Sweet Dreams

I’m a sucker for seeing my sweet babies sleep.  It just warms my mother heart to see them so peaceful and beautiful.  Rachel is getting to the point where she has a hard time settling down for a nap, so I usually have to go in and lay with her.  I love to watch her fall asleep…struggling against the heavy eyelids for a time and then succumbing as they fall and hearing her breathing get heavy.  It’s probably one of my favorite things…I used to watch Katie with the same struggle.  And every time as I watch them, I feel the Spirit affirming to my soul the importance of motherhood.

What went wrong and what went right.

Towards the end of yesterday, I was starting to get discouraged.  The girls had been fighting, disobeying, yelling at each other, and not using their nice words when they talked to me or each other.  I didn’t get as much done as I had hoped.  And what I had done, didn’t seem to be what I wanted to do.

What went wrong:  I burned dinner.  And this is after talking to my sister about how she thought she was burning her dinner.  Dang power of suggestion.

What went right:  Scott was late coming home–that’s not what went right–but it did give me more time to make dinner again so at least it was edible.

What went wrong:  The girls seemed to be at each other all night.

What went right:  But not all night.  They did spend some happy moments pretending they were at the hospital.  In this picture above, Rachel is the “hospital helper” and Katie is getting checked.  I love when they pretend together.  As I write this, they are taking all the pillows we have to make a “cupcake” with frosting on the top.  (This is just stacking all the pillows up.)

What went wrong:  I made a curtain to cover the DVDs on the entertainment center. It doesn’t hang the way I envisioned.  It is frustrating to work on something for an hour or so just to have it not work out as well as you hoped.

What went right:  I still like it.  I just need to figure out how to hang it so it doesn’t gather as much.

What went right:  Rachel helping me with dinner.  She was putting the potatoes in the pot for me.

What went right:  My back has loosened up enough that I don’t have to lay down every twenty minutes because it is hurting.

What went right:  Scott got home safe and sound, albeit a little later than usual, to a delicious, unburned dinner.

What went right:  Scott got home late because he has a lot to do at work.  (And that is a huge blessing right now in this economy.)

What went right:  We have a beautiful, healthy family.

What went right:  Because I was able to move more today than I have all week, my house is cleaner than it was earlier in the week.  (Not spotless, but way more clean.)

What went right:  Scott got home from his meeting in time to put the girls to bed.  They really miss him when he is gone.

The more I write about what went right, the more blessed I feel.  My mom had a quote on her fridge that I believe was from President Hinckley.  (I’ve looked for the exact quote, but I can’t find it–if someone knows where it is, let me know!)  “There are always more blessings than trials in this life.”

Boot camp!

I am in the middle of a very intense “boot camp” done by a friend in the ward, Christina. She was a personal trainer and started this boot camp twice a week in the morning at a nearby park. And it is awesome. I have gotten way stronger and haven’t worked out this hard since at least college…but probably more like high school. One thing that I really like about it is that she uses exercise balls, bands, or park benches to do our workouts meaning that it is quite inexpensive to replicate the exercises at home. But lest you think you could do without an instructor…I have to plug the fact that Christina is great at correcting your form and telling you exactly which part of the body that particular exercise is working. I have been way impressed and I am hoping to scrape the money together to try it another time when it starts up in August again.

And if you aren’t in the area, you can keep up with her fitness blog here.

Seeing the Everyday

I am always looking for ways to celebrate motherhood and find joy in my children.  What a lovely idea for a magazine!  It is called Seeing the Everyday and you can find it here.

From their website:
The magazine “focuses on the daily interaction taking place at home.  Although these exchanges are often seen as mundane or inconsequential, the sum of our daily exchanges is what shapes a family, for better or for worse.  Building a strong family truly is a prosaic work.” 

Sounds good to me!  I would love to see more of this magazine.  And better yet:  it’s advertisement free.

First seen on designmom.

Cute kids backpacks!

Hey Kristi, I found some cute kids backpacks! Too bad you already found Mady one (and probably it was a better deal) but check these out! You can find them here.

A good quote…

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Words of the Prophet: You Can Be Forgiven,” New Era, Oct 2001,  4)

I have thought a lot about this lately. I think the mode I have been in is just enduring…have to get through another day, have to survive another tantrum, have to clean the house again, make dinner again, go to the grocery store again…etc. But am I really enjoying my life? Am I really noticing the blessings that I have? Two beautiful, healthy girls, a kind, loving husband; all who I love so much. And I am starting to really understand what it means to enjoy life as I consider my blessings. Are you enduring or ar you enjoying?

Think about it…

I mean, how could I not enjoy this:

(right now as I write this, Katie is making faces at herself in the bathroom mirror and really giggling at herself)

One of my favorite quotes

I got this quote one time in Sunday School and have had it in my Book of Mormon ever since because I liked it so much. At least, I kept in my scriptures until my daughters decided to pull it out. So I will post it here so that I remember it. It is by Elder M. Russell Ballard.

“Life isn’t always easy. At some point in our journey we may feel much as the pioneers did as they crossed Iowa–up to our knees in mud, forced to bury some of our dreams along the way. We all face rocky ridges, with the wind in our face and winter coming on too soon. Sometimes it seems as though there is no end to the dust that stings our eyes and clouds our vision. Sharp edges of despair and discouragement jut out of the terrain to slow our passage…Occasionally we reach the top of one summit in life, as the pioneers did, only to see more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we have just traversed. Tapping unseen reserviors of faith and endurance, we, as did our forebears, inch ever forward toward that day when our voices can join with those of all pioneers who have endured in faith, singing ‘All is well! All is well!’” (in Ensign, May 1997, 61.)

How cute are these pictures?

My old photography major roommate Kelli posted some awesome pictures of her niece on her blog. How cute are those pictures? They are for her niece’s birthday party and I would love if I had some cute pictures of my kids inviting all of you to their birthday parties!

Things like this remind me why I love being a mommy

The other day I took Katie and Rachel up to visit my Grandma. She lives on a farm and still has a couple of chickens. Her neighbors still have cows. So I took Katie out to see the chickens and then we went out to see the cows. On the way back, Katie looked at me and said, “I love you so much Mommy!”

I love you so much too, Katie!