Exactly What I Needed

Yesterday was Fast Sunday and I had a lot of things on my mind, some of which were weighing on me quite heavily. I also felt like I wasn't able to really be touched and feel like I need and want to. Luckily in one of the Lord's many tender mercies (grateful I actually recognized this one!) I was out hurriedly running around doing some things for Stake Primary and stopped long enough to listen to this song on the radio (Sunday music playing on either 106.5 or 100.3 FM). I heard the music start but got out of my but then had the thought, no get back in the car and listen to this song. I am grateful I did because the Spirit was able to reach my hard heart and soften it. It was one of those times when I could relate to something almost exactly. I realized again how dependent I am on Christ and how much more I need to turn to him each day. I am currently reading The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox which is really helpful me to see and make the changes I need to draw closer to the Savior.

Then in Relief Society we had a lesson about families and relationships, which again, was EXACTLY what I needed. I was very grateful for the thoughts shared by others, as well as the Spirit that was able to touch me again. I still have lots of changes to make but do feel more buoyed up and encouraged that there is hope, I know ways I need to improve, and ultimately I can continue to change and become better.

(Note: This is a Christian artist, not LDS, which is of course just fine, I don't have any problems with this. But that does mean there are a few crosses shown in the video. Even though the cross isn't a symbol used in the LDS Church I still find the words and message about the Savior and His influence in our lives very inspiring and a timely reminder for me. There truly are so many inspired and good people and things in the world, of all faiths.)

What Matters Most

Such good reminders. I love our prophet. He truly knows the things we need to do to be happy.

She Shops Smart Class

For those of you who are in the area I'd love to have you come to a class I am hosting on how to save money on groceries, household items, toiletries, diapers, etc.

Thursday, October 15th @ 7 pm (at my house)

If you aren't local or want to learn about how it works before the class, check out Grocery Smarts (they have information for a few other states) or Tori's blog. I attended a class she taught a few weeks ago and have already had success saving money this way!

Here's what she will cover in the class:

-Shop at only one grocery store - no running around town!

-Buy all your families’ groceries, household, and personal care items (including diapers) all for about $200 for a family of four- while building massive food storage at the same time!

-No clipping and filing individual coupons- Quick and easy! A HUGE way to save money!

-Eat a healthy, well balanced diet, and have ease in meal planning!

-Free website and Free class - There is no cost to attend and no cost to use the website

-Get a newspaper subscription at a great price

What could your family do with hundreds of extra dollars every month? Bring friends!

For more information please call Tori Mitchell 801-369-0667 or check out her blog sheshopssmart.blogspot.com!

The Ultimate Mix-up

So, funny story. Ian, Cooper and I are driving home the other day when Ian suddenly excitedly remarks: "Mom! I saw John Hannity!" Seriously confused, I cautiously began questioning him (trying to figure out what he was talking about, but not wanting to skew his answers). Here's the rest of our conversation:

Mom: Do you mean Sean Hannity?

Ian: No, Mom. John Hannity.

Mom: Are you sure you don't mean Sean?

Ian: No.

[He is started to really sound exasperated with me. So I decide to let the issue of whether it's John or Sean drop and try to figure out what he is actually talking about...]

Mom: Well, where did you see John Hannity? [Figured I'd just go along with what he was calling him rather than fight with a 3 1/2 year old about it and get nowhere...]

Ian: On that sign, flappy thingy back there.

Mom: What does he look like?

Ian: That black face man.

[It takes me a minute as I process these last two answers but I suddenly remember I saw what he is talking about a few days previously...but due to how hilarious this actually ends up being, I wanted to try and figure out where he got this idea before I said anything else.]

Mom: How do you know who John Hannity is?

Ian: He's on that radio, talk thing.

[Now mind you by this point I am shocked that my 3 1/2 year old has paid enough attention to when I do listen to the Sean Hannity show on KSL, which isn't often, but occasionally. Realizing that it is currently about 2:30 PM MST time, I turn the car radio to KSL 102.7 FM where the Sean Hannity Show plays Monday-Friday from 1:00-4:00 pm ("3 hours a day, that's all we ask," or something like that, right?)]

Mom: Ian, who is this on the radio?

Ian: John Hannity.

Mom: That's right, Ian! [I really am amazed he's picked up his name from his few exposures to him.] But Ian, I think I know who you actually saw on that sign back there. The picture isn't John [Sean] Hannity, that's our president--Barack Obama.

Ian: No Mom, it's John Hannity.

Mom: Okay, Ian, if you say so [Hey, I figure, I tried my best. No use debating endlessly with a 3 year old!!]

I am honestly not sure how he got the two of them confused, but man, if there were ever two people, opinions, standpoints, political views, etc. to get mixed up, this my friend, was one ironic and hilarious instance! I guess if nothing else Sean/John Hannity's voice has been influential via the radio. Just not sure how he ended up fusing President Obama's face/person with Sean Hannity!! My guess is that neither person would be very flattered with such a confusion.

(This actually happened in May 2009 and even months later and after multiple clarifications, Ian still gets confused and refers to President Obama as John/Sean Hannity every so often...gotta love the way preschoolers brains are learning to process information!)

Time Lapse

This is another "old" post but it was such an odd experience for me that I figured I'd post it now anyways. Last December I took Cooper to the doctor for his one year well check-up (which just so happened to be the same day he came down with strep throat so luckily the doctor swabbed his throat and discovered that...so much for it being a "well" check...). During the appointment the doctor asked if I had thought about doing flu shots for the boys. I remember giving her kind of a weird look, wondering why in the world she was asking me about flu shots when it wasn't the season for those yet, then asking, "When do you usually get those?" to try and figure out why she brought this up. She responded that anytime would be appropriate since it was getting to be that time of the year, though she hadn't heard of any influenza cases yet.

And suddenly I realized it was winter again. A year had passed since Cooper was born. We had made it through the cold, wintry RSV season in Utah with little Cooper just a few months old, had moved to Las Vegas and weathered the heat, then returned to Utah and it was already time for flu shots again! At that moment I had seriously lost any grounding or sense of time; it was the strangest feeling. Luckily it didn't take me long to catch up to speed and remember how quickly time passes. And yet I was still left to wonder where the last 12 months had gone! It honestly felt like time had whirled by me in 12 minutes NOT 12 months!

(And here we are again, another year has FLOWN by! Isn't it amazing how time continues to go faster and faster the older you get? Remember when Christmas seemed to take forever coming each year. And now it's like you can hardly hold on fast enough as the busyness of each day whirls into an entire year lapsed.)

Beavers In The Desert

Ian has been learning about different habitats in preschool lately.  He has really latched on to the concept that we live in the desert (I think the fact that Radiator Springs is in the desert may have helped kindle that fascination) and asks questions about it all the time.  Last night we went running up Provo Canyon on the Provo River Trail from Canyon View Park to the parking lot at Bridal Veil Falls.  We were only about a half of a mile up the trail when we came across a large elm tree which had been partially gnawed through by some ambitious beaver.  I pointed it out to Jenny and the boys.  Ian asked if I saw the beaver or just the tree.  I told him it was just a tree which the beaver had been chewing on.  Ian pondered this for a moment and then asked, "Dad, do beavers in the desert chew on cactuses?"  Gotta love the way this kid's brain works!

A Full Life

When I was younger and my Dad was travelling internationally quite often, I talked to him one day about something new I wanted to try. I don't remember what it was, nor do I remember whether I actually ever did what it was I was contemplating at the time. My Dad told me that if we ended up with one thing about which we are passionate outside of work and family and church that we are lucky, and something to the effect that there would come a time in my life when I would really only be able to have one hobby because of some of the demands which would be placed on me.

These last two weeks during my training at the Law Enforcement Academy, we have had several classes called Healthy Lifestyles. During those classes and others, we have had lots of discussions about the need for variety in our lives. The training is, of course, geared toward police officers, so they spend a lot of time talking about how cops need to have friends who are not cops, need to spend time in leisure activities which have nothing to do with paramilitary tactics (paintball/airsoft wargames), martial arts, firearms, et cetera.

I think the principle applies to all of us. I have been graduated about five weeks now, and I am gaining a modicum of perspective on just how warped three years of hanging out with law students and just about no one else has made me. In the last month I have been running, working out, gardening, SCUBA diving, playing with my kids, working on the truck, decorating and spending a little more time with my wife, all things which I did not do often or at all during law school.

Even my dad, who has had the luxury of staying on the same continent for more than a few weeks at a time now, has rekindled his interests in motorcycles, SCUBA and a few others, in addition to fishing, which has always been his passion. 

I find that for the first time in my life, I am really starting to look for new and different things with which to fill my life.  I have tried some new things which I love (SCUBA) and some new things about which I am ambivalent (golf) and become interested in some things I never really got attached to when I was younger (hunting).  Jenny and I have been able to spend time together with more and different people in this last year than during any other in our marriage.  

I understand where my Dad was coming from-- time constraints can and really do impinge on the ability to have more than one passion.  For now, though, I am grateful to be at a point in my life where there is a little running, a little camping, a little diving, and a little time spent with several different friends.  My life is full of new experiences right now, and I am happy with that.  

Another Favorite - REMEMBER! Have I seen His hand in my life?

Church Response to California Supreme Court Decision on Proposition 8

SALT LAKE CITY | 26 May 2009 | Today’s decision by the California Supreme Court is welcome. The issue the court decided was whether California citizens validly exercised their right to amend their own constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The court has overwhelmingly affirmed their action.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes the deeply held feelings on both sides, but strongly affirms its belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The bedrock institution of marriage between a man and a woman has profound implications for our society. These implications range from what our children are taught in schools to individual and collective freedom of religious expression and practice.

Accordingly, the Church stands firmly for what it believes is right for the health and well-being of society as a whole. In doing so, it once again affirms that all of us are children of God, and all deserve to be treated with respect. The Church believes that serious discussion of these issues is not helped when extreme elements on both sides of the debate demonize the other.

(http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-response-to-california-supreme-court-decision-on-proposition-8)

Showing Love

A good reminder of the type of wife, mother, etc. I want to be--HOW do/will I show my love for others?