The Candyland Perspective

The days leading up to Mother's Day pack an intense punch some years. As a momma with no babies of her own, it's almost always a struggle every second Sunday in May for me. From the pulpit on Mother's Day, we *always* hear there is nothing a woman can do in this life that is greater than becoming a mother. Sigh. Yes, I know. But what I also hear, using that logic, is "Candace, there is nothing you can do in this life that will matter as much as that woman, or that woman, or your mom, or your sister, or your best friend..." That dad-gum Satan will whisper whatever stings the most, won't he? I'm working on building up so that narrative won't have the same impact anymore. And honestly, it doesn't have the same impact that it used to. The sting has lessened dramatically, and that is a very good thing. In my work to overcome those feelings of "less than," I turn to my Savior. He is such a champion of women! I LOVE reminders from the scriptur...

Sometimes I don't do too well with change.  I'm a creature of habit, like most, so rearranging life's components can be a wee traumatic.  However, there are times that I completely welcome change and all the promise it can hold.  Today, I'm embracing change. For three years, I've lived in Virginia Beach, having moved here from Chandler, Arizona.  From the desert to the sea, it was most certainly a big change.  It was a very worthy endeavor though.  I came to be near my sweetheart, the man I would marry.  I also have enjoyed the added benefit of being much nearer to my three brothers and my parents.  It was a very good thing for me to move to Virginia Beach.  For the past three years, I have enjoyed the ocean, even though I've not visited it as often as I'd like.  I've heard, felt, and been amazed by the near deafening thunder of hundreds of fighter jets flying into and out of nearby Oceana.  I've marveled every si...

And that means Thanksgiving is upon us.  I love Thanksgiving.  I don't necessarily love Thanksgiving dinner though.  I don't necessarily love football watching, cleaning up an obscenely messy kitchen, or all the busyness in the grocery store.  What I do love, however, is the crispness in the air, the gorgeous colorful leaves, the devotion to gratitude... even if for just one day for some folks, and that I get the day off of work to spend time with people I love.  My love for those things certainly outweighs my unlove for the other aspects of the Thanksgiving tradition. Kevin (Beloved's youngest son) will be coming home from Central Michigan University for Thanksgiving.  He'll be home late tomorrow afternoon!  I'm excited to see how he's changed in just a few short months since he left for school.  Will he have gotten the freshman (though he's really a junior) fifteen?  Slimmed out a bit?  Gosh I hope he hasn't taken on the attitu...

(not that there are only ten... or that these are the ten best reasons either)  1)  He stopped on a busy road at night in the pouring rain to help a stranger get her huge SUV out of the road.  He pushed and pushed 'til it was safe in a parking lot.  He was a drowned rat & she was able to comfortably wait for her friend to bring her some gas.  2)  He has The Most Adorable voice when he's mimicking.  It's scratchy, a bit high-pitched, and cute.  3)  He actually called Kramer "son" when K was in BIG trouble.  4)  He knows that I have a favorite candy bar, and will get one for me when he sees it's needed.  5)  He is a true Christian gentleman.  6)  He always kisses me goodnight or goodbye.  7)  He prays for our families & friends.  8)  He set up Pandora channels just for me... without me even knowing it.  9)  He checks in on me after a sad day, just to make sure...

My husband's most recent sacrament meeting talk. Cape Henry Ward ~ 8/26/2012   Good morning Brothers and Sisters, For those of you that I haven’t met, my name is Dan White and I’ve been a member of the church for about a year and half…   I was baptized last January.   And I wanted to start off saying that because the topic of my talk today is the priesthood. Specifically, talks by President Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar that were given during the Priesthood session of last April’s general conference.   Both talks are about priesthood service, but it certainly applies to all service within the church.   And in a nutshell, they are talks basically urging us to do what Heavenly Father is asking us to do. And as odd as it may sound, the priesthood is something that not just stood out to me, but it was as obvious as a bright light when I was investigating the church.   So, to back up a little bit, I could count on one hand the number of...

Family trees are pretty darn cool.  It's really cool when you help put them together.  But they're even extra cool when they lead you to groovy discoveries about who your ancestors really are.  A few months ago I discovered that my ancestors were nobles & royalty.  Not too shabby.  I've known for a very long time that my American ancestors were here before there was ever a federal union.  But it wasn't until this past week that I realized I had true Native American ancestors.  I find it's especially cool to Google the name of an ancestor and come up with a LOT of info... even if a lot of that info is on Wikipedia.  Chief Powhatan, King Edward I,  and Clovis , are just a few names in my direct line of ancestors.  What I find particularly fun about this is that since I do love history, I was already quite familiar with their stories.  Well, at least I'm familiar with the st...

This week I made the appointments to have our endowments and sealing at the Washington DC temple in January.  HOORAY!  Yesterday I received the confirmation letters in the mail with all of the information so neatly spelled out for us too.  It's official.  We're really doing this.  We're really going to the temple! I'm thirty-six years old.  I've dreamed of this event for at least twenty-four years now.  I have people in my life and people who have been in my life who have helped me get to this point.  I am grateful to my mom for all the guidance she's given and continues to give.  I'm grateful to people like my friend & visiting teaching companion Kim who inspires me to be better everyday.  I'm grateful to my friend Trisha who is my personal cheerleader and makes me smile.  I'm grateful to my Relief Society president Andrea (former) who has believed in me and held my hand a lot in the last year and a half.  ...