Jane Austen
hand painted peg doll
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Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Emily Dickinson...
On the bottom of this doll in very tiny writing it reads,
"Hope is the thing with feathers... ~Emily Dickinson"
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Payal's Pretty Cake...
Payal's cake toppers were so fun to paint. Peachy pink with gold and silver embroidery and crystals. Her lengha was stunning with a lavendar bouquet... see more custom cake toppers...
Spinach & Mushroom Salad
I had this lovely salad at a super delish party I went too.. With the help of the internet, I tried to copy the salad the other night.. and it was pretty tasty... Sarah, is it close? Mmmm...
Ingredients: big bowl of baby spinach
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup swiss cheese shredded
some sliced red onions (1/2 cup)
1/2 pound cooked bacon, crumbled
1 large pear diced
Dressing: 1/3 cup apple cider vinagar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sliced onions
Directions: Layer the ingredients. Blend the dressing and pour it over the salad just before serving.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Biscuits flying in formation...
Not only did little c's biscuits fly in formation.. they were DELISH!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Traditional Lengha, Dupatta & Sherwani
This groom is wearing a traditional sherwani, the beautiful long coats worn in South Asia. I love traditional Indian wedding clothes. They are so intricate and beautiful and the colors are so rich. What a treat it was to paint this beautiful couple. Best Wishes!
Custom Cake Toppers can be ordered at...
Hand Painted Love Boxes
Hand Painted Love Boxes
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Friday, June 08, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
The Best Days...
These are just a few pictures of some of my best days. When I was little, my brother got a puppy for his birthday. I still remember how the present was moving.
4th of July one of Mom & Dad's amazing BBQs
Some of our prettiest dresses...
Dancing at Melissa's wedding...
c reaching the top!
Sun Valley
A&B.. a perfect match.
Mom & The Aunts & Uncle Monte w/ their fun cousins
my darling, wonderful and dear grandparents
best friends a girl could ever have...
a day at the beach..
cousins and dress ups
Christmas
All of these perfect days were made possible mostly by people I have not met and cannot see.
They leave comfortable homes, children, wives and families...
to fight and sometimes to die in far away places where they are beloved by some of the people
and hated and hunted by others.
They almost always lose something. Some lose limbs or sight. Some lose their minds. Some lose their friends... for us, so that we can have a perfect day. Days like these aren't possible without freedom.
Our FREEDOM is so taken for granted that most of us don't vote. When we do vote, we vote w/out learning and researching the issues or the character of the candidates. When we do pay attention, we are wooed by sound bites and media tricks. We know more about reality TV than our own history. We are so dumb, that our own government steals from us, lies to us and takes our liberties without protest.
There is no way that we can calculate the cost in blood and treasure that has been spent on our behalf.
May we make great strides to repent. That is the best way we can thank those who have sacrificed so much.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Derby...
It was so fun to make this stuff. Check Derby Party off the bucket list...
Best of all.. dear friends were there to share.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream...
Narrator: And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
Narrator: Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans for the shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them:
King Nebuchadnezzar: I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
Narrator: Then spake the Chaldeans unto the king:
Chaldean #1: O king, live forever: tell they servants the dreams and we will shew the interpretation.
King Nebuchadnezzar: The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
Chaldean #2: Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
King Nebuchadnezzar: I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. If ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
Chaldean #3: There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter... And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
Narrator: For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel said to the king’s captain:
Daniel: Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
Narrator: The captain made the thing known to Daniel and Daniel asked the king for time and he would show the king the dream and its interpretation. And Daniel asked his companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
Daniel: Pray for the tender mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that we will no perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Narrator: Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. And, Daniel said:
Daniel: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are His. I thank thee and praise thee, O though God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and has made known unto me now what we desired of thee.
Narrator: Then Daniel was brought before the king who asked: Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Daniel: Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
King Nebuchadnezzar: And what is the interpretation of the dream?
Daniel: Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom (silver) inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron. The feet and toes, part clay and part iron, are the fourth kingdom divided.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
**Note: My friend Laura put this reading together and it was a hit in our Sunday School Class & in Family Night! So, I thought I would share.
We pointed out to the kids that President Obama lives in the White House, that the White House is a symbol of kingdom. It is interesting to discuss other examples of Kingdoms living and dead... Then, explain the symbolism of the stone cut without hands (made by God). Point out that the temples of God are covering the earth and that this revelation given by Daniel 600 years before the birth of Christ is coming true in their (the children's) lifetime.
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Wind Blows in the Direction of the Promised Land...
When people ask me my favorite scripture story, I never hesitate. I always say that I love the story of the Jaredites in the Book of Ether. I love the Brother of Jared. He has fears too. His country is in upheaval and he must take his friends and family and lead them to some unknown place. And so he asks the Lord what he should do and where he should go and the Lord tells him to gather up everyone and his flocks and other things,
"And when thou has done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward, And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth."Then, the Lord tells the brother of Jared to build great barges, that he will be leading his friends and family on a great voyage. But, the barges have no provision for light. He goes to the Lord and asks him how he is going to see in the dark in the barges that will set forth upon an uncharted sea. And, the Lord asks the brother of Jared, "Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?" Interesting. So the brother of Jared makes some 16 small stones or some crystal or something, "and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass..." And, then he asks the Lord to touch the stones. His faith is so great that he sees the finger of the Lord as he reaches out to touch the stones. And then the brother of Jared is transfigured and redeemed and brought into the presence of the Lord. It is such an amazing and beautiful story.
But even though the brother of Jared has had this perfect faith, he still has to lead his people on the scary voyage into the depths of the sea.
"And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.I crave security. I love saving accounts, life insurance, food storage, stable jobs and good health. There are lots of things that we can and should do to preserve all those things. But they are things and things can be flimsy and temperamental and they can be lost. Our faith can be lost too. Sadly, I have seen people suffer all of these losses without the hope of faith.
And in came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
And it came to pass that the wind never did cease to blow towards the promised land...
I am grateful for faith. I love the Lord. I know the He is here for us. I know He will meet us and that with His breath He will blow us toward the Promised Land. We just need a moment to gather our family and our courage so that we can meet Him down in the valley.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Mother's Day...
I wrote this sometime ago.. but, since this is my only real personal history I wanted it included here.
Mother’s Day 2006
Sacrament Meeting Talk
Between my sophomore and junior years of high school, I was able to travel to Rome and view in person Michelangelo’s famous sculpture the Pieta’. As many of you know, the sculpture depicts the crucified Christ cradled in the arms of his grieving mother, Mary. I don’t know if the moment depicted in the sculpture could have actually taken place, or if the sculpture is more a representation of emotion. In Luke chapter 2:35 Simeon speaks to Mary and says, "Yea a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." How profoundly that verse speaks of motherhood. For when does a mother not pain over every pain and joy with every joy of her child.
As I contemplated this sculpture, I thought of the Christmas story and of the Loving mother" who "laid her baby in a manger filled with hay." The mother who listened to an angel and then, "pondered these things in her heart." Of all the mothers in scripture maybe mother Mary is the one we know most about and that seems so little, yet she is revered around the world and even worshiped in some faiths. As Latter Day Saints we honor her as the chosen mother of the Savior of the world. But, it is her role as mother that I think I most relate to. The swell of happiness she must have felt as she saw the Savior living the life he was meant to live, the pain she must have felt at his pain. The love she must have had for this most precious Son. These are things we know something of as we become parents.
To be a mother, is to know the anxious hours of a long night with a fevered child, the heartache of their mistakes, the worry for their safety, but it is also to know the expanding joy of their laughter, the satisfaction of their achievement and the deep gratitude for their existence.
There are moments in family life that have a quality of perfect bliss. I was raised in a family the oldest of seven children and even in that often chaotic environment, my dear mother once remarked, "I don’t know if I want to go to heaven because I think I will miss this life too much." In reply, my father said, "But this wonderful day is just what heaven will always be like."
Emily Dickinson wrote the lines, "Who has not found the heaven below will fail of it above. God’s residence is next to mine, His furniture is love."
We have a brief glimpse of the heart of our Heavenly Father when we can look at a child and love them just because they are. My heart has filled with joy and peace as I have looked into the sleeping face of my sweet Charity and felt that she was attended by the angels. In turn, I know that it is my duty to her to teach her where she has come from, knowing that the greatest self-esteem comes not from any special talent or gift she might have, but from her divine inheritance as a daughter of God.
My daughter Charity has a rich and beautiful heritage. She has many ancestors who have paved the way and have given her lasting legacy in the gospel of Jesus Christ and I hope that she will emulate as many of their good qualities as she can. As President Hinckley has put it, I hope she won’t ‘drop the ball’. However, mortals are mortal and none of them perfect. A friend of mine once wrote that it is good to revere our progenitors, but we can’t get too entangled with that because ‘for every one that died gloriously in battle, there is sure to be one that was hung as a horse thief’. While in Charity’s case, I am sure that is an overstatement, it is her Heavenly parents, I want most for her to be like.
In the 1959, October issue of the Children’s Friend, Anna Johnson wrote just a few precious words, "I am a child of royal birth My Father is King of heaven and earth. My spirit was born in the courts on high, a child beloved, a princess am I."
These words could not be more true. I know that I have a princess in my home. And, I believe that when we get to know each other well enough, when we learn to love each other, when we see each other and our children as our Heavenly Father sees us we truly can see the royal lineage of our Father in Heaven all about us.
Knowing this teaches us to be less judgmental of each other. I shouldn’t judge another parent because I know how hard I’m trying and how often I think, "What will my actions today cost me in psychotherapy bills tomorrow?"
A good bishop once counseled, "Mothers should be trusted. Heavenly Father is aware of which child goes to which mother."
Mothers are different.
In my own family my two Grandmothers could not have been more different.
One graduated with a degree in nursing, had ten children, seven of them boys, was an avid sports fan and a great cook of large portions of good Mormon cooking all the while working outside the home as a labor and delivery nurse by necessity to help support her large family. I never saw her with makeup or any other form of feminine adornments but she always knew the scores of all the games.
My other Grandmother graduated from Utah State with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is fancy! She is the mother of six children 3 girls and 3 boys. I have seen many pictures of her in glamourous dresses she made with high heels and red lipstick. She was a homemaker by trade, artistic in every way and a relief society president many times over. She is also a great cook of small portions of gourmet food.
Both of my Grandmothers were good mothers. Both of them were faithful Latter Day Saints who served tirelessly in the church and were wonderful examples to their children and Grandchildren. Both of them were missionaries. Both of them shared their love, talents and testimonies with as many people as they could, but especially with their families.
I don’t think it matters what style of mother we are as long as we are the kind that has the company of the Holy Spirit.
I have learned as a parent that it is my great desire to be led by the Holy Spirit and to know when our child needs us, when she needs our special attention, our prayers on her behalf, our presence, our teaching.
It is my desire as a parent to feel that I have done what Heavenly Father has asked of me.
Several years ago, I attended the marriage of a cousin in the Salt Lake Temple. The temple sealer gave some advice when he said to the couple, "One of these days, you’ll have a teenage child leaving the home for the evening in a car. How much more peace you will feel on that occasion if from now until that time you have faithfully held family home evening, family prayer and scripture study in your home?"
A friend pointed out to me recently that her nine-year-old daughter is coming to her with a great many gospel questions. She said, I am trying to patiently answer all of them and find joy in the process as my child searches for the testimony she will most desperately need.
In our April General Conference, Elder Henry B. Eyring said, "the prophets of God have foreseen the times in which we live... Anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets know that the peril is great . The peril comes from the forces of wickedness. Those forces are increasing... For those of us who are concerned about such a future for ourselves and those we love... there is hope in the promise the Lord has given us of a place of safety in the storms ahead."
Then Elder Eyring quotes Helamen5:12
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation... whereon if men build they cannot fall."
The sculpture of the Pieta carries so much of the sorrow that we can sometimes feel as mothers, the concerns and the hurts that trouble. Would that Michelangelo had created another sculpture, one in which the Mother Mary would greet the risen Lord. For this is what we hope for as mothers, that our children will come and do what they were meant to do. That we will be able to teach them well and then that they will follow the example of their Savior rising above the filth and grief and trouble of this life to a glorious eternity.
I am so grateful and so awed by the blessing it is to be Charity’s mother. I love her so very much.
I am so grateful this day for my own dear mother whose gifts and talents are many. Who taught me to awe and reverence the creation that our Heavenly Father has made for our happiness. I love to go on drives with her so that she can point out and name every special tree and flower and bush and so she can remind me not to forget how beautiful our mountains are today with either green grass, autumn leaves or snow. She loves the beauty of every season and celebrates every holiday and occasion with exuberance and real joy. I am so grateful for her quiet faith and her extraordinary acts of service and for her great loyalty and love for her family.
I am grateful for a husband who doesn’t criticize and who encourages me and tries to give me confidence in all that I attempt to do. I love him so much.
I am grateful for this gospel, for the blessing it is in my life. For the blessing it is to have its rock not just to build faith, but also to build a family. I am grateful for my Savior and know that he is real and love him very much.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
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