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!

As of late...

Hey!  So, once again it has been WAY too long since I have blogged.  I'm sorry about that.  Life has been crazy, and not super exciting.  So I haven't had much to blog about.  But first off, Happy Independence Day!  I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to live in America!  We spent the day with family, we first met Amy and her kids at the Sandy City festivities, it has been a tradition that has been in my family for as long as I can remember!  Then we spent the rest of the day with Nick's family.  It was a lot of fun!  I loved watching all of the fireworks!  Especially since the new laws went into place, on our drive home tonight it was so neat to look across the valley and see so many fireworks!  That pretty much sums up our holiday, not too exciting.  

Let's see, I'll just give a recap of what has been happening the last couple of months, well of the things that I can remember.  The first of March we had a Winter's Youth Conference, it was a lot of fun!  It was held up at the Heber Girls Camp.  It was freezing cold, but still so much fun!  I can't find the pictures from up there, but once I do I will post them.  Nick got to come up and he had fun having snow ball fights with everyone.  Then in the middle of March my totally awesome little brother turned 17, it's crazy!  It makes me feel old!  I love that kid so much!  I am so grateful for his example and his friendship! 

Nick also had a sleep study test done, because he has had trouble sleeping.  We came to find out that he has Sleep Apnea, no fun at all.  So he now has to sleep with a mask, he calls it his Darth Vader mask.  The first night it was so hard for me to see him wear it, I cried.  But now it is better, and he is slowly getting better.

We have also both been working a ton, so that has kept us really busy!  Also, Young Women's has kept me super busy.  We just went to camp and it was so much fun!  I am so grateful for my girls!  I swear that they are the best in the entire Church!  They are awesome!  

Well, there has been some other stuff that we have found out in the last couple of months, that I think it deserves a separate post.  So, I'm off, I'm going to try and catch up on some other posts. 

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!  I hope you and Grandma are having fun together celebrating your birthday today!  I am so happy that you get to celebrate it with her today after not being able to for so long!  Grandpa, I miss you!!!  I still feel you close, and on those days when you are very close I just have to close my eyes and I can almost feel you right by me!  Oh, how I wish I could have one of your hugs, I didn't realize how much I missed them!  I love you Grandpa!  I am so grateful for the life and the legacy that you have left behind!  Thank you for your wonderful example!  I hope you have a wonderful birthday!  Tell Grandma, that I love her and miss her!  I'll see you soon!  I love you!!!

See this man?

I'm  pretty sure I am so totally, and completely in love with him!  He is so absolutely amazing!  He is the best husband in the whole world!  He has been way sick this last week and I have felt so bad for him.  I think it is amazing how much you can love someone and that you would do anything for them!  I just wanted to let him know that I love him so much!  And I am so grateful for the opportunity that I get to spend the rest of forever with him!!!  I love you Nick!!!  Thank you for being so absolutely amazing and always knowing how to make me smile!  Even if it means you have to tighten my "smiley screws".  I love you!!!

I'm back!

So, first off sorry for the delay on blogging.  It's been a crazy couple of months, we moved upstairs, and we have been busy making it home for us, and then we had all of the fun and wonderful holidays!  And I have been way busy with Young Women's, oh and I got another new job, which I absolutely love!  I have a lot to update on, so sorry for all of the posts that will be coming from the holidays.  There won't be any pictures from about Halloween to Thanksgiving since our camera was broken.  But I will be working on updating what has been going on in the lives of the Joneses!

Going Private....again

So, I've decided once again that I am going to make my blog private, so if you would like to still follow send me your email address!  Thanks!

Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge

So, I really have no excuse for why it has taken me a couple of days to post, other than the fact that I have been super busy.  But to answer the question for today, I thought it would be fun and I wanted to a challange.  Nothing super exciting.  But I am going to St. George this weekend!  And I am super duper excited about it!  And then it is our 2 year anniversary!  I can't believe that it has been two years!  The time has gone by so super fast!  Well anyways, I have to go.  I will try and post tomorrow!  Bye!

Day 26- What you think about your friends

I think I have some of the greatest friends!  I am so blessed and so lucky for the friends that I have!  Here is a story about one of my friends that I posted about last year and I think it describes my friends! 

I had a really good friend tell me today that you can always find the rainbows in the midst of the storm. She told me this as she handed me a rainbow colored pin wheel. And the more I have thought about that today I have realized that it really is true. You really can find the rainbows or the good things in the midst of a storm, no matter how hard it is. It doesn't matter how small that "rainbow" is, it can be the hug from a friend, a cherished friendship, a mug of chocolate milk, a simple smile, or the love that your family can have for one another.

The last couple of days I have been very grateful for the friendships that I have. I really truly have been blessed with some amazing friends! I want all of my friends to know how grateful I am for them, and I especially want my family to know how much I love them. I have also been blessed with an amazing family! I really could not ask for a better one! I realize that I take a lot of this for granted, when I need to stop myself and let those around me know how much I appreciate them! I feel so loved and I hope that I can always be there for those that I care about.

Also, this last week or so I have been helping one of my friends at work with a project that her sister is doing. I have been typing up Bible studies from some prisoners that are located in Texas. It has really been touching to read some of them while I have been typing them up. It has been amazing to me to see how these prisoners have been able to apply the stories from the Bible into their lives and how we can find the love of the Savior in all things. My friend forwarded me this message that her sister sent to her and this is just another little "rainbow" in my life today.

Dear Sister and good stewards for the Lord,

Praise be to God...for this is the day the Lord has made. Ladies, I must tell you that my heart is full and blessed by the work you have done! Please know that I lift you in prayer and and ask for the Lord our God to pour out of the heavens abundantly into your lives.

I hope that I will always be able to find the "rainbows" in my life especially in the midst of a storm. I also hope that I can always be able to show those around me how much I care about them.

Day 25 - What I would find in your bag

Right now in my bag, or as Nick likes to call it my black hole, you would find a book, some earphones, lip gloss, my wallet, a notebook, some bobby pins and my keys.

Day 24- A letter to your parents

I'm sorry for the delay, I was busy yesterday.  And I was thoroughly enjoying General Conference.  I absolutely loved it!  I love this weekend and I wish that it would come around more than twice a year.
So, onto the letter to my parents:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I want to let you know that I love you both.  I am so grateful for the example that you have set for me.  Thank you for always being willing to share your testimonies with me.  Thanks so much for all that you do for me!  I love you guys!!!
Love, Emily

Day 23 - Something you crave a lot

I don't know what I crave most.  I do know that I love popcorn!  And I know that I love Diet Coke!  But more importantly, I wish I could spend one more day with my grandpa and get the chance to tell him that I love him and that I miss him!  I had the chance to spend some time with my grandma tonight and it was so much fun.  She was teaching me how to do bobbin lace, she taught me about 10 years ago when my grandpa died but I have forgotten since then.  I am going to start going over at least once a week, or at least I am going to try.  I don't want to have the last regret of wanting to spend more time with her.  I feel so blessed to have gotten to know my grandpa as well as I did.  I'm sorry I kind of got off topic, but I am really missing my grandpa today and this last week.  Our house has felt so completely empty with him gone.  I know that he is proud of me and I know that he loves me.  I just can't wait until I can see him again!  I love you Grandpa!!!

Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else

I'm not really sure what makes me different from everyone else, except that I love to do cross stitch and that I can sit and do it for hours!  It is a real true passion of mine!  Everyone that I talk to is amazed that I can sit there for hours at a time and do it without getting bored.  I also love to read!  And to listen to music!  And most of all I love to spend time with Nick!  He is amazing!!!

Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy

These two little kids make me so incredibly happy!  I love them so much!!!

Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future

I think this is a silly question, because anyone that knows me and knows how much I am totally in love with Nick wouldn't even ask me this question.  So I see my self being with Nick in the future and for the rest of forever!  I'm so lucky!!!