Big-Time Pay Off

Today I had a wonderful moment where I felt like my efforts as a mom are paying off. Adam asked the girls to clean their room and left them alone. They actually cleaned it! I was so stunned when I walked upstairs, expecting to see a major disaster area, and instead saw a perfectly clean bedroom. The pillows and blankets were all on the beds, the toys were on the appropraite shelves in the closet, the dirty clothes were in the laundry basket, and the garbage was in the garbage can. It was grand! The best part about it was that the girls were completely proud of their magnificent accomplishment. Yay Amber and Karli!

Lamenting the End of an Era

I'll admit that while I generally view death as a beautiful part of Heavenly Father's plan, I am rather sad to see these wonderful disciples to whom I've listened during my entire life and grown to love pass on to the next station of existence. The last thirty years of Church history have been amazing, progressive, and interesting thanks to the efforts of these fine men and others like them. I definitely love President Monson and the wonderful new members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, but I want to pay tribute to President Hinckley and to Elder Wirthlin, two of my very favorite speakers.

I loved President Hinckley's sense of humor and his gentle ability to diffuse any uncomfortable situation. He was great with the media and delighted me during every speech with his wit and charm.

Elder Wirthlin...Mr. Football...a Ute...what more can I say? I absolutely loved his last conference address about living life, enjoying every moment, and having a sense of humor. What great men! I hope I'll be able to meet them in the next phase of life.

A-D-A-M Spells Amazing

You all know that my husband is a magnificent guy, but here's the latest proof:

This morning, I enjoyed a wonderful sleep-in and some snuggling with cute, little Rexy. I didn't expect to see Adam in bed as he is now nocturnal; 10:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. are prime studying hours around here and he's taking full advantage of the quiet time for Bar Exam preparations. When I finally gained full consciousness, I heard vacuuming downstairs. As I walked down the hall, I heard the dishwasher running and could smell the "clean smell" in our house. Adam had cleaned the whole house from top to bottom while I slept in. Isn't he the best? He did about three loads of dishes (gross, I know), put away all of the kids' stuff that was strewn everywhere, vacuumed, scrubbed the kitchen floor, the whole bit.

I love that man!

My List

My friend Elaine posted this on her blog and I like it. For posterity's sake, here are the things I've done (bold) and the things I still want to do:
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (I'll go watch one)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (does XML count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (when I was three years old)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Mitt Romney during his presidential run)
92. Joined a book club (do Holt Ward playgroups count?)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (no thanks!)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own (this one!)

My Poor, Neglected Blog

It must be December, because I find I have holiday events every single night of the month, mounds of laundry to be folded, piles of dishes to be washed, and I haven't even begun to decorate the house for Christmas. I haven't blogged for a week, and my stack of paperwork is growing exponentially. I have at least removed the Thanksgiving decor from the house, which is better than last holiday: I left Halloween items up until the middle of November.

I am definitely overwhelmed, but for some strange and truly uncharacteristic reason, I'm not worried about whether or not my house is decorated and I'm finding that I don't really care if I have the laundry done completely. My family may disagree, but I feel like we'll all be fine if we don't have three Christmas trees (we'll be lucky if we get one decorated this year), if we have to retrieve our clean clothes from the dryer, and if we have to dig our clean plates out of the dishwasher. Perhaps I'm becoming lazy, but I just can't be bothered by all of the manufactured hustle and bustle of this time of year and I kind of like it.

I DO have the Christmas shopping done, my kids get bathed (almost) every day and we're surviving. For once in my life, I'm doing the best I can and that's good enough for me. Maybe there's something wrong with my attitude, but until I discover what it is, it's nice to be at this point!