The last couple of months, have been totally crazy. To say it simply, its been one of the most difficult learning and growing experiences of my life. WOW!!! I've learned that being a leader is hard, that being a mom is even harder, and that trying to do it all...well its pretty darn tough!!! I have to admit, though, now that I'm a few weeks out from the really really tough stuff, I am so grateful for the learning, stretching, and growing that's its forced me to do. I feel like I'm more patient, understanding, and I'd like to think a more loving person as a result.
So, as the dust has started to settle, and I've gotten back into more of a normal routine, I've kept feeling like its time to really push myself. I'm surprised at the growth I've had personally over these past few weeks, and although its been very painful at times, its exciting. I've found myself asking...what now? How can I continue to grow and progress at the pace I've recently experienced. I think I've known the answer all along, but I've been scared to commit to the notion that I need a mentor. Someone who will push me educationally, emotionally, mentally, etc. Why? Because I want to be a better mom, a better wife, a better person, a better educator, a better disciple of Christ, and I think getting the help of someone who sees more than I can see and knows more than I know can help me with this goal.
What will this mean? Possibly getting up earlier, studying more, thinking more, reading more, writing more, cooking more, learning more, laughing more, exercising more, enjoying life more, nurturing more, being more intentional, serving more, listening more...? I'm not exactly sure what it will mean for me, but I'm ready for it. I want to learn more so I can love more; so I can feel more; so I can nurture more; so I can serve more; so I can live a more intentional life knowing I have a purpose that I am trying to fulfill. Is it going to be hard? Probably, but I'm ready!!
I believe with all my heart that its never to late to become the person you were meant to be. I don't know exactly what that person will look like, but I'm bound and determined to find out.
Showing posts with label andee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label andee. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Time to look myself in the mirror...
{Self Portrait}
I took these photos on a whim one day when I was messing around with the camera...oh yes and because it was fun and made me start feeling like a teenager again like Scott's sister Tenery who's always taking self-portrait photos of herself...LOL. However, about the time I really started to lose myself in it I felt a tug on my pants and I was reminded of reality. I am a mother to 6 beautiful and very active kiddos. (I think the tug was from Hyrum need assistance to pee)
{Time to look inside}
However, my post today isn't going to focus on my kids or my potty training struggles with Hyrum. No instead its going to focus on me. I've been thinking for a long time about all the things I struggle and am weak at. Instead of getting frustrated (and overwhelmed) about all of these things its time to refocus and methodically figure out how I can get better at the things I feel are important for me to improve on.
I believe there are seasons in life that we naturally go through. I haven't always really believed this, but as I have recently come to understand and embrace this concept I have begun to realize that life isn't about getting to the finish line...its about making it through those seasons, learning, and getting ready to go through another season. I'm starting to think about life as a series of cycles we go through instead of as a linear race where things are conquered and forgotten in our past as we try to conquer the next thing (not always allowing us to learn from the last battle/event/experience). So with this new perspective I am ready to slowly and 'intentionally' progress and improve. Realizing there is a time and season for everything.
{the first list}
So here is my initial list of things I want to improve on. Its not a list I spent much time on yet...just the first brain storm of my many life to dos.
1. Get my life more organized
2. Establish a better daily routine with my kids
3. Figure out how to get the laundry actually put away into the kids drawers
4. Create a meal system to plan/shop/cook my meals for my family
5. Start exercising!!
6. Teach my children to work
7. Create a master inspire plan for me and my kids...where do I want to be a year from now and how am I going to get there?!
8. Study the scriptures more consistently so I am more prepared for my gospel doctrine lessons
9. Be more inspiring
10. Wake up earlier!!
11. Try to not get overwhelmed with so many goals that I get paralyzed and don't do anything :)
{step two}
Now its time to make a plan and start moving forward with the BIG perspective and focus. I am excited and ready for the adventure and peace this new journey will bring!!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Walking Drum
{out to lunch}
For the last month my computer has been sitting on the floor in our once office. So I haven't really spent much time blogging or writing. Which means I've lost a ton of memories because I didn't take time to write them down. Shoot! Oh well all I can do is start doing better from here on out. So here's to doing better. To kick it off I am going to post a paper I just finished writing for my 5 Pillar class on Thursday. Its not the best paper in the world and its my first draft, but what the heck I thought I'd go ahead and post it. I discovered a few things about myself as I was writing it, and know I need to do better in a few other areas.
{The Walking Drum}
Most of the time I don't feel like I have enough of it or that I simply waste to much of it. I swear I run from here to there taking care of things that seem important in the moment, but all to often at the end of the day when I look back and try to think about what I've done that will really matter tens years down the road my mind draws a blank. So am I just the weird one that can't seem to get a handle on it or have I simply seen the light and now realize my potential which has translated into a lot more expectations of me and my family? I'm not sure but I do know that my vision of what a mother needs to do in a day has expanded from cooking, cleaning, and keeping my kids safe to pushing myself to become the person I was meant to be and inspiring my kids to become the people they were meant to be in a way I didn't understand only a few years ago. Maybe this new perspective on life has made me realize that I can't afford to waste a second of it on anything not important to my vision, mission, and purpose. Who knows for sure, but I do know this never yielding thing called time never seems to be on my side!
I think part of my trouble with time is my attitude that I must fit everything in today. I have trouble pacing myself and seeing beyond today sometimes. That must be why as I was reading The Walking Drum I admired Kerbouchard's slow methodical approach to time. As the book begins Kerbouchard has a clear mission to rescue his father. In my mind I probably would have focused on finding the shortest route to where my father was being held and go straight there so I could accomplish this goal quickly and move on with life. However this is not the approach he takes. He sees time differently than I usually view it. Wise beyond his years Kerbouchard begins his journey to find his father realizing that it is not the speed of the journey that matters but instead what he does during the time it takes to make the journey that matters. He understands that the journey itself will prepare him to rescue his father if he will allow the experiences he goes through to teach him. At the beginning of the book he is captured as a slave on a ship. It seems it would be hard to do anything but survive as a slave on a pirate ship however Kerbouchard sees the time he spends on the ship as an opportunity for growth to help him with the next leg of his journey. He says while on the ship "For I wanted a life wider and deeper than my own Breton shores could offer. To make my way in a larger world to see more, to learn more, to be more. This was my dream. Even now I was learning, I was becoming." (pg 25) Even in the mist of being a slave he was allowing himself to become who he wanted to be. The fact that he did not see his circumstances as limiting his ability to grow is amazing and inspires me to want to do the same. All to often my circumstances don't appear 'ideal' but that doesn't mean I can't be learning and becoming who I strive to be.
Sometimes its hard for me to stand alone. As a homeschooling mother of six children 9 and under I often feel alone and isolated. Even those who attend my church often can't relate to my decision to home school and don't understand how I cope with six children. They can't figure out why we limit TV, computer, and activities outside the home. Because they aren't reading what I and my children are reading they can't discuss the thoughts and ideas I have stewing in my head. Often I wish I was able to help them understand how awesome what I am doing is and how life is easier not harder and my joy is full. Most of the time though they aren't ready to hear what I have to say which is just fine, but again leaves me feeling alone and a bit isolated. I know what I am doing is the right thing for me and my family. I know that by deciding to study and read classic books with a group I am becoming who I am capable of becoming. Something more than I thought I was capable of becoming. I love how Kerbouchard described this feeling..."Alone I was, but he who stands alone is often the strongest. By standing alone he becomes stronger and remains strong." (60) I find that when I am alone with my books or with my family I am growing and becoming. No one is entertaining me and allowing my mind to stop working. I still find myself sometimes wishing I was being entertained by others more. I fool myself into thinking it would be easier. I know that even though time seems to fly when your being entertained if it happens to often I start to feel empty and powerless. The worst part of it is that my desire to study and learn decreases as the amount of time I spend being entertained increases.
As I have thought about the way Kerbouchard approaches time I find wanting to ask him more about it. What did time mean to him? How did time effect his decisions? How did time influence his goal setting? I believe his entire perspective of what time meant to him is very different than the way western civilization views time. I know different cultures think of the passing of time differently. Cultures such as British, Native Americans, Greek, French, Japanese, and some other Asian cultures, tend to view the past, cultural history, and traditions as having the most importance, and use them as a guide in making present-day decisions. Other cultures are present-oriented, and see the present moment as the most significant. Tradition holds little importance, and planning for the future is not emphasized, but rather spontaneity and impulsiveness are more appreciated, and lifestyles tend to be relaxed and casuals. Some examples of this can be seen in Latin America. Other societies are future-oriented, and place a firm focus on planning and forward movement, and the present activities are viewed as a bridge to this future goal. This is the dominant tone in the US. (college.cengage.com) By learning from other culture's perspective on time and how it influences their lives I believe my concept of time would expand I would be able to understand its importance and how to use it more purposely.
"Which of us knows the direction of his life? Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Often, when pausing at a crossroad, I have wondered what might lie waiting on the road not taken?" (142) I think in order to use my time more effectively I need to always be thinking about where I want to go and how I am going to get there. Setting small goals often and making time to revisit those goals and evaluate how I am doing with them would allow me to be constantly making course corrections to keep me headed in the right direction. Just the other day I was reading about one of the Apollo mission and how if they were off by a few degrees when leaving the Earth they would have missed the moon by more than a million miles. Our lives aren't really that different. We are on an important mission and by taking time to think about where we are and where we want to be and making goals to reach our destination allows us to stay focused on what really matters and use the time we have to make a difference to who we will become.
"I do not learn to obtain position or reputation. I want only to know." (pg 179) Over the last few years I have started to undergo a life changing transformation that I am sure will continue for the rest of my life. I have more faith in my own and my family's ability to become something I thought was only reserved for others. We can be amazing people, understand complex topics, contribute, and become scholars. But how? Its a process. "What kind of scholar was I? Or was I a scholar at all? My ignorance was enormous. Beside it my knowledge was nothing. My hunger for learning, not so much to improve my lot as to understand my world, had led me to study and to thought. Reading without thinking is as nothing, for a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think...all knowledge is interrelated..." (pg 201-202) I know that using the time I have to constantly be learning is crucial to becoming the person I was meant to become. "For the mind must be prepared for knowledge as one prepares a field for planting, and a discovery made too soon is no better than a discovery not made at all." (pg 255) Each day I use my time wisely and become a better mom, more loving wife, and a more educated person changes me a little from the day before. And the more little changes I make the more I become a little more like the person I was meant to be. Kerbouchard has helped remind me to slow down, and with a purpose in mind spend my time becoming who I am meant to be rather than rushing through life to get to the finish line no better than I was when I started. "Victory is not won in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later win a little more." (261) "Everyone has it within his power to say, this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow. The wish, however, must be implemented by deeds." (373)
For the last month my computer has been sitting on the floor in our once office. So I haven't really spent much time blogging or writing. Which means I've lost a ton of memories because I didn't take time to write them down. Shoot! Oh well all I can do is start doing better from here on out. So here's to doing better. To kick it off I am going to post a paper I just finished writing for my 5 Pillar class on Thursday. Its not the best paper in the world and its my first draft, but what the heck I thought I'd go ahead and post it. I discovered a few things about myself as I was writing it, and know I need to do better in a few other areas.
{The Walking Drum}
Most of the time I don't feel like I have enough of it or that I simply waste to much of it. I swear I run from here to there taking care of things that seem important in the moment, but all to often at the end of the day when I look back and try to think about what I've done that will really matter tens years down the road my mind draws a blank. So am I just the weird one that can't seem to get a handle on it or have I simply seen the light and now realize my potential which has translated into a lot more expectations of me and my family? I'm not sure but I do know that my vision of what a mother needs to do in a day has expanded from cooking, cleaning, and keeping my kids safe to pushing myself to become the person I was meant to be and inspiring my kids to become the people they were meant to be in a way I didn't understand only a few years ago. Maybe this new perspective on life has made me realize that I can't afford to waste a second of it on anything not important to my vision, mission, and purpose. Who knows for sure, but I do know this never yielding thing called time never seems to be on my side!
I think part of my trouble with time is my attitude that I must fit everything in today. I have trouble pacing myself and seeing beyond today sometimes. That must be why as I was reading The Walking Drum I admired Kerbouchard's slow methodical approach to time. As the book begins Kerbouchard has a clear mission to rescue his father. In my mind I probably would have focused on finding the shortest route to where my father was being held and go straight there so I could accomplish this goal quickly and move on with life. However this is not the approach he takes. He sees time differently than I usually view it. Wise beyond his years Kerbouchard begins his journey to find his father realizing that it is not the speed of the journey that matters but instead what he does during the time it takes to make the journey that matters. He understands that the journey itself will prepare him to rescue his father if he will allow the experiences he goes through to teach him. At the beginning of the book he is captured as a slave on a ship. It seems it would be hard to do anything but survive as a slave on a pirate ship however Kerbouchard sees the time he spends on the ship as an opportunity for growth to help him with the next leg of his journey. He says while on the ship "For I wanted a life wider and deeper than my own Breton shores could offer. To make my way in a larger world to see more, to learn more, to be more. This was my dream. Even now I was learning, I was becoming." (pg 25) Even in the mist of being a slave he was allowing himself to become who he wanted to be. The fact that he did not see his circumstances as limiting his ability to grow is amazing and inspires me to want to do the same. All to often my circumstances don't appear 'ideal' but that doesn't mean I can't be learning and becoming who I strive to be.
Sometimes its hard for me to stand alone. As a homeschooling mother of six children 9 and under I often feel alone and isolated. Even those who attend my church often can't relate to my decision to home school and don't understand how I cope with six children. They can't figure out why we limit TV, computer, and activities outside the home. Because they aren't reading what I and my children are reading they can't discuss the thoughts and ideas I have stewing in my head. Often I wish I was able to help them understand how awesome what I am doing is and how life is easier not harder and my joy is full. Most of the time though they aren't ready to hear what I have to say which is just fine, but again leaves me feeling alone and a bit isolated. I know what I am doing is the right thing for me and my family. I know that by deciding to study and read classic books with a group I am becoming who I am capable of becoming. Something more than I thought I was capable of becoming. I love how Kerbouchard described this feeling..."Alone I was, but he who stands alone is often the strongest. By standing alone he becomes stronger and remains strong." (60) I find that when I am alone with my books or with my family I am growing and becoming. No one is entertaining me and allowing my mind to stop working. I still find myself sometimes wishing I was being entertained by others more. I fool myself into thinking it would be easier. I know that even though time seems to fly when your being entertained if it happens to often I start to feel empty and powerless. The worst part of it is that my desire to study and learn decreases as the amount of time I spend being entertained increases.
As I have thought about the way Kerbouchard approaches time I find wanting to ask him more about it. What did time mean to him? How did time effect his decisions? How did time influence his goal setting? I believe his entire perspective of what time meant to him is very different than the way western civilization views time. I know different cultures think of the passing of time differently. Cultures such as British, Native Americans, Greek, French, Japanese, and some other Asian cultures, tend to view the past, cultural history, and traditions as having the most importance, and use them as a guide in making present-day decisions. Other cultures are present-oriented, and see the present moment as the most significant. Tradition holds little importance, and planning for the future is not emphasized, but rather spontaneity and impulsiveness are more appreciated, and lifestyles tend to be relaxed and casuals. Some examples of this can be seen in Latin America. Other societies are future-oriented, and place a firm focus on planning and forward movement, and the present activities are viewed as a bridge to this future goal. This is the dominant tone in the US. (college.cengage.com) By learning from other culture's perspective on time and how it influences their lives I believe my concept of time would expand I would be able to understand its importance and how to use it more purposely.
"Which of us knows the direction of his life? Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Often, when pausing at a crossroad, I have wondered what might lie waiting on the road not taken?" (142) I think in order to use my time more effectively I need to always be thinking about where I want to go and how I am going to get there. Setting small goals often and making time to revisit those goals and evaluate how I am doing with them would allow me to be constantly making course corrections to keep me headed in the right direction. Just the other day I was reading about one of the Apollo mission and how if they were off by a few degrees when leaving the Earth they would have missed the moon by more than a million miles. Our lives aren't really that different. We are on an important mission and by taking time to think about where we are and where we want to be and making goals to reach our destination allows us to stay focused on what really matters and use the time we have to make a difference to who we will become.
"I do not learn to obtain position or reputation. I want only to know." (pg 179) Over the last few years I have started to undergo a life changing transformation that I am sure will continue for the rest of my life. I have more faith in my own and my family's ability to become something I thought was only reserved for others. We can be amazing people, understand complex topics, contribute, and become scholars. But how? Its a process. "What kind of scholar was I? Or was I a scholar at all? My ignorance was enormous. Beside it my knowledge was nothing. My hunger for learning, not so much to improve my lot as to understand my world, had led me to study and to thought. Reading without thinking is as nothing, for a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think...all knowledge is interrelated..." (pg 201-202) I know that using the time I have to constantly be learning is crucial to becoming the person I was meant to become. "For the mind must be prepared for knowledge as one prepares a field for planting, and a discovery made too soon is no better than a discovery not made at all." (pg 255) Each day I use my time wisely and become a better mom, more loving wife, and a more educated person changes me a little from the day before. And the more little changes I make the more I become a little more like the person I was meant to be. Kerbouchard has helped remind me to slow down, and with a purpose in mind spend my time becoming who I am meant to be rather than rushing through life to get to the finish line no better than I was when I started. "Victory is not won in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later win a little more." (261) "Everyone has it within his power to say, this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow. The wish, however, must be implemented by deeds." (373)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
WOW! A week goes by so fast...
{a whole week}
So I can't believe its been a whole week since I've put my thoughts down on paper. What's my problem? Well at least part of my lack of writing this week is the fact that my computer is currently sitting on the floor of our soon to be 'project' room. That is 100% my fault, since I couldn't decide on what color/stain I wanted the new furniture to be so for the last two months the furniture has just been sitting at the store waiting for me to figure that out. (I really need to work on my indecision.) Good news though I bit the bullet and made my decisions this week. So in a week or two my computer will be back on a desk and I'll be rocking and rolling again. I will be so thankful when I have an organized home school project room!!! WAY EXCITING!!
{brain dead mommy}
So its been a crazy week! I feel like I'm half brain dead to be honest. After going on vacation with Jarom and Megan for 10 days I came home with mommy amnesia. I had totally forgotten how to be a happy mom of 6. I kind of freaked out and am relearning how to be a joyful mother to six amazing kids. Its getting better everyday thank goodness, and I've learned a lot about myself and found lots of things I need to work on. I keep reminding myself it's the journey not the destination.
{self-education}
I'm almost done reading Jane Eyre and its been great. The book is AMAZING and so INSPIRING! However, just as powerful has been the journey of reading classics which started in September. If you'd have asked me a year or two ago if I was capable of committing and accomplishing something like 5 Pillars I probably would have laughed and thought you were crazy. I didn't think I was smart enough or capable of learning still. I knew I had a lot of holes in my education, but I thought it was to late to do anything about that. When I broke free of that mind set I remembered what I used to know as a child that its never to late to become who you are capable of becoming. That is an eternal truth...its never to late! Beginning the process of reading and becoming truly educated is amazing. I am still only a few steps from the starting line, but I am just grateful to have started the race. As I look forward to the journey that lays ahead for me its AMAZING!!!!. The possibilities are endless and my ability to live life to the fullest seem more possible than ever. I WANT TO BECOME EDUCATED and my life will change because of the education I choose to give myself.
{I blew the budget again...}
I have a problem sticking to our budget. Its not like I'm spending wads of cash, but I have trouble telling myself NO! So after much reflection I decided to publicly make myself accountable to stick to the budget for November!!!! I promise Scott.
Here are some of the things I am going to do to make sure I stick to our November 2008 budget:
1. NEVER use my debit card!
2. ONLY use cash for expenses (not including bills)
3. NEVER borrow cash from a future week to pay for 'wants' for the current week
4. SAVE SAVE SAVE!!!
5. Hold a weekly budget review meeting with Scott
Plan to teach the kids how to manage money:
1. During FC talk about our family budget.
2. Create a system for the kids to earn money so they can start budgeting and paying for some of their own things.
{my routine}
I've decided that its really important for me to be up and ready before the kids wake up. It is hard to do, but it helps me feel sane so its super important tome. This week has been okay, but I need to do even better. If I can just get myself up and moving before the kids my day goes so much better. Here's to trying to trying to wake up earlier!!
I am still struggling with getting our family routine developed too. I am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong and how I can get a better family routine established, because I know that its VERY VERY important. I feel like in order to get our family culture established it is essential to develop a consistent routine. I haven't figured out what is holding me back from really doing this, but I am going to keep trying to figure it out so I can get past my hold up and accomplish my goal!!
{grateful}
I am so grateful for my life and all the blessings the Lord has given me. I feel overwhelmed when I think of all I've been given in this life. I know that prayer works and that when we pray we can feel the Lord's love for us. I am nothing without God.
So I can't believe its been a whole week since I've put my thoughts down on paper. What's my problem? Well at least part of my lack of writing this week is the fact that my computer is currently sitting on the floor of our soon to be 'project' room. That is 100% my fault, since I couldn't decide on what color/stain I wanted the new furniture to be so for the last two months the furniture has just been sitting at the store waiting for me to figure that out. (I really need to work on my indecision.) Good news though I bit the bullet and made my decisions this week. So in a week or two my computer will be back on a desk and I'll be rocking and rolling again. I will be so thankful when I have an organized home school project room!!! WAY EXCITING!!
{brain dead mommy}
So its been a crazy week! I feel like I'm half brain dead to be honest. After going on vacation with Jarom and Megan for 10 days I came home with mommy amnesia. I had totally forgotten how to be a happy mom of 6. I kind of freaked out and am relearning how to be a joyful mother to six amazing kids. Its getting better everyday thank goodness, and I've learned a lot about myself and found lots of things I need to work on. I keep reminding myself it's the journey not the destination.
{self-education}
I'm almost done reading Jane Eyre and its been great. The book is AMAZING and so INSPIRING! However, just as powerful has been the journey of reading classics which started in September. If you'd have asked me a year or two ago if I was capable of committing and accomplishing something like 5 Pillars I probably would have laughed and thought you were crazy. I didn't think I was smart enough or capable of learning still. I knew I had a lot of holes in my education, but I thought it was to late to do anything about that. When I broke free of that mind set I remembered what I used to know as a child that its never to late to become who you are capable of becoming. That is an eternal truth...its never to late! Beginning the process of reading and becoming truly educated is amazing. I am still only a few steps from the starting line, but I am just grateful to have started the race. As I look forward to the journey that lays ahead for me its AMAZING!!!!. The possibilities are endless and my ability to live life to the fullest seem more possible than ever. I WANT TO BECOME EDUCATED and my life will change because of the education I choose to give myself.
{I blew the budget again...}
I have a problem sticking to our budget. Its not like I'm spending wads of cash, but I have trouble telling myself NO! So after much reflection I decided to publicly make myself accountable to stick to the budget for November!!!! I promise Scott.
Here are some of the things I am going to do to make sure I stick to our November 2008 budget:
1. NEVER use my debit card!
2. ONLY use cash for expenses (not including bills)
3. NEVER borrow cash from a future week to pay for 'wants' for the current week
4. SAVE SAVE SAVE!!!
5. Hold a weekly budget review meeting with Scott
Plan to teach the kids how to manage money:
1. During FC talk about our family budget.
2. Create a system for the kids to earn money so they can start budgeting and paying for some of their own things.
{my routine}
I've decided that its really important for me to be up and ready before the kids wake up. It is hard to do, but it helps me feel sane so its super important tome. This week has been okay, but I need to do even better. If I can just get myself up and moving before the kids my day goes so much better. Here's to trying to trying to wake up earlier!!
I am still struggling with getting our family routine developed too. I am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong and how I can get a better family routine established, because I know that its VERY VERY important. I feel like in order to get our family culture established it is essential to develop a consistent routine. I haven't figured out what is holding me back from really doing this, but I am going to keep trying to figure it out so I can get past my hold up and accomplish my goal!!
{grateful}
I am so grateful for my life and all the blessings the Lord has given me. I feel overwhelmed when I think of all I've been given in this life. I know that prayer works and that when we pray we can feel the Lord's love for us. I am nothing without God.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Focusing on the Vision
"Where your focus goes, energy flows, and that thing grows."
{5P blessings}
This year I am a co-coordinator in a 5 Pillars class and its definitely been a HUGE learning experience for me. As part of our training to coordinate the class we have a couple of conference calls I get to be a part of each month. I just got off of one of those calls and it was AMAZING, and I feel like I needed to write down some of my thoughts before they escape from me.
{Focusing on my weakness}
Its funny because last night I started writing a whole entry for my blog about a BIG weakness of mine. This past week had been kind of crazy and didn't turn out like I had wanted it to. I know this is due to a weakness I struggle with and decided to dissect that weakness in hopes to solve the problem and move on. It was more than ironic that this morning's call helped me see things differently and realize that I needed to approach my issue from a different angle. I love how the Lord puts things in our path when we need it most.
{The Cycle of Focusing}
For lack of a better word I am going to call part of what I learned today the cycle of focusing.
1. Hear the call...recognize I have something to offer (our family, children, world, etc...)
2. Admit to and own my weaknesses and/or objections.
3. Ask the right question, be humble, and recognize the answer.
4. See the vision.
5. Take my focus off the my weaknesses and put my focus on the vision of what is at hand.
6. DEDICATE myself to the vision.
7. Start seeing growth and result as I focus on the vision and NOT on my weaknesses!
{The Story of the Fleas}
In the book the Hiding Place a story is told of a group of women at a concentration camp being infested with fleas. Most of the women become frustrated with the fleas and the annoyance they are to them. However the main character takes the focus of her suffering and asks God. What is the purpose of the fleas? What is God's hand in this? Her answer is that because of the fleas the guards are staying away from the women preventing mistreatment or abuse towards the women. What an amazing example of taking the focus of 'ME' or my weaknesses and instead focuses on the vision of what God has for her in this situation.
I am trying to build a family that is cohesive as well as a Thomas Jefferson Leadership community that is cohesive. I know that as I serve my family and my community that I am far from perfect. I know that I have many 'fleas' (weaknesses) that will try to distract me from focusing on the vision and instead try to get myself to focus on myself. As long as I am focusing on my 'fleas' I won't have the ability to focus on the vision and will feel frustrated with my lack of progress and the enormous amount of flaws/weaknesses I have. If we get caught in our weakness it will become the message heard in everything we do.
Instead I need to acknowledged my weaknesses then focus on the vision by asking the right questions. If I can focus on the vision great things will start to happen! I really do believe this. Its kind of like the saying 'You have to lose yourself to find yourself.' Its scary though because I have to have faith in the process.
Pride is something that struggle with sometimes. If I work hard at accomplishing my vision whether it be in my goal to have a clean organized home, well behaved children, personal study, etc I sometimes can't help from wanting the credit for being successful with my vision right? Even though I know this is wrong its hard to overcome the natural man and realize that it isn't about me. 'I can do great things if I just get out of my way.' I need to remember that 'Great things can happen if no one cares who gets the credit.' When I hear things like this I know they are true and I want to get myself out of the focus and focus on my vision.
{Mother Teresa}
Do it Anyway
by Mother Teresa
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered -Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives -Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies -Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you -Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight -Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous -Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow -Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough -Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God -It never was between you and them anyway.
{My Journey}
For me this blog is about journaling my personal journey through life so I can learn, grow, and remember all the amazing things that happen along the way. Its about having accountability with myself and others. Its about celebrating my successes and growing from my failures. Its about keeping track of what is going on with my kids as we embark on this scary yet amazingly satisfying journey of homeschooling. Its about recognizing my weaknesses and strengths. Its about being transparent and real even though that is scary and makes me venerable at times. This blog is about my life.
{My Focus}
I pray that during this self discovery process called life I will realize that my life isn't about me. If I can focus on listening to the voice of God, HE will let me know what I should be focusing my life on. If I can listen to His voice and act on the vision He has for me in this life the Lord will magnify me in whatever way He sees fit and I will be able to accomplish the mission I was sent here to fulfill.
Facing my weaknesses allows me to see more of my vision and this allow more miracles to happen. I think this happens because once we acknowledge our weaknesses we are venerable and are able to open the door to God ask for help and accept his miracles in our lives.
I have a long ways still to go before I am able to clearly see the complete mission the Lord has for me in this life. But every once in a while I am humble enough to see part of it and gain a vision for that part of my mission. Everything comes together for me when my focus is in the right place. I need to get this quote in big vinyl letters up on my wall so I can remember this principle.
"Where your focus goes, energy flows, and that thing grows."
Saturday, September 27, 2008
All things Saturday...
{Sleeping in my curse}
Today was awesome but talk about crazy. Our stake asked all the sisters to try and attend a noon temple session, followed by lunch at 3pm, and concluded with the Women's Broadcast at 5pm. Then we planned a family adult only get together at our home following the broadcast. So how did it go?
I woke up about 5 minutes after 7am a bit panicky because I was suppose to be on a conference call that started at 7am. Shoot! I ran downstairs as quick as I could (luckily no children were awake yet, and Scott was gone mountain bike riding) and jumped on the call. I was happy that they hadn't started yet and I hadn't missed anything. Phew!
I am responsible for teaching our 5 Pillars group all about the Scholar Ladders this coming Thursday and I am still trying to understand them better myself. Its a process learning how we naturally evolve through the educational process if exposed to the right environment and experiences. Its truly fascinating, but sometimes I struggle to understand since I never really went through these phases of development and education myself. Now that I am starting to understand the phases of development I realize that educationally I am still a 14 year old. Oh yes I went to college and got the degree, but as far as owning my education and discovering what my life mission is I never totally progressed past 14. Man I missed out and have a lot of make up to do. How sad is that! That is why I am in the 5P class.
{Stuck, but ready to get past 14}
You may be thinking what a total loser, and you'd probably be right. But just so I don't feel quite so lame a lot of children who are the product of Public Education are stuck where I am too. Not all of them, of course there are exceptions to the rule. I'll try to explain here...never mind I can't really explain it, but if you want to try to figure out what I am talking about call or email me and I'll try to explain it. I am sure most of you think I am crazy. Oh well! I can live with that. :)
{Making connections}
The conference call was AMAZING!!! Its funny because the more time I spend learning about education, life, the natural process of development, how children and adults learn, why we act the way we do, the cycles of man kind, reading classic books, ect... the more connections I am making, the happier I am becoming, and the more life itself is making sense.
The call was all about the natural developmental/educational process we go through as human beings. WOW!! What was really crazy is that when we were in the temple session later I saw, heard, and felt things in the session that reaffirmed that what I am learning about people, learning, and development are a universal TRUTH and it is how the Lord has worked all along.
{On the Go}
Back to my day...I had about 30 minutes left of the call when kids started waking up. It all worked out and my wonderful Jarom took care of Brea until I was done with the call and was finally ready to take care of her. Scott got home right after that and I gave him a quick hair cut before showering and getting ready to head to out the door at 10:45.
When we got to the temple it was packed, and our session was full with three or four times as many women as men. It was a bit crazy! We headed home and went right over to the stake center in time to eat lunch (the food was awesome), listen to a pre-program, and then the broadcast.
{The Broadcast}
The broadcast was excellent. A couple of my favorite quotes and take aways where...
1. "If we heed to personal revelation we can not fail." RS President Julie Beck
2. IDEA: I need to make temple attendance more of a priority in my life. I think I may schedule out temple days a month or two ahead of time and view them as non-negotiable events. (from Silvia Allred's talk)
3. "If you live up to your privileges the angels can not be restrained." Barbra Thompson
4. "God is a God of creation and compassion." Elder Ucdorf
5. Thoughts from Elder Ucdorf's talk:
-We all have a deep human desire to create.
-We were created to experience joy and happiness.
-We need to start creating and being more compassionate.
-We need to learn knowledge.
-The more you rely on the Spirit the more you will be able to create.
-He challenged us to start creating and it would bring us great joy. Some ideas he gave were to create a garden, happy organized homes, sewing, smiling, writing, learn a new skill, beautify your space.
-"Those who follow the Savior are compassionate."
-"The more we serve our fellow beings the more substance there will be in ourselves."
-"Work will cure your grief."
-"Those who bring sunshine to the life of others can not keep it from themselves." James Berry author of Peter Pan (Elder Ucdorf quoted him)
-"Happiness is your Heritage."
-"The words of encouragement only require a tender heart but may render a life changing event for another."
-"He that is greatest among you will be your servant."
-"The number of prayers you say is important, but more important is the number of prayers you answer."
{My Do's}
So what am I going to do now? In How to Read a Book it teaches that when you are taking notes to have a 'DO' column on the page. I've been trying to do that lately, and its really helping. So here are the 'DOs' I wrote down during the broadcast.
My DO's:
1. Make more of an effort to receive revelation!
2. Schedule time to go to the temple! Once a month to start with.
3. I need to work on developing an attitude of contemplating with the desire to understand the Lord and His ways and what He wants me to do.
4. Do something extraordinary every day!
5. Start creating! I need to make a creating list of things I want to create!
6. Be more compassionate to others.
7. Remember that happiness is my heritage.
8. Pray to be the answer to other people's prayers!!!!!
{Hanging with the Martineaus}
The rest of the evening went well. It was SO FUN to have everyone over to our home, and I really enjoyed chatting with everyone about the different Martineau Family Cabin options. Hopefully we can figure something out and get one built for our families to enjoy together. I married into such an awesome family.
Tomorrow is the Primary program, Megan is suppose to give a talk, and I have to read three books this week! I better go to bed so I can start my week off rested.
PS I forgot to mention that Scott watched all six kiddos for the entire day so I could participate in all these activities. He is totally the best husband alive! I am grateful to have him in my life, and thankful that he is always willing to help me out when I need him. I love him tons!!!!
Today was awesome but talk about crazy. Our stake asked all the sisters to try and attend a noon temple session, followed by lunch at 3pm, and concluded with the Women's Broadcast at 5pm. Then we planned a family adult only get together at our home following the broadcast. So how did it go?
I woke up about 5 minutes after 7am a bit panicky because I was suppose to be on a conference call that started at 7am. Shoot! I ran downstairs as quick as I could (luckily no children were awake yet, and Scott was gone mountain bike riding) and jumped on the call. I was happy that they hadn't started yet and I hadn't missed anything. Phew!
I am responsible for teaching our 5 Pillars group all about the Scholar Ladders this coming Thursday and I am still trying to understand them better myself. Its a process learning how we naturally evolve through the educational process if exposed to the right environment and experiences. Its truly fascinating, but sometimes I struggle to understand since I never really went through these phases of development and education myself. Now that I am starting to understand the phases of development I realize that educationally I am still a 14 year old. Oh yes I went to college and got the degree, but as far as owning my education and discovering what my life mission is I never totally progressed past 14. Man I missed out and have a lot of make up to do. How sad is that! That is why I am in the 5P class.
{Stuck, but ready to get past 14}
You may be thinking what a total loser, and you'd probably be right. But just so I don't feel quite so lame a lot of children who are the product of Public Education are stuck where I am too. Not all of them, of course there are exceptions to the rule. I'll try to explain here...never mind I can't really explain it, but if you want to try to figure out what I am talking about call or email me and I'll try to explain it. I am sure most of you think I am crazy. Oh well! I can live with that. :)
{Making connections}
The conference call was AMAZING!!! Its funny because the more time I spend learning about education, life, the natural process of development, how children and adults learn, why we act the way we do, the cycles of man kind, reading classic books, ect... the more connections I am making, the happier I am becoming, and the more life itself is making sense.
The call was all about the natural developmental/educational process we go through as human beings. WOW!! What was really crazy is that when we were in the temple session later I saw, heard, and felt things in the session that reaffirmed that what I am learning about people, learning, and development are a universal TRUTH and it is how the Lord has worked all along.
{On the Go}
Back to my day...I had about 30 minutes left of the call when kids started waking up. It all worked out and my wonderful Jarom took care of Brea until I was done with the call and was finally ready to take care of her. Scott got home right after that and I gave him a quick hair cut before showering and getting ready to head to out the door at 10:45.
When we got to the temple it was packed, and our session was full with three or four times as many women as men. It was a bit crazy! We headed home and went right over to the stake center in time to eat lunch (the food was awesome), listen to a pre-program, and then the broadcast.
{The Broadcast}
The broadcast was excellent. A couple of my favorite quotes and take aways where...
1. "If we heed to personal revelation we can not fail." RS President Julie Beck
2. IDEA: I need to make temple attendance more of a priority in my life. I think I may schedule out temple days a month or two ahead of time and view them as non-negotiable events. (from Silvia Allred's talk)
3. "If you live up to your privileges the angels can not be restrained." Barbra Thompson
4. "God is a God of creation and compassion." Elder Ucdorf
5. Thoughts from Elder Ucdorf's talk:
-We all have a deep human desire to create.
-We were created to experience joy and happiness.
-We need to start creating and being more compassionate.
-We need to learn knowledge.
-The more you rely on the Spirit the more you will be able to create.
-He challenged us to start creating and it would bring us great joy. Some ideas he gave were to create a garden, happy organized homes, sewing, smiling, writing, learn a new skill, beautify your space.
-"Those who follow the Savior are compassionate."
-"The more we serve our fellow beings the more substance there will be in ourselves."
-"Work will cure your grief."
-"Those who bring sunshine to the life of others can not keep it from themselves." James Berry author of Peter Pan (Elder Ucdorf quoted him)
-"Happiness is your Heritage."
-"The words of encouragement only require a tender heart but may render a life changing event for another."
-"He that is greatest among you will be your servant."
-"The number of prayers you say is important, but more important is the number of prayers you answer."
{My Do's}
So what am I going to do now? In How to Read a Book it teaches that when you are taking notes to have a 'DO' column on the page. I've been trying to do that lately, and its really helping. So here are the 'DOs' I wrote down during the broadcast.
My DO's:
1. Make more of an effort to receive revelation!
2. Schedule time to go to the temple! Once a month to start with.
3. I need to work on developing an attitude of contemplating with the desire to understand the Lord and His ways and what He wants me to do.
4. Do something extraordinary every day!
5. Start creating! I need to make a creating list of things I want to create!
6. Be more compassionate to others.
7. Remember that happiness is my heritage.
8. Pray to be the answer to other people's prayers!!!!!
{Hanging with the Martineaus}
The rest of the evening went well. It was SO FUN to have everyone over to our home, and I really enjoyed chatting with everyone about the different Martineau Family Cabin options. Hopefully we can figure something out and get one built for our families to enjoy together. I married into such an awesome family.
Tomorrow is the Primary program, Megan is suppose to give a talk, and I have to read three books this week! I better go to bed so I can start my week off rested.
PS I forgot to mention that Scott watched all six kiddos for the entire day so I could participate in all these activities. He is totally the best husband alive! I am grateful to have him in my life, and thankful that he is always willing to help me out when I need him. I love him tons!!!!
Doctor appointment recks my routine...
Today my two oldest kiddos and I had dentist appointments. I am so thankful for my amazing sister-in-law Brigett (who lives across the street from us) who babysat my four little ones so we could go.
Anyway, I know going to the dentist is important. I mean no one wants all their teeth to fall out, but it sure does a number on the flow of my daily routine with my kids. Even though we were only gone about two hours total it just messed up our entire flow. I am sure this is probably because our routine is still very new to us all. We haven't even been homeschooling for a year. But how do I adjust for doctor appointments and still somehow maintain our routine versus what happens now which is our hole day was totally less effective and productive?
I know there needs to be a balance of some type and I know I am kind of off balance right now. I've been avoiding the mail, the phone, and other tasks that are part of running a home because its interfering with my home school flow. I know I am such a weirdo, and I admit I probably am because avoiding necessary tasks required to run a home (like get the mail and pay the bills) is retarded. I don't ignore tasks like cleaning my house or keeping things organized however, because number one they are important to me and number two I simply can't exist or even think clearly in an environment if its dirty or disorganized. Don't get me wrong my house is far from perfect, but I try my hardest (which requires tons of energy when you have 6 energetic kids home 24/7) to keep everything in fairly good order.
I think part of the solution to my problem is to have a default schedule that everyone knows by heart and knows that we stick to it almost no matter what. I also think it might be helpful if I picked one day a week or month or something that was set aside as a errand/Dr. appointment day and I know ahead of time that any non-ongoing outings that need to take place out of the home take place on that day. Would that work?
One thing is for sure I am needing to work and focus my energy on organizing my family's time. Lately I've been trying to tackle the chore of organizing my family's things. I am almost done with those projects and ready to enter organizational maintenance mode. As I am writing this I am realizing that now its time to transition from organizing things to organizing time. I know it will change my life and my stress level if I can figure out how to get our 'time' organized better.
Anyway, I know going to the dentist is important. I mean no one wants all their teeth to fall out, but it sure does a number on the flow of my daily routine with my kids. Even though we were only gone about two hours total it just messed up our entire flow. I am sure this is probably because our routine is still very new to us all. We haven't even been homeschooling for a year. But how do I adjust for doctor appointments and still somehow maintain our routine versus what happens now which is our hole day was totally less effective and productive?
I know there needs to be a balance of some type and I know I am kind of off balance right now. I've been avoiding the mail, the phone, and other tasks that are part of running a home because its interfering with my home school flow. I know I am such a weirdo, and I admit I probably am because avoiding necessary tasks required to run a home (like get the mail and pay the bills) is retarded. I don't ignore tasks like cleaning my house or keeping things organized however, because number one they are important to me and number two I simply can't exist or even think clearly in an environment if its dirty or disorganized. Don't get me wrong my house is far from perfect, but I try my hardest (which requires tons of energy when you have 6 energetic kids home 24/7) to keep everything in fairly good order.
I think part of the solution to my problem is to have a default schedule that everyone knows by heart and knows that we stick to it almost no matter what. I also think it might be helpful if I picked one day a week or month or something that was set aside as a errand/Dr. appointment day and I know ahead of time that any non-ongoing outings that need to take place out of the home take place on that day. Would that work?
One thing is for sure I am needing to work and focus my energy on organizing my family's time. Lately I've been trying to tackle the chore of organizing my family's things. I am almost done with those projects and ready to enter organizational maintenance mode. As I am writing this I am realizing that now its time to transition from organizing things to organizing time. I know it will change my life and my stress level if I can figure out how to get our 'time' organized better.
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Rest of our New York Get Away...
On Thursday Scott and the team did another amazing Revolution Tour at the Crown Plaza in Times Square. I read How Children Learn most of the morning, which is an AMAZING book. (Once I've finished I am going to definitely write a paper on it about what I learned and what I am going to start 'DOING' because of it!!) Anyway back to the point...around 1:30 the boys were done with the Revolution Tour and we were ready to start our 'Anniversary' portion of the trip. Watch out NEW YORK here we come... YAHOO!!
Th hotel we were staying at was right in Times Square, and believe me when I say there is always something going on in Times Square. We had only been out of the hotel 5 minutes when I over heard someone talking about David Letterman tickets.
{We found it! David Letterman's Studio!}
I thought that sounded like fun, and we were soon on our way to be part of the studio audience at the David Letterman show. It was quite the production to get tickets, but after waiting in two lines we finally made it in and had a blast! It was definitely a New York thing to do.
{WHOO-HOO...we got our tickets and are now standing in line to actually go into the show!!}
{Here is the LONG line of people waiting to go into the Letterman show. What a lucky break that we got it! We were in the right place at the right time.}
The Letterman show happened the day after Sarah Palin (VP running mate to John McCain) spoke, and so most of the show was making fun of politics. At least I kind of could follow what they were talking about. If they had been talking about other news, politicians, or pop culture I may not have followed him so well. Being a mom of 6 doesn't give me much time to watch TV or read the newspapper. I had however watched Sarah Palin's speach the night before. So I got Late Show staff to laugh at EVERY joke Letterman said even if it wasn't funny. We got quite the pep talk before entering the show. Scott and I were laughing because it was so crazy!
After we got done filming the Late Show it was time to move hotels. The hotel we were staying at was awesome, but over $400 a night. A little to pricy for us to afford once we started paying. So we moved down to 32nd Street and Broadway to a Raddison that was less than half as expensive. It was a great hotel, and we were happy to move and save a little money.
By this time it was almost 5 and we hadn't really eaten anything yet. So we found a cute little 'healthy' fast food store that had awesome fruit and salads grabbed something and jumped on a bike to take us back to Times Square.
After making our move we decided to get theater tickets. I LOVE musicals!!! There was a half off ticket booth in Times Square that sold same day tickets.
{Before the show started.}
With so many shows to choose from we decided on Grease, since Scott had never seen the movie and it had been forever since I'd seen it we thought it would be great. Well, maybe if we had tried to watched the movie again we would have remembered how terrible the plot was. Ooops! When the whole premis is about sleeping around and being a rebel it wasn't exactly an uplifting play. Oh well! It was fun to hang out with Scott and enjoy the evening together.
{Still excited...}
After the theater we were starving and decided to be boring and hit the Hard Rock Cafe. We split a burger and a milk shake and I felt fat and happy!
Still Thursday...days and nights are long when you are in NY City. I don't think they ever sleep. As we left the Hard Rock we realized that on the HUGE HUGE screen in Times Square they were playing Presidential Canidate John McCain's speach.
CNN had set up speakers and chairs in the middle of the road on a median and were letting people sit there and watch it. I jumped all of over this because I totally wanted to listen to it, and when else was I going to be able to sit in the middle of Times Square and watch something like this...mmmm...NEVER! So we pulled up a chair and enjoyed McCain's speach, which I personally thought was fantastic.
It was after one am when we finally got back to our hotel that night, but when we left Times Square you would have thought it was still the middle of the day. There were still tons of people out roaming the streets, a lot of stores were still open, and thanks to the lights from the LCD screens it was bright bright. What a great day.
So the next day Friday I slept in until noon I think. I guess I am not used to staying up until 1am. My party days are definitely a thing of the past. When we finally did start moving we ran into none other than Spiderman. For a mere $10 (we found this out after we took the picture) we could take a picture with him. We thought the kids would get a kick out of mom and dad posing with Spiderman...and they did!
We ended up going shopping for a while on Friday which was so fun. We aren't use to being able to blow 3-4 hours window shopping and just chilling without worrying about getting back to the kids. It was a totally awesome day just hanging out together with no particular plan. LOVED IT!!
We ended our window shopping at the Times Square Foot Locker, and both ended up getting some running shoes. I haven't owned a real pair of work out/running shoes since before I had Hyrum (so 3 years) and Scott's were pretty shabby. (I guess my lack of workout shoes would explain my lack of exersise.) After having Becca and Brea one year a part my body is in need of a little fixing, and I am determined that I am going to start working out, eating healthier, and by golly get toned and more importantly get rid of my muffin top!! Now that I have my shoes I am good to go! Goodbye muffin top!!
{Our new shoes. Scott says his feel like he's walking on air.}
After Central Park we headed back to the hotel to change and check out so we could do a little more sight seeing before going to the airport.
{First we went to Top of the Rock to look out over the city. The view was incredible.}
{Then we went on a 75 minute Circle Line Cruise that took us all around the island of Mannhatan and by the Statue of Liberty. It was awesome and once again the weather was PERFECT}
{Here is a little photo of me and the hundreds of other passengers taking the 75 minute cruise.}
After the cruise we quickly ate a fast lunch and caught a cab back to the hotel to grab our bags and onto the airport. It had been such a fun trip. We were sad to have to go back to reality, but excited to see the kids!!!
I am so grateful to be married to such an amazing man! Logically things should be harder now that we have six kids all 8 and under, but we are seriously more happy now than we have ever been. Here's to 11 great years, and 100's more to come. LOVE YOU SCOTT!!
Th hotel we were staying at was right in Times Square, and believe me when I say there is always something going on in Times Square. We had only been out of the hotel 5 minutes when I over heard someone talking about David Letterman tickets.
{We found it! David Letterman's Studio!}
{WHOO-HOO...we got our tickets and are now standing in line to actually go into the show!!}
{Here is the LONG line of people waiting to go into the Letterman show. What a lucky break that we got it! We were in the right place at the right time.}The Letterman show happened the day after Sarah Palin (VP running mate to John McCain) spoke, and so most of the show was making fun of politics. At least I kind of could follow what they were talking about. If they had been talking about other news, politicians, or pop culture I may not have followed him so well. Being a mom of 6 doesn't give me much time to watch TV or read the newspapper. I had however watched Sarah Palin's speach the night before. So I got Late Show staff to laugh at EVERY joke Letterman said even if it wasn't funny. We got quite the pep talk before entering the show. Scott and I were laughing because it was so crazy!
After we got done filming the Late Show it was time to move hotels. The hotel we were staying at was awesome, but over $400 a night. A little to pricy for us to afford once we started paying. So we moved down to 32nd Street and Broadway to a Raddison that was less than half as expensive. It was a great hotel, and we were happy to move and save a little money.
By this time it was almost 5 and we hadn't really eaten anything yet. So we found a cute little 'healthy' fast food store that had awesome fruit and salads grabbed something and jumped on a bike to take us back to Times Square.
After making our move we decided to get theater tickets. I LOVE musicals!!! There was a half off ticket booth in Times Square that sold same day tickets.
{Before the show started.}
{Still excited...}
After the theater we were starving and decided to be boring and hit the Hard Rock Cafe. We split a burger and a milk shake and I felt fat and happy!Still Thursday...days and nights are long when you are in NY City. I don't think they ever sleep. As we left the Hard Rock we realized that on the HUGE HUGE screen in Times Square they were playing Presidential Canidate John McCain's speach.
CNN had set up speakers and chairs in the middle of the road on a median and were letting people sit there and watch it. I jumped all of over this because I totally wanted to listen to it, and when else was I going to be able to sit in the middle of Times Square and watch something like this...mmmm...NEVER! So we pulled up a chair and enjoyed McCain's speach, which I personally thought was fantastic.
It was after one am when we finally got back to our hotel that night, but when we left Times Square you would have thought it was still the middle of the day. There were still tons of people out roaming the streets, a lot of stores were still open, and thanks to the lights from the LCD screens it was bright bright. What a great day.So the next day Friday I slept in until noon I think. I guess I am not used to staying up until 1am. My party days are definitely a thing of the past. When we finally did start moving we ran into none other than Spiderman. For a mere $10 (we found this out after we took the picture) we could take a picture with him. We thought the kids would get a kick out of mom and dad posing with Spiderman...and they did!
We ended up going shopping for a while on Friday which was so fun. We aren't use to being able to blow 3-4 hours window shopping and just chilling without worrying about getting back to the kids. It was a totally awesome day just hanging out together with no particular plan. LOVED IT!!We ended our window shopping at the Times Square Foot Locker, and both ended up getting some running shoes. I haven't owned a real pair of work out/running shoes since before I had Hyrum (so 3 years) and Scott's were pretty shabby. (I guess my lack of workout shoes would explain my lack of exersise.) After having Becca and Brea one year a part my body is in need of a little fixing, and I am determined that I am going to start working out, eating healthier, and by golly get toned and more importantly get rid of my muffin top!! Now that I have my shoes I am good to go! Goodbye muffin top!!
{Our new shoes. Scott says his feel like he's walking on air.}After getting our shoes we went to another musical. I was trying to make up for the lame Grease experience the night before! We went to a show called [title of show]. It was really great! It was a musical about making a musical and also made fun of musicals. Super funny! I am so glad we went, because it definitely made up for the flop the night before. We sat next to this nice couple who was from NY City and after talking to her we realized how little we knew about NY City and how much there was to see.
That night we ended up taking a night tour of the city after we got out of our musical. It started at 10 and got over around midnight. It was so fun to see the city at night and the weather was PERFECT!!
{On the upper deck of the bus taking the night tour.}
{Our one night tour stop. Looking out on the Manhattan Skyline.}
Saturday was forecasted to rain all day. So when we woke up and the sun was still out we decided to get moving and make the most out of the day in case the rain did come. Our biggest mistake was that I couldn't resist and once again we bought 1/2 price show tickets...this time to a matinee showing. After not being able to get tickets to Jersey Boys we decided on Young Frankenstein which was funny and strange all at once. We enjoyed it, but during intermission when we tried to step outside we found that the rain had come and it was pouring. It was still pouring when the show was let out, so we ended up hanging out in some a Quicksilver store for an hour or so, until we finally found someone who was selling umbrellas. We walked for a while, but then found a bicycle ride (with a rain proof cover) to take us the rest of the way to the hotel.
{It was a total crack up trying to both squeeze under this 'one person' tiny umbrella.}
After getting spruced up we were ready for something really tasty to eat. The hotel concierge recommended a fantastic Italian Restaurant Anos (I think) that wasn't to far. It was still lightly sprinkling so we walked to the restaurant with our umbrella (it was a little one), and ate one of the most fantastic Itallian dinners I've ever had. When we were done eating (around midnight its crazy how late everything stays open there) it wasn't raining anymore, and by morning it was blue skies and sunny.
It never ceased to amaze me what we saw on Times Square. I should have taken more pictures of all the crazy stuff we saw, but here are a few I did take pictures of.
SNAKES...
{Someone was just walking around with this huge python letting people hold it and take pictures with it if they wanted to. We didn't hold it, but did get this snap shot of someone else holding it. CRAZY!!}
{This guy calls himself the 'Naked Coyboy.' He walks around Times Square with white underwear on, a guitar, and takes pictures with people for a $2 minimum donation. There were postcards, and other items for sale with his picture on it throughout Times Square. He's famous in his own way I guess.}
{This guy was amazing. He could make the most detailed painting using spray paint. The pictures were all sci-fi looking, so nothing I would hang up in my house or buy, but I have to give it to him that he was one talented spray paint artist!}
Tallest Man Alive...
{We also hit 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' museum which was pretty much a freak show. There are some crazy things in there. Here I am standing by a replica of the tallest man ever documented.}
Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for church, however, after taking a taxi to church we found out the building was under construction. So we ended up jumping back on the double decker tour bus that roamed the city and doing a little sight seeing. We forgot our camera for the first half of the day, which was kind of a bummer because we only got pictures of us in Central Park on Scott's iPhone. Oh well. Central Park was great, and busy busy! Scott and I were constantly blown away by the number of people we saw everywhere we went in NY City. You were never alone on the street, in the park, or anywhere. There were people everywhere and the park was no exception!
Scott and I both wish we could get our backyard to look more like Central Park it was beautiful with huge trees, amazing paths, neat plants, and lots of activities. What a fun place to visit!!!
That night we ended up taking a night tour of the city after we got out of our musical. It started at 10 and got over around midnight. It was so fun to see the city at night and the weather was PERFECT!!
{On the upper deck of the bus taking the night tour.}
{Our one night tour stop. Looking out on the Manhattan Skyline.}Saturday was forecasted to rain all day. So when we woke up and the sun was still out we decided to get moving and make the most out of the day in case the rain did come. Our biggest mistake was that I couldn't resist and once again we bought 1/2 price show tickets...this time to a matinee showing. After not being able to get tickets to Jersey Boys we decided on Young Frankenstein which was funny and strange all at once. We enjoyed it, but during intermission when we tried to step outside we found that the rain had come and it was pouring. It was still pouring when the show was let out, so we ended up hanging out in some a Quicksilver store for an hour or so, until we finally found someone who was selling umbrellas. We walked for a while, but then found a bicycle ride (with a rain proof cover) to take us the rest of the way to the hotel.
{It was a total crack up trying to both squeeze under this 'one person' tiny umbrella.}It never ceased to amaze me what we saw on Times Square. I should have taken more pictures of all the crazy stuff we saw, but here are a few I did take pictures of.
SNAKES...
{Someone was just walking around with this huge python letting people hold it and take pictures with it if they wanted to. We didn't hold it, but did get this snap shot of someone else holding it. CRAZY!!}The Naked Cowboy...
{This guy calls himself the 'Naked Coyboy.' He walks around Times Square with white underwear on, a guitar, and takes pictures with people for a $2 minimum donation. There were postcards, and other items for sale with his picture on it throughout Times Square. He's famous in his own way I guess.}The Spray Paint Artist...
{This guy was amazing. He could make the most detailed painting using spray paint. The pictures were all sci-fi looking, so nothing I would hang up in my house or buy, but I have to give it to him that he was one talented spray paint artist!}
{We also hit 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' museum which was pretty much a freak show. There are some crazy things in there. Here I am standing by a replica of the tallest man ever documented.}Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for church, however, after taking a taxi to church we found out the building was under construction. So we ended up jumping back on the double decker tour bus that roamed the city and doing a little sight seeing. We forgot our camera for the first half of the day, which was kind of a bummer because we only got pictures of us in Central Park on Scott's iPhone. Oh well. Central Park was great, and busy busy! Scott and I were constantly blown away by the number of people we saw everywhere we went in NY City. You were never alone on the street, in the park, or anywhere. There were people everywhere and the park was no exception!
Scott and I both wish we could get our backyard to look more like Central Park it was beautiful with huge trees, amazing paths, neat plants, and lots of activities. What a fun place to visit!!!
After Central Park we headed back to the hotel to change and check out so we could do a little more sight seeing before going to the airport.
{First we went to Top of the Rock to look out over the city. The view was incredible.}
{Then we went on a 75 minute Circle Line Cruise that took us all around the island of Mannhatan and by the Statue of Liberty. It was awesome and once again the weather was PERFECT}
{Here is a little photo of me and the hundreds of other passengers taking the 75 minute cruise.}After the cruise we quickly ate a fast lunch and caught a cab back to the hotel to grab our bags and onto the airport. It had been such a fun trip. We were sad to have to go back to reality, but excited to see the kids!!!
I am so grateful to be married to such an amazing man! Logically things should be harder now that we have six kids all 8 and under, but we are seriously more happy now than we have ever been. Here's to 11 great years, and 100's more to come. LOVE YOU SCOTT!!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
New York Maddness
We flew from Boston to New York yesterday evening on a 37 seat jet. I starting freaking out when I first heard how small the plane was. I have no problem flying in large commercial jets, but the thought of going on a small one was totally scary to me. I am such a wimp!
{Our tiny plane. Only two rows of seat...one on one side and two on the other. CRAZY!!!}
Doesn't it seem like its always the little planes that have problems and crash? I tried not to think about it while we were waiting to board, and thank goodness once we did board it didn't feel as small as I thought it would. I was able to chill and sleep during most of the 38 minute flight.
I've been to NY once. It was right after Scott proposed (I freaked out and had to run away...just kidding). I had planned the trip to visit the east coast with my Grandma Carolyn and cousin Dana long before Scott even got home from his mission. I remember that trip well and it was a blast! Things are so different on the east coast. This is Scott's first time to New York, and he was just in awe at the feeling of constant chaos, hustle and bustle, and the seemingly never ending number of sky scrapers. New York is such a unique city!
{It was 10:00pm when we were taking this picture, and we didn't even use the flash because the city was so lit up. There are so many lights and huge LCD TVs on the sky scrappers that the city literally glowed. It felt like it was the middle of the day. Amazing!}
We asked a local New Yorker for a recommendation for a good NY pizza joint. He pointed us to one, and the food was great. After a slight miss communication with our waitress we ordered two large pizzas for the four of us to eat. They were HUGE! So yes there was TONS left over. Oh well!
Scott and the InfusionSoft guys had another Revolution Tour early this morning so we called it a night after that and headed back to the hotel; which was fine with me. I was tired and I wanted to listen to Sarah Palin speak at the RNC. We got home 30 minutes before she spoke, and I listened to it while Scott went down to the other guy's room to work on some stuff for the Revolution Tour.
I have to say that I was really impressed with Palin. I thought she was genuine and sincere. I was surprised when they announced her as the VP running mate, but after last night I impressed.
Scott and I will be here until Sunday, and I can't wait to start exploring the city with him. Cheers!
{Our tiny plane. Only two rows of seat...one on one side and two on the other. CRAZY!!!}Doesn't it seem like its always the little planes that have problems and crash? I tried not to think about it while we were waiting to board, and thank goodness once we did board it didn't feel as small as I thought it would. I was able to chill and sleep during most of the 38 minute flight.
I've been to NY once. It was right after Scott proposed (I freaked out and had to run away...just kidding). I had planned the trip to visit the east coast with my Grandma Carolyn and cousin Dana long before Scott even got home from his mission. I remember that trip well and it was a blast! Things are so different on the east coast. This is Scott's first time to New York, and he was just in awe at the feeling of constant chaos, hustle and bustle, and the seemingly never ending number of sky scrapers. New York is such a unique city!
{It was 10:00pm when we were taking this picture, and we didn't even use the flash because the city was so lit up. There are so many lights and huge LCD TVs on the sky scrappers that the city literally glowed. It felt like it was the middle of the day. Amazing!}We asked a local New Yorker for a recommendation for a good NY pizza joint. He pointed us to one, and the food was great. After a slight miss communication with our waitress we ordered two large pizzas for the four of us to eat. They were HUGE! So yes there was TONS left over. Oh well!
Scott and the InfusionSoft guys had another Revolution Tour early this morning so we called it a night after that and headed back to the hotel; which was fine with me. I was tired and I wanted to listen to Sarah Palin speak at the RNC. We got home 30 minutes before she spoke, and I listened to it while Scott went down to the other guy's room to work on some stuff for the Revolution Tour.
I have to say that I was really impressed with Palin. I thought she was genuine and sincere. I was surprised when they announced her as the VP running mate, but after last night I impressed.
Scott and I will be here until Sunday, and I can't wait to start exploring the city with him. Cheers!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Hello Boston!! Happy Anniversary!!
Scott and I arrived in Boston yesterday (Tuesday September 2nd) around 4:30. We flew from Phoenix to Dallas then onto Boston. The flight was fine other than the fact that we left Phoenix at 6:15 in the morning...OUCH! (Oh and as if waking up at 4am wasn't bad enough we found out that on American Airlines it now costs $15 for every bag you check...WOW! That was new.) Leaving that early made it tricky to make sure we had all the babysitting stuff figured out. I have to thank my mom for going the extra mile and helping us get those early morning hours covered!! My mom is the best!!
{Enjoying our 'little plates' dinning experience in Boston.}
My sister Darby (who is watching 5 of my 6 kids while we are gone) had an ultrasound at 8:30am to find out what sex her first baby is going to be. That's why they couldn't come out to our house before we left at the crack of dawn. I was so excited to find out when we landed in Boston (via text messaging) that Darby and Jon are having a BOY!!! SO EXCITING!!!! I can't wait to see the little guy. Its always especially exciting to see someone's first baby and find out how the genes are going to mix and who their babies are going to look more like the mom or the dad.
We didn't have that much time to hang out in Boston last night, but from what I was able to see its a really great city with a lot of personality. There is so much history that happened here, and once I learn more about that history I would love to bring my older kids here so we can see the sites with them. This year for our homeschool we are studying 'modern history' which begins in the 1700's. So hopefully by next year this time I'll be well versed in the history of Boston. I sure hope so!!! Its never as fun visiting if you don't know much about the city, its history, geography, etc...
Scott and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary on September 11th...WOW!! Its crazy to think its been 11 years. What is even harder to believe is the fact that I am more in LOVE with Scott and HAPPIER with life in general than I've ever been. Who says getting older isn't the way to go is messed up. The older I get and the more kids I've had the better life gets!!! WOO-HOO!!!
A month or so ago Scott told me about his trip to Boston and New York for work that just happened to be the week before our anniversary. He suggested that I come with him and then we could stay a few extra days in NY (after he was done with his Revolution Tour), and celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. Of course I was on board, and thanks to my sister and mom who are watching our kids I was able to have a few days of vacation.
Our one night in Boston was spent with the InfusionSoft team that is here for the Revolution Tour. We ate dinner at a cute little Italian Restaurant who's signature was 'little plates.' Basically they kept the prices the same but cut the portions in 1/3. I should have taken a picture to document it. Each of us ended up ordering three 'little plates' to fill us up for the night. The food was great, and from a marketing point of view the concept was impressive. From a budget point of view it was definitely expensive. Oh well everyone enjoyed themselves, and I guess that is all that matters in those situations right?
{Here I am with our 'Water Taxi' driver.}
{Just finished our boat ride.}
One of the coolest things we did last night was take the 'Water Taxi' across Boston Harbor so we could get to Hanover Street which is the Italian District in Boston and full of lots of tasty restaurants. Living in Arizona where its dry, hot, and no ocean bays nearby it was a novelty to take a little boat ride.
Scott is finishing up his Boston Revolution Tour in an hour or so, and then we fly out to NY at 4. He has a Revolution tour in NY tomorrow, and then we are going to hang out in NY for a few days before we head home. I am really hoping we can catch a few shows while we are in NY!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE musicals!!!
{Enjoying our 'little plates' dinning experience in Boston.}My sister Darby (who is watching 5 of my 6 kids while we are gone) had an ultrasound at 8:30am to find out what sex her first baby is going to be. That's why they couldn't come out to our house before we left at the crack of dawn. I was so excited to find out when we landed in Boston (via text messaging) that Darby and Jon are having a BOY!!! SO EXCITING!!!! I can't wait to see the little guy. Its always especially exciting to see someone's first baby and find out how the genes are going to mix and who their babies are going to look more like the mom or the dad.
We didn't have that much time to hang out in Boston last night, but from what I was able to see its a really great city with a lot of personality. There is so much history that happened here, and once I learn more about that history I would love to bring my older kids here so we can see the sites with them. This year for our homeschool we are studying 'modern history' which begins in the 1700's. So hopefully by next year this time I'll be well versed in the history of Boston. I sure hope so!!! Its never as fun visiting if you don't know much about the city, its history, geography, etc...
Scott and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary on September 11th...WOW!! Its crazy to think its been 11 years. What is even harder to believe is the fact that I am more in LOVE with Scott and HAPPIER with life in general than I've ever been. Who says getting older isn't the way to go is messed up. The older I get and the more kids I've had the better life gets!!! WOO-HOO!!!
{Here I am with our 'Water Taxi' driver.}
{Just finished our boat ride.}Scott is finishing up his Boston Revolution Tour in an hour or so, and then we fly out to NY at 4. He has a Revolution tour in NY tomorrow, and then we are going to hang out in NY for a few days before we head home. I am really hoping we can catch a few shows while we are in NY!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE musicals!!!
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