My Burden is Light

Matthew 11:28-30

 28 ¶^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest.

 29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light.

 This scripture has been on my mind lately. Mostly the part where He tells me His yoke is easy. And I ponder on why I feel so overwhelmed at times. If I honestly feel like I am working to fulfill righteous callings, (and I do), then why are some moments so heavy? These are the times I need to change my focus and remember what the other verses tell me.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

I tend to see, and take account of the labor part of my life way too much. So of course it begins to be a huge weight over me! Motherhood, family relationships, personal study and righteousness, homeschool, housekeeping, callings in church, all together it can be a frightening load. They are good, they are necessary, but they are not the first thing. The first thing is to go to my Savior. By accepting His invitation, "Come unto me", everything else will fall into it's proper place. The "rest" that He offers will come, through peace of mind if not by physical stillness. 

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek

 and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

   Again, it asks - turn to the Lord. Follow Him, learn humility from Him. His life was filled with ordinary, but lived in such a way to turn it all into miraculous. Faith, love, patience, endurance, joy. I'm tired from laundry and dishes, cooking, cleaning, ending sibling arguments over and over again, years of interrupted sleep, and time that just isn't enough. Yet there are moments when I am in the right spot. When the day feels like service instead of labor, when every small and often repeated effort is an outpouring of love. Love for my family, love for my Savior. All that love is really very energizing and refreshing.

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"

Why do I feel so overwhelmed at times? ... It's been good for me to consider and ponder these scriptures. My daily activities and responsibilities don't really change. That housework and mothering just have to be done. But when I change focus to my Savior, the beauty and joy in every task can be found. And some things that I thought were important turn out to not be. Turning our hearts to the Savior may not change our physical environment, but it can certainly change us. Make us stronger, give us the wisdom and understanding we need, bring peace and rest to our souls that we never thought possible. A General Conference talk by Elder Cook wraps this up nicely:

"We earnestly hope and pray for universal peace, but it is as individuals and families that we achieve the kind of peace that is the promised reward of righteousness. This peace is a promised gift of the Savior’s mission and atoning sacrifice.

This principle is succinctly captured in the Doctrine and Covenants: “But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”¹⁴

President John Taylor taught that peace is not only desirable, but “it is the gift of God.”¹⁵

The peace to which I am referring is not just a temporary tranquility. It is an abiding deep happiness and spiritual contentment.¹⁶

President Heber J. Grant described the Savior’s peace this way: “His peace will ease our suffering, bind up our broken hearts, blot out our hates, engender in our breasts a love of fellow men that will suffuse our souls with calm and happiness.”"

  

General Conference - Always Inspiring

General Conference is over. I imagine all the speakers and choir members must breath a sigh of relief when all is said and done, but oh how grateful I am that they said it and did it! I definitely had things on my mind this weekend, hoping to get some inspiration and answers, and I got it! Lets be honest, with little kids it's hard to hear and pay attention, but every phrase I DID hear seamed to speak to me, ease my mind, or give me the enthusiasm I felt I had been lacking.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Chocolate On My Cranium had already posted images with quotes from some of the talks given. With 10 kids (including toddlers and a new baby) I don't know how she did it. But I'm glad she did! Here are the links if you would like to take a look -

Saturday General Conference Highlights

Sunday General Conference Highlights
  
I went to bed last night feeling so uplifted and down right determined to be a better mom, a better wife, a better sister, ... you get the idea. I was excited for a new week to start with the new me! Then all three of my kids decided it would be good to wake up at 4 a.m. .... That was obviously way too early for the "new me", so the 'old me' handled it - in a very grumpy way. Thankfully the 'newer me' finally woke up and decided that the whole day was NOT ruined, and since then we have all been having some fun and getting things done, and taking some naps.

Ordinary Days...

 He's loving his Cheerios! (And anything else he can get in his mouth!)

 

Balloon wrestling, always a highlight.

Finding things to do on a rainy day.

Craft time - watch out Lego man!

Mail from a friend who recently moved away. We miss them!

Helping with laundry. He's really good at taking clothes out of the basket. :)

I pretty much love finding "messes" like this!

Just being silly!

I love that I have so many wonderful moments on such "ordinary days". There is so much life happening all around me with these beautiful kids that I love. I hope I can always keep my eyes and heart wide open to it all.

Rain, rain...

April Rain Song

by Langston Hughes

Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.

Let the rain sing you a lullaby

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.

The rain makes running pools in the gutter.

The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night - 

And I love the rain.

Of course it's not April, but we have been getting allot of rain lately. And I do love it. Summer thunder and lightning storms are fun to watch and little misty rains tickle my face. Evelyn loves jumping in puddles and I wish I could let her do it more often. It's just that most of the puddles around here are full of car exhaust and oily residue. We need some good clean mud! The above picture is from a few years ago, when I took the kids to a park in some sprinkling rain. It was so much fun! I think I'll add it to our things-to-do-this-summer list. 

5 Years Old

Our own little John is 5 today...I'm stunned! It's been 5 years of joy with this sweetheart. He's such a big help around here, and the best big brother ever. I'm amazed by him every day.

Just as sweet as can be

Out of this world enthusiasm

Has a knack for Legos

Nice to everyone - seriously!

Celebrating

We love our Evelyn! It has been three wonderful years with her and we look forward to many, many, many more! What a sweet heart she is! 

Everyone's favorite girl!

Very determined and independent

Endearing

Loves to color, paint, cook, create, make messes, and sing ABC's

Yes, she also loves to watch "shows"

Nice to puppies

We Thank Thee Oh God...

" We thank thee, O God, for a prophet
To guide us in these latter days.

We thank thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.

We thank thee for every blessing
Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.

We feel it a pleasure to serve thee
And love to obey thy command."

I really love this hymn. A long time ago, before I actually paid attention to the words of songs, I thought it was just about Prophets and being grateful for them. It would still be a great song if that were true, but there really is so much more to it. The first verse is full of rejoicing and obvious gratitude, "We thank thee"!! for a Prophet, for the gospel, for every blessing, and even to serve and obey!

 Many people may balk at those words, "serve" and "obey". For allot of people they have very negative meanings. But think about it, your best friend has car trouble and you gladly pick her up and help however you can - service. If you have kids you perform service for them all day long, and you're happy to do it because you love them. If you love God than serving Him really is a pleasure! And get this, when you serve your friends and family, you're already serving God.

Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

"Obey" may be a little trickier, but lets think about trust here. Growing up we trusted that our parents knew what was best for us, don't touch the stove, don't play in the street, eat your veggies. We are all Gods children, and yes - we are still very young, there is allot for us to learn. He has set guidelines for us. If we trust Him, as children trust parents, we can obey Him joyfully, knowing that it is in our best interest to do so. 

Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. 

I have officially gone on a tangent, but I think it was a good one! 

Picture a Christmas...

Getting Used to Things

It's been 6 weeks since sweet Thomas joined our family, and we couldn't be happier!

And we are slowly getting used to the other stuff that comes with that happiness. The main one for me is lack of sleep. 6 weeks of waking up every 2 hours (or less) at night is taking it's toll. I think I'm past the grouchy phase and moving into the "can't-concentrate-or-function-properly" phase. He's in another growth spurt right now, so I think things will be better once we get through it. His little midnight smiles keep me going and I can't help but think how blessed I am to be able to care for this little guy!

The kids are loving their little brother too. Thankfully we haven't had to deal with jealousy or angry feelings that sometimes come with new family members. We do have to remind them to be careful when they play with him, but they are learning and really having fun with him - especially now that he smiles more, coos and does a happy little dance when he gets their attention. I'm pretty sure I have the best kids in the world!

Another thing we're getting used to is almost total disarray. John and Evelyn have been so good about playing together and entertaining themselves while I take care of baby, but that means the place is pretty much wrecked all the time. I try not to go in their room if I can help it! In order to stay somewhat sane I have to have a clean kitchen so I've made that a priority whenever I can. We finally got some Christmas stuff out the other day and we might get our "tree" today. With such little space we really have to get creative in finding solutions...or we just live with it, which can get very frustrating!

Also, I'm re-learning things like, not trying to do too much. Mostly I get the kids fed and maybe start some laundry. I feel triumphant when I get a shower! I go through moments of despair, thinking I'm not getting "anything" done, but right now I'm content with it, and even amazed at the healing and energy I've been blessed with. I tend to see "negative" more easily, but have been trying to focus on the positive and it helps allot. We really have so much to enjoy and be thankful for.

6 weeks! Give us some more time and we might have our life a little more organized. Right now we'll just enjoy our slow creep toward a new normal. 

14 weeks - and a day

No, that is not how long it had been since I posted (although it may be close). It's just how pregnant I am! We are so excited for our third little baby! I'm not gonna lie though, I've been pretty sick...and tired. Nothing serious, just the ever present nausea, strange insatiable hunger, and total lack of energy or enthusiasm for anything. Oh, but I feel so much better now!

I've gained a ton of weight and so look more pregnant than I should. That's what happened for my first pregnancies but I thought I was going to be so good this time. I think I'll just give up on the idea of being skinny with a cute little baby bump. My babies' like a good layer of padding...everywhere!

I'm slowly catching up with dishes and laundry, and am finally starting to make real dinners for us. It was pretty bad there for awhile. Thankfully our bodies are very resilient, and the kids didn't really mind having p.b. and j. or popcorn for dinner.

It feels so good to feel normal! Well, there are still moments of sickness and I need to remind myself not to overspend my slowly increasing energy levels. But hey! Things are good right now!

Home...sweet home

We're here! With moving and getting the new place put together I haven't had much time or inclination to post. But our days are becoming more "normal" and the desire for blogging has come back in full force!



So here we are, living in a small and very normal apartment, calling it "home" and loving every minute of it! We haven't been able to get out much and see the great Columbus, but that just means we are enjoying the wonderful perks of having our own place.

 

It just feels so...right.

To have our own kitchen sink! I use it allot. There is no dishwasher, and I don't mind a bit! I glory in doing dishes
whenever I want, and the satisfaction of cleaning "my" kitchen.

And our own washer and dryer! We found them at an appliance warehouse, marked way down because of "cosmetic damage". Fabulous! Oh, to do laundry whenever we need to! My first washer and dryer - I feel so grown up right now!

Of course I am putting the stove and oven to good use, too. I am having so much fun planning meals and making yummy things for my family to eat. The only problem now is leftovers! I need to work on downsizing recipes. Or just start inviting people over! Fun! 

Here's a close up of my salt and pepper chef men. Because I know you love them as much as I do. Aren't they fantastic!! I grew up with these guys, my mom loved them first and graciously passed them on to me. I call them Gog  and Magog, they watch over my kitchen. If you have read the Anne books you know, if not - I feel sorry for you.





Am I being too enthusiastic over these things? I think not! I am completely and wonderfully blissfully happy over my new found freedom in Domesticity! Bring on the dishes, the sweeping, the dirty toilet, the hairballs in the drain - I attack and I conquer and it's MINE!  Remember when we were little and we would "play house"? Well I'm playing now, and it's fun!

I am just spilling with gratitude toward my Heavenly Father right now and forever. Such blessings! If you are ever bogged down by the mundane responsibilities of running a household please remember how wonderful it is to even have that responsibility! To have dishes, and floors, and soap! To have dirty faces to clean, and little people to hug. To make your house (or apartment) a Home. Such blessings!

Finding Christ

2 Nephi 25:26 

 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

The other day I asked my 3 year old how many pictures of Jesus he could find in our home. I let him take pictures as we found them. Here is his perspective.

Something I LOVE!

Guess what I got?

A sewing machine! 

Thanks to some birthday money from our great family members I was able to purchase this beauty - 

Kenmore's best seller. I was going to be happy with the cheaper one but my mother insisted I upgrade. SOOO glad she did! I love this thing! Every time I use it I am so amazed and grateful for whoever was inspired to create such a thing as a "sewing machine". I've had it for about a month (I guess). Honestly I wish I could be working on some project every day (and with the help of online tutorials there is a plethora of ideas at my fingertips!), but alas! Time and money are always my great restrainers. Thankfully I have been able to accomplish some fun things.

First I just sewed around the edges of this super cozy fabric I found in the "returns" bin at the fabric store, and gave it to my little boy as his blanket. He loves it! Even though it was super easy sewing, my satisfaction monitor was reading off the charts! It still jumps up when I see him cuddled in bed with it. :)

Next, I have a friend about to have a baby. So I made some soft, squishy blocks for baby to play with, hug, sit on, or whatever. I think I will have to make a set (or more) for my own kids, they were attacking these things like crazy!

Maybe I'll post a tutorial for them...

Next I made a Crayon Roll! I found a tutorial I really liked here . But there were quite a few different ones out there. You can see that it is a bit wavy when it is supposed to be laying flat, but I'm okay with that. :) I expect I will need allot more experience before my creations start looking halfway decent! In the mean time, creating anything at all gives me such feelings of happiness,...joy,... and accomplishment!

Having this awesome tool has even motivated me to finally do all the mending that had to be done by hand! I didn't take a picture of that, who wants to see our holey clothes?! Anyway, I am really in love with my cute little sewing machine. And I look forward to sharing more posts on things I have done and created with it!

Hi! How are'ya?

Here are some random things we have been up to:

I turned 28! And this is what I look like - pretty much the same as ever.

We went to a thing put on by the county where kids could see fire trucks and such up close and personal. I was so excited that we could get on a school bus. Little John has been wanting to get on one for awhile. 

Of course the fire truck was awesome. John cracks me up with all his poses!

Obviously I couldn't resist sticking my kids in this huge tractor tire.

We have had allot of rain, so we have been doing whatever we can to stay sane!

This has included indoor water play...

Craft time, to make things like...

weather diagram things on popsicle sticks...

and painting paper plates to make them into frogs. Unfortunately I don't have a finished product picture, but Here's the idea from Family Fun.

Thankfully we were able to get out of the house yesterday and have a great day with some family. These kids LOVE their cousins! It was such a fun time! Evelyn especially enjoyed her first fire roasted jumbo marshmallow. Hilarious!

I love my family! And am kind of amazed that they love me back! Lately I have been really enjoying the daily, repetitive activities with them. Instead of seeing the monotony of it all I have been able to feel the beauty of these moments. I hope everyone is enjoying the beauty of their own everyday normal!!

Pictoral Review of My 2010