Dear David

Dear David: Since Sami is here this weekend and you are not, I thought I would write this blog post to you.

It is exciting to me to watch you grow. It was really hard to let you leave to go to college.  You are my youngest, and were my companion that last year of your high school career.  I looked forward to you coming home each afternoon, and really enjoyed spending time with you.  It was such a great year...but made it all the harder for me to let you go.  I was SO unsure that it was the right thing to do, especially after watching how unhappy you were as we arrived in Rexburg.  My  heart ached, and I didn't know what to do.  This was one of those situations where I had to step aside and let the Lord lead.  Plunge into the dark and know that I would be led with a firm a steady hand.  Turns out we were both led....

Fast forward to now....you have grown SO much in the time you have been away.  You've had to make your own decisions and have had to move forward in your life.  I am SO proud of you and the choices you've made.  I am excited to be a part of your life at a time when so many decisions are in front of you.  I am SO grateful - more than you will ever know - for the relationship we have and for the man you are becoming.  Thank you for being the son I always dreamt about having - I would not trade you for anyone, or anything.  I love you!

Signs of Spring

Yesterday unrolled like a perfect Saturday should.  I should backup:  My week started out so-so, but ended with a bang!  I was finally successful in hiring someone to help me with my work - and she started on Friday. I think she is going to work out wonderfully - and that overwhelmed feeling is now going away.  Saturday morning dawned and it started out like any Saturday should - with sleeping in! I got up at 9:45 and ate breakfast, then proceeded to slowly go about my day.  When I tell you what I actually did you will probably laugh at my comment that it was perfect...but to me it was just how I like it.  I cleaned the house, I went walking with a friend in the sunshine -WITHOUT A COAT! - I helped set up a church dinner - I attended/helped with serving/cleanup of the dinner, and was home by 8:30 to relax in my easy chair.  What made this day great was that I could do things at my own pace - on my own schedule - and didn't have to answer to anyone. LOVE IT!

I am really looking forward to more pre-spring days like Saturday.  I am ready to power walk in the sunshine instead of working out indoors. I am ready for my bulbs to push out more and bloom! I opened my bedroom window mid Saturday and let the fresh air in - I am SO READY!

Kid sharing:

When David was about 4 or 5 we went to our annual superbowl party.  We had been telling David that we were going to the superbowl. At that age David was already getting sports minded, and he was excited!  We went to our friends, ate and ate and ate, watched some football, and then started to clean up to go home. At the door as we were saying goodbye David said "are we going to the superbowl now"? We then realized that he didn't understand that we meant "superbowl party" NOT the actual superbowl. After explaining he was incensed...and proceeded to kick his dad in the shin! How dare we tell him we were superbowl bound and then not deliver!

When Sami was about 4 we were rushing around one Sunday trying to get ready for church.  It was one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong, kids were crying, shoes were lost, you name it, it happened. I actually had them buckled in the car and was ready to get in myself when I just gave up. I said "that is IT. We are staying HOME". Moving to unbuckle the kids, Sami said "but mom, aren't we only supposed to stay home when we are sick?"  I stopped, bowed my head, took a deep breath, and said..."yes Sami, you are right". I got in, buckled up, and off we went.  It was such a strong lesson to me - out of the mouths of babes.

Superbowl!

It is no secret that watching televised sports is not my favorite thing.  However, once a year I enjoy watching football on TV- specifically the Superbowl.  We have been getting together with another couple to party away the afternoon on Superbowl Sunday for years....more than 20, I think.  We started doing this before we had children, during our child raising years, and now on the far end when we are part time empty nesters!   It was interesting to look back on our past celebrations and how they've evolved over the years.  We started out by having a meal together, along with some snacks.  That changed over the years to a smorgasbord....enough food to fill a dining room table.  Then we had the year when everyone was dieting...and we brought the first baked potato chips: one word: EW.  One thing has always been constant - peanut M&Ms.  Some years we had several kinds...but peanut was always present.  This year it was evident that age has crept into our party.  Some of us are watching our blood sugar counts, others are watching high blood pressure and cholesteral.  Our party fare was pretty small....sub sandwiches for each person, some chips, LOTS of veggies, a few cookies, and of course peanut M&Ms.  Conversation was lively, food was plenty good.

Balance

Balance - tough word. In order to be happy, we need to have balance in our lives.  It is like the saying I learned "moderation in all things".  So easy to say, so hard to achieve!

This week taught me more about balance.  It was a tough week.  I needed to accomplish certain things and really felt like I was failing in all respects.  As the week wore on I was feeling sad - a little bit hopeless. Then I had a talk with Sami that I believe changed  my perspective. Sometimes when called upon to counsel others, we find the counsel helps us more than the person we are counseling!  She too had a tough week and was feeling hopeless, overwhelmed, and not sure where to start.  She asked me to take a break and talk with her about what she was going through.  Sometimes I am guilty of talking on the phone and working at the same time - it is a hard habit to break, "multitasking". So I did as she asked, and was able to give  her some ideas about getting out of the hole and moving forward.  

Saturday morning I awoke with a much better attitude.  I realized that the advice to Sami applied to me.  Backup. Take stock of where you need to be. Make a plan. Eliminate the inessential and stick with essentials. Start over. Moderation in all aspects of life will move you forward.

So here it is Sunday and I'm making my plan for the next week. A brand new start and I am excited! 

1. Keep goals attainable.  

2. Celebrate the goals you meet.  

3. Take time to have fun.

On another note, I was happy that the kids were able to visit each other this weekend.  Makes me feel good they can depend on each other, and that they enjoy each other's company.  We spent the weekend getting household chores done, and had dinner with friends. We topped off dinner with an outing to enjoy the adult session of Stake Conference. It was enlightening and gave me lots to think about.

Sunday Post

I told the kids I would try to post each Sunday.  Sometimes it is hard to come up with what to say, and today is one of those days.  In lieu of some serious thought provoking post, I thought I would post highlights of this last week with a little treat at the end!

1.  Monthly I have a food storage shipment delivered to the house.  The cost is $50 or under, and it allows me to slowly build my food storage.  My shipment for the month came last week.  It was delivered when we were not home and put on the porch.  When we arrived home, we noticed it was there and made a mental note to get it after we unloaded our groceries.  Note to self: Mental notes are worthless.  Two days later, when I wanted to use the box that food storage came in I realized we never brought it in.  And it was no longer on the porch - SOMEONE TOOK MY FOOD STORAGE! I haven't looked back at my order online to figure out what it was, but I am seriously hoping it was something wonderful like dried spinach....

2.  It has been SO cold here in the evenings that we've been building a fire in our woodstove to warm the house at night.  It works pretty great to warm everything up for the few hours we are awake in the evening before bed, and then the heat remains through the night and part way into the next day.  Toasty!

3.  I have successfully finished another week of following My Fitness Pal.com.  It is a calorie counter and exercise tracker.  It truly is wonderful!  Dan and I are following it together - makes dinner easier to prepare! His blood sugar counts were very high when we started, and now they are much lower.  We are hoping that within a couple of months he will be able to stop his diabetes medication again.  It is looking promising.  I am hoping that by spring I will fit into the spring/summer skirts I bought last fall!  Again, looking promising.

4.  I started a puzzle this week.  I usually do a few every winter in the evenings. I had started one WAY before Thanksgiving, but I didn't work on it at all.  I decided it was boring, so I put it back in the box and started another.  This one is better and I am enjoying it.

That is pretty much it!  Oh, the treats....I'm going to try to record a memory or two of my kids when they were little on each post:

1.  David: When David was 3 we took a trip back to Michigan to visit family.  Sami, grandma and I spent a lot of time painting our finger and toenails pretty colors. David really wanted to do it too, but we didn't encourage him.  When we came home we were unloading everything and putting things away for it seemed like forever.  Finally we realized that David was missing....and everything was quiet.  Fear struck our souls - as only fear can when the house is quiet and a little boy is in residence.  We finally found him...outside on the ground, hidden behind the picnic table. What was he doing? Well painting his finger and toenails bright red! He was so proud! I'll have to find that picture and post it next time.

2.  Sami:  She was told several times that she needed to be the example to her younger brother. Also, she thought it highly unfair that at times her brother got to do certain things at a younger age than she did....We tried to explain that parents do their best, but that parenting is hard.  Oh and that she was a guinea pig of sorts, as she was our first child. I guess she had had enough one day after hearing this over and over and turned to me and said "that is it. I do not want to be the older child any more.  I don't want to be the guinea pig any longer." She was SO serious - it was hard not to laugh!

Melinda

Of Great Worth

It was my week to teach Sunday School this week.  For those of you who don't know, I teach our adult Sunday School class every other week.  It was also Ward Conference in our ward so our stake leadership was there to give the lesson in Relief Society.  I learned a couple of things this week that I think are worth passing on.

1.  The worth of our souls is great is great in the sight of the Lord.  I think we often do not give ourselves credit for the things we accomplish in our lives.  The everydayness of life takes over...and we forget that sometimes getting out of bed in the morning is a huge accomplishment.  We talked about the Atonement in Sunday School, and how the Savior loved us SO much, that he was willing to give his life for us.  His suffering was so great, both in body and in spirit, that we couldn't come close to imagining it.  And why? Because he not only was obedient to his Father and loved Him, but that OUR worth was so great it was worth it. Remember that the next time you call yourself an idiot for making a mistake. Forgive ourselves and move on.

2.  There are alot of lonely people out there. It is hard for some people to reach out and make friends.  There are people we encounter in our everyday lives that need us.  Today we talked in Relief Society about how to reach out to others.  One of the things that really resonates within me is the "empty chair". In any church meeting you can find an empty chair.  Who belongs there? Where are they? Why aren't they there? How do we get them back, or here in the the first place?  We often think of those in our lives who aren't present in one way or another as needing "us". They need to come back to church, or they need to come back to the family circle for their betterment.  Let me suggest to you that WE need THEM. We are missing their spirits and their love.  There is an empty space in our circles without them. We cannot afford to have that chair empty for long.

So reach out to someone today. All it takes is a smile, a handshake, a door held open.  Call, or facebook message someone you haven't seen in awhile. Love them back.  They need you, and you need them.  Also, remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of the Lord.  That means YOU. You are worthy of love, compassion, and kindness.

Its a Wonderful Life

On each first Sunday of the month, our church encourages us to fast, and to share our testimonies about the Savior with one another.  We do this by coming forward and speaking at the pulpit in the front of the congregation.  Today a man stood and bore his testimony about Christ and his own life. This man was deployed to Afganistan and came home seriously injured.  He talked about how when he was young, his family used to watch "Its a Wonderful Life" at Christmas time. He talked about how boring he thought it was at the time.  Fast forward to this time in his life and he has realized what a "wonderful life" we all really have.  We have a choice - this life is all about choices - to make life the best it can be.  We can choose to look at the dark, dirty, underside of life all the time, or we can choose to look at the bright, shiny parts instead.  The Savior makes it all possible for us to have a Wonderful Life.  We just need to choose to follow Him.  

Christmas was wonderful this year.  Sami talked Dan into getting a tree...we usually don't because of our dogs, but these dogs had never had a Christmas Tree, so we were willing to take a chance.  It was kind of a crooked tree, but to me it was beautiful! And the dogs didn't even show they knew it was there. I'd show you a picture but for some reason I can't get one to show up!

It was hard to let the kids go back to school, even though in my heart of hearts I know that is where they need to be.  I enjoyed having them home again so much.  I pray daily they will find their path in life and that they will remember what we taught them about Heavenly Father.  Love you both!