Where the heck have you been?

It's almost embarrassing to have your blog alone and neglected for so many months.

 I suppose if I offer the excuse that I got engaged and married in the past few months maybe you will cut me some slack?  Well- a shout out to fellow blogger www.notthebabysmomma.com who motivated me to get writing again. So here we go! 

So what happened to me?  I was a happy middle age single woman.  I was plotting my trips to distant locations.  I was looking forward to hanging with my friends, taking my grandkids to Disneyland.   I had embraced the fact that it was more likely that I would be killed by a terrorist before I would get remarried.   Then a blast from the past came back. 

Jim grew up in Colorado.  We went to church together.  We went to Fairview High School together until I came to my senses and transferred to Boulder High.   I remember Jim driving his convertible with his blonde hair blowing in the wind.  We danced at a stake dance,  dancing to "Stairway to Heaven."   I knew Jim's parents.    We connected on facebook and began chatting.   I should have seen it coming! 

 Suddenly I am chatting on the phone, texting and becoming a sappy little girl.  On a trip to Texas to visit him, he smiles, pops to one knee and asks me to marry him and I knew then my life would never be the same, in a really good way. 

So catch you up to October.  I'm married, living in Colorado, and my husband lives in San Antonio, Texas.   We have 9 kids between us.  We have 4 grandkids.  I still am not sure of how many siblings, cousins, step siblings, aunts, uncles, and any other random relatives that I am not sure about.  (So yea, I have a LOT of material to cover now!)

So here we go.  My adventure begins and I will be dragging Jim along.  He has already shown he can tolerate my craziness by wearing orange converse shoes and leis to our Colorado outdoor wedding, So I am pretty sure there is not much more I can do to surprise him!

 I am grateful for my sweet family, Erin, John, Bodie, Brynlie, Brycen, Mike, Christine, Kelly, Levi, TJ and Travis.  I am grateful for my new family, Jim, Josh, Natalie, Kade, Jake, Joe and Jordan.  I am grateful for my dad, and for Jim's parents, Sam and Sally, and Caroline and Bud.  For his brothers and their wives, and children.    Thank you for being accepting, loving and rolling with the punches.   Just the few small steps I have taken in my new role as wife, step-mother and daughter in law among others has taught me we really all can make a difference, one random woman at a time.  

When Life Gives You Lemons 

Sometimes life gives ya a couple of sour things to deal with.   I got to spend a great evening with the ladies of the Left Hand Creek Ward last week  sharing some things with them-

 So here they are for you!  For the next few blogs sharing my top 10 list!

#10 Throw them back and scream, 

"LEMONS??? Where is the Chocolate?? I wanted Chocolate!!"  -

 Having a sense of humor makes a difference. 

When I was a young mommy with three small children I scurried around one morning to get a quick shower. ( because, as we all know, showering is a luxury not available to mommies...) I left my 2, 4 and 6 year old camped in front of the TV watching Barney.  When I finished my short shower I opened the door of the bathroom and yelled down the stairs, "Erin! Is everything ok?" Hoping my 6 year old had things under control.  Just as the last word escaped my mouth, I heard glass breaking.  I grabbed a towel, (remembering that it would have been good to grab an actual bath towel before showering as this tiny towel was hardly covering anything,) and ran down the stairs.  At the bottom of the stairs I heard more glass shattering and this time heard the shrill giggle of my two year old.  I found 6 year old Erin and 4 year old Mike sitting dutifully in front of the TV with an empty diaper and clothing of the missing two year old.  I yelled, "KELLY!!!" and then heard more glass crashing from the kitchen.  By now the other two children have popped into action and we all ran into the kitchen,

 Just at that moment, I saw my naked two year old, standing on the counter, reaching into the cabinet, taking out a drinking glass and tossing it to the floor.  As the glass shattered, the two year old did a little naked happy dance on my counter.  She saw me and tried to run, but the wall and the sink were in the way, I didn't want her to fall into the glass covered floor so I tried to talk calmly. "Kelly honey, stand still."  The siblings were not as helpful.... "Kelly! Bad baby!" yelled the 6 year old.  Four year old Mike chimed in, "Kelly NO NO!"

I quickly said to Erin, "quick! Grab my shoes!" so she headed off and quickly came back with a pair of black church pumps.   Now, are you getting the picture? A naked two year old on the kitchen counter, a mostly naked woman with a very small towel and black pumps, two bouncing children and a floor covered in glass.  I walked slowly quickly to my naked una-bomber and tried to grab her, but but she was able to perform the difficult two handed- two glass toss on to the floor, causing me to let go of the towel and jump backwards to not get shattered glass on me.

 I grabbed Kelly, (both of us stark naked, her without church shoes on) and headed for the safety of the dining room and the cheering siblings when I looked up to see the meter man standing in front of my large dining room picture window.  We made brief eye contact when he threw his hands up in the air and ran back to the sidewalk.  (poor man, I am sure he was traumatized!!)

I was able to get my naked toddler dressed and down for a nap.  I put on clothes and opted for the gym shoes instead of the black church pumps and headed to the kitchen.  My mind whirled as I thought of what a stupid, selfish, bad mother I was!!  My two year old could have been seriously hurt because I was so selfish to think I needed to shower.  "Thats it!" I swore to myself!  "No showering until they go to college unless there is another adult in the house!"

And, then... I saw the glass all over the floor.  My mind saw the glee in the toddler's eyes as the glass hit the floor and shattered.  I saw her happy dance.  I thought actually how fun it might be to stand on the counter and toss glasses on the floor.  I thought of me standing there in a tiny towel and church shoes.  I thought of the poor, meter man with that horrible image burned into his brain.  And then, I laughed.   I laughed some more.  Everyone was ok.  My daughter wasn't hurt, and those were really ugly glasses.  We all lived to tell about it.

Moms have seen it all.  Faces covered in markers.  The beautiful "self" haircut that your little one does with the scissors.   Make sure they are alive, then have a laugh!



When life gives you lemons- toss them back, and ask for chocolate.  Have a laugh.  Don't take life so seriously sometimes.   Because that laugh may help you so that you too, can make a difference, one random woman at a time.

A LITTLE SPORTS TALK

So I'm going to take a couple of minutes and help all you new sports parents out.  It's almost spring time so pretty soon your little 4 year old Mia Hamm is going to be lacing up the soccer cleats and you will be heading out on Saturday mornings with your Starbucks and Lawnchairs to cheer her on.  Far too fast she is playing high school sports and the memories, pictures,  and plastic trophies are all you have left.  Some of you do the sports parent pretty well.  Some of you...... not so much......  Let me share some observations from where I sit. 

Let me share a quick resume with you.  I have coached high school basketball for 10 years.  I have spent 20 in the recreational ranks.  I have 5 children.  I am not brilliant by any means, but I do have a bit of a clue. So humor me!  And now, as my kids get older, and are  parenting their own little athletes, and three of them are entering the coaching profession its time to say some things out loud.  

#1 Someone is always better than your kid.  I'll hang on while you catch your breath.  My kids were pretty good athletes.  They collected 19 high school athletic letters between them.  They had all-conference, all-area, all-state honors.  They have a pretty decent collection of trophies, plaques, awards and other hardware.  One has a college scholarship.  There was and is, someone better than each of them.  And ya know what? It's ok.  For most of our kids sports is a great way to get them off the couch and doing something with other people.  Quit comparing your kid to anyone else. 


#2 Cheer on the entire team- Nothing grates me more than seeing the parents who sit in the stands reading a newspaper until their kid comes in.  Then all of a sudden they are cheering, the video camera is out and they are super fans.  When little Johnny goes back to the bench, Mom and Dad re-enter their coma-like state, with the only movement being to check their watch to see how many minutes their kid plays and sits the bench.  Cheer for the WHOLE team the WHOLE game.  If you want to only cheer for your kid, have them take up sports that are for one person.  Teamwork needs to happen from the parents as well as the players.  Oh, and sit with the other parents, get to know them.   When we build a community of support for our kids the better off they will be. 

#3 Don't badmouth kids on the team:  Maybe you can't see why someone is starting in front of your son or daughter.  Maybe you think the kid that is getting all the press in the newspaper is "not that good."  Teach your kid the bigger lesson by cheering on that kid.  Be complementary of the MVP that is not the fruit of your loins. My Daughter Erin played with Tasha Harris, Colorado 4A player of the year.  Guess what? She was better than Erin.   My son Mike played baseball with Stanford Standout and New York Mets baseball player Sean Ratliff. 

Guess what? He was better than Mike.  Daughter Kelly played against Baylor basketball star Melissa Jones for years.  Guess what? She was better than Kelly.  My son TJ caught passes on the football field from Washington State bound quarterback Austin Apodaca.  Guess what? He's better than TJ. 

  But you know what?  We were huge Tasha Harris fans while she was at Boise State.  We prayed for Sean Ratliff after a foul ball caused a major injury for him.  We got a thrill out of watching Melissa Jones at Baylor, and we can't wait to wear our Washington State Hoodies on game day and cheer for Austin.  Celebrate the success of others.  It does not mean you are a failure.  


#4 Quit coaching from the stands: I know.  The inbounds plays we coaches run are dumb.  The wrong kids are starting. The defense sucks. The offense is lame.   Why don't we call a time out?  It's a wonder we still have jobs!!  Here's the problem.  While you are yelling at your son to SHOOT THE BALL!  The coach asked him to set a pick.  He has to work with us all day and go home with you.  He can't win.  You want to coach your kid?  Great.  Take them out and shoot at the park.  Play catch. Go running with them.  But when your are at the game.  Be the parent.  He has a coach.  He would really like a mom and a dad.  Not an ESPN commentator who has no idea what we have been working on all week in practice.  And for heaven's sake! Let your kid listen to the coach during time outs.  If they look up at you during a time out, its a great time to stick your face in the box of popcorn! 

#5 Sports are for your kid. Not for you.   You had your turn.  Maybe you were the captain of the football team and the best thing since sliced bread.  Congratulations.  Your turn is over.  If you want to play still, go to the rec center and get a rousing game with every one else who is still living the glory days.  This is your kid's turn to have some memories.  This is your kids turn to have fun.  This is your kids turn to ride the bus,  and wear the jersey in the halls of the high school on Friday. This is your kids turn to make it or break it.  Unless you are really good with the magic 8 ball you can't control the future.  They are going to have joy, disappointment, happiness, failure, frustration, elation, and many other emotions.  Be there to LISTEN and support, and help them solve their own problems.  You don't have to step in and run to the coach if there is an issue.  Are you going to do that for them when they have a job? Call their boss? (The correct answer here is no....)  Sports are a great way to learn all of those skills in a safe, controlled environment.  Let them learn. 

 
#6 Sportsmanship Sportsmanship Sportsmanship.  Don't scream at the ref.  Nothing like being at a soccer game with 7 year olds playing and a 13 year old reffing listening to a Dad berate the kid on a missed call.   Clap for both teams.  Celebrate good plays on both sides.  Let your kid hear you thank the umpire on the way out.  Don't embarrass your kid, your team, your kid's school, and most importantly, yourself.  

Help your kid out- help them enjoy the game, help them learn from the game and help it  be the best experience it can possibly be.  This is supposed to be fun.  You be the grown up, have some class and help your kid become the person you really want them to be.  Because we all make a difference, one random parent at a time!

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2011!  

It was a year full of travel- Madrid Spain, Costa Rica, St. Louis, Kansas City, Nauvoo Ill, Iowa, and Utah.

 It was a year of change- Erin and John moved to Iowa, I moved into a new house and my dad moved in with me.  TJ graduated from high school. 

It was a year of new beginnings- writing for the Time Out for Women website-

It was a year of challenges, growth, blessings and trials. 


Even though I got to Tebow on a Gorilla, my life is not complete yet!!!

Now on to 2012~

Some are concerned that the world will end this year.  I am not too worried, I saw the movie "Back to the Future 2" and Marty Mcfly went to the year 2015 and all was well.  So let's bite off a big chunk of 2012 and live life, enjoy our families, and become a little bit better than we were this past year.  I, of course, am going to do the proverbial New years resolution list- complete with the loose weight, eat healthier and manage my money better, because, really, it would not be a new years list without those items.  But one thing I am going to do this year that will be a bit of a challenge for me is to read  all four standard works of the scriptures.   Luckily, I am not left to my own to tackle this goal. 




Awesome LDS writer Emily Freeman is tackling this goal and letting us all tag along with her.  She has the reading schedule and posts thought provoking daily vignettes to help us think a little deeper and apply the words in the scriptures to our daily lives.

Will you join me on this 2012 journey to come closer to Christ? 

Emily's website is:

www.dailyclosertochrist.com

Be sure to let me know you are playing along and also I will do my best to post thoughts daily (or weekly)  :)
on how I am doing.  I would love to share your thoughts here as well. 

While losing a few pounds, eating more salad and having more money left than month are great goals, there is truly nothing more worthy of my time than becoming closer to Christ, and becoming more of the person, mother, daughter, and friend He needs me to be. 

So HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  

Let's get reading!!   

Thankful Again

 I can't believe it is Thanksgiving again.
 Where did this year go?  This year I am again grateful for so many things- Where to start?   Let's start with the fairly obvious:
First and foremost I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  We have taken quite a hit this year!  With so many people thinking that "my Jesus" is not the "right Jesus" It has caused me to think of him, what he has done for all of us, and how I need to do a lot better in 2012 standing up for him and sharing his message of love, peace and happiness with those around me. 

 I'm thankful for my awesome family, they are the heart and soul of my life.  I miss the part of the family that moved to Iowa this fall, but know they are doing great and it was a good move for their family.  I am proud of my kids and the human beings they are.  They are kind, thoughtful, loving and decent.  May we grow closer this next year. 





I love my job working with the coolest high school students in America, and I love taking them on adventures around the world!

 I love seeing my students helping others!

 I have amazing friends! 

                                                So 
                         how about the other, 
              non-obvious stuff that I am thankful for?  

• Orange Fanta
• Chipotle
• Toilet Paper
• Toothpaste
• Cars
• Mittens
• Sunsets
• Crunchy Apples 
• Palm Trees
• Airplanes
• Oreos
• Pillows
• Nyquil
• Washing Machines
• Talented Musicians
• Sports
• Computers
• Smart People Inventing Cool Things
• The List Goes On and On!!! 

Everything that touches my life I am truly grateful for when I slow down long enough to notice how blessed I am.  Tomorrow, when you are pounding down the turkey, mashed potatoes and pie, take that second to truly be thankful for everything we have.  Imagine a world full of grateful people even for the little things.  Then, we can get together and start coming up with solutions on the tough stuff, one random woman at a time. 


Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

The Never Ending Adventures of life with Hank

My dad is 83 years old.  He recently moved from middle of nowhere, Wyoming, to my house.  Although he has only been at my house for a couple of weeks- he is making an impact on me and my family.  He is also funny without trying to be.  I am keeping track of this new adventure in my life because there are so many of us in the "sandwich" generation.  We are busy with kids on one end, and busy helping our parents on the other end.  Let's enjoy this sandwich time together, it won't last very long!!

HANKISM- Definition-  1)Interesting things Hank says, or does that are unusual to the way I would say or do things. 2) A solid excuse for the reason I act the way I do.  3) Just too dang funny not to share.

I saw this book at a bookstore before Hank moved in and thought it would be interesting for him since he loves to read, and was part of the Berlin Airlift.  Here's how that conversation went:

Me:  "Dad, I found this book at the bookstore and thought you would like it! It's about the Berlin Airlift and I thought since you ....."

Hank: interrupting me "I saw it...all about the damn Air Force. Ohh! I am in the Air Force! I dropped candy to the little German kids! Look at me! Who do you think loaded the damn planes for the Air Force? That's right- THE ARMY.  There we are working our asses off 24 on 24 off to make that airlift happen and the book is about the damn Air Force...Well Whoop-de-damn-do." 

Me: "Wow! It's sure warm out today, isn't it?" 

Hank occasionally goes shopping and brings back treasures.  On a recent trip he located this "Hunter's pack of meat" for us...
It included:

2 lbs of summer sausage
2 lbs of ring bologna
2 packages of bacon
2 lbs of braunschweiger


Do you hear your arteries hardening? 

 Came home the other day and Hank had counted all his pills and made a spreadsheet on how many he has on hand and how long they will last. 

Old IBM habits die slow....

I recently drug Hank into the current century and got him a cell phone.  I worry about him, well, falling, and not being able to get up....So I thought the cell phone would be a handy feature for him.  Just yesterday we had this conversation:

Hank:  "This phone doesn't work."

Me: "What's wrong?"

Hank: (flipping phone open)  "There is no dial tone"

Me:  "It's not like a regular phone, you won't hear a dial tone, you just dial and it will connect you."

Hank: "That's crazy."

Last night's conversation!

Hank: "What day do you do your mending?"

Me: (trying to remember what the word "mending" means) "Um, it depends."

Hank: "I have a couple of things that need mending"

Me: "I will be happy to mend anything for you!  My mending kit is right in the cabinet" (where I keep my 3x3 plastic travel sewing kit containing 4 tiny spools of thread, 5 needles, tiny scissors and plastic thimble)

Hank: "You don't have to do it now, you can wait until your mending day." 

Me:  "Oh, I don't mind, besides, I might be really busy on mending day so now is great."  ( while I envision "Mending day" as January 20th 2179" )

I love having you here at my house Dad- I hope I can take care of you like you took care of me when I was little. I hope you have fun while you are here and we don't drive you too crazy.  You are the greatest.  Thank you for making a difference, one random man at a time. 



For those of us in the sandwich generation, if you haven't seen this- click and watch this youTube... thought provoking and soooo true!!!


http://youtu.be/TB6VkEcXfTo

OK Friends, I need to get on my soapbox.  

Please indulge me (or don't read this- ahh!! the beauty of living in America!!)  

Pastor Robert Jeffress of Dallas chose the Values Voter Summit to loudly proclaim that Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not a Christian because he is a Mormon, and Mormonism is a cult.   First of all, to be clear,  I don't care if you vote for Mitt, Obama, or a little green man from Mars. I do take offense with my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being called a cult.  

 

I know my beliefs are "out there" to some of you.  I know you don't believe what I do, and you really can't understand why I go to church for three hours every week,  donate a portion of my income, wear the clothing I wear and spend the amount of time doing church-related things that I do.  You and I may differ on what Jesus looks like, what he wants us to do, and how to do it.  Does that mean we can't get along?  Really?  I think our differences make us awesome. I think our differences make us better.

But please, can we stop with the "cult" crap? 

 There are 14 million Mormons on six continents. We spend our time helping others, mostly not of our own faith. Since my church started keeping track of charitable donations in 1985 we have donated over 1 Billion dollars.  We are often first in line after a natural disaster to offer relief.  We have a program to assist training care givers in underdeveloped countries neonatal resuscitation.  We partner with the the Red Cross and UNICEF to help stop measles, and donate 1 million dollars a year to that cause.  Since 2002 we have helped 5 million people have access to clean water in 4500 communities.  We have provided vision treatment to over 180,000 people around the globe.  We have donated over 300,000 wheelchairs in 101 countries.  This is just the big stuff.  I am not counting the hours or dollars we happily donate to help our neighbors, our friends and our communities.   Jesus said, ( yea, the same Jesus you say I don't believe in) "By their fruits ye shall know them."  Sorry, but I think we have some pretty great fruit....if I do say so myself....  

Is my church perfect?  Nope.  Full of a lot of strange people.  But it is also full of amazing, talented, kind, thoughtful followers of Christ who just want to make a difference in their community,  and live a good life.  The leaders of my church are amazing men and women donating their time and energy to make our world a better place.  I don't follow a Charles Manson that wants me to climb around the Hollywood hills and murder people.

  I am not part of a cult.  I think, I choose, and I act.  All by myself.  

I follow Jesus Christ. Even if you don't like how I do it, or think I am not "really" a Christian.  

How about we stop all this nonsense of name calling and look to find what we have in common?  How about we work together as Americans to solve the problems that our great country is facing.  How about we learn to listen to each other- we might be surprised to hear a suggestion or a thought that actually might work.  Let's make our country a wonderful place  for our kids, our grandkids and all those who follow after them.  Let's stop pointing fingers at each other like snotty nosed kids on the playground who blame each other for everything that is wrong with little thought as to how we have contributed to the problem.  Let's dig out the ancient art of compromise to look for ways to solve the really hard problems.   Let's go out there and roll up our sleeves, shut our mouths, and get to work.... because I believe we really all can make a difference.... one random woman at a time!!! 

For more info on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints- go to www.mormon.org

Here is the link to Pastor Jeffress' comments: http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/10/07/values_voter_summit_perry_s_anti_mormon_endorser.html






And this is a link to one of my leaders talking of Christ.... You choose! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wIJIKxt5nk&feature=related