Pearls of Wisdom

I was reading Along for the Ride and thought this story was too perfect not to share.

via pinterest

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box..

"Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one.. Daddy loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.

As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. 

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here daddy, this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny ...

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.

God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place. 

Have you ever prayed for the strength to live through a day?

Have you ever prayed for the strength to live through a day?
That was my day today.  Yesterday we received news that Alan's Grandpa Vance Calder passed away yesterday morning after suffering a massive, though fortunately very quick stroke.  He and his wife of 65 years this August were alone on a Mexican Rivera cruise at the time.  He passed within a few minutes of the first pains of the stroke, so it was as painless of a death as one could hope for.


Right now Alan's uncle Steven is flying out to meet Grandma.  He will board the ship, then they will travel to the next port, which is a larger port and is more able to accommodate them.  Because he passed away on the ship, they do not have to have the Mexican government release his body, which is really fortunate.  


His affairs are all in order.  They have the headstone, casket, and plot all purchased, so our main concern at this time is getting his body back home.  We will update when we find out more. 


We love you Grandpa!

At our wedding in September of 2008



Whittling in the rain while camping in 2010.



Always the fisherman!


At the Flaming Gorge Dam in 2010 with Glissy and Ginger in tow.


At the BYU-San Diego game in 2011.  Thank goodness BYU won!


I married into the family, and Vance always treated me as nothing short of a Granddaughter. Some of my fondest memories are of going camping with them, and watching him skunk us all in cards. We always figured that God was cheating for him. You could always count on Grandpa finding some old stick to whittle on at every camping trip, and you could follow his trail of wood shavings all over camp. He always used pet names like sweetie, honey, little lady, and beautiful, and somehow always managed to give me a kiss on the lips goodbye, no matter how much I tried to direct him to my cheek. ^_^ I fondly remember him going river rafting with us last summer, sitting proudly at the head of the boat, with Grandma beside him and Ginger wedged in between them.

Thank you hubby!

Yes, this is going to be a blog post about Alan.  I have good reasons for it.  Go with it.

I was reading over the blog http://www.feministmormonhousewives.org/ and I am loving it!  I don't agree with all of it, but the vast majority speaks to an area of my thoughts that I don't really touch in my conversations with people.

A little background on me.  I am an independent woman.  Oldest of ten, and born in a family that didn't force me to hide myself.  I have parents that encouraged me to develop my talents, and one of mine happened to be public speaking.  I loved drama class, and I was a wiz kid in debate.  I went from not bringing home a single trophy my sophomore year, to competing at nationals my junior year, to taking first place in state my senior year.  I was already an outspoken kid, but I grew into my own with those experiences, and I loved the confidence it gave me.
Fast forward to college.  I moved away from home to a single's ward and an apartment with 5 roommates.  I'd had inklings before, but this was the first time I had really realized that I was not doing what I was "supposed" to do.  I was getting my education, I was outspoken, and I was not afraid to let people know what I thought.  This knowledge that I was doing something wrong did not come from my roommates, or from my church leaders, but rather from the guys around me who were not interested in a vocal girl.  After a horrible relationship where the guy attempted to train my confidence out of me, I became convinced that if I was to get a husband I would have to change myself.

I was shocked when I met Alan.  I was not looking for a relationship, and I tried to get rid of him by being confident and opinionated, which I had learned were the most men-deterring personality traits I possessed.  Instead of dismissing me as troublesome, he loved it!  He loved that I wasn't afraid to have a conversation with him, and I learned that it was possible for someone to romantically love me without sacrificing a huge part of my personal identity.

I am so grateful that I have a husband who isn't bound by expected gender norms.  Alan cooks the most amazing dinners, tears up when he thinks about starting a family, and who cleans even better than I do.  He gets excited about our garden, and encourages me to "talk it out" with him when I need to rant.  He keeps our cars in running order, and he knits to keep his fingers occupied when watching tv.  He is obsessed with sports, gives the best hugs, and constantly plays fetch with our dog Cleo.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

A shout-out to my peeps

A shout-out to my peeps

1. My wonderful Husband

Alan, you are the best man in the whole wide world! You put up with my crap, and don’t even complain about it (for the most part ~_^). I am so grateful that you are a part of my life, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Some people will pull out that cheesy line “I married my best friend” and you know what? I did! I can talk with you about everything, and you understand me better than just about anyone else. I love that with a look we can read each other’s minds about certain situations (the tramp ten-year-olds in the grocery store) and that our plans for the future are so in harmony. I love that you tear up when you talk about our future kids, and that your love and loyalty for your friends and family knows no bounds. I love how safe and protected you make me feel, and how your eyes light up when you see me. I love that our strengths and weaknesses complement each other, and how selflessly dependable you are. I can’t believe that in 11 days we will have been married for two years! The time has flown by and I can’t believe how lucky I am that I get to spend the rest of eternity with you!

2. My tolerant neurotic dog

Oh poor Cleo! The things you put up with when your owners are baby hungry! You’ve been dressed in sweaters, shoved in purses, dragged with us all over the place, and you still are hopelessly devoted and sweet. And yes, you do have your own facebook page, because you’re just that cool.

I love you guys!

Wishes, Dreams, and "What if?"

I get my hopes up way too easily.

I was watching Star Wars (yes, all of them) the other day. Many people have found such deep personal revelation and insight from the series, and I guess it was about time for me.

I would not make a good Jedi. I live far to much in the future, looking forward to the "When we have money" or "When we have kids" or "When we have a house". I suppose I've always been this way, only it's been "When I have a boyfriend" or "When I have a good job" or "When I have my degree" or "When I get married". I missed most of the opportunities available in my first year of marriage, because I was too obsessed with the future to enjoy what I have. I have a wonderful husband who loves me more than anything, a hopelessly devoted puppy dog, family on both sides that care about me, a wonderful job that I enjoy and do well at, and wonderful people wherever I go.

I still can't help wishing sometimes. I can't help just hoping that one of our big dreams actually comes true. It's not like they're outside the realm of possibility, far from it. We may get carried away in the details, but every one of our wishing have a basis in an actual opportunity that has been waved tantalizingly in our faces, but for one reason or another the bottom has completely fallen out of it. And I'm getting really sick and tired of getting back on that horse.

If wishes were fishes mine would probably look like this.