What a woman!

As far as mother-in-laws go, I think I got a pretty sweet deal. Not only is she a good person, but I actually like her too. This is a big deal if you have ever read "Dear Abby". I'm actually supposed to be hating my m-i-l, but I don't. Kathy's awesome.

I admire her for her strong testimony of the gospel, her ability to raise six kids and stay sane, her vast medical knowledge, sense of humor, practical advice, non-interfering ways, charity, kindness, and the fact that she is a fun grandma. I've had the "privilege" of living in her house a few times during internships,etc. and even still we like each other. That's a big deal. She always speaks her mind so there is never any wondering where you stand with her. And she worries about silly things like I do, but not the same things, so we get along just fine. Plus, she raised one amazing son that his mother-in-law thinks can do no wrong.

One thing I love that Kathy does is "grandma day". Twice a month she takes the kids for three hours in the morning. It is a great idea. Yes, it's nice for me to get out without any kids in tow, though right now I still keep Jacob with me because we don't want to leave him with Grandma and cause too much stress, and do what I want. Get a haircut, window shop, clothes shop, mop my floor, take a nap, you name it. With my husband being so busy as bishop, I hate to leave home to do any of those things on nights he is actually home. That is too precious of time to waste. This way I get my "sanity time" without taking away time from being with him. Could she give me a better gift than that?

But what I really like about "grandma day" is the memories the kids are building. They come back and tell me all about playing with their cousins and Grandma, adventures that include picking apples, building blanket forts, baking cookies, playing in the garden, picking flowers, and running around like crazy maniacs. It's great!

One of the main reasons we moved to St. George was so that our kids could be near grandparents. We wanted them to grow up knowing and having memories of their Grandma and Granddad. (Too bad we can't be near all the grandparents!) I lived near my grandparents, but never really knew them or felt very comfortable around them. We just didn't have that "grandparent/ grandchild" relationship that you hear about. But my kids do with their grandparents. They love going to their house. They feel welcome and comfortable. They get excited to tell Grandma the latest stories in their lives. And Jimmy loves to garden with Granddad. When the kids go to their house, they know they'll feel loved and important.

So I love Grandma, my mother-in-law. She's an awesome lady. I hope when I reach the "grandma years" that I can be as cool and as fun a grandma as she.

Being Money Smart

Since times are tough in the economy we thought it would be wise to evaluate our budget and see where our money was going. My husband has a wonderful job, but it doesn't hurt to stay money smart to avoid the many problems we see in the country around us, ie. living beyond one's means. So we sat down and looked over things.

This is where I share that I am a dork. The kind of person who gets excited to buy new school supplies. I loved the beginning of the school year or semester because it meant new pens, pencils, and notebooks. (Party animal!) There was just something so fun about being prepared. Well, I felt that same excitement about going over our budget. I am our budget person. I am always crunching numbers because I like to know everything down to the last penny. I live for good deals. There are certain things I will not pay full price for. I just can't do it! So budgeting is in my blood.

But I digress. We discovered that there were a few things we really didn't use much. Like the newspaper. We both rarely have time to read it. The funnies are great reading material for the bathroom and I love getting all the fliers in the Sunday paper, but was it all worth $10 a month or $120 a year? Not really. So we cut it out. Sweet! It was nice to do some "housecleaning" and get rid of a few money wasting expenses.

And we also started a fun new budget system for our groceries, toiletries, and entertainment money. It's the cash system and it's wonderful. Instead of using our credit and debit cards, which can leave room for "splurging", we take out the cash amount allotted for those areas of our budget. It goes into an envelope and we take out what we need when we go shopping or out to eat. The idea is that once the money is gone, it's gone. So we have to be good with our purchases and make sure we don't go crazy at the store. (Well, I still often go momentarily insane shopping with little kids, but that's a different kind of crazy.) It also motivates us to split up over the month when we go out to eat so we still can have fun near the end of the month. I love it! It's so much fun. When I went grocery shopping at the end of the month, I was proud to report that I had $4 left when I finished! Not bad for a month's worth of shopping for food and toiletries for 6 people. It's a fun new "game" to see how low we can go. We still treat ourselves to some fun stuff, but are more conscience of what we buy. "Do I really need that or not?" It's great! And it's calming to know that we are being smarter with our money.

Even though I am a dork about my budgeting, it pays off. Everyone should pay attention to where their money goes. I don't care how wealthy you are, you still need to be money smart. Maybe you'll even be crazy like me and have fun doing it! Wouldn't that be a great new craze to start?

Two Months and Taking Over

Someone needs to tell my adorable baby boy that he is only two months old. I don't think he got the memo. He is already 14 pounds and growing, getting too long for some 3-6 month clothes. Jacob started rolling over at seven weeks. The doctor was very impressed since most babies don't do that until four months old. Not my guy. Put him on the floor and watch him flip over. He keeps trying to sit himself up in his car seat and bouncy seat. Work those abs! And he refuses to nap in the morning because he does not want to miss out on the action. I can trick him to sleep in the morning by carrying him around in a Snugli and rocking him to sleep. Afternoon naps are doable, but only after some strong convincing. My three year old gave up his naps in December, which means Mr. Two Months Old needs to be napping for a long time still. But for some reason he is determined to take over the world at age two months. I can only imagine what kind of kid he will be once he gets mobile. Look out world, here comes Jacob! At least he is as cute as cute can get.

A Most Special Calling

I guess I can congratulate myself for being in-tune with the Spirit, at least sometimes. Over the past few weeks I have been getting "bored" with my calling as a Relief Society teacher. Don't get me wrong, I love to spout off doctrine in Relief Society. Yes, I am a shy person, but I love to teach the Gospel. I am also a passionate person and the Gospel is my biggest passion. But I was feeling that I could be doing more and honestly missing Primary. Crazy, right? I was so excited to get out of Primary before, but now I missed it.

Well, yesterday I was extended a new calling as the CTR 7 teacher. There are some downsides of having your bishop be your husband since my call was given to me as I was getting dressed for church. (I still feel robbed of my interview time!;) ) I was sustained in sacrament and even had the chance to teach my class too. I wasn't going to start until next week, but my class's teacher didn't show up for her last day so I was on. It went smashingly well, partly because it was the same class I taught when we first moved into the ward. They were CTR 5 then and now are bigger and wiser. And the bonus is my eldest, Anna, is in the class. Can I tell you how excited she is? It's a great group of kids.

I love Primary. It's like motherhood. Sometimes the kids can be insane, but working with them is very rewarding. And I cannot think of a more important calling in the church than serving the children and youth. (we'll save talking about working with the youth for another blog) I wish more people understood the importance of their callings as teachers in Primary and Nursery. Kids are no fools. They can tell when a teacher is prepared and when a teacher cares about them. For some kids church is the only time they have to feel loved and feel the Spirit. Teachers of young children help set the stage for their impression and future enjoyment of church. If they have a miserable time in Primary thanks to a lame teacher, they won't want to keep coming back. Kids want to know they are loved. They will want to go back to a place where they feel that love. That largely comes from teachers and leaders.

There is no time too soon to start teaching a child about the Gospel, that he or she is a child of God and as such is special. What child wouldn't want to hear that? The earlier a child is taught the Gospel, the easier it becomes for it to be a natural part of their life. I love watching my own children share and discuss the knowledge they have learned from us at home. Sometimes it's pretty amusing, like Jimmy telling us that we have to hide our money in our room to keep it safe from the Holy Ghost, but what matters is that they are learning about who they are and what God expects of them. I often wonder if my kids even hear what they repeat and read in scripture study, but then they'll say something about a concept taught in the scriptures we read a few nights ago and completely blow me away. Kids pay attention, they know what's going on around them, even if it seems like they don't.

That's why I cannot think of a better calling than teaching children. It is a special and important job that can be done well by all sorts of people with varying personalities and styles. But the key is that the teacher must be dedicated, have a testimony, and love his students. How hard is that? It's so easy and, yet, so important. The Lord will bless those who serve with all their ability and cherish those who do their best to teach his little ones, a most special calling.