Have You Ever?

Being a mom, I find myself doing things I never thought I would/could do! You know, the stinky diaper messes, throwing-up, sticking you fingers into a mouth full of food, using your hand to catch pre-chewed food . . . all the glamorous things that make us moms!

For instance, have you ever . . .

. . . given your husband the count-down (3, 2, 1) when he misbehaves?

. . . eaten cheese, crackers, and raisins for lunch - everyday?

. . . sang Jingle Bells every night for a whole year?

. . . been excited when diapers go on sale?

. . . held a child while YOU are going potty because you can't hold it any longer?

What crazy things do you do as a parent?

CHRISTmas

I love this time of year. Now that I am older, I really enjoy the spirit of Christmas and the time spent together with friends and family. When I was young, it really was just about the presents. My parents would torture my siblings and I by making us read the story of Christ's birth before we could open our presents. We'd usually sit at the top of the stairs, or sometimes in the room with all of the stockings and presents just staring at us, taunting us. But we couldn't touch anything until the scriptures were read and the prayer said. We complained every year. Okay, now when I look back on it, I have NO CLUE what gifts I was given for Christmas each year. But I do remember that time with my family reading about the true meaning of Christmas.

As I grew older, I appreciated that time more and we even had ornaments to go with each scripture. We'd take turns reading and putting the ornaments on the tree. No one rushed or complained anymore. We enjoyed that Christmas spirit and time to slow down.

I hope we can all find time to slow down and enjoy the Christmas Spirit this season!

Merry Christmas!

First Post, Watch your Thoughts

Well, this is my first post welcoming myself to the public blogging world. I have a private blog, but one day I decided that I had thoughts I wanted to share with the world. Yes, I'm that deep. (Sarcasm!)

Seriously though, some things are just too good to keep private. That's huge coming from me. I am a VERY private person.

Today, I just want to share some things I have learned about life.

A few weeks ago I went to a Church activity for women. It was a meeting entitled Be of Good Cheer. After this meeting, I was FILLED with cheer. I seriously found the secret to life that night! A key was turned! A lock was opened! My mind understood what was being said!! (Sometimes you have to hear things in just the right time and place to finally get it.)

There are scriptures which teach us to guard or watch our thoughts. I didn't ever really think about it. Funny . . . But that night I realized THAT WAS THE ANSWER, at least the one I needed right then.

So here it is:

What we THINK affects how we FEEL and respond to things. Sometimes it feels like the other way around, but our thoughts come first!

If we think someone smiled at us because we look funny, then we'll feel awkward. If we think they smiled because they're nice, then we can smile back and not have any negative effects. What we think about the situations in our daily lives determines how we feel.

Sometimes when stressful situations arise, we tell ourselves "stories" of why things happened and what may happen next.

Just by changing our thoughts, giving our "stories" a happier tune, we can change our outlook on life. Some "stories" are deeply embedded and will take much time to work through. But others are superficial and easily erased.

As I have been working on this for a few weeks I have been MUCH happier (less stressed). I feel like a new woman!

Thanks D.C. for your presentation!

~ Rachel

For more information on guarding your thoughts, visit:
http://lds.org/topics/pdf/LetVirtueGarnishThyThoughts.pdf

Or to learn more about what I believe, click here.