terms of endearment-enragement

most important article i've read

2009-08-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Moral Agency
By Elder D. Todd Christofferson Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Ensign, Jun 2009, 46–53 From a devotional address delivered January 31, 2006, at Brigham Young University

Testing as Part of the Essential Experience
A consistent effort will educate and refine our desires so that in time our desires will become aligned with the Father’s. But we should expect to be tested. The gift of agency is intended to give us experience. We “taste the bitter, that [we] may know to prize the good” (Moses 6:55). And Jesus, “though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).
Joseph Smith was told to expect some severe opposition despite making good choices. Said the Lord, “Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7). We are in a mortal experience because we cannot become as God without that experience. We must prove to Him and to ourselves that we can consistently make the right choices and then stick to those choices, come what may.
Some think that they should be spared from any adversity if they keep God’s commandments, but it is “in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10; 1 Nephi 20:10) that we are chosen. The Lord’s promise is not to spare us the conflict but to preserve and console us in our afflictions and to consecrate them for our gain (see 2 Nephi 2:2; 4:19–26; Jacob 3:1).
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Exercising agency in a setting that sometimes includes opposition and hardship is what makes life more than a simple multiple-choice test. God is interested in what we are becoming as a result of our choices. He is not satisfied if our exercise of moral agency is simply a robotic effort at keeping some rules. Our Savior wants us to become something, not just do some things.5 ****He is endeavoring to make us independently strong—more able to act for ourselves than perhaps those of any prior generation. We must be righteous, even when He withdraws His Spirit, or, as President Brigham Young said, even “in the dark.”6
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Using our agency to choose God’s will, and not slackening even when the going gets hard, will not make us God’s puppet; it will make us like Him. God gave us agency, and Jesus showed us how to use it so that we could eventually learn what They know, do what They do, and become what They are.
Remember that with His gift of moral agency, our Heavenly Father has graciously provided us help to exercise that agency in a way that will yield precious, positive fruit in our life here and hereafter. Among other resources, we have the scriptures that contain the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, mentors and parents who love us, the voice of prophets and apostles living among us, the covenants and ordinances of the priesthood and the temple, the gift of the Holy Ghost, prayer, and the Church. May we draw upon these resources constantly to guide our choices, always doing those things that please God.

full article
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=aed5ceb47f381210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

we have had a sucky year. i've never had so many trials in my life - combined, as we have had this year. i am exhausted and weary. every time i nurture myself back up to functionality something knocks my feet out from under me. i've gone through 'keep a smile on, it'll work out', then may 10 came, it was my breaking point. i cried a primal cry, full bodied cry, got a blessing that i hated because it didn't help me with our problems. i had no more optimism, just, nothing. then came anger, internal spite, super anger, sadness, despondency, all the while more crap is piled on. the worst part, the part that made me not care was i felt spiritually so alone. i pictured myself like tom hanks in castaway, floating on the ocean alone. where was the spirit to comfort me, guide me, just help me get through this time of trial? i still had a testimony of the church, it just didn't seem to work for me anymore. every 'primary' solution was frustrating becuase i had tried to rely on them, pray, study scriptures, temple, service, i had done them and they weren't helping. 'what's wrong with me'? i know it's me because it has worked in the past, my life was solid, knowing if i did what god asked me to do, we would be happy, even if it was hard. but there was no god telling me what i should/could/needed to do. what did i do to be a castaway.

as i floated along sunday morning, june 28, i read the june ensign. i read elder christoffersons talk. i liked the beginning, skimmed the middle, and found my answer in the end. as soon as i read that paragraph the empty ocean closed in on me and i felt the spirit so strong i knew this was for me. but i didn't understand it and i still don't quite get "withdraw". that was not our deal. you tell me, i do, that was our deal. the next three days were a whirl of study. i couldn't even tell matthew or anyone what i found becuase i couldn't say it outloud, it was too huge, at least i had something. i finally found something that made sense, spoke to me. wondering why we would need this "withdraw" it was impressed on my mind by the spirit, it's part of teaching, just like i was trying to teach jj to swim. he could stay on the steps and be happy, but never learn to swim, or be safe if i wasn't right there, because he didn't have the skills. i finally talked him in to letting me hold him around the pool. he hated it and wrapped himself around me. i had to peel him off me to show him he could stand where we were and still have his head above water. we could walk further from the wall and he could stand on tip-toes and still have his head above water. he could move around a lot more then he thought. the next time we went to the pool he could swim back and forth from the wall to me, the next time he was diving for rings, then next time he was swimming around the shallow and not so shallow, the next time, i didn't have to be next to him, i could watch him from the side to make sure he was okay, but i could "withdraw" and let him practice his new skill.

just like jj didn't want me to withdraw, i don't want him to withdraw. it's not my choice. have i don't something wrong that he would withdraw, leaving me at such a fragile time?

here's the big question. what does this mean, how do i implement this new spirituality into my life, and why is this the first time i'm "hearing" this?

this should probably be only in my journal but more people need to hear about this. with all the struggles and trials people are having they need to know.

w.i.l.u. part 2

2009-05-31T23:13:00.001-07:00

juju reunion desserts

jer quoting the office and wrestling with the boys and driving more to see us
pretties
cuties getting pretties am lu kenz
am
green

fairy ring? don't judge me

blooming lilac/speara

paragliders in lehi

why i like utah

2009-05-31T22:59:00.000-07:00

pioneer ancestory -fry/toomer

green hills
gpa mooses childhood home (J Scott Williams)
Williams & Sons stores
i miss you!

b am j ju

b j am lulu k ju

kenz lulu
morgan - gma/pa painted the 'm' on occation

2009-05-31T22:25:00.000-07:00

newest wild creatures at byu bean

if the kids see YOU touch that then will probably...
touch it too - naughty boys
j thought that was the funniest bird ever
j, lulu, ju - cute 3 pack

ju with butterflies making a butterfly

mi & moosey

yeah, it's a liger - what?

2009-05-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

i heart filoli for more pics then most can endure see TOWER OF P(hl)OWER<---- (sigh) my bestest day in ages

2009-05-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

cutie ju
and cutie j at field day

2009-05-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

fresh from the garden

we only get a few a day of the blue's, if they don't get et i put them in the freezer and save 15 or so for a blueberry feast!

2009-05-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

You are so beautiful

To me

Can't you see

You're everything I hoped for

You're everything I need

You are so beautiful

To me

if you need me to be somewhere at a specific date and time,

come over and put a sticky note on the wall under my calendar,

write on my hand in sharpie,

or call 30 min. before you need me,

june is staying clean and naked for sanity sake

9 Ways To Sleep Better Instantly

2009-05-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

i'm always looking for tips on making sleep 'happen' besides reading to the twins at 4 in the afternoon ('mom if you don't wake up i'm going outside to play')

cause - My sleep thief: Hyperactive brain - can't settle the mind down and get to dreamland

solution - Meditate or pray for 10 minutes. Several studies show that it can help reduce anxiety, release negative thinking, and improve sleep. Sit quietly in a comfortable position and repeat a phrase you find relaxing, such as Keep letting go.

check - i love that this is a valid solution

if i can make it thru the day without a nap i should be nigh-nigh by nine tonight - thanks jer for all the late-nite laughs - i miss them!

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100237646&page=1

A hacked blog posting I will call “Wild Things”

2009-04-19T00:24:00.000-07:00

Pssss, keep this on the down low, I just hacked into my wife’s blog and I’m posting this random blog. (I didn’t really hack into it but that sounds better then she left it open…).

By the way I’m the “jerk” mentioned a few post back that had a song sung about him to the tune of the Brady Bunch, how insulting is that? In defense of myself the table I drilled into was 15 (ish) years old (to long to do the math on my hands) and was made out of particle board, its not like it was sold oak or something. What was I suppose to do, she wanted something done and I did it the best was I saw practical, what should I have used a few cans of pork and beans to hold it down? Anyways after Christmas when I took it off all I did was rub off some of the big splinters that where sticking up and it looked liked everything else in our house. For those of you who don’t know we opted for the disposable house until the kids move out.

By the way I can do a song about her and her blogs sung to the tune of the Brady Bunch too.

Here’s a story of a blogger named Mary who was busy with 8 blogs of her own. All of the where full of crap like the other. Until one day when this blogger…

Anyway, driving back and forth on Vasco road everyday I see wild flowers and had been wanting to take pictures of them but never seemed find the right time to suddenly pull over and find a convenient place to park on Vasco. So on Saturday Steph and AM had a little thing to go to in the morning so I took to rest of the kids, with a promise of a Slurpee at the end, and went on a two hour circle of the outskirts of Brentwood taking pictures of mostly wild flowers. It was a fun time had by all.

All pictures where take with my BBS9530 CP WAF the lens was SCBU. I find it I little humors when people mention what camera they used to take the picture with on post.

Don’t bother looking up what kind of camera it was (Black Berry Storm 9530 9530 CameraPhone With Auto Focus the lens was Spit Cleaned Before Using).

Below are few of the better pictures, hope you enjoy them, I know Steph will.

PS can this count as something, Anniversary, Birthday, Valentines Day, Saint Patrick’s Day… anything?

Grrrrrr!

2009-04-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

ya know that game kids play - 'what's grosser then gross'? i feel like i play that game by myself everyday. example...
**someone washes chocolate pudding off their hands... the gross part - they leave a big smudge of pudding on the handle, except nobody else knows it's only chocolate pudding, they think it's pooh
**someone leaves a piece of dog food on the sink, yes, yes! it looks like pooh too
**the 'boys bathroom'. the girls would rather wait infinitely then go in the boys bathroom. i try to flush the toilet at least once a day, because i know that is hard for them to remember to push the shiny knob thingy
**would someone like to spill lemonade in the bathroom next?

**all names have been removed to protect the yuckiest people and to use as leverage in the future

ketchup and relish ('catch up' that is)

2009-02-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

we had a lovely christmas. the kids all got a uncle jer date - all by themselves! b went to boomers, am went ice skating, j and ju each got a movie!

my favorite gift i gave was to grammy. she got silhouettes of the kids.

FHE 'funny home evening'

2009-02-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

you might not realize but this kid (j) is wearing the whole armor of God! he is excited because:

1)he gets to wear crazy stuff;

2)he doesn't have to answer a lot of questions, yet

3)he is not in trouble like... this kid (ju) who is busted and on the stairs for dancing around and bouncing on the couch when you're supposed to be listening to this guy...

who is giving the lesson, and asking questions of...am, and...

b and...
me, oops, i answered too many and almost had to sit on the stairs too!

time for rootbeer or orange floats (maybe that's why i rushing a pinch)

don't break my face, my achy breaky face

2009-02-02T22:47:00.001-08:00

snow(ice)ball+scouts=ouch!

'i still love scouts'
yes, his teeth DID look nice and straight. huge thanks to dr. yuen. he and his wife came straight from a bike ride and took good care of b. i was going to take a pic of his white knuckles holding the dentist chair but i didn't want b to move while dds was pushing the tooth back up in place. there was a lot of pressure (brian regan). good news, the tooth is not broken. now he has a 'crutch' gluing his knocked tooth to the other not knocked teeth. 3 weeks and we see if the tooth is still alive...

sleeping under the tree

2008-12-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

juju has been talking about sleeping under the christmas tree and catching santa for weeks. am talked her down a few times and we finally decided christmas eve, eve would be the best night if they still wanted santa to come.

here they are, all snuggled in.

their only dissapointment, they thought they would get to sleep under the tree - literally

jj
juju and am

who's too cool for sleeping under the tree? b

(guess he really does need another bookcase)

2008-12-23T21:58:00.000-08:00

LAMPOONS CHRISTMAS VACATION RV

GRISWOLD COUSIN'S MUST BE VISITING

spotted where else? walmart parking lot

2008-12-20T08:03:00.000-08:00

mimi begged for years to get her ears pierce. we finally said, 'don't ask again until you're 8'. when 8 came we said, 'ask again when you're 10'. we finally relented and let her get earrings for her 10th bday - that was in july. the background of the picture is clearly christmasy, no clair's didn't have a christmas in july sale, mimi had to wait (5 months) until soccer season finished. why did it take so long to allow the lobe adornment? because i wanted her to be old enough to take care of them herself (check), and without reminders (not so checked)

cute pick, the blue middle matches her eyes

brotherly support? for the first 5 minutes - yes, the rest of the time - no! good thing there was a friendly bird in the pet store next door

m & m

2008-12-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

j - igloo w/dog and tree

ju - barn
b - church/school
b

am (she made a skate park but didn't get it finished) and ju -

jj - yummy!

juju

grammy brought the funnest activity for the kids while thanksgiving dinner was cooking. 'ice houses', or sugar cube houses. they had so much fun sticking them together with frosting - sampling along the way to make sure the cubes were consistently sweet. when they started picking at them jack frost came and took them away ; )

sung to the brady bunch theme

2008-12-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

here's a story, of a crazy family,

who was trying to set up Christmas stuff,

all of them had random hair, (that's insignificant),

the youngest one in tears.

dadood-do-do

here's a story, of a crazy mommy,

who was putting the breakable village up,

all the kids thought that they could touch it,

even though mommy yelled, "PLEASE DON'T"!

dadood-do-do

so one day when the mommy asked the daddy,

will you please make this wood more secure?

daddy left and got his tools,

and drilled it right to the table top,

THE TABLE TOP???, THE TABLE TOP!!!

and that's way the wood became more secure!

dadood-do-do

**and mommy didn't even freak out (hear that Santa?!?)

B Bday - 12 already!!

2008-11-30T23:37:00.000-08:00

I am usually so excited for the next stage in life that I hardly have time to lament the time gone by, but does it really have to happen so fast?

B's bday is 11-14, he just turned 12. Too fast, too fast, I keep say, like it's a roller coaster and I need to get off and go play on the spinny bugs until I get brave enough to go back.

Birthday time was fun and went on as usual. It wasn't until I saw B in Young Mens, ready to receive the Aaronic Priesthood that it really hit me! Matthew gave him a blessing and ordained him a Deacon, all the YM leaders, Bishopric and other Young Men, all said "Amen" and the same time and it felt like my chair hopped off the ground. When B got to pass the Sacrament the next week he looked like a young man and and took his job very seriously. This week he even got to pass to a member of the presiding bishopric. It made me cry thinking of the new and humbling young man he has become. xoxoxo

Cutest Napoleon!!

2008-11-30T22:56:00.000-08:00

Sally was Napoleon Bonaparte for her 5th grade program about Lewis and Clark. The kids did a great job! Am even got to sing a solo!! Practice and more practice, in front of the mirror, family, her class, even in the car; it all paid off as she finally got to sing in front of all the parents and kids. We still had a Patriot coat I made for B's class last year. We fixed it up and put some fringy stuff on, she was like a bride - something borrowed, something blue, something old, something new! As she marched out and sang I couldn't help but sing along. It was amazing to watch her sing and do great!

TIME ~ SAND THRU MY FINGERS

2008-11-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

For Oct break we went to Pismo and San Simeon. At night the kids and M liked to play hide and seek on the dunes. I liked to sit in one place, watch them, and fret that someone would get lost in the dark. As I sat I sifted the sand with my fingers. **insert epiphany** A big handful of sand only lasts a few seconds. Try as i may to hold on to it time keeps slips right on by! Thus the reason it took 5 tries to get my add/password right!

I think November should be a required rest month. We start school at the end of July, work, work, work, til we can play furing October break, (mush! mush!) to Halloween... that's when I run out of gas. No time for resting during December, so on ward. This means tonight is my last justified slack night.

magical maui 10-07

2008-09-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

these are some of my favorite pics of the kids last year in maui. we were so lucky to go 2 years in a row, the 2nd year jer even came.
juju

jj

sally

b

i sometimes stand in my kitchen with my arms out, pretending to float in the ocean. i have to keep my relaxing skills sharp, just in case...

toof fairy

2008-09-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

that was the enragement, now for endearment...

juju lost (i pulled) her 1st tooth a few weeks ago. she really wears her heart of her sleeve so i knew it would be quite a show. the part that surprised me the most was how am stepped up and took her thru all the tooth fairy etiquete.

tooth fairy 101 by am (she is semi-pro considering she lost a tooth last year on halloween - while she was dressed as the tooth fairy!!)

am rightfully lowered ju's expectations that the fairy would visit that very night since in am's experience it has taken 1 night to several weeks for her to show up- always a good story for the delay

am help ju write a note to the fairy because they will answer in teeny tiny sparkly writing

get tooth clean for maximum $$

wrap tooth in several layers of tissue

5. put under pillow and go to sleep quick, you don't want to risk getting passed over

j is watching in the wings, 'savy' b is rolling his eyes (he has 'savy' since he was at least 5- funny how one can be 'on to you' before you know it and the next one can believe with all their heart) as they prosed questions for the winged one and placed said tooth in just the right spot.

juju got lucky, t.f. snuck in that same night and left 'golden coins and a note'!

thanks to am for running the show - you're a sweetheart!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2008-09-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

why is it that between 2-5pm i can't stay awake, but 12:31am finds me wide awake and pining to be sleepy?

today i made the mistake of starting j's homework by reading - laying on the floor. we made it thru several pages, booklets and sight words without catching any winks. it was the fluency practice that got me. i start reading random words, pausing too long and my kids automatically assume i am falling asleep - they right 99.9% of the time - they used to get mad and shake me awake, now they just wait or go play. i think it is no coincidence that this all started about 6 years, 7 months and 8 days ago...

ju got my full attention because it's difficult to sleep thru a 1st grader crying and pounding her fist because she wants to play outside instead of read, we all have dreams sweetie!

ain't love the sweetest thing

2008-09-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

matthew and i took the bigs to a beautiful wedding and reception last night. j/ju were invited but were nixed by me because, well, they would have been terribly terrible and we wanted to enjoy the wedding.

i met dany about 15 years ago from her sister anitra. anitra and i were fast friends when we worked at CIIC (as in cee-double i-cee). low pay-boo, lots of work-boo, walking all day-boo, free cake once a month-yea, hilarious friend-double yea!!

anitra was danyelle's maid of honor and it was so fun seeing her dressed to the nines! of course dany and jason looked spectacular. she was such an elegant bride and he, so handsome and sweet.

i thought the ceremony was beautiful with perfect marriage advice. food-yum, cake-double yum, dancing (me and sally of course)-boogie-licious. the part i envy - they are in maui right now...

am took the picture of jason taking off the garter. matthew and i laughed that we would need to edit her pics and chat about that later. she took good pics. the only one with all of us didn't come thru - disappointed.

where were the littles? getting pampered at grammies. juju said, i love grammies house, she just loves getting everything for us. (that little ju is why she is exhausted by the time you leave ; )

Juju + door to door selling = pain

2008-08-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

essay on why juju is banned from going door to door with b trying to sell seeds.

i'm so silly, i thought ju bringing her box of stuff - literally junk, (a piece of yarn she had been playing with, 3 rubber bands, a pencil, small pad of paper, several pages of copy paper, little toys, jacked up slinky), would be cute. she just wanted to be like her big brother and make some money.

b could not have been more embarrassed. when she tried to shimmy in front of him at the first door he was mortified. he kept elbowing her to get back, he is selling flower seeds so he can go to science camp after all!!

i still thought it was funny that she would stand next to b with her shoe box open, displaying her wares - no takers, funny that was...

this is where the fun begins - if you are not, ju, b or me. bottom of our 2nd street; i put a seed pod from a lantern tree (she can sell people the seeds from their own front yards!) in her box; one house later - shrieks, screams, throwing of the box; not too surprising, she could be board already, she does tend to wear her heart on her sleeve. b kindly went back for the box, i opened it to see a dozen red bugs scurrying around. too bad it's not trash day, i would pitch the entire thing, that would be too easy. i take all the treasures out, dump the 'bloody, red, bitting, poisonous, bugs' (ju's new name for them) out and give the box back.

because she is so creeped out she, takes forever walking, because she has to investigate each doorway for new frightening insects.

as soon as she forgot about the bugs, she found new confidence to interact with people at the doorstep - much to the dismay of her older brother!

top three embarrassing instances : crawling around 'michami's' house like a freakin' cat. telling a girl she had dirty knees (they just needed a little lotion). and plugging her nose and making yucky faces because she didn't like the smell from someones house - while b was still talking to them!

after writing all that i have just realized this might be the cosmos at work... could it be that b is getting a taste of his own medicine - the pleas to "stop, don't, quit and you're making me crazy!" falling on deaf ears. i think i just saw a circle complete itself.

all in all, ju is a crazy character, there's never a dull moment. at least we had a good laugh.

maybe we'll sell lotion and air freshener next time.

never go in against a sicilian when death is on the line!

2008-08-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

monopoly - star wars special addition - needham style.

because monopoly monopolizes entirely too many hours to play out on a sunday night i was reluctant to give in to b. but after 10 minutes of begging i finally agreed to play.

conditions-

*b sets up, in my 'office' (ha! most people refer to it as a closet)

*no youngers - too much knocking stuff over, stepping on, jumping over and kicking the game board

*all $$ goes into free parking, no mortgaging - takes too much time

*no bounty hunter fee - what does he do anyway?!?

*no limit on cities - pay the fee, you get a city

*keep mom interested

*no hogging lucky chilla $ - (we usually play in the playroom where sweet pea - the chinchilla lives - when we let her out she chews on the bills- that makes them lucky)

i won the 1st huge free parking pot. that's called cloud 9. by the time b won the next f.p. pile i was low on cash. he's a smart 11year old. he's played enough times with me to know i will start bleeding cash just to get the game over with (no matthew, i don't 'try' to bleed $ in real life). that's when the fun begins. as a sweet son he kicks in 'tips' for his payments, gives 'coupons' for rentals and gives 'bonus' $'s for a good roll. better even, he likes to buy me houses! i just can't say no. i hope he keeps this up when he is an adult!

the game got really fun when our money evened out, board was loaded with cities, we each owned at least 3 settlements in a row, decked out with cities. "9, 10, 11, dead" b said as be landed on my senate (last place before go). go to jail was a sweet treat, if i meant missing our death allies.

even with all our laughing and cheering the youngers never snooped us out. the last roll before bedtime - steph roll's the dice, six jumps, oh yeah! free parking serious jackpot!!

saved me from b's 'death ally'

the moral of the story... make my kids want to play with me so badly, they'll let me win just for fun. thanks b for a really fun sunday night xoxo!

*new rule for next game -1st to yell 'tracker beam' when you land on go to jail or visiting - take the top bill off the parking pile

cutest couple on the beach

2008-08-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

last month we went to muir beach with the church ladies. we had fun in the sun, ate junk food, played in the waves, even saved a huge salmon (really!). even after the all the fun we had my favorite part of the day was this couple slipping into the surf for some relief from the heat.

i wanna hold your hand

i felt funny taking pictures of strangers, hoping they would oblige me if they knew how sweet and inspirational i thought they were.

they are both in their 'golden years' and were getting knocked around by the waves - but how good is life when you have someone to hold onto <3

sally's head and the salmon in the 'river'.

the river didn't meet the sea like this slippery guy thought it probably should. the kids went into "animal resuce 991" (as ju would say - hope she never has to be the one calling for help). the girls (and 2 new friends) scooped the fish into a towel and zoomed, lights flashing, running all the red lights, to the pond, where it hopped into the water
j was collecting seaweed, thought we would take it home - sorry fella, it's mommy seaweed will miss it too much. what? yes, of course seaweed has a mommy

b is a challenge to get into the camera frame, i have to sneak up and click when he is not looking (making mud balls for a mud ball fight). ju will not be left out of any fun, even if it means she must get hurt and/or cry (i tried to warn her)

'beach babies' or 'shark bait'

2008-08-16T21:29:00.001-07:00

Eliza R. Snow recorded: “[Joseph Smith] said, if God has appointed him, and chosen him as an instrument to lead the Church, why not let him lead it through? Why stand in the way when he is appointed to do a thing? Who knows the mind of God? Does He not reveal things differently from what we expect? [The Prophet] remarked that he was continually rising, although he had everything bearing him down, standing in his way, and opposing; notwithstanding all this opposition, he always comes out right in the end. …

“Chapter 16: Revelation and the Living Prophet,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),192–205

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=da135f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=4c9720596a845110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0 ** bold added by Stephanie**

this quote struck me because i am often surprised at the way God puts a lesson in my lap. Not realizing beforehand that any situation can be meant to be a moment of growth. after lesson learned i am always surprised that i didn't recognize the process i was going through. at least i can appreciate later.

PHELPS PHAN

2008-08-16T09:51:00.001-07:00

4X4

2008-08-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

4 pairs of capri's

4 shorts

3 shirts (if i had realized i was on a 4 roll i would have gotten another shirt)

$57

i<3clearance

2008-08-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

i want a rain cloud with a sliver lining hanging in my house

Cumulus

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.trucdesign.com/

2008-08-11T00:17:00.000-07:00

craigs list

free

now i am sad my kids are back at school

CASH

2008-08-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

the twins have learned a new and exciting aspect of 1st grade - coyote cash! they earn it when they are caught being good. j got his first taste when he cleaned up his table (lunch i think) and got C.C. from Mr. Jones, the principal! Ju earned her first payment for being "reverent" or quiet as they call it at school. (i love that she used the church/home word!) maybe i should start 'needham nickels' or something to them motivated!

a day in the life of a 'stay at home mom'

2008-07-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

i'm so excited for this school year! all the kids are in school for a full day, they have great teachers and they are pretty happy about it too (except when j cries)

most of the sahm's i know have the same problem, we're never really home. duties call, like today; make decodable books for 1st grade 8:15-11:45, shop for school supplies 12 noon-2:07, pick up twins 2:15, pick up am 2:45, orthodontist 3:10-3:57, swim team (4)4:30-5:45, dinner at home!!- thank you matthew, 11yr scouts/temple recommend interview 7-8.
good thing the littles are tired and went to bed before 9, without a million trips for drinks, hugs, etc.

***i tried to find a picture of a mom parallel parking during the busiest time of morning drop off, then settling on one back tire up on the curb, laughing so hard because that's the best she could do after 8 tries, with a word bubble telling her kids they should be SO thankful their dad is going to teach them how to parallel park! couldn't find anything like that****

b + mom date

2008-07-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

my annual mother's day present is a 'date' with each of my 4 children ***on their own***!! this is the 3rd year. it's the best time to reconnect with each person and have a big day we can savor together.

this was such a fun mommy date with b. we went to santa clara mission, winchester mystery house and a book store. it's so nice and easy to have 1/4 of my kids on an outing. we have fun and don't have to compromise (the source of most battles).

we drove to san jose, chatting on the way, and made an impromptu stop at santa clara mission. b studied missions in 4th grade and we have talked about visiting some in the area, so when we saw the sign and there was no one else to complain, we did it. i have mucho photos of the church and gardens (g-posted on phlower). being the squirrel that he is, b loved watching the trees squirrels run around and spying on the non-human-fearing critters.

i love that b and am are interested in architecture, history and even trying to understand other religions.

super old tree

crazy house
b choose this as a souvenir. "b & mol 7-22-08' supposed to be "b & mom..." just makes it funnier!

we didn't want to get stuck in traffic so we went to a local book store. b is obsessed with reading and found 3 star wars books 'that he never thought he'd find'! (still trying to find him another bookshelf!)

jonas 'brow'thers

2008-07-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

am turned the big 10 yesterday. grammy got her and a friend tickets to see the jonas brothers, last night, on her birthday, eeeeeekkkkkkk! the month leading up to the 17th was full of anticipation, waiting for the mail, putting the tickets somewhere 'safe and mom will remember', making a poster with a ton of glitter glue (which we couldn't even take into the concert). but the day, oh the day, yes, the day of the birthday/concert was one of giggles and excitement!!!

signing the tour bus, am & jess, look me in the eye(brow)

grammy got am a new jonas bro shirt (notice a pattern of spoiling here ; )), and pin. we picked up jessica and alauna, ate yummy chinese food. got to the concord pavilion, got great parking, a great spot on the lawn, a great shirt and waited... a seriously long time, somehow it passed quickly, even with the texted commands to 'scream if you love nick <3'

the camp rock girl was fine, i was happy to sit and watch their excitement. but when k, j, & n danced their way onto the stage i had to boogie down a bit too.

the funny part to me (and other moms) is how staged the boys are. the cheesy smile into the camera - then looking away to cutely - to the immense joy of the girls, it was so promo!! when the youngest finished his special diabetes sucks song on the piano he looked into the crowd for ages, just gazing to the swooning girls and laughing moms.

my biggest issue of the concert was the eye brow factor. there are some honkin' brows on j! did his mom contract that no one could tweeze those suckers? what do they look like on their down time? i blame this e.d. (eyebrow distraction) on makenzie. i don't think i've ever cared about eyebrows until she came along.

somehow thru the night, with the cheesy smirks into the camera he won me over! my ears are still ringing - not from the music, but from every girl screaming as loud and long as possible.

the ranch

2008-07-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

summer vaca is the best time for sally to visit the barn. grammy takes her in the morning and/or evening. today is a very special day - she got a new english hunter undersaddle for her birthday! so special a day that even i made my way out there.

j & ju LOVE the barn, not just for the horses but for the dirt! they get filthy and love it. before grammy moved out here i took am most of the time, i would make the twins sit in the car and read, sleep or watch a movie. that is about the same time i started saying (yelling) my van is NOT a jungle gym. now that they are a older they have learned a little 'ranch etiquette' and have more freedom - usually because grammy takes them.

i love this horse Sarah. She was raised for breeding and handled terribly. she was so spooky and shy when she first came to the ranch but has made so much progress with her owners, trainers, and everyone else loving on her. used to hide back in her stall when we came around but she isn't afraid anymore, (ju looks like she is)!

Globe Trekker

2008-07-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

i was just settling in last night to watch my most recent globe trekker and was suprised to see Bradley Cooper (aka will tippin - alias) as a correspondent. coop was up for the challenge of preu (at 16,000ft). entertaining as he was he can't replace my favorite travel guide Ian Wright. he has the wittiest humor that i love, even my kids will watch the show.

i am a HUGE fan of travel shows. i also like Rick Steves (pbs) because he reminds me of the prof's that took us to europe. i love watching the exotic showes, facing the fact i might never get there(or want to go there). i want my kids to watch it so they will be excited to travel even when you don't understand the language and customs.

so far my travels have taken me around the western us, d.c., hawaii, canada, mexico (barely), and europe (germany, france, italy, austria, hungry, greece) i really want to do more traveling and need to do it cheep. my neighbor is from southern england and is reminding me to get our passports done. i finally filled/printed them out for the family and need to make time to get everyone registered. matthew and mine just passed the renewal date so we need new ones, too.

au revoir, tschuss, ciao

SWIZZOR CHAMP OF THE WORLD

2008-07-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

i am finally getting my just rewards! and the trophies to prove it

these are the judges

the runner ups

more twins

2008-07-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

it's official, after waiting so long we have another set of twins!!

lub dub (love love) and family have been nesting in our hanging basket for three years. this has been the least productive year, most likely because of the mafia birds that have started hanging around. i'm glad they came back and so are the kids even though it means they have to be careful not to scare her away when their playing outside.

HUSBAND M.I.A.

2008-07-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

alright, i was going to title his, 'husband anxiety', because usually that's what i have when matthew is here, but now i realize i have even more when he is gone!!

matthew, b and my brother jeremy left yesterday evening for a week long hike. i really should be more nervous for them (meaning b) but i haven't been. maybe all those hours of praying for comfort and to not always feel like a nervous nelly have paid off. it just feels too weird to not have a sinking feeling as i send my men out into the wilderness.

matthew and jer have lots of hiking experience and will take good care of my b but what about snakes, ticks, bears, lightening, getting lost, river water, falling (off a cliff-down a hill-in a river-down a mine-into a band of robbers-), not enough food, cold, heat, blisters, etc!!!!

not worried

the boz had only been gone a few hours when the worry set in. not for them, for us at home.

the only thing i needed matthew to do before he left was change a light bulb so i can see while i am sewing and not stitch my finger. JOB DONE!

hazards starting adding up
- a board missing from the fence - amber will get out and i will have to drive around looking for her at all her hot spots
- garbage disposal stuck, this i can fix, but can't find the tool
- driving on gas fumes - can get the gas but it would be really ironic if i ran out of gas for the 1st time while he is gone
- mysterious wet spot on the laundry shelf - actually matthew put the distilled water on the shelf above - SIDEWAYS - and it sprung a leak
- scare with a plugged toilet

i can deal with/fix these 'action items' but how could they all happen within 12 hours of matthew leaving.

maybe i'm just supposed to appreciate how much he takes care of us! all my friends that have m.i.a. husbands everyday i'm really feeling for you now!!

miss you goo!
-

jack the cat

2008-07-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

a favorite story from 'musical melanie'

**At the time of this story we had this great 10-year old cat named Jack. Jack was a great cat, and the kids would carry him around and siton him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom. ****Well, we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done. ****Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. ** **We finally have the older one and and the baby loaded in the car, and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere, and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. ****And the only question really to ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind -- or the hundredth. ****And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever, because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.**

grrr!

2008-07-14T14:38:00.001-07:00

grrr! windows live has pushed me over the edge. after testing the waters at several blog plops i'm back at g. reasons - too basic, too confussing, too hard to login and last but not least - too flippin' slow.

i'm going to try to bring over my 'compost bin' (http://compostbin.spaces.live.com/) if i can figure it out. i really miss my template, it was so easy, but i can't stand the lag while typing or uploading, grrrr!