Category: Arizona

Arizona, "There and Back Again"

8/19/2019

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In this short series "From Phoenix to Casper", I saved our home state of Arizona as the last installment. We have seen a lot of Arizona since we have lived here for so long, but this trip we tried to go to some spots we hadn't seen, or at least not for a long time.
As we left Phoenix, we decided to take US Highway-89 to US Highway-160 over to US Highway 191. We spent a lot of time in the Navajo Nation and saw some amazing sites. While much of the reservation is very barren desert, the 160 is a scenic drive that takes you through Kayenta and Monument Valley and up into Utah. These are the gems of the Navajo Nation that are well worth a visit. Whenever we drive pass unusual geological formations, we are always texting Alicia to find out how they were formed. We are probably always driving her crazy, but being an earth science teacher, she is our go to resource. We were sending her a lot of pictures and texts on this trip.

On our way home, we drove down US Highway 89A and decided to use the Senior Pass and take a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon! It was beautiful. One of the first things we saw was the bison herd just a little passed the entrance. Here is a little video I took to share with you.

And here is a gallery of pictures from the North Rim:

More Bison

A blue jay!

Beautiful views!

An easy trail near the lodge.

More stunning views

I was a little surprised by some dizziness from the height!

Squirrels along the path.

We saw a storm coming as we went back along the trail. As we drove out, the skies were gorgeous and we did drive right into the storm.

That rain storm didn't stop us from stopping at Jacob's Lake and buying some of their cookies for the rest of the drive home!

You may want to check out this post about traveling in Arizona:

Fun Day Trips in AZ

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Friday Faves #93-Prayer Printables

3/1/2019

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.

Today is the annual Worldwide Day of Prayer. In our house, and in our family, everyday is a day of prayer. We have seen the affects of prayer in our lives in many ways. And while we may not need a special day to remind us to pray to our Father in Heaven, this is a good day to reflect on the power of prayer in our lives. So, today for Friday Faves, I asked some of the people in our family to tell me what their favorite scripture about prayer is. I took those results and made them into printables that can be used around the house to remind us to stay in contact with our Maker and to be partakers of the blessings that come into our lives through prayer.

Click on the buttons under each image to get the pdf file for these prints. They print on a regular 8.5 x 11 page. You may have to trim them for a frame. I have and love this small Cricut Portable Trimmer. It is highly rated and a very reasonable price.

My husband chimed in this week with this scripture that reminds us that we are in a battle against evil in the world. Prayer is one of our #1 resources in that battle.

Pray Always

Alicia chose a wonderful New Testament scripture in Matthew 7:7 that reminds us that our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to ASK, SEEK, & KNOCK and he is there to answer.

Ask, Seek, Knock

Song of the Righteous

Have you ever sung a hymn and the words spoke to you and you felt that as you sang the words they were expressing the thoughts of your heart? I know that I have many times and so has Lindsey and that is why she shared this scripture today. This is the 2nd scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants that we have shared. If you haven't heard of that book, you can find out about it and The Book of Mormon here.

Pray without Ceasing

This simple scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is my choice. I chose it because I pretty much follow this advice in my life on a daily basis. I mean, I have a husband, 6 children (one on a mission in Africa!), 10 grandchildren and many siblings, and a 95 year old mom. Just those people alone keep me "praying without ceasing!" Then, there are all of my friends and the state of the world. Honestly, I could not make it without the power of prayer in my life and the knowledge and experience with it to know our prayers are heard and answered.

If you haven't experienced the blessing that prayer can be in your life, it is never too late to find out, and today, the Worldwide Day of Prayer is as good of a day as any to find out. There is great power to be had in simply and humbly calling on God when we need him.
I recently read a story about Jimmy Stewart and he was telling his story in his own words to Richard H. Schneider in 1987 and it was later published in Guideposts in 2014. (Click those links for my sources.) It is the story of his experience in the film, "It's a Wonderful Life." This story illustrates what I mean about the power that can be felt when we call upon our Father in Heaven.

"Good as the script was, there was still something else about the movie that made it different. It's hard to explain. I, for one, had things happen to me during the filming that never happened in any other picture I've made.
In one scene, for example, George Bailey is faced with unjust criminal charges and, not knowing where to turn, ends up in a little roadside restaurant. He is unaware that most of the people in town are arduously praying for him.
In this scene, at the lowest point in George Bailey's life, Frank Capra was shooting a long shot of me slumped in despair.
In agony I raise my eyes and, following the script, plead, "God... God...dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I'm at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God..."
As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless, had reduced me to tears."

I do remember that scene. It has always felt very powerful, and now I know why.

I just want to leave you with one more scripture that is a favorite of mine from the Book of Mormon. My Thessalonians scripture is a shorter version of this, but this one is detailed and so beautiful. It is found in Alma 34:17-27:

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

These are our feelings about prayer. Thanks for reading them!

Richard Schneider, who wrote about his experience with Jimmy Stewart, wrote some books. You can find them here.

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Friday Fave Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards Free Printable!

1/11/2019

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I don't know if you are like me, but after I get all of the trappings of Christmas taken down and put away, I still have a pile of Christmas cards to deal with. Many of them are so beautiful, I hate to throw them away, and in the spirit of living a little greener, I like to try to recycle them. So, today, we will share some of our favorite ways! If you have any ideas to add, please let us know, we are always looking for new ideas!

Friday Faves #87-Favorite Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards!

1. For years, one of my favorite things to do with the Christmas Cards we receive is to make gift tags for next year. It is fun to cut out the cute motifs and the handmade cards are especially cute to use on packages. Just remember to put them in a place where you will find them next Christmas!

2. Of course, if we receive photo cards of family and loved ones, I like to put them in a photo album. It is fun to see how the families have grown year after year.

3. This year, on Everyday Reading, I found this really cute banner idea. Janssen used the photo cards she received to make a Valentine Banner. It was so cute. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to cut the photo cards, but there were a lot of really cute cards that I used instead. I used a thicker version of baker's twine to make the banner.

I loved using this handmade card with its newsprint and ribbon. The back was red so I just overlapped from front to back.

I love these little puppies on the card from my niece with the little bit of plain on the bottom.

This was actually from a thank you note, but I loved this little hedgehog face.

I used two different sizes of heart cookie cutters to cut out the shapes.

4. A really awesome gift for young kids next Christmas, or a way to add to the Spirit of Christmas around the house, would be a book using the pictures from the cards. One year I made a Christmas ABC Book using Christmas Cards. It can be tricky coming up with a picture for every letter, but my friend had a poem that she shared with me to help me out. Unfortunately for this post, I gave that book away. But I got to thinking that it would be really cool to use the song "C is for the Christ Child" by Jim Reeves as the text for the book. If you have enough Christmas cards, you can make more than one! I put together a free printable of ideas for making this book.

Here is the PDF file to make printing easier:

Christmas Card Book Ideas

It would be awesome to include the CD of the song with the book as well!

So, hopefully you can find a way to recycle those Christmas cards and get the last vestiges of Christmas put away. And, won't it be great knowing that you have a gift for the little ones, gift tags to use when wrapping and something to decorate with for Valentine's Day! Now that is thinking ahead!

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Arizona, "There and Back Again"

Friday Faves #93-Prayer Printables

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