Water Bottle Wonder

Once a week my grade 7-9 kids go in to the high school and get to participate in shop and home ec classes. Myles recently made a bow out of PVC pipe. It is pretty cool. I'll have to get a photo and post it here. He's made himself an arrow to go with it. It is pretty impressive.

A few days ago Melodee came home with the coolest water bottle! She designed her decal and applied it herself. Of course she chose horses to decorate it with along with her name. I tried to take some good pictures, but you really have to let your imagination take you the rest of the way, as the pictures were way darker than I liked.

It is a pretty cool project!

I love how technology makes these kinds of things possible. We live in such a wonderful day and time! The creative possibilities of today are endless and I am so thankful for the enlightenment the Lord has given the world to bring us to such a glorious time. What a Joy it is to enjoy the knowledge of and apply that knowledge to so many fabulous things!

Very Tricky!

A few days ago my son came home from school with a new trick. Now he has been dabbling in magic for the last year and has some pretty cool tricks, so everyone was quite eager to see this one. He called it the balancing trick. That sounded like something akin to his levitating trick so he had lots of eager volunteers. He got Naomi to assist him the first time. He kind of did it on the sly and showed her the trick without anyone else nearby. I was in the kitchen decorating a birthday cake - I was probably the closest as they were in the living room.

Pretty soon I see Myles walking though the kitchen nonchalantly and then I hear Naomi call, "Mom?! Help!!!" I figured I needed to go find out what she needed and this is what I found...

Yup, there was Naomi balancing a partially filled bucket of water on a broom handle. Left alone in the room, she didn't have much choice but to stay right there while I took the privilege of snapping a photo or two. Of course Myles followed me back into the living room and agreed to rescue his sister from a cold shower.

A few days later, everyone was gathered and Naomi told Myles it was time to show the rest of the family his cool new trick! He obliged quite willingly coming back into the room with the necessary equipment. This time Beth got to hold the broom. Nobody but Naomi and I knew what to expect, so when Myles walked away there were a number of surprised individuals. Of course everyone could see the predicament Beth was now in and they were quite thankful they hadn't volunteered for the privilege of assisting in this particular trick.

Here Myles has just taken down the bucket of water and Beth is quite
happy to be holding the broom normally now - with the threat of a cold
shower removed.

It was pretty funny. The kids later tried it on their Uncle who was pretty wise to the trick - he could see the outcome before the materials were all put into place, but he hasn't seen any of Myles other really cool tricks so he wasn't sufficiently prepared to be 'suckered' into this one!

I have to say, that I am so very thankful for kids that can play practical jokes like this on one another without getting angry. Both Naomi and Beth got a good laugh out of the prank and were eager to share it with others! What a joy it is to have children that love each other that much. Somehow I don't think this will be the last of the balancing trick for a while yet!

Something Good to Eat!

This month we've had occasion to do some experimenting in the kitchen!

For Family Home Evening a few weeks ago we made Caramel Coconut Cream Tarts! They were very tasty. Somehow a whole bottle of caramel sauce mysteriously disappeared almost overnight with the project... I'll have to remember that next time I try this combination!

Naomi loves to cook and try new things, one of her recent selections was Stromboli. The best way I can describe it is basically pizza pie! Yup, pizza with a crust on the bottom and on the top! She filled it full of good things to eat, added cheese to the top and viola a delicious and nutritious meal!

OK, maybe not so nutritious with the nacho's
but it was a birthday request! Had to make it fun!

It is amazing the variety that is available for meal choices out of such similar ingredients. There isn't really a lot of difference between pizza, chili buns, or even taco soup! Yet they are all uniquely different.

Life is not much different from cooking in the kitchen. Each of us is so unique and so individual and the choices we make and ingredients we use, will produce some thing a little bit different from everyone else. If we were cooking up choices, in our lives, in our circumstances, in our history, will each  cook up with different, though appealing results. However, those good choices will always smell good, taste good and nourish those who partake of them. Our choices nourish our families, friends and associates. It is so cool! I love how just cooking a meal reminds me of the great gift of agency that I have been blessed with. It is so awesome to have the gift to choose for myself what I will be and do with my life. And when I choose well, I always feel that powerful sense of joy that comes from God, who endowed me with the gift of agency in the first place.

Life is like biting into a tart and finding sweet caramel surprises that sweeten the experience and fill me with gratitude and joy for the very gift of life itself!

So Creative

Just a few weeks ago our ward made a few changes. The girls got a new young women leader. They dearly loved the old ones, but they are also excited about their new leader as well. Change is cool that way, we are blessed with so good women in our area that are qualified to serve.

Anyway, feeling a need to show appreciation, our Laurel class president came to me a few days later with a list of things she needed to carry out her plan. As luck would have it, I was actually going to town the next day and was able to purchase the necessary supplies.

She made a half a dozen roses for each of her leaders. They are super simple to make. They are made with two chocolate kisses, clear cellophane, wire, floral tape and a rose leaf.

 To make them you simply wrap two kisses with their bases together in a small square of cellophane, attach a wire and wrap up the ends in floral tape. Add a silk rose leaf and your first rosebud is done!

What a fun way to say 'thank you for everything you did as a great young women leader'.

Gratitude is the spice of life... it is what draws happiness to us even amidst difficult times. I love the example my children are to me as they do thoughtful little things to show their thanks and appreciation for others. I am so wonderfully blessed to have such good children who are not only joyful, but quick to share their JOY with all those around them.

Rock Solid Wisdom

A few months ago I was looking for activities to do with the Cubs and I came across some painted rocks that I loved. 

There are so many inspirational sayings that I would love to put up and decorate my house with that I just can't possibly put that much stuff on my walls, so when I saw the painted rocks... I decided that rocks present the perfect medium for displaying my favorite sayings. Besides, I love painting on rocks!

It is interesting because only just the other day I was reading how the Savior is our ROCK of salvation. After reading that, it seems so appropriate to record uplifting insights on rocks. Things that the Savior would teach in person if He were here to do it.

About a year ago we were visiting an uncle's house and he had on his coffee table a dish of rocks. It was pretty cool to sit and look at all the many varieties of rocks on display. It was a great conversation piece as well as beautiful and interesting. With that memory in my head, I decided that if I painted on rocks, I could display them in a similar way.

Now the next step was finding a basket I liked to put them in. I found a white wicker basket with a white lining that will work perfectly. So I began working on rocks of wisdom to fill it - here are my first rocks...

My favorite word!

This one has the authors name on the back.

Well, 5 rocks don't fill my basket very full, but I loved painting them and I love reading them. We use them each week in family home evening or when we need a spiritual thought at scripture time. I love the wisdom of our leaders! It fills me with a great desire to do more, be better and have hope in a bright future!