Thanksgiving

Two posts in one day, whuppah!  (That's my Chandler-like whip crack) I'm on a roll.
Anyway....

During the month of November, I usually (...meaning the last 2 years) keep a daily log on either my blog and/or facebook of the things I'm thankful for.  I really enjoyed doing that and will probably continue again in the future, but this year I decided to do something different.



Well, a few weeks ago I had an amazing opportunity to go to Time Out For Women with some of my sisters...

(Shout out to my beautiful sisters...
Heeeeyyyy!
And continuing on...)




It was  a wonderful, rejuvenating weekend that reminded me how much I love the Spirit in my life.

As I was thinking about that weekend and the (then) upcoming month of November I realized (in a round-about way) that one of the best ways I can show my thankfulness is by drawing nearer to God. 
Basically everything I'm thankful for, stems from God, the creator of all things.  So, I feel like doing things that help me to feel his Spirit more abundantly in my life would be a great way to show God that I love Him and show my gratitude to Him.

So, my new challenge this month was to do something everyday that is spiritually uplifting. 
I have loved this new challenge!  There are lots of things I can do including listening to gospel music (right now, my favorite being Jessie Clark Funk, You Know Better Than I), reading scriptures, and reading the Ensign.

Along with that, Danica and I have taken on the challenge to say a prayer together everyday that only gives thanks.  We usually say it each morning and I have Danica think of the things she's thankful for, and that's what we say.  (I had to explain blessings, and Thanksgiving, and giving thanks before this started and she still gets words mixed up... it's cute) 
And let me tell you, the things that she says she's thankful for (or, as she says, blessed for) are so precious and cute!

This is definitely something I'll make a tradition and should continue on doing.

Had to share

Our Sunday School class got moved into a different room a few weeks back and for some reason they moved our group... the group that has the oldest kids in the ward... into the Nursery room.  So it's really hard to keep the kids from playing with the toys during our lesson.  In the room they have one of those big plastic houses (big enough for kids to walk in) and Danica and a little boy were playing with that.  The boy was standing outside the house by the window and Danica walks inside.  She opens the shutters, leans through the window, and kisses the boy!  It cracked us up!  Danica's first kiss was cute. Haha.
We're very affectionate at home and give kisses to Danica all the time so she was just showin' some love too!

Off to see the Wizard

Before I get to my main reason for posting, I just wanted to remind you that I am planning a get together where I'll be teaching you how to make The 20 Minute Skirt (see post below for more details).  If you're interested in coming to that you'll want to bring the following supplies:
*1 yard of fabric
*enough elastic to fit around your waist once
*sewing machine - if you have one

I recently helped plan an activity for my ward Relief Society. It was Wizard of Oz themed.
(A summary of the activity is below the pictures)

I thought it was a fun activity and everyone worked so hard to pull it all together.
Here are some pictures of the activity to give you an idea of what it looked like.

Kansas

Part of the Yellow Brick Road

The Rainbow

Lollipops for the Lollipop Guild

 Following the Yellow Brick Road

The Emerald City (the Wizard was behind that curtain)

Cake pops - from the Wizard

Some of the people who helped plan the activity

To briefly summarize the activity - The Wizard invited the girls to spend a day in Oz, but when they arrived they found they were in Kansas instead.  Glinda told us that although we did well with our Visiting Teaching the previous month, the Wizard wants us to learn some things before we can visit him in Oz.  So we all stayed in Kansas and ate pulled pork sandwiches, salad, and corn.
When dinner was over, Glinda started telling us what we could do to get to the Emerald City, but before she could finish explaining, a tornado hit and the girls followed Glinda out of Kansas.  We walked over a rainbow and followed the yellow brick, where we were welcomed by the lollipop guild.  We were then taught how we could be better Visiting Teachers by using our minds, hearts, and having courage.  We continued following the yellow brick road into the Emerald City.  To end, the Wizard, behind the curtain, bore his testimony of Visiting Teaching.

Too long

Tyler and I went to the temple last night.  I hadn't been in over a year!  That is far too long and a little embarrassing to mention!  I know I didn't go while I was pregnant and I haven't gone since Danica's been born so that's 16 months right there.  Oh wow!  We have been to weddings in the temple in that time, but still. 
I missed that special feeling, felt only in the temple.  I missed everyone walking around in white with smiles and using hushed voices.  I loved that when I read the little information on the person who's work I was doing, I was able to feel a little connection to her.
This year, Tyler and I (with the help of his sister Candice who will be babysitting) have decided to go out at least once every month.  One month we'll go to the temple and the next month we'll go on a date, and switch back and forth.  Both of those goals are a step up from where we are now, and I'm excited!

EGG-cellent

Today has been a great Sunday, despite the slightly cooler/windy weather.

We had Stake Conference at 9:00 and we sat in the second pew. Great seats, but don't be fooled. They were not soft seats, but all hard benches. Our bums killed, but we didn't let that get us down.

Our visiting authorities were Elder L. Tom Perry, a member of the Twelve Apostles (and now the oldest...and I wouldn't be surprised if he was the tallest...living apostle) and Elder Wheeler, a member of one of the Quorum of the Seventy. The meeting was absolutely wonderful and inspiring!

Because our meeting was at 9:00 instead of our normal 1:00 meeting, we were home by 11:30!! So nice.

Eggs are on sale at Walmart. We had a million hard-boiled eggs, so I made Egg-Salad Sandwiches for lunch today. After seeing my neighbor (I'd like to give a shout out to Heather, heeeeyyyy!) peel hard-boiled eggs for their Egg-Salad Sandwiches the other day, I couldn't get them off my mind. Mmmmm.
I decided to spice things up a bit. (Maybe this isn't a new concept to you, but it was for me) I wanted the egg mixture to taste more like deviled eggs so with the familiar mayo I mixed in mustard, salt, pepper, and paprika. Pretty tasty, I must say. I also added lettuce, bacon, and tomato and of course we had a side of unhealthy potato chips. I think the tomato and bacon made the sandwich for me and, if I can help it, I never want to have an egg-salad sandwich any other way.

So, it's only 2:00 now and perfect timing for a peaceful Sunday nap.