Here is another story that I have held onto and think it fits our lives regardless of what phase we are in.

THE SCARS OF LIFE

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and a shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father.

It was too late. Just as he reached his father the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arm just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let him go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma  asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. Then with obvious pride he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret, but some wounds my brothers and sisters are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding onto you.

The scriptures teach that God loves you. You are his child, he wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. Sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins and when you have scars of his love on your arms be grateful, very very grateful that he did not and will not let you go.

God has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing to others. You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through. Never judge another person's scars, because you don't know how they got them.

The Loom

This is one of my favorite poems it makes you think about the hand you have been delt in life.

My life is but a weaving ,

Between my God and me,

I do not choose the colors,

He worketh steadily,

Oftimes He weaveth sorrow,

And I in foolish pride

forget he see’s the upper and I the underside.

Not til the loom is silent,

And shuttles cease to fly,

Will God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the skillful Weavers hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

~ Author Unknown

The Easter Story in the America's

#1- 3 Nephi 1:15
15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. (golden circle, Sequin, or picture for the sun)
　
#2- 3 Nephi 1:21
21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the world.(A star)
　
#3- 3 Nephi 8:7
7 And there were exceedingly sharp lightings, such as never had been known in all the land.(lightning bolt)
　
#4- 3 Nephi 8:13
13 And the highways were broken up, and level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough. (rough broken rocks)
#5- 3 Nephi 8:20-23
20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of the darkness;
21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;
22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.
23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.(paint inside of egg Black)

#6- 3 Nephi 11:1
1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and Wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place.(small Picture of the temple)

#7- 3 Nephi 11:8-108 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying;
10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. 　
#8- 3 Nephi 11:15
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come. (a nail)
　
#9- 3 Nephi 11:38-39
38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. (large smooth rock)
　
#10- 3 Nephi 17:21-24
21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
22 And when he had done this he wept again;
23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them; Behold your little ones.
24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them. (tiny baby doll; you can fashion a tunic and belt for it with a scrap of cloth and string)　
#11- 3 Nephi 18:11
11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my spirit to be with you. (sacrament cup)
　
#12- 3 Nephi 18:24
“…hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold, I am the light which ye shall hold up- that which ye have seen me do.” (include a candle)( Picture of Jesus Christ)

Dinosaur Projects

My boys love dinosaurs so we found these fun projects to do for a birthday party. The kids loved it and I enjoyed how much it cost.")

Salt Dough Fossils

What you'll need:
4 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of salt
1 and a half cups of water
Bowl How to make your salt dough:
Mix the indgredients above in a bowl until a dough forms. Add extra water a little bit at a time as needed if the dough is too dry.
Shape the dough however you'd like or use it for your craft of choice.
Place the dough creations on a cookie sheet and bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Keep in mind the thickness of the items will affect the amount of time you cook them! When the baked dough has cooled it takes paint quite well.

What you'll need to make your fossils: Paint Paint brushes Dinosaur toys Cookie sheet Rolling pin Clear varnish spray (optional) How to make your salt dough fossils: Make salt dough according to the recipe above. Roll the dough flat with a rolling pin. Make one of the fossil ideas listed below, or come up with one of your own!. Bake your fossil at 350 degrees for one hour. Once it is cool, you can paint the finished fossil. To preserve it, you'll need to spray it with polyurethane or clear varnish spray. Fossil Ideas:#1: Press a dinosaur toy into the dough. Remove the toy to see the imprint or "fossil" left behind. #2: Press the foot of a dinosaur into the dough to create a fossil. #3: Have your own child press their foot into the dough to make their own fossil! This is a great way to preserve how little they are now! #4: Press your child's hand into the dough so that their hands mimic a three-toed dinosaur footprint.  Salt Dough

Tissue Paper Dinosaur Craft

What you'll need: Black construction paper Clear contact paper Tissue paper in a variety of colors Scissors White crayon How to make your tissue paper dinosaur craft: Print out our dinosaur template. Cut the dinosaur out and trace onto black construction paper with a white crayon. Cut the dinosaur out of the black construction paper. Cut out the middle of the dinosaur leaving approximately 1/2" of the outside intact. Discard the center you just cut out. Peel the backing paper off of the contact paper and stick your dinosaur outline onto it (see picture of step 3). Cut the excess contact paper off. Cut a small circle out of black construction paper and stick it on the contact paper for the eye. Cut a small curved shape out of black construction paper and stick it on the contact paper for a smile. Cut tissue paper into 1 inch squares. Make sure to use a few different colors. Stick the tissue paper onto the dinosaur making sure to overlap the pieces. Trim off any tissue paper that hangs over the black outline of the dinosaur . Hang up on a sunny window. Dinosaur template

A Girl In A Whirl

I LOVE this poem!!! This is what every woman does, we guilt ourselves into depression.

Merrilee Boyack in her book Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy Says

"We all laugh about the Perfect Woman, but how many of us secretly compare ourselves constantly to this standard? It's like we carry around a huge backpack filled with rocks and wonder why we're tired! And every now and again, we sit down and pull out a rock to pound ourselves over the head: "I really should be canning my food, my Grandmother did... I only have six kids under eight... I should just get up at 4 AM and get this done!" On and on we go, heaping on the guilt!"

I decided to make this blog to help other women like myself that want to be the "Perfect Woman."
I have a tendancy to be a perfectionist even when it won't matter to the people/ group I am doing things for. I have realized that it has cost me a lot of time away from my boys. It's a little sad in searching to be the "Perfect Woman" for others looking in, I have let my life fill up with so many projects that those simple life changing moments with my children have been lost. I know I'll never be the woman above, but I can be the perfect woman for my own little family... My husband wants ME, not the woman above and my children won't care what my days were filled doing, but they will treasure the TIME I spent with them.

So here it is, a place that will help life slow down just a little bit for you. My collection of things I have done for my church callings, crafts and fun times with my little family, things to help simplify what you are doing in your life, and just some of my thoughts on life.
I hope that the time I put into these things will be worth it in helping other people save that time and spend more time with your children.