Bee Cool

My BFF Michelle and I have a tradition that each year for Christmas we make each other’s gift.  This last year she and her husband bought a beehive kit and assembled it for me (lots of work!).  I’ve been saying for a few years that I’d like to be a beekeeper.  She took note of this and gave me three boxes (called supers) with twelve trays (or frames) as my Christmas gift.  This has definitely become my favorite gifts she has given me.  It's more than a gift, it was the start of a new hobby and passion.

My dad was almost as excited as I was when I got the hive.  Beekeeping has been something he has wanted to do for many years.  We both got ourselves a copy of "Beekeeping for Dummies" and started reading.  I fell in love.  The more I learned about bees and how they live and work, the more fascinated I was by the little creatures.   They are absolutely amazing and natures most lovely example of teamwork and industry.  

We had the hive and soon started collecting other tools we would need for this new undertaking, including bee suits.  In February we ordered three pounds of bees from the Bee Supply store in Ogden.  Three pounds of bees is roughly 12,000 bees.  The majority of bees that make up a hive are female.  One queen, thousands of female worker bees, and only a few hundred male bees called drones.  The girls arrived in April and it was exhilarating introducing them to their new home.

This is how bees travel when they are ordered and shipped. 

Installing the bees into the hive.

 

My dad and I have loved observing our bees, learning all we can about what they do and how they do it, all the different jobs of a worker bee, how they communicate, all the work that goes into the making of honey,  and how the queen controls the entire hive.  We learned by trial and error but overall we've had a successful first year as beekeepers.

 

Last weekend my dad and I were able to meet up with some friends who helped us extract the honey from part of our beehive.  A friend of my dad, who also keeps bees invited us to join his friends who own the equipment and are experienced with the process of extracting honey. 

I really liked watching and learning the process and even got to help a little bit.  It was exciting to see how much honey we could harvest from our first season keeping bees.  We came away with 25 pounds of raw honey.  My dad and I are excited and we are already making plans to add another hive next year.  The honey is seriously delicious and I am currently working on a label and ideas for jarring it.

Here are a few pictures of the process.

Uncapping the honeycomb.

Preparing the frames for the extractor.

Frames loaded into the extractor.

The extractor.

Honey draining form the extractor.

Straining the honey.

 

BYU Women's Conference

This weekend I had the opportunity to speak at BYU Women’s Conference.  This was my first year attending and it was a great experience.  It was incredible to be surrounded by so many women who all share the common pursuit of knowledge and spiritual light.  I’m so grateful to my mom Lara and sister Kristie, two great women who came with me to the conference and who kept me calm (or at least tried), kept my makeup looking good and supported me throughout the experience, including the months leading up to the event.

It was humbling to share my story to so many women that had come to listen, hoping to feel the Spirit and be uplifted.  I am grateful to have had the experience. 

The following are notes from my talk.

I’m so happy to be here with you and excited that I have a few minutes to share some thoughts and ideas with you.  People tend to ask me a lot of questions about my life.  There are many things to be curious about, maybe some of you see me here now and have questions in your mind.  I’d like to first  answer the most important question you probably have.  Where do I find such little clothes??  Sometimes I go to kids clothing stores but that can be challenge sorting through Dora the Explorer and Hello Kitty t-shirts hoping to find something good.  Sometimes I shop in the grown up people stores. I buy it, take it come, cut it up and sew it back together in my size.  Shopping for clothes is an adventure for sure.  I’m thankful I know how to use a sewing machine.

I want to share some of my favorite or most frequent questions people ask me.

1.       How old am I?  I’m 31 and must confess I’m missing my 20’s.  There just wasn’t as much pressure to do something productive with your life and my body didn’t have the desire to go to bed at 9:00. 

2.       Another common question I get is “What’s wrong with you?”  When people ask me that I kinda laugh to myself and have to stop myself from saying “well nothing, why, what’s wrong with you?”.  But people want to know about my disability and I always appreciate people taking the time to ask about me and my circumstance.  I explain that I was born with an uncommon disorder that caused my muscles and joints to contract and has kept my body tiny.  As a young child I underwent numerous surgeries to attempt to correct some of the limitation in my joints.  Lots of surgeries and hundreds of hours of physical therapy. 

 

 When I was a teenager I developed respiratory problems that progressed to the point that I need this machine called a ventilator to help me exchange my oxygen and carbon dioxide (his name is Vincent) he goes almost everywhere with me.  My appearance is misleading.  I use a wheelchair but I can actually stand up, walk, and dance around from time to time.  I can also spend some time being unplugged from Vincent.  I can walk but not for very far.  I’m not very good at staying in one place, so my wheelchair gets me around and carries all my luggage like Vincent, a tank of oxygen, my purse, a laptop… Ya know, all the important stuff.

3.       Another question I get is Do I drive?  Yes, I do.  This is my car.  The back has been modified by my genius dad to accommodate my wheelchair.  I love driving.  I’ve only ever got one speeding ticket but we won’t talk about how many times I’ve been pulled over for speeding.

4.       Do I date?  Yes, this is the guy I’m dating now.  Handsome right?  Yeah I kinda like him.

5.       Do I have hobbies?  Yes, my dad and I have recently taken up beekeeping which should prove quite the adventure.  And I also really love to paint.

 

 

6.       Do I need help?  People always ask if I need help and I love it when people ask this.  I usually decline but I love that they show kindness and offer.   I’m sure I frequently look like I need help.  Whether I’m loading my wheelchair into my car or scaling the shelves at the grocery store I can imagine I look like I need a lot of help but the fact is I have developed systems for doing everything I need to do. I’m very independent.  My parents say I’m stubborn but I like to say I’m independent and determined.  I live on my on in an apartment downtown Ogden, right near the temple.  I work full time at a non-profit serving others with disabilities and teaching them how to live independently.  Like everyone, there are times when I do need help but if I can do it on my own that’s the way I like it to be.

 

7.       Do I have limits? No. I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to let my physical challenges define the course of my life.

Each person has difficulties. Life brings us unexpected events, things we would never choose to experience but Heavenly Father understands each of our spirits, He knows what will bring us close to Jesus Christ. Many of you are going through difficult things right now.  If you haven’t already, at some point each of us will experience challenges that will push us to our limits and test out discipleship. We know that part of this life is to face challenge.  But I’ve often wondered why do we need to experience such difficulties in this life?  We can feel the love of Christ in many ways, but to truly learn to know Him and build an unshakable relationship with Christ we need to experience hard things.  When we struggle, we remember Him more. We work harder to stay close to Him.

Helaman 12:3 tells us that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, they will not remember him.  When we experience trials and our brought to our lowest point, when we are made humble, only then do we fully open our souls to God and bind our hearts to Christ and truly learn to be close to Him.

When we experience hard things, we often feel that we are alone in our trials.  Have you ever felt that no one truly understands what you are going through? Even though others might know what we going through, sometimes we still feel alone in our individual struggles. I know I have felt this before. 

We all have a story.  And Christ knows every detail of our stories with a perfect knowledge and perfect understanding.  In the hymn Lord I would Follow Thee we are reminded of truths in the words “who, who can understand?  He only one”.  Each of us have “sorrows that the eye can’t see” But never forget that Jesus Christ sees those sorrows. And because Christ sees our sorrows and experienced them Himself, through Him we can be given additional strength, “strength beyond our own”. 

When I was a senior in high school I became very sick.  My respiratory problems had escalated and my health was declining fast. My lungs were not making the exchange they should and my body was retaining carbon dioxide. My doctors determined that I needed the help of a ventilator to assist my lungs and the best way to wear a ventilator is to have tracheostomy.  This was going to be new. This was a difficult time for me.  My parents and I put our trust in the doctors and the procedure was done.  I remember laying in my room at Primary Children’s Hospital.  I had this new machine beside me and tubes seemed to be everywhere.  My parents were out and I was alone in my room.  I felt very alone.  I had no idea what was in store for me, no idea what my life would be like from then on out or what my ability would be.  I took a moment and had a conversation with my Heavenly Father.  I let Him know that I felt alone, afraid and completely overwhelmed.  Within moments I was rushed with an absolute surety that I was not alone in this experience, that Christ was aware of where I was, and exactly what I was feeling.  He knew every detail.  In that moment I knew without question and I was given peace and strength.  I still didn’t know what was in store or what my life would be like but I didn’t need to know that.  I knew that Christ would help me carry whatever I couldn’t. I knew I was given strength beyond my own. 

This was a more dramatic experience but throughout the years I have felt this same strength come to me in quite moments of my life when I have faced hurt, feelings of defeat, or disappointment.

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” This is the promise that the Savior gives to us if we take our burdens to Him and open our hearts to him.

Elder Bednar gave an amazing talk in this most recent conference regarding the burdens we carry and the strength that come through Jesus Christ. He tells us to “consider the Lord’s unique invitation to ‘take my yoke upon you’.  The Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His.  As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light”.  In his talk Elder Bednar reminds us that not only did the Savior suffer for our sins but also for our physical pains and the anguish of our hearts and minds.  There is nothing we will experience in this life that Jesus Christ did not experience.  He knows and has perfect understanding.

I have experienced countless times when the Heavenly Father has reminded me of His awareness of me and the difficulties I am asked to face.  I have been reminded of and experienced firsthand the peace that comes when I open my soul to the Savoir and have felt Him help me carry the heavy things that I cannot lift alone.  The Lord promises us His help if we seek it.  He won’t always take the challenge away, He will let us grow, but he will give us the strength we need.  He can give us the strength to not only endure the trial, but if we allow it, the strength to endure with happiness.

Challenges are going to come to each one of us.  It’s why we are here.  But are we allowing our challenges to shape us into what God would have us become?  Heavenly Father gives us difficult experiences because He knows what we need.   Are we experiencing joy in this life?  I think sometimes as women we resist having joy.  Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the challenges in our lives and maybe we don’t think we deserve to have joy because life is hard, we are dealing with our trials and that means no fun allowed. Don’t be bogged down by your trials.  Joy can be found.  Joy is knowing you have a Savior: “men are that they might have joy”.  I’ve found that Joy can be a source of power.

Happiness is a choice that each of us can make.  We can experience happiness and peace, even if our trials are not removed from us.  I know this is absolutely true.  My trials will not be removed until this life is over, but my life is full of amazing opportunities and I experience incredible joy.

One of my sources of joy is painting.  When I paint I feel the love God has for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leap Fearlessly. This has slowly become a theme for my life.  Or rather a challenge to myself.  A reminder that I can’t put limits on myself.  God doesn’t put limits on me.  He gives me all that I need to live with peace and happiness.  He blesses me with faith and ability.  I have been blessed with a knowledge of a Savior who knows me and will help me bear every challenge. I bear you my testimony that Christ knows our story, that He is waiting for us to open our hearts to Him and lay our burdens at His feet.  He will give us power and ability.  He will give us “strength beyond our own”.  He will help us carry what we cannot.  I know that through our own unique set of challenges we can gain an unshakable faith and a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Through this we can overcome all, experience joy and embrace the plan that God has for each of us.

In closing I want to share a scripture that I have come to love:

Isaiah 43:1-3

Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name: thou art mine.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.

God will endow us with power.  He will give us a strength that is far beyond our mortal ability and grant peace to our hearts no matter how long and difficult the trial, if we will but submit our hearts to Him and commit to follow our Savior.  This I know is true.  I say these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.

 

I Can Do This

The last few days I’ve been thinking a lot about people.  People and their problems.  Everyone has problems but sometimes a person feels their problems are bigger than they are.  I myself have felt this a few times in my life. 

Tonight I was talking to a friend of mine.  I was telling him how people come into my life, and sometimes it takes them a little while, but usually, if given enough time, people become attached to me.  And I become attached to them.  When they are attached they open up.  I think that people feel safe with me.  Maybe because I’m a scooter child.  Maybe because many of my problems are not hidden.  My struggles are right out in the open.  People can see them with their own eyes.  This makes people feel comfortable around me.  It’s kind of like there is not as much mystery with me and little room for people to feel intimidation.  My body is shaped different.  I use a wheelchair.  I have a machine that assists my lungs.  Many of my weaknesses are exposed for all to see.  This allows people to open up to me more than they might with others.  They tell me their problems.  They share their secrets.  They let me see their invisible wounds.

I am happy that people feel safe with me.  I feel that I’m able to see things that lots of people don’t.  I see so much beauty in people, beauty that they feel they need to hide.  Too risky.  I see it because people feel like they can be real with me.  And sometimes I see the sadness and hurt they hide as well.  Although I am happy people can share their realness with me, sometimes it is heavy.  Life can get heavy and that’s when people feel their problems are bigger then they can handle.  I wish so much that I could fix or remove the problems.  If only I could fix them like a doctor, using a scalpel, remove the bad appendix, sew up the cut with sutures and let the body do what it does and heal itself.  If only I could.  My friend is wise and tells me that it’s not my job to fix all the broken people. I know that I can’t fix it all.  I know that most the time, it’s up to an individual to fix themselves.  But everyone needs support.  Every person needs to feel like they are cared about and loved.  During this messy experience known as life, I think we frequently forget the love that God has for us.  We forget how to feel it.  This is so unfortunate because even though we go through dark times and can’t feel it, this love is not hard to find.  If we stop for just a moment and hold very still, if we quiet our minds and open our eyes, our hearts will remember how to feel it and we will see evidence of His love all around us. 

I know I can’t fix everything.  Sometimes we get broken and only God can repair the break.  Like a doctor for the soul, God can heal our spirits.  I’m living an unconventional life and I’m not following the traditional pattern of wife and mother.  But as I grown older I am identifying more clearly the role and responsibilities that are mine for this life.  I’m striving to know the purpose and mission God would have me fulfill during this time.  It’s said that God uses us to do His work, to answer prayers, to be His hands.  Sometimes I think should have done more schooling, so I could learn how to better help people with their problems.  But although I’m not a professional and I really don’t know much, I have a willing heart.  I feel that if God keeps sending people into my life, then He’ll help me know how to help them.  I want to be some of the evidence of God’s love to other people.  I think this is part of my purpose.  I think I can do this.

 

Counting Blessings

I didn’t do a good job keeping up with writing about all the things I’m thankful for during the month of November.  December is already here and although I didn’t write about it, I did take time to think about all the good in my life.   I made several lists, some on paper and a running list in my mind.  My life is packed exceptionally full of blessings.  Here are some of the highlights from a few of my lists:

My car that gives me so much independence, a job that allows me to support myself and brings people into my life, kindness from strangers, my apartment, prayer, memories, good parents who love me, the gospel of Christ, food, education, Hope, life in America, my art, sisters, nature, faith in God, incredible siblings, my bed, hands that work, holidays, insurance,  life with a disability, temples, good books, a forever family, oxygen, contacts, nephews, nieces, my wheelchair, free agency, courage, co-workers that watch out for me, light, spiritual gifts, adventures, sweet grandparents, compassion, my church calling, summer, opportunities to grow, friends to love and who love me, my ability to be happy, scriptures,  an able mind, determination, atonement of Jesus Christ, good ideas, physical health, music, brothers, promises to keep, my wheelchair, guidance from the Spirit, modern technology, clean water, ventilator, my ward, tender mercies from God, a sure understanding of who I am and what this life experience is for, a living prophet, opportunities to learn, Faith that grows, my testimony and connection to my Heavenly Father.

This is a small sample of the good things in my life.  With so much good there is little room or time to examine problems or difficulties.  Problems do exist, yet my blessings outweigh them a hundred times over and within the blessings I am given all that I need to handle them.  My hope is that I can live a life and develop a character that will express the gratitude I hold in my heart for the generously blessed life that is mine. 

 

A Thankful Heart

Despite the coming of cold weather, I really like the month of November.  I like that people verbalize their gratitude more than usual.  It’s a habit that should be developed throughout the year but it’s cool that people share it more during the month of November.  I like to get on Facebook and read each day the posting of what people appreciate.  I wanted to do the same sort of thing here in this blog.  I feel like my life is very blessed.  Even exceptionally so.  I’ve always tried to pay attention to the good things in my life and honestly it’s pretty easy to do.  When your life is brimming over with blessings it’s easy to recognize the good that surrounds you so closely.  I’d like to post a several things every few days.  Things, people or ideas that God has so graciously placed in my life and my heart.

1.       I’m blessed with an independent spirit that grants me the desire to do what I can for myself, have ambition to go after the things I want, and live an active life.

2.       I’m thankful for modern medicine and medical technology that allows me to live and be healthy.  My wheelchair that takes me everywhere I need to go and conserves my energy.  My ventilator that keeps my respiratory system functioning.  Antibiotics help my body fight infections that frequently find me.  Had I been born even 50 years ago I would not have lived to the age I am and I would certainly not live with the ease and comfort I am able to enjoy.

3.       I’m thankful for my apartment and the ability I have to live on my own and care for myself.

4.       I’m grateful for the power of FAITH and its trusty companion HOPE. These two bring peace to my heart and light to what would otherwise be a scary and uncertain life.

5.       I’m thankful for my nieces and nephews.  Each one of them brings delight and entertainment to my life.  They are magic and I so enjoy watching them become people and feel the influence of their beautiful spirits.

Utility Box Art Project

Last week was amazing.  In my previous post I talked about the art utility box project that I was invited to be part of.  Week before last one of my paintings was scanned and printed then installed on two utility boxes that stand side by side located on 3300 South and 300 West in South Salt Lake.

Last Thursday there was a media event held on the location of the boxes where several news channels where there to interview the Mayor of South Salt Lake City, Cherie Wood and the project director, Glenn Smith and to also feature me as an artist.  What an opportunity for me!!  I get nervous seeing and hearing myself on camera but this was an opportunity I could not pass up. 

Soon after I returned to work that day another news channel called asking if they could interview me in their studio that afternoon.  A quick outfit change and back to the city I go.  I was pretty nervous after I arrived at the studio.  I’d never been on the live news before and I wasn’t certain what questions they would ask me. 

See the news clip here:

http://www.cw30.com/content/news/state/story/Utah-artist-s-mission-is-to-beautify-South-Salt/q9HJz-rjLkKSWMmbt2y_jg.cspx

I’ll never be comfortable seeing and hearing myself on camera but I feel like Channel 4 did a good job and made a nice story of the project. 

The Deseret News also sent a reporter who talked to me and the story ran in Sunday’s paper.  It was a very nice article and I am delighted that they wanted to write about me and my art.  I was not totally thrilled with the headline which reads “Disabled woman takes leap of courage and gets her art on display”.  It was such a nice article but I don’t love the term Disabled Woman and prefer woman with a disability.  I know my art and disability walk close together.  I realize that the disability side might lead me to opportunities that might not otherwise come but my hope is that people see my art more then they see the disability.

Deseret News article:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865589199/Disabled-woman-takes-leap-of-courage-sees-her-artwork-on-display-in-South-Salt-Lake.html

From that story my information was given to a talk radio host who set up an over the phone interview which took place yesterday.  I was interviewed by Abby Bonell, a radio host with a fantastic British accent! The interview will play on the radio Sunday morning at 7:15 on My 99.5, 97.1 ZHT, Rock 106.6, Oldies KODJ and again Sunday night at 7:15 105.7 Talk Radio.

It’s been so exciting for me to have these opportunities.  It makes me feel happy that other people are connecting and responding to my artwork in positive ways.  I’m so luck and incredibly blessed to do something I love and have others appreciate it.  It’s an honor for me to have my art on display in a public place where people thousands of people will see it every day.  I hope that if people look at it, it will bring happiness to their heart, if even for just a brief moment.

Art of the City

I’m really excited about my latest project!  A few weeks ago, during the Harvest Moon Celebration, a man named Glenn Smith found me at my booth and was very interested in my art.  Glenn works for the City of South Salt Lake and as we got talking he invited me to be part of a project he facilitates under the Urban Livability Dept.  This is the project:  Glenn looks for artist whose work uplifts and would add vitality to the streetscapes.  A work of art is scanned and printed onto plastic material.  The same kind of material they use to make car wraps.  The art will then be used to cover utility boxes around the city.

The idea behind this project is to bring art to the city and its residents.  The artwork on a utility box creates a vibrant, interesting and a more beautiful urban environment.  It is also a means for discouraging vandalism and enhancing community pride.  Click here to read more about the utility box art project and see pictures of boxes that have been wrapped in art.

As soon as the project was explained to me I was in love.  What a genius idea!  I love the concept of taking something functional yet boring to look at like a utility box and making it interesting.  Transitioning the mundane into color and beauty!  I was incredibly excited when I was invited to use a piece of my art to be wrapped on a box. 

This last Wednesday I took the piece I created for this project down to the city offices.  I was able to meet with Glenn and the Mayor of South Salt Lake, Cherie Wood, who gives the final go head on the art that will go on the boxes.  She was excited about the painting I had done and would like to do a media event later in the month once my art gets scanned, digitized and installed on the box.          

My painting will actually be used to wrap two utility boxes that stand side by side.  The image will appear split when looked at head on, half the painting on one box and the other half spilling onto the second box, yet each box will have the image wrap entirely around it.

This is such a great opportunity for me!  It’s a way to get my work out in the broader community and be part of an incredible project.  I just love the idea of art being placed around the city.  I’ll be posting more on this as the project progresses.