Help Me Out Here....

Okay, seriously, I need your help. I have been hearing about the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. So many people have raved about these books. They must be good. Otherwise I might be able to get my hands on a copy at our libraries here! Do any of you (who live near me) have a copy of the series that I could borrow? Pretty please??? I could make a trade for some cookies or some celery or something!

Let me know....I can hardly wait!

Mosiah 5

Barry and I started (a few months ago) reading the chapters of scripture for the Sunday School lessons each week. We send each other an email each day reporting the things we learned and impressions we may have received. It's been such a rewarding process. It helps me to really focus on what I'm reading and to seek the whisperings of the Spirit to hear what I need to learn, it gives me an insight into my husband's mind and heart, and it gives us something meaningful to discuss in the evenings.

Today I was reading in The Book of Mormon from Mosiah chapter 5. In verse 4 it says that King Benjamin's people rejoiced "with such exceedingly great joy" over the things which their king had taught them (to remember what he taught, see http://scriptures.lds.org/en/mosiah/4). As I read that I was thinking "I want to feel such great joy more often in my life." I spend so much time feeling sorry for myself, inadequate, or depressed over the fact that I and my life are not perfect (like I want them to be in my head). Silly, I know, but it's true. Anyway, in the next verse it says that the people entered into a covenant with God to do His will, obey His commandments, etc. Then a light went off in my head. Ding! I did that too. I made covenants with God and I recovenant with Him each Sunday while partaking of the Sacrament. Then my thoughts were led to the temple and how I feel so full of love and joy each time I go. And I always leave with a huge sense of peace and desire to serve Him. So, when I want to feel such exceedingly great joy I need to go to church each Sunday and take the Sacrament in the right Spirit and I need to visit the temple often (which is not often convenient, but totally worth the effort/money/time)!

I am so grateful for the scriptures and for a husband who inspires me to read and understand them! Just taking a few minutes out of my day to sit and think about nothing other than those words has truly benefited me today. It's nice to feel joyful, even when things aren't perfect. =)

Today

Today is Wednesday.


The End.


Good story, huh?! Just kidding. Yesterday I was downloading some pictures from our camera onto our computer. Then I started looking through our hundreds (or thousands) of other photos from the past. It was so fun. Every time I got to a new set of pictures I thought "I should post those on my blog." That's as far as it went because I had other stuff that needed to get done. You know, like cleaning my house, feeding kids, cleaning up after kids, and getting ready for my night out with Barry. Yes, we had a date night (I mean, like a real one away from home with no kids). The first one in two months. It was great.

And you now what? I would post some pictures right now except that Alton is in my lap. You know what that means, I am sure. A two year old sitting in your lap. That means more wiggling than you can stand. And his head keeps finding its way right into my view of the computer. Which means that I can hardly see what I am typing. Also, Evy is actually sleeping right now so I need to take advantage and exercise and shower while she's not wanting to be held! Maybe I will feel ambitious tonight while Barry is at Scouts and basketball and post while the kids are sleeping so peacefully in their beds.


We'll see.

My Barry-licious

What is his name? Barry

How long have we been married? Seven years in June

How long did we date? We technically dated for only a month before becoming engaged (with a three or four month engagement, I can't remember the details). But, we were friends for about a year before we got smart and realized that we were falling in love.

How old is he? 29, which is threateningly close to 30!

Who said I love you first? Barry did. He technically said that he was falling more in love with me every day. So sweet. I remember it quite clearly.

Who is taller? He is, by about 5 inches.

Who sings better? Well, I have had a lot more training. But, Barry has a great voice (even though he is very shy about sharing it) and he is soooo much better at harmonizing. I'm just one of those dopey sopranos. He is also a really good mostly self-taught guitar player (again, he would never tell that to anyone).

Who is smarter? Barry is much smarter. He is also much more curious than I am. He loves to learn about new things.

Whose temper is worse? Definitely mine. :(

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who does the laundry? I do the laundry during the day while Barry is at work. Although, he is ALWAYS willing to jump in and help when he is home. I try to get it done before he gets here.

Who cooks dinner? I am the cook in the house. Barry does enjoy grilling, which is nice because I don't like to grill but love to eat grilled foods! He is also always willing to do the dishes after I've cooked. He's awesome!

Who drives when we are together? Barry, thankfully. I hate driving! Especially on a long road trip. I just wanna curl up and go to sleep (I think that drives him a little crazy, though, 'cuz he needs me to help him stay awake). But, we really don't take road trips very often anyway.

Who is more stubborn? Well, we are both quite stubborn. I am just more vocal about what I want. He is usually willing to do what I want to make me happy. He's too good.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Even though I'm usually the one that is wrong, Barry always apologizes first. He always has.

Whose parents do you see more? Definitely his. His Mom lives in our neighborhood. Although, his Dad passed away while Barry was on his mission, so I never met him.

Who has more friends?I definitely need my friends more. Barry isn't nearly so needy as I am. He's usually content to just be with our little family and to work things out on his own.

Who wears the pants in the family? I've never really liked that saying. Barry and I decide things together. Neither one of us is the boss of the other (although I do tend to get bossy sometimes because I'm a dork).

Who eats more sweets? It's a tie. We are a bad influence on each other, and both tend to cave in whenever the other is partaking of sugar.

Who mows the lawn? Thankfully, Barry. And, Alton usually helps with his bubble lawn mower!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If I'm looking at the bed, I sleep on the right side. It's further from the door but closer to the bathroom (I was pregnant when we moved in to this house...need I say more?).

Who asked who out first? I asked Barry out first. I was tired of waiting on him.

Who kissed whom first? I kissed him first. I'm a terrible influence.

What is my favorite thing about him? It's hard to pick just one thing. He has a constant desire to improve himself in every aspect (which motivates me to be better, too). He is a hard worker. When he comes home from a tiring day of work during the week, he does everything he can to relieve me of my duties with the house and kids. He can always make me laugh. I really could go on and on about Barry. He's the best!

No More Strike

The no naps thing was really getting to me so I decided to start having Alton take his naps in the crib again. He always asks to sleep in there anyway. I think he knows that he's tired and that if he's in Evy's room in the crib he won't have any temptations staring him in the face. So, he is back to taking 2-3 hour naps. Woo hoo!! And, Evy just sleeps in the pack n play and has been finally taking two really good naps a day (and sometimes a short third one in the evening). I tell you, life is much easier when I get a little break. And, the kids, of course, are much happier when they are well rested.

It's really time to start working on the garden. I'm definitely stalling on that one. So much work, so many bugs (as I type this there are two wasps swarming outside my window)! But, it is really great to just walk in the backyard and pick out your veggies for dinner. It should be worth the effort. And at least this summer I won't be pregnant so that should make it more manageable as well.

Last week I exercised every day and tracked points (ate pretty well) and gained 1-1/2 pounds. I know everyone says "but, it's muscle!" That doesn't make me feel any better when I am paying the money each month (money that I would love to spend on something more fun) to lose the weight. I know it's normal to have weeks like that. It just feels like it's taking forever to get this weight off. And, darn it, I want to be rid of it this very instant! So much for what I want....=) Slow and steady wins the race, right?! I've definitely got the slow part down.

Whining...I'm really good at it

Honestly, people, someday I will come back to you. The thought of sifting through the myriad of pictures from the last month or so is so intimidating and exhausting and yucky and scary and....need I say more? My kids have suddenly gone on strike. They have been refusing to take naps for the last week almost. So, you can imagine what it has been like for me to get anything done around here. My house is a disaster, my kitchen floor looks like someone has smeared food from one end to the next. Oh wait, someone did do that. Well, sort of. Can anyone guess who?? Anyone? Anyone? Bueler? Yeah, it was the kid...Alton. He loves to smear, sling, and drop food all over the place when I am not looking and when I am looking. I mean, what kid doesn't? Anyway, it's not that I'm complaining or anything cause it's really fun having the kitchen floor all covered with food and other random nastiness. But, that is really not the point. Where was I? Well, anyway I suppose I was just gonna complain some more. The fact is that it is really hard for me to do much of anything when my kids don't sleep. When they don't sleep they're cranky and need more attention. You know how it goes. The really hard part (I know I'm a weenie) is that Barry and I have hardly seen each other for more than a few minutes at a time this week. Mostly due to Barry's new calling as Scout Master. It's been a crazy week. So, I've sorta kinda been a single Mommy and it's sorta kinda been really hard for me. (Sigh) That's why I have no desire to sort through all those darn pictures. When I finally get the kids in bed at night (thank goodness they sleep so well at night!) I just want to read for a few minutes and go to bed. Someday I will post some more pictures of my little cuties cause they really and truly are adorable.

Have you seen the movie, Enchanted? I think it's so cute and fun. "How does she know you love her? How does she know for sure?...." That song's been stuck in my head since Wednesday. Just thought I'd share.

I'm gonna go try and burn a few calories before bed (weigh in tomorrow morning) and mop my kitchen floor. Seriously.

Peace out.

Here I Am

So, it's been a while. I have been out of town and had in-home visitors so I've been quite occupied lately. Now the kids and I are sick. =( I have a lot of pictures to sort through before I can make a proper post. But, know that they are coming....