Blessings and finding peace

I know I haven't written in quite some time, and honestly it would take WAY too long to do an update on all that has happened since I last wrote. But I feel as if I need to share this message. In January, we had our Stake Relief Society meeting. During the meeting there was a musical number, it was absolutely amazing! There was something about the song that touched my spirit so deeply, when she was done singing I honestly don't think there was a dry eye. Here is the song:

The stake president then got up and spoke about finding peace and ways that we are able to do that. He said that in order to find peace in our lives we must use an I.O.U. We must look Inward, look Out, and look Up. I loved that! It really is so true! We really cannot be happy and find peace, if we first don't look inward and figure out what is causing us to be unhappy or to not be at peace, and those days when we feel like everything is going wrong, what better way to feel better than to reach out  and serve those around us, and last, we have to look up to the Lord in prayer. For He truly knows what we are going through, and He is the only one that can help us find true peace in our lives. I know this is so true! I am so grateful for the wonderful gospel! I know that we really can find peace when it feels as if there is none to be found.

I know I don't write a lot about this subject, mostly because it is hard for me to talk about. As some people know, both Nick and I struggle with infertility problems. To be completely honest, it has been super hard for me! I look around all over and I see people that are happy with their kids, and a part of me is jealous and another part of me feels like it is broken, because that is something that I want more than anything in this life is to be a mom and to have a family of my own. Most days it is hard for me to even look on Facebook because there is usually someone announcing that they are pregnant or they are posting pictures of their new born babies. While I am happy for them, a part of me can't help but question when it will be my turn. I have turned my face upward to the Lord. I have truly been able to find peace and know that it right now it is not our turn, so for now, I will love our cute cat, Simba, and our cute puppy, Atticus. I have also found a lot of words of peace and comfort on Pinterest. Here are some that mean a lot to me.

Thanks for letting me express how I have been feeling lately, I really am so blessed for all that I have in this life. I have a wonderful husband and a wonderful family! I am also so blessed to have the world's cutest nieces and nephew! And don't forget:
"What if your blessings come from raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a 1,000 sleepless nights are what it takes to make you near." 

Remember, that the Lord is always there for you, He will not leave your side! Until next time, have a great day!

Blessings come to those that wait...and wait :D

So, for those of you who know me, know that I am not always the most patient person and that I tend to get frustrated when things don't happen right away, or even how I want them to turn out.  Well, this last month and a half I have definitely learned that my Heavenly Father knows what is truly best for me and that I really do have to rely on His timing, and man, that can be way hard!  Anyways, on to my lesson of waiting and my test of patience, I lost/quit my job the first part of March.  It was getting really hard to make ends meet when I was only working maybe 16 hours a week, some weeks a little more, some a little less.  So, I ended up quitting because I found out that I was going to be losing more hours, ha, not that I was working much anyways.  Well, anyways, about 2 weeks ago I got a call from my mom saying that one of her neighbors was having to quit her job and she wanted to know if I was interested in it.  At first I was a little skeptical, but after thinking about it over the weekend I thought that I should give it a try.  So, I sent her neighbor my resume and the following day I got a call wanting to know if I wanted to come in for an interview the following night.  You could say that I was a little bit excited!  So I went in for my interview and they said that if they thought that it would be a good fit they would contact me within a couple of days.  Well that was last Wednesday the 25th, and this is where my test of patience was really tested, because I had already been to so many job interviews and their answers were no.  For me, it was pretty hard because I just didn't know why or what I had done wrong at my past interviews.  Well, anyways back to my story, after my interview last week, I felt really good about it and I felt that everything was good!  But this time I just put it all in the Lord's hands and I told Him that I would trust His decision on this one!  By Saturday, I hadn't heard anything and I was starting to get a little frustrated, and by Sunday night I was trying my hardest to keep upbeat and stay positive, I figured that if I didn't hear within the next day or two I would try and pursue another job.  So, yesterday (Monday) I was at the grocery store filling a prescription, and as I was going to pick it up my phone rang....it was them wanting to know if I could come in before 2 pm to have a 2nd interview!  I was so excited that I almost started to cry at the grocery store!  It would have not been a very pretty picture because I had no make up on and I had my hair in a pony tail and to make it all worse I was in sweats, so I waited until I got into the car.  So, I hurried home to get ready to go for my follow up interview, I got there a few minutes after 1:30, and I went to meet with them and they were explaining the job to me a little more and they were talking to me as if I already had the job.  It was a pretty exciting moment for me!  So after they were done talking to me and asking me if I had any questions about the job description, I told them that I didn't and that it really sounded almost to good to be!  And then they looked at each other and they said, "Well what do you think?  Should we offer her the job?  Emily, would you like to work with us here at the Draper temple?", I right away said yes and I got big tears in my eyes and I told them that it was an answer to my prayers!  So, I actually start tonight at 9:30, and I couldn't be more excited or happy about it!  I will be working as a grounds/house keeper at the Draper temple!  It is such a beautiful building!  

Elder Robert D Hales said this about the temple: "The temple is a sacred edifice, a a holy place, where essential saving ceremonies and ordinances are performed to prepare us for exaltation.  It is important that we gain a sure knowledge that our preparation to enter the holy house and that our participation in these ceremonies and covenants are some of the most significant events we will experience in our mortal lives."

The temple has always been such an important part of my life!  I have loved growing up right next to one!  All I had to do was just look out of my bedroom window, and I would see the beautiful and magnificent building!

Now all I have to do to see it is just open my front door!  That is one of the many blessings and one of the many reasons why I love living in Utah.  I love living so close to so many temples!  No where else on earth would I have this opportunity!  I think we all take it for advantage!  But I am so excited that I will be able to be in my Father's house every day helping make it a better place!  Before I left my interview yesterday I was encouraged to return as a patron and do temple work often.  And the more I am the happier my life will be and I will be able to feel of the Spirit more often!  I am so excited, I can't even put it into words how excited I am!  I feel as if things are starting to turn around for the better in our lives!  Which makes me super happy, excited, etc....  but I want everyone of you who reads this post to know that I know that the Church is true! And that I am so grateful for it, and I am so grateful for the Temple and all of the amazing blessings that we receive from having so many around us and all of the blessings that we receive from attending the temple as often as we can!  I am going to try to make it there as often as I can as a patron and do the work for those that have gone on before me and that are waiting and waiting to receive their blessings!  Have a beautiful and blessed day!

Cuppycakes...yum!

So, as I mentioned in my last post it was my sister's farewell this last weekend.  With it being her farewell and all, my in laws went all out, they are truly amazing people!  I am so blessed to have them and to be a part of their family.  So, in wanting to help my cute Mama Jones, I offered to make cupcakes, (she told me to make only about 2 dozen), I was planning on making all of them.  So as I was over there one day I saw on her shopping list that she had ordered cupcakes and I told her that I would much rather make them instead of having her buy them.  Plus, if you ask me, homemade cupcakes are so much better than store bought :) so, after a little discussion or more of me telling her that I was going to make them and that there would be no further conversation about cupcakes.  So, I spent a couple hours on Pinterest, (oh how I love that website) and searching Google for some fun new ideas for cupcakes.  I came up with, Orange Creamsicle with orange creamsicle buttercream, Chocolate Banana with an attempt at doing a pattern of powdered sugar, Coconut Lime with a coconut lime buttercream, Chocolate with an Oreo buttercream, Vanilla with a chocolate buttercream, Strawberry with a strawberry cream cheese and a Funfetti with buttercream.  Let's just say that it is a really good thing that I love to bake, because I was baking all day on Friday.  I made just under 200 cupcakes.  They were so good though!  I didn't frost them until Saturday with one of our good friends who is super talented at frosting!  But here are some pictures of the cupcakes.  I bet you all wish you could taste one, right?

All 169 waiting to be frosted

Me and Tawny, frosting champs!

Sister Kimberly Ann Elizabeth Jones

   So, I know that I haven't posted in quite a long time.  There has been a lot that has been going on since I last posted, if I get the time to actually sit down and type it out I will make an update of what has been going on.  But for now, I'm just going to start with what is going on currently in the crazy, hectic lives of Nick and Emily Jones :D
   So, our pretty awesome and amazing little sister Kimberly leaves on her mission this week!  I am so excited for her.  She has been such a wonderful example to me the last couple of months!  I love her so much, I don't think she quite understands how much I really do love her.  When she first told us that she was planning to go on a mission, it was way back in September of 2010.  Both Nick and I were excited for her, if not a little skeptic, since she still had quite a ways to go before she could even start filling out her papers; but knowing Kimmy, once she set her mind to something she is determined to do it.  So, let's fast forward a year to September 2011, she got her papers and diligently started filling them out and doing all that her wonderful Stake President had asked of her to do.  She couldn't turn her papers in until the week before Thanksgiving, so she had to wait a little bit longer in order to get her call, but I always say that patience is a virtue and makes you stronger.  I was so excited for her to get her call, she received it on December 3, 2011, such an exciting day!  Maybe this will show the excitement we all had for her when she opened her call and read to us where she was going to be serving.

   It seems as if time has just flown by since she got her call.  It's amazing that it is now just a little over a day away.  Yesterday, was Kimmy's "farewell" talk, she did absolutely amazing!  She has such a strong testimony of the Gospel.  She spoke about how we must be bold in our declaration of Jesus Christ!  I was brought to tears by her testimony and how fervently she spoke of serving the people of Costa Rica.  

   I want to share just a part of her talk, it has really made me consider how boldly I am in my declaration of my Savior.  She said, "How will you declare your beliefs of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?  Through quiet acts of charity and service?  Through faithfully attending your church meetings?  Through striving to uphold your callings in the Church?   Through sharing your testimony with members and non-members alike?  There are so many avenues one could take in order to boldly declare the truth of the Redeemer of the World.  Whatever it may be, know that your feelings, your actions, and your testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ have meaning-- even your most simplest of actions could rescue a soul that is yearning for the happiness that the Lord can and will provide.  The Savior wants you to receive His love, and He also wants you to share it with others...strive to love as He loves, with unfailing compassion, patience, and mercy.

   Elder L. Tom Perry stated, "The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is unlike anything else you will share with others.  In the information age, it is the most valuable information in all the world.  There is no question about its worth.  It is a pearl of great price."  The Lord has promised us His unwavering love, support grace, hope and protection; so what do we truly have to fear?  In Doctrine & Covenants 84:88 it states,  "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." OR Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God; and I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

   I want to strive to be a better missionary and boldly declaring the truthfulness of the Gospel!  I also want Kimmy to know how much I absolutely love her and appreciate her wonderful example that she has set for me!  I am so excited for this new adventure in her life and in mine and Nick's.  

   

Girls Camp

We also had girls camp last month.  It was a lot of fun, it was super hot and windy, but still so much fun!  I absolutely love all of my girls!  They are awesome!  Nick was able to come up for a couple of days as a priesthood holder and I am so glad that he was able to be there.  It was fun for the girls to be able to get to know him better.

Cute Nicki!  

Cute Jen!  She was helping pre-make dinners.

Heidi doing what she does best!  Braids galore!!!

I love these people!

Sarah, Anna, Becca, and Stacie at Flag Ceremony

Food Prep

Grace is an amazing artist!

This is Marco, our camp mascot

The Shark song at Flag Ceremony

 This is one of the roll calls from one of the wards, it is super cute!  It is to the tune of "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

It was so pretty and green!

Trying to stay cool in the shade

Say Cheese!

Gorgeous!

Our lovely sunburned, dirty faces!

Nick's Birthday

Nick's birthday was last month, it was pretty low key.  We didn't do a whole lot, we just hung out at home.  It was pretty nice.  Here are pictures of his special day!  Sorry there aren't a whole lot more, they are all pretty blurry, so these will just have to do.

He's so spoiled.

The cute birthday boy!  He was such  a good sport to wear the hat that cute Nichole picked out for him.

Infertility...sucks!

So, for those that don't know, we have been trying to get pregnant for the last year to year in a half, with no success.  So, I finally decided that I would go and see what is going on, because I have hated the waiting game.  Well, I had to have some blood tests done, and come to find out I am anovulatory, which basically means that I don't ovulate.  Which, kind of sucks in a way.  I would be lying if I said that I am okay with it.  At first when I found out I was angry, not only with myself but with God.  I couldn't understand why He would let this happen to us, we are good, honest people, and we try to keep His commandments.  But I just couldn't understand why this was happening to us.

Now fast forward a month or so, we found out more information about us being infertile, which made it even harder for me not to be mad and frustrated.  But let's go forward another couple of weeks, it would have been the weekend of June 17th, we had the neatest opportunity to go to the temple.  I don't know why we hadn't gone there sooner.  But we had the chance to go through and do a session with Nick's brother and his wife as they were going through for themselves.  I had gone into the temple with such a heavy heart and so many questions on my mind as to why we have to wait to have our chance to raise our kids.  But as we were sitting together in the Celestial room, I had such a feeling of peace and comfort come over me, and I knew in that moment that one day we would have our chance.  And that right now, there are other things that we need to get in order before we start our family.  It was such an answer to my prayers.  It felt so good to have that burden lifted off of my heart and my shoulders and turn it over to the Lord.  There are still days when I have a hard time with it, but I am so grateful for the time that I get to spend with Nick.  I wouldn't trade it for anything right now.  I have been so blessed to have him in my life, he has been such a strength to me.

For those of you that know me well, it is hard for me to share what I am feeling, so sharing this is kind of hard for me.  I don't want people to feel bad for me, because I know that everything will be okay.  But it just feels good to let people know what has been going on in mine and Nick's life.  So thanks for listening.  I'll try to be better at posting.  I'll post what pictures I have and what not from Girls Camp soon.  But have a good day!  Talk to you soon!