Monday Mom-blings

Just a few random questions today. Feel free to enlighten me if you so choose!

Why is it that....

...your children wait until you're on the phone to ask you for something???

...the flowers in the yard finally start looking good only days before it's supposed to freeze??

...you can go without food any other day but fast Sunday???

...and speaking of fast Sunday, why can't it be more like it's name...FAST??

...you never notice that hole or stain on your clothes until you get out in public???

...children can't possibly keep a room clean for more than 5 min.??

...the kiddies always have to wait until you have a cart full of groceries at the store to decide they need to pee???

Joy In the Journey Week 7

Read and mark Exodus 25:8. Our homes can be like the temple. Today do one thing to make your home feel more like the temple. Examples: listen only to appropriate music, speak in a soft voice, express your love to your family, study the scriptures. As you fast tomorrow, consider asking the Lord to guide you this month on your spiritual journey.

I got this little story in the mail today, and it made me stop and think....

Too Busy

By Ron Mehel

I'll never forget the day I looked out of our living room and saw Mark, our youngest, walking home from school in the driving rain. Mark was in third grade and was allowed to ride his bike to grade school located right within our subdivision. I happened to be home early that day, and I was sitting in an easy chair by the window. I looked outside at the pouring rain and saw my boy in the distance, trudging his way through the downpour. His clothing was absolutely drenched and his hair was platered against his head. I opened the door for him, and he looked up at me with a little smile, his face red from the cold.

"Hi Dad!" he said. "You're home early."

"Hi son" I replied. "You're soaked to the skin."

"Yeah, I know."

"Umm, Mark, you know, if you'd ride your bike you'd get home faster. You wouldn't get so wet."

He looked at me rather sheepishly as rivulets of rain streamed from his hair down across his face. "I know, Dad."

I was puzzled. "Well, son, if you know, why in the world didn't you do it?"

Then he hung his head just a bit, and it hit me. Boy, did I feel like crawling under a table and hiding for a while. He had told me several times before that his bike had a flat tire. He had asked me, "Dad, could you please fix it for me?"

"Sure son," I'd promised him. "Don't worry. I'll get after it right awa." But I never did. I'd forgotten all about it.

As he stood there in the entryway, dripping and shivering, he could have said, "I couldn't ride my bike today because someone promised me he'd fix it and never did." he would have had every right to say that. But he didn't. What he did say remains printed indelibly on this dad's hear.

"Aw Dad, I know how busy you are and everything, and - I just didn't want to bother you with it again."

I thought, "Son, your dad isn't too busy; he's just too selfish."

For me, the bike tire was no big deal; just one more thing on a long "to do" list. But for Mark, it meant more than transportation. It meant more than a long walk home in the rain. It meant trusting his father to keep his promises.

Monday Mom-blings

My-oh-my, where does the time go?

Days seem to fly by at the speed of light, and I am perpetually playing catch-up. Most days I'm just trying to remember what day it is, let alone figure out who has what going on where. Craziness! Anybody else feeling the same way?

So...Jackee brought up a good point on her FB page the other day, and being me, I figured I would just reiterate it here because: 1. I really don't have anything else on my mind, and 2. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. Jackee's pet peeve...spelling. Spell it right or it means something totally different. Now, you've got to keep in mind that she is a writer, and as such, spelling is kind of a big thing to her, however, she makes a good point. Spelling and grammatical errors drive me nuts two. (Did you catch that? Ha! I did it on purpose... just to make a point.) TOO...not two. Same word, different meaning...can't use it in the same context. O.K., so that's a pretty obvious error, but it illustrates the point.

Oh yeah...one more thing. We went to one of the Direct Buy open house things over the weekend. I just wanted to see what it was...plus it was a good excuse to leave the kids at home and go on a date with Kenny. (Sad, I know...but you do what you've got to do.) So, we sat there and listened to their whole presentation and were really impressed. They almost had us...UNTIL they put the stipulation in that one of their rules is that you will only be given one chance to buy their membership. Basically you had to fork over all your money right then and there or you would never be given the opportunity again. Hello??? They wanted us to fork over $6500 bucks (well technically they had a few different payment plan options) in order to become a member of their business. Maybe I'm just a money horde, but who makes a decision to spend that much money in the span of an hour? I take forever to think about the little purchases let alone the big purchases. Needless to say, we passed on our opportunity to become members...and then I wrote them a pleasant little e-mail telling them that because of their business plan/philosophy, they missed out on the opportunity to do business with me. Oh well!

Lastly:

Joy in the Journey Week 6

President Monson admits he is a "show-a-holic." In his talk, he shares a quote from "The Music Man:" "You pile enough tomorrows, and you'll find you've collected a lot of empty yesterdays." Plan to attend a worthwhile musical (too short of notice), or rent one to watch.

Monday Mom-blings

Have I ever mentioned how out of shape I am???

I don't have a scale in my house because I just don't like that reminder of yet another thing I'm not doing. Oops...I guess I lied. I do have a scale. It's just hidden away in a corner where I can't see it. In fact I think all of our dirty clothes get piled on it each week. Regardless, I just don't like the notion of scales, and weight. It brings back memories of anxiety on weigh-in day at the gym each month. Anyhoo...

Now I'm back to being in shape. Well, not being in shape personally...because unfortunately, I'm not...just "being in shape" the topic. So, this morning was the morning. (I originally intended a few months ago to be the morning that I began a new routine, but that never happened...so for the sake of patting myself on the back, I'll say, this morning was the morning.) The basement is mostly finished. The TV is finally up and running. So, I decided it's time. I pulled my hair back, put my running shoes on, and climbed onto the dusty eliptical. Now, as far as workouts go, I'm not sure that I could actually claim what I did as a workout just yet, but at least I did something for a good 30 minutes. I've used boredom as my excuse in the past. I hated going down and staring at the wall as I elipticized. I always said that once the basement was done and I could watch something on TV for entertainment it would be so much easier to commit to doing it on a regular basis. I think I was wrong. Yes, it was boredom that originally kept me from doing it, but now that I've done it, I must admit, boredom was not the only reason. Honestly, I just don't like doing it. It's not my favorite thing to do...although given the alternative of running, or biking, I would definitely take the eliptical. Maybe it's just exercise in general that I don't like to do. I'm getting lazy in my old age. BUT since I don't want to give up my chocolate chip cookies (or any sweet treat for that matter) I'll suck it up and keep my promise to myself to get back into shape...something other than round that is!

Joy in the Journey

Week 5 Assignment:

Read and mark John 13:34. Hug your family members and express love to them. Use a note card and paper hearts to write "love-notes" to your loved ones.

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday Favorites...or not so favorites

Where has the week gone?

As much as loved having a long labor day weekend, having Monday off has really thrown me out of whack. I think I'm a day behind. Oh well...it's Friday, and once again there are many things to post about. A Day of Remembrance, a very UN-favorite, and a question...

First and foremost. 9/11/09. Eight years ago I remember sitting and watching the TV in stunned silence. I woke up, just like every morning, sent Kenny off to work, and went upstairs to work on the computer. The kids were still asleep, so I turned on the TV just to see what was on, only to see live coverage of the Twin Towers. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I never would have believed it. I called Kenny at work to see if he had heard about what was happening. They were watching coverage of it at work as well. In the days and weeks that past I was extremely proud of what Americans were doing to pull together as a country. As the years have past, it seems like that love of country, that love of our fellow countrymen has dwindled. People say we should move on, try to forget. I for one, will never forget. It's too important to forget. Not necessarily the terror involved in that day, but more the heroics of the day. The tragedy brought out the best in people, and that tragedy helped to show what a real American is. That is what we still need today. We need people who stand up for what is right; People who strengthen one another; People who work together because it's what they should do, not because it's what they're required to do. A big thank you to all the service men and women protecting our freedoms. May we as Americans do our part to preserve our freedoms here at home! God bless America!

Secondly...the UN-favorite. Is there anything worse than a sick kid? Yep...a sick kid that can't make it to the toilet! My Un-favorite of the day is PUKE. Yuck! Looks gross...smells worse...and it just keeps coming! And I thought I was finished with all of the laundry for the week!

Lastly, the question...I need some opinions on a domain name for my website. Keep in mind that it's a company that specializes in helping you create your own storybooks to preserve your most important memories and relationships. It also does photo storage, cards, calendars...all that stuff. With that in mind, which do you prefer:

A) just4youstories.com

B) mystorybookmom.com

C) herzandhizstories.com (It's supposed to kind of be a play on words...histories/his stories...do you get that??)

I can't make up my mind. Which one do you vote for? Which one would you remember???

Have a great weekend!

Monday Mom-blings

It's Labor Day....and our day definitely be full of labors since we neglected all of our jobs over the weekend.

So, my kids have been bugging me lately...fighting, neglecting chores, not taking responsibility for themselves, just being lazy, etc. It's been driving me crazy, and I'm hoarse from constantly nagging them to get their acts together. What's a mom to do??

Well...I've decided to take action on the matter. I had some credits for a project with Heritage Makers, so I decided to use my credits to make a little family mission statement (so to speak). It included the same logo/saying as is on our wall down in the basement, "Be true to who you are and the family name you bear" because it's one of my favorite sayings, and then it went on to tell what a "Balser" is.

B - Brave - As a Balser, I will stand up for what I believe in.

A - Achiever - As a Balser, I will strive to do my best in everything that I do.

L - Loving - As a Balser, I will be kind and loving in word and deed to everyone that I associate with.

S - Serve - As a Balser, I will give my time, talents, and energies to make things better at home, at school, and in my community.

E - Example - As a Balser, I will set a good example for my family, friends, and all who see me.

R - Responsible - As a Balser, I will be a responsible family member, friend, and citizen. I will take responsibility for my own actions!

(You can see the actual finished product here)

Once we get our mission statement in the mail, we'll have a little FHE on it, then we'll put it on a shelf in the living room to see as we walk by it each day. Hopefully it will help remind us all what it means to be a Balser, and maybe (just maybe) be a benefit to our kids. We'll see....

Next item on the agenda...

The Joy in the Journey program.

Week 4 Assignment:

The story about the airman, Jay Hess is taken from the "Finding Joy in the Journey" talk by Pres. Monson (refer to Day One). Read the story below. In 25 words or less, write what you would say to your family if you weren't sure you would see them again. Keep this letter in your journal.

Pres. Monson shares, "In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”"

Hope you're having a great long weekend!

Friday Favorites

Ok.....so it's "Favorites" Friday today, and I think there are probably a gazillion things that I could post about today...

My growing knowledge of texting terms :p (hehe...I had to ask Kenny what the colon and bracket was supposed to mean)

The start of BYU football (laugh all you want, but I love football season!)

Warm days and cooler nights.

The fact that I have 4 kids in school. (ok...technically, Rylen is only in preschool 3x a week but it's for 2 1/2 hours at a time....Do you know what I can do in 2 hours with only 1 child at home??? Well, neither do I cause the first time it happened was today, and I was in such bliss that I just sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet for way to long!) Speaking of returning to school, I'm sure I've posted my favorite "Return to School Commercial" at some point in time...but I'm gonna do it again because I just can't help myself!! I'm laughing just thinking about it...

I could post about all of those things...but I'm not going to.

Instead I'll post about something that might could (how'd ya like that english?) come in handy one day. I've been on a photography/photoshop/digital scrapbooking fetish lately, and my sis-in-law directed my attention to a website that combines all three. There are on-line classes, digital products, projects, galleries (for ideas), and even FREE (my favorite thing) tutorials and downloads for digital scrapbooking and photoshop. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite sites. I go to it when I have some free time and use the tutorials to help me play around with the pictures that I've taken during the week. I'm still horrible at it, but I have high hopes. If you're interested in learning about that sort of thing, I'd highly recommend www.JessicaSprague.com to give you a few pointers.

Wednesday Wisdom

Just a little humor for the day....

The Definition of Stress

(Pic from www.top20fun.com)

Ever felt like this poor little doggy...yeah, me too!

Hope your day is not too stressful!