February 24-25, 2017
Yellow Sage Ward
Showing posts with label LDS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LDS. Show all posts
Selfie Scavenger Hunt
This YW activity was a blast and will not soon be forgotten by these sweet girls. (Or their leaders who dressed up for them)
St. George Temple
August 11, 2016
When AJ turned 12 he was given a "Baptism's for the Dead trip" To any temple in Utah. Of course he chooses the St. George temple. So because Grandpa has Thursday's off, they Left Wednesday evening, got there in time for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, spent the morning at the temple, then went swimming and to the lava caves in snow canyon (stopping for a good parkour pic along the way). Then they were on their way back home. AJ loved every second of the one-on-one attention he was getting. He also loved the names during the baptism. They were mostly native american indian names that were very literal, like "Chief. Moose Big Foot" and such. I was a little bummed he chose to miss the waterskiing trip, but proud that he chose baptisms over it. He never ceases to amaze me.
Inspiring
August 9, 2016
Janica Pickett. You amaze me. Your little body has been through the ringer and you always have a smile on your face. Thank you for letting us come visit you at Shriners Hospital while you were there. You taught us a lot about having a positive attitude, and making the best of what life hands us. Hoping you recover well,
Love,
Sis. White and the Yellow Sage YW
Yw camp 2016
July 5-8 2016
Ashlyn has watched and helped me for hours upon hours as I served as the YW camp director in our ward. Now that I am no longer the director, she finally is old enough to go! She has been looking forward to it since she was ten years old and was first exposed to it.
She loved her first year at camp. She strengthened some friendships with some of the girls in our ward, made some fun crafts, did some fun activities, and had an absolute blast. She said her favorite part of camp was the zip line. Heber Valley Girls Camp has an obstacle course that is an incredible experience. Not only do they get to do things they wouldn't get to do anywhere else, but they connect everything to a spiritual level that the girls can accept or ignore, depending on their state of mind. I am glad I got to spend the last day with her and hope we have more YW camp moments in the future.
Love ya sis!!
BYU Women's Conference
April 28 2016
Speaking of laughter, these bathroom signs posted around the conference made me laugh. I just had to include them in my montage.
It's not that she's famous, but who else's mom was asked to speak at BYU's women's conference... In one of the largest available venues... With the incredibly talented Hilary Weeks?
That's right.
My mom.
Mom and Hilary talked about living your life with humor. A topic they are both passionate about and shared flawlessly. They were speaking to a full house. There couldn't have been two better presenters.
After they were done (the two of them took an hour total) Mom's supporters walked down the street to the pizza place for a celebratory lunch. It took us longer to get there than anticipated because mom had created a following. Apparently lunch would be a celebrity lunch instead of celebratory.
Actually, it would be a celebrity weekend. The rest of the conference mom was stopped everywhere she went to compliment her on a job well done. Her message really was inspiring and applicable to every human on the planet. Female, Male, Young and old. Just find a way to laugh.
Speaking of laughter, these bathroom signs posted around the conference made me laugh. I just had to include them in my montage.
Family scripture study
I have been amazed at the lack of guff I get when this time of night rolls around. The kids are thoughtful, responsive and curious... Until Jacob 5 and the olive trees. The lull of the words got to Carson and he had to submit to the weight of his eyelids.
So often we are counseled to have family scripture study, and as a result we will be blessed. It's interesting to look back and see what changes have come about as a result as family scripture study.
Change 1: kids don't argue (for the 20 minutes we read)
Change 2:..... Hmmm...
At least the kids are getting along more.
We will persevere.
In actuality, it has been incredible to interact with particularly AJ about his interpretation of the meanings behind the text. After being his Sunday school teacher multiple times throughout his life, I've resigned to the thought that he's like his mother and doesn't look much further than what's right in front of him. But he has proven to have a very insightful take on what we are reading and I love hearing what he has to say. Ash and Cars are always willing to contribute when it's fairly obvious, or when an idea has been brought to surface, but usually aren't the first to share.
I also love how well Bj understands and explains things. I have always struggled understanding many parts of the various scriptures and I love that when I read with Bj he doesn't ever make me feel stupid, he always offers up incredible explainations and alternate versions to clarify my confusion. It makes reading feel more like a blessing instead of a responsibility.
Love this sweet life of mine.
Testimonies and String Cheese
I love my church calling. I help teach the sunday school class for the 13-14 year olds. They are so spiritually mature and I learn so much from them each week. Last week I challenged them to make a spiritual analogy comparing string cheese to testimonies. I was so impressed with what they came up with and wanted to post for future reference.
Womens conference
My mom was asked to speak at her stake's annual Women's Conference. Her topic was something along the lines of "Laughing through Life", "Incorporating humor into our every day"...I can't remember exactly. We took this picture just before we left. Aren't we adorable!?
I may have to post a copy, or link, of her talk. It was something that every human should hear, and have access to refer to. Why limit it to humans? No. All beings should be privy to her thoughts on the subject. It was so fun to watch her present it. Usually its for women, but she asked Ash to come and hand out home made caramels so the attendees could be "well fed".
Women's conference
I don't love sitting still. 3 hours every Sunday is sometimes more than I can bear. I always come out of it ok, mostly (now that my kids are "older") I feel like I come out for the better. But when there's an "extra" conference, it takes all of my grown-up willpower to get there.
Twice a year our church (lds.org) holds a semi-annual general conference. As part of that, they hold a couple other meetings. One of them, that occurs the week before the "big show", is the Women's Conference. They generally have some of the leading Women from select auxiliaries who speak with an accompanying general authority. All women, ages 8 and up are invited to attend. The session is broadcasted worldwide and we are encouraged to attend at a local meetinghouse, but also have the option to watch from home.
This particular conference, I had grand plans to make an event out of it and contact my sisters and attend together. My ambition simmered to watching it on my iPad at home.
Then my mom called.
I am so glad she did. If she hadn't, I probably would have settled for the next installment of our X-Men marathon and missed out on all that was said. Instead, my mom came out to Herriman to attend with Ashlyn and I. Our stake even had a photo booth set up to commemorate the event (the first general meeting in out newly built building). Other than the too-dark-for-note-taking, it was a perfect evening. I was able to jot down a few quotes that stuck out that I want to remember. (Below). We finished the evening off at a local mexiraunt giving us full bellies, to go along with our full hearts, and souls.
Sammer Jammer
We got to go to this adorable little man's blessing today. I love his squishy little face and easy going little personality. The baby blessing ordinance is such a joyous occasion. A member of the priesthood, usually the baby's dad, takes him in his arms and gives him a name and a blessing. The name is the name in which he will be known on the records of our church, and the blessing is an individual prayer specific to the precious little baby. Sam's dad, my brother John, blessed him today during their sacrament meeting, then invited us over to their house after for lunch and dessert. Have I said lately how much I love spending time with family?
Winter Quarters
My cousin, My mom's sister Julie's son, Johnny.
He was the reason for this awesome trip with my mom.
Johnny fell in love with a darling girl named Hailey who accepted his hand in marraige and they agreed to get married in the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple where her Dad is serving as mission president. Thus the Kazz Road Trip (Kash & Lizz=Kazz).
Normally, well...not "Normally", trips in and of themselves are not "normal" for me, but that's beside the point... Anyway- Normally, I would't be able to take a trip like this, but the stars were in alignment and my husband and kids were supportive and encouraging so I took the bull by the horns, (or the BMW by the wheel) and took I-80 by storm. (actually, no storms were forecasted... even better)
Wednesday, I took half day off work and headed to Bountiful where my incredible mom was packed and ready. Once we got on the freeway we dove into conversation and hesitated beginning our book on disc (Secret Keeper by Kate Morton...20 Hours Long) but because of the length, we decided we had better make some headway. It was so fun riding side by side just mom and I (and Flat Betsy in the trunk). From Bountiful to Cheyenne, our stop for the night at the not so shabby Best Western, was about 8 hours (that's including about 6 potty breaks). After check in we got right back into the car and headed over to the Yelp recommend Mexican dive about 15 min into the ghetto... I mean, City.
Thursday morning we enjoyed probably the second best Hotel Breakfast Buffet, ever. (The first had to be at the Farfield Inn in Richfield when we went to visit Jamie a few years ago)
Eight more hours had us to our hotel in Omaha. The Country Inn was actually on the west side of the Missouri river but in a little Iowa annex so even though we were in Omaha, it was Omaha, Iowa, not Omaha Nebraska.
First thing, after we checked in, was to take in some sights. Top of my list was the pedestrian bridge that bridged the Nebraska-Iowa state lines. We didn't go up on the bridge at this point, just took it in and looked around. We hadn't heard great things about Omaha, but so far, were pleasantly impressed. We were invited to a BBQ at the mission home with Hailey's parents so braved the Nebraska interstate with clenched jaws and white knuckles. Mom did a great job navigating and we made it unscathed.
Johnny and Hailey had stars in their eyes and were so excited with all the family that came into town for the wedding. They had about 40 people there for the event, only two were native Nebraskans. I'm sure many more would have been there if they could, they are an adorable couple.
After the BBQ, Mom and I wanted to check out the temple at night so we took the long way back to our hotel. At the temple, we were really able to see the famous stained glass really well. It was really cool to see in that lighting. Another cool thing was the bats. There were some pretty active bats swooping around trying to intimidate the golden trumpeter, but he held strong and continued to play his tune. After our jaunt around the temple, we headed across the dark, and a little bit scary, Mormon Bridge across to the Iowa side of the river. We made another stop at the pedestrian bridge to check it our at night, and felt it was worth the stop. Back at our hotel, after a long day in the car, we were ready to crash, but not before reading the information that Hailey's mom printed out with bits of information about the winter temple. Four pages of facts and tid-bits, had mom and I pumped for the sealing in the morning.
Friday morning we were up with the sun to welcome our morning with a bike ride. A cool tourist attraction in Omaha is their bike stations. They have dozen(s?) of rental stands where you can rent a bike for $6 for one hour, and $4 for each additional hour. At the base of our favorite bridge there was a convenient and simple checkout stand where we both took a minute to adjust our seats and load our gear into our nifty little wire baskets. Once we got to the other side of the bridge I was antsy about time (after all, we couldn't be late for the whole reason we came to Omaha in the first place!) but mom insisted we had enough time to ride along the bank of the Missouri. Following her lead we took a mellow stroll... or the equivalent of a stroll, but on a bike, past some pretty storm-hashed houses, some wild turkeys, a black squirrel with a red tail, and a search and rescue dog and handler (my assumption..). Being two minutes away from our hotel we were able to get ready quickly and to the temple early enough to go the visitor center across the street. The center had a lot of information about Winter Quarters and the Mormon pioneers that set up shop there. It was incredible and Mom and I were both so grateful to have been born in the generation we were born in.
After our whirlwind tour, we headed over to the temple where we sat in the chapel for what felt like an hour before we went into the sealing room.
After some fun pictures around the grounds and checking out the somber surroundings (the winter quarters cemetery and it's approximately 600 dead, are buried directly behind the temple) we headed to Flemmings for the wedding luncheon that forever changed my opinion of what a "Good" steak was. (I finally understand what it means to want your steak to "Melt" in your mouth)
The luncheon was over around 4:30 so mom and I said good bye to the family and headed over to Iowa's Council Bluffs. Here is where Brigham Young was sustained(?) as the new Prophet. The city of Council Bluffs erected a replica of the historic tabernacle to earmark the event. After a sizable celebration, the city deliberated what to do with the building and the church was able to procure it for $1. One dollar. The same amount they bought the property for the Winter Quarters Temple grounds. "That LDS Church knows how to take care of property"!
With the night still young, mom and I headed downtown to check out a pretty substantial collection of statues. It spanned 4 city blocks starting with an 1&3/4 scale wagon train with 4 fully-loaded wagons and teams, horses with riders, children, families... the works! This wagon train had "Startled a herd of bison which in turn fled startling a flock of geese that took flight. The sculpture was beautifully depicted and if the sun wasn't setting, and we weren't in danger for entering a building without the proper identification, we would have lingered a bit longer. But before the sun set for good, we drove over to the Zoo dome to check it out and made one last stop at a firefighter memorial before we headed back to the hotel to read ourselves to sleep.
Saturday morning we were up at 4:30 Utah time and on the road about an hour after that. Only 8 potty stops on our 15 hour ride home, and we were back to moms before my kids were in bed!
(Pic above: Rising sun in Omaha, and Abe Lincoln rest stop about an hour west of Cheyenne)
I am so glad everything worked out the way it did and the trip couldn't have been more perfect. I know we were only there for a day and a half, but really, that's all we even needed! And... We didn't finish our book so sometime next week we get to take a day trip to try and finish it! I love spending time with my mom. She is an incredible woman and friend and I hope I can be like her when I grow up! Thanks for the fun trip Mom!
Also- Thanks to my awesome hubby who got the kids to and from school Wednesday-Friday, and Thanks to my dad who not only had to work on his birthday, but went out to boonieville to pick up three of his grandkids, introduced them to Arby's sliders, and spent the evening with them while his wife and daughter made their way back across the country.
Whose family rocks?
Mine.
SOS
I was camp director again this year for our ward Young Women's camp. This is a mission statement/song I devised from a song my mom adapted when I was 13. I love this calling for so many reasons. Some of which are:
My suppressed creativity has an outlet
The desire to organize is unleashed
The Young Women are amazing. a-maz-ing.
Great opportunity to feel the spirit while planning
I become closer to my savior when I am invoking his guidance
Spiritual. High.
I get to go camping!
This year's camp was the best yet. I'm not saying that to toot my horn, it was really the work of many people through spiritual guidance. Everything went perfectly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gwz9bZOgtQ
Here is the link to the Reflection video.
Spring Conference 2015
I love conference weekend. Especially when it coincides with Easter Weekend! The older I get, the harder it is for me to pay attention, but I realized that if I draw, or doodle, I maintain focus and get a lot more out of the speakers. I doodle thoughts into my sacrament notebook, then transfer my favorite quotes to my "words" notebook, and take some of them even further with this Rhonna Designs App! Here are some I have finished since conference:
More to come...
This one.... About personal revelation, was from a youth speaker in sacrament last week, Britain Bashore.
What they hear...
During our last sacrament meeting last week we had a few great talks. Our youth speaker talked about personal revelation, Mariah Edmunds left me inspired to cherish my children and Mike Hill reminded me that sometimes it's better to take things slow and build line upon line, precept upon precept. It was really all around fulfilling. My kids were well behaved an quiet, for the most part, and I doubted they payed much attention (as usual) but when we got home they all grabbed a bowl of popcorn and a pair of chopsticks and applied Mikes descriptive "parable" of eating popcorn with chopsticks. (Although when I asked if they knew what that was suggesting we apply in our lives they drew blanks). I paraphrased the concept and they really liked it. So I got a diet coke and a pair of chopsticks and joined in the fun:)
Silent Lesson
Relief society is something I really look forward to. Our teachers put a lot of thought into their lesson and really know how to invite the spirit. About a month ago, my good friend Katie, knowing my obsession with the Rhonna Designs app, asked if I would help put together some visual aides to coincide with an upcoming Christmas lesson. I was eager to help and so impressed with how the lesson turned out.
The lesson began with an introduction then the RS presidency passed out a notebook with an introduction on the first page stating this would be a "silent lesson" and on the first 5 pages there are quotes (see below) that are excerpts from a song (and a video message) that were played. As we read the quote and listened to the song/message, we wrote down thoughts and answered questions that were in the note book. I had never had a silent lesson before but really enjoyed it. I loved that my thoughts were my own and unencumbered by comments of others. (Which isn't a bad thing, but a nice change of pace)
Now I have a great start to my "church notes" notebook.
They started with the video clip then played the songs. Between each one there was a small interlude of music so people could finish up their thoughts before we moved on to the next page. I wish they had explained a little more because some people didn't know that each quote matched up with a specific song. Other than that it was a great experience.
Here are the quotes/songs:
You Raise me Up - Josh Grobin
Christmas in July - Gwen Sebastian
Glorious - David Archuleta
Not that far from Bethlehem - Point of Grace
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)