Attention Twilight Fans!

Okay, for those of us who (like myself) have ants in their pants waiting for the 4th and final book in the Twilight Series to come out in _____________ days/hrs/mins/secs/(see sidebar for how much longer!), you have got to check out this blog ! Holy smokes! This guy is so funny! I was trying not to laugh as hard as I wanted to because Id've woken up Kami in the next room! So, for our reading enjoyment while we wait, here's one guys take on what'll happen in the upcoming book! Enjoy! :^)

Beautiful Kami!

Just some pictures of Kami that I took this morning before church. I was taking pictures of my lesson handouts and Kami saw the "chocolate tree" (her term she picked up from Dora....meaning anything chocolate!) and wanted some. She was looking so cute and I wanted to get her picture, so I bribed her and told her she could have some "chocolate tree" if she let me take her picture! The second picture, she's actually looking down at the Snickers Candy Bar that was over on the floor! Good grief! I have no idea where she got her sweet tooth from! ;^)

(I know, I know, Mom. I'll add these pictures to that picture CD that I still need to burn and send you!)

YW Lesson 28 "Sacrifice and Consecration"

*Sorry about the yucky lighting on this photo. Me and my camera weren't quite in agreement with eachother this morning!*

Attention Activity: 'Peanuts vs. Snickers Bar' (This wasn't my idea, but it was the perfect idea! Click on the link for the full description.)

• As a class, come up with a list of worthy goals. ie, temple marriage, graduating college, graduating seminary, serving a mission, fasting on fast Sunday,etc.
• Each class member then thinks of one goal.
• Hand the YW 3 peanuts in the shell. This represents things we are willing to give up in order to get the thing we desire.
• Each YW states 3 things they would give up in order to obain their goal, and puts one peanut back for each statement.
• Ask - What is the definition of 'Sacrifice'? (Giving up something of value for something that is worth more.)
• Hand each YW a Snickers Bar and ask if any wanted to exchange back their candy for the 3 peanuts.

My favorite quote I used in this lesson is actually printed on the reverse side of the "Sacrifice" Bar. It says:

"It is not a sacrifice to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is never a sacrifice when you get back more than you give. It is an investment...a greater investment than any...Its dividends are eternal and everlasting" (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 567-68)

Digi-Playing

Okay, for those who thought I'd never scrapbook again, this post is for you! This is my official ready to show people (so no laughing) attempt at digital scrapbooking. I've attempted it before, but me and PhotoShop dueled it out (PhotoShop won), so I thought I'd give it another try...this time using MS Publisher. Yeah, I know PhotoShop is probably better and blah, blah, blah, but I know Publisher and thought I'd give it a go with Digi-Scraping (maybe one day I'll actually take a class and learn the program, but for now, I'm using what works!). Anyway, I'm thinking I really like this Digital Scrapbooking stuff! Don't get me wrong, I still love papercrafting (hello? who can't resist the urge to buy when you walk into a scrapbook store? it's a beautiful thing!), but me and this DigiScraping just might get along. The thing I like the best....if I don't like what I've done, I can delete it and try something else! This super fantastic paper comes from Polka Dot Potato designer Teriann Hanks. Can you tell I'm so into the Blue and Brown thing right now? Who knew that the Pink and Brown phase from having a girl would carry over to my boy! :^)

'Pioneer Children' FHE

Since Kami's getting older and understanding so much these days, we decided it was about time to start having Family Home Evening. We've been wanting to do this for a while, but never knew where to start, so this last week, being that we celebrate our Pioneer Ancestors on July 24th, that would be as good a subject as any!

So, the evening went somewhat like this:

Prayer
Song: "Pioneer Children"
Song: "Pioneer Children" (by popular demand)
Song: "Pioneer Children" (again, by popular demand)
Lesson: Just a little 2 minute story about pioneers
Song: "Pioneer Children" (I'm starting to think at this point that I chose a good song to teach Kami! She doesn't want to stop singing it!)
Game: A cute little pioneer game I downloaded from the Finch Family Games website. This was also a success. We played it twice.
Song: "Pioneer Children"
Snack: What FHE wouldn't be complete without a snack?

And here's some pictures of our evening:

Kami singing 'Pioneer Children' (she was in charge of her own little songbook...even though it's not open to the right page, she did a fantastic job at singing along anyway!)

And playing our pioneer game!

And our (my) pretzel log cabin. Yet....something is missing.....

Ah yes! Pioneers are missing! Unfortunatly, after raiding my cupboards, the only thing I could find that would come close were "Go Diego Go" gummies. Oh well, it'll work! ;^)

Pioneer heritage or not, I hope everyone had a wonderful day remembering their ancestors!

Response to YW Handout Questions

Hi YW Leader/Teacher Blog Readers!

I just wanted to say 'Thank You' to all of the comments the super nice comments you've left me this past week! I am so glad that so many people have found some use of my lesson ideas, whether it be using my ideas posted on Sugardoodle or just for inspiration for other lessons, FHE, etc.

To answer a couple questions that some of you had; I will post lesson ideas as often as I teach. I am actually the Yong Women's President in a small Military Branch in South Korea. So, Sunday teach is split between me and my fantastic counselor! I absolutly LOVE the girls in our little branch! This past year we were blessed to have 6 YW in our branch. But, because we are a military branch, the turnaround here is so fast (unless the families reside here in Korea as English Teachers or some other profession, work as school teachers on the military base or are retired here, the longest anyone stays here is three years....most are here for one or two years), we're down to 3 YW this year (two moved away....one graduated and is attending BYU in the fall!). Nonethless, I feel so blessed to know these young women. They teach me so much and I am so greatful for this calling!

Thanks again for all of your comments! :^) Love, Jessica

PS - Also check out the Blog, "A Bushel and a Peck of Fun" (link is on the right side of my page under 'Other Sites I Love To Visit'. I actually got my inspiration for the quote handout from this talented sister in the gospel! :^)

Summer Heat!

"It's so [darn] hot... milk was a bad choice."

~Ron Burgundy

Okay. Who turned switched on the heater here in Korea????!!! So, I've got to find humor in this sweltering heat of Korea! This is my favorite line in this movie and I keep this image and quote on replay in my mind when the heat starts to get unbearable! And then I just have to laugh! So...if you hear me snicker or smile to myself for no reason at all, you now know why!

In the Mail...

Check out how absolutly cute this is! What is it? You wonder. It's a nursing poncho from Busy Baby Nursing Wraps! And I just got one in the mail yesterday!!! It is so cute and I am so excited to use it! Kami would always pull off the blanket I used with her or it would slip off and I always flet like I was smothering her under the blanket. Where were these when I was nursing her??? Anyway, yeah - I'm stoked! I ordered it from a super cool website called The DoupaShop (woohoo! Shout out to my sister whoes a Dula! Check it out, Rach, you'd love this store!). I have to say, their shipping was so fast and the fact that they also threw in a 15% off my next order coupon and two bags of skittles, I'm definetly ordering from them again!

They also carry a product that I used when I was pregnant with Kami called Belli. My super loyal Visiting Teacher from church in Illinois (she came ever single month for three years!) gave me a sample pack when I finally got pregnant with Kami. Her daughter and her daughters husband actually own the company and create/oversee the product line. I would recommend their product to anyone! It is fantastic! And they've expanded quite a bit in the last 2+ years. So. Yay! More stuff to buy! ;^)

Anyway. That's my advertising blurb for three absolutly wonderful companies to all the prego/nursing mommies out there!

YW Lesson 26 - Repentance

ATTENTION GETTER

Give each YW a blank card and a pencil with no eraser and have them copy the quote from Spencer W. Kimball as you write it on the board. Make sure to pause after each statement so that they all have it written down incorrectly! :^)

• "Where is never a day" = "There is never a day"
• "in one man's life" = "in any man's life"
• "when repentance is essential" = "when repentance is not essential"
• "to his well-being or eternal progression." = "to his well-being and eternal progress."

Q: Are you happy with your handout? What would have made copying the quote down easier/better?
A: An eraser would have made copying the quote easier and less messy. Our mistakes in life don't have to be permanent or messy. Because or Heavenly Father loves each of us and wants us to succeed and be happy, He gave us the opportunity of repentance, made possible by our brother, Jesus Christ through his Atonement. By repenting, like using an eraser, our slate can be wiped clean and we can have a clean conscience and a new start.

STORY
Instead of using the story outlined in the manual, I adapted the story, The Girl in the Mirror from the 2005 August 'New Era'.

Sew, That's It!

Alright, for crying out loud, how cute is this?????


I found this blog called Pink Chalk Studio that has the cutest patterns! She has instructions you can purchase and everything. Anyway, this sooo makes me want to learn how to sew! I would totally go out and try to make this today, if only I had a sewing machine!! ;^) Anyway, for those sewing crafters out there who do own sewing machines, I thought you'd enjoy the website!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend! We spent ours at a Branch Picnic on base at the park and had a great time visiting with friends....and Kami especially loved the unlimited access to the slides at the park! Any day she can go on the slide is a good day! By the time we got home, Kami was alseep in her car seat, and slept for about 3 hours that day! Which gave Drew and I some much needed nap time, too! :^) The rest of the day we just relaxed around the house and went out to dinner - Mexican food. That's American, right? ;^)

Okay. A word about the hair. Yes - that is my nautral curl, when the weather is extreamly humid, as it is here (check out my face, you can totally tell I'm sweating!). The first time it was humid and my hair went curly (with the help of a defuser and a little sprunching) was a Sunday a few weeks ago. Drew had meetings all morning, and I had one right after him before church. So, we didn't see each other at all that morning with our crazy schedule. All during church, everyone was complimenting me on my hair and how much they liked it curly. So, on the way home from church, one of our conversations went something like this:

Me: So. Drew. Everybody at church today said that they really liked my hair! But, I've noticed you haven't said anything about it yet. What do you think?
*Pause*
Me: Uh oh. You don't like it.
Drew: I'm more of a straight hair kind of guy. In fact, I wasn't going to say anything, but, thought you forgot to do your hair before your meeting.
Me: *hahahahahahahahaha!*

I'm so glad my husband thinks so highly of me! ;^) Good thing I know he loves me no matter if my hair is straight/curly, done/undone! Love you, too, babe! ;^)

YW's Camp Golden Moment #1

So, this year at YW's Camp, one of the other unofficial District YW Camp Directors suggested the idea of doing at Golden Moment at our camp this year. This would be a little spiritual thought before Lunch/Dinner as we gathered around. So, I was assigned two GM's. Here's the first idea that I had (that I actually did on the last night we were at camp). My thoughts came from that fantastic talk by Sister Susan W. Tanner titled, Daughters of Heavenly Father. If you take the time to read this absolutly wonderful talk, note one of my other favorite quotes she uses in here by C.S. Lewis:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be tempted to worship....There are no ordinary people....Your neighbor is the holiest object present to your senses.

("The Weight of Glory," in Screwtape Proposes a Toast and Other Pieces [1974], 109-110)

I think they though that quote was pretty cool, too, because some of them refered back to that quote during the Testimony meeting. Some things just really hit home. Here's the handout that I passed along to the YW! Enjoy!

YW's Camp Golden Moment Idea #2

Here's the second idea I came up with for a Golden Moment at Camp. We played a game that I actually downloaded from Finch Family Games . I came up with some questions from the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and divided the girls into two teams. I handed each team a set of scriptures and a FTSOY pamplet. One girl from each team came up and had to find the answer to my question. The first person to come up with the correct response chose a game piece to see which armor they would get to put on (or lose!). After the first team completed their girl the game ended and I bore my testimony about using the guidelines in the FTSOY pamphlet as ways we can put on our armor to protect us from anything that the advisary would throw at us. Our theme for camp was "Superheroes", so I made the analogy that many "superheroes", such as Batman, Iron Man, etc. are mere men under all of their armor. But with their "armor", their powers are unstopable! I love the quote by Elder Boyd K. Packer on the handout that I also passed along to the girls. It's says:

"However out of step we may seem, however much the standards are belittled, however much others yield, we will not, we cannot yield."

I Swear!

Okay. Okay. I have a huge confession to make! First of all, for all those 1st time moms to 2 year-olds.....mouths beware! They will pick up on anything and everything. Even when you think they weren't listening to you....they were!

So. I never thought it would be from my precious lips that my daughter would learn her first bad word (Drew has a much worse potty mouth than I do...sorry babe, but, ya do!). So, anyway last night I was folding laundry as Kami was playing with one of her new toys she got for her birthday, in which, this said toy had some markers inside it that I hadn't yet taken out. Well, Kami beat me to the taking out bit, so when I looked up at the sound of "Uh, oh!", there was Kami sitting on the couch with the inside of the marker in one hand and the color orange dripping from either side of her mouth. Apparently, she had tried the new technique of bitting crayons with the inside of her orange marker. Anyway...my reaction....I'm ashamed to say, was mumbling under my breath, "Oh 'shoot'"; but not so much the 'shoot' part. So. Now randomly through the day. Kami will remember her new phrase and repeat, proudly, what her mommy taught her!

So, for those church going folk, if you hear my daughter curse in the middle of sacrament meeting, know that I apologize now ten-fold! And please. Tell me I'm not the only LDS mom to make this mistake! ;^)