Have you heard the saying, “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and take what ever comes”? I remember first hearing it in college and thinking that it was a clever little bit of wisdom. Do I follow that little piece of advice? No, I sure don’t. I have a tendency to hope for the best and then get disappointed when it doesn’t happen. (more…)

I have some very lovely children, the cream of the crop I’d say. They do have a few odds going against them. The most serious is that their mother doesn’t know what the heck she’s doing. It’s true. I officially decided yesterday that I’m clueless when it comes to raising children. I don’t know when directions on child rearing were handed out but I wasn’t there. I was probably late, or I skipped school that day, or I may have been daydreaming. (more…)

I have been really embarrassed about something for many years. I don’t like to talk about it that much so not very many people know about it. I need to move past it so I’ve decided that I’m going to share this embarrassing moment with you today so that one of two things will happen. Either I will realize that it’s not uncommon and move on with my life or I will realize that I am a freak and promptly find a psychiatrist who will help me learn from this experience and then move on. (more…)

Kristen’s excellent post yesterday on teaching children compassion reminded me of a subject I have been thinking about lately. I saw the greatest ad on BYU TV recently. Some nerdy kid in a high school hallway scene had his books and papers spilled all over the floor by a passing bully. A big strapping athlete kid was nearby hanging with his jock and cheerleader friends and noticed it. He paused for a minute then went over to help the nerdy kid pick up his books. For some reason I found it touching (clich�s and all). There is something very powerful and moving about seeing the strong help the weak simply out of compassion. (more…)

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to raise kind and compassionate children. I think I know how to teach them to have compassion for those they know personally, but I’m not sure I know how to teach them to have compassion and take some responsibility for people they don’t personally know. For that matter I’m not sure if I know how to do that myself. (more…)

It seems that most of us spend a lot of time whining over the bad things in life. I know I have done my share of wishing for a new day when I will be a college graduate, or I can quit this crappy job, or have a baby, or have the baby sleep through the night. The list could go on for quite some time. It’s a hard urge to fight, yet fight we must because “men are that they might have joy.” (more…)

I can always tell when I’m nearing the cliffs of insanity in my mind. I start looking for a hobby. When I was first married and would mention to my husband that I needed a hobby he would try to help me in anyway he could. Now he just rolls his eyes and tucks into what ever task he is currently about. I think it’s a defense against boredom, or restlessness, or depression, take your pick. I’m not sure if it’s normal or not, I guess you the reader can let me know on that one. (more…)

I love to read and I have since I was a tiny girl. Now wait a minute, I’m not going to bore you with how fabulous and intellectual I am. That’s not what this post is about. I must confess that mostly what I like to read is what a friend of mine refers to as “mind candy”. I just can’t help myself, I’m an addict. For those of you who are beginning to worry about the state of my brain now, don’t, I try to throw in a classic as often as I can. If it will make you feel any better about me and this post John Steinbeck happens to be my very favorite author. (more…)

I have recently made a huge discovery. I have figured out the cause of all that is wrong with America today. Are you ready…it’s Costco! Really, let me make my case and I think you will agree with me.

Let’s discuss some of the problems that face the USA. First, we are told day after day that Americans are fat, fatter than they’ve ever been. Second, kindness is in short supply. We hear about road rage and neighbors fighting with each other. Third, there are too many children born out of wedlock. Ok, let’s start with these three reasons. I know there are plenty more but we don’t have that much time. Now let me tell you why Costco is the reason we are dealing with these problems. (more…)

I just bought 72 glasses for $5. Yeah, you heard me, 72 GLASSES-FIVE DOLLARS! Ok, they have Spaghetti Palace written on them and red, white, and green stripes circling the top but they were only 7 cents each. How can you beat that? If you haven’t guessed, I love bargains. It’s not necessarily a good thing with me it’s probably more like a crazy thing. As I’ve said before, we all have our “special needs”. (more…)

Earlier in the year my 3 year old son almost died. My husband and I wrote several posts on it at the time so I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t; my son fell into our pool during a pool party unnoticed by me or the other parent watching. The timing is unknown but not long after he fell in I got a huge prompting to look for my son. Geoff heard my calls for Quinn and ran out to the pool where he saw him floating face down. He pulled him out, we did CPR on him and he was then flown in a helicopter to the Pediatric NICU at a local hospital. He made a full recovery in a very short time, was released to come home, and has since lived a very normal 3 year old boy kind of life (except now he is an awesome swimmer). (more…)