The Remarkable Soul of a Woman

"Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter and mold it into something of beauty. You might say, "I'm not the creative type. . ." If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are a spirit daughter of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn't it remarkable to think that your very spirit is fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? . . .But to what end were you created? You were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Your birthright- and the purpose of your great voyage on this earth - is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways you find this is by creating things. . . . You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assupmption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before. . .
What you create doesn't have to be perfect. Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you - whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside."
~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I really loved this talk by Elder Uchtdorf. It really spoke to my heart and the way I feel sometimes. Some people think things like crafts or scrapbooking are hokey, podunk or lame. But they are not. I find so much joy in completing a scrapbook page to add to my book. I love looking back at those pages I have created, seeing the work I have done, as well as remembering the good times and memories that those pictures are made of. When I take a class at Heartland with Whitney, not only am I making something beautiful for my home or office, but I am strengthening a friendship with a wonderful, caring and beautiful woman. I also get to meet other wonderful, creative women that are kind enough to share their time and talents with me. I can't think of a better way to spend my time. Scraptacular days are so much fun, for the same reason. I get to create some beautiful things and spend time with some really great women. `

"As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you"

Moments like this . . .

. . . are rare but ever so precious.

Today was one of those mornings that Sasha decided she would wake up at 4 AM. Emphasis on the AM! So she played in our room while I was zonked out. Josh turned on her favorite movie (Princess and the Frog) about 6:30 or so and this is what she looked like by 6:45.

Love it.

Love her.

Is it really June?

Holy cow this year is going by fast! The older I get the faster the years seem to go. Probably because I spend most of my time working. :P

We have been having some fun around here . . . I'm about halfway done with the nightstands I'm working on. That is taking longer than I expected. Not because I am doing something really cool to them or using some new method of painting or decorating, but because I am a slacker. And because I have an 18 month old that doesn't want to just sit and watch mommy spray paint. I tried to explain to her how it can be fun to get high off toxic fumes, but she just wasn't listening. I worked on them a bit tonight but of course, I ran out of primer. What. Ever.

So on to the fun stuff. Yesterday my nephew Jared was baptized. It was really cool to be there and watch him have that experience. It was especially cool to hear my brother-in-law talk and bear his testimony. Josh and his brother are a lot alike and bearing their testimonies is not something you hear them do often (cause, you know, big tough guys like them can't show their emotions too often, it would hurt their image). But when they do bear them, they are pretty awesome and pretty powerful.

The next part of my day was very fun also. My sister Mandi and two of her friends have birthdays in June. Colin and I co-hosted the party at my house to let Mandi have a bit of a break this year. If you know Mandi you know that she is a lot like me and sometimes we have a hard time delegating. So Colin had the idea of taking the party off her hands so that she could enjoy the day and not be so stressed. We BBQ'd burgers. One guest was shocked to see me, a girl, at the grill. I had to explain that in this house, I AM the grill master- thank you, daddy for passing along those skills. :) Everyone brought lots of yummy food and we just chilled outside, talked and ate. It was a lot of fun!

A few pics . . . in totally random order

The yummy cakes. This picture does not do justice to Rachel's completely awesome poke cake (the white one). It was so freakin yummy! My chocolate cake looked pretty and tasted . . . well, like chocolate cake. Not gross, but not fantastic either.

The three stooges . . . Mandi, Ryan and Kelly (just noticed that Sasha is in the background trying to open one of the birthday presents. No, my kid is not spoiled, not one little bit)

The birthday kids, Mandi (29), Kelly (30) and Yunuen (29)

Rachel, Mandi's friend Angie and I went in on an iPod for Mandi. Below is the box it was wrapped in. You can imagine the process to get from this . . .

. . . to this . . . .

Awesome wrapping job Rachel!!!

There goes Sasha to play in the dirt.
According to my nephew Oliver, it is not a birthday party unless you have a pinata. And this is what happens when you give a three year old a Louisville Slugger. Carrie Underwood's got nothin' on Ethan!

Whitty and Scuba-Steve- always the life of the party!

Mandi and Ryan

From left- Deanna, Truly, Mandi and Chrissy

After all that, I still had energy, can you believe it? Josh and I met up with the Gwynn's for dinner and a movie. It was perfect to top off such a busy day on a date with my husband!

And then this morning we discovered we had mold in the basement. No bueno.