Funny Stuff

Did you know that syrup makes everything taste better? At least, that's what Jaret must think. He wanted waffles for breakfast yesterday morning. We had sour-dough waffles a few days ago, so he thought the sour-dough STARTER I had in the fridge was sour-dough waffle batter. So he cooked it in the waffle iron and ate it with syrup. I took one bite and spit it out. DISGUSTING! I laughed all morning!

A few days ago, Kaysen came home from school and wanted to play the Wii. But I was watching Dr. Phil. Dr. Phil was giving basic parenting tips, like what battles are important enough to pick, etc. I told Kaysen after I finished watching Dr. Phil to learn how to be a better parent that he was welcome to play the Wii. Kaysen immediately came and gave me a hug and a kiss and said, "Mom, you're already doing an amazing job as a mom. You don't need Dr. Phil's help." I think Kaysen has mastered the art of saying what he needs to say to get what he wants!

Mom Training

This morning as I was sorting all the laundry that needed to be washed, I began to complain under my breath about unrolling rolled-up church shirt sleeves and unfolding socks out of a wad or clump. Jesse peaked his head out of the bathroom while he was getting ready and said, "You must have gone to the same MOM TRAINING as my mother. Those are some of the same things I used to hear her say!"

How is it that all moms say the same things? And how is it that all moms know so many things about their kids?

For instance, Jaret came home from the region choir competition early one evening this week around 7:30 p.m. When he walked in, I immediately noticed that he seemed tired, but also hot. I said, "Why is your hair all sweaty?" He said, "It was hot on the bus." Then, when he re-entered the room, I said, "How come it looks like you've been wearing a hat? It's 70 degrees outside. Why would you want to wear a hat?" He looked at me, rolled his eyes, and said, "OK, I bought a new Russian bomber hat at the mall today, and I didn't want you to know that I had spent some money on it." We had a good conversation about money (including a decision to create a new savings account specifically for a mission and for college) and about lying by not telling the whole truth or by not saying anything at all.

Moms just seem to know. . . usually about everything!

Traditional Family Values

I read on Dr. Laura's blog: "Progress may be great, but so are old-fashioned values. After all, isn’t it especially critical that we uphold traditional ideals like daily family dinners and family game nights in today’s high-tech, progress-driven world? It seems to me that there are already too many conflicting interests to which the family must take a back seat, including work and financial anxiety. The one point of stability in all this disunity and dysfunction is the mother/father/child dynamic. So, I firmly believe that it should be maintained."

I whole-heartedly agree! Jaret mentioned at dinner last night that he had to take a survey about drugs, drinking, and other promiscuous behaviors. One question was, "How many times each week do you eat dinner with your family?"

"All seven days!" Jaret proudly proclaimed. Whether it's just grilled cheese and tomato soup, spaghetti and French bread, or roast with potatoes and gravy. . . we are committed to catching up with each other each evening at the dinner table. It's one of my favorite times of the day.

And speaking of game night, we've now started a Monday-night game night after our Family Home Evening lesson. We used to watch Chuck on NBC together. However, we've had to start recording the show and editing it before we allow our children to watch. Too many innuendos, inappropriate scenes, and inappropriate language. It's so disappointing because the first season started out so good.

So this Monday's game was UpWords. Did you know that GLUMP is a word? Look it up in the dictionary! It really is a word!

Elder Holland's Lessons from Liberty Jail

I just needed to review this and though it could qualify as my "words of wisdom" post for the month.

The following article is summarized from an adaptation from a fireside address given in the Marriott Center on Sept. 7, 2008, by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and published in BYU Magazine Winter 2009.

You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life – in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced. . .

. . . But the lessons of the winter of 1838-39 teach us that every experience can become a redemptive experience if we remain bonded to our Father in Heaven through that difficulty. These difficult lessons teach us that man’s extremity is God’s opportunity, and if we will be humble and faithful, if we will be believing and not curse God for our problems, He can turn the unfair and inhumane and debilitating prisons of our lives into temples – or at least into a circumstance that can bring comfort and revelation, divine companionship and peace. . .

Now then, three lessons from Liberty Jail:

1. Everyone, including (and perhaps especially) the righteous, will be called upon to face trying times.
When we are in dire circumstances and want to cry “Where art Thou?” it is imperative that we remember He is right there with us – where He has always been! We must continue to believe, continue to have faith, continue to pray and plead with heaven, even if we feel for a time our prayers are not heard and that God has somehow gone away. He is there. Our prayers are heard. And when we weep He and the angels of heaven weep with us.

2. Just because difficult things happen – sometimes unfair and seemingly unjustified things – it does not mean that we are unrighteous or that we are unworthy of blessings or that God is disappointed in us.
When we promise to follow the Savior, to walk in His footsteps and be His disciples, we are promising to go where that divine path leads us. And the path of salvation has always led one way or another through Gethsemane. So if the Savior faced such injustices and discouragements, such persecutions, unrighteousness, and suffering, we cannot expect that we are not going to face some of that if we still intend to call ourselves His true disciples and faithful followers. . . However heavy our load might be, it would be a lot heavier if the Savior had not gone that way before us and carried that burden with us and for us.

3. Remain calm, patient, charitable, and forgiving.
Even when we face such distressing circumstances in our life and there is something in us that wants to strike out at God or man or friend or foe, we must remember that “no power or influence can or ought to be maintained. . . [except] by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;. . . without hypocrisy, and without guile” (D&C 121:41-42; emphasis added). . . All the prophets, and especially the Savior, even in the midst of distress and difficulty remained calm and patient, charitable, and forgiving. . . They remembered their covenants, they disciplined themselves, and they knew that we must live the gospel at all times, not just when it is convenient and not just when things are going well. Indeed, they knew that the real test of our faith and our Christian discipleship is when things are not going smoothly. That is when we get to see what we’re made of and how strong our commitment to the gospel really is. . . That is a hard thing to ask when we’re hurting. That is a hard thing to do when we’ve been offended or are tired or stressed out or suffering innocently. But that is when Christian behavior may matter the most. . . Remaining true to our Christian principles is the only way divine influence can help us. The Spirit has a near-impossible task to get through to a heart that is filled with hate or anger or vengeance or self-pity. . . On the other hand, the Spirit finds instant access to a heart striving to be charitable and forgiving, long-suffering and kind – principles of true discipleship.

“Therefore, dearly beloved brethren [and sisters, when we are in even the most troubling of times], let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123:17; emphasis added). The Father and Son do live. They are close, perhaps even closest via the Holy Spirit, when we are experiencing difficult times.

“Hold on thy way . . . Fear not. . ., for God shall be with you forever and ever” (D&C 122:9).

Kaysen's Wisdom

After reviewing the month of October, I'm not really sure I posted any "words of wisdom." Maybe years from now, someone will read this blog and see some kind of wisdom in the postings; although, I doubt it. So as not to disappoint, though, I thought I would post something in the "wisdom" category. This month's Words of Wisdom come from Kaysen, our nine-year-old son.

The other night we were eating dinner together as a family (which only happens a few times a week now with everyone's busy schedules). We were enjoying asking each of the kids about what was going on in their lives. Jaret was telling us all about his Monster Mash date. Finally, Kaysen piped in and said, "Well, I've learned something." We all looked to the head of the table (yes, Kaysen is the King at our house!), and waited to hear what Kaysen had learned. "Well, I've learned from experience that you should NEVER, and I mean NEVER, buy a girl something she doesn't want. You should always ask her first what she wants, and then you should buy it for her. I've learned this from experience."

We never could get out of him what experience he had that had taught him this valuable life lesson. Nevertheless, everyone in our household agreed with Kaysen. And, consequently, I am making a lengthy Christmas Wish List that my husband and boys can readily choose from so they can buy me what I want!