Venice Eco Fest

Wow, what a fun day. It must have been because we were at the beach and it was sunny, warm and breezy. There were over 150 booths educating about various environmental issues or selling eco-goods. We ate delicious Indian food, danced to some of the live music, (wish my band could have played there!!) and walked out to the ocean. Then, we ran into my band mate Dan and his friends!! Super-beautiful day!

Humanitarian Aid Project

In my ward in my church, I am the enrichment leader.  I am in charge of the various activities and dinners we have throughout the year.  Tonight we had our humanitarian aid project.  I was so pleased with our turnout--  We had about 35 people attend!  Although I have not tallied all the numbers, we made two twin quilts, several doll blankets (to go with dolls that other ladies are making,) and we hope to complete 100 school kits that will eventually be distributed to people in need!  We loved learning to crochet and blanket-stitch the edges of the blankets.  It was a fun night.

Eathen's 1st Birthday!

Today my wonderful friend Brieanne gave her son his first birthday party.  It was amazing! She worked super hard to make everything perfect.  She planned a delicious dinner that was 100% healthy and organic.  She made a beautiful nature table with gifts for her children.  She made the little felt gnomes, the fairy, and the pagoda fairy house.  My children LOVE her children and we had a great time.  The last pic is of the cards Bella and Lala made Eathen.

Beautiful Art

Tonight Craig and I went to an art show with the work of several local artists that share a studio in So. Pasadena.  My dear friend Amanda had some beautiful handmade books on display there.  She even marbleized the paper!  She is an AMAZING artist-- everything she touches turns to gold.

Our cousins came to visit from Japan!

We were so happy that my sister Brenda, and her 5 kids, Josh, Brandon, Zach, Summer, and Elijah all came to visit us!  They have been stationed in Japan for the past year and we have REALLY missed them. We partied for three days.  It was the first time this summer that we got into the pool.  It was perfect because it had just started heating up. It was HOT!!  We swam like crazy.  My sister and I also got to go to afternoon tea at the Tea Rose Garden.  YUM!

Daddy & his girls on Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!!

Hope you all had a great one!  We had a very nice day.  To start the day, I made waffles for my Dad and French toast for Craig. Craig and I had to give talks in church which made us both so nervous!   Although, in the end, I'm so glad I got to talk about how wonderful my Dad is. I thought I'd post it for you all to read!

I am very grateful for this opportunity to speak to you today. I am grateful that I get to talk about a very special topic to me: FATHERS. I want to take this moment to wish all the fathers here a Happy Fathers Day!

Craig told me that the greatest Father's day gift I can give him is to give a really long talk so lets see how I do. :)  

I tried to find a way to give a talk on fathers in general, fatherhood, the duties of a father, etc. I read several really good talks and articles on fatherhood and found lots of quotes by our leaders. BUT, ultimately, I felt the spirit has guided me to talk about the three fathers in my life: My OWN father, the father of my children and our Heavenly Father. When it comes to fathers, I don't have to look any further than my own. I honestly feel that my father is a perfect example of fatherhood who truly magnified his calling as father. I think all fathers out there could benefit from his example.

Before I begin talking about my father, I just want to clarify that he was and is a wonderful father because of the companionship of my mother. I mean, he was already wonderful on his own, but she was the making of him. I KNOW it is God's plan that we be in families and in marriages and that our companions help to make us what we can become. So with all the good I'm about to express about my dad, I hope you'll see my mom in there too. I hope all of us mothers can learn from her example. She was more than supportive of my father.

I was like Nephi; "born of goodly parents." From as early as I can remember, the Holy Ghost has always been a strong presence growing up in our home. I owe this to my parents who did all they could to make our home a place where the spirit could dwell. My father and mother made sure that we had family prayer every morning and every night. We prayed for every meal. We weren't perfect at it, but we had Family Night on most Mondays and family scripture study. From as early as I can remember, my parents taught us the importance of magnifying our callings. When I was pretty small, I remember my father leaving one night a week to attend his high counsel meetings and later Bishopric meetings. I also remember feeling blessed that my dad had served a mission. We LOVED hearing all of his mission stories and I know that his mission made him the man and father that he was (and is.)  I am so grateful that he made the decision to serve a mission and what his mission did for him.

Another early memory I have is of the way my father always observed the Fast. At breakfast the morning of the Saturday before he would always remind us that it was fast Sunday. This gave us all the time to prepare ourselves to fast, to make sure we ate lunch at the right time so we could begin our fast.

I also remember my dad always paying his tithing and knowing that we were blessed because of it. I know that we were always blessed through our financial ups and downs.  I remember going to tithing settlement together as a family and feeling good knowing we were full tithe payers.

I grew up thinking my dad was like a super hero. He was sooo tall! He would pick me up and I would feel so high and he seemed so strong. We sat on his lap a lot. Every morning when he would leave for work, and every afternoon when he would return, AND every night after family prayer, we would get a kiss! I remember always feeling so much love from him! He was such an affectionate daddy.

When I was still around 7 or so, I went through a time when I would have nightmares. I remember my sweet dad letting me sneak into his and my mom's bed. (Even when my mom didn't want me to!) There is no greater sense of security that I have ever felt than to sleep on my dad's big strong arm as a child. I knew that absolutely nothing could hurt me there. I can remember my mom saying to go back to my bed, but my Dad let me stay.

When I was still in the nightmare stage, I also remember my dad sharing with me the scripture: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7) This really helped me and to this day I remember it. (Although it didn't stop me from sneaking back into my parent's bed!)

Another wonderful thing about my father is that he was always a great STABLE provider. Before he ever married my mom, he had gotten his degree and had become a Spanish teacher. This provided our family with a steady (although not large) income, stable hours, and health benefits. We were so blessed to have my dad come home every day around 4pm. We also got to have him for the same holidays that we had and summer vacation. We were not rich, but it felt like we were. We were very stable and very happy.

Now it may seem that I'm painting a perfect picture--and its true that things were very near perfect--but I feel I should clarify my dad did not grow up in a perfect situation. He unfortunately grew up with a lot of adversity that he rose above. He saw his own father abuse alcohol and be unfaithful to his mother. His parents eventually broke-up when my Dad was only 16. Some kids might not have had the strength to endure a situation like that. And it was VERY HARD for my dad, but he did rise above. He decided to be nothing like his father and went on to college, to serve a mission, and to eventually marry my mother in the Temple-- (which was the smartest move he ever made!)

In addition to all the wonderful things I've already said, there are even more. He was always very helpful in the kitchen and many times took over. He even did a lot of our grocery shopping. Many times he would come home from work and make dinner when my mom had PTA, church duties, or just needed a break. He is a really good cook and makes some pretty good mexican dishes--"spanish rice," frijoles, enchiladas, and taco casserole. We loved his cooking.  Another benefit was that my dad loved to take us out to dinner! :)

My dad wasn't super "handy" but he maintained our swimming pool and mowed our very big lawns all the way up to just 3 years ago. He always did his duties like clockwork. He was great at taking out the trash and another great thing is that he was a diaper changer! (That really says a lot about a man!)

My dad is also very generous and has a big heart. Probably my favorite story about my dad is when I was already in my 20's and we were going to Olvera St. for dinner. As we were getting off the freeway, we saw a man with a sign that said "Hungry." We went to go park and when we got out of the car my dad said he wanted to take this man some money. My dad started to walk a couple blocks down and if you can believe it, the man with the sign started to walk away! He didn't know my dad was coming! If you can believe it, my dad CHASED this man so he could give him some money. When my dad came back he said to me with tears in his eyes "aren't we all beggars?" the scripture form Mosiah 4. I learned a big lesson that day.

Before I end on my dad, I just want to say how grateful I am to him for always having been such a wonderful father. In my opinion, Dad's don't get any better than him. I feel like, along with my mom, he gave me a perfect childhood, and a perfect loving home. I am so grateful for his love and dedication, for his stability. I have so much respect for him. I feel honored that I now get to live with him and be there for him now that he needs me. I am grateful that our presence keeps him from being lonely and that I can take care of our family home. I am glad that I can make sure he had clean dishes to use because he really doesn't know how to use a dishwasher!! :)

Now briefly onto the father of my children!! Craig--I actually married him because he was so much like my father. (And now he's even a teacher like my dad! :) I know Craig provides that same loving secure feeling for our girls that my dad gave me. He is patient, loving and helpful. I am so grateful that he is a DIAPER CHANGER. He also lets the girls come to our bed when they wake up in the night. When he comes home from work, he either helps me with dinner, or actually makes dinner if I've had a rough day. He is EXCELLENT at our night routine in which we trade off cleaning the kitchen or getting the girls bathed and ready for bed. (And he's very good at loading the dishwasher!)

He reads the Book of Mormon to us every night and then some "Little House on the Prairie." He makes sure we have Family Night on Mondays and that we have family prayer every night. He puts the girls to bed by rubbing their backs. I hope he knows how grateful I am for him. I truly can't thank him enough for what he does for our girls. I know they love him more than anything.

I would like to end saying how grateful I am to the Father of us all--our Heavenly Father. He blesses us more than we even know.  I know that we lived in Heaven with Him as His spirit children. I know He loves us even more than we love our own children. I know He designed the plan of salvation for us so that we could be like Him and be happy. I know he sent His son to be our Savior so that we could make mistakes but still have the opportunity to repent. I can't imagine what our Heavenly Father felt in allowing our Savior to suffer for our sins and die for us. When we read the story of Abraham and Isaac we get a small idea. But I know He sent His Son because of His great love for us. I know He hears our prayers. I know He is there for us. I am so grateful for His love.

I love you Daddy, I love you Craig, and I love my Heavenly Father!  Happy Father's Day!

Look what Edie sent me!!

Edie, thank you sooooooo much!  I LOVED the wonderful package.  You SPOIL me!!  I love you! Those of you who have not tried lavender chocolate:  head to your nearest health food store and get some!!!  YUM!

Celebrating MORE with the family

The day after my birthday, Craig and Grandma Ginny made a special dinner.  Craig also made me a delicious raw cake of walnuts, coconut, coconut oil, cacao powder, agave syrup and dates.  It was sooooo yummy!!  And are not my children sooooooo cute??

Dreamy birthday dinner

We finished celebrating my birthday by having dinner at the most beautiful restaurant in the world.  How wonderful that it also serves healthy organic food!!  The Inn of the Seventh Ray is amazing.  We sat at a little table alongside the creek.  The view was so pretty.  We watched a little duck in the water and when it got dark, we could hear the frogs croaking. We had a 7 course dinner and I'm not kidding!  My favorite course was the red bell pepper, cauliflower, and cashew soup.  Everything was so delicious!!  My cake was a raw carob brownie.  YUM!  I guess getting older isn't so very bad. :)

More dreamy birthday

After leaving Woodland Hills, we drove into Topanga.  We wanted to see what the open artist studio was all about.  We realized we wouldn't have time to see much of it because we had a 5:30 dinner reservation, but we did get to see some beautiful paintings by a guy named Paul Schoepflin and some wonderful sculptures by a lady named Alisa Gabrielle along with the work of other artists.  Paul had some adorable landscape paintings that were around 8"x8" or smaller.  Each one was so nice.  You could tell he loved each place he painted and they seemed like little gems.  While we looked at his paintings, we also got to watch a little red mama bird feed her babies in their nest which was in a little hole in the roof the of porch where Paul was displaying. These birds were sooooo cute!!  The mama bird was so protective of her babies and was pretty noisy about it.  

A lot of Alisa Gabrielle's work was done in alabaster which I once got to work with while in school.  It was nice to feel it again, its sooooo smooth and delicious.  She does a lot of voluptuous female figures.  I liked the nursing mamas.

With less than an hour left before our reservations, we drove up into the canyon and found a spot where we could lay in some grass and enjoy a nice view.  Its a little hazy, but its actually the ocean in the distance.  So pretty.

A Dreamy Birthday

After leaving  Abuelita's at around 2:30am, Craig and I drove to a motel that he'd pricelined at the last second for $40!  It was about 12 miles from Abuelita's as opposed to 36 miles to home. Grandma was staying at our house with the girls and was letting us have the whole day out.  (I know, we are super-blessed!)  It was awesome to not have to drive so far and more than anything to get to SLEEP IN until 10am! (0ur girls wake us up at 7am.)  Motels always have the BEST dark curtains.

We were going to go back into Topanga to get quiche at Mimosa but we got sidetracked in Woodland Hills by a bakery/cafe that said one of our favorite words: "organic."  We decided to check it out.  As it turned out, it was their grand opening.  They were giving out samples of some of their items and they just kept handing us stuff!  Gazpacho, veggie soup, wraps, sandwiches, baked treats, lots of beautiful berries and lemonade-- all organic!  The food was delicious and the place was really cute.  I'm sure we'll return often.

We then peeked into some really cute shops down the way.  One had a really cute sculpture garden, another was a bead shop where I got lots of beads, (I really hope to make some great stuff with them!  I was so happy to find such gorgeous pink tourmaline.)  Another shop was a really cute art studio where they teach art classes, Creative Courage.  I bought some beautiful milagros there--they were bigger than usual--the big heart is over 5 inches.  I just love the milagro of the breastfeeding mama.  These were my birthday presents in addition to the Dead's "Shakedown Street" and Muse's "Black Holes & Revelations."

I haven't been blogging, cuz I've been reading!

Have any of you out there read this? I've never been more sucked in by a novel. I ended up reading the trilogy (Twilight, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) in around ten days. I neglected my children, I was so absorbed. I am now hopelessly in love with a fictional vampire. I might need some psychotherapy.

The Stake Fair

Our stake had a super fun fair yesterday.  They have it every year and its completely free.  There were 6 different bouncer toys, a train ride, a petting zoo, and pony rides.  We had a great time!