today was one of those days where when it comes to an end you just want to curl up in a ball and cry because you’ve had one thing after another pile on you so fast and furious you don’t even feel like you have time to breathe, let alone catch a potty break or […]

Make Sure You Word Your Prayer Right The First Time

Today I learned why it’s really important to make sure you word your prayers right the first time. After spending three days in the hospital with my flu-stricken grandbaby last weekend into Monday, and having the doctors and nurses tell me that there was about a 100% chance I’d end up sick myself I got […]

“Nothing proves that you love someone more than mentioning them in your prayers.”

I was thinking today about the different words of advice that were given by people in the toasts they did (mind you the toasts were done with sparkling cider since we don’t drink alcohol…) during my daughter Ashley’s wedding dinner last week. One toast in particular that stood out to me was given by my […]

Because Of Your Example

80 years 29,219 days 701,265 hours 42,076,800 minutes 10 amazing children 37 beautiful grandchildren 11 sweet great-grandchildren 1 BLESSED LIFE HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Today my father, Gerald Rees, turned 80 years old.  80 years old!  WOW!  That is really, really old 😉 The best way I can think of to honor my Dad today is […]

Things Will Straighten Out When You Stand Steady And Face Them

Sundays have always been a special day of the week for me. It’s the one day I set aside work and outside activities and as much technology as I can and I use it as a day to refill my spiritual tank. I always attend church for three hours each Sunday (…yes, you heard me […]

Don’t Lose Faith In Who You Are

“Don’t lose faith. Promise yourself that you will be a success story, and I promise you that all the forces of the universe will unite to come to your aid; you might not feel today or for a while, but the longer you wait the bigger the prize.”   – George Bernard Shaw I love that […]

Leave it all on the ice

These last few months have been a roller coaster for me. Between my family and both our extended families we have experienced some of life’s highest highs and some of its lowest lows all within a matter of just a few months. In those months there have been days of being happier than I could […]

The Lessons We Teach Our Children

I often have people tell me how impressed they are with the character of my son and daughter, and that compliment is often followed with the question – how did you do it? How did you raise those kids to be such great people? Well as much as I would love to take credit for […]

Replenish, Renew, Refocus, and Improve

Every so often in life we all need to take a little break to be able to refill our tank, so to speak, to replenish our souls and to refocus on the things that are truly important. I often get so busy with everyday life that I forget to make time to do this, which […]

God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want

“Whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want.”  C.S.Lewis I was recently talking with a friend who had a plan they had made for themselves and they had done all in their power to make it happen. But despite their best efforts […]

Sharing a little about one of my Heroes

21 years ago today I gave birth to the most amazing little girl in the world. Ashley made her entrance in the world in the same epic fashion as she has done everything else since she was born – she came out bottom first! That made for an amazingly difficult labor and delivery for me, […]

My Christmas Gift To You

Given that this blog is the last one you will read before you celebrate Christmas Day I felt it only appropriate that in today’s blog I should give you your Christmas Gift from me. As I thought through what I could possibly give that would be meaningful to each of you and that could have […]

The true essence of Christmas

The week of Christmas is upon us and my heart can’t help but think about the true essence of Christmas – to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he willingly made out of his infinite love for each one of us. It reminds me of a story I try to read each […]

What Will They Say About Us?

Today I attended my Aunt’s funeral and I have to say it was a marvelous and inspiring day. I know funerals are usually sad occasions but today was a little different because Aunt Iris lived an amazingly full life during her 98 years on this earth and hearing the stories and memories people shared about […]

Learning the Hard Way

The older we get the more we realize how much better life is if we are just willing to learn things the easy way – like by listening to those who have been there and done it and who have the experience to give us advice on avoiding pitfalls we will face. In the early […]

Overcome Gratitude Deficit Disorder

Gratitude Deficit Disorder is an ailment that far too many people suffer from. I don’t personally think that people intentionally catch this ailment…I think people catch it as a result of getting too busy and letting life drive them instead of them driving their life. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but the good […]

Lessons on Surviving, Turning Trials into Trails, and Choosing Happiness (Part 5 of 5)

Today is the part 5 of a 5 part blog series I have been sharing all week this week. Throughout this week I have shared snippets of emails that my daughter Ashley sent home while she was serving her 18 month mission. For those who have followed along all week this week I am hoping […]

Lessons on Study, Selfishness, Repentance, and Never Looking Back (Part 4 of 5)

We have come to month fourteen of the eighteen months of lessons learned along the journey. I hope you are all enjoying reading these email snippets from Ashley’s emails. The life lessons she shares as she learns them was so valuable to me and I hope it proves to be valuable to all of you […]

Lessons on Love and Charity (Part 3 of 5)

Today was one of the happiest days of my life!!  My daughter Ashley is HOME!!!! Yep, after 18 months of doing service as a missionary she is finally back home with us and I am beyond words with happiness. This enitre week I have been sharing snippets of emails I received from my daughter Ashley while she was out serving her […]

Lessons on Character, Change, Hardships and Blessings (Part 2 of 5)

Today is a continuation of yesterday’s blog sharing some favorite snippets of my daughter Ashley’s emails she has sent home over the course of her 18 month mission with the valuable life lesons she was learning along the way – these lessons are such relevant lessons for all of our lives and I hope you […]

Incredible Life Lessons Along an 18 month journey (Part 1 of 5)

This week is one of my happiest weeks EVER as my daughter Ashley is coming home from her mission Tuesday! In last Thurssday’s email I explained just how much I have loved getting Ashley’s weekly emails she’s been sending home over the last 18 months because they share the cool life lessons she has been learning along the […]

Feeling Like A Little Kid On Christmas Morning!

Going into this weekend I feel just like a little kid on Christmas morning! I have waited 18 months for my daughter Ashley to finish serving her LDS Mission so she could come back home to me…and next week she is finally coming home!!!   YAYYYYYYY!!! I literally cannot describe how excited I am. It’s impossible to describe […]