Poems for my niece

I wrote these poems for my niece that graduated this year.

WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE

You tried to walk but wobbled
Sometimes you even fell.
You tried to talk but babbled
Sometimes the words just would not gel.
You kept trying and now
you can walk and even yell!

ETERNAL IS THE JOURNEY

Graduation time is come and gone
Dreams to come have just begun.
Life is open, the choices are many
The future is yours, the Lord's Spirit will guide to do good continually.
Opportunities to learn, grow and make mistakes in your path do lay
With your parents Earthly and Heavenly to guide and help, it will all be okay.
So grasp the wonders that ahead do lie
Life is part of an Eternal Journey, not just do or die.
You are a Princess, a Daughter of Heavenly Worth,
With faith, love and support into your future GO FORTH.

FUN FILTER FACTS

Coffee filters

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirror, and chrome. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling
3. Protect china by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
5. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
6. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
7. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
8. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make a convenient wrapper for messy foods.
9. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
10. Prevent a popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
11. Pu a few in a plate and put your fried chicken, bacon, french fries etc on them. It soaks out all of the grease.
12. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers".
13. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or applying applique on soft fabrics.
14. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
15. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs to put in soups and stews.
16. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
17. Use them as spoon rests while cooking and to clean up small counter spills.
18. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.
19. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storing.
20. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
21. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it in a plastic bag until they sprout
22. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in a phone book.
23. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.
24. Emergency Toilet paper usage......

Death, Life, Resurrection

There have been so many deaths and funerals that have touched our lives recently. A sister in our book club lost her mother, our ward lost a faithful sister, our family lost a Mother, Grandmother, and Great-grandmother all wrapped in one package. There are many others in my circle that are elderly, in pain, or with awful life threatening disease. Yet I feel hope and happiness. I joy in the fact that these sweet brothers and sisters give us the opportunity to love and serve them. Then when they die and leave this mortal realm, they are free. Their spirits are soaring. I look forward to the glorious resurrection where all will be well, spirits and bodies reunited to joy and glory!

Choosing to be Happy

One of our lessons recently in Relief Society was on "Choosing" to be happy. Part of the lesson was remembering who(se) we are. I shared with the class the following observation I made when I was weeding the Saturday before the lesson occurred. I was in my yarden doing some "deep" weeding. That is the kind where you have to get on your hands and knees in some areas. I was weeding around the bouganvillea in it's container on the patio. I noticed a little weed growing in a little tiny bit of dirt at the edge of the bottom of the container. This little weed was trying so hard to grow and fulfill what it was supposed to do in the limited area it had to do it. I have also seen weeds and small flowers growing up in a crack in the sidewalk and this was like that. I almost felt guilty pulling this little weed (but I did anyway :-)). I am not a weed but I am a divine daughter of my Heavenly Father. He has given me a path to follow and a way to do all that He requires of me. Sometimes I feel limited and don't feel like I am worthy or WHATEVER. I need to and must realize who I am and waht I need to do to fulfill my divine potential. If I reach to Heavenly Father in prayer, He will give me exactly what I need to fulfill His plan.

BACK TO SCHOOL

So I have been thinking a lot about the kids that are going back to school. My prayers and good thoughts go out to them and their families. New and fresh starts for these students. I remember the excitement and anxiety all mixed together for the new school routine. Then so quickly it became just that, a new routine.

I am looking forward to looking at this time of year as an opportunity to reevaluate where I am. What kinds of new exciting things await? What new things can I learn and create? Where can I improve? I have many areas that need refreshing in my life. Scripture study, personal progress goals, service projects, books to read.

So I want to have fun, learn, grow and have my own "Back to School" time.

SAN DIEGO BLACK OUT/9/11 REMEMBERED

The San Diego County black out of 9/8/11 has helped me to ponder many things. First off, I am thankful for living prophets that have long been teaching us to become self-sufficient. What a blessing to have had that guidance for so many years. It was a blessing in our family to know where the flashlights were, have bottled water on hand, and to have a battery powered radio to listen to. I was grateful that the first estimates that the black-out could last for days were inaccurate and that it really only lasted less than 12 hours in most places. It was a great opportunity to assess where the gaps are in our preparedness for any type of disaster.

It was very sad to listen to the radio and the people that were just trying to find a store to buy radios, batteries, ice, and flashlights. We did realize we should probably invest in a generator to protect our items in the freezer from going bad. If this had lasted for days that would have been a problem for us.

Then came the memories on 9/11/11. Again a date to ponder and reflect on the past and the sacrifices of so many people. It was tremendous to see the outpouring of love in the memorials that were held. I am so grateful to be an AMERICAN. It was good to reflect back but also to look forward to the future.