ith us! I have really enjoyed being around our extended family for the last six months but its time to get back to a more normal life. We will be heading home on February 3rd. The second blessing came when we asked to bless Ethan. Scott's transfer to plant site came after the first Sunday of the month so we had to get permission to bless Ethan on a Sunday other than Fast Sunday so our family could witness it. Scott blessed Ethan on January 14th right before we had to give our hello and goodbye talk in church. (See what they make you do when you ask to bless your baby when it is not fast & testimony meeting!!!) The preparation involved in getting my talk ready truly was a blessing to me. Our topic was service and I was humbled and chastened by the things that I studied before I wrote my talk. I haven't had a calling since the end of July. (with exception of visiting teacher) Instead of focusing my time and energy on others for the last few months, I've been weighed down with the problems and possibilities that my family and I face. I really needed and enjoyed what I was taught or reminded of as I prepared my talk even though my stress level was high. Of course, the highlight on Sunday was Ethan's blessing. He was blessed with many wonderful things including the strength to resist temptation, the ability to seek after friends who choose the right, a desire to serve a mission, and the opportunity to marry a worthy daughter of Zion in the Temple. After Sacrament we had a breakfast for the Johnson side of the family at my parents house and then a dinner at Scott's parents house in the evening for the Skousen cla
n. All in all the day turned out great. The last blessing came on January 16th when I officially started training Terri Wilkins. She will be the new secretary for AZ Firebird Contractors, Inc. and will do a terrific job. Even though working full time right now is taxing, it will be well worth it. I'm going to miss my job and the sense of accomplishment that it brings to me but I am grateful that I can now focus all of my time on my most important role, mother. As you can see, we truly have been blessed. What a great way to start the New Year. I will continue to try to reflect on the positive instead of the negative.
Last night I had long (156 minutes and 16 seconds, according to my phone) and much needed conversation with a wonderful friend of mine. Friends are one of the greatest gifts we are given. I just want to say thank you to all of my friends for lifting me when I've been down, for serving me and for allowing me to serve, for caring, for sharing words of advise, for excepting me for who I am, for being an example, for laughing with me, for crying with me, for supporting me, and for just being there even if its only on the other end of a telephone line or through e-mail or blogging. I have many fond memories of moments that we have shared. They make up who I am and I will forever be grateful for all that all of you do for me. I really would be lost without the support of those I call my friends. Here are some thoughts from other people about friendship.
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
Carl Jung Swiss psychologist (1875 - 1961)
Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest aren't bad people; they're just acquaintances.
Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 - )
Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies; they are ready enough to tell them.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, 1858 US author & physician (1809 - 1894)
There isn’t much better in this life than finding a way to spend a few hours in conversation with people you respect and love. You have to carve this time out of your life because you aren’t really living without it.
Real Live Preacher, RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, August 27, 2003 Anonymous author of RealLivePreacher.com
There’s a miracle of friendship that dwells within the heartAnd you don’t know how it happens or where it gets its startBut the happiness it brings you always gives a special liftAny you realize that friendshipIs God’s most perfect gift.
-Anon.
"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."
-Muhammad Ali
I’ve been letting Ethan sleep with me for the last few days or so. I decided
to go online to find out more information about co-sleeping because I really have never done it, at least not all of the time. I have allowed it for sickness or an occasional “bad night” but usually only until they have fallen asleep and then it’s back to their bed or crib with them. I have always been told by my doctor and the nurses at the hospital that it is a bad idea and therefore have kind of marked co-sleeping as taboo. To my surprise most of my findings had positive comments about co-sleeping they even said that there are benefits from it. They just suggested you follow several safety guidelines. Here are some of my findings:
· In 1999, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recommendation against cosleeping with a baby under age two. Nevertheless, some polls show that nearly 70% of parents do share sleep with their babies either part or all of the night. The CPSC's warning is controversial and has stirred heated debate among parents, doctors and childhood development experts about the accuracy and appropriateness of the recommendation. Many experts believe that the issue demands more research.
· "Studies have shown that co-sleeping with a breastfeeding infant promotes bonding, regulates the mother and baby's sleep patterns, plays a role in helping the mother to become more responsive to her baby's cues, and gives both the mother and baby needed rest. The co-sleeping environment also assists mothers in the continuation of breastfeeding on demand, an important step in maintaining the mother's milk supply. " ~Dr James McKenna
· "For millions of years, the normal sleeping position of human infants has been on their backs nestled next to mother. Only in western cultures do we force babies to sleep alone, thinking they are more safe and independent placed in a crib with no contact. But history, and how most babies sleep in other cultures, suggests that the West is out of step with what is best physically and emotionally for our children." ~ Meredith Small, anthropologist and author of Our Babies Ourselves
· Parents choose (or choose not) to cosleep with their babies for many reasons. Some parents believe that babies simply belong in the parent’s bed, while others have serious concerns about SIDS and safety. While some parents feel cosleeping is detrimental, dangerous and/or an invasion of privacy, others feel just as strongly that cosleeping is the best thing for them and their baby. Most people will agree that cosleeping has both advantages as well as disadvantages. There is no right or wrong place for your baby to sleep, as long as your baby’s safety is top priorit
y. Not sleeping with your baby doesn’t make you a bad parent. The type of sleeping arrangement you decide on must be what works best for your family.
Right now, I’m choosing to sleep with Ethan more out of necessity than anything. I need to get my rest so that I can get through the day for my other children. I don’t know how long I’ll continue to do it but for right now it’s what is working. It is nice to know that maybe it’s not taboo like I thought! What do you think? (He looks pretty comfy huh!)
Just a few tidbits from the last few days:
The boys are fascinated with dinosaurs. After purchasing a dino book this conversation took place.
Jacob: Can we have a dinosaur as a pet?
Tate: Dinosaurs eat meat.........we're meat!!!
I just thought that it was hilarious that there was no mention that dinosaurs are extinct, just that they are meat eaters and Tate didn't want to get eaten.
After finding the toilet clogged:
Mom: Did anything that is not supposed to go in the toilet get put in the toilet? You used it last.
Tate: (nonchalantly) Well, my pull back Monster Truck fell in while I was going potty.
Yes, I will be calling a plumber today.
We were in a big hurry to get Conner to school.
Mom: You'd better be buckled by the time we get to the MAIN road.
Jacob: (nervously) Mom, please don't go on the MEAN road yet, my not buckled.
After coming home from his first time at "big boy" primary:
Jacob: My got to go to pwhymary, it was gwait!
"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends and pour out peace." President Ezra Taft Benson
It's official. I want to be a witch. No, not the type you are thinking of I'm sure. I want to be Isabel who played Samantha in the most recent versio
n of "Bewitched." I would love to have the ability to transform my house into a beautifully clean and well decorated masterpiece with just the wiggle of the nose. Just think all of the things we never let our kids do or play with could easily be managed with this special power. play dough, no problem. Peanut butter sandwiches on the couch, go ahead. You want to come in the house soaking wet, sure. I could finally have the time I need to accomplish everything!!! Laundry and dishes would never pile up. Bills would be paid as soon as they were received, the refrigerator would always be stocked, dinner would be ready at 5 p.m. sharp and it would be delicious and healthy too. Church clothes would be ironed and ready to go well before Sunday morning rolls around, the floors would be so clean that you could eat off them. I would be dressed and ready for the day first thing in the morning and the dog poop, what dog poop! I would have cute handouts ready and prepared for every church lesson I had to teach, my yard and garden would be immaculate, family home evening lessons would be well planned and very exciting for everyone, all of my children would be clean and well groomed, beds always made, base boards always clean, and blinds always open letting in the warm sunshine! The list really would never end of things that I could and would have done if I were a witch. Most importantly, I would have time to do the things I really want to do but for some reason they are push aside because I have to many things that I have to do. I would love to curl up in a comfy chair with a good book , take a long walk, catch up on my scrapbooks, and make homemade birthday cards for friends and all family members including nieces & nephe
ws. My kids would benefit greatly too. I would make science experiments with Conner, play board games with Tate, find snails with Jake, play dollies with Grace, and just hold & love my newborn, Ethan all the time. It would also allow me to spend more quality time with Scott because I wouldn't always be too busy! Yes I know, what I am asking for is unrealistic because I'll never be a witch (at least not this kind) but I do have to find better balance in my life. I'm tired of always having too much to do. I am finding that I am missing out on a lot of important family things because I can't not clean the floor or do the laundry, etc. The bottom line is that I am unhappy. I feel worn out and used up. I know that there is more to life than this. I just need to figure out how to let some things go. So, now you know, my number one and only (although it encompasses every aspect of my life) goal for 2007 is not to "bewitched" but to find balance! Wish me luck :)
