Sunday, March 29, 2009

I love good quotes...

I love a good quote. A quote that is easy to remember but though provoking. I have a notebook that I write in at meetings, recording quotes from the speakers.

My sister, my mother, and I attended the General Young Women's broadcast from Salt Lake last night. We thought it was the General Relief Society Broadcast. When we walked into the Chapel and saw mothers and daughters we quickly realized that is was NOT a Relief Society broadcast. After the meeting we concluded that we are ALL Young Women and it is always good to listen to the prophet!

A few things for my quote book....
President Monson shared a quote from Mother Teresa that I really thought was a good one and a good reminder to me.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa

President Monson talked about having courage in times like ours, where truth is distorted and having good morals is no longer valued. President Monson shared a quote from Ted Koppel's 1987 Duke University Commencement address:

"We have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. "Shoot up if you must; but use a clean needle." "Enjoy sex whenever with whomever you wish; but wear a condom."

No. The answer is no. Not no because it isn't cool or smart or because you might end up in jail or dying in an AIDS ward -- but no, because it's wrong. Because we have spent 5,000 years as a race of rational human being trying to drag ourselves out of the primeval slime by searching for truth and moral absolutes. In the place of Truth we have discovered facts; for moral absolutes we have substituted moral ambiguity. We now communicate with everyone and say absolutely nothing. We have reconstructed the Tower of Babel and it is a television antenna. A thousand voices producing a daily parody of democracy; in which everyone's opinion is afforded equal weight, regardless of substance or merit. Indeed, it can even be argued that opinions of real weight tend to sink with barely a trace of television's ocean banalities.

Our society finds Truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its purest form Truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder; it is a hallowing reproach.

What Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai were not the Ten Suggestions, they are Commandments. Are, not were. "

Friday, March 27, 2009

Do you ever just listen?

There are no photos for this entry. I wish I had a recording though. The kids and I were headed out the other night and as I drove I just listened to all six kids talking. I wanted to write down or record what was being said but I couldn't, I was driving. I do remember having to bite my lip and try to keep a straight face as I overheard the banter. It was so funny to listen to Emily put her two bits into conversations flying around her. I wish I could remember some of the statements made, it truly was comical. I have decided to sit back and listen more .....

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

What Emily Loves About Spring Break...

Emily loves having all the kids home to play with! She loves to go outside with them and play on the trampoline or in the sandbox.She wanted to go outside yesterday and I told her to find her coat.


She turned around to do that and she found Katie's jacket on the floor, picked it up and hugged it with a big smile on her face.So Katie put it on her and she was set to go!


Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Spring Break Adventures Begin...





Jonny has been begging to go back to the Boise Library since we went a few months ago. S0 we went down today and little did I know I would  find such a busy place! I never knew a Library had a rush hour! We had to circle around the parking lot three or four times before finding the last parking spot on the backside of the Library.  Inside there were kids everywhere, even families from our school out in Meridian. We made our selections and got out of there to find the parking lot was now half empty! Timing is everything, even at the public library.

Ah, Spring Break!!!

One thing I love about Spring Break, I don't have to set the alarm!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A little OCD don''t ya think?

Recently, Jonny had the crud that was going around our school.  He tells me he needed more tissue, he was going through it so fast!   When I opened the pantry door this is what I saw!  I just had to take a shot of this.  That is at least 1/2 of a box of tissues!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Carson's Last Blue & Gold



Carson finally finished his last couple of requirements for his Arrow of Light and his Webelos badge back in February. So we had to go to the Blue & Gold banquet for him to be properly sent onto 11 yr. old Scouts which he has been attending as well as Cub Scouts since January. I made cakes for Carson and Steve to decorate for the Feller Cake Bake but Carson decided he didn't want to decorate one after all, and he didn't have to. The leaders included him in the cake awards and Carson was so surprised. The surprise on Carson's face was better than any other award he could have received. Since he didn't bring a cake he knew he wasn't going to get an award and he was fine with that! His award, "The Invisible Cake".

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Clara Barton....

My daughter's fifth grade class presented a Living Portrait Museum last week. This project required the students to learn about their historical figure and go through the process of writing a research paper. The final culmination of their research was to memorize a speech highlighting their person and the influences in their lives. The student was to dress up like their character and deliver their speech while holding a picture frame. They were to present their speech in first person, as if they were actually that character. Kristina did very well and was so proud to have a brand new dress and wig to make her look as much like Clara Barton as possible.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A few of my favorites.....

My new favorite restaurant....
Have you been here yet? Oh my, you must go and go hungry! It is so good I can hardly wait to go again! They have a beautiful buffet style salad bar, pasta bar, beans & rice, fresh fruit too. They come to your table with these long skewers of different meats, veggies, and some grilled pineapple too. It is all you can eat of the skewers brought around to your table as well as the salad bar/buffet. They give you a little round widget that is painted red, yellow, and green. They will stop by or not stop by with more meats depending upon which color is upright on your widget. Oh, it is good....(The grilled pineapple could be an entire meal and I would be just fine with that!)

One of my most favorite blogs....

Another one of my favorites is a blog that just makes me laugh! This blog features a group of gals that are so very funny and they write about such wide variety of topics! They all have a gift of writing! I wish I could be as effective in my writing and just half as funny! They have freebies and recipes on their site too. You really must give them a visit. I look forward to their light-hearted, refreshing outlook on life and the everyday struggles we all face as mothers, daughters, wives, and sisters in the gospel. It is really is a refreshment to the soul!

One of my most favorite stores....

Have you been to their new store on Milwaukee yet? It is HUGE! Oh it is crafters heaven! Their grand opening will the on March 19-21. They are having all kinds of give-aways. They will be giving away their re-usable tote bags to the first 100 customers each day, $10 TGIFriday's gift cards when you spend more than $30. And Christopher Lowell will be there on Thursday at 11am. I was given 50% coupons to use during the grand opening. They also told me that I can use competitors coupons, and multiple coupons too. If you are buying 3 items and you have 3 coupons you can use a coupon on each item. One coupon per item purchased. Is that clear as mud?

My most favorite chocolate treat EVER.....

"Exquisitely creamy chocolate and artistic mastery combine to create our Lindor Truffle with an irresistibly smooth center guaranteed to melt the heart of every chocolate connoisseur."

If you haven't had these you really should try one. If you are counting points, calories, or carbs you had better only buy a single truffle which you can find at Walmart checkout counters or even my other favorite at Joanns. You might be better off not trying them, you might get addicted! There just cannot be better chocolate found anywhere...

A girl knows what she wants and likes....


The other day, while in my room I turned on the TV to PBS for background noise and a little distraction for Emily so she isn't constantly emptying every drawer in the room while I am working. When the TV came on Elmo was talking and Emily did an immediate about face and stood like a statue, glued to Elmo! It was too cute! I guess you had to be there....Recently we went to the only place our family goes for a movie night, Overland Park Cinema, to see Inkheart. It was a fun movie. Even my teen-aged son enjoyed it and admitted it openly after the show. During the show Emily decided, after helping to eat everyone's popcorn, that she needed to get more. She took Steve's hand and pulled him towards the door. He followed along with her tugs and she led him right to the concession stand. With her very limited speaking skills he understood that popcorn was what she was after! He indulged her and got another bag of popcorn and came back to the movie. She sat right back in his lap and was a happy camper!

The changing of the seasons........I mean the changing of the doormat!

I am reminded that my doormat needs to be changed as the seasons change.Fall....

Winter....

Summer...

Spring...

I want it to be known that I DID put out my new season's doormat on Saturday, BEFORE the snow came! I knew when I walked through my front door last week and saw the "Let It Snow" doormat that my friend Penny would not be happy with me if it did snow! Really, Sunday's snow was NOT my fault!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Breakfast in bed...

My sweet husband and kids brought me breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning recently. I was sleeping in that morning and was awakened by the yummy smell of some of my favorite breakfast foods; hashbrowns, french toast sticks, and a bacon-egg-cheese biscuit. This post is making me hungry!