Magic Dust Number 5

I just wanted to take a quick minute sandwiched between this morning’s school Storytelling performance and tonight’s Relief Society (church) hike and say Whew!



When I was a Junior in High School I had to get a three on a particular essay in order to graduate. Mrs. Crapo (my Sophomore English Teacher) told me the only way I would get a five(the highest possible score) was to make sure my writing had magic dust sprinkled on it. Here is a picture of the magic dust I sprinkled on the paper and the medal I got for my five.

Many years later, today in fact, I told this story along with a few others at writing camp! I was somewhat worried about it until I read Granny Sue’s blog and realized that I do have a little bit of a writer inside of me and I am continuing to foster it. I thought of my presentation in those terms – that I, as a writer, had something to offer the students as writers, and it went fabulously well! I was soo thrilled.

…And it was my first paid gig! It was totally Awesome!

Chicken Noodle Soup in July

What a stinky week! I mean that literally. We got home on Tuesday from Utah. Mike called in sick on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I had the sickness. I think the kids still have it too, so we didn't take them to church today. I went alone, to give a talk and then I came home to make something out of this:



Yesterday I cooked the chicken in the crockpot and saved the broth.



Here is what I made with it today. The batch I made earlier in the week helped Mike out a bunch. So this batch had better help the rest of us.



Mike's been a trooper, staying with the kids today and helping me to clean up all the mess. Thankfully this is just a spilled bowl of chicken tonic rather than the other nasty messes we've been cleaning up all week. Hopefully, we will not have to deal with it much longer. I've got a three hour storytelling workshop/performance on Tuesday! I've got be healthy.

Marcia's Beginnings

Monday July 6, 2009 I saw the following:



A little less than 69 years ago this lady that is standing sideways



walked through this door



of this house carrying her first baby. It was a girl and she grew up



to look like this and play



outside on sunny days like this! Isn't it glorious? The girl's name was Marcia. I sometimes call her Mom.

Repurposing

Here are some things we've repurposed this past week:-)

Sheild from Girls Camp



Breakfast



And my favorite, a table cloth. Two pieces are from my teenage years: the center (a bandana from an EFY week) and the Cougar Band Cloth. I still have to put a back on it, but that can wait until after Vacation!!!

Here we come Family! Don't have too much fun without us...we will be there soon.

The Armor of God

Yesterday I went to Girl’s Camp. I was only there a few hours, but I’ve been preparing to go for a long time.

When I was a teenager my parents sometimes took me to something called Know Your Religion in St. Anthony, Idaho. I really enjoyed one particular night when they talked about “Putting on the Whole Armor of God.”(Ephesians 6:10-18) I decided then that I wanted to use that in a speech, talk, or presentation one day.





As a missionary I did this two or three times and then again a couple of times since that. Yesterday however was the first time I thought it appropriate to actually have some armor available for the young women to touch and feel. Goldie, Josiah, and I spent quite a bit of time making each piece that is mentioned in the scriptures.



I made the armor to fit me but a young woman happily wore it. It will make a great costume for Halloween.



You’ll notice that there are two young women in the picture. One of them is dressed in a bad imitation of Revolutionary war garb. I also told the story of Deborah Sampson who fought in the Revolutionary war and was the first female to receive veteran pay.

OLD Habits

Old habits are hard to break. Here we are at the park taking pictures again.



I've let the camera sit around for a week or so, so it was time to get back into it.



Four minutes left to play in the park. Four minutes till dark!



Another of my old habits I've given up, but decided I should introduce to my kids today...it was lunch! Oh boy have I missed it!



Josiah loved it...Goldie, not so much.

Hands, Feet, and other Body Parts

Aren't our bodies awesome? I'm so glad they heal. About a week and a half ago Goldie wanted to help me mow the lawn. I was glad to let her so I asked her just after we got stared if she would run around and grab a cable laying on the ground and pick it up.



I wasn't communicating very well because instead she grabbed the muffler of the lawn mower...perfect trust! Of course, she immediately let go and went running away screaming. I ran her down and we went and got ice and all day long she held ice to her hand. We put lavender as well as some prescription stuff a pharmicist gave us and it is now doing much better. Just red spots on her hand. I'm so glad we heal.



We've been hanging out since then. Just doing summer things. Summer is great! Here is Stuart showing his hand. He is laying on the backside of the Girls Camp flag I've been working on. I had a ton of fun making it.



Then he had to show his big brother how he could cross his legs.



Next, all three of them got in on the action. Not a completely still kid among them.



Finally, hands were busy writing, coloring, and imagining.



One last picture for today. Stuart is learning to eat with his hands and mouth. We buy him what are called biter biscuits, but we lovingly refer to them as doggy bones. He loves them and gets them everywhere. This was a relatively clean experience.