the grass isn't greener
I have looked these smartwatches for kids and I have been so intrigued.
I have thought maybe they are a waste of money but, I also love the accessibility to my kids and knowing where they are.
Do you find your kids call you a lot?
Do they work like you think they would?
Hmmm…..let me know.
Mother’s Day…………
Why does that evoke so many emotions in all of us?
For Mother’s…. it can be day of feeling less than adequate. As you look longingly at all of the posts of everyone thanking their beloved mother’s and you wonder why your kids don’t feel the same way.
For those that are not yet mother’s…it is a day where you are made aware of your lack of children. When that is what you want the most and yet you still don’t have it.
For those that have lost children….it is a reminder of how your child is not in your arms. It is a reminder of what you are missing out on because your child is not here with you.
As an adopted mom, this day has always evoked negative emotions. It is a day where some of my children are reminded I am not their birth mom. It has always been a day that is one to endure.
This year, as I have been working on affirmations and becoming self-aware, I realized it is just a day with a label. How will my life really be impacted by this one day? It really won’t. Because, the next day will come. I will not be any different than I am today.
As a result, of my inner strength and resilience, I was able to treat yesterday as just another day. You know what? It was a wonderful weekend. I was calm. I was uplifted. I was aware. I was understanding AND I was so grateful. So many of my kiddos remembered me. I was able to be genuine. I was also able to be appreciative.
Am I glad I am a Mother? Yes!
But more importantly, I am grateful to be a righteous woman. I am glad I living by my high moral standards. I am glad to be relying on my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I am amazed at the influence a righteous woman has on those around us.
Sisters, we are more than a day! We have eternal value and influence.
Thank you to all of the valiant, strong women who influence my children and myself. Your “worth is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10). Thank you noble and virtuous women.
I am blessed to associate with you.
Happy Mother’s Day dear women.
is the name of an article I was reading today. It was written by Rachel Hixon from Arizona.
She was talking about how her attitude towards mothering and having to constantly clean up messes she didn’t make. I often do the same thing. I mutter and sigh as I have to clean up dozens of messes every day that I didn’t create.
It often gets very overwhelming with 19 people still living in our home. Some days it doesn’t matter where I turn there are messes, messes and MORE messes. Right now, as I sit at my computer and look around, I see oatmeal spilled on the stove, a sink full of dishes, otter pop wrappers haphazardly displayed on the floor, powdered sugar on the dining room floor a dough hook in the living room and many more messes.
It gets even harder for me when my five oldest boys (still at home) sleep the day away and then complain because they have to do a chore or two. They grumble and complain because they “always” have to do a ton of work.
As I read this article, I realized how much my perspective needs to change. Her husband said, “It’s a mothers sacrifice. It’s what mother’s do. They spend their lives cleaning up messes that they had no hand in making-just like the Savior did.”
The Savior never needed praise or acknowledgement. He went about and did the work that needed to be done. I shouldn’t keep a list of what I am doing compared to what my teens are doing or NOT doing. I pray the Savior isn’t keeping a list of all He has done to my minuscule efforts. I want to be a more Christlike mother.
Of course, then I left my computer and yelled at my kids because they still weren’t doing what I asked of them. Change is a LONG process.
However, I am determined to change. I still think my children should work and participate in family activities. John has coined the phrase “we should invite, not fight.”
I am going to strive to do my best in changing the way I parent. That is the best I can do. This is obviously a change that won’t happen overnight but it is one I am willing to persevere at.
What are some of your struggles in regards to balancing your work load to your teens?
Happy Sunday!
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For Christmas, I bought John an Amazon echo dot.. At first, John was very reluctant to use it. He wondered, “what the heck did she buy me? How am I supposed to be excited about this round speaker looking thing?”
Then, he plugged it in and started reading about it. He loves it!
John says, “Finally, someone who listens the very first time.” Hahaha, what a goof!
Every morning, he asks Alexa to give him a flash briefing. She tells him all of the top news stories. It is cool. The kids have gotten into the “alexa” thing too.
They are constantly asking her to tell them a joke, play jeopardy, and to open the magic door. She will also tell them a short story. Alexa also plays music directly from our pandora account or from amazon music.
John disabled the buy it now feature so she won’t be ordering anything from Amazon accidentally. 🙂
All in all, we love our little Alexa. She has been a great addition to our huge family. She is one person I haven’t had to give a second thought about adding to our family. 🙂
While I haven’t used the regular echo, I have found the echo dot is a perfect size and price for our family. They also have refurbished echo dots for about $10 less. Here is picture of our new girl…
was last night!!! First, I would like to say a few things about it.
It was fun to have Josh and Courtney here. Aleceeya was on video chat too. All of the family was together. That was the best!
We saw the ultrasound pictures first. The doctor reports that at this time, it doesn’t appear the baby has spina bifida. They were able to determine Ryker’s spina bifida this far along. So, it all looks good.
A healthy baby…what more could a person ask for?
Well, we wanted to know the gender too.
So on to the gender reveal. The baby was very accommodating, which we all appreciated. 🙂
Let me just say how much I LOVE my grandchildren. Seeing your children marry, build a life and start a family is the best.
I am guessing you want to know the gender about now, right?
Here is the baby. Adorable right? I have a whole bunch of pictures of the baby. I love technology!
Alright! Alright! I am getting to it.
Kodey was gracious enough to allow me to post the gender reveal video on my blog first.
So, you will be some of the very first to know…
on Monday!
Have a great weekend!!
What is it about men and babies that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside?
I love seeing men cuddle with their littles especially when they don’t think you are watching. I love seeing a man play with his kids. John is so great at this!
This is the reality of our home.
John is often goofing around with the kids. I wish I was better at that. I don’t mind the calmer activities like reading and snuggling. I have never been the mom who plays tag. However, I do love a rousing game of pretty pretty princess!
It is so comforting and peaceful when you see these big strong dads melt with their littles. I think that is why I love it so much. I see a man who works hard, physically. Yet, he becomes so gentle and loving when he holds his child.
I remember feeling this way seeing John hold our first born. The neat thing is I still feel this way watching him with our 20th. Gosh! That sounds strange. 20 kids! Man!
Knowing that we didn’t give physical birth to our baby makes these feelings even more awesome.
Some of my favorite pictures are ones in which the Savior is cradling a baby.
This picture completely melts my heart.
But then, so do these… Enjoy and Happy Friday!
We tried something new, we went to the Alpine Easter Walk today. It is open through the 17 of April from 12-7pm. It is located on Eastview Lane in Alpine. It was great and very reverent experience. You won’t be able to tell by the pictures but there is a tomb, 3 crosses and an alter with lambs to signify the Law of Moses. (Don’t worry the lambs are alive. :))
I sure felt the experience was very meaningful. My teenagers and littles didn’t though. That is always hard when you are ready for a significant experience and your family members aren’t.
I do struggle with the ability to feel the Spirit when I have a lot of voices that don’t. When you have to listen to the negativity and the attitude of others it can be a struggle to feel the Holy Spirit and the still small voice.
What do you do when you desire to feel the love of your Savior but His voice is being drowned out? Sometimes, it is just because of sheer numbers in our home. The noise level is sometimes so high that it is impossible to hear my own thoughts let alone trying to listen to the Spirit whispering significant promptings to me.
This is why we need the opportunity to be still and silent. We all need time of quiet. Time of peace. Time to reflect. I often don’t take the time to have a peaceful moment. When this happens, I find I get overwhelmed easily. I need the quiet to connect with myself, my spouse, and my Heavenly Father.
Anyway, please take the time to reflect on your blessings every day. This helps to discourage the darkness that can enter our lives. Whatever you reflect on, take the time to connect with yourself and be present in the moment. It does help.
Meanwhile know that He Lives! This is the significance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ sacrificing himself was important but the fact that He rose again and conquered death. This is the good news! We to can conquer death and find joy in our resurrection as we live with Him again. Our families can be eternal and full of pain, suffering and an unending source of joy and peace.
Have a peaceful Sabbath day and every day!
P.S. I have more pictures but they aren’t loading right now. I will update this post as soon as I can. 🙂
my little girls are making rice tonight. They are having fun using the ottoman as the stove top. Dad is getting into it as well. He is using all of his culinary terms for them.
I absolutely love the imagination of children. It also feels good to know they are watching and learning. Now, I just need to be more careful of what I teach. :/ cause they are watching always.
So, right now I am going to enjoy the bowls and bowls of rice I am eating tonight. Tomorrow is going to come soon enough and they will never be this young again.
You know when your toddler just wants to type and you are trying to do something on the computer? Well, that just happened so…I Let her. 🙂 Enjoy the thoughts of a two year old.
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UFC’s 13th Annual Chalk Art Festival benefits the 2,700 Utah children in foster care and the dedicated families who nurture them.
WORLD-RENOWNED ARTIST JULIE KIRK PURCELL BRINGS HER BRAND OF DYNAMIC STREET PAINTING TO THE ANNUAL EVENT IN DOWNTOWN SALT LAKE CITY. PURCELL HAS MADE HER MARK IN 3D ART IN FESTIVALS ACROSS THE GLOBE AND LAST YEAR, SPEARHEADED A TEAM CREATING THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FOR LARGEST 3-D PAVEMENT ART.
NEARLY 140 LOCAL ARTISTS TAKE PART EVERY YEAR, WITH COMPETITION IN BOTH YOUTH AND ADULT CATEGORIES.
