The Funny Things Kids Say...

I want to marry a mermaid and a princess.

Mike, 4 years old

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Me: What are you doing?

Breeze: Screaming in the bathroom.

Me: Why?

Breeze: Cause it's funny.

(3 years old)

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Andy: I'm gonna shoot you dead like a deer!
(3 years old)

Not so funny, definitely shocking when heard from a 3 year old towards another 3 year old boy because he sat next to Andy's "girlfriend"...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: Are you going to play in the water today?

Breeze: Yeah, just wait, I need my space suit.

Me: What do you need?

Breeze: My space suit

Me: Why?

Breeze: So I can go Swimming, I need my space suit on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: What do you think about the Presidents Health care plan?

Hallee: Bugs.

Me: Yeah I think there is lots of bugs too. Any other thoughts?

Hallee: Yeah... Dirt.

I think this 4 year old understand more than people may think :)

What happens if you eat to many green beans?

According to a three year old in my preschool class, "If you eat too much green beans you'll turn into a frog."

So just a warning, if you do not wish to turn into a frog, keep your green bean consumption down.

New Calling

I have just began a new calling in church. I am the in Young Women's program, serving as the Beehive Adviser. I accepted the calling with little reservations, but now as I am preparing to teach these precious young women I fear that I won't be able to meet the needs of these young women. I remember my years of young womens. I remember having leaders who made me feel loved, included, and a special part of the church. They taught me what it meant to be a daughter of God, and they touched my life in many ways that I cannot begin to explain. These leaders were vital in my conversion and maintance of church membership during my teenage years. I know that God will not give us more than we can handle, I am still worried that I won't be able to love and serve these young women like I need to. I am humbled to be in this position, and looking forward to learning and growing in this new calling. Despite my worries I know that as I prayerfully prepare for each Sunday and each activity the Lord will help me to lead these young women.

Beautiful

Beautiful
(Cherie Call)

Look at all the signs, Look at all the shows
All the glamorous people who claim to know
What perfection is and what makes beauty stay
But when all the styles go out and the labels fade away

It's what you give that makes you beautiful
It's how you live that makes your dreams come true
Keep your faith in this world,
And let the light of the Lord shine through
That's what makes you beautiful

Nothing burns as bright, nothing shimmers so
As the smile of a friend when hope is running low
And how your hand feels warm when you dry a tear
Love is still in fashion at the end of every year

It's what you give that makes you beautiful
It's how you live that makes your dreams come true
Keep your faith in this world,
And let the light of the Lord shine through
That's what makes you beautiful

Even roses fade away in the snow
But the beauty in your heart can always grow

It's what you give that makes you beautiful
It's how you live that makes your dreams come true
Keep your faith in this world,
And let the light of the Lord shine through
That's what makes you beautiful

Copyright 2002 Cherie Call, all rights reserved

A Wonderful Gift

I was able to witness the sealing and marriage of my brother in-law to his wife this morning. I have been thinking a lot about what happened during the sealing. While I cannot tell the details of the ceremony I can tell you how wonderful it made me feel. Being there while an eternal family is bound together for time and all eternity is one of the most wonderful things in the world. I have been running through the ceremony in my head all day today. The insight that was given to Dan and Susie about how they should treat each other was wonderful. The temple president sealed them and he read the scripture about a husband and wife cleaving unto each other and no one else. He brought up that your husband or wife should be the center of your world, that there is nothing and no one else who should ever hold that spot besides your spouse. It is so important that we watch out actions and our priorities and make sure that there is no one and nothing placed before your spouse. I love Chris with all my heart and I do my best to make sure that Chris is in the center of my world. That is just one of the many things that touched my heart during this ceremony. I do not feel the need to share any specifics from their wonderful sealing, the specifics are not important to know. What is the most important part is how strong the spirit of the Lord was and how wonderful it felt. I have a strong testimony that Temple Marriage seals couples together for eternity. I felt the amazing power as they were sealed together, it was an instant and I could feel the amazing transformation from two separate individuals into an eternal family. What a blessing to know and understand the wonderful power that exists in the Holy Temples of the Lord, and the amazing blessings that are given in those Temples.

I don't want to complain... but...

I had a very frustrating day at work, which when you work at Kindercare it is a very common occurrence. Anyways, I walked into work today and went into my classroom only to find my cot cart covered with stuff... every time I turn around I am being told that there should be nothing on the cart, however it always manages to get filled up when I turn my back and then they get mad at me. Okay so the cart is covered and there are all these shirts on it, so I ask what I am suppose to do with the shirts, because I had no idea what they were for. When the Assistant Director snaps at me that they are for painting so that the kids don't get it on their clothes, I said okay, and turned around to go put the shirts away and then she decides to keep talking. Then asks very snottily and in the same down talking manner she was using if I am listening to her. I turn and say "yeah I am." Then she turned and answered the phone and I went on my way.
Now do you think that this is an incident worth a write-up? I was working I asked a simple question to which she was rude to me in answering and used a very rude tone, and then expects me to be happy that she is talking down to me? Then threatens a write-up for me. I am at work everyday on time, I do my job well, my kids like me, the parents like me, and I jump through the hoops they like to make me jump through. And she is going to write me up over this?
So honestly to anyone who reads this, do you think the action is justified? What should I do? Is there anything?

Ouch

I went to the Dr. today and he decided that we needed to do some bloodwork. I never worry to much about bloodwork I have donted blood many times. It hurt today though and it now hurts to extend my Right elbow, and my left arm is tender. Sad day... The first time she tried to draw the blood out of my left arm and it hurt and she said she was sorry, and then shortly after she asked how it felt, and my response "well it doesn't feel good" I guess I was a bit of a smarty pants... Anyways she had fun teasing me about my response while she tried to get the other arm.

2009

Some of my goals for 2009 are below. Now is the time, life is not waiting for me to figure things out. Instead I am being left behind. I am missing out on things in life that I used to have, I am not fully embracing some things that I have, and I am not making progress where I should be. Tomorrow is here, I am not going to wait or put it off.


1. I am going to build relationships with the people I am around. There are people I interact with who I can become closer to, and who will help me to feel more connected, and give me opportunities to serve.

2. I am going to keep in touch with the people who I used to be close to. I am not just going to check on them using facebook, I am going to call them, and talk to them! I would like to maintain and rebuild friendships, I do not want to loose them.

3. I am going to study the scriptures, attend the Temple, and strive to build my faith.

4. I am going to read more books

5. I am going to see a Dr. who will help me to run again, so that I can loose the extra weight I have accumulated.

6. Most importantly I am going to Love with all my heart, I am going to Love my husband and continue to grow closer to him, I am going to Love my family, I am going to Love my friends, and I am going to be Happy and Active!

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin died at the age of 91 on December 1st, 2008. He was an amazing man and I am glad to say he is now reunited with his lovely wife. The picture below is from their wedding day, I love that picture! It is just so sweet.

Election Time

I have no idea who I am going to vote for...

Hope

Well, Chris and I have to give talks this Sunday at church. I really don't like giving the talks, however I really enjoy preparing them. I always learn a lot and it seems that it touches onto a topic which I really needed to study. My family has been having some really serious challenges, unlike we have ever seen or experienced. Things have been tough for my parents, my brother, and relationships have been strained between a few people. I know that Chris and I are suppose to be here to help my family, and that this is where the Lord needs us right now. I have found a few quotes that I love and that I plan on using in my talk about hope in the face of adversity. I really just wish that my brother could accept some of the council of these church leaders. I hope that these quotes will inspire, encourage, and uplift any who are struggling.

"Hope is the anchor of our souls. I know of no one who is not in need of hope—young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor. As the prophet Ether exhorted, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”

"Everybody in this life has their challenges and difficulties. That is part of our mortal test. The reason for some of these trials cannot be readily understood except on the basis of faith and hope because there is often a larger purpose which we do not always understand. Peace comes through hope."
Hope, an Anchor of the Soul
President James E. Faust

"The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward.

Hope, on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear."
The Infinite Power of Hope
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Both these talks can be found by following the links below! Please read them and enjoy, I know I have.

Hope, an Anchor of the Soul
President James E. Faust
Ensign, Nov 1999, 59

The Infinite Power of Hope
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
October General Conference 2008

Tag: All About Chris
The Man I Married

1. What is his name? Christopher
2. Who eats more? Chris... especially lately..
3. Who said I love you first? Chris
4. Who is taller? He is
5. Who is smarter? ummm not a fair question..
6. Who is more sensitive? Me
7. Who does the laundry? We both do
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, he likes to be closest to the door.
9. Who pays the bills? Bill Pay
10. Who cooks more? Me
11. What meals do you cook together? Breakfast, dinner, lunch....
12. Who is more stubborn? Depends on the subject
13. Who is the first to admit they’re wrong? We both cave.. Chris usually will first though. He is so good to me.
14. Who has more siblings? He does. He has 3- 1 sister and 2 brothers, I only have 2 brothers.
15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? We make a good team.
16. What do you like to do together? We like to go camping, hiking, on walks, watching movies, cooking, playing games, among many other things.
17. Who eats more sweets? Tough call
18. Guilty pleasures? chocolate.. I don't think the guilty part fits though :)
19. How did you meet? A Halloween FHE was the first time we met.
20. When did you fall in love with him? Very early into our relationship.
21. Who has changed the most since you married? Couldn’t tell ya, change happens too slow to know.
22. Who proposed? Chris
23. His best features? They are all the best :)
24. What is his greatest quality? He takes his time and makes sure to do things right. He is very good about going to church, reading, and is always striving to improve. I think he is wonderful and he is always looking out for others and trying to help. I Love him with all my heart!

Teaching the Youth

Chris and I have a new calling in church, and in order to begin preparing I have taken a little time to read. I found a great article from the Liahona written by Robert D. Hales and titled, “Teaching by Faith.” I found many of the concepts not only vital and important when teaching the youth, but I feel they apply to me now and to many adults who are seeking to learn and grow in the gospel. I will try to compact the best I can and put the most moving concepts to me below. I encourage you to read this article if you are looking for teaching advice.

• When we teach youth by the Spirit, hearts will be touched and lives will be affected.
• You will recall the story related in the book of Mosiah about Abinadi standing bound before the wicked King Noah. Abinadi taught the gospel with the fire of the Spirit. He gave stern and specific warnings as he boldly taught the principle of repentance. Although Abinadi taught by the Spirit, King Noah was not touched. Alma, however, who was in the court and heard the testimony, was converted (see Mosiah 12:9–17:2). We do not always know whom we will reach, but I promise you that as you teach and testify by the Spirit, you will reach those who are ready to be taught.
• As teachers, we must require our young people to think. (They need to think, respond, question, and teach eachother)
• After discussing each story, we were asked questions such as “What does that mean to you?” “How does this scripture [or story or principle] relate to your life?” “How can you apply this teaching in your home?” “How do you feel about it?” We were asked to think. We were not learning only the stories. We were discovering how we could apply them in our lives.
• Teach the importance and power of pondering
• provide time to ponder, to think, and to exchange ideas
• Use practical application: “What does that mean to you?”
• Faith-promoting incidents occur in teaching when students take a role in teaching and testifying to their peers.
• Get to know what is happening in the lives of the youth.
• a true teacher, once he or she has taught the facts and the students gain the knowledge, takes them a step farther to gain the spiritual witness and the understanding in their hearts that bring about the action and the doing.
• “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …
  “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
  “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35, 38–39).

September...

It seems weird that another school year has started, and I didn't start going to school. I am however still teaching preschool, which means that I had many children move up to the pre-k class and I got a much younger class. Next week should actually be a challenge because I am getting a difficult child. It should be okay. Chris will be starting an online class soon and I am excited for him to be starting some school finally.
My mom and I spent Saturday evening working on a fun Halloween project and am excited to see it finished. It is my first project of this sort I have done, I will put pictures up when it is done. I also am excited because yesterday Chris and I spent a majority of the day cleaning up the craft room and making it usable. So now I have a really nice workspace and I will be much more motivated to work on my scrapbook, and on the quilting projects that I want to do. It is nice to have a zone that I can work on my projects in and leave them out with out the house being a great big mess.
It is nice to be close to my family for a change. We are looking forward to a trip down to see family in California, and Nevada for Thanksgiving. It should be a very fun trip to see everyone!

The Cake: A Year Later

I thought that a before and after picture might be nice. Although you cannot see the beautiful detail in this picture very well. It was beautiful! It still looks amazing concidering it has been in my parents freezer for a year. It is very exciting, and I am incredibly lucky to have such an amazing husband!

August 25, 2007

August 25, 2008

Summer Adventures

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to update my blog. I will try to write more here soon, however I have posted a some new stuff (including pictures) on my other blog. You should be able to click on the title of this post and it will take you to it, otherwise there is a link on the right hand side and the blog is titled "It all Started With a Handshake." Anyways I hope all is well and please check out the other blog!

My New Quilt

This is the start of my new quilt, I still have a ways to go but I really like it so far.

Unfold

Sometimes there are lyrics that just touch me to the core. I found this song today on Myspace and it says so much and I have felt these feelings countless times in my life. I have struggled with overcoming my shy nature. I am improving in many area's but I still have such a hard time in others. I am blessed to have such safety with my husband. I just hope that someday I will not have to work so hard to "Unfold". The title of this post will take you to Marie Digby singing this song, she is definitly talented.

unfold :
by: Marie Digby

what i can remember is a lot like water
trickling down a page of the most beautiful colors
i can’t quite put my finger down on the moment
that i became like this...

you see i am the bravest girl
you will ever come to meet
yet i shrink down to nothing
at the thought of someone really seeing me
i think my heart is wrapped around
and tangled up in winding weeds

but i dont wanna go on living
being so afraid of showing
someone else my imperfections
and even though my feet
are trembling and every
word i say comes stumbling
i will bare it all... watch me unfold unfold

these hands that i hold
behind my back are bound and broken
by my own doing and i can’t feel
anything anymore i need a touch
to remind me i’m still real

but i dont wanna go on living
being so afraid of showing someone else my imperfections
and even though my feetare trembling
and every word i say comes stumbling

i will bare it all... watch me unfold
unfold my soul it’s dying to be free you see..
i can’t live the rest of my lifeso guarded
it’s dying to be free it’s up to me to choose...

what kind of life i leadbut i dont wanna go on living
being so afraid of showing someone else my imperfections
and even though my feet are trembling
and every word i say comes stumbling
i will bare it all... watch me unfold unfold

i will allow someone to love me
i will allow someone to love me.

Things Change...

One night can change your life. I went to bed on Thursday night and everything in life was mostly normal, very predictable. I was awoken on at 12:30am on Friday morning to a loud pounding on the door and Cooper barking at whoever it was. When Chris and I went down to the door we found in to be someone there repossessing our truck, which is current on it's payments. We were in complete and utter shock, because he had an order to take the truck and we had no clue why. we have since figured out the cause and if the bank had told us what we needed to give them the whole thing could have and should have been avoided. Instead they chose to steal our truck and then tell us there was a problem. It is just crazy to think that they can just decide to take a vehicle back whenever they want. The whole incident takes a long time to explain and we will be taking the company to court about the situation because we now have a 900.00 fee we have to pay to get our truck from the repo yard 2 hours away! The point that I want to make is that just because things seem like they are okay doesn't mean they are, and the opposite just because life seems to be terrible it does not mean it is. What will make or break a situation is how we as individuals choose to view and deal with the issues at hand. Chris and I have been actively making plans about how we think our life should go. I think that a few of the plans are going to be changing because our plans are not in line with Heavenly Fathers. At this point I am not at liberty to discuss the plan which is possibly going to change because we are still praying and contemplating. However it is exciting and I think that Heavenly Father is telling us that it is time. Life changes very quick and very rapidly, I just hope I can keep up. It can be so scary sometimes, but it is more than worth it. I am excited to live a full life on this earth with my husband and our families. This is definitely an exciting ride.

April Already...

Well folks it is already April, I have been working at my job for a few months now, and Chris is working now also. My job is okay, I am learning a lot about young children. I enjoy being with the one year olds especially and I should be teaching a class of 4 and 5 year olds soon. One of the amazing parts of my job is how much children can teach me. It is amazing to look at the world through their eyes. They can fight and make up a minute later, what is truely amazing is that they will never bring the incident back up. That is one of those well known facts I guess. There is truely an innocence which surrounds children who are loved and respected. That is the key because I can tell when children are not being nutured at home, when they are scared, when they have not learned to respect others because they are not respected by their parents. It is heartbreaking to work with the children who know more swear words and derogitive statements than nice things to say. Especially when they are not even three years old. I can't help but wonder what kind of person is being raised. Will they overcome the immense challenges in their future? I don't know, if a child is not given the proper tools and knowledge, how can we expect them to become functioning adults? It is these questions, it is overcoming these obstacles that makes my job worth it. Children are OUR future, by nurturing and raising children I can make a difference in OUR future. It is about giving them a positive start so they can do great things.
Okay enough of that, it is not what I was planning on writing...Anyways, Chris and I are doing good. He is working at Firestone (I don't like the company) none-the-less it is a job and he is wonderful in putting up with it. He has not had a Saturday off since he started and this week he has Sunday and Tuesday off, I always have Saturday and Sunday. It is hard to be apart so much. However it will not be like this forever. We are planning to start our own business, so that I can be at home and he can go to school. We have a lot of planning and development before we will know when this will happen but it will. I am excited for the adventures of our life, it will be an exciting road. We are also trying to plan a trip to Susanville to see family this summer. Lots of plans, it will be fun. Oh and Liz is having a baby and I am super excited for her and Tim!!! I wish them the best of luck!! I also hope to see them this summer when they come back to Washington to visit.