I love this talk, reminds me what is important, if the world doesn't appreciate mothers or validate how hard motherhood is...at least I know Heavenly Father does and this is what He wants me to do...
M. Russell Ballard, “Daughters of God,” Ensign, May 2008, 108–10
"There is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood."
...I am impressed by countless mothers who have learned how important it is to focus on the things that can only be done in a particular season of life. If a child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a parent’s life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child’s life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent’s normal life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek, with the help of the Lord, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes. This eternally important work falls to mothers and fathers as equal partners. I am grateful that today many fathers are more involved in the lives of their children. But I believe that the instincts and the intense nurturing involvement of mothers with their children will always be a major key to their well-being. In the words of the proclamation on the family, “Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).
We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult. Through my own four-generation experience in our family, and through discussions with mothers of young children throughout the Church, I know something of a mother’s emotions that accompany her commitment to be at home with young children. There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives.
As a Church, we have enormous respect and gratitude to you mothers of young children. We want you to be happy and successful in your families and to have the validation and support you need and deserve. So today, let me ask and briefly answer four questions. While my answers may seem extremely simple, if the simple things are being tended to, a mother’s life can be most rewarding.
The first question: What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?
First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.
Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).
Second, don’t overschedule yourselves or your children. We live in a world that is filled with options. If we are not careful, we will find every minute jammed with social events, classes, exercise time, book clubs, scrapbooking, Church callings, music, sports, the Internet, and our favorite TV shows. One mother told me of a time that her children had 29 scheduled commitments every week: music lessons, Scouts, dance, Little League, day camps, soccer, art, and so forth. She felt like a taxi driver. Finally, she called a family meeting and announced, “Something has to go; we have no time to ourselves and no time for each other.” Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together.
Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it.
Fourth, pray, study, and teach the gospel. Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother. Parents can offer a unique and wonderful kind of prayer because they are praying to the Eternal Parent of us all. There is great power in a prayer that essentially says, “We are steward-parents over Thy children, Father; please help us to raise them as Thou wouldst want them raised.”...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
rachel esplin from harvard hillel
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.
I thought she did a great job explaining the Mormon Faith...pretty articulate for 20 years old...
here's her background, from another blog:
"Rachel Esplin is a junior from Blackfoot, Idaho working on a degree at Harvard in East Asian Studies. Thanks to aquinas at Summa Theologica, I came across this video of a panel discussion moderated by Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn. According to aquinas:
The panel discussion was titled “Engaging Religious Difference: Personal Quests for Purpose” and was part of day long series of events on “Faith Live on the Harvard Campus: Personal Quest, Public Conversation, and Global Citizenship.”
Notably, Rachel Esplin, an undergraduate studying East Asian Studies, and president of the Latter-day Saint Students Association, was asked to explain her background growing up in Idaho, and how coming to Harvard has impacted her religious views and convictions. I was extremely impressed at her ability to articulate her beliefs to others in universal terms and yet in a passionate manner.
Rachel did an excellent job framing the religious questions that she has faced by coming to Harvard: “What does religious diversity mean? What does it mean to be in a secular environment? What does it mean to come face to face with what I don’t know and what I have to learn?” In Rachel’s case, coming to Harvard has actually strengthen her faith by working through these issues. As she has learned about other faiths, her faith has been strengthened.1Rachel Esplin is a junior from Blackfoot, Idaho working on a degree at Harvard in East Asian Studies. Thanks to aquinas at Summa Theologica, I came across this video of a panel discussion moderated by Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn. According to aquinas:
The panel discussion was titled “Engaging Religious Difference: Personal Quests for Purpose” and was part of day long series of events on “Faith Live on the Harvard Campus: Personal Quest, Public Conversation, and Global Citizenship.”
Notably, Rachel Esplin, an undergraduate studying East Asian Studies, and president of the Latter-day Saint Students Association, was asked to explain her background growing up in Idaho, and how coming to Harvard has impacted her religious views and convictions. I was extremely impressed at her ability to articulate her beliefs to others in universal terms and yet in a passionate manner.
Rachel did an excellent job framing the religious questions that she has faced by coming to Harvard: “What does religious diversity mean? What does it mean to be in a secular environment? What does it mean to come face to face with what I don’t know and what I have to learn?” In Rachel’s case, coming to Harvard has actually strengthen her faith by working through these issues. As she has learned about other faiths, her faith has been strengthened.1
Thursday, March 12, 2009
this is more like it!
after my posting on the snow, i thought i'd post some pictures from this week...just to remind myself why i love the weather in georgia...this weeks it was in the 80s, we got out the slip and slide and the pool and bought sand for our sand table and played outside for HOURS everyday!! it was soooo fun!!
yestarday, i saw on yahoo news that the states were rated from happiest to least happiest places to live...UT came in number one, hawaii second, and.... big shocker...the southern states all came in last...well, just when i think this place is like living on another planet, i remember the one thing i love about it, the weather, spring time...my favorite!
snow dance!
MOV06502
Originally uploaded by Our Little One
Blow drying cold feet!
these pictures are in the reverse order....this is halle blow drying her freezing cold hands and feet after we played in the snow...yes , thats right, it actually snowed in Georgia...i think i heard 4 whole inches, maybe 2 stuck to the ground...it was pretty exciting for everyone here, they even closed the schools the next day (the next day it was all melted, but any excuse to close a school, right?)....i haven't lived away from UT long enough to be excited to see snow, it brought back memories of walking to school from age 13 to 23, in the snow, yuck! the girls were excited to see it, problem is that when you live in a place that snows every 10 years, you don't have snow gear...i don't even have coats for the girls, i just put them in sweat shirts and rain coats, their hands were freezing and so they didn't play outside very long...by the end of the week, we were back to the more typical 70s...the nice weather that makes living in Georgia bearable, not snow!
no gloves!!
yeah, thats right, those are socks on halle's hands...the girls don't even have gloves....and it only snowed for about an hour, so i had to think quickly, i put socks on the girls hands, they played for a couple minutes, then took off the wet socks and put on dry ones, and then we played till all the socks were wet...
brain freeze!
this is kiera' s brain freeze face....she doesn' t like anything cold, and always makes this face, when she eats ice cream...but of course, if halle has it she has to have it too....so, i'm glad i captured the moment...even at mcdonalds, i always get the girls ice cream cones, kiera "pretends" to enjoy hers, but after her initial brain freeze moment, she sticks out her tongue and barely touches it to the ice cream, after she gets bored of this, she just gives me the cone...and you know, then i'm just forced to eat it myself!
sock hands
kiera really didn't understand why i was putting socks on her hands and didn't like not being able to use her fingers, here she is trying to pull them off , haha!
big foot!
this sunday was one of the first days halle decided she could limp on her broken toes, but she had still insisted on wearing the ace bandage and a sock, which didn't fit in any of her shoes...solution: she put on one of her boots and one of my boots, it cracked us up to see her tying to get around with those giant boot on!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
the girls!
Kiera is really liking that she can talk now. the other day she woke up in the middle of the night, i went in the room, she said, "poop, poop" and grabed her butt. i was too tired to try to make sense of her and just tried to rock her back to sleep, she kept crying and saying poop. finally she scooted off my lap, went to my room, and yelled, "daddy, daddy, poop, poop!" tom got up and asked me if she needed her diaper changed. i don't know, i said. sure enough she pooped. tom said, she can talk now. i guess she knew tom would take her serious. now she always comes and tells me, ususally i can smell it, but during the night, i don't think clearly.
kiera wanted me to leave peggy's house, she went up to peggy, "bye, bye...peggy" and then pulled on me , "go, go!" she wanted some mom's to leave our house today and she went up to them and waved, "bye-bye"...
kiera is 19months today...i just noticed....here are some of her favorites:
`bananas, i have to hide them, yestarday, she ate 3
`she loves to go out, in the morning she likes to get ready and shakes the gate at the top of the stairs and says, go, go, bye-bye!
`loves to give hugs and kisses
`hates nursery
` loves to wave and say hi to strangers at stores
`obssessed with disney princesses, knows all their names, and loves to look at their books
`loves to jump out of the bath, run from me, squat and pee on the carpet, everyday!
`loves dress up clothes and make up
`insists, or she refuses to get in her carseat, that she put the key in the ignition and once she does it, she hops over the front seat and gets in her seat, we have to leave a few minutes early to make time for this ritual
lately halle.....
likes to try to use expressions that I use or big words that I use:
"will you do me a favor?", "thats difficult", "I can't believe it!", "that's unbelievable!", "thats rediculuous!"
she likes to try to impress me with how brave she is being with her broken toes, so she will do something, like run or jump, and then say, "you didn't know i could do that with a bum leg, did you?"
halle is really into rhyming, she loves to find words that rhyme and tell me, mom, goat, rhymes with coat, and dress, mess. she does this a lot , sometimes she picks a word thats too hard and will say, what rhymes with cereal?, "cereal, cereal", so i guess words rhyme with themself.
"mama, you need to change kiera, she has a stinky butt"
"my dads the boss!"
"maybe when daddy comes home, me and kiera can jump on him"
"kiera, can i have a turn?" NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! "i guess its still her turn" (seriously, kiki doesn't realize how lucky she is to have a sister as nice as halle)
"i just pooped a mommy, daddy and a baby poop!" (tranlation, she pooped 3 poops and she thinks she's hilarious!)
tom, "did you wipe?" halle, "yes", "did you get all the poop off", Halle moons tom and says, "i dont' know, check."and then laughs her head off, she seriously thinks shes a crack up.
kiera wanted me to leave peggy's house, she went up to peggy, "bye, bye...peggy" and then pulled on me , "go, go!" she wanted some mom's to leave our house today and she went up to them and waved, "bye-bye"...
kiera is 19months today...i just noticed....here are some of her favorites:
`bananas, i have to hide them, yestarday, she ate 3
`she loves to go out, in the morning she likes to get ready and shakes the gate at the top of the stairs and says, go, go, bye-bye!
`loves to give hugs and kisses
`hates nursery
` loves to wave and say hi to strangers at stores
`obssessed with disney princesses, knows all their names, and loves to look at their books
`loves to jump out of the bath, run from me, squat and pee on the carpet, everyday!
`loves dress up clothes and make up
`insists, or she refuses to get in her carseat, that she put the key in the ignition and once she does it, she hops over the front seat and gets in her seat, we have to leave a few minutes early to make time for this ritual
lately halle.....
likes to try to use expressions that I use or big words that I use:
"will you do me a favor?", "thats difficult", "I can't believe it!", "that's unbelievable!", "thats rediculuous!"
she likes to try to impress me with how brave she is being with her broken toes, so she will do something, like run or jump, and then say, "you didn't know i could do that with a bum leg, did you?"
halle is really into rhyming, she loves to find words that rhyme and tell me, mom, goat, rhymes with coat, and dress, mess. she does this a lot , sometimes she picks a word thats too hard and will say, what rhymes with cereal?, "cereal, cereal", so i guess words rhyme with themself.
"mama, you need to change kiera, she has a stinky butt"
"my dads the boss!"
"maybe when daddy comes home, me and kiera can jump on him"
"kiera, can i have a turn?" NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! "i guess its still her turn" (seriously, kiki doesn't realize how lucky she is to have a sister as nice as halle)
"i just pooped a mommy, daddy and a baby poop!" (tranlation, she pooped 3 poops and she thinks she's hilarious!)
tom, "did you wipe?" halle, "yes", "did you get all the poop off", Halle moons tom and says, "i dont' know, check."and then laughs her head off, she seriously thinks shes a crack up.
Monday, March 2, 2009
halle's faces
halle loves to ask me to take pictures of her, here's one of her favorite poses!
halle's gut still cracks me up, she is a thick/solid girl, 35 lbs i've been carrying around for 2 weeks now, on and off the pot, or here and there. With kiera its almost 60lbs, and we go up and down stairs, in and out of stores...i was sore the first week, great work out, but i need some sympathy, she's a big girl!
Halle dancing, with one foot!
MOV06480
Originally uploaded by Our Little One
(the hair...halle likes to sleep in braids so her hair is curly, so she either has this hair style or curly, she' s asked me to braid kiera's hair so it will be curly too, kiera? sit still? yeah, right!)
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