Rockin' Out

I have to get around to finding the time to blog/post pics from Christmas, but for now, these were too fun and cute to just sit in the computer.

Here's Sophie rockin' out.

Yeah, we even have the hair goin'.

We waited for so long for hair, that I don't care if it looks like she's rockin' a spiky Mohawk.

So I haven't posted a true blog in quite awhile, but something has been weighing on my mind so I thought that it was time.

I have many flaws (as I'm sure you know) and many pet-peeves (which most could probably be classified as flaws as well). One of them that qualifies for both is when I have to put more effort into a relationship than the other person continually. Now, don't go assuming that I'm talking about Aaron - I'm not. He works just as hard, if not harder, at our marriage than I do. Anyway, I am pretty used to having to put more effort into this relationship. It's something that I accept and willfully do. I DO mind when I feel that I'm being taken advantage of or made to feel bad that I'm not doing more. Basically, I feel as if I'm giving a meal to a homeless/hungry man and then him complaining that I didn't include dessert. It seems that I always get one line of how grateful this person is for something and three lines of how it'd be great if I did it more. Then on top of it, I feel that they let us down for a very important event.

I can't change it. What I need to change is how I feel about it. Right now I'm dealing with feelings of resentment towards a person that I should never feel that towards. I need to not only forgive this person and find forgiveness for my own feelings, but change how I feel about their reactions to my actions. And frankly, I don't know how to do that. Aaron says he just forgets about it... hmmm, that's helpful!

Bishop H. Burke Peterson said:
"The longer the poison of resentment and unforgiveness stays in a body, the greater and longer lasting is its destructive effect. … The poison of revenge, or of unforgiving thoughts or attitudes, unless removed, will destroy the soul in which it is harbored” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1983, pp. 83–84; or Ensign, Nov. 1983, p. 59).

Thomas S. Monson
"The Spirit must be freed from tethers so strong and feelings never put to rest so that the lift of life may give buoyancy to the soul. In many families there are hurt feelings and a reluctance to forgive. It doesn’t really matter what the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to injure. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals. George Herbert, an early seventeenth-century poet, wrote these lines: “He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven.”

Beautiful are the words of the Savior as He was about to die upon the cruel cross. Said He, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

3rd Nephi says:
“There shall be no disputations among you. …
“For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
“Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”

Of all the counsel out there though, I'm not sure that I've found "how." I suppose it's b/c it's different for every person. I know that I need to do my 'primary answers:' search the scriptures, pray, fast, etc. I need to get closer to the Spirit and find that forgiving nature that I know is in there somewhere.

Thank You cards for our Troops

For the holidays, Xerox has set up a site: www. letssaythanks.com where you can send a thank you card to a member of our armed forces serving in Iraq. It takes only a minute and you can pick a design, pick a message - or write your own, and then Xerox will print off the postcard and send it to Iraq. So, LET'S SAY THANKS! :)

Snow Days :)

The Best Big, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

We've been doing our Christmas baking (to take around to the neighbors) and I had to post this chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's one of the best I've ever tried. Ya know those big, fat, yummy bakery cookies? Well, this is them!


INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

New Pics - well, some are new

Gratitude

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about being grateful. I love the subject and actually taught a lesson on it for our young women's group last week. I found some interesting stuff on being grateful and thought I might share some of it with you.

Dr. Michael McCollough, of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Dr. Robert Emmons, of the University of California at Davis, say their initial scientific study indicates that gratitude plays a significant role in a person's sense of well-being. The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises (such as writing in a gratitude journal) resulted in
higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy. Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved. McCullogh suggests that anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects just from counting their blessings. (The Osgood File, CBS Radio Network, July 12, 2002)

People who do not feel gratitude are only cheating themselves out of happiness in life. -Adam Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments

[Gratitude] is a quality I have found in every happy person I know. It is a quality that instantly makes a person more likable and more at peace. Where there is an abundance of this virtue, there is happiness. Where there is an absence of this virtue, there is often sadness, resentment and futility... If we only look around us, there are a thousand reason for us not to be happy... the more we focus on the things we don't have, the more unhappy and more resentful we become. -Joseph B. Wirthlin (Live in Thanksgiving Daily, Ensign, September 2001)

This is one of my favorite quotes:
Think to Thank. In these three words is the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, a formula for enduring friendship, and a pattern for personal happiness. -Thomas S. Monson, as quoted by President James E. Faust (Gratitude as a Saving Principle, Ensign, December 1996)

It is so true! When you are grateful for your blessings and gifts in this life, it is reflected in your attitude and countenance. That alone will make your marriage better. When you are thankful for your spouse (or boy/girlfriend, parents, etc.) it only can foster greater love.

Here are a few other quotes on the subject:

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,
and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. -Buddha

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. -H.U. Westermayer


Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. - William Arthur Ward


As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter
words, but to live by them. -John F. Kennedy


The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. –Eric Hoffer

So, today I thank you guys - my friends and family. (Wait, this sounds like a Budweiser commercial... so here's to you wingman....) Thank you guys for helping to make my life wonderful! There are always challenges, but you have been blessings to me and help make the challenges seem more like scenic byways rather than detours :)

Spread the Sharing

One of my friends had this posted on her blog. I finally got around to doing it and figured that I would share it with you. It takes just a few minutes and can provide a free meal for a family in need.

Click on the link http://www.spreadthesharing.com and share a story about when you received a meal or provided one for someone else. Then, Country Crock will donate a free meal to someone in need.

Holiday Pictures

We finally did our holiday pictures the other day. We originally went before Thanksgiving, but on the way Sophie threw up ALL over the carseat, herself, and everything else, so needless to say, we never got to the picture studio. But we did end up getting back and getting them done. :)

What great lips you have!

Here's a pic of Sophie all bundled up at the Parade of Lights on Saturday. I can't even remember the last time I went to the parade, but I knew that Sophie would like it, so we packed up the fam and went. She DID love it. It was cold (but not bad for Dec in CO) and rained a little, but she loved all the music and especially all the people.

I just love this picture. I think the lighting turned out beautiful and very art-sy. I showed it to Aaron and he said "yeah, we could put that in photoshop and darken it up a bit." I guess to each their own. I love how the lighting makes her lips and eyes really pop.

Playing in the Leaves

The same day that we picked our onions, we raked all of our leaves up. It was such a nice day for November! What crazy weather we've been having!!

As you can see, Sophie is a "thinker." She's not the kid to go run and jump into the leaf pile and erupt with laughter. I feel a little sorry for that - she takes after me too much I guess. She would much rather explore things thoughtfully and see what they are and how they work. I had to throw her into the pile of leaves, and as the picture attests, she wasn't real wild about the idea. She does know how to have fun, but with new things, she must first fully check them out.

It did get a little funnier when Daddy started to rake the leaves on top of her though :)

Hmmmm.... can you guess where I was pulling leaves out of all day?

Onion Harvesting

At our new house, we have the perfect garden spot! I actually have 3 separate ones, but one is my 'main one. Anyway, it finally came time to harvest our onions... and I think I planted too many :)



Sophie LOVED helping my harvest them. She thought they were all little balls for her to play with.

We ended up harvesting a FULL walmart bag full of onions. I didn't do an official count, but we had around 60 onions. They are now lying on cookie sheets all around my kitchen so they can dry so that we can store them and use them later.