When Hearts Fail

I needed to hear this message of peace this week. 

It blessed me, so I wanted to share it with you.

This message is for everyone, no matter what church you attend.

I hope your Sabbath day is delightful.

How-to do a Halloween face painting

With Halloween just around the corner, I wanted to share a fun spooky face painting video I made with my sister last year.

It's always hard to find feminine costumes that stand out from the parade of fairies and princesses that inundate town every year. (I admit, it's SO FUN to dress up as royalty or mystical creatures....and yes, I have a princess gown, elf costume, and fairy wings hanging in my closet.) I'm a nonconformist at heart....so I don't often want to blend in with all the other same old costume ideas.

Here is a unique face paint pattern that perfect for Halloween. It is a spooky skeletal/butterfly pattern. I did it in a video so you can see how to paint it yourself. Accompany this face with a cute black dress and -VIOLA!- the best costume ever.

Even though I used professional paints, anyone could imitate this pattern with eye shadow for the background colors and a good liquid eyeliner for the black and white lines.

Here is a picture of the final product:

Good luck with your creation!

I am glad for many things

I am thankful for the blessing of modern medicine. Sarah has a really intense and very resistant E. coli infection. I am so thankful for the lab techs who discovered the source of Sarah's intense pains. We made 4 trips to the doctor's office yesterday. I was home for less than one hour the entire day!


I'm thankful we already had a meal in the fridge so I didn't have to panic about dinner that night. 


I am thankful that our pediatrician's office has such bright and cheerful decorating in each room to make the children feel more at ease.


I am thankful for antibiotics, even though it's being a slow battle (even after getting a double injection of HUGE doses of medicine. I've never seen such large syringes used for injections before!)


I'm thankful for the colossal fort Nathan built with the kids this past Sunday, because Sarah couldn't walk up the stairs to her room since her legs were so swollen and sore from the injections. She's been living in the fort surrounded by pillows and books for two days.

I'm thankful for ice cubes (what a wonder it is to have ice whenever we need it! Could you imagine being a pioneer? How inconvenient!) that can help counteract a raging fever when Sarah can't keep down any oral fever reducers.


I'm thankful for the Little House on the Prairie books; we've been reading them aloud together to distract Sarah from her pain. I can't imagine trying to deal with this illness in 1840. I'm SO thankful for the opportunity we have to compare our blessings with daily life from the American frontier! It makes us thankful for all the little things- running water, soft beds, electricity, etc.


I am glad that she's been able to finally keep down the first food in 2 days- a vitamin-fortified Jamba Juice smoothie. I'm so thankful that Jamba juice can put an entire day's worth of nutrition in one smoothie.


I'm thankful for all the friends who have offered to run errands to pick up prescriptions or Popsicles- even though I didn't take anyone up on that. It seems like it's always at bad times that I needed something. I hate interrupting people's family time to ask them to do random things for me.

I am thankful for the primitive medical practices I've been learning for fun lately, so I could stay up with Sarah at night and help cool her fever when she couldn't keep down any fever reducers. We had some neat talks while I bathed her skin with water and rubbing alcohol.


I am thankful for Pollyanna's 'Glad Game'. Sarah and I wrote in her journal and listed everything we could think of to be glad about. She's thankful that grandparents are praying for her recovery, and for antibiotics, and for family, and that she can at least use her imagination to distract her mind. 

I am so especially thankful for my best friend, Mr. Kingsley. He knew I was up a lot last night. Even though he has a pressing deadline at work this week, he stayed home this morning to get the boys breakfasted and dressed. He drove Matthew to school and returned home to wash the dishes from last night. He made me breakfast and whistled cheerfully as he worked. I felt so taken care of. What would I do without my dearest friend? In order to make up for lost time this morning, he is working until 10:00 tonight. He is so selfless and I'm so thankful for the way he blessed me this morning! 

Inspiration in unexpected places

I came across a remarkable story recently. I have a new personal hero, Cliff Young.

Chances are, you haven't heard of him, unless you live in Australia. From what I understand, he's a bit of a national hero. His story is amazing and inspiring. You can click on his name above for a link to his story.

I love real heroes that defy the odds. What makes him more endearing to me is his humble manner and unpretentious approach to the fame. He was a poor farmer that became a celebrity, but he didn't keep any of the prizes that were given to him. I hope you take the time to read his story. It made me love this stranger for his powerful determination. I think the world needs to hear more of the stories like this. 

Here is a video of his race:



I love acquainting myself with true heroic stories because it makes me evaluate my own actions. It motivates me to be more courageous, more compassionate, and push my own expectations. I want to be an excellent person, and true excellence isn't measured by paychecks or possessions. True excellence will always be measured by one's character.

Thanksgiving Daily

I've been really sick lately. Really sick.

It's really helped me to focus on the positive. Heavenly Father has blessed me with so much. I realized that I really have no reason to complain. 

What are you thankful for? 





I'm so thankful for the opportunity I am blessed with to rediscover the wonder of the world with my children each week. I love how Daniel points out the magical things in our everyday life. I'm thankful that I have been taught how to read, so I can learn anything or travel anywhere with the turn of a page. I am so immeasurably thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, which comforts me and sends me peace when I am sailing the stormiest seas of life. I am so thankful for my sweet Mr. Kingsley, who has been tirelessly taking care of me lately. I'm thankful for my soft bed, where I have been spending the bulk of my afternoons.

I'm very thankful for my body, even with it's complications. I am so thankful that I have arms to embrace my family, fingers to entwine in Sarah's soft hair, lips to kiss my children's velvety cheeks, eyes to appreciate Daniel's colorful art, and ears to enjoy the music they each create all day. 

A friend told me that calm seas don't make experienced sailors. I'm thankful that I have this trial and the opportunity to gain experience and grow stronger in spirit.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy life's little joys today! 

Good For a Laugh. I hope you have a blessed day!

Greatest compliments

Last week was a wonderful week. My brother and his family were moving to San Antonio from Wisconsin, and they stayed one night with us along their way. It was such a treat to see my brother and his sweet wife! That same night, two college students from Estonia knocked on our door asking for a place to stay for the night. We had a delightfully packed house. Philip's family was in Rachael's room, so Rachael slept on the couch downstairs, and the two Estonian girls (Lena and Marike) slept on the floor on air mattresses.

 I had been praying for meaningful ways to serve lately, and I feel like Lena and Marike were the answer to that hopeful prayer. They had no lodging (what sort of business takes foreign exchange students and drops them off to do door-to-door sales without even arranging lodging? Only a bad one.) so we had them stay with us for a few days while they figured things out. They were in a pretty bad spot with this job, so we gave them ideas for other employment and tried to help them.

It was hard for me to watch their distress and exhaustion. It was so very difficult for them to decide whether to stay with this job or try their luck at something better. I realized what an incredible blessing it is for me to know that I can pray and ask God if my decision is really what is best for me, and He will answer. It gives me such peace to know that I can let God direct my path, and I will be happy. When Nathan and I consider any job offer, or career change, we always ponder it and ask God if it is right. I realized this week that I've never stressed about decisions like that....I receive incredible confidence from God's affirmations. I think I had taken for granted how priceless it is to have open access to the world's best advisor in all my decisions in life. 

 Our children thought it was an extended party to have visitors who weren't extended family members. I found myself caring very much about these ladies, and I wanted so badly to help them see themselves as priceless and beautiful daughters of God. I prayed so much that our home would be a blessing to them, that they would feel the peace of the Spirit and the love encircling them. That is my goal always....to have my home be a haven of peace in this tumultuous world. I try very hard to help our home have a distinct warmth and joy. It's hard for me to gauge how well I am doing with creating a spiritual atmosphere, so I asked the girls how they felt in our home. They had been talking about it every day and were eager to share their thoughts.
These are some of the greatest compliments I've ever been given:

"It's like a fairy-tale Christmas story....seeing you do family prayer together is amazing. You are like the perfect family." (of course I protested at this...we have a lot of problems just like anyone else)

"It's so different and so cultured in this home, I love all the books, and art, and music. I feel like I was broken emotionally and depressed when I arrived at your home, and I feel like you just fixed me and built me up and gave me so much joy. "

"I've never been in a house like this. It's the most wonderful place, like it's warm and peaceful."

"You have such a happy family and I want my family to be like yours. You're home is so welcoming and happy and so different than any other house I've been in. I never want to leave."


They had asked for help from their managers, so they were assigned a spot in a new host family. We were actually sad to see them go. I cared for them so much, so we invited them to come back again for a week in September. The children were very sad to see Marike go, and they all trailed her outside to hug her good-bye and ask her to come visit again.

When they left, I gave them a copy of some calligraphy I had designed a couple years ago. It has the Beatitudes from President Gordon B. Hinckley. I explained how it reminds me how to live a happy life, no matter what situation I find myself in. I wanted so much to give them a copy of his book, Way to Be, but I had loaned my book out to someone and it wasn't ever returned. Perhaps I can procure a copy of it before I see them again. 

I 

Motherhood is an eternal partnership with God

Check this video out for the weekly uplifting message. 

I love it.

Her Morning Elegance

I wanted share one of my favorite videos. It's so artistic and clever, but I couldn't figure out how to post the actual video on this site, so you'll have to watch it by clicking HERE.

Birth of a Painting

I created this painting last week. I've always wanted to capture the process with time-lapse photography, so this time I did it!

I set up my camera on a shelf above me and had it take a picture every 15 seconds. It took 5 hours to make the painting and you can watch it happen in less than 10 minutes. 
I love it! 
It gives me a feeling of instant gratification that I don't normally feel when I'm actually creating the piece. I get so caught up in the tediousness of mixing colors or trying to clean the brushes, etc.

It's so nice for me to watch it all come together so quickly! It's immensely satisfying, and I've always loved watching other artists create paintings. There's just something so magical in watching a blank canvas come to life. I hope you enjoy it!




Let me know what you think of the video. I enjoyed making it. Would you like to see more time-lapse creations of other projects, like face paintings? I'd love to share other videos if there is any interest for it!