A Present Meant for a King

Today is December 19th and there are only a few more days till Christmas.  This afternoon I was going to wrap Christmas presents while my girls were at school and my little guy was napping, but he didn't like that idea and decided to take a very short nap.  So, I had to go to plan B.  We decided to run a few errands to accomplish something. 

In the car on the way to our destination, I had the radio tuned in on the local Christmas music.  I really enjoy listening to the songs and one of my all time favorites came on.  The Little Drummer Boy.  Usually I sing along, not really thinking about the lyrics, but this time I was just listening.  The words came into my head and spun around until they stuck me hard.  This little boy was in the presence of the King, the Savior of the world and he had nothing to offer.  I thought how heart breaking that would be, to want to give the most special gift to this most special baby, but to have nothing.  How horrible I would feel.  I feel bad enough not being able to find something really good for those who are special to me, but I could only imagine how much harder that would be, not to have a gift for the Savior.

But then the song continues and the little boy offers to play his drum for the Christ Child.  That was the most the boy had and he gave it and it was more than enough.  The Lord only asks us to give our best and that is enough.  With these thoughts and feelings swimming through me, they had to come out somewhere.  There I was driving along, tears streaming down my face, but I didn't care, because I knew the Lord was pleased with my simple want to give my best.  These are the wonderful presents we should be offering this special time of year and I hope we will.

Family at Christmas Time

I am so grateful for my family!  I was just thinking how I wish I could spend more time with them.  I was so excited and still am very excited for Christmas break, but it is now shortened by one day due to a major wind storm that came through Utah.  The kids have to make up the missed day of school, so that is one less day all in a row for Christmas.  But that is OK, I am just so glad that we get to have as much time as we do, and the best part, my husband took vacation time and will be home for 10 days in a row.  Isn't that amazing?  I am truly looking forward to this time together.

I have no plans as of now.  Really, relaxing sounds fabulous.  I have been extremely tired as of late.  Of course a lot of that has to do with the fact that I am pregnant with my fourth child (which is a girl and we are very excited).  But I think I also just need to slow down.  I don't do a lot overall, but I go through spurts where I really push myself hard.  Lately I have been helping others with this or that (which I enjoy doing), but it is taking its toll.  And because Christmas is just around the corner, I have been spending nap time wrapping presents instead of resting.  I really can't wait until life slows down for a bit this Christmas break.  Oh, it sounds Heavenly!

I must say, I am grateful for the busy things we have been doing.  We made Gingerbread cookies with the kids and they got to ice them.  Oh, they were yummy!  I think I did most of the eating.  We have gone around taking neighbor presents (and we are done earlier than ever).  It is fun to give to others.  We have enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights and the fun Christmas shows playing on TV.  So, it has been a very good busy.  There is nothing like the good busy to help you enjoy the slow times.

One more thing I must mention that I have been doing that has been really good and nice for me.  I have been looking up a scripture a day about Jesus Christ.  I alternate between the Bible and The Book of Mormon.  It is so great to see the similarities and the differences.  I love the poetry of many of the scriptures about his life.  It brings many emotions.  Some are joyous others sadness, wonder, and appreciation.  I feel this has been good for me, so I can remember what is really important at this time of year.

I have been so blessed, I want to make sure I remember as my blessings are taking place.  I have a wonderful husband who I love dearly!  I am so grateful for all of his sacrifices for me and the kids. I am also grateful for his humor (which I need more than I let on) and for his amazing perspective with issues around us. I am so grateful for my children that are so sweet, I am truly grateful for their loving nature and goodness.  Their laughter and imagination fills my home with so many wonders, I am so glad I get to glimpse such innocence again.  May we all be as richly blessed as I!

The 50's Are Back!

That is right, the 50's are back!  I say that because this last week, I feel like a mom from the 50's (minus the pearls, skirt, and high heels).  I have decided to cook most everything from scratch.  This, my friends is huge.  I have always had this fear, or mind block when it comes to cooking.  Yes, I can do the basics and a little bit more, but that is all.  Not now.  I can do anything!

My first attempt didn't turn out, but did I give up?  NO!  I was making homemade Wheat Cheese Crackers.  I made them and then realized I had the wrong type of flour.  Oh well.  Try, try, again.  I ended up making a different type of cheese crackers and they tasted really good.  My husband and oldest daughter liked them more than Cheese It's.  Yea, that is success!

The next day I made bread.  Now, I say this casually, but this was no casual occurrence.  I have a fear of breads, rolls, bread sticks.  If it has yeast in it, I fear it.  I have made a few attempts in my married life at some of these items and they always turn out hard and taste like flour.  So I pretty much told myself, I was just not born to cook domestic foods.  Well, I was wrong.  My big problem with cooking is trying to use ingredients that are similar, but not the same.  So when a bread recipe called for bread flour, I used all purpose, thinking it should work because it says it is ALL purpose.  Well, it doesn't.  So I went out and bought the right ingredients.  What a novel idea. 

And as for the yeast, I tested the water on my wrist (like I would a babies bottle) to make sure it wasn't too hot, nor too cold.  When I put the yeast in it didn't do anything.  I thought maybe I didn't have it warm enough, but when I put my finger in, it seemed fine.  So then I gently stirred and something happened.  It came alive! 

By the way, I must mention that my children love to cook with me.  My little guy, who is now 20 months, grunts to be put on the counter, then points to the cupboard where my mixer is, because he wants to help cook.  I love that.  Totally makes me feel like a good mom.

But back at the yeast, when I said it was alive, my girls were so excited.  They couldn't believe it was alive and they were afraid we were going to kill it.  Aren't they sweet.  And tonight at the store, when I put some pasta and flour in the cart they asked if they were alive too?  Gotta love the mind of children.

Well, short story made very long.  I made white bread and it was really good.  I had to let it rise forever, but I was patient and let it do what it needed to do.  My 2nd daughter just loves the homemade bread.  We are almost through it already.  I guess I get to make more soon.

I then went on to make a more complicated waffle, then decided today I wanted to make more waffles to freeze.  It is so nice to have things like that on hand.  So I made a huge stack of wheat waffles and they were really easy and yummy!  We used up most of our syrup, so instead of buying more at the store tonight, I bought maple flavoring to make my own.  My mom used to make syrup when we were little.  I remember thinking it was because we were poor and that might have been the case, but it might have been because she wanted something a little nicer for her family.  I am excited to see how it turns out.

Part of the reason I am cooking up a storm, is to get my family away from everything in a box, to healthy, and quite enjoyable foods.  Also, another reason is, the more I read about food companies the more I realize they do not hold the same values I do.  In fact, some are so far from my values I do not want to support them anymore.  So I have now liberated myself and became self sufficient and sustaining in my ability to cook for my family.  I still have a long way to go, but in one week I have made huge progress.

There have been many benefits to doing this.  One of the 1st and most obvious was that it lifted my spirits.  I was in a major slump almost a depression and knew I had to get out somehow, but didn't know how.  One day I saw a post by a friend of all the good foods she makes and I had this feeling I wanted to be more domestic.  That was really what I felt I wanted.  So I decided to be more domestic and I was so happy.

Another reward, is how much fun, quality time I now have with my kids.  They love to climb up on the counter and cook with me.  One of my favorite things is when the girls grab an egg and put it behind them, then they say "Squawk"  and pull the egg out, like they were hens laying eggs.  I can't help but smile at that.  I feel I am teaching them an important skill as I go and that right there is so good to me.

Then the last reward is the wonderful food and hopefully healthier bodies that come form this.  Even though I started out saying the 50's are back, they really aren't.  This is just the knew me.  I am not looking back any more, I am looking forward.  I know this is something that the Lord has wanted me to learn and embrace and I am happy to finally say, I have.

The Moment That Wasn't

I had been debating whether or not to take my children to see the Angel placed on the new Brigham City Temple.  My oldest daughter told me weeks ago how she wanted to see this happen.  I had thought about how difficult it would be.  I would have to pack a lunch and my little guy would miss his nap that day.  We would have to leave straight from swim lessons and drive to Brigham City.  But I thought, I should do this.  What a wonderful memory for my children. 

Well, that memory would never be.  I woke up that morning to cloud cover, that soon turned into rain.  We went to swim lessons late, because I was trying to pack a lunch, that way we wouldn't spend money at a fast food joint.  The kids swam, then we are on our way.  The rain was coming down and I wondered if this was going to be a miserable trip.  Well, it calmed down by the time we got there.  We found a great parking spot, which I thought meant that we were supposed to be there.  We make our way through the crowed and find a descent spot to watch.

We wait and wait and wait.  We watch the crane go up, then go back down.  We see some men climb in the box and are lifted to the sky.  I thought that must be a good sign, other than the fact that they are blowing a little in the wind.  I certainly wouldn't want to be up in that box being blown by the wind.  But I was glad to be on the ground and the kids seemed to be having a great time finding grasshoppers with all the other kids.  That is, they were happy once that they had finally dried off.  They were pretty cold at first.  But, it was fun to watch them be little kids, fascinated by tiny grasshoppers.

Just at the peek of there grasshopper exploration, the crowed starts to move.  They had just announce that the Angel being placed on the Temple was going to be postponed until the wind calmed down.  I thought, if we just wait a little maybe we will be there for when they place it.  So I let the kids play a little longer, then we went for a little walk closer to the temple to get a good look.  It was beautiful.  I was glad we got to see this wonderful building. 

We then headed home.  I looked back from the freeway and saw now sign of the Angel being placed.  That was at 1:25.  When we were home later, I asked my husband if he knew when they placed it.  He said a friend posted on my comment on Face Book that it had been placed at 1:30.  I thought, no way, we just missed it.  I must admit, I was very mad and frustrated.  I drove all that way and admit was very excited to see this great historical event take place.  And I miss it by 5 minutes.  I missed giving my children a fantastic memory of the Temple.  A memory, that could stick in their minds and help draw them to the Temple when they are older.  I still have hopes that they will be drawn to the Temple despite seeing the Angel placed, but I really thought this might help.

Maybe I take to much stalk in the big moments instead of all the little moments added together.  That is what life is really about.  The small moments.  These are the things that make us who we are.  These large times are great and can definitely help us grow, but they are not the defining moments.  The ones we just can't seem to put our finger on, are the moments that truly count.

My Book of Mormon

I love to read!  My favorite stories tend to be fantasy books like Harry Potter and Fablehaven.  Out of those two series you might not expect to hear that my all time favorite book that I have read over and over again, is The Book of Mormon.  That is right, a religious book is my very favorite.  Some might wonder what is so fascinating about it that you have to read it not only once, but numerous times?  I will tell you.  The reason why I read the Book of Mormon over and over again, is because it was made for me.  The book was actually written for the Laminites (today known as the American Indians) but everything that was meant for them can be applied into my life today.  I consider myself to be a normal women, married, with 3 children and running around doing all the things that a wife and mother would do.  With all that is required from me and all the struggles that seem to be around us, I have questions and concerns and problems that occur, just like everyone else.  So I turn to the Lord in prayer and ask my questions or tell him my concerns and problems. And you know how he answers me?  Through the Book of Mormon.  I will pray or even just be thinking on something and a few days later I am reading in the Book of Mormon and their is my answer.  It comes so strongly and plainly I can't believe my name isn't right there in the text.  I not only know that my Father in Heaven hears and answer prayers, I know that he does it through a true book of scripture, the Book of Mormon.  There are many other reasons I love this book, like the amazing stories of good verses evil, love, betrayal, freedom, loss.  The historical aspect alone of placing events in America with events in the old world is incredible.  But those things pale in comparison with the realization that this book was written for me just as it was written for you.

Motherhood

The role of "Mother's" have been on my mind for the last week or so.  The first reason is due to the fact that some of my friends and I have been discussing how to help the rising generation become strong mothers, and second, because of Mother's Day that was yesterday.

At church yesterday the Relief Society President gave a wonderfully funny lesson on Mother's.  When she started she asked the question, how many of you women enjoy Mother's Day?  My hand shot strait up in the air without hesitation and a few other women shyly raised theirs as well.  Only five women out of forty or so women enjoy Mother's Day.  I understand why, that is not the question in my mind, the question I present is, are you a women who would raise her hand with those five women or do you dread the day along with the forty?  And to follow up that question, what are you going to do to make sure your hand is raised with those five women next year?

I am going to list a few reasons why some women hate Mother's Day and then I will list some reason's why I love Mother's Day.

I have discussed this with many women and most of the answers are the same, they say they don't enjoy the day because what we discuss is the perfect women who has her hair done beautifully after exercising at 5 in the morning and she has already baked several loafs of bread for the sick neighbor, made breakfast, done a load of laundry, there are no dishes in her sink,  and is happily taking the children to school.  As a society we idealize these women who do not exist.  That is the fact of the matter, but it does not have to remain so.

The other main reason why women do not enjoy Mother's Day is because some women are not mothers.  To those women, I truly feel for you.  I can only imagine how difficult it must be to celebrate something you may never in this life take part in.  So I can see how Mother's Day can be very depressing for you.  But I hope that you to can find a way to enjoy this day in the future!

Now onto the reasons why I love Mother's Day.  I love Mother's Day for many reasons and here they are.  I love first, the way my husband makes it a very special day for me.  He does so much to make me feel like the best wife, mother, and friend.  Maybe that shouldn't be first, but it is and I am OK with that. 

Second, I love to look at my children and hold them and realize that God has blessed me with three beautiful, healthy children who I love dearly.  In these quite times I want to be more than I am for their sakes.  I reflect in on myself and find the will and strength to push harder than I am, so that these little ones can have what should be theirs. 

Third, I get to praise my Grandma, my husband's Grandmother, my Mom and my Mother in-law for the wonderful women they are.  I can promise you that not one of them is perfect, but I know that someday they will become so.  An older man in my ward stated it so sweetly, he said "Once my mother passed away, she became perfect in my eyes."  I love these women dearly and I know that love will only deepen with time. 

The fourth reason I love this day, is because we get to look at strengths of women around us and throughout time.  I enjoy looking at what these women have accomplished even though their lives are and were filled with struggles.  Those are inspiring moments.

Some things I did to get ready for Mother's Day was on Saturday I cleaned my house so that when I woke up on Sunday I wouldn't be overwhelmed with mess.  This prevented me from saying I was a horrible mom, that can't even keep her house clean. 

Another thing I did, was when my husband called from the store to say he would be late because he was picking up a Mother's Day present for me, I asked him if he needed an idea because I had one for him.  He then asked what it was and I received that along with the present he had already gotten for me.  I am not saying that you should do this to get multiple gifts, but to make sure you are getting something you really want. 

One more thing I did to help my Mother's Day be more special was to buy the presents for our Mom's and Grandma's.  I took my daughter's with me and we took a long time picking out just the right thing for them.  This made it exciting for us to watch as they opened their gifts. 

The last thing I did to help get me in the right spirit of the day was to work on my thought process of Motherhood.  I was introduced to a challange of Studio 5's.  I admit I did not do every days challange, but I did do some and what I noticed was I was happier as a mother because of it.  I enjoyed looking at different mom's and realizing their strengths and throwing out their weaknesses, while realizing they did posses them.  I also liked practicing how I would tell someone my career.  I am a mother!  I thought about saying it more elaborately, but I liked the simplistic approach, said with pride.

Women who are not physical mothers, just remember that you're influence plays a very important roll.  To the children you are their leaders, teachers, friends, coaches, energy, confidant, and so much more that their mother's can not be.  I believe that your strengths are so full for a purpose.  I am amazed at those single or childless woman's talents that have been refined and expanded.  Those talents have been given for a purpose and what better purpose than to influence the younger generation.

I truly believe that if we prepare ourselves for this day we can enjoy it fully.  We know we must have Christ like love for others, but we tend to forget that we must also have Christ like love for ourselves.  We need to look at ourselves through heavens eyes.  Then we would see the magnificent women that we are!

The World Around Me

There is something in the air.  I don't know what it is, but change is coming.  It is like the old women down the street that complains of her hands hurting when a storm is rolling in.  That is how I feel, but my hands are not hurting.  I feel uneasy inside, but excited at the same time.  I get excited for change!  It is funny to look back on, but when I hear that big things are about to happen, I can't help but smile.  Then when we are in the heart of the change I start gripping and complaining.  Why do I go from so excited to, "I am so miserable, why am I being put through this"?  I feel some of that now.  I feel nervous and excited all at the same time and I am afraid that in a few months I will be complaining about how unhappy I am. 

I don't want to complain, I want to be a happy person.  I want to be one of the women out there who you look at and they are always smiling.  I hate wrinkles on my face, but if I must have them, let them be because I am a smiley person.  I think overall, I am a happy person, but sometimes when I am driving down the street and I go to smile at someone who is looking at me, it seems so forced and I am not sure I really accomplished my task.  What happened to me?  I used to smile at everyone without fail.  Do you think that is what happens to you when you become an adult or just a mom?  I think being a mom is fun calling in life, but definitely has it hard times, so I could see that making it difficult to smile.  Or maybe it is because I am tired and it takes energy to move your face.  They say that it takes more muscles in you face to frown than it does to smile.  But lets just ask this little question, what if I am not frowning, I am just blank?  How many muscles does that take?  Ha!  Stumped ya did I?

I realize that the place I feel most happy and comfortable is at church.  I am LDS.  That is I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Some refer to us as the Mormons.  I am very active and I would even go as far to say pro-active in my church.  I love to be involved almost to a fault.  I get worn out with all I end up doing.  But it is so rewarding at the same time.  Right now, I do Cub Scouts which is really fun and frustrating at the same time(because they are so active).  I have a good group of 9 year old boys and it is great to teach them basic, fun skills of life.  The other things I do at church are: I sub primary almost every week, I sing in the Choir, and I Visit Teach (which I love). 

With all these things that I am involved in I have to stop and look at myself every so often to make sure my priorities are strait.  Some may think that I give to much to the church, some may say I don't give enough.  Some may say I am just not putting my time into the right things at all.  But I can tell you I know that what I am doing is right.  I have received a testimony of my works.  I know that my God is first, then my wonderful family, then next is my church.  I put my family before my church and I am careful that is how it all plays out. My husband and I work very hard so that our children are always with one of us and if I have to go places I try to have it when they are at school and I take the younger kids or when they are asleep.  My husband and I work very well together.  I love him so much!

As for my earlier topic of change.  I do know of some change that may be coming into my life and others I do not know of.  But it really doesn't matter what will be headed my way, because I will hold my head high and trust in my Lord.  Through him all things will be accomplished!

Cleaning

I need another day like today.  Wow, what productivity!  I got kids off to school, went to my friends house and exercised (Though my baby was holding on to me half the time, so it could have been better), put baby down for a nap, then finished reading my book, did a load of dishes, did some laundry, baby woke up, picked up kids from school, helped with homework, baby took a second nap, kids went to friends house, cleaned piles of stuff, and now am making dinner.  I guess if I want to get anything done, I just have to have no one home but me. 

Cub Scouts

I am a Cub Scout leader.  What a fun, yet exhausting calling.  I think the boys are great and keep me young, but then at that same moment I feel so old and crotchety.  Today we had the boys all together, so we had about 10 boys (it seemed like so many more) putting together an invitation for Blue and Gold banquet.  That is the night we get to highlight all the boys do.  Well, putting together that little craft about did all us leaders in.  So just a hint, if you work with boys, the best activity is one were they can run around.

Welcome to My Little Pla.net

Here I am.  The women so unsure of herself around the technical world, actually stepping foot into the blogging community.  What got me here, was 1st, my husband and 2nd, the fact that I wanted to tell the world my story.  I am not a person who will be seen on the front pages or in the local news, but I am someone worth knowing.

My little planet consists of my wonderful husband and my three adorable children and our lazy dog.  That is really it.  I could say that there is a messy house, a beautiful (yet un-kept yard), pictures, trinkets, cars, and toys, but I would be lying when I say they are apart of my world.  My family is my world and everything else revolves around it.

Though as I read what I just wrote, I wonder if I am lying to myself, because sometimes I feel like those things that should be revolving around my world are hurtling from the sky in a blaze of fire to destroy my world.  But I am a wannabe super women and am attempting to grab those asteroids known as toys, laundry, dishes and more and launch them back into orbit where they belong.

This is my story, this is the plot, time to see if I succeed in being the heroin of My Little Pla.net.