Blessings

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. We received that message on a card from a friend of ours yesterday, which was really weird because a talk in church on Sunday was about the same thing. He said if we are blessed with certain things then it is our responsibility to take care of it and use it to bless others. He is our next door neighbor and they have a huge yard and since he is blessed with a huge yard he is responsible for taking care of it and using it to bless others. I love looking at their yard and all their flowers and vegetables, it makes me want to take care of the yard that I have been blessed with. I am truly grateful for where my family lives. We have great neighbors and friends and schools and church. I am grateful for great health, exercise, happiness, hard work and the ability to enjoy life as Heavenly Father would have it. I enjoy my children and husband tremendously and marvel at them every time I see them and wonder what I did to deserve this. They are truly wonderful. I hope that with all that I am blessed with that I will use them in a manner pleasing those around me.

Snooze Button

The Snooze Button is my best friend. She says it's okay to sleep a little bit longer. The winter months make it so hard to get up out of bed. The bed is so warm and the house still so cold. My mom would take naps during the day and tell us kids what time she would have to get up. We would go in to tell her it is time to get up, she would always say, "just five more minutes", go back in the room five minutes later, again "just five more minutes". I love my mom and I love the snooze button, they both say, "just five more minutes".

Last Two Items of Business

Scouting, Scouting, Scouting, fun, fun, fun! We finished the last two items of business today for Jon to receive his Wolf and 7, count them 7, which means we did 70 electives to earn 7 arrow heads, one gold and six silver. We did the easiest things we could find in the book which were wrapping a present and learning to tie a necktie for the last two arrow points. He loves scouts. I think Scouts is weird, but at least it gives boys a chance to grow and learn and associate with friends.

5 Hours

We watched 5 hours of chess on Saturday morning. I know, I know what you're thinking, "AWESOME". Jon enjoys this game, he does chess club at school and this is just one tournament of a hopeful few that he will do. There were different age groups which helps. K-3, 4-6, Jr. High and High School. When we went to find the table for Jon's first round, his opponent was already sitting there. He said to Jon, "I don't play very well". I walked away shaking my head and chuckling. This kid really did NOT play very well. It was a sight to see. At one point in the game he was actually standing next to Jon and then he was leaning over the chess board, Jon had to hold his chess pieces down so the little boy wouldn't move them, chess pieces were sucked on and knocked to the ground, one got lost in the bleachers, this kid was obviously in Kindergarten. The game finally ended in stale mate. The next 4 rounds this little boy was usually close by where Jon played so we would watch and laugh. It turned out to be a great experience for Jon and us. 3 stale mates, 1 loss, 1 win, a walk up to the podium for a participation medal so Jon can prove he's been there, done that.

Is There an Editor in the House?

Blog Safety: To do or not to do? Everyone is talking about blog safety and I keep going back and forth in my mind "should I edit my pictures of my kids and house or should I just forget it and hope nothing bad happens?" At Book Club last night I received my answer, I will edit. Like Nancy said, some guy is probably sitting on his couch in his underwear looking at all of these cute blogs with their cute kids and plotting (not an exact quote, because I was laughing when she was saying it) I don't want to meet that guy. So let the editing begin.

Yummy

It actually looks kind of gross now that it has been eaten. We cut it up and shared it, the maker (aka Jon) only had one slice, so I ate the rest, my body feels much better now.

Staring at Me

The maker of this caramel apple has yet to eat it. It keeps staring at me to eat it so I have obliged, but only the extra caramel and chocolate chips that flowed onto the plate. Do I dare eat it without permission? I do deserve it, my body aches from the workout on Monday night and maybe I should put it at ease by giving it something good to eat. This caramel apple will be gone by nightfall. Candy goodness on the outside, nutritious sweetness on the inside. What more can we ask for.

Weather the Storm, Whether the storm?

It is raining today and snowing, I went to vote this morning thinking there was going to be a long line, but there wasn't. I guess I went at the right time. It makes me feel grateful to live in America when I see all of our neighbors coming to the school to cast their vote. It is the one time that this country is unified in doing one thing for the common good.
This month I am in charge of doing Sharing Time in Primary. I am trying to make a good effort at working on it all week instead of right before I go to bed on Saturday night. This week's theme is "I am thankful for my body. I know my body is a temple." Having been in Primary for so long I forget that there is other curriculum besides the Friend and the Primary Manuals. I found a lot of articles about the word of wisdom and being worthy to enter the temple, but the one article that I devoured was one by Harold B. Lee titled "Take Time to be Holy". It brings to mind that along with keeping my physical body healthy and happy that I also need to take the time to keep my spiritual body healthy and happy also. I will try to be better at taking time to be holy so when need be I can weather the storm. I hope it will be a good sharing time, I already have some pretty good ideas. Sam is making this very difficult to type, why does he want everything I have!

What A Beautiful Family

What a good sport he/she is! And thank goodness we only do this once a year. Emeline dressed up as a chihuahua dog and Jon came as a piece of paper.