MsMagnolia

We switched from a 2007 pontiac g6 (horrible gas mileage for a mid-sized sedan) to a 2011 toyota sienna after the birth of our second child. I absolutely love our van. We have taken it up mountains on decent roads and routinely drive during heavy rainfall. Our gas mileage is actually better in our van than in our old car. As to the power sliding doors I do not find them slow. I sometimes have to grab my three year old out of the way after he insists on "pushing the button" to close them. We were torn between the toyota and the honda and we decided on the toyota because it had everything we wanted for less money than the similarly equipped honda. Happy car shopping! Mags

My favs were Pakistan and Chile. The US was ridiculously horrible!! Greece was my favorite "made up" face.

Mine is my husband and I in front of the San Diego Temple.

This statement scares me. The biggest problem that I see with our society as a whole today is apathy. People are too busy to go vote. The turn out rate for most elections where I am from is less than 20%! That is ridiculous! When I was little there was an election that happened where my parents, who usually went and voted every time something came around, could not go. The candidate they would have voted for lost by one vote. Their two votes would have made the difference. Never doubt the power that one person has to make a difference. I have heard this quote over and over again The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burk I refuse to sit back and do nothing while my freedoms are trampled and taken away from me. Mags

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/frittata-recipe.html Frittatas are another great way to use home grown produce. We love adding tomato, bell pepper, green onions, even fresh broccoli and snow peas. Sooooo good!

Pam you are always invited for Hawaiian haystack night at the mags household!

My husband is super excited about quantum computers too. When they become the norm it be star trek times!

My parents joined in 1980 when I was 5. I gained my own testimony when I was 17 and have been active since.

My mom got the shingles. It hurt like the dickens! She said her arm felt like it was on fire. The dr told her the vaccine may not help prevent it coming back or have prevented it in the first place. I think she got the vaccine just on the off chance it might work.

Hawaiian haystacks rock! Super simple and lots of fresh ingredients can be added from your garden. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hawaiian-haystacks/ I do not use cream of mushroom soup because it has MSG. I just make a simple chicken stock gravy and add all the other ingredients to the top.

burn

television :)

Chrissy, Living the Gospel is hard sometimes. You say everything is worse in your life when you live it. Explain please? Have you ever tried counting your blessings instead of your doubts and fears? I have read most of your posts and you seem to fall under a scripture in Matthew 6 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 ¶No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? You seem to be trying to appease mortal men and your own pleasure. I have gone through periods of time when I wanted to stop attending church. I knew that choosing to stop attending and stop living the Gospel would ultimately not bring me happiness. I still had the thoughts because I am mortal. I also fought against those thoughts with everything in me and lived the Gospel anyway. I have found peace and Joy no where else. You need to CHOOSE what YOU think best and stop asking the same question over and over when you already have your answer. It just sounds like whining. So... CHOOSE My prayers are with you. Mags

It seems to me that the victim of rape was not disciplined for the rape. They were disciplined for actions and choices made afterward. Now before you get mad let me explain. Everyone and I mean everyone has to make choices. We are indeed the sum total of our experiences but we have a choice no matter what happens to us. Bad things happen to people. I am not in any way saying that the victims of sexual abuse have not gone through something horrible. What I am saying is that EVERYONE has a choice as to how they proceed. They can turn to their Savior and receive comfort and get the healing they so desperately need. They are still held accountable for their actions. All our actions have consequences. We ay not like the consequence that comes but nevertheless they still exist. One major problem in the world today is that we want to not be held accountable for OUR choice. Just my thoughts, Mags

People can declare you an apostate all they want. It does not make it so. The jewish authority of the day declared Christ to be an apostate and false teacher. Was that true? Did it stop him from teaching the truth? Nope. Make sure you are basing your testimony on the "Rock" and not on the opinions of the people around you. I am sorry you are experiencing this. I was once called a liar by a person in authority over me in the church. It was not true and I knew it. I didn't let it take me from the Gospel of Christ. As for the dating. You will find someone. You just may have to continue "wading" for a while :). Just my thoughts, Mags

You may not like my answer...but it is something I had to work hard at myself. You need to forgive and let go of the anger and bitterness toward your parents and brother. You have a poison inside of you. That poison is bitterness and holding on to things that happened so long ago. I am not negating the fact that you went through some tough things. What I am saying is. I acknowledge the fact that you DID go through some tough things. Now as an adult and as a person who has taken upon him the name of Christ you need to let go of the hurt and anger and forgive. It will be hard (mine was definately not easy) and it will be a battle with your "natural man" who wants you to be miserable but when you win it (and win it you will) you will find the peace and joy that only come through the Atonement of Christ. I wish you well on your journey. Mags

I so wanted the laugh button!!!

Gonna try to answer your questions one at a time. No your Grandmother cannot do her own work after she dies. Someone else will have to stand in proxy for her on earth for the ordinances to be done. Your second question is kind of an interesting one. No your grandmother will not be held back because of YOUR choice... only her choices can do that. With that said she has the choice of accepting the ordinances done for her (by whomever does them) Just like everyone else has the choice of choosing to live the Gospel. Will she have to wait on the living? YES Will she be able to make her own choice? YES Will we be able to live together if they are not done? I don't know. I don't know your personal worthiness or her personal worthiness. I don't know what is going to happen EXACTLY in the hereafter. I do know that we have a LOVING Father in Heaven. He loves us with perfect love. We are his children and he has given us a way for all mankind to return to live with him. That way is through the Atonement of Christ. We have to choose to live the way he has told us to live. In this life and the next. Your last question can only be answered by Him. Ask him with a sincere heart, having real intent and the truth will be made known unto you. If the first time you do not feel like you get an answer, keep asking. Remember in third Nephi when the Savior came after all the calamities... It took the people at least three times hearing the voice of God to comprehend what he was saying. I hope I have given you some food for thought. Mags

Are you in a relationship? I ask this because of the number of times the law has been broken. If you are in a relationship I would counsel you to stop being alone with your girlfriend. Find things to do that are in groups and do things that invite the spirit. My dad always told me (even when I was in my 20's and dating) "The Holy Ghost goes to bed at 11 pm". I found it to be great advice to not be on a date after then because of the temptation to do things that are not appropriate. There is always a way back from sin. The Atonement of our Savior is infinite and eternal. It will be a struggle because of the serious nature of the sin. Honestly the more valiantly you struggle against your natural man the more satan will tell you that it is too hard and you should just give up. Never forget you are a son of a loving Father in Heaven and he does indeed love you enough to forgive you. Mags

Tears in Heaven... but sin causes tears... sooo.. Eric Clapton might have been talking about the same thing

It depends on which temple you are going to. If it is a large temple they will have the clothing to rent. If it is a small temple you have to bring your own white clothing. As a side note... if you are purchasing your temple clothing for the first time I do believe they give you a huge discount on it. You have to go to a beehive clothing (located next to some temples)

My husband went through 10 different missionaries when he was learning about the Gospel. We looked online for a ward to attend in the Denver area where he was from. Turns out the one closest to his house was not the ward he was supposed to be in. Then they sent him to a singles ward then another ward. Different missionaries each time. The message is the same no matter who teaches you. Listen with your heart (it sounds like you already have!) and know that you don't have to be nervous. A funny story about stake centers... When I was growing up we went to stake dances once a month. I invited a friend to a stake dance and was suprised to see my fun-loving friend kind of disappointed at the end of the dance. I asked them what was wrong and they told me that they were expecting steak at a steak center! I giggled and explained. Best wishes to you, Mags

The problem with it being in the 70's here now is that the mosquitos and summer temps later will be unbearable... I wouldn't mind some snow :)

Magicmormon, trust is such an incredible thing. It can also be a fragile thing. In a marriage trust is essential. You have broken your wife's trust repeatedly and now you expect her to blindly trust you again. Trust doesn't work like that. You have to earn it. It is a building process that takes time. You are in the repentance process and I commend you for that. You have to accept that she needs to sort through all the experiences of the past three years and decide what to do next. Let her make the decision. You cannot bully or force her to an early decision. Pray for her, pray for your marriage. Leave it in the Lord's hands and make sure you are doing EVERYTHING in your power to save your marriage within the confines of the laws. Above all else...Trust that the Lord is mindful of everything going on in your life and He knows both yours and your wife's hearts. Trust him. Learn to trust yourself again. That way your wife can hopefully have the chance to see you as a truly changed individual. Just my thoughts, Mags

I just had my second child 10 days ago.. I have to say I cannot imagine being away from my hubby during this time. My hormones are on a roller coaster and I absolutely need my eternal companion to keep me from going insane! He has to do this on a pretty regular basis anyway lol. Go with your hubby is my two cents. It will be a great bonding experience for you guys. Mags