Mothers Who Know Are Nurturers

Here is the paragraph for this week:

Mothers Who Know Are Nurturers

Mothers who know are nurturers. This is their special assignment and role under the plan of happiness. To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Therefore, mothers who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking. Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. Home is where women have the most power and influence; therefore, Latter-day Saint women should be the best homemakers in the world. Working beside children in homemaking tasks creates opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate. Nurturing mothers are knowledgeable, but all the education women attain will avail them nothing if they do not have the skill to make a home that creates a climate for spiritual growth. Growth happens best in a “house of order,” and women should pattern their homes after the Lord’s house (see D&C 109). Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work. Helping growth occur through nurturing is truly a powerful and influential role bestowed on women.

As I read this paragraph and highlighted the phrases that stood out to me, the words "organization, patience, love and work" especially jumped out at me. It does require a lot of those things to make a home and to have an environment where BOTH temporal and spiritual growth can occur. For many that know me, I love an orderly, clutter-free home. Call it OCD but I have to have my countertops clear and beds made before a certain EARLY hour of the day. I am more productive when my house is orderly, I feel I am "together" and ready to do all that I set out to accomplish. But I have to be careful that I do not make this a priority over more important matters like sitting down with my kids to play and do art, for example.

The scripture in D&C 109 reminds me that having a house of order encompasses so much more than appearances. A house of order is also a house of faith and prayer, a house of God. I need to do more of the "working beside" my kids with chores around the house. That is a challenge for me sometimes, because it is just so much easier and faster if I do it! So if the tomato sauce and shredded cheese ends up all over the floor while the kids help make pizza for dinner for example, I don't look or try not to look down at the floor. I just try to focus on the look on their faces as they're making the pizza. Or if they have used 10+ paper towels and sprayed a ton of Windex on the one glass French door, it's not the end of the world.

More thoughts later... I think it's time to make dinner!

Welcome, Ashlyn Kate!

We got to meet our brand-new cute niece yesterday! She looked so small and so cute. I got to feed her a bottle when we got there - she was awake for just a few minutes. She fell asleep while eating then didn't wake up the whole time we were there. So she is FAST asleep in all the photos. She must have liked just having a diaper on and being snuggled in a soft blanket. Silly Ash! Anyways I put a little stick-on bow on her head (which was full of nice downy hair by the way!) and took photos of her. She is the youngest I have ever photographed. Congrats Dickersons!

A Snowflake Weekend

Last week was Spring Break. We loved having no schedules to keep! The first few days of the break we had a great St Patty's day, watched movies and I even got some house painting done. We decided to go to Snowflake for the weekend (Kevin's idea) so Friday afternoon we drove up there to enjoy the cooler weather. We were lucky the wind decided NOT to blow on Friday or Saturday while we were up there. We enjoyed dinner at Trapper's on Friday night (the coconut cream pie was yummy!), and then the next day it was the Snowflake Temple, Show Low, Pinetop area, a trip to the barber shop where we met a very interesting lady barber who was Filipino-Hawaiian, then to the local carnival. The kids had never been to a local carnival before, so they were very excited about going there. So after lunch at Eva's Cocina and a little nap, we were off.

The kids went on the Berry Go Round, then Collin and Kevin went on the ferris wheel. Collin wanted to go on it, but after the ride was over, he told me he didn't like the way his stomach "went in" every time the ferris wheel was on its way down! Then our daring Allie and her equally daring Dad decided they were going on the Zipper! Pretty scary if you ask me. They get you in this cage and then it goes up, down, around all the while you're in the cage that also spins around depending on the pull of gravity (at least that's how I saw it from below!). I couldn't believe Allie was up for that! She said it was the "freakiest" ride she's ever been on. I was surprised she didn't throw up. It is a good thing Kevin would go on those carnival rides with the kids because I don't do very well with those kind of rides! Too chicken.

On Sunday we went to church at the historic building on Main Street (the chapel was full, so we went upstairs and watched church through the big glass window of the crying room). We also spent time visiting Grandma Weez's and Marley's graves and got to visit with Kevin's aunt Peggy and uncle Terry. They are always so fun to talk with. We planned on stopping to take photos at the Sunrise Dairy and farm (Kevin's grandma's dairy, still owned by the Hatch family) but it was so windy we just hurried on over to Peg and Terry's. Then we went home via the Salt River Canyon - Globe way which we found to be 15-30 minutes faster than going thru Payson. It was a fun and relaxing trip!

Mothers Who Know - Week 2

These are my kids racing towards sunset in Taylor yesterday. To me, this photo describes exactly how I feel about my responsibility and privilege to honor my covenants, so that I can help point them towards the temple. I hope they will feel as happy and excited (about the temple, the gospel) as they were when I took this photo. Here is the section I will be focusing on this week:

Mothers Who Know Honor Sacred Ordinances and Covenants

Mothers who know honor sacred ordinances and covenants. I have visited sacrament meetings in some of the poorest places on the earth where mothers have dressed with great care in their Sunday best despite walking for miles on dusty streets and using worn-out public transportation. They bring daughters in clean and ironed dresses with hair brushed to perfection; their sons wear white shirts and ties and have missionary haircuts. These mothers know they are going to sacrament meeting, where covenants are renewed. These mothers have made and honor temple covenants. They know that if they are not pointing their children to the temple, they are not pointing them toward desired eternal goals. These mothers have influence and power.

What can I do to point my children to the temple? These are what came to my mind first:

1. Go to the temple. If my children see that their parents attend the temple regularly and make time for it, then it will also be important to them.
2. Teach them about the temple. How? - tell them about the day we were married in the temple, special memories, visit temple grounds, etc.
3. Teach them the importance of Sacrament meeting. How? - manner of dress and how to behave during Sacrament meeting, be on time for Sacrament meeting. Help them to understand that Sacrament meeting is a place to renew covenants (do they know what that means?)

$153 groceries for $53!

Another great day for coupons today at Fry's. I got:

15 packages of Sargento shredded cheese (compare that with Great Value brand cheese!)

8 rolls of Cottonelle TP

4 boxes granola bars

3 boxes Fruit Roll ups

3 boxes Ziplocs

3 Powerades

2 boxes Toaster Strudel

2 packages Dixie plates (90 plates)

2 containers Land O Lakes spreadable butter (FREE!)

2 4-packs Dole Fruit cups

2 bottles Classico pasta sauce

And 1 of the following: big bag Tyson Chicken Nuggets, Rubbermaid container, sour cream, eggs, Nana's Chips, gum (FREE!)

and 3 donuts

49 Items for $53 -- 65% savings. If I went to Walmart and JUST bought all the cheese (I'll even say Great Value brand) and ziplocs, I would have paid almost $50!

FYI: I went to Walmart on Saturday and just by price-matching the ads (I even bought things that weren't "stock-up" items), and NO coupons, I saved over $15.

Wee Bit O' Fun

Our annual St. Patrick's celebrations started last night. Allie planned a little party for us - but she ended up sick with the flu yesterday. I went ahead and bought some party cups and hats so she felt like her party was still on, even though she was so sick. She felt better around dinner time - so she showered and dressed in green. She had made cute invitations for us on Sunday and invited Grandma Lorraine and Pop to come and have "a wee bit o' fun". I made beef and broccoli (the only thing I could think of that was green and that everyone liked to eat) for dinner, and Grandma and Pop brought over some green koolaid and green sugar cookies. It was quite funny to see everyone in hats (Kevin didn't wear his until FHE). For FHE, we read "St. Patrick's Day" by Gail Gibbons. It was interesting to read about the origins of the holiday, and the symbols associated with it.

Dinner last night; the kids on the hunt for leprechaun loot; their green treats

Today, the kids woke me at 6 a.m. - they discovered the leprechauns had left a trail of green and gold coins and green shadows on the bedroom doors. I quickly grabbed the Mino and my camera and filmed them as they followed the trail downstairs. There was gold glitter on the floors, and the kitchen was a huge mess. They found all the green treats the leprechauns had left. There were a few that were a little tricky to find. This year they left some stuffed frogs up in the chandelier, on top of the floor lamp, and treats under the rug! Allie kept saying how they were very tricky this year! The last place they looked was the laundry room, where they found the laundry spilled on the floor and a bag for each of them in the dryer. Glitter was on the floor too.

gold coins and glitter on the floor and green breakfast this morning

We went back upstairs to enjoy the treats and a little bit more sleep. We're so lucky this week is Spring Break, so we had lots of time to lay around and talk before breakfast. The kids named their new stuffed frogs Patrick and Maewyn (believed to be St Patrick's real name), and also gave Grandma's croaky frog a new name - Croaky O' Mallie. I fell asleep while watching them pretend their frogs were real. When I woke back up, I found out Maddie had gobbled up quite a few green m&m's and peeps. We gave her the spiky rubber ball from the leprechauns, but she didn't like it very much! It was funny to watch her dodge the ball and run away. The kids got a kick out of throwing her the ball!

Later, we had green pancakes for breakfast, to go along with the green milk (it turned green again this year). Then we quickly cleaned up the mess and vacuumed up the glitter before it got all over everything. As I walked by (the kids were watching TV), I heard Collin say to Allie, "don't you wish every day was just like today?" The mess was all worth it!

Mothers Who Know

I am joining my friends, Brooke (and a few of her friends) and Jen in the Mothers Who Know Challenge -- the challenge is to study Julie Beck's talk "Mothers Who Know" and focusing on only one section per week leading up to Mother's Day. I discovered the challenge on Brooke's blog a week ago, and then while I was thinking about how cool this was, saw that Jen had joined in. I told both I would be doing it too, so here is my first post on the first section. I highlighted the phrases that stood out to me:

Mothers who know bear children

"Mothers who know desire to bear children. Whereas in many cultures in the world children are “becoming less valued,” in the culture of the gospel we still believe in having children. Prophets, seers, and revelators who were sustained at this conference have declared that “God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.” President Ezra Taft Benson taught that young couples should not postpone having children and that “in the eternal perspective, children—not possessions, not position, not prestige—are our greatest jewels.”

Faithful daughters of God desire children. In the scriptures we read of Eve. Sarah, Rebekah, and Mary who were foreordained to be mothers before children were born to them. Some women are not given the responsibility of bearing children in mortality, but just as Hannah of the Old Testament prayed fervently for her child, the value women place on motherhood in this life and the attributes of motherhood they attain here will rise with them in the Resurrection. Women who desire and work toward that blessing in this life are promised they will receive it for all eternity, and eternity is much, much longer than mortality. There is eternal influence and power in motherhood.

Children truly are our greatest jewels! I know this, and love being a mom. They grow up way too fast - it only takes a moment to remember their births, fast forward to where they are now - and then wonder where all the time went! I love the everyday joys of having children around me - the little "I love you's", kisses, and hugs; seeing them learn something new and running to find you so you could see!; watching them as they drift off to sleep; kissing them better when they have aches and pains; hearing them pray, etc -- these are just a few. I am grateful for my kids, and feel very blessed because of them.

Thanks Brooke for sharing the challenge!

Another good buy!

I think I outdid myself at Fry's (my total there was a whopping $9.73, saved 90% savings ) and I got:

6 packs Cottonelle Toilet Paper

4 Boxes Ziplocs (all different sizes)

2 Boxes Kelloggs Cereal

2 Country Crock spread

1 Colgate toothbrush

1 Purex Elements detergent

1 loaf of bread

Then at CVS I got 4 jumbo packs of Huggies Diapers (Natural Fit! 140 diapers total - I don't usually buy the premium kind), 2 mascaras and 2 17 oz. bottles of Herbal Essences shampoo for $21.49.

Piggy Tails

Miss Maddie's hair is long enough to do some REAL pigtails!

Square Foot Garden, finally!

Maddie and cousin Parker, who spent the time toddling around. Parker was so cute with his screwdriver pretending to fix Collin's plastic lawnmower, and helping with the boxes. Collin also helped drill in some screws and had fun watching. Allie was at sewing class.

The 4 x 4 box is 2 feet off the ground. Chad's (background) is 3 feet tall, perfect so you won't have to bend. I wanted the kids to be able to reach and be able to garden themselves.
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I have wanted to do square foot gardening about 2 years ago, when a friend of mine tried it out and vouched for its effectiveness. But it wasn't until this week that it actually happened. Kevin's dad spearheaded a grow box making project being the great handyman that he is. So this last Friday, when he was off from work, he went and bought all the materials, and spent a few hours making one for us and one for Chad and Megan.

We were expecting to put together the boxes when we got to their house on Saturday morning, so we were pleasantly surprised to see a very nice grow box ready for Kevin and Chad to finish up the plastic sheeting and apply linseed oil to make the boxes waterproof. Then the three of them mixed up the special dirt mix. We all enjoyed lunch together after that. It was so nice of Pop to help us get our grow box made. Thank you!!! (See the perks of living here?) He even delivered the grow box the next day since we live only two minutes away.

Today Kevin filled the grow box with the dirt and I planted a tomato plant and a cabbage plant (Allie's project). We are going to the store to get a few seeds and the kids will get to choose 3-4 plants each to take care of. Kevin thinks it will be too hot for something to grow in there but he will change his mind when we start seeing the harvest in a few months! Then he'll be an avid gardener after that. :)

Party!

With the grandkids (minus Maddie)
We had red-velvet cake in the courtyard Blowing out the candles

Sunday was Pop's birthday. It was lots of fun to have all the Harris' and Merrills over to celebrate his 56th. This was our first time celebrating Pop's birthday with everyone for quite some time now (I think the last time was back in 2000!). After everyone left, Collin told me how he "wished every day was just like today"!

Picking Citrus

The citrus trees down here are bursting with fruit! We got to go pick citrus for Taylor Tenney's eagle project last Saturday. The kids had so much fun, even Maddie got the hang of picking up fruit and putting it in the big plastic bucket. We would hand her one and she would walk over to the bucket and drop it in. It was so cute! Collin wanted to do what the big guys did - empty the citrus-filled buckets into the wheelbarrows. Allie helped pick fruit with her friends, Macey and Olivia, and even found a chicken egg (she wanted to take it home). It was a great project to be a part of as a family.

Maddie is 15 months old!

Maddie's classic looks

Our little Maddie is now 15 months old! She is finally outgrowing her car seat so Church isn't quite as easy as it used to be. We tried this last Sunday to keep her in it but she prefers to be out and about, I'm sure it is not as comfy as it used to be either. She says bye, hi, hello, mama, dada, na (for nose), uh-oh, and tries to copy what we say sometimes (bear, taco, grandma). She also points to her tummy when asked where it is. She still loves her bottle (for milk) and binkie. For other types of drinks, she will take a sippy cup or straw. She has mastered going up and down the stairs, and loves to get in our cupboards, and pretend to sweep and wipe the floors (yeah!). She loves being outside (street baby), she takes off whenever the door is open. She loves to walk around with her blanket covering her face (we have to watch closely because she bumped into a few walls lately!) She loves to push Collin riding on her little farm ride-on, and loves rides in her push cart (thanks to Allie and Collin!).

She loves food too! She will usually eat a regular container of yogurt, a waffle, and milk for breakfast; an orange and a ham or peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and a bowl of macaroni and cheese for dinner. She loves all kinds of fruit - blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, oranges and bananas. She is a very petite girl though, I think she's taking after me.

Stats Update:

Weight - 18 lbs 6 oz

Height - 30 inches

Head - 17.8 inches

Collin and Dick and Jane

Collin loves reading more now than ever! I thought he might be able to read the Dick and Jane books we have so I got them out for him to try out. He was so happy to discover that he can read them. The copies we have are collections of all the Dick and Jane readers (we have 2 big books). It was fun to watch his excitement as he read. He read up to page 38 before he decided "his brain was too tired to read any more pages". He then told me he needed to go in the school room to make a special bookmark that says "Collin's bookmark". So funny! I just love it when my kids discover that reading books is fun.