2010 Outline for Sharing Time

Today, during Singing Time, Brother Broadhead walked in with a manila envelope. He comes back there often, so that was no big deal, but with an envelope. He sat next to me, and showed me what he had. . .

The Outline for 2010! Amazing. I love the church! It's not even June, and we have next year's theme, and let me tell you: this outline is so much more involved and thorough and user friendly than the past many years have been. Don't get me wrong, I looked forward to receiving those, too. But this one, I literally felt the spirit strongly as I looked through it, and just now as I read the instructions, I again felt it. And I don't usually talk like that. :)

For many years in the church, there has been a great deal of emphasis placed on teaching by the spirit, and using your own ideas, and I am by no means saying that I don't agree that it's great/best to do that, but it DOES help to have suggestions and ideas. This outline more fully combines both, in my opinion.

"This booklet provides complete lessons for some of the weeks in the year. Ideas, but not complete lessons, are included for the other weeks. Supplement those ideas with some of your own. (. . .) The Spirit can guide you as you plan and prepare activities for lessons." (Intellectual Reserve, 2009)

Rather than the past black/white type only in the outline, this booklet has color pictures, illustrations to help get the ideas across, and sections with help for the music leader for each month as well.

I'm excited! (and glad to be excited)

****Favorite quote of the day: While TJ (a friend) and Jacob were playing in the living room and I was fixing lunch in the kitchen, I overheard Jacob say:

"Next year, when we're both 8, we'll be baptized."

I know this is tiny, but represents so much more to me. I am so thankful that my son (at least for now. :) is looking forward to being baptized, knows how old you have to be to be baptized, and is including his friend in the excitement - but even more than that, that conversations like that are so easy/normal/everyday for him. That's just how it is. And I LOVE it.

Last week, we went and saw "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" with some friends. During part of it there are these I guess Roman soldiers. Upon seeing them on the screen, Jacob asks me, "What are those, . . .Lamanites?" LOVE IT!

I made some amazing pizza and cheese bread-sticks today. They ate it up!
Took Grandma to see my grandpa at the nursing home.

Thoughts from Church

Kim's talk made me tear up today. I don't usually get teary-eyed in Sacrament meeting (Primary is a whole 'nother story), but today I did. Let's back up about 18 years. . .

When I was eleven and had lived in Jesup for about 6 months to a year, Kim Deloach became my Merrie Miss teacher. We met in the classroom in the hallway - what is now the Family History Library, was the nursery for awhile. Other girls in our class were Melody Higginbotham, Angie Woods, Lisa Moore, and Maria Crosby (I think). I don't remember much about our Sunday lessons, other than being in that room, and us asking her about when she was going to have kids, or why she didn't have kids or what not. That was my first-ever lesson on infertility. . .but . . .I regress. Anyway - she was my teacher. She started me then in journal writing. She gave me a journal at some point. Christmas? End of the school year? I don't remember. But I still have it. It's blue. . the cover is a water-color painting of a girl/young woman/lady walking through a garden or something. It's filled with the thoughts of a 12ish girl. I remember we went to take gifts to . . .someone in her car. I sat in front and got my first lessons on driving a stick. She let me shift - told me when to and how to. I think we also once surprised her at her house with cake and such for some reason. Her birthday? I don't remember. But - I loved her.

I moved up to Young Women, and it seems that Kim was released from her Merrie Miss calling, as well. I remember a week or so before my freshman year of high school how EXCITED I was when she was appointed to be my Seminary teacher! For three years she taught me (and others) Seminary -first Book of Mormon, then Old Testament, then New Testament. She gave me more journals as gifts. She gave me my first EFY CD. She wrote me extremely nice cards in which she told me she hoped to one day have a daughter. Just. Like. Me. I cried.

My Senior year, she was not my teacher. It was OK, but not the same. I graduated, moved on to college. A few years into college, I found out that she and her husband were able to adopt a little baby boy. I was SOOO happy for her.

During college and after in the Columbus Stake, I of course had callings. I was the Ward Music Chairman once (Shenandoah Ward), a Primary teacher once (Edgewood Ward), a Gospel Doctrine teacher once (Phenix City Ward), the Primary Chorister LOTs of times (Edgewood, Weracoba, Phenix City Wards), the second counselor in the Primary Presidency (Phenix City) and I didn't really think about Jesup and what I learned there much at all.

In 2005, I moved back to Jesup. I was immediately called as Primary Chorister (what else is new? :) and Kim was the Primary President. It was nice/different serving with her, rather than just being her student. I was also the Seminary teacher my first two years back in Jesup. The parallels were not lost on me, but at the same time, I didn't really let it sink in.

Today - May 24, 2009 - I have been the Primary President for a year. Kim is one of "my" Primary teachers. She is MY SON's Primary teacher. Ok. I'm tearing up again. :)

Kim was asked to base her talk on an article in the Friend.

During her talk, she said that "Megan" had been trying really hard to encourage the kids in Primary to read the scriptures everyday - and how we have an individual chart for each kid to mark when they've read. She said that combined with the topic the bishop had given her motivated her to start again with Jordan reading everyday. She also told a story she had already told me earlier about SHY Jordan getting up in his 3rd grade classroom and singing "Follow the Prophet" for his class. She expressed appreciation for "Megan" working so hard to teach the kids in Primary. This is the point at which I started to tear up and it hit me just how much SHE had done for me to contribute to me being able/willing/etc to teach the kids.

When Sacrament meeting was over and we were in the Primary room, I hugged her and thanked her for all she had done for me. . .and she thanked me for teaching her son to sing.

Jacob's Party

Each kid at the party received their party favors in a "dog bowl" decorated by me, with attached, engraved dog tag. (I was feeling creative this week. :)

Jacob's Cake

Jacob wanted me to make a "Choco" cake for his (month late) birthday party. Here's a pic of Choco himself along with a pic of the cake!

This pic is adorable!

"What Heaven Sees in You" Video

Cakes

Here are some pics of some of the cakes I've made over the years - either just for fun, or birthdays, or whatever. . .I haven't made any in months. . .

My 3 tiered cakes are quite small - originally got the idea from a Family Fun party idea for doing a little girl's "wedding cake" - the smallest tier is actually made right in a glass measuring cup!
These cupcakes were made for a friend that likes HSMusical - the pictures are actually cut-up Uno cards from a HSMusical Uno set - then I taped them to toothpicks. . .
This pic is a pic of a pic in a scrapbook and doesn't really do the "bed" cake justice - unfortunately it was my first attempt at a "fun" cake - and this is the only picture that was taken of it. :( It's a 9X13 cake cut in half then stacked. Two twinkies (the couple) are laying in bed. . .with sugar wafer heads. The "blanket" was frosted over them. The "bedskirt" was fruit by the foot. . .very fun! (For Heather's lingerie shower)
This was for Daisy's baptism (and her family)

Summer 2008 I visited Tyler - - and made this cake - apparently my attempt at assuring him that I was on board for his desire to run for Mayor in 2010.
The cake itself here was very simple, but funny story behind it. . . Tracy, Sam, and I had been driving around and got a flat tire at Burger King. The missionaries came and changed the tire for us. This cake was a reenactment of their chivalry. :)
This unicorn cake was for a fan of "Candy Mountain"

For some reason, one year I decided to make a St. Patrick's Day cake. Hmmm
My FIRST attempt at a tiered cake - before I knew about leveling. . .
My first (and really only) attempt at using Fondant. I really liked how it turned out, but it tasted like . . .not good. . .and got a little bit of red in the neck area.
This was one of those cakes where I had no plan going into it. . .and just did it. . .I thought it turned out kinda interestingly. . .
I really like the concept of this cake. . .for Zach's 8th birthday and baptism. . .the words are from a primary song: "I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain." I think I could have done better, but I still liked it.
Heather's bridal shower cake - I like how it turned out a lot. Lol I still remember Crystal unwrapping the kisses on the way there as a last minute idea-addition to the base of the cake. I really like using something to go around the bottom to help hide any frosting issues.
One of the few character cakes I've done - Ninja Turtle for Jacob's 5th.

Baby Deer

Some friends of ours rescued a baby deer they found in the middle of the road - and they brought her up to the church for the kids to look at and pet today during Sunday School hour. . .