Liber Tea Luncheon

This is the name of the luncheon that we have as part of Princess Academy. Today was our second meeting for princess academy, but our first official luncheon. It was quite a success. We had so much fun. One of the other families in the group hosted, and they did an incredible job. All of us had lunch together, which we all contributed to and helped clean up, we discussed the book Little Women, and learned to embroider and paint on fabric. We have been dreaming and scheming ever since about embroidering projects that we want to start. (Possibly Christmas gifts for grandmas and grandpas.) What a great skill to know. I feel that I am growing leaps and bounds right along with my daughters. Thank you Kennisons for such a wonderful afternoon.

While driving to Fairview this evening, I was pondering many things. One of those things, is how grateful I am for the amazing friendships I have been blessed with throughout my life. I was thinking about my life and the things I have been able to accomplish, and the thought came to me that I could not be the person I am without the people who have strategically been placed in my life. I am indebted to each one of them. So if you are reading this, chances are you are one of those such people. I thank you for the impact you have had on my life, and I hope that in some small way I have been able to impact yours. A quote from Joseph Smith illustrates some of my feelings:
"How good and glorious it has seemed unto me, to find pure and holy friends, who are faithful, just, and true, and whose hearts fail not..."

Random Pictures

The new toy

so for months now I have been having trouble uploading pictures, but McKay finally got it worked out. A few months ago Clarence bought a new toy and he and McKay have been gone fishing as frequently as possible. I don't go much because I get motion sickness so easily, but Clarence has taken all of us tubing on the back of the boat a few times. It has been lots of fun, and a great relationship builder for he and McKay. These pictures are from 2 fishing trips, one at Strawberry Reservoir and one at Utah Lake. McKay wants me to point out that the huge catfish in the picture was caught by him and not his dad.

Castles in the Sky

This month for Princess Academy, Elena and Alexia and I are reading Little Women. We just finished the chapter entitled Castles in the Air. It was very inspiring and we decided to make our own "castles" by writing down some of our dreams and the things we would like to accomplish into our princess diaries. This was a great opportunity for me to see what is in my girls' hearts and will help me better plan my educational goals for them. I have been thinking a lot lately about creation, and what a beautiful process it is. When God created the Earth, he created it spiritually first. What a beautiful concept. I have been feeling the need lately to "spiritually create" my realities. This also agrees with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey wherein he states the first habit as Begin with the end in mind. If we have a plan, we can create. I am so excited to create beauty in my life and teach my children the principles to do the same. What an amazing world we live in. The opportunities are there. We just have to imagine them and they will be ours, with a little work and a little faith.

Our Hope Chest Journey

In times not so long ago, little girls created hope chests. These chests were filled with things that would help them to be wives and mothers. Maybe an heirloom family bible, christening suit, wedding dress, hand made items, etc. would be included in the chest. What you could not see in the chest was the education and training that went into each item placed therein. Often a girl would begin at around 8 years old to fill her hope chest assisted by generations of women in her life. This is the vision of Donna Goff, the woman who created Princess Academy: daughter of a king and the Hope Chest Journey. I am so grateful for her vision and for sharing it with others. I desire to begin documenting our hope chest journey, or the things that we are learning to prepare us to be queens. Some of the things we are working on are:

Pillows: The girls decided they wanted to learn to sew little pillows to put on their beds. They are each making two, one to keep and one to give away. Elena wants to hand sew her pillows and Alexia wants to use a sewing machine. So far we have gotten the fabric and have cut it out.

Princess Diaries: At our last meeting for Princess academy, (which consists of a group of mothers and daughters) we each made princess diaries to record things that we are learning on our hope chest journey.

bedroom designing: The girls cut out pictures of bedroom sets that they want for their bedrooms, and glued them in collage format into their princess diary. (I am doing the same thing for my house) We are going to work on finding older but sturdy furniture so that we can learn to refinish and reuse.

Baking: Elena has been doing a lot of baking. At least once a week she helps me bake bread or she makes snacks for everyone with me loosely supervising. She is getting quite skilled in the kitchen. This is a picture of some cookies she made completely on her own. I just answered questions.

We are having a wonderful journey thus far.