In the very first verse in the very first chapter of the very first book…Genesis, we read: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  It continues to explain the six creative periods:  the earth was given form, light and darkness; dry land appeared and great waters; grass, herbs, trees, all yielding seeds after their own kind; a sun, moon and stars to give us light by day and by night; living creatures, both on the land, in the waters and in the sky that were then commanded to multiply; next came man and woman, created in His image, and they were given dominion over all the earth and commanded to be fruitful. These scriptures give very little description of the actual process, but we only have to look around us to see the glorious design that is the result of the original Creation. A year ago, in the Relief Society session of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, President Dieter F. Uchtodorf gave a talk that hit home in such a powerful way that I immediately identified with it.  It is called "Happiness, Your Heritage".  Please take the time to read it…again, if you already have, or for the first time if you haven't.  I am adding a little short from Mormon Messages.  The visual, along with the audio, has a great impact. I think the reason that this hit

Everyone!  I didn't tell you how many coupons I had because I didn't know how many comments I would get, but THIS time I have something for everyone!  Aren't you excited?  I am!  To claim your prize, I will need your addresses…unless you think you will run into me tomorrow, where I will have an envelope and your coupon waiting for you.  Otherwise, I will email you and you can respond to me privately.  Thanks to everyone for participating and I will keep you "posted" for the next give-away! I finally got Halloween put away today…that is, except for the one or two things that I inevitably miss – the spider glass that was hiding in someone's room…unwashed, and a black cat on the doorknob.  It's just little reminders of other holidays that I don't really mind.  At least now I have no "ambiance" excuse for the dust and cobwebs around the house.  This is probably the hardest time of year for me…seasonally decorating wise.  It's not that I'm not thankful…I am, everyday!  I just don't decorate for Thanksgiving, with the exception of a fall plaid tablecloth and fall flowers.   With the scrapbooking projects I do for print (and RS Super Saturday), I always work on Christmas in the summertime, so I've done a lot of layouts and cards already.  So although these aren't fresh off the scrap table, here are a

In Relief Society this year, we have embraced the 9 virtues that President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote about in his book "Way to Be!" -  9 WAYS TO BE HAPPY AND MAKE SOMETHING OF YOUR LIFE as our theme for the year.  We rearranged them slightly, and for the month of November we chose "Be Grateful".  Although we traditionally have the official day of Thanksgiving toward the end of November, when families and friends gather to share time together, there is never an inappropriate time to be grateful.  In Mosiah 2:19 – 24, King Benjamin's wise council puts things into an eternal perspective: 19. And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!   20. I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another –   21. I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day,

 (Tom)and almost gone are the days of watching my not-so-little-anymore boys walk into the school in their Halloween costumes.  I have been giving a little of the ongoing saga of the creation of the Halo 3 body armor and weapons on my Facebook page.  What initially seemed like a fun little activity, something for the boys to do instead of playing the game on-line so often, turned into a full-blown, time-consuming, energy-draining, sleep-depriving, cardstock-gobbling and hand-wrecking process.  I suppose its because I never saw the original pieces that Tom and his friend Matt worked on:  how long it took, how many steps were involved and how many pieces they were actually going to be making…they just looked wonderful.  They got started on this during the summer when they were looking for something to do, but then school started, and of course most recently, the play.  I would see them cutting and taping the pieces together, but I had NO idea…NONE!  I couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm for it.  (Mike)  Halloween always comes around more quickly than I anticipate and I believe it caught the boys off guard as well.  There have been days when other projects got in the way, like church responsibilities or commitments to the drama department (mostly cookies!).  Nevertheless, I am happy to report that after a very long day Thursday that, included painting

 Primitively speaking, of course!  Meet one of my friends, Ms. Pumpkinhead.  Dangling from her fine, fuzzy witch hat is the inspiration to my Not-So-Itsy-Bitsy Spider.  I have mentioned before my old friends that I bring out at the holidays, and this is one of them.  Her grin reminds me its time to smile. Here are some more of my old friends…  This is Pretty Miss Witchie Poo  Above is Raggedy Witchie and Pumpkin Angel  A pumpkin turned into a witch! And a favorite early art piece by Mike! Have you noticed that the candy industry is constantly coming up with new and delicious treat?  I remember when Hershey's started adding flavors, not just nuts, to their Kisses.  That was fun!  We especially loved the peppermint ones at Christmas.  When I was at Walmart picking up some costume elements for Mike's creature character for the school play "Frankenstein", I was looking for the traditional candy corn for my pumpkin candy jar when I came across a  yummy newbie…Caramel Apple Candy Corn!  Made by Brach's/Milk-Maid, this little treat weighs in at 140 calories for about 22 pieces.  As tasty as they are, I could easily stop at 8 pieces, so that means that I can enjoy their yumminess for about 50 calories!  What a deal!

We had an amazing lesson in Relief Society today.  It was based on the talk given by Elder Dallan H. Oaks in April General Conference 2009, titled Unselfish Service.  He said: Our Savior teaches us to follow Him by making the sacrifices necessary to lose ourselves in unselfish service to others.  In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it”. What an amazing truth this is!  It is in our service to our families, our neighbors, members in the community and strangers that we find ourselves.  I am constantly amazed by the service I witness from the ladies in our ward.  They seem never to be weary of well-doing.  But at the same time, I am not surprised by their service.  They truly embrace the doctrine of our Savior.  When He says, "Come follow me," they heed the call and follow His example in the gentle and tender mercies that He shows each of us. The Savior not only fed 5,000 that had tarried with Him to hear His words, but he healed the sick, one at a time.  He knows each of His sheep by name, and that includes me!  How grateful I am for that knowledge.&#