Mad Hatter Party

My ward is pretty awesome.  We had our Relief Society Mad Hatter Unbirthday Party and it was so fun.  I have no idea how long it took them to decorate but the cultural hall was amazing.  There were lanterns strung across the ceiling, and we got to have a delicious dinner, but it was important to fill your plate because every once in a while the Alice in Wonderland background music would stop and you would change tables if you met the criteria such as eating breakfast, wearing glasses, or having fruit on your plate, once you moved you got to meet/eat with new people.  The cake was delicious and fancy and it was a good night getting to know people better.

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission

Yesterday was such an exciting day!  Our brother Jake got his mission call to serve in the Mexico Villahermosa mission.  He will go to the MTC July 10th.  We are super excited for him and for the opportunity to learn Spanish since that wasn't exactly his favorite class in Junior and High School.  He will be amazing.

My cute cousin Jessie also received her call to serve in the Rome Italy mission.  I can't think of a more appropriate place for a film major who loves learning new languages to go.  It is possible she will be around for the temple dedication as well, which would be such a cool experience.  She will be the first Clarke grandchild to serve a mission, which I think is pretty sweet too.

January Lameness

I feel lame with my posting for this month.  I have had a lot going on.  For whatever reason though not much has been deemed important enough to be put on the blog.  In general I have been working and JD has been studying.  We are loving our callings and new classes this year.  I am still teaching the 11-12 year old girls, I've already had one graduate to young women's so I only have her in Sunday School. They are a much quieter bunch than my last group but Caitlyn and I are slowly getting them to open up and participate/share a bit more. JD is teaching the new 18 year old class and is really enjoying the new curriculum, we have amazing youth in the ward.

The Girls

It has been so much fun teaching Jordyn, Heidi, Juliet, Mauren, Maddison, Eliza, Ally, and Jasmine this year in primary/young womens.  They are super smart, fun, and chatty.  I will miss them a ton.  Sundays will be different not having a group of 8, super chatty girls to learn with.

An Evening with Angels

The Relief Society Christmas Dinner is a big deal in the Hazeldale Ward.  The cultural room was beautiful with strung twinkle lights across the ceiling, fabric draped over lights around the walls, and real garlands throughout the room, across a piano, on every table with lights along with metallic wreaths and angels, pictures of Christ throughout the room, and garlands across the stange and along the walls with ornaments hanging from them.  The evening was amazing as well.  There was delicious food, amazing musical numbers, and an opportunity to focus on how each one of us can be an angel in someones life, and that from the talks of four women, we are angels and don't even know it.  It was a really neat evening, below is an excerpt from Elder Holland's talk that was shared, The Ministry of Angels-General Conference October 2008.

 

My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.” On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.

May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord’s promise as contained in one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, … my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God when someone, perhaps a Primary child, is crying, “Darkness … afraid … river … alone.” To this end I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Birthday & General Conference

I love when my birthday is on General Conference.  We used to have a cabin in Heber and every conference weekend the whole family would go to the cabin, watch conference, walk around the lake amidst yellow quaking aspens, and have delicious lunches and dinners around the conference schedule.  It wasn't too uncommon to have my birthday fall on such a wonderful weekend so the combination is always my favorite.  After a busy day of going to the beach and hiking, conference was wonderful.  We got to relax and listen to the words of living prophets.  What an amazing gift it is to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  It has been a happy, peaceful, birthday weekend to say the very least.

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes through text, phone calls, facebook, and cards. We are also grateful to Tyler and Whitney Whiting who had us over for dinner twice this weekend.  It is nice to have 'new'ish friends (JD & Tyler served in India at the same time and know each other) here in Oregon.

Small World

JD & I went to the Portland Temple yesterday and decided to check out the Visitor Center before heading back home.  I love how the backgrounds change behind the Christus statue depending on where you are!  In Los Angeles there is ocean, in Portland a lot of trees and waterfalls.  While we were wandering around, a van pulled in and a bunch of girls piled out of it, we saw that they were sister missionaries and when I looked even closer I recognized Ally, the daughter of one of my coworkers!  It was fun to see her even though we don't know each other very well, more just passing by while she was running errands for her mom or bringing Deb's glasses to her at work, but still super neat.  She was so happy doing what she was doing and the only complaint she had was how fast time was flying by.  I love how small the world really is.

Snowy Sabbath

Happy Snowy Sunday!  We woke up to lots of pretty snow on the trees as we went on our way to church, it was a pretty winter wonderland.  Church was great.  We went to Big Hot Springs afterwards and saw Johnny Sack's cabin while there, it was cool to see how warm the water was there keeping everything near it green and free of snow. 

Erin was really sick, probably after doing so much the day before, so we stayed at the cabin most of the day.  The cabin was toasty from our fire, we watched Anne of Avonlea, I read a lot, and Erin had 4 1/2 naps.  We really did have a very nice and relaxing day.  I don't know the last time that I had such a quiet day watching the snow fall, reading, and poking logs.  It was AWESOME.

Institute Graduates

So we graduated from institute....again. I am very thankful for the institute program. I have learned a lot and it was a great way to fill in the time when JD was taking his night classes and to be with friends that I wouldn't see weekly otherwise (Aimee, Erin, & Christie).

"If you are a single college student, I ask you to make participation in institute a priority. Married students and other young adults are also welcome and encouraged to attend. Think of it. Friends will be made, the Spirit will be felt, and faith will be strengthened. I promise you that as you participate in institute and study the scriptures diligently, your power to avoid temptation and to receive direction of the Holy Ghost in all you do will be increased. Divine favor will attend those who humbly seek it. That is a promise which I leave with you." President Thomas S Monson

He is Risen

I am so grateful for the Savior and the love that He had for each one of us, to lay down His life that we might be able to become clean through His sacrifice and return home to Him. It was the greatest gift anyone could give or has given.

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

For we saw him, even on the right hand fo God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father. -D&C 76: 22-23

General Conference

Come Listen To Living Prophets

Mormons have been in the media quite a bit lately with the election and other events taking place in the country and around the world. With all of the questions surrounding what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints really believe, watching General Conference would be a great missionary tool, where you can let President Monson and the Apostles do the talking. I am so grateful to have a prophet to help lead, direct, and warn me, and to testify of the reality and divinity of a living Savior, Jesus Christ. Just like in Biblical times, we need a prophet.
There are several buttons and banners available at lds.org that you can use on your blog to let others know about General Conference this weekend.

Take from the Rich

There were quite a few 'funnies' at church today. Our lesson for the 7 year olds was on preparing for baptism. I asked the bishop to come in and talk to the kids about baptism and a little about what to expect at their interview. What followed was a pretty entertaining discussion with the present 7 year olds. At one point the bishop talked about being honest and never commiting crimes. He asked if anyone had been to jail. Somehow the conversation turned when one of the girl's hands shot up in the air and said "Well sometimes it is ok like if you take from the rich to give to the poor." Bishop talked about how we shouldn't steal from anyone, but the girl stayed firm in her love of Robin Hood. The other one took place in sacrament. A couple talked about faith and both mentioned that they will be getting sealed in the temple this year. The girl got teary because she was so happy. Her counterpart mentioned it as follows: "Like my wife mentioned, we will be getting sealed for time and all eternity later this year......That's like......long."

Prayer Rocks

Our primary lesson was on prayer this week and I have the nasty habit of waiting until the morning of to get everything together to teach our 7 year old class. This Sunday was the perfect storm of being Daylight Savings and 9:00 church=bad combo. I found myself at the Ogden River Walkway about 20 minutes before church digging through river bed rocks for my class. Mind you I was fully dressed in my church clothes and Sunday shoes. I told the class how much I loved them and told them the tale of getting their rocks for proof. One kid's response: "Did anyone see you?!?" Another kid's: "We get to keep these rocks!?!?" Answers: No, no one saw me. Yes, yes you get to keep the rocks you just decorated with metallic sharpies.

Baptism

JD and I have the awesome calling of teaching the 7-8 year olds in primary. Part of this calling includes attending the baptisms of our kids. Poor Averee has watched all year as everyone else was baptized, but had to wait since her birthday was after Christmas. Today it was finally her turn. The Spirit was so strong in the meeting as her uncle baptized her and her great grandfather gave her the Holy Ghost. I am thankful for the Gospel, for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and for a loving Savior who has showed the way, through example, of what I need to do to return home.

We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet

We had Regional Stake Conference today and it was wonderful. There were a lot of good messages and things to take from it and I have to say it is always nice to hear from the prophet. The main message from both Elder Andersen and President Monson was the need to look outside of ourselves and go to the rescue of those around us be they the widowed, lonely, from fractured families, neighbors, friends, strangers....to help those who need it or to find a way to serve those around us. I think it can be easy to get wrapped up in our busy lives, and trials and not look outside of our narrow point of view and see those around us in need of a smile, hug, listening ear, plate of cookies, visit, phone call, dinner, because we are all dealing with something. President Monson's remarks on battalions and loss of war in connection with loving those around us made me think of a quote that I love from Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley (wife of President Hinckley): "Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Note on the picture: some may think this a weird choice, but the last time I heard President Monson speak at the Dee Events Center it was at my graduation, which I think is pretty neat.

Dog Poop Cookies

We had the topic of Purity and Righteousness in primary today; I hate topics like this for 7 year olds, especially when the lesson is 2 pages long of actual material and you know it won't take up the whole time or keep their attention long enough to help them understand the material. So to get the point across, I made cookies for the class. They were excited to have treats, I brought them on a beautiful dish, and they smelled delightful. I told them I had a secret ingredient that I wanted them to guess, after going through the basics (flour, eggs, sugar, chocolate chips) a kid called out, bugs! I said "Close!" and their eyes got big, they continued guessing until I finally told them that it was just a little bit of dog poop, only a smidge. Their eyes were huge and their mouths dropped open, some smiled not believing me, but were still shifting in their seats. We talked about how even little things can make a difference in our lives; listening to bad music, watching bad shows, not being kind to people around us, saying bad words and unkind things to others, taking bad things into our bodies that can hurt us, etc. How saying just one puff won't hurt is the same as saying just a little bit of dog poop in your food isn't a big deal. It made what was a lesson I was dreading into a really good experience, the kids got the object lesson, and one of our nonpartcipatory kids was paying attention to every word from the moment we mentioned there may or may not be dog poop in the cookies we brought. Teaching this made me think about what things I could change to have more sanitary cookies, I feel there are always things that can be improved or that I can be working toward, and that even small changes can invite the Spirit in more as I strive to do what is right. This principle will be my focus throughout the week.

Bem Vindo

Sye is home from his LDS mission in Sao Paulo Brazil! Sye definately ranks up there on my list of favorite people so it is super nice to have him back. It was so weird going out with the family and having SEVEN people instead of six like it has been the past while. He has worked super hard the past 2 years and it should be fun to finally hear about some of his experiences (he was definately not the best of writers).

Primary

JD and I have had Primary callings pretty much since we got married. We have taught 10 year olds, 9 year olds, and we are currently teaching the 7 year olds. Primary is definately one of my favorite places to be. This year particularly has been hilarious being with the junior primary classes. A few of the fun things that we have been taught lately or experienced with the kids include:
During an object lesson a presidency member had a candy bar and asked if she could just eat the candy (getting at the point you needed to open the wrapper first), a sunbeam piped up from the front row: Oh no! You have to ask your mom or dad first!
Same day, same sun beam: after singing a song the primary chorister asked if everyone had been singing, his response: I wasn't! I just don't know any of those words!
We asked our primary class what the Holy Ghost was a member of (getting at Godhead) the answer: Mormon Tabernacle Choir
While singing Follow the Prophet kids were called up to do something for kids to follow during the chorus (wave hands, clap, spin around etc). For Jonah one of our class members was called on, once the chorus started he bared his teeth made claw hands and started growling (to be the whale) we had a primary full of monsters throughout the chorus.
When an 8 year old was asked in a sharing time lesson how he felt after he repented: "Heartly.....it's a new emotion"

Las Vegas

Las Vegas was a lot of fun, some of the highlights included the temple, Hoover Dam, the Bellagio (didn't stay there but we did visit a few times to see the garden and water shows), warm weather, and sleeping in. It was fun walking out of church and having the temple right in front of you as well. :)