I am blessed, and probably judgmental

Look who now owns fancy dress socks for Sunday

 There are two thoughts I wanted to share today.  The first being, I feel very blessed today.  Maybe it's the sunshine and warm weather, but life seems really good.  I've done up my living room, I made it into the musical, I have a car that finally works well, I'm in good health.  I think what I'm most grateful for is the wonderful people I know. 


For starters, I have a husband who treats me like a treasure, a best friend, a confidant.  He supports me, like giving me a home and food and stuff, but also in all my endeavors. He is also a fabulous daddy to Theo.

Oh Theo, my sweet little boy.  He and I have a great time being pals at home, and I'm thankful that I get to hang out with him, and that I enjoy it.  He is so much fun, with such a friendly warm heart.  And so smart!  Sometimes a little too smart for me...

In addition to my cute family, I have so many wonderful people in my life.  The branch has been a source of support that I've needed so much.  Plus there are just awesome people to be friends with, so that's a plus.

I'm thankful for technology, that lets me stay in touch with my parents and my sisters.  I sure love video chatting with my adorable nephews and nieces, and texting a sister a quick note is a fun tender mercy.

I know a lot of quality people, and I thank all of you for enriching my life!

Sort of a weird note to transition on, but I'm gonna keep going anyways.  Yesterday in church we had our fifth Sunday meeting. The topic was accepting others and ourselves.  Wow, it was a charged lesson.  I know it can be a sensitive subject, so I hope as I ramble on that I don't offend anyone.  And if I do, sorry in advance!

We started the lesson talking about the story of Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well (John chapter 4).  The idea was that although she was culturally an unclean person, and she was probably not living the law of chastity and thus a sinner, that Jesus was still talking with her and accepting her for the daughter of God that she was.  Even though she was obviously not living by Jesus' standards, he didn't shun her, but taught her how to follow the path of happiness.

I think the context the teacher was going for was that we accept those who come to church as children of our Father in Heaven, rather than ignore them, gossip, or even outright persecute them. He gave examples like someone who is going through a divorce, a gay man who is still faithful to the Gospel, and a pregnant but single woman.

I've seen this, and probably even done this, where someone who we perceive to obviously be a sinner comes in our path, and isn't greeted with the same amount of warmth that, say, Molly Mormon receives when she comes to church. There are so many different reasons for this, but I don't think there are any good ones.  Church is for sinners, trying to get it more together than they had it the day before.  Whether the sin is obvious like a pregnant teen, or secret like a pornography addiction, or even something tiny like harboring contention in your heart, we all still count as sinners. 

I think what I'm trying to say is, obvious sin or secret sin, every person on the earth is mortal and imperfect, and therefore we all need the Atonement to become better. Church isn't the place to judge others.  It's the place to judge our own hearts by comparing how we were in the past to how we are now, then making improvements.

So if I see someone who I perceive is lower than me for some reason, I need to change that thought, especially if it's affecting my actions. I think this is especially applicable between socioeconomic classes.  Outwardly, it may be obvious who makes six figures and who has a modest income. But that shouldn't affect the way they treat one another.  I think the root of judment comes from not understanding the worth of a soul.

President Uchtdorf said, "One woman who had been through years of trial and sorrow said through her tears, “I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, and scarred. But I am still a 20-dollar bill. I am worth something. Even though I may not look like much and even though I have been battered and used, I am still worth the full 20 dollars.”'

Maybe she doesn't look like much, but she is still worth more to God than anyone can imagine. Each one of us, no matter what we look like or what we've done, is a precious treasure in His eyes.

And I'd like to add a footnote.  There are situations where it's important to judge others' character.  I think it has to do with how that person affects you.  I've been in a toxic relationship, where that person made it harder for me to live the Gospel, and made me dislike myself.  Jesus taught, love your enemies, but I think it's ok to love someone from a distance.  It's judging people by the surface appearance, or before you get to know their character where being "judgmental" is a bad thing.

And here is your reward for being at the end of this blog post: the cutest cereal head I know.

How do you capture quality time?

Theo and his cute friends during mommy group at the park

Last night, Corbin wanted to go play basketball at the church, and I wanted to go to a mom get together to co-op for a quiet book (and if you don't know what that is, check it out.  There are some suuuuper cute ones out there). They both started at 8, so we planned to put Theo to bed at eight on the dot, and leave the baby monitor with our lovely neighbor Jhenah.

In order for our plan to work, Theo needed to actually want to sleep at eight, or else he'd be fussy, and we wouldn't be able to leave right away.  So I decided to tucker him out between dinner and bed time. Corbin was busy with homework, otherwise he would have taken that job to heart!  So I pulled my mattress pillow topper off the bed, and dragged it into the living room.  Theo followed closely behind dragging some pillows off the bed as well.

When he reached the living room, he flopped himself onto the pile of fluffy things, and I knew we would have a good time.  We hit each other with pillows, did a lot of flopping onto the pillow topper, rolled ourselves up in it, read stories snuggled up on it, and even enjoyed a picnic of pretend food on it.  We had a lovely time, and he was thoroughly tuckered out by bed time.

I think what I enjoyed most about our playing is that I made a conscious decision to give Theo my full attention. I put my phone away, which meant no texting, watching videos, checking on facebook, writing myself reminders, nothing.  I didn't daydream about the quiet book, the Taffetas, or what we would do the next day.  I just played with Theo and we had a wonderful time.

I am not sure that I do this enough.  Theo and I spend pretty much all day together, but how much time do I dedicate simply in being with him?  In spending quality time with him?  Usually, it's me cleaning or doing my own thing, with Theo playing near me... or eating.  And how much time is enough time?  When we go to the park, I pay attention to what he wants to do.  But that's usually just running around and exploring.  Moms just slow down the process, so I try to follow behind.  I try and guide him to cool stuff, like frogs, spiders, awesome sticks.  But I don't know if that counts as togetherness time. 

One problem that I continuously try and conquer is my technology dependence, especially my phone.  I am so thankful for it, because I can take cute pictures and instantly upload them to facebook. I can easily video chat with my sisters.  Theo and I can watch The Fox whenever we want.  But some days I take it too far, like checking facebook  a hundred times a day, or watching an hour or two of youtube videos, or searching endlessly for the best crochet ear warmer pattern. 

I think the fact that I acknowledge the problem means that it is conquerable. And I know I'm probably doing better than I think, or let on.  And I know that my just wanting to be a good mommy is in Theo's favor.

Do any of the moms reading this have suggestions, or ways that you spend quality time with your kids? Do you find that it has to be a planned activity, or even a set time in the day?  Or can it be more spontaneous and mundane?   

Theo was great at rodeo tricks, getting on and off the horse while it was moving

I Painted!

Bonus Theo picture.  He insisted that he put his coat on, zip it up, and run around the house

 Over the weekend, I preped the living room by filling holes, washing walls, and pulling all the furniture to the center of the room. Corbin also helped me tape.  He's been so supportive through all my endeavors lately.  Thanks, Baby!

On Monday morning, I had to contrive ways of keeping Theo out of the living room. He ended up playing in the bath tub while I got ready for the day. 

   

When nap time struck, I was ready! I whipped out the paint and got to work.  That sweet baby slept for three hours, by which time I'd almost finished with the second coat.

 

 When he woke up, my lovely friend Micquel let me drop him off at her house. I hadn't even fed him lunch, I just rushed in like a whirlwind, leaving a child in my wake.  I'm so grateful to have awesome friends like Micquel!

Anyways, I rushed back home and took a few more hours finishing the two coats of edging.  And you know what?  I love the results!!!

Possibly even more than the color, I love the fact that I did a quality job painting, unlike whoever pained it previously.   I'm not ashamed to toot my own horn.  It looks awesome!

This pic was for Grandma, who sent this adorable shirt!

I picked up Theo and Corbin when I finished, and we came home to relax.  We had pizza for dinner, in celebration of my making into the cast for "The Taffetas!" My character is Kaye Taffeta, and I am so excited to be a part of this!  The other three women in the cast are my friends Whitney and Emily, and my soon to be friend Liz (I hadn't met her before the callbacks).  We will be performing in a fund raiser talent show next month, so we're getting to work right away.  We'll be doing a medley from the show, and my solo is "Where the Boys Are." This will be a fun journey, and might get me jump started into other theatrical endeavors in the future.  Who knows?

I put all the furniture back (with some help from Corbin for the heavy stuff), and hung the pictures.  By the end of the day, the living room was completely put back together, a finished product.  

If I had known how relatively inexpensive and quick this would be, I would have done it a year ago!  Of course I'll have to paint it back white when I leave, but maybe I'll convince the new tenants to convince our land lords to let me leave it.  That won't be for years, though.  

This makes me really excited to have my own house some day and make it look just the way I want it.  I'm developing my small talent for decoration, and I think I'm making progress.

Hott Booty! My only paint slip up.  Actually, there was another this morning.  When I got out of the shower, I found Theo knocking on the bathroom door with the paint- soaked brush from the day before!  Fortunately there were only a few splotches on the door, and a green faced baby.  I sure love that kid.

Mud, Paint, and Tears (car related)

Hello Friends. I realized that my blog posts are becoming strictly event based, and I'm hoping to change that in the future.  I want to add a little more of my personal thoughts and opinions.  I'll try to keep them from being boring, and I'll still add bunches of cute Theo pictures and stories.  Today might not be the start of the revolution, but soon... hopefully...

Once again, we went car less for about a week when the clutch finally disintegrated.  I was driving when it crapped out, but fortunately it gave up the ghost on our driveway, so there wasn't any stressful stranded situation. 

 This week of car-less-ness was much better than the last, because we could ditch many of our appointments and stay home.  Plus it has been uncharacteristically sunny and beautiful here in Ithaca, so we have spent lots of time walking, playing at parks, and (obviously from the pictures) playing in nature. 

I tried to stop him when I saw what direction he was running, but by the time I reached him, it was too late.  So I figured I'd let him go all out and play in the nasty stagnant-water mud puddle.  I hope he doesn't get yellow fever or something. 

Anyways, we did get out plenty over the weekend, to a BBQ, a service project (which I was in charge of, so I figured I couldn't ditch), my audition to the musical, and of course church. We live in a sort of remote corner of Ithaca, so not many of our friends live nearby.  We hit them all up, though, and we are so grateful for their kindness and willingness to squish our family into their cars.  It was not always comfy, but we always got to our destinations, so a huge thanks to them!!!

Speaking of my audition, it went very well.  I believe 7 people auditioned, and I think we all got invited to the callbacks, which are tomorrow.  Whitney came over today for an incredibly hectic practice session.  I'm glad that we could practice together, despite her little cuties finding all of our musical toys, and Theo absolutely SCREAMING!  I wasn't shocked by Theo, though.  That's what happens when you wake up early, then refuse to nap, then run errands all day with Mommy, then she has the audacity to try and make you sleep when you have friends over.  But we all made it through, and are the better for it.

One of the errands we ran today was to take the car back to the shop.  We got it back on Wednesday, and on Thursday the check engine light came on.  Really?!?!  We had just left Daddy on campus after lunch, and I realized there wasn't enough time to go home, let Theo sleep, put him back in the car, and go to the shop.  So I found a beautiful, quiet, shady spot (above) and let him sleep in the car for a few minutes.  It was quite a lovely break for me.  I got to read my scriptures with only the sound of breeze and crickets in my ears.  It was a great moment to center my chi in the middle of my crazy day.

Fortunately, they had only jostled something in the engine while replacing the clutch, so it was a quick fix and they didn't charge us.  We shall be praying thanks for our car that works, and to keep it that way for a long time to come.

PS: We finally bought paint today, so Monday is the appointed day for the living room makeover. Of course I shall be taking plenty of pictures!

PPS: Theo and I turned in our papers to get passports, which means we are one step closer to visiting Shelley in Argentina!

"Feed My Starving Children"

Like I said last week, I got to participate in a super cool service activity. 

Feed My Starving Children is an interfaith project to provide food for starving children all over the world.  I'll tell you about my experience, which was awesome and now I am really excited about it.

 

My team

 There were three days of packing, each with five or six sessions of two hour packing times.  In my session, there were LDS, First Baptists, Ithaca College students, and a handful of others. 

We had a few minutes of background on the program and its mission.  It was started 25 years ago by a gentleman who saw a need in Honduras, and started asking for donations of crackers and granola bars, and sending them down.  Eventually, they asked him to stop sending this food.  Because it was so processed, and the children were so emaciated, it was actually making them sicker.  So he got with some food scientists and created the "Manna Rice" which I'll describe in a minute. 

The reason it was started is summed up in the phrase, "a hungry belly has no ears."  If a person doesn't know where their next meal is coming from (or if there will be one), how can they grow spiritually?  This program helps kids have food security so they can fulfill their dreams.

We went downstairs to the packing area in our beautiful hairnets, and got some training on what we would actually be doing.   We were stationed at six tables, where there were several positions to choose from. At the head of the table were the bins of food: vitamin powder, dried vegetables, soy, and rice.  The food scoopers would pour them into the funnel where a person would hold the pouch.  That person would weigh it and make sure it was within the target range.

Then they would pass to the sealers, who would pinch out excess air and heat seal it shut.  This was my job for a majority of the time, and my arm was seriously sore for like two days.

Lastly, we would pass the pouches to the boxer, who would count, then pack the pouches into the shipping boxes.  Our table did suuuper great, packing 21 boxes (each had 36 pouches).  We (our whole session) packed enough food to feed 64 children for a whole year.   I'll admit that I got the warm fuzzies when I heard that.

My other job was weigher.  I liked it quite a bit

One of my favorite parts of the experience was seeing the true charity emanate from the national staff that came to help.  These young men and women do this work because they love the children they are serving.

the heat sealer, my friend and ally

The LDS ward and branch are getting more involved, and we might even be hosting next year.  There will be fund raisers throughout the year, and now that I'm invested in this emotionally, I can't wait to help!

Family Photos!

We celebrated Labor Day by having a family photo shoot.  Our delightful friend Todd brought his fancy camera, and followed us on a walk to the park.

 For all those who have children, and want to take photos of them, there is a fool-proof method for getting them to smile at the camera: get a photographer who your child already loves!

Seriously, I don't know how it began, but the bond between Todd and Theo is deep and true.  In fact, "Taah!" is the first name that Theo has used consistently (even more than mama and dada).

 I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!