The Mayor's Hamilton Carpool Karaoke

I think half of what makes my job working with the Mayor so seriously cool, is the Mayor himself.

Check out this video:

And the Winner is: Tayler

This year Tayler is in AVID, along with Cali and Sean.  It's been a fun program for them and they've been enjoying the different projects that they get to participate in during the school year.

Every year AVID gives the kids an opportunity to make movies for the school district's annual film festival.  Last year Sean entered it and won (here).  

This year Tayler took advantage of the opportunity.  She wrote, directed, filmed, and edited the entire movie.

You know it's a big deal event when Chick-fil-a caters it.

Because, Chick-fil-a.

Tayler won best short film in the Middle School age category for the district.  They received hundreds of entries and chose the final three for the festival.

You can watch her video here:

And The Winner Is: Sean.

Tonight was the Avid Film Festival in the which Sean was part of making a film that was presented.

And then won best short film of said festival.

Excuse my cell phone pictures.  Who are we kidding, are there any other kind any more?

You can check out the genius of the short film here:

Sean, when you're a rich and famous internet sensation, remember who feeds you dinner.

This I Know: The Atonement

Yesterday I had the privileged of teaching the Young Women, which I love and somewhat miss.  Since becoming part of the presidency my formal teaching moments aren't as  regular as when I was an adviser.

I'll take it.

I felt a bit... inadequate, as the topic was on the atonement.

First, and foremost, I have a testimony that my Savior lived, suffered in Gethsemane, died on the cross, and was risen again.

All for me.

I know it to my core.

I know in that great council when we realized that we wouldn't be able to do this journey on our own, because some lessons are so hard to learn... so hard to learn... that when our Savior stood forward and covenanted to take on that role for us, that we cheered.  We cheered because we would get to learn all that the Father knew (and I'm pretty certain that He is the coolest person we will ever know, so why wouldn't we cheer to learn all that He had to teach us?), and we cheered because we knew that we would not be taking the journey alone.

We often teach the Plan of Salvation in a line of a series circles.  A physical journey from the first circle at the beginning, to one of the three at the end of the line.  I think the Plan of Salvation is more of a circle: a spiritual journey from our Father, to where we learn all that we can and prepare to be like Him, until we finally do return to Him; not having changed our physical location, but more our spiritual understanding and being.



I think when the Father said that there would be need of a Savior, we all sat in a heavy silence for a second.  Quite similar to the silence that greets you when you ask a room of teenagers for a volunteer for a prayer.  I imagine myself knowing that there was no way I could even do this for myself, how would I ever be able to do it for everyone else as well?

I know I cheered when He stepped forward and took it.  And he didn't fail me. Never did he falter, though, in his mortality he did seek a different way, if at all possible, but he never faltered and he gave all.

To the very end when in a simple prayer he stated, "Father, into the hands I commend my spirit."  I gave it all.  He did not fail us.

Me.

He did not fail me.

This I know.

You Can Be Bitter. Or You Can Be Better.

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Sometimes it starts with something small.

I've been reading Jeffrey R. Holland's book, Broken Things To Mend (here, affiliate link).  It's a compilation of some of his talks.  I read in his talk, "The Tongue of Angels" (here) that in the book of James it tells us of a way to be "a perfect man (or woman)."  "Said James: 'For in many things we offend all.  [But] if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.'" (James 3:2)

Last night I read in another chapter, an address Elder Holland gave at a National Day of Prayer Service in the Provo Tabernacle, about when Christ is teaching the Sermon on the Mount and he concludes with, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)  Elder Holland then goes on to point out that right before that verse, Christ tells how.  "If this comes as the grand finale, the great summation in a chapter that began with the sweet and simple Beatitudes, what immediately precedes perfection?  Or better yet, what preparatory virtues point us toward perfection and this full majesty of God?  I quote the verses immediately prior to the grand declaration of perfection: 'Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?  do not even the publicans the same?  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?  do not even the publicans so?' (Mathew 5: 43-47)  I confess that I do not know how we meet the Savior's injunction to be perfect, but I am guessing we will be a lot closer to that goal if we can love our enemies, bless them that curse us, and pray for them that despitefully use us."

It's love. 

All you need is love.  *cue in Beattles song here*...

This morning I ran across this video from Alex Boye, Lemonade.

"I'm just so broke you won't believe
Can't get a dollar out of me
And as far as I can see
I'm losing control like a bad disease
No I just can't get relief
I've been shot down by the life police,
And everyday I try to rise
But I can't succeed
Can anybody find a cure for me?
You can be bitter, bitter, bitter
Or you can be better, better, better

When life gives you lemons
Instead of champagne
Don't worry little children
And don't complain
Remember you're golden
So find some sugar cane
When life gives you lemons
Make lemonade

Now everyday is like a brand new year,
I throw my hands up in the air
Like I just don't care,
I'm moon walking down the streets
Feeling like oh yeah (oh yeah!)
like the bottom of the glass now I see clear
So now I laugh just a little more
I stand taller than I did before
I know I'm not where I need to be
But I thank God that I'm not
where I used to be,
I used to be bitter, bitter bitter
And now I feel better, better, better

When life gives you lemons
Instead of champagne
Don't worry little children
And don't complain
Remember you're golden
So find some sugar cane
When life gives you lemons
Make lemonade

I was saved for a reason
That I can't explain
Got something new to believe in
I'm awakened again
So many miracles are
Happening each day
If I can just get out of
My own way"

These three things may not sync as the same topic at first glance, but it took me on a journey.

If my goal is perfection, which I'm well aware I will never achieve in this lifetime, then shouldn't I be watching the words that I say?  Elder Holland points out (here) with James 3:10, "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not so to be."  Elder Holland expounds, "The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process.  'Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing,' James grieves, 'These things out not so to be.'"  Add that to the words of James 3:2, "...if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man..." and you have something to think about.

From there, I began to realize if I'm concentrating on what I'm speaking, it forces my concentration on what I'm thinking.  If I don't want to say it, I'm finding I'm trying to curb even thinking it.  And if I'm curbing even the thought, it's changing my attitude and feelings to be softer.

Don't get me wrong, this has been a hard thing to practice and I'm nowhere near were I should be with it, but in practicing no negative thing, I'm finding this is forcing me to more fully contemplate the second point that hit me from Elder Holland; Christ's teaching of love and prayer for your "enemy."

Not that I feel I have enemies, per se, but I do have individuals in my life that I struggle with.  And individuals who seem set out to specifically make my life harder, for whatever reason.

And now I'm trying not to express anything negative about them.  Which is leading me to curb my thoughts and not even think anything negative about them.  Which is a direct path to forcing myself to pray for them. Or, at least it should be.

And trying to love them.

And by "love" I'm generally aiming for a feeling of "good will."  I think it's in the same ballpark.  Or at least in the right direction.

It's a hard process.

It's a daily struggle.

So Alex Boye's video seemed to capture it for me.  Especially the second and third verses.  Go back and read them above.

For me, it ties back into no negative thing. I can be bitter about certain things and certain people.  Or I can be better and loving.  And if I'm to believe in the words of the scriptures, which I absolutely do, that will lead me to perfection.

At some point.

In the far off future.

 In the meantime, and hopefully much nearer future, it will lead to a happier life for me.  I can't complain about that.

Am I The Only One Who Hears It?

Am I the only one who hears this song:



and immediately thinks of this move? (Just watch the first 23 seconds... you'll know what I'm referring to.)



Anyone?  Anyone? (Bueller? Bueller?)

Or is it just me?

I'm a Recovering Bully

I started out today feeling like I needed to take a strong, hard look at myself.

And it weighed heavily on my mind.

And then I saw this video, though it's been floating around my social media, and even in my Youtube notifications for a bit now, I'd not take the time to actually watch it until this morning.



I hope this video drives home a message for so many.  And not just our youth who are in Jr. High/Middle School and High School.  But for we adults as well.  The dynamics are there in our workplaces, in our playgroups, in different organizations we're involved in, and in the people who cross our paths in life in general (road rage anyone?).  It's also there in our homes with our own children and spouses.  A lot of us have the situations where we're dealing with ex's and ex-family, and I know that I've been bullied by an ex-family member that I used to love and respect.  But I know I've also felt the affliction of the feelings that make us lash out at people.

"I imagine that every person on earth has been affected in some way by the destructive spirit of contention, resentment, and revenge. Perhaps there are even times when we recognize this spirit in ourselves. When we feel hurt, angry, or envious, it is quite easy to judge other people, often assigning dark motives to their actions in order to justify our own feelings of resentment."

"This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:

Stop it!" (Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Merciful Obtain Mercy, read it in full HERE).

I've been on both sides of this spectrum.

I'm a recovering bully.

At the old age of 11 years I had a quick mouth and would say whatever I wanted to and about people, even if I knew it was hurtful.  Even if I knew it wasn't always true.  At that time I never thought of myself as a bully.  My friends laughed and thought I was funny and the only reason I did it was for the positive attention I felt I was getting.  I looked at myself as being more of a comedian.

Which I think might be the case with the boys in this video.

I lost a lot of those friends because of my behavior.

As an adult I took on the mantra to never speak ill of anyone for any reason.  And I feel like I had true friendships, friendships that proved to be solid at the difficult time in my life when I needed them.

And I watched how the actions of someone who used to be so beloved to me, someone I greatly admired and respected, turned on me in a cruel manner, either ignoring my presence altogether while I stood there before them, or simply giving me dirty and hurtful looks, not even trying to mask the contempt that was being felt for me.

No matter how justified we think we are when it comes to this treatment of others, no matter how flippant we think it is in passing, no matter how much we think we have the right to be hurtful because we have been hurt, the plain and simple truth is that we are wrong.

And we must stop it.

"Do you harbor a grudge against someone else?

Do you gossip, even when what you say may be true?

Do you exclude, push away, or punish others because of something they have done?

Do you secretly envy another?

Do you wish to cause harm to someone?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to apply the two-word sermon from earlier: stop it!" (Uchtdorf HERE).

We don't know the other side of the story.  We don't know why people act the way they do, even if we feel we're close enough to the situation, we don't know.  We don't have the right to say things or act in a way that portray others in a way that is less than ourselves, even if we think it's just in passing or just in jest.  We don't even have the right to lash out when we feel it's deserved.  They've hurt us and we have the right to act that way, they brought it on themselves, we certainly are justified are we not?

Stop it.

"Our Savior has spoken so clearly on this subject that there is little room for private interpretation. 'I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive,' but then He said, '… of you it is required to forgive all men.'" (Uchtdorf HERE)

It is my job to love.

It is my job to open up to everyone and make sure that I'm the friend that's there when anyone needs one.

It's my job to make sure there is harmony in my home, in my work place, in my organizations, in my associations, and yes, even on the road.

It isn't my job to be concerned if anyone else is doing their job with this.  It's just my job to make sure that I'm doing it, myself.

It is not my job to dole out judgement and payment.

It is my job to forgive.

That's a pretty big job.

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I Like Instrumental Music. I Can Feel It.

I like instrumental music.  It just gets under my skin and into my soul and I can feel it.

I feel like I've taken an emotional journey after a song like that.

I found a new artist, William Joseph.  Have you heard of him?

Check these out:




It's a good find for the weekend. You can find his music here and I found that today you can even download one of his songs for free through that link as well.

I like the sound of that.

Also, that lady in the first video, Caroline Campbell, she can totally rock a violin, can't she?

Maybe Casidee will rock her violin like that one day.  And Tayler can rock her cello.  And I can have my own instrumental concerts in my house.

Be still my soul.

Weekend plans?
Maybe I'll get around to finishing the painting of the bunkbed?  It's only been two months since I started it.
Studying for a test in espanol, which is spelled wrong because my keyboard doesn't speak that language.

Side note, studying flashcards with The Man is kind of fun.
Which only proves that anything with The Man can be fun.

Cali has her birthday party tonight.
And... the rest is up to our whimsy I suppose.  But hopefully it involves a lot of sleep.

Also, next week holds a lot of good things. Like my birthday. 

The big 3-5 guys.  What am I doing?  Math class, work, Spanish class.  Exciting, right?

And I've caught wind of a new 5/10k that involves big inflatable jump houses.  Wha??  I have a discount code for you.  Of all the races to bring your kids to, this would be it.  Who wants to joins us?

We'll talk about it next week.

Random. And Twerking.

I'm interested in having guest posts written on other people's experiences in life.

In other words, I want your stories.  And life lessons that came from them.

I'm so fascinated by other people's stories.

And I think it's nice that we can relate to each other's stories.

If you have one you'd like to share, please email me at swithers6 at gmail dot com.  You don't have to be blogger.  And I'm willing to post them anonymously.

As it is, yesterday was kind of a draining day.

I feel constantly exhausted right now and I thought, this semester is only two weeks in, if I'm already this exhausted from it how am I ever going to survive it?

But then I remembered that last semester started out the same way, with utter exhaustion, but by the end of the semester I was just fine.  I think it's more of a matter of I just need to get used to it again, rather than it's already kicking my butt.

On top of that I went to a funeral yesterday.  My cousin lost her 4 month old baby to SIDS.  The hard part about that is you listen to the words that are said about being a parent and you begin to relate, and then it hits you how hard it must be to lose a child.  For someone like me who's never experienced it, that is.  And it began to feel emotionally heavy.

My heart goes out to my cousin right now.

And then I donated blood.  Which kind of sealed the deal on my exhaustion and I went down for a nap at 7:00 and never really recovered.

Except I've been getting a lot of extremely intense and painful cramps in my foot and that situation kept getting me up last night.  I have to get up and try to walk them off, which sometimes takes a  long time.  And the pain... holy Moses.  I think I have a high pain tolerance but those cramps send me through the roof.

Maybe I need to look into a potassium supplement.

I blame them on Casidee because they started when I was pregnant with her and I've been getting them ever since.  Though lately they've just been so frequently.

Hallelujah weekend.

My weekends plan include, but are not limited to:
Painting a bunkbed.  Still.
Date night.  Maybe we'll shake it up a bit and go swimming in the crater.  Maybe we won't and we'll just hit dinner and a movie.  Either way I'm perfectly content just being with The Man.
Math homework.
Naps.

And maybe if the man's lucky I'll even get around to taking the Christmas lights down.

But I'm not holding my breath on that one.

And also this weekend I'm going to write a blog post on the story of Samson from the Old Testament.

It's been requested of me that I start going over scripture stories on my blog the way I do in church and at Girl's Camp, so I'm going to start doing that.

If that interests you.

Not that I'm a scriptorian or anything, I just like to try and make them come alive so you can really get the feeling of them into your head.  And your heart.

So Samson will be coming at you "live" on Sunday.

Oh, and one more random thing. Filmed right here in Salt Lake no less.  Watch to the end.  I laughed so hard.  But maybe that's just my inner geek.  Also, can you tell they're not all men in those suits?  I wonder if any of them are.

Come Unto Christ. My Thoughts On The Youth Theme for 2014.

"I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable [see Matthew 20:1–15], but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or distance from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.

"Whether you are not yet of our faith or were once with us and have not remained, there is nothing in either case you have done that cannot be undone. There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that in the unfolding of time and eternity cannot yet be realized. Even if you feel you are the lost and last laborer of the eleventh hour, the Lord of the vineyard still stands beckoning. “Come boldly [to] the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16), and fall at the feet of the Holy One of Israel. Come and feast “without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1) at the table of the Lord. . . .

"My beloved brothers and sisters, to those of you who have been blessed by the gospel for many years because you were fortunate enough to find it early, and to those of you who have come to the gospel by stages and phases later, and finally to those of you—member or not yet member—who may still be hanging back, to each of you, one and all, I testify of the renewing power of God’s love and the miracle of His grace. His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there.

"So if you have made covenants, keep them. If you haven’t made them, make them. If you have made them and broken them, repent and repair them. It is never too late so long as the Master of the vineyard says there is time. Please listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling you right now, this very moment, that you should accept the atoning gift of the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the fellowship of His labor. Don’t delay. It’s getting late."

This year's theme for the youth of our church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) is Moroni 10:32.  "Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness."

There is so much that I hope my girls will take from this theme.  First, the words of Elder Holland above.  I feel one of the biggest pit falls of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ is that we get it into our heads that we have expectations to live up to (which, of course we do).  And when we continually struggle to live up to those expectations, and when we continually seem to fail, we feel discouraged and feel we are simply not good enough.

That is simply not true.

To put it in another light let me bring to you, again, the words of Brad Wilcox.



And if you have a half hour to watch that video, it is completely worth it.  It changed my understanding of the gospel.  Of the Atonement.

Of my relationship with my savior, Jesus Christ.

I stuggled like the girl that Brother Wilcox speaks about in the beginning, wondering if I was meeting the level that I needed to be able to call on my savior for the rest.

But the thing is, there is no level that I have to meet.  My savior paid for it all.

All of it.

"But don’t you realize how hard it is to practice? I’m just not very good at the piano. I hit a lot of wrong notes. It takes me forever to get it right.” Now wait. Isn’t that all part of the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in the context of learning heaven?

"Too many are giving up on the Church because they are tired of constantly feeling like they are falling short. They have tried in the past, but they continually feel like they are just not good enough. They don’t understand grace.

"There should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13).

"Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now."

I will never be able to make up for what my savior did for me in that garden.  And I will never be perfect in this life.  Far from it.

But what I can do is allow change in myself.  To be a better person with every lesson life gives me, whether it's thrown at me the way life has a tenancy to do, or whether I create it myself with poor or weak actions.  I can allow change for the better be the outcome, and I can keep going.

Especially in those times when I don't feel like I should.

Especially in those times.

Because the only time I've failed, is when I quit.

I can't do that.

You are not alone.

You are not doing this alone.

He loves you more than you realize.

"Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it... Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God, and believe in good things to come."

A Keeping It Real Post. Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence.

I found myself emailing with a friend that I haven't seen in a really long time.  And I found myself answering her inquiry of, "So how are you?  I see little updates on Facebook and Instagram, but how are things?"

Usually when someone asks, "How are you?" they don't really want to know, the question has become more of a standard greeting than an actual question with hopes of an honest answer, and as the standard greeting goes we all just answer with various replies of, "I'm doing well, how are you?"  And in turn we've just made it a greeting, we're not really asking.

Usually when someone asks me how I am I simply answer, "Wonderful."

But in this email I stopped and thought for a minute.  This was different since the question came at the end of the email, it had a bit more inquiry to it.

Obviously my friend really wanted to know how I am.

So I stopped typing and sat and thought.

And I tried to feel it out.

How am I?

And I wrote: "Life for me is good.  So good.  West is amazing.  It blows my mind every day the differences in my marriage with him and my marriage with (my ex).  It was a long road to finding West but I am so, so happy I did.  I'm working full time as a legal secretary.  I have six kids, half of which are teenagers *eek*, I've gone back to school (graduating SLCC in May and headed up to the U woohoo), and now West has "pushed" me into starting an online boutique.  Because, you know, I didn't have enough on my plate. Oh, and not to mention that I'm currently in the YW's presidency.  Having said all of that I kind of feel lost in it all.  I feel like I'm just being busy but don't really know what direction I want my life to go in, and I've been struggling with that for the past little bit.  I hope that as I progress with my schooling and get up to the U and into my bachelor's classes that something will open up for me career wise and I can feel like I've found my niche in life.  Unless my niche is crazy busy person who has a lot of irons in the fire, then by all means, I'm so there."

I feel like I drop a lot of balls lately and I'm not even sure why I'm doing any of it.  I don't have a solid direction in my life, though I do have thoughts of a couple that I would like to chase but I think what's holding me back and making me feel so confused are the thoughts that I'm not good enough to actually make that happen.  I'm afraid that for the rest of my life I will be that crazy person who pushes and pushes for dreams to happen when everyone around them is watching and asking, "When will she get it?  She's not even that good and really needs to think of something more realistic."

Maybe I'm wanting too much out of life and what I really need to be doing is just focusing on being grateful for what I do have.  Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for what I do have.  I just yearn for progression in my personal life.  I don't like feeling like I've become stagnant.

Why am I so afraid of going after things or making things happen?

And then I found this:



"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Heb 10:35-36)  

"Once there has been genuine illumination, beware of the temptation to retreat from a good thing.  When it was right when you prayed about it, and trusted it, and lived for it, it's right now.  Don't give up when the pressure mounts."

{pic source}

"Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness.  He wants everyone to be miserable like unto himself.  Face your doubts, master your fears, cast not away therefore your confidence.  Stay the course, and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

"Remember how urgently you have needed help in earlier times, and that you got it.  The Red Sea will open to the honest seeker of revelation.  The adversary does have power to hedge up the way, to marshal Pharaoh's forces, dog our escape right to the water's edge, but he can't produce the real thing.  He can not conquer if we will it otherwise."

"It is in the process of revelation, and making important decisions, fear almost always plays a destructive, sometimes paralyzing, role.  To Oliver Cowdry, who missed the opportunity of a lifetime because he didn't seize it in the lifetime of the opportunity, the Lord said, 'you did not continue as you commenced.'"

"Some days we'll be miraculously lead out of Egypt, seemingly free, seemingly on our way, only to come to yet another confrontation, like all that water lying before us.  At those times we must resist the temptation to panic, and to give up.  At those times fear will be the strongest of the adversary's weapons against us.  And Moses said to the people, 'fear ye not.  Stand still and see the revelation of the Lord.  The Lord shall fight for you.  In confirmation the great Jehovah said, 'Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.'"

"With the spirit of revelation dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet."

"Go forward and not backward."

"Along with the illuminating revelation that points us toward a righteous purpose or duty, God will also provide the means and power to achieve that purpose. Trust in that eternal truth. Please.  If God has told you something is right, if something is indeed true for you, He will provide the way for you to accomplish it."

"Therefore He said, let not your hearts faint.  Mine angels shall go before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall posses the goodly land.  What goodly land?  Your goodly land.  Your promised land, your New Jerusalem, your own little acre flowing with milk and honey, your future, your dreams, your destiny.  I believe that in our own individual ways God takes us to the grove, or the mountain, or the temple, sometimes the privacy of our own bedroom or closet, and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us.  We may not see it as fully as Moses, or Nephi, or the brother of Jared did, but we see as much as we need to see in order to know the Lord's will for us, and to know that He loves us beyond mortal comprehension." 

Food for thought for me this weekend.

I hope it's a good one for you.  It's a kidless one for us.  Which boldly translates to date weekend.  And loosely translates to a lot of math homework for me.

And a nap.

Cali's Growing Up. NOVA Rockets. SBO Election Posters. A Mess. MC Hammer's Pants.

Yesterday I got home from work and the house was full and busy.

I set myself up on the counter making dinner on the electric griddle (grilled tuna sandwiches with cheese and tomato).

Cali pulls up to the counter and tells me that, at school, she's been assigned to be the buddy of a little boy in our neighborhood.  The little brother of Tayler's best friend to be more exact, and Cali thinks that's pretty cool.  I look up in confusion.  I know the buddy system they have at school.  Big kids are assigned a younger kid to do crafts and projects with.  My confusion is when did my baby girl become big enough to be the buddy instead of the little kid?

She's still so little in my mind and in that moment I realize that I need to be thinking of her as becoming an older kid. It dawned on me that our family is facing a new transition of not just having toddlers, or not just having any preschoolers, but we're on the verge of not having any little kids anymore either.

The Man hauls in with sacks from Hobby Lobby and Tayler and Sean in tow and they start unloading their craft supplies onto the counter.

I pull various items of plates and food items out form under them so I can keep working.

They're making rockets for NOVA.

West is cutting and sanding in the garage, Tayler and Sean are designing and hot gluing on the counter, while I try to finish dinner up.

Cali set herself up with the extra wood pieces and made a rocket too.

As they're using the hot glue guns to put their rockets together we laugh about the time when Casidee was three years old and I made an entire mummy costume with nothing but an old sheet and a hot glue gun.  I had her put on a sweatshirt so I could test how loose/tight the ripped sheet needed to be so she could still move.  I wrapped the sheet around her arm and picked up the glue gun to glue it in place on the sweatshirt before taking it off of her when she panics and starts crying, "don't shoot me!"  I realized that all she knew was that I was holding a glue gun to her arm, and mom was about to pull the trigger on that gun.

It ended up well, I didn't even burn her, and she had a new fascination for crafts.

Brynn set herself up with posterboards and the makings for SBO election posters.

She's running for 6th grade President.

She passed the first round with her application and essay to be allowed to run.  Now it's on to hanging just two posters up in the cafeteria for her peers to see.

I finished grilling sandwiches and stationed myself at the laptop on the counter to print out the pictures she'd need.  Two of herself, and two of her school's logo with the mascot.

She came up with two ideas for what we hope are catchy posters that will help her name stick in people's minds.

Her mascot ends up declaring "Brynn for the Win!" on the second poster.

There's a mess in our TV room as it's under construction again.  This time we're putting in ceiling lights and surround sound in.

It turned out great, The Man does some pretty incredible work.

And a crowded feeling to the office as all the TV room furniture has been pushed into it, along with The Man's desk which is now pushed in a corner.

Last night I snuggled up on the couch with Jayme and Casidee and introduced them to the wonders that are MC Hammer (and his pants) and Milli Vanilli.  We watched a few videos together on my phone, squished in the corner of the couch together, and it occurred to me that as busy as we are, nights like this one show me we're doing just fine in taking care of our family and giving our kids the help and attention they need.  There's always room for improvement, but I think we're doing okay.


After a fumbled attempt at some of the verses and rhymes between The Man and me, the girls were interested in the actual thing.

And the pants, oh the pants.  Cas kept asking, "but why?"

I've been asking that question for over 20 years.(But just barely over 20).

When Love Notes Get Dangerously Close To Failing.

It was a nice surprise to discover on my phone until the end when they came so close to calling me a butt dildo.

When random button hitting fails. :)

And this video.

I wish I could teach/speak as well as other people do.

So good.

Remember.

You are enough.

Four Things That Make Me Happy.

Things that make me happy.

Breakfast from Chick-fil-a.  I love that chicken, and they put it on a bagel with egg and cheese.  Shut the front door.

When Sean says, "You know that minion cake on the counter?" (That I made for someone else).
"Yeah..."
"That actually looks pretty cool so could I have that for my birthday cake instead of an ice cream cake?"
Because for that boy to give up ice cream cake in order to have a minion cake instead, is a compliment of the biggest kind.

This video made me happy but in a serene way.  Like, try not to cry at work but man alive did it give me new perspective.



And helping people makes me happy.

I got this email from my friend and I believe in this so much that I'm going to share it with you.

" I am working with Janet to help the African Young Women  go to school this year. I know that they have worked really hard to make these cards and are very proud of their accomplishments. It is very important to get these girls educated and to keep them in school as prostitution is a likely outcome for many young girls there.  Their stake president says that we are literally saving lives with this effort.

If you can spare the money I hope that you will pitch in and help us to make this thing work."

The following was taken from the website made to support this project (here):

These cards were handmade by us (the girls pictured above) in Sierra Leone, a country on the western edge of the Africa West Area in the capitol city of Freetown. Freetown is on mountainous peninsula projecting out into the Atlantic Ocean. We, the young women making the cards, live in single parent families. The unemployment rate here is more than 80% without any means of income. We are obligated to pay for our own schooling, which is about $165 per year and includes a uniform. Many of us have missed a year or two of school, and really hope to be able to complete High School. 

We decided as a group to make gift cards out of free scraps of material that we could find from local seamstresses. The paper was supplied as a donation. Each of us has made one hundred cards, which we hope will give us the amount needed to start school in the fall. The money is deposited directly into the school account of our choice.

We feel that you will be truly blessed for your help in our education. Thank you so much.

Love, the Freetown girls

Christiana Kai Tarawallie, Kadiatu Abdulali, Fatmata Balley, Marian H. Conteh, Joyce N. James, Marian Kalilu

So here's my first initial thought on the matter:  these girls aren't asking for a free hand out, though if you ask me, they certainly could.  The thing that strikes me with these girls is that they have a situation they want to get through and they thought of a plan on how to get through it.  They want to finish high school, something I took for granted.  They need tuition.  So they've sat down, put in the effort and work on a plan on how they can earn the money to go to high school.  They're out to change and better their life.  And I have so much respect and awe for that.

A box of cards costs $16.50 for a box of ten, each card was hand made and is unique.  They come packaged in cellophane and raffia with a picture of the girls and a note included.  These cards could be kept and used by you or you could use them as gifts.

If each girl is able to sell 10 boxes of cards they've earned their tuition for a year of high school.

I can support that.

If you feel you can too, please go to the website HERE to read more about the cards and how to purchase them.

Yeah, that  makes me pretty happy.

Summer Rain.

Sometimes when you're out working on your new front garden it starts to rain.

Sometimes you don't go inside, even when that rain becomes torrential and starts flooding the street.

Sometimes this is the best part of summer.

Of course, I didn't leave the cover of the porch while taking pictures, but the summer rain wasn't going to let me get away with that.

It decided to blow harder and come in and get me:



And the sheets of rain that were blowing down with big heavy drops only lasted for a half hour of our evening when suddenly the sky lit up and we were treated with a show of rainbows.

It might have made working on the garden a muddy mess after that, but it left us so joyful that even the mud was fun to work around.

And you really can't complain about that.

Summer So Far

So far summer has looked a little bit like this for us:

The Drive-in, Monsters University and Man of Steel.

Which also meant over priced movie nachos which are the best thing ever.

And cheap dollar store glow sticks which are not the best thing ever because we always have an issue with them breaking on us when we crack them to start glowing.

Though the splatter that happened when Cali cracked hers was pretty impressive.

The waterpark.  Or Cowabunga Bay with Granny Suzann to be exact.

We've been avoiding that place forever because we heard that the water was just so cold.  Come to find out that we've been missing out on a whole lot of fun.  I kind of love that place now.

Jayme

A great big, huge thank you to Granny Suzann for that perfect day at Cowabunga Bay!

And Brynn's friend from Vernal came and hung out with us for five days.  But eventually we had to give her back to her mom agian.

Also, Cali decided she was going to do a back flip into the pool.

And then she actually did it.



Brynn decided she wanted to try a flip too.



I love summer.

Youth Conference: Book of Mormon Live. And a couple of Young Women Activities.

We've been doing some pretty fun things with our youth at church, and I count myself pretty lucky that I get to tag along as a leader.

I just want to take a post and catch up on a couple of the fun things we've done with them, and touch on Youth Conference which was completely intense and amazing.  I've never done anything like it.

First of all, in preparation for Youth Conference, which was called Book of Mormon Live, the youth had to draw Book of Mormon stories out of hat and recreate them on a cake.  Then other leaders had to go around and see if they could guess which story it was.  I was a leader who got to supervise, but really, my group had a pretty good grasp on what they wanted to do.  Also, they had to answer trivia questions about the Book of Mormon to earn their candy to decorate with.

Caleb, Noah and Casidee

See if you can guess what Book of Mormon story these cakes are (if you're familiar with the book that is :)

Above: Christ visiting the Nephites at the temple

Above: Moroni burying the plates in the hill Cumorrah.

Above: King Benjamin teaching his people from the tower

Above: the Liahona

this was my group's cake

Above: The Title of Liberty

Our Young Women also got a chance to visit with a native Navajo Indian who taught us about the Navajo culture.

He and his wife helped the girls make Navajo Tacos.  I'll admit, I thought Navajo Tacos was an Anglo American thing, but come to find out they're authentic Navajo.  Who knew?

Not me.

And the Youth Conference to top all Youth Conferences, in my humble opinion.

Book of Mormon Live.

If you ever get the chance to go to Book of Mormon Live, do it.

We read the entire Book of Mormon (almost 600 pages) in three, long days.

But not only that, we brought it to life, we participated in it, we watched it, it became real.

And we might have had wheel barrow races.

With real wheel barrows.

That would be me chilling in that last wheel barrow :).

Can you guess which stories these are:

Above: The burning of Abinadi.  Imagine our surprise when  real fire was lit up.

Above: Alma at the Waters of Mormon.

Above: Ammon cutting off the arms of the robbers.

Which was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen.

Above: Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty.

Above: The 2,000 Stripling Warriors (surrounded by angels of course).

And there was so much more.  I can't even tell you the impact of being a part of the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's had on all of us.  The burying of our swords and the refusing to pick them up again while the Lamanites came in...

And sitting in the darkness listening to the storm rage.  And then hearing the voice of Christ.  And then walking with everyone to the "temple".  And then seeing Christ come of the woods...

Samuel on the wall.

Every story played out in front of us.

I dare say I will never be the same for it, it touched me with so much goodness.

If you don't know what the Book of Mormon is, or if you've heard of it but never read it, or if you're curious to the stories I've just talked about it, whether in skepticism or genuine curiosity, feel free to look into it.  You can even get a free, no obligations copy HERE.

I, for one, love this book with all of my heart and soul, and feel it to be the true word of God.

How grateful I am to have spent three days with it.

And while I'm on the subject: