Little Things

Yesterday was about the little things that make life hard. Today is about the little things that make life happy.

• Support and encouragement from friends. Sometimes just being acknowledged and understood gives me the strength to pick up and carry on. Thank you so much for doing that for me yesterday.


• Groceries delivered to my door! Actually, this is not little. This is HUGE. After seeing that I was struggling yesterday, David took Summer and went grocery shopping for me. I don't think even he knew what an immense act of service that was. Weight off my shoulders.


• Hugs, kisses, and cuddles. My girls love to cuddle and I was able to sit and enjoy having them wrapped up in my arms. Cuddling with McKenna especially reminded me how quickly childhood passes and how important it is for me to experience these moments while they last. Not all of the moments are cheerful and happy, but they are part of what it means to be a mother with young children and someday that too will pass.


• Chocolate cake. While I was putting some of the groceries in the cupboard I knocked over a carton of frosting and it popped open. And since I didn't want it to go to waste I had to make cake. :) I'm usually not a cake person, but a few weeks ago I learned the secret to making really moist, super-yummy cakes....

Get a box of cake mix. (The lady I spoke to recommends Duncan Hines.) Get a box of instant pudding the same flavor as the cake. Mix up the pudding according to the directions. Add the oil, water and eggs called for on the cake mix into the pudding. (But increase the number of eggs to 4 JUMBO EGGs. I used 5 large eggs because I didn't have jumbo eggs and it worked.) Add the cake mix into the pudding. Bake the cake according to the package directions....Savor every bite!!!

• The words of the prophets. This statement from President Uchtdorf's message in this month's Ensign spoke directly to me.

  "There may be times when we feel overwhelmed, hurt, or on the edge of
  discouragement as we are trying so hard to be perfect members of the Church. Be assured, there is balm in Gilead. Let us listen to the prophets of our day as
  they help us to focus on the things that are central to the Creator's plan for
  the eternal destiny of His children. The Lord knows us, He loves us, He wants us to succeed, and He encourages us by saying: 'And see that all...these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that [men or women] should run faster than [they have] strength... [But] it is expedient that they should be diligent' (Mosiah 4:27)."