Yes!

I spent three hours tonight, volunteering at the yesformarriage.com phone bank. It was a fun experience with a variety of responses from those I called. I called 128 of my fellow Arizonans including one of our very own elected officials, to ask for their "yes" vote. Prop 102 is such a crucial issue and I am grateful I could get out there and do something more than just cast my own vote. Vote YES for marriage and YES for prop 102. Tomorrow is the last day to mail in your early ballot, too!!!

Cool to be born

This is Super Snausage and Super Tater. They are a perfect combination and sometimes I wish that Super Tater lived here, too, because they play so well together. He's Snausage's best friend but I don't know what I would do without him. They entertain each other so well and I don't think I would get anything done if it wasn't for their friendship.

The word "super" goes in front of their nicknames because they are cool and they know it. So, I bought them matching shirts a few weeks ago at the mall that say "Born to be Cool." Snausage wears his shirt at least three times a week and when Super Tate joined us at the musuem last week they had to match. Actually, in his usual way, Snausage gets words mixed up and says to me on the first day he wore his new shirt, "Mom, it is cool to be born!" I would have to agree that for these two, it really was.

"Hey, Snausage, what was that rock on thing your dad taught us?"

"Like this, Tater!"

"That's right...cool to be born!"

Fall Fun

The kids were out of school for two days last week and we packed a lot of fun stuff into the long weekend. I wish they would have had a few more days.

We spent one afternoon at our favorite museum with Christin and the gang. Most of my pics did not turn out. One of these days I am going to take an hour to actually read the owner's manual for my camera.

Friday I took advantage of the fact that the kids did not have school by doing all three triathalon sports in a row for my morning workout. I swam at the gym, then got on my bike which I had brought with me in the truck and then ran when I got off the bike. It was an awesome workout and I loved every minute of it--very exhilarating. Only two more weeks until the big day. I can't believe how excited I am. I know it all sounds really crazy, but give it a "tri" and you will see how awesome it is. (By the way, I already know I am wierd.)


The kids and I went to Schnepf Farms when I got home from my workout. We went with Snausage's preschool class field trip. We had a lot of fun, mostly because we were with great friends and there was no one else there. We haven't been there for quite a few years and this was my best visit ever. I think the fact that there were no crowds made a huge difference. I forgot my camera but did manage to snap a few shots with my phone. Luckily, my good friend, Felicia, was there to capture a few moments of the visit as well.







On Saturday we had a garage sale. Albert thought our sales were a little slow so she decided to help drum up some business. She told me she would be right back and came back outside with this pumpkin costume on and a homemade sign that said "grage sale." She stood on the street and waved at passing cars.

I don't know if she got us more business or not, but I laughed so hard at my resourceful little girl. The work of having a garage sale was worth it, just for this.

The weekend ended Sunday night with taking some pictures of Hog for a school project. I loved this one of my cute boy and an awesome sunset in the background.

Creation and Compassion

I enjoyed everything about General Conference last week. When the weekend ended, I felt uplifted and inspired. It was so comforting and peaceful to be able to watch conference and hear the voice of a prophet as opposed to all the doom and gloom of everything else on TV in the past few weeks.

I was especially impacted by the General Relief Society meeting two weeks ago. I almost didn't go and kept telling myself that I could just record it and watch it at home, like I have many times in the past. I am so glad I didn't do that. Getting dressed up and being in the chapel with other sisters who I know and love made a huge difference in my experience with this meeting. I will always go to the chapel for the broadcast in the future.

I have been thinking of Elder Uchtdorf's talk ever since. I have discussed the talk with Tim and anyone else who will listen and I watched it three more times and downloaded it to my phone so I could listen to it while I run. He spoke of creation and compassion and gave me a lot to think about. His talk touched on so many things that I have been realizing about myself in the past few months. I felt like it was just for me--a wonderful tender mercy from the Lord.

CREATION

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.5 The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside."

I have always joked with Tim about how I am a very mediocre person. I have never really been the best at anything or been really exceptional in one area. I have never considered myself to be a talented person. My experiences of being the young womens president, really turned that thinking around for me. My talents and gifts are not with the canvas, the brush, the pen, etc., as President Uchtdorf said. But I have come to realize that this is okay and this is the way my Heavenly Father created me. I don't know his purposes behind it, but this is what he gave me. The creation comes in how I choose to develop myself and to use what I have been given to bless others. Oh, and Elder Uchtdorf brought some really good news--I don't have to be PERFECT!! What?! You mean that being who I am and trying my best is enough!!! YAHOO!!!! I can do that. My toast is usually burnt and it's okay.

COMPASSION

As we lift others, we rise a little higher ourselves. President Spencer W. Kimball taught, “The more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls.”9

"President Lorenzo Snow expressed a similar thought: “When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated.”10

In today’s world of pop psychology, junk TV, and feel-good self-help manuals, this advice may seem counterintuitive. We are sometimes told that the answer to our ills is to look inward, to indulge ourselves, to spend first and pay later, and to satisfy our own desires even at the expense of those around us. While there are times when it is prudent to look first to our own needs, in the long run it doesn’t lead to lasting happiness."

I loved what President Uchtdorf said about compassion and service. His words have changed my perspective on what having true compassion is. I know that there is no greater way to found happiness. The world sends us messages about "having it all" and putting our needs first, but that is not what will get us through the long haul of this life. I am still thinking about all of this and trying to find the application to my life. Part of what I came away with was that I can have a whole lot more compassion at home, with my own family. I am working on ways to be better at this.

President Uchtdorf's concluding words were this:

"You are choice daughters of our Heavenly Father, and through the things you create and by your compassionate service, you are a great power for good. You will make the world a better place. Lift up your chin; walk tall. God loves you. We love and admire you."

I have taken these words, and all the words spoken at General Conference to heart. I want to live what I know is true.

Four generations

Last week my parents came for a visit. They brought my Grandma with them, whom I haven't seen for several years. My grandma is the kind of person that kids immediately gravitate to and love. I have fond childhood memories of visiting her at the restaurant she and my grandpa owned and enjoying her incredible french fries and thick chocolate shakes while sitting on stools that spun all the way around at the bar. She always let me have mustard on my french fries, even though everyone else thought that was the wierdest thing ever.

Grandma will be 80 in a few weeks, but she still works at the elementary school in her neighborhood a few hours a day. The kids at the school call her "grandma." Although my kids don't know her very well, they instantly bonded with her because of her sweet personality and her genuine love for them. We had a great visit.

Cupcake and Great Grandma

Four Generations--my mom, my grandma, me and Cupcake