Young Women in Excellence

Until today, I was serving in my ward as the Young Women's Secretary.  For those that don't speak 'Mormon' that means I worked with the girls ages 12-18 in an organization we call Young Women's.  Everyone in a ward typically has a 'calling' which is basically an assignment from the Bishop.  Different callings carry different responsibilities & everyone kind of takes turns.  So today, it became someone else's turn & I was so sad to see my time with all those cute girls come to an end.  Mind you, they are all fabulous babysitters & so I see them often in that capacity, but I have loved the time every Sunday & Wednesday night that I got to spend with them.

Our last big activity was during what I so lovingly referred to as 'hell week' in my last post, which in hindsight, was a bad term to use!  It really just reminded me of finals week in college & that was the term used then...anyway, sorry.

During that crazy week we had our Evening in Excellence, which is a night towards the end of the year where we celebrate all the accomplishments of the girls.  Within our Young Women's program they have a myriad of goals & projects they are always working on, so we set aside one night to celebrate & showcase all their hard work through the year.

We actually had one of our 13-year-old girls plan & execute the entire evening as one of her projects.  She did a magnificent job!  She planned, set up, outlined the program, arranged the speakers & music & asked me to contribute these poster size pics.

 

The poster-size prints were made from snap shots that our 13-year-old planner took of each of the girls.  I adjusted a few things in Photoshop {as I have about zero Photoshop skills}, cropped them to a 24x36 size & sent them to a local blue print shop.  They printed them out in gray scale & had them ready for me the next day.  So easy!  With 30 girls & at about $2 a pop, they were an impressive site when you walked into the room.  And needless to say, the girls were happy to take them home with them at the end of the night.

My favorite part of the night was when our 13-year-old planner spoke & used Kung Fu Panda to make an analogy -- about being the 'secret ingredient' in our own life.  Remember in Kung Fu Panda when he finally gets the scroll & it is just a mirror?  And then he talks with his dad who tells him the secret ingredient in his secret ingredient soup is nothing?  It is just his soup & how anything is special if you think it is special.  She correlated that to our relationship with Heavenly Father & how we are His secret ingredient & how special we all are to Him.  I loved listening to her outline it.  And I loved how she found that message in her day-to-day life via Kung Fu Panda.

Young Woman's Theme 2011:

I work with the young women in my ward {girls ages 12-18} and this year the theme is the 13th article of faith. For their birthdays we like to have a little something for them & this year we are doing bookmarks with the theme. And I thought there might be some of you that wanted them as well.

In the event bookmarks aren't your thing...here it is in a 5x7. I thought this would be cute in a frame as well.
If you want the files...become a follower & leave a comment with your email & I will send you 'print ready' files. HURRY...I WILL ONLY BE 'GIVING' THESE AWAY FOR 1 WEEK!

I just sent the bookmarks to print & they are going to be printed on pearl paper & they have printing on the back as well saying 'Happy Birthday 2011 xyz Ward...etc.' I will take some pics when they come later this week.

If you want help printing yours, email me {my email is on the top right of this page} & I am happy to let you use my printer at cost for these.


Linking up here...

He Cares.

For the last month I have been trying to get on a 'gym' schedule. And yes, it has taken a month. And no I am not there yet. My options are go at the crack of dawn {and by crack of dawn I mean before dawn has even cracked} or go some other time & haul my kids along.

In case you hadn't heard, the lady is high maintenance in some areas. And the gym kiddie corner {or whatever it is called} is a point distress for her. So much distress that they call me over the loud speakers mid-lunge to come retrieve her in her screaming red-blotchy faced state. It's awesome.

And by awesome, I mean so totally lame.

So I am back to my crack of dawn approach, which has its own hurdles. The first being, I'm tired. real. tired. Again, we head back to the lady. She has taken my 'i'm a morning person' sails & slammed them closed. I am so not a morning person anymore. Her sleep habits have put me through the ringer. So much so, that she, at 16 mos still gets a bottle in her crib at 5 am. Which after 9 months of middle of the night feedings & another 7 months of 5 am feedings, well, it gets old & starts to just wear you out. And in my case, it makes me cranky & over-obsessive about my sleep time.

But this morning, I committed. I committed to a friend to be there. She was even going to set my stuff up for me, so I for sure could not bail. And while I worried about leaving before the lady woke for her bottle, I got a nudge in the right direction when she cried out 3 minutes before my alarm was set to go off.

So I got up. And thought about how tired I was. And how I wanted to stay in bed. Then I thought about my friend setting up my stuff & I got moving. I made it to my car, turned on the radio & out came Black Eyed Peas 'I gotta a feelin...' and that is when I decided He cares.

And by He, I mean my Heavenly Father. He cares. Even about the gym. And realizes that I have good intentions & my desires to exercise are good. And I've kept at it for a month. And we both realize crack of dawn is not my first choice, but I am willing to sacrifice to achieve these goals. And while yes, I am still tired. He made it work for me this morning.

And if He cares about the gym & can make the lady wake at the perfect time, just think of the possibilities.

Today is going to be a good day.

And that feels good.

On Responsibilty.

Yesterday we spent the Sabbath honoring Pioneer Day, which occurred on the 24th of July. Marking the day the saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. With Sunday being the 25th, it was only natural for the thoughts & focus of the meetings turn to the Pioneers.

I love Pioneer Day for a myriad of reasons. Growing up my grandmother was always quick to remind us of our pioneer stock. 'Be loyal to the royal within you' are some of her famous words, which i have decided need a place in my home somewhere. I come from a very rich pioneer heritage, that counts both Brigham Young & Parely P. Pratt as 5th & 6th great-grandfathers...from different lines obviously.

And while I always appreciated it growing up, it wasn't until I spent a semester in Nauvoo that I truly valued these men & their counterparts for the courage in their testimonies. Being in Nauvoo just prior to the temple dedication & seeing their homes, way of life & being able to physically help on the very same temple they worked through sweat & tears to build was very humbling to me. And I felt a weight to it.

I started wondering if they ever knew their prosperity would mingle & merge. And then I wondered if they would be happy with the result. Very quickly I realized how truly blessed I am to have such wonderful examples to follow. My whole life I have had the opportunity to know the truth. To understand who I am, where I came from & where I am going & with that knowledge comes responsibility.

In my case, there are no excuses to fail. The Lord has blessed me in abundance & it is up to me to live up to the 'royal within.' And while I feel a great responsibility I also feel a great strength. It is not just the pioneer men I come from, but their wives {Brigham Young's 1st, Parley P Pratt's 10th}. Wives who crossed the plains without their husbands by their side. Wives that protected their faith & their children. Wives who, regardless their number, loved their husbands deeply & protected that relationship.

And while I face different trials & struggles than them, the goal is the same & there is a feeling of unity. So when I hear the world calling out to me & my big ideas of 'changing the world' {whatever that means} I have to remember that those goals are more likely to be reached INSIDE the home as opposed to OUTSIDE...and frankly, that is way better.

I once wrote down the following from a talk:

"My role in life right now, is to be a support to those around me...not to seek out opportunities for others to praise me."

I don't remember who said it, but I know it was from a stake adult session & I love it & think of it often. My pioneer mothers were so wonderful at this. So so so very strong in the face of criticism & hardship as they turned towards their families. I am so very thankful for their example & hope I can be 'loyal to the royal within.'

and ps...and isn't just me who has the royal within. I just hung a quote on the lady's wall that says, 'princess...daughter of a heavenly king.'

be loyal & hopefully i can do the same.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

tonight i learned a few things i want to remember...

and they come from a myriad of things that have been going on this week...

first, i have been reading this blog. grab a snack & settle in. tara's family lives down the road from my family. our mom's quilt together & our dad's served as bishops together {her dad is still serving}. we have so much in common & yet i've never met her {probably because i have a few years on her!}. i am completely intrigued by her current trial...and i realize intrigue is the absolute wrong word, because really my heart breaks. absolutely breaks. what i find intriguing is that the story unfolds so similarly as it would had the trial happened within my family. not to say we'd handle it with an ounce of the grace she has, but the friends, the neighbors, the doctors...they are all the same people my family would have turned to & yet there she sits & here i sit. it is a weird sensation of being so far removed & yet hitting so close to home. it makes me realize just how fragile life is & i am so very impressed by her faith & strength & pray bold prayers on her behalf.

second, i have to speak in church on sunday...so i have lots of thoughts there. i have to speak about helping our children develop a relationship with the savior.

third, i just got back from a young women's activity in which we had my brother & his cute friends come down to hang out with our laurels. it was so so so fun. in fact i may have had more fun than anyone else. sand volleyball is fun. really fun. so fun, hubster & i are playing again on saturday...wanna come?

all that being said, i am realizing how truly paramount my words, deeds & actions are in my children's lives. do i build them up? do i lift their confidence? do i help them feel the spirit in their lives? do i support their independence? do they know they can accomplish greatness? do i validate their thoughts & ideas? the list goes on & on. and while i realize my children are young, i hope they understand who exactly they are. they are a son & daughter of the Most High. and once that is fully comprehended who are we to limit ourselves?