Alexis playing her Recorder
Alexis' Scrapbook Pages
What a Good Looking Group
Silly Girls and Leaders!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Alexis Activity Day Recognition Night
On Wednesday Alexis had Activity Days Recognition Night at church. She decided to perform 'When the Saints Go Marching In' on her recorder. Last year in 4th grade she learned the recorder and had a little concert at the end of the school year. She really enjoyed it and was so excited to play for recognition night. She performed great. She also did a display of what she has been working on in her Faith In God book. She and I put together some scrapbook pages about her accomplishments. I am so proud of Lex for working on these requirements and becoming closer to Heavenly Father.
Alexis playing her Recorder
Alexis' Scrapbook Pages
What a Good Looking Group
Silly Girls and Leaders!
Alexis playing her Recorder
Alexis' Scrapbook Pages
What a Good Looking Group
Silly Girls and Leaders!
Girl Time at the Salon
The girls went to the salon and got their hair cut for fall. Alexis cut her long hair to a little above her shoulders with some cute layers. She looks a lot older now. Emma just trimmed off the hair that was fried from swimming all summer and left her hair long. She looks so cute with long hair. They had a good time and left feeling BEAUTIFUL!!
R.I.P. Jack
Our beloved dwarf hampster Jack passed away a few weeks ago. This was Alexis' pet and she was quite upset about it. She decorated a shoe box to bury him in (very cute!). But the ground here is tough, hard clay and practically impossible to dig a hole in, so Jack was laid to rest in his box and then placed in the garbage can.
We now have a new Hampster named Edward. He is an all white hampster with red eyes, hence the reason we call him Edward (Go Twilight!).
We now have a new Hampster named Edward. He is an all white hampster with red eyes, hence the reason we call him Edward (Go Twilight!).
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Emma's Birthday
Emma turned 6 on September 3, 2010. I cannot believe it. My little 2 pound baby is now 6!!!!! Since this was Emma's first friend party we did an all-out princess party this year complete with princess castle. I spent tons of time preparing for this. I made a huge princess castle out of moving boxes. Emma's request was that it be pink. 6 cans of spray paint later and I had my masterpiece. My friend Anne and I had a great time working on it. Thank you Anne for helping me. Dusty had his hand in the building of the castle as well. He cut boards for support and used an old sheet to cover the center of the castle. The castle had tunnels to each tower and the girls loved it!
We decorated heart mirrors with jewels, had a pinata, played 'Knock the Slipper' (you throw the poison apple at the glass slipper....the girls loved this because I used a real apple and it started to break apart. Every time another girl would throw the apple it would go into more pieces, kinda like on the movie Cheaper by the Dozen when they play 'Apple Smear'). We also played pin the crown on the princess and had a beauty parlor nail station. My teenage neighbor, Faith, came over and helped paint the girls' nails.
After all that fun it was presents and cake outside in the gazebo. My other friend, Kalyn, made Emma's cake for me. She went way overboard, but it really was a great cake!! Thank you Kalyn.
Emma had a great time and then went out later with Dusty on her 'Birthday Daddy-Daughter Date' to a movie.
Emma had such a great time and felt very special. She IS special and is such an important part of our family. She is a strong little girl, a spit-fire, a cutie, a spiritual little thing, and is a blessing to us every day.
We love you Emma.
We decorated heart mirrors with jewels, had a pinata, played 'Knock the Slipper' (you throw the poison apple at the glass slipper....the girls loved this because I used a real apple and it started to break apart. Every time another girl would throw the apple it would go into more pieces, kinda like on the movie Cheaper by the Dozen when they play 'Apple Smear'). We also played pin the crown on the princess and had a beauty parlor nail station. My teenage neighbor, Faith, came over and helped paint the girls' nails.
After all that fun it was presents and cake outside in the gazebo. My other friend, Kalyn, made Emma's cake for me. She went way overboard, but it really was a great cake!! Thank you Kalyn.
Emma had a great time and then went out later with Dusty on her 'Birthday Daddy-Daughter Date' to a movie.
Emma had such a great time and felt very special. She IS special and is such an important part of our family. She is a strong little girl, a spit-fire, a cutie, a spiritual little thing, and is a blessing to us every day.
We love you Emma.
Lex & Jake Hunting with Dad
Lex and Jake went out hunting with Dusty about a month ago. They went for doves but found none. Apparently all of the other hunters said it has been sparse this year in an area that usually has tons of them. Better luck next time.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
To Make You Feel My Love
I know that my posts lately have been very deep but this is what I am needing right now, so this is what you get.
Yesterday I decided to go to a women's scripture study class that our stake holds each week. This semester they are studying the last half of the Book of Mormon. I attended the class last semester and really enjoyed it. Yesterday was the first day of the new class. I woke up happy and excited to be going. I got myself all "cute-sy" and was there early. Class starts. The discussion starts straying from the manual. The teacher starts saying that there is a visible difference between men who have served missions and men who have not. She said that you can see the Spirit more in them. Then other sisters made comments of the same nature. Do you see where this is going? Yes, I was offended. As many of you know my husband did not serve a mission. He and I, together, took a different path, a hard, hard path. But we have grown tremendously and the Spirit is more present in our home now that it ever has been. How can a man going on a mission make him better and how can a man going on a mission make him glow with the Spirit more? It doesn't. Going on a mission provides individuals with unique experiences that increase faith and testimony. But that does not mean that these people are better. How many people go on missions and come home and fall away from the church for different reasons? A lot.
So, you know me, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. The happiness and the Spirit and excitement that I felt to go to class immediately vanished. And in its stead my heart was beating wildly and I knew that what they were saying was wrong. So I spoke up. And the teacher and a few others still stuck to their original theory. I almost looked at them and said "You went to BYU, didn't you". This holier than thou attitude and judgemental nature is what has been driving me nuts about my ward lately. I cannot wait to move somewhere else. Anywhere else. Somewhere where the members don't have this "Utah County" attitude. So, I told them once again that I disagreed. Others tried to smooth the waters and explain that a mission helps an individual to reach a level of spirituality in 2 years that it might take someone who did not go a mission to achieve in 10 years. WHATEVER!
I tried to stick it out and stay, but I could not. I left and was so relieved to step outside and feel the fresh air. I got in the car and stopped at a tree by the church that has beautiful acorns falling from it and collected some to decorate with. Then I headed to get my comfort drink, Pepsi, from the gas station, Kangaroo to be exact, and went home.
I kept thinking 'How could they think that way?' 'How could they not care that a sister in the church was visibly upset by what they were saying and not care?' Dusty ended up having to work through lunch and couldn't come home so I took him some lunch. When he had called me to see if I could bring the lunch and asked how my day had been going he got an ear full. He says I told him everything in one big breath. And I probably did. So as I was driving to take him lunch I was thinking more about what had happened. When class had first started the teacher asked us what we wanted to get out of this class. I didn't share, but my reason was to feel the Spirit more in my life. So as I am driving and trying to figure out how all of this went wrong and how what I wanted to get out of the class SO did not happen, I realized that these women may think this way. But they are wrong. They are not perfect. The only perfect person is Christ.
My thoughts had led me to feeling like you can never get away from your mistakes. Yes, Dusty and I made a huge mistake as teenagers and he did not go on a mission. Instead we ponied up and got married. Soon after we were married our faith was tried and our baby was born too early and died. This was 2 weeks after we were married. Some questioned if we would stay married. Some thought this was the only reason we had gotten married. We always say that we proved everyone wrong. And we did! So as I am having all of these thoughts and thinking about how because we started out the way we did and because we are not a typical Mormon couple, we will never be able to live our past down. And then I realized that is what Satan wants me to think. Yes, these sisters may be judging me and others based on official missionary service, but the Lord does not. The Lord has forgiven Dusty and I for our past mistakes and He no longer remembers them. How lucky I am to have that knowledge. And how lucky Dusty and I are that we did start out our marriage and our family young. If we had waited until we were at the same stage as some of these people to get married and start our family, we wouldn't have been able to have children. We didn't know that I would develop female problems and have to have surgery. I feel that we are blessed beyond measure to have our children and am glad that we started our life together the way we did. We have learned so many valuable lessons from our experiences.
So as I am driving and having all of these thoughts this song comes on the radio. I am listening to the country station and it is a song by Garth Brooks. Now I know that this is not meant to be a spiritual song but to me at that moment it was. It reminded me that the Savior is there for me and He will hold me when the storms of life and people that I come in contact with, even the women of the church, make me feel sad.
To Make You Feel My Love
by Garth Brooks
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I would offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry, I'd go blind for you
I'd go crawling down the aisle for you
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on a rolling sea
Down the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
But you ain't seen nothing like me yet
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy, make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love
I hope this helps some of you today. The Lord is always there for us. He will make us happy and we can feel His love.
Now I just need to decide if I dare go to class next week.
Yesterday I decided to go to a women's scripture study class that our stake holds each week. This semester they are studying the last half of the Book of Mormon. I attended the class last semester and really enjoyed it. Yesterday was the first day of the new class. I woke up happy and excited to be going. I got myself all "cute-sy" and was there early. Class starts. The discussion starts straying from the manual. The teacher starts saying that there is a visible difference between men who have served missions and men who have not. She said that you can see the Spirit more in them. Then other sisters made comments of the same nature. Do you see where this is going? Yes, I was offended. As many of you know my husband did not serve a mission. He and I, together, took a different path, a hard, hard path. But we have grown tremendously and the Spirit is more present in our home now that it ever has been. How can a man going on a mission make him better and how can a man going on a mission make him glow with the Spirit more? It doesn't. Going on a mission provides individuals with unique experiences that increase faith and testimony. But that does not mean that these people are better. How many people go on missions and come home and fall away from the church for different reasons? A lot.
So, you know me, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. The happiness and the Spirit and excitement that I felt to go to class immediately vanished. And in its stead my heart was beating wildly and I knew that what they were saying was wrong. So I spoke up. And the teacher and a few others still stuck to their original theory. I almost looked at them and said "You went to BYU, didn't you". This holier than thou attitude and judgemental nature is what has been driving me nuts about my ward lately. I cannot wait to move somewhere else. Anywhere else. Somewhere where the members don't have this "Utah County" attitude. So, I told them once again that I disagreed. Others tried to smooth the waters and explain that a mission helps an individual to reach a level of spirituality in 2 years that it might take someone who did not go a mission to achieve in 10 years. WHATEVER!
I tried to stick it out and stay, but I could not. I left and was so relieved to step outside and feel the fresh air. I got in the car and stopped at a tree by the church that has beautiful acorns falling from it and collected some to decorate with. Then I headed to get my comfort drink, Pepsi, from the gas station, Kangaroo to be exact, and went home.
I kept thinking 'How could they think that way?' 'How could they not care that a sister in the church was visibly upset by what they were saying and not care?' Dusty ended up having to work through lunch and couldn't come home so I took him some lunch. When he had called me to see if I could bring the lunch and asked how my day had been going he got an ear full. He says I told him everything in one big breath. And I probably did. So as I was driving to take him lunch I was thinking more about what had happened. When class had first started the teacher asked us what we wanted to get out of this class. I didn't share, but my reason was to feel the Spirit more in my life. So as I am driving and trying to figure out how all of this went wrong and how what I wanted to get out of the class SO did not happen, I realized that these women may think this way. But they are wrong. They are not perfect. The only perfect person is Christ.
My thoughts had led me to feeling like you can never get away from your mistakes. Yes, Dusty and I made a huge mistake as teenagers and he did not go on a mission. Instead we ponied up and got married. Soon after we were married our faith was tried and our baby was born too early and died. This was 2 weeks after we were married. Some questioned if we would stay married. Some thought this was the only reason we had gotten married. We always say that we proved everyone wrong. And we did! So as I am having all of these thoughts and thinking about how because we started out the way we did and because we are not a typical Mormon couple, we will never be able to live our past down. And then I realized that is what Satan wants me to think. Yes, these sisters may be judging me and others based on official missionary service, but the Lord does not. The Lord has forgiven Dusty and I for our past mistakes and He no longer remembers them. How lucky I am to have that knowledge. And how lucky Dusty and I are that we did start out our marriage and our family young. If we had waited until we were at the same stage as some of these people to get married and start our family, we wouldn't have been able to have children. We didn't know that I would develop female problems and have to have surgery. I feel that we are blessed beyond measure to have our children and am glad that we started our life together the way we did. We have learned so many valuable lessons from our experiences.
So as I am driving and having all of these thoughts this song comes on the radio. I am listening to the country station and it is a song by Garth Brooks. Now I know that this is not meant to be a spiritual song but to me at that moment it was. It reminded me that the Savior is there for me and He will hold me when the storms of life and people that I come in contact with, even the women of the church, make me feel sad.
To Make You Feel My Love
by Garth Brooks
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I would offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry, I'd go blind for you
I'd go crawling down the aisle for you
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on a rolling sea
Down the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
But you ain't seen nothing like me yet
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy, make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love
I hope this helps some of you today. The Lord is always there for us. He will make us happy and we can feel His love.
Now I just need to decide if I dare go to class next week.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Faith
"And if you are faithful, behold, I am with you until I come—"
D&C 34:11
This scripture was read in Sunday School today and it was some of what I had been needing to hear. So many times we hear about having faith and what it means. But exercising it is sometimes more difficult. But what a comfort to know that the Lord is with us. No matter if I have the smallest, mustard-sized seed of faith, I know that the Lord is with me until He comes. The next verse says "And verily, verily, I say unto you, I come quickly. I am your Lord and your Redeemer. Even so. Amen". When I think about Christ coming again I am excited. And to be reminded that He comes quickly helps me. I am glad that I went to church today and that I was reminded in small ways that He is with me always.
D&C 34:11
This scripture was read in Sunday School today and it was some of what I had been needing to hear. So many times we hear about having faith and what it means. But exercising it is sometimes more difficult. But what a comfort to know that the Lord is with us. No matter if I have the smallest, mustard-sized seed of faith, I know that the Lord is with me until He comes. The next verse says "And verily, verily, I say unto you, I come quickly. I am your Lord and your Redeemer. Even so. Amen". When I think about Christ coming again I am excited. And to be reminded that He comes quickly helps me. I am glad that I went to church today and that I was reminded in small ways that He is with me always.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)