So you can see I have a lot of time on my hands....I write too much. Buy I was meditating today and realized how much I missed my high school art class. I miss having a set time to paint or draw and listen to great music with some incredible people like cristy bupert, Kayla young, Tori fedor, and many more. What fun times high school really was. Now I'm all grown up and have many more reponsibilities.
I think we should all get together and paint again. I miss that.
Man, I need to get painting again and need my piano. I'm definitley missing something when I don't draw or play the piano. Not that I'm fantastic at either but they are fun. I'm ready to go back to UT and have all my stuff.
Four boys and a girl...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Some food for thought...
My current call as a nursery leader drives me crazy! Crazy because the one day of the week where I get to sit and learn from other mothers and women in the church is spent wiping noses and comforting tired kids. I love Relief Society and the strength that comes from being an active member of that wonderful organization. But primary is beyond me! I want someone else to babysit my kid--bc let's face it--motherhood is draining! Having one day where I get to wear cute clothes and not worry about smeared goldfish all over dry clean only clothes is great!
But I've figured something out. Something that took a lot of effort to be reminded again.
"the Savior will help you do what He has called you to do, be it for a time as a worker in the church or forever as a parent. You may pray for help enough to do the work and know that it will come" Eyring 2000
"the good works that really matter requires the help of heaven. And the help of heaven requires working past the point of fatigue so far that only the meek and lowly will keeping going long enough. The Lord doesn't put us through this test just to give us a grade; he does it because the process will change us." Eyring 1990
Being a mother really does require working past the point of fatigue but I can find help from heaven in doing it. I can also find help dealing with crazy nursery children. This job as a nursery leader will prepare me for the future--whether it be future callings or future kids(totally not announcing!). But both scare me to death so I guess I better start relying more on the strenth certain situations give me rather than the situation itself.
But I only have 4 more Sundays of nursery for now!!!!!! :)
But I've figured something out. Something that took a lot of effort to be reminded again.
"the Savior will help you do what He has called you to do, be it for a time as a worker in the church or forever as a parent. You may pray for help enough to do the work and know that it will come" Eyring 2000
"the good works that really matter requires the help of heaven. And the help of heaven requires working past the point of fatigue so far that only the meek and lowly will keeping going long enough. The Lord doesn't put us through this test just to give us a grade; he does it because the process will change us." Eyring 1990
Being a mother really does require working past the point of fatigue but I can find help from heaven in doing it. I can also find help dealing with crazy nursery children. This job as a nursery leader will prepare me for the future--whether it be future callings or future kids(totally not announcing!). But both scare me to death so I guess I better start relying more on the strenth certain situations give me rather than the situation itself.
But I only have 4 more Sundays of nursery for now!!!!!! :)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thinking out loud...
I'm thinking out loud again. Sorry. I've recently come across a women my age who couldn't wait to tell me how every women in her family has become much smaller since they had children. She asked if I had experienced that phenomenon. I defensively said, 'well my weight is the same but my body seems to have changed shape. Meaning my rib cage and hips are wider. ' She didn't say anything but looked like somehow she knew that would not happen to her. This kind of made me upset. I'm so thrilled that I can still wear the same clothes bc buying more clothes would of been expensive but her comment started to make me feel less proud of what I had accomplished. Now this girl is very nice and I'm sure she meant well but I'm really sick of how women compare each other. Why do we body check our friends? Why do we complain about an after pregnancy body? I mean heck, your body just created a baby! That is amazing and beautiful! We should all just congratulate ourselves on that. So I had a feeling to search for a talk I had heard a while ago and thought I'd share it with you. It gave me multiple answers to some questions I was thinking about.
It's by Elder Holland and it's called To Young Women. Again we see the church praising women and declaring how we stand on equal ground with the men. Hope you enjoy!
"First of all, I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. 1 That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Because of this divine heritage you, along with all of your spiritual sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight and are empowered through obedience to become a rightful heir in His eternal kingdom, an “[heir] of God, and joint-[heir] with Christ.” 2 Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines. Everything Christ taught He taught to women as well as men. Indeed, in the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman, including a young woman, occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator. You are, as Elder James E. Talmage once phrased it, “a sanctified investiture which none shall dare profane.” 3
Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you. A woman’s abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest. 4 I say to you what the Prophet Joseph said more than 150 years ago: “If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.” 5
A woman not of our faith once wrote something to the effect that in her years of working with beautiful women she had seen several things they all had in common, and not one of them had anything to do with sizes and shapes. She said the loveliest women she had known had a glow of health, a warm personality, a love of learning, stability of character, and integrity. If we may add the sweet and gentle Spirit of the Lord carried by such a woman, then this describes the loveliness of women in any age or time, every element of which is emphasized in and attainable through the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In terms of preoccupation with self and a fixation on the physical, this is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive, and it accounts for much of the unhappiness women, including young women, face in the modern world. And if adults are preoccupied with appearance—tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling everything that can be remodeled—those pressures and anxieties will certainly seep through to children. At some point the problem becomes what the Book of Mormon called “vain imaginations.” 11 And in secular society both vanity and imagination run wild. One would truly need a great and spacious makeup kit to compete with beauty as portrayed in media all around us. Yet at the end of the day there would still be those “in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers” as Lehi saw, 12 because however much one tries in the world of glamour and fashion, it will never be glamorous enough.
It's by Elder Holland and it's called To Young Women. Again we see the church praising women and declaring how we stand on equal ground with the men. Hope you enjoy!
"First of all, I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. 1 That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Because of this divine heritage you, along with all of your spiritual sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight and are empowered through obedience to become a rightful heir in His eternal kingdom, an “[heir] of God, and joint-[heir] with Christ.” 2 Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines. Everything Christ taught He taught to women as well as men. Indeed, in the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman, including a young woman, occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator. You are, as Elder James E. Talmage once phrased it, “a sanctified investiture which none shall dare profane.” 3
Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you. A woman’s abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest. 4 I say to you what the Prophet Joseph said more than 150 years ago: “If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.” 5
A woman not of our faith once wrote something to the effect that in her years of working with beautiful women she had seen several things they all had in common, and not one of them had anything to do with sizes and shapes. She said the loveliest women she had known had a glow of health, a warm personality, a love of learning, stability of character, and integrity. If we may add the sweet and gentle Spirit of the Lord carried by such a woman, then this describes the loveliness of women in any age or time, every element of which is emphasized in and attainable through the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In terms of preoccupation with self and a fixation on the physical, this is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive, and it accounts for much of the unhappiness women, including young women, face in the modern world. And if adults are preoccupied with appearance—tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling everything that can be remodeled—those pressures and anxieties will certainly seep through to children. At some point the problem becomes what the Book of Mormon called “vain imaginations.” 11 And in secular society both vanity and imagination run wild. One would truly need a great and spacious makeup kit to compete with beauty as portrayed in media all around us. Yet at the end of the day there would still be those “in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers” as Lehi saw, 12 because however much one tries in the world of glamour and fashion, it will never be glamorous enough.
Best Weekend So Far...
This past week my delightful parents came to visit! We had so much fun! We took them to our favorite restaurants, Santa Barbara, kayaking and of course went shopping here. My dad even walked away with a pair of UGGS...he just wanted to be like the rest of us.
I'm so lucky to have such great parents. Joshua loved having them over! He is such a social butterfly and loves company. Mommy just doesn't meet all of his engery needs anymore :). But he loved having them over and was so sad when they left. He especially loved Grandpa.
Here are some pictures of our weekend. There is also a picture of him enjoying his Jamba. He loves those too and loves to hide under the table now too. Which is why there is a picture of him eating Jamba under the table.
Thanks mom and dad for a great weekend!
P.S. I don't know why they loaded turned but that is what you get when you use a public computer. My favorite is of Grandpa and Joshua on their way to church in their white shirts and ties.
I'm so lucky to have such great parents. Joshua loved having them over! He is such a social butterfly and loves company. Mommy just doesn't meet all of his engery needs anymore :). But he loved having them over and was so sad when they left. He especially loved Grandpa.
Here are some pictures of our weekend. There is also a picture of him enjoying his Jamba. He loves those too and loves to hide under the table now too. Which is why there is a picture of him eating Jamba under the table.
Thanks mom and dad for a great weekend!
P.S. I don't know why they loaded turned but that is what you get when you use a public computer. My favorite is of Grandpa and Joshua on their way to church in their white shirts and ties.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
This is Home...
I only have four more weeks in California. Only four more weeks of beach, nice pools, assigned parking, and fun friends. I will miss you California but hopefully we will be back! Crossing my fingers!!!
I'm ready to see my family but will be sad to leave our fun times here. We've had so much fun but I'm excited for Matt to finish school and have two graduate degrees!!!!!!!
I'm ready to see my family but will be sad to leave our fun times here. We've had so much fun but I'm excited for Matt to finish school and have two graduate degrees!!!!!!!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Pen v. Sword
I while back I wrote an op-ed for the BYU paper. I wrote about frustrations about being categorized by people. Since most most people know I'm adopted and don't speak Spanish they know I've experienced rejection from both the Hispanic community and the caucasion community. It never really got me mad until I went to BYU. I always just thought it was funny. But this certain person made me so angry about not being Latin enough for my current job at BYU that I lost it!!! I was getting so angry it started to effect me. I lost sleep for several weeks and finally decided to do something.
I did what my history classes and my health classes said to do. I wrote an opinion editorial about my cultural dichotomy. And guess what BYU actually picked up the story that week! I know the BYU newspaper isn't that great of a publishing source but I was proud. It shut that girl up and we started to get along again.
So lesson learned...the pen is really mightier than the sword. I'm writing about this bc on Saturday night I was bored and typed in my name to google and added BYU and guess what I found. Some Hispanic community spokesman posted on his very well read blog my article. I was floored!
I'm sharing this because I want people to believe in the power of writting. Not only that but believe that if you are experiencing some kind of trial there usually are more than a handful of people who can relate. Take comfort in knowing you are not the only one experiencing sorrow. Writting is good for the soul--so write, even if it is only in your jounal.
I did what my history classes and my health classes said to do. I wrote an opinion editorial about my cultural dichotomy. And guess what BYU actually picked up the story that week! I know the BYU newspaper isn't that great of a publishing source but I was proud. It shut that girl up and we started to get along again.
So lesson learned...the pen is really mightier than the sword. I'm writing about this bc on Saturday night I was bored and typed in my name to google and added BYU and guess what I found. Some Hispanic community spokesman posted on his very well read blog my article. I was floored!
I'm sharing this because I want people to believe in the power of writting. Not only that but believe that if you are experiencing some kind of trial there usually are more than a handful of people who can relate. Take comfort in knowing you are not the only one experiencing sorrow. Writting is good for the soul--so write, even if it is only in your jounal.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The 4th With Friends...
WE had a great holiday weekend! I love July in California! Nice cool weather, great fireworks right outside my door and over the ocean. The best! My friend Diana & her husband came to visit over the long weekend. We went shopping, went to the Wax Museum on Hollywood Blvd, hit China town, and 'little mexico.' It was so great to see them. However, I didn't take very many pics of us toghether. Sad. But here are some of what I have. Thank you Christina!
We also had a BBQ with the other Smucker interns which was fabulous! Great food and great company, it doesn't get much better than that!
Hope you all had a great 4th!
We also had a BBQ with the other Smucker interns which was fabulous! Great food and great company, it doesn't get much better than that!
Hope you all had a great 4th!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
California Times continued
Here are just some fun pics of some of the fun things we do here in California. Josh loves to swim. Loves to watch movies on dad's phone of himself dancing, laughing, and swimming. He loves parks too! Basically he Loves California!
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