Monthly Archives: April 2011

Find-A-Friend Friday: Meet Wendy (plus contest winners)

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Welcome to Find-A-Friend Friday again.  Today I’m looking forward to introducing you to Wendy.  I don’t know her as well as I’d like to, but I loved this interview with her, and she said something that is so true:  We’re all amazing.  All you ordinary people out there don’t realize the power of the simple good you do.  Take Wendy for example.  You’ll see.  (And I just have to say that I always thought my romance moved fast, but- wow- I think her story takes the cake!)  First I need to announce the winners (as promised) to the General Conference contests.  I don’t want to steal Wendy’s thunder because this is really her day, so I’ll publish all the trivia answers on Sunday along with the GCBC post.

Contest #1: Random drawing just for tuning in to general conference.  🙂  One entry for every session you watched.
The winner is …….. Jocelyn!!! Send me your address, and I’ll send you a personalized general conference study journal.

Contest #2:  Trivia! Everyone who got 96% or higher (missed one or none) was placed into the drawing.  By the way, there were FOURTEEN of you who scored that high on your trivia, and many others were close behind.  You guys are incredible.

The winner is …….. An Ordinary Mom!! (She got 100% correct!) Email me your address and your book choice.  Your prize will be on its way as soon as I can get over my aversion to the post office.  🙂
Congratulations to all who participated.  You deserve rewards for listening so well to conference, so I only hope that even though you didn’t win something here, “thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.”  (Matthew 6:4)
Back to Wendy.  Here she is!

Greetings! I’m nervous and excited to be a part of Stephanie’s Find-A-Friend Friday! I have enjoyed meeting the different women and think they are pretty amazing! I guess we are all amazing. Elder Cook told us so last Saturday.  My name is Wendy (34) and am married to a rocket scientist (Sweetheart). We are the parents of 2 Bedlamites – Underfoot (4) and Hurricane (2). They keep us busy as we work, play, and learn together. Our hope is that they know they are loved from the hugs, kisses, and correction we give them. We live on the moon (the Southwest desert). I say the moon because for us to grow our garden it takes a lot of work and that is what my Mom calls it – the moon.

I am the oldest child of 4 and grandchild. I am also the oldest great-grandchild to 2 sets of my great-Grandparents. As a child, I knew and associated with 6 of my great-Grandparents. What a great blessing to learn from their lives and who they are.

As a 3 year old child, I decided I was going on a mission. I was so focused on a mission that when I went to college, I bought a ring to wear on my left hand. Looking back, I was very immature to marry but was determined to be a missionary. I went to the Panama Panama City Mission. I LOVED being a proselyting and welfare missionary. I planted a lot of gospel seeds and heard later about the growth of people after I left.

When I returned home, I thought I would marry and start having the 10 children I had planned on. Yet Heavenly Father had a different plan for me. He needed me to finish a Bachelor’s degree (Social Work) and a Master’s Degree (Marriage and Family Counseling). I worked in my profession and went to school concurrently before my Sweetheart and I were introduced. The weekend of graduation Sweetheart and I were introduced through my Mom’s cousin. He lived in Pennsylvania and I lived in Idaho. We started a correspondence and 3 weeks later made arrangements to meet in California after a conference he was attending. We met and were engaged in the same weekend (the rocket scientist figured out it was 60 hours). We married 9 weeks later in Utah. A lot of different states in a short amount of time. Now almost 6 years later we are still learning life lessons together.

1. What’s your favorite part of motherhood?
I love to go on adventures with my children and discover. I love to take pictures of them and to listen to them laugh. I love read to them because they will cuddle with me. I love the questions to a point. I love the soft touches they give me when I am sad because they are concerned for my welfare. I love when my son will say that he wants to be a father when he grows up so he can teach his children and then will pray for that.

2. What part of motherhood would you subcontract out if you could?
Being the bad guy. I wish I could be fun all the time and not lose my temper because I have said no so many times that I have lost count. I know that being the bad guy is necessary to help them help them. I just get so tired by the end of the day.

3. Name 2 or 3 items on your “bucket list.”  (Some things you’d like to do before you die.)
My bucket list is ever so long. I am a queen at making to do lists. I also learned lately the difference between the do and the be.

  • Travel (Bicycle Maine’s lighthouses, return to our missions, serve missions, Civil War sites, Revolutionary War sites, Visit every State in the Union)
  • Build a home (canning kitchen, game room, library, upstairs and downstairs, outdoor room)
  • Provide cultural opportunities for children (Broadway plays, Symphonies, Art shows)

4. Brag for a minute.  Do it.  What are a few things that you’re pretty good at?
I am great at making a delish meal in about 30 minutes. I am a pretty good cook. I like to cook almost anything. I love to send the left-overs to neighbors or Sweetheart’s co-workers. I like to include my boys in the cooking process. I also like to host people in our home – usually with food. We have an annual Pie Party just before the holiday season.

5. What are you loving lately?
I am loving that my boys are starting to understand they have jobs they have to do before they can do other things. I am loving that my body is waking up without the alarm clock. I am loving my boys as they are learning new things. I am loving a picked up house at the end of the day. I am loving that we got a commuter car for my Sweetheart after 2 1/2 years! I am loving the green in our backyard. The fresh beautiful color green in contrast to brown.

6. Do you have a favorite scripture or quote?  Why?
I have a lot that I really love. I love scriptures that talk about being of good cheer, having courage, and seeking the Lord because He will answer. The scripture I have thought most about lately is in the Doctrine and Covenants.

For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift. Doctrine and Covenants 88:33

I believe for me that Heavenly Father has given me many gifts, and I am like a tantruming child saying that I don’t want the present that is in front of me. It has caused me to think about what I need to change and to accept again the plan that God has for me. The verses that follow talk about the order and how virtue loves virtue and light cleaveth to light. It reminds of the scripture line upon line, precept upon precept.  I hope to be a more gracious humble receiver of the gifts that have been given me.

7. What do you gravitate toward during your unscheduled time? I wish I could say that I love to clean up or make the world a better place. I like to check email, blogs, and listen to music. I also like to curl up with Louis L’Amour books. His books have a strong moral hero with character flaws and a heroine that is virtuous. It has helped me appreciate also living on the moon and seeing the beauty here.

8. Tell us some of your best mom-tricks  (things you’ve figured out that work well for you).
My Gamma Rae’s motto was Be Obedient. We give a choice usually between two things to do. The boys get three opportunities to follow through with a task. When they don’t do it, they go to the corner. They hate the corner and are very motivated to complete the task. If they go to the corner, they know they will still need to complete the task immediately after they exit the corner. The funny thing is that now Underfoot has started to try and negotiate the choices. I am grateful for his problem solving skills and using his words.Some times his choices are better than the ones we’ve come up with. Another is we have taught them that they need to come to us if they are hurt or if there is unfair treatment. This way they have learned to solve their own conflicts. Don’t get me wrong. There are times I have to step in but not all the time.

9. What’s something you don’t usually want people to know about you, but that they need to know if they’re going to be your friend?
I am a great listener. I can listen as long as the day is long. I have done it for a profession for many years. I am not the greatest at offering up much information about myself because I have learned that people like to talk about themselves. My husband has learned that when I start to talk just let me talk because I have a lot to say. Since I have “retired” for a season to be a Mama, I am learning to add more into conversations about myself and not always carry the counselor hat around. The transition between a paid helping profession and Domestic Goddess life has been more difficult than I planned it to be. I guess I know when someone wants to know me they will ask questions about me.

10. If you were in charge of a girls’ night out, what kind of activity would you love to plan?
My favorite GNO have been a live show (even a high school or middle school production) and eating out usually Thai or Indian food.

11. Friends are great for venting.  What’s been frustrating you lately?
I wish I had more control over circumstances that I don’t have control over. I wish I could stay pregnant. I wish I could get the truck route to work for the co-op. I wish that I could be happy with myself and who I am and not what I’m not. I need to look for the joy in what I DO HAVE and not what I don’t have.

12. What parts of your testimony are you the most sure of?
I am sure that Atonement is real. I love the Easter season because the heavens rejoiced for Christ’s completion of the great plan of happiness. Because of what Christ did, I am responsible for being obedient and accepting the plan God has for me. I know that God answers prayers. The answers don’t always come in the timing that I expect them, but answers do come. I know that I can accomplish many wonderful things on my own, and I am learning that if I will trust Heavenly Father the wonderful turns into magnificent. I know that God tries the faith to bring me greater joy.

Tell us about your blog: Recently I had a blog transformation. I started a blog to write down the recipes that my Grandma had cut out over 3 decades. I would make the recipe and post it. With the onset of spring 2011, I decided to broaden my blog purpose to be more about the God, religion, freedom, peace, and family – like the Title of Liberty. I still add recipes. My goal is to find joy and happiness at Lessons Line Upon Line.

So awesome.  Thank you, Wendy.  And thank you to all of you who participated in the contests.  Man, there’s a lot of fun going on around here.

General Conference Trivia Contest

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General Conference makes me feel all magnanimous, so let’s have some fun.

Yesterday, a new round of General Conference Book Club kicked off, so make sure you go there sometime this week to weigh in on all your conference favorites and goals.  While I watched, I wrote down things that I felt prompted to do or work on, and then I mark them with a star in the margin.  Last night, I sat down to make a list of those things, and it filled the front and the back of a sheet of notebook paper.  I’m going to be busy the next six months, but I’m so excited about the blessings and growth that will come.

Okay, so a contest.  Two contests, actually. They’ll both end on Thursday night and winners will be announced as part of the Find-A-Friend Friday feature on (duh) Friday.

Contest #1 is simply a way to reward yourself for tuning in to conference.  Just leave a comment below that declares how many sessions of conference you watched or listened to this weekend. Even one session earns you a shot at the prize.  You will earn as many entries as sessions you participated in.  I will do a drawing, and the winner will receive a general conference journal that I will customize and make it cool (think handy, not crafty) as a guide to help you think through and write down insights and goals as you study all the talks.

Contest #2 is a trivia contest with various questions taken from the past two days of general conference.  Some of the questions are content specific, but many are “trivial” and just for fun– a chance to simply reward your paying attention.  As to not give away your answers to others, please email me your answers at dd.stephanie[at]gmail[dot]com.  I will collect all of those who tie for the highest score and enter them into a drawing to win one of these two books (your choice):

Here goes:

General Conference Trivia Contest Questions

(p.s.  Best if you can do it from memory.  I don’t care about “cheating” as long as it only comes from this official conference site or your own notes.  I mean, why would I punish you for actually reviewing conference?  Any Googling or otherwise hunting down answers is not permitted.  Because it’s lame.)

  1. Name two of the three new temples that were announced.
  2. Elder Cook told a story about a young woman who misplaced her purse at an activity.  Name one of the items that her leaders found in her purse.
  3. Who was Elder Holland referring to when he said “Bedlamites”?
  4. Whose grandson blew kisses at the TV when he watched general conference?
  5. What did the prospector teach the young gold-digger that he was missing while he was looking for gold nuggets?
  6. This conference marked the 75th anniversary of what?
  7. What did the church donate in Japan to help people search for loved ones despite the difficult-to-travel roadways?
  8. Finish this phrase from a quoted poem (in general words is fine/main idea).  “When sheep go wrong, it won’t take long  . . . __________.”
  9. Name Elder Richard G. Scott’s belated wife.
  10. President Eyring announced an upcoming, church-wide day of what?
  11. Fill in the blank:  Desires –> Priorities –> __________ –> Actions
  12. What was Pres. Uctdorf afraid people might be texting during his talk?
  13. What specific item did Elder Pratt’s Mexican ancestor receive from a wealthy traveler just one week after paying his own tithing?
  14. Finish this quote by St. Francis de Asissi:  “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use ____.”
  15. What hymn did Elder Bednar take as a “hint” about his own talk?
  16. Only one of the twelve apostles did not speak during general conference.  Who was it?  (And does anyone know why?)
  17. What powerful hymn did the tabernacle choir sing right after President Monson’s talk about temples?
  18. Elder Grow spoke about a family member who had just passed away after turning around his/her life.  Who was it?
  19. Elder Maynes quoted his grandson’s primary talk where he said, “My family is like a ____ (what?).”
  20. Elder Bednar compared revelation to which two sources of light?

Matching.  Topic —> Speaker

21.  Accept and Seek Correction

22. The Church has an obligation to help poor and needy

23.  Keep Sabbath Day Holy

24.  Forgive and Let Offenses Go

25.  Combat Fears by Strengthening Faith

A.  Elder Russell M. Nelson

B.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson

C.  President Boyd K. Packer

D. Bishop H. David Burton

E. Elder L. Tom Perry

 

Have fun!  Good luck!

General Conference Book Club Week 1: Favorites and Goals

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We’ve had another two-day feast, haven’t we?  Next week, we’ll begin the regular study of one talk a week to keep these lessons fresh in our minds.  If this is your first time to visit the General Conference Book Club, click here to learn how it works.  Welcome! For this week, I just wanted to reflect on the take-away messages from this conference.  Chime in about all or any of these questions in the comments below:

1.  What were some of your favorite moments or messages or talks from this conference?

2.  Repetition is an important element of general conference.  From your point of view, what seemed to be the themes or repeated messages of this conference?

3.  What are some action items you walked away with?  What goals were planted in your mind and heart?

 

“In the day’s ahead, reflect on the unique phenomenon that General Conference is. … If we speak by the Spirit, and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will speak … just to you.  … God will have his voice heard.”  — Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, today.

Stay tuned because tomorrow I will put up a post with a General Conference trivia contest.  The winners will be put in a drawing to win some kind of mysterious, wonderful prize (in other words, I have no idea yet, but I’ll figure it out by then).  Plus, I think you deserve to qualify for a prize just for listening to conference.  In the meantime, bask in the glorious messages of the past two days and figure out the best way you can to make it last.

Find-A-Friend Friday: Meet Melody

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This week it is my pleasure to introduce you to Melody.  Melody is a new acquaintance of mine from blogland, but she has impressed me with her thoughtful comments, and it’s easy to see from her interview what a quality person she is.  You can find Melody’s blog here.  Did I mention she’s also adorable?  Here’s Melody:

I am so thrilled at this opportunity, I have loved getting to “meet” all these amazing women and finding kindred spirits all across the world! My name is Melody, I’m 29 (for the first time) and I am currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah- although my husband just got his orders for Fort Lee, Virginia, so we will be there by the end of April. Yay for new adventures! My sweetheart Lee and I have been married for 9 years, and we have two munchkins; Wyatt, age 4 and Jana, age 2. And of course our first baby Skeeter, a German Shepherd mix who is almost 6.

I grew up in Salt Lake City, the youngest of 8 children- six of whom were boys. I remember once my Mom told me that ratio was about right- for all the physical expense of raising rambunctious boys, it took three of them to equal the emotional expense of one daughter. I can’t imagine she meant ME, I was a sweet, obedient lamb…

After high school I went to then-Ricks, graduated from what had become BYU-Idaho, and didn’t walk with my class because I was busy getting married to a darling boy from Rigby, Idaho. I think it’s funny that my husband is also the 8th child in his family, what are the odds? I went to Idaho State University to complete my Bachelor’s in Nursing, and have happily been working in Labor and Delivery ever since. We lived in Rexburg, Idaho for 7 wonderful years, where both of our children were born. Yes, I delivered my babies in the hospital where I worked, and no, it really isn’t that awkward to know not only the names, but the birthdates, anniversaries, hopes, dreams, names of children and pets, and ridiculous 3:00 am personalities of every single person in the delivery room. My job is so awesome, and the people I have worked with are just plain fabulous. After my husband lost his job last spring we did some fervent praying and soul-searching and decided to join the US Army. We moved to Utah, he left for all his training last October, and we are ecstatic at the prospect of being a family all together again when we go to Virginia!

1.     What’s your favorite part of motherhood?

I love snuggling my kids, especially when they’re sleeping. It reminds me of the book “I’ll Love You Forever,” and makes me just cherish the moments I have when they’re small enough for me to hold and cuddle them. I also love listening to my kids laugh together, even if that laughter indicates they are up to something naughty! I love that they are getting old enough to be able to say “I love you, Mommy.” Best. Thing. EVER.

2.     What part of motherhood would you subcontract out if you could?

Folding laundry. Especially whites. I love the wearers of the tiny undershirts and onesies, but if someone told me today that I would never fold laundry again for the rest of my mortal existence, I’d be fine with that.

3.     Name 2 or 3 items on your “bucket list.”  (Some things you’d like to do before you die.)

I really want to serve a mission, or even a few, with my husband. I want to see the Alaskan Northern Lights with my own eyes. And I want to learn to use a sewing machine. Not necessarily in that order.

4.     Brag for a minute.  Do it.  What are a few things that you’re pretty good at?

I am a good singer and flute player, and I am a pretty good piano player. I have lots of patience (my kids might disagree, but at the hospital I somehow manage to have an endless supply), and I get along well with others. That sounds silly, but it’s interesting when I overhear someone’s negative opinion of a person who they complain is hard to get along with, and I am surprised because I had never thought that. Perhaps my real talent is a combination of being hard to offend and happy to accept people as they are.

5.     What are you loving lately?

Oh, sleep. How I love thee. I’ve been working full-time nights since before I had children, and although I can manage the rest of everything around my job, sleep continues to evade me. I do love me a good nap.

I also LOVE good reading. I just finished “When Times Are Tough” by John Bytheway, and I would recommend it to everyone, everywhere. So many interesting insights, and so many scriptures and quotes that provide the perspective and motivation we all need sometimes to keep going.

6.     Do you have a favorite scripture or quote?  Why?

My current favorite quote is a simple one from Neal A. Maxwell that hangs on the wall in my bedroom: “Faith in God includes faith in His timing.” The most difficult things we do in life are rarely acute, short trials. It’s the long journeys and chronic heartaches that require true faith and endurance. A friend shared a quote from a recent Stake Conference, where the Stake President taught that, “The thing that God is doing IN you may be more important than the thing you are waiting for.” I suspect there are things we are all waiting and longing for, but we must wait for God’s timing to be right, and in the meantime find joy in the everyday experiences of life.

7.     What do you gravitate toward during your unscheduled time?

I so admire people who make crafts and quilts and delicious treats, and have grand aspirations for learning and doing those things when I have a slightly larger quantity of this “unscheduled time” (read: not working full-time nights!). As for now, I like to play with my munchkins, play the piano (these days it’s mostly the Sesame Street Songbook and the Children’s Songbook, and I’m cool with that) read, nap, or zone out for a little while with a silly computer game.

8.     Tell us some of your best mom-tricks (things you’ve figured out that work well for you).

I am amused when people dish out advice on topics they have no clue about. And I feel like I’m in that realm here. My kids are young and I have so much to learn yet that I am too chicken to really say anything here! I have learned that if I want my kids to be polite and kind, I have to show them that example every moment of every day. And if I want them to have short tempers and full meltdown tantrums, I have to show them that example…just once.

9.     What’s something you don’t usually want people to know about you, but that they need to know if they’re going to be your friend?

Um, I am a spelling and grammar geek. Seriously, I’m that weird person who actually snickers when I see a billboard that uses a superfluous apostrophe when no possessive is indicated. Misplaced modifiers make me giggle, and I laugh out loud when I see a misspelling that alters the meaning of a statement (for example, I recently read a transcribed dictation in a patient’s chart that said, “Liver born with apgar scores of 8 and 9.” It should have said “live born”. I was so entertained at the thought of such a miraculous and precocious liver). Don’t misunderstand me, I do NOT judge the writers thereof, it’s just a bizarre source of my own silly mind’s enjoyment. And there, my inner nerd is revealed!

10. If you were in charge of a girls’ night out, what kind of activity would you love to plan?

I too am a homebody, and would love a girl’s night in- like a chick flick/fondue party! Only it would include all things dippable- I love fry sauce, ranch dressing, ketchup (or catsup, take your pick), that melty garlic/butter stuff from Papa John’s, nacho cheese, salsa, spinach artichoke dip…heaven.  And for dessert, a chocolate fountain with fruit and marshmallows and caramels and anything else that sounds yummy.  As you can easily conclude, I am one of those souls who occasionally like to indulge in the kitchen and repent on the treadmill later.

11. Friends are great for venting.  What’s been frustrating you lately?

Ha. The Army. *smile*

Actually, I get frustrated when I see people not cutting each other enough slack. I know the trials I go through, and the things I struggle with, and I sincerely hope people don’t stand around and speak ill of me because of the things I’m just not able to do, or cannot do well enough. You never, ever know when someone is struggling with a broken marriage, depression, heartache, the feeling of not being able to face even one more day, or worse. I much prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt, and if I can’t directly make their burden lighter, at the very least I strive not to make it heavier with insensitive words or actions.

12. What parts of your testimony are you the most sure of?

That the Savior lives, and that the power of our temple covenants is real, and families really can be together forever. I wouldn’t have pictured myself as an Army wife EVER, but because of faith and personal revelation here I am. I don’t care to dwell much on the what-ifs, but I do know that there is nothing…and I mean NOTHING that can take my family away from me if we are true and faithful. Happiness in life is nice, but peace in life is what I really want and need, and my temple covenants afford me that.

Melody’s blog is called The Anderson Family.  Drop in and visit her sometime.

Thanks so much, Melody.  To you and to my readers, have a wonderful General Conference weekend.  Take notes.  I might do a pop quiz again for a fun prize.  🙂  (And I hope to see more of your shining comments on the next round of General Conference Book Club.)