Just Say Yes

On Christmas Eve there was an article in the paper that I loved.  It is written by Diana Butler.  Here's a snippet from it:

Two thousand years ago, an angel visited a young girl anxiously awaiting her own marriage.  "Fear not, Mary," the angel said, "for you have found favor with God.  You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus."

Astounded, Mary asked, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

The angel replied, "God's spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."

Then the heavens waited.

Would she agree?

Although we don't often consider the possibility, Mary could have said no.  If I had been she, I would have.  God's favor?  Pregnant out of wedlock?  What of Joseph?  What about the wedding?  What would my parents say?  No, thank you.

God asked her to give up love, honor, happiness, and reputation.  To accomplish God's will, she would become a social outcast.

The heavens waited.  History hung on the word of a teenage girl.

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  The word reverberated through the universe.  Angels rejoiced.  Because of one girl's yes, God's son would be born.

Mary responded not in fear, but in love...She risked everything with an extraordinary yes.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe that we are all sent here to earth to have the opportunity to be tested and tried, to see if we will do all things that the Lord wishes us to do.  We have our free agency, or the power to choose for ourselves, the things we will do and be.  What a great thing, that Mary chose yes, that she would do as she was asked to do.  Her yes allowed the Savior Jesus Christ to come to earth. 

I also like to ponder on the sacrifices it seemed Mary was asked to make.  For, as the article says, God asked her (at least on the surface, or for the time being) "to give up love, honor, happiness, and reputation."  What sacrifices are we asked to make that seem (at least on the surface, or for the time being) to possibly lose out on things we think are important? 

In less than a year, one of my sons will accept a call to serve on a two year mission for our church.  He will be asked to sacrifice (for the time being at least) the chance to go to college and young adult freedoms.  But, like Mary's sacrifice brought great things, I believe Bradley's sacrifice will bring great things to his life.  He will learn to study (not only the gospel itself, but possibly learning a second language), and to serve God and other people.  I believe he will come back from his mission a better man, and any sacrifices he may make to go will be more than made up in his life.

And so it is with all the sacrifices God asks us to make.  Whatever we may give up or lose out on will all be made up to us in some way, and chances are it will be made up to us many-fold over what we gave up.  So, with this upcoming new year, let's all try to be a little more "Mary-like", and just say yes.  As we do so, great things will come, not only for others, but for ourselves as well.

Redecorating Reveals

Well, it's finally time for Show and Tell!  The latest house changes are finished, so I'll show you what I've done!

First up is the new entry way light.  A little background on this light.  I have been somewhat addicted to decorating blogs lately, and on these decorating blogs I found that people have been really enamored with this light from Pottery Barn:



   On those decorating blogs you can read about how people have made their own light like this, or picked up a similar model at a thrift store.  Well, I decided that was a pretty cool light as well, and was THRILLED when I found something kind of similar at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore.  For those who don't know, the Restore is a thrift store of building/house supplies, with proceeds supporting Habitat for Humanity.  So, I found the lamp, which was originally a lovely golden color, paid $3 for it (vs. $269 for the Pottery Barn version), took it home, painted it black, and ended up with this:

I like it a lot!



Next up is the bedroom redecorating. This has gotten the most laughs out of all my recent projects, because probably within the past year (or two at the very most) I already redid my bedroom decor. So when people hear I changed it they say, "But didn't you just BARELY change it?" Yeah.  But that's the way it goes sometimes with me. :-)

The desire to change things up started one day as I was reading a decorating blog, where I read about how white bedspreads are a pain because they get dirty easily. Since I had a white quilt on my bed, I could totally understand! In fact, I understood that so well that I decided to change it...I was sick and tired of brown spots on that get-dirty-way-too-easily white quilt. So, after a bit of thinking about it, I decided that I wanted red bedding. In the end, I went with the color scheme my niece Kajsa used at her wedding: brown and red...scarlet? Maroon? I don't know what color to call it. Better just take a look and see:

Here's the bed, with my nice red bedding. I made the toile pillows, and the little white accent pillow that has a red ribbon and brown fabric rosette on it. The brown pillow and the brown bedskirt were leftovers from the last bedroom decor. Don't you love the cool curtains with the red at the top and brown at the bottom that go so well? (Bought 'em that way, what a perfect match!) I also really like the metal scrollwork at the top of the window, and the cute little lamp for my bedside table.

On top of the armoire, I changed the candles to white ones (they had previously been blue), and added a wreath of red berries around the base of the candles to tie in the color scheme.

Over on the other dresser, besides a vase of flowers in the color scheme, I framed a cute card that I had given Craig at one time that was the perfect color for the room, and mod-podged a red scrapbook paper onto the picture frame that I already had.

I LOVE the way it all turned out!

But, with this new change in the color scheme in the bedroom, I was feeling like my mint green bathroom countertop in the attached master bath just wasn't quite cutting it.  Besides, the floral wallpaper border had been up the entire 13 years we've been here, and so (OF COURSE!) I decided to change it all to match my bedroom better.  What I hoped would be a 4 days process ended up being more of a 3 week process, but I really think it was well worth it!  Take a look and see:

I ended up painting my countertops.  That's quite a surprising statement to some ("You painted your countertops?" they say), but I have a neighbor that swears it can be done and work well for quite a few years, so after consulting with her I did it! 

The vanity got painted a really nice dark brown and I added oil rubbed bronze pulls, as well as spray painted my towel racks with an oil rubbed bronze spray paint to match.  After taking down the old wallpaper border, the walls of the bath were painted as well.  I also found a nice bath mat, a toothbrush holder and soap dish, and a few other decorative elements in the color scheme and added those to the room.

What I probably like best about the room redo, was that I took down the giant builder's mirror and replaced it with two framed mirrors.  I added two planters full of red silk roses between the mirrors (with the planters, a Savers thrift store find that originally had Santa Claus painted on them, being made over with the oil rubbed bronze paint as well!)

Well, with all that redecorating and remodeling, you'd think I'd been done, right?  But, like a late night infomercial, WAIT!  There's MORE!

I also replaced the "dressing room lights" light bar in the hall bath with this fixture:

(The light fixture looks from this angle like it's not centered over the mirror, but it really is!)

And, I replaced the broken doorbell at the front door and rearranged the family room furniture (sorry, no pictures of those things.) 

I'd like to say that's all the redecorating I'm doing for awhile...but I better not make any promises I'm not sure I can keep!

Trevor!

This past week Trevor turned 16!  Amazing!  He got his driver's license, and today he was ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood.

Here are a few pictures from today: 

Grandma, Trevor, Grandpa

 Craig, Trevor, Libby

Jacob, Grandpa, Bradley, Craig, Trevor--Perfect stair steps!!!

Happy Birthday, Trevor!  You are an awesome son!  We are proud of you and your faithfulness and diligence, and we love you very much. 

And there was much rejoicing...

This week Craig went out of town for about 3 days.  And, if you know me, you know that means that I'm gonna do some decorating.  I had recently redone the decor in my bedroom, and so when Craig left my plan was to change my bathroom to match.

So, nearly the minute he drove out of the driveway, I set to work.  And let me tell you, for the most part, this has been such a frustrating project!  Instead of being finished when Craig got home, I was still in the midst of it.  I wanted to change my mirror, but was having no luck finding what I wanted.  I found a rug I liked, but not in the right size.  I bought knobs, only to dislike them when I got home.  I took down the wallpaper border that had been up, but didn't paint the walls.  I was slow on painting the cabinets, so the doors were still only primed.

And speaking of painting, this project has had some paint issues.  It seems so simple to pick paint, doesn't it?  I want THIS color (she says, pointing to the tannish color in the bath rug).  Why however, does what seems to match in the store not match at home?  If I bring the rug to the store and match the paint to it there, why does it NOT match when I get it home?  I know the light at the store is different than my light at home, but it seems to me like the light change should effect both the rug and the paint color the same way.  No such luck though.  After one coat of the paint I went "YUCK!  Wrong color!"

I was tired of going to the store, tired of returning the wrong things, and tired of the whole project in general.  What kind of crazy woman was I for thinking I could change my bathroom?  I just wanted to close the door and ignore it all until the magic bathroom fairy came and fixed it just the way I wanted it to be.

However, today I went back ONE MORE TIME to the store and pondered and stewed and fretted and worried, but in the end brought home probably 52 paint color sample cards, and two mirrors.  When I got home I placed the color sample cards around the rug (I did find the right size rug eventually, hooray!), and opened the boxes the mirrors were in, pulled them out and leaned them carefully up against the wall in the bathroom.

And then...the storm clouds of frustration parted, the sun began to shine through and there was much rejoicing!  Suddenly everything I envisioned seemed to be coming together!  The mirrors worked: they were exactly what I wanted size wise and colorwise!  There was a paint sample that appeared with the light in my house to be just the right color to match the bath mat! 

Hallelujah!  I am now renewed and ready to get going on finishing up the project.  Hooray for things FINALLY feeling like they are coming together! 

Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product...

Halloween Dance

Tonight Bradley's off to the Halloween Dance.  He and his date went as Ash Ketchum and Misty from Pokeman.  To the right is a picture of the "real" Ash and Misty.  And below....Bradley and Anni's version of Ash and Misty.   Here's hoping they have a fun time! 
And, on this cold and rainy night (what a sad night for trick or treating!), here's hoping you have a Happy Halloween! 

Bits-n-Pieces

I have not been a good blogger recently.  Just haven't taken the time or had stuff to say.  I still don't know if I have time or stuff to say, so this will just be a "bits-n-pieces" post...

• Tonight I head up to Logan for Girls Night Out with Melanie.  We're going to see "In the Mood", a big band musical review.  Looking forward to it, even though I just drove to Logan yesterday.  Mel came home this past weekend, and I offered to pick her up and bring her down.  It was fun to have a drive home with her.  Singing to the radio (we would do so well at a karaoke night!) and chatting...love it!  I love my boys, but there's just something about hanging with Melanie that's extra fun.
• I really, really, really, really want to do some redecorating.  But so far I'm haven't.  Beyond my own desire to redecorate, I am being severely tempted to do it lately by a blog.  It's called "Remodelaholic" (see my blog lists to the right for the link).  I can sit and click through that blog for HOURS.  One day I was looking at it and Jacob came in and asked what I was looking at.  "A blog called Remodelaholic," I said.  "Remodelaholic," Jacob said, "That's what you are, huh?"  Yes.  Yes, I am.  So, what's my latest remodeling desires?  Family room/dining/kitchen area.  Ready for a change there!  Oh, I guess I did make one little change there recently.  I redid the decor on top of the cabinets.  See:
What I really want to do is paint my kitchen cabinets.  And paint the walls...or maybe put up beadboard?  And probably get new furniture and new blinds.  And while we're at it, the carpet and linoleum could be replaced too.  My family room/dining/kitchen area is full of the honey oak colored stuff (entertainment center, fireplace mantle, stair railing, window blinds, table and chairs, a hutch and the kitchen cabinets), and I'm just tired of that. 
• I am ready for sweater weather.  It's not coming very quickly.  It is still very toasty during the day.  And, it's very toasty in the mornings when I go for my walk, surprisingly.  I rarely need a coat in the mornings, and sometimes I don't even need a long sleeve shirt!   I don't want snow or super cold, just sweater weather (so what's that, like high 50's maybe?) 
• And speaking of morning walks, I have been so happy to have found a new walking buddy and been able to be consistent with walking lately!  I think it's made somewhat of a difference in my body, although unfortunately not a big weight difference.  Maybe if I stop eating so many cookies...and ice cream...and chocolate chips...
• I really would like some new shoes.  But shoe buying has become horrible for me (that's sad, eh?  Isn't shoe buying something women are supposed to love?).  My feet have gotten quite big and wide (I used to wear a size 7 or 7 1/2, now it's usually 8 1/2 or 9).  And my right foot is not overly healthy so it has special needs in the shoe department, such as no high heels and plenty of room for the toes.  And, sorry, but I am tired of "fake" shoes ("all man made material"), however, I am cheap as well, and unfortunately you rarely find "real" inexpensive shoes.  So, no luck so far.  Too bad.
• I've been doing some subbing this year.  It's been pretty ok so far, so I guess a two year "break" from subbing helped.  My favorite by far is subbing for the librarian at the elementary school.  That's definitely the most fun that's to be had subbing!
• A few weeks ago was General Conference.  It was, as usual, a super weekend!  So thankful for living prophets, and the reminder of what life is really all about.
• Looking forward to going to a "Time Out for Women" in November (you can find out about TOFW here).  Jacob asked me the other day if that was something like "therapy." Not sure where he got that idea or even that word, but yep, it's probably something like that.
• Trevor has been asked to try to read some on his "lexile reading level" for school.  Trevor's lexile score is 1500.  Here are some of his reading choices at that level:  Don Quixote, Cultural Intermarriage in Southern Appalachia: Cherokee Elements in Four Selected Novels by Lee Smith, Urban Public Transport Today, or The Scarlet Letter.  Oh yeah, just the type of books a teenage boy is gonna want to pick up and read! 

Young At Heart

This past Saturday our Stake had a Relief Society Meeting and luncheon.  For funsies, the Stake Relief Society asked each ward to put together a lip synch for the entertainment at the luncheon.  And let me tell you, it was pretty entertaining! 

It was so fun to see each of the wards (and the Stake Relief Society Presidency as well) put together a song.  The songs ranged from straight lip synch (for example the Stake Relief Society's version of "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical) to changing the words and singing over an instrumental version (such as the ward that did "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid sung as if they were Young Women pining away to be "part of our world" in Relief Society.)  The costumes the groups put together were funny, and overall it was quite hilarious to watch everyone perform.  It definitely was fun entertainment for the luncheon!

I had volunteered to be part of our ward's entry.  After brainstorming for over an hour one evening, we finally came up with what we thought was a fun idea for "Young At Heart". 

You want to watch it, don't you?  I could make it easy for you, and upload it here...except my computer is not making it easy for me to upload it here!  (I tried for probably an hour yesterday to do it, and it just wasn't happening.)  But, I did get it uploaded here (Young at Heart), so feel free to take a peek at it!

(PS--If you're wondering, at the very end, we're chugging prune juice!)

Is this legal?

The other day I was randomly perusing blogs (see, up at the top of the page where it says "Next blog >"?  Click that and it will take you to some random blog) and I found one that totally made me laugh out loud.   I spent quite a bit of time reading through many days of it, laughing here and there, and then reading it out loud to Melanie so she wouldn't be wondering why I've just busted up laughing again.  And now...I'm hooked.  I want to keep reading about them. 

So, I'm putting this blog...of this family I've never met...over in my blog list. 

Is that legal?  Am I a blog stalker?

Well, hopefully it's not too big of a no-no...

'Cause I'm doing it anyway.

Love that girl!

This is my adorable daughter and me.  I love her, and I'm glad she came home for the weekend and we got to spend some quality time together!  :-)

A Bucket Filling Night

Ok, for a little background before I get into this post, I'll let you in on a couple of things you may or may not know about me. 

First of all, I love music.  L.O.V.E., love it!  I love singing, I wish I could play piano better (I just really plunk at the piano...took organ lessons when I was little and basically learned right hand and chords), I wish I could play the guitar, I love singing loudly and proudly with Melanie when we drive in the car together, and I sometimes cry because music isn't a bigger part of my life (I think if I could have one wish I'd wish that my family was more musical and we'd spend lots of time singing and playing music together.)

Second, I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the fullness that can be found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It's true, and it can bring peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.

Third, (this may be the one that many don't know), deep down inside I am a redneck country girl.  My mom's family is from the south, and I grew up going to Arkansas each summer and attending vacation bible school at my Nanny's Baptist Church.  If I spend too long in the south, I can very easily slip into that southern twang, it's just in my blood.

So...now that you know that...on to my post!

Last night I attended a totally awesome concert by the Nashville Tribute Band.  I have loved this band for a few years, ever since my friend Julie played their CD for me on the way home from Women's Conference.  (Julie introduces me to quite a few wonderful things...thanks Julie!)  They have put out two CDs, one called "Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet", and "Trek: A Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers", both of which I highly recommend.  Those CDs will move you to tears, and will strenghten your testimony and understanding of the early Saints.  They also have a CD they are about to put out called "The Work: A Nashville Tribute to the Missionaries", which, based on the sneak preview we got at the concert last night will be another incredibly moving CD.

I went to the concert with my friend Jessica, who walks with me in the mornings.  We left early and went out to dinner at Wingers, then went to the concert.  It was at a beatiful outdoor ampitheater and because it was a cool, overcast and breezy night it was so enjoyable to just sit there and relax.  Our tickets were on the front row of the upper section of the ampitheater so we had a railing right in front of us and I just propped my feet up and relaxed the evening away!

 

 This was definitely one of the best concerts I have been to because of all the things I listed above about me.  First, I loved the fun music, and I loved to watch the guys on stage perform.  You could tell they were having a blast!  It made me want to jump up there and perform too!

 

Secondly, it was a great concert because the whole night was basically a musical testimony meeting.  They bore testimony of the gospel, not only through the songs they sang, but the chatting they did between songs.  These guys know the gospel is true, and they are not afraid to open their mouths and proclaim it!  To a certain degree it reminds me of General Conference, where you come away feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the world because you know you have God on your side!  This is His work, and He is in charge!

Jason Deere and Me

And third, it was a great concert for me because it connected to my inner country girl!  Jason Deere, who writes all the music, calls it "redneck Mormon songs", and between that and all the commentary Jason made about his Oklahoma upbringing and his mom being a Baptist before she joined the church, it totally made me homesick for summers at Nanny's and my southern roots. 

All in all, it was really a great night, because it connected to so many things that are precious to me.  I loved the company (thanks for going with me Jessica!), and definitely felt like my bucket got filled.  Yeehaw! :-)

Busy doing sew and sew

With just two months to spare, Bradley is finally getting down to serious business on the Eagle Project.  Hooray!  Although it looks like it is (well, it is) down to the wire, to a certain degree I am somewhat understanding about that.  Way back when he was just a wee little scout he was all excited to go and get his Eagle.  He had a project he was excited about (refurbishing and resetting a Welcome to our city sign), but when he went to the city to get the project signed off the guy there pretty much smooshed his little scout heart.  He told Bradley that he could do that if he wanted, but pretty soon they would be developing the place where the sign went, and when that happened they'd just tear his sign down.  That bummed him out enough that he couldn't muster enough energy to think of another project until now.

Bradley has decided to do a project making quilts for Shriners Hospital.  Shriners Hospitals are wonderful hospital throughout the United States that provide, completely free of charge (regardless of economic status), orthopedic care for children age 18 years and younger.  Some of the Shriners Hospitals also do burn care as well.  (For more info on Shriners, you can check here: http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/Main )

When Jacob was 4 years old he had surgery at Shriners on his club foot, so we know what a wonderful place it is.  Jacob received a donated blanket there, and he loved it.  It had yellow flannel on the back, so he called it (in his cute 4 year old speak) his "Lello blankie".  For many nights after his surgery when we would do our gratitude journal, Jacob would say he was thankful for his yellow blankie. (Totally tender mommy moment: I just went and looked back at that old gratitude journal and found that for many nights he would say he was thankful for Mommy and his yellow blanket.  Awww--I didn't remember him being so thankful for me, too.)

Anyway, Bradley has been working on getting quilt stuff together around here.  Some of the ladies in the neighborhood have donated fabric, and I have been working with some of that fabric to add a little variety to the quilts.  I have been working on a rag quilt (and have a second one planned to do but as of yet undone), as well as piecing together a quilt top.  It's been kind of fun to see these little projects I've been working on come together for Bradley's Eagle project, and I've been pleased with how they've turned out. 

Here are two of the things I've been working on:

The rag quilt

I still have about half of it to put together, as well as clip all the seams and wash it up...it's taking a long time, but I really like it.

The pieced quilt top

Looks like I'm kind of into that checker-boardy pattern right now, eh? 

This one went together MUCH faster than the rag one.  The black fabric with the pink roses was donated to us, and I thought on its own it wasn't a terribly "child-like" fabric, but I think putting it together with the brighter pink and white squares cheers it up. 

I hope that these quilts (as well as the dozen others we have fabric for) will help bring joy and comfort to a child being treated at Shriners, just like Jacob's "lello blankie" did for him.  Good luck getting all the quilts done Bradley, I'm proud of you for working on getting your Eagle.  After all, better late than never!

Growl

That's right, growl.  I'm in a bit of a grumpy mood right now.  I am currently grumpy at:

• Benzoyl Peroxide--Why do you have to bleach out every towel in my house?  I don't like the green towel to have orange spots, or the blue towel to have pinky-purply smears, or the new towels to be ruined.  Could you just stick to your job of taking care of pimples (which, I personally am not so sure you do that well anyway, even though my teens like you) and leave my towels alone?
• Menstrual Cycles--Seriously, why do you have to make women feel so nasty at least once a month?  I am most especially not fond of bloated midsections, sweet cravings that make me feel like Pac-Man (woca, woca, woca...munch, munch, munch!), and the emotional roller coaster.  It's the big joke that when a woman is grumpy a man says "It must be 'that time of the month'", but sadly, it's often true.  Not only does PMS type stuff make me cranky, but it makes me cranky to know that in a few days it will all feel so much better.  Could I just be level-headed through that time of the month instead of some Godzilla-like creature? 
• Getting old...especially as I'm not that old!!!--Slowing metabolism, graying hair, wrinkling eyes, stiffening body...PBBBBTTT! (that's the sound of me sticking my tongue out at old age!)
• Never-ending things such as laundry and weeding.  It would be so nice to say for once, "It's all done!", but we all know the laundry basket is bottomless and the weeds are always growing.  Stink.

Well, I guess that's all right now.  Excuse me as I go consume all the chocolate chips in the house, while folding a laundry load of bleached out towels.  Let's hope I can get up off the ground when I'm through!

Quilt Blocks

For the past day I've been trying to work on the quilt blocks that I need to finish for my quilt block exchange.  I know, I know...I said previously here that I wasn't sure I wanted to continue with the quilt block exchange.  And I don't...but I got pulled in and said I'd do just one more.

The reason I got pulled in was that the quilt blocks are for a girl that I had in Mia Maids when I was in Young Women just a few months ago.  This time each person picked a color from the Young Women value colors to make all their squares.  In the end, we'll all have the following squares:
White (for Faith)
Blue (for Divine Nature)
Red (for Individual Worth)
Green (for Knowledge)
Orange (for Choice and Accountability)
Yellow (for Good Works)
Purple (for Integrity) and
Gold (for Virtue)
How could I say no to one of my favorite Young Women and a Young Women value color quilt?  Well...I couldn't. 

So here I am, working to finish eight yellow Good Works quilt blocks before the first of August.  The pattern I picked to do was a pinwheel pattern.  It's kind of symbolic in my mind.  First of all, thinking of how pinwheels turn round and round reminded me of the Scout version of Good Works, "Do a Good Turn Daily".  Secondly I thought of how with just a little effort on our part, we can send a pinwheel spinning away.  Often with just a little effort on our part we can send other spinning away to do their own Good Works in a "pay it forward" type of way.  And finally, at least for me, pinwheels always seem to bring a little bit of joy and happiness to my soul...as Good Works do as well.

Happy Independence Day!

Just a brief post to say THANK YOU to all those who helped make our country free.  I am so grateful for your service and sacrifice. 

Today we sang the Star Spangled Banner as the closing song in Sacrament Meeting.  I have heard that some people don't appreciate it, but I love the Star Spangled Banner, and I can't sing the whole thing without crying (especially the 3rd verse).  Truly we live in a blessed land!

Oh say, can you see, By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh say, does that star spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly see thru the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star spangled banner!  Oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Causey Hike

At the beginning of June, Craig's parents invited the family to their condo up at Wolf Creek.  Most of the family (at least those in Utah) were able to come up at least part of the time for some fun: food (of course, it's a family party, there's always plenty of food!), games (Five Crowns or Ticket to Ride anyone?), swimming (Bradley turned into Lobster Boy after being too cool for sunscreen), movies, etc.  It was great fun to be together.

One of the things we did one day was go on a hike by Causey Dam.  It was beautiful!  For a lot of the hike it wasn't too hard, but at the beginning and end of the hike there was a big drop (or climb, depending on which way you were hiking) in altitude.  I loved the hike, though.  I decided that if I lived close enough, I'd hike up there quite often.

All in all it was a wonderful week.  And now, without further ado, I present hike pictures!

Memorial Day Cookout

Today for our Memorial Day fun Craig and I and the boys went up Ogden Canyon and had a little cookout. 

Campfires and hot dogs,

s'mores, 

and a card game--

(it about killed us, but we made it through a whole Phase 10 card game!  Let me rephrase that, I about killed them, but we made it through a whole Phase 10 card game.  My boys are the biggest trash talkers...grrr.)

Great day for family fun (although we missed Mel who was on her own Memorial Day picnic in Logan), and a great day to be thankful for those who sacrifice for our freedoms! 

THANK YOU!

Something New to Do

Today I said good bye to the Young Women.  I was released as the first counselor in the Young Women, and put in as a Gospel Doctrine teacher.  I am actually really excited about that.  I am a little weird that way...I like speaking in church, and I am excited to be one of the Gospel Doctrine teachers.

Today's lesson in Young Women was a really good one for me to leave on.  It was about learning all you can about the Gospel so that you will be prepared to teach others.  It was good for me because:
1) I LOVE THE GOSPEL!  I wish everyone would learn (and live) the gospel.  It is truly the way to happiness and peace. 
2) As a convert, who learned about the gospel from a friend in High School, I know how wonderful it is if you are prepared to teach those who may ask you questions.  If you're lucky they just might join the church.  So, all in all, a great lesson for the day.

I'm looking forward to about a week from now when there will be something new to do around here...like not having school!  Hopefully we will have a great summer.  I have plans, plans, plans.  Learning and traveling and serving and working....keeping busy with good stuff.  Or, we could go with the conventional summer plans of sleeping in, playing hard, and staying up too late playing night games.  Either way, I'm glad for the break from the regular routine. 

Update

It's been a long time since I've written anything.  I thought I'd enjoy blogging a lot and that I'd write more often, but I don't.  Well, I don't write more often.  I do for the most part enjoy blogging.  Except when I feel like I have nothing to write.

I just finished up a 2 week subbing job for a 5th grade teacher, which went pretty well.  It was the first subbing that I have done this whole year, except for one day subbing for Kindergarten teacher about a week before the 2 week job.  I am now once again proficient in my state capitals, as that's one of the things we worked on a lot in the two weeks I was at the school with the 5th graders.  It came in really handy tonight when one of the Young Women wanted me to take a quiz for some project she was doing for one of her classes and most of it was on state capitals.  I missed two questions.  The first was "How many states are in the Mountain Time Zone?"  I still don't know what the correct answer is on that, but the incorrect answer is 6.  The second was how many states start with the letter M?  I got Maine, Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, Missouri, Mississippi, Massachusetts...but I forgot Maryland.

Since I spent 2 weeks at the school subbing, I seem to have become one of the favorite subs again.  There are only two weeks left, and I've been asked to sub for 3 different people.  Today I subbed for the school librarian, in fact. 

Hmm.  Hmm.  Hmm.  What to do?  Since teachers are seeming to call me again I wonder: do I want to get back into subbing?  So far things have gone well enough that I'm ok with doing it a little bit, but I am just not sure that I want to become a subaholic.  Well, since there are only 2 weeks left in school I guess I'll have 3 months to think about it before I really have to decide!

Working pretty much full time for 2 weeks straight was tough.  I told Craig at one point, "I'm a much better full time mom than I am full time worker."  There's no time for STUFF when you work full time.  No time for grocery store, or registering cars, or running errands for Craig, or doctor's appointments, or calling doctor's offices to get the notes to file an AFLAC claim, (or even filing that claim itself!) or any one of the thousand little things I seem to do throughout the week.  As much as sometimes I wonder if I'd like a break from all those little chores and responsibilities, after a 2 week period where I was forced to take a total break from them because I had no time for them, I missed being able to do them.

You'll note that I said "registering cars" in the above paragraph.  That's because Melanie now has her own car.  And, as lovely as it will be for her, it's a bit melancholy for me, because that means I don't have to be the one to go get her whenever she's coming home.  That ride home with Melanie was always one of my favorite things, as we cranked up the music and sang and sang and sang.  How will I meet her roommates or see her apartment now?  I'm feeling a little lost.

Well, I think that's all for now.  Consider yourself somewhat updated.

Prom

Bradley's prom was tonight.  Here's a picture of him with his date, Addie:

I think they had a pretty good time from what he tells me.  But of course, he's not too talkative when he gets home since it's so darn late.  Seriously, I hate how late kids stay up on Prom night.  'Cause as the mom who cares that my kid gets home safely, I have to stay up that late too. 

Broken...part 2

Jacob is now discovering how hard it is to have things broken...he ended up with a broken arm after Trevor delivered a hard shot while Jacob was being goalie in the backyard soccer shootout!  For those who wonder, he did successfully block the shot.

We wonder how eating, dressing, writing, showering, clarinet playing, and piano playing will go for the next 4 weeks?  I guess we'll find out!

Broken....not working.

Today dawned a bright and sunny day, but given that there was 6 inches of snow on the ground not more than a day ago, I wondered what the temperatures might be outside.  Time to check the weather, I thought, and walked into the computer room.

And that's when it hit me.  I couldn't use the computer to check the weather because the home computer is currently not working. 

I hate it when things you count on and rely on aren't working.  It just throws the whole system for a loop.  In our lives we get used to certain things, and when they aren't there you just feel unsettled.

For example, with the computer on the fritz I can't check one of my email accounts because it runs through Outlook on the home computer and I don' t know how to check it any other way.  I'm unsettled knowing I can't check that email account...what if someone sends me a really important email?  With the home computer on the fritz, I can't print out a family picture that we have saved on the home computer.   And luckily I don't have to teach this Sunday: I usually always have a handout or quote that I want printed off and with no home computer it just wouldn't happen.

We do have a laptop I can use for general things, such as updating this blog.  But it's just not the same as using the regular home computer.  It seems to take more time and effort to use.  It's not hooked up to a printer, nor does it have some of the files I need from the home computer.  Although the laptop will do in a pinch, I miss the home computer and all that I can do with it easily and without the need to adapt what I'm doing based on the limitations of the laptop.

Life is full of things that we get used to, that we depend on being a certain way.  The car is in the shop...but what happens if it's the week we're supposed to drive carpool?  The son is off at a track meet...now which kid do I ask to set the table?  The iron just shot sparks and died...but Craig needs that wrinkled shirt ironed for his meeting tonight!  We count on things, sometimes more than we realize, and when they aren't working like they should it sometimes surprises us how big of a hole is left without them. 

Luckily, though, the computer guy is coming tomorrow.  There is hope that before long all will be well and I can be back on the regular home computer with all that it can do.  Thank goodness for the ability to fix things and get them back in order!

Happy April Fool's Day

That crazy Mother Nature.  Look at the funny trick she played on us today:

Silly Mother Nature.  You're so clever.  Now please give me back Spring.  You know, with green grass (that's probably on the way with the moisture received in this snow), blue sky, sun...oh, and warm temperatures.  Yeah, that'd be great!

If Thou Had Been Here

My friend Bonnie asked me to sing with her in Sacrament meeting tomorrow.  We'll be singing the song "If Thou Had Been Here", which is a song about Lazarus's and the Savior then raising him from the dead.

When she first asked me to sing this song with her, I had never heard it before.  So, I did what I usually do when I need some knowledge about something...I turned to the internet.  Armed with all powerful Google, I discovered this version of "If Thou Had Been Here", which has been a great help to me as I have worked on learning this song:


Besides this video, there are quite a few videos on YouTube from the ladies that sing this, Jorose and Ary. I have watched many of their videos, and at the risk of sounding like some crazy stalker lady, can I just say that "If [They] Had Been Here" (in the same town where I live) then I would hope that we would be friends.

I'd want to be friends with them because of their singing.  I love singing, and obviously these ladies do, too.  I love the joy that they seem to have when they sing, and I love the playfulness they have when they sing together.  I also love that their videos often have their kids stealing the limelight for a minute or two, and that they just smile and laugh at that and go right on singing. 

Music is just one of those things for me that helps make life complete.  There is a quote, atttributed to Thomas Carlyle, which says, "Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite."  Music can lift my mood so easily and often gives me great peace and happiness. 

And, speaking of mood-lifting, here's another one of my favorite videos from them: 

La-ti-da! :-)

I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Today it has been 26 years since I was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  In honor of that, here's a list of some of the ways my life has been touched by being a member of the church.

*The Holy Ghost--After being baptized, hands were laid on my head and I was given the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost has touched my life by helping me know truth, know the Savior better, and feel peace.

*A Living Prophet--Heavenly Father desires his children here on earth to know Him and what He wants us to do. He did not send prophets only in olden days and have that be good enough for the rest of time. He knows of things that are happening today that did not happen in earlier days and He knows that we still need His guidance to help us navigate through those things. And so, He still calls prophets for us today. And wonderfully, at least twice a year, I can listen to words from those living prophets at General Conference and hear the things I need to hear in order to draw me closer to the Savior and enable me to know how to deal with things life brings.

*Craig, Melanie, Bradley, Trevor, Jacob...or in other words, eternal families through temple ordinances--In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe in the family, and we believe in the family for eternity when sealed together by proper priesthood authority through temple ordinances.  Because of this, I have not only a wonderful husband and 4 wonderful children, but I have them forever and ever.

*The Book of Mormon--The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, a companion with the Bible to testify of the living Christ.  I love The Book of Mormon.  I understand the Savior and His teachings and the atonement better as I study The Book of Mormon, especially those teachings that may seem a little unclear in the Bible.
 
*A better understanding of why--Many times when life throws people a curve ball, they question why.  The gospel gives me a better understanding of why.  Heavenly Father sent us all here to be tested and tried and to see if we would do the things He commands us to.  He wants us to be like Him, and this life gives us a chance to learn how.  While I may not always know the intricate details of why something happened, I know broadly that things happen because I am to learn to keep the commandments and to be like Heavenly Father, and that gives me faith that whatever happens (no matter how hard it may be) is to help me accomplish that.

*The Priesthood--In the church, worthy males ages 12 and up are given offices in the priesthood.  The priesthood is the power to act in God's name and the responsibilities priesthood holders have are to administer ordinances, serve and help others, and preach the gospel.  One thing I am thankful for with the priesthood is the opportunity to receive blessings.  For example, today, when Melanie gets her wisdom teeth out, Craig will have the chance to lay his hands on her head and bless her that things will go well with that surgery.  Priesthood blessings are a great comfort and I am thankful for a husband (and sons) who are worthy to use their priesthood for good in the world.

What a wonderful 26 years it has been!  I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the opportunity to be a member of His church.  I am thankful for the fullness of the gospel that is found therein, and for the great blessing that is in my life, and the great blessings that brings to my life!

A to Z...All about Me!

A--Algebra--I am a math fan.  I once even planned to major in math education and teach math (although that didn't happen...I did elementary education instead).

B--Baseball--In elementary school my friend Mary Neumann and I were huge Chicago Cub fans.  My favorite player at that time was Manny Trillo.

C--Class Clown--I always kind of wished I was the class clown.  I love joking around and hearing people laugh.  One of my favorite sounds in the world is my husband's laugh.

D--Dog--I have had one dog in my life.  He was a dachshund named Teke.

E--Eating--I often eat too much.  Once upon a time that didn't matter that much.  Now with a slower metabolism, it probably does.  I'm a junk food junkie and a carnivore.  I'm not a huge fan of fruits (I only like about 4 total--Apples, Oranges, Watermelon, and Pineapple).  Veggies are better than fruit, but I still don't like a ton of them.

F--French--I took French for all 4 years in high school.  Sometimes I think I should go back and learn it again.  I love the Olympics because French is one of two official Olympic languages, and I love to hear the announcers speak French and try to decipher what they are saying.  My nephew Caleb is on a French speaking mission, and each week in his letter home he writes "the French phrase of the week"...95% of the time I know exactly what he's saying.

G--Games--I love to play games.  Some of my favorites are Scrabble, Taboo, card games, and Racko.

H--Hawaii--I love Hawaii and Polynesian things.  Sometimes I think I must have been a Polynesian in a former life because it all seems so wonderful to me.  I would love to know how to hula, and I would love to live in Hawaii.

I--Iowa and Illinois--I've lived in two states that start with the letter I. 

J--Jon--I have only one sibling, a brother named Jon.  (And, I think J-O-N is the best way to spell Jon, who needs an H?)

K--King Size--After sleeping for 20 years of my marriage on a double bed, we now sleep in a king size bed.

L--Libby--Although I am technically an Elizabeth, I have gone by Libby for pretty much my whole life.  If you call me Elizabeth, I know you have no clue who I am.

M--Mormon--I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I joined the church when I was nearly 16 years old.  I love it.

N--Night owl--I am definitely more of a night owl than a morning person.  Which maybe is why I'm writing this as 12:45...I can't sleep right now.

O--Oklahoma--My husband owns a company in Oklahoma.  How strange is that?

P--Packrat--I have a lot of packrat in me, although I think the older I get the less packrat I have in me.  I used to keep everything, but I'm a lot better now at not keeping a lot of things that I probably don't need. 

Q--Quilts--I like quilts, I think they are rather cool.  I once made a quilt for my grandma which was symbolic of her life.  I am currently in a quilt block group (where we make 8 quilt blocks that are the same and then trade them and come home with 8 different quilt blocks), but I don't think I'm going to keep doing it, because although I like quilts, I don't think at this point in my life I really want to make quilts.

R--Running--I hate running.  I have hated running since 3rd grade, when I got a side stitch while running.  Lots of people in my family like running.  My husband has run 16 (or is it 17?) marathons and my sons run track.  But I hate running.

S--Singing--I like to sing.  But I do not like singing with people when I don't feel like our voices blend.  I feel like a horrible singer when that happens.

T--TV--I'm not really a huge fan of TV.  I could probably survive not having a TV at all without any problems. A few years ago when we changed from Dish Network to Direct TV (or was it the other way around?) they said in order to have a TV in our bedroom we'd have to run a cable down the wall and I said "NO WAY!" and that was one of the best things that ever happened in my life.  I really hate TV in the bedroom.

U--Ususally Unforgettable--I have a knack for remembering people's names.  Not very many people seem to have that knack, so they are usually impressed with my name remembering skills.

V--Vaccine--I'm afraid of needles, so if I can help it, I don't get any shots (such as yearly flu shots, or allergy shots, etc.)

W--Walking--My preferred form of exercise would be walking.  But I can't walk by myself very well.  I need a walking buddy, 'cause it's just too easy to wimp out when I have to go by myself.  I currently don't have a consistant walking buddy, so I currently don't exercise much. :-(

X--X-rays--I haven't had very many x-rays in my life because I've never broken a bone.

Y--Yearn--I am a yearner.  To yearn is "to desire strongly or persistently".  I am always desiring something strongly or persistently...it could be I want to move (see previous post) or I want an exercise buddy or I want to live on a beach or I want to learn how to tile a floor or reupholster furniture or whatever it is.  I'm always yearning for something.

Z--Zits--I can't help it.  I'm a zit squeezer and a scab picker.  It's pathetic.  (And, as I just barely read on the internet, it can be a form of OCD.  Hmm.)

If I had a Million Dollars

There is a song (sung by the oddly named group "Barenaked Ladies") called "If I had a Million Dollars."  Today I am wishing I had a million dollars.  It would be most handy. 

The reason I wish I had a million dollars today is to buy the cool house I saw for sale.  (Disclaimer: technically the house does not cost a million dollars.  It's "only" $399,000.  But hey, "If I had 399,000 dollars" just doesn't have the same ring to it.  And besides, if I had a million dollars I'm sure I could find some way to use the extra $601,000 if I thought hard enough.)

Why, you ask, am I looking at houses?  Well, I want to move, and I've pretty much wanted to move for a very long time.  I have lived in the house I am currently in for 12 1/2 years, which is the longest I've EVER lived anywhere in my life.  In the 29 years before I moved to my current house I lived in a grand total of 14 different places, which is moving on average about every 2 years.  (If you read my last blog entry you know I like change, so you might see that living somewhere for 12+ years is a little strange to me.)

Here's the funny thing about my desire to move.  If you ask me about where I want to move, I'd normally say I want to move to Kaysville (because I want my kids to go to Davis High School) and I want to move to a two-story house (because in general that's my favorite type of floor plan).  However, this house that I decided that I'd buy if I had a million dollars, doesn't fit the Kaysville/two story bill!  This house is actually in Layton (although it's about a block from Kaysville, which is closer than my current 4 or 5 blocks from Kaysville.  And, with 3 out of 4 kids already gone or going to Davis High, I guess I'm feeling that the Davis High thing is workable living in Layton still).  Also, it's a one-story rambler.  In fact, it is technically almost exactly the same floor plan that I currently have, just bigger.  I still probably like two story houses best, but everyone is always telling me that when I get old and my knees give out I'll be glad I had a one-story.  Anyway, regardless of it's "downfalls", if I actually did have a million dollars (or even $399,000), I would buy this house:

For "only" $399,000, here's what I'd get:

--5108 square feet of house.  There are 7 bedrooms--one for Craig and I, one for each of our kids, one for guests, and one left over for a home office for Craig.  Or we could double up some kids like we do in our current home and have an exercise room, or a craft room, or possibly even BOTH.  There's a nice big laundry room (no more laundry closet for me!) as well as a 4 car garage (two regular bays, as well as a double long single bay.)  We could park all 3 cars in the garage and still have room for the bikes and mowers and weedwackers and ladders and tools and etc.  Or, if we wanted, we could put all the bikes and mower and weedwackers and ladders and tools in the huge shed that's out back instead!  Some people may say, "But your kids are getting older and soon they'll be moving out.  Why do you need such a big house?"  Well, the hope is that part of why they move out is to get married and have their own families.  A big house like that would be great for family parties when they all come home for the holidays with their wonderful spouses and my adorable grandchildren, right?

--Just over 2/3 of an acre of lawn.  Just think of the soccer games my sons could play back there with that size lawn!  We could even possibly have a soccer game and a badminton game going on at the same time if we wanted!  The yard could technically be big enough that we could place a garden where produce wouldn't be destroyed by wildly kicked balls.  And, someday, if they so desired, I'd be able to host a wedding reception for my kids in my backyard and be able to seat more than the probably 20 people I'd get to fit in my current backyard.  It also looks like there's a fire pit out back...roasted marshmallows, anyone?

Unfortuantely, I don't have a million dollars today, so I guess I'll have to stay where I am for now.  For the most part that's ok, though, 'cause life is pretty good right where we are!  But hey...I can dream, right?

(Clarification:  For those who may be wondering, even though I have great desires to move, my "looking at houses" consists of checking out the MLS listings for the area and looking at house tours online.  I have not actually set foot in the above desired house.)