Nestle Contest Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that David won the Nestle Packaging contest! If you're not sure what I'm talking about, go see my January post, "Vote for David" His SnoCaps design won. I was in the theatre the other day, and the SnoCaps box was still the old one, so I'm not sure how long it will take to start seeing David's package on the shelf, but you can go check it out at www.adeliciousdilemma.com

FYI, he also designed the website, adeliciousdilemma.com, although he says that the programmers and revision artists kind of ruined it.

A New Calling

I received a new church calling on Sunday. I have been called to be the Second Counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency (For anyone who isn't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Primary is the organization in our church that teaches the children ages 1 1/2 to 11). I am humbled, I am a bit nervous, and I am very excited. This is something completely new! Ok, not completely, because I have been in Primary quite a bit, but I have never had a calling on the Stake level (A Stake is a group of about 10 congregations). I'm not sure what the Stake Primary Presidency does. I know they meet every Thursday, so they must be doing quite a bit to need to meet weekly.

I am very excited for this opportunity. I like being in positions of authority. Not because I like to power trip, not because I like the prestige, or anything like that. I like to be in positions of authority because I have good ideas. Sometimes I have great ideas. I love looking at a program or process and trying to come up with ways to make it better. I like having the opportunity to implement my ideas. I like to see something work better because I am a part of it. I like it when the buck stops here.

One new idea I had recently was a way to remember the Articles of Faith better. I think that while memorizing the Articles of Faith is challenging, the really hard part is remembering what order they belong in, or being able identify which Article talks about which principle. I came up with these fun clues that combine the number with a key word or phrase to jog the memory. I have been teaching them to my children, and my Primary class, and they seem to work quite well. There are a few that are a bit of a stretch, especially 8 and 11, so if you have an idea for another clue for those let me know, but overall, they are fun and easy to remember. Here they are:

1- One God (We believe there is one God, so the First Article talks about God.)

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2- First Two People (The first two people were Adam and Eve, the Second Article mentions Adam.)

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgressions.

3- Three Days in The Tomb (Jesus laid in the tomb three days as part of his atonement, the Third Article is about Christ's Atonement.)

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4- Four Principles (The Fourth Article talks about the first four principles of the Gospel.)

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are; first, faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, second, repentance, third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, fourth, laying on of hand for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

5- Five Fingers (There are five fingers on a hand, the fifth article is about the laying on of hands.)

We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6- April Sixth (The Church was organized by Joseph Smith on April 6th, the Sixth Article is about the organization of the Church. In addition, six church callings are named in the Sixth Article, including "and so forth, so be sure to name all six.)

We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, namely Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, and so forth.

7- Seven From Heaven (The Seventh Article names seven spiritual gifts from heaven. Be sure to name all seven, including "and so forth".)

We believe in the Gift of Tongues, Prophecy, Revelation, Visions, Healing, Interpretation of Tongues, and so forth.

8- Eighth Birthday Gift (A traditional gift for an 8 year old child, for their baptism, is a new set of scriptures. The Eigth Article talks about the scriptures.)

We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly. We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9- The Whole Nine Yards (The phrase, the whole nine yards means "all", the Ninth Article starts, we believe ALL.)

We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10- Ten Tribes ( The Tenth Article talks about the ten tribes of Israel.)

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the ten tribes, that Zion, the new Jerusalem will be built upon the American Continent, that Christ will reign personally upon the Earth, and the Earth will be renewed and receive it's paradisiacal glory.

11- Eleven O'clock Church- It's a Privelege (Eleven O'clock seems to be the favorite meeting schedule of most people, so it is a privelege to worship at 11. The Eleventh Article is about the privelege of worshipping how we want.)

We claim the privelege of worshipping Almighty God acording to the dictates of our own consience, and allow all men the same privelege, let them worship how, where or what they may.

12- Twelve Kings (In ancient Israel, King Solomon appointed twelves deputies or "kings" to help him govern the people, the Twelvth Article is about being subject to rulers.)

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates; in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.

13- Thirteen in a Dozen, Honest! (There are normally twelve in a dozen, but in a baker's dozen there are thirteen. You can trick your friends by saying, "There are thirteen in a dozen, honest!" Honest is the key word, the Thirteenth Article starts, We believe in being honest.)

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul, we believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things; if there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Well, there they are. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share these and other ideas with the children of our stake.

My Dad

I am so grateful for my dad. He is such a wonderful, amazing guy. Growing up, my dad could do no wrong. I thought he knew everything! When I first got married, David had quite a few rough years until I learned to be a bit more tactful. Whenever I had a question about something, I had to call and ask my dad. I knew David knew a lot, but since I had access to the person who knew everything, why wouldn't I call, just to double check the answer? Over the years I have come to realize that my dad, in fact, doesn't know everything. He just knows more than anyone else I know. I love my dad so much! Here are some of the things that make him such a great dad.

My dad is always there for me. My dad is a dentist. He has never worked a 40 hour week since he started practicing dentistry. I think he started out at 36 hours, and has gradually gone down from there. Currently his weekend is longer than his work week. The result of this schedule was that he was always around. He was always there for me growing up. He came to all of the events. He always had time to play with us, read to us, travel with us, etc.

My dad is fun! Growing up in my house was never boring. We went boating, we travelled, we went hiking, camping, bike riding. My dad, my sister Teri, and I trained to run in a 5 K race together when I was about 10. My dad was running marathons at the time, so he would run with us, take us back home, and then go back out and run some more. We ran in the Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days 5 K, and I placed 3rd in my age division. We played board games as a family several times a week. As a parent, I realize how now frustrating it can be to try to play complex games with small children: they slow down play, they don't understand the rules, etc. My dad never got impatient, he just had lots of fun. He never, ever threw a game, or took it easy on us. Ok, he took it easy on us, but not easy enough that we won without deserving it. Some of the fun games we played growing up were Acquire, Can't Stop, Pictionary, Scattergories, and Nerts. We still get together often and play games like Ticket to Ride, Liar's Dice, Take Two, and Yatzee Free For All.

My dad loves to read. He passed on that love to me. Studies have shown that if you want your kids to read, dad reading to them is much more impactful than mom reading to them. My dad read to me. For several years he would come into my room each night and spend an hour reading to my sister and I. We loved it. He read us many books. Two that I remember in particular are, The Princess Bride (one of my favorites) and The Illiad by Homer. He read the Illiad to us when we were about 6 and 9! I remember he kept stopping every few minutes and saying "Are you sure you like this book?" We loved it! I tried to read it again as a teenager, and realized how difficult of a book it was. I couldn't get through it. It was just too dry. But he had a way of making any book exciting.

I also saw him reading for his own pleasure. I asked him the other day how long an airplane flight was, and he said "It's not very long. It's about one book long." If he's in the middle of a book, you have to work really hard to get his attention. I inherited that ability to focus on a book. I also inherited much of his taste in books.

My dad loves to travel. We went on so many fun trips. We never flew or stayed in hotels. My parents bought an old motorhome and we drove everywhere, and stayed in campgrounds. We often traveled with my parent's good friends the Scholes and their children. We all crammed into the motorhome together and were on our way. I think on our last trip together we had 15 people! We went to Disneyland regularly. We went to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. We went to Flaming Gorge several times. We would stay at Mustang Ridge, and we would waterski, raft down the river, swim, and jump off cliffs into the water. We went when I was about 13, and my dad, sister and I jumped off a 60 foot cliff. My dad didn't say I was too young, or it was too dangerous. He just told me how to do it safely, and then let me jump. We drove all the way to Mexico in our little motorhome. We stayed one night in the parking lot of a tiny grocery store. In the morning we played soccer with the children of the family who lived in the store. Then we continued on to our destination where we played on the beach, collected hermit crabs, played in the pool and had a blast! Now my parents have a timeshare in Cancun, Mexico. Each year they take one of their children's families with them. It's my favorite place in the world!

My dad can do anything. I mean anything! He instilled in me a can-do attitude. If he doesn't know how to do something, he works hard until he not only can do it, but he can do it as well or better than a professional. Here are some of the things he has done. He has made many beautiful items out of leather. My favorite is a book cover that is beautifully tooled with a fairy painted in the center. He made lots of furniture for our home and his office. He made an amazing doll house for me. He made a racecar bed for my brother, bunk bed water beds with built in dressers for my sister and I. He made a beautiful walnut desk for his home, and an amazingly intricate desk for his office. He made cabinets for his office and my sister's home. His woodwork is exquisite. It would cost a fortune to buy his furniture in the store. He learned to play the guitar and the banjo. He was in a band as a young man. It was called Three Hits and a Miss. He rebuilt his car's engine. He beautifully lanscaped his yard with many tons of lava rock that he collected and moved himself. He made my mother's wedding ring. He ties his own fishing flies. He became an airplane pilot. Like I said, my dad can do ANYTHING!

My dad has a testimony. My dad taught me about the gospel through his example, and displayed (and continues to display) a deep level of commitment to following the Lord in his everyday life. I remember walking into my parents room many times growing up and finding my mom and dad kneeling in prayer together. I overheard a conversation between my parents once when my dad had been asked to do something for a ward member that was going to interfere with some plans that he had already made. He said to my mom, " I raised my hand in church and sustained him (the person who had asked), so I feel like I need to do this for him." I realized then that sustaining a person wasn't just a vote yes, but a commitment to help them fulfill their calling. We always went to church, even when we were on vacation, even if we had to drive around for hours, lost, trying to find the meeting house. My dad always goes out of his way to serve others, from helping David and I move many, many times, to helping us finish our basement, to being secret santa for people who are struggling financially, to selling his car to a neighbor for $1, because they needed a car but couldn't afford one, to doing free dental work for disadvantaged people. My dad is truly a disciple of Christ.

My dad is patient and kind, and he loves me. I haven't always been the easiest person to love. I was a difficult child, and a rebellious teen, and did many things that I'm sure disappointed him. He always treated me with love and patience. He never raised his voice, he never spanked me. He just expressed his disappointment, his confidence in my goodness, and his hope that I would make better choices in the future. I always wished he would just yell at me, because his sadness always cut me like a knife. I hated to disappoint him.

I have always been sure of my father's love for me. He has always been there for me, teaching me, guiding me, and setting an amazing example for me. Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you!

One Amazing Lady

I attended my Grandma Clara's funeral yesterday. What an uplifting and inspiring experience. 

Grandma has a huge posterity. She raised 8 children, who have given her 39 grandchildren, and 59 great-grandchildren (with 6 more greats on the way). We spent the last few days catching up on each others lives, and celebrating Grandma's life.

My Grandma was an incredible woman, who lived an exemplary life. She had a zest for life, and loved adventure. She was a loving and dedicated mother. She was committed to her faith. Here are some of the things I learned, or was reminded of, about my Grandma Clara.

 

 Clara raised 8 children (6 boys and 2 girls), and unofficially adopted many, many more. There was a widow who lived in the neighborhood who had two daughters, one of which was an adult who was mentally handicapped, and quite difficult to care for. The mother worked constantly to provide for her children. While others turned away from a difficult situation, Clara reached out to these girls with love, and cared for them while the mother was at work. My uncle Randy was dating a woman with two young daughters. My Grandma hadn't met any of them yet, when the mother, (my aunt Chris), became ill, and had to be hospitalized for several days. My grandma took the daughters into her home and cared for them the whole time. By the end of their stay, they were calling her Grandma. Many teens came to live with them when they needed a place to stay while going to school. There was always room for one more.

My Grandpa is an accountant, and worked long hard hours while the children were growing up, especially around tax time. My Grandma worked very hard to keep up with her rambunctious children. Someone was always getting into mischief or getting hurt, but she was always there to care for them and nurse their wounds. She always insisted that the family eat dinner together, and would keep dinner waiting until grandpa came home.

When she had 5 children, the oldest 11 years old, the bishop came to see her, to ask her to be Relief Society President for her ward. She told the bishop that it would be very difficult for her, but that the answer was yes. After he left she cried for a long time, overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. Later that day the bishop returned and rescinded the calling, saying that upon further consideration he didn't feel the call was appropriate at that time. This experience reminds me of Abraham, who was asked to do something almost impossible, just to see if he would be obedient in any circumstance. Abraham passed the test, and so did my Grandma.

With so many children around, there was bound to be some naughty children and rebellious teenagers. There were, but Grandma's philosophy on raising children was "Children are never bad. They might be naughty sometimes, but never bad." and "When children are naughty, they just need more love." Her heart was full of love for everyone. Several of the children and grandchildren expressed that even when they were doing things that they shouldn't have been doing, they never felt judged, or looked down upon, only loved.

My Grandma did some amazing things in her life.

She served two missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She served as a young woman in the Canada mission, where she met my grandpa, and she and grandpa served a mission together in Mississippi.

She delivered her neighbor's baby when there wasn't time to make it to the hospital.

She saved her young son from drowning by pulling him from a irrigation culvert.

She graduated from college after her children started school, and became a Kindergarten teacher.

She rode a banana boat, pulled by a speed boat, when she was in her 80s and loved it.

She did over 200 sessions in the temple per year for over 20 years.

She traveled the United States and the world.

She hiked up Angels Landing in Zion's National Park while in her eighties, and beat her grandchildren to the top.

She lived all of her 93 years to the fullest, and made the world a brighter place just by being here.

I came away from Grandma's funeral with a greater love and appreciation for her, as well as a determination to be more like her so I can be a better person. I love you Grandma. I miss you!

Grandma Clara

My grandmother Clara Isaksen Dodge passed away today. I am really going to miss her. She was such a wonderful person, and I have learned so much from her. Here are just a few of the things I admire about my Grandma Dodge.

I admire her love and devotion to her husband. After 70 years of marriage they still held hands. Whenever they posed for a picture together they threw their arms around each other. Their love didn't grow old and stale with time, it grew deeper and more profound with each passing year.

I admire her open heart and open arms. My grandma welcomed new people into her life and into her family all the time. I am not talking about new grandchildren, though she had plenty of those. I am talking about people who needed love, and a place to belong. They would find it with her. There are so many people who are part of the family who are not blood related. There is my "uncle" Randy, who started out as a friend of one of her children. He and his family are full fledged members of the Dodge clan. There is my "cousin" Leah, who came to live with my grandparents after joining the LDS church as a teen in Mississippi. There were several Native American girls who lived with my grandparents while attending school, and there were many more. Everyone was welcome.

I admire her testimony and her willingness to share it with others. My grandma had such a strong testimony. I loved to listen to her pray. She had such a sweet and simple way of speaking to her Heavenly Father. I always felt that if I just opened my eyes, I would see who she was talking to. Some of my fondest memories of my grandma are of our Christmas parties. Grandma would always lead the grandchildren in putting on a Nativity Play. I remember her having us sing "Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God in the highest..." She always sang loudly and with such feeling. I knew even as a young child, that my grandma loved the Lord.

I admire her selfless service to those around her, especially to her eight children, and her many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was generous and kind. She was a wonderful grandma.

An eventful week!

Wow! What an eventful week! I'm just now catching my breath. Here is what happened.

Sunday-
Jordan turned 16 and was ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. I can't believe what an amazing young man he has turned out to be. He has a strong testimony, and a determination to choose the right. He wasn't able to go to any of the dances at school this year (he is a sophomore) because he turned 16 two weeks after prom. There is a girl (that he likes) that has asked him to 2 different dances, and he had to say no to her both times. David and I decided we would let him take her to Prom if he wanted, since it was only 2 weeks early. But he wouldn't have anything to do with that. He said, "I have said no to too many girls. There is no way I'm going to mess up with only 2 weeks to go! " Woo hoo! Way to go Jordan!

Monday-
Taliah turned 9. Happy birthday, Taliah! My baby is growing up too fast! How to stop the clock?

Call from Bishop. He asked us to speak in church next Sunday. The topic: The misuse of our bodies and the inappropriate use of technology" GAH!!!!

Barbecue at my parents to celebrate Memorial Day. It was fun to hang out with everyone!

Made Birthday Party Invitations for Taliah's party. They were adorable! Flip Flops for a Hawaiian Luau Party!

Tuesday-
Crazy day at work. Started 6th grade slide show for graduation, finished up end of year testing, started packing up the classroom. I've really enjoyed working as a Teaching Assistant at the Ranches Academy this year. I love working with Sue Ford, one of the 6th grade teachers. We have such a fun time together. The kids were great this year too. It was fun to see all the picutres of the great times we had together.

Prep for Taliah's party.

Wednesday-
Crazy day at work. 6th grade field trip to Boondocks, worked on 6th grade slide show. It was fun to go to Boondocks with Kallai. We played laser tag together, but all of the students ganged up on me, and I got slaughtered!


Prep for Taliah's party. I stayed up until 2 in the morning getting everything ready. No time tomorrow!

Thursday-
Crazy Day at Work. Finished slide show with an hour to spare. Spent the hour trying to get the sound working on the projector. Tried 3 different cable configurations and 3 different sets of speakers. Didn't get it working, so we had to hold a microphone by the laptop.

6th Grade Graduation. Kallai is done with grade school. On to bigger and better things! Still thinking about how to slow down that clock!!! He received the Presidential Award for High GPA, one of 2 Science Award for the school, and his fellow students voted him "Most likely to become a famous singer." I really enjoyed working with Kallai in 6th grade. It was especially fun to be his math teacher!

Taliah's Class Award Ceremony. Taliah earned the "Wankier's Swankier Award" in Mrs. Wankier's Class by going above and beyond in the classroom, and completing 10 extra assignments in her free time. She memorized 10 poems, did a Science Fair project, a World Hero Report, went on a family educational field trip to a Dinosaur museum, etc. It was a lot of work, and I am proud of her!


Jordan had his first job interview. He applied at the Legacy Center as a life guard a month ago. He was told he needed to take a life guard certification class, which he did. He finished on Saturday, and set up an interview for today (without consulting me) at the exact same time as Taliah's birthday party. Since he doesn't have his licence yet, it made things very interesting! He got the job, by the way.

Taliah's Birthday Party. I had burned a disk of fun Hawaiian and Limbo music, but when I put it into the cd player, it wouldn't play. 4 different players and no luck! This was not my day for sound. I finally pulled my car out of the garage, rolled down the windows, and played the music on my car sound system! The party was lots of fun! We limbo-ed, played beach volleyball, made leis, drank tropical drinks complete with umbrellas and watched Lilo and Stitch!


Friday-
Crazy day at work. Shake party with math group. Yum! Year end evaluation with boss. It went great, aparently I do a good job! Class party Luau. Again, it was fun to be there with Kallai. I will miss him next year. We played limbo, tug of war (I was the anchor on the girls team and we beat the boys!), and had an amazing Hawaiian feast. Kindergarten teacher used the projector, sound system just fine. Turns out it was turned way, way down, and she had to hit the up volume button for a very long time to get it to work. AAAAHHH!!!

Mariasha's High School Graduation. All of my kids are growing up! I'm not ready! The speeches were great, the handing of diplomas took forever! 615 graduates x 10 names per minute = 61.5 minutes of name calling. (snore!!!!) Mariasha looked great! We went to the Japanese restaurant Sakura afterwards and ate a great dinner. I'm so proud of Mariasha!




Saturday-
Mariasha left for Senior Trip in California. She went with her friend Chanel to stay with my sister Teri. She got lost about an hour from her destination, after both of their cell phones went dead, and had to call us from a restaurant at midnight (our time) trying to get Teri's number so she could get help finding her way. Her phone went dead in the middle of her call to me, and I freaked out! I was so worried! I frantically called around to her friends (at midnight) trying to get Chanel's cell number (but it was dead too).

Prepared Talk. I finally had a moment to start preparing my talk about "The misuse of our bodies and the inappropriate use of technology" GAH!!!! Luckily we were given a talk by Elder Bednar to base our talks on. It was a great talk, and thankfully not about what I thought it was about. (I was thinking pornography and chastity. I am soooo glad I was off base.)

Sunday-
Talks. Jordan, David and I spoke, and I think everything went well. The talks were mostly about focusing on what is really important and not getting distracted by the internet, texting, video games, high adrenaline activities, etc.

Choir Performance. In between our talks, we sang a musical number with the ward choir.

Primary Lesson. Yes, I had to teach a lesson too.

All in all, it was a good week. I just wish all of the joy could be spread out a bit more, instead of being dumped on me all at once!