Boys

I'm listening to the two little guys dividing all the hot wheel cars up before they can begin playing,

"Sanders, do you like blue?"

"Uh huh!"

"Do you like green?"

"Me like green and blue!"

"You like green blue?"

"Yup!"

"What about red?"

A gasp of complete disbelief, "NO. Not red!"

Sheesh...you'd think Tennyson had asked him to eat something gross.

Choices

You know, something that I've always know, but have really been focusing on this last week is the fact that while I may not have total control over what I am feeling, it comes down to my personal choice as to how I act with that feeling. MY choice.

I can choose joy amidst anger or sorrow or disappointment. I am in control.

I find that very empowering.

Productive

I have a few people in my life who are just SO darn productive. It amazes me. I don't know how they do it and be moms and keep their houses clean, etc. It's like I can focus on one area and that's it.

I can be creative, or I can be a great mom, or I can keep a clean house, or whatever. Try and combine any of those things and none of them goes very well. What's the deal?!?!?

Am I the only one like this.....?

Hmmmm, maybe I don't want to know.

Scripture Tracker

1 Ne chp 4 vs 24 - 38

Blocked or Content?

You know how I have a lot of dreams?

Well I am stuck. I have a serious case of designers block. It's almost as if I am so completely loving my life right now that the drive has lessened a bit. It's not that I didn't love my life before, but I felt like something was missing. There was more to do. Not that it's gone, but, at the moment, it doesn't ache like it normally does. It makes the saying, "Suffering Artist" come to life. I feel like what I have learned in the journey has changed me SO much. For the better. Even though the dream hasn't come true, I am who I always wanted to be...even without the dream.

Interesting.

This is a good thing right? To be satisfied with where your life is? I don't feel like I've settled, but the fact that I'm not feeling as driven is new to me. I find myself mistaking it as laziness so I hop on down to the computer and my sketch pad to light the fire again and nothing happens. My dreams have been design free. That's just plain weird for me. I haven't even tried to 'Dream remodel' my house in forever. For weeks now this has been the case. Then I put the sketch pad down look at all the cute little people around me and go play.

Can't beat that.


I will still strive to achieve my goal. But for now, I think I've gotten a pretty clear sign that it's time to enjoy these moments.


Scripture Tracker

Yesterday

1 Ne Chp 4 vs 1-5

Today

1 Ne Chp 4 vs 6-23

( I think it's funny how clearly you can tell what kind of day we have had by the amount of verses we have read. Ha!)

Humbling

I didn't blog yesterday. It was very liberating to realize I felt no guilt about it this morning!

Today Beckham, my first grader, learned a really good lesson about why bragging is not so awesome. He has been given the opportunity to go with the 3rd graders for math. He had been asking his teacher for this chance since about week 2 of school. The 3rd graders go into a different room during this time. As they were lining up, apparently Beckham made sure the rest of the class noticed, in no uncertain terms, that he also was lining up.

Thankfully, Mrs. Pickett is amazing and was able to pull him aside and explain how his actions made others feel and how she was just as excited for him as he was and that he is an awesome kid, but there is a time and a place for everything.

Well all Beckham heard was that he is an awesome kid because by the time he got home and I asked him about it (I happened to have volunteered in their class today and Casey (Mrs. Pickett) told me all about it) he had no memory of bragging....at all. SO we called Mrs. Picket , and by we I mean I made Beckham call Mrs. Pickett, and have her refresh his memory. This time I think it stuck. Of course she, and I still praised him for this amazing accomplishment, but we were very clear that he would lose it if he chose to continue bragging about it.

Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of Beckham. He has wanted this chance for SO long and has been very proactive with Mrs. Pickett getting everything she required of him done so he would be ready when it came. It was all him. He worked hard and earned it. I don't want to diminish that.

But it is one thing to feel pride for a job well done.....It is quite another to rub it in everyone's face.

I'm so very thankful he is learning these lessons at 7 and not at 17. AND, once again, I am SO, so, SO thankful Casey is there to help me teach him!!!

Scripture Tracker

Yesterday:

Finished 1 Ne chp 2 vs 17  - Ch 3 vs 20

Today:

1 Ne Chp 3 vs 21 - 31

Small Fail

Yesterday we didn't read the scriptures as a family. Not even a week and I failed on my goal. Boo.

Well, I can look at this two ways.

1) Epic failure. What's the point. Way TOO large of a goal

OR

2) Yes, will not be able to say we read the scriptures as a family every day this year even though I WAS able to blog every day last year, BUT getting 6 people to do something every day is a lot harder than getting one person to do something every day. And so, we will just continue as if we didn't miss.

Of course I'm going with outlook # 2. I am disappointed, but Sundays are very challenging for us, especially now that we have changed to 1:00 pm church. Tennyson was a wreck by the time we got home from my dad's for dinner and it was all we could do to get him to bed. I totally forgot about scriptures as I was worrying about my OTHER goal of keeping my temper in check...We will just read scriptures before church to avoid this in the future.

Tonight we used family night as our scripture reading.

SCRIPTURE TRACKER

Moses 6: 62

Fasting

As part of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I practice fasting on the first Sunday of every month for at least two meals. This practice is NOT mandatory but encouraged. Children are not encouraged to fast until they turn 8.

Today was Fast Sunday. Karaia turned 8 last December and has yet to miss fasting during any Fast Sunday. We never have reminder her. In fact, it's usually her reminding Kevin and I what day it is. She's never complains.  It just something she wants to do.

Every ward changes the time that they meet in January. In 2011 our ward met from 11 - 2. This year we meet from 1 - 4 pm. It makes Fast Sundays a bit more challenging for everyone, but especially someone who hasn't done it for that length before. This was Karaia's case.

Again, she didn't hesitate this morning to remember what day it was. And when the boys were having lunch she quietly played down stairs not complaining. But with 20 minutes left of the last meeting she truly understood what it meant to be fasting. It was very, very hard for her. But she did it. She was pretty proud of herself after she got a bit of food in her tummy ;)