Great FHE tonight

In Matthew 5:48 it states: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." And it's cross reference for "perfect" is Doctrine and Covenants 67:13 it says: "Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected."

Perfection is not something we are going to reach in our mortal life. The Lord wants us to live our lives so we can return to Him and live with Him in the Celestial Kingdom. That is where we reach our state of perfection. What a great Family Home Evening we had tonight discussing this topic with the boys.

CS Lewis

I just finished reading "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". It's been so long since I read this book, I loved comparing the movie to the book. They did such a great job on the movie in staying true to the story in the book. I found one of my favorite parts, which is representing the Savior's sacrifice:

"The Hags made a dart at him and shrieked with triumph when they found that he made no resistance at all...they rolled the huge Lion over on his back and tied all his four paws together, shouting and cheering as if they had done something brave, though, had the Lion chosen, one of those paws could have been the death of them all. But he made no noise, even when the enemies, straining and tugging, pulled the cords so tight that they cut into his flesh...
"Another roar of mean laughter went up from her followers as an ogre with a pair of shears came forward and squatted down by Aslan's head. Snip-snip-snip went the shears and masses of curling gold began to fall to the ground...And they surged round Aslan, jeering at him...as they worked about his face putting on the muzzle, one bite from his jaws would have cost two or three of them their hands. But he never moved. And this seemed to enrage all that rabble. Everyone was at him now. Those who had been afraid to come near him even after he was bound began to find their courage...
"At last she drew near. She stood by Aslan's head. Her face was working and twitching with passion, but his looked up at the sky, still quiet, neither angry nor afraid, but a little sad."

This passage helps me remember how Christ was so mild and accepting of his fate, his fore-ordination. I also learn from this that I need to bear my struggles with more patience and acceptance, knowing that good things will come eventually. It is part of life to have challenges and things that make us feel like giving up. Christ set the example for us, and I should bear my burdens with more long suffering and solemness. I pray for that ability!

Uplifting Sabbath Day

What a wonderful day we had at church today! Tyler, Kaleb and Will stayed home from church since the older boys aren't feeling well. So it was just Derek, Logan and myself. Amazing talks were shared in Sacrament meeting (by Sister deGroot, Sophia May, and Bishop Brundage). Sister deGroot shared the importance of fasting, and really internalizing a fast, rather than going through the motions. She emphasized that we should prepare ourselves for fasting rather than: stuffing ourselves the night before so we aren't hungry as early the next day, forgetting it's fast Sunday at all, sneaking in a little cereal in the morning as we feed our children breakfast, and forcing those children who turn 8 to immediately start fasting because it can be more detrimental than helpful. I have been guilty of all those so often, it is hard to remember when I've actually prepared myself for a fast appropriately. I know I have, it's just been those days that I have full purpose in heart, when things are hard or someone is ill and needs a little extra prayer/thought. I need to help teach my children about why we fast, how we prepare to fast, and how to enjoy a fast; knowing all the blessings that will come to them or to whomever they are fasting for. They understand some of these concepts on a basic level, but I know they could know so much more.

After Sacrament meeting the boys and I headed to Primary. I love my calling...and I haven't always been able to say that about the calling I have. I am the Primary Chorister, and LOVE singing with the kids. I had this calling when I was pregnant with Kaleb, and did not have the same feelings. :) I love looking at those kids' faces, seeing them smile at me (or wiggle around) and hear them sing the songs we are learning for the Primary Program we'll have at the end of the year. Today I introduced our stick picture animals and sounds to sing with the songs. This was a new concept to this Primary and they LOVED singing like a sheep, bee, bird, and cow. It's such a great way to have them recall the words when they have to switch between baaing and singing the words to the music! It was so cute to see them so excited to participate in the music today!! I wish I could have recorded them so you could see how excited they were. "Can I hold the picture?", "Let's do it again!", and "Can we do the bzzz-bzzz to this song, too?" were priceless!!

Today was a much needed day. I'm also handing my worries back over to the Lord. He will guide us the direction we are supposed to go, He always has. Stressing and worrying about our situation is not going to help it get any better. So, I'm trusting in the Lord and doing all I can, and that will be enough!

Better late than never, right?

Ok, so Derek turned 8 July 3rd. I am way late in posting about it, but it was such a busy time and such an important birthday, it's worth posting late. We went down to New Orleans the week before his birthday and had a great time with our family and Mom and Dad Scott. We got home the day before his birthday. On Saturday our community had a 3rd of July bike parade for all the kids in the neighborhood. The boys had a blast participating in that parade! We then made preparations for Derek's baptism to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's so neat to now have two children that have been able to be baptized on their birthday (Kaleb was, too). Mom and Dad Scott, Papa Whited, and his cousin Colby were able to travel from afar to be at his baptism. Derek loved having his loved ones here for him. After his baptism we ate somewhere that is escaping my memory right now and headed home for cake, ice cream and dessert. When evening fell we had a bit of a firework demonstration, as well. It was way cool! :) We had an amazing day! I am so proud of Derek and the wonderful young man he is becoming. He's a joy to have in our family and I feel lucky to be his mom!

Here's 8 reasons I love my Derek:
1. His spontaneity in some of the things he says.
2. How he keeps growing older without looking much older.
3. His entrepreneurial spirit, following his daddy's footsteps.
4. The way he loves everyone unconditionally.
5. His huge personality.
6. His tender heart and brilliant mind.
7. How his laugh is so contagious.
8. What a spiritual giant he is becoming.

I love you so much Derek! Don't ever change for anybody!!

LDS Singles

This is hilarious! Just know, it's a spoof, so don't be surprised when it seems stupid...make sure you're in the right mood. :)

Thanksgiving in Maryland

We had the privilege of visiting Will's family in Maryland for Thanksgiving. It was so great being there! I love only being 10 hours away! It's a little hop, skip, and jump to get there. His mom is looking so much better and is in pretty good spirits. She's at home, in bed, but at least at home! Michelle (Will's younger sister) is able to help take care of mom and does an excellent job at it, I might add! She is so patient and learns everything so quickly. I'm so grateful she is able to be there with mom during this difficult time. I do have to say that it's great how close almost all of Will's family is to his parents. His youngest sister, Kim, lives really close and is there most days, too. She's there with her beautiful baby girl, Baelee, which helps mom feel even happier. I love Will's family so much. I feel so lucky to have such loving and kind in-laws.

While we were there Rhonda, Will's older sister, had three children baptized...Maddie (8), Colby (9), and Heather (10). Maddie asked Will to baptize her, and he was thrilled for the opportunity. It was nice to see Mom up and around (in her wheelchair). I was able to give a little talk about the Holy Ghost, I think it went well. It was short and to the point, I do believe they listened through the whole thing. I was grateful to be included in the affair! I am so proud of those three amazing children for choosing to become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know they have made a very important first step to making it to the Celestial Kingdom to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.

Time Out For Women, Again

I had the amazing opportunity to attend my second TOFW this year. It was in Nashville this last weekend. Oh my goodness! I got so much out of it, again! Chieko Okazaki was the speaker Friday night. She spoke of teaching correct principles and then allowing that person to govern themselves. I realized I need to teach the boys more correct principles, not what they are doing wrong. I'm going to get two chairs and call them "discussion chairs". If there is any incident that happens between two boys I am going to have them discuss the issue in the chairs, instead of having them come tattle to me about what the other person did wrong. I've learned that I can help and support, teach and love the boys, but I cannot live their lives for them. This I knew, but never looked at it that way. I can't control them, I can only guide them and remind them. I will teach and re-teach as much as necessary.

Hilary Weeks was one of the musical performers Friday night, along with Kenneth Cope. Oh how gospel music lifts my soul! The stories behind some of their songs are so touching and help me understand more of what is being sung about. I was able to get pictures with both Chieko (along with a hug and autograph) and Kenneth Cope (and an autograph from him, too). Hilary Weeks has an amazing voice and plays the piano beautifully. She's a new favorite of mine.

Saturday brought us Emily Watts, Camille Fronk Olsen, Chris Stewart, Jason Wright, Carolyn Rasmuss, and Hilary Weeks was the musical performer all day. Emily taught about not being so hard on ourselves. My favorite quote from her is, "you don't have to be perfect, you have to be trying." Camille spoke on women of the Bible and barrenness and compared the King James interpretation and the Hebrew interpretation. "Womb" in the Hebrew interpretation means "compassion". She shared a lot of how Hannah was barren and pledged any child she may receive right back to the Lord. Camille said, "We need to let go when we turn to the Lord for help." We need to not keep thinking in our mind that we can still do it, it needs to not be a half hearted hand off, we need to give the Lord every bit of our problem and promise to be his disciple in return. Chris Stewart spoke on our purpose of life. That we are to have joy and joy does not mean that we can only have joy when things are going right in our life. Joy is something we should find in times of trial, also. We must look at the good in every situation and thank the Lord for giving us the trials we face to strengthen us. As Chris put it, "It is in the darkness that we truly see the light." Jason Wright reminded us that the power of the written word is strong. We need to send out more hand written letters. The computer is easier, but there is nothing as personal as receiving a hand written letter. The concluding speaker shared the message of how "the gospel is a resource when we are experiencing pain." We will all experience difficulties no matter how we live our lives. We are expected to turn to the Lord in our trials to help us through.

The main thing I learned from the TOFW is that I chose to come to earth, to experience the things I am experiencing. I knew most of the struggles and challenges I was going to face and I looked at the Lord and said I would do it because I knew He loved me and had already given me so much. What my life is and how it goes is part of the plan I knew of before I came to this earth. I have a new outlook on my day to day situation. I have a renewed hope in how I parent my children and help them become better people.

I had a fantastic time with friends. Julie and I went together Friday night. I had the privilege of meeting some of her very dear friends from Ohio. We were able to get to know each other a bit and know that we could be long time friends now, too. I was able to get to know a few more sisters in my ward a bit better. TOFW brings a renewal of purpose in my life. I love to socialize, as all of you know. This event gives me that opportunity, with women that have the same goals as I do and struggle with some of the same things. I come home more appreciative of my family and with a renewed hope in my parenting skills. One thing I have learned about myself is I need a boost in parenting styles very frequently. Some things stick with me better than others, and it's always good to get a fresh new approach to how I handle day to day life.

Pictures will be coming soon...Julie took some and I just need to get them from her. Good news! I found my camera (actually Tyler did this morning). YAY!

Upliftment "08"

Shout out: I love Krissy!  And miss her so much! (just talked on the phone, so fresh in my mind)  

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the General Relief Society Meeting at our Stake building.  I also had the privilege of helping out on the food committee for the dinner before the Meeting.  Thanks to everyone's efforts on the food committee it went amazingly well.  From my understanding, about 250 women were in attendance and we didn't run out of food!  It all tasted soooooooo good, and it was well worth the effort from yesterday and today.

Before we had the dinner the Stake Relief Society Presidency had put together a program engulfing the story of the 10 virgins.  There were beautiful musical numbers (some even from my ward), scripture readings, quotes, and thoughts about the main topics they had pulled from the story.  The spirit was strong and it was a beautiful way to start the evening.  After the program we ate the delicious food.  I'd have to say my favorite part of the dinner was the dessert.  It was beautiful white sour cream wedding cake.  Very pure...white frosting and a white rose on top.  That is what the majority of the time was spent working on...the amount of time it takes to frost 26 round cakes with frosting in the middle is amazing!  But it was well worth the time for the beauty of them all.  So elegant!

The piéce de résistance was the Conference.  Oh my, how it spoke to my heart.  Sister Beck spoke of the importance in reaching out to one another and uplifting one another, for seeking to become closer to God through prayer and reading the scriptures.  The one point that stands out in my mind was a story of when she was a young married woman.  Her mom was moving away, whom she had always lived near, and she was very downtrodden about this change.  In one conversation she asked her mother, "But who's going to be my mom?"  And her mother, after great contemplation, said that she would have to look to the sisters in her ward for help and comfort (not in those exact words, but that's the main idea).  That was the first time I cried during the meeting.  Oh, how I miss my mom and dad.  After living so close to them for the 2 1/2 years we were able to, and having to move away, I realize how much I adore them.  Mom is the essence of Christlike Love.  She is such a great example to me of how to treat people with kindness and to be selfless of her time.  She reminds me so much of my Gramma Moore, her mom, in how she makes everyone she comes in contact with feel like they are the most important person on the earth.  And my dad, well our ward conference was last Sunday.  That's when the tears started falling, too.  The Sunday School lesson was on Missionary Work, Dad's big topic is "Every Member a Missionary" as the Stake President.  So I really wished he could have been up there giving that lesson.  I'm so grateful we, my family, took every advantage we could at being with my mom and dad while we were in SLO.  I know I'll see them plenty, but I'm still adjusting to not being able to go over for Sunday dinner, or to always have a party with family when it's someone's birthday (we celebrated a lot of birthdays since we were able to include Brennan and Tracie and their kids (my brother and sister in law)).  I'd have to say my sorrow extends to many loved ones...you all know who you are (most of you are to the right of this post)!  Eventually the sadness will stop being so ever present...hopefully soon.  I have a great friend here, Julie, who keeps me busy and from dwelling on the sad parts of leaving a lot of the time.  And I know more friends and surrogate mom's will come eventually, I just have to be patient. 

The next speaker was Sister Allred.  She spoke of Temple service and worship.  I rarely hear in such plain wording the beautiful things that go on inside the temple.  I just kept thinking how every person who has not been to the temple, or is not a member of the church, would be able to understand more of what goes on in the temple and that there are great purposes for temples.  It kind of gave me a kick in the tush to get to me go to the temple this week (Julie, I may need your help with Logan).

Sister Thompson is such a cute lady.  She is a warm and fuzzy type of person.  I just felt happier watching her speak.  I have brain farted on what her topic was...I'm surprised I've remembered as much as I have so far. :)

The concluding speaker was President Ucktdorf.  His humor is greater than I ever imagined.  He spoke about how women need to stop being so hard on ourselves, that we need to lose ourselves in service.  We need to be there for one another, and find someone in a worse situation than we may be in and help them...and we will find ourselves in a happier mood, too.  I felt this come to fruition when the boys and I took cookies I had made to four of our neighbors.  One was for the family that invited us over to dinner the day our belongings were moved into the house.  One was for the family on the other side of us who share their trampoline and were at the dinner at the other neighbor's house. The third was for the neighbors across the street just newer than us who are expecting their first baby together in a week.  I also let the soon to be momma know that I'll be bringing a meal over when their new baby, Blessing (will be her name), has arrived, and the look in her eyes was worth the offer.  
The last plate was going to go to another neighbor we'd already met, but they weren't home.  So we went to the newest neighbor right across the street and delivered the plate of goodies to them.  They are also expecting their first child, she's 5 months along, and it's going to be a boy.  It was so nice to talk with them for a while and get to know them a bit.  I look forward to getting to know them better, for sure.  The next morning I was taking mail to the mail box and there was an envelope in there already.  It was from the most recently moved in neighbor thanking us...never expected that.  It really does feel good to share and serve others.  I can't wait to have all our "new" neighbors and friends over for an open house (if I can ever get the house in order).  

All in all, this conference was much needed at this point and time in my life.  I feel ready to forget myself more.  I feel ready to turn to the Lord with my daily life more.  I feel more inspired to read my scriptures and to try to be a happier me.  I feel there may be a light at the end of the tunnel of my loneliness for "home".   I am so grateful for the gospel, for the upliftment it brings into my life.  I'm grateful that no matter where I end up living, the gospel will always be the same.  There will always be someone around I have a lot in common with merely for the fact that our beliefs are the same.  I'm grateful for modern day amenities like phones, email, blogs, video cams, and the means to have and use them.  I am mostly grateful for my brother, Jesus Christ, and for his empathy of the pain and sorrow I feel and experience in my life.  I know if I can turn my sorrows over to him and my Heavenly Father that I will become the best me I can be for my family, myself, and others around me I may be able to serve. 

Some of the fun things...AKA "Guilt Trip"

Some of the fun things we did this summer...

The kids and I took off for Utah after the last day of school (yes I am crazy). We stopped in Primm that night and made it to Provo the next day. We were able to visit Uncle K.C. and Aunt Sarah a lot while we were there. Sarah was on the tail end of recooperation from her Leukemia, so we wheeled her around in a wheelchair and the kids loved every minute of it. The day we arrived in Provo, Will flew into SLC airport (surprising all family but me). I kept the news from the boys and K.C. and Sarah. It was great seeing their reaction when Will showed up at the park we took the kids to play before we parted ways that evening. :)



The day after we arrived we went to the Natural History Museum in Lehi, Utah. We had fun looking at all the artifacts and learning so much about so many things. The dinosaurs were a big hit!


Sunday took us to the Knighton's home since it was one of the few days Will would be there and we wanted to make sure we could all be together for at least a little while. We had a blast playing, talking, and especially singing! We had a battle between the men and the women. The women won with a huge lead! :) It was a great way to spend Father's Day!
Monday we went to Hogle Zoo. Will had never been and the kids hadn't gone in a long time, so it was the perfect time to go. K.C. and Sarah joined us on this outing, too, thank heavens. Sarah was a great tour guide! It was great being able to spend so much time with them. We were able to see the White Crocodile. Not to be confused with an Albino Crocodile...this one had a genetic defect that caused it to not have any pigment.








Tuesday we went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It worked out to have the Knighton's join us there, but K.C. and Sarah weren't able to make it...Sarah had to get a blood transfusion to help her "numbers" go up. They were missed. :( Tammy has all the pictures from that day, so hopefully I'll have some soon.
Will took off, back to Tennessee, after our visit to Temple Square. He was greatly missed the rest of the vacation, but we didn't stop partying. More vacation and summer fun to come soon...maybe tomorrow.

I know you are all anxiously awaiting photos of the house...I don't know how to get them from Will's Mac to my laptop...I'm working on it. :) A more pressing matter is at hand though, and I felt that what Becky and Garrett put on their blog was worth copying and pasting onto a post in my blog. I may even put it on my facebook page. Here's the pressing matter:

"We call upon responsible citizens everywhere..."

Those from or living in California right now are probably very familiar with Proposition 8. There's a good chance that others not from the Golden State have too heard about this proposed amendment that is being voted on in the November election. To give a brief history behind this all, here are a few bullet points to know:

In 2000, California voters passed Proposition 22 saying that marriage is between a man and a women.

Earlier this year in 2008, 4 supreme court judges in San Francisco over turned the people's vote back in 2000 (that was passed by more than 60% of the people), and legalized same-sex marriage.... simultaneously redefining marriage for the state of California.

Proposition 8 is going to be on this November election's ballet. By voting yes to Proposition 8, the definition of marriage will be restored back to how it was orginially stated in 2000 and will add a new section to the California constitution that will read:

"Only marriage between a man and woman will be recognized in the state of California"

As a member of the LDS church and having a firm testimony that marriage indeed between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and that the family is central to His plan, I fully support Proposition 8. I pray and hope that the people of California too will gain this knowledge for themselves, and have the courage to stand up for truth and righteousness to uphold the sacredness of the family unit.
As our beloved prophet President Gordon B. Hinckley and his counselors proclaimed in 1995, as a watchman from a tower giving warning to the Lord's people, they prophetically said:

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

My hope and prayer is that we will do just that. (Garrett and Becky Giles)

I copy and paste this because my beliefs and testimony are just as strong and my conviction the same as these dear friends.

ABC's of Me

Here's the other tag I received. You can find out all about my friend Melissa on her blog (site on friend's list), since she's the one that tagged me. :) Here goes:

A. Attached or Single: Definitely happily attached!

B. Best Friend: See answer above. :) The love of my life. Then after that I have too many wonderful friends to call just one my best friend.

C. Cake or Pie: CAKE! But it has to be chocolate!

D. Day of Choice: Any with a break from Mom-hood, but I don't think that's what it's asking. I'll go for Saturday...not as much running around with pick-ups and drop-offs.

E. Essential Items: Logan's extra pair of pants and underwear, wipes to clean hands and faces, sunglasses so I'm not blinded by the sun, sunscreen is going to be an essential soon, Excedrin.

F. Favorite Color: My favorites right now are Brown and Pink together, Violet, and Red

G. Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy bears as long as Pink ones are involved.

H. Hometown: Living in it right now, San Luis Obispo. The other one I call home at times is Rexburg, Id. I lived there for a little while when a little girl, and was my favorite place while in College.

I. Favorite Indulgence: Ice Cream, as long as it's Chocolate. Full body Massages.

J. January or July: Hard to choose, I had a child born in both months, and a husband in July, and lots of other family born in both months. If I had to go by weather it would be July, as long as it's not too hot. Vacations and camping happen during July...I love vacations and camping.

K. Kids: Yes. Kaleb 8 1/2, Tyler 7, Derek 5 1/2, Logan 3. My stresses and greatest joys ever!

L. Life is not complete without...: My husband, children, family, good friends, Gospel of Jesus Christ, laughing.

M. Marriage Date: August 14, 1998

N. Number of Brothers and Sisters: 1 Sister, 2 Brothers, 6 Sister-in-laws, 2 Brother-in-laws

O. Oranges or Apples: Golden Delicious Apples, all the way.

P. Phobia or Fears: Tidal Wave (dreamt many times without knowing it was a fear), losing one of my children or husband, a bit claustrophobic.

Q. Quote: "Ask and ye shall receive, Knock and it shall be opened unto you."

R. Reasons to smile: Children, family, friends, all my blessings.

S. Superman or Wonder Woman: Since I have so many Supermen in my life, I have to be Wonder Woman...many people I meet must think I'm Wonder Woman with their comments and looks.

T. Tag four People: Krissy, Becky, Sandy, Sarah and I'm going to change it to FIVE, so the last one is Tracie (I can help you figure out how to work your blog :) ).

U. Unknown fact about me: I broke my leg when I was 16 months old and that's the only broken bone that could be caste ever in my life. I did have 3 fractures in my big toe after the horse stepped on in 2003 (and a toe nail missing, that is now gone forever).

V. Vegetable: ALL. Most unusual that I love is Baby Bok Choy.

W. Worst Habit: picking my face (blackheads, zits, bumps, scabs, whatever is available to pick)

X. X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound (that means it's not as serious of an "injury" if there is one)

Y. Your favorite food: Ummmm, anything Chocolate!!!!

Z. Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

So there's some tidbits about me. I'm sure you already knew most of them...but it's always fun to see what you may not know about someone. I can't wait to read the ABC's of Becky, Krissy, Sandy, Sarah, and Tracie (just a reminder so you don't forget). Ha. Love to all of you and have a fantabulous day!

Time Out for Women

Mom, Tracie, Emree and I all went to "Time Out for Women" put on by Deseret Book. It was amazing! Kenneth Cope was one of the musicians. There was also a group called "Mercy River" mercyrivermusic.com/index.html and a group from Nashville that go around the world singing their tribut to the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Pioneers. You can go here www.highwayrecords.com/joseph/ to check out what their group is all about.

They all touched my soul, but I'd have to say the most impressive of course was Kenneth Cope. You can visit his Myspace here www.myspace.com/kennethcopeofficial. I even got to get one of his CD's signed and got a hug from him. It was inspiring to listen to all the music. And the speakers were motivating, comforting, funny, and touching. Mary Ellen Edmunds was there and was funnier than all get out. She is so honest and shares real life dealings and is real. I loved being able to thank her for her words and was able to get a signature from her also.

Getting away was most amazing. It was so fun to be with Mom, Tracie and Emree. We were up until 2:30 am Friday night just talking and enjoying each other (Emree was asleep, thank goodness). It is cherished time I will never forget! William was awesome (and Brennan) for watching the boys and not ever calling me once while I was gone. I'd love to make a yearly thing out of it. It's so renewing and revitalizing. Next time we'll have to make sure ALL the women of the family can go (that's you Carrie and Sarah!) It would be great if at some point I could go out to Maryland and go with all of the women on the other side of my family!

I feel like a new woman and ready to face things with a better attitude, to not be so hard on myself, accept my follies and just continue to improve. I learned I had forgotten about myself, especially my Spiritual Self. I need to focus on me more often and not get so caught up in life. I need to enjoy each moment and stop rushing around all the time. My "self talk" is going to continue to improve. I'm going to talk myself through moments of stress to stop and look at the other person's point of view (especially my children's). I feel happy inside. My moments of frustration are more easily replaced with calm and compassion. Let's just say that I really needed a "Time Out" and I suggest one for everyone!!

I'm still here

It's been like a whole week without a post...dang, I remember a time where I was lucky to get one done a month. My eyes are getting better, still blurry, but much better. They are extremely dry, and that causes most of the blurriness. This is the reason why I haven’t done a blog, it’s so hard to look at the screen of my computer for too long. Plus last week was Spring Break and the kids were…being kids…all week. It was nice sleeping in, getting sick, and not having to worry about taking the boys places all day long. In fact I didn’t run one errand the whole week, it was great! I’m better now, after a relapse yesterday of being sick. The kids are back in school, and life is back to “normal”.

Today was actually a wonderful day! Kaleb and Tyler started Karate, and Derek is going to start next Monday. They loved it and are going to really enjoy it for at least this next month. We got a great deal for the first month…the next months are questionable, just because we have so many to put into the class…the cost really adds up. Yikes!

Here’s one of my most favorite things I’ve read most recently from Sheri Dew’s book “If life were Easy, it wouldn’t be Hard”. It’s a quote by CS Lewis: “…surely what a man does when he is taken off guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth…” Here Sheri is talking about Charity and if we are charitable we will know by our initial response to situations. And it struck me that when I am at home is when the disguise is not on. My initial response is not usually one full of charity when my children are “getting on my nerves”. This is something I can change, and the Lord has the capacity to help me. If I pray for Charity, not patience, not an ability to “deal” with what they do, but to be charitable to them, my heart will be changed. I’m so excited to understand this in such a different light. I feel there is hope in my parenting techniques. All the parenting books I’ve read have been great, but never stuck with me after I’ve read them. Maybe this is my life changing realization…I’m so stoked!

I think that will be all for now…my eyes are so dry, I need to be done. I hope you’re all doing well and you all have a great evening!

Happy Easter!

I'm without pictures for now, but still wanted to post a blog on this glorious Easter day. It was my privilege to help put on an Easter Activity for the older children in Primary. We had four "booths" that related to what people did in Jesus' time. One was fishing, one was food sampling, another was "carpentry", and the last was basket weaving. The carpentry was the one I was in charge of and it went quite well. Each child had a plaque that had a picture of the Tomb taped to it. With a screw and hammer they were able to punch holes to make the picture become one with the plaque. :) It was fun to watch the children have such a great time. What a great beginning to a beautiful and crazy weekend.

That same day we also had a baptism to attend at 3, Tyler had a birthday party from 4-6 in Arroyo Grande, and an Elders quorum activity at the church at 5. All of this occured with Logan being sick, the poor dear! He was a trooper and with the help of one of my friends (and Tyler's friends' mom) we were able to be to all the events since we divided and conquered.

Today was a great day at church, other than the older boys having a rough time in Sacrament meeting. I was teaching the lesson in Singing/Sharing time. It went well and felt like new information was given to the Sr Primary that they either forgot or hadn't heard before. I love being in Primary. It's extremely exhausting, but totally worth it!

We had a wonderful family day. We weren't able to spend it with Brennan, Tracie, Garen, and Emree due to sick children, but it was a great day with our sweet little family. The boys loved eating their candy. Logan and I had a great nap (his second). And we all enjoyed watching movies and "America's Funniest Home Videos" (one of our favorites).

I am so thankful for the sacrifice of my brother and Savior so many years ago. How glorious to be able to be resurrected when the day comes. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be forgiven of my sins and to return to live with my Heavenly Father again some day. Words cannot describe how blessed I feel to have the gospel in my life. I love sharing teachings and beliefs to my children along with all the other wonderful children in the ward. I hope I can live my life in a way that is pleasing unto my Father in Heaven. May you all have the peace and joy that comes with righteous living and joyful attitudes.

Thankful for my Blessings!

This really touched my heart. It helps me know I can face my difficulties with a better attitude and just be thankful for my life. It's a reminder as to why you don't let a friend, or even yourself, drive after having just a few drinks.

President Monson

Ok, so you can all be jealous (except mom and dad because they were there, too). Tonight we were able to learn more about our new and beloved Prophet, President Monson. His nephew, Craig Dearden, lives in our Stake, he is the Bishop of the Morro Bay ward. A fireside was put together where he talked about his memories of his "Uncle Thom" and what kind of man he is. It was fun to see President Monson as a real person. Loving, giving, thoughtful, kind, Christ-like. Bishop Dearen said that "Uncle Thom" always says he will do what is asked of him, whether it be to give a blessing, seal someone to their spouse, visit somewhere, etc, he's more than willing. I'm sure that now he's the Prophet he'll be quite busy and may have to limit some of his "yes' ". What a great date to go on with my hubby!