The Toyshop

We just got back from a wonderful ballet that Madison and Brooklyn were in. They did a fantastic job and looked adorable! Grandpa got to help out too.

Madison is a Cute Kewpie Doll and Brooklyn is a Little Baby Doll.

I think they stole the show and I know the Kewpie dolls and the Baby dolls got the most applause.

As you can see it is a very large cast. They did a wonderful and professional job.

Friends

I think I have been somewhat of a loner most of my life. As a young girl with only brothers to hang out with, I never had a best girlfriend. In junior high and high school the girls didn't like me very well because I got along with the boys better than I did the girls.

When I joined the Church I married my best friend. I was also greatful to finally have a sisterhood that I never knew as a child. I have had many good friends in the Church, but we moved around so much in our marriage that I guess I never completely bonded with anyone.

Thankfully we had family. We used to tell our kids that they were each other's best friends. They are also our best friends. I love being with my family and am so lucky and grateful that all of our children live close by so we can visit often. Now I get to be best friends with my grandchildren too.

We have been in this area longer than we have been anywhere and it is nice to have so many other friends, too. I don't get to hang with them very often, because we are all busy with our jobs and families and church and lives, but we do get together once in awhile for a movie night or game night.

I am also grateful for blogs, because through them I can bond with my family and friends. I have a wonderful friend who blogs almost daily. She is so positive and uplifting all the time. She finds joy in everything. She takes lots of great photos and posts them on her blog too. She imspires me to be better. I want to look at life the way she does. I want to see the flowers and sunshine even when things aren't going very well around me. She makes me smile. She gives me hope. She probably doesn't even realize what a great friend she is to me.

I thank my Heavenly Father for friends and family!

Happy Birthday, MyLiege Elite

I guess I shouldn't say how long ago it has been, but suffice it to say a number of years ago on this day in Ogden, Utah a beautiful dark haired baby girl was born. She was tiny and red and gorgeous with lots of black hair. I couldn't believe how black her eyes were. She looked so different from her two brothers who were born big and pink and bald.

We named her MyLiege Elite because she is an elite and royal princess. She lived up to her name. She was the little princess in our family and everyone was thrilled to finally have a little girl. She melted her dad's heart. He went from being a strict disciplinary marine to a soft teddy bear when it came to his little girl. She had her grandpa wrapped around her little finger. He would do anything for her and she would do anything for him. She first crawled and walked and even rode her bike for the first time with Grandpa.

MyLiege is a remarkable young woman. She amazes me with how accomplished she is. She writes, she acts (in her younger days), she directs (also in her younger days), she is a seamstress, a great cook, a wonderful leader, a fantastic Auntie, a creative mother and of course a very loving wife. I have been in awe of her for many years. Every parent wants their child to surpass them and MyLiege has certainly done that.

Right now she is awaiting the birth of her fourth child. She is more than ready, but still has about 4 weeks to go. As I reflect on her birth and the tremendous joy she has brought to my life I wish her a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY and know she will find as much joy in her children as I have in mine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MYLIEGE!!

Exercise

I'm not one who likes to exercise. I have too many aches and pains and they seem to only get worse when I exercise. I'm basically a lazy person.

However, I know I need to do something; because, I'm out of control. I have several friends that belong to Curves, a fitness center designed specifically for women. I've proved I can't seem to diet and exercise on my own so I finally decided I needed to get help. There is a Curves on my way home from work so I decided to give it a try. They gave me a FREE week to try it out.

I stopped in after work last Monday. They have 16 different hydraulic pieces of equipment that work various parts of your body. I expected to really hurt on Tuesday, but it didn't happen. They place the equipment in a circle (or rectangle depending on the room) around the room and have little resting pads between each equipment. You spend a total of 30 seconds on each piece of equipment and then move to the resting pad for 30 seconds and then the next piece of equipment. You go around the room twice and then spend about 5 minutes stretching to end your 30 minute workout. It is amazing how fast it goes. They play upbeat music and have a prompt that tells you when to change stations. Each station works a different muscle or body part. Because you change so often you don't get really tired or stress any muscle. You get your heart rate up for a good cardio workout and the hydraulics give you the resistance for a good strength workout too. I actually felt rejuvinated after my workouts. I went everyday last week and decided to join the program. I'm very excited.

It is also fun. There are other ladies working out with you and the conversation is fun and entertaining. You quickly become friends. By the end of the week the regulars were greeting me by name. They have a good support system that helps keep you motivated. I may just make this work this time. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Empty Nesters Family Home Evening

We attended our first Empty Nesters Family Home Evening in our new ward. It was fun to see so many friendly faces we already new. We also met a few new faces. We dearly missed our old group. When they first announced FHE they put it on the first week and I thought we would be able to still attend our old group. Two weeks ago they switched it to the second week. Since we are trying to become a part of our new ward we felt we needed to attend.

Our group is made up of three different Empty Nesters groups. It appears the other two groups only did putluck dinners each month and that seems to be the way they want to go again. I enjoyed the potluck and we had a lot of fun going around the room learning a little about everyone, but I do hope we will have some lessons too. I LOVED our gospel discussions in our last group. We don't seem to have as many gospel discussions in our home now that all the kids are gone. We used have lots of teaching moments so the gospel was talked about alot. We haven't found our secret to gospel discussion since then. I'm open to suggestions.

I thought since I'm in the nursery we could have a weekly discussion on the Sunday School lesson that I miss each week. Steve always says it's really good, but can't seem to remember enough specifics to engage in a good discussion. I suppose I really should read the lesson too, then I can ask the questions in the lesson and maybe he can remember to share some of the answers that were given. We talk ABOUT having gospel discussions all the time, but we never seem to get around to actually talking about the gospel. How sad is that.

Back to FHE. We voluntered to have it at our house next month. Where am I going to set up enough tables to feed 25 to 30 people? They said they used to do theme meals. What theme should we do? I want to have a lesson too. Are they going to rebel at that? I'm a little nervous about this. Oh well, if they don't like it then I guess they won't have it at our house again.

Arizona Woman's Message to America's Leaders

The following letter read on Glenn Beck's show, is rapidly circulating around the country. Americans everywhere identify with this 53-year-old woman. She has given us a voice.

GLENN BECK: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership:

I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.

There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation: One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.Three: Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into politically-correct quicksand.Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children and grandchildren. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down! Fix only what is broken -- we have the best health care system in the world -- and test any new program in one or two states first.Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real [Constitutional] obligations. Why don't you start there?Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes -- how did they pull that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with any of our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs -- and that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do you have against shareholders making a profit?Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now. Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from non-politicians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children? We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent spending of our tax dollars.From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to Washington . Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone... and we are now looking at you.
You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office.
We have canceled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them... Because we will get you fired and they will not save you.

If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are.. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming.
We the people are coming.

In GOD We Trust

A Magical Christmas Gift!

This is an incredible video. I hope you can all see it. This was taken at a Russian Talent Show. These kids are incredible.