Pretty in Pink!

THANKS to niece Lindsey for taking these beautiful pictures of our GRANDdaughters! They're very photogenic girls, if I do say so myself! I love how the pictures captured their different expressions and their personalities. So, so, CUTE!

Dee's cereal

I recently discovered this new cereal that I really like. It's sold in the refrigerated section of Macey's grocery store. It's kind of pricy - $18.50 for a bag, but it has 46 servings in one bag. It's made in Orem and probably only sold in Utah. I've noticed it before, but I resisted buying it because it cost so much. However, I must say that I love it! I'm not a fan of cold cereal. It's tastes too much like what I think it would be like to eat cardboard. I'll eat it, but a prefer eggs or cooked cereal. We use to call cooked cereal "mush" growing up. We would eat cracked wheat, oatmeal and cream of wheat on a regular basis. I think cooked cereal stays with you and keeps you full a lot longer than cold cereal.
Any, back to Dee's. Here are the ingredients listed on the back of the bag: organic wheat, brown rice, rolled oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, raisins, flax seed, garbanzo beans, organic corn, cranberries, bananas, oat groats (what ever that is) barley, oat bran and spices. That's it. No preservatives (hence the need to keep it in the refrigerator or the freezer) and very high in fiber. Rick thinks it is like eating bird seed! It claims to "fuel your mind and jump start your body." Dee Jardine, the creator of the cereal says "I found problems such as low energy, diabetes, weight loss, high blood pressure, constipation, high cholesterol and failing eye sight simply went away upon changing my lifestyle." It has 220 calories per serving with 5 g of fiber, 7 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate and 8 g fat. All you do is mix 1/3 cup of Dee's cereal with 2/3 cup water and microwave it for a couple of minutes. I like to add a tablespoon of honey and presto - a healthy, filling breakfast!

2 Nice Nieces

I'm a very lucky Aunt. I have 11 lovely nieces on my side of the family. (I also have 8 nephews, but I'll get to them later.) Back to the nieces.

They are wonderful! They are turning out to be fabulous women, wives and mothers. I want to pay tribute to each of them eventually, but I'll start with the two who came to visit recently. I wanted to give them a shout out and let them know how much I (we) love them. Their visits meant a lot to us. They both sought us out and asked to spend time with us. How great is that? It meant a lot to me and I enjoyed every minute of it just chatting, laughing and enjoying each other. We talked about raising children, homemaking, goals for the future, our religious beliefs and what really matters in life. They are women of great insight who care deeply about their children and husbands and who are working hard to become the best they can be.
The first set of pictures are of my niece Jamie. She is the oldest grandchild on my side of the family. She made me an aunt! I remember being so excited to see her when she was born. I took these pictures of her when she was little. I don't think she has seen those old pictures for years! Her proud parents are my oldest sister Mary Ann and her husband Tracy (don't they look great in the photo??) She lived near us for a short time and then their family moved away. Much of her growing up years her family lived out of state, so I haven't had a chance to spend as much time with her as I would have liked. She was a tiny baby at birth and she has grown into a beautiful woman. She is the mother of five children and she cares about them deeply. She has had some rough challenges in life, but she has surmounted those obstacles and is making the best of them. Jamie has been through the refiners fire and it has made her a better person. She has deep religious beliefs and she truly tries to be a Christ-like person. She is funny, creative, thoughtful and she has the best heart. Her husband Ryan is a good man. He and Rick had a great time visiting amount their common interests and work situations. We enjoyed the weekend touring around the BYU campus, checking out the UVU campus for future possibilities, attending a BYU - Air Force BB game, and going to the MTC for sacrament meeting and lunch with the missionaries. Her younger son Daniel looked so cute in his new suit, white shirt and tie. Her 3 oldest children, Josh, Rachel and Daniel came too and it was so nice to get to know them better. It was a great adventure and we hope they'll come back again soon.































Last fall Jamie's youngest sister Lindsey came for a visit with her darling daughter Emma. She and our oldest daughter Jordan are the same age. They were born two months apart. Jordan was born in September and Lindsey in November. One was a blonde and the other a brunette. They have been good friends all through the years, and recently spent some time together when Lindsey visited Jordan in AZ. They are both young mothers. Jordan has her two little girls and Lindsey is expecting her second girl in a few months, so they have much in common. When Lindsey came to visit us, we just enjoyed visiting for hours - sharing ideas and catching up with one another. She is so interesting to talk to. She is sincere, very grounded in what really matters in life and happy. She too has a wonderful husband named Ryan and they are a great team.
Both of these nice nieces are dear people to me. They both know that our favorite thing to do is to visit and share ideas and experiences. They indulge us in this past time and we love them for it. Please come again soon!

Christian Courage

Three things came into sharp focus today for me.
1 - while doing my scripture study of the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 11-17 over the last few days, I was reminded again about the teachings of Abinadi.
2- while driving around listening to the October '08 conference report today, I was reminded of the teachings of Elder Hales about how to show Christian courage in the face of opposition and ridicule.
3- both the scriptures and the talk helped prepare me for this news report.
I read the article and saw the offensive picture listed on the TV guide online version http://www.tvguidemagsales.com/WeeklyIssues/TVG030909.pdf on Monday and then it wasn't. there anymore today. Did TV Guide and Time Warner cave in and take down the online version?
My natural response is to write, call, email and voice my concerns to the executives of Time Warner who produce Big Love. If I subscribed to AOL, I would change providers immediately since it is also a part of Time Warner. Since Mr. Tom Hanks (executive producer of Big Love) thinks we're UN-American as it is, I'm inclined to boycott any of his future films. Can one person make any difference against these conglomerates? It appears that the answer is yes, if done with Christian courage.

This response (The Publicity Dilemma) from the LDS church website incorporates the teachings of Abinidi and Elder Hales in Answering our accusers in the Savior’s way:

"Experience shows that seasons of negative publicity about the Church can help accomplish the Lord’s purposes. In 1983, the First Presidency wrote to Church leaders, “Opposition may be in itself an opportunity. Among the continuing challenges faced by our missionaries is a lack of interest in religious matters and in our message. These criticisms create . . . interest in the Church. . . . This provides an opportunity [for members] to present the truth to those whose attention is thus directed toward us.”¹

We can take advantage of such opportunities in many ways: a kind letter to the editor, a conversation with a friend, a comment on a blog, or a reassuring word to one who has made a disparaging comment. We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice—who are “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12). I assure you that to answer our accusers in this way is never weakness. It is Christian courage in action." Elder Hales, October 2008 General Conference

Happy 50th Birthday Barbie

History of Barbie

Check out this video link above (History of Barbie) to hear a short history about Barbie (you'll have to watch a short commercial first, but the video is very interesting.)

I have a distinct memory of when I got my first Barbie. It was about 1963. We went in SLC on a family trip. Mom and Dad had promised me a Barbie if I would stop biting my fingernails. I stopped long enough to get the Barbie and then resumed biting (that is another story.)
We went to the Grand Central variety store in south Salt Lake City. It was a big moment and I couldn't wait to get my doll! I got a Barbie that look like this: She was blond and had a "bob" just like this Barbie (although she didn't have this space suit for her clothes, even though it was close to the time of the first moon landing.) My sister Janet got a Midge doll and we were in Barbie heaven! Our mother made us many home made Barbie clothes. I can't even imagine sewing clothes that small! I still have a green velvet evening dress she made for my Barbie doll. We played for hours and hours and I also play with my friends. We had the carrying case and some of the other cool accessories and we would make up all sorts of crazy Barbie scenarios and escapades. My friend Carla and I even let Barbie get into some compromising situations with Ken.
When I was in third grade I had a particularly memorable Barbie episode. The girls in my class and I took our Barbies to school to play with them during recess and lunch hour. We would take our little carrying cases to school and lay out all our stuff and just play our heads off. One day, Becky Marlor brought her new Barbie stuff to school. She had the most beautiful accessories, complete with long white gloves, a little purse and high heels and a fake white fur shawl. All these accessories went so well with my green velvet dress and I wanted them so badly. For some reason known only to an 8 year old, I devised a plan to steal them. When the girls were off to the library and no one was looking, I got in her case and took the accessories. I hid them in my coat pocket and took them home.
Once I got home, my conscience started working on me. I knew that taking something that wasn't mine was a bad thing to do. I realized I couldn't play with the accessories because people would know they didn't belong to me. I wanted to just give them back without confessing, but I didn't know how to do it. I told my mother what I had done. She handled it very well. She asked me what I thought I should do. I told her I thought I should give the stuff back and say I was sorry to Becky. She helped me think through a plan of how to do it. I decided to take Becky into the bathroom, away from the other girls, and confess what I had done and give the stuff back. The next day at lunch, all the girls got their stuff out to play. Becky realized that some of her stuff was missing and asked if anyone had seen it. I asked her go go with me to the girls bathroom. We went into a stall together and I locked the door. I told her I had taken her accessories and that I was sorry. I gave them back. I thought that would be the end of it. I felt much better. Becky ran into the class room and blurted out - "Vonnie is a stealer!!! She took my stuff!!! Don't let her play with your things anymore..." I was sick at heart. I cried the tears of the remorseful girl. I had done the right thing after doing the wrong thing and look at the mess I was in. I learned a valuable lesson that day. There are always consequences to actions and you can't always control what those consequences will be. I vowed to never steal again and I mostly kept that vow.