It's been weeks since I've had a few minutes to chill out with my kids, do the dishes or fold some laundry, much less post to my blog, so sorry for the long delay.
I have been assistant director of this production for over a year now and we are in our final stretch. Amazingly enough the show is THIS WEEK! It's a really busy week, to say the least, but then it's over. I know I'll miss the involvement, overall, it's been a fabulous opportunity. I am just getting really worn out and feel so bad about being gone from my family for so long.
This week my baby turns one! I won't see himn that day, because that is the opening day of our show and I'll be gone all day and night. :-( It's a little sad, but he won't know the difference. We're going to celebrate with his little cake and stuff on Sunday, after the show is finished. I'll be sure to post some pics of the cake eating!
I'm so excited that Melanie is coming for a short but much anticipated visit this week! She's doing me the honor of attending the SOTW production on Saturday with my family. Then she gets to be here for our little bday celebration on Sunday. That's so exciting!
Then, she will be taking Austin back with her for a little visit with the boys, which he is SOOO excited about! It'll be an eventful week. :-)
Gotta go for now, more again soon, I hope.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
Gratitude
Happy 4th of July! I was having this little talk with my kids today about Independence day and what it's about. We talked about gratitude and all the blessings that we have and sometimes take for granted. We talked about our healthy bodies, free country, safe home, family that loves us, etc. It's always important to have those talks, to remind them of their blessings. Sometimes it's easier to have the talks then it is to walk the walk. . .
It's so easy to explain about the glass being 1/2 full and not 1/2 empty. I talked to them about how we should be grateful for what we have and not complain about what we don't have. It's a lot easier to talk about than it is to live. :-) We expect so much from our little kids and I realized this afternoon that it is much easier said than done. I realized this afternoon that I am guilty of not always having this attitude myself.
We get busy and irritated with the little (or big) things in life and sometimes it gets the better of us. Specifically, I feel like I do that with my husband. I can be so critical of him and expect so much, all the time. I know I am not always as encouraging and supportive as I could be. This afternoon a neighbor called to thank me for one of John's random acts of kindness and it reminded me of what a wonderful man I am married to. Our neighbor fell a few days ago while mowing his lawn. He was taken to the hospital to get checked out and ended up being there for a couple of days. Thankfully, he is home now and doing well, which is wonderful. He called a little while ago to express his gratitude to my husband for finishing the lawn mowing that he had started when he got hurt. He really appreciated it and wanted to thank us. John isn't home and I told him I'd relay the message. I hung up and thought about how often John performs these kind acts, usually unbeknownst to me or anyone else. It hadn't even crossed my mind to go moe w their lawn. But John went right out and did it first thing, without being asked or talking about it. He does these types of things all the time. He doesn't tell me he's going to do it. He doesn't tell people after he does it. I often don't know unless I find out in other ways. He doesn't do it to be praised. He just sees needs and tries to fill them with kind acts. I am grateful for his example of kindness and selfless service and I thought it was worthy of a post. I guess I should probably tell him too. So, I'll make a point to do that when he gets home. :-)
It's so easy to explain about the glass being 1/2 full and not 1/2 empty. I talked to them about how we should be grateful for what we have and not complain about what we don't have. It's a lot easier to talk about than it is to live. :-) We expect so much from our little kids and I realized this afternoon that it is much easier said than done. I realized this afternoon that I am guilty of not always having this attitude myself.
We get busy and irritated with the little (or big) things in life and sometimes it gets the better of us. Specifically, I feel like I do that with my husband. I can be so critical of him and expect so much, all the time. I know I am not always as encouraging and supportive as I could be. This afternoon a neighbor called to thank me for one of John's random acts of kindness and it reminded me of what a wonderful man I am married to. Our neighbor fell a few days ago while mowing his lawn. He was taken to the hospital to get checked out and ended up being there for a couple of days. Thankfully, he is home now and doing well, which is wonderful. He called a little while ago to express his gratitude to my husband for finishing the lawn mowing that he had started when he got hurt. He really appreciated it and wanted to thank us. John isn't home and I told him I'd relay the message. I hung up and thought about how often John performs these kind acts, usually unbeknownst to me or anyone else. It hadn't even crossed my mind to go moe w their lawn. But John went right out and did it first thing, without being asked or talking about it. He does these types of things all the time. He doesn't tell me he's going to do it. He doesn't tell people after he does it. I often don't know unless I find out in other ways. He doesn't do it to be praised. He just sees needs and tries to fill them with kind acts. I am grateful for his example of kindness and selfless service and I thought it was worthy of a post. I guess I should probably tell him too. So, I'll make a point to do that when he gets home. :-)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Lake Whitney
I decided to be spontaneous and take the kids on a little road trip to see my sister a few weeks ago. John was out of town in a "high Adventure" trip. I wouldn't normally go on a road trip, even a short one, without him, but I wanted to do this one, so we just did. It was really fun! We had a great time hanging out with the cousins and are so glad we went. On the way home, we took a short detour to stretch our legs at Lake Whitney, which was right off the beaten path. It was unplanned, but since we were coming from a summer time visit, we had changes of clothes, swim suits, towels, etc. in the car with us. How convenient!
I remember visiting Lake Whitney as a child with my Grandma and Grandpa. I remember that we stayed in their RV and that Grandpa took us fishing. I don't' remember much else about it, even how old I was, but I remember the trip very fondly. I remember sitting on a little row boat with my grandpa and listening to him tell us stories as we waited for a fish to bite. I'm pretty sure we caught one, and released it. It is a precious childhood memory for me, as I love my Grandpa so dearly. Austin and Brooke were very excited about going somewhere that I went as a child. Austin's middle name is after my Grandpa and it was fun to talk about him with them, since they never got a chance to spend time with him when he was alive here on earth. Austin told me that since I started the tradition, he wants to take his kids to that place when he gets older too. I thought that was so cute.
I had a marvelos time just hanging out with my kids that day. We weren't on a schedule, we just enjoyed the beautiful day. The wind was blowing, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue and we were all soaking it in. Everyone enjoyed collecting rocks and throwing them in the water. We also had a bit of a make shift picnic, with some snacks that were in the car. That was fun. Cameron mastered drinking from a straw and gnawing on an apple. Brooke balanced on logs, and picked up rocks. Austin collected rocks and was very intent on finding lots of unique ones. We brought lots of rocks home. :-)
After we played a while and got a little wet, we went up to the park bathroom and discovered that they had showers in them. (it was also a campground) Brooke wanted to shower, so I let her and then washed up the boys for the car ride home too. It was fun to do some out of the ordinary stuff and so wonderful to spend quality, unrushed, unscheduled, time with my kids.
To them it might have been just a stop on the way home, but to me, it was another memory that I will cherish forever.
I remember visiting Lake Whitney as a child with my Grandma and Grandpa. I remember that we stayed in their RV and that Grandpa took us fishing. I don't' remember much else about it, even how old I was, but I remember the trip very fondly. I remember sitting on a little row boat with my grandpa and listening to him tell us stories as we waited for a fish to bite. I'm pretty sure we caught one, and released it. It is a precious childhood memory for me, as I love my Grandpa so dearly. Austin and Brooke were very excited about going somewhere that I went as a child. Austin's middle name is after my Grandpa and it was fun to talk about him with them, since they never got a chance to spend time with him when he was alive here on earth. Austin told me that since I started the tradition, he wants to take his kids to that place when he gets older too. I thought that was so cute. 
I had a marvelos time just hanging out with my kids that day. We weren't on a schedule, we just enjoyed the beautiful day. The wind was blowing, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue and we were all soaking it in. Everyone enjoyed collecting rocks and throwing them in the water. We also had a bit of a make shift picnic, with some snacks that were in the car. That was fun. Cameron mastered drinking from a straw and gnawing on an apple. Brooke balanced on logs, and picked up rocks. Austin collected rocks and was very intent on finding lots of unique ones. We brought lots of rocks home. :-) 
After we played a while and got a little wet, we went up to the park bathroom and discovered that they had showers in them. (it was also a campground) Brooke wanted to shower, so I let her and then washed up the boys for the car ride home too. It was fun to do some out of the ordinary stuff and so wonderful to spend quality, unrushed, unscheduled, time with my kids.
To them it might have been just a stop on the way home, but to me, it was another memory that I will cherish forever.
Summer time fun!
Cameron was all smiles this week when he got to play in the water. Look closely. . . you can see his shiny new tooth! He's finally got one on the bottom and the 2nd is following closely behind! 
This pool is baby heaven, with lots of fun fountains to grab at and play in. . . woo hoo!
I love summer!
This pool is baby heaven, with lots of fun fountains to grab at and play in. . . woo hoo!
I love summer!
just thoughts about SOTW
I thought since I had a few minutes to myself, I'd add a little update. All is well here. Today was an awesome day of just being home with my kids and doing laundry, etc. Surprising that I'd call that an awesome day, but after the busy week that I had, it was great to stay in my pjs and chill out at home.
The week was crazy mainly due to my duties with the Savior of the World production I'm involved in. I am so grateful to be involved in it and I am wholeheartedly a supporter of the production and it's power to testify of Christ. The spirit of it is magnificent and many lives will be touched by involvement with it. I think that is why we (our committee) feel so strongly about making it wonderful. We want to produce a show worthy of it's name, The Savior of the World. After having this assignment for over a year, it is so extraordinary to watch it materialize and take shape. Our show date is quickly approaching and it is really exciting, but a bit overwhelming and frustrating at times. Some days are more challenging than others and this week was a full one! I am feeling a little under the gun to get the costumes done and I feel like I am spinning my wheels sometimes. I know people want to help, but for some reason it never works out for them to be able to. I know it will come together, but the time is now and it's on my shoulders to make it happen. That is the motivation that keeps me up into the wee hours of the morning some days. I am not even sewing, but so much goes into sorting the fabric, deciding who will where what design, cutting the patterns, assigning fabric and "accessorizing" each character, etc. I just want it to be done well and done right, but I also want it to be done, now. Because it needs to be done now! Combine that with props and rehearsals and my head is spinning at times. . . It is going to be all consuming for a little while, thank goodness for my husband supporting me. He put the kids to bed more days than me this past week. What would I do without him? Well, I'll have to beg friends to take care of my kids, that's what. He'll be out of town for a week soon and I feel so humble, having to ask for help for several long days, but I had no choice. I didn't know what else to do. So, I sent out a plea for help and thankfully had many friends offer to take them. For that I am truly grateful. It may be just a few hours to them, but it is a huge weight off my shoulders to have the help.
I'm glad to be a part of this. I feel the spirit so strongly working with these awesome youth and listening to the words in the songs and script. I wish everyone who saw the show could really appreciate all that is said in the lines and lyrics. It's very powerful. The repetition of working on it regularly is such a great thing. It really gets a chance to sink in. And what an awesome group of people to be working so closely with. We compliment each other so nicely and make a great team. I'm gonna miss working with them and seeing them so often when this show is over. These are great friendships that have been made (and strengthened.) Tasha's ability to lead with the Spirit always in mind, yet with enthusiasm and energy is amazing. She was made for this job! I hope she gets to sleep for a week when it's over. Shoot, I hope I get to sleep for a week when it's over!! Anyway, enough rambling. I just figured, since it's pretty much consuming my life right now, it was appropriate to have an entry in my blog about it. I'm sure there will be more to come. . . but for now, there's laundry to do!
here's a link with info about the production . . .
http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,7174-1,00.html
The week was crazy mainly due to my duties with the Savior of the World production I'm involved in. I am so grateful to be involved in it and I am wholeheartedly a supporter of the production and it's power to testify of Christ. The spirit of it is magnificent and many lives will be touched by involvement with it. I think that is why we (our committee) feel so strongly about making it wonderful. We want to produce a show worthy of it's name, The Savior of the World. After having this assignment for over a year, it is so extraordinary to watch it materialize and take shape. Our show date is quickly approaching and it is really exciting, but a bit overwhelming and frustrating at times. Some days are more challenging than others and this week was a full one! I am feeling a little under the gun to get the costumes done and I feel like I am spinning my wheels sometimes. I know people want to help, but for some reason it never works out for them to be able to. I know it will come together, but the time is now and it's on my shoulders to make it happen. That is the motivation that keeps me up into the wee hours of the morning some days. I am not even sewing, but so much goes into sorting the fabric, deciding who will where what design, cutting the patterns, assigning fabric and "accessorizing" each character, etc. I just want it to be done well and done right, but I also want it to be done, now. Because it needs to be done now! Combine that with props and rehearsals and my head is spinning at times. . . It is going to be all consuming for a little while, thank goodness for my husband supporting me. He put the kids to bed more days than me this past week. What would I do without him? Well, I'll have to beg friends to take care of my kids, that's what. He'll be out of town for a week soon and I feel so humble, having to ask for help for several long days, but I had no choice. I didn't know what else to do. So, I sent out a plea for help and thankfully had many friends offer to take them. For that I am truly grateful. It may be just a few hours to them, but it is a huge weight off my shoulders to have the help.
I'm glad to be a part of this. I feel the spirit so strongly working with these awesome youth and listening to the words in the songs and script. I wish everyone who saw the show could really appreciate all that is said in the lines and lyrics. It's very powerful. The repetition of working on it regularly is such a great thing. It really gets a chance to sink in. And what an awesome group of people to be working so closely with. We compliment each other so nicely and make a great team. I'm gonna miss working with them and seeing them so often when this show is over. These are great friendships that have been made (and strengthened.) Tasha's ability to lead with the Spirit always in mind, yet with enthusiasm and energy is amazing. She was made for this job! I hope she gets to sleep for a week when it's over. Shoot, I hope I get to sleep for a week when it's over!! Anyway, enough rambling. I just figured, since it's pretty much consuming my life right now, it was appropriate to have an entry in my blog about it. I'm sure there will be more to come. . . but for now, there's laundry to do!
here's a link with info about the production . . .
http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,7174-1,00.html
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