Family: “A social unit where the father is concerned with parking space, the children with outer space, and the mother with closet space.” - Evan Esar



A Trip to the Rez

At the beginning of October my mom, my sister Emily, Ava, Lauren and I took a trip to visit the Buxtons in New Mexico. They live close to the indian reservation, and they said the people lovingly call it “the rez.” We had such a blast. Here are a few highlights…

          * Lily’s Fancy Nancy Party…It was truly FANCY! We all dressed up in dresses and boas and earings and painted our nails and had our hair done by Ruthie and ate parfaits. It was fabulous!

          * Pumpkin Fun…We went to a big pumpkin farm where the girls rode a train, went through a corn maze, played in a huge playground of corn kernels, and picked their own pumpkins. It was good fall fun!


My Joys

I have been thinking since I went to Time Out for Women that I need to notice the joys in my life more. I have so many, but when I’m honest with myself, sometimes the days blur together and I am not too joyful. The routine of my days and the sheer exhaustion that comes with having small children cloud my view of how joyful my life is. So I am going to periodically write down the joys in my life so they won’t pass me by. I hope my cousin Jo will forgive me for using her creative formatting style for this post.

(Yellow Leaves)…I love the crisp autumn air and the beautiful fall leaves in Cache Valley right now. Today Ava and I walked home from church and it was joyful to see the beauty all around us.

(My Mom)…lets me do my laundry every week at her house right now because we don’t have laundry hook-ups at our apartment. I HATE this apartment situation with a passion, but my mom is a joy in the midst of this dark hole that I get to look forward to every week! Hopefully we’ll be in the house before the baby is due!

(Ava)…taught me the power of prayer the other day and it was a joy hear. She had a headache and said she needed to say her personal prayer “right now so my Heavenly Father can take away my headache.” She proceeded to go in the other room and ask Heavenly Father to make her head better. When she was done I asked if her prayer worked, and she said “yes.” It was a very tender and joyful moment in my mothering book.

(Lauren)…watching her dance makes me laugh every time. She especially loves to dance in front of any mirror she can find so she can see herself. She throws her arms and legs around and flips her hair in the most spontaneous manner. It is truly joyful to watch.

(Running Shoes)…when I put them on in the morning and exercise I feel like I can conquer the day. I feel invigorated and joyful. If I can run or swim in the morning I feel like I can actually move. It’s a great feeling.

OK, more to come later…