Spiritually Minded

The last few weeks of my life have been sort of an emotional roller-coaster. I'll spare you the details and just say that there has been a lot going on and I have been searching for answers and hungering for the Lord's spirit to be with me. No tragic event has occurred, nothing has "gone wrong", I have just needed to look harder and search more to know that I am doing what the Lord wants me to. So, I just wanted to record a couple of epiphanies I have had, or even more, a couple of answers I have recieved...
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Last Sunday, I filled in for a dear friend of mine and taught the Gospel Doctrine class in our ward. For those of you that know me well, you understand how FIRED UP I was to do this! (For those of you who don't know me well, you probably don't believe that :) Anyway, I absolutely love to teach and I was so thankful for the opportunity. I am a primary teacher also, so I do get to teach every Sunday. And I love it! But, I found a new satisfaction in learning deeper doctrine and getting to talk to adults. I prayed and studied so hard and I felt the spirit so strong. The reason why I am sharing this is because of what I learned... I should live every day of my life with this same zeal and yearning. I should pray and study everday just like I did when I felt the pressure to teach my peers. I have resolved to use this same fervency in planning my primary lessons... in fact who needs to be lead and taught by the spirit more than our sweet children. In all reality, I am a teacher everyday in my own home. I should pray and study everyday to continue to learn the things that I need to be teaching my own children. They have a fierce battle to fight in this world and it is my job to train them for battle...

This thought leads me to another answer that came to me in a wonderful way... Part of my struggle lately has been that I have felt a little overwhelmed when it comes to disicpling my children. Maybe it is because they are all home all day, or because I have a lot going on and have let them get away with more than I should... I don't know. All I know is that I want to be a nice mom and not be upset and/or irritated so often. I love my children more than words can say and I want to show that love always, even through the difficult moments. My sister-in-law led me to a blog of a family who recently lost a child. The inspiring, spiritual words of the mother of this child really hit home to me as I read them...

"Love your little ones--even the ones that drive you crazy. If you could

see them the way God sees them -- you would be astounded at their glory."

...enough said.

The other realization I have recently had is that I know that Heavenly Father knows me and has placed opportunities in my path that have helped take me where he wants me to go. I see his hand in my life guiding me and I am so thankful. We can only get through this life with all of its trials by understanding this simple doctrine. We all have a different lot... some may seem harder than others. But through it all, the Lord never leaves us. He is always there waiting for us to seek him and use what he has given us to return back to him. I am so thankful for this knowledge.

Scattegories

As some of you know... Scattegories is one of my all-time favorite games! That is saying a lot for me because I love to play games more than anyone I know. Anyway, a friend of mine had a fun game on her blog so I am challenging everyone to do it with me. Think of something that falls into each of the following cattegories that starts with the first letter of your name. You can't copy anyone's answers who did this before you and you can't use the same word twice! Here goes...

WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Marianne

4 LETTER WORD: Mint

VEHICLE: Mustang

CITY: Mesa (Go Mustangs! :)

BOY Name: Mason (Always wanted to use this one)

GIRL NAME: Madelyn

OCCUPATION: Machinist

SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Make-up

FOOD: Manicotti

SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Mousse

REASON FOR BEING LATE: Messy Diaper (You know it has happened to all of us at least once)

SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: MOM!!!! (well my kids shout it, not so much me anymore :)

SOMETHING YOU LOVE: Mexico

Ok, now I want everyone who reads this to give it a try. It is actually fun and harder than it looks.

Quote of the Day!

I absolutely loved this quote and had to share it...

"None of us need one more person pointing out where we have failed or fallen short. What each of us does need is family who believe in us and who believe we are trying to do the best we can!"

~ Marvin J. Ashton ~

Diving Lessons

Chansey and Eathan are taking diving lessons this summer and they are loving it! They are both fearless, and love the water, so this is a fun new skill for them to learn. It seems like only yesterday that we had to bribe Eathan with $5 to get him to go off the diving board by himself... and now look at him...

If you look between the diving boards in this picture, you can see Eathan trying to perfect his back dive. He is jumping off of the side of the pool instead of the board because the board was too high at first. The board is so far from the water, that he couldn't control his momentum when he first tried it off of the diving board. So he actually did an over-rotated flip and landed on his back. I guess you would call that a flip and a quarter?!

Chansey is doing a pencil dive in this picture. They were taught how to dismount properly off of the diving board, so she got really high off of this jump. She is actually on her way down... I shot the picture a fraction of a second too late!

Bella is also in swimming lessons, but I have to be with her in the water, so I didn't manage to get a picture. She is finally starting to grasp the concept of actually moving water and swimming instead of just sinking when the water gets deep. She brings a whole new meaning to the word "fearless". While all of the other children cry for most of the lesson because they are scared of the water, Bella is doing head-first dives into the pool. And then she turns around and grabs onto the side... I told you she was "loco"!

Pilates Anyone?!

The other night when I was doing my Pilates workout, Eathan came in and inquired about what I was doing. It was late, but he had taken a nap that day, so he wasn't interested in going to bed yet. Anyway, Todd told him that I was doing my exercises... and he proceded to explain that if Eathan did these same exercises everyday, he would be the strongest kid in school. (True... perhaps) Anyway, last night I heard Chansey and Eathan talking to what sounded like someone else. I couldn't figure out what I was hearing or what they were doing, so I checked on them and this is what I found. They were doing pilates!!! ... And the other voice I heard was Mari Windsor, the instructor on the DVD!! I was seriously shocked... and amused... and impressed. They were actually doing a pretty good job. So, now I feel even more guilty if I don't work out every night... if my kids can do it, shouldn't I be able to?! Oh, the pressure! :)

Happy 4th of July!!

I saw this picture and I thought it was awesome, so I decided to post it. It is a picture of 18,000 soldiers during World War I who posed in the shape of the Statue of Liberty. I think it is amazing!



We had a really fun 4th of July this year. I brought my camera, but didn't take even one picture... how dumb! Anyway, we had a great day because Todd was off work and we did nothing but play together all day! First we went to the summer movie Mr. Mogorium's Wonder Emporium. This was such an excellent movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! It is the best kids' movie that I have seen for a long time. And, it was especially wonderful because I didn't have to leave the theater even one time. The kids were all good! YEA!

After the movies we went to Peter Piper Pizza. The kids love going there and I think the pizza and salad lunch buffet is pretty good. Later, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Jacobson's house. We swam and ate and played games and had a great time.

I was taught from a young age to be very patriotic and thankful for this great land we live in. I think we too often take it for granted that we have so many freedoms. Our country was founded by men who were inspired by God to put certain theroies into action so tht we could live in peace and harmony with each other and the rest of the world. I pray that our country continues its legacy of democracy and justice and that our next president keeps us on the right track.

GOD BLESS THE USA!!!

Loco Bella

As we all know, "loco" means "crazy" in Spanish. And that is exactly what Bella is... CRAZY! Just so everyone believes me, I had to post a couple of pictures from the last few weeks...

This picture is funny... One day the kids were playing in the sprinklers and on the water slide we borrowed from Grandpa. We usually take our suits off right when we get done, but this time, we had some friends coming over to play outside, so I let them leave their suits on. I asked Chansey to go put some shorts on over her suit. So, Bella decided to do the same thing... except the shorts she chose were actually Eathan's boxer briefs! They looked like shorts to her, so she put them on. And she is so little, that they could actually pass as shorts on her (except for the opening in front and the "Hanes" label) I laughed so hard!

I can't say I was laughing when I took this picture. It is funny now, but it really wasn't funny then. Spencer was down for a nap and Bella was watching Barney while I changed the laundry before putting her down for a nap. When I was done in the laundry room, I couldn't find Bella. So after searching for a few minutes, this is where I found her. She climbed in the crib and woke up Spencer and was just laying there playing with him. The picture also shows her naked because she took her clothes off (like she always does when she is bored). And the last point to note is the fact that there is marker all over her leg because she got into Chansey's art box and colored on herself!! FUN TIMES!!

One more story about Bella... The other day I was talking to Eathan and I said the words "cheese crisp". Bella was listening and must have thought I said "Jesus" because she proceded to proclaim "Jesus?!... Jesus is my friend!" How cute is that?!