He loved the gorillas! We watched them for a long bit as he pointed and stared.
(I took these pictures on my phone so they're not the greatest quality).
Saturday, May 28, 2011
The Zoo!
He loved the gorillas! We watched them for a long bit as he pointed and stared.
(I took these pictures on my phone so they're not the greatest quality).
Friday, May 20, 2011
To Do vs. To Be
Have you ever had that morning when you wake up and realize that you are not the person you want to become and everything you are busy doing all day long is not getting you any closer? I've had that morning before.
A couple weekends ago I went to my stake's Women's Conference. I loved the class I went to called "To Do vs. to Be". One idea that really stood out to me (it was my little Aha! moment) was my "To Do" list. I hope you don't mind me sharing, I've been thinking about it ever since. My list might look like this...
To Do:
Exercise
Laundry
Clean Bathrooms
Make Bread
Grocery shopping
Check e-mail
Write family missionary
Make dinner
These are all good things These are things that I can't wait to check off my list because then I feel accomplished. The cooking, cleaning, errands are all part of normal, every day life. However, here is the person I want to become...
To Be: (in no particular order, and just a few of the many things I would like to be)
Healthy and physically fit
Educated- knowledgeable
Spiritual- firm in testimony
Loving mom
Devoted wife
Happy, friendly, outgoing, bubbly
Disciplined, Diligent
When I compared my lists I realized that those things I busily run around all day long doing to add some checks to my list, won't contribute to me becoming that woman, mom, and wife I want to become.
This is the tough part. The grocery shopping and cooking still needs to be done- we eat a lot around here! I still want my house to be clean. There are errands that will still have to be run. And I rarely get everything done that is on my list for one day. I think it may have something to do with the putting of rocks and sand in a jar analogy. If you put the sand in first and then try to stuff the rocks in on top, it won't all fit. However, if you first put in the rocks (the most important things, my To Be) then pour the sand (errands, etc) over top, it fits!
"Some uses of individual and family time are better, and others are best. We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families" (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Good, Better, Best," Oct. 2007).
I've discovered that if I make this "To Be" list for myself, then use it when I write my "To Do" list, it helps me prioritize. I decide that going to the store can wait for another day. That some things aren't as important and I don't need to wear myself out trying to get it all done. That two of the most important things to strengthen myself personally is to exercise and read my scriptures. It has always been that way for me, if I get those two things in, I feel very good about myself, and then I can go on to being a better person, mom, and wife. So I put those rocks in very first, before Bridger wakes up.
Last conference, Elder Robbins said: "To BE and To DO are inseparable. Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn check marks with to be’s. I can take my wife out for a lovely evening this Friday, which is a to do. But being a good husband is not an event; it needs to be part of my nature—my character, or who I am.
"Or as a parent, when can I check a child off my list as done? We are never done being good parents. ...
"BE begets DO and it the motive behind DO..."
I want to enjoy all the little moments. I want to be in the moment when I am reading to Bridger. Instead of hurrying to read a couple books as I'm thinking of the dishes that need to be done, I want to be able to focus on the fun things he is learning. I want to be in those moments when Devin is home for lunch and be a good wife.
“. . . The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.
“I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” -Anna Quindlen, Newsweek columnist
Sorry about my little (long) sermon here. I figure though that God has given us a whole life time to become the person he wants us to become. I'm working on it. Hopefully someday I can figure it out.
Links:
Elder Dallin H Oaks "Good, Better, Best"
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf "Of Things That Matter Most"
Elder Lynn Robbins conference talk: "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?"
A couple weekends ago I went to my stake's Women's Conference. I loved the class I went to called "To Do vs. to Be". One idea that really stood out to me (it was my little Aha! moment) was my "To Do" list. I hope you don't mind me sharing, I've been thinking about it ever since. My list might look like this...
To Do:
Exercise
Laundry
Clean Bathrooms
Make Bread
Grocery shopping
Check e-mail
Write family missionary
Make dinner
These are all good things These are things that I can't wait to check off my list because then I feel accomplished. The cooking, cleaning, errands are all part of normal, every day life. However, here is the person I want to become...
To Be: (in no particular order, and just a few of the many things I would like to be)
Healthy and physically fit
Educated- knowledgeable
Spiritual- firm in testimony
Loving mom
Devoted wife
Happy, friendly, outgoing, bubbly
Disciplined, Diligent
When I compared my lists I realized that those things I busily run around all day long doing to add some checks to my list, won't contribute to me becoming that woman, mom, and wife I want to become.
This is the tough part. The grocery shopping and cooking still needs to be done- we eat a lot around here! I still want my house to be clean. There are errands that will still have to be run. And I rarely get everything done that is on my list for one day. I think it may have something to do with the putting of rocks and sand in a jar analogy. If you put the sand in first and then try to stuff the rocks in on top, it won't all fit. However, if you first put in the rocks (the most important things, my To Be) then pour the sand (errands, etc) over top, it fits!
"Some uses of individual and family time are better, and others are best. We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families" (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Good, Better, Best," Oct. 2007).
I've discovered that if I make this "To Be" list for myself, then use it when I write my "To Do" list, it helps me prioritize. I decide that going to the store can wait for another day. That some things aren't as important and I don't need to wear myself out trying to get it all done. That two of the most important things to strengthen myself personally is to exercise and read my scriptures. It has always been that way for me, if I get those two things in, I feel very good about myself, and then I can go on to being a better person, mom, and wife. So I put those rocks in very first, before Bridger wakes up.
Last conference, Elder Robbins said: "To BE and To DO are inseparable. Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn check marks with to be’s. I can take my wife out for a lovely evening this Friday, which is a to do. But being a good husband is not an event; it needs to be part of my nature—my character, or who I am.
"Or as a parent, when can I check a child off my list as done? We are never done being good parents. ...
"BE begets DO and it the motive behind DO..."
I want to enjoy all the little moments. I want to be in the moment when I am reading to Bridger. Instead of hurrying to read a couple books as I'm thinking of the dishes that need to be done, I want to be able to focus on the fun things he is learning. I want to be in those moments when Devin is home for lunch and be a good wife.
“. . . The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.
“I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” -Anna Quindlen, Newsweek columnist
Sorry about my little (long) sermon here. I figure though that God has given us a whole life time to become the person he wants us to become. I'm working on it. Hopefully someday I can figure it out.
Links:
Elder Dallin H Oaks "Good, Better, Best"
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf "Of Things That Matter Most"
Elder Lynn Robbins conference talk: "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?"
Friday, May 13, 2011
Faces
Like Father, like Son
When Devin is concentrating hard on something, he sticks the end of his tongue out. Apparently he passed that trait along to Bridger.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Big Boy
I've watched my Bridger grow from a baby into a little boy. He is 15 months! It is amazing to watch him learn and grow.
He is becoming a handful. He has so much energy and requires A LOT of attention. He is no longer in the "play happily on his own" phase. Luckily he still takes good naps (except for today) so that is when I get all of my cleaning done. He wants to be right in what ever I am doing. If I attempt to load the dishwasher while he is awake I end up loading it twice as he wants to be IN the dishwasher and unloads while I load.
The other day we went to the store and he SCREAMED the WHOLE time! (Normally he is pretty good). He wasn't mad. I think he was just bored. A couple times someone in the store waved at him and he'd stop his screaming and wave back enthusiastically, and then he'd start up again. I tried to ignore it. I think that is why people don't want to have kids, because they see examples of people like me and kids that scream like Bridger.
I am ready for him to go into nursery! He wants to be there. He often is too rambunctious to sit through class so we walk the halls and he peeks through the gap of the nursery doors to watch all the kids play. Sometimes during their free play time I'll let him go play with the toys and he doesn't care that I'm there. He loves other kids and he interacts well. He is easily "wound up" when other little boys are running around and he follows right along. He just doesn't have the listening and following direction skills quite down yet. I'm wishing we had a pre-nursery class. He is very much a boy. The other night at mutual they played Ultimate Frisbee and he wanted to be on the field playing. He'd run out there and I'd let him for a minute until the players would run our way, then I'd run and grab him, and then he'd run out again. I think he is going to be a ball player. Him and balls are like magnets. Any kind of ball, (basketball, baseball, tennis ball, dodgeball, football...) if there is one anywhere around he will find it. He has a good arm too, sometimes I get nervous when he gets really close and aims for my face. He loves being outside, going to the park, tractors and trucks. He likes to dance to music, go "stomp stomp stomp", walk backwards, and follow dogs on walks. He also likes to walk around with a phone (or something similar in size) on his shoulder and pretend like he is talking on the phone.
He loves to be tickled! What a funny kid. He has an infectious laugh (that's what the cart boy outside the grocery store told me). If I start tickling him and then stop, he'll put my hand back on his tummy because he wants to be tickled more! 
(This one is a little blurry, but it's my favorite because this is how he usually looks while holding a phone. He keeps it between his shoulder and ear).
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day
... to ALL my Mothers! My mom, my mother-in-law, and my grandma's!
Isn't it great to be a mom? I love that we get one special day to celebrate our role as mother! I want all my mom's to know how much I love and appreciate them! You are all incredible women and I wish I could be more like you. Thanks for all you do for me! Love you!
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