November 7-13th things of note

I seriously dislike this style of blogging, but if it's going to get done at all in this stage of our life, this is how it's going to have to be.  Someday I'll get back to the "blog as I go" type format which is my favorite.

First, a couple pics from the weekend of Beckham enjoying his newest favorite pastime: riding the lawn mower with Grandpa Alan.  He LOVED it!  He bawled when he had to get off and laughed with absolute giddiness when he got back on-so adorable.  He has a special little way about him!

Monday {7th} was a work day.  Taylor watched the boys & I picked Gray up for preschool.  He just loves going and I love hearing about it and seeing his work.  After he got home, we went to hang out at Becca's and wait for her kids to get off the bus because Becca was caught up at an appointment & asked if we could be there so the kids wouldn't flip out.  They played for an hour or so till she got home.  We sure love those kids.  We made a thankful tree this past weekend and for FHE we focused on getting some thankful things on it.  Grayson was especially involved and thought of everything he could that he was thankful for.  Star Wars, food, ice cream, water, Max, Miss Krissy, Grandparents...you know, the most important things. (:  I love it and will definitely keep this a tradition.  We may have to keep it up all year!

Tuesday {8th} I had to get groceries, so Gray got to have a playdate at Ella's while Beckham and I shopped together.  He is such a fun little man and a crazy handful all by himself.  We got it done quick & picked up a happy Grayson.  They are the cutest little friends.  When we were leaving, they kept hugging and he kept saying, "bye Ella, I'll see you tomorrow!  Come over to my house anytime, I love you Ella!"  Totally melts A & my heart. (:  Zac surprised me with a couple new iPhone cases I liked-so much fun to have options!  {it's the little things}

Wednesday {9th} I woke up with two of my favorite guys in my bed.  Gray had joined us around 6:30.  Beckham was around 7:15.  Love mornings where we laugh & play all together before getting up.  I know they won't like crawling into bed with us forever, so I'm enjoying it now. 

Gray had preschool today but before he went, I threw the boys in the tub & made them stay & play in there for an hour while I 3-barrel waved my hair.  I was right in there with them and we told stories & talked while I got it done.  Takes way too long, but Z loves it and so do I.  And, I kept track of the boys. (:

Bex was still asleep {3.5 hour nap today!} when it was time to grab Gray from school, so Uncle Talon kindly picked him up on his way home from work.  Love that he is willing to do that.  Zac got an evening alone with the kiddos while I went to help my mom with her Stake Young women's Night of Excellence.  I was really excited because I LOVE the woman who they had come speak.  So I got to be a server & go help. (:  The theme was "Happily Ever After" and based around Elder Uchtdorf's talk to the young women.  What a beautiful night!  It was super special for the girls who were there-totally decorated {my mom is amazing!} and every detail was top notch.  Loved it.

Here are some highlights from the night:
-All the cute decorations.  The details were incredible!  {Mom made that castle!}
-2 of my sweet sisters & my cute mom {Kels wasn't able to come, but took & edited the beautiful temple picture above!}
-Having Elder Uchtdorf there as a special guest (:
-Hearing Laurel Christensen speak-she is incredible!
-Watching the girls there.  They are amazing spirits-so full of life & grace.  Love it.

Here are nuggets from Elder Uchtdorf's talk which inspired the theme.  After that are my notes from Laurel's talk-many of which were completely pertaining to me alone.

-Over the years I have been exposed to many beautiful languages—each of them is fascinating and remarkable; each has its particular charm. But as different as these languages can be, they often have things in common. For example, in most languages there exists a phrase as magical and full of promise as perhaps any in the world. That phrase is “Once upon a time.”

Aren’t those wonderful words to begin a story? “Once upon a time” promises something: a story of adventure and romance, a story of princesses and princes. It may include tales of courage, hope, and everlasting love. In many of these stories, nice overcomes mean and good overcomes evil. But perhaps most of all, I love it when we turn to the last page and our eyes reach the final lines and we see the enchanting words “And they lived happily ever after.”

Isn’t that what we all desire: to be the heroes and heroines of our own stories; to triumph over adversity; to experience life in all its beauty; and, in the end, to live happily ever after?

happily ever after."

-My dear young sisters, you need to know that you will experience your own adversity. None is exempt. You will suffer, be tempted, and make mistakes. You will learn for yourself what every heroine has learned: through overcoming challenges come growth and strength.

It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.

-Enduring adversity is not the only thing you must do to experience a happy life. Let me repeat: how you react to adversity and temptation is a critical factor in whether or not you arrive at your own “happily ever after.”

-We all search for happiness, and we all try to find our own “happily ever after.” The truth is, God knows how to get there! And He has created a map for you; He knows the way. He is your beloved Heavenly Father, who seeks your good, your happiness. He desires with all the love of a perfect and pure Father that you reach your supernal destination. The map is available to all. It gives explicit directions of what to do and where to go to everyone who is striving to come unto Christ and “stand as [a witness] of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.” All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan.

 -Sisters, we love you. We pray for you. Be strong and of good courage. You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your “once upon a time” is now.

Laurel Christensen:

-For the next 30 minutes, shut out other stuff; listen to the spirit.  It may prompt you regarding things having nothing to do with my topic, & I'm totally fine with that. (:

-Keep the promises I make to myself.

-Talk to Heavenly Father about specific things in my life {establish a more "go-to" immediately relationship with Him; rather than an after the fact}

-Use my personal mantras often; repeat out loud; see them.

-There is power in those beliefs & in telling yourself something every single day

-When you really, truly believe something about yourself, you have no choice but to become that thing.  Positive or negative.

-3 Beliefs you need if you want your Happily Ever After:

     1. Know you are a Child of God who loves you.  

          -{Me: Take more time to sing, comfort, bear testimony to my kids, when they're scared; don't minimize; take time, use the spirit}.

          -Connect daily with Heavenly Father.  Nothing will startle us more after this life than how well we know our Father and how familiar His face is.  But only if we establish that relationship right now. 

Kneel down often and ask frequently for Him to let me know that He knows I'm there.  He is anxious to talk to us.

          -I believe His world stops when I talk to Him and He hears only me, in that moment.  I don't know how, but I believe that it does.  {Wow!  Powerful belief-and how awesome?}

     2. He knows my Name.

          -And so much more about me. 

          -Tell people often the words you associate with their names: {kind, compassionate, brave, sweet, happy, loving, courageous, honest, etc.}

          -Decide what word you wish Heavenly Father would assign you & write it down.  Choose today who you wish you could be & start being that person.

          -{For me I want: as a Mom-Patient, Wife-Optimistic, Friend-Genuine, Self-Integrity}

            -[These will change for me often & there are so many more words I'd like to be known for, but these are pertinent to me & my struggles right NOW in my life.]

     3. He has a plan for you & just for you.

          -Joseph in Egypt.  Never stopped believing.  He knew he was prepared for a great plan, but along the way he never started thinking, "this surely wasn't my plan, Lord." 

          -Read Genesis 37, 39-41; underline the phrase "the Lord was with him and he knew it."

-A woman who believes these three things is totally different & lives a completely different life because of that.  

-You cannot even imagine all the amazing things God has waiting for you.

-He's orchestrating amazing details for your life.  He's aware of us right now.  Because of Him we can have a lifetime of Happily Ever Afters.

-He LOVES me.

-HE loves me.

-He loves ME.

Thursday {10th} we found out that Layne, our brother in law, had lost his job at HP.  He'd worked there 13 years and it was quite a shock.  Poor Zac felt so bad all day and was pretty emotional about it.  I didn't know what else to do, so I put together dinner {thanks mom, for your help!} and sent it & Zac & Grayson over to deliver it that evening because Zac just wanted to see Layne. 

Beckham and I went to a Paparazzi jewelry party with Taylor at our friend Tara's house.  I bought a couple cute necklaces for cheap & visited with some friends.  We had a couple hours together at home before the boys got back so we cuddled up & watched Star Wars.  I LOVE this kid!  Zac & Gray had a good visit and the whole day just put life into perspective and that we can't rely too much on anything except the Lord.

Friday {11th} I had a chiropractor appointment in the morning, so Amber watched my boys while I went to that and then I stayed at her house & watched her girls while she went grocery shopping.  Then we visited for a while.  The kids get along so well and have a great time and even though it wasn't the longest mommy playdate, it was nice to swap times so we could each run our errands kidless. I'll definitely miss that when she moves. {which we don't talk about-denial is so much easier!}

I found out my college roommate and good friend Jen's dad passed away today too, so my heart was heavy throughout the day for her.  He was too young and I wished I could hug her in person.  Another example of a reason not to take life for granted.

That evening we had Maryn over to play & Sundee & Sadey Speelmon came to babysit.  We went on a date...with some of our favorite couples.  Mom & Dad Pete, L&K, T&T, and Doll.  The Beck parents and Keri & Kevin also joined us.  We ate at Ogowa's and Zac had sushi while I had a yummy shrimp veggie bowl.  We loved laughing and visiting with our sibs & enjoying the night out.  We went home soon after since it was our first time having the Speelmon girls & everything was just fine. The first thing Gray said when we got home was, "You aren't supposed to come home yet!"  I guess he had a great time. (:  Zac took the sisters home, but Maryn stayed an hour or so longer till her parents came.  Grayson LOVES her and she is the sweetest 7 year old to just play with him so well.  Sometimes listening to them I swear he's closer to her age-he's growing up way too fast!

Saturday {12th} was spent home all day.  Jaeger came over around 10 while L&K went to the Boise State game with friends.  He was a doll baby {he's not really a baby anymore, but I still call him Jaeger baby}, and he and Grayson played fabulously together.  He really is Grayson's favorite playmate and it's pretty cute.  They actually played well with Beckham all day, too.  I had woken up with a scratchy/red eye, but took my contacts out & wore my glasses which usually helps.  By mid morning, it was killing me.  Leaky, itchy, hurting, etc.  I kept washing my hands repeatedly, had minimal contact with the kids, and just hoped it wasn't pink eye. 

 When Beckham went down for a nap, Gray and Jaeger took a rest time on the couch and watched a couple episodes of Spiderman and then J fell asleep.  I got lots done during the 3 hours of relative quiet-namely, working on my talk for sacrament meeting.  Zac spent the day holed up in our bedroom office working on Cricket stuff and preparing his talk.  I took a break around 6:30 in the evening after dinner & took the boys to say hi to Grami & Grandpa Alan.  We left Jaeger there around 7 or so and I brought my boys home to get ready for bed.  After they were in bed, Zac and I cuddled and compared notes on our talks, helped each other, and fine tuned things.  We laughed a lot, and were grateful for the opportunity to study the topic of tithing in more depth.  When it was past 10pm, I couldn't bear my eye pain anymore & he ran to T&T's to borrow some of Taylor's pink eye drops.  He ended up visiting with them for an hour & I finished my talk.  We crashed after he got home & administered the drops-almost instant relief.

Sunday {13th} went great.  T&T insisted on taking Beckham to church with them so my mom wouldn't have to wrestle him and they just love taking him.  They picked him up early and the rest of us got ready.  Gray had a choice to sit with us quietly the entire time or to sit with Grami & Jaeger and read & color quietly.  He chose the latter.  (:  I laughed when they asked our "family" to speak.  That basically meant Zac & I had to take the entire time.  We did it though, and we were about even.  I took about 18 minutes and he did about 20.  Both talks went well and Zac was entirely sweet in his words toward me.  The best part is, it's not just an over-the-pulpit-occasion with him.  He tells me daily.

That evening L,K & J came over to chill.  I was making homemade oreos for Gray to take to preschool in the morning & they turned out so dang cute!  We ended up watching an episode of Wonder Years to show Kels how amazing it is.  (:  After they left we watched a couple more.  We LOVE that it's on Netflix-totally takes us back to our childhoods.  A good good day.