A Beautiful Day!

On Saturday, we took Kaitlyn to the temple for the first time!


















After the temple, Stephen took us to red lobster to celebrate our birthdays (mine was Thursday, Kaitlyn's a few weeks ago). Then we went birthday shopping..... and Stephen bought me an ice cream maker! I am so excited, I have wanted one for years! Kaitlyn said it was the best day of her life. I agree, it was a great day for all of us!

16 years ago....

Stephen & I went out on our first date! It is hard to believe it's been that long, it seems like it was a few years ago! So for those that don't know the story, here it is:
Stephen & I met at Ricks College in Sept. 1992. He had just returned from his mission a week earlier. It was my first semester at Ricks. When he came home from his mission, that very night, he prayed that he would know when he found the person he was suppose to marry. When he got off his knees, he assumed he would meet "her" in a few years, and that he would concentrate on getting back to real life, and set a goal to go on a date within a month.
I said a prayer of my own, ironically around that same time. I had been on a handful of dates & even dated one guy somewhat steadily my senior year of high school. But, I hadn't had a boyfriend. I wanted to date someone more seriously. Now, marriage at that point, hadn't entered my mind. So yes, I prayed to meet someone to date seriously.
So, this brings us to the day we met. It was the first Sunday of the month, a fast & testimony meeting. Before I left for college, my Bishop counseled me to bear my testimony often. He promised that if I did, I would make many friends that would last a lifetime. So, I bore my testimony. As I was bearing my testimony, Stephen felt the Spirit & heard, "She is the one" It scared him to death! He really thought he would be dating for a few years before he found "her." He rationalized that he felt the Spirit because of the truthfulness of my testimony and the "She is
the one" part meant he needed to invite me to a RAAP (an outdoor sports club for disabled student-- Steve was an able- bodied assistant) activity.
I remember Stephen bearing his testimony too. I was immediately attracted to him. Not only was he good looking, but he had an amazing testimony. But, there were several good looking guys that caught my attention as well! So, I hadn't really "noticed him" yet. Later that day, he came to collect fast offerings. I spoke to him & looked directly in his eyes.... I could see how good he was.... and I was a goner. I fell fast and hard.
Over the next week, we seemed to bump into each other everywhere we went. Each time I saw him, I thought about him more, which annoyed me. I was very stressed over school, & didn't need the distraction. I would be studying, and my thoughts would go to him. I assumed I was infatuated, and I tried extra hard to not think about him. An advisor told me about RAAP, and since I loved outdoor sports, I went to the first meeting. I was shocked to see Stephen sitting there when I walked in. He was even more surprised to see me... he hadn't told me about RAAP yet. He said he barely heard what went on during the meeting. He kept going over the "She is the one" thought he had Sunday at church. If it didn't mean ivite me to RAAP, what did it mean? He rationlized it couldn't mean marriage, so maybe it meant asking me on a date. So after RAAP, he asked me to the Ricks Homecoming dance.
I was so excited, I could barely believe. It was the first time a guy I really wanted to date had asked me out. I stopped trying not to think about him, but considering I saw him most every day, it would have been tough anyway. We worked together on the homecoming float for RAAP & went horseback riding for a RAAP activity. The more time we spent together, the more we found in common.
The day of Homecoming arrived & we went on a huge group date with a bunch of his friends from High School (Stephen lived in Rexburg during his Senior year of high school). We went hiking up in the Tetons during the day. Now, it was a long, winding, drive up & I get horribly carsick. I was so sick on the way up, & I just prayed I wouldn't barf. I made it up, & the hike was great! On the way down, I wasn't so lucky. I had to ask to pull over & I puked my guts out. I hoped Stephen would stay in the car... no such luck. He got out & stood by me, with everyone else on the car pretending not to see. I was mortified. I thought he would never ask me out again & I felt so humilated, I wasn't sure I wanted him too.
But, when we arrived at my apartment, he assured me it was no big deal & he would pick me up in an hour for dinner & the dance. I told my roomates & a good friend, Miquel, what happened & they thought it was hilarious. They had me laughing too. Miquel said, "Hey Mel, look on the bright side, when you are throwing up when you are pregnant, he'll be used to it." I rolled my eyes & said, "yeah right Miquel, it's just one date, it's not like we will get married."
Stephen picked me up and we ate dinner with the group we went hiking with & had a blast. We all laughed about my carsickness. It really was no big deal. Later, we went to the dance at Ricks, and we got seperated from the group. Stephen & I danced, talked, & laughed. After the dance, we were supposed to go to Scott's house for dessert & games. We went, but no one showed up. For two hours, we sat in Steve's truck & talked. It wasn't until I was home, that I realized that we were in a truck alone, on a dark, deserted road, & I felt completely comfortable & safe with him. Without a doubt, it was the night we fell in love.... it would just take us both 2 years to realize it.... or at least admit it!

P.S. Miquel was right..... right after we found out that I was pregnant with Jonathan, we were driving around Lewiston, trying to figure out where everything was... we had just moved there... and I got carsick & threw up on the side of the road. Stephen knelt down beside me, & said, "hey, this reminds me of our first date." We laughed & laughed & laughed!

Hey Terri!

I've tried to read your blog, but can't access it now that it's set to private. Will you email me an invite? My email is MelodyScraps@gmail.com This is the only way I know how to get ahold of you, hopefully you will see this!

Fall is here!

Can you all believe it's the first day of fall? For that matter, I am shocked to realize September is almost over! Time is moving fast. It has been a busy few weeks. Here are the highlights:

Stephen is back into the full swing of full time school, work, & Young Men's. He is having a blast with the Young Men & looks forward to mutual every week. He really gets into the activities, and plays like he is 14 or 15, but then spends the week remembering he is 37! In the past few weeks, they've played football (for 3 hours without a break) and gone rock climbing. Young Men's is the highlight of his week, and probably preserves his sanity. Remember a few posts back where I said we were both feeling less pressure than last year? Well, all I can say is, that was 2 weeks into the semester, and now we are in the 6th week & it is very intense. He has a test that he has to pass at a 100% to remain in the program. He has 4 times to pass. He took it last week & scored 80%. That is really good for the first try, & I have no doubt he'll pass. But it is stressful. On top of that he has 2 papers due this week, a test in another class, and a 12 hour clinical on Friday. I get tired just thinking about all he has to do, & just pray for him alot.


But we took a break this weekend to just hang out together and we had so much fun! On Saturday, we took Hannah & Daisy to a pet fair. Hannah loved petting all the animals. We entered Daisy in a puppy race & she won 2 put of 3 races. Here are the pictures:




I kept asking her if her Mama was a Llama. She thought my corny joke was hilarious.




















This pony was smaller than Daisy & Hannah fell in love instantly!
























Our champ, Daisy. She won the bandanna, which the girls ohhh & awwww over for hours!







Jonathan is turned into a sports fanatic, which we are very pleased with. It seems the more physical activity he gets, the better his moods are. He is playing Golf twice a week & football 2-3 times a week. He is also doing much better in school this year, turning homework in on time. On Saturday, he worked the BYU scout booth & was able to watch a bit of the game. He said it was awesome.

Kaitlyn is adjusting to all the changes in her life. Young Women's went much better last week. She loves One Voice Chior.Her first performance in October 12th at UVU. She is stressed, trying to learn the songs in time, but really excited. For the past month, she has come home from school complaining of her teacher being overly harsh. I've had a bad feeling from the start, but I know Kaitlyn can be a little stubborn too, so mostly I have tried to help her by identifying what she can change about herself. Over the last week, I've talked to several moms that have kids in her class, & they are reporting similar troubles with the teacher. So, it looks like a parent teacher conference is needed to get to the bottom of this. Ugh, can I just say this is the part of parenting I dislike most? But, it is important, so I've got to deal with it. I was hoping to wait until Stephen had this big test behind him so he could help. He is so much less emotional (not an overprotective Mama Bear I tend to turn into) and diplomatic in these situations. So, I am preparing myself & praying that I can resolve the situation before it's gets any worse.

On Saturday, we are taking Kaitlyn to the temple for the first time on Saturday. It is a very special event & we have been looking forward since the moment we first held her in our arms. Our tradition is to take each child to the temple when they turn 12, and then out to a special dinner at a sit down restuarant of their choice. Jonathan chose Red Lobster & has raved about it for 2 years, so that is where Kaitlyn wants to go. Kaitlyn is really excited, but has no idea that Stephen is going to "pop the question" right before we go into the temple.

He is going to ask her to committ to preparing herself to be worthy to be sealed in the temple someday, and to promise him that she will never settle for anything less than a proposal from a worthy, righteous priesthood holder, who wants to marry her in the temple. Then he will give her the CTR ring he bought for her & remind her that CTR means "Choose The Right", "Current Temple Reccommend", and spelled backwards, "Return to Christ." I'll have my Camera and tissues on hand for this moment. Here is a picture of the ring he bought her:

























Emily is doing well, liking school & loving Gymnastics. She is struggling in Spelling & I need to go talk to her teacher to see how I can help her more. She is becoming a little social butterfly, making friends at last. She has been our only shy, quiet child. It is fun to watch her blossom.

This month, my "me time" has been focused on improving my scrapbook technique. I entered a competition on a website. We are given a tutorial on a technique, then we have to scrapbook a layout & submit for the judges to critique. Then we redo the layout, & submit it for final submission. The first week, I was one of 10 who submitted a perfect layout the first time. The second week, I had to make minor changes & submit is a second time. We will find out who won last week's round tomorrow. This week I submitted a layout that emphasized white space & building a layout around an element they provided. To be honest, I don't like the layout. But I just recieved my critique back, & other than having to resize the picture, the judges liked it. It has been fun & I have learned so much. Here are my entries:

The first two are of my Niece.

A Hannah-ism

Hannah comes home from school yesterday, & says in a really serious voice, "Mom, Daniel calls me Hannah Banana ALL THE TIME. I told him if he would stop calling me THAT, I would stop picking on him."

I asked her if he stopped, she said nope. I asked her how she was picking on him. She gets this sweet grin on her face & says, "I call him Daniel Ba-naniel"

Hmmm, I wonder why he calls her Hannah Banana!

Kaitlyn's Birthday Picture!

Church Stuff

My new calling is Nursrey Leader and I love it! It is one of my favorite callings for many reasons: the kids are sweet & love you no matter what, the lessons are simple to prepare, & it is a Sunday only calling. After being in the Primary Presidency, Young Women's Presidency, & Activity Day Leader (one right after the other), it is nice to have a calling that doesn't involve meetings during the week. It will be a nice break.
This Sunday, our lesson is on being a good example. I am bringing a picture of Jesus & saying, "This is Jesus, he loves you very much. He wants you to be like him. Will you follow Jesus?" Then we are going to play Follow The Leader & sing Do As I'm Doing. So simple!
Kaitlyn started Young Women's last week. It is going to be an adjustment. But, to be fair to her, she started on a really hard week. Her first experience was mutual, & it was combined volleyball. The older boys intimidated her, although she said everyone was nice. On Sunday, it was combined Young Women's & they sat & listened to a lesson for the whole time. She said she liked the lesson, but it was just so different from Primary. Plus, she is the oldest of her group of friends & so she felt alone. She came into sacrament meeting, sat down, put her head on my shoulder, & burst into tears & said, "I don't like Young Women's & I am never going back!" Before I could respond, the meeting started. She cried through most of the meeting. I felt really bad for her & didn't know how I was going to handle it. I knew if I told her she has to go, no exception, it would just make her more set on not going. & I knew if I told her she didn't have to go, I would be setting her up for a lifetime of making excuses when it was hard to go to church.

So, as I was sitting there debating back & forth on what to do, the speaker began to tell of her missionary son who was hurt in a car accident. He hurt his back & thought he would have to come home. Their family prayed & fasted for him & 4 days later, he emailed to say the pain was totally gone. They hadn't told him they were praying for him. So, it gave me an idea: I prayed for Kaitlyn, that she would keep her mind & heart open to this new experience in Young Women's and listen to the Spirit. When the meeting was over, the first thing she said was, "It was just a bad day, I need to give it another try." We talked about some more here & there, but I haven't told her what to do, other than saying, if you decide not to go now, you'll be making a habit of not going when it's hard, and that could lead to inactivity. She said she didn't want that.

Then yesterday before school, she told me she prayed about it on Sunday night, & felt like if she didn't go, it would set a bad example to those that look up to her. One of her friends only goes to church when she does. So, Kaitlyn said she decided she would go to Young Women's whether she enjoyed it or not.

Yesterday, after school, the beehive class president called & invited Kaitlyn to go with her to take a treat to their leader who was sick. Kaitlyn came back happy & excited to be in Young Women's. Tonight, they are having a class activity & she is really excited.

I wonder sometimes if our kids are really developing testimonies of their own or not. This experience has shown me she is!

The Call

Stephen called the executive secretary today to schedule a reccommend interview for Kaitlyn tomorrow. The secretary said, "Oh she can come in right after your wife's appointment with the Bishop, I left a message on your machine, did you get it?" Well, we are terrible about checking our voice mail, so we hadn't got it yet. I am pretty sure it's a release from Activity Days, I have been the leader for 2 years. But what I don't know is what is coming next. I am trying to prepare myself so that whatever it is, I'll accept whole heartedly.......

Happy Birthday!

Kaitlyn turned 12 yesterday! Here are 12 things about our Kaitlyn Joy that you may or may not know:
1. She was born in Idaho, but we lived in Washington. We lived on the border & the hospital was in Idaho, only 15 minutes away from the apartment we lived in.
2. Kaitlyn is a happy, bubbly girl, who can always find something to make us laugh about.
3. Kaitlyn loves animals.
4. We didn't have a middle name picked out when she was born. The names we chose just didn't feel right. The minute she was born, joy spread through the room. I said to Stephen, "I feel pure joy." He said he did too. it seemed her spirit was one filled with joy. So, it seemed appropiate to give her the name of Joy. Later, at her baby blessing, Stephen blessed her that she would be a continual joy to her family throughout her life.
5. Kaitlyn likes to sing & dance
6. She is a FUN babysitter & her younger sisters just adore her.
7. She is a very hard worker & get straight A's in school.
8. Her best friends are her sisters, Megan, & Ashley.
9. She has a very vivid imagination. When she was 3, she was playing a pretend game with Jonathan (then 5). They were playing house. I was sitting nearby in a rocking chair feeding Emily (then a tiny baby). I had my eyes closed & I was listening to them play. All of the sudden, Kaitlyn began to cry, LOUD! I opened my eyes & couldn't see anything wrong. When I asked her what was wrong, she said "Jonathan sat on my pretend chair & broke it to pieces!" The harder I laughed, the more she cried. I felt bad for her, but it was so funny. My laughter prompted Jonathan to break more pretend chairs....
10. Kaitlyn's imagination has evolved over the years & now she writes hilarious children's stories.
11. Kaitlyn is very outgoing. Once, we were on an airplane to California. She was 18 months old. We sat by a man who had a large cowboy hat on. She looked at him and said, "Howdy Cowboy!" Rows of people heard & burst into laughter.
12. We think she is the sweetest, prettiest, most talented 12 year old we know & we love her VERY much!

Congratulations Kaitlyn!

Katlyn has been a nervous wreck all weekend.... she tried out for the OneVoice choir on Saturday & in her own words, "didn't do very well" She said her nerves just got the best of her & she felt like she was going to throw up. This has happened to her twice before when she tried out for two different musicals. And she didn't get a call back & was deeply disappointed. So all weekend, she said her stomach hurt every time she thought about it.
The director just called.... and she passed auditions! She will be excited! For those that don't know, OneVoice is the children's choir that sang at the 2002 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. They have the opportunity to work with a professional voice coach & they travel around Utah doing concerts. Kaitlyn loves musical theater, she has been in 2 productions, & I think with this training, it will give her confidence to audition again. She took the last two rejections pretty hard.
That is the good news here today!

Life In Full Swing

I am totally appreciating my time while the kids are in school because once they get home, it's go go go!

Kaitlyn



Kaitlyn has mixed feelings about being in 6th grade. She loves being in class with all her friends. I worried that with so many of her friends in the same class, there would be fights. But so far, they are all getting along. Their teacher is really strict on her no talking policy & they have all been reprimanded several times already. But they are getting better. They have homework every night & at first, they tried doing it together, but it took them 2 hours to get it done (talking, giggling, working), so they decided to get their homework done & then hang out.
I am very firm on our family's schedule in that I won't allow overscheduling. Kaitlyn has had a hard time deciding on her extra curricular activity this year because she wants to do everything, seriously. If I would let her, she would do dance, drill team clinics, school chior, tutor in the Astro- tots program, Young Womens, OneVoice, and Piano. But I told her that even if she was my only child, that schedule is not possible. So I told she needs to choose one activity in addition to Young Women's. It has been an agonizing choice for her, but yesterday, she came home & said "she just knew" what she wanted to do. She wants to be in the OneVoice Chior. It is a Choir that travels around Utah performing. She auditions on Saturday. If she doesn't make it, she has decided to take piano.

Jonathan lives, breathes, & sleeps golf & football. He is loving the golf team & lives for Monday & Wednesday golf practices. Yesterday, he joined an intramural football team with 6 of his friends from the ward. Ironically, being so active in sports has improved his motivation to do homework. He comes home on the days he doesn't have golf & does his homework & chores, then he is out the door again to go play football. On days when he has golf practice, he comes home afterwards, eats, does homework & chores, then falls into bed. I checked his grades yesterday & he has straight A's. He is one happy kid.











Emily started back to Gymnastics yesterday & is thrilled beyond thrilled to be back. The class size has doubled since last year, due to the Olympics I think. She is in Skill Level 2 class which meets from 7:15- 8:15 pm. By 7 at night, I am exhausted. I am hoping to move her into the 6-7pm class. Her coach thinks that the vast numbers will drop off by next week & a spot will open up for her in the 6pm class. I am keeping my fingers crossed.



Hannah will do the Jr. Drill Team Clinic this year, but it doesn't start until October & only lasts 2 weeks. Thank Goodness!

A Balanced Life is a Good Life

Lately, on a few blogs I read, the comment has been made that people only blog about the good things in life, leaving the impression that their life is perfect. Ive thought about this alot. I am happy with my life.... it has turned out mostly to be what I wanted it to be.... I am blessed with to be married to my best friend & we have 4 beautiful kids. I live in a peaceful community surrounded by close friends. I can say my sister, although we are different as night is to day, is one of my best friends. But although I am happy with life, it doesn't mean it's perfect. If I would have started blogging last August when Stephen started nursing school, it would have been painfully apparent that my life was anything but perfect.
It was a bold, radical move for Stephen to go back to school. At the time we made the decision, he was working 60 hours a week and in the bishopric. His time already seemed stretched to the limits, I didn't know how it was possible to fit anything else in. I suggested to Stephen that he tell the Bishop of his school plans & ask for a release. He said it wasn't neccesary. He knew the decision to go to school was right & the Lord would bless him to meet all his obligations. I didn't have as much faith, so I put my trust in his faith. A week before school started, the Bishop called him in & issued a new call... ward mission leader. And for the next month, he was ward mission leader AND in the bishopric. The week that school started, he cut back on his hours at work from 60 a week to 48 a week. We had tried to prepare as best as we could by putting money in savings, but the cut in hours also meant a cut in wages & our budget was cut by $900 a month. I truly did not know how we were going to do it all. During much of Stephen's first year, we both felt overwhelmed, stressed & far too busy to think straight.
But, to keep our family strong & functioning, we had to focus on the truly important things in life. We first decided that above every thing else we were doing, we were committed to putting the Lord & our family first. Since starting school, Stephen has been in the bishopric, ward mission leader, & now in the Young Men's presidency. All of these callings have been more of a blessing than an obligation. Nursing school is set up to monopolize 100% of a student's life. These callings have given Stephen balance, which has made him a better husband, father, & student. It has also shown me how capable I am of handling life while he is busy & has required the kids to learn to pitch in & work together. It wasn't easy, there were countless Sunday mornings where I thought I'd rather have the flu rather than get kids ready for Church on time. But as time went by, it got easier.
We also set the kids down & told them about the family budget cuts & what it would mean to them. Stephen & I watched every penny & breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the month that all the bills were paid. It was hard & there were times we had to use our credit card, but we made it through.
Stephen was under enormous pressure the entire year.... the nursing program repeatedly told him he give them 100% to succeed. He knew he couldn't. He couldn't sacrifice our marriage, our kids, or his standing with the Lord. He also remained committed to our decision to keep me out of the workforce & fulltime mom to the kids. He worried constantly about his grades & I worried just as much about all the stress he was under. Life was hard & far from perfect.
But, we did make it through. Stephen not only survived his first year, but excelled academically. In April he took a test that predicts the chance of passing boards. He scored in the 99th percentile. He earned high grades in his classes. And most importantly, our marriage grew stronger, the kids never felt neglected, & he has continued to serve in his callings.
This year is SO much busy. Stephen is still busy, we are still paying off debt from the 1st year, the kids still keep us busy. But neither one of us feels nearly as overwhelmed as we did this time last year. We have grown through this hard experience, & because life was less than perfect for a season, we are happier now than we have ever been. Not only does Stephen make more money, but he works less hours than he has ever worked in our married life AND he loves his job. That makes everything we went through last year totally worth it!
So, our life is definitely not perfect, but it is very happy!

Guess who I found today????

Ok, can I say I LOVE the Internet!!!!! Recently, through blogging & facebook, I have gotten back in touch with so many old friends & even family members. Today, I was looking through Facebook's Find A Friend through BYU-I (Ricks) AND GUESS WHO I FOUND..... Rachel, you are going to be so surprised..............

Larriann Madsen McGowen!!!!!!!!!

And the wild thing is she lives less than a hour from me. Now I am in touch with all the roomies from 2nd year! I am hoping she knows how to get in touch with Terri! Wouldn't it be a blast to get together, all of us? Hey, we could meet in a park, around midnight, I'll bring the doughnuts & rootbeer! heehee, what were we thinking?

On A Lighter Note

I was playing around on yearbookyourself.com today, take a look at these!





80's Rule!

My Thoughts on Sarah Palin

I was surfing the web today & found this blog post by Dr. Laura. Now, I am NOT a huge fan of Dr. Laura. While I agree with her on many moral issues, I think she is off on a lot of things as well. But on the subject of John McCain's running mate, we agree perfectly. This is probably the only time I will post anything political on this blog, but this is something I feel very strongly about.

Dr Laura Writes:

"I am extremely disappointed in the choice of Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Republican Party. I will still vote for Senator McCain, because I am very concerned about having a fundamental leftist, especially one who is a marvelous orator, as President.
At first, I thought it amusing that McCain picked a pretty, smart, and tough female to counter the racist/sexist accusations going back and forth between parties. I remember how Oprah Winfrey got caught in the cross-fire as she stepped up to the political table to support Obama with pride that a black man could rise to such heights in the USA, only to get slammed by feminists who told her it was gender, not race, that she should back. Understandably, Ms. Winfrey pulled back from it all.
Forget gender and race. I’m frankly and sadly caught in the dilemma of having to balance policy versus example in touting a candidate for the office of the First Family. I was ferociously attacked (what’s new?) when I spoke out strongly against Bill Clinton’s dalliances in the Oval Office. That situation quickly turned into a debate whether “private has anything to do with public.” Nonsense. Role models are very important. Children and young adults look to those who are visible and successful as a road map of what is acceptable behavior and emulate those actions over the morals and values their parents and churches have taught and tried to reinforce. It’s a tough go these days, when the “bad that men or women do” is used for entertainment purposes without judgment, or is excused because of political or financial considerations.
I’m stunned - couldn’t the Republican Party find one competent female with adult children to run for Vice President with McCain? I realize his advisors probably didn’t want a “mature” woman, as the Democrats keep harping on his age. But really, what kind of role model is a woman whose fifth child was recently born with a serious issue, Down Syndrome, and then goes back to the job of Governor within days of the birth?
I am haunted by the family pictures of the Palins during political photo-ops, showing the eldest daughter, now pregnant with her own child, cuddling the family’s newborn. When Mom and Dad both work full-time (no matter how many folks get involved with the children), it becomes a somewhat chaotic situation. Certainly, if a child becomes ill and is rushed to the hospital, and you’re on the hotline with both Israel and Iran as nuclear tempers are flaring, where’s your attention going to be? Where should your attention be? Well, once you put your hand on the Bible and make that oath, your attention has to be with the government of the United States of America.
I am positively moved that neither Sarah nor her daughter were willing to terminate the lives of their unborn children. This is in sharp contrast to Obama’s statement that “When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include…which should include abstinence education and teaching children…teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include - it should also include other, you know, information about contraception, because, look, I’ve got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.” (March, 2008)
So, one Vice Presidential candidate and her daughter demonstrate, under conditions of great stress, that babies are valued human beings, not punishment. However, that same VP candidate came forth in April of 2008 with a proclamation for “Family Child Care Week,” in which she wrote: “These professionals are positive role models for the children they care for and the communities they serve.” Clearly, Palin sees the need for positive role models. I suggest that they be Mommy and Daddy, and not the hired help.
Child-care facilities are a necessity when mothers and fathers (when they exist at all) are unwilling or incapable of caring for their offspring. Unfortunately, they have become a mainstay of the feminista mentality that nothing should stand in the way of a woman’s ambition - nothing, including her family.
Any full-time working wife and mother knows that the family takes the short end of the stick. Marriages and the welfare of children suffer when a stressed-out mother doesn’t have time to be a woman, a wife, and a hands-on Mommy."

My Ramblings

Since the kids have started school, I haven't known what to blog about. Today, I had a full day planned, but I keep getting distracted by the phone & other things, so I've decided to scale down a bit & focus one ONE thing, instead of 10, so I can feel like I've accomplished something by the end of the day. That one thing is laundry, & while it is washing & drying, I can get to other things I want to do, but feel to busy to do, like blogging.
I am at a crossroad in my life right now & it's weird, wonderful, exciting & scary all at once. We have all heard that there are seasons in our life. For the last 13 1/2 years, my season has been to have babies & raise them. That has been my primary focus. Yes, I have my personal interests & I have pursued through the years, but my life has largely been raising my kids. And it still is, but in a different way. Since they started school, I've been reflecting on the past a lot more than I ever have. See, thats new too. Having time to think. With 4 kids, it seems like someone always needs something, or wants to talk, or needs attention. With the house so quiet now, I can actually think. So my mind has wandered back to the "old days" when the kids were really little, when Stephen and I were dating, when I was in college, when I was a teenager.... I've thought alot about my granny who passed away 4 years ago & all the good memories I have of her. And I've realized that I've been so busy all these years to really stop & realize that my life has been so very good. Often, I've been too caught up in the daily to do lists & sometimes, the trials. I guess what I am saying is that it is a good thing to finally have some time to stop & smell the roses!
But, I have thought about the hard times & trials too. & I have come to the conclusion that looking back, I am glad we went through the things we did. It has made us stronger people & a closer family.
So, I have had a great life & the season of having little children is over. I am aware that very soon, the season of my children being busy outside of home is fast approaching, and so this season we are currently in, the "school- aged" children season is important & what I do now with it will shape the future. I've asked myself, "what do I want to be now that the kids are in school all day" The answer is, a happy, well organized mother when they come home. For me, that means taking care of household chores, getting Stephen's paper's typed, exercising, spending a little time each day doing something I enjoy, and then preparing for the kids to come home. I've discovered I enjoy cooking when a million things aren't going on at once, so I make dinner & a after school snack an hour before they get home. It is fun to hear them walk through the door and say, "that smells good Mom, what's for snack?" I hope it is a memory that stays with them for life.
Anyway, that's what is on my mind today. Kind of rambling.
Oh, before I go, a funny thing Hannah said yesterday:
Yesterday was a cold, rainy day so I decided to celebrate by making a pot of Brocolii Cheese Soup & Corn Bread for dinner. Since the kids were out of school yesterday, Hannah helped me make dinner. She stirred the soup while I made the cornbread batter, then she asked if she could put the batter in the muffin tin. I told her yes, then started to show her how to spoon out batter evenly in each muffin tin. She looked up at me & said "Mom, I know...... I DO watch Ruff Ruff man." For those that don't know, Ruff Ruff Man is a show on PBS. It was just too funny!