Thankful Thirty #2

Source:  via Pinterest

The first 4 months of my last pregnancy were not pleasant.  I was exhausted and my body was broken down.  Feeling completely different than I did when I was pregnant with both my boys, every person I know had decided I must be carrying a girl.  I thought they must be right...but it didn't matter.  I was sick and being tested to the edge of what I could bear.

There were days it took all I had to pour cold cereal and turn on the television for Beck and Peyton before falling back into bed for the rest of the day.  It was on those days that I knew this was it for me.  Three babies was going to have to be what made up our family.  Doubled over and in tears I plead with the Lord to give me the strength and willpower to make it through my delivery and then apologized to my husband that this was going to have to be our last child.  Enduring another pregnancy was just not going to happen for me.

At the same time my husband was secretly pleading with the Lord to take this burden from me.  He was feeling guilty for the role he played in bringing this weakness upon me, and he was begging to be able to endure it for me.  As blessed as he knew we are to bring newborn spirits into our family, he admitted to God that he never wanted to see me feeling this way again.

We both knew this would be the completing of our family.

And here brings in the focus of my gratitude today:  The Lord knew too.  He heard our prayers and listened to our pleas.  He didn't chastise us for reacting in such a temporal moment, but wrapped his arms around our arms and answered back,

 "I believe you and I understand what you are going through. 

 I am near you and I will continue to be right here with you."

That is when we found out we were having twins.   

The Lord knew our hearts and recognized what he had asked of me.  Yet He also knew he had a plan for our family and it included more than just one more being.  He accepted my terms of defeat and did what he could to do to make sure His plan for us was complete.  If I, with my earthly mind and suffering, had decided to not be pregnant ever again, He sent the spirits He had left for us into the world together.

I do not know what our future holds.  There may be a day yet when we decide we do need to grow our family.  What I do know is that in the moment when I needed the Lord to accept all I had left to give to Him, he kept in mind His plan for me.  

I am grateful for a Heavenly Father 
so personally familiar with me and with His plan for me.

In My Heart On Thursday (Dreams)

"Everyone has an official wish list of things they think are "reasonable". What about the unofficial wish list? The one that common sense tells you to ignore? The list that exists deep in your mind, the list that keeps you up at night, that makes your toes wiggle when you think of it? Why not choose that list for a change? How long have you dreamed of being, having, and doing what you really want? Think big, as when it comes to your goals, the size of your ambition does matter."

-First Rule of Success:  Be Decisive, Gary Ryan Blair

In My Heart On Thursday (Opportunity)

 "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"

-Evan Almighty, 

as quoted on  Latter-day Homeschooling

The Journey That My Heart Is On

My husband is in Seattle this week.  My boys and I were going to meet him there for the Easter weekend and go exploring on the Olympic Peninsula, but the the weather forecast was for low 50's and rainy.  We're not going.  We were going to go to the Redwoods for my 2-year-old's birthday, but we didn't.  I wanted to drive to San Diego, leave my kids with family, and go on a cruise this summer before the baby comes.  Completely off the table.  And the year-long adventure I've been dreaming about?  Most definitely not going to happen.

In full disclaimer, my kids and I are going back to the Sparks Flea Market next month to hang out with my family.  I used all my frequent flyer miles and all our free hotel nights to get us there.  They were going to waste and it's not looking like I will be using them for anything else anytime soon...I don't travel anymore.

Would you mind being the bounce board for my therapy?  

First, I never have renewed my passport.  The money always kept going elsewhere.  The cruise I mentioned earlier would require a passport and applying now would probably not see that beautiful blue book back in my hands until I'm too pregnant to be sailing.  One weekend I had an idea to fly to Canada and go camping in Banff National Park this summer, or to drive to Alaska to visit friends, but those are things I also can't do without a passport. Please don't offer the advice that I could expedite my renewal.  I know.  That adds to the cost which has been inhibiting me all these months and appears to be staunchly implanted in my brain as an excuse not to go get my new photo taken tomorrow.

Second, life happens when you don't realize you're looking right at it.  For 15 years I've had a personal philosophy that people don't need to settle down until they have children that start school.  And with today's technology, that's not even a resolute reason to change your wandering lifestyle if your family is still out there  having fun.  Five years ago when I had my first baby my ideals didn't change, but since then the trips have become routinely shorter and closer to home.  I HATE when people tell me having kids changes things.  I don't think it's an excuse to quit doing things.  How could I have let that happen to me?  

Now I have my soon-to-be kindergartner registered in an online curriculum  that would enable us to keep taking off on far-away adventures.  So what happens?  Life, again.  All the money we'd saved and sacrifices we've made to pack up and leave town weren't for nothing.  They've just turned out to not be for what we'd thought they would be.  Medical bills for new babies and broken arms and who knows what else is to come turn out to cost just about the same amount of money as backpacking around the world for 9 months in bliss.

As for the third and final reckoning in my brain?  My husband has decided he likes living a comfortable suburban life with a safely predictable job, all of his hobbies, and extra-curricular responsibilities.  He has contentedly settled down.  He won't tell me that matter-of-fact, but it's time for me to accept and start dealing with it.  How do I know that's where he's at in his life right now?  He's quit getting excited when I call out of the blue with a hair-brained plan for where we should take off to on the weekend.  I used to jump in the car and show-up unexpectedly wherever he was working out of town, but now he as much as tells me it'd be more responsible if I stayed home and saved the money.  He's in his fourth year of a job that was always supposed to be the hold-over until a great new adventure came along, but now he talks about a year from now when he'll be working more in the office and less on the road.  The final blow?  The year-long traveling life change I believed in wholeheartedly never evolved further than a passing whimsy to be discarded quickly in my husband's mind.  

Having now had my equivalent hour on the couch, how do I evolve from here?

I have no idea.  Always in my mind are the thoughts that I'm being tested and need to learn to be happy in the moment with the circumstances surrounding me.  That it is noble and normal to live in one house & one town with predictable days forever.  I feel guilty that my vision of motherhood, marriage partnership, and family life is so different from everyone else.  I struggle with wondering why I have to be the one that pretends to be something different than what is deeply rooted inside me.  I dread hearing people tell me not to give up on my dream or lose the wandering part of my soul when I don't see how there is any other option for me.  I don't want to be one of those, "When the children are older," or "We'll do that when we retire" type of people, but that is exactly what is happening. 

That is what is happening to me.  Part of me is being buried and the tightening I feel in my chest when I admit it so I can let it go confirms that I've barely embarked on the most challenging journey yet that my heart has been asked to travel.

Jumping On Pre-Bandwagon

I'm going on record today to declare I'm voting Ann Romney for next First Lady!  I don't know how that's going to work since I'm not yet enamoured with her husband, who would obviously have to be elected in order for my vote to make a difference, but every time I hear her speak my heart is stirred and I find myself longing for genuine compassion and transparent values in the White House.

I do not necessarily have a bone to pick with Michelle Obama.  I believe she's a great mom and she has championed worthy causes during her time of influence, but she does not inspire me.  I won't go into the reasons why-I'm not sure I've investigated them all within myself.  What I am aware of is an emotional yearning to be encouraged and led by someone like me.

Now, Ann Romney and I obviously are not the same people in innumerable ways.  Our upbringing and backgrounds are caverns apart.  Our husbands have chosen vastly different career paths.  Her health struggles are immensely more challenging than anything I've thus far been asked to bear.  Acknowledging all that, I listened to this interview several months ago and was brought to tears realizing that in so many ways she is just like me.

 
This clip is long, but I hope you'll listen.  
Again, not for Mitt Romney's words, but for hers. 

Here I will admit that my thoughts do have an LDS connection, but I am NOT telling you I like Ann Romneybecause she's a Mormon.  Prior to listening to this interview, I had never considered or believed that members of the LDS church talk differently than other people.  Yet, I listened to her speak about her family, her love and her fears for them, and I believed she could be any lady I've ever sat next to in a church Relief Society Meeting.  She wasn't speaking tenets of doctrine.  She was speaking from what is truly in her heart.  She holds her family together-leads them and guides them-through her faith and conviction.  I know she would do that as well for our country.

Also a little while ago, I happened to be clicking through the channels and landed on this diatribe by Neil Cavuto.  

While not entirely his typical snarky wit and humor, the sentiments once again moved me to tears and left me begging for the stars to align and put this remarkable woman on the national stage where she can work to motivate the American people in the same way she inspires me.

If the political talking heads are ever right about anything, we are about to be enveloped by video of Ann Romney stumping for her husband on the campaign trail.  The next time you see her introducing her husband or hear someone criticizing Mitt's likability, I hope you'll take a deeper look into Ann's genuine intentions and think what it would be like to have that kind of woman standing beside the President of our United States.

In My Heart On Thursday

                                          It's 10 minutes, but worth it. 
 I started crying at 4:29 and the tears kept falling
Thank you, One Mom's Moxie, for posting it for me to see

Resolve #1-Making a SMALL part of My World Better

I have always wanted to be one of those women that does all her shopping with re-usable bags.  Over time I've gathered a few boring store brand ones, but I NEVER remember to use them.  Even if they're in the empty seat beside me as I pull into the grocery store parking lot, I will grab my purse and not give a thought to grabbing them as well.

My community does not offer any kind of curbside recycling, so it's not a habit I've ever gotten in to.  In my house plastic bags go straight into the garbage.  I have absolutely no use for them (well, lining the bathroom trashcan, maybe).  I know stores have collection bins, but if I can't remember a bag I paid for when I go in the store, there's no way I'm going to remember a wad of dirty plastic ones.  If I'm quick enough at the checkout stand, I do usually get paper bags so I can cut them up and use for crafting with my kids.  I've been noticing, though, that several of my regular grocery haunts have quit using paper bags completely (Kroger, you are my biggest offender!).

And so, for an easy way to get 2012 off on the right foot, I'm converting to all re-usable shopping bags!  I should feel ashamed to tell you it's not actually for the recycling after all.  But I'm not ashamed.  I just want to shop with pretty bags that make me happy.  I went hunting last week and found a great selection-huge bags at TJ Maxx, tiny bags at Ross Dress for Less,  and bags to get the kids excited at Toys 'R Us.  I have a few that fold up very small to fit in my purse, and one Envirosak that I bought a long time ago on Totsy.

Have they made it out on a shopping trip with me?  Three trips to the store in the last week, and I forgot my bags the first two.  But I made up for it today!  I took them to Costco and didn't have to make 15 trips from the car to the house when I got home.  The bagboy for the rest of my grocery shopping thanked me for having such big bags.  And he even used one of the tiny ones for my white wine vinegar and cheese.  This is the beginning of a new way of life for me!

Do you shop with re-usable bags?  

I'd love to hear about your favorite one!

I Wandered Off, but I'm Wandering Still...

If you were hanging out with me a year ago, you might remember that I was walking around with a pretty dismal view of the New Year.  In the end, however, 2011 turned out to be a pretty great year.  I had the privilege of teaching some extremely powerful Relief Society lessons where the class taught me more than I possibly could have given to them.    I got to go on a shopping spree.    I traveled with my family to the Grand Canyon, San Diego, all over New Mexico, and a gigantic swap meet in the Midwest.  And I finally found a way to love my hair.  Going into 2012 I have a thousand reasons to be happy and  grateful.

As I think about what I want to accomplish in the coming year, the word that keeps coming to mind is "responsibility."  Nearly every area of my life could be marked with bright red "LAZY" stamp across the top of it.  In cultivating that laziness, I've neglected a lot of people and a lot of opportunities.  It's time for me to get busy being the person I'm supposed to be.

My new resolve breaks down into five basic categories:

~Making my physical world better (one little step, or maybe two)

~Fixing the damage caused by considering myself a stay-at-home mom instead of a homemaker

~Testing my grit as a homeschooling parent before I make a decision I hate

~Realistically making our extended travel plans

~Blogging the way I'm supposed to be.

I'll write about each of those in the coming weeks.  About the blogging, however, I want to apologize now for letting myself get carried away.  The past year on this blog has been so fun, but the past few months, especially, have been unfulfilling. I started this blog as an outlet for thoughts that were important to me.  When people ask what I write about, I tell them, "a little bit faith, a little bit life, a little bit traveling."  Those are the things that are important to me.  I never wanted Wandering Still to be money-making or popularity inducing.  I just wanted to share my thoughts with the people who wanted to listen.  Thank you to those of you who've wandered off with me.  But rest assured, 

2012 is going to find me getting back to "ME."  

I hope you'll join me on the journey.

In My Heart On Thursday

What are you planning for the New Year?

Uniquely December: Ice Cream Day

If you were reading awhile back, you know that I love Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey and that I also struggle supporting that particular ice cream establishment due to our differing political views.  When I mentioned it just a few months ago I hadn't found the impetus to make a definite turn away from my favorite frozen delicacy.  Today, however, I've taking my stand.

With Ben and Jerry's today throwing their corporate support behind the Occupy Movement, I will no longer support them even to indulge my strongest cravings.  Not because there isn't good to be done buried somewhere deep in the mess that is the Occupy Movement.  And not because I disagree with their long-standing efforts to support employees and consumers over corporate interests.  The reason I can no longer sneak my Chunky Monkey has much more to do with their decision to fuel a completely ineffective and direction-less movement.

Over the past few months I've found myself in several different states and seeing fairly up close the Occupy Movements in several those areas.  I've listened intently to what the Occupiers in my own neck of the woods are saying, and there's not much coherence there.  I know they must believe strongly in what they're fighting for-why else would they have stretched their protests into the bitter cold of winter?  But no one else is believing them because their is no concise point for us to be believing.

Let me share my view of the Occupy movement based on what has happened here in Salt Lake City...

Pioneer Park for years was a haven for homeless people and drug dealers.  It was a BIG problem; a historic and significant area of the city and nobody was able to enjoy it.  Finally the city stepped in to clean up the park and the problem.  Over the past few years they have made tremendous strides in cracking down on crime and finding shelter options for those in need.  Families are coming back to the park.  The farmer's market sets up there once again and a new summer concert series packs a crowd every week.

So what is the logical next step for a park with such a troubled past?  I promise you it's not a group of unorganized squatters pitching tents and piling up trash in the walkways.  It's not a group of people who apparently also have no homes because they never go there and also maybe can't read because they are completely oblivious to the printed park curfew signs.  The city bent over backwards, set aside their own city tenets, to enable a peaceable protest.  The SLC Occupiers recognized that. Then a man in a tent died. The city had to put their foot down. And the occupiers lawyered up to sue on the grounds that the city violated their own laws by letting the protesters stay.

What are the SLC Occupiers fighting for?  I have no idea.  On Black Friday they were calling for a boycott of shopping at Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart undercuts prices and products that are American-made.  Today, they're "riding our bikes very slowly" in front of trucks leaving the Wal-Mart distribution centers to show solidarity for the Wal-Mart workers who "deserve a living wage" and should unionize.  Are you kidding me?  Riding your bikes very slowly in front of a moving 18-wheeler?  Great cause.  Great movement.

If I think about it, I suppose the Occupiers are out there fighting for me.  Right?  Middle-class family struggling to keep health insurance, a bit afraid of the rate at which the price of food is rising, and wondering what comes next.  But you know what?  My husband and I won't be joining you.  No.  We're working.  We're supporting our family.  We're making ends meet the best way we can and looking for opportunities to intelligently make our situation better.  Know what else?  We're bathing!  (Well, okay, except for the no shampoo thing...)

What does all this have to do with ice cream?  Absolutely nothing.  Except that Ben & Jerry's has made it their new mission to stick their noses into the mess.  If, in the long run, their clout and own corporate dollars are successful in finally bringing a point to the Occupy movement, hurray for them.  Let them be a catalyst for something good (it'd definitely be better than touring with a burning effigy of the President).  For now, though, I am one of little faith.  I'll continue to grant them their creative tastiness, but will no longer be indulging...in their ice cream or in their involvement with the Occupy movement.

The Final Stretch (Hair Challenge Update) & Giveaway

*Giveaway now closed*

Bet you thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?  Nope, just held off a couple days to include the giveaway with my next to last hair challenge update...Not sure what I'm talking about?  Catch up on my 6-week Curly Hair Challenge.

As I enter the last week of my 6-week curly hair challenge, my mind is shifting to the reintroduction of my hair and shampoo.  If the idea is to eliminate shampoos containing harsh sulfates and silicones, here is the list of ingredients to avoid (Be warned, it's going to look like a scary chemistry exam):

Sulfates (in shampoos)

 Alkylbenzene Sulfonate, Ammonium laureth or lauryl sulfate, Ammonium or Sodium Xlenesulfonate Sodium, C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium cocoyl sarcosinate, Sodium laureth, myreth or lauryl sulfate,  Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, TEA dodecylbenaensulfonate,  Ethyl PEG 15 cocamine sulfate, Dioctyl  sodium sulfosuccinate

Silicones (in conditioners)

     Cetearyl methicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone,  Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Stearyl Dimethicone, Amodimethicone (in combination with Trideceth-12 & Cetrimonium Chloride), Trimethylsilylamodimethicone

I know, that list looks completely overwhelming.  And when you start looking at the ingredients list on your shampoo bottle, it'll set your mind spinning.  But it's worth it!  Let me give you a much shorter list of ingredients that are safe (or at least safer) to use on your curly hair...

Shampoos

Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocobetaine, Cocoamphoacetate, Cocamphodipropionate, Disodium cocoamphodiacetate, cocoamphodipropionate, Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate

Conditioners

Dimethicone Copolyol, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydroxypropyl Polysiloxane, Lauryl Methicone copolyol

So what am I going to use next week when I go back to shampoo?  Well, I'm definitely not going back to my old stand-by, VO5.  It's got nearly every no-no ingredient on the list.  I've had good luck with Biolage
in the past, but their shampoos also are high in sulfates.  I read great reviews of a brand called Jason and their shampoos follow the good ingredient guidelines fairly closely, but my research has found their conditioners to stray completely in the opposite direction.

For now I've settled on Aubrey Organics Balancing Shampoo  It doesn't have a flashy label and no flowery fragrance, but there are no chemical name in the ingredients list and that impresses me.  Other natural hair-cleaning lines with good ingredients are: Desert Essences,  Kinky Curly, and SheaMoisture. 

My 6-week hair challenge may be nearly over, but I also feel like it's just the beginning of learning for me.  I'm committed to using healthier shampoos and healthier styling products as well.  Make sure you come back on Monday when I'll reveal our "after" photos and wrap up the hair challenge with our final thoughts!


Now, finally, today's giveaway:

Giveaway Items: 

Curly Hair Care Package: 

1 Bottle Aubrey Organics Shampoo, 
1 Bottle Aubrey Organics Conditioner, 

1Wide-Tooth Comb, 1 Microfiber Towel

Giveaway Information:

1 winner will receive entire package

 Contest will begin at 4:01 PM (MST) on Thursday, December 8, 2011

 and end at 10:00PM(MST) on Monday, December 12, 2011.

Giveaway open to U.S. residents only 

Entry Options:

~Mandatory Entry~

Browse my Curly Hair Challenge posts and leave a blog post comment here about something you've learned.

Curly Hair Challenge Posts

~Optional Extra Entries(Leave a comment for each extra entry)~

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Uniquely December: National Pawnbroker's Day

My husband has a friend who bought his wife's engagement ring at a pawn shop.  If I have the story right, she was on board with the idea and went along to help him pick it out.  Since then, when recounting the event, they've heard a wide range of opinions on if that is okay.  

The yeah-sayers tout it as a GREAT money-saving move.  They got a much larger ring at a much smaller price than they would otherwise have been to get.  

The nay-sayers walk away shaking their heads, jaws wide-open.  Building your future on another person's failure.  Where's the upside in that?

I'm definitely of the camp that says, "Go for it!"  My engagement ring cost about $15 from a kiosk in the mall. When I lost that one we replaced it with the same thing and when I lost that one it had been discontinued and I was out of luck.  My wedding ring is a plain gold band and it's perfectly fine.  But, one day I'm going to get myself a big flashy ring and if it can be bigger and flashier because I got it at a pawn shop, all the better for me!

Which side of the pawn shop aisle are you sitting on?

Sleepy Time

Sleep.  I absolutely love it. That has not always been the case.  Here's the journey sleep and I have taken to get us to the symbiotic relationship we enjoy today:

High School: Who sleeps when they're in high school.  I mastered the art of waking up, getting dressed, and rolling out the driveway in 5 minutes.  My sister Kathy was thankful she never had to worry about sharing the bathroom while she was getting ready.

College:  I worked graveyards doing night audit at a hotel, a good amount of overtime covering day shifts, and took 21+credits at school.  One semester my schedule required me to leave for school Friday at noon and not return home to sleep until Tuesday morning at 8AM.  I still tremble thinking of the day I pulled in my driveway after driving the 30 minutes across Des Moines but not remembering a single thing I did after clocking out and getting in my car to head for home.

Early 20's:  Most of this time I was in Alaska. In the summers I lived 2 hours away from any civilization.  With friends, I'd often work all day, drive into Fairbanks for a full night of fun, then head back home in the wee hours of the morning to make it to work the next day.  I'm 100% convinced that I ran over a human foot on one such excursion. 

Winters I lived in Fairbanks working two jobs.  On the weekend friends and I spent our time dancing until closing time at the Greyhound Lounge.  I decided it was time to catch up on my sleep the morning I got up and drove to work thinking I was going to be late for my 7AM shift.  I drove past 4 bank clocks but didn't register the time until I parked in the hotel parking lot and realized it was only 2:45AM.  I'd been asleep for a whopping 30 minutes before waking up in my panic.  

Late 20's:  Sleeping got better after I got married.  My husband and I quickly adopted a routine of not going to bed until well after midnight, but most of the time I could sleep in a little bit and still wasn't feeling like I needed a whole night's rest to fully function.

Now:  After having my second baby my body decided it would go on strike if I tried rousing it before getting 8 hours of sleep.  We could have a party if I let it have 10.  I still haven't figured out how to get in bed before midnight, but my husband is a saint who gets up with the kids and lets me sleep in the morning.  Heaven help me if he ever gets a job that requires him to be gone early.  

And that brings me to this weekend.  At 11:30pm on Saturday night my sore throat decided to explode with a pain I've never felt before.  My husband ran to the store for cold medicine.  I'm very slow to take medicine, and when I do it's usually only a half-dose, so when he gave me a full dose and I swallowed it I should have expected it to knock me out.  

That would have been a huge understatement!  I woke up at 10:30 long enough to agree I should stay home from church, and then not again until 12:50.  When my family got home from church I crawled back in bed and slept the rest of the day.  Literally.  I woke up at 7:30.  Everyone was getting into bed when I decided to start my day-still feeling a little groggy.  And then I crawled back in bed with my husband at our normal time.  

This morning I'm feeling pretty great!

A-R

In My Heart On Thursday

Making Money

Back in high school I wrote out a plan whereby the world could stop using money.  If I remember right, we would all go on a honest bartering system and we would all be happy.  Sounds nice, doesn't it?  Never feeling like you're lacking or deprived as long as someone else will trade you.  I'm thinking that idea won't soon be winning the Nobel Prize for Economics.

My life seems to be constantly tied up with the stress of money.  My brain is taxed to the hilt on payday as I divide a decent amount among an overwhelming number of bills and responsibilities.  My inner self struggles daily against the temptation of shopping.  The weight of unwise credit card debt keeps us aware of our bad choices.  My husband endures a lackluster job that allows us to leave adequately well.  And we wonder how our parents raised families on considerably less.

So what are we doing?  For awhile we've been half-doing Dave Ramsey's financial program.  It worked really well in the beginning and now we've just drawn it out too long.  We do have an emergency savings but need a shot in the arm to continue getting where we need to be.  I know he always says, "Beans and rice, rice and beans" but it seems like it would take eating our food storage every night for awhile before that would get us too far ahead.

We talked recently about moving into a small cheap apartment as a way to build up extra money each month. Truthfully, that's what we've done for our whole marriage.  The place we're living now is the first place we've really loved and for the perks that come with it, we'd be sacrificing more than just shelter to move out now.  

And we've talked about getting part-time jobs.  Indeed, I started applying for seasonal jobs this afternoon.  I'm not 100% sold on the idea, but it seems like a better solution than asking my already hard-working husband to be gone from his kids even longer every day.  If I think about it long, I do start getting excited about contributing again, especially imagining my check's chunk of money disappearing our debt directly.

We will keep on keeping on, but I'm curious...

when in similar situations, what do you do?

Want more A-Z?

In My Heart On Thursday

"Curiosity is not a preparation."

-Elder Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple

Joy

On my new blog, Eating the Nibbly Bibs, the focus is 100% joy.  Both for my two boys and for me.  I'm working out of a fabulous book named Teaching Your Children Joy where I do a daily activity with them and then record my thoughts and observations on how it went.  

Here is a post from last week:

I'm InWhat I'm learning about parenting is this:  You have to be all in.  Children grow up whether you're intensely involved or not.  The opportunity we have is to be a part of that during the short amount of time we have with them.  And we choose the degree of intensity.

During the past four years I've had ups and downs-periods of complete attention and periods of viewing from the sidelines.  The last year I'd evaluate as fairly well checked out and the results are there to prove it.  Beck and I argue like he's a teenager.  Indeed I look at him and can see exactly what 14-year-old Beck will be.  But the good news is that that's true for the good times too!  I've noticed before, and I'm seeing it now...when I'm anxiously engaged in being mom to my two boys, they smile and laugh and want to be anxiously engaged with me.  It's a lesson worth learning, and one I'm sure I'll need to keep learning again and again.

Today's Teaching Your Children Joy activity was to "make spontaneity a high priority."  Be open to letting it happen anytime and anyplace.  It's hard to get past the point when you holler "No," or "Stop," "Sshhh!", but when you do it makes the world more interesting for both you and your child.

So try it.  Let them splash in a puddle.  Follow the direction of their pointing fingers and over-enthusiastic shouts of "LOOK!"  Clear the way and let them spin the kid cart while walking through the grocery store.  They'll be happier and you might just find yourself barefooted squishing mud between your toes.  

If you have little ones, or if you don't, I'd love to have you come on over and check it out... 

Eating the Nibbly Bibs

For earlier A-Z posts...

Yummy Yummy Ice Cream

Who on the planet doesn't love ice cream?  Or gelato, or Italian Ice, or frozen yogurt?  Well, anyways, I love ice cream enough for anyone out there who does not partake.

My favorite?  Definitely Chunky Monkey from Ben & Jerry's.

I was going to explain the inner struggle I have supporting Ben & Jerry's (loving their strong corporate culture while hating a number of their political/social stances), but, really, it's just ice cream, and I'm not strong enough to say no. 

In the end, I don't patronize their scoop shops anymore, but if my husband brings a pint home to smooth over our latest disagreement, I'm hardly going to turn down the cold and creamy treat.  Can you blame me?

Missed A-H?

In My Heart On Thursday

-Penny For Your Thoughts

In My Heart On Thursday

"We have free will, and the Devil also has things in his mind too."

-Donald Kraybill, Amish Grace