Modern Molly Mormon

We've Moved!

2011-11-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Modern Molly Mormon has a new look and a new address! Please come and join us at our new home at modernmollymormon.com

That's right, no more blogspot in the address. All the same wonderfulness--and even more--plus the ability to read and enjoy the hundreds of amazing posts in our archives.

We're getting ready to grow and we want you to come and grow with us.

We'll miss you if you don't come visit. Please come by and check out the new site, let us know what you think and let us know what you want to see.

And, if you have something to say--we'd love to have you write a post or two. Just click here to find out how.

Give Me Something Good to Eat!

2011-10-31T08:00:00.004-06:00

Trick or Treat!

You remember that childhood rhyme, don't you? Well, I definitely won't ask you to smell my feet, but I will share something good to eat. After all, it is Halloween. We've stocked up on the trick-or-treat candy, carved the pumpkin and sorted out costumes.

Now that the essentials are out of the way, it's time for the really important stuff: Halloween treats for those of us who don't go trick-or-treating.

At our house this year, it's going to be Caramel Popcorn. But not just any caramel popcorn--caramel popcorn in the microwave. No, I'm not talking about microwave caramel corn that comes in a box at the grocery store. This is real, made from scratch caramel corn and it is just about the easiest and tastiest caramel corn I've ever had.

I. love. popcorn. If I had to choose between the goodies in the trick-or-treat bowl and popcorn, popcorn would win every time. Even over chocolate. Really. I'm pretty much a popcorn purist. Salt and butter makes popcorn perfect. Until now. The only reason we don't make this more often is because we keep running out of brown bags. I have to remember to say "paper" at the grocery store so I can make more caramel corn. On the other hand, running out of brown bags may not be a bad thing--for my diet.

So you're probably wondering if I'm going to share the secrets of this marvelous treat, which I guarantee will disappear even more quickly than your Halloween ghosts. Yes. Here are the instructions.

To make this, you need a microwave oven, a large brown paper grocery sack, about 6 quarts of popped corn (so who decided popcorn should be measured in quarts anyway?), brown sugar, butter, a little corn syrup and baking soda.

First, spray the inside of your grocery sack with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside.

Make your popcorn and dump it in the bag. I am a huge fan of making popcorn in the microwave these days. We have lots of popcorn poppers. I have been on the hunt for the perfect popper even longer than I've been married. We've had hot-air poppers, stove-top poppers, electric poppers. Currently, we have an oil popper with a nifty stirring thing in it, we have a popper that looks like it should be at the theater and we have an awesomely cool microwave popper that I found at the Goodwill that makes popcorn with or without oil (we use it without oil). In case you're wondering, it works--really well. We no longer buy any kind of microwave popcorn. Two batches from the Presto microwave popper are just about perfect for this recipe. Oh, and just in case, I forgot to mention it, neither Presto nor Orville Redenbacher gave me anything for including them here--they just happen to be a match made in heaven at our house.

While the popcorn is popping, measure one cup of packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup of light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 butter or margarine into a microwave-safe covered bowl. Microwave this for two minutes, stir really well and then microwave for one minute more. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and stir really well. It will get kind of foamy.

This is what it should look like
after you stir it the first time.

And this is what it should look like
after you stir in the baking soda.

Pour the caramel mixture into the paper bag and stir with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Fold the top of the bag over (you did use a full-size grocery sack, right?), shake well and put in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on high. Take the bag out, shake it really well and return it to the microwave for another minute. Shake it well and then pour it out onto a cookie sheet or foil to cool. The whole process takes about 20 minutes, start to finish.

And to answer your next question, no, I have never caught the bag on fire in the microwave. Ever.

Caramel Corn In a Bag

1 large brown grocery bag
4-6 quarts popped corn
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup (like Karo)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Spray the inside of a large brown grocery bag with non-stick cooking spray.

Dump the popped corn into the bag. Set aside.

In a one-quart microwavable bowl, combine, born sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt. Cover and microwave on high for two minutes. Stir well and return to the microwave for another minute. Add baking soda (it will be foamy) and stir until well blended.

Pour over popcorn in bag. Shake well.

Fold over the top of the bag loosely and microwave 1 1/2 minutes on High. Shake well; microwave 1 minute on High. Shake well.

Pour onto baking sheet or foil to cool.

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So what's the favorite Halloween treat at your house?

As [Modern] Mollies in Zion. . .

2011-10-30T07:00:00.002-06:00

It's been an interesting week. As many of you know, Modern Molly is getting a new look and a new home (we're not going far; she'll have the same name--we're just moving from Blogger to Wordpress because Molly's getting ready for a growth spurt--more details will come this week).

As part of that move, I have spent the last week reading through nearly all of Modern Molly's 970 blog posts. Did you know there were that many? I didn't. I remember reading a post by Jia about how she reposted the archives and there were more than 300 posts. She was right. There are more than 300--a lot more.

And those posts contain some great wisdom, some thoughtful insights, heartbreak and joy, tears and laughter, trials and testimonies, and most of all--you. I have had the privilege of getting to know my amazing sisters who have contributed to this blog, both as bloggers and as readers and commenters. I feel so much closer to my Modern Molly sisters than I have before. One of the reasons for this upcoming makeover and move has a lot to do with those 970 blog posts. I want them to be more easily available to all of you.

One of the reasons I read all those posts is so I could categorize them and make them easy to find in their new home. The archives will be more easily accessible. You'll be able to go back and search for many topics in different ways. At first the task seemed overwhelming (ok, it did all the way through because I've read them all in the last three days), but as I read and learned and was inspired and uplifted, I knew that this was an important part of the growth process for me.

I would encourage you, for now, to use the labels at the bottom of these posts, to go through and read about subjects that are on your mind. If there's something on your mind, you can probably find a sister here who has had it on her mind as well.

A few weeks ago, I posted a poll on our Facebook page asking you all to tell me what you'd like to see here. I've popped it back up, so if you haven't had a chance, please go and take it--or leave me a comment here with your ideas. You can also email me privately to marie at marieleslie dot com. Just be sure and put Modern Molly in the subject line so I know which blog you're talking about.

Also, I am actively seeking contributors. Whether you've written for MMM in the past or whether you're completely new, I'd love to hear from you if you have something to share. Whether you want to be a regular contributor, an occasional contributor or just share something once, let me know. If there's a topic we haven't covered, you're invited to cover it. Help me start the discussion, continue it and move it along.

And I realized, too, as I read that I haven't shared my testimony enough here, so let me close with that this Sunday morning.

I do have a testimony of the truthfulness and divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a testimony of the importance of our sisterhood. We are all daughters of our Heavenly Father and that truly makes us sisters. We are all here for a purpose, and one purpose that we all share is to lift and strengthen one another and help one another successfully navigate the journey through this life and back to our heavenly home. I am truly grateful for the sisters who have lifted and helped me, who have strengthened my testimony and my resolve to keep on the path.

Most of all, I am thankful for the amazing love and sacrifice of our elder brother, Jesus Christ. I have a testimony of His divinity, of His purpose and of His gospel. I know that He died for us and more importantly, that He lives for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Safety in Baby, Toddler & Kid's Bedrooms

2011-10-27T08:24:00.000-06:00

Each year hospital emergency rooms treat thousands of children injured in household accidents, many of which could have been avoided. While safety is important at all ages, following a few basic guidelines can help parents more easily protect their babies, toddlers and children from injury.

Any Age Child, Any Room

§ Properly assemble furniture, periodically checking for loose nuts and bolts.

§ Install childproof locks on drawers and cabinets.

§ Install smoke alarms.

§ Securely tack down all carpet; place non-slip pads under area rugs.

§ Never run electrical cords under rugs, instead keep all cords hidden from view behind furniture; never use frayed or damaged cords.

§ Cover unused electrical outlets with childproof caps.

§ In children’s rooms, use wall sconces instead of lamps and never use halogen bulbs due to extreme heat they generate.

§ Keep fabric away from all lights, even night-lights; all lights should bear the UL seal.

§ Examine all accessories for sharp points that can injure or small parts that can be loosened.

§ Secure all blind and drapery cords well out of reach; avoid looped cords.

§ Place safety locks on windows to prevent kids from falling or climbing out.

The Baby’s Nursery

Most of your baby’s time in the nursery will be spent in the crib or in your arms so creating a safe environment here is easy in the beginning. But, babies grow fast becoming busy toddlers before you know it, so you might as well prepare for the “age of exploration” when designing the nursery.

§ Install crib rail protectors to protect teething babies from swallowing paint or varnish chips.

§ Once the baby can stand, remove the mobile.

§ Keep the crib far enough away from windows, draperies, decorations or other items they can grab.

§ Remove all small objects that can be swallowed and frequently check toys for loose parts.

Toddler’s and Kid’s Rooms

Before they begin to crawl, then walk, (mine skipped walking and went straight to running!) you should get on your hands and knees to survey each room. From this vantage point, you can determine dangers lurking you might not otherwise notice.

§ Use slide-locks to prevent opening and closing of bi-fold doors.

§ Install doorknobs without locks; use Digit Savers or foam doorstops to protect fingers from slamming doors.

§ Safety hinges on toy chests and guardrails on beds.

§ Secure heavy furniture to walls with straps or brackets to prevent toppling by little climbers.

§ Make toys in view accessible instead of placing on top of high shelves.

§ Keep floor area cleared of toys at night.

§ No furniture placed under windows; for furniture large enough for a child to get into, dismantle or remove locks.

I know some of these are no-brainers, but sometimes we need reminders of the obvious….and some of you may be grandparents who have forgotten how to childproof a home! Children differ in physical abilities and inquisitiveness so effectiveness of safety gadgets will vary but are never a substitute for adult supervision. No matter how old your child is, take the proper measures to ensure their environment is safe.

(For more on kids’ room safety, see the October posts on KidSpace Stuff Blog.)

Watch for next month’s post: Using Room Décor to Teach Kids Gratitude.

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Jeanette Simpson, ASID is an Interior Designer and owner of KidSpace Interiors where she specializes in commercial and residential design of children’s spaces. A graduate of Brigham Young University, an author, and furniture designer, Jeanette is mother of six, stepmother of five, and grandmother of 17. Read more of her articles on her KidSpace Stuff blog.

Vote for Molly's New Logo

2011-10-20T13:53:00.001-06:00

Modern Molly is getting ready for a facelift and a makeover. As part of Molly's new look, we're thinking about a new logo. But I need your feedback. Use the comments section below to let me know which text logo and which image logo is your favorite. Or, if you'd rather, you can go vote with a "like" on Molly's Facebook page.

Number 1

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Journaling the Times of Your Life

2011-10-18T07:15:00.000-06:00

There are times in our lives that things happen that completely change us. Sometimes we call them epiphanies, some people call them turning points, some call them watershed events but I prefer to call them what they are: life-changing experiences. Sometimes they are major events, obvious not only to us but to the world: the death of a loved one, a major move, an ending or a beginning of some stage of our life. But more often they are small events, sometimes unnoticed even by ourselves until, months or even years later, we look back and realize that somehow, we have changed and our life is different than it would have been had we not had that experience. Often they are sad and difficult experiences, but not always, though all events that change us produce some amount of stress in our lives. Would it be helpful for us to learn to recognize these events as they come or even to seek them out when we want to change our lives? I think so. I believe that if we learn to be aware of our lives and to closely examine and to savor these events as we recognize them, that we can use them to change our selves and our lives more fully, to achieve our potential and to become the person we truly want to be.

How can we do this? How can we learn to recognize these experiences and turn them to our advantage? There are many ways but one of the best and easiest ways to do this is to keep a journal. Regular writing of the events of your life and of the thoughts of your heart helps you to focus on those things. A journal does not need to be a daily laundry list of the things that happen to you, but rather a regular reflection on the events and ideas that seem significant to you in your everyday life. Some of the things you should keep in a journal are:

A record of your “physical” life. Talk about the events of your life. What you do during the day, your job, your schooling, your duties as a homemaker, your hobbies, your church callings, books you read, movies you see, family activities, outings and vacations.

Record births and deaths and marriages, illnesses and injuries. Not just your own, but for the members of your family. Someday it may be the only record of those things. Where you live and where you work. Talk about the weather. Each of my journal entries has a header giving the date, the weather and the place where the entry was made. It takes me only a minute and may give my descendants some reference as to where I was and what I was doing when I was writing that day.

Your thoughts and analysis of the events in the world around you. This may not seem like much but it will be of great value to your children and grandchildren who will live in a world much different from your own and for whom these events will be only footnotes in a history text. These events as related from your point of view, however, will help them to see history as much more than dates and places. It will help them to develop a bond with you, to see history as having happened to people and help your descendants to see you as a person, as the kind of person you are.

Many times these events also become the triggers for some of our life-changing experiences. Even when they happen half a world away, they can impact our lives. The events of history often cause us to stop and take stock of our own situation. What is our life like? Is it safe? Is it stable? Could this thing happen to us, in our home, in our community? Sometimes it may cause us to simply count our blessings. Sometimes that is enough.

Your testimony. It is important to share our testimonies frequently. For many it seems daunting to stand in front of others and so we share them rarely, much less than we should. Share it in writing. Even if you are the only one who reads it in your lifetime, write it down anyway. Writing is sharing just as much as speaking is. Also, if you write it down, you can go back later and review it. You can compare it to other times when you have written your testimony in your journal and see how you are progressing. Where is your testimony becoming strengthened? Where are the weak spots? Where should you be focusing in your gospel studies? If you have written your testimony in your journal, it can answer these questions for you.

Your challenges, your failures and your successes. Write about the hard parts of your life. What were they? How did you face them/ Did you come out victorious? If not, why not? As President Kimball said, don’t dwell on the failures. Just note them and what you could do differently next time. As for the successes, you can dwell on those a bit more. What did you learn? What strengths did you gain? What weaknesses were you able to overcome? Share your feelings about your success and how it has changed your life. Note how it is made things better or more challenging.

There are many more things you can include in your journal. If you journal, what are some of the things you write about? Are there questions you have about journaling? Please share your comments, questions and observations in the comments section below.

And if you found this article helpful or interesting, please share it with your social networks.

Stand Ye In Holy Places

2011-10-16T09:05:00.005-06:00

Things As They Really Are

2011-10-06T04:57:00.000-06:00

Hello, my name is Sarah and I’m a Pinterest addict. I’m also a Facebook, blog and, in general, Internet addict.

Ok so I’m being a little extreme, but can anyone relate? There is so much grabbing at my attention online that I feel that I am addicted. I even have a whole routine set up. As soon as I put my little boy down for his morning nap, I make a bee-line for my laptop. Quickly, I become engrossed in the day’s happenings on Facebook, on friends’ and craft blogs, and then the beloved Pinterest, the virtual pinboard where you can share and organize cool things you find online with your friends. You can seriously be lost on there for hours. Then, to add to everything, my husband and I recently upgraded our regular phones to smartphones. I’m now connected everywhere I go.

So you can see what my problem is: balancing between the fun things online and the more important things offline. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ignoring my motherly and wifely duties, but I’ll be honest – I can get a little distracted. So when a friend recently commented that she wouldn’t be getting on Facebook for a while because of Elder Bednar’s counsel in a CES fireside a couple of years ago, I thought unkindly, “Well, good for you, Miss Goody two-shoes.” Yes, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard.

So after fighting the urge, I finally looked up his talk. I was actually there in person when he gave the address at BYU-Idaho with my fiancé, now husband. It was an incredible talk - one that takes study and prayer to understand.

At first glance, it may seem that he focuses on the youth who play video games or have virtual online lives. But don’t be fooled; he’s also talking to the average LDS woman too. We may not be all that interested in video games (or maybe some of you are), but there are other things that cause us to become dulled and “past feeling.”

He says:
“Today I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I raise are not new; they apply equally to other types of media, such as television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these challenges are more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes.

“If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, ear buds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience.”

I can tell you when I finally pull myself away from the computer, I have to shake my head, literally, to wake up. I hate that feeling. I become mad at myself and realize I’m missing an important companion: the Spirit.

Elder Bednar suggests us to ask ourselves these two questions:

1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?

2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

I think we could all prayerfully study this talk and then make changes accordingly. I know where I need to improve. But first I need to update my Facebook status. Hey, one day at a time, right?

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About Sarah: Sarah is a stay-at-home mom to her adorable baby boy, who is growing up much too quickly and sugar momma to her hardworking husband of two years. She works for a local paper once a month and enjoy socializing, crafts and music. You can read more of Sarah at her blogs http://thejrsrfamily.blogspot.com/ and http://sarahbeu.blogspot.com/

Dreams, Homes & Hope

2011-10-02T07:00:00.005-06:00

Extreme Makeover Home Edition has been one of my favorite shows for years. Besides being a design junkie and a Ty Pennington fan, I love watching how they take a family and change not only their homes, but their lives. It has been fun watching the show over the years as it transformed from a "let's fix this house for someone in need" to "lets fix this house for someone in need and see if there is some way we can help improve their lives and motivate people to get involved."

Tonight's episode is no exception. I was fortunate enough to be invited to watch a sneak preview as Ty and his crew paid a visit to South Jordan, Utah, to visit Jonah Gomez and his family. Yes, they are an LDS family but that's not really the most important part (though it's always cool to see our fellow Saints be blessed in their challenges). Jonah has a combination of rare blood disorders and he's the only person in the world they know to have both disorders. I've had the humbling privilege over the years to know and to work with many special needs families; I've seen how isolating it can be to feel like you are the only one--I cannot imagine how it must feel to actually BE the only one.

Anyway, he's adorable and so is his little sister and his mom. Jonah loves soccer so this episode features some members of his favorite soccer team Real Salt Lake along with Utah's American Idol star David Archuleta. Jonah's real hope to grow up and be healthy is a bone marrow transplant. So far, Jonah's doctors haven't been able to find a match for him. The focus of this episode is to increase the pool of potential donors. Not only can a bone marrow transplant save Jonah, but it is the answer for many types of cancers and blood diseases. It's not hard to find out if YOU can save someone's life. All you have to do is a quick and simple check swab. During the filming of this episode, EMHE held donor drive events at Major League Soccer games all over the country. To learn more about becoming someone's life saver--who knows? maybe you'll be Jonah's match-- visit the Bone Marrow Donor Registry site or go to ABC's site A Better Community.com.

I'm on the road this week, but when I get home, I'll finally get off my duff and get this done. It's been on my list for a long time, but I haven't given it the attention it deserves. After watching Jonah and his family, it's time to move it up on my list.

How about you?
____________________________________________________

Watch Extreme Home Makeover Home Edition on ABC-TV tonight at 8 p.m. (7 central and mountain).
Oh, and I was NOT compensated in any way to write this little review.

Using Heirloom Accessories to Teach Kids Family History

2011-09-22T09:00:00.003-06:00

When did you start to love family history…..or do you? Hearing the words “genealogy” makes some church members want to run the other direction, quickly. My love of family history started when I was a kid. Without realizing it, I grew to love it thanks to the subtle influences of heirloom accessories and furniture that surrounded me each day.

Our magazine rack had once been my grandparents’ corn grinder. The wooden telephone booth in the den had a real working phone…an antique with a mouthpiece attached to the box mounted on the wall and a separate handheld receiver. My great-grandmother had crocheted doilies that adorned mom’s dresser and the player piano had belonged to my grandmother.

Was my home full of heirloom accessories and antiques? No, but there were enough items around the house that helped me connect with the past. My parents often told me the history or use of the funny looking pieces, which helped me appreciate their worth. The furniture and accessories were family keepsakes, displayed with honor or used with care. Vintage furnishings are great history teachers.

Photos are another fabulous way to teach kids family history as they elicit questions like, “Who is this? How am I related? Why are they wearing those shoes…or not wearing shoes? Why are they not smiling? How come the pictures aren’t in color? Look at that funny hat….or funny car! Did grandpa like horses? Where’s the TV?”

Photo albums with old family photos were always within easy reach but I specifically remember one visit from my grandmother (I was 17) when she brought a box full of old photos. At one point as she and my mother looked through the box, my grandmother pulled out a photo of her mother taken at age 17….and remarked how much I looked like her. Each time I see that photo I not only fondly remember my grandmother’s visit, I feel a connection to my great-grandmother.

Do you have toys from your childhood stored in the closet? What about clothing or favorite books? Display these in kid’s rooms! (Might need to be on the top shelves or framed when kids are little and don’t understand ‘no’.) Talk about what you did, the toys, games, and books you loved when you were their age. Touching the toys or seeing the dolls makes your history real to your kids.

Look around your home. I bet you have more heirloom accessories than you realized. Be sure to learn the stories behind the keepsakes and write them down before you forget. It is amazing how details fade over the years. If you start when your kids are small and share stories of family treasures, the love of family history will become part of their lives……and they won’t run when someone says, “genealogy.”

(For more on teaching kids to love family history, see the September posts on KidSpace Stuff Blog.)

Watch for next month’s post: Safety in Baby, Toddler, and Kid’s Bedrooms.

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I'm A Mormon!

2011-09-16T06:40:00.001-06:00

Bet you thought that was a no-brainer.

Yes, I am. But that really wasn't what I was talking about.

Have you seen the "I'm a Mormon" initiative? Have you visited mormon.org lately?

I did. And I filled out my profile. Rumor has it that I'm the only in my ward who's done it so far. I hope I'm soon followed by lots of others. Have you filled out yours?

Mine's kind of boring. After I wrote it, I surfed around for a while. Our fellow Mormons are some pretty amazing people. Watch some of those videos. How cool are we?

Oh, you can watch and share some of these video profiles on Facebook, too.

Setting up my profile has been on my to-do list for a long time. But I put it off. Other than this blog, I don't always talk a lot in print about my faith. I need to do it more. For me, this was a good first step. Now I'll be adding it to my about.me profile, where people go to learn about me personally and professionally online. I've decided I need to be more proactive. It wasn't hard. It only took me about 20 minutes or so.

Now I realize I need to go out and do more interesting things in my life.

Having pretty much always lived in areas where there were lots of other Mormons around, I was surprised at how many people don't know any Mormons and about how much misinformation there is about people of our faith (well, sort surprised, but not entirely because I've fielded some pretty odd questions over the years).

Have you done it? If you have, share the link to your profile in the comments section below. I'd love to see your profile, get to know you and learn why the gospel is important in your life.

If you haven't, go take a few minutes today and tell the world why you're a Mormon, too. Oh, and by the way, encourage your teens, too. If they are 14 or older, they can create their own profile. If you're worried about privacy, it's first names only. And all of the profiles are reviewed before they go live.

Happy Friday!

Trust in the Lord

2011-09-14T08:16:00.000-06:00

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about being a woman that is so disagreeable to me (at times). The fact that my hormones and emotions can be destabilized in a matter of days, or even moments, seems so unfair. And I’m not even going to touch pregnancy or menopause (not that I’ve been through menopause...).

So why do we have to deal with the roller coaster that happens monthly or more frequently for some? Because the Lord wants us to learn to depend on Him.

I can feel when I start to go out of whack - my insecurities surface way too easily for my liking and I think the world hates me. Just this morning, after checking Facebook, I questioned whether or not I even had friends. Or if I did, why they chose to not keep in touch with me, never mind that I don’t call them. I could feel other thoughts popping up and I fought to keep them away. I sat there pondering what I should do next. My scriptures came to mind and for once I acted on that thought. I wondered what the Lord would say to me about my so-called friends and why they didn’t like me (irrational thoughts were still lurking around, mind you).

Only the day before had my husband encouraged me to start over my reading of the Book of Mormon. I agreed, somewhat reluctantly, worried that I might get tired of it (another irrational thought). So in today’s study the thought I came away with was that “the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).

In pondering that, how did it apply to me? Knowing that I was going to have a rough few days with these lovely, irrational thoughts and feelings, the words “tender mercies” stood out as important. Gosh, I sure needed some of those. The next thing of value was the word “faith.” Ok, trust in the Lord. And lastly, “make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.” I was taking that pretty literally, knowing the storyline of what happened between Lehi and his family, but also Nephi and Laban. So I didn’t think I needed any deliverance, until I thought that sometimes those irrational thoughts can be pretty powerful, binding and unmerciful. Thus the need for deliverance.

Who doesn’t want that?

Seriously. Womanhood is a glorious thing, we are taught to cherish it. How can we cherish it if we don’t allow the Lord to help us? I know so many who battle with depression, who have various day-to-day struggles or those who just have a bad day. Any challenge we have we must confront with the Lord.

I wish I can say I do this often, but I don’t. But without becoming humble and asking for the Lord’s help, we’ll keep floundering. He has angels waiting to attend us. Let’s not keep them.

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Come Serve in the Lord's Vineyard

2011-09-12T06:42:00.000-06:00

We need you.

More specifically, the Lord needs you to work in his vineyard.

Well, not quite literally, but as followers of the gospel, you know that the Lord often used metaphor and imagery to teach his followers.

Today, we have a website called "The Vineyard" full of wonderful opportunities to put our talents to work building the church of Jesus Christ. You can find it here. You can also get there at any time by clicking the button that looks like the one below over on the right side of our site.

There are all kinds of amazing opportunities on this site, needs to be filled by the talents possessed by the members of his church. You didn't think you were blessed with those amazing talents just because, did you? The Lord knew he was going to need you.

And even cooler, it's all online. You don't even have to leave your computer to help build the kingdom.

Right now, the church is working on a HUGE project to translate Teachings of the Living Prophets into 31 different languages. And they need your help to get it done. If you will go and visit the Vineyard and visit the page for this project--it's right here-- you can see all the different languages. If you can read and write any of these languages, click up at the top of the page and you will be blessed to be a part of this project.

And even if you don't speak any of those languages, well, go back out to the Vineyard's home page and see what other projects they have going on that you can be a part of.

Unfortunately, I don't read or write any of the 31 languages that are currently part of this project.

But the Vineyard does need photographers and I am pretty darn good at that. Guess where I'll be volunteering. . . .

Is this cool or what? We don't have to wait for an official calling or an assignment to serve. We can put our talents to work right now. If you aren't sure how to get started, go here first and it will walk you through step by step. Oh, and by the way, you don't even have to be a Mormon to participate at the Vineyard.

So, what are you waiting for already? Go to the Vineyard and get started!

Remembering. . . and looking forward

2011-09-11T08:17:00.001-06:00

As I thought about this anniversary--and what it means to so many people, I decided to look back also.

These are the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley from the General Conference of the LDS church in October of 2011.

The first part is taken from his Sunday morning remarks and the second from his remarks at the close of the conference.

Now, brothers and sisters, we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God.

Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us.

May the God of heaven, the Almighty, bless us, help us, as we walk our various ways in the uncertain days that lie ahead. May we look to Him with unfailing faith. May we worthily place our reliance on His Beloved Son who is our great Redeemer, whether it be in life or in death, is my prayer in His holy name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

__________________________________________________

Our safety lies in the virtue of our lives. Our strength lies in our righteousness. God has made it clear that if we will not forsake Him, He will not forsake us. He, watching over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps (seePs. 121:4).

And now as we close this conference, even though we shall have a benediction, I should like to offer a brief prayer in these circumstances:

O God, our Eternal Father, Thou great Judge of the Nations, Thou who art the governor of the universe, Thou who art our Father and our God, whose children we are, we look to Thee in faith in this dark and solemn time. Please, dear Father, bless us with faith. Bless us with love. Bless us with charity in our hearts. Bless us with a spirit of perseverance to root out the terrible evils that are in this world. Give protection and guidance to those who are engaged actively in carrying forth the things of battle. Bless them; preserve their lives; save them from harm and evil. Hear the prayers of their loved ones for their safety. We pray for the great democracies of the earth which Thou hast overseen in creating their governments, where peace and liberty and democratic processes obtain.

O Father, look with mercy upon this, our own nation, and its friends in this time of need. Spare us and help us to walk with faith ever in Thee and ever in Thy Beloved Son, on whose mercy we count and to whom we look as our Savior and our Lord. Bless the cause of peace and bring it quickly to us again, we humbly plead with Thee, asking that Thou wilt forgive our arrogance, pass by our sins, be kind and gracious to us, and cause our hearts to turn with love toward Thee. We humbly pray in the name of Him who loves us all, even the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and our Savior, amen.

President Monson Blogs--How Cool is This?

2011-09-10T06:55:00.000-06:00

I don't know if you've seen this yet, but it's worth a few minutes to read.

Elizabeth Tenety, the On Faith columnist from the Washington Post, invited religious leaders from around the world to share their thoughts about this 10th anniversary of 9/11.

One of the respondents who blogged for her was President Thomas S. Monson, who if you are one of our readers from another faith, is the president of the LDS Church. You can read his post here.

Of Power Failures and Passing Trains

2011-09-09T10:40:00.000-06:00

The choices we make determine our destiny." --Thomas S. Monson

I've been thinking a lot about this this week. As the mom of teens and young adults, you might imagine it is a frequent topic of conversation at our house--and you'd be right.

There have been a lot of news stories this week about consequences. The anniversary of 9/11 is coming up this week (I already blogged about it here if you're interested). An evil choice made consequences for all of us, some of them life-ending or life-altering.

There was a HUGE power outage in Southern California and beyond yesterday. Apparently, someone decided to remove a piece of equipment he didn't think was working right. That certainly had some consequences. I hope one of them isn't that he has to find a new line of work.

Police here in Colorado found the body of a young woman who has been missing from our city for some months this week. Her seemingly innocent choice to go out one night ended in the most tragic of consequences. That one broke my heart.

The big story here this week, though, was train hopping. I'm sure you've all heard it or read it because it made national news--over and over and over. Four young college students decided to hop a passing freight train, supposedly to get to school one morning, and the young woman fell and had her legs severed by the train. That one made me physically ill. My first thought was, of course, for this poor girl; my second was for her poor mother getting that phone call—the one every mother dreads.

That is the story that prompted another choices-and-consequences discussion at our house this week (no, I did not specifically tell my children to avoid hopping freight trains—I just made them watch the news when they played the 9-1-1 tapes; I don't think it will be an issue). We talk frequently with our kids about how they are free to choose; we can guide them, we can teach them, we can prompt them, we can push them, but in the end, they are the ones who choose their actions. BUT (and it's a BIG but), they don't get to choose the consequences. And, sadly, very often, they don't think about those consequences--at least not the negative ones--before they choose.

I'm pretty that sweet and beautiful 17-year-old girl never imagined for a moment that the result of her decision to hop the train instead of taking the bus (or carpooling or biking or however she normally got to school) would alter her life so profoundly. And I'm sure her friends never imagined it, either. They'll be living with the consequences of that decision for the rest of their lives as well. They may not carry the physical scars, but they will carry the emotional ones.

Have you read this with your kids lately? It might be a good time to pull out their For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. In it we read that freedom of choice is a God-given, eternal principle that carries with it moral responsibilities for the choices made:

“While you are free to choose for yourself, you are not free to choose the consequences of your actions. When you make a choice, you will receive the consequences of that choice. The consequences may not be immediate, but they will always follow, for good or bad.”

Why is this such a hard principle for us to live with? It isn’t going to change, yet we always try. I know my teens aren’t the only ones at my house to have experienced some unforeseen consequences of ales-than-stellar choice, yet we don’t always choose the right.

How is it for you? Is this a principle you find yourself having to remind yourself about more than once? Or are you one of the wise ones who knows better than to test an eternal law just in case it might suddenly change?

And one final thought from Richard G. Scott: "You will have challenges and hard decisions to make throughout your life. Be determined now to always do what is right and let the consequence follow. The consequence will always be for your best good." ("Do What is Right", Liahona, March 2001)

A Society of Holy Women

2011-09-06T08:38:00.002-06:00

by Guest Contributor Sarah

It’s a new month - and last thing you want to think about is visiting teaching. But I just can’t get over the awesomeness of last month’s message. Not that they’re not all awesome, but this one in particular hit me smack dab in the center.

For those who didn’t hear or read the message, it’s entitled “A Society of Holy Women.” My favorite part is Eliza R. Snow's quote: “We shall have elevated aims, if we are holy women. We shall feel that we are called to perform important duties. No one is exempt from them. There is no sister so isolated, and her sphere so narrow but what she can do a great deal towards establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth.”

Do you hear that? You are all important! You each have a great work ahead of you in building the kingdom!

The message continues with this: “In our service a new dimension is added to our lives. We progress spiritually, and our sense of belonging, identity, and self-worth increases.”

I love that - because I know so many (including me at times) who struggle with a low sense of self-worth. We all have heard that if you’re feeling blue, serve someone. This is why, and as we belong to the holy sisterhood of Relief Society, there are so many opportunities to serve and become holy.

As my visiting teaching companion was sharing the message with our sisters, I remembered a talk by Sister Wendy Watson Nelson given at BYU-Idaho. I didn’t attend the meeting, but I heard about it. There is not audio or transcript, but the Church News published a story on the talk.

In the talk, Sis. Nelson spoke on the importance of becoming holy. She admonished the sisters present to choose one area in their lives where they could become more holy. She said it could be in the way you greet your husband when he comes home from work, or in the way you help your child or in the way you serve.

I’m sure we all have our areas and at times it may seem impossible to lead a Christ-like life. So ladies, let’s not eat the elephant whole, but rather bite by bite.

Ask yourself: In what area could I be more holy? My list is a mile long. But instead of getting overwhelmed, I understand this is the whole purpose and intention of the gospel - to reach my full potential. I get there through becoming holier each day, doing it the best I can.

______________________________________________

2011-09-04T08:00:00.001-06:00

And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 2 Nephi 12:2-3

Do it Anyway

2011-09-02T13:20:00.000-06:00

Here's a little video put together by a friend of mine, with this lovely bit of prose from Mother Teresa.

I hope it gives you a little lift and a little motivation today.

Happy Weekend!

The Storms of Life

2011-08-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

Living the gospel does not mean the storms of life will pass us by, but we will be better prepared to face them with serenity and peace. 'Search diligently, pray always, and be believing,' the Lord admonished, 'and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly.'" --Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Finding a Safe Harbor," Ensign, May 2000, 59

Kindness Begins with Me

2011-08-24T10:17:00.000-06:00

Kindness seems to be a much talked about, but little used commodity in our society today. We have become so hurried and so busy that we seem to have decided that perhaps kindness would somehow slow us down or take up too much of our time. I miss the days when I knew all my neighbors, if not by name then at least by sight, when I greeted or was greeted by strangers I passed on the street, when I could count on being greeted by a friendly clerk at the market and when I would not even have to think to give a smile in return. Some days it is still a shock to my system, a sort of spiritual slap in the face if you will, to be treated rudely or worse yet, indifferently: as though my very existence is of no consequence. It is at times like this that I am reminded of the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, “Life is not so short but there is always time enough for courtesy.

A popular bumper sticker in recent years tells us to “practice random acts of kindness,” as if kindness is an occasional act to which we should give no forethought. I’ve always thought this phrase makes kindness sound like some vile, terrorist act, at which we would not want to be caught or convicted of in a court of law. If you were to stand trial today, could you be convicted of kindness?

What is it to be kind? Is it enough to simply overlook another’s rudeness? Sometimes that may be all we can do, but I believe that kindness is much like any other gift of our Heavenly Father. We must work at kindness, just as we work at prayer or scripture study or taking our vitamins. We must practice kindness until it becomes a habit and then, following that, until it becomes a part of our nature.

I am, by nature, a shy person. New social situations and meeting new people face-to-face have never been easy for me. My reticence to speak up and join in has been taken by many as haughtiness or even rudeness, which adds only more difficulty to the task of overcoming the shyness. Since I don’t want to be shy—and even more I don’t want to be thought of as rude or unfriendly—I made a goal for myself of finding a way to overcome my fears. I decided that each Sunday I would sit by a different sister in Relief Society and introduce myself to her. It was partially easy; I knew almost no sisters in my ward, being new; but after a short while I realized that perhaps there were more sisters like me, hesitant to jump in and join the group, so I decided that each week I would seek out a sister new to our ward, sit by her and help her to feel welcome and at home, two things I was seeking for my own self. In some respects it has proved easier than I thought. As soon I as I began befriending new sisters, Heavenly Father began sending a steady stream of new sisters to our ward for me to befriend. So many, in fact, I seem to be unable to keep up. And after I began to be more comfortable with the sisters at church, I found that my newly forming habit of practicing kindness began growing on me. I find myself more easily reaching out to my neighbors, getting more involved in my community and not even waiting for the clerk at the store to smile. In case she is in short supply, I make sure to give her one of my own.

I begin to find myself giving conscious thought to those I already know, wondering what I might do that day or that week to make someone’s day brighter or life easier. “For what do we live if it is not to make life less difficult for each other.” (George Elliot)

With this desire to spread kindness I have realized that I must spread it first to my own family and encourage them to spread it to the world. And with this realization, I have come to learn that kindness cannot be taught as we would teach math or cooking, but instead can only be taught through example. As I share kindness with my children they in turn will be able to share that kindness with others, for kindness is produced by kindnessIn this crazy world where we allow ourselves to be too often consumed with busy-ness, I pray that we may reach out and share our kindness with those around us, that we may let others know that they are not alone and that they are important in the sight of the Lord because they are important in our sight.

A Little Reminder

2011-08-22T10:59:00.001-06:00

It's back-to-school week here.

Ok, my younger kids are already back in school. This is week 3. My college student started classes again today, though.

Life gets crazy and school can be crazy, too. I wanted them to have a little reminder every morning and a little thought boost before I send them out to the crazy, scary world, so I created a little graphic for the kitchen door, because that's the way they all go in and out.

So, here it is. And if you need a reminder for your house, feel free to download it and make a print. Here's the link for one printable up to 8 x 12. I only ask that you not redistribute the file itself. You are welcome to link to it or post it on your website or blog as long as you have a link to the original download file.

Happy Back to School!

Use Kids' Rooms to Create Childhood Memories

2011-08-17T07:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Humpday, Mollies! I'm so excited today to introduce you to a new contributor to Modern Molly. Jeanette is an Interior Designer & has great ideas to share with us about making our homes and lives more beautiful and usable. Please help me welcome Jeanette so she'll want to stay and play!

______________________________________

We all have childhood memories of the places we have lived. Whether the home was modest or opulent, nostalgic feelings return upon sight of a childhood treasure, oft times from something as simple as a bookmark, doll, or color of a fabric.

I can still see the bright pink, green and yellow of the bedding and feel of the carpet in my childhood room. I spent lots of time lying on the floor wearing headphones, letting school troubles disappear as I listened to favorite songs over and over (we didn’t have shuffle on record players!).

While the room wasn’t opulent, it was mine, and a place I felt safe from the world. That is just what kids need in their environment…..a place of their own, where they feel and are safe. More than a place to play, sleep, and eat, kids need a nurturing environment where they are stimulated and can grow to their fullest capacity.

Over the years as an interior designer, I have noticed two trends; 1) kid’s rooms receive the least attention in the home, and 2) many kid’s room designs are adult versions of a kid’s room. Why?

First, parents plan to decorate but either don’t know what to do, or kids grow from one stage to another before the room is designed, or funds are limited, especially if there are many children in the family.

Second, adults impose their wants on the kid’s room, which may be beautiful to look at but be unsuitable for childhood enjoyment and inspiration. A kid’s room is not an adult room with a few well-placed toys.

These two trends are some of the reasons I decided to specialize in design of “kidspaces.” (For the rest of the story, read Why I Wanted to Create KidSpaces.) As a mother of six, stepmother of 5, and grandmother of 17 (at last count!), I have spent my life around children.

As a guest blogger for Modern Molly Mormon, I hope to share the experience, and hopefully wisdom, I have gained as a mother, combined with my expertise and love of interior design, to help parents (and grandparents) create fun, functional and inspirational kidspaces.

Watch for next month’s post: Using Heirloom Accessories to Teach Kids Family History.

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We Have Winners!

2011-08-16T09:20:00.001-06:00

Yes, I know, I should have posted yesterday, but Monday being Monday. . .

We have winners now! In a highly random drawing, Modern Molly's not-so-little minions (also known as junior Modern Mollys) have each selected one name to receive the really cool and wonderful Nashville Tribute Band CD, "The Work".

Drumroll, please. Sorry, you'll have to cue your own sound effects.

Our winners are:

Meg Gustafson

and

Millie Torres

Ladies, please send me an e-mail with your mailing addresses so I can get them out to you right away so you can enjoy these CD's as much as I have been.

And again, a wonderful thank you to the Nashville Tribute Band for providing us with cool music and CD's to give away.

If you didn't win one, stop by their website and order a copy of your own.

Or you can stop by my other blog Improving on the Silence, before midnight mountain time tonight and enter that drawing--kind of a second chance thing, you know?

Seriously, I'm giving away two more CD's over there tomorrow. But if you don't go today, you'll miss out!

Lottes of Love

2011-08-10T10:01:00.000-06:00

Happy Humpday, my Molly friends. Today's post is a guest post by one of my very favorite women. Cynthia and I met through an online forum nearly a dozen years ago. Since then, I have been privileged to meet her in person (along with her adorable boys) many times. She is one of the most giving and caring people I know. And, now, here she goes again for another dear friend in need.

My dear friend, Marie, invited me to share with you some of what I have been doing in conjunction with other Modern Mollys to support a dear friend diagnosed with an aggressive form of Cancer.

I’ve been friends with Charlotte for the last 8 years or so. She is one of my “go-to” friends. When I’m in a pinch and need some help, she’s someone I know I can count on. My sons also know that if they ever need help and I’m not around that Charlotte will know what to do.

In March of 2011 Charlotte was diagnosed with cervical cancer. At the time she was completely healthy, very active and never expected to learn that she had any health problems let alone something as devastating as cancer. When discovered, the cancer was small and could have been removed surgically quite easily. However, since her family did not have any health insurance, the entire burden of the hospital, testing and doctors fees was more than they could afford. The first doctor and hospital they spoke with would not even tell her what the costs would be and kept putting her off, refusing to schedule surgery until she had financial arrangements in place—impossible to do since they wouldn’t tell her how much was needed. Over the next seemingly unending weeks she made phone call after phone call, had agencies lose her paperwork numerous times, she was given information only to later be told that it was in fact mis-information and she had to start all over again.

In early May I received a letter with a handcrafted friendship bracelet from a friend of mine. Her letter says it better than I ever could:

Hi friend!

We all love and know Charlotte super well. We all know that she is a strong, special and faithful woman. When I heard from her that she has cancer, I was shocked, but it didn't sink in for awhile. She was playing it so cool. After going home and pondering it, I wanted to do something to show that I cared and supported her 510%. I thought of making these bracelets to wear. Though simple, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to involve some of her closest friends too. That's why you're getting one! I hope you can support Charlotte by wearing this until she has had her surgery and she is "all clear" from the cancer. I learned and interesting thing about friendship bracelets (or BFF Bracelet" according to Danny). Part of the reason they call them that is because they are extremely difficult to put on yourself...you need a friend to help you. I thought this was perfect. Charlotte needs her friends to help her through this difficult time. I hope you choose to wear it!

Lots of Love, Brenda

PS. White and teal are the colors for cervical cancer. I used silver instead of white (thanks Karen for the fab idea), and the black just looks cool.

So initially this small group of Charlotte's closest friends started wearing the friendship bracelets that Brenda had crafted with love and sent to each of us, we took pictures of us wearing our bracelets and posted them as our Facebook Profile Pictures. We loved on Charlotte and supported her. We knew she was juggling medical stuff but didn't want to pry or get in her business. By the time financial arrangements were able to be made and the surgery performed over 3 months later, the cancer had spread. While the main growths were removed it had spread and is now in her lymphatic system. She recently began radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

Before long we realized that the monetary commitment her uninsured family was going to have to come up with just in order to get the hospital to schedule the surgery she needed was really beyond their resources. Not to mention the toll the added stress of trying to handle all the phone calls and paperwork was taking on her health. So for our love of Charlotte we started to put plans into place to help with the financial needs. Thus with some phone calls and conversations we pooled our talents and Lotte's of Love became a reality.

In early July we pulled together a yard sale in less than 2 weeks from inception to advertising and collecting donations. Karen, another of Charlotte’s friends (who is also a fab caterer) baked up scrumptious muffins and cinnamon rolls to sell. Over 30 people were involved in sorting, organizing, pricing the donations, staffing the yard sale and helping with clean-up. Sometime late the Friday night before the Yard Sale a group of ladies decided that they’d volunteer to sleep over in a tent to guard the donations until morning. When Shandi snuck the money from the cash box into the house to count it at 10:30 and we had already collected over $1000 in donations we were amazed. And when at the end of the day we had a little over $2100, which is more than half of what Charlotte needs for each month’s medical costs, we felt so encouraged that we were going to be able to help her get the treatments and care that she needed to beat this ugly beast.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

· Read our Blog http://lottesoflove.blogspot.com/ and become a Follower.

· If you have friends or family in Northern Utah share Charlotte’s story with them and tell them about the events we are holding.

· Make an online donation to help pay for her ongoing cancer related medical treatments.

· Consider becoming a sponsor with either a monetary donation or a prize donation for one of our events.

· Pray for Charlotte and all the organizers of Lotte’s of Love.

We can't lose her! Please help us get our dear friend the medical treatments she needs to save her life.

The Nashville Tribute Band--Sweet Giveaway!

2011-08-08T14:56:00.004-06:00

Hello?

Anyone out there?

Did you miss me?

I feel like I fell off the face of the earth and its been a long hard climb back.

Really, I just went to Girls' Camp (woo hoo! so much fun--and no bears) and then came home to find out my hubby decided we needed to drive over to Utah for his nephew's missionary farewell. And well, since we going all that way, he ought to take a few extra days off for some family time, so we explored our way back across I-70 (incredibly awesome pictures coming shortly to my other blog Improving on the Silence).

But that's not what this post is about.

While I was away at camp, the incredibly cool Nashville Tribute Band sent me a little box in the mail with CD's for YOU! Yes, you read that right. They sent me two of their new CD's to give away--and you really want this one. I'm actually listening to it again as I write this post and I am loving their music.

This new CD is called "The Work: A Nashville Tribute to the Missionaries" and it really is. I haven't been able to choose my favorite song yet because there are so many great, uplifting songs on this CD. If you click here, you can listen to their first single, "I Was Born." If you want to hear more, check out their YouTube page.

I feel so lucky to be the recipient and I want you to be lucky, too, so enter by commenting on the bottom of this post. Tell me which song is your favorite, make me envious by telling me how you get to see them in concert or just tell me how much you missed me while I was gone. For extra entries, go become a fan of the Nashville Tribute Band on Facebook or go become a fan of Modern Molly Mormon on Facebook and then come back and tell me about it in separate entries.

Oh, and if you happen to live in Idaho, Oregon or Utah I just want you to know I'm envious because YOU can go see them in concert and I don't see Colorado on there, which means I'm just plumb out of luck. Boo.

So, comment down there, just below my ramblings. Next Monday, August 15th, I'm going to choose two names and send you each a copy of this CD.

Happy listening!

P.S. I am actively looking for guest bloggers, either one-time or on a regular basis--you can tell me if you're interested in the comments, too, or just send me an e-mail.

Seminary--How's that working for you?

2011-07-21T08:30:00.012-06:00

School starts here in another couple of weeks and it's back to early-morning seminary for us.

We've gotten off easy the last few years. #1 went to early-morning seminary her freshman year of high school. It was at the church, but not so bad because the school put a bus stop just outside the church so all the seminary students could get to school.

The next year our stake built a seminary building across from the high school and #1 and #2 finished out their years with release-time seminary.

But now we've moved and #3 is starting high school and seminary is at the school--and it's earlier than #1's early-morning seminary. Rumor has it that it starts at 6:10. Thankfully, she's looking forward to it. And she's a morning person.

Personally, I loved seminary. I'm probably in the minority, especially since it was early-morning seminary--and earlier than any of my kids have had to go.

But it was worth it. I give my young women a bad time, telling them it was so much harder because we had so many more scriptures to memorize (there were 40 each year when I was in seminary--now I hear there are only 25). I still remember most of those scriptures and I'm sure I learned much more than I ever would have learned on my own. Plus, attending a school that didn't have a large LDS population, it was nice to have that morning boost and hang out with your church friends before school.

Scripture chase was a big deal when I was in seminary. We practiced every week and then we had a stake scripture chase competition at the end of every year. First there was the written memorization test, then an individual competition and then team competition with a team of four scripture-chasers from every ward. An awful lot of scriptures suffered and died in the name of competition. I had to have a new Bible or Triple every year since by the time Scripture Chase was over they'd fallen apart. Perhaps that's why we don't do it anymore.

It sure was fun, though. Maybe it was just winning that made it more fun. We had the winningest ward and won the team competition three of my four years and I was fortunate enough to receive some very nice scriptures as a result. Unfortunately, I'm old enough that they were the old-style ones, but I still have them.

I also remember reading a study a long time ago (and I really wanted to quote it but I can't find it) that said that seminary graduates were more likely to remain active into adulthood, serve missions and get married in the temple. That's incentive enough for me to make sure I am up and appropriately enthusiastic about seminary for my kids. This year won't be so hard, but when #4 starts next year, it could be a bit tougher. She's not so much a morning person.

So, how is it with seminary at your house? Is it anticipated eagerly or looked forward to with dread?

Hip! Hip! Hooray!

2011-07-20T07:27:00.002-06:00

It's Wordless Wednesday AND it's time for Girls' Camp!

Did I mention I love camp?

Have a great week!

Glorious Girls' Camp

2011-07-15T12:28:00.002-06:00

Next week is Girls' Camp. I personally consider Girls' Camp to be one of the best perks of being in the Young Women's Presidency.

Yes, I am probably certifiable. I think cold 3-minute showers, sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent surrounded by dozens of teenage girls suffering from iPod and cell-phone withdrawal is a really good time.

I have two young women of my own who are going to camp this year, making camp even more fun. This is the first year I've gotten to go to camp with them. I got to go once with my oldest daughter and that was much too long ago. The last time I went to camp, these two were too young to go.

Today we're off to find secret sister gifts. I'd tell you what fun things we're shopping for, but then that would spoil the surprise wouldn't it?

The only downside I can find to camp is that my best Young Women camping buddy lives in California and I live here. But I get to go to camp with some awesome leaders, so it will still be great.

How about you? Is going to Girls' Camp something you look forward to (even secretly)? Or is the whole back-to-nature-with-teenage-girls thing just another trial to be endured in this life--will there be no tents and sleeping bags in the Celestial Kingdom (I'm pretty sure the mosquitoes will be banned--at least they won't bite)?

If you're not in Young Women's, what's the great perk of your calling? I'm pretty foggy on much outside of Young Women's; it's where I've spent the largest portion of my adult life and I hope it always stays that way. What do you think I'm missing out on?

The Great Chore Debate

2011-07-07T05:48:00.002-06:00

Chores and kids, kids and chores.

Does figuring all this out take up entirely too much of our time or what? I find this a constant topic of discussion on message boards and e-mail groups.

How do you get your kids to do chores?

When should they start doing chores?

Should they get paid to do chores?

What chores should they be doing?

At my house, we use a chore chart. Having been a mom for 24 years now, we have been through a number of different chore charts. Things change, the kids grow, the chore chart changes. It's just easier for me if everything is there on paper and I don't have to remember who is supposed to do what.

In addition to a chore chart, we have cleaning checklists, which are just the chore chart in checklist form, laminated so they can use dry-erase markers to keep track of what they've done. We don't need or use them so much anymore since my youngest ones are teens but they're still floating around and still on my computer.

We don't pay for regular household chores. At our house, it's the price you pay as part of the family. We do have allowances, a modest amount designed to cover basic "extras" of being a teenager. We do also have chores that can earn our kids extra money. Things like washing cars, mowing lawns, cleaning carpets--those kinds of chores enable the kids to earn money above and beyond the allowance.

It works mostly. Everything doesn't always get done, but my house is clean enough for company (not including my mother-in-law, but it will never be that clean) and everyone is healthy.

How does it work at your house?

Or does it work at your house?

What's your take on the great chore debate?

Let us know in the comments below--or on Modern Molly Mormon at Facebook.

A Shining Star?

2011-07-06T13:10:00.000-06:00

It's Wordless Wednesday and I am just not quite through with a little leftover fun from the Fourth of July.

How about you?

Oh, Beautiful for Spacious Skies

2011-07-04T07:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Independence Day!

In my other life, I am a photographer--and going along with that, a music lover. In my world, the most powerful combination is putting the two together. I've been making Independence Day videos for many years to share with my friends and family.

This year, I've gotten smart and learned to share them through YouTube.

I hope you will enjoy this little tribute to my home, sweet home.

Look with your Heart

2011-07-03T07:58:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while I need a reminder to stop and look around and recognize that my life is good. It might not be what I thought it was going to be, but it is good.

This morning I read a blog post, that I probably can't find again (the hazard of reading so many blogs) that reminded me, that miracles--and heaven--are everywhere, if we just remember to look with our hearts as well as our eyes.

May your Sunday be one of looking with your heart and finding peace, joy and miracles all around you.

What Am I Going to Wear?

2011-06-30T06:00:00.012-06:00

Modesty is a hot topic at church. It's been a hot topic for as long as I can remember--and that's a long time.

We go the rounds on being modest, being fashionable, being appropriate.

Can we be both fashionable and modest--at the same time?

Do we care if we're fashionable as long as we're modest?

What's appropriate for church and what's not?

It's enough to give even the most determined Modern Molly a four-Motrin headache.

I don't know about you, but I've been given so many pieces of conflicting advice over the years that beyond the basics of modesty, I no longer feel qualified to give anyone any advice. And that's probably not a great place since I'm the mother of three daughters (and one son--but he's so much easier when it comes to clothes I just don't worry about it) and I've been a young women leader for most of my adult life. In addition, I'm a professional photographer and my favorite clients are high school seniors.

As you might imagine, I'm frequently called upon to posit opinions on modesty and appropriateness in dress.

There's no consensus on either. Not even in the church. I've now lived in three different stakes where women, especially in leadership positions, were specifically asked to wear pantyhose to church. And I lived in one temple district where the women were asked to wear pantyhose to the temple. Now that doesn't bother me. I personally consider it a public service to wear them as I am of Irish descent and have a complexion to match and I don't want to be responsible for anyone being blinded. Also, it's only 3 hours a week.

But then it came up on an e-mail group I'm a member of and you would have thought we were asking women to shave their heads and let their husbands take another wife. Talk about some hostile conversation. I was glad we were online because I was afraid the tar and feathers were coming out next.

The same thing happened when the topic of flip-flops for Sacrament meeting came up. For what it's worth, I don't own any, I haven't owned any since childhood and I don't plan to own any (they hurt my toes). I also don't let my daughters wear them to church on Sunday. And I wouldn't wear them to the White House to meet the president. So, now you know my position. But you aren't me and you aren't my daughters, so you're not my problem.

A few more of the "sage" pieces of modesty/fashion advice I've come across over the years at church.

T-shirts are not appropriate for church wear (I don't mean the crew neck things we pass out youth conference or something from a rock concert--I get that--the statement here meant any type of t-shirt).
Denim is not appropriate for church wear.
Anything that wouldn't be modest without alterations or something under or over it isn't appropriate for LDS women.
It's ok to wear any kind of bathing suit as long as you have a t-shirt and/or board shorts. (just for the record, if I wanted to wear a t-shirt and shorts while I was swimming, I would just skip the uncomfortable bathing suit to begin with)
Shorts are not appropriate for church activities or women who've been through the temple.
Even toddlers should be wearing dresses that are at least knee length.
Any shoe that you can't wear pantyhose with is not appropriate for church wear.
There is nothing wrong with wearing pajama pants as long as they're modest.
Prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses are never appropriate for church.
I love to see the young women wear their formal dresses to church.

Is it any wonder we're all conflicted about modesty and style and fashion here?

As a young women leader, I teach the standards from For the Strength of Youth. I try and teach my young women (and my daughters) to dress so they won't have to make big wardrobe changes once they have been through the temple. I also try teach my daughters and our young women about dressing appropriately for different occasions. I do have a few general rules there.

They are:

Bathing suits are never appropriate attire for a church wedding.
It's better to be overdressed than underdressed.
Wedding guests should not wear white to a wedding unless requested to do so by the bride.
Don't wear anything that will make you feel self-conscious or uncomfortable. If you are going to spend the day tugging it up, tugging it down or being afraid to bend, turn or squat, leave it in the dressing room.
Flip-flops are not formal wear.

That's it for me anymore.

So, how does it all work for you? What crazy fashion/modesty advice have you gotten and how do you address the whole issue? Do you just wear whatever and don't worry about it or do you try to adapt current fashions to be more modest?

Mormons are Funny

2011-06-29T11:20:00.000-06:00

I was surfing through the archives this morning and I found this little gem from Jia that I thought was definitely worth another look.
_________________________________________________

My Father in Law and I had a good laugh today I thought I would share. He is in charge of scheduling the baptisms for our ward building. Today he had to go to the building to set up for 3 separate baptisms scheduled an hour apart from one another. There are like a few different versions of how things like this should be scheduled and every ward in our building apparently has a different version.

I told my Father in Law, "See, this is why when non-members say they just don't like organized religion, I always reply with 'Organized may be an exaggeration.'"

Father in Law laughed and then said, "Kinda like when people say we're a cult, I tell them that in a cult people follow their leaders without question. If we did that, none of us would be in debt, we would all be caught up on food storage and we'd all have 100% home teaching."

Smart man that one.

Have I Got a Deal for You! --My Memories Coupon Savings--

2011-06-27T06:22:00.001-06:00

So, if you entered our giveaway for the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software and didn't win, I'm so sad. Really. I would have loved to give all you some free software. I love to give things away. But they only gave me one.

All is not lost, however. I do get to keep giving you $10 off the software. And rumor has it that it comes with a $10 coupon in case you want to buy some of those cool add-on kits.
So, here's the code. STMMMS56215 And here's the link. My Memories Digital Scrapbooking.

So, if you're into digital scrapbooking, or you want to get into digital scrapbooking, I really do recommend this program. It was easy to learn and easy to use and very affordable (especially if you use that coupon code up there--copy and paste it--it's easier).

So, that's the deal. Use it, share it, delete it. Scratch that last one. Use it, share it and then show us what you've made.

Happy Monday!

Validation--And the Power of Words

2011-06-26T08:00:00.002-06:00

A little something to think about this Sunday morning.
This is one of my all-time favorite YouTube videos. I just posted a video about the power of words on my other blog (Improving on the Silence) and it reminded me of this one.

Not only are words powerful, but how we use them is even more critical. What have you done today to lift another?

And the Winner Is. . .

2011-06-20T06:31:00.001-06:00

{EAV_BLOG_VER:9bbdcbcc9c282e84}
. . . Nan Hyde! Yay, Nan!

For the rest of you, you can go to mymemories.com and buy the software for $10 off, using this code STMMMS56215. The $10 off deal will end today, so don’t wait to buy your copy of My Memories Suite. For digital scrapbooking, this program is definitely the way to go!

If you buy it after today, there isn't a discount, but I'll still get credit, so maybe they'll see how much all my readers love this software and let us do another giveaway!

Happy Monday!

Photos & Scrapbooks & Giveaways, Oh My!

2011-06-14T07:40:00.000-06:00

Obviously, photography is on my mind this week. First, we have the really cool My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software giveaway. You can enter until Thursday. Get all the details here and don't miss out.

And then, I just finished writing Marie Leslie's Guide to Great Vacation Photos. It's a free, downloadable E-Book with some of my favorite tips for making the most of your vacation photos. Whether your traveling around the world or around the block this summer, you won't want to miss this.

You can get it on my Facebook page at Marie Leslie Media.

See you there!

And don't forget. The My Memories Giveaway ends Thursday!

Priceless Treasures

2011-06-12T10:55:00.000-06:00

Today I am thrilled to share a guest poster with all of you. Tiffany is one of my "internet friends". I've never met her in person, but I've learned to love her over the internet. This post is just one of the many reasons.

Tiffany blogs at "A Butterfly World." She's a fun loving person that loves Oreo malts (oh, now I'm hungry), dancing in the rain and dreams of swimming with the dolphins.

__________________________________________________

It's been said that 'one person's trash is another man's treasure'. I have a cabbage patch doll that I got when I was 6. It has scuff marks all over it's face and head. The outfit it has on has a small stain on the back and little fluff bunnies all over it. There is some kind of soda pop stain on it's left knee, and the entire skin of the baby is kind of dingy looking. Most people probably look at this doll and think I should trash it, however this doll is a priceless treasure to me.

Twenty-four years ago this week my little sister, Tara, was born. Tara has down syndrome and had some serious health challenges when she was first born. During that time she was held in the nicu of the hospital and being such a small child I was not allowed in there. This was a terrible thing for me, I had waited a long time for a little sister to play with and now she was here and no one would let me see her. I remember standing outside the door peering in the window as different family members would go in and see her. I even have pictures of me standing around crying because I wanted to see her so badly.

Eventually the day came that Tara was released from the hospital and I would finally get to meet her. I anxiously sat in a waiting area of the hospital while my parents went in to get my sister. When the big brown doors opened my mom came out holding my baby sister, she was followed by my dad and a nurse who also had something in her arms. My mom sat down next to me and introduced me to my sister. The nurse then approached me and handed me a brand new baby cabbage patch doll with a hospital band around it's wrist proclaiming me as it's mother. My mom and I both left the hospital that day cradling our newborns.

Over the next while every time my mom sat down to feed my sister I would be sitting right next to her feeding a bottle to my own baby. My baby doll got it's diaper changed, took a bath, and was rocked to sleep at the exact same time my baby sister did. You could say they were practically twins! I felt so close to my mom and my sister as we did all of these things together.

Well my sister outgrew the diapers and I outgrew playing with dolls, but we never outgrew each other. Tara and I are still the best of friends doing many things together. Whenever I look at my seemingly banged up little cabbage patch doll I recall those tender moments we had when she was just small and the love that bonded us together for a lifetime.

Sharing My Memories--Software Giveaway!!

2011-06-09T08:23:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago I opened my inbox and I found an invitation to try some digital scrapbooking software. Even though I'm a photographer and I've designed many albums professionally for my clients, I have never really used digital scrapbooking software, so this sounded like fun to me.

Yes, I am giving away this cool software—so read to the end and enter!

White Sands with the kiddos

I went to mymemories.com and I downloaded My Memories Suite and installed it. Definitely a simple and easy process. Then I went through my photo files and picked out a few pictures to play with. When I am designing photo albums, I like to choose the photos I know I want in the album before I start and put them all in one folder together. It makes it a lot faster and I don't end up hunting all over for photos or leaving any out.

I decided to put together an album from our last trip to White Sands. We had so much fun and it was such a pretty day and, of course, PhotograMama took lots of photos of her favorite kids. It's all drag-and-drop and very simple to lay out an album using their pre-made templates. The program comes with more than 30 pre-laid out albums. It’s easy to re-order the pages, so you can be up in running in minutes.

I'm going to camp next month--guess which
scrapbooking kit I'm buying next!

For me, the litmus test of any software is whether I have to read the user manual before using. With My Memories, I didn’t have to, though you will learn a few tips to speed things up. In addition, to a PDF user manual—which means you can download and save it to your computer and review it whenever you want, there are also video tutorials available.

This one is so pretty--it's on my wishlist, too.

Once you’ve got it up and running, you can download additional goodies. There are dozens of free layouts and paper/embellishment packs. There are also tons of layouts and goodies to customize your album from different designers and some of them start from just 99 cents. I didn’t see anything over $10. When I think about what I can drop at the scrapbooking store, My Memories is a bargain.

One of the features I liked best was the ease of journaling. Some of the pre-made layouts come with journaling space, but if you want to add your own, it’s as simple as a click—and I can use any of the fonts on my computer (I’m a font freak—there are a lot).

The completed layouts you see with this post were made by me, using just the basic software. I’ve also downloaded a couple samples of the add-on kits and packs. I’ve been wanting to go to a digital scrapbooking design—I’m not good with embellishments and handwriting, so the computer holds great scrapbook software.

Win a Free Copy of My Memories Suite!

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for—the giveaway. Modern Molly Mormon is giving away My Memories Suite 2. It’s a $39.97 value—and then there’s all those great goodies you can get afterward—and a lot of them are free.

To enter, visit mymemories.com and then come back here and post a comment telling me which layout or kit you like best.

For additional entries (be sure to comment separately for each one), like any of the following pages on Facebook and then come back and tell me you did it. My Memories Suite, Modern Molly Mormon or Marie Leslie Media (that’s my page).

Follow My Memories on Twitter or Follow Marie Leslie Media on Twitter and tweet this giveaway to your followers.

You can also tweet this giveaway: Scrapbook your summer with free software from mymemories.com. Enter today. http://t.co/s0DAsJC

One of my cute seniors.

If you enter on the Facebook page, it doesn't count--you have to enter here.

The giveaway will close on Thursday, June 16 at midnight mountain time. You have live in the US to win and I’ll announce the winner on Friday morning, June 17!

I have a million pictures (ok probably
only 10,000) and they need to be
scrapbooked. This is so easy.

Now, if you don’t want to wait and see if you win, you can go to mymemories.com now and buy the software for $10 off, using this code STMMMS56215. The $10 off deal will end on June 19^th, so don’t wait too long to buy your copy of My Memories Suite. For digital scrapbooking, this program is definitely the way to go!

Visiting Teaching Fail--or not?

2011-06-05T06:59:00.000-06:00

I am the world's worst visiting teacher. I don't know why this is so hard for me. I've certainly had enough years to get good at it. But it is the one thing at church I don't seem to get.

How hard is this really? You have three or four women, you get together with another woman (or not) and you go visit them each month. Seems like it ought to be pretty simple. But it's not. Every month I get to, oh, say the 25th and the thought crosses my mind that I'm supposed to be doing something (though sometimes I forget completely). And then the thought leaves and another month goes by.

Is it because it feels like one more obligation? Is it because I'm really a shy person and I have a hard time doing one-on-one with people I don't know? That really is true. I'd rather speak in stake conference than call someone I don't know and invite myself over for a visit.

Or is there some great vision here I'm missing. Maybe I just got off to a bad start. I've never really had a companion who was enthusiastic about visiting teaching. I've had more than a few visiting teachers who were at least as bad as it as I was. Perhaps it was one of those early visiting teachers who thought it was her duty to educate me in the "proper" way to be a wife/mother/homemaker that left a bad taste in my mouth. Or maybe it was the ward I lived in for eight years, where my visiting teachers changed an average of three times/year. Or the companion who looked at me the first time we met and told me I was sent as an answer to her prayers (yikes!).

On the other hand, I've had some pretty amazing visiting teachers over the years. There was the one who came over at 2 a.m. so I wouldn't have to wake my kids when I had to make an emergency trip to the hospital. There was another one who showed up at my door with dinner for my family minutes after I walked in the door from a surgery I thought no one knew about--and she had just moved into the ward the week before. I didn't even know she was my visiting teacher yet. Or the visiting teacher who came over and helped me paint my master bedroom with the 13-foot ceiling and held the ladder because she didn't me to fall off and break my hip (it really did happen to another sister in ward doing the same thing). And the ones who were just there, who actually checked up on me more than once a month and knew what was happening in my life and didn't make me feel like an obligation or an assignment.

Some of my dearest friends started out as visiting teachers or visiting teachees (is that a word--it is now because it's right there in black-and-white) or companions. So why is it so hard? It's the one thing I'd really like to be better at, but I'm not even sure how to get there after a quarter-century of not being good at it.

So, it's the beginning of the month, more or less. I really do want to change this and be better. I know visiting teaching isn't going to happen this week. This week is youth conference and I need to be there so that's half my week gone and I still have a full week of work to do in the half-week I have left. I think I have a night route. Not my first choice but since that's where I'm needed that's where I need to be. And this week only has one night in it that I don't already have a church commitment and it has a business commitment. So, next week it is.

So, what is it that makes you either anticipate or dread visiting teaching? From either end. Do you look forward to visiting teaching or having your visiting teachers come or do you hope the month will pass by quickly and move on to the next one? What makes it work or not work for you?

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream!

2011-06-03T11:40:00.000-06:00

I don't know what it's like at your house, but at our house, ice cream is a staple food.

I could forget a lot of things on my grocery list, but if I forget ice cream, I just might as well not come home. And this is not from my kids. My hubby could happily exist on an ice cream diet. I, on the other hand, am a popcorn eater--but that's another post.

When he was in high school, he worked at an ice cream parlor (Farrell's). He has never recovered. On the upside, he does make a dandy ice cream Sundae. Every Sunday is Sundae night at our house. If you go to church you get a made-to-order ice cream Sundae if you're at our house on Sunday night.

Last Sunday #1 came home for a long weekend. We were happy to see her as she hasn't been home since leaving to take up residence in the Magic Kingdom last August. If you happen to visit the Wilderness Lodge, be sure to stop in and check up on her for me.

This event required ice cream pretty much every night, since she has apparently inherited the ice cream gene from her father.

In honor of the prodigal princess' return, the ice creamaholics decided ordinary ice cream Sundaes weren't enough. Instead, we made homemade ice cream sandwiches. Good stuff. Really. And so much easier than I thought it would be. We'll be making these again soon.

To make ice cream sandwiches, it's really helpful to have a waffle-cone maker. Being the bargain-hunter I am, I happened across one for $2 at Goodwill. You can tell because it still has most of the price tag on it. I haven't succeeded in removing all their labels yet but it hasn't stopped us. The only downside is that it didn't come with the nifty tool to actually roll the waffle cones into a cone shape, so we just make Sundae bowls. Or ice cream sandwiches.

To make them, you mix up a batch of waffle-cone batter (recipe is below) and then cook them up. It works best if you cut them in half as soon as you take the cooked waffles out--before they cool and get a little crispy. We cool ours on a cookie rack. Then you just have your ice cream man put a nice big scoop of slightly softened ice cream on one of the halves, top it with another half, pressing down gently and it's ice cream time!

Waffle Cone Recipe--makes 6-8 cones

1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat well egg, egg white and salt together with a whisk until well blended. Add sugar and beat until mixture begins to lighten in color. Stir in flour and mix until smooth with no lumps. Finally, blend in the melted butter.

Put about 2 tablespoons in the center of your preheated waffle iron for about 1 1/2-2 minutes. Mine has a little light on it, but it doesn't work well (the perils of the Goodwill) so I use a little timer and cook for 2 minutes. Longer than that and they are too brown and crisp for my taste.

If you don't want them flat, either roll into a cone or shape into a bowl immediately upon removal. They are HOT, so you need to use a towel or silicone glove to protect your hands. Let it cool enough to hold its shape, scoop in the ice cream and enjoy. Yum!

By the way, I'm always up for cool new things I can try in my little waffle maker. If you have any recipes, you'd like to share--or any ideas--I'd really love to hear from you!

Old Habits Die Hard

2011-05-29T08:58:00.000-06:00

I find myself slipping back into a bad Sunday habit. I am a Sunday School skipper. I don't know what it is about Sunday School, but I find myself out in the foyer, running home to pick up something I've forgotten for third hour, putting the finishing touches on a lesson. Sometimes it's just anything that keeps me out of Sunday School.

I don't like going in late (and now that it's summer break and our ranks have swelled, late means no seats), so if I have things to take care of after Sacrament meeting, I'll just not go.

It's not that our Sunday School is boring. We really do have an awesome, amazing teacher in our ward. And I went when I was in the Family History Class (of course, I also had one of my teenagers attending with me, so that kept me on task), but for some reason I find myself over the years starting out well in each ward and then gradually fading as time goes on.

I wouldn't dream of skipping out on Sacrament Meeting and I am always there for Relief Society (well, I was until I got called into Young Women and there's just no way I can be missing that), but Sunday School is just another story.

I don't know what it is that I get out of the habit. Sitting too long does cause my back to flare up, but I'm not sure that's it--the chairs in the Relief Society Room are definitely better for sitting than in the Young Women Room. I'm pretty sure it's not all sitting and listening to the teacher lecture; I've heard some great discussions in Gospel Doctrine. Could it be guilt that I don't keep up with the reading as well as I should? Sometimes I don't read like I should and sometimes I'm reading other books of scripture.

So, are you a dedicated Sunday School attendee or a Sunday School Skipper? If you go all the time, how do you keep yourself motivated to be there? What's the trick?

And if you're a Skipper, why is it that you don't go? Do you know? Or do you have to think about this one. This is definitely a habit I need to change (I'm starting over again today) and I really some help and motivation on this one.

So, give me some feedback and help me get back on track--and maybe we'll get some more of our sisters back on track at the same time.

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

2011-05-19T08:34:00.001-06:00

It's the last day of school here today. The girls are doing the happy dance. I alternate between being happy to have them home for the summer and wondering how long it will be before they make me crazy.

While I think summer should be about fun and relaxation and ditching all the pressure of the school year, I also want it to be enriching and fulfilling.

We have a few must-do activities around here for the summer--besides riding bikes and going to the pool and weeding the garden and mowing the lawn. I have a house full of band geeks and that means music. We don't do private music lessons--it's just not in the budget--but they all play in the school band. That means part of summer will involve music practice.

#4 brought home a new instrument the last week of school. She's going to play trombone in one of her band classes next year. She already plays the flute in the advanced band and played trumpet in the intermediate band, but trombone is new and she needs to be up to speed when school starts. She'll need a lot of practice to keep up on at least two instruments.

#3 plays the clarinet and bass clarinet. No bass clarinet this summer because she's changing schools in the fall and we definitely can't afford to buy her one of her own, so she'll have lots of time on her clarinet. The fingering is the same and besides, many marching bands don't march bass clarinets so she needs to be ready for marching season with her regular clarinet.

I'm also a bookworm, so we have reading time every day. Lots of library trips (if you read my other blog, you already know I'm a library junkie) and time for fun reading. No restrictions except that graphic "novels" drive me crazy, so I limit the number of those that get read over the summer.

And we'll have some field trips because I don't like to stay indoors. My girls have already torn out all kinds of pages from the city Rec guide. If I enrolled them in every workshop they liked, I'd have to take out a second mortgage. I think we'll pick one or two.

What happens at your house in the summer? Do you have lots of planned, structured time or do you let the rugrats roam free and explore? Do they get extra chores? Do they have summer "assignments"? How does it work at your house? I am always looking for new ideas. I'd love your feedback--and if you have a whole post you'd like to write or share, I'd love to hear from you about that, too.

Ah-Choo! Must Be Spring

2011-05-18T08:42:00.000-06:00

Spring and I have a love-hate relationship. I'm not a big fan of winter. Yes, I willingly moved to the land of winter, but that doesn't mean it's my favorite season.

Winter here wasn't too awfully horrible this year. We did have that one week where the highs had minus signs in front of them and I didn't go outside, but beyond that we didn't get a lot of snow and I survived it. It was cold in New Mexico in the winter, but even our lows didn't have minus signs.

So, I am always happy for the arrival of spring, but it's a mixed bag. Spring means no more snow and cold (unless you live here at the North Pole, apparently), but it also means things start growing and that means pollen. And I am allergic to things that produce pollen.

Pollen is definitely NOT my friend.

Pollen goes head-to-head with my asthma and makes it unhappy. Pollen makes my nose run and my eyes water and my throat itch and causes my immune system to produce vast quantities of nasty stuff we won't talk about on this family-friendly blog. Pollen makes me wish I bought stock in Kimberly-Clark because I am clearly single-handedly responsible for their spring Kleenex profits. Pollen makes me long for summer. For what it's worth, fall and I don't get on too well, either, but summer--we do ok.

So, like any other reasonable person, I buy out the pharmacy in an effort to find relief and breath. At least I used to. It seems like every time I'd find an allergy medicine that actually gave me some relief (and there aren't many), either my insurance company would decide to stop paying for it because I could something else--that didn't work--over the counter, or the FDA would decide that I was going to die from taking it and pulled it off the market. Apparently, they didn't realize that I was going to die a lot faster if I didn't take it.

And then I found Allegra. And it worked. My Kleenex consumption went down considerably. I was able to leave the house and actually be with other people. And then Claritin became available without a prescription. So my insurance company decided that I could take Claritin instead. Only it doesn't work. And at $40/month for the generic Allegra (fexofenadine) at Costco, this was going to get old fast.

A friend told me to take honey. He said eating local honey would cure my allergies. Yeah, right. I've been down that road before. I have the allergies to beat all allergies. I've tried just about every home remedy on the planet. They don't work. Pollen and I, we still don't get along. Besides, I can't stand honey. Ick. It makes me gag. No way I'm going to be slurping down a spoonful of honey every morning and not lose my breakfast (yeah, I know. We're family friendly. You'll get over it over it).

He kept telling me this. After a year of paying out of pocket for my Allegra AND having the insurance company decide that #4, aka Asthma Girl, didn't need prescription allergy medicine either, I decided it was time to find an alternative.

I trekked down to the health food store and found a jar of local honey. Being the wise woman that I am, I decided that hubby could be the guinea pig. Besides, he likes honey. He started taking the honey and after about three weeks or so of eating his daily teaspoonful of honey his eyes stopped itching (his allergies aren't as bad as mine--his eyes just get kind of red and itchy in the spring). It seemed to be working, so we moved on to #4. She likes honey, too. She takes her daily honey in the form of peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Still too icky for me. And it worked. Not only did her allergies get better, but she stopped needing to use her rescue inhaler every day.

I decided to get brave and give it a shot. But I really, really don't like honey. I really cannot make a spoonful of honey go down my throat. Peanut butter and honey was not going to be an option either. Why ruin a perfectly good peanut butter sandwich? So, it was back to the health food store to look for an alternative. I found local bee pollen. The clerk at the store told me it would work the same, so I bought a bottle of it and brought it home.

And it worked. Bee pollen doesn't taste very good and the texture is a little like swallowing a spoonful of gravel, but it's not honey and I can still swallow it, washing it down with a small glass of milk (I'm not a milk fan either, but it gets rid of the aftertaste).

I've been doing this for three years now and I no longer feel that pull to buy stock in Kimberly-Clark. I can go out and enjoy spring. No more itchy watery eyes, no more runny nose, no more out-of-control asthma or sneezing or coughing or other nasty stuff.

The side benefit? It's budget friendly. One bottle of bee pollen lasts me for about six months and costs much less than one month of Allegra, even now that it's over the counter.

So, if you're doing the battle of spring, give it a try. It takes a few weeks to build up in your system, so you won't see immediate relief, but if you're like me and like to avoid the pharmeceuticals, this is one home remedy that really does have some merit to it.

Just remember:
You need local bee pollen or local honey. The closer it grows to your area, the better it's going to work.
You need to take it every day. Just one teaspoon a day is all you need. If you're taking honey, you can use it on a sandwich or stir it into your tea, but every day. For bee pollen, I recommend just biting the bullet and washing it down with milk or whatever else you like to drink.
And finally, your mileage may vary. I had horrible allergies and it was like a miracle. But it may not work as well for you. I'm not a doctor, just doctor mom.

Happy Spring!

Mother's Day Revisited

2011-05-13T13:56:00.002-06:00

Yeah, I know. It's Friday and Mother's Day was Sunday and I really should have been on the ball enough to post this at least a couple of days ago. But I had to recover from Mother's Day AND I've been off in my own little computer world redesigning my website, which as always, took at least three times as long as I planned for. But it's done. If you want to stop by and check it out and give me some feedback, you're definitely invited. Just click here--but NOT until AFTER you read this great post by Sarah.

Sarah is a stay-at-home mom to her 9-month-old son and sugar momma to her hardworking husband of almost two years. She works for a local paper once a month and enjoys socializing, crafts and music. You can read more of Sarah at her blogs http://thejrsrfamily.blogspot.com/ and http://sarahbeu.blogspot.com/ but I'm really hoping she likes us and decides to share posts with us on a regular basis.

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I only feel it's apropos to write my feelings in regards to my first-ever Mother's Day. Last year apparently didn't count since my son was only half-baked. But the lessons in church and some things I've read have changed my mind and perspective about that. I now feel I've been gypped out of 25 Mother's Days.

What am I saying? I'm saying that my whole existence has been about motherhood, and I'm not talking about preparing for the day when I would enter that labor and delivery room and out comes a baby. Motherhood, I've learned, is much more than that, says Sheri Dew. And she is so right! Motherhood is not solely equated with maternity! Every woman needs to get over that way of thinking and focus on how she can be a better mother not only to her own children or family, but to those around her.

Early that morning, I sat and contemplated what it meant to be a mother and found myself very lacking. Instead of getting discouraged, I was emboldened. The talks and lessons at church supported this feeling. They broadened my view and taught me how to be a better mother. I learned that motherhood for me did not begin when I first conceived our son. Rather, it began long ago, before I even came to this earth. My husband thought that most of the talks seemed to "cater" to those who couldn't have children. I disagreed. They said to me that I was chosen and called to be a mother, along with every other righteous woman. Not only that, but I'm destined to continue to be a mother after this mortal life as long as I keep my covenants. I don't even think I can begin to understand the magnitude of that.

Sheri Dew says, "Our motherhood began before we were born. Just as worthy men were foreordained to hold the priesthood in mortality, righteous women were endowed premortally with the privilege of motherhood."

Don't most of us remember times when we were little girls, rocking our baby dolls to sleep or feeding them? We all feel that yearning to nurture, to tenderly care for others. It's an innate attribute we all share and must learn to cultivate carefully.

Not only will we continue to have an increase after this life, but the very word, "mother" characterizes us in the hereafter: "For mother is the word that will define a righteous woman made perfect in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, a woman who has qualified for eternal increase in posterity, wisdom, joy, and influence." What a promise and incentive to live up to my very potential as a mother.

Sometimes, we find ourselves waiting on the Lord for promised blessings. For everyone, it's different. This is what Sheri Dew said about those without children: "For reasons known to the Lord, some women are required to wait to have children. This delay is not easy for any righteous woman. But the Lord’s timetable for each of us does not negate our nature." I think the key word is "delay." Everyone needs to be reminded of that. The Lord has made promises and He will pull through for us. We have to remember it's on His timeline though, not ours.

It only makes sense that Relief Society declaration states "Find nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood." How exhilarating it is to be a woman and what a glorious time it is to be a mother to those who need it.

Not Your Ordinary Mother's Day Post

2011-05-06T08:49:00.001-06:00

Sunday is Mother's Day. I'm guessing, unless you live under a rock somewhere, you've noticed. It's pretty hard to miss, what with all those annoying commercials about all the stuff we mothers apparently NEED to be properly appreciated.

It's not my favorite holiday. In fact, I know an awful lot of women who wouldn't be the least bit sad if it somehow vanished off the calendar. I think I'm one of them. Sort of.

Mother's Day is a tough holiday. I remember as a child, sitting through Sacrament meetings where they handed out plants to "special" mothers: the oldest mother, the newest mother, the mother with the most kids, the "mother" of the ward (the bishop's wife). I'm sure there were other honorifics, because it went on forever, but I don't remember them.

And then time went on and I guess they decided that doing that was a pretty discriminatory practice, like somehow those women were somehow better and more deserving of praise and blessings and the other mothers didn't quite make the grade, so they started giving out something, usually droopy carnations that died before church was over, to every woman of Relief Society age--meaning 18 or over. I thought that was weird, too. As a single teen and young adult, I was pretty uncomfortable with the idea that I should be "honored" on Mother's Day. I tried to either dodge out or just not accept a carnation, but those Deacons weren't having any of that.

And like many young women, my teenage years did not lend themselves to a stellar relationship with my own mother. These things do not a joyous Mother's Day make.

Even after I got married and had kids, I still wrestled with it. I had a really hard time as a young mother. I lived in a very traditional ward, we were a young married couple, I had just graduated from college and I worked part-time--maybe two or three half-days a week--and the sisters in my ward were not happy with me. They simply couldn't understand how I could do such a thing to my daughter. Never mind that she was in a wonderful home daycare setting (a close family friend cared for both her and her cousin) and that we really did need my income to pay the the bills back then, the sisters in my ward were very public and forthcoming about my lack of mothering. It was hard and I suffered a lot of guilt and anguish over the whole thing, not because I worked but because I didn't feel bad about it--I thought back then in my naivete that there was something wrong with ME.

Eventually, I realized it wasn't me who had the problem and I made peace with it. And then I had more kids but I still didn't like Mother's Day, especially all those talks at church about everyone's sainted mothers and what wonderful homemakers their wives were or about how much they loved mothering. And all I could see was what a perfect mother I was not.

I dreaded Mother's Day. I would find every excuse in the book to not do things, to not be at church. My family would pester me for weeks about what special meal I wanted (ok, they still do that), what gift might make me happy, etc., etc. If I could have just gone to the South Pole ALONE for the week, I would have been more than happy (I guess that's what I should have asked for, but I suspect it wouldn't have been in the budget). I thought about asking for the day off--to go somewhere alone--but the little people would never have gone for that idea.

And then there was the year that we'd been trying to have a baby and I miscarried and the doctors suggested that perhaps it was time to give up. I know that far too many of you know the pain of that Mother's Day. I think perhaps it was about that time I thought about campaigning for a repeal of the holiday.

We finally came to a compromise. Mother's Day would not be about gifts and mom not doing anything all day long (and then spending Monday putting the house back together and recovering from the headache and the burnt breakfast). Mother's Day (weekend) would be about spending time together as a family doing something that Mom liked. So, we do family activities. One year, we spent the day pulling a 300-lb. piece of petrified wood out of a ravine (yes, it really is what I wanted to do and I still have the rock--the elders quorum actually put it on my moving truck). Last year, we spent the weekend watching Daughter #1 graduate from college (definitely a proud mom moment) and visiting Carlsbad Caverns. I have no idea what we'll do this year. I'm thinking about postponing it until #1 comes home for a visit at the end of the month.

Finally, the light bulb went off for me, that has made me able to endure Mother's Day and do it fairly gracefully (graceful has never been a word anyone would associate with me). Mother's Day isn't really about me at all. It isn't about my mothering skills or lack thereof. It isn't about whether I stay home with my children and do cute little craft projects with them and read them stories and show up for all the open houses and school plays and soccer games and band concerts and all the sacrifices we do or don't make for our families.

It's about them. Yep. It's about my kids. It's about allowing them the opportunity to think about someone else for a change and what other people do for them. And if it helps my kids to develop the habit of expressing gratitude, well, I can live with that. I've encouraged them to express gratitude and appreciation for the "other mothers" in their lives. See, I really am determined that it isn't about me.

And that's made it easier. It doesn't mean that I'm not still reminded about all the shortcomings I have as a mother (even though most of them are probably in my own mind--but those church talks still don't help). It doesn't mean that I don't still struggle with what I should or shouldn't be doing. It doesn't mean that my heart doesn't break for the pain of this day for my friends who don't have children of their own and would do anything for a child to mangle their Mother's Day carnation and burn their breakfast.

But in my own way, I've made peace with it. I guess it's just another sacrifice of being a mother.

How do you deal with Mother's Day?

Trifle Not with the Sabbath Day

2011-05-04T10:28:00.001-06:00

Today I'd like to share a guest post with you, written by Lynn in Canada. She wrote this after listening to Elder Perry's talk on the Sabbath and the Sacrament. She shared it with me and gave me permission to share it with all of you. The blue parts are from Elder Perry's talk and the black are Lynn's words.

It definitely gave me a new perspective, things I hadn't really thought about in that way before. What do you think?

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"Partaking of the sacrament is the center of our Sabbath day observance. In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord commands all of us:

“And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

“For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High. …

“And on this day thou shalt do none other thing.”

As we consider the pattern of the Sabbath and the sacrament in our own lives, there appear to be three things the Lord requires of us: first, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world; second, to go to the house of prayer and offer up our sacraments; and third, to rest from our labors."

Okay....Two things here. One.......There have been several friends (members and non members a like) that have brought up this subject to me and my husband lately. They question "Do we REALLY need to go to church on Sunday to worship God? I (we) don't believe that going to church is necessary to be a good person."

No of course not...there are lot's of GOOD people who don't attend church. But it IS a commandment from the Lord himself.... right there in the scriptures........ that we DO attend church. "To gather together oft". And sometimes many forget whatever for. Now Elder Perry has reminded me and all of us...that it is for the sacrament and to offer up our sacraments to the Lord. Elder Perry says...

"What does it mean to offer up our sacraments to the Lord? We acknowledge that all of us make mistakes. Each of us has a need to confess and forsake our sins and errors to our Heavenly Father and to others we may have offended. The Sabbath provides us with a precious opportunity to offer up these—our sacraments—to the Lord. He said, “Remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord."

Secondly, I also got to thinking....times have changed. In the old days....everybody physically WORKED HARD!!! You were either a farmer, or labourer of some sort. Many now say their "job" is light work. It's not physically tasking. And so therefore not "labor". "I just work on a computer." " I just stand here or sit in this chair do to my work." So I am not really physically "working".

And what about those hobbies? "Yes, the pioneer women may have had to sew, or crochet, or knit, in order to keep up with the supply and demand for their families attire, or for money when hired out by others....but I like to sew, or knit, or crochet, as a hobby. It's not work or "labor" for me. It's just something I like do and relaxes me." You get the idea. Well.... Elder Perry had some thoughts on that as well....

"Sometimes we think of resting from our labors as merely letting the hay baler stand idle in the field or putting a Closed sign on the business door. Yet in today’s world, labor includes the everyday work of our lives. This could mean business activities we may accomplish from home, athletic competitions, and other pursuits that take us away from Sabbath day worship and the opportunity to minister to others."

Sure got ME thinking.

It totally FRUSTRATES me that the world has changed SO much that it does NOT matter that you believe in keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. If you want a job, they tell you you HAVE to work on a few Sundays here and there in order to KEEP your job, or you are OUT the door. There is no recourse for this in many places. With my husband finally was able to go back into the work force after a long unemployment period (thank goodness for the job) he's had to face this dilemma.....the Sunday issue for the first time. That's how much it had changed over the years while he had worked at his other job previously for all that time. And so it had also become some of our children's issue, as well, now that they were teenagers and looking for work. It's NOT fair! Religious freedom, should be just that. But it's not. Not always the way we would like it. BUT....having said that.....there ARE ways to STILL do whatever we can to keep the Sabbath Day HOLY in our thoughts and actions when we ARE forced to work on the occasional Sunday. Number one....we can make sure to make it clear to our employers that Sundays ARE our Sabbath Day and we do whatever we can to make it Holy. Don't act casual about it. We can certainly do what we can to come to a compromise about how many Sundays we will be working. Otherwise our Employers will think if WE don't care...why should they. They will require you to work a LOT of Sundays rather than only one or two a month. And in some cases, our employers will respect our beliefs and never ask you to work on a Sunday. That was the case with two of our boys, thankfully. They were so blessed. And they felt so good about sharing this commitment to the Lord with their employers, who respected them for it.

However sometimes it is required of us to work Sundays because of just the nature of our work. I will take my grandfather and my mother for example. Grandpa was an operator and owner of a large dairy farm. There is no way of getting around milking AND feeding those poor cows on Sundays. However, I never, in my life, witnessed my grandfather scrubbing down the walls of the milking barn, or hauling a load of hay to the cows on Sunday either. Those types of chores he was SURE to have completed before the Sabbath day. Only the most necessary of chores were done on Sunday.

Now my mom.... She was a nurse (and a good one) for 45 years. The sick, the aged, and the weak, NEED someone to take care of them on Sundays. So of course, there are those who must work in those cases. There is no day off from taking care of the sick. I have firefighter friends, as well...... Police officers in our family and circle of friends. They HAVE to work in those cases. There is always the law or an emergency to take care of.....even on a Sunday. But.....from my mother I take her example. She was NEVER casual about her Sundays. She respected the Lord's day and treated it as such. She made sure she did whatever she could to keep it unspotted and "different" from any other day of the week. She made sure ALL her chores and things needing to be done at home were DONE BEFORE the Sabbath. The washing machine and dryer never ran on a Sunday, even though it's a machine "doing the work". Those kinds of chores were never done on a Sunday. Never. She dressed in her "skirt" uniform on Sunday instead of her "pants" uniform. The music she listened to on the way there was for the Sabbath. The books she read on her break (the Ensign for example) was for the Sabbath. When conference was on or there was a fireside, she went to those things dressed in her uniform ready to leave for her job when she had to, or else go STRAIGHT there (even late) when she got off her shift. Even if she had been on the graveyard shift Saturday night, she went straight to church Sunday morning on her way home. Even when tired. She did not try to easily find excuses to "skip out". She would call home and keep tabs on us and make SURE we would be there on time as well. And Sunday dinner was always mostly already ready in the slow cooker from the night before or whatever. She never took the Sabbath day lightly.

As we all know...the world has become VERY casual about Sunday. I don't care what religion you are....whether your Sabbath is on a Saturday, Monday, Friday or Sunday.....everyone has become too casual about the Sabbath. Business (pun intended) as usual is the agenda for the day. The same as any other day of the week. Working, playing, spending money, thinking and doing other things that have nothing to do with the Lord. And I dare say that this casualness is even more rampant these days withIN the membership of the church. IF the adversary can keep us so VERY busy that we can't even stop to reflect or change our actions or attire for just ONE day of the week......then he's doing the happy dance, 'cause it makes it so much easier for us to just continue on in a direction that we shouldn't be going.

Elder Perry continues on...

"It is a glorious thing to be a Christian and to live as a true disciple of Christ. Of us He said, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”To keep ourselves unspotted from the world, He expects us to avoid such worldly distractions of businesses and recreational facilities on the Sabbath day.

I believe He also desires us to dress appropriately. Our youth may think the old saying “Sunday best” is outdated. Still, we know that when Sunday dress deteriorates to everyday attire, attitudes and actions follow. Of course, it may not be necessary for our children to wear formal Sunday attire until the sun goes down. However, by the clothing we encourage them to wear and the activities we plan, we help them prepare for the sacrament and enjoy its blessings throughout the day."

Speaking of attire.....it was ALWAYS the rule in our house growing up, that we stayed in our better Sunday clothes after church and for the entire day. I will be honest and say that at times when our friends made fun of us for that (sometimes our family was invited over to other member's homes for dinner or FHE and they would see us all still in our better clothes...not necessarily our Sunday suits or dresses.....but still in our dressier and better Sunday clothes/skirts) it was hard to take the teasing and at times my siblings and I felt out of the "cool loop"........but it was WAY easier to remember what day it was when we were dressed differently than the SAME old way the rest of the week......and it was WAY easier to have our friends CHOOSE appropriate activities to do with us when we were dressed like that.

My husband and I have adopted the SAME Sabbath day rule in our own home. ( Funny how that goes.) The kids just know. There is no questions asked or arguments about it. They were raised from small babies with this rule and it is just a way of life. In fact, our second oldest daughter mentioned to me just the other day how glad she was that she was taught this principle. ( Oh be still my heart! lol. Love it.)

Anyway....just one more quote from Elder Perry....

“Trifle not with sacred things,”the Lord revealed to the Latter-day Saints, as if to remind us of what He told His disciples: “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.”

Wow. That is like a slap or wake up call to me. The Sabbath day is TRULY a sacred day. I must NOT "trifle" with it. I am all the more committed to raise the bar, step it up a notch, recommit or what- have- you, with the Sabbath Day.

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A little about Lynn:

I am married to the teenage boy who sat at the back of the school bus, when I was just a kid at the front of the bus. He was the 11th child of 15. I am the oldest of 8. We both grew up in the same small town, but never ever thought that we would end up getting married, let alone dating. That didn't cross our minds till years later. He was already graduated college and was working full time, by the time I was graduating high school. My father in law was my high school principal, and also my Bishop at one point. He was "Mr." to me. It took me quite a few years to finally start calling him "dad".

My husband and I are the parents of 6 awesome (but not perfect..let's make that clear) kids. Cassie, Candi, Colby, Corey, Curtis, and Cami. Our family continues to be blessed with an added son (in-law) Jon, married to Cassie in 2007, and their little girl Brynnae, who is our very first grandchild. Born 2011.

Other than my kids being my whole life.....I have a passion for fashion. An interest in home fashions (styling and decorating). An obsession with cooking and recipes.... I read and collect recipes by the thousands...so many that there is no way that I could make them all in my life time..... But I love trying and my family loves being the recipient of those meals. I love good music, dancing, reading blogs, researching and preparing for all kinds of emergencies....especially after being called as a Ward Preparedness Specialist a few years ago and just before my husband's sudden job lay off. And I would also add running to my lists of "loves", however, I can't say I "love" it. Although, I've been motivated to work out six times a week, for the past 25 years or so, and now have taken on running 5.5 miles a day (6 times a week) for about the past 3 years, for a refreshing change of pace. I can say I do love it....once my run is over. ; D

Sinfully Delicious for a Heavenly Mother's Day

2011-05-02T16:10:00.000-06:00

Mother's Day is in a week. Does anyone else feel like it really snuck up on us this year?

I guess it's because Easter was as late as it could be (well, within a day) and Mother's Day is as early as it can be. I guess I'm going to need to get creative here to get the mother's in my family taken care of.

If nothing else, I may need to pamper myself and I'm thinking that this delicious dessert could definitely do the trick.

How can anything that's chocolate and caramel and pecans NOT be yum? This heavenly treat is definitely no exception. I made this for the first time for a potluck event and had so many requests for the recipe that it's now at the top of my personal recipe hit parade.

And, even better, it's really easy. There are quite a few steps, but this is an easy recipe that even a beginner cook can handle and w0w their dinner guests.

I suppose the recipe came from somewhere, so I can't take credit for making it up. I know I didn't make it up, because I've never used a packaged cookie mix for anything. I thought about making up my own crust because I'm pretty much anti-packaged cooke and brownie mixes, but I was a little short on time--and since I hadn't tasted it before, I wasn't sure what I would make for a crust.

Start with the cookie mix, add egg and butter and create a crust. then add a cup of chopped pecans to the dough (yum).

The recipe actually calls for a tart pan with a removable bottom but I didn't have one and couldn't find one at all two stores I visited, so I used springform pans--they worked great.
Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan and then bake it for about 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

Take it out and let it cool for 10 minutes or so. While it's cooling, melt the caramels with 1/3 cup of cream, and blend it well.

Mix in more pecans and pour over the cooled crust. Refrigerate the tart for at least 15 minutes.
While the tart is cooling, melt the bag of milk chocolate chips with another 1/3 cup of cream and blend it well. Spread the chocolate mixture over the caramel and sprinkle with yet more pecans.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what to do with the leftover bits of chocolate in the bowl, well, I never have that problem at my house.

Refrigerate your finished tart for at least two hours, unmold it and enjoy!

Here's the whole recipe, just to make it easier for you.

Turtle Tart

Cookie Crust

1        pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1/2     cup butter or margarine, softened
1        tablespoon water
1        egg
1        cup chopped pecans

Filling

40      caramels, unwrapped
1/3     cup whipping cream
3/4     cup chopped pecans

Topping

1        bag (11.5 oz) milk chocolate chips (2 cups)
1/3     cup whipping cream
1/4     cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, water and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in 1 cup pecans. Press dough in bottom and up sides of ungreased 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
2. Bake 19 to 21 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and 1/3 cup cream on High 2 to 4 minutes, stirring twice, until caramels are melted. Stir in 3/4 cup pecans. Spread over cooled crust. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
4. In another medium microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and 1/3 cup cream on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Pour over filling. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup pecans. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set. To serve, let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before cutting. Store covered in refrigerator (like there's going to be any left).
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Use 10-inch tart pan. In step 2, bake crust 21 to 23 minutes.

Yum! Yum! When you try it, come back and let me know how yummy it was! Enjoy!

And in the interest of disclosure, lest some alert reader thinks I am horqueing things off other people's blogs, I originally posted this on my other blog, Improving On the Silence, some time last year. I am very respectful of copyrights. And yes, I made up that word. I get to do that because it's my blog.

Faith and Technology

2011-04-28T16:38:00.000-06:00

So, I talked to a college student today. She was surveying bloggers who blog about their faith. She asked some interesting questions. A little about our faith, but mostly about why I blog about my faith, how I feel about faith and the media and my thoughts on faith and technology.

She did ask if our church was involved in technology. I laughed. You know, we're all over the internet. Pretty much all members are familiar with lds.org, but there's also mormon.org, which is a great site for learning more about our faith. And we have our own Internet Radio and YouTube channels. Have you checked them out lately? There are some GREAT videos on there, terrific for lessons, FHE, sharing the gospel, or just enjoying. And then there's LinkedIn and Facebook. I belong to a number of LDS LinkedIn groups, and Facebook has pages for the church, the Ensign, the New Era, the Friend, Seminary, Institute, the Newsroom, Deseret Book--and those are just the official pages.

And after our conversation, it got me to thinking. I've never really thought about how blogging or the internet have affected my faith. I first began participating in an online LDS community back in the 90's when I lived in California. There was an e-mail group for LDS Young Women leaders. I got a lot of great ideas there. Then, when I moved to New Mexico and was feeling displaced and lonely, living in a hotel with two kids in school, two preschoolers and no friends, I signed on to a yahoo group called LDSmoms. And I met women from all over the world, and I learned how much more we have in common than just the gospel. 11 years later, I'm still there, with some dear friends. Some of those friends I've been blessed to meet in person and some I have not yet. But they've been a wonderful listening ear and a support. I've learned a lot and I've learned to see past exteriors.

I definitely think blogging has strengthened my faith. When I first began blogging (on my other blog), I really didn't share much about my faith. Since my blog was primarily for my business, I avoided getting into controversial topics, but over time, the blog transformed and I began blogging more about my beliefs and incorporating them into my blog posts. Not in an in-your-face proselytizing kind of way, but just letting my religion show. And I don't think it has cost me any readers.

I think that blogging has actually strengthened my faith and given me opportunities to think about what I believe and express it in words. When you have to put it out there for the world, you really tend to think more about what you're saying. And then I made the big leap and signed on to Modern Molly Mormon, so now my religion really is showing on the internet.

How about you? Do you blog? Do you blog about faith? Do you just follow blogs about faith? How has having internet access and sites like this--or all those church sites up at the top--changed your faith? Has it been good? bad? a mixed bag? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

An Incredible Edible . . .

2011-04-28T08:30:00.000-06:00

Time for another little blast from the past today. I've been surfing the archives and this sounded just too yummy not to share again. Or maybe it's just because I haven't eaten breakfast yet. But either way, Cinco de Mayo is next week and just in case you're idea impaired. . . .

If you live in Utah or have visited Utah in the past eight years, and have been outside the house in UTAH; you have probably been the beneficiary of Steve & Tricia Stanley, who started the first Cafe Rio restaurant in 1997 in St. George, Utah. (Really!? In St. George, who would have guessed?) (Also, their website is really fun to visit if you get a chance, and has all kinds of really fun and interesting information)

And they are certainly STILL a HUGE hit today here in Utah and copy cat recipes are becoming famous across the blogosphere, trying to create their renowned salads. Over the years I've received many recipes that seem to approximate the REAL thing at our local CAFE RIO restaurants. But just recently I discovered a cooking blog who has THE BEST Cafe Rio recipes of all, and believe me I've tried more than a few. In fact, take a minute right now to go on over to Favorite Family Recipes and see all their yummy offerings.

My family has gathered together a few times in the last couple months and assembled these DELICIOUS salads using these recipes. With a little searching and preparation of ingredients, one can make a REALLY close approximation to the real thing.

They were voted by my extended family the number one requested item for our get together recently to celebrate Mother's Day.

Yum!

Can you smell the fresh cilantro?

Or maybe it's those delicious fresh limes, hmmmm . . . it's making me hungry again just posting these photos.

Our assignment was to bring the creamy cilantro salad dressing (which seriously is to die for if you haven't ever tried it!) and also the cilantro lime rice. The ingredients for the dressing are pretty easy and you should probably have most of them on hand.

One tip on the dressing; if you don't want to mess with the fresh tomatillos, buy Salsa Verde which is made from tomatillos and substitute 6 heaping tablespoons for the fresh tomatillos and the jalapenos.

We always use brown rice to make the Cilantro Lime Rice. Don't think you can take a shortcut and skip making the rice - it's super easy and is DELICIOUS! You just add a little freshly squeezed lime, a bit of sugar and just chopped cilantro (smells so good!) It totally makes the rice!

Here we are finishing up the final ingredients and assembling the masterpieces.

Ahhh! Dig in - they're the best!

Hints & Tips: be sure to buy the cute little foil pans (on the baking aisle) to assemble and serve the salads in. We have tried the tortillas you cook yourself from Costco, and also the regular already cooked tortillas. Both are great, just brown in a frying pan with a little Olive oil Pam and a sprinkle of grated cheddar/Monterrey jack cheese on top. Then place in the foil pans while hot and toasty. Also, you can buy the traditional Cafe Rio mini tortilla strips that are so popular at Smith's in the produce section with the croutons. Or check any large well stocked grocery and hope you can find them because they really add a lot also.

This Latter Day Mom, just trying to "Endure to the End" one day at a time. You can follow these antics and more at Alpine Klein Bunch.

He is not here, for He is Risen.

2011-04-24T10:00:00.000-06:00

"I testify that Jesus Christ is the literal, living Son of our literal, living God. This Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer who, under the guidance of the Father, was the Creator of heaven and earth and all things that in them are. I bear witness that He was born of a virgin mother, that in His lifetime He performed mighty miracles observed by legions of His disciples and by His enemies as well. I testify that He had power over death because He was divine but that He willingly subjected Himself to death for our sake because for a period of time He was also mortal. I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world. In doing so He conquered both the grave physically and hell spiritually and set the human family free. I bear witness that He was literally resurrected from the tomb and, after ascending to His Father, to complete the process of that Resurrection, He appeared, repeatedly, to hundreds of disciples in the Old World and in the New. I know He is the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings."

--Jeffrey R. Holland, The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent, Ensign, Nov. 2007, 42

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

--John 3:16

Easter Messages For You!

2011-04-23T13:21:00.001-06:00

Happy Easter, my sisters! I've been doodling around a bit today and created a couple of Easter wordles to share with you. The only problem is I haven't yet figured out how to do downloads on Blogspot. So, if you would like to have these to print and to share, please hop on over to my other blog, Improving On the Silence, where you can download them as printable JPG files. They print as 5 x 7's.

Happy Easter!!

Sleep Matters

2011-04-22T11:00:00.000-06:00

Today we're having a little blast from the past. The Modern Molly Mormon Archives are stuffed full of wonderful articles, so periodically I'll be reposting a few. Since I'm a chronic insomniac, I thought this article was particularly timely.

You may have heard the saying, "Sleep is for the weak". Tough talk. This used to be my unspoken mantra, and I will have to admit that I was even a little proud of my ability to go for extended periods (like, years), on very little sleep yet still remain functional. At least I thought I was functional. Anyone around me may have been forced to differ if asked. I was frequently whiny, depressed, klutzy, irritable and vague. And I was becoming increasingly unhealthy.

Now I talk about this as if it is in the past, but the truth is that I will always be a sleep deprivation junkie-in recovery. Almost every single night, I have an inner struggle with myself over getting enough sleep and staying up to do something else. The shift is that I now realize that staying up just isn't worth it. I have discovered that I lose at least 3 hours of productivity for every 1 hour I stay up too late the night before. It's not a good trade-off.

We are counseled by our leaders, our doctors and our mothers over and over again, to get enough sleep. President Hinckley recommended going to bed at 10pm and waking up at 6am. While we don't all have the luxury of sleeping during prescribed hours, we can all make sleep a top priority and get as much of it as possible. On the topic of how much sleep one should get, Church Welfare services states,

The question as to what is adequate for any individual has received a good deal of thought and study. The eighty-eighth section of the Doctrine and Covenants tells us that we should go to bed early so that we may arise feeling refreshed. It also cautions us not to sleep more than is needful (see D&C 88:124).

A California Human Population Study reported that people who had 7 to 8 hours of sleep were healthier than those who slept 6 hours or less and those who slept 9 hours or more. Houston, Texas aerospace studies found that most people require 7 to 8 hours of sleep in any 24-hour period of time. We know that newborn babies require up to 22 hours of sleep daily. Between the ages of one and four about 12 hours of sleep are necessary, and between ages four and twelve about 10 hours are required. Teenagers need from 8 to 10 hours, and on the average, adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep to maintain good health.

Apparently the time of day one sleeps is not important as long as it is consistent and adequate for one’s needs. Where possible, adherence to the “early to bed and early to rise” lifestyle suggested in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 88:124) would satisfy daily sleep needs.

As women, sleep is often the first thing to be sacrificed in times of stress. Well, no make that exercise, but sleep is a close second. Think about it. Most of us don't stop eating when we are very busy, we don't go for long periods of time without showering or brushing our teeth, but we often think nothing of adopting burning the candles at both ends as a way of life. And it's a big mistake.
Chronic sleep deprivation puts us at high risk for depression, it impairs judgment, slows response time, hinders the body's ability to heal itself and suppresses the immune system drastically. Nobody can afford to take these risks, least of all people with others dependent on them. Sleep deprivation, as we know, also decreases one's tolerance and patience levels, which can be disasterous for someone trying to deal with a newborn, or a toddler, or a pre-teen, or a teenager....or a husband, or traffic, or a boss, or co-workers..or life!

Sleep deprivation can actually shorten your life. Consider this, scientists discovered that rats who were prevented from sleeping for 2-3 weeks died. Scientist and Dr.s have discovered that chronic sleep deprivation is associated with a whole host of dangerous health conditions, one of the most common being insulin resistance which is a precursor for diabetes, a condition becoming more of an epidemic in this country all the time. Lack of sleep interferes with one's ability to metabolize sugars, but it also suppresses hormones which tell us that we are full, leading to overeating and weight gain. No fair eh? When we are tired we are also more likely to reach for comfort foods, and fast food and we know that this affects the entire family adversely.
If you are looking to make an improvement in your health, start with sleep. It is the foundation for everything else. If you are tired, how likely are you to stick to an exercise routine? And we just talked about how lack of sleep can wreak havoc with your commitment to healthy eating.

Now to be realistic, most of us have already heard all this. We all know sleep is important, but how do we actually make it happen?

1.Make a commitment to your bedtime. Tell your spouse, tell your friends, talk about it on your blog, post it on facebook. Set the DVR and put the kids to bed earlier if necessary. I have told my husband to slam my laptop shut on my typing fingers when necessary. He hasn't dared to yet. Wimp. The point is that like with any other lifestyle change, we cannot leave our bedtime to chance. We have to plan for it, and commit to it, and involving others in that commitment is likely to make us a lot more successful in sticking to it.

2. Get sleepy. Listen, I have 4 kids. Three of them were terrible, awful, horrible, no good sleepers. I have spent much of the last 10 years chronically sleep deprived. Now that my youngest is almost 5, I still rarely log a full night of zzz's. I know that many of you probably feel sleepy all the time. I also know that when you have spent an entire day being mauled and whined at by kids, you are desperate by nightfall for alone time, perhaps even more then for sleep. And alone time is crucial. But it doesn't have to be a media fix. Take your alone time in a warm bubble-bath. Due the phenomenon of cooling water and pruney fingers, we are far less likely to lose track of time in the tub then we are in front of a screen. Read a book in bed instead of watching TV. You are far more likely to get refreshing sleep when you far asleep reading a book then in front of a flickering screen.

3. Make your bedroom your haven. I am a big fan of this one, and I'm sure you have heard it before, but it is so true. When your bedroom is clean, uncluttered and serene, you will feel more relaxed falling asleep and more invigorated when you wake up. I find that it's true even for my kids. They just don't sleep well when their rooms are a mess. Mom's room often becomes a dumping ground but the opposite needs to be true. If you can keep no other space in the house clean, uncluttered and beautiful, make a commitment to your bedroom. Not only will you feel more restful there, you are more likely to want to go there earlier in the evening and stay there longer. It does not have to be fancy, just comfortable and uncluttered. Use aromatherapy, lavender is a favourite for relaxation. Clear the table next to your bed for just the essentials, put something pretty there to look at when you first wake up.

4. The usual suspects: get enough exercise and try to get some fresh air every day, make sure your room isn't too warm, don't bring work to bed with you or read/watch anything stressful or stimulating before bedtime. Don't exercise later in the evening, don't eat too much at night, steer clear of caffeine. You have heard them all before, time and time again. That's because they are true and effective.

5. Pray for help. Seriously. He wants you to succeed in life. Our Father who created our bodies, knows what they need to function properly, and He knows how important sleep is for your spirituality, too. Pray for help in being disciplined in your sleep habits, and if you are a mom to little ones, you may want to pray for more opportunities for restful sleep. But then be sure to take those opportunities when they are given to you! (Even though it really is so tempting to use that downtime for other things. )

6. Set your clock. Not your alarm clock mind you. If you are getting sufficient sleep, you probably won't need one. I am talking about your body clock. With chronic sleep deprivation and keeping weird hours, many of us have confused our bodies. Try to get sunlight as soon after you wake up as possible. Open your blinds and make the room as bright as possible. Even artificial light will help with this. It may take some time to help your body adjust to new, more wholesome hours.

7. Journal. Log your zzz-hours in a note book or calendar each day and write a few words about how you feel. If you are making sleep a priority, you will see an encouraging pattern emerge. If you aren't, you may realize how worth it may be to start.

8. Seek professional help. If you are doing all of these things and are still suffering from chronic insomnia, it is probably time to see a Dr. Not being able to sleep can signal underlying health issues and many people have benefited from sleep studies or just talking to their Dr. about their lifestyle.

Years ago, I spoke to a friend of mine, who like me, was in the stage of life of caring for several little ones, but was far more productive then I was in the mornings. I commented that I "just wasn't a morning person". To which she replied, "you would be, if you went to bed early enough".

Time and time again, her words have been proven true. I am so much more effective and efficient in the early morning hours when I have had enough sleep, then I am when I try to stay up too late to get things done. I'm not the fastest study and it has taken me some time, but I am slowly starting to truly understand that instead of being for the weak, sleep is indeed, for the wise.
Here's to greeting the day feeling great!

PS: My testimony of sleep was strengthened this morning, when I discovered that this article, which I had worked on for several days, had disappeared overnight. Poof! Love it when that happens. I had to recreate it, verbatim from memory, in a very short period of time. If I hadn't gone to bed at a reasonable time last night, I can assure you, this would have been impossible. Since I did, here is a reasonable facsimile, (although bear in mind that it was absolutely brilliant before ;)
Images courtesy:

www.potterybarn.com,W
readersdigest.com

Kirsty is a lifelong member of the church from South Africa, living in Ohio with her husband and four children. Visit her at her personal blog, Momedy.

Learning to Trust

2011-04-21T11:07:00.000-06:00

"This life is an experience in profound trust--trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning (see Prov. 3:5-7). To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience.

"To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants in our understanding of eternal matters and their impact on us here in mortality. Yet at times we act as if we knew it all. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you.

That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time. While you are passing through each phase, the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue. If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love."

- Richard G. Scott

I found this quote on my computer today. I don't remember when I downloaded it or why. But it seems fitting. I've never been good at trusting, at least not trusting in the Lord. I was kind of raised with a do-it-yourself mentality, and somehow that extended to believing the Lord was willing to bless me with what I need. After all, I'm just me and nobody special that I should warrant special blessings from the Lord. It's taken me a lot of years and some hard experiences to realize that I'm not a nobody special to the Lord--and it's still something that I have to remind myself.

How about you? How do you do with trusting in the Lord? Or are you/were you a DIY'er like me?

Joy In the Journey

2011-04-19T20:12:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about faith and trust lately.

I've certainly needed to exercise it.

Life is such a roller coaster and I have never been keen on surprises.
I've also been a perfectionist and it took me many years to realize how self-destructive perfectionism is. Being a perfectionist has kept me from achieving many of my goals and now I'm playing catch-up.
I tell people now that I am a recovering perfectionist (sounds like it needs a 12-step program, doesn't it?). I have had to work very hard to let go of the need to have everything just right. I have learned that good enough really is, sometimes, good enough. It's something I have to contstantly remind myself . I am a champion second-guesser.

I have learned that I can't control everything in my life and I definitely can't control the outcome of every situation. And I am learning, step by step, that it is ok to move forward not knowing not only the outcome, but how I'm going to get to that outcome. As I do that, I am finding that my goals are moving within my grasp. I am finding the joy in finally really working and making progress to realize dreams and goals I have left unfulfilled and unaccomplished for too many years.

I have photographed many roads over the years. Apparently, it's one of the subjects I am drawn to, though I've never really thought about it before now.

Occasionally, I will find one of those long, straight roads that seems to go on forever, but most of the roads I photograph look like this. You can see up the road a little way and then it curves and you can't see beyond that. And I look at them and wonder, what's up there? What will I find? What will I see?

And I've realized that the road of life is very much like my road images. Sometimes it seems like you can see forever down that road, and then it goes so far that you can't see it anymore. But it's straight and it's smooth and when you are looking so far down the road it seems to be free of bumps and dips and twists and turns. It looks so easy and peaceful, even though my logical mind tells me that may not be the case.
But sometimes, the road bends and it is only a few steps before what comes next is beyond our view. And the road isn't so smooth. There are many bumps and dips and twists and turns and we can't just fly down the road for fear of flying off when we hit one of those bumps.

Interestingly enough, I find that the roads that twist and turn call to me much more than the seemingly straight and smooth one I can see so far on.

We have to take our journey on faith. Our steps are not random, nor should they be. I know there is a plan and we have a guide and He knows the road and we need to trust Him and trust ourselves. This is not something I have been good at, and so I've been given many opportunities to learn how to trust our Heavenly Father over the past couple of years. And I am learning. When I have enough faith and patience, every time I am blessed with what I need when I truly need it and not just when I want it or think I need it. I am learning over and over that Heavenly Father really does know what we need better than we know ourselves.

And not only do we need to have courage and move forward, but we need to enjoy the journey. We need to look not only forward to where we are going, but we need to be sure we are enjoying the scenery along the way. My adventurous children will be the first to tell you that bumpy roads are fun--and they are when you relax and recognize that that the bumps and the dips are part of the road and part of the journey.

May you find the faith you need to continue to the journey and the faith you need to find the joy along the way.

By the way, you can find this poster in my Art Store if it inspires you, too.

Thought-Provoking Thursday

2011-04-14T07:32:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking about adding a few features to the blog, so I'm throwing out a new one for you today.

I'd really like to see more discussion here; I really hate it when my inbox echoes. I know there are sisters out there who have opinions, who have questions, who have things they'd like to talk about--and it doesn't always work to chat with someone in the hall on Sunday.

So, I'm going to try and start a new feature. I think we'll call it "Thought-Provoking Thursday." I'll start this week looking for some feedback from conference. And I'll welcome sisters who want to suggest topics for this column (you can e-mail me at marielesliephoto@gmail.com if you want to talk to me about it), I'll welcome sisters who'd like to guest post this column on occasion. I'm also looking for guest posters on just about any topic that interests you and you think might interest your sisters--just drop me an e-mail. Really.

So, conference was a couple of weeks ago. By now, most of us who have the internet have had a chance to review at least a conference talk or two. I didn't watch all of conference, but I've been working my way through the sessions that I didn't see (I love my DVR) and there were some pretty amazing messages. We certainly have heard some chatter online and some feedback about some of the "bigger" topics, like marriage and service, among others.

President Uchtdorf's talk "Waiting on the Road to Damascus" was one that made me stop and think. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at providing service, but in reality, I know that I'm much better at it when it's convenient for me or when I'm "in the mood." And as far sharing the gospel, I'm really not as good at that as I could or should be. I'm definitely media savvy, and I have the opportunity, so I've been pondering a lot on why it is that I don't share more and thinking about what I need to do to make some changes in my life.

What stood out to you at conference? What talk really made you think? Was there something said that has prompted a change in your life? Was there something said that caused you to say "what?!" Did you hear something really unexpected and you're still trying to process it? I'd love to hear from you.

And if you think this is the dumbest idea you've heard all week -- I'd still like to hear from you.

Changing The World

2011-04-12T10:33:00.000-06:00

I've been hunting for a job for a while and on one of the job applications I was asked to explain how I've changed the world.

My first thought, of course, is that I am one person and cannot change the whole world, but after thinking for a while, I realize I have changed the world. My very presence here changes the world in ways I cannot necessarily define. The whole world may not know it, but if I had never been here the world would be a different place, just as it would be a different place if you had never been here. Each person who is or ever has been on this planet changes it in some way, so the real question is, "are you changing the world for good or for bad?"

I gave some serious thought into the ways my being here changes the world. I don't want to simply passively change the world, but hope I am seeking to do all that I can to actively change the world and make it a better place both now and for generations to come. I hope when I am gone, that those who remain will believe that I have changed the world for good.

So, how am I changing the world?

I change the world by providing comfort to grieving families in creating for them beautiful and priceless memories of the children who left them too soon. I change the world by comforting those in need of comfort, by being a listening ear for those who need to be listened to and by providing a shoulder to lean on and a hand up for those who need them.

I change the world by helping young women (and young men) to recognize they are as beautiful and amazing on the outside as they are on the inside and helping to develop their self-confidence. I change the world by helping young people to discover and develop skills and talents and the confidence to share those talents with the world. I change the world by bringing into it children who are growing into creative, intelligent and interesting human beings who will have the opportunity to change the world in their lifetimes in ways that I cannot even begin to imagine.

I change the world by developing the virtues of truth, honesty, integrity, compassion and love, by incorporating those principles into my life and by modeling them for and teaching them to the people with whom I come in contact.

I change the world by seeking and creating joy and then seeking to spread that joy to those around me.

I am changing the world every day by doing my best to develop the talents and I have been given and in finding ways to use those talents to bless the lives of others. I am changing the world by being a person of integrity.

How are you changing the world?

This post is adapted from one I wrote for my personal blog Improving on the Silence a few months ago.

The Day We Get Ready for Sunday

2011-04-09T07:59:00.001-06:00

"Saturday is a special day,

it's the day we get ready for Sunday.

We clean the house, and we shop at the store,

so we won't have to work until Monday.

We brush our clothes and we shine our shoes

and we call it our get-the-work-done day.

Then we trim our nails, and we shampoo our hair,

so we can be ready for Sunday."

Primary Children's Songbook, p.196

I woke up with the song running through my head this morning. Maybe because it's Saturday morning and I have a long to-do list today. I think that's what happens when I don't have specific Saturday plans.

I remember this song from Primary as a kid--boy, those Primary songs stick with you, don't they? It definitely wasn't one of my favorites. Even back then I didn't like the idea that Saturday was a day to work all day. No school, mom and dad are home, shouldn't we doing fun things like going to the zoo or the beach or playing with our friends?

I am always trying to get my kids to get their weekly chores done before Saturday morning. I try to have all my stuff done before Saturday, too. I don't like to spend every Saturday working in the house. Hubby's off work and I don't like spending Saturdays with a long to-do list. I like to be outdoors, go hiking, go exploring--and I really don't like grocery shopping on Saturdays. It's too crowded. Everyone else on the planet--or at least in Colorado--seems to be in my grocery store on Saturdays.

But it is Saturday and there are still chores to be done. I like working on Sunday even less than Saturday, though my Sundays aren't exactly a model of "Sunday" behavior. I don't wear my Sunday clothes all day, I don't spend all day doing genealogy or reading the scriptures or writing missionaries. We do make them different. I try to work with my teenage daughters on Personal Progress on Sunday mornings (we have late church this year), I try to make less labor-intensive meals (though my family is still big on "Sunday dinners" so it has to be something special), I try to avoid the laundry room like it's been quarantined, we don't watch TV at all before church, unless there's a need to check on the morning weather report, we don't play computer and video games and we don't do chores or go to the store or other activities like that. I encourage my girls (ok, it's a house rule) to take their showers on Saturday night. That's really a matter of self-preservation. I'm a morning shower person and I want to be sure I get hot water. When everyone showers in the morning, I either have to get up way too early or I get the cold shower.

I do spend some of my Sundays writing and reading, going over young women lessons (I don't normally teach, but I like to be familiar with the lesson so I can contribute if needed, or if I need to sub at the last minute) and writing in my journal. I'm big on the journal, but that's for another post.

But this is really not a post about Sunday; it's about getting ready for Sunday, so it can be a day of rest (leadership meetings, regular church meetings and youth meetings aside).

Back to Saturday.

Thankfully, no one is playing sports right now--other than church volleyball--so our Saturdays are not taken up with games and practices. In the fall, #3 will be in marching band, and that will make a dent in our "free" time. I rarely work on Saturdays since I'm not photographing a lot weddings at the moment, but that could always change. We're getting ready to plant a garden and fruit trees, but the sun sets late here ( I LOVE Colorado summers) and hubby gets home from work early, so we try and work in the yard in the evenings, but there will definitely be some Saturdays in the yard--but at least we'll be outside and I don't mind that so much. Besides, I'm excited to have a garden and fruit trees again.

I try and spread the "getting ready for Sunday" activities throughout my week, especially laundry and cleaning and grocery shopping--did I mention I don't like grocery shopping on Saturday?

Do you spend Saturday doing chores and laundry and shopping so you "can be ready for Sunday?" Or do you have some method of getting it all done during the week so Saturday can be a family day? How does it work at your house--or does it? Do you have any great ideas to share or do you need some help?

Let's talk.

Have We Done Any Good in the World Today?

2011-04-08T08:07:00.001-06:00

I’ve been waiting for the transcripts of conference to be published. I heard different ideas and quotes that caught my attention during conference, but I am always hesitant to write about them until I’ve read the transcripts to make sure that I heard what I thought I heard.

Today I thought I would share a couple of messages that caught my attention. This really was going to be more of an overview, but once I started writing, I realized it needed to go in another direction, so I guess this will be part of a series about thoughts on conference.

One thing I have learned is that sometimes the things that stick with me, the ideas that pop into my head, may not actually be quotes from our leaders or even something they specifically said. Sometimes just listening to conference or reading the talks (I tend to get more from the reading than the watching—it’s just how my brain works) sparks an idea that that doesn’t seem to be related at all to what they were talking about (I believe that’s why it’s called personal revelation).

The conference subject that really called to me today was service. There were many talks of service—service in our homes, service in the church, service in the community. Clearly, with all the craziness happening today, the world truly has need of willing men (and women—maybe even more so women) to step up and be a force for good. This doesn’t mean we need to do huge, amazing impressive things like starting charities or finding a cure for cancer. There are opportunities all around us.

As M. Russell Ballard said, “The love the Savior described is an active love. It is not manifested through large and heroic deeds but rather through simple acts of kindness and service. . . . Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another.”

I was amazed at how many talks had an underlying theme of serving and service. I have always thought of us as a service-oriented people, but apparently it’s time for us to step up our game.

I do some service, both in the community and in the church. I will admit that sometimes when I get the call to serve, I do not always respond with the joyful heart I should have. Sometimes I hesitate, hoping someone else will step up or I talk myself out of it, occasionally with a legitimate excuse, but more often not. I know I need to do better, because I have never regretted answering the call to serve.

What did you hear from conference? And how do you feel about service? What do you think? Are there ways in which we are lacking in our service? Are there things we can do better? What are some ways that you are serving or that you would like to serve? I’d really love to hear from all of you and hear your thoughts.

Change--Or Letting Go of My Inner Control Freak

2011-04-04T17:30:00.000-06:00

Change seems to be about the only constant in my life these days. Every time I turn around there's something new for me to get used to.

In the past year, I've changed homes, I've changed states, I've changed wards, I've changed callings. I've even begun changing careers. About the only thing I haven't changed is my hair color--and that might have to change soon since I think they discontinued my favorite shade.

I don't mind change, I think. Change is good, right? Change for the sake of change--not so much. I'm not big on surprises, though. I tend to be a bit of a control freak (yeah, I know. Understatement.) so I'd like to pick the changes, but somehow it rarely works that way. I get to pick a few changes--like my hair color, but I have definitely learned that it's not always my agenda here with the changes.

Change really is good. It's not a good things to get too entrenched in our comfort zones. We don't grow much in that cozy place.

I have definitely had some opportunities for growth here--and as much as I hate to admit, I have learned a lot and become better for it.

So, what have I learned?

Well, first I've learned to have more faith and to trust that the Lord knows way more than I do and knows what I need better than I do (I'm pretty sure it has something to do with that big picture thing).

When my husband left for Colorado, I believed everyone who told me my adorable house would sell in no time and we'd be enjoying the summer in Colorado. After all, I'd done all the right things to get it ready to sell and we knew this job and this move was right. We did enjoy summer in Colorado--but it was the summer of 2010, not the summer of 2009. Yep, it took a full 12 months (almost to the day) to sell our house. A whole year of quasi-single parenthood, of waiting and hoping and praying and whining (quietly, but yes, it was whining) and being humbled before we ended up in the house, in the neighborhood, in the ward, where the Lord needed us.

And, as I look back with that glorious 20-20 hindsight, I can see how my faith in the Lord has grown and how all of these changes have helped to prepare me for the constant stream of changes that have come along since.

The other thing I have learned is the "the Lord will provide" is not just a platitude. He really does.

Each time over the past two years when I have exercised patience (no small stretch here--no one has ever accused me of having an abundance of patience) and faith, the things we have really needed in our lives have come along when we really needed them--and when we were ready to receive them with gratitude. Learning to recognize this has made me a mellower person and I am learning to not waste my time with worry when I could be doing better and more productive things.

And finally, I have learned that gratitude is truly a blessing. When I remember to look for the silver lining and express gratitude for it, the silver lining becomes more than just a lining.

And I am learning to enjoy change and even look forward to it--which is a good thing because those changes just keep coming.
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So, what changes have you embraced in the past--and what have they taught you?