Cherry Pie conceived of this Valentine Box idea, designed and created it with no help from me (Except that I provided the materials she requested.)
Note how candy can be put right in the doll’s “hand.”
The other hand is for cards that won’t fit in the tube.
Cherry Pie trying out having a fake hand.
Pumpkin Pie & Peach Pie all dressed up for Valentine’s Day.
Peach Pie made that card for me. It reads “You are my humming bird”
Once in your life, a clown walks in and casually hands you the music you’ve been waiting for since the day you were born. It’s the soundtrack that was missing from my epic life.
How perfect that it is from Iceland.
Happiness is a spring day. It slips up slowly, almost indicernibly, and suddenly I must go outside. The world is fresh and clean and good and new. Warm breezes melt away winter frost, banish my loneliness, wrap warm arms around my soul.
I had been sleeping, but today I am awake! Little chickadee’s hop from branch to branch twittering merrily and my heart skips with them out to greet the world. Peaceful sweet thoughts flow through me like great rolling clouds gliding across the sapphire sky. Bright daffodills bow and beckon to me like so many warm smiles.
I am filled to overflowing and my soul seeks no more. Like the brook, babbling and laughing along, I am complete and happy in myself. Little minnows dart to and fro, from shadow to light, daring to come out and bask in the light.
A blue heron wades in the brook, taking stately steps. He tilts his head at me. Then with a cry, he spreads his wings and leaps into the sky. I, too, know who I am, and I will fly. I will climb up up to heaven and soar above the clouds.
What’s that saying?
Pain is just weakness leaving the body?
No pain, no gain?
Hello Darkness, my old friend?
DH likes pain. How about you?
Christ Mormon (Photo credit: More Good Foundation)
I have a cousin who chooses a word or phrase each year to go along with her New Year’s resolutions. When I first saw this idea, I loved it! However, in January, I wasn’t sure what I really wanted from this year. I was really struggling with the tension between things I want to do and things I need to do. Struggling with how I want things to be and how things really are. It’s been an eventful month for me though, and my mind and heart have grown. I’ve realized what my word for the year needs to be:
ACCEPTANCE
That’s right. Not Tolerance, but acceptance. Acceptance of my role in my family. Acceptance of situations in life beyond my control–because until I accept the situation, I can’t do anything productive about it. I have to be able to say “Here is where I am. Now what am I going to do about it.” rather than “But I don’t want it to be like this, it should be like that.”
oh, those dangerous words “Should be.” So much judgement is hidden in those words. So many lies are said with those words.
Most of all, acceptance of God’s will in my life. I have to be willing to let go of trying to control my life and do what I know God wants for me to do. It is kind of scary to say alright, I’m going to allow this to be and trust that God’s plan is the better one. My brain says, “but what if it is God’s plan means I’ll won’t get to do what I want.” I have to answer with faith that God’s plan will be better than mine was.
Have you ever experienced this: Where something you have heard and talked about your whole life–really taken for granted–is suddenly so real and amazing to you?
It’s happened for me a few times recently.
Something we all say like “God is always there for you.” or “The atonement of Jesus Christ can heal any hurt.”
I remember sitting in church a few years ago, going over a problem in my mind and thinking, “There is no way. How can Jesus solve this pain for me? I don’t know if he can.”
But of course, He did solve it. And now when I hear someone say, “Jesus can heal any hurt.” I wonder to myself what the story behind that testimony is. Because it isn’t just something I repeat because I’ve heard it. It’s something I know from real experience now.
So for this year, I feel like I have learned better what it really means to do God’s will and trust in Him that what happens will be a blessing for me and my family.
I still have my Jonah days, where I want to run away and follow my plan instead.
But my guiding focus for this year is acceptance. So less Jonah days.
Like Peter, I’m going to try walking on water. Some days, I’m sure the wind boisterous will distract me and I’ll start to sink. In fact, some days I’ll probably plummet towards the bottom and it will be loud and messy and terrible. But other days, I’ll remember to stay focused on my Savior and keep afloat–even maybe keep my head above most of the waves.
What is your focus for this year?
Is there a connection between this post and this one? Now that I think about it, yes. But mostly because the atonement of Christ really does cover everything.
Matthew 14:26-32 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
1. Preheat oven to 300*F
2. Combine flour, soda & salt in a small bowl.
3. Blend Butter, Truvia & honey at medium speed until light and soft.
4. Add the flour and raisins and stir just until combined.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet, 1 1/2 inches apart.
6. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
I ‘ve watched this movie twice now. It is hilarious.
If I had one of those tv chips that mutes out certain words, I’d even let the kids watch it because nothing bad happens on screen.
The best part is that there are some pretty great lines that I can probably quote many times forever. Here are my favorites:
**”Jon, you’re so right, every thing else seems wrong.”
**” You guys are awesome…ly horrible. I hate you. Kill yourselves.”
**”I wish I could ____, but I can’t and I hate myself every day because of it.”
**”Once again proving that it doesn’t get better for everyone after high school.”
**”I’m gonna finish him like a cheesecake.”
**”Just leave it. It feeds my hate fire.”
**”Or maybe I didn’t because I was hit by flying Mexican food.”
AND the ultimate:
Bumper: “I have the feeling we should kiss.”
Fat Amy: “I sometimes have the feeling I can do crystal meth. But then I think: mmmm, better not.”
Cover of Little Women (Collector’s Series)
Saturday with no promoting on my part, the girlie pies looked through our movie stash and chose to watch Little Women
a la Winona Ryder and Christian Bale
The boy fell asleep listening to Yo Yo Ma performing Bach’s cello suites.
to borrow a phrase from a friend:
“Boom! goes the dynamite”
(Which I’m assuming means something like: “Hot Dang! I’m Awesome” and “My sneaky plan worked!” all rolled into one.)
What happened a few months before the fire: My mother had a recurring nightmare about thieves breaking into the house. So she pestered my dad until he installed a new door knob on the front door, one that locked. Once the door knob was installed, she was happy, and went about life as usual, never bothering to lock the door.
What happened the day of the fire: My mother left 4 of us at Grandma’s house (ages 5, 4, 3, & 2) while she went grocery shopping with the baby (6 months old). She returned to the house from shopping, intending to put the sleeping baby in his crib before coming to get the rest of us from Grandma. But the front door was locked. Rather than walk ALL the way around to the back door, she decided to just take the baby with her.
My father was laying a Formica counter in the new addition to the house. The glue that is used to glue down ( lay) Formica is very flammable. The fumes are also extremely flammable. Dad had gone upstairs to put his tools away and as he reached to set the glue can on the shelf, his overall strap caught on a nail. He missed the shelf and the can dropped. When the can hit the floor, it caused a spark that ignited the fumes in the house and the house basically erupted in flames. The force of the fire pushed Dad down the stairs and out the back door in 2 giant steps. He ran around to the side of the house, broke a window, and pulled out the file cabinet drawer I mentioned before. He also grabbed a box of baby clothes (which it turned out my mom had boxed up because the baby had outgrown them.) If the baby had been in the house, my dad would most likely not been able to save him, and probably would have died trying.
This is the boy who lived because one day in the whole of my parents’ life, someone locked a door:
Here are the rest of us who are also all glad that we weren’t home that day:
If you click on the picture, you can see it bigger.
When I was 5, our house caught fire. My siblings and I were at our grandmother’s house. My mom was grocery shopping. My dad was working on remodeling the kitchen of the 100 year old farmhouse we lived in. After shopping, Mom picked us up from grandma’s. It was October, and there were lots of leaves on the ground.
What I remember seeing is the smoke. When we were about 2 miles from home, we could see it–a big black column billowing up above the trees with orange tongues of flame flickering out here and there.
What I remember hearing is my mother saying, “Someone must be burning tires……….No! that’s a house!……………It’s our house!”
When we reached our neighbor’s house (about a quarter mile away from our place), their daughter ran out and shouted for us to stop, her hair whipping in the wind. We stayed there and waited and watched the red and yellow lights flashing on the firetrucks.
My sister who was a year younger than I, cried that she wanted to sleep in her own bed. I being so much older and wiser thought to myself how silly she was to want her bed when it was burning up. Personally, I hoped my dolly that said, “Momma” had been saved from the fire.
It never occurred to me to wonder if my dad was safe (he was.) I imagined him helping the firemen and climbing up their tall ladders.
The house burned quickly–too fast for the firemen to save anything. My dad did have time to pull out the file cabinet drawer with all the important papers.
Marvelous Pigs in Satin 