Letter - basketball, stake youth conference

November 23, 2014

Hello.  How are you?  I hope life is going well for you.  My last letter was on Nov. 11^th so I’ll start from the 12^th.

On Wednesday, Nov. 12 we had stake yw’s kickball.  It was bishopric night so our ward yw leaders and the bishopric played against our young women.  It was fun.  My competitive nature was dying though because it was all just for fun.  Now I really want to play something competitive. 

On Thursday the 13^th Marlee, Tilly and I went to Spencer’s school and had lunch with him.  His lunch hour starts at 10:00am since he has the first lunch shift.  (His school starts at 7:25.)  He requested Panda Express but it wasn’t even open yet.  So we drove over to McDonalds and it was still serving breakfast so since we couldn’t get any burgers we got breakfast sandwiches.  That evening Spencer had his first basketball game.  He made a 3 pointer!  Later that evening I attended our ward’s RS meeting. 

Friday the 14^th I was able to go help in Marlee’s class.  I spent the rest of the day cleaning and getting ready for Karalee’s baptism brunch.

Karalee was baptized on Saturday, November 15^th.  It was a beautiful baptism.  It was fun to be able to help her get dried off and changed.  Since she is my first daughter, this is the first time I’ve got to have more of a part in the baptism process.  After the baptism we hosted a brunch at our home.  It was nice to have family over to visit.  That afternoon Marlee and Karalee had soccer games and then that evening we watched the phoenix temple cultural celebration.  I couldn’t help but feel relieved that I wasn’t part of it as we watched.  It was a special experience to be part of the Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration, but it was a LOT of work.  I guess it’s kind of the same feeling as when you see someone about to have a new baby and your baby is just a few months old so you’re glad you don’t have to go through that again so soon.   

Last Sunday was the Phoenix Temple Dedication.  It was beautiful.  That evening we had our ward’s YW in excellence.  It was a nice evening.  Our YW are AMAZING!

On Monday of this week Marlee had her soccer party and got her first soccer trophy.  Karalee had soccer practice that evening and then we had FHE.

Tuesday Spencer had a basketball game in Globe.  He hit another 3 pointer!  Since mutual was canceled due to youth conference the kids and I went to go watch him.  It was an exciting fast paced game against a scrappy reservation team; Spencer’s team won by 2 points.  After the game we got some Burger House burritos for dinner and then headed home.  It was a nice little trip.

Wednesday the little girls had Grammy days.  It was Chad’s sister Shannon’s birthday.  She is a wonderful sister.

Thursday night Spencer had a basketball game.  They lost.  In this league several of the teams don’t have separate 7^th  and 8^th grade teams so Spencer’s 7^th grade team plays against 8^th graders a lot and is at a disadvantage.

Friday night was the start of our stake youth conference.  The stake had a lady from the area named Sis. Potter speak and then they had games and refreshments.  Sis. Potter was such a fun speaker to listen to.  She is originally from England and she joined the church when she was around 19 years old.  She is the youngest of 16 children; there were 4 sets of twins.  She grew up in an abusive home and had several major trials, but has risen above them with the help of the Lord.  She had several amazing life experiences that she shared with us.

Saturday we had youth conference all day long.  They served us a nice breakfast then we rotated to different classes and activities.  Then after lunch we all listened to an lds artist Howard Lion speak.  He painted the murals in the Gilbert Temple.  He was a fascinating speaker.  He showed us several of his paintings and the meaning and story behind the paintings.  I especially loved his explanation of his painting From Fear to Faith.  There is a video of him explaining it on that link.  After the speaker we went to Williamsfield high school for a service project.  We scraped gum off the sidewalks and did a lot of painting in their gym.  I can’t believe how much gum was on the sidewalk.  It was gross and is just so rude.  Later than evening there was a dance.  I asked Chad to chaperone with me for our date night so none of my other leaders would have to go.  He lovingly came along. 

Today has been a nice Sabbath day.  I love the opportunity to go to church to renew my covenants and to have my testimony strengthened and to participate, teach and share my testimony with other. 

My quote today is about forgiveness.  I know I am commanded to forgive others.  But how can I know if I’ve truly forgiven someone?  I haven’t had much luck finding answers to that on lds.org, but I found an article called The 10 Things That Show you Have Really Forgiven Someone that I really like.  Here’s a quote from that article.   “It really is so true that when we can find our way to forgiving someone, I mean really forgiving them, we are enlarging our future and opening ourselves to all the good things that are there waiting for us. It is so important to not allow any negativity to linger in your mind, and sometimes that can be hard -especially if you don’t realize it’s there because you think you have forgiven someone.” I don’t want any negativity left lingering in my mind.  I want it clear so it can be filled with love, light and knowledge from God.

Love,

Mindy