Fresh

I needed a fresh, clean look on my blog. Something... whiter! I still need to tweek things, but it makes me feel better already.

We've had a sick week... okay, sick 2 weeks at our house. Right now we are just trying to stay a float. Naps and Lysol are my friend! And sleep? What is that?! Between coughing, heart burn and a sore back... my sleep is definitely lacking. A sweet friend brought homemade chicken noodle soup, rolls and popsicles last night.

There is so much to write about. I've got cute kids that are growing fast... so hopefully soon. Hannah "graduated" from preschool and Bryson is in a big bed! I'm now 30 weeks along... so all 3 kids are getting big!

100 Days in The Book of Mormon

As Young Women we are participating in a challenge to read the entire Book of Mormon in 100 days! It starts this Wednesday, May 25th and lasts until September 1st. Just in case any one was up to the challenge, I wanted to extend the invite to each of you to participate. As Young Women leaders we have prayed and pondered to know how to help our youth to stay worthy. The answer came, "Get them in the Book of Mormon!" Ironically, we weren't the only ones who received that answer! The required value project for Virtue (in the Personal Progress program) is to read the Book of Mormon!

I know teaching doctrine changes or helps behavior more than teaching behavior changes behavior! Reading the Book of Mormon brings that testimony that helps us want to do and be good!

A call had been made to "return to virtue" and we know that as we read the Book of Mormon we can help answer that call! There are so many blessings given to those who read. My favorite list of these blessings was given by President Hinckley's challenge in 2005, "Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously many have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God."

Wow! Who doesn't want and NEED those blessings!? There is so much more to say, but this post is long enough for now. If anyone wants me to email them the reading schedule, I'd be happy to do so! It will be a "challenge", but will be so worth it!

To Be

One of the General Conference talks that stuck out to me was Elder Lynn G. Robbins talk "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be." While listening, I made a big astrix at the top of my notes with a little note to myself to read and study this talk. There was much I didn't understand, but I knew it was a wonderful message that I needed to study, ponder, and apply.I choose to use this talk as a family home evening I would be giving to Nic's family. (We have FHE with them once a month. We all rotate teaching the lesson and use a recent conference talk.) As I studied the talk the only way I was able to really digest and understand it all was by making a chart, dividing "To Do" and "To Be." (I wondered if it would be kind of dorky to present it this way at FHE, but again, it was the only way I could really visualize the two concepts and explain them.)I love the concept of being. Although the 'to do's' are "important" the 'to be's' are a "weightier matter." Elder Robbins talked about how we often have "To Do list" but not "To Be lists." However our "be's" (what we what to become, our character, nature, and attributes) should be the motivating force behind what we "do" (what we want to accomplish, activities, or events).

As I read and studied I had a renewed testimony of the Young Women's Personal Progress program. This program has the "to do list" (the experiences and projects) that help us with our "to be lists" (faith, divine nature, knowledge, good works, virtue...) Although I am no longer of young woman age and I did the program when I was younger (although it has changed quite a bit!), I am currently working on earning the Personal Progress medallion again. I love using it as my scripture study; I love using it to help me "become." It is a program that we can ALL participate in and accomplish no matter what stage of life we are in. It helps us progress personally! And isn't that what this life is all about!?!Aside from this incite of the importance of Personal Progress, I also loved Elder Robbin's discussion on parenting: disciplining and praising, using these same concepts of "to do" and "to be." He said the words discipline and disciple come from the same root word. That through discipline our children learn consequences but they can also learn doctrine by the Spirit... that doctrine has the power to change their nature, their BE, over time. He said to focus our discipline and our praise on "be's" - on character and beliefs. For example when disciplining fighting or quarreling, talk about patience and being forgiving. When praising performance in sports, praise their energy and perseverance. When praising good grades, praise their diligence. Elder Robbins said we need to talk about attributes; they need to be taught and learned. But the most important way to teach to be is to be!

I have much to learning about being, much to learn about becoming and therefore, doing. I have much to learn about parenting and disciplining and helping my children to become. I am so grateful for modern day prophets, apostles, and church leaders who help us in that journey.

Day to Day

• The other day Hannah said, "I'm going to start calling you Mother." And sure enough she has.
• Bryson is going to be the death of me... for many reasons.
• He will not eat dinner. He eats cereal, breads (muffins, bagels, toast...), sweets (and gets into them no matter where they are!), and I can usually get him to eat bananas, strawberries, and apples. Luckily he likes "yogurt drinks" too and I try to get as much fruit in them, plus slip in some carrots or spinach. Oh, and PB & J (thankfully we can get a little protein). My pediatrician said to be fairly persistent that he at least try things and take one bite... he'll scream and absolutely refuse. If I manage to get a bite in his mouth he'll spit it all over the place. Desserts do not help motivate him; he just gets mad that he can't have the treat. What to do?! I hate having him go to bed hungry! And I also don't want to feed him only breads or cereals or his own special meal each night. I want him to learn to try things and eat what we are eating.
  
• Now for a positive, Bryson loves to snuggle. He'll come up and say, "I snuggle you" or "You snuggle me" or even "sleep" and pretend to be snuggling and sleeping with you. I absolutely love that. What a sweet, snugly little guy!
  
• Bry has such a contagious laugh. He loves people. He absolutely adores one of Nic's good friends, Mark. One morning after Mark had been helping with the playset the day before, the first thing Bryson said to us when he was up was, "I want Mark." Another day we were going to go over and play with some friends I asked Bryson if he wanted to go play with ___. He said, "No. I wan(t) play wi(th) Mark."
• It was 2 am and I woke up to Nic saying "Hannah what do you need?" She was standing right next to me at the side of my bed. "I want to get Sophie, so she doesn't get wet and I don't worry about her." Sophie is one of her dolls and it was pouring outside... but no, Sophie was not outside. We told her okay... she went out to the family room toy box and turned lights on. It was quite awhile before she turned all the lights off and went back to bed. The next morning I asked her if she thought Sophie was outside. "No. I just didn't want to worry about her." "Did it take you a while to find her?" "No." "Why were you out there for so long?" "Oh, I was getting her nightgown on." Oh brother... at 2 am!
• We should be getting our bunkbed soon! I'm excited... and very worried! Bry has been such a great sleeper (well since 9 months). He always goes to sleep well and sleep through the night... until just recently! Lately he's been waking up at night, usually he doesn't cry, but he stands up, throws his blankets out of the crib and yells, "Mom out... Dad out" or "Mom all done sleeping" until we go in lay him back down and give him his blankets again. What are we going to do when he can get out himself?!
• Hannah is such a little mom... and a little tattler. We have been working on her talking to Bryson first if he is doing something that bugs her or something he shouldn't.
  
• Hannah "graduates" from preschool next week. She is already talking about how she is going to miss it. We have loved her preschool and Miss Tiffany. We did the pre-registration for kindergarten! She is going to love kindergarten and is so ready for it.
• Hannah is such a little smartie. She is reading like crazy. We've also been working on memorizing some scriptures and she is doing great. She loves to look them up in the actual scriptures. We've also been working on tying shoes.
  
• Bryson and Hannah usually play really well. It is so fun to see them playing and laughing together.
• Life is busy, crazy, and fun. I'm grateful to be a mother. I sure love these two kiddos of mine... but I do go crazy nearly every day.