Primary Class Treats!

My class, like every children's sunday school class, begs for treats every week. I try my hardest to limit it to lesson related goodies or special occasions but sometimes I just have to give into those big begging eyes!

I do however, rarely bring in food. The manual is against it, it makes a mess and really more trouble than it's worth. For Valentine's day I gave them crazy straws, for Easter they got play dough eggs. So what if "Back to School" isn't a real holiday- most of my kids are starting kindergarten and are VERY excited about it. So with a little photoshop card, I made these cute goodie bags for my kids!

What kid doesn't like balloons? I made sure to give them several so they can share with their families. The packaging is multipurpose, it's CUTE and it keeps them from blowing up the balloons until they are HOME. I wrote "Congrats!" on the balloons in sharpie and let those dry for a bit before I made all the baggies.

What are some of the more memorable treats you got as a kid? I know my mom still has the popsicle stick frames we made her for mother's day once!

Charity Never Faileth

As you may have heard, my side of the country has been powerless for a few days now thanks to a mean spirited wind storm. It's been blowing through the states wreaking havoc everywhere it goes!

Our apartment, while rustic and charming, is also very old. It is on the second floor of a converted house and we roast in the heat even with a window A/C unit and a few fans. (or windows as Chucky Sue calls them!) After spending the first night boiling in our bedroom, we fled down to our old hometown and have stayed with family since then.

This whole ordeal made me very glad that we had family near by willing to take us in and cool us down. I didn't have to worry about Big City's emergency plans (or their entire LACK of) I didn't have to worry about my food going bad, if my toddler was going to have a heat stroke, I was taken care of.  I know my family would have taken us in no matter what, but I'm 100% sure, that if they couldn't or wouldn't- our home ward would have found us a place to stay. They called us fairly early in the morning to make sure that we had survived the storm and that we would be safe while the power was being restored.

While down here, we went to our old ward and visited with friends. Our Relief Society lesson was on Charity, and how we implement charity, versus worldly organizations. A a church we are taught to take care of ourselves to the best of our ability, then slowly move outward. Once we are safe and taken care of we can focus on our neighbors, and then our community, and then our state up until everyone is cared for. the whole church also works using the "teach a man to fish" method of charity.

We have plenty of fish to hand out, but if we just hand it out willy-nilly, soon there will be no fish. In class we learned how a lot of the church's past and present efforts have to do with education and training people in ways that will better not only their lives, but their communities. I know personally when I've needed help from the church in any fashion they are willing to give it, and truly ask for nothing in return, but they'd rather make sure we've done all we can to help ourselves before turning to the church. To some that may seem cold or cruel, but when you examine the process thoroughly, you can see the divine inspiration. The church WILL help, but it does not want you to become dependent on "hand outs" or look for the easy way out of a bad situation. The church is teaching us all how to be better and take care of ourselves, all the while being a safety net for when life truly does get out of hand.

So through this mini "disaster" I have learned things I need to change in my life (stock up on more non-refrigerated food!) problems that will arise in similar occasions and how to deal with them as they come. I've also learned a lot about charity and how I can better serve my family and community.

You Drive Me Crazy!

As a special Valentine's Day treat for my primary class, I made each kid one of these!

I got 12 crazy straws from wal-mart for $2, and used my craft paper and crayons from home. The straws fit perfectly in a standard hole punch! I love that it's NOT FOOD. I'm always worried I'll give the kids a food their parents don't want them to have (peanuts, too much sugar, gum etc.etc) so I was happy when I found these. I took the photo in front of the melted crayon rainbow I made for Chucky Sue's room. It's pulling double duty as a party decoration too.

What cute valentines have you made this year? I want to see them!!

Lately...

There's been some recent events that have had my mind swimming with questions. After getting some troubling news, my mind went somewhere I would have never guessed- to a young women's sunday lesson. I remember vaguely learning about talents. Our presidency had gotten our parents to write down what they believed their child's talents were. I remember wishing I had a more "outward" talent like my friends. Some were amazing at sports, or very musically gifted. Others were very intellegent or creative. I remember one of the talents my parents wrote down for me was Peace Maker, that in social situations (specially school) I didn't continue fights and I'd tried to be inclusive with everyone. This is a talent I'm proud to have and I treasure it, but at 15 it's not as cool as being able to shoot 100% at the three point line or sight-read terribly hard music.

My mind also went to 3rd grade, my favorite elementary school year. I had an amazing teacher Mrs. Gray and some great close friends. I also remembered one boy. His name was Cory and he had some sort of physical and mental disability. (At 8 years old it didn't matter much what it exactly was) He was a perfect sweetheart and I remember trying hard to include him in everything. Not out of social guilt which I think some adults are prone to, not because I was asked to befriend him, but because I liked him. He was funny, kind and I wanted to be his friend.

I was kind of surprised at these thoughts, at the surface they have very little to do with the news I recieved. They were distant memories, long buried by time and hadn't changed my life in any significant way I could see. But after mulling them over, and lots lots lots lots and looots of praying, I am beginning to see a string through all three events.

We found out at the most recent ultrasound on friday that Baby B most likely has a serious heart defect and possibly an extremely rare birth defect called Sirenomelia or "Mermaid Syndrome". His/Her legs do not move independantly of each other and are most likely fused together. It affects 1 in about 100,000 births, and even more so in twins. The extent of either medical problem is currently unknown because of the low quality ultrasound at my previous doctor's appointment. On Friday I switched up to a OB practice in Big City that is directly across the street from the hospital. I'll soon be seeing a pediatric cardiologist for a fetal echocardiogram as well as high-risk ultrasound specialists. Hopefully within the next week or two we'll have more information on the exact diagonsis for both the heart and legs. Thankfully both babies are growing at the right rate, have good weights and everything else looks like it should. (I'll be sure to keep this blog updated for faraway friends and family.)

After the inital freaking out, crying, distraught, and overwhelmed feelings, my mind when to those two memories. At that time it actually annoyed me that my mind could think of anything else but the poor child, but now I think I understand. Heavenly Father was reminding me that he had prepared me for this long ago, in very small and simple ways. He gave me a loving and accepting heart, He sent me to a strong family, most of whom in their own ways have dealt with children with a wide variety of problems, He has given me their experience and advice. He's given Baby B a strong, loving, and protective sister (Baby A). He has everything planned out for us and thanks to these seemingly random memories, I believe I've seen a glimpse of it.

What to do with your junk mail and leftover magazines

I'm the Faith in God leader for the 8-12 year girls in my ward- It's a lot of fun playing with the kids and teaching them what little skills I do know. I've started planning out my summer lessons and one of the requirements is for the girls to give a letter to a family member showing how much they appreicate them- which fits so perfectly into Mother's Day! I'm going to have the girl's make paper beads and make necklaces along with a card for their mom (or grandmother or aunt or random female friend I suppose.)

I've been making a bunch of paper beads last night and this morning, it's very easy and addicting. Basically you roll a triangle of paper around a straw and glue down the tip of the triangle. You can paint them, and cover them in clear nailpolish ot make them last longer (not sure how water resistant they are ;) ) there are a bunch of variations that take more time- you can twirl them around smaller straws/nails and add glitter or paint, mix the paper beads with plastic ones.  I used newspaper, magazines and wrapping paper to make mine- I don't suggest using tissue paper, it's far too thin.

so if your daughter is in my class- be on the look out for a super cool new accessory!

Post # 135: Literary Dress Up

What? My old prom dress over my everyday clothes totally looks like Galinda from Wicked. :)

Finger Knitting in 9 easy steps!

For my F.i.G classes, I've been teaching different types of crafts to the girls. This past week, we did finger knitting. It's much much faster than traditional knitting and uses a lot less yarn. I love these scarves because they aren't so warm that you can't use them in the early spring or fall. After you get good at doing it, you can crank out 2-3 scarves in an hour, if your hand doesn't cramp that is.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

For my first official activity in my new calling, I (and by I, I mean Christine)took the girls to the Radford Library to see the Tree Lighting. We drank hot chocolate and ate cookies while we listened to a bell choir play pretty songs (It's really kind of cool to see it performed, the players use their bodies and the table to change the tone of the bells.) They then let the little kids play bells with them by holding up color coded cards that matched the bells. Our girls were a little reluctant to take a bell, but a few songs in they were ringing with the best of them. After the songs we went outside to listen to a band play carols and sing along as the tree got ready to be turned on. It was a quick short to the point activity that was very fun! The girls loved the band's exaggeration on The 12 days of Christmas (most. boring. carol. EVER.) The video is of the lighting, but it's sideways, as we were rather close to the tree and it was hard to see the entire thing, and as always it's very difficult to get a non-fuzzy photo of christmas lights.

It was a great way to start the christmas season. I've been humming carols for almost a month now, but I've stopped from decorating christmas for Michael's sake (Fazoli's pumps in Christmas Musack starting in November) but I won't be able to hold back for long ;) So, for the first time this season, and I hope it isn't the last- Merry Christmas!

Happy Fourth of July!

This is a week or so late because I packed up my camera cord in the mess of boxes, tape and odds & ends. We did have some fun Fourth Celebrations! The day started off with a DELICIOUS pancake breakfast at church. I normally do not like pancakes, but these were fluffy and light and melt-in-your-mouth fantastic!

Then we had a wild Three-Legged Race!





Our local Missionaries won by a hair, Jake and his partner where right on their tail!



While the younger participants decided it was faster if they untied themselves.


Then we had this water cup/head race thing. You were to pour a glass of water from the top of your head into the cup behind you, the line with the most water at the end of the race would win. We soon discovered that it's much more entertaining just to pour water on each other. :)






(I love Nephew in this picture!)

Then they raised the stakes, we had to pour water from a cup on our head, to a cup on our partner's head!



Jake and I had to spend some time at The Faz during the lunch rush, then we got home in time to watch the Bisset Park fireworks with our family. It was a great LARGE show.

Blessed

"When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done"

One thing I really don't like about public blogs is that I never feel comfortable enough sharing personal events with the entire internet as I do writing it in my journal. Some life-altering events have occurred in the past week to me and my family. These events could have easily put me in a deep depression, and most would say understandably so. But, to my surprise, while I am very sad and upset, I am still happy. When I thought this was happening, I imagined myself in a dark room, not answering the phone and shutting everyone out. I thought I would never want to get out of bed again. But I found myself wanting to visit with friends, talk to them, go out with Jake, and actually live life. I've been so much more thankful too. I'm noticing that I was extremely blessed before, and will continue to be blessed after this.

I had a great group of friends and family making sure I was okay, and that Jake and I didn't need anything. I have a mother who was able to drop everything in her life and come to my side when I needed her. My mother-in-law gave up a day's pay to be with me with Jake couldn't. Jake was beyond amazing. He did absolutely everything for me, and made sure I was okay before anything else. My family that was far away sent letters and cards of support and love.

I still wish this didn't happen, and that everything was okay- But I'm doing a lot better than even I expected. I'm very thankful for everything everyone's done- even if it was just asking me how I was doing, it shows that so many more people care about me than I thought.

Blogging

I was asked to join a panel about Preserving Life's Memories for church. I'm supposed to talk for ten minutes about Blogging.


...Ten whole minutes. I love my church friends, but I stutter just talking to THEM. Imagine me mumbling, stumbling and stuttering for 10 minutes in front of people I don't know as well. :) It's gonna be an experience alright.

I love blogging. I could blog all day, but apparently I have to work and help provide for the family or something like that. I have a lot of blogs, each one on a different site. Each site offers different blogging styles to fit different needs. (Livejournal is GREAT for connecting with other bloggers, Blogger is not. Facebook is good for mass communication and photo-sharing, Myspace is good for emo music lyrics haha ) I blog for too many reasons to list here, and I have no idea how I'm going to be able to explain them to a room full of people.

I like how blogging (Specially on Livejournal and Blogger) appeals to both 90 year old ladies and 15 year old punk rockers and everyone in-between. You can completely customize your page as much or as little as you want. You could only post recipes if you want, or short stories, poems, or anything you could come up with.

If you could post here why you like or dislike blogs, that'd be awesome. I don't want to just teach my opinion!

One day, Friday 5 will be on FRIDAY.

Relying on an available school computer on a friday is MUCH harder than it sounds. Thankfully, today I have a few hours to catch up on my internet goings-ons.

Now, I love Facebook a LOT. I spend a good portion of my online time on that site, reading about my friends, looking at photos and playing games. But now I have more reasons to love it! I found two of my friends from church on blogger because of it. :) I added a link to their blogs right over here. ->
They are both great writers and have such adorable children. I highly recommend their blogs to anyone over here.

Friday Five:

1. What do you see when you are looking out of the window closest to you?
   
2. Who was the last person coming into your room?
   
3. What is the most predominant colour around you?
   
4. What is right behind you?
   
5. What is on today's calendar sheet?

1. There are no windows in the computer lab. The closest thing I have is a little silver of glass in the door that shows me some beige hallway. It's very stimulating.
2. Jake came into our room, ransacked my bookshelf and asked to borrow "The Once and Future King"
3. You know the color of the DMV? beige-er than that.
4. a very tired looking girl in a yellow sweatshirt.
5. 10:30 am- Computer Lab 5pm- Grocery shopping 8pm- Friends DVD (Thank You Kay!)


I finished a few paintings this weekend. once I get my camera charged I'll get them up on here so you can see. I did a cityscape, an octopus and a really emo looking flower. (purple turned black on me. May be re-doing that one before I try to sell it.)

Happy Halloween! (almost...)

So this week is all hallow's eve, and institute is having part-tays left and right!

Saturday Roommate 2.0, myself, Leisha, and two of Leisha's friends went to the church party- where there was a pumpkin carving contest. Roommate 2.0 and I were on a team, and we were soooo fast that we made two in the alloted time. One of them even won Funniest Pumpkin! :) Now our photos are(or will be) on the Wall of Fame.This is Roommate 2.0(Old Lady), Me (Bellatrix/Witch) and our friend Tara (Scarecrow)

on Wednesday we have another part-tay to go to in lieu of institute, I'll be wearing a different witch costume than pictured here.

Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a young girl, named Stacy. Stacy and her roommate, Erin, decided to walk to the college that they both attended to see the annual Highlander Festival. After viewing all the booths, and buying a few christmas gifts for family and friends, Erin and Stacy walked past a concession stand, where lo and behold, was their friend from church- Candy. As it turns out, Candy and her sister Christine, and a few other friends from the family ward in town, were running the concession stand! Stacy and Erin were very amused and proceeded to laugh and chit-chat with Candy. This laughter caught the attention of the Boss, who then offered Stacy and Erin one-day jobs to help them out with the lunch and dinner rushes (as it was just after noon.) Now Stacy and Erin are very nice girls, and have been taught by their mothers never to deny a friend in need, they accepted and worked for the group for near 6 hours. They laughed and joked and played with their friends when it was slow, but also worked hard and did their share. And that is how Stacy and Erin earned $35 for going to a festival.

:) I got some really cool photos from it too.

Baby it's cold outside

...or not. It's been crazy warm for december. I'm sitting here in flip-flops and a t-shirt and I'm perfectly comfortable. Really, Mother Nature, what's up with that!? I came back up north with promises of snow. But instead I got lovely brown leaves and icky clouds. I am very upset over that.

Church was wonderful, as always. I've really missed having small children running around, though it was weird going to relief society with people that my mom hangs out with. It was the christmas program, that was a nice surprise, I thought I was going to miss it. The choir was...interesting. They sang pretty songs but there were a few voices in there that shouldn't be allowed to sing outside of the shower, but it was still sweet.