Come listen to a prophet's voice

Tomorrow General conference starts. If you are interested in watching it on line here is the link.

Lds General Conference.

If that doesn't work go to http://www.lds.org/ . Go to menu and there under "Study" is the link for General conference. Sometimes with the high volume of people on line it can get a little choppy. Last year we could hear and understand everything but the visuals were all in stop motion. Luckily the words are what matter.

There are sessions on both Saturday and Sunday  12:00 pm-2 pm and then 4pm -6pm east coast time.


It would be well worth some of your time to tune in for a while. Where else can you listen to a prophet of God speaking directly to you?
                                       

 (President Eyring 1st counselor, President Monson- prophet, President Uchtdorf 2nd counselor.)


I will also put up one talk at a time after conference is over. I would love it if you share your favorite parts with me!

Vibrato

It appears that I am in the minority on this rather insignificant issue.  But I just want to say - I don't like vibrato.

Here is the definition of vibrato if you happen to be unfamiliar with it.
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music.

To me it sounds like they are struggling to hold the pitch they are supposed to be on.

I can let it slide a bit with certain instruments, namely strings. 

 I just don't think it is a pleasant sound. Opera singers are notorious for this. I just have a hard time listening to them fluctuate. In my personal music tastes, that no one asked about, I am far more impressed with an artist who can hold a note steady for a while.

Am I alone in this?

Forget me not update

A few days ago I posted the link for President Uchtdorf's talk. The text had not been available at that time. As promised I have gone back and attached the link. If you did not take the time earlier to listen to his talk do it NOW. It is so awesome. Here is a link to that specific entry.

And now that the text is available I will share my favorite parts with you. I do better with copy and paste than trying to give you the gist of what he said.

These are the 5 things you should never forget.

• You must be patient and compassionate with yourself.
•  That some sacrifices are better than others.
• That you need not wait for a golden ticket to be happy. 
•  The “why” of the gospel of Jesus Christ will inspire and uplift you.
• Your Heavenly Father knows, loves, and cherishes you.

My favorite quote from the patience section was-
Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths.
I don't know about anyone else, but I have been doing this a lot lately. It does not help me in anyway.
 
 
Good sacrifice vs foolish sacrifice-
This made me laugh, probably because I am not crafty enough to try anyway-
Dedicating some of our time to studying the scriptures or preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice. Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade pot holders for each member of your class perhaps may not be.


Golden ticket-
Talking about Charlie and the Chocolate factory he says this:
Some feel that their entire future happiness depends on whether or not a golden ticket falls into their hands. In their anxiousness, people begin to forget the simple joy they used to find in a candy bar. The candy bar itself becomes an utter disappointment if it does not contain a golden ticket....


The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy.


I thought that whole concept was rather profound.

One bit of the "Why" portion was...
Let us not walk the path of discipleship with our eyes on the ground, thinking only of the tasks and obligations before us. Let us not walk unaware of the beauty of the glorious earthly and spiritual landscapes that surround us.


At this point I just had tears rolling down my cheeks. These were words I needed to hear.
As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.



Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten.


And I know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart—neither are you!


You are not forgotten.


Sisters, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.


I am so grateful for a living God. A God who loves me. A God who knows what I needed. Who sends messengers with the words that will touch my heart in the way I needed it. I am so grateful to be part of this church. It blesses me in so many ways. I hope that you were able to find something in this talk that touched you too.

It finally happened

My nearly 6 year old daughter ... um.. does not mind letting you know when you are bothering her. I was holding out hope that she would make it until about 2nd grade before we started having any um... aggression issues.

Today she has been in school nearly a month.

Today she did not get to pick out of the star box. It is a sad, sad day when you can not pick a prize from the star box.

Why? Why was she unable to pick, you ask. Because she doesn't have much in the way of tolerance or peace making skills. ( I am trying folks honest.)

This is the event according to her-
N: I was coloring and this kid kept GETTING in my FACE! So I spit at him.

Spit? Really? Did you have to spit at him? I asked her to demonstrate. Luckily it was more like a defiant, rude raspberry. I am really glad there wasn't slobbery mucus glob stuck to this kids face. I am sure I would have gotten a phone call or a note about that one.

He didn't get to pick out of the star box either. (Is it bad of me to be glad about that?)

I called my husband and mentioned it. His comment?
E: Well, she made it a full month.

True. And for that I should be grateful. I was just silly thinking she could hold out a little longer.


Random note on parenting.
*Disclaimer, I am in no way an expert or probably even an example you should look to.

I do want to share one tactic that worked fairly well with her. For a while when you told her to do something she didn't want to do or an answer she didn't like she would make this horribly nasty face at you. I got fed up with said face and sent her to the corner one day. While she was there I told her " You can't come out until you throw that face in the garbage."

She thought that was hysterical and ran to the kitchen to throw the nasty face away.  Now, wouldn't it be beautiful if we hadn't seen it again since then? Too bad reality doesn't work that way. The face has made a few appearances. Cool thing is though, I just mention to her " Hey! You threw that face away!" Then she starts laughing and things calm down.

The status is NOT quo

It has come to my attention that some of you are unfamiliar with Dr Horrible' Sing along blog. This is a problem. Since this is my forum for sharing things that I like I will now share it with you.

It is from the director of Firefly and Serenity, Joss Whedon. This what happens when writters go on strike. They created this little movie, production, thing. Sadly I can only find it in chunks online. Netflix has it complete.



Enjoy.

Maybe writters should go on strike more often.

I also think that Neil Patrick Harris is quite possibly one of the cutest human beings ever. Ok, at least Dr Horrible is anyway.

There is a series of crude comments towards the end, just a warning.

The world is a mess and I just need to rule it.

I laughed, I cried, it moved me

It is general conference season again! We had our special meeting for the women of the church last night. Several nice talk that I will mention later but for now.... President Uctdorft. All I can say is I love that man. Please, please, please take the time to watch this. It is amazing. I was in tears for most of it. It hit my heart so hard.


Here is the text if you would prefere to read along.
You will not spend a better 21 minutes today, then listening to this talk.

I am so grateful for modern revelation and prophets, for general authorities and technology. It makes my heart happier.

Just 4 minutes please

So Miss Prism sent me a video I greatly enjoyed and wanted to share. Here ya go.

I think he makes dancing look so fun. Crazy too maybe, but fun.

Memories

A long time ago, right here in my home, my Brother -in-law and his family moved in with my family. They had a little boy named Carl,  who was about 2 1/2 at the time. I would like to share two of my favorite memories of having him in my home.



While out gardening one day, Carl had a runny nose. I thought his mothers solution was quite brilliant. Since she and he were both dirty, she took a leaf off the ground and wiped his nose with it. I filed that away for sometime I would need it.

As we sat down for dinner a few days later, Carl reached his hand into the salad bowl, removed a lettuce leaf and blew his nose into it.

I almost died laughing.



Another incident occurred while sitting down to eat lunch. He was learning how to pray at this stage. Carl would say "Thank thee for...." and then just look around the room for random things he could see.

At that moment his prayer went something like this- "Thank thee for the window, and Ramon noodles, and birds." And since he happened to be shirtless at that moment he ended it with "Thank thee for my nipples."

I had to leave the room.

A post

Here is a post from me. It is about the random happenings around here. I know you are dying to hear about them.


Ethan and I have started our Ballroom dance lessons. Tonight will make night 3 of the Fox Trot. The dance itself is OK. Most of the music that goes with it is not my favorite genre. We practiced last night. We did find one particular artist we can fox trot to. Her name is Nora Jones. This is one of our favorites.

After we come home from dance lessons, we read scriptures as a family and the kids go to bed. Ethan and I then play fruit ninja or something and then he goes to his hockey game. Unlike me, he is actually good enough to play on a team. Good enough to get stuck on defense.

Ethan's boss hired me to help with the grand opening of a second location of the business.Neither Ethan or his boss actually like to be in the spotlight. They were both dragged into the ribbon cutting ceremony anyway. I ran the grill and served hot dogs. Note worthy happenings of the day include:

• My husband being asked if I was his daughter.
• Ethan being sent on a limo run. ( Still not sure why you would pick the manager of a location to leave during the grand opening....)
• Listening to old men talk about how this business was going to revitalise the whole area.
• I watched the skill of free loaders in action. No shame I tell you.
• Won a basket from the auction. A 9 year old girl gave me the tickets. With our powers combined we were unstoppable.
• Was asked which company I worked for. The man was flabbergasted when I said I was a stay at home mom. It was funny.
• Made some money.
• Learned there really is no convenient way to get from here to that location. It was ridiculous.

I am glad I was given the opportunity to help out. Man, I am glad I do not have to work everyday. It would be awful.

I went to Zumba with a friend at the YMCA. When I went to retrieve my children from the child care area the woman in charge made a comment that should have surprised me. It didn't though. "Phebe climbed on everything. EVERYTHING." Um... sorry. She does that. A lot. I am working on curbing that. Her comment was "I only meant I have sympathy for you at home. I am sure she does it there too." Oh, how right that woman is.

We went to my children's school open house. We learned Victor can read really well and I need to work harder with Naomi. Did anyone else ever have a problem with working hard with the oldest and slacking off with other children? I am going to work harder on fixing that. Naomi also learns differently so I need to change up my tactics.

Today I went through old letters and pictures. I threw away a bunch of old letters and pictures. I held on to prom pictures and special memories. But much of my premarried life is in the trash. I can't help but think " I barely cared about this person when I knew them. My kids certainly aren't going to care about them."And then the picture goes into the garbage. It was fun and occasionally sad to reread some of the things. I wonder if I was kind enough. I wonder if I said the right thing. If I was a good friend. If I was sincere. Do I really deserve all the wonderful letters I have gotten?

I still have a pile that I need to go through. I also have other piles all over the room thanks to my daughter who was "helping". Gonna go get dinner started and those helper piles cleaned up.

Eh, good enough

~Elder Marvin J. Ashton has given us a guide by which we can determine whether something is honest. Simply ask yourself: “‘Is it right? Is it true?’ not ‘Is it expedient, satisfactory, convenient, or profitable?’” Then follow your honest answer.~

I'm gonna have to work on this.

Blessings and Bribes

As a mom sometimes I tell my kids to go do something. Crazy, I know. Sometimes I tell them I will give them a treat, or we will watch a movie when they are done, possibly we will go play afterwards. Other times my mentality is "look, you need to do it because it needs done. I don't need to reward you for doing things that are required for everyday life here." That probably sounds harsh doesn't it. Maybe it is, but I am not handing over a piece of candy every day because you successfully cleaned up the mess that YOU made.  ( I can be a cruel, cruel mother.)

For a period of time I was debating about whether it was good to say something like "if you finish unloading the dishwasher you can have a cookie." It sounded a lot like bribery to me. I had a discussion with my wise husband on the subject. He pointed something out to me that has changed my mindset.

A bribe is given when one wants someone else to do an action that is bad, illegal, criminal or immoral.  Setting the table for dinner does not fit in any of those categories.

He also pointed out God gives US blessings for being obedient.

 Heavenly Father is the perfect parent, the ultimate role model, and he says rewards are good. He offers blessings for paying tithing, remaining chaste, being honest, doing service and being kind. Everything he has asked us to do he affixes a blessing to. Some blessings come in more obvious forms than others, but he is mindful and sends what we need and have earned as he sees fit.

I no longer get caught up in if I am spoiling my children with rewards. Some days they get a treat for good behavior. Other days it may just be a "good job. Thanks for taking care of that for me." Either way I know that blessings are a pattern set by my own Heavenly Father. I am going to try to keep with the tradition.

A very wicked day

 

So for my birthday, as I mentioned previously, my husband took me to see a Broadway across America production of Wicked. I had only heard the music for this musical previously. I had a vague, I emphasise vague, idea of the actual storyline.

It was incredible. I didn't get very many pictures but this is what I can share.

I just thought we looked cute before we left. So you get to see us being cute together.

We sat in the first balcony, about 4 rows back. Excellent view. This was the backdrop they had down before the performance. I wasn't allowed to and wouldn't have bothered to take pictures during the actual show. Youtube however comes in handy for sharing one of my favorite scenes.

Seriously, listen to the lyrics. They are so funny.

I was so impressed with the wit of the dialogue. I guess I shouldn't have been, the music is quite humorous.

It was touching and so very funny. I am so glad that my sweet husband took me to see it.

-Random note kind of off topic. We went out for Japanese after the show. I had a Godzilla roll. It is sushi. It makes me very happy. I wanted to share this random wall decoration with you.

It is like they are woven together. I thought it was neat.

Totally Wicked!

Tomorrow my husband has the day off. We will get kids on the bus, accomplish a few things around the house and then get my daughter off the bus.

That is when my sister takes over. Ethan and I will be on our way to the city to enjoy my belated birthday present.

Seeing Wicked at the Benedum Center. It will be excellent.

He is an awesome husband. I love him very much.

The Hobbits!

My husband and I recently sat down and watched all three Lord of the Rings movies. Yes, in their extended scene glory. It took about 5 nights of watching. It was fun though. Then he showed me this video. It made me laugh.

This makes me smile and all, but if you have a tremdous amount of time and want something truly hysterical I have another suggestion for you.

If you have ever done any role playing you won't be able to stop laughing at this.

DM of the Ring

 Shamus (the author) goes through the whole set of movies and puts them in comic strip pretending they are role players on an adventure.


Here is a sample:
  Like I said, if you have ever done role playing it is really funny.  

Labor day

Today is Labor day.

My dad was not a "laugh out loud" kind of guy. He was not jolly. He was um... subtle in his humor.

I was probably 8 maybe 9 years old when my dad played decided to play a trick on me. It wasn't a huge trick.

On Labor day 20 years ago, my dad told me to go out and get the mail. He knew full well there was no mail out there and sent me back 2 additional times to make sure that it hadn't come yet.

That was my dad's kind of humor.

Nin-JA!

This is what my kids are playing right now...






If you have a Kinect and Xbox, download this free trial. It is so fun. Here is a screen shot.



They launch fruit into the air and you slice it with your awesome ninja moves. Let me tell you, my kids have SERIOUSLY awesome ninja moves. They love this game. Plus the beauty of the Kinect is that you move your body around and it tracks your movement. So you really are standing there waving your arms around as fast as you can. It is like work out, but fun.


Speaking of ninjas, I wanted to share this "Ask a Ninja" video with you.

Most of the "ask a Ninja" videos I find to be rather humorous. It is worth your time, in my opinion, to look up the "Ask a Ninja, pirates of the Caribbean" clip. Oh so funny. 

I think it goes without saying

Thank you dear Darcy for introducing me to this. It makes me laugh each time and my kids request it.

Wash it down with some butter.