no one ever says "I wish summer would just end"

Winter gets tedious.  This year in particular has been rather cold, like you step outside and the air hurts your face cold.  I remind myself that I am grateful for a warm home, boots for all my children's feet to keep them warm, a delicious hot dinner to serve each night, the best jacket in the world for walking the dogs with, and many many blessings that help us better endure the harsh season.  That said I still long for summer.  I love summer.  We actually thought about naming Dani Summer.  We had a short list: Summer, Amber and Dani.  Summer where are you??

In more cheerful news I can now say I love my calling.  I do. The first year was hard.  I didn't know what I was doing and felt awkward and worried.  Now I really look forward to the different events we have and the visits we get to do.  I still worry that everything will go well and that all the work will be done and that I will be wise and do/say what the Lord would want me to do/say.  Of course, we can do nothing without the Lord's help and I worry about, no that's not the right word, I strive to, and fail to, and through the grace of God somehow still, though it is completely unmerited by me, get His help, it's a miracle.  It's His work, and He uses the flawed tools He has.  
Anyway, the second year was much better and I loved it. Loved to serve.  And now starting our third year I am excited and grateful for the opportunities and am hoping, and praying and working for a great year.  It helps that I seriously have the best presidency in the world.  They could totally do everything without me even there so I'm just along for the ride and the blessing of wonderful friendships.  
When we were called Pres Volk, or Sakai, I don't remember which, told us it was often busy but punctuated by lulls.  This time of year is not a lull.  I think the lull is the first 3 weeks of August and most of December. Right now we are going to New Beginnings and Ward Conferences, and getting ready for camp and trek and our volleyball tournament and stake youth activity and the PLDD.  Yesterday I went to the Calvert Ward's conference.  They have a remarkable choir, it was so great!  They have fun and excited YW and a wonderful Bishop. I love to visit them.  So fun. I enjoyed the talks very much.  It's so interesting to me going to the ward conferences because the theme and talk topics are the same for all the wards, yet each one is so different.  Our stake theme this year is "Act in Doctrine", and we have received some wonderful training.  Yesterday as I was looking at the board and listening to the comments during ward council I couldn't help but notice that the beginning of doctrine is "DO".  We need to do the work, do the things the Lord has asked and do it now.  One of my challenges is that I intend to do it, want to do it, agree to do it but sometimes don't do it right now.  For example I intend to read the scriptures each morning.  I think this is the best time of day to do it, "seek the Lord early in life and in the day" and all that, but do I actually always do it?  and if I don't then it's too easy to get busy and forget and even though my heart was right and I wanted to do it ...I then might not.  Do it now. Another example that pains me truthfully is with our PLDD coming up, late in the fall Pres Sakai made some suggestions for us to consider, some small changes.  We reviewed them and shared our thoughts, which were mostly that we didn't want to change but would if he wanted us to, then he got back to us and asked for one of the changes in particular to be made, which was he wanted more time for dancing and socializing and so he wanted us to give the wards the responsibility to teach dancing and etiquette ahead of time.  We agreed. …then the holidays hit and I didn't do anything, then the new year.  Finally we I did get around to following through but it was on the late side.  This put the wards in a crunch.  They had only a little over a month to change an activity.  Some did, some emailed out instruction, or gave shorten versions of it.  We could have done much better and made it easier for the wards and for that I feel bad.
So the dance is in 2 weeks, at the end of the night I am sure we will feel it a success and that the youth will have had a wonderful time but I do not want to be one who waits to act.  If I have an assignment I want to do it right away, it is better that way.  I hope I have learned a good lesson here.  We will see next time I have an assignment I guess :)

So one nice thing about winter?:  cheery instagram pictures of Tatum's valentines party!  Love to see the big girls doing well, being happy.

Add caption

"Let us resolve to follow the Savior and work with diligence to become the person we were designed to become.  Let us listen to and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  As we do so, Heavenly Father will reveal to us things we never knew about ourselves.  He will illuminate the path ahead and open our eyes to see our unknown and perhaps unimagined talents.  The more we devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and happiness, the less likely we will be on a path to regrets.”