Another good post

This was posted by a high-school friend. I love it when people blog about important things and say exactly what I would have said.

Topic of Discussion: Modestly in Wear

"So here I am again blogging in place of Jessica, but hopefully this will bring out a Jessica-ish post.
While at church today, I was sitting in Sunday school by myself while Jessica attended nursery with our insubordinate son. While waiting for the lesson to start a cluster of the ladies in our ward sat down near me. Now I understand ones desire to “look good” for one self or others, but there needs to be a line. Anyway, they sat down one in front of me, and two beside me. The one in front of me was wearing a nice dress that went down to mid thigh! One of the ladies next to me spent the whole time trying to cover up her LDS under garments, and the other one spent the whole time re-rolling her LDS under garment sleeves as for them to stop showing. I see it more and more in wards and branches, the clothing is not adjusted to cover the under garment, the under garment is adjusted to not show under the clothing.

“Modesty in dress is a quality of mind and heart, born of respect for oneself, one’s fellowmen, and the Creator of us all. Modesty reflects an attitude of humility, decency, and propriety.”
– Elder L. Tom Perry

This brings me to the real topic, swimwear modesty. Jessica has followed a very informative blog that focuses on LDS women, and they had this topic for a discussion. Some of the discussions were as follows; why can’t I dress in a bikini on the beach? I’m not breaking any commandments. Or, I have worked hard for this body, why shouldn’t I show it off? Now Jessica and I of course are not anywhere close to having bodies stunning enough for this to be an issue. As Jessica puts it, she wishes she could find a swimsuit that covers from mid arm to mid calf. I am purchasing a wetsuit for her for Christmas. But, as for most other people, the ones that have elegant bodies and feel good about it, they have their own reasons for why they dress the way they do while attending the beach or pool.

I can tell you the classic answers on why it is wrong, like men look at you in lust, and you must respect your body, your body is a temple. Now as clichéd and “For the Strength of Youth” it sounds it is true. It comes down to that, if you have ever listened to a Prophet or an Apostle speak it is not: “You must dress modestly in all things, as long as your garments don’t show or you feel good in what you are wearing.” No, it is:

“In the past year or so we have noticed a dramatic change in the way some of our members are dressing. Styles in clothing change; fads come and go; but if the dress styles are immodest, it is important that we avoid them. When you dress modestly, you show respect for your Heavenly Father and for yourself. At this time, when dress fashions are styled after the skimpy clothing some of the current movie and music idols are wearing, it may be difficult to find modest apparel in clothing stores. However, it is possible, and it is important. The Apostle Paul declared: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” You know the truth; live it. - President Thomas S. Monson

So that is what I say, you know the truth live it! There should not be any rational good reason why you should allow yourself to drop the standards you live every day. There is no reason for any member of the church teen or adult should be dressing inappropriate in any wear of life. You know what is right and what you should be doing, so why disobey? If we stretch our obedience on one of the “lesser commandments” like modesty, word of wisdom and tithing etc... We lose the spirit which is the only thing that is there to remind us of our responsibilities as members of the Church.

Stepping down and hope to get some comments, then hopefully Jessica will have a more intelligent follow up post."

Bye-bye cute brown shorts that show just a bit too much leg. They were such a steal too.... *tear*

Let me boast a little bit here....

He's learning his colors!! Cool, huh?? At this rate he'll be a doctor by 17!

Does this make my head look big?

A flower at the Crowley Ridge Nature Center.

I couldn't have said it better

This is an excerpt from my friend Melanie's blog.

"When I haven't had lunch, I rarely have the energy to do anything worthwhile in those awful hours of the day. You know the time: Kid is up from nap, blood sugar is low (even if you have eaten lunch), Dad isn't home yet, Kid is tired of looking at your face. Nothing good comes from the time between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. So on top of low energy and low morale, now I don't feel like making dinner. Oh, of course I want dinner. I just don't want to make it. Now, all of the sudden Dad is home, dinner hasn't even been thought about, you and Kid are up in arms, and the house is probably a mess. All because of low energy that comes from not eating lunch."

Fourth of July

We had a fun Fourth of July. Our friends the Terrells invited us to their BBQ/Pool Party. The men decided to see who could make a basket in the poolside hoop while jumping off the diving board. Congratulations CARL for being the first one to make it!! We did learn an important lesson that day. A diving board doesn't do so well after 160 lbs+ men jump off it with gusto many many times. Most of the men had made a basket before the event was called off due to a crack in the board.

The Moms, who usually meet during the week to swim, were able to have some kid-free pool time. Ahhh, that was nice. Thanks Carl for watching Brady.

We left the Terrells and went to get a spot to watch the Fairground fireworks. There were glow sticks everywhere!! After watching last years fireworks, Carl and I decided we needed earplugs, at least for the baby. I was passing those things out like candy!! Brady enjoyed the fireworks. So did his cousin Davis. It was a loooong day for everyone. We were all sore and tired and ready for bed when we got home. It was a good good day.

Finding just the right spot to gnaw on.

Enjoying said gnawing spot on watermelon

Brady and all his Ladies

These are the Behunins.

These are the Behunins if you're on ecstasy.

My project

This is a preview of what I have been working on:

And now it is on its way to me!!! Yea!!

FHE

I know it's a week early for this FHE topic. It was my week and I wanted to talk about it and so we did it. Who knows what Carl will choose next week?

Our Family Home Evenings are usually pretty simple. Carl and I are the major players. Brady's job is to stay as reverent as a 17-month old can. We usually sing a song, pray, and relay an article from the current Ensign for the lesson. Sometimes we have a family activity. Other times it's too late in the evening so Brady goes to bed and Carl and I have an activity that consists of accomplishing a task we wouldn't normally get done while Brady is awake or one we wouldn't really want to do after a long day. It's good time without the TV.

This Monday we had our Pioneer FHE. We sang Pioneer songs from the Children's Songbook. I shared the article "Walking in Their Footsteps." Then a moment of brilliance struck me for our activity. We were going to have our OWN pioneer trek! We emptied Brady's MegaBloks wagon (which he was upset about) and began gathering up our supplies: A cloth diaper, overalls and a shirt for Brady, a MegaBlok, a New Testament/Psalms/Proverbs combo from the Gideons, a toothbrush, a journal, powdered milk, flour and honey. We covered our wagon with a blanket and off we went into the wilderness.

We walked down the driveway, turned left onto the street, turned left onto the neighbor's driveway, turned left onto the sidewalk, and arrived at our "new home." And, oh yes, we sang as we walked and walked and walked and walked. We were all happy to have made it home.

While you're at it....

I've got a friend in our Branch that can cut hair. She's not licensed so she won't take money for payment, but she will take food.

We set up a time to get Brady's hair cut. That day was a rough day for me. She ended up feeding US dinner! I knew I wanted to get my hair cut, but wasn't emotionally ready for it. It had just gotten back to being "long." We were chatting while Brady ran around with his new 'do and played with her girls and his cousins (who happened to be over there that night.) Then something happened. I said, "Ah, what the hay....let's cut my hair." I told her she could do whatever she thought would look good. I was feeling reckless and I didn't really care. So, snip snip snip went the scissors. A pile of hair on the floor later you have this:

The cut was a few weeks ago and my bangs have grown out a little since. Carl always said he didn't like bangs that sweep across the forehead. But, he thinks I look pretty hot with them. He says I'm turning over a new leaf.

On a related note: I did a presentation on Heritage Makers for a friend at the library last week. I took this opportunity to get all fancy. I wish I hair could look like this every day, with out all the effort.

Just Chillax, -k-?

Brady chillaxin' in the neighbor's pool.

From an article mentioned on a friend's blog:

Wholesome Living

“The condition of the physical body can affect the spirit. That’s why the Lord gave us the Word of Wisdom. He also said that we should retire to our beds early and arise early (see D&C 88:124), that we should not run faster than we have strength (see D&C 10:4), and that we should use moderation in all good things. … Food can affect the mind, and deficiencies of certain elements in the body can promote mental depression. … Rest and physical exercise are essential, and a walk in the fresh air can refresh the spirit. Wholesome recreation is part of our religion and is a necessary change of pace; even its anticipation can lift the spirit.”
President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “Do Not Despair,” Ensign, Oct. 1986, 4.

I especially like this quote at the end: "Health rather than an unrealistic body size should serve as our motivation."

You can read the whole Article from the Ensign here.

Eggcelent

I was making potato salad for the Cookout (they don't call them BBQs here cuz you're not really Bar-B-Cueing....) we had down the street a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure the boiled eggs were completely cooked. The water I used was down the drain already so I thought, "Hey, I'll just nuke 'em for a few seconds." My egg was happily nuking away with 5 seconds to go and POP-POW!! Apparently it was a few seconds too long....


The good news is there was only one egg fatality.

Fruit Pizza

For Mom's Night Out in June I made a YUMMY Fruit Pizza. Here's the link to the pizza

recipe or look below.

1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

*I used a homemade cookie dough. It is really awesome and PERFECT for cookie cutters. this is the recipe for "No Fail Cookie Dough".

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

*I think I used 1/2 pound strawberries, 2 kiwis and one small can mandarin oranges*

1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

..DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slice cookie dough and arrange on greased pizza pan, overlapping edges. Press dough flat into pan. *I just rolled my dough out to the size of the pan I used. You want to follow the cookie dough directions for baking time.* Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool.
2.In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust. You can chill for a while at this point, or continue by arranging the fruit.
3.Begin with strawberries, sliced in half. Arrange in a circle around the outside edge. Continue with fruit of your choice, working towards the middle. *When you eat a piece from the middle, you don't get a bit of each fruit. I the design is pretty but I think next time I'll just do rows of alternating fruit.* If bananas are used, dip them in lemon juice so they don't darken. Then make a sauce to spoon over fruit.

I had extra dough that I made into cookies. I topped each cookie with the spread and some fruit.

4.In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, and add grated orange rind. Allow to cool, but not set up. Spoon over fruit. Chill for two hours, then cut into wedges and serve.

My posts have not been so high quality lately. I have another little project I am working on(amongst all the housework and child rearing and husband loving duties) that I simply MUST get done before we leave for Utah. Oh the pictures I long to post on here.....but that must wait until I have completed said project. At which time I will also inform you about the completion and results of said project will be shared here. Thank you for your patience.

Vacation, all I ever wanted.

We're coming!! We booked our flights after much hemming and hawing about what would be the cheapest yet do-able options. Flying out of St. Louis would have been cheaper, but an extra 3 hours of driving and leaving the car at the airport. We are excited to get out to Utah. Brady and I will come out before Carl, and we will all go home together. The week Carl is with us is going to JAM PACKED with visiting, playing, eating and golfing. No time for sleep for him! Brady and I will enjoy our time relaxing and playing with friends and seeing family here and there. Good times will be had by all. We hope to see you Utahns soon!!!