Dragon With Glowing Eyes Pumpkin

I usually don't do crafty things! But this pumpkin turned out great!

First we found a pumpkin that was elongated (tall skinny) and could easily rest on its side. The front of the dragon is actually the bottom and the stem comes out of the back of his head as pictured below.

 We washed him up and let him dry.

I made the shape of his snout nostrils and eye brows by simply taking long pieces of wide masking tape and rolling one edge while sticking the other edge to the pumpkin. It stuck better than I thought it would. 

To clarify by the picture below I ended up doing paper teeth after and painted over these tape teeth. 

I also used tape to make the lips, horns coming off the back of the head and some scales that stick out. 

I then took tape and cut it down into little strips and placed them diagonal on the snout, nostrils and brows to give the lines a ridged look. You can see it in the picture below.

I used Elmers glue to create a scaley ridged look on the skin. Lines on the front of the snout in a v shape and scales on the side. 

I let the glue dry for a couple of hours. I later painted over these but they looked cool under the paint. The pumpkin has natural ridges as well that added character. 

We then painted the tape ridges along the face a grey black with a paint brush. The paint color was called "pavement". Since I wanted the black holes in the nostrils mouth to stand out I made this color lighter so there would be a contrast. 

For the main color we mixed a vibrant green with black without mixing them completely. Only a couple of combining strokes so that the colors still remained separated. Then we took a plastic grocery bag and tore off a hand full of plastic waded it up and used that as a sponge for the color on the face. We dabbed on the paint on the most of the dragon. It gave it a scaly look. 

We painted the nostrils a glossy deep black with a paint brush as well as the mouth.

After letting it dry and adding a few more coats we added a light coat of a golden sparkle spray. This made it look more like a dragon instead of a dinosaur. 

The eyes were fun. We took a ping pong ball and cut it in half. We first used marker for the pupils but it wasn't as bold as we wanted so we taped off the pupil and painted it also with the glossy black. 

Quickly remove the tape and make sure the eyes are cat like with elongated pupils. 

We then taped a little tea light under the ping pong ball eye. We just added tape to the back of it so it can be placed and removed easily so the light can be changed if needed. 

Now place the eyes on! 

For finishing touches I used a paint brush with black and lightly added a faded line to the glue ridges to accentuate them slightly on top of the gold spray. 

Add a row of paper teeth and glue them under the top mouth ridge. 

And...

Wa-la! 

A fierce dragon with glowing eyes!

And a kid that feels pretty cool about his pumpkin... and maybe even slightly scared! 

A Letter from President Manson

My son had a scout requirement to write a letter to someone famous so he wrote a letter to President Manson. It basically said he loved scouts, loved reading the scriptures with his family and was excited for conference. He told President Monson that we pray for him as a family. 

I was excited to see this letter come in the mail. My son Marc opened it and read it out loud to all of us. What a treasure! 

A Man on a Park Bench in Spain: A Mission Memory

One morning my companion and I got ready and knelt down in prayer to start our day. We had decided beforehand to stay in the apartment for a few minutes after our prayer and mark Books of Mormon and then leave for the day.

As I knelt in prayer with my eyes closed I saw a distinct image of a man sitting on a park bench. I recognized the plaza where he was sitting. He sat alone on one edge of the bench. It wasn't a dream and to this day I don't know what it was but I knew what I saw and where it was. Along with this image I felt an incredibly strong sense of urgency and that we needed to find him quickly.

After the prayer I told my companion we needed to leave right away and I tried my best to explain what was happening. We headed out the door and nearly ran to the plaza. My heart beat in my chest as we made our way there. I was excited, the spirit was strong and I knew we were being guided. Sure enough the man was there on the bench by himself in the nearly empty plaza waiting for a bus that would arrive soon.

I was so excited that I anxiously approached him. He was smoking a pipe and his eyes widened as he looked at me and realized two sister Mormon missionaries were about to talk to him and he said loudly and definitively "No!". Because of the events leading up to this moment instead of being offended or frightened by his response I did something that neither he or I expected...I burst out laughing.

His reaction had taken me completely off guard, and consequently my return reaction took him completely off guard. It even disarmed him a bit. I plopped down beside him and began to talk with him and shared a message of the restored gospel. He was receptive to the message and was really responsive and touched by the testimony of companion Sister Matthews who was at that time new to the mission but strong in conviction and spirit.

He reminded me of a philosopher willing to theorize the idea of a young boy who received a vision. We gave him a Book of Mormon with passages marked and some information inside. We were able to share parts of the first discussion and answer his questions. His bus arrived moments later and he boarded and was off. We could not have waited a moment longer in the apartment just minutes before. I don't know what happened to him after he left, since he was in route to a different city but I know in those short moments of our meeting that we shared what we were supposed to share with him and that for some reason he was meant to hear the beginnings of the good news of the gospel at that time.

What I think about during the sacrament: A hero's funeral.

 "We have no hope of rescue on our own. 
In our lonely waters there is someone by our side. 

A silent passenger to our own sorrows, pains and weaknesses."

A Teenanger in Danger
On Dec 29, 2011 LDS FBI agent Danny Knapp was enjoying a day off at a beach near where he was stationed in Puerto Rico. The conditions of the water were "red flag" meaning it was too dangerous for swimmers so he and his girlfriend stayed ashore. Two young men ran up to Danny telling him that their friend was trapped in the water against a riptide and could not make it back to shore.

Danny's girlfriend asked him not to enter the water but he replied that he could not let the teenager die so he grabbed his fins and entered the water and tried to save him. They both ended up trapped against the tide helplessly treading water and trying to resurface after each wave.

Danny was a strong swimmer and held the teenager up with his arm keeping his head above the water while giving him tips on how to conserve energy. The teenager wanted to give up, his strength was gone but Danny encouraged him by saying "You are going to be okay just keep going." Because of this, the young man did.

The FBI agency was alerted that an agent was in the water. They sprung into action and a rescue helicopter was sent, something that would not have likely happened for the local kid alone. As the rescuer was lowered by rope to the water he could only carry one. The teenager who had been in the water much longer was taken first. When the rescuer returned moments later Danny was face down. After crews tried to resuscitate him it was clear that Danny had passed away.

When an FBI agent dies especially when his body needs to be transported back to the US another FBI agent is stationed to stand guard over the body at all times. As this other agent was standing guard at the hospital in Puerto Rico he heard the faint wailing of a woman outside the door. The noise got closer and closer. The woman was crying hysterically. As she was intercepted and questioned before reaching the room they discovered that she was the mother of the boy that Danny had saved. In her cries she said in Spanish "Someone else's son died that that mine might live."

This mother and her son attended the funeral service for Danny that was held in Puerto Rico. This young man was humbled by Danny's sacrifice and had rededicated his life to being better and to going to school. He wanted to be just like Danny, to follow in his footsteps and join the FBI.

Danny Knapp was friends with my sister and her family who were stationed with him in Puerto Rico. This story impacted me so greatly as they recounted it that I thought of it again and again.

A Hero's Funeral
I was not there for Danny's funeral but I attended another hero's funerals which was my own fathers a few years before. He was a retired highway patrolman and military veteran. I imagine Danny's was similar in many ways. At my fathers funeral there were several uniformed officers standing at attention while another played a trumpet. Four officers wearing white gloves meticulously folded an American flag into a triangle. A high ranking officer got on one knee at my mom's eye level and gently presented her the folded flag. There was a special feeling of honor and respect that I will never forget. It was a service with white gloves, uniforms, salutes and a tender testimony of sacrifice. The entire experience was sacred.

Sacrifice and the Sacrament
I continued to ponder over Danny's story and his heroic efforts and what his funeral must have been like on Sunday during the sacrament. I looked up to see the deacons and priests with their heads bowed in respect. A white cloth was lying over the top of the sacrament trays and to me it looked like a body at rest and how it might have looked as the Savior's body was covered in linens.

My whole perception changed in that moment and I thought of the sacrament as a hero's funeral and I wondered if I was showing the same amount of respect and attention as I would have at a hero's funeral. Instead of white gloves there were white shirts, instead of hand salutes there were bowed heads. Instead of trumpets there was a sacred hymn.

I thought of how this story, that lead to a hero's funeral, applied to this great and sacred sacrifice and the sacrament. I did not know Danny personally and I only  know him by this one act but it is hallowed enough that I feel it appropriate to use in this comparison.

I thought of Danny's voice telling the teenager to keep going, and that he would be okay. I thought of how, because of Danny's status as an FBI agent a helicopter came to rescue, and how the teenager was rescued and Danny lost his own life in the process. I thought of the boy's mother and her painful realization of the parents loss of their son. How she had exclaimed to the effect that someones son had died that hers might live.

Our greatest death is not physical death but the spiritual death or our separation from our God because of our imperfections. We, by nature, enter dangerous waters and become trapped and helpless. We will not survive and have no hope of rescue on our own. But in our lonely waters and struggles there is someone by our side. A silent passenger to our own sorrows, pains and weaknesses. A voice that if we listen says "I am here with you. I have felt what you feel. You are going to be okay. Keep going." A strong arm that in our darkest sorrows will help keep our head above water. Only someone who has lived a perfect life could call down the rescue for us. Only someone who has endured an Eternal pain and suffering of the Law of Judgment could attach us to the rescuing rope of Mercy that we might live.

Also behind this scene is the sacred sacrifice of another. One that this mother in this story recognized and mourned over. The sacrifice of a Father whose son "died that we might live". A Father whose sacrifice of his son did not simply entail the sons death but the offering of his son to endure the voluntary Infinite punishment of Eternal laws in our behalf. That he suffered beyond every pain and sorrow known to man and was burdened by every requirement of Judgment for the sins of the entire human race. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son."

So now as I take the sacrament I think of a hero's funeral and the sacred way in which heroes are honored. I think of white gloves and white shirts, a trumpet and a hymn, salutes and bowed heads. I think of a teenage boy who was exhausted, whose arms were too sore, tired and ready to give out and how Danny held the teenagers head above the water. I think of Danny's voice of and how he himself was also treading the endless waves. I think of his presence that called down the rescuers and delivered the boy up for rescue while he himself died. I think of the mother who recognized not only the sacrifice of Danny but the sorrow of his parents. That someone's son died that hers might live. I think of the teenager who rededicated his life to walking in Danny's footsteps. To becoming just like him and doing what he would do.

Now when I take the sacrament I compare it to a hero's funeral and a great sacrifice on my behalf. I try to honor it by rededicating my life to be like him and do as he would have me do. I bow my head in respect and reflect on his life. I try to offer the most possible sacred expression of my gratitude a broken heart and a contrite spirit and by offering the one thing that is truly mine, my will, by aligning it with his.

A link to one of the stories about Danny Knapp the FBI agent mentioned above can be found here.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

A sample from Paul to Ponderize

Yes. yes, yes! You know I love you Paul! Paul: Part poet, part apostle, part deadly snake venom master, part ship wreck magnet, part glutton for punishment. Part snark but somehow still charitable. Too smart for his own good. Seriously what a cool guy!

Back to the topic-Ponderizing
On my mission I struggled with the language. I was so focused on learning Spanish that I did not memorize very many scriptures in English. I am not so great at memorization. I am good, however, at retrieving bits and pieces of scriptures and I feel really blessed to LOVE them but I need to memorize them more, it always felt mechanical to me. But the Ponderize talk at general conference changed all of that...now I have a desire to 80% ponder, 20% memorize---

I love this scripture! A reminder that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!

Romans 8:35,37-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...

 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How President Monson's talk answered my prayer about contention in online conversations

I LOVE Conference!
There has been a lot of buzz about how President Monson's strength was giving way during his talk. I actually had a really incredible experience with his talk that I want to share.

Each conference I write down questions that I have and hold close to my heart that I need answered. Then I pray about my questions and during conference I listen carefully for the answers. EVERY TIME my prayers are answered. Almost miraculously answered. Sometimes my questions are so personal, so tender and even odd that I am amazed when entire talks seem directed towards my questions.

A heart felt prayer
This time midway through conference I realized that I had forgotten to ask my questions. I was sucking it all in and felt like everything applied to me but I hadn't asked any questions. So before the Sunday morning session I knelt down and poured my heart out to my Father in Heaven.




I had a few questions about my mothering and my personal journey that are too personal to share here but I also had one thing on my mind that was really heavy. Locally our city is voting on a new Life Center which includes a recreation center. This is a subject (the benefits of recreation centers to communities) I have personally studied for a long time before it was ever an issue locally. I have a Masters Degree in Public Health and my study on this subject was fulfilling and extensive. I don't want to distract from the main message here on this post by going into too much detail but as I shared information on this subject online I quickly became a target of negative and even threatening voices. Entire conversations surrounding this subject were intense. I was really surprised at how cruel, mean and unkind people were. I had to disconnect. Because of an experience over a year ago I had decided that I would not lose myself in online contentious conversations. I would stay positive and that no matter what I would not be negative. I spoke up a couple of times in defense of others and requested that people stay positive but still the negativity flowed.

So I started to wonder if I was being a coward. I started to wonder if I should be more aggressive. All I really wanted was the truth as I saw it to be known and I even oddly felt a responsibility to share it. Why I had studied this so much and found it so interesting before it was ever a question in my own city I don't know. So this is where I was. I prayed to know what I should do. If I should remain in my conversations the way that I had tried to be, positive or if I should push back against some of the misinformation and negativity. I took it to the Lord. I didn't know what to expect as far as answers to this prayer, it honestly just felt good to ask Heavenly Father for help. I wondered if one of the talks would answer my question.

President Monson answers my prayer

The first speaker only a after a few minutes after my prayer was President Monson. He stood tall and his talk got right to the point- "Be a light" and "Be ye and example of the believers in word, conversation, charity and purity." He then continued to expound upon all of these principles. He then began to talk and even was very specific about conversations online. He talked about being kind and loving. I felt a huge relief and even a bit of awe at what I was hearing and what was happening. Here was the prophet of God answering a personal prayer that I had just said a few minutes before. His answer was so perfect as if he were sitting in a room with me and I had just told him exactly what I was going through. I felt like he was telling me sincerely that no matter what the subject and how important it is, how I acted was more important.

I've always known President Monson was a prophet but I felt a deep love from my Heavenly Father as I listened to President Monson answer my question that only God knew. Then as I watched President Monson continue to speak my attention was caught as I started to hear his speech slur and then his physical frame started to wilt. Still a prophet of God. Still a man of great strength with a powerful message to share. I could tell he was then trying to get through his message more quickly as his strength was diminishing- The message he knew that he was meant to give.

So as my newsfeed has lit up with people concerned about his health I can't help but ponder the personal miracle that seemed to unfold to me in his talk. I could tell that the church spokesman was trying to get people to focus on his message rather than on the last minute of his weakening health. A prayer, a message. an answer- Thank you President Monson. Your message was needed and was miraculous in my life. I sure do love you!

Our kids will do what we do...plus a little more.

A Brothers Water Quarrel

The other morning my 5 yr and 2 yr old boys were taking a bath. I was standing nearby getting ready for the day. A look of mischief crept across the 5 yr old's face and with one hand he splashed his little brother right in the eyes. He then sat there smiling as his little brother wiped the water out of his eyes. The 2 yr old with a look of determination began splashing his older brother wildly with both hands and also started throwing the nearby bath toys at him. He then leaned back on both hands and used his legs to kick a soaking continuous splash of water at his older brother. The 5 yr old was surprised at this turn of events and started to cry. He was in need of rescue from his little brother. After calming the splash frenzy I tried to teach my 5 yr old son one of life's lessons. I told him "Your little brother will always do what you do, plus a little more."

Before the words even had left my lips I realized it wasn't just a life lesson for my little boy as a big brother, but it was also a life lesson for me as parent. My kids were going to do what I do, plus a little more. For better or for worse.



My Weaknesses...Plus a Little More
I had several scenarios run through my head about my personal example to them. Whether it was my choice of junk food, my connection to technology, my love of running or my attempts to serve others. I wondered which extreme of me that they would do...plus a little more. There were plenty of things that I was not proud of that I hoped they would not mimic but also many things that I did well that I hoped they would do better than me.

This is not to say that all of children's bad choices are a result of parent choices. As human beings and as "agents to ourselves" we are responsible for our own choices but there is somehow a nondeniable influence and responsibility that also lays at the feet of parents. If we do not teach our children what is right then the sins are on our shoulders.

King Noah's Dad
I reflected on the example of Zeniff the father of the wicked King Noah. Zeniff was actually a really good guy who stood up for what he believed in. He was also a righteous king, So why was his son so extremely wicked? King Noah was so wicked. in fact, that he led an entire people to their near destruction and actually caused them to commit "much sin".

So did the apple fall far from the tree here? Was King Noah completely different from his father or was Zeniff somehow responsible for King Noah's behavior? A friend once pointed out to me that Zeniff by his own admission was "Over zealous to inhert the land of his Fathers." So much that he was blinded to the important things that a king or soon to be king should't be blind to. This over zealousness caused the enslavement of his own people and it is possible that it may have caused a lack of focus in other areas. Although we may never know and it isn't our place to judge others around us we can draw out and ponder information like this from the scriptures. In doing this my friend pondered the question of whether or not Zeniff's overzealous tendency somehow translated to King Noah's choices. He presented the question of "As a parent what are my tendencies or focuses and how will they affect my children?"

Self Evaluation...Plus a Little More
What are our addictions, or overzealous behaviors that are causing or will cause our children to do what we do... plus a little more? Is it our physical addictions to substances, lack of religiosity or heavy handed treatment of our children? Is it our defiance of the law, obsession with physical appearance, disorganization or frivolous spending? If our children are to do what we do and a little more what would that look like?

The closer we are to the center, or when our lives are centered on Christ then hopefully the further our children will be to the outer edge of this circle. When we focus on improving ourselves we really do improve the possibilities for our children.

Again this is not to say that parents are responsible for all of their children's choices. Agency is part of our eternal identity and it is possible for exceptional parents to have children that stray. It's never okay to judge another's circumstance based on these assumptions but this is an opportunity for self reflection within our own parenting. As a principle I believe that it is possible that our children will do what we do-plus a little more. That our tendencies can turn into behaviors, beliefs and influences that greatly affect our children.

Just as my little 2 yr old took his splashing to an extreme after seeing the example of his older brother I have to ask myself "What examples are my children seeing in me. And what would that look like...plus a little more?"