Seipert Stuff

The Seiperts are moving moving Dec 29 and she has several things she is giving away and/or selling...if you're interested let her know as soon as possible!!

Free!!
Brown carpet for an orchard park size bedroom (wall to wall)
Gift bags - huge variety of sizes and occasions in great condition
Wood shoe shelf (for outside)
Two wooden shelves (for balcony storage)
Glider rocking chair with ottoman (natural wood color with forest green cushion)

$45 obo - Wall to wall beige carpet (Orchard Park front living room size) with a thick pad for underneath (just professionally cleaned!!)

Goodbye Aaron, Diana, Brent, Hannah, Catherine, Laura, and Grace

I remember when our family of five (almost six) moved to this great town in 2004. Diana and her family were one of the first families that we met. Our family was outside the commons area, in front of Borders, dancing to music from a local band. Diana and her family walked up to us and introduced themselves. They gave us the "living in Davis low down". Soon after that, we were watching each other's children for date nights and doing preschool together.

Those "T" kids are so fun! You are sure to always get a hug from Catherine or Laura, and Brent is always ready to say something funny to make you laugh. Hannah is a good example of obedience, and Grace holds her own as the fifth child.

You are one cool family. We will miss you!

A special thanks to the activities committee for putting together an AWESOME Christmas party! The soup and rolls idea was great!

Davis 1st and 2nd Wards Christmas party

Hello! this is Paola :)

I want to remind you about the Christmas Party.

Friday Dec 12, starts at 6:00 pm.
at 7:00 pm we will sing along and
at 7:30 pm a special visitor ;)

Please bring some soup to share, rolls and desserts will be provided.

See ya there!!

Any questions call Jason or Pao

Christmas gift idea notes

Thanks everyone for the great ideas! Here are my notes - I'm sorry they are late and there's not a lot of details - I put the persons name before the idea - please contact them if you have any questions!! And if I forgot something or made a mistake I'm REALLY sorry - leave a comment and I'll fix it! Happy gifting! (I'll try to have a word document sent with the announcements and a printed version at Relief Society)

“Our fairytale” (Amy Bell/Stacy Papa) Gift for the spouse - a small “scrapbook” type book telling of how the prince and princess met and got married. Full of pictures of their dating story and their personalities (what attracted them to each other, etc)

Magazine covers (Amy Bell) Took popular magazines and created covers featuring their family members (so a Woodworking magazine featuring her dad and his shop and work). Suggested downloading the real cover off of the internet (magazines.com) and then using a free internet program call “gimp” to edit the cover, putting your family member on it. Framed it and gave it as a gift.

Family book (Amy Bell) 8x11 spiral bound book with a page or two of each member of their extended family. Included pictures, description of the person and fun stories. Each page was laminated.

“Baby Jesus” (Otilia Shaw) In Peru they love nativity scenes and spend the month of December adding pieces to their nativity scene each day until they finally put Baby Jesus in on December 24. They have a big party in the beginning of December to decorate and begin and then another party late on the 24 with hot chocolate, chicken soup, fruit cake and such to celebrate Christmas (they don’t exchange gifts but have a fun party). A fun tradition to start and you could make paper packets of the nativity scene parts to give to someone.

Gifts in a jar (Natalie Seipert and Jessica Loehrman) Natalie has a book with all sorts of fun recipes. She had granola in a jar and covered the top with fabric and ribbons that looked really nice. Jessica likes to door bell ditch them and found lots of recipes and fun tags off of the internet. She suggests layering everything and then using a spoon on the edges to make fun patterns and mix it up a little.

Advent Calendar (Jessica Loehrman) For FHE they take Christmassy napkins and fill them with a white piece of paper and a treat and wrap them up and tie with a ribbon. On the white paper is a fun activity to do – go see Christmas lights, have some hot chocolate, etc, (you could also do compliments). They put the tied up napkins in a bowl or hang them on string and pick one out each day.

Blanket (Jessica Loehrman) She sent a white square piece of fabric to everyone in her husbands family. They decorated it and sent it back and she sewed them together to make him a quilt. You could use fabric markers or crayons or anything else fun to decorate it.

Christmas star ornament (Stacy Papa) Each year she takes a plain wooden star, paints it yellow and puts pictures of the main events of the year – a stork, graduation cap, etc

Tree skirt (Stacy Papa) She took Christmas fabric and made a tree skirt then traced everyone’s hands (this was for Grandma so she got all the grandkids handprints) onto cream fabric, wrote their name on the hand and attached it to the skirt (many ways you could do this). Each year she gets the handprint of the new grandkids and adds it on with their name and date.

Yarn Ball (Linnea Hall) Take a skein of yarn and wrap around some cardboard (it needs to be cut a certain way – talk to her or check the internet). After it is wrapped tightly around a donut shaped piece of cardboard you can cut the edges to make a fuzzy ball. You can use all different colors and varieties.

Advent calendar (Linnea Hall) took animal shapes that they decorated and hung up, used felt to make envelopes that they put notes in, and has also done a marker point sampler (like cross-stich only using marker)

Glass ornaments – we talked about several different ways – you can print a picture (of your family, kids, the temple) on clear paper (like overhead projector paper) and then roll it up and insert into the top of the clear ornament, or get the ornaments that open up. If you use the ornaments you open up you could laminate the picture
You can also get a temple stamp and with the temple on it and use gold embossing powder.
You can also laminate the picture, take a baby food jar, glue green floral foam to the inside of the lid then attach the picture to the foam, fill the jar up with distilled water and glitter and make a globe (Dawn)

Fleece scarves (Kelly-Marie) fleece does not unravel!  She measured out her length and sewed a “tube” for a nice thick scarf and then did all sorts of fringes at the edge to decorate them

Food treats (Sarah Ahlstrom) You can make brownies or cupcakes in silicone molds (I have Christmas tree shaped ones) that you can then decorate and hand out. You can also dip big stick pretzels into white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. Sugar cookies can be cut into fun shapes and decorated. I also have a pan that makes 8 small loves of bread – you can make white bread and make some fun butter (honey butter is my favorite) to give out or banana bread. I like to get clear small “bakery” bags from the dollar store to wrap them up in.

Calendars (Sarah) You can buy blank calendars of various sizes at most craft stores and then put pictures on them – either a single 5x7 type size or several “scrapbooked” pictures. I also started doing them online – LOTS of places let you upload your pictures and arrange them in their calendar – you choose the layout (up to 9 pictures) and the background and some let you add birthdays and such as well. You can also print “collages” so take a family picture, put it in the middle, then put small individual pictures all around for pretty cheap.

See ya tonight!

From those I have talked who use the building on Wed nights it sounds like we'll probably be in the relief society room tonight (wed) at 7:30 for the Christmas gift night. If you can, bring anything you like to give away as gifts (this includes food treats you give your neighbors or family). The more we have the more fun it will be! I'm excited to see you tonight! (we could also end up in the gym...I'll be there at 7:00 and see which room the young women aren't using so look for me and the tables)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anyone hanging around next week? Just curious! Leave a comment if you're around! Sarah

Leadership Meeting

Thanks for coming to the Leadership Meeting!  It was lots of fun to make up our rap for you. (The video wouldn't load on here.)  Relief Society is the best!!!

Guess WHOOOO???

Last week's Guess who was totally Rachel! Great guessing guys!
What is your favorite color? Maroon
Favorite Hobby or past time? I love to read!
What do you love to spend money on? Decorations for my home.
Favorite Book to read (besides the standard works)? I can't name a fav. but I'm loving "The Work and the Glory" series.
What you do with your day off? I try and always plan something fun to go do as a family.
Who is favorite person to talk to on the phone? My Grandma
What do you want to learn to cook? I've always wanted to learn how to make Lasagna and someone in the ward recently taught me how and it is so good!
If you could ask any one in history a question who would it be and what would be the question? I would love to sit down with Joseph Smith and ask specific questions about the temple.
Do you like outdoors or indoors better? Outdoors for sure
Favorite part of the day? At night when my hubby comes home and we go out and have fun as a family!

What is your favorite Primary Song? A Child's Prayer
Do you like Cats, Dogs, Or Horses better? I LOVE all animals, but cats and dogs are the best.
What time do you normally wake up? 5:45 am three days a week and 7:00 am the rest.
Can you remember your favorite outfit/accessory in elementary school? If so what was it? I loved those plastic neon colored clip things to thread your baggy shirt through it on the side, I'm not sure if I described that well enough.
Who is your favorite band? I love Alicia Keys, especially her playing the piano.
What was the last movie you watched in the theatre? The Women, I didn't think it was that great.
How many children do you have? One
What city did you meet your husband? Hayward, California
What do you want for Christmas? New PJs :)

Guess Who??? It's back:)

What is your favorite color? Dark Purple
Favorite Hobby or past time? It depends on which month or day you ask me. I guess my most consistent hobbies have been reading, watching movies and TV, listening to music, and playing my flute. (that's probably too big of a clue, right there!)
What do you love to spend money on? Books
Favorite Book to read (besides the standard works)? Agatha Christie mysteries, Douglas Adams books, ”children’s books
What you do with your day off? Day off? What's that? ;) Umm, read, watch movies, play video games
Who is favorite person to talk to on the phone? Hmm, sometimes it depends on what I want to talk about! :) My mom, my friend Chastity who lives out-of-state, Dawn
What do you want to learn to cook? I hate cooking.
If you could ask any one in history a question who would it be and what would be the question? Freud. "What's wrong with me?" I'm just kidding. I really have nothing significant to say.
Do you like outdoors or indoors better? Indoors, for sure!
Favorite part of the day? Evening, and any time in which I can sleep.
What is your favorite Primary Song? "Reverently, Quietly," "I am Like a Star," "Mother, I Love You," "My Heavenly Father Loves Me," "I Have Two Little Hands" (and so much more!)
Do you like Cats, Dogs, Or Horses better? Horses
What time do you normally wake up? 7-8 am
Can you remember your favorite outfit/accessory in elementary school? If so what was it? ??? I liked hair rubberbands. This is a wierd question.
Who is your favorite band? The Beatles
What was the last movie you watched in the theatre? If this is after November 14, I hope I can say "Quantum of Solace" (the new James Bond movie)
How many children do you have? 3
What city did you meet your husband? Provo (how original)
What do you want for Christmas? Wii Fit

Rocknasium

We were thinking that it would be fun to get a group together and go rock climbing at Rocknasium. If we get at least 8 ladies to go, it will be $16 per person. It's a supper fun way to exercise and visit with friends at the same time. As soon as we get 8 ppl for sure wanting to go, we'll set the date. You can post here or call/email Dawn Cheney.

Getting to Know You! Now it is time for the QUIZ

I know I had an absolute blast! Thanks Sisters for coming and sharing!
1. Can you name the sister in the yellow?
2. What is Jesse's major?
3. What did Amy study in the desert?
4. What description did Lani give of her home town?










5. Where do these gal work?















7. what was the first thing doreen said about herself?
8.What time frame does Sarah have left in Davis?














9. Which sister majored in english?
10. Who knows All three sister's names?
11. (Trick question) who has been in the ward the longest?











12. Jo Lynn's Husband is working on what and in what field?
13. Who Brought the stethoscope?

Guess Who This week:)

Great Job Pao for figuring it out first! Can't wait to give you junk from my house:)

What is your favorite color? red


Favorite Hobby or past time? organizing things and cleaning (sick, I know)


What do you love to spend money on? kitchen items

Favorite Book to read (besides the standard works)? sociological books about controversial topics


What you do with your day off? sleep & work projects


Who is favorite person to talk to on the phone? my 6 year old niece Avery

What do you want to learn to cook? pizza, and I mean GOOD pizza


If you could ask any one in history a question who would it be and what would be the question?
Methusela: What did you eat every day?


Do you like outdoors or indoors better? outdoors


Favorite part of the day? early evening


What is your favorite Primary Song? A child's prayer

Do you like Cats, Dogs, Or Horses better? dogs


What time do you normally wake up? 8am


Can you remember your favorite outfit/accessory in elementary school? If so what was it? I had a purple flannel blouse with old buttons sewn into a big heart on the front. My mom made it for me.

Who is your favorite band? pm dawn


What was the last movie you watched in the theatre? Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian


How many children do you have? zero


What city did you meet your husband? Wetzlar, Germany

What do you want for Christmas? a baby

FHE Challenge

Just a reminder to report your FHE status to Amy for this week:) I really have noticed a difference in my dedication to the "regular" family home evening time at our house. There are some really fun lessons in the packets. I will be posting soon the FHE packets so if you didn't get them you can find them here. And refer all your friend and family to get them too :)

Ok here is the discussion part. What has FHE ment to you and your family now? and what did it mean for your family growing up....

Guess Who Week 3

LAST WEEK WAS PAOLA!! Great job Lani :)

Great job Guessing guys!

Guess Who Questions

What is your favorite color? pink
Favorite Hobby or past time? reading
What do you love to spend money on? Lucy
Favorite Book to read (besides the standard works)? historical fiction, juvenile fiction
What you do with your day off? shop alone
Who is favorite person to talk to on the phone? my sisters
What do you want to learn to cook? everything!
If you could ask any one in history a question who would it be and what would be the question? I'd talk to Richard III and hear his side of the story
Do you like outdoors or indoors better? Indoors
Favorite part of the day? bedtime
What is your favorite Primary Song? "Whenever I hear the song of a bird... " whatever its name is.
Do you like Cats, Dogs, Or Horses better? none of the above
What time do you normally wake up? 6 AM or whenever Lucy does
Can you remember your favorite outfit/accessory in elementary school? If so what was it? my stirup leggings
Who is your favorite band? Nek
What was the last movie you watched in the theatre? Batman
How many children do you have? 1
What city did you meet your husband? Big Sur, CA
What do you want for Christmas?A fireproof box, clothes

Rolo Cookies

I got a couple requests for the recipe for my Rolo cookies at Enrichment last night. I hope this is an appropriate place to list it.

1 c butter; 1 c sugar; 1 c brown sugar; 2 eggs; 2 t vanilla; 2 1/2 c flour; 3/4 c cocoa; 1 t baking soda; rolos (about 4 rolls)

Cream butter and mix in white and brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda and cocoa. Beat with both bowls together until just combined. Place rolo in center of teaspoon of dough and cover with dough. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Prop 8 Buttons

(I promise I am not trying to make this a Prop 8 blog but I wanted to share some notes from the fireside and to give you some buttons for your blog as Elder Ballard requested - enjoy and please share!!!)

I was able to contact someone from The Cutest Blogs on the Block and she very quickly made some GREAT buttons for you to add to your blog! Yea!! Thank you so very much and for making them so quickly! I love them!You will see 3 on the right, first the button and then the code underneath it. When you copy the code you will get the button and a copy of the code for your blog so we can quickly get these buttons passed around, thus doing our part to do as our leaders have asked to get the word out! For those of you new to blog buttons log in to your blog and go to "layout" then "add a new gadget" scroll down until you find one called "html" and click. Come back here and copy all of the words below the button that you want and paste it into the "content" box. If you would like a title add that - I put something about "Go here for more info on prop 8 - use the code to add a button to your blog" (that might be too many letters - you can play with it) or "Go here to help with prop 8." Let's get the word out! Leave a comment if you need help getting a button on your blog!!!

Notes from Wed Fireside

Sorry for the length and sorry for the repeat (yes this is the same post as the prop 8 blog)

I was able to attend the fireside while Daddy stayed with the kids - here are some notes I took to share the fireside with him. DISCLAIMER - I am not a very good notetaker. Daddy can watch a movie once and quote half of it right afterwards, I very much can not so I apologize for any errors!!!

The thought that struck me the most was from Elder Ballard "We are COMPELLED by doctrine to speak out." He was answering the question - why do we care? I like his answer.

The other thing that really stuck out was the time they spent talking to the "younger" adults (married or not) asking that we put our time and energy and especially that we use all of the current technology to spread the word. They mentioned how right after President Hinckley died a flood of text messages went out telling youth to wear their Sunday best to school the next day in honor of Pres Hinckley - that even some of the text messaging services noticed the increase in volume. They asked that we do the same using every tool that we have.

They also asked us to PRAYERFULLY consider our personal involvement. I have to admit I had not done that, but after I did I came up with several other simply ways I could help.

I thought it was interesting that Elder Cook had to leave CA for UT when he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve. He was one of three speakers and having recently left he still has strong connections to CA. Random, but interesting :)

Elder Ballard was cute - he spent a lot of time encouraging us young people to use technology - he said "I don't understand it, but you do!" (said with a smile!)

He were told several times to READ AND UNDERSTAND the materials provided - we must be armed with the knowledge to be of use and then be "engaged" in the process

We were reminded several times to be respectful of others and their opinions. We can get along even if we disagree. (I wish I could quote them better!!)

We were asked that AT LEAST 30 people in each ward spend AT LEAST 4 hours each week towards getting prop 8 passed. I say let's all do all we can. They did mention that although families with young children will be most impacted by this in the near future we do have obligations at home and they are mindful of that but to still do ALL WE CAN DO!!! (Sarah note: let's not "hide" under the excuse of "I have little ones at home" !!! There are plenty of opportunities and you can let one spouse go when possible - there are only 4 weeks left and surely our families will be blessed for our efforts!!!!)

They suggested that we work Tues, Wed and Thurs from 6-9pm and from 9-2 on Saturdays. There are LOTS of phone calls and walking to be done - don't leave it to someone else!

They asked that everyone possible set aside as much time as possible from Nov 1 - Nov 4 - there will be SO MUCH to do trying to get people out to vote!

They announced a new website: preservingmarriage.org" as a resource (especially for those younger people - I believe it should have tools for us to use on webpages and such and more is supposed to be coming I believe)

Last IMPORTANT NOTE from the meeting - they asked that we find our neighbors who support prop 8 and ask that they help in the cause. Would they like a sign, be willing to make phone calls, etc. They mentioned that if each of us brought in a neighbor we will have doubled our efforts - let's go find them!!!

I came away excited and feeling the urgency of what needs to be done in the next few weeks. I hope you enjoyed the notes and please feel free to comment on possible mistakes :) Let's go do it!

Guess Who Week 2

Thanks To all that guessed!
Last week's winner is AIDA she guessed KIM and it was right.
Congrats Aida! I will be giving out White Elephant gifts for prizes!
Good Luck Guessing this week's person:)


What is your favorite color?
black
Favorite Hobby or past time?
hang out with friends

What do you love to spend money on?
things that my family need
Favorite Book to read (besides the standard works)?
Twilight series
What you do with your day off?

sleep or go shopping
Who is favorite person to talk to on the phone?
my husband
What do you want to learn to cook?
sushi(crazy monkey roll)
If you could ask any one in history a question who would it be and what would be the question?
I don't know I'll better let them rest in peace
Do you like outdoors or indoors better?
outdoors
Favorite part of the day?
nap time :)
What is your favorite Primary Song?
i'm a child of God
Do you like Cats, Dogs, Or Horses better?
horses
What time do you normally wake up?
7 am
Can you remember your favorite outfit/accessory in elementary school? If so what was it?
my hang teen shoes
Who is your favorite band?
I have many
What was the last movie you watched in the theatre?
ghost town
How many children do you have?
does the husband count? 3
What city did you meet your husband?
I can't tell, they'll know right away
What do you want for Christmas?
not sure yet

FHE Packets Reminder

Sisters who signed up to do a Packet please submitt your project by Tuesday Oct. 7th! Looking forward to seeing what you all have! Email needs to go to Amy
Thanks for all you do!

Week One Guess Who???

This is a small segment dedicated to finding out more about one another. It is called Guess Who. We select a sister and post their responses. Every week will be a different Sister. Let's keep the guessing to FIRST NAMES only to keep it internet safe:) You can guess as often as you like but ONLY ONE guess per comment. Have Fun.

What is your favorite color?
Bright yellow
Favorite Hobby or past time/ or one you would like to have if you had the time for one?
Learning ie, chemistry biology, psychology, physiology, language, literature, etc.
What do you love to spend money on?
Other people especially things that they need/want but can't afford for themselves.
Favorite Book (or type of book) to read (besides the standard works)?
Classic literature
What you do with your/(if you had a) day off?
go to a southern california beach with my family.
Who is favorite person to talk to on the phone?
my sisters
What is one thing you would like to learn to cook?
I want to be able to cook with out a recipe, adding a little bit of this and that and having it turn out tasty.
If you could ask any one in history a question who would it be and what would be the question? Jesus. How do you balance service, work and your family the way Father would have it done?
Do you like outdoors or indoors better?
outdoors
Favorite part of the day?
early morning
What is your favorite Primary Song?
It starts: My life is a gift, my life has a plan. my life has a purpose, in Heaven it began...
Do you like Walruses, Flamingos, Or Horses better?
horses
What time do you normally wake up? 5am if I shower and 5:30 if I don't 6-6:30 on saturdays
Can you remember your favorite outfit/accessory in elementary school? If so what was it?
anything that others though were cool that my parents would let me have.
Who is your favorite band?
I don't have a favorite
What was the last movie you watched in the theatre?
Batman: The Dark Night
Most memorable gift from a grand parent?
In kindergarten, my first "big bike" from my grandparents
Fruit snacks or popsicles?
fruit popsicles
When was your first crush?
2nd grade
What chore did you hate growing up?
all of them

Happy Guessing Sisters!

Women's Conference: Discussion

The conference was excellent. I really enjoyed all the talks. I particularly loved the quote by Julie B. Beck when she spoke about "increasing our offering". The spirit was so strong! And Pres. Uctdorf's talk is going on my bathroom mirror.

Now it is your turn what was your favorite? What struck you?

How Can I Be Like Nephi

I've heard this song various time, but I really enjoyed listening to these guys sing it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD_ibxy270Q&feature=related

Comments

So apparently someone against prop 8 found our blog and tried to leave a not so nice comment. FYI anyone can post but I have to approve the comment before it shows up (unless you "belong" to the site - if you can post then you should be fine). Not a big deal and feel free to leave a comment just don't be suprised if it doesn't show up right away! It's going to be a long couple of months!!

Same-sex Marriage

Last Sunday during the third hour the entire stake presidency taught our lesson to a combined RS/Priesthood meeting. They discussed doctrine, principles, rules and blessings and well as parts of the Proclamation to the Family and then helped prepare us with answers to questions that may be asked of us as we fight to have the state's constitution amended to protect marriage (Proposition 8). The stake presidency referred to several articles and I thought I would post links to those for everyone - over the next couple of months we may be asked questions and will also have the opportunity to make phone calls to people in our city encouraging them to vote for the amendment and I figured the more information we have to arm ourselves the better! Enjoy - some of them are long but well worth it!

This is a news release (Aug 13, 2008) explaining why the church is involved with Prop 8 (the new article President Cuvelier referred to)...

http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage


This is the letter that was read during Sacrament meeting to members living in CA

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/california-and-same-sex-marriage



This is a question and answer article with Elder Dallin H Oaks on same gender attraction. Notice on the right hand side there are more articles to read as "additional resources" if you're interested

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/public-issues/same-gender-attraction

Both of those articles can be found at lds.org - go to the "News and Events" tab and then to the "Newsroom." Several of these articles are found on the right hand side, others are found by clicking on "Same gender attraction" on the left side of the screen, and there you will find "additional resources" on the left as well.


This is the Ensign article Alex Gunn referred to that came out just after the Proclamation to the Family was released and deals with same gender attraction (from the October 1995 Ensign by Dalling H Oaks)

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=43786e9ce9b1c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1


The Proclamation on the Family is found here...
http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,00.html


And last but not least here is the website for the coalition that the church is a part of..

http://www.protectmarriage.com/

Happy reading!

4th of July breakfast

I apologize for posting the pictures so late. Blogger did not want to cooperate with me, keep rejecting my pictures.Oh well, it's all good right now and I'm so happy to see all the happy faces and look at you Laura! you look amazing,thanks everyone for coming and for making the breakfast so wonderful and easy for us. Love you all!

4th of July pictures

Anybody here?

Just wondering if people still check this blog and if you find it useful. I'm willing to put time into it if people would like. Please leave a comment (click on "comment" right below this post) and let me know if you like it, if you check it and any suggestions you have! ALSO - I just put two polls on the right - hope you enjoy filling them out!!! :) They are anonymous so you may expres yourself freely :) If you have any comments to add from the poll you can put them on here!

Ice cream social

Thank you everyone for supporting this activity , Thanks Ashley for being in charge, you did as always a great Job! The kids had a blast with the water ballons and I'm pretty sure that Bro Waite too :). We will miss you all , and good luck whatever you go!

B-ball

Is anyone interested in playing some basketball sometime? It's good exercise and a lot more fun than my current exercise routine. We only need 4-6 people to play a little half-court game. I was thinking maybe Tuesday nights. Anyone up for some b-ball?

Easter activity pictures

What a great activity! Thank you for inviting so many people . Weather was wonderful and side dishes were yummy , hopefully everyone had much fun as I did.There is more activities coming up so don't forget to keep inviting your neighboors and friends, have a nice spring everyone!

Enrichment Meeting

Thanks so much to everyone involved in the enrichment meeting tonight...it was a great evening!!! There were some REALLY yummy foods there...please please please email the davis relief society email address (Ixchelle) the recipe or put it as a comment after this post! Thanks! Sarah

Cooking Club...foods to take to a party!

What a great night!!! Thanks everyone for coming...it's nice to have ideas other than chocolate now for taking to a party!!! What great food we had! Don't forget to send me your recipes (either to the davis rs email address or to me) and I'll get them put up in the next few days! We decided on breakfast foods for April, garlic for May and bar-be-que foods for June!

I took this picture too early...lots more yummy foods came later! Thanks again everyone for a great night!

Return and Report

Well, I must say that the swap meet was a success. We were quite surprised to see so much stuff. But I guess if you offer a free trip to the D.I. everybody is anxious to unload. It was really fun though, and I personally came back with more than I dropped off (to Ryan's dismay). Whatever, I'm sure we'll be dropping it off at another swap meet in the future. Thanks to everyone that helped. We wouldn't have been able to keep up without you. We had a good turn out and even got some people off the street. I know all the mommies with little girls are fully set as far as wardrobe is concerned. There was quite a bit to go through. I even picked some stuff up myself. Just getting prepared for the future. We're supposed to be prepared right? Also, thanks Teri for the maternity clothes. There were some awesome finds in there. Although I'm not pregnant, and I'll be taking up storage space (again, to Ryan's dismay), I convinced him of the my brilliance to get that stuff now for free, than paying full price for it later. Maternity clothes are expensive, so I was totally excited about that. Anyway, there is still a bunch of stuff at the church. Ashley and I will be bagging it up, but you're free to come by and look through it. Here are some pics of the event.

Some Noteworthy Events in the Community

Just a note:

Not only are we having a great enrichment activity on March 15 (swap meet), but there are some other cool events that you can hop on over to after the swap meet for a fun filled day with the family.

March 15 (all day) Davis Green Home Show in the UC Davis Pavillion
March 15 (all day) Capital City Air Show featuring the Blue Angels
March 27-April 5 Try Before You Buy at the UC Davis ARC-(a free 10 day membership to the ARC when a member sponsors you-no cost involved. All students are members.)

Just wanted to put that out there.

The President Hinckley RS Challenge

I don't know about you guys, but I am really enjoying the challenge. I like having a little (or big) list around reminding me of all the things I should and can be doing. I like checking them off too. It's pretty cool. I've definitely been eating more vegetables and trying to get enough water. I've been more diligent about reading the RS lesson, and have even extended an invitation to church. Scripture reading is still a struggle for me, but I've done it more consistently in the last four weeks than I was doing before. We are always a work in progress. It's nice being in this challenge with you sisters and to feel like we're all working for a common purpose (not that we weren't before), but you know what I mean....maybe. Anyway, I'd love to hear stories about your experiences with this challenge. What's hard? What's easy? What has worked? What hasn't? Have you learned anything from it or had any good experiences? Please share!

Save the date

Saturday, March 15th we will be having a swap meet in the cultural hall. Start your spring cleaning and gather up all of your clothes, toys, dishes, etc that you have no use for anymore! There will be more details on this later.

Here We Go A Canning!

We had a really good turn out on Saturday morning for the ward canning activity. For many it was the first time at the cannery. As soon as we got there, we just jumped right in and started canning away. It went surprisingly well for how many people there were. Everyone made themselves busy and worked together. Even the kids were working away. It was a really good time and we ended up canning quite a bit. In fact, we canned more than we needed, but that was helpful for the people who were coming in after us. We did most of the work for them. I took a bunch of pictures that turned out really great, but I was unaware that you're not allowed to take pictures inside the cannery. It's a liability thing. So I have a few from the morning of us packing up all the goods. It was nice to see so many different families represented. Teri mentioned that we will still do a canning activity where we check out the machines and bring them here for those of you who have your own stuff you need to can, so hang on and hopefully that will happen soon. Here are some pictures.

Valentine Party

Thanks to the activities committee for a fun event. The place looked good, the food was good, and the dancing was entertaining to say the least. Brother Bohan did such a good job of teaching, even Ryan and I could follow. I'm excited to have learned a waltz. That was fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get to dance that long (I don't think Ryan was all that disappointed), but it was fun nonetheless. It was fun to see ward members in a different atmosphere. I particularly enjoyed watching Brother Bell dance. Who new he was such a goofball. I also didn't realize that many of our ward members already possessed such magnificent dancing skills. Thanks everybody for showing up and having a good time. Here are some pictures from the event.

Babysitting Exchange

I've seen a sign up go around for this, but I'd like to see if anyone would like to exchange a specific day/time.

We hired a babysitter yesterday afternoon and realized we definitely cannot afford that on a regular basis! Teenage help is not cheap! So we were wondering if there is anyone out there who would like to exchange babysitting on Saturday afternoons (or mornings or evenings if they are better for you). We would like to go out from like 2 or 3 in the afternoon till 5 or 6 in the evening. This way it doesn't involve naps, baths, bed or dinner (maybe just a snack). We've been exchanging babysitting with the Gunns at night, but we would really like to get away from our kids when they are actually awake and when it's early enough to go out to eat or see a movie or even go to the temple.
We'd want to exchange once or twice a month. Which means that either we both go out once a month or we each go out every other month. I don't know what other peoples' Saturdays are usually like, but for me Roy usually works all day, so having a couple of extra kids over to play would be no big deal.

We will be moving in June or July, so this would be a short term thing. And if you decide it's not working out, we can stop at anytime. Anyone interested? If not, no problem, we'll hire some bum off the street to save money ;)

Children at the Cannery

I just got off the phone with a lady at the cannery and she said that it is okay for children to be at the cannery doing the dry pack as long as they are old enough to help. There's no official age limit or rule, but use your judgment. She said a two or three year old would not be a good idea. I went to the Stockton cannery over Christmas break and my four year old nephew was a fantastic helper and loved the experience. I asked about infants in a carrier or something, and she said it gets pretty dusty (if you're canning milk or flour), so you probably won't want to subject your child to that. However, there is no hard and fast rule. It's up to you. I brought my baby to the Stockton cannery and he was fine for quite a while in his carrier while we canned macaroni, beans, carrots, etc. When it got to the dusty stuff, one of us took him out of the room. Anyway, we have a backpack that I think we may stick him in for a while, and when and if it's not working out, one of us will just take him outside for a walk or something. Just thought I'd let you all know, since it's never really been clarified. It is a pretty small room though, and I don't know how many adults will be there. However, it is a great opportunity to teach young kids about the cannery and the value of food storage. It's also really fun for them.

Menu Planning Enrichment

We're going to be doing an enrichment on menu planning. There will be a few people demonstrating how they plan and we will hand out a few sample calendars. We encourage everyone to bring a list of meals that you currently make (or want to be making!) to bring that night since part of the evening will be for you to fill out your own blank calendar. If you don't have a list still come - you can make one there off the top of your head or you can work with the sample calendars. Hope to see everyone there! If you have questions or have something you want us to discuss that night leave a comment here!

NPR Testimony

Okay, I bore my testimony on Sunday about President Hinckley and cited a radio talk show I'd heard on NPR. I hope I didn't mislead anyone, but the guy talking about President Hinckley was a reporter who covers the church for NPR. I don't think he's Mormon. I think he's fairly well informed, but when it came to the revelation thing, I was confused with what he was saying. He did confirm that the prophet "hears the voice of the Lord", but went on to elaborate and lost me. Anyway, here's the link to the article. If you click on the little speaker above President Hinckley's picture you can actually hear the piece. It's about 12 minutes long. There's a bunch of comments on the article as well. It's pretty awesome to see people getting proactive in talking about the church.

Also, it was also on NPR today that Thomas S. Monson will succeed President Hinckley. I find it fascinating that this stuff is on PUBLIC radio and not just church news. That's so exciting.

If you haven't noticed, I like listening to NPR. It's pretty interesting.

Oh yeah, sisters, if you could "label" your post, they will automatically be cataloged. I think that will become a useful feature. There's a little box at the bottom right hand corner of the box that you're posting in. It takes a couple more seconds to label the blog.

All geared up!

I just got home from our long weekend in southern California and I was so excited to read the email about "Feel Good in 2008". I ate horribly while on vacation, and didn't do anything mentally or spiritually stimulating, so this program will really help me get back on track. I've made a lot of food choice changes this year, and it's amazing how much better the foods on the "good food list" will make you feel! I'm also excited to do some of the weekly challenges - especially "Sleep 8 hours tonight" - I'll get to tell Roy that it's for Relief Society and he needs to get up with the kids! :)

GO TEAM PURPLE!!

Cooking Club

We are moving next weeks cooking club from Dawn Cheney's house to Sarah Ahlstrom's. Still at 7:30PM this Thursday, Feb 7. Our topic is Mexican food...and we're hoping for a good selection of salsa's to go with it! Hope to see you there!

Report on Enrichment activities

I just wanted to say that the past couple of enrichment activities that I went to were really great. Thank you so much to all the sisters who showed up for the service club. I know everybody can rest a little better knowing that the nursery toys were actually cleaned and sterilized. The best thing was that it seemed like everybody had a good time doing it. It was also nice to make meals for the moms. I hope they liked it. It felt like a very worthwhile activity and was fun to just socialize. I, unfortunately, could not participate too much due to the little one, but it was nice that there were plenty of people pitching in. Thanks sisters.

The food storage activity was also a nice, low key thing. It's good to see a lot of interest in the topic. I would still like to know how long other unconventional things store like lentils, or brown rice, etc. The staples at the cannery are good, but it would be nice to have variety, even if it doesn't last for 30 years. What activities have you attended? What were the highlights?

Thank you Ixchelle!

We had a great time last night...and despite the "farting" concerns I'm exciting to try some beans!!! Thanks for all your work and for everyone who helped out and participated! I'll get the recipes up here in the next few days...if you have any you want to add please email them to Ixchelle!

My First Blog

Hi Ladies,
I just looked over the available blogs on this site. It was fun to see a personal side of you that I don't see at church. This format opens up a world I've never participated in. I look forward to having something to contribute and to continue to hear and see what you all offer.

Today I am going to do ironing. I like to iron, but have a hard time fitting it in.

When I figure out how to use this site I will post some pictures of the puppy Doug and I got for Christmas.
Carol

Food Storage Enrichment

We will be having an enrichement on using our food storage next week (Wed Jany 30) and I Was wondering if any of you have anything specific you would want to talk about or want to learn that night. If you have any thoughts leave a comment (click on "comment" at the end of this post)...thanks!!

Relief Society Lesson 1/6/08

It took me a long time to decide what the Relief Society's message should be for this month. In searching for something that I could really identify with, I came across two talks by President Hinckley. One entitled "Slow to Anger" he gave at the Priesthood session. It's awesome.


The second message is the First Presidency Message from December entitled "These Our Little Ones".

Both messages really fit together nicely. I've included my notes for the lesson. Maybe it will be interesting, maybe not. I learned a lot from it and realized that I have a lot of work to do.

Please don’t raise your hand. How many of you got angry over the holidays? How many of you said something or behaved in a way that you wish you could take back?

Introduce Talks: Slow to Anger October Conference/These Our Little Ones December Presidency Message-President Hinckley.

Proverbs 16:32 “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”

It is when we become angry that we get into trouble.
There were moments of offense followed by years of regret.

Share story about the switchman. #1

Ecclesiastes 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.”

What do you think that means? “…anger resteth in the bosom of fools”

Anger is the mother of a whole brood of evil actions.

President Hinckley also talked about divorce being the bitter fruit of anger. “More than half the Americans who might have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversaries since 2000 were divorced, separated, or widowed before reaching that milestone.” (Deseret Morning News)

Then little inconsequential activities lead to criticism. Little flaws are magnified into great torrents of faultfinding;

President Hinckley was married for 67 years and has no recollection of having a quarrel with his wife. She constantly pleaded for the exercise of restraint, kindness and love

How do we exercise restraint, kindness and love?

So many of us make a great fuss of matters of small consequence. We are so easily offended. Happy is the man (or woman) who can brush aside the offending remarks of another and go on his way.

Grudges, if left to fester, can become serious maladies.
In the presidency message he states, “It is so obvious that the great good and the terrible evil in the world today are the sweet and the bitter fruits of the rearing of yesterday’s children. As we train a new generation, so will the world be in a few years. If you are worried about the future, then look to the upbringing of your children. Wisely did the writer of Proverbs declare, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
E. T. Sullivan once wrote these interesting words: “When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart, and she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies.”1
And those babies, I should like to add, will become forces for good or ill, depending in large measure on how they are reared. The Lord, without equivocation, has declared, “I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth” (D&C 93:40).
1) love them, (2) teach them, (3) respect them, and (4) pray with them and for them.
How fortunate, how blessed is the child who feels the affection of his or her parents.
President Hinckley goes on to talk about a man that he actually detested. Because he whipped his children with strap or stick or whatever came to hand as his vicious anger flared on the slightest provocation. I have since discovered that the man I disliked was one of that very substantial body of parents who seem incapable of anything but harshness toward those for whose coming into the world they are responsible.
I wish to say only that no one who is a professed follower of Christ and no one who is a professed member of this Church can engage in such practices without offending God and repudiating the teachings of His Son. It was Jesus Himself who, while holding before us the example of the purity and innocence of children, declared, “Whoso shall offend one of these little ones … , it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). Could there be a stronger denunciation of those who abuse children than these words spoken by the Savior of mankind?
I would like to add that verbal abuse should be included. Verbal abuse can do just as much damage as physical abuse. In my experience, every time someone has yelled at me it felt like I had been punched in the gut, the words had such and impact. But unlike a punch the wounds didn’t heal. It was something that truly injured my soul. Elder Holland talked about the impact of our words in an excellent talk at the 2007 April Conference. It didn’t always come in the form of yelling either. Unnecessary critical comments can hurt just as much.
Share personal experiences of nose and rear.
I’ve talked about what we shouldn’t do. Now how should we rear our children?
Bring up your children in the love and fear of the Lord; study their dispositions and their temperaments, and deal with them accordingly, never allowing yourself to correct them in the heat of passion; teach them to love you rather than to fear you.”3
Of course, there is need for discipline with families. But discipline with severity, discipline with cruelty, inevitably leads not to correction but rather to resentment and bitterness. It cures nothing and only aggravates the problem. It is self-defeating. The Lord, in setting forth the spirit of governance in His Church, has also set forth the spirit of governance in the home in these great words of revelation:
“No power or influence can or ought to be maintained … , only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; …
“Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
your example will do more than anything else in impressing upon their minds a pattern of life.
Nor let us ever forget the need to respect these, our little ones. Under the revealed word of the Lord, we know they are children of God as we are children of God, deserving of that respect which comes of knowledge of that eternal principle. In fact, the Lord made it clear that unless we develop in our own lives that purity, that lack of guile, that innocence of evil, we cannot enter into His presence. Declared He, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”
How can we show respect to our children?
Behold your little ones. Pray with them. Pray for them and bless them. The world into which they are moving is a complex and difficult world. They will run into heavy seas of adversity. They will need all the strength and all the faith you can give them while they are yet near you. And they will also need a greater strength which comes of a higher power. They must do more than go along with what they find. They must lift the world, and the only levers they will have are the example of their own lives and the powers of persuasion that will come of their testimonies and their knowledge of the things of God. They will need the help of the Lord. While they are young, pray with them that they may come to know that source of strength which shall then always be available in every hour of need.

May I return again to the words of Brigham Young: “Let it be your constant care that the children that God has so kindly given you are taught in their early youth the importance of the oracles of God, and the beauty of the principles of our holy religion, that when they grow to the years of man and womanhood they may always cherish a tender regard for them and never forsake the truth.”

I'm so thankful for the little one that Heavenly Father gave to us and strive every day to be a better person and mom. Hopefully with taking this message to heart, I can continually strive to be more Christlike.

Thanks for reading. Any comments...thoughts?