Missionary blessings....

Those who have missionaries serving or have served as missionaries, know missionary blessings. We received missionary blessings yesterday. Our city was hit with 8 hours of sustained winds of 100 MPH and wind gusts of up to 106 MPH. We were without power for 17 1/2 hours in 30 degree temperatures. The blessings? Very little damage! Homes around us and around our home we rent out lost shingles, fences, trees, siding...etc., etc., etc. The home we live in sustained no damage that we have been able access. Our rental home no longer has any fences. When we bought the lot, it was completely fenced. So, we have never seen it open like it is. We share fences with 5 other homes, now it is completely open. Wow, weird! The wind took down the big cherry tree in the backyard. I have fond memories of our children climbing in that tree. With the fences, we lost a 20 year old grape vine. A very large and stalky vine. We will see what grows in the spring. Except for the inconvenience of no heat or power, we walked away virtually unscathed. The homes are in tact, the neighborhood is a mess! We were blessed with physical safety!

Another recent blessing was that of a job. I have worked in the school system for the past eight years in various capacities. Last year I took on just a 3 hour a day job as a teaching assistant. Even though it was less hours than I wanted, it was consistent work. When I work as a substitute, it is hard to make plans. I never knew what would come tomorrow. With this job, I can make other plans.

At the end of last year, the Principal told me that she would not know if she could hire me back on, because of funding cuts. She said that she would get back to me in early August. When late August came around and I had not heard back from her, I started wondering what to do. A couple of days before school started I got a call. She said she could offer me 1 1/2 hours of work a day!

With that kind of offer, it seemed I would need to go back to being a substitute. The principal offered four teaching assistants 1 1/2 hr. a day. Slowly but surely the other assistants turned her down. The outcome? I was offered 5 hrs. a day, four days a week. I love the kids, I love the people I work with, I love the school and it is nice to have a guaranteed income that I can plan around. I love those missionary blessings!

Thank you to those of you who worried about us, checked in on us, offered us a place to stay, etc! It is great to be warm again! Yesterday I had a hard time staying warm. Thanks to a car, I was able to warm up occasionally in the car. There were not gas stations or fast food places open. All of the traffic lights were out which made traveling difficult. Power lines were down, especially on Main street which made travel dangerous. Flying projectiles made being outside difficult and dangerous too! I am thankful for a good nights sleep and a warm house and a wonderful family!

Ninja...

Avery has been interested in everything Ninja lately. Last night we went by my sisters house. She had an extra kicking bag. We brought it home and it is now hanging in the storage room. We should all have a kicking bag, right?

Today he mowed the lawn. He got his first paycheck last week and wants to buy a Ninja Uniform. With most of his check and money from mowing the lawn, he picked out just the one he wanted. We got it from Karate Depot.

http://www.karatedepot.com/

Day 8 of 29-Days of Giving

Today I substituted in a Special Education class.  The class has around 12 kids with special needs.  I don’t know of many other instances when I feel as close to God as when working with children who have special needs.  A woman once when talking about her Grandson with Angel’s Syndrome.  She said he was more of a devil than an angel.  I know that children with special needs are heaven bound, not question in my mind.  Here is a wonderful inspirational story!http://youtu.be/ciYk-UwqFKA

Day 6 of 29 days

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=17258130

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a member of my church, service to others is really just a part of every day life. So, as I sit and contemplate service rendered, a lot of the service I do, is stuff that is just part of my normal routine.

As my service action yesterday one of the things I did was to go visiting teaching. Visiting teaching is done once a month in our church, or more often as our sisters need us. We go as a pair of women that are matched together. Every so often our districts change so that we get the opportunity to serve with and serve other members, so that we get new opportunities. My companion and I visit three sisters.

We usually visit with them for 30-60 min. each month. Yesterday morning we were able to visit with all three in one morning. That is sometimes hard to do, to schedule around five womens schedules but we were able to do it. When we visit, we access their needs, share a short lesson on the gospel, share a testimony and end with a prayer. It is a highlight of my month. It is an opportunity to share our love of the gospel together.

We also come together at the drop of a hat it there is a need in our ward such as: a death, birth, sickness, etc. You can expect that women in the ward would drop everything to help in any desperate situations. We take in dinners, help with small children, help clean a house, provide our time to sit with you by your hospital bed, bring in groceries to your home, drive other children to lessons, etc. I have done all of these things and more but it is just something that I grew up watching my mother do, so they are just something I have always known I need to do. Both my mom and dad who are still alive were my greatest examples of service.

I still have early memories of my dad and brothers grabbing shovels early in the morning to shovel every front walk on our side and the opposite side of the street on our block, which was around 50 homes. It is just something they would do. When my mom would make cookies, we always knew 1/2 would be going to another family! I am grateful for the great examples of service that lived in my own home!!!

Day 4 of 29 days of Giving....

My gift today is that of hope for another day! After watching all the images from September 11th 2001 it might be easy to get discouraged and down. But today is a new day! A day filled with love and hope for a better tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that!
We live in a time where there is so much evil upon the earth! A time of wars and rumors of wars. A time of earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunami’s, hunger and thirst. We also live on the earth at a time that the fullness of the Gospel exists on the earth. We have a Savior who lived and died for us! There will be a day where he will once again come to earth and all will be made right.
I know my Savior lives and loves me. I know that I am a daughter of God! I am thankful and grateful for that knowledge and the knowledge that a Prophet of God lives on this earth today. I am thankful for President Thomas S. Monson. I know that Joseph Smith saw what he said that he saw. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I know that he saw an angel and brought forth the Book of Mormon, the only true book of scripture.

29-Day Gift Giving Challenge

I have joined a site called 29-Day Gifts. The idea is a 29-day cycle of giving gifts. After 29 days you start a new cycle of giving. The gifts can be big or small. As small as sharing a smile or opening a door that you might not have thought of doing before. Today is day 1 of my 29 day cycle.

My gift today is that of the gift of love, hope and the gift of one life! I found this link and want to share it! It is a a young man from war-torn Iraq. He survived out of the ashes and had some reconstructive surgery and he and his brother were adopted by an angel woman. She turned their life around and gave them the one thing that they needed. The unconditional love of a mother!

Here is a link to my profile on the 29-Day Challenge:

http://www.29gifts.org/profile/hadlockd

...and here is a link to the video I mention above!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXSLjgsl6MI

Entitled Society.....

Do you feel like our children are being raised in an entitled society, like never before. Everyone seems to want something for nothing. Why work for it if you can get it for free! I also think that children expect their parents to answer “Yes!,” to everything!

I can’t tell you how many times and how many different ways that both Ken and I have told Avery “No!,” to something. Not just one thing, but several things. It’s like he think if he continues to ask, we will change our minds. He ask me, he asks Ken, he asks me again and Ken again. His two big things right now are, “Can I buy a __________________ and I want to take a Ninja Sparring Class. Ken signed him up for Tikwando, against my better judgement. They signed up for a year contract. The year is not up and Avery is looking for every excuse to end the contract so that he can sign up with a different establishment that teaches more fighting and less technique and self control. I have learned over the past 10 years or so that he has a hard time making up his mind and then even a harder time sticking with something. This is a concept that he needs to master and learn now! Not something that we can just let slide. He needs to know that when he agrees to do something, that he needs to stick with it and do it!

I was listening to the Eyer’s this morning on a program. They have written a new book about children and entitlement. Even though this is my 5th of five children, I may need to get the book and read it for ideas on how to teach this child that he is not entitled to anything! Everything we get in this life is a gift! Nothing is as necessity but family and the love we share with one another and our belief in God and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Nothing on this earth will go with us when we leave this life! All we take with us is the knowledge that we have received while here. When we put emphasis on the THINGS that we want, the THINGS we think we need and should have, we miss out on the bigger picture! We miss out on time with our families learning and growing together!

Work for what you want, work for what you need. No one is entitled just because he thinks he has earned it or thinks he deserves something, because everyone else has it. Well kido, we are not everyone!

Now maybe I can go to sleep!