Out With the Old...

In every calling in our church you know that it isn't a life-time position (except Apostle, and I don't have to worry about that!) So you know, going in, that you will likely only be in that calling 3 years, then it is time for change.

That change came today. We were released as a Primary presidency. I love these good, dear women that I've been able to serve with. I LOVE the children!

I've spent most of my adult life serving in the Primary AND I LOVE IT!

Last time I served in a Primary presidency, at least 15 years ago, I didn't see the release coming and burst into tears! I spent several years in Young Women's, then we moved here and I had a chance to learn that Relief Society is a safe place- with sisters who love me rather than judge me. It was a wonderful change.

JUNIOR PRIMARY

These children have been particularly dear to me. They are outstanding. I told them today that the are absolutely the best Primary I've every had. I told them to expect me to still want to give them loves when I see them.

SENIOR PRIMARY

The most wonderful thing with this group is I tell them what my expectations are, I tell them I KNOW they can do it and they never let me down!

I know that the new Presidency will be fantastic! They are all power-house women.

But I suspect that several times in the coming months I will sneak into the back and just be with these children I love.

Room 4

I blogged two months ago about moving Miss Camille's out of her old classroom at Saratoga Springs, then last month I talked about the process! But somehow neither Camille or I got any *before*, *during*, or what we refer to as *BOMB* PHOTOS! (I think I should be drummed out of the blogging community for this infraction!)

So, first, do you want to know what a *BOMB* photo is? It is when you have to make a giant mess, taking everything out of the cupboards, so that you can get it put away in an organized manner. We were amazed at how many times a BOMB went off in Room 4!

Here is what it looks like today- all ready for the ickle-firsties to come in for reading tests. (Kevin visited Miss Camille's classroom today for the first time since he helped move in boxes. His comment- "It looks just like what you and your Mom would do. I'm not surprised!")



This is what it looked like on July 26 when Camille was stapling up her bulletin board background.



Horton has a new home above the circa 1950 student cubbies. Can you see all the October birthday eggs? We've found that this is a trend.



And, lastly, my Miss Camille! I sure love this girl! But now I have to go through Camille-withdrawals after spending lots of time with her in her room. =o(



OK... I lied! That wasn't the last! I took Miss Camille lunch today (simply an excuse to see my girl again today.) As I was leaving I overheard two moms talking, "I can't believe my youngest is in 2nd grade!" "I can't believe my youngest is in 4th grade!"
So I just had to tell them...

Ladies, my youngest is down the hall teaching first grade!
(Frankly, they didn't like being one-upped!) bwahahahahaha

Crusty

Isn't it interesting how something will get our mind going?

My sweet friend, Karen, sent me another sourdough start down lasterday with one of her darling little boys because I let mine get *beyond-sourdough*. I fed it last night and decided to start a loaf of bread.

Sourdough isn't difficult, but it is time consuming. You mix flour, water, salt and some of your sourdough start into a medium dough and let it rise overnight, about 12 hours. Then you punch it down, shape your loaf, let it rise again for about 1-2 hours and then bake. Hands-on is only about 10 minutes total, that includes mixing, punching down, shaping, preheating the oven and dutch oven, transferring the risen dough to the dutch oven and starting the two-part baking process. Yeah, you just let it do all the work... and it works slow! My favorite part about fresh sourdough bread it the crunch, crust outside and the soft and fluffy inside.



So this is where my brain started whirring!

Have you ever considered just how much we, as women, are like crusty sourdough bread? We take a lot of time to turn out *right*. And, frankly, sometimes we want to rush that process! We want Pillsbury Dough results using a sourdough starter! Those Pillsbury Crescent rolls are yummy and FAST! And for some reason we think we have to be that fast, when really, were are sourdough all the way!

• We get sick... we want to be well YES-TER-DAY!
• We lose a loved one... we want to stop hurting YES-TER-DAY!
• We have financial difficulties... we want to be out of debt YES-TER-DAY!

Well, you see where I'm going with this.   We hold ourselves to higher standard than anyone else around us.  And you know what?

WE JUST NEED TO BE KIND TO OURSELVES!

We need to say, it's ok to take time to heal, to grieve, to dig out, to adjust, and often times, accept that we will NEVER be who and what we were before [before we lost our parent or child, went through a divorce, had surgery, moved away from a best friend, before...]  It's OK, because it has to be OK!

So my advice today is allow yourself to be like that sourdough bread that just came out of my oven:

• Crusty on the outside [read- I can do hard things.  With God I can do all things!] 
• Soft on the inside [read- don't become jaded by the negative things around you.  Fret not yourself!]

***(Yeah, and break open a jar of apricots to go along with your hot, buttery, slice of sourdough bread [read- I don't know but it sure tastes good to me])

343- Grammie Day at Lewis Zoo

One of the greatest blessing of being a grandparent is watching those precious little people grow up!

I got to spend the day at Lewis Zoo today. When we moved here almost 6 years ago there was only a monkey and a zebra in the zoo! Since then they've added a Roxidon and a Sophisauras (somehow we are mixing eras here!)

I love to see how capable and helpful Ashton and Christian are. Frankly, I was the responsible-adult-on-the-premises but they are the ones who kept the home moving smoothly: chasing Sophie as she army-crawls all over the house, loading the dishwasher, setting the table, showing Grammie how to use the vacuum, changing Sophie, feeding Sophie, clearing dishes, yes, very responsible in deed!



I'm so blessed to know these lovely children and better yet, I'm related to them! I love them so much... Lucky Grammie!

306- Wearing Out...

So am I talking about this late autumn zinnia that's been frost bitten? Yes...

But I'm also talking about me. I've posted a photo-of-the-day/365 for the last 23 months! And yes, I'm wearing out.



I'm going to complete my project Twenty-Ten and then I think it will be time to move on.

I will still post when something catches my fancy... you can't get rid of me that easily! But, yes, it's time for change.

BTW... I will never get tired of the magic created by late evening sun.

266- BIG and little

or you could say...

• tall and short
• new and old
• manly and girlie

I went down to the church to be set apart for my new calling**.  When I came out these were the only two cars in the parking lot! Little, cute, dependable, economical, red Beatrix and Brother Clyde's red manly-man truck. It made me laugh right out loud!

Now do you want the second piece of funny information?  Brother Clyde is 6 foot 7 inches... I'm 5 foot 3 inches on a good day.



** I am very excited about this new calling!  I will be teaching the 15-year old Sunday School class!  I haven't taught SS.  I love to work with the youth and the kids in our ward are outstanding.

113- Amazing

If you care to take the time... go back one week from today and see the 10" of snow on my yard! By Sunday we had highs in the 60s and by Tuesday it was in the high 70s.

It amazes me how much difference one week of warm temperatures can make! On Monday none of these flowers were in bloom, just tight compact heads.

Today is a different story. My island is a riot of yellow with the daffodils saying their farewell and now the tulips [mostly yellow shades] are all in bloom. I love the way the sun plays on their translucent petals.



I've also been patiently waiting for my apple tree to bloom. I just love the look of apple blossoms and I love the apples in the fall even more.



And there is always my very favorite spring flower- lilacs. I love the smell, I love the memories...

096- Put out to Pasture

We are all familiar with that phrase: put out to pasture. We normally apply it to people, horses, and other animate objects. But when I saw this dilapidated old tractor I couldn't help but think that this faithful friend has also been put out to pasture.



I don't know the whole story but I'm guessing that it goes something like this:

Not too many years ago this whole area of Springville was just rural pasture lands with a few homes dotted along Canyon Rd. But as happens, cities begin to grow. In 1993 the tract where I live was built and many of the homes here are still inhabited by the original owners. But the explosion that is now called Hunter's Valley/Hidden Cove is much newer. And now there is a sea of houses where a friend my age used to drive her pony cart through the fields.

I wouldn't even know about this little lost tractor, hiding behind her old master's home, had it not been for some developer who bought up a huge hunk of land, punched through a new road and graded a bunch of huge lots for $1M homes. (Sadly for that developer the housing/economy crunch has stopped that subdivision in its tracks).

So here sits a once useful machine... I can only imagine the stories she could tell about the valley she used to cultivate, the crops she has harvested, the feed she has hauled to store for the winter, the animals, wild and domestic, that she's been friends with. And now she sits alone, forgotten and rusting.

076- Changing of the Guard

So here is my big reveal... My *for-real* big reveal... my little Lumix camera will be able to stop smoking from so much use. Can you believe that this little camera is responsible for all of my photos heretofore? (Until yesterday that is...)



Yesterday, on my way to the airport, I stopped at the UPS hub in Orem to intercept my brandy-spankin'-new Canon Rebel XS 10.1 MP package of dSLR awesomeness!!! I've been saving my dollars and finally took the plunge! Eons ago I had a film SLR camera and loved it. But this is just sexy-black-awesome-digital-goodness. (Do you get the feeling I think this is awesome? Yup... I do!)


FONTS- Problem Secretary, CK Cursive, BRUSH- KPertiet_LedgerGrids-9, NRJ_TEA_OVER

I took yesterday's sunset photos and, well... about 30 more with my new toy. Then today Bek and I took a wildflower photo explore... but I thing those must wait for tomorrow. Today is Canon's day to shine.

Another bit of wonderfulness from yesterday... I'm a great auntie again! Yea! Joe and Jen now have baby Jace... he was born yesterday. Mom, Dad, & baby Jace are all doing well (Mama's probably quite sore... Jace was to big to come out the conventional way... silly baby!)

057- Pussy-willow

Oh Spring, lovely spring! I'll tell you that spring is my favorite season (but when it gets to be summer, fall or winter... I will tell you the same thing! Funny girl!) I suppose what I love is the changing seasons... I am always ready to see the longer/shorter days or cooler/warmer temperatures. I love the constant ebb and flow of nature.

This time of year I watch for those subtle changes that announce that spring is near and I am delighted when I find them... and disappointed when I find out that the flash of pink isn't a hyacinth but just a plant-pot-poker left over from last year :o(

I actually think that this sweet, fuzzy, soft little bud was on an aspen and not a willow, but all of these fuzzy-buds will always be pussy-willows to me.


FONTS- Problem Secretary, CK Cursive, BRUSH- KPertiet_LedgerGrids-9, CoffeeShop Vivid Action

016- Ya Teach Your Kids...

... to grow up and lead independent, responsible, adult live... AND THEN DARNED IF THEY DON'T JUST GO AND DO IT!!!! (Quoted from a very wise woman… ME)

When Stuart arrived home from his 2-year mission to the Ireland Dublin Mission just over 2 years ago I knew that he wouldn’t stay at home forever. But this week we finally arrived at that day when he moved out and up to campus. Can I just say, “That doesn’t make me like it any better!”

Will I get used to being an empty-nester again? Sure I will, we’ve spent several years that way… but it will take some getting used to for both of us. It’s one of those bittersweet moments when you realize that everything you’ve worked so hard for all your life has finally happened and now we move on to the next season.


This is a composite photo of Stuart moving out and the empty room. (FONTS- Problem Secretary, CK Cursive, BRUSH- KPertiet_LedgerGrids-9, OVERLAY- kimi's homework overlay green)

My New Look

After a day and a half of working on the computer with blogger codes and one phone call to my darling niece, Cindy, I have been able to rework my blog design. Yay!

Now that it is done I will say that it isn't too difficult once you know what code to change and how to get there and what to put there!!!

Stay tuned for a post later today with my POTD... you won't be disappointed!

First Blog Anniversary

I can't believe that it was a year ago that I started my blog. So much has happened in this last year. I thought it might be fun to list some of the highlights (and perhaps lowlights as well)

• Indexed/arbitrated almost 25,000 names at Family Search (which has given me a wonderful way to participate in family history)
• Traveled to the east coast, the west coast and the south coast (TX) to see all of our grandchildren.
  
• Discovered Jessica Sprague and her PhotoShop coolness in digital scrapbooking. (see below my very first experience with Jessica and her PSF)
• Taken 2 AWESOME classes from said Jessica and LEARN SO MUCH!
• Read and/or listened to Harry Potter books, ummm, more times than I want to admit (Harry helps me do so many things!)
• Had a new grandson and granddaughter arrive. Plus one almost grandson.
  
• Grown my hair out! I'd had the same hairstyle for 18 years. It is now chin length, photo coming soon.
• Adopted an dog. He's getting better behaved every day!
• Posted to my blog 61 times.
• Attended BYU Ed Week and BYU Women's Conference (always a wonderful treat)
• Studied the scriptures and gain more spiritual insight.
  
• Gotten a year older...
• And so many other things I just can't think of them all...
  

~Spencer and baby Riley~
My first Jessica Sprague experience (actually done 13 months ago) Photo taken 6/19/07, 'Shopped 6/21/07

I've considered giving my blog a face lift, but for right now I am happy with the look I have, I am up to my eyebrows in early fruit and just don't have the energy to read all the blogger cheats to learn how to do something cool and exciting!

Thanks to all of you who've made this journey with me. I look forward to many more years of blog-dom.

No More Palmdale 2nd Ward

I got word from Camille (and via the Mormon grapevine) that there is no more Palmdale 2nd Ward! The only thing I can think to say is that I am blown away!

Wow! How can that be? I spent 23 years there. I watched it surge with uncontrolled growth and just about as quickly hemorrhage to near extinction. But I never thought there would be no more 2nd ward!

For several years many have said that "they" needed to combine Palmdale 1st & 2nd wards... so what did I think would happen? I'm not sure... but no more 2nd ward?

I think the thing that stuns all of us is that if we still lived in Palmdale we wouldn't be in 2nd ward anymore (duh). They divided 2nd ward and sent all west of 35th East to 1st Ward and all East of 35th East to 4th Ward (meeting out in the Littlerock building). The up side is that there are many friends that have been axed out of the ward in earlier splits that will be reunited- Tongs come to mind right off. I always missed them.

I realize that the point is moot for me, I don't live there anymore, but it is kind of like when Mom died and there was no more family in Greenville. Hard to explain... but definitely a feeling of loss at something that will never be again.