Lately I have found myself in a rut of sorts and not feeling very positive about life in general and especially about work. Yesterday a friend was having a bad day and I found myself exchanging ims with her about the things we did not like about our jobs. It may have made me feel better at the moment but in the long run didn't do much to make the day go better or help my attitude. So I decided maybe it is time for a round of the glad game, so I can improve my attitude.
*Even though my job seems boring right now, I am glad I have a job--particularly when there are so many who do not.
*Todd, myself and the kids are generally healthy. (Logan has stomach bug today- he thinks it's food poisoning)
*I need warm clothes and don't want to go shopping for them, but atleast I don't have to be seen in public in the combinations I have been coming up with.
* I recently passed the one year mark of working from home and seem to be missing contact with friends. I need to figure out a way to have more face to face contact than just going to church on Sunday is giving me--especially since I am pretty busy with Primary. I am trying to be glad that I have friends to miss, but it's not working so well- I need to find a solution to this one for sure.
*I have great kids and a wonderful husband who love me very much and am very glad about that.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
HomeComing 2009
Ok, here is the first dance of the year. We are sure there will be more. And we even got to meet this girl, officially before the dance. We hear a lot about her, we hear her voice on the phone all the time, but most importantly, she seems to make him happy. That is a good thing. 
Monday, September 14, 2009
Life lessons
For over a year now in Primary we have been encouraging the kids to learn the articles of faith. We used a system of positive reinforcement (aka bribery), where when they passed of the AofF twice they received a piece of candy and when they had passed off all 13 they were official members of Club 13. We then scheduled a members only party and invited only those who joined the club.
It turned out to be a very interesting experience. We had 10 members when all was said and done. They ranged from one very bright 3 year old who can say them but likely doesn't understand what they mean, to several 11 year old boys. Those boys were more interested in beating everyone to get their names up on the board than attending another Primary activity, but oh well. The activity went well and the kids--except Lucas-- all seemed to have fun. But it got me thinking about why some where there and others weren't, especially within families. Why did I have a 9 year old there but not her almost 12 year old sister? The older sister was pretty upset to see her sibling go off to the party, but hadn't been willing to make the effort to be there. I was really proud of the parents who did not even try to get her invited but used the experience to teach her.
We spend alot of time reminding our boys that they have to do the work to get the reward and that every choice has consequences. Landon does not get to go to a soccer game today because he is missing work. He has a consequence for choosing not to do something good the same as a choice to do something bad. Decisions large and small all carry consequences. Its hard to know how things will play out sometimes. I have always felt I made the wrong choice after I finished at Ricks by going back to Monmouth. I didn't do what I knew I should out of fear and nothing about my time at Western went well. However I doubt I would have ended up in Vancouver to meet Todd if I had not been so miserable in Monmouth. So I guess the lesson is that we have to live with whatever choices we make and sometimes they turn out great and other times we are crying because we don't get to go to the party.
It turned out to be a very interesting experience. We had 10 members when all was said and done. They ranged from one very bright 3 year old who can say them but likely doesn't understand what they mean, to several 11 year old boys. Those boys were more interested in beating everyone to get their names up on the board than attending another Primary activity, but oh well. The activity went well and the kids--except Lucas-- all seemed to have fun. But it got me thinking about why some where there and others weren't, especially within families. Why did I have a 9 year old there but not her almost 12 year old sister? The older sister was pretty upset to see her sibling go off to the party, but hadn't been willing to make the effort to be there. I was really proud of the parents who did not even try to get her invited but used the experience to teach her.
We spend alot of time reminding our boys that they have to do the work to get the reward and that every choice has consequences. Landon does not get to go to a soccer game today because he is missing work. He has a consequence for choosing not to do something good the same as a choice to do something bad. Decisions large and small all carry consequences. Its hard to know how things will play out sometimes. I have always felt I made the wrong choice after I finished at Ricks by going back to Monmouth. I didn't do what I knew I should out of fear and nothing about my time at Western went well. However I doubt I would have ended up in Vancouver to meet Todd if I had not been so miserable in Monmouth. So I guess the lesson is that we have to live with whatever choices we make and sometimes they turn out great and other times we are crying because we don't get to go to the party.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Oh What a Beautiful Morning
Yesterday I quietly-- with none of my kids knowing--took a vacation day. I got up at the normal early hour my clock tells me I must, showered and went downstairs as if I was going to work. Instead I got on my knees and pleaded for much needed help to finally write the program for the Primary Sacrament Meeting. Then I sat down at my computer and began typing.
What an awesome experience. I was not excited to write the program. Usually that would fall to the first counselor and so she thinks about it and gets ready for it all year. But my first counselor sold her house and moved to Layton in July. As a result I have a brand new counselor and didn't feel that it would be right to expect her to enter Primary and immediately write the program. So I have known since Lisa's house sold that I needed to write it this year but couldn't get excited to do it. So I maneuvered to have a quiet house with no distractions and resolved to complete it or else. Once the stage was set the words and ideas just flowed. What a tremendous blessing. It confirmed again in my mind how much Heavenly Father loves those Primary children. It's good to be reminded that it is his work and he can make it happen with whatever material he has to work with. It's probably not the most creative program ever and may not be what I would have written had I been working on it all year, but it teaches truth and shows the children off.
It really was a great morning and even took a lot less time than I expected. Still had time for a nap before the boys got home from school.
What an awesome experience. I was not excited to write the program. Usually that would fall to the first counselor and so she thinks about it and gets ready for it all year. But my first counselor sold her house and moved to Layton in July. As a result I have a brand new counselor and didn't feel that it would be right to expect her to enter Primary and immediately write the program. So I have known since Lisa's house sold that I needed to write it this year but couldn't get excited to do it. So I maneuvered to have a quiet house with no distractions and resolved to complete it or else. Once the stage was set the words and ideas just flowed. What a tremendous blessing. It confirmed again in my mind how much Heavenly Father loves those Primary children. It's good to be reminded that it is his work and he can make it happen with whatever material he has to work with. It's probably not the most creative program ever and may not be what I would have written had I been working on it all year, but it teaches truth and shows the children off.
It really was a great morning and even took a lot less time than I expected. Still had time for a nap before the boys got home from school.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A Day of Joy and Sadness
Yesterday was a strange day for me.
It was my beautiful daughter's 19th birthday. It was a happy occasion. She started school yesterday so we celebrated with her on Sunday evening. We had most of the Gifford clan here and of course the only Utah Stratton. It was a nice evening we ate well and enjoyed being together. Raylee left to go back to school tired but happy.
My children's birthdays are always a day of reflection for me. How can it have gone that quickly..what happened to the little red faced baby I held in my arms...are they where they should be for their age..all that Mom kind of stuff. This one was largely the same. I thought of so many special times with my girl, of some of the rough times she has had and so many other memories. She fills my heart with joy. We are so proud of the good choices she is making in her life. Although she was reluctant to be an adult she is doing fantastically at it so far. I both love and like her immensely. So in many ways it was a happy occasion.
Here's the part where I get weird. It occurred to me that if she were a boy that we would be getting ready to say goodbye to her for two long years. Wow am I glad (again) that my first child was a girl because I am SO not ready for a child to leave on a mission yet. Of course I'm not sure that I will be ready three years from now either. But a girl can hope. So I spent part of the day thinking about how much I would miss her if..how much I will miss Logan when he goes and other sad such thoughts. I spent a good portion of the day fighting back tears as I realized how quickly our time with these amazing children we have been trusted with is going.
In the end though the joy outweighed the sorrow and I celebrated that I am lucky enough to know Raylee and especially that I have had the honor for the last 19 years of being her Mom. Happy Birthday Rooster I hope it was great!
It was my beautiful daughter's 19th birthday. It was a happy occasion. She started school yesterday so we celebrated with her on Sunday evening. We had most of the Gifford clan here and of course the only Utah Stratton. It was a nice evening we ate well and enjoyed being together. Raylee left to go back to school tired but happy.
My children's birthdays are always a day of reflection for me. How can it have gone that quickly..what happened to the little red faced baby I held in my arms...are they where they should be for their age..all that Mom kind of stuff. This one was largely the same. I thought of so many special times with my girl, of some of the rough times she has had and so many other memories. She fills my heart with joy. We are so proud of the good choices she is making in her life. Although she was reluctant to be an adult she is doing fantastically at it so far. I both love and like her immensely. So in many ways it was a happy occasion.
Here's the part where I get weird. It occurred to me that if she were a boy that we would be getting ready to say goodbye to her for two long years. Wow am I glad (again) that my first child was a girl because I am SO not ready for a child to leave on a mission yet. Of course I'm not sure that I will be ready three years from now either. But a girl can hope. So I spent part of the day thinking about how much I would miss her if..how much I will miss Logan when he goes and other sad such thoughts. I spent a good portion of the day fighting back tears as I realized how quickly our time with these amazing children we have been trusted with is going.
In the end though the joy outweighed the sorrow and I celebrated that I am lucky enough to know Raylee and especially that I have had the honor for the last 19 years of being her Mom. Happy Birthday Rooster I hope it was great!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The tenth commandment
So, I started working as a volunteer in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple last night and it has caused me to struggle with the tenth commandment. I serve in the laundry there- yes you have to bring your own clothes- but we still do a ton of laundry. Most of the laundry comes from baptisms. There are three huge washers that will hold 30 towels in a load and you don't even have to add detergent or bleach or anything- just push a couple of buttons. The whole cycle take about 35 minutes and then you move the towels to one of three massive dryers that take about 25 minutes to dry them.
Here's the thing, my washer and dryer at home only hold about 10 towels in a load and don't complete their job in anywhere close to one hour. Luckily I don't have to wash 30 towels at a time at home, but if I did it would take atleast 4 hours. As I thought about this I began to realize I would love to have a set of the temple washers and dryers at home, it would make laundry for three rowdy boys much quicker and easier. Now I am worried. If I continue to spend time in that laundry room and then come home to my tiny walk through room with its tiny slow machines how long will it be before I move from admiration to coveting.
More importantly what does it say about me that working in the temple might lead to my breaking a commandment? I guess I had better come up with a covet prevention plan quickly. As I write this it occurs to me that the plan would probably come to me more quickly if I thought about it with chocolate in my mouth. Yummm!
Here's the thing, my washer and dryer at home only hold about 10 towels in a load and don't complete their job in anywhere close to one hour. Luckily I don't have to wash 30 towels at a time at home, but if I did it would take atleast 4 hours. As I thought about this I began to realize I would love to have a set of the temple washers and dryers at home, it would make laundry for three rowdy boys much quicker and easier. Now I am worried. If I continue to spend time in that laundry room and then come home to my tiny walk through room with its tiny slow machines how long will it be before I move from admiration to coveting.
More importantly what does it say about me that working in the temple might lead to my breaking a commandment? I guess I had better come up with a covet prevention plan quickly. As I write this it occurs to me that the plan would probably come to me more quickly if I thought about it with chocolate in my mouth. Yummm!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Trying to get the hang of this
I decided maybe I should learn to blog since I sit at the computer all day long anyway. I hope this will help me keep my connection with Raylee strong this year while she is far far away at school. Okay, so school isn't very far away but after having here downstairs all summer it sounds pretty far away to me right now.
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