Sophia had her preschool Halloween party today! She was an Indian Princess, I called her Pocahontas for the day. This is the same costume that Eliza and Juliette always wore for preschool when they were 4 years old. I was hoping to find the pictures I took of ELiza and Juliette to blog them wearing this costume, but I can't find Eliza's. I think I didn't have a digital camera yet when Eliza was 4. Anyhow, I left Juliette at home by herself with some entertainment, snacks and drinks. She was given a phone and some phone numbers. She is still sick and I couldn't take her with me. She did great!!! She even did her hair while I was gone and got herself dressed in a nice skirt and top. She stayed in her room and watched movies. What a big girl!? I brought my homemade Spicy Pumpkin Soup for the luncheon, minus the spicy part. I went very easy on the crushed red peppers. April brought her delicious Clam chowder soup, we had some salads, rolls and desserts. The kids built these awesome Haunted Houses (ginger bread doll house). Very creative. Miss Mimi dressed up as Elastigirl from "The Incredibles" Disney movie. She didn't get the reaction from the kids that she had hoped for. I thought she looked cute. It was nice to sit and meet the new Moms and chat with old friends as well. Thank you Miss Mimi for making this such a successful and fun party for the kids. Thanks for letting us be in your home and enjoy each other's company!
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I love watching my kids play soccer. They each have such unique talents. Eliza has develop quite thte moves the last two years, and I just love seeing her in action. Her team calls her "Birdie" and she loves it. It is actually what we call her at home, but the team heard us call her taht during games that it stayed with her. Anyhow, this last Saturday I got some good shots of her being her aggressive self. She is a go-getter when it comes to that ball. It is fun to watch her.
Start of gospel marathon: At that same time in my life I embarked on a spiritual marathon (if you will) which would last my whole life. As I’ve read the scriptures I’ve come to the conclusion that the Lord is more interested in long distance runs than sprints….you don’t hear him say: “first one there wins” but you do often read things like: “…the race is not to the swift …or I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race…or and if thou endure it well…or he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”
The reason may have something to do with the fact that compared to a sprint a marathon does more to building our souls, to building our characters than running fast and getting the race over with. A long race helps us become who we need to be.
It’s obvious to me as I look out into the congregation that we’ve all made the same decision to embark on a lifelong course to follow Christ. We made that decision first in Heaven where we chose his plan and made promises to Him, knowing that this life would not be easy but, knowing that the marathon of life would be worth it. .
Later we officially started the race through the gate of baptism putting us on the straight and narrow path which lead to eternal life”
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of Hope, and a clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. 21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the away; and there is none other way (2 Ne 31:20-21) Pressing forward will result in finding obstacles: As I go through life I find myself faced with many challenges, difficulties, trials. These obstacles are often difficult to endure. But with each experience I gain greater love, hope and faith in the Savior. I gain a better understanding of the atonement and build a closer relationship with Him. These experiences have helped me become who I am. I’m striving to continue to stay faithful and steadfast to the covenants I’ve made with God. Later we’ve made other covenants to follow Him, to keep His commandments to strive to emulate His life. We’re going to have moments of fear discouragement, disappointment, and distraction which pull us away from the straight and narrow path and from staying steadfast in Christ.
As we press forward we can also expect things to get more challenging. President Kimball said: Just as school requirements become more challenging from grade to grade, so do the Lord's spiritual requirements of us increase as we progress, grow, and develop. The faith we have had in the past most likely will not be sufficient to sustain us in the days ahead—both because of the world's escalating depravity and because the Lord will give us opportunities to grow and progress spiritually. Each new challenge we face can result in a deeper faith in the Lord and greater confidence in the spiritual privileges that are ours. Dealing with difficult circumstances seems to prepare us to handle even more complicated opportunities for growth.
The Lord will help us as it gets harder. Sheri Dew said: “The Lord has shored me up, strengthened me, and made me able to do thing I could never have managed on my own” I can testify to having experienced that personally last week when I ran my first marathon.
When we chose to follow Christ and came to this earth we knew that life would be difficult and that he would require us to endure to the end; not just until we got tired. We also knew of the atonement and how the Savior would be able to strengthen us to endure. It takes difficult experiences to better understand the atonement. And as we understand it more, it becomes easier for us to apply it in our life.
For example, after going through three miscarriages last year I was heartbroken and devastated. I knew that I could turn to the Lord for comfort. As I took advantage of the resources He offers me like prayer, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the temple, the scriptures; I felt His healing power.
The Savior is our best example when it comes to enduring to the end. He stayed firm and to his promise to God, and knew His purpose in life. He knew who he was. He was faithful regardless of His difficulties and he fulfilled his mission.
I remember the very moment I decided to do a marathon, I felt committed and ready to do whatever necessary to try and prepare to run 26.2 miles.
I took the time to research all that this would require and involve, I realized that I had to make some changes in order to attain what was being asked of me to do or what I was about to ask my body to do. I’d never done anything like this. The bishop gave me a written training plan which included a schedule for running incremental distances.
For starters I had to get out of my comfort zone. I changed my pace, learned to run with a fanny pack and eat and drink during a run, I learned to eat nasty gel gu’s with electrolytes and energy sugars, I had to wake up early, hit the gym, visit the chiropractor, …but I can honestly say that the growth (the joy) comes when we are stretching our souls outside of comfort zone…. 
- My faith and hope in the Savior (the comfort of knowing that I am never alone) got me motivated and encouraged to tackle what was once impossible to do.
- Though my marathon in life is still in effect, and I’m blissfully unaware of what I’ve got to face, I have faith in the Savior and in his grace. I know I will be able to get through anything and I will endure to the end of my mortal life. I will be back in the presence of my Heavenly Father, thanks to Jesus’ grace and mercy, thanks to his atoning sacrifice.
Enduring builds character. It takes time and growth. It takes experiences, trials, challenges to come to understand the atonement a little better each time and then applying it in our lives. He compensated for all that we will go through as we strive to endure to the end. He knows the pain we feel, he knows what we are faced with, he is our strength!
He will not usually take our problems away, but he will not leave us to face them alone. There is no other way to get through this life, Only Through the Savior can we endure to the end. I say these things in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. 
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