To My Readers

Merry Christmas and
Happy 200th Post!

A while ago I was going to stop blogging. I'd started to slack and wasn't enjoying it like I used to. This blog was started to keep the Grandparents (who I dearly love) in touch with us on a regular basis. It wasn't until last April that it ever occured to me that it could be more than that. I recieved a challenge to make my blog an evidence that there is JOY IN LIFE. Since then I have diversified my blog from the picture updates of my children to include much more. When I got discouraged my husband showed my I could see my statistics for my blog. I have been amazed at how many of you are reading my blog. I have been inspired by this and tried to share more of myself.

To all of you who keep coming back to my blog to see what we've been up to...Thank You!  I find myself looking for fun activities and projects to do with my family in anticipation of sharing those experiences with all of you.  (And getting excited about finnishing a project and documenting the success.)  And when I have a terrible day I think how it really would be funny to share with you as looking back on the catastrophies of life give us a good laugh once they have passed.  So thank you for inspiring me, I enjoy sharing my life with you.

Perspective

As the mother of two little boys I have to admit that there are days when I would be happy to rent them out to the highest bidder just to give me a break.  And there are some days when I really wonder why we thought we could handle two little ones this close together.  These boys are starting to come into their own lately and can be very opinionated and stubborn (though they get both from me). 

I was starting to get very frustrated with them and even wondering what I was doing wrong for a while and was really in need of a change of perspective.  A couple weeks ago my littlest got the flu.  I was up with min until late at night.  My heart ached watching him try to sleep.  He'd wake up just long enough to vomit and then settle back into the towel I'd wrapped him up in and go back to sleep.  It didn't last long but it was sure hard on him. 

My older boy got that same illness but it wasn't as bad.  Ten days later, out of nowhere, he got a fever of 102.  I treated him with Tylenol but it didn't do much good.  The poor guy had a high fever into the night.  At 2:00 AM he got up to go to the bathroom and I got up to check on him.  His fever was still high and I was worried.  Long story short I didn't end up taking him to the ER and I sat with him for the next hour until his fever finally broke and he rested.  Again, it was very hard to watch him be so miserable.

So, since then I've had a little more appreciation for these little ones in my house.  I'm so blessed to have a full home.  These boys may be crazy at times but I am so grateful that they are well.  So, I'm hugging them a little more often and counting to ten before I get upset.  I even let them help make the chocolate pretzels (it was a little messy but they did good).  I am so blessed to have the love of the boys that live in my house and I hope they know how much I love them.

For those of you who are wondering, that is the neighbor's puppy.  It's so cute but I could not handle a dog right now.  It's been fun to get to enjoy him a bit without being responsible for him. 



Christmas Caramels Recipe

This is my FAVORITE Christmas treat!  I found the recipe on allrecipes.com  I've modified it a bit so this is the altered recipe.

Caramel Candies
2 Cups Brown Sugar
2 1/2 Cups White Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Butter
1 1/2 Cups Corn Syrup
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup + 2 Tbsp Milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine ingredients in a large saucepan (atleast 5 qts) over medium high heat.  Heat to 240 degrees (soft ball stage).  Pour into a greased 9 X 13 pan.  Let cool for 9-12 hours before cutting.  I like to cut it into bite size pieces and wrap in wax paper like tootsie rolls.

I wanted to post a picture but they are gone so maybe next time.  Trust me, they're good.

This The Season

A couple of years ago we had a church activity with the ladies and the theme was "All Is Calm."  We made a sign with vinyl letters to take home to remind us of what we learned.  Christmas can be a real pain as it's far to easy to bury yourself in your shopping and to do lists and not get to enjoy the things that really make Christmas special.  So, in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas I'd like to share a few things that bring that Christmas Calm into my life and make me love this time of year.

1. Watching The Forgotten Carols- I love the music and cry every time.  My favorite is the song that talks about needing to find our way and how Christ is the Way.

2. Watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.

3. Going caroling or delivering treats to friends and neighbors.  Try not to go overboard with the treats (I always do) and pick some people you don't know very well.  You will be surprised how good it feels to surprise people.

4.  Take your family to see Christmas lights.  Especially if you have little ones, this is a great way to slow down and enjoy something simple.

5. Go shop for some toys to donate.  I want to teach my kids about giving and what better time of year to do so.

6.  Give a gift to Christ.  After all, it is his birthday and what better way to celebrate than thinking about what gift you would like to give Him this year.  Write it down in a journal or on a notecard where you can review it and work on it (if it's self improvement related).  It should be something sincere and simple.

7.  Attend the temple or perform some other act of service.  Anything that gets you away from that to do list is great.

8.  Do 12 days of Christmas for your spouse.  Write down one thing you appreciate about them each day.  I am finding that my husband often gets forgotten in my running around and I really need to do better about making him feel loved and appreciated.

9.  Finish your shopping early and enjoy the Spirit of the season.

Well, none of this is earth shattering and I hope this will give you some ideas for how to make your season bright.  Our last two Christmases have been rather hectic so I'm challenging myself to keep the calm this season and not get lost in what there is to do.  Merry Christmas!

An Interesting Week

In the past week I had a two year old sick and spitting up (which caused three extra loads of laundry due to my incapacity to wait to clean it up each time).  Got a call from the Home Depot saying my new washer and dryer are on backorder, which is only a problem since I noticed the drying smells like something is burning.  Got sick myself and had to call my husband home from work.  Eaten four cans of lemon lime soda and a half sleeve of soda crackers and that was all in a two day period.  Cleaned up a broken jar of marshino cherries after being dropped by a toddler.  Woken up to a four year old who peed the bed and/or a two year old who stuck his hand in is diaper and made a mess every day.  Woke up at 4 AM just to throw up.  Lost my temper with everyone who lives in my house.  Watched my two-year old break the handle off my dishwasher (it is not functional right now).  And been too sick to go grocery shopping.

Looking back I'm sure glad we made it through the week so well.  We also had some good moments.  We visited a nativity exhibit, I cleaned out my fridge an freezer, my two year old held my hand while I vomitted (every time), my husband took care of most meals for an entire week and did a fine job of it, I got to watch several good Christmas movies, found a great substitute for my Primary class, watched the Christmas Devotional with my family and almost have my appetite back.  It really is true that frustrating times make you appreciate the times that are better.  So, here's to getting healthy and enjoying each day we have to live our crazy lives.

I Can Change

The saddest thing I've ever heard are the words, "I can't change."  There are several reasons this saddens me.  First, you are human.  You are equipped with the ability to think, to decern, to decide and to do.  You are given the ability to think for yourself and if you decide you would like to change something you have the ability to decide and do so. Not that it is always easy but it is possible.

Second, doesn't that say something about your view of yourself when you acknowledge there is something you don't like about yourself but you don't have the ability to do anthing about it?  Do you really think so little of yourself to believe that you are merely stuck just are the way you are.  Maybe I'm just crazy but I believe you have power to make yourself into what you desire to be.  Like rock is shaped by water running over it, big changes take time, and you must be persistant.

Third, this is just untrue.  As you gain experience through life you do change.  No one is the same person at 30 that they were at 20.  There will be some growth there and saying "I'm just this way" is failing to acknowledge the progress you have made.  Don't give yourself so little credit.  Recognize your accomplishments.  Celebrate the progress you are making and let it encourage you.

My sister-in-law is always saying "I can do hard things."  I love that saying.  Say it, say it again and continue repeating it until you believe it.  You will face hard things in your life wether it is from your own choices or the decisions of others but you can endure.  You can achieve happiness and success by having confidence in yourself and your ability to grow, change, and overcome.  So go and make those changes.