Normal

Sometimes I feel like life is just normal.  The past couple of weeks have passed and I’m struggling to think of something amazing or inspiring or funny that happened.  And my mind is a blank.  So, I’ll just do a quick recap of what’s going on and see if that leads to something more impactful 🙂

Lily

Lily has now cheered at two football games.  They have been really fun to go to.  The little middle school football team is actually pretty good and they won both of their games.  It was Homecoming this past week and Lily had the opportunity to be in the parade.  She rode in the back of a truck with the other cheerleaders and threw candy.  Ethan and Sadie each collected an entire grocery bag full of candy.  It felt like an early Halloween.  They were in heaven 🙂

Ethan

For not liking school, Ethan has been working really hard.  He rarely has homework as he pushes to get it done in the study hour that they have at the end of the day.  He has also really enjoyed playing the piano lately and is currently starting to learn Waterfall by Jon Schmidt.  It’s a bit above his level, but he has so much fun playing it, we are plowing through it together.  If I have a kid ask me to play the piano, I bend over backwards for that 🙂

Sadie

Sadie’s most popular statement right now is “I’m bored.”  We are really working with her on how to solve her boredom on her own and not depending on mom or dad to give her something to do.  It has been difficult.  She just likes to play with her siblings and sometimes they need their own space and time.  It is hard for her to accept that.  And we are trying to teach her that it’s okay to be bored.  It’s okay to not have constant stimulation.  I think that is getting harder and harder in our modern, digital world.

Charlie

Charlie has been excited about the deer hunt starting out here.  He tilled up some of the hay field and planted some special seed to start a deer plot.  Unfortunately, it has been pretty dry out here and so it hasn’t grown much yet.  Charlie checks the trail cameras frequently to monitor what animals are coming through the property.  He bought a tree deer stand over the weekend and is working on getting it set up.  He is really excited about the idea of being able to hunt on our own property.  It is such a different experience than hunting on public land in Utah.

Rachel

I have been staying busy with taking care of the family, baking, grocery shopping, keeping the house picked up and clean, unpacking boxes, yard work, working on the blog and trying to figure out social media.  I always feel like I never have enough time in a day to get everything done that I want to get done.  My To Do list is never ending.  I have to be really careful to not get down on myself. 

I have a tendency to focus on the negative and what I didn’t do instead of what I did do.  But fortunately, as Charlie frequently reminds me, that is something I can learn to control!

Our purpose on earth is to improve, to become better, to become more like our Savior.  So I know that I can overcome my weakness.  When I get ready for bed each night, instead of feeling bad about the dishes that didn’t get done, the floor that didn’t get mopped, or the blog post I didn’t write, I can think of every good thing that I DID do, no matter how small (maybe it’s just making the bed or reading with Sadie).  

One of my favorite scriptures is in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” Ether 12:27    

I encourage you to look at your own strengths and weaknesses.  Don’t get discouraged at where you fall short, but think of all of the great things that you ARE doing.  And then look at where you can improve and take it one step at a time.

Well, there you go.  Apparently that is what I needed to tell myself this week.  Hopefully it can help you as well 🙂

Have a great week!

~ Rachel