A Miracle! Smart Habit Saturday

It was almost as if a miracle happened!

Thursday and Friday I awakened without an alarm clock, early! Thursday at 5:00am and Friday at 4:13(got up at 5:30)! To those of you that know me you know that I have been striving to get up early for the majority of my adult life. I have been trying to get up so that my family can have scripture study and prayers in the morning. It has been a huge struggle.

Well, two days! My husband asked me if I was ill. I just woke up! I am hoping that I have finally crossed over and will be able to incorporate this habit into our lives. I was very aware of how getting up early affected the family.

Thursday they were reluctant but still participated, then the two middle ones fell back asleep. When they woke back back an hour or so later they were cranky. #2 didn't want to practice the piano, #3 was slow and stubborn. So, I decided that they really should not go back to sleep.
Friday we started again. No complaints, we read, prayed and then everyone went about doing the things that needed done. #2 practiced the piano with very few complaints and I believe he even actually made a bit of progress! #3 got herself ready without me having to get cranky with her. She was actually ready to go to school 15 minutes early!

So, we have made progress! I hope that we can continue to make this a part of our lives. I know that it is important. I don't know if my children are really getting much understanding out of reading 1/2 a chapter a morning but I feel that it is important for them to know that we have been instructed to have family scripture study so we are doing it. I hope that someday they will look back at their lives and know that we as their parents did try to teach them.

Other updates for my life goals.

*Exercise--I have had to take a break due to my plantar fasciitis treatments(doing much better)
*Personal Scripture reading-I am doing so much better! The Hinkley challenge has really motivated me. I have been listening and reading and I am actually about 10 pages ahead of schedule!
*Family Scripture Study-Making progress
*Family Home Evening-still needs improvement but we are having our discussions. We always participate in the ward and we are trying to have our personal FHE on Sunday nights so I guess that this is progress.
*Lowering Voice-not yelling--this has improved significantly! We implemented a new work chart in FHE a few weeks ago and it has helped so much. I believe that I am learning and making progress. It is something that I will have to work on forever. I am trying to learn to not just react, to act.

I am going to add a few EXTRA's this week. I want to start to actually do some things that I enjoy. Things that I feel will give me personally a boost. I want to sew some bags and start to scrapbook again.

The problem that I have is that if there are messes in my house I can not create! If there are things that are in total chaos I feel guilty if I spend time doing "extra" things. So, I am going to try really hard to keep my house in a bit more balance so that I can allow myself time to do some other things.

What does it mean to me to have my house in "balance"
*kitchen clean--dishes done, counter clear, dining table empty and pretty
*floors empty-toys picked up, dirty clothes picked up, vacuumed
*laundry going-not overflowing
*bathrooms-clean
*bedrooms-picked up, beds made( I am the only one that appreciates this-but it is huge for me)

These seem like reasonable expectations. However, if I am the only one that is implementing these things it is just too much. So, this is where the chore chart for the children has come in. They have a few things that they must do every day and it has helped!

The other thing that I must learn is CONSISTENCY! I have to continually maintain or have other people help maintain. ie, put shoes away, put dirty clothes away, hang coats up, Garbage in garbage, etc. Don't wait, do it now.

If you are interested in learning more or participating in Smart Habit Saturday check out the Lazy Organizer

Perspective

The ordinary acts we practice

everyday at home are of

more importance to the

soul than their simplicity

might suggest.

-Thomas Moore

Will I Ever Learn?

I am not a born organized person-the reason for the name of this blog. However, I am trying to learn. I am walking around my house picking things up. I realize that my own coat and sweater are still in the family room from the track meet. I go to put them away in my bedroom. As I look around my bedroom I realize that I have a few other sweaters/jackets that need to be put away.

Ok, why do we do this to ourselves? I know that I am trying to teach my children to pick up after themselves. I constantly tell them to hang up their clothes, put the dirty stuff in the hamper, throw the garbage away instead of leaving it on the counter.

Yet, here I am. THE ADULT! The one that is supposed to be a role model

This is the pile of sweaters/jackets that I picked up. Obviously, this is not from one day.

Will this ever improve? How does one make the improvements that will really improve life? I know that these are questions that people have asked throughout time. However, is there truly a way to overcome the way we are now to become the person that we know we are capable of?

Happy Day

Oh! Happy Day!

I found crocus growing in my flower bed!! That is definately a sign of spring!

I also found this to look at, spring cleanup. I am not going to fret about that, I am going to enjoy the melting snow and my beautiful little flowers!

Foot Pain Update

I went to the foot Dr. again. My pain (plantar fasciitis) is almost gone, but there is still a strange awareness of it. So he did another set of cortisone injections into my heel area. The cyst is looking much better. It was about 30% smaller than two weeks ago, it is also solidifying (that is good). Hopefully this will be the end of this problem with my foot.

For those of you that are thinking of beginning an exercise program. Know that stretching your feet is very important. This type of injury is VERY common. Stretch the foot by sitting with your leg outstretched, then pull your big toe gently back towards your leg until you feel the stretch in the bottom of your foot and up your calf muscle. Many foot problems happen because of tight calf muscles! You have to manually pull the foot with your hand, not just move your foot using your ankle, the stretch is not the same.

Stretch so that you don't ever get plantar fasciitis!

Check out others for more ideas for Talk about Tuesday with the Lazy Organizer.

Things Change or Do They?

Remember the line from Fiddler on the Roof, "Sunrise, Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset" I remember Tevia singing the song about his daughters and how the time flies so quickly.

Today I took pictures of my four beautiful children in their new Easter clothes. Then I remember a picture of me and my brothers and sister in our Easter clothes. How times change yet how they stay the same!

(Oh, how I LOVED that little blue cape my Mom made! It had beautiful striped buttons and was lined with red. I remember feeling so beautiful as we walked home from church. I was extra lucky because I was the younger sister so I got my sister's cape when she outgrew it!)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

We have decorated eggs, the bunny brought surprises and now we are on a chocolate high!

Life is Good!

Curious

Do you ever just want to step away from your life for a few minutes? That is how I feel right now. I want to do something different for a little bit. The problem that I have with this is that I struggle finding the ever elusive BALANCE. If I take a day and do nothing but read, sew, scrapbook, etc. then it seems that the other aspects of my life fall apart.

How does one find the correct balance so that life has many different things that are all possible? I didn't say possible all at one time, I am aware that that isn't reality.

What do very energetic and highly motivated people do to stay focused on what has to be done ( laundry, dishes, work etc.) yet allows the creative freedom to do some other pursuits as well?

Fun Song

Just for fun!

I found this funny song that I have added to my side bar. Click on the play button and listen. If you belong to the LDS church you will understand this. If not a Stripling Warrior is a Man of God, someone that honors God, women, children and his mother.

Enjoy

Dance Competition

My girls are dancers.

They go to dance class every week. Miss A has taken dance since she was five years old she is now almost fifteen. That is a lot of dance lessons! Miss E has taken for three years.

This weekend was a dance (clogging) competition in

Pocatello Idaho. Miss A had to compete Friday night and E Saturday afternoon. So, we picked all the kids up from school and drove the two hours. She danced(very well) and then we slept in the parking lot.(in our motorhome)

These are some pictures of the event. What usually happens is a whole bunch of "Hurry up and Wait!" We were given incorrect times so, we were an hour early, which is actually one hour before competition time. Well, the stage was running an hour behind! So, do the math, we sat around for three hours!

This is one of the experiences we give our children that we wonder if it is really worth it in the long run. Obviously I have decided that it is or we wouldn't still be doing it ten years later!

Sweetness!

This Boy Makes Me Smile!

Princesses on Ice

Wow!

I have never seen so many little princesses in one place! Last evening my best friend and I took our little girls to Disney's Princesses on Ice. It was quite a show. These two darling little girls absolutely loved it!

The entire day was just about them. We went to dinner and then the show. It was a sight to behold. Hundreds of little girls dresses up as Princesses. I was able to get quite a few really good pictures so that these little girls can remember their fun night forever!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It has been twenty years since my Dad's death. I still remember his birthday. I remember one birthday, I believe it was his 41st. We had made a cake and then put 41 trick candles on it. Those candles wouldn't go out! We finally had to pull them off and put them it water. So much wax had dripped on the cake that we had to scrape the top frosting off!

How I would love to make my Dad a big old cake!

Ouch!

A few of you know that I have been dealing with a foot problem. It is called plantar fasciitis. It is actually fairly common. I have been working with a Dr. for about five weeks. I know for sure that I have had the problem since last fall. The Dr. had recommended a night brace or "boot" to keep the ligament stetched while I sleep. Well, today was my appointment. After doing the exam the Dr. felt that I would benefit from cortisone shots directly into the fascii. He used an ultrasound machine to pinpoint exactly where to put the needles.

An average person with plantar fasciitis has a measurement of about 2 mm. Mine was between 6-9 mm! That is bad. The Dr. said "no wonder you have foot pain!" Then he found a cyst!

Have any of you ever had a shot in the mouth or a numbing shot on a finger or toe? Well, that is what these shots felt like. The shot that had to go into the cyst was the worst. I hollered at that one. I knew I had to hold still but it felt like I was going to heave.

Now that you know more about my foot than you ever wanted I will stop. Let's hope that this helps. More than 60% of people respond with these injections 100%. I hope that I am one of them! Wish me luck!

My Tree, My Light

Why?

Why is it so difficult for me to water a plant? If you have read my blog for awhile you may remember this tree. About a year ago I noticed it in my basement, close to death. I decided that if it had the inner strength to stay alive with complete and total neglect then I could give it a little love. I also decided that perhaps it was a metaphor for my life! We are strong, keep holding on!

Well, meet my tree. Once again it has been neglected. Not as severely as last year but still neglected. Miss E helped me cut all the dead branches out and give it a well needed and deserved drink.

Why do I care about this tree? Why do I not water it?

Well, perhaps it truly is like that metaphor, it keeps holding on, hoping that someone will pay attention to it, love it and want to help it become all that is inside of it. It is like the quote I mentioned a few days ago. We all have the light within us. ALL OF US. We shouldn't shrink or worry that we will overshine someone else. Our light is a gift to us and we need to find all the ways possible to let it shine!

This must be why I keep my little tree!

(check out Talk about Tuesday with the Lazy Organizer)

Rocks in Our Blood

I have rocks in my blood!

What? You ask. I come from a long line of Rock Hounds. A Rock Hound is a person that loves searching and finding rocks out of the earth that are actually beautiful gems. My Grandpa, my Dad, my Uncles have all spent thousands of hours and THOUSANDS of dollars hunting these gems. My family has always been particularly fascinated by jade. There is a place a couple of hours away from where I grew up Idaho that we would go "rock hunting." (the place has a name that I can't actually write on a family friendly blog--it is really on the map with this name)

Let me explain this event. You drive in a 4x4 pickup to the trail head, then you hike down across this beautiful meadow for a couple of miles. Then(this is the good part) you drop down into this creek area. Now if you are from a little town in Idaho, Wyoming or Utah, creek is an interesting word! We say CRICK not creek(long e). Just for your information!

Now back to the story! How do you find jade in the creek? Well, you go stand out in the middle and pick up rocks. If you are a talented rock hound you can look at the rock, look at the "skin" on it and know if it is a keeper or "leaverite." I haven't honed in these skills yet but my brother Royce has. So, we stand in the middle of this creek in Wyoming-which is ice cold. We pull out rock after rock asking, "is this a good one?" After we are all done standing in the freezing cold water or a thunderstorm comes up, we decide it is time to go home. Now is the killer part. We have to CARRY all these rocks back out the couple miles to the truck! Now, in my lifetime we have had motorcycles and such but they are not always allowed. So, usually, everyone puts as many of the rocks into their backpacks as they can stand. Then usually my Dad or now my brother carries the rest---which is WAY TOO MANY! (you can't leave a good specimen) There have been incidents that newcomers decide to carry too many of their finds out and end up in the hospital thinking that they are having a heart attack. These people shall remain nameless!

The last time I went with my brother I took my husband. He had never been rock hunting. He sat on the bank of the creek and watched all of us. He sat there with my sister in law. Neither one of them "gets" it! He told me that these are the ugliest rocks he has ever seen and he has no idea why anyone would go to so much effort to find them. Much less stand in the middle of a freezing cold creek to do it!

As I mentioned earlier, my Grandpa was a rock hound. He had a shop in his yard that had a huge rock saw and polishing equipment. He had five gallon buckets full of polished rocks that we could have. I still love the feel of running my hands through polished rocks. My Grandpa was also a carver. He carved beautiful animals out of jade. Moose, elk, coyotes, buffalo, etc.

Well, my brother got the gene. He is now the official family rock hound. He is a hunter, a carver, and best of all a teacher. Yesterday I took my family to a gem show that my brother was a demonstrator at. As I walked into this huge old train station filled with hundreds of people I found my brother. Leaning over a saw cutting pieces of jade to give children. He had sandpaper that they could polish their own masterpieces with. He personally gave each child a rock and the ability to make it beautiful. That is how you teach the next generation.

I was so proud of him. I know that his Grandpa and Dad would be also!

Happy Birthday Bro!

Happy Birthday Vance!

I realize it is a couple days late but I just thought that I would say Happy Birthday to the cutest brother ever!

(ok, ok I have two brothers and the other one is pretty cute too!)

Does it count?

Do you think that I can actually count the 8 chapters of my scriptures that I listened to but fell asleep during? Did I gain any knowledge through osmosis?

I guess that I was a bit tired!

So Cute

I have been busy creating! Last week I decided that I was going to take a few hours and work on sewing a bag. I decided to take pictures during the process so that I could use it to teach if anyone was interested. It turned out so cute!

I haven't put together the tutorial yet.

(If you are interested in the tutorial let me know!)

Check out the Lazy Organizer for Talk about Tuesday(yes, I know it is Wednesday)

Sometimes the list is just too long

Monday. The beginning of a new week. What am I doing? Playing catch up! Monday seems to be the day that you recover from the weekend!

We have the Single Ward Family Home Evening here at our house tonight. So, what am I doing? Blogging! Really, I am getting my hair done and I am cleaning!

Everything is in need of dusting, vacuuming, etc.etc.etc. So, just a quick note to remind myself that it will all work out! Breathe, breathe.

Pass some spring along this way!