Sunday thought: The power of Testimony

Feel the power of these testimonies:
(Click on each name)

Job

Peter

Nephi

Abinadi

Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon

Bruce R. McConkie

Happy Sunday!

Change is a-coming!

The air is shifting somewhat for me. I am feeling the need to change and be better. The Spirit is breaking through my stubbornness and helping me see ways to accomplish this. I have had many impressions lately that I have forgotten because I did not record them...my laziness wins all too often. Because I love to blog, I have decided to post some of the thoughts that I receive. Since this is a journal of sorts for me, I think it will help me be more motivated to record and act upon these impressions. I also love to receive comments and feedback (hint, hint!) To commemorate this new start, I decided to change the name of my blog. Poppy's Seeds will be a documentary of the seeds of thought that (hopefully) come to fruition and also the growing of all my little family seeds (Jesse, Grace, Dylan, James and Danny!)

I hope you will join me on this journey.

The parable of the weeds

(This is what our yard looked like before we moved in, it was even worse when we started!)

When we moved into our new home, we were excited to have a big backyard that the owners would let us landscape...with grass! But, there were lots of stickery weeds that covered the backyard. They were everywhere and the thought of pulling them and clearing the land so that we could landscape was overwhelming. I was anxious to get it all done right away so that I could get the grass planted so that we could enjoy the yard. But, I just didn't know where to start. One day, I decided I would just clear a small area so that I could at least set up the trampoline so that the kids could have somewhere to go when I kicked them out of the house! Danny and I worked for a little while one Saturday and got a space cleared for the trampoline and a walkway to it. Then on another day we cleared a few more and we worked an hour here, an hour there over the past several weeks. It was hot and they were tough to pull and there were many times that I wanted to give up and just hire someone to do it, but we kept at it little by little. We worked for a couple of hours this past Saturday and were almost done, but we pooped out...it was just too hot and we were tired. Just one more week and we would be done. Then last night it rained. The weeds are a lot easier to pull when the ground is wet, so instead of waiting for the weekend when Danny could help, I went out and finished the lower portion of the yard. What a good feeling! It is not perfect and we have some fine-tuning to do, but the bulk of the dirty work is done.

While we were pulling the weeds, surprisingly, we found that the bigger tumbleweeds were easier to pull out than all the little ones. There was more to hold on to and they we easier to grasp near the root. The littler ones sometimes required the help of a shovel to get the whole root. Now that all the non-fun work is done, we can get to the good stuff...grass, plants, flowers!

(those are just piles of weeds that need to be disposed of)

Life is like my yard. We have so much potential but there are many things that we need to "pull out" ie: our sins and shortcomings. When we look at all of them and think about all the things that we need to change, we can become overwhelmed and don't know where to start. This can make us feel discouraged and not want to do anything at all. We may feel like we don't want to do it, it's too hard, and wish that we could get someone to do it for us. It helps if we have someone to help us like a spouse, family member or friend. We just need to remember to do it little by little, there is no time limit, we have eternity to work on it. The important part is that we are working at it and eventually we will look back and see how far we have come.
This morning as I was out pulling the weeds after the rain, it made me think about the times that I have felt the Spirit so strong during a lesson or such and felt the overwhelming desire to change. If we act upon that feeling right away, it makes the changing easier, like the rain made the weeds easier to pull. If I had waited a few days the ground would have dried and the weeds would have been more difficult. If we don't act upon the Spirit when we feel it, that feeling will fade and the changing becomes more difficult once again.
Many of us have gotten rid of the major sins (big tumbleweeds) and know how to avoid them, therefore making them easier to uproot if they are introduced into our lives. Now we end up struggling with all those little habits and shortfalls (small weeds) that keep us from our goals. We need to attack those, sometimes with a little extra help and digging. If we work at them one by one, a little at a time, we will be able to overcome and then we get to the fun part of decorating our lives with all the good things that the Lord has in store for us.

What are some effective ways that you have found to "pull weeds"?

For Grandma Cindy

Grandma Cindy (Danny's mom) is very generous with gifts for the kids...she spoils them, but I guess that is a grandma's prerogative! She is also very early with birthday gifts. Here's a picture of Grace in this year's gift (her b-day is 9/29) so that Grandma can see how it looks.
Grandma Cindy loves her dutch roots and picked this cute dress up in Solvang. Solvang is a cute little dutch town about an hour north of Santa Barbara in California. Grace wore this dress the day she went in for testing at school and received many compliments. Thanks, Grandma Cindy!

Question of the day?

So...do I exercise and come home and flop down and do nothing else all day or do I not exercise and actually have the energy and strength to clean my house, do laundry, etc?

One of the things I was looking forward to when Grace and Jess went back to school was getting out and exercising. I was actually planning on getting up at 6am and getting out for a walk/jog by myself before the kids got up and Danny left for work, however, Danny was called as an early morning seminary teacher and leaves the house at 5:45am each day. 6am was going to be challenging enough, so there was no way I was going to be able to do 5am! Those plans went out the window, but I came up with another plan. Dyl, James and I walk the big kids to the bus at 8:30 and then we would continue the trek. I found a really good loop just above my street that is great for interval training (it goes up and down hill a few times). So for the last 3 days, we have done just that. It felt good to get out and get physical, but I am so exhausted when I get home that I just can't get motivated to get anything else done. And to top it all off, I did lunges this morning...Curse you lunges!! I'm not going overboard with the whole exercise thing, I'm just trying to be a little more healthy, but then my domestic duties suffer....What's a girl to do???

Off to school...and other news

Yesterday was the first day of school! Woo hoo! I am really happy (so far) about Jesse and Grace's teachers. They seem to really care about the students. I asked Grace if she wanted me to walk her into her class, but miss independent said that she knew right where her class was and walked in all by herself. I guess I should feel glad that she is so confident and independent (and I do) but this is also a rite of passage for the mom, too! I felt a little bad that I didn't get to walk her in. And then I realized that they would be gone for several hours and I cheered up real fast! Jesse seemed to sort of want me to walk him in, but didn't feel like he could say so because his little sister didn't need her mom, so he shouldn't need her, too! Today I sent them on the bus and all was well! I remember when I sent Jesse off to Kindergarten, I drove him to school the first week or so and walked him into class the first couple of days and then when I sent him on the bus, I put him on and then followed the bus and made sure he got to class. I guess it's different with #2! Well, they seemed to enjoy their first 2 days and I am enjoying a bit of freedom. It is much easier shopping with 2 as opposed to 4!

In other news: We had Dylan's 3 year check up today and wouldn't you know, I have an above average-sized child...not just "not tiny", but "above average"! He is 32 pounds (65%) and 37 3/4" tall (55%) How about that! And he is healthy to boot.
We also got the blood test results back for James and it turns out that he has a milk protein allergy that is likely causing his smallness...so guess what that means for mom? Either no milk products (ie: milk, cheese, yogurt or ice cream!) or we get him on Nutramigen formula. I haven't decided on the right path as yet. I know what I should do, but it remains to be seen what I will do. We will see how it goes.

So that's that. Can I really live without cheese and ice cream, oh, and butter??? The extra 15-20 lbs I am carrying around and the welfare of my little guy say yes, but....

A little project...

Before

After

Half a Year!

My little guy is 6 months old (well a week and a half ago!) I don't know where the time has gone. It feels like it has gone by very fast, but it also feels like he has been a part of our family forever and we can't imagine life without him. We love this sweet, happy, cute little guy so much.
Here are his stats from his 6 month check up:
I don't remember his height and they didn't write it up like they usually do, but his weight was 13 lbs 6 oz. Yep, he's a little one. He actually has dropped off the charts which concerns my Dr. a little. Now many of you know that I just make little babies, but Jesse didn't fall off the charts until he was 18 months. The others stayed between 25-50 percentile until they were one. He also dropped a little in his height. He was running around the 50th percentile and has dropped to the 25th. I compare him a lot to Jess because James is his little clone. I just looked it up and Jess was 16 lbs 6 oz at 6 months...yikes that's a whole 3 pound difference. Anyway, at his appt., his dr wasn't quite sure what to do with him. On the one hand, he is happy, he looks healthy (no skin and bones), etc, but on the other, he is so stinkin' tiny. So, she had us go for a blood test just to make sure that he doesn't have any thyroid or metabolic disorders. We should get the results in a few days. I'll keep you posted. Well, at least Jesse won't be the smallest in the family!
I think his smallness only adds to his cuteness...I just hope that he is healthy.

Feeding time!

Yep, James is 6 months old (update tomorrow after his dr appt.) and you know what that means! One of my least favorite parts of motherhood...I put it off as long as possible, but it is time to start now...ugh! Time to introduce solids. This is so frustrating for me. Bite, spit out, back in, spit out, back in, etc., etc., etc., the mess, the feet in the mouth....I just don't have the patience for it. Does someone want to come and teach this kid how to eat???Needless to say a bath was in order directly after this episode! He's so darn cute, even with rice cereal between his toes!

****Scroll down for the plethora of posts today, I was in a posting mood!****

My favorite summer treat!

I am addicted to this fruit salad...it just tastes like summer to me!It is so yummy. I make it once or twice a week and haven't grown tired of it yet. It is so good in oatmeal, on vanilla ice cream, with a dollop of whipped cream (the real stuff!) or just by its lonesome. I'll be sad when summer is over and the fruit isn't so yummy. I am relishing it while I can. Here's what I put in it:
1 lb strawberries (I like them chopped in bigger chunks as opposed to slices, but you can do it any way you want!)
2 just ripe peaches, cut into chunks
1 pint blueberries
Throw it all in a bowl, mix and enjoy!

***3 is so much fun***

Happy birthday to my favorite little 3-year-old (yesterday!) I actually sorta spaced his birthday this year until his Aunt Rose left a message on my phone wishing him a happy birthday (Thanks, Rose!) Luckily she called early enough for me to get my act together. I did already get him his big present, but I just forgot the morning of...I know "bad mommy!" But I was able to recover and give him a fun day nonetheless!

Opening presents

The only thing that he asked for (everyday for the past month!) was a "BIG GUN"! He got one along with a Batman "socca" ball, some sidewalk chalk and a "M'queen" shirt. It was so cute, every time he opened his presents he hugged the item and said "my favorite!" I tried to catch it on film (or memory card!) but he was over it too quick! I made him open the gun last because I knew the other items would be ignored once it was openend. I was right and for a while I wondered why I bothered with any of the others. But today he is enjoying all of his presents.

And on to the cake.

Cute concept and intention, lousy execution. The caterpillar turned out cute, but I ran out of time and patience to finish the sun. Let's just say that I won't be commissioned to decorate any cakes anytime soon (or ever!) Luckily my kids are very forgiving and thought that it looked great! They're my biggest fans (sometimes!)

I can't believe my little guy is 3. I'm glad he had a fun day even if his mommy temporarily had a brain lapse! (He's part of the cause, anyway!)

Friend Time

Fun with the Hatches (Sara, Jacob and Emma [and Jonah, too]). We love when they come over to play. Despite the picture, they really played without electronic entertainment for most of the visit!

A trip to Explora

Explora is the children's museum here in ABQ. Danny had taken a week off for the move and we took a few hours off of moving stuff to head over there (we got a yearly membership.) It was a much needed break for the kids. Notice how I said "the kids". Are these things really a break for the parents??

Here is Dr. Dylan. He kept holding up this magnifying glass and saying "I the doctor" It was really funny. He does look like he is doing some really important experiments!
Building a damThe magic of air movement!Yep! The picture selection is staggering, I know, but unfortunately on this trip, I was juggling a squirmy baby and three unruly children that were finding it very difficult to take turns...So that's all folks. It's nice having the membership because I didn't feel bad when we had to end the trip a little early. I hope our next trip is a little less eventful!