music mania!

I saw a comic once illustrating the idea that there's so much music you'll never hear that you would've loved.  I looked everywhere and tried to remember where I saw it, but was unsuccessful.  It looked something like this:  

I'd never thought about that before!  That idea has been stuck in my head lately so I've been on the lookout for new music instead of just depending on the radio or Pandora.  And guess what!  Some of it is really good.  So if you, like me, are interested in hearing new stuff, you should check these out!   Put them on while you're cleaning the bathroom or driving home from work!  They're my favorites this week.  

"Waiting Outside the Lines" - Greyson Chance

"Oh, Darling" - Plug In Stereo

"Brave" - Moriah Peters

"No Matter Where You Are" - Us The Duo

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At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.  Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.  

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes.  "A magic beyond all we do here!"

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

evolving faith: one year

*Note: This is written about all our foster kids - past, present, and future.  It's not referencing any particular event or case, but is rather a culmination of thoughts I've had during the last year.  

When I encouraged you to ask your questions about foster care a couple months ago, one of you asked what we've learned and what has surprised us since we started.  I answered all the questions then, but these two stayed in my mind because I knew I hadn't learned all I would.  One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is how my faith has evolved.

We've been licensed for about a year.  In that time, we've had four children.  For the first... nine months or so, I had faith in the legal system.  I prayed that the best thing for our kids would be done, and then I had faith that the attorneys, judge, etc., would be inspired.  Sometimes mistakes happen, but I really trusted the professionals working on our cases and had faith in them.  When I told a friend once that I believed the best thing would happen, she said, "You must have a lot more faith in the legal system than I do."  As I thought about her comment, I passionately agreed.  Of course I do!  I have to.  Because if I don't, all I will feel about the future is fear.  Having faith in those involved was the only choice I could see.

During the tenth month, my faith changed.  In fact, I was talking to Joel about it one night and said, "I still have faith that Heavenly Father can prompt people to do the right thing, but I don't necessarily believe they'll listen."  I went to bed that night and prayed that, as I read my scriptures, Heavenly Father would lead me to a verse that would restore my hope.

And then I read 1 Nephi 9:6 - "The Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fullfilling of all his words.  And thus it is.  Amen."  

Heavenly Father knows the past, present, and future.  He's not surprised by anything.  He is all-powerful and knows how to make sure the best things happen.  People's choices don't trip him up - He already knows.  He has a plan.  That's just how it is.

That being said,

Sometimes the best things don't happen while we're on earth.  He knows that, too.  And therein lies the evolution of my faith.  I still believe the parents and professionals involved in our cases are good people.  I still believe they want what's best for the kids.  But I no longer rest my hope and faith on them.  I feel peace, knowing that the best thing will happen to my kids.  In this life?  Maybe.  But as part of the bigger picture, definitely.  The Atonement makes everything right.

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Certainly people who were only born yesterday know very little.

"The Snow Man"

Hans Christian Andersen

A Tale of Two Pinterest Projects

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

The best: 

We were having trouble with the kids getting up as soon as they woke up, even if they woke up much earlier than normal, so we decided to try this out.  The hope was that they would still let themselves get rest even if they were awake early, and it's totally worked!  Red = Stay in bed.  Yellow = You can get out of bed, but you have to stay in your room quiet.  Green = Feel free to play outside of your room.  White = Breakfast time, if it hasn't already happened / Wake us up, if we're not already up.

The worst: 

There's a recipe out there that calls for 1/2 - 1 bar of grated soap, one tablespoon of hot water, and food coloring.  Mix them all together, press the soap into a cookie cutter, freeze it (to set it), and voila!  You have a homemade bath crayon!

Each kid made one.  In both cases, the crayon started falling apart with the first line "drawn" - and it didn't actually draw anything, unless you count leaving behind colored chunks of soap.  Maybe I used too cheap of soap?  These are the remains of his after one bath (most of which time was spent sitting in the soap dish):

It started as a gingerbread man.

The moral:

It can be fun to try out Pinterest ideas, even if they don't work out.  But be prepared for them not to work out, just in case.  :)

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There is always a reason that people do things a certain way.

Jennifer Riding

how to believe in Santa Claus

I just found out Christmas in July exists on the Hallmark channel, and I'm really sad I missed it.

I love Hallmark Christmas movies!  They're romantic comedies minus the one scene, plus Christmas!  They're so fun to watch (and make fun of).  Every Christmas, Dish lets us have the Hallmark channel for a month, so I record as many as I can and watch them throughout the year.  Now that I've just about finished watching all the ones on our DVR, I've decided to share with you...

14 Things I've Learned from Hallmark Christmas Movies

1. If a man grows up to look like Santa Claus, he can get a job at Hallmark or Lifetime.

2. "Washed up" seems too harsh a phrase... but all washed up actors/actresses can also get jobs at Hallmark or Lifetime.

3. Up also shows Christmas movies.  They're not as good.  

4. All kids with a divorced or dead parent just want their remaining parent to be happy.  They will be happy with almost anyone you choose to marry.

5. If you go on vacation and like it there, the best choice is to quit your job (or get fired) and get a new one in your vacation city at a corner store.

6. Corner stores can be saved from bankruptcy by creating an online presence.  This success will most likely come overnight.

7. Progress is bad.

8. Business people are workaholics and evil.  Most of them grew up not celebrating Christmas because their parents were also workaholics.  None of them believe in Santa (or the Spirit of Christmas).  

9. Small-town people are wonderful and have good priorities.  They grew up celebrating every single aspect of Christmas.  All of them believe in Santa (or the Spirit of Christmas).  

10. (Except for the one person in the small town who didn't get what s/he asked Santa for - a dead parent to come back to life, or a boyfriend - when they were six)

11. It only takes between two hours and two days to fall in love.

12. Love often starts as hate.

13. People who were friend-zoned in high school usually wait twenty years to get married... to the person who friend-zoned them!  Sometimes it takes that long to realize you loved your high school best friend all along.

14. It always snows on Christmas.

15. Put the word "Christmas" with any word, and it's probably already a movie.  The Christmas Secret, A Christmas Wish, The Christmas Shepherd, A Cookie Cutter Christmas, Christmas Lodge, A Christmas Visitor, The Christmas Blessing, The Christmas Heart, Summertime Christmas, The Christmas Choir, Christmas Miracle, The Christmas Card, Christmas Grace... I could go on and on.

Also, a lot of the Young Women in my ward love Hallmark Christmas movies, and it made Girls Camp really fun.  "Oh!  I know that one!  Is that the one where the girl's stuck in a snow globe??"

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“Who could ever learn to love a beast?”

Beauty and the Beast

by popular demand... video proof!

You asked!  And here's the video proof I mentioned in my last post.  Also, my family's Christmas card from a few years ago.  (Isn't my family the greatest?)  You're welcome.  Enjoy!

Explanation for the videos:
My best friend (and roommate at the time) and I both love HSM.  One day, it was such perfect weather, we decided the best thing would be to have an HSM dance party in the volleyball court.  (One thing we liked to do was sync up our ipods and have dance parties with our headphones in.)  So, the first video shows how we'd sync our ipods.  The second video shows one of our favorite parts of all the songs, all the movies.  The third video is my brother recording us from his apartment.  We didn't really think about how other people could see us or might've been paying attention, so we were completely surprised when he showed us the video he took. :)  We might be crazy, but you have to admit, we're also a lot of fun.

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She's just a teenage maniac [with her] heart out on the dance floor...

"Frequently Baby"

Mêlée

High School Musical and me

"What?" some of you may be thinking.  "How can this even be a post?"

Oh, it can be.  

As some of you may know, I love High School Musical.  All three of them.  I own a shirt, lunchbox, dishes, board game, jacket..... with HSM logos on them.  I own all three soundtracks and movies.  The first movie came out when I was a junior in high school.  I remember there being a ton of hype on the Disney Channel when it came out, and when I first saw it, thinking, "That was fine."  Then as the weeks went by and I watched it more times, I fell in love.  You better believe I was watching when High School Musical 2 premiered on the Disney Channel during my senior year.  I went to see High School Musical: The Ice Tour when I was a freshman in college.  High School Musical 3 is the first movie I ever paid full price to see in a movie theater twice.  The first time was at midnight.  I will never forget how exhilarating it was when the beginning of "Now or Never" started, screen still black, and then all of a sudden Zac Efron's face popped up.  The entire theater screamed.  We were the oldest ones there who weren't chaperoning.  It was AWESOME.  My dream is to see a high-quality High School Musical 4 come out.  

Anyway.  When I was at Girls Camp last week, I learned that many of the girls shared my love for High School Musical.  It was so great.  Impromptu HSM singing, dances, skits, quotes... We spent the entire car ride back listening to the soundtracks - yes, I had them all with me.  So.  Girls.  This post is for you.

My best friend and me during intermission of HSM: The Ice Tour, right after we bought these SWEET jackets.
I'm telling you.  It was so exciting.  It was the only time I've ever been thankful for obese children.  Without them, we could never have bought size 3XL in this jacket designed for young children.

We kissed the tour bus.  That's real love.
Also, Kenny Ortega is so great and his name was on the bus.

Check out that jacket.  IT'S SO GREAT.

We dressed up on High School Musical Day: The Day HSM3 Came Out.
(Remember in HSM3 when Zac Efron's wearing an exclamation point shirt?)

I also took an HSM lunchbox to school that day.

I've never claimed to be good at nail art.
It says, "Go Wildcats."

You guys.  Get a best friend who loves High School Musical.

If you're working at a movie theater the night High School Musical 3 comes out,
shouldn't it be a requirement that you can take a good jumping picture?

I was Gabriella for Halloween.  Check out my necklace!  It's Carrie's.
She's David Bowie, by the way.

That time our best friend sent us HSM paraphernalia from his mission in Denmark for Christmas.
Isn't this what you look like when you're singing "Bet On It"?

My scrapbog.  (It's Danish, remember?)

I have videos, too, but I think I'll save them for another day.

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"Maybe we're being punked.  Maybe we're being filmed right now...  Maybe we'll get to meet Ashton!"

High School Musical

six is the number that's on my mind

It's our anniversary!

Or, it was recently.  When our internet was down.

But, happy six years, Joel!

You're the best husband for me ever.

I would write more, but that's for a love letter and not a blog.

For those of you curious,

check out the proposal story!

It's pretty great. :)

(Photo credit to Little Boy)

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If I have something I want to say that is too difficult for adults to swallow, then I will write it in a book for children.

Madeleine L’Engle