sweet is the PEACE the gospel brings

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I’ve been thinking of PEACE this week. There is much talk of guns… and heart-breaking things. I’m so grateful for PEACE that comes through the Holy Ghost… and our Savior Jesus Christ.

What can I do to have greater PEACE in my life?

This week I’ve made a special effort to stay off of social media sites. Yes, I’ve snuck on a few times and have even read ksl news online. But I’ve realized that Facebook, Instagram, and News articles don’t bring my soul peace that it seeks. Yah – it’s fun and all. But I’m realizing I need to move away.

I’m going with PEACE is in the simple… the less is more idea.
Less stuff = peace.
Less noise = peace (please tell this to my boys or send me a basement now so they can run around down there).
Happy Laughter from tots = peace (in it’s own way)
Less media = peace. Less wii = peace.
Less tv = peace (Mama Berenstain Bear agrees with me on this).
Realistic expectations = peace.
Learning to say ‘no’ because your heart is saying ‘yes’ to more important things = peace.
Lovely soft Christmas tunes = Peace (i’m loving Back to Bethlehem by Jenny Phillips this year).
Slowing down = peace.
Soft Christmas lights = peace.
Scripture & prayer time = peace (unless it’s family prayer and then I usually have 2 or 3 littles pushing each other on my lap)
Tender mama = peace. (kids respond much better to a soft mama voice. sigh…)

My soul has been bombarded with too much chaos lately. I need to make choices in our home to have less worldly noise. So – there’s my renewed hope/goal for myself as a mother.

Peace – it’s a grand thing that I’m continually seeking.

slumber

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My dreams the past few sleeps have not been sweet. A funny friend across the parking lot in college (The Dan of the Dan & Ben friends)… used to say, “Sleep Sweet” when we’d be done hanging out. I thought that was a sweet thing he learned from his mother… so now I say it to my tots.

I’m burned out for today. Heading to bed. Only 1 more sleep till Max’s birthday tomorrow. He left me with, “I hope you sleep well before my birthday” with a huge Max grin. He’s quite thrilled about the thought of opening presents. … which means I probably ought to go wrap a few.

This is what he’s getting:

It has his name on it… ProMaxx. He’ll love it. We might have to sneak over to the church gym to ride it tomorrow.

Sleep Sweet.

A Grieving Heart

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I didn’t hear about the tragic shootings at the elementary school in Connecticut until we got in the car to leave for our anniversary date. Oh, how sad my heart was when I thought of all of those families grieving…. about the hard things all the kids had to deal with.

I was planning on going to the school to say good-bye to Hannah and Abe since they weren’t home quite yet. I had to try and contain my tears as I hugged them good-bye.

I didn’t want to ever tell my kids about this event. I wanted to shield them from the pain. But yesterday when we were in the Salt Lake Temple, I knew we needed to talk with Hannah and Abe about it. The would hear about it from other children or at school and it is better if they hear of such things at home where they feel secure and loved.

We talked with Hannah and Abe about gospel principles and read some scriptures. We tried to explain why bad things happen – and the eternal perspective of it all. Last Sunday our bishop talked about how “We Can Do Hard Things” such as parenting in hard times. Talking to our children about essential conversations about eternal identity, strength of character, testimony, courage to stand strong to combat the wickedness of the world. These can be awkward and HARD conversations. But we must have them with our children.

Anyhooo… I hope I will remember to be a little more compassionate and tender-hearted and cherish those little spirits that are a part of our eternal family.

bless our efforts day by day

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great day! (as eric bacon used to say)
i’m struggling lately.
my emotions are tired.
my nerves are shot.
oh how I will pray to mother with love & wisdom today.
thus far i haven’t succeeded.
but…
THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.

breathe… smile…
all is well… I am calm… all is bright…

resolution … sigh…

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for after all…

unrelated to having a calm voice… but part of our life nonetheless.

we have:
3 more sleeps until Jimmy and I head out on an overnight anniversary date.
7 more sleeps until Max’s 5th birthday.
14 more sleeps until Christmas.
21 more sleeps until the new year.

wow.

peace and quiet?

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This is exactly how I feel most days. Things are rarely calm around here. Luckily, in cub scouts, we only have 3 wolves so scouts isn’t too bonkers. But tonight after dinner the boys started running around and around and around the kitchen/family room. It reminded me of this picture. Wintertime means boys that bounce off the walls.

so . much . energy .

but i have to share a calm moment for it was a miracle. We were recently given this great book/cd/dvd as a gift. Last night instead of watching a Christmas movie and having popcorn, we sat around the tree and listened to this book with me turning the pages. We had 16 whole minutes without fighting. Tru wandered around a bit but there weren’t any major episodes. This was grand. We had the entire family in the same room – sitting by each other and there was joy. I grinned inside. Plus, the story really was fun with Qui Gon Jinn reading to us. Hurray for miracles of a little peace and quiet.

LIGHT

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My goal today… and wow – today is already a doozy so I’m going to need this LIGHT. Liza was up all night with a fever and barfing. Tru woke and was back in his room by 7 after scratching my hand so badly and refusing to go potty. Sometimes I wonder if my children will ever learn to obey. sigh… Grant me the patience and wisdom to deal with my blessings.

Back to LIGHT. Yesterday the scriptures were on my mind all day… the importance of helping our children know the scriptures, love the message, and live the gospel. The word of God is stronger than any other word. I am so grateful.

And a scripture to assist with my morning… LIGHT – It’s a good thing.

Holiday Joy

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Watching ZuZu Girl play with the Nativity Blocks is JOY.

We’re going to try out some diffused JOY and see how we like it.

Making gifts for others is JOY. Hopefully I’ll squeeze some of that in amidst my daily gifts of service to the fam (which hopefully won’t go awry today!)

another today

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I’m still not there yet this morning… but I figured it would be better to make efforts instead of staying curled up crying in bed. Some days this mother feels like all of her efforts to help her family go awry. This was not our best morning. But I guess that means it’s only onward and upward from here. As the kids left for school I called out, “Make it a great day!” and realized I needed to take my own advice.

today

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today i am working on a few fun christmas projects.
today hannah has her research recital.
today my dad has eye surgery. happy thoughts for him.
today max wants to go to the dinosaur museum.
today zuzu slept in.
today i feel joy.
today i hope my kids don’t fight.
today the ornaments might actually stay on the tree.
today i spend time with my littles. with joy.
today i like positive affirmations.
today is cold which means i can wear my hoodie.
yes!

happy tuesday the 4th