The Work of Childhood

"Play is often talked about as if it were a serious relief from learning, 

but for children play is serious learning.  Play is really the work of childhood." -Fred Rogers 

It was midmorning. I was in the kitchen with Julia watching her eat a banana as I straightened up the kitchen. Just as I began wondering where Katie ran off to, Katie comes bursting into the kitchen covered in thick MUD from head to toe!

That morning I was already behind getting things done. My plans were to get laundry going, get dinner in the crockpot, straighten up the kitchen, and get out of the house with the girls for a couple of hours. With the mud fiasco, I knew my morning plans were shot and I'd need to readjust.

I could have yelled at Katie for sneaking out in her nice clothes and for making such a mess. In my earlier days of motherhood, I'm sure I would have scolded her and put her in a long timeout. But I chose to stay calm and help her take care of the mess. (I was already doing laundry anyway). We rinsed out her thick mud covered boots and filled up the other bathtub with water.   She had a fun playing in the tub and got squeaky clean.

Although, my morning didn't go as planned, I'm proud of myself for staying calm and going with the flow.  It's not just my morning, it's our morning.  I could have easily let our morning become an unpleasant morning had I yelled, got overly upset, and made my girls cry.

We ended up having a wonderful morning.  We just postponed our time out of the house until after lunch.

 "Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.  You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and look for it.  Once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it."  - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Water The Flowers

"I don't want to forget this lesson: Imperfections are normal.  They are temporary.  They don't define us.  They might temporarily mask the beauty we wish we could see, but the potential is still there.  It always has been.  Sometimes we just need someone else to show us what we can be." - April Perry

Life is much sweeter when we concentrate on the "flowers" in our lives rather than the "weeds"/imperfections.  

That is my challenge to myself this week.

Amen

"You can never become a great man or woman until you have overcome anxiety, worry, and fear. It is impossible for an anxious person, a worried one, or a fearful one to perceive truth; all things are distorted and thrown out of their proper relations by such mental states, and those who are in them cannot read the thoughts of God." -Wallace D. Wattles

Amen to those thoughts!  This past week has been a really good one for me.  It was my first full week with all three kids at home for the summer.  I was worried that I'd loose my cool most of the day and be annoyed with my kids all day long.  But that hasn't been the case.  I've thought things out and have planned something out of the ordinary to do with my kids each afternoon.  For the past couple months, our house has been out of control messy and I couldn't stand it any longer.  My kids are cooperating with doing chores and picking up after themselves pretty well.  I read somewhere that one family assigns an extra chore to those who don't clean up after themselves.  I've been liking that method and my kids now know that when the chores and they've completed their 20 minutes of reading for the day, they can go play with friends and later go somewhere fun.  

I'm excited to see how our summer will unfold.  

Spiritual Directory

Personal Development

I think it's super important for others, especially our family members, to know that we're truly happy.

Let others see you doing things that make you happy, whether it be reading a good book, going on a run, talking a walk and enjoying the scenery, etc.  As a parent, I know that I am a huge influence on my  kids.  My attitude and actions towards everyday life helps to shape their view towards life.

If you aren't feeling that happy, here's a great article to check out:

5 Reasons Why You Might Feel Unhappy by Ashley LeMieux

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Trees at the Whittier Center- Logan, Utah

"A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh alot, and realize how blessed you are."  

"If in the end you have not chosen Jesus Christ, it will not matter what you have chosen."  - Neal A. Maxwell

"Your body hears everything your mind says.  Stay positive."

"One of the greatest mental freedoms is truly not caring what anyone else thinks of you."  

"The best feeling in the world is knowing that you actually mean something to someone."  

"One of the happiest moments is when you find the courage to let go of what you can't change."  

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Words of Wisdom

View of the Logan Temple from the Whittier Center

"Beware of the half truth.  You may have gotten hold of the wrong half."  

"People only bring up your past when they are intimidated by your present."  -Kushand Wizdom

"Forgiveness doesn't excuse their behavior.  Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart."

"To practice any art no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow.  So do it."  - Kurt Vonnegurt

"The world changes constantly and dramatically, but God, His commandments, and promised blessings do not change.  They are immutable and unchanging."  -Elder L. Tom Perry

Words of Wisdom

"If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place."  -Lao Tzu

"The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood."  - Voltaire

"If you're depressed you're living in the past.
If you're anxious you're living in the future.  
If you're at peace you're living in the present."


"One of the best influences a person can have in this wold is to influence a child."  -Rosemary M. Wixom

"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."

Words of Wisdom

"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for extraordinary destiny."  - C.S. Lewis

"As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we are capable of so much more.  For that, good intentions are not good enough.  We must do."  - Deiter F. Uchtdorf, "Of Regrets and Resolutions"

"It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest star."  - Richard Evans

"Hard times don't create heroes.  It is during the hard times that the 'hero' within us is revealed."  - Bob Marley

"Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong, sorrows keep you human, failures keep you humble, success keeps you glowing, friends and family keep you going."

"Art is not what you see, it is what you make others see."  - Edgar Degas

Words of Wisdom

"Choose light to live bright."

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. ~Helen Keller

"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us."
-Anne Lamott

"By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning." - Lao Tzu, was a mystic philosopher of ancient China.

Words of Wisdom

“The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.”  - Elder Joseph B. Worthlin

“The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.”  - Elder Joseph B. Worthlin

"We need not worry if we can’t simultaneously do all of the things that the Lord has counseled us to do. He has spoken of a time and a season for all things. In response to our sincere prayers for guidance, He will direct us in what should be emphasized at each phase of our life. We can learn, grow, and become like Him one consistent step at a time." -Elder Richard G. Scott

“Every man and woman who serves the Lord, no matter how faithful they may be, have their dark hours; but if they have lived faithfully, light will burst upon them and relief will be furnished.” - Lorenzo Snow

Words of Wisdom

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” ~John Lennon

"Freedom is in the capacity to pause between stimulus and response."  

"The details are not the details.  They make the design.  - Charles Eames

"Your journey has molded you for the greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be.  Don't think that you've lost time.  It took each and every situation you've encountered to bring you to the now.  And now is right on time."  - Asha Tyson

"Don't compare your CHAPTER 1 to someone else's CHAPTER 20."

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."  -Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Words of Wisdom

"Don't let people pull you in to their storm.  Pull them into your peace."  - Kimberly Jones

"Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears."

"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are."  - Malcolm Forbes

"Worrying is stupid.  It's like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain."  - Wiz Khalifa

"For every minute you are angry, you loose sixty seconds of happiness."  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to."