My Personal Progress

I have the privilege of working with the Young Women in our ward—and I love it. About a year ago we challenged one another, as leaders, to complete the Personal Progress Program—hoping this would serve  as a motivation and example to the young women in our stewardship. The Personal Progress program is a goal-setting program that helps young women develop a testimony of Jesus Christ and prepare for temple covenants as well as future responsibilities. The Personal Progress Program focuses on the eight Young Women values—faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue. I was particularly excited by this challenge since I joined the church when I was twenty-one and didn’t have the opportunity to complete the Personal Progress program when I was a young woman. Completing the program has always been a goal I’ve had for myself, especially once I had daughters.

I have always wanted to learn to knit a sweater. I have basic knitting skills but up to this point have mostly just knit scarves. I wanted to learn to knit something more complicated  and increase my skills at following a knitting pattern. Until now I’ve not made the time to improve my knitting skills—I guess it feels like an unaffordable luxury. There always seems to be so many things clamoring for my time and attention that this personal goal is consistently put aside. I don’t think this is particularly wise necessarily but haven’t quite figured out how to reconcile my desire to create with my day-to-day responsibilities and busyness. I’m a work in progress. With this Personal Progress challenge, though,  my opportunity had finally arrived. How could I feel guilty knitting if it were for a Personal Progress project, for my church calling no less. 

As soon as I decided to plunge in and learn to knit a sweater, for my knowledge project, I knew immediately that I wanted to give it to a sweet sister in the ward and her little miracle baby (they are all little miracles really, but this one was particularly long-awaited). This sister and I  have both tasted of the trials of infertility and she has always been an incredible example to me of a stalwart, faithful, woman who follows the spirit. Her example was especially meaningful to me when my faith was at it’s weakest, when I was at the point where I did not think I could handle my trial a moment more—during my fourth watch so to say.

I will never forget the day my friend told me she was pregnant. I was overcome with joy and gratitude and I just cried and cried. It’s hard to explain completely but in that moment my testimony was strengthened ten-fold. In that moment I KNEW  that our God is still a God of miracles, that HE answers prayers, that He is in charge. Even more importantly, in that moment I KNEW that He loves us and He knows us.

I hope that her sweet baby will always know what a blessed little miracle she is, and that even in her young age she has been an instrument in the Lord’s hands . . . because every time I see her I am reminded of our Heavenly Father’s love. I can’t thank her enough.

David’s HEART ATTACK!!!

A question was posed . . .

An answer was given . . .

A fun memory for the whole family . . .

What does TOLO stand for anyway?

We Love You Too . . .

Sweet Baby Girl. Looks like Daddy was right once again!

What are YOU thankful for?

Loved this.

The Crew’s Halloween Fun

The Pumpkins

It was Britta’s first year to use the saw!

The Crew are true Homestar Runner fans. We stuck with our annual  theme again this year. . . well, everyone but Freja, that is. I guess she has carved Marzipan one too many times.

I must say that pumpkin carving goes quite smoothly at our house these days as everyone, but Britta,  is pretty self-sufficient. My regular job is to sift through the pumpkin goop for all the seeds so that we can roast them . . . yum!

 

Hermione Hair

Freja wanted authentic ‘Hermione Hair’ for Halloween.  “Hermione hair like the movie, not the book.” She insisted that rag curls would do the trick . . . we couldn’t stop laughing at the initial result. Her hair was so curly! It looked more like Hermione’s hair though as it relaxed throughout the day.

     

 

The Garb

 

Check out that cute stinger! It was especially cute when she walked.

Sisters!

This was Leif’s last year of trick-or-treating—next year he will be twelve and he’ll move on to new ways to celebrate. He was recovering from an illness, so unfortunately he didn’t go out with a bang like he had hoped.

Hans and David both had parties to attend . . . Hans’s was a costume party and David’s wasn’t. David helped pass out candy until it was time for his party.

This Mama couldn’t get enough of her little Bumblebee . . .

 

Trick-or-Treating in the Northwest

Mostly it just drizzled but at one point it started raining hard enough that the use of an umbrella became  necessary to keep my little Bee warm and dry. Britta insisted on carrying the umbrella herself, along with her bucket-full of treats. It was quite the challenge for her but she was determined (and stubborn). After a long, and very slow walk up the hill, we called it a night.

The Most Heartwarming “Boo” Ever . . .

Around these parts, maybe around most parts, there is a little tradition connected with Halloween called “Boo-ing.” It goes something like this:  A friendly, and completely unknown spook , or group of spooks, mischievously deposits Halloween goodies on a dear one’s front porch before they ding-dong-ditch their home. When the folks living inside unknowingly answer the door they are pleasantly surprised with the found sweeties and the thoughtfulness of the spooks who delivered them. Because they are so appreciative they return the trick to two of their favorite friends and so it goes until Halloween arrives. The spooks who left the treats also leave their calling card (a photocopy of a “Boo”) that the recipients hang on their door to alert other spooks that may come to call  that their home has already been visited this season.

As Halloween approached my younger children mentioned how they “couldn’t wait to be Boo-ed.” I didn’t think much about it as I had other pressing things on my mind. Soon we were merely days away from Halloween and still, the spooks had not come-a-calling. I didn’t realize how sad this had made my children until one day after school it happened. We got that exciting, doorbell-ditching-ring and this is what we found.

This was a “Boo-ing” of the home-made, very best, hand-crafted kind. Some considerate and empathic young neighborhood spook or spooks of the male-variety (we’re nearly certain) overheard my wee ones on the school bus, earlier that day, expressing their grief that we had not yet been “Boo-ed” and they took matters into their own hands. They crafted their calling card, raided their family’s pantry for fruit snacks, and used profuse amounts of tape to secure their offering—they sensed a need and they met it with enthusiasm. I’ve never felt more proud to display my “Boo” sign. Children’s kindness . . . you can’t beat it. It warmed the heart of this Mama—and that is just what my heart needed. I suppose this is evidence that even Halloween can inspire goodness and giving. Some parents somewhere should feel very proud of their special little spooks . . . I certainly do.

Award-Winning

If there were an award for the saddest, most neglected fuchsia in the neighborhood . . . I would get it.

I’m sorry little fuchsia, I don’t know how I let this happen to you . . .