So Sweet

So Sassy

" So Sorry Mom"

He wanted a bowl of cereal and I told him no. Then I laughed my head off at his fit and filmed it, which just made him more mad. Then I felt like a bowl of cereal so............... I gave him one too. You just have to know when to cave :)

I took the "Pledge" will you??

My sil told me about an recent Oprah show that she saw about the dangers of cell phone use in the car. I watched the show later online and was shocked!! You can watch the full episode without commercials HERE. I have never texted in the car, but that is only because I don't know how to text well and I know if I did I would have. I am definitely guilty of talking on my phone in the car. In Utah it is illegal to text on the phone and illegal to talk on the phone without a hands free device.

Texting while driving is the equivalent of driving after four drinks and is just as dangerous as driving drunk. You may think that you can text and drive and perhaps are very efficient at doing it, but when you text you are eight times more likely to be involved in an accident. When you talk on the phone or text your perception narrows because your brain is not wired to take in the huge amounts of information required to focus on the road and your conversation.

They showed a bus that had been stopped with it's lights flashing when a semi truck slammed into the back of the bus because the driver was texting and didn't see the bus had stopped. The bus burst into flames and nearly all the children were killed. This scene hit me more than all the rest. My children ride the bus home each day. I have my children in the car with me nearly every time I have been on the phone. It's not worth it! Nothing is so important that it can't wait a few minutes.

I saw Oprah interview Holly Robinson Peet a few days later because her daughter brought it to her attention that she was one of the drivers on the show that was always on her phone. Her and her daughter made a bumper sticker that says "Honk if you love Jesus. Text if you want to meet him." On Oprah's website you can pledge that you will no longer text and talk on the phone while driving. I took the PLEDGE. I am spreading the word today that we all need to be more Mindful of what we are doing while driving and who we put at risk when we are distracted. Don't think for one minute that it couldn't happen to you. Let today be the end.

Family Date

Here is Whitney watching her movie- notice the rather large "hickey" on her arm. She didn't know that if you suck on your skin it causes this. Don't even ask me why she was sucking on her arm??

We had a family date on Monday. Ethan said it was because it was Martin Luther King Day. He asked me why they didn't have to go to school and when I told him he said how do we celebrate that day? Do we eat cake?

On family date day we each get to choose an activity and then we do them all. This time we just let the kids choose because Jeff had a tooth ache (which Ethan told my sister was because he only brushes his teeth in the morning- he brushes, flosses and rinses twice daily so that is not really why)Ethan chose to turn our house into a Chuckie Cheese. We set up arcade games and sold pizza and gave out tickets for playing games and had prizes. Ashtyn chose to make "popcorn cupcakes" and Whitney chose to rent a movie and eat popcorn. Ashtyn and Whitney decided they would rather play with a friend and let me have all the fun of making their parts. It turned out very fun- probably more fun than the real thing.

DNA

I take my children to school. They could ride the bus, but because of a few incidents that occurred a while back they prefer I take them. I have loved taking them, not at first, but now it gives me an extra sixteen minutes with them to cuddle and talk and laugh.

Today we were talking about the beautiful blond color of their hair. I told Ashtyn that her hair reminded me of sweet flowing caramel. She said "My hair is the darkest of the three kids because I was born first and it has had more time to turn dark". I said "No it's because your DNA shows caramel hair". They asked what DNA was so I went on the explain in simple terms(who's kidding- I don't even fully understand what DNA is:)that DNA is a tiny little package inside your body that decides what color your hair will be, what color your eyes are, how tall you are, whether or not you will have freckles, etc. Ashtyn asked "How does the DNA make your body do that?" I said your DNA is what made your body and she chuckled and said "Mom DNA didn't make your body Jesus did".

"Mindful"

I decided to choose a word to be my motto this year. I love this idea because I am a very verbal person and words work for me. Click here and here and here to see other "words". I have thought about this for quite some time and the word that I have chosen for this year is MINDFUL.

When the earthquake in Haiti occurred I began to be very mindful of what was happening to them, but also what was happening around me. I noticed that there was a bit of a disconnect. I noticed that if I didn't turn on the television I wouldn't hear a word about Haiti- none of the people I associated with each day even mentioned anything about what had happened so many miles away. We have had our share of devastating events occur on our own soil, but because we are not in the middle of the crisis I think it is easy to believe that it has nothing to do with us, but I feel like it does. If that was my family helplessly stranded under thousands of pounds of rubble I would want someone to find them, to help them, to care. I feel a bit helpless that I really can't help them. I can't fly to Haiti and help them. I can donate to them, but I am not really going to be involved in any way with the rescue efforts. My sister in law spoke about the power of pray on her blog and how we can call upon God to bless and help them. But to do that we must be mindful of what is going on.

We need to be "inclined to be aware". That's what mindful means.

So I chose Mindful for many reasons. It all started with taking this quiz. I answered yes to every question and discovered that I am not mindful in the least. In fact my mind is seldom where I am or with what I am doing. To be mindful is to be present, to be here right now.

I want to be more mindful of the things I say to my children both verbally and non-verbally. I want to be more mindful of the things I am studying in the scriptures. I want to be more mindful of the needs of others. I want to be more mindful of myself.

Heavenly Father is "mindful" of us: Alma 26:37 . Yet so is the adversary. So I want to be more mindful of them, more aware. I am going to write this word and place it somewhere where I hope I will see it everyday and can be more mindful.

Quote of the Day

Ashtyn: "It is really hard to have four Webkinz. I have to feed them all and buy extra food to feed them and take them to the doctor- who says they all need more sleep- and I have to buy them clothes and make sure they are happy. It's like having kids- you have to spend all your money on them- it's really hard."

Amen Sister

HOPE

This is a small metal or perhaps resin bird that sits in my kitchen window sill. I bought this bird entirely out of the blue. I went to MY FAVORITE STORE looking for something to help me create a new picture display but found this bird instead. There were several birds and other creeping things through out the store and most people would have never noticed this bird tucked away in a tiny corner of the shop. But there it was- a bird. He only cost $2.95 so I bought him. All the while wondering why I felt so inclined to buy something so small and seemingly insignificant. Ethan was with me and he too fell in love with the bird and couldn't set it down. I took it home and placed it where it now sits in the window. There is something magical about this bird for me. Every time I see it I feel so much hope. I feel at peace. I feel like I do when the first buds begin to appear on the trees outside and I sense Spring in the air. I feel like new. It reminds me of my darling NIE. It reminds me of this TALK that also reminds me of my darling Nie. I think perhaps this bird is here to stay.

I'm listening to the soundtrack of my life and the sound of Brody sitting in his Bumbo playing with his keys. He likes the soundtrack too. It's Keith Urban's Golden Road- Every song has a certain amount of application to my life- so I play it when I need a jump start to my day.

Did you know that we have the golden plates at our house? After scriptures last night we were looking at the pictures in our Family Edition of the Book of Mormon and Ethan saw a picture of the golden plates and was astonished that we have the golden plates right here in our home. He kept saying over and over "I have the golden plates" He wanted them to sleep on his dresser last night. Then this morning he brought them out to show Jeff that we have them right here, but not the actual ones he said because they were taken off the Earth. He knows how important the golden plates were because we read the chapter in 1 Nephi where Nephi kills Laban to get them. In fact my children and I had a deep discussion about why Nephi had to kill Laban. Was it because Jesus didn't love him? Was it because he was drunk? Did the spirit whisper to him to drink lots of alcohol and get drunk? Why didn't Nephi just sneak into his house at night and get the plates? It was wonderful because I feel it becoming more and more important to them. Our discussion brought up the fact that some people simply choose not to be righteous and that Satan gets them to grow closer to him instead of Heavenly Father. After Ethan said his prayer he came out and said I asked Heavenly Father to destroy Satan so he can't be bad any more. I told him that he could help with that by being righteous like Nephi.

After we read scriptures we have five minutes each night with each of our kids. We lay in their beds with them and talk about whatever they want to. I love it because they tell me things that they wouldn't normally. Ashtyn told me that she isn't good at school- and she meant math. She is so much like me. I was horrible at math. In fact the only way I passed it my senior year was by taking stats for the boys basketball team to earn extra credit. Ashtyn has a creative mind- she is great at reading and art and language- but math is hard for her. I told her that she'll just have to work a little harder at that part of school. I love when I find things that I know are perfect for my kids like five minutes.

Our primary is memorizing the articles of faith this year and since we started on Sunday the kids have memorized the first three all by themselves. I know we can do ten more in 11 months. I have loved being in Primary with my kids and all the other kids. The gospel is a lot more simple there because children know that love is what matters most- Heavenly Father's love for us.

Good So Far

Tradition
We went bowling on New Year's Day- well actually I sat out because I had a back ache- but my family bowled. It is our annual tradition with Jeff's family. This was the 50th year they have been doing it. We absolutely love it. Afterwards we attend a brunch. It really is a nice way to bring in the New Year.

Ethan
One thing that we love to do in my family is to play charades. Ashtyn is great at making up characters for us to act like and then everyone gets to guess who we are. We were playing it this week and Ethan drew the card Winnie the Pooh. He stands there and then says "Oh Bother". It was so cute. In fact he has become even cuter since the year has started. When I kneeled down with him to say his prayer last night he asked that Heavenly Father would make us remember to read our scriptures so that we can eat some ice cream. He also said thank you for blessing me with kindness. What a sweet kid he is. He amazes us everyday with his reading ability. We take turns reading scriptures each night and he reads everyone all by himself without our help.

The Dream
I have learned a lot of things this last year and I want to share one. For the past year I have been having a recurring dream. I have had this dream several times. In the dream I am standing on the edge of a lake. The water is so clear and beautiful. As I stand there I can see someone swimming in the middle of the lake. This person is usually a friend or family member, but it changes each time. As I watch them swim they suddenly are pulled under the water. I see them struggling and trying to get to shore. I begin to panic and start screaming their name. I throw life rings in to them, but they don't grab them. I try to jump in and save them and I can't. I watch in horror as they begin to drown and I am helpless on the shore. Then as I stand there I see them slowly regain control. They swim to the shore, get out and smile at me as if nothing has even happened.

I have thought about this dream and what it might be trying to tell me. Some events that have occurred in my life this past year have helped me to understand what it might mean. At one time or another we all face adversity in our lives. To watch a friend or family member struggle is especially hard for me. I think the person in the lake is someone in the midst of a trial. From my perspective on the shore they look like they will not be able to overcome it without help. I try to help them by giving them what I think they need. When in reality they don't need my help at all. No matter what I do- it will not help them. It is deep in my nature to want to comfort, help and take pain away from other people and when I can't I feel helpless. This dream has taught me that I don't have responsibility for other peoples struggles. As much as I wish I could solve every ones problems- I can not. It's like watching a huge marathon(the perfect analogy for life) from above. I can see each runner and where they are. I may think I know what lies ahead for them- but I can not be sure because I do not know their running style, their pace, their breathing, their stride, their heart. Only one person knows that. Only one person knows when and if they will make it to the finish line. Only one person has been there every step of their training and knows their abilities and weakness's. Only one person knows if their heart will overcome their head in the race. The best way for me to help them is to stand on the sidelines and cheer as they pass. That's a very scary place to stand not knowing the outcome, but HE knows and HE will be waiting at the finish line. HE is waiting for me to run my own race and that is where I need to have the most compassion, the most comfort- in my own lake swimming my own way to shore, running my own marathon. I'm not sure if this is exactly what I am suppose to learn from this dream- but it has opened my mind and heart to be less judgmental and more compassionate towards everyone around me. It reminds me that there is a "time and season for everything"- that there is a plan that we must follow and each plan has a specific timeline and course.

New Year In's and Out's

I started the new year with a back ache, a cold and a cavity (which I haven't had one in over 20 years) So much for new beginnings- luckily every day to me is a new beginning- especially today which is a Monday. Mondays as I have said before are the best day of the week for me. Today was especially fine because I am back on my routine. The kids went back to school, the house is getting organized, the baby gets his naps and I get my one on one time with my favorite little guy. I am starting a list of IN's and OUT's for this year. IN's are things that I am not currently doing at all or not as well as I would like to. Similar to Goal's but these are things that I want to become habits too. OUT's are things that I am currently doing or aspects of our life that I want "OUT" of our life. My IN's and OUT's.

IN's
1. More scripture reading all around. We do have a family goal to read the entire BofM by the end of the year to which we will celebrate with an ice cream party. We have this goal a lot and yet we read 1 Nephi through Alma A LOT and don't ever seem to get past that.
2. More organization or I should say reorganization of the things that once were organized.
3. Schedule and more schedule- I really like schedules.
4. A common interest. Jeff and I are total opposites. Which is good for us. It's what makes us both better, but sometimes I wish we had something that we both loved, were both passionate about and liked doing together- besides our kids. I am in search of a common interest- something that we can share this year. We both like hiking a lot, but it turns out that I have altitude issues and so hiking- real hiking is out. We both like watching Golf, but I am looking for an interest that involves communication and working together. Any ideas? What do you love to do with your spouse.

OUT's
1. TV- I can't stand the TV- Oh I watch it- but I hate when I waste time watching it. I am going to try very hard to stay unplugged this year.
2. Less posting about things I find interesting and more posting like a journal. Not that I don't like to share what I love- but I have found that this is our journal and looking back over the last year was so fun for me because I had forgotten about a lot of things we did as a family and I want more of that. Hopefully that won't be too boring for someone to read- but I do write this for me after all.

I am going to continue to add to this list through out the year. This is all for now.