I wish I had no place to go!


"It's difficult to build the kingdom of God, lift and serve others, and give of ourselves to those who need us if we are burned out or 'sapped' of all spiritual, physical, and emotional strength. Jesus often 'withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed' (Luke 5:16)," said Elder M. Russell Ballard. "We need to do the same thing occasionally to rejuvenate ourselves spiritually as the Savior did."

I'm reading "Keeping Life's Demands in Balance" and it explains that we do not need to feel guilty or selfish in pulling back to regroup in any way, because there is a strength that comes from sometimes just being home (p. 14). When I was teaching Special Ed, I used to make up poems for all my kids because they loved when I would use their name in a funny poem, and then they would make me keep repeating the poem and laugh for so long- haha, I miss them! So I decided to make up a poem for myself that goes along with what I'm learning from this book, and how I need to be changing my life. Hopefully you'll laugh as hard and for as long as my little kids used to!!! =)


The happiest nights that I've come to know,
are the nights I have no place to go.
And I get to say when the day is through,
"Tonight I have nothing to do."
The joy of relaxing and the peace untold
Of sitting 'round in my slippers old.
Drinking my Diet Coke in my favorite chair,
Loving the fact that I'm not going anywhere.
I don't have to hurry to eat my meal,
Or force a smile that I do not feel.
But I can watch a movie from my bookcase shelf,
And sit back to relax, and just be myself.
I love those nights but they are very rare,
Nothing on earth could ever compare!
And I'm sorry for anyone who doesn't know,
The happiness I feel in having no place to go!!!!!!!!
~Carrie =)


I also love John Lubbock's quote on taking a break.... "Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass listening to the waterfalls, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."
3 comments:

Apples and Coconuts


Girls are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. The boys don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy to reach. So the apples up top think something is wrong with them when in reality they are amazing. They just have to keep sitting up top and waiting for the boy who is brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree!



P.S. I kinda want to be a coconut tree instead =)




2 comments:

The end of the best



I give up on tv!! Law & Order has been my favorite and only watched tv series for the past 3 years. But after what I just saw, I might end up selling my tv and canceling DirectTV. I was watching an episode from 2008 with my favorite Detective Lupo (Jeremy Sisto), and the episode was called "Lost Boys". It mentioned in the summary of it that it was about a polygamist group, but I didn't think anything of it because I love Lupo so I was going to watch it. OH MY. One of the scenes was a polygamist boy trying to run away and the detectives grabbed his shirt to stop him and it tore his shirt off. And do you wanna know what was underneath his shirt????!! A white t-shirt with hand drawn marks on them, permanent marker drawn symbols. MY SYMBOLS!! OUR SYMBOLS! Symbols that should NEVER be aired on public television. So the next scene was the detectives looking up on a so-called 'Mormon' website that explained what each symbol represented and why they had drawn them where they drew them on the shirt. I was mortified. It was so unbelievably wrong and even though they finally agreed that the boys weren't Mormon because Mormon's go to movies and accept black people but the boys did not, those hand drawn marks were horrific to see on my favorite show. On any show! I have no idea what happened next because I turned it off, but I pray with everything in me that anyone who watched that episode will never remember what they saw or heard about marks on a shirt and that they'll think it was something made up by the polygamist boys. OH MY. I have nothing to watch on tv now =(
FAREWELL TO LAW & ORDER
You are now buried in my past.... =(
2 comments:

"Big Love" =(


I was caring for one of my Down Syndrome patients and her Mom mentioned a few of the patient's favorite shows before leaving for the night. After getting sick of watching John & Kate Plus 8, I decided to watch another favorite show of hers that had been recorded. Knowing absolutely NOTHING about Big Love, I turned it on and will never forget how the feeling of the room changed. It instantly changed and still not understanding anything, I started watching the show. OH MY! Are you kidding me? I was appalled at what I was hearing. Temple covenants, garments shown, and being ex-communicated on the spot???!!!! WHAT? SERIOUSLY??! I was so completely offended, and all I wanted to do was start bawling. A public television show, shown for the last year, is lightly and carelessly talking about the things I cherish the most in my life? Keep in mind that the patient I was watching TV with is non-speaking and mentally challenged, so she had no clue as to why I was sitting on the edge of the couch with my mouth hanging open. WOW. I had no idea such a show existed! I've seen protesters and anti-Mormon websites, but a TV show? It was so sickening to me that I had to leave the room, and I don't think I felt the Spirit for quite awhile after that because I was so confused and in awe of the things I had just heard.

Anyways, the point of my horrible experience is that I found a website/blog called FairMormon.org, and it lists several things that the show is portraying and compares it to the truth of what we believe. I had to stop reading some of the comparisons because I was getting furious!! The show misquoted President Packer, they called the disciplinary council a love court, and they got kicked out of the celestial room because their 15 minutes in God's room was up??!!! And those are just a few of the things I read before I threw up. OH MY! It makes me SOO completely angry! So I wanted to share the website with you because it offers the comparisons that are greatly needed because of this wretched show, and it also provides a topical guide of how to answer Anti-Mormon questions without arguing or causing contention. My invitation to everyone that might be reading this is to turn the station to K-BYU and never change the channel. =)


http://en.fairmormon.org/Topical_guide

In order to get rid of my hatred and anger of what the
world is doing to the things I love,I'm giving you the
link of my favorite EFY song, Stand In Holy Places,
that shows pictures of temples all around the world.
I love the Gospel and will defend it 'til the day I die!!

1 comment:

FILLING OUR DARK SPOTS WITH LIGHT


Nothing is more constructive than a
good, powerful, and pure personal life.

I'm reading Jeffrey R. Holland's "Broken Things to Mend" and have loved every page I've read. This is what I've been working on and praying about lately, and I wanted to share it with you so we can all individually shine.

"What we are shines more brightly than anything we say or do. If we are to fill the world with light, we must first face any tattered remnant of darkness that remains in our souls. Our work is to divide the light from the darkness by lighting more and more candles in our personal lives. I can think of a few ways we could begin to do that. First, let us be clear about the holder of the candles. I find it interesting that the first thing light reveals when a candle is lit is the hand that's holding it. The Lord made this fascinating observation about personal light in Luke 11:34-36. The candles we hold up for others to see ought to be extensions of the light within ourselves. I invite you to join me in regularly turning inward to confront there anything we wouldn't want others to see. It may not be pornography, but it may be impatience, vanity, jealousy, hatred, or any number of other flaws we need to remedy. Whatever it is, let us trim our lamps, add oil, and make those changes necessary that allow us to hold up a brighter candle and a purer light. Each of us must be the best person we can be in every way we can. In order to do this, we have to focus on the dark and hidden things about ourselves that others might not be able to see. Since darkness is the absence of light, surely the most powerful way to confront the darkness is to fill it with light. As Elder Robert D. Hales has observed: 'Light and darkness cannot occupy the same space at the same time, whether a tiny or large amount of space. Light dispels darkness and when light is present, darkness is vanquished and must depart.' More importantly, the darkness we find in ourselves was only able to conquer the light because we let our light diminish or depart in one of our characteristics or beliefs. If we simply stop doing something, or refrain from going places, we still are not FILLING THE VOID WITH LIGHT. We all have heard about the gospel principles which are able to light up our lives, and we are also aware of the number of principles we need to strengthen in order to fill our spots of darkness with light. We all have spots of darkness, yet we all have been invited to stand in confidence with Christ. My prayer is for us to fill our dark spots up with the light of our Savior."

~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

(Let me know if you want page numbers of things he said because
I mixed a couple of my thoughts in with his thoughts,
and then let me know how excited you are to go buy his book!!)
2 comments:

Temple Square



The link is a fun website that gives you panoramic views of Temple Square, both inside all of the buildings and the view from the grounds around the Salt Lake Temple!

1 comment:

Autism

I've been taking the kids I do Respite Care Work for on tons of field trips and this picture is a perfect explanation of how most of our adventures go. My Autistic kids find their own things to focus on!




I absolutely love my job! =)
~Carrie
3 comments:

Putting my education to use =)



I'm taking a Program Design & Proposal Writing class where I'm learning how to write grants. Over the last 2 months, I've become a respite care worker for 3 disabled kids and I've decided to write grants for the business I just made up! Lisa didn't approve of the last company I tried to create, but hopefully she'll like my new creation a little better!! I'm working for a company that takes disabled individuals out into the community everyday and I absolutely love my job. My respite hours are separate from the company I work for and I put in hours for the 3 kids after work, so I thought I could create a business for night hours that is a copy cat of the company I work for during the day. Respite means that I'm giving the parents a break from having to care for their child- pretty much a government paid babysitter! For my new company, I would still take the kids out in the community, such as parks, bowling, swimming, movies, malls, etc., but it would be respite night hours for Autistic kids. Right now I work at night with a girl who has cerebral palsy, an Autistic boy, and a brain injured hemianosia little girl and of course they would all be invited as part of my new business, but I will focus on Autistic children ages 2-18. My company is called Pieces Of the Puzzle, which provides after-school Autistic awareness needs. POP (Pieces Of the Puzzle) services would be from 5-9pm Monday through Friday, and 9-3pm on Saturdays. We will do different activities everyday in the community and have social skills lessons. Since Autism affects the motor skills and street smarts a child could have, POP would benefit the children by teaching them those needed skills. Plus, it's respite hours for the parents to have a break. So tonight for my homework I'm going to write a grant where I'm asking companies to donate a vehicle or provide money for a bus.... I'll let you know how it goes!!! =)


1 comment:

What He has said

I got to be a part of the BYU Women's Conference this year and I loved it! This is the booth that we came up with to represent Christ.....

http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/2009/sharing_stations/1.cfm

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shares his testimony on how we can read about everything He has said, but God's words have never ceased and we can still know what He is saying.
1 comment:

Cliches are definitely not my thing =)



I've been teaching my kids how to understand the meanings of phrases and what certain things are implying. We've read about a million quotes and sayings, but I totally skipped over the cliche part of the lesson because I don't understand those AT ALL. Like someone's bark being worse than his bite....ummm- humans don't bark. And a cat's meow?? Yep- no cats around. But the dumbest one is people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... why would you ever throw stones in your house anyway? So I don't teach that section! But I have found some really good quotes as we've been studying the comprehension packets. These are some of my favorite quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
The best effect you can have on a person is the feeling they have after you've left their presence.
The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation.
The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.
What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could and it's over now.
Every great and commanding moment in your life is the triumph of enthusiasm.
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I have not seen.


A glass house with NO rocks =)
4 comments:

Shall I falter, or shall I finish?

“Finishers Wanted”

By President Thomas S. Monson

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=543227cd3f37b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

Here's a quick summary of what the First Presidency message is about...................

Times change and circumstances vary, but the true marks of a finisher remain. Note them well, for they are vital to our success.

1. The Mark of Vision. It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. We are constantly making small decisions. The outcome determines the success or failure of our lives. That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, to set a course, and at least be partly ready when the moment of decision comes. True finishers have the capacity to visualize their objective.

2. The Mark of Effort

Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.
Honor, power, place and praise
Will always come to the one who stays.

Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile
Will come life’s victories after a while.

3. The Mark of Faith. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Ps. 118:8–9.)

4. The Mark of Virtue. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.” (D&C 121:45.) This counsel from the Lord will provide staying power in the race we run.

5. The Mark of Prayer

6. The Mark of Courage. Have the courage—

To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow,
To run where the brave dare not go.
To right the unrightable wrong,
To love, pure and chaste from afar,
To try, when your arms are too weary,
To reach the unreachable star!

And you will thus become a finisher.


1 comment:

TIMING

"Commit yourself to put the Lord first in your life, keep His commandments, and do what the Lord’s servants ask you to do. Then your feet are on the pathway to eternal life. Then it does not matter whether you are called to be a bishop or a Relief Society president, whether you are married or single, or whether you die tomorrow. You do not know what will happen. Do your best on what is fundamental and personal and then trust in the Lord and His timing." ~Elder Oaks

A great talk on Timing by Elder Dallin H. Oaks,
where he talks about the Lord's timing, the agency of others,
application to our lives, and the importance of timing.
3 comments:

I love kids!!!!


Since I have no kids of my own to brag about, I want to pretend that I've been able to adopt all of my Autistic kids so I can brag about them!! I love them so so so much! They are completely different from another, yet are all labeled as Autistic. Because it's Sunday, I'm going to relate it to Mormons. We're all labeled as Mormon, but none of us are anything alike in our personalities or characteristics.... =) I love the days when I figure something out about them or understand why they do a certain thing- like today. I was teaching our group how the "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" song works and of course was singing along while I was doing the actions. One of the boys kept turning the music up extremely loud and another one kept holding my knee....?????? It was definitely distracting me because I couldn't do the actions with him hanging on, and I was getting a headache from the loud music. I decided to stop singing and just play the song, while I took the one who was holding onto my knee and helped him do the motions in order. All of a sudden everyone was following along and loving it! So I started to sing along again and you know what happened? He turned the music up even louder!! He was doing it because he didn't like my singing!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! And the other one kept holding my knee because he didn't understand what I was doing or what the order was. Cute, huh??? It's so much fun to figure these things out because when none of them are able to talk, I usually have no idea what they want. But each of their mannerisms and their personalities are so revealing as to who they are and what they want, I just have to remember to slow down and pay attention to every characteristic they're acting out. I LOVE AUTISTIC KIDS!!!!

This is their FAVORITE song and every time I play it,
they all start laughing and dancing!! It seriously is the cutest thing.

1 comment:

Book of Mormon



"There is a power in the Book of Mormon which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the straight and narrow path, and you will find it in greater and greater abundance." ~Ezra Taft Benson



Great blessings are promised to individuals and families as they study the Book of Mormon. Now, for the first time on convenient DVD, you can listen to the word-for-word narration of this sacred book while you follow along with the highlighted text on your television screen. Listen and watch while exercising, working around the house, or relaxing as a family. Studying the scriptures has never been easier. Other DVD features include:
  • Gospel Doctrine reading assignments--a special menu helps you study the specific chapters for each Sunday School lesson.
  • Reading calculator--this chart helps you see how soon you will finish the Book of Mormon by studying for a specified number of minutes each day.
  • Interactive menu system--quickly navigate to any book or chapter with the click of your remote.
  • Bonus audio talk--includes the classic talk by President Ezra Taft Benson, The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God.
  • Over 25 hours of Dolby Digital Stereo Audio narrated by Rex Campbell.
  • Randomized Play option for a different chapter each day.
3 DVD Set/5 VHS Set

Length: 6 hours

http://deseretbook.com/store/product/4674999

No comments:

None were with Him

This is a great video, not just for Easter, where Elder Jeffrey R. Holland describes the Savior’s solitary journey to overcome sin and death and testifies of the resulting blessings to all mankind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0

REMINDER: Conference talks are now available online and I've already used some of the talks in my lessons because I couldn't wait until next month's Ensign. Conference gets better every year! =)

No comments:

Mosiah 2:17

"..when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

This is the cutest book that one of the Special Ed teachers bought for our social skills lessons. It's so funny!
3 comments:

Autistic behaviors



The Kirton's are a family that lives in Murray and has 6 Autistic children. They have the most biological Autistic children in one family in the USA. (They are also neighbors of David Archuleta!!) There's a family in Orem that adopted 9 children that are deaf, but this family in Murray gave birth to 6 kids who are on the Autistic spectrum. The Kirton's are LDS and I first figured it out by the names of their kids- Nephi, Ammon, Emma..... All 6 of them are labeled as Autistic but are on different levels of the spectrum. Some of their kids speak and some of them don't, some of them read and some don't, some still wear diapers at older ages but others are potty trained, and their family proves that no two Autistic kids are the same. However, they do share some of the same characteristics. Autistic children are known to become easily obsessed with an item or an action and constantly repeat it. My little guy is obsessed with turning pages. Every page over and over again, even when we're not reading a book! He'll just hold it in his lap and turn pages while I talk to him- it's so cute!! Ammon, one of the Kirton children, is obsessed with doors and one thing you should notice about him in this video is how intrigued and mesmerized he becomes as he watches the door open and close. My little boy becomes just as intrigued and mesmerized as he watches the pages turn. And then I become intrigued and mesmerized as I watch how involved he gets in his page turning!!! It is the most fascinating thing in the world to watch how stimulating these things can be for Autistic brains. So this video is of Ammon at the zoo, caring less about any animals because he found a door!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbdkstTZhOE&feature=channel


I took my little guy to the gas station the other day and he ran around like he was at the circus! I then had to chase him around and around and around the store because he kept putting candy bars in his pockets and running faster!! hahaha- I love him!! In the video, the Dad had to keep calling him back and that's exactly what it's like being with Autistic children. They become so engrossed with something and then they're done, so they run. We'll be playing a computer game and he'll just get up and leave right in the middle of it. Autistic kids have a lack of focus, as well as short attention spans, so they don't know how to do just one thing and stick with it. I love watching him open and close that door! The next video is a Channel 2 news story they did on the whole family. I think the parents say mean things about their family and they have a website called Autism Bites, which I think is totally rude, but maybe you'll have a different opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4BitBkaE_Q&feature=channel

P.S. They live in an 1100 sq ft home with 1 bathroom......OH MY!
2 comments:

Seven Pounds


In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, the central character demands the payment of a pound of flesh from those who are in debt to him. The 'pound of flesh' refers to an onerous debt, one that is either unable to be paid (but demanded), one that is far in excess of the amount owed, or one in which the payment is set to adamantly exacting standards.

Before Seven Pounds was released in December 2008, the studio refused to reveal the details of the movie in the early trailers. Now that the movie is out, it's become common knowledge that Will Smith is playing a man who arranges to donate parts of his body ("seven pounds" of his flesh) to individuals in need of transplants, as atonement for the death of seven people in a car accident that he caused. Ben has a debt to repay for the seven lives he took, so the phrase is both metaphorical and literal since the debts are repaid with his actual "flesh".

I wanted to include the synopsis, but that would give the whole story away and I want all of you to watch it. Watch it as many times as you can!! There's one scene that I fast forward (due to my comfort level) but other than that, it is sensational. I want my whole life to be like Will Smith's character and serve others. You'll notice in the movie that he doesn't look for beautiful people, rich people, educated people, or the most healthy people, he chooses the ones who are in need. It doesn't matter what they look like or what they may be guilty of (some of them haven't paid taxes in years), he narrows it down and chooses those with a kind heart. He says several times during the movie, "You deserve it because you are a good person. You heart is pure. If you wonder why I've chosen you, don't. Just be you and live life to the fullest." MAN- if the whole world worked like that!!!! If everything was based on our good intentions and who we really were! I can't wait for the next life!!!! =) I loved the role he played and how he spent everyday getting to know people by serving them, and by serving them he came to know who they really were. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. It makes me want to work harder so that I have more to give others. Then I'll be able to spend my life prioritizing their needs, and not judging them by any other factor of their life. GO WATCH IT!!!!
3 comments:

Spring Cleaning

Even though it's snowed the past few days, every calendar is marked that Spring has begun. So it's time for Spring Cleaning!!! To my family- I promise I will only spring clean MY stuff! There's a talk by President Hinckley that I love, called "Be Ye Clean", and he talks about different aspects of what spring cleaning is. The talk is somewhat long, but don't skip anything because it's all great. Here are some of the things he talks about:

-Pres. Joseph F Smith presenting himself as clean
-Pres. Hinckley's spring cleaning story of his house
-Being clean in dress and manner and in mind
-Our bodies are the crowning creation of Deity
-Having a clean and pure heart
...with so much more!!!

President Hinckley "Be Ye Clean"
3 comments:

What Superhero are you??!!

Teachers at a Special Needs school in Bangkok alerted authorities when an Autistic student, scared of attending his first day at school, crawled out on the third-floor ledge and refused to come inside. The eight-year-old ran out onto the ledge after he had a panic attack, and neither his mother nor teachers could coax him back inside. Despite their many efforts to beckon the boy inside, he refused to budge. Until his mother mentioned her son’s love of superheroes, which prompted a fireman, Sonchai Yoosabai, to take a novel approach to the problem. Yoosabai pulled on a Spiderman outfit ,which was kept by a school guard for alarm practices. The Autistic boy ran back inside as soon as he saw his hero at the door of the classroom, and giggled as he threw himself into Yoosabai's arms!


4 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)