Resolutions: Update

I have been so busy doing Primary stuff and stuff for my class and working out, that blogging is kind of one of the last things on my mind.  Yes, I have been working out this week.  I am doing videos.  It is nice to be able to do it in the comfort of my own home.  I am doing the Biggest Loser Boot Camp.  It is really good because you start up really slow and just add what you want as you get stronger.  I started out doing the 20 minutes and thought I was going to die!!!  Now, just 5 days later I have added 10 more minutes and it feels great.  I cannot believe the difference it makes in my day when I exercise.  I have so much energy!!!  It feels really good.  It always has.  I have always known this, but somehow, the idea of actually taking the time to do it has seemed daunting.  I just need to keep it up and remember that it is going to be worth it in the long run.  I am not going to profess that I am perfect.  I am probably not eating as well as I should.  I am working on it.  But I think the fact that I am exercising everyday is a big lifestyle change and will help me to be healthy. Not that I have been eating badly.  No...  I have a deal with my friend that I will eat healthy.  I am just not sure if I am eating the right amount of calories and stuff.  But that is going to come next once I get into the grove of exercising.  I want to start one habit at a time.  Another little hindrance is that I think I may be sick again.  Sore throat, cough, you know the drill.  At any rate, I am very proud of myself.  For an entire week I have worked out.  My goal was to do 3 days a week.  I am going to do it tomorrow too because I think it will be easier to keep it up if I keep going.  But I will not have time to do it in the morning before church on Sunday.  So maybe I will take Sunday off.  It is a day of rest, after all.  Today, I have to do the bulletin board for Primary.  I cut out 80 hearts yesterday...  Then, I think I will reward myself with an all-day reading fest of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  (Which is proving to live up to the good hype!)

Now, I am not expecting to lose 20 lbs in a week like they did on the Biggest Loser!  (What was THAT about?!?!)  Although, that would be nice.  But I would like to see a difference.  I am feeling it in my legs so I know something is working!  As far as the other goals...  the kids fighting thing has not even gotten off of the ground.  The scripture thing... not so much.  We are doing great as a family...  So I will keep on trying.  I have a whole year!  I think I am doing pretty well!

Christmas

Christmas Eve the kids are opening their jammies.    This is a tradition in our family.

This is the kids in front of the tree in their new jammies on Christmas Eve.  It was a very low key evening and we had a nice one.  Hilton was so excited!

This is the loot on Christmas morning.  Santa always leaves his presents unwrapped.  The big kids got the Wii and Lorelai got the doll stuff.  You can see our old computer in the background...  poor soul.

This was Lorelai after she put on Grandma and Grandpa Shuck's cool present.  The Dora boots are her favorite.  She always does this pose and says, "Tada!"  She also got a shopping cart that she likes to tote things around in.  Cute little Maggie is beside her taking in all of the fun festivities.  We love Maggie!

Snow forever

This is Lorelai and our next door neighbor, Riley.  They are waiting in line to be pulled on the sled.

This is Hilton getting pulled on the sled and going over the "ramp" created by Darren, our cool neighborhood dad.  He plays with the kids outside all the time.  He is pretty great!

This is the line of kids waiting to get on the sled.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

With the new year here, I thought I had better make a list of all of the things I would like to change in my life. Here is just a sampling of things I need to get done this year.

First of all, I want to change how I handle my children fighting.  I think what I am going to do, everytime they fight is make them sit down and write a list of 10 things they like about one another.  I am hoping this will help them to cool off a little and maybe take the edge off of the situation.  I really don't know if this is going to work, but I am going to try it.  Any other ideas for fighting kids?  Caroline and Hilton sound like they are going to rip each others throats out.  And sometimes they do resort to hitting.  Caroline does this more than Hilton. 

Second, I really want to make a better go at reading the scriptures.  We do it as a family pretty faithfully.  But I really need to do my personal scripture study better.  I just get doing other things and forget.  You know?

Third, the whole change my health thing.  I have been doing pretty well since my friend, Sarah inspired me.  She looks so fantastic and she is really good at supporting me.  So this year I have to make sure I eat better and exercise more and get rid of this pesky diabetes. 

Fourth, I need to do better at being organized financially.  I need to get all my bills organized and in one place so that I am not paying a bill on the day it is due and hoping I don't get a late fee.  I am horrible at this.  I also need a budget.  I know some of you are recoiling in horror.  I don't have a budget, I never have.  I have always just gotten to the end of the month with the hopes that we still have some money in the bank.  So I really am going to buckle down.  A book that I recently read called The Penny Pinchers Club, really made me decide that this needs to be a top priority.  So I am going to do it.

Those are my main concerns right now.  There are subcatergories in each subject, but I will do that in my own outline.  I have never been one to really set New Year's resolutions.  I have always been of the mind that they are a waste of time because noone ever does them.  But I am thinking that if I have it in black and white and take it one day at a time maybe I can change. 

Change is a kind of a touchy subject to me.  I have gone most of my life thinking that people are the way they are and can't really change.  The reason I have believed this is because people have proven this to me over and over again.  Sure, anyone can change for a few months or even a few years, but they always go back to the way they were.  Everyone always disappoints me by not changing.  But as I have done some scripture study lately, I have realized that this is not the way the Lord would have us see humanity.  People are people because of their ability to change.  No other species can completely change who they are.  And this cannot be the exception to the rule.  Heavenly Father created repentance because people can change.  I want to believe this.  People can change from good to bad, why can't they change from bad to good?  I know that a lot of people can't understand my lack of faith in individuals.  Especially people of this faith.  But when I have been proven right again and again that people don't change, even when they desire it with all of their hearts, it is really hard for me to get on the Mormon bandwagon with this one.  So, today I am going to take a leap of faith.  Faith in humanity, that people have the ability to change.  Faith in Heavenly Father, that he made us able to change so that we can be perfect.  And faith in myself, that I have the will power, strength and desire within myself to change.  It is going to be so hard.  I have been who I am for so long.  I don't know how I am going to do it.  I have tried and tried and failed and failed, so many times.  I don't even know what it is like to have real success.  But I will do my best.  That's all I can do.  But it really has to be my best.  Not just a little bit of my best. 

So here is to the New  Year.  May I be able to prove myself wrong and actually change this time.

Just one more thing

Well, just when I started feeling good about our finances...  things go wrong.  Isn't that the way it always is? 

I will start at the beginning.  Christmas was so wonderful.  We all got too much but were so grateful for it all.  I thought I was going to just get the shirt and socks that I bought and wrapped for myself...  but I was so amazingly surprised by some Ugg boots, (which don't fit... too big, but I will exchange them.) a beautiful charm bracelet, a fuzzy and warm red robe, a temple dress, (I have not had one ever!!!) and my favorite, the iPod touch!!!!!!!  That was such an amazing surprise!  I was so excited.  I went to plug it into my ancient computer and nothing happened.  We have Macs.  That is what we have been using forever and we love them.  A few years ago, our old Mac was old and we needed a new one but we didn't have any money so we got an old, refurbished model for cheap.  We have been using that ever since and have not really had any real problems with it except that it was pretty slow.  But it served the purpose.  We had Caroline's iPod and Justin's iPod all hooked up to it...  I did not think there would be an issue...  well was I wrong.  I tried to download the latest version of iTunes and nothing happened.  Then other things started flipping out on me.  I turned off the computer and decided to let it rest overnight.  Well when I tried the next morning to turn it on...  nothing.  I lost all of my pictures that I had not backed up.  (I do have some on a small zip drive.)  I lost my syllabus that I worked on for weeks for this class I am teaching starting NEXT WEEK!  And I lost all of my Primary stuff that I had just updated for the new year.  I told Justin, I was buying a new computer.  I would use my money from teaching to pay for it.  So that day I went to his office and now today it has come.  It is even more amazing than I could have imagined!  It is like a television screen!  It is huge!!!  But not just that, the clarity is amazing and I have a wireless keyboard and mouse.  The keyboard is taking some getting used to.  I am used to the click clack sound when I type, but there is no sound when I type now. 

Anyway, so that was a huge thing I have to pay for.  And now our car is acting funny.  What is up with that?  So now that is something else I am sure we are going to have to pay for.  But I will not complain.  Things are good.  I have my new iPod and my new computer and I am right as rain.  I am just going to be thankful for what I have and not complain about what goes wrong.  Even though that is exactly what I just did.  Okay, starting on January 1st I will not complain.  How is that?

Rexburg

You know, I am so happy to be living here, in Idaho.  I love the weather.   I love the small town we live in.  Last night we went out as a family for our big Anniversary dinner.  We have been married 13 years.  We went to the fanciest place in town, Applebees.  You can't beat that with a stick, can ya'?  I didn't mind that there was nowhere fancy to go since I was just eating salad anyway.  Afterward, for our FHE activity we went to drive around and see the Christmas lights.  It was not like West Bayou Parkway...  The people don't pay thousands of dollars for other people to come decorate their house around here, but it was still fun to drive around the entire town in about 20 minutes.  On the way home we drove down Main Street.  You should see all the lights they have there right now!  It is gorgeous!  Even the courthouse is all decked out.  The kids ooh'd and aah'd almost as much as I did.  And I just sat in the car thinking how grateful I am to be where we are now.  This is our home forever and it really feels like home.  I have my great friends here, my family closer to us, and the perfect little town.  I miss all of my Louisiana friends.  We had started to get used to the idea that we might be there forever.  But this really is home.  It has always felt like home to us, even when we were students.  And now, as  I am typing this, I am looking out the window at the snow falling and I have a little skip in my heart.  I have a little tear in my eye.  Every time it snows I get excited.  It never gets old for me.  Even at the end of winter, (more like the beginning of summer!) the prospect of snow makes me want to giggle.  This place was made for me.  Rexburg is my home town and will be forever.  We have been so abundantly blessed.  I don't even know what we did to deserve it.  But I am so grateful.  I just love my little town.

I just read a horrible anonymous comment that was left for me telling me that I was dumb and need to get an education.  It kind of shook me up a bit.  It had cursing and it made me remember that not just my good friends are out there on the internet.  Isn't it a shame that people have to try to make others feel bad just so they can feel good about themselves?

I am Mommy, hear me scream

My friend had this quote on her blog today.  I really wanted to share it with all my peeps.

“It seems strange that women want to enter into professions and into work and into places in society on an equality with men, wanting to dress like men and carry on men’s work. I don’t deny the fact that women are capable of doing so, but as I read the scriptures, I find it hard to reconcile this with what the Lord has said about women—what he has said about the family, what he has said about children. It seems to me that in regard to men and women, even though they might be equal in many things, there is a differentiation between them that we fully understand. I hope the time never comes when women will be brought down to the level with men, although they seem to be making these demands in meetings held . . . all over the world” ( Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, 150).



"When women come to the point of realizing that it is more important to be superior than to be equal, they will find the real joy in living those principles that the Lord set out in his divine plan." - Howard W. Hunter

Sometimes I feel very inferior.  When my house isn't clean enough, when dinner is just hot dogs, when the laundry is sitting in baskets waiting to be put away.  I just think that maybe I need to go get a job in the world because I know my husband thinks he can do a better job at being a homemaker than I do.  But then I remember who I am.  I am the one who changes the poopy diapers, and cleans up the sick, and wipes the snotty noses.  I may not be the best at keeping the house looking like a show place, but it is me the kids want when they don't feel good.  I am the one they want when they want to cuddle.  I hope that someday I find it more important to be superior than equal.  From now on, I hope I can remember this quote whenever I feel like I need to turn the reigns over to Justin and just let him do what he feels he could do better.  I am Mommy.  And there is no substitute for that.

When Does the Magic End?

I remember when I believed in Santa Claus.  I remember living in Texas and I was probably six years old.  I got a doll for Christmas called Mary Muffin.  She was a handmade doll and she came with all kinds of clothes.  I loved this doll forever.  It was my favorite doll.  But I remember when I got her for Christmas.  She also came with matching shoes to match all of her different outfits.  But one of the shoes was missing that Christmas day.  But I remember that I wasn't disappointed.  In my little girl mind who believed in all things magic, Iexcused the missing shoe thinking that it must have fallen from Santa's sleigh when he was high above the houses.  I thought my doll shoe was somewhere in the world all by itself.  But that was okay because Santa does not make mistakes very often.  I remember so vividly believing that.  Even years later when my mom told me that the doll had been purchased by my grandmother and given to me, in my mind that shoe still was AWOL in the world having fallen from Santa's sleigh. 

The magic ended when my cousin told me there was no Santa Claus.  I was 9 years old.  We had just moved from Texas to Pennsylvania.  My cousin, Missy, thought that it was ridiculous that I still believed in Santa.  She was very worldly and knowledgable, even though she was a few months younger than me.  I still wanted to believe.  So I played along for ever.  I pretended that it was Santa who brought my gifts.  In the back of my mind I still imagined those gifts riding on Santa's sleigh headed for my home every Christmas Eve.  It was usually a doll that I wanted.  I played with dolls until I was way too old.

As I was lying in bed the other night I was thinking about how wonderful Christmas is.  Now that I am a parent it seems even more magical.  I get to play the part I have dreamed of.  I get to make my children's dreams come true.  When I wrap each gift, I think of the look on their faces when they open it.  When I remember the many Christmas mornings waking up to the lights of the tree, and the taste of hot chocolate, sticky buns and scrapple...  I try to make the memories for my children just as magical.

So, I guess, the magic hasn't ever really ended.  It was just put on hold for a little while until I could conjur it up again in my own heart.  The true meaning of Christmas is never lost in my heart.  I know the importance of Christ's birth.  And I know that the commerciality of Christmas has gotten out of control.  But every year at this time, even when the rest of the year might not have gone as planned.  Even when things feel so tough we will never get through it.  There is this one night and one day of the year, where magic is real for everyone.  That is what I want to think of.  The magic of the birth of Jesus Christ who was sent to this earth as a special gift to us.  The magic of families being together.  The magic of Santa Claus.  It is all important to my sanity throughout the year. 

I hope that even when my kids are grown and don't believe in Santa Claus, that the magic never ends. 

Pioneer Song

Caroline and I went to see Pioneer Song last night.  That is the play Justin has been directing for the past 3 months.  After all of the horror stories I had heard every night after rehearsals I was not really looking forward to it.  But I was pleasantly surprised.   It was not about Mormon Pioneers, as I had suspected.  Although they were mentioned.  It was the story of one woman who was going to Oregon with her three daughters.  She had had a loveless marriage and wanted her girls to have good marriages with a "song."  Her oldest married an abusive man who made her go to California for the gold rush.  Her middle daughter married a Mormon boy who took her to Salt Lake and they had a beautiful marriage.  Her third daughter dies along the trail.  This woman who was a widow takes in several other women helping them to empower themselves against abusive men, against unhappy marriages, and against difficulties of losing husbands along the trail.  It was so good.  I really loved it.  The music was not great.  It was a musical.  But the story and message were so great.  In the end her oldest daughter leaves her husband to save her baby daughter from the abuse.  And Ruth, the main character ends up marrying the leader of the wagon train after she finds him to be respectful and falls in love with him.  It ran pretty long, but I really enjoyed it.  Caroline and I sat up in the sound booth, so I had to witness this one guy texting the whole night.  So annoying!!! Even after they asked everyone NOT to do it!  Caroline thought the play was scary.  A lot of people died.  And there was one scene with an abusive man and his wife.  I am happy that Justin had the opportunity to do it.  It was written by one of the faculty here in the theater dept.  So that was quite an experience to be able to work on an original piece.  But I am mostly glad it is over.  I am glad Justin will be home in the evening to help wrangle the kids.  And I will get the opportunity to talk to him before midnight!  Gotta love the theatre!