Happy Thanksgiving!
This will be short but I really felt like saying it. I love Thanksgiving. It is, in many ways, the only "sacred" holiday we have. I know, Thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday. In many ways that makes it the most amazing holiday in the world. Thanksgiving is not limited to a certain religion or ethnicity. It is not governed by political views or affiliations. There are no ties to any set beliefs or practices. Even those who don't believe in God can recognize the bounty they enjoy. Everyone can participate in this holiday. What better representation of the American spirit can there be? After living in countries where Thanksgiving is not celebrated, I have gained a deep

Superpowers 102: Speaking Husband
My husband is a pretty good guy. He works hard to provide for our family, makes sacrifices, does little things to show he is thinking of us, etc. Overall, I can't complain. Sometimes, though,...let's just say we are both human. I have come to realize that a large part of our differences comes from speaking two different languages. I thought I was pretty fluent in "Man" since I have 5 brothers and I thought that having 6 sisters had prepared him to speak "Woman". Unfortunately we learned different dialects. For example, my husband would come home from work and ask innocently "What did you do today?" Now, that is actually what he said but it translated to "I have bee

Superpowers 101: Saying Thank You
Thank you.  An expression of gratitude. Simple, clean, direct. We learn it as children. We often say it without thinking about it. When someone holds a door for us or gives us a compliment we throw out a "thanks" automatically. In many ways, "Thank you" is one of the most common phrases in the English language. So, why does it feel so good to hear it? And why do we feel hurt when we don't? "Thank you" is acknowledgment. It says "I know you did something for me." Whether the thank you is sincere or just a token seems to matter less than the acknowledgment itself. I have learned this lesson the hard way. When my oldest children were young, my mother-in-law came

Finding Superman
I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that this is going to be about how I met my husband or about guys I dated or how to find the perfect guy. Sorry to disappoint you. While those are all interesting and may come up at some point, that is not what I am writing about today. Today, I am writing about how to find your superman. Again, you may be thinking, "Well, I am already married to this guy. What good will this do me?" And that would be the point. Did you ever wonder why Lois Lane never realized that Clark Kent was really Superman? Was Clark really that undesirable?  Is it possible to be that blind? Maybe it is? I used to dream elaborate dreams abo

Superpowers 101: Magnifying Your Calling
My kids have discovered magnifying glasses. They wander through the house and yard looking at everything they pass through this amazing device. I have always liked them myself. You can take a very dull, ordinary object and look at it through a magnifying glass and suddenly it becomes fascinating. Even more amazing are microscopes that seem to make things appear out of nowhere. Of course, that only happens if you make the effort to see it that way. We had a talk in church today about magnifying our callings. In the LDS church a calling is an assignment to serve in a certain position for an unspecified amount of time. We believe that callings come from God. When we talk about ma