Conference Weekend!

Conference is coming up this weekend.
I'm most anticipating what Elder Uchtdorff and
Elder Bednar are going to share with us...
and of course,
I know I'll have a good cry with
Elder Eyring as always.

And crepes.
Conference Saturday is always about crepes.

What about your Conference weekend--
what's your favorites?

Like Dwight

So I started this new job.
I'm the Assistant to the Regional Manager
at the Interior Design store that's getting ready to open.

The builder just finished the build-out part
Friday...
and so now we're in the process of moving.
I think I'll take pics today so you can see the
transformation as it takes shape.



Right now,
it's a flat-out mess.
But our designer, Karen, has big plans and great taste
so I kinda feel privileged to be one of her sorry people
and get to watch it all up close and personal!

Last weekend,
we spent time as a family on the Santa Fe trail,
then we took the yahoos out and bought winter coats--
we only have to do that every couple of years
thank goodness...the total cost of the coats is as much as
a Kia.

Now I have their old winter coats that I'd like to donate
to kids that could really use them.
Gotta think about how to go about that one.

Then we went homecoming dress shopping for Daisie.
Three hours later,
she found a modest Jody dress she loves
at Dillards.
And she's willing to pay half the cost.
But I was near-pooped.
FYI- Don't go hiking in the morning before you go dress shopping
in the evening
with a young woman.
Your brain gets soggy and
you may need CPR in the parking lot
Oh my Aunt Nancy!

The *brilliant rich and talented child down the street
told Ari she isn't allowed to play with her
"for two weeks
because Ari lied about her."
Not even kidding about this.

Then the *brat showed up to play last night.
Schizophrenic child.
I think she's smarter than me--
I didn't think we'd see her until she's on
America's Most Wanted or Jerry Springer.

I'm kidding.
A little.

It's a little un-nerving though.
Like a really bad movie or a
Scooby Doo episode--
I'm half-wondering whose behind the child mask
of this short person.

So we got all the kids new coats
and guess what chicken-butt?

It's supposed to 85-freakin-degrees here today!
I wonder if that's a record?
We'd already had our first snow this time last year.
Something ain't right.
And Murphy's Law woulda kicked our bums if we
waited to buy the coats!--
we'd have 14 inches of snow today and no coats!


Oh and I also went and saw the baby whose birth I last attended
12 days ago.
He is really cute.
And I never say a baby is cute if he looks like
a squished up old man dipped in forty weight.
I compliment their clothes or blankets
or say something like,
"Dontcha just love him?!"--
if the baby looks like Gollum from LOTR.

Anywho, that baby is really cute.

Then Mr Wonderful and I attended a Stake Meeting--
we're planning a dance in October for the region's
single adults age 30 and up...
I think it's more accurate to say for 35-45 year olds
because 30 year-olds don't think they belong there
as much as 50 year-olds are way past the "dancing with strangers" age--
for the most part.
But still,
we're planning the dance and refreshments.
There will be no chocolate chip cookies or red kool-aid there.
We're having grown up food.
And candy corn...
because everyone knows
candy corn
is THE candy of Fall.
It's in the Law Book of Fall by Momza.
Look for it in Costco
in the candy section
right next to the GIANT container of Twizzlers.

And that's my weekend/week so far.
Oh and I have a sprained wrist that is tightly wrapped in an
ACE bandage...which needs to be looked at by a trained professional
but I have no time to go because
you guessed it--
I'm Late! and the ATTRM cannot be late.

The Non-Jersey Shores Situation

We had a situation here this week,
that is very unlike Jersey Shores "The Situation"--
(seriously, is it just me or is that kid kind of immature?--
I've never even seen the show,
but every time I see a photo of him,
his shirt is pulled up like he's a two year old girl.
just sayin.)

Anywhooooo...
we have some young neighbors
who have some young little girls.
One of whom has tested the
"honesty" waters lately...
She told the Caboose--
who was within ear shot of Nana,
that her parents abuse her--
that her father shoved her down the stairs,
and her parents refuse to feed her!
AND
that if the Caboose told ME,
and if I then told THEM,
she would lie her fool head off,
rather than face certain death!
AND
(hey, there's more!  there's always more when
a nine year old girl is concerned,
and this one was on a roll!)
AND--if the Caboose told me,
then she would make sure
that the Caboose was
suspended from school
AND
go to "Kid Prison".

Now, I was flat-out ignoring the child-abuse bally hooing,
if you knew her parents
like I know her parents,
you would too.
But when the Caboose was fretting about going to
Kid Prison and eating green beans all day,
I knew it was time to have a little chat
with this youngun's father yesterday morning.

Yes, he was shocked.
Yes, he couldn't believe it.
Yes, he told his sweet wife,
whom I was sure was going to either
A) Put her kid in a chokehold
or
 B) Die from shock.

The parents asked if they could come over
have a chat
get to the bottom of this situation
because as you might've guessed--
their daughter would never talk like that,
was always kind and honest,
why, she would just never!...
blah blah blah
you know this stuff
cuz you've been there, right?

I know I've been there--
ready to defend my yahoo's reputation
with my last breath
before I knew any better.
I came to the sad realization that my yahoos--
my beloved off-spring for whom
I have
sacrificed so much--
my waistline
my hard-earned money
my time, talents, means
and last nerves--
MY yahoos would dare LIE to their mother
to save their own skins!

I learned this when my oldest yahoo
was in fifth grade:
the teacher called to "inform" me of my son's
unnaceptable behavior.
I can't even recall what it was,
so it wasn't theft,
physical violence
or naughty words--
it had something to do with
writing on someone else's paper.
ANYWHO,
while the teacher is telling me
this
this
this nonsense,
I told her in no uncertain terms that
MY BOY WOULD NEVER DO THAT. period.
Then I asked to speak to my son,
and I asked him over the phone,
"Did you do that?"
to which he replied "No, Mom."
Satisfied with his answer,
I asked to speak to his teacher.
"Yes, my son says he didn't do that, and I believe him."
Then she said,
"Why don't you come down to the school and see for yourself."

I was indignant.
Of course I would come down to prove my son's innocence!
What Mama Bear wouldn't??

I went into the Principal's Office
ready to claw at anyone who dare challenge my son's character,
only to be handed my dignity back into my face
as I saw the paper-in-question with my own two eyeballs.

A little part of me died.
Right there in Mrs. Inserra's office
at Bellair Elementary School.

I was in shock.
My Beloved Son, My David Scott had
told me a big fat honkin' lie...
and he knew when I got there--
he knew I was going to look like an Idiot
in front of his teacher and Principal.

And he did it anyway.

SO
that's the day I learned that while I may
teach my yahoos all I know about being
honest and true,
they like to test the honesty waters once in awhile
when I'm not expecting it
and shock the daylights outta me.

I just hate that.

So I was relating this story to my young neighbors
who were certain that their
beautiful, rich and talented* child
would NEVER tell such a whopper--
I told them
that sometimes kids lie just to see what happens.
And you don't have to beat yourself up over it
or analyze it to death.
You deal with it in your own way,
(filling up socks with sand and thumping the yahoos with them
doesn't leave a mark, did you know that?)
and then you move on.

I think my young neighbors were both
relieved and discouraged.
Relieved
that we weren't mad or
in any other way affected,
so long as their brat*
stopped threatening the Caboose
with hard time in the Big Kid House
and being suspended from school;
and
Discouraged
that they have a normal kid on their hands
because before today,
they were pretty sure she was an incarnate Mother Theresa.

Kids wreck us parents up sometimes.
I think it's payback for all the wrecking up we do to them.

I bet that's what that kid on Jersey Shore is doing to his folks.
Payback. Totally.

The Birth Story of a Goddess

The birth I attended last week,
is being told today
by the Goddess that became a Mother.

So go over and read it.

Ten Things I Love About Fall

Seven Cherubs is blogging Ten Things she loves and I'm joining her today!

Here's 10 things I love About Fall:

1- The crisp morning air!

2- The sunrises of light thru the low clouds against the mountains.

3- Halloween!

4- Chilly weather to sleep in!

5- Sweaters, Fleeces, Warm Socks!

6- Crockpot dinners!

7- Football!!!

8- Leaves of gold and red

9- Thanksgiving!  The whole familia will be here!!

10- New Season of my favorite tv shows--Chuck, Glee, The Mentalist...and a new show called "Raising Hope"--which totally caught me by surprise! I loved it!

What about you?

Ten Favorite Things??

Random Thoughts that could be formed into whole blogs, but I'm too busy to do that.

*We Teach Others How To Treat Us...now there's a thought!  

*If You Talk to your children about sexual intimacy with purpose, clarity and honesty they will more likely regard your other teachings positively.  They'll trust your counsel in other areas of life too.

*If you want to make a change in the way you're doing things in your home--such as discipline--don't be afraid to tell your kids you made a mistake and want to make a course correction. "This wasn't working to meet the needs of our family, so we're going to do things differently."  But you can't do that alot--so be careful when you choose a new way.  Kids need consistency.



Okay, your turn--WEIGH IN on those thoughts, or share your own random thoughts today!

Where We Went N' What We Did--Rocky Mountain National Park, 2.0

 bag o' omelets for breakfast--always a hit!

 scramblin' around on rocks in her pajamas!

 cuttin' firewood...nevermind that it's already been cut.  that's no reason not to cut it again!

 Blue blue skies

 Spotless bathrooms!  Running Water!  No cobwebs even!  loved. that.

The kids know these trails--

they've been coming since they were babes in backpacks.

They never tire of going.

We're all grateful we live in a beautiful place.

What about you?

What do you love about the place you live?

Where We Went N/ What We Did

Rocky Mountain National Park

Trying out my new camera's panoramic feature.

lots to learn 

still.

Some of my peeps.

Watching the Elk...

who were keeping it all on the 

d/l....

Two thumbs Up!
Way Up!

more to come soon.

right after

I shower the dirt off

and

sleep in my own bed.

We're Going and Doing

Much to tell,

no time to tell it in.

The birth was wonderful.

The Designer is fun.

The kids are snot-free.

My livingroom looks like this:

Because we are headed up there:

To watch the Elk bugle.
(Rocky Mountain National Park--thanks for asking Tauna!)

Which, in my life,

is awesome!

Have a happy weekend!

This Season I'm In --a Gift

A confession:
I've been more of a "blog lurker" lately
than ever before...
peeking in on my favs,
catching up
then dashing out...
I'm in a new season right now--
a full-time working season
and
that's new for me.

I'm learning the ropes at the Interior Design center--
and can I just say,
I love learning new things?!
I do.
When I'm learning,
my mind is alert and active,
shrugging off the dust as it were.

I'm also attending a birth--
probably today
and feel entirely grateful that I get to do
something that turns an ordinary day
into a
Blessed Day.

So I'm moving forward
growing
progressing
testing out what I know
learning things I don't...
and it's all good.

This is My Season to grow.
Muscles stretching,
Vision focused,
Hands busy,
heart engaged.

Today is a Gift that I'm opening
like I'm five years old--
wrapping paper flying
ribbon ripped off--
let's see what's inside!
So keep blogging away
my friends,
I'll be around when I catch my breath!

Do you feel like the season you're in, is a gift to you?

It's All Music To My Ears

Fall means

Back to School,

Seasons Changing

Making New Friends

Reuniting with Old Pals

and

Getting the kids to try new things:

~The Caboose chose the violin~

~Her bff, Natster, is "accompanying" on the piano~

~Boofus chose the trumpet~

All Together Now!

This is the scene at our house in the mornings

as the yahoos wait for the bus...

it's loud

it's funny

it's a cornucopia of sounds!

And I love it.

Do your yahoos play instruments?

How about you? Did you take lessons in your yahoo days?

Something I Learned from Cleaning McMansions

My mother and father used to
pack us kids in their old '59 Ford,

I think it was a Rambler,

and say,

"Let's go for a drive."

And we'd be thrilled 

and I mean it,

THRILLED

to go anywhere in the car!

Growing up in Miami,

we always seemed to end up somewhere along

Key Biscayne

looky-looing at beach front mansions...

my mom would be ahhh-ing and ohhh-ing

at their grandeur and say things like,

"Don'tcha wish we lived there?"

Until recently,

I did the same ridiculous thing--

drive by humongous houses and say, 

"Wow, I wonder what they did in the pre-existance

to deserve that kind of blessing?"

Half-wishing I knew the answer to an absurd 

question.

After my wonderful, exciting experience last week
of cleaning a 10,000 square foot McMansion,
I discovered some thing about my Self:
I don't want to be the Mother of a mansion.

I don't want to be in charge of nine bathrooms.
Two full humongous kitchens with marble countertops,
and leaded windows,
Two Deep Freeze fridges and Two side-by-side ranges
and an extra-large grill on the island.

I don't want to be responsible for shoes that are lost
in 7 bedrooms--each room larger than the first
with closets bigger than my current familyroom;
and the floors,
oh heaven help me, the floors--
carpet, tile, wood--
it doesn't even matter,
the time involved in just cleaning the floors
is dreadful.
--and don't even get me started on cleaning those
numberless windows.
ugh.
UGH.
And yes, I realize that if I did live there,
I'd have FT housecleaners too,
but my goodness,
I'd still be in charge of getting it done.

Being invited into a Mc-Mansion as a guest
is wonderful, delightful even
but
after the invitation to clean one--
I find my Self no longer enchanted
by the spectacle.

And that, my friends is a lesson for Me.
I discovered I am a Simple Woman.
I want space for my stuff
space for my yahoo's stuff
and room for guests
and once I have that much space,
I'm good.
And here, the Lord knew it all along.

*Now, some more things I learned last week from my stint as being a housecleaner:
Mrs. Meyers All Purpose Cleaner.
I'm a Mrs. Meyer's Convert.
She is Green and Lovely.
Pair Mrs. Meyers up with
Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser
and you've got a really good team
for tough stains.
And good ol vinegar and water is best and cheapest
for cleaning windows and glass.
Use lint-free, fabric-softener-free cloths to
wipe windows and glass down for a smudge-free
shine.
And for hardwood floors,
I tried and liked Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaners.

So there ya have it--
the stuff I learned from cleaning McMansions.
Good stuff, Maynard.

Of Rocks and Families

Ever have one of those weeks

Where so much happened in just a matter of days,

You wondered how that amount of living

Could’ve fit into a small space of time?

Well, that’s how I feel…

And here’s how it went:

A little over two weeks ago,

Mr. Wonderful answered to jury duty.

He came home that first day

Hoping he wouldn’t have to return the next.

But he did.

And his company in Aurora, Colorado

Was not happy about his missing work.

But he had no choice, as you know

If you’ve ever been chosen for jury duty.

Then, on Day Two,

Mr W came home a somber man.

He said,

“I’ll never discuss this case with you,

Even after it’s over.”

When I guessed at which high profile case

Was currently in the papers,

His reply was,

“You can’t ask me that.”

Then I knew I was right.

But I didn’t ask him about it.

Instead, I pulled him in close and said,

“Be a blessing to that family.”

It was a criminal case involving the

Horrible murder of a special-needs young man

By two positively evil people,

whom this young man trusted as friends.

Because special-needs beings are so

Trusting and naïve,

They give trust where none is deserved.

The impact of Mr W’s call to the jury would impact our family

In more than financial ways.

So much more.

Since I knew I would need to work some through this,

I met up with a gal I know a little bit from church

Who owns a house cleaning service

And was offered a job on the spot

In Albertsons, no less.

Then I got really sick,

And couldn’t start until this past Wednesday.

But she was patient,

And happy to have me on board.

So I began on Wednesday

To clean other people’s houses.

The shoe was on the other foot

For me.

See, I’ve had housecleaners over the years,

But I’ve never cleaned professionally before.

This was a new experience!

I was as excited about trying something new,

As I was about earning a little extra cash

While Mr W was on the jury.

In the past three days,

I’ve cleaned mansions on hillsides,

And a historic mansion in downtown Colorado Springs.

I’ve mopped floors for executives,

And Air Force Colonels,

Historians,

Ministers,

And working mothers.

Some homes are right outta

House Beautiful,

With fantastic views and gilded-gold-everythings

And some are just namby-pamby-mish-mashed

ordinary homes.

But, I felt privileged to be invited inside.

To wash and wax,

To fold and tuck,

To serve,

Even if it was for my own gain,

It still blessed my life.

The one thing all of those houses

Have in common is this:
Family.

Old photos, framed with care,

Of grand parents

And new photos of
families, weddings, grandbabies

Of days gone by,

all carefully displayed.

Letters and notes stuck on fridges

And nightstands,

Of “I love you-s”…

From little ones’ crayons

To big ones’ cursive.

So easy to see where hearts are knit together.

So affirming to me of the strength that is

Found in Family.

Whereas  Mr. Wonderful spent 14 days

Listening to testimonies of degradation

And violence that two men learned

In their families,

And how that life experience led them to the

Choices they’ve made,

Ruining their own lives,

Impacting an innocent family—

I was out in the world

Experiencing another kind of

Familial Love.

Mr W said that the victim’s father sat in the courtroom

every minute of every day for the entirety.

Even when the victim’s brother had to leave the courtroom

in frustration and fury,

and the victim’s mother had to leave with her grief-drenched heart

so as to avoid hearing the details of her son’s gruesome last moments.

The father stayed.

He sat there
and he listened
and he looked
at the evidence,
every bit of it.
Can you even imagine?

Mr. W met the father one morning in the hallway—

Just the two of them there,

The father smiled at Mr W. and said

“Good Morning.”

Mr. W. said he felt the Spirit wash over him,

“You’re here to bring comfort to him.”

Leaving no doubt in his heart that he was

where he was supposed to be.

No matter the financial burden that our family

might endure.

This was meant to be.

This past week was a long one.

Mr W did not discuss the case with me

until today, guarding my heart

because I am the mother of a special-needs son.

Today, the defendant was sentenced to

Two consecutive Life sentences

Plus 32 years.

No parole. Ever.

Guilty on 7 counts.

The defendant’s family wept openly.

The defendant stood alone in his sin.

The victim’s family wept openly too.

For their boy.

For justice fought for and won.

And Mr W wept to himself.

The weight of the moment was not lost on him

or the rest of the jury.

And now, we’re left to see if we can spit-shine

The dust off the experiences we’ve had this week…

Mr. W says he learned that the fight between Good vs. Evil is real—

And it’s not just “out there”

Its in our backyard.

And the Prophets are right and true—

There’s a battle going on for the souls of men,

And those battles start in the Family.

And I learned that it’s good to get out of my little

Cocooned world.

To try a new skill,

And not be ashamed to scrub toilets,

Or wax floors of total strangers--
that work is work and is good for us all.

Joseph asked me on Wednesday night if

I am a “maid”.

“I guess so.” I said.

Right about that time,

The phone rang, and it was my longtime friend and home staging partner,

Kelly.

She asked how my first day went.

“I am beat! It’s like speed-cleaning!” I replied.

Then she asked if I wanted another job.
So my maid-days were short-lived.

I’ll be working with Karen Jones at her brand new

All About Home Interior Design Center.

My dream job.

Total Apple Pie for me.

I start Monday.

So our rocks have been tumbled about,

Smoothing out the rough spots of ignorance,

Knocking off the high bumps of pride,

Polishing our Spirits in knowledge.

We see things differently today

than we did just 14 days ago.
I hope we're never the same.

Rock Shining

I've been too busy having
an "exciting and joyful" life
this week to blog.
Exciting as in "growth in understanding"
and
Joyful as in "learning to be grateful".

The culmination of which is,
rumbling
tumbling
ping-pong-ing
around my noggin
like a rock in a tumbler.

When I sort it all out,
and get it to a shine,
I'll be back to share
where I've been,
what I've learned
and
the joy of having an exciting life.

Cause you know,
that's why we're here--
"men are that they might have joy".

and pie.

lots of really good pie.

Why I am Always a Day Late and a Dollar Short--the unmentionable story

When I was a little girl,
my mom bought me special underwear--
the kind with the Days of the Week stitched on them.

I loved them.

I'd set each pair out the night before--
Monday for Monday
Tuesday for Tuesday
Wednesday for Wednesday
Thursday for
well, you get the point.
I'd get super excited about how I could
organize my entire weeks' outfits around
a pair of ruffled underwear!

But then at the end of the week,
on Sunday, actually--
it would all go to pot...no pun,
pun intended.
There was no underwear with Sunday on them.
It's like it was sacrilegious to have the word
"Sunday" on a pair of unmentionables.
That was back when shopping wasn't done on Sundays--
if you're as old as me,
you probably recall those days when
 Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy
was the real deal.
Stores, restaurants, movie theaters, baseball fields
were quiet.
Sunday was a day of reverence...
and I guess even the underwear people knew that.

So when Sunday came around,
I had to wear Monday's underwear...
and thus began an ugly chain of events.
I wore Tuesday's underwear on Monday,
and Wednesday's on Tuesday...
and so on
and so on...
until I was so far behind,
I ended up wearing Saturday's underwear on Tuesdays!
And that is why I am always a day late and a dollar short!

Today,
I bought the Caboose her own
Days of the Week underwear--
and she was so excited,
she ran up to her bathroom--
at  three o'clock in the afternoon!-
and took a shower to put on her
new underwear!
I kid you not--
can't even make this stuff up.

So when Mr. W comes home,
she meets him at the door
and whispers in his ear about her new
Days Of the Week underwear.
"I'm wearing Wednesdays!'"
We both smile and say,
"It's Tuesday though."
"Oh I know, she says, but I won't have time to
shower in the morning, so I'm wearing them for tomorrow."

[I did tell her she could've waited until I washed them --but she didn't wait.]


So I tossed the others in the wash with some things,
and as I'm sorting them out from the dryer,
I notice something--
there's a Sunday pair.
And then I smile--
no more messing up the days of the week for her!
YES! I think.  Underwear makers finally get it!
We need to wear clean unmentionables even on Sundays!

And then there was a note of sadness.
A ridiculous, sappy realization.
Sundays are just like every other day
in the world my daughter lives in...
they are not days' of rest...
they are days to catch-up
days to run errands and shopping
days to go to movies and out to eat
or a "nod to God and then I'm gone"--
days to go to church and then to ball games...
Sundays are just like every other day--
and even Fruit of the Loom knows it.

And men wonder why women are so uptight?!!!

Best Of Momza's House

first run last February 2010.

The Yahoos and I went up to Denver today

to Cherry Creek Mall...

we'd never been there,

no not in the 13+ years we've lived in Colorado.

Never.

The only store I loved was

Anthropologie.

So. cute.

But that's not what I wanna share.

So we're sitting on a garden wall

waiting for some of our gang

to come out of Urban Outfitters

and some of our gang

to come back from the Loo--

when I look down the way a bit

to see a very very elderly man

slowly shuffling his way towards

our end of the Mall.

His steps are teeny tiny baby steps,

his arms are swinging in unison,

as tho he is using them to push him along.

I whisper to Daisie so she can notice him too.

She has been very much a 14-going-on-fifteen-year-old

lately...

you know what I'm talking about:

self-absorbed, curt, whiny, some moments I am

exasperated by her--

I wanted her to see something real--

someone whose struggles

were on the outside

easy to see

and perhaps sympathize.

She watched his motions

as his path crossed right in front of us,

her heart melted,

she said,

"I wonder if he needs help?"

I looked into her eyes

and said,

"How bad do you wanna know?"

She winced for a moment--

thought about it,

then stood up

and walked over to him--

immediately the rest of my yahoos' eyes

were fixed on their sister.

They hadn't heard our conversation

but they had certainly seen the man.

When Daisie got to him,

his eyes lit up

a broad smile surfaced on his lips

and I heard him say to her

request,

"God bless you.

God bless you.

God bless you."

-- in broken english.

And he put one of his arms on her shoulder,

looking deep into her eyes.

He shook his head no

and kept shuffling

until he was outta sight.

When she returned to me,

her eyes met mine

and we both teared-up.

I told her I was so proud of her

and hugged her guts!

She said it reminded her of some show she had seen

where an actor

pretended to need help

to see who would step up and offer it.

I told her it reminded me of the Savior

who said,

"Inasmuch as ye have

done it unto the least of these,

my brethren,

ye have done it unto me."

A Family Mission Statement And An Invitation

When I  think of different people,
there are often particular images that come to mind--
like when I think of Southerners,
I think of hospitality, easy-going smiles, corner churches,
and Friday night football.

When I think of people I know,
I generally think of their family members,
the house they live in,
where they work,
but mostly,
how they treat others,
or what I know to be important to them.

The older my family grows,
the more clear our family identity becomes
to each of us...
my southern roots show when we invite others
into our home,
around our dinner table,
and share whatever we might have to offer.

If you were a fly on the wall at our house,
you would get an earfull--
lots of joking around,
laughter,
poking at each other,
and inevitably the conversations come around
to the topic of sharing the gospel.

That's just a natural consequence in our circles of friends.
We don't sit around and tap our noggins
trying to think of whom we can share our testimonies with--
we're not that good of planners, honestly.
But, being friendly to start with,
we make new friends easily,
and it goes from there.

IN his book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families",
Stephen Covey admonishes the creation of a
Family Mission Statement,
to create purpose and unity within the family.
And while we haven't sat down together and formally
created our own mission statement,
there is a recognition of at least one of our
familial callings,
Missionary Work.

Our family identity is centered on
The Restored Gospel.
We are missionaries.
It's what we do--
The Colonel does KFC chicken
and we share the gospel.

Last week,
Nana started a new semester in college.
In one of her classes,
she was chosen as a partner by a classmate,
as part of a class assignment to write about someone
and introduce them to the rest of the class--
he said,
"I wanted to choose someone who would be interesting.
I knew if I chose you, I wouldn't be disappointed. You're a Mormon.
I choose you."
Then he proceeded to tell her about himself--
he's married and has a child and he's an Athiest.
This last week, they set aside some time to work on the project
with another classmate Nana invited into their group as well.
Nana was surprised that he'd chosen her solely because of her faith,
and welcomed the chance to share what she knows and how she feels
about what she knows.

Nana was excited.
Before she left for the meeting,
we had a few minutes to talk about
what sharing the Gospel means to her,
and how much our family is defined
by this calling of missionary work.

All of us, from the youngest to the oldest,
share this calling together.
We are a Family,
A Work in progress,
and we are also missionaries for
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"...if ye have a desire, ye are called to the work."

So I'm just wondering--
has your family created their own mission statement?
As we are all missionaries for something,
What are you missionaries for?
If you'd like more information about creating a Family Mission Statement,
take a look over at Simple Mom.

Something to Share:
To my non-Lds friends--
Have you ever wondered what the Book of Mormon was?
Would you like to read it right where you are, to get a feel for it?
Well you can do that with no obligation to anyone or anything at--Read the Scriptures.com

I've set a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon in 100 days, and if you'd like to join me, start today.

That's just sixty-six verses a day...and get this, Read the Scriptures.com has an audio feature.  Just click a button, and listen to it right here at your computer.  Doesn't get any easier than this!  

The Book of Mormon is true.  And you can know it for yourself.  It has the power to change your life.

If you want to let me know you're reading/listening online, I'd love to share the journey with you!

To receive your complimentary copy of the Book of Mormon, check out https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/book-of-mormon 

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

September marks the 15th Anniversary of 

The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

Fifteen years ago,
I never thought that the sanctity of Marriage

would be challenged as it is today. So Who knew fifteen years ago

that the Family,

The very definition of "Family" was going to need to be clarified?

Heavenly Father did,
and has

revealed it to us as

The Family: A Proclamation to the World.


What THREE words best describe your family?

Where We Went N' What We Did--Elitches Amusement Park

In honor of the Fifteenth Anniversary of

The Family: A Proclamation to the World:

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when 

founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles

 of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, 

and wholesome recreational activities." 

Quiz:

How many times will a Momza ride

the water-ride

in a row because

her littlest yahoos ask her to?

 Once?

Twice?

 Five times?

Ten?  Did you say TEN?

Is that your final answer?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

But what about when the Momza has had enough--

how many times would the yahoos ride it alone??

Fifteen times!

 Cold, wet and happy!

The Caboose and Me...soakin' wet to the bone. 

Yahoos keep me young--

and help me to see there's still magic!

If you'd like to join in the Celebration, go over to Chocolate on My Cranium's and she'll get ya started!