Be Still....

Shopping for presents, wrapping said presents, Christmas parties, work, mommy duties, home caring, more work, church, worrying about things that shouldn't be worried about, more shopping for presents, staying up late, church, getting the children where they need to go, more work, more shopping, sleeping a little is in there some where....

That seems to be the routine in my little home lately and let me tell you, I'm pooped! As most of you know, I'm not the most social of creatures, I'm pretty happy being by myself most of the time. With all of the comings and goings, one phrase has been running through my head of late and that phrase is "Be Still...". This isn't just a physically be still, it's a mental and emotional stillness as well. Do you ever feel that your brain is going too fast and that if someone says something wrong you'll shatter? I do, and usually it's during times of great activity. This weekend everything fell apart, I was cranky, depressed and short with the hubby and the children and generally not the happy go lucky person I usually am. As I was sitting on the couch last night, trying to keep it all together, that phrase---be still, came again into my mind and heart. I sent the children to bed, Mike was outside doing Mike stuff, and I was alone (finally). I took that time to just be still mentally. I could feel my tattered edges being put back together, my mind and spirit calming. I told Mike this morning that I was feeling better, that the time by myself helped and he was glad to have the regular old me back.

This general craziness also led me to think about the post Christmas funk that many people suffer. Is it maybe because the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas is go, go, go, that after Christmas, when the going is done, our minds, bodies and spirits are just given out? I think so. Does that mean the stuff at the beginning isn't going to get done? No. But, I will remember to take time for myself, to just be still. I hope you all will as well.

Peace, love and merry Christmas to you all!

I believe in Santa

Good morning dear readers!
Regarding the title of this post, I know you're probably thinking, "that poor woman! She doesn't get it!" Oh, I get it just fine. I'm not talking about the jolly fat man in a red suit that Kiersten was terrified of as a child, I'm talking about the spirit of Santa. When we told Kiersten and Jared the "truth" about Santa, we told them about the spirit of Santa and that we as adults still believe in that spirit.

What is the spirit of Santa you ask? The spirit of Santa is something usually felt more around this time of year, but we really need to try to have it all year long. The spirit of Santa is what makes people put thousands of dollars in a Salvation Army bucket, what makes people ding dong dash entire meals and Christmas presents for those in need, what makes people a little more apt to let someone go first in line at the grocery store. It also makes adults want to be just a little more childlike during the Christmas season. No, I'm not talking about childish behavior, I'm saying teachable, humble and awestruck at the precious gift that has been given to each of us through Christ's sacrifice.

So when kids ask me if I still believe in Santa, I say yep, I sure do.

Peace and love y'all!

Is this thing on?

Hello dear reader and my apologies for leaving you so abruptly in May. As you can imagine, it's been an eventful summer and beginning of the school year. Kiersten is loving high school and seminary. Jared is back into the routine of school and doing well.

It's amazing that there are so many things walking around in my head waiting to be written, but right at this moment, nothing comes to me. Man! I hate not being able to write when I think of something profound.

But anyway, this is just my little shout out and changing it up from J's birthday post.

Peace and love y'all!

10 Things...

Well dear reader, tomorrow (5/13) is a great day in our little household. Jared turns 10! Mike also turns 28 for the tenth time but he says that he has given his birthday away so no more for him. So, in honor of our favorite 10 year old......

10 Things I Love About Jared (in no particular order and with more pics than Kiersten's since I'm at home)

1. His laugh...He has one of those infectious laughs that once he gets started he can't stop. Sometimes he turns red and almost falls over (which is actually pretty funny). I love to hear him laugh because I know that all is right in his world.

2. His general craziness...He's always doing something crazy and really keeps us on our toes.

3. His love of nature...For those of you who have known me a long time, I am not the best around bugs, frogs, lizards, snakes, etc. God has a sense of humor that I get a little boy that loves to share his finds with me.

Taken at Bearworld in Idaho on vacation. Apparently the poor deer wouldn't cooperate with him. I took it as a sign of things to come and sure enough, he's a hunter.

4. His willingness to help...He's always glad and anxious to help. Whether it's going with Mike to do a service project or helping out here at home, he's always asking what he can do to help out.

5. His love for his sister...Although he fights with her, he really does think she hung the moon.

Washington D.C. outside of the National Zoo.

6. His expressive face...Anita says he has expressive eyebrows, I think his whole face is so expressive. I could watch him tell a story all day long

photo by Christy Peake---no, we didn't send this one out with the Christmas cards

7. His sense of humor...He has the silliest sense of humor and can find something funny in just about everything.

This could go with #2 as well. Photo taken by Christy Peake at a sometimes wild and crazy photo shoot for pictures for Christmas

8. His odd philosophies...Sometimes we'll be talking and he will say something completely out of the blue. They can be funny or serious, but they're always interesting.

9. His figurative language skills...He loves to try out new words and most of the time the context is correct, you just don't expect it to come from him. He tells me that he has mad figurative language skills and I tend to agree with him.

10. This one will be everything else. From his hugs to his temper, everything that he does is full of life and energy. He doesn't do anything halfway. I love my hunting, fishing, reading, laughing, smart alecky little guy.

14 Things...

Today is the sweet girl's 14th birthday, and in honor of that auspicious occasion, here are 14 things I love about Kiersten in no particular order (some may not have pictures-most of the pics are old which are the only ones that I have here)

1. Her smile---Ever since she was a baby, she's had an infectious grin that lights up where ever she happens to be.

2. Her personality---She's pretty quiet until you get to know her and then she's just so funny and has wonderful things to say.
3. Her common sense---In this day and age when people can be lacking in common sense, she has it most of the time. She's got a good head on her shoulders and I'm glad for that.

4. Her love for her brothers---She has 3 younger brothers and she loves them all so very much. Even when Jared is yelling at her to put her stuff in the bathroom away, she's (mostly) patient with him.

5. Her flair for the dramatic---She gets this from my mother, Scarlett had nothing on Kiersten. Maybe that's just being a teenager but it's definitely there.

6. Her fashion sense---She's not like me when it comes to her clothes (which can be a good and bad thing). She always looks so darn pretty!
7. Her sense of self---She knows who she is (which I didn't at that age) and what she wants. I admire that in her.

8. Her sense of humor---We have sort of the same sense of humor so she gets my jokes and silly comments.

9. Her love of reading---One thing that we have in common, we'll sit and read together for hours. We talk about books, what she's reading and writing.

10. Her stubbornness---This is something to love? you ask. Yes, except when it comes to her stubbornness about doing (or not doing) chores.

11. Her hair---She's got great hair ( this is silly, but I really do love her hair)

12. Her love for her family---She's got LOTS of family and loves us all. She's also becoming something of a hugger (Mike is wearing off on her).

13. Her talents---She is very talented. She sings, paints, draws, writes very well. She's also a great listener and a calming spirit.

14. Everything else---I'm her mom and I think she's just wonderful. This is just a little list, but I can tell you, I am blessed to be her mother. I couldn't ask for a better daughter.

Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

Peace and love y'all!

What are you reading?

I love to ask people what they happen to be reading. I'm nosey like that, but if someone gushes about a book or author enough, that makes me want to take a look at it and see what all of the fuss is about. I read EVERYTHING, from scifi to mysteries to chicklit and everything in between. I did discover recently that I'm not into Christian Fiction. Some people love it, me not so much, especially when it really just pounds you over the head. I found a couple of books that I enjoyed but they weren't the pounding you over the head type books.

So, what am I reading right now? Here's my list of books that are on my table to be read

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson---heard this is extremely funny so can't wait to get started

Wicked by Gregory Maguire---I know I'm late on this wagon, but I just happened to go by it in the library and thought "self, you've been meaning to read that so go ahead and pick it up". I do that a lot, which usually means I have to back a dump truck to the doors of the library to load all of my books into it and then have to sell one of my kids to pay the overdue fines.

The Help--the book club selection to be discussed in April. It's not on the table, it's on my Kindle (have I told you how much I love my Kindle?).

Christy---Book club selection from last month that I didn't get to read, but figured I would go ahead and read it again just because I had forgotten a lot.

Then of course, are my lists of books that I have to buy when they come out, the books that I read over and over and over, the books on my Kindle wish list. The DH doesn't understand my need to read, I don't understand his need to hunt, but if we were both readers nothing would ever get done in our house.

So dear reader, what are you reading?

Peace and love y'all!

A Query...

Dear readers,
I love the word query, it's such a cool word-so much better than question. Mr. Webster says that a query is a question in the mind, which sounds really deep and thoughtful. But, I digress already. The query for the day is this----what is the big deal about Valentine's Day?

As we all know, that Hallmarkiest of Hallmark Holidays is coming up and you can't go anywhere without being attacked by something pink or red and heartshaped usually containing a year supply of sugar. Last night as Mike and I sat watching TV, we watched pajamagram commercials and Vermont Teddy Bear commercials and jewelry commercials (oh my!) galore and once again, we talked about our little tradition of not celebrating Valentine's Day. It started many, many moons ago when we were dating. He told me that he didn't "do" Valentine's Day, that it was a Hallmark Holiday and he refused to be sucked into the void that was an essentially useless excuse to buy stupid stuff that doesn't last (I'm not going to write what he actually said, but you get the drift).

As I think back on the 12 Valentine's Days that we have not celebrated together, I can't remember getting one card, one flower, one stupid heart shaped box of chocolate, and you know what---I don't care! But, in honor of the "holiday" coming up, I'm going to share with you a few of my favorite "un-Valentine's Days"

-when we were dating, the day that Mike showed up with a wagon for Kiersten "just because" (this is also known as the day I officially fell in love with the boy from Montana)
-the day we got married (obviously a good day for us)
-the day we found out that we were having Jared (he cried-of course)
-the day Jared was born (he cried-of course)
-any day that we're together (jeez I'm sappy)

So, Happy un-Valentine's Day to my first favorite guy! hug hug kiss kiss

peace and love to all of y'all too!

Where have you been all of my life?

Dear Readers,
I love gadgets. I mean LOVE gadgets! The bad thing about it is that once I have them in my greedy little paws, I don't use them. So, palm pilot, ipod, camera that I only use occasionally, I'm going to apologize now because I have found a gadget that I could not possibly live without. Mike had thought about buying me one for Christmas, but I told him no, I don't want it to end up being one of those gifts that I don't use. Apparently on that day I was out of my mind.

Yes people, I have a Kindle and I'm addicted! For those of you who don't know what a Kindle is, it's an ereader from Amazon that you can download books to and take it with you EVERYWHERE! It's in my purse at the moment and I love it. I can take however many books with me at all times and it's only an itty bitty thing. I thought I would miss the page turning, the feel of a book in my hands. Nope.

This brings us to the problem-self control. As in I have absolutely none when it comes to books. BK (Before Kindle), I would stare longingly at the bookstore but never go in. Why? Because I would find something that I would absolutely have to have and then before I knew it, BAM, I'm walking out with three or four books that I "needed". If Crystal and I went perusing, I would give her my debit card and tell her, "I don't care what I tell you, do not give me that card! I don't need any new books, I'm saving my money for whatever." With my handy dandy Kindle, it's a click of a button and voila! Instant joy! That is until I see the money coming out of our checking account. But, Amazon also has free books which feeds the book addiction while introducing me to new authors that I wouldn't normally pick up and reunites me with the Classics.

Pardon me while I go and make a new list for books that absolutely have to be bought and their release dates. Happy reading!

peace and love y'all!

POTW---Week 3 Topic Sweet

Dear readers,

Lately, my mind has been on my boys alot. It seems that the children take turns as to who needs me more at any one time and right now, Jared has come to the front. I don't mind that, he's one of my favorite people. He's having a rough time of it, but we're working through it slowly but surely. When this week's topic came up, I thought to myself, there is no one sweeter than my sweet boy, so he's my focus of the pictures for the week. I can't ever choose just one so you'll have to bear with me.

He had just gone to the bathroom in the middle of the night and instead of going back to his room, he decided to curl up in the sock basket.

Possibly my all time favorite picture of the boys. Jared's first fishing trip to the lake, he's probably about 2 years old. He was so excited and every fish he caught was given a kiss and thrown back in.

Christy P. took this while she was taking the pictures for Christmas. This is so him, always full of energy and acting crazy.

Another one of Christy's beautiful shots of him. This one has the smirk that I love so much.

He really is one of the sweetest people I know and I'm so glad he's my son. We have a ton of fun and I enjoy listening to him and talking with him. He really is one of the most interesting kids I know.

So, that's my picture post for the week. My sweet boy! If he sees this he'll probably want to kill me.

Peace and love y'all!

POTW---Week 2 Home

To some people, home is where you live, but to me home is people. My house is made of wood and siding and walls, but my home is wherever my family may be. We may bicker, but we mostly laugh. There are occasionally some sad tears, but they are aways balanced by the tears of joy. Mike is the anchor, always steady and sure. I'm the listener and worrier (not a surprise to most). Kiersten is our dreamer, always writing or drawing. Jared is our hugger, always quick to help or give you a hug when you need it most. So, this is my home.....

photo of the kids done by Christy Peake

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

This morning as I was doing my usual meander through the internet, I came across Orson Scott Card's article for the week in the Deseret News about respecting the Savior. There was also a lot of thought put into the language of prayer and how we show respect for Heavenly Father and Christ when we use the whole "thee, thou, thine" stuff.

However, I'm not going to write about that, it's somewhat confusing and I haven't had my Pepsi. My mind soon wandered onto other paths dealing with respect. If Christ was standing next to us, how would we behave towards others around us? I can pretty much guarantee you that there wouldn't be so much gossip, back biting or bickering. How about how we treat our family? There wouldn't be the fussing and fighting or talking down to each other or abuse. How about in the workplace? We wouldn't degrade others or make them feel bad about themselves. We would build each other up instead of tearing each other down.

In the cartoons that I watched as a kid and take great delight in educating my children about today, this whole thing was usually depicted as an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. Too bad that the angel usually got thumped off and the devil took over which led to general mischief and mayhem. Just think about what a great place the world would be if it were the opposite in real life. The angel stayed on the shoulder, which led to kindness, gentility and compassion.

Just a thought---keep the angel on your shoulder and as we learned in Bambi "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"!

Peace and love y'all!