Sarah's recital

Tonight was Sarah's 'piano' recital. She played the 19 songs in her most recent book. I knew the grandma's would want to see it so I posted some of it here. She was really, really, really nervous so it's not seamless but she has worked awfully hard to get through this book. Her BFF's Kyrena and Symphony came to cheer her on! Twas fun! So, fun facts about the evening....Sarah needed to play her 'recital' without her book and so she wrote all of the songs on her hand to keep herself on track. Periodically you'll see her sneek a peek at her hand. Also, you can't see her feet but Sarah not only keeps time with her feet but almost seems to dance a bit under the piano. Her feet are as involved in her music as her hands. It's quite lovely actually.

Apparently John's a Jungle gym??

Sarah's very patient piano teacher, Lendie

the whole happy group!!

concentration

thanksgiving!

Wow! What a weekend! I'm so bushed!
Thursday was Thanksgiving (of course!!) We started off the day with exercise (to work up that appetite). I went to the track and John and Sarah went to the annual 'Turkey Bowl' that John actually started years ago but luckily others have taken up the job. It was raining but not very much. A very mild Thanksgiving weatherwise. Then, we went to my Uncle Lynn's for dinner and then John's sister's for desert. At my Uncle's there were (I think 17) of us so it was a pretty tiny group but still pretty lively. John and all the guys watched football (Dallas cowboys against I think Oakland). Personally, I just don't 'get' football. John's tried and tried to explain it but it just won't sink in. After a lovely and very filling meal (including red cabbage...YUM) we went to John's sister's. She lives in troutdale so it was an additional 45 minutes away. When we got there it became apparent that the game for the evening was 'rockband'. Our nephew Erik obviously loves this game and is quite skilled on the drums and our other nephews had joined him. It was a mini concert. Now, honestly, this is not my preferred type of game. I don't feel like people interact and it's a bit loud for me. But, it was fun seeing Erik and the boys having such a good time and sharing it with everyone. Then, they gave Sarah the sticks to the drums and little Braedyn our grandnephew was the 'singer'. I really enjoyed that show. I'm posting a video of Braedyn. Watch how he starts out singing quite enthusiastically but not moving much but by the end he's doing some 'moves' that are just adorable. his dad, our nephew Joe, sweetly leans over his shoulder to help him out for a few minutes. It's precious! Joe's such a good dad!


So, Friday was John and my 16th Wedding Anniversary. We spent the day in Lincoln City with our friend's the Barnards and their son and his friend and Dickson's and Sarah and her friend Britney. We had a Thanksgiving part 2! It was delicious! My favorite part of the day was a girl's outing to JoAnne Fabrics! It was black friday but we went late enough that it wasn't too bad AND we still had our fabulous coupons!!

Saturday we went to the lovely wedding our good friend's eldest daughter, ran a few errands and then went to a baptism and then the wedding reception for our friend's daughter.

Sunday was church, choir in AMITY, John driving to McMinnville...It was nuts!! I'm soooooooooo glad the weekend's over. It was wonderful and filled with wonderful things but I'm DONE!

catching up!

So, I haven't written in a while so it's time to catch up! Life's been busy and very challenging lately. In the past week both our car and our truck had significant malfunctions, significant enough to prevent driving so my husband had to take my car (I know...we're spoiled with 3 vehicles!) to work on Thursday. Of course when he said he needed my car I said "take it! I'll be fine, but inside I'm thinking..."I have Activity Girl's today and I still need to run errands for that and then I have 4 or 5 girl's who need rides and I need to find someone to pick them up!" this couldn't have landed on a tougher day (well, actually it could have because Sarah was scheduled to be in McMinnville (30 minutes away) on Thursday and Friday for some standardised testing for school but fortunately her teacher became ill (Sorry Mrs. Seretan!) and we didn't have that hanging over our heads!). Fortunately I had walked to the college track for my daily exercise and my friend and walking buddy Melissa asked where my car was and I told her about all of the chaos and she said "don't you have Activity Girl's today?" and I said "yes" and she said that it was important for me to have a car so she loaned me hers....her husband buys and fixes up cars for additional family income and so she had plenty of other vehicles to choose from. This to me is proof that God watches out for us! I had been walking to the track praying that I'd have enough stamina to walk to the track and walk 2 1/2 miles and then walk to the store (1.1 + miles) and then back home (an additional 1.1 miles) and still have the energy to get AG planned, my house cleaned and Sarah's schooling appropriately addressed (child is difficult to motivate!! This is taking up my LIFE!!). Melissa loaning me her car was an answer to my prayers.

Activity Girl's itself was really fun! We had a chocolate party! The girl's had planned it. We played games like pass the parcel and colored our own personal pumpkins and fixed up our faith in God bags (added new glitter and stuff!!) and had chocolate FONDU!! Yummy! Those girl's were bottomless holes. I literally couldn't seem to fill them full enough of the chocolate! It was very cute and a little piggish! Gotta love those girls. As we were finishing up one of my girl's (Ashley) came up to me and handed me a pumpkin with all of the girl's names on it. They'd made it for me. That touches me so much!
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I had a funny discussion with Ashley and her sister Camille as I drove them home from AG. Camille was commenting on Recognition Night and how I'd cried when I gave Ashely her final charms and certificate. Camille said I'd cry harder with her. I said it's not the same and that I might not still be the leader when she graduates (she's 8) because I've had this calling for 5 years. Ashley said that they would 'leave me in there forever because I love my calling and you're good at it and you love us'. I was touched that the girl's know how much I love them. They're such young, sweet little beings. I didn't realize they felt my love that much.

So, John has the truck patched up and the car working beautifully. (did I mention my sewing machine also went kablooee on me, but I fixed it!). Now our old computer has gone haywire on us. It's not a horrible thing because we have all the old info off of it and John and I have our laptops and Sarah has her school laptops BUT.... our phone comes through our computer...the broken computer. right now I don't have a phone. I can receive messages but I can't call out. I guess it never rains but it pours.

So, in honor of all of this stress I figure I need to do some serious gratituding!!

I am grateful for my daughter Sarah. who currently is laughing and giggling in my kitchen. She's so beautiful, so intelligent and so talented!

I am grateful for a husband who given enough time can fix almost anything! A man who takes his roll as father seriously and is involved in Sarah's life and is a great dad!

I am grateful for my marriage to my wonderful husband. It'll be 16 years on Friday. I look around at my friend's and feel so fortunate that John and I not only love each other but have a serious case of like for each other. we can (and do) tell each other anything and we spend our spare time together laughing and goofing off. This week when it felt everything was falling apart it was good to have a partner who I knew was in it no matter what fell apart! We're committed to the long haul!

I'm grateful that God gives me children to love. I have so many beautiful nieces and nephews and even two grand nephews. I have my daughter's friends and I have my activity girl's. Life isn't complete without the opportunity to love children.

I'm grateful for Christmas music. This year I am in two choirs and a small women's group singing beautiful songs of praise. I wait all year to get to do this! I love singing hymns at any time but our church choir has been struggling and had kind of disbanded and then reformed @ Christmas and I don't have opportunities to sing with other choirs (would if I could). the gift of music is huge in my life. I love to sing! I wish I could read music better...but, I'm gradually getting to be almost marginally OK at reading. One of the choir's I'm in I'm singing 2nd soprano and I'm holding my own (of course we have a rather simple harmony with first soprano for most of it with only a few minor exceptions and my ear tells me more than my eyes!!)

I'm grateful for my home. When the financial crisis hit (and hit us plenty hard) it became increasingly obvious what was important in life (family!!!) but it also gives me a security to know that I'm not stuck! I love where I'm at. I have a darling little home that isn't big, but it's sufficient for our needs and plenty big enough to fill it with 18 giggly little activity girl's every other Thursday and have Sarah and all of her friend's storming through. It's an oasis for me among all of the chaos of the outside world.

I am grateful for a testimony of the existence of Jesus Christ and that he is the Savior of the World, the literal Son of God. He is not a myth. He is not a great prophet, he is the God of this world! Knowing that God exists and that we are loved and important helps all of the bad stuff seem small in comparison with the greatness that is there for us after we leave this earth.

DigMyPics Resolving Resolution dpi File Formats

I get a lot of questions about dpi in photos and what dpi pictures should be scanned at. I'm not a techi so while I understand the results I have difficulites explaining it. This is a fantastic article to reference.

DigMyPics Resolving Resolution dpi File Formats

November Recognition Night

Tonight was our Activity girl's Recognition Night. I have 21 Activity Girls. Out of those 21, 13 were there to recieve their charms. I do charms from charmingldsgifts.com and then I do certificates listing what the girls have accomplished. I also gave out magnets for ymyw.org, a tracking website for their faith in God goals. I am so proud of the girls. They worked super hard. I gave our over 100 charms. I ask the girls to participate as much as they can in the night so Ashley conducted the meeting, Lynzee conducted the music, McKenna gave the talk, Abby did a special musical number, Desiree and Fiona gave prayers. They really stepped up to plate and contributed to their evening. Since our building is under construction we were blessed to have access to our Bishop's guest house wich fit all of us, barely. Sarah and her friend Symphony were super sweet and babysat for us so parents wouldn't have to worry about their little ones. I cried a bit as I gave final recognition to Kailey and Ashley who turn 12 very soon. It's hard sending my girls off, even though I know they've outgrown AG and need to move onto YW. I've been in this calling for 5 years and so these girls have been with me almost since the begining. Ashley actually has since her mom and I served in AG together and Ashley was 7 at the time. Time flies.

paper packets

I get a lot of requests on how to make my paper packets. I use them every year for 'Recognition Night' to put the charms in, but I've also used them for holding homemade bath salts and small gifts. They're super easy to make and they look darling and they're quite sturdy.

these packets can be as small or as large as you like. The only rule is to start with a rectangle. I start with a 5"x6" piece of paper

with the paper face up, I run a line of a really tacky glue up one of the long sides.(I really like Scotch's 'tacky fast drying' glue. It has a fine tip for easy application and and the applicator doesn't get easily gummed up.)

I roll it and press it together on one side. Hold it together for a few seconds to a few minutes until the glue dries.

It should look like a toilet paper tube.

Then, on one of the ends, run a line of the sticky glue again and pinch together. hold it again until it dries.

after the glue dries I poke a hole about 3/4 of an inch from the end. I usually use a piercing tool but in a pinch a thumb tack works really well, just make sure you have a soft surface underneath for it to poke through. I use cork here but a mouse pad also works well.

to that end I attach my tag with a brad.

fill your packet with anything you like. and then close the packet by gluing the other end in the opposite direction from the first end.

I use my Cricut to cut out the tags. (Love my Cricut!!). I use the font 'George & Basic shapes'. I made my tags 3" but you can make them any size.

attitude of gratitude

Activity Day girls was fun this week. We had a party planned but were too pooped to pop so we improvised by having a gratitude inspired lesson & activity. I put a tree trunk on my wall and then had the girls put leaves on the tree to represent things they're grateful for. The loved that and put up a bunch of leaves. Then, they wrote letters of gratitude. I told them to write a letter of gratitude to a 'human' (yes, I do have to specify human as I had a girl who wanted to write a letter of gratitude to a chicken...funny girl!). I was tickled pink when 3 of the girls decided to write their 'letters' to me. 'twas super sweet! Then, in addition to all the other fun we made pinecone turkeys! They turned out darling.