A FEW UPDATES!!

Hi Everyone,
Just a few updates during our end of summer rush (As if you weren't busy enough already! ;) 

First of all, I got a call about the PEACHES today--they will be at Pete Horlachers around 3:00 on Wednesday afternoon, the 1st-until sometime that evening, and they would appreciate it if you could pay with cash, but sounds like they will still take a check if they have to.

Second, if you didn't hear, Anna and Eric Chouquer had a baby girl over the weekend-- Carli Jean.  Both mom and baby are well.  We also had another surprise delivery for Celeste and James Neighbor, their baby Mykell came about a month early and we are still waiting to hear more. UPDATE:  Baby Mykell has been on feeding tubes and oxygen for a couple of days, but other than that is doing well--they are trying to start feeding her without the tubes today to see how that goes, and if it works they might be home by Thursday at the earliest--we will wait and see, and keep them in our prayers that she keeps on progressing and they are home soon!!
Also, Sister Deb Umina is waiting for back surgery and the doctors have told her to just keep her bags packed and be ready when they are--please keep her in your thoughts and prayers so that she can get this done and overwith and hopefully back on her feet soon!!

Third;  We do have a couple of new sisters in the ward if you have the chance to meet them and say HI!  Ken Hinckley's mom has moved in with them and while she isn't able to get out a whole lot, if you had a chance to drop by and meet her, they said she would love to meet people and make some friends here (I apologize that i didn't get her name from him, but I will soon)!!  Also, Stephanie Dojaquez and her mom, Judy, have moved into the house that Riley and Adam Longman moved out of, so Stephanie is also a new member of our Relief Society and we would like to welcome her.

FINALLY:  There are MORE changes in visiting teaching for September--I have to apologize if they come as a surprise or if anyone has any questions about the changes, I keep thinking that we will get it set for a few months at least--but, it doesn't seem to want to work that way--someone moves in or out, and we want to make sure we are all being visited and cared for!  IF you have any questions or concerns about your routes, PLEASE feel free to talk to me about them, send me an email, whatever works best for you--as much as I would like to visit with each of you about it, I can't, but at the same time if there are any that have concerns, I don't want to miss them either. 

I want to do whatever I can to serve and help you, at this time we are going every other weekend to visit my mother-in-law in Utah because we honestly don't know how much time we have left to do so.  The rest of the time I am home, and while I am usually catching up on laundry or dishes, or kids homework, the dishes and the laundry will always be there for me to come back to, but helping you or anyone else may not wait!  I also have a pretty amazing presidency who are always willing to step up and help out--we love you and want to serve you when you need us!  We are excited to be planning some great meetings and activites with our Coordinator, Sister Rochelle Phillips, and hope to be getting going with them soon, so that we are once again having regular opportunities to learn, grow, visit and strengthen each other outside of our Sunday meetings!

Sister Perkins

It's Time for an 'End of Summer Social'

It seems like it's been FOREVER since we have had a chance to get together as Sister's and just have a nice, relaxing evening!! So, here it is:

WHEN:  Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

WHERE:  The Cultural Hall at the Church

TIME:  6:30 PM

WHAT TO BRING:  You! And, your favorite easy salad or finger food to share.

Can't Wait To See You There!!

Pretty Rocks & Sisterhood

The other day I looked up from doing the dishes, and in the window above the sink are some ‘pretty’ rocks that my kids have collected for me. They know that I like rocks, and whenever they find a ‘pretty’ rock they bring it to me with so much excitement. I have been trying to get them to keep the collections in the rock/flower beds in our front yard, because I am afraid of them filling up the whole house.

 The little rocks on my window ledge are each beautiful in some way, and yet they are all so very different. One is a big, smooth rock that fits in the palm of my hand. It came from the ocean, two years ago on our summer vacation. It is definitely not beautiful, or even pretty, but I love to hold it and feel it, smooth, hard and cool in my hand. When I think about how it became this way, I can‘t help but wish that I could see where this rock had started out and where it had been along the way, the waves it had traveled to get to where it was that day as it washed up on the beach. I have rocks from the Sweetwater River when we crossed it on the handcart trek at Martin’s Cove three summers ago--they aren‘t really pretty, unless they are wet, but they remind me of a sacred and special place, and I wonder if these rocks were there when those earlier handcarts came through, I wonder what has passed by them, and where have they been. I have rocks that are shiny, rocks that are bumpy, rocks that are coated with crystals, and rocks that are filled with color. One of the rocks in the windowsill looks like a zebra, it has stripes in it, and they are very distinct and very different in their make-up, I wonder what type of pressure that rock must have been formed under.

And as I thought about these rocks, so different, so unique, and the value to me in so many ways, I my thoughts drifted to the ups and downs I feel as Relief Society President. The days when I am uplifted and supported and the days I feel burdened and inadequate to meet the needs of so many.  I think of those who are so easy to rely on and those who have surprised me (whether good or not) by support or lack there of.  I think of how we, as women,  are amazing caretakers when called upon to help and to love, to strengthen and to nurture.  But, we also tend to have a huge struggle as women where we tend to judge, to puff up our chests and say something in a haughty tone about someone else that we should be loving, supporting, or at least trying to learn to love.

This is where the rocks come in. I believe that we women are like those rocks that I have in my windowsill ( and in my yard, and most of the time even my in pockets). We are unique and beautiful in our own ways. Some of us have rough edges from where we have been broken off from the trials we have faced, while others have been smoothed, some even polished to a beautiful sheen. We are made of different materials, some that break down easier than others, some that can withstand almost any element while barely breaking down at all. We are giant boulders and small pebbles that have traveled the world and never left the valley. We all have a story to tell, stories that have not ended yet, of shaping, and forming to get to be who we are. And no one’s story is greater and no one’s story is lesser, because they are totally unique to us. These rocks I collect come from our Father’s creation of this earth, and so do we, created from the dust of the earth by that same Father. And yet, so often, we find ourselves forgetting this and that is when we find ourselves comparing, we find ourselves judging, we find ourselves not measuring up to someone else, or even counting their weaknesses, their rough edges, so that we can show how smooth ours are. And all it does is slow our progress. I would like to say that we only hurt ourselves, but in reality we can hurt so many along the way. We nit-pick, we make snide comments, and we miss moments to love, to serve, and to draw nearer to our Savior. Oh, how I would like to be innocent of this and say that I am teaching what I live and what I know. But, that is why we are given each new day, to keep on working, keep on trying, and keep on using the atonement for what He meant it for, to become like Him.

It is my hope, my prayer, that we will begin to see the beauty of each sister, and better understand the journey she has traveled and the storms that she has weathered.  That each sister will be viewed as someone who has strengths and weaknesses and challenges just as all of us do, and that will be our common bond-- that will be the strength that will help unify us, as we remember, truly remember, who we are--Sisters.

Just a Reminder if You haven't been to the Temple.....

The St George Temple closes next Monday for maintenance and will be closed for the next two weeks--the schedule can be found by clicking on the link on the left side of our blog, but we just wanted to remind you in case you have the chance to go, or so that you don't make the trip only to find they are closed!!

Create by President Uchtdorf

This month's Presidency message has excerpt's from President Uchtdorf's talk and this is the video from Mormon Message's that goes with it--though you might like it if you haven't seen it yet!!  (you may want to pause the music player at the bottom of the blog page)

Welcome!!

Welcome to the Panaca 2nd Relief Society Ward Blog.  We are hoping that we can use a blog to keep updates and a history of what is going on in our Relief Society.  We know not all of us use the computer, but we are hoping that this may be helpful for those who do and we will keep working the old-fashioned way to reach those who don't!!

We are adding blogs to our list of anyone who has one that has been or is a member of the 2nd ward--so if you have addresses for blogs that you would like to add, just let us know by sending an email or commenting on a post!

The plan is to try to send an email when we have a new post so that you can check it out.  We also want to have access to things such as the visiting teaching message and temple schedule--if there are other things that you would like to see on here, please let us know and we will see what we can do!
Thanks,
Sister Perkins