I've been thinking a lot lately about obedience and obeying. Not "blind obedience", but purposeful obedience. There is a difference.

There is a ruckus in the world over the very subject. 
There are those who would say that if you wear a mask and practice physical distancing, it's because you're bending to the man and giving up your freedom. But on the flip side, there are those (like me) who look at it as a purposeful act. I'm doing what I've been asked to do because I think it's responsible and safe. I've not been forced, there is no punishment if I don't, but I am obeying because I choose to.

So it is with our Heavenly Father. He has given us commandments and then He sent the Savior to show us how to keep/live them. If we do so, we will be happy and we allow ourselves the opportunity to continue to choose. That has been proven time and again.
But, He hasn't forced obedience. And, though there may be punishment for disobedience in some cases, the major consequence of disobedience is that we miss out on blessings, present and future, and we often cut ourselves off from future choices.

"The truest happiness and peace we can have comes by choosing to obey His laws." (Elder L. Tom Perry, "Obedience to Law is Liberty") I find this to be true.

I do not obey blindly. In fact, there are few things I hate more than being told what to do if it's something I do not WANT to do! But, as always, with Christ as my example, I am able to distinguish between what I should obey and what I should not.

Christ, as the perfect example of obedience, said in 3Nephi 27:13, "I came into the world to do the will of my Father BECAUSE He sent me."
Oh, how I love that! I don't think Jesus was blissfully excited to come to earth as He did. He knew what would happen. He knew how hard it would be. It would have been much easier to stay where He was, but that was not what had been asked of Him.
He did what was asked. He obeyed. Oh, how blessed we are because of His obedience.
He simply asks that we do the same.

In the same chapter of 3Nephi, Christ goes on to basically tell us to "DO WHAT YOU KNOW IS RIGHT". (vs. 21) That's really all obedience is... doing what we know is right. By doing what is right, we show Heavenly Father and Jesus that, not only do we believe in them, but that we believe them. We believe them when they tell us that "Obedience Brings Blessings". (Thomas Monson, April 2013 General Conference.)

Photo Book

For spring break this year, we visited every working temple in Utah (minus Monticello... we just couldn't fit all that extra driving in to the five days we had!)  We went from one end of Utah to the other and we even threw in the west end, too!  Having driven almost the entire state, now, I can tell you that THEE WORST drive is from the Wasatch Front to the Uintah Basin.  It's the ABSOLUTE WORST.   BUT, there's family and a temple out there... so it was bearable.  BARELY.  :) 

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2012...

Happy New Year! No pictures.... surprise. We really did ring in the new year in style, though. Really!! We had our traditional sparklers and poppers celebration. Then cookies and hot chocolate. Then we played RockBand until midnight. FUN! really, it was. - Moving on - -

Tommy won 2nd place at the district science fair on a project he did 98% of the work for by himself. In fact, he got quite miffed when I 1. reminded him about it 2. tried to offer suggestions. DRAMA, anyone?! ;) He did a really great job. He titled it "The Tetris Effect". He tested different age groups/sexes to see if the video game Tetris will, in fact, improve your reaction time. (As we all know, the claim is that video games improve your eye/hand coordination and reaction times. yah, right! ) According to his project, though, the game can help improve your reaction time! WHO KNEW!!

NERDS RULE!!

Tommy and his friend, Riley. They both won 2nd place.
Tommy also won an award from the American Psychological Association. STUD!!

O, Christmas ...

Christmas this year (2011) was a whirlwind of fun and excitement... SO MUCH fun and excitement, in fact, that we decided not to take pictures of any of it.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I seriously need to figure out some way to surgically implant a camera somewhere on my body. Perhaps my forehead. Otherwise, there will be no proof for my poor children that they actually had a childhood. As a side note: I like it when Christmas falls on Sunday. I didn't when I was young - - but I do now. I suppose it happens about the same time you stop dreading General Conference?!

Our tree

I am currently charging the video camera in the hopes that we actually did capture SOME sort of memorable moment. Possibly two memorable moments? *sigh*
As another side note: This Christmas season was CRAZY. I literally had one full-blown anxiety attack, complete with tears, along with a dozen other minor attacks. Moral of the story: I am NOT a good working mom. I was banking quite a few hours as The Fancy Flower Girl - helping the Newgate Mall deck themselves. Plus, trying to fit in quality family time, PLUS trying to assist Santa. Plus, trying to accept the fact that I'm no longer a Primary worker. I'm seriously not cut out for it. And, we'll go ahead and blame the lack of pictures on that ;) HECK, I don't even have pics of most of the work I did @ the mall. Again, how do we prove it even happened?

..... come to think of it.... it did just seem like a bad dream.

thanks...

My Aunt Becky ROCKS. For many reasons. Including, but certainly not limited to, the fact that she brings her camera to family functions!! YEAH! What would we do without her?

Parker and Aunt Becky - I'm pretty sure they're mocking me and my hair. ;)

Rachel and Katie

Anna, Grandma Smith, and Sara

Anna, me, and my mock worthy hair ;)

most of the boys...

Rachel and Robert - such an angel.

Sara and her Turkey - again, thank you Aunt Becky for providing the entertainment AND the documentation!

making turkeys... Parker's roommate joined us, unfortunately I've already forgotten the boy's name.

The next day, we got to do it all again with the Morgan side of the family. I have no pictures. Why? Because Aunt Becky wasn't there! DANG IT!

Joey turns 11...

Joey, being the sweet kid that he is, decided to appease his mother and NOT choose a cake for his birthday candle holder!
Instead, he chose a giant chocolate, chocolate chip cookie! The perfect way to celebrate turning 11!

He received MANY new rubber duckies for his collection, including this one from his good friend Ted!

He has almost 100 ducks now - kind of looks like a poultry invasion in his bedroom...

he also got some new scout stuff (as he has officially graduated from Cub's with FULL honors! He earned EVERY pin possible as a Webelo!)

He also got $ Money $, which is really all he wanted!
Life's good when you're 11 ;)

punkins...

Carving the Halloween pun'kins...

ew.

I would now like to show the amazing picture of the finished products....
oh, wait. we don't have one.
FAIL.
(seriously, what is my problem? Who doesn't take pics of the halloween pumpkins?)

We finished out the night with a game of Don't Eat Pete, and a Candy Walk (similar to a cake walk, but with the more enticing... candy!)

This, however, is the only picture of that.

FAIL.

Again.

Good thing my kids will have all these picture memories from their wonderful childhood to look back on and reminisce ... *sigh*.

Soccer biz...

For whatever reason, my boys like to play the positions in their respective "favorite" sports where the balls come flying at them. RIGHT at them.

Not gonna lie, it makes me cringe every now and then!

(at least Joey, as baseball catcher, has protective gear!)

Tommy: aka The Keeper
(because, apparently once you're out of AYSO, it's not cool to say "goalie")

Occasionally, if Cross Fire is far enough ahead, the coach will let Tommy play
a different position. He then tries AS HARD AS HE CAN to score a goal, as he does
not have the opportunity to be on that side of a goal very often.

He came very close to passing out/puking after one such game because
he'd been running so fast and hard for so long! He scored a goal, though!

*Confession: I am not a fan. Of soccer. oops. ;) But, I am a fan of Tommy, so I sit through most of the games, still trying to understand "off sides" (I get it in football, if that helps?!) and still trying to understand WHY in the world you'd want to run that much. willingly. without someone chasing you. ? Plus, I got a killer tan line last summer, so I suppose it's do-able for a little while longer ;)

day 2, revisited ..

I found a stray pic of Sara from her second day of preschool.
My eyes got this weird, misty wet substance in them as I realized how quickly she's grown up just this past year.

Even her HAIR has grown.

*sigh*

Another'n...

Anyone else notice a disturbing pattern?!

Sara's eye met Alexis' head at the ward Christmas party . . .

once again, the head won!

so sue me . . .

Happy Halloween.

Yes, I know I'm late.

Please refer to the title of this post...

Also, I'm in a bad mood.

If I have to listen to my 2nd grader WHINE about homework

(that I DID NOT ASSIGN. the teacher did... whine to her)

ONE MORE TIME...

I'll shoot both our eyes out.

With the bb gun Joey got for his birthday.

WHAT?

You want birthday pics, too?

pwoo, pwoo, pwoo.

(that was the sound of the bb gun - shooting someone's eye out.)

grrrrrrrrr......

My First Shiner...

First word: check

First steps: check

First popsicle: check

First day of pre-school: check

FIRST SHINER:

CHECK!

Joey's head met Sara's face, and Joey's head won.

Though, to be quite honest, you're never fully dressed without your black eye.

And as you can see, we dress to impress!

PRE...

SCHOOL!

Sara started preschool on September 6th. I stewed and fretted over whether or not to have her go, as I am not necessarily ready to be by myself yet. But, when you have a great little preschool two houses away, with friends from nursery and a great teacher, how could you NOT send her? She LOVES it . . . and it turns out I actually AM ready to be without children for a couple hours a week ;)

Obligatory . . .

And . . . commence obligatory first day of school post/pics.

I might be annoyed by the fact that I'm being so "trendy" and predictable - -

MIGHT BE. If they weren't so dang cute!

7th grade. That's right . . . SEVENTH.

Bring on the hormones, endless appetite, and Algebra.
I'm totally ready. (?)

Tommy and his BFF Riley. They're studs. They told me so.

Joey, 5th grade.

Rockin' the Chucks and a faux hawk. And yes, he CAN pull it off!

Anna, 2nd Grade.

If this picture doesn't scream "Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice" to you,

then likely no picture will!

Sara, Sass Grade.

If this picture doesn't scream "SASSY" to you,

it's likely no picture will!

Sara really wanted to be twins with Anna. And she was, until she started accessorizing!

And the picture she's holding, she carried around almost the entire day.
It's a picture of Tommy, Joey, and her cousin.
Not exactly sure why she was so attached to it on this particular day!

And this last one is just for good measure.
Sometimes, when you're full of sass, it's hard to keep your sunglasses on straight.

HAPPY NEW SCHOOL YEAR!

It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Pardon Me . . .

as I wax philosophical ...

I've decided I really have some work to do in the "Christlike" area. (SURPRISE.)

Yesterday I spent some time with some women that I had never spent time with before, and only one of whom I will likely spend time with again, as we are the only two of the group that will be "working" together. These women are presumably in the same stake and/or ward, which is apparently to go through some BIG boundary changes. Now, we all know how this sends us MORMONS into a big fluttering tizzy- - WHAT WARD WILL I BE IN? WHO WILL THE NEW BISHOP BE? OH MY HECK, MY LITTLE WORLD MAY FALL APART WITH ALL THIS ANTICIPATION AND THE UNKNOWN. THERE'S SUFFERING, STARVING, OR DYING PEOPLE OUT THERE? THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY COMPARE WITH WHAT'S GOING ON IN MY WARD/STAKE. (!) Perhaps I exaggerate . . . a little. Anyway, these women I barely know (and am obviously about to judge. Strike one.) then went into a lengthy discussion about those whom they WOULD NOT want to be their bishop. One because he didn't say hello when he jogged by the house in the morning, another because he wasn't married to an angel. And on and on, which then led to talking about others in the ward. All the while, one of these ladies, who was not "active" because of work and maybe other reasons, would occasionally jump in with a comment (to her teenage daughter who was hearing all of this) like "Don't worry. It'll be okay - there's good girls in the other wards if the YW gets broken up." "Don't worry, I'll try to get Sundays off and I'll come with you."

Then, at the end of the conversation (most of which occurred, LOUDLY, at a bank) one of the women turned to this less active mom and said "You guys need to come to church more often so we can see you." :-O

Now, this lengthy epistle is not to make you want to scratch anyone's eyes out. I'm sure in most situations these are LOVELY, KIND women. I simply want to give the background (and there's more! but I will not include it here.) as to why I suddenly realized that I need to be more Christlike. Am I ever like that?! Do I ever make others feel uncomfortable because of my harsh vocalized judgments? WHEN I MAY NOT EVEN KNOW THE STORY BEHIND THE REASON I'M BEING JUDGMENTAL?! Never again, my friends, never again. And think of the poor less active friend - - WHY IN THE WORLD would she want to come more often after all of that? So, I began to think . . . have I ever made someone think "I'll never go to church again" because of any of my actions/words? EEK. How TERRIBLE would that be.

Then, today, as I was bagging my own groceries at Winco (which, by the way, is BRILLIANT. Though, I do feel a lot of pressure when the next person's groceries start down my side and I still have all my produce to bag. :-) a lady behind me began talking to the lady on the other side of the bagging belt. They were obviously of a different faith than mine, as the conversation began with "I just talked to the pastor on the phone this morning!" These ladies then engaged in a conversation that filled my heart with joy. They talked about how the church was handing out "treat" bags today, so the one lady had run down to get a few things for the bags. And how she promised to get the other lady her pictures, but "So-and-so collapsed the day of your mother's memorial, and had to go in for a quintuple bypass, so we've been taking care of his 70 lb. dog, which is why I'm covered in dog hair!"

I interrupted the conversation right there and informed her that she was a SAINT for that one act alone!
This conversation was between three other ladies, with me listening in, as was the conversation yesterday. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES. Lovely ladies, all of them, but the three I saw/heard today made me want to be a little better. However, I did realize that I might not be willing to help anyone with their 70 lb. dog (strike two) - - which is why I believe I have A LOT of work to do in the "Christlike" department. A LOT.

One conversation made me want to poke my eyes out with a fork - - the other made me want to buy the world a Sprite, and go frolicking through a field of flowers with all mankind and a 70 pound dog.

But, which conversation am I most frequently engaged in?

A lot of work to do, people. A LOT.

Every now and again I have to remind myself that the images I see from other parts of the world are, in fact, real. That some people wake up to nothing. Or, they wake up to what once was something ... but, because of forces outside of their control, is now nothing. That some people wake up far from anything beautiful, lovely, or of good report. That some people don't wake up at all. I forget sometimes that I am only a VERY small dot in a VERY large picture. I sometimes forget that what I do or say really doesn't matter to more than maybe a handful of people.

But MAN!

I'm glad I get to be here.

He is . . .

the very model of a Modern Major General

I heart . . .

THIS GUY!

Let me tell you a little about me . . .

I have difficulties falling asleep. It has much to do with the fact that my brain does not have an "off" switch. Also, the fact that I tend to worry about things . . . things past, things present, and even things future that may or may not actually happen. sigh.

I once had a full blown panic attack, complete with accelerated heart rate and hyperventilation, while trying to fall asleep one night, over thoughts of what in the world I would do if my mini-van plunged into a large body of water and sank. With me and my children in it. ? Where, anywhere near me, is there a large enough body of water that I could possibly plunge into? This should not be a worry of mine, yet there I was, PANICKING about it. Again, sigh.

To combat this and other such IRRATIONAL thoughts, I've taken to "pretending" myself to sleep! *cuck-oo*

This means that, to occupy my mind and not allow it to wander to such dark places, I imagine myself in a different life scenario. Now, this does not mean that I'm in any way not content with my current life situation . . . it is simply a tool I use to prevent ending up in the loony bin compliments of a wandering mind.

These "different life scenarios" often include living in New York. As a stylish, classy New York citizen (and that, my friends, just proves how far fetched these "pretending" sessions have to be! The word classy, stylish and myself are not mentioned in the same sentence under normal circumstances!) meeting other stylish, classy New Yorkers. Including, but not limited to, Isaac Mizrahi. This guy is a HOOT! I'd love to spend an evening over dinner with him. Fascinating.

I feel another good night's sleep coming on ;)

FREE . . .

or 3 !

Tomato, Tu mah toe.

a nutshell . . .

Moving Tommy and Joey to their new room means Anna and Sara

also get to make a move!

First night in the new bunkbeds.

(It was not as hard as I thought it would be to move my last baby out of a crib! Not even one single tear was shed. That's progress . . . .)

Anna turned 7 . . .teen. ;)

And, because I still have influence, it was a donut cake again!

It was SO FUN to watch her open her presents. SHE WAS THRILLED.

Completely and genuinely thrilled! With EVERYTHING!

We got her a pretty new dress, and because we can, got Sara a twinner dress!

Anna got to open both, then give the little one to Sara. And they both wanted, immediately, to wear them!

Valentine's Day:

My funny Valentine! And, quite frankly, the only really good thing about that wretched day!

Tommy's soccer team had a tournament in St. George President's Day weekend. And, OF COURSE, it was the one weekend that the weather was bad ;)

I've never been to St. George - still- and am kinda glad that the girls got to stay home!

I do intend to make it there someday, though. :)

Tommy Turned Twelve.

unbelievable.

Because T.R. was taking everyone down to my brother and sister in law's house later that day (I had the second of two weddings to do flowers for, and Tommy had a merit badge pow wow in Provo early the next morning. So dear of dears, T.R., took all the kids. And dears of dears Robert and Rachel {mostly Rachel!} hosted them all. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!)

we celebrated in the morning. This meant ICE CREAM CAKE FOR BREAKFAST!!

How cool am I? Letting my children eat ice cream cake for breakfast!!

They all informed me that they never wanted ice cream cake for breakfast again ;)

Tommy and his loot. Not pictured is the camping backpack/sleeping bag/tent combo. For scout camps. I have a child old enough to go to scout camp. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

His favorite gift (besides the camping stuff...) was the cash!!

I do not recall giving him permission to turn 12. And it's a little upsetting.

And finally:

would you please check out the head of hair on this young lady.

I grew up with, and continue to have, the worst hair. EVER. Day after day of bad hair days.

AND LOOK WHAT SHE GOT!! I hadn't even brushed it yet in this picture!

Further proof that Heavenly Father does love us - - AND has a sense of humor!