FeedBack

The big, annual primary program for the ward has come and gone. I am breathing a sigh of relief that it seems to have gone well.

For a twist this year, I solicited feedback from the congregation. They were asked to write their comments on a form included in their program. My intention was to read the appreciative comments as part of primary sharing time. The following portions of feedback notes were not included on Sunday -- but were so enjoyable I'll share them here:

"I thought it was great too, but I would have enjoyed it more if you would have had refreshments and ironed my shirt!" -- D. Henry

"Wow! The 9th ward primary has, like, the hottest 1st councilor ever!" -- Anonymous?

"Make the lady with blonde hair move - I couldn't see Emma" -- Anonymous (aka my mom)

And my favorite message, written in it's entirety:

"The program so far is pretty good but I can't help noticing that there has not been enough Damon D. (he is so funny and spiritual). I am hoping by the end he will have spoken -- written @ 1:50pm

D&C Section 4 was good / Called to Serve even better! -- still no Damon. . . . concerned

The YW performance - WOW! -- A+

Sunbeams were flat on their song. It sounded as if they just spoke it -- C-

Ethan Vincent - Nepotism -- Damon could have sang that

Maybe next year there will be more Damon"

Signed, Pres Henry

Is Your Dad A Terrorist?

Been wondering how to get a girl when you're in Junior High?

Simple!

Use any of these effective pick up lines. They are being used, even as we speak, in Junior High. They're enough to flatter your mothers as well.

• Do you work at McDonald’s? Cuz I’m Lovin’ It
• Can I have your picture so I can tell Santa exactly what I want for Christmas?
• If you were a Pokemon, I’d choose you
• Are you tired? Cuz you’ve been running through my mind all day long
• I have my library card, so can I check you out?

And my Personal Favorite

Is your dad a terrorist?

Cuz you’re the bomb

Favorite Things Swap

So, in an effort to reach out and make new friends, I signed up over at Because Wendi Said So! for her Favorite Things Swap.

I have shipped my gift off - and probably in true Wendy fashion, it's been lost/misplaced/waylaid.

However, my gift came to me without any hiccups. (Just doesn't seem fair . . . ) Anyway, Heather over at Adcock Circus sent me a really wonderful swap gift.

The gift was warmly received -- as Emma kissed the USPS box.

Inside, a festival of color -- which was broken into immediately after this photo.

The mother-lode. My swap partner is a much classier lady than I am. Heather belongs to the Junior League in her area and included a really great recipe book, cookie cutters and beautiful napkins. She tells me that "anything tastes great when you have a fun napkin". (That will be helpful for the Little Caesar's pizza party I've planned for 100 kids later today)

There is also a rose spa package in here from her favorite local spa in North Carolina , a candle and adorable magnets (as a note, she collects bees and pineapples -- we don't have a lot of pineapples in Utah, but Utah is The BEE capital! )

Thanks so much for the gift Heather - I hope yours shows up soon, otherwise I'll resend on Monday. And thanks, Wendi, for a great idea!

Foto Flashback

Emma knelt for prayers last night with Jeff and I by her side.

How dear, how precious!

She thanked Heavenly Father for the important parts of her day.

* soccer * family * Harts * the coffee store *

~~~~ The Coffee Store??!?! ~~~~

Jeff shoots a look over Emma's head to me.

A look that says, "you've got some 'splaining' to do Lucy"

~~~~ The COPY Store ~~~~

I explain later.

Change of Underwear

So, Marivic over at Grumpy Angel mentioned something about changing your blog as often as you change your underwear.

I FREAKED when she brought this up. Heaven forbid you all think I don't change my underwear everyday because my blog has been the same for the past 6 months. I got so hot and bothered thinking about all of you, thinking about me and my underwear . . . that I changed my blog (and my underwear).

The struggle to change this blog looks like the struggle Emma has trying to put her own underwear on.

First a leg gets caught, then you put them on inside out, then you throw them across the room and cry. Next, you try again and put them on backwards. Finally, you twist and tweak enough they they are on right. But is this really the pair you want to be wearing?

Marivic has a self-confessed, granny panties blog right now. My blog reminds me of something from Victoria's Secret. There may be more changes on the way.

Chicken Way Out

We all say that we want to know if our child is misbehaving. We ask our friends to please let us know if our kid does something naughty. But it really is hard to call a friend and tell them their kid is going off the deep end. So, because I'm feeling chicken-hearted I'm just going to write the mother a letter, here on my blog. Maybe she'll see it, maybe it'll help. (doubt it)

Dear Somewhat-Distant-Friend and Parent-of-Naughty-8th-Grader:

I thought you'd like to know that your child has been rather naughty lately. My son, and a few of his friends, have brought home a continual string of stories regarding your child. I know that if it were my son, I'd want to know. So, I am writing you this letter, hoping you'll see it and intuitively guess it's your child I'm writing about.

Primarily I am noticing a swearing trend at school. I understand the 8th graders penchant for trying out new vocabulary, but the standard use of the F-Bomb is over the top. In addition to the F-Bomb your child has created an ingenious hand shake. My own son thinks the initial start of the shake is creative and cool, but the ending flipping of the bird is perhaps inappropriate.

Finally, I know that as a parent I would want to make sure I knew if my 13 year old child had a Facebook account. Also, I'd want to know that my child was smart enough to know how to cheat the Jr. High's system of flex time. Basically your child is the equivalent of a street seller with goods stocked up in his overcoat pockets.

I'm sure the rest of what I'm hearing is just rumor and perhaps what I've heard already is just rumor. Maybe the unfathomable thought that your kid is struggling and that my child could be the next to struggle keeps me from telling you directly. Perhaps it's also that maybe you already know, and that like the rest of us - you'd have no way to control what a 13 year old is doing 24 hours a day. And that by telling you, maybe I'd be breaking your already crumbling heart.

Wishing I knew what to do,

Wendy


P.S. Any suggestions?

My Greatest Fear

The following is an essay that Ethan wrote for school last week.

My Greatest Fear

My fear is pretty weird, so don’t laugh at me. I’m afraid of romance movies! I know I’m crazy. Romance movies are super scary for several reasons.

The first reason I fear romance movies is because I hate the long, gross, dramatic kissing scene! I mean, it is so gross. There’s always some reason they do it. Sometimes they have no reason at all.

Romance movies have no action. I mean, they have none! Action is the whole reason I watch movies. I think only adults watch romance movies.

Romance movies should be called chick flicks because only girls watch them. I won’t ever watch a chick flick, ever.

I have heard of stranger fears than romance movies. I have other fears, but this is my biggest.
--------------------------------------------

I guess from now on I'll be checking under Emma's bed for monsters and Ethan's bed for romance movies.

Marriage Relations, Part II - The Application

Well! How did we all do with the test? Did you get the right number of passes? Did you see the kid in the gorilla suit?

Jeff passed this on to me after he took the 'test' and did NOT see the gorilla. I, however, did see the monkey.

Does this make me superior in our marriage relationship? YES No. What it does mean is the following:

1. If Jeff is relaxing, watching t.v. and the kids are running around wild and half naked -- I now believe him when he says he didn't notice.

2. When I ask Jeff to do the dishes and he does them while stepping over a piece of garbage on the floor -- I now realize that he can only tune into one task at a time and doesn't see the garbage.

3. If you are the type of person who see's gorillas and are married to someone who doesn't, you can probably expect a few arguments.

Come on, tell me if you saw the gorilla? Did your spouse?

Marriage Relations, Part I - The Test

I am not putting myself out there as a leader in marriage relationships. But Jeff and I have accepted a fundamental part of who we are. It helps us define our relationship.

I want to share this concept with you in a two-part blog. This first part is the test. Please take the test (include your spouse if at all possible) and we'll discuss more tomorrow. Have Fun!

The Knack

We have a certain level of "Geekiness" here at our house. Jeff does bring in more than his fair share of it. I'm not without my own level of geekiness too. However, Jeff may have inspired the following:



Did I mention we're hosting the HAM radio club at our house next Sunday?

(Disclaimer: It was Jeff, himself, who pointed out this little gem of a clip. He's not without a knowledge of what he's like -- and gosh darn it! I love him for all of it)