Activity Days

With the start of school came the beginning of my new calling as Activity Days leader. I was really excited to start doing it, especially since Maggie's now one of the girls! It brought back really fond memories of having my mom as our YW leader growing up. It also gave me new insight into how it must've felt to try to lead and be a mom at the same time. Not an easy task. Sorry, Mom!!!

Anyway, I just wanted to share with the world wide web the printouts that I found/adjusted/created for my girls. The idea came from A Bushel and a Peck, where Angie is a graphic designer and made printable forms for Activity Days that you can download from her site. I took it a step further and used her borders to add other tracking sheets for the girls. I'm pretty excited with how they turned out, and the girls really loved them! Since Angie was so great to share her great ideas and hard work, I thought I'd do the same--you can click on each image to copy and use them at your discretion.

Just to explain--the reason I gave them so many tracking sheets was because, as I read through the Faith in God booklet, I came to realize that the requirements everyone focuses on--the activities in the four different areas, Learning & Living the Gospel, Serving Others, Developing Talents & Preparing for Young Women--are ACTUALLY listed under "Other Requirements".

The BASIC Requirements are:
1--Pray Daily
2--Read the scriptures regularly
3--Keep the commandments & live "My Gospel Standards"
4--Honor your parents & be kind to your family
5--Pay your tithing & attend tithing settlement
6--Attend sacrament meetings & Primary regularly

So, I thought I'd put the emphasis on the basics by giving them a way to track their progress on all of them. I probably spent WAY too much time on it all, but it was sure fun! :)

Cover Page

Binder Tracker--the girls get a treat & a sticker for remembering to bring their binder to each activity.

Prayer Chart--track night & morning using the green line dividing the days on the calendar.

Scripture Tracker

My Gospel Standards--not a tracking sheet, but a way to review.

Family kindness tracker--the girls mark off a box for each act of kindness they do for their family.

Tithing Tracker

Sacrament/Primary Tracker

Articles of Faith

Articles of Faith Tracker--the girls will mark them off as they memorize them.

Activities Tracker

Me, or Something Like Her

I'm nearly starting to feel like myself again. By "nearly" I mean, closer-than-I-have-in-months-but-not-quite-where-I-used-to-be. So many things have transpired since summer began, that I'm beginning to think I've lost the old me altogether. That may not be a bad thing. I haven't decided yet.

So, here's what the "new" me (if indeed that's who she is) is doing differently:

1. She's trying to hold her tongue more. You're welcome.
2. She's trying to be more conscious of others' needs (as opposed to her own).
3. She's trying to find a reasonable balance between stay-at-home-mom and business owner, though success can only be measured in moments at this point.
4. She's showering almost daily. Again, you're welcome.
5. She's trying to focus on the future rather than dwell in the past.
6. She's still a terrible housekeeper.
7. She's becoming a good cook.
8. She's searching for ways to circumvent her ADHD in order to maintain some semblance of organization in her life.
9. She's definitely a better wife.
10. She's trying to turn her self-talk (you know, that voice in her head...) from negative to positive.
11. She's reading more, though finishing 2 novels in 3 days probably has a direct correlation to #6...
12. She's giving up on making lists. Just kidding. She's not a schizophrenic...we don't think.

I didn't realize that letting go of those parts of myself that are ineffective or (for lack of a better term) cancerous was going to feel so much like an amputation. Some of my characteristics, behaviors and attitudes have been so deeply ingrained for so long that I've surprised myself with the domino effect of changing just one thing, let alone a long list of things.

So please bear with me as I make a monumental effort to put off the natural man. He's fighting me tooth and nail.

Tired Thoughts and a Change in Perspective

So there are about a billion things I need to update on here, like how I won the Biggest Loser competition (that ended 2 months ago), or about our trip to Oregon with all the pictures associated with it, or the Stringham Family reunion at Henry's Lake that I didn't go to because I was still stuck behind my sewing machine, or the first day of school that started last week and today was picture day (Seriously! It's AUGUST!) , or about my not one but TWO new callings I got right in the middle of all my tie-making madness (guess that'll teach me to open my big mouth), or Hannah's 10th birthday 2 days ago, or Maggie's 9th birthday 4 days ago, or how about the night I slept for a full 8 hours? Wait...that hasn't happened yet.

Yes, each event does merit its own post, and I promise I'll get to it eventually, but today I need to get some feelings down that are still quite raw and tender. Hope you'll humor me.

The past few months have been the most stressful of my life. Too many things weighing heavily on me, and not much by way of relief. I wish I could say that I made all the correct decisions along the way, despite the pressure, but that wasn't the case. I only hope that my intentions can be recognized for what they are and have been--good.

Due to a few recent events that I'll not go into detail about, I've been pondering deeply the way I interact with other people. I realize that I'm really good at casual relationships, but when it comes to deep and meaningful ones, I'm seriously faltering. My version of "helping" tends to be judgmental and even selfish, and my pridefulness has been a source of unintentional hurt to those who deserve compassion and understanding. I'm grateful for a God that bestows forgiveness so easily. I'm also grateful for His mandate to change, and the tools He makes available to me to do so.

There continue to be stresses, both placed on me by others, and the ones I place upon myself, but as I try to trudge forward, I'm no longer praying for my burdens to be removed. Instead, I'm hopeful that I'll be given a back strong enough to carry it all, for as long as I need to carry it.

(I realize I sound depressed and brooding. It's really not the case. I'm just overly analytical and find that I work though it all best when I can see it on paper...or the computer screen in this case.)

I just thought of the scripture: "To whom much is given, much is required" in a very different way right now. I always focused on the "requirement" part--so much that's being required of me--but I just realized that with the mountain that's being required of me, it stands to reason that I must truly have also been given a mountain. A different perspective can bring much in the way of peace.

Exhaustion is setting in, and I'm not sure that the rest of my thoughts will be viewed as coherent by morning. I guess I'd better return to this later on, else someone views my thoughts as a cry for help....totally NOT, ok? :)

My Thoughts Exactly

www.hopefullymormon.blogspot.com

Day 2

Dear Mr. S.--

Today was.......less......good......than yesterday. A lot less. Dixon decided to wake up at 11:45, insisting on being fed a bottle. I was too tired to fight it. The alarm going off at 5 am was therefore a rude awakening to say the least. I turned it off and immediately fell back asleep. Luckily I woke up again just before 6, so I willed myself out of bed to get breakfast ready for the kids. (When I say "ready" I mean opening up their yogurt and pouring in the Bran Buds.) Apparently, the girls were all feeling the same as I was because it was like pulling teeth to get anyone to do anything they were supposed to this morning, and I was surprised that only one of them had to go change their clothes before leaving for school. (I'll let you guess which one that was...)

Bridget's day was a little better than yesterday, but I sure missed having her take a nap! In fact, Dixon only took about half of his usual nap, so I really got gypped. Hopefully now he'll be too tired to get up until morning. (Probably helped that I gave in with the bottle tonight.)

Meredith and the boys came to play for a while this afternoon. Somehow the kids ended up pulling down that wire that stretches from the house to the garage and were swinging on it. Not sure what kind of wire it is, but thankfully no one was hurt by it. I don't know what to do with it, so I'll just let you take care of it when you get home. You can take care of the dishwasher, too. For whatever reason, it decided to stop working today. Wish I could do that.

From about 3:00 on, chaos ruled. Maybe I can blame it on the yogurt they all ate this morning. I didn't check any expiration dates.... I dunno, but it was all I could do not to put them all in bed at 5:00.

Today was not all lost, though. I got my shipment of shirts in today!!! Yay!!! I've been matching up different ties to different shirts, and of course, I was having so much fun that I want to keep one of every shirt and one of every tie for Dixon!!! I'm trying to figure out how to photograph them so that I can get them up on my site (though I'm still uncertain if Etsy will let me sell them as sets since the shirts aren't handmade), but I may just have to consult with Jen on this one since my creativity is sadly lacking in that department.

So now, I'm done. Shirts and ties are strewn over the living room, toothpaste is all over the bathroom sink I cleaned earlier today, and the kitchen has a countertop and a dishwasher full of dirty dishes that I simply didn't have the energy to tackle by hand tonight, so I'm going to bed. Wish I was crawling in next to you. I miss you, and I can't wait for you to come home and resume your dishwashing and putting the kids to bed duties. Now I remember why I handed those jobs over to you. I hope I--I mean, WE--can survive the next two days without you. Please stay away from the bears.

Love,
Mrs. S.

Day 1

Dear Mr. S--

Today was a pretty good day. I got up at 5:17, but I really did try to be up at 5. Guess staying up until 11:00 the night before school starts wasn't the best idea. I made eggs and toast for breakfast so the girls would have some "brain food" and they were actually attentive as we read scriptures this morning. Hope you don't mind that we decided to start all over in 1 Nephi.

Got all the laundry washed today (folding is on the agenda for tomorrow) and even tidied the mud room, all while Dixon practiced going up and down the stairs. I'm not quite ready to let him off all on his own yet, but if he keeps doing this well we won't have to holler at the girls to shut the door much longer!

Bridget complained of being hungry ALL MORNING LONG, and finally I had her lay on our bed to take a nap because she was just so ornery! It was so heavenly having the 3 girls at school and Bridget and Dixon napping for 2 hours together today! I pulled and washed the couch covers, cleaned under the couches, swept the floor, repositioned the rug, cleared off all the junk on the piano, organized paperwork, paid some bills, and ran a load of dishes. Maybe Bridget should nap with Dixon everyday!!!!

After the kids woke up, we dropped off your pile of old jeans and my bag of old shirts at DI and then picked up the girls. They talked nonstop all the way home about everything that happened at school (exhausting me!), and after homework and piano I started dinner. Taquitos, pierogies, and corn. I know--totally healthy. I just haven't made it to the store yet, nor have I even gotten menus or a shopping list ready. Maybe tomorrow I'll tackle that one. Not the shopping, just the planning. I'll wait to shop when you get home. I know I'd be down to less than half of my usual gaggle with only the two kids, but the truth is, even one kid is a burden at the supermarket.

The apple crisp is sitting on the stove, waiting to be devoured, knowing that it only makes an appearance when you are not around to turn your nose up at it, so we'll be digging into that tomorrow...

Today I weaned Dixon from his bottle, and he was just fine. Now if we can just get the girls to stop asking him if he wants his ba-ba, we'll be in good shape.

That's about it for today. I'm exhausted, and it looks as if I didn't learn last night's lesson about going to bed at 11:00. Oh well. I got your message on my phone last night, and the note you left on our bed. How do I deserve you?

Hope you haven't met anything bigger or hairier than you in the last 24 hours. (Well, except Matt, of course...)

Love you and miss you.

Mrs. S.