Per my Mom's recommendation I am reading a book titled "America's Women," written by Gail Collins. I am only about half way through, but every day when I read I am more amazed at the history of our country, humans in general, and our amazing female sex. I have been in a mood to learn as much as I can about the history of America and those great names we associate with it. Reading the John Adam's biography that I just finished fueled this in me. Our history is absolutely fascinating.
In AW I was reading about the slave period. I have to say that I was brought to tears many times while reading about the inhumane treatment that was given to them. When I think about that period in our country's history I am appalled. How do humans get to the point of thinking that such behavior is natural, acceptable, and to be sought after? Bry and I were discussing this and we both are unable to fathom believing that slavery or any other attack on human rights would ever be OK, much less desirable to take part in. The vast number of stories about women, children, and minorities being abused, neglected, and taken advantage of is more than disturbing. The saddest part, however, is knowing that these experiences continue today all over the world.
We have been taught about the 'natural man' and how we must strive to overcome it. In my optimism, or possible naivete as my life has been free from any of these horrors, I like to believe that people could not behave this way. I'm not uneducated. I've been taught history and I see happenings on the news every day that are incredibly sorrowful. But I've also learned of brave women and men who stood up, defended, pioneered and fought their way into bettering our country and world.
As I read these books I see parallels to our present day. The evils that plague us now have always done so. There have always been people that give in to evil and act on those influences. We, as human beings, do not tend to learn from our history very well - just look at the stories in the Book of Mormon. How many pride cycles were necessary? Apparently more than what was experienced as an entire people had to be wiped out because they couldn't learn (amongst other things, of course).
Recognizing this could lead to an absence of hope. How can we expect the world to be a better place ever? How can we feel confident in letting our children grow up in this environment? In this never-ending cycle of natural man? I have hope because I know the Lord watches us and intervenes often. America was established through His hand, despite the blunderings of the early citizens. Familie's grief is shortened by the Spirit of the Lord - they still must face the consequences brought on by evil in this world, but they never have to face it alone. We have the knowledge and light of the Gospel available to every one of us. We have the words of the prophets of old and the prophet today. We have the Spirit to lead, guide, instruct and teach. Yes, the natural man is always there. Yes, we will always battle evil in this world (until the Savior comes again). But, we have all the tools to beat it. All the tools to excel as those sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father.
Reading this book is inspiring. No matter the dire circumstances we may face in life there is always a way to overcome and better ourselves, our families and our situation. I am grateful for our heritage. I am grateful for records of the past to study. I am grateful for the knowledge the Gospel in my life. And I am grateful that I can use these things to prepare my children for their life's journey - and with hope for their future.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Are Bad Days Contagious?
Sometimes you just need a break. From babies, from housework, from bills, from life. Our house has been a little stressed the last couple of days. We have a toddler that doesn't want to sleep despite her absolute exhaustion. Cause = exhaustion. Effect = incessant whining. I love my Ellinor to bits, but my goodness. When she is in a bad mood the whole house is in a bad mood. That phrase "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy," should be rewritten. I believe the main contributing factor to Ellinor's case of the grumpies is the change of pace we've had for the past few weeks. I can't blame her for feeling a little discombobulated.
Yesterday was particularly rough. By 4:30pm I was about at my wits end when my wonderful husband walked in the door from work. I can't express how happy I am to see him - I'm always excited when he gets home, but yesterday more so than usual. I immediately handed him Ellinor and went to take my shower for the day. It was bliss. A little later that evening I became desperate for a caffeine run - did I mention Ellinor had refused to nap that day? I told Bryan I was running out for a few minutes. I decided to go through the McDonald's drive-thru for a Diet Coke, seeing as how I was in PJs, bra less, and not fit for other humans to have to look at me. When I got to the restaurant I quickly realized I could add another sad note to my day - there was at least a 20 minute wait. But, as aforementioned, there was no chance I was getting out of the car. I decided to brave the wait; afterall, I'd already driven a whole 5 minutes to get there. LoL. After a few decades had passed I finally reached the 1st window. I handed over my whopping $1.08 and was happy to see the end in sight. That's when it happened - my jeep suddenly lurched forward. The crazy thing is that I hadn't let go of the brake pedal for even a second. I knew what had happened, but I didn't want to face it. After a few seconds I looked back and the lady in the car behind me (also a jeep) was freaking out and waving at me - yep, she had hit me.
At that point all that was running through my head was that I could really use that dang Diet Coke right about now. I knew there had to be very little to no damage done - I mean, we'd all been sitting at a standstill for the most part. The funniest thing was watching the cashier at the window (because yes, I still hadn't been granted any progress yet) try to ignore that there had been a slight accident right there. Both of us drivers were not about to abandon the drive thru line - we'd given it 8 years of our lives. So we proceeded through and finally pulled into the parking lot. That's when I realized that the whole ordeal of trying not to get out of my car EVER that evening was pointless. Here I was needing to not only get out in public, but interact with another human. Yays! Haha.
Both of us ladies gave my jeep's rear end a quick perusal - a small black scuff was all I could find. Totally not worth the drama of insurance agencies and all that jazz, so I shrugged my shoulders and told the lady all was well. She gave me a giant hug and some story about her twin girls screaming at her when the darn bumping happened - I was happy to send her on her way, cold fries in tow. I climbed back into my car anxious to finally head home. I reached over to take a sip of that highly anticipated Diet Coke only to taste pretty much straight up club soda. Yep, that's right. My entire ordeal was for flat, unflavored club soda.
Near tears at this point - because well, what else was I supposed to do/feel - I drove home. Irritated, frustrated at myself, and sooooo very tired. I got home and told Bryan about the whole thing. He wasn't quite as nonchalant about the "car accident" as I was, but I assured him there was nothing to be angry about. I excused myself upstairs to be with Ellinor and Abby again so Bry could get back to his project that I had made him abandon earlier to make my escape. Realizing that I hadn't had any bit of the small retreat I was hoping for, my wonderful husband ran out to pick up a nice Diet Dr. Pepper for me. He truly is the best man.
Perhaps the whole thing wasn't as dramatic as I perceived, but at the end of such a bad day it couldn't have been less so to me. I LOVE being a mom. But Mom's are seldom sane I think. LOL! Today was a slightly better day - Ellinor was up from about 11pm-2am last night - and I'm hoping it just keeps trending up from here. Thank goodness for Diet Dr. Pepper on days like these. :)
Yesterday was particularly rough. By 4:30pm I was about at my wits end when my wonderful husband walked in the door from work. I can't express how happy I am to see him - I'm always excited when he gets home, but yesterday more so than usual. I immediately handed him Ellinor and went to take my shower for the day. It was bliss. A little later that evening I became desperate for a caffeine run - did I mention Ellinor had refused to nap that day? I told Bryan I was running out for a few minutes. I decided to go through the McDonald's drive-thru for a Diet Coke, seeing as how I was in PJs, bra less, and not fit for other humans to have to look at me. When I got to the restaurant I quickly realized I could add another sad note to my day - there was at least a 20 minute wait. But, as aforementioned, there was no chance I was getting out of the car. I decided to brave the wait; afterall, I'd already driven a whole 5 minutes to get there. LoL. After a few decades had passed I finally reached the 1st window. I handed over my whopping $1.08 and was happy to see the end in sight. That's when it happened - my jeep suddenly lurched forward. The crazy thing is that I hadn't let go of the brake pedal for even a second. I knew what had happened, but I didn't want to face it. After a few seconds I looked back and the lady in the car behind me (also a jeep) was freaking out and waving at me - yep, she had hit me.
At that point all that was running through my head was that I could really use that dang Diet Coke right about now. I knew there had to be very little to no damage done - I mean, we'd all been sitting at a standstill for the most part. The funniest thing was watching the cashier at the window (because yes, I still hadn't been granted any progress yet) try to ignore that there had been a slight accident right there. Both of us drivers were not about to abandon the drive thru line - we'd given it 8 years of our lives. So we proceeded through and finally pulled into the parking lot. That's when I realized that the whole ordeal of trying not to get out of my car EVER that evening was pointless. Here I was needing to not only get out in public, but interact with another human. Yays! Haha.
Both of us ladies gave my jeep's rear end a quick perusal - a small black scuff was all I could find. Totally not worth the drama of insurance agencies and all that jazz, so I shrugged my shoulders and told the lady all was well. She gave me a giant hug and some story about her twin girls screaming at her when the darn bumping happened - I was happy to send her on her way, cold fries in tow. I climbed back into my car anxious to finally head home. I reached over to take a sip of that highly anticipated Diet Coke only to taste pretty much straight up club soda. Yep, that's right. My entire ordeal was for flat, unflavored club soda.
Near tears at this point - because well, what else was I supposed to do/feel - I drove home. Irritated, frustrated at myself, and sooooo very tired. I got home and told Bryan about the whole thing. He wasn't quite as nonchalant about the "car accident" as I was, but I assured him there was nothing to be angry about. I excused myself upstairs to be with Ellinor and Abby again so Bry could get back to his project that I had made him abandon earlier to make my escape. Realizing that I hadn't had any bit of the small retreat I was hoping for, my wonderful husband ran out to pick up a nice Diet Dr. Pepper for me. He truly is the best man.
Perhaps the whole thing wasn't as dramatic as I perceived, but at the end of such a bad day it couldn't have been less so to me. I LOVE being a mom. But Mom's are seldom sane I think. LOL! Today was a slightly better day - Ellinor was up from about 11pm-2am last night - and I'm hoping it just keeps trending up from here. Thank goodness for Diet Dr. Pepper on days like these. :)
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Washington Trip!!
It was soooo beautiful in Washington! It's hard to come back to all this brown here in UT. I know UT is beautiful in its own way, and I have come to love it here as well - but there is just something about the Pacific Northwest that cannot be beat. Ellinor, Becca and I were fortunate to enjoy a few sunny days during our 2 weeks back home; which is pretty great for WA in June. Watching Ellinor interact with my family is always immensely rewarding. Oh how I wish they were closer to us on a regular basis! She is just growing so quickly, as are my baby brothers still at home, that I would love our visits to be more frequent than every few months. But, I am grateful for the time that we do have! :)
Ellinor and I spent most of our time hanging out at my parent's home enjoying their company. I loved having the others around during the day, when I am usually alone with Ellinor. As much as I absolutely love my time with her at home, it is quite nice to have other adults to talk to during the day. ;) Ellinor played with the famous teepee, chased the poor cats and Chloe around and got into every possible drawer/cupboard/room/box/etc possible. My family's home was a whole new world to be explored. Since my house has lots of stairs it is really easy to contain Ellinor to one area - no such thing at my parent's. Ellinor was able to run from the living room to the clear back master bathroom in about 2 seconds flat by the time our visit was over - that's quite the feat if you've seen this house. This meant lots of chasing to be done! :) She certainly had a blast with all the insta-friends (aka, uncles, grandma and grandpa). Constant entertainment, a Chloe dog to feed and "pet," Grandma's amazingly cool piano to play, jumping on the trampoline (she LOVED jumping) and fireworks to be watched made for one amazing trip. I feel sorry for Ellinor now - she can't help but be bored with only myself to entertain her. Thank goodness Daddy gets home in the evenings and can rouse up some good times. ;)
Ellinor took to feeding Chloe pretty much everything she was given. When in her highchair, Ellinor would eat a few bites then begin throwing some down to Chloe - not even trying to hide that fact from her mother. As Ellinor would carry a baggy of goldfish or other crackers around she would eat one then promptly give one to Chloe. And so it would go all day, sharing their treats. It was pretty much adorable. And Chloe was so patient with Ellinor - her version of "petting" was patting Chloe on the head while gradually the patting grew to full on hitting as Ellinor got more excited. It was quite the task to try to teach her the terms "nice" and "gentle." I suppose this means that some day Ellinor will be requesting a dog of her own. Until she can verbalize it herself though, I am in the clear. :) Haha.
It took a few days for Ellinor to adjust her sleeping patterns to the new environment, which makes for one tired Momma. But she became comfortable fast enough and we really did have the best time. I miss my family every day - probably because they really are so incredible. Looking forward to the next time we get together - hoping Andrew can join us next time around too! We missed him bunches.
Here are some pics! And a trampoline video :)
Ellinor and I spent most of our time hanging out at my parent's home enjoying their company. I loved having the others around during the day, when I am usually alone with Ellinor. As much as I absolutely love my time with her at home, it is quite nice to have other adults to talk to during the day. ;) Ellinor played with the famous teepee, chased the poor cats and Chloe around and got into every possible drawer/cupboard/room/box/etc possible. My family's home was a whole new world to be explored. Since my house has lots of stairs it is really easy to contain Ellinor to one area - no such thing at my parent's. Ellinor was able to run from the living room to the clear back master bathroom in about 2 seconds flat by the time our visit was over - that's quite the feat if you've seen this house. This meant lots of chasing to be done! :) She certainly had a blast with all the insta-friends (aka, uncles, grandma and grandpa). Constant entertainment, a Chloe dog to feed and "pet," Grandma's amazingly cool piano to play, jumping on the trampoline (she LOVED jumping) and fireworks to be watched made for one amazing trip. I feel sorry for Ellinor now - she can't help but be bored with only myself to entertain her. Thank goodness Daddy gets home in the evenings and can rouse up some good times. ;)
Ellinor took to feeding Chloe pretty much everything she was given. When in her highchair, Ellinor would eat a few bites then begin throwing some down to Chloe - not even trying to hide that fact from her mother. As Ellinor would carry a baggy of goldfish or other crackers around she would eat one then promptly give one to Chloe. And so it would go all day, sharing their treats. It was pretty much adorable. And Chloe was so patient with Ellinor - her version of "petting" was patting Chloe on the head while gradually the patting grew to full on hitting as Ellinor got more excited. It was quite the task to try to teach her the terms "nice" and "gentle." I suppose this means that some day Ellinor will be requesting a dog of her own. Until she can verbalize it herself though, I am in the clear. :) Haha.
It took a few days for Ellinor to adjust her sleeping patterns to the new environment, which makes for one tired Momma. But she became comfortable fast enough and we really did have the best time. I miss my family every day - probably because they really are so incredible. Looking forward to the next time we get together - hoping Andrew can join us next time around too! We missed him bunches.
Here are some pics! And a trampoline video :)
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| Pretty Princess dress and a tool box - she has broad interests ;) |
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| This girl is seldom happier than when playing on a piano |
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| Ellinor's first camp fire - in the middle of the day, in a backyard. LoL! |
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| 4th of July Outfit - Grandma Norris whipped this up for her. So cute! |
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