My Simple Daybook~March 25, 2017

Our lives pass swiftly by!

Remembering and recording the everyday

 moments is a great gift to leave behind.

The big things are important, but it is in the details

that our story is born.

The telling of the ordinary moments

are the Threads from 

which the bigger stories emerge.

These things are important links to the 

outcome of what our posterity will inherit from us.

These Daybook posts are my attempt at it.

Just for today~Saturday, March 25, 2017

Outside My Window...It is warmish and sunny right now but may rain this afternoon.  I am hoping not.  It has just been rainy for so long and we are really seeking spring around here.  The hills are so green.  It's reminiscent Ireland's velvety, emerald hills and the rest of the UK. It is just simply beautiful.  Like Jim said and I agree,  "It is like five years of dust has been washed away this winter and everything looks fresh and new."  So of course the sun only makes it all look more radiant.

I am thankful for...all of our experiences that continuously bless us and teach us the truths in this life.  It has taken me a long time to be thankful for trials and adversity but are those not the times when we draw nearer the Savior, feel his love and comfort more and learn big lessons?  Bittersweet reflections of what has happened at various times, how we survived it and were blessed by God. Pondering how they made the good times better are poignant reminders of why we have adversity in the first place.

Spiritual Thoughts...I like to think about where we came from, why we are here and where we are going. These kinds of thoughts help to create each day with a target in mind.  I want to return to God after this life and to live a life he would find pleasing here.  We are saved by his grace to our eternal rewards. I want to show my thanks to God for all he blesses us with by keeping his commandments and serving others.  This just leads to a better happier life now as well as in the hereafter.  

From The Learning Room...People and relationships and living is generally a mix of good and bad experiences. So much of our happiness depends on our reactions to things that happen that are beyond our control, and that eventually shapes our character.  I am continuously noticing more and more how a true recognition of this shapes how I view everything in my life.  The only thing I need to control is myself. Which is a full-time job!)  And it is a good thing because you cannot, nor will you ever be able to change someone against their will. This is a good thing.  Our agency to choose for ourselves is paramount to our happiness. I want that and I want everyone else to have it as well.  

I Am Praying For...our family, our friends, our country, the world.  There is nothing that doesn't require and thrive with the help of God as we go through this mortal experience. I pray for people by their name and the specifics I know they are seeking.  I pray for myself that I can be a better, wiser, more giving person.  I pray for my friends who are sick, have lost loved ones in the past few weeks and for those that just struggle in general. I am a Christian and that is where I find my peace.

Quoting Pinterest...

The light that floods the 

darkness and gives us hope!

I'm Listening to...Josh Groban's "Stages" album and the soundtrack to LaLa Land.  Both have been repeated several times this week. Josh Groban is in his prime on this album. Be amazed by it.

Watching...Movies right now and waiting for the Bronte Sisters on PBS tomorrow.  Last night we watched Mrs. Brown about Queen Victoria.  It is a favorite in our collection.  The night before we watched, The Age of Adeline. Loved that movie.  And Jim has been watching hours and hours and hours of the making of Lord of the Rings. Ugh. Too much of a good thing.  Seriously it is ten times the length of the trilogy.

Thinking About...a billion things at once.  So much to think about all the time anymore.  Retirement should be called rewirement.  You work just as hard, if not harder, but theoretically you just get to work on what you want to do.  I'm into spring cleaning now and doing a few big genealogy projects.  Wondering if I'll do some Easter decorating or just skip it this year.  By the time I get it up it's nearly over.  I guess it will depend on if we host Easter here which I am thinking about also.

In the Kitchen..things are looking good.  Have meals made for the next week so...Yay..I don't have to think about that on a daily basis.

Loves and Passions...Going on day trips with Jim. Nothing brings me more peace and refreshment and relaxation in a day than that activity. Getting outside, and away enjoying the earth, and the quiet.  The fun places we go and taking photos is something I adore.  This is what I want to do every single day.  If only...!  I am passionate about that.  I love our family and friends and I am passionate about that too.  I love doing my family history work and writing.  I enjoy shopping for unique items for the house and clothes and lunching with the girls.  I love buying gifts for other people and trying to figure out exactly what they might like.  I love being a homemaker. I really like entertaining guests in our home. I am crazy for theater, movies and books and art, concerts, interior design, traveling and resting from my labors.  I am not good at resting necessarily, but I am working on it. Pinterest is helpful in the relaxation department. And nothing seems right in the world without music.  I love having a purpose in my life that makes a difference to others.  I am so grateful to have my work and my husband who embraces the same things.

Photos I'm sharing...These are a few of the families I have been working on in my family history work.  

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My mom's little sister and her husband.
I wrote a story about them for Family Search this week.
If you use Family Search and would like to have the link
leave a comment with your contact info if I don't already have it.  I'll be happy to share it.  May they rest in peace.

My grandmother's sister Elsie and her family.
The lady on the front row on the left is my first cousin-once removed.  Through this lady's son, Mike, I am reunited with a kid I played with as a child.  He is also a family historian.
It has been a good reunion.  Good times then and now.

Focusing on these families this week  

has brought back so many wonderful memories.

How about writing a story about some of your family that have now passed away?  It is so rewarding.