Finding Joy in Womanhood

Upcoming Events

Stake Conference this weekend!

• September 17 All Day Temple Day 2 Chapel Sessions 10:00 and 3:30.
• September 18 Leadership Training 3:30, and Adult session is at 6:00 in Greeley
• September 19 Regional Conference 10 a.m. broadcast into Fort Morgan building
• September 25 Stake R.S. Meeting and Broadcast in Greeley. Dinner will be at 4:30pm and the Broadcast will begin at 6:00pm. We will carpool from the church. We will leave at 3:15. It will also be broadcast into our building and start at 6:00.
• September 24-26 Scout Camporee.
• October 2nd & 3rd General Conference
  
• October 16 Ward R.S. Temple Trip. We will meet at the church at 5:30 a.m.
• October 21 Additional R.S. Meeting/groups (coupon class) 7:00
• October 30th Ward Potluck followed by Trunk or Treat
  

August Activities

Can you believe August is just around the corner? Finishing up summer plans and getting ready for school to start. As for our Relief Society Activities, and Family Activities there are lots of fun things to participate in.

For the Family Activities, we've got:

Ward Swim Party on August 14th

Pack meeting and Court of honor at 6pm on August 25th. There will also be a pot luck dinner at the church.

Family Exercise Group Every Saturday at 8am at the Riverside Park Trail Entrance. We are training for the Stake Fun Run on August 28, 2010 at 9:00am.

Relief Society Activities:
August 14: Relief Society Cover to Cover at 10:00am

August 19: Relief Society R*Star Groups 7:00pm
Paper Group
Cooking Group
Creative Textiles Group- working on aprons

We're looking forward to August!!

R*Star Meeting Groups

Here are a few announcements of upcoming events that might be helpful to have in print if you missed the R*Star Kick-off that was right before the R.S. Birthday Party Celebration on Thursday (A big thanks to all!!):

• Every Saturday Charlene Scheneman is leading our exercise group. Meet at Riverside Park by the trail at 8 a.m. The whole family is invited. This Saturday (June 26th) Caring Ministries is sponsoring a 5k Walk-A-Thon. Registration begins at 8 a.m. at Riverside Park so we are doing this for our exercise group this Saturday. If you cannot attend but would like to financially support the effort, please talk to Dean Nichols this week (842-3141).

• Thursday, July 8th is our first R*Star Meeting with the following groups available: Textile, Scrapbooking, and Cooking.

1. The textile group is being led by Marcie Emmerson and Stacy Marting. They will be teaching how to make a pioneer apron. Sign ups sheets are going around. If you do not see one, please contact Marcie (842-9898) or Stacy (483-6257). Also, if you would like to see the apron being made, see Marcie. They would also like to know what you are interested in doing/learning for upcoming meetings.
2. The scrapbooking group is led by Haley Wheatley. A sign-up sheet will be available soon. Please talk to her if you are interested or have any ideas for her or would like to see what she has in mind (867-1221).
3. The cooking class is being led by Tonya Dory and Hilda Jumique. A sign-up sheet will also be available soon. They have a lot of ideas and would like to know what kinds of needs and interests you have. Please contact them with questions and interests: Tonya (842-4682), Hilda (370-2242).

These groups will be held monthly at the church.

• Saturday, July 10th is the first date for our monthly cover-to-cover. It will start at 10 a.m. at the church (following the exercise group) . Michelle Dunn is the leader of this group. A sign-up sheet is going around. The assigned talks from the May conference issue of the Ensign will be announced soon. If you would like to stay afterwards for refreshments, please bring a favorite appetizer or snack. Contact Michelle with any questions: 842-9898.

R*Star Ladies Night: First one will be Friday, July 16th at 6pm-8pm. There will be a fun movie, popcorn, pedicures, and we'll discuss a book to read. The 2nd week, we will discuss the book and have treats! This will be held at Tammy Johnson's home.

One last announcement to put on your calendars: A Visiting Teaching Conference is coming up on Thursday, July 15 from 6-8 p.m. More details will be coming soon.

R*Star Kick Off & Birthday Celebration TONIGHT!

R*Star Meetings Kick off & Relief Society Birthday Celebration
June 17, 2010 at 6:55pm (TODAY!!)
at the church building. It is going to be the orientation for all the groups and what we are doing in Relief Society. These groups again, are:

Thursday Groups
UFO Group
Cooking Group
Paper Crafts Group

Friday Groups
Miscellaneous Group (Girl's Night Out Group)
Play Group

Saturday Groups
Cover to Cover
Exercise Group
Organizational Group

Relief Society Cultural Birthday Celebration
This will be right after the Kick off!

We are going to learn how other cultures celebrate birthdays, have birthday cake and celebrate! We are focusing on three main areas: Central & South America, Asia, Europe.

Hurray!!! See you tonight!!!

R*STAR Kick Off and Birthday Celebration

Lots of things happen'. So lets get a crackin'. Relief Society Activities will be organized in the form of GROUPS. These groups will be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They are organized as follows:

Thursday Groups
UFO Group
Cooking Group
Paper Crafts Group

Friday Groups
Miscellaneous Group (Girl's Night Out Group)
Play Group

Saturday Groups
Cover to Cover
Exercise Group
Organizational Group

UFO Group
Held 3rd Thursday of the month at 7pm
I think we are changing the name from Unfinished Objects to Teaching/Doing Textiles Group
Teaching Sewing, Quilting, Crocheting, Knitting, Tatting, Textiles
It will be held in some room at the church (not sure which yet.)

Cooking Group
Held 3rd Thursday of the month at 7pm
Get together and TASTE and exchange recipes, learn new techniques for cooking like: using pumpkin, gluten free, artisan breads, nutritious meals, how to buy fresh food, how to shrink your grocery bill without shrinking your budget, etc. Will be held in the kitchen at the church. YUM-O!!!

Paper Crafts
Held 3rd Thursday of the month at 7pm
Learn how to scrapbook, Card Making, Easy made paper gifts. Teach how to cut, do layouts, pick colors, and make gifts/cards. Seasonal Cards, 100 cards for all occasions, etc. Sisters supply their own paper, embellishments, adhesive and share scissors, punches, stamps and ink. This will be held in a room at the church (not sure where yet).

Miscellaneous Group (Girl's Night Out)
Held 1st Friday night of the month.
Get together and have FUN! (Don't you just LOVE that word!) This includes: Book Club, Spa Night, Girls Night Out, Watch a Movie, Soap Making, etc. This will be held and Tammy Johnson's Home.

Play Group
Held every Friday morning at 9:30am at the church. Kids come and play and the parents socialize.

Cover to Cover
Held 2nd Saturday each month from 10:00am-12:00pm.
Discuss two assigned talks from General Conference. It is held somewhere in the church. (again..not sure of room)

Exercise Group
Meet every Saturday at Riverside Park at the Nature Trail at 8am (set your alarm!). This is a family event!!! (that means all are invited!) Train for the Stake Fun Run held August 28, 2010 at 9am. After the fun run is completed this group still needs to meet. Do family basketball, learn yoga, strength training, still run/walk at the park, etc. Find other things to train for. This is going to be a FAMILY event to help promote good fitness. (It's good for you!)

Organizational Group
Meets 2nd Saturday of the Monday at the Church. We are learning how to get organized. (Hurray!!!) De-clutter, Paper Management, Make & Keep a Budget, Time Management, Speed Cleaning, Financial Planning, Health Management, go help a sister clean her home, etc.

WOW!!! Don't these groups all sound AMAZING? I think so too! I am so excited! This is going to be absolutely fabulous! And you're Going to LOVE IT! I decided it's a good idea I'm over advertising and not over a group; I want to be present at ALL of these groups! But I'm not quite sure how to tackle the groups that are held on the same day....Hmmmmm....video record maybe...any volunteers?

Alright, so here is how things are going down:

R*Star Meetings Kick off & Relief Society Birthday Celebration
June 10, 2010 at 6:55pm
at the church building. It is going to be the orientation for all the groups and what we are doing in Relief Society. More information will come as we get closer to June. *But you don't want to miss it, so write it on your calendar NOW!

Relief Society Cultural Birthday Celebration
This will be right after the Kick off on the same day!

We are going to learn how other cultures celebrate birthdays. We are focusing on three main areas: Central & South America, Asia, Europe.

Road Trip to Greeley!

The Stake Relief Society is hosting an EFW event this Saturday! Unfamiliar with the acronym? Me, too. It stands for "Especially for Women." This is a series of mini-classes aimed at "building a firm foundation." The mini-classes include:

• A Healthy Foundation: Taking Care of Yourself
• Plant Now- Harvest Later: Financial Wisdom in Tough Economic Times 
• Come and Be Happified: Being Happy in Tribulation
• Family Building Blocks: Building Blocks to Grow On- Raising a Righteous Family
• Taming the Chaos: A House of Order
• Keep Your Eye on the Temple: Anchor Yourself- Return to the Temple Often

 They are also collecting gently-used shoes to donate to the Greeley Interfaith Clothing Bank. If you want to donate shoes, but don't plan on attending this event, please email me and I can take them for you. Just email alli.howe@gmail.com or circleofsisterz@gmail.com


Details:
Saturday, May 8, 2010
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Greeley Stake Center
Lunch will be Served
No nursery will be provided
Sunday Dress


I hope to see you all there!

Get Ready for the Next Cover to Cover

The next Cover to Cover is fast approaching. Here are the links to the selected talks:

• "The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society" by President Henry B. Eyring
• "Every Woman Needs Relief Society" by Sister Silvia Allred

I love Cover to Cover Meetings because it is my favorite people (you sisters!) talking about how we can be better. You may be thinking, "Alli, how is that any different from Sunday?" Well, we can wear jeans and there is food at the end! What's better than feeling the Spirit and eating good food?
The food theme this month is your "Family's Favorite Dish."

I love you all! I hope to see you at the church on Saturday, March 27th from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.

Heavenly Guides to Promised Blessings

Hi Ladies!

Please join us on Sunday, March 14th for an amazing quarterly activity! Stake Patriarch Buss and Temple Sealer Howe will address us in an conversational-style fireside. We will discuss patriarchal blessings and the blessings of the temple.

Place: Fort Morgan Chapel

Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Light refreshments will be served!

It will be a wonderful experience you don't want to miss!

Introducing . . . *R*Star Meetings!

We are excited about the change from Enrichment to Additional Relief Society Meetings and have coined the change "R*Star Meetings" (Relief Society's Time for Additional Relief).

This year we will have big quarterly activities. In addition, the following activities will be regularly scheduled:

Cover to Cover

Cover to Cover is an informal discussion group for women to talk about what touched and impressed them from General Conference. Each month's reading assignment, date, and time can be found here.

Our next meeting is Saturday, February 27th from 10:00 to 12:00 @ the Church.
Food Theme: "Finger Food" (or appetizers)
Assigned Talks:
Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son by Robert D. Hales
Being Temperate in All Things by Kent D. Watson
(You can click on the talks to read them now!)

U.F.O. Support Group

U.F.O. stands for Unfinished Objects. Bring your pile of unfinished projects to the Church and enjoy the company of sisters while you work on your to-do list. This group will meet every third Thursday @ 7:00 p.m. @ the Church unless otherwise noted.

Next meeting: Thursday, February 18th from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. @ the Church.

Those without projects are also welcome to attend!

Play Group

If you are interested in attending play group, please contact Carissa Marler. Play group is tentatively scheduled for Fridays @ 10:00 a.m. @ the Church.

Next meeting: To be announced

Remember that friends and neighbors are always welcomed to attend!

"Cover to Cover" Begins!

We will begin "Cover to Cover" on January 30th, 2009 at my house. We'll start at 10:00 am and finish up around 12:00 pm.

Because we are starting at an awkward time in the year- we will not be able to cover ALL talks from October 2009 General Conference. But it's important to get the momentum going so we can have our "A-game" ready for April General Conference.

Please read and study the following two conference talks from the Saturday Morning Session of October 2009 General Conference:

More Diligent and Concerned at Home
Elder David A. Bednar


That Your Burdens May Be Light
Elder L. Whitney Clayton

[These are hyperlinks so you can read them right now if you want!]


Remember to write down one "A-ha!" moment from each talk to share. For more information on this please read the previous post.

After the discussion you can go home or stay for lunch. If you are staying for lunch please bring any kind of salad to share. When I say "any" kind of salad I mean it. Please expand our horizons. Fruit salad. Pasta Salad. Bean Salad. Cracked Wheat Salad. Taco Salad. Something with Marshmallows Salad.

Each month we will have a different theme for lunch. The point of lunch is not to stress you out. It is to give us more time to chat, develop relationships, and to share recipes.

I hope to see you at my house on the 30th. Friends are welcome.

What is "Cover to Cover"?

"Cover to Cover" is an informal discussion group for women to talk about what they learned in General Conference. If you are like me- it is extremely difficult to retain much of what was said the first time around. The goal is to discuss all of the talks before the next session of General Conference. Thus- the name of the group, "Cover to Cover." Please join me in wearing out our General Conference issues of the Ensign! Let's mark em' up!

To prepare for the discussion, read through the talk (or talks) and select one or all of the following:

-favorite story
-quote
-paragraph
-something that made you rethink a principle of the gospel
-whatever made you go "whoa!" or "a ha!"

Everyone will take turns sharing their insights and we will all leave feeling fabulous and uplifted. (Thanks to the Spirit and those awesome "a ha!" stories.)

It is also a goal of mine to record all of the favorite quotes and compile an archive of conference quotes at the end of each 6 month period. Leave a comment if you have any ideas on how this "quote archive" should look. We could also post the favorite quotes on the blog.... hmm.... again- post a comment if you think this is a good idea.

I am thinking we will be meeting 1-2 times a month in the evening.Please leave a comment if you are interested in joining "Cover to Cover" with your availability. You can also sign up during Relief Society.