Say a little prayer for ...me

Since we got married, I've had 3 kids in 3 1/2 years...and well all my cute "skinny" clothes don't fit...and neither does my wedding ring. So, I wake up in the middle of the night with a swollen finger and have to pry off my ring. Well, now, I can't find it. Sarah said she was "wearing, not playing" with it. So, please pray for me to find it! We are packing boxes and our house is already turned upside down...with a yardsale Saturday and a move the next week, I have to find it...I can't handle the stress! But then again, I am turning the big 3...0...this Sat and so if I don't end up finding it, I'll just have to buy a new one for my b-day! :) (But, I really want to find it!!)

Happy Birthday dear Sarah....huh?

So yesterday at Ballet, all the moms were out chatting and we hear song coming from our girl's classroom...they were singing Happy Birthday. We all looked around and said, "whose birthday is it?" No one knew, so we all listened intently to hear the song, and lo and behold, they sing, "Happy Birthday dear SARAH" ...huh? I laughed and said, but it isn't her birthday. I then claimed that maybe the teacher had it written down wrong on the sheet, since I was sure my little angel wouldn't flat out LIE and tell someone it was her birthday...I was wrong. She did in fact flat out say, "Today is my birthday, I'm 4." Although it was cute, we had to have a big talk on fibbing...especially to get attention. Now, I don't know where she is getting this from, I never liked being the center of attention, or the ham, or the comidian...oh wait...I guess she does gets it from me. :) Wow! I keep thinking I want another girl....but I worry that our family can only handle one Sarah! :)

"Don't tell me I can't do it!"

Okay, let me explain. After church today Sarah triumphantly showed me her picture. I praised her coloring and noticed that for the first time, by herself, she wrote her name on the back, all the letters were the right direction and in order!!! I was so happy! I wanted her to do it again, so I asked her, "Do you want to practice writing your name again?" She said, "no thanks." So then in my sneaky "reverse psycology" ways, I said, "I bet you can't write your name" and she went and got her paper and angrily said, "Don't tell me I can't do it, look here, I did do it already!" WOW, Sean and I looked at each other and had to laugh at her...what's the right word here, her "don't mess with me" attitude. She sure has sass! We love it!!! Wouldn't have it any other way, we like the spice in Sarah! It was so funny I just had to share! Maybe if I'm up to it, I'll scan in her work and post it later. :) It's late now.

The North Wind is coming!

Happy Valentines Day! What a wonderful holiday! I love this day! I love being a wife and mom and getting spoiled by my hot husband!

I wanted to share a favorite tradition from my childhood. On Valentines Day the North Wind blows through town and knocks on all the doors of the house and leaves treat bags for each member of the family. We would squeal and run from the front door to the back to the side and back to the front. Of coarse we had to wait for the wind to blow away before we could open the door. :) And my dad always seemed to miss the North wind. He always went for a Big Gulp and missed it! I love this tradition and love that Sean is a great sport to keep it up for my family. :) Do you have any other fun traditions for this day? Have a great day everyone!

Sarah Sayings:

Okay, today is a day I knew would come...but shuddered the thought of it coming. Today, Sarah said, "I hate you". Yes, she is only 4. I have NO IDEA where she heard this and I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know what it means because as she said it she laughed. I tried to calmly say, "what did you say?" and teach her we don't say that. I know I'm sure to hear it again in the future when I'll have to say no to something...but it still breaks my heart. We love our kids SO MUCH and just have to hope and pray they'll love us back. She also said today, "I'm freaking out!" It was funny. These are the other things she says...you try and guess which parent says this the most:
"Awesome blossom!"
"Dang it!"
"Holy Cow!"
"Oh crap"
"Let's roll" (I know, she's a mini gangster...:))
"Knuckles"
"Raise the roof"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Oh my gosh"

She is so cute. She also gets disciplined A LOT. I feel bad for her, being the older sibling. A lot is expected of her...and she's only 4. We sure love her, euphamisms and all! :)

Sore throat...not from the cold

That's right, I've been suffereing from a sore throat. The only problem is it is because I was yelling at my kids all day. I litterally was loosing my voice. My mission presidents wife told a story of how she went to bed with a sore throat from yelling at her 9 kids, and realized she needed to work on patience, and at the time, I was pretty judgemental of her, thinking, "oh, I'll never be that way." Oh contrare...I totally ate my words...I fell victim to the "easy" way of parenting...also the ineffective and destructive way. Our tempers can totally mess up our kids. I think mom's especially set the tone of the home. If the mom can stay calm and collected, usually the rest follow suit. There are some quotes that I have up on my walls to help me remember how to act. I think I'll share them:

Speaking about controlling anger, President Hinckley has taught: “Who can calculate the wounds inflicted, their depth and pain, by harsh and mean words spoken in anger? How pitiful a sight is a man who is strong in many ways but who loses all control of himself when some little thing, usually of no significant consequence, disturbs his equanimity. In every marriage there are, of course, occasional differences. But I find no justification for tempers that explode on the slightest provocation. …
“A violent temper is such a terrible, corrosive thing. And the tragedy is that it accomplishes no good; it only feeds evil with resentment and rebellion and pain. To any man or boy within the sound of my voice who has trouble controlling his tongue, may I suggest that you plead with the Lord for the strength to overcome your weakness, that you apologize to those you have offended, and that you marshal within yourselves the power to discipline your tongue.”7 (Feb 2008 Ensign, pg. 57).

The other quote I have written in my scriptures is from Elder Wirthlin, from his talk, "The Virtue of Kindnes".

"The things you say, the tone of your voice, the anger or calm of your words—these things are noticed by your children and by others. They see and learn both the kind and the unkind things we say or do. Nothing exposes our true selves more than how we treat one another in the home."

So, hopefully I can practice what I preach and "cure" this sore throat!

President Hinckley: Man of Faith

What can I say? My heart is full. Our dear prophet has passed away. He was an optimist...a hard worker...a communicator...a father...and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be missed by millions world wide. I know he was a prophet of God. As he entered the Marriott Center at BYU for a Tuesday Devotional, thousands rose to our feet and sang, "We Thank thee oh God for a prophet." I truely felt heat come over my body and I was startled at my physical reaction. The spirit was testifying to me of his mantle. I am so thankful to live in an age when the gospel has been restored and God has a living prophet on the earth to communicate with us. I love that it is his signiture on my mission call and on my diplomas from BYU. I loved his humor and will try to walk a little taller and do a little better all my life. He will be greatly missed. We love you President Hinckley.