Quote of the Week...

"Now... in closing I plead with you to control your tempers, to put a smile upon your faces, which will erase anger; speak out with words of love and peace, appreciation, and respect. If you will do this, your lives will be without regret. Your marriages and family relationships will be preserved. You will be much happier. You will do greater good. You will feel a sense of peace that will be wonderful." --Gordon B. Hinckley

Farewell, dear man...

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I am ever grateful to have been led by such a humble, tender, witty, and gracious follower of Christ. It was a joy to have learned by his example. I know that he was a Prophet of God, and that he led and guided with love and distinction.

What a reunion there is in Heaven right now...

Another good one...

I have been so exhausted lately. Feels like I am walking through mud. But I finally got some good sleep the other night, and had this dream:

I was at a children's touch football game. I was cheering for the team that was playing against the team Ward Churchill was playing for. Every time Mr. Churchill would get the ball taken away or his flags would get pulled as he ran the ball, he would jump up and down and pitch a little boy fit. I found this amusing, and not the slightest bit surprising, in spite of the fact that his 10-12 year old teammates seemed to be able to keep their emotions in check.

As I was enjoying the game, my newly adult aged daughter came up and sat next to me.

"Here you go, Mom. There's that list I was telling you about."

"List?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, the list. The list of all the things I don't like about you. For convenience, I alphabetized and categorized it for you."

I gotta tell you...I think I liked my Hillary Clinton dream a lot better.

Quote of the Week...

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quote of the Week...

"It is important to have the courage not to deny in the darkness what you have seen in the light."

--Coventry Patmore

Just so you know...

I'm kind of obsessed with organizing.

In fact, I dream about being a professional organizer. I would LOVE to go into people's homes and help them let go of things they don't need and find the joy of living with less. (ala my quote of the week)

Part of the obsession, no doubt, stems from being the mom of many. You can't really fly by the seat of your pants when you have a family of 9...well, you CAN...but it's not gonna be pretty. I went through a few years of digging for permission slips and blank stares when the kids ask what's for dinner and impaling myself on Legos and Bionicles when I go in to kiss my kids goodnight. Somewhere along the line, I realized that if I wanted to live this life, I'd better get my act together. I haven't lived in an unorganized house since.

Family life always requires course correction. What worked for a while may not work anymore. So you adjust. You adapt. And you can't adapt well when you are buried in stuff. In fact, being buried in stuff is sort of the manifestation of being unwilling or unable to adapt. To adapt and change your family's schedule and way of living, you have to be willing to let go. And clearly, if your house is overrun with stuff, letting go is not your strong suit.

I spent yesterday in my kitchen. I emptied every drawer, every cupboard. Got rid of everything that didn't help us function as a family and make us happy. Switched some things around since they weren't helping us get the most out of our time and space. Cleaned every nook and cranny. It was SO fun.

I love the way I feel whenever I do this. I feel lighter, more calm, and like I have less to worry about. Because, well, I DO have less to worry about. I feel like a more grateful person, because I am treating the things we have been blessed with in a way that shows respect. And because I am not hanging on to things that we don't use or need when those things could be blessing the lives of someone else.

So, until I can become a professional organizer, could you at least humor me and go clean out a drawer or something?

Quote of the Week...

"Wanting less is a greater blessing than having more."

--unknown