Sunday Inspiration

Keep trying. Be believing. Be Happy. Don't get discouraged. Things will work out.

Gordon B. Hinckley.

PS- like this quote? Free printable here.

Project Day / Scenes from Easter

I'm teaching a class tonight that I'm frantically preparing for. I have no idea what to call it- why it's not granny to be ladylike? How to fake your way through ettiquette? I'm discussing first impressions, handling conflict, ettiquette cheats and self confidence with the young women at church. Title suggestions?

I'll be back on Friday with treats for you, but for now, here's what easter looked like at our house.

Oh, and I've heard that two of our five mailed eggs arrived, one hasn't arrived, and I didn't really expect to hear from the other recipients. Maybe I"ll hear more in the coming week, I'm not sure.

Parenting 505

Earlier this month, our church held it's semi-annual general conference. Twice yearly, the leaders of our church broadcast messages via sattelite- for us this means that we gather at my parents for pancakes, gummi bear conference bingo, and we get to enjoy church in our jammies. There's usually one or two talks the feel like they're aimed directly at me. I know that for many other moms, this year that talk was the one that referenced "Parenting 505." In this talk, Lynn G. Robbins said:

"A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you? "

This talk has been on my mind frequently since it was given. Stinky has been a Parenting 505 kid this year in particular. Then I think about it more, and I don't know a single parent who doesn't feel like they're muddling their way through 505, even those whose children are adults now.

Most days, I feel so blessed that I get to be a mother, and specifically, Stinky and Rotten's mother. I watch our family and other families, see how their dynamics work, and I think about how they work with the personalities their children came with, and how each child seems to be so perfectly placed within their families- I don't know how anyone can fail to see a Divine Hand in that.

When I think about the way that my boys have shaped me- like putting a rock through a tumbler, polishing me by rolling me around in a mess of sometimes abrasive circumstances- I know that they were meant to be our children, and WBH and I meant to be their parents. I reject the idea that our family is mere coincidence. The gravity of knowing that makes the responsibility that much more fantastic and real to me.

Cookie Friday: Brownies, Sunny Side Up

More Easter Fun around here. A friend posted a picture of brownies baked with Cadbury Creme eggs. It had to be tried. It was awesome. I used the mini eggs. Splitting them in half is easier if they've been chilled first, but if they break weirdly, it's okay. They're going to melt anyway.

Plop them face up (sunny side up?) in the batter, then bake.
Voila!

You can use a box mix, but you'll be much happier if you use the brownie recipe here.

Wrapped Plastic Egg Tutorial

We dropped our eggs off in the mail- I'm hoping they'll reach their recipients by Easter and hopefully brighten some postal workers' day on the way.

I have to admit, those plastic easter eggs make me a little bonkers. They're great for Easter egg hunts, but then they're all over, you step on them, and they're not especially attractive. Fortunately, this week I managed to turn some of them into something a little nicer looking.

I think they're pretty cute! Here's what you need:

Plastic Egg

Clear Craft Glue

Scissors

Yarn (I liked the look of Sugar 'n Cream- and there are so many colors)
You'll also want a baby wipe on hand to wipe the glue from your fingers.

Swirl the glue around one half of your egg, then spread it around with your finger.

Starting at the top, loop the yarn around on itself and wrap it around. Continue swirling the yarn around .

Work the yarn all the way to the center of the egg, then cut the yarn on a diagonal (this helps it lay flat). Turn your egg over and repeat from the other end.

Ta Da! The whole process takes about 5 minutes.

How Freddie Mercury Answered My Prayer

Yesterday I sat in the mother's lounge at church, half-listening as they piped in the speakers from the chapel. My mind wandered to the events of this last week- my grumpiness and frustrations with the boys and myself. I thought about what it was I needed to change this week, and prayed I'd get the answers, the opportunity, and the motivation I needed.

This morning, I woke before Stinky- got dressed, put on music, had his breakfast on the table and ready to go. He woke and came downstairs. As is his nature, he couldn't hold still once he heard music. I scooped him up and we danced in the kitchen. The words stood out to me, and as many songs often do, took on a greater meaning when heard as a mother. In the Queen song, I found my job description as mother to my boys.

Whenever this world is cruel to me

I got you, to help me forgive

Oh, you're the first one

When things turn out bad

You know I'll never be lonely

I'm happy (happy at home)

You're my best friend

So we danced the song out. He sat to eat, and I kept moving with my morning tasks, but it stuck in my mind. It is my job to teach him, to discipline him, to prepare him - but it's also my job to protect him, to be a safe place he can come to. It's funny, the places the answers to our prayers come from, isn't it?

I hope your week is off to the same great start mine is. The sun is shining, and we're going to prepare eggs for mailing today. Happy Monday!

Sunday Inspiration

"People have souls, and feelings, and they are eternal. When we reject someone because they aren’t like us - even in subtle ways - we let them know that love is not what we’re after. A look of disapproval over something that really doesn’t matter. A remark that doesn’t need to be made. We’re just thinking about ourselves.”

~a. ann

Sunday Inspiration

“My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith"

Thomas S. Monson

a really. good. day.

Spring Break was so busy, it seems like it was here and instantly gone. We took a day trip with my mother and sister into Seattle on Friday, to the Science Center and to the fountain.

Stinky took his camera on the trip, too, and it kept him busy in the crowd at the butterfly house.

Ultimately, the science center was so crowded that we left early to picnic and play near the fountain. Stinky and I played tag.

While Rotten napped in the gorgeous spring weather

Being there in the sunshine turned Stinky into '50 degree shirt's off guy' stating "I'm going to take off my shirt and run into the fountain . That's my decision, guys" WBH got this picture at the one moment he held still:

We drove the long route home, where we could watch paragliders floating down and Stinky said quietly, "Mom, this was a really. good. day. "

A Morning Person?

I am not a morning person. I have never claimed to be, even when I had a job that started before 5 am. My energy peak comes right about 7 pm- that's when I feel like my drive shows up and I can really get to moving. I like to ease into my mornings- breakfast and a Diet Dr. Pepper while I check my e-mail and facebook. Then I get dressed and feel a little more human. Rotten, in one of the rare moments in which he lives up to his name, is very much a morning person, and it's a struggle for me. I love seeing his smiles in the morning when we wake up, but the ecstatic, bouncing laughter that seems to declare "It's a new day! I have such plans!" is a little off-putting to this bleary-eyed mommy whose night time energy was spent sketching up garden plans in bed. Then again, I look at that face, and watch him bounce with joy for everything- seeing his brother (a night owl like me) and me for the first time each day, and it's a little less obnoxious.

Sunday Inspiration

Our women are not incredible because they have managed to avoid the difficulties of life—quite the opposite. They are incredible because of the way they face the trials of life. Despite the challenges and tests life has to offer—from marriage or lack of marriage, children’s choices, poor health, lack of opportunities, and many other problems—they remain remarkably strong and immovable and true to the faith. Our sisters throughout the Church consistently “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”

Quentin L. Cook

Where Did I Go?

Please pardon the absence. It's been a busy few weeks around here. We made a April Fool's Day dinner for WBH, with Orange Jello Slices, Meatloaf Cupcakes and Spaghetti for dessert. This one is almost crawling. It's fascinating, thrilling and terrifying all at once.

We took a field trip and rode a ferry...

...and put our toes in sand, wishing for warmer weather soon.

WBH is on spring break, and we're keeping busy. Back next week.

Is spring popping up in your neck of the woods? Around here, it still feels like November to me. I'm hoping it will ease up on the rain soon so we can plant our garden. I'm craving fresh spinach and snap peas.

Sunday Inspiration

When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer—no matter how eloquent the oration.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf