on being a good mother

I've had some thoughts about motherhood swirling in my head lately, and this seems like a good place to set them down.

I want to be a good mom. I think you probably do, too. It is easy for me to get caught up in the day to day responsibilities required of a mother, and to think that because I am doing these things, then I am fulfilling my role. I clean, I cook, I get kids ready for school. I do a lot of laundry. I drive to piano lessons, I cheer at t-ball games. I make sure homework is finished. These things are important, of course, but maybe they aren't the most important.

If I want to be a good mother, instead of focusing so much of my energy on the physical aspects of my job, I think I need to focus more on the spiritual. Specifically my spiritual well being. Am I reading my scriptures? Am I being diligent in my prayers? Am I keeping my covenants? Am I looking for opportunities to serve? Am I following Jesus Christ?

I am beginning to see that if these are my priorities, then I will have more of those easy, peaceful days. Days where I am better able to be loving and patient. Days where things go smoothly, and even when they don't, I can still be happy and kind.

Easter week

This is the beginning of one of my favorite weeks of the year, Easter week.

This week I will take more time to think about my Savior and His atonement and resurrection. I will be better at remembering that because of Him, every day can be a fresh start. That because He lives, I can live again, that my family can live again, and that we can live together forever. This week I will be better at reaching out to those around me, just like the Savior would have done. And hopefully, once this week is over, I will continue to do these things, because of my love for Him.

If you have a few minutes, this short video touched me and I hope it touches you, too.

Have a good week!

happy weekend

I decided to strip the paint off of my floors. For lots of reasons, but the main one being that we had a water leak and had to replace part of it. So rather than match the paint on the new section (probably a 2 hour job), I decided to strip it all off and do something different (feels like a 200 hour job). I hope it's worth it. I finished up the stripping and sanding this week. I'm not sure my hands and wrists (and knees) will ever be the same, but I am excited to try a white wash.

In other news, Oliver's car, the Blur, placed third in the Pinewood Derby. Always a fun time, that derby.

And Mabel is competing in state Geography Bee this morning. Eek! I'm so nervous for her.

This weekend is going to be a busy one, unfortunately, but I am hoping for a nap anyway.

Have fun!

spring break

Sometimes I think it would be nice to take a trip during spring break. We could go somewhere beachy or snowy. We could have an adventure! But then I remember that we are home bodies. And it would be such a shame to miss the perfect (and so very fleeting) beautiful spring weather here in the desert if we left. And Mike has to work anyway. And so instead we go to the library and load up on books. And we stay up as late as we want, reading in bed. And when we wake up in the morning we pick our books right back up again and read until we absolutely have to eat a bowl of cereal or we will perish from hunger. And maybe we go to the movies. Or the park. And really, that's all you need for one fantastic spring break. At least at our house.

happy weekend

When we first bought our house, it was winter and this wisteria vine was dormant and leafless. In my ignorance, I thought it was dead and tearing it out was top on my list of "improvements" to make to the house. Can you imagine what a mistake that would have been?! Oh man, I am so glad we kept it. I think its blooms get more and more impressive every spring.

This weekend marks the beginning of our Spring Break. Hooray! We're not going anywhere or doing anything terribly exciting, but I am looking forward to it nonetheless. I'm mostly looking forward to sleeping in. These early school mornings will be the death of me.

I was listening to an interview with Sheri Dew yesterday while I sewed. I'm pretty sure that I am turning into the world's biggest baby because I found my eyes filling with tears more than once as I listened. If you have an hour to kill, and are interested in the challenges and strengths of women, I suggest listening to Sister Dew.

One of my favorite quotes from the interview:

"This is a day when the adversary has launched an all out attack against womanhood, because he knows, he absolutely knows, that the influence of a righteous woman is enormous and that it spans generations. He would have us be disinterested in marriage and motherhood, confused by the world's view of men and women, too harried by the pace of life to really live the gospel and to let it penetrate our souls. At all costs, he wants to keep us at arm's length from Jesus christ. For if we don't come unto Christ, meaning that we never turn our lives over to Him, we will go through our probation here on our own, rather than experiencing what the savior promised when he said, 'Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"

Oh, I hope I am not "too harried" to live the gospel. I am thankful for inspiration and for the chance to re-evaluate and start again. Spring seems like a good time to do that, doesn't it?

Have a great weekend!

family home evening

In the past, we have had a hard time holding family home evening consistently. But I was recently reminded of the blessings that have been promised to families who regularly have family home evening (wonderful things like "increased love at home and obedience to parents", "faith in the hearts of the youth and power to combat the evil influences and temptations that beset them"), and so I am re-committed to this practice. My goal for this school year has been consistency. It is easy for me to feel overwhelmed by the idea of teaching my children all of the things they need to know to make it back to our Heavenly Father in these family home evenings. And in my feelings of inadequacy, in years past, I would often skip family home evening all together. To me, consistency means that every Monday evening, we are together as a family. It's as simple as that. Sometimes that means we have a gospel lesson. Sometimes we play a game. Sometimes we just sit and talk. But we are together, that is most important. I want you to know that I have felt those promised blessings in our home this school year. And in our consistency, the responsibility to teach my children the gospel doesn't feel so heavy anymore.

happy weekend

This is something happy: My brother, Matt, and two of his boys are in town for a quick Spring Training trip. Spring Training is huge here! And my boys are in baseball/cousin heaven.

I've been sewing a lot lately. While I sew, I like to watch or listen to something. I made it through a whole season of Project Runway, which was fun, but then I started to feel like I could maybe use my time more wisely. So I started listening to Conversations on the Mormon Channel. They are informal radio interviews with members of the church who have interesting stories or points of view. This is going to sound crazy, but I was getting really discouraged about the sewing projects I was working on. But listening to these uplifting conversations took my discouragement away and filled me with inspiration instead. If I wasn't sure how to proceed on my sewing project, as I listened, the answer would come. And I didn't end the day feeling stressed and impatient and bogged down. Oh! It has made such a difference.

I have particularly enjoyed Elder and Sister Bednar, Elder and Sister Perry, and Elder and Sister Holland.

I think my brother is going to make us pancakes this morning, and he makes the world's best pancakes! So our weekend is off to a good start. I hope yours is, too. Have a happy one!

banana blueberry muffins

I know I've mentioned this already, but we are trying to eat less sugar at our house. I have done this on my own before, but Mike and I both felt that our whole family could benefit from this change. My children get so much junk at school and church and everywhere else, that we don't need to have it at home, too. It has been a few weeks now, and we have been very pleased with how our children have adapted, and we are excited to continue this habit (hopefully for the rest of our lives). We are eating lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and protein, of course. But I still like to have something on hand for an after school snack. Something fresh from the oven, like a muffin. I've tried a few recipes in the past few weeks, but this one has been my favorite so far:


Better Banana Muffins

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or so blueberries (optional)

Mix the mashed bananas and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

makes 12 muffins