This post is for every Parent and Caretaker!

The Swagger Wagon!

Reading Challenge part B

"Who Invited the Undertaker?" Is an other one that is out of print, however you can find it at amazon.com. It is another one that should have never been out of print. It's about a family who is trying to survive, and cope with the loss of their father. At the same time Dale the oldest boy, is trying to keep his family especially his mother happy. Dale sets his mom up on dates, and crazy things start to happen. One night she ends up going on a date with an Undertaker? Ruckman uses some dry humor for instance, this is some of the undertaker's jokes that is in the book:

• She was talking about this recipe with the mushrooms, see?And how she'd simmer the sauce all day long?Oh, my gastrics!
• Do you have any idea how we interns eat? And where we eat when we're on call?
• Pale is something people expect. You hear what happened with Bob Smedley's first case? He's colorblind, you know, a terrible handicap in this business. You might get by with high blush, but making someone bright red? With bright-red hands? We put this tasteful little sign on his door that said, 'Better bodies by Bob.'
• No one ever invites the undertaker. He just shows up!

Ruckman's book takes the reader on a year long series of mishaps, that are piratical, everyday things that just happens.

Book Synopses:

"It's not easy being the man of the house when you're only in seventh grade. And Dale has decided that he's had enough. If Mom isn't interested in finding someone-well, he will just have to do it for her!

Since she won't go to Single Shoppers' Night at the supermarket. there's only one solution: an ad in the personals section of the paper. Something like "To owner of Honda Prelude. Call me. Black Corvette," but a little more conservative, because this is Mom, after all-and she only drives a Ford station wagon. It seems like the perfect plan- until the phone calls start coming, and Dale gets a lot more then he's bargained for!"

Another book that my mom read to me as a kid, thought that is was funny as a kid. Now as an adult the jokes that I didn't get as a kid, I got now. It made it even more funny read.

Cheers Everyone!

Autism & Sacrament Meeting

Last Sunday my nephew who has autism came to church with me. We went to go out the car, when low and behold he escape from me and went across the street to play in someones backyard. During Sacrament Meeting he escaped me and his dad and ran around the choir seats. He came and ran towards me; before he could get a way from me, I caught him. He made more noise then usual. His dad took him home early. He was on his way for a melt down.

He usually doesn't act like this. Usually he is more calm. What happened? Why was he acting like this? Why can't he behave like *other* children? The answer to all of the questions is; my nephew has autism.

He likes a schedule, he likes what is normal to him. When he is out of his norm. that is when he acts the way he did last Sunday.

People still say: "why he doesn't look like he has autism"

What does autism supposed to look like?

So now my mom and I got on a discussion. One thing I told her was that I believe in "strengths and weaknesses." Ponder about this for one moment. You are not going to ask a musician to perform brain surgery. The strength of a musician is to perform music.

Special needs have some amazing strengths. One strength is to except people, and love them without restraint or judgment. To love without restraint or judgment, is the Pure Love Of Christ. That is an amazing strength indeed.

Within our discussion, she told me something different. The autism spectrum is large, very large. So her thought was ( note, this is just thinking ) that in some way we are all on the spectrum. Everyday the autism spectrum is getting larger and larger. Everyday people are limited in strengths. Not everyone is a doctor, musician, writer, painter, carpenter, educator, and etc; be we appreciate others talents and strengths. We can go to them ask them for their help in their expertise in their field.

While I was working with special needs, is that the first thing that I have notice is that special needs are so ready to accept people. They don't care who you are, or where you come from. They just love you, you are their instant friend. If anything that is one thing that all special needs can teach us. How to love people, and in that same instant be a friend to all.

Cheers Everyone!

Reading challenge

It has just occurred to me that upon right hand side bar, I have two books that do not have links to them. "Don't call me Katie Rose," and "Time Riders," you might be wondering what they are about. These two books are out of print, you can however find "Time Riders" By Sierra St. James, at amazon.com for a little over $200.00, no kidding. "Don't call me Katie Rose" you can't find, lest I can't.

"Don't call me Katie Rose;" by Lenora Mattingly Webber, is an old love of mine. This book was read to me by my mother when I was very young. I also read it as a teen.

Synopsis:

"Sensitive Katie Rose Belford longs to be called Kathleen, which she feels is more glamorous, but that's an impossible dream in her informal family! Katie is on of six children, and her widowed mother has little time for Katie's "airs."

During a very eventful year-which includes transferring to a new high school and meeting a divinely handsome boy who just might be a beau-Katie struggles to come to terms with herself, her more extroverted family, and her name."

A delight. This book should have never been out of print.

The next is "Time Riders" By Sierra St. James. Another delight, and just all around fun.

Synopsis:

Sheridan and Taylor are ordinary college students until a mistake by twenty-fourth century scientists drags them 300 years into the future. They find themselves in Tachames, a colorful, orderly, and completely corrupt city. Religion is banned. All citizens are tracked. As the government and a mafia like organization called the Dakine struggle for power over the population, Sheridan and Taylor search for a way to escape the deadly walls of doomed Tachames. Echo, a mysterious, brilliant "wordsmith," says he’ll help them escape; Sheridan is drawn to him and wants to trust him, but Echo has secrets of his own.

Time Riders is an exciting and suspenseful adventure through an Orwellian world of lost freedom and humanity; yet the novel is interlaced with the humor of Sheridan and Taylor communicating through twentieth-century idioms that bewilder their Tachamesian hosts, while preserving their secrets and freedom.

Now you know why two of my books on the list do not have links.

Cheers Everyone!

Rooted in my ward?

Time has flown-on-by for me. The past two months I have been looking for a new place to move into. With a lot of houses setting empty (unfortunately), you'd think that this task would be easy. It is not.

However something strange has happen. Let me explain, but please bear with me, as I try to make this easy on both of us, it's a bit complicated.

Two years ago on the last of May, my ward boundaries changed. The result of course my new ward was filled with lots of new faces, I hardly knew anyone. My poor bishop need to organize the new ward from scratch. People were outraged that the new boundaries had formed. I was excited to get to know more people in the stake; sure I would miss the friends within the old boundaries, but thought this was such an exciting time!

Now after the new boundaries was presented to us, on the following Sunday was time to meet my new ward members. We gathered in the cultural hall to introduce ourselves, it was loud. People were saying that they were freaked out about their new calling, others (including myself) was saying:

"Yay! I don't have a calling!"

Little did I know! Any how, I had this fleeting epiphany; it was fast and I thought I was crazy that time. This epiphany was that I would be moving. I don't know when and I still don't. Like I have said I am still looking for a place to live.

So came the realization of a decision, and while looking back, I think that this decision was a stupid one. It was that I would not try to form any real friendship's with any one, it would make saying "good-by" so much easier. At the same time I wasn't rude to anyone. I was still polite and talked to my fellow ward members; at the same time trying not to *root* myself in the ward. Do you know how hard that was? I thought that it would be easy, and that I was doing a pretty darn good job of it! Until last Sunday.

I didn't know how much I became apart of this ward. The choir director found out that I can sing a tune last spring. The *hidden* talent was found out while we worked together on the ward road show. For five months she persuaded, beg, and pleaded for me to join the choir. I made some pretty insane excuses,( if desired to look at some these lame excuses see Sunday the day of Confrontations and Hints, come what may! Please note: you have been warned, they are stupid!).

I did joined the ward choir. As last week practice came to a close, I happen to say to my choir director that I might be moving, however difficult that has proven to be. Her response along with another sister in choir, went something like this.

CD: "Inventing excuses, what is up with inventing such excuses? I don't see a problem if you do leave, all what needs to be done is to come back and do the songs."

SIC: "You're leaving?"

Their was more to the conversation that I will not type up. As I looked at this sister as she said that comment, I felt like how she looked. Like I had slapped her. I didn't physically touched her, but the news brought on a mental slapped for her. I was surprised. I have realized some things.

1. No matter how much I tried to *distance* myself from the fellow ward members, it didn't happen.
2. With the news of possible of moving away from the ward, bought on a mental slap for not only this Sister, but for myself as well. We became friends. Not close, but friends non-the-less.
3. If I leave my new *ward family* I will miss them. Life will go on, someone else will take my calling, but no one can, or will replace *me*.

Things I learn along the road of life. I thought that it would be easy to distance myself, but last Sunday proved otherwise.

Cheers Everyone!

Secret Sisters

As promised, the book tour of Secret Sisters by Tristi Pinkston.

Synopsis:

Ida Mae Babbitt, president of the Omni 2nd Ward Relief Society, didn't mean to become a spy. But when visiting teaching stats are low and she learns that one family under her care is in financial trouble, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. If that includes planting surveillance cameras in their home and watching them from a parked car in the woods, well, isn't that what any caring Relief Society president would do?

With the help of her counselors Arlette and Tansy, Ida Mae soon learns that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. It's all in a day's work for the Relief Society.

I like the side stories within this book, Tristi brings out a lot of good points. I do agree with the book synopsis of Secret Sisters Ida May, have brought the Relief Society to a completely new level! The book it's self is a fast easy, delightful read.

I think out of the whole book of characters Arlette was the most amusing for me. The woman is always knitting socks in strange colors, like magenta. She is a good supporting character.

On page 21, paragraph5 Tristi created this paragraph:

"Sure, Darcy was a "good girl." No one ever worried about her because she was good. But in labeling her that way, was it possible that her needs had been overlooked? Had they been so busy shepherding the"lost sheep" that they forgot to feed the ones in the pen?"

It just reminds me that we need to look after all of our needs.

Cheers Everyone!

Dating-An endangered Species?????

Back when our grandparents were teens and young adults, life and dating were so much different. Our grandparents got married for survival. They needed to have a companion and children to work the farm or the family business.

Just for laughs and giggles:

• Men got married because they needed a women to tell them that “The meat is bad. Lets put in the flour sack and bury it!” Mens response “Or lets make Mince Meat Pie out of it. Waste not, want not!”
  
• Women got married because, if she did not, she would be forever with her family or be the local school teacher. If she was lucky, then she would be the that governess.

Now when our parents got married, it was out of companionship and family. Then during the late 70's inflation was on the rise. So now "mom" needed to go to work to help support the family. So corporation's had to recognized the "Woman Suffrage Movement," and found out that women are capable of doing the same jobs as man. So many women then opened doors for other women, that were never even opened before, so women are walking though those doors.

Now it is our turn, singles. Face it, a lot of us have stopped dating, or just date to have companionship on a Friday or Saturday night; before that lonely week begins once more. Some problems have arrived for us singles. Once-upon-a-time a woman was defined on her ability to have a husband and children. If she couldn't do it, then the poor woman would not be viewed as a woman, she has failed. Today, if a woman had a husband and children; society would not view her as a woman, she as failed; her status, she would not be a women or a person. Society view a woman as a person of value if she has a career. Divorce has been made legally easy, you can do it online in one day. The family now is not as sacred as it was during the time of our grandparents and earlier times. Times have changed indeed, and the Plan of Happiness becomes discourage. A friend of mine said:

“It is so hard to find a good man.”

I disagree, I find good men all the time whether they are LDS or not! What is hard is to get that good man to take up their responsibility and get married; LDS men, Priesthood responsibility. So Men are not the only ones reluctant to take up their traditional role's. I agree that it is hard to challenge what society has foisted on us. Society have made single life look glamorous, but we singles who are 30 and over know better; we are the ones who need to deal with the loneliness during the week. Oh sure, we compensate the loneliness with family; a lot of singles who has siblings who have children of their own; we surround ourselves with their children, to only go home and think:

"I now have my fill. How do they do it?"

Sometimes I get the sneakiest feeling that my nephews love to come over because they know they will get spoiled. Like I have said, we are compensating.

Now a mother of a teen boy of dating age told me this:

"My son and his friends are not dating, AT ALL! My daughter couldn't wait to start dating, my son, he is a different story. "

I remember being in my teen years and couldn't wait to start dating. All I could think of is how much fun it would be, to be with my friends and date the boys we thought were cute. Now that society has made single life looking virtually glamorous, these teens are a new generation of Non daters . If our parents and other family members are looking at us 30 something and shaking their heads and wounder if we will ever get married; the parents and other family members of this new young generation of Non daters are discourage, scared, worried, that the devil's opposition of our Father's Plan of Happiness are getting to their youth. This opposition is, to stay single and avoid eternal exaltation, or to become as miserable as the devil.

We all want to experience great happiness, this is the shocker, (yes,that was sarcasm), to achieve that great happiness we all need to follow God the Father's Plan of Happiness. Within A Proclamation to the World given by the First Presidency of the LDS church says this:

"In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."

Within the LDS Church, we teach that you must be married before we can "Be fruitful, and multiply, (Gen. 1:28; Abr. 4:28). The reason is, again it is in the A Proclamation to the World:

"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."

Now all we need to do is to challenge what society has foisted on us; that single life is glamorous. To achieve this great happiness that God the Father wants us to have, we can't give up hope, it can happen. We must keep keep our eye on what God the Father wants us to have, all what He has, Eternal Life, and Happiness.

Please note:
I saw this title in the New Era that is put out by the LDS church, I thought that it was hilarious and had to borrow it. The real article is called "Is Dating Dead?" If anyone is interested you can subscribe this Magazine and others that the LDS church make online at Subscriptions, Renewal, and gifts. Pleas note that you do need to register to make such purchases.