:) WADAYA know......or think Thursday-100 Dresses

For Relief Society we are having a Super Saturday in October. It is more of a Spiritual day. We were asked to read "The 100 Dresses" by Elenor Estes that she wrote in 1944. We read it and them we pass it on to the next person, hopefully everyone will get a chance to read it before October 10th. I'm sure the day will tie in with the book. It was very difficult for me to read. Yes, it is a child's book. Yes, it was written over 60 years ago. This is the story in a nutshell:

Although she wears the same faded blue dress to school every day, Wanda Petronski has a hundred dresses lined up in her closet at home, all different colors, all silk and velvet. Or so she claims to the gaggle of popular, better-dressed girls who gather on the playground to tease her. For one reason or another, Wanda doesn't fit in. She's poor, but so are lots of the other children. She's shy, but whether that's cause or effect of her treatment at school is hard to say. She may or may not be smart; she never speaks up in the classroom. Wanda Petronski's family is from Poland and most of the other children "didn't have names like that. They had names easy to say, like Thomas, Smith, or Allen." So when Wanda begins talking about her fabulous wardrobe at home, the girls just can't resist turning it into a game, at her expense of course. Popular Peggy is the ringleader. Her best friend Maddie is not entirely comfortable with the teasing, especially since she herself wears hand-me-downs. But when she thinks about speaking up to Peggy, she pictures herself as the new target in the school yard, with the girls asking her where she got her dresses. "Oh well," Maddie thinks, pushing her uncomfortable thoughts away. "What difference did it make?…Peggy was the best-liked girl in the whole room. Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong, she thought."

Then one day the teacher recieved a letter from Wanda's father informing the class that they would be moving, and hoped that they could move to a place that they would not be teased.

Wanda was a very talented artist and drew 100 different dresses, and actually won a contest. The girls that teased her went to her home to try to apologize, but they had already moved, so they sent a letter.

Wanda drew pictures of the girls in dresses and sent them to them....to let them know it was ok.

The interesting thing, was that Maddie didn't like or agree with Peggy, but was scared that Peggy would turn on her. She regretted her actions.

I love this video.........

http://blog.peacefulplaygrounds.com/2007/11/hero-in-hallway-you-tube-bullying-video.html

I love this web sight that you can get ideas about teaching your kids about bullying.....click HERE
This is just as important as teaching our kids about drugs and alcohol. There are 2 things that any parent doens't want to hear......That your child is being bullied or that your child is bullying someone!!!

This is such a worldwide problem. When I think of bullying and I think of the Prophet Joseph Smith in Carthage Jail, being bullied by people that couldn't accept a new people or religion.
When I think of bullying, I think of Cipher in the Snow. A young man gets off the bus and dies. He is alone and no one knows him or cares about him ( another form of abuse)
When I think of bullying, I think of a Savior that carries his cross to the hill. I think of thorns being placed on his head. I think of nails being driven through his hands and feet. For me. For us.

Cynna Phillips wrote a song and here are some of the words:

I’m not gonna hate,
even if I ache inside
I'm not gonna hurt someone,
even if I'm justified
I'm not gonna lie,
even if I've been deceived
An eye for an eye
is not the life I choose to lead

She goes on to say, "This is the way Jesus asks us to live our lives, and this is what we are trying to do. We extend this message to everyone out there: please forgive those who have hurt you and know that through Jesus and His love for us, His grace and His mercy, we are all forgiven, if we believe that He is our savior."

I hope and pray that if any one has ever felt bullied or intimidated by me that you will take in into your heart and "forgive me" :)

Hey you IF residents.....WADAYA think of this weather?????

:0 SWEET MEMORY MONDAY

The weather man is saying SNOW in 2 days! It was close to 80 today and SNOW in 2 days? These pictures were taken 2 years ago at our cabin the 1st October! Are we gonna do this again? Brrrrrrr
October 2007

Last Friday I did a photo shoot for a friend that took my dog while I went out of town. She had a daughter and son get married 2 weeks apart......poor her! They live on a farm so we had a blast shooting pics "on the farm"

See more of the pics HERE

We took some of them together and then separate! So cute!

Then at 5 I picked up my sis, Ingrid and went to her ward's Super Saturday (on Friday) It was a blast and we were both so proud of your projects. I am still smiling! They are so stinkin cute! Thanks Ingrid for the invite! :} Love ya!

I got an email from my cousin, Virginia, that we stayed with at the B and B. We have been talking about how it was meant to be that we were able to go stay with them. She said her hubby's dad always said: A COINCIDENCE IS A MIRACLE WHERE THE LORD REMAINS ANNOMOUS”.

I love that! So many coincidences and miracles in that little trip:}

Nuvi

When we were in Boise, Ryan was telling JP about his new GPS. It is great for him to get around Boise. When we left Boise, we stopped in La Grande, Oregon at Walmart and bought a GPS. It is a Garmin Nuvi....thus the name Nuvi. She is amazing. She tells you exactally when and where to turn, and if you miss the tryn, Nuvi tells you that she will re-direct your route! Now, I thought that it would be great to put in the address and it tells you how to get there. Not only does it tell you how to get there, it tells you the estimated time of arrival. That isn't supposed to matter right? Wrong. Now we are on some kind of a TIME SCHEDULE! No matter where we are headed, we punch in the address and up pops the ETOA! That means no potty stops, no stops for pictures or to stretch the legs! It's a man's dream!!!!! And now the conversationn in the car is between (the man) and Nuvi! It is actully quite amazing.

I just want to give you the up date from the procedure. It all went well. Just dang sore. Hopefully that will be the last one!

As for Grey's Anatomy........George? I will miss him on the show! He was my fav. I thought it really depicted life right on.....especailly the end. It really hit close to home for me. Here is the end of the show, (the naration) and I thought is was so good.

Lexie: [narrating] Grief may be a thing we all have in common, but it looks different on everyone.

Mark: It isn't just death we have to grieve. It's life. It's loss. It's change.

Alex: And when we wonder why it has to suck so much sometimes, has to hurt so bad. The thing we gotta try to remember is that it can turn on a dime.

Izzie: That's how you stay alive. When it hurts so much you can't breathe, that's how you survive.

Derek: By remembering that one day, somehow, impossibly, you won't feel this way. It won't hurt this much.

Bailey: Grief comes in its own time for everyone, in its own way.

Owen: So the best we can do, the best anyone can do, is try for honesty.

Meredith: The really crappy thing, the very worst part of grief is that you can't control it.

Arizona: The best we can do is try to let ourselves feel it when it comes.

Callie: And let it go when we can.

Meredith: The very worst part is that the minute you think you're past it, it starts all over again.

Cristina: And always, every time, it takes your breath away.

Meredith: There are five stages of grief. They look different on all of us, but there are always five.

Alex: Denial.

Derek: Anger.

Bailey: Bargaining.

Lexie: Depression.

Richard: Acceptance.

Meredith (narrating): The dictionary defines grief as keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret. As surgeons, as scientists, we're taught to learn from and rely on books, on definitions, on definitives. But in life, strict definitions rarely apply. In life, grief can look like a lot of things that bear little resemblance to sharp sorrow.

Our Little Get-away!

I have been married to the man of my dreams for 29 years. We have had our ups and downs through the years, but it has been the best! We just got back from our trip.....

And may I just say......That I had a wonderful time. We stayed 2 nights in Boise with the kids. Syd had to work, so Jp, Ryan and I went and saw some spa stores, went to a camera store (whoo hooo) to the mall, to an outlet mall, to lunch and then when Syd came home....to dinner and then watched Dirty Dancing.

Ryan and Lucy

We woke up early on Saturday and headed to the Tri-Cities. My dad's brother's family lives there. I have so many memories of my Aunt Ernistine. She is so fun and so loving. We went to their house. The oldest boy, Jim, has an organic farm. He took us in his hummer all over the farm to show us every thing. He raises blue berries and apples. He has birds that he trains to fly over the farm to keep out critters! It was sooooooooo amazing.

His Blueberries
The amazing Birds

We then went to lunch at Applebees and we talked and laughed like we had never been apart. It has been yearrrrrrrs since I have seem some of them. Bret is my age and he came to IF last year and we had a bar-b-q. You can check it out HERE. I haven't seen Jim and Shirley since the early 90's. I love these people. An even though they live miles away, they are always in my heart!

Richard, Ernistine, Me and Jerry Brett, Sandy, Shirley, Jim, Ernistine and Richard

Uncle Richard's Shop

We began our drive to the bed and breakfast with no knowledge of what was to come. We arrived at 7 and was so tired from the long drive that we just went to bed. We stayed in the Island Room Check it out Here It was Heavenly! On Sunday, We got ready for church and them Met Virginia. She is my cousin that I have not seen since 1981 at my Grandma Onita's Funeral. So fun to see her. At church, it was High-Council Sunday and he did a great job. After Sacrament Meeting, a guy came up and told JP that he enjoyed his talk!!!! The had on a matching jackets and kinda looked alike. He had several tell him he did good. We laughed. His (not JP) talk was so good. He talked about President Uchdorf's talk about the plane that went down in the Florida Everglades.

He begins by telling a story of a plane that crashed in the Florida Everglades about 36 years ago. The reason for the crash was that a light had failed to illuminate that would indicate whether or not the nose landing gear had extended successfully. In the process of investigating this light bulb, the pilots "became so preoccupied with their search that they failed to realize the plane was gradually descending closer and closer toward the dark swamp below...Everything was working properly- all except one thing: a single burned-out light-bulb...The malfunctioning light bulb didn't cause the accident; it happened because the crew placed its focus on something that seemed to matter at the moment while losing sight of what mattered most"
"The tendency to focus on the insignificant at the expense of the profound happens not only to pilots but to everyone...Our weakness is in failing to align our actions with our conscience"

Are we focusing on things that are of importance?

Are we frantically running around worrying about things that are the things that will finally "bring us down"

His talk made me really thing about the little burned out light bulbs in my life. Do I worry and and let them take over my life, or do I focus on the "big problems and solutions"

The Bed and Breakfast

After Church, we went back to the Bed and Breakfast and ate with Blaine and Virginia. We sat down and talked (and ate) from 1:00 to 9:30 pm!!!!!! We had so many years to catch up. Jerry and Blaine are both Bishops and they hit if off. Such a precious day!

On Monday we got up and had the best breakfast ever! Stuffed Huckleberry french toast! And then went out on the lake. The water is so clear and beautiful. We went to lunch and then took off from there to drive to the cabin.

Jp and Blaine. They have only met for a brief time, and yet they were like old friends. Virginia and I just laughed at these two.

Blaine told us a story. I don't want to forget it!

A man was working out in his yard when a car drove up. The man in the car rolled down the window and asked, "We are moving from our old neighborhood and I was wondering how this neighborhood is?" The man in the yard said, "How was your old neighborhood?" The man in the car answered, "Oh! it was horrible. We had terrible neighbors and we all fought all the time. We have to get out of there!" The man in his yard said, "That's how this neighborhood is"

The next day the man was out working out in his yard when a car drove up. The man in the car rolled his window down and asked, "We are moving from our old neighborhood and I was wondering how this neighborhood is?" The man in the yard said, " How was your old neighborhood?" The man in the car said. "OH! it was wonderful. We had wonderful neighbors and we loved each other so much. We are going to miss it terribly!" The man in the yard said. "That's just how this neighborhood is!"

Need I explain? I LOVED this because it really hit home to me. I have learned soooooo much over the years and one huge lesson for me is.........Your happiness is really in YOUR HEART!!!!

Your family, neighborhood and ward is what YOU make it!!!!!!

I was so excited to go on our little get away, but came back so grateful for this blessing in my life. To be able to re-connect with family is priceless. Be be able to just set in the car for hours and talk was wonderful. Thanks to Blaine and Virgina for a wonderful time! Love you guys!

Made it back to the cabin to mow the lawn, then off to Huntsman where Jp will have his procedure done tomorrow.

The smart Flies

I think that only the smart flies come into my house! We have had a bizillion! They are sticky and pesky! So I went to Fred Meyers and bought a fly strip to put up while I am gone. It said....."attracts more flies!" in 24 hours, not one little critter! I want my strip to be full like this one when I get home!!!!!! :}



So I left yesterday to drive to Boise to pick JP up at the airport. We spent the night with Lucy, Ryan and Syd. I have been so excited to take our little trip!!!!



Check this out......this is where we are going

http://www.innatthelake.com/



My cousin owns it and she called me yesterday and we were trying to figure out how long it has been since we've seen each other..... 1981~ Crazy huh? I am so excited to see her....

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

There are very few movies I LOVE to watch over and over and over! Dirty Dancing is one that I would watch a bizillion times! It is one of my all time favorites and I love it when he says, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner" I have always loved Patrick and was so sad to learn that his battle with cancer has come to an end. He is a fighter, and to me, will always be a HERO. I loved his quiet, confident ways. I pray that his family can have peace through out all of this. That they will always know that he, in many ways taught us so much about life. As I watched him battle with his cancer, I somewhat felt the pain, and the pain of his family. It changes your life forever.
I am so sad that he had to be taken at such a young age, but his memory and movies will forever be etched in our hearts. "Patrick, May you dance your way to Heaven!"
This is my favorite part of the movie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVNTPJKuVQg

I got an email from Mary and LOVED it!

WHY GOD MADE MOMS
Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:
Why did God make mothers
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.
What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice..
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

We will be leaving on Thursday to go to my cousins Bed and Breakfast for our 29th Anniversary, and although it will be good to get away, I wish I could somehow erase the fear and pain from my husband's memory. Just for 1 week. Just let him go back to a few years ago when all we worried about was little kids running around and hot tub sales. To the days when we were young and life was fun and crazy and hectic. Back to Pre-cancer days. Days when we both felt like we could conquer life and live to be 101. Before surgery's, pain and fear. Back to the days when we could sleep without Zanax and Ambien. LOL! Back to the days when we felt our future held everything we wanted and dreamed of. But I can't. So we just muttle through, and try every day to learn lessons, have faith, and some kind of peace. To laugh a laugh that is sincere, and not just covering pain and fear. To learn and appreciate the smallest of things, and to realize that they are the important things. To try to understand and accept God's will. That, there, is the hard part.

My Week In A Nutshell....and a winner

We have a winner for the picture.....Kailey Bailey! Email me at jkaypaz@aol.com and give me your address!
Ryan and Syd came home this weekend so Syd could go to her family's Girls retreat. They brought their new puppy, Lucy. She is a little Boxer. She is so dang cute. Jaxon wasn't sure about her......kinda jealous!

Lucy and Jaxon

Jaxon

On Thursday we went to the Fair with the R's! We walked around and looked at all the stuff, and ate tons. Then at 8:00 we went to Huey Lewis and the News! I loved it. I knew almost all of the songs.....so it was a blast!

These are cool hammock swings......might have to get JP some for Christmas

At the concert

Love these potato things

The egg rolls are the BEST!

Hooch and Hooch! When I was a kid, I loved to go to the fair with my family and get these hats!

On Saturday night we had a whopper of a party for Stacy's Birthday. I planned it fast, called a few people and BOY! Did they come out to support her. We haven't had a party for her for like 4 years.....sometime before her mission. I was so touched. It was amazing. We have great family and friends. Thanks guys!!!!

Her Friends from college

Roasting Hot dogs

I got this recipe from Here.....and it was so yummy
Love this game.....Golf balls on ropes and you throw them and try to hook them on the bars

Sara and Craig playing Croquet

Opening presentsAshley and LucyRyan Ashley and LucyIngrid and LucyDarren, Donna Stacy and Grandma PasleyMae with Grandma and Grandpa Lott Me and Mae