A Lesson in Free Enterprise

Our neighborhood had a "Community Garage Sale" on Saturday, so our family decided to join the "fun". We cleaned out our garage... which is a joyous event because now I can park my car in there! And we sold a few things that we no longer need.

" One man's trash is another man's treasure!"

The bigger purpose though for participating was to teach our kids a little business lesson. On Friday, they helped me make cookies and muffins and then sold them to people who came by. Todd also bought them some water bottles and soda to sell. We were going to sell hot dogs, but there were no people left when it was lunch time. Anyway, we taught them to pay us back for the supplies we used to make their products and then they could keep the rest. (It turned out that they helped us clean up afterward, so we told them they could keep all of the money) But, they understood the concept nonetheless. Even though I could have easily reached into my purse and handed them $16 (that's about how much they made) I thought this was a lesson better learned. They learned that they have to work hard to earn money. And they better understood the value of money as they counted each quarter and each dollar that came in. They also discovered that if they were eating the cookies, they were "eating money". It was fun to teach them. To my suprise, they were quite the little salesmen. They explained to everyone what they had and how much it cost. They captivated total strangers with their conversation and interest in earning money. It was fun to watch!

Here are the entrepreneurs patiently waiting for their next customer.

Even though I am sure we could get a pretty penny for him, Spencer was not for sale!! But, the big red truck was. He sure had fun in it before it was snatched up!!

Please Vote!

As we all know, the condition of the country we live in directly affects our ability to endure and is critical to the quality of our temporal lives. It is my hope that we all can take the time to become educated on the issues that are before us and decide for ourselves what we believe to be true and correct. Then use that knowledge to affect change in our country. Simply put... PLEASE VOTE!!! If you ever wondered why our right to vote is so sacred and important, watch this video...


http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1352578267/bctid1749436976

If you haven't registered to vote at your current address, you can do so here...

https://servicearizona.com/webapp/evoter

Hurry! The deadline is October 6.

If you are afraid you won't have the opportunity to go to the poles and vote on election day, you can request an early ballot here...

https://recorder.maricopa.gov/earlyvoteballotnet/evbrequest.aspx

Tip: If you need to update your voter registration and you want an early ballot, time is of the essence. After updating your info, you have to wait a day or two for the system to update so you can request your ballot. So, do it soon!

No excuses!! :)

Our Personal "Bail Out" Program

In this world full of turmoil, once again, I am filled with a deep sense of joy and purpose. Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with doom and gloom... questions about our economic future... and mixed messages about where our country is headed and what we can do about it. I know it is easy to be overwhelmed by all of this. I also know that all things in life occur to teach us lessons and help us progress towards our ultimate goal of eternal life. We simply must choose to follow the spirit and let the Lord guide us through the seemingly never-ending trials. This global financial crisis is no exception to this theory. As I have contemplated all of this in recent months and weeks, I have drawn some parallels with what is going on in Washington D.C. to my own personal life and my beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

First of all a quick recap... Over the last several years and because of some very bad choices by many people in high places, we have a financial crisis in this country. The people at the crux of this complex mess are looking to the government for a "bail out" program that will rescue them from their woes and pay the looming debt. This can and does affect all of us. But since this is not an economics lesson, or a political opinion column, I won't expound on that now ;)

What I have come to realize is that this situation is not very different from the cycle that we are all prone to in our own lives. We all make decisions that are less than perfect everyday. Sometimes, patterns of bad choices put us in situations where we need to be "bailed out" spiritually (or otherwise). We need help getting back to higher ground so we can try again to do what is right. The good news of the Gospel is that our "bail out" program has already been approved and executed!! The debt has been paid! All we have to do is take advantage. The Lord has already paid the price for our mistakes and our pain. And through him, we can find comfort and relief from those things that bring us down. The offer never expires and it is never too late. In other words, we can't look to the world for happiness or stability. We have to first look to the condition of our own personal lives to find joy and comfort. If there is no joy or comfort to be found, all we have to do is ask and the Lord will help us find it. (May I suggest starting by counting our blessings) We have to do the best we can to better ourselves and our family and not let Satan's workings consume our thoughts and affect our actions. Easier said than done... I know... trust me. But, when those clouds of err hang over, our reprieve is easy to find. The Atonement is eternal.

Along with this I have discovered an additional "metaphor" if you will. As I briefly listen to political banter on the radio or news from time to time, I have learned a bit about this "bail out package" that is being contemplated by our government. I am no expert, but apparently, there are many details of the countless page program that are being argued within the halls of government. There are clauses that ride on the coat-tails of this package that are irrelevant and self-serving to politicians. In contrast, the atonement is flawless! There are no strings attached... just blessings for following along. That is not to say that it is easy, but profoundly pure and simple nonetheless. And definately worth it for all we can attain both in this life and the life hereafter.

Sweet Moments

As many of my close friends and family know, it is not hard for me to be overwhelmed by the spirit. And today was no exception. Our ward had their Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation. I had many tender feelings during our meeting as I sat their in utter amazement of these sweet children and their innocence. The tender feelings continued as the day went on. I would like to share some of the things that I loved about today...

I loved how this was probably the smallest primary I have ever seen, but by far the loudest! It is not a really small primary compared to what most people know, it is just small compared to what we are used to. There are only about 80 kids. But, WOW... Did they ever SING! The children were not yelling, just singing loudly with all of their hearts.

I love that my parents and sister drove 20 minutes to see my kids and listen to the program. We are so lucky to have them nearby and that they show their love and support for us on a constant basis.

I love that my children were ecstatic to be a part of the program. They were both beaming with the opportunity to show us and my parents all that they had learned. I know some kids are embarrassed or not interested in being in their programs. But mine couldn't have been more excited. I am very thankful for that.

I love that I started crying when the congregation sang an intermediate hymn as the kids got in their positions to begin the program. We sang "Dearest Children God is Near You". The spirit bore witness to me that that statement was true... especially at that moment. As the children started walking in while singing "I am a Child of God", the tears flowed and pretty much never stopped.

I love that my kids both spoke their parts perfectly and with conviction. As if they really knew that what they were saying was true.

I loved watching a sweet family in our ward... I witnessed an adult daughter with special needs lay her head on her father's shoulder as if to say "I love you". He proceeded to lay his head back on her to show his never-ending love. They sat that way only for a brief moment, but it was profoundly touching.

I loved watching my mother sing every hymn word-for-word with no hymn book in-hand. It is something that I have noticed since I was a little girl. She seems to know every word of every song... even the ones I have never heard of.

I love that our Bishop got emotional as he spoke for a few minutes about the sweet innocence of these children. I learned that I should strive for that sweet innocence of youth instead of spending my time focusing on things that don't matter in life.

I love how Spencer slept in my arms through the entire Relief Society lesson. I got to listen intently for the first time in a long time. The lesson was simple yet profound. I learned about how I need to open my heart more to the Lord to become stronger and let him shape me into the person that he knows I can be. "Be Thou Humble" was my personal resolution.

Finally, I love that I have been blessed once again with the overwhelming feeling of love for all of my children. What a tremendous calling has been bestowed upon me as their mother! I have a fervent desire to cherish every moment of their lives. I was given a renewed sense of strength to be the kind of mother that I know I can and want to be.

I hope I can remember these feelings during the days and weeks to come. I hope that I can try a little harder and enjoy the journey a little more!! What a blessing this day has been!!

Yes! on 102

Yes! on 102

If you don't already know what this propostion is about, please click on the link and educate yourself. I do not very often voice my political opinion, but I can't keep my opinion quiet on this one. If we as a society want to protect the sanctity of families, we must take a stand on this issue. VOTE YES on 102! Protect the very unit that holds our society together!

We love our Diamondacks!

Who ever said that nothing in life is free?! Oh, wait that was my High School Ecomomics teacher (yes I did pay attention :) Well, I beg to differ, because we experienced some pretty sweet FREE stuff last week...

We got two free tickets to last Thursday's Diamondback's game from Todd's cousin. The seats were awesome! First Row, right behind the backstop on the upper level. For those of you who aren't familiar, you have a great view of the field from there.

So, at first, I was going to take Chansey by myself, but at the last minute, we all decided to go. We went to eat dinner first planning on being a little late to the game. (our kids probably wouldn't be cool with sitting through the whole game anyway) So after a yummy dinner at Someburros we headed to downtown Phoenix to look for a parking space (which normally costs $10 or $15) Well, we were about an hour late for the game so all of the parking lot attendants were already gone. We ended up getting a parking space in the garage attached to Chase Field (which means you only have to walk about 50 yards and you are there) And since there was no one there to charge us, it was FREE!!

When we got to the gate to go in, we asked where we could buy tickets since we only had two and we needed five. The man at the door just handed us some tickets and said "Here you go"! Again... FREE!! We were stoked! His tickets were not great seats, so we went to see if there was room for all of us to sit in the section where our tickets were. And, sure enough, there were lots of empty seats. So we had a great view and watched the second half of the game with very few interruptions. The kids were so good and since the D-backs won, we were all a little hoarse from screaming. They are old enough so they understand what is happening during the game, so it was really fun!

A nice security guard took this picture for us... not the best, but oh well, it's for posterity right?!

Chansey and Eathan had a blast. They really do enjoy watching the games.

Spencer was enthralled with the lights and all of the noise. You can see here, he is intently watching. And the man in the backround was a grumpy Giants fan. We had fun watching him whenever he got mad that the D-backs scored.

This was the view from our seats. Even Loco Bella had fun! We had to make a few potty runs, but it was no problem because the bathrooms were right behind the section we were sitting in.

So the moral of this story is... some things in life are free! And it sure is fun when they are! We love family outings and this one is at the top of the list.

The second moral of the story is that even though the D-backs lost three games in a row and now they are out of contention for the playoffs... we still think they ROCK!!

Better luck next year guys!

Not so "LABOR"-ious DAY

Why do we celebrate "Labor Day" by doing absolutely nothing? Ironic I guess...

Well, this Labor Day weekend, we got out of the heat and went camping up on the rim. We left on Friday morning and came home Monday night. It was a much needed break from the every day stresses of home.

The kids have a ton of fun especially. In fact, Bella has asked to go camping every day since we got home. We are very familiar with the area where we camp since we have been going there for so many years. As long as it is not raining, the kids can safely wander and play for hours at a time. They found a home-made zip-line that somebody made and had a lot of fun playing on it. They also looked for bugs and played in the "fort". We had a lot of other kids there this time so they also had fun just sitting around and talking and laughing with each other. The most popular activity however was riding the quads...

Two 2-year olds pretending like they're riding the quads... KODAK MOMENT!

Eathan is getting brave on the quad. This time Todd was watching him ride and before he could stop him, Eathan headed for a big jump. He went over it and got some serious air. He did a "superman"over the quad while still holding the gas full-throttle. He miraculously landed the jump, but lost control and drove down into a raveen. Todd ran after him worried about what he would find at the bottom. He found Eathan standing at the bottom with his hands above his head saying "That was AWESOME!" Who taught him that?!

Chansey loves riding, but she is a little more reserved than Eathan. (Thank heavens!) She did get a little more brave this time and she figured out that she likes to go fast!

If you read my blog often, you know that I LOVE when Todd rides his dirtbike. Besides being good at it and having fun, I think he looks good on it. It is especially cute when he takes the little ones for a ride. Bella would hardly let Todd leave without crying and wanting to get on whatever he was riding. So, he took her (and all of the other little kids) on little slow rides right around camp. So NICE!

Besides riding, us adults mostly sat around a talked and ate all weekend. It is so relaxing... no laundry, no phone, no internet, no distractions! I love this kind of "labor"! ;)