Modern Day Revelation

I received this from a friend and felt it was important to pass along.



President Ezra Taft Benson also wrote a pamphlet called "The Proper Role of Government". I read this about 8 months ago and found it a powerful reminder of how far our country has come away from the original constitution. We are loosing many freedoms...without even realizing it. I believe this video is meant to remind us of the obligation we have to keep the constitution intact and to actively participate in our government.

Happy Birthday Mike!

I want to wish my honey a Happy Birthday! Today Mike is 37...whoo hoo! I am so thankful for Mike. He is a wonderful husband and father. I have to brag about him a little bit here. He is always helping around the house doing dishes or laundry. He is always concerned about my happiness, safety, and health. I am so blessed to have him as my eternal companion.

We celebrated Mike's birthday yesterday. We gave him a new PDA. Since he is Mr. Organizer, he will be able to organize his life as he likes. I even downloaded the scriptures and all his teacher manuals on it for him. Now if only I can get the MP3 portion to work...

Happy Birthday Mike!

Miraculous Recovery & Prayer

I have experienced a miraculous recover this past week. My neck and back are so improved that I feel like a different person. I have prayed for relief and I know that many others have kept me in their prayers as well. I want to personally thank all those who prayed for my recovery. I have a strong testimony of prayer. I do not know what I would do without the ability to communicate with my Father in Heaven.

I learned recently, or maybe I knew this all along but forgot, that we communicate with all three members of the Godhead when we pray. We pray to Heavenly Father, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, and then listen for answers through the Holy Ghost. This has never been so clear in my mind before. What I find is the hardest part of prayer is waiting for the answers. It also clearly depends on our frame of mind at the time we are listening. Learning how to listen effectively has been one of the biggest trials in my life.

When I was younger I remember wanting to be in charge of my own life. I even blatantly ignored promptings from the Holy Ghost that brought on difficulties and heartache. How foolish and stupid I was! Now I can clearly see the errors I made and how they have effected many people. I can now see the benefits and happiness that come from following the Lord's plan for us and turning over our life to Him, allowing ourselves to be His tool for good. Hard as that is, I can attest to the fact that it does bring more happiness when we allow God to be our guide in life.

I am currently reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. What an interesting and thought provoking book! I can see why so many Apostles have quoted C. S. Lewis and why the Chronicles of Narnia has became a true classic. He had some insights into the Christian faith that are so clear and profound that is amazes me he was not LDS. He was actually a member of the Church of England. Regardless of his church membership, I can see that he understood the Bible well and gained truth from it that most religions do not without the Book of Mormon.

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged by my good friend Jen at LottaKidsInc. I have to list 6 quirks about myself...hmm...where to start...

Here are the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag a new set of 6 fellow bloggers by linking them!

My Quirks

1. I am OCD about door and window locking. I can't just SEE that it is locked. I actually have to go and touch it and make SURE it is locked. I can't sleep if I don't go around and check every window and door.
2. I hate eating breakfast. Bad I know, but eating breakfast actually gives me an upset stomach.
3. I love to read. I could be happy reading all day long if it did not make me feel guilty about all the things that need to get done each day.
4. I rolled an ATC over on me several times in my late teens and early 20's. Let's just say I am not very good at ATV riding.
5. For several years I would not put my head under water to swim, but simply doggie paddled everywhere. Being an AZ native, this was weird to everyone around me. It was not that I was afraid of water, which is what every one assumed, but that I had excessive ear infections (this was before tubes were put in kids ears) and so I did not want water in my ears.
6. I love being a home school mom! (This would be a quirk to many other people but not to me.)

There you have it! I now tag:

• Cathy at Family Fun
• Katie at the Cluff's
• Amber at My Little Kumquat
• Monica at the Peterson's
• Jamie at the Grant Fam
• Heidi at Ryan Manor

Movie Review: WALL*E

With all the stress in our lives recently, the kids and I (minus Sam) took a day to go to the movies. Marly really wanted to see WALL*E. I was interested as well since they have had such cute little commercials about it. I have to say that it was a little disappointing. Here is what the kids had to say about it:

• Chris - "I think we should have seen Kung Fu Panda instead."
• Me - "The story line was slow."
• Marly - "I liked it."
• Chris - "On a scale of 1 to 10...I say it's a 4."
• Marly - "On a scale of 1 to 10...I say it's a 7."
• Me - "Cute for DVD, but not for theater prices."

So there you have it...from the Batchelor's at the Movies.

It was nice to get away from the house for several hours (including the drive, wait for the movie, and the movie itself). We probably won't do it again for quite awhile since gas is just way to expensive and I have to travel to Phoenix a couple more times in the near future.

I get a shot where?!?

I went to the doctor today because I am doing much worse. I had to get more x-rays and they decided I needed a steroid shot. (Maybe I'll get buff!) When the nurse came in to give me the shot I was expecting to roll up my sleeve, but OH NO. That's NOT where I got my shot. Christian laughed hilariously when he learned I was getting a shot in my tush (Which has plenty of padding for shots). The kids had to leave the room while I got my shot and I could hear Christian laughing in the hallway. (I guess I won't feel sorry for him the next time he gets a shot) My neck and shoulders feel a bit better now that the shot has kicked in. Maybe I'll get more sleep tonight. It will wear off in a couple days, but I am thankful for the reprieve.

I enjoy having my own personal chauffeur drive me around today to my appointments. Sam loves driving, what 16 year old doesn't, so she is more than happy to chauffeur me around. She leaves tomorrow for EFY and then to stay with her dad for the next few weeks. I am sad to see her go since I will need a chauffeur still. Oh, plus I love her too!

Website Madness...and other stuff.

I am bored out of my mind trying to not use my arms. Yeah, that's what I said...I'm not supposed to move my arms. But, I NEED to work on something or I'll go crazy. I've been staying down and low key for about 2 weeks.

Today's Website Madness

• Trying to combine my Blogspot with my family website at batchelorfamily.org.
• Updating my AZLDSHSA website to be compatible with Groups - either Yahoo or Google groups or program my own (not the easiest solution).

I've been at it for an hour and it is time to quit for the day.

Other Family Stuff

Today we have some cousins and friends at the house. With my injured neck, my children and husband have been absolutely W O N D E R F U L in doing the bulk of the house work and cooking. I had wanted my children to do more cooking over the summer for practical reasons. I wanted them to learn life skills, become better cooks, and learn how much work goes into each and every meal.

P.S. If this works out like I hope, my Blogspot will automatically post to batchelorfamily.org allowing me to keep both my Blogspot friends and my website. I know I lost several Blogpsot friends when I switched over.