Last night, my sister in law called to tell us that Pres. Hinckley has passed away and Mike and I both said "what?". I think we have been so used to seeing him spry and cracking jokes, we forget that age can take its toll. I was thinking this morning about all the things I love about Pres. Hinckley and I'll share my list.
*His testimony of the Gospel. What a powerful testimony he shared with people all over the world.
*His humor. From telling us in a meeting that he doesn't buy green bananas to "knighting" Pres. Eyring in the October session of conference. He was always laughing and telling jokes-never at the expense of others but always funny.
*His love for his wife. When Sis. Hinckley died, a great woman left the Earth. You could see their love for one another. In the last few conferences, he had spoken about how much he missed her and longed to be with her again. I know that they are happy to be reunited.
*His willingness to serve. It's probably not easy for a "mature" man to try to keep 13 million people in line. I can only imagine the time that he spent on his knees, praying for all of us, as we prayed for him. As the Prophet, he was our leader, our advisor and our friend.
*Temple building. Mike brought up an interesting point last night. Just think about how many people have been able to have their work done because of Pres. Hinckley's temple building. What a marvelous work is done in the temple.
So, that's just a few of the reasons I love Pres. Hinckley. He was a good man, a prophet of God. He will be missed.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
My dear hubby
As seen on Michelle and Laresa's blogs, here is the info on my hubby.
His name: Michael Jared Chesley
How long have you been married?: 10 years in March
How long did you date?: He says we went from friends to married, I say we dated for 10 years. Really let's say from December 1997 to March 1998
How old is he?: Don't tell but he'll be 36 this year. He says he's 28 since he gave his bday to Jared. I tell him he's on the downhill slide heading towards 40.
Who eats more?: We can both pack it in but I think he edges me out just a bit.
Who said "I love you" first?: Me---wrote it in an email so that counts. It's a source of debate.
Who is taller?: Him. We both have short parents.
Who sings better? : That would definitely be him. Me, not so much.
Who is smarter? : Book smart me. He is a lot smarter than me about doing stuff.
Whose temper is worse? Definitely mine.
Who does the laundry? : That would be me.
Who does the dishes? : It's a compromise. I do the cups, plates and silverware, he does the pots and pans. Although, he made a deal with the oldest little mercenary that we have in our home that she has to do the dishes to get her allowance.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? : Facing the bed, that's me. Actually I sleep all over the bed. Mike has six inches at the very edge. Everything else is MINE!
Who pays the bills? : He tells me what to pay and when. He's the budget guy.
Who mows the lawn? : Mike and sometimes he'll let one of the kids help. I'm not big on the great outdoors and being sweaty.
Who cooks dinner? : that's me. I like to cook most of the time.
Who drives when you are together? : Mike. He says my driving scares him. I'm a good driver!
Who is more stubborn? : That's me again. Goes along with the horrible temper.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? : me
Whose parents do you see the most? : Mine. Wish we saw his parents more.
Who proposed? : He did. Love that man!
Who has more friends? : About equal amounts. We share a lot of the same friends.
Who has more siblings? : He does. 2-1
Who wears the pants in the family? : We both fit in them. He says I'm the boss, I say he's the boss (sometimes).
His name: Michael Jared Chesley
How long have you been married?: 10 years in March
How long did you date?: He says we went from friends to married, I say we dated for 10 years. Really let's say from December 1997 to March 1998
How old is he?: Don't tell but he'll be 36 this year. He says he's 28 since he gave his bday to Jared. I tell him he's on the downhill slide heading towards 40.
Who eats more?: We can both pack it in but I think he edges me out just a bit.
Who said "I love you" first?: Me---wrote it in an email so that counts. It's a source of debate.
Who is taller?: Him. We both have short parents.
Who sings better? : That would definitely be him. Me, not so much.
Who is smarter? : Book smart me. He is a lot smarter than me about doing stuff.
Whose temper is worse? Definitely mine.
Who does the laundry? : That would be me.
Who does the dishes? : It's a compromise. I do the cups, plates and silverware, he does the pots and pans. Although, he made a deal with the oldest little mercenary that we have in our home that she has to do the dishes to get her allowance.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? : Facing the bed, that's me. Actually I sleep all over the bed. Mike has six inches at the very edge. Everything else is MINE!
Who pays the bills? : He tells me what to pay and when. He's the budget guy.
Who mows the lawn? : Mike and sometimes he'll let one of the kids help. I'm not big on the great outdoors and being sweaty.
Who cooks dinner? : that's me. I like to cook most of the time.
Who drives when you are together? : Mike. He says my driving scares him. I'm a good driver!
Who is more stubborn? : That's me again. Goes along with the horrible temper.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? : me
Whose parents do you see the most? : Mine. Wish we saw his parents more.
Who proposed? : He did. Love that man!
Who has more friends? : About equal amounts. We share a lot of the same friends.
Who has more siblings? : He does. 2-1
Who wears the pants in the family? : We both fit in them. He says I'm the boss, I say he's the boss (sometimes).
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
What a Blessing!
Some people may not think that their child's stepmother is a blessing. I do. Without Tish, Kiersten wouldn't get to half the places she needs to go or do half the things she wants to. Today, Miss K has to get 2 teeth pulled (don't get me on the subject of her teeth-we would be here forever!) and it would be difficult to get off of work today. However, I called Tish on Monday to ask if she could take her and bring her back home, and I got a "sure, no problem!". As I was thinking of my daughter's bonus mom, I was glad to know that we call each other at least once a week to talk about what's going on in Kiersten's life, the ups and downs of having an almost 12 year old girl-sometimes more downs than ups and sometimes it's just a roller coaster. We are very different people Tish and I. She is very girly and I have a hard time finding clothes that look right (if it's not on the mannequin put together I don't buy it!)-I buy a lot of black. I love reading and history and school in general, Tish doesn't like to read all that much, hates history, and enjoys math (me, not so much). She is stricter than I am about some things, and I'm the heavy on others. I'm a little more neurotic about planning stuff out than she is, but she goes with the flow. Usually you'll see both of us somewhere, each of us holding onto one of Kiersten's hands and cracking jokes to make her laugh.
Ben and Tish have been together since Kiersten was a toddler and have 2 precious little boys that have added to Kiersten's delight and angst. I'm glad that Ben found someone that he's happy with and that loves Kiersten as if she were her own. We're able to all be together for Kiersten and I tell people that we're one big happy family because Jared sometimes looks on Kiersten's youngest 2 brothers as little brothers of his own, my mom is called Nonnie by all the children, and Tish's sister is aunt Laura to Jared. Heck, my mom and Tish's mom have lunch together! It's a crazy, mixed up, blended up family kind of life. We've worked hard at it and it works for us.
So, thanks Tish who is right now on her way with "our" daughter to get her teeth pulled and buy her a milkshake (eaten only with a spoon- no dry sockets!). I couldn't have asked for a better bonus mom for Kiersten and I thank you.
-
Ben and Tish have been together since Kiersten was a toddler and have 2 precious little boys that have added to Kiersten's delight and angst. I'm glad that Ben found someone that he's happy with and that loves Kiersten as if she were her own. We're able to all be together for Kiersten and I tell people that we're one big happy family because Jared sometimes looks on Kiersten's youngest 2 brothers as little brothers of his own, my mom is called Nonnie by all the children, and Tish's sister is aunt Laura to Jared. Heck, my mom and Tish's mom have lunch together! It's a crazy, mixed up, blended up family kind of life. We've worked hard at it and it works for us.
So, thanks Tish who is right now on her way with "our" daughter to get her teeth pulled and buy her a milkshake (eaten only with a spoon- no dry sockets!). I couldn't have asked for a better bonus mom for Kiersten and I thank you.
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Juggling
This morning I was thinking about juggling. I love to watch people juggle and think people that can juggle are the most talented people on Earth. I can't juggle-at all. I can barely walk and chew gum and sometimes that is risky. Many moons ago, I was speaking with some YW and the subject of everything that we "have" to do came up. After thinking about it a little bit, I told them about juggling. Some of the things that you juggle are plastic and some are glass. You just have to be really careful not to drop the glass balls. As a wife and mother, my view of what is plastic and what is glass has changed and it's probably not the same for everyone.
What are the glass balls? The glass balls are things that, once broken, can't be put back together easily or at all. To me, these are relationships between me and Heavenly Father, my husband, my children, parents, and other family. These are the most important things to me in my life. It's hard to imagine a life without my family and it's painful when I think about the family that have died and I miss them so much.
What are the plastic balls? My plastic balls are things like work-it's important and I love my job, but if there came a time when it became more important than those glass ball relationships there would have to be something done about that. Another plastic ball is all the worldly stuff that I think is so important sometimes-tv schedules, clothes shopping, the never ending search for the perfect pair of black shoes.
Sometimes I feel that although all of the glass balls are up in the air and everything seems to be going well, one of those will slip and I'll catch it with my foot. I always think that's so cool when I see the jugglers do it, but it's not quite such a wow when it's a relationship that suffers. So, I'm juggling and trying to keep those glass balls in the air. Today I'm doing pretty well.
What are the glass balls? The glass balls are things that, once broken, can't be put back together easily or at all. To me, these are relationships between me and Heavenly Father, my husband, my children, parents, and other family. These are the most important things to me in my life. It's hard to imagine a life without my family and it's painful when I think about the family that have died and I miss them so much.
What are the plastic balls? My plastic balls are things like work-it's important and I love my job, but if there came a time when it became more important than those glass ball relationships there would have to be something done about that. Another plastic ball is all the worldly stuff that I think is so important sometimes-tv schedules, clothes shopping, the never ending search for the perfect pair of black shoes.
Sometimes I feel that although all of the glass balls are up in the air and everything seems to be going well, one of those will slip and I'll catch it with my foot. I always think that's so cool when I see the jugglers do it, but it's not quite such a wow when it's a relationship that suffers. So, I'm juggling and trying to keep those glass balls in the air. Today I'm doing pretty well.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
My Mr. Darcy
What a strange title! Mr. Darcy-the "hero" of Austen's Pride & Prejudice, the epitome of every girl and woman's romantic ideal. Hey, even I jumped on the Darcy bandwagon after seeing the newer version of P&P (Matthew Macfayden-hoowhee!) I picked up a book a few months back called Me and Mr. Darcy about a young lady that goes on the Austen tour in England and runs into the real Mr. Darcy. She also has run ins with the lone male on the tour-an irritable journalist that comes along to see why women the world over say Mr. Darcy is the man that they'd most like to date. Typical story, Mr. Darcy ends up not being the person she would want in "real" life but she falls for the journalist. Not a bad book all in all.
Today, I was sitting beside my wonderful hubby-not a usual occurrence, most of the time we have at least one of the children between us. I looked over at this man and thought, wow, I'm so lucky to have him. He's kind and funny and silly. Not like the literary Mr. Darcy at all. I can't picture him saying the line "You have bewitched me body and soul and I love, I love, I love you". He's not the flowers type (don't mention that pink heart-y holiday coming up-you'll get an earful). But, I know that he loves me and our children. He's a hundred thousand times better than Mr. Darcy in my book.
Well, Mr. Chesley and the kids are ready to go to another fun filled Sunday night at my parents home, until next time.
Today, I was sitting beside my wonderful hubby-not a usual occurrence, most of the time we have at least one of the children between us. I looked over at this man and thought, wow, I'm so lucky to have him. He's kind and funny and silly. Not like the literary Mr. Darcy at all. I can't picture him saying the line "You have bewitched me body and soul and I love, I love, I love you". He's not the flowers type (don't mention that pink heart-y holiday coming up-you'll get an earful). But, I know that he loves me and our children. He's a hundred thousand times better than Mr. Darcy in my book.
Well, Mr. Chesley and the kids are ready to go to another fun filled Sunday night at my parents home, until next time.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Challenges and Choices
Here's an interesting quote that I found in the SLC paper the other day-it really started me to thinking:
The real challenge isn't what someone else does to or around you, or even what you do to yourself. What matters more than anything else in this world is how You choose to deal with those challenges.---Alan Mangum from his book Challenges and Choices
This morning, my favorite little boy told me in a very small voice that he had a note in his agenda book that needed to be signed. I knew this wasn't a good thing because if it was, he would have told me about it last night instead of this morning when I was trying to make breakfast. It seems that Jared has not been doing his work at school and he is a tad behind on a writing assignment. Let me explain about J, he absolutely detests school and hates writing more than anything. He loves to read but he can't stand school and although he makes good grades it's a constant battle for him (and me). We talked about this yesterday when I was taking him to school and then again this morning. Sometimes we have to do things that are hard, that's the way life goes. I told him about something that I had done at work that wasn't right, but I went to my boss (wonderful man that he is), told him what had happened, how I was going to fix it and all was well even though I was scared to admit that I had made a mistake. So, I wrote a note back to his teacher telling her that I had spoken with him about it and that if it would help, to send home the writing assignment and we would get back up to speed this weekend. I told Jared that if Ms. Reno sent the assignment home, we would be working on it during cartoon time on Saturday. This, of course, is a fate worse than death-to be working on schoolwork when he could be watching cartoons-the horror! But, he accepted that and we'll have to see how it works out.
I spoke with Mike on the way in and he told me that Jared had broken his heart on the way to school. You see, Jared was crying about said writing assignment that it was too hard and he couldn't do it. Mike and Jared are very much alike, they would rather be out hunting, fishing, building a fire or digging in the dirt than cooped up in a classroom. Mike graduated from high school by the skin of his teeth and he hates, absolutely hates, doing anything schoolwork related. I had to remind Mike that this was a challenge for Jared and that he needed to do it even if it was hard. We would help him in any way that we could, but he needed to do it and next time it would hopefully be easier.
Back to the quote, it is really up to us how we deal with the challenges in life, whatever they may be. My mother taught me that the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fires and that I could be miserable in my challenges or I could look on them as blessings that make me grow. Heavenly Father has told us that he won't give us tests that we can't handle. I take comfort in that phrase, knowing that He knows me and how much I can take. He may give me something that brings me right up to the line, but He is also there to lean on in those trials and I think that's what He's trying to teach me sometimes-to lean instead of doing it myself. I'm still learning.
The real challenge isn't what someone else does to or around you, or even what you do to yourself. What matters more than anything else in this world is how You choose to deal with those challenges.---Alan Mangum from his book Challenges and Choices
This morning, my favorite little boy told me in a very small voice that he had a note in his agenda book that needed to be signed. I knew this wasn't a good thing because if it was, he would have told me about it last night instead of this morning when I was trying to make breakfast. It seems that Jared has not been doing his work at school and he is a tad behind on a writing assignment. Let me explain about J, he absolutely detests school and hates writing more than anything. He loves to read but he can't stand school and although he makes good grades it's a constant battle for him (and me). We talked about this yesterday when I was taking him to school and then again this morning. Sometimes we have to do things that are hard, that's the way life goes. I told him about something that I had done at work that wasn't right, but I went to my boss (wonderful man that he is), told him what had happened, how I was going to fix it and all was well even though I was scared to admit that I had made a mistake. So, I wrote a note back to his teacher telling her that I had spoken with him about it and that if it would help, to send home the writing assignment and we would get back up to speed this weekend. I told Jared that if Ms. Reno sent the assignment home, we would be working on it during cartoon time on Saturday. This, of course, is a fate worse than death-to be working on schoolwork when he could be watching cartoons-the horror! But, he accepted that and we'll have to see how it works out.
I spoke with Mike on the way in and he told me that Jared had broken his heart on the way to school. You see, Jared was crying about said writing assignment that it was too hard and he couldn't do it. Mike and Jared are very much alike, they would rather be out hunting, fishing, building a fire or digging in the dirt than cooped up in a classroom. Mike graduated from high school by the skin of his teeth and he hates, absolutely hates, doing anything schoolwork related. I had to remind Mike that this was a challenge for Jared and that he needed to do it even if it was hard. We would help him in any way that we could, but he needed to do it and next time it would hopefully be easier.
Back to the quote, it is really up to us how we deal with the challenges in life, whatever they may be. My mother taught me that the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fires and that I could be miserable in my challenges or I could look on them as blessings that make me grow. Heavenly Father has told us that he won't give us tests that we can't handle. I take comfort in that phrase, knowing that He knows me and how much I can take. He may give me something that brings me right up to the line, but He is also there to lean on in those trials and I think that's what He's trying to teach me sometimes-to lean instead of doing it myself. I'm still learning.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Pieces of me
This morning I was standing in the bathroom with my children as they brushed teeth and hair getting ready for the day. I was struck by the realization that these are MY children. I know, they're 11 and 7, a little late for me to just be realizing this but it hits me every day in some peculiar way.
Today, it was both of them looking at me in the mirror and making funny faces. I saw their faces and my face and thought to myself that these people are pieces of me. They are so different from each other but still have an underlying tie between the two of them. They are not so much alike in looks. Jared is his dad, I apparently had nothing to do with him except being an incubator. Kiersten looks more like me and has more of my temperment. However, they both have a goofy sense of humor (mine), horrid tempers (mine again), love to read (me again) and other things that I could list that are mine as well.
This year is a year of milestones for both of the kiddies. Kiersten will be 12 this year and it's hitting me especially hard as it draws nearer and nearer. She will no longer be a "child", she'll be a Young Woman. She is excited and I can feel her ever so slightly pulling away and learning to make her own decisions. I trust that she will remember what we've taught her and not make the same mistakes I have. Jared will be 8 and will be baptized. He is excited and is constantly asking how many more days until his birthday. The common refrain is, son, be patient, you have 5 months. He is the baby and his daddy's special boy so Mike will cry more than usual I tend to think.
It's amazing how I look back and time has flown for these two precious ones. It seems like yesterday they were babies. I love them so, they drive me batty, they bring me joy and tears and laughter. I guess my mom looks back at me and says the same thing. I think it's part of growing up.
Today, it was both of them looking at me in the mirror and making funny faces. I saw their faces and my face and thought to myself that these people are pieces of me. They are so different from each other but still have an underlying tie between the two of them. They are not so much alike in looks. Jared is his dad, I apparently had nothing to do with him except being an incubator. Kiersten looks more like me and has more of my temperment. However, they both have a goofy sense of humor (mine), horrid tempers (mine again), love to read (me again) and other things that I could list that are mine as well.
This year is a year of milestones for both of the kiddies. Kiersten will be 12 this year and it's hitting me especially hard as it draws nearer and nearer. She will no longer be a "child", she'll be a Young Woman. She is excited and I can feel her ever so slightly pulling away and learning to make her own decisions. I trust that she will remember what we've taught her and not make the same mistakes I have. Jared will be 8 and will be baptized. He is excited and is constantly asking how many more days until his birthday. The common refrain is, son, be patient, you have 5 months. He is the baby and his daddy's special boy so Mike will cry more than usual I tend to think.
It's amazing how I look back and time has flown for these two precious ones. It seems like yesterday they were babies. I love them so, they drive me batty, they bring me joy and tears and laughter. I guess my mom looks back at me and says the same thing. I think it's part of growing up.
Monday, January 14, 2008
We'll see how this goes
Well, I have officially stepped into bloggerdom. When I told my friend at work that I thought I wanted to start blogging, she said good for you, it's takes a lot of time! That being said, me being the kind of person that starts everything but may finish only a few things, I of course jumped right in (SCARY). So, here goes nothing-or maybe something, who knows.
The cone of safety is always in place here folks! For those who don't know, the cone of safety is a place where the one speaking (or in this case blogging) can say whatever he/she needs to say without fear of needing a flame resistant outfit no matter how cute it is.
So, bear with me as I learn how to do this, hopefully it won't be too awfully painful.
The cone of safety is always in place here folks! For those who don't know, the cone of safety is a place where the one speaking (or in this case blogging) can say whatever he/she needs to say without fear of needing a flame resistant outfit no matter how cute it is.
So, bear with me as I learn how to do this, hopefully it won't be too awfully painful.
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