When you wish upon a star...

If you know Melanie, you may have noticed that she has one fashion accessory that she can't live without. She has a silver star necklace that, for at least the past 4 years, she has worn nearly every day. This star necklace is such a big part of her life that she has even claimed she will wear it the day she gets married. Overall, Mel seems to have an affinity for stars in general, and it would be a sad, sad day if she were to lose that necklace.




(The above pictures start in 2005 and go through to 2009--note the star necklace in each picture!)

Tonight our family went to the Oquirrh (pronounced "oh-ker") Mountain Temple Open House. It was beautiful! When we walked in, as we began filing through the lobby, the first thing Melanie said was, "This is the place I'm going to get married."

As we wound our way through the temple we came to the Celestial Room. The furnishings are beautiful, with a creamy white color scheme. The ceilings are extremely high, with a beautiful chandelier hanging in the center of the room. As I looked at that pure white, sparkling chandelier, I suddenly became aware of the design: it was star shaped. "Look, Mel," I whispered, "The chandelier is a star!"

In the sealing rooms in this temple, hanging over the altar where husband and wife would kneel to be sealed together through priesthood power for all eternity, there are smaller star shaped chandeliers. I became aware of more star shapes throughout the temple, from the mirrors in the brides dressing room, to the glass in the windows.

As we exited this beautiful house of the Lord, I smiled. It seemed appropriate that Melanie, with a love of stars (especially silver ones around her neck), would feel drawn to this beautiful place full of stars of its own.

Love ya, Mel, our own bright, shining star! May your "wish upon a star" to be married in the Oquirrh Mountain temple--sealed forever and ever and ever to your eternal sweetie--come true.

Please leave a message at the tone...

I have had a couple of people mention to me that they would leave comments but they don't have an account. I have discovered that you don't have to have any type of account to actually leave a comment, even though it LOOKS like you do.


Here's how to do it: First, type your comment. Then click where it says to "Comment as" (right under where you typed your comment.) Pick to comment by name and URL. When that comes up, type your name, but leave the URL blank. Then hit enter, it will probably make you type some random word to make sure you're a real person, and then it should post.



Although my "dream of blogging" was NOT to have people send me money (although feel free if you so desire), I did have hopes that it would be a bit interactive as I posted and others commented.



Is this totally lame to beg for comments? Oh well, call me lame. If I wanted to be ignored, I'd have teenagers at home. Oh wait, I DO have teenagers at home! Maybe that's why I'm desperately seeking interaction!

What is it about human nature that makes us unable to appreciate the good others have or do? Today my boys and I spent a couple of hours volunteering at the Bishop's Storehouse. I thought it was a great--the boys worked hard, I was so happy that they got a chance to serve and help. However, on the ride home, they about drove me crazy with all the trash talking! They couldn't be happy for what had been done, they had to rehash how one was better than the other and had done more or better things than the next.

You say you worked for 10 minutes in the freezer? Yeah, well I worked in there for 30 minutes in a swimsuit and you wore a coat and cried the whole time about how cold it was!

You got to work the pallet lift? Yeah, well you were way too noisy with it, slamming it here or there, you sat there while mom swept where the pallets had been, and on top of that you WHISTLED WHILE YOU WORKED!

You wiped off the sticky honey containers? Well, I walked unprotected into the beehives to harvest the honeycombs to make the honey, bottled the honey in a plastic container that I made from recycled materials, hand drew the label, and walked 50 miles one way uphill in the snow to deliver it to storehouse myself!

I'm sure some of that is plain old regular brotherly rivalry, uh, I mean love, that makes them talk that way. My husband swears they'll grow out of it and love each other by the time they're older, citing he and his brothers as proof. But sometimes I wonder, because I find that often it's not just my boys that think and talk that way. As brothers and sisters in the human race, we often seem to delight in acting like we're better than the next one over.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave a great talk on this issue in the April 2002 General Conference called "The Other Prodigal". (You can find it by searching at http://www.lds.org/) Elder Holland talks of how often we feel that a gift given to another somehow diminishes the blessings we have received, or how we wonder if God is smiling on another, then is He somehow frowning on us? My favorite quote from his talk is this: "I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other."

Even though they drive me crazy with this stuff, we'll be back again next week (with the plan being to go every week this summer) to help out at the storehouse. And maybe, just maybe, by the end of the summer, they'll come to appreciate each other and effort they are making to serve.

When we're helping we're happy!

Let me tell you, for me some of the greatest happy feelings come from helping other people! A couple of nights ago, I got an email from one of Craig's cousins that has been out of work for 9 1/2 months saying that she had gotten a job based on a lead that I gave her. Hooray! I feel so pleased when stuff like that happens...I love being able to be a part of something good.

At the same time, I recognize that this trait also can cause huge issues with me. The issues come in when it doesn't end up the way I think it should, or it doesn't make someone happy, because instead of thinking "oh well, you can't help 'em all," I tend to feel a bit like a failure.

That's part of the reason I'm not a huge fan of subbing anymore. Instead of "Hey! It's our favorite sub! We love her! She's awesome!", it was more and more of kids not listening and acting like I was chopped liver. That doesn't feel helpful and happy.

That's part of the reason why I'm not a fan of making dinner some nights. Instead of "We love this food, Mom, it's the greatest!", it's often accompanied by wrinkled noses and grumblings about why didn't I make something yummy? That doesn't feel helpful and happy.

That's part of the reason that "And they lived happily ever after," is my favorite quote. I just want everyone, everywhere to be doing good, being good, and helping each other out. Now that, THAT feels helpful and happy!

However, considering Adam got kicked out the garden and from then on out things were gonna be a little tough and trying, as well as the fact that I can't always help for whatever reason, I'm often in a world of hurt with that attitude! There is always going to be someone or something that I am unable to help or please. Failure probably actually comes only in me doing nothing at all to try to help or serve.

I've been pondering whether my desire to be helpful is actually a bad attitude disguised as a good attitude. Because, really, isn't it a little prideful for me to think that if I haven't made an outward "Oh, you're the greatest, you helped so much!" difference that I'm a failure? I find even that sometimes I rebel against things that I think from the outset will be a failure...if asked to do something I think will not have good results, I'm not much into doing it. And that is definitely a bad attitude! I have no crystal ball in order to divine whether I have truly made a difference, and a fact of life is that there will be times when a difference is made that will only be silently recorded in heaven, with no earthly recognition at all.

And so, a challenge to myself (and others): Keep helping, regardless of whether it turns out the way you think it should or not. Don't take it personally if it doesn't, and don't be afraid to try to help no matter what the outcome might be!

"Find out how much God has given you

and from it take what you need;

the remainder is needed by others."