Early July Morning, Cocoa Beach, Florida

Monday, February 28, 2011

Buttons, Buttons, and More Buttons

I have been hanging on to a stash of buttons for quite some time. I bought a bunch of them for another craft project...been so long ago, I don't really remember what the project was. So, this weekend when I went visiting all the Bead Soup Blogs, I saw something that inspired me to get all those buttons out and play. If you head on over to Lori Anderson's Blog, Pretty Things, you will see the cool button necklace she made with her soup. I decided to use her necklace to inspire me, and this is what I came up with.

It is very similar to Lori's piece. I used some silver tone chain I had on hand, and the vintage telephone wire my dad gave me soooooo many years ago. He acquired this wire back in the 70's when he was working for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center. At the time, they were updating the telephone system and trashing all this wire. There were tons of it everywhere, and so my dad asked if he could take some. He was told to take as much as he wanted. He probably wishes he would have taken more, now that I've been using it to make jewelry.



One of my walking buddies was telling me just the other day about how she sees all they ladies at work with button necklaces and just loves them. I can't wait to show her what I came up with





Thank you, Lori, for the inspiration you gave me

What a Busy Weekend!!!

Wow!!! Such a busy weekend! Seems like everything happens all at the same time. As many of you who have been following my blog lately know, this weekend was the Bead Soup Blog Party reveal. I've been hopping around everyone's blogs to see what they did with their soup. I have seen some really beautiful and impressive pieces. There are so many talented people out there.

The other thing that went on in my life this weekend was a church youth conference and two, yes, TWO firesides. Wow! I pretty much spent my whole weekend with the youth, which is fine. Gives me an excuse to spend time being at the same activities as my two youngest boys. Heck, one of them will be leaving real soon, in fact, if I'm not mistaken, this was his last youth conference :(
The youth conference was on missionary work. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, our sons are encouraged to go on a two year mission. When they turn 19, they are eligible to go. The girls can go too, but they have to be 21, and they go for 18 months. These young men and women prepare their whole lives by learning as much as they can about our Savior, Jesus Christ, so that they can teach His Gospel. Some of the things they do to prepare, is go to church on Sundays, youth activities usually on Wednesday nights, and attend Seminary. Here in Louisiana, our youth get up early each school day and attended Early Morning Seminary before school starts. Each year they learn about a different area of the Gosepl. They study the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and this year Church History.

The activity they were involved in this past Saturday was called Mini MTC. MTC stands for Missionary Training Center. When someone in our church has been called to serve a mission, they go to the MTC in Provo, UT, or one of our other MTC's throughout the world. Here they learn many things. If they are serving a foreign speaking mission, they learn the language. They also learn how to present themselves in different cultures. Depending on where they are going to be serving, they can spend anywhere from just a few weeks, to several months in the MTC.

At the activity we held on Saturday, the kids were "called" to a country on their mock mission. One of my sons went to Samoa, and the other went to the Netherlands. There were other countries represented--Spain, Germany, France, England, Australia, Brazil, Paraguay, and El Salvador, were some of them. My son's told me that they learned a little bit about their countries including the culture and how to say some things in the native language. After awhile, they rotated and went to an area where they learned to sew on buttons, iron, tie a tie, and sew a hole up. Something that everyone should know how to do even if they don't serve a mission.

Everyone who attended had a really nice time. We had over 200 youth and youth leaders from Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana in attendance. I would like to thank everyone who put in so much time to make this activity a very successful one.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Western Sunset

Welcome to the 3rd Bead Soup Blog Party!
What is a Bead Soup Blog Party?

Each beader was paired up with another jewelry designer and tasked with sending the following:

~ A focal
~ A special clasp (not just a lobster claw)
~ Some coordinating spacers or beads

Using the focal and the clasp was mandatory, but we could use anything from our own stash to round out the rest, and choose to use the coordinating beads or not.
Here's what I made!
Stacie, of Park Avenue, sent me all kinds of neat beads. She sent me some yellow jade, copper, freshwater pearls and river coral. I added some brown crystals, brown ebeads, and a little bit of copper wire. I was able to get a 30" necklace, 16" necklace, earrings and a memory wire bracelet out of all the beads.




I've been wanting to try my hand with wire. Since Stacie sent me all those nice copper beads, I decided to do some wiring with some copper wire I had on hand.


I call these pieces Western Sunset. The colors actually remind me of the beautiful red rocks in Southern Utah. My husband is actually the one that came up with the name, and I though it was perfect! We both grew up in the Southern United States (me in Florida and him in Tennessee), but we have had several opportunities to go to Utah. In fact that is where we both went to school and got engaged, and spent our first year of marriage. Our daughter is now there finishing her last year of college. Utah is truly a beautiful state!



Come see what the rest of us made!


1. Lori Anderson, Pretty Things
2. Kitty Durmaj, Perles and Life
3. Michelle Heim, Life In the Bead Lane
4. Lisa Petrillo, Lucid Moon Studio
5. Anitra Gordy, Leelu Creations
6. Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs
7. Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things
8. Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe
9. Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto
10. Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio


11. Terri Gauthier, Blooming Ideas
12. Rachel Walsh, Balanced Crafts
13. Marian Hertzog, M's Place
14. Mary McGraw, MK's Musings
15. Sarabeth Burke, Chronicles of Sarita
16. Deci Worland, Gem Trails
17. Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found
18. Laura Zeiner, Stick Lizard Designs
19. Kristin Latimer, MJM Jewelry Designs
20. Cathryn Brooks-Williams, Chile Cats


21. Holly Westfall, Silver Rose Designs
22. Janna Harttgen, Palima-Lim
23. Libby Leuchtman, Libby Leu
24. Rebecca Anderson, Songbeads
25. Deb Hunter, Living On Air
26. Diana Ptaszynski, Suburban Girl Studio
27. Jennifer VanBenschoten, VanBeads
28. Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter
29. Cyndi Lavin, Beading Arts
30. Courtney Breul, Beads by Breul


31. Stefanie Teufel, Stefanie's Sammelsurium
32. Patricia Gasparino, My Life Under the Bus
33. Tari Khars, Pearl and Pebble
34. Kristi Bowman-Gruel, Kristi Bowman Design
35. Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle
36. Becky Fairclough, Chameleons Designs
37. Evie and Beth McCord, EB Bead & Metal Works
38. Lynne Bowland, Islandgirl's Insights
39. Barbara Lewis, Painting With Fire
40. Lorelei Eurto, Inside the Studio


41. Stacy Hartis, Sissy & Jack's
42. Jennifer Cameron, Glass Addictions
43. Marcie Abney, La Bella Joya
44. Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations
45. Nan Emmett, Spirit Rattles
46. Melissa Mesara, One Eared Pig
47. Amanda Davie, Articulations
48. Cherin Poovey, Lanyard Lady
49. Virginia Joste, ViviBijoux


50. Andrew Thornton, The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
51. Lori Dorrington, Lori's Glassworks
52. Melanie Brooks, Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
53. Kate Gardenghi, Tropical Blonde
54. Serena Trent, PinkIce Jewel's Blog
55. Malin de Koning, Beading by Malin de Koning
56. Shai Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings
57. Francy Inman, 8 Second Studio
58. Amy Freeland, Copper Diem
59. Lisa Liddy, Joolz By Lisa


60. Sandi Lee James, Do Be Do Bead Do
61. Mary Harding, Mary Harding Bead Blog
62. Stacey Curry, Star Hitched Wagon
63. Leslie Gidden, Mad Maggie Designs
64. Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals
65. Niky Sayers, Silver Nik Nats
66. Linda Djokic, Lutka and Co.
67. Tracy Bell, Copper, Glass, and Recycled Trash
68. Laurel Steven, Rue's Daftique
69. Ingrid McCue, Wrapped In Silver



70. Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit
71. Diana Hawkey, Diana Hawkey
72. Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas
73. Jeanette Ryan, Jeanette Blix
74. Jackie Ryan, Silver Lodge Gems
76. Debbie Goering, Prairie Emporium
77. Valerie Norton, Hot Art
78. Jana Trupovniece, Stories of the Secret Garden
79. Amy Severino, Amy Beads


80. Emma Thomas, Fred Beans Nook
81. Karen Zanco, Everyday Gypsy
82. Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Beadphoria
83. Janet McDonald, Singing Woods
84. Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Designs
85. Kristina Johansson, Wild Roses and Blackberries
86. CJ Bauschka, CJ Bauschka
87. Angela Barribea, Re: Angela Rae
88. Marcy Lamberson, Studio Marcy
89. Tanya Floyd, Glass Migrations


90. Lisa Kavanaugh, Beading Bliss
91. Sue Hodgkinson, Hello Gorgeous
92. Jenni Connolly, Jenni's Bead
93. Nally Parfyonova, Nally's Creations
94. Karyn White, Releases By Rufydoof
95. Emanda Johnson, Artemisia Studio
96. Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box
97. Cindy Dolezal, Cindy Dolezal Designs
*MY BEAD SOUP PARTNER*98. Stacie Stamper, Park Avenue
99. Mallory Hoffman, For the Love of Beads


101. Nicole Valentine-Rimmer, N. Valentine Studio
102. Jacinta Meyers, Jamberrysong's Creations
103. Charlene Gary, Gray Girl Studios
104. Rubiee Hayes, Glitter and Keys Galore
105. Marge Beebe, Rock Creek Creations
106. Elizabeth Freeman, Turquoise Sky
107. Shelby Foxwell, Sundown Bead Designs Rhetoric
108. Lynda Moseley, Diva Designs
109. Grace Danel, Grace Beading
110. Lois Moon, Que Onda Quitman


111. Agnes Shapiro, Beader Bubbe
***YOU ARE HERE***112. Terry Carter, Tapping Flamingo
113. Judy Glende, Judith B. Designs
114. Mary Ellen Parker, Bee Tree By Me
115. Barbara Bechtel, Second Surf
116. Charlene Sevier, The Bead Dreamer
117. Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles
118. Cory Celaya, Art With Moxie
119. Ronda Adams, The Ravished Heart
120. Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe Designs


121. Anna Lear, The Laughing Raven
122. Susie Hibdon, Vintagesusie & Wings
123. Amanda Austin, Sea Shore Glass
124. Jennifer Velasquez, Jen Judd Rocks
125. Hazel Ward, All Those Things
126. Brenda Salzano, Salzanos
127. Dee Gordon, Runako Designs by Dee
128. Anna Denisova, Anita-M
129. Margaret Saari, Mags-Jewelry


130. Genea Crivello-Knable, Genea Beads
131. Penny Neville, Copper Penny
132. Angela Blasingame, Hopemore
133. Helena Fritz, Beadwork by H's Blog
134. Stephanie LaRose, Confessions of a Bead Hoarder
135. Stephanie Haussler, PixyBug Designs
136. Diane Cook, Rosa & Josies
137. Maryse Thillens, Glass Bead Art
138. Jennifer Pride, Jewelry by J.P.
139. Shannon Chomanczuk, For My Sweet Daughter


140. Lisa Godfrey, Bead Happy
141. Heather Pyle, Welcome to My Muse
142. Regina Santerre, Regina's Writings
143. Liz DeLuca, Creative Arty Facts
144. Sig Wynne-Evans, Beaded Bear's Nonsense
145. Loretta Carstensen, Loretta's Boutique
146. Raida Disbrow, Havana Beads
147. Amber Dawn, Inventive Soul
148. Shelly Graves, Stars Dance With Me
149. Jess Italia Lincoln, Vintaj Blog


150. JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions
151. Carrie Tahquechi, Carrie T
152. Staci Smith, Staci Louise Originals
153. Katarzyna Kwiatkowska, Quiet Area
154. Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs
155. Magdalena Sikora, Poranna Gazeta
156. Nicole Keller, Nicki's Reef
157. Ann Rishell, My Critical Eye
158. Noemi Baena, Fire, Metal, and Color
159. Christa Murphy, Adventures of One Beady Woman


160. Barbara Blaszczyk, Labotorium Flory
161. Collette Collins, Firefly Myst
162. Carola Greiser, Polymer Clay Shed
163. Joanna Kopijczuk, Bizuteria z Filcu
164. LeAnn Weih, Summers Studio
165. Cassandra Watsham, Design by Cassandra
166. Anna Motz, Stunning
167. Shea Zukowski, Gr8findings
168. Susan Kennedy, Sue Beads
169. Lisa Boucher, Lisa's Clay Happenings


170. Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope
171. Alison Crenshaw, Beads by Earth Tones
172. Dorcas Midkiff, Wondrous Strange Designs
173. Melissa Rediger, Sea of Glass
174. Marina Dobrynina, Savon Feutre
176. Menka Gupta, Menka's Blog
177. Patsy Evins, Patsy Evins Studio
178. Cherrie Fick, En La Lumie're
179. Suzette Bentley, Ellie's Bijoux

180. Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me
181. Lyn Foley, Lyn Foley Wearable Art
182. Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog
183. Natalie Schuetz, Natalie S Perlen
184. Kim Hutchinson, Running on Ink
185. Haley Frank, Wide Eyed Smilin
186. Grace Caputo, Suddenly Last Summer
187. Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp, Skye Jewels
188. Erin Siegel, Erin Siegel Jewelry
189. Janea McDonald, Organized Chaos

190. Kristi Evenson, Colie Bug & Co.
191. Linda Inhelder, Must Haves Jewelry
192. Hilary Frye, FryeStyle
193. Whitney Lassini, Whitney Lassini
194. Nancy Schindler, The Rabbit Muse
195. Pam Brisse, The Blue Between
196. Beth Bricker, Vintage Sweets
197. Ruthie Stickney, Rose Works Jewelry and Gifts
198. Rose Noble, Lady Noble Designs
199. Karen Williams, Baublicious

200. Claire Maunsell, The Next Bend
201. Christine Damm, Stories They Tell
202. Kerry Bogert, Kab's Creative Concepts
203. Wendy Blum, Sand & Sea Designs
204. Juli Cannon, Julsbeads
205. Jenny Robledo, La Dona Boutique
206. Krista French, French Elegant Jewelry
207. Pam Krinski, Ewa Beads
208. Melissa Meman, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love
209. Dana Jones, Dana's Jewelry
210. Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread




The next party's sign ups begin August 1-3, 2011. Don't miss it!
By the way, I'd like to thank Lori Anderson for hosting
The Bead Soup Blog Party

Friday, February 25, 2011

Dirt Cake

In my blog about our Young Women's New Beginnings, I mentioned we had Dirt Cake for our refreshments. We also had a fruit plate and veggie plate. To drink we had a punch bowl filled with ice water, orange, lemon, lime slices, and maraschino cherries. I've already given the recipe for Dirt Cake, but thought I would post it again with pictures.

You will need (The recipe I posted before was doubled):
1 large packet instant pudding
milk
1, 8 oz soft cream cheese
1, large container whip topping
1 package oreo cookies (I used store brand)
gummy worms

Using a beater, mix pudding mix and milk according to package directions. Mix in soften cream cheese. It's ok if it's a little lumpy. Fold in whip topping. Set aside pudding mixture.

Put cookies into food processor and process til it looks like dirt. In a clean flower pot line bottom with foil or Saran Wrap (so the cake does not ooze out of the holes in the bottom). Layer cookies, then pudding mixture, then cookies, etc. End with cookies on top. Insert flower into pot, and if you'd like add the gummy worms on top of the "dirt." You could even put the gummy worms through out the cake for an added "surprise."


Here's the finished product....ENJOY!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

New Beginnings

For the past several weeks, our Young Women have been preparing for New Beginnings. So, you might ask, "what is New Beginnings?" New Beginnings is an activity, where we invite the upcoming girls who will be turning 12 in the next year and entering the Young Women's Program. All parents and family members are invited, and we explain the program, including Personal Progress.


Personal Progress is a goal centered program. Please see my blog on goals http://tappingflamingo.blogspot.com/2011/02/goals.html
In addition to explaining the Personal Progress, we also highlight those young women who have finished and received the Young Womanhood Recognition Medallion. We were blessed to have two of our ladies earn them this year. They have worked very hard on these goals, and continue to work on them. It is our hope that once they finish their Personal Progress, they will continue to work on similar activities throughout their lives.














This is the Young Women theme











Our night was based on the scripture found in Proverbs 31:10-31. I made gold beaded butterflies with red "ruby" centers representing a virtuous woman. Each of our girls went home with one of these and a book mark.









Beaded butterfly mobile representing the Young Women colors: Faith=white, Divine Nature=blue, Individual Worth=red, Knowledge=green, Choice and Accountability=orange, Good Works=yellow, Integrity=purple, and Virtue=gold








Our refreshments--dirty cake. YUM and so very easy!

I made a huge batch, so you can half the recipe

2 instant vanilla pudding made according to package directions (you can use chocolate)
2, 8 oz soft cream cheese
2 BIG containers of whip topping

Mix together (there might be some cream cheese lumps, but that's ok).

In food processor, process two bags of oreo cookies til very fine--like dirt. In clean flower pot, layer pudding mixture and cookies, starting and ending with cookies. I added gummy worms on top of the top layer of "dirt." For the finishing touch add flowers.

This was a very fun activity, and we had a great turn out. Thank you to all who attended!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Time Flies When You're Having Fun


So, today, our third child turns 18. I cannot believe we now have three adult children in our family (and one almost adult--he's 16). Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday Mr. Scott (I call him that a lot) was dancing around pushing buttons and flashing that cute smile of his. He hasn't changed much, he still likes to push buttons and flash that nice smile...not so much the dancing though. As a baby, Scott was always happy. He was such a cute little dude, still is.

As a young mother, you never believe that time will go by so fast. It seems like yesterday (I know that phrase is used just way too much...but anyway), that my four little ones were home, and people would say to me, "are they ALL yours?" "Yes," I would proudly respond.

As I write this I look back and wish we were there again. While I feel I was a good mom, I feel I could have done so much more. I guess we all feel that way with much in our lives. "If only I knew what I know now." For all of you who are where I once was; home with small children, many times feeling like you wish you were somewhere else, enjoy every precious moment of your little ones. Before you know it you will be in my shoes wishing you were back, with your little ones.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Bead Soup Project

So, here are the beads I received from my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Stacie. Aren't they some of the prettiest colors? I love the golds, browns, and coppers.





She sent me some rust colored fresh water pears, yellow jade, some are carved, some are faceted and some are just made into cubes. She also sent me various beads in copper, and then some river coral (those are the cool beads with the holes in them). The pendant is made from a rust colored shell.



So, it took me awhile to figure out what I was going to do. I sorted them, and resorted them several times. First on the table, then I got the bead board out.









Here is a closer look at the freshwater pearls, the pendant, and the carved jade.










Here you can get a better look at the coral and copper beads











Here is the cubed jade.

Once I finally got started, I added some of my own beads from my stash. I used some brown crystals and brown seed beads. I also tried my hand on some copper wire too. I'll have to say, I am really pleased with the finished product and can't wait to share my creation with you.

I will be posting my pieces (yes, I said "pieces" because I was able to get more than one piece out all this) on February 26. That is the date of our official blog party. Hope you will stop in and check it out. Then after you've checked out my creations, you will need to go check to see what my partner, Stacie, made with her stuff over on Park Avenue (http://www.parkavenue-stacie.blogspot.com/)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Shoeaholics



Are you addicted to shoes? I think every woman is in one way or another. I know, I've pretty much been obsessed with shoes all my life, even though I'd much rather run around barefoot on the beach or at the pool. As my sisters and I were growing up, we had the best shoes. We all have very narrow feet, and it was hard to find shoes that fit. We use to travel an hour to Orlando to get fitted with proper fitting shoes. We usually got ugly ones. The cool shoes were always too wide.

As a teen in high school, platform shoes were the in thing. The boy I was dating was over 6'; I'm 5'4", so I loved wearing the super tall platforms. When I headed to college, shoes weren't so tall. In fact the ballet slipper style was very popular (and much more comfortable). I grew up taking dance lessons, and majored in dance at Brigham Young University. The type shoes I wore, were mostly just my bare feet. My feet suffered from this in later years.

At the age of 23, I married a wonderful man. He was average height of 5' 11", which allowed me to be able to wear whatever height shoes I wanted. Because I had a job where I was on my feet a lot, I usually wore flat shoes.

As I was approaching the age of 40, my feet started to bother me, A LOT! I went to the doctor, and was told I had fibromyalgia. I did not agree. It was mostly my feet that really bothered me.
My mom and sister were big Birkenstock fans, and talked me into trying some. They were so expensive, but well worth the cost. I found that they were so much cheaper and cuter on QVC. Birkenstock shoes are pretty much all I wear. I do have a couple pair of boots, but unless it is cold, rainy or snowy, I have my Birkenstocks on. I have some in every color too...red, yellow, silver, black, brown, blue, white, etc. My husband is always teasing me, and asking, "Why so many?" Well, it's a shoe thing.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Finished!

Well, I finished my piece for the Bead Soup Blog Party. I was able to get more than one piece. In addition to the stuff Stacie gave me, I used some seed beads, crystals, and copper wire. I'm really anxious to show everyone, but we will all have to wait. So stay tuned...Feb 26 is the reveal date.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Goals

Many of us set goals. Most of us set goals or New Years Resolutions. By now those of us who set some New Years Resolutions have already failed. That's one reason this year, I really did not set specific goals.

In our church, our youth have programs set up for them to accomplish some goals that will help them throughout life. For our young women, we have the Young Women Personal Progress. As one of their leaders, I have the opportunity and privilege to work with them on these goals, and work on the program too.

They first enter the program when they turn 12. They are presented with their own Personal Progress book, journal and torch necklace. This year, we (their leaders) decided to put together something they can hang their torch pendant on. Since I make jewelry, I came up with this seed bead chain (in the Young Women colors). I really thought it came out nice, and the girls really loved it. We had gone ahead and given these to our girls for Christmas.

I mentioned in the previous paragraph about Young Women colors. The Young Women (YW) have different values they work on in their program, and each has a color. Faith (white), Divine Nature (blue), Individual Worth (red), Knowledge (green), Choice and Accountability (orange), Good Works (yellow), Integrity (purple), and Virtue (gold). In their Personal Progress (PP) books, they have about 6 or 7 different goals, under each value, to work on. Anywhere from reading a scripture passage and talking to either their parent or leader or someone else about what it means, to maybe some sort of service project or memorizing a song and leading it in a meeting, or teaching someone a new skill. After most goals, or values as they call them, are complete they then write in their journals about what they learned or how they grew. They also have ten hour projects they work on in each value. By the time the turn 18 and graduate from high school, they should be done with the program. Some finish as early as age 15. Many have compared this program to the Eagle Scout. I have three son's, two are Eagles, and one is almost finished with his Eagle, and I will have to say I agree--the Personal Progress Program is much like a "spiritual" Eagle Scout.


As the girls work through their values, they earn ribbons for bookmarks in their scriptures. At the end, they are presented with the beautiful Young Womanhood Recognition Medallion.

Over the years, the medallion has changed. Years ago when I was a YW leader, the medallion had a young woman with a flowing dress on it. Then it was changed to a temple. Now it not only has the temple but a red crystal representing a ruby. This is to remind them of the scripture in Proverbs 31:10-31 where it talks about a virtuous woman, and how important it is to be a virtuous woman.

As the YW grow to be adults, it is our hope as YW leaders, that they continue to work on their PP. As women, we all need to working on these goals. Goals, like reading our scriptures, service to our fellow man, learning homemaking skills that will keep ourselves and our future families safe, warm and secure, not to mention healthy and happy. I am happy to say that I have actually earned two of these medallions. I have the old one with the young woman in a flowing dress, and the newer one with the temple and "ruby" on it. I love these medallions, as it reminds me who I am...a child of God, and keeps me focused to always be worthy to enter the temple of God. It is my prayer, that these young women will always be focused, and stay worthy to enter His temple also.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Kelsey Koch

Wow! This week has had it's ups and downs. Monday, my daughter got engaged to her soul mate. Tuesday was So You Think You Can Dance auditions, by the way, she was called back today, so she has not been cut yet. Tuesday ended on a bad note, though.

When we lived in Indiana (Oct 2001-Aug 2007), we were privileged to meet and get to know many people. Many of these people were through homeschooling. One of the girls we got to know pretty well was Kelsey Koch. Ashley and Kelsey got to be good friends through our homeschool group, but mostly through dance. Both girls danced at Premiere Dance Center on the competition team. Both girls were awesome tap dancers (among other forms of dance).

Yesterday, Tuesday, February 2, 2011 at 5:17 pm, on her 90th day in the hospital, Kelsey left this world and went home to Jesus (http://kjkdancingthroughtherain.blogspot.com/). Kelsey touched many lives, people she knew, and others she never met. She had a very rare disease, Dock 8. There are only a handful (I believe about 11 in the world) who have this disease. Her and her younger sister are among the few with it. Kelsey and her sister Karly, have traveled to Maryland to undergo procedures in a study. I can remember the girls traveling with their family a few times a year. I believe Kelsey was the only person to have survived with Dock 8 for this long, usually Dock 8 patience die at a much younger age. At first look, these girls seemed to be just as healthy as any other girls their age. But once you got to talking to them, you soon would find, that that was not the case. They had many allergies, and other physical problems, but these girls did not let any of that get in the way of living a very joyous life.

I never saw Kelsey unhappy. Her attitude was something that we all need to have. Yes, she was suffering, but she was grateful for all she had in life, family, friends, and mostly Jesus. Her brother, Travis posted a beautiful picture and write-up of Kelsey on his facebook. For those of you on facebook here is the link. For all you others without facebook, I will post it below.(http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=461127351658&id=604863973)

I know Kelsey is in Heaven right now, enjoying her healthy body and dancing. She is happy, and we should all be happy for her. Yes, we will miss her cheeriness, but she needed to go. We all must not forget her example of not letting things get to you. We all have hard times on this earth. It is suppose to be that way. Trails make us stronger. We must all past the tests we are given, and the way to do that is to follow the example of Kelsey Koch.

One of the last conversations she had with her mom was about how scared she was. Here is an excerpt of her blog, "It was unique today in that when I told her she was going to the OR she usually asks to be drugged real well. This time she told me she was scared. I asked her, "Scared of what?" She said she didn't know. I told her there were only two outcomes...either she would come back to me or she would go home to Jesus. She said that she would like to go home to Jesus. This made her smile."

Kelsey is now with Him, and smiling...

The following is what her brother wrote:

Kelsey's Facebook About Me

by Tyler Koch on Thursday, December 2, 2010 at 7:26pm

Hi the names Jo, Kelsey Jo. Most ppl talk/brag about themselves in this section. Instead there is something much more important. Yes, my life story entails pain, tragedy, extreme dissapointment, terror, variable exhaustion w/ tests, and one of the rarest diseases known to man, etc, etc. But why put those negative, abysmal stories in here??? What people should take away from hearing about me is what the Lord had done in and through me. Instead I could tell you many stories of CONQUERING situations of Life VS Death through the power of Prayer and extreme Perseverence. And Enduring countless Hours of testing and waiting, by a Peace that surpasses all understanding.. Or Bearing (my)daily debilitating routine through patience and self control. Life with God has been ROUGH, He never promised it would be easy("my yolk is heavy but my burden is light"), YET He did say He would NEVER LEAVE me. But if I had to live this life WITHOUT Him, I would NOT have LIVED to see my 10th birthday! Indeed my God is an awesome God! He sees me in my need, and meets me in my need! Thank you Jesus for your blood that covers all my sins! I did not deserve this, but yet you love me, no matter what! Yahweh He is, alpha(the beginning) and omega(the end) He is! Omniscience(all knowing), omnipotent(all powerful) and omnipresent(all present) He is! He is my comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength!Many pity me for my sufferable time here on this earth, but I say you should be pitied for you do not have eternity in heaven! -- "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13,14... THIS IS THE WAY I LIVE ... Still don't understand why I am the way I am... "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 I will say it again, this is my life verse!I refuse to get stuck in ANY generational ruts, or be identified by any label other than a Jesus lover. I WILL help change this world. "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:10,11.This is MY MISSION... To save the world! But lets not confuse, I will do it by His bidding... I am a mere mortal, a human being, I have no power. I am powerless. But through Him I can move mountains. I am Kelsey, truth chaser, blood bought, world changer, prayer warrior, devil stomper, sin killer, Jesus lover, daughter of God!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

More Dance

I was going to wait and blog about this next week, but I think I will go ahead and blog about it now. As we speak, my daughter is at the Salt Lake City So You Think You Can Dance auditions. I have been on pins and needles all day. Every time I get a text message, or my cell phone rings, I jump up to see if it might be Ashely with news. So far, no news, and no news is good news.

A little over two years ago, Ashley and I went down to New Orleans for one of their auditions. It was soooooo much fun. We found out about the auditions about a week before, and Ashley really wanted to go. I was not thrilled about driving down there. Among many things, Ashley's dance shoes were in storage in Provo, UT, and I figured it was going to cost some big bucks, plus I've always heard horror stories about going down there. One of my walking buddies use to live there, and told me that as long as you stay away from certain areas (just like any place you go), you would be fine. She wound up coming with me, and I was soooooo grateful!!!!

The three of us had so much fun. It was really hot, but that was fine. The first day my friend and I just hung around while Ashley went for auditions. We were there allllll daaaaay loooong. But it was fine. There were other mothers, finance's, boyfriends, sisters, friends, etc. waiting, and we just mingled and met some really nice people. We even got to talk a little with some of the production team, and everyone was so nice. It was a very pleasant experience. At the end of the day, Ashley came running down the stairs, with great excitement with the news that she made the first cut, and that she had to be back in two days. This gave us time to go and explore the city of New Orleans.

It did not take me long to understand why so many people love NOLA! It is a very quaint city, rich in history. We were in walking distance of everything. It was really nice to just park the car in a secure location close to our motel and be able to leave it there for the duration of our stay. We checked out a couple of good restaurants, and shopping. We were just across from the convention center and mall, and a small jaunt from the French Quarters. While at the French Quarters, we had to check out the Gumbo Shoppe and Cafe Du Monde for a Beignet. YUMMMOOO!!

The next day, Ashley had to be there early. We were allowed to go, but not til later on in the day. She would call me and let me know, so my friend and I headed back to the motel after taking Ashely to the audition. It was not long before we got the call, and headed back to the auditions. It was really fun and interesting to see how they put a TV show together. Ashley did great. She auditioned in tap, and was sent to choreography. Choreography was ballroom...something Ashley had never done before. She did OK, but not good enough. Actually, I was glad. We went home with a very happy and pleasant experience.

Today, I am about 1500 miles or so away, so I was not able to attend. My thoughts are constantly with her and her friends, wondering what is going on. I really won't be able to say much whether she goes on to choreography, Vegas, or beyond, til the end of the show. That is why I decided to blog about it today. I just knew that if I waited to blog later, it would be hard for me to not give anything away. So, until after the show is over (which will probably be in August), I will keep my mouth shut. I sure hope you all tune it, though and watch the show. Maybe, if nothing else, we will be able to catch a glimpse of her on the show. We saw her on the NOLA auditions last time...

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Neat Stuff


So, this weekend, I got my beads from my Bead Soup Party partner, Stacie at Park Avenue (http://parkavenue-stacie.blogspot.com/). She sent me all kinds of goodies that reminded her of beach sunset, and figured I would like them too.
She was so right. I love the beach and warm sun, and these were just perfect.

Our mail comes pretty late, so by the time I got them Saturday, I was pretty much headed out to chaperon my son's church dance, so Sunday after church is when I was able to actually sit down and inspect my new stash. This is what she sent me:






river coral,









some freshwater pearl,









some copper,








some yellow jade,






and a copper colored shell pendant. Now, ya'll stay tuned to see what I do with this stuff...

DANCE



One of my joys in life has been dance. Growing up, my sister's and I took dance lessons. I can sorta remember going to dance class when I was about 3 or 4. We lived in California at the time and my mom was pregnant with my sister. We only had one car, and so Mom could not take me to lessons, as so many other moms at the time who stayed home with the children. A van would come and pick me up for dance class. I remember one time, my mom was braiding my long blonde hair when the bus came. She did not have time to finish, so she just put the other side of my hair in a quick ponytail. Yes I went to dance class with one braid and one ponytail. It did not matter to me, I was going to dance!

I also took dance lessons when we lived in Texas, Alabama, and Florida. I clearly remember going to Mrs. Harris' class in downtown Cocoa. Her studio was up on the top floor of this big building. Actually, it was not that high. To me, though it was. We went up three stories worth of steep stairs. That was so memorable because there were not very many stairs in Florida at the time.

When I went to college, I was on several dance teams, and decided to major in dance. I really wanted to go into therapy, but at the time, it was very new. I never really got to do what I wanted to do. I have been able to use my dance a little. I've taught aerobics, and done some choreography of a few shows.

My daughter has pretty much fallen into my footsteps. She too is a dance major at BYU. She is getting ready to graduate this summer. Ashley was on one of the dance teams I was on (BYU International Folk Dancers). I loved being involved with Ashely when she was growing up and dancing. It was so exciting going to all the competitions.

Ashley is no longer on the Folk team. She loved it while she was a part of the team. She was able to be on their Spring Performing Arts Company (SPAC). Now, she is on Dancensamble. Ashley is going to be able to choreograph a piece for their performance in about a month...AND...the Martha Graham Dancers came and she was able to dance with them.WOW!!! Now, this week, Wednesday, Ashley is going to audition for So You Think You Can Dance. This will be her second time. She auditioned about two years ago in New Orleans. She did really well, but she was just not ready to go to Vegas. She has had so much experience the last two years, so it will be interesting to see what comes of it.