Marci's Double Wedding Ring Quilt!

I have not quilted for SOOOO long!  And now I have a perfect excuse!  Marci is getting married, and so THE QUILT MUST GO ON!!!

I start with the stands, all bound together in this nice little bundle!

Next, I assemble the legs, putting them together like this--3 of the 4 are done here!

Frame and stands in place, just awaiting the real work of stretching all that fabric and batting

out into its proper place

Here are all three layers--nearly done with this segment of the project!  I pin and "baste" the layers together with a fastener sort of like the one that puts tags onto clothing in the stores.  Halfway through, though, that little machine malfunctioned and I had to return to the "old-fashioned" way. 

Closeup view of the pattern:  Double Wedding Ring in Cranberry/Hunter, now on my small frame. 

All that remains is hundreds of hours of enjoyment--millions of tiny stitches that puff up the spaces in between.  I know there are those who wonder how this "tedious" work can be soothing, but it is one of the most relaxing hobbies imaginable!  Try it--You'll like it!

A Whole New World

I have felt for the past couple of days that my entire world has been thrown in the air and I am racing around trying to catch all the pieces before they slam into the ground!  On Thursday I met with the Bishop and was informed that my counselors and secretary were going to be released on Sunday.  We began going through the ward list and writing down names that were possibilities for their replacements.  We had a list of eight or ten and I told the Bishop I felt best about three or four of them.  Together we came up with a "tentative" list then of who would be called to which position.  I then concentrated on pulling together all the loose ends for my presentation on Plural Marriage and getting the girls to get their "stinkin'!" permission slips returned to me before Mini Youth Conference on Saturday.

The Youth  Conference was VERY WELL DONE--theme being "Mission:  Totally Possible."  The T-shirts were red with a logo similar to the old TV show's beginning logo.  The morning was spent in service projects and then we had lunch and headed for the break out sessions.  I sat in the same room where my presentation would be and listened to two Elders tell the youth about the MTC experience.  Then I gave my information on "So What's the Deal about Polygamy (and other hard questions)."  The kids were engaged in learning the entire time and I think they came away with some ideas for how to answer those difficult questions from their peers.  It has been a wonderful experience for me to study this topic and I, of course, learned far more than I could give away in the class period.  It will eventually be a terrific set of thoughts for my BYU course I am taking, Writing a Family History, since my great grandfather served a year in the penitentiary for living the law of Plural Marriage.  Time WELL SPENT, in other words!

Next came dinner and the all-important activity--THE DANCE.  As I sat next to the bishopric member who is over YW, I asked him if everything would be put into place on Sunday morning.  He motioned me to a quieter hallway (THANK HEAVEN!!) and proceeded to enumerate for me who my new helpers would be.  I was pretty upset that only one of the names from the list two days prior was even ON THE LIST, and others had been moved around to callings that seemed "impossible" to me. 

After a pretty sleepless night, where I felt irritated that such drastic changes could take place and I not get a say in things, it was 8 am and time for Bishop's Youth Committee meeting.  However, not a single young person walked through the door until 25 after 8 and we decided to hang the meeting up.  So I was given time to sit down with the Bishop once again and clear the air.  (Jeff had been a little brutal with him in PEC which met before BYC!!  You know how men want to protect their wives!)  And suddenly everything fit into place.  After I learned the process the bishopric had been through, I knew by the Spirit that although it made no logical sense to ME, there were things the sisters involved needed to learn and that Heavenly Father's plan for this change would be revealed over time and there WERE REASONS that would later become apparent.  I was very grateful that I could then defend the Bishop's name, since there were tears and glares and lots of huffy feelings as the day progressed. 

Yesterday we met for nearly two hours, and I find that the four of us will get along very well, though there will be adjustments to be made for all of us.  And I know that I am being tempered and refined as I learn to submit my will to Father's, since He obviously has a view of things that I cannot see.  I vow to be less prickly in the future and have apologized to the Bishopric member for my pout on Saturday.  So for now, it is Onward and Upward and let's get ready for Itty Bitty Night tomorrow night.  More on that later!

I Tried Joanne's Suggestions

So I did as Joanne suggested--and I'm not too pleased with how it turned out.  Sorry, friends. I'll have Marci try to intervene in a couple of weeks!

The LOST Photo

Joyce, the Laurel Advisor, is always on the lookout for beautiful things. She found these gorgeous WOODEN roses (made from a shaving-width of wood, somehow) and knew she HAD to procure them for our girls. We had someone local arrange the roses into a bouquet, after Joyce found the milk white vases on E-bay. We are so glad she is part of our YW team!
White = Faith
Blue = Divine Nature
Red = Individual Worth
Green = Knowledge
Orange = Choice and Accountability
Yellow = Good Works
Purple = Integrity
Gold = Virtue

The girls were really excited about this gift!

New Beginnings 2010

For our New Beginnings program last week, we presented a skit entitled, "Know Right and the Seven--no EIGHT-- D.O.R.V.s (DORV being an acronym for "Defender of Righteous Value)! The DORVs were represented by puppets operated by Pam, who doubled as the Wolf , appearing at the appropriate time in the window of the puppet theater. (Thanks, Primary ladies for the theater equipment in your closet!).
Doesn't Melissa make the PERFECT Snow White-type character? And who better to play the grandma role than this grandma?

After the skit, Melissa explained the changes in the Personal Progress program, and we sent the girls home with many treasures:

Sorry--I somehow lost a photo I had uploaded right here--If I figure out how to re-insert it, I'll do it, other wise, it will appear above in its own separate blog entry!

Here you see my scriptures (replacements for the burgundy ones that went "afro" when the pages got wet a few months ago!!!) with the new bookmark with value ribbons.

Here we see the new journal that accompanies the Personal Progress book, the ribbons in the clip bookmark, the pendant and a 5 x 7 size theme poster given to each Young Woman.

Finally, a close-up of the clip that holds the ribbons. The girls and several leaders are now MOTIVATED to get cracking on those goals so that their scriptures will have these lovely bookmarks in them!

A Valentine's Day Photo of Jeff and Gwen

I was trying to make this photo larger--but I don't know how! Help! Joanne! Anyone! This was sent to us by the photographer after our "formal dance", but it only wants to remain in this thumbnail size. Well, what you see is what you get!

Personal Progress ROCKS!!!!

Can I just tell you that I am SUPER STOKED about Personal Progress right now! The value of Virtue was added to the Young Women theme a little over a year ago. And as they have updated the Personal Progress book and Theme posters to reflect that addition, they have created some VERY beautiful items to go along with it all. I think my very favorite is shown in the center of this collage of the new "pink" and feminine materials. It is a bookmark to which ribbons in each Value Color can be added when a girl or leader has completed the six value experiences and one ten-hour value project for that value. The ribbons are about 18 or 20 inches long and at one end there is a "gem" to adorn the ribbon. The clip that holds these ribbons slips down into the spine of the girls' scriptures and the YW logo (the torch that brings to mind "Stand for Truth and Righteousness") shows on the outside of the book. I can hardly wait for New Beginnings which is scheduled next Wednesday night for our ward, because the Young Women are going to return home laden with treasures.

Laurels are not usually overly "into" Personal Progress, since many of them have already earned their Recognition awards. But last night, in looking through our NEW Personal Progress books, the girls saw that they can earn that medallion a second time and also a charm for helping another girls with her goals--an Honor Bee award. Does this not sound like a program whose time has come? One Laurel girl who earned her medallion 4 years ago looked over the projects and experiences and saw that with just a little effort she can have the award for the second time before she turns 18 and is ready for Relief Society. Just in her normal life of school and community activities, she has completed goals without even wincing!

All I can say is "Hear, Hear!"