Young Women Personal Progress

In our church the girls ages 12 – 18 participate in the Young Women’s Program. It is an excellent program designed to help girls prepare to become mothers, wives, and good righteous women. Within the young women’s program is goal oriented program called personal progress, which is based upon 8 values. Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue.

Right now my calling (or church service) in our ward is with the Young Women as secretary. Even though I finished the personal progress as a youth the program has changed a lot since then. It’s my goal to go through the whole program again right now and earn it again along with my young women.

For one of my projects I wanted to create a mini album to share with anyone, based on the young women values. I wanted something that was basic and could be used for multiple things. I hope some of you can find a use for it. The two graphics show the whole collection.

It can be used for many things:

- note cards / postcards

- church handouts

- invitations to New Beginnings, Young Women in Excellence, Standard Night

- create a finished album recording all of your 8 value experiences you completed.
- scripture memorization cards

- photo book for camp or YW activities.
- use it for a YW activity to teach your girls how to digital scrapbook.
- have your girls use it in a persona progress goal.
- be creative!

For each value there is one page that is a journaling page, and then one that is a photo page, with an open hole to place a photograph. If you want to manipulate it a bunch some photo editing software would work the best. (Although my sister can do amazing things with Microsoft Word, which I can not do.) So that program might work as well. If not, it can easily be printed out and just written on.

It’s free for you to use. I’d love to hear how you use it, or see any finished projects if you have the time. I really hope that some of you might find it of value because I sure had a lot of fun making it.

Please feel free to let people know about it, and direct them here where they can download it. Thanks!

Going Mad

Well it’s mischief week at ScrapGirls.  A week of fun, lots of chats, games and prizes.  The theme is Alice and Wonderland and even though I’m a little slow at getting this done I had to dress the part.

If you’d like to join us you can find a list of the chats and events in the last ScrapGirls Newsletter. Plus a really good sale (29.1 % off) happening until April 30th!  This is one of the biggest sales we have all year.

I joined in last night at the mad scrap challenge. Where they tell you what you have to use and you’ve got roughly an hour to put a layout together. Here’s my result. For a while I thought it was going to end up looking funny, but in the end I rather liked it! I’m sure it has to do with my cute subject matter. Isaac was just one of the cutest babies to photograph.

Beautiful

The other day I was out running errands with kids.  We were stopped at a stoplight and a young woman crossed in front of us. From in the back Mirian just blurted out “She’s Beautiful!” I looked at her again, and was trying to figure out what had made her say it, she was wearing a skimpy tank top, and had long hair, but wasn’t someone that I would have termed was beautiful.  I thought maybe it was her hair.

I asked her “She’s beautiful huh?”  Her reply? “Yeah she’s beautiful. Do you know why? Because she has a baby in her tummy!”  The woman had been about 8 months pregnant.  I commented back. “Your right.  Pregnant women are beautiful.”

Then she said. "Do you know when you are the most beautiful mom? When you are pregnant and in your church clothes. Then you are REALLY beautiful.” Wow. Out of the mouth of babes.  Even though she didn’t realize it, she was speaking eternal truths. Truths about the beauty of women when they have life inside of them, participating in the most amazing thing they can ever do. Truths about beauty of modesty and virtue.  All truths that the world mocks.  They believe beauty to be something else.

I love this little girl. She is always amazing me with her insights. And someday I can’t wait to see her at her most beautiful moment when she carries her first baby. 

Intentional Mothering

It seems as of late that I’ve been trying to slow down, and put less things on my plate, but not exactly sure why. I’ve been busy, but it hasn’t been too bad. Some part of me though has felt that I was missing out on something important by doing these other things but I hadn’t been able to pin point it yet.

The only thing I did know is that I wanted to spend more time at home. With my family and kids. To really be there. To really be a mom. It’s so easy to get caught up in other extracurricular activities, church service, personal hobbies, play groups, etc. You can fill your entire day with things to do.

In the process I found that I didn’t have time to really spend cleaning my house, or dejunking. I never got caught up on laundry. I haven’t been able to work on decorating and painting our home. I haven’t had chances to work outside in the yard, or get started on the garden. I didn’t have time to plan meals, FHE’s, family activities, cleaning, etc. I was trying to just squeeze in exercise and scripture study in here or there as I had a few moments. I was winging everything at the moment. Only doing what was immediate.

Which seemed fine at the time. We seemed to be happy and we were getting by. I kept having the attitude of when my kids are in school, then I’ll have time to deep clean the house more, and do more decorating and painting. I’ll have more time but right now it’s just not that time especially with little kids.

Then something started to happen. I’m not sure what it was, but slowly I have started seeing things differently, seeing the importance of doing things differently and starting to do things intentionally. Starting to realize how these small mundane homemaking tasks are so incredibly important. How they teach greater and more important lessons than we realize. For example.

A Clean Home. This is NOT my strong point. I’ll do what I have to do to get by, but don’t necessarily think of what I can do to prevent things from creating bigger messes which create bigger work. I’m getting lots better and in the process I’m slowly learning why it’s so important. It’s been easy to give my kids the excuse that they are only 1, or 3 and are so young they can’t do much and I realized I am doing a HUGE disservice to them by having this attitude. They can do something and it’s at these ages of 1-5 while they are home that I can instill in them a desire and love for cleanliness. I can teach them these principles of why it is ESSENTIAL that we have a clean home.

- Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

- The spirit likes clean, beautiful places and likes to dwell there. He will not dwell in filth.

- Order. God is a God of order and we are to become like him.

- Disorder and uncleanliness will make the spirit leave which results in more
contention, frustration, lack of patience, and idleness.
- Health issues. We will be healthier when we have a clean home over a dirty home.

- A sense of pride, respect and gratitude for what we have been blessed with and a desire to take care of it and make it last.

- A work ethic – the ability to work consistently, and hard at something that is not something we love, because it has to be done. There are a lot of things in life that we will not like and not want to do. It will be easier for us to handle them, and work through them if we’ve already learned how to work at doing hard things we don’t like.
- We are striving to live in the celestial kingdom, we should be developing the celestial traits, right now so we can live there. Does our home reflect that?

- It feels good. There is a sense of peace, calm and happiness when you walk into a clean beautiful room. You want to be there. You want to stay.

That is just one example. As I’ve been thinking of some of these mundane things that we do I’ve started to realize how we just blow them off. We don’t think of the eternal and lasting consequences of some of them. I just tell my kids to clean their room. I beg, bribe, do it for them, argue with them, etc. Do I actually intentionally teach them over and over and over again WHY we have to do it. Or do I just tell them to do it. Do I talk to them about all the reasons above of why we want a clean home? I find that when I do, I get much better results from them and changed behaviors. They still have their moments, and still argue with me over it sometimes, but they understand it better.

So what about the other mundane things we do. Why are they so important to do? Why are we doing a disservice to our children if we treat them lightly? What eternal consequences could they have? How might it make their life harder and more difficult down the road later in life? Why do we just blow them off and should we?

- Going to bed at a early decent time and arising early?

- The food we eat, the meals we cook, and how we take care of our bodies.

- Disciplining – do we just send them straight to time out with out explanations.

- Money, how we save, spend or earn it?

- Entertainment – what we watch, view or listen to
- Time – how we spend it or waste it.
- Work – do we value it and install a work ethic.
- Treatment of others

I’m slowly realizing these are the reasons I want to cut back on other things. I want time to actually be an intentional mother. Instead of running to the next activity while rushing my kids and threatening them to hurry and clean their room. I want to have the time to work at it together, teach them why we are doing it, and develop long lasting habits and eternal truths. Which will matter more in the end. The dance class or the lasting character of cleanliness, and all that is associated with it. I would much rather have a child that has a love for beauty, cleanliness and a desire to feel the spirit and abide in a place of peace rather than a dancer.

There are so many other things that I want to give my children rather than another hobby, another skill, more money, etc. I’m just barely starting to understand it, and understand what I hope to do. But it’s something I feel strongly about. I no longer want to just do the daily motherly things (because that’s our job.) I want to make sure it’s done with intention instead.

I work for Him.

The other day I watched a video on my friend Amy’s blog. Little did I realize what an impact it would have on me.  Maybe it was because of a long week of kids with stomach flu, or because it was something that I needed to be reminded of. Why do I do what I do? Why I give so much for my kids and family and what my whole attitude should be towards them and doing it.  I love how she puts it. I’m not working for them. I’m working for Him.  I need to remember that often. God sees everything I do as a mother, even when kids may not even have a clue. He knows the sacrifices I’m making, and he knows what other kinds of things I could be doing out there in the world instead. But he knows I’ve chosen something better, something greater. In fact the greatest thing I could ever do and that is to be a mother.  

The Weather Outside

Is confusing. One minute it was beautiful spring weather, the next day snow, by that afternoon it was beautiful again.  Where is my warm spring days?  About a month ago I had a little fun with the weather and created a new kit.

Come Listen

to a Prophet's Voice....

Throughout the history of the world God has called Prophets to lead, teach and warn his people. You find them all through the Old Testament. Through the New Testament the Lord taught us himself. and then called 12 apostles to preach of him and run his church. He called prophets and apostles in the New World on the American continent as well and their record is found in the Book of Mormon.

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the Prophets". Amos 3:7

God is the same yesterday and today and will be the same tomorrow. He does not change. He can not change or he would cease to be God. He will always call a prophet to give direction to and to teach his people. To bless them. He has done it through all ages of time. So why would he love us any less and not call a prophet again today when the world is filled with so much moral decay and wickedness. Why would he not call prophets and apostles to declare repentance and to teach us of his ways.

He has.

I know without any doubt in my mind he has called a prophet today. His name is Thomas S. Monson. He has also called 12 apostles to lead and guide his church and to be special witnesses of him, delcaring that Jesus is the Living Christ. I have heard these men. I have been in the presence of some of them including the Prophet Thomas S. Monson. numerous times The spirit has born testimony to me that they are his servants. I have been blessed greatly by following their counsel and guidance. I love them with all my heart.

Today they will be speaking to the world. Preaching repentance, faith on the Lord Jesus Christ and giving us specific guidance and direction that the Lord would have us know as we live in this very confusing, morally corrupt world. I invite you to come and listen. It will be broadcast this morning at 10:00 am MST, for two hours and another session at 2:00 pm MST for two hours. They also spoke to us yesterday, which you can hear online as well. The prophet will give his main address this morning as the last address. He will also conclude the conference, in the afternoon session. The rest of the 12 apostles and other church leaders will also address us.

I love this time of year. I am never filled so much spiritually than when I listen to these messages. The ones that were given yesterday were amazing. So what does the Lord want you to know today? Come and find out. Listen with me.

A Broken Heart

This last week has been a difficult week for many reasons. I was expecting a baby and was 14 weeks a long when we found out that the baby didn’t make it. I ended up miscarrying a few hours later and had hoped that we had made it through the worst of it.  Inwardly I was scared to death of repeating the circumstances of my previous miscarriage.  A few days later some of those fears did come to past as I made a trip to the ER after loosing too much blood way too quickly.  It was an evening mixed with so many emotions, fears and flashbacks of a few months previously. Things went smoother, and after getting blood and doing an emergency D&C, I felt tons better.

It has been a week of so many emotions.  Days of exhaustion and adventure in the hospital, only to have the next day arrive with lots of tears and emotions over what all of it meant. It has been interesting to see how my emotions and feelings have varied from the first miscarriage.  This time I needed time alone, I did not want to see people, talk to people, it was too much to be around my kids. I really needed time alone and time to heal. Not just physically, but emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I was exhausted.  I was emotionally spent. I just did not have it in me to give to anyone else.

I had questions of what was there to be learned from this 2nd loss. But during some of these down quiet times, when your thoughts have a chance to turn inward, I have pondered more on the Savior. Who he is, what he went through, and how to access the part of the atonement that is not there for the sinner, but is there for the hurt, wounded, and broken-hearted.  The part of the atonement that gives strength and solace because he has experienced the pain before.  He understands and because he can understand he can succor me and bound up this broken heart.  He can fill my empty pitcher. He can let me cry and weep along with me. He can give me peace through the Holy Ghost that it will be ok. He can be on my right hand and on my left to bear me up, as I went through the physical trials in the ER. He can calm my fears.  He can give me hope of an incredible future even though this baby won’t be a part of it. 

How grateful I am for him in my life right now. How grateful I am to know of him, know he lives and be able to have him right here through the hard times, rather than going through it a lone.  What a wonderful season to have a miscarriage in as we come upon the celebration of that beautiful Easter morn when he showed us that he overcame death and the world. That he has the ability to mend the broken-hearted and heal us if we let him.  That he is the life and the light, and that through him all things are possible.

I hope you take time this Easter season to really ponder who Jesus the Christ really is and what he can do for you in your life right now to heal you.  He has been healing me and has the ability to heal you as well if you only let him.

With a Little Bit of Thread

I love the fact that you can create beautiful things from a simple piece of thread.  I’ve had some flour sack towels on hand, and have just been embroidering some patterns on them.

In the process I have noticed this weird thing that happens in my kitchen. I am one of those people that can go through 5-6 kitchen towels in one day. (Ask my husband, it blows him away sometimes.  And annoys him to no end when he can never find one.)  Maybe it’s all my kids, and the age of my kids that adds to that number. Maybe it’s some other weird phenomenon, but I can go through all my clean towels in one day somehow…. but here is the weird part.

I have a few of these flour sack towels that I’ve been given at my wedding and that I’ve collected. I somehow can get one towel and use it all day, if it’s one of these towels and not a terry cloth towel. Now what is up with that!  I don’t know what the little magic number is but seriously, how can this be.  So I’ve decided it’s time to replace all those terry cloth towels with these magic babies. Plus there’s something magical and nostalgic about have having hand embroidered towels in your kitchen. A little love was put into them, it reminds me of my grandma’s, it just makes me happy. So I’m on an adventure to embroidery a bunch of fun towels here and there as I watch a movie and slowly replace 5-6 terry towels with one of these babies.

I’m Going to Do it!

For as long as I can remember my mom has been sewing, painting or creating something to beautify our home growing up. Over the last 20 years she has created quilt after quilt. We had quilts for our weddings. Every new baby in the family has a quilt.  She has quilts that she makes for humanitarian projects, quilts for sisters having babies in her church, and quilts that she’s just made and given away because she felt like that person needed a pick me up and needed to know that they were loved and thought of. They are always gorgeous and she has become a master at it.  She just finished the cutest truck one for Isaac that I’m in love with, and always has about 4-5 more to show me every time I go home.

There is one that she made years ago that is a blessing quilt.  It is darling and has her individual blessings and things she is grateful for throughout the whole quilt. Every time we go home especially at Thanksgiving when it’s out on display, we always comment on how cute it is, and just how awesome it is to have all those blessing documented. 

We decided that it would be fun as a family project with all my sisters to create our own blessing quilts and work on it slowly as a monthly block quilt.  We’ve got the pattern for the first two months and I’ve been thinking how much I’d like to make it, but just haven’t gotten started. I’m intimidated honestly. I wasn’t sure if I’ll be able to follow directions, I am so obsessed with colors that trying to pick out colors that I was in love with was scary and it just wasn’t getting done. 

About a week ago my sister posted her first few blocks she got finished up on our family blog encouraging all of us to get started on ours. It was what I needed. I decided that instead of going out and buying new fabric I’d use what I had on hand, and started digging around seeing if I could find some that would match each other and look good. I ran across this print, which I fell in love with a while ago.

So I started trying to match the colors, and before I knew it I was in love. These colors are sooo me. It finally felt like my quilt, not the designers quilt, not my mother’s quilt, not my sisters either. It was my quilt with my interesting color choices and bright colors. I was pumped.  I needed to pick up a few more greens and some blue since I didn’t have enough, but I was ready to go.

So after the kids have gone to bed, I have sat down and began following the instructions. Learning how to cut and sew my squares, and beginning to create my blocks.  There is a bunch of appliqué and embroidery which I’m excited about because I LOVE doing that.  It took about the first two nights to realize why I have not become a major quilter.  I am not one for having to have perfect exact measurements. After lots of mistakes, wrongly cut fabric, sewing wrong pieces together, and ending up with finished blocks that were a 1/2 inch smaller than they were supposed to be; I realized this quilt just might be the death of me.  But I’m determined. I AM going to finish this. and I AM going to do it right.

So I’ve been thinking about what kinds of blessings I want to record on it. I decided I wanted it to be a record of these last 8 years here in Provo at BYU. Our first 8 years married, the start of our family, being poor starving college students and record the many blessings we’ve received the years we’ve been here. I want to pull this quilt out 20/30 years down the road, or 50 years down the road and remember the incredible blessings we had here, what a foundation these 8 years was for the rest of our life, and remember how happy and wonderful this time of our life was.  Life has been good to us these 8 years.  I am really excited about this project, and hope to show you the bits and pieces as I put it together over the next year. I hope that by next spring when Beau walks across the stage graduating with his Doctorate, that this quilt will be a memory of our time here as we get ready to embark on a new journey. 

I’m also hoping that my other sisters jump in on the project too. It would be so fun to all get together and show our finished quilts together with mom’s.  Five different styles, five different color choices, and five different sets of individual blessings and things we’re grateful for.   Five records of how good our lives really are and how much God has blessed us.  So for now I’ll be working on it one block at a time, learning patience and how to slow down and make sure I’m doing it correctly the first time. 

A Daughter After My Own Heart

The other day I walked in from being outside and looked over at the table to find Savannah all the crayons by color.

I just burst into the biggest smile and had to get my camera. Here was a girl after my own heart.  I always have to organize the colors when I get  a new box.  I started snapping pictures, because I had to document this moment, when my daughter had a huge part of me in her coming out. She noticed me taking pictures and she replied with,

“Mom do you know why I’m dividing up all the crayons? Because they just didn’t feel right.”

Man. She couldn’t have said it better.  I know exactly what you mean Savannah. They don’t feel right all mixed up there together, none of them going together, none of them organized in nature’s beautiful way.  They are meant to blend and move into each other slowly creating all the hues of color in this gorgeous world. It was all I could do to not go pull out my new box in my closet and sit down with her and put them in their natural order, and get excited about seeing all the possible color combinations.  It’s an obsession I know.

But honestly it just doesn’t FEEL right any other way.

We Tackled Them and Won

Recently my girls have had two different friends that have learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels. The first friend was taught by a neighborhood friend how to do it about a year ago. Learning that encouraged my girls to ask dad to take off the training wheels and help them learn how to do it. It turned into lots of tears, frustration, anger and a demand to put the training wheels back on.  So we did and we’ve been riding them with training wheels ever since.

This last week we invited a friend of Mirian’s over to play and found in the process she had taught herself how to ride her bike without training wheels. So while she was here a 4 year old tried to teach my four year old how to do by herself.  Mirian picked up pretty quickly but was still struggling with part of it.  When Savannah got home Mirian showed her how close she was getting which resulted in Savannah asking me to take off her training wheels too.  They kept falling but were tough and just kept practicing and practicing despite how difficult it was to learn in our small narrow driveway.  If Maddie could do it they could too. Finally at one point Mirian fell and hurt her knee a bit, cried and demanded that this is why mom and dad should make them wear knee pads, elbow pads, and helmets.  I explained that me and dad learned how to ride a bike with out them and fell many times too. It made us tougher and made us not want to fall as much, we lived, and we learned how to ride a bike.  We figured out a way to pad those knees a bit more though so the fall wasn’t so rough – dad’s socks.

So when dad got home on Saturday from doing his two days of Philmont training for Boy Scouts they wanted to go over to the big church parking lot and show him.  Mirian picked it up almost immediately now that she had lots of room to swerve and figure it out. She just takes off at top speed (in which you hope she doesn’t crash) and was tearing around the parking lot, hitting the breaks and burning rubber coming to a complete stop.  She has some Tippetts blood in her.  It was a moment where you were super proud of her. She figured it out all by herself and did it. She was determined and accomplished it.

Savannah is Miss Hesitant, barely pushing hard enough on the pedal to get the bike barely moving. Trying to convince her that it’s easier to stay upright if she moves faster was a little tougher than Mirian. She finally picked it up. She is still is more hesitant, crashes a bit more, but she too figured it out by herself.  They were so proud of themselves, and have been wanting to ride their bikes ever since. I never thought we’d see the day when they’d be brave enough to ever learn. They surprised me even more so when they did it on their own without our help.  Way to go girls!

Would like a new camera

Am I totally dreaming to hope that I could win this one. It would be one happy day. :)

Make Me Smile

I can't remember if I posted this picture before, but I just ran across it again. It just makes me smile in every direction. Mirian had just barely blown bubbles into Caitlyn's face just prior to this one being snapped. The look on her face, and the fake dead chicken hanging from the tree behind her just cracks me up. Another great memory of our week at Philmont.

LOVING This Crochet Pattern

For the last week I have fallen in love with a sweater pattern from Joann's. Fast, easy, and cute. I finished my first one last week, almost finished with my second and can't wait to start a third. I have so many friends having babies, that I hoping to get a few crocheted up with matching hat and booties before then. Too much fun. I'm also wanting to implement a bit of applique and embroidery on it as well.

My Family Tree

For Christmas I made these family tree's for my mom and dad with their four generations. I have to say this has been one of my favorite gifts to give. I loved how it turned out, and am just waiting to print myself out some copies to hang in my own house. There's something amazing and powerful about knowing where you came from and knowing about their lives.

Happenings

Wow, I've really been on a leave of absence here. My OTHER sister called me up this time and asked if I've abandoned my blog. No....... I'm just really taking a break it seems, more than I thought I would. I guess I really needed a break. This last month blogging just got pushed aside for other things that took more of a top priority:

• A speaking assignment for Stake Conference. ( For those of you not of my faith, that's a church meeting that we have twice a year that combines 7 of the local churches of our faith for one large meeting in which our local stake leaders speak to all of us.) It was intimidating and yet I had an amazing experience during the preparation and giving of the talk. My topic: Preparing ourselves for spiritual experiences.

• Sick.... just sick and not feeling well for quite a while.

• Designing.... my new goal for the year is to release at least one thing every week, so far I haven't missed a week, and hope to continue. We have a huge goal this year of putting as much as we possibly can into the bank before Beau graduates. We'd like to have as many months of expenses saved up as possible, as we never know how long it will take for him to get a job after graduation. So far we're doing good in trying to cut back, stay in a budget, and get some good chunks in saving.

• Tired.... just tired, and exhausted. Today was the first day I actually made it out early to the office for a few things and that was at quarter to 6, not my usual 4:30/5:00. Someday I'm going to get back in the habit again. I'm also trying to make sure that I'm giving time to projects, people and things that matter the most and not wearing myself too thin. I feel like I've been doing good on this so far.

• Deep cleaning, organizing and turning this house into a home... I'm tired of feeling like we're just 'kind of ' living here. I'm trying to finish up half finished projects, and I'm getting close to completely finishing some of the rooms in the house. It's been fun to see things start looking better. Right now I'm on the look out for some red sheets from the thrift store, to rip up, and crochet into a huge floor rug for the kitchen.

I'm definitely waiting around hoping sometime to say that winter is gone and start looking forward to these babies. There's something about an orange poppy that just tells you to smile.

I'd like to say I'll be back for regular posting, but I think that's what I said last time.. Maybe I shouldn't make any promises, and just say till next time! :)

Things like this make it worthwhile.

Sunday Night was one of those long nights as a Mom. Mirian has had a cold for the last four days but woke up that night at midnight complaining about an ear ache. We tried everything we could think of to help her feel better, but it just wasn’t working. So the rest of the night was spent either laying with her on the couch, in her bed or trying to help her feel better. I was completely exhausted.  The previous week I had slept horrible to the same reoccurring dreams over and over that kept waking me up, but I could never remember what they were about.  About 3 am I started feeling sick and nauseous, starting to feel the onset of the flu myself.  Not a good combination with a very sick little girl, and a husband who would be getting up at 5:30 am to fly to California for 3 days where he was presenting at a conference.  I just new it was going to be a long couple of days.

About 5:15 am Mirian finally fell asleep for good, but Savannah woke up at the same time, since Beau was getting ready to leave. All I could muster telling him was to make sure he told her to back to sleep and that it was not time to get up. I was so exhausted I knew I did not want to wake up until I absolutely had to, which I was hoping for 8 or 9.

A while later I was awoken again from my sleep by Savannah, saying “mommy I have something for you.” I awoke enough to realize that she had a pan in front of me with a cup of yogurt, a roll, a peanut butter sandwich (which she had made 8 of the day before in an attempt to make breakfast for everyone) and a cup of milk with some cards on top.  She was all proud of herself and was quietly waiting to see what my response was. I knew from previous conversations that she had felt bad other times when she had tried to make breakfast when I had been working out in the office early in the mornings.  If I don’t smile real big and act excited then she feels like I wasn’t proud of her or happy that she did it.  

So despite my complete exhaustion and nausea I sat up and tried to show her how happy and surprised I was that she had made me breakfast in bed. I opened her card to find this little note.
 
How could anyone not melt and feel loved with a note like that and her desire to do something nice for me.  I gave her a big hug and told her how much I loved her. I explained to her that I was feeling sick and would it be ok if I ate the food a little bit later so I wouldn’t throw it up. She agreed and left with a smile and happy about what she had done.

Later when I was forced to wake up (probably 30 minutes later) by the rest of the gang I took my little breakfast tray to the living room to eat. She began to tell me that she tried to use leftovers while she made the breakfast, explaining that she used the rolls from dinner last night, and the peanut butter sandwiches that we had left over from her breakfast the day before.  Obviously we’ve been trying to use up leftovers rather than making new food.:) That comment just made me smile. You never know what your kids will pick up on.

The rest of the day was rough as I was exhausted. Mirian’s ear still didn’t feel well and she was just one sick little girl. We basically vegged all day but Savannah was awesome.  Dad had asked her to help take care of everyone while I was gone before he left and promised her a treat.  (Don’t you dare forget to get her one honey!)  She has been so grown up, helping out, being kind, she even got Caitlyn, herself and Isaac already to go when I declared we had a doctors appointment and needed to have everyone in the car so we could make it there in 10 minutes. The next thing I knew I turned around and Cailtyn had her boots and coat on, Isaac was ready to go and we were able to literally fly out the door. 

She is growing up too fast, and it’s nice to have a child aware that mom is having a rough day, and that she can make a difference.

Today has gone so much better. We all got about 11 hours of sleep last night. A few times of waking up to shuffle kids who kept climbing in bed, but we all woke up feeling so much better. We found out at the Dr. that Mirian had one ear that was starting to have an ear infection and that the ear that had been hurting her so bad had a really bad one and had burst.  So now she’s got medicine and today she woke up a much happier Mirlin.  It can only get better from here on out and we’re all looking forward to seeing Dad in a couple of days!

Time to Listen

My sister called me up the other day wanting to know if I was ok, since it had been a few weeks since I had posted on my blog. My answer. We're doing great, just had lots going on during the holidays and just haven't felt the need or desire to blog yet.

Have you ever had so many thoughts going on in your head that needed processing. Although your dying to get them all down on paper and write them all out, you just can't yet. That's what I've been experiencing lately.... so many thoughts intertwining with each other, overlapping, connected and yet completely different and all trying to make sense. They are now slowly starting to fall into place. Which means that I'm slowly starting to have a desire to blog again.... I finally feel like I'll have some things to say.

I enjoyed our holidays and time we were able to spend with family. It was exhausting and refreshing all at the same time. I truly felt like I enjoyed my holidays this year compared to other years where I made myself too busy and waited too long to finish projects up. With these end of the year festivities automatically comes that desire to start making goals, start thinking of big ideas. Things I want to do, accomplish and be by the end of the year. Goals for my family. I'm naturally built that way, I love making goals and trying to accomplish them. There is something about evaluating things at the moment and trying to figure out how to grow from there.

So in the process I recognized a lot of things that needed changing and things that I really wanted to work on this year. They began to fall around a theme.... which made me fall on the idea (that many of my friends do) of choosing an overall word for the year to focus on and work towards. I totally bombed out on the word I chose last year. I can't even remember what it was. But the word I chose for this year felt right in every way. It was about things I have pondering and it had lots of potential for growth. I knew I had it. I knew it was something I could actually do. I had it all planned, I was even going to write my big blog post about it.

Then it completely got thrown aside after talking to a friend of mine at Beau's Lab party. She said some things that has had my mind reeling for the last four days. She competely undid my word for this year and gave me a new word.

Listen.

Specifically. LISTEN TO THE STILL SMALL VOICE.

I realized that all changes, all questions, all goals, all hopes, all things I wanted to do for the year could be answered and made better by listening to the guidance of the spirit. Too often I'm too busy, ignore or don't take the time to sincerely listen for the spirit about matters or pray specifically for direction. How much better would my life be as well as my family's by the end of the year, if the only simple thing I did in my life was try to be more intune to the spirit. More worthy of it's presence, more obedient in following in it's promptings. Taking a very active participating role in seeking the spirit.

The other night I was studying the topic, and ran across a great verse that described the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. Have you felt those lately? Do you feel them daily? If not why? What are you feeling instead? Stress, exhaustion, lack of faith, short in patience, quick temper, unhappiness, or discouragement.

There have been a few things lately that have been bothering me and on my mind. A few times in the last couple of months that I've felt stressed. Too often I'm short tempered, and have a huge lack of patience. A few times when I questioned if I was doing the right thing.

How simple to stop and listen to the still voice deep inside of us that is trying to show us, guide us and let us know what would ultimately make us happier, help our families and be what the Lord wanted. During a couple of moments in the last week I stopped to let that small voice guide me and show me what was making things hard and difficult. And then he give me the peace and assurance that it was ok to make changes, to drop things, to focus on what mattered.

He gave me faith and hope that it would be ok, it would work out even though from our mind it wasn't possible. He reminded me what is ultimately my biggest and most important responsiblity in this world - my children. Being a mother, spending time with them, teaching them, developing strong relationships with them, being a better homemaker and wife. That is all that matters, and anything else that was affecting, harming or creating stress in any of those areas had to go. What do I feel now? Peace. Huge peace.... all because I decided to finally LISTEN and then DO IT.

So I hope that by the end of the year I can say that I have stopped and LISTENED. I hope to tell you that our lives were changed in incredible ways. I hope to tell you that we saw Miracles occur. I hope to tell you that I lived a year filled with peace and happiness admist life's difficulties, I hope to tell you that in the process of this, my goals were accomplished better than they could have been on their own, and that I accomplished goals I wasn't even aware that I had, because the Lord had them for me.

Now to just go and LISTEN.

Daily Festivities

           There have been a whole bunch of reasons for the lack of blogging on here lately.

• Decorating the Tree, Hot Chocolate, Christmas Movies
• Loosing Teeth
• The School Christmas Program
• Christmas Parties
• Participated in the Choir for the Christmas Concert at Church. (My highlight of the entire season, amazing music about the amazing event in Bethlehem.)
• Making Homemade Presents and goodies for friends
• Christmas Shopping for those perfect presents.
• Playing out in the snow that finally decided to arrive
• Made snow icecream with EggNog
• Making all kinds of goodies – chocolate covered bananas, sugar cookies, crab dip, and still hoping to get some toffee, fudge and cheese ball in.

           And more to still look forward to…

• Finishing up the homemade presents
• Visiting Family for the Holidays
• The Annual Journey Meal
• The annual Nativity performance put on by our kids (as well as the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. They just don’t know it yet.)
• Christmas
• Snowmobiling (hoping.)

           I’m not sure that I’m going have a chance to blog until after Christmas, so I wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and remember the real reason for the season. It’s all that really matters anyway amidst all these other things we do. I hope you all know how much we appreciate and love you. May you and your families enjoy this wonderful time of year, feel the peace of the season and look forward to a new year.