I Am Thankful for Faith

Tonight has been rough for me.  I don’t really feel like writing, but I want to stick with my Thanksgiving goal.  Honestly, right now I am very sad.  I am trying not to take the Prop 8 backlash personally, but it’s difficult when the attacks are so mean spirited and I feel like we have largely been left to fend for ourselves.  I am truly thankful for those who have come forward and defended the LDS church, but I can’t help but feel disappointed in what I thought America stood for and misunderstood by the public. So I think I’ll take a break from reading articles and watching news stories about the protests for a while and try to remember the big picture. I know that all will work according to God’s will and I am still firm in my faith, and for that I am thankful.

I Am Thankful For the Yahoo Girls

Kelly started up a Yahoo group and it has been so great. It is made up of many women in the ward and we use it mostly to coordinate park days, play groups, and babysitting. It is also used as sort of a message board and I get an email every time somebody posts something. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with it, but I I love how I feel like I have a whole group of people that have my back should I need last minute help, advice on a doctor or mechanic or an uplifiting thought on a tough day.

I really enjoy seeing everyone’s personalities as they share their favorite blogs, recipes, and shopping tips etc. I have a seperate folder in my email for this group because there are always a ton of emails coming in (we seem to average about 400 a month). It is a great way for a person like me to stay in the loop.  I’m not the best communicator in person, and I never feel like I know what’s going on with anyone, but through this I feel like I have a group of people outside of my family that care about me, my husband, and my kids.  It’s kind of like that saying, “It takes a village to raise a family.” I have been so impressed at the quick responses people give to needs.  There have been so many times that I have seen a string of emails that I missed earlier where someone needed a babysitter, and within 15 minutes they found one.  It’s amazing, and I’m so lucky to be surrounded by these women that love to serve each other and truly understand what charity is.

I Am Thankful For My Timer

I use my little kitchen timer every day, but I never use it for anything in my kitchen.

I use it to teach sharing: “When the buzzer rings it’s Hannah’s turn.”

I use it to motivate: “When the buzzer goes off you better have this room cleaned up because anything left on the floor is going in the trash.”

I use it for bribery: “You can have dessert if your helper jobs are done when the timer goes off.”

I use it for quiet time: “I know you’re not tired, and you only need to stay in your room until the buzzer goes off.”

I use it to regulate computer, video game, and TV time: “I know you’re almost done, but the timer went off, so your time is up.”

I use it for practice time: “I know it feels like you’ve already practiced for 20 minutes, but I haven’t heard the timer yet.”

So I pretty much use it to save my sanity.  This way I don’t have to nag, or remind, or be the one saying, “times up!” all the time. Love it!

I Am Thankful For Cute Words

One thing that makes time spent together with the kids even more fun are the cute things they say.  Today at lunch Hannah almost knocked over her cup of lemonade with her elbow, but caught it just in time. She looked at me with big eyes and an even bigger smile.  Then Sabrina said, “Good catch Elmo!”

This is a phrase that we adopted from a book that was a favorite bedtime story many years ago. I can’t remember the name of it now, but it was a Sesame Street book that was sent as part of one of those monthly book club offers.  In the story Elmo is playing with a ball and chasing it with his Sesame Street friends.  Finally on the last page, he catches it and Zoe says, “Good catch Elmo.” We all picked up on the phrase and say it whenever someone in the family makes a nice save from disaster or while playing a game etc.

As you know from the name of this blog, we think this kind of stuff is funny, and keep using the words or phrases again and again until they seem normal to us. This comes mostly from Rob’s side of the family who all love to add an ee sound to the end of every word they can. I tease Rob(by) about a time when we were dating and someone in his family referred to something as “weirdy.” Nobody snickered, or mentioned anything about the use of this unique word.  I love that his parents have programmed them all this way…  And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Robby married Amy, Marky married Melanie, Scotty married Korby, Heidi married Gary, and well, I guess Heather and Craig are that exception to this rule.  No pressure Holly, but you’ve got to find a way to make your future honey end his name with a “y.” 😉

Some other examples of words we have adopted into everyday use:

bopper or dipee= diaper

be in pirate= be in private

shoesies= shoes

ladytard= leotard

pawcorn= popcorn

meanie-meanie= a person who is being mean

a double= anything with two stuck together (a double Cheeto or a double bubble…)

There are tons more, but I can’t think of them right now.

Letter to Schwarzenegger

If you haven’t heard, there has been a huge backlash since the vote on Proposition 8 passed. Not only has the public display been noisy, but our family has seen problems even at the elementary school. My eight year old daughter was called a nasty name by an upper grader when they heard her talking about the proposition with a friend.  I was disappointed when I saw the comments made by our governor.  So I wrote and sent a letter to both him and the first lady. If you’d like to join me, you can send a letter as well. Here is a copy of mine:

Dear Governor and First Lady-

I have always respected and been impressed with you as parents. I have especially felt a connection as a mother as I have read Maria’s written words and seen her interviews. I am writing to you as a concerned parent regarding Proposition 8.

As I’m sure you know, things have become ugly since the vote. I have seen personal attacks on my character and religion as a member of the LDS (Mormon) church. Every church has the right to encourage their congregation to vote and contribute on moral issues. In no way did we hijack the election, or influence free thinking people to vote any way other than their own conscience.

My young children in elementary school have been verbally attacked by older students who know that our family was in support of the Yes on 8 campaign. I know that friends of mine with high school students have seen even worse with their children. As an adult, I can understand and tolerate the abuse, but I plead with you as a parent to calm the No voting residents of California. They look to you for guidance and leadership and recent statements made by the Governor have only fueled the protesters and made them feel more justified in their intolerant, name calling, and disruptive behavior.

I hope you will consider that the majority of the state voted on this issue and that in spite of the fact that the No Campaign had more money overall, more money from out of state donations, celebrity endorsements etc., the voters still passed Proposition 8. Regardless of your personal feelings on the issue, I hope that you will look at this from a legal perspective and realize that in a democracy, this is completely valid. Please urge those who are disappointed in the results to write another proposition or use the proper means of getting their point across.

As a side note, I personally believe that if the No Campaign can show the good that homosexual couples can do as parents, instead of focusing on individual rights they will have more success in convincing the people of California that gay marriage is a good idea. So far we have seen their focus on individuals, when marriage is not about individuals, but about a couple coming together to make a family. Since these recent protests, I feel even more strongly that the gay community and the No voters are not interested in successful families or children, and they will have little chance of convincing me otherwise while they behave as they currently do.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Amy *****

*****, CA

I Am Thankful for Freecycle

I signed up as a member of Freecycle a while back and think it is fantastic.  People from your own community list things that they no longer need, but that might be useful to someone else and give them away for free.  It is perfect for giving away things that you have held onto just because you want to make sure they find a good home.

People give away all sorts of things: movies, books, clothing, furniture, appliances etc.  Just today I got three books of stories written for third and fifth graders as part of a homeschool curriculum.  We go through books so fast here, so anything new is always devoured quickly.  This person also gave me a half full container of liquid Tide that she hadn’t used because she doesn’t like the scent.  I have a few things in my garage that I want to freecycle, and after tonight I feel a bigger push to get it done.

As I drove away tonight with my books and Tide, I thought how nice it felt to have someone I didn’t even know offer these things to me.  And it also feels great to give things away when you know they are appreciated. It’s moments like those that are the true meaning of community.

I Am Thankful for Digital Photography

I can’t remember the last time I bought a roll of film.  I love that I can take a ton of pictures and not worry about how much it will cost to develop them.  I can pick and choose and even delete the ones I don’t like.  Although there are very few that I actually delete because every photo tells some kind of story for me, even if the focus is a little off or the subject is looking the wrong way. I have been adding photos to my gallery today, and was so grateful for a visual way to keep family and friends updated on our family. And since I’m not good at letters or phone calls, this is a way that I can share what is going on. I signed up for an online class to learn how to use photoshop, so maybe I can make those shots even better now. Fun!