October 20, 2011

I've been potty training Seth this week and it went pretty well.  He's wearing underwear most of the time and has accidents about once a day; not the best record, but pretty good.  But so far none of those accidents have been on the carpet or the couch.  I've only used little bribes like fruit snacks or chocolate chips.  But this week we're going to try bigger bribes at the toy store to see if we can get him a little more committed.

Now that my big website deadline has past I'm working on my house more again.  I'm finishing the playroom wall and Bob and I are working on refinishing the coffee table and buffet for the front room.  I'd like that room to look a little more finished for when my family comes for Christmas. 

Ruby and Danny are sick today so we're home from church again.  We're really praying that it'll pass by Tuesday when we plan to go to Visalia for Thanksgiving. 

I've been reading the conference Ensign lately.  Two of my favorite talks are "A Time to Prepare" by Ian S. Ardern and "The Power of Scripture" by Richard G. Scott. I feel like I just don't ever have enough time to do everything I need and want to.  I'm always behind on sleep and have headaches because of it.  So the talk by Ardern was so good because he listed what our priorities should be: The Lord, family, work, wholesome recreational activities.  That was a good reminder.  And I liked when he said "I invite us to identify the time-wasting distractions in our lives that may need to be figuratively ground into dust."  And since time is so tight for me right now I find myself neglecting my scripture study as I try to get more things done, even though I know that's not how my priorities should be.  So Scott's talk about his love of the scriptures was wonderful.

November 13, 2011

Ruby is one year old! We had a party for her of Friday. We had red velvet cake and red balloons and streamers and we had the Deans over.  She got some little people sets that she is loving.  She's such a great little girl. She's walking like a pro and she has such a happy personality.  But she is also getting some strong opinions and she doesn't let anyone push her around. I'm so thankful for her in our family!

We signed Danny up for basketball. He's going to be on the same team with CJ and Ethan Whittle.  It'll be nice to have a carpool for practices.  It'll overlap with soccer for a month, so it'll be a little busy for a while.  But then Aaron isn't doing a sport (just maybe a basketball class in January) and Rachel's tennis takes December and January off (she just got moved up a level in tennis!). And piano takes December off. I'm looking forward to the break.

November 6, 2011

We went to the Stanleys for a potluck and then trick-or-treating again this year.  But this time Ruby threw up after dinner so she and I went home and Bob went trick-or-treating with the group.  The kids all had a great time. And we were glad it was Ruby who got sick that night because any of the other kids would have been so sad to miss trick-or-treating.  The three youngest have all gotten the stomach bug this week.  I hope we're almost over it, but we're still seeing the effects.

I'm just about done with my big website conversion. I was supposed to switch it over yesterday, but I ran into a little snag.  So I should be able to finish it up tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to having time to do other things.

This weekend was stake conference.  I love going to the adult session.  I always learn so much.  This time Elder Roberts, I think he's an area authority, told a story about a man who whittles figures at scout camp and has a big impact on all the boys he interacts with.  The man said "I can't do much, but I can do this" and has been whittling and impacting boys for years.  Elder Roberts challenged us to listen to the spirit to know why he told that story.  I loved it.  I so want to serve and help in the Kingdom, and I know being a mom is so important, but I really feel like I don't do much more sometimes.  So this story really touched me because if there is some little thing I can do that will help I want to do it.  So as I was praying and reading after conference I was thinking about this and I felt prompted that the little thing I can do is to pray for others.  I can look for needs and keep others in my prayers.  I can totally do that!  And I know that will have an impact on others' lives. So I'm excited to look for opportunities and needs and listen for promptings for who can use my prayers.