The people we ought to be... once more

A few years ago, I was blessed to have the experience of traveling to Pennsylvania. I was able to visit Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Valley Forge, among many, many other historical places. The Spirit there was as strong as it can be in the Temple. Amazing.

I have such a love for our Founding Fathers. In Doctrine and Covenants 101:80 it says, "I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood."

How wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father directed our Founding Fathers in such a beautiful work!!

So, on that note...I am excited, I am nervous, and I am thrilled to say that I am a 9 - 12er. What is a 9-12er? If you believe that it is vital that we live our lives on principals and values, you too just might be a 9 -12er. First, the principles:

Do you believe...

1. America Is Good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
“I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
“It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
“I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results. “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable. “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
“In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
“I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson


Now, the Values:

Honesty - Reverence - Hope - Thrift - Humility -
Charity - Sincerity - Moderation - Hard Work -
Courage - Personal Responsibility - Gratitude



I am confused as to why everyone seems to have forgotten the lessons we learned from 9-11. On September 12th, we all promised ourselves that we would stick closer to what was truly important in this life. However, we are all back to the bickering, fighting, finger pointing, and looking out for ourselves and no one else style of living. Back to our September 10th selves.

I know that I am sticking my neck out by saying this, but I am sick and tired of people screaming about how patriotic they are, but when push comes to shove, they stand around whining and complaining about what's going on with our country instead of taking actions to try to fix it.

Well, I am no longer one of those people. I am now a part of "The 9-12 Project". It is getting larger everyday and it is gaining speed - rapidly (over 340,000 as of today). If you feel that these principals and values are indeed important and worthy of your attention, please join up. It is not a democrat vs republican thing. It is a right vs wrong thing. It always has been. If you would like to get more info and even see what other people around the country are doing click here.


I finally feel like I have a voice and that I am no longer alone in how I feel.

Lost in translation

This was Scotty's first St. Patrick's Day that he could remember. He made sure to wear green and he even had a green party at pre-school. Today, Scotty woke up just so excited. He came downstairs and announced that he had to wear red today because it was St. Spongebob's Day.



Get it ???

Design on a dime

I have discovered that I have an annual tradition. Every time Zack leaves on business, I get to work with huge projects on the house. What he doesn't know...right? I figure, if I can spare him the stress of my craziness, why not?

This was the first one:
My friend and I painted these "tiles" on the walls. We also painted our living room and the other walls in the kitchen. Twice - within two months.



Then, came the demolition of our kitchen: before and after.

This year, I was not nearly as brave or as energetic, so I only sanded and painted our bathroom cabinets and painted said bathroom and our bedroom. I was all set. I had a leisurely 4 days to finish everything.

Then came the call. He announced that his work had finished earlier than expected and he was coming home two days early. Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!! I had yet to paint our room and bathroom at this point, though they had been both primed. I kicked it into high gear and finished everything with time to spare. This could not have been possible had it not been for my wonderful mom and gracious friend who took Emily for me during my panic.
Here is my before and after of my bathroom.



I forgot to take a before of my bedroom. Needless to say, it was a very dark teal-ish green. Gag. Now it is a beautiful, light, calming blue. As soon as I have the curtains up and the new light fixture (someday) I'll post the picture. Anyway...where was I?
Luckily for me, Zack will not have to leave again until October. I wonder what I can think up to do next...just kidding, Zack!


Sort of.

Exhausted

Don't let this cute, innocent little face fool you...


1. Emily starts to talk at 7am and then decides to go back to sleep. Not a big deal if you are able to go back to sleep easily. I ended up laying there for about an hour and a half until Scotty starting causing problems, but that's a whole different story.

2. Emily woke up about 2 hours later soaking wet. Apparently, the little lush had too much to drink at grandma's house last night.

3. Ten seconds after removing Emily's diaper for her bath, she piddles on the floor. Yep, way too much to drink last night.

4. Emily was so cranky that I ended up putting her to bed a little bit before ten.

5. We got to church on time and she was actually in a decent mood until "it" happened. She was so excited to get the water for the sacrament that she nearly grabbed the tray when it was on the row behind us. When it was our turn, she was still standing on the bench next to me. I had one hand around her arm to steady her and as I grasped the water tray, she took a large lunge forward. To her surprise but not to mine, there was no bench underneath her step. As she started to fall, she threw her hands out to stop herself. She grabbed the water tray and it didn't just dump the water, it all splashed upwards and then fell all over the both of us and Scotty. My shirt, skirt, shoes, Emily's dress and shoes, the floor, the bench, and Scotty's pants were all wet. Really wet. The tray had to have been holding an extra gallon or two on the bottom.

She then continued her descent to the ground below and started to cry - loudly. I kind of sat there dazed and seemed to not know what to do next. I clumsily put the tray back together and then I gave her her sip of the sacrament (priorities, right?). Apparently, this made her even angrier. I handed my now empty sacrament cup - which was not empty from me partaking but still empty nonetheless, to Zacky, picked up Emily and stood to leave to go clean up. Little plastic cups tumbled to the floor around us as we walked out of the chapel. So embarrassing. It also happened to be our ward conference so it was extra crowded.
Then as the final "kick her while she's down" moment, I was hoping to get the sacrament when they came out to the hallway, but as I was speedily approaching the lobby, the deacon looked right at me, I held up my hand to signal him that I needed it, and he went right back in.

6. I just can't get enough of her!

Huh?

Today, as we were leaving Walmart, Scotty ran to get a drink out of the drinking fountain. He returned all smiles and said,"Mommy, that was yummy water - it wasn't hairy."

Crazy.

For Journal's Sake

At first I was bummed...then pacified...then excited...now eternally grateful. Quite honestly, the idea of having to spend Valentine's evening at the adult session of Stake Conference was not my idea of a romantic evening. Then it was announced that Elder M. Russell Ballard was to be there and to speak to us. WOWSERS!!!

Zack and I carpooled with my mom (my dad had to chaperone a BYU singles dance) and we sat on those lovely and super soft metal chairs. Funny how looking back, I can't remember being uncomfortable at all. The speakers were wonderful. I remember them so clearly. President Meek was great - so happy to have him as our new Stake President. We also were blessed to listen to Elder Richard W. Wheeler (our Area Seventy) - he was funny and his talk really opened my eyes to certain realities. We even based our F.H.E. on his talk. So wonderful!!


Anyway, Elder Ballard was also so fun to listen to. When he entered the room, everyone stood and was absolutely silent. The Spirit touched us as we watched him come in. We are so blessed to live in a time when the Restored Gospel is on the Earth. The Spirit bore witness to us that an Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ was in our midst and was about to speak to us. He taught us the importance of learning to listen to the promptings of The Lord through the Holy Ghost. That Zion is really within our hearts. After the closing song and prayer, Zack and I were able to shake his hand. It was so soft - probably the softest one I've ever felt. He smiled at us and continued on... This event will go down in my personal history as one of the choicest experiences of my life.

The next morning, Sunday, we were able to squeeze in to hear him and others again for the main part of the Stake Conference. We arrived about 40 minutes early and were about 3 rows to the last in the gym. (We have a large stake. Not all of the wards were able to fit at the stake center, so the other wards had satellite coverage at the other buildings.) So crowded, but well worth it. The kids were all so reverent and well behaved. Even Emily was great until the last 15 minutes. Not bad for being in one spot for three hours.

Now, I can't imagine a better way to spend Valentine's Day.

Tommy's Big Day!

Today was Tommy's baptism day!! He has been waiting so long and he has been so excited for this special day. We were very fortunate to have so much of our family close enough to be able to attend. His dad was able to baptize and confirm him and Zack loved every second of it.


After the baptism we all headed over to my parents' home as it is the only place really big enough for us all to gather, and had a super yummy luncheon. For dessert, we had a big birthday cake from Costco that said, "Happy Birthday, Tammy!" Again, it would seem that I never have any luck when it comes to store bought cakes.

Anyway, we had a wonderful day and I know that he is so happy...you can see it all over his beautiful face. He has such a sweet and simple testimony, and it is so strong......He Knows!

I'd like to give a quick shout out to everyone who pitched in to help us with our big day - Thank you so much - I couldn't have done it without you (at least without being committed to the looney bin).

Here is a picture from his birthday party on Friday night (another reason I now need to be committed). Too bad I can't add volume to this picture to give you the full effect. Eight year old boys are so loud!!!

Heartstrings

Last night our poor little Emily started up with the super fun RSV. She never screamed for us to come get her, but she just moaned and coughed throughout the night. At 2:40am I went in and got her out of bed. For some reason, everything seemed to move in slow motion. I don't really know why it seemed like that. Maybe it was because I was trying to keep everything quiet and low key for her.


Her wheezing was loud and pained but she was happy to see me. I took her into my bathroom and began to wash her snotty and drooly face. As I did this, she looked up at me sleepily, smiled and said something unclear. I remember thinking, at that very moment, that even with the grimy face and hair stuck to her cheeks and nose, that she was still the most beautiful person in the world to me.

We went back into her room, changed her diaper, smeared Vicks Vaporub on her feet (don't ask, it didn't work anyway), fixed up the humidifier, and then I rocked and sang to her. She snuggled in tight and let me.
As un-fun as it probably was for her, last night was magical for me.

Diggin'

There can be no way that my daughter thinks that this is a good thing. I told her one time that it was "yucky blah" and now she thinks it's a hilarious thing to do for everyone.



My boys never did this....what on earth should I expect next? Peeing in the backyard?


Also, do her eyes look so green or what? Thanks, grandma!

Happy New Year!!

I love coming to a new year. It is a bitter-sweet moment for me. I miss the times we had and don't really favor how time flies, but I love the amazing hope that it can also bring. No matter what kind of knucklehead choices I made in 2008, I get a fresh start to become a more wise and thoughtful person. Most of that is due to the Savior's atonement, which fortunately can be used at any time throughout the year. I also love to be able to take the chance to better myself. I have no idea why it's an exciting thing at New Year's but a pain in the neck the rest of the year.

Zack and I have really enjoyed this song by our friend Josh Groban. It says it all.
One of my resolutions for 2009 and beyond is to be more thankful. I need to whine less and open my eyes to all of the tens of thousands of great things in my life and those lives around me.

I need to stop calling the young 20 somethings jerks just because they bought the house that I have admired from afar, or because they have 4 wheelers and snowmobiles to play with. I need to be "happy" for those jerks and realize that I am so blessed already.

I have been blessed with so many things that it is nearly impossible to even find a starting place to list it all. I am going to try my best this year to be better at so many things, but it is sweet to know that it's OK when I don't become 'perfect'.

Here's to wishing everyone a beautiful and very hopeful Happy New Year!