temple night...

It took a tag team of sisters, cousins, and a roommate to watch Edgar, but we GOT TO THE TEMPLE THIS MONTH!  Sweet. We are 100% for our goal so far. 

It was tough because the temple has been closed all month.  We felt kinda discouraged that a wrench got thrown in our goal right off, but we made it.  I guess everyone else in Logan felt the same way, cause I have never seen the temple so busy.  People were having to wait an hour or more!  We were able to barely get in doing some work other than a normal session.  It was a new experience for me, and really rewarding.  I got to help some mothers who had died without the gospel get sealed to their children so they could be together, even though they couldn't do the work themselves.

If any of you don't know, a Mormon Temple is a beautiful place.  One of the biggest goals of the Church is to strengthen families.  We believe that Heavenly Father wants us to be able to be with our families forever, even after we die.  There are certain things you have to do on earth to accomplish this: you have to seal your family in a Temple.  When Mormon couples get married in the temple, they also get sealed to each other(which makes it possible to be together after they die).  That part can't be done anywhere but in the temple. But a LOT of people have died without ever hearing about the Church and getting to be "sealed" to their families.  So Heavenly Father worked it out so that living people could do the work for the dead.  That is what the temples are for.  There is other work that needs to be done for them too, like being baptized.  That is done at the temple as well. 

I love my son.  He lights up my life.  I can't imagine dying and never being able to see him again.  I could imagine how grateful those moms were to be able to get their children back, and it felt really awesome to know I had been part of such a great gift.  It reminded me of how much our Heavenly Father loves us, and how much he cares about our happiness. 

Unexpected...

Life is full of things we plan or know are going to happen: the kids will grow and start kindergarten, the dog food will run out, the bills will come.  This post is not about those things.

This post is about picking your baby up in the morning for a good snuggle, only to discover that both of you are now covered in poop.

This post is about watching a cockroach fall into the corn meal while you are making dinner...for company. (NO Maryann, that was NOT last night:)

This post is about the phone call you got that your best buddy(the dog), died just after the call you got that he was found.

This post is about the phone call you got that your sister and cousins had been in a rollover, but come away with just bumps and bruises.

This post is about thinking you are in labor two months early.

This post is about returning to wetting your pants after thinking you had mastered that challenge twenty years ago.

This post is about finding the love of your life just after you had sworn of dating forever.

This post is about when the new-found love of your life totals your car while you are ring shopping.

This post is about sleeping in the kitchen for a month after you discover black mold in your bedroom wall.

This post is about scoring for free what you thought you'd have to pay 40 bucks for.

This post is about the white-trash smoking neighbor who came over last night and asked for a ride to church, and would you mind waiting after while she talked with the bishop?

This post is about being handed a free crib, a highchair, and a bag of baby clothes from the lady whose triplets have grown out of them.

This post is about dinner falling in your lap when the leg falls off your table.

This post is about being given a pickup because your brother bought himself a new car.

This post is about the roller-coaster at work, where you may get fired one week, and maybe promoted the next.

This post is about the boils you somehow passed to your baby, and the strong antibiotics you are taking for the boils that have now wreaked havoc on your system.

This post is about the hall light that exploded when you flipped the switch.

This post is about the worm in the apple, the mold on your sandwich, the hole in your sock, the broken dish, the treasure in the couch cushions...

The unexpected.

That's what this post is about.

Update!

So, we are almost to the end of January, so we have all forgotten our goals, right? Well, I just thought I would let you all know how I am doing as a reminder to keep at it.

Going to the temple: have not done it this month. Our temple has been closed, but I DID get the opportunity to go help clean it. It opens again the 25, so we are still hoping to get there.

Personal Scripture Study(aside from what I do with Robert) Nada. But I'm not too worried, I still have the whole year to get better at it.

Journaling: I am doing a lot better. I took a while picking up a new book, but I have been doing well.

Living after the manner of happiness: Doing great! I fill my days with things I love doing and people I love being with. I do things for my family, and now and then for myself. I also started exercising so I feel better and have more energy to do things I enjoy. I started a blog to share my creations as a way to celebrate being a Mom.

I hope all of you are remembering your goals. I think a lot of times we do great for a couple weeks and then forget. But it is important to acknowledge your progress too, so you don't get discouraged. So, good luck everyone!

SUCCESS!

Last week, on studio 5, I was introduced to my new dream wall decor. Old wood window frames! I was so excited, but unfortunately, they are a trendy item. DI had none. KSL had them, but not close to Logan. If you find them, they will probably be 30$ plus. Just as I was giving up hope for my window frame, a girl at an antique store gave me the tip of a lifetime: try calling a window installation company, they may be willing to salvage one fore you. So, I started calling. And calling. And after a while, I got a call back. Someone had some in their scrap pile I could come pick for FREE!! Holy cow, best day ever. So I went and scooped up all that weren't broken. I found another at another store, four all together for 15 dollars! I was pretty excited, but that is not the best part. Here is the best part: CONSIGNMENT STORE. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I sold the extra windows. Total expense for my dream decor: negative 10 dollars. SCORE. No, I don't have a picture, but they look like this:
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heh. Sometimes I try to be funny

How is it done?

So, I want to become part of the "blog mom" world. I want to share my ideas and stories with other moms. But the problem is, HOW? Some ladies with craft blogs have sponsors and people advertising on their blog. I want to do that! I want to sell my ideas and my crafts and creations. I want to make people laugh and have a place where moms can swap funny kid stories and advice. But how? I have 9 followers! Anyone have any ideas?

Selling some stuff...

Robert spent his Saturday, not sledding like he wanted, but helping me rearrange the furniture. What a guy! He really DOES love me :)

Part of the reason we wanted to rearrange (and by WE I mean I) was so that Edgar had fewer cords to play with. He thinks its about time to crawl. As we all know, it is a headache to try to contain cords. Zip ties and strings only help temporarily, but end up as loopy tangles. Plus, little hands and mouths can still get to them. SO, I invented a new solution(I think I am a genius). Necessity, my mom told me, is the mother of invention. It is simply a wide strip of fabric long enough to reach from, in my case, from the plug to the printer. Then you cram a zipper(or buttons, or ties) and zip the tube of fabric around all those ugly tangled cords and HIDE AWAY YOUR PROBLEMS!! g'won, do it! Or, heck, maybe I'll start selling them! Want one? 6Bucks, since you're my friends. I'll also make ya pacifier straps, burp rags, baby hair bows, reversible headbands, brooches, even personalized pendants to wear on necklaces if ya want em. Once I find my camera, I'll put up pictures. Interested? Let me know. I want to try baby boy ties too...hmm

strive to thrive!

Okay. New Year post.

First, I want to just review my last year. At this time last year I was a newly morning-sick mom. For a while I wondered what I was thinking when I thought I could handle this. Work was so hard. Eating was so hard. Staying healthy was impossible. My goal was to stay alive until my baby was born.

But luckily, that was just the beginning. As the months went on I felt better. Work was fun again(love and miss my kids!). It was so fun to watch and feel my little miracle grow and develop. I learned so much and I gained a certain respect for women and gained a testimony of how much our Heavenly Father respects us. I can't believe he has trusted me to raise this perfect miracle. He was born into our stewardship at the end of July. He is the best baby and having him has truly changed my life.

This past year has been the happiest that I remember. I feel good. I feel more energetic. I have learned new things and I feel better about myself. I don't know if I feel so much better because I am confident that this is what Heavenly Father wants me to be doing, or maybe because I accomplished something amazing that I didn't know if I would make it through. Maybe being pregnant and having a baby balanced my out-of-whack chemicals. I don't know why, and I really don't care. More than once since Edgar has been born I have just cried because I am so grateful to feel alive. To feel Joy in every day. I am closer to my husband and more in tune with my Heavenly Father

But here's the thing. I know how depression is. I know that I still have it. And I am scared out of my mind that I will fall back to where I was. SO, that brings me to my new goals.

1) practice letting worries go. I don't have to be perfect by this time next year, I just want to be better. I am going to calmly(with Robert's help if need be) figure out how important my worries are, whatever they end up being. If it is not something that I will remember in two weeks, I will try to let it go. In this way I will be less concerned with what may happen and be able to live in the moment and notice better the great things that are going on in my life.

2) I will strive to come closer to my husband. This isn't a goal that will end with the year. But I will communicate better. I will tell him when something bothers me or just remind him of something he forgot instead of waiting until he can read my mind. If I am upset I will tell him why instead of pretending nothing is wrong so that I can stop worrying about it. I will ask for his help instead of being angry that he can't see that I need help. I will write him more love notes.

3)I will come closer to my Heavenly Father. Robert and I have a goal to go to the temple on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. We just chose a day so we could write it on the calender and be reminded. We didn't want to do it at the end of the month in case something came up and we had to try another day. I will also be better at reading my scriptures, and saying my personal prayers in the morning. I will say my prayers while I am feeding Edgar first thing in the morning. I won't fall back asleep and there will be few distractions.

4) I will live after the manner of happiness. For me, I am doing great at that right now. But to make sure I stay happy I am going to keep doing things. I will keep learning and creating, since that brings me joy. I will be silly with my husband, my sisters, my son, my dog, or anyone else who will do it with me. I will sing and maybe even skip. I will blog, take pictures, cook, and give gifts. I will serve my family. AND, I will get a new journal. I will start over and get back into the habit. Every day, I will record something that brought me joy that day and will list something I did to keep these goals as a part of my life.

With the old year, I burned my worries. I burned my depression. I burned my sense of laziness and un-accomplishment. These are the things I stuffed my dummy with this year, and my husband helped by pouring on the gasoline. I love my life, and it feels so good.