Wordful Wednesday...I am Grateful...

I am so falling down on my posts...I had sick kids and a day trip to fulfill and so last week was a bust. But here we start again on Wordful Wednesday. Wonderful topic that I think we all kind of take for granted, except this time of year. I guess that's why we have this holiday. Even though I am Canadian and we celebrated Thanksgiving in October, I think its good to think every month what we have all been blessed with. Thirty days till Christmas...Here's Thirty things I am grateful for...

1. My children...as much as they drive me crazy, they still make me laugh and smile.
2. My husband...I am so grateful that he likes to come home to me and our crazy house.
3. The ability of being a mother...we were blessed and never had any problems getting pregnant. I am so grateful for that fact.
4. My eyes...I can see and take in the beauty around me. I am especially loving the late fall this year. I love the reds, oranges, golds and yellows.
5. My ears...I can hear my kids fighting, not great, but at least I can hear them!
6. My tongue...I can taste, great Christmas baking right around the corner! I love chocolates and Monster cookies!
7. I can feel...my new bed. It is 6 months old now, but everytime I lay down I say "I love my giant, soft bed!"
8. I can feel...love it when my children tell me they love me. So sweet and innocent. They have totally forgotten the night before when I have gotten mad at them for something. I love feeling their unconditional love.
9. My home...we own a house and I am so grateful. Even if the price has dropped dramatically, its mine and its warm and dry.
10. My clothes...and the abundance thereof. I have many outfits to choose from for all different occasions.
11. My pantry...it is stocked. We have food, all different kinds and we don't have to go without.
12. Treats...both the food and the extra treats we buy our selves, not because we need it, but because we want it. I don't do this much, but it is still nice to be ABLE to treat yourself once in a while.
13. My legs...I have fully functional legs. Sometimes I wish I could make them function more...but I can get out of bed and walk.
14. My hands...I can make things like dinner and tooth pillows for my kids. They don't hurt and always do as I ask them.
15. My heart...it pumps properly, but it also lets me care. Sometimes too much about things, but I can care and I know how to share that caring.
16. The church...the gospel is always the same no matter where you go.
17. The church...and friends you meet there, both for myself and my children.
18. The church leaders both at home and our leaders in Salt Lake.
19. The fact I can spoil my kids a little at Christmas.
20. The fact I can give a little to others at Christmas.
21. Long distance calls...I don't know if I could function without this life line to my friends and family.
22. Lazy days...like today. Its cold, nothing to do but stay inside and play with my kids and husband.
23. My kids are healthy. They are strong and healthy and growing.
24. Chocolate. I love chocolate. And as much as it is emotional eating...it can fix just about anything!
25. Music...I love music all kinds. I love primary songs, country, pop, dance, classical. I love the way it makes me feel and I love hearing my kids make music! I love hearing Gracie try to sing along with anything!
26. Christmas Carols...I love the way they set the mood for the holidays.
27. My parents...they have always supported me and my little family. And they are always there to love us.
28. Dustin's parents...they are like my own and have always taken me in.
29. Friends...both old and new. Old friends know and remember who you were and new friends find out who you are now.
30. I am a Child of God...knowing that my Heavenly Father is there for me is sometimes the only thing that gets me through some days, and I am so grateful for that.

There is my list. There are many things that I am grateful for that aren't on there, but I think making a list once in a while is a great way to help us remember that we have been blessed and are continually being blessed. we just have to take the time to remember it.

Wordful Wednesday...Giving

Following another bog that really inspires me every time I read it...she has Wordful Wednesdays and herself and followers post on a certain topic. I think it is a really neat idea, and here is my first attempt...

I was helping my daughter with her primary talk a couple of weeks ago. It was on service. I asked her if she new what service was, and she said no (she's 5). I told her service was helping other people. "What can you do to help others?" I asked her. She listed a few chores she does at home, playing with her brothers, then she said "I can help my friend if they get hurt. I can give them a hug and make them feel better." Sometimes we think of giving of ourselves as doing an actual duty or chore for someone...making a meal, raking leaves, babysitting... but sometimes its that simple little thing of making a person feel better that is so important.

When we moved to California, we had no body and I wasn't sure if I could do it. Many days were hard and lonely. One Sunday, I was having a really bad day...I was at church by myself with the kids. Gracie was in nursery and Brody was wandering the halls with me. I was sitting in the foyer and just feeling really sad. My Relief Society President came and sat with me and asked how I was doing. Of course, I pretended like all was well and just shrugged it off as if it didn't matter. We continued talking a bit, then she told me to call her if I ever needed anything. I'm sure she never knew how much that little conversation meant to me.

Giving of oneself comes very naturally for some, and some of us (guilty) have to let go of the notion that we aren't good enough or needed enough. We are all here on this earth for a purpose. Maybe that purpose on that day is just to say Hi to a neighbor. Maybe its just to play a game with your kids. Maybe its to write a letter to a friend you haven't seen in a long time. We don't know exactly what we are capable of doing until we let ourselves do it. And we don't know how we will affect someone or their lives unless we put ourselves out there. Our Savior reached out to all around Him, friends and strangers alike. He touched lives in large and in small ways. Many miracles are recorded in the scriptures, but how many people did he acknowledge with a small smile, and brightened their lives for that moment, and we do not have on written record. We can all give of ourselves in that small way, everyday, and brighten some ones life.

This is one of my favorite quotes. I don't know where it came from, but it helps me remember that I do make a difference, even if it is just to one person at the time:

To the World you may be one person, but to one person you may be the World.

I hope I can remember what my daughter believes sevice is "I can make my friend feel better."I hope I can remember that people all around me can become my friends and maybe just that smile at the cashier or small conversation with a stranger in the aisle at the store who asks my opinion about something she's buying, maybe these small things, are making their lives better that day. I want my children to know how important it is to be kind and giving, so I will try and make myself get out there and be more giving on a personal level. This holiday season these are things I hope I can do:

• Wish people Happy Holidays, or Merry Christmas...before they do it to me.
• Go caroling to families who are new to the ward...making new friends
• Playing more with my children...what fun are the holidays if we don't play.
• Show my children kindness through my example to others
• Send a thankyou card to my parents and inlaws because they are our parents

I'm sure I will think of some more, but I believe I have rambled on long enough. This was a great topic...and tough. Sometimes the simple things are the toughest.

My Gracie...

It is late and I really should be going to bed, but today is Gracie and I just checked on her in bed and I couldn't go to sleep without talking about my little girl...
Because that's what she is now, she is a little girl, no longer my baby! I am so sad yet so happy. A little girl who loves kindergarten, friends and playing. She loves learning and trying new things. She is scared one second and jumping in the next. I love how she is so carefree, nothing bothers Gracie. Yet she is so dramatic the next minute about something that seems so trivial to me, but is so important to her. I love how she is so excited about everything! Primary, school, skating, getting the mail, having a "sleepover" in the living room. Everything is exciting and wonderful for Gracie. I hope she never loses that. I hope she always sees everything as a new adventure, even if its the same as last week. I am saddened that I have lost that excitement about most things. I could care less about getting the mail, but the walk is so exciting for the kids, what will we get, what will we find. So what if we sleep on the living room floor, again and again? We do it every Friday, and every Friday Mommy makes popcorn and we watch a movie. But every Friday it is a great treat that the kids love and look forward to. Little things in life that to myself seem so trivial, but to my kids, especially Gracie, are wonderful adventures. I wish I was more like that.
I love how when she has had a good day at school she is so excited to tell me "I clipped up!" even if it is just one level. Or "I finished all my work" (she has trouble with that sometimes)! It may seem like a little thing, but to her it is a BIG thing and very important. I wish I could feel that sense of accomplishment when I finish those little jobs around the house and don't get to the rest. So I didn't get the house cleaned...I finished the laundry though. I didn't finish mopping all the floors, but I did get the kitchen done. Maybe I need to focus on what I have done, instead of what I haven't like my daughter.
She has one annoying, but funny quality that I think she has always had, even when she was really little. She has selective hearing, which I am sure that all parents say their kids have. But she really does. If she doesn't like what she is hearing, or if there is something more interesting going on, she can totally act like she is hearing you, somewhat participate in the conversation, and have no recollection of what you have just talked about. Or completely ignore you. Which is probably a good thing sometimes and so frustrating to me all the time. It'll be great if she ever goes on a date with a really boring guy! For instance, she had skating lessons today and was not participating well or listening to her teacher. After lessons I was telling her that her teacher said she needed to practise bending her knees more etc. etc. and she was watching the kids play hockey and I said
"Gracie, did you hear me?"
"Ya." She replied still watching the kids.
"You need to listen to your teacher, Grace, if you want to learn how to skate, OK?"
"OK."
"So, what can you do then."
"What?"
"What can you do in class next time."
"Listen."
" Yes, listen. But what do you need to practise."
"Listening."
"Yes, but what did your teacher say to practise."
"What?"
"You need to practise bending your knees. When Daddy brings you on Thursday you can practise that."
"Where is Daddy bringing me?"
"To practise skating. You guys can come on Thursday and practise with Daddy."
We are walking out at this point, we have a dramatic event over stepping on a rock, get our shoes on, and as we are leaving, I ask "So what are going to practise for next time?"
"What practise?"
"For skating. What did I say you need to practise?"
"What did you say?"
She says this all the time and I have to repeat myself alot. I would worry about her hearing except when I am talking across the room and let something little slip, or she hears certain cartoon music on the TV from across the house and she'll come running. So it is usually only when we say something she doesn't really want to hear that this phrase comes out. Sometimes several times in a row like we are going to change our answer if she keeps on repeating herself.If I tell her something, I often ask her to repeat what I have just said so that I know that she has heard and internalized the information. If she can't repeat it, I know it went in one ear and out the other. But, like I said, it'll come in handy when she has to agonize through a really bad date with a really boring guy. I just hope she comes up with a phrase that is not so obvious than "What did you say?"

Just another Day...

Nothing special to write...I've been having a bit of a block, but I haven't written in like a week and thought I'd better post something, maybe my block would be undone.
I am going to try something though...From now on, every Tuesday will be Gracie Day, Wednesday Brody Day, and Thursday Cooper Day. And on those days I will try and write a little something about that particular child. I figure that way, I will get down some of the funny stories and things that they do and try not to forget all of them, since I am slowly losing my mind you know! And on Friday, I will try and write something about the deep thoughts that I try to have, though rarely happen as many of my days are filled with trying to figure out the deep thoughts of a 5 and 3 year old! They do make you think sometimes.

Ant Farm Day

So, I was working on my sharing time for Sunday and the topic was Being Thankful for being a Child of God and the Talents he had Given us. When you work on these sharing times (or I guess any lesson or talk for church) you don't realize what you yourself learn as you prepare it. Being a stay at home mom, I sometimes forget that my talents extend beyond changing diapers and getting food in my kids' bellies. I'm sure there are many of you out there that have the same issue with remembering your self worth while swimming in toys, errands, groceries, schoolwork and kids! Today was one of those days...
We have been having a bit of a problem with ants in the house. First, they were just in my bedroom, just a couple here and there. I did a thorough vacuuming of the whole house. I didn't see many until a couple of days ago, and when I went to the bathroom to do Gracie's hair, they were all over the sink and vanity! Where the heck did they come from! I sucked them up again, followed by baby powder (the talc is supposed to be bad for them) to keep them from crawling back out. I noticed they were coming from under the rug. I pulled it up and underneath they were crawling! I sucked up what I could see and left it and no more came back. I poured baby powder there and replaced the rug. I then again, thoroughly vacuumed the entire house and sprinkled baking soda with cinnamon and peppermint around. ( Again, the ants are not supposed to like the scent) I really don't like using poison in the house with the kids, who knows what it might do, right? Well, that seemed to work. I was quite pleased with myself. Then this morning, I went into my closet to get the dirty clothes and there, along the wall, was some more! I was so mad! I grabbed the vacuum and sucked the little suckers up AGAIN! This time I pulled up the side of the carpet in the closet revealing a huge crack in the floor, dirt and hundreds of ants! GROSS! I took everything out of the closet, pulled up the entire carpet and padding (Ya, lots of fun right?) and vacuumed them up. Then I took the big can of bug spray and soaked the crack with it. Who cares about health at this point. Well, I think I got 'em! I've left the rug up all afternoon and the few that I have seen have crawled up and died. (Take that!) Needless to say, between that, my poor baby who was tired and screamed the entire time, the kids demolishing the living room, and trying to get my sharing time done and keep my sanity, it wasn't turning out to be a great day...
So, after reading over the points and notes that I made, I realized that there is a reason for all of our talents. We do have many talents and they may be hard to see all the time, but we have them and use them everyday. I know that my Heavenly Father has blessed me with many things, including many that help me be a mother everyday. Things like patience (I do laugh at this one, because some days this one is hard to find, but I am "developing" it more and more!) or a sense of humour (it is a little funny that I had to rage war on the little critters), knowledge of many things to teach my children (like how to get rid of things you don't like while controlling the rest of your life at the same time!) and persistence (some may call it stubbornness, but this sounds nicer doesn't it) and many more which I will get into another time. I am so thankful for being a mom, even on these days. Thankful that I get the opportunity to be with my kids and share with them my knowledge however little it might feel like. One day I hope I can impress upon them that they are Special too, with many talents and gifts from their Father in Heaven, even if they are having an Ant Farm Day and its hard to see it!