Prepare for Tomorrow by Working Today

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This has been a challenge for me, but I’m trying to train myself to think differently …
not, “What do I feel like doing right now?”
but
“What can I do to prepare now in order to make later go more smoothly.”

Jimmy is probably laughing, wondering if I’m really capable of this.
But oh, I’m trying.

In fact, I liked reading the text of hymn 229 so much, I want to share it here.

Today, While the Sun Shines

Vigorously (i love knowing how we should sing the hymn. it makes me smile)

1. Today, while the sun shines, work with a will;
Today all your duties with patience fulfill.
Today, while the birds sing, harbor no care;
Call life a good gift; call the world fair.

[Chorus]
Today, today, work with a will;
Today, today, your duties fulfill.
Today, today, work while you may;
Prepare for tomorrow by working today.

2. Today seek the treasure better than gold,
The peace and the joy that are found in the fold.
Today seek the gems that shine in the heart;
While here we labor, choose the better part.

3. Today seek for goodness, virtue, and truth,
As crown of your life and the grace of your youth.
Today, while the heart beats, live to be true,
Constant and faithful all the way through.

Yesterday I went through our food storage closet trying to organize that tiny space. It’s much improved. I love knowing we have prepared some food for ‘later’. I think every area of my life I ‘prepare’ will benefit us all in the long run.

I better try to practice my goal to prepare for when the kids get home by getting some work done NOW.

music for a monday

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Common threads in the tapestry of childhood

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This quote I read on Clover Lane tonight made me chuckle… and smile because of it’s truth.This past week I’ve heard this from Hannah:

“Mom, everyone in my entire class has been to Disneyland.”
“I just want to go somewhere this summer. ALL my friends are going on vacations.”

Nice.

I reminded my blessed children of all the cool places they’ve been…
stone mountain in atlanta, georgia to see the 4th of July fireworks & laser show.
disney world… (ok – does it really count if you’re only 6 months old).
hikes galore in the rocky mountains…
memphis
nashville
washington d.c.
phoenix
sugar city
nauvoo

They agreed that we’ve been to a lot of places.

Anyhoo… so this quote about Disneyland was timely.
Mostly I think I’d rather go somewhere else (like my sister’s idea to go to Mount Rushmore).
But I remember going to Disneyland twice when I was little.
First time I was too young to ride the big kid rides.
Next time I was too scared to ride Space Mountain.
But I loved our trips to Southern California.
They were totally great adventures.

But it’s true… that more often than big trips,
we made waffles on Saturday Mornings,
Sloppy Joes on Saturday Nights,
read stories from ‘A Story to Tell’,
had oodles of laughs at dinner when Dad threw noodles on the chandelier…
or sipped tapioca with a straw,
read scriptures with an umbrella “reigning of the judges” and such.

I like normal daily things that are creating memories and traditions in our family.

It’s all good. (even when you fry hash browns and your entire house stinks like oil. then you open up all windows and doors to air out the house. daughter #1 is looking up info on the solar eclipse and forgets to watch over daughter #2. mother is cleaning up poop and oil and chocolate brownies and sugar on the floor … and forgets to remind daughter #1 to watch over daughter #2. which means that daughter #2 crawls out the front door and cuts her lip on the cement. boo-hoo-wah for all involved. remember heather that things will be okay)

a skippy sort of day.

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today was the day … the day that peanut butter went on sale.
i anticipated and planned for this day… plugged it into my brain so I wouldn’t forget.

Skippy peanut butter was on sale for $1.79 at Macey’s.
We’ve been out of our cases of peanut butter for a long time.
So – today was the day.

I slept well… and woke at 6 and decided I would just go right then.
And I did.
This is a huge deal for me. I’m sure Jimmy was dying that I would get up so early to buy peanut butter when the kids have to pull me out of bed every other day of the week.

And ya know… it was a lovely morning. The birds were chirping. The roads were not too crowded yet. The grocery store was chill. Nice.

So – I scored 48 jars of peanut butter. I went to 2 separate stores so as not to be a hog of all the sale items. I hate when the item I want to buy on sale is all out. Luckily… it seemed they had loads of cases of peanut butter.

Here are my 48 jars. Makes you want to get a glass of milk and wash all that sticky down, huh.

Tru was so excited when he saw all the peanut butter. I hope these last for more than a year. We’ll see. Tots can eat a load of peanut butter sandwiches when they are home every day in the summer.

Anyhoo… in other news.

Went to the dentist for 4 of 5 kids. Tru screamed at me and didn’t want to participate. In the end, he did awesome. It was hard. The dental assistants just can’t understand why it would be so hard for me to brush truman, max, and abe’s teeth every day. I always feel like a heel when I go there. Alright – I’ll recommit to watching over tartar build-up people. No cavities though. Yay!

Relief Society. I need to LEAD. Yes… lead. Be Strong. Prepare. Have a vision… and help get us there. Sigh…

Sloppy Joes for supper. I love sloppy joes. My mom made sloppy joes so often on Saturday night. I love that memory… work in the morning… Bath time… or swim time at Ricks College… Mill Hollow yogurt with the wishing well.

I’ve been a completely over-reactive mother lately. It’s true. I need more wisdom, patience, and sunshine.

I have the hardest time keeping things in balance… Some days I do well in R.S. stuff. Some days I try to be a better and more attentive mom. Some days I love being creative. Some days I clean the house… well, attempt to clean anyways. Some days I eat healthy and exercise. But it seems I can’t do all of these things on all days. I’m a work in progress. I’m so grateful Heavenly Father knows that I’m trying and may slowly get there. Here a little… there a little. I’ll keep trying to balance. I know the best way to keep balance and perspective is to focus on my Savior and use His Atonement in my life daily. Though I know I make it harder than it is, it’s all a bit tricky to balance on a daily basis.

Africa Love

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This video made me cry. What does it take to have the biggest smile on your face? – definitely not a life of ease & money. See those darling children… I love the part with the little boy carrying his baby sister on his back. What a neat experience for all.

Also Love Devin’s video … oh, those smiles!

p.s. Hey Babe… this still does not mean I want to move the fam to Africa. … almost … but not quite. Loves.

Outlast the Devil, we will…

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I went out to get some late Saturday night groceries
and watched the large moon rise over the mountains
(much like this… only I didn’t take this one.
Have you ever tried to take a picture of the moon, in all it’s glory, with a dinky camera?
It looks like a dot in the sky, even though in real life it was spectacular… anyhoo)
Yes, I saw the moon rise over the wasatch mountains.
It healed my soul (for you see, I had just erupted at my little ones about EVERYTHING and NOTHING.)
Tomorrow I will need to share that so their little hearts will know mom still loves them
even when things don’t go splendidly.

A conversation in Walmart via cell phone with my sister in California nearly made me cry.
She reminded me that because of how hard we try to do good…
and DO so much good,
that booger of a Satan works extra hard to bring us down.
I found this quote which made me want to put on my sword and shield and take courage.

And this scripture …AWESOME …
Reminds me of this poem:
Look up and not down… Look forward and not back… look out and not in… lend a hand. (edward everett hale).

And lastly… I just thought this quote from that same talk, very insightful.
Our physical affects our spiritual… so true. A good reminder.And thus … I will go to bed though the hour is not early.
There is always hope for early bedtime tomorrow.

sentences

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Highschool.
Sugar City, Idaho
1990s
English Class.
Mr. Thomas.

Dear Mr. Thomas was our English teacher. He had glorious stories about the huge rats in Guam… and life in Guam… and other such tales of adventures. He seemed very old to us young-in’s. The main thing I remember about Mr. Thomas’s English class was SENTENCES. This was punishment for chewing gum… or talking excessively… etc.

The most memorable sentences I wrote were something like this only extended a bit, “I will not talk to my friend Alison while she is sharpening her pencil.” You see, I sat by the pencil sharpener so we thought we were so clever to disguise our conversation. Not so. I also thought I was extremely clever to line up my neon multi-colored pens to speed along the process of writing pages and pages of sentences. This was very difficult with my most memorable sentence writing because it was just too long to fit on one line. I remember writing sentences during Madrigals… and while sitting in the rocking chair in my parent’s room watching tv… probably something like Saved By the Bell.

Well… tonight as we sat down to dinner, I knew I’d failed quite dramatically at Practicing my Calm Voice during dinner prep.

Failed. F.

I knew I deserved sentences… or something. This is what my 250 sentences would look like:
“I will remain calm to create a center of inner stillness despite the noise and chaos blowing all about.”

“There’s always tomorrow,
For dreams to come true,
Believe in your dreams
Come what may.”

Gotta love Burl Ives singing that one.

My dream is that I will stay centered on my inner stillness (listen to the Holy Ghost)… and remain calm.

The end.  Happy Sabbath.

p.s. more tomorrow on our sunshiny weekend of work…. and coughing… and blowing noses… and bandaids.

p.p.s. a friend from Sugar City mentioned recently that she has her tots write sentences when they are squabbling with a sibling, etc. I’m thinking this might be a grand idea to try with Hannah and Abe.

practicing my calm

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Best parenting advice:

A while after I read this, I had the “opportunity” to be a better parent. Truman spilled water all over my pillow and then drip, drip, drip down onto my years of stacked General Conference Issues with notes, my Bible, and my new fun Every Day Magazine. They aren’t completely ruined, but got wet enough to make me say, “aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh”.

Oh Heather.

I then made the choice to practice my calm voice (not the norm ’round here lately, especially with little Tru who tries my patience most of the day).

I told myself, “Heather, Truman is more important that paper.” It’s true. I explained why I was sad that the prophet magazines were wet and asked him to not touch the diffuser again. My calm voice carried a better message than my ‘aaaaaahhhh.” He felt sad with me and said he was sorry. He didn’t scream or hit or spit (his normal reactions to any parental correction). I think my reaction changed his reaction. Sigh… We are both learning. And although my calm voice doesn’t always keep him calm, it certainly would help a majority of the time.

I learned a great lesson from the scriptures a few years ago. Nephi & Lehi were preaching to the Lamanites. They were imprisoned. Fire encircles them … yet burns them not. A cloud of darkness overshadowed the people and then a voice from above, calling the people to repentance:It was not a thunderous sound. There is POWER in calm. The Holy Ghost can touch hearts when there is mildness.

I just need to remember to “practice my calm voice.”

Another fabulous parenting tidbit I read in this article

Love this reminder… instead of a power struggle with kids, help put the responsibility in their lap. Instead of “Did you finish your homework?” try, “What are your plans for finishing your homework?”

Another book I’m reading right now that helps with this paradigm shift (at least for me) of teaching is I Don’t Have to Make Everything All Better by Gary & Joy Lundberg. It helps teach me how to walk beside others without hauling their burdens on my shoulders and shove them “MY” way. We can support and love compassionately without having to solve their problems… we can encourage them to know how to find solutions to their situation. Love this for all situations in life… especially with R.S. & parenting.

Sunday Lesson: Making Home a bit of Heaven

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Once upon a time I decided I should teach our R.S. Lesson about Compassion in the Home. It just didn’t come together. Oh – I had lots of fabulous talks to study, but I wasn’t feelin’ it.

Final topic: Home can be a bit of heaven on Earth. (can ya tell this is something I knew we needed to work on? yeppers! especially after the week of spring break)

Saturday night I was still wondering which direction it needed to go. Oh – once again I had 17 pages of fabulous resources. There were several awesome scriptures I wanted to focus on.

In the end, I sat down and explained the dilemma with Jimmy. I’ve had a hard time focusing on one direction. Maybe I’m just a spaz this week and am going quickly in all directions. This is not the Lord’s way.

Jimmy helped guide my thoughts so the Spirit could teach me what to do. It’s one of the “Prepare & Study … and TEACH and listen to the Holy Ghost to see where the lesson needs to go.” Scary? – a bit. Okay? Sure!

Here are the random messages I thought through this week about Home – Balance – Duty – Joy – Love – Gathering – Teaching – Wisdom – Order.

In the end … we had a lot of participation discussing Mosiah 4:27 and how it related to making home a bit of heaven. Keep calm. Rally the Troops. Be YOU! Don’t compare. Identify your skills and focus on the positive. Attitude. Priorities. Select ONE thing (not 15 things!!) that you can do (not your spouse or children – but things YOU can affect) to help your home be a bit more like heaven.

The following quotes I love.  They come from an article in the August 2010 Ensign: All Things in Wisdom and Order by ELDER JOHN C. TAGGART.

Duty
“All things must be done”: Those who accept the blessings of the gospel are bound by covenants to act in certain ways. We have general duties—nurturing our children, serving others, keeping the commandments—and we have specific duties that arise out of our own choices, the Church callings we receive, the promises we make, and the obligations we freely accept. The counsel to not “run faster than [we have] strength” does not excuse us from these things.

Persistence
“Be diligent”: We sometimes mistakenly think the word endure means grim plodding in the face of adversity. Not so. While mortality was not meant to be free of challenges, the Lord has promised both peace and happiness in this life and unimaginable blessings in the life to come for “them that love him”. To persist or persevere means to remain on the path. Those who do so find, to their delight, that the journey brings moments of surprising joy and great blessings, even as the way grows rocky or steep.

Capacity
“A man should [not] run faster than he has strength”: We are all bound to honor our covenants, but all are not asked to carry the same load. Our charge is to magnify what we are given by the Lord, however large or small it may be. We each possess different gifts, abilities, and capacities.

Balance
“Done in wisdom”: Hardest of all is achieving the right mix or balance between competing good things. No secret formula will achieve this for us. We must avoid the “false balance” (Proverbs 20:23) that becomes a mere excuse for avoiding difficult choices. Self-awareness—an honest assessment of our strengths and weaknesses—is critical. Then righteous living, thoughtful meditation, and heartfelt prayer place us in the path of heavenly inspiration as we make daily decisions. The counsel of those who love us helps us find our way in a world increasingly filled with enticements, distractions, false promises of pleasure, and empty rewards of worldly achievement at the expense of heavenly blessings. The right balance is probably different for each person and also changes for each person over time. Above all, a person grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ and enjoying the sweet companionship of the Holy Ghost will find balance, even—or especially—in the face of overwhelming, unavoidable burdens.

Priority or Seasonality
“All things … in order”: The writer of Ecclesiastes taught, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Family Time

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Just had an interesting experience. Miss Hannah’s friend asked her to go to a movie today or tomorrow. I didn’t want her being gone for so long when we have stuff planned as a family. Going to play at a friend’s house seems different than going to a movie (that I hadn’t heard of). Anyhoo… I told her ‘no’. I knew she was disappointed, but I asked if she understood. Her answer: “Yes, Family Time is Sacred Time and should be protected.” Wow – does that girl listen to Conference or what?!

We do have a few things planned for this week of spring break… a little fun… a little sun… a little work… a little chill home time, play time, exercise time, quiet time, family time. I hope it’s a good, good week.
(p.s. this picture is from Easter. Do ya think the boys thought it was too bright outside? Yep… all three did.)