Andy's Mission Farewell

So eight months later...here are some pix of the birthday party/mission farewell  we had for Andy.  This is a terrible pic, but as usual, my camera was no where to be found so I had to use my phone.  I drew out the colors of the Uruguayan flag, white, yellow, and royal blue.  It was the end of August so there were sunflowers everywhere, a perfect addition to the table.

I did a picture display on our entryway bench with some mini flags in a garland.  We used pix from birth up to graduation and opening the mission call.

I set out some cards and pens for people to write some wishes/goodbyes for Andy.  We put them in his scrapbook after he read them.

This was a super easy detail but added a lot of drama- I took strips of crepe paper and cut them in varying lengths and then stitched them together on my sewing machine to create a garland.  They mimic the stripes on the Uruguay flag.

The AWESOME cake that my friend Karen made.  




One more shot, close up.  The detail was amazing and it was delicious!  She is super talented!



A little thank-you- mixed kisses and hugs in little paper sour cream containers with a sticker on it that had the address of the blog to keep up with Andy.

5 ways estrogen could be killing you...

I know, kind of dramatic, huh?  But this is my journal, so I am journaling about my life today.  Do I think estrogen is really killing you? No idea. Perhaps if you are in the same circumstances I am, then it could be.   Do I think it is killing me?   Yes.  Why?  Here we go:

Number 1

Yes, here we have exhibit A:  the nearly graduated high school senior.  She is deceptively lovely and delightful. Talented, brilliant, loving, and mostly happy. BUT! Underneath that charming exterior lies a seething cauldron of teenage angst, independence, and ESTROGEN.  She is ready to fly the coop, and I am ready to let her.  Don't get me wrong-I will miss my daughter, but the DRAMA she comes with, not so much: what drama you ask?  what to wear, what to major in, what to have for dinner, and my all time favorite, what to order in the drive through, which usually occurs immediately AFTER we order at the drive through.  Then there is the classic burst into tears if you ask me about my day, for no particular reason. It will probably be boring around here when she goes off to BYU in the fall. Then again, maybe not:  

                       Number 2

              

That's because we have exhibit B-the middle schooler!

She is also lovely and delightful.  Also, very responsible, self-motivated and organized.  Clearly brilliant and talented as well.  But she got her mother's tendencies toward control-freakiness.  Is that a word?  It is now.  Mix that with the hormonal changes beginning to take place, and we have an ESTROGEN BOMB and no way to disarm it.  Luckily, she won't be leaving home for several more years, so she has some time to even out.  Because, once again:  DRAMA.  Usually about being late, or not doing things the right way, or most often about Number 3 doing something to drive her absolutely bonkers, like breathing.  You know, something annoying like that.  We LOVE puberty!

                        Number 3

Exhibit C-the 3rd grader.  DO NOT be fooled by that smile.  Or those dimples.  Or those big, gray/blue eyes.  This girl can throw some world class tantrums.  I don't know if it is a function of the estrogen, or of being the baby of the family.  She is also beautiful, brilliant, talented, and kind.  But she can push every one of my buttons. I think we are finally starting to outgrow some of that; probably just in time to arrive at puberty!  Yay.


                                               Numbers 4 and 5

Exhibit D and E:  the dogs.  Who are both girls.  I know.  Why we have so many girls in this house, I don't know.  But there it is.  They are spayed, but they still have estrogen.  How do I know?  Because they are also dramatic little princesses.  They spend their days ordering me around to let them in.  Or out.  Or feed them.  Or water them.  Or put them on the bed.  Well, that is just Sara, our 13 year old dog.  Sugar just hops right on top of me, and nestles in between my legs like that is her bed.  They are also cute and brilliant.  

Actually, maybe I should be Number 5, because I have entered the wondrous world of perimenopause. What is that you ask?  Well, it is all the ups and downs of the 11 year old, with the tantrums of the baby, and the insecurities that the high-schooler has!  Plus, night sweats.  Fun stuff. I really think it might kill me.  But don't feel sorry for me.  You should feel sorry for my husband.  Who,since Andy left for college and then a mission, is the ONLY man in this house of 6 girls.  Bless his heart.   

Why you shouldn't keep your jammies in the same drawer with yourworkout clothes

This isn't a rhetorical question, like "where do socks go when you put them in the dryer?" or "am I the only person in here who can see that huge pile of unfolded laundry?" or " what is it exactly that meatloaf won't do for love? He'll do anything else, but not this?"
I guess that's not really a question in the title, more like a thesis statement. Anyway, I digress. The reason you shouldn't keep your workout clothes in the same drawer as your jammies is that you may be running late one day. And then, you will remember you have a hot streak of two days at the gym running, so you will run to your room and throw some clothes in your bag. Fast forward to after work, into the gym bathroom, where you have on yoga pants, socks, shoes, and sports bra. You reach in to your bag and grab your gray t-shirt...I mean, your gray pajama bottoms! I will admit right now that if it had been the gray pj top I would have totally worn that sucker. But I couldn't quite figure out what to do with the pants. Wrap them like a sarong-type thing? Wear them on my head? And keep in mind that just wearing a sports bra as a top is only acceptable if you are under the age of 30 and/or you look like Jillian Michaels. I am neither of those things. However, wanting to keep my aforementioned fitness streak going, I dug in my bag and found a black hoodie sweatshirt. That zipped. So I could wear it over the sports bra but zipped down to have a little ventilation and even look not as frumpy as I usually do when working out. I am not going to lie. It was hot. But I persevered and did my 40 minutes of HIIT! Now I am going to celebrate with a Reese's peanut butter cup. But with a diet coke, so the calories are canceled out. True story. And I am packing for the gym the night BEFORE from now on.

How to Give a Missionary a Heart Attack

Not a real one of course.  That would be crazy!  But I am always trying to think of ways to brighten our missionary's day, and since Valentine's Day is coming up, we sent him a heart attack!  Even though I am pretty sure they don't celebrate Valentine's Day in Uruguay.  It's a great excuse for chocolate.  Right?

 Step one is to cut out a bunch of paper hearts.  Any size, any shape.  I advise having your three daughters do this.  If you don't have three daughters, look around.  Someone does.  You can borrow mine.  Then, write some sweet nothings on your hearts.  Or sweet somethings.  I think we wrote things we love about Andy, and also Valentine's wishes.  I use the term "we" loosely, because I was so busy getting everything together, that I didn't write on one. single. heart.  *sigh*  What kind of missionary mom am I?  Anyway, he still got lots of love from the girls and dad, and schlepping the package to the post office and filling out the customs form should get me some props, right?

Step two.  Throw in a whole bunch of candy.  We did hugs, kisses, and peanut butter hearts.  I would do whatever your missionary/recipient likes.  Sprinkle liberally over the hearts. 

Step three.  Since we are sending this to a boy, I always try to include some kind of toy that can be thrown, flipped, or bounced.  For some reasons, missionaries never get tired of those kinds of things.  Jumping frogs are perfect.  Plus, I figure he can always give them away to little Uruguayan kids.  

That's it!  Super simple and guaranteed to make someone's day!  And way more fun than a real heart attack.  Also, a lot less serious.  

cs lewis printable

I love CS Lewis.  I find him extremely inspiring and very pragmatic about the gospel.  I was messing around today and this is what I made:

I don't know why  part of the d got cut off in the jpeg, but you can go here to download the pdf.

This quote reminds me of this talk by Elder Christofferson about our daily bread, found here.  It's a great reminder of why we need to rely on God every day.  

Missionary Stocking Tutorial

 I wanted to make Andy a cute missionary stocking for Christmas, and I found a link here where you can order a stocking pattern.  But let's face it, you already know I am lazy, and it was already November.  So I went to Hobby Lobby and found two black satin stockings.  ( I try to do doubles of everything so the comp. gets to share in the joy!)  I just used this as a base and for the "slacks" portion of the stocking.  Next, I traced the upper area of the stocking onto the back of some sticky back white felt (with the paper still on!)  I cut it out and stuck it on.  Then I sketched a collar template, don't forget to do one in reverse, and cut two of those.  Then I followed with a small pocket, which was just basically a small rectangle.  I would put my templates on here, but I know everyone will find different stockings, so just using 

your own as a pattern is the best idea, I think. 

  I also hot glued some buttons on the collar and down the shirt front.  The next detail I added was a belt.  Again, I just traced the width of the stocking and made a strip about an inch tall.  This was also cut from sticky back felt.  I stuck it on, then cut a small rectangle out of yellow felt, which I hot glued, and then topped with an even smaller rectangle of brown.  I added a little sliver of yellow to be the tongue of the belt.  Wait, is that what it's called?  Anyway, that pokey thing that goes through the belt holes.

That one.

It's just a sliver of yellow felt.  

On to the tie!  I first had my husband tie some ties for me out of wide ribbon.  But they wouldn't lay right, or stay tied, and finally, I got the genius idea of just pinching the tie where I wanted the knot to be and pleating it a little with my fingers and gluing it.  Then, I wrapped that portion with a smooth piece of ribbon, shaped it into a triangle, and glued that.  Then the whole shebang gets glued onto the stocking.  I did leave the lower part of the tie unattached, because I thought it looked cuter that way.  Do it however your heart desires!  

I found a download for the tag here.  I just inserted into a powerpoint slide and put in the names myself.  Then printed and laminated them.  I don't know how well they stayed on, I will have to ask my son, but I did try to glue them on there pretty well.  

Hope this inspires you to send some joy to your missionary!  And since Rachel wants to go as soon as Andy comes home, I am sure I will be coming up with a sister missionary stocking!

Linking this up on or so she says...

six letters

  So, when Andy left on his mission a few months ago, I thought it would be helpful to send some pre-written letters with him.  Ones that he could open and read, or re-read when he needed them.  So I wrote six letters for him to take.  I think.  I didn't actually make notes until after he left, so I am remembering as best I can.  If I didn't remember perfectly, then these are six letters that I wish I had written!  I wrote each one on a card, with a scripture or thought on the front of the card, and the body of the letter inside.  I am going to share the quotes and subjects, or ones that I think would be helpful, since I can't actually remember everything!  I wrote when he should open each letter on the outside of the envelope.  

1.  Open on First day-I wrote this on the front, "Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation." (Doctrine and Covenants 31:3)  This was the scripture Sis. Pinegar read to us when I entered the MTC many years ago, and it struck me with such great force that I remembered it often both as a missionary, and since.  I wrote inside about how joyful we were that he was getting this amazing privilege to serve the Lord.  And how much joy he would receive from this great opportunity.

2.  Open when things are hard with your companion- Idea for the quote:  "“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.” C.S. Lewis
I shared my experiences of difficult companionships, and also my advice- to serve and pray for your companion.

3.  Open when things are good- I put this scripture on the front-"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."  Alma 26:12-This was the scripture I chose for my mission plaque.  I tried to always remember that I was just an instrument in the Lord's hands, working for his glory.  Inside, I wrote about humility and gratitude.

4.  Open when things are really hard-Idea for the front:  I think I put this scripture "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."  Ether 12:27.  I think I wrote about just hanging in there when things are tough, because you are never alone.  And how trials really do strengthen us in ways that we can't see or understand at the time.

5.  Open when you are doing everything right, but nothing is going right- I think I put this scripture on the front about the stripling warriors. "Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them." Alma 57:21.  I wrote about how sometimes, we have an "obedience month", as one of my companions called it.  When the Lord wants to see just how obedient you will be, even if the blessings aren't coming right away.  Actually, I think he wants US to know how obedient we can be.  Every missionary has an obedience month or two. 

6.  Open on your last day- I didn't send this letter with him, thinking that I would mail it as it gets closer.  I just hope I don't forget!  Scripture for the front: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."  Matt. 25:21
I would write about all the blessings we have received as a family, and that he has received as a missionary, and how great a privilege it is to serve the Lord with all your heart. 

I know that in this digital age, we need something tangible that we can hold and touch and read over and over.  I hope this gives you some ideas that you can use to help your missionaries!  I had the experience of serving a mission, but even if you are not an RM yourself, you have had many experiences in your life that you can draw on to give counsel and encouragement to your warriors!

P.S.  My son is brilliant.  I mean that literally.  But he JUST figured out that the cards OPEN and that there is something INSIDE!  *sigh*  So if your son/daughter is of the absent-minded variety, you might want to let them know that these are more than just quote cards!!!