Relief Society

I do not wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work. Pearl S. Buck


I had to teach Relief Society for the very first time in my life yesterday. There were 3 conference talks to work with and the one that stuck with me throughout the month was about procrastination. Procrastination is such a big issue in our family--one of us is list oriented, one of us isn't. There wasn't really a whole lot new to the subject--we all know what it is. We all do it and we all have a story or two we could share. But as I was preparing, something really stood out in my mind.

It is something Elder Hallstrom said. "However, for many "someday" never comes, and even for others who eventually do make a change, there is an irretrievable loss of progress and surely regression."

I had never thought of it that way before. I have a friend who just lost her dad and it reminds me a lot of when I lost mine. The big difference is, my friend has never been to the temple and was beginning to prepare to go so she could go through with her dad. He passed away a couple of months ago and she never had the chance. She had been waiting to be able to go through with her husband. Now she will never have the opportunity. When I read irretrievable loss, I couldn't help but think of her.

I think I am grateful for being able to prepare the lesson--the giving of it is another story. As always, I learned more than I could possibly have shared.

Here's to hoping we all can reach down and find some motivation within ourselves and make our lives as happy as I know you deserve them to be!!!

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. Wayne Dyer

Really???

I have mentioned in earlier posts that I watch American Idol and I would like to know how many of you are really voting for this guy??? I will grant that he can do a few folksy songs, but to have made it this far.... Really????? I so preferred that cute boy from Australia. I am ready for him and Brooke to go. Anyone else agree with me????

Sleep Well???

I am having trouble sleeping. Not sure why, but I am waking up quite a bit throughout the night. With sleep (or lack of sleep) on my mind, I thought of these pictures of Isaac. He is our child that can sleep anywhere--as the pictures prove. I'm sure everyone has a hard sleeper in their family. I hope you enjoy pictures of ours! Here's Isaac at Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard's house.
Too tired to get dressed. I am not sure why he is at the table naked--not sure I want to know.

We were on vacation here. Even though Kevin and I had grown up in Seattle, we had never shown the kids the touristy things. We bought City Passes and sis them all in about 4 days. We were all tired. we just didn't have the luxury of a stroller to pass out in.

How can he breathe???

Crashing with his cousin Olivia. I am pretty sure we have more than one shot like this. Isaac adores her--as they all do.

Crashed on Grandma Stoddard's couch. Around the corner the kids were coloring Easter eggs. Good thing he didn't realize what he was missing!

I love it when they sleep like this!!!

Scout Carnival

Saturday was the Scout Carnival for the city of Eugene. Kevin and the kids were all excited to go. Noah came in second for his age group.
This is the open class race for 3rd place. All the cars are ours. Anna was very disappointed she didn't win. Isaac was the one who came home with this trophy. Kevin was in awe of the track--says it's perfect. He said next year, he'll have to design cars for both tracks (for the stake track, which is need of help and the stainless steel perfect track), since they are so different.

They had an obstacle course for the kids. Here they had to move the boards as they crossed and continue making bridges in order to finish.

This one was harder than they thought. In fact Kevin took a video of them giving up and quitting.

The monster trucks are always fun. Abby thought it was so cool to fit in the tire. (The bag of chips she's holding is from being brave when she got lost. She went up to a lady in uniform, told her her name and that she was lost. Kevin said when he went racing in looking for her, he felt as though everyone was giving him the evil eye. I think all the kids have been lost now at one time or another.)

Isaac in the tire.

I saw an article in a magazine the other day. It was about what you could accomplish in a short amount of time. Everyone has a few minutes here and there in between errands, dinner, homework, etc. It got me to thinking and figuring out 20 things I could do in 20 minutes. I am going to post it somewhere I can read it and remind myself that I can get a lot done in 20 minutes.


20 Things to do in 20 Minutes
1. Answer email
2. Pay online bills
3. Make all the beds in the house
4. Declutter something, i.e. junk drawer, a pantry shelf, top of nightstand or dresser
5. Watch a 30 minute show that you have recorded
6. Update your blog
7. Make up some cookie dough
8. Plan the menu for the week
9. Do your hair—a change from the ponytail!
10. Read a couple of chapters in a book
11. Go around the block a few times—get the heart pumping
12. Relax, meditate or try a yoga pose or a few stretches
13. Attack the To Iron pile
14. Reach out and touch someone—call, write or email a friend
15. Do a crossword, sudoku or other mind game—www.thinks.com
16. Play a game with the kids
17. Make play-dough
18. Paint your toenails
19. Work on a craft/sewing project
20. Clean your purse/backpack/car

Abby's Spring Concert

Abby's Praise Jesus concert for school was tonight. I am hoping that we will no longer be singing at the top of our lungs as we go down the aisles at the store. One really good thing is that they keep it short and sweet. It is about 15 minutes. Woohoo!!! Here's Abby as one of God's little lambs. For some reason the pictures and video are always hit and miss at the kids' school functions. I could have smacked the lady in front of me. You would have thought hers was the only kids there. Notice the posing at the begining that interferes with her singing.

There's more where this came from. I did three of her songs, but figured you would only want to watch one. I'll pull them all up years from now--kind of like the clogging Arah!!

Conversations with Isaac

We were in the car running errands listening to music. The song, When the Sun Goes Down by Kenny Chesney is playing.

Isaac: "it gets hotter when the sun goes down? Hmmm, how does that work?"

Me: "Oh look guys, green slugbug no slugbacks!!!"

They got balloons from the lady at Fred Meyer & we're off on another errand.

Isaac: "I am the world's greatest ballon blower upper!!"

And the winner is.....

NOAH!! We had Pinewood Derby on Friday night. This is something that Kevin and the kids really look forward to. I have decided that the Father's get more emotional and into than the kids. This year Noah really put a lot of work into his car. He did the carving out of the middle and shaved off the nose some. Kevin took it back to work with him just to sand it. He mailed it home and then we painted it. Here it is before the wheels are on. Like I said, the family gets into this. Here are the cars from the past.It's a bit hard to see, but Superman (the blue one) has never been beaten. The girly one was Anna's and took a trophee in the city open races.

Here are the cars from Friday night. It's always fun to see what the boys come up with.

The boys lining up for their awards. Noah came in first. He won all his races and got a certificate for Most Unique car. He also got a huge bag of licorice.

Next Saturday is the Scout Carnival and more Pinewood Derby races. The kids and Kevin are very excited for this. The nice thing about the carnival is the open race so all the kids get a chance to have their car race, not just Noah. I like it because it gives me some alone time.

This was bizarre!!!

So I had a hard time sleeping last night and I was up at 4 watching t.v., flipping channels. The Discovery Channel was showing the Birth Day show. I think I see my doctor who delivered Anna, so I stop and watch for a bit. It is in Seattle, it is my doctor, but what's bizarre is it is Burke Burkhardt's wife giving birth. There's Ann taking pictures and we even got to share a phone call to Br. Burkhardt. This was a boy my sister used to babysit, a boy we watched grow up in the ward, pass the sacrament, go on a mission. Haven't seen him in years and then I see his wife give birth???? Bizarre!!!! (and to be honest, not really how I would have liked to have seen his wife for the first time)

Tagged

My friend Jenny tagged me. And as you all know, I always feel guilty if I don't do them. It's a little late, but I was gone for a week.

1. Favorite shoes right now??? Love me my flipflops!!! Notice the slippers are even flipflops!
2. New Year's Resolution: As always--I hate my thyroid.

3. Are you listening to music right now?

4. If I had $200 to spend on myself.... it's not a huge amount for a big purchase, but it could be fun to just blow it at Target. I love retail therapy.

5. My favorite place in the city I live in. I live in Eugene, really, what can you expect?

6. Just finished reading? I read Good in Bed (nice title I know)and saw this movie. I really like her.

You all know the rules, if you are reading this, Tag you are it.