Hali Fine has just turned 9!!

This post is a little belated, but we had a small family party for Hali when she turned 9 earlier this month. She insisted on me making the "million-calorie cake" recipe we saw on the internet. It was a lot of work....but oh, honey! It was so good! Hali is our quiet, peamaker, fun-loving, helpful child. Everybody should have one!

50% Creative , 50% Unique....100% Leah

What more can I say? There's nobody else just like Leah. She's our happy, determined, fiesty, tomboy princess. When she's not piercing herself with Teagan's linkadoos, she loves to play with her stuffed animals and occasionally sleeps with them too...in their rubbermaid container.

"I'm in the Mood for Melody..."

Mel has been practicing for a solo she's going to be singing in the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation in October. She got a practice run on Saturday singing the same song at her cousin's baptism with her other cousins. She's growing up so fast! Among other things, Mel loves horses, drawing, coloring, playing Wii with her sisters, and swinging (I don't think she'll ever outgrow that.) Notice the headband is OVER her ears? Melody has had this 'thing' about her ears 'getting angry' when they are cold or if wind or water gets inside them. I've taken her to a doctor three times and he insists there is noting wrong with her ears. Nevertheless, she insists on wearing a headband at all times...I hope we can find one to match her prom dress when she's a teenager!

Soul Purpose

My sister informed me that my previous post seemed like a bit of a tantrum, which it was not meant to be. But thanks for the increase in comments...now I feel like I am actually connecting.

Anyways, I am the official Book Previewer for my friend, Katie. She has all these great books she gets but she never has time to read them. I, on the other hand, inhale a book like soda through a straw so I get to read them all before she does. Her most recent find, "Killing Sacred Cows" by Garret B. Gunderson is one I just finished at 6 a.m. this morning (amazing how much reading you get done when you're mad at your husband!) I thought it was fascinating. On the outset, the book is about financial freedom which is not something I've ever really been that absorbed in...being out of debt and ahead of things, yes. Having a ton of money, not so much. But the book was really more about 'freedom' than it was about 'finances'. I loved this excerpt about "Soul Purpose." Check it out:

"Each of us was born for greatness, and every one of us has what I call "Soul Purpose." Soul Purpose is your unique set of talents, abilities, and passions applied productively and effectively, making tremendous impact upon the world and bringing the highest levels of joy and fulfillment for you and everyone you touch. It's the mission you were born for; it's what you would do everyday even if you didn't get paid for it." (pg. xv)

Later on in the book Gunderson provides a helpful list of questions you can ask yourself to better help you tap into your mission in life, or "Soul Purpose":

1. "If money were of no concern, what would you spend your time doing?
2. What would be so exciting that you would want to jump out of bed early each morning to get to it?
3. What strengths, abilities, skills, or advantages do you feel you bring to the table that could be utilized to create maximum value in the marketplace.
4. In what areas do you have superior skill and extreme passion?
5. What things could you do all day long, without thought of fatigue, or what could you do that would create energy?
6. What do you do that creates compliments?
7. What do you believe in and consistently talk about?
8. What causes are worthy of your life?
9. What activities offer you the most fulfillment?
10. If you were doing exactly what you wanted, what would that be?
11. What are your priorities?
12. What are your values?..." (Gunderson, 239)

How many of us are living lives of mediocrity instead of tapping into our true potential?

Talking to the Wall

Does it ever drive you crazy when you're talking to someone and they don't say anything back to you? Kinda what it feels like when you 'blog' and know lots of people are reading it but no one gives you any feedback.....Thanks Holly and Katie for your comments.

Tricks of the Trade

I love to hear about the shorcuts and smart ideas Moms come up with to make their days go more smoothly. Since we can't ever have enough help and heaven knows we never have enough time, I thought it would be a fun idea to exchange some of our 'tricks of the trade'. Here are a few of the shortcuts I've found. As I think of more I'll add them to the list so feel free to check back later. After reading them, will you leave a comment and share some of yours? It can be anything you've found helpful (i.e. organizational tips, products that have saved your life, books that you love, time managament techniques, budgeting advise, etc.) Thanks for taking the time to share!

QUICK COOKING HINTS: My favorite time saver in the kitchen has been to buy my ground beef in bulk and brown the entire thing right away when I get home. I can then freeze the pre-cooked beef in individual freezer bags. When it's time to cook dinner all I have to do is throw the frozen bag in the microwave for about three minutes and my hamburger is ready to be added to any dish! (Same thing applies for chicken.)

*I love to make double batches of pancakes or waffles. That way I can freeze a batch in baggies (I buy my Ziplocks at Sam's Club because I use a ton of them. Can you tell! :) ) and all my kids have to do is throw the bag in the microwave on Sunday mornings and they have a quick breakfast they can make all by themselves. Everyone in my family loves this idea.

PARENTING BOOK: "Parenting Breakthrough" by Merrilee Boyack. Every mom should own a copy. It has a 'master plan' to help your kids become independent (and with 5 kiddos that is what I'm all about!) and it discusses everything from chores to money management. For instance, Hali is 9 this year so the things Merrilee suggests she should master this year are learning how to : "mop floors, clean pictures, bake cookies, read scriptures daily, emergency preparation, first aid, fill car with gas, wash car, vacuum interior of car, hammer nails, saw wood, cook vegetables, write letters, understand puberty and sex, use e-mail." So apparently we have a busy year ahead of us. But if it means I will have a helper to keep my van clean then I'm all over this one!

BUSY BOX: When my girls were toddlers I had a 'busy box' that I kept in the kitchen full of old kitchen utensils and little bowls that they could play with while I was busy in the kitchen. Doesn't it seem like everyone wants your attention while you're trying to get dinner ready? I need to do this again for Roman and Teagan.

Thoughts...

I decided since the first point of 'blogging' is to publish your thoughts I might add a couple of mine. My mind has been bombared with a lot of different thoughts, causing a lot of different emotions. Confusion. Frustration. Exasperation. Negativity. Finally, in the early hours of the morning as I was up rocking Teagan my mind finally cleared up a little and pulled some good stuff from the recesses of my memory. In the off chance that maybe someone else has, is or may someday struggle with these same issues, I've decided to share them.

The things we say about another person are more a reflection of ourselves than they are of that other person. This is so true! I think about the times I have been angry or annoyed with someone and remember the way I talked about them, or described something that may have happened between us, and I can see that when I thought I was just venting my feelings I was doing more than that. I was showing my own character and shortcomings, not those of the other person. Ouch!

"Please remember this one thing. If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and His gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and His teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right." --Howard W. Hunter Hope! So if my day or week or month seems really bad, is it fair to evaluate where I'm centered and make necessary adjustments if I am wanting things to get better?

"We must learn to distinguish between those things that are vital and essential to our salvation and that of our loved ones', as opposed to those things that are important to us and our worldly needs and expectations" (Barbara Campbell, "Eve and the Mortal Journey" pp 70-71). Sort of puts things into place, so to speak.

"If I make errors [in judging] people, I want them to be on the side of mercy." Hugh B. Brown

"What's the use of running if you are on the wrong road?" Richard L. Evans

"If we bear our weaknesses and mistakes, hurt feelings and misgivings serenely, and if we accept the down times and learn from them, they will pass and return less often" (Patricia Holland, Portraits of Eve).

"Our Father in heaven needs us as we are, as we are growing to become. He has intentionally made us different from one another so that even with our imperfections we can fulfill his purpose. My greastest misery comes when I feel I have to fit what others are doing, or what I think others expect of me. I am most hapy when I am comfortable being me and trying to do what my Father in heaven and I expect me to do" (Patricia Holland).