Amelia

Amelia loves to sing.  She reminds me of me when I was little.  Amelia tends to get frustrated really easily and I see A LOT of my actions come out through her.  I will growl when I am upset and she does the same.  Makes me really look at my actions and how much of an example I am to her.  

Amelia loves to play with friends (above) when she can and she enjoys watching Netflix.  Her and Emma play a lot together with dolls and things.  I love that they play together.  

Amelia likes to read.  She had gotten a lamp in her room and she just loved to read next to it.  She also got roller blades this year and loves going to the skating rink.  

 Amelia gets clothes from her friend Savannah who is Ben's age and she dresses so cute!  She also gets clothes from her cousin Amy and she has such cute clothes too.  

Amelia also likes to be silly so the nickname Silly Milly really fits :)  She has always played singing games with me and is good at making faces.  She has taught me a thing or two when it comes to acting :)  

Amelia loves her sister Emmaline and always wants to play with her.  Occasionally Ben and Emma will leave Amelia out and it makes her really sad :(.  But I remind my kids they will be there forever and when they truly need someone they will be there for each other.  I let Amelia know to just not worry what her brother says to her and she will say, "I know you love me Ben..."  She has tough skin.  

This week is spirit week at school and she gets to be "twins" with one of her friends :)  I didn't get a picture, but I bet they looked cute.  We let her friend borrow a pair of Amelia's glasses that we took the lenses out so they could match.  I can't wait to ask how her day went :).  

 

Savannah

Amelia's bed time is me talking to her for about 5 min and she says the same prayer every night, however lately she has been mixing it up a bit and will throw in to have Heavenly Father bless Savannah.  Her friend was diagnosed with cancer in December and has had to go through chemo :(.  So Amelia's prayer is, "Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day. Bless Savannah so she won't be sick, to have good dreams, the dogs won't bark, won't be afraid of shadows.  Say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amem.  Her whole life she has said Amem...so cute!  Love my lil mini me :)

Benjamin

Benjamin is my boy!  He knows how to fart with his armpit and he LOVES video games!  He was also diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety.  We started his school year with him on medication and it seems to be working well.  We don't have some of the talk that we used to hear from him and he's been more level headed.  We met with the principle, teacher, counselor, psychologist, special ed teacher, etc at the beginning of the year to discuss how to go forward in his schooling.  They have put him on a special program, but we aren't sure anything has changed with his school work.  He still brings home the same homework as before.  He has been doing better on some tests and not so good on others.  But I have seen a real change in him.  He started to get really angry when I would get home from work.  Homework was always a nightmare!  I have a feeling he may be hypoglycemic because he gets overly mean and grumpy when he is hungry.  Chris has been giving the kids snacks after school and it's helped.  I also think it's because his medicine wears off right around 6 PM.  Ben has been going to a social worker since December.  He really likes Mark.  Mark will take him to his office to talk about his week and see what's going on with him.  Ben goes to Mark weekly to share what's up.  Mark can see that school is a major stressor.  Mark recommended we get Ben with a PSR worker.  They take him out into the world and help him to be social.  I have noticed this year that Ben will hiss in kid's faces and push people away.  Occasionally he will kick people thinking he is being funny.  Mark talked to him about when to joke and when to be serious.  That there are times in life you have to know when you can joke and when you can't.  Ben has been so much better since he has been able to confide in Mark about things.  It's been very good for him.  We discuss the meltdowns that occur when waiting in line in a public place etc.  Mark finds out what stresses Ben and then he lets us know how to fix it. It has helped me because I have been brought to tears in the past because I just don't know how to deal.  I have had to hold Ben tight and have a talk to him and we have a power struggle.  Since he has been going to Mark we have had less power struggles!  YAY!

Ben has been having a tough time with school.  Kids call him shorty and they tell him he isn't old enough to be in that grade.  He's one of the older kids in his class, but he is tiny.  Our whole family is tiny!   I try and tell him to just laugh it off and act like it doesn't bother him.  I tell him if he shows that he is bothered they will continue to do it.  I let Mark know about this so he could help Ben know how to respond to kids like that.

Ben had a girlfriend last year....her name was Madison.  Such a cute little blonde girl!  When I 1st met her we were on a walk and went by her house.  She came running and said hi to Ben.  And then she said, "You know what Ben?  People say you are a stinker pants, but you know what I tell them?  Who are you to judge?"  I loved her at 1st convo! :)  He invited her to his b-day party and they were buds for a while hanging out a lot.  And then it stopped and I asked him what happened.  He said she broke up with him.  I told him he is too young to be "dating" anyways.  I let him know to just be friends.  He said his heart was broken.  I told him that he has a long life of having girls like him.  

One thing that motivates Ben is video games.  If we need to ground him it's from games and he follows rules VERY well.  He saw a Minecraft game for the Xbox 360 for $20 and he has been BLAZING through his chores to raise money to get the game.  He has a long way to go because we don't pay THAT much for chores.  BUT I like his enthusiasm :).  He has always been really good at saving money.  I have also noticed that when Ben hears the word "help" he is quick to help.  He LOVES to help!

Ben got roller blades this year and he really likes using them.  He told me the other day that he is getting really good at it.  He also likes to go to the dirt ramps to ride bikes with his friend Nate.

Ben has been in scouts for over a year and when he 1st started scouts he was VERY gung ho about it.  He now says he doesn't want to go and I have to tell him he needs to go and I make him.  He usually ends up enjoying it and coming back refreshed and happy.  He told me one week that he gets in trouble a lot.  I told him he needs to listen to his leaders and follow the instructions.  I feel bad because his meds wear off at the time they have scouts.  Makes it hard on him and them.

 I took the kids to a science fair at BSU and it was so fun!  We will for sure go next year.  Ben got to lay on some nails and the book next to him is a book we bought at the school book fair and he LOVES it!  We have done a few of the science projects in it and it makes him so happy.  He likes to take things apart and try and put them back together again.

For Martin Luther King day Ben's class wrote their dreams on the back of their t-shirts and Ben's was to be the principal of his own school.  He was to do a report on a famous black person and I had him do it on Booker T Washington.  Ben said to me, "You had me do him because he started his own school didn't you?"  Yep!  Ben told me that in his school he is going to have a movie theater.  Cool idea.

Ben is very loving to his sister Emmaline.  He always says in his prayers, "Bless that Emmaline will be cute her whole life even if she wears glasses."  haha  very cute.  And when Emma hits him he will say, "That's ok!"  And I tell him, "it's NOT ok!  She needs to learn not to hit."  He tolerates it because he loves her so much.

Ben and Amelia fight a lot and I remind them both that they will be siblings for life and will eventually be friends.  I tell them how much I miss my brothers and sister and all the fighting we did growing up has been forgotten.  We love each other.  When Amelia sings in the car Ben gets really annoyed (I remember my brother getting annoyed with me too...).  Mark let Ben know that maybe we could tell Amelia she could sing for so long and then be quiet for that long.  I let Mark know that Ben reminded us in the car so I told Amelia she could sing to the rest of the song that was on and then the next one she would have to be quiet.  Mark said that was perfect.  And it did help Ben feel like he was heard instead of us favoring Amelia over him etc etc.  I still have hope for these two :).

Ben loves to snuggle and I haven't been able to do it lately.  I get the kids to bed so late and because Chris works nights I have to put each child to bed by myself.  I usually tuck him in and talk for about 5 min and then I give him a hug and a kiss and say goodnight.  He has to have his red lava lamp on and listen to the Delilah show that's on the radio.  He's such a good boy and SO smart!

Emmaline

So it's been almost 2 years since I have updated on my baby girl that has Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome.  She is going to be 4 years old in 3 months!  She went to speech therapy and when they graduated her, around 3 years old, she talks SO GOOD now!  Her K's sound like T's (instead of cake she says tate), but other than that she is doing amazing!  I told my husband that we need to meet up with Jessica (her speech therapist) to show her how amazing she did to help our little girl talk!

Emma had lazy eyes and recently she had eye surgery.  For the 1st day she was very snugly and the light really bothered her eyes, so she snuggled my arm a lot.  The next week we had to put this Vaseline type eye stuff in her eyes and ugh it was so tough to do that to her, but we knew it was necessary for her healing.  At her 1 week check up with the doctor, the doctor told us to switch to eye drops (thank you!!).  She had what looked like a blister in her eyes and it looked freaky, but the doctor said it's just fluid and that drops might work better to make that go down.  A week later Emma's eyes have cleared up so much!  They don't look like she has pink eye anymore :).  She has been a real trooper!  She HATES eye drops!  Who doesn't?  Poor bug!  She has been wearing her glasses a lot more lately.  YAY.

We have been taking her for her usual 6 month check ups to make sure she doesn't have cancer.  They do an ultra-sound.  My husband informed me that they did the ultra-sound wrong the last 2 times!!!!  They only did the upper left side and nothing else.  They are supposed to do her whole abdomen.  So he is taking her back this week to have her ultra-sound done again.  I hope they don't find anything!  We have been blessed so far!  At her age is when kids with her syndrome usually have cancer.  She has to have the ultra-sound check ups every 6 months until she is 9 years old!  They say after that the child is usually in the clear.

Emmaline says such funny things and she has been a normal little 3 year old.  STINKER!  She has to have her special plate when she eats (green plate) and she has to have a special spoon or fork.  So we have her pick her utensils out now because anything WE pick is wrong haha.  Her favorite colors are purple and green.  She keeps telling me she wants her room those colors.  Wish I could do it, but cannot afford it at this time.  Amelia and Benjamin love their little sissy.  They try and give her hugs and kisses and she kind of pushes them away and I think it's because they hug her a little TOO tight.  She loves her brother and sister.  I love how they all play together.  Emma  loves to join me in the kitchen to "help" me cook.  I think she will be a good little cooker :)  She also likes to help with chores!  She will unload the silverware into the drawer and she puts them in the right spot.  She is a very smart cookie and catches on to things so quickly!  She also has no fear.  She will climb up on me (when I am sitting) and fall STRAIGHT back!  She knows I will catch her.  She is very trusting.  She thinks it's the funnest thing!  I am used to it now, but in the beginning it scared me haha!!  I had to be prepared to catch her.  I haven't dropped her yet, but man!  She loves to dance too.  Not sure what else I can say right now, but I think I have covered Emmaline for the most part the way she is :).  Love that lil girl and so glad she chose our family to be a part!   

Deck The Halls (with bottles)

Skip from "The Burbs"

I searched all over the internet for this photo (because a friend's picture reminded me of it...) and I couldn't find it so I popped in the movie "The Burbs" and took a picture LOL!  So here is a picture of "Skip"  The soda jerk that Art (Rick Ducommun) told about in the movie.  If you have not seen this movie you NEED to see it :)  Classic!  Good Tom Hanks movie ;)

Letters From the Spirit & Listening!

I have had the spirit tell me to write a little note of how great I think a couple of ladies are and I haven't listened to that voice for over a year...but it has nagged me over and over again.  So I finally did it Friday last week!  I basically let them know how wonderful I thought they were and that they were incredible people.  On Sunday one of the ladies had approached me and said that she received a very nice note in her mail box on Saturday...(in her note I told her that the spirit has been nagging me for a year to tell her I thought she was great...) and she said to me, "I think there is a reason you waited to send the note.  When I got your card I was having a blah day feeling like do I really matter?"  It brought tears to my eyes to hear her say that.  Someone I think is so wonderful to say that she feels that way.  She said my timing was perfect and maybe that was why I waited until then to write her that note.
Following the spirits promptings feels SO GOOD!  I need to do it more often...I find myself fighting him ALL THE TIME!  I did it when I met Chris (the spirit told me to ask him out on a date and I told the spirit that I shouldn't have to ask guys out and then in the end Chris asked me out...)
I found myself locked out of my apartment when I was 8 months pregnant with Amelia, at midnight, because when the spirit told me to take my keys down to the car with me I said, "I am just going to the car I am not locking the door..."  Got back upstairs to a door that was completely shut!) 
Since I have been reading my scriptures I have had the spirit prompt me more and more and I can find the time to follow his promptings!  

Education IN Eternity

I was asked to give a talk on Education IN Eternity and here it is:

Education in Eternity-When I was asked to talk on this subject I wrote back to Brother Orton saying that I thought it sounded pretty deep…And he replied, “you will do great!”  Always so positive Brother Orton you are a good example to all of us!

I have learned that what we learn on this earth we take with us into eternity.  But I thought…how am I going to fill up my time on that?  We already know this!

 

I thought okay I will Google it, no big deal…NOTHING!  Shocked me!  No topics on Education IN Eternity…I thought maybe I should really think about this and write a book!  :o)

When I was young my dad would always watch the “math channel”  or some scientific program… and I wanted to watch Oprah or Saved By the Bell…  But as I get older I find myself wanting more knowledge in how our earth was created…I love geology!  I find myself watching math videos on Youtube!  The older I get the more I want to learn!  I am thankful that I have Google because if I want to know how to do something I know I can find it there (other than this topic…).

  

I have been riding the bus to work for 2 months now and it has given me time to just sit and relax to ponder and meditate and to read my scriptures (which I have NOT been good at doing previously…).  And immediately at the very point when I decided to read the scriptures again, and pray before I do it, I have received personal revelation!  I LOVE having the feeling of the spirit again in my life.  He has been there, but I haven’t been there…if you know what I mean.  So on this topic I felt the spirit tell me to google education.  Yes the spirit told me to google something haha!  And so I did and this is what I found.

What is education?

Per Wikipedia it says:

"Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next.  Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts.  In its narrow, technical sense, education is the formal process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, customs and values from one generation to another."

 

Well that makes me think of the scriptures!  We are reading our ancestors stories!  Their thoughts and feelings.  I was reading one of the smaller books in the Book of Mormon and it was brothers passing the plates to each other to record their lives and each one shared their heritage and what was going on at that time.  The scriptures tell us what to think, feel, and act by their examples.  What we need to learn from our ancestors for our futures.  We need to educate ourselves in the scriptures.  If you ask for missionary experiences you better be prepared by knowing the scriptures and having the spirit with you.  Because otherwise you may miss out on that missionary experience that is right under your nose.  Or, you will be put in a very uncomfortable position!  I know I have experienced both.  I have heard we will continue to be missionaries in heaven; that we will teach those that have not learned what they needed to know on this Earth before they died.  So prepare yourselves and your children. 

There is a video that I saw on a friend’s profile and it spoke volumes to me and made me cry.  The speaker has the sweetest most tender voice and you KNOW he loves everyone!  I want to read what he said in a talk he gave in 1996.

Elder F. Enzio Busche

Quorum of the Seventy

BYU Devotional

14 May 1996

"I want to share with you a vehicle, an instrument, that I developed some time ago for myself and for my family.  It can assist us to reach our focus as we read the suggested vision of true discipleship as a Latter-day Saint.

It helps when from time to time, we ponder and seek identification with the following thoughts:

Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome.  No matter how it looks.

The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by Him.

And nothing is impossible for you.

When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God. 

In your life there have to be challenges.  They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you.  But you make the decision of which road you take.

First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God.

If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness.

Don’t permit anything to detract you from this awareness.

You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man.

And have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ.

Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope.

Light will flow into your soul.

Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane.  In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his church.

God knows that you are not perfect.   As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.  God knows better than you what you need.

He always attempts to speak to you.

Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us—everything will fall into its place."

(that is the one thing that I haven't done in a long time and this last month I have listened and I have accomplished some of the things I have been told to do by the spirit and it feels AMAZING!)

"Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin.

When you cannot love someone, look into that person’s eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him.

Never judge anyone.  When you accept this, you will be freed.

In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges.

If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again.

Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts.  If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm.

On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts.

Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words.

Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet.  Be aware of that as you enter places of worship.

 Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do, do with all your heart, might, and strength.  In thoroughness is satisfaction.

You want to be good and do good?  That is commendable.  But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost.  Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do.

The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment.  It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it.

Be grateful for every opportunity to serve.  It helps you more than those you serve.

(I LOVED this book!)

And finally, When you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now.  But know also that as you are learning this lesson.  God wants to give you something better.   

Thus, we prepare all the days of our lives, and, as we grow, death loses its sting, hell loses its power, and we look forward to that day with anticipation of joy when he will come in his glory."

 

I fully agree with Elder Busche and I appreciated his words!  They were what I needed to hear to learn to do my best.  To not fear.  And to look forward to that day when we will all be reunited together in heaven.  

I don’t believe education is just schooling.  We are living our education now.  What we do is what we will pass on to our generations, and we will carry it on into eternity.  So we need to change our lives now and get on the right track, if we are not doing those things we need to.  I know it is something I need to be doing and will probably ALWAYS be doing.  

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Long Time No Post!

I just read back on the post of when I had Emmaline and it DID seem like a blink of an eye! She is almost 2 (in a month) and I can hardly believe it! She is such a sweet little spirit! She doesn't talk much, but she does know sign language enough to let us know what she wants. She has helped me realize that I overreact at times when I freaked out about her syndrome when she was born...she has been fine. She may have some speech issues (we have an appointment set for a few months from now...they have no availability) and will be getting speech therapy. She loves her daddy! She has always said, "Daaaaaaddyyyy" cute! She does say momma also. Not much else. Oh nigh nigh. for night night. She does the sign for milk, more (want), and all done. She has given me the desire to learn more sign! Even Ben and Amelia have taught me a few signs and have surprised me at how easy it is to learn when you need to! I need to go and get ready for work, but I thought...ok I need to really start keeping a journal again....it's time to stop being so silent!

BYU WOMEN'S CONFERENCE

First of all I want to say that Women's Conference is CRAZY!!! If you like to speed walk with crowds feeling as though you are walking Bloomsday...ALL DAY...then heck you will love it! There are so many people, that you worry you won't be able to get into the class you want. So you SPEED WALK! And I have to admit I cut in line at one point cause the end of the line didn't somehow exist so I followed the crowd. Yes I was a sheep the last 2 days! Walking in herds! With nerds...ok no I just wanted to rhyme LOL.

APRIL 28, 2011

Started the day at the Marriott Center at 6:30 AM! I was in the choir and it was AWESOME! Such great singers! We sang for the 1st session, "For the Beauty of the Earth & Each Life That Touches Ours For Good." The session started at 9 and by the time it started I felt like I was going to lose my voice haha :o) It was a good time!


1st class Eternal Marriage: "If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently"
Taught by Sharon G Larsen & Ralph Larsen

Needs charity

Its the little things like putting the toothpaste on the toothbrush

When fighting do a "replay" of how the fight began. They did an analogy of a football game and the 1st clip we saw was an upset football player and we didn't see why he was mad. The 2nd clip was the replay of the play that was done and it showed a player holding him so he couldn't get the ball...and so we saw the big picture of why he was mad. That's what we need to do when we fight as couples. Look back to why it started.

Do dinner and a movie a lot(meaning the temple).

Sharon also said when she went on walks with her friends never once did they talk about their spouses downfalls. We need to build up our spouse to others.

2nd class "Tell Me The Stories of Jesus": Teaching the Gospel through Storytelling
Taught by: Nicolle Scott & Thelissa Zollinger

Tell of your own experiences(journal keeping)

A story was shared of a dream she had when she was 15 of a curly haired little girl and when she woke up she felt she saw her daughter and wrote a letter about it in her diary. And when her daughter was 15 she shared the letter with her and it has made them closer than ever.

Kids love to hear stories of when they were little.


3rd class "Doing The Best You Can"
Taught by: DeAnn Sanders & Emily Watts

Don't think you can know you can.

If you work at home the work is always there and it looms over you.

If you work out of the home make sure its a family friendly place.

Listen to the holy ghosts promptings and follow through...QUIT MAKING HIM YELL AT YOU! :o)

Priority is better than balance

"I showed my kids that I was not a perfect mom so when they got married they wouldn't be disappointed." -Emily Watts


Back to my thoughts:

It's surprising with all the women here how clean everything has stayed...not a lot of litter:-) and I am surprised I haven't seen anyone with a side ponytail like mine haha:-) with thousands of women and I have the only side pony!

JULIE BECK TALK
Instead of thinking god owes me or that I am entitled to something remember who owes who. We owe Jesus- Julie Beck (not word for word, but that is what she had implied. And I found it to be true!)

She suggested we read Luke chapter 10

Back to my thoughts:

Got my 1st women's conference battle wound! Because everyone is hauling butt to get to the class of their choice you have this urge to walk the fastest you've walked in your life! So when I finally got to my destination(the most popular bldg wsc) a thought came to my head almost instantly...be careful on the stairs...and sure enough I missteped and biffed it hard and landed on my knees and hands (i felt drained!) someone asked if I was ok and I picked myself up and told her yes and I rushed to my next class(my left knee stinging) and when I sat down in the Varsity Theater (half empty...why did I hurry??) I took a look at my knee and it was bleeding, a scrape of sorts, I took a picture(see below). And now, unfortunately, I have a hole in one of my favorite jeans! Dang! Next time I will follow Uchdorf's council and take my time and slow down! Haha


Went to the Shadow Mountain Concert (The link is an awesome recap someone did of the concert.) at the end of the day and it was a good time. Here were the performers: (I took pics, but my phone sucks!) So that is why I shared the video :o)

Kirby Heyborne was the MC he started out by playing a song he wrote on the piano and he sang about Sherry Dew (what would sherry do...) haha
David Osmond sang and it was his daughter's 2nd b-day! SO CUTE!
Jenny Oaks Baker played the violin beautifully!
Hilary Weeks sang
Josh Wright played the piano and he was amazing. All the ladies were screaming for him because it would embarrass him haha! It was funny how shy he was.
April Meseny sang. I loved her voice!
Cherie Call sang.
Vocal Point also sang. Accapella group. They rocked the house :o)

I didn't get home that night until 10:30!

APRIL 29, 2011

CLASS 1 "Out of Small Things Proceedeth That Which Is Great": Serving in Our Community
Taught By: Jennifer Christenson & Laurel Jeppson

Do not be judgmental of those you serve.
Service project-planning for groups to serve in the community.
Relationship in service-always serving and finding a need and keeping up with it in your life.
Spontaneous service-seeing a need and acting on it and helping that person.
Google service in Caldwell(my community).
Serve outside your circle(family, church, friends) We are to also help our neighbors/community
Story of 1985 Ethiopia famine church raised 6 million and gave 1.4 million to the Catholic charity.

2nd CLASS Being a Women with a "Mother Heart"
Taught By: Val Lyons & Tammela S. Thackeray

Reduce the rush and get to know yourself better-Uchdorf.

When you love yourself then you can love others, mainly your family.

In motherhood its the simple things that matters most. Your kids just want you to spend time with them.

What matters most...what do you enjoy doing? What makes you, you.

Even if we fail our kids will see us pick ourselves again. It's a great example to them.

Because god gave us all different talents it's so we have others to appreciate our talents and its what makes us all different mothers. If we envy others mothering styles we will never measure up.

MY PROJECT THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE:
I got a crocheting project to work on while I was at Women's Conference and it was for a service thing they donate to those in need. The thing I made was called a hug shawl. Since they gave me a time limit I actually finished it LOL! They let me keep the pattern and crochet hook!



3rd CLASS Gathering in the Kitchen: Healthy Eating and Happy Memories
Taught By: Tricia Cope & Doris Gillette

What your kids want for dinner is you.

Studies show that mealtime as a family helps kids academically and to stay away from drugs and other things of the world.

Involve kids in preparing food and cleaning the kitchen.

Relationships are strengthened.

Read stories to the kids while they work. She said her kids ask what else they can do so she can keep reading.

Meal planning Sunday nights, family meeting time.

If we start the kids young they may not do very well at cleaning but as they get older they will be more proficient at it.

Eat more in the natural state without over refinement and processing the more healthier we will be. Less illness the healthier we'll be-Ezra Taft Benson. (again not word for word)

Shop outside isles.

Whole grains.

Consistently offer the good foods the kids will eat it.

Handout on women's conference website with recipes (to come http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/)

An apple a day keeps the dr away. A scripture a day keeps the devil away. (I thought that was cute!)

Dinner together helps social academic etc

Johnny Jump Up (gets the salt, ketchup, additional water, etc) everyone wanted to be Johnny Jump Up

A time to practice manners

Before prayer say spread em and fold em! Haha The dad would hold out his arms and then fold them LOL It's cute.

If you don't know what to make for dinner start cooking onions and that will make people believe dinner is under way...and it will buy you some time to figure out what to put with the onions. LOL


Back to my thoughts:

A daughter was trying to give her wealthy looking mom $30 back and they were going back and forth with "no I won't take it" "no I don't want it" and I leaned to the girl (I was behind her at the Marriott Center) and I put my hand on her shoulder and said "I will take it..." with a big smile on my face and they had a good laugh haha. Waiting for elder Bednar to speak.


Elder Bednar Talk:

Be thou humble and the lord thy god will take thee by thy hand and lead thee

D&c 123

God gave us a pattern to follow so we cannot be deceived for Satan is abroad. He said we can't sew a dress without a pattern or build a building without a pattern. That is why God gave us a pattern on how we should live our lives so we can return home. (not exactly what he said).


Back to my thoughts:

As I was waiting for my ride when all was done I looked in my bag and remembered I took out my book and word search and thought shoot! Then I saw a silhouette of a book and thought...what is that? And it was my Book of Mormon! So I opened it up and I read the verses I had marked in pen Alma 34:40-41 and wow! I think it hits home to how a lot of us probably feel right now "in this economy":-) Here is what it says:

40 And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them:
41 But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.

Another scripture Helaman 14:30-31!

My favorite scripture of all time Jacob 3:1. It basically says God will send down justice upon those who seek your destruction. LOVE IT!

Oh and i met Kirby Heyborns sis-in-law today waiting in line...they are real people haha


We went to Michelle's parent's house and played dominoes and it was SO FUN! Her dad is awesome & such a crack up! And her mom is SUCH a beautiful lady! Her whole family is super nice and I felt like I really fit in! I wasn't once uncomfortable! I may have made them uncomfortable cause I just joke about everything, but it helped Elwon to be himself for a change and he said he hasn't done that yet with her family and I think they really saw the real him. It was seriously like old times! The thing about Michelle is I don't feel like there is tension in the home. I don't feel like my brother is too busy to spend time with me. Moriah came up on April 30th and we hung out a lot of the day and let Elwon & Michelle sleep because we stayed up REALLY late playing games and Michelle has a hard time sleeping :o( I hope when her and Elwon get married that she will have comfort and be able to sleep! (Well I wish that before, but I think it will help to have someone with her, watching her (Elwon will I am telling you that now Michelle...you may wake up and he will be looking at you with adoring eyes!)) :o) I know she is going to read this so that is why I am talking to her right now. haha! I have really enjoyed staying here! I hope that we will someday be able to go visit them again and I REALLY want them SO BADLY to come visit me! Elwon hasn't visited his family EVER. He went to Spokane, but as far as visiting his sisters...not so much. And I don't think that was Elwon's choice... Today is Sunday May 1st and Elwon made WICKED GOOD Calazones! (sp). And Moriah was nice enough to buy us Tiny Spicy Chicken from Formosa's in Logan! LOVE THAT PLACE!! And so we had some rice that none of us ate...so today I am making mom's rice pudding. Tonight I may make the mixture for piroshki and doing meat rolls. Yes if my co-worker is reading this...meat rolls AGAIN haha! Also I want to say that Laniah is ADORABLE! She can scream like I used to (ok I still kinda scream a lot haha)...and she can be a little stinker. But she is 2. She is testing her limits. She is a sweetheart! I was loving her like she was my own this weekend because she reminds me of my kids and I miss them! Didn't think I would miss home at all, but I do! I miss Chris, I miss the kids, and I miss my home. I go home tomorrow and I will miss my Utah family! It's a vicious cycle haha :o) Ok I keep typing and I really need to end this so I can check on the rice pudding. Over-N-Out!