MorningStar

Karma beads and other bits of fun jewelry, mini lotions, polish, pocket knives, toothbrushes, soaps... I recall finding these in my stocking.

Growing up we always had an orange in the toe of our stocking. My dad was also very fond of nuts--the kind in the shell that you have to crack open. So we always had peanuts in our stocking, too, and we would have to crack them open and peanut shells would get everywhere. I'm too lazy to do that with my kids--I don't want to have to clean up nut shells. So i get the cans of already shelled (and salted) nuts and put some in little baggies. Then there was the salt water taffy, but that's candy so i'll shut up now.

Orange for good luck, and Tradition.

http://www.thekitchn.com/heres-why-we-put-oranges-in-stockings-at-christmas-holiday-traditions-from-the-kitchn-213985

Hahaha!!!    It's been a busy year - New house, new baby, recorded on an album (plus concerts), I'm the soprano section leader of our choir, trying to heal from my car accident/birth, etc.  Missed you all though! 

Hello everyone!
 
It's been a crazy/busy/wonderful time!  I recorded on an album/this music video in May while juggling my now five children.  It took me a long time to heal from being rear ended at 35 weeks pregnant and then my 36 hour back labor a month later.  I couldn't sit at my computer much at all without being in horrible pain and had to lie down to nurse my baby quite a bit. 
 
Anyway, my husband was so supportive and made it possible for me to record on the album "Winter Symphony" and be a part of this video. Jennifer Thomas (the composer/pianist/violinist) is a wonderful LDS woman who is the mom of three young boys and it's so inspiring to see everything she has accomplished.  Hope you all watch this and enjoy! 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njBGubkF5WA
 
 

We used to get (as girls) lip gloss, mini sized hand lotions, decorative hair ties/bows, chapstick, nail polish.....so if you have boys none of this is really that helpful.
 
I always like the areas of shopping centers that have the mini-sized/travel items of stuff. It's cute and not candy related. 

Hello everyone!
 
It's been a crazy/busy/wonderful time!  I recorded on an album/this music video in May while juggling my now five children.  It took me a long time to heal from being rear ended at 35 weeks pregnant and then my 36 hour back labor a month later.  I couldn't sit at my computer much at all without being in horrible pain and had to lie down to nurse my baby quite a bit. 
 
Anyway, my husband was so supportive and made it possible for me to record on the album "Winter Symphony" and be a part of this video. Jennifer Thomas (the composer/pianist/violinist) is a wonderful LDS woman who is the mom of three young boys and it's so inspiring to see everything she has accomplished.  Hope you all watch this and enjoy! 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njBGubkF5WA
 
 

No, I'm not saying there's a simple answer, but wives should at least care about their husbands' feelings if they don't care for it.  So they need to learn to communicate what they want or seek counseling if it's an issue of abuse rather than have an attitude of, "Sorry.  I just don't like it." 

I've seen a lot of these threads where a guy says his wife isn't interested in sex, but he has done steps 1-10 on his checklist of what good husbands do and it didn't work.  It's not that simple . We don't know your wife and why she feels the way she does.  If there is a pornography issue, a lot of guys don't even know they are exhibiting certain behaviors that are putting their wives off due to their addiction.  So if you take care of the kids, clean the house, etc., that doesn't change how you might be behaving in your intimate life.  I'm not saying you are, but we don't know either of you.  When a friend of mine was quite ill and pregnant, her husband was hostile towards her if they went more than two days without it.  I don't think he recognized how he was treating her, which just made her feel more resentful about the issue. 
 
And there are some women who just discover they don't really like sex.  They should make an effort to do something about that because it's important to their husband. 

I've seen a lot of these threads where a guy says his wife isn't interested in sex, but he has done steps 1-10 on his checklist of what good husbands do and it didn't work.  It's not that simple . We don't know your wife and why she feels the way she does.  If there is a pornography issue, a lot of guys don't even know they are exhibiting certain behaviors that are putting their wives off due to their addiction.  So if you take care of the kids, clean the house, etc., that doesn't change how you might be behaving in your intimate life.  I'm not saying you are, but we don't know either of you.  When a friend of mine was quite ill and pregnant, her husband was hostile towards her if they went more than two days without it.  I don't think he recognized how he was treating her, which just made her feel more resentful about the issue. 
 
And there are some women who just discover they don't really like sex.  They should make an effort to do something about that because it's important to their husband. 

I've seen a lot of these threads where a guy says his wife isn't interested in sex, but he has done steps 1-10 on his checklist of what good husbands do and it didn't work.  It's not that simple . We don't know your wife and why she feels the way she does.  If there is a pornography issue, a lot of guys don't even know they are exhibiting certain behaviors that are putting their wives off due to their addiction.  So if you take care of the kids, clean the house, etc., that doesn't change how you might be behaving in your intimate life.  I'm not saying you are, but we don't know either of you.  When a friend of mine was quite ill and pregnant, her husband was hostile towards her if they went more than two days without it.  I don't think he recognized how he was treating her, which just made her feel more resentful about the issue. 
 
And there are some women who just discover they don't really like sex.  They should make an effort to do something about that because it's important to their husband. 

Well if it is to celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday I would say no.  I celebrate my own that day.  :)

I agree with the rest of your post, but am a little uncomfortable with this.  Porn use/masturbation by husband and withholding sex by wife is a little bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario.  Yeah, a man who isn't "getting it" from his wife will be sorely tempted to go elsewhere.  On the other hand . . . knowing the way women perceive sex, what woman would want to have intercourse with a man who's been engaging in that kind of crap?

Comments about someone who commits suicide being "free" are in the same vein as comments about cancer victims no longer being in pain, or accident victims being in a better place. They're comments from survivors meant to ease the tragedy by giving it a silver lining. In my limited experience you see such comments from those further removed from the situation, family members and best friends are usually in too much pain to either be seeking a silver lining or to feel such comments constitute them. When we're talking about someone like a celebrity most people who 'knew' them fall outside of that immediate circle and thus you get a plethora of of such comments, so seeing it in the case of Robin Williams doesn't surprise me.

As of late I find myself annoyed with the "free" and "better place" and "God's will" comments when tragedies occur. I wholeheartedly believe in life after death, we will see our loved ones, etc. But sometimes these comments seem to exist to convince the mourning they should just cheer up and move on. Can't people just be sad for awhile?

While not stated very sympathetically, I think Walsh makes some good points.  It disturbs me to see comments that Robin Williams is "free" now.  What impact does that make on people who are on the verge of suicide?    I have some severely depressed relatives who have come close, but they don't choose suicide when they think about what it would do to their family.  I think some people are not in their right mind and are not accountable.  I knew a woman who had a drastic personality change after an aneurysm and jumped in a river in the middle of winter.  She is one of the kindest people I have ever known and I just felt sadness. 
 
When my friend's dad shot himself in the head, I felt furious.  He had been a selfish, controlling man and this was just one more thing that hurt his family.  Life insurance didn't cover it, so his wife who had stayed home to raise 4 children suddenly had to go back to school close to her 50's and their son still lives with her to help pay the bills.  My mom and I were there shortly after he was airlifted and it was like a horror scene.  My mom helped clean up the mess, but not even professional carpet cleaning worked.  They had to replace the carpet, which was not an expense she could afford.  My friend was in the middle of her senior year.  Even worse, her brother was initially questioned because the police thought maybe he shot him.  One minute they were watching a movie together.  He was laughing and acted like everything was fine.  Immediately afterwards, he went upstairs and shot himself.  No note.  No explanation of any kind. His wife's reaction was anger.  "He's always doing such stupid things!!!" she said.  What I learned later was that it was kind of common in the culture he grew up in for a middle aged man to kill himself when he felt like the best of his life was behind him.  I don't know if that was the issue with him, but I felt angry for a long time because of what his family went through.  He had made comments over the years that if he were ever to kill himself, he would shoot himself in the head - stated it in a very matter-of-fact manner. 

Here's an idea you could try.... but it would require some effort on your part. Less headaches though.
 
I run anywhere from 4-11 group therapy sessions a week. These are open groups (meaning any therapeutic topic is welcomed) with a wide variety of clients. We get people in these groups (we call them monopolizers in the clinical literautre) who have to dominate (hijack) the entire session. A couple ideas I've used have already been presented, so here's one I've had success with:
 
I take a monopolizer aside before the group starts and I say something like, "I really appreciate all your participation. You seem to have some valuable insight (I just don't mention who the insight is or is not valuable to) and I do want to hear some of your thoughts. So, I was wondering, would you be willing to listen to the responses of others in group today, think about the overall discussion as you listen, and then come talk to me after group for 4 or 5 minutes to give me a brief synopsis of your thoughts and impressions of how you feel the discussion went and the topics we talked about."
 
But then I have to follow at the end of the session or I undermine my credibility. And I be sure to say it in a way that is genuine and authentic. ("When it is given in a spirit of love it is received in a spirit of love.")
 
1) I've validated the person. 2) they are being asked a favor (in psychology, we call this "the helper's high"). 3) they know they are going to get 1-on-1 time, even if it is just for a few minutes. 4) others have been provided opportunities to participate. 5) I've avoided contention with the monopolizer. 6) I've created new possibilities for the monopolizer to choose from.
 
The clinical literature is very adamant, and I've seen this myself, that after some time (not a week or a month, but not a year either), the monopolizer begins to modify their own behavior.
 
I realize this is church, which is very different from therapy. Obviously, as with anything else, feel free to modify as appropriate. Hopefully this is something that might work for your situation.
 
Good luck. Monopolizers are tasking, that's for sure.

I would never bring up the subject in RS like she did.  She opened that can of worms knowing it was going to irritate the majority of the women in the room.  We come to church to be uplifted - not listen to that. 

One place to look for suggestions and ways to approach disruptive people during church lessons is the manual, "Teaching, No Greater Call". Here is a link to helping those who are disruptive:
 
https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-no-greater-call-a-resource-guide-for-gospel-teaching/lesson-24-helping-those-who-become-disruptive?lang=eng
Couple of points from this section:

Also...

  -Finrock

I would never bring up the subject in RS like she did.  She opened that can of worms knowing it was going to irritate the majority of the women in the room.  We come to church to be uplifted - not listen to that. 

I was a gospel doctrine teacher for many years in two different wards.  In one of them, the "disruptor" was a counselor in the bishopric!  It was as if he coveted the calling of gospel doctrine teacher and tried to use his supposed "clout" to dominate the lessons and steer them the way he thought they should go.  Every other gospel doctrine teacher before me had quit because of him.  It was only with a lot of diplomacy and humor that I managed to teach the class and keep him "pacified."  He meant well, and he didn't go off with false doctrinal ideas, but he constantly interfered with where the Spirit was directing the class and caused a lot of tension for everyone.

Admittedly this is just me being contrary, show up wearing more cloth next time.

I would never bring up the subject in RS like she did.  She opened that can of worms knowing it was going to irritate the majority of the women in the room.  We come to church to be uplifted - not listen to that. 

My family has been given so much service.  I'm so grateful.
 
One of the sweetest services given was from my RS President and another lady in our ward. After the death of my 19 year old daughter, my time was consumed with taking care of her 2 month old baby and getting funeral services prepared. I had no time for anything. They took my 12 year old daughter to help pick out and buy a dress for her sister to be buried in. What a wonderful and tender act of service. My younger daughter was able to participate in a last gift for her sister.

I couldn't afford a lawn mower and my back yard was a jungle. My EQP and his counselor came over and completely, weed whacked and mowed our lawn. It was super awesome of them.