Some People are So Creative!

Nice!
I guess people had gum they were sick of
 and didn't have anywhere else to put it!
(In line, waiting for a ride at Lagoon in Farmington, Utah)

The Roof is Done!!!

Before! 

See the shingles curling?

 They need to go bye-bye!!

My hard working darlin!!

What an amazing man! 

He can do anything!

We have such great neighbors, 

friends, and family!!! 

Thursday evening we had lots of help tearing off the old shingles! It's a dirty job!

We had big people and little people helping!

Everett and Parker! My buddies!

It was starting to get dark so they had to quit for the night. 

We borrowed a trailer from

 one of our neighbors, for the dead shingles! 

May they "rest in peace!"

The next morning lots more help!

My friend Krissy, 

and her son Tyler, and husband Tom. 

They are amazing!! 

This little guy wanted to help so bad. 

This is Jacob, 

he lives next door. 

He was helping put the 

shingles in the trailer! What a helper!!

The roofing supplier delivering the shingles and stuff!

It's pretty slick! They have a conveyer type machine that sends the supplies and shingles up to the top of the roof. The shingle bundles weigh about 80 pounds each. In the old days these guys would carry them on their shoulders, up a ladder. I'm glad we didn't have to do that. 

Can you see the hole? It was leaking below the swamp cooler. Ouch!! My darlin had done a patch job, but it really just needed to be re-done.

My brother Keith helping! He was a hard worker too!

Starting to put the shingles on!!

My job was keeping them fed and hydrated!! 

Taking our last load to the transfer station. We took 3 loads total!

Taking a water brake!

Almost done!

I love it! It's beautiful!!

Beautiful!!

Thanks to Riley, Emily, Keith, Krissy, Tom, Tyler, Chad, Parker, Don, Autumn, Nathan, Jacob, Robert, Everett, Cragun, Brad, Alex, Chase, James, John, Wayne, Kent, Joseph, Danny, Justin, David, Jacob, Darwin, Devin, Mark, Howard, Annette (yummy brownies), Kent and Terri (popsicles), for your help!

(If I forgot to mention you, please forgive me) 

You are all heaven sent! 

Happy Independence Day!!

Wishing everyone a happy and safe day!!  

God Bless America!!

Cute baby owl's!

Can you see this baby owl 

in the bottom of the milk can?

He must have flown in and got stuck. When I went out on the patio to look at the stars, I heard some funny noises. The noises were kind of like purring. I called my darlin out to listen. He got his flashlight and went out toward the trees. We saw about 4 or 5 baby owl's in the trees. 

Then my darlin started hearing lots of noise coming from the milk can. We looked in, and this is what we saw. He was stuck. We took a few pictures, then my sweetie, carefully leaned the milk can on it's side. The little guy walked out and flew away. Yeah!!!

He looks kind of grumpy! 

But beautiful!

Here is one of them 

on the power line.

You can barely see him, 

but he's there with red eyes!! 

Cool!

Happy First Day of Summer!!

It's the first day of summer! 

What are your plans? 

Camping?

Swimming?

Disneyland?

Traveling the world?

Ours?

We are going to re-roof our home! 

(Is re-roof a word?)

And when I say "we" are going to

 re-roof our home, I me "we!"

I know, lookin good!

 It's been needing it for years!

 Scary huh! I bet you're thinking we are "those" neighbors. The ones that everyone wishes would move. We really are good neighbors, I promise, but we didn't have...*ahem*... the...you know, the money. Now thanks to my mom-in-law for loaning us the money, we will getter done!! 

Thank you Nancy, 

I love you to bits!

If that sounds fun to you, come on over! 

We know how to have a good time. 

I will be sure to take plenty of pictures of our roofing party!!

I hope this doesn't sound too much like I'm complaining. 

I am not. I am so glad we finally get to -get it done!!!!

"...stop accumulating..."

Andrew Carnegie, one of my heroes said, 

"I resolve to 

stop accumulating 

and begin the infinitely more serious and 

difficult task of 

wise distribution."

-------------------

I am about there. 

I have lived in my home for 14 years. I have been bringing things into my home for 14 years. I do take things out too, but too much has come in and not enough has been taken out. One day my dad was here visiting, and he looked around and said, "I can see you're still a gatherer!" Ouch! He and my mom had just moved from a 4000 square foot house, into a 2 bedroom apartment. 
How did they do it? 

"Wise distribution!" I have been wanting, needing, to stop accumulating and distribute more! I am going to work on this, I am going to stop accumulating, stop bringing things home. And make more trips to donate! Now, if I can get the others I live with to do the same, we'll be in good shape!!

Bloom Where You're Planted!

Every experience helps us grow!

-----------------

What if you have been misunderstood? 

What if things in your life

 don't go according to what you had planned? 

What if you are sick? 

Or you lose something or 

someone important to you? 

What if it rains and rains, for days and days, 

and there seems to be only dark clouds in the sky?

What if you try so hard to be a good person, 

and it doesn't seem to be enough? 

---------------

Have you ever heard the expression: 

"Life is 10% 

what happens to you

 and 90% what

 you do with 

what happens to you!" 

-anonymous

 When life is a challenge:

1-Receive all things with thankfulness! 

I recently had an issue with a tooth, that just about sent me over the edge. I can honestly say that the first thought that crossed my mind was, "This is good, now when I'm feeling better I will appreciate it so much more, than I would have if I wasn't feeling miserable right now!"

2-Think of the challenge as a gift!

What is this gift? 

What am I supposed to learn? What is the lesson? 

I will learn and be better than I was. I will have greater knowledge and more love, if I think of the experience as a gift. God must think a lot of me, to give me this opportunity to grow! 

I will thank God for the gift!

3-Pray for peace and patience, 

as we pass through this challenge!

God is the sculptor, we are the clay! Sometimes it takes a 

little while for us to learn what God is trying to teach us.

4-Be prepared to hear 

what God is trying to tell us! 

Sometimes we are so busy complaining about our situation, that we can't hear. God will speak to us when we struggle and tell us what we need to learn and do to move on! Listen!!

5-Keep moving forward! 

I heard a saying once, I don't know who said it, but it went something like, "It came to pass, not it came to stay!" We need to remember to move forward, learn the lesson, thank God for the experience, and be a better person for going through it!

---------------------------

 Bloom Where You're Planted!!

Love, Joy

Thejoyfulnest is 2!!

It's true! I have been officially blogging for 2 years! 
It has been a wonderful thing! 
What has been my goal for the past two years?

• To have a joyful and happy place for people to visit!
• To write fun and interesting stories about life and family?
• To be informative about how to get started doing "Family History!"
• To make a history of my family and my darling missionaries!
• To tell the world that I believe that life is wonderful, and challenging, and if we "just keep swimming" it will be great!

My goals for the future of thejoyfulnest?
More of the same! I will hope for a few more visits and new friends! 
Love, Joy

The "Grapefruit Poem"

"I wish I was a grapefruit, 

and here's the reason why

when you came to eat me, 

I'd squirt you in the eye!"

That  my friends, is the first poem I ever memorized when I was a little kid. I just thought I 'd share...for posterity!

I am so thankful for Gratitude!

A lot of us don't talk much about gratitude when it's not November, but hopefully we express it everyday to Father in Heaven. I choose to "receive all things with thankfulness". I am a work in progress though. I found a wonderful post about raising grateful children, that I wanted to share. Ann Voskamp at "a holy experience" posted it and you can read about it here! What a great idea! Teach children while their young to be grateful, and I'll bet they grow up to be grateful adults. I think the world could use as many grateful adults as possible. I am going to do this with my daughter Emily. She's the only one home now, but I think if we do it together and invite my darlin, her dad, there will be so much gratitude in our home, that it will be bulging at the seams! (does a house have seams?) Anyway, it will be a great experience! I know it! Let's all be more grateful!! 

Spring???

I can't help but think 

how beautiful the mountains look!

God Is Everywhere!

There's not a tint that paints the rose

Or decks the lily fair,

Or marks the humblest flower that grows,

But God has placed it there...

There's not a place  on earth's vast round,

In ocean's deep or air;

Where love and beauty are not found, 

For God is everywhere.
-Author Unknown
------------
I have been thinking about the beauty of this world and how grateful I am that God blessed us with such a beautiful place to learn and grow. What we do with our life is so important, the choices we make, the things we accomplish with the time we have been given, the legacy we leave for our children. Others may not worry so much about what they do, or who it affects, but we can still choose to be amazing. I know our Father in Heaven is everywhere! I thank God for life, for this wonderful world we are so blessed to live in, and for the opportunity to learn and grow and to work on becoming what He wants me to be.
-----
Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 1:9

Be sure to pause the music at the
bottom so you can hear Louis.

A Beautiful Day!

March is over, 

and Spring is here.  

I had to go out into the day!  

Have you ever had a day where the sky is so blue, the sun is so bright in the sky, that you have to get out there and enjoy it!! I hopped in the car and rolled down the windows and turned up the music! I leaned my head back against the seat, and put my arm out the window, feeling the wind as I drove.  

It was perfect! 

It was complete happiness!!

One thing I Wish I Could Change!

I have been cleaning my office today. One thing I do while working and cleaning in my office is watch movies. Usually movies I don't have to "watch" because I have seen them so many times. I can work, whether it be scrapbooking, or whatever, and listen while I am doing it. Today, while I was working in my office, I decided to watch some of our family videos. 

What a fun thing to do!!! 

We have some great family videos. We have been on some wonderful trips and video taped activities that the kids have done. As I watched and listened today, I noticed something that I wish I could change. I don't usually have regrets, mostly because even when a situation isn't the best, I still learn and grow from it. What I wish I could change is my focus. 

In all of our family videos, mostly on trips, I focused on the place we were visiting. Lots of video taping of places and things. Places and things, that I thought would be important to our family while watching them later. Now, my little darlings are grown up. I wish I taped "them" looking the things, or just taping "them" having fun at the places we visited. I do have video of them. I just wish I had more video of them. I think I was thinking at the time, "We're here and we'll probably never be back, so I better have lots of pictures of these things, so we won't forget!" 

So this is just a little FYI. 

When video taping, tape your kids! 

Tape them so much that you think, "No one will ever want to watch this much video of my kids!!" 

Someone will...you will. 

My Mom!

My Mom had a birthday yesterday. She turned 79 years old. When I called to tell her happy birthday she told me she is 79 going on 40. I believe that! This woman is amazing and she has more energy than I do. I feel so blessed to have a mother in my life. She is perfect for me. 
My Mom is; 
kind- always thinking of others,
smart- she went back to school when she was 50 and got a degree,
loving- she loves everyone,
a super teacher- she teaches almost everyday,
firm- she is not afraid to let you know, if you need a reminder,
a good listener- she has listened to me all my life,
she is mine- the one that I call Mom!!
I love you, my wonderful Mom!
*************************
Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds.  Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends - but only one mother in the whole world.  ~Kate Douglas Wiggin

Happy Birthday and Miracles!

Today is my brother Keith's birthday. He is here because of miracles. I called him today to tell him Happy B-day, and asked his permission to tell a little about him. He said, "Of course." So here goes. 
My brother Keith is only about a year and a half older than me. Sometime in the process of growing up Keith lost his way. I say that, because the way he was going, was not the way our parents had taught him. He became involved with drugs. He used many drugs, Nicotine, Alcohol, and others. The drug that caused the most damage to Keith's body is Heroin. In using Heroin he became infected with Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C attaches the Liver and destroys it. After years of drug abuse, Keith ended up in big trouble. He ended up in jail, awaiting what might be the biggest possible change, time in prison. I'm sure he was very upset and felt like he didn't deserve this. Or at least he didn't want what was happening to him, to happen. He spent 6 months in jail waiting to find out, what the judge would decide about his future. It was a very difficult time for him, no drugs and all day long, day after day to think about life and what might happen. Even that was a miracle. To go from being under the influence of drugs, and not seeing clearly or caring only about the next fix. To having the opportunity to really see, or think about his life. After this period of time in jail, Keith was allowed to go home to my parents instead of prison. That was another miracle. He was 34 years old and had been given a second chance. There was so much prayer and fasting going on during this time. So he was home and was really ready, to start a new life. He was aware of the way his life was and he knew what he needed and wanted to do, to make his life better. But what about the Hepatitis C? Well, it was still there, doing damage. Keith had been given a second chance but might not be able to be around very long to enjoy it. He married a wonderful and caring woman, and they started building their life together. But as time went by, we all realized that we would need, another big miracle for Keith. By 2007 he was in really bad shape. He would have to spend time off and on, in the hospital to help him survive his illness. He was on the -transplant waiting list- waiting for a new liver, but you don't always get one. Sometimes you die while you're waiting. Then on July 7th 2007, Keith received a call. They had a liver and could he be down to the hospital within a few hours. Keith and his wife Teresa went as fast as they could, down to the hospital. We all gathered in the waiting room to wait and pray. We felt very positive, everything would be ok. Sure enough, after hours in the operating room the surgery was finished and our Keith was alive. We went to visit him the next day and could not believe the difference. He was ready to really live his life. We had received another miracle. We are all so thankful to the donor family for their great sacrifice. Their decision blessed Keith, and gave us a miracle in the middle of their sadness. It has been almost 4 years since Keith received his new liver and he is doing great. I am so glad he is here to have another birthday! I love you, brother!

What works for me!

I am the mom to a missionary. 

A missionary mom. 

Actually, I am the mom to two missionaries. These missionaries are adult children. I love them so much. I really do miss them. You need to know that when you serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you leave your family and live somewhere in the world. You share the gospel, and serve God's children. You communicate with your family by email and letters. Except for twice a year, Mother's Day and Christmas when you get to talk to each other on the phone. Sometimes it is hard. But I think I have figured out how to enjoy this time while they are gone. Whenever I feel sad or like the next year and a half of my life with take forever, I reason through the emotions like this: First, they are adults. They are young, but they are adults. And I want them to become independent and able to live on their own. Second, they are learning and experiencing life. They will see life out in the world. In a place where they have never been before. I want them to learn and experience life. Would I deny them this opportunity just to have them here with me? No. Third, they are there to serve. They have given up a year and a half to two years of their life to serve, love and help others. I have taught them their whole lives to love everyone and to serve others. They are amazing. Fourth, the only time I feel sad and lonesome is when I am thinking about me. If I think about them and what amazing kids they are, and how this opportunity will bless their lives and bless the lives of those they serve, I am thrilled for them. And next thing you know, I am no longer sad or lonesome and I happily go about my day. I will say, probably the most important thing in all of this, and the Fifth thing is that I believe that our Heavenly Father loves them and will protect them, and bless them. This is what works for me! It may not work for everyone, but it works for me, and I thought I should share it. 

"Have a super great day!!"

I work at a dental office. 

It is a great place to work. 

In fact, as far as dental offices go, it is a wonderful place. 

My job is to talk to the patient at the end of their visit. I reschedule them and collect money. I don't mind it at all. I am usually the last person they see before they walk out the door. One day, while visiting with the patient who was checking out, I finished the conversation with, 

"Have a super great day!!" 

All the people that I work with just laughed and teased me about that, like I was being sappy or not sincere. Just so you know, I'm not the type of person to wish someone a 

"super great day"

unless I meant it.  They apparently don't know that in order to have a "super great day" you have to be "puttin it out there", like "The Secret".  I always use the word "super" in front of "great day!" When I say my prayers in the morning before I leave my home, I ask God to please help me "Have a super great day!" It's what I want and what I am trying for, everyday. I want that for everyone, I hope you "Have a super great day" too! 

Natasha, Havin a super great day!

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year. "Give me a light, that I may travel safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God. That shall be to you, better than light and safer than a known way. 

-Minnie Louis Harkins

May you have the 

Happiest of New Years

 ever!  

Fork in the Road!

Ode to the Zode

By Dr. Seuss

Did I ever tell you about the young Zode,

Who came to two signs at the fork in the road?

One said to Place One, and the other, Place Two.

So the Zode had to make up his mind what to do.

Well... the Zode scratched his head, and his chin and his pants

And he said to himself, "I'll be taking a chance

If I go to Place One. Now, that place may be hot!

And so, how do I know if I'll like it or not?

On the other hand though, I'll be sort of a fool

If I go to Place Two and find it too cool.

In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue!

So, maybe Place One is the best, not Place Two,

But then again, what if Place One is too high?

I may catch a terrible earache and die!

So Place Two may be best! On the other hand though...

What might happen to me if Place Two is too low?

I might get some very strange pain in my toe!

So Place One may be best," and he started to go.

Then he stopped, and he said, "On the other hand though...

On the other hand... other hand... other hand though..."

And for 36 hours and a half that poor Zode

made starts and made stops at the fork in the road.

Saying, "Don't take a chance. No! You may not be right,"

Then he got an idea that was wonderfully bright!

"Play safe!" cried the Zode. "I'll play safe. I'm no dunce!

I'll simply start out for both places at once!"

And that's how the Zode who would not take a chance

Got no place at all with a split in his pants.

****************

Happy thoughts for the upcoming New Year! 

Merry Christmas!

Love, Joy