The Family Hike Field trip... and a story of prayer.....

Mom Wanted to Do a family hike last week after my voice lesson. Mom likes to do weekly field trips during the summer... It was all going great, aside from the slight sprinkling which brought on some complaints but we live in Oregon and if we waited for the Sun to do everything we would do a lot of waiting... Anyways, mom wanted to take it a little slower to enjoy the scenery but all the kids like going a little faster trying to get through the hike quickly... I tried to take it more relaxing but I wanted a good work out and ended up in a little higher gear with Isaiah so Conner and mom enjoyed the trail a little more and all the scenery around them... then we waited at a cross point.... and waited..... and they weren't coming. Finally we yelled out and mom had sprained her ankle! She wanted to keep going and didn't want to ruin the hike but man she was not moving very fast. We told her it wouldn't be good to keep putting weight on it so Isaiah Conner and I ran up the hill to get the car and mom and Maddie stayed by the road (the cross point) til we came back for them. We had gone to Cape Perpetua and driven to the top of the hike and had only gone down hill to the point we stopped with mom, so it was a trek back up I tell you. After about a minute or so of running we were a huffing and a puffing. At the top of the trail the fog was still in and the side of the hill reminded me of the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit and their great journeys across the mountains. Boy did I get my work out in lol. Following the "hike" we decided to tour a little part of Yahats. There was this really cute kitchen gadget shop and a candy shop we checked out, it was fun. We got hungry on the way home and Isaiah wanted us to try "the best shakes" in Waldport so we got a small one to share and then got to have lunch at Mazetlan! So mom got hurt and that wasn't so cool but we still had a good time together and mom was a sport about it.

I got my job! Even though I am wearing a khaki shirt and green pants I like it. I felt I looked very official with keys on my belt loop and the badges and such on my shirt. The first few days of work were really hard... all computer work and watching to begin the training.... I was also having a down time in the month and was frustrated. I wanted to start my job feeling excited for something new and wanting to go.... but because of the chemicals in my body I just felt down and awful. After day two I wanted to quit so bad inside. I was feeling negative and if you feed those negative feelings it just gets worse.... so I decided to pray. I wanted to be more positive and I even thanked Heavenly Father for giving me a fighting spirit, because no matter how much I wanted to and thought about quitting something inside me would not let me. I knew I needed this job and it would get better and I had to do it. I knew it would help me prepare for school and would be a great blessing to me. So even though I was frustrated in my prayer and let out those frustrations to my Heavenly Father I could not help but thank him for the good and plead for help. That in itself was a blessing, that my spirit was aided to pray for help and share gratitude a midst the trials I was facing inside. I also was blessed to be supported by great friends and family members who helped encourage me even though it was difficult.. on day three of the job I woke up a little earlier than planned and prayed for desire to get out of bed extra early so I could get some things done before work. I read my scriptures and pondered. I prayed. I did a ten minute circuit. I listened to scriptures while I got ready.... I wanted to show the Lord that He is number one and he blessed me for it. I felt strengthened and more positive. Work was better and I was better, it was amazing! I usually don't get out of a funk like that so quickly but the Lord enabled me and I was blessed! It was a beautiful example of the Strengthening and Enabling Power of the Lord which comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I stayed up late to watch a movie with the family that night.... not such a good idea. I woke up pretty tired. I got to work and was really tired,... so I prayed. I said "Heavenly Father last night I wanted to start the movie earlier but the family had delays and I couldn't help it. I choose to follow they commandment and don't drink coffee so wilt thou bless me with energy since I am keeping the commandments?" And He did. See D&C 89... It says if we follow the word of wisdom we will be able to run and not be weary and walk and not faint... I was blessed. Prayer is a form of strength and power, use it. Access the power of God in your life. Pray! Be Grateful! We are so blessed and God is ever willing to help and bless us more. Don't give up! Here are two songs to help you keep going if you're struggling. Buy these songs! They are amazing!!!!!!

Father's Day Weekend!

So mom and I were having a hard time sleeping for several nights in a row (mom always struggles sleeping, but there were two nights that I was having the same problem... it was 3:30 am and we were both awake.... I tried to lay back down for a short while and came up stairs at 5 something when I woke up again.... by 6:00 we decided we wanted to do something fun! Build a memory. Mom and I drove out to pig and pancake and then did the shopping for fathers day. I thought I had chosen a pretty healthy meal, it took up all of my weight watcher points for the day! lol I will have to just have cereal next time or plan ahead...... Shopping was great because there was no one there and we were able to get in and out quickly....

                                                      Look at those two sleep deprived Hotties!

Father's Day was a blast! We did a little surprise that I found on Pintrest that the kids helped me put together for his treat. Isaiah BBQ-ed and Maddie made dad a crown. They all helped me cut and tape together the following:

Game/Party Night

After Maddie had such a wonderful time at our Hawaiian party she decided to throw a surprise party for the family! We were having game night but she only played for a short while because she wanted to set up for the "party"..... She was so creative! We started off going to the zoo in the corner of the living room and took turns holding Simba, a horse beanie baby (which she saved in a special place for me to hold because she knew I loved horses) and other animals i'm sure but I clear forgot. Following that was the talent show. Maddie shared her talent with us. She did the Cup song from pitch perfect (she hasn't seen the movie I just had the music and she saw some girls do it at the talent show at her school and she had me teach her how to do the cup song)..... Following the song we had reading time, but she set out a special area for me to draw. She likes drawing and ever since I did the bathroom she has been asking me to draw with her or is drawing on her own and anyways she made me feel really special. Lastly we had dress up time. The boys looked great when they were made over! Maddie painted toes and gave us lipstick options. Isaiah's won't come off and it's been over a week! I haven't told him the trick (nail polish remover) to taking it off, it's just too fun seeing one toe painted!

Schools OUT!

So I got an interview for a job at Beverly Beach state park on my siblings last day of school. Mom decided to go with me and following the interview decided she wanted to throw a party for the kids! (Growing up I remembered her doing this).... This is how it went! We did a Hawaiian theme. I made homemade slushies, which the kids loved! They make them all the time now. Mom did cute fruit kabobs with pineapple, apples,m apples, bananas and grapes. She warmed up Richardson's Caramel and Isaiah thought it was amazing. We also threw in Hot dogs for anyone who wanted a hot dog. We made salsa and had tortilla chips to go with it.... it isn't exactly a Hawaiian food but at a Marchant Hawaiian party it is part of it. We had vegetables and yogurt ranch to dip them it. We also confetti-ed the table with different fruity candies and one chocolate candy just for fun. We are all about fun!

Bathrooms Finished!

The Bathroom is finished! After hours and hours of drawing and erasing and drawing and erasing and painting I finished. It was so fun! I have never had such a big canvas, I was so grateful my family was so supportive of me doing this and that I was able to venture out on this great task! I did do a top coat of Disney glitter paint but you can't tell in the pics.... I had to fully disneyfy it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All This didn't happen overnight. It was definetly a process. I wanted Belle's hand to look a little more real even though it's a cartoon so I took a picture of my hand to used that as a template... So I am officially a part of Belle. I have a few pics of some of the images in the makings....

 

Creativity!

So I read something at the bookstore the other day, it read:

 "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning , but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

I thought that was pretty neat... So now that I am back home I have had the opportunity to be creative thanks to my wonderfully supportive mother.

Lara, a friend of mine graduated high school this June and I woke up on the day or her graduation and wanted to do something special. She is a harry Potter fan and a very creative person so this is what I came up with

I didn't have tons of money, but girls love getting flowers so I decided to make her flowers! I had never done flowers on cupcakes before so I watched a tutorial and I was really happy with the results. I got the owl idea partially from pintrest... but I burned the edges of a brown lunch sack that I cut to look like a piece of old paper... On the scroll I wrote  "Congratulations on passing your OWL's , you may now graduate! Sincerely, Hogwarts Headmaster Lindsey Marchant" and I attached it to the bottom of the "owl" or balloon. It was a bast and really easy to make.

A few days previous to my flower arrangement project mom and I went on another adventure together... We went out to the store and bought "Disney Paint" (they have a new line of paint at Walmart). We got Cool Marine, Enchanted Violet and glitter paint. After we got all of the big paints for the walls I headed to the craft section for acrylic paints. Mom came over to the aisle a few minutes after me and found me sitting on the ground looking at the different paint colors and several paint bottles on the floor next me. I didn't care, I needed to look carefully at the colors and make sure they matched the princesses I was painting and that was serious business. I ended up grabbing at least twenty paint bottles... Together we painted two walls of the bathroom that night, Enchanted Violet on two walls and cool marine on the others. It was so fun to have her in there with me working on a project that was all fun! It is moments like those that remind me that life is meant to be taken slowly and as simply as possible so that we can enjoy all that God has to offer us.
 The next day though, the real work began,... and is still going on. For eight hours straight I worked on Ariel. It was a long fun day. I struggled doing the water at first but mom came down and gave me a hand and I was happy with it. I hadn't eaten for many hours cause I was so focused so mom helped me put together a lunch... Here is the lunch of an artist...... I had a small bowl of fruit too! I was so proud of my healthy lunch I needed to share...

After 8 hours, this is the freehand drawn/painted Ariel.....

It took me about a week to get into the bathroom again because Ariel was so exhausting! Let me add, before I draw each princess on the wall I draw her on paper for practice. Then I say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help me in my project...

This is the Cinderella Transformation! 

I still have Tangled, Belle and the Tower to complete... But here is what the bathroom looks like in the process of finishing this project... Truly an artist studio...

Aside from my creative projects I have had other opportunities to create.... My sister Madison turned 8 and was baptized! She asked me to sing at her baptism. I sang I am a child of God/Families can be together forever, arranged by my sister Kristy! It is a beautiful piece... How is this a form of creation? President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave an address to women and said the following:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. ⁴ Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. ⁵ The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.” ⁶

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you." 

Here is a link to the whole talk if you want to read more:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/happiness-your-heritage?lang=eng

Lastly, I just wanted to share that I am so grateful for the simple things in life. I noticed my dad was going to be going on a bike ride by himself and I had a feeling he would like some company so I decided to join him. When I stepped into the garage there was my dad in his wet suit! The weather in Oregon isn't the greatest and we had had some rain that would make our bike ride a little muddy. First thing he said was Lindsey do you want a wet suit? I would recommend a wet suit. My dad is the type, use it up wear it out make it do or do with out. He doesn't have a bike suit and didn't want his close all muddy so he compromised. I am sad to say my I just couldn't get myself to wear a wet suit for a bike ride but I am so grateful my dad is such a good example of making do with what you have and of not caring what others think. He does the best that he and what he feels is right and that is good enough for him.... A lesson I needed. 

Another note, Madison my sister decided to do the science fair this week. She and mom tried an experiment that creates crystals with epson salt and water.... It was to show what mother nature does on her own sometimes... anyways it didn't work. They wern't getting any crystals. Maddie still wanted to do the science fair so she beautifully decorated a poster board and was planning on just talking about her project. The morning of the science fair I wanted to make it work for her. I remember reading about her project and saw that the heat of the sun would make the crystals grow.... well we didn't have enough sun when she put it out because it was already evening.. so I was guided by the spirit to use a hair dryer! Two actually and it worked! I used some artificial means but the crystals appeared! Now this sounds like no big deal, but my mom took it over to Maddie that day and she was elated! She was so excited that we got the crystals to grow. Mom told me how happy she had been and I felt so good. I was on my way to the post office to send out a pkg. for my brother's (Kyle who is serving a mission) birthday and was just so happy inside. I had delayed my plans that day to help my sister and boy did I feel good! Life is so much more fulfilling when we are helping others!

 

Life is good and it is the little things that count. Create! Have fun and serve others and therein you will find joy.