BIG (literally) Project

I was asked by the stake relief society to design some subway art to cover four 8 by 20 foot sound boards in the stake center. They had the idea of what they wanted so I wasn’t starting from scratch completely. But…it still took a lot of time! After I had my design completed, I had to turn that digital picture into something real and tangible! That turned out to be easy, thanks to my prince charming, but time consuming. Kelly printed the large letters (and by large I mean letters about three feet) at work. And then I took every word brought it up to scale and printed the letters onto paper. Most of the time it took one page for each letter. After I printed them up, the relief society presidency cut them all out! I cut out the large letters. On Friday, we gathered all of our supplies and as many hands as we could and we put the boards together. We started at about 10 in the morning and by about 1 in the afternoon we had 1 board completely done. I was panicking just a little at this point. But I was counting on a learning curve, hoping that the rest wouldn’t take as long. By six o’clock we were finished with all of them except for a few missing letters. At this point I ran home, printed up what I needed and returned to put on those final touches. I was home with my feet up, eating some dinner by eight.

Here is the finished project and one of the boards close up.

Family Temple Day

I can’t believe we didn’t get any pictures of today…truly a bummer. But I have to record it, because it was the best day! The Murdock’s invited us to go to the temple with them as Michael prepares for his mission. We were so happy to go and support them, and Michael asked Kelly to be his escort. When we talked to Kelsey about our new plans, she told us that she had Saturday off! And she wanted to go with us! So we made it our family temple day as well. The girls went to the baptistry while we did our session. Then we went out to dinner before making the drive home. We weren’t all in the same place at the temple, but my heart rejoiced to know that we were ALL in the temple. No one missing. I can’t wait till we can all be in the temple, in then same room, together.

I know that this is only possible because of my Savior, Jesus Christ. He truly heals.

Caution:Construction Zone

Hard had area. I should have taken a picture of the sign I put up, warning us of the hard hat area in our family room!

But…construction is complete. The built in is done. Now comes paint and cabinets and we will have this room back in working order.

The Paradox of Man

We have been studying about repentance and the atonement, as found specifically in the Book of Mormon for our family study. We have been reading chronologically and then studying also along with a book entitled “He Did Deliver Me From Bondage”. It is a deep soul, searching kind of study. It has been difficult at times, to express on paper the feelings and thoughts that I have. Yet I have found that the effort to do that, have exposed the strengths and weaknesses in my testimony. And in particular my testimony of the Savior and His Atonement, how it applies to me. Alone.

I have really struggled with the concept of nothingness. My carnal self fights against that reality, and that struggle has taught me so much about myself. Trying to be important, exemplary or just plain “cool” in someone else’s eyes leaves very little room for the Savior to do His work with you. When I try to find my worth through the world’s eyes, I feel a rush., but that fades and I am left feeling empty. In contrast, when I turn to the Savior, and allow myself to be “nothing” in compared to what He offers, I am filled with His love, love that fills to overflowing, which in turn leaves me with more love to share with others.

Elder Uchtdorf called it the paradox of man. That in compared to all of God’s creations, we are nothing. Yet, all of God’s creations were for our benefit, to help us fulfill His purpose, which is to help us return home to Him. Making us everything. Alone, I can not bring myself back to dwell with God. Try as I might, even if I spend my days in service 24/7, I can’t do it. Only the Savior can. I must humble myself, as a child, and realize that the only way I can walk back to the presence of God is if I hold His hands and He leads me. He offered Himself as a ransom for all, yet when I call on Him, He is there for me, and knows exactly what I need.

Elder Holland described it so beautifully with these words: “To you is extended the peace and renewal of repentance available through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. In such serious matters the path of repentance is not easily begun or painlessly traveled. But the Savior of the world will walk that essential journey with you. He will  strengthen  you when you waver. He will be your light when it seems most dark. He will take your
hand and be your hope when hope seems all you have left. His compassion and mercy, with all their cleansing and healing power, are freely given to all who truly wish complete forgiveness and will take the steps that lead to it” (Ensign Nov. 1998, 78).

So my spirit self is over ruling my carnal self, and I can say, with confidence:

I am nothing…without the Savior.

Make Over Continues

The work in the family room continues in snippets of time Kelly finds during the week and then you can see real progress on Saturday. He has the framework almost complete today before we have to quit so that we can go to another UofA game.

I promised pictures, and I really want to get a picture of the band forming the outline of the United States. It is so cool and I was so excited, but my batteries were dead. That hardly ever happens to me…but it did. So no pictures till our next game in two weeks. This week was especially fun because they were honoring servicemen during breaks in the game. It is so touching to hear their stories and see how happy their families are to have them back. And so much fun to be in such a large group of people cheering for patriotism.

And in other news…I made these wreaths today for my front door…doors.

Bradeigh's Visit

Bradeigh came to visit for the day while her mommy was out of town. We had a lot of fun together. I was a little worried about how to entertain her without her usual toys, or other people around, but we did great. In fact, she entertained me!
One of my favorite things I learned about Bradeigh is that she can snap her fingers. Here is a picture of her snapping her fingers. This really should be a video to get the full effect. But the picture gives you the idea—Bradeigh moves her hand around but the clicking sound come from her mouth. Classic.

Service for Servicemen

We had a great activity with the young men this week—and it was planned by the young men. We decorated cakes and then delivered them to the active duty servicemen in our ward. We split up into groups to decorate four cakes and make the deliveries. My group was Jenn and Lottie and we delivered our cake to the Larsens. They really appreciated the gesture, even choking back a little emotion. The girls were touched by their gratitude and the spirit of giving.

A great night!

Dorothea and Others Like Her

I watched “Middlemarch” while I was working on some projects, and was touched when I heard these closing lines

She had no dreams of being praised above other women, feeling there was always something better which she might have done if only she had only been better and known better.

Her full nature spent itself in deeds which left no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being, on those around her, was in calculable. For the growing good in the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts and on all those “Dorothea’s’ who live faithfully their hidden lives and rest in unvisited tombs.

I am sure those words caught my attention because of thoughts that have been rattling around in my head because of some studying I have been doing. This talk by Elder Uchtdorf has something to do with it all as well. He said it like this:

The Lord doesn’t care at all if we spend our days working in marble halls or stable stalls. He knows where we are, no matter how humble our circumstances. He will use—in His own way and for His holy purposes—those who incline their hearts to Him.

God knows that some of the greatest souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of history. They are the blessed, humble souls who emulate the Savior’s example and spend the days of their lives doing good.

I am finding it hard to figure out how to balance doing good things and keeping my reasons for doing good things in the right perspective. My mortal self keeps getting jumbled up in the mix. Unlike Dorothea, I can’t seem to keep my motives so pure and relinquish some of that desire for praise. And well, that just doesn’t turn out very well.
I am sure there is more to come on this subject as all the voices in my head get sorted out!

9/11 Remembered

This morning as I looked at the date, I remembered. That day was horrific, and the days that followed were filled with such sadness; it was a scary time in our nation’s history.
But, I also remember it being a time of courage and American pride, and gratitude to God for this great nation. I remember being so touched by countless images of brave men and women rescuing, fighting for freedom, raising the flag and praying.
I think about the state our nation is in today and it is scary. Again. I can’t help but think of those fighting for our freedom at home and abroad in contrast to those who seem to think they know more than God—those who want to destroy this country. It is time to remember those same feelings and see those same images that were so prevelant eleven years ago.
Remembering the good things from that fateful day, will help us find our way today.
What can I do?
Stand as a witness for God, truth and righteousness, in things and in all paces.
Vote, show American pride, serve and pray.
Fix my flag pole

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

Indexing Celebration

Bishop Somerville challenged the  youth to index 500 records over their summer vacation, May 31st thru September 3rd. The reward would be a swimming party to celebrate all of their hours of service and the end of summer. I was worried about the weather, but it cleared up in time for our party. The Websters were great hosts and their back yard was perfect for all of us—besides a pool, they have a basketball area, a grassy area and a trampoline. So there was something to entertain everyone in some sort of activity. The bishopric grilled hamburgers and hot dogs in between the hours spent in the water, which meant I didn’t have worry about dinner either. Yay! I had a fun assignment for the day. I made candy leis for those that made it all the way to 500.

Summer’s End

The temps tell me that summer is still in full swing, but the date tells me that summer is at its end. It makes me dizzy! I put up my fall décor in hopes the cooler weather will come sooner than later. August was a fun month. Our family reunion in Moab with all of our “firsts”—four wheeling, rappelling down slot canyons—and the raft trips. Our weekend in St George for Mickenna’s wedding, and a day with Grace.

This collage comes from Simple As That. Grab one and join the fun!

September “New”s

We started the new month by starting on a new project. The back yard still needs grass, but we need it to cool down, so we came inside. We are finally getting our family room entertainment center in. The cabinets have been ordered, so it was time to get the wall started so that all of that can be completed for the cabinets. We started out by tearing up part of the floor. No turning back now!

After a few hours of work, we called it quits and headed downtown to the UofA campus for some football. We bought tickets to four home games this season and this was our first game. The cats were predicted to trounce this team from Toledo, but we went into overtime! It was a nail biter and we didn’t get home till midnight, but it was great fun.

This is the only picture I got…better ones next time we go.