Daily Q

Question:  What qualities do you look for in a friend?

Answer: 

• Loyalty:  Be there through thick and thin. 
• Kindness:  Please be kind.  I am a work in progress.
• Humor:  The ability to laugh with me and at me (in kindness of course.)
• Open, Real, Honest:  Let me know if you don't agree.  We can agree to disagree.  Just don't be self-righteous or judgmental.  Don't be something you're not.
• Fun:  be able to enjoy the big and little things.
• Trustworthy:  that says it all.
• Positive.
• Accepts Me and Includes Me even when I'm not at my best.

Talks, Meetings, and Mint Gum

Another great Ward Conference.  Some of the best talks in sacrament meeting I've heard in a while.  So much so, that I've asked for copies of them.

My meetings started early.  It has been a long Sunday.  During ward conferences, we stagger the blocks of meeting times differently for each ward in their buildings allowing time after the conference for some training and evaluation with each organization.  By the time I was done with this last portion I had already spoken twice, conducted 2 meetings,  and attended 3 other meetings.  I got home and changed my clothes about 1pm.  The kids asked me if I was going to church today.  They didn't even know I'd been up, gone by 8:15am, and back home already!  They had all slept in with the time change last night. Haha!  Since we meet last this year, our block began at 2 this afternoon.  We will do that for one more week to accomodate another ward conference and then have our own conference on the 25th.

Everyone got home about 5:30ish and we had a quick dinner because Duff and I had another meeting at 7 for the Stake Missionary Conference.  It was an informative meeting, but I will admit that at this point of the evening when the opening prayer was said, I had a hard time opening my eyes.  I popped a piece of mint gum in my mouth and that revived me.  Hooray for mint gum.  Haha!

Daily Q

Question:  How does your adult life today differ from the way you "always dreamed it would be"?

Answer:  Haha!  Some things are exactly how I thought they would be:  husband I love and he loves me, 4-5 children, grandchildren, pets, home, baking cookies, going to church, roast beef Sunday dinners,  attending the temple, reading stories, doing laundry, mopping floors, taking vacations, etc.

Some things are exactly not how I thought they would be:  living in the fantasy world of white picket fences where everything is fair and right and equal.  If you make right choices it means everything goes smoothly.  Oh, I am laughing as I'm writing this thinking back to my pre-marriage and early marriage dreams!  I was so naive!  When I was in YW the lesson focus was on the premise that if you chose the right and got married in the temple you had arrived and life would unfold blissfully.  Well, life is good, and yes correct choices do bring some blessings immediately and always eventually, but it doesn't stop Life from happening.  Hopefully we are now teaching our youth that choosing the right and getting to the temple are the tools we use to navigate those stormy seas on our journey to the true dream of exaltation and eternal families in the life to come.

Knees

I need to mention that Duff hurt his left knee.  We had just taken the Christmas tree down and put it away for another year and he was coming in through the front door from the garage and slipped on some water left over from the morning sprinklers.  His foot turned the wrong way and tweaked his knee.  It was 'ok' at first and over the weeks and month just didn't get better but in fact got worse. He finally went to the doctor and is wearing a brace for it.  Some days it feels a lot better and other days it doesn't so if it doesn't improve in the next two weeks he has to go back in.  A brace is not a good fit for him.  Things like that drive him crazy.  Part of the day he keeps it on and then he takes it off for a while.  All the exrays showed nothing serious, but did indicate a small bit of arthritis beginning.

Gosh, we are starting to get old. 

Today we cleaned house, grocery shopped, and I met with a new person on the stake primary board over nursery.  She is a good gal and I feel she will be a good fit for the nursery leaders. I look forward to another board member to work with.

Daily Q.

Question:  What did someone do this week that made you feel good?

Answer:  It's been a difficult week for many reasons.  Nothing critical, but just LIFE stuff that comes up that we all go through with home, family, kids, church, schools, neighborhoods, cars, money, jobs, health, etc.

I was really low one day and Duff came in the kitchen and just rubbed my neck while we stood at the island talking.  It helped relieve the stress that seems to settle there and the tender act was comforting to my soul as well when he said,  "It's all gonna work out Cindy and be okay.  This will just be a blip down the road."

Area Training

Today was a very busy day.  It's been a hard week actually.

Then I had an Area Training Meeting tonight with members of the Seventy and counselors from each of the General Presidencies of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary.

It was a very good training.  I learned a lot.  When we broke out into organizational departments Sister Stevens conducted in a hands on way with a lot of interaction and participation.  I enjoyed the evening and the time went by fast.  But it was one of those things where you were left wishing it could have continued instead of looking at your watch wishing it would finish up.

Daily Question:

Question:  What is something you've never done before that you'd really like to try?

My Answer:  I'd like to zipline.  I might chicken out at the last minute, but it looks like a lot of fun.

Question Jar from the 1980's

Here is another random thing I came across in my garage clean up.

It was stashed in a box of FHE items I had saved. 

It is a personal history question/journal jar that my visiting teacher gave me in the 1980's!

For 30 years I have kept this Rubbermaid acrylic jar with it's folded papers and felt guilty everytime I looked at it for not writing down the answers in a journal.

I've decided to draw out a question every day and answer it on the blog.

Whew.  That feels better already.

Artist Mom

Artwork by Mom.

Labeling by Christine.

I think we deserve an A.  Don't you?

Cafe Rio and One Month Check-up

I drove Meredith and Ainsley to her one month old check-up.

We stopped at Cafe Rio for a salad.

It was the perfect lunch.

Sunday evening we were giving our best guesses as to how big she would be at her appointment.

None of us got near it.  We were all WAY too low.

At her last check-up she was 5lbs. 8 oz.

Today she had gained THREE pounds and grew TWO inches in 3 weeks.

That means:  8lbs. 8 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

Cute little thing.

Oh, and she felt so betrayed when she got her HepB shot.  As soon as she heard Meredith's comforting voice she was soothed and fine.  Nothing quite like a Mommy.

Between the Fence Posts

We were skyping with the Newell's today and Robert asked John,  "Where did you go today?"  I thought he was going to say to the park, because Thursdays are park days.

Quick as could be he said,  "Oma and Opa's!"  with a big smile on his face.

He likes to stick his face between the fence post in my parents backyard.  Christine captured it nicely when she was there a couple of months ago.

Decisions for Shaun!

Big week this week.  Acceptance letters have been coming in for law schools for Shaun.

Decisions, decisions.

So far: 
USD. University of San Diego.  Right on the coast.  So beautiful. 
Pepperdine.  Yeah.  Up in Malibu.  Can you get more gorgeous? 
Western.  In Fullerton. 
Whittier.  In Costa Mesa. 

He's worked hard and been offered some financial assistance at some of these schools as well.

Still waiting to hear from Chapman.

What do you think?  Weigh in please!  He wants some input.