Building Character

I love to listen to Elder Richard G Scott speak. He is so good at carefully and clearly explaining gospel doctrines. A short time ago I read one of his talks in which he said:

“We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day… You become what you do and what you think about.”  ~Richard G Scott, Ensign, October 2010

I loved the concept of being able to influence what we become. As I thought about it I came up with the following:

We Are Who We Choose to Be

If we don’t forgive we become vengeful

But if we practice tolerance we become patient.

If we judge others we become suspicious.

But if we give praise we become appreciative.

If we are ill-mannered we become rude

But if we give acceptance we become loving.

If we live in fear we become apprehensive

But if we live in faith we become trusting.

If we seek fame and fortune we become greedy

But if we seek truth we become honest.

If we focus inwardly we become vain

But if we seek virtue we develop integrity.

If we think foul thoughts we become vulgar

But if we trust God and others we gain confidence.

If we resent Deity we become coarse, bitter and soiled

But if we seek God we value goodness, show tenderness, kindness and purity.

                        ~Susan Rice, 2011

Clip, Snip, Chop!

I have been fighting a terrible cold for the last three days. I seem to feel sleepy all the time and so I am having a hard time getting anything done, however, last night, I couldn't seem to get the idea of a different hair style out of my head.... So I moved it - from inside my head to onto my head. With a snip here, a chop there and a clip, clip, clip I managed to get what I wanted. I am so thankful for natural curl because if I left a few longer hairs it won't show! So here is the new look...

When I looked at the pile of hair left in the garbage I couldn't help but notice how much lighter my head feels. A major hair cut is always like that...

Sometimes there are days that my spirit just feels heavy - burdened, as I looked at that hair I was reminded that my burdens can be lifted through the power of the Atoning sacrifice of my Savior. I am so grateful for that knowledge. I feel great joy in knowing that my Savior loves me, and that I can improve myself through Him every day AND I love my lighter, easier to manage head of hair too!

Christmas Advent Finished!

All done and a month to spare!!! My Christ Centered Christmas advent is now done!!! Here are some pictures of the finished project!

Up close

I love finishing projects and having them ready with time to spare for their intended use. What joy it is to have things finished, closed, no longer on that never ending to do list. Life is like that too. It feels great to clear the air and become unified!

First Snow!

After the Snow

I have been cold ALL day so... I put on my slippers and did some cooking. I made sure all the outside doors were shut (the kids don't always close the inside doors this time of year). I put on my warmest vest, and for a while I even hunkered down under my softest blanket! Yet despite all that I never expected to see white specks in the sky, blowing crazily to the earth! They didn't last long, just long enough to bring great excited smiles to the faces of my children. They couldn't wait to spill the news that it was snowing outside! It lasted 5 minutes, now it is raining.

I love rain!!! I marvel each time we get rain in October because I remember years of snow and blustery coldness surrounding us by now. I know that winter will come, but I find joy in each wonderful day that holds back the tentacles of winter a little longer.

There are still flowers blooming!!!

Fall Colors

Cranberries are bright decorations on the trees.

Wet on Wet

This is my painting.

This last weekend I had the opportunity to take an oil painting class. Did you know it takes 6 months to a year for an oil painting to finish curing? It actually takes up to two weeks to just be dry enough to touch - so imagine how long it would take to finish an oil painting if you waited for it to dry between each color!!! It would be a monumental undertaking! This class was a wet on wet class, meaning we painted the whole picture in one day. I was very excited about taking the class because I have never painted with oil paints before! The class was a 6 hour class and yes, 4 days later it is still a very wet painting!

I have to say I loved the class! There were about 14 of us, and 12 of us did the same painting with the same colors and instructions, yet each painting was uniquely different and beautiful.

Isn't it interesting how characters and personalities are like that too? A couple can have a dozen kids and raise each of them together with the same teachings, influences, encouragements, and family routines, yet each child is uniquely different, with their own special talents and abilities, strengths and weaknesses that build and create the family unit.

I love individuality and I love to paint! I love this form of expression. I find great joy in God's creations. I love how the light filters through the trees, mountains stand so firm, wind whispers through the trees and rustles the surface of glass-like waters. I love to look for the beauty of nature all around me. I don't have to look far to know that God loves his children - each and every one!

Relished Out!

Sweet Cucumber & Zucchini Relishes

At long last I am finished the relishes for this year!!! Relish takes a minimum of 2 days to make, meaning I have to have 2 consecutive days available to get it done. The kids had school off today so we ground vegetables for 3 hours this morning. I had a pretty good cry doing the onions - it's a wonder I didn't cut myself because I couldn't see what I was doing with the knife through my tears.

So I must say that I 'relish' the joy that comes from being finished!

Bubbling with Joy

"Bubbling with Joy" is a term one of my children used a few days ago. I have to say I LOVE it! It applies to so many of the things I do and feel...

• I love to cook up good things and when they come to a boil - start bubbling - of course I know that they are nearly done! That brings JOY!
• I love to learn new things. This week I get to attend an art class and I can hardly wait to learn the new techniques they will be teaching. I enjoy artsy things and that brings JOY too!
• Today my children recorded and some even shared their testimonies with their family members. Sharing testimonies and feeling the Spirit brings me SO MUCH joy!
• I love the scriptures and the gospel, and I love being able to take the time to study and learn from them. The insights, inspiration and guidance I receive bring JOY bubbling into my life.
• I love to serve and visit. I often have opportunities to serve and help others. I like to be helpful because it makes me feel good inside, bringing JOY to my smile and into my heart.

Those are some of the outward things but mostly when I think of the Savior, and the great love he has for me, the all encompassing Atonement, and the promise of resurrection, the JOY I feel isn't just bubbling, it is actually bubbling over. I haven't the words to properly express the depth of my gratitude to my Savior for the gift of the Atonement, the perfect example He gave and the service He rendered out of pure love.

Hence the saying "Bubbling With Joy"!

Aching Harvest

Today has been quite a full one for me. Early this morning I spent some time working on my Christmas count down advent calendar. I added glittering snowflakes to the background board. From there the morning passed by quite uneventfully with two appointments scheduled back to back finishing at about 12:30. By that time I had an incredible ache in my side and seriously needed to lay down... but the to do list still loomed large before me.

I finally decided to fore go lunch so I could lay down for a bit. I took my Relief Society stuff with me so I could work on next years lesson plan but it put me to sleep!!! That didn't last long because the phone rang and got me moving again. I went outside and started pulling weeds grunting all to frequently in pain. I taught an after school piano lesson and then it was time to give my full attention to the garden. There were more raspberries to pick and still tomatoes! I recruited some help and we went to work not just harvesting everything, but pulling up plants and filling the compost bin brimming over with stuff!

My favorite part of the harvest was done after dark - let me share it with you!

I don't know if these flowers will survive the frost or not so I picked a bunch and brought them in to enjoy. It is amazing what they did for me. My side still hurts but when I came inside and saw these flowers in the light it brought a smile to my face and a feeling of joy to my heart. It feels SO good to have the harvest completely done!!! Now there is just the canning to finish before the harvest is really done for the year!

'Tis the Season for Christ

A lot of my time this week has been spent on putting together my Christ centered Christmas advent calendar. Chad cut the board for me on Tuesday and I have been working on the pieces. I decided to theme it with snowflakes. I used some snowflake paper mixed with Christmas patterns and then I cut out a whole pile of snowflakes using my cricut. I painted my board black then spattered white and silver paint onto it (Funny, it looks just like a roaster). Then I modge podged the snowflakes onto the board. To complete the background I stamped snowflakes with glue and added glitter to get shimmering yet iridescent snowflakes on my background board. I really like the board, I hope it doesn't turn out to be too busy for the project. I have laid out the pictures of Christ just to get an idea of what it will look like.

Tomorrow I will punch holes in the cards, make the title and pound in the nails for hanging each card. I'll take some better pictures then. I love to create things, especially things like this that will help us keep the true focus of Christmas better this year. We are so blessed to have available such beautiful art of the Savior. Each photo card has sayings on the back of it. As I was assembling the cards, I couldn't help but read the messages, and revel in the knowledge I have for myself that the Savior lives and loves me. That knowledge brings great peace into my life and joy to my heart.

Thanksgiving Pizza's & a Birthday

Meat pizza - ready for the freezer

Today, since we already celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday, we had a free day - a holiday just for Melodee's birthday!!! We started out with a work project which had everyone was anxious and eager to help. This morning we made and assembled 20 pizza's for the freezer! It was great to have everyone helping, though 9 people in the kitchen/dining room is a little crowded, it worked well, and by the time we were ready for the noon meal, the pizza's were assembled and packaged and in the freezers! On top of that we ended up with 3 more loaves of bread! What a joy it was, to work with my children and husband, where each one of us had an active part in the project, and it went smoothly, quickly and productively forward.

Hawaiian Pizza - Wrapped up and ready to freeze!

At noon, we pulled out the party food. Melodee chose to have taco's in a bag for her birthday meal topped off with a dark chocolate cake! It was perfect as the meal was simple to prepare and after working all morning, we were able to eat quite promptly. The cake was decorated simply this year, just chocolate velvet frosting, but in the center we filled a jar with glass stones, and had a helium birthday balloon rising from the center of it. Melodee blew out her candles like the big bad wolf must have blown over the straw house - in one big puff of air. I didn't even get a good picture, she was so fast, that I was left taking pictures of a smoking cake!

$5 - The expression says it all!!!

Of course one of the best parts of having a birthday is opening presents which was next on the list. Melodee enjoyed opening a number of gifts her siblings had made for her, not to mention even getting a little money from her older sister! (You can see the joy on her face as she shows off her cash!) The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, watching movies, and playing games.

Melodee's cake with the balloon rising from the center.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with family celebrations such as birthdays and meals. This weekend has been fabulous and filled with family. We feel so blessed to have the children we have. They are a great source of joy and a delight in our lives.

Testimony Books

Last week at General Conference it occured to me that while my children understand what a pure testimony is, it has become something more memorized than felt, so I purchased a simple notebook for each family member and Sunday afternoon, I began turning them into Testimony books. Once a month on Fast Sunday, we will take some time to each write in our Testimony Book our testimony of a gospel principle. As our children write, we will encourage them to write what they feel and WHY they know. As they look back through their books in years to come, I am certain they will see, in their own handwriting, a developing testimony, strengthened with the passing of time and maturity. Everyone is excited about their books and we look forward to using them as soon as possible. (So far I have 4 1/2 done and ready to use)

Some of the basic materials and freshly covered notebooks. I didn't cover the spine as I like the black that is there.

Up close, T is for Testimony!!!

As we decorated books Sunday afternoon, I found it very enjoyable involving the kids in the selection of ribbons, papers, colors and embellishments. They are each eager to have their book done so they can begin using it. What a joy it is to make and do things with my children.

Stuffed with Stuffing!!!

So it is Thanksgiving weekend! We started a little early to facilitate all our family being together for that special occasion. We started by picking up Shylah on Thursday night and bringing her home. We got here kind of late. Before we came home we had some shopping to do and Shylah was a good sport and put up with our ponderous purchases - one of which was a fish tank in which we can place our fish from the outdoor fish pond. We got home around 10:00 and everyone was up, ready to welcome home their big sister and smother her in hugs.

Enjoying their new habitat!

Friday Shylah took the kids to seminary and attended with them for the morning. The kids all went to school for the morning, but we pulled them all out at noon so we could have our Thanksgiving feast with everyone present. During the morning Chad, Shylah and I prepared pumpkin pies and peeled potatoes and yams in preparation for the noon meal. BUT we found a little extra time to put the new fish tank into service as well so when the kids got home at noon, there were a bunch of goldfish inhabiting the new facility. They are much larger than they started out to be, and everyone seems to enjoy watching them.

Melodee and her guitar

Before the meal Shylah gave Melodee a birthday gift - a guitar. It was  certainly a hit!!! With the meal ready, we sat down to eat buffet style, but before we started dishing our food, we each mentioned something we were grateful for among which was of course that Shylah was here with us, some were grateful for the food, their family, their home, family relationships, cooperation and so forth. We ate well, but during the meal we had an interesting conversation.

We enjoy the stuffing! Melodee mentioned that she always thought that stuffing was called stuffing because it makes you full!!! We chuckled a bit and made sure she knows it is actually because the bird gets stuffed with it. The meal was well enjoyed as was the dessert. Alisha had to run off at 3:30 for some help with her school work and then she had to work after that as well. She didn't get back until after 9:00. Everyone waited for her to get home before turning on a new movie she had wanted to see. They were up late but the companionship and camaraderie were wonderful for us to see.

It all ended too soon however as Shylah had to return home so she could go to work this morning. It was a wonderful start to a special weekend. Monday we will celebrate Melodee's birthday.

 I love to watch my children together - when they are enjoying each others company and doing things together it is a joyful thing to watch and participate in. I am so grateful for each one of my children. Each one holds a special place in my heart, and I can't help but wonder at the amount of love - perfect love - my Heavenly Father has for me. What joy there is for each one of us, knowing that not only do our families love us, but that God himself loves us brings an indescribable feeling of awe and wonder to the heart. Life is good, and I feel so blessed every day.

Fall Summer

It seems that when we get to this time of year, I begin to watch for signs that winter is coming. I realized just the other day that it is October and we have not yet received a killing frost!!! I am still watering the yard, picking raspberries, blackberries, tomatoes and bringing in the rest of the harvest as well! I'm sure that the frost is probably not too many days from coming, but, I LOVE that it hasn't come yet! What a wonderful fall we have had this year!

I love being able to can the tomatoes as they ripen on the vine, make raspberry jams as they are picked and I even have some wonderful stalks of celery now ready to harvest!

We grew watermelon and honeydew melons this year. They didn't get as big as I would have liked but they look very tasty and I can't wait to cut one open to try it!I've never grown celery before, but the stalks are large and ready to eat!

This is the time of year when all of the hard work put into the summer months begin to yield fruit! I love having the bounty of a good growing season - it reminds me that God is good and he delights to bless his children. He also loves it when we bring forth good and bounteous fruits. The joy I find in my garden is only a minute speck in comparison to the great joy that comes from the delightful fruits of love and service!

Accomplishing a Newsletter

Well, today is the first Monday of the month so that means that my website needs a newsletter published and distributed to my subscribers.

I started out this morning, once we got back from seminary, gathering my information and writing articles that were pertinent to the October newsletter. It went amazingly well!!! I have had months where it is a stress filled project what with technical difficulties, and time consuming projects, it can be quite a feat to get the newsletter off in a respectable amount of time. Well, I was thrilled to have it done and sent off by 2:30 this afternoon!!! I was overjoyed, and that opened up the rest of the day to take care of other pressing responsibilities.

Clearly Rubber Stamping October Newsletter

Well with a lengthy list of subscribers it takes longer for the newsletter to go out each month even though it is automated and the computer does it for me. You can imagine my dismay when 4 hours later I decided to take care of some emails, only to find that the newsletter never went out at all. (Introducing the stressful part of the newsletter process). Well I contacted my host to find out if they were experiencing any issues, which they weren't so now we are playing the waiting game. Waiting to see if the emails actually arrive like they should have hours ago, or if they are sitting someplace in cyber space, lost for all intents and purposes.

So my JOY in the day was found in accomplishing in a timely manner my newsletter. It was a feeling that lasted a short time, but it felt good nonetheless.  During that time I was able to prepare a nourishing meal for my children and I was even able to spend a little time relaxing. I am grateful for those moments however short they may be, because they lift me up and renew me, often in the form of additional energy and purpose. 

Conference Pies

This weekend has been a very busy one. On Friday, I helped the Young Men and Young Women construct 150 pies for their annual fund raising activity. It was amazing, we had all 150 put together in only 2 hours!!! The time consuming part was the delivery and pick up of each order. It took most of the evening but I could tell that the kids were enjoying themselves. There was lots of chatter as we worked as well as some good-natured teasing. I always enjoy watching my teenage children in these settings - they are developing skills and abilities that oft times shine on such occasions and it is wonderful to see.

On Saturday we attended General Conference. It is possible to watch Conference at home through the internet, but this time we decided that we would get much more out of it if we took our family in to the church and watched it there. The messages were beautiful and inspiring. After the 2:00 session, we returned home and began making pies. We had brought home all the left over pie dough trimmings from the night before and I thought we would attempt to use them up.

Recycling pie dough is not a simple thing. First, tough dough is very difficult to roll out. I knew this so I decided before hand to add water, but how to mix it in. We ended up using a pizza cutter and a cutting board and chopping up the pie dough to very fine little pieces. Then we added water, and kneaded the dough. It actually turned out well. It was fairly easy to roll and it held together AND it made 20 pies!!! While the men were at the Priesthood session of conference, we finished building all these pies, and of course we cooked up a couple for everyone to enjoy. It has been some time since I made pie, so the first bite was truly a reward. I LOVE pie! I had forgotten how good a pie fresh out of the oven tastes!!!

Sunday morning we again attended General Conference, taking in the last two sessions. With all the pies we had just built I couldn't help but think of how the gospel is like a pie. Each principle is wrapped in the tender crust of obedience. As we are obedient to each gospel principle, the JOY of living the gospel, and the blessings associated with it are the filling which delight the taste buds and fill the soul. Unlike regular pie, we can feast on these gospel pies daily, if not hourly, for there is no fear of our spirit's becoming too fat! What a blessing it is to sit at the feet of the Lords prophets and apostles in this day, and be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ as He would teach it if He were here with us in person. We are so blessed! What a joy it is to KNOW that the gospel he restored is here for every person on this earth!