The worth of souls

Today we toured one of the elementary schools, trying to find a good fit for Ella. One of the things that was said made me ponder. As we were walking the hallways where the children's art and English and Science assignments were hanging, the staff pointed out how some children are more advanced and others are not or lacking... she pointed obvious differences in the children's productions. ...While the differences were obvious, seeing each child's picture next to the their assignment, made me think of a truth I hold so dear: "Remember, the Worth of Souls Is Great in the Sight of God", D&C 18:10.

Although we are evaluated and judged based on output and results in pretty much every area of our mortal life, let's remember the worth of souls and how precious each and eveyone of us is to Him, the Father of us all, regardless of our earthly physical or material merits, be it grades, paychecks, cars we drive, real estate we own, or trophies we earn. Let's try harder to see through the worldly "order" of things, and inside our neighbors' souls, love more and judge less.

(This thought, truth, or realization or call it whatever you'd like, is so much more important to me as I am a very competitive (with myself, mostly) person and I always push so hard for perfection, and push my sweet Ella to excel in all the things she's involved. I just need to remember this more often and focus on the value and worth of a soul more. If I just could just get a clearer glimpse of HOW MUCH HE TRULY LOVES EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, iunderstand that love more and more every day, and let it guide my every thought, action, and move.)



The Rider's in the house!!!

This beautiful spunky girl of ours has seen her dream come true, or one of her (big) dreams.
She started horseback riding lessons this Saturday at Sienna Stables.

She learned quite a lot in her first 30 min lesson:
To lead her horse.

Turn left and right.


Go forward, back up and even ride facing backwards.

She did amazing and her instructor, Ms. Laurie thinks she's going to be a strong rider and pick up real quick. No doubt about it, knowing how much she loves these animals. (I just loved her confidence and how much she enjoyed herself every single moment on that horse in the arena.)

Leading Ginger back to her stall.

Later in the day we stopped by Charllotte's Saddlery, an equestrian speciality store, to pick up the basic gear: boots, breeches (pants), and helmet.

What do you think???

Oh she was so excited and so happy!!! And I am so happy for her that she can do what she loves.

After her lesson we stopped by this beautifully flora and fauna diverse park where I was taken back by this sign:

(Whoa, alligators?? We didn't see any though, which is probably a good thing.)

We did see a lot of turtles. In fact, they're everywhere. Here's Ella feeding one at a nearby pond.

We walked around, saw a wedding that was going to take place right there at the park's pavillion, saw the bride (and I told Ella it's good luck to see a bride?!! at least that's what I think ;)), and just had a good time.

Took some more pictures, of course. There are these really neat steel modern sculptures throughout the park. Really cool.

Some pictures taken one of the afternoons we went and fed the strange but beautiful looking ducks and geese at the nearby pond:

And I loved the few talks I was able to tune in to for General Conference.

President Packer's talk in particular caught my attention:

"One of the great discoveries of parenthood "is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents. We come to recognize the truth in Isaiah's prophesy that 'a little child shall lead them.' "

I can't wait to get caught up with the rest.

Have a blessed day!! (And can't help post this one too with my never ending "eat your veggies" motto!! :))

Friday lunch date

Today Hrishi took me out to Blu, a really nice tapa style restaurant here at the First Colony strip mall. The food was great, we sat outside in the lovely breeze, chatting and enjoying some nice "just us" time.



Oh, and look who's had an Egghunt at school??!!!??

(The school asked each child to donate ten plastic eggs filled with little toys/stickers instead of candy. How nice and thoughtful towards those who have food restrictions!! Thank you, Primrose!)

Words to live by

I "stole" these from one of my favorite blogs, memoriesoncloverlane.

On true success:

Guiding principles:

What matters most:

In no particular order

We took pictures (lots of them) last week and weekend, just like we always do. They're in no particular order or highlighting any particular grand event. Just life, with its small yet beautiful moments.

Haircut...finally I got a haircut and color. I was looong overdue for that:

Tied to the hip...

Getting the breathing down...
(Swimming lessons starting tomorrow)

First time at the Houston temple in Klein... absolutely beautiful, peaceful, and filled with the Holy Spirit. You could have truly "cut" through how thick the Spirit felt. Amazing...! Walking around the temple grounds, talking about our blessings, about the temple, and immersing ourselves in the beautiful nature were just the perfect way to finish up the week. (And I'm really so grateful to my special guy who proposed that we go there after seeing me moping around sick.)

(Those corral shoes... I love; as tall as they are, you wouldn't think they're comfy but they are. I've been looking long and hard for a pair like that.)

(Watching a bug, and posing for momma, of course. :))

In the shadow of His temple:

First time visiting a beautiful Jain temple in nearby Stafford. The lights and the temple's reflection in the waterbed around it were just perfect. If only I could have captured the prayer chants ... really beautiful.

(I love this picture... so beautiful. It could be "Oriental passage"?)

In lomo:

(Picasa's new effects have sure helped turn our grainy pictures into some cool shots! :))

Yesterday after family home evening we drove about half hour to nearby Missouri City to check out the stables at Sienna Plantation. Ella will be starting horse back riding lessons there. She is over the moon about it.

This is it for today. I'll now move on to my wam bowl of chicken noodle soup, a personal favorite in times like these when the nasty cold monster strikes. Just when I had started feeling better with my neck/arm and was able to sleep, a lovely cold?!?! It's okay though because I know lots of sunny perfect days are coming and without trials big or small, I would not become the person that He has in mind.  Just the same is probably true, that without our personal efforts to welcome, embrace, and learn from our trials we would not become.  

One lucky momma!

Yes, that's me!!

How grateful I am for her love!

Healthful eating

Or healthy or call it whatever, but I say (to mysef), just DO IT! :) I've been struggling a bit with making those healthy choices, but I recommitted myself to being even more disciplined than before. Lunch and dinners are back to green or colored veggies next to roasted or grilled meats (usually chicken, fish, or steak.) Breakfast are back to the "mother-of-all-protein" whole egg and egg whites with spinach or mushroom. A new beakfast option-- I tried this today and it is so good:

Last night I roasted this beautiful purple asparagus. We sprinkled some vegan parmesan on top. It was delicious, sweet and succulent.

This morning after my workout, I refueled with a scoop of whey protein, 1 cup milk, 1 cup fresh spinach and this healthy "concotion" I picked up at Whole Foods. (I didn't snap a picture of it because it didn't look too appetizing but who cares, it was good and HEALTHY.)

Lunch consisted of roasted zuchinni, yellow squash, green beans, and carrots, left-over asparagus, and turkey.

For dinner we're having chicken breast tenders on the grill with quinoa and spring mix salad. Life is good!