Outnumbered

Sunday Quote

2012-01-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

I know it is hard for you young mothers to believe that almost before you can turn around, your children will be gone and you will be home alone with your husband. You had better be sure you are developing the kind of love and friendship that will be delightful and enduring. Let the children learn from your attitude that he is important. Encourage him. Be kind. It is a rough world, and he, like everyone else, is fighting to survive. Be cheerful. Don’t be a whiner.

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Expectations

2012-01-27T21:37:00.001-07:00

We have certain expectations of our children:

We expect them to go to church. There have been times in their lives when they were younger that they have said they don’t want to go. We just say, “I understand, but that’s what we do.” So when they became teenagers, they know they are going.
We expect them to be respectful. We don’t let them talk bad about people, especially their dad and me. We are not their friends, we are their parents and deserve respect. They say Mr. and Mrs. and Brother and Sister. We try very hard not to let them call adults by their first name.
We expect them to be present and on time for family prayer and scripture study every morning. We believe this is a very important commandment which bonds our family together. If they miss family prayer, they don’t get use of their cell phone that day. It’s great motivation to get them going every morning.
We expect them to get good grades. They are very fortunate to all be extremely smart, and there is no excuse for bad grades. If they are really struggling in a class and not understanding, that is one thing. But if they are getting bad grades because they are lazy, that is a problem. I check their grades several times a week, and if they fall below a B-, they lose their electronics until the grades go back up.
We expect them to fast on Fast Sunday. This starts when they are little. When they turn 6, they start fasting one meal, usually lunch. When they turn 8, they fast both breakfast and lunch. We talk a lot during they day about what they are fasting for (are they fasting, or are they going hungry). This may seem a little young, but it gives them a good foundation to stand on when they get older.
Basically, we expect them to obey the commandments. We do work with them and help them understand why, and help them to develop their testimonies.
We expect them to practice their music instruments. Thanks to my mother, I play they piano, so I have been able to teach them piano. They will never be classical pianists, but if they can play the hymns, that is all I want. They each also play another instrument, thanks to the music program at the schools. The Teenager played the trumpet for 4 years, and now plays the guitar. The Artist plays the drums, and is trying to learn the guitar. The Chocoholic plays the flute. And when The Princess is old enough, she will get to chose an instrument as well.
We expect them to help out around the house, including daily chores. We have a chore chart which lists who has which chores that week, so they know when I say, for example, the table needs to be set, who is responsible for that. It eliminates a lot of arguing.

What expectations do you have for your children?

Sunday Quote

2012-01-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what will happen today, but I can choose to respond delightfully to anything that does happen, good or bad.

Good Moms

2012-01-18T20:33:00.001-07:00

There is a quote going around on Pinterest which says, “Good moms have sticky floors, dirty ovens, and happy kids.”

I take issue with that.

I have clean floors. My oven is clean (mostly). I have clean bathrooms. I have a clean kitchen. My carpets are vacuumed. Our bedrooms are clean.

And my kids are happy. I am a good mom.

Having happy kids does not mean I have to have a dirty house. We work together to keep it clean. We don’t spend all day cleaning, but we do clean everyday.

And we are all happy.

So don’t try to make me feel guilty for having a clean house.

Sunday Quote

2012-01-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

The Spirit isn’t just there to make you nice while the world is beating you up. The Spirit is an infusion of enabling power and allows you to push back against the world.

Modesty

2012-01-12T20:44:00.001-07:00

President Joseph F. Smith stated:

“The Lord has given unto us garments of the holy priesthood, and you know what that means. And yet there are those of us who mutilate them, in order that we may follow the foolish, vain and (permit me to say) indecent practices of the world. In order that such people may imitate the fashions, they will not hesitate to mutilate that which should be held … sacred. … They should hold these things that God has given unto them sacred, unchanged and unaltered from the very pattern in which God gave them. Let us have the moral courage to stand against the opinions of fashion, and especially where fashion compels us to break a covenant and so commit a grievous sin” (“Fashion and the Violation of Covenants and Duty,” Improvement Era,Aug. 1906, p. 813).

Modesty is not just about covering your garments. Too many think that if you can’t see the garments, you are okay. Well, I don’t know about you, but my garments really don’t fit very well. The cup size is always wrong, and they pull down in the front. A lot. So I could justify wearing lower cut shirts. But that is living the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law.

I don’t want to see your boob crack. Neither do my teenage boys. They have enough temptations to deal with. They don’t need it from women who have been to the temple. Please cover up. If not for me, for my boys.

Sunday Quote

2012-01-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

“And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in.”

Haruki Murakami

Crossroads

2012-01-02T21:40:00.001-07:00

I have a bit of a dilemma right now. I am not sure where to go with my blog. It’s not my journal. I have a journal that I write in. Every single day. I also don’t like putting pictures on the internet. I have heard of too many cases of pictures ending up where they shouldn’t. And I don’t feel like anyone even reads this anymore. No one wants to hear my opinion because I am too opinionated. So many people in my ward read this blog, and I have caused too many hard feelings, so I don’t feel like I can even be honest here. I’m thinking my time in the blogosphere is about over. I have enough Sunday Quotes to last until next year, so every Sunday, check back and there will be something to read. I might pop in once in a while, but it won’t be regular.

Sunday Quote

2012-01-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to.

Kiss

2011-12-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

On New Year’s Eve, I want you to kiss me. Kiss me at 11:59 and do not finish that kiss until 12:01. Therefore I have a perfect ending and definitely a perfect beginning.

Sunday Quote

2011-12-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

We are brothers and sisters. We are in this together. We are not competing against each other, but against evil.

-John Bytheway

Sunday Quote

2011-12-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

When you’re tempted to lose patience with someone, think how patient God has been with you all the time.

Happy Birthday to me, but something more important…

2011-12-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Today is my 39th birthday. I’m not telling you this to get attention. I am telling you this because it marks an even more important occasion. I was married on June 19, 1992, which just happened to be my half birthday. I was 19 1/2. Today I have been married for exactly as long as I was single.

It seems so surreal. The first 19 1/2 years went by so slow. The last 19 1/2 years have gone by in a flash. And the fact that I have 4 children, including an 18 year old son, just blows my mind.

My husband is my best friend. We were friends first and love grew from that. It grew quickly (we dated for 3 1/2 weeks before we were engaged), but we were friends before we started to date. And that friendship has only deepened over the years.

I’m not saying we haven’t had our differences. We usually have one pretty big argument every year, and many small ones. But we stick it out and don’t give up. When he was out of work and depressed, there were days that I really thought we weren’t going to make it because I couldn’t stand to be around him.

But because we have been sealed in the temple, we have added incentive to stay together. We are together for all of eternity. Not just ‘til death do you part, but for time and for all eternity. It’s a wonderful thing. We have each other forever.

So tomorrow starts a new phase in my life. I will have been in my husband’s house longer than I was in my parents’ house. Weird.

Sunday Quote

2011-12-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

We simply cannot call ourselves Christian and continue to judge one another - or ourselves – so harshly.

-Patricia Terry Holland

Gift Cards

2011-12-12T14:31:00.001-07:00

I love, love, love gift cards.

I love to give them. They are so nice when you want to get a gift for someone, but you just don’t know what they want. It’s hard to shop for people! Gift cards are a way to give them a gift that they want. Some people look at them as a cop out, but not me. And you can get gift cards to just about anywhere now!

I love to get them too. Cash I just end up spending. It’s hard to keep it separate. And when I get gift cards for restaurants and movie theaters, that guarantees me a date night, especially when money is tight and we wouldn’t be able to go out otherwise.

Do you like gift cards? Why or why not?

Sunday Quote

2011-12-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

“For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:11

Tired

2011-12-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been so tired you could sleep anywhere, in any position? Well, The Chocoholic was last night! We didn’t get home until 11:00 and this is how I found him when we pulled into the garage. Yes, he is dead asleep!

Shake It Off

2011-12-07T09:03:00.001-07:00

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Sunday Quote

2011-12-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

The Secret Heart

2011-12-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

The Secret Heart

I wonder, if you know how much I need your love.

How much I crave a compliment, how much I want a hug.

I wonder if you share my fear of always falling short

Of thinking I’m the only one with faults and sins and warts.

Do you, like me, put on a face that says your life is swell,

But shake and tremble deep inside that fragile outer shell?

Please don’t be fooled by my facade, I’ve worn it now for years

But often, just below my smile, my throat is full of tears.

Are you convinced that others here are worthier than you?

They know the gospel, pay their tithes, and shine in Sunday School

Their kids don’t fight, their house is clean, they never raise their voice.

You’d gladly trade your life for theirs, if you just had a choice.

Well, please remember, sisters dear, that life’s not all it seems.

The lives that other women live are only in your dreams

They worry, struggle, cry and pray, and never have enough

Of love from women like yourself, of gentle female stuff.

I need your love like you need mine; I need forgiveness too

For falling short of my ideals, and wishing I was you

So if you like me, tell me so, just tell me to my face

I need to hear that, oh so much: I need your warm embrace.

Do you like my dress, my smile, the lesson I just gave?

Well, tell me every Sunday, please; I’d love it if you rave.

You see, I’m not as smart or strong or good as you may think;

Life gets me down; you’d be surprised how low my moods can sink.

Well, who am I? I’m everyone—I’m every woman here

Who needs a friend, a confidante, a non-judgmental ear,

Who wants to feel important and to know somebody cares,

Who needs to feel she’s up to all the burdens that she bears.

So please don’t be afraid of me; draw near to me instead,

Pour out your heart and soul to me and get inside my head.

Let’s be a whole fraternity of inter linking hearts.

That’s how the Savior planned it, if we each just do our part.

Book of Mormon Stories

2011-12-01T20:07:00.001-07:00

My dad requested that my family write some new verses for the “Book of Mormon Stories” song in the Children’s Songbook. This is what we came up with.

Alma heard the word of God from Abinidi.
In the waters of Mormon many were baptized.
As a father he prayed for his wayward son.
God heard him as he prayed, and salvation won.

Abish had a testimony, knew the church was true.
Served the queen but couldn't share the truths that she knew.
Ammon taught and people fought, she knew just what to do.
The Spirit spoke, the people woke knowing it was true.

Nephi was a prophet in the Book of Mormon times.
He was hunting animals, his bow of steel broke.
His brothers were mad at him, so he went and prayed.
Our Father helped him find food to eat.

Joseph Smith was a prophet and he saw a vision.
He translated the golden plates with the Urim and Thummim.
A mighty work had come forth, it was the Book of Mormon,
With a promise, if we read, we will know the truth.

After Nephi's family had left Jerusalem,
They went back to get the plates and said it would be done.
Laban tried to stop them but his efforts were in vain.
The plates of brass were saved for posterity.

Moroni was a warrior and a man of God,
war had come to the land, the people were in fear.
In memory of our God, our faith, our wives and children, too.
The Title of Liberty, over the land, flew.

Mahonri Moriancumer was faithful to the Lord,
He had to build eight barges to cross the mighty sea.
He went unto the mount to seek help from God above,
God touched the stones and they glowed brightly.

The Ammonites changed their name to Anti-Nephi-Lehites.
They buried all their weapons to make a covenant.
They would rather die than break their promise.
They never took their swords and killed after that.

Enos was a prophet who lived in Nephite times.
When he was down in both spirit and mind.
He went into the forest and prayed both day and night.
Forgiven, just because, he had faith.

Thankful #30

2011-11-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

I am thankful that November is over and Christmas is coming! I love Christmas! Have I said that before? I love the Christmas season…everyone is kinder and more friendly. People smile and say “Merry Christmas” to each other. I love it!

Thankful #29

2011-11-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

How could I not mention my favorite color? I am thankful for pink. It is feminine and soft and makes me feel pretty. I love how I look in the color pink, and I love how I feel. I love pink!

Thankful #28

2011-11-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for the Internet. I can find just about anything on there. There is so much information out there, and I love finding obscure facts. I am pretty darn good at searching, and have found things in seconds what my mom or my boss had been looking for for hours. When The Doctor was working on his Doctorate, he stayed home and did his research on the internet, instead of having to go to college libraries and spend hours there and pay for photocopies.

Thankful #27

2011-11-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for scents. There are so many scents that I love, and the memories that they invoke:

Baby powder and rubbing alcohol – this reminds me of my children when they were babies.
Sawdust – this reminds me of my dad getting wood in the summer for our fireplace.
Rain on the cement on a hot summer day – this reminds me of playing in the rain.
Cinnamon pinecones at Christmas time – this reminds me of Christmas!
Polo cologne – this reminds me of my hubby.

There are more, so many more! I am thankful I can smell!