Words You Want to Hear

Kyara came and sat down next to me and said, "Mom, first of all -- you look cute today!" Really, I don't remember what "second of all" was. I like Kyara!

Kyara's College Choices

Ever since Kyara took her ACT and SAT, she's been recruited by many different colleges. The Pratt Institute in New York, Northland College in Wisconsin, the University of Nebraska (too bad she doesn't play football!), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Wah?), Tulane University, Florida Institute of Technology, Northern Arizona University (a strong contender) and of course, good ole BYU! My favorite, though, is Colorado School of Mimes. Umm, mimes? OK, on closer look, I discovered it was Colorado School of Mines. But, really, is that much better?

In Honor of 9/11

Whether you are Republican or Democrat or Independent, this is a great story in honor of our country. This is not an endorsement of either Huckabee or McCain, just a really great story.

Another great blog!

I stole this from Margaret (of Clark and Margaret Proffitt fame)! Too funny! Gotta love LDS culture and our ability to not take ourselves too seriously!

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week

Many of you have shown me lots of love and concern over my health. After lots of testing and diagnostics, the doctors have ruled out most of the recognizable and understandable diseases like multiple sclerosis, thyroid disease, lupus, and sleep apnea. What I'm left with, unfortunately, is chronic fatigue syndrome.

I have been very frustrated with this disease, especially with the fact that it is difficult to explain and it just won't go away! I started a separate blog a little while back to kind of journal what was going on with me and how I felt about it. It was also to track my good days and bad days to try to see patterns and triggers that would help me manage this better.

So, in honor of Invisible Illness Awareness Week, I am "coming out of the closet!" I'm going to share my blog with everyone, so hopefully you can understand a little bit more about chronic fatigue and why I twitch and get flaky sometimes.

http://livingthecfslife.blogspot.com/

Cake Wrecks

What an odd and fun blog I just found! Who would have come up with the idea to do a whole blog about cakes gone wrong? Today's post was freakin' hilarious! Check it out:

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

52 Weeks Blessing

This is kind of a funny blessing. We like to open our windows up at night to cool the house. Then, in the morning, we go through and shut the house up again to keep it as cool as possible during the day.

Well, typically, I'm the last one to come downstairs in the morning, after everyone else has taken off for work and school. It used to annoy me that no one bothers to close the windows, but they leave it for me to take care.

Except, today, as I came in, I noticed that fresh sunshine smell in my kitchen. You know, the one that makes line-dried laundry smell so fantastic. There's not an air freshener in the world that can make a room smell better ... especially the kitchen! So, I decided this morning that I'm grateful everyone leaves the windows open until I take care of it, because my kitchen smells nicer and I actually get to enjoy it!

Shelli's Amazing Feat!

Is this not true? As women, we have a tendency to put others before ourselves. Nowhere is this more evident than in our bedrooms! Since this is the last place people see, this is the last place that gets our attention. Wrong thinking! The bedroom should be our little paradise.

So, with that in mind, I dedicated my first back to school week to my bedroom. It only took me three days of less than an hour of work each day. What heavenly results!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Daughters of God

What a great Relief Society lesson I had on Sunday! What a great and welcome topic! To begin with, I challenged all the moms, especially those with young children, to have their HUSBANDS teach this talk for Family Home Evening: Daughters of God, Elder M. Russel Ballard, May 2008 Ensign.

I recently read about a survey that said that childless couples were 6% more happy and satisfied with their lives than couples with children. Hmmm. I imagine the pollster first calling the childless wife at home about 6 pm. She left work about an hour ago. She is getting ready to spontaneously go out to dinner with her husband to celebrate the raise she just got at work. Apparently, the project she just finished was really appreciated by her boss. The house, of course, is neat and tidy, because there was no one to mess it up while she was gone -- and her husband already picked his clothes up off the floor this morning. She responds positively to the pollster.

The next pollster again calls at 6 pm, and this time he gets this: Just Leave Me to My Hormonal Rage!

Being a mom is hard! Elder Ballard says, "We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult. Through my own four-generation experience in our family, and through discussions with mothers of young children throughout the Church, I know something of a mother’s emotions that accompany her commitment to be at home with young children. There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives."

He then goes on to offer several things that we can do, as young mothers, to reduce the pressure and enjoy our families more. "First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."

Take a moment to think about some of those shining moments. I remember about two years ago, Rom took Gavin (who was about 4) with him to buy me See's candies for Mother's Day. He told Gavin it was a surprise. Later, when I was in the car with them, Gavin started to say, "We bought you some choc --" Rom cut him off, "Whoa, buddy, that's a surprise!" Gavine then said, "Yeah, it's a surprise ... but it's not chocolate!" Nice save, Gavin!

If you're having a hard time calling to mind those joyful moments, then it is time you start looking harder for them. This is especially important for those of your children who may be going through one of those "difficult" stages. Find the joy in each child.

"Second, don’t overschedule yourselves or your children. Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together." Overscheduling also makes it difficult to find the moments of joy.

"Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."

We had the best discussion about this! I appreciate the warnings. If you are tempted towards substance abuse, then you are trying to be superwoman, and that is impossible! It's time to lower your expectations and start saying no! If you spend a lot of time on the Internet (like I often do), that could be a signal that you are not getting the "me time" and enriching activities that you crave. As you add meaningful activities to your life, you will naturally find yourself less immersed on the computer.

Some sisters mentioned the guilt they feel when they take time for themselves. Here is a prophet of God telling you that not only is it OK to take care of yourself, but it is essential! I love my book club. I love indulging in my passion, reading. I love discovering new and interesting books that I normally would never read, because someone else recommended it. I love the mentally stimulating discussions we have afterwards. I especially love the friendship, love, and admiration I feel towards these women. Again, as Elder Ballard says, "Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it." No guilt allowed!

"Fourth, pray, study, and teach the gospel. Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother. Parents can offer a unique and wonderful kind of prayer because they are praying to the Eternal Parent of us all. There is great power in a prayer that essentially says, 'We are steward-parents over Thy children, Father; please help us to raise them as Thou wouldst want them raised.'"

I would add a fifth suggestion. Don't compare yourself to others! Elder Ballard says, "There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family."

There are sacred moments you have when you are alone, holding your newborn in your arms. I remember one moment when Romney was born. I was alone, holding this little one fresh from the arms of his Father in Heaven. The impression came to me from the Spirit, very distinctly, that Romney needed exactly me to help him back to his Father. No one else could do it; no one else would love him quite the way I do; I was here especially for him.

I believe that children are given to us, not in spite of our weaknesses and faults, but because of them. They need us, complete with strengths, talents, weaknesses, and faults, to help them get back home to Heavenly Father.

I would like to see another survey done. I would like to have the pollsters follow up with those couples twenty years from now. I think they would get a much different answer.

Me, Anneli!

Just to let everyone know that doesn't know I made a blog now you know! If you want to see it(it's not as exciting as this one of course but I made like four posts today!) go to http://ana-theyoungblogger.blogspot.com/ because it's so awesome! If you're not looking at my blog you're missing out! Please look at it! I had no idea what to name this title!