Decluttering

A couple of days ago I finished a book called Not for Packrats Only by Don Aslett. It's about how we accumulate clutter, what it does to us, and how to get rid of it and stay rid of it forever. This book is hilarious. I think almost everyone can relate to some of the types of clutter he talks about. He gives all sorts of funny examples and stories, and there are also great illustrations/comics that are hilarious and really get his point across. We're not too bad about clutter, but I still got a lot out of this book and have done several things to get rid of things that are junk or that aren't useful for us--and I'm still going! It's been fun and liberating.

I went through my box of memory things--cards, programs, my first scripture case, pictures/photos, etc. I decided I'm not going to keep every program from every fireside or concert, every brochure or map that we get when we go to a museum or state park, and every birthday card that just has Aunt Helga's signature (I do appreciate getting birthday cards, but it's the thoughtfulness and my relationship with the loved one, not the card, that is important to me) . Some of these do have some significance, and I am going to organize the things that I kept into a binder with sheet protectors, and with these I'm also going to include some thoughts and memories to explain why they are important. (And no, I didn't throw away my first scripture case, even though it is incredibly frayed and I don't use it anymore--because it was a baptism gift from my Grammy and for that reason I still love it.)

I went through a couple of boxes of wedding gifts that we have never used. I decided to take out the vegetable steamer and start using it. If I don't like it or feel like it's undeservingly using up valuable space in my kitchen, I'll get rid of it. I took a knife out of its package and brought it to the kitchen--and I have used it every day since then. It's an awesome knife. I got out some extra measuring spoons and have loved it because I never have to deal with the specific spoon that I want being dirty when I need it. I took out the nice, unused hot pads and some more dishtowels. I found a zillion pillowcases that I'd forgotten about and we put a couple of them on our pillows. I also finally printed some of our wedding photos to put in the empty frames that I've wanted to put up ever since we moved here, and they look great on the top of a couple of our bookshelves--and they're on display, not in a hideous pile, which makes me happy. It's nice to actually be using all the nice things that were just sitting in boxes in K's bedroom before.

One thing I was reminded of was that you have to be careful about saving things for something special or some undefined time in the future. When we got married, at first I thought I would just save our pretty glasses for "sometime"--I'm not sure what I was waiting for. But then I realized that if I kept thinking that way we would never use them and the perfect time for them would never come, so I put them in the cupboard and we use them. If they break (and one already has), it's no big deal because we have another similar set, and I'd rather have that happen than have them sitting in a closet while we keep using the plastic ones forever and ever (because I think they'll probably get lost before they break).

One thing that came up again and again is that clutter is one of the main things that makes your house messy and difficult to clean. It's so annoying and time-consuming to have to move all that clutter around so that you can dust or vacuum or find something you need or get a little cooking space. If you have less stuff, there's lots of open space and you aren't tripping over everything, so your house will be inherently cleaner. You can also use the space that you do have more effectively and fill it with stuff that you want and use. That's something I've been thinking about a lot lately because I've been trying to find space for food storage.

Don devotes an entire chapter to dealing with kids' clutter. There were a lot of things I want to keep in mind, like making sure there are places for all of their things to be put away, giving them toys that encourage creativity and have lots of different uses, not letting them watch lots of TV (where they see commercials for all the "amazing" toys that they then turn and beg you to give them), and asking them to help you if dejunking becomes necessary. One thing I will have to think about is all the artwork they give you--I wouldn't want my kids to think I don't value their creations, but I also would prefer not to have piles and boxes of every single craft they have ever done.

One thing that Don talks about that I've also been thinking about lately is that things aren't the only type of clutter. Our lives can also be cluttered by people (who are negative or who take you away from things or people that should be more important), the internet, pointless conversation, complaining, guilt, jealousy, and the list goes on. I've been putting some thought into how I spend my time and where my energy goes and I'm working on making some changes. I think decluttering will give more meaning to my life and enable me to accomplish more of the things I really want to get done. It will also enable me to show my family by my example what is truly important to me.

In other news . . .

We finished our classes for the semester. I think RT might have a little more grading to do, but we're done with all of our exams and such. I am so relieved to be finished for the semester. It's been good to take a class, and I'm so glad I did it, but I was very ready to be done. The exam for my class was in essay form, and I was really struggling to have things to say for the last few questions. We were supposed to talk about the themes that were demonstrated by certain terms or quotes from the books and poems, and I just didn't think there were any themes, or even anything especially interesting, related to the last few questions that I answered, so I wrote a bunch of stuff, and don't ask me what it was. What else could I do? I'll probably get away with it too--that's the nature of literature classes, I've found. I was the last person to finish the test (that's how it always is), and as I gave my test to the teacher, he thanked me for taking his class and told me he had enjoyed having me in the class. I could tell he meant it, and that made me feel good. It really was a good class--but I'm definitely going to keep majoring in a science field.

RT's department had a Christmas party, and K and I went too. All the people RT knows were excited to meet K. One of the department secretaries introduced K to a ten-month old girl holding a piece of equipment called a banana plug--you have to start them early so that they'll get on the right path, you know. And yes, K was very interested in playing with it. They gave us tickets for a drawing as we came in. The drawing started while I was somewhere changing K's diaper, and as I came back in I heard them repeating the same number because they couldn't find the person with that ticket. I checked my ticket and realized it was my number! So we came home with a nice poinsettia, which looks very pretty on our table when it is cleared off. It was fun to meet the people RT works with, and we also got some nice food.

We also had a ward trip to the cannery, which I arranged because I am on the Emergency Preparedness Committee. We had a great time. It was interesting to be part of the process of canning the food--fill up the cans, pat them to let the air out so the contents will settle ( often making room for another cup or so of food!), add an oxygen absorber, put on the lid, use the canning machine (which I got to try--it's pretty cool), and put on a label. We are so blessed to have these canneries as a resource, because they have some great long-term food storage for a very low price, and a great way to make the food last. I came home with three bags of wheat, two bags of beans, and a can of potato flakes (which I hear are good in bread). The entire time we were working, one of the people who works there (it is a mission call) was telling us all sorts of things about what we need to store and how we can store it. Just before we left, he told us he had a Christmas present for us, and we followed him out to his suburban, which had the two back seats taken out to make room for a bunch of used five-gallon water jugs (the blue ones that you see in dentist offices and such) that he had gotten for free from the Dollar Store. We each came home with one--wasn't that a thoughtful thing to do? I'm also excited to have learned about a way to get water storage containers.

On Sunday we had our ward Christmas program (we have it very early because half of our ward leaves once finals are over). A friend and I played the piano, just like we did last year. I felt the spirit so strongly at times, especially when the entire congregation sang together. I thought about how exciting it must have been for those who had been waiting for Christ to know that He was finally here to fulfill His mission on the earth. I felt grateful for our Savior's great love for us and for all He was so willing to do to bring about our salvation and exaltation. I remember tears came to my eyes as we sang "Gloria" from Angels We Have Heard on High. It was a reminder to me of the glory of Christ and also the glory that can be ours through Him.

It has suddenly gotten a lot colder. Winter is coming.

thinking about Christmas

I don't feel at all prepared for Christmas. I haven't chosen any presents for people, we haven't even thought about a tree, and I haven't bought any of the traditional food. I will do it--maybe it's just that I've been so busy with school and other things that I haven't been able to think about it. It's also harder because we're a young family and K isn't old enough to care about Christmas yet. As I've gotten older, one of my favorite parts of Christmas has become seeing the small children open presents. It's so fun to see them get excited about every single one and hear them say, "Just what I always wanted!" I guess it won't be too long before I'll get to see those reactions from my own kids. I think it will be a pretty simple Christmas this year because I'm just not in the mood for too much festivity. In many ways I would like to keep it that way over the years and make it more centered on Christ and spending time together as a family. I'm going to come up with a few things we can do in the next couple of weeks to get to know our Savior better.

However it goes, I am so so so excited about the food. I love the cherry cheesecake, the cheese balls, the chocolate, and the big boxes of oranges. (I think you can get away with eating a lot more junk food when you're 21--although I already drive RT crazy with my constant complaints of "But that's not good for you!" and "I ate too much garbage today.")

Can anyone recommend some good, cheap blocks or plastic rings?

Poem review: Ulysses

Today I had my final exam for my English Literature class, and since I hadn't had as much time as I expected this week to study, I was doing some last-minute browsing of some of the things we read in the second half of the class. One of the things I reread was a poem by Tennyson called Ulysses, and it had some things in it that gave me a lot to think about. (Here is a link to a web page that has it, if you're interested in reading it.) I actually kind of enjoyed the poem, but at the same time it made me really mad at Odysseus (who is sometimes called Ulysses, like in this poem).

The context of the poem is that Ulysses has been back in Ithaca for a while and things have settled down--he is reunited with his wife and son and has brought peace to the land again. He is quite a bit older, and he decides that he's going to leave with his old buddies from the Trojan war to seek new adventures. (I think before I continue I should probably admit that I haven't actually read the Odyssey or the Iliad, despite living for a year with a classicist before RT and I got married. I have some idea of the story line, but I'm for sure missing a lot of things.)

The thing that made me really mad was that Ulysses thinks it's okay to just abandon all his responsibilities so he can appease his desire for adventure. I'm especially annoyed that he's just leaving behind his "aged wife," (l. 3) as he puts it, and his son, "mine own Telemachus." (l. 33) Penelope waited for him to return home for years and had to deal with a lot of harassment by men who wanted her to remarry. I just don't think it's right to leave your family like that just so you can go have some excitement. I kept thinking about the Proclamation to the World where it says, "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children." If I were Penelope, I wouldn't put up with it.

He's also abandoning his responsibilities to govern his kingdom--it's not honorable enough for him. I guess his idea of honorable involves swords and battles with mythical creatures. The way he puts it is, "Some work of noble note, may yet be done, / Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods." (ll. 52-53) In other words, "I've fought with the Gods; I'm too amazing to spend the rest of my life ruling 'a savage race' (l. 4) and a 'rugged people' (l. 37)." He leaves this to Telemachus, who is "centered in the sphere of common duties." (ll. 39-40, emphasis added) It kind of seemed to me like Ulysses is looking for something to be heroic about, but nobody needs that kind of hero anymore. He tells us that Telemachus is going to be the one to tame and teach the people of Ithaca, "subdue them to the useful and the good." (l. 38) There's honor in teaching people to be good too, but Ulysses doesn't realize that. It sort of makes me see him as someone who does heroic stuff so that he'll be seen as a hero, not because it's the right thing to do or because he's accomplishing something good. (No surprise there, I guess, considering why the Trojan war was fought in the first place.)

So those are my rantings about Ulysses. He's not as cool as Wishbone made him seem.

sharing some cuteness

K was being really cute this morning. The cutest part was that he then took a nap without protesting! I love it when that happens.

He loves his burp cloths:


This video is incredibly long. If you get bored, don't feel obligated to watch it all. Skip through or whatever. I mainly intended it for the benefit of my parents who haven't seen K yet (less than a month until we get to come visit!!!!). It's a good taste of a lot of the things K is doing right now. If you get this by email, you will have to go to my actual blog to watch it (click here).

Aren't you jealous? This is what I get to see every day.

As you can see, I have not begun baby proofing.

It is a glorious day.

Why? Because today I was able to wear my favorite black skirt for the first time since I was four months pregnant. And I wasn't sucking in, either.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving visiting RT's sister, her husband, and their five kids. We went up on Wednesday and experienced lovely traffic on the busiest traveling day of the year, including waiting three hours just to get through the toll lanes at the border of Delaware (which meant it took us about eleven hours to get there). RT's sister cooked some amazing food for Thanksgiving. I was amazed to watch her go--she really had the system down. I had brought two pumpkin pies, and there was also apple pie, apple-blueberry pie, and pecan pie. It seems so unfair that Thanksgiving has to include so much yummy dessert--but I guess it's okay to to eat like it's Thanksgiving once a year.

We played a lot of Dutch Blitz and visited a museum of art on Friday. We really enjoyed the museum. There was a huge exhibit of armor from the 1400s to the 1700s--yes, real armor, and just like you see it in the movies. It was really interesting to see, although it was also kind of disturbing to see so much stuff that was used to kill. There were also a ton of other exhibits of European art, furniture, and architecture. We saw several rooms that had literally been taken from the mansions they were originally from--as in, they had the wood floors, the fancy paneling, the furniture, the paintings, the oven, the chandelier, even some of the old windows. When we moved into some exhibits of Spain there was an entire plaza that had been brought to the museum. It was all just worked into the museum. Instead of modern doors they used real archways and doors from buildings made "back then." It was all quite amazing to see. I don't think I realized how much of this stuff was still preserved. We were also able to see some things from Asia before the European and Asian exhibits closed, and then we hurried through the American art because we were getting tired. RT and I thought it was interesting to see the differences between European and American art.

We came back on Saturday. K was very good through the entire trip. I had been a little nervous that he wouldn't sleep well in a playpen instead of his crib, but he took great naps and slept tolerably well at night. He mostly slept when we were in the car, except when he got hungry. It was fun for him to see his cousins a little bit. It will be fun for him to see more family in January. It was also nice to sit and talk with RT about lots of things while we were driving.

Thanks to our family for letting us come stay with you for a few days! We had such a good time!

4 months old--for the record

Last Tuesday K was four months old. At his four-month appointment he weighed 15 lbs. 8 oz. and I forget how long he was (he was kind of upset for some reason while he was being measured--I guess he wanted to be held). He got his second round of shots, and the doctor said he's developing very well.

K sleeps 10-12 hours at night and takes good naps about half the time. I had nothing to do with him sleeping through the night--he chose to do it himself. I love that I'm getting a decent night's sleep. I think sleep has been the most difficult part of motherhood for me--it is so hard to tell if he is tired or bored or lonely or what. I have found that it helps to feed him right after he wakes up so that if he's fussy I can be more certain that he is tired--he's never been one to nurse to sleep, and in some ways I like it since it has helped him learn to fall asleep and stay asleep on his own. I've been reading an interesting book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I wish I had skipped the first half and gone straight to his recommendations for different age groups, because once I reached that point I started learning so much, and a lot of my struggles with K's naps started to make sense. I have to say that I think the book is very poorly written and poorly organized, and the charts and stories are often ineffective, irrelevant, and even ridiculous, but the actual information has for the most part been very useful. One of my friends told me this is one of the books she would like to rewrite, and I wish she would. I'm looking forward to reading some more of it after I write a paper and take a final. I think the most useful thing I realized was that when K cried after I left him alone in his crib, it was because he was sad that he didn't get to be with me anymore, not because he felt abandoned (those are slightly different). I realized that I needed to just give him a chance to learn to get himself to sleep--and he is rising to the challenge. He is a very alert and happy baby.

K is an expert roller now. He sleeps on his stomach about 75% of the time. He still hasn't figured out the whole creeping thing, but of course there's no rush. He will scoot his legs up underneath him so that his bottom is up in the air, but he doesn't know how to coordinate it with his arms yet. He is getting pretty good at grabbing things and putting them in his mouth. Lately one of his favorite games is taking the pacifier out of his mouth and trying to get it back in himself--and if he succeeds, he clamps down on it with his gums and pulls on it till it comes out with a pop, then does it again and again. Another of K's favorite things to do is play with my face. He loves to reach up and grab my nose, pinch my cheeks, and stick his fingers in my mouth. This requires some care, since he doesn't know how to not scratch me, but it's rather sweet.

I think I talk about my baby a lot on here. It's probably because I really like him, and also for the benefit of my parents, who will be meeting him for the first time in January.

Why am I reading this?

I thought I would share a sample of the "great works" I have been reading for my class about English literature. If you can't appreciate this, then you must not have had a good education or else you can't appreciate good literature/art you are completely normal and have not gone insane like the people that wrote it. (I did those strike-throughs with html code all by myself--aren't you impressed?)

This is from the first paragraph of "Proteus" from Ulysses by James Joyce. I had a hard time deciding which part to share because it's all so, um, amazing.

"Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read, seaspawn and seawrack, the nearing tide, that rusty boot. Snotgreen, bluesilver, rust: coloured signs. Limits of the diaphane. But he adds: in bodies. Then he was aware of them bodies before of them coloured. How? By knocking his sconce against them, sure. Go easy. Bald he was and a millionaire, maestro di color che sanno. Limit of the diaphane in. Why in? Diaphane, adiaphane. If you can put your five fingers through it, it is a gate, if not a door. Shut your eyes and see."

I have three more class sessions left before this semester is over and Christmas break begins (while people at BYU will probably continue until December 23rd). I did enjoy this class--I had a really good teacher and enjoyed attending the classes and gaining insights about the works we were reading. But now that the semester is coming to a close, I'm afraid I'm leaving with the feeling that I read a lot of books this semester, but most of them don't have a lot of intrinsic value, even though they are supposed to be the greatest works of English literature. I learned that Dickens, Austen, and the Brontes are actually not considered to be as great as the works in my Norton Anthology--some of the things we read were good, while others were garbage in my estimation (think The Importance of Being Earnest and James Joyce). I really think Charles Dickens was a great author--all of his books that I have read have given me things to think about that are of real value. He was trying to say something useful about life to his readers. Contrast that with The Importance of Being Earnest, which is about a bunch of silly, substanceless people who never say anything important or of any real value. Like I said, I enjoyed this class, but I've come to the realization that my definition of great literature is even more different than I thought from the definition that most people have. I'm looking forward to the Christmas break, when I can have some time to read some books that I've been wanting to read.

my problem

Recently I have been dealing with a problem: I discovered that I'm sick of store-bought bread. Throughout my pregnancy I was making home made bread (that was when I had a lot more time on my hands). I didn't buy bread until after K was born--at that point I felt that I was so busy that I couldn't make it myself anymore. But I guess I am spoiled because now when lunch time comes around all I can think about is how nice it would be to just eat several slices of fresh, real bread. I'm also tired of spending the money for store-bought bread--RT will eat the air bread that costs $0.50 a loaf because he just needs something to spread the peanut butter on (his words, not mine), but I only like certain kinds of whole wheat (home made white bread is still good to me), and those are more expensive. I've also been wishing I had bread to snack on, and store bought bread just doesn't work for snacking for me. (By the way, on my side of the family, we get boughten bread, not store bought bread.)

So I've decided I'm going to try making home made bread again. I am starting to feel like I have time to do it again. However, I am trying out a new trick: making bread mixes. I got the idea from everydayfoodstorage.net (the link is on my blog roll now, because I read her stuff all the time).

Before I explain how I do it, here is the recipe I used today (from the T family cookbook).

Delicious Grain Bread (Bread Machine)

1-1/8 cups water

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup crushed bran cereal (1 cup whole flakes)

2 Tb. cracked wheat

2 Tb. dry milk

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. yeast

2 Tb. margarine

2 Tb. honey

Mix in order required by your bread machine. Pull out after dough cycle and raise and bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until brown and crisp (or bake in the machine). You can use raisin bran for the cereal.

I just make it by hand because I don't have a bread machine.

To make the mixes, I put all of the dry ingredients in a ziploc bag (one mix per bag). I have some wonderful margarine powder in my food storage that I bought from Walton Feed, so I put that in the mixes too. So next time I make bread, I will just have to mix the yeast, water, and honey, add the mix, and then continue as normal for the rest. For me, mixing, kneading, and shaping takes the most time, and that part isn't eliminated, but I think it will save me time and make me feel a little more willing to bake bread if I have these mixes made, since I won't have to get out all the ingredients and do all the measuring. I made my first mixes today, so I hope this works out well!

This won't work for all bread recipes--some recipes that I have used are just water, flour, oil, honey, yeast, and salt. But I think this will really help me for most of my breadmaking. I may also try it for biscuits and muffins, which we make all the time.

I have also been trying something new for shaping my loaves. Instead of using my hands to shape the dough, I put a little flour (it really doesn't take that much!) all over the ball of dough, roll it out flat with my rolling pin, then roll it like cinnamon rolls. After that I can just pinch the ends under and pinch the bottom a little bit, and then I have a beautiful loaf. At first I thought it would be way too much work, but I actually like it because it makes it so that I don't have to use as much flour to make the dough manageable (which means my bread is more moist), shaping my loaves doesn't take as long, and the finished product looks really nice.

Here's my finished product:


While I took the bread out of the oven, K was loafing around in a bath towel and a diaper.

staying home sick

One positive thing I have noticed about the swine flu is that people are a little more aware of sickness and how to avoid it. Many different sources are encouraging people to wash their hands frequently, carry tissues to sneeze and cough into, sneeze or cough into their sleeves or a kleenex (not your hands or the air--makes perfect sense!), and avoid touching their noses or mouths. I see bottles of hand sanitizer in lots of places. That really should be basic information that we've known since we were two, but it's a good reminder and I suspect that in reality many people don't do that well enough.

The thing I appreciate the most is that at work and in schools they seem to be encouraging people to stay home if they're sick. Growing up I always felt like I couldn't miss school unless I was throwing up or dying. My parents would have supported me in staying home (my sisters were much better about asking to stay home sick than I was), but there were consequences for missing too many days of school, so I would go to school with colds and sore throats and nausea. My parents probably didn't realize I was that sick because I convinced even myself that I wasn't very sick and continued with my normal routine--and I would be sick forever. I feel like with the worry about swine flu a lot of places are being much more aware of the importance of staying at home when you are sick, saying you should stay home until 24 hours after you don't have a fever anymore. If you're sick, it's better to stay home and not contribute to the spread of the germs, plus you will probably recover much more quickly if you get some good rest and reserve your energy for your immune system to use. In my class this semester, our teacher encouraged us to stay home if we are sick and said he would be understanding if we miss class because of sickness. I hope this trend will continue and more people will realize that it's a good idea to stay home when we're sick. Whether or not that happens, though, I plan to at least make it a practice in my home.

feeling the Holy Ghost

Vicki F. Matsumori shared some thoughts by President Eyring, which he gave at a church fireside at BYU in 2006. I think I was there. I thought that he gave a very good description of what the Holy Ghost feels like:

"You feel peace, hope, and joy when He speaks to your heart and mind that something is true. Almost always I have also felt a sensation of light. Any feeling I may have had of darkness is dispelled, and my desire to do right grows."

I have experienced these same feelings many times, such as when I have made an important and correct choice or when I have felt a confirmation that a principle of the gospel is true.

Sister Matsumori's talk.
Elder Eyring's talk.

beans in the crockpot

I will probably be excommunicated for saying this, but I don't love my crockpot. (gasp!) I've told Ryan several times that I'm probably the only Mormon who doesn't rave about how amazing her crockpot is. It's nice to have sometimes, especially if I want my roasts to be tender, but there are so many things that are inconvenient about it. You still have to get a bunch of dishes dirty as you prepare the food to put in, and even if you don't get a bunch of other dishes dirty you still have a huge, heavy pot (even the smallest ones are pretty big) that will only come clean after extensive soaking (yes, cooking spray does help a little bit). A dirty crockpot soaking in my sink makes me depressed. And living in an apartment, I tend to resent all the counter space the crockpot takes up. I guess those are my main complaints--having to clean burned food off and the size. Maybe in a few years when our family is bigger I will appreciate it a little more, because you really can make a lot of food in a crockpot. When you are only cooking for two, it doesn't make a lot of sense to make a crockpot full of food. Plus, it will be really convenient when I have little munchkins begging me to take them outside while dinner's cooking.

Anyway, yesterday I tried cooking a big batch of beans in my crockpot. I like to cook a lot of beans and then freeze them in meal-size portions so that if I decide one day that I want beans for dinner I don't have to spend all day cooking beans. Generally I thaw them out in a bowl of warm water. I used the quick-soak method because I didn't decide to cook beans until yesterday morning--I rinsed and sorted the beans, covered them with lots of water, brought it to a boil on the stove, and then turned off the burner. I just let them sit in there until I remembered them a couple of hours later. Then I drained them, rinsed them with my hands for a few minutes, and put them in the crockpot with lots of water. I added salt (1 tsp. per cup of dry beans) and oil (1 tbsp. per cup of dry beans). After about 6 hours they were tender and tasted very good! Next time I think I will cook twice as many beans because there was still plenty of room in the crockpot.

We'll see if I use the crockpot again to cook beans. I liked that I could cook a lot of beans--I do have a pretty big pot that I can use on the stove, but the crockpot would hold a lot more, and since it takes about the same amount of total time to cook 1 cup of beans as 4 cups of beans, I might as well cook lots of beans at once. The fact that I didn't have to babysit the food didn't make much of a difference to me since I was home all day anyway, but I guess if I wanted to cook beans one day but also wanted to go run some errands, it would be nice to be able to use the crock pot, because there's no way I would leave a pot of beans cooking on the stove while I was gone. On the other hand, it only takes an hour or two for the beans to cook in a pot on the stove. I liked that the crockpot wasn't that messy afterwards! There was only a small ring that was quite easy to wash off.

I used to be a little intimidated by beans, but after cooking them a few times it has become really easy.

Thoughts about Temperance

I am so grateful for the leadership of the church! I know that they are inspired and guided by the Holy Ghost to say the things that we need to hear and apply in our lives. Yesterday I read the conference talk by Elder Kent D. Watson, "Being Temperate in All Things," on the way home on the bus. Several points stuck out to me, and I was given the guidance and inspiration that I needed to help me with the things that I am struggling with right now.

Definitions

One of the things I appreciated was that he helped me to better understand what is meant by the word "temperance." Here are some definitions Elder Watson gives of temperance:

• "Being temperate is to use moderation in all things or to exercise self-control."
• "Being temperate means to carefully examine our expectations and desires, to be diligent and patient in seeking righteous goals."
• "A temperate soul--one who is humble and full of love--is also a person of increased spiritual strength. With increased spiritual strength, we are able to develop self-mastery and to live with moderation."
• "What better example do we have of temperance than our Savior, Jesus Christ?"

Using Self-control and Being Diligent

I already understood fairly well that temperance involved using self-control. Many people specifically use the word in reference to drinking or eating a lot of food, and I also extended that to self-control in other things. But I don't think I had thought of it in terms of goals before. Accomplishing the most important things involves hard work, careful planning and thought, and repentance. Our ultimate goal in this life is to return to our Father in Heaven and receive exaltation. There is no way we could do this without temperance. It takes hard work. I think much of the reason for this is that we all have weaknesses that we need to overcome--usually the reason I sin is because I give in to my weaknesses. If we are temperate, we can have the self-control and the will-power to resist temptation and the pull of our weaknesses, and if we keep trying to do this, our weaknesses can eventually become our strengths and we will have a greater desire to become righteous. We can all become purified and overcome our weaknesses--and that happens through the atonement and through temperance.

Spiritual Strength

Elder Watson told the story of a time when he was driving home on the freeway. A semi-truck lost one of its tires, and the tire bounced onto Elder Watson's windshield. He didn't suffer a single scratch, even though the glass broke and he was covered with beads of glass. The reason he was not cut is that the windshield was made of tempered glass. Tempered glass goes through a heating process that increases its strength, so it doesn't easily break into jagged shards.

He used this as an analogy for a temperate soul. If we are temperate, our soul is spiritually strong. I appreciated this comparison. It made me think of patience and the strength to resist the dangerous temptations of today's world. I want to become more temperate so that I will be better at saying sincere prayers and reading my scriptures with energy. I want to become more temperate so that I will be working with more zeal and diligence to obey God's commandments and doing my part to build His kingdom. I want to become more temperate so that I can be a valiant servant of God--resisting evil and standing up for righteousness courageously.

Peace of Mind and Security for our Families

Elder Watson pointed out that we all want our families to be secure and happy, and that many people have looked for those things in buying homes or incurring other debts that they couldn't afford to pay back. In reality, security and happiness will not come from accumulating things. As Elder Watson put it, " Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things. Peace of mind comes from strengthened faith in Jesus Christ. Happiness comes from being diligent in keeping covenants made at baptism and in the holy temples of the Lord." If we use self-control and buy only the things that we need and also that satisfy our righteous desires, we can be secure and feel peace. Not only does having lots of stuff make us stressed and busy, but it also distracts us from the things that are most important--our family, the gospel, the temple, etc. If we carefully plan our budgets and base them on what we can afford, and if we bring into our lives the things that are most important, we will have peace because we are less selfish and more humble and we don't have to worry about the burdens of debt and trying to live up to a certain standard.

Real peace of mind will come from faith in our Savior. If we have faith in Him, we will recognize that much of this life is only temporary and does not have lasting value. If we have faith in Him, we will be obedient to the commandments and striving to return to our Father in Heaven because we recognize that there are eternal implications to what we do on this earth. We will feel peace because we know that there is great joy and happiness in store if we improve our time while in this life, and we will know that we can be with our families forever. Temperance is important for peace of mind because peace of mind can only be found if we are being diligent in keeping the commandments and working towards our eternal goals.

Jesus Christ

Our Savior is a great example of temperance. Elder Watson pointed out that when He was suffering in the garden and dying on the cross, Christ did not get angry or complain. He endured that great emotional, spiritual, and physical pain with love and patience. I am often not very patient with my trials. I know I am not as temperate as Christ is. I also know that I am not a failure because I am not what I should be. That's the point--Christ suffered so that I can repent and eventually have this quality of temperance. Because of Him, there is hope for me to change, and He provided a perfect example of what I should ultimately aim to be.

Becoming Temperate

Elder Watson gave a very good explanation of how we can become more temperate: "Learning to be temperate in all things is a spiritual gift available through the Holy Ghost." If we will pray for that gift and strive each day to be more temperate, this spiritual gift can be given to us. The Holy Ghost will enter into our hearts and minds, and if we allow it, he will purify our hearts and make us more temperate. It is certainly a gradual process. It requires hard work. But the more temperate we become, the more we will be inviting improvement.

I am grateful that I felt that I should read this particular talk yesterday. I feel more strongly the importance of being patient and diligently working to overcome my weaknesses and spend time on the things that matter most. And I am grateful that through the atonement I can repent and become better at being temperate in all things.

"Being Temperate in All Things" can be found by clicking here.

K sleeping

Apparently now that he can roll over, this is K's new sleeping position:

update

I said any day, and any day was right (see previous post). Yesterday morning while I was trying unsuccessfully to make up for the hour of sleep I lost back in the spring, RT came in and informed me that K had done a complete roll from his back to his tummy. This morning I also received the privilege of seeing this incredible feat. As always, once he decided to do it, he did it as if it was perfectly natural and commonplace.

No trick--I think lentils are a treat!

Legumes
I have been learning how to cook with legumes (that means dried beans, lentils, dried split peas, and other things). They're actually pretty easy to cook once you've done it a few times. After using dried beans for several weeks, I opened up a can of kidney beans that I still had and thought the canned beans weren't as good. Pinto beans are pretty much my favorite--I will stand over the pot and just eat them. I've also tried cooking with lentils a couple of times. I always had the impression that they weren't very good, maybe because I associated them with Lent. But I had never tried them and thought maybe I ought to before I passed a final judgment. The family cookbook has a recipe for barley lentil soup, and I have tried it twice now. It was so good! Lentils are easy because you just have to rinse them and then cook them in water--no soaking. And combined with the barley you get a complete protein without adding any meat.

Here is the recipe:

1 Tb. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 cups stock
2 cups water
1 cup lentils
1/4 cup barley
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (optional)
1 Tb. fresh parsley, minced (optional)

In a large soup pan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, carrot, celery, thyme, marjoram and pepper until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add stock, water, lentils and barley to the pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until barley and lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in chopped parsley before serving. Top each serving with yogurt or sour cream and parsley.

My Cynical Thoughts about Halloween
I was kind of looking forward to having trick or treaters come this year (this was the first time I'd had trick or treaters come to my door), but it wasn't quite as fun as I expected. Trunk or treat parties started to happen at the church a few years before I felt like I was too old to go trick or treating, so I got to go a few times. Before that, we went trick-or-treating to a few people who lived in the same apartment complex as my grammy and spent some time talking to Grammy. Then we would go visit the Rosenbaums, who always had a variety of popcorn balls and sometimes other treats (they also had really cool Halloween decorations), and we would sit and visit them for quite a while too. Things were simpler then. I wish more people had that kind of experience for Halloween. We had fun dressing up and showing off our costumes and didn't worry about how much candy we could get. I don't think it's like that for most people--it felt like candy-collecting. The kids and the parents really were gracious this year. I guess it was just an eye opener for me. I may have to put some thought into what I want Halloween to be for my family. Maybe we'll add some kind of service project to make me feel better about it.

I am afraid I'm getting too cynical.

I'm going to try to end on a more positive note.

Of course, some gushing about K.
K is trying really hard to roll from his back to his tummy. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it any day now. He just hasn't figured out how to get past that arm. I think he gets pretty frustrated that he can't quite make it yet.

Missionaries
We fed the missionaries again last night. They are great young men (I feel a little odd phrasing it that way because I'm actually not that much older than them). I don't know why I used to be so nervous about inviting them to come. One of the things that was mentioned at the adult session of the last stake conference was that having the missionaries in your home is a great influence on your children. I felt good about that comment and I'm planning to invite them often so that our family can be influenced by their examples. I love the messages they share and the things they try to do to help us be member missionaries. The spiritual thought they shared last night was very timely for me. The elders also got K to laugh. I was very impressed.

3 months, a week, and a day

Here's a little summary of K's latest tricks and antics (with some cute photos):

K knows how to get his fingers in his mouth and he's drooling a lot.

Does this mean he's teething? Maybe. I think babies usually get their teeth later, but it's possible, and the drool and desire to suck and chew on things are pretty good indicators. Bibs have become much more necessary now if I want K to stay somewhat dry. He's also learned how to stick his tongue out and lick things, which is really cute, but also really wet. I'm really wondering if this is some kind of pre-teething, because he's been much more fussy lately than he's been for about a month. It's nice that he's learned how to suck on his fingers and thumb, though, because when he wakes up but actually needs a little more sleep he will often suck his thumb and fall back to sleep.



K is enormous.

I really noticed it while RT's parents were here. He's getting so BIG! He's transitioning into 3/6 month size clothes, which is great since it's starting to get cooler and those outfits are warmer. I keep looking at the bigger clothes and thinking, "There's no way that would fit him. It's way too big." Then I try it on him and it's a perfect fit. I guess I don't realize how big he really is. I'd better be careful or he'll never get to wear that size of clothes--before I realize he's big enough he'll be big enough for the next size! He is heavy, and I hate carrying him around in the car seat. We left the car seat in the car and just carried him last week for Stake Conference, and I think I liked it better.


K is growing and developing so fast!

He's been able to roll over from his tummy to his back for several weeks now. He's starting to push things away if he doesn't want them--he will purposely grab his pacifier and take it out of his mouth! He loves to play with his toys, especially the red bug and the plastic keys. I think he likes those ones the best because they have parts that are easy for him to grab--and he does grab them and hold them now. It's been interesting to watch him learn to do that. K also seems to be figuring out how to push himself forward with his arms and legs, which makes me scared--one of our nephews was running at eight months, and I don't know if I will be able to keep up with K if that happens with him. Still, I think in some ways he will be more content once he's a little more mobile, because sometimes I can tell that he really wants to go places. I think it will still be a while before he figures out how to army crawl, but it will happen before we know it. He also "sings" with me and tells me all sorts of stories. He knows quite well that if he smiles and wiggles as fast as he can that we will tell him how cute he is.

K found his toes.

So cute!


After K's First Trunk or Treat Party

. . . notice the spoon he used to eat his chili. :)

what's been happening

RT's parents visited.

While they were here, we went to Hanging Rock State Park, watched General Conference, and watched K be cute. RT and I had schoolwork to do sometimes, so they also went to see the NC Botanical Gardens and the Arboretum without us--braving the free bus system by themselves. It was fun to have them here, and they were also a big help to me with K and housework. After they left, at first I kept thinking that it seemed like K wanted to be held much more than normal, but I think maybe it was just that there were other people there to hold him for a week. Thanks for coming and for all the fun and help!

I found out that I don't have to take another introductory English class.

When I transferred to NCSU, a lot of my credits became useless. I can't figure out why they don't want to apply my two Book of Mormon classes, my D&C class, and my Family History class to the religion requirement. : ) So that has set me back a little bit. I wasn't too happy to find out that I was going to have to take English 101. I took English 150 at BYU, but it was only 3 credits and the one at NCSU is 4, so they wouldn't use it as a replacement. I didn't get much out of English 150, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't learn anything new from English 101 at NCSU either. Fortunately, last summer I randomly found a page on the college website that said that I could put together a portfolio and if it passed they would waive the class, so I found out what was required for that and submitted it. Don't ask me why nobody told me about this when I was accepted in 2008--I blame most of the many problems I've had with this school on bureaucracy. This weekend I got the letter saying that the English 101 requirement will be waived. I'm so glad, because it was just one more class that is between me and graduating some time in the very distant future.

I wrote a paper.

I had to write a paper for my British Literature class, comparing two of the works that we have read so far in the class. I did procrastinate a little bit, but I still ended up writing the bulk of the paper a few days before it was due. I generally hate writing papers, but I actually almost enjoyed writing this one. Our teacher talked a little bit about how to make our papers have a logical progression that leads to proving the thesis, rather than having three unrelated points that are somewhat related to the thesis. He also talked about the difference between weak thesis statements and strong thesis statements--particularly about how to make a strong thesis statement by choosing to prove something that isn't obviously true or cliche. I felt like it was an invitation to break out of the bland five-paragraph essay form that I've always felt I was expected to follow. I still used an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, because those are important, but I think the paper had some direction and I didn't feel like I had to give away the entire paper in my thesis statement. (This is sort of the form I was always taught to use for a thesis statement: [The main point of the thesis statement] because [main point of first body paragraph], [main point of second body paragraph], and [main point of third body paragraph].) It did take a little more thought to write this paper, but I felt like I was actually writing down thoughts about things I thought were interesting rather than putting an outline in paragraph form, so it flowed much better. It felt good to write something that might actually be interesting and thought-provoking for someone to read. I still feel like my writing has a lot of room for improvement, but I think I've moved up a level, and that's encouraging.

We had Stake Conference.

Bishop Burton (yes, the Bishop Burton) was there and gave a nice talk. I really enjoyed it. Some of the things that I learned from both sessions and want to remember:

• Spend individual time with each of your children. This provides opportunities to share testimonies with them, get to know them better, and talk wth them about their struggles and problems. Without this one-on-one time it's easy to not notice that they're having a hard time or to miss out on special experiences with them.
• Have the missionaries over for dinner often--they are great examples for your children!
• Make FHE, prayer, and scripture study a priority for your family.
• Show your children by your words and deeds that you enjoy having a calling in the church (including home and visiting teaching) and that you believe magnifying your calling is important.
• Trust is very important with the people who are most important (i.e. your family).
  

America's Strength

Recently I saw the headline for an article in RT's school's newspaper: America's Strength is its Diverse Heritage. However, I saw nothing in the article that indicated why our diverse heritage is America's strength--I won't say that it's not something that makes America stronger, because we do have a unique and interesting heritage and culture, and I think it does unite us and make the United States a special country. However, I would argue that our most vital source of strength is not our diverse heritage.

After reading just the title of the article I thought of the many verses like these that are written throughout the Book of Mormon:

2 Ne 1:9, 20, 31

9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.

• • •

20 And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

• • •

31 Wherefore, because thou hast been faithful thy seed shall be blessed with his seed, that they dwell in prosperity long upon the face of this land; and nothing, save it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land forever.

I have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true and that these principles are vital if we want to prosper in this land which God has given us. Lehi was teaching his children that if they wanted to be successful in the new land which they had come to, they had to obey God's commandments. It's a simple principle, and we can see it demonstrated throughout the Book of Mormon and also today. Whenever people became prideful, greedy, and wicked, the people suffered--for example, they became vulnerable to attacks from the Lamanites, they were cursed with famines, and they fought with each other--sometimes to the point of civil war. If they repented, they were able to heal--physically, temporally, and spiritually, and they prospered and had great joy.

This same concept applies today. One of the greatest reasons that people suffer in the United States today is because they do not keep the commandments of God--many people do not love their spouses or value the family, they commit whoredoms and abominations, they are greedy and covetous and dishonest, they are not willing to work, and they even deny the existence of God and the right of others to worship Him. These and many more things are causing poverty, sickness, and grief. We cannot prevent all suffering--part of the reason we are here on this earth is to endure trials, because without enduring trials there are many things that we could not learn. However, much of the suffering that occurs on this earth is because of sin and disobedience to God's commandments, and this iniquity prevents us from prospering in the land. There is an increasing number of people who insist that sin and disbelief in God are not the problem--they blame it on the government, big businesses, racism, and even the Christians. But in many ways they are wrong. God has given us this land, and the only way that we can fix the problems that exist here, heal from our many kinds of wounds, and prosper again in the land is by repenting and obeying His commandments again. So our greatest source of strength is God, and the only way we can receive that strength is by obeying and trusting in Him.

That's why we need to be missionaries and share the Book of Mormon with people--to convince them to obey God's commandments. And it's not just about prospering in the land during earth life. It's about building God's kingdom and helping to bring about the eternal life and exaltation of as many people as possible. The hard work of the prophets and people of God in the Book of Mormon to convert people to the gospel and convince them to repent was a very effective means of establishing peace again in the land, and it will work for us too.

Several of the prophets of the Book of Mormon speak directly to us and tell us they have seen our day. I sometimes wonder if they slapped their foreheads and said, "AAAAAHHHH! They're going to do it again! Why don't they get it?"

K's Baby Blessing

I forgot to mention that last Sunday K received his baby blessing from his dad. It was a very nice blessing. It was a special experience to hear my own son's baby blessing, and I think it helped me to know him a little better to hear the blessings that were promised to him. I am grateful that I married a worthy priesthood holder who can use that power to bless our family. I'm looking forward to seeing the things that K will accomplish in his lifetime, and I want to do all I can to teach and train him so that he will be faithful and true to the gospel.

Here are a couple of pictures that we took after church that day:




The afghan he is lying on was made by my great-grandma Velma for me when I was born, and my mom sent it to me. It's nice to have something that my parents had when I was a baby, and also to have something from Grandma Velma. I have many memories of spending time with her when I was little. I really loved her.

Hanging Rock State Park

Hmmm . . . I thought I already posted this, but it only appears as a draft in my list of posts, so maybe I didn't. And the orange word "draft" is going to bother me, so I'd better publish it.

RT's parents are in town for about a week, so we all went to Hanging Rock State Park yesterday. We had a nice time walking on the paths towards a few different waterfalls (yes, there are waterfalls and mountains here). We like to spend time in the outdoors together. RT took a lot of really nice pictures. I have a suspicion that he may want to write about it and choose his favorite pictures, so I'm going to leave most of the pictures for him. If you want something to do in North Carolina, this is a very nice place to go. It's also pretty close to Pilot Mountain, which is a pretty cool geological feature. We drove close enough to see it and then went home because we were tired after exploring Hanging Rock State Park.





RT looks like he's just below an overhanging rock, but he actually discovered that there was a big gap there and the rock at that point is breaking away.



Here you can see the gap (the camera is pointed towards the sky). It's pretty wide, but I climbed back there before RT did and didn't even notice it because you can't see it until you're right underneath and looking up.



I think this is the farthest I've been able to see since we moved here. There are so many trees everywhere that you can never see very far. It was a beautiful view.



K was very good and mostly rode in the Baby Bjorn carrier with his dad. Most of the time he was content to sit and lick the side of it and look around, even when he was jolted around a little bit. I thought these pictures were so cute. Thanks to Amy for the cute hats she sent.

Miracles

While reading 3 Nephi in the part where Christ visits the people in the Americas and spends some time teaching them, I gained some new insights. On the first day when He was about to leave the people to ponder the things He had said until he returned the next day, "he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them." (3 Ne. 17:5). Jesus invited the people to bring forward those who were sick and afflicted so that He could heal them, because "I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you." (verse 8) I thought it was interesting that the people wanted to see the miracles that Christ had done in Jerusalem--it was not because they didn't believe He had done them, but because they had been taught from the scriptures that He would do this, believed that He could and would, and wanted to experience this incredible miracle themselves. Christ knew that they had faith in His power to heal, and so He healed their sick.

Unlike many of the people of Jerusalem who didn't believe Jesus was the Christ even though they saw Him perform miracles, the people of the Americas did believe He was the Christ (these people were the ones who were preserved from the disasters because they were more faithful). They didn't need to see Him heal the sick to believe. This is how Christ describes their faith: "So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief. Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard." (3 Ne. 19:35-36) This makes me think about something that Christ said to the people in Jerusalem. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have it in similar ways, but I will quote it from Mark: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." (Mark 4:25) This is how it is changed with the Joseph Smith Translation: "For he that receiveth, to him shall be given; but he that continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken even that which he hath." Because they were willing to receive knowledge, they were given more, whereas those in Jerusalem who would not receive further light and truth lost what they had. The people in the Americas received a testimony that Christ could heal them, and not only were they shown this miraculous power, but they were also shown many more incredible miracles.

Let's look at some of the miracles they had the opportunity to witness:

1. He healed all those who were sick (3 Ne. 17:7-10)
2. He prayed to the Father in an incredible manner: "The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father; and no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father. And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome." (3Ne. 17: 16-18) Not only was it an impressive prayer, but the people also felt inconceivable joy when they heard it, so great that they were overcome. He offers another prayer that was so incredible it could not be written in 3 Ne. 19:32-34.
   
3. He blessed their children, and then the people saw this amazing scene: "And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them." (3 Ne. 17:24) That must have been a very special experience, to see their children in the midst of angels who were ministering to them. I think I would feel a great deal of joy and wonder to see angels ministering to my son.
4. On the second day, before Christ returned, the twelve whom Christ had chosen were baptized and prayed for the Holy Ghost. "And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire. And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them." (3 Ne. 19:13-14)
5. While the multitude was praying, Christ prayed three times, returning between the prayers to his disciples. When he came to his disciples, the account says that his countenance shone on them and they were whiter than anything that can be seen on earth. In His second prayer, Christ thanks the Father for purifying them, which suggests that they were not only white physically, but also spiritually--completely clean. (3 Ne. 19:25,28)
6. He produced enough bread and wine that everyone in the multitude could partake of the Sacrament--nobody had brought bread or wine. (3 Ne. 20:6-7)
   

Remember that these people had the privilege to see these miracles because they had such great faith. What strikes me is that these events, which are undeniably miraculous, are for the most part spiritual, not temporal. I think spiritual miracles are the most miraculous of all:

1. It is a miracle that we have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost, we can be comforted, taught, purified, and guided. It is through the Holy Ghost that we gain testimonies of the gospel, become cleansed from our sins, and are led to serve and teach other people. It is a miracle that God still reveals information to us, whether through prophets or personal revelation.
   
2. It is a miracle that we can pray to our Heavenly Father. He hears every word, plus the things we don't/can't put into words. He understands and cares about the desires of our hearts. He knows how to answer our prayers in the way that will be best for us. It is a miracle that we can pray for a witness that something is true or for some guidance in a decision and then be taught the answer that we seek.
3. This earth is a miracle. It's a miracle that it was created in such a way that we could eat, breathe, and do all the things that are necessary to survive. It is a miracle that we have the opportunity to be here, that we have bodies and experiences that will teach us and prepare us for the time when we will again meet God.
   
4. The priesthood is a miracle. Because of the priesthood, we can be healed from both physical and spiritual infirmities. Because of the priesthood we can be baptized, partake of the sacrament, and receive the Holy Ghost and the endowment. Because of the priesthood we can be with our families forever and inherit eternal lives and God's kingdom.
   
5. It is a miracle that because of Jesus Christ, we can be purified even though we have sinned. Because of Him, we can still return to our Father in Heaven and receive exaltation if we will repent and come unto Him. It is a miracle that Christ loved us so much that he would suffer the pains of all men so that we would not have to suffer if we would repent.

I am grateful for the miracles God has blessed us with. I know that these miracles really do happen, and that they are the result of our Father's role in the events of this earth. He is not simply an omniscient, stern, uninvolved God--He is directly involved in all that happens on this earth. He will not stop us from choosing for ourselves, but He does bless us when we are obedient to the laws of the gospel, and if we want to do what is right, He will give us the experiences and information that we need in order to accomplish great things. Miracles will never cease.

And Today We Have Proof!

To prove that K's gymnastic feats were not just a single incident today we present proof!

little victories

Today after I finished my breakfast I decided to put K on his tummy while I read my scriptures beside him. Immediately after I set him down, he lifted his head up really high, turned sideways, and then rested his head on his arm. He then started wiggling his legs and body a little bit, as if he wanted to roll the rest of the way. I thought, "Wow, he's so close! I wonder how much longer it will be before he can roll over." He rested for a little while on his arm, and then he rolled the rest of the way as if it was no big deal. It took me a second to realize he had just rolled over because he did it so easily. Then I got really excited. I wonder if he'll keep doing it.

This is one of the things I am really enjoying about motherhood. I get to see all these small yet significant victories that K makes and enjoy them with him. I love to see the determined look he gets on his face when he's going to try to do something, and then the smiles and excitement he has when he does it. I know that he must have been looking forward to the chance to have a body for a long time before he was born, and it's fun to see him trying to figure out how this whole using-a-body thing works. I am amazed at the developments he has made and the way he has figured out how to do certain things on purpose.

One thing I have noticed about him is that when he decides to do something, he will do it--if he doesn't want to, he won't. If the pacifier isn't what he wants, there's no way we can get him to take it--but if he wants it, he will take it for a long time without any coaxing. For the first month of his life, he refused to sleep on his back in the bassinet at night, no matter what we tried. Then one night I put him in there, and he wasn't even close to being asleep, and he slept--and I've never had a problem since (at night). One day he decided he was going to sleep through the night, and he has done it almost every night since then (thank you, thank you, thank you, K!). And the same thing happened today--I think he thought, "I'm going to roll over," and then he just did it. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone besides me--it's kind of hard to explain what I mean in writing, especially since other people don't know him as well as I do.

Two minutes after K's superhuman performance, he was exhausted and quickly fell asleep. He looked so sweet that I just had to get a picture.

Wow! It's been 2 months!

Yesterday K was two months old. He had his two month checkup yesterday: He is 24 inches long and weighs 13 lb. 2.5 oz (my guess was 13 lbs.--pretty good, huh?). No way would he fit inside me now. The nurses and the doctor all said he is so cute and admired his eyes. I am fascinated with his eyes--every day they look a little different, and they are so beautiful and striking. He also had his first shots today and handled them pretty well. I didn't really like to see him cry when they did it, but he calmed down after not too long--and I'm ready with the baby Tylenol in case he is in any more pain. It's worth a couple of stings if it keeps him from getting really sick. I'm grateful that he is healthy and hasn't had to be poked and prodded much since he was born. K smiles and kicks a lot and reaches for my face and his makeshift mobile (depicted below). He is constantly making facial expressions that remind me of my little sisters and brother.


In this picture I think he kind of looks like Harold, from Harold and the Purple Crayon. There are a lot of books about Harold that are really cute--he is a little boy who has lots of adventures by drawing scenes and objects with his little purple crayon (always wearing his blue footed pajamas). K looks so thoughtful and imaginative, as if he's just had an interesting thought.

Some exciting events

K is sleeping much better at night. In the past week and a half, I think there have only been two nights when he didn't sleep for six to seven hours in a row, and on those nights I only had to get up to take care of him once. I didn't even have to rock him to sleep and carefully put him in the bassinet--I just wrapped him in a blanket and put him in while he was awake. I've really appreciated the uninterrupted sleep. It seems like he's starting to realize that when it's dark, it's time to sleep. I don't know if this will last, but I figure I will enjoy it while it does. I think overall he is feeling better because he's getting that quality sleep.

We taped some toys to a plastic hanger and hung them on the shade of the bassinet so that he would have something to look at. One of the toys had three keys on it, and we taped it so that one key was taped to the hanger and the other two hung down. This morning he was lying in the bassinet and reached up and tapped the keys--and then he tried a couple more times and managed to do it again and again. We were very excited, and I think he was too. It's so interesting to watch him moving his hands and figuring out how to get them to do what he wants. Sometimes he concentrates very hard on it and gets a very cute, determined look on his face.

The other event is that I received the decision about my residency--NCSU has given me in-state tuition status. I'm so glad because out-of-state tuition is incredibly expensive, which is why I only took eleven credits last year. Now that I can pay in-state tuition we will actually be able to afford my education. This is a really nice blessing. I was really upset last year that I wasn't going to be able to go to school full-time because I really wanted to get a lot of school out of the way, but I have a feeling that this past year has been a different kind of school for me and that I was supposed to learn other things that just can't be taught in a classroom. So even though I still have a ton of school left, I can look back on this year and feel that it wasn't wasted. I need to add how much I appreciate RT being supportive and comforting when I was so discouraged about it--he really helped me to see things with the proper perspective.

K is bored

K is getting wiggly and starting to look around at things. We have a couple of toys that I like to hold up above him for him to watch, and the swing has some little animals that hang over his head and can go in a circle, and he seems to like that. I'm thinking of getting or making something that I can put above him while he's lying on the floor or in his crib so that he can look at it (and maybe also kick or reach for it), because sometimes he just seems bored. I have a few ideas, but I thought I'd ask: What have you used and liked?

This is what I do all day.

I watch K being cute. Like in this video: Please ignore my voice--I hate how I sound in recordings (although I guess so does everyone else).

If you read my blog via email, click here to watch it, because I don't think you can see it in the email.

The past week or so has been fun because K is starting to smile and make cute noises. He has also become much more wiggly and interactive. We can tell that he is starting to recognize our faces.

I also watch RT being cute:


He spends a lot of time holding him like that--I really appreciate it. I love them both so much.

On Sunday we fed the missionaries waffles and peaches on our new (for us) table that has six matching chairs (the food was on plates, not the table). The missionaries were very nice, and they were our first dinner guests. K slept until it was time for them to share their nice message about prayer, at which point he cried or sucked on my finger. Now that we have a nice table I guess I need to start inviting people over for dessert. Shyness is now my only excuse (and even though I think it's a good excuse, it actually isn't).