Mom Funnies

I "borrowed" these from my cousin's blog. They were too good not to share. This is Hillary Weeks. :)

Sew Crazy

I decided to haul out the sewing machine a few weeks ago to try to tap into my creative side again. I have been in a bit of a funk lately. I think it is most weather related, so I figured that sewing with some nice bright colors might help lift me out of it.

I forgot how much I miss MAKING things. I enjoy sewing because it involves so many things that I enjoy. I get to choose fabrics (which usually involves shopping), I get to make something with my hands (which gives me a nice sense of accomplishment), it usually involves problem solving due to my lack of technical skills, and most of my aprons go to other people, so I get the warm fuzzies for that. Unfortunately, the sewing maching, cutting mat, ironing board, and tools take up the entire kitchen table, so it isn't something I can really do all the time.

The first apron was for a cupcake themed apron swap on swap-bot. I made up this pattern myself. It looks really cute on, but I wasn't about to model it for the camera and I don't have a dress form. I sewed on little beads to look like sprinkles. I think it turned out well.

The next apron is for another swap. It had a Sugar and Spice theme and I was going to do a different cupcake apron, but after looking at all the pictures I realized that most people interpreted the theme to be more of a Valentines Day thing, so I switched gears. This is a new pattern that I really like. It wasn't HARD, but it was labor intensive. I learned a few things and the apron wasn't perfect (which really bugs me), but after all the time and expense I put into it I hope she will realize it was made with love. Besides, the reason I like sewing aprons so much is that due to their purpose, they don't HAVE to be perfect.

The last one is for a friend and I just love these fabrics. It looks like chic Victorian wallpaper. Now I am going to go pack up the sewing machine for at least a few days and try to sweep up all of the threads and scraps under the table.

♫ It's a Perfect Daaaaay...

Nothin' Standin' in my Waaaaaay...♪

For reasons soon to be explained, I have had this song going through my head all day. I don't know who sings it, but since I don't listen to much pop music, I am assuming it is in some Disney movie. But anyway...

Yesterday for my stake YW calling I got to attend a ward out on the beach. When Denise (the YW President) and I got out of the car at the chapel we realized how BEAUTIFUL it was out there. It has been so cold lately and so dreary and we were a little shocked to be hit with WARM SUNLIGHT. So after the meetings were over we stripped off our nylons (as ladylike as we could in the car) and went for a little walk on the beach. The sand (and later our feet) were cold, but it was just so *nice*. So I resolved that I was going to take the kids to the coast today. I am not the most spontaneous person so I was really proud of myself for being willing to (and following through with) this trip. Brian had to work (and get a root canal), so I messaged my friend Tanya (who has four beautiful girls -- two of whom are some of my girls' BFFs) and asked if she was interested in coming. After convincing her that it wouldn't be FREEZING, she agreed.

We left at about 10:30 this morning to give it some time to warm up and we stopped first at Pig 'N Pancake for lunch. I love places like this where you can get breakfast all day. Yum!! Then we went to see the sealions on the pier, then off to the beach!! We went where we could just drive our cars down onto the sand. MUCH easier than hauling all our stuff over the dunes. The thermometer on my car said 62 degrees. It was cool enough for sweatshirts and jeans, but the kids had a blast with bare feet and the few sand toys I was able to throw together. Tanya brought little baggies and the girls had fun filling them with all of the little broken sand dollars and shells that they found. It was low tide, so there was lots of sand to run around on, and they had fun digging big holes and then splashing in the water that would come up from the sand to fill it.

When we went to the beach this summer Jaren really seemed to hate it. I was curious to see how he would act today. He just ran around with his ladle and whack at all the shells he saw. SUCH a boy. Since we don't have any sandals that fit him, I just kept him in his tennis shoes and socks. Until I saw him standing in the girls water filled hole -- shoes and all. So he got to wear his sister's Crocs for the rest of the day.

We hung out on the sand for about two hours, then we headed to Dairy Queen for some icecream and a potty break, then we headed for home. Thanks to the DVD player and each girl having her own Nintendo DS, the trip was flawless. The kids were so well behaved and it has me thinking that we need to do this again SOON. Thanks for the fun, Tanya! It was PERFECT DAY

And Open Letter to M. Nature

Dear Ms. Mother Nature,

You are SO not my favorite person right now. The 17" of snow you chose to grace us with the weeks before Christmas was bad enough. I was a fairly good sport when school was cancelled four of the five days the week leading up to Christmas Break. I didn't even mind the freezing rain we got earlier this week that made my driveway an inclined skating rink.

But now school is all set to start tomorrow and the kids (and parents) are MORE than ready. And you decide to send MORE SNOW. Please cease and desist all precipitation RIGHT NOW. I think I may just burst into tears if I get another 5:40 am call that school has been cancelled. We are in desperate need of a return to structure and a schedule. I need to get back to the gym and I need a chance to clean the house without three little "helpers" undoing everything I have done.

So please. PUH-LEEZE!!! Stop toying with me! Send the clouds to the Southwest or some place where they need the precipitation. I'm DONE.

Sincerely,
Paige

A Public Thank You

This year our family had the fun of being visited by the 12 Days of Christmas. Each night (even on the days that we were bombarded with snow--the final tally according to the ruler in my front yard was 16") we had a little treat left on our front porch with a funny little poem that related the gift to the original 12 Days of Christmas. We really looked forward to it and whoever it was was really good at hightailing it out of there before we caught a glimpse of who it was.

Tonight we got a bag with tonight AND tomorrows gifts in it. And they LEFT IT ANONYMOUSLY!!! Aaaaah!!!! I need closure, people!! I was so looking forward to thanking these friends for bringing some fun to these last two weeks of snow and drudgery. But since they WON'T TELL ME WHO THEY ARE, I am going to hope that maybe they are followers of this little blog and they can hear me say how thankful I am. Thanks for choosing us and making us feel special. As much fun as it is to give treats, it really is fun and exciting to receive, too. So have a Merry Christmas and we'll eat some English Shortbread for you! Oh, and if you will please let me know your secret for choosing perfectly ripe pears, I would appreciate it. I always buy pears that are rock hard and those that the partridge left were PERFECT.

How do you spell disaster??

Well, when you factor in four and a half snow days, two batches of caramel, one batch of cookies, a batch of dipped peanut butter bon bons, dipped marshmallows, and chocolate covered pretzels, it is spelled M-Y-H-O-U-S-E.

But my little treat trays are DONE. Now if only the roads would clear enough for me to deliver them to the neighbors and friends...

My Talk

One of the benefits (?) of being in a stake calling (even though I am the secretary) is the increased number of opportunities to speak. While this is terrifying and exciting at the same time, I am grateful for the chance it gives me to see the Holy Ghost in action as he leads me in the direction I should go.

Yesterday was a perfect example of this. I was asked to speak at our ward's Young Women in Excellence (YWiE) program about a month ago. The theme was Aspire Higher. YWiE is a yearly activity where the 12-17 year old girls focus on a goal they have been working on and either perform it or make a display talking about the work that went into achieving that goal, and the outcome. Soon after I was asked to speak I had some clearly defined ideas in my head of what I wanted to talk about. At the time several people close to me were having relationship difficulties and I wanted to make sure that I talked about never settling in life -- that it is important to set your expectations of yourself and your eternal companion high. That you take the time to get to know them, blah blah blah. After some time, this evolved into talking about the worlds standards regarding marriage, education, modesty, etc and comparing them with the churches standards and "Aspiring Higher" in all we do.

Then I sat down to write the talk. I had been praying for guidance in how I should go with this. I really wanted to say what the Lord wanted me to say. I know I have a tendency to be opinionated and I feared that if I didn't seek direction that it would be 15 minutes of the Gospel according to Paige. As I sat down I felt inspired to find a talk online that I had read years ago given by a friend from Utah (that talk can be found here). On just the first page I had found the basic ideas that I knew I needed to present.

It was incredible to me how quickly and seamlessly everything came together. Even the analogy of the tools and toolbox that I used felt like they were just placed in my head (though when I sent it to Brian to proofread he thought I should have used a makeup kid instead of a toolbox --ha!!).

I am posting this talk here, not because I am proud of what *I* did, but as a reminder and evidence to me that when we seek guidance and inspiration from the Spirit, we WILL be directed where to go. These words weren't from me. I know that. This wasn't how I thought the talk would go. And yet here it is. I can only imagine how life would be if I had the patience and spirituality to be directed like this in ALL things. This has been a testimony building experience for me that I want to work toward that level of discipleship.

Young Women in Excellence
December 9, 2008
“Aspire Higher”


I have known about this talk for a month, and for that entire time I have had ideas swirling around in my head of what I would like to talk about.

I still remember much of the advice that was given to me when I was a youth. And for that reason, this talk has terrified me. I take very seriously the invitation to speak to you. I know that some little thing I say may wedge itself in your brain and you may find yourself reflecting on it later and I want to make sure that whatever it is, it is coherent and meaningful.

Many of you have probably wondered why the church has the Young Women in Excellence program. Why, when there is SO much going on in your lives and you barely have time to sleep some nights, that we are asking you to prepare something that you have been working on and then talk about it to the rest of us. I remember when I was younger thinking of it as a mini – talent show, only we HAD to participate. To help answer that question of why we do this, I want to read you a quote. President Hinckley said in 2004:

You have the potential to become anything to which you set your mind. You have a mind and a body and a spirit. With these three working together, you can walk the high road that leads to achievement and happiness. But this will require effort and sacrifice and faith…you will be expected to put forth great effort and use your best talents to make your way to the most wonderful future of which you are capable.

President Hinckley said that it is by effort and our TALENTS that we will be able to achieve our greatest potential. Every single one of us has been blessed with talents. Some talents are really obvious. I was always a loud singer and musical things came quite easily to me. Some of you have that same talent. Some of you are good at art, or at cooking, or at crafts. Those are talents that are easy to make a display for at programs like this. Other talents aren’t as easily identified. Some of you have the talent of patience. And if you don’t think that’s a talent now, wait until you have young children. Some of you have the ability to make everyone feel included. Some of you are natural born leaders and you have the talent of speaking so that others will want to listen and follow. I know that these talents are harder to display or write about, but they are still special gifts to you that you should cherish and develop.

I like to picture talents as items in a personalized toolbox that our Heavenly Father sent with us on this journey to earth. They are tools that are unique to us, tailored to our own unique journey. But like real tools, they don’t do us any good if we don’t get them out and use them. If we just carry them around, they get rusty and we forget how they work. We learn from the parable of the talents in the book of Matthew that if we don’t use our talents we can lose them for good. But on the flip side, if we work hard to learn about and develop the talents we are given, the Lord will give us more.

So, back to my toolbox idea, if you think of life as a great big construction project in the works, we start off with a few basic tools. As we get better at using the hammer and screwdriver, the Lord will add a sander to our toolbox, and then maybe a table saw. And so on.

The only problem with this scenario is that as Young Women most of you have no idea what you are building. Is it a Treehouse? A Single Family Home? A Boat? A Tee-Pee? How are we supposed to know what tools we need if we don’t even know what we are building?? Enter the Personal Progress program and nights like these. You will never again in your life have as much time to focus on YOU as you do right now. Your basic needs are taken care of. School, seminary, and your family dictate most of your schedules for you. No one is depending on you for more than doing a few chores or helping with a group project at school. This is the perfect time for you to take out those tools you have been given and play around with them. Find out how they work. Find out which ones are the easiest to use and which ones really require some effort. Which ones can you learn to use all on your own, and which ones do you need someone to show you how to use?

So here we are tonight. Through this program, you have been encouraged by your leaders to take a tool out of your toolbox, polish it up, and show us all how it works. Fabulous. Now what?

When I lived in Utah I had the honor of working with an amazing woman named Staci Peters. In addition to being a very successful composer and producer, she has an incredible testimony and spirit. She was a member of the General Relief Society board and she had the chance to give a devotional address at BYU-I. This is something she said in that talk:

Let’s talk for a moment about the desires of your hearts. Perhaps some of you are looking forward to serving a mission. All of you are certainly looking forward to graduation. Some of you are preparing to marry in the temple. In addition to the many righteous desires that we have in common as members of the Church, each of us has some very personal desires concerning the unique contribution we want to make to this world with the set of gifts and talents we have been given. You may desire to design an important building that will stand for generations, to provide life-saving medical care, to create art that uplifts the soul, to coach a sports team and inspire your players to greatness, to lead a company to great financial success so you will have the means to bless others - all of these can be noble and worthwhile - and even righteous - pursuits. As long as we are living in such a way as to be under the influence of the spirit, these desires and interests have a divine origin and they are to be cultivated with the intent to do good and to build up the kingdom of God. Let me not gloss over the beginning of that statement: as long as we are living in such a way as to be under the influence of the spirit.

I think that this is where the “Aspire Higher” theme plays a roll in our lives. Like Staci says, all of us have personal wishes and desires of our hearts. All of us want to take our talents and gifts and leave a mark or a legacy. But Staci stresses something that is very important. We know the Plan of Salvation. We all know where we came from. We lived with our Heavenly Father before coming to this earth and we are His spirit children. We know why we are here. To gain a body, gain experience and knowledge, and show our obedience to the commandments through our choices. And we know where we WANT to go. We want to gain eternal life and live with our Heavenly Father and loved ones and have never-ending joy. But with that knowledge comes responsibilities and expectations. We know that everything we have comes from our Heavenly Father. And in return for our blessings, He wants us to use our gifts to build his Kingdom here on the Earth and help others along the path of life.


President Hinckley said,

“You ’re good, but it’s not enough to be good. You must be good for something!”

To me, this means that we not only should we know how to use all the tools in our toolbox, but we need to be BUILDING with them. And not only building our own tree house, or home, or tee-pee… we need to be helping to build OTHER people’s tree houses, or homes, or tee-pees. Because as we can see by looking around the room at the displays tonight, not all of us have the same tools. And because we don’t have the same tools, I may have a tool in my box that Sister Edwards can benefit from. And I’ll bet that she has something in her toolbox that could help build my construction project. And what happens as we help each other? We may just pick up a little bit about how to use each others’ tools. And maybe if we practice with that tool enough the Lord may see fit to bless us with that tool for our OWN toolbox. And the more tools we have, the better we are able to help others and ourselves.

Let me go back to Sister Peter’s talk. She says,

As you sit here today, each of you has in your heart some idea of what you want to do with your life and where you would like to arrive at the end of it. You are at a crossroads in your personal journey to your own, individual promised land. That Promised Land is really a symbol of the intersection of grace and works - the things you are working hard to righteously achieve combined with the Lord’s divine enhancements that will ultimately lead to your chosen destiny.

I love what she says here. That each of us has the free agency to do what we want with our life. The sky is the limit. But it is when our own personal desires and work meet up with what the Lord has in store for us that we arrive at our own personal bliss and destiny.

Let me give you an example of this from my own life.

When I was in high school I was a full-on drama nerd. Music and theater were my life. My goal in life was to see my name in lights. I wanted to go to a big performing arts college and then move to New York City and live the highlife of a famous Broadway star. The first bump in the road came as my parents (in their amazing wisdom) told me that I was free to go to college where I wanted, but if I wanted them to pay for it, I was going to go to a church school. I was aggravated with their decision, but luckily I was wise enough to know that I would be an idiot to turn down a subsidized education. Besides, both my parents were BYU graduates and they had all sorts of fun amazing stories of BYU life and I was excited to experience it for myself. I think that may have been one of the most important and smart decisions of MY life.

So I started out at BYU as a vocal performance major. I was well on my way to becoming famous. But little things started chipping away at the foundation of this goal that I had set. I still loved to sing, but I was realizing that the lifestyle that accompanied a name in lights was not parallel with my other goal in life – to be a wife and mother. I was putting in hours and hours of practice times. And I was learning that while one person may LOVE the way I sounded, another person would hear the same performance and find me mediocre. I realized that performing gigs were way harder to come by and that I had to always be available for work – whenever or wherever it may be. I found that I was getting more stressed out by the experiences and I was no longer getting the joy from it that I felt when I was in high school and living a life that was not concentrated 100% on music. But what else was I going to do??? My talents do NOT lie in the maths and sciences. I loved English and History, but I didn’t want to start my college education over again. Surprisingly, the idea of majoring in music education had never occurred to me before.

But I remember when it did. It hit me like a ton of bricks. It just made sense to me. I loved music. I loved people. It was a skill I could use to better my own position in life, and the things I would learn would help me as a mother and in the church. Of course I know now that it was personal revelation that led me to that decision. Once I filled out the paperwork to apply for the program, things literally fell into place. I loved what I was learning. I found myself good at what I was doing. I had connections that allowed me to have conducting experiences that boosted my confidence and self esteem, rather than the self-doubt and questioning I had experienced before. As I approached graduation from BYU and found myself NOT married I was grateful for the job that pretty much fell into my lap and allowed me to stay near Provo. Six months later it was evident that the Lord gave that option to me so that I could be in the right place at the right time to be reacquainted with the man that would become my husband. In the early years of our marriage it was my degree in music education that allowed us to pay for Brian’s schooling and put food on our table while he worked towards HIS degree. And now that I am raising three little ones, it is that degree that has given me the skills to bring in extra income and still be at home with my children.

I had no way of knowing it at the time, but when I made the decision to change my major, I was at the intersection of grace and works, as Sister Peter’s called it. I allowed my own desires and talents to work in harmony with what the Lord had in store for me and my family and hundreds of students were able to benefit from the blessings that would come from that choice.

And here’s the amazing part – just as my personal revelation inspired me to change my major to music education so that my talents could best serve the Lord, there are other people out there whose personal revelation tells them to go into vocal performance because their mission in life is to bless people in that venue. The Lord knows where you will best fit and he knows where he can use you the most. We just have to trust that if we let Him, He can make us into more than we could become alone. Doctrine and Covenants 6:8 says, “if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation.” That’s a big promise. All we have to do is desire it and be willing to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands.

Did I have the tools to be a performer? Absolutely. But along with that tool in my toolbox was the tool that allowed me to work well with junior high students. A tool I didn’t even know I had until I was put in the position to use it. And when I combined my performance tool with my teaching tool with my desire to be where the Lord wanted me to be, I was capable of building some amazing things.

All of your talents are necessary for the building of the kingdom of God on earth.
· Artists and musicians are needed to provide wholesome and uplifting media in this time when Satan controls so much of what we are exposed to.
· Cooking and Home Economics will be needed as we are forced to become more self-reliant. The world has produced generations who are dependant on others for basic needs and cares. The scriptures and prophets have taught us that these resources will not always be available. Your talents in these areas will not only bless your lives, but you will be a vital resource to others to help them develop these tools.
· Sewing is a tool that I feel we are all going to have to depend on as it becomes harder and harder to find clothes that are modest. The ability to alter pieces so they reflect the sanctity of the body is an invaluable tool.
· Many of you are blessed with the ability to write and put your feelings and expressions on paper. This gift will bless generations. Write your testimony. Write of things that uplift, edify, and inspire. In times of discouragement you will be able to look back on what you have written and it will get you through rough times. Share your writings with others so they too can benefit from your talent.
· Those of you who have been blessed with the gift of knowledge and learning have a blessing that we have been promised in the scriptures will benefit you for the eternities. For whatever knowledge we attain here on this earth will rise with us after we die. Be a teacher. Even if you aren’t in a formal classroom surrounded by students, teach your friends. Teach by your example what you know.


As for those tools that are hard to display or perform: the gifts of leadership, patience, compassion, service, self control, dedication, discipleship, testimony – I think these may be some of the most valuable tools in your toolbox. Unlike some other talents that fade with age or that can be taken away through physical trials, these are gifts that can never be taken away from you. If we use them, they only get stronger. These are the gifts best used to do the Lord’s work here on the earth. For just as He has given us our toolbox of talents and blessings, WE are His tools. His time on the earth has passed and He must now rely on US to continue the work. And He knows exactly what kind of tool He needs us to be, and what He needs to do to get us into perfect working order. And by following the guidance of the Holy Ghost and through personal revelation, we can align our goals and talents with the needs of our Heavenly Father to fulfill our highest potential here on this earth.

Sisters, I have a testimony that each of you is a loved daughter of our Heavenly Father. He has blessed you with one of the most precious tools that he could put in your toolbox – the gospel. It is like a combination flashlight-GPS-instruction manual-duct tape-first aid kit tool. Take that tool and study it. Polish it. Use it. Share it with others. Because that tool will help you with every other tool that you have been given or will get in the future.

You have some amazing talents inside of you. Don’t let the world convince you that there is no need for what you have to give. You are just what this world needs. If everyone in this world was encouraged to develop and share their talents like you are tonight, think of the good that would come from it. THAT is why we have nights like this.

I would like to bear my testimony to you that this church is true. That the principles found in the scriptures and in your YW lessons are true. That if you strive to follow those teachings, you will be blessed. And you will be HAPPY. And that the Lord will always give you the tools that you will need to get through the various stages and hardships of your life if you work to develop what He has already given you. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the perfect example that He is to me. And I am thankful that he chose to use the tools of redemption that only He could use. Because if he chose to let those tools rust, none of us would have the opportunity to repent and all would be lost. I have a testimony of personal revelation and answers to prayers. Use them. They will direct you to where you need to be to find your own personal Promised Land.

I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.