I was able to attend an amazing workshop by author/ illustrator Susan Roth last week. The workshop was for Cache County teachers, but I have some good connections, and was able to sneak in! Susan's latest work is the book Listen to the Wind, New York Times bestseller. The workshop was incredible; I loved hearing about how the story was initially formed, and also her process in creating the illustrations for the book and experiences during the process. She is a beautiful person, and throughout her presentation I felt a burning desire to finally make a book of my own! What am I waiting for?!

Anyway, she shared with us how she is trying to reach out to the people in the remote Pakistani village where the story takes place. She has started a project called "Let's Hold Hands," in hopes of sending a message of peace, love and humanity to the people of that cold, war-torn land. She has been encouraging educators, students, and anyone else to create a paper doll, like the ones she made for this book to become part of a huge installation at the Manhattan Museum of Art. Paper dolls from across the country will be holding hands together, symbolizing the peace we all want. Some of those dolls will then be selected to travel to the school in Pakistan!

So- my little Thursday afternoon art class all created a paper doll of themselves which we will be sending to Susan in New York. It was exciting for the girls to feel a part of such a big project. They stayed a little longer than usual, and my living room was a complete wreck of snips and scraps of fabric, paper, ribbon, etc. It was so much fun! The boys made one later that day too. We are all inspired by Susan Roth!

October outing.

Owen, Jake and I were super sick the last part of September and the first week or so of October. It was so exciting to finally be able to get out and see the beautiful colors!!! I felt like I was missing it all, trapped inside the house.

The Lawrences invited us out to the traditional Halloweenie Roast in Paradise last weekend. It was so much fun, as always. This time we even had dinner there: hot dogs, donuts and hot chocolate! Mmmmm.

For those of you who don't know about this excellent event, I will explain. There is an awesome family who sets up this incredibly elaborate Halloween-land every October and offer it to their friends, neighbors, ward-members throughout the month as a family fun night. They have a little train, and a wagon ride around the property which they have decorated with all sorts of fun Halloween scenes, such as the haunted golf course, snake swamp, etc. They have bonfires going too, for roasting marshmallows or whatever. We were amazed once again this year that they do this- free of charge- every single year. I can't imagine the time it takes to set it all up. It is so amazing. Thanks again, Nikki and Alan! We look forward to this every year!!!

Grandma Margaret Manning McCracken

I love this lady. She is pretty much all the things I want to be: loving, non-judgmental, selfless, humble and content. We've all been spending lots of time with her over the last week as she has been very sick and stuck in bed. I think everyone has had a chance to hold her hand, comb her hair, and talk to her or even just watch over her while she rests. She has had several visitors from the other side over the weekend, her mother, sister and daughter to name a few. I don't know how long we'll get to keep her with us physically, but she's in our hearts forever and ever because of the person she is. Love you, Grandma.

Subject: Articles of Faith of Mormon Culture

My Dad sent me this in an email, and I thought it was he-larious. Enjoy.

1. We believe in SUVs and minivans, as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in the multilevel marketing.

2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression.

3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl.

4. We believe that the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped
tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it.

5. We believe that a Mormon should have a distinguished or a cute name, that it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or a historical figure including an ancestor, that alternative spellings and French prefixes only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof.

6. We believe in the same wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes, namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth.

7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family photos, baked goods, emergency supply kits, and so forth.

8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties.

9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and important things pertaining to our family, friends, pets, and vacations.

10. We believe in the literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that the Mormons will enjoy reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory.

11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same privilege, and let them name drop the names of Famous and general authorities how, where, or what they may.

12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses, and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings for professional schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck.

13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and being fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free, sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these things.

Family

We had family photos taken last week by our friend/ family member Alan Lawrence. I love them so much! Thank you Alan!