To the Young Lady who asked my son to the dance

To the young lady who asked my son to a dance last night:

First, let me say that you are absolutely beautiful and you seem to be a fine young woman in every way.  You were polite, well spoken and friendly.  In short you seemed exactly like the type of young lady who can and does have a profound impact on young men.  That is why I am so frustrated and disappointed.  Let me explain.

Last night when I answered the door and you explained that you were dropping the poster and cookies off for my son to ask him to a dance I had a hard time responding.  I didn't quite know what to say because I am aware that you knew my son is not yet 16 and that our standard as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is to follow the counsel that we have been given by the prophet not to date until we are 16.  You know that my son isn't 16 and he won't be until this summer and yet you still asked him to go to the dance.  When you asked him, knowing what you know you put me in a difficult position and you made things harder for my son.

You put me in the position of having to reaffirm our families decision to follow the prophet.  You put my son in the position of having to be obedient to his parents and the prophet or risk hurting your feelings as a beautiful young woman who has shown interest in him.  I wish it hadn't happened.  I wish that beautiful young women, like you would help young men like my son to do the right thing.

I know that the lines have all become gray.  I've heard youth trying to justify attending these dances before they are 16 by calling it a "group activity" instead of a date.  For the record:  If you pair off for the event, it is a date.  When there are multiple pairs going together, it is called a group date, not a group activity.  Since I know that the lines have become gray, I also know that your help to encourage young men to do the right thing would be even more valuable and clarifying.

Please know that I think the world of you.  In fact, I think so highly of you that I want to invite you to help me support my son in doing the right thing.  I'd love it if you would then recruit your young women friends to help support young men in making correct choices.  Please show them how much you value young men who honor their priesthood and follow the prophet.  Recognize the strength that they bring to the world as young men of principle with a sound understanding and obedient hearts and help them stay on the path that will keep them worthy to serve a mission and ready to be servants of God throughout their lives. Please use the influence that you have to help my son, and all young men to value young women who bring their own strength of conviction and testimony to compliment their strength.

Thank you for being the beautiful young women that you seem to be.  Please use the influence you have over the young men to help them do the right thing.  Please help me as a parent, to support a young man growing toward being the servant of God and leader among men that he can be, by expecting and encouraging him to be obedient to his parents and the prophets.  You might be the one who makes the difference.

Yummmmmm (and healthy)

I went to a restaurant with a friend today and had a salad.  It was delicious.  It had chicken and fruit and a tangy dressing.  I wondered why I never try to make healthy "restaurant" type salads at home and decided to give it a try.  Here is is in case you want to try it also.....or maybe it inspires you to try your own recipe, in which case I'll need pictures and the info.  :)

Mixed greens tossed with Kraft Raspberry Vinagrette.

Top with feta cheese, sliced strawberries, chopped cooked chicken, chopped pecans and sliced avacado.

I decided it was delicious.  The kids around my house aren't used to eating fruity salads and didn't love it as much as I do.  But, I think it may grow on them. ;)

What happened to my country??

Today I am just wondering, "What happened to my country?".  Increasingly I don't recognize what I see.  I was raised with values, morals and beliefs that almost seem extinct today.

I am trying to raise my kids with the old fashioned belief that this is the best country in the world, full of opportunities available to those who will work hard and sacrifice.  I am trying to pass on to them the expectation that they become self sufficient, educated, contributors to a great society and that the best way to do that is inside an intact, God fearing family unit.  I am frustrated by the fact that even though I see many good examples of the same values and expectations among my friends and associates....there is so much of the opposite around and our elected officials seem to be unable or unwilling to promote the values and beliefs that this country was founded upon.

What happened?  How do we fix it?  Is there still hope to reverse the trend and avoid the train wreck that is already in progress?

Yep, I bought a gun!

I've been wanting to for a while.  But today, I did it!  I purchased a handgun.  In a couple of weeks I take a conceal-carry class and will submit the paperwork for my permit.  I will be one less defenseless female.  I will be one more person who will stand up to protect myself and my loved ones if needed.  Ya, I'm feeling pretty good about it!

Special thanks to my daughter Cali and her husband Jeff for being such good examples!  Love you guys!

New Year Fun

New Year Pillowcases for fun.  It was time.  I needed to do something to brighten the cold month of January.  This was it.

The pillowcases were simple to make from cotton fabric and some DMC thread that I already had.  They make the New Year seem bright already.  Bring it!  Bring it on!  :)

Christmas time!

It is Christmas time at our house!  I love this time of year.  Actually, Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day are my favorite holidays, but Christmas is up there, too.  I love the whole season.  We have a few traditions, but at our house we like to try to keep things relaxed.  First, I spend the month or two before Christmas working on projects.  Hand making gifts for family and close friends is what makes the season special to me.  I love thinking about, and then finding, a gift to make that would be personal and show that I cared enough to spend my time making something especially for them.

We also find an evening during December and we get together as a family and make gingerbread houses.  These are not fancy, expensive gingerbread houses, these are houses made from graham crackers, frosting and way too much candy.  We'll do them this year just a few days before Christmas and I'll try to post pictures.  We laugh.  We tease each other.   We make artistic sculptures with sugar.  We eat.  We play.  We show friendship and love to family and a friend or two and we enjoy being together.

We also play music.  One of my favorite things is having my kids play Christmas music together.  This year they are practicing a familar song and will play in Cali's ward just two days before Christmas.  I LOVE hearing them.  I love Christmas music and how it reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas....Christ!  The bells that celebrate and ring out the joy that we all feel because we have hope in Christ.  The story of the silent night when Angels were heard as Shepherds watched their flocks.  I love the Christmas music and I feel so grateful that we can make music as a family to celebrate.

Of course, we also shop and purchase special gifts, wrap them and place them under the tree and eagerly await watching the faces of loved ones as they receive.  Sometimes we go caroling, sometimes we don't.  But we always try to make time together.

Since I work in a hospital, sometimes I have to work on Christmas or Christmas eve.  We have learned that it isn't the day that makes the holiday.  It is the effort, the time and the love that is shared and we enjoy it every year!

Merry Christmas to all!

My "No, Thank You" list.

My daughter shared this on her blog, so I thought I would join in.  Things that are No, Thank You's for me include:

1) Being Late.  It is not that I am never late, but I try really, really hard not to be late.  I was raised to believe that when you ask for someone elses time, you respect it.  If a meeting is supposed to start at 7:00, then I expect that it will.  If I am to meet you somewhere at a certain time, I will make every possible effort to be there at the specified time.  And if something unforseeable occurs, I will contact you with an apology and a viable reason for why my being late was unavoidable.

2)  Gormet food.  I'm not that fancy and I don't care that much.  I prefer simple, healthy, and if possible quick meals.  And I"m not a fan of large portions of meat.

3)  Loads of make-up.  I think that make up is meant to enhance your looks, not to try and change how you look.

4)  Frosting.  I like my cakes and cupcakes without frosting.  Silly, I know.

5)  Acrylic yarn.  I prefer natural fibers like wool, alpaca, silk, etc.   I'd love to eventually try some exotic fibers, but haven't yet.  A yarn snob, I am.  Although, for baby items that need to be washed frequently, acrylic is a good substitute for a washable wool, I suppose.

Well, that's it.  Who will share next??