pack rat...

...I am not. I get a great deal of satisfaction from going through stuff and weeding out things I no longer need--whether it be clothes, papers, trinkets...


When I was on my mission, for some reason, I started acquiring little trinkets--cutsie stuffed animals, home-made mementos from different people I taught, all sorts of things that were special to me, but really not me at all. Each time I was transferred to a new area, I'd pack these things up and move them with me. Finally one of my last companions suggested that rather than hold on to all these things, I could photograph it all and then hold on to the photo instead. So I did. And now I'm very glad that I have a nice picture tucked away in an album rather than a fluffy red bear sitting on my shelf.


Now, as a mom, consumer, owner of a mailbox, etc., I continue to feel the need to weed out stuff. Usually it's when I spend too much time fretting over the many piles that build up around the house--I live with them for a while, but before long I lose patience with the clutter.


There are a few things, though, that I've had a hard time tossing recently--RVC's work, mostly (maybe once she's in school and I see more and more of it, I won't feel so sentimental about it). So here's my attempt to clear away a few piles today. And since I do not have a handy dandy scanner, I've decided to use the old memory-saving technique from my mission.

The next one is actually a book...the little girl and her dog find some paw prints, which they follow until they find another friendly dog at the end.

There was a stretch where RVC was drawing castles all the time...this was a sand castle on the beach. I love the little sand critters and the waves.

I just thought this one was cute.

I couple of months ago I taught a sharing time in Primary about family history. We talked about how the kids could learn some of the stories of their ancestors and then draw pictures of them to help them remember. I drew a picture of one of my ancestors, Charlotte Turley, who was a little girl in Nauvoo and remembered sitting on the Prophet Joseph Smith's lap down in her father's cellar (safe from mobs) and him telling her stories so she would be quiet. RVC decided to draw the same picture, using mine as a model. That's little Charlotte in the pink.