Earrings By Yours Truly

I've been working on a project and have gotten a little carried away with it. I'm no where near finished! My plan is to make a whole bunch of different earrings, and give them to my girl-friends. I hope they like them! If not, I'll just have a TON of earrings haha

I actually saw something like them on Pinterest, and decided to try it out! All it takes is those paint color samples, Modge Podge, some earring hooks, and jump rings. Here are some samples that I've done so far! 

So what are your thoughts? Are these any good, would you wear them?



Afterthought: I'm currently watching the Wiz, which is pretty much a black version of the Wizard of Oz, and it's hilarious! Michael Jackson plays the scarecrow, and it's great to see him :)

Christmas Spirit For All Year

As I sit here, I can't stop thinking about the spectacular movie that I just watched, The Christmas Shoes. If there were any movie to recommend for a heart-changing and warming film experience, this would be it. In fact, I am going to make a tradition to watch it every year for Christmas from now on.

The story is beautiful, and reminds us that Christmas isn't just a once-a-year feeling. We need to have it all the time! The business man in the movie who was spending more time in his office than with his family, he did not have the spirit of Christmas because he was too busy worrying about money, possessions, etc. But in the simple act of service for a young boy who wanted to give his dying mother a present, this man remembered what he was missing out on.

This is the theme song for the movie

I was crying for pretty much the whole last half of the movie because it was so touching. It reminded me what I should be doing. My family is what matters most, and anything that gets in the way of me spending time with them should become my second priority. They aren't going to be around forever, and might even have to go before it's expected. In fact, I might be the one that is called home before expected. So I want to make sure that I've done all I can to let the people I care about know how much they mean to me. And I want to know that I spent all the time with them that I could.

Earlier Today...

I seem to be having a similar trend with my stomach and holidays this year.. It's not a good one either! This past Thanksgiving I got the stomach flu, and now for Christmas my tummy has been acting up again! It's not the flu this time, but something else entirely, though I've no clue what. It's interesting because it's like a burning in my actual stomach, but it only really bugs me when I stand up. Luckily, I am just fine with sitting down all the time lol

But now I can't eat all the sweets that we've got! It's Christmas after all... And I had a great one despite my bothersome body. I just love my family so much!

Here is the final picture of the gingerbread house, with the scenery that my dad put up for it. This beautiful house on the side of a mountain has actual trees, a life-size nativity, a snowman worth mentioning, and reindeer wandering the yard! :)

That's all for now! I've got to go spend the rest of this special day con mi familia!

Here's to Christ and His Helper, Santa

As Christmas Day comes upon us, I would just like to say,

I BELIEVE.

That's actually a reference to two movies, both of which are great to watch during the holidays: Miracle on 34th Street and the Polar Express. 

I watched the Polar Express tonight and it really touched me. I wouldn't say that the overall quality of the movie is top notch.. But the whole point of the story really got to me; the theme with the bells was perfect. In the scene when the hero boy can see the bells and yet he can't hear them, he has to choose to believe. He had to believe BEFORE he could see Santa Claus. 

I appreciated this because one of my least favorite things about now-a-days Santa Claus is the ridiculous and false statement tagged to him, "Seeing is Believing." This goes in the complete opposite direction from what Christ said in John 20, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Who in the world decided that the very man representing Christ's birthday would say the opposite? 

So as I was watching the Polar Express, I noticed that this movie paralleled Christ with Santa in many aspects. "Seeing is Believing" was said in the beginning, but then it adds, "but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." Yes! That, and the fact that the boy was trying and trying to see Santa, but he couldn't. And yet, as soon as he chose to put faith in him, Santa came. I believe the director was trying to compare Claus to Christ with the angelic glow about him, the more solemn demeanor, and the way that he knew and cared about each child. 

All in all, this movie was a touching one, both in it's message of the real meaning of Christmas, as well as the way it was told in a light-hearted way with the story of the North Pole. 

Here's a new video of the Nativity to tell the true story of the first gift of Christmas. This really happened. And I don't need to have seen it to believe. :)

Merry Christmas!!

The House is Done!!

Decorating of the gingerbread house is finished! I am soo exhausted. It actually doesn't look to bad, even though I was pretty much throwing frosting on it so I could finish. Here it is...

TADA!!

 I say it's finished, but my parents still want to make surrounding scenery. Which was my original plan, until I realized how time-consuming the whole thing is. But you may be seeing yet another picture later on!


Have you ever had those moments when you feel extremely jealous about a situation when you have absolutely no cause to be? Yeah, that's how I was today. It's quite ridiculous. Ah well, what can we do? For starters, I need to stop being jealous, and just be happy for the couple I'm feeling weird about. They probably work very well together!


In church today, we had a Christmas music program, done by Valerie Rawlins. She did such an amazing job! I participated by playing half of the congregational hymns while another girl played they other half. Every one one of the musical numbers were very well done, and brought the Spirit into the meeting. I'm so happy that our little Singles branch in Mountain Home has so much musical talent! I love everyone here. :)

Not much else to report today, so hasta la vista!

Science and Religion Work Together

Gingerbread, frosting, gingerbread, and more frosting. My mind feels like it's going to melt into nothing. Although I'm unable to say that I finished my house, I did get the actual frame set up, and tomorrow is just for decorating!

One important item of business-- I'll have you know that the dates on most of my posts are one day behind, because I have a habit of posting at one or two in the morning. I am going to try and post before 12, but we'll see how that goes. :)

What I really want to talk about tonight is the AWESOME talk I had with my dad. We were able to talk about gospel and science related things, without it ending in someone huffing off. 

My dad is not a member of the church (of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), while I've mentioned before that my mom is a very stalwart member--and both of them are very stubborn. So naturally, they get into pretty heated conversations/arguments about the gospel. I often would sit for hours just listening to them go back and forth. This may be the reason I was so quiet when I was younger. I'm just not the type to cut in when others are speaking; I let people say what they are going to say, because I hate being cut off myself. But when there's people other than me, I often don't have room to add anything.

However, today the missionaries came and asked my father if he had ever read the Book of Mormon. He replied that he hadn't read it straight through, but had compared it to the Bible years ago. This is when I had the idea of what I wanted for my Christmas present, as well as my birthday (exactly three months from Christmas). After the missionaries were gone I proposed my wish: "For my Christmas present, I want you to begin reading the Book of Mormon, and for my Birthday I want you to finish it." I also requested that he not compare it to anything else, as I know this would take the Spirit away, so that he can just read it for what it is. He agreed! 

We continued talking about beliefs, which led to a discussion about how science and religion can be paired. My father agreed that these two do work together. My biggest problem with society in general is that Science is one thing and Religion is another, and we think that one disproves the other.

However, this is not true! God is Science. Science is not proving that things happen by chance, but rather proving that such intricate designs must have a designer. 

As "smart" as mother nature is, she's not a being and could not have naturally made such a huge immensity of complex organisms and elements.

I took Geology this last semester, and learned about things that I honestly didn't even think necessary to know, and yet they still existed. Each and every little detail matters in our universe. This world is so complicated of a subject, because of just how specific things have to be in order to make a world such as ours. Specificity is not natural. As my professor always said, mother nature is lazy and always takes the easiest way. There's no way "she" pays attention to detail. There's got to be Someone that does. 

Evolution was brought up after my father was trying to tell me his belief about the difference between facts and truth. I don't understand his reasoning perfectly, but I did glean something which I agree with: fact and truth are not the same thing. Fact has been scientifically proven, knowledge that the human race has accumulated. Truth, however, is what is-- always has been and always will be. The facts that we have today are only a small pinpoint of the truth. According to these definitions, anything having to do with faith cannot be called a fact, but it can be truth.

Evolution is a complicated issue, because it has scientific proof, and yet a lot of theory as well. It has been proven that species can evolve. Anyone who knows anything would not be able to say otherwise. However, it hasn't been proven-- and will never be-- how evolution started, how the world was created, or anything about the creation. This is where faith comes in. We can look at all of the scientifically proven facts, and still there is so much we don't know. The only way humanity can live with not knowing is to trust in God. Trust that he knew what he was doing, and he was in charge. 

As far as how we were created, that's another thing where you've got to have faith. Some religious people cannot accept that we came from something resembling an ape/monkey, choosing to take the Bible's creation story literally. And yet, how many instances did God, both in Old and New Testaments, speak symbolically? I would vouch that there's more symbolism than literal statements. What's to say that homo sapiens did not evolve until God deemed they were ready for his spirit children to enter them? 

I would like to point a couple things out from Genesis 2.

1. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground"
   First of all, if we're okay with coming from the dust, what's wrong with evolving from a creature? But that's not the point I want to make. When it says dust of the ground, I'm reminded of the fact that the very first living organism technically came from the dust of the ground. So even through evolution, everything came from dust.
2. "And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
   This was my dad's acknowledgment-- the soul is the only thing that would make humans different from the previous homo sapiens. The soul is something that only God could have given us, and he chose when to.
3. In the garden, "the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
   This implies that Adam and Eve did not previously know good and evil. They were like children. But where did they come from? Yes, they could have been placed there by God, but why not have been born from a homo-sapien family? Thus they were born into a family that had the mental capacity more or less of children. And then they were given understanding after partaking of the tree, the true beginning of the human race and God's children. 

I'm not telling you what to believe, I'm just telling you what I believe and why. Once again, I'll just say that facts are few while opinions are many, but truth is everlasting. It's your job to use faith to find it. :)

The Mission, God, and Me.

I had a great day today, and got some things done! In fact, I was able to go to my doctor's appointment for my mission papers! I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and my plan is to serve a mission for the year-and-a-half that young women are able to. I am so excited!

This will be me. \/  :)

Learn more about Mormon missionaries!

I can't turn in my paperwork until January, four months before I am actually able to leave, so I've still got at least a month before I find out where I go. Honestly though, I would be good with anywhere! I'm to the point where I really have a desire to go and serve Christ. I want to put my life on hold, and dedicate every waking hour to Him.

This may sound cliche to some people, because whenever I heard someone say that, I felt the same way-- it was just the same old thing, and couldn't possibly be what they were really thinking about. But over the past couple weeks as I've searched for what I am supposed to do, and whether going on a mission is the right path to choose, I have also gotten that desire! It's an answer to my prayers. I saw those other girls who only wanted to serve God, and I envied that. And now He's given it to me! I'm going, baby, and nothings going to stop me. 

---

On a completely different note, as I was on my way to play phone tag with some friends (which was SO fun, especially because we ended it with a nerf war :D) I found this awesome light display. I feel this may be something that one could only find in Mountain Home Idaho and I had a good laugh about it. Here's a representation of my hometown:

If you can't tell, it's a tractor made of Christmas lights. I honestly wonder where people get these ideas.. lol

End of the World, But I've Got Gingerbread

After getting on Facebook, I was reminded about fifty times that tomorrow (today) may possibly be the end of the world and I should say something interesting or revealing before we are all gone. But honestly, today was just a GOOD day, without any effort. If the world did end, I would be completely satisfied with the last day I had on earth.

But seeing as how the whole Mayan calendar predicting the end is a load of complete nonsense, I'll go ahead and assume that I'll be around for December 22. 

Besides, I need tomorrow, so I can finish my gingerbread house! 

I started one today... and it's not a mangy little graham cracker one. Oh no, this is going to be a full on gingerbread house, like I've only built once before. My mom was cool enough to save some pages from a very, very old magazine that had designs for gingerbread houses-- and pretty cool ones too. Take a look at the date. --->

But man, I never even realized how hard it is to make a gingerbread house! There's so many steps before you even get to the baking part, that I just want to throw the whole thing out and just get some graham crackers! I'm about halfway done with the building process, so hopefully I will be able to show the finished product by Saturday! 

Other highlights of the day: my little nephew Kru came over, I got some bonding time with my mom, and I had a crazy thought! 

Kru

What an adventure that kid brings when he is around! Kru is a 3yr-old little boy who loves what most little boys love. And I got to be with him all day today. First thing we did? Break into the new toys that I found a couple days ago as I was cleaning the house. 

*Sidenote: I don't know about you, but when I play with toys that I used to play with as a littlie, it really brings back the memories, adding a bright spot to my day. 

Kru also helped us finish decorating our tree with ornaments, and was very talented at putting them all on one branch. I ended up having to move quite a few of them, but it was so fun to see his excitement! Once again, here's what out tree now looks like:

Kru also got to make gingerbread cookies with mom and I! We couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole thing, both because of how funny that little kid is and because today was just accident-prone! Seriously every ten minutes something would drop. The best part was that the two played on each other. When we would make a mess, Kru would do something hilarious in response, and then later Kru would also drop something, which would start the laughter again! A viscous cycle, but worth it for the smiles. :D

Mom

Even though she can't help me physically make the gingerbread house, my mom was with me to provide support, help me decipher the directions, and just talk! We ended up having a good conversation, in which I explained to her the fascinating concepts of both communication styles and love languages. Both of these subjects were something that I was a fanatic about last year, when I first discovered them. I was always thinking about them, trying to figure out what I was, what others were, and how this affected me. If you don't know much about either of these, LOOK INTO THEM. I learned so much about humanity in general, my friends, relationships, and most importantly myself. 

Anyway, while having this conversation with my mom, we got onto the topic of what Jesus was. If you knew my mom at all, this would be no surprise; she manages to bring him into any conversation. It's something I admire about her. But this brings me to the last highlight:

Crazy Thought

It's obvious that because Jesus Christ was perfect, he was an assertive communicator. But what about his love language(s)? What is the perfect combination for the 5 languages? At first, I thought that it would be an equal degree for each, but I can't imagine Christ caring the same about receiving gifts as he does quality time. And my mom also pointed out that he would serve, serve, serve. This got me thinking about quality touch. I wonder if this was very high in Christ? There's no way of knowing how he communicated with others, whether he would place his hand on their shoulder, or embrace them as a greeting. And if he did do these things, was it because he knew that's what THEY needed, or was it because HE needed it? 

Who knows? I'm aware I'll never find out in this life, but I like thinking about it all the same. I feel it helps me realize what's most important, both in general and to myself. 

A couple more pictures to add to today's record :)

Kru and mommy makin' gingerbread men

My gingerbread house in the works