Sunday, January 27, 2013
Two Cakes
Just made Danny's birthday cake with all of the leftover frosting from a little girl's cake I did this weekend.
Dear Husband, Yes, I decorated it in about 2 minute. Yes, a quarter of the top layer broke off in the pan and you ate it. Yes, I used leftover frosting from a 2 year old girl's cake. Yes, your birthday was in November and it is now January 27th. In spite of all of that and my lack of culinary efforts for your birthday this year I do still love you Danny Parks. P.S. It is your favorite flavor and I like your personal touch of the Halloween sprinkles and how you helped me make an extra long g. :-)
Here are a few pictures of the Frog Princess cake I made. The flowers are one of my first attempts at gumpaste.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Sweet Dreams???
Emi was crAAAby this morning! "Why?" I ask. "Because I had a VERY confusing dream about a semi-colon," she says.
Good news! Our morning got a lot better really fast because we all laughed so hard about it. Love my kids.
P.S. She got new glasses, which I love!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Nothing takes me back to childhood faster then Valentine's Day. Remember back in the day. . . making mailboxes for the class party. . . picking out valentines and getting tired of filling them out after the first 3 friends. . . learning to make hearts by folding a paper in half and cutting around the shape of your thumb. . .conversation hearts. . . sugar cookies. . . and the taste of envelope paste. . . happy days :-)
Last year I created mailboxes for our family to leave notes and gifts to each other. Emily had a radar. If the flag went up she knew it within seconds! I am excited to put them out again this year.
ilove . . .We got creative with our valentines. These were made out of a box of conversation hearts and kisses. Family Fun Magazine always has great ideas.
When I was downloading the last pictures I ran into a couple other fun projects I have done for Valentine's - ice cream soda center peice and chunky pearl bubblegum necklaces.
These were also made by the Girl Scouts. I think they did a great job for being 7 and 8.
P.S. If an edible craft ever calls for styrofoam shapes, rice krispie treats are less expensive and easier to work with!!!
Two years ago I was in charge of helping our Girl Scout troop make center peices for a spaghetti dinner and came up with these. . .
We made tissue paper pompoms, hot glued them to dowls and then stuck them into a chunk of floral foam in the pots. We covered the base with tissue paper and then filled them in with conversation hearts. Decorative and tasty.
A couple of months later I recreated these in 4 or 5 shades of blue and a couple of shades of pink. I tied polka dot pear-green ribbon on the dowls for leaves. Then they were filled with Cadbury mini eggs or jelly beans - even tastier. I used them for Emily's birthday party, baptism brunch, Easter, the PTA teacher appreciation lunch and then gifted a couple to the secretaries for Secretaries Day to go with an office full of other flower projects that all of the classes created for them. One of the teachers then bought the rest of them from me to give as Mother's Day gifts. They definitely were worth the small amount of time and money I spent - only about $2 or $3 to make. (I used more tissue paper sheets for the second batch and they were even cuter.) I think I need to make some more:-) LOVE THEM!!!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
On a Golden Springtime
Wanted to share the talk I am giving tomorrow:(hopefully the structure is not too confusing)
Spring has always been a time of renewal. I want to begin today by reading the story of a Springtime long ago when a small group mourned the death of a brother, cousin, son, friend and Savior who had just been taken away and brutally hung from a cross. These mourners had then gently taken HIS body, lovingly washed and prepared it and sorrowfully sealed it in a borrowed tomb.
John 20
1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must arise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
11 ¶But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
There stood the resurrected Jesus Christ before Mary. A holy renewal of spirit to body had taken place and Mary was granted a new understanding of her Savior and His purpose in her life. She had experienced a renewal in her spirit and her relationship with the Savior. This renewal would spread throughout his disciples and the earth.
Another story of springtime renewal began centuries later:
14. . . “It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
Again the world was at the feet of our Savior in a renewal and new understanding of His true nature, brought there through the humility of a 14 year old boy who acted on the call to, …”ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;”. . . That it should . . . be given him.
Then in a comparatively quick succession of Springtime renewals
*The priesthood was restored to the earth on May 15, 1829
*The church as it had existed in the time of Christ was restored on April 6, 1830
*On another Spring day Sacred Preisthood keys that had been gathered, and held, and prophesied of, by the prophets of old were renewed to the earth and would again renew man’s understanding of the true nature of our God and Christ’s role in helping us receive salvation:
In Malachi 3:1 we read one of these prophecies
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple D&C 110
The day of the return of Elijah was a Sunday afternoon, April 3, 1836. A sacrament meeting had been held in the Kirtland Temple. The Prophet described that afternoon in these simple terms:
“In the afternoon, I assisted the other Presidents in distributing the Lord’s Supper to the Church, receiving it from the Twelve, whose privilege it was to officiate at the sacred desk this day. After having performed this service to my brethren, I retired to the pulpit, the veils being dropped, and bowed myself, with Oliver Cowdery, in solemn and silent prayer. After rising from prayer, the following vision was opened to both of us” (History of the Church, 2:435).
1 The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.
2 We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
3 His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
4 I am the afirst and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.
11 After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.
12 After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.
13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.
Boyd K. Packer says of this event. “It had happened! This signal event went unheeded by the world, but it would influence the destiny of every soul who has ever lived or will live. Things began quietly to happen. The Church became a temple building church.”
A renewal of sacred keys and ordinances that teach and renew our understanding and relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father again were given on a beautiful Spring day.
How symbolic is Spring when even the earth reminds us of our Savior and His promises as it renews what was lost. The grass, the leaves, the flowers are again born from the soil. The promise of restoration and resurrection are mirrored in the growth and these events of past Springtimes.
Here we are today on the cusp of another glorious Springtime and Easter Season when we have the opportunity to remember and reflect on our relationship with our Savior.
*We are blessed with Conference each spring when we can be reminded by our leaders to renew ourselves in our relationship with Christ.
*We are blessed each week, as we take the sacrament, with a renewal of our baptismal covenants with our Savior.
In the Sunday school lesson I taught last week a scripture stood out to me and has replayed itself in my mind over and over. I believe it applies to these scripture stories I have read today and the voices of our prophets:
Jacob 33:10 – And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ: and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ, And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me: and they teach all men that they should do good.
I bear witness to you today that our Savior rose. He atoned for our sins and died, that we might have a renewal into the presence of our God, and then HE rose. How grateful I am for these true Springtime stories that remind me of the importance of continually renewing my relationship with the Savior. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Spring has always been a time of renewal. I want to begin today by reading the story of a Springtime long ago when a small group mourned the death of a brother, cousin, son, friend and Savior who had just been taken away and brutally hung from a cross. These mourners had then gently taken HIS body, lovingly washed and prepared it and sorrowfully sealed it in a borrowed tomb.
John 20
1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must arise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
11 ¶But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
There stood the resurrected Jesus Christ before Mary. A holy renewal of spirit to body had taken place and Mary was granted a new understanding of her Savior and His purpose in her life. She had experienced a renewal in her spirit and her relationship with the Savior. This renewal would spread throughout his disciples and the earth.
Another story of springtime renewal began centuries later:
14. . . “It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
Again the world was at the feet of our Savior in a renewal and new understanding of His true nature, brought there through the humility of a 14 year old boy who acted on the call to, …”ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;”. . . That it should . . . be given him.
Then in a comparatively quick succession of Springtime renewals
*The priesthood was restored to the earth on May 15, 1829
*The church as it had existed in the time of Christ was restored on April 6, 1830
*On another Spring day Sacred Preisthood keys that had been gathered, and held, and prophesied of, by the prophets of old were renewed to the earth and would again renew man’s understanding of the true nature of our God and Christ’s role in helping us receive salvation:
In Malachi 3:1 we read one of these prophecies
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple D&C 110
The day of the return of Elijah was a Sunday afternoon, April 3, 1836. A sacrament meeting had been held in the Kirtland Temple. The Prophet described that afternoon in these simple terms:
“In the afternoon, I assisted the other Presidents in distributing the Lord’s Supper to the Church, receiving it from the Twelve, whose privilege it was to officiate at the sacred desk this day. After having performed this service to my brethren, I retired to the pulpit, the veils being dropped, and bowed myself, with Oliver Cowdery, in solemn and silent prayer. After rising from prayer, the following vision was opened to both of us” (History of the Church, 2:435).
1 The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.
2 We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
3 His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
4 I am the afirst and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.
11 After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.
12 After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.
13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.
Boyd K. Packer says of this event. “It had happened! This signal event went unheeded by the world, but it would influence the destiny of every soul who has ever lived or will live. Things began quietly to happen. The Church became a temple building church.”
A renewal of sacred keys and ordinances that teach and renew our understanding and relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father again were given on a beautiful Spring day.
How symbolic is Spring when even the earth reminds us of our Savior and His promises as it renews what was lost. The grass, the leaves, the flowers are again born from the soil. The promise of restoration and resurrection are mirrored in the growth and these events of past Springtimes.
Here we are today on the cusp of another glorious Springtime and Easter Season when we have the opportunity to remember and reflect on our relationship with our Savior.
*We are blessed with Conference each spring when we can be reminded by our leaders to renew ourselves in our relationship with Christ.
*We are blessed each week, as we take the sacrament, with a renewal of our baptismal covenants with our Savior.
In the Sunday school lesson I taught last week a scripture stood out to me and has replayed itself in my mind over and over. I believe it applies to these scripture stories I have read today and the voices of our prophets:
Jacob 33:10 – And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ: and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ, And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me: and they teach all men that they should do good.
I bear witness to you today that our Savior rose. He atoned for our sins and died, that we might have a renewal into the presence of our God, and then HE rose. How grateful I am for these true Springtime stories that remind me of the importance of continually renewing my relationship with the Savior. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
First Day of 3rd and 4th Grades
Gabby and Emi. One of Em's favorite girl friends is in her class this year.
Coming and . . .
. . . going. That backpack was HEAVY!!! The Kleenex, not so much.
Buckling in.
Lining up. Mr. Williams is in the background.
Sam was excited to have an old friend in his new class. Mr. Bolar is in the background.
Ready to go.
The Shades and a new hair cut.
Loves the bling.
With the wind in her hair . . .
. . . she is off!!!
Here we are again! I can't believe we went through a whole school year, a summer and are starting another year! Whoa, life is speedy quick. Each new year makes me nostalgic for the last but excited for the next.
Sam is starting at Greenview Upper Elementary School. He is on team Athens and has Mr. Bolar this year. His team will rotate between 3 teachers and he is excited to be doing bigger things.
Emily is starting her last year at Rowland Elementary. She has Mr. Williams and is super excited. She has had the exact same teachers Sam had through all of his years at Rowland and they think that is pretty cool. She tested into the district's gifted program called STEP UP and is excited to be bused to Greenview Elementary once a week where she will be one of 16 kids in a gifted class.
Sam and Em now both have opinions about their clothes, hair and this year SHADES. Love them!!! (The kids that is, though the sunglasses are cute too.)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
April Showers . . .
April was a busy month for us. We took a trip back to Oxford and Miami University during our spring break. Danny participated in a Conference with old professors on campus while the kids and I painted pottery at "You're Fired." It is an awesome studio owned by my good friend Lisa Leishman. Emily painted a butterfly and Sam turned a flower pot into a Super Mario Pot.
It was also Kidsfest Weekend at Miami. They had bouncers, games, every meal, movies, crafts, prizes and all kinds of entertainment for the AWESOME price of free!!!
Our favorite were the pirates. Jack Sparrow was there and made it a point to compliment Johnny Depp in doing such a good job of portraying him in all of his movies. He was seriously SO good.
And that was just the beginning of April.
Getting Down With Derby
Sam looked forward to his chance at participating in the Pinewood Derby for years. We have a movie called "Down with Derby" that gave him a kind of skewed perspective of what it would really be like but never the less it was memorable.
Danny and Sam worked super hard together to come up with his dream car and Emily played with all of the scraps. Sam learned how to use a power saw, power drill and logged a lot of time with the sanding block. They went shopping together for the perfect paint color and fillers and then made sure to add the paint in lots of layers, sanding in between to get the highest sheen. Then Sam added cool stickers to put on the number one and to name it windjet.
I was a nervous mama the morning of the race because just like every other boy in the room Sam was SUPER positive that all of his work and his newly acquired knowledge on the power of graphite would pay off. OF COURSE his little wooden hot rod was going to beat out the competition. I could see the look on other mom's faces too. It was emotional for me because with every race there was a loser and some little guys even burst into tears.
A little hand is pointing out Sam's hot red car.
But race after race Sam's car won until the very end. His car won the wolf division that consisted of all the 8 year olds and took second in the overall pack. Not too bad for the first try. He was a really gracious winner but didn't quite know what to do when he accepted his trophy and everyone was cheering. So he just waved his hand, did a little gunpoint and flick of the wrist as he winked and said, "yeah, thanks." It was hilarious and had the parents rolling.
Our cute neighbor Sid came to watch the fun with his mom Janine and sister Layla.
Our troop leader made super cute badges for each of our boys.
He is already talking about next years car :)
Danny and Sam worked super hard together to come up with his dream car and Emily played with all of the scraps. Sam learned how to use a power saw, power drill and logged a lot of time with the sanding block. They went shopping together for the perfect paint color and fillers and then made sure to add the paint in lots of layers, sanding in between to get the highest sheen. Then Sam added cool stickers to put on the number one and to name it windjet.
I was a nervous mama the morning of the race because just like every other boy in the room Sam was SUPER positive that all of his work and his newly acquired knowledge on the power of graphite would pay off. OF COURSE his little wooden hot rod was going to beat out the competition. I could see the look on other mom's faces too. It was emotional for me because with every race there was a loser and some little guys even burst into tears.
A little hand is pointing out Sam's hot red car.
But race after race Sam's car won until the very end. His car won the wolf division that consisted of all the 8 year olds and took second in the overall pack. Not too bad for the first try. He was a really gracious winner but didn't quite know what to do when he accepted his trophy and everyone was cheering. So he just waved his hand, did a little gunpoint and flick of the wrist as he winked and said, "yeah, thanks." It was hilarious and had the parents rolling.
Our cute neighbor Sid came to watch the fun with his mom Janine and sister Layla.
Our troop leader made super cute badges for each of our boys.
He is already talking about next years car :)
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