my marathoner x2

It was bright. And it was hot. And it was really long, but Mike did it! He finished his second (and hopefully last) marathon! I am so proud of him for persevering. A marathon is no joke. The route ran right through our neighborhood, so we cheered him on at the 17 mile mark, and then again at the finish line. Seeing him round the last bend was such a relief. He'd made it! He is strong. And a good example to our kids. And I just love him so much.

happy weekend

Big news! Mike is going back to school for his MBA this fall. It is something he's always wanted to do, and I think he finally decided that it was now or never. He applied to BYU and ASU, and was offered full scholarships to both. I'm so proud of him. After a few weeks of very stressful indecision, we decided that our roots here in Arizona run deep, and he will be attending the WP Carey School of Business starting in August. Hooray! It feels really great to have it settled and decided, and we feel really confident in our decision. And now I can breathe again.

I am excited for this next chapter for our family, and for Mike, too. I know he will really enjoy going to school. And hopefully this experience will open some doors for him, or put him on a different path. Or help him to realize that owning his own business is what he really wants after all. Whatever the outcome, I know it will be a good thing.

We sort of celebrated on Monday night for family home evening. We went to the campus and got everyone an ASU shirt and then went out for rolled tacos. But there was no cake! I feel like we need to remedy that this weekend.

Mike's marathon is tomorrow. He's been dealing with some really painful calf issues and hasn't run properly in weeks, so he hasn't decided if he will run in the race or not. I have a feeling he'll go for it. So our weekend will mostly consist of cheering him on and trying not to bawl our eyes out at the finish line.

I hope the sun is peeking out wherever you are! Have a happy weekend.

fifteen

It's our anniversary! Hooray! Fifteen years ago Mike and I were married in the Los Angeles temple. And then we jetted off to Hawaii for our honeymoon, where Mike propped his little camera on a rock outside of our hut and snapped this picture. It's one of my favorite photos of us.

Fifteen years feels like a milestone. But it feels like we are just getting started, too. We are comfortable and generous with each other, and more forgiving than we used to be, I think. We've worked out some of the kinks and ended up loving each other more than we thought possible in the process. I'm proud of and grateful for the life we've created during these last fifteen years.

Here's to many, many more!

on the wise use of time, part 2

As a stay-at-home mom, I feel like one of my biggest challenges is choosing how to spend my time. In this stage of my life, my time is really my own, but sometimes that can feel overwhelming. You know, I could spend all day cleaning my house, or all day exercising, or all day sitting on the couch looking at instagram. But those aren't good ideas, obviously. So how do I manage it? How do I choose what is best?

For this week's Conference Report, I've chosen three really great articles that all touch on aspects of this time management conundrum. I'll just share my favorite parts.

In 2007, then general Relief Society president, Julie B. Beck, gave the memorable talk, "Mothers Who Know". In it she said, "Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods in order to spend more time with their children--more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all."

Also, "These wise mothers who know are selective about their own activities and involvement to conserve their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most."

In the same general conference, Elder Oaks gave the talk, "Good, Better, Best". Oh, this talk is chalk full of good advice. I had a hard time narrowing it down to just a couple quotes to share here. But these were my favorite: "Most of us have more things expected of us than we can possibly do. As breadwinners, as parents, as Church workers and members, we face many choices on what we will do with our time and other resources. We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives."

And, "The amount of children-and-parent time absorbed in the good activities of private lessons, team sports, and other school and club activities also needs to be carefully regulated. Otherwise, children will be over scheduled, and parents will be frazzled and frustrated. Parents should act to preserve time for family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, and other precious togetherness and individual one-on-one time that binds a family together and fixes children's values on things of eternal worth. Parents should teach gospel priorities through what they do with their children."

I talked about this last article in a post I wrote called "on the wise use of time" a couple of years ago here, but it's worth another mention. In "A Time to Prepare", Elder Ardern says, "To have the peace the Savior speaks of (see John 14:27), we must devote our time to the things that matter most, and the things of God matter most. As we engage with God in sincere prayer, read and study each day from the scriptures, ponder on what we have read and felt, and then apply and live the lessons learned, we draw nearer to Him. . . We will need to be wise in our judgement to ensure that the scales of time are correctly balanced to include the Lord, family, work, and wholesome recreational activities. As many have already discovered, there is an increase of happiness in life as we use our time to seek after those things that are 'virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy' (Articles of Faith 1:13)."

This is a lot to think about. But this is what I want to remember: I need to do less of the unimportant things, and save my energy for the best things. I have seen that as I put the best things first (things like reading my scriptures, attending the temple, having family home evening and family prayer), I seem to have time for all of the other things I need to do (like housecleaning and laundry and sewing). If I put the best things first, I feel less overwhelmed by my role as wife, mother, and homemaker.

happy weekend

Let's see if I can follow my own advice and have another really great weekend. Ha! Sometimes obligations are unavoidable and life is busier than I'd like it to be. This weekend is looking wide open once again, though, and that makes me happy. I am going to try to fill it with the best, most relaxing things. Like finishing my book. Or going on a family walk. Or practicing baseball with the boys in the park.

I've been knee deep in lining lace and shortening hems this week. I have a couple particularly beautiful dresses to work on, and it is such a pleasure to be surrounded by such pretty things and happy brides.

A tip for locals: I was at SAS in Tempe the other day and they had piles and piles of swimsuit fabric. I found a couple really cute ones and I am going to try my hand at making a suit for Mabel. I've never made one before, but with just a few dollars spent on fabric, I figured it was worth a shot.

What's on your docket this weekend? Mike and I never made it to the movies last weekend, so maybe we'll do that. We want to see this.

Have a good one!

how to have a good weekend

Why can't all weekends be three day weekends? Oh man, this weekend was so, so nice. I am sitting here, trying to figure out what made it feel so special. For my own future reference, this is what I've come up with:

No Obligations - We didn't have anything on our schedule. Aside from Sunday meetings, we didn't have to be anywhere or do anything. The whole weekend was wide open. That doesn't happen very often, but I am going to make more of an effort in the future to give our weekends more downtime.

lots of Family Time - We spent nearly every waking moment together as a family, starting with a Saturday morning tennis session, and including yard work and a sibling sleepover in the girls' room.

not much Computer Time - A few weeks ago, I made a new family rule: no computers on Sundays. I can't tell you what a difference this has made in our home! Instead of being scattered through the house, everyone doing their own thing (whether on a computer or not), everyone seems to stick together on Sundays now. I'll find the kids downstairs playing games together. Or drawing together. Or reading together.

a Date Night - No weekend is complete without a date night. Mike and I had a low-key evening with some mexican food. Setting aside time for the two of us is important for our whole family.

Exercise - We played tennis, we rode bikes, we went for a walk, and we worked together in the yard. Everyday had some sort of physical exercise.

Good Weather - Good weather just makes everything easier. That's all there is to it.

and some Time with Friends, too - Because there wasn't anywhere we had to be, there was time for everyone to play with friends. Oliver ended up at the park with about 15 other kids from our neighborhood for a pick up game of football (and soccer, too, I think). Mabel had a baking session with her bestie. And Stella had a sleepover with her cousin.

I am starting this new week feeling really rested and really calm, and that feels really, really good. (It helps that it's already Tuesday. :) I hope you had a nice weekend, too!

happy weekend

It's supposed to be 90 this weekend. 90! Oh man, early spring is right. I don't love being cold, but I really wish that groundhog had seen his shadow last week. I'm not ready for 90.

I asked my boys to stand under our pretty lilac vine the other day. This is as close as they would get. That thing is buzzing with bees this time of year. 90 degrees aside, February is still one of my favorite months. The sun is shining but the nights are still cool, and the air feels like spring. These bright mornings where you can already feel the heat of the day starting to stir are what Arizona is supposed to feel like. We moved here exactly 10 years ago this month, and so this weather feels really nostalgic. It feels like home.

Nothing is on the docket this weekend. Yippee! I feel like we all need a break from our weekday schedule, especially my big kids. Their days are so long. Our family has had some stressful big decisions to make lately (where Mabel and Mike should attend school next year), and I am really looking forward to just relaxing and spending time together.

Have you seen any good movies? Mike and I never go to the movies, but escaping to a dark theater sounds really nice right now.

I added a banner to the left about something really cool the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is doing. If I was a singer, I'd be all over it.

Have a happy weekend!

Mabel's dress

I was sort of relieved when I saw these pictures. Mabel doesn't look as old as I thought she would (or as old as she probably wanted to). Granted, this was pre-hair curling, but still. Sometimes in my head she's nearly grown and out on her own, but really, she's still our girl, even though she is headed to high school next year.

She said the dance was lots of fun. And no one had a dress exactly like hers.

p.s. I used Butterick 3350 for the bodice (in child's size 8 with the sides taken in--Mabel is teeny). I've used that pattern at least a million times. I swapped out the back zipper for a hidden side zipper. Then I used this great website to calculate the measurements for the circle skirt (one layer of jersey knit, one layer of lining, and two layers of chiffon for maximum twirling capabilities).

happy weekend

I've been working with this pretty rose gold sequin fabric this week for Mabel's eighth grade dance tonight. I have found sequins in every room in my house, including my front porch. Ah! Such a nightmare, but the dress is turning out just like she hoped it would, and that makes me really happy.

This weekend is packed to the brim with her school dance, little league tryouts for Oliver, a cousin's wedding, a long run with Mike, and a visit from my parents. Plus it's my turn to teach Sunday School on Sunday, and with the 8:30 slot at church this year, I can't put my lesson prep off till Sunday morning anymore. :) Oh well. What do they say? They best way to get the work done is to do the work, or something like that? The weather is going to be fantastic, so that makes everything easier. And really, these are all really happy things, so I am excited.

What do you have planned this weekend?

Have a good one!

life without a smartphone, part three

It's almost a smartphone, it just doesn't fit in my pocket very well. Ha! Truth be told, my iPad mini (which does not function like a phone, in case this picture is misleading) and I are a little too close for comfort these days, and we could probably benefit from taking a little break from each other. So that's how life without a smartphone is going. Darn, that doesn't sound very impressive, does it? Here's what I miss: taking quick, candid photos of my kids, looking up maps on the go, and easy texting. Texting from my dumb phone is never worth it, it's such a pain. Mostly I miss the convenience of my trusty old iPhone 4. But even so, I'm glad I made the change. Truly. I'm happy when I pick up my real camera and snap photographs. I'm happy that I'm a little out of the loop, and a little harder to get ahold of. I'm happy that I don't always have my eyeballs glued to a teeny screen. But I know that I need to put the iPad away more often. It's amazing how quickly I can fall back into old habits. There is still much room for improvement. And so I am working on it. Little by little, I am mastering my devices. But knowing I can step away from them completely feels really really good.

If you are at all tempted to give up your smartphone, you have my full support. No change is permanent. If it is too inconvenient for you, you can always switch back.

It's been really refreshing for me to remember that my real life is so much more fulfilling than my online life. And living without a smartphone has helped me to see that.

Part one. Part two.

the Family, a Proclamation

We have a humongous copy of The Family: A Proclamation to the World hanging in our house. I hung it in a really prominent place, where we walk by it a million times a day. I did this because I believe that if my family abides by its precepts, we will be happy. And because I want my children to know who they are, where they came from, and what they can do to live a successful, joyful life.

A couple weeks ago, I posted about one of my favorite scriptures, where Lehi is "swallowed up in other things" and so he doesn't notice the filth around him. And last week, I posted Elder Foster's quote that cautions us against letting society "give our family a makeover in the image of the world." If I want my children to know the things I believe about the family, I need to teach them. And The Family: A Proclamation is a great place to start.

One of my favorite parts says, "The family is ordained of God. Marriage between a man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Tonight for Family Home Evening, we'll be reading the Proclamation as a family. I think I'll print a copy for each of my children, and they can highlight their favorite parts. Then we'll talk about them. And then we'll probably eat some cookies. Happy Monday!


You can get a pdf of this large print (20x24) from Mike here.