Good News

Boring (but good) news: I am finally over the flu!

Exciting news: Marianne has a fun giveaway on her blog. Check it out and leave a comment here. Hurry it ends tomorrow!

Thankidsgiving

Thanksgiving was rough for me this year and then I got the flu over the weekend.
Thank goodness for the great kids in our family!

They always bring a smile to my face.

Here are a few of my favorite moments:

This guy not only loved the dogs, he gave me a love! Heath was sadly looking around for his grandma and when he found me in her usual place in the kitchen, I got a big hug from him. He generally will give me a hug only when I ask for one. I wish he hadn't been sad, but I'm grateful for his spontaneous hug!

Thanks to this girl for having a Thanksgiving birthday, so we got to have a pinata!
Doesn't Alyssa look great in her high heeled pinata?
Happy 11th sweet Alyssa!
I like to tease her mom that Alyssa looks like she should have been my baby, don't you agree?

Thanks to this girl for helping her mom make these cute pilgrim hat place settings.
Jenna also made me laugh when I gave her a gift bag with her early birthday present. I told her she could open it and she replied, "Well, I already know what it is Aunt Melanie. You always give me and Alyssa the same thing."
I do? I guess I do ;)

This girl always makes me smile, but she was especially cute at Thanksgiving. I let her try some sweet potatoes and she loved them. The funniest part was when her daddy scolded me for giving her something with lots of sugar. I almost laughed out loud because he LOVES his sugar. And just so you know, I wasn't being a bad grandma. I was able to tell him that it was an all natural sweet potato casserole with no sugar!

This little sweetie won the best dressed award in her lovely, long white dress.
Brooke did wear her cute Thanksgiving outfit for most of the day, but changed into her dress just in time to receive a name and a blessing from her daddy. It was wonderful to have so many priesthood holders in our family participate in the ordinance.
I believe it was Aaron's first time to help bless a baby.

Emma was in heaven with two baby cousins to love!
When she wasn't holding a baby, she kept busy with her knitting. She is an amazing self-taught knitter. She does absolutely beautiful work and even has her first "for pay" project.

This girl is always in charge! Cammi doesn't like anyone telling her what to do.
But she melted like butter for her little cousin. She had a fabulous time letting him pull her around by the hand and doing whatever he wanted!

And Riley certainly enjoyed his cousins. He loved sharing a cardboard box with Cammi.
He also had his mind made up about the pinata. He wanted to wear a blindfold like all the other kids, but he didn't want it covering his eyes.

This little guy also loved the pinata. Strictly speaking, he isn't one of the kids, but he is a puppy so I think that counts. Dutch helped himself to the treats and had to have both a Laffy Taffy and a Slinky removed from his mouth. And he wasn't happy about losing either one!

Finally, thanks to the sweet girl who took all these pictures and let me post them even when she wasn't thrilled with my choice of photos or editing. I love you Marianne!

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours

And the winner is . . .

Debbie!

We were very high tech about our giveaway. I wrote all of your names on slips of paper and Marianne drew out Debbie's name.

FYI, I have known Debbie for about 14 years. We did Joy School together way back when. She is the mom of seven kids and is going to become a grandma next year.

I'll bring your prizes to you soon Debbie. As I bonus, I'll even bring He Restoreth My Soul since you asked me for a copy weeks ago.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My Name is Melanie . .

and I'm a recovering pessimist.

First my sister blogged about how much fun I am. Then my friend Emily offered to be my sponsor at "Pessimist's Anonymous".

So, in an effort to be a fun and optimistic person, I am having a giveaway!

First, are a couple of things I blogged about this summer.

1. Holiday Smencils! The scents are gingerbread and cinnamon.

2. A fabulous book from the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series on Picasso by Mike Venezia. (Clicking won't really let you look inside, but it will take you to the Amazon page) This book is very informative, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. A very fun read! Somehow I ended up with two copies, so one can be yours!

3. The wonderful book, Pigs in the Pantry by Amy Axelrod. The llustrations are delightful! It is a fun combination of cooking and math. My kids are really too old for this book, but when I told them it was going to be a giveaway, they both asked to keep it. Don't worry, I said "No!" so it can be yours.So, if you'd like the Smencils, Picasso and Pigs in the Pantry leave me a comment by Monday, November 22nd. On Tuesday I'll randomly pick a winner and I'll bring or mail the items to you before the end of the month. Anyone and everyone (except my own kids!) is eligible to enter. Just leave a comment.

I'm feeling more positive all ready. Maybe I should go work on my "Things I Hate" post right now!

Dark Chocolate May Be the Secret to Happiness

You might say I've been kind of negative lately. Not that I am usually mistaken for Pollyanna, but lately I haven't even seen the glass. (You know, the one that is supposed to be half empty if you're a pessimist or half full if you're looking on the bright side.)

In fact, I was sorely tempted to write a "Things I Hate" post to counteract all the "Thankful" blogs posts out there. I might write that post at some point, but it needs to be when I'm coming from a more positive place.

To help me in my quest to be more positive, I actually bought a CD called Music to Inspire Positive Thinking. I know, it sounds pretty weird and the cover isn't exactly awe-inspiring, but it is supposed to boost your alpha and beta brainwave activity.


It isn't actually something I'd put on to listen to, but it is great in the background and so far I have enjoyed having it on in the car while I'm thinking or talking.

I've been thinking about what engenders positive thinking in my life and here's what I've come up with:

1. Writing (I'm going to work on posting more frequently on my blog.)
2. Reading great writing (Scriptures are top of the list)
3. Hugs (I've never been a hugger, but I might need to change that)
4. Reading about inspiring people like Tom Holbrook
5. Expressing gratitude
6. Holding babies
7. Learning something new
8. Teaching something I love
   
9. Giving service
10. Notes, emails and comments from thoughtful friends
    
11. Sisters who bring dark chocolate and yellow tulips and help clean the kitchen

So thanks to all of you who have helped me feel more positive. I agree with Paul who wrote in Romans 1:8:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

So keep those thankful posts coming! I'd love to hear what helps you keep a positive point of view.

Mail Time!

This arrived in the mail yesterday. It was correctly addressed to us, but apparently was delivered to a neighbor by mistake.

I'll admit our mail delivery isn't what it used to be. For the first 10 years we lived here, we knew our mail carrier by name. We always said hello to "Mark the mailman" and we'd even chat with him on the occasional Saturday. At Christmas time we gave him a small gift or homemade treat. My niece Emma asked him to autograph her "About Me" book in the "neighborhood friends" section. Marianne even wrote him a letter once. We received several cards and letters from Mark including thank you notes and a sweet response to Marianne's letter.

It's never been the same since Mark left to take a mail route in his own neighborhood. I suspected we had a lower standard of mail delivery. Now I have proof! Apparently some poor neighbor of ours has been receiving mail that is not addressed to her and she's not going to take it anymore.

She seems to be rather upset since she used a black sharpie, large lettering and FOUR exclamation points!!!!

It makes me wonder: Exactly how much misdelivered mail she has been receiving? Have I been getting all my mail? Am I missing bills, letters or more importantly holiday catalogues? Did I do the wrong thing by walking down the street to deliver my neighbor's mail that I received? Does she miss Mark the mailman as much as we do?

Consider this a warning to get those Christmas cards in the mail soon. You never know what could happen.

Holes

When I experience loss and sadness I feel like there is a hole in me. It seems like a part of me is missing. For most of my life, I have suffered with very few of these holes. The ones in my past have healed and there is no sign that there was ever anything lacking.

But lately, I feel like a piece of swiss cheese. A few holes opened up over the past couple of years. Then the loss of my mom last month left a huge gaping hole. Today, I was released from my calling as Primary president--another hole! I have never been so sad to be released from any calling. I think it is because of the joy I feel when I am around the children. I love teaching children, so doing sharing time in Primary is one of my favorite things!

This year my youngest son turned twelve. I love seeing him grow and progress, but I have felt the loss of my own children. I miss having young children in my home and I think that being with the Primary children each week helped ease that loss. I am going to miss them terribly. I think the pain is more acute because I so recently suffered the loss of my mom.

I will also miss the closeness I felt with the great women in our presidency. I have been in numerous presidencies and I have enjoyed all of them, but this one was especially sweet.

I know that the Savior will heal these holes and give me peace and comfort, but I need to be patient and focus on prayer and gratitude. This scripture says it all!

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:6-7

This week . . .

Marianne gave a presentation about flowers in her science class. She suggested I should come and give it since I was a little too into it. C'mon doesn't everyone stop during a walk and make the whole family look at different flowers and identify the stamen, pistil and sepal? I could go on if you want to hear more!

Evan saved us a whole lot of money by losing so many teeth all at once. The orthodontist says we can wait another year before starting his braces since he is missing 9 teeth right now!

Aaron was very reluctantly part of a dance competition at BYU with one of his classmates from Social Dance class. They did the cha-cha and even made it to the second round!

Ryan & Molly are another week closer to their sealing in the San Diego temple! Of course, this sweetie will be there too.


John is finally over the world's worst cold! We're so happy he is feeling better and rid of that awful cough.

And me? Well, I cleaned my bedroom closet. That may not sound like much, but now I can actually walk into my walk-in closet. Plus, I have a place to put the packages that have arrived. Yes, my on-line Christmas shopping has officially begun!

WWF Tryout

This afternoon Evan was driving me crazy. Not a funny kind of crazy--a disobedient, not listening kind of crazy. I was really about it lose it! Knowing that 12 year old boys respond best to physical stimulus (haven't you watched deacons punch each other incessantly?) I grabbed Evan and put him in a headlock.

Evan: Stop tickling me Mom!

Me: I'm not tickling you, I'm trying to strangle you. Aren't you scared?

Evan: Laughter

Me: I guess I'm not very good at headlocks. Tries another time. How's this for fierce?

Evan: More laughter You're terrifying!!

Once he quit laughing he was kind enough to give me a few pointers on headlocks and headlock avoidance strategies. I guess it might come in handy if I'm ever in deacon's quorum.

Problem Solved!

Have you been wondering what to do with all that leftover Halloween candy?

and/or

Do you have child with a pesky loose tooth?

Well this is your lucky day! Happy Hartz can solve your problem. Just follow these simple steps.

1. Find a Jolly Rancher candy.
2. Unwrap it and put it in the child's mouth.
3. Continue sucking until candy adheres to loose tooth.
4. Remove candy from mouth.

Voila! It's time for a visit from the tooth fairy.


PS: To prevent an upset child, you may want to remove the tooth from the candy immediately, or at least warn your husband not to throw away pieces of candy left on the bathroom counter. Either that or tell your child not to do anything so gross again!

The Miracle of Trust

In 1940, the Trapp Family was in quite a predicament. They had narrowly escaped deportation and were struggling to find success as musicians.

Then they received another blow. The family was dropped by their manager and told "You will never be a hit in America. Go back to Europe."

But heading back to war-torn Europe was the last thing they wanted to do. With only $250 in the bank, they were desperate and felt like failures. Finally they found a manager who reluctantly agreed to represent them if they would spend $5,000 on advance publicity.

It seemed impossible, but a miracle occurred when two of their friends agreed to lend them the money for one year.

Maria explains how the trust of their friends worked another miracle.

There we experienced in our own life what other people's trust does to you. It releases new powers; opens new depths in your soul, hitherto unknown to yourself. It sharpens your will and fixes it on the goal, it helps you to do the impossible. That's the way God works with us. He always gives us another chance. Why do people use this magic wand so little? It would transform this world into a paradise. ( From The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Trapp)

You know how the story ends--the fame and wealth that followed as concerts were performed. You've seen the movie that was made of their life.

You and I may not have thousands of dollars to lend, but we can extend our trust to others. Whose life could we impact? What miracles can be worked through our trust in a another?