Hello...Goodbye

It's been a while, no?

I think I'm finished with blogging, not sure if I really have anything I need to say anymore. I think I prefer real conversation to cyber talk.

It's been fun.
Thanks,
Lula Mae

What I Have Learned From the Mothers in My Life

My mother the leader:

My mother has been involved in community and church all her life. From my early days, there are many memories involving her leading large groups of people in grand projects. She has held every possible leadership position in church including Stake and Ward Young Women President, Primary President, Stake and Ward Relief Society President and a myriad of others. She has directed community plays, worked with civic leaders and other religious leaders to accomplish large goals for the city in which she lives, blessing the lives of many. I have seen her articulate needs and plans to groups of men and women, sure of herself and the cause for which she worked. Her administration skills and persuasive leadership example has instilled in me a desire to do the same, and shown me how to organize myself and feel confident enough to volunteer for large assignments.
I am grateful for my mother's ability to lead with confidence. Leadershp and administration are skills I feel I have learned directly from her example.



The one who serves

When you get married, you get to pick your relatives. When I chose my husband, I chose my inlaws. In the fifteen-plus years of our marriage I have had the opportunity to get to know my husband's mother better. For me, her greatest attribute is her ability to serve with kindness. No matter who, when or where, she is always willing to do what she can. I have seen her make meals, leave suprise annonymous gifts on doorsteps, clean houses and church buildings and jump in her car to answer a long distance need from family. Her life is spent doing what she can to better the lives of others.

While her service to friends and strangers is impressive, her drive to help her children is something to behold. There is nothing she would not do for them. From babysitting the grandkids to investing in businesses, she offers all she has to see their success. I have been the recipient of such service and count it as a blessing in my life.


On this mother's day, I can only be grateful for the women who have shaped an molded me. I consider it my duty to follow their example so that this legacy of strength and kindness will continue on through the generations that come from these women.

Thanks Mom and Colleen for all that you are!

Happy Mother's Day!

Our Part

I took an extra long Spring Break. Thanks to my sister and sister in law for letting us come visit, we had a great time.


My husband made a wonderful comment the other night, it was simply this; "I know I have to do everthing I can each day to make it possible for the Lord to bless us."

We had been discussing the fact the kids and I had gone on the vacation without him and after we decided no more vacations without the WHOLE family, he explained why he had chosen to stay behind this time.

I realized two things; the first being that I am deeply grateful for the man I married. He is a good man. Second, that there have been dark times when my choice has been to wait until things get better thus paralyzing myself. I realized that I must join with my husband in doing all that I can each day so that we can expect the Lord's blessing and continue to grow as a couple.

Good stuff

U pres. says religious freedom eroding, urges LDS to join ACLU - ksl.com

U pres. says religious freedom eroding, urges LDS to join ACLU - ksl.com

Hair Bread

I decided to make bread yesterday. I have a wheat grinder and I grind a few cups of fresh wheat flour when I make the bread. Yesterday my daughter was checking out the machine because it makes a distinct whirring noise that she found quite interesting. Despite my asking her to stay away from the machine, she lowered her head to hear the sound better allowing her hair to hang down just enough to get sucked through the slats into the internal fan. Within a split second, it grabbed her hair and wound it into a tight ball. It took just a moment for me to realize what was happening and I quickly turned off the machine.

She was STUCk!

I knew there was no way I was going to get her hair out without taking scissors to it and so, well, here's what became of that.

She wasn't hurt, a little scared, but suprisingly enough you can't really tell she's missing any hair. If I hadn't gotten the grinder stopped as fast as I did she would probably have a bald spot. I hate it when my kids have to learn things the hard way.

The unintended reprecussion of this story is that even though I didn't use the flour that was in the grinder bin, somehow I ended up with hair in my bread dough. We are refering to the three loaves affectionately as "hair bread" and while we've only found one strand it's become a bit of a fear factor thing to eat it.

I dare you to come over for a slice.

Someday

I've got a bad case of Wanderlust. I need a vacation in the worst way but the longer I wait, the farther away I want to go. Like, I'm talking Europe. Unfortunately my vacation fund is a wee bit low so I'm going to have to content myself with planning my "someday" vacation. There is one thing that will always be on my list of worthy expenses, travel. If we ever get out of this monetary rut, I'm saving up for a getaway!

Lighten the Mood

It's date night! My favorite thing ever! Just think of it this way; it's cheaper than therapy or medication and given the current state of the globe, I'm in need of something to lift the spirit. Thank heaven for a hubby who is diligent in "courting" me even after 15 1/2 years. I am sighing with relief at the thought of going out.

Ugly Days

This has been a dark week. So much uncertainty and concern I've gotten lost in the struggle. After all my bravado about choosing growth and having faith, those things have been hard to do and I have spent many hours growling in my head, angry at life. Then I saw all the footage from Japan and realized I needed to suck it up. I can sit here, day after day, wishing things were different or easier and in the end regret my life or I can take my own advice and get busy. Let's see if I can walk the walk.

Donuts and Knock Knock Jokes

I watched a Travel Channel special on donuts today and decided I needed some. So my daughter, her little friend (who sounds exactly like Mini Mouse) and I made a quick dash to the store. On the way there they told knock knock jokes which, when told by five years olds, are my absolute fav. Here is the one my daughter came up with:

"Knock knock"

"who's there?"

"orange banana"

"orange banana who?"

"eyeball"


I'm not kidding, they totally laughed their heads off at that. Ah, I so wish I could remember what I thought when I was five.

Frozen Stiff

Sometimes, when things are not going like I would hope, I get stuck. The uncertainty of life sometimes gets me frozen and I find it hard to be productive. I've made calculated efforts of late to keep from getting stopped in my tracks and I've found that when I make even the smallest effort to do something other that wait, I feel much better about life. I'm not sure what today's efforts will be but I'm determined to do something that improves life for either me, my family or someone else. Here's hoping we all do the same.

The Picture of Health

I had a lovely visit with one of my new elderly lady friends. Upon meeting her and her husband, I was told I "looked sweet" and was "the picture of health". I'm telling ya folks, if you want to feel great about yourself, visit a nice elderly person! Their perspective can make your day!

Choose Your Growth

We can either be compelled to grow or we can choose it. I for one would rather work hard and try to do hard things than always wait for difficult circumstances to arise so that I may be tested. We will still have trial in life but ultimately we can help the Lord help us grow by choosing to stretch ourselves.

A Little Suga'

I feel the lazy bug has bit me today. I have zero interest in doing anything worthwhile which means I need to get off my duff and do something.

Yep, today is a cupcake day!

Be Still

My husband and I have been discussing the Psalm scripture "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) lately. We've both been inspired by it on several occassions and today I had the chance to sit and take a closer look. I've never looked up the footnotes on this scripture and decided I would and when I looked up the footnote for "know" it directed me to Job 37:14 which reads "Heaken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God."

Today I will "Hearken unto this", and "stand still", it can never hurt to consider the wondrous works of God.

Back to the Basics

So, today we are officially without an exchange student. It's been an interesting process going from trying to tolerate a different point of view in my home to accepting that it's not going to work to actually feeling relief that my home is all mine again. The strongest emotion I feel; relief. I had no idea how truly miserable I was for the past several months. I have to assume that this student was unhappy as well. In the past few days I have found that I am more energentic and happy around my kids and that has been a great bonus by itself.

All in all, not my favorite experience. It's been very tough and I've had a hard time reconciling my relief at his absence with my desire to be openminded. It's a tough one.

From Someone Else

Here's a thought.

"Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely."

Karen Kaiser Clark

Down Another Path

So you may remember that I have had an exchange student living with me for the past seven months. It's the second time I've had an exchange student although he's the third student we've hosted. (Last year we had two at the same time.)

We are currently in the process of finding another home for this student because it's just not working out very well. It's not that he's a bad kid, quite the contrary, he's very polite but we have come to a major divide in our ways of thinking. See, I am a Mormon and he is an Atheist.

When we first started this school year, I thought we could live around each other's differences. He's a responsible kid who has never really made any more work for me in my house as far as chores go. The problem is simply, I have grown weary of feeling his tension at my dinner table as he sits with his head up, eyes ahead while we pray. Of feeling like we can't talk about certain subjects because he's here. I'm sure he's tired of feeling like religion and God are everywhere he turns and that no one is interested in hearing much about the things in which he believes strongly.

The only thing I can think of to describe our decision is simply this; while it's fun and exciting to play a football game, you don't bring the opposing team in to the locker room. This student would make a great next door neighbor. Thoughtful, respectful and hard working. But we just haven't been able to make it work living under one roof.

It's killing me to think that we can't make this work somehow but I know I will not stop praying, going to church or talking about God and I know that it is wrong to ask him to observe the tokens that mark my faith. I will not ask him to change just as I will not change for him. So, here we are. Respectfully taking separate paths hoping that no matter what the future holds both of us can look back at this experience with respect for the other.

Guard The Skinny!

I'm trying to lose weight...again. This time, it's personal. My battle cry is this; "guard the skinny!" I am so done with this fight. I've been successful before and I'm angry at myself for putting it back on. I like how I feel and look when I'm lighter and so the war to "guard my skinny" shall be fought and won! I will bury the fat lady that lives inside somewhere on the battle ground, never to rise again.

Now, on to battle!

The Gift of the Note

Since I do not have a great deal of money at the moment, I have struggled sometimes to find ways to thank people who have been kind or who have touched and impressed me in some way. I am getting pretty good at the art of note writing. I have found that the gift of a sincere, well written note does wonders! (And stationary can be really cheap!) After all, don't we all love folks to say nice things about us? And when it's written down, you have proof!

I keep all the kind notes I receive in what I call my treasure box. It's just a small box where I have accumulated some of my favorite notes over the years. I was reading through some of them from over a decade ago and it made me smile on a crappy day!

So here's to the friendly note! A timeless, under appreciated gift.

Go, Egypt Go!

I am impressed with the process that Egyptians are undertaking to depose a crappy leader. I realize that there has been some violence but for the most part, and in the way of government over-throws, Egypt is presenting itself as an interesting example of the "power of the people".
After seeing so many Muslim countries erupt into full out civil war, it is reassuring to see an eastern country demonstrate restraint (relatively speaking, and no, that's not a slight.).
Congratulations to the predominantly Muslim country for showing us folks in the west that this faith is not all about shedding blood and blowing people up.
Now, if that country can install (democratically) a leader who will actually serve the people, it will be a wonderful victory for Egyptians!

I Like My Doodles Snickered

Have you ever noticed that snickerdoodle cookies are really just bland, somewhat bitter tasting dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar? Really, without the cinnamon/sugar addition, snickerdoodles are just, well...doodles. For the success of these cookies, there must be some "snicker" added.
Sometimes it's nice to have an extra layer of sugar!

Because I Choose It

I used to read the scriptures out of a sense of fear. I felt that I would "get in to trouble" if I didn't read. It was a funny idea on my part that if I wasn't diligent in my studies, things would go badly in my life.

I have since learned that studying the scriptures is not about keeping things from going badly so much as it is a practice that helps me see things go well. I have grown enough over the years to know that I am happier and feel closer to Heavenly Father when I am in His books and conversing with him. It's no longer a sense of obligation that keeps me reading/praying so much as it is a desire to feel close to Him at all times. I am happier when He is in my life.

I'm Feelin' It

I read the news today. Ugh. For some reason today there was an overwhelming amount of terrible news about children. I happened upon a video report of a 13 year old boy being tormented by a "wolf pack" of other boys who, for 20 minutes assaulted this young man on the way home from school, dragging him through the snow, giving him wedgies and beating him. No one helped him, and as is becoming the custom among reckless bullies, someone recorded it.

My son is 13.

What if it had happened to him?

Another report of a 4 year old child kidnapped from his home and his small little body found lifeless in the middle of an irrigation canal.

I broke down. Never before has the news made me out-right cry but it did today. I just sat at my desk and bawled a prayer to Heavenly Father. "Why are there such mean people in the world?" "How in the world can I keep my family safe?" How does a mother in this day and age keep her children safe?

The answer is; I can only try. I can do my best. On my own, I have to trust that there will be others who will help me in this cause. On my own, I have to believe that there will be others in the world who will see with their eyes those bad things that happen to children everywhere and will choose to help.

So please, dear readers, choose to help me. Choose to help mothers everywhere by being that person who stands against the bad. Who doesn't look away when someone is being mean. Who teaches their own child how to be kind and how to be safe. Together it seems that we could make a wall, a safety zone of sorts, for all children who need help. We may not be able to be everywhere but we can ask God to help us be aware and be prepared to stand up for good and right. If evil can grow, so can good. More of us can be good and with that, more good can be done.

When You Write Your Own Biography, There's No One To Blame But Yourself!

I have been reading the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and it's quite a hoot. I have developed the opinion that while he is one of those folks I enjoy reading about, I would have found his company rather irritatingly obnoxious. I know the anecdote about telling a cranky woman how she'd still be ugly in the morning made me laugh but I can't help thinking that the reason the woman was cranky was because she had to sit next to him at dinner in the first place. Sufficed to say, he was kind of a jerk and ultimately the exception to the belief that our founding fathers were all deeply religious. Mr. Franklin took great pains to hone his debating abilities at the expense of many a religious professor.

My favorite story thus far? When he makes a deal with a dear friend; whichever of the two should pass from this life first, he must return in a friendly manner to enlighten the other on the experience of being on the other side.

Talk about confidence!

Prayer for 2011

My sister sent this to me via email the other day and I thought it was pretty funny. So... here ya go!

Dear God,

For 2011, all I ask for is a big fat bank account and a slim body. Please do not mix up the two like you did last year.

Amen

On With The Old

I've decided I need to make some new friends. I've got my sights set on some elderly women in my neighborhood church congregation and although they don't know it yet, they are about to get the shock and awe friendship campaign.

While I adore my friends who are my age, I've decided I need to add some friends who have a little more experience in life. I need some ladies who can teach me from a different perspective and so I shall begin by baking cookies and stopping by the home of a cute little widow down the street. I have asked my Relief Society President if this was a good idea and she assured me that the women with whom I plan to visit will enjoy the "intrusion".

I suppose my motives are not purely altruistic, in fact they are down right selfish. After the year from hell, I'd like to know how other women have survived. I want to know how a woman gets up in the morning after her husband passes. I want to know what a woman can do when a child messes up their life by making bad choices. I want to rummage around in the experiences no longer available in my lifetime and perhaps travel in time by the only means available, through the stories of someone else.

So here's to my search for new friends, may it be fruitful and educational in the least and ultimately, may I be lucky enough to learn some things that make me better.

Safe With You

I had the chance to visit with a friend today. It was a great time to sit for a relaxing chat and I enjoyed her company very much. As women we need those moments, our spirits crave them. It's when one spirit is comfortable in the company of another that the greatest happiness is achieved. The best kind of friend is one who promises to keep your spirit safe.

Preparing the Stones

After reading the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon the other night I was touched by the story of the Brother of Jared. Here was a man who had been commanded to do something he had never tried, something that was most certainly dangerous and laden with discomfort. Crossing an ocean in a "prototype" vessel without knowing the duration of the trip must have been daunting in and of itself, add to that the thought of doing so in darkness, I can't imagine what fears he and his people had.

In the scripture, he comes to the Lord with great humility and presents "sixteen stones" that were "transparent, like unto glass" which he had made. The whole idea behind the stones was that if he gave the Lord something to work with, the Lord would make something better out of them. Not knowing how this would be accomplished, the Brother of Jared asks God to light the stones to allow he and his family to cross the ocean with light.

While reading this story I was struck with the idea that I had the opportunity to present "stones" of my own to the Lord. I realized that it was up to me to study out a solution to a problem I was facing, do the work to prepare a path and then ask the Lord to help make it possible by lighting my way. My solution was simple, in fact it wasn't so much an idea as it was the realization of an opportunity and I felt that it would be acceptable to Him. After prayer and a visit to the temple I presented my plan to the Lord, asking that he help me by "smoothing out the edges" and lighting my way. It has been an enlightening experience to know that because I am His child, I have the opportunity to ask for His help, no matter how simple or unexplainable it may be and expect that He will hear my prayer.

The "I'm Sorry" Coupon

Our Scripture study this morning was on Justice and Mercy. Here is how I taught my children.


Life is a big box discount store!

Every person gets a membership, purchased with the choice to follow God and come to earth. With this membership comes the opportunity to peruse the isles stocked with every choice we can imagine. There is also the condition that everyone must treat their fellow shoppers with kindness, help out where they can and do their best. Along the way we will be offered coupons. These are free to every shopper and there is no limit to how many each can have. The coupons are handed out at all shopping hours and they are all the same, each printed with the words "I'm sorry". Some shoppers put theme in their pockets, others lose them during their trip, still others throw them in the trash without a second thought.

Shoppers each have their own unique experience. Some cruise along choosing every product they can get their hands on. Others search through the goods selecting only those things they think they can afford. It's a shopping experience beyond compare, complete with free samples! All shoppers fill their baskets with whatever goods they have the inclination and time to grab and everyone gets to choose for themselves the items they will buy. Some have short trips, others wander the isles for what seems like an eternity. But however long or short the visit, everyone must check out.

This is what makes the big box store of life different; no one can pay their bill! Upon learning this, some will try to put their goods back on the shelf. "There are no returns here" says the clerk! Everything is purchased on an "as is" basis and there are no exceptions. Some will say; "What a dirty trick. I came here because I was told this would be a great experience, this isn't fair to let me shop and know I can't pay the bill. What's the deal?"

And that is when they will see Him, the One who can help them with the clerk. Some will be relieved at His presence, others will want to hide. It will seem as though the big box store is very small and that everyone can hear what He will say to them. It is simply this; that He has paid the bill and they are free to carry on if they will give him all their "I'm sorry" coupons. He assures the shopper that He has paid enough and that he has worked out a deal with the clerk, all He needs is the coupons.

Each patron will search through their pockets, purses and bags, hoping to find enough "I'm sorry" coupons to get the deal. Some will have enough, some will not and it will be at this moment when they look back into the big box store of life and wonder if they did all they could to prepare to meet Him at check out.

Let us every day choose the best items to buy in our store of life and collect as many "I'm sorry" coupons as we can so when it's our turn to settle the balance we are worthy to use His offering to the clerk on our behalf.

Golden Opportunity

So it's the Golden Globes tomorrow! I used to get really excited for Hollywood awards shows until a few years ago when the acceptance speeches tended toward pleading the case for same sex marriage. While I intellectually understand the need for voices to be heard and I respect everyone's right to speak their mind, I'm sick to death of having what I refer to as the "Gay Agenda" constantly rammed down my throat. Enough with the "I'm Gay and glad I escaped from the religious people" speeches. Constantly throwing your ideals in my face doesn't make me change my mind. Why is it that some in the entertainment industry constantly feel the need to make everything about a cause? Seriously, you don't see CEO's of major corporations jumping on national TV every six months to give an emotional plea for tax cuts? (maybe we should make the Super Bowl half time show a debate between bailed out banks and small business america?) Let's leave the political ear-boxing to the politicians. Heaven knows we have enough of that to go around.

Can't we just have an awards show where people say, "Thank you for appreciating the work I do"? That's why I watch!

Why I Like Modified Extended Day

I live in an area where there are a great deal of kids. I mean, alot! Our local elementary school has over 1,000 students and it continues to grow yearly. In fact, this year's total may be over 1,100. With that great strain on the time and staff at the school we currently function on what is called the "extended day" model. About half the student body comes at 8:00 am and the rest come at 9:15 and there are class switches during the day to accommodate students on both tracks. Then the early track leaves at 2:15 pm and the later track leaves at 3:30. There is a whole, complicated class movement schedule during the day and it's complexity alludes me so I memorize only those tracks that affect my children.

As far as the success of the current model, our students rank quite high in the school district in test scores. (Our school district is one of the more successful in the state so, without actual numbers I'm going out on a limb and suggest that we do well state wide also.) Across the board; math, reading and social sciences, the kids do quite well (80+ percentile) and so I think extended has served pretty well as a daily routine.

However, having been present in a meeting about this very subject and seen the two programs compared side by side, I am leaning to the new "modified extended day" model for a few different reasons.

The first being that class size will actually be slightly reduced. Granted, class size will only be reduced by one or two but what I love about this model is that for 30-45 minutes every day, there will only be 11 (approx.) students in the class allowing for focused, one on one teacher/student interaction.

The second being this; that the focus of study will be on core subjects (math, reading etc.) In a world where U.S. students are falling far behind global averages, it seems that it is time to really get our kids off on the right foot, so to speak, with strong backgrounds in the basics. Don't get me wrong, I love art and music. My degree is in Humanities! But these are not tested subjects. They enhance learning, absolutely and these subjects will still be included in the curriculum but will be limited to twice a week instead of everyday. The Modified model will add much needed minutes to math, which is drastically short already, and (based on hours) it will add the equivalent of 1/3 of the school year to reading/literacy.

There are flexibilities in both models but I feel it is better to focus on core subjects and integrate non-tested ones than the other way around.

So, there ya go. I hope that the vote by faculty and staff result in a similar decision!

New Eyes

My son got his first pair of glasses yesterday. He informed me just before Christmas that he couldn't see very well. So, during the break we had his eyes checked and sure enough, the Optometrist said that if my son was older and trying to get his license, he would have failed.

Needless to say, the glasses came yesterday and it has been fun to watch him look at things in a new way for the past 24 hours. He caught me off guard a few times when he mentioned things he could see. Things like blind slats on the windows of our neighbors, local landmarks from a distance, and even detailed leaves on trees.

His enthusiasm for these new things has surprised me because I had no idea he couldn't see them in the first place. Just goes to show you never know how things look to someone else.

Who the Heck is Shira Tehrani?

I looked all over to find out about the person to whom this quote is attributed but could not find anything. I still enjoyed the thought.

"You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about it's width and depth."

-Shira Tehrani

Why Not

My daughter is dressed in head to toe fuchsia with a ballet tutu today. Sometimes I think five year olds might have a better grip on fashion than adults. If your mom says it's clean and it fits, wear it!

Here's hoping we all have a fuchsia tutu day!!

How It's Meant To Be

As I was ironing a million shirts today, my youngest son came in to chat. We listened to music and had a good old time and it occurred to me, perhaps the reason stay-at-home moms have so many mundane jobs around the house is so that we will stay in one place long enough for our kiddos to actually be able to talk to us.

Which Came First?

Upon examining a world map my son questioned me by asking "why are so many islands named after restaurants?"

I replied by asking "what do you mean?"

"Well, like McDonald and Campbell?"

"Honey, McDonald and Campbell are names that have been around a lot longer than McDonald's chain and Campbell's soup."

"oh"

Rock On!

Dropped the last of my family off at the airport today. My dad was the final Christmas guest to head home after the holidays and with his departure, the 2011 "what will this year bring" worries set in. It struck me as funny that even as an adult, with a 37th birthday lurking around the corner, sometimes you feel safer with your dad.

I love my family (the one I was born into and the one I married into) and can't thank them enough for all their optimism for this upcoming year! Who could worry with such words of encouragement and hope? And so I will pass it on, pay it forward as it may be, to you!

You're gonna rock it in 2011! Do your best, work hard and include the Lord and the future will bring blessings unimaginable. Now, go and succeed!!!

Fill 'Er Up

So I am a complete loss when family comes to town. I eat too much, sleep too little and avoid work at all costs! It was a glorious time to wake up late, come down stairs looking like an oversized teenager and see around my table many of the faces I saw every morning growing up. What was even better was the new faces that have been added to the group and have become part of the experience I call my life.

In the early days of my adulthood, I didn't enjoy this gathering of my past. So focused was I on asserting my individuality that I couldn't appreciate moments like these and their ability to fill me. Maybe what they say about getting older is true, you appreciate more of the simple things. Whatever it may be, I'm happy to say I am starting this new year with a full tank!