Happy, Happy Birthday Mommy Dear

It's my mom's birthday today! She's turning 29 again. In my memory, that's all she's ever turned, but we won't worry about it. Let's list 10 things I love about my mom (in no particular order and no promises that they are the "top" things I love).

10. She is absolutely the greatest Grandma ever-very laid back, great at the spoiling thing, and she was nice enough to have a built in friend for Samantha.
9. She always tried to teach by example, she didn't bother telling us to do things when she wasn't trying her hardest to live by the same principles.
8. She actually listens to the lyrics of songs, and starts ranting angrily about how they make no sense.
7. As a teenager she really,truly talked to me. Even if we didn't see eye-to-eye she always tried to see things from my perspective and take my ideas into account.
6. She sings like an angel...or sometimes a viking opera singer
5. She's just so funny
4. She helped me on over 3 billion school projects, homework assignments, ASB projects, and church assignments, usually while I freaked out at least once.
3. She has single-handedly furnished most of my cute clothing and home decor.
2. She lives the gospel and does what's right.
1. I'm secretly her favorite

Happy Birthday Mom!

Eight, Eight, Eight is Great

I was tagged, for real this time. So here's some things you may or may not know about me:

8 Things I’m Passionate About
1) Being a mom
2) My husband
3) The Gospel
4) Preserving Memories (scrapbooking, journals, baby books, memory books, etc)
5) Keeping in touch with people
6) Selling my house
7) House hunting
8) Socializing!

8 Songs I Can Listen to Over and Over Again and Never Get Sick of
1) ANYTHING Samantha sings
2) Anything my mom or sister Erin sings
3) Shake it by Metro Station (terrible song-don't judge me)
4) Yellow by Coldplay
5) Come Thou Font of Every Blessing
6) The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelsen
7) Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright
8) O Holy Night (I'm serious, I listen to it in July, I love it)

The Past 8 Books I’ve Read
1) The Book of Mormon
2) Guess How Much I Love You
3) Now One Foot, Now the Other
4) White Lies
5) On the Street Where You Live
6) Conspiracy.com
7) Princess Academy
8) Paper Bag Princess

8 Things I Say Often
1) What do you say? (I'm looking for please)
2) I love you
3) Are you kidding me?!?
4) What's your choice?
5) Hi Mom, it's Emily
6) Are you my baby girl?
7) It could be a baby sister OR a baby brother
8) Everybody calm down, just calm down.

8 Things That Attract Me to a Friend
1) Crazy
2) Likes to come over and invite me over
3) Doesn't take me seriously
4) Listens to my problems and doesn't offer too many solutions
5) Inspires me to be better
6) Likes my kids
7) Loves to talk
8) Loyal

8 Random Things About Me
1) I am incredibly, paralyzingly, irrationally afraid of bees and wasps
2) I took the LSAT and scored quite well (161: 85th %tile)
3) I've never had anyone break up with me.
4) Every mothers day in my career as a mother I've either had a baby within the last 6 weeks (wonderful but hard) or moved across the country within the last week (basically just hard)
5) I hate to fly
6) Even though I get plenty nervous, I actually love to give talks in church
7) I worked for Heritage Halls (BYU residence halls) in 5 different capacities in the 5 years I lived in Provo
8) By the time I have my baby (Sept.) I will have had 3 different babies in three different states.

8 Things I want to Do Before I Die
1) Be a Grandmother
2) Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary with Tom
3) Serve a mission
4) Get a Master's Degree
5) Finish this Tagg
6) Successfully nurse another child
7) Get really old
8) Go on a fabulous cruise with my husband, children, in-laws, and grandchildren-that we pay for because we are way wealthy

8 Things I’ve Learned This Past Year
1) You just never know, do you?
2) You can have two exceptionally wonderful kids that are still so different it blows your mind
3) I have one-but I'm not telling you
4) Chinese food for dinner and popcorn later just don't mix when you're pregnant
5) I really only have control over myself. Doing things to make people like me won't always work, but I should do what's right regardless and I'll be at peace.
6) Waiting is always the hardest part
7) Kids misbehave more around in-laws.
8) I'm really, really, really blessed

8 People I'm Tagging

Between my friends with this already on their blog and the friends I tagged for my last blog...it ends with me.

"I'm going! I'm going to Disneyland!"

As an early Christmas present my mom bought us passes to Disneyland! It's the coolest ever, we'll go every time we visit. We went, and it was so nice because we did a lot without feeling the pressure to stay all day and "get our money's worth" Plus, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Samantha had the time of her life and there were several things that Tommy enjoyed too. I took tons of pictures of course. Here are the highlights:

What's a trip to Disneyland without paying for overpriced concessions?

Cute Teacup photo op. The kids went on the actual ride (minus Tommy who was napping) and it was definitely their favorite. Made me sick, but they loved it!

This was at the Princess Coronation. It was getting late, so Samantha was kind of cranky by this point, but she eventually really enjoyed it. They had some of the Disney Princesses teach them a dance, and then they did a maypole dance that was interactive. They also passed out crowns which was so cool for the girls!

The May Pole Dance. Very fun!

The last thing we did on the way out was to visit Ariel's Grotto and it was the highlight of Samantha's little life. She was thrilled to be meeting a Princess. We were lucky too, the line for the other Princesses was an hour and 10 minutes long! We only waited 10 for Ariel, but it got longer after us.

In front of California Adventure. We went back on Thursday to go to that park, but it was raining so hard by the time we got there we decided against it. Next time!

This was the funniest part. You can sort of see in this picture the pure terror in Samantha's eyes when we met the Evil Queen (from Snow White). She was sooooo afraid. She wouldn't even look at her or get down from my arms. If I was a nice mom I would have had sympathy, but mostly it was just funny to me.

The carousel. Tommy loved this!

In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room, all the birds sing words and the flowers croon. This was Tommy's favorite!

Before and After

I've been talking about it for weeks (months) and I finally went through with it! It's been so hot and we're doing tons of swimming etc. so I cut Samantha's hair. I love it! It does make me a little sad, because she looks SO grown up. She was very excited and after she had it cut she pranced around the salon. She was pleased as punch to have a new haircut. I sort of miss her long hair but it's been a lot less straggly and easier to take care of.

Oh, pick me, pick me!!

I was "tagged". Okay, actually the real story is that I asked to be tagged because I wanted to have something to write about. So I got the "Husband Tagg" from my friend Delee. It's a cute one so here goes:

Hubby Tagg
What is his name? Thomas, goes by Tom, called Tommy by his family.
How old is he? 27
How long have we been married? Almost 5 years
How long did we date? Well, we dated either 3 months or 4 months depending on how you count. We went on our first date in September but then it was 6 weeks more until we went on another date. He was just biding his time I guess.
Who said I love you first? He did, but I followed right away!
Who is taller? Tom, by a good 6 or more inches.
Who sings better? Him!
Who is smarter? He is, for sure. I have my areas of expertise, but he's smarter.
Whose temper is worse? Mine is way worse.
Who pays the bills? I do mostly.
Who does the laundry? Me! Tom helps a lot, but as far as laundry goes...I'm not sure he know's how to use our washing machine.
Who cooks dinner? That really depends. I mostly cook during the week, he cooks a big Sunday dinner. He'd rather do that then watch the kids :)
Who drives when we are together? He does, unless it's after 10 PM, then I do for safety.
Who is more stubborn? That's a tough call. Most people would say me, but when Tom really wants something, he usually gets his way.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably him, this tagg isn't making me look very good.
Whose family do you see more? It's a close call, but his.
Who has more friends? I guess I do. We just moved, so right now we've only got each other! (At least in terms of proximate friends)
Who wears the pants in the family? I make a good show of it, but really it's him.
Who eats more sweets? Candy: Me Baked goods: Him
Who mows the lawn? He does, I never have while married.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Facing the bed, he does.
Who asked who out first? He asked me out, but only because I emailed him first.
Who kissed who first? He did, but I was very encouraging.
What is my favorite thing about him? So many things, but my very favorite has ALWAYS been that he is always, always nice. He never says or does anything intentionally cruel and he makes me want to be such a better, kinder person as a result.

People to Tagg:
Alison
Tiffany
Julie
Amy
Timille

I remember it, I do! It's there, I know it is, because when I look at you, I can feel it. And-and I look at you, and I... I'm home!

Well, I've started my blog. I hope I'm not one of those that does one post and then leaves it forever. I don't think my friends would let me live it down, because I'm really only doing this because of their peer pressure. I'm sorry for the slightly melancholy feel of my first post, I promise it won't happen again.

The quote for the title is from Finding Nemo, a great film. Tom made fun of me because it's too long. I thought it was appropriate because it references both remembering and home. We just moved from southeast VA to Arizona. I miss it already. We didn't spend a long time there (not nearly the time I thought we would), but it was a happy time filled with lots of life events, good memories and wonderful people. Lately, I've been worried about a lot of things regarding the move, but I'm really afraid of forgetting. I learned a lot about myself as a person, about how to be a family, the kind of friends I want and more. I'm worried that I'll forget some of these things. I worried that I'll forget all the beautiful places I love there. I'm worried I'll forget Virginia. Sometimes, in our church, we get people who are traveling area authorities coming back to a region they used to live. They have so many stories, so many memories to share. I used to wonder why it was still so fresh in their mind, why it mattered after all those years. Now I know. The memories might get a little hazy, but I won't forget Virginia. These 2 short years are ingrained in me. I don't think I'll forget the landscape, the events, and the life lessons. I definitely will NOT forget the people. I will really like Arizona, I'm excited for a new adventure, but I love Virginia. I have a few of my favorite things to share with you via pictures:

Above is the Norfolk skyline. I thought this was a gorgeous site. The water was one of the first things I saw when I moved there, overwhelmed and nervous about a place I'd never been. I loved it then and I love it now. It always carries with it the promise of something exciting to come.

Below I have my cute family (which is definitely one of my favorite sites but I get to take them with me to anywhere I live). The beautiful VA site is the trees behind them. The tree's make some people feel claustrophobic, but I love them. I actually like driving on the freeways because of the rows and rows of trees. You can't even tell what's behind them.

A house is just a building, but I sure did love mine. We only lived there a year and half but it was definitely home. I loved working on it, I loved coming home to it, and so many wonderful events happened while we lived there. Now if only I could get RID of it-can't you people find someone wanting a 3 bdrm, 2 bathroom, gorgeous all-brick colonial in VA?!? And you call yourselves friends!

And my favorite sight of all! My friends and my children's friends. There was nothing I loved more than being with all these people. All of us were away from family so we became each other's family. I already miss you, but I hope we always stay in touch. And to reprise my quote and achieve a 10+ on the cheesiness scale " I look at you, and I... I'm home!"

My List of Movies

Cartoon:
Bolt: * * *

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: * * * *

How to Train Your Dragon: * * * * *

Ice Age-Dawn of the Dinosaurs: * * *

Igor: * *
Madagascar 2: * *
Monsters Vs. Aliens: * * * *
(The) Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: *

(The) Princess and the Frog: * * * * *

Toy Story 3: * * * *
UP: * * * * *

Children and Family

Alvin and the Chipmunks-the Squeaksquel: * *

Bedtime Stories: * * * *
(The) Blind Side: * * * *

City of Ember: * * *
Ella Enchanted: * * * *
Enchanted: * * * * *
Hook: * * * *
Journey to the Center of the Earth: * * * *
Longshots: * * *

Nanny Macphee: * * * *

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: * * *

Nim's Island: * * *
Penelope: * *
The Princess Bride: * * * * *

Princess Diaries: * * *'
(The) Sandlot: * * * * *

Space Chimps: * * * *
Spiderwick Chronicles: * * * *

Comedy:
Date Night: * * * *

Empire Records: * * * * *

Welcome to Mooseport: * * *

Comic Book/Super-hero Movie:
Iron Man: * * *

Iron Man 2: * * * *

Wolverine: * * *

X-Men 1 &2: * * * *

Drama:
Kite Runner: * * * *
Traitor: * * *

Heist:

Armored: * *

Italian Job: * * * *

Holiday

Babes in Toyland: * * *

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation: * * *

Horror/Scary:
Knowing: * *

The Uninvited: * * * *

Musicals:
Josie and the Pussycats: * * * *

Mamma Mia: * * (But the music gets 5 stars)

That Thing You Do: * * * *

Romantic (Comedy)
10 Things I Hate About You: * * * * *

17 Again: * * *

50 First Dates: * * * *

500 Days (of Summer): * * * *

He's Just Not That Into You: * * *
Last Chance Harvey: * * *

Leap Year: * * *

(The) Proposal: * * *

Romantic (other):

Australia: * *

Last Song: * * *
New Moon: * * *

North and South: * * * * *

Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth): * * * * *

Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightly): * * * *

Sense and Sensibility: * * * *

Twilight: * * *

Sci-Fi and Fantasy:
Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton): * * *

Avatar: * * *

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (4): * * *

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (6): * * * * *

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: * * *

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3): * * * *

Inception (It WASN'T a dream): * * * * *
Serenity: * * * *

Star Trek: * * * * *

Surrogates: * *

Thriller:
2012: * *

Angels and Demons: * *

Cloverfield: *

(The) Echelon Conspiracy: * * *
(The) Fugitive: * * * *
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: * *

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: * * * *
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: * *
(The) Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer: * *

Salt: * * *
Sherlock Holmes: * * * * *

Taken: * * * *

Samantha Archive

• (Me Driving around AZ) "Mommy, why do we have to turn around so much" (May '08)
  
• (Samantha in a timeout-wailing) "But Daddy, I still love you" (May '08)
• Daddy, I love you because you're rich, rich like me (April '08)
• We need to get this house clean and put it on the market! (April and May '08)
• Mommy: "Are you a little tired?" Samantha: (whimpering) "No! I'm a BIG tired" (June '08)
• (Praying) I'm grateful I could hit my baby brother (June '08)
  
• This recipe does not want me to have milk, it wants me to have chocolate milk (Oct. '08)
• This is NOT luke warm, it is luke HOT (Oct. '08)
• It's good there are no creatures at Grandma's house (Nov. '08)
• (Tom was being a "horsie) Samantha: Daddy are you a horsie? Tom: yes? Samantha: GALLOP!
  
• Eliza-thank you for coming to live with us (around Nov. '08)
• Me: Do you have any resolutions-like something you want to do better? Samantha: Ummm (thinking hard) ...I want to play with more barbies! (Jan. '09)
• Samantha praying: We are grateful daddy cleaned up all by himself.
• Mom, did you know, that when I have kids...my kids and your kids will be cousins
• (A speaker at church said the word "issues) Samantha popped up her head and said "Issues! Tommy has issues, lots and lots of issues!"
• Samantha was quoting a movie (as she's apt to do) that said the word "stupid" in it. That word's a big no-no in our house so she whispered it really softly. I smiled at her and commented. She said " I said it really softly so Heavenly Father and Jesus couldn't hear me"
• At the dinner table Tom told Samantha to eat something to which she exclaimed "No! I know my rights!"
• (Samantha always puts her shoes on the wrong feet and we tend to correct her): Samantha: Daddy-are my shoes on the wrong feet? Daddy: Yes Samantha: GOOD!

Tommy Archive

• Carries things around in his mouth (like a dog)...for a long time (14 months)
• When I ask him to “go get that” his eyes get wide, he goes in a circle for a moment, and then grabs the first thing he sees (14 months)
• Moves my hand closer so he can get a bigger bite of food (14 months)
• Turns on the Roomba and then runs away in terror (12-14 months)
• Eats his body weight in crayons every day (14-16 months)
• Can get up on the bathroom stool-but has to cry piteously for help down. Like a cat (14-18 months)
• Wears his mom or sister's shoes for hours at a time (12-21 months)
• When I figure out what he wants from his grunts and gestures (ie: a drink) he claps for me very enthusiastically (18-19 months)
• Calls cars, trucks, animals, and airplanes “cars.” If it's an animal “car” he waves his hand and says “woof woof” (18-19 months)
• At his Grandma's house he moves things he's not supposed to touch to a higher level. He baby proofs against himself. (18-24 months)
• Scratches your arm and says "ouch, ouch" over and over again (18-20 months)
  
• If he's hungry he'll push a chair over to the highchair and climb in (20 months)
• Daddy showed him trains on youtube so now he points to the computer every day and says "train" over and over again. What a cool daddy he has (19 months old)
• Waves the "CARS" dvd in front of Eliza while exclaiming "Cars!" over and over again. I really think he's trying to get her as excited about it as he is (2 years)
• Tommy was pointing to face parts on Tom (ie: "eyes" "ears" etc.) Pointing to his head he said "duck" (2 years)
• If he has a stinky diaper he comes up and says "Eliza poopy" and in the bath he doesn't want to get his hair washed so he wails "Eliza wash, Eliza WASH!" (2 years)
• Samantha said "My tUmmy hurts" and so Tommy looked at her and then said "No, TOmmy not hurt" and started giggling hysterically
• One day I asked him "Oh, isn't Eliza cute" and he said "No ME cute!"

Quote Archive

May, June, July, August '10:

Aloha 'oe, Aloha 'oe

E ke onaona no ha i ka lipo

One fond embrace

a ho 'i a 'e au

Until we meet again

~Queen Lili'uokalani

April '10:

Good women always have a desire to know if they are succeeding. In a world where the measures of success are often distorted, it is important to seek appreciation and affirmation from proper sources. To paraphrase a list found in Preach My Gospel, we are doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey His gospel with exactness. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit. when we have done our very best, we may still experience disappoints, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. we can feel certain the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through use. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly

~Julie B. Beck General President of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

February and March '10:

Love must be a light, as it is a flame

~Henry David Thoreau

January '10

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.

~Arnold Glasow

December '09

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friend,

He knows our needs, to our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend

November '09

Gratitude is the beginning of civility, of decency and goodness, of a recognition that we cannot afford to be arrogant. We should walk with the knowledge that we will need help every step of the way.

~Gordon B. Hinckley 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A ship in a harbor is safe-but that's not what ships are built for

~John A. Shedd

October '09

You're killing me Smalls!"

~Patrick Renna as Ham Porter in "The Sandlot"

"Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results.

~Elder David A. Bednard, 1st Counselor in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

There's not a lot of money in revenge"

~Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride"

September '09

"And now cried Max, let the Wild Rumpus start!"

~Max in "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

"And this mess is so big and so deep and so tall we can not pick it up, there is no way at all!"

~The fish in "The Cat and the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

August '09

Smee: I've just had an apostrophe!

Hook: I think you mean an epiphany

Smee: (gestures his fingers to his head) "Lightning has just struck my brain."

Hook: Well, that must hurt

~Smee and Captain Hook in the movie "Hook"

"It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities"

~Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

July '09

Happiness is a form of courage
~Holbrook Jackson

There are three parts to the plan. You are in the second or the middle part, the one in which you will be tested by temptation, by trials, perhaps by tragedy...

Remember this! The line ‘And they all lived happily ever after’ is never written into the second act [of a play]. That line belongs in the third act, when the mysteries are solved and everything is put right. …

Until you have a broad perspective of the eternal nature of [the plan], you won’t make much sense out of the inequities in life. Some are born with so little and others with so much. Some are born in poverty, with handicaps, with pain, with suffering. Some experience premature death, even innocent children. There are the brutal, unforgiving forces of nature and the brutality of man to man. We have seen a lot of that recently.

Do not suppose that God willfully causes that which, for His own purposes, he permits. When you know the plan and the purpose of it all, even these things will manifest a loving Father in Heaven.
~Elder Boyd K. Packer

June '09

“I feel good,” Emily said. “I’m still sad that I won’t be at the party with all of my friends, but I’m not angry at Jenny anymore. I know that Heavenly Father loves her just like He loves me, even though we both sometimes do things that hurt others. I think forgiveness is Heavenly Father’s way of helping us learn to love each other the way He loves us.”
~June 2009 issue of "Friend" magazine. Article "Let it Go" by Mara Sundwell

"When we don't live up to our own expectations-and we won't always-let's be as kind ot ourselves as we are to our youngsters. If our children deserve a thousand chances, and then one more, let's give ourselves a thousand chances--and then two more."
~Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish in "How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk"

May '09

Waiting for the fish to bit
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break.
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance
Everyone is just waiting

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
~Dr. Seuss in "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

In our country we call this type of mother love teng ai. My son has told me that in men's writing it is composed of two characters. The first means pain; the second means love. That is a mother's love. "
~Lily in "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See

April '09

Luigi: Aah! Guido! There is a real Michael Schumacher Ferrari in my store! A real Ferrari! Punch me, Guido! Punch me in the face! This is the most glorious day of my life!
[Luigi faints and tips over]
~Tony Shalhoub as Luigi in "CARS"

He is not here: for he is ^arisen, as he said. Come, see the place where the ^bLord lay.
~Matthew 28:6

March '09

"I am old enough to know only too well my good and bad qualities, which were often one and the same."
Lily in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Have you ever tried... not being a mutant?
~Jill Reed as Mrs. Madeline Drake in "X-2"

February '09

"I love you like I love blueberry pancakes! I love you like I love strawberry milkshakes!...
I love you like frogs love flies! I love you like pigs loves pies!...
I love you like the moon at night: big and round and warm and bright!
I love you, good night!"
~Jon Buller and Susan Schade in "I love you, Good Night"

Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.
~Peter Ustinov

"Love wins. Love always wins."
~Morrie Schwartz in "Tuesdays with Morrie"

January '09

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.
~A.A. Milne

Gloria: Listen... Opal... you cannot hold onto anything that wants to go. Do you understand what I'm sayin'? You just got to love it while you got it, and that's that.
~Cicely Tyson as Gloria in "Because of Winn Dixie"

In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.
~Albert Camus

December '08

We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.
~Testimony of the Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in "The Living Christ"

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may his His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

~3rd Verse: "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Even though I never saw a Christmas star I know there is a light, I have felt it burn inside
And I have seen in shining from afar
~Kermit the Frog in "The Christmas Wish"

Frosty: [Looks at thermometer] I was afraid of that. The thermometer is turning reddish. I hate red thermometers.
Karen: Why is that?
Frosty: Because when the thermometer gets red, the temperature goes up, and when the temperature goes up, I start to melt, and when I melt, I get all wishy-washy.
~Frosty in "Frosty the Snowman"

November '08
"Be Grateful...

Thank the Lord for His goodness to you."

~President Gordon B. Hinckley

"Sometimes we love people so much that we have to be numb to it. Because if we actually felt how much we love them, it would kill us. That doesn't make you a bad person. It just means your heart's too big. "
~Brittany Murphy as Faye in "Riding in Cars with Boys"

"You take a bad boy, make him dig holes all day in the hot sun, it turns him into a good boy. That's our philosophy here at camp green lake."
~Jon Voight as Mr. Sir in "Holes"

"Excuse me, where's the manager? I'm from the government and I'm here to inspect your chicken nuggets! "
~Tracy Jordan in 30 Rock



October '08
They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash "
~Bobby Pickett in "Monster Mash"

"I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing they have come up with so far."
~Neil Simon

"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..."
~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

September '08
1. The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
~Tom Petty in "The Waiting"

"A baby is God's way of saying the world should go on."
~ Doris Smith

Lucas: Rap... metal... rap... metal... And Whitney Houston.
Warren: It's for my girlfriend, okay?
Lucas: Suuure it is. You know, someone like you needs to diminish their criminal impulses, not magnify them. Maybe some jazz or some classical.
~Empire Records

August '08
1."When I understand that this glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious." ~Aachan Chaa

2. Lead, kindly Light, amid th’ encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved long since, and lost awhile!

~John Newman

3. "Everything will be okay in the end, if it's not okay-it's not the end"
~Unknown