Good enough?

I've been thinking and talking and thinking some more about self worth this week (always, but this week in particular). There are so many great quotes that are supposed to inspire you (me, one, everyone, etc.) to do better and think better of themselves, but in order to think better of yourself, you think you have to act all proud and full of yourself. There are more than two ways. You don't have to be depressed on one side OR conceited on the other side. There is plenty of room in the middle for this topic and the middle is the best in this circumstance. All one way or all the other way is what Satan wants us to think of ourselves. He wants us to believe that we aren't good enough (or that we are TOO good) to do the things we know we should be doing.
I was visiting with the missionaries and an investigator on an exchange last night and among the things we were discussing was the thought of whether or not Heavenly Father really wants all of His children to return to Him. Of course he does want them to return to live with Him, but we also have agency which allows US the opportunity to make decisions for ourselves (and those around us who are affected) and that will determine whether or not we will return to Him. This seemed a little confusing because we know He wants us to, and He knows what choices we will make, so is that contradictory? No. I somehow came up with an example that I think fit very well that relates to our own lives. (Where it came from, I don't know other than the Spirit touched me in a way to put this thought into words that would make it easier to understand.) Here it is:

If you compare Heavenly Father to a teacher at a school and all the people in the world as students, the teacher would of course want the BEST for their students and they would WANT to give them all straight A's. BUT, is it fair to give every student an A, even if they were not doing their work and not trying and not even putting any effort in? If you think even that student deserves an A, would you want that student to get the same recognition as you if you worked hard and became Valedictorian? Would it be worth anything to have that honor if everyone had the exact same honor? Or would it become worthless? So, yes, not every student deserves the same grade, but each have the POTENTIAL to earn up to the highest grade when they do the work with their best effort. The teacher would LOVE to have a class full of students who all achieve the highest grade possible because they really worked at it, but most of the time that's just not how it works, even though they want it. The student is the one who has to want to do the work and earn the grade, just like Heavenly Father wants each of us to do our work and earn our reward. If we don't, he is disappointed and still has a constant hope that we can change and do better the next time (just like a teacher would if a student tries really hard on a test, but just doesn't understand enough to pass the test).

I was visiting teaching today and we talked about the talk President Uchdorf gave at our recent General Conference about Things that Matter Most (The one on Forget-me-nots went right into this talk.) They were both fantastic. He talked about how we are nothing compared to how many things God has created, but also that we are EVERYTHING to God and how much He loves us and wants us to return to Him and how everything He has made, He made for each of us. We really DO matter. (Oh, and my visiting teaching partner and I both picked the same conference talk to do our lesson on---randomly! It must be very needed!)

I often imagine the picture of Christ knocking on the door without the handle and waiting for us to let Him into our lives.
I also imagine that there is another door that Satan uses to barge into our lives without knocking and that if one door is open the other one can't be open. Does that make sense? I want the open door to be the one Christ is at. (I'm not saying that I'm good at this, let alone perfect at it, and I don't want anyone to think that I am, but I also want to let you know that I'm trying and that you can too.)
I know that there IS a plan for us on earth and that we are here for a reason. Our purpose for being on earth is to become like Him and do as He would do. Although this is very, very hard, it's the whole reason for being on earth.
He is begging us to take the wonderful gift He has for us. Do your best to get the best reward. Remember when you are not feeling like you are worth it, that it's Satan who wants you to think that so you won't achieve your highest potential. Heavenly Father wants you to believe that you are worth everything and that you can do anything!

Your Thoughts?

Here is what Abby did at one of the houses we visited:She was trying to get a cat toy ball (a plastic one with a bell in it) and thought this way would work best.
I admire her creativity and use of energy. She was trying and trying for several minutes. She had both feet up many times and was hanging there. She likes to climb over the rungs of the chairs at home too. I love this girl!

Christmas Aprons

I've been busy making aprons for kids for our Ransom Made Design Christmas Event this coming weekend. They are just $8 each and come in three different fabrics with thick ribbon to tie. I'm working on a few other projects too. I hope I can get them done in time. Our event is in Kennewick at my mother in law's house with several designers who are related to us each selling their own unique homemade items for you to buy for yourself or for a great present for someone on your list who has everything already.

Thanksgiving Fun

We were able to see family a lot the last two days. (Warning: Pictures....many of them to come.) Wednesday right after school got out, we (the kids and I-Andy was working) went to Kori and Joe's house to have some crafting time while three of my four brothers watched our combined 14 kids. (Baby Derek was sleeping in this picture at Milton's house.)Kori had a huge bag of wool felt to make some flowers and Christen brought her own project to work on (I think it's a secret though...) and I brought supplies to make fabric covered trays (old cookies sheets+spray adhesive+fabric+ribbon). I started with the big green bow and decided it was too huge, so I cut up the extra strips I made and turned it into four little ones. The red pinwheels will fit my big, medium, and small girls perfectly.
After we finished our crafts, we headed to Milton and Christen's house for dinner. They had Thanksgiving with her side this year. We had everyone there except for Janessa and her family. We sure missed them!
This was the normal sight of Abby heading quickly for the stairs....and even faster (and with a giggle) when she saw we were going to get her away from them.
Tina likes to show off how super she is. She is amazing! Her son Derek is two months younger than Abby, but they both do about the same things.
Abby spilling the Colby-ed up version of Muddy Buddies. (He's allergic to peanut butter, so his mom made some muddy buddies with soy butter and they were awesome!)
Our kids like their uncles and aunts. They really do. See? Here is Abby showing Uncle Joe how much she likes him. He appreciated it. Vincent is there in the foreground talking to Joe too. Our kids love their family.
And here Vincent is getting Aunt Kori to tie Jared's super cape on him while Aunt Christen plays with Derek.
Tina holding Abby some more.
And then they brought in the new puppies. They have two of these cute little dogs. Too bad we won't get one (because we don't want one. They are giving them away if you want one, let me know and I can help arrange it.)

Elizabeth holding the puppy.
Olivia holding the puppy.
And Vincent had a turn holding the puppy as soon as he finished up in the bathroom washing his hands (you can't tell by the water on his sleeve at all....)
We went over to Andy's parent's house after we were done partying at Milton's. They had extended family over for pie and cookies. It was a nice visit. Grandpa George got his new fun toy out for the kids (and him) to play with. He has a game they like on there.
Thursday Thanksgiving was at our house, so I got our house mostly ready on Wednesday night and started our laundry (and finished it before visitors came over-yea!)
Brant and Tina got here first. Christopher and Olivia played Uno.
After a little bit we got our our GeoTrax for the kids to play with in the other room while we finished setting the tables and arranging the food. Sam liked them.
Vincent, Elizabeth, and Olivia at the "kid table". My mom brought her tablecloths and they each had a little placemat I found a few weeks ago for a quarter each. Elizabeth and Olivia made their placecards.
Abby slept until just before the prayer. She has perfect timing sometimes. She enjoyed the dinner I made for her. She will eat anything. (Her meal is not really pictured. We had to take her plate when she started throwing it on the floor.)
After all the other kids left the table, Christopher was the only one left. Elizabeth and Olivia were the only kids to finish all their dinner. Hooray! (Note: they still complained of being hungry not long afterwards!)
My brother Jeff is here for a visit until he needs to leave for Cuba to be a prison guard at Guantanamo Bay Army detention center for a year. He was there a few years ago for a year and a half. The kids were enjoying wrestling Uncle Jeff.

He enjoyed playing with them too!
I don't know where my brothers get their fun side from... Do you?
Yeah, that would be my dad pulling Derek around on his blanket. Derek (and my dad) LOVED it!
We had a good time visiting (and eating-I'm SOOOO full!) and now the dishes are done, the house is cleaned up again, and the kids are asleep. Time for my tryptophan nap before some doing some crafts.
I think this was a success. Everyone had a chair at a table with real plates and silverware. No one got hurt (no blood means no bandaids!) No one threw up (just the occasional spit up from Derek.) And everyone should have left with plenty of fully cooked food in their tummies.
I'm so thankful for holidays that give us a great reason to see our families. I'm also VERY thankful that we enjoy our families and they seem to tolerate us alright too.

Unexpected

This is what happened when I was working on cleaning out my fridge on Tuesday morning:Yeah, that's the glass shelf that was big enough to go clear across the fridge. It shattered all over the kitchen and even into the living room when I took it from the fridge to the sink (that was warm from washing the plastic fridge drawers). It was almost instantaneous. Let this be a warning to you not to put cold glass things into hot things (or hot things into cold!) I think it might have worked if I had a towel lining the sink. I should have just wiped it all down inside the fridge, but I wanted it really clean. I was babysitting a friend's little boy too. I had to hurry and put Abby in her highchair and make sure the boys knew not to come in the kitchen. It was an overwhelming mess. I swept this much from the floor:
And then cleaned out under the stove again and vacuumed all over with the wand and all over the living room (while I took short breaks to make Abby a bottle and take her a snack). I am pretty sure all the glass is cleaned up now. What a MESS!
Oh and I was taking dinner to a friend who had a baby a few weeks ago (I always like dinners to stretch out longer when I have a baby), so I was in the middle of thinking about that too. The jello was in the fridge and the plans were in the works....as soon as the fridge was clean. And I was cooking our turkey so there would be room in the fridge for Thanksgiving. My parents are bringing the real turkey. Mine is all going in the freezer to make enchiladas or whatever we normally make with chicken because our turkey cost $3.50.
We had an extra shelf (that's half size) that we are using for now. We'll replace the shelf later.
All of that was after I'd already vacuumed up the rice krispies that Vincent spilled all over the family room and I'd taken out the trash once already too.
Monday after school while Olivia was at ballet (not my week to drive), Elizabeth and Vincent were making a giraffe out of blocks.
Vincent wanted it to be as tall as him.
As soon as Olivia got back home, we were ready to eat the stir fry Elizabeth helped me make with my friend and her daughter who were staying at our house to play while Andy, Elizabeth, and I went to the Nutcracker practice. They had real practice and I had to go to the parent meeting to learn about what to do (even though I know it already).
I'm starting to get serious about working on my craft projects for our Ransom Made Design Christmas Event the week after Thanksgiving on Friday, December 3rd (5-9pm) and Saturday, December 4th (9am-3pm) at my in law's house in Kennewick. (If you'd like directions, send me an email at nadscrow@yahoo.com.) We (Andy's mom, aunts, a few sisters, and I) all make fun crafts that those who come to the show (or ask about them) can buy to give away or keep or whatever. We make fun things to decorate or give to kids or for a gift for that person on your list who already has everything. It's fun. I'm making some kid Christmas aprons and poinsettia bobby pins this week. Next week I need to make more microwave potato bags, I spy bags, and some Christmas ornaments. Go like us on facebook to see some of the things we make. We'll have more up soon after the Event.
Tomorrow and Thursday are going to be so much fun with family! Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Bundles

Akkkk. This week has been another crazy busy one. It's going to get even more busy next week when I'm making and finishing up Christmas crafts for our Ransom Made Christmas Event on December 2nd (from 5-9pm) and 3rd (9am-3pm).
Thursday always gets so busy! I helped at Vincent's preschool, the girls were out of school early, Andy and I went to the school for parent/teacher conferences (they were great!), Elizabeth went to activity days, dinner, and Elizabeth went to Jujitsu class. After she and Andy got home, I went grocery shopping by myself (It was a highlight of the week!) I saved some money with coupons which always makes me feel great.
Friday Vincent, Abby, and I hung around all morning and got things ready to make pies for that night. We picked the girls up early from school, Vincent was supposed to be napping (so he wouldn't be so cranky Friday night), and I made some pies while Abby napped. Friday night was our Ward Harvest Social. Andy and I were in charge through our callings as ward mission leader and ward missionary (I'm recently released but I helped with it anyway.) The plan was to have a social with pie and ice cream and then tour the church with the people who teach in certain classrooms to tell about their program. We had short presentations from the Relief Society, Primary, Priesthood, Young Women's, Bishop told about the Chapel, the library, and the part that everyone enjoyed most (I think) was watching the cool sacrament cup filler. (I searched for this online and couldn't find anything to show you what I mean.) It was mostly already active members of our ward (who we asked to present) at our party, but it was still nice and I think if this becomes an annual thing then people will have an easier time getting friends to join us.
Saturday morning, we all slept in. It was lovely. Then the missionaries called and we got up to get ready before they got here at 10am for their weekly meeting with Andy. Andy had Nutcracker practice, then Elizabeth did, but they overlapped, so I took the kids and Andy brought them home while I glued some rhinestones on flowers for ribbon tiaras so the memento people can sell them during Nutcracker. After Elizabeth finished her rehearsal, she had a birthday party to go to for a girl in her class and I stayed to help with that too. I used this cool trick to help the girls frost their cupcakes. It's always super helpful to have an extra grown up helping at parties. It was fun.
It snowed most of the day, but it wasn't super cold, so it didn't stay very long. Just long enough for Elizabeth and Olivia to use just about all the snow in our lawn to make a snowman and then wreck it before I could take a picture.
Olivia told me right after I took this picture that she wasn't even cold at all. She was wearing a lot of good snow clothes. It was kind of overkill for the amount of snow we had.
Elizabeth rolling her snowman. She did this pretty fast too! I don't think they've ever made one before. They just wanted to make snow angels before.
Can you tell where she's been? Yeah. Big snow in our town. =) It's all just about melted now too.
Abby didn't care much about it. I'm pretty sure this is her first snow. She won't keep her hat on. I need to make her wear her hood more.
Can you believe she hasn't ever had an ear infection? Me neither! Our other kids have all had them, so when I asked at the doctor's office last week (because I couldn't remember and her chart was handy there), they said she hadn't. She's spoiling me. She also wakes up happy sometimes. I don't even know what to do with that. I've always (after becoming a mom) said that the worst part about being a mom is waking up to crying kids every time you wake up. There's no easing out of bed for most moms.
Elizabeth helped me make some pizza for dinner on Saturday before I headed out to go with the sister missionaries on exchanges. It was fun to go out with them to see two families in our ward. We talked about prayer at the second one and about making decisions using prayer. I said something about how we might not have to pray over whether we should eat rice or pasta for dinner, but that we should pray to bless it. There are much bigger things to fret over than dinner. At the first appointment the sisters compared the word of wisdom to a car. If you were given a beautiful brand new car, how would you treat it? Would you put good things into it and make it shine or would you trash it up and run it into things? We HAVE to take care of our bodies the same way. Heavenly Father gave us these precious bodies that are beautiful (no matter what you think your flaws are!) and we are supposed to take care of them by eating good foods and treating them as the precious gift they are. I enjoy going out with our missionaries. If you ever get a chance to go with them, do it!

Our neighbor girl brought over the (real) wreath that we bought through her fundraiser. The paper that came with it said not to expose it to extreme heat or cold, so I didn't want to hang it outside.... I just added it to our mantle. I think I (I mean Andy) need to drill a hole for a nail in the middle of the bricks to hang it (and other wreaths throughout the year or a picture at some point). Would you drill into the brick or the mortar?
We are getting all set for Thanksgiving this week and visiting with all four of my brothers and parents. We will be missing my sister and her family in Yuma. We are hosting this year which means 18 people (9 adults, 9 kids- Milton's family isn't eating dinner here, but we'll see them Wednesday at their house.) We'll see Andy's parents and sisters (except one) at some point too. It's going to be a fun week!

First Snow of the Year

Because anyone who lives near here is saying it, I must do it too.
It started snowing this afternoon and looks like it might stick a little. It sounds a little like hail right now though.
The kids were excited for about a minute before they wanted to go and play again.
They came back a while later to see it sort of sticking and wanted to watch it. I wouldn't let them go out yet because there's nothing to play with yet and I just finished cleaning the house last night and don't want more to clean yet. I know I will have to, but I just want it to last a little longer clean....and all of the laundry is done and put away. Snow means more laundry too.
I like it though. I like to stay inside and watch it snow.

See the cool turkey Elizabeth helped us make a few weeks ago when she was in charge of the activity for family night? I love it.
They are excited. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's snowing. It is mid-November.I just wanted to go a little longer imagining that I have more time before the holidays...

Do the Robot

Vincent loves Robots, so when I saw on the Richland library's facebook page yesterday morning that they were having a robot come and visit during storytime (and we weren't doing anything), I knew we had to go. We don't normally go because Vincent has no quiet voice and won't sit and listen (like his sisters did). We also stopped going to storytime because Elizabeth started kindergarten and it was too much to go to storytime every week too. We still go to the library, just not normally storytime. We usually see the therapy dogs there and the kids pet them and 'read' them stories. We do really like the library-promise.
We got there and parked and as we were getting out, one of Vincent's preschool buddies (there are only three other boys) parked next to us. When we got inside another preschool buddy was there along with two other boys from our ward and a little girl we play with pretty often. Vincent brought his stuffed robot (that I found at Kohl's for a dollar years ago-I love Kohl's!) to show Corkie the Robot. He was so excited that he wouldn't sit or be quiet, so he had to come back and sit with me and Abby (who was making plenty of noise herself). It was super chaotic and now I remember why we don't do storytime. I guess if we went more often, they would learn how to sit and listen, right? I don't think I'm patient enough for that.
At the end, we managed to take a cute picture though with both robots and he's holding his hand. Cute.This is how Vincent was during part of the story. He's right up there next to Corkie. Vincent kept trying to poke at him.While we were out, we went to Albertson's to use some coupon doublers and picked up a few things and then went to my favorite thrift store (basically just because their stuff isn't priced like new stuff at Walmart) and found three warm pajamas for Abby. I don't know why we have less warm stuff for her, but it seemed to work out that way. This thrift store has all baby items for $1 each. That's why I love it. Jeans for Elizabeth are $1.50 (or maybe $2 now...)
We picked up the girls from school (still early release) and then came home and hung out the rest of the day. It was nice.
Andy came home early and he and Olivia cleaned up the leaves outside (or a portion of them) and Elizabeth and I made dinner (lasagna and breadsticks) and Vincent made a mess while Abby napped.
Some friends came over to play for a little while and stayed for dinner while their mom worked and their dad was at college.
Then it was bathtime and bedtime. Once the kids were in bed, Andy vacuumed, I finished the laundry, mopped the floors, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, and even cleaned off the tops of the washer and dryer. I was on a spree. I've been slacking for a few days on cleaning and it needed it badly. Oh and I clipped coupons while I watched part of a movie.
Wednesday should be a little more low-key, but I always say that and then it turns into just a regular day...like just now I got a phone call from a lady down the road asking for a ride to the doctor. Guess I'd better get ready!

Just Another Manic Monday

Are you singing that song yet? I am.
Our Monday started with Elizabeth and Olivia going to the school for free (sort of-unless you count taxes...) breakfast. Our school is offering it all week, which I am totally taking advantage of. First because I don't have to make them breakfast (or worry about them spilling cereal all over the floor). Second, because breakfast at the school starts right when Andy normally leaves in the morning, so he is dropping them off this week, allowing me to stay home a little longer (and we are saving a little gas too....I care less about that than that I get to stay in my pajamas longer-even though I drop them off wearing pajamas and a big sweatshirt.) The girls reported that they liked school breakfast. They could have picked French toast sticks, but Elizabeth got a yogurt parfait and Olivia picked cold cereal. Really? I don't know what's wrong with them, but I guess it's nice that they like easy breakfast.

I got ready to go because I helped in Olivia's first grade class this morning. I arranged to drop Vincent and Abby off with a friend who has two kids (of the same gender and age as mine) and she said they were good, so I guess I believe her....
I helped in the first grade, which really means that I spent the morning helping two kids who can't control themselves enough to focus on their task. They need a little extra attention. They are smart, just distractable (I know that's not a word, but I'm pretty sure a classmate used to call me that in school).

From there, we came home for a bit, had some early lunch, Abby and I took little naps, and then we picked up the big girls at 12:30. This week is early release all week because of parent-teacher conferences (and our school districts new plan to make teachers work more and get paid less and just to be annoying so it's more work for the parents or something...)

We came home and put their things away before doing a few little crafts. We painted q-tip trees, I painted some bobby pins with nail polish, and the kids each made their initial with buttons (but not as fancy as that picture). See!? Three Pinterest items checked off in one day!

Then it was time to go to ballet, but first we picked up some coupons from a friend, and then we picked up Olivia's friend who we trade ballet driving with each week, before heading to ballet. Olivia did her class while Elizabeth made a paper boat in the hallway, Vincent ran down the hall as fast (and as loud) as he could, and Abby begged to get out of the stroller. I, on the other hand, read two whole pages of my book over and over while I chatted with the other moms about something silly.

Back home for our leftovers dinner and loading the dishwasher and two changes of clothes for Olivia who normally changes into her pajamas right after ballet is over (at 5pm-my kind of girl!) so we could go to the library in Burbank (my hometown-25 minutes away). We went there because the lady who used to coach tennis with me in Burbank when Elizabeth was 15 months old (just before my parents moved) wrote a children's book. She is a kindergarten teacher there and wrote it for her great nephews. It is called, "The Bear Family Adored Fancy Underwear". It was a hoot and a half.
This is Holly reading the book to the group after signing copies of it that were purchased (it was only $10 there).
Elizabeth and Olivia listened intently. (Vincent just wanted to talk about the bear's underwear, so he was on my lap while Abby drank a bottle.)My kids with a real life author.

They had cookies and juice afterwards and I talked with several people I knew from way back when and then we left.....we got to the car before three kids said they needed to go to the bathroom so I had to take them back in and wait and wait and wait for them to finish. At least they said it before we left all the way, I guess.

We got home, the kids got ready for bed, Andy read to them while I got some coupons ready for Albertson's doublers this week (love them!), we put the kids to bed, and then I went out with some friends for late night (half price) appetizers at Applebee's for a friend's 40th birthday this week. It was so much fun to visit with some of my friends. I haven't seen most of them in a while because our ward divided last year and life is too busy to see each other once a week without going to church in the same building at the same time. I have still seen them, but not as much.

When I got home at 11pm, I still had plenty of time to deal with two crying youngest kids (unfortunately), make some lunches for tomorrow, fold some laundry, get the kids back to sleep, write a blog before I forget what happened, and now it's bedtime for me (at my normal time of 2am.)

And tomorrow is much less manic, so don't worry about me.

How's your heart?

Sunday morning I had a talk to give. I looked up my last talk here on my handy dandy blog and discovered that I gave one just over a year ago. I was trying to calculate how often I should have to give one by process of elimination...52 weeks, minus 12 weeks for Fast Sundays, minus 4 weeks for general and stake conferences, minus 12 weeks of High Council speakers, makes it 24, and then doubled (two speakers) is 48 opportunities for those in our ward to give talks. I'm pretty sure there are more than 48 adults in our ward, but I don't mind giving talks as much as I used to. It's easier to prepare now that I have a little more life experience (just a little, but it's enough to know how to prepare).

My talk was on Alma 5:19 which says, “Can ye look up to God with a pure heart and clean hands, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?”
Because I like to put my life history on here, I'll add most of my talk in and the extra things I think I said off the cuff. I think it was a fairly good talk. People kept telling me it was, but I think people are just really nice....I guess if they got something out of it, that's all that's important and it should be less ME than the Holy Ghost telling them things anyway.
Here it is....
I introduced myself (even though I didn't really need to since we've been in the ward more than 10 years and we know everyone.)

I also want you to know that if I say you or we in my talk I really mean ME, and as it normally goes, this talk may mean more to me than it does to you, but I’m sure there is something everyone can do to make themselves a little better by listening, thinking, and praying about it. =)

In the book of Alma, the first several chapters talk about how Amilici starts a group to fight against the Nephites (who are righteous at this point) because he thinks the Nephites should be led differently than how Alma is leading them. It talks about their years of wars and how the Amilicites pair up with the Lamanites and are defeated and the times of peace that follow for the Nephites and the ways they have to recover from these wars and trials and how they then start attacking each other, not so much physically as verbally and just tearing each other down. This brings us to Alma the Prophet who leads both the church and their city and he finds someone else to lead the city while he goes around reteaching the Nephites (still mostly good members of the Church of Christ at this point) and reaffirming their belief in Christ. He has to be very blunt and serious about how he goes about calling them to repentance (people usually object to that sort of thing) and this is what he says in Alma 5:19:

“Can ye look up to God … with a pure heart and clean hands, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?”
A lot of this talk comes from the article His Image in Our Countenances Ensign article 1996.

Alma asks church members of his day: Have ye spiritually been born of God? … Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” (Alma 5:14). “Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you?” (Alma 5:15). Do you have “the image of God engraven upon your countenances?” (Alma 5:19).
These are all good questions we today need to ask ourselves.

Here I said something about how this doesn't mean that you go and get a tattoo of Jesus on your arm. You have His spirit on your heart and do things in His name.

Experience the Mighty Change

The process by which we become “born of God” and have his image “engraven upon [our] countenances” begins with faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith motivates us to repent and make covenants with the Savior through the ordinances of the gospel. Then, as we keep our covenants, the Lord blesses us with his Holy Spirit, which purifies and changes our hearts.

Many members of the Church have experienced this mighty change of heart and can truthfully and humbly answer yes to Alma’s questions. Others may not as yet have made the commitment necessary for that change to happen. Still others may have experienced the change, but may sometimes wonder if they really do reflect the Lord’s love in their lives.

Elder Marvin J Ashton of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said this in a talk:
“We also tend to evaluate others on the basis of physical, outward appearance: their “good looks,” their social status, their family pedigrees, their degrees, or their economic situations.
The Lord, however, has a different standard by which he measures a person. When it came time to choose a king to replace King Saul, the Lord gave this criteria to his prophet Samuel: “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; … for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7.)
When the Lord measures an individual, He does not take a tape measure around the person’s head to determine his mental capacity, nor his chest to determine his manliness, but He measures the heart as an indicator of the person’s capacity and potential to bless others.”

He measures our heart as an indicator of our capacity and potential to bless others. Wow. I understand that with muscles, the more you use them the stronger they get, so that must mean that the more we use our hearts, the stronger they get which means they will have more room-capacity to bless others. This is definitely not only giving money to people, but actually making a difference in their lives for good. As baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have literally taken upon us His sacred name and should be doing things IN HIS NAME. Are we doing good things or doing the BEST things?
Here are some more things to think about from the Ensign article:
Recognize the Lord’s Image in Your Countenance

No matter what our spiritual condition, time spent alone with our Heavenly Father in prayer and meditation can lead to insight and personal growth. Like looking in a mirror, we may discover things about ourselves that need changing. At other times, we may find that our reflection does indeed mirror the Lord’s image.
As members of the Lord’s church, we are encouraged to measure ourselves against “the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). We can take our measure through prayer and meditation. Scripture study and partaking of the sacrament also invite the Holy Ghost into our lives. And under the influence of the Spirit, we may learn how to become more Christlike. At other times, we may be assured that our efforts are accepted. In either case, we will leave the experience more centered in mind and spirit on Jesus Christ.
As we thus center our lives on Jesus Christ, we can experience the mighty change Alma spoke of and reflect more clearly the image of God in our countenances.

From a primary lesson with my own thoughts after:

Why do you think the Lord wants people to be pure in heart? We must be pure in heart to return to his presence.
What are some choices we make that affect how pure our heart is?
-Choose worthy friends
-Study the scriptures
-Pray (even when it’s hard-especially when it’s hard-Satan doesn’t want us to think we are good enough to pray to Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father is MORE than a grandma wishing for a letter once a year. He wants us to rely on Him and trust His plan.)
-Shun even the appearance of evil (which doesn’t mean JUST to say that doing something is bad. It means that you would not allow anything evil in your home, mind, or heart.)
-Choose good books, magazines, TV programs, music, movies (we all know this, but do we also know how to change the channel or stop doing what we know is wrong? I’m not going to tell you which things you should and shouldn’t do. You know already which things have a bad or a good influence on you and your family)
-Be clean in thought and actions.

How can each of these help us become pure in heart?
If we are all doing all of these things, it is SO MUCH easier for the Holy Ghost to give us promptings to tell us what we need to do for others. The world teaches us (a lot of the time) that WE are the most important and “every man for himself”. Jesus didn’t teach that way or live that way. He taught that we should “Love one another” and serve each other with caring and kindness. He also said that “Inasmuch as you do it unto the least of these my brethren, ye do it unto me”-meaning that YOU can be His hands and do HIS work, but not if you are not allowing the Holy Spirit’s promptings into your mind. Don’t give the Holy Ghost a busy signal because you are occupied with something much less important. (One of the young women in my ward put this quote on her blog. I loved it. =) I'm glad it touched her heart.)
Pray and ask Heavenly Father for help to become pure in heart.

“Yea, and my presence shall be [in my house], for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God” (D&C 97:16).

These wonderful blessings are promised to those who attend the temple worthily and honor their covenants and that is amazing to me. I want to live in a way that I am worthy to see God in Heaven.
I have truly been born of goodly parents who raised me knowing about the reasons why we are here on earth and why we should do what is right. When I try to think of someone who has a pure heart, I have to think of my dad. I cannot think of any bad habits he has. People often tell me what a nice man he is. It's not just me thinking that. I know that he is and I want to be just like him. His favorite hobbies (before he became the Bishop of his ward in Walla Walla) was geneology, reading his scriptures, and helping others. He is my best example of loving service. He very rarely raised his voice in all the years I lived at home (even though I’m sure I deserved to be yelled at often) and he just spoke with kindness and love and meekness. He was a good home teacher and would often come home from work, change his clothes, and go out to give a blessing a lady who he home taught who needed it.
My mom was always willing to help someone with dinners or picking up someone else’s kids. She let our house be a place where we could study with our friends (and we always had warm cookies to eat) and made sure that we felt loved. She always fulfilled her callings the best she could and taught us that that is what you do in our church.

Today, the members of the Church are counseled to become worthy to attend the holy temple and to build up Zion wherever they are living in the world. We are to make our homes like temples—places of purity, love, and personal revelation.

I would be lying if I said our home is always peaceful enough to allow quiet contemplation. (anyone who has been to our house when the kids are awake knows this already). They are quiet when they are sleeping.... We do make time to read scriptures and other good books to the kids and we have conversations about things that are important to them and that they’ll ask questions and know we will answer them is a great thing. Despite the chaos that sometimes is in our homes, we can still think about the things that we should think about and try our best to do what is right. We can also involve our children in serving others. If I make a meal for someone, I take the kids with me to deliver it most of the time and they help carry it in. If we see someone at the store who drops a can on the floor, I send my kids to pick it up for them so they don’t have to bend down to get it. Part of that is my own laziness because I don't want to bend down to get it and another part is knowing that it would be nice to do and it's good for the kids to learn to serve others. Doing these kinds of things will hopefully teach them to notice when people are in need of service and love.

Spiritually speaking, a change of heart is not only desirable, but essential for eternal life. The Book of Mormon describes the conversion experience, which all of us must have, as a “mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2.)
Taken directly from the Book of Mormon: “If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, … can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26).
Having a “change of heart” at one time in our lives is insufficient to give us an understanding heart today. Helping and understanding a person years ago do not fill us with the love of God today.
Christlike love must be continuous and contemporary.

DAVID B. HAIGHT of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“To understand the things of God requires a continuance effort, a pure and receptive heart, and an open mind. Revelation comes in response to our desire and seeking; then we feast on the “holy joys that tell of heaven.”

And then I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of families (even when they're crazy).

I hope you enjoyed my little talk. I ended right on time too (not 15 minutes sooner than I should have like my first adult talk about Temples right after Andy and I got married.... luckily he was the second speaker.)

Instruments and Craziness

Big excitement over here.
I taught preschool for the letter I and number 9 on Thursday. I couldn't think of much to go with I other than iguana (and I already did frogs so it didn't seem all that fun to cover iguanas too), so I searched online for ideas and found instruments! Smart. I found a bunch that were easy to make and we spent most of the time putting the instruments together and making a lot of noise. All that noise was perfect for four very active three year old boys.
Our instruments were a box guitar (I made these the night before) and the other side works as a drum, a rain stick, a toilet paper tube kazoo, and a paper plate maraca. They also did a dot-to-dot goose (with 9 numbers) and a number nine with nine instruments on it (I put that all together). It's fun to be in charge of preschool and go all out with fun (and free) things for them to do. Andy got out a CD of some Russian music from 1812 (Tscoughpsky or something) that had many different instruments in it and the boys liked marching around the room with their instruments to the music.

Thursday night was our mother daughter book group (and I didn't forget this time!) We talked about the Encyclopedia Brown books that each of us read. We get to host again in January (we are skipping December because it's way too busy even without a book group) and we are reading Harriet the Spy. The girls are excited about this book.

Friday was that day with a bunch of 1's in the date. A friend of ours hosted a party for the girls to go to that morning. It started at 11am, they counted down at 11:11am, played fun games, ate yummy snacks, and the party was over at 1:11pm. They all had a great time. I'm so glad we have friends that will host parties too! It's way more fun than hosting everything. It was also Veteran's Day and we did think about veterans while we were enjoying our day. The kids had an assembly Thursday morning at school too.

Friday night we fed the missionaries and then Andy had a church meeting to go to, so I hung out with the kids at Elizabeth's Nutcracker practice. I was going to go grocery shopping, but I accidentally left the cash at home to do that, so it had to wait.

Saturday morning the girls went on missions for their Primary Activity Day. Andy took them while I finished preparing my talk for Sunday. Olivia went to Brazil and Elizabeth went to Argentina. They really liked it. I understand that there were several people taking pictures, so I'm hoping someone shares them with me.

Saturday afternoon Andy had his Nutcracker practice and then I went and had my eyebrows waxed because they were getting way too gross and the lady told me I looked like I was 21. I totally laughed at her. I never know if they say that because I DO look young or if they just want a tip. I am still pretty young, but at 29 and four kids later, I'm pretty sure I look older than 21.... After that, I did the grocery shopping for the week (feeling pretty good about myself from that young comment). We hung around all evening relaxing and listening to the wind blow leaves out of our yard (the plan was to clean them up Saturday, but it rained Friday night and they won't get sucked up into the leaf shredder thing if they are wet). We did our Saturday routine of bathes, tater tots, and COPS. Andy likes this show a lot and it helps teach our girls what kind of losers will not be allowed to go out with them. The person they want to marry has to be two things: 1. Able to take them to the Temple (which is really way more than one thing...) and 2. NOT A LOSER! Ask them and that's what they will tell you.
My talk will be in a separate blog post because it's long and I ramble enough without it all in one huge post.
Sunday afternoon was spent eating leftovers, napping, choir practice for Andy and Elizabeth, dinner making (General Tso's Chicken again), and then Andy had a church meeting while the kids and I went to an open house for a young man who used to be in our ward who is going on a mission to Alaska soon.
This week the girls get out of school early every day because of parent-teacher conferences. I'm finding all sorts of things on Pinterest to keep us crafting in the afternoons.
PS. My mom didn't win the quilting contest, but a lady in Utah did. They didn't release any voting numbers or anything either, but she was listed first when they said who else was in the contest after they said who won, and I'm just going to say that she got second place because there's no way to know. =) Way to go mom! (She told me that they were alphabetical by maiden name or something...)
It's nearly time to start preparing things for our Ransom Made Design Christmas Event the first weekend in December. And I'm hosting our family Thanksgiving with my side. This is going to be a whirlwind few weeks! Didn't November just start? How are we in the middle already?

A milestone

Abby has reached one of Andy's favorite of the less celebrated milestones--holding her own bottle to feed herself. She has been holding it for the last month or so, but here are pictures. We celebrate just about everything with pictures at our house.She likes to sit up with it.On Wednesday Abby had a her nine month doctor visit with our long-time pediatrician who let me know that he's retiring at the end of the year.

Abby is now 16 pounds 10 ounces and 27 inches tall. She is super active and wears off all the food she eats, I guess. She's been small from the beginning, so her being in the 10th percentile is just her normal. 27 inches is in the 25th percentile, I guess. She is busy and eats anything, so I'm not worried. She's just a cute, petite girl. She wears her clothes longer and I don't have to switch them out as much. I like that.We went back after school so the three older kids could get the flu mist and I had to have a picture of them with him since they probably won't need to go back to the doctor until their next birthdays.

I already called the doctor's office that Andy and I would go to if we visited the doctor and they take our new insurance and have openings, so we'll be all set.

Here is what our front window looks like all decorated for Thanksgiving. We made that turkey during FHE Monday night with Elizabeth's direction.

What do you do to celebrate the less celebrated milestones? Our favorites are holding the bottle, burping alone, dressing alone, and buckling their seat belts alone....I guess we like our kids to be independent.

By the way, people talked for the last five days about daylight savings time messing their kids up. I want to report that my kids did just fine---just lucky, no tips---until this morning. I think they have delayed DST. It's not like I needed to sleep, right? Oh, yes, I really did... How do people handle kids at 6am? I should just be grateful that most days they don't get up until 7:30...

jiu jitsu and a special day

Elizabeth is really enjoying her jiu jitsu (yes, I googled the spelling.) This picture doesn't show that she likes it, but she does. She was embarrassed that I was taking her picture because no one else was getting their picture taken. Too bad. (This is actually the better of the two I took.)We've been trying to stay home a little more the end of this week. Friday morning we had one friend over to play with Vincent while his mom painted the walls inside their house and minutes after his mom picked him up, our little princess friend came to visit for a little while. She missed Halloween because she was sick or something, so she is wearing her costume as much as she can. It's like a little apron. Very clever and it wasn't too hard for her to go potty in. Vincent is an entertainer. Just before I took this picture, they were right next to each other on the couch and she had her head on his shoulder a little. Cute, but they are tiny, so it's not like she's his girlfriend because I think that's dumb (a 3 year old with a girlfriend that is, not that they are tiny and cute.)

Saturday was a busy and wonderful day. We started out by cleaning the church (which normally we are signed up for right after I have a baby so I skip...), but all of us went and the girls helped me clean the sacrament trays. We hurried home to get ready for the baptism of my nephew (my oldest brother's third son) and drove over to Kennewick without Andy who had practice for the Nutcracker ballet (he dances in the party scene with his sister-fifth year I think.) It was great to visit with my family, listen to well prepared talks, and see my nephew get baptized by my big brother. Just look at how happy and cute he is!
We went over to their house afterwards for cake and juice and the kids played, but not in their Sunday best. They changed into their emergency clothes until it was nearly time for Andy's practice to be done. We rested for a little bit at home (and I made one little run to Hallmark where I had a coupon for $5 off a $10 purchase and $4 worth of free money they sent me that expires this weekend-love nearly free!)

I had a half hour nap before we packed the kids up and dropped them off at Grandma Shirley's house so we could do a Temple Baptism Trip with our ward. We planned it as Ward Mission Leader and Ward Missionary (before I was released a few weeks ago), so we both obviously wanted to go. It was beautiful (of course) and very nice. Andy even was able to perform my baptisms for the dead. We hadn't done that together before. It totally made my day.

Another little tidbit that makes me burst my buttons (I don't know where that little phrase comes from, but I like it) this week was when Olivia came home in the middle of the week and told me that there was a new boy in her class named Josh Wah. I received an email later that day from the Bishop of our ward (because Andy has meetings with him) that a new family moved into our ward and that they have three sons. The middle one is Olivia's age and is named Joshua. It was hard to convince her that his name was not Josh Wah, but Joshua and that he has a different last name than Wah. I put the two little tidbits together and told Olivia that he would probably be in primary on Sunday and she got all excited, so I showed her the email that said he has both an older and younger brother. She went to school the next day and told him that he was going to be in Cottonwood Ward and that he has two brothers. He then went home and told his mom that a little girl named Olivia told him they were in Cottonwood ward (which she already knew). Olivia is super excited to see him "everyday except Saturday unless he's sick or something". I was telling our Bishop's wife this little story this morning at the church and she said that his mom told it to her as well and she figured out that it was our little Olivia. I'm so glad she is so friendly and welcoming and excitable. I sure love her little spirit!

Raising a Reader

Abby was loving all the books she got to touch Tuesday. We went to the library after school and then went to the PTA meeting in the evening where she did this:
My favorite new thing she does is nod her head like a horse when she crawls.
I need to catch her in action on the video soon. It's so cute. For now, you'll have to take my word for it.
Keep voting for my mom's quilt in the FINAL McCall's Quilting Magazine challenge. There are just a few days left to vote (daily) and we appreciate each one.