The Ballard Batch

Retiring from blogging

2008-09-21T03:39:00.000-07:00

I will be retiring from blogging for a year. So check Back next Fall.

TV

2008-09-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

Since being here in Germany we have had only one channel on our TV that covered the shows that I really cared to watch anyways which was Oprah, Wheel of fortune and survivor. Of course there were many other shows I would have loved to have watched but these were the only ones that AFN offered us on this one channel. So, I just watched what was given.

Since moving into our new bright highlighter home we get no reception and so we have had no TV since April. Even when Dustin and I were first stationed in Montana we decided to not have TV. It's a different lifestyle and you definitely come to find out how much time you really do have! I actually don't remember what it was like to have TV until Dustin paid someone to find a signal the other day on an extra satellite dish that our Landlord had. We NOW have 5 channels that come through. Dustin was ecstatic because the movie and sports channel came through! I on the other hand was not thrilled about the whole deal and liked how things were before because I am finding that TV is really just a BIG distraction in my life. I have found that I CAN live without Oprah, Wheel of fortune and survivor and so forth. I feel it's good to take a break from things that can consume your everyday life like TV.

Antiques

2008-09-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

I have always been intrigued with antiques and the story behind the history of such fine pieces of craftmanship. I love interior designing and it's still a dream of mine to go to school for such fun art. Having been here in Germany has really opened my eyes to collecting antiques as an expensive but quality hobby.My goal is to slowly start my collection here and decorate my home of such interesting and fascinating history and arts.

You tube

2008-09-07T17:49:00.001-07:00

Found this on you tube sung by some guys named Adam Ashby and Ben. I can't seem to get this song out of my head. I love the ukelele!

Lyrics to "How Can I Be"

How can I be like my brother Nephi?
My father Lehi of old?
How can I be like Captain Moroni
In the wars that were told?

How can I see forever
Like the promise to the three Nephites?
I wanna be Samuel the Lamanite
I wanna be Benjamin the Wise
I wanna be like Abinidi
Oh tell me how can I be like them?

How can I be like Alma the Younger,
Strong servant of the Lord?
How can I be like Mighty Ammon,
Whose heart was his sword?

How can I be a stripling warrior,
And learn to fight by faith?
I wanna be Samuel the Lamanite
I wanna be Benjamin the Wise
I wanna be like Abinidi
Oh tell me how I can be like them?

How can I be like my brother Joseph,
when he prayed in the grove of trees?
How can I have, the strength that
he had , the love that he had for God?
How can I be courageous and strive
to choose the right?

I wanna be Samuel the Lamanite
I wanna be Benjamin the Wise
I wanna be like Abinidi
I wanna be like Jesus Christ
Oh tell me how can I be like him?
Oh tell me how can I be like him?

Written and composed by Nela Otuafi

5th Year Anniversary!

2008-09-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

August 30th 2003
AUGUST 30th 20085 years down and an eternity to go! 5 years is definitely not long enough to be married to the best man in the world! Dustin is truly an amazing, righteous, loyal, funny, hard working, responsible, driven, strong, loving, serving, thoughtful, balanced, protecting, providing, husband, best friend and father. He has molded to become the most wonderful man in my life. I feel so honored and blessed to be sharing our lives together here on earth and beyond. Life only gets better from here and everyday knowing I am married to the greatest man in the world!!! Today was a really romantic and thoughtful day.

Family Reunion

2008-08-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Jet Lagged

2008-08-04T00:49:00.000-07:00

We have been home for a week now and the girls and I are still jet lagged. I have never experienced it this bad before. Going towards the sun was easy but coming against the sun and time is like going against nature. It hurts! The crazy thing is that I am just always tired. That is one reason why I have not posted any pictures of our trip yet. I have not had the energy or time and I am still am not unpacked. So, That is what I am focused on doing right after this post is getting my house clean and organized. I always feel invigorated after doing such a project.

Real deployment!

2008-07-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, So we went to the States and had an Awesome time with family and friends . Dustin and I decided the closer to them the better. We really want the girls to grow up near family who love them. So any State closer to them would be fantastic but ideally Hill Airforce base in Utah. (I hope)

We have 2 1/2 more years here in Germany and will do our best to enjoy every minute of it by traveling and learning more about the people and the culture and the great ward that we are in.

So listen to this! We have 5 hours until we have to get on the plane heading back to Germany when Dustin called his shoppe at work to find out that he is getting deployed after all. I got very teary eyed thinking that I had only 5 hours to say good bye to the man I love! But much to our surprise he is actually going on a different deployment than all the other troops in his shoppe.
This deployment he will be going to Baghdad instead and he leaves in November instead of next month. So I was relieved for the fact that I was able to have a little more time with him. He will be leaving for 7 months. So Back to the States , Here I come.

My sister can hook me up through Delta to help fly me back to the good ol' USA. Time there with family support will help time go by extremely fast for those 7 months. I will miss my Dusty very much!

Deployment

2008-07-01T01:19:00.000-07:00

Dustin was suppose to be deploying in August to Kurgystan for 6 months but last Friday they told him that he has been taken off the list because they had too many guys going and needed to bump someone off. They chose Dustin to stay. There is still a chance that he may still have to go between now and December.

Until then, Tomorrow we are off to America! We are looking forward to being with family and enjoying the conveniences and familiarity in the States. Can't WAIT! God bless the USA!

Baseball Game

2008-06-27T02:10:00.000-07:00

Dustin is a huge Sports and baseball fan. Since we have been married he has toned it down alot, but to keep his morale up he volunteers his time as the head coach for his LRS Squadron team.

Maleha and Kasiah always look forward to his games so that they can play outside and make new friends but they really are just his best cheerleaders!

Maleha the TOM BOY
Her sister following her foot steps
Making New friends
Maleha chasing the boys!
Kasiah Loves making friends with the dogs!

And with boys too!(She just ran up to this little boy and gave him a BIG hug) I got my hands full with this 2 girls. They are boy crazy!

New Neighbors

2008-06-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

With a New house you get new neighbors and we have got the best neighbors yet! Maleha likes to visit them often and this morning she couldn't wait and almost ran outside naked. I told her to put some clothes on and so she grabbed her pink velvet leotard and red ruby shoes and ran to visit her little lambs. She is so funny!

The lambs had all their wool buzzed off. They look like an acrylic painting.

Kasiah rather be naked inside and be a peeping TOM.

More of London

2008-06-19T01:58:00.002-07:00

Gavrila, Lindsay,Me, Emily. Gotta have the close up!
Em,Lin,G, and Me London bridges baby!
The queen was home in the palace!
I want this stroller! TOO COOL! A kid can sit in the bottom!
A typical European bra. jk

Monopoly money!

The guards can not hear you talking about them. I feel sorry that they have to wear those silly looking hats!
I had zoom in for this pic. They stand there for four hours or more at a time. They have thick soles to keep their feet cool.
The Tower bridge also known as "London bridges falling down".
A Statue at the Buckingham palace
More naked biker pictures! Only in Europe!!
A stroll in Hyde Park

The Golden moving Statue
Dedicated to the world war two fallen soilders.
A dog purse
The silver moving queen statue
Biking in London is the only way to go. But you may not want to go near those bike seats after watching all those naked bikers. lol. I think this is where they parked for lunch.lol

Please do not touch the chocolate palace.YUM

Our Cozy HOTEL!
The new style of wearing your Shoes. Try fitting your foot in that!
Italian Ice cream. Yumooo!
Translation: Speed bump
London ground!
London train!
Planning the day!
The streets were filled with these beautiful old aged trees.
Gavrila and Lindsay already having a blast.
Train station
London streets are full of double decker buses and Taxis.

I took so many pictures and videos on the trip so here are some more of London.

Our 1St stop was Oxford street. The famous shopping strip. The prices were outrageous!

2nd stop was for some italian ice cream. WOW sooo delicious!

3rd stop Buckingham palace. Incredible statues and the queen was there (The flag was up).

4th A stroll through Hyde park. Simply Beautiful!!

5th The memorial building dedicated to the lost soilders in World war two.

6th The unexpected naked biker parade!! We seriously were innocently just crossing the street when we saw police starting to block off the road and we were all like "Yaaa, a parade! Lets see if they throw us some candy!"lol-Yeah right! they threw us alot more than just candy it was more like the shock of our lives! Talk about pure chance and a beginners Luck! Here is some more info that we later discovered once returning home. It's actually for a good cause.London Naked Bike Ride (official site)World Naked Bike Ride (official site)

7th The world's largest four-faced, chiming clock. The structure is situated at the north-eastern end of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. It is often colloquially referred to as Big Ben, which is actually the nickname of the main bell housed within the tower (formally known as the Great Bell).The Clock Tower has also been referred to as The Tower of Big Ben and, incorrectly, St Stephen's Tower, which is actually the spired tower towards the middle of the Palace and is also the main point of entry for attendees of debates and committees.

8th The London eye. It took seven years and the skills of hundreds of people from five countries to make the London Eye a reality. Each of the 32 capsules weighs 10 tonnes. Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, meaning a capsule travels at a stately 26cm per second, or 0.9km (0.6 miles) per hour - allowing passengers to step on and off without the wheel having to stop.

9th the moving statues. Definitely the highlight of the trip. So funny!

10th The Tower bridge mistakenly known as the London Bridge is an impressive bridge that has existed near the present site over the period from the Roman occupation of the area, nearly 2,000 years. The first bridge across the Thames in the London area was built of wood by the Romans on the present site around 50 AD. This bridge was probably a military pontoon bridge. Around 55 AD, a piled bridge was built. The local Britons built a small trading settlement next to it, the town of Londinium. The settlement and the bridge were destroyed in a revolt led by Queen Boudicca in 60 AD. The victory was short lived, and soon afterwards, the Romans defeated the rebels, and set about building a new walled town. Some of the old Roman wall still exists in the area today. The new town and bridge was built around the position of the present bridge, providing access to the south coast ports via 'Stane Street' (the A3 route) and 'Watling Street' (the A2). The bridge fell into disrepair after the Romans left. As Londinium was also abandoned there was litle need for a bridge at this point and in the Saxon period the river was a political boundary between hostile kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex. With the impact of the Viking invasions and the reconquest by the kings of Wessex and re-occupation by Alfred the Great of the Roman city the political conditions for a Saxon bridge crossing to be placed here arose. However, there is no archaeological evidence for a bridge before Aethelred's reign and his attempts to stem the Sweinian invasions of the 990s. In 1014, according to a much later skaldic tradition, the bridge was pulled down by the Norwegian prince Olaf, as he was aiding king Aethelred in what, if true, was a successful bid to divide the defending forces of the Danes who held the walled City of London plus Southwark, thereby regaining London for the Anglo-Saxon king. This episode might have inspired the well-known nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down".

London Videos

2008-06-18T03:32:00.000-07:00

LONDY, LONDY, LONDY!

2008-06-16T15:15:00.001-07:00

I left to London 3:30 am Saturday morning with Gavrila Chase, Emily Schuster, and Lindsay Peterson. They are really funny, sweet, generous and kind hearted friends of mine that were the most funnest people to had traveled with. We had the time of our lives away from our husbands and kids. It was just pure righteous fun and tons of laughter!

It took an hour to arrive at the airport and then once on our plane just an hour to fly into Stansted where we hopped on a train for 45 minutes straight into London in which we then took an underground TUBE (mind the GAP) for 10 minutes towards our hotel. Once we dropped our stuff off at the Hotel the rest of our day was full of walking and laughing which was the funnest form of exercising that I would recommend to anyone. We had a BLAST from London's PAST!

Even though we only went for one full day it honestly felt like a whole week and when it was only noon we felt like it was 6pm. We were only an hour difference too. We got so much done in one day that we felt one day was sufficient enough. London's money is called pounds and right now it is the highest currency in the world. If Something cost 10 pounds they are really asking for 20 American dollars. It was a very expensive trip but we got the best of deals and spent only what we had to.

Plus, The day before, Dustin threw a yard sale for me by sitting in the Hot sun by himself selling all our JUNK because all the money was being donated towards my London trip. Dustin made me over 100 dollars and so a shout out to Dustin--- Thank you! I couldn't had gone to London without you....even though I did, lol! I love you!

Happy Highlighter House

2008-06-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is our happy highlighter home in Germany. It is the brightest color house we have seen yet in all the land. In fact, it is so bright that it actually glows in the dark. You can see it for miles and I would not be surprised if the planes use it to direct their flight plans.lol

I did however ask the landlord (who lives underneath us) why they painted it this color, was the paint on sale or something? She said "No, we like how yellow and gray go together."

Do not be fooled though the inside definitely out ways the outside color. We have been living here for the last month and it is truly a wonderful home. It is very modern and updated inside than our last place. It has 4 HUGE bedrooms 2 bathrooms and a fenced in backyard . We absolutely love it and look forward to coming home when we are gone.

My new Camera!

2008-06-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

I am so at peace having a camera back in my hands. I feel like I have been missing out on great photo opportunities with the girls. I did not get the camera that I really wanted but I got a good enough one to do the trick. I already know that I will get a new one next year. Until then, here are some of the photos that I have already taken.

An Early Father's Day

2008-06-06T14:39:00.002-07:00

This is an early Father's day dedication to the most wonderful Father to our children! He is a fun lovin , hard workin, good lookin, always smiling, type of Dad. Thank you for all that you do! We love you!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Growing up so fast!

2008-06-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Until I get a new camera here are some of my favorite pictures of the girls. They are growing up so fast! I already miss them and they are not even out of my hair yet. I know that the day will come when it will be time for them to move on and have families of their own but until then I just want them to know what an honor it is to be raising them with the short time that I have as their mother. May I teach them the ways of the Lord and instill his eternal plan.

"If a child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a parent’s life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child’s life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent’s normal life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek, with the help of the Lord, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes. This eternally important work falls to mothers and fathers as equal partners."

Elder Russell M. Ballard

My 100th post!!

2008-05-19T03:48:00.000-07:00

I can't find my camera and I can't blog without it. Plus, this is my 100th post and so I Thought I would try the dare from Evonne So here are 100 things about me.

100 things about me

1) I miss Heavenly Father~I honestly do!
2) I love Jesus! (I miss him too)
3) I cannot live or imagine my life without the Holy ghost as my companion. (I bore my testimony this past fast Sunday.)
4) I totally love my family! (They Rock!)
5) My 5th year anniversary will be this August to my Amazing husband Dustin!(which is not long enough)
6) Our 2 little girls are my world! (They keep me very busy)
7) I do not like dressing Barbie's. (Clothes fit too snug over their rubbery skin!)
8) I love receiving massages (Just received one tonight)
9) I love giving massages (Just gave one yesterday)
10) I have never tried sushi
11) Crab meat is really good (it reminds me of my mom)
12) I have always wanted to be an architect ( but I am bad at math)
13) I use to love math but after 8th grade I did not care for it anymore (wish I did)
14) I am going to London next weekend with some great girlfriends. (Can't wait!)
15) I have gone through 8 cameras within 5 years.
16) I am finally purchasing a professional camera that will last me a life time! (We will see)
17) I can be very shy
18) I also can be very outgoing (totally depends on the circumstances)
19) I already have the floor plans of my dream home and the kitchen is Big!
20) I still have the same best friend since 13 years old.
21) I love Country music. ( I just bought Brad Paisley's CD the other day)
22) 22 is my lucky number. (Duce-Duce)
23) 23 reminds me of Micheal Jordon.( He was the best!)
24) I always wanted 12 kids but now I would like to chop off the 1 and just keep it at 2. jk
25) My favorite days was when I was dating Dustin. (Now they are being married to him)
26) Just moved into the biggest happiest highlighter home in the world!
27) I love to organize and decorate!
28) I love Antiques! (I Look forward to collecting them while here in Germany)
29) I can't stand Ants in my house! (but I feel bad for killing them because it's fascinating what they can do.)
30) Dustin is getting deployed to Kurghistan from August until February 2009. (6 months)
31) I will be in the States visiting family July through February 2009.
32) I hired my sister Kathy to be my personal trainer. ( I am so tired of not being able to lose the weight)
33) I love food!
34) Thia food is my favorite~!
35) I love running but need 3 bras on to do it.
36) I plan on getting a breast reduction and lift after having all my 12 kids.(I'm gonna need one)
37) I hate sleeping on our new King size bed. (It kills my neck~!)
38) Dustin hates returning things but he agrees the bed sucks. (So, it will be our guest bed and so you may not want to be our guest for very long.)
39) I miss wal*mart!
40) I look forward turning 40. (Maleha and Kasiah will be 14 and 12 years old)
41) I love being crafty
42) I love kissing my husband.( Best kisser!)
43) I love watching desperate house wives. ( So funny! I Look forward to season5)
44) I love to laugh. ( It comes so natural)
45) Most of the time I feel like I am still 18. (young at heart)
46) I wash a load of Laundry everyday. (It is the never ending chore)
47) I love my dishwasher! (Dishes are a cinch)
48) I wish there was more time in the day!
49) I miss being pregnant. Don't ask~I'm NOT! (We are waiting a few years)
50) 50 reminds me of Oprah because she is always talking how wonderful being 50 is.
51) Since moving to our new place, we do not have TV.
52) I miss watching Dr.Phil and Oprah.
53) My days are full of praying, feeding, teaching, reading, playing, changing, cleaning, typing, diciplining, visiting, repeating, drawing, snapping, pleading, teasing, laughing, singing,repeating.
54) I love to hear my girls laughing!
55) I drink water like a horse. (A glass in one gulp)
55) I miss my dad
56) I need my mom
57) I desire to learn from my step mom
58) I pray for my brothers
59) I want to write children's books and illustrate them too.
60) I love nap time (Especially the girls) lol
61) I need to write down all the funny things that my girls are doing at their age. (Soo funny)
62) I love supporting Dustin play baseball. ( He has games all next week)
63) I love the Utes because my husband does. But I tell him I love BYU because he hates them!
64) I really want to learn how to garden
65) I love planning my life but I also love being spontaneous too. ( I hate surprises though, I know that makes no sense but it's totally true!)
66) My calling in church is the secretary in Young Womens. (Which is alot of work but I am not complaining)
67) I really want to be called into nursury which is alot of work too But you never get what you want.
68) I love our new LandLords!
69) I refuse to take Kasiah into nursury until she is 2. ( She does better with me then there)
70) I have not memorized my cell or home phone numbers yet. (it's 20 numbers long!)
71) I attend google college and I major in searching.
72) I love being 30~!
73) I really want to ride a horse! I love horsies~!
74) I love going on walks!
75) I can not imagine being 75 years old. ( I hope I will feel like I am 30 then)
76) I need braces again.
77) Money is such a luxury. I wish I had more!
78) I hate pumping Gas! (The gas prices are $4.00 a gallon)
79) I wish we kept our Honda Hybrid
80) I love my life!
81) I painted the girls finger nails and toes the color pink today. ( I let Maleha paint mine.)
82) I enjoy cooking food but I enjoy eating it more.
83) I love learning new recipes but will never use them.
84) I love homemade bread with real butter spread on top!
85) Dipping bread in hot coa-coa is a family tradition.
86) I love the smell of coffee but will never drink it.
87) I am craving some mexican food!
88) Now I am hungry!!!
89) I never stick to the plan. (Never say never)
90) I have a fascination with the iris within the eye.
91) I have the most hard working husband. ( He is the best provider)
92) I am a late bloomer.
93) I sometimes fantasize about being famous but could never give up my privacy!
94) I can't wait to make my blog into a book one day.
95) I have six toes.
96) Just kidding!
97) I am almost done!!
98) I hope you all learned something new about me.
99) This 100 thing was not as hard as I thought!
100) I could do 100 more! lol

I dare you,

Margaret

Collecting Spiritual Art

2008-04-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

As long as I can remember I have always been captured and taken away by art but I have never been more inspired or connected than through the spiritual arts. So it seems to only make sense to collect my most favorites and give them a home. This oil painting was drawn by Adolphe-William Bouguereau (Mary,Jesus and a Lamb). I have fallen in love with lambs here in Germany because their purpose is beautiful and soft plus they are our new neighbors!! This Portrait brings the lambs meaning and purpose that much more to life and in full circle for me.

I would love to make my home feel more than just a home through the touch of spiritual art . It seems that there is nothing more better to invest and decorate a home with than that which awakens the spirit. I love collecting spiritual ART!

Wish to purchase

2008-04-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

I love the detail in this painting! I love the engaging between the daughter and mother on the rug floor and the offering of food (cherries). Maleha and Kasiah are always trying to feed me something. This portrait rings Truth in reality, Beautifully made by Lord Federick Leighton.

My desire

2008-04-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

My desire to become an artist has been calling me for some time now and I always seem to find reasons to never un-tap that passion or talent within me. I feel pulled in so many directions as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend, that I seem to hold off on trying to discover the more that is within me.

Right now, I do pursue ART in referring to photography and crafts which makes life easy to balance but lately I feel the spirit nudging me on even stronger to get more serious with this form of art . I am sure it has alot to do with the Lord blessing me to envision life on canvas. I have put it off for too long. So, according to time, there is no better time than now!

I have always been inspired by paintings while growing up and I have for the most part a natural knack for drawing but I know this will still be a challenge to teach myself and try to figure out all the different kinds of paints that are out there. So far, I feel drawn to oil paints. Even though I have never explored with them or let alone touched them; At this point, I have nothing to lose.

The only paints that I have experience with is water coloring and finger paints (with Maleha) and maybe a little bit with acrylic. I can definitely see this being a long journey ahead of me but a challenge worth taking. Well, with all this talking and writing I hope to share and post my first ART piece by the end of this year. Wish me luck!

Spring Cleaning!

2008-04-28T01:08:00.001-07:00

The best spring cleaning you can do is to pretend your moving out. But in my case we really are moving out! This Thursday! We are so excited! We went to the store for cleaning supplies and Maleha and Kasiah grabbed these HUGE fake feather Dusters. They just loved them! Kasiah snuggled with hers while Maleha imagined she was holding a BIG blue cotton candy. They have been such great little fairy dusters around the house. So good for toys I will just start buying them brooms and dust pans for Christmas. haha

Dandilions

2008-04-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Dandilions are growing in this field right across from our home. You can actually see our house right above Kasiah's head in this photo. I couldn't help but take my girls to go play with these wild yellow growing weeds. They had a dandi ol' time!

Germans brought the plant to Pennsylvania in the 1850’s and used it as an early spring infusion of nutrition and vitamins. The English also brought the plants over to cure liver problems and other illnesses. Native Americans soon started to see benefits from the plants and started to grow them for the same uses as others. The plant is grown in India and is used mainly for a remedy for liver problems. Most recently the dandelion root is being grown and exported to Russia for use in medical remedies.

Interesting Facts

The word Dandelion comes from the French name for the plant dents de lion. This means teeth of the lion and refers to the jagged edges of the leaf of the plant.

The other French name for this plant is pis-en-lit, in English this means wet the bed. Dandelions deserve this name because their greens, when eaten, remove water from the body. So eating the greens could cause someone to well… you can guess the rest. Not recommend for a bedtime snack.

The dandelion first came from Asia but it now calls the entire planet home!

The Dandelion provides an important food source to bees. The pollen from this plant helps bees out in the spring because it flowers early and the flowers continue through to the fall providing constant food. In fact no less then 93 different kinds of insects use Dandelion pollen as food.The Dandelion seeds are important food to many small birds.

Sawdust and Grass

2008-04-26T15:49:00.001-07:00

Lately, the weather has been decent enough to spend our days at the Park playing in sawdust and grass. It has been so wonderful for us to finally get out and breathe in some fresh air. The Park has been a great place for us to have the girls run wild and free but mainly for me to really ponder and focus my thoughts on my father and his healing. He has always been a huge part of my life and has created the most wonderful childhood memories that any daughter could ask for. I love him with all my heart and am praying and hoping that I will be close by his side soon. Just hang in there Daddy!

Heaven

2008-04-23T15:36:00.001-07:00

I picture entering heaven to be somewhat of a fluid motion.

waving goodbye to those your leaving behind and and saying hello to those you use to hold close.

reaching the end of the sunset only to find a new sunrise.

Cries of seperation, tears of reuniting.

Time to reach out, time is of the essence.

Life is breath, life is spirit, life is eternal.

Heaven is beautiful!

Zada

2008-04-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Zada means Grandpa in Hebrew and it's what my Father likes to be called instead of Grandpa and only because he says being called Grandpa makes him feel old and he doesn't feel old. But I am sure at this time as he has been in and out of the ER that he definitely feels like a Grandpa.

Maleha loves her Zada and Zada loves his Maleha. She has not seen him since our family reunion in Hawaii but she sure does remember him and you can not blame her. He was so patient, kind and loving towards her and he even taught me a a few valuable lessons while watching him interact with her. But thats what Zadas are for.

Well, About a week ago I had mentioned to Maleha that Zada was sick and she said "That is so sad,Mom." and then she went on with her own busy little life but today she woke up from her nap crying and repeating "Mom, Zada's sick!". I tried to comfort her and asked her "Do you want to go see him?" and she said "Yes, he live far away, We need airplane". So I went to pull his picture up on the computer and I tried to capture this sweet moment that she was trying to express towards how she feels right now. I know that it may be hard to understand her speech. I thought she said medicine, she said "My Zada sick, Zada drink milk and eat breakfast". She's so sweet when she says "My Zada...". Any time an airplane goes by she cries out "We need to go see Zada, he live far away!" She also keeps saying that we lost him on the airplane. But in this clip she was agreeing with whatever I thought she was saying. She was just sooooo sad.

An hour later after I filmed this my sister Mahana calls me and tells me that Zada just went through another surgery and that it doesn't look like he may pull through the after math of it. My heart dropped. I never pictured my father passing away like this. I see more life for him to live. I want Maleha and Kasiah to see and know their Zada. I mean the only thing I can do from here is just pray and have faith that the Lord will do his will. Wether it be that it's time for my Dad to go or that there is more life for him to live is all up to the Lord. I leave it in his hands and will come to peace with the out come through time. Luckily, Mahana and Kathy are flying from Utah to Seattle tonight to see him.

My heart is saddened by all this and I wish I could be close to him right now. I will do what I can to be there for him in spirit. Maleha and Kasiah will draw pictures for him and I will post them. We love you and miss you Zada!! You are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers!

My two girls

2008-04-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my two girls attached to my hip and Maleha's hand in between my boobs. That is her favorite spot to cuddle. Really she just likes to slip her hand down there any chance she can get but in this photo I am actually heading out the door to drop them off at the babysitters so that Dustin and I can go to the temple with the youth to do baptisms. The drive was 3 hours away and worth every minute of it. We had a wonderful time and hope to go again in a few more days.

Adora Belle Dolls

2008-04-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Adora Belle Baby Tiny Tot is a collectible tiny tot doll with original porcelain head by sculptor, Marie Osmond. You can tell she is a Marie Osmond sculpt because she has the trademark beauty mark underneath her left eye. Adora Belle Baby Tiny Tot has been hand-crafted with the special attention to detail that is the hallmark of all Marie Osmond dolls.

I am so excited to say that I am in love with these two little adorable porcelain dolls. Can you blame me? I selected these two out of all the other thousands of dolls that Marie Osmond sells because they look so much like my two little girls and were introduced the same month and year that Maleha and Kasiah were born.

I am not much of a collector in the finer things in life but I see no harm in collecting these beautiful porcelain dolls as a family heirloom for my little girls to one day collect for themselves and possibly their own little girls as a family tradition..

What really has brought me to choose the Marie Osmond collection is that all the dolls that she sculpts have the trademark of her beauty mark on her left eye and I have that exact beauty mark on my left eye as well and so it has brought an affinity towards wanting to collect her work and sharing that beauty mark with my own girls. It's much more meaningful that way. Plus it doesn't hurt that she shares the same faith as me.

I am hoping to include my talent of photography with these dolls and have my girls dress and pose just like them so that there will be more to have fun in collecting them. Dolls are such a wonderful creation!

My Dad Dreams BIG

2008-04-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

My dad has been admitted into the ER 3 times within the last week due to side effects from healing from his open heart surgery and dealing with diabetes. But I just got off the phone with him and he is in high spirits and optimistic towards his goal to one day receive his match to qualify for his kidney transplant. He says "I'm just paying for the good times I had earlier."

I feel my dad has has always had a great sense of humor and a good head on his shoulders and even when his head is not on his shoulders he is always making sure that he is dreaming BIG. And boy does he dream BIG! I have always admired my father for his dreams because no matter how impossible they may seem he is always willing to do what it takes to pursue the impossible. Some may say foolish but I say "What a Genius!"

I have to give a special thanks to Sarah who is my Dad's endless and wise companion who lets my dad live his life so vicariously and unpredictable. She gives him the chance to live his life and to be happy in what he feels is fulfilling it but at the same time keeps him grounded and secured. She is amazing in supporting him right now at this fragile time of healing and making everyday trials of life possible to live through. I love you and wish you both well.

21 years LATER

2008-04-18T12:15:00.001-07:00

It has been 21 years since Amelia Leha Tuita-Vehikite Muchnick passed away (My mom) but I remember it as though it was yesterday. Today I would like to go back 21 years ago when I was 9 years old and record what I had witnessed.

My mom had been diagnosed with cervical cancer in her early 30's and had pain of living with the fact that cancer may end up taking her life one day. Well that one day finally came where she desired to pass away at home with us family gathered around. It was the morning of April 18th 1987. She was laying in her bed with her hospital gown on. My Dad was calling through out the whole house with an urgent cry to gather quickly in their bedroom.

I remember my mom mentioning that she wanted to pass away with her temple garments on and so I reminded my father as he rushed to put them on underneath her sheets. At this point, all she could do is slowly gasp for air and wait for her body to take it's course to shut down. She could not speak and so all we could do is tell her our last words of peace. Everyone was crying except for me. Ironically, I cry more now than I ever would have then. Only because I couldn't help but be more observant in watching everyone else and trying to feel and see what others were going through. Once she finally partook of her last breath and her spirit had left her body all you could hear in the room was the cries for her to come back that much louder.

I remember a calm and peaceful feeling that came over me at this time as though I knew she was going to a better place and that I would see her again. Once we all realized that she was truly gone my father made the phone call for the funeral place to come and pick her body up and we all stood back and watched as they took her body and drove it away for preparations.

Today I can still hear her gasping for air as if she is trying so hard to hold on for those few more seconds of her dear life to be with us for just one more moment in time. It seemed that it happened all so sudden. Now it's 21 years later.

My mom was born into a family of 11 kids and had 4 children of her own and adopted 3 of our 1st cousins in which makes 7 kids.. Between us all the oldest was 16 and the youngest was 5 years old. She was 36 years old when she died.

My mother insisted that my Father re-marry so that we would have a mother to raise us. I took it as a sign that my mom was pleased that my Dad fulfilled her wishes when he announced that he had married in secret to Sarah Cottrell exactly a year later on this day as well... Happy Anniversary!

It has been through this marriage that I have received the wonderful blessing of Sarah as a Step mother and her 5 children as my step brother and sisters. Sarah then was able to have a child together with my father soon later who is now known as my lovely sister Meredith Rose. So all together we are one big family. 9 girls and 4 boys. It has been an experience of a lifetime.

So this day is a very momentous day that will always be remembered as a day of remembrance and celebration.

Now as a mother, I seriously could not imagine the heartache my own mom had to be facing knowing that she would not be around to raise her own children.

Although, I still have great peace with her death and find myself closer to her now than ever.I just can not wait for my own children to have the opportunity to meet her ONE DAY because that day will be when we will all be together forever again.

I will have to give credit to where credit is due and that is the gospel in my life and how it has kept my spirits high through out all the trials in my life . I am just so grateful for the gospel and the truth it possesses of the plan of salvation. . What a marvelous plan Heavenly father has made for us. What a wonderful blessing. What a WONDERFUL LIFE!

Just US Girls

2008-04-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

It seems that life just gets sweeter having spent my day with my two precious girls. As far as this day in age they are attached to my hip! I sit down they sit on me. I walk around, they follow me. I go to sleep they are sleeping on top of me. Lately, they have been bickering to see who can get closer to mommy's face. I can not breathe without these two sharing the same breath I take. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I take in every moment with these girls as though there is no tomorrow and I never pass an opportunity to teach them to love one another and to share (especially when it comes to their mommy). I know they are growing up so fast and how I need to savor these moments with them . I am doing my best to just live in the moment when it's just us girls.

The Stroller

2008-04-13T21:30:00.001-07:00

Kasiah is growing up so fast!! She loves to sit in this little doll stroller and have Maleha push her around in it. She just turned 18 months old and is the smartest, sweetest, most sassiest girl in sight.We all just love her to pieces!

She has been talking so much latley AND yesterday her first sentence unfortunately was" I want pop!" It was hilarious though! It totally surprised us because Dustin is trying so hard to quit drinking pop but when he does drink it the girls go wild for it and he tried to sneak it pass them when Kasiah caught him a mile away and said with a loud voice " I want pop!"

Snow and Hot coa coa

2008-04-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today it snowed! By noon it was all gone but Dustin got the girls to atleast get a good taste of it and as you can see they had no problem doing that. We warmed up real quick in the house with some good old fashioned Ovaltine hot Coa-coa. When Maleha realized there was no more coa-coa in her cup she was not happy. Haha! too cute!

P.S Conference was amazing! Love the spiritual food and guidance from such righteous leaders! It always feels wonderful to sustain a new prophet but sad to see one go.

The camera battery died so what I captured on video was 2 seconds of Dustin trying to build a snow man with his corny sound effects while Maleha is asking if she can throw it. (She thinks it's Big snow ball) It eventually turned into one because we had a snow ball fight right after this and Dustin missed me 5 times in a row... It was so funny because Maleha's first try she got me!

Historical day

2008-04-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

Inside of Peter Whitmer's Farm home

It was at this location that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints was organzied, on April 6th, 1830.
See Doctrine & Covenants Section 20:

"1 The arise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April—"

Kasiah's 1st Pony Tail

2008-04-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

Kasiah is always pulling out anything that I put in her hair BUT the day has finally come where her hair is long enough to pull it all back into a ponytail and she actually left it in long enough for me to take this pic. haha! Here is a before and after picture of her hair blowing in the wind and her posing with her look-a-like doll friend.

April fools

2008-04-01T21:37:00.001-07:00

Surprisingly, we did not pull any pranks on eachother today but it seemed everyone else around us did. The funniest one was this morning when our neighbor left a note on our car saying that they were in a rush to work and accidentally hit it. Dustin went out to the car 3 times during the day trying to see exactly where they may have hit it and could not find a scratch. All the while, our shy new neighbor was in her house laughing the whole time at Dustin. After her husband came home from work they both came over and said "April fools day!" HAHAhA Good one!

My favorite days are the days Dustin has off work. Today was that day! So, we went to the bowling alley and had fun hanging out as a family and then we let Maleha try out her new wheels outside. Dustin was trying so hard to teach her how to pedal forward instead of Backwards. His patience was tested. I think Maleha was trying to April fool her Daddy. Dustin definitely won for being an April fool for the month! haha

P.S I already know this month is going to fly by!!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T12:49:00.001-07:00

Easter was so simple this year. I kind of feel bad because I did not do any Easter egg hunt with them this year. I think the bunnies and eggs are fun and great but that it also takes away from what Easter is really all about. I did however tell them the story of Jesus and his resurrection. Maleha seemed to totally understand it. I then gave them an Easter basket full of treats. I hope to do something more spiritually fun next year and have it be all focused on Jesus and his ressurection. He lives and that is definitely worth celebrating!

Kasiah looking fabulous with her
green candy lips and plastic grass hair.Maleha singing for us on Easter Sunday
Kasiah posing pretty in her Easter Sunday dress.
Maleha sharing her green fun dip with Kasiah from her Easter basket.
Happy Birthday Gamma!

80's Birthday Party!

2008-03-21T20:59:00.001-07:00

Gavrila Chase, Danielle Boyett, 30 year old, Kate Scattergood,Lindsay Peterson striking a pose!
Lindsay Peterson won the most adorable 80's outfit.
Gavrila & I blowing out our candles on the best cake ever made!

This was the the most awesome 80's Birthday Party EVER! We totally talked 80's all night. We Started at 7pm and played games until 3 am. We had a BLAST! It was totally super radical dude!

Valerie Raybon getting a helium high.

March

2008-03-19T15:12:00.001-07:00

Okay, I am finally 30 and am turning blue in the face! I know I have been the biggest blog slacker within the last 2 months But I can not tell you how fast time is flying by for me. It seems the older I get the faster life speeds up and there are no brakes in between to slow it all down. It's scary! Especially because I still feel like I am 20. It is the strangest feeling in the world! I seriously could not fathom the thought when I was 20 calculating ahead with friends saying "When it's 2008, I will be 30!!" It was just mind boggling to even say it let alone think it But now all of a sudden life seems to be going all down hill from here because I see my life 10 years from now as though it's tomorrow. 40 is going to creep up on me and the next thing I know I will be 50 and then a Grandma!!! Don't get me wrong I love the wisdom and beauty that comes along with age but to tell people now that I am 30 seems astronomical! Time is fierce! Life is too Short!! Love life and live it!

My Birthday today was really fun and wonderful even though Dustin surprised me with an over the hill card and 40 bucks in it I also had a good friend of mine (Gavrila Chase) come over and surprise me with over the hill balloons and some lunch. She also took me out to a few German stores to go shopping. We had a blast! Her Birthday is next week and so we both decided to plan ourselves a huge 80's Birthday party for this friday at my house at 7pm. It's going to be totally awesome!!

February

2008-02-01T22:48:00.001-08:00

I already know that this month is going to just fly by. I LOVE the month of February because it's just full of love and hearts and there's fun Birthdays to celebrate. Plus, I love making cards and so this is the month that it's most fun to do it.

P.S I can't seem to find my camera

Gordon B. Hinckley

2008-01-29T21:20:00.001-08:00

JANUARY 27th 2008, SUNDAY
The prophet Gordon B. Hinckley 1910- 2008

Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,

Yes, running, not waving his cane.

I see him embracing his father and mother

While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,

Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.

Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service

That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior

While Father says, "Good and well done.

So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome

My noble, most excellent son."

I then hear the ripples of laughter

As he says the reception's just fine,

But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two

Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness

At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,

Have faith and move forward — there's work to be done.

President Hinckley would want it that way.

Anna M. Molgard

Gordon and Marjorie sharing a few good laughs together

Together Forever!
What a great smile!

Gordon B. Hinckley passed away January 27th 2008 on a Sunday at 7pm in his home with his family who were gathered close around him. This man was no ordinary man he was a true prophet of God who lead by remarkable strength and revealing revelation.

Dustin received an e-mail yesterday from our bishop announcing the death of the prophet and once I received the news, a feeling of peace and joy came over me. It was all so bitter sweet because All I could envision was him and his wife embracing with excitement and eagerness to be re-united together again for time and all eternity. What a a beautiful moment that must have been. I unfortunately was unable to be in the presence of such a great prophet but just to have been living in the same time he was alive and leading gives me such great honor. He will be greatly missed by many people in the world..

Sick & Tired

2008-01-29T17:14:00.002-08:00

"Oh the Pain and frustration"

Last week Maleha was not feeling well and was running a high fever and dehydrated but now she is feeling so much better and is back to her fun-spunky self. But of course sickness has it's way of passing it self along to our dear sweet Kasiah who is teething and tired of having a high fever with a facet runny nose which she doesn't know how to blow except for those snotty, slimy ones that would make anyone scream out "GROSS!" She has been very clingy as well as crying all the time. Her world must feel like this picture just full of pain, hot flashing headaches and tremendous frustration. She is just so miserable...My poor baby Kasiah!

p.s Last week when I found out Maleha was sick we happened to be at the lunch bunch with the ladies from church and she told me her tummy hurt and started to gag and so I quickly picked her up and started to rush her to the restroom which probably did not help because when a little boy ran right in front of us she threw up and it just protruded all over this little boys face. It was horrible!

Daddy's love

2008-01-29T17:14:00.001-08:00

Kasiah this week

Maleha last week

During this sad time of sickness the girls seem to have drawn closer to their Daddy. It has also given Dustin the opportunity to show his compassionate side to them. He was able to give them both blessings which is a side of their daddy that is most important for them to see. Dustin is such a wonderful father! I love this man!

p.s I had to capture these precious moments.

Birthday Party

2008-01-26T11:07:00.001-08:00

Happy 28th Birthday Valerie! At first, I was kind of hesitant to go to this slumber party just because it has been more than 10 years since I have gone to one but all the more to go right? So, I am happy to say that I did! Before I went though, I cleaned the whole house spotless from top to bottom and put the girls to bed early so that once Dustin came home I was off to party like a Rock star! I didn't realize how much I needed to just hang out with the girls and just play games and laugh. It was awesome to get to know all these ladies away from their callings and church. What a bunch of Crazy , Sexy, Cool ladies we got in this ward. I felt like I was sixteen again! I am definitely going to have to celebrate my 30th birthday with these woman. I had such a blast!!

-THE FINAL QUESTION BATTLE-

Danielle Boyett and Stacey pratt (pink shirt) are in the battle to win! The rules are: You are to ask the person on the right of you any type of question and that person is not to answer or laugh but to pass quickly along the next question that they want to ask to the next person until someone cracks up and busts. We started out with 20 ladies and now it is down to the final two. It does not last long but it's hilarious! What a fun game! Go Danielle!

Sunday

2008-01-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

My dear daughters may have looked silly wearing these pilgrim dresses to church today but when you find treasure hand-me-downs like these for free, anything can be brought back to style. :) We had a wonderful Sunday!

Teething

2008-01-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

OUCH! My poor baby Kasiah has been teething like crazy! Her back molars are trying to cut through the gums and the only thing that will give her relief is her drooling everywhere while sucking on her BINKY! Oh! and her Mommy's snuggles. I love you Kasiah!

Travel map

2008-01-20T15:46:00.001-08:00

Airforce

2008-01-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

Dustin is the finest enlisted staph Sergeant (E-5) in the Airforce and has won many awards for his outstanding service and accomplishments. He is currently a nominee for NCO (leadership) of the year. I hope he wins!

Maleha is the most qualified Staph Sergeant's daughter in the Airforce and is our Airplane detector. She loves to fly herself high in the sky anytime she hears those jet engines roaring nearby. She found her Daddy's hat and boots and started playing dress up and I caught her in action on video!

Even though Kasiah wants to always do what her sister's doing Kasiah is really the Leader of the pack. She knows how to give orders and does not take "NO" for an answer. She can make anyone bend to their knees and her Daddy's heart melt. But when duty calls she has got some big shoes to fill and as far as the picture shows theres no doubt she fills them well.

As for me, Dustin calls me the ODC (Off Duty Commander). I take my job very seriously and so what I say goes. My job is by far the best job in the world! hahaha!

FUNNY STORY

Last summer when we would go on our daily walks as a family
Maleha kept pointing to the sky when she would see a trail of
smoke behind the airplanes and shout "Look, a SHIP!" And I
would always say " Yeah cool, A space ship!"

But Dustin one day said " No, It's an airplane.

I responded and said "Dustin, just let her use her imagination and let her think it's a space ship.

He quickly replied:

" No, she needs to know what a real airplane is."

(Dustin does not usually get involved in such silly matters but
I could see the sudden importance with him being in the
Airforce .)

But still, Maleha kept shouting "Look, a ship!" and I kept telling
her "Cool, a space ship!" but Dustin would just keep correcting
me and would tell her it was an airplane until ONE day Maleha
shouted:

"Look! A ship!"

I said "Yeah, cool a space ship" and she said

" No mom, it's an airplane."

I giggled and said "Your right, it's an airplane."

and she said "No mom, It's a ship!."

Dustin and I were laughing hysterically.
We learned an important lesson that day, that as parents
our kids are really listening when we think they are not.

So now,Maleha makes this our inside family joke and
when ever she sees an airplane go by she just laughs and
says " I funny, huh?" .She's our jokester.

Thankyou

2008-01-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks Candace! We received your package and we absolutely loved it! All the gifts were so very thoughtful of you. Here is one that we are very proud of. Maleha snuggles it with pride!
Congratulations on baby Cate!

Cousin Cate

January 13, 2008 12:23 pm 6 pounds 10 ounces

Welcome Cate Elizabeth Ballard! We are so excited you are finally here and have chosen to join our family. We have been waiting for this special day because we have a club to create called the "Ballard Babes". We hope to meet and play with you one day and keep you up to date on all our cool secrets.They are so funny! We love you! Girl Cousin Power!

Love,
Maleha and Kasiah

Same Age

2008-01-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

Maleha 2 years ago chewing toes
Kasiah chewing toes today
Maleha 2 years ago
Kasiah Today

Maleha and Kasiah at 15 months old. They both are so much alike but so different at the same time and age. I love watching Kasiah grow into her own self and Maleha always setting the example. So, if Maleha tries to chew on her toes so will Kasiah, but 2 years later .HaHa! I cut Maleha's bangs but Dustin will not let me go near Kasiah's.

P.S They have the exact shaped button nose! I love it!

Postponed

2008-01-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

My father's surgery has been postponed to Monday, Jan. 21, 2008. His hemoglobin / blood wasn't producing enough potassium so he will be in the hospital until they can get it back to the 4 count they need. It's 7 count.Until then, We love you and miss you! You're in our thoughts and prayers.

Shake it!

2008-01-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Kasiah is our little salt shaker. She loves to move and groove.
Here she is shaken it like it's hot. She is so much fun at this age!
But really she was just happy because she was about to get her
grubb on! haha!

Fasting for Father

2008-01-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

Dustin and I had our tithing settlement with the Bishop to report that we are full tithe payers for 2007 but Bishop was concerned more about our fast offerings and challenged us to give generously for there is more blessings to receive that the Lord is willing to give us.

I have always been more than willing to pay fast offerings but Dustin mentioned to me that he feels in order to pay an honest fast that we have to fast from food first. I always would just pay our fast offerings without fasting but now I understood why Dustin had not been paying because we were not fasting!

Well, It has been too long to mention when the last time it was that I have fully fasted but the opportunity had arose for Dustin and I to finally do what our Bishop had challenged us to do. There is a very delicate triple Bypass surgery that my dear Father will be having to undergo less than a week from now.(Jan 14th Monday)
I have never felt such a stronger reason to fast and lean upon the Lord for strength and comfort until now.

As I started my fast it seemed all I could think about was food. I quickly started to train my thoughts towards my Father and seeked for spiritual food. I read the Scriptures and felt less hunger pains. I also felt a strong desire to open and read the most recent January Ensign and I came across What I felt was an answer to my fast and prayers on page 18, about Joseph Smith under the word Family. It reads:

The counsel and wisdom regarding the importance and eternal nature of the family .....written in Joseph's personal journal about his ill father: " Waited on my father again, who was very sick. In secret prayer in the morning, the Lord said, 'My servant, thy father shall live.' "......

When I read these words it struck me with such an overwhelming power of peace. As though the Lord was speaking directly to me himself saying "Margaret, thy father shall live."!!

I felt such at ease with still having the rest of the day to fast but this spiritual experience helped me to finish my fast triumphantly. I know my father will live to see longer days. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Dad, we love you!

Park University

2008-01-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

Dustin has been taking classes as on-line at Park University for 2 years and has just recieved his associates degree from the Airforce and will be graduating with his Bachelors in Criminal Justice in the year 2010 from Park University. He was just put on the Dean's list for this last fall Semester. His accomplishments are mine as well and I am so proud of his hard work and dedication in his efforts towards school. This was the whole reason we joined the Airforce was for Dustin to pursue education and so we work as a team to reach these goals! I am just so pleased when he gets acknowledged for his accomplishments. He deserves it!

Fall Semester 2007 Malstrom AFB Dustin C Ballard

Congratulations for being named to the Dean's Honor List for Fall 2007. This is a prestigious honor and you should be proud of your accomplishments.Park University would like to help recognize you by providing the attached letter that you can submit to the editor of your local newspaper(s).Additionally, Park has posted your name on the University web site. To view your name, simply visit www.park.edu/deanslist/ and scroll down to your Campus Center. Be sure to select the most current semester and year (Fall 2007).

Dean's List:Twelve or more graded hours at Park University are completed, either in one sixteen week term or in two accelerated terms (Fall I/Fall II or Spring I/Spring II).

1. Must be degree seeking at Park University.
2. Student earned a semester grade point average of 3.600 or better.
3. Student received no incomplete grades for the semester or terms.
4. The Fall Deanâ€™s List is based on the Fall semester or Fall I, and Fall II terms.

• Baca, Krystina • Griffin, Joseph H. • Morales, Danielle Brooke
• Baird, Judith A. • Guilbeau, Shaelyn D. • Myers, Beverly A.
• Ballard, Dustin C • Hale, Jennifer K. • Navarro, Anastacio Michael• Barragan, Alfredo J. • Hebert, Marcus R. • Nikolaus, Angela C.• Beecher, Stephen C. • Hendershot, Keith J. • Nordick, Alyshia C.• Blackman, Elliot R. • Hewett, Micah • Rees, Jeffrey S.• Broadribb, Scott D. • Hoggan, Katie J. • Roaten, Amber J.• Brownfield, Michael T. • Igou, Casandra L. • Salas, Eishel• Cardelli, Paul B. • Johnson, Ladonna • Sidor, Diane Patrice• Cobeaga, Anthony P • Knox, Tricia May • Stephens, Tyhessia V.• Corbeil, Susan L. • Lawson, Scot V. • Thomas, Kevin L• Ezop, Deborah • Lucas, Cheryl L. • Thomas, Shea D.• Galvez, Rebecca L. • Lundberg, Cynthia A • Tribby, Melinda D.• Garcia, Amber K. • Margini, Frank R. • Uhl, Brandon J.• Gemmer, Stephanie J. • Mason, Samuel R. • VanHise, Julie A.• Giordano, Emma K.

The Veil of time

2008-01-02T01:58:00.001-08:00

As the New 2008 year approached I felt as though it was like entering into a new veil of time. I then thought of our premortal existence and the veil of forgetfulness that we have to enter & pass through in order to gain a physical body so that we can come down to earth to progress and of course one thought lead to the next where I could not help to think of my 2 little girls and how recently they have passed through the veil and how close they are in remembering our premortal existence.

As their mother I feel such a strong responsibility to teach them the plan of salvation so that they may never forget where they came from and will always remember where they need to return which is back in the loving arms of our glorious Heavenly father.

As far as these pictures go of Maleha and Kasiah, they were both playing with the white lace curtains that we have and it made me see a vision of them passing through the veil and how they entered through it.

Well, with Maleha being first, she passed through on October 16th 2004 , where she entered with such boldness and readiness to be part of the plan.

Kasiah, desiring to have entered first, sacrificed and was willing to wait until October 10th 2006 where she passed through with humility and patience. These pictures were able to depict just that!

2007-12-31T16:19:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve

2007-12-31T02:03:00.001-08:00

The History of New Year's Resolutions

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.

With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

The New Year has not always begun on January 1, and it doesn't begin on that date everywhere today. It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year's gifts.

In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1.

The Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar calendars. Some cultures have lunar calendars, however. A year in a lunar calendar is less than 365 days because the months are based on the phases of the moon. The Chinese use a lunar calendar. Their new year begins at the time of the first full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquarius- sometime between January 19 and February 21.

Although the date for New Year's Day is not the same in every culture, it is always a time for celebration and for customs to ensure good luck in the coming year.

Ancient New Years

The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar.

Late March actually is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the New Year on March 25, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun. In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the New Year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

2007-12-30T15:02:00.001-08:00

Vehicles

2007-12-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

1998 626 Mazda
2006 Hyundai Sonata
1992 Honda hutchback
2006 Honda Hybrid (my favorite car)
2002 Honda oddessy (Currently for sale 13,500)
1993 volks wagon

Kasiah in training

Vehicles seem to come and go through our hands like sand. Since we have been married (4 years) these are all the vehicles that we have had since the beginning until now. Kasiah is modeling the newest one that we just bought the other week. We are currently selling our Van and will be sticking with this Red 92 volks wagon until we can buy in full a 2nd used car, only to sell them both before we leave here. Such a vicious cycle. Dustin tells me this car is me Christmas gift but I would rather have a love letter.haha

"Love Thy Neighbor"

2007-12-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

It is Saturday the 29th and I thought this day would never come. It is a very special day because my neighbor has finally left the country.

In being brutally honest, when I first met my neighbor it was quite an overbearing experience. I seriously did not know how to perceive her but found out rather quickly that she was going to be very high maintenance. I actually cried the first 2 weeks I was here because I did not know how to tell her to slow down and back off.

I suddenly felt trapped in my new home. I just remember every time that I saw her she would always (without fail) tell me how tired I looked when I had just taken a shower, was dressed and felt great for that day. I ended up writing down how many times she said this to me. I had to stop after the 20th time. I finally told her that when she tells me how tired I look that I feel she is trying to tell me that I look like crap in a nice but round about way. she finally cut back on her rude tired remarks.

I found her lectures on how to raise my daughters without asking for her advice was getting under my skin and that you could not tell her anything because she knew everything. She seemed very closed minded and judgmental, a very selective listener and memory which made it almost impossible to have a normal conversation with her. She was rather controlling with not a humble bone in her body. Even though she was amazing at sharing and giving I felt she was just as selfish. It was very difficult for me to relate to her because the connection between us was so static that I finally realized that she just didn’t care! She just didn't care to relate to me or felt that she needed to. She had to always be different or do the opposite for her to feel important.

Luckily, I have a very strong and wonderful relationship with my Supreme being who I know is the Father of my spirit, and is all wise, and is all knowing, and is all powerful and as I turned to him for counsel of my situation with her, he always impressed me to not turn my back on her but to simply listen and to be a friend especially during this short period of time that I felt was like an eternity. (8 months)

I was just constantly wondering and trying to figure out why God had sent this woman to cross my path in life. I felt there must be a deeper reason with all these feelings that I mustered.

At first, I thought it was to pursue the interests that I have in Arts & other various talents that he has blessed me with (because she is an artist) but God whispered to me simply “No”.

Then I asked in thought “Is it to exercise my back bone and tell this Lady how I really feel about her?” and he again whispered gently to me “No”.

Of course it is always the 3^rd time that you try that there is some kind of clearance. It was more than clear to me it was too simple. How could I learn anything if I do not obey and submit myself to his counsel that has been written in stone for thousands of years? I could suddenly feel the heavens open and the arms of a loving Heavenly Father embrace me, who confirmed in my heart saying with such love, “Yes my child, You are to simply Love thy Neighbor as though loveth thyself”.

I have come to not only love my neighbor, but have opened my heart to her as a friend. I was able to finally look pass our differences and tried my very best to get along with her atleast the best that I knew how. There were times that it seemed impossible but this experience with her has drawn me to be closer to not only her as my neighbor but to my creator as well. Who, I feel in a sense has touched my hand by holding it in this whole process. It may at first felt like an eternity but time has it’s way of quickly scrolling down to an end. I have learned so much from her as a person of difference and I will never forget her as long as I live.

God has opened my eyes to see what he sees in her and that is greatness.

So all in all, surprisingly, I will miss her presence in my life and all that she had taught me. Life is all about progression and having her in my life has helped me to progress on so many different levels.

I wish for her to live her life to its fullest and find the truth that it possesses.

Love thy Neighbor!

The mist of Darkness

2007-12-27T23:08:00.000-08:00

In the last few days the fog here has been getting increasingly thick and has not let up yet. Dustin and I have been spooked out having to drive through it. You can get lost so easily if you do not know where you are at. At night it is like the mist of darkness. These photos show the difference of a clear, cloudy day and the thick fog we have today. In the spiritual sense "Hold to the Iron Rod". (Lehi's dream in The book of Mormon 1 Nephi 8: 24)

Snowy walk

2007-12-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

It finally snowed! The snow turned the frost into a slush and we didn't find out until we went outside for a walk. It was drizzling a cold foggy mist and it seemed we couldn't quite get a gist of this whole winter mix. We threw on our knitted Shaw's and slished sloshed down our white covered block. I was able to take some shots here and there and suddenly our old Landlord appeared! So I took a snap shot of him and the girls,Why not? They love Mr Lehnertz he looks like a Grandpa. We then got all cold and went back in our warm home where Maleha knocked out for a colorful sleeping pose.

Presents

2007-12-25T15:58:00.001-08:00

New Presents from Grandma and Grandpa Ballard.
Thankyou!! The girls love their new back packs!

My Christmas experiment worked! I just wrapped all their old toys and they just had a blast unwrapping them all.They were very grateful. The only thing NEW that I got Maleha was the truck that she asked for from Santa and she played with it all night. She was such a good sport. Next Christmas I will try another experiment. I will shop at a Thrift store to see what new treasures I can find for them to open. I am sure they will be happy with whatever presents they receive because they are my little grateful angels.

Christmas Prayer by Maleha

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We had Maleha say a prayer to start off the unwrapping spree.
She loves saying the prayers any chance she gets. So precious!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!! Today the girls woke up at 9am which was so nice because we were able to sleep in a bit and Daddy Dustin cooked us girls some pancakes and bacon. So sweet! We then got ready to attend the Christmas party that we were invited to by Danielle Boyett to her friend Sheila's house. On our way there, Maleha and Kasiah had fallen asleep in the van. So here Dustin is hauling both Sleepy Santas into Sheila's home. What a strong, sweet, handsome Daddy.

Once inside Sheila's warm home, we had a feast around 3:00pm and ate some desserts around 4:30pm. Kasiah was the first in line. haha! Dustin and I took a drive real quick around the neighborhood to capture photos of the frost and a festive German home. We then went back to the party and did some nativity crafts with the kids and ended up leaving for home around 6:o0 pm. Maleha cried because she did not want to leave but as soon as we buckled her and Kasiah in the van they both went right to sleep.yaaa!

When we had arrived home the girls stayed asleep while I wrapped all their toys. In the meantime, Dustin and I watched the movie called "The Nativity story" It was beautifully made. I will have it be a New tradition of ours to watch it every year on Christmas as a family.

Today we had a wonderful frosty white Christmas. Dustin told me that he ordered it just for me. He is such a thoughtful Husband. We both enjoyed that it was just frost instead of snow to make this day a white Christmas. We both embraced it with thoughts of Christ and our love for him. Today was such a beautiful Christmas day we loved it!

Santa girls

2007-12-22T01:37:00.000-08:00

I am not a Big Santa fan but you wouldn't be able to tell with all the Santa hats on. For some reason this year it was all about Dressing up like Santa. So I bent my rules a bit and got us Santa Christmas cards and had the girls have fun with the Red and white Santa theme. It was too cute!

Stuffed animals

2007-12-21T05:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of our favorite stuffed animal! She comes alive during the day to play and puts us all to sleep at night with her snuggles. Her name is Kasiah and we've had her for a year now and she has brought us nothing but hope and joy into our lives. She definitely has all the right STUFF!haha

As part of my Winter cleaning, I am currently going through all the Girl's toys to see what I can give away as well as keep for them because I need some toys to wrap for Christmas. hee! hee!

Well, today I did not do your ordinary laundry. I did stuffed animal laundry and washed all the stuffed toys I could find. Before I decide to get rid of most of them I slowly piled each one around Kasiah and suddenly thought of a colorful picture to take. So here she is sleeping with all her warm clean Stuffed animals. haha

Our little Christmas tree

2007-12-21T04:47:00.000-08:00

This is our fake, 24 inch tall, Christmas tree. We love it! Especially at night when we are gathered together as a family just relaxing. We enjoy how it lights up our whole living room with the spirit of Christmas. Maleha and Kasiah like to play with the small boxes of presents underneath and put the Nativity scene in them that they got from Grandma Ballard.

Even though Christmas is simple this year, we really love the Special feeling that a Christmas tree can bring into our home and hearts. Maybe one day we will splurge and get a real one but for now this works wonders! Look! it put Maleha to sleep...haha

Pulling hair

2007-12-19T20:06:00.001-08:00

Sorry, I had to capture this daily occurrence that goes on in our Ballard home. Can you believe Kasiah's innocent looking face!?! Poor Maleha! As you can see, Kasiah started this hair pulling at a very young age. She is a pro now. I constantly have to tell Kasiah to stop and to show her how to be soft and gentle and I finally have got her to let go and gently pat Maleha on the head afterwards but she needs alot of repeating. Unfortunately,Maleha just happens to be the ginny pig in teaching such a painful Lesson. She is such an amazing older sister though. She is so patient with Kasiah and never hits her back or pulls her hair. Surprisingly, She will even grab Kasiah's hand afterwards and run it back through her hair and tell her "No,Soft, Siah,Soft". What an amazing older sister!

p.s Right before I took this picture Kasiah pulled a red dress out from the closet and was trying to put in on over her head. It was so cute to watch her try and so I helped her put it on over her pink onsie and so this picture also shows the first outfit she ever picked and tried to put on.

Kasiah's Hair

2007-12-18T15:34:00.001-08:00

This is how long Kasiah's hair is now a days. It feels silky soft and looks fluffy and feathery. This brunette has been untouched by any sharp slicing objects because I have had no temptation to cut this perfectly layered mullet. haha

Kasiah loves for me to run my fingers through her hair and stroke it until she falls asleep. Her hair has lightened up a bit since she was born with such full beautiful thick black hair. I wonder if she will turn blond and Maleha turn brown. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Maleha's Hair

2007-12-18T14:16:00.001-08:00

Right now,this is how long Maleha's hair is. She still has her beautiful natural sandy blond color. I have had several people ask me if I highlight her hair! Although, I have a strong feeling this blond may fade into a brunette by the time she is 6 years old. I will embrace these young blond years of hers and just hope that she keeps this color until she turns old and grey.

Winter cleaning

2007-12-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

I have been more into winter cleaning and organizing than into Christmas this year. I have plenty of Christmas ornaments but have only put a few out as well as a small fake Christmas tree to light up our Living room. I mean, I have decorated our outside entry way more than I have the inside of our own home. That should tell you I am making Christmas very simple this year. I want to teach my children what the real meaning of Christmas is all about. Gifts are great and fun but I want my girls to be grateful for what they already have and so I bought enough wrapping paper to wrap all their toys just to have the fun of unwrapping them all. I feel they are young enough that I can get away with this for now. But not for long.

I am just really looking forward and more focused on the New year and what it has to offer us. Right now I am on this never ending project of cleaning and organizing my home to make life more simple and beautiful instead of it becoming cluttered and chaotic. I don't feel I am all the way settled in here yet. I have so much stuff that needs my attention to go through...So, I have started with all our closets and put aside all the clothes that we just don't need or use anymore. I am now going through all our furniture and just creating space to give us a fresh start to approach the New Year. Our cupboards in the Kitchen are next and the list goes on and on! It feels so awesome to get organized!I plan on doing an intense home cleaning every 3 to 6 months.This process reminds me of the 7 days of creation and how I am the creator of my own enviroment .I love being the creator of my own space. It takes alot of time and focus but at the same time it is really Exhilarating!

Kasiah

2007-12-15T07:58:00.001-08:00

Kasiah loves books! In the morning, the first thing she grabs are books for me to read to her. Her favorite books right now are any animal sounding kind. I mean she has Dustin and I trained to Meow like a cat and bark like a Dog.Ruff! Ruff!!! Her favorite animal sound to say is the baby pigs when they squeal "Wee'wee'wee'wee". Anyhow, She is such a serious book worm she even soaks herself with them in the bathtub.haha!

Kasiah's hairdo these days consist of the classy pony tails with the power puff doo afterwards. As far as her style goes I found her a screaming deal on this pink leopard outfit that she already seems to have grown out of. She is wearing 24mths already! She is 25 pounds of pure sweet sugar yet her favorite food right now is plain whole green beans...

Kasiah is such a happy baby! She loves to laugh and smile really BIG! She is amazing! I love her!

Imagination

2007-12-15T04:49:00.000-08:00

Picasa

2007-12-14T06:25:00.001-08:00

I love Picasa! Through the picasa program I can crop,touch-up, play with colors on any of my original photos to look stunning! I have posted the original photo and then the ones that I picasad up. Anyone can download this program for free and it automatically organizes your photos and has them ready at your fingertips to do whatever you please and it is so easy to do! I would recommend this feature to everyone! Just go to Picasa.com

These photos were taken this week of Maleha wearing her hot pink Asian dress that her Daddy Dustin bought her. At first, when she asked to wear it I was hesitant and was going to tell her "No, only on Sundays." but then I suddenly realized this would be a perfect opportunity to play dress up with her and take pictures. I did little Chung Lee rolls in her hair and had her play with my crystal ball on my window seal and started shooting away. These are just a few of the photos that I was able to capture. It's funny because She had to wear her Snow White slippers with it. She is such a Girly girl.

The Leopard coat photos were so fun to take. I put her in the tree that's in our front yard and she made this cute pose showing off her Big Brown eyes. I love it! I also was able to get her pretending to feed our Bush an apple. I love watching her pretend. What an imagination she has.

Oh!I have to mention she has an imaginary friend named Grant who is also a real boy in her nursery class. She talks to him sometimes in her room when she is playing "House". Too cute!

Mommy Daughters

2007-12-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

Here is Maleha and Mommy after we both got our haircuts. I cut her bangs while I cut, layered, and curled mine. Maleha is looking at me like "Mommy,Your so silly".

Then there is Kasiah & I at church. She looks like "Please take these silly looking pony tails out of my hair, I need a nap!".

Then of course we have the classic sleeping beauty picture. Yes, Maleha still puts her hand down my shirt to feel my skin for comfort. She also snuck that binky out of my shirt too. She knows better. I have had her weaned off binkies since this summer but She will still find a binky and try to hide it from me to suck on it. She is definitely in the closet about being a binky lover.haha

Maleha and Kasiah are the reason I wake up every morning, Literally! Kasiah is a morning bird and loves to wake me up bright and early and Maleha loves her sleep, but when she is up, she is UP all day long! These 2 girls love to sprawl all over me and snuggle me to sleep. I really am trying to enjoy these times that they do this because they are growing up so fast that I just want to take in every moment as if it was my last and lose myself in it.

Daddy Daughters

2007-12-12T01:09:00.001-08:00

Daddy Dustin loves his daughters! He is such a wonderful Daddy to his 2 little girls and they love him to pieces. That's all these little girls need for Christmas is their Daddy's love.

Snowman ear muffs

2007-12-11T06:46:00.001-08:00

All Kasiah is fascinated with is having fun with all the Christmas decorations around the house. She loves wearing these ear muffs everywhere we go. She is so much fun at this age.

Presents

2007-12-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

Maleha is fascinated with Christmas this year. She keeps asking about her presents under the Christmas tree. I tell her that Christmas is not all about presents But about BABY JESUS and how special he is in our lives. She repeats back "Baby Jesus?". I tell her "Yes, Baby Jesus was born into this world to give us all a present." She asks "Present?" I tell her "Yes, Jesus gave us his Life as a present so Christmas is all about baby Jesus being born." So I gave her this empty present box and told her "Let's fill this up with love to give to baby Jesus" and she gave it a big Hug and kiss. How Priceless!

Family Christmas Photo

2007-12-07T07:47:00.001-08:00

Here's our Family Christmas photo this year! We took this with the girls sleeping because we knew it would be way more easier than us wrestling with them to sit still and smile. I think it turned out quite sweet.They are our sleeping santas. "Ho!Ho!Ho!

Santa Claus

2007-12-07T06:40:00.002-08:00

Santa Claus is in Germany today and we just got back from visiting him at the Spandahlem Library!

Maleha went and sat right up on Santa's lap and when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas she put her hand on her chin and said "hmmm, A truck!" We all started laughing. It looks like all Kasiah wanted for Christmas is Santas lap to sleep on."Ho!Ho!Ho!"

Kasiah's umas!

2007-12-07T03:59:00.000-08:00

You got to check this out!I caught Kasiah giving me umas with her lip puckered out.It was too funny because in the process she was having way more fun knocking the camera & me out!

Umas

2007-12-07T03:49:00.001-08:00

This expression looks similar to her pouty face but it is actually her new way of giving umas (kisses). How can you not give this little girl umas after looking at this face! So darling cute!

Maleha's 1st day at Preschool!

2007-12-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

Right after I stopped recording I said "Bye Maleha, I love you, Mommy's going to go now." And she ran back to me and gave me a huge hug and kiss and said "I love you too mom,bye". I wish I had kept recording to had captured that. It was so priceless! I love my BIG GiRL! She's growing up so fast!

Maleha's pre-school!

2007-12-05T12:40:00.001-08:00

This is Maleha's first day at pre-school and she is rushing to her classroom at 8:30 in the morning to meet her new teacher Dena. This day has been long over due. We had her on the waiting list for the German pre-school just a block away from our home and they said January of next year they could get her started but now they are telling us not until Spring of 2008!

So, Thats when I just went ahead and signed her up for the Bitburg pre-school . Luckily they had a spot for her and she was able to get started right away. The only thing I do not like about going to Bitburg is the crazy drive there! It's 15 minutes away through Windy busy roads and it is so not fun to drive! Actually it is very quite scary! Especially lately with the weather being wet and icy.But it's totally worth it for Maleha because she absolutely thrives off of school. When picking her up she was happy to see me but not at all happy to leave. She cried and cried all the way home! I had to keep re-assuring her that we were coming back.She will hopefully understand and get the hang of her new schedule. She loves the interaction with the kids,the teacher,the crafts, the toys, just all of it!! It's so exciting to see her grow and progress.

Talents

2007-12-05T10:17:00.003-08:00

Here is my massage room that I have in our upstairs apartment that we rarely use. It's nice because it's quiet and a great room to receive a massage. I still need to do some decorating touch-ups before I really get the business going. I look forward to getting the word out.

Having it be Christmas soon I think of all the wonderful gifts that we exchange with one another as family and friends but mostly what kind of gifts we exchange with God. And as I was able to teach the Young women on Sunday we were able to talk about this and what gifts Heavenly Father has given us,which are our Talents. We are to exchange them with each other to help build his kingdom here on earth. I also shared the importance of having a desire to discover new gifts and talents that Heavenly father has blessed us with.

Well, the following Tuesday the girls were able to attend with us our Relief Society enrichment night where they sang and were able to auction off their services of talents to help others. It was really a wonderful experience to take part of teaching them and then witnessing what I taught go into action. I felt it was important for me to be an example and so I offered up my services to do a full body massage and Danielle Boyett won it with all of her 497 points. yaa! This special night made me reflect on all my gifts and talents that Heavenly father has blessed me with and how important it is for me to share them as well as discover them.

As for right now, I know from my patriarchal blessing God has blessed me with the gift of laughter and spirituality and a true honest devotion to his church but he also mentioned to me other special gifts that I am to nurture and magnify. So I really have reflected on my gifts and feel that I need to utilize them more by just laughing more, praying more and studying the scriptures more. So far I have discovered that I have the gift to listen and understand, to heal through massage, the eye for photography, crafts, designing, decorating, art, organizing, being creative & instinctive with ideas of fixing something, accounting money, selling something, making others laugh, Oh yeah! and giving birth to 8 pound babies.(That counts)

Well if there is anything else that I did not mention that you may feel I have. Let me know.
Thanks!

My list of talents that I have yet to discover is

1) The gift to sew
2) The gift to learn to play the guitar
3) The gift to sculpt
4) The gift of self-discipline and mastery
5) The gift to enjoy cooking and baking
6) The gift to memorize
7) The gift to one day become a hair stylest
8) The gift to sing
9) The gift to be a good speaker
10)The gift to build a house!

My goals in life is to one day

1) Lose weight! haha and stay that weight!
2) Be a wise mother,Grandmother, great-grandmother,and hopefully a great-great grandmother.haha
3) Write a childrens book.
4) Become a better and more powerful teacher
5) To Read the book of mormon in depth twice every year.
6) To be a dancer (Salsa,hip-hop,ballroom)
7) To go to photography school
8) To make a quilt
9) To attend a cosmotology school
10) Understand what is involved in being an architect
and design and take part in building my own dream home!

It's important for me to accomplish these goals in this life and to continually discover what I have to offer this world. Discovering my talents in this lifetime is a huge part of my progression to move forward in coming into myself and touching the lives of others.

Summer trees

2007-12-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

This is a better view of what the trees look like from inside of my bedroom. As you can see the trees just make it look so peaceful especially with the rainbow.. This was taken in the summer. It's a continuation of the photo I had entered into the contest. Every morning the sun rises through these windows to greet me and so I put my crystal ball where I will also arise to the rainbow prisms that shine through it.... Maleha makes this photo complete with her beauty and innocence. Now you can see why I love these two trees and the princess in between.hehe

Winter Bathing

2007-12-02T12:31:00.001-08:00

Maleha and Kasiah love their baths and I love taking pictures of them while giving them one. I know you may be thinking it's too risky with a camera but it's definitely worth the risk when you get to capture ones like these. Totally fun and appropriate!

Winter trees

2007-12-01T05:48:00.000-08:00

These are the two trees in our backyard. They are the view I have from my bedroom and so I wake up to them every morning and this is the picture of what I woke up to today. It is the first sign of snow and warning that winter is near. I have grown some kind of an attachment to these trees because I find myself looking forward to seeing them when starting my day. They give me such a calm feeling of peace and harmony. I love these two trees! When gazing at them they remind me of our own family tree and how one represents my side of the family while the other represents Dustin's side. I found the perfect hallmark tree to put on my window seal So that when looking inside you can see this hallmark tree in between these two trees which will become our own "Ballard batch" family tree. It is a metal tree that hangs pictures on it. It it really neat and it just brings it all together. I love decorating and bringing the outside in..I also want to do a craft by designing our own family tree and framing it. I have seen some really cool ideas. I am also going to frame a spring, summer, fall, and a winter photos of these two trees. I am hoping one day that I can get around to drawing them in water colors. Anyhow, these trees are the inspiration behind it all.

Fall to Winter

2007-12-01T04:01:00.000-08:00

Here Maleha stands in between two beautiful colored bushes . One representing the colorful fall Autumn season and the other a prickly green red holly bush for the coming winter. I have to say that my favorite time of the year is Autumn because of the special feeling that I receive when breathing in it's crisp clean air and taking in all the colorful leaves. It just brings back so many fond memories of my childhood and just the symbolism of what Autumn means. It shows the maturity of the earth that year and the entering into a new existence to renew and better ourselves as part of Heavenly father's plan. I love the feeling of progressing and coming into a new and saying goodbye to the old. It's now December 1st and winter is here. Let it snow!

Rainbow

2007-11-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

I submitted this photo into a contest for the first time . They just wrote me back and said that I am one of their finalists! They are publishing it in their book that will be coming out next month in December where it will be compiled with all their other finalists. I just ordered the book today. I am so excited! I just happened to capture this photo of Maleha by pure chance. I put her up on the window seal to look at the rainbow but she was more fascinated with my crystal ball that hangs there by a string and so she was following the string up with one hand while holding the crystal ball in the other and this is what I captured. It literally looks like she is holding the rainbow in her hands. I was so moved by this photo I felt others would be as well and so thats why I entered it into this contest. I hope it touches peoples hearts and moves their soul as it did mine. I ended up going through picasa.com to change it to a black and white photo but emphasizing the focus of colors of the rainbow. This is one of my favorite pictures of Maleha. It shows her pure beauty and innocence. I love her so much! She is the gold at the end of my rainbow.

Pouty face

2007-11-30T09:37:00.001-08:00

Kasiah has started making this pouty face when she is sad. It is thee most cutest thing ever! I can't help myself to laugh and give her hugs and kisses. She has been trying out her new legs since the beginning of this month of November and is walking pretty steady now. But it's more like stomping. It is so funny to watch her stomp around the house with her chubby new legs. She loves testing them out but she does not like the falls that come along with it. Kasiah will usually show me this pouty face when she gets hurt but more so when she is tired and wants me to pick her up and snuggle. Talk about irresistible!

Thankful for FAMILY!

2007-11-21T09:46:00.001-08:00

This is the most recent family photo that I could find. I know it is preeety wacky cheezy but we wouldn't have a family if it wasn't for these preeety little girls and my cheesy husband and my wacky self. Having Thanksgiving be tomorrow I have to say that my little family is all I need to keep my heart beating..I am so grateful for them and all they are and do.My family is what I live for and who I would die for. Thank goodness families can be together forever! I am also very grateful for the gospel in my life. It is my source of truth, strength and light. The third thing that I am grateful for is my freedom of choice! Wow! 3 things that I would die for and that I can't live without! Family,Gospel, Freedom! Everything else is just added wonderful blessings! Gotta be Thankful!

Service scores!

2007-11-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the beautiful bench that I scored from volunteering to serve a sister in the ward (Laurel Macquarrie). I just didn't realize when she meant cleaning out her house she was meaning all of her stuff too . I showed up with a broom and rags and everyone that was there was claiming what they could grab. By the time all her 30 plants and other fun and cool furniture was claimed my good fortune finally kicked in and I happened to come across this unnoticed bench because it was luckily behind the front door! I asked the sister if this bench was available and she said "Oh yeah,please take it."I was so grateful and excited that I felt I was bringing home a trophy from a victory of beating the odds of all who were there to help clean out her home. It's a game of claim or be lame.just kidding.haha I really enjoy collecting second hand-me-downs and prefer them to new stuff. Because it's either cheap or free 99!!haha My home is literally decorated of the scores from others homes and this is my catch for the week. It is always wonderful to be in the Service of the Lord because he is always in the service of you. Service scores!!

P.s Thankyou to my Husband for coming with me this day and being the only man there. What a great sport! Also Thanks to Rosie McDaniel for watching our girls.It was so weird to not have them with us but it was great for Dustin and I to have that time to serve.

2007-11-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

Blueberry Bathing Ballards

2007-11-17T11:56:00.001-08:00

You can't have blueberries without bathing. Thats what I 've been having the girls eat every morning for breakfast this month is fresh frozen blueberries just to give them a bath afterwards.
A great reason to wake up and take a bath. Get messy with blueberries! Love it!

2007-11-17T11:48:00.001-08:00

Tinker bells

2007-11-17T10:21:00.001-08:00

This picture was taken right after church. I drove through the backroads coming home and saw this new bench that they just placed overlooking our small town of Spangdahlem.

I asked Maleha to uma (kiss) Kasiah and was able to capture this tinkerific photo!

I had them wear these dresses to church because I thought it was
appropriate since Halloween was that following Wednesday.
I Love Halloween and use is to my advantage for dressing the girls up everywhere we go for the whole month of October. Even to go to the store. Too much fun!haha

Excited

2007-11-17T09:01:00.003-08:00

I am getting so excited about being able to record my life through blogging.I was trying the myspace thing but it did not serve the purpose that I was hoping for and so it quickly became old for me. I know through this I will be so much more better in communicating my feelings and creativity by blogging down the current events going on with my little family. That way all our extended family will feel that they are somehow close and connected to us while we are living the military life. Isn't that what life is all about? Just being connected! Connected to who you are, connected to God through the spirit, connected to family! You gotta love life and share it!!

Computer savvy

2007-11-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

I am not computer savvy at all and so to get this whole blogg thing going has been a challenge. But thats what progressing is all about! right? Really, The most I know about working with computers is how to search, shop, and check out$ (my e-mails) and every thing else really happens to get done by pure luck.haha

My luck just happens to be that now a days they are making things on the computer be as simple as 123 but when you got 2 little girls running around it has taken me more than a few days to get this all posted.(Hence- the reason of why I never started this before). For instance, the picture of my two messy blueberries took me all of 4 hours to figure out how to downsize and post it!.
Any better tips let me know.

Sorry to all you pro bloggers but once I get to your level y'all better Watch out cause here I come! hahaha