Extremely Enjoyable Exercise

For an assignment due this next week in my linguistics class, we were asked to make a lipogram: "a book, paragraph or similar thing in writing that lacks a symbol, particularly (but not always) that symbol fifth in rank out of our 26 script-signs (found amidst 'd' and 'f'), which stands for a sound such as that in 'kiwi'."

Our assignment: to re-write a nursery rhyme without using the letter 'e'.

The original:

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,
Had a wife and couldn't keep her.
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her, very well.

The result:

Vlad, Vlad, a Pumpkin lad,
His companion oft did gad.
So in a pumpkin cold and damp,
This lad did train his girl to camp.

If you have time, give it a try. It's very fun!! Let me know how it goes. :)

To learn more about lipograms visit The Phrontistery.

Still Dancing in the Kitchen

The other Sunday, a sweet, old gentleman in our ward observed us cuddling in the chapel, while waiting for church to begin. As he passed us by, he turned to us and jokingly said, "Hey there. No snuggling in the pews." It took every ounce of self control within me to respond with, "Never do anything to discourage snuggling."... or any expression of marital affection for that matter. :)I'm so grateful to have a husband who keeps the romance in our marriage alive. He makes me breakfast in bed, brings me flowers and balloons (or when things are tight, makes me paper flowers), and never ceases to shower me with affection.

On Valentine's week, he brought me my favorite flowers, lilies. I love them because of their symbolism in the scriptures (see Matt. 6:28, Luke 12:27, 3 Nephi 13:28, D&C 84:82). They remind me that God is watching over me and my sweet family always, and we have no need to worry (a type of fear) but must always be full of faith in His watchful care.However, comically, these poor lilies in full bloom were so heavy on their stems that they began to droop. So we did what any reasonable college students would do... We looked around for something to help the poor little stems to grow upright, and being somewhat without floral tape and sticks, what we found was Tootsie Roll Pop sticks.Never doubt the worth of anything, even a Tootsie Roll Pop. :)

Life Lesson #472

When life gets you down... You know what you gotta do?

Well... if you're my sister, Kristi, you sing.

If you're my mother, Misti, you read.

If you're my husband Grant, you beatbox...

What do these all have in common?!

They're ALL doing something they're good at!

So today when I was feeling somewhat unaccomplished and, okay, I was feeling quite like a failure, I decided to do something that I feel I'm particularly good at... I made cookies.


I had to take fancy pictures of them too! (hence the styrofoam plate - Hey, we are in college)

And them was good cookies... weren't they Grant?

he he

For My Mothers

I want to write about motherhood. There is no greater call, no higher privilege, and no more rewarding job than that of motherhood. Of this I am convinced.

What calling or career requires more of your spirit, time, energy, patience, and heart? Motherhood affords you every opportunity to serve and to love. As a mother, you are called upon to gain and impart more knowledge than any teacher. The mother is the heart and soul of the home… “When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Motherhood demands a cheerfulness of spirit, an overwhelming optimism, a childlike wonder at all the good in the world. It requires you to seek and find the most amazing and interesting of God’s creations and use them to inspire and entertain your little ones.

Motherhood teaches patience. You must be patient as you watch your children struggle through a dark world, to bring forth the light in themselves. You must let them learn much for themselves though it would seem easier and quicker to tell them yourself. You must be the peacemaker. You must be the teacher. You must be the example.

You must love service and how could you not?! You serve every moment in motherhood. Whether you are cleaning, cooking, driving, teaching, comforting, disciplining, studying… everything you do is to be the good mother who can better serve her loved ones. And there you are, bringing joy to other’s lives! Is it not the most joyous calling to bring joy to others?!

A mother has the unique opportunity to learn about our relationship with our Heavenly Parents through her relationship with her children. What testifies better of this (besides the scriptures) than children?! She has the opportunity to be with and learn from the most pure of spirits. Children are so clean and so good!

Women definitely are blessed by their many chances to serve and bless others. Through blessing others, we are blessed. How blessed then are mothers?! How blessed are nurturers?! How blessed are we, when we serve on His behalf.. when we comfort the weary, lift up the hands that hang down, cheer the downhearted, love one another, inspire, and bring joy?! I’m so grateful to be a woman and a daughter of Heavenly Father! To have the opportunity afforded me in life, to have much demanded and required of me, to have so much influence and place in the lives of those around me, to have every chance to serve God and be blessed because of it! I’m so blessed, and I know from what source my blessings come! Thanks be to God for my womanhood!

Vocal Point Broadcast

Hello fellow Bloggers!

Just wanted to share an opportunity with you to see Grant performing with Vocal Point. They're being featured alongside BYU's football coach. The information is below, along with a short clip of one of their rehearsals. I was able to travel to BYU I with Vocal Point last weekend (and got to see my amazing and gorgeous sister Kristi - yes, she's single. I'm taking interviews now). They're a really fun, good group of guys. Well, enjoy! :D

An Uplifting Evening with Bronco Mendenhall and Vocal Point

The BYU Alumni Association will present Bronco Mendenhall in a live broadcast on BYU Television February 13, 2009, at 7 p.m. MST.� Mendenhall will draw on his life�s experiences to share principles that will be of interest and benefit to a diverse audience.

Also featured will be Vocal Point, BYU�s popular male a cappella group known for its inventive arrangements, humor, and unusual vocal percussion.

Originating from the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center at BYU, the event will be available in English and Spanish and will be rebroadcast several times to accommodate a worldwide audience.

�We invite�you to tune into the broadcast,� says Linda Palmer, managing director of the�BYU Alumni Association. �This event is part of the�association�s goal to provide quality programming for BYU-TV that�appeal�to a broad range of viewers.�

One of those weeks...

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you're the but of some ridiculously unfunny, cosmic joke? This, unfortuanately, has been one of those weeks. Here are some of the highlights....

This is the crack that appeared on our windsheild while we were gone, and continues to grow larger every evening that it freezes.

This is Bri's face, when she found out that she is now required to take the NATIONAL cueing exam before March 31st or they revoke her permit.

This is Grant's bags all packed to go to Saint George with Vocal Point for the whole weekend, separating the happy couple for the first time since their marriage last August.

This is the Bri's broken cell phone, which has not turned on since Tuesday, for some unapparent reason.

This is the pipe that burst and flooded our pantry closet (those icky black things are HUGE, dead spiders).

This is Bri using Hannah's phone to call Grant while he is away, until they remembered that he left his phone charger in Provo.

This is the happy couple, finally, reunited on Sunday evening after a very busy, tense first two weeks back in Provo.

Amazingly, after all the stress of the past week, we find ourselves counting our blessings and laughing at our crazy hectic week.  We've done the very best we can with what we've been given and knowing that brings some measure of peace.  A close friend said that it was his testimony that when the Lord gives us trials, it's a way of showing His trust in us.  We feel very much like we are where we are supposed to be, doing what we should be doing.  We're blessed to be at a University that serves as a school for secular and religious teachings, and where we can feel the spirit in every class.  We are blessed to be surrounded by love and support on every side.  We are blessed to have the light of the gospel and the peace and comfort of the spirit in our home. I'm continually blessed by my sweet husband and his worthiness to hold the Preisthood and bless me with it.  We're blessed especially by the service and love of one another.  I'm so grateful to have my sweet husband back in my arms. Thank you for all your support and prayers!

Guess who I love...?

My wife!!












Love you Bri!