Sunday, November 14, 2010
I'm speaking in church today.
I've been asked to speak in church today with my remarks based on a talk be D. Todd Christoferson from the October 2009 general conference. You can find his talk (much better than mine) here.
The following is what I have written down for my notes. I just thought I would share.
He appeared before a board of inquiry composed of what he described as “hard-bitten career soldier[s].” After a while their questions turned to matters of religion. The final questions were these:
“In times of war should not the moral code be relaxed? Does not the stress of battle justify men in doing things that they would not do when at home under normal situations?”
President Faust relates:
“I recognized that here was a chance perhaps to make some points and look broad-minded. I knew perfectly well that the men who were asking me this question did not live by the standards that I had been taught. The thought flashed through my mind that perhaps I could say that I had my own beliefs but did not wish to impose them on others. But there seemed to flash before my mind the faces of the many people to whom I had taught the law of chastity as a missionary. In the end I simply said, ‘I do not believe there is a double standard of morality.’
“I left the hearing resigned to the fact that [they] would not like the answers I had given … and would surely score me very low. A few days later when the scores were posted, to my astonishment I had passed. I was in the first group taken for officer’s candidate school! …
President Faust recognized that we all possess the God-given gift of moral agency—the right to make choices and the obligation to account for those choices. He also understood and demonstrated that, for positive outcomes, moral agency must be accompanied by moral discipline.
Our society today does not make it easy to promote and respect moral discipline. It has been taught that “truth is relative” and that everyone decides for him or herself what is right. Concepts such as sins and wrong have been deemed merely “value judgements”. As a consequence, Self discipline has eroded. Our society is left to try and maintain order by complulsion. When individuals lack self control it is left to the government to create laws and maintain control for the safety of the whole.
For example I want you to think about a toddler. Now a toddler, hasn’t yet really learned all about self control or self discipline yet. That is left up to the parent. You’re small child asks for one piece of candy. Harmless, sure, you agree. 5 minutes later, she asks for another, and then another, and then another. If you don’t use your self discipline, and limit the intake of sugar, you will be left with a child who might a little wild, a little crazy and within a little while, her tummy will most likely not feel very good. You will be faced to deal with the consequence of trying to calm a upset child by complulsion, because you HAVE to you have no other choice. While, if you had used self control, and stopped her at 1, even if it was hard to listen to the whining and pleading, in my expericnece that doesn’t last nearly as long as an upset child with an upset stomach.
Even with all of the laws and police, it will never be enough to replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. Teaching right and wrong and making good choices is far better than waiting for someone to make bad choices and then punishing them for it. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society.
Moral discipline is learned in the home. While we cannot control what others may or may not do, we can certainly stand with those who demonstrate virtue in their own lives and teach virtue to the youth, weather they are our own children or not.
Here is a story that I’m sure all of the primary kids know.
Remember from Book of Mormon history the young men who were key to the Nephite victory in a long war. The sons of the people of Ammon. Their land was in danger and their fathers had promised the Lord to never pick up their weapons of war again. Instead of letting their fathers break their sacred promise they chose to go to battle themselves. Their character and discipline were described in these words: These scriptures all come from the book of Alma chapters 53-57.
“They were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
“Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:20–21).
“Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47).
“Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually” (Alma 57:27).
This is a standard for what should happen in our homes and in the Church. Our teaching should draw upon our own faith and focus instilling faith in God in the rising generation, in OUR CHILDREN. We must make it known that it is essential to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before Him with reverence. Each child or youth must be persuaded that service and sacrifice for the well-being and happiness of others are far superior to making one’s own comfort and possessions the highest priority.
To teach our child to be like these young men, it requires more than just sending them to Sunday school once a week. It requires more than the occasional reference to one gospel principal or another. There must be CONSTANT teaching, mostly by example.
(Now, a side note. Have you ever heard that the one giving the talk often learns more than those hearing it. Well, if I had to pick the one phrase that I’m sure our Heavenly Father wanted me to hear, that was it. I, as a parent, need to do a better job of constantly teaching my children. If I do not, the consequences will not only lie upon me, but upon my children. If I don’t teach my children the gospel, what is right and wrong and how to use their own moral discipline to make good and righteous choices, it will affect them both temporally and spiritually. I can’t leave that up to others to do for me. Sure others can and should help, but in the end its our responsibility as parents to make sure our children know the truth of the gospel and right from wrong.
President Henry B. Eyring expressed the vision we strive to attain:
“The pure gospel of Jesus Christ must go down into the hearts of [our children] by the power of the Holy Ghost. It will not be enough for them to have had a spiritual witness of the truth and to want good things later. It will not be enough for them to hope for some future cleansing and strengthening. Our aim must be for them to become truly converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ while they are with us. …
“Then they will have gained a strength from what they are, not only from what they know. They will become disciples of Christ.”6
I have heard a few parents state that they don’t want to impose the gospel on their children but want them to make up their own minds about what they will believe and follow. They think that in this way they are allowing children to exercise their agency. What they forget is that the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are.
D&C 93:24 And atruth is bknowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
Without that truth, young people can hardly be expected to understand and evaluate the choices that come before them. Parents should consider how the adversary approaches their children. He and his followers are not promoting objectivity but are vigorous advocates of sin and selfishness.
Trying to be neutral about the gospel is, in reality, to reject the existence of God and His authority. We must, rather, acknowledge Him if we want our children to see life’s choices clearly and be able to think for themselves. They should not have to learn by sad experience that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).
As part of a mom’s group I’m a part of, we watched a video of a very popular Christian speaker from another church. Now, I don’t remember what her main focus of her address was. One phrase truly stuck out to me. She was asked by a member in the audiance, “as a mother of teenagers, how do you get your kids to go to church?” She looked at her quizzically and asked, “what do you mean, ‘how do I get my kids to church?’ I PUT THEM IN THE CAR AND I TAKE THEM” I admire this woman for that. Our kids, weather they are small or teenagers, or even adults need to know the truth of the gospel before they can decide if they want to make the choice to follow it.
When it is time to teach a specific gospel principal or how to make good choices, “put your kids in the car and take them.” It is that simple We need to teach them what they need to know. We need to teach them the truth of the gospel. We need to teach them of right and wrong and of the consequences
Again “the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are.”
Perhaps our moral discipline, if we will cultivate it, will have an influence for good and inspire others to pursue the same course. We may have an impact on future trends and events. At a minimum, moral discipline will be of immense help to us as we deal with whatever stresses and challenges may come in a disintegrating society.
Brothers and sisters, I know our Heavenly Father loves us. He gave us our agency to use. With that agency comes the responsibility to use it wisely. And to teach others, especially our children, that we must use our moral discipline to make our choices, especially when it’s hard.
In the Name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The following is what I have written down for my notes. I just thought I would share.
D&C 101: 78 That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral aagency which I have given unto him, that every man may be baccountable for his own sins in the day of cjudgment.
We were all given our agency. We are able to make our own choices, weather good or bad; great or small. We can choose to come to church or stay home and watch the football game, we can choose to pay for an item we want or steal it. We can choose to eat our dessert first or after our meal. We can choose to wear white socks, black socks or even polka dotted socks. All of our choices will have consequences and we will be held accountable for them. While the choice of our sock color won’t hold eternal consequences, many of our choices do.
We talk in Young Womens a lot about making choices and decisions way before the need arrives. For example, if a young woman has made the decision to dress modestly when she’s young, And while shopping finds a very cute, but short skirt or top, its much easier to put it back on the rack if she’s made the decision ahead of time. However, a choice like that can be difficult to talk yourself out of, if that decision hasn’t already been made.
Or, I’m sure, many of you have been offered a drink of coffee or even alchol, at one point in your life. Sometimes I take it for granted that I’ve never really had to think about that response. That choice has been made for years and I never have felt the pressure to appease that person who offered it to me. A simple “No Thank you” has always worked. I can imagine that offering of something that goes against the word of wisdom being a hard choice to make, if you’ve never thought about it before hand.
As many of you know, when asked to give a talk in this ward, we are often given a talk or an article from the ensign from a general authority to base our remarks on. Today, my remarks are based on a talk by D. Todd Christofferson, from the 2009 November Conference Ensign issue. After reading this article, I felt like I could paraphrase it in about 3 sentences.
- Behave yourself.
- Behave yourself even when its hard.
- If you don’t behave yourself, it will affect way more than just yourself.
He talks about Moral Discipline. Moral discipline meaning – self-discipline based on moral standards. “Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard. It rejects the self-absorbed life in favor of developing character worthy of respect and true greatness through Christlike service.”
He also relates a story that was originally told by President James E. Faust
During World War II, President Faust, was a young enlisted man in the United States Army, applied for officer candidate school. He appeared before a board of inquiry composed of what he described as “hard-bitten career soldier[s].” After a while their questions turned to matters of religion. The final questions were these:
“In times of war should not the moral code be relaxed? Does not the stress of battle justify men in doing things that they would not do when at home under normal situations?”
President Faust relates:
“I recognized that here was a chance perhaps to make some points and look broad-minded. I knew perfectly well that the men who were asking me this question did not live by the standards that I had been taught. The thought flashed through my mind that perhaps I could say that I had my own beliefs but did not wish to impose them on others. But there seemed to flash before my mind the faces of the many people to whom I had taught the law of chastity as a missionary. In the end I simply said, ‘I do not believe there is a double standard of morality.’
“I left the hearing resigned to the fact that [they] would not like the answers I had given … and would surely score me very low. A few days later when the scores were posted, to my astonishment I had passed. I was in the first group taken for officer’s candidate school! …
President Faust recognized that we all possess the God-given gift of moral agency—the right to make choices and the obligation to account for those choices. He also understood and demonstrated that, for positive outcomes, moral agency must be accompanied by moral discipline.
Our society today does not make it easy to promote and respect moral discipline. It has been taught that “truth is relative” and that everyone decides for him or herself what is right. Concepts such as sins and wrong have been deemed merely “value judgements”. As a consequence, Self discipline has eroded. Our society is left to try and maintain order by complulsion. When individuals lack self control it is left to the government to create laws and maintain control for the safety of the whole.
For example I want you to think about a toddler. Now a toddler, hasn’t yet really learned all about self control or self discipline yet. That is left up to the parent. You’re small child asks for one piece of candy. Harmless, sure, you agree. 5 minutes later, she asks for another, and then another, and then another. If you don’t use your self discipline, and limit the intake of sugar, you will be left with a child who might a little wild, a little crazy and within a little while, her tummy will most likely not feel very good. You will be faced to deal with the consequence of trying to calm a upset child by complulsion, because you HAVE to you have no other choice. While, if you had used self control, and stopped her at 1, even if it was hard to listen to the whining and pleading, in my expericnece that doesn’t last nearly as long as an upset child with an upset stomach.
Even with all of the laws and police, it will never be enough to replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. Teaching right and wrong and making good choices is far better than waiting for someone to make bad choices and then punishing them for it. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society.
Moral discipline is learned in the home. While we cannot control what others may or may not do, we can certainly stand with those who demonstrate virtue in their own lives and teach virtue to the youth, weather they are our own children or not.
Here is a story that I’m sure all of the primary kids know.
Remember from Book of Mormon history the young men who were key to the Nephite victory in a long war. The sons of the people of Ammon. Their land was in danger and their fathers had promised the Lord to never pick up their weapons of war again. Instead of letting their fathers break their sacred promise they chose to go to battle themselves. Their character and discipline were described in these words: These scriptures all come from the book of Alma chapters 53-57.
“They were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
“Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:20–21).
“Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47).
“Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually” (Alma 57:27).
This is a standard for what should happen in our homes and in the Church. Our teaching should draw upon our own faith and focus instilling faith in God in the rising generation, in OUR CHILDREN. We must make it known that it is essential to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before Him with reverence. Each child or youth must be persuaded that service and sacrifice for the well-being and happiness of others are far superior to making one’s own comfort and possessions the highest priority.
To teach our child to be like these young men, it requires more than just sending them to Sunday school once a week. It requires more than the occasional reference to one gospel principal or another. There must be CONSTANT teaching, mostly by example.
(Now, a side note. Have you ever heard that the one giving the talk often learns more than those hearing it. Well, if I had to pick the one phrase that I’m sure our Heavenly Father wanted me to hear, that was it. I, as a parent, need to do a better job of constantly teaching my children. If I do not, the consequences will not only lie upon me, but upon my children. If I don’t teach my children the gospel, what is right and wrong and how to use their own moral discipline to make good and righteous choices, it will affect them both temporally and spiritually. I can’t leave that up to others to do for me. Sure others can and should help, but in the end its our responsibility as parents to make sure our children know the truth of the gospel and right from wrong.
President Henry B. Eyring expressed the vision we strive to attain:
“The pure gospel of Jesus Christ must go down into the hearts of [our children] by the power of the Holy Ghost. It will not be enough for them to have had a spiritual witness of the truth and to want good things later. It will not be enough for them to hope for some future cleansing and strengthening. Our aim must be for them to become truly converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ while they are with us. …
“Then they will have gained a strength from what they are, not only from what they know. They will become disciples of Christ.”6
I have heard a few parents state that they don’t want to impose the gospel on their children but want them to make up their own minds about what they will believe and follow. They think that in this way they are allowing children to exercise their agency. What they forget is that the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are.
D&C 93:24 And atruth is bknowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
Without that truth, young people can hardly be expected to understand and evaluate the choices that come before them. Parents should consider how the adversary approaches their children. He and his followers are not promoting objectivity but are vigorous advocates of sin and selfishness.
Trying to be neutral about the gospel is, in reality, to reject the existence of God and His authority. We must, rather, acknowledge Him if we want our children to see life’s choices clearly and be able to think for themselves. They should not have to learn by sad experience that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).
As part of a mom’s group I’m a part of, we watched a video of a very popular Christian speaker from another church. Now, I don’t remember what her main focus of her address was. One phrase truly stuck out to me. She was asked by a member in the audiance, “as a mother of teenagers, how do you get your kids to go to church?” She looked at her quizzically and asked, “what do you mean, ‘how do I get my kids to church?’ I PUT THEM IN THE CAR AND I TAKE THEM” I admire this woman for that. Our kids, weather they are small or teenagers, or even adults need to know the truth of the gospel before they can decide if they want to make the choice to follow it.
When it is time to teach a specific gospel principal or how to make good choices, “put your kids in the car and take them.” It is that simple We need to teach them what they need to know. We need to teach them the truth of the gospel. We need to teach them of right and wrong and of the consequences
Again “the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are.”
Perhaps our moral discipline, if we will cultivate it, will have an influence for good and inspire others to pursue the same course. We may have an impact on future trends and events. At a minimum, moral discipline will be of immense help to us as we deal with whatever stresses and challenges may come in a disintegrating society.
Brothers and sisters, I know our Heavenly Father loves us. He gave us our agency to use. With that agency comes the responsibility to use it wisely. And to teach others, especially our children, that we must use our moral discipline to make our choices, especially when it’s hard.
In the Name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Can I win one of these please?
If you would like to win one of these awesome bikes, just click the image above and follow the instructions.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Halloween 2010
I think Halloween 2010 has been my most favorite ever! The costumes were done on time, which is probably because Sleeping Beauty was purchased by "Big Grandma" last year and Lissy has been waiting all year to wear it and Obi Wan Kanobi (sp?) was purchase at 40% off at Target on Tuesday. $13 was totally worth not having to make another costume this year!. I only had the Nerds costume that needed to be made. Sarah came up with the Nerds costume all on her own, I just had to come up with the "how" part.
Because Halloween landed on a Sunday this year we chose not to go Trick or Treating with the kids. We picked up the movie "How to Train your Dragon" on our way home from the party Saturday night and enjoyed that with the kids out in our "theater." We had an early dinner, then locked the house and turned off all the lights. The movie was great and we all had fun!
At the end of the movie some of our really good new friends showed up with Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls! Because they are the best people I know! Thanks Chantelle and Robert!
And now, I am locked in my office, trying NOT to think about all the candy on top of the fridge.
Wish me luck!
Monday, October 4, 2010
3rd Annual Pawliday Portraits
This weekend only!
For all of you who live in or around Tuolumne County this is a great opportunity to help an organization who truly helps hundreds (if not thousands) of animals every year and at the same time get a GREAT family portrait taken!
This year the even will take place the weekend of October 8th and 9th. For only $25 you will get a $60 value of a mini portrait session and an 8x10 print of your choice.
The best part, the Humane Society gets to keep 96% of all session fees!
Call (209)984-5489 to schedule your appointment or drop by the front desk.
Want to see portraits from the last 2 years?
This year's backdrop color will be Navy Blue.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Custom Portrait Session Give Away on Dandelion WIshes
Want to win a custom portrait session? Check out Dandelion Wishes for your enter and win.
Monday, August 30, 2010
I Love Restaurant.com
Have you heard about www.Restaurant.com ? I love it!
Today I bought a $25 gift certificate for $2 for Sweet River Grill in Merced. Usually the certificates are closer to 50% off, but if you google for coupon codes there are always good ones. Like today I used " CLEARANCE " for 80% off.
There aren't a whole lot of choices in my area, but I know in bigger cities there is a huge selection of restaurants to choose from. So, when I'm traveling and I know we'll stop for dinner in a certain place I always check www.restaurant.com first.
My husband and I were just talking about how we REALLY need to go on a date so I thought I'd surprise him with dinner sometime this week, this savings sure made it a lot easier on the wallet!
What's your favorite savings tip for eating out?
Saturday, August 28, 2010
My Happy List
Its been a long time since I last posted. I guess I've kind of been in a funk. It happens. I may not be out of it yet but I remember someone telling me when I'm feeling blue I should count my blessings. So when I read Mamarazzi's Happy List this morning I thought, "Hey, why not?"
So, here it goes. My Happy List
1. My living room wall is blue. My dad hates it. He's never said as much, but he offers to help me paint it every time he comes over. But I LOVE IT! Its the perfect shade of blue. (Now I wished I had painted the other walls a warmer shade of cream, but that's not the point.) I love my blue wall, and one day my bedroom will be "tan-ish".
2. I have high speed internet at home. A very nice installer came the other day, asked me where I wanted it installed and then he went to work. An hour later I was uploading a 1900MB file in under 30 minutes. It makes my job so much easier.
3. My husband is getting a new job. I can't go into all the details, but its good, really really good.
4. I have wonderful councilors. I'm the Young Women's President at church. I'm in charge of the 12-18 year old Young Women and I have two of the best councilors ever. We cleaned out our closet this week and with out them I wouldn't have been able to throw anything away. And there was lots of stuff to throw away.
5. I bought mini bagels last night at Target. I love mini bagels toasted with some butter. Mmmmm, best breakfast all week!
6. I know what the upcoming giveaway is on www.ourdandelionwishes.com and its a good one. I love knowing secrets!
7. I bought all the ingredients to make Alfajores. Dulce de leche isn't cheap. I think I'll try and find out how to make it next time.
8. Its Saturday and the neighbor kid didn't ring my door bell at 6:45am to see if the kids were ready for school.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
My house is so quiet
One of my children left home at 4am yesterday because he wanted to go to work with his dad. Somehow he managed to get stolen by his cousins and grandmother. He is being returned in about an hour by Aaron's sister.
Its amazing how the absence of just one child can make our home a completely different place. It was quiet. There was no arguing. And no one slammed any doors. I'm not saying all of those things are generally his fault. The last time my middle child was gone for the day the same thing occurred.
I miss him but I'm not sure if I'm ready for him to come home. Maybe when they leave a different child will go with them....maybe. One can only hope.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Southern California ( a post stolen from my sister)
Julie wrote about her trip to Newport Beach on her blog last week. Since we pretty much did the same thing, I'm just going to copy her post.
I went down to Newport Beach with my family last weekend. My parents and I spent a week there Friday to Friday and my sister (thats me)and her family joined us Friday to Wednesday. After getting there we all decided to go to Disneyland for a day (Aaron and I had our free "give a day- get a day" passes). We were waiting outside the gate when it opened and left right before the park closed. We ran around all day. It was nice that we went in October and got most of it done so we could now see what we missed and take our time without running too much.
To save some time and money, we packed lunch and dinner and ate in the parking lot. (I made chicken salad and croisants for lunch and taco salad for dinner. Both were extra yummy.)
We got fast passes for the rides we could get fast passes for so we wouldn't have to wait too long in lines. One line that took A LOT longer than we expected and were planning was the Nemo submarine ride. This was mostly because the audio on the submarine we were first put in wasn't working so they then had to unload us and reload us. Because of this, they gave a free fast pass/head of the line pass so we used it on Space Mountain at the end of the night. We had fun, but Andrew and Lissy looked a little unsure.
The day after Disneyland, we were so tired, we slept until we woke up. Of course, the kids woke up at a somewhat normal time for them. We sat around quite a bit and some of us decided to walk down to the local beach. We found some cool rocks to look at and some tide pools to explore. (This is where a squirrel tried to steal Sarah's cracker. I've never seen one get as close as this one did. I had to run at it with a shoe to scare it off, but it kept inching forward.)
After my sister went home, my parents and I went down to Desert Hot Springs to visit my dad's aunt. It was really hot. (We missed this part.)
The day after we got back into town, my nephew, Andrew, was baptized. He had asked me to speak about baptism which was an easier topic than my talk in sacrament meeting a few weeks ago. (Julie did an awesome job on her talk. So did my mother on her's. So many family members came to join us on this special day, it was great!)
Our cousins came into town for the day so we went to the Castle Air Museum and walked around all of the planes and jets. Yet again, another hot day. (VERY HOT!)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Cookie Dough!
Some very special Young Women need your help to raise money for Girls Camp.
If you live in or around the Atwater, CA area you should definitely visit this site
Friday, April 30, 2010
Who Likes Jewelry?
"Our biggest goal is to create beautiful handmade jewelry at a very affordable price, to meet the needs of the everyday woman (or man) at a price that won't break your budget! "
I was pleasantly shocked at how affordable her prices were. My favorite piece, "The Lacey Pendant" (shown above) is only $9!
(edited: I just asked her, and YES! She can do clip ons! I know, I'm probably the only one excited, but Yipee for my new ear embellishments!)
She has a pieces for men too! Check out "The Matthew" necklace. There are a couple of guys in my life that I could totally picture this on.
So go check out www.GinnyLynnJewelry.com today. Tell her I sent you!
My only question is, where is the "Diane" necklace?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Mr. Wilson!
We have new neighbors. Mr. & Mrs. Wilson are in the process of moving in. The other night I was telling Aaron, my husband, how funny I thought it would be if our kids always addressed our new neighbor as "Mr. Willllllssssssoooonnnnn!" a la Dennis the Menace style. Apparently my kids heard this because guess what I heard coming from our front yard today as they pulled into their driveway.
"Hey Mr. Wiiiillllllsssoooon!!!"
I didn't know if I should be embaressed by their lack of inhibition or grateful that are addressing their elders as "Mr.Wilson" instead of "Hey You"
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Please Ignore this Post
I want the @goldapplephotos & La Pomme Design / lapommedesign.com Goldapple Photography Premier Marketing Kit – visit paperieboutique.com!
Win the @designaglow / designaglow.com Studio Look Book – visit Paperie Boutique / paperieboutique.com by @shutterblog to find out how!
I want to win this. You can take a look too, but you don't really want to. Really, you don't need to.
(if you do, and you win....you don't really want it, so just send it my way. It's because I'm so nice that I'll take it off your hands.)
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Calories Don't Stick on Sundays
I have it on good authority that I should feel no guilt in eating chocolate chip cookies today for 2 reasons.
1.I walked home from church today, about 2 miles. It was a nice day and apparently my husband never turned his ringer back on after church so I couldn't call him to come and get me from my meeting anyway.
2.Calories don't stick on Sundays. Its true, Pam says so.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Anonymous Comments
Welcome to all of you that I apparently offended by speaking my mind. While my comment came off as "condesending and annoying" that was never my intention. I did not comment in the spirit of contention or malace, I was just bringing up a different point of view.
I kind of had the feeling that my comment would not be the popular idea on that blog but I chose to use my real google identy instead of hiding behind an anonymous comment.
So, feel free to leave a comment on how terrible you think I am, I'll add it to my "very important file."
I kind of had the feeling that my comment would not be the popular idea on that blog but I chose to use my real google identy instead of hiding behind an anonymous comment.
So, feel free to leave a comment on how terrible you think I am, I'll add it to my "very important file."
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
My First Blog Award!
I won my very first blog award today! Jami over at The Schoettler Family is the one who made me day! Thanks Jami!
List 7 interesting Facts about myself
Then pass it on..
1. I've been married 10 years to a wonderful guy who works way too hard.
2. I like to bake, sew, paint, glue & photograph stuff.
3. I shoot babies. ( I also shoot families, weddings, teenagers and children.)
4. When I was 7 years old I roller skated in a wheel barrel full of water. I broke my arm AFTER I got out and trip on the hose.
5. My husband says I make the best apple pie in the whole world and I don't even like apple pie all that much. (And he isn't just being nice, he never lies about food. He lets me know when something I make is yucky!)
6. I lived in the same house from the time I was born until the time I was married. In the 10 years we've been married, we've moved 9 times.
7. We bought a house last spring. The plan is to stay here for at least 7 more years! It will take us at least that long to finish all the projects.
•Hamlie- Julie is awesome! And I'm not even being biased because she is my sister. This girl has her head on straight! (She is single, so if any of you know any nice single men you can send thier applications straight to me!)
•320 Sycamore - One of the first blogs I ever found and I'm still going back for more.
•Make It & Love It always has a cute craft or project that I MUST do on a daily basis.
•Flowers and Frills & Puppy Dog Tails- Pam is one beautiful lady!
•I’ll be adding more when I get back to my laptop!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
2010's Valentines ( Just a little late)
I know Valentine's Day was a few weeks ago, but I thought I would share what we did for Valentine's this year. I got the kids ready for church an hour early sometime in January and drug them all down to the studio.
I had each child draw a picture and sign their name on a piece of paper folded in half length wise.
I then turned all of their pictures into these adorable bookmarks, put thier hand drawn pictures on the backs and had them professionally printed.
I love them! And its a good thing because I ordered too many. I will never be without a bookmark again!
(This one I didn't order because I wanted them all to match, but I still like this one too.)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
I have a secret blog
Thats right. I have a secret blog. A little while back, maybe a year or so ago, I was having a really tough time with a few things. I needed a place to vent. I needed a place to tell the universe that I was angry, sad, hurting, confused and probably just very hormonal. I did not want to talk about these things with someone who knew me or my family. I didn't want to say something that I truly meant in the moment but not 5 minutes later when I calmed down. I could have written it in a diary or journal, but I wanted to tell someone. So I created a secret blog.
I created a fake email, fake name, fake profile and created a secret blog. I wrote a very dramatic blog entry. I posted it for the world to see. Then I signed out and cleared my browser history. And now, I don't remember my fake email, name, profile or blog address. I couldn't find my fake blog if I wanted to. I don't even remember what I wrote about mostly. But it made me feel better.
I created a fake email, fake name, fake profile and created a secret blog. I wrote a very dramatic blog entry. I posted it for the world to see. Then I signed out and cleared my browser history. And now, I don't remember my fake email, name, profile or blog address. I couldn't find my fake blog if I wanted to. I don't even remember what I wrote about mostly. But it made me feel better.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Update
Random Updates to appease my family:
-Andrew started an after school reading program to help him catch up to his classmates. He's still a math genious. The other day he came home offended because he now has to do an extra math page a day for homework because everyone else in the class "just doesn't get it yet, but I DO".
-Lissy has been getting into trouble at school this last week. I don't know whats up with her, but she's talking and being disruptive in class, being slow to obey & giving silly answers to questions she already knows. We had an impromptu meeting with her teacher the other day and we have a few plans in place for next week. I'm hoping things will improve.
-Sarah loves to do the dishes. Little Grandma made me and the girls matching aprons for Christmas. So whenever Sarah sees me start to do the dishes, she pushes up her stool, puts on her apron and "helps". Its more fun to do a boring chore when you have a cute little "helper" by myside.
-Aaron still works way more than he should. Things are looking better as of this week.
-I'm completely booked for fund raisers in the month of March. Everytime I do that I'm exhausted by the end of the all. I keep reminding myself that I said I wouldn't do that again and then remembering that I really do enjoy it so being that tired is really worth it all.
-My cousin just called me. She is getting married in a few months and wants me to photograph the wedding. I'm looking forward to a trip to Utah. Staying at Julie's house is like a little mini retreat, only better because Julie is there. We stay up way too late and eat way too much.
-I went to a party last night. I loved seeing my best friend. She bought me rootbeer because she loves me. She might drive to Vegas with me because she's cool like that.
-I made some really cute tiles for our Young Women in the ward. It has the 2010 Youth theme on it which is: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). I really like this scripture. I'll post pictures soon.
-My feet are cold.
-I made Rosemary Rolls last night. I put in too much flour so they were a little tough, but they still tasted good. I might try them again.
-The house across the street from me is for sale. The agent says it will be listed for about $74,000. I really want to buy it so I can control who moves in, but no tengo dinero. So, if you're nice, you should buy it.
-The Merced Art Hop is tonight in downtown Merced. I get to photograph the event. It should be fun. You should go.
-Andrew started an after school reading program to help him catch up to his classmates. He's still a math genious. The other day he came home offended because he now has to do an extra math page a day for homework because everyone else in the class "just doesn't get it yet, but I DO".
-Lissy has been getting into trouble at school this last week. I don't know whats up with her, but she's talking and being disruptive in class, being slow to obey & giving silly answers to questions she already knows. We had an impromptu meeting with her teacher the other day and we have a few plans in place for next week. I'm hoping things will improve.
-Sarah loves to do the dishes. Little Grandma made me and the girls matching aprons for Christmas. So whenever Sarah sees me start to do the dishes, she pushes up her stool, puts on her apron and "helps". Its more fun to do a boring chore when you have a cute little "helper" by myside.
-Aaron still works way more than he should. Things are looking better as of this week.
-I'm completely booked for fund raisers in the month of March. Everytime I do that I'm exhausted by the end of the all. I keep reminding myself that I said I wouldn't do that again and then remembering that I really do enjoy it so being that tired is really worth it all.
-My cousin just called me. She is getting married in a few months and wants me to photograph the wedding. I'm looking forward to a trip to Utah. Staying at Julie's house is like a little mini retreat, only better because Julie is there. We stay up way too late and eat way too much.
-I went to a party last night. I loved seeing my best friend. She bought me rootbeer because she loves me. She might drive to Vegas with me because she's cool like that.
-I made some really cute tiles for our Young Women in the ward. It has the 2010 Youth theme on it which is: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). I really like this scripture. I'll post pictures soon.
-My feet are cold.
-I made Rosemary Rolls last night. I put in too much flour so they were a little tough, but they still tasted good. I might try them again.
-The house across the street from me is for sale. The agent says it will be listed for about $74,000. I really want to buy it so I can control who moves in, but no tengo dinero. So, if you're nice, you should buy it.
-The Merced Art Hop is tonight in downtown Merced. I get to photograph the event. It should be fun. You should go.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Valentine Mini Sessions
More Info at http://www.dianeconnphotography.blogspot.com/
Giveaway: Free Valentine Mini Session for the first person to tell me the secret word of the day!
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