I'll Huff and I'll Puff....

Every time the wind blows I am reminded of the story of the three little pigs. It is a familiar story to most of us.

The first little pig built a cozy house of straw. It was warm on nice days, though on rainy days it was prone to sogginess but it usually dried out quickly and he could live with that. It just so happened that this little pig had a hungry wolf living nearby, and even though he knew the danger and evil that lurked not far from his home, he felt snugly secure in his little hut. After all, all was well in his neck of the woods.

The second little pig also knew of the hungry wolf living in the nearby wood for he had grown up with the knowledge which came from his parents who had taught him as a piglet to beware of the danger. He chose to build his house of sturdy sticks. He felt he had done well in preparing his home for habitation and went about his days with a feeling of security knowing that his dwelling kept out the rain and provided warmth on chilly evenings.

It didn't take long to build his house and that left time for what he loved the most. Dancing and singing his day away joined by his other brother who had built a  house of straw. Both felt that they were sufficiently prepared for the time that came every year when the wolf went hunting in preparation for winter.

The third little pig thought long and hard about his house. He prepared it with a sturdy foundation and began building up solid walls of brick an mortar. His home, which took many months to build, was impenetrable as well as warm and dry. The third little pig knew the value of work and felt great satisfaction in a job well done. His days were filled with peace and tranquility, and a sure knowledge that he would be safe should the wolf come visiting his door.

The season for preparation passed quickly and it wasn't long before the wolf came to the door of the straw hut. The frightened little pig inside was beside himself refusing to let the wolf take him for a meal, but alas, the little pig had not sufficiently prepared himself with the proper defenses against such a threat and with no effort the wolf blew his house in destroying it and capturing the little pig who resided there.

Still on the prowl and certain he could find more to eat, the wolf moved to the next dwelling of sticks owned by the second little pig. After being denied entry, he became forceful and again with a little effort blew the house of stick into pieces, snatching up the second little pig as a captive.

The wolf was now overconfident and greedy. He knew there was a third little pig and felt quite certain that he was no better prepared than his brothers had been. The wolf approached the house, demanding entry. He was given a firm negative response. The third little pig told the wolf that it was bad enough that the wolf had destroyed the homes of his two younger brothers and taken them into captivity. The wolf was told that he would not have the soul of this little pig as well.

The wolf, feeling proud and strong commenced blowing, and huffing and puffing and the little brick house stood firm and still. He tried other methods of entry, but was firmly denied in every case. The third little pig was well rewarded for his diligent effort to thwart the entry of evil into his home and lived quite securely there for many years to come. Of course the story ends happily with him rescuing his two other brothers from the wolf and then they all three live happily and safely ever after in the house of bricks.

Like I said, every time the wind blows I think of this story. I detest the wind - the kind that is strong and forceful and often wreaks havoc in its wake. I hate to feel the house shudder after a particularly strong gust. But as I sit safely inside my home, I feel safe and secure, knowing that the wind cannot get through the walls that stand as a defense for me and those who dwell here against it. The wind, like the temptations of the devil, cannot come inside unless invited. I know that as spiritual walls are built in one's life, even tornado force temptations and trials cannot weaken those walls. So today, I find joy in the wind, not because I enjoy it, but because of the truths that it teaches me.

A Sabbath Morning...

Sunday morning the battery in the family vehicle was dead... not sure why, though I suspect it had something to do with the extremely cold temperatures during the previous week. Anyway, we had to wait for the battery charger to charge it before we could get it going. As the family waited they were observant. Naomi discovered some interesting wildlife around and decided to shoot them - photographically. Here are the results of her morning.

What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning. I love the scenery our small yard grants. The world is a truly beautiful place. I am so grateful for the opportunity to live here on earth and I find great joy in the wonders and the beauties that fill this planet. Truly, the Lord created it just for us, just to delight us, and bring us happiness and joy. I feel His love for me every time I take time to appreciate all the glorious beautiful things that nature boasts of. What a wonderful world!!!

Sweet Sixteen!

I remember my 16th birthday, it doesn't seem like so terribly long ago, even though more years have passed than I can count on both hands. I remember feeling so grown up and the world was full of possibilities. This month those memories were brought back in to focus as we celebrated the birthday of another daughter. She had it all figured out - what we were  going to eat, what to have instead of cake, when we would celebrate... and the list goes on.

Her older sister came home to help us celebrate a couple of days early. It all started out with some beautiful helium filled balloons...

She actually had three but one decided to befriend the cactus plant and POP lost it's life in the process!!!

One of Naomi's birthday highlights was inhaling the helium out of balloons and then telling stories.

Another birthday hightlight was a huge cuddly stuffty! A teddy bear!

As requested a birthday cheesecake!!!

Opening gifts! She hates black licorice but was relieved to discover good stuff in the box.!!!

It was fun celebrating all together. The kids grow up so fast and each milestone is fun to celebrate. I love the memories and the good times we have together. My favorite part of birthdays are the smiles that are ever-present! A smile, especially one that reaches into the eyes, pronounces Joy felt, like nothing else I know.  Kids are great!!!

Amazing!!!

Today the kids are home from school. I can't explain why, except that they get one extra long weekend every month. Because they tend to have difficulty getting along for a whole day if they don't keep busy, we had an art class this morning for the three little girls. The results were amazing!

This is oil painting - wet on wet (so nothing dries between colors). It can be a little tricky, but it is super fun to do. We just made up our own pictures as we went along. Here is what we got. Here we are about half way through the project.

Here is Charity adding trees to her painting.

 Here is Melodee adding her tree.

Here is Breanna with her finished painting. Didn't she do a great job? I think her mountains turned out well!

Here is Charity proudly displaying her completed painting! Beautiful!

Here is Melodee showing off her finished masterpiece.

This was my demo. Now, what do I do to safely dry 4 wet oil paintings for the next 6 weeks or so....

I love to paint and it is even more fun teaching my kids. Just before we finished up on of the older kids came up and saw the paintings and was thoroughly amazed! I have to agree, the kids did some awesome paintings!!! I love the happiness and joy I see reflected in the faces of my children when they learn new skills and in this case are able to show them off a bit. I can hardly wait for phase 2 of the art classes to begin when we paint with the older kids!

Settling in to Studying

The last couple of weeks around here have been highly focused on studying. With a couple of kids in high school, how could it not be? Alisha has a number of departmental exams to write this coming week. Of course, she has taken so many practice tests, unit tests, and final exams, ones head nearly explodes just trying to keep track. I found a photo the kids had taken that completely captures how they feel with all the studying...

Isn't it perfect? They used a funky setting on the camera to do that, but it certainly captures the stress and anxiety of the flurry of homework activities that seem to dominate this time of year.

As for me, I've been studying too. I've had the opportunity to plan the lessons for Relief Society for this coming year (just the first Sunday ones). It has been a wonderful experience. Our Relief Society theme is year is "BE AS CHRIST". While it will take a lifetime to achieve, every day of our lives can stretch towards that goal. As I have studied the attributes of Christ to compile the 2012 lesson materials, I have learned more about Him and his goodness. This month our first Sunday lesson was on Learning as Christ. I feel like having a desire to learn spiritual things puts us in a position to begin to learn as He did. The more we learn, the more like Him we are able to become.

What a joy it is to have a sure knowledge of the Savior, to know that He lives and loves each and every person upon this earth. What a blessing.

Another Teenager! Never say Never...

This month has been a milestone month for Myles as this is the month in which he crossed into teenage territory! That's right, he turned 13! Now this wasn't any regular 13th birthday because there were some pretty unusual things that came along with it!

The year Myles was born he was actually the New Years baby. Usually New Years is cold and blustery like the year he was born, but this year for Myles birthday we actually had a picnic lunch - outside!!! Now, it wasn't the kind that you stick around for long and linger at because there was a bit of a breeze coming off the lake and it was a little chilly, but, up until about 5 minutes before we finished eating it actually wasn't too bad! Outdoor picnics in January NEVER happen - at least they never used to! Now that it has happened once, we can't ever say NEVER again....

Now, despite the fact that Myles was the New Years baby the year he was born, he wasn't actually born on the 1st. In fact in smaller communities, the New Years baby could be born in February if there weren't any due in January. So even though Myles was born later in the month, the second thing that almost NEVER happens on his birthday, but did this year, is that his birthday fell on a Fast Sunday. Yup, that means that he ushered in his teenage years without breakfast! Very uncommon for a boy....

Well, the birthday festivities went well and nothing unusual happened there. We sang happy birthday while Myles waited grinning from ear to ear, to blow out his candles. Once the cake was eaten, the gifts were opened, and Myles had some more new things to add to his own personal collection of treasures.

Just like his birth brought us great joy, that joy is now reflected in his own eyes as he celebrates that special day when he came to join our family. How blessed we are.

Coiled Up!!!

It never ceases to amaze me at the things my kids come up with. I learned to french braid as a teenager by watching friends braid each others hair. I never had a problem doing one braid but I never liked doing two braids. Well, a couple of my girls have gotten quite good at doing french braids. Alisha often puts two braids in to the little girls hair for them while it is still wet or when they want it to look special.

The other night as I was puttering about the house, I came upon Naomi who was all out braiding Charity's hair. It was pretty neat so she decided to do Breanna's hair to. Now I've never seen hair braided like this before, and I'm not sure I ever will again, and to describe it might be difficult so let me show you some pictures so you can see what I am talking about!

 From the side. Such a cutie!

 Top view

 Both heads together. I have to say that when I saw this picture I was immediately reminded of woven baskets! Quite honestly, with both their heads looking the same, it's hard to tell the two of them apart!!!

Well, they didn't leave those braids in for too long. The following morning, they took them out and look at the wonderful results they had!

Families are such fun! I am so thankful that Families are Forever! I couldn't imagine being without them in the eternities. They are such a blessing and a joy to me!

Beautiful Wooden Marble

This year for Relief Society we are really focusing in on the three main purposes of Relief Society.  (1) Increasing Faith and Personal Righteousness, (2) Strengthening Families and Homes and (3) Helping those in Need. With that focus we are encouraging our sisters to journal their thoughts and feelings during or after the Sunday lessons in answer to this question.

"How can the principles taught today Strengthen me. my family and my home?"

We wanted to make this something easy to remember and do so we put it on a plaque to display in our Relief Society room during the year.

I love this question! It causes me to reflect inward and to apply not only the things I learn at church into my daily life, but to also watch for the lessons that come every day. There isn't a day that goes by in which, if I stop to ponder, I haven't had some truth taught, emphasized or illustrated in my life. I am so grateful for this blessing. The blessings that come to me through the gospel of Jesus Christ fill my soul with joy and even when difficult things happen, that joy is ever present bringing with it light to even the darkest moments.

I also had great time  creating this board. The marbling effect was so easy I thought I would share it with you!

MARBLING WOOD TECHNIQUE
Step 1.
Paint the board white.

Step 2.
Quickly paint the board light blue with slightly thinned paint. While the paint is still wet place a piece of saran wrap or a garbage bag over the paint to draw off the excess. (You will see other colors showing through in the picture because I was fiddling around in between the white and blue coats of paint for a texture I liked.)

Step 3
Water down a navy blue paint so that it is quite runny. Hastily paint it on - don't try to be neat, just throw it on there. Then while it is still wet cover it with a clean portion of your garbage bag. Press the plastic down firmly allowing for wrinkles and ridges to stay where they are. Lift the plastic off and you will get something like this!

Step 4
Repeat step three with silver paint if desired. Once the paint is completely dry seal it with a gloss sealer.

Add your vinyl lettering and the project is done!

Color Enhanced!!!

For Christmas this year, one of the things Naomi got was a stash of cupcake decorating ideas and supplies. She didn't wait long to try them out either, especially when she realized we had a bunch of fun food coloring colors! She enlisted the help of her two younger sisters with the decorating. They were quite willing and eager to assist her - sugar seems to have a great amount of sway at times - not that it was needed, but it wasn't to be overlooked either.

The cupcakes were cooked and cooled so Naomi went straight to work making the icing. She carefully divided it into three separate bowls and then the coloring fun began. Each one of them had a bowl to stir and of course once it was well mixed they got to lick the spoon!

 They had a lot of fun doing it too!!! Those tongues are definitely COLOR ENHANCED!!!

 And here is the finished product! You can see the cupcake in the back right corner got the rest of the red/pink icing! It's heaped pretty tall with that sweet stuff!

We kept so busy after school that day, this was all going on while supper was being prepared. Everyone was busy with something and it felt so good to all be working together! Once the work was done we all sat down to enjoy a nice meal together. What joy fills my heart when I look around the table and see my children enjoying visiting and just being together. We even had a special visitor stay for supper too, and that made it all the more fun and enjoyable.

Candy Houses for 2012!

It's tradition! Every year at Christmas time we make candy houses. Sometimes they are gingerbread houses, sometimes they are just made with sugar cookies. One year we did candy tents (they were triangular in shape). Regardless of the shape and size, each one of the kids typically gets to make their own. The only rule in eating them is that we usually wait until Christmas Day is past. However, this year was crazy busy, and the candy house making project got superceded with chocolate making and cake pops (new this year). Shylah came down for New Years and rescued the candy house making tradition. This year we made a whole 2 dimensional village.

 There is a lot of candy on that village, so it's actually hard to tell in this picture where one building begins and another ends, but there are two M&M snowmen in there somewhere, a number of trees and of course the houses. I think they even put in a candy wall, though I'm not sure. It sure was a lot of fun watching the project come together. I love seeing my kids work together and make wonderful things! They ate the whole thing too (yup 3-4 days and it's all gone!)

After the candy houses were made we started preparing for our New Years party. A few years ago we started having family New Years parties. One year a couple of the kids had to babysit and they came home some time after midnight and just kept on partying - watching movies and giggling like crazy until well into the night. This year we filled the dining room table with loads of snacks, veggies, fondue and treats for everyone to help themselves to. You can see that Myles wasn't about to wait to dig in!!!

We played Yahtzee with the older kids and the younger ones either doubled with the older ones (rolling the dice for them etc) or they played another game called Pictureka! Breanna says it's a really fun game but I haven't played it as yet. It sure has a fun game board though.

We had a wonderful weekend. I love it when my family is together. There is nothing more fun than playing and visiting together! There isn't much that brings more joy to the heart of a mother, than watching her children having a good time together! What a blessing!