Happy Mother's Day!

Elder Marvin J. Ashton said:
"Some mothers seem to have the capacity and energy to make their children’s clothes, bake, give piano lessons, go to Relief Society, teach Sunday School, attend parent-teacher association meetings, and so on. Other mothers look upon such women as models and feel inadequate, depressed, and think they are failures when they make comparisons.

We should not allow ourselves to be trapped into such damaging inferiority feelings. This is another tool of Satan. Many seem to put too much pressure on themselves to be a ‘supermom’ or ‘superwoman.’

Sisters, do not allow yourselves to be made to feel inadequate or frustrated because you cannot do everything others seem to be accomplishing. Rather, each should assess her own situation, her own energy, and her own talents, and then choose the best way to mold her family into a team, a unit that works together and supports each other. Only you and your Father in Heaven know your needs, strengths, and desires. Around this knowledge your personal course must be charted and your choices made." (in Conference Report, Apr. 1984, 11; or Ensign, May 1984, 9–10 ).

Neal A. Maxwell said:

"We salute you, sisters, for the joy that is yours as you rejoice in a baby’s first smile and as you listen with eager ear to a child’s first day at school which bespeaks a special selflessness. Women, more quickly than others, will understand the possible dangers when the word self is militantly placed before other words like fulfillment. You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today’s world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms." ("The Women of God," Ensign, May 1978, 10)

amen.

Thoughts on being 'mom'

Today i spent most of the day alone ... a rarity it feels like in my line of work ... I took myself to the store, all by myself, i got out of the car, closed the door, walked alone across the parking lot, waited for a car to back out of a spot and made it into the store ... all by myself. I walked into the jewelry section and kept my hands to myself, i didn't touch the glass or spin the displays ... just looked and then i walked over to the shoe section ... i tried on a few pairs and found the perfect ones ... just what i was looking for ... all by myself. I went to the clothing section and found a darling skirt and picked up a few different shirts to try on, i went to the dressing room and tried them on and chose one to buy ... i went to the register and paid for my items and turned and walked out of the store ... across the parking lot and got back into my car, put on my seat belt and said to myself, "wow it's quiet in here ..." there wasn't any fighting, no whining, no "i want to sit there" or "stop touching that" or "keep your hands to yourself" ... there was also no "thanks mom for taking me" or "mom, where are we going next?" or "what time is it?" ... no little voices singing along with the music ... no laughter. I was reminded that sometimes it's not that great to be alone. (don't get me wrong, i love me some me-time ... but i thought to myself "that is why i wanted to be the mom!")

Then i watched this youtube video and it changed me a little ... being the mom isn't glamorous ... but i sure love it ... and i need to start telling my kids how much i LOVE being their mom ... it's always been my #1 - when my friends were hoping to be astronauts and the first woman president ... i wanted to be a mom (my big plan was to go to beauty school and be a hair dresser in my own home so that i'd be home but able to work ... maybe someday i'll add on that extra part).

i read this for the first time on my mission ... true ... so true!

What is a Mother?

A Mother is a wonderful creature constructed almost entirely of love and this she can express in a million ways from hugs and kisses and good cooking and patient listening, to stern lectures and strict rules and repeated use of the word "no".

Like snowflakes, no two Mothers are alike but they have a number of things in common. Name anything a Mother can be found washing it, roasting it, polishing it, getting rid of it, repairing it, packing it, teaching it, redecorating it, loving it, or talking it over at PTA.

A Mother cares about, and for most everything; gardens, pets, the state of the nation, the worn spot in the rug, hungry people, and most of all, Father and her children. For these, she can do anything, dare anything, and fight for anything necessary for their happiness.

A Mother is not always an angel. She will often disagree with you, expect too much of you, criticize your choice of friends, and bring up the subject of work when you feel least energetic. But she's always ready to help when you need her.

You don't always tell a Mother how much you love her or how much you wish the most wonderful things in the world will come to her because there are no words to express feelings so deep and sincere. Somehow, though, you feel she understands what's in your heart. Mothers always do.

did you know that this would happen??

i threw a blanket in with my laundry ... that i THOUGHT i had washed before.

it appears that machine wash was not an acceptable way to clean it ...

have you EVER seen anything like this happen before!?
what a mess!!
I ended up vacuuming out the washer ... and then the dryer a few times!!

nuf said

William Tell Overture for Moms"

what's for dinner?

This delicious, delectable delight is my favorite fall food!

Taco Soup!!

It even looks fabulously fall-ish!

It's seriously the easiest soup to make,

simply dump the above ingredients in a pot

add your favorite taco meat

(we like hamburger, my sister does chicken)

simmer for a while - at least an hour

serve topped with shredded cheese,

we like to have it with fritos scoops!

YUM!

how will i choose??

Monica Farrar is practically family. She is Alicia's sister and Alicia is 1/5 of 'the Party' and therefore family. Don't you just LOVE it when you have an accomplished amateur in the family?!

Monica shot our family photos on the 12th and I got the disk last night. SERIOUSLY ... how will I decide which ones to print and hang on my walls?! I want to put up ALL of them!! I have a slideshow going as my screensaver while I hum and hah a bit longer over them.

Which are your favorites??

a blessing and a curse

our house is on the market ... it has been for a full week now ... we have had people come, an open house, and several flyers removed from the box attached to the sign out front. no offers yet but we are not losing hope. come on - it's only been a week. but - the pressure IS on ... we NEED to sell in order to buy and things need to come together just right, so say a little prayer for us!

just in case those of you who have SEEN my house don't believe (and for those of you who have not ... i refer you to my previous post entitled 'where am i going to find a trash bag big enough') these pictures may shock your socks off ...

it's a good thing you're all sitting at your computers ... i don't want to cause any bodily injury to viewers from fainting and/or astonishment!

the reason it's a blessing and a curse you ask!? it blesses my life to have a clean house for my husband to come home to, it blesses my life to not have the clutter and the disaster area that my house formerly was, it blesses my life because i am growing accustom to it -- which also curses my life ... i have a feeling that the boxes that now fill my garage with WhoKnowsWhatAll in them will be opened cautiously and with a large garbage can and DI box close at hand. again say a little prayer for me.

where am i going to find a trash bag big enough!?

It's looking more and more like we will be selling our townhome and buying a house in the not so distant future. We have located the house we want and taken steps toward purchase ... now we have the daunting task of making our home presentable and desireable to those looking to buy a townhome. We had a real estate agent friend over to give us some pointers ... the recurring theme was 'get the junk out'. Basically we have to empty our house of everything that's not vitally essential, in an effort to 'stage' the house and make it look and feel bigger than it is. Truth be told - it already feels big ... we have just filled it up with a cluttery, disorderly, untidiness that FlyLady calls C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome).I am convinced that it's plain and simple - we have TOO MUCH STUFF. I am going to take this opportunity to clear out. This is a difficult thing for me to do. I come from a long line of pack rats. My dad's mantra is "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." I also grew up knowing that "if dad can't fix it - it ain't broke." It's part of my nature. I need to break the cycle!

Quite frankly, I find it liberating to throw out stuff. In fact, I spent several hours on Saturday organizing my scrapbook stuff and weeding out the junk. I want our house to be organized. I want to develop a habit of keeping things tidy. I want my mantra to be 'everything has a place and everything in it's place.' I think I may be forced to tie up my little mess makers ... For now I'm emptying my house of all non-essentials and filling my garage with boxes and furniture.

What habits help you to keep your homes tidy?