Falling Behind: Days Nine, Ten and Eleven!

Sorry friends, just playing a little catch-up here!  We had a busy (but fun) weekend...and now I have a few moments to actually sit down and share a few more days from my 31 day blog challenge!  These should be easy!!

Day Nine: A picture of the last thing you purchased
This weekend we went to St. Louis to check on the status of our Volvo.  It has been at the dealership there for the past month (I love car maintenance, ugh)!   Before we left I thought I may come home with one of these strollers, but instead we came home with this....

Yes, it was an unexpected turn of events...but a necessary one.   Don't worry, I am still hoping for the stroller ;)


Day Ten: A photo of your favorite place to eat
It is no secret that Andy and I love to go out to eat.  I just enjoy it.  Don't get me wrong, I love cooking at home...but there is something fun about going out and sharing a meal at a restaurant.  So here are a few of my favorite places to eat.......

We also love sushi, Mexican, steak houses, frozen yogurt (if you can count that)...and maybe a little Jimmy Johns as well.  

Day Eleven: What's in your makeup bag

I am not much of a makeup expert.  There are women I know (like my a couple of my sister-in-laws and friends) who know all there is to know about makeup.  I, however, am not one of those people.  I am not great at wearing eyeshadow, but I can't live without mascara.  I enjoy different lipsticks, but usually only put it on once a day (sometimes more if we are going out somewhere).  You catch my drift.    

There are a couple of things in my makeup bag that I LOVE and couldn't imagine doing without...

If you haven't ever tried bareMinerals you are missing out.  I know, I know...there are A LOT of mineral makeups out there (and trust me I have tried several of them)...but there isn't a mineral makeup out there like the original.  I'm usually not particular to one brand (except in certain cases) and this is one of them...I won't use anything but bareMinerals.  It is the bomb.com. 

Another one of my necessities is this, mascara.  Now...for me, it's all about the brush!  I can't handle those little skinny brushes.  They drive me crazy!  It has to be a full and thick brush for me to even consider using it.  I use to use Clinique mascara, but because of cost I switched to this stuff a couple of years ago.  It does the job, although I do miss my Clinique from time to time!  

Everything else is pretty much icing on the cake.  A little blush, tweezers, lipstick/gloss, eyeshadow and even a little eye cream.  Pretty much like any other girl out there.  

Family Home Evening

This is Andy writing.  I've been meaning to post for almost a week now, but I'm not nearly as diligent in blogging as Melissa is!

So in our weekly Family Home Evening, I was responsible for teaching a lesson.  I decided to bring Noah in as my Teaching Assistant, and he turned out to be the right man for the job (amongst my many other options)!  Noah and I told the story of Ammon from the Book of Mormon.

Ammon, along with a few other guys his age, were rebellious as teenagers.  After a very humbling experience, all of these young men turned their lives around and became devoted servants to the Lord.  Because of their new-found faith, they all decided to go preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to other groups of people in that area who did not have it.  Parting ways, Ammon went to the land of Ishmael among the Lamanites--a group of people that had built up animosity towards Ammon's people (the Nephites) over several generations.  Thus, Ammon's decision to go there was most likely not one taken lightly.  But before I proceed--let me introduce Ammon (played by Noah):

Ammon

Clearly, Ammon is fearless in his headband, sandals, and loin-cloth (and diaper).  As soon as Ammon arrived in Ishmael, he was taken captive by Lamanite guards.  Ammon pleaded that he meant no harm, and that he wanted to stay in their land and be a servant.  The Lamanite king agreed, and put him to work with other servants watching over the flocks.  

Ammon Watching Over the Flock

Unfortunately, some Lamanite punks wanted to cause problems for the servants by scattering the flock everywhere.  As a result, the other servants became scared because they knew the king would be angry at the loss of his flock.  However, Ammon was pleased with this turn of events: 

Happy Ammon

Why was Ammon so happy?  Well, Ammon saw this as an opportunity to show his faith in the Lord by helping the other servants.  Ammon told the other servants to gather the sheep and keep an eye on them because things were going to get ugly.  Meanwhile, Ammon stretched out for the whoopin' that he was about to lay down: 

Ammon's Stretching

Yes, that is a lightsaber, and no, it is not historically accurate.  It's all we had though.  Anyway, Ammon approached the Lamanite punks and kindly asked them to leave him, his fellow servants, and the flock alone.  Naturally, they saw little Ammon, with his funny loincloth and weird blue sword and just laughed.  Surely, even their smallest guy could take Ammon out, so they started trying.  But Ammon was deceptively strong and agile, and most of all, he was blessed by the Lord because of his faith and courage.  As each one approached Ammon to attack him, he would swiftly cut off their arm.  

Ammon Cutting Off Arms

Yes, that Lamanite is Buzz Lightyear, and no, that is also not historically accurate.  Nonetheless, we proceed.  The Lamanite punks noticed a troubling correlation:  100% of the punks that tried to attack Ammon ended up losing an arm.  For those remaining who still had both their arms, they decided it was best to do as Ammon originally asked and leave him and the flocks alone.  Again, Ammon was happy:

Happy Ammon

The other servants were amazed at Ammon's feat, so they rushed to tell the king, who had a similar reaction.  Ammon, however, knew that he had been blessed by the Lord, and he was able to use this experience to share the gospel and bless the king, the other servants, and many other Lamanite people.  Ammon's mission to the Lamanites provides a great example of faithful and courageous service to the Lord.  The End.  

Thanks to Noah for his brilliant work as Ammon!