Family Body Project - List

 So, Bucket and I participated in the Family Body Project (from University of Oregon).

It's a program that youth and parents can participate in to help foster a healthy body image. Our group (which was made up of AWESOME moms and daughters) had discussions and assignments to help us recognize and acknowledge the high cost (physically, financially, mentally, and emotionally) of aspiring to society's unattainable standard of beauty.

As an exit assignment, one thing that I chose to do (and am inflicting on you) is to compile a list of things that I like that my body can do.

Here goes ...

• Luxuriate in warm baths
• Enjoy scented candles (visually and olfactorally)
• Pet cats and other animals
• Smell flowers and foods
• Enjoy flavors and textures of food
• Hear (and feel) cats' purring
• Curl up and read books
• Cook food for myself and others
• Do the grocery shopping (and unload the car)
• Have the ability to clean our house (and enjoy a functional space that works for us)
• Come up with witty responses
• Read aloud/tell stories (an online group of wonderful ladies complimented me on my pleasant speaking voice. Aww!!)
• Singing
• Swimming
• Enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin
• Using the internet and technology
• Sitting and eating popcorn as I watch movies with my family
• Getting to help take care of my mom
• Giving hugs (which I don't get to do so much because ... pandemic)
• Dancing
• Walking on the beach, with the salty air tangling my hair, tasting the ocean on my lips
• Snuggling (and [redacted]) with my husband
• Putting lotion on my hands
• Walking barefoot on the grass or in the sand
• Practicing penmanship
• Eating chocolate
• Serve others
• Craft letters
• Grew three healthy children and nursed them (not always easy)
• Remember and recite movie and TV quotes

And that's where I'm going to stop for now.

#52 Lists - List 2 - List Routines in Your Personal Life and at Work

Right now, I'm kinda horrible at routines.

Lets' see ... here's a typical day:

• Wake up to Michael's alarm. Fall back to sleep immediately. I'm sure he said a prayer and kissed me goodbye. I usually don't remember. #badwife
• Wake up slightly before my alarm(s). Check Facebook. Maybe remember to say a prayer. Maybe (on a REALLY GOOD DAY) get a shower early.
• Bruise is usually awake. Bucket and Bubbles are usually good about getting themselves up, too.
• Depending on the day, I might, after throwing on some clothes, take Bucket and/or Bruise to a club/class before school (Strings lessons twice a week, Girls on the Run twice a week, Musical Theater [technically twice a week, but conflicts with Strings ...], Track Club [if offered], ...). Otherwise the kids put together their lunches and catch the school bus.
  I try to have the older kids empty the dishwasher and dryer before they leave.
• Depending on the day, sometimes Bucket has activities [MusicMakers was Tuesday mornings. Library storytime is Wednesdays] ... sometimes I have Visiting Teaching.
  I nearly always get a shower before heading out. Standards, people, I have them.
• Come back from errands (or take a break from procrastinating). Eat lunch.
• Sometime during the day, I read to/with Bubbles.
  I also read myself. If I'm really lucky, I get a nap.
• Kids get home. Unload dishwasher (if it's been run), more laundry. Bruise makes sure to keep up his streak in Duolingo. They relax from school. Maybe go out and play. I figure out something for dinner.
• Michael gets home. We eat. We chill.
• Read scriptures and pray together as a family. Kids get ready for bed and go to bed around 8pm.
• Michael and I chill: chat, watch something (Netflix or the DVD from Netflix or a DVD from the library or something that we own). Sometimes we decide to play a board game or something instead. We head to bed around 10pm
• Since Michael wakes up earlier, he falls asleep sooner. If I can't sleep, I play on my phone until I'm tired ... then I sleep.

What do I like? 

• Spending time with Michael, for sure.
• Chilling with the kids
• Reading and praying as a family. If the schedule allows, not only do we do scriptures and prayer together, but I also read aloud to the kids. It allows me to share books I love with them.
  (The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Wonder, the Blossom Culp/Alexander Armsworth stories by Richard Peck, ... there are others, of course. But those are the bigger ones.)

What do I want to change?

• I think I need to start doing FLYlady again ... get more of a schedule for cleaning/housework.
• When the kids are all in school, I'm going to try to start volunteering at the library. I haven't volunteered at our local library ... but I'd love to get my shelving zen on again.
• I need to start planning meals. It'll make evenings (and days) a lot more organized.
• I also want to schedule individual time with each of my kids ... right now, between school making life a little zany, allergies kicking my trash so that I'm exhausted, the house being a sty ... well, it's not so easy to prioritize everything/everyone as they should be.
• I need to schedule prayer and scripture study for myself ... I know it'll be easier when the kids are all in school ... and when I have a housekeeping schedule in action (Think about it: Get up, get kids to school, throw dinner in the slow cooker, make a cup/pot of (herbal/Rooibos) tea, sit down at a (CLEAN!) table and read and ponder ... then go to the bedroom and have a prayer. After that, tidy up the house, run a vacuum, do a load of laundry and dishes, fold laundry while catching up on my Netflix queue ... run any errands/volunteering/Visiting Teaching ... read uninterrupted (or do a craft ... I do those sometimes!) ... kids get home, help with any homework/spend individual time, meet Bubbles at the bus, get her settled (maybe even a nap for her!), get dinner set out, clean up, scriptures/prayer/story-story ... time with Michael. Sounds pretty sweet, eh?
  Okay, maybe not exactly your cup of (herbal/Rooibos) tea ... but I'm comfortable knowing that I'm kinda boring.
  And I forgot to add going to PTC/PTO meetings and running the kids to soccer, ballet, Activity Days, Scouts, etc ... but you get what I mean.

I like being spontaneous ... but it would help to have a better-implemented schedule in place from which to veer, if you get what I mean?

Someday ... Someday.

Eyring Quote

"There will be noise and people around you most of your waking day. God hears your silent prayers, but you may have to learn to shut out the distractions because the moment you need the connection with God may not come in quiet times." - Henry B. Eyring (Priesthood and Personal Prayer)

This quote ... I like it. I need it.

I am way too distracted and need to get better at focusing.

Dream Resolution (I originally wrote "Resolution Dream," but this ordering makes it sound more like Revolutionary Girl Utena. And you should always go for that. If you're me, at least.)

Last night, I dreamed again.

I was in some play/theatrical thing ... maybe something Shakespearian.

It was, apparently, some sort of presentation ...

But I was in it with another guy and girl.

I remember at one point thinking, "Oh! I should take off my [wedding] ring, since my character's not married. Whoops!"

And... something happened where EVERYONE, cast and audience, had to go out into the foyer.

I found myself standing next to, among the throng of people milling about, that friend who unfriended me on Facebook.

"Hi," I said to her.

She didn't really respond, but she did look at me.

"Hey," I said. "I don't know what I did that hurt you so much. But, whatever I did that I did that offended you and hurt you so badly, I want to apologize for it. I've never meant to hurt you. I love you and I want you to be happy. And I get that it might mean that I'm not a part of your life. But I do want to tell you that I'm sorry."

And she let me hug her. And we stood next to each other in the shoulder-to-shoulder line that was being formed.

And I feel more peaceful.
I wonder if I should send her a message ... just so that she knows that I don't really know what I've done ... but that I never have meant to cause her any pain. And, if I've done that, I never did it on purpose and I'm sorry that I took actions that ever caused her suffering.

I get that maybe she does need more time.
And that, very possibly, she'll never want to be as close as we used to be.
But I think that I'm ... okay ... again.

It never feels "good" or anything when you have someone turn from a BFF/sister-of-the-heart into someone-that-I-used-to-know. And, regardless of how another friend described the situation, I can't think of this (ex?-)friend as a frenemy ...

In other, completely unrelated news, I sewed a cloak for Bucket's Halloween costume. ALL BY MYSELF.

YES, I SHOULD have lined  it, hemmed it, whatever ... but it's made of felt and she wasn't picky.
And it's done.

Michael and I still need to finish Bruise's shirt for his costume ... that'll take some time and energy. At least we bought everything we'll need.

I'll need to make the clasp to hold Bucket's cloak closed. But, hey, at least Bubble's costume is all done. I even found a little stuffed animal for her to carry around with it, to complete her costume. Phew!

Okay, I should go take Bucket to her violin class soon.

Well, I've started a second blog ... but it's geared for the Sunday School class that I'm teaching (and their families).

In it, I'm researching and answering questions that they ask in class.
And, since I'm not a scriptorian (at least, not yet), therefore unable to always give the appropriate scripturally-backed answers that these questions deserve, I figured that this would be a good way to address these questions and foster more learning for my students.

That, and if you really want to know what quotes I like from General Conference, you could follow my Twitter feed. Because that's the main reason I have Twitter, to follow the Twitter Stake during Conference. (It's a great way to learn the General Authorities' names, if you miss the words on the screen. And some folks on Twitter are awesome at bringing up sites with these people's background and stuff.^_^ )

Yesterday was ... a day. I was tired. I didn't do much housework. I did get caught up on the dishes. The kids are still grounded. I need to do more laundry.

And I'm just irritated by the whole mess.
Especially when I see UNWORN, CLEAN CLOTHES in the laundry.

So, the kids are now going to be doing their own washing and folding and putting away their clothes. At least until they stop putting clean clothes they just don't want to put away into the laundry.

Which means that I'm going through all the "dirty" clothes and taking out Bubbles's clothes to wash.

I'm just so dang tired of all this dreck.

Especially since every day that I have to talk to them and remind them and FOCUS THEM on the tasks at hand is a day that DOESN'T count toward them getting ungrounded.

They took about two hours to "clean" their room (There was improvement ... EVENTUALLY).
They moved all the chairs from the dining room into the kitchen ... and didn't vacuum (until NOW because I had to yell to get them to do it).

I am already tired of having to take away the remote before they get up so that they aren't tempted to watch shows.

I'm glad that Mom's coming up today. I need something to distract me from all this.

I also need to write letters to my Nana and to Gramma I ... it was in my calendar for yesterday, and I didn't do it.

I did get caught up on reading conference talks and my scriptures ... but I'd feel a heckuva lot more spiritual if I didn't have to harp and nag at Bruise and Bucket to JUST FOR THE LOVE OF PETE GET THINGS DONE WITHOUT HAVING TO BE TOLD IT'S NOT LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE CHORE CHARTS HANGING ON THE DOOR THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT OH WAIT YOU DO! THEN GET THINGS DONE SO WE CAN HAVE A HAPPY, PEACEFUL HOUSE AND I MIGHT NOT FEEL TOTALLY DRAINED OF THE WILL TO LIVE.

And Bubbles wanted to wear a swimsuit yesterday. So... she wore a swimsuit.
She's REALLY bummed that the outdoor pool is closed (and has been closed for two weeks. And won't open until at least Memorial Day weekend). Poor kid.

Well, it's time to do devotional and all that. Or else it's time for my head to explode ... Either or.

But I did finish my book and did my Khan Academy (83% complete in Fifth Grade Math), Duolingo, and Rosetta Stone ... so that's ... something. That and with my blogging on the Sunday School blog and all, I should feel like I've been productive. Meh.

BOMTC - Still Making Progress!

So far, I haven't missed a day. But it's not been an easy thing.

Like Michael says, I really need to SCHEDULE a time to do my reading.
And I've noticed that I do a LOT better when I do my reading aloud.
AND I need to follow President Eyring's counsel to pray BEFORE I read.

But, well, at least there's some progress ... in that I've stayed on schedule. Even if it means grabbing my tablet before I fall asleep in order to DO what I've put off earlier.

So, yeah. It's going. And I'm feeling good about it.

Now, my mom's here, so I'm going to write more later.

Goal: BOMTC - Day 2

Okay, I didn't get my reading done until after I put Bubbles to bed.
(Michael took Bruise and Bucket to Cub Scouts/Activity Days ... so the house is quiet ... and I spent Vesper's naptime taking a bath and reading a library book [Happy early birthday present to me! However, the house really could use cleaning ... so we all know what I'll be doing tomorrow, right?])

I read 1 Nephi, chapters 4-6.

I don't know that anything totally stood out to me ... but I do like that Nephi felt prompted to include the story/vignette of how their mother, Sariah, fared while her sons returned to Jerusalem to retrieve the Brass Plates.

She, the wife of a prophet, had issues with her testimony. She feared that her sons perished and that she and Lehi would die in the wilderness.

Lehi worked, lovingly, to assuage her fears. He didn't tell her that she was wrong ... but he worked to listen and assure her.

And, when their sons (with the addition of Zoram) returned, she and Lehi rejoiced together.

I don't know why I like/appreciate this inclusion ... but I do.

Maybe because it demonstrates a good/healthy husband and wife dynamic (e.g., helping each other through trials, easing fears, responding mildly to rebukes if/when they occur ...) or maybe because it does help to demonstrate that these are real people, not just some characters in some wild epic.

Because, truly, Joseph Smith could NOT have managed to WRITE this on his own.
There is no possible way. He did not have the schooling, the ability to research, the knowledge or wisdom, or even the TIME to create this himself.

There's too much detail that he wouldn't have known ... that the world is only realizing IS factual and verified NOW. He couldn't have known many of these things at all.

And that's not even considering that, as Emma, his wife who loved him dearly, stated that he could barely manage to dictate a coherent letter ... so writing an EPIC is something far beyond his mortal abilities. It could ONLY be done through the power of God.

... But, hey, I've made it though two days (82 left, if I've counted correctly)!
Now to keep on it.

I did almost feel like breezing through some more chapters ... but, this is a schedule. I'm going to stick to it. Wish me luck!

Goal: Scripture Study

Okay, confession: I still haven't really been able to successfully develop a daily scripture study/reading habit. And I'm almost 34.

However, it's times like these when it's really nice/cool that I have Facebook friends who are inspired to share things.
One friend shared that she's doing "The Book of Mormon Translation Challenge."
In short, read The Book of Mormon during the time frame that it took Joseph Smith to translate it (84 days).

I'm not worried about being able to finish it in the time frame ... I AM worried that I will sluff off and give up. So I'm telling y'all about it so you can keep me accountable.

AND, as Brother Simon (who runs the blog site for it) points out, one great thing about this challenge is that, by the end, one should have gotten a good start at having developed a habit of reading the scriptures daily.

Which, as I've pointed out, I need help doing.

So, instead of rubbing my nose in how many times I've attempted to make a habit and failed  ... or how many years I've lived without cultivating that habit in the first place, I'm going to focus on STARTING and developing this habit.

I'm happy to report that today, I did my first steps. I read the introduction to The Book of Mormon (which was yesterday's pre-challenge-starting assignment) and I read chapters 1-3 of 1 Nephi. It feels good to make that (small, but definite) progress.

What stood out to me today was at the end of 1 Nephi 2, verses 23-24:

23 For behold, in that day that [the descendants of Laman and Lemuel] shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also.
 24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

          (Emphasis mine)

As I read that, it did strike me (as Michael had already observed) that those who chose to make a vocal spectacle during the sustaining of our church leaders could be considered to be doing just that -- stirring us to remember WHY we sustain these leaders, giving us an opportunity to reflect on our testimonies of our prophets and other leaders, deciding who we will choose to follow ...

And ... well, it just stood out to me. And it made me think.

If you read the post for today over at The Book of Mormon Challenge, Brother Simon came away with a different overall impression. It doesn't mean that he or I am more correct or wrong than each other. It just means that, at this time, these are the (different) things that we needed to learn/realize for ourselves.

And I love that about the scriptures ... as we learn more, we are more able to see more in these holy writings. We will receive answers to our own questions. And, even when we read a passage/verse/chapter/book that we've read before, we can gain new insights and inspiration as we study.

That's one thing that I miss while I'm serving in Nursery on Sundays; the opportunity to attend Sunday School and Relief Society, where our lessons are discussed by lots of people with very different life situations, experiences, viewpoints. Sometimes, I would be able to learn, from my brothers and sisters in the gospel, to look at a story/lesson/quote/experience from a completely new point of view.
(One of our Sunday School teachers, who was a single mother through very lean times, shared that as she counseled with her Bishop, she learned that "It's easier to live by money than live by faith," while stressing that living by faith does have many more rewards.)

But, I'm optimistic that this challenge that I just happened to stumble upon thanks to a Facebook friend might JUST be the ticket to starting a successful scripture-study habit for me.

A bit of resolution ... not overall ... but mentally, I guess

I'm doing better.

I mean, yeah, I'm still disappointed about the whole date-that-mostly-fell-through-because-our-friend-wasn't-there ... but, you know, she has her life and she makes her own decisions.

I did find the original appointment card ... which states that if you can NOT make the appointment to contact her in advance. Nowhere did it say to contact her to confirm the appointment. So ... well, I do feel a bit justified. Since I was never asked to confirm.
Still, it's a bummer that, as Michael stated, she didn't place near the amount of importance on our appointment as I/we did. Oh well.
(Especially since if it had happened, I could have told lots of folks about it and how cool it was and what I learned ... but, well, now I can't. Sad.)

Vesper's picked up a cough again. She was coughing a TON yesterday evening. Enough so that I stayed home with her from Bruce and Zoë's concert (Michael and Mom and Dad C were there). Then, this morning (after coughing off and on through the night), she's FINE. Now, three hours without any coughing, she's coughing again. What's up with that?

Tomorrow, Michael and I are going to our first -con ... Up in P-Town, there's a comic-con this weekend. We got tickets through an online coupon site for about half-price. Pretty nice. This should make up for the date-that-didn't-happen.

But, yeah, between a fun date that's something we've always wanted to do and Aunt Flo vacating my life (until her next visit. Joy, oh joy! [she said dripping with sarcasm]), life is getting tons better (not that it wasn't good to begin with ... but it's better).

I've been going through my bookmarks ... so, if you're on Pinterest and wondering what the heck I'm posting a couple hundred pins the last few days ... well, be aware that now, instead of around 200 Crafting bookmarks, I'm down to less than ten (and those bookmarks are mostly stores that I mean to shop at sometime). And I've already gotten more than 150 of my cooking bookmarks over onto Pinterest. (Just another 140 or so to go! All my C, H, R, and S bookmarks left. Then I'll only have around a dozen that won't or don't get pinned left.)

And, since I'm on Pinterest, I might as well go through some of the boards that I've bookmarked to go through later ... and, since one of them (and then a second that I found THROUGH that first board) are church-related, then I have a couple dozen new pins there. #PinterestAddiction

However, I do have to say that going through those boards is really helpful. I just want to squeeze my kids and tell them that I love them, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them ... that sort of thing.
I know it's really kind of silly that going through a few links seems to strengthen my testimony ... but, well, that's how it really is.
(Our leaders and general authorities give some wonderful quotes. I really love that they make sure to let all of us know about how much we are loved. And how precious we are to Heavenly Father and Jesus. It's ... awesome.)

So, yeah. That's most of what's gone on.

And, in other news, Bruise and Bucket are grounded AGAIN off electronics. Bruise snuck the Nintendo DS (which is MINE, by the by ... even though I let the kids use it more than I do) into their room. Then he and Bucket, after Michael told them NOT to get in each other's beds (Bucket and Bruise more often than not sleep in the same bunk. I warn them that this will need to stop soon, since they definitely need to be over this by the time they serve missions or go to college or whatever), were in Bucket's bunk, so she could watch Bruise play his new game ... and then, when Michael went in, Bruise lied and said that they were playing with Bucket's light brick (LEGO nightlight) ...

Yeah ... crazysauce and a half.

So, even though it hadn't even been two weeks since they LAST got in trouble (Bruise sneaking in his tablet into his bunk to watch Minecraft YouTube videos with Bucket in her bunk), they're grounded again. ...

But, in the meantime, the screen protector for Bucket's new tablet (for her birthday) and the cases for their tablets have come in. I've got everything all set up. They just need to get un-grounded, charge up the tech, and they can play again.

BUT I'm going to be a great big meanie ... they have to do their Duolingo (language study) before they can play. And that still counts EVEN if they have friends coming over after school.

It's a little irksome, though, since we had JUST been talking about obedience and stuff in our morning devotionals ... Well, apparently, I should have just been teaching them about repentance instead, right?

Still even with that, the kids do funny stuff. ... and stuff that can make me proud.

Yesterday, Bubbles picked out (as her movie to watch) The Nightmare Before Christmas. (Usually she watches The Lion King or Frozen or The LEGO Movie or Tinkerbell. So it warmed my cold, shriveled heart that she's branching out.)

Also yesterday, after Bucket got home from their concert, she came in and, seeing the cat sleeping on the couch, pronounced, "Freyja!! Did you miss me??"
"Desperately," I replied.
"She said sarcastically," rejoined Bucket.
Yes, I totally laughed. I was quite chuffed that she did that.

Bruise has been really sweet ... besides the lying episode, of course.
Without being prompted, as soon as he saw there were cookies set out after their concert, he announced that he needed to bring one home for Bubbles.
That and since, prior to grounding, he and I had watched some silly videos on YouTube (like Cedric the Entertainer's "Que Hora Es" skit), so Bruise will enter the room and announce, "QUE HORA ES?!?!?!!" It's pretty awesome.

I'm fighting off the last vestiges of that sinus infection. And an impending ear infection. And I'm a whole book behind in scripture reading. (My goal? Read the Book of Mormon [not for the first time, but for the first time this year] by my birthday.) ... I would guess that's related to pinning a couple hundred things on Pinterest and reading a book every couple of days (Working my way through my holds ... which means that I'm working my way through the THOUSANDS of books on my TBR list). ... I need to put my scriptures on a higher priority. And I really could get caught up in an hour or two. So I SHOULD do that. TODAY. Before I get behind any more.
... Then I should read ... Well, probably the New Testament all the way through again. Then I can tackle the Doctrine and Covenants next. I'll save the Old Testament for 2016, how's that?
I mean, I have read through all of these before ... but it's been ... almost two decades. That's really sad. (And it's why I really miss Seminary and Institute.)

And I should do more Family History. Dad and L say that Uncle S has a binder of new information that he got from his new friends (who lead the local Scottish Heritage group in their neck of the woods). I'd be good to find out for sure if Pop-pop's side is Scottish or actually German (since the great-great...-great grandfather who immigrated over came over with the Hessians and married his (first) wife in Prussia. If nothing else, I know that Nana's stock DOES come from bonny ol' Scotland ... In fact, Uncle M bears an uncanny resemblance to one of her uncles, who fought as part of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. It's really funny/interesting, seeing that picture of great-great-uncle David ... and seeing Uncle M dressed in the plaids.

And not just because Uncle M's middle name is David. Works out really well, doesn't it?
Just like, when Bruise was in the Veterans' Day Parade, his Cubmaster remarked to me how he looks just like one of the pictures (of veterans in our family) that we submitted for display on the float.
"Oh, yes. That's because that's a picture of [Pop-pop ... whom Bruise was named after, well, his first name]."
"But if couldn't be a picture of [Bruise]. It was a grown man."
"*lol* [Bruise] is named for [Pop-pop], my dad's dad. But, yes, I did see the resemblance when he was born. It assured me that, yes, I did name him correctly."

Yup, that's my life in a nutshell ... infuriating and infatuating.

Well, I should feed the munchkin and do laundry or something useful. And read scriptures. And finish painting a cupboard door.

It's been WEEKS already?? Whoops!

Whoops! It's been ... almost a whole month since I last let you know that ... I'm alive and all.
My abject apologies.

Where did I leave off? June 12th?

Okay ... here's the recap:

• I donated blood. And I can take a little pride in the fact that I'm a FAST bleeder. Yeah, go me, right?
  Michael took off from work early so that he could make it to the blood drive, too.
  At first, he was going to swing by and pick up the kids, take them home, and I'd come home asap so he could run back to the church and donate blood.
  We decided to take a risk and have him stay. The kids would ride home with him, in his pretty work truck (He finally got it! And it's PRETTY. Everyone's all, "Oh! You got a new truck!" and we have to correct them that, no, it's not really OURS; it belongs to his office, but he gets to drive it around. (I do not get to drive it around. Which really does not break my heart too much. It's HUGE. Even with the back-up camera, I'm nervous enough driving as is.)
  The kids were getting terribly ansty ... so, once I made sure that I wasn't going to have a drop in blood pressure (where I get all clammy and pass out. It's happened before. Fun times. NOT.), I schlepped them home with VERY STRONG PHRASING of how I expect them to behave. Michael got home a bit later. 
• Also, Bruise earned his Wolf Badge and his Gold Arrow Point for Scouting. And I've gotten those badges (and his badge for the pinewood derby) sewn onto his shirt. The embroidery hoop I bought at Hobby Lobby made this SO FLIPPING MUCH EASIER.
• My mom spent the night a few weeks ago. Michael and I had a Stake Temple trip that we wanted to attend. We got to do an endowment session and then a chapel session (I love those chapel meetings. They make me happy. It's great to get insights from the Temple President).
• We've started our town's "Passport Program" for the summer (Kids get a "passport" and they can earn a stamp at each participating business/attraction [like a wetland park or a historic site]). Most things are downtown, but some are out a bit [e.g., the mill]. And each stamp is an entry into a drawing at the end of the summer). It's fun. 
• Then we had Fathers' Day ... I got Michael a shaving stuff kit. The kids (with my mom's help) got him bags of snacks (decorated with construction-paper ties) and a framed picture of them (they decorated the frame) for display at work. We also had a BBQ over at Michael's folks' place.
• Then we had the last week of school -- there was an assembly, which the kids barely let me know about (they were recognized for good behavior and good attendance -- earned themselves each a school t-shirt!), and a "fun day" at school, which had Bruise return home with a slight sunburn across his nose (Whoops, bad mom, forgetting sunscreen!).
• Bucket chipped a tooth (front, yes, it's a permanent tooth), playing peek-a-boo before Activity Days. It'll get fixed (permanently, mostly) on this coming Friday.
• We took the kids to the mill for a picnic (and a tour). They had fun grinding wheat. We were quite spoiled by our tour guide. We even got to feed ducks, chickens, and turkeys at the end.
• The missionaries for our ward (sisters missionaries) spent a day over here so they could get their laundry done. It was pretty fun. One of them is, for all purposes, my long-lost little sister ... if I had a little sister into K-Pop that I was ever aware of. We have fun together.
• The kids had a six-month dental check-up. Bucket needs to go back and get her tooth chip fix. Bruise has a small cavity (we need to work on flossing better). Bubbles HATES having anyone put their hands in her mouth ... but she's looking good!
• We've been trying to make it to most of the ward playdates (a gal at church created a little schedule for the summer. And it's been fun. Bruise and Bucket are the oldest kids going, but since we're meeting at parks or a splash pad, they have a good time, too).
• Our Summer Reading Program featured a storytime by a recently-retired children's librarian that we LOVE (and have desperately missed). It was lots of fun.
• We headed down to visit my side of the family. We stopped by Michael's work and then a children's museum (he dropped us off, since I'm not allowed to drive the work truck ... and he had an errand to run) and then headed down to visit my Dad and L, then my Nana (and uncle and aunt that she's living with), and Mom and C.
• Then back for church on Sunday.
• The kids played outside Monday morning. I needed to run to the store (where, in line, I noticed something in Bucket's hair ... lice. AGAIN).
  Turns out that both the older kids had head lice. We treated it and haven't seen ANYTHING since.
  So I'm totally a fan of LiceFreee! ... Yeah, I'm a convert. Saw it randomly at Wal-Mart when I was getting stuff the LAST time the kids had lice. Didn't use it then ... but tried it this time (since it was what I had on hand). It's gentler on the kids' heads; you can use/redo it as often as you like; the lice don't evolve an immunity to it; and it smells PRETTY DANG GOOD (like anise/black licorice).
• Since it's been nearly a week without seeing a single louse or egg, I'm STARTING to get over the psychosomatic itching. STARTING to.
• Bruise and Bucket started swimming lessons with Bob, their absolute favorite instructor. This is the first time that we're doing private swimming lessons. There was noticeable improvement just in their first lesson. I'm eager to see how they improve from this next lesson.

And, well, that should get us just about all caught up.
Michael reported to me that our new(er) vacuum has stopped working. Boo on that. Good thing we hadn't gotten rid of our older vacuum (wedding present from my Nana), so the house looks really nice.

I'm still working on my Rosetta Stone (Spanish), Memrise and Duolingo (Spanish, German, and French). Michael tells me that I should practice my French on folks in the ward (congregation) ... and Iwas slightly incredulous/sarcastic.
"What, you think I should go up to someone and be all, 'He is eating a black apple.', ;You are big and strong.' ... They're going to be all, 'Are you calling me fat?'"

But, I'll admit that my German skills are getting better (that Dative case, though. It's my nemesis) and I'm getting much better at reading/writing in Spanish and French. I still leave TONS of room for improvement, but I'm growing.

Bubbles is using her words a lot more. Which is nice.
She's also throwing EPIC, screaming tantrums. And biting. Both of which I will not be at all sorry when she gets over these stepping stones to big-kid-dom.
We need to get back into practice for potty-training. Wish me luck on that.

Michael and my tablets are now upgraded to Android KitKat.
We had to replace some of out shortcuts on the screen ... besides that, it's quite nice.
And my phone FREAKED ME OUT this morning ... couldn't recognize the SD card.
Just had to restart and it was all fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiine.
Thank goodness.

And we upgraded our phone account a bit ... we now have Caller ID on our landline, which is VERY nice.
Now I can avoid scammers and all those surveys. And I can return people's calls easily when they call that number.
AND our internet is about 4 times faster. Yaaaaaaas, I like that. A lot.
(Sure made downloading the KitKat update [619 MB] a LOT faster.)

We had a nice Independence Day. It was low-key. We hung around town, went for a walk through the wetlands park (saw a garter snake, lots of bullfrogs, a blue heron, some turtles, tons of ducks and ducklings, bunches of dragonflies, a couple caterpillars, a cute spider [white with pink spots, laying in wait on a Queen Anne's lace] ... good times. Then we went home, ate burgers, watched Thor:The Dark World (the kids hadn't seen it), and, eventually did some small fireworks in the street.

Bruise and Bucket are working their way through their second-grade level workbooks ... and I have third-grade level ones (and fourth-grade ones) waiting, so they'll be ready and prepared for school in ... another eight weeks.

This month is starting to get really busy -- soccer lessons (2x/wk), swim lessons (1/wk), park playdates (1/wk), and the passport program and the Summer Reading Program activities ... and I'd like to head out to the zoo and aquarium and OMSI and places.
And I need to get Bruce working a bit more on his other arrow points, if he wants to earn them!
And we can do some activities for Bruise and Bucket's Faith in God booklets.

And I SHOULD be finishing all my library books and all the housework.
Oh well.

But, overall, things are going pretty well.

It's June already? Whaaaaa?

Okay, I can't believe that it's nearly June (probably not helped by the fact that our Whiteboard calendar still says March ... since there's a HUGE lamp (from my Nana and Pop-pop's house) that makes it harder to change that up.

(I need to move the lamp to the top of a bookshelf to replace a different lamp there. BUT in order to do THAT, I have to empty that bookshelf enough to move it out, unplug the FIRST lamp, plug in the second lamp and reshelf all the books on that. AND in order to do THAT, I have to move Bruise's little table so that I can access the bookshelf! #smallhouseproblems)

But, yeah, what have I been doing with myself lately?
Gosh, let's think ...

• Last weekend, Michael took the big kids to a Youth Outdoor Day at a nearby wildlife park.
  They got to try fishing, Bucket painted a duck decoy and built a birdhouse, they posed for a picture in a gianormous Chinook model, they won prizes -- Bruise has a little folding camp stool and Bucket won herself a pink fishing pole. They also came home with lots of swag: little backpacks, "training knives" that they got to build and can use to practice the rules of having a real pocket knife, two shirts ... it was really impressive.
• Our kids' school also had their Family Fun Day. We went and ... had fun!
  Bruise was able to hit the target for the dunking tank. Bucket and Bubbles got their faces painted (a kitty "mask" and a little bunny on her cheek, respectively). The kids all got balloon animals (a sword for Bruise. Bucket opted for a kitty to match her mask -- they had a special heart-shaped balloon just for the cat's head, and a bunny for Bubbles). Bruise got a book at the book walk (like a cakewalk, but with books). Bubbles won a book on her first try at the bookwalk. Bubbles decided she wasn't interested this time. Her loss.
  We also picked up some sodas with the leftover tickets. Then we got pizza for dinner.
• Sunday, I was doing Bucket's hair and found a louse. Ugh.
  Then, while sitting on the pew at church, I had a louse crawling on my shirt ... from Bruise.
  YES, I have two kids with lice. UGH.
  So, after Sacrament Meeting (like Mass/Communion), I broke the Sabbath since I had to run to Wal-Mart and load up my arsenal.
  Once Michael brought the kids home, I used that special, stinky shampoo on Bruce and Bucket (and checked Bubbles' hair ... and Michael's hair. And he checked my hair. Repeatedly.
  I treated their beds with the lice-killer-spray. We combed through until there wasn't anything else to find.
  I can tell that we caught it pretty early. Only a few adults. Only a few nymphs.
  Still, I'm itchy just writing it down.
  And that made for a metric buttload of laundry to do.
  I let their teacher(s) at school know ... just to be responsible.
  WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN ON A SUNDAY? I just want to know.
  I blame Satan for this.
• Monday, I got the kids signed up for the local library's Summer Reading Program.
  Lately, we've taken a break from the Lemony Snickett book we're in the middle of (we've been getting started with story-story/the bedtime story a little late, so we don't have time to read a chapter each night) ... Randomly, Bucket brought me "The Green Kingdom" volume of my Childcraft books. We'll finish it tonight. I'm glad that the kids are enjoying it so much.
  During Summer, we'll be able to get through some more books a bit faster, I think. We can finish "Who Can It Be at This Hour?" ... maybe get through "The Princess Academy" and some other books. ... Debating on reading them "Sabriel." So many books, so little time!
• Tuesday, I woke myself up by having a bad dream where I found multiple louse nymphs doing Bucket's hair. Glad THAT was a nightmare.
  Michael had basketball that night. He ended up pulling a muscle in his upper thigh a bit.
  He jokes that, since his season he's (1) jammed his thumb, (2) borked his bad knee, (3) pulled a muscle in his upper arm/shoulder, (4) pulled a muscle in his upper thigh, all that's left for him to do (tonight, since it's the last game) is either stub his toe or take a head shot.
  I told him, PLEASE let it be the toe. Because, with the kids in bed by the time he's playing, I can't drive over to the church to drive him home with a concussion.
  
  Also, while he was at basketball on Tuesday night, and I was watching "My Cat From Hell" on Netflix, curled up with Freyja-cat, I hear *cough cough cough GAG CRY!!* from Bubbles.
  I run into the kids' room. She's sitting in her bed with two handfuls of dinner-vomit in her hands.
  Amazingly, she only got the slightest bits on her dress and a blanket.
  I clean her up, brush her teeth, and put her back to bed in clean jim-jams and a coating of VapoRub.
  
  About ten minutes later, ... *cough cough* "MOOOOOOM!!! [BUBBLES] THREW UP AGAIN!!"
  It's still a really small amount -- on her pillowcase and her pajamas ... and her bunnies' ears smell kinda funky (they get washed the next morning).
  Get her cleaned up, add a dose of Children's Pepto, a smidgen of cough syrup, clean pajamas. And wish for the best.
  
  Michael gets home shortly after that. I tell him of the excitement he's missed as he limps with that pulled muscle in his thigh.
  
  We go to bed, think about maybe getting a little intimate ... THEN *cough cough GAG*
  
  Well, I can report that Bubbles DID NOT throw up ... but she was in our bed (not coughing or gagging) for the rest of the night. ... Best laid plans, right?
  
• So, after that eventful and un- night, I aired out the kids' room. Just in case it was the lice-killer spray off-gassing that was aggravating Bubbles' lungs (seems like that was the trick. She slept like a log last night).
  My mom came up for a visit. We eventually went to the store to pick up snacks and dinner with the kids. (Bruise was hankering for fish sticks. Yeah. I know.)
  It was a nice visit. We chatted and I shared random videos and websites with her. The usual. We also talked about how things are going with my stepdad (the dementia is ... there. And he's had some issues with medication. ... And his hearing isn't the best. Also, he recently had to have the rest of his teeth pulled and get some new dentures). The motor for the fan in their heat pump broke. He says that he'll fix it, but hasn't yet. (I told Mom to give him a date. If it's not done by then, she's going to get someone else to do it. And that's it. ... I'm mean, I know. But, well, she's willing to pay for it to be fixed. And she shouldn't have to wait around for the stars to align JUST so in order to get it fixed. She has a point ... it took him nearly a YEAR to get the water pump replaced. It was nuts. And crazy-frustrating.)
• I woke up from a dream this morning. Strange dream.
  I was at my Nana and Pop-pop's house, they don't own it/live there anymore.
  And I was with other people. One was a mix of my cousin (S) and my sister-in-law, A.
  There were two mice in the house. I caught them and was releasing them outside.
  As I closed the door so they'd be outside (and a white cat inside wouldn't kill them), I couldn't close the door, because another (wild) mouse was getting squished in the doorframe, toward the middle of the bottom of the door.
  A/S handed me some Kleenex so I could pick it up and move it (as it's squealing and bleeding).
  The tissues are soaked and dripping blood. And I don't want it to suffer ... but I don't want to kill it. Though killing it would be much more merciful than seeing/hearing/knowing it is in pain.
  
  I don't remember what I ended up doing. Might have woken up.
  
  Another part of my dream featured a book fair. But it was more like a pre-order book fair. And I didn't have my kids with me. Or, at least, Bruise wasn't there. And I picked out a book for each child, guessing on his. His teacher said that was fine. And that, yes, I could choose something else if he opted to get a different book.
  When I went to get the order, I did choose a different book for him. And then she was freaking out because it was a lot more popular than she had thought and more people wanted it than she had books in stock. And I wasn't going to give it up, since I had permission in advance to get him what he wanted.
  
  Yeah, my dreams are weird. At least, what I remember about them.

Today, I need to finish up laundry (on the home stretch!!!), do dishes, make dinner, take Bubbles to a WIC-thing, ... things like that. Nothing wildly amazing ... but things that do need to be done.
Oh, and practice my Spanish and German. (Yay for the kids' school offering use of Rosetta Stone Classroom for Spanish. I also am supplementing it with Duolingo. And added Memrise. And I'm trying Pronunciator [through the local library's site] and LiveMocha ... Overachiever much?)
(Also, French is HAAAAAAAAAARD, with the silent 't's and 's's. My Duolingo scores there are pretty awful. But my German and Spanish have improved!)

Bruise reports that Cub Scouts wasn't very fun ... he had to SAND HIS RAINWATER REGATTA BOAT.
(When he learned that they were doing the Rainwater Regatta, he told me, "I worked REALLY HARD on my car. NOW I have to make a BOAT. *facepalm*"
I did my best not to pee myself laughing. I can understand his frustration ... but, hey, it's something he can mark off for an arrow point requirement.)

Bruise was a little disappointed yesterday ... for his pack, usually the first Wednesday of the month is a Pack meeting, then the next two Wednesdays are den meetings. This month, it's switched so we have the Den meetings first (to work on the Rainwater Regatta boats) and the third Wednesday is the Pack meeting.
He'll be getting his Wolf badge and his gold arrow point at the Pack meeting ... so I was a little sad, too. But, hey, this will give me an extra week to get all his badges sewn on, right? ... And, who knows, maybe he can get enough requirements done to get a silver arrow point by the Pack meeting. So I can get THAT sewn on.)

Tomorrow is Michael's birthday. I should do something special, huh?
He knows that I love him. And I know that he's not a person who's all out for birthday extravagance.
But I should make him a cake.
Or some bacon.
Or biscuits and gravy.
Or STEAK.
And maybe a pie.

I do have a present for him.
So that's something, right?

Ha! Bubbles obviously had pressed a button on the remote while watching Frozen.
So Anna and Elsa's song was sped up just a little. Not QUITE like The Chipmunks, but it was definitely not normal.
Wow.

Okay ... This weekend is a little busy. Still combing through hair twice a day, looking for eggs and nymphs; we have a niece and nephew who've had birthdays; the next town over is having a celebration, complete with parade; Home Depot has their free kids' activity. And we should continue celebrating Michael's birthday. ^_^

And Bucket is giving a scripture in Primary at church.

No rest for the wicked, right? 

In the clear ...

So, checking Bucket's head every day (sometimes twice!) and it's all clean. Phew.
No eggs, no creepy-crawlies, nothing.
Thank goodness!

(She's still going to get another treatment Tuesday. Just to be safe. ... And I realized that every time there's lice, it costs us around $40, since you end up using two kits-worth of shampoo. Can't they just sell the things separately? She's got a lot of hair. And we don't use all the gel ... and we've only ever gone through ONE can (of THREE+) of the bedding/whatever spray.)

But, hey, it's good.

So, there was a shooting (homicide) not too far away earlier this week.
I was able to put some things together to figure that out, since we don't get the newspaper or watch much TV.

• One of the gals I Visit Teach posted on Facebook that the police came to her family's apartment early in the morning to tell them that a crime had been committed in their apartment complex. He couldn't tell them WHAT, exactly, but they needed to be aware.
• The newspaper's Facebook account had a couple of stories ... one was a shooting.
• On driving Bucket to an activity, I saw a news crew van -- along with a search team (it made me think back to searching through Avery Park when Brooke Wilberger had disappeared [she had been kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered ... her body wasn't at the park, but the park was close to where she'd been taken from. Sad, sad situation. It was a repeat offense by the perpetrator, too.]).
• People on Facebook were posting things about an 8-year-old boy who called the cops after finding his mother on the kitchen floor, bleeding ... she didn't make it.

I haven't talked to the kids about it ... but, that boy could be a classmate. Poor kid.
Since, last I knew, the police haven't found any suspects, they don't know a motive.
And I'm locking the doors a little more.

On to good news, my mom came up yesterday.
It'd been a couple weeks since we'd seen her, since she had hurt her back.

And her Mother's Day gifts all came in the mail (two shipments. Why do they do that?) ... but I got her a nice Tuberose perfume, body wash, and hand creme. Since Bath and Body Works stopped selling their Velvet Tuberose fragrance (so sad) and that was her absolute favorite. I really hope that Target keeps making the Sonia Kushik Pink Innocencia for a while. ^_^

We went out to lunch at a tea shop downtown. Bubbles was very well-behaved. (I should have taken video of her sipping cocoa out of a wee little tea cup!) Then we went to Fred Meyer and picked up berries (and I helped mom get some make-up. Apparently, all my time spent on the internet does pay off! SCORE!).
We made it home before the kids got home (and they ate all the lunch leftovers :( Oh well.).

Our lunch, by the by, was REALLY GOOD. Bubbles had the Mad Hatter Tea -- Little grilled cheese and PB&J sandwiches with three little treats and either tea or cocoa (we opted for hot cocoa, since if I'm getting a mug out of the cupboard and she spies me, she'll exclaim "COCOA!!! COCOA!!!!").
Mom and I opted for the Queen's Tea -- soup or salad for starters and a tray of sandwiches (egg salad, chicken salad, and cucumber with cream cheese), scones (this time: raspberry, orange, and white chocolate chip) with spreads (lemon curd, cream, and raspberry preserves), and desserts -- like Bubbles, we had a tiny key lime cake, a small bunt cake with chocolate creme filling, and a small raspberry crumble bar cookie.
We opted for the Lavender Sunset tea, which was really good. (I bought a couple ounces ... along with the Blue Eyes herbal blend that Bucket and I had together a couple months ago ... and she liked it so much that she REALLY wanted Bruise to try it, too [He likes my teas a little more than his twin. He still prefers cocoa or hot apple cider.)

I have tried almost ALL the herbal and Rooibos teas at the shop now. Just a few more to go!

I've also tried all the Dry Soda flavors available at our local Safeway store. They have four (Vanilla Bean, Blood Orange, Lavender, and Cucumber) of the ELEVEN (Juniper Berry, Ginger, Rhubarb, Apple, Pear, Cherry, and Wild Lime).
Michael prefers the Vanilla and Orange ones (the Blood Orange might be the best) ... Bucket and I also really like the Lavender.
The Cucumber flavor ... it's ... strongly cucumber-y.
Don't get me wrong, I like cucumbers ... but I found a way to drink up the four bottles I got.
Pineapple-mango flavor enhancer (like Mio) ... enough to turn the soda golden.
The cucumber flavor is still very present. But it's sweeter and lots better. Bucket and Mom agree.

I wish I knew a place that sold ALL the other flavors. Even though I'm not WILD about rhubarb ... and I'm a little nervous about the juniper. But I like ginger ales/ginger beers (like root beer, in case you're worried that I've gone apostate. Nope. Still a tee-totaller). And the fruity ones all sound good.

Bruise has been working hard ... and his efforts are being rewarded.
He's done all the work to earn his Wolf badge. The cubmaster is aware.
He should get it at the next pack meeting.
(She was really impressed at how quickly he's gotten it. ... Just under six months from joining Scouts to receiving it. ... I figured that it'd be best to keep him motivated, right? So, now I need to research the requirements for his Arrow of Light and his Eagle Scout projects. We're a team.)

But that's one less thing for me to fret about. Since he's supposed to earn his Wolf before working on the arrow points. And I didn't want to take the chance that we couldn't work on arrow points during summer vacation (since we don't have meetings besides Day Camp during the summer break).
So, GOAL ACHIEVED!! Phew!!

I also am about to get Bucket a Girl Scout's book so she can do requirements for fun and get those signed off. Maybe I can get her badges? I don't know.
Because she REALLY likes how her twin gets to do STUFF and get it signed off and get badges.
(I'd get her into Girl Scouts properly ... but we already have stuff going on most weeknights. I really like those nights when we don't. So we have time for reading scriptures together, having a family prayer with all of us home, AND having time for a chapter or so of a bedtime story.)
I think in summer, we'll try a sport, since they won't have Activity Days or Scouts. ... I'll have to plan around Day Camp, though. And there's swimming lessons. Those are important. 

And now summer already feels extremely busy.

I should go start cleaning the house. If I can get it to look a little better, then I can rationalize reading for a couple hours (aka Bubbles's nap).

And I need to practice Spanish and water the plants and do a million other things.
But I should just START.
So that I can get things done and get a shower before the kids get home.
Then there's PTC (Parent-Teacher Committee), immediately followed by our ward's Relief Society activity for the month ... our RS President (newly-called!) is teaching about gardening and utilizing herbs.
If you know me (which, I think, most of you do), you know that I'm pants at keeping plants alive.
(Case in point: I have THREE houseplants. The peace lily -- Nana sent it as part of a floral arrangement when I was in the hospital with Bruise and Bucket -- is doing okay. I got a hanging basket of pansies for my birthday. It's pretty much dead. So is the azalea that another friend brought me. It's not totally dead ... but it has seen much better days. Poor thing.)

But, yeah. That's most of what's happening on the homefront here.
I'm going to work on dishes and cleaning up the kitchen and getting some more laundry done. And maybe the junk-counter and the dining table. That will spruce up the place a lot.

Then I can rationalize taking the time to read and play on my tablet, right? ;P

Happy 2014!

I'm blogging ... and it's not even been a whole WEEK between blogs.

Shocker, right?

Well, hey, at least I'm getting a good start to the new year, right?

So, let's get all caught up.

Sunday was church. We brought snack for the Nursery class (Fig Newtons and string cheese. Snack of CHAMPIONS. Or, at least, it's something that the kids will eat). Then we just had a kinda lazy day at home ... to recuperate from BOTH Michael and me having to speak in the fifth Sunday lesson (where, usually, all the folks NOT teaching in Primary [childrens' classes] meet together.)

Monday, we cleaned up the house. Michael took Bruise and Bucket's baptism invitations to be printed. We went grocery shopping and delivered a meal to a family in the ward. I addressed envelopes and got the kids' baptism invites into the mail. I made sure that the kids' birthday invites were emailed out (and their teacher will help in inviting some of their school friends that I DON'T have contact information for).

Tuesday, we went to Costco after taking down the Christmas decorations. The kids played outside with a neighbor (except for Bubbles who took a nap. FINALLY) until we took them to Mom and Dad C's for a sleepover with some cousins ... which freed up OUR New Year's Eve.

So, we had an evening without kids ... what should we do?

GO WILD AND CRAZY!!
We bought dinner at Safeway (Chinese food wraps ... and I had my Cherry Coke to help me stay awake during out late night out) and hit the local, closing Blockbuster ... bought a few movies.
Then we got our tickets ... we watched The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug first.
I have to say that the fight choreographer has QUITE the sense of humor.
Very good. We liked it.
Then we went to Fred Meyer to kill some time ... and I found a copy of mental_floss to buy. (Yay!!)
And back to the theater to watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. We got discount popcorn and a free soda (And they had Cherry Coke! Yay! No ice, because I want Cherry Coke, not gross watered-down soda) ... which, since I'm not so used to THAT much caffeine (yes, two cokes for me = more than I'm used to. What? I'm a lightweight in that way.), I noticed that my heart was racing a bit after the Quarter Quell began.
We enjoyed both movies a lot.

Then we went to bed ...

And I was dead to the world until almost 8:30 this morning.
After we got up, we watched our Netflix DVD (The Wolverine) ... then we got ready for Mom and Dad C to bring the kids back.

And, since we were hungry, we went out for lunch.
And then went back home and played SongParty on the WiiU.

And I'm exhausted.

The other day, I had my legs across Bucket's lap.
She let me do that, sweet girl. ... Then ...

Bucket: Oh, look. Here's the line from where you wore your socks too long. Aww.
And it feels like you have a rash. ... Oh, wait. That's just that you haven't shaved your legs.

Yup, that's my girl.

I don't know where she'd learn anything like that ...

Like how, as I was exhausted, Michael challenged me to describe string theory.

My answer?

Well, you take a bunch of yarn. Or threads. And you make hypotheses and test them. And it involves Physics. ... But you can't KNOW. Because it's STRING THEORY. If you KNEW, then it'd be STRING LAW.

Yup, he's so lucky to have me.

I still need to figure a time to use the elliptical on a regular basis. And when to read scriptures and such.
And I want to get caught up (again) on laundry and dishes. And plan meals.

But, hey, at least we're pretty prepared for the kids' baptism and birthday.
Now to plan Bubbles' birthday.

And Mom C is talking of convincing everyone to come home a day early from their vacation to make the kids' baptism ... It'd be nice.

Also, yesterday, I received news that one of our past bishops and neighbors passed away.
Nelson lived down the road from my folks' house. He was also one of our Home Teachers.
He was always very kind and helpful.
He and Betty, his wife, were at my mom and stepdad's wedding.
Before that, when the wiring at our house was wonky, he came and helped work on it ... and, mistaking the sound of his footsteps, I called him "Mom."
He leaves behind a wonderful, large family with many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And many friends.
But I know that we'll get to see him again. Not immediately ... but sooner than later.

And he'll have all his fingers. And his body will be strong and healthy again.
And that'll be nice.

Out of Clever Ideas for a Title ... Blah

So, lately, I've been NOT making it through all of church. On a consistant basis.
Which sucks.

I can assure you that it's not because I have any doubts about the Church being true or that our leaders are called of God or anything like that.

It's because Bubbles is an ACTIVE child. And she's not yet old enough for Nursery (still THREE MONTHS TO GO. THREE MONTHS) ... so I have to schlep her to Sunday School and Relief Society. And ... well, to be perfectly blunt, I have a hard enough time trying to pay attention and LEARN something on my own. Adding a (darling, I know, but) LOUD munchkin who wants to go walking/running around the room or to be fed constantly ... And that's when she's NOT sitting in a (backless, at her height) chair and FALLING BACKWARDS ... It's a recipe for failure.

I can't pay attention. She's distracting others. And THAT distracts me.
So, either I stay and be a complete wreck ... or I take her home and lay her down for a nap.
And it's a total lose-lose situation, because I know that I SHOULD stay and show her that church is important enough to stay there ... and I might -- just might, maybe -- get some wonderful nugget of knowledge that'll help me get through the week/be a better person/wife/mother/daughter/sister-in-law/etc ...

But I can't handle it. And it's stupid to just go wandering the halls, since she demands to walk on her own, won't even let me hold her hand ...

I've tried sitting out in the car ... but the weather's getting too warm to keep the windows shut. And she won't fall asleep ... so she's too loud to keep the windows open.

So, instead, I take her home ... and I feel like a jerk/horrible person for NOT being at church.

And this week, with fasting and shark week and everything ... I was there at church. I missed the Sacrament being passed because I was in the Mother's Lounge. Yes, I was talking to another mom in the other ward ... but still, I missed the main reason for going to church (besides worshiping in general). And Bubbles still wasn't winding down ... And I went back in with her and sat with the family ... and then Michael had to take her out.

Amanda's husband was there at church. He seems to be holding up well. I didn't go up and give him a hug. Because I'd probably burst into tears ... and he doesn't need that. I did smile at him ... and then I started to get all teary-eyed ... Stupid emotions.

But I was there, in Sacrament meeting, filling up Michael's handkerchief. When he brought Bubbles back to sit down, since he needed to be close ... since he had to give the closing prayer in the meeting ... And, OF FLIPPING COURSE, she starts squawking again. So I just told him that I was taking her home.

And I cried the way home. Got her in her bed. Took a shower to clean off the rest of my mostly-cried off makeup ... and, while I was there, did my best to pray ... which mostly consisted of my whining and railing at Heavenly Father that I just don't FEEL right. And I want to be able to be at church ... but I CAN'T manage if I'm going to be crying all the time or not able to even listen, let alone concentrate on the lessons .... And it's just HAAAAAAAARD. And there are ants in our house. And I HATE being crazy on a monthly basis.

I just don't really know what to do.

Which makes me cry more.
And I don't know how much of it is just because I'm on my period so I'm a crazy-hormonal MESS.
I don't know if it's because I suck at grieving ... so maybe I just need to handle that ...
I don't know how much is frustration that no matter what I do, there's ants and the house always gets messed up again.
How much is due to Michael texting me this morning to request that I bring his tablet to church, since he didn't have it. And he said that it's on my desk. And it's NOT. And the kids both proclaim that they didn't touch it. And we looked all over the house, for about five minutes ... which is fine, since it's not a big house ... and I still can't find the damned thing.
And how much is due to the fact that I tried fasting even though I get HELLA CRANKY when I don't have food ... AND it's the same week as my cycle (thanks, Mother Nature, you whore)
And .... and .... and .... yeah.

And now I have a headache from crying. WINNER! /sarcasm

But, yeah ... I mostly just feel that I suck. At just about everything.

• attending church and staying once I've gotten there
• Bubbles is TINY. Maybe because I suck at feeding her.
• Personal prayer ... should be an automatic habit. It's not.
• Same with personal scripture reading. SUCKAGE GALORE.
• I can't control my emotions.
• Our house STILL has ants.
• I haven't finished my library books. And the last one that I DID read wasn't that good.
• My pad won't stay in place. Because, apparently, maybe my body is just not put together right.
• Maybe because I could stand to lose about 70 pounds.
• I can't make and stick to a meal planning system if it killed me. And it just might. But I hate scouring the house around 5PM or so, wracking my brain as to what I can manage to scramble up to feed the family (Which would be easier if Michael didn't hate eggs. Can you work on that honey? A frittata wouldn't take long to make. Just sayin'.)
• The fact that I wasn't able to solve the memory card issue on my own. I LIKE being independent and being able to save money. ... Though, knowing that there's a good place to take it/refer people IS a bonus ... but it doesn't totally make up for not being able to do it myself.
• I can't cry without looking AWFUL. And it's OBVIOUS when I've been crying. Or even yawning. Completely unfair. I wonder, if I had brown eyes, would it be so obvious?

And the list goes on. Of course. Because I, apparently, have very little in my system right now besides self-loathing. And I should follow that with a chaser of ibuprofen, since it's given me a headache.

I don't LIKE not being happy. I don't LIKE not feeling like a fun mom. I don't LIKE getting to church and not being able to pay much (if any) attention to the speakers/teachers. I just want to be able to sit with Michael for at least two of the hours and TRY to get something out of the lesson.

While I'm at it, I also want an elliptical that fits in our living room, a house with at least one more bedroom, established scripture reading/prayer habits that I don't even have to think about, a chef, maid and maseusse, and to wake up 70 lbs lighter with boobs that fit in bras that I could buy off the rack ... and that my hair wasn't so porous. That'd be nice, too.

But I'd settle for an elliptical and a child that sits still during Relief Society ... since racing up to stop her from making a run to the front of the room (where the teacher is TRYING to her HER job) is more than a little distracting.

and .... I obviously can't handle it.

Challenges ...

Maybe I'll get a fun title ... or, at least, a creative one ... but right now ... no.

So ... I'm sure everyone's aware of how there was a bombing at the Boston Marathon (well, thanks, Allanna's subconscious. You almost had me write "Boston Massacre." And, though rather apt, that's not what it was supposed to be.)

(Yes, I just talked to my subconscious there. What, you mean you don't?)

But, yeah ... I'm in a bit of a funk.
And when I say a bit ... I mean A LOT.
Because I am generally a happy-ish-type person.
And I don't feel happy much at all right now.

And, NO, it's not my period. Thanks for asking.

But the fact is that, yes, bad things happen. People are suffering. Some lost their life or a loved one. Many more were injured. There's a picture making its way around Facebook (and yes, I did check for authenticity. Because I HATE it when things are posted that aren't confirmed truth. Sadly, this IS.) with a man who lost at least one leg (below the knee). ... And, according to the news reports, out of the 170 or so injured, there were a LOT of amputees.

And an eight-year-old boy was killed ... out of three deaths, one was so young.

Nevertheless, things like this SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.
I want to know what someone would think to explain that behavior ... and, well, then I DON'T want to know. Because, regardless of any explanation which MIGHT make some semblance of reason for this to occur, there's the fact that it SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.

I feel angry. And helpless. And depressed. And irritated.
All rolled up into some little hedgehog-ball of upset ... with a soft underbelly of hurting.

Because, well, I can't even imagine what those runners and their friends and families are going through.
I can't imagine how it could be to go run in a marathon ... and then end the day with the possibility of never running again.

This is bollocks, y'all. Total bollocks.
Why can't we just be freaking NICE to each other?
Why do we, as a species, target each other? It doesn't make sense.

I just want to go and smack everyone up the head and be all, "You're a FREAKING CHILD OF GOD. HE LOVES YOU. HE LOVES EVERYONE. SO JUST GO AND TREAT EVERYONE WITH LOVE, DAMMIT!"

But, well, wouldn't that be a bit hypocritical and counter-productive?
I think it might be. Just a titch. (WARNING: UNDERSTATEMENT ALERT)

Seriously ... what is it with the fact that every time I try and do something frigging RIGHT, crap blows up (not always literally) ... but still. What the aitch is UP with that?

(Satan, that's what. Because he wants me to just give up and be a spiritual slug ... amirite?)

(Oh gosh, now I have SNL's The Church Lady in my brain. That usually just happens when Mom and I sit next to each other in Sunday School. Then we'll whisper "Could it be ... SATAN!?!?" or "Well, isn't that special?" to each other. Yes, there's a reason my mom is one of my besties. Many reasons, actually. But that is one of them.)

BUT!!
Where was I? Ah, yes!
SO, yesterday started out fiiiiiiiine -- I got the kids off to school (even though Bucket's lunchbag appears to be missing. Again.), Bubbles and I said an itsty prayer together (never too early to start a habit, right? And I should be doing WAY stinkin' better at instilling this into ALL the children. And myself.). Eventually, I got breakfast and did some laundry. ... And I got the news about Boston.

I don't really know anyone in Boston ... do I?
Thankfully, all my friends' friends (that THEY know) who were in the Marathon are safe and accounted for.

I read my scriptures ... blogged about that.
Started another spiritual/scriptural-type challenge ... Voices for Virtue created a 40-day challenge.

In the shortest terms possible, here it is: Read one conference talk per day for 40 days (with the exception of one day when you read the Sustaining of the Church Officers and the Auditing report and the Statistical report ... because those are all rather short)

So, yeah ... I started doing that, too. Since it STARTED yesterday. And, well, why not?
I mean, if it's so important for us to receive this revelation as a whole church, shouldn't I actually, you know, better acquaint myself with it?

Yesterday, also, my language practice SUCKED. Seriously sucked. German conjunctions and Spanish questions (Que, Donde, and so on ... and, yes, I DON'T have the accents on there. Because I'm lazy and peevish.) ... they just were NOT happening.

But, regardless, I DID read my scriptures and the opening remarks for Conference.
Did I feel tons better? ... I really couldn't say. Mostly because, well, if you usually feel around an 80 and then you feel around a -500, feeling around a -75 is better, but not great.

Today's reading was Elder Packer's talk. And it was a nice talk. I do worry, though, that he's not going to be with us a terribly lot longer. And that makes me sad.
He talks of how much wisdom he's gained ... and how, even though it's so hard to move about and do things he used to love, he wouldn't change that ... because the knowledge and experience he's gained is so precious to him.
He also talks of complacency and protecting the home and family against the bad things that are out there.

However, with what happened yesterday ... I keep thinking more toward one of the last talks given in Conference. Elder Bruce D. Porter gave a talk, "Beautiful Mornings."
And I liked how it was summed up over at The Latter-day Snark ... about how it wasn't so much about why bad things happen to good people, but more about who cares why bad things happen to good people.
I did give it a quick read-over ... and, yes, I feel more better than I did before I read it.

I do have a testimony that, through Heavenly Father's plan of happiness, that things will work out.
(Which reminds me of another conference talk, President Uchtdorf's "The Hope of God's Light.")

I know that we will have trials here on earth. And that we have the opportunity to learn and to grow from the trials that we and others face. It's not always going to be easy or fun ... But there will be good to balance out all the suck that is in the world. And, without all the bad, how would we even recognize what is good? ... So I do have to be thankful for the bad, too. (Though I might not be as grateful for it as I probably should be.)

I'm grateful for the Atonement ... so that we have a sure witness that everything WILL be right. Maybe not right now, but eventually. I'm glad to know that the people affected by the bombing will be made whole and perfect again.

It's just trudging through the figurative mud here that is hard. But we'll get by, right?
(If you're not sure, we do have it on good authority that we WILL. It just takes time and effort.)

Okay, so I should read my scriptures for the day ... Mosiah 9:1-9:19

• Okay, I had to go to the actual scriptures to make more sense of all this ... Chapter headings make like a LOT easier. So, now Ammon and Limhi and everyone are reading the plates Limhi's people found (So, they were translated! Whoot!) ... and it's the record of a civilization that came before.
• Zeniff is the part of a group who've left Zarahemla for the land of Lehi-Nephi He knows how to read and write (obvs, or else we wouldn't have this record). He spies on the Lamanite forces ... but, when he observes them , he realizes that there's a lot of good ... so he doesn't think that his group should wipe the Lamanites out. 
• However, the leader of the group is more bloodthirsty and doesn't really care for the idea of making a treaty with the Lamanites. So much so that he wants to put Zeniff to death for daring to question orders. He's spared due to a civil war fought among their own people. He is one of the few (it sounds like less than half of the original troop survived) that returns to Zarahemla to report to the families.
• Still, they REALLY want to regain the land of their ancestors, so they head back ... but, since they're not as righteous as they should be, they have a lot of trials (famine and "sore affliction," which always makes me think of boils ... but I'm sure that's not it. Or, at least not all of it.)
• Eventually, they return to where they started (where the original group camped, at least, before the civil war) ... They meet with the Lamanite leader who, remarkably, is pretty cool with the transfer of land. They agree to make a peaceful transfer ... his people leave the land of Lehi-Nephi and Shiom.
• BUT!! King Laman was a crafty guy ... after the Nephites move in, build their homes, establish farms ... really get settled in, he plans to get the Nephites into bondage and repossess their lands.
• But, like the Israelites in Egypt (as in "Tell old Pharaoh 'Let my people go!" ... you know, the story of Moses?), the Nephites were prosperous and, well, there were a LOT of them. So King Laman is forced to act sooner rather than later.
• The Lamanites are a society where there's not such the great work ethic, apparently ... and they really, really want to have all the food and flocks that the Nephites have raised (Kinda like the dog and the cat in "The Little Red Hen." You know, they don't help out, but they're more than happy to offer to eat the bread. Should I have prefaced that with "Spoiler Alert?" :P)
  So, under the king's direction, they start fighting with the Nephites and taking the crops and flocks of those they overtake.
• The Nephites that aren't killed in the raids flee to the main city with its stronghold and beg Zeniff for protection. He arms them with all the weapons he can get his hands or or create ... and they go to battle with the Lamanites, crying to the Lord for help.
• There's a huge battle ... In about 24 hours, they slay 3,043 Lamanites. Eventually, the Lamanites are driven back out of the land of Lehi-Nephi. The Nephites bury the dead, including their own 279 casualties.

I'm not totally sure what all I should be learning from this. ... I mean, it's really good to have a good work ethic. And to pray when you're doing hard/dangerous things. There is the whole similarity of the Nephites and Israel in Egypt ... I don't know that I really noticed that before.

But ... yeah.

Well, my mental health number is a bit better than it was earlier. 

Apparently the migraine that Michael came home with must have gone away ... since he went to work and everything. We're counting down to our vacation ... I'm trying not to freak out. Because, apparently, I am a  control freak and I'm trying to figure out how to keep the kids entertained on a long car trip (and that's IF we don't get in a traffic jam) and what all to pack for food and how many pairs of underwear we all need ... and how many diapers to bring (because, after getting urine in my FACE last time, if a certain child of mine does not empty his bladder out? He's going to pee into a diaper, so help me. Because, face it, you do NOT need to use the bathroom every half-hour. Especially in HEAVY TRAFFIC. Just sayin'.)

And I'm gearing up to wear a swimsuit. Please send me the mental fortitude to deal with the idea of people seeing me in a swimsuit ... because I am NOT in shape like I was when I was a teenager. Also, I am so pasty-white that I practically glow in the dark. ... However, since I colored my hair (red), it's rather fitting for that. But still ... I don't like being in a swimsuit in front of people so much. I like swimming and playing in the water too much to let it stop me ... but, oh, goodness. First world problems, amirite?

And we need to get an oil change and vacation is coming up fast and ... oh, I think my brain is going to explode and leak out my ears. Until we head off ... then I'll be okay. It's just that I'm bad with anticipation. It apparently freaks me out. So I live in denial until it's too late ... I freak out and try to get everything done ... and then I can have a good time.

It's exactly what I do when I gear up for a performance.
Fun times, right?

Monday, Monday ...

I could joke about "The taxman cometh," but ... well, we paid our taxes earlier  so that's all done.
And we see the taxman (Dad C) at least once a month ... just not as the taxman. He's just Dad C.

My mom did joke with me last week, "Guess what I'm doing for your birthday? ... My taxes!!"
Good times, good times.

SO, I felt like a jerk, since I hadn't done my scripture reading.
Turns out that the 13th's scheduled posting had gotten deleted on facebook. So ... well, it wasn't totally my fault. Because I DID look for it!

And then, well, I didn't read Saturday's and Sunday's at all ... YET.

So I have THREE days' worth to catch up on. Good thing they're all short! (I do think about doing the "Read the Book of Mormon in 30 Days" type of reading ... but, well, let's just start with the baby steps.)

So, April 13 - Mosiah 7:8-7:17

• So, Ammon and the four guys he took with him are in prison. And they're brought before the king (Seriously, how long have I been in the church? Nearly 30 years ... and I'm not that familiar with this story. SAD!) ... But, hey! The king is glad that they've come, since these guys are also Nephites and they're slaves to the Lamanites. Maybe Ammon and his group can help them out!
  So Ammon and his guys are free to bring the rest of their group into the city to recuperate  from their adventure.
  And King Limhi lets his people know to meet up at the temple. Because he's got something important to tell them.

April 14 - Mosiah 7:18-7:33

• This story is starting to feel a little familiar ... I'm betting that I DO know it. But I'd forgotten it because I'm not as much of a Scriptorian as I should be.
• Okay, where were we? That's right ... King Limhi has gathered his people together. He tells them that things are going to get better -- Trust in God, because we are going to escape the Lamanites.
  Even though, you know, it's only because our people were wicked that we got into this mess in the first place. 
• He also tesitifies of the prophecies, both those that have been fulfilled and those that WILL be fulfilled (like the coming of Christ). 
• And this section ends with, Limhi saying (paraphrased), "Turn toward Christ. Believe in Him with all your heart. Follow Him. He will deliver you from bondage."
• Like another person using this Facebook page commented, it's so nice ("refreshing" is her term) to see this process of humble repentance. ... Because, face it, if this group felt entitled and proud, they'd have probably killed Ammon and his guys ... and they wouldn't be talking about any testimony. They'd be talking about how evil the Lamanites are and how horrible it was to be enslaved ... and how unfair it was that anything terrible should ever happen to them.
  And then I'd want to throw the book across the room and send them some loose change to call the WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHMBULANCE. Or, at least a quarter so they could call someone who cares.
  But, no ... Limhi is aware that, through their sinful behavior in the past, that his people/their kingdom, through their actions, brought this consequence down on themselves and their descendants.
  Way to be accountable and responsible!
  And, also, WOW ... that's a strong testimony, Limhi! ... I wish that our leaders today were a lot more like you.

April 15 - Mosiah 8:1-8:21

• Mormon tells us that Limhi spoke lots more to his people, but that only a small portion is given to us today. ... It makes me wonder what all else Limhi talked about.
  And it also makes me think of how we're told many times that what IS given to us in The Book of Mormon is for US at this time. ... And it also makes me wonder what all is in the sealed portion that hasn't been translated yet. ... Of course, we're not ready for it. And, if I don't get my buns in gear, I'll never be ready for it. Or deserving of it. *sigh* Baby steps, right? Baby steps.
• Limhi has Ammon tell what has happened with the other Nephites ... along with what King Benjamin preached unto them. Then the people all go home.
• Limhi has Ammon read through the record of what has happened to their people.
  (Okay, SUPER JEALOUS. Seriously. THIS RIGHT HERE is the record of a people who were conquered by another group/culture. And here is THEIR record. I want to read records like this! Like history from the conquered people's point of few. How did the Druids feel when the Romans came? What had they done before? Stuff like that!!)
  Also: The importance of keeping a journal.
• Limhi asks Ammon if he can interpret languages. Ammon can't.
  (I relate to this. Which is why I'm brushing up my German and trying to learn Spanish. ... I'd LOVE to be able to speak/understand/read/write ALL languages. Which is a hard thing to accomplish.)
  Limhi  had sent a search party out a while ago ... and they found some relics. Among the relics were some plates (books) with writing that they don't understand ... Maybe Ammon knows someone who could tell what is written on them?
  Limhi REALLY wants to know. (And, who can blame him? I think of how big a deal it was when the Rosetta stone was discovered! FINALLY people could start translating ancient texts. Yes, it was before my time ... but STILL!! Can you imagine how AWESOME that'd be?)
• Limhi thinks that the records might be from some people whose civilization has been destroyed ... Maybe even some ancestors.
• Ammon says that there's someone who CAN translate them. Because a seer could interpret these things. Then there's a discussion on whether a seer is greater than a prophet. And Ammon is all, "Not so, king! [Paraphrased, of course. You know me.] But a seer is a prophet and a revelator ... through the power of God. He can know things past, present, and future. Eventually, though revelation, all things will be revealed."

• "Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings."

• I like that we have prophets for OUR benefit. It's nice to know that Heavenly Father knows that we need help and is GIVING us so much help. We have the scriptures. We have prayer. We have prophets, apostles, and other leaders. We have the ability to receive personal revelation. We have Home and Visiting Teachers ... We are provided for. We have so many gifts proffered to us.
  I need to be more appreciative of what all I've been given.
• King Limhi also is glad and grateful for the knowledge of the power and availability of a prophet.
  He's going to know what's written in the book. And, besides that, it's a great blessing to have all these blessings from the Lord. The Lord does truly watch over us, His children.

 Okay ... so I'm caught up. For now.

Our bedroom is still ... somewhat clean. I'm getting closer to being caught up on laundry again. Michael's a rock star at getting things folded. I'm close to being caught up on dishes.
I made ... well, what were SUPPOSED to be pretzels, but turned out to be breadsticks for dinner last night.

Bucket is enjoying her short hair. I'm still training her bangs to not fall right in her eyes ... this way, when they're all grown out, I'll be able to see her pretty face. Won't that be nice?

Talked to one of my friends from grade school yesterday ... just catching up since I never get to see her. She's busy with being in the service (and living across the country). It was a good conversation.

Well ... I can't really think of anything else to write about. SO I'm going to close up.

Two days of scriptures ... Since I was a slacker ...

Yeah, I know ... But I'm TRYING, right? Because that's what I need to DO, to get into a habit.

Baby steps, y'all. Baby steps.

SO, YESTERDAY'S assignment was Mosiah 5:1-15 -- Still with King Benjamin talking/preaching to his people. (I do love the visual given, when we talk about King Benjamin's sermon, of how he built a tower so that his people could see him and more could hear him ... and they set up their tents facing him. And he had people interspersed around, repeating what he said, like a precursor of the intercom system, so that everyone could hear his words. Pretty inspired.)

• His people, having received his words, testified all together of their testimony of the truth. They all desired to enter into a covenant with God. 
• By entering into this covenant, we are named as children of God. (I mean, yes, EVERYONE is a child of God ... because He is the father of our spirits. However, once we come to earth, not everyone KNOWS that.
  In this last General Conference (April 2013), Elder Stanley G. Ellis stated, "We are not spiritual orphans. We are not alone."
  We haven't just been kicked out of the nest and left to fend for ourselves. All we have to do is to look up and recognize from where our blessings come. Heavenly Father is waiting for us, to allow us to encircle us in the arms of His perfect love. And, when we enter into these covenants -- baptism, endowment, sealings ... but especially baptism, we become children of Christ. He redeemed us, fulfilling the plan of our Heavenly Father, and we become His.
• King Benjamin implores his people to remember Christ, to have his name written on our hearts (which puts me in mind of how, when we are going on vacation soon, I'll write our names and phone number on the kids' wrists, in case they are lost). 
• And the selection for the day ends with this Scripture Mastery (a scripture that Seminary Students are supposed to memorize ... and most, like me, didn't. Whoops.)
  

• Mosiah 5:15 - Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.

Today's selection is Mosiah 6:1-7:7 -

• King Benjamin keeps a record of those who desire to enter into the covenant with Christ. EVERYONE does. The only ones who don't are little children (because we don't believe in baptizing little children ... They're innocent. So baptizing them is an affront to God ... since we're making them take responsibility for their actions before they are accountable for their choices. It'd be like basing someone's SAT scores on a test taken before they can read and write.)
• Benjamin also passes the kingdome over, while the crowds are still there, to his son, Mosiah (which is why this book is called the book of Mosiah). Benjamin also sets up priests to teach the people, because continuing education is a GOOD thing (Why else do we have Sunday School that everyone, not just new converts, attends?).
• King Benjamin dies three years later. Mosiah rules in righteousness. He commands the people to farm. He works with them, taking care of his own welfare -- not mooching off the people. There is peace in the land.
• Chapter 7 starts -- People are curious as to what is happening in the land of Nephi, from where they emigrated a long time ago. They can't leave the subject alone ... so he sends a group of men back to find out, then to return and give a report.
• Sixteen men go ... but they don't know how best to get there. So they spend a LONG time wandering. But, eventually, they DO get there and pitch their tents before going down into the land.
• The leader, Ammon, and three of the other men (so, in total, four guys) go down into the land and speak to the king. Then they're tied up and put in prison.

So... with that selection ... well, yay, for King Mosiah, since he's earning his own keep, just like the rest of his people. You have to respect that. I rather wish that George Washington HAD set that precedent (He did have the option) ... it'd save us a lot of tax money. Especially with the stupid Sequester that's going on (where we can't tour the White House, but they still throw huge, expensive parties ... paid for by the nation. Grr).

And, well, I'm glad that Ammon and ALL the guys didn't go into the land of Nephi ... it was smart to leave some behind to keep camp (and, if needed, head back and report).

Honestly, I don't remember what happens next.
Yeah, I've been in the church since I was three ... and I have read the entirety of the Book of Mormon ... but I don't recall this section about this troop of explorers at all.
SAD, yes?

Well, I promise not to read ahead without you. And we can all figure it out tomorrow (or, well, a PART of it, at least.)

Stuff ... QUICK stuff

So, my mom's going to be driving up in a bit ... and I need to clean the house and take a shower (and get dressed, of course) before she gets here.

Bubbles is taking a nap and the older kids are at school ... so I have a few minutes that I'm wasting to spend reading blogs and blogging.

So, today's scripture reading (Wow. Why did I suddenly have THE BIGGEST URGE to play Myst? Totally hit me. Not going to happen right now, though.)

... Where was I? Oh! Yes! Today's reading is Mosiah 4:16-30. In The Book of Mormon, since that's what the page I'm following is doing.

SO, here are my impressions as I skimmed read through it:

• COMPASSION. We need to give service, even when we COULD say that the person we could serve brought his/her misery upon him/herself.
• Humility - As we serve, we won't be so prideful and selfish. We won't be so quick to judge others.
• We all have to rely on God's mercy. We all need His blessings. We need to be grateful and find joy in what we have.
  We are commanded to be self-reliant ... but we can never do EVERYTHING for ourselves/our families alone. We NEED the Lord.
  As we accept His grace and all the blessings that He bestows upon us, we also need to help others with what we have. ... I mean, we're to follow His example, right? And, how else will we be prepared to be like Jesus if we don't practice, through charity and service?
• Now, if you AREN'T in a position to give, it's not counted against you ... as long as you WANT to. If you have a righteous desire to help, sometimes that's all you are capable of. Just like we can't right all the wrongs that are occuring/have occurred ... but we CAN have that desire to do good.
  We can't all donate thousands/millions of dollars/euro/etc. to alleviate suffering. But we can WANT to do good ... and, who knows? Maybe through our thoughts (which affect our words and our actions and our character), we will have an effect on someone or some group that CAN. 
• Again, humility ... we need to repent. Daily. The Atonement is for us.
  Do what you CAN do ... don't do more than you can. Don't go to extremes.
• I always do laugh a little at Mosiah 4:29, where King Benjamin pretty much says, "Hey, I can't tell you ALL the things that you shouldn't do. Because there's a WHOLE DANG LOT of ways to sin. I can't even START."
  He does continue with an admonition to watch yourself -- your thoughts, words, and deeds. And to follow the commandments of God. Continue in faith/keep the hope. Endure to the end. And he WANTS us to make it, to gain eternal life (like Heavenly Father has).

And I like that, in the talking about charity and service, even then, there are examples (that are still very relevant) given:

• Give to the poor
• Feed the hungry
• Clothe the naked
• Visit people who are sick ... administer to them both spiritually and temporally ...
  (like, arrange for someone to take them the Sacrament. Help them clean their house. Bring over a meal or two. Just go and visit them, so they aren't so alone. Write them a letter or give a phone call. Make sure their Home and Visiting teachers are aware of them! Stuff like that.) ... and I like how it's even caveated with "according to their wants." (So, don't just be showing up to chat for an hour without checking first or whatever.)

And ... well, that's what I got out of today's reading assignment.

Now, I should probably schedule my Visiting Teaching appointments, huh? :P
(And get a shower!)