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?

The Perfect Costume

This may not be for everyone, but if you:

• Own several Rubik's cubes
• Know how to solve the cube in 1 minute 13 seconds
• Already blew your Halloween budget on a giant pumpkin
• Need a costume you can make all by yourself

Then this is the perfect costume!

Whew! I really dodged a bullet this year. After everything that happened with my Mom, Halloween costumes were the last thing on my mind. Fortunately, Evan has CUBES on his mind. I tried watching a youtube video with him once to learn how to solve one, but my eyes just glazed over. Not only is he smart enough to solve the cube, but he came up with a creative costume idea. We spent 86 cents on a square box and $4.99 on paint. We already had electrical tape in the tool box. As a bonus, Evan did his art project for the week. All I had to do was take the pictures!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

More Deja Vu

Eight years ago I was mom to two "big boys" and two "little ones".

Some of our homeschool friends decided to put on The Wizard of Oz.
The big boys went to practice every week while I watched the little ones
and helped with costumes, sets and props.
It was a big project directed by my friend Cathy.

Aaron was cast as one of the farmhands, Hickory
and also played an Ozian later in the show.
Here he is with his friend Michael who played Zeke.

Ryan was twelve at the time and had the title role of
the Wizard himself. He also played a munchkin in the show.

The little ones really enjoyed The Wizard of Oz.
In fact, I snapped a picture of them waiting for the show to start.

Since then, they've had the chance to perform
in a number of different plays.
But never in The Wizard of Oz . . .
until now!

Although I missed most of the practices caring for my mom,
I was able to be there for the final week. Once again I
helped with costumes, sets and props.
Once again, we used lots of glitter.
Once again, my friend Cathy directed the show.
And once again, I have a twelve year old son who played
The Wizard!
Evan also played Professor Marvel (in a gold turban!) and the gatekeeper.
Marianne didn't quite look like herself, but she gave fantastic performances
and Miss Gulch and The Wicked Witch!

And what about those big boys?
This time Ryan was in the audience, with his wife and baby girl.
Aaron will get to watch the video when he's home from college at Thanksgiving.
What a difference eight years makes!