Fall is in the Air

Maybe I am just willing it here, but I can practically taste it... FALL! I love fall. It is my favorite season of the year. (Although here in Arizona there are really only three seasons.) So my anticipation is building and the excitement is growing because fall is almost here.

Every year as fall draws near I get the urge to watch You've Got Mail. I love the seasons in that film. There is the fun fall festival and the scene celebrating Thanksgiving. And remember some of the great lines in it that have to do with fall? "A bouquet of sharpened pencils." And don't you think Meg Ryan's hairstyle in You've Got Mail is just so cute? Much better than some of her other film hairdos.

On Saturday my friend Heather and I went to a darling fall festival at the Blissful Living Studio. They had so many cute crafts and a fun fall schedule of classes to look forward to. Seeing all the Halloween and pumpkin decor really got me in the mood for fall. And the decorations there have inspired me as to decorating my house soon. I think I will put together a fun display on my entry hall table.


Another fall thing I look forward to is getting out my thick, warm comforter and putting away the cool summer bedclothes.There is just something about snuggling down under nice warm blankets. I am hoping within the next month I will be able to do this. The change is always so nice.

Other things I love about fall:

Our neighborhood Halloween block party
Sweaters
Bonfires
Pumpkins
Hay rides
Baking
oh, and...
my birthday!

Hurry up fall. I can't wait!

Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 58:13

Year of Miracles #21

I honestly can't recall any miracles from this past week. I have thought and thought, but nothing is really coming to mind. I guess I need to pay more attention in this upcoming week. Here, though, is a miracle that happened when I was a child.

My family was driving on vacation in the mountains and passed a car parked by the side of the road. A couple was standing next to the car, but nothing appeared to be wrong. Shortly after passing the car, my mother had a strong feeling we needed to back to see if they needed any help. My dad turned the car around and went back to the couple we had passed. After pulling up behind it my parents went to go and see if any help was needed.

The couple in the other car was elderly and very nice. And yes, they did need help changing a flat tire. The husband had recently had heart surgery and was not supposed to exert as much physical strain as changing a tire would require. They had worried and wondered what to do until our family stopped to help

My father set to work changing the tire for them and soon after both cars were on there separate ways.

Scripture of the Day: #4 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy-- Genesis 2:2

Police Beat #6

Smile! The weekend is almost here! And BYU students are getting into trouble again...

A blind deer was found by a resident at the Wymount Terrace. Provo Animal Control was called and they came and took care of the animal. They knew it was blind because it was running into things.

Someone called to report that the ducks and turtles were being stolen from the pond on the south end of campus. Police found that children were playing by the pond with the animals.

BYU police responded when they heard an explosion near a Helaman Halls dorm. Upon further investigation they discovered the remnants of an Axe Body Deodorant Spray Can. They have no suspects.

A male student posted fliers in female dorm halls asking for dates to satisfy a dating requirement for his marriage preparation class. The fliers not only violate BYU policy but were disturbing female residents. Police discovered that the student was not enrolled in that class and the professor he said he had has retired.

Auxiliary services reported suspicious-looking money found in the BYU Laundry building. A worker received a dollar bill with a picture of Santa Claus glued over George Washington. The worker was also told where he could buy similar money online. The bill was tested to be authentic.

Scripture of the Day: #4 Exodus 31:17

***Don't forget to head over here and enter into the giveaway of my book this week on crazymamaof6's blog. You have until tomorrow. Good luck!***

Ten Commandments Test

So how are you doing with the 10 Commandments so far?

Need some extra help?

If you are a visual learner, check out this cute website that provides picture cues/clues to help remember the 10 Commandments. There is even a little quiz at the end to see how well you remember after reviewing the pictures. It might be helpful to print the pictures out, glue them onto 3" x 5" cards, and make some flashcards for your family to use, too.

Stay tuned for another fun 10 Commandment game to be posted next week!

A Journal Enrichment Night

An "action" shot of Heather (r) and Konni (l) at the dessert table.
(All right you caught me! I did partake, even though I am trying to watch those sugar grams!)

Last night I was a guest speaker in Saratoga Ward's quarterly Enrichment night speaking about the use of blogging and other forms as a way to journal. Saratoga Ward is in Gilbert, which is where I used to live. It was really fun seeing old neighbors, good friends, and familiar faces. The best part about speaking to a group of familiar faces is the relaxed atmosphere it lends to... I wasn't nervous to speak at all. I did feel as though I rambled on telling my story and experiences, so maybe I should have been more nervous. Still it was a fun experience. After my schpiel they made darling journals out of composition books by decorating the covers with scrapbooking paper, ric rack, faux jewels, and some cutout phrases (i.e., inspired). I was told I could make one, but I really needed to head home. But I may just have to make one on my own...

Just getting started on the journals

Scripture of the Day: #4 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy -- Genesis 2:2

Scripture Vocabulary

One of the downsides of using the KJ version of the Bible is that the language is unfamiliar and challenging--especially for kids. And the language of the BoM is pretty much the same. Be sure to take a second or two to explain (by repeating using a good synonym) to your children to help them better understand what the scriptures are really saying.

I am in the process of compiling a list of definitions of the more common but challenging scripture vocabulary words that children need help learning. Please excuse these simplified definitions; my point is to be able to help younger kids, so the definitions might not be as exact or detailed as what you might find in an official dictionary.

Every once in a while I will add to the list with an additional post. But here are the beginnings:

Adversary: Satan or another person who is against you

Begat: became the parent of (i.e., Abraham begat Isaac)

Charity: to love and/or care about

Epistle: a letter

Exceedingly: very

Hypocrite: someone who says one thing, but then does the opposite

Persecuted: teased or laughed at for a belief

Ponder: to think about something a lot

Privily: privately or secretly

Raiment: clothing

Thee, thou, thy: all forms of the word "you" in referring to Heavenly Father or Christ

Thine: yours, in referring to Heavenly Father or Christ

Wroth: angry

Ye: also meaning you

Yea: yes

Scripture of the Day: #3 -- Joshua 2:17

Book Giveaway

This week CrazyMamaof6 is hosting a giveaway of my book--not the CD-rom this time, but the actual book. Thanks Julia for hostessing it! Check it out and leave a comment to enter.