I have a new blog!

http://goingforthinfaith.blogspot.com/

Halloween

Hello All!

I am so excited for Halloween! This year, the youth are making a spook alley in the basement of our church. It will be so much fun! But, I have a problem, I don't know what to dress up as! Help! Any ideas?

Stephanie Y

Liber Retreat (finally!)

Well, nothing I can really write will do it justice. The feeling there was so awesome. Everyone is very accepting and friendly. I have never felt alone or left out once! Hugs are a standard there! I got to strengthen my relationship with my friends and make a couple new ones too. We had so many amazing speakers! Including Jim Rhodes, Heather Burton, Larry Murray, and Kathy Harline. I had two very amazing counselors. Bird and Sookie. The discussions and devotionals were very inspiring and were always accompanied with a page full of notes. Our political Simulation was hard but exhilarating ! My brain hurt after though! The camp was right by the mountains in the country and every night you could see millions of stars!!! On one of the warmer nights, me, Rebekah, Karissa, Tessa, McKayla, and a couple counselors lay down on our backs and looked at the stars. They are so beautiful and are one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen. Once I figure out how to put my pictures on here, I will!



Over all, this was an amazing experience!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calvin and Hobbes

I have recently fallen in love with Calvin and Hobbes Comics.... Here are a few!

Amazing quote

"Even if you cannot always see that silver lining on your clouds, God can, for He is the very source of the light you seek."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Summer Arts Workshop 2007

This month I had the privilege of going to a Summer Arts Workshop put on by our Stake. All of the 12-13 year olds went on Tuesday from 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM. When we arrived we learned four songs. Children holding hands around the world, Singaba Yo (this is a African song) These are the days and The EFY Medley. Once we were done, we went into the gym to dance. We learned a Jewish dance called Mayim, Mayim. (which means Water, Water) After Lunch we learned a Hip-Hop dance. We had an amazing instructor! She made the dance fun and exciting. The second day was 14-15 years (they learned a Hawaiian dance) and the third was 16-17 (Spanish Dance). Everyone learned the Hip-Hop.
On the Friday, everyone came for a few rehearsals and costume fixes. On Saturday, we arrived at 9:00 AM to prepare for the play. Everyone brought their costumes (some of them were provided) and we went through 1 rehearsal and 1 dress rehearsal. We brought our own lunches and after we finished eating we went through the songs once more. At 2:00 we went into our separate change rooms and did our make-up. (at least the girls did!) We had to be completely quiet. Finally at three o'clock we got to go on the stage.

The story is about a boy who is growing up and preparing for a Misson. He thinks of all of the places he can go in the world. There are dances of all the places. Including,

Native American dance

German Folk Dance

Philippine Dance (the Tinikling, I did this dance!!)

Spanish Dance

Hawaiian Dance

English Violin Trio

Jewish/Hebrew Dance



In between every other song or dance, there was a little intermission sequence. Every time, the boy was one year older. He has an older sister who is meanwhile sharing the gospel with a friend. Towards the end of the play, the sisters friend gets baptised by the brother. (You don't actually see it, the just talk about it.) At the end, we all dance our Hip-Hop dance for his Grad. I think that was one of the funnest parts! Then we sang a song "Children holding hands around the world" We each had a different ethnic costume on.

We had two performances and after we ate Pizza and watched the video of us laughing at our mistakes! It was a blast and I was so glad I went!

:o) Stephanie

P.S. I will write about Liber Retreat soon!

Summer - Camping

Well, so far I have had a very eventful summer. First of all, Young Woman's Camp.

YW Camp was a blast! After arriving in William Switser park (after a noisy, 3 hour, car trip) unpacking, setting up tents, finding out groups, and unrolling sleeping bags we were finally settled in. During the following three days we...

Swam in the lake, paddled around in canoes, tanned, went on a 5 km hike, found a robins egg, picked two wild strawberries (and ate them), prepared food, ate it (it was delicious), went snipe hunting, did secret service to each other, took a couple pictures, preformed skits, sang songs around the fire, ate s'mores, read scriptures, listened to devotionals, reflected life in general while sitting on a log and enjoying the peaceful scenery, deep one on one conversations with good friends, and held an amazing testimony meeting.

That pretty much sums up the entire camp. Over all, and amazing experience Also, my last Camp in this ward :o(

Second, Family Reunion at Kookanoosa Lake...

We spent an entire week with extended family in our almost-brand new tent trailer. It was nice to see family again. Plus we were at a great lake for fishing and swimming- especially the fishing, which I have recently discovered and really enjoy. My Grandparents bought a float able trampoline Island from Costco and put it in the lake for us to play on. We had a blast playing truth or dare, and pushing each other off. A really cool thing that happened is that Amelia (10 months) took some steps by herself! She is learning how to walk! The down side of it all is that I got a really bad sunburn on my nose (which turned it bright red!) and that I accidentally walked into the water with my camera on... So now I don't have a working camera. Other than that I had a blast!

Anyways- til next time!

Stephanie

Newsies and YW camp

Well, I finally watched Newsies! It was so good! I have always like musicals (Fiddler on the Roof, Phantom of the Opera, Sound of Music, etc...) Me and my brothers can't get the songs out of our head, so I printed out the lyrics and we learned the songs together. Our favorite songs are
"Seize the Day" and "King of New York" The Newsboys Strike is really interesting. Here are some links about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Newsboys_Strike

Also, today I am leaving for Young Woman's camp! It is called BF3 (Building Faith, Friendships, and Fortresses) It will be so awesome! We are going on a bus for three hours (west of Edmonton) to a place called William Switzer Provincial Park. It is by the mountains and we have an area of beach all to ourselves. We also have a private dock, so we can swim, fish and canoe. Anyways I will be away for four days. I will try to get some pictures on here! See ya!

Moving, YFA, and Missons

Well, we sold our house and we are moving to Leduc for a year. It is a cool house and I get my own room in the basement! There is a little room on the side that I will dedicate my art room. I have really gotten into art lately and I am so excited to be pursuing something again. Recently I went to Cedar City, Utah, to attend a youth conference called Youth For America. It was so awsome and inspireing! There was one lecture that we listened to about missons. There are 8 missons.

1. Feed the Hungry
2. Clothe the Naked
3. Comfort the Lonely
4. Heal the Sick
5. Liberate the Captive
6. Spread Truth
7. Educate the Ignorant
8. Spread Beauty

She asked us to really think about them. Then she said, "If 'feed the hungery' is your misson, stand up. 4 or 5 kids stood up. She asked them what they were going to do to follow your misson. Then she went along the list until she came to 'Spread Beauty' I felt a tingley feeling and I stood up. I decided that I would spread beauty through water colour art. That lecture has really modivated me to get to work. Anyways, must go!

-Stephanie

What learned from Lear

This “semester” of Shakespeare has been so awesome!! The discussion was amazing and I learned a lot from just listening to the “old people” discuss and talk. These are some of the lessons I learned from essays, listening, and a couple I thought of while writing this essay.

Lesson one: Don’t let flattery guide your actions

There is a difference between flattery and compliments. Flattery is a way to get things and a compliment is a way to show and express your love and appreciation for someone. Flattery is wrong, and compliments are good. In King Lear Goneril and Regan were using flattery to convince their Father to give them something. Cordelia had didn’t want to convince her Father at all. She wanted him to see that she would love him no matter what and wanted to show him that she could love him without flattery.

Lesson two: Listen to your good friends! Anything done in anger you will soon regret.

I think that the first lesson I learned from King Lear, Kent taught me. In the first scene, King Lear is angry at Cordelia because she does not use flattering words to show her love to him. Because of this Lear gets angry and says that she is not his daughter any more. Kent sees the error of his words and tries to help Lear see that anger is clouding his mind, and that the anger is making the King say things he will regret. Lear ignores him and later on regrets it.

Lesson Three: Family relationships are important

Obviously King Lear was not a very good parent. I think that if he had spent more time with his daughters and had no favorites, they would have been a happy family. I think that Regan and Goneril would not have been as selfish. Also if the sisters had still been selfish, he would have seen past their flattery because he would have known them as Cordelia did.

Lesson Four: The Golden Rule

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Isn’t this a great motto? Imagine how it would be if all of the characters in King Lear lived this. Edmund would have really been benefited by living this. He would probably have been kinder to his half-brother, Edgar. Also he wouldn’t have tried to lie and cheat his father, Regan, Goneril, and everyone else in the play!

Lesson Five: When you act in love, you act well

Cordelia and Kent are both good examples of this lesson. They showed that love and concern is one of the best ways to act towards others. When we act with love, we are rewarded in the end. If not physically, spiritually.

Through these things, we won’t make the mistakes that everyone in King Lear did. Shakespeare really taught me many lessons from this play and I plan to learn from them. I wonder how many people do this when they read Shakespeare?

Interesting Quote

The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can't."
— Mark Twain

Quote

I just found a really great quote by David O. McKay

True Christianity is love in action.
There is no better way to manifest love for God
than to show an unselfishlove for your fellow men.

Isn't that awsome!?

-Stephanie :o)

Invictus

Invictus

by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Today I was browsing through a book of poetry when I came across this poem. I was interested about the author, William Ernest Henley. I wondered what his motivation was to write this amazing poem. It turns out that at the age of twelve he got Tuberculosis in his leg and had to have his foot amputated. Later in his life he had to have it amputated below the knee again because of the crude method that the first doctors had used. Invictus was written in the hospital bed. This was truly an amazing man.

:o) Stephanie.

P.S. For more information look on Wikipedia. I left out some of the info.

Money

Hey everybody!

Anyone have any ideas about making money?? I am sorta stuck at the moment with baby-sitting and collecting bottles for refund. Oh and I am also having a garage sale with my cousins. Thanx!

-Stephanie

Beautiful Pictures

Isn't this beautiful? One of my friends (Rebekah Olson) took this picture in Brag Creek Alberta.

Thoughts on - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Today I started to read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and in the beginning, Peter and Susan don't believe that Lucy actually went to Narnia. Worried that there little sister is going mad, they consult the professor. Towards the end of the converastion with him, Peter says "Well, sir, if things are real, they're there all the time." I loved the Professor's answer; " Are they?"

That really made me think about Jesus Christ. How we can't always see him but we can feel his love for us. Isn't love real? There are altogether too many Peter's in this world! Let's help other's to know that this thought is not true! I hope that nobody ever thinks that Jesus doesn't love us or that real things are there all the time.

:o) Stephanie

Sunrise

Here is a picture of the sun-rise that I took in Cardston while I was at LiberKnights. Pretty eh?

AHHH! Crawling alert!

Two day's ago (on Saturday I believe) my littlest sister crawled for the first time! Amazing eh? (By the way, she is only 7 months) lately she has enjoyed this new freedom and has gotten in all sorts of trouble (getting stuck underneath things, getting stuck in the crawling position and not knowing what to do next, etc.) Anyway's just an update from the smith family!

-Stephanie

No time to say good-bye

This week, I went to a LiberKnight in Cardston. It was so amazing and inspiring and thought provoking! The book that we read was "No time to say Good-bye, by Sylvia Olson. It was about residential schools. What a scar on Canada's history! Native people are still recovering from that horror. The Simulation happened first thing. Here it is...

We were in the middle of playing a game in which we were tangled in a hopeless knot, when a man in a green shirt came and tried to get our attention. We ignored him and kept playing our game. The guy didn't seem to get the hint, and finally we listened to what he had to say. He told us that Home schooling had just been banned by the Government of Canada. He told us that our parents had rebelled in this action and that we were to be sent to a School in Hudson Bay. We wouldn't be able to see our parents until we graduated from high school, and only if we we had an 85% average. He told us to get into some vans and drive to the Cardston High school, where he would tell us what was to happen to us. When we were in the van, one of our counselors told the kids who hadn't ever been in a simulation what a simulation was (basically, we would experience something that could happen or has happened. She told us we were supposed to act as if it was a real thing and to really think of what we would do in that situation) We were almost there and she gave us a minute to get into character. As I thought, I realized that I had never said good-bye to any of my siblings that morning because we had left so early. The book title is the only thing that I could think of. No time to say good-bye. I realized that if this was a real situation, I wouldn't be able to see my family for a very long time. As I realized this, I cried. We arrived at the High School and I still couldn't stop. Tessa comforted me which made me realize (not for the first time) what a great friend she was! We walked into a room where there was tables on one side and tables on the other. The Government official told the boys to sit on the left and the girls to sit on the right. A lady put our hair into pig-tails and sat us down.

The man told us what to expect. No holidays, one letter a month (revised and edited by a teacher), he also told us that if we caused any trouble our parents would be put in jail and our siblings would be put in foster care. I didn't dare do anything! I felt so helpless. We were going to be put in buses to Calgary then we would board onto an airplane to Hudson Bay. One boy started lipping off the Guy and ended up getting another boy to do 20 push-ups. I was so mad! One of my cousins, (Denny Burton) made a break for it and got away. I was so proud of him! We all cheered him on. The Government official was hopping mad by then and told us that all of our parents were to be put in jail and Denny's brother (Christian Burton) and his neighbor (my other cousin C.J. Murray) were banned from writing letters for a whole year. Sometime during these events, I decided that I would not give the guy the satisfaction of seeing me cry, so I bit my lip and stopped. When Tessa started to cry and I had to keep thinking "Don't cry Stephanie, Don't cry." One of the counselors, Jacob, told him to stop being so mean to us. Then Jacob and the official started to fight (not physically) and one of the things that Jacob said was, "what is 16 x16?" the man said "I am the only one who is allowed to ask questions!" Then he motioned to the body guard to take him out. The body guard literally carried Jacob out.

They never came back. After a while the man walked out to see what had happened. The lady that had done our hair walked up to the front and said; "Simulation ends now." I was so surprised. It had seemed so short! Then the Man and the body guard walked back in and told us that they had sent Jacob to go and look for Denny, The funny thing was that Denny had left his shoe in the hall! He was so worried that they would catch him that he hadn't bothered to get his shoe. Jacob came back and told us that he couldn't find him. Then Wendy Creed went out and found him about a block away. He came back and put on his shoe and told us what he did. Which was basically run and hide.

We had an awesome debrief. One of my counselors said; "why is it easier to be a leader when there is a crisis? And why does it take a crisis to be a leader? Being a leader in a crisis is good, but it is harder to be a leader when there is no apparent crisis." That really stuck out to me. I resolved then and there to be a leader but not have to wait for a crisis to do it.

Anyway's there is the simulation. I just want to say to any of the people that helped organize this, Thank-you for the awsome simulation, good food, and a totally inspiring week-end!

Snowman

Yesturday it snowed a good inch, and while it was sticky, me and

my brother's made a snowman. (Left) Today it was so warm that it bent right over! (top)

-Stephanie

Shakespeare Character Sketch

This week for our Shakespeare writing assignment, we are doing a character (from King Lear) sketch. I will be doing mine on the fool. And since Shakespeare never tells you if the fool is a boy or a girl I am making the fool a girl.

Love You All!

-Stephanie

Bonus question

This is the bonus question this week!

Where are the white cliffs of Dover?

-Steph

Hi Stephanie – Here’s a simple business plan outline

1. Title Page (include a picture that inspires :0) )
   
2. Contents Page
   

This is a list of the main headings in your plan with page numbers – Microsoft Word can actually auto-generate this for you

1. Summary
   
   1. This is a high level explanation of what your business is and why its so wonderful :0)
      
2. Main Body
   
   1. Define who or what type of people will likely buy your cards
      
   2. Estimate how many people are out there that will likely buy your target or how many cards you estimate you could sell in a month, 6 months or a year. Sometimes it is good to do a worst case, normal case, and best case estimate.
      
   3. Describe the products you're going to try and sell. Example: Cards, what types of cards, size, colors, medium, how you will produce them, how long they will take to make etc.
      
   4. List the stores and places where you can potentially sell your cards.
      
   5. List the people you will approach for advice i.e. your mentors
      
   6. Financials
      
      1. Make a list of the expected expenses
         
      2. Make a price list for how much you plan to sell your product(s) for.
         
   7. Describe any others that sell a similar product, how much they sell for, where they sell and any other details about potential competitors
      
   8. Lay out a calendar plan for the activities you plan to do to produce your product, approach the people you need help from, advertise your product etc. for the next 6 months or year.
      
   9. For each activity you plan to do, describe how much time it will take, how much help you will need, how much it will cost and how you will follow up to see the results from that action
      
      1. Example: Event A: Approach Tammy and discuss with her whether and when I can display and sell your cards in her shop. I anticipate that I will have 50 cards ready to display and sell for $3.00 a piece. 1 week after dropping off the cards, I will contact Tami and find out how well they are selling and if more are needed.
         
3. Acknowledgements and reference to sources you used to create your business plan
   
   1. Example – Joanne Marie as a mentor
      
4. Appendices
   
   1. additional detailed reference material, examples, statistics, spreadsheets, etc., for reference and not central to the main presentation of your plan
      
   2. Example – Comparison chart of what other types of carts sell for, a list of stores that sell cards that could be approached etc.
      

I think it is a great idea you have and I love that your thinking about taking charge of your own money situation.

Love, Dad

Weekly Shakespeare Essay Topic

This week's essay topic is-Are younger people wiser than older people?-

Tell me what your opinion is and why.

One at a time!