Young Women in Excellence

Last night was the Young Women in Excellence ceremony. Oh it pulled so hard at my heart to not be personal progress leader anymore. But I was delighted to attend to celebratebe these phenomenal girls, especially my own Reese, who has been working consistently on her personal progress book. 

The theme was red carpet, so many of the older girls wore formal attire. I bought this dress over the summer from my friend's boutique for only $10 because it had a seam coming undone on the waistline. So yesterday, I finally took a needle and thread to it and Reese squealed with delight over her new dress to wear. I love how easily pleased she was!  

Some of girls were each honored for a value or attribute they have or are developing, and some were honored for projects they've completed or are working on. Reese was recognized for a 10 hour project in Individual Worth that she recently started. I think she felt special and loved by her yw leaders. 

Reese is solid gold. She is genuinely loving and charitable to her core. She works hard, puts effort and intention into service and lifting up others. 

Just the other day, she sent me this text: 

Oh this grateful girl. She is so special and I really appreciate the work the YW board put into this special night to honor and give love to the young women of the Sugar Creek ward. 

I said a hundred times as personal progress leader, "it's not about what you accomplish, but who you are becoming." The projects are only the action to take to provide and guide and move the girls to action to progress spiritually. You're progressing beautifully, Reese!

Young Women in Excellence

Last night was the Young Women in Excellence ceremony. Oh it pulled so hard at my heart to not be personal progress leader anymore. But I was delighted to attend to celebratebe these phenomenal girls, especially my own Reese, who has been working consistently on her personal progress book. 

The theme was red carpet, so many of the older girls wore formal attire. I bought this dress over the summer from my friend's boutique for only $10 because it had a seam coming undone on the waistline. So yesterday, I finally took a needle and thread to it and Reese squealed with delight over her new dress to wear. I love how easily pleased she was!  

Some of girls were each honored for a value or attribute they have or are developing, and some were honored for projects they've completed or are working on. Reese was recognized for a 10 hour project in Individual Worth that she recently started. I think she felt special and loved by her yw leaders. 

Reese is solid gold. She is genuinely loving and charitable to her core. She works hard, puts effort and intention into service and lifting up others. 

Just the other day, she sent me this text: 

Oh this grateful girl. She is so special and I really appreciate the work the YW board put into this special night to honor and give love to the young women of the Sugar Creek ward. 

I said a hundred times as personal progress leader, "it's not about what you accomplish, but who you are becoming." The projects are only the action to take to provide and guide and move the girls to action to progress spiritually. You're progressing beautifully, Reese!

Sorting Day

Aaron and I slip into a sugar coma under a blanket of candy wrappers every night after the children go to bed and there are still over ten pounds of Halloween candy left in my house.  Today is Sorting Day. All the bright colorful stuff gets bagged up for gingerbread house decorating next month. Half the good chocolate will be put into snack bags for trips to the movies over Thanksgiving and winter break. We noticed a couple weeks ago at tithing settlement that that the bishop's candy jar is getting low, so the rest of this loot is going there. All these delicious untouchable caramels need to get out of my house and stop laughing at my braces. Oh Halloween, you're so good, and such a tease, this year. 

October Garden Harvest

I neglected the garden in August. I should have watered and weeded but if was hot and dry and I didn't give it the attention it needed to really flourish. 

Is did get some autumn goodies picked before the hard freeze. I've got 6 tomatoes left in my fridge and I'm savoring every delicious bite. 

 

So many bell peppers! The reds are so sweet this year. Best I've ever grown.  Next year, I'll try to stay on top of the beetle population to get an autumn squash harvest. 

Fall Break 2017: Preparation

For fall break we headed north with big plans to see some church history sites, play (eat) Amish food in Jamesport Missouri, learn about pioneer life of the early saints in Illinois, and take a steamboat ride on the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri where Mark Twain spent his youth. 

During the two weeks leading up to fall break, I prepped the children by picking up literature and media for everyone. We started listening to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer on audiobook in the car and we became experts at  speaking in drippy southern Mark Twain accents. There is a navigation app called Ways, where one can opt for their directions to be given to you by C3PO, a boy band, Mr T (I pity the fool who makes a u turn!), etc. we joked that Sam Clemens should be an option, and after that, anytime someone needed directions, we delivered them in overly descriptive southern drawls that rolled slowly off the tongue. Because getting directions from Mark Twain would be like using a thesaurus dredged in molasses. 

Everyone got an age appropriate history of Sam Clemens dose of Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huckleberry Finn, and for the long drive we watched several film adaptations of the books. 

And this was super fun, I found a lego version of The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras County. Hilarious! Found here: 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FXivgpLSQeo 

Two Family Home Evenings were devoted to the Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration film and a selection of other publications from the church video library. We read excerpts from Joseph Smith History and Doctrine and Covenants. 

For lodging, I booked the Marydale Inn b&b in Jamesport Mo, and the Nauvoo Family Cabins in Illinois. 

I studied a Sunday school lesson on Adam Ondi Ahman for a discussion there. 

I kept having this thought that I wish my nephews from California were coming with us on this trip, particularly Amy's oldest, Parker, who turns 18 in a couple weeks. I felt like I should call and invite them, but was hesitant because how likely is it to be able to pull the boys from school and put them on last minute flights to Missouri 4 days later? 

The feeling that I should invite them persisted, so the next day I followed the prompting and called my sister at 6am and told her age needs to send one or some of her boys out to join us. 

She said it sounded dreamy but obviously was highly impossible with all of their commitments and the expense. 

And then she called me the next day and said, "I coming. I'm booking flights for Parker, Tyler, and I.  We'll see you Saturday!" I did some last minute rearranging of cabin and inn reservations and it all worked out. Because of the trouble I ran into rearranging our reservations to accommodate 3 more people (we ended up calling a friend of the innkeeper  who has an air bnb) I ran out of time to read up on a few of our destinations, but we decided to wing it and play those stops by ear. It really was a great trip. I want to go back soon. So much more to do and see!

Halloween 2017

Oh Halloween, you lasted like 3 months long this year. Ha. It's been a nonstop costume party extravaganza up in here. Every night, after the kids are in bed, Aaron and I usually raid their candy. We glutton ourselves shrapnel and then pass out on the sofa, buried in candy wrappers. This year, I'm limited to eating a small selection (lol thanks for nothing, braces) but we're enjoying all the "adulting"  we're doing instead. 

1)Bradley's haunted forest and hayride 

2) Walmart home office trick or treating 

The line to get into the home office was also dressed up--as a mid-summer line for a Disney attraction! 1 hour wait had us like "no way" so we hit up the 608 building instead. No line, lots of candy, and done before the people who we just lining up to wait at the main Walmart entrance made it inside. Winning! 

3) town center field trip with Soren. It was freezing that day! 

4) sugar creek ward chili cook off and trunk or treat. I spent the day dying clothes green to make all of Quincys wildest dreams come e true. In the end she was thrilled and I felt like a pushover for not making her and Reese wear the Harry Potter robes they "had" to have for a birthday party in the summer, with the promise that they could use them again on Halloween. I can't believe I feel for it! Fool me twice, girls! Oh wait, you did, because in March we made poodle skirts with grandma Lynda for 50's day with the intention of you using the skirts again for Halloween. Again, nope. The girls needed to be something "original" for Halloween  and I bought into the excitement and spent a day driving to Halloween stores in Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville to find Q a green morph suit and fatigues. I ended up with a clearance brown camo top and some old cargo pants and dyed everything green. 

I had a fake beard and ax to wear, and chest hair drawn on my neck and aaron freaked out, "you can't go cross dressed at a church party!" 😂 I buttoned up my shirt and ditched the big beard in favor of mascara scruff on my face instead. It freaked Aaron out even more LOL. 

So I told my costume story to a friend when we arrived, and 30 minutes later, my name was called as a prize winner for "best attention to detail". Hahaha I was shoveling food in my face when they called my name and everyone turned around and looked at me, holding my soup bowl mid air to my face like "Wait. What?" Hahaha take that Aaron! My lumberjack chest hair won a prize! Burn!

Of course later, as I teased aaron, he got me back as he smiled and delightfully said YES to Soren when he asked for a balloon. (I totally hate helium balloons. They last forever, and then when they finally deflate, the kids panic when I try to throw them away)

And Aaron opened the back door to the van to reveal he had helped the clean up crew clear tables, and stuffed like 15 helium balloons into the van! He couldn't not laugh as he stared right at me and called out to Soren "I got ALL of these balloons for YOU to take home with you, buddy! You're welcome!" 

You're dead to me, Aaron! Hahahaha 

Here I am with Naomi W, Jill S, and Danielle P. I'm trying to look like a tough lumberjack, but in reality, I had just eaten and my braces were full of food so I kept my mouth closed for the pic hahaha.

5) Cooper class party time! 

Heaven bless Room Mothers.  

6) Primrose Lane Trick or Treating 

My parents teamed up with Durbin's with sloppy Joe's and chips, an outdoor movie going, and a hot cocoa bar for the neighborhood. This street. It's a slice of heaven. 

Friends and neighbors all worked up and down the street, and gathered on my parents and Durbin's driveways to visit. 

Where else in the world can you still get a homemade cookies and caramel apple in your Trick or treat bag and be allowed to eat them? Nita and Kathy had a table of wrapped homemade goodies for everyone. It was the cutest. 

Sloane got tired of her chicken costume and dragged it around over one shoulder. 

Comfort Food Season

They say the key factors in the Danish practice of Hygge are candles, coziness, and togetherness. I frequently keep a candle burning in my home, and a fire in the winter months, but if we had to do away with both of those elements and only offered homemade rolls as a replacement , I think the world happiness level would still blow Hygge off the charts. Why? Because bread is life and homemade bread is love.

My kids call these "Christmas Rolls" or "Thanksgiving Rolls" because that's about how often I have the energy to roll out 3 dozen  crescents. But tonight was special because we were feeding the Sister Missionaries, and we had invited some neighbor friends over for a "cottage meeting" style Family Home Evening lesson.  

At the last minute, our neighbors were unable to come, but my parents dropped by after being out early all day doing some service, and we invited them to stay.  

The kids were reverent during the lesson and everyone listened and participated. 

I repeat, all of the kids were reverent during the lesson and everyone listened and participated. 

It was sort of a miracle. 

We had a good discussion and even though it wasn't exactly how we planned our dinner party to turn out, we had a wonderful family night. And really, how can any night with fresh from the oven homemade rolls, end badly? These babies are individually hand dipped in butter.  Eat your heart out, Hygge.