Tender Mercies

101 ways to relax.  Ahhh, just those words make me feel relaxed already!  I could have titled this post, "100 Ways to Relieve Stress," but that just doesn't sound as positive to me.  Positive thought is the first step to feeling relaxed and happy! If you have any ideas that I have missed, please feel free to share! (These ideas are in no particular order). 1. Go on a walk. Even five minutes in fresh air can do the trick! 2. Eat spicy foods (hot foods release endorphins in the body) 3. Smile 4. Call your sister 5. Bake something really yummy! 6. Deliever some of the treats you made to somebody 7. Look through a picture album 8. Write in your journal about something fun that happened in the recent past 9.  Write in your journal about one thing you're thankful for 10.  Try a new recipe 11. Buy a chocolate bar and leave it in your husband's car to surprise him 12. Listen to Latin Pop 13. Dance around your living room ...

I am blessed to have a friend who not only is in the same company as us, but goes to our chuch as well.  I have enjoyed getting to know her and her family through church activities, teaching her three-year old in nursery, various company activities, and dinner get-togethers.  But I have been wanting to get acquainted with the other wives because I just like people!  You can't just have one friend either, because in the Army, families are moving all the time.  This is why Janye is such a great friend.  She ALWAYS invites me to get-togethers and events that happen.  For example, this past week she asked me if I was going to the "Coffee" get-together at Barnes & Noble on Saturday.  I was so happy she invited me becasue it gave me an opportunity to get to know a few more wives. I'm not going to lie; before I went, I was a tiny bit nervous because I didn't know anyone except Janye.  But my fears left immediately after I arrived at B&N...

Labor Day weekend 2012.  It was the weekend I didn't know we really needed, that is, until we were headed back home. ---In order to spare you too much reading, I will try to keep the details from our trip to a minimum.---  Where's the rest of the temple, you ask? This is it! Yep, the Stake Center is bigger :)  We left Fairbanks for Anchorage on Thursday, August 30th, and drove my Aunt and Uncle's home just outside of Palmer (about a 5 hour drive).  After a great night's sleep, Marshall and I drove to Anchorage Friday morning to go to the temple.  It was a rainy and cloudy day, but the experience I had inside the temple was really special.  When I was growing up, I thought a 1 hour drive to the Oakland Temple was a long trip.  Then I moved to Missouri, where the closest temple was a 3 hour drive.  And now it is 6.  It is a sacrifice, but I am happy to make the weekend trip every 2 or 3 months whe...