One thing I Wish I Could Change!

I have been cleaning my office today. One thing I do while working and cleaning in my office is watch movies. Usually movies I don’t have to “watch” because I have seen them so many times. I can work, whether it be scrapbooking, or whatever, and listen while I am doing it. Today, while I was working in my office, I decided to watch some of our family videos
What a fun thing to do!!! 
We have some great family videos. We have been on some wonderful trips and video taped activities that the kids have done. As I watched and listened today, I noticed something that I wish I could change. I don’t usually have regrets, mostly because even when a situation isn’t the best, I still learn and grow from it. What I wish I could change is my focus. 
In all of our family videos, mostly on trips, I focused on the place we were visiting. Lots of video taping of places and things. Places and things, that I thought would be important to our family while watching them later. Now, my little darlings are grown up. I wish I taped “them” looking the things, or just taping “them” having fun at the places we visited. I do have video of them. I just wish I had more video of them. I think I was thinking at the time, “We’re here and we’ll probably never be back, so I better have lots of pictures of these things, so we won’t forget!” 
So this is just a little FYI. 
When video taping, tape your kids! 
Tape them so much that you think, “No one will ever want to watch this much video of my kids!!” 
Someone will…you will

Family History Friday: When Grandma Was Ready For Winter!

I found a great poem about what grandma would have to accomplish before winter came, back in the day. 
********
When Grandma Was Ready For Winter
by Eunice B. Trumbo
When the last green tomato was pickled,
And the last blushing peach had been peeled;
When the last luscious pear had been quartered,
And the last can of plums had sealed;
When the last yellow quince had been honeyed,
And the last drop of chili sauce jugged;
When the last stalk of cane had been sorghumed,
And the last barrel of vinegar plugged;
When the grape juice was all corked and bottled,
Corn make into salad, or dried;
When the beets and the apples were buried,
And the side-meat and sausages fried;
When the catsup was made, and the sauerkraut,
and potatoes were stored in the bin;
When peppers were stuffed full of cabbage,
And the pumpkins were all carried in;
When the flower-seeds were gathered and packaged,
 And the house-plants were potted and in;
When the fruit cakes were baked for Thanksgiving,
And the mincemeat was canned up in tin,
The celery blanched and nuts gathered, 
And the beans had been shelled out and hulled;
Sweet potatoes dry-kilned in the oven,
And the onions were pulled up and culled;
When the honey had all been extracted,
Comb melted, and beeswax in molds;
When the jellies were all glassed and labeled,
And the horehound juice syruped for colds;
When the tallow was make into candles,
And the ashes were leached into lye;
When the rushes were bundled for scouring,
And the walnut-hulls gathered for dye;
When the cheeses were unhooped and ripened,
Beef corned in the brine to be dried;
Hams and shoulders well browned in the smoke-house,
Lard rendered from cracklings, and tried;
When the popcorn was tied to the rafters,
And the wood was piled high in the shed;
When the feathers from goose and from gander
Were picked for the warm feather bed;
Women folk were mostly ready for winter, 
To rest as they knitted and sewed,
Spun flax, carded wool, and pieced quilt blocks;
Is it strange grandma’s shoulders were bowed?
********
It’s amazing the things that our ancestor’s had to do. 
We take so much for granted. 
The season’s come and go and life is pretty much the same day in and day out. They were amazing people and I love them. 
Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Totally "Fort Worth" it!

Hermana Rasmussen, Kelsey, and Hermana Barlow
Pointing to where they are going on their missions

Hermana Kelsey 2:1 -email-

Madre,

Yes, the money here works like a credit card. We get $8 every week. The Elders get $6 a week. We can use it for treats from the vending machines, and supplies from the bookstore. It’s pretty nice. I was so unprepared for what I would need here so I’ve pretty much spent all the money you gave me. Sorry 🙁 But it’s all good. I’ll get by.
Anyway, I am doing so great. I’ve had some really tough times, but for the most part it has been good. Spanish is okay. They taught us like 8 grammar principles in like 3 days, so it was really overwhelming, but I’m starting to understand little bits at a time.
I think I am turning into you. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I’ve realized the last few days how similar you and I are. I do a lot of the same things you have done at one point or another. It’s kind of crazy. I also laugh really easy. I don’t know what that’s all about, but it’s like when you have a sleepover with your friends, and it’s three in the morning and everyone is delirious and laughs about anything and everything. That is what the entire MTC is like. You start to go crazy after a little while.
Anyway, two of the Elders in our district left yesterday (Elder Peterson and Elder Hunt), so we are sad. Elder Peterson is one of my favorite Elders. I don’t know if you’ve gotten any of the pictures I sent, but he is the really really tall one. He is like 6 foot 6. It’s crazy. Anyway, they left for the Spain MTC, because they got their visas finally.
The other day we were contacted by some Elders going to Italy, and I was so jealous. But..we could understand what they were saying, because Spanish is so close to Italian. It was pretty cool. I am definitely going to learn that language when I get home. Along with French, and German. That may be a little much, but I’m sure I can do it.
So the last couple days we’ve been trying to speak solo espanol. It is really tough. I don’t talk very much because I don’t know how to say what I am thinking. It’s been hard, but I also know that I’ve learned a lot. Everyday feels like three, so if I try to remember when something happened I usually can’t. I’ll think it was the other day, when it was actually the day before. It’s really weird. 
I’m so excited for Andrew to come. Seriously it is so great. You can ask my companions how many times I’ve talked about him, and they’ll tell you it’s been at least 30 times I’ve brought him up. I knew that he would do fantastic on his talk.
Oh another kind of random thing: my teacher Hermana Billin is from New Hampshire and she lives right by Lake Winnepesakee (I don’t think that is how you spell it), but she knows all about “What About Bob?” so we were quoting it to each other. It was awesome.
Anyway, please tell everyone to DearElder me. It’s so much easier than writing an actual letter but it is still mail, and still super exciting. So tell everyone please. I need letters to keep my sanity!! Tell me news of the outside world!
Okay, well I better go now. Love you lots. Love, Hermana Kelsey

What if you have been judged wrongly?

I had a situation come up recently. I was judged wrongly. I sincerely try to do my best in every thing I do. Someone thought I wasn’t doing my best. This is a problem, or it can be a problem, only if I let it. I can let it fester and really let it get to me, or I can not even let it bug me. I can feel like people just don’t like me, or understand me. Or I can take this opportunity to become better. Maybe I can improve? Of course I can. Maybe this situation is a gift? One that reminds me to do better and helps me grow! Even if I feel the judgement was wrong, I can do better. I will do better and I will grow. I will choose to be grateful for the opportunity to become a better me. I will feel grateful to those who brought to my attention something to work on. I will receive all things with thankfulness, and love those who might have meant to hurt me. 
I will do it and I will continue to love them. 

Howzit-Elder Flexy!


Elders at orphanage in Swaziland 
(*see description below Alex’s email)
Elder Flexy 9:3 -email-
Make,


sorry for the lack of email last week its was a fine week and all is going well.
1 Did you get your B-day package?
1.nope i should get it this week.
2 How is your new member doing?
2.he is doing great we continue to meet with him once a week.
3 What has the weather been like?
3.its been either really hot or really rainy.
4 Are you comfortable? Have you adjusted to the temperature?
4.yep all is well in swaziland.
5 Have you done anything fun on p-days?
5.well we have played soccer the last two pdays but all is good.
6 Will you get to go to one of the reserves where all the big animals are?
6.ya we will soon but not yet.
7 Spiritual experience this week?
7.well we watch the restoration movie it was so nice.
8 Favorite scripture?
8.ish i can’t remember we read so many all the time.
9 How often do you have Zone and District meetings?
9.once a week for district and once every three months for zone.
10 Is Swaziland mostly land and not very many people?
10.well it has people in most areas but not too many.

11 Have you seen any of the people in their native costumes? or doing a native dance?

I ask that because me and Kelsey saw a Swazi Wedding dance on You Tube, believe it or not!
11.ya they are pretty cool i might buy some.
12 Do you and your companion both teach at a scheduled appointment, or do you teach at one and he teaches at the next appointment?
12.ya we change back and forth in lessons mostly.
Special question of the week:
13 Why do we have to have lesson’s about things we’ve heard a million times? Like Service?
13.to remind us. one of the most reapeated words said in the b.o.m. is “remember”
anyway life is good love you.


*I received another email and picture from Sister B- she’s the best!!!
“This picture was taken at an orphanage on Friday. As you can see he is a busy missionary, he is happy and healthy and loves being in Swaziland. We went to see the Senior Princess of Swaziland, that was her orphanage; she loved the visit from the missionaries and gave permission for them to travel throughout her Chieftain area without any harrassment.  The missionaries sang a song for her and then gave her a blessing.  She is 81 years old.”

My Mom!

My Mom had a birthday yesterday. She turned 79 years old. When I called to tell her happy birthday she told me she is 79 going on 40. I believe that! This woman is amazing and she has more energy than I do. I feel so blessed to have a mother in my life. She is perfect for me. 
My Mom is; 
kind– always thinking of others,
smart– she went back to school when she was 50 and got a degree,
loving– she loves everyone,
a super teacher– she teaches almost everyday,
firm– she is not afraid to let you know, if you need a reminder,
a good listener– she has listened to me all my life,
she is mine– the one that I call Mom!!
I love you, my wonderful Mom!
*************************
Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds.  Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends – but only one mother in the whole world.  ~Kate Douglas Wiggin

Family History Friday: Family Holiday!

 A fun way to celebrate family, and your family’s history, would be to pick a day out of the year to celebrate it! I found a great idea over at 
Family Fun 
you can find it here!
There are so many different directions
 you could go with this!!
Start off with your immediate family, pick a day, then eventually make the celebration include your extended family. You could tell stories from growing up together, or tell stories from your ancestors lives. You could even have skits or plays acting out things your ancestors did, or fun experiences they had, while they were alive. You could eat the type of food that your ancestors ate. You could watch old home movies. Do an activity that your whole family enjoys like a hike, or a bike ride, maybe even skiing. And if you record it all, then it will become part of your family history!! I love this idea. I plan on doing this with my family. Check it out and try it!! 
Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Totally "Fort Worth" it!


Hermana Kelsey 1:3 -email-
Madre!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you too! I’m glad you’ve been getting things done around the house. I know it makes you happy when things are clean. 🙂 I’ve been very good about keeping our room clean while I’ve been here, because we get in trouble if our room is messy. You would be proud.
Awww! I miss T and G. Tell them hi for me and that I love them.
I’m glad Alex is doing good. He is such a sweet boy, and I’m sure he’s touching lots of people. I don’t think I can look at the blog, at least not here at the MTC, but probably when I get out into the mission field. They only allow us to get on lds.org and my lds mail. I would love if you forwarded Alex’s emails to me. He doesn’t really say much, but it is still nice to hear from him.
This week, one of our older districts left. We have been so sad. They were a really fun district and they were the only other district with Hermanas. 🙁 I think I’m going to struggle with my companions and such leaving when I get to Texas. The other day, I saw this girl Emily M, that I went to high school with. It was really cool. She is going to Japan on her mission. I also saw Tyler H, which you might not know, but he bore his testimony at stake conference. He is a good kid. I met this one Hermana, I don’t remember if I already mentioned her, but she is going to Ft. Worth Texas too. Her name is Hermana V. She left this past Monday, but I might see her down in Texas. Anyway, she is so cute, and I only met her the second day we were here, but I feel like I already knew her, and I loved her the minute we met.
The other day at dinner, we somehow got on the subject of personality colors. I tried to explain what they were for some people who didn’t know, and they all wanted me to guess their personality color. I don’t know any of them well enough to actually guess. Some people that knew about it told me their personality colors, and when I told them mine they acted really surprised. They all thought I was a yellow. Weird huh? I don’t think I’ve changed that much since I left, but maybe I have.
Anyway, I will be sending pictures soon. And probably one of my memory cards. 🙂
The spanish is coming along slowly, but surely. There are days where I feel like I’m starting to get it, and then other days where I feel completely overwhelmed with it. But I know that the Lord will make up for my shortcomings.
Anyway, I better go now. I love you.
Love, Hermana Kelsey

Emerny!

Hola little seester! I am doing well. I’m glad you are doing lots of things. It’s good to be busy. I feel bad for all the time I wasted when I was home, now that I’ve seen all the things you can get done in one day. It’s crazy. In one day here I get like 3 times more things done than I did in any one day at home. It’s kind of sad. Just don’t burn yourself out trying to do too much. That’s no bueno. Anyway, I love you, and continue to do good things.
Love, Hermana Kelsey 
Padre,
I’m glad you are getting lots of things done. I know what you mean when you say that songs get to you. I’ve turned into the biggest cry baby. I cry so much just listening to all the missionaries sing at devotionals and firesides. It’s crazy how much the Spirit works on you through good music. Anyway, I better go now. Last time I ran out of time and barely got to send the email at all, so I need to start being done earlier. Sorry I can’t write more. Anyway, love you lots. Love, Hermana Kelsey