New Years Celebration - Japan Style! ;D - Mostly, MISSIONARY MIRACLES! :D

Hi all! I accidentally posted my missionary daughter's letter on another blog of mine... then again HERE (LOL, meant to go HERE). I decided to leave it - everywhere - as a reminder/memory maker! :D Love you all! Sorry life is way too busy to write much these days! Hugs! :)

Hey family! :D What's up?!

Today, Sister Keiser and I are going to a shrine in Narita to celebrate New Years and see some New Years culture. Even though it's the second, in Japan it's still basically a holiday because of how big New Years is here. It's pretty exciting.

The last three weeks have blown by with tons of amazing miracles from God. I've literally never been so happy or so overwhelmed by miracles in my life. I've been working so hard but it feels so easy. There's little stress that doesn't lead to happiness in the end and little worries I don't forget about as soon as the moment passes. There were a ton of miracles over Christmas and I feel like they are all just building and steam rolling on themselves. 

I've lost a lot of the energy to write unfortunately. Haha. Sorry.

We're working really hard on building up the young women. Watching Hiromi chan with Sara Shimai and her husband Shuugo has been probably the most rewarding experience of my mission, and it isn't even a baptism. I have seen so many miracles and had so many strong spiritual experiences regarding less active members in the church that shock me, that I never expected to have on my mission. It is a huge thing to me and makes me so happy. Hiromi chan has been a struggle but she is finally here, finally coming to church. Watching her bond with ward members and seeing how much they care about her and want to help her is amazing! I just feel so happy that I have been a part of it. 

We had another girl, Angie chan come to church for the first time since I have known her yesterday. And two days ago her sister Naomi told me of her powerful conversion story to the church and to prayer and inpsired me to know how to support her and work with her better. She is so sweet and has such a powerful spirit. Then two days ago we met another one of our youth who through more miracles will be coming to church! Probably with Hiromi and Sara. I am just... so happy. All of these girls minus one talked to us about their friends who they are trying to invite to church and activities and all want help with English. There is SO MUCH to see and do here and I am way excited about it.

The Lord has been placing people in our path crazy ways, when we need to see miracles it has been happening and I have been shocked at the very specific times in which it starts to come.

Over the course of my mission I've come to find that as soon as we repent, as soon as we rededicate ourselves to God and tell Him that we are dedicated to doing our best and to following Him, the blessings of God pour down upon us. God knows our hearts so as long as we are sincere, we can start over immediately, instantaneously at any moment in our lives. That is the mercy of God. This is one of the biggest things that I have learned on my mission. 

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! Set good New Years resolutions!

Love you all!

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A Perfect Week in Japan :)

I don't have any words to describe... just the perfectness of this last week. These last two weeks even, and the cap was yesterday.

Living in Japan is a beautiful thing, but living in Japan and being a missionary is another thing entirely. Christmas is totally different, and I was expecting Christmas miracles and a normal day where we dendoed on Christmas, plus maybe a few Christmas presents.

At the end of yesterday though we, both my companion and I, were completely emotionally drained. In a good way! I didn't know that that was possible. We were all energy the whole day and by the end of the night we were super quiet. When our district. leader called we were like, "How do we even narrow it all down?"

So here's a summary of yesterday:

We woke up early and under our cute tiny undecorated Christmas tree my companion and I exchanged the Christmas presents that we had gotten for each other and the ward. :3 I was so fun! Sister Keiser got me a
pair of Gudetama cooking chopsticks and a Gudetama contact lense case for after I get home (she's great). I got her two 'My Friend Totoro' pens. :) From the ward, we got blankets! :O Cute little blankets that are so so cute! We were so happy. After we opened our presents and read our letters we got ready really fast and ran to the church where we skyped our families. It was such a special treat to see everyone there waiting for me and so involved in the conversation. I felt a lot of love and felt my concerns about going home fade just a little bit.

After that we had ward mission correlation meeting in which my companion and I brought a gift we had made together that her mom designed. Little Christmas tree ornaments! We shared them with all of the members of ward council after everything was over.

After that we started to head out of the building but were stopped by one of the youth who brought a cake he had hand made for Keiser Shimai (she loves cake), and a... well, something un-dendo related for me that I hid in my suitcase for the next two months. It was awesome! We were on our way out and as we went the members stopped us because on top of the advent calander they had given (with a gift every day) they had a huge box of gifts for us prepared! We carried the huge box home and then went wirh Sara, Shugo, and Hiromi to their apartment. There
were a few hours till Chrostmas dinner so we dendoed in the area. At one point at a fork in the road my companion and I stopped, looked down the same road and simultaneously said, "Should we go this way?" We went that way and at the end of the road, last house on the right, we found a new investigator! We aren't sure how much potential she has yet, but it was awesome!

Afterwards we watched Mr. Krueger's Christmas and opened presents and had Christmas dinner with Sara and Shugo. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of time to talk about it, but it was so so tender and I felt so special to be a part of it. Hiromi is the less active girl we have been trying to get to church and Sara and Shugo did Christmas with her just like she was their own daughter yesterday.It's not hard to see how much they love her. I was in tear so much

Just the perfect day.

Love you all! Merry Chritmas!

Pics later!
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Old "Recent Family Tidbits" ;)

Hello World! :D (I have NO IDEA who will read this! I just like to write. ;))

Well, I haven't had a computer in A LONG TIME. It is so sad that I missed so much time to work on the family blog (and the missionary blog). But, I finally got my computer fixed, so now I just have to develop habits again (or just get on randomly again like I used to. lol ;o)

Here is an OLD post I wrote but never posted, most likely some time in February. lol :D I know it's old news, but hey, it's about my awesome family and I want to remember the little stuff... and besides, you never saw it, so here you go! ;D 

NOTE: I did make one change to the old text, today. I crossed out a line and added a new one in after it. Feeling like I could not yet do what I said I would do, discouraged me. It seemed like if I progressed that slowly, I wouldn't really be progressing, anyway... and so I stopped playing. 

But in October (half a year later) I reminded myself that EVERYTHING WE DO MATTERS. And even when it seems like it isn't enough, if it is all you can do IT IS ENOUGH. And it DOES make a difference! 

OK. Enough of that. On with the old news (then titled, "Recent!" ;) - February-ish 2015 -

Recent Family Tidbits...

Levi recently decided to learn how to play a song on the piano. He had never played before. But look at him now! :D

I have also been playing piano. I WISH it was an hour a day. It's more like, maybe an hour or so each week (so far - but hopefully I will find an hour a day to spend at the piano soon)  (hey - it still add's up! It all helps! ;)). I'm working my way through a Junior Hannon book (at the half way point today); and I LOVE it! I have been wondering my whole life what Major and Minor Scales are. Today I learned and practiced playing C Major and A Minor Scales. I'm so excited! :D Playing musical instruments is REALLY good for forcing the right and left sides of the brain to work together! (I'm just guessing this, as it is QUITE a bit more challenging to read sheet music on two different staffs and play both hands at the same time. Whew! Quite a task! :o) I'm hoping I get super smart from playing! ;P

Our family got a package in the mail today... from Mindy. She sent it the beginning of Dec. It was supposed to get to us before Christmas. LOL What a fun surprise! :D

Dausen asked me if I could make Valentine Cookies. I asked him to make them with me. We made big, frosted hearts today. :) I love that boy SO MUCH! He is as sweet as ever! :D We have a wonderful family!! :D

Oh, and Devry is a cashier at Super One now! :D Dausen and I got in his line at the store today. I was a turkey and said something that probably embarrassed him. :o Oh well. He's a survivor! ;o

Happy Day to you all!

Corine :D

December 3, 2016 - And so, for the past two months I have been playing again. Not for an hour a day or even a half hour or even every day, but when ever I can, for as long as I can. :) And I AM improving again. :)

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The BEST Advent Calendar / Christmas Countdown - IN THE WORLD! :)

Hi world! :D

...Want to see and participate in THE BEST Christmas countdown / Advent Calendar IN THE WORLD? :D

THIS is the BEST one I have ever seen! So I want to share it with you. I think it could ignite the Christmas Spirit in even the most "ba humbug" of them all! ;) And if you start late... (like I did; I just started two days late :o), just double up a little here and there and you can still experience it all! ;) Merry CHRISTmas! :D




PS. There are daily videos to watch and there is an advent calendar you can download for free as well. Just go to lds.org or mormon.org and click on "Light the World." Merry Christmas! :D

Corine :)

And... We're Having Sunshine and Rainbows Today! :D

HELLO! :D

Today is a good day! :)

• I rode my bike about 10 miles, after riding 32ish yesterday... it felt GREAT! :)
• I made GOOD FOOD for my family for dinner... gluten free spaghetti! :D (and liver and onions). The spaghetti "noodles" were simply spaghetti squash. *By the way... Dausen was happy because it was fun eating the squash “noodles” out of the squash bowl. He thanked me for dinner and said he likes “fun” food. :D (Man I LOVE that guy! :D His appreciation and attitude of having fun are SO MUCH FUN for me to watch!)

AND,

• My mind became clearer today about how I might want to spend my time. Improvements for my schedule and home routine are gelling beautifully in my mind.

I think this last one is, in part, because I am mentally working dinner preparations back into my life. Making dinner no longer feels like “the bane of my existence!” Now... it feels like an awesome part of my “work” day, in which I GET to do part of my work AT HOME, for the LOVE of my family!!! :D

*sigh... Working OUT of my house a little, REALLY makes me appreciate working IN my home more! :)

Love you, friends and family! :) I hope your day is filled with sunshine and rainbows, too! :D

Corine :D

THIS NEW HABIT is CHANGING MY LIFE! :D

HI FRIENDS! :D

I have been experiencing something wonderful in my life that I really want to share with you... I hope this writing isn't boring; because you just never know... what I am experiencing may end up blessing you, too! :)

First of all, I have been riding my bike, stationary in my bedroom, every morning for 35 minutes at the start of each day (excluding the Holy Sabbath), since January 29 (it will be two weeks tomorrow! :D). I have only missed one day. :)

Me on my bike right after Miles surprised me with it. Isn't he a sweetie? :D

It may not seem like much, but this small act it is changing my life. I decided to do it for only 35 minutes for ONE reason... to break my behind in so I can do more. ;) I have since determined that it was really GOOD that I set the time to be short... it makes consistency when trying to redevelop a habit more doable. ;) I have also since determined that once I get back to  serious triathlon training on the road again, I will continue to do small bit of exercise in the quiet of my home each morning. :)

I hope I can help you understand why I don't want to give this up, and how it could be a great idea for you.

My new - Life Altering Habit :D

Perhaps the BEST benefit of biking indoors on my stationary bike comes with it's partner activities... Or maybe it's the powerful combination of having ALL of these together at the start of each new day and throughout the day...

Each morning as prepare to I exercise my body I lay my personal computer before me and download scriptures and a General Conference talk to listen to while I pedal. I listen to the same chapter or talk at least twice, paying close attention, and sometimes listen a third time after showering and while changing clothes and preparing for the day. Then I ponder upon those scriptures while I work, asking the Lord to help me understand and apply what I am learning to my life. I also ask the Lord to show me what I can do to improve myself to be a better Disciple of Jesus Christ (What Lack I Yet?”), and where I should focus my time and energy.

This new habit has given my mind and body a very fresh start for each new day and is changing the way I feel. I've exercised A LOT in my life, and I've read scriptures A LOT, too. But this is a whole new experience!

I am starting to FEEL LIGHTER AND FREER! My mind is clear. I know my purpose. I am not bogged down with activities that promise to deliver and fall short. Other activities are less appealing to me now. And I gotta say... Less is definitely More... :) After examining my life and committing to doing the little things that really matter most then adding ONLY what fits peacefully into my life... I do less, and accomplish more. I waste less time on internet sites. I talk to people in real life more. I even relax more with my family! :) AND I AM LEARNING. :D I AM BECOMING! Nothing feels better than the feeling of PROGRESSION in life!!! :D

Maybe I shouldn't say this is changing my life. The activities etc. I had before doing this, remain. Almost everything in my life is the same, really. But doing this is changing ME! And that changes how my life looks and feels! :)

I have scriptures running through my mind throughout the day, which is causing me to live a more Christ Centered life. I have more peace. I have more hope for overcoming my weaknesses, and more strength and faith for the process. More JOY in the process.

And WHAT IS the process??

One of the talks I listened to reminded me that I need to be humble enough to ask the lord what I lack (what keeps me from moving forward); and then be faithful enough to act on His answer. As I enjoy and take care of my family I try to intertwine these two things... including the Lord in all I do on a more personal level. 

Through pondering upon the scriptures, the Lord is currently teaching me a concept that I have not understood throughout my life (no, it is not the concept of asking what I lack then doing what the Lord counsels; but that is a principle that I used to help me learn this concept I'm not revealing). NOT knowing this principle caused a certain negative experience to REPEAT itself, over and over again throughout my life.

The last time this negative experience BEGAN to take place, the Holy Spirit REMINDED me of this newly learned principle; and I FINALLLY knew HOW to RESPOND appropriately. :D (This is a great blessing to my family! ;))

THIS NEW HABIT IS CHANGING MY LIFE by changing ME!!!! :D

I know, Miles... you already think I'm wonderful! ;) But you gotta admit, we ALL have room for change/repentance. :)

Friends and family... if you haven't tried this process, you might consider giving it a try! It is life changing!!! I FEEL SO HAPPY ABOUT LIFE as a result of it!!! :D (OK. Yeah. Life was already great. But it can always be greater. Eh? ;)

I hope you try it and that it blesses you in your life too! :)

I love you all!

Corine :D

PS. Here is a link to a stream of photos I found of fathers seeing their babies for the first time...

Aren't they wonderful? :D

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/379850549801891133/

http://pin.it/e4q2Qmf

I hope you enjoy! :D

Counting Blessings - Simple Joys of the Day... :)

...So many simple, sweet joys in life! ... SO BLESSED! :D

Today one of my 20 year old sons suggested we have a family picnic at a nearby park. So we did. :D I LOVE that my young adults WANT to do things with our family!!!

Yesterday a couple cool things happened as well (I'll save the biggest and best for last)...

Miles and I rode around the lake, and I did it in 1 hour and 39 minutes... AND I felt GREAT, had no soreness, and did it in just four minutes longer than my record time! Either I am getting back in shape faster than I realized, or the dark chocolate and Gatorade gels I had before and during the ride gave me a ton of energy! ;D Anyhow, I know it doesn't REALLY matter, but I'm so excited about it so just had to share! :)

The bigger and better thing that happened was that when Miles and I got home, Devry, Dausen, and Levi were all in the driveway cleaning and vacuuming out the suburban! 

We recently put the Suburban up for sale, and just as we were about to go biking we got a phone call about someone wanting to look at it; so I asked Dausen to clean it so Miles and I wouldn't have to miss our much needed bike ride. :) 

With a cheerful yes, we left with confidence (we KNEW we could count on Dausen; he is a hard worker and is ALWAYS reliable!) 

I only asked Dausen to do the work, since Levi had studies and Devry tore a muscle behind one of his knees - making it really challenging to walk and stand...

I thought it great, though, that Levi and Devry helped as well, regardless of not being asked, regardless of difficulty (Devry's torn muscle) regardless of having lots of homework to do (Levi), and regardless of Dausen being cheerfully willing to do it all alone. And they did a very detailed, AMAZING job! 

And then there is the full time Missionary service going on! Can you believe Mindy is serving the Lord full time in Japan! :D  It is still so awesome I keep celebrating! ;D

(Photo below - the day Mindy went to the Spokane Temple in preparation for her mission service...) 

                            

What great kids - All of them! :D 

I am a blessed mama, and I love my sweet family, so much! :D 

Corine :D