Motherhood

Today is Monday and Monday is a special day for my children and I. I volunteer at their school all morning. They love it, I'm not sure I love doing it (it's three hours of coping, cutting, drawing, grading, and did I mention coping?), BUT I love seeing their smiling faces as I walk around the school. They run and give me hugs when I come into their classes, they blow me kisses as they walk down the hall, they gentle call my name as they see me walk by their class room or see me in the work room. Sometimes the "Mom." is so soft I turn in all directs to see if my name was really called out. It's a special time I get to see them interact with their teachers and piers. It's a special time to see where they excel and where they need to work in their studies. Nope, this mom knows all, sees all and works on it all when they come home from school. Is there anything better than helping these young children forge their education, teach them how important is it to read and write and be able to add numbers together. Other than one day sending them off to the temple to be married in my mind no there is not. Education is so important. It can mean the difference between opportunity and poverty, knowledge and stupidity, strength and weakness. One of my all times favorite lines from a movie is in Pet the Magic Dragon. Pet needs to go to school but doesn't want to go to school. One of the main characters says, "I know you don't want to go to school, but do you want to be stupid when you grow up?" Of course Pet doesn't so he heads off to school. My children hate is when I eco these words when I hear whining about school work, school days, school hours, school teachers, ect. I always ask them, "Do you want to be stupid when you grow up?"

This little light of mine, Elsie Lou, doesn't go to school yet. But she gets my attention most other days all day. I love her and there is nothing better when she starts to sing,"Good Morning to you!" as I walk in her room in the morning. I would be lost without her and the other three in school all day long.

Don't Breed Pessimism . . .

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes thin it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us.  . . . If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." - Gordon B. Hinkley. 

It has come to my attention (mainly due to my own self awareness) that there are some feelings of discouragement, pessimism, and perhaps a bit of down right despair among certain group of Americans in the last few days. It has become ever so obvious to me that I fall in this group of people.  I have reflected a little bit about my thought and feelings in what some may seem are troubled times and I have come to a few convulsions about mine right now and I wanted to write them down. 

It seems we, Mormons, like to stand on top of a pedestal and shout to the world how the "sky is falling." Don't we like to do this as LDS people?  We like to tell the world our views are more right, our standards are higher, our thoughts more divine, our traditions more correct. But are they?  I actually don't know, BUT certainly you can not argue that others beliefs- political, religious and personal- are worth our time, consideration and at the very least our respect in this mortal life. Because remember, "We believe the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may." Right?

The vast majority of American's are Christians, who strive to seek for righteousness and truth through the Savior Jesus Christ.  It's the reason so many of our for fathers left their homes and traveled unimaginable distances on ships, wagons, and even by foot to create a life they had never known or could only imagine under their current political systems. This is the reason our Fathers of this Nation constructed a democratic system under the instruction of our Omnipotent Creator that this country moves forward in a world of ever more political/religious/ethnic/geographic unrest. Certainly we see this as we turn on the news, flip on the computer or witness it in our own communities, but if  "WE seek being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men," if "we hope all things," and honestly believe that the majority of our fellow man seeks these same truths then we need not breed the pessimism. We need not construct our own "Fiscal Cliff" to fall off once things are no longer moving in a direction we "believe" is not right, no matter how much you believe your views are founded in truth. If you do this then you my friend are breeding pessimism, you have left the foundation of the building upon which you stand, because I will tell you the truth is if you despair you are turning your back on God and the acknowledgement that He is weaver in this tapestry. "It isn't as bad as you . . . think it is. It all works out. Don't worry."

Don't breed pessimism; you are part of the problem if you do this. If you are optimistic and believe that there are so many things that American has, is, and will yet over come then you are the light to which people will be drawn and feed off of, even if it is your soul belief that they country is moving in the wrong direction. Don't feed the pessimism. PREACH THE OPTIMISM.

The sky is not falling. "It's never as bad as you think" and it really does "all work out in the end." I know we will still know greatness in American because that is what it was constructed to do. I have this new found optimism for President Obama that I have not known, I am cheering him on and praying for his success in the next fours years. You should join me.

Samantha Winnie

See this little girl, she's a looker, with an attitude, with a slight mouth on her. She is probably more like me than I care to admit. Steven told me the other day that my paints were too tight, I looked at him and said, "Oh, you think I'm fat?" He said, "Umm okay crazy Sammy." I just burst out laughing because this is SOOO something Samantha WOULD say. "Samantha please get your reading done." "Oh, you think I can't read!" Yep, that sums her up.
But what is so perplexing is Samantha's ability to be so nurturing, loving, and mother like. She is the best cleaner, baby sitter and best helper when her attitude is in the right place. I love her dearly and hope she only changes her tone of voice with me as she ages. She is willing to help and take care of me when needed. She is an amazing student, I don't think I have ever had to work extra hard with her on a project it just all come easily and naturally to Samantha, friends as well. She has so many good friends and is loved by her teachers and primary teachers.
I do feel like because she falls in the middle she gets over looked, which is possible considering she glides through life with little issues other than her attitude at home.
I am so excited to see her be a mother and the man she marries I am sure will be someone loving and carry, because if he is anything like her watch out! It could be war.
The one thing I want to tell her is to embrace her compassion and her nurturing virtues. She is so thoughtful and empathic at times that I wonder where this goes when she is mad and upset. I do tend to be upset with her the most, but I would say that is only because I see the potential she has inside of her. She aims to please.
Today she bore her testimony in church for the first time. Elsie came up on the stand and I had to leave her to do this herself. I knew she would, I knew she could, and would be perfectly appropriate when standing before the congregation. And of course she was.
It makes me so happy to know she has a strong foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and she strives to do what is right. This will serve her well throughout her life. I would be so lucky if all my children were to leave my house with this knowledge of who they are, where they came from and where they will be going in they live a righteous life. It would be only my greatest achievement in life if ALL my children were good husbands and wives, fathers and mothers on the day I leave this earth.

Mountain Man

-Every once in a while I feel inclined to do a post on Mountain Man, aka my husband. Why Mountain man? On our first date we went horse back riding and he made a comment about the wind and how this "always happens in the mountains" I politely told him, "Thanks, Mountain Man".  . .  he told me it was that moment that he knew he was going to marry me and every time since that time whenever my husband wears a beard I think "Mountain Man."  On the day we went to get these pictures he came home and said he would shave. I told him to leave it. He grows a nice beard twice a year and I told him at some point I want to remember he had one. Also, I feel if this is his way of being a rebel than that's fine by me.

-Here is my tribute to Mountain Man-

My husband is a good man.  I love him and nothing makes me love him more than when I think back to the first two years we were married. I worked full time for a large company speaking German for them, I traveled to Europe three times, Tahiti once, and around the Untied States more times than I can count. I also took 12 credits at BYU for three semesters which lead to me NEVER seeing my husband, I was constantly traveling, at school, or somewhere on campus not paying any attention to him. I never made dinner, cleaned the house, made the bed,  did special newly married things and normally would not be home until 10:30. I would be asked to go on another work assignment and he would only encourage me to go and be excited for me. During this time I never, never, remember him complaining once, about anything. Me traveling? Nothing but excitement, me finishing my degree nothing but encouragement, me working, nothing but support. So here is to the Mountain Man that won my heart many years ago and while, at the time, my parents were not thrilled with my choice, I know  they see now what I saw all the long while ago and why I love this man so much. Twelve and half years later we have four beautiful children, a beautiful home, we work together and have more blessings that I will need three life times to count in the one I live. There is only one time in our married life when I felt in total despair and that is when I just had had Marin, Steve was working full time in Colorado, we were in debt to our eye balls trying to finish our basement and get our house rented out so I could move to Colorado and be with him, I was sitting on my bed in my room I was living with my parents and I was crying that nothing was working out. Steven came in and gave me a present, it's the only jewelry he has ever given me and that black pearl necklace represents a time I would like to forget, but  it also reminds me of how unkowingly aware of me, my husband was.  I can only hope my my three little girls see the man he is and marry someone, someday that is as strong and mighty as Steven.