Just One Degree

This morning I wanted to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, so Autumn & I went on a walk around the duck ponds. While we were walking, a fire truck and ambulance came to one of the homes on the street, but I don’t know why. Autumn was just excited to see the fire truck and waved to the firemen. She found these little “magic wands” on the ground that she wanted to carry around while we walked.

She was walking slow, and I wanted to get in a little bit of a work out, so I tricked her into chasing me w/ the wands by pretending they tickled me when she touched me w/ them. She was all about running after me, which made us both laugh and we got in a better work out all in one.

After our walk, we came home and got cleaned up. I bought this dress for Autumn in January when it was on clearance and she looks adorable in it. But, she looks even cuter wearing her pink cowboy boots w/it. Dad came over at church to say hi and he was wearing his cowboy boots, so we just had to get a picture of them in their boots together.

Papa & Autumn

She is such a little princess and I LOVE IT!

She wanted to help me cook some breakfast, so I put my apron on her to keep her dress clean. She thought that was pretty fun and I thought for a minute she might want to wear the apron to church instead of the dress. She was pretty good at church today and Liz & Liberty sat by us, which was fun. After church, we both came home and took a nice (and much needed) nap.

After our naps, we got ready to head over to Mom & Dad’s. While we were getting ready, Christine called and asked if I wanted to go to a single adult’s fireside tonight. I said sure and got dressed in church clothes. I went and dropped Autumn off at Mom & Dad’s and headed over to Christine’s so we could drive over together.

The fireside was absolutely incredible and even life changing. Robin Jacks was the speaker and she told us about some of the trials she has had in her life. She hit rock bottom and realized she could either fall apart or hold onto her faith and the Gospel. She started to focus on the 6 Be’s of President Hinckley. Then she told us about the positive impact we can have on people. She said that little things can make such a big difference. She was telling us that water boils at 211 degrees and at 212 degrees it turns into steam and how important that one degree is, especially back in the day when trains and other things ran on steam.

She had us put all of our chairs in a circle and then she asked us to go around and share what we have done to be that one degree of difference in someone’s life. A few older gentlemen got up and shared how they were widowers and how they had cared for their wives when they were diagnosed w/ cancer. It was incredibly touching. Then another woman got up and shared how she cared for her father while he was in the hospital. Another lady shared how she helped a co-worker pay for some medicine she really needed but couldn’t afford.

At first I wished they would just say something short and then sit down, b/c some of them talked for a long time. But, then I realized that they needed to share their stories. I was on the verge of tears quite a few times, b/c I could feel the Spirit so strongly. It just reiterated to me what I posted about earlier and how everyone we meet is dealing w/ a trial in their life and how a little kindness and something small can go a long way.

She made these cute Thanksgiving cards for all of us to take home so we can write a thank you note to someone or just a “hi, how ya doing” note to brighten someone’s day. After the fireside, I went to get Autumn at Mom & Dad’s. I walked in the house and Autumn came RUNNING over to me and gave me a big huge hug around the neck. I hugged her back and told her I love her and that I missed her. She said, “I missed you too, Mommy.” She’s never said that before and it brought tears to my eyes, b/c it was so sweet and touched my heart and soul.