We had a speaker today at church that asked who our Heroes were....She suggested Abraham Lincoln for getting rid of slavery, are The Prophet of our church Thomas S. Monson...some people look at athletes like who made the winning touch down at the last super bowl, are the winning homerun in the world series. She suggested that we look closer to home. Everyday people are the real Heroes in our lives...So, I have thought about this all morning and realized what a true statement that is. Who are my Heroes? Think, no, I know that I would have to start with David. The Husband, Dad, Priesthood Holder, and now the oppertunity to be a poga /grandpa. The hard working Man that loves and supports his family, not only financally, but spiritually, physically and mentally. He is a great example for my son to look up to and become when he has a family of his own. Once while we were eating out at Red Lobster a man walked up to us and said, "I know you probably don't remember me, but I worked with you many years ago and you trained me at the paper mill. I looked up to you and you taught me more than how to run a paper machine." He had since moved to a different job, but wanted to tell David what a honor it was to have worked with him and to Thank him for being the person that he was. Yes, David is truly a heroe in my book.

Well my pictures are going where I want them to but another person that I would consider a heroe is Jodi...My daughter who has become a wife, mother and a friend to me. I love watching her becoming such a great adult. Dale, who went on a mission and served his Savior for 2 years, Working so hard to make the right decisions in his life no matter how hard they are but knowing that he is doing what the Lord would have him to do. Chrissy, who loves her mom and dad very much and going through alot trying also to make the right decisions. I am so greatful for the testimonies that my children all have and for all that they do. Heroes? Yes, each in their own way. Making their way in this great big world, out doing things that I would have never dreamed of doing are been brave enough to do them if I had thought of them... My list could go on, and on.....My Uncle Lyle who I will always remember singing a song at church are beside my grandmother's piano, My Aunt Sandra who has always stood by her husband through thick and thin....My sisters that have raised other siblings are excepted and loved others as much as her own. My brother that has always been the man in the family, and raised two wonderful children of his own...without the example of a father....how proud I am of them all. Karen, that is not only my cousin but a great friend. How about Walter Clark, the man whom if you ask will do all he can to help you out no matter what it takes are what you ask...You know, really this list could just keep going and it would take forever to list all of their great qualities. Are they perfect? No, but who of us are? The real question is Who is your Heroe? and Can you be that person that someone would look up to? The Lord only wants us to love one another, to help those around us, to go beyond the call of duty, to be that person the Lord would have you to be. Thank you all for being that person to me, for being that example to help me be a better mother, wife, and friend. Thank you for being my HEROE>>>>>>>>

Well it’s time to make a post for me kiddo’s on the old blog spot.  I have been trying to think about what I could write about and have not had any luck coming up with that perfect story to write about.

Well guys, this is what I came up with.  A picture of your old mama trying to peel away her wrinkles and freckles.  Did it work?  Nope, I still have those wrinkles and most certainly those freckles.  I look at this picture and wonder do I really want to get rid of those things that make me who I am and the answer is Nope once again.  Now, I do have to admit that I do color the hair to get rid of the grey but that is another story.  Do I wish that I weighed 150 lbs? of course, I do but wether I am 150 are ? I still would want to be who I am….I really do love life.  I have been so blessed and am so greatful for all that the Lord has given to me.  I grew up with a mother that had to work all her life to support her children and herself.  I remember when she was working graveyards at a diner us kids thought it was fun to ask if we could do something while she was asleep and we could pretty much do anything but it didn’t take long for mama to figure us out and she came up with a password that she had to say before we could ask in order to make sure she was awake.  Good memories, but also sad.  I have been so blessed to stay home and raise my own children and to always be here for them .  I had a father that I never really knew, only when he showed up in his 18 wheel truck did I even knew he existed.  I have been blessed with a man that is here for me every min. of every day and is here for his kids also and loves them very much.   I remember arguements with knives, fist throwing and ect…Oh, yes David and I have had our disagreements but we have always known in those arguements that we were together forever and in the long run nothing was that bad.  We are together for time and all eternity and have a Love for each other that I thought was only a dream and never possible as a young girl growing up.  I have lived in many houses growing up, but have been blessed to raise my kids in a home, one home filled with love.  We lived on welfare and had lots of pinto beans, cheese, powdered milk, not sure what one meal would be from the next.   Now I have closets full of food. Lot of it grown in our very own garden…So Yes,  I love life….It is great, God has been so great to me.  I will be 50 this April and looking forward to it.   I am who I am because of  the things in my life.  I can peel that top layer of skin off my face but I am still the person that I hope that my mother would be proud of….A few wrinkles, over weight, lots of freckles, grey hair….sometimes to out spoken,  but LIfe is great and hope that I can enjoy the next ? years here on this earth. 

I hope that we can all go out, joke around, laugh, and just have fun with all the miricles here in front of us. 

christmas is over and a new year has begun..Dale thinks that I needed a new way to blog so here I am with a new way to type in my blog and not sure what I am suppose to be typing about…just seeing if it is going to work I guess.   Ok…I am through rambling time to see…

My first grandchild

Cora Belle Wagley....
Yep, this is Cora. One of the most precious things around. I know, I am kinda partial, but she is my first so I think I can be. I realized that I hadn't written on my blog in a long time so started thinking about what I could write about. Of course the first thing to pop into my mind was Cora. Sept. 8, 2010 was such a great day and yet I haven't written a word about it. How can that be? It's not that I don't have anything to say because those of you that know me know that I always have something to say. I think my problem is how do I put to words how I felt that day. I once heard someone say that once Cora was born Jodi wouldn't be as important and I just wanted to say "Not True".... I am so proud of Jodi. I watched her go through some pretty hard labor and pretty fast labor and she was such a trooper through it all. You see, pretty much all eyes (including mine at times) was pretty much on Cora, but mainly my eyes were on my little girl. All grown up doing what a good mom does. I remember Cora being born but mostly I remember the look on Jodi's face as it lit up when she saw Cora for the first time, how the tears flowed , and how I could just feel the love fill the room with her's and Aaron's love for each other and for Cora. Yes, Cora was born, and mom and daughter was doing well but to see all my dreams and wishes over the past 21 years come true for Jodi was a joy like no other. Happily married to someone that loves her as much as Jodi loves him and to share that love together and bring the most precious gift to live here on Earth with them. Yes, Cora is precious, but so is her mother. Now, I did title this My First Grandchild so i guess it is time to talk about Cora and the love that I have for her. It is like known that I have ever had. I just want to snuggle Cora non-stop. I can't wait to hear those sweet words mawmaw come from her sweet little lips. I am greatful that when this mawmaw can't be there I know grandma wagley will be there for her. I guess the only way to end this blog is by saying Thanks Jodi and Aaron for being you and for giving us all such a precious gift...MawMaw loves her some Cora Belle 8-)

Summer fun...Yes, this was suppose to be fun, well I guess it was because I laughed at Gerry so hard. She even threatened to ground David from I don't know what if he didn't slow the boat down...Of course at that point I was pretty happy that he slowed it down. You see, I can pretty much picture myself falling off of this thing in the middle of the lake and I can also imagine how much it would hurt to do so, but what I think the whole family would really get a kick out of is seeing me trying to get back on it...I just don't think it would happen. I do enjoy having Gerry around to get into trouble with though. I have never understood anyone that would want to have an only child. Now this is my personal opinion but I just can't imagine my life without family, siblings and all. I have 4 sisters and 1 brother and can't imagine my life without any of them. We are all sooooo different in many ways and alot alike in some ways (our looks mainly) of course i was always told my dad was the postman because i was the only one with brown hair..lol...this is not true for those of you that are not sure...we are all family, different religions, hair color, opinions, and the list can go on but the one thing for sure is that we love each other no matter what. We are all at the age of becoming grandparents now...I am still wondering how that happened. Wow, where did the years go? Really, It seems like just yesterday Dale was running around singing and never stopping, Jodi with her curly hair and beautiful smile, and Christina with all her snuggling and loving ways...oh, they still do all these things and have all these great attributes but they are busy with there own lifes trying to make their way in this great big ole' world, and David and I are about to be grandparents waiting for little Cora Belle to melt our hearts. (of course she pretty much already has, just watching her grow with Jodi) Yes, this has been a great summer so far and looking forward to much more fun with family and friends. When you get a chance, grab a sister, brother, mom, dad, are even a cousin and go have fun. Things are moving to fast to not enjoy this great place called Earth with the ones we love...8>)

Yes,,, I found the right picture....Boykin Springs is such a great place to take pictures...
So, I don't know why I always do this backwards but yes it is backwards...lol and I actually posted the wrong picture here but we had to take pictures of water setting the camera on TV mode and changing the shutter speed on it ....one picture should show the water running smooth and the other with you seeing every droplet of water even spattering out at you...i did capture that image but didn't post it...sorry you get the ideal...these pictures of the water was the best in the class...He looked at everyones pictures and brought mine to the front and passed it around to show what it was suppose to look like...woo hoo for me...8-) anyways, I am also learning about field of depth and that my camera has a bulb setting which means taking pictures of fireworks at night are a ferris wheel at night is suppose to look pretty neat...I am excited to try it out but haven't had the chance yet.

So, I have been busy lately doing what I love doing. I have been taking a Basic Digital Photography Class In Orange. I think that I am learning something but only time will tell if I actually remember what I have been taught. Our first project was to go from one extreme to another with the camera set on AV mode and changing the aperature...this is what I came up with.....

Notice how the background is blurring on one picture and clear on the other...I have often wondered how to do this, now I know...lol ...I did get registered for the advanced digital photography class and also a Photo Elements class...rumor has it that the photo elements is pretty hard but I am still excited to try it...I still have 3 classes left so I am hoping to at least learn all I can about how to use my camera which was my goal in the first place.

Don't know why, maybe because I have been teaching seminary all year but I feel like I need to end with a scripture..Just so you know I LOVE 3rd Nephi....in 9:14 is says...

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

Reading your scriptures every day is the best reading you will ever get....take the time and search them, ponder about what you are reading, and learn...

The Easter season is upon us now and all the talk is about dyeing eggs which ,by the way is very fun, I wanted to bear my testimony that I know Jesus Christ is our Savior, he died on the cross so that I can be forgiven of my sins and return to live with my Heavenly Father again..I am so greatful for all the many blessing that I have received.

I hope each and everyone that reads this blog will keep this in mind throughout the next couple of weeks and especially throughout their everyday doings... My love to you all.....and Happy Easter

Photography

Time for another post....and in the process of decideding what I wanted to talk about I came across some pictures. I love taking pictures!!! I am sooooo excited to take a digital camera class at Lamar starting in a couple of weeks. I will hopefully figure out all the neat features that are available on my camera. This first picture is one of my favorites. This is one of the many gorgeous Temples in Utah. The Manti Temple, it sits on top of a hill overlooking the town of Manti. The wood work in it is Beautiful. This is without a doubt my favorite Temple. Ok, now so back to my original thought, I love taking pictures. So I have decided to share a few of them that I have taken in the past.This picture was taken at the deer camp just a couple of weeks ago. David loves going to camp. It is one of his favorite places in the world. And when I sat and watched the sun set I realized why this is so. It really can't get any better than this. The Lord has created such beauty on this earth and we don't always take the time stop and look at all there is. On this particular afternoon I stopped. My heart was filled with the Love our Father in Heaven has for us. David and I watched as the sun went down together. What a peace it brings . To be able to get away from the Earthly ways of hussle and bussle of everyday life. Now when I get busy I can look at the picture that will soon fade from my mind and know that I am loved.

The next two pictures are of family. This is two of my sisters. Gerry and Tina. It was Tina's 50th Birthday so we put makeup on her, fixed her hair, and took pictures. She had sooo much fun posing for these pictures. It's hard to believe how old we are getting. Of course I'm sure Gerry would say that she isn't getting old...hahaha...This picture reminds me of the importance of Family. We are so different, yet so much alike. It amazes me no matter what we do the love is always there. I can always Depend on my family to be there for me no matter what and that in itself is the most amazing thing ever. I love my family no matter our differences because that is who we are. Thanks Gerry and Tina for spending this afternoon with me and letting me play with my camera....Love you two ever so much...A quote here, "Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age."
This is Karen and her Dog Hoover (aka Hoovie). She hates taking pictures as I well understand but she let me play with my camera this day and I used her as my subject. Hoover pretty much goes wherever she goes. I love the way Hoover looks at Karen with such love in his eyes. I know, he's a dog, but I'm telling you it's there. You can't see it in this picture but I thought this was a really good picture of the two together. Karen and I have so much in common, you would think that we were sisters sometimes...lol...we love to do crafts together, canning together, whatever comes our day in our daily doings. Karen is more like a friend than a cousin and once again, I am greatful for Family. A quote by an unknown author goes like this, " You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing." Thanks Karen for keeping me young...

Mama had a painting on her wall that I believe Gerry now has, it says.

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things I can, and

Wisdom to know the difference.

I love this saying. It tells me that God is in control and if I ask for his help He will be there for me. He will send people into my life to help me through whatever I might be going thru....He will give me photo oppertunities to keep in rememberance of his great love. So please, pull out your cameras and enjoy all of Gods creations, the land, family, friends, pets whatever comes your way.