I’ve been tagged by Korby

The rules: Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names; then goes to their blog, leaves them a comment by letting them know that they’ve been tagged and invites them to read your blog.

1. I still get mail for Korby at my house.  Somehow even after 7 years and 6 moves, the credit card offers and Huggies coupons have been forwarded.

2. I’m a big procrastinator.  I put off everything unfun for as long as possible.

3. My most recent obsession is finding an outdoor climber/slide for our backyard. But the stingy side of me refuses to buy it new, and I’ve been looking for a great deal.

4. I spent Saturday baking and delivering cinnamon rolls as a fundraiser/service project.

5. I’m trying to convince Rob to change his career to a cranberry farmer in Oregon; for several reasons I won’t get into now.

6. I used to try hard never to laugh out loud when watching TV and movies because I thought it was dorky. Now I love to be that dorky person laughing and not caring what other people think.

I tag… I haven’t caught up enough on everyone’s blogs to know who hasn’t been tagged yet.  Those who haven’t done this one, consider yourself tagged.

Romney’s Top 10 Excuses

At the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. the other night, Mitt Romney gave his “Top 10 Reasons for Dropping Out of the Race.” I thought they were actually pretty funny and worth reprinting for anyone that missed them. They are:

10. There weren’t as many Osmonds as I thought.
9. I got tired of corkscrew landings under sniper fire.
8. As a lifelong hunter, I didn’t want to miss the start of the varmint season.
7. There wasn’t room for two Christian leaders.
6. I was upset that no one had bothered to search my passport files.
5. I needed an excuse to get fat, grow a beard and win the Nobel prize.
4. I took a bad fall at a campaign rally and broke my hair.
3. I wanted to finally take off that dark suit and tie, and kick back in a light-colored suit and tie.
2. Once my wife Ann realized I couldn’t win, my fundraising dried up.
1. There was a miscalculation in our theory: “As Utah goes, so goes the nation.”

And for a little more fun, I found the Top 10 List that aired on the David Letterman show back in February that gave their top 10 reasons Mitt Romney dropped out. You’ll have to let me know which you think is better. Here’s the David Letterman list:

10. Harsh Midwest weather was murder on his split ends
9. Wants to devote more time to his rap persona P. Mitty
8. Polls show public doesn’t want a president who looks like a casino greeter
7. Just couldn’t compete with the Ron Paul juggernaut
6. Unveiling a new line of honey-roasted romnuts
5. That b****** Zogby had it in for him
4. Apparently America is not ready for a white male president
3. No Number 3—writer suffering from Mitt withdrawal
2. There was that little problem of nobody voting for him
1. Lost all of his money betting on the Patriots

To Mothers of Young Children

I absolutely loved the talk given by Elder Ballard at the last general conference. He spoke of mothers and gave encouragement and advice for them (and also fathers) of young children. Often times our church is presented as having a low regard for women and an expectation of perfection and complete submission without questions. I have always thought this an extremely inaccurate and ignorant view of our beliefs, and this talk expresses my beliefs on parenting, and particularly motherhood:

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family… What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.

I am impressed by countless mothers who have learned how important it is to focus on the things that can only be done in a particular season of life. If a child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a parent’s life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child’s life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent’s normal life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek, with the help of the Lord, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes. This eternally important work falls to mothers and fathers as equal partners. I am grateful that today many fathers are more involved in the lives of their children. But I believe that the instincts and the intense nurturing involvement of mothers with their children will always be a major key to their well-being.

We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult… There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives.

As a Church, we have enormous respect and gratitude to you mothers of young children. We want you to be happy and successful in your families and to have the validation and support you need and deserve…

What We Can Do

From Elder Ballard’s address “Daughters of God”

What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?

First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “… I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

Second, don’t overschedule yourselves or your children. We live in a world that is filled with options. If we are not careful, we will find every minute jammed… One mother told me of a time that her children had 29 scheduled commitments every week… She felt like a taxi driver. Finally, she called a family meeting and announced, “Something has to go; we have no time to ourselves and no time for each other.” Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together.

Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. … Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it.

Fourth, pray, study, and teach the gospel. Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother. Parents can offer a unique and wonderful kind of prayer because they are praying to the Eternal Parent of us all.

What Children and the Church Can Do

From Elder Ballard’s address “Daughters of God”

What can children, even young children, do? …

You can pick up your toys when you are finished playing with them, and when you get a little older, you can make your bed, help with the dishes, and do other chores—without being asked.
You can say thank you more often when you finish a nice meal, when a story is read to you at bedtime, or when clean clothes are put in your drawers.

Most of all, you can put your arms around your mother often and tell her you love her.

What can the Church do?

There are many things the Church offers to mothers and families, …Know them and be wise in what you ask them to do at this time in their lives…

I hope all of you dear sisters, married or single, never wonder if you have worth in the sight of the Lord and to the leaders of the Church. We love you. We respect you and appreciate your influence in preserving the family and assisting with the growth and the spiritual vitality of the Church. Let us remember that “the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World”). The scriptures and the teachings of the prophets and apostles help all family members to prepare together now to be together through all eternity. I pray that God will continually bless the women of the Church to find joy and happiness in their sacred roles as daughters of God.

…Jesus is the Christ and this is His Church. We are doing His work…

My Angel

Here’s what I love about Amy:

• When we were dating, she said “I love you” first.
• Even being married and having a baby, she still finished school and got her degree before I did.
• She’s better with money and budgeting than I am (I practically have to order her to buy stuff for herself).
• When I had a sales job in college, in the middle of winter she bundled our baby up, put him in the stroller and walked and talked with me as I delivered flyers around the neighborhood.
• When she’s happy her eyes get all sparkly.
• When I got accepted to law school in North Carolina, at first she cried about moving across the country, then she got to work and took care of getting our house all packed up and drove with our kids in the minivan while I followed behind in the truck. What a trooper!
• When I spent an entire summer as a hermit studying for the bar exam she would handle the kids all day and would always come quiz me on stuff whenever I asked, and at night after I got back from my prep class, we would just lie in bed and listen to audiobooks until we fell asleep.
• Also while I was studying for the bar, Amy took on the task of finding us a house in Southern California without any help from me. She ended up finding us a great house in a neighborhood that we just loved.
• Amy is currently the room mother for both our school-age kids’ classrooms and the assistant den mother for our son.
• Every day after school, she makes sure homework gets done, violins get practiced, chores are finished and dinner’s on the table.
• Amy calls me at work just to check in with me and tell me she misses me.
• In the evening after the kids are in bed, we’ll put on a movie and Amy always snuggles up to me on the couch and hands me the remote.
• When Amy wanted to learn how to make movies on the computer she had me show her where the movie editing program was and what I knew about it (which wasn’t much). Within an hour, she had put together a movie on her own, added a soundtrack and figured out features that I didn’t know about.
• Amy always looks stunning. She doesn’t need makeup or any fancy hair products. From the minute she wakes up until she falls asleep at night, she looks gorgeous.

Amy, you’re the gutsiest, hottest, sweetest person I’ve ever met. Happy birthday, babe!

Are You Paying Attention?

I came across this video shortly before Amy and the kids left on their trip. I showed it to them and we all thought it was really interesting. Watch it and take the test. Let me know if you came up with the same thing I did when I first saw it.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4