Fun at the Scarecrow Festival 
Lyssie singing with her group.
This very talented young guy sang "This is your song" by Elton John. It was an awesome performance.
I wonder how they are this wise and still so small.
I think it is because they are still more in tune with God, than with the world.
Last week from August 3rd through the 8th I was at a camp. A wonderful relaxing women's retreat. It was truly Heaven sent and I mean that in the complete sense of the word. I was called by a good friend of mine who I haven't seen in 9 years. We recently met up through fac#ebo*ok and it was really wonderful to talk again. So she called me and asked if I wanted to attend "A New You." I was skeptical at first because I would be going alone. My friend was in a leadership position so I had to be okay with no known 'friends' to go along. I hoped and prayed that I would be okay and I was.
Here is my wonderful, thoughtful and wise friend who to my amazement still thinks of me...
We had such a great time and I know I was there for a reason, not only for myself but to help other women, especially one get some perspective on life. One HUGE lesson I learned is that we ALL struggle with hardship and trials during life...but we are not alone in this. There are people who have very similar struggles to our own. Seeing that they were able to push along and overcome their struggles helps us(me) to know we can overcome ours as well.
We learned many different things ranging from fashion/style/etiquette to women's stress/guilt/time management to renewal/hope/our relationship with God.
Fashion/style/etiquette
1 Corinthians 3:16-17: Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
It's okay to follow trends but create your own style. The MUST HAVE fashion staples...
Fashion changes...style remains. Choose styles suitable for your:
Guilt/Stress/Time Management
We need to get rid of the guilt in our lives. One group that came to this conference was surveyed, and asked a few questions. Over 50% of women surveyed had a hard time expressing anger. We need to express our emotions and there are so many of them. The word mad does not adequately describe how we feel...are we enraged. Are we happy or can we be more detailed...are we jubilant? Can we be more specific about what exact emotions we are feeling?
Our Savior Jesus Christ has a full range of emotions, and it is okay for us to feel all of our feelings. The word Emotion is energy in motion. 60% of those women surveyed take on more than they can handle. It is okay to say NO. Saying no is a reasonable answer and it doesn't require an explanation.
Do your emotional and relational family history. We should learn our vulnerabilities or our pre-dispositions in order to understand our motivations. Over 70% of women surveyed have family members who have mental health problems and 30% are in denial.
Take responsibility for our own happiness. Over 50% of women surveyed don't have time to pursue their interests and meet their own needs. Dependency promotes hostility. The word selfless. You can't give up something you don't have. In order to help others you must have your own sense of "self." Practice being kind to yourself. I don't know who said this but, "A lack of faith in one's self is a criticism of one's maker." How poignant. Learn to ask and accept help. 83% of those women surveyed say it's easire to give help than to receive it.
Galatians 6:2: Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. We can be the answers to one another's prayers.
Renewal/Hope/Relationship with God and Jesus Christ
2 Nephi 25:23: For we labor diligently to write to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are save, after all we can do. Jesus Christ doesn't just make up the difference he makes all the difference. This is His grace. Satan's deception is that if you aren't perfect then you are failing. D&C 123:17: Therefore, dearly beloved bretheren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. After all we can do, we can rest peacefully and know that the grace of God is sufficient for us.
I have learned so much, and I feel so renewed. This conference was a gift from my Heavenly Father, and I am so grateful for Him and for all the good people that he was able to work through for this to be able to happen in my life. The last picture is of me and Barbara Barrington Jones who is the founder and director of "A New You." What a wonderful woman this is. She wrote in a personal journal back in the 1970's how she prayed to the Lord that she wanted to set up a camp for women. A place for them to feel good about themselves, to feel the love of God and to know that they are in the care of Him. He who loves us all.
Can you feel the love this woman has for me? Someone she hardly knows. Do you know her Jesus?ANewYouForWomen.com
Ingrid, Me, Scott
For Lyssie Lou...she had a little freak out she was so excited!
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I am so tired, so very very tired of waiting for my girl. I know there are many of you out there that have waited longer than I have and my hat is off to you, but I am slipping. Scott and I have disscussed for months now how we just have to hang on, we are over the hump and on the downslope now, but I don't know if I can hang on much longer.
Everyone that asks how long now doesn't know it and doesn't mean it, but they open the raw wound in my heart and then I am left to stitch it back together again. When people say Wow that is a long time..I feel like saying "I know it, it's a lifetime, it's MY lifetime." I am trying to live a normal life...live my life with nothing held back but that is just a pretense. I wonder "Am I living my real life?" "the one I am supposed to live?"
I smile through the pain, the thoughts of years gone by and years yet to come haunt my dreams. Sometimes I wonder if I should just give up and stop waiting. Maybe I wasn't meant to be a mother...
Next month marks 3 years and I will stop counting the days of my life as they pass me by. It's too difficult, too painful. If she is meant to be, and I am meant to be her mother she will come.
Me and the Birthday Boy. What a character!
Idaho Falls Temple
A beautiful girl
Us.
Someday soon Lyssie Lou, it won't be a dream any more and it will
be your sister you will be holding.
Lyssie zipping through the forest.
Waking up with new friends is always fun!
Maxin' and relaxin'
Beautiful wildlife all around.Looks like she's having a blast! Can't wait for her to come home and fill us in with all the fun activities she was able to do.
