Dance Festival

On April 25th my boys got the rare opportunity to participate in a Dance Festival at the Taco Bell arena. I would be remiss if I told you they were excited, but they never gave me a hard time about participating until the day of the Festival. But still, they did the right thing and went.

Several hundred youth filled the arena.

Secretly, I think they had a good time, though they would probably never admit it. They really dug the huge dance afterward.

TJ, of course, had to be "different" I sent him with black shoes, and look at what he is wearing... his red "Satan" shoes. Once a T-man always a T-man. He always makes us laugh.

Woww

"Nothing is so firmly believed

as what we least know."

~Montaigne~

My Screaming Tantrum

KT and I had plans on Saturday to attend a wedding of a dear friend. It had been on the calendar for months. Saturday morning he received a call for a sister in the ward chastising him for not showing up for a move he didn't even commit to because of said wedding. Making it seem as if no one was there and she was in desperate need of his help, he dropped our plans and took our boys to help with the move. Ladybug became my date which was fine, I was trying to take the rejection in stride. A few minutes before the ceremony began this sister slipped in with her HUSBAND. Am I missing something? She was in desperate need of man help and her HUSBAND came with her to the wedding? I was so angry!! She tried to make small talk with me after the ceremony. "What a cute date I had"...I was just biting my tongue trying not to say something very inappropriate for a church building. Instead I saved it for my husband. I was not the nicest person. It wasn't pretty. I am not proud of myself. My children looked at me as if I had had a nervous breakdown. What kind of a person am I begrudging the service KT provided? Perhaps I have judged too harshly, shame on me for judging at all! What would your reaction have been in a scenario such as this? Hint: (I'm looking for a little validation here).

Wild Life 2

We have a couple of huge trees in our yard which have become home to various flocks of birds at times. They come and go, leaving their presence known by the loud chirping and the little gifts that get left behind. This is a picture I caught with my zoom. I really love the details in the feathers. And a cute birdhouse that my cub scouts destroyed in my backyard. Gotta love those scouts!

We Believe...

"We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel."

My husband grew up in another faith, and he says that he doesn't remember really ever hearing about the Atonement even though it is accounted for in the New Testament. Often more emphasis is placed on the crucifiction of Christ. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints focus on the Atonement. It is through the Atonement that we can be forgiven of our sins, but only after we have done the best we can, can we be partakers of His saving graces. There is so much more than just believing that contributes to being "saved". Doing good, kind deeds for others, helping the needy, giving of our time and sustenance. Also, practicing forgiveness ourselves. When we emulate the Savior in our lives, we can more fully partake of the Atonement.

I often see bumper stickers and church signs in the area that say, "If you can earn it, then why did He die." That is a common misconception about the LDS faith. As stated above we do not believe we can earn it but only that we should be doing as much good as possible. The New Testament says, "Faith without works is dead." Besides, if you are truly converted, then you will WANT to do good.

Spring in ID

There are signs of spring all over...Sitting here on my porch I catch the sight, sounds and smells of the season. Color is popping out all over, the birds and bees are humming, and the smells...Very Fragrant! The smells of spring remind me of High School and Spring Fever, I still feel the anticipation of Summer that the emergence of spring brings. Here are some pictures I took in my yard. I'm trying to learn how to do closeups.

Cats

A friend at work shared this with me yesterday. If you have a cat and/or are a cat lover, you can totally relate. This had me cracking up. Enjoy!

WOWW

"Study the past if you would divine the future." ~Confucious~

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you...

On a quiet sabbath, we were relaxing at home enjoying the warm temperatures and the chirping birds when our peace was suddenly shattered by the alarm system across the street at my parents house. They are out of town, and we are keeping an eye on things. We received a phone call from a distraught TJ desperately asking for the alarm code to his grandparents house, but the call came too late. He was contacted in the home through the alarm system by the monitoring company. He tried to explain himself, but when he didn't know the "secret password" the police were quickly dispatched.

A burglary in progress, perpetrator inside

He was only looking for a bit of super glue, certainly nothing that should warrant jail time.

Alas, this day shall henceforth be known as:

White Trash Day.

When the police showed up, TJ was waiting outside for them. I quickly ran across the street for fear he would be cuffed and carted off before I could get there. Since I had skipped church, (I know, we probably brought this bad turn on ourselves) I had been laying around in workout clothes with no make up and my hair pulled back in a wet pony tail. As I ran across the street to clarify the situation to the COPS, I realized that I was barefoot and looking pretty in all my glory. (Completely White Trash) Fortunately for us, they believed us, but they did have me open up the house and turn off the alarm system so they could have a "look around." Why is it when you've done nothing wrong, you still feel incredibly guilty? I was sweating profusely and was certain the cuffs were coming out at any moment.

TJ you are such a BAD BOY! Bad boy, bad boy, whatcha gonna do, whatch gonna do when they come for you...

Everybody loves?

I'm sure you are all familiar with the TV show "Everybody Loves Raymond". I'm living my own version of that show. It is entitled, "Everybody Loves Lisa" I know, real original, and not exactly true. I can think of several people who don't like me. Their loss. Chances are they won't be reading this anyway, so I can say whatever I want. So, back to my show. I literally live across the street from my parents. I've been told and heard through the grapevine that I have some

sick mental disorder.

Well, I can state, while that may be true, it is not in this instance. After living across the country for thirteen years from my parents, we eventually settled in the same town, because my dad retired in close proximity to his grand kids. A few years later when the house across the street from my parents went up for sale, we seriously considered all the pros and cons. Here are the pros: 1. Great for the grandchild/grandparent relationships 2. We can literally just walk across the street when they need furniture moved or help with remote controls or computers, or anything older people seem to get confused about. (Sorry mom) 3. They have a pool. 4. I really hardly ever see them except on Sundays at church or in the summer. 5. Did I mention they have a pool.

Now they want to move. Doesn't that SUCK?!

We believe...

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgressions...

Okay, now here is a difference between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other Christian Religions. Many religions believe in "original sin". Meaning that in order to be cleansed from the sins of Adam and Eve an infant must be baptized. Since we don't believe we are accountable for a sin committed by someone else many ages ago, we do not believe in infant baptism or in "original sin.". Instead we bless our babies at a couple of months old asking for blessings from the Lord. Holding a new born infant in my arms in all their innocence just confirms my belief in this second tenet of the LDS church. The Lord is merciful and I believe would not require them to obtain such an ordinance at such a helpless age.

Wild life - our House of NUTS

Considering all the wild life living inside of our home (namely boys and animals), you wouldn't be surprised to find out that we have wild life living outside of our house, too. This is Rico He is a squirrel He likes to eat nuts and grass roots And he LOVES to torment the dog through the sliding glass door.

40 Year Birthdays!

What does a 40 year old do on her birthday you ask? Here is a photo essay on just that...

I ate a LOT of this...

Listened to a little of this: Kid Rock "Roll On" (located on my music player below) ♫♫"Roll on, Roll on Roller Coaster We're One day older and one step closer Roll on there's mountains to climb Roll on we're on borrowed time. Roll on Roller Coaster, roll on tonight"♫♫ Read a lot of this...

AND watched a lot of this...

Hey batter, batter, batter...Swing batter! ♫♫Ladybug, hit the ball. Just hit the ball and run, run, run. First, second, third and home, Around the bases you will roam.♫♫

WOWW

"Without Music, life would be a mistake." ~Nietesche~

Go Here for some music

On Saturday - Good Mail

What a pleasant surprise when on Saturday some VERY good mail arrived from a sweet blogging friend, Shannon. Despite having been sick this week, Shannon remembered that one of my favorite things are my Wednesday night bubble baths, so she sent me some aroma therapy foaming bath for my birthday. I should have taken a picture before I opened it as it was such a pretty wrap job, but I was too excited to have received some GOOD MAIL, that I just ripped right in to it.

Thanks Shannon!

I think I may just have to take my bath a few days early!

We believe...

"We believe in God the eternal Father and in his Son, Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost..."

Some common misconceptions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is that we aren't Christians and that we don't believe in God. The first tenet of our faith is professing our belief in God and Jesus irregardless of the official name of the Church. One difference is that we believe members of the God head are separate beings. This is bothersome to some thinking that we believe in many gods, or polytheism. I just look to the scriptures and read the account of Christ's baptism in the River Jordan. After he had come up out of the water, Heavenly Father declared from Heaven, "this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

Low-fat Living 5

So instead of buying PAM or other spray oils that are full of preservatives and propellants, I have bought the MISTO. I fill it with olive oil to lightly mist foods or pans with olive oil. It has a pump that builds the pressure to propel the oil out as a mist on your foods. It is way healthier than the alternative. I paid $9.95 for it at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I just continue to refill it with my olive oil when it gets low. Little steps to healthier living...

Turning 40!

You know you're turning 40 when:

You get two invitations to go out on the same night, and you pick the one that gets you home the earliest. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either. When you don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along. The checker at the grocery calls you ma'am instead of miss. You hear a construction worker whistle at someone and don't even turn around to see if it was you