Evidence of Truly LIVING...

Did you know that I am a quotation collector? (Of course you did... isn't everyone? ;0) With that in mind, I thought I might begin spreading the wealth of wonderful quotes. Here is one I recently came across again on a dear sweet lady's blog (who... it seems to me ~ fits the quote ~ IE. she is truly living!). I smile EVERY TIME I read this quote! :) It is a reminder to me that all the dirt beneath my nails is worth it! This quote is especially appreciated right now, because I have been doing a lot of work lately, and dirt beneath my nails is much more frequent than keyboard beneath my fingers!

Take it away Marjorie Pay Hinckley! :D



Photo of Marjorie Hinckley - Isn't she darling? :D

I secretly hope that I'm that beautiful when I am older maturer... :o

Photo Credit: http://www.ldsmag.com/photography/category/55 

and http://lgwilliams.blogspot.com/2010/05/love-this-quote.html

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing my neighbor's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with the children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Thank you Marjorie!!!

And, just for the heck of it, here is another photo...

Yes, that dear beautiful lady on the right is Marjorie Hinckley.

And who is that cheerful man smiling at her?

Why, it's herhusband, the late President Hinkcley

of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!

Aren't they an amazing couple? :D

When I grow older maturer, I want to be like just Marjorie Hinkley. :)

OK... time for me to get moving. :)

Wishing you all a day life of "truly living!" ;)

Corine Moore :D

Latter Day Pioneering in Gospel Living…

Hi. :D

Today is Pioneer Day. Even still, pioneers are not what heavily occupy my thoughts… However, I do have something on my mind which relates. I suppose one could call it raising a first generation family to the Lord, or in other words... Latter Day Pioneering in Gospel Living.

My husband was baptized in his youth, right alongside his parents and brothers. My parents were among the first few members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in their families. And the children my husband and I are raising are the first generation in which both parents were baptized BEFORE getting married and having children.

As I think about the blessings of the gospel in my life - I have on my mind today the reminiscence of all the ups and downs my husband and experience along our journey of establishing an infrastructure of family life built upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…

Learning to live certain gospel principles has been an ongoing challenge. We are not perfect at it BY ANY MEANS! In fact, I’m so thankful for the opportunity I had to teach the RS lesson Families Can Be Eternal a week ago because of the reminders I needed to help me to be a better wife and mother to my family. I hope and pray that the Lord and our ancestors will all be very pleased with the family progress… :)

Now, please bear with me as I change subjects for a moment to that of my garden; it really will tie in…

Due to being out of town at planting time for nearly a month... and still having a spot picked out for a third raised bed which still needed to be built... I planted quite late. As I look at my tiny plants in my garden this year the thought has crossed my mind a time or two; is it worth it? Between planting late and the growing season here being so short, the fruits of my labors may not be in great abundance this year (especially in the raised bed that I just finished building a week ago!).

I decided as I contemplated these things that I need not be at all discouraged. I decided that if it is too late this year to get a very abundant garden, at least I am pioneering for next year. I am laying down infrastructure. And if it takes time for the infrastructure to get laid down in a solid fruitful manner… that’s OK. If most of the blessings from all my work come in a subsequent year or season; the ground work is still being laid and blessings will eventually come.

Now, back to thoughts about my family… My mind is equating all of this to raising my children. Though we had the gospel in our home since before our children were born, I still see much that I have yet to teach these wonderful children. I’m learning that I need to stop and look at the progress and revel in it… I need to focus not only on work yet to be done, but on appreciating and enjoying all that IS done…

Here I am, raising teenagers who will all soon be leaving home – I’m still learning; and maintaining and solidifying infrastructure of righteous living for my children is an ongoing effort. As I go through life I continue to become aware of more principles that I can teach my children better. I could not teach them what I did not know until after I learned it - any more than I could plant my seeds before creating the garden beds.

In both cases I worked hard and do the best that I could with what I had. And in both cases, though I may not be as far along as some, I feel confident that should the Lord visit my garden and family, He would say to me, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

I believe this to be true of every family who finds the gospel of Jesus Christ and really strives to incorporate the principles of the gospel into their lives and very beings. It matters not how old they are or how old their children are when they find the gospel or how long it takes to get good at really living it (does anyone ever really feel that they are GREAT at it?) – Though we all may find ourselves wondering from time to time, “Is it worth it?” I pray we all will search for and believe the answer found in our hearts that tells us this simple truth… LIVING and TEACHING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST to the best of one’s ability IS ALWAYS WORTH IT!

It may not be this very decade that my children and I will benefit most from the life I am striving to teach them to live (though the benefits are HUGE even now!); it may be the next decade, OR EVEN MANY DECADES LATER after the roots of testimony have had time to grow deep and strong; it may be while they find themselves raising the next generation, or even while they are touching the lives of their own grandchildren that the blessings of gospel living are most noticeable in their lives. But I know in time… the growth will be beautifully evident. And when my eyes are opened, I find my jaw dropping at the realization of the beauty and growth that is already present. I am realizing more and more as time goes on that there is no need to put too much emphasis on correcting my children... But there is a need to simply ENJOY THEM...

Change and growth, the ability to see truth and experience true happiness are always taking place in our daily journey of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as we can not usually see the growth take place in our gardens, growth is still taking place.

Last Sunday my husband sang Because I Have Been Given Much in church... I had no idea that he could sing that song so beautifully. My jaw dropped several times as I listened, as did my daughters. We both kept looking at each other like, "did you hear that?" Thinking about this has caused me to wonder, "What else am I unaware of in the lives of myself and my loved ones?" It is so easy to see the weeds or to compare current size with that of mature size... and so difficult to see the growth. We need to train ourselves to not fret, and see and focus on the growth in other people's lives - as well as in our own. 

Some of you have family members or loved ones who may wander for a time and seem to let go of or loosen their grip on the gospel of Jesus Christ – then one day be blessed to have the testimony stirred within them bringing them back to the fold.

If you ever see a loved one wander, remember that your children are not annuals; they are perennials. Keep on loving them. Keep believing in them! Keep providing a home life infrastructure of righteous living to the best of your ability… Even if they are not yet in the habit of living a gospel principle… when they need it most, they will remember the things they were taught and they will know what to do to cultivate an abundance of happiness, peace, prosperity, and joy.

We should never give up, even when the planting of a testimony seems late in the season...

May we continue to fortify and beautify through loving hope and kindness - not only our gardens, but also our families and homes…

If the blessings come later; so be it! And God-bless each family who harvests late - for having a late harvest rather than none at all!!!

Corine :D

PS. I REALLY ENJOY MY FAMILY! :D I am SO PROUD of them!!!!

UPDATE - Addition: I just found a MODERN PIONEER video!

Getting Back to Blogging... Back from Hiatus...

Hi. :)

I have been away from the computer for a long time now; I haven't even logged my exercise in Daily Mile. So much has gone on, I'm not sure which moments to share... there certainly have been a few things to celebrate! :) I think I shall simply wing it and share a few things here and there as I resume blogging again. But first, I shall very briefly summarize here what has been going on in my life as of late.

Long story short - I got behind at home and desperately needed to catch up. So much that I simply had to hide myself from the computer! :o ~ I miss you all very much, but can not deny that the trip to hiatus was WORTH IT! Am I caught up? No... Will I ever be? Hmm.. After asking myself this question, I decided to just go ahead and work myself back into blogging. But I do think I may end up being a weekly reader. Balancing life activities and how I spend my time is an ongoing endeavor!

I will let you know that I have been working on several things as of late (the frustrating thing is working on so many things that not too big of a dent was put in some of them): Cleaning house, Gardening (I built a third garden bed... and just planted zucchini sprouts in the bed a couple of days ago. I figure zucchini has a chance this late in the year; it's worth a try!); I did some de-cluttering, and really want to do some more!; much needed home repairs have been time consuming but exciting... still have a long way to go here!; and last but not least (meaning, most important, really) I have been working on myself, as a wife, a mom, a homemaker, a person etc. In an effort to be a better me, I went to a Humans Being Moore conference which I MUST soon share with you! IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!! It was so good that I'm just going to create a spot for a link to it RIGHT HERE. There, now I have to write about it so I can link that future post back to this one for future readers. ;)

And last Sunday (I just need to celebrate real quick here...:) I got to substitute teach in Relief Society! Yeah! :D the lesson was Families Can Be Eternal; I LOVED it! Miles got to do something Sunday as well... he sang Because I Have Been Given Much in Sacrament meeting. It. Was. Amazing!!! I hadn't heard him sing it until then... and my mouth dropped to the floor when I heard it. My friend, Judy, told me she had fun watching my expression while he was singing. :) This is the first time he has sang in public for many years. I'm sure this ward won't allow him to stop singing; he really did a number on himself! ;)

OK.. what else has been going on? I have also been working on my family routine. Though I have made only a couple of minor adjustments in the infrastructure of our home life, I am excited to continue pondering and improving upon this. I'm sure I will be sharing more with you about this... as family infrastructure is something no home can manage without; and I feel I have valuable experience to share in this area. :)

I have also had many short and sweet moments to treasure... I need to write about these! I hope to do a little more writing, a little more consistently from now on. :)

See you again soon!
Corine :D

I just got a comment on my blog from Richard and Linda Eyre... :D

That's right, I really did just get a comment on my blog from Richard and Linda Eyre... :D And they like my blog! :D And they want me to help out with their new parenting book The Entitlement Trap. I'm so tickled pink!!! I feel like a little kid. :) I just needed to "brag" for just a minute (did I just say that? eh em... I meant, "celebrate," yeah, that's what I meant to say! ;D)


If you don't know this amazing couple, you really need to google them, or just do to Deseret Book and look up titles to their books. They do public speaking, too. I don't live around them, so haven't been in their area to hear them, but I did hear Linda and her daughters once at a Women's Conference in my area - Time Out For Women. They were amazing! Richard and Linda have a very large and wonderful family, and a slew of parenting books which they have quite rightfully published because they know what they are doing!!! If  you don't know them and you have kids or grand kids, you really ought to check them out.!

...still working on de-cluttering. :o ~ But so enjoying the progress!! :D

Now, an important NOTE: Mindy is starting a new job with The Pampered Chef... and I'm hosting her first party, tomorrow night at 6:30 PM! :D If you are able to come, you'll be delighted with the cool cooking gadgets, good food, and awesome company. ;) So if you're in the area come on over! :D

Thanks for everything... :)

Corine :D

August 18 - update: Unfortunately, I was so busy, I never emailed the Eyre's back (as they requested) to get the ball rolling. :( I think this business and procrastination will stand as one of my big regrets. I pray for another opportunity to work with such amazing authors mentors, speakers, people...  again (come to think of it, I'd like to BECOME one of them!).  Wish me luck! Cori :)