Build A Soul!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Our Trip to Oregon

We took Levi to the Portland Temple. It is beautiful, but that is an understatement. I have been inside once, and LOVED it. There is my favorite Celestial Room found in this Temple.

I think the spires are especially cool.

Here we are, at the ocean, on my birthday! Cory is running like they did on Chariots of Fire. Only he's not wearing white shorty shorts. And music is not playing. And it's not the same beach. And he's not as fast. But still, it was a cool moment.

It was cold and breezy...

Here is Cory's fun jump into the dune below...

And here is my very boring, not really a jump, into the dune below.


So we went on business, (why else could we afford a trip to Oregon?), and these are our funny and very nice hosts, Kathy and Fritz. We were there for a "20 group", which is a meeting of campground owners to share and discuss financial stuff. There were 5 other campgrounds represented, and we learned a lot.

So I have to tell you why this was one of my favorite birthdays...
I have been wanting to learn how to make stained glass stuff. Mainly little things like stars to hang in windows like these:

I had never found a glass shop where you could buy supplies. Well, my friend Kathy (above) had some stained glass hanging in her windows, and I asked her about it, and she told me about her friend Lucy in town who helped her with her creations. When I found out about Lucy, I knew I had to meet her! So, on my birthday, Cory took me to her shop, and she stayed later than her usual hours to show me how to cut glass and work with it, and she gave me a deal on all the stuff to get me started, and she was such a sweetheart to us-- especially Levi. She has a cool raspy voice and curly long hair and hands that have worked with a lot of glass and made many beautiful things. I wish I had taken a picture of her.
Cory was glad to find something I really loved for my birthday, because last year I pouted more than I'd like to admit about the fact that he really hadn't planned anything. (Last year's birthday was probably my least favorite ever. Up until that point, I ALWAYS had a sunny day for my birthday. I considered it my present from Heaven. Well, last year, it was cloudy, I was grumpy with my Husband, and the spirit pretty much flew out the window. So, I determined from then on that "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit", as I always tell my children, and.... I was very excited with what I got this year. ) AND on the night before my birthday, KOA bought our group dinner, and I had the honestly best food I've ever eaten in my memory. Halibut stuffed with crab and shrimp in a casserole dish with a lovely cream sauce. Holy cow I felt spoiled after all that.

And my next post is going to be about April 2011- our MONTH of SPIRITUAL HIGHS! But I need to do some picture gathering first. But yeah, it was so awesome.

Memories random

We've had a lot of snow this year. The snow you see on the deck railing fell in just one night about a month ago!

Ellie made these cute barrettes with me. She could whip them out in half the time I could. They went in the thank you's to those who came to Brin's party.

I have held this little boy a lot. And loved it. And wished I could remember all the moments when I held his older siblings, and got sad when I thought how I'll probably forget a lot of his moments, too. I really believe someday I'll remember it all perfectly, though. After this life is over.

Brinley woke early (5:30!) to make breakfast for everyone. Her simple solution if there is a box on the table: Set right over it!

"Bulls Eyes" for breakfast! (Her favorite recipe: an egg fried in a piece of bread with a hole cut out)

and of course juice from the fancy punch bowl.

More baths-- his favorite!

Playing the spider web game with cousins-- Ellie doing the instructing, of course :)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Two Prayers Answered

1. The snow melted. A lot.

Thank Heavens, for we open our campground for business TOMORROW! Cory has been super worried-- and praying, and I guess that praying stuff pays off. We actually have people coming who want to camp in the snow! Yeah!

2. I sat in on a discussion today. A good one! The missionaries called to let us know a woman had ordered a Book of Mormon online, and could we please come to teach her and her children with them? Holy Cow, yes :)
So, we had Ellie babysit while we and Levi went to her home.
This is the only picture I have of her. It is at the Halloween Carnival. Here she is with her kids:

So this is funny that I have a "spooky" pic of her and I'm going to tell you how spiritual she is!

Amazing things that happened at this discussion:

*The 10 year old boy had his own Bible and wanted to look up all the scriptures the Elders mentioned!
*Carla (the mom) said she had been searching her whole life for the right church. She had attended churches where people were "rolling in the aisles", or "speaking in tongues with no one interpreting" (how did she know there was supposed to be an interpretation of tongues?). She said none of the churches seemed complete.
*She prayed about ordering the Book of Mormon and meeting with the missionaries, and the spirit told her, clearly, that it is what she should do.
*She believes that men and women have different roles and that gender has a purpose.
*She teaches her children from the Bible every night.
*She is coming to watch General Conference at our house on Sunday! Wheeeee!
*She told the Elders she would be baptized when she received an answer concerning their message! Wow!
*She gave the most beautiful prayer at the end of the discussion, and I could tell she had an established relationship with Heavenly Father.
*She is so sad that she is divorced and wished things were different and wants her children to have more good influences in their life.
*She is careful as to the things she allows her children to see/listen to.
*I think she is going to be my 2nd counselor in the Primary after my current 2nd counselor moves in the fall. Crazy, huh. But that is what the Spirit told me!
*Cory and I were able to sit together on the couch and testify of the things the missionaries taught! I cannot tell you how fun that was, to be married missionaries! He is so cute! And so great at teaching with excitement!

Except the funny thing after we left, which is quite different from the way we would talk to our companions in the field, is that it was easy for us to tell each other the things we could have done better (for example, he let me know that I probably let my excitement get the best of me when I was telling her ALL about EVERYTHING after the Elders had left to go to their next appointment. I guess I did get a little overwhelming now that I think about it.
So, when we got home, I was on cloud nine completely. I couldn't believe it! We sat in on a golden! She is so very primed for the Gospel message. I can't wait to watch her progress. I called the Bishop and flipped out and he said that was the best thing he'd heard all day. I told my friend who stopped by. I told my brother when I called him for his birthday. And now I'm still just in awe of the whole thing. This is what life is all about! And to think she was right here in my neighborhood and I never offered her the gospel before. She had to go online!
So I've been reminiscing about my full-time mission days and realizing how blessed I am to have served. I think of all the people who helped me to go on my mission, and all of the wonderful people I was able to meet. It is so humbling.
And here I am in beautiful Washington:

And here is the funny thing! I was looking through my scrapbook, and guess who is in it? I guess I hadn't looked in here in a while!

In the middle picture, on the right, is the boy I would someday marry. How funny! We had no clue. Promise!

This was a great day.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Creativity, continued

Last night, after writing, I went to bed with a book of poetry:

And I found this poem:

The Blue Bowl

Reward

ALL day I did the little things,

The little things that do not show,

I brought the kindling for the fire

I set the candles in a row,

I filled a bowl with marigolds,

The shallow bowl you love the best--

And made the house a pleasant place

Where weariness might take its rest.

The hours sped on, my eager feet

Could not keep pace with my desire.

So much to do, so little time!

I could not let my body tire;

yet, when the coming of the night

Blotted the garden from my sight,

And on the narrow, graveled walks

Between the guarding flower stalks

I heard your step: I was not through

With services I meant for you.

You came into the quiet room

That glowed enchanted with the bloom

Of yellow flame. I saw your face,

Illumined by the firelit space,

Slowly grow still and comforted--

"It's good to be at home," you said.

Blanche Bane Kuder

Wasn't that simply lovely?

And then, this post from Stephanie Nielsen:

"I love when I stay at home all day and cook, clean, organize, garden and  other wonderful housewife-work.  Which is what I happily did today, and  feeling very content about it.

I strongly believe that housework is the most rewarding feeling.

I enjoy the thoughts of my children coming home from school to a clean warm home.

I love thinking that when they use the bathroom, the white tile is clean,

fresh smelling soap and  plenty of fluffy toilet paper available.

I love when they drop their backpacks and coats down in the entryway, {sometimes}

and run to the kitchen to see what is cooking, and I love when there is something cooking.

I love seeing rocks and treasures in Ollie's jean pockets when I do the wash.

And I hate to think that my children will be old one day and

I wont do those things for them anymore.

I do those things for my husband and children to show them that I love them so."

And, this from President Uchtdorf in the October 2008 General Conference:

"If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.⁵ 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—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? 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.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.”⁶

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. 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."

And so, this is my repentance moment. I may not have time to create projects like I want to, but I am creating an environment where eternal beings live, and that is very important.

And I have been motivated to do it better through the writings of three great individuals.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Creativity, part one....

A while ago, I read this book:

which basically made me realize how very unorganized I'd been living. It contrasts people who are Right Brained with the other crazy people. Actually, the point of the book is that Left Brained people have an easier time maintaining organization. The cool memory trick the author used to distinguish characteristics of the brain halves is this: Right Brainers are creative, impulsive, and generally messy. You can think of the letter R as a very curly, complicated letter to represent these people. Left Brained people are linear thinkers (think of the straight lines of an L). They have an easier time maintaining order and routines and they think in logical sequences without deviating.
I'm quite sure I have a brain that is dominated by a very strong Right hemisphere that lords over the weak left. I've been trying in the last few years to strengthen my left side, but I sure like thinking creatively more than linearly.
When I was a kid, my mom was so willing to let me carry my creativity to the limit. I would spend hours on projects that had no seeming purpose, and she would not say a word! Bless her heart. She has been my inspiration as I have watched my children make such things as fur-covered blocks or cardboard cars.
Which brings me to the question: should creativity be encouraged if there is no visible, useful outcome? Is the process as important as the product? Did artists such as Monet make a lot of junk as a kid?
Creativity is a blessing and a curse. I think creative people have more fun. I learned in my favorite college course that creative people are not disturbed by clutter (hence the condition of my house). My friend told me of a T.V. show she watched where they went into the offices of some of the best producers and writers. Their desks were covered with papers, and the rooms were a mess, and yet they could put out brilliant work in that atmosphere. Creative people produce awesome musicals, paintings, inventions, songs, etc. Right brained people will add color to a gathering of friends!
And yet, we need to learn to conform, to be on time, to not live in utter chaos, to manage money, and to fix some square meals and put things on a calendar. Ugh.
During the last month of my pregnancy, I went a little psycho. I started labeling everything in the house. I actually enjoyed it. It was nesting, carried to the extreme. Staying up late painting and putting things in baskets and bins and putting labels Everywhere! I even labeled the fridge shelves, and one even had a label for "Reconstituted Milk"! I very very rarely reconstitute milk. Ha! It became so radical that Cory started labeling things, too. He made labels for the wood pile, the doorknob, the towel rack, etc. He even made a label that said "Levi" and put it on my tummy. Too funny.
So the house was quite orderly, except for my closet which seemed way too daunting, and I was happy. Or, so I thought. I would freak out if things landed on the floor or if they weren't put in their designated, labeled spot. I vacuumed all the time and disinfected all the surfaces. I organized my spices, medicines, washcloths, pillowcases, books, appliances, pantry, etc., etc., etc. And I think I was a unfun to live with. Maybe the reason I came to this conclusion, and you can disagree with me if you want to, is that when I would see someone in our family put something in the wrong place I would feel lasers shoot from my eyes and I would growl at them.
And then Levi was born and I relaxed a little and Cory is thrilled I have something to care about other than the coat closet, and we are all very, very happy.
I think creative order is the goal. Is there such a thing?
I wish I were better at routines and doing things the same way every time. I wish I didn't consider laundry so very boring when compared with the hundreds, no thousands, of projects I'd like to be working on. Because, face it. Laundry is a big part of my life. I chose that when I had five kids. There aren't many creative ways to do laundry. But it is important and must be done.
I wish I could be "content", as the Book of Mormon says, with what has been allotted to me, and not constantly have the desire to elaborate on what I have.
My life is soooo good. I love being an American, a mom, a wife, a homemaker. I just need to figure out how to live my life in an organized, but creative way.
Hmmm....