Digi Scrapbooking

So I was talking over my new quest to digi scrap with a friend of mine who is very into scrapbooking and stuff. She does her's the good ole fashioned way and uses paper and glue and all that fun stuff. I asked her what she recommends to get caught up, and she said she likes to tell people to start at a beginning point and work forward from there.

So I decided to start in 2002 when we first got a digital camera and start working through the pictures I have on the computer making layouts as I can.

Here are two that I've worked on the past two day's.

Saturday's

So everyone asks me what I do during the day when the kids are at school??? I have 2 1/2 hours between dropping Angela off at school and when she comes home.

I try and do some cleaning, I almost always do some laundry.
I exercise.
I go grocery shopping and occasionally shopping for other stuff.
I volunteer at the school.
I occasionally take a nap, read a book, or play on the computer.
I try and visit with some friends once in a while.

Those hours just fly by, but the thing is I am doing much more cleaning during the day than I have in the past.

So why do I still find myself on Saturday morning cleaning the bathrooms, and doing laundry???


Sometimes I feel like the cleaner I keep my house, the more I "see" places to clean, and the more I feel compelled to clean.

Sometimes it seems like it was easier when I just gave in and embraced the messes of young children. lol!

Sisters...

I'm watching the girls play outside together. In the winter with the wind and cold temps they don't get the chance to play outside much. Today is pretty mild, so since they didn't have any homework after school, all three girls went straight outside with Jojo and have been playing and running around for the last 30 minutes. They are doing trains on the slide, running up the slide, swinging, running around the yard with Jojo...

It brings back lots of memories of playing outside behind out house in Maryland with my sisters and the "green machine" (big green utility box) and rope swing on the tree.

Having good clean (unless you count the dirt and mud from a wet backyard) fun...

and I love to watch them having it. Enough that I'm willing to overlook the pile of laundry in Ashley's room that she still has yet to fold and put away and she is supposed to be tackling right now. It'll still be wrinkled and waiting to be folded tonight, or tomorrow...

That's a mom's perogative right?

Talents and Gifts of the Spririt

Today when I was in Young Womens, the lesson was on the gifts of the spirit. I didn't teach, but during the lesson the teacher asked me to share with the girls my thoughts on what we were talking about.

I went through years of soul searching and wondering what gifts I might have in my life that I could develop. I had freinds that were very accomplished in musical and athletic things and I always felt that I fell short because I didn't have a true talent to share.

I was so happy today to be able to share with the girls my realizations a few years back that I don't have to have something extraordinary to share talent wise. Compassion and helping others is a talent, having faith is a gift of the spirit, and being receptive to learning is a gift of the spirit as well.

I was able to share with them that knowing that and realizing that allowed me to become less self conscious about other talents. I DON'T have an amazing singing voice, but I do have a pretty good one. Today sang a duet during sacrament meeting and by realizing that I don't have to be "the best" to develop and strengthen some of my natural talents I've been able to enjoy those talents more.

I'm grateful for that lesson I've learned and for the chance I had to share it with the great girls I get to work with.

Time flies! Happy New Year!

Well December just flew on past! We stayed busy with fun christmas traditions. We made gingerbread houses, baked all together as a family, and had fun christmas parties at school and church.

On Christmas Eve we had a blizzard and the kids had a great time going out and playing in the snow. We were so worn out from playing in it, that our traditional christmas eve stories didn't happen... the kids just went and climbed in their beds and went to sleep! lol!

We had a great christmas break from school, and I wasn't even ready for the kids to go back to school this week... they had been having such a great time at home.

I had the opportunity to fly back to Utah the sunday after christmas and attend my Grandma Johnson's funeral. I felt blessed to have that opportunity to go and spend time with my family and remember her and celebrate the wonderful full life that she had. It was great to see cousins and aunts and uncles that I just don't get to see very often.

Now I'm in the midst of figuring out what goals I might want to try and accomplish this year. I'm not looking for huge ones, just small ones.

I'd like to continue the weight loss that I started this fall. I kind of took a break over the holiday's so I could just enjoy them and not stress over my diet during that month and a half. I may have gained a pound of two, but I'm perfectly content with that. I'll be starting weight watchers again on Monday and I've already started back on the exercise routines.

I'm also wanting to do better at scripture study... and am setting aside some time to focus on that each day.

And... I want to try and keep our house cleaner. The new little puppy we have will actually help me with this- since I'll try and keep things picked up a little better so he doesn't try to chew on things. I mainly just need to get around to cleaning bathrooms more frequently, and I think the whole family will appreciate that. :)

Rich asked me the other day what my hobby was... I didn't have a good answer for him, so my other goal this year is to figure out what type of hobbies appeal to me, and take some time to work on it. Tonight I fiddled around with some photo's and digital paper and elements and put together some blog backgrounds... just simple, but a start!