Let my Little Light Shine

What a great day in Primary! I miss being with the kids so much that it was great to get a call from Tylor's teacher asking me to sub today.

The lesson was on the priesthood and I have done this one, oh, about six times in the last 7 years. I wanted to try a few new things and it worked great. I found $1 lights at the Dollar Store and added Matthew 5:14-16 to a cute tag. All the kids were engaged and pretty much appropriate. Having 4 quotes and 5 scriptures to have them read really got them using their minds and stretching their understanding. They loved the lights out game - the room we were in was pitch black.

It was a lovely day. I'd do it again in a heart beat!

Idle Hands

I have been horribly busy for the last two weeks saving money and taking up all my time. I have made a goal to stick steadfastly to birthday budgets. With parties I tend to see things that go or would work and justify it in my mind. Well, no more.

We had Tylor's party last week and came in at $60 for 9 boys - $15 for food and juice and $45 for the soccer balls I sent home with them. Fabulous!

We held Lauren's party today, $89. We crafted Heart Strings ($6 for 15 and I could do another 20!) - as soon as I find my camera cord I will post a pic -, potato stamped scarves ($15 for fabric 12" x 45" and $18 for fabric paint (I did smaller potato blocks with more colors) and felt bags ($22 for bags and $23 for felt flowers), and $5 for homemade pizza and drinks (all stuff left over from Tylor's party). The girls were thrilled, the parents (moms) were impressed.

The down part was that I spent the better part of 5 days prepping all of these crafts. My hands are actually buzzing today. I have to look down at my hands once in a while because my fingers don't feel quite right.

One more thing to prep as I am teaching the 11 yr olds tomorrow - each are getting a $1 flashlight "so their light can shine forth". I love it when a plan comes together so well!

Look What Deb Did!

Deb helped me change stuff on my blog this morning. (Okay, she did it but I watched intently!) I love the mouse. Tee-hee! I put in the pic of Lauren because all of it seems like magic to me.

Enough!

You guys can be such nags! Seriously! It's not that I haven't wanted to show you my new nose but, well, I haven't. I'm still not used to seeing my nostrils in pictures. But here it is. Not too different unless you are shorter than me, and not too many people are thank goodness. I want to use the pic Deb posted on Facebook. The mustache seems to distract people... ;-) so they don't notice my nose.

Breath of Fresh Air

This morning I woke up and was still a little sleepy. I lounged in bed until 5:05. As I was laying there I recognized that something was different but I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Puzzled, but ready to get up, I sat up and discovered that I was breathing. Really breathing! I think I'm on the final assent to the summit of Mount Breath-of-Fresh-Air. So, I was wondering can everyone feel air go through their nasal passages? Is this how others breath on a regular basis? Can Kermit and Miss Piggy ever move on?

Schematics for Church

Yesterday we went to the building we will be attending church at for the next few months. When they handed out blue prints with the bulletin I got a little concerned. This building is big: double chapel, two Primary Chapels - upstairs - an elevator and many small rooms to get lost in. This would be the perfect building for multi-family trick-or-treating to say the least. It took me more than 5 minutes of opening random doors to find where Connor was after locating Tylor and Lauren (to the right not left). But, on the good side; the building didn't smell funky, it was warm!, the ward got all mixed up in the new chapel setting, and the church is still true. ;-)

From the Great Beyond

A few times a year I ping our brother David. I haven't heard from him in 4+ years so this year when I sent out my ping I expected, well, nothing. It's good to set your expectations very low when it comes to David. BUT!, I received an e-mail from David's ex-mother-in-law (who is very protective and strange in her own right) letting me know that David wanted me to call him. I called left a message and waited. And lo, a voice from the heavens (or at least a satellite!).

From the last contact via e-mail I had with David he was arrogant, self centered, a victim, and not very interested in anyone's views that didn't agree with his. Needless to say after a year of trying to be tolerant I told him to knock it off and oh, he did. No contact again (remember the first 15+ years?). Well, he's the same. Nice to know some things don't change too much.

Here's a short update on David's life: He is still living on Widbey Island in WA, his current malady is his skin is sloughing off (his phrase was, "I look like hamburger thrown against a wall.") and has to wear women's lingerie and silky gowns in public (okay...??) , he may be moving to Eastern Washington's high plains, Tanaket, in late spring (30 miles South of the Canadian border) so he can cleanse himself, he was exposed to Agent Orange while in ?? (didn't catch the country name), and has now walked around the world 4 times, didn't make it to Afghanistan because they would probably kill him (another, "Huh?") and he is off-line because it is too polluted with wild ideas.

He said he would keep in touch with me via phone now and call every now and again to let me know that he isn't dead (how thoughtful!).

So, in a nutshell, he's still crazy.