December stuff

The Harker's had their annual food drive for the Utah Food Bank. I love that they do this. This year they had the hill lit up for sledding.

A community member, Heather Johnson and City Council member, Ryan Poduska and I, worked together to bring a public speaker named Collin Kartchner to our schools to speak about the dangers of social media. It was a great and engaging presentation. 

During the Christmas break we took the family to Temple Square to see the lights and explore the visitor centers. 

While playing with the Family History computers, we found that we are related to President Nelson. 

Also, our cat, Mali, loves Sterling. This photo was not set up. It just happened and it is adorable.

And this is what my brain looks like. I'd like to say just during the busy days of December but really its all the time. A mass jumble of lots of things.

Food Bank boxes

As a way to give back during the holiday season, we got cardboard boxes from the Utah Food Bank and decorated them. They then use the boxes to deliver food to housebound people. It was a fun way to get all ages involved. The Schusters and the Dolmans helped us.

Service and Sweets- Provo Food and Care Coalition

SERVICE and SWEETS time again with the Sisterhood Podcast.

This time we went to the Food and Care Coalition in Provo. We got an awesome tour of all the amazing things they do here. They are not a homeless shelter but they do have a laundry area, hair care, medical and dental care, food, employment help and counseling. They do so much to help, teach and support.

After our tour, we went to the kitchen and helped prepare lunch and then served it. It was really a great experience and a fantastic resource in the community!

 And of course, we went to get ice cream afterward. 

Service and Sweets- Days for Girls

I have a new podcast that I love listening to.

The Sisterhood Podcast.

The hosts are Allyson Reynolds and Tiffany Sowby. They are friends who are opposite in many ways but have a great balance and chemistry. 

As part of their effort to bring women of all walks of life together, they also sponsor service activities called-

Service and Sweets.

First, you serve, then you go get a treat afterward.

This time I brought Sydney and we volunteered at Days for Girls. This program makes and provides hygiene kits for girls in under-developed countries. It's a wonderful program and we had a great time sewing together. 

Afterward, we went to Fiiz and got a drink and had some great conversation! I'm so glad to have found this podcast and made some new friends!

Karin, Allyson, Tiffany, Ingrid

Service Project

One day, as I was perusing Instagram, I saw that Utah Refugee Connection put out a call for Cleaning Kits. 

All it took was a message on our ward Relief Society page and we had 15 bags to donate!

We had a good experience delivery the bags to the Refugee Connection. They are always in need of donation kits- for school, cleaning, kitchen supplies, etc. It's an easy way to contribute with confidence that donations are really helping people. 

Christmas 2017

We had a nice dinner and talent show at Grady and Bryn's on Christmas Eve eve. (too bad I didn't get any video of the talent show.) Those who did not participate in the talent show participated in the nativity. Grade instructed me to video the nativity. 

The next kids in line to go on missions are the narrators. That would be Jeremy (Grade) and Lauren (Court) .

Poor Rachel did not feel well the whole week leading up to Christmas. Fever, weak, tired. Poor thing. 

Christmas eve, we had our Bethlehem dinner and watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas. We opened sibling gifts and then it was time to take down the service chain we'd been building all year. 

Sydney and Camille wrapped the chain of service around our Christmas tree as a gift for Jesus. And then they struck this awkward pose for the picture. :)

Christmas morning!

Candy Cane Corner

This December, I took these friends to Candy Cane Corner downtown SLC. 

From the Candy Cane Corner website:

Candy Cane Corner benefits families and individuals receiving services from the YWCA Utah, The Road Home, or Volunteers of America, Utah by giving them an opportunity to select gifts for the holidays. It also provides a heart warming volunteer opportunity through out December for anyone interested in lending a hand.

So CCC is basically set up like a mini-store stocked with donated items. Toys, clothing, household items, towels, blankets, diapers, coats, etc.

We helped keep things stocked and tidy. And then we also helped wrap presents. It was such a great experience.

Ashely, Sydney, Kyler, Lexi

How many teenagers does it take to wrap a gift?

The kids had a great time being together and working hard. I think it was a little humbling to see people come in, mostly refugees the night we were there, and see them try to piece together a Christmas for their family.

All them were smiling and happy and said they were already planning on doing it again next year.

Karin, Sydney, Lexi, Kyler, Stephanie(Kyler's mom), Ashley

It is always a highlight of the year to meet up with cousins and go to the General Women's meeting!

After the General Women's meeting we saw one of the hosts of Random Acts at dinner. Which inspired us to do a random act ourselves. We bought a box of chocolate covered strawberries and had the cashier give it to her when she checked out. 

It was pretty darn awesome! and she instagrammed about it later that night. It was so fun! 

Service Project- February

I was preparing a craft for Bryce's 1st grade Valentine's day party and saw this cute heart pillow. It was too difficult for 1st graders but I had an idea...

What about making bunches of these little pillows and donating them to Primary Children's Hospital for the patients.

And voila! Another service project was born. 

I emailed the children's hospital volunteer director and told her what I was thinking. She suggested I make kits for the teenage patients to make their own pillows. 

Then we invited friends over and went to town!

After almost two hours, we had almost 45 kits made. (And Amber and her boys helped us again. thank you friends.)

I took a few more days to finish a few more kits and then delivered them a week before Valentine's Day. I invited my mom to come with me and then we had lunch at a cute little French cafe. 

51 Pillow Kits

It was fun on Valentine's Day to think about patients making the pillows. And now its time to figure out a March service project!

Service Project- January

As I was making New Year's resolutions, I thought it would be awesome if I could manage a service project every quarter. And lo and behold, I saw on Facebook, through a friend who liked another friend's post (Facebook is so funny that way). 

Regardless of HOW I found out about this opportunity, I was so glad I did!

The American Heart Association had a campaign to bring attention to congenital heart defects in children called Little Hats, Big Hearts.  They service project was to crochet or knit red hats for babies and donate them to the American Heart Association and Primary Children's Hospital. 

So Camille and Rachel and I got to work and made about 15 hatsA neighbor, Amber Mohlman, and her boys also made some hats. Even Sterling got in on the action and made a little loom hat. It was awesome and I feel like God just sort of placed the opportunity in my lap. 

Because of a horrible snow storm, I couldn't donate on the deadline so I was a day late. But it all turned out ok and the lady at the desk was so appreciative. We were both on the verge of tears by the time I left. 

Serving at the Refugee Donation Center

Sydney's young women group volunteered at the Refugee Donation Center. And they invited moms! It was so fun to spend time with Syd doing volunteer work. And they sure needed us. Ever since Sister Burton issued the call to help refugee and others in need, donation have been pouring in. We were so busy the entire three hours.

We were there when a big truck load of Proctor & Gamble products were delivered. That was certainly fun, unloading the big boxes or diapers, wipes, tissues, toilet paper and paper towels. It was incredible!

This is such a good group of girls. They are doing good things with their lives. 

Sister Burton said, "As we consider the “pressing calls” of those who need our help, let’s ask ourselves, “What if their story were my story?” May we then seek inspiration, act on impressions we receive, and reach out in unity to help those in need as we are able and inspired to do so. Perhaps then it might be said of us, as the Savior said of a loving sister who ministered to Him: “She hath wrought a good work. … She hath done what she could.” (April 2016, Gen R.S. mtg)

Raking leaves

 

Warmed my heart to look outside and see my kids working hard in the neighbor's yard, cleaning up the leaves. Later I found out they got paid for it but it still made me feel good to know they were willing. I'm pretty sure they would have done it for free if they were asked.