Annie's first library card

Annie and I went to the Bryan library on Tuesday, and while we were browsing the children's book section, she grabbed one of those little pencils they keep near the computers for writing down Dewey Decimal numbers. Annie was painstakingly practicing writing her last name ... and Littlefield, being the lengthy name that it is, took some time.

After she had written the last letter, she said, "I want to get my library card now."

See, we had already tried to get it once, but they told Annie she had to be able to write both names legibly. At that time, she had only been practicing her first name.
But now she was ready. She listened attentively as the librarian explained the rules of the library, and then wrote her name on the application. She got to write it again on the card itself, although there was only room for Annie L. on that little line.

It was quite fitting that her first book checked out had Annie in the title!

Young Women

Well, for those of you who A) didn't know and B) care, I was called to be our ward Young Women president at the beginning of this month.

Back at the end of January, Bishop Albrecht called me and asked to see me later that week. There came into my mind the (unbidden) thought, "You will be the next Young Women's president."
I quickly shooed that thought away, but sure enough, when I met with the Bishop, that was the assignment he asked me to accept.

I have felt somewhat overwhelmed but have given myself permission to figure it out as we go. My usual style would be to have a masterplan in place with a curriculum already designed, but that's not the way it's going to be with this calling. There is so much to figure out (the personal progress program, Wed. activities, etc.) that I have to learn just a bit at a time.

I am glad to have two terrific counselors and a nice bunch of young ladies in our ward. I am also amazed by all the LDS women out there who not only plan amazing YW activities but post the details online. Resources abound!

My bookshelves

For me, there's nothing more lovely than a well-arranged bookshelf. My dream home will have a true library room with floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves. For now, I enjoy these three shelves that came with our living room. They are a bit cluttered, yes, but I love sitting on the couch with a book and catching a glance of these other books on the wall.

Yea - this might be a weak post (ha ha) but I've been offline for over a month and want to get cracking on my blog. No, I haven't given up. It's just been one of those months/years!

Easter goodies

Even with Easter coming so early this year (meaning less time to get prepared), we had a great weekend. Jen, Billy & Katharina threw a wonderful Good Friday party for Graham, Annie, Oliver & Christian. They had a neat Easter egg hunt, dyed eggs and enjoyed their holiday sleepover. The kids also got to hang out with Kathy & Leighton, who came up for a spring break holiday and stayed at their favorite motel on Thursday night.

Don't be fooled by the somber photos - we had a great weekend.

I had prepared a neat FHE lesson for the Monday before Easter as well and we sang some of my favorite Easter Primary songs. We were trying to accomplish a more Christ-centered Easter this year, thanks in part to the Ensign's suggestions in that direction. I know the kids did lots of singing and learning at church too, and I think Graham and Annie really grasped the true meaning of the day.

Personally, I always have fun with the Easter baskets. They are secular, yes, but I enjoy choosing a few special goodies for each person and arranging them artistically in the basket.

We don't pretend the Easter bunny brought them. No way! Mom gets the credit! Graham was super thrilled by a Tedd Arnold book in his basket and Annie enjoyed her Hannah Montana doll (yes, the craze has hit our house too). Obviously we didn't go nuts with the candy, but our family likes Reese's peanut butter cups, so I got a pack of those special Easter versions. Yum!

Annie got to wear a beautiful white hat - a gift from Gammy - to church (sorry, I didn't get a picture of it), and Graham wondered briefly why he wasn't allowed to wear a hat in church. A good discussion ensued.

I gave Kyle a bottle of Rooster sauce, a spicy asian-style condiment that he enjoys putting on his food and some protein bars (with 23 grams each!), so it was a happy basket day all around. Then Sunday night we delivered some cupcakes to the Samuelsons and the Hirschis, and enjoyed visiting at both places. I only wish the cupcakes hadn't been flattened before we got to the Hirschis house. I hope they tasted fine as pancakes.

A fun re-read

I chose The Life of Pi as the February book choice for our ward book group - I thought the themes of spirituality would work well for us.

I was so happy to enjoy the book again a second time. Yann Martel does himeself proud! The description is splendid and the questions about God, deeply profound. The passages on animals are instructive and even the necesssary violence is written in responsibly. One of my favorites parts of the novel comes when Pi discovers some survival rations in the front of his lifeboat. He hasn't eaten for 3 days and is ravenous. After devoring some plain biscuits, manufactured in Oslo (I think), he proclaims that Norwegian cuisine is the best in the world!

I'm going to try my hand at cooking some Indian-style dishes for the meeting (but balked a little when I saw that cardamom costs $12.45 a jar at HEB!). Flour biscuits may be a good back-up plan (ha ha).

Consuming less without pain

Hello Lowdown readers: I found this opinion piece really hopeful, actually, because Jared Diamon, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, makes the point that our quality of living need not suffer just because we're being smart about consumption. Sometimes the gloom & doom messages overwhelm me - but Diamond explains well. It makes me want to read Guns, Germ & Steel.

Recommendation

I "love" this: The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.

What a great use of someone's blog-time.

Seriously.

It makes me think that sign companies need to hire proofreaders, stat!