Generosity & Humor

I got part 2 of the good mail Liz sent me last week. Apparently when she mailed her package to me last week she forgot to put these things in. How lucky for me, that means 2 packages from her. She included a Grow Your Own Crown and a cute Paris card. Thanks Liz!


I stayed up until 3:00am Monday night working on the good mail I wanted to send. It was a delight. I was wide awake (thanks to an Excedrin taken for cramps) and highly motivated, plus I am so loving watching tv on my computer that I didn't want to leave my scrap room. I finished watching the whole season of "What About Brian". And I was delighted to be able to mail all of this stuff out after helping in Whitney's classroom (rather than spending all day trying to get this stuff together). I definitely experienced a good-mail high.


Whitney and I got good mail from Crystalyn yesterday, so nice. She sent Whitney a cute block of purple paper and a cool mechanical pencil and she sent me bath confetti and Twizzlers (which I ate for breakfast a moment ago). Thank you so much Crystalyn!


For our Activity Day Girls' birthdays we're copying Stacy's brilliant idea and giving them a bag of rocks with compliments written on them. I think this is so cute and was delighted to give it to one of our girls yesterday. She didn't get what it was at first, but then was so excited about it. Thanks Stacy!

In other news I'm finally getting in to buying episodes of shows on itunes. I just bought my favorite episode of 30 Rock "Jack the Writer". Here are some classic quotes from it.

"Live every week like it's Shark Week" --Tracy Jordan
"Nuts to you Magillicutty" --Jack
"Boy we, as a group, might NOT smell great." --Liz Lemon
"You need to dress like you have a job, and parents who raised you in some kind of shame-based American religious tradition." --Liz Lemon

I like this episode so much I can just watch it over and over again. Hilarious. Spending time in my scrapbook room just keeps getting better and better.

**Any good mail highs in your world?
Do you love 30 Rock?
Do you buy episodes of shows on itunes?**

Ballistic

This afternoon Whitney was watching a documentary about the ocean (which I had gotten from Netflix for her because she's fascinated by sea creatures) and was trying to lure me onto the couch to watch it with her. I finally decided to sit down (which abruptly halted the cleaning momentum I had going) so she decided to bring me up to speed on the Shark scene she had just watched.

She said, "This fish was just swimming around and then all the sudden the sharks just went ballistic!"

What in the world?? She's 6!

(This picture has nothing to do with this post other than that it's of Whitney and is recent.)

Uncomfortable

Michelle and I ended up getting together for lunch and a trip to Archiver's on Saturday afternoon. It was a total fluke that I happened to call her to see if she needed to get out (after being home with sick kids all week) right when she was putting her coat on to get out of the house for awhile. We NEVER go out on weekends. It's the weirdest thing. I guess since get together for Creative Fridays we just don't ever plan any other outings except for our birthdays, so it was a very rare treat to be out and about without kids on a Saturday.


We had a tasty lunch at California Pizza Kitchen (though I wished I had ordered the Tostada Pizza instead of the BLT Pizza). We also walked down the mall to the new Archiver's store. It's funny that we were originally surprised that they put an Archiver's in the mall, but it was super busy in there so apparently it was a good idea. I ended up feeling full and overly warm so I didn't enjoy myself as well as I would have liked. I realized that I often feel this way when I'm dressed to "go out" and often can't wait to go home and get comfortable again. This isn't good.


I wish I could just "be" and not feel so uncomfortable. I was a mess. I felt like my bra (it's really time to retire this thing) was bugging me, my turtle neck sweater felt too small (though it isn't), I was way too hot (even though it's winter), my feet didn't want to be in shoes, and I kept feeling like I had phantom boogers! What is up with the universe? I feel this way more often than not when I go out and I just hate it! Every time I think I've made my peace with myself I'm reminded that I really haven't.

I had a moment of panic because I don't want to feel like this while touring Paris. How awful would that be if I ended being frustrated with how I feel? What a waste that would be. Sometimes I feel like I can't take myself anywhere!

**Do you get together with girlfriends
on the weekend? Do you ever feel
like you've got phantom boogers?
Do you ever feel overheated and irritable
while shopping, even when it's with a friend?**

P.S. Blogger Spell Check is suggesting the word worshipper's for Archiver's.

Dreaming Water

I bought this book off Amazon.com used for $3.50 last month when I was buying my book club books for the next few months. We're reading another book by this author and I'd heard good things about her so I bought several of her books. Now I'm not so sure I'm keen on her writing style. I finished reading this book last week and can't say that I loved it. I would give it a B- because there was too much lame dialogue and because it seemed kind of basic. This book introduced a few concepts that made it thought-provoking enough that I didn't hate reading it, but I definitely not going to recommend it.


The 38 year old woman in this book has Werner's syndrome, a disease that makes a person age at twice the rate of a healthy individual, so she looks like an 80 year old woman and has to deal with all the health issues that go along with that. I only marked 5 quotes in the entire book (which is never a good sign) so here they are. Each chapter is from a different character's perspective so the quotes are all first-person, but are from different people.

"But, unlike me, Hana isn't afraid of anything. She strikes out at each day with such joy, as if waking up alive every morning is the biggest surprise of all. For her, fear is not an option. She takes life as it comes, and if the years come faster than they should, she grabs at them, too." page 5

"I look into her tired eyes and wonder if she ever imagines another life. One without fears of fevers or waking up late. The freedom to go and do as she pleases. Small prizes. A just reward after all these years. But I know that wishing on all the stars in the sky won't change anything. And if I can see so much about her in one early morning glance, what does my mother see when she looks at me?" page 13

"What was I thinking as I ran to the nearest house for help? That it takes so little to lose someone you love. That all the years it takes to nurture and learn and grow can end without a moment's notice. That a simple misstep could break bones or stop a heart from beating?" page 104

"I've had to learn to let go...It's hard, but I let go of all the meanness and spite first. No use carrying around useless baggage. Then I let go of the things I love, like swimming in the ocean, eating pizza and burgers, and buying new clothes to wear. Now I'm dealing with the hardest part, letting go of all the people I love." page 256

"Camille cried when we had to leave, wanting to take the castle home with us. But Dad picked her up and said to her, "We have to leave it, Sweet Pea. Sand castles have to stay at the beach. There are lots of things in life that we can't take with us, no matter how much we want to." Camille looked puzzled. "Then why did we spend so much time making it?" she asked, which I thought was a pretty good question. "For the sheer pleasure of making it," he said. "We can take that with us." page 277

So I guess what I'm taking away from this book is an appreciation for my good health and youth, the opportunities I've had to get married, have children, keep a house, travel, have friends, etc. Those are all great blessings that the main character of the book didn't get to enjoy because of her disease. It would be a shame if I didn't appreciate the chances I've been given.

**What do you think?
Are you grateful for your health?
Do you recognize the blessings in your life?**

Faith, Service, Constancy

Last night before bed I was reading the Book of Mormon (I'm loving my daily reading) and was surprised when I finished that I wasn't anxious to grab my other book (On Beauty) to read (this is what I usually do). Instead I reached for my conference issue of the Ensign and looked at the index of topics to find something to read. I've been thinking about a good friend of mine who is having a hard time right now and who doesn't share my beliefs. It's hard to comfort someone who doesn't share my beliefs because those beliefs are what provide peace and comfort to me through the struggles of life. I was hoping to find something I could share with her that might help, but that wouldn't make her feel like I was preaching to her.


I ended up reading a couple talks about adversity and was really impressed with this talk by Elder David S. Baxter called Faith, Service, Constancy (page 13 of the November 2006 Ensign). I didn't hear this talk back in October because we were driving back from California that weekend. We still have all the sessions recorded on our DVR, but we haven't watched them yet. (What are we thinking?) So this was my first time hearing/reading any of this information.


I thought the whole talk was wonderful, but these are some quotes that really jumped out at me. I don't actually know if I should send this talk to her or not, but I'm definitely glad I read it.

"Faith fuels hope. Our perspective changes; our vision becomes clearer. We begin to look for the best, not the worst, in life and in others. We gain a deeper sense of life's purpose and meaning. Despair gives way to joy."

"Faith is then nurtured as we allow ourselves to believe.
Like all other virtues, faith is strengthened as we practice it,
as we live and act as if our faith were already deep.
Faith is the product of righteous desire, belief, and obedience."

"Selfless service is a wonderful antidote to the ills that
flow from the worldwide epidemic of self-indulgence.
Some grow bitter or anxious when it seems that
not enough attention is being paid to them,
when their lives would be so enriched if only they
paid more attention to the needs of others."

{Very thoughtful package for Whitney from
Annalisa and her daughter Alexis. Thanks!!}

"Stretching our souls in service helps us to rise above
our cares, concerns, and challenges. As we focus our
energies on lifting the burdens of others,
something miraculous happens. Our own burdens diminish.
We become happier. There is more substance to our lives."

"Discipleship does not guarantee freedom from the storms of life.
There are days, perhaps even months and years, when life is just hard. We experience our fair share of adversity, heartache, loneliness, pain, grief--sometimes, it seems, more than our fair share."

"At these moments of crisis and challenge, some choose to abandon faith just at the time when it most needs to be embraced. Prayer is ignored at the very hour when it needs to be intensified. Virtue is carelessly tossed aside when it needs to be cherished. God is forsaken in the all-too-human yet mistaken fear that He has forsaken us."

It's hard for me to know if this would help her or not, but it definitely helpful for me to read.

My Sharing Time for Primary is all ready to go. I made a 10 Commandments trivia game that I think will be fun. I'm not nervous at all, so I'm thinking that's a good sign. I was inspired by some information I found on a site I found on Liz's sidebar called SugarDoodle. It has tons of idea for church help. It's a great one to bookmark in case you need help with ideas.

**What do you do when you need to help
someone who doesn't share your beliefs?
Do you think this talk might help?
What do you think about these quotes?
Have you checked out that website?**

Speedy Recovery

Whitney is experiencing a speedy recovery and seems to be pretty much back to normal (except for her ookey looking eyes). She stayed on the couch yesterday listening to movies but managed to open her eyes around noon. (Last time the doctor had to pry them open at our post-op appointment). Her first order of business was to look at all the wonderful things Hannah had given her in her "bag of wonders." Whitney immediately resumed her role as treat ambassador and graciously bestowed some candy onto Landon. She told me I didn't even have to ask if I wanted to take something (that must be the pain talking, ha).


Whitney's cute friend Madison (from school) stopped by with her very nice mom to bring Whitney a get-well balloon, homemade card and some cupcakes (they know her so well). Poor Madison was afraid to get close to Whitney (must be the crazy glasses) even though her mom kept telling her Whitney wasn't sick. It was funny. It was so sweet of them to bring her those things. Madison's mom is so nice. She and I both work in the classroom a lot since we don't have smaller kids at home so I've gotten to know her.



We had to go to the eye doctor for a post-op appointment at 4:00pm, and he said her eyes look great "straight as an arrow!" I told him about our experience at the surgical center and how we didn't like it as much as the hospital because of the partitions and all the crying. I told him it was like being in the den of horrors. He was actually very receptive to this information and said that they have some new anesthesiologists there who are still figuring things out (yikes) and that no one should wake up and feel pain, so basically the kid who was crying for an hour and the tonsil girl should not have been experiencing that much pain. Interesting! I wonder if that's why Whitney had a harder time than last time as well. I actually liked the weenie eye doctor for a few moments.


Adam, Amy and their girls came over for Game Night since Whitney was feeling so much better. She is always happy to play with Bella so she was begging me to let them come over (I was hesitant because I thought she might be sloppy and tired). We had JCW's for dinner (burgers, fries and fry sauce, so good) and played Settlers of Catan (I won one game and Randy miraculously won the other), then we played SCUM and Speed. Good times.


I got this cute thank you card from Kelly yesterday. I love how she stamped that circle onto the envelope and then wrote "good mail from Kelly" on there. What a great idea. Thanks Kelly for the nice note!


So I guess things are back to normal. Our phone hasn't been working for 2 days (which has actually been kind of nice) but the phone repair guy came this morning and figured out that it's because one of our phones died. Go figure. I think we'll be heading to Costco today to get a set of new cordless phones (I've been wanting to do that anyway).

I also have to prepare Sharing Time for primary tomorrow and am feeling slightly intimidated because our Senior Primary is much larger since the new year (they added Landon's huge class) so we have lots more teachers (men) in there and also tomorrow is our Ward Conference so the Stake Primary Presidency will be in there (no pressure, yikes).

**Are you thinking about getting some foxy cataract glasses too?
Do you have a phone recommendation for me?
How do you feel about fry sauce?**

Whitney's Surgery--The Update

So yesterday was Whitney's 2nd eye surgery. We were all much calmer about this one because we knew what to expect. I am grateful for all the prayers said for her, I know they helped. She was calm and happy (whereas last time she was serious and terrified). This made the process so much easier for everyone involved.


We dropped Landon off at Michelle's house on the way to the Surgical Center (which is very close to Michelle's), and since Max and Lucas were home from school with bad colds Landon got to play with them all day! It was a dream come true for him, especially since I wasn't there. Thank you Michelle for giving him such a great day and for being a 2nd mother to him, I didn't fret about him for a second. (What a gift that is to me.)


We arrived at the Surgical Center (last time we were at Utah Valley Hospital) and waited for an hour (I had to sign lots of forms) until they took us back to the pre-op area. The pre-op area had curtained partitions so we could hear the other kids waiting for their surgeries. (Most were not happy to be there.) Whitney sat in her chair and happily watched "Open Season" on the tv, flipped through magazines and took pictures with my camera (kind of funny). When it was finally time for her to head back for her surgery she confidently walked back with the anaesthetist (last year she had to drink a sedative because she was so panicked and they wheeled her bed back). What a difference!


The surgery was pretty quick (about a half hour) and the weenie eye doctor (who was nicer this time) said everything went well. He is EXTREMELY confident in himself so he comes off as a God-type doctor, but I guess it's better than a doctor lacking in self-confidence right?! Randy and I waited and read our books for a long time until they brought Whitney back to the recovery room. This big room also just had curtained partitions so we could hear the other kids recovering. This was NOT GOOD! Last time she had her own tiny room so at least we couldn't hear anyone else suffering. This time we heard a little boy cry for about an hour.


When they brought her in she looked so sad and was crying and saying her eyes hurt. Last time she wasn't happy but she was more drugged up so it wasn't so bad. This time was awful! Randy stroked her forehead while I rubbed her arm and tried to comfort her. They gave me a popsicle to feed her (she hadn't eaten anything for a long, long time), which she sucked on a little bit in-between tears. Then she just started sobbing in pain. It was brutal. Randy and I felt so helpless and nothing we did comforted her. Then the girl behind the next curtain (who had had her tonsils out) was being forced to swallow something and was fighting her mom and the 2 nurses. She was making the worst sounds I've ever heard. I couldn't take it. Between her noises and Whitney's sobbing I started crying too. (I think I will be haunted by those minutes for a long time.)


The nurse put some drops in Whitney's eyes (after a sad battle) that burn while going in but then numbed her eyes for a bit. Randy carried Whitney out to the car where she sat wearing her cataract eye glasses (I'm actually excited to have these) and the blanket over her head. Poor baby. She quietly cried the whole way home. We drove through Sonic to get her some lunch (a slushie always helps) and then settled her in at home. I had to hang quilts on the curtain rods because the room was just too bright. She kept the glasses on (she even slept with them on last night) and tried to rest. I sat on the floor next to her and fed her while we listened to "Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties" on the tv. She was calmer but would cry out in pain every now and then so she wanted me to stay closeby. I sat by her and read my book. She finally fell asleep around 3:00 (it had been a rough 2 hours at home).


I dozed off for awhile too and it was so nice having a quiet house. Hannah stopped by (quite a surprise) to bring Whitney a get-well gift. This was truly touching (thank you so much Hannah). She took a travel make-up bag (great idea) and filled it with candy and art supplies for Whitney! Hours later after Whitney woke up I told her about it and she had me bring it over so she could feel it and then had me describe everything inside it. She's VERY excited!!


Randy brought Landon home and they had a gift from Michelle. She got Whitney a jumbo box of Mike&Ikes and then this crazy toy that combines Whitney's love of little animals with her love of creating. It's hard to explain, but Whitney will love this. Thanks so much Michelle!!


I was also completely spoiled yesterday. When we arrived home from the Surgical Center the mailman was just driving past our house (earlier than usual). There was a little box on the porch for me and then Randy brought in the rest of the mail and I had ANOTHER package and 2 cards! I had time to open the box that was on the porch (because it said Fairytale Brownies on the box) and was shocked to see 6 gourmet brownies and a sweet note from Dana! What a gift, especially on such a rough day. I emailed Dana last night and she told me she had hoped they would arrive on the same day as the surgery because she knew I'd need a little boost. Boy did I! Thank you so much Dana! It hurts my heart to be cared for like this.


I also got a great package from Georgia full of things from Texas and the nicest note ever! She sent a heavy bag of Texas-sized jelly beans (so good), other crazy Texas candies like hot suckers with worms in them, an armadillo-shaped piece of chocolate, and chocolate coins with Texas wrappers. She also included a Texas bookmark, Texas wildflowers (I'm excited about these), and an honorary Texan sticker. What a day to receive such a fun package. Thank you so much Georgia! (By the way, if you're not reading her blog you are seriously missing out.)


I also got super nice thank you notes from Jennifer and Kacey. What a bounty of good mail on an emotionally-draining day. Thank you girls!!


I absolutely love getting nice notes in the mail. I never get tired of reading cards and letters and especially appreciate when someone takes the time to write a sincere note. Both of these notes were thoughtful and sweet.


So there you have it, my very long recap from our rough but redeemed day. Whitney slept through the night and is feeling great today. She even opened her eyes! (Last time the doctor had to pry them open because they were gooed shut.) She's happy and resting on the couch. I'm so grateful. Click here for the rest of the photos.

**Have you had to go through something like this?
Aren't partitions a bad idea?
Does generosity like this inspire you?**

500th Post!!

Today is Whitney's big surgery to shorten the muscle in her left eye so that her eye points straight, rather than sometimes going slightly cross-eyed. She had this same surgery last March and it definitely helped, but she needs it again. Hopefully this will be the last one.

{These are the ones Whitney wants. I had to take
a picture of our neighbor's so that I could have it in my
camera so I could identify them at the store. No such luck so far.}

She is in excellent spirits and is highly motivated by her love of Littlest Pet Shop animals at this point. She snooped in a Target bag the other day and saw a package of them that I'd bought for her as a "get well" kind of present. First thing this morning she said, "Mom, can I open those Pet Shops so that I can actually SEE them before my surgery?" Do she know how to work the system or what?


She got both of these house-type things for Christmas and has been playing with them every day. Even the 11 year old girl from next door likes to play with them so Whitney is thrilled whenever they get the chance to play. They have named all the little animals and talk about them like they are their friends.


Whitney brought this picture to me the month before Christmas to inform me that she wanted every single one of these! She got about 10 instead. She's lucky that I think these are cute too and tend to buy them as prizes (to be earned) to put in our marble basket. Whitney has been wanting to earn 2 more marbles because she knew there was a package of them in the basket and she only had 8 marbles so far. Yesterday, out of nowhere, Landon came in and handed her the 2 marbles so that she could "buy" the ones she wanted. How sweet is that? It was like a Christmas miracle in January. She was thrilled and so happy that he decided to do that for her, she recognized the his generosity and seemed delighted and surprised.

It seems like I should have something profound or very blogging-world to say for my 500th post, but Whitney is on my mind and we're leaving in like 20 minutes for her surgery so I guess this is the post that had to be written. Thanks for all your kind thoughts and prayers. We're all at peace about this so they're definitely working!

**Has The Little Pet Shop craze
hit your home too?
What was the craze when you were a kid?
Can you believe I've posted 500 times?**

Combating the Cozy & Good Mail Bounty

I haven't been feeling rested the past few mornings, but can't account for it since I haven't altered my routine at all. I hate it that I never want to get out of the cozy in the morning because even if I set my alarm for 7:00ish I know I don't really have to be up and moving until 8:00 so I don't get up. Every night when I set my alarm for the next morning I tell myself that I'm going to get up, get ready, blog and doing morning house stuff so that I'll be done when I take Whitney to school at 9:00. This just doesn't happen. I fall victim to cozy-induced irrationality (is that a word?) and just stay in bed. I need to cultivate self-discipline at some point. Aargh!


I got this fun package of goodies from Liz on Monday. She sent me a book (never heard of it before, but very excited) 2 Family Home Evening Lesson cds, the handout from her primary training meeting, hot chocolate and Hershey's kisses. I think she covered all the bases here, such a thoughtful package. Thanks Liz!!



I got this nice thank you note from Amy W. on Monday (I wrecked the top of the card accidentally when opening the envelope, I have no skills). Thanks for the sweet note Amy!



I got this amusing note/letter from Claudia yesterday. She's hilarious. She is great about getting lots of info in her cards and letters so they are always a treat to get. Thanks Missy!!


I got this cute thank you card from Amie yesterday, she always writes nice things. Thanks Amie!


I got this magnificent card from Michelle yesterday. I love seeing her handwriting and signature star on the envelopes she sends me. I'm also somewhat disgusted (in a good way) that she sewed in a circle around the words on the card--so cute! The things she wrote were great too, ha. Thanks Michelle!


Amie did a good mail express delivery this afternoon to bring me book orders, some clothes her kids had borrowed once when they got muddy while playing here, and this cute container filled with fun stuff. She got me Shower to Shower because I told her that when I was a freshman at BYU I used to like to wear it (though my roommate told me it smelled like an old lady--maybe that's why I didn't date very much). She printed a great article from Russell M. Nelson, gave me more of my very favorite candle melts, my favorite gum, and these darling "J" rub-ons. Thanks Amie!!

I'm feeling well cared for and thankful so thanks everybody for keeping the Postal Service in business and keeping my mailbox and me very happy! All of this thoughtfulness just does my heart good.

**Are you irrational about getting out
of bed in the morning?
Can you believe how cute these cards and gifts are?
Do you have any good mail in the works?
Whitney's surgery is tomorrow, yikes!**

The Skittish Startler

This morning as I was getting dressed I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw a black spider on the floor near where I was standing. The room was pretty dim so I couldn't make out its features, but we tend to get these thick, nickel-sized spiders that have a darting-way of moving. Since I hate ALL SPIDERS I'm not happy about these living anywhere near me (especially in my bedroom) and I especially hate that it's thick and the type that runs when people get near. Anyway, I wanted to keep my eye on this shifty little beast so that it didn't make a run for it and go under my bed (insert goose bumps here) so I called to Landon to bring me the vacuum (a.k.a Spider Removal Device).


Fortunately he didn't dilly dally, but brought me the vacuum quickly (whereas if I had asked Whitney to get it I'd still be waiting). I immediately got down to business and sucked the ill-fated creature up, but couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it wasn't really a spider but a ball of black thread instead? I've been known to jump and scream only to find a large piece of lint as the culprit. This characteristic of mine is quite a nuisance, but could be considered an aerobic activity since it gets my heart beating so fast.


I am also startled often by family members. This is rather ridiculous considering how small our house is (I don't know if I'm brave enough to live in a large house where ne'er do wells could hide easily) and often find myself yelling obscenities (a vice of mine) and freaking out because Randy has somehow managed to come home from work without my knowledge. He finds this highly amusing and then tends to mock me for the rest of the night by announcing things like "I'm coming down the hall now" or "I'm approaching the scrapbook room." This doesn't help.


Landon also startles me often by approaching quietly when I'm deep in thought. Many times I have been bent over drying my hair and mentally planning my day only to flip my head up and see him standing there. I don't know why this is frightening, but it always scares the crap out of me. (The poor kid, he hears a certain $#@! word from me every time without fail.) A couple years ago he tried to jump out and scare me on purpose a few times with great success, but that made me so mad that I ended up retaliating one time while playing hide-and-seek to help teach him a lesson. When he opened the closet where I was hiding I yelled "BOO!" His eyes popped out of his head just like they do in cartoons. The poor kid was outraged that I would do such a thing, but ended up understanding how much I hate it when people scare me and has never tried to do that again. (You gotta do what you gotta do.)


I hate to even think about what would happen if someone actually tried to scare me for real by wearing a hideous mask or jumping out of the dark when I come home at night. I fear all these years of hard-training as a skittish startler would translate into outward aggression, leaving the poor person pummeled and bloody on the ground. (Consider this a warning!!) I definitely DO NOT have a sense of humor about this sort of thing. I don't deal with fake spiders well either. Landon and Lucas (Michelle's son) once stuck a huge fake spider under the bathroom door causing me to jump onto the counter. Michelle also had a fake black-widow spider ring on her laundry room floor for awhile and that got me every time. (Why do they even make such horrid things?)

**Are you skittish?
What scares you?
Do you ever startle from lint on the floor?**

P.S. The note I left Randy and the picture he drew are from early in our marriage (1995ish).

Happy Birthday Tasha!!

Tales of the Treat Monger

Anyone who knows my 6 year old daughter Whitney knows that she is very fond of treats. In fact, thinking back I'm surprised that "tweet" wasn't actually her first word. This girl is all about treats (and art supplies really) and has made it her life mission to bring treats to kids everywhere (as long as they're in close proximity to her), she is a treat ambassador of sorts.


So last night for our Family Home Evening (week 3 hooray) Whitney was in charge of "the treat." While we were eating dinner I asked her what she had planned for our treat and she calmly replied "Well, I brought home 4 cookies from Nana's house and there are 4 of us, so that's our treat." Excellent idea, right? But noooooo, she had treat-choice remorse soon after that and tried to change things up. She wanted to make Oreo pudding, but I told her it was too late for that and that she should have made that in the morning before church. She took this news like a champ and then said, "I have an idea!" and ran out of the room.


She returned carrying a large Ziploc bag full of candy bars (this is for my primary class when they take notes in Sacrament Meeting) and suggested we all have one of them, except for the one she was already holding! We put the kibosh on this plan and could only stop her pleading by telling her we'd put the Hershey's with Almond Bar in the reward basket for her to "pay" for with 3 marbles. Fortunately she was okay with this, but her treat negotiations just wouldn't stop. Apparently she had decided that the cookies were rubbish and that anything else would be better (what brought this notion on is a mystery to me).


By this time we were in the process of having Family Home Evening (Landon did a fantastic job on his lesson about prayer) so when it came time to actually have the treat Whitney was still trying to negotiate some big item. We had just stuffed ourselves with Sunday dinner so this really wasn't necessary. I ended up taking over and suggesting that we split a "Whatchamacallit" candy bar 4 ways. (Normally that wouldn't be enough, but we were really full.) Whitney was only quiet about this while she ate her piece, then tried to say that she didn't get to do the treat because I had chosen for her. I had to explain that she had abused her power as the treat person and that something had to be done. She was relentless until Randy firmly told her to stop talking about it!

I don't know if she's trying to drive me to an early grave or if she's planning to be a lawyer, but I can't deal with the constant negotiations. She's making me crazy!!

**Do you have a treat monger in your house?
Were you a treat monger?
What should I do about her?**

Repeated Epiphany

As I was trying to think about a topic for Sunday post this morning my thoughts turned to my Book of Mormon reading. I think it's ridiculous that I am great about reading my scriptures when there's a goal or challenge with a schedule involved. I always accomplish that goal (one time it was to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days!), but then when I'm finished I revert back to my slacker ways. It's so sad. Apparently I have to set a schedule and goal for myself so that I will always be good about daily scripture reading. (It's nice that I'm 35.5 years old and just figuring this out!)


Anyway, on the second day of my Book of Mormon reading I read the much-loved and well known scripture in 1 Nephi 3:7.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father:
I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded,
for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments
unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a
way for them that they may accomplish
the thing which he commandeth them."

I have read this scripture hundreds of times, sung the primary song (it's one of my favorites) tons of times, and have even memorized this in seminary. So how is it possible that I can have an epiphany about it now?

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this because it seems so obvious, but I will do it anyway. This time as I was reading this scripture it occurred to me that this verse doesn't just apply to Nephi's tough situation or to the really huge obstacles in our lives. It applies to every day things like personal prayers, scripture reading, taking care of kids, fulfilling our callings, attending the temple, doing family history, creating our food storage and loving our fellow man.


Certainly the Lord would not command us to do those things if He wasn't going to help us along the way. The verse says that He prepares a way for us. This could mean introducing us to certain people who can help us, giving us earlier-life experiences that will equip us for future situations, increasing our desire to do good, and no doubt many other ways.

It was just so amazing to me that I could have this ah-ha moment when I've read this verse so many times. I guess I usually look at in terms of Nephi's experience and admire his great faith in trusting the Lord and in standing up to his brothers. But this time I saw it differently and felt great clarity and excitement. Surely there's nothing we can't do! So as always, when I'm feeling overwhelmed, underqualified, intimidated or lacking in any way I'm going to consider the source of that negativity and remember who asked me to do these things in the first place.

**Have you had this same epiphany?
How has the Lord prepared the
way for you to fulfill your life callings?
Do you need a schedule to make
yourself read the scripture daily?**

P.S. Here's a quote from my primary lesson today.

"You are choice spirits, many of you have been
held back in reserve for almost 6, 000 years to come
forth in this day, at this time, when the temptations,
responsibilities and opportunities are the very greatest."
--Ezra Taft Benson

Productive & Pleased

I have had the most wonderful day being home alone. Randy and Landon were gone until 1:30 then came home briefly before going back out to the book store (yeeha!). I had spent the morning tidying up in my scrap room, doing laundry, and watching back episodes of "Ugly Betty" on the computer. It was good, but I hadn't done anything substantial.

{Before}

After Randy and Landon left for the bookstore I decided to seriously tackle my scrapbook room. This is major job because it's never just a matter of finding a home for something, it usually means sifting through piles of stuff, finding homes for things, trying to figure out better ways of storing things, weeding out and re-evaluating. It's a huge job and not something that can be done in just a couple hours.

{During}

I got really into this process and absolutely loved being able to watch/listen to tv shows while doing this. I ended up watching an episode of "Friday Night Lights" that I'd missed (I ADORE that show), and a couple episodes of "What About Brian". It was entertaining, yet not distracting. I stayed on-task, didn't stop to blog (amazing), and just got to be alone.

{After}

The phone only rang once today, so that was super nice. Randy and Landon came home around 3:15, so Landon ran next door to get his friend. They played in his room for a bit and then actually went over to play at Benjamin's house! Randy left to go out to my parents' house to get Whitney and ended up being gone until 8:00pm.

{After}

So I got loads done! My room hasn't looked this clean since we moved in here 3 years ago. The room feels so much bigger when the floor is cleared. I got my table so clean that I was actually able to set the sewing machine up on there. (Unprecedented!). I still need to sort through the many, many packets of photos I've neglected to file but at least now they're all in one location and I have room at the table to go through them. Apparently I needed an entire day alone to actually accomplish this project.

My one contact with the outside world was this good mail from Kristi. I was taking a card out to the mailbox exactly when the mailman pulled up and handed me this card. It was excellent timing and a most welcomed item. Thanks Kristi!

**Please tell me you can see the difference?
What did you do today?
Do you ever watch Friday Night Lights?**