2/27/09

The Holy Ghost

We missed our ward last week since we were picking up our kids in Mt View, and apparently I missed a great Young Women's lesson. At our mutual activity, our leader who taught it followed up with the girls by asking them who had been praying to have the Holy Ghost in their lives. As I listened to the girls' honest and beautiful answers, I was inspired to try it myself. For those of you who have been following my posts, you've probably noticed that I've had a few frustrating days. I haven't really been responding to those hard moments like I should or want. I know I'm only two days into this prayerful challenge, but I can tell you that it has made a difference. The frustrating moments are still there, but I feel so much peace inside and am better able to cope with the challenges I am faced with. Thank you Dana. I needed this in so many ways.

On a slightly different note, I've also been blog surfing (he,he). But I found this amazing list of the Second Ten Commandments, and I not only want to remember it myself, but I thought someone else might benefit from it to. Apparently it came from an article with the same title.

The Second Ten Commandments
1. Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
2. Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
3. Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
4. Thou shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.
5. Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.
6. Thou shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you can.
7. Thou shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!
8. Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.
9. Thou shall not become “bogged down” by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
10. Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

2/22/09

Weekend Away

We just got back from a fun weekend in Salt Lake City. On Thursday we took the girls to Nick's parents' home in Wyoming and headed down to Salt Lake. Nick's dad had tickets to the Jazz vs. Celtics game and let us go along. I'll admit that I'm not usually into sports, but I do enjoy watching an occasional game, especially when it's a good game. We really had a ton of fun. Thanks, Kim.

On Friday we went for a day of skiing at Brighton. We actually had sun, too. We did have a bit of wind, but there were no lines, so we skied as much as we wanted as fast as we wanted. Then we went to a nice dinner at Macaroni Grill. To finish the weekend off right, we went to a temple session on Saturday morning.

It's been a bit of a busy and somewhat stressful couple of months. It was nice to just spend some time with Nick. I'm so grateful for a good husband. He really does take good care of me and the girls. I'm also grateful for Nick's parents and their willingness to watch our girls and to love every minute of it. It was so nice to get away for a couple of days knowing that they were perfectly taken care of. Thank you everyone. It was a nice weekend.

2/18/09

7 Things

7 Things I Can Do:
1. Ski downhill or cross-country
2. Knit and crochet
3. Quilt
4. Teach English
5. Play the violin
6. Do my girls' hair
7. Cook foods my family will eat

7 Things I Can't Do:
1. Get Ashlyn to take a nap
2. Cut my girls' hair
3. Get anywhere on time
4. Manage my time to get ahead
5. Do a cartwheel
6. Draw a stick person let alone anything else
7. Spend enough quality time with my family

7 Things I Say Often
1. Ashlyn, be nice to your sister!
2. Emma, try to not let Ashlyn bother you.
3. Let's play clean up!
4. Love you
5. Did you have a good day?
6. No, please.
7. What do you say?

7 Things I Love About Nick
1. He loves us with all his heart.
2. He never hesitates to jump in and help.
3. He is the hardest worker I know.
4. He is very good at figuring things out - anything.
5. He likes to play.
6. He's always looking for ways to do things better.
7. He honestly gives great hugs.

7. Favorite Foods
1. Fruit, especially berries and fresh peaches
2. Fresh bread
3. Chicken enchiladas
4. New York burritos
5. Homemade soup
6. Homemade pie
7. Pizza

People I Tag:
Anyone who wants to play

2/11/09

Happy 4th Birthday Emma!

We had a fun week last week as we anticipated, enjoyed, and then celebrated Emma's birthday. Here actual birthday fell on Wednesday, the day I babysit several friends of ours. We only had the Lundt girls last week, but we made cupcakes together. The girls all had so much decorating and eating them. It was a lot of fun watching them. Emma thoroughly enjoyed it. Since we didn't celebrate her birthday until Friday, it was a great birthday activity. That and going "Old McDonalds" for dinner made her the happiest birthday girl. One of these days we'll realize Emma doesn't need much more than a bit of attention to stay happy.


On Friday, we had as much family as we could pull together over for a birthday party. It was fun being with family. Emma loved her presents. She received her first Barbie (sigh), a great collention of art project supplies, and her first bike! She has been riding that bike around the basement like a pro.


Emma girl, you are one of my favorite people to be around. You make friends faster than anyone I know, and you have a naturally happy personality. I love your energy and your ability to trust so openly. You give the best hugs and are a wonderful cuddler. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be your mother. I love you.

Emma in the hospital

Emma turns 1Emma turns 2Emma turns 3Emma now

2/4/09

Rexburg's Winter Festival

We visited my parents in Rexburg this last weekend. While Nick and my dad went snowmobiling, my sisters and I took Emma and their kids to Smith Park and the city's annual Winter Festival. We arrived just in time to see the crazy "Polar Bear Club" jumping into a swimming pool. It was so cold. I watched one guy just about cry as he waited for his turn. After that, Emma dug for coins in the snow and traded them in for prizes. Then we sprayed snow with colored water in squirt bottles, watched snow bowling, and threw snow balls at targets. There were also tons of people sledding, a guy carving some pretty impressive snow sculptures, and teams pulling sleighs for hay rides. Unfortunately, my little sister stood in the hay ride line for 45 minutes only to be told that the cut-off was six people in front of her. We had a lot of fun though.

Emma and her cousin Kate with the bear snow sculpture.

Emma digging for coins.
My sister Kerri with her Kate, me with Emma (who really did have more fun than her face depicts), and my sister Rebecca with her little trooper Ryken. Behind us is the make-shift swimming pool. Brr.