A Kickoff to the Month of Love

February is a big month in my house.  Feb. 2 is Jeremy's Birthday.  Feb. 14 is Valentines Day.  Feb. 16 is our anniversary.  Feb. 28 is Matt's Birthday.  It is a month long celebration at the Morrill household.  So to kick off the month of love, I decided to write a list of some things that I love:
1.  Pookie:  I gush all the time, but I do love him.  He  takes an interest in the things that I am doing, he supports my calling, he likes the same things that I do, and he puts up with the things he doesn't like.
2.  The boy and the girl:  they are so cute.  They play so well together, they use their imaginations, and both of them have no problem dropping what they are doing and giving me a great big hug and kiss.
3.  My family:  My parents, siblings, brother's  and sister's in law, nieces, and nephews.  All of you are awesome and I love you so much.
4.  My best friend, Holly:  We have been friends  for years.  We love each other for who we are.  We can go months without seeing each other and when we do get together, it is like no time has passed.  Love you best friend.
5.  My bed:  It is so comfortable and warm. It has been a place where we have had "monster hunts" and wrestling matches.  It is a safe haven when the kids have had bad dreams, and a place to unwind after a long hard day. 
6.  Churros:  They are yummy and warm, and they are a snack that never gets old.  I am always in the mood for this tasty treat.
7.  My Young Women:  they are sweet and excited to learn new Gospel principles.   We have so much fun together and I am glad to know them.
8.  The temple:  God's house on earth.   I love the feeling and the peace that can only be found in the temple.  It truly is the most sacred place on earth and I love attending the temple and doing work for the dead . 
9.  Vacations:  I really love to go places and spend the time with my family.  I have to go on at least one each year, but I also love the mini vacations where we hope in the car and go somewhere for the day.  It's a great way to spend time with your family and make memories that will last forever.
10.  My Crocs:  they are the most comfortable  shoes in the world.  Sure, they aren't the cutest or the most fashion forward, but I can go a whole day without my feet getting tired.  Best. Shoe. Ever.
11. The Gospel:  I love everything about it and I  believe that Joseph Smith is a true prophet.  Everything about who I am is based on the Gospel and what I believe.  I love the church, the scriptures, the prophets, the organizations, and the Lord.
12.  7:30 PM:  I love this time of day. We put the kids to bed and Matt and I have the rest of the evening to ourselves.  I love spending that alone time with him watching TV, playing games, cleaning up, or just talking to each other.  It's the best time of the day.
13.  Mashed Potatoes at TGI Fridays:  What can I say?  They are the best potatoes I have ever  tasted.  Seriously - the best.  Matt has tried to replicate them, but it is impossible.  I have never tasted potatoes like these.  Try them and you will see what I mean.  No, seriously try them.
14. Psych:  It is such a funny show.  Every episode is hilarious and we laugh and high-five the entire time.  Best quote from the show:  "I feel like an angel-baby swaddled in a cocoon of cloud candy."  Ya, you know what I'm talking about.
15. Finding good deals:  I love to find a good deal.  I love to be out shopping and find some amazing thing on sale.  It's awesome.
16.  Rice Cooker:  I love my rice cooker.  Best $30 we ever spent.  The kids love rice and the cooker makes it taste so good.  Plus rice is cheap. 
17.  Music:  I love music.  I love to dance to it.  I love to  relax to it.  And on occasion I will even sing with it.  Songs and certain bands can take me back to some of the best times of my life. 
18. Technology:  "Yes, I love technology; But not as much as you, you see;  But I still love technology; Always and forever"  It really is great.  Cell phones, e-mail, blogging, computers, instant messages, iPods, digital cameras, and on and on.  Everybody uses at least one of these things on a daily basis. 

There are so many more things that I love but I figure 18 is probably enough.  Happy month of love.  I hope that everyone has a great month filled with love and awesome memories.

On the Way to School

Jeremy has been having a hard time with some mean kids at school.  Matt and I try to encourage him and buoy him up for the day. Every morning Jeremy and I have a ritual on our way to school.  We talk about what he is going to do at school and when he gets home.  I remind him to finish all his school work and mind the teacher so he doesn't get his card pulled.  Today was a light day and there was a lull in the conversation.  As I was rounding the bend I heard his little voice singing a song.  I strained my ears and I heard:  ". . . my Father lives.  And loves me too.  The Spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true . . . "   As I pulled up to the school this morning he unbuckles and climbs up and gives me a kiss and says, "I'm glad you're my mom and that I have a family."  He ran off to breakfast at school and I drove off with a tear in my.  Heavenly Father truly does know everything that each of us is going through, and helps us any way He can, even if it just a little song He puts in our head to help us know who we are and where we came from.

This one hit close to home.

Subtleties

So I have these socks.  They are gray with a bunch of popsicles on them.  Each popsicle has a bite taken out of it and the socks have "Bite Me" written all over them.  I love these socks:

 

Firstly, I am a nice person.  I am kind and thoughtful.  But there are some days when I just want to tell the world to "bite me."  On those days, I wear these socks.  I don't know how to explain it, but when I feel that way, these socks make me feel better and give me the gumption to get through the day.  It's funny how something as small as a pair of socks can make you feel better, but it does.

A Few Spare Minutes

The following is what happens when the whole family was ready about 20 minutes before we needed to leave for church:
 

The War Is Over

Everybody has a skill, a talent, a craft, or an expertise.  It's true.  Everyone is good at something.  At the other end of the spectrum, sometimes, people just can't do a particular something.  No matter how much they want to, or set their mind to - they just can't do it.  Unfortunately for me, it is cooking.  I have tried.  I really have.  But last night was the last straw.  After many failures, and setting the stove on fire a few times, and convincing myself that I had salmonella after touching raw meat, I have conceded to the fact that I just can't cook.  I am really good at a lot of other things, but Chef Abby is dead.
Yesterday, I set it into my mind that I would make Sunday dinner.  The most important meal of the week.  Of course, Matt did the meat.  I really don't like touching raw meat.  I gag.  But I came home from church and peeled potatoes and put them on the stove.  Threw some canned corn in the microwave.  I know what you are thinking.  I didn't leave it in the can, I put it in a bowl, and then put it in the microwave.  Later I drained the potatoes and grabbed the mixer and started to mash them.  After about five minutes I was getting frustrated.  They just weren't mashing.  I called Matt over to look at them and here is how the conversation went:

"What is wrong with these stupid potatoes? They aren't mashing."
"Did you cook them?"
"Yes, I waited until they boiled and then I took them off the stove and drained them."
"Um, you have to cook them all the way through."
"Wait, it isn't like stuffing and once they start to boil you take it off the stove? I didn't want them to turn into soup."
"Um, no, they probably should have cooked another 15 minutes."
"Fine, we aren't having potatoes."
So for dinner, we had corn and roast.  Jeremy and Bailee could see that I was visibly upset so they tried to help:
Bailee: "Mom, maybe Dad could help you cook."
Jeremy: "Yah, he is a genius when he cooks."
This wasn't helping me at all.  In fact I was feeling worse.  Jeremy noticed that it wasn't working so he quickly changed his tactics:
Jeremy: "It's OK that you can't cook Mom.  Ya know what, Dad can't wrap presents. So it's OK."
I started crying because he was genuinely trying to make me feel better so he comes over and gives me a big hug:
"Are you crying happy tears mom?"
"Yes, I'm crying happy tears.  Thanks for making feel better."
"You're the best mom even if you can't cook."
Bailee comes over and starts hugging me.
"Yah mom, you're the best and you can still do the dishes."

So the war is over.  No more setting the stove on fire.  No more eating burnt entrees because I forgot to set the timer.  No more eating sandwiches because I ruined the meal.  From now on Matt can do the cooking, and I'll wrap the presents.

When Upon Life's Billows

It is easy to get discouraged when you turn on the news and all you hear is the failing economy and how awful our new president will apparently be.  I don't know.  I don't really follow politics and mostly don't care.  Apart from all the chaos that is ensuing in our nation, things are pretty good.  Sure the challenges that each latter-day saint faces is rough.  I could present you with a long list of stuff I am trying to wade through and get sorted out, but instead I choose to list a few of my blessings:
1.  My job:  it is rough being away from my home and my children, but I couldn't work for nicer men.  They let me leave on the spot if Jeremy or Bailee is sick or has a school function and they don't give me any grief when I am just fed up and I go home just because I am tired of being there.  Of course I do have to put up with a few idiosyncrasies:

2.  My kids:  they are mischievous and conniving little rug rats who chop off hair and play basketball in the house.  But they mind and honestly try to "CTR"

3.  My husband:  his greatest desire is to make me happy and be together forever as a family.  When I hurt, he hurts, and he does everything he can to make sure that everything will be alright.

4.  Having enough money for everything.  After all is said and done, the bills are paid and we have enough for a little fun.  And we love to have fun :)
5.  My parents:  it is awesome living right next door.  They are always there for me and usually have sage advice.  They take care of my rambunctious kids and never complain.  Love you guys.

6.  Caffeine free coke:  What? No that's not a weird blessing.  Without it I probably wouldn't have been able to make the transition to caffeine free, so thank caffeine free coke, thank you.

7.  Insurance: probably an overlooked blessing, but when your son cuts off the tip of his finger on Christmas morning it sure does come in handy:
 
8.  My explorer:  it is big enough to fit my little family and my parents, and that has meant many, many road trips.  Just last year we went to Disneyland, Promontory Point, Wyoming, General Conference (twice), and Las Vegas.  Not to mention, St. George, up the Canyon, Cedar City, Salt Lake, Zions, and Richfield.
9.  Imaginations:  in world where video games are king, we are the lone peasants.  No video games in our house means pretending they are riding splash mountain, building a robot with the neighbor girls, digging an underground city where Jeremy would be King, pulling out the train set and traveling to Narnia.  And, keeping the peace in an old western town with my trusty stick horse and my six shooter.  I am very grateful my children have active imaginations.
10. Extended family: I am grateful that my family is so close to me and cares about me.  Jenny will stop what she is doing to try and spread some Christmas cheer or tend my kids.  Cory and Sharon bring their herd and we have dinner and laugh over a funny episode of Psych.  I am grateful for the little things that cement us into a close and loving family.

There is so much more that I am thankful for, from the very important (Gospel) to the downright mundane (indoor plumbing).  I hope everyone takes some time out of this hectic world and writes down a few things that they are truly grateful for.

Frustrating Home Evening

It truly is a conspiracy.  I don't know why the cosmos don't want us to have FHE.  Three weeks in a row our plans have been thrown up in the air.  Don't believe me? 
Week 1 January 5th, I had a great testimony meeting FHE planned and a snowstorm hits and Jeremy is stuck in a car down in Cedar City, so we move it to Thurs.
Week 2 January 12th, I made prayer sandwiches and actually bought stuff for actual sandwiches (most of you know I don't care for sandwiches).  Matt calls and is stuck at work due to year end accounting mumbo jumbo.  So we hold FHE without him.
Week 3 January 19th, since Jeremy believed that when we go to the temple we actually raise the dead, we figured we would do an FHE on temples and travel to the Manti Temple and walk around talking about temple work and getting married.  Well, it was only a half day of work yesterday so I go home and start loading the dishwasher when POP!!  My back had popped or twisted or something and I couldn't move.  So I pop a trusty lortab and park it on the couch.  I wasn't going anywhere that night.  So it is rescheduled for Wednesday.
My question is:  Is it really supposed to be this hard?  We make a plan and inevitably something happens to mess said plan up.  Frustrating.  Grrr.

What was that?!?

Sunday I had to stay a little after church to help the Beehives get their interviews for Baptisms for the Dead.  I told Jeremy when I got home from church that I was going to go to Baptisms for the Dead on Friday.  He looked at me with a confused look and went downstairs to change out of his church clothes.  So this morning as I was getting ready for work I hear Bailee and Jeremy talking in the spare bedroom.  "Yes she is, she told me," Jeremy states matter-of-factly to Bailee.  They continue to argue back and forth until Jeremy and Bailee come up to me and Jeremy says, "Mom, tell Bailee that you are going to raise the dead today."

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Bailee LOVES her rollerskates.  When  I asked her why she had them on yesterday she said "Because I can get to my toys faster with them on."  Well, it IS true.

Trying to Simplify

I have been trying to weed out the unnecessary things in my life.  I came across a story I am sure most of you have heard but it hit home to me:

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Saint from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and Book of Mormon and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day! "How shall we do this?" shouted his angels. Keep them busy in the non essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds.  Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.  Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work! Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or iPods whenever they drive. Keep their TVs, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.

Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs,sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes. Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. Ha! That will fragment those families quickly!

Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.

It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Saints everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there.  After all being busy is in fact:
B-eing
U-nder
S-atan's
Y-oke

I hope that I will have the strength to simplify and remember what is most important to me.

Sandwiches and Prayer

Last week's FHE was a success.  Sure we had to have it on Thursday, but Bailee and Jeremy loved it and now they walk around bearing the testimonies all the time.  They even try bearing them to get out of trouble.  So last night Matt and I were talking about what to do this week.  I thought it was time for a lesson on the components of prayer and Matt mentioned that when he was on his mission they explained prayer like a sandwich, so (being the computer genius that I am) decided to make a "prayer sandwich" with the four components of a prayer:
1.  Open with Heavenly Father
2. The "meat" of the prayer - all the things you are thankful for.
3.  The "sides" of the prayer - all the things that you would like to ask Heavenly Father for.
3.  Close your prayer with Jesus.
So I would have the kids write what they are thankful for on the meat and write the things they want to ask Heavenly Father for on the sides.
Hopefully things will go smoothly and we can actually hold FHE tonight.  Of course for dinner we are having sandwiches.  Feel free to print off a copy of the "Prayer Sandwich" (if you promise not to make fun of my meat pictures) and make some for your FHE tonight.
 

Kids Do the Darndest Things

For the past couple of weeks with exception of the holiday break, I have been dropping off Jeremy at school around 7:50.  I was under the impression that school started at 8:00 but I found out today that it starts at 8:15.  When Jeremy would give me a kiss goodbye he would run and find his friends.  When I asked him what he was doing he just said, "I'm playing with my friends until school starts."  So I get a phone call today from Daphne Black.  She is Jeremy's primary president, but she is also a lunch lady at the school.  Apparently, Jeremy has been going to breakfast with his friends for the last little while.  He was under the impression that breakfast was free.  Well it isn't.  Daphne was kind enough to set up an account for Jeremy so now, I can just pay for his breakfast.  I am glad that she called me before he racked up a huge tab.

An Ode to the Green Ball O Fun

My dearest green ball o fun, how you have added such joy to my life.  I remember the day that we met.  My best friend, Holly, and I were shopping in Walmart, buying some items for our apartment.  We were Jrs. in college and we only had enough money for the essentials (milk, eggs, etc.) and then we happen upon the toy department and see a bin full of big bouncy balls, and our eyes were immediately drawn to you:

As responsible young adults, we throw aside our shopping list and grab you up and take you home.  Now, a lot of others our age would ask, "What are you going to do with a big green ball."  Holly and I would look at each other with sly smiles and ignore the others mocking's.  We knew just how much fun we could have with you.
Oh how much fun we had playing 500 in the middle of the night on the football field.  The hours that we spent playing kickball.  And lets not forget those midnight dodgeball tournaments.  You were a chair as we watched TV in the front room.  You were a floatation device in the pool.  You were a weapon when undesirable guys tried to enter our apartment.  You were an exercise tool (which didn't happen very often).  You were always up for a good time and we knew that we could turn to you when we were bored.
Then, one dark day, we forgot to bring you in from the cold.  The next morning, we opened the door and there you lay flat and miserable.  After much contemplation, we decided to deflate you and end your misery rather than keep you around suffering just for sentimental reasons.  Thank you green ball o fun for all that you gave us, and hopefully, when my kids are older, I can introduce them to the simply joy that a green ball o fun really is.

It's a Conspiracy!

One of the things that I want to do a little better on is Family Home Evening.  So, for FHE tonight I made a cute little handout and we would be talking about bearing our testimonies, and the five components that make up a testimony:
1.   God is our loving Father in Heaven
2.  His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and Redeemer
3.  Joseph Smith was a prophet of God
4.  The Church of Jesus Christ is the Lords Church on Earth.
5.  The Church is led by a living prophet, President Monson, who receives revelation.
In my opinion, even adults should learn what a testimony is and what a testimony isn't.  After we talked about the components of a testimony, we would invite Jenny's family and mom and dad over so Jeremy and Bailee could bear their testimonies to their family.
So here is my handout:

The reason I decided to have this particular FHE is because yesterday, Bailee wanted to bear her testimony.  So she practiced it with me (Matt and I are of the opinion that if they want to bear their testimonies, they go up on their own, without mom or dad telling them what to say) and this is what Bailee came up with:
"Stand and bear my testimony.  I love Jesus.  I liked all my toys from Christmas.  Bless the food.  Name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
After about 20 minutes of Matt trying to tell her that you don't bless the food in testimony meeting, I decided that they needed a FHE lesson about testimonies.
So, it is 4:30 and I am all ready for FHE tonight.  One of the better lessons I have put together if I do say so myself, and then . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
I get a phone call.  Mom and Dad are just barely getting to Cedar City to switch cars with Linsey.  It was snowing like crazy so they won't be home until 9 or 10 tonight.  Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, we would just have FHE without them.  But, Jeremy rode down there with them.  So FHE is canceled until Thursday.  But I am sure something will come up so we won't be able to do it.  It's a conspiracy I tell ya.