Avoiding Problems=Self Reliance

I loved the Visiting Teaching message this month. (If you haven 't read it, maybe you want to read it first so this post makes sense.) My little brain just wrapped itself around all those thoughts until many connections were made and they settled into a satisfactory understanding and a greater desire for application. I especially loved Sister Beck's quote--this part really jumped out at me: "Each of us has a responsibility to try to avoid problems before they happen and to learn to overcome challenges before they occur." Hmmm. . . avoid problems?? I started thinking: Well, I don't want to be hit by oncoming traffic so I drive on the right side of the road. . . .I don't put a cup of cooking oil in every dish because I don't want to deal with that kind of a cholesterol problem--and I want my family to eat it. . . . I don't want to burn myself when taking things out of the oven so I use hot pads. . . . I don't want to be sluggish so I don't eat an entire bag of dried fruit at a time. . . .but it seemed more important than that.

I don't want to be rushed in the morning, so I set the alarm clock (well, actually, Tom sets it)--and get up when it goes off. I want to avoid tooth decay, so I brush and floss my teeth. I don't want to have a crazy Sunday morning so I make sure we have clean socks and underwear on Saturday. I want my kids to obey the commandments so I take them to church and have FHE. I don't want Greta to fall down the stairs so I put up a gate. We don't want the creditors to call so we pay our bills. I don't want grumpy kids in the evening so I cook dinner. I don't want to clean up food off the carpet so we only eat food over the tile. We want clean dishes for the next meal so we do dishes. I wash my hands in hopes that I won't get sick. I don't want to feel depressed at the end of the day so I can't spend all day reading blogs or wasting time in other ways. etc. etc.

Then the thought presented itself that when I avoid problems I am more self reliant because I don't have to spend emotional energy dealing with problems from mundane things. When I'm emotionally stable, I can better deal with bigger problems that present themselves. Then I realized that when I have emotional energy I am more spiritually in tuned. Elder Hales states in the message that the reason we want to become self reliant is so we can emulate the Savior and give service. And President Romney then explained that we have to be self reliant in order to gain salvation. It all started piecing itself together in my mind. Very good things to act upon, change and tweak to see how many problems I have now that could be avoided. (like how clutter breeds clutter) All of this is good food for thought as a household manger and a mother who definitely wants to raise self reliant kids.

And then I got thinking about the For Strength for Youth pamphlet--that whole book is the perfect tool to avoid many major problems in our lives! It is a problem prevention manual! If I can apply the principles and teach my children to do that also, think of all the problems we would avoid and how much more able we would be to give and be of service.

A few examples I've thought of:

**When I was a young married mom, one bit of advice my mom gave me was to always go to bed with the kitchen clean. I still think of that advice often. When I apply it, I'm not drained emotionally first thing in the morning because that load of work is not on my list. And if I don't have to deal with emotional drainage first thing in the morning, my day is so much better. So when I organize myself and prepare every needful thing (which was one of the scriptures in the lesson) I can avoid the problem of emotional drainage first thing in the morning. That seems very needful to me.

**In my previous marriage I was always so emotionally drained because we just couldn't seem to avoid many preventable problems (creditors calling. . . services being turned off just to name a few). Because of that, spiritual enlightenment was rare--as was the service I was able to give. I was so emotionally drained I had nothing left to give to others let alone even think about them. Elder Hales says "Our ability to serve is increased or diminished by the level of our self-reliance." I've experienced that so I know it's true.

**When my kids stay on top of their school work--checking their grades every day and getting assignments done before the due date they avoid a lot of problems. They don't have to crunch or cram or hope enough extra credit is available. AND (here's another perk besides the blessing of avoiding problems) they feel good about themselves because they've worked hard. Seems like a win win to me.

Which is also what happens to me also when I avoid problems. It is a win win. I'm going to try harder to apply these principles in more areas. How thankful I am for wise leaders who point me to directions I need to go.

2nd Blog Anniversary (give away!)

It's been two years today since I wrote my first blog entry. What a great two blogging years it has been! I've reconnected with family and old friends and made new ones along the way. Thank you all for your comments--every single one has been appreciated. It is very motivating to me to write my family history via a blog because I know that people will read it now and make comments every now and again. I am also motivated by the thought that some day my children will be grown and they can get on my blog from anywhere and read family stories and read of my testimony--that has become increasingly important to me. I don't think that I would have ever arrived at my second motivation without all of you helping me along with the first. So THANK YOU!

In attempt to say thank you to all of you for your friendships and for sharing your lives with me via your blogs or emails, I'm having a little give-away. Next Sunday I will put all of my commentor's names (on this post) in for a drawing for a little handmade something from me. I've got two options to choose from.

One: A FHE or job chart. This would be custom made with names, tasks and colors just for you. If you want magnets on the back so you can keep it on the fridge, I will add those too.Two: A 12x12 painted canvas. It can be a text only painting or you can risk my much-to-be-desired-painting skills on it also. This will also be custom made with text and colors of your choice. (for ideas see here and here)So if you're a regular commenter or not, I'd love to send you a custom made item from me. (If you've never left me a comment before, I'll put your name in twice for the drawing just for saying hi.) Thank you so much for visiting me in my little corner on the web.

PS. . .I've also added a little poll on the side bar that I'd love to hear your input. While this blog is mostly for my family, I also like to post things that benefit others here too. So if you would like to make some selections on that, I'd appreciate it.

Ouch!

Little Greta is on the move and exploring and learning. . . she's loved her independence! Today she discovered the kitchen. Drawers open. Cupboards do too. Fun things and fun times.

But kitchens hold a few dangers that even Mom didn't think to protect the little explorer from. The oven was on and while the outside of the oven is not hot while baking, the bottom of the door is VERY hot. And things are worse when chunky little hands get stuck in between the drawer and the bottom of the oven door. Poor dear. All we can do for her is smear it with aloe vera, (that she promptly wipes off or licks up) keep her going with Motrin and try to prevent infection. The picture on the left is right after it happened; the one on the right is a few hours after. It is blistering up quite nicely.

And why is it with things like this that is always harder on mommies than babies? Tom and Cache have been getting some good pokes in on how frantic I was. So if you're my neighbor, don't be surprised to get a call for help if something really bad happens---the kids will call because Mom can't cope!

A Day in Our Life

A while ago I read an article about photographing a day of your life. The idea intrigued me. I loved all of the details the photos showed about the families' everyday life. But, the article suggested hiring a photographer and I'm too cheap to do that. And the pictures shown of the two families doing this had a hint of perfection to them--part of that was due to the professional photography, but there also wasn't clutter, messes, grumpiness and imperfection---all of which make up a daily part of my life. Probably because I published scrapbook layouts for so long, there is a bit of perfection in me before I snap pictures. I move clutter so there isn't visual distraction, I don't turn the flash on so the colors are more natural and I often delete blurry photos. Since I couldn't figure out a way to photograph a day as wonderfully as was shown in the magazine, I put the idea off. But late Saturday night while waiting for Cache to arrive home from a date, I suddenly decided that Sunday would be the day. The idea came with a sense of urgency so I decided to just do it. I decided to quit worrying about imperfections or trying to do as good of a job as the magazine or about clutter or blurry photos or resisting children. I didn't prep anyone and it was too late to make plans for anything out of the ordinary. So glad I did.

Welcome to a photo journey of a day in our life--bedhead, blur, clutter, runny noses, grumpiness, no photo editing or cropping and more. . . . hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Love this slice of our life right now.

{Because this post is long with just text alone, I opted to make the pictures small. If you are here to see the dust, clutter and runny noses, you'll have to click on the pictures!}

First things first on a Sunday morning. . .time for some spiritual music to set the mood for the day. With church at 11:00, there is time in the morning for a few stories. Tom has an 8:00 meeting every Sunday. "Look Greta, I'm a flying trapeze!" She's at the age where she insists on doing everything herself. Trying to sneak a little scripture reading in during breakfast with the girls--wasn't very successful. The girls and I had toast--with homemade cracked wheat bread---and hot chocolate. (the girls are a bit more intrigued with the self timer on the camera than breakfast)Bad picture, but I did get one thing out of my scripture reading--Alma 50:1 ". . . Moroni did not stop making preparations for war. . . ." It reminded me that I need to remain vigilant at all times in preparing and teaching my children and fortifying them with faith so they are prepared for what lies ahead in their lives. Tessa snuck away from me and climbed up on the bunk to wake up Caleb. He was not appreciative to be woken by Tessa then greeted with a camera. This little girl is on the go these days! (love this little pucker look she does!) Tess playing her favorite game of late: putting her trike at the end of the hall and hollering for someone to shout "On your mark, get set, GO!" Then she rides as fast as she can down the hall and around the corner, often rounding on just two wheels and barely missing walls. And what's a day without playing laundry? Reading the morning news. Caleb making scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast. Chandler having toast with peanut butter and sliced bananas with Legos. Cache having peanut butter toast. (On Sundays, everyone is in charge of their own breakfasts; hmm, wonder what Tom ate.) Time for hair dos. All ready! On with the glasses. Top off the belly before heading to church. Top Tessa off too. She has a thing lately that she loves daddy to feed her.Brush teeth. Tie Ties. Chandler's Sunday pass time if he is ready early---Windows Paint. Always something sports related. Always.Three church bags ready to go--one for Primary, one for Tessa and one for Greta. Notice the little helping hand ready to grab one to invade. Tom takes advantage of the rare occasion of me having a few extra moments before leaving. The girls and I play a bit before heading out to the van. Caleb ready to go. Tom and Tessa heading out the door. Cache heading up. Because I was taking pictures, I remembered to take my camera to church--it was our ward's turn to decorate the Primary room this year. Here is the room this year. Home Teachers come right after church. Too bad they didn't know they picked my day of documentation to come. And I never got a moment to explain myself--so I guess they just get to wonder! No matter, surely they already think we're weird!Dinner isn't until 5:30 so I threw together some healthy munchies. Tom had to leave to go home teaching (on stake assignment for a transient ward) and Greta was napping so the rest of us enjoyed snacks without them. We had ham & cheese on crackers, fresh pears, oranges and dried cherries on celery w/peanut butter. Greta wakes up from her nap. (Yes, her bed is a portable Graco--and borrowed at that. She'll learn soon enough her parents are tightwads! See I told you this documentary was real life!)Rolling out the rolls for dinner. What we have for Sunday dinner changes, but we almost always have rolls.Lots of reading usually happens on Sundays. Starting family scripture study. The kids are good to come even though we woke a few of them up from naps. Right now we are reading the Doctrine and Covenants. Someone comes over to get Tom to sign the Personal Fitness Merit Badge. Tom cleans up after me. . . and he always whistles while he does dishes. Caleb's meal prep assignment is to take care of Greta. Cache's meal prep job is to make fresh squeezed lemonade. Chandler's job is to take photos and take care of Tessa. She is reaching for the lemon rinds. Later she drops a few on the floor requiring a pretty good clean up.Me over-sauteing rice for the pilaf. (oops) Caleb also has his nose in a book. (Cache did too, but he made himself very scarce all day since the camera was getting a lot of use.) Grandma and Grandpa Waddoups arrive and Tessa immediately drags Grandpa downstairs to show him something. As usual, he is a very good sport. Cooking up the Pecan Crusted Tilapia. (Yum!) Tessa has to show Grandma and Grandpa her new trick. Grandma kissing Greta. (who took this picture??--the zoom would have been nice!)Chan still working on his art. Looking good, bud.Grandma reading to Tessa. Grandpa getting ready to take his insulin. Notice in the background the opened blind and window. . . yes it is the middle of January, but Tess had put a rubber band in the oven and our house did NOT smell good--we needed air!Dishing up plates.Cache's favorite place to eat--right by the rolls. Sitting down to eat. Caleb had stake youth choir practice and had to leave right at dinner time :(. We also had dessert--a fluffy frozen thingy I made up--that I forgot to take pictures of. After dinner, we have to have the traditional tea party with Grandpa. (Grandma always provides everything--even the table!) Tessa takes a new liberty. Tessa gets ready for bed and insists on a wrestling match with Grandpa before going to bed. Grandpa has no chance! Then Carolyn and Jerry have me take their picture for their missionary plaque. This is not the picture they used, but it is one that demonstrates the reason Tom adores me. It is not because of anything I am or do, but because he had such fantastic examples. (and we're glad to have Carolyn in a much healthier state--she had two stents put in on Thursday.) Greta hasn't been feeling her best (she's had a nasty case of croup) and by evening was needing a little mommy time. Chandler drawing more sports stuff. . .this time on paper. With Tess in bed we could enjoy a quiet game of Killer Bunnies. Caleb finally got home from choir practice and ate supper while we finished playing. Tom won with Remington.After a few meds, Greta got feeling better and wanted to join us for Killer Bunnies. After the game, Caleb asked if he could play with Greta for a little while. And here is what I was left with after everyone went to bed. Very good and satisfying day. So very very happy I photographed it. Now surely this wins some sort of prize for the world's longest post! And you, my friends, should get a prize for reading to the end!