I'm Thankful - Days 21-30

21 - Thankful for electricity.  I was really thinking of how thankful I am for so many things, (my bosch, hand mixer, curling iron, iron, washer, dryer) but in the end, it all leads to the same place.  Electricity.  You could still get all those same jobs done, but with electricity, it's so much faster!  A true miracle.

22 - Thankful for family time.  Spending time with family over the holidays is great, especially when it involves games.  Time to teach my own kid dominoes!  Sexy Farmer and I were actually just given the opportunity to choose between family time and another activity.  I'm glad we chose family time.  I remember this quote from Elder Packer,  "Family time is sacred.  It must be protected and respected."  Once we made this commitment, Sexy Farmer was approached at work one day and was commended for the choice.  Sometimes it may be hard, but it's well worth it.

23 - Thankful for my sister-in-law Megan.  I don't want anyone to get hurt by this post, but I'm going to share my feelings anyway.  Please don't think it has anything to do with you or anyone else but me.  Megan just got engaged over the Thanksgiving holiday.  She sent me a text, with the above picture.  I'm so thankful that we have the relationship with her that she wants to share this information with us before anyone else in the family.  It was hard for us not to tell anyone else (because we were so excited), making sure that SHE was able to share HER news when SHE was ready to share it with the rest of the family.  We are so overly excited for her and this new road of life.  We can't wait to share this special day with her.

24 - Thankful for uplifting music.  It's amazing how it can change the mood in a room, a car, or yourself.

25 - Thankful my kids still get excited to read every morning.  We have read it over and over, but they are still just as excited to color their charts as with the very first time.  I'm thankful that somedays it's the kids reminding us to read.

26 - Thankful for the wonderful spirit that this season brings. 

 27 - Thankful for those who have showered me with gifts over the years.  As we were decorating the house for Christmas, I unpacked this gem.  My visiting teacher way back when, who then became my companion, and good friend, gave this to me many years ago (2001) when I lived in South Carolina.  I have loved it, and cherished it ever since.  This got me thinking of people who still shower me with love.  I want to share two very special examples of this that have just happened recently. 
One - I had a gift card sitting around for Olive Garden that we hadn't used.  I wanted to give a thank you note to my neighbor for all the AMAZING wonderful things she does for me all the time.  I saw the gift card of my fridge and grabbed it to shove in the thank you card.  About a week later I got the mail and a letter from my ex-sister-in-law caught my eye.  I opened it up and there was a gift card, for Olive Garden for the exact same amount as the one I had just given away.  I started crying.  You may think that's crazy, but it was all for a reason.  To be honest, I wasn't very excited to give the gift card to my neighbor, because I really wanted to use it for myself.  But as I sacrificed for someone else, I was blessed too.  I told this story to my ex-sister-in-law a few weeks ago and she told me that she had meant to mail it months before, but then lost it.  I told her that I think there was a reason for losing it, because I didn't need it at that point. 
Two - Another random package arrived at my house, this time from my good friend from school.  I opened it up and was floored at how she "knew".  I thanked her but really didn't expand on How thankful I was for the gift.  I haven't told her this yet, so I really hope she reads this, but we have been trying over and over to come up with a Family Mission Statement.  We have even talked to friends about it, trying to come up with something that matches us and our personality.  My friend mailed us this statement:

In This House...

We Are Real

We Make Mistakes

We Say I'm Sorry

We Have Fun

We Give Hugs

We Forgive

We Are Family

We Love

Welcome To Our Home

She sent us the quote in vinyl, so I am SUPER excited to make the perfect project to have in our home.  The quote matches us, I'm so glad that she thought of me and sent me the perfect gift for no reason at all.

 28 - Thankful for my cameo and all the amazing things I can make.

 29 - Thankful for the opportunity to serve others.  This month has been very special for me.  I'm excited for next month and all of the random acts of service my whole family will perform.

30 - Thankful for the Gospel.  I'm not sure, nor do I want to know, where I would be without it.

Get Lost

 I've been feeling really crummy this last month.  I remember the saying by Gandhi, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."  So I figured that was the best solution to my problems.

~ I started off by signing up for the Craftaholics Anonymous gift exchange.  This was my 4th time.  I was paired up with a wonderful woman in Texas named Stacy.  According to our tracking numbers, we are both set to receive our packages today!  Here is what I made for her. 

 I made a dry erase board tile with this shape from my cameo and a purse.  Now that I'm posting this I just realized that I should have made the purse pink or used pink ribbon for the dry erase board.  That's what she told me her favorite color was....oopsie!

~ Next, I made a baptism towel for one of Lilli's friends from Vale. 

 I used my cameo for this too.  I cut this shape out of fabric.  So much less work than doing it by hand with scissors!

~  I was also feeling kinda sad that I didn't get to go on our anniversary get-a-way or even get an anniversary date.  So, instead of getting mad about it, I opted to change routes and do something for someone else.  I made dinner for one of my friends, and then for my neighbor.  I also found out, and am so thankful, that the dinner I made for my neighbor actually fed two families and not just one.  A little extra service that I didn't mean to give, but am so happy it worked out that way.

~ I shipped a package of goodies to my sister-in-law in California.

~ I said yes, to teach a lesson for someone else.

~ I told the principle at the kids' school that I would be happy to start updating the calendar section on their webpage. (I have yet to start that one though.)

~ I embroidered 15 more hankies for the temple dedication.

~ Then I landed myself in apron heaven.  I made these for the girls at church to perform their dances at the cultural celebration for the Boise temple.

~ Then my sister asked me to make an apron for her daughter for Christmas.  Well, I figured why stop with just the one daughter?  So, I made one for her other daughter too, and then made some extras just in case.  Which came in handy and have already been given away. 

~ I said yes when I was asked by a woman at church to make aprons for her to give to her family for Christmas.  I ended up making 3 women, 3 men, 2 kid aprons, and 3 bibs for the new baby.  I haven't given them to her yet, but am super excited to deliver them.

~ Sexy Farmer was put in charge of making some invitations for the youth at church to take around to some families in the ward inviting them to the Christmas party.  He knows nothing about computers so I'm not quite sure why he got the job.  Anyway, I lightened his load (and computer frustrations) by making them for him.

 Again, my cameo came in very handy.  I used this shape for the banner and this one for the nativity.

~ I was asked by my neighbor's mother-in-law to embroider some pillowcases.  I had never embroidered on satin before, so I was a little scared.  But, I think they turned out well.

While all of this was going on, I did forget about everything that was making me frustrated.  The saying really is true.  I also had another strange realization happen.  I went somewhere and it made me realize that I am right where I need to be.  Better than I used to be.  I'm not sure why I was doubting myself to begin with because now I feel foolish for even thinking that way.  I'm so glad this opportunity happened and that I was able to open my eyes to who I really am.  This has also helped us decide what kind of countdown we want to use for the 24 Days of Christmas.  We have all sat down as a family and come up with 25 different service opportunities that will help us grow in love, service, and the spirit of giving.  We are all super excited for the month of December!

Monthly Scripture

After the October General Conference I really felt that we needed to do a little bit more with some areas of our parenting.  One of the things that kept jumping out at me during conference was that we need to do more teaching in our homes.  Yes we have daily family scripture study.  Yes, we have gospel centered family home evening lessons.  But we need to do more.  Here's what we came up with.

Monthly Scriptures!

No, it's not mandatory that they memorize them.  Yes, we would be happy if they did.  But, the most important thing is that they know what it means, and act on it.  It actually started as a weekly scripture, but after two weeks, I realized that we aren't really getting enough focus on them, so we changed it to a monthly scripture.  We find a cute printable online (there are so many awesome sites out there that offer them for free) and hang it up in the house so we can see it often.  I chose to frame one and hang it in the living room.  Lilli said we needed one by the back door, and Hoss said he needs one on the fridge (because that's where he spends most of his time!).  So, we have them hanging all over the house.  Sexy Farmer wasn't home when all of this was decided, so when he did come home and noticed all of the scriptures around the house he wondered what was up.  So, we filled him in, like any loving family would do. :)

For October, our scripture focus was John 13:34,

...and Spiritually Speaking

I found this really great family home evening lesson on the blog Little LDS Ideas.  Instead of using her template for the house and hearts, I used my cameo.  I made the house with this shape and the hearts with this one.

Hoss and Lilli both LOVED this lesson and actually asked to do it every night during dinner for the next week.  Which we gladly did.

For November we wanted to focus on the Temple, since the Boise temple would be opening again.  We chose D&C 87:8,

MormonShare

 We have really had the perfect month for this one.  We have been able to see in action how choosing the right thing over the wrong betters us personally.  This hit home for me in a HUGE way the other day.  We need to decide who we are and stick to it.

Cake - FINALLY!

 Duke is now 13 months old.  We finally decided to celebrate his birthday.  Sad, I know.  I'm still running 10 steps behind right now, but it's feeling more like 20 steps.

It's been tradition, even when I was little, that the kids get their very own cake on their 1st birthday.  Duke didn't even notice that it was an entire month late.

 He enjoyed it just the same.

I'm Thankful - Days 11-20

11 - Thankful for my years of being a military family.  Sometimes it was really hard being away from family but, when you are in the military everyone becomes your family.  I was able to live in South Carolina, and two different stations in Virginia.  I made TONS of new friends that I still keep in touch with today.  I was able to walk aboard a real life aircraft carrier (not a retired museum) for Christmas parties, tour submarines, and visit parts of the country that I probably never would have visited otherwise (Washington D.C., Gettysburg, the Atlantic ocean, etc.).  

12 - Thankful for the Veteran's in my family.  More on that here.

13 - Thankful for my sewing machine.  Sexy Farmer bought this for me a few years ago as my anniversary/Christmas/birthday/valentine's/mother's day gift and I've used it so much!  I'm still amazed at all the things it can do that I haven't even had time to tap into yet.  I'm thankful my mom taught me to sew many years ago when I was working on my very first young women medallion.

14 - Thankful for naptime.  I love to have just a few spare minutes a day to get to do some things that take far less time when done myself. (loading the dishwasher, folding laundry, blogging, sewing, meal planning, etc.)  Besides, he's pretty cute when he's asleep!

15 - Thankful for warm yummy soup on cool fall days.  My sister shared a creamy potato soup recipe with me many years ago and it's still my favorite.  I really enjoy it better in a bread bowl, but I don't know how to make those yet, and I live too far out of town to drive in just for those.

16 - Thankful for burnt pancakes.  Which really means that I'm taking the time to teach my daughter how to cook.  Hoss really wanted pancakes after school one day, so Lilli offered.  Lesson learned - don't step away from the stove when cooking pancakes.  Want to know what was even better?  Hoss didn't care one bit, he gobbled them up with a smile on his face, overly excited that his big sister just made him his favorite meal.

17 - Thankful for my Mommy.  She's pretty awesome!  Sexy Farmer and I were planning to go on an Anniversary get-a-way for our November Date Night.  She was happy to take my kids.  Our trip fell through, but one thing is for sure - she loves her grandkids.  At Thanksgiving my sister's and I were actually talking about how each grandkid thinks they are her favorite.  It's because that's how she treats each one, like they are her very favorite.

18 - Thankful for Temples.  We planned to go to the Twin Falls temple for our Anniversary, but there was just too much going on around here.  I'm grateful the Boise temple is reopened.  The re-dedication was beautiful and if you attended the Noon session you heard about the importance of having pictures of the temple around your home.  I had Lilli and Hoss each pick their favorite picture of any temple to be hung in their bedrooms.  Lilli chose a picture of the Mesa, Arizona Temple and Hoss chose this picture of Angel Moroni on top of the Cebu, Philippines Temple.  He hung it right by his bed.

19 - Thankful for computers and the way they have simplified my life.  How did people live without computers?  I'm not even talking about the Internet, just computers themselves.  Maybe it's because I have really bad handwriting, so all the many fonts make me enjoy it so much more, I'm not sure.  Whatever the reason, I'm thankful that I've learned the ropes of technology.

20 - Thankful for 8 years of marriage.  It's gone by way too fast, but I've enjoyed every second.  We didn't get our anniversary get-away like planned, or even a date, but he did call me and wish me a happy anniversary.  That shows that at least he remembered.

YW Manual 1 Lesson 45: The Value of Work

I originally planned this lesson around John Rowe Moyle, the man famously known for his dedication in carving "Holiness to the Lord" on the Salt Lake Temple.  However, the closer my lesson came, the more I felt to change my teaching direction.  I have a friend who lives in New York City and survived Super Storm Sandy.  I had been seeing her pictures on Instagram before, during, and after the storm.  Then, on Tuesday I read an email from her that really pushed me to my final decision to change the direction of my lesson.  I still tied in John Rowe Moyle, but the majority of my lesson and focus was different.

When I think of work, I think of honeybees.  I remembered the talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard from last General Conference, titled "Be Anxiously Engaged", when he talks of his childhood and his father's honeybees.  I read a few paragraphs from there explaining honeybees and a little history on what the beehive symbolizes for us as Latter-Day Saints. I wanted to talk about 3 different types of work during the lesson; paid labor, church callings, and service.

First was paid labor.  The manual suggests to have one of the young women take some time to talk about her job.  None of the girls in my class have a "paid job", however, one girl that just moved works at the local Quizno's, so I spoke with her a little bit.  Her first reaction was, "tell them it's not all it's cracked up to be".  But after I asked her some questions, "what about getting your own paycheck?...getting to meet all new people...etc." her reaction changed.  A few things that she mentioned I was proud of; being punctual or you won't have a job, not texting while on the clock, etc.

The second point I wanted to touch on was church callings.  Every single girl in our entire young women organization has a calling in their respective class presidencies.  Sometimes I wonder if they really think their callings are actual callings.  This is where I tied in the story of John Rowe Moyle but instead of showing the movie "Only a Stonecutter", I summarized it for them, then showed a few pictures of him, his wooden leg that he carved himself, the words that he chiseled in stone, and a google map picture of the distance that he walked every week.  I closed this section of the lesson with the words he spoke to his wife, who was questioning him, while he was packing for his first journey back to the Salt Lake Temple after his accident, "callings are seldom convenient". 

The third section of the lesson was focused on service.  I asked my friend, Brenda, for her permission to share some of the pictures and words that she shared with me in her email.  She was more than happy to give permission and even sent me more pictures and the link to a CBS 60 Minutes clip featuring the area where she has been helping, as a member of Mormon Helping Hands, with the clean-up.

I also got an email from the Mormon Newsroom, around the same time as my preparation for the lesson, with a video that I fell in love with and immediately knew I wanted to share with my class.  I've attached it below, or you can find it at the above link.

 Hurricane Sandy Helping Hands from Joshua Brown on Vimeo.

I loved portions of this video because of the things both parties were saying.

From the victims of the storm:

• "The people are so bloody friendly. They're smiling, they're happy, they kind of make you feel good.  Which is a nice thing in this situation." 
• "They're not here to look like they are helping, they are actually helping."
• "Thank God"
• "The people that have been down here have been so respectful, and so nice, and so wonderful, and so helpful, and so hardworking."
• "They're all action, there's not a lot of standing around, they just get right to work."
• "With people like you we know everything's going to be alright."
• "It's been a Godsend."

From the Volunteers:

• "We've been out here every single day since Sandy hit, just cleaning up basements, unflooding basements, shoveling sand, whatever the families need that they can't do themselves."
• "This is why I came on my mission, to help the people of New York, weather it be preach the gospel or unflood a basement."
• "It's what we need to be doing today."
• "It’s the gospel in action... it’s what Christ taught, and we’re showing what we believe.”
•  "People know what they can expect out of someone wearing a yellow vest, they know they're going to get cared for, they know that the work the people do will come from the heart, it's not going to cost any money."

After the video, I read some of the email from Brenda, 

"It is equally humbling and heartwarming to walk around the neighborhood of Belle Harbor wearing the yellow vests emblazoned with the Mormon Helping Hands logo.  From the windows of their cars or from their stoops or even from bicycles - the residents shout "thank you" and "God bless you" - you know they aren't thanking you personally, but the collective group for the work being done to rescue their community.  They may have never met a Mormon before but they love the Mormons now and treat us as one of their own."

I referred back to Elder Ballard's conference talk to tie in the honeybees again.  Just as the volunteers are helping after the storm, we need to share the love of Christ in our work.  I found this cute handout on A Pocket full of LDS prints that fit perfectly.

A Pocket full of LDS print

 I went to my local honey store, actually called, The Honey Store and got some flavored honeystix to give the girls with the handout.  Then, as I was shipping a package to my sister-in-law later in the week at Weiser Classic Candy, I saw some super cute chocolate beehives that I couldn't pass up.

PPW - Faith #2

Faith #2 -

Discover the principles of faith taught by the mothers of Helaman’s stripling warriors. Read Alma 56:45–48 and 57:21. Review what “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” says about a mother’s role. With a mother, grandmother, or leader, discuss the qualities a woman needs in order to teach children to have faith and to base their decisions on gospel truths. How can these principles help you in your life today and help you prepare to be a faithful woman, wife, and mother?

*Original finish date - September 26, 2012*

Every time I read about the stripling warriors I'm amazed. I'm amazed at the faith they had in their mother's.  I'm amazed at the mothers themselves.  How did they get their sons to believe their every word?  How did they get them to be so faithful and strong in the gospel?  I think about my boys, would they be courageous to do as these young men? Or would they run and hide behind my leg, shaking with fear?

I was talking to the Stake Young Women President once about being a mother.  One thing that she told me about her child rearing is that when her kids ask her questions, sometimes it's easy for us to just give the answer.  What we really need to be doing to teach them to base their decisions on gospel truths is to ask them if they have prayed about it.  She said she did this once with one of her sons.  He was having an issue and wanted his mom to "fix it" for him.  She asked if he had asked the Lord what to do yet.  He told her "no", so she told him he should.    She knew that he knew the right answer, but she wanted him to be the one to make that decision, not her make it for him.  He left and returned later.  She asked if he prayed and he said yes.  She asked if he knew what to do, he again said yes. 

Sometimes we want to "fix" everything for our kids, without them learning how to fix it themselves.  We want to make their bed, wash their clothes, wait on them hand and foot, because sometimes they have "so much going on".  That isn't teaching them, it's enabling them.  At least, that's how I feel.

Daily Ritual

 This is what my house looks like every single day after school.

 For at least 5 minutes.

I think they kind of miss each other.

Veteran's Day

There was no school here on Veteran's Day so I decided to give the kids a little family history on those in our family who have served our country.  We started out going to the Payette Cemetery.  My Grandpa Bartenhagen (my dad's step-dad) served in WW2 as a PVT in the Army.

 Then we drove to New Plymouth for my Grandpa Wayne (my dad's dad).

 Here is a picture of him while he was in the service.

 Then we wanted to do something for the servicemen who are currently serving our country.  So, we went to the store and bought a bunch of packaged food items that could be sent to the troops in the "Treats for the Troops" packages that the local Veteran Advocates mail out monthly.  This picture doesn't show it, but the kids were really excited to be buying things for them.  However, when we stopped by to deliver the items, the office was closed.  HA!  I should have known that they would have the day off, I mean, it was Veteran's Day!!

Then it started snowing!  By the time we got to the next cemetery in Vale, it was sticking to the ground.  Here we stopped by to honor my Grandpa Huffaker (my mom's dad).

We stopped by my Grandma's house to talk to her a little bit about her life back then.  She pulled out her photo albums and showed us some pictures.

 Since my Grandma lives right next door to my parents, I ran over there and had my mom pull out some photos from my dad's days.  I don't know if you consider him to be a veteran, but he's in uniform so we will. :)  I have always loved this picture of my parents.  My mom looks so worried and scared, but yet at the same time, just like a fragile porcelain doll.

 We then left Vale and returned home to have Family Home Evening.  I had made arrangements with my ex-husband for a Skype visit to tell us exactly what it means to be a veteran and why we have a special day to honor them.  His Skype was acting up so we really didn't get to talk to him much.  He just ended his military service last year after being enlisted with the Navy.

PPW - Choice & Accountability #2

Choice & Accountability #2 -

Read the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. List in your journal each standard of righteous behavior the pamphlet outlines, and record why it is important to choose to live those standards. Practice living righteous standards by choosing three standards in which you need to improve.

*Original finish date - August 22, 2012*

For this, I decided to post my favorite quote that reminds me of each standard.

 

~ Agency and Accountability - "Wrong is wrong, even is everyone is doing it.  Right is right, even if no one is doing it."

~ Dating - “If you ever find yourself in a place where you shouldn’t ought to be, get out!”

~ Dress and Appearance - "Modesty is not a matter of being “hip.” It is a matter of the heart and being holy. It is not about being fashionable. It is about being faithful. It is not about being cool. It is about being chaste and keeping covenants. It is not about being popular, but about being pure." - Elaine S. Dalton

~ Education - "It always seems impossible until it is done."

~ Entertainment and Media - "Do not make your mind a dumping ground for other people's garbage."  - Ezra Taft Benson

~ Family - "Love is spelled T-I-M-E." Deiter F. Uchtdorf

~ Friends - "As we grow up, we realize it's less important to have lots of friends, and more important to have real ones."

~ Gratitude - "What if you woke up today with only the things that you thanked God for yesterday?"

~ Honesty and Integrity - "You have enemies?  Good.  That means you've stood up for something in your life." - Winston Churchill

~ Language - "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." - Annette Wayne (my mommy)

~ Music and Dancing - "Music can...... be used to educate, edify, inspire, and unite. However, music can, by its tempo, beat, intensity, and lyrics, dull your spiritual sensitivity. You cannot afford to fill your minds with unworthy music." - Thomas S. Monson

~ Physical and Emotional Health - "This earth is his creation.  When we make it ugly, we offend him.  Our bodies are the work of our Creator.  When we abuse them, we abuse Him." - Gordon B. Hinckley

~ Repentance - "Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray."

~ Sabbath Day Observance - "When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place." Ezra Taft Benson

~ Service - "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." - Mahatma Ghandi

~ Sexual Purity - "This body is a temple and you don't got no recommend." - Everclean
 

~ Tithes and Offerings - "The Lord will open the windows of heaven according to our need, and not according to our greed." - Gordon B. Hinckley

~ Work and Self-Reliance - "God gives us the ingredients for our daily bread, but He expects us to do the baking." - William A. Ward

Mutual: Sewing Lessons (Pajama Pants)

I'm so proud of the girls in my ward.  The Boise Temple Open House is coming up, so most of the youth in the stake are participating in the cultural celebration that will happen.  Singing and dancing isn't everyone's interest, so for those that were not participating, I was able to be in charge of mutual for them!  I gave the girls some choices, and they picked sewing lessons.  Pajama bottom heaven!

I made them do everything. :)  Pinning, cutting, sewing, pinning some more, feeding elastic, and more sewing.

They were such great sports.

 I was so proud of them for another reason too because on Halloween, when everyone else was out having fun, they ASKED to have mutual!  I'm serious!  It's not often that you have girls ASKING to have mutual, so I jumped on it, and held it even though it was suppose to be canceled.

 They both made two pair.  One their own style, from fabric they picked out themselves.

And the other matching.  Matching jammies for best friends!  What could be better than that?