classylady

Favorite LDS doctrine: We can return to our Father in Heaven in family units and there is more to life- after-death than going to Heaven and sitting on a cloud and playing a harp. Least favorite Christian belief: Belief that little children are sinners. Is that Original Sin? When I was a full time missionary in Germany, working on a street board, a young couple with their little baby in a stroller, came up to me and started talking about this concept. The father said, "Look at our baby. I can see sin in her." And the young mother nodded her head in agreement. This has stuck with me even to this day. All I could see was a beautiful, innocent child.

Bini, I'm so glad you were diagnosed! Wouldn't it be awful to have those feelings and not know what was going on? I never had full PPD after my pregnancies, but I would get the "baby blues" for awhile. As my kids would say, hormonal changes suck! I agree with the advice that's been given. Don't be afraid or ashamed to get help from the Relief Society, or from whatever source that you can. For me, I always tried to shoulder all my problems on my own. I see in hindsight that was not the best way to go. I was just too prideful to ask for help--still am. I would love to be a RS grandma and help out. Hugs!

I took the test. Looks like I'm Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff - 14 Gryffindor - 12 Ravenclaw - 12 Slytherin - 6 If I was friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I'd want to choose to be in Gryffindor. Didn't the sorting hat allow for Harry's desire to be in Gryffindor?

I've put ice in my milk before. I don't do it on a regular basis, but if my milk isn't cold, I just don't care for it as much.

I love their music.

TOA, I'm very sorry to hear of your wife's death. I haven't lost a spouse, but my father died when I was a child, and I had a daughter die in a car accident 8 years ago. As for what your children are going through, I can relate somewhat. I was nearly 7 years old when my father died in a train/auto accident. I still miss him, and I'm in my mid 50's now. I have very few memories of my father. We have a few photos of him, but not many. I wish my father would have kept a journal. I would definitely keep the videos of your wife. Do you have a program where you can download them and save them? I have a mac computer and I'm able to download to iPhoto. And then I would also save them to an external hard drive or perhaps an internet site. It may not truly depict your wife as you knew her, but it is still her. Some day, your children may want to see them. When our 19 year old daughter died in a car accident 8 years ago, she left behind a 2 month old baby boy. We, as a family were devastated. I'm still grieving, but I admit my pain isn't as sharp as it used to be. Even though we have the gospel in our lives, and we understand the plan of salvation, it doesn't take away the simple fact that we miss our loved ones. I still have my "what if" questions. What if she was still here, etc? A number of months after my daughter's death, my 9 year old son told me in a panicked voice "Mom, I'm forgetting Shelly"! What could I tell him? I knew that as time went on, his memories would get dimmer and dimmer. We want to hold on to our memories! But darn it--our brains simply start forgetting as time goes by. Last month, my daughter-in-law, who had never met my daughter, had a very difficult labor and delivery, and ended up having an emergency c-section. As she was going through this very difficult and stressful event, she said, she could feel my daughter's presence with her. And she knew Shelly was there watching over her. It brought such a comfort and feeling of peace to my daughter-in-law. TOA, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your children at this time. The pain of losing a loved one is almost indescribable. I can't completely understand what you're going through--we're all unique. But, I have experienced loss, and I have experienced acute grief. I hope things will get better for you. I don't know you, but I feel for you, and send you love and prayers.

My hubby says he wasn't talking/comparing about network management or infrastructure--that's (according to him) is a whole different ball game.

I, myself, am pretty much computer illiterate. But, my husband is a Mac convert, who used to be a PC fanatic. He used to work for the Univ. of Utah putting together no-name computers for the department he worked for. He now works for one of the larger school districts in the state as a computer systems service specialist. He has worked on both pc's and mac's. His experience the last 21 years, is that quality and ease of use is the reason he prefers the macs. The district has over 15,000 macs--not including ipads and ipods, and about the same amount of pc computers. For support issues, the district only needs 1 person for 4 schools on the mac side, but on the pc side, they need 1 support person per school! He also states, that in some of the studies he has read, people tend to be more productive using macs than pc's. The support issue, for me, kind of says it all.

I also am saddened by the failing testimonies of some of my family members and friends. Testimony can be fragile. It needs to be nurtured. And for those who no longer believe because (insert name/s here) wasn't perfect, or "nice" to them, or didn't agree with them--was their testimony only based on that particular person/s, or maybe, perhaps they were looking for an excuse to leave the church? The only thing that I can do is pray for them, and show increased love.

Well, we're a Mac family here, which I know you hate. We have 4 MacBook Pros, and 3 MacBooks. But, I have to admit we actually do have 2 desktop PC's and 1 laptop PC. My husband says, if he had his "druthers" he wouldn't have any PC's. He works for the the school district as a Computer Systems Service Specialist. So, no, I wouldn't make you come over and fix our computers in exchange for cookies. Hmm, my windows need washing.

If you were my neighbor, I'd send you over some cookies. And I wouldn't wait for Christmas.

I've never heard of this before. What is the web site? I've had several ideas for novels in my head that I've wanted to start, but have never gotten to it. Maybe this will motivate me. I've always wanted to write, and I think of the lines in Billy Crystal's movie "Throw Mama from the Train"--"A writer, writes". I've always felt guilty, because I keep thinking if I truly want to write, then I need to just sit down and start writing.

Hmm, something we got for free. Well, in our case almost free. Our car broke down, and my husband and I were without transportation for awhile. One of the members of our ward sold us their Ford Taurus for $1.00. I love that family! We were desperate--no money to fix our old vehicle, which wasn't worth fixing, and no money to get another car. An older couple in our ward learned of our circumstances and didn't need the extra car that they had, and sold it to us for $1.00. What a blessing!

Yup. We got 7-Up as a gift from the neighbors across the street. They had Christmas bows on the 2-liter bottle and a gift tag saying to the ____family from the Smith's. Actually, my kids loved it, because I don't buy soda very often. And I've received mugs with packets of gourmet chocolate in them. I guess I'm easy to please, because I loved that too.

Some of the baked goods I've given away as gifts are cookies, rice crispy treats, and banana bread. But, there have been years when I simply didn't have time to do much baking. Some of the gifts I've received that didn't require baking: popcorn, 7-Up, Gourmet Hot Cocoa, and cheese ball with crackers. My family loved all of these. The tin of cookies sounds wonderful. Also, food doesn't necessarily need to be the gift of choice. I've received holiday kitchen towels, fancy foaming soaps, holiday mugs (sometimes filled with candy canes or other holiday candies), etc. These were also just as wonderful to receive.

I need the laugh button here! Vort, this brings back memories! On one of our family vacations we drove from SLC to Yellowstone, and then up to Canada, and then down through Glacier Natl'l Park, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada. We took a number of cassette tapes with us, Steve Martin being one of them. By the time we were through with this long drive, I think all my children could sing and recite that quote of yours by memory. Ha ha.

Bini, congratulations! She is perfect!

I don't have any more documented sources. But, I agree that the work on the other side is structured and organized. There are many scriptural references that the Priesthood and the Lord's house is a house of order. When we look at the church, and the way it is set up, in every organization there is structure and order. Because it is the Lord's work, here and beyond the veil, it stands to reason, that it is ordered and structured. As to ministering angels--this can be a very personal and sacred experience. There are times when I and my family have known we've had help from beyond the veil. For me, there have been times when I've known the specific individual who has helped me, and at other times when I have not been given that knowledge. One example I'll give, is just last week, my daughter-in-law had to have an emergency c-section. She distinctly knew that my daughter, who passed away in a car accident 8 years ago, was there with her. My DIL had never met this sister-in-law, as she had met and married my son several years after the accident. But, she knew it was my daughter who was with her, and received much comfort in knowing that she was being watched over. I don't know why there are times when we know who is assisting us from the other side, and other times when we don't know who it is. I don't know why there are times when I feel like I'm left on my own to struggle through life's heartaches and trials, and other times when I distinctly know I'm not alone, and receiving help from the other side. I'm very grateful for those experiences I've had that show me that I'm not alone.

I don't feel it cheapens it. I've attended a wedding in the temple that was for time only. In this situation the bride was a widow and already sealed to her first husband. When she remarried she and her 2nd husband were both temple worthy, so chose to be married for time in the temple rather than having a civil ceremony conducted by their bishop outside of the temple. I think in their situation, they wanted to start their marriage in a very spiritual manner.

We have laminate in our kitchen and entry way. I love it there. We've had a refrigerator leak and the laminate did get slightly damaged. My living room and bedrooms are carpeted. I'm one of those people who have cold tootsies. I love walking on my carpeted areas barefoot, but hate walking on cold flooring. My master bath is tile. Looks great, but I can't stand walking on it--too cold to my feet. Also don't like walking on the laminate with bare feet. Our carpeting in the bedrooms are over 20 years old. Love to get new carpet, but can't afford it right now. I'll probably stick with carpet in the bedrooms just for the comfort of walking on it. For the ease of cleaning, laminate would be the way to go--especially with a rental.

I remember feeling most of those same emotions before I left on my mission to Germany. It's been quite a few years since I served, but what you're feeling, I believe, is perfectly normal. It is scary to leave home and family. And, of course, we question our ability to serve the Lord. Missionaries are not perfect. Each missionary has their own strengths and weaknesses. Missionaries are the Lord's tools in building up His Kingdom here on earth. The Lord knows you personally. He knows of your desire to serve. He also knows your fears and weaknesses. And you are still called to the work! If anxiety is truly getting to you, ask for a priesthood blessing.

Yes, please keep us posted! I'm praying all goes well.

Shdwlkr, I'm sorry you're experiencing such a "down" time right now. What you're going through is hard. I can relate in that I married a man who has had some of the same trials as you. His ex cheated on him, and after the third guy that he knew of, he finally filed for divorce. There were a lot of bitter feelings after the divorce. And, yes I was dragged into it. There really isn't a way to avoid the ex when there are children involved. I can tell you this, in my husbands case, it has gotten better over the years. Things seemed to mellow as the years went on. So, there is hope. Maybe youll meet someone in the future who will love you, baggage and all. I love my husband, though I won't sugarcoat it and say it's been a piece-of-cake, for it was hard for me to deal with it all. We still have some issues that we deal with, but because of our commitment and love for each other, we are able to overcome most problems. I hope things will start getting better for you. Have faith that they will!

I agree that there are qualifications to achieve the different degrees of glory. But, I'm grateful that I am not the one judging. How can I, not knowing the true mindset of a person, possibly judge? How would I know if a person perhaps had a mental deficiency that attributed to the choices that they made, even horrific crimes, where that person would not be accountable for their actions? I'm just grateful that when all of mankind is judged, it will be a perfect judgement. So, there actually may be figures from history, that we may have thought wouldn't qualify for the Celestial Kingdom, but because we don't know "all", they may actually qualify.

One reason it may say "previously sealed" on the church records is as a "flag" during temple recommend interviews that all child support/alimony payments are current. Isn't that a requirement for a temple recommend? My impression is that this Sister has some insecurity issues with her husband. The fact is, he's been sealed before. And it sounds like she is having a difficult time facing that fact. There will be other times in their marriage when that fact is going to surface, like it or not. For example, in the genealogy records the first wife is listed, not the subsequent wife/s. Also, if I remember correctly, it seems like with our mortgage my husband had to show his divorce decree.