Monthly Archives: February 2012

Sissy Poo!

Posted on by
Reply

As I’ve said in another post, I grew up in a family with 5 brothers and no sisters. There were six kids and our parents. When I was in junior high,

I came home with a little furry friend.

It was not uncommon for me to do this. I was always rescuing an animal.

I couldn’t help it.

But on this day the desire to bring home this animal was worse than ever. This little puppy was so tiny and cute. She was a mutt. They are actually my favorite kind of dog. They always have fun characteristics that don’t really match any other dog. This little pooper was part Chihuahua and part Terrier.

So. Cute.

When I got home, I honestly don’t remember my mom saying whether I could keep her or not. But when dad got home, he took that little ball of fur in his arms and said, “If we’re gonna keep her, we better name her Sissy Poo, cause she’s the only little sister you’re ever gonna have!”

And so is was, my little Sissy Poo became my little sister.

I was so attached. She slept with me every night.

She followed me around all day. She was the first to greet me when I arrived home.

I remember when I left on my mission, I was so afraid she would die, and there were a few times while I was gone that my family thought she was going to die too. I just couldn’t stand the thought of her not being there when I got home. Remember, I got her in 7th grade. I was now 21-22 years old.

She was almost ten years old when I got home. I was so excited to see her! And after a minute or two, she was so excited to see me, I had been gone for a year and a half. A year after I got home from my mission, she was still hanging in there. And another year later I had my first child, Riley. She was still there.

Then when Riley was six months old she fell asleep at the top of the stairs

and never woke up.

Personally, I believe she waited until I had other people to love, my darlin, and my son, so that I wouldn’t be so lonesome when she was gone.

We buried her in the back yard and had a nice little funeral. We all cried and cried. She is still so important to me and that was 25 years ago. She was such a big part of my life. She was my sweet little Sissy. I am so glad I brought her home. I love you Sissy Poo.

Favorite TV/Movie Quotes! Out of Africa

Posted on by
Reply

Out of Africa

Karen: “If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?”

—————————–

What a beautiful movie. I admire Karen and her strength and determination.

She was a strong woman.

It is a different perspective to think about how the world sees you. How you have left a place. When I think of the lives of people I love who have left, I believe they have left a song. A song that helps us and gives us hope and reminds us of our relationship with that person and how our love for them and their love for us is forever. The memory of them. The experiences we shared or read or heard about.

I hope when I’m gone that I’m not forgotten. That my family remembers my best, most fun self. I know they might remember my sad times, or the times when life was overwhelming me, but if they do, I hope they also remember me trying my best to move on and forward. I hope they remember that I am joyful, silly, forgetful, not forgetful, and that I did my best, that I love them so much.

Out of Africa-It’s a ten tissue movie! But I love it!

Happy Valentines Day!

Posted on by
Reply

“It is not how much we do,
but how much love we put in the doing.
 It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving”
– Mother Teresa
—————–
We had our traditional Valentine dinner by candlelight. At our home, the whole family eats together, candles lit, and yummy food. We have done this since the children were little. The children are my sweethearts too. This year, it was me, my darlin, Emily and our sweet Janet, Riley’s girlfriend. Riley had to work. So the four of us ate and visited. Then I told them all how much I love them. I was a fun time.
I hope you all enjoyed your Valentines Day, too!

Totally “Fort Worth” It!

Posted on by
Reply
Hermana Kelsey 12:4 -email-
Dear family,
This week flew by for me too. We are having transfers on Wednesday, and Sister W. is getting transferred to D. But Sister V. is coming to be my companion!!! I love her guts. She is the one that I met in the MTC my second day there, but she came out a transfer before me because she already knows spanish. She is so great. I’m way excited. President S. seems to have made it a pattern for me to only stay with my companion for one transfer. I’m not really sure why. But I kind of glad Sister W. is getting transferred. I will miss her, but if she stayed here for longer, she would “die”(end her mission) here in H., and I would have to “kill”(send her home) her. Which I have already done twice, and it is really hard. But anyway, that is the big news for the week.
Next big thing….we had a baptism on Tuesday! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Yay! It was for a little girl named N. She is so sweet, and loves to read her scriptures. It was a really good baptism. Not really too stressful, which is good for us as misionaries, because we usually get way crazy stressed, because there is so much to do. But it was really good.
In other news/events:
-Tuesday I had a foot race with one of the elders, and he barely beat me. So I think when I get back home, I’m gonna train myself up real good and try to do track at school or something. 🙂
-Also, on Tuesday, we got told we are going to hell because we “put Joseph Smith above Jesus Christ”, and a man spoke to us in tongues, (it was one of the creepiest things I have ever heard), and then on Friday, we talked to a young guy that was smoking something, but it wasn’t cigarettes, and he weirded me out.
-We got a surprise apartment inspection and Elder P., who is in one fo the senior couples in our mission and can’t see at all, tried to clean our white board with Shout. Sister W. almsot lost it completely, and had to pinch herself to keep from laughing out loud
-I got pooped on by a baby bunny, who them tried to hide the evidence by sitting on his little Coco Pebbles
-I met a woman who is the mom of one of our recent converts, and she is literally 5 or 6 inches shorter than me!
-And last, but not least, we had a crazy woman that came to our Relief Society on Sunday, and almost started a fight. Our Relief Society president had to get up, and talk to everyone to make the situation better 🙁
Let’s just say it has been an interesting week.
Mom,
1-Best guess on when you’ll be home? 1. I don’t think this one is really for me. You already know when I’ll be home, right? 🙂
3-Biggest challenge? Blessing? 3. Biggest challenge depends on the area for sure. But one big challenge on the mission in general is just adjusting to change. Just when you get comfortable with the people and the area, you get transferred somewhere else, and you have to leave the people you love, and the companions you love, and the elders you love. That is definitely something I have struggled with through out my mission. The blessings? Wow, that one is hard to. One of the biggest ones I have seen is gaining a stronger testimony in the gospel, and a bigger love for people in general. I have definitely increased in charity for others.
Dad:
I’m glad you are still doing scouts and enjoying it. I kind of wish I knew more survival type stuff. I like to think that if I was lost in the woods I could survive, but who knows. That’s crazy Meg and Jace are moving. I was thinking about writing to them the other p-day, but I always seem to run out of time to write to anyone except you all on the computer. So tell them I say “Hi”, and sorry I haven’t written them back.
Emmy:
Write to me!!!!! 😀
I gotta go now. I love you all so much.
Peace and blessings!
Love, Kelsey

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

Posted on by
Reply
Elder Flexy 20:1 -email-
Mama,
life has been good this week i had a pull up bar fall on my head and and it bled pretty good but its ok it wasn’t even bad but they had to shave a small part of my head so i’m wearing a hat now.. pretty funny. anyway we are having lots of success. people at church. things are going well. we had the same lesson that you taught on sunday thats so cool.
1-Best guess on when you’ll be home? 1.ish probably by july ___ at the latest i think.
2-Do you need anything? (We will be sending Alex a birthday pkg soon) 2.um… idk just the usual stuff is fine.
3-Biggest challenge? Blessing? 3.ish the toughest thing is when people don’t listen because of pride and blessing is seeing them baptised.
Special Question:
4:How do you answer people when they say we aren’t Christian? 4.well i tell them they are wrong because we are christians because we believe in christ.
Love Elder Flexy
Baba,
i’m glad that your still in scouts that has always been so great for you dad. life is great love you
Love Elder Flexy
Riley,
ya it will be cool. and i’m going to be happy meet janet.
Love Elder Flexy
M,
thats so good that you are going to be a cna i’m glad you are working hard and doing well. love you
Love Elder Flexy

Sunday Best!

Posted on by
Reply

C. S. Lewis spoke of a dilemma faced by someone

who must choose whether to accept or reject the Savior’s divinity–where there is likewise no middle ground:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. …You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. …But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

********************************

“He Himself has said, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:16–17) That was His own promise.
We as Christians in all [the] world accept that promise and should try to prove it to see whether it is workable or not. There are many who have done this. I realize that there are … many who have put that to the test, many who know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, that He is the Savior of the world.
So, not only do we have the evidence of the records … , not only do we have the testimony of good men who have lived upon the earth in our day, but if we have complied with the requirements of our Heavenly Father, if we have had faith in God, if we have repented of our sins, if we have received baptism by immersion, if we have received the Holy Ghost under the hands of authorized servants of the Lord, I say, if we have done all these things then there is in each soul a sure knowledge that cannot be gainsaid [denied] that God lives and that Jesus Christ was the Redeemer of mankind. …
… As one of the humble members of this Church I bear you my witness that
I know he lives as I know that I live. … Jesus is the Christ,
and I know that the children of men must come to that knowledge, that they must receive it, and in the language of him who lives in heaven, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.” -George Albert Smith
Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

Life is a Wonderful Journey.

Posted on by
Reply

Life is a wonderful journey.

It starts on the day your were born. 

The years stretch out like stepping

stones, untraveled and unworn.

Some days our stride may falter, 

or we wonder where we are.

Some days we look back with

surprise that we have come so far.

We find our way, or it finds us,

and journey hopefully toward something

deeper, something truer than

our eyes can see.

Life is  a wonderful journey, made

with steps both great and small,

winding it’s way toward the beautiful

truth that waits at the heart of it all. 

Written by someone amazing @ Hallmark.

I love reading cards! Don’t you?

Family History Friday: Write a Letter!

Posted on by
Reply

To whom it may concern…

I love it when someone writes about their life,

and then leaves it for others to read after they are gone.

It is wonderful to read how they felt, and how they worked through struggles and challenges. I think one of the most important things I’m glad to know is if they loved God, if their belief in God helped them in their life. I think that everyone should at least write one letter.

I found a great blog that gives some good examples of writing a letter to your descendants. It’s called Faith Sisters! You can find it here!

Write a letter to your descendants…what a great idea!

Happy Family History Friday!! Love, Joy

My Cute Little Flexy!

Posted on by
Reply

Our little Flexy really was the cutest little boy.

I’m serious!

OK, one of the cutest little boys, him and Riley.

When Flexy was just a kid and learning to read, a little bit bigger kid books, he discovered “Captain Underpants.”

I know some kids are reading “Great Expectations” in the 7th grade, but Alex was the kind of kid who went at his own pace.

I so love that about him.

He didn’t let other people pressure him to be more than he was ready to be.

One of my favorite memories is of Flexy telling us about his favorite Dav Pilkey book. It was called, (ready for this?)…

“Captain Underpants and The Invasion of The Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies From Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)

So.   Funny.

It was even funnier to have Flexy say it for us. And then of course he would have to tell us all about the book. If you ever get a chance, glance through one of the “Captain Underpants” books. They are so cute. We even made a puppet of “Captain Underpants” for one of Flexy’s assignments in school. It turned out great!

I’m so glad Flexy found books that helped him want to read.

Sweetness and Light.

Posted on by
Reply

I am a whimp, I’ll admit it.

I cry at the drop of a hat, or at least at the end of sad movies!

My darlin can tell you that I mostly watch movies with a happy ending. I just can’t take the sad endings. I have been known to cry, of and on, for days after seeing a sad movie. Every time I think about the movie, I cry.

One time years ago, my darlin went to get us a movie, I said, “Be sure to get a comedy.” I thought it was a pretty safe bet. He got to the video store, and looked, and looked. He came home with a movie he said was a comedy. In the first five minutes of the movie, the lady in the movie’s husband dies and the rest of the show she is trying to figure out what to do with herself. I cried and cried. I said, “This is not a comedy!” All he could say was, “I looked at so many movies, I must have picked the wrong one!”

I’d say!

So I have come up with a great idea. I think the movie industry should put a code on the movie. Let’s call it the “Sweetness and Light” code. They could put a cute little picture of a “sun” on the back cover next to the rating. Then all of the poor husbands who are trying to pick a happy or funny movie will never make a mistake.  And all of the pansy people who can’t take any sadness will be able to watch the movies that are full of “Sweetness and Light.”

“Zip-a-dee-do-dah, Zip-a-dee-ay!!”