Experience the Master Teacher and Birthdays

I should've known that counting down days of #100happydays was setting myself up for failure.  So, I decided to be more "room without walls" with it...

***July 2004: Messenger: President Pulispher's Message: Experience - The Master Teacher - pt3
          Hebrews 9:16 states, "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator."  Many people have given up their lives for their testimony.  We probably will not have to do that.  But somehow in someway, we will have to stand up for what we believe in.  Your mission is a witness to your father in Heaven that you have a testimony.  You have given up two years of your life.  That is a real credit to you.  That test, "What are you willing to do for your testimony?", will continue through out your life.  To our couples, you have passed the test one more time.  Experience - The Master Teacher.

9 February 2014

In the last few weeks we had two awesome birthdays for Alessandra and Itasca.  It's hard to believe that our little girl is already 3-years-old and that baby Tactac is real toddler.

We decided to have a small party for Pwopwo, so we needed to clean up the back yard a bit.  I enlisted the babies to help clean the back patio.

 Pwopwo (all of us really) really like the Disney movie "Frozen."  We're going printable on the birthday banners this year.  Pwopwo was excited to wake up to a birthday banner on her birthday.

We rented and bouncer and cotton candy machine for Pwopwo's birthday party.  The babies had fun while the mommies got to talk to each other.  Luckily the bouncer people didn't come to pick up the bouncer until 6pm.  We got to have some family bounce time after Daddy got back from seeing Lindsey Takeuchi at the temple and after everyone left.

One week and one day after Pwopwo's birthday is Tactac's birthday.  Tactac likes cars so we printed and put together this Disney "Cars" themed banner.  I don't know if Tactac has actually seen the banner.  It's a bit out of his normal field of view.

While Tactac's birthday party isn't until the end of the month (I couldn't handle back-to-back weekend parties) we had a small family celebration on his actual birthday (because he really knows ;)).

 Foodland makes an awesome chocolate sponge cake, and an extra candle for good luck.



Jerica bought Lloyd a glow worm for his 1st birthday because she remembered that I had a glow worm that I loved for forever.  We have continued this tradition and I managed to get these three still enough (although still a little blurry) to see all three with their respective glow worm lovies

Our babies fill our lives with joy and Nakeu and I continue to grow together each day.  It's amazing to think that 10 years ago Nakeu was gearing up for a mission and I was working on considering a mission.  And today, our missions are something we look on with fondness and thanksgiving and hope to be able to pass on to our babies.

June 2004 Messenger: Ponder - "To Quietly Think Things Through"

Each month we would receive the "Micronesia Guam Messenger" a mission newsletter.  I would look forward to these like Christmas!  Each issue would contain a message from President Pulsipher, favorite quotes of Sister Pulsipher that missionaries would include in their letters to the president specifically for her, incoming and out going missionaries, a list of people baptized in the previous month and other excitements.

***June 2004 MESSENGER
Ponder - "To Quietly Think Things Through"
          Do you appreciate that you are apart of something really special that is happening in the mission?  Incredible things just keep happening!  It is an understatement to say that Cornelius is alive and well in Micronesia Guam.  A year ago for the months of January through May the mission baptized 91.  This year 248.  That's over 2.5 times as many.  That is something special.  Have you thought about why?
          "Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard." 2 Nephi 4:16 (bolding added)  You have used that scripture to prepare your talk for the last zone conference.  Did you follow its advice?  Have you pondered what is happening in you and in this mission?
          We can learn from others.  We can read about their experiences and watch what is happening in their lives and think that we understand.  But the only things we really know for sure are the things that happen within and to us.  Nephi continually pondered the things that happened to him.  To what end?  He continued to learn more about himself, the people around him, his world and his relationship with his Father in heaven.  When President Dellenbach bore his testimony at the Mission President's training in February he said, "I am still trying to figure out who I am and my relationship with the Savior."  President Dellenbach has been a general authority for 17 years.  you might think, "He should have figured that out by now".  Understanding ourselves, who we really are, and all that the Savior means to us is a never ending journey.
          So, take some time to ponder, quietly think about, what has happened over the course of your mission.  What have you learned?  How have you changed?  How has your relationship with your Father in Heaven, your Savior, changed?  Why has the mission changed so dramatically?
          President Hinckley gave a wonderful address at Brigham young University entitled "I Believe".  He stated, "Each of us is largely the product of his or her beliefs.  Our behaviors are governed by these.  They become our standards of conduct".  He mentioned the thirteen Articles of Faith, the "We Believes" of this Church.  he went on to say, "I have a personal secondary set of beliefs, ten to be exact, that I have written out to serve as reminders and guideposts for my individual benefit.  I have been asked to share them.  I do so with some reluctance because they are personal, but with the thought that they may give encouragement to others.  I have not set these ten statements necessarily in order of their importance."
          Here they are:
"I believe in the wonders of the human body and the miracle of the humand mind.:
"I believe in beauty."
"I believe in the gospel of work."
"I believe that honesty is still the best policy."
"I believe in the obligations and blessings of service."
"I believe the family to be the basic and most important unit of society."
"I believe in the principle of thrift."
"I believe in myself."
"I believe in God, my Eternal Father, and His Beloved Son, and  Redeemer of the world."
"I believe in Prayer."
          So, what do you now believe?  Is Cornelius real to you?  Is the spirit your daily companion? Do you believe in the "gospel of work?"  Elders and Sisters take the time to "ponder and "continually ponder" upon the things that you are experiencing.  Write down your "I Believes."  Like President Hinckley they will become reminders and guideposts for your life.  I have done that.  I will share mine with you at another time.
          We continue to be so proud of you.  We have always believed we had great missionaries.  We thrill in what you are becoming and these wonderful people that you are bringing to Christ.

Our Love,
President and Sister Pulsipher


30 April 2013 The More Kids You Have, The Faster the Months Fly By

We did not have to say any prayers to work through problems with Pwopwo or Lloyd yesterday.

I have had the opportunity to learn a lot more about the power of the priesthood in the last month.  Studying Elder Ballards talk, "This is My Work and My Glory," reminds me of the importance of the priesthood and remaining worthy of receiving it's blessings.

Elder Ballad shared a story about a girl and her tomato plant.  She allowed the plant to live in a dark room and it started to wither.  Saddened she learned from her mother that she might give it some water and sun light to revitalize her plant.  Upon nourishing the plant, the tomato plant got healthy and started to grow again.  Elder Ballard shared the following,

But if we are not careful, we can become like the wilted tomato plant. We can drift away from the true doctrine and gospel of Christ and become spiritually undernourished and wilted, having removed ourselves from the divine light and living waters of the Savior’s eternal love and priesthood power.

If we cut ourselves off from the nourishment we receive from the gospel and blessings of the priesthood in our lives our spirits can become wilted like the tomato plant.  It is important to do things like attend church, accept callings and counsel from our church leaders and spouses.

Elder Ballard also shared the opportunity he had to work on the new Worldwide Training, "Strengthening the Family and The Church Through the Priesthood."  Watching these segments has opened my heart to understanding more about the power of the priesthood.  We are going to start using these segments with our babies to help them learn the important role the power of the priesthood plays in our lives.

I know the power of the priesthood is a real and active power.  It is the power of God on earth held by those who are worthy to exercise that power.  I know that by the power of the priesthood worlds were created.  I know that through the power of the priesthood my life has personally been blessed because I have been sealed to my husband for time and all eternity and our babies with us.

Now as promised, pictures.  Sunday Night Dinner with the Kaaukai-Ranis Family and an impromptu beach day at Pokai Bay.

Next Post: Sister Pulsipher's favorite June quotes, My I Believes, and what I think about when I jog

We're almost out of the MTC and a week-in review

*** June 10, 2004 JOURNAL: Starting to get discouraged
          I guess that just means that I'm not working as hard as I could be.  I feel like I'm not pushing myself as much as I should.  I am probably just thinking too much.  I don't know what it is.  But today was a really hard day for me.  Maybe I'm starting to loose focus.
          Let's see ... why am I here.  Well, a couple of reasons.  First and foremost, I know that this is where the Lord wants me to be, and because I have faith in Him, and his all-knowing plan, this is where I want to be.  I know that I am here to learn, to teach and to be molded.  I know that in less than a week I will be in Micronesia and will be able to share the love of the Lord with the people there.
          I'm sad to see this whole MTC experience come to an end.  Elders Duthrie and Wagner just found out their visas didn't get processed yet, so they leave Monday morning on a six am flight.  It would have been nice to spend one more preparation day as a district, but it's alright.  It's not the purpose of a missionary to hang out with other missionaries on a preparation day.  I know the Lord needs them in Boston and that they will do well there.
          I still think there's more I should be doing.  It will be a matter of prayer and I know the Lord will answer me.
          GOOD: Went to the TEC, practiced piano
          COMPANION: stayed with me while I practiced piano
          GOALS: smile, work harder

15 March 2013
This is just a quickie before getting ready this morning.  What a good time to blog.  Probably because baby is laying right next to me so he can't complain about the mommy not holding him.  This morning I'm going to do some volunteer work at Lloyd's preschool as per his scholarship requirements.

As I was reading the above journal entry, I thought about how often I got discouraged, disappointed and homesick in the mere three weeks I was at the MTC.  While I probably really felt that way, and and I know I used it to drive myself to do my best while I was there, I also have to attribute it, at least in part, to exhaustion.  We did our best to get eight hours of sleep.  But even if we did get the full eight hours of sleep, MTC life is completely energy draining.

A week-in-review:
This week we started walking to school.  For good health, and good measure and to do my visiting teaching!  One of the ladies I visit teach is a crossing guard for the school.  Recently she has stopped coming to church.  We used to talk together all the time in church, but I don't know why she stopped coming and I'm not sure the reason really matters to me.  Walking in the morning give us a chance to talk, albeit briefly, each morning.

A great quote from the "Daughters in My Kingdom" Book, "Your every need shall be fulfilled, now and in the eternities, every neglect will be erased; every abuse will be corrected.  All of this can come to you, and come quickly, when you devote yourself to Relief Society." President Packers.  I read that the other day and I though, I want that promised blessing!!!!  Luckily he outlines exactly what I need to do to receive that blessing, which is to devote myself to Relief Society.  That means exercising charity by loving and accepting folks for who they are.  It means doing more than checking off that I did my vising teaching assignment each month and really watching over the sisters I am assigned to.  It means supporting my leaders.  It means reaching out to those I come in contact with.  It means, in my heart and in practice, looking to truly make my hands the Lord's hands.

So we had the great laundry machine fiasco on Tuesday which affected my whole getting my house in order goal for the week.  Wednesday night Nakeu mended the drain hose and how we have a working  washing machine sans spending $30 on a new drain hose.  It's a temporary fix but a good fix.  Yesterday I washed the rest of the loads and today I endeavor to finish folding and putting clothes away.

All the babies are awake now and they all need specific attention from me apparently :).

The baby hates blogging time

***6/9/06 NOTES: Group Meeting on the Book of Mormon by Brother Dollar
          A. 2 Nephi 4:15 - upon these I write the things of my soul
          B. How did we get the Book of Mormon?
               1.  Translated by the prophet Joseph Smith.  It is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God.
               2.  If we remember how we got the Book of Mormon, we ill know how to use it.
                     Written by prophets --> abridged by Mormon --> hidden up by Moroni --> preserved by God --> translated by Joseph Smith
          C. What is the central message of the Book of Mormon?
               1.  It is another testament of Jesus Christ
               2.  Charity is the pure love of Christ.  Christ is pure love
               3.  He will not fail, his love will not fail, his church will not fail.
          D. Use the Book of Mormon to teach
               1.  Teach from it's fullness
               2.  1 Nephi 1:20 - the tender mercies of the Lord are upon all that believe
          E. How Can You Use the Book of Mormon?
               1.  1 Nephi 19:23 - liken all scriptures to ourselves
               2.  If your investigators never read the Book of Mormon, they'll never know it's true

***6/9/04 STUDY JOURNAL: Mosiah 29
          The Lord will answer our prayers if we are humble

***June 9, 2004 JOURNAL
           Kind of a somber morning for our district.  Kind of an off day, I think.  Like we were all in a down mood.
          We went to the referral center.  It wasn't as good an experience as before.  Probably because I wasn't that into it and neither was the rest of the district.
          I am a little excited that I get to play piano in the branch on Sunday.
          I don't know why I'm feeling down today.  Probably because I was telling Sister Hansen (who is assigned to the Hawaii Honolulu Mission) more about home.  Maybe I'm getting sick.
          GOOD: ran 1/2 mile, walked 1/2 mile with companion
          COMPANION: helped me make my bed
          GOALS: smile more, have a good day tomorrow, practice piano

14 March 2013 - The Baby Hates Blogging Time
Or Tactac just doesn't like being put down so I can type at the computer.  I think, he thinks I should be able to do both: carrying him and typing.  Come on Mommy!

When I was reading and typing my above journal entry I noticed how much enthusiasm for the day affects the day.  I wasn't in the mood to work that day and so what could have been great experiences at the referral center suffered because of my mood.  It's also true about chores.  The more I manage to be enthusiastic about the chores I dislike most: washing the dishes and folding clothes, the quicker they get done.  It's one of those, you've gotta fake it till you make it moments.

For a couple of weeks I had a story stuck in my head.  I was almost (but not entirely) sure it was told by President Henry B. Eyring and I thought it was at the last general conference.   It was about President Eyring's daughter who was pregnant and needed help and her visiting teaching companion shows up at her door.  But I could not remember anything else about the talk.  I read through a number of conference talks by President Eyring and couldn't find it. I watched through talks from last general conference thinking I may have confused speakers.  I could not find it.  In asking the Lord I felt I should Google it.  So I typed in the search bar: "President Eyring talk about daughter."  I didn't know how else to search it.  The first website listed had the right reference!  It was last conference.  It was President Eyring.  It was a talk given during the Relief Society general broadcast entitled, "The Caregiver."  My favorite quote from this talk is the tag line,"You will be strengthened and yet inspired to know the limits and extent of your ability to serve."  It really is a useful quote for me.  Sometimes I see other sisters in the ward with all their kids, or working and taking care of their family and I think to myself, I can barely handle three kids that barely listen to us as parents, that refuse to sit still in Sacrament meeting and everything else.  Reading this talk helped me feel better about what I am trying to do in the home and about our parenting skills.  It also reminded me of the talk by President Uchtdorf, "Forget me Not" which helped me stop comparing my weaknesses to the the strength of others.  The words of prophets bringing meaning and comfort to my life and the things I see as challenges.  It's easy for me to assume that I'm the only one that doesn't have it all together.  That I'm the only one that can't keep my house in order.  That I'm the only one that dislikes folding clothes that will end up on the floor and out of drawers within hours of all being neatly put away.  That I'm the only one that can't make it through the day without occasionally throwing my hands up in the air and wanting to give up on the day.  But, when I manage to push all of that clutter and noise out of my mind and focus on doing my best, not compared nor comparable to others, then I feel a greater sense of pride in my day and in my accomplishments.  And I know that as long as I am doing my best, the Lord will continue to strengthen me and my family.

Sometimes things work out different

The Uchdorf's pre-apostleship:

***6/9/04 NOTES: Devotional
     1. Sister Uchtdorf
          A. Ephesians 2:19 - Fellow citizens with the Saints and house of Israel
          B. Sacrifices bring blessings
          C. The biggest sacrifice we can make is to give up everything to the Lord.

     2. Brother Uchdorf
          A. Serve the Lord with all your heart, might, mind and strength.
               1) Serve the way you promised to.
               2) This is our opportunity to give it our all everyday
          B. You are here to find, teach, baptize, and confirm.  To help those young members become strong, faithful members
               1) You need to influence them for good, to keep the commandments after they are baptized so they never fall away.
               2)Prepare them to go to the temple - focus on the temple early - all roads lead to the temple
               3) We need to be missionaries with a purpose.
               4) They need to be taught by missionaries with strong testimonies and the desire to teach by the spirit
          C.  Teach and bear testimony espeically of things not found in other churches
               1) Modern revelation - The prophet Joseph Smith
               2) Book of Mormon - a second witness
               3) The God head - three separate beings with one purpose
               4) The Plan of Salvation
               5) The Word of Wisdom
               6) Temple work - through revelation 
          D. You have to obtain, believe, love, live the doctrine
               1) Study, ponder and have questions, so you can find the answers to those questions
               2) Make it yours by believing it and living it
               3) Let these words sink deep into your heart, so you can teach it from your heart
               4) Depend on motivation and focus to study
               5) The message of the restoration is a true and valid foundation
               6) You need to have the powers of heaven to teach - obedience and personal worthiness requisite
               7) Be alert, exercise, shower and pray before study
          E. Our purpose is to teach the message of the restored gospel in such a way that both the missionary and the investigator are led by the spirit.
               1) If you want to teach from the heart, you must have something in your heart
               2) If you want to teach with conviction, you must have conviction
               3) If you want to teach with testimony, you must have a testimony
               4) Don't overestimate the power of your eloquence and attractiveness!
          F. Follow the guidance of the spirit they need to hear the simple gospel truths

*** 6/8/04 PERSONAL STUDY: Alma 17-18
          A. Characteristics of a Missionary
               1.  waxed strong in the knowledge of truth
               2.  sound understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ
               3.  obtained the word of Christ
               4.  given to much prayer and fasting
               5.  have the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of revelation
               6.  they taught with the power and authority of God
          B. Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah did suffer - God tells them to be patient and they will be blessed
          C. Ammon
               1.  The flocks were scattered and Ammon recovered them (like missionary work)
               2. slinging stones? smiting arms? bring it on! whoo-hoo

*** June 8, 2004 JOURNAL: TUESDAY
          Well I didn't accomplish much of any goals.  It's way past 10:30 pm.  Sister Morris and Sister Sitake (different district, same branch) leave tomorrow morning, so we were saying our goodbyes.  Hard to think that will be us in a week.
          Tonight we did a spotlight on Christ - so good, such strong testimonies.  I'm so grateful for my district, they're the best.

13 March 2013
I had most of this typed out yesterday and never got to posting it.  Grrr!  It was one of those days where I had my day too, well mapped out.  One thing went wrong and my day went from what I considered a fully successful day to: if you walked into my house you'd wondered if I did anything at all.

So I had planned on sharing yesterday, and am doing so today, about how I started reading the Relief Society "Daughters in My Kingdom" book on Sunday.  I know we received it last year (or maybe earlier o.O) but I never made it past the first chapter.  I decided that since I attend Relief Society now it would be a good idea to know the history of Relief Society. In chapter 2, Joseph Smith is quoted from section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  While Joseph Smith is counseling specific families, it is good counsel for me too: "First set in order thy house. ..."  A light bulb clicked on in my head when I read that.  So I set goals for myself to reach this week starting with Monday and cleaning the first floor.  Which I did fairly well.  It wasn't deep cleaning by any means, but the floors were clear of clutter and swept, the table was clean and most of the dishes were done.  Yesterday was my day to focus on laundry.  That plan went bust as I discovered a tiny hole in the drain hose of our washer.  My yesterday's plans crashed and burned and are still unrecognizable.  To add insult to injury we need a specific type of drain hose replacement for our washing machine.  So, while we are figuring out the logistics of replacing the drain hose we will temporarily mend the drain hose with plumbers tape.

Was my yesterday successful?  I'm not sure.  If I think about things that affect my "Celestial Worthiness" the cleanliness of my house plays a lesser role to the time I spent coloring with Pwopwo, walking Lloyd to school, rocking Itasca to sleep, talking on the phone with Nakeu and having dinner (at Denny's because I didn't even get to cooking dinner) with my family.  Lesser even to the time spent reading church materials and Sunday lessons.  Would it have been nice to be a step closer to getting our house in order?  Yes, definitely.   But that must be what today is for. ...  Unless God has another adventure in store for me ;)

As soon as this is posted today, it's time to put my shoulders to the wheel and push along in setting our house in order.