Merry Christmas!

I love advent calendars. My sister is serving an LDS mission, so we made her one as a family. Here's the daily scripture list:

Foodie blogers

Hello world. Just for your own personal information, if I ever begin a food blog, I will not post 75 shots of every angle, plus a shot with a spoon or a half eaten dish. Can you imagine how difficult it is to cook with a camera in your hand? And how much extra time it would all take. No, no. I'm about the recipe, the description, and maybe a photo if it looks really cool. Plus, I refuse to write about my morning run, late night out, or my child's latest moment of pure genius. I realize these are personal journals for some people, and if you have a fan club, maybe they want to hear how you polished the silver for the special company, but just give me the recipe. The good stuff. End soapbox.

Going up.

I get discouraged. Often. Especially lately, with limited sleep and the added stress of parenting. But, this is what I believe. Time to apply it more fully.

I hope you enjoy it.

And it's only Tuesday...

Homelessness, hunger, emergency room, suicide, displaced children, depression, drug addiction, and utter fatigue. Can we skip to next week?

Thankfully, there is comfort in this. We don't have to do it alone.

Read-a-thon

As an elementary school student, one of my favorite days was the biannual Read-a-thon. I would bring a re-purposed 1 gallon ice cream bucket full of buttery popcorn along with a giant pillow and the class would read (and munch) in silence for hours. Ah, memories....

That kind of time isn't as readily available to me now, but every August I start my own reading program. In August 2005, I was serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My companion and I had just had dinner with a family from the church. As we discussed the importance of scripture, they told us that they had little use for The Book of Mormon. I found that very disheartening, as the entire message of the Restoration hinges on whether or not The Book of Mormon is true. That same month, maybe not so coincidentally, President Hinckley issued an invitation to read from start to finish before the end of the year. He promised an added measure of the Holy Spirit, a greater resolution to keep the commandments of God, and a stronger testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ. Time to test the promise again and get reading!

Care to join me?

Listening

Baby sleeping.
Husband reading.
Toddler questioning.
Child crying.
Parents instructing.
Infant fussing.
Piano unceasing.
Dinner cooking.
Dishes washing.
Grandpa snoring.
Grandma admiring.
Cousins squealing.
Uncles tickling.
Aunts laughing.
Sisters whispering.
Brothers teasing.
Nephews wrestling.
Nieces pointing.

Welcome home.