Mormon Bloggers

I watched this video a while back with my boys called Two Brothers Apart.  Two boys named Luke and Sam are followed for 5,000 days and are interviewed, partially about their relationship with each other.  There was a lot of sibling rivalry in our home at the time between our boys.  Hurtful things were said, teasing, provoking, hitting, etc.  At times I wondered if they had any loving feelings towards each other and it was so hard.  I told them that how they were treating each other now could affect them for their whole lives.  I knew grown men who held grudges over ridiculous things, affecting not only them but everyone who loved them.  No one wanted to choose sides in their feuds. During our Family Home Evening, I asked them to write down their feelings about the video.  It was hard to get any serious answers out of them, much to my frustration, but I repeated since then how they need to treat each other with love and respect.  Like these boys Luke and Sam, emotions started to... Read the rest of this entry »

An online friend of mine asked if the purpose of life was to experience pain.  I know from The Book of Mormon, “Men are that they might have joy.”  I don’t think we came here to suffer, but we did come to be tested. I imagined what life would be like without pain of any kind.  It sounds rather nice at first, but the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.    I thought, “If there were no pain, there would be no miracles.” Pain causes us to turn to God.  Having our prayers answered during a difficult time increases our faith in Him.  A discussion started about some possible reasons for pain such as the ability to empathize with others.  Yes, but if there were no pain, there would be no reason to empathize.  There wouldn’t be much reason to serve each other, actually.  No hunger?  We wouldn’t feed each other.  No crying?  We wouldn’t comfort each other.  And of course if there were no pain, there would be no crying... Read the rest of this entry »

Snow is a rare thing around here, so when it does come, we really appreciate it.  It also brings some frustration because we don’t have enough plows to keep up with it, but it forces us to slow down and just enjoy being together.  For two days in a row, we didn’t have the TV on because we spent so much time sledding, making snowmen, and inviting nearby friends over for hot chocolate.  Tonight we gathered around our table by the fireplace to play a new game and my husband came home to some hot jambalaya after a long day of driving in the snow.  I love creating these memories together. I love that I had no reason to stay inside.  Our daughter is three now and usually doesn’t nap anymore, so I didn’t have to tell my kids, “Maybe later.  The baby is napping.”  I wasn’t just a spectator either.  I rode an inner tube down the hill too, screaming and giggling like a little girl.  It brought back one of my favorite memories of visiting my aunt. ... Read the rest of this entry »

I was just reading an article that got me thinking again about the church’s statement called The Family: A Proclamation to the World.  This part often stands out in my mind. The family is ordained of God. Marriage between 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. So many trials I see people I know going through right now are related to this.  I have friends who don’t know who their fathers are because of their mothers’ multiple sexual partners and failure to keep track of them.  A friend who has been trying to adopt a child through the foster care system – scores of men have been given paternity tests and it took over a year to locate the real father.  Out of pride, he is now fighting them in... Read the rest of this entry »

Years ago I heard a talk that made a lasting impact on me.  It was about living within your means.  This man who spoke to us was in our stake presidency and is also my dentist.  He told us about a time he was going to college at BYU and he had very little money.  He didn’t have a winter coat and when he found one on sale, he was very excited and decided to buy it.  He called his dad about his exciting purchase and his dad asked, “Can you afford it?”  “But Dad!  I NEED a winter coat!”  He repeated, “Can you afford it?” He finally got the point and returned it to the store, choosing to dress in layers.  That worked fine for him.  Whenever I think about making a purchase, I ask myself that question.  “Can I afford it?”  He said just because we deserve something doesn’t mean we can afford it.  Friends have tried to talk me into buying things that I “deserve”, but I told them, “I deserve a mansion, but... Read the rest of this entry »

Our Christmas was wonderful and I am still excited about the meal I made for my parents on Christmas Eve.  I’m also grateful they were willing to cram themselves into our apartment for the event.  My good friend also came over and let me borrow her electric roasting pan.  Those are so great because it frees up your oven to cook other things.  I wish I had the space to have one of my own.  Hopefully when we get a house, that will be possible. Cooking a holiday meal can be rather intimidating, especially when it comes to timing everything right.  Sometimes things don’t get started until the turkey is out of the oven and then you’re dealing with cold turkey.  This is how I maintain a degree of sanity. 1.  Figure out what I can make the night before.  For example:  cranberry sauce.  Or maybe you just want the canned stuff.  I love to make homemade cranberry sauce.  It will taste just as delicious the next day. 2.  Instead of peeling potatoes, use some like red... Read the rest of this entry »

Once again, it’s Christmas and we’re worried about money.  At times our bishop will give us a gift card from anonymous members from our ward (congregation), but I want so much to do things on our own.  I want to give to others.  Things got worse than I expected this month.  A week before Thanksgiving, we were given notice that our rent is going up and that they are going to start charging us for utilities.  This will cost us at least another $100 a month.  My husband needed an oil change which ended up being $70 for his huge truck.  He was also told that they can’t work overtime anymore, our health insurance is going up, he needs new tires, and we are still trying to climb our way out of debt. I’m gradually finding more students to teach, but it’s not quite enough.  Pay day was yesterday and after figuring out all of the bills, I was really upset to see that we were already going to be left with $100 or less for groceries and gas until our next pay... Read the rest of this entry »

This isn’t a question you hear often, is it?  The doctor told me that I have to wake my son up five hours earlier than he normally gets up because he’s having an EEG to test him for “absence seizures”.  These are easily mistaken as daydreaming and can take years before they are diagnosed.  He usually has a rough time at the beginning of every school year and teachers ask if he has ADD, but then things settle down and he’s fine.  It’s been quite confusing.  If he had ADD, wouldn’t he have it all the time?  We figured it was anxiety, but after he had a pretty good start, there was a sudden change that seemed to be triggered by starting orchestra.  It’s twice a week at 7:30am and he wasn’t used to that, plus he was practicing getting up early before it was even necesssary.  All of a sudden, all of his teachers and leaders were talking about an increase in his staring spells.  “He was having such a great start to this year!”... Read the rest of this entry »

Every year we go to this Christmas light display.  It’s been eight years and it still blows me away every time I see them.  The creators continue to come up with new designs, making very convincing flowers, vines, animals, vegetables, fruits, waterfalls, streams, fountains, and more.  Not only does nature testify of God to me, but also the talents that He blesses His children with.  Man-made things can also be so miraculous, but I give that credit to Heavenly Father. Tonight we had a late dinner after going to see the display.  We knew bed time would be delayed, but it was worth it.  We had hot chocolate with our ice cream of choice (hot chocolate floats) and listened to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional from last night.  The music is beautiful.  I can hardly listen to the way The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings The First Noel without crying.  Again, I was amazed that someone could create something so inspiring.  We listened to wonderful messages about Christ‘s... Read the rest of this entry »

I love creating memories for my family with traditions.  I think they remember those more than the presents they received.  I also go out of my way to surprise them with something. There is a tree farm nearby and we go there every year to cut down our own tree.  They take you on a tractor ride out into the field and after you roam around looking for the perfect tree, you cut it with the saw they provide and hitch a ride back on the tractor.  That is the funnest part for the kids and they never get tired of it.  In the area where you make the purchase, they have free hot chocolate and candy canes. Before we go out, we have a nice breakfast.  We used to go to a restaurant, but that has become too expensive, so I treated our family to breakfast casserole, homemade hot chocolate, four kinds of cereals, and two of my kids’ favorite juices.  To make this year even more special, my husband and I had been up until 3am setting up the new TV and entertainment center we bought.  The... Read the rest of this entry »

One of my greatest weaknesses is the inability to stop worrying when financial challenges come my way.  I lose my appetite, I’m not as witty, and I find myself just staring into space as I think of every possible solution.  Logically I know it’s not how Heavenly Father wants me to feel and that it always works out somehow, yet I find myself thinking every time, “What if we lose our home?  What if we have to move in with someone?”  All it took was a letter from our landlord saying they’re raising our rent and will begin charging us for utilities for me to go through endless scenarios.  Would we need to move out at the end of December?  I mean, how could we hold on until Summer?  If we had to move the kids in the middle of the year, Christmas break would be a better time.  Spring break would be too late in the year.  Oh, how sad it would be to take our tree down the day after Christmas so we could leave the only home our children have known by the end... Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend I had the opportunity to rent a house with some women in my ward (congregation) and it was a huge blessing.  My mom asked how I could leave my kids for three nights and immediately pitied my husband, wondering if she should have him over for dinner to relieve him of the borderline horror that would be taking care of the kids by himself.  Sadly, she never experienced getting away with just the girls and I don’t think it was because my dad wasn’t willing, but because she never asked.  She didn’t expect him to rise to the occasion and take care of his own children for a night or two.  When we were older, she would maybe go somewhere just for the evening, but I think our relationship would have benefited from some time with just Dad.  He also would have appreciated more what it took to run our home and see to our every need. I had no interest in being a martyr.  I wanted to be a mother and that included having some much needed time to rejuvenate so I can... Read the rest of this entry »