Friday, February 26, 2010

Diaper Ears


So I've been sick...a weird kind of sick and I am still not normal and probably won't be for a while. The doctors think what I have is Labyrinthitis, so I have had the most wonderful joy of experiencing vertigo which makes me feel like the whole world is spinning around me. Luckily experiencing vertigo is minimal, but I am still quite dizzy in fact this post is in real need of ending right about now.

So to finish up quickly, sorry about the lack of posts this week and the lack of posts to come, hopefully I will be back soon. But to lighten my yucky situation just yesterday I received some comic relief in this form,

"Dad, look he has diapers on his ears." Maybe if I had worn some diapers on my ears this inner ear problem would never have happened and I'd be feeling like the world stood still. You gotta love 3 year olds.

Monday, February 22, 2010

MM: I Am a Child of God



"What a wonderful song that is. And what a great truth it teaches. You have an earthly father. He is your mother’s dear companion. I hope you love him and that you are obedient to him. But you have another father. That is your Father in Heaven. He is the Father of your spirit, just as your earthly father is the father of your body. And it is just as important to love and to obey your Father in Heaven as it is to love and obey your earthly father.

We speak with our earthly father. He is our dear friend, our protector, the one who usually supplies our food and clothing and home. But we also speak to our Father in Heaven. We do this with prayer. I hope that every night and every morning you get on your knees and speak with your Father in Heaven...It is not asking too much, is it, to take a few minutes of each day to speak with your Father in Heaven when you know that you are a child of God?"
(Gordon B. Hinckley, “You Are a Child of God,” Ensign, May 2003, 117)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

What We Believe: Jesus Christ Is Central to Heavenly Father's Plan



This article is taken from the February Ensign.
The PDF version of the magazine can be found HERE.

To learn more about our basic beliefs, visit Mormon.org.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

WOWW: Family Home Evening Blessings

“Regular participation in family home evening will develop increased personal worth, family unity, love for our fellowmen, and trust in our Father in heaven. It is our promise that great blessings will come to all who conscientiously plan and hold weekly family home evenings. I testify that this is as true today as it was almost 30 years ago.

If we go forward with our family home evenings, our homes will be enriched, our wards and branches will grow and prosper, our lives will be purified, and the gates of hell will not prevail against us."

James E. Faust, “Enriching Our Lives through Family Home Evening,” Ensign, Jun 2003, 2–6

Have you seen the blessings of Family Home Evening in the lives of you and your family?

Monday, February 15, 2010

MM: Love One Another



I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day full of love!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Self-Medicating...

I ran, I dove, I smacked into the accordian wall on several occasions, I slide on the floor and gave my back a bump on the stage, and then it might seem that I scooted home quickly to head straight to the cupboard for a "dose of relief" but it wasn't that kind of self-medicating. Oh, it was a dose just right, so right that I realized that I need to "self-medicate" much more often. It was just what I needed.

It was a stake women's basketball game. A cure really. Now you might be thinking, what? A stake basketball game, self-medicating? Hmmm, that's interesting.

So let me explain - I played and I played hard, not the kind of hard I played in high school but the kind of hard that a Mommy who needs to just get the "Mommy Wiggles" out does. And it felt good. I came home tired but rejuvenated. And then the late night wakings of a Mommy with a new little one began and as I sat there nursing at two a.m., half asleep, the thought popped into my mind that that night's game was self-medicating. Weird, I know, but that was my thought.

So the following day I looked up this definition:

Self-medicating is the use of a drug with therapeutic intent but without professional advice or prescription.

And now I have realized that I really can't call what happened that night self-medicating although it did act as a drug in that some Mommy symptoms felt relieved and non-existent for a time and it did feel quite therapeutic however it had been prescribed by a professional indeed, only I had forgotten to refill my prescription. So you see, after this self-medicating event and a week or so later THIS event, I've been reminded that unlike many prescriptions this type requires refill after refill to keep symptoms in check.

And the prescription is written by this wonderful professional:

Elder Ballard

First we must accept the prescription:
"Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse (so ladies no real self-medicating :), mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."

And then here is where the role of your "pharmasist husband" comes in:
"Give your wife a “day away” now and then. Just take over the household and give your wife a break from her daily responsibilities. Taking over for a while will greatly enhance your appreciation of what your wife does. You may do a lot of lifting, twisting, and bending!"

So when you are feeling a funk coming on or well before then you may just want to call-in a prescription to your husband at work or hand him a copy of this quote when he gets home and head out the door or lock yourself in your bedroom or whatever your choice of "medicating" might be. For me, this time, it was stake basketball but maybe next time I'll lock myself in my room with a good book.

It is high time I follow the prescription (counsel) of a professional and fill up my well on occasion. So maybe today (Valentine's Day) I'll be asking my honey for a day-away or maybe just an hour. I have a feeling that sometime soon I may be in need of a "dose".

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Choose the Right Memory Game

Here is a simple printable memory game to play with young children - click HERE.
by Diane Brown

1. Print 2 copies of the "Choose The Right cards" (Cards 1-5)
2. Print 1 copy of the "Choose The Wrong" cards (2 cards)
3. You should have a total of 12 cards. Mix them up well and place them face down in 3 rows of four or 4 rows of three.
4. A child turns over two cards. (Have the child read each card or the teacher may read the them.) If they are a CTR match they keep the set. If they do not match they are replaced face down in the same spot. (In eather case it is now the next childs turn.)
5. If at any time a child turn over a CTW Card they stop playing, replace the card(s) and it is the next students turn.
6. Play until all the CTR matches are found.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

WOWW: Weightier Matters

This week has been a typical week at our house, a week like many of stay at home mothers...trying to spend time with and raise my children, amidst the chaos of a messy and getting messier house, all the while getting little and even littlier amounts of sleep. This week has been normal other than my total break down on Monday night. :) My husband was gone to class and thus had been gone all day and I was at my wits end. Really, I was just a time bomb waiting to blow. I could go on and on about the reasons why I blew (some of which included pans banging in the kitchen and digging through the garbage can) but I'm sure many of you could make a list of your own and could relate quite perfectly (although your story might not end in a dramatic cry fest, or maybe it would. Please tell me it would, so I can convince myself I am not in need of some therapy). ;)

It was a dramatic evening to say the least and quite exhausting. I determined one, that I need more sleep and two, that my life needs more balance and then an email came from my Grandpa with this quote:


"Gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of 'good ideas.' “ This was one of the Savior's criticisms of the religious 'experts' of His day, whom He chastised for attending to the hundreds of minor details of the law while neglecting the weightier matters (see Matthew 23:23)."So how do we stay aligned with these weightier matters? Is there a constant compass that can help us prioritize our lives, thoughts, and actions?". . . The Savior revealed the way. When asked to name the greatest commandment, He did not hesitate. 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,' He said. 'This is the first and great commandment' (Matthew 22:37, 38). Coupled with the second great commandment—to love our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 22:39)—we have a compass that provides direction not only for our lives but also for the Lord's Church on both sides of the veil." Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 21

I have determined that I have become trapped in the idea of attending to hundreds of minor details and am convinced that too often the weightier matters are getting set aside. My priorities are in need of a good check. Thinking on this I was directed to Luke chapter 10, which reads.

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art
careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Just like Martha I have been careful and troubled about many things but not necessarily the needful things. It is time for a change. It is time I remember what will be my constant compass in keeping my priorities in check - 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,' It is time to choose the good part and spend the majority of my time attending to the weightier matters even if that means dishes are sometimes left in the sink and my family is happier and closer.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Movie Monday: Modest is Hottest



“Many of you are trying too hard to be unique in your dress and grooming to attract what the Lord would consider the wrong kind of attention. In the Book of Mormon story of the tree of life, it was the people whose ‘manner of dress was exceedingly fine’ who mocked those who partook of the fruit of the tree. It is sobering to realize that the fashion-conscious mockers in the great and spacious building were responsible for embarrassing many, and those who were ashamed ‘fell away into forbidden paths and were lost’ (1 Nephi 8:27–28).” -Elder L. Tom Perry

Friday, February 5, 2010

Sleep Deprived...Obviously

So you know you are running low on sleep:
  • when you sit down at your computer and start making faces at the picture of your baby on your desktop. Yeah, that was weird!
  • Or even worse, you read the word babe and literal think, so do you say that baybeh? Even after several attempts it is confusing to you and then suddenly it clicks and you determine that you are losing it. Yeah, I'm losing it alright!

So I think that tonight I will very willingly follow the counsel given in D&C 88:124 -

"...retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary..."

Well, I'm off to climb into bed, if I can remember where I put it.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

WOWW: A Parent's Example

The prophet Brigham Young said: “We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do. We should set them an example that we wish them to imitate.”

On Sunday during one of the talks a sister shared a quote that stuck out to me. I don't recall exactly how it went or what the stat was but here is the idea: A lot of the time (a percent was given) when we get after our children we are disciplining them for something that they have seen us do.

The week prior to this I had a random conversation with a lady working at the cash register at Wal-mart about this very topic. I am not even sure how it came up. She told me about how she has a pet bird that loves to be squirted with a water bottle so one day when her granddaughter was over she let her try it. She loved it. Later she heard her son say, "who taught her how to work a spray bottle." The grandmother confessed. The reason for the questioning: the little girl got a hold of some Windex and now knew how to work it. Ooops!

On another occasion the granddaughter said to her, "Shut up, Grandma." She got after her and wondered where she got it from. Just a few minutes later her dog started barking and she yelled, "Shut-up, Spot!" (can't remember the real name) We truly do teach our children or other's children when we don't even realize it.

Wow! Wake-up call! I am recognizing even the smallest things that transfer over to my son. Sometimes the things that I do are not bad or wrong but when imitated by a toddler they are not the best. Example: I wiggle my little girls hands to help her dance to music so of course my son wants to do this but I get after him for being to rough. Now looking at it boy does it seem so unfair that he is getting in trouble. Was that really his fault...No! he watched Mommy do it.

Let us be good examples to our children. Let us think before we act. Let us be examples in word and deed. Let us be able to say, "Do as I say and do" and not "Do as I say not as I do". Let us think before we discipline our children, they might just be doing something just like Mom or Dad, maybe we are the ones who need a little correcting. Just a thought.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Movie Monday: Scripture Power

As many of you know we love the song "Scripture Power" at our house and sing the chorus before we do family scripture study everyday so when I found this video I just had to share. Enjoy!



Video by Jenny Phillips

To read a few past posts that involve scripture power and scripture study click HERE.