The Gift Of The Comforter

This week, we had a lot of things that really brought the spirit. With it being the week of Christmas, we were often with family and often speaking of Christ. What a blessing to have this wonderful time of year to singularly remember our Savior's birth and life. 

We also had moments of silent, individual time which allowed for reflection and introspection. Regretfully to recall, I also in these moments had times when I was overcome by sadnesses. Don't worry, nothing bad actually happened this week, but while going through my files of memory, I was reminded of sad things, such as the passing of my grandfather. With regrets of "what I could have said" or "what I could have done", tears would begin flowing and the dark feelings arise. How thankful I have been for the blessing of the comforter, for in these hours when I felt overwhelmingly alone, I was able to call upon my Lord in prayer and ask for his comfort to protect me. It was a very powerful testimony to me, as I lay crying alone, that immediately upon my asking, The Lord blessed me with peace. 

Later in the week, I was with my husband's family, celebrating Christmas. I had a beautiful opportunity to share the peace of the spirit with my Mother-in-love (no, that is not auto correct, that's what we call it.  it's not the law that binds us, but love), Becky. When I was 5, my maternal grandmother passed away. Even though I was very young an didn't really know her in this life, I have always felt a very strong connection to her. I always wished that I could have known her better. Becky's mother passed away while she was in only her teens. In about a week an a half, she will have outlived her mother. For Christmas, she gave all her daughters, including me, a book called "Christ's Gifts to Women". Inside, she wrote an individualized message to each daughter. Being the only daughter-in-law, I was surprised to receive one as well. She had written these notes, thinking of her mother, and wishing her mother had written something for her. The sweetness of this act overwhelmed me as I thought of my own grandmother and the wish for tangible memories of her love. Becky and I shared in that moment, a sense of connection that was far beyond the boundaries of mortality. I am so thankful for her attention to the spirit as she reached out to me as a daughter and as a sister in the kingdom of God. I am so thankful for the blessing comfort through the spirit and for the connections that exceed this world. 

At church yesterday, we had two little girls, who had been baptized the day before, receive their conformation and the gift of the Holy Ghost. What a blessing it is to know that have this gift, to have his spirit with us at all times. 

I pray that the Comforter with always be with you in this coming year. I am so thankful for that blessing. 

Let There Be Light

This week, I am thankful for light. There isn't really a reason for this gratitude. I suppose I did have a couple of really gray days as well as several light bulbs burn out at the same time. Perhaps it was that or some other internal version. 

I am grateful for the ability to see with the light. Thankful for the clarity that it brings both to my eyes and to my heart. I am also thankful for the peace that it brings. I wouldn't have thought that the light could bring pease in a literal sense, but I was shocked at the comfort of having a bright day or a working lightbulb. 

I am also so very grateful, especially at this time of year, for the light of my Savior. What a wonderful blessing to have the light and truth of his gospel. How wonderful it is to have it shine the way for us to see. It amazes me the comfort an peace it brings to know why we are here and where we are going. 

I love my Savior so much and thank him for the light. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Mother, I Love You. Mother, I Do.

This week, I am thankful for my mother.  I have had several experiences and moments this week that have shown me first of all how much I miss my mother, and secondly how grateful I am to have her.

Although there wasn't really anything that blatantly said "this week should be about your mom," there was just a lot of little things that made me think of her.  I am so thankful that I have a mother who is not just my mom, but also my friend.  I greatly enjoy being able to call and converse with her about day to day things without feeling that I will be reprimanded or judged by what I tell her.   What a blessing to know that I can trust her with my deepest secrets and littlest feelings.

I am so blessed to have a mother who expressed her love for me.  I am thankful that she would hold my hand and give me the "I love you" sign from across the room.  Those little things really helped me know that my mother loved me with all her heart.  My mom had 8 children; there's not a lot of time in the day to get all the work done, everyone taken care of, and then have any extra time to make anyone feel special, but my mother always did it.  I never had a day that I didn't think that my mom loved me.  I was just as special to her as anyone else.  What a blessing.

I am so thankful for all the work and effort that she put in for me.  There are so many lessons that I learned from her throughout the years, and I only plan on continuing to learn from her.  I can't even count the times that I have called her for advice or direction.  I am so grateful for a mother who cooked and taught us to love to cook.  I may not be as wonderful a chef as she is, but at least I have a vague idea of what I'm doing with a measuring cup!

On top of it all, I am so eternally grateful to have a mother who is strong in the gospel.  It is so wonderful to be able to lean on her when I need strength.  I'm thankful for the many lessons and the patient hours she spent trying to teach all of us kids about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Each of those lessons are infinitely and increasingly valuable to me as I grow older.   What a strength and an example she has been to me for so long.

Thank you mom for all that you do!  I love you a whole big monkey Michelle bunch, and that's the biggest!

Quilling Ornaments!

We decided we were going to do homemade ornaments for our December craft night.  On top of that, we learned a new skill:  Quilling!  Check it out!

Night of Crafts

So, for our Relief Society activity in November, we decided to do a craft night to prepare our homes for the holidays. We focused on home decor items that would bring family and gospel centered thoughts into our home. We had a wonderful night of fun and socializing as many of our sisters attended. We offered 4 crafts, but also allowed for people to bring their own craft if they desired, as well as offered a class on making yeast rolls from scratch. Here are the crafts we did.

Holiday Stacking Blocks

I saw a picture of these cute blocks on Pinterest and just had to make them. I used my Cricut with Craft Room to cut out all the letters for each and had my sweet husband cut the blocks for me.  View the original pin here.

Instructions:

Cut blocks from a 2x2 wood beam into a 10" block, a 8" block, and a 6" block.

Sand blocks to desired texture. (note, they don't need to be baby bottom smooth. A little texture allows the Mod Podge to hold deeper into the wood, but too much will make for a bumpy paper after.) 

Cut letters to fit the block.  This is what I used with my Cricut:

Spring

Hope: 

Cartridge - Alphalicious

Font - Basic

Text Size - 1.3

Letter Spacing - 3

Resurrection:  

Cartridge - Lyrical Letters

Font - Basic

Text Size - 1.6

Letter Spacing - 2

New Beginnings:  

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Gratitude

Text Size - 1.7

Letter Spacing - 1

Patriotic

Freedom:  

Cartridge - Lyrical Letters

Font - JackSprat

Text Size - 1.9

Letter Spacing - 1

Fireworks:  

Cartridge - Lyrical Letters

Font - Jumbo

Text Size - 1.2

Letter Spacing - 0

Stars & Stripes:  

Cartridge - Southwest

Font - FontShadow

Text Size - 1.5

Letter Spacing - 1

Autumn

Harvest:  

Cartridge - Opposites Attract

Font - Upright

Text Size - 0.5

Letter Spacing - 2

Blessings:  

Cartridge - Lyrical Letters

Font - LoopDeeLoo

Text Size - 1.6

Letter Spacing - 1

Give Thanks:  

Cartridge - Alphalicious

Font - Basic

Text Size - 1.6

Letter Spacing - 1

Christmas

Noel:  

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Basic

Text Size - 2.3

Letter Spacing - 0

Behold Him:  

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Matrimony

Text Size - 1.8

Letter Spacing - 1

Joy to the World:  

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - InspirationBlackout

Text Size - 1.5

Letter Spacing - 1

Cut background papers to the following sizes, needing one for each season:  1.5"x10", 1.5"x8", 1.5"x6"

Glue on papers and letter with Mod Podge in the following order:

Apply Mod Podge to block

Lay down the background paper

Apply a layer of Mod Podge to paper

Lay down the letters (note: make sure to layout letters in advance in order to make sure they will be centered on the block.  If you don't, you may not have enough space for all the letters or it won't be centered correctly.)

Cover entire side of block with Mod Podge to seal the paper down and make all glue lines going in the same direction to finish up the look.

Recommendation:  If you do the sides in the order of 1 side of 6" block, then 1 side of 8" block, then 1 side of 10" block, then back to the 6" block, it will allow Mod Podge to dry in between each block so you don't get wet glue facing the table and drying to it.

Enjoy!

Family Photo Blocks

Again, another cute Pinterest inspiration, but really, I couldn't not. View the original pin here.  Again, Cricut Craft Room was very important to the designing of the project.

Instructions:

This project ran a lot like the Rotating Holiday Blocks.

Cut blocks from a 2x3 wood beam into a 10" block and 4 3" blocks

Sand blocks to desired texture. (note, they don't need to be baby bottom smooth. A little texture allows the Mod Podge to hold deeper into the wood, but too much will make for a bumpy paper after.) 

Cut letters to fit the block.  This is what I used with my Cricut:

F:  

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Matrimony

Text Size - 3.4

Letter Spacing - 5

(Note:  I stretched the F so that it would look more italicized than the font originally had, so I stretched it width wise over about an inch.)

amily:  

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Matrimony

Text Size - 2.4

Letter Spacing - 5

Cut background papers to 2.5"x10". 

Cut pictures to 2.5"x3".

If you would like, we had several sisters that wanted the whole block covered, so they simply rolled the blocks in the paper to measure.  This direction should be approximately 10" x 8" for the main block and 3"x8" with side pieces cut to about 2.5"x3".  It was a very cute way to cover up the wood look if you prefer that. 

Glue on papers and letter with Mod Podge in the following order:

Apply Mod Podge to block

Lay down the background paper

Apply a layer of Mod Podge to paper

Lay down the letters (note: make sure to layout letters in advance in order to make sure they will be centered on the block.  If you don't, you may not have enough space for all the letters or it won't be centered correctly.)

Cover entire side of block with Mod Podge to seal the paper down and make all glue lines going in the same direction to finish up the look.

Do the same basic process for the picture blocks.

Enjoy!

Young Women Values Tile

As usual, found the picture on Pinterest, but I changed up the fonts a lot and I liked it much better this way.  View the original pin here.

Instructions:

This one is pretty easy since it's just cutting vinyl and transfering it like a sticker onto a 12"x12" tile that I got from home depot.

Cut the vinyl to the following specifications:

Faith

Cricut Vinyl in Linen

Cartridge - Southwest

Font - FontShadow

Text Size - 2.5

Letter Spacing - 5

Divine Nature

Cricut Vinyl in Denim

Cartridge - Alphalicious

Font - Basic

Text Size - 1.4

Letter Spacing - 5

Individual Worth

Cricut Vinyl in Berry

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Matrimony

Text Size - 1.5

Letter Spacing -  5

Knowledge

Cricut Vinyl in Olive

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Inspiration

Text Size - 1.9

Letter Spacing - 5

Choice & Accountability

Silhouette America Vinyl in Orange

Cartridge - Lyrical Letters

Font - JackSprat

Text Size - 1.2

Letter Spacing - 5

Good Works

Okay, for the freaking life of me, I could not find anyone  who had vinyl sheets in yellow in stock.  What the crap, right?  Instead, I was forced to go with more of a cream color.  Maybe I will redo Good Works when I can get my hands on some yellow vinyl.  Anyone know why it's not in stock anywhere?

Cricut Vinyl in Pebble

Cartridge - Alphalicious

Font - ShortStack

Text Size - 1.6

Letter Spacing - 3

Integrity

Cricut Vinyl in Lavender

Cartridge - Lyrical Letters

Font - Connected

Text Size - 1.1

Letter Spacing - 0

Virtue

Silhouette America Vinyl in Gold

Cartridge - Calligraphy Collection

Font - Shadow

Text Size - 2.7

Letter Spacing - 4

Apply letters to tile using Transfer Tape, following the packaging instructions.

You can also do this process with press'n'seal wrap.  If you're not careful though, you can get little spot on your vinyl as residue from the wrap.  Make sure not to press too hard and do it quickly.  This does not sit well for long without the residue forming.

Voila!

Thomas S. Monson Quote Tile

This one wasn't a Pinterest idea actually. We hand picked the quote from conference and designed it all on our own. This one took a lot of playing with as it was being developed. I changed font about 6 times and cut the words more than 4. It was a rough go to get it the way I wanted it, but I think it turned out very well and was a big hit at the activity. 

Instructions:

Again, simple sticker on a tile.  Same instructions as the YW Values Tile.

Cut vinyl to the following specifications from Cricut Vinyl in Midnight: 

Remember & Become:
Cartridge - Opposites Attract
Font - Upright
Text Size - 0.8
Letter Spacing - 5

Inner Text:
Cartridge - Opposites Attract
Font - Upright
Text Size - 0.5
Letter Spacing -3 for top row, 5 for bottom row

Thomas S Monson:
Cartridge - Opposites Attract
Font - Upright
Text Size - 0.4
Letter Spacing - 5

Apply with Transfer Tape, following package instructions.

Yeast Rolls Class

Amelia was so sweet to do this cute class for our sisters that didn't want to do the crafts.  Don't they look yummy!

In large bowl add:

1 cup Crisco

¾ cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

Pour 2 cups boiling water over above stir and cool.

Mix:       2 Tbsp. yeast and ½ cup warm water in a small bowl.

Add:      4 slightly beaten eggs, yeast mixture, and 2 cups flour to Crisco mixture. Stir.

Add:      5 ½ cups more flour (do not add any more than this, dough is sticky)

Stir with wooden spoon. Let raise until doubled.  Roll out in circles.  Spread with butter.  Cut into crescent shapes and roll up.  Let raise around 20 minutes. Then bake.  Spread with butter as they come out of oven.  Bake at 375⁰ for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Hope you have a great time crafting!  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!

Let It Snow

This week I am thankful for two very wonderful blessings. 

Firstly, I am thankful for the snow. We just had a couple of days of snowfall here and there was so many times that I would be walking through the snow as the sun glinted on each flake. What a beautiful site!  What a wonderful feeling it was to just stand there in the snow in amazement of what our God has made for us! 

I am thankful for the moment of introspection upon this snowy day. Each snowflake is individual and different, but since He knows the grains of the sand and each sparrow that falls, perhaps even each flake. What a glorious knowledge to know that he loves me and thinks of me as the beautiful shining snow. Perhaps one day, I can have his light shinning through me showing to others how glorious his works are!  What a precious gift to know that I am a child of God, whom I love and who loves me. That I might be the beautiful snowflake that bring the gift of moisture to the ground and the joy to those around it! 

Secondly, I am thankful for the safety of my car. I know it sounds funny, but what I'm thankful for is also what I'm thankful against. It can be very dangerous out in the snow with fast moving hunks of metal flying by. I was told the story of my husband's grandmother's passing from years and years ago. I had been told the aftermath part, but had never heard the whole story. It was a bittersweet to share that moment with my husband. To make the story short, it was about this time of year in about the same place we were driving through that she was in a 5 car accident. This was back before protective things like air bags and such.

I am so thankful for the modern inventions of protection. There are so many tedious things out there that sometimes we don't realize are for our good. As much not fun as it is to say it, I'm thankful for inspections, regulations, and requirements. What a blessing to know that me and my family are being protected. 

I am so grateful for the blessing of protection that my Lord has provided my family these past few days with all of the ice and snow. 

I pray that you and your loved ones are safe and protected this winter. I also pray you remember your worth as the glorious shinning snowflakes fall overhead!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

For Dirty Dishes

As we begin December and thereby the Christmas season, I would really like to make this a special Christmas kickoff blessing. Sadly, however, that's not going to happen. 

This week I am thankful for my dirty dishes. As we finish up the thanksgiving season, we realize the amount of dishes that come with it. Now, usually, I would be rather put out at the fact that I have done two loads of dishes everyday for the past two weeks. However, this week I am thankful for all of them.

It's been a lot of work to clean them up and more work still to make then dirty, but each dish means that I had friends and family in my home, I had a home to have then in, and I had the friends and family to come. What a blessing it is to have family and friends at this wonderful time of year. 

I am also, on the more temporal side of things, thankful for my dishwasher. Web Matt and I were first married, we lived on an apartment without one. I am so very thankful not to have to wash all my dishes by hand. We have some friends who had their dishwasher break and have been weeks without it. It just made me realize how wonderful these devices are. I have the blessing of letting the machine do the work so I can spend more direct time with my family and friends. What a blessing it is! 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!