My Birthday Present To Myself

I thought I'd get something that didn't cost much and no one else would think to give me, so I kicked off 31 years with a big, fat purple lip. The blessing is that it didn't look this bad at church today, but now it has plumped up and turned purple this afternoon. (And, from the outer lip, it doesn't look so bad, thus the reason I had to show you the inside.)

To Wear or Not To Wear

Okay, so I've had a lot of thoughts about these two parts of modern fashion. Both the legging and the skinny jean have emerged and been found fashionable. I can't help but think they are a cool style...if properly done. However, I am in a conundrum now about modesty. Are they really modest? Are they fringing too much into the immodest department? Are they appropriate for church?
I ask this because although I find some trends to be perfectly fine in certain situations, that in others, they are not. For instance, wearing a ball gown to church would be inappropriate in my view and yet I'm perfectly fine if those who attended their HS prom wear the outfit to church the next day, considering that it is modest and not violating church standards. On the other hand, I don't think it is okay to wear leggings paired with a dress to church. I think it is too casual and we are supposed to wear dresses/skirts to our knees. This just feels like it's not quite right. However, I'm fine with someone wearing the legging-long shirt fashion elsewhere. Am I being a bit unfair?
I want some honest feedback. No being mean though, please. I AM an owner of a very cute pair of skinny jeans which I pair with a long tunic-type shirt which, obviously, I would never wear to church on Sunday but I may wear it to a church social function during the week. So, I am not calling the kettle black or anything. I'm just trying to get some feedback ...sort of a self-check on what I'm calling acceptable.
What are you thoughts?

Not to Teach Unbelief

So, you know when the man goes to Jesus and asks him to heal his son and then (Mark 9:17-29) Jesus explains that if we believe, all things are possible and then the father cries out "Help thou my unbelief!"? I think this story is so incredibly powerful...especially as a parent, now, myself.
I think there is great wisdom in this story. Yes, we must have belief, but we must also teach that belief to our children so they may know to which source they may look for a remission of their sins (2 Nephi 25:26).
I have a child who truly believes everything I teach her. I have to make sure that the things I teach her are truths. I also have to make certain that just because of my moments of unbelief or feelings of unworthiness that I do not teach her those things instead. For instance, and in particular, I don't think I'm an important enough person to have Christ manifest himself to me. So, in other words, I don't have the faith required for such an event. Yet, I do know, and that is definitely a KNOW, not just believe, that Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith just as he did to Moses and other prophets. My daughter has the faith that some day she just might have that experience herself. I have to make sure that I teach with words of faith even through my lacking.
She shared an experience today and although I believe I know what she was trying to convey, an individual actually checked with me to, uh, let me know, I guess, that my daughter has an "active imagination". I can only think of how Joseph must have heard similar comments after his vision. I don't know if Emily actually SAW Jesus or just felt His presence, but how dare I question the possibility! As she grows older, she will be better able to explain her feelings and experiences. In the meantime, I must stay believing and trust in the impressions the Spirit gives to me in raising my daughter as a True Believer. The world teaches enough unbelief on its own.

I Love Quotes

Sometimes the best thoughts can be contained in short quotes.
For instance, “Etiquette allows people to see the positive things about you.” --Anna King.
Or Eric's quote, "You have to care about people for their sake, not your sake."
Another favorite quote is, "To love another person is to see the hand of God." --Victor Hugo
Or another great one by the same gentleman, “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”
At some point in my life I hope I collect in a notebook (or some other way) all of the wonderful quotes that have inspired me and bettered me as a person.

Family Time

We had such a fun day yesterday. Family time becomes more and more precious as we go along. Eric has been at trainings a lot lately (with more in the very near future), so we are trying to really take advantage of his day's off.
Yesterday Gianna and I got to hang out with him all day. Just spending that amount of time with out any distractions was great. Then, when Emily got out of school, we went to the town south of us to take care of some errands, visit a friend, and drop off the project I've been involved in for the past 2.5 years. After that, we went to walk around the mall as we missed the time for our movie (and, it is Youth Art week, so we got to see some pretty amazing pictures, too!), went to dinner, and then ended up at our movie.
Sure, it made it a late night for two young girls, but they were troopers and were up bright and early this morning. Even if they weren't, I would be happy because we spent quality time together as a family yesterday.

My, How Time Flies

Six? Really? It's been six years since I was a missionary? WOW. That went by way too fast.
My homecoming anniversary is always a time for me to reflect on my mission. It was such an incredible experience that even attempting to relate it to anyone else is incredibly difficult. There is no way to understand unless you serve one yourself, but even then, they are completely different experiences fine tuned to the exact lessons and wisdom that person needs to learn at that time.
As a "greenie" they talk about how your trainer will set the pace of your mission and then how your mission will set the pace of your life. I have to say, it has seemed pretty true. I had a wonderful trainer and an amazing first transfer. Things moved quickly, I got to teach some amazing people, and I got to see a lot of them follow Christ and be baptized members of His church.
Because of my mission, my life has followed in a similar vein. Eric and I started dating shortly after and never really fell back into the "normal" life. Sometimes I feel like I got quite the hand-up because of it. There are so many aspects of life that just don't have an influence in our lives because we never let them back in (ie: inappropriate music/movies/etc.).
I'm really glad that Eric served the mission he did, as well. His last area he served in a leadership position. I think this was significant for the reason he called several of us returning missionaries that first night home. I'm not positive, but I'm fairly certain that because of that phone call to me, it established our friendship. Had that friendship not been established, we wouldn't have dated and we would not be married. So, I'm really, really glad that he called to check up on me and make that first connection. I'm so happy that six years after finishing my mission, I can still share those memories, teachings, and experiences with my husband and best friend. I'm sure the next six, twelve, eighteen, twenty-four, and thirty-six years and on will also fly by, but I know that they will be memorable and wonderful years with my best friend and husband. Ups and downs, joys and sorrows, beginnings and endings will all be a part of the time that is yet to fly.

The Gift of Tongues

There are so many skills, talents and abilities one learns as a mother. One such talent is having the gift of tongues. I'm always having to interpret what my two year old says to my parents over the phone. It's pretty funny. Sometimes I don't get it right and sometimes the words she DOES say sound a little...bad. Just think "truck" from a 2 year old, except her's isn't truck, it is both "fox" and "frog" which sound like the same bad word.
Now that Emily is an artist and author, I'm using those same skills with the written word. One of her drawings that she brought home today reads "HAPLEEVERFRDEN" across the top of the page. Instantly I knew what it meant, but still asked her to confirm. Sure enough, it means "Happily Ever After. The End."
Being a mom is seriously the BEST job ever. The End.

From a Different Perspective

Have you ever been offended? Have you ever been offended on behalf of someone else? Do you know the mysterious line that separates being concerned for others versus allowing people to take complete advantage over you? Do you have all the information before you make a judgment?
These are a lot of the questions I've been pondering for awhile. Two Sundays ago we had talks on forgiveness, true charity (meaning the love of Christ, not donations to the poor/needy), and not being judgmental. I took a lot away from that meeting and felt so uplifted. I've had further conversations on the subject with Eric and a couple other people.
I think the first thing that I learned is that perspective is so alluring. It's tempting to view the world simply as I have experienced it. On the way to school today, Emily informed me that Gianna's shoes are a "little bit too small". For Emily, the shoes ARE too small. However, on Gianna's feet, they are a little too big. What Emily REALLY meant was that her sister's shoes weren't fitting well, but she had to explain it to me in the words of her perspective: viewing the world as she experiences it. Since the shoes don't fit her and she's been told "they are too small," that is how she can describe the issue to me. How many times have we done the same thing in other aspects of life? "That person isn't doing what I would if I were in that position/situation." I tend to do this, especially when I'm feeling hurt by something that may not even be related to the situation.
The second thing I learned is from my live-in sage, Eric. I want to get this part of my character cleaned up. I want to love others. I want to have charity in my heart. By doing this (positive thinking/actions), I will stop being judgmental. So, Eric wisely tells me that I have to care about people for them, not me. I can build up others without deciding what I would have done in their situation and then making a judgment on their actions. Instead, I can just love them and help in the event that they need assistance. I can stop worrying about the way they view me. Wrongly or rightly, they are entitled to their opinion. I know what is true which is all I should be concerned with.
So, I'm letting go of the drive to only view the world from my eyes. I'm going to make a concerted effort in viewing the world from different perspectives so that I can be more loving and a better friend to all. My opinions are not truth and I can accept that.

Talents: Handwriting & Drawing

I mentioned that I'm the new Primary Music Leader in our ward. Part of this is teaching the children new songs. I remember posters of each song and that's what I wanted to do for our children, too. It gives me an opportunity to practice good handwriting (because, in this day and age, who does actual handwriting?) and a little bit of drawing. I am pleased with the way this poster turned out. Of course, it helps that it was such a short little song, but I certainly had fun doing it! (And I'm not sure why this keeps loading sideways...the original image isn't.)

People Who Just Make Me Smile

There are some individuals in this world that I can't help but smile when I talk to them. They have a habit of always making me feel good and happy. I want to be that kind of person, that just by talking to someone, I can help brighten their day.
Mr. Jarrett is that kind of a guy. He always makes me smile and is always interested to hear about the kids. The girls love him, too. It's not like we see him a whole lot, but they will give him hugs and treat him just as special as he treats them. I know that makes him smile, too.
I have been blessed with a lot of people like that in my life, and I'm sorry that I'm not singling out every one of you, but Mr. Jarrett just really made me smile yesterday and I'm looking forward to our visit with him next week.