Category: One Step

Cozy.

That about sums up my heart tonight.  The children are in bed.  Correction:  Seven of the children are in bed.  One of them is back out of bed.  As I type this the sounds of my four year old contentedly eating the dinner he refused to touch four hours ago carry through the house.  October is complete and with a happy heart I prepare to greet November.  You may be tired of my pictures of the sky, but I cannot resist sharing one last fiery October sunset.  Honestly, it’s been a beautiful month.


This week’s report:  107 steps.  Oh, how I wish this number represented forward progress in areas that really matter to me.  Unfortunately the week was crammed full of  urgent but unimportant tasks and activities.  If  nothing else, at least I have a list of all the things I did when I wanted to be doing better things.

With the end of another month, the current grand total of steps for the year is over 3,000.  Who would have guessed?

Highlights:

1.  After almost 15 hours of time in 5 days dedicated to his soccer team, our son’s fall season is over and we are officially done for a couple of months.  (Could you hear that sigh of relief?)

2.  With the end of his season, I am taking a leave of absence from my part-time, unpaid position as shuttle driver.  I intend to stay OUT of my car as much as possible.  Yes, we’ll still have gymnastics four days a week, piano lessons, Scouts, etc. but removing the soccer and lacrosse schedules makes the calendar look rather dreamy in comparison to September and October.

3.  I thoroughly enjoyed the things my four year old son said to me this week.  A couple of examples:  “Mom, my leg muscles are insanely huge.”  After watching the Math Circus DVD by Leap Frog, I overheard him walking around the house saying “And zero is our special friend.”  That boy is a riot, I tell you.  And for the record, I should state that he walked into the Primary room of his own accord today. For weeks he’s been laying on the floor to kick and scream immediately following Sacrament meeting.  Big victory.

4.  On Monday night I had a great learning experience as a mother with my two year old daughter.  Precious.

5.  I bought a new hair dryer this week after my old one died (when myself and 3 daughters all had wet hair and it was raining outside).  They seem to quit on me after only 6 months or so anymore.  Is it just me?  I’ve tried multiple brands, and they all fizzle out and stop.  If you’ve got one that works, I’m anxious to know what kind it is.  I’m tired of buying them.

6.  I had professional pictures taken of my little one this week.  I’m excited to see them, and really hope that one of them captured the essence of her.

7.  One of my dear friends who moved away in August was back for a quick trip.  I loved seeing her, catching up briefly, and sharing a hug.

8.  We had a truckload of dirt delivered, and my awesome husband moved it to where our flower beds will be in the front yard so that I can plant tulips (which are en route via UPS because I couldn’t find what I wanted locally). Somehow we got lucky and managed to schedule the dirt delivery when the weather was pleasant.


9.  I cooked some favorite recipes.  Yum.

10.  Today I had the opportunity to teach a short lesson on the topic of reverence. It was a great experience for me.  I know that it is never my own intelligence or wisdom that I’m sharing, but it is always an experience I enjoy.  Today was no different.  I learned so much.

11.  And just to keep things real, we have this picture from our ultra reverent scripture study this evening:


That would be me with three children climbing all over me.  And here’s proof of how quiet we weren’t:


I have no explanation for the thirteen year old who felt that taking pictures was an appropriate way to “follow along.”  All I can say is that we’re not quitters and we’ll do better tomorrow.

And so another week has come and gone.  The next promises to be an exciting one.
Have a great week!

Jennifer

The sky has been a feast for the eyes all week long.  Much as I’d prefer to stay home, I must say that driving all over the place each afternoon and evening has brought the blessing of the sky to my heart.  It’s wonderful to watch the clouds roll through as I go from place to place.  Simple gifts.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this for 42 weeks without a break.  The year is flying by.  This week’s report:  116 steps.  I got a lot of little things done this week.  Little and yet they add up.

Highlights:

1.  Although he was up very late doing it, my son completed a major project for one of his classes this week.  My husband and I were so pleased that it happened without any stress or negativity on his part or ours.  Victory!

2.  I gave haircuts to three of my girls this week.  I know that I don’t really know what I’m doing, but they all look cute so it works for me.


3.  I did a better job this week of reaching out and trying to connect with a few friends and acquaintances.  I’m kind of a homebody and I have more work to do than time to do it in, so I get swallowed up by my own house and schedule sometimes.  It’s nice to connect with others.

4.  Four of our five soccer players finished their seasons this week.

5.  I made some progress working on unfinished projects.  I’m still running on the momentum of my recent disgust with myself.

6.  I had to laugh when my daughter came home from a birthday party and had to take pictures of her creation before sharing it with her brothers and sisters.  These pictures are courtesy of my 8 year old.




7.  Added borders to a quilt top.

8.  Wisely chose to stay home and clean when I was tempted to shop.

9.  Spent several hours working on this .


It’s hard to believe that October is drawing to a close.  It’s been a beautiful month, and a month of long to do lists.  I’m hoping for a VERY productive week!

Wishing you a great week, Jennifer

I loved this sunset earlier in the week.  There is something about watching the sun disappear over the horizon that calms my heart and helps me shift into a slower gear for the evening.  So beautiful.

Here I am, another week gone.  It amazes me how the weeks,  months and years fly, yet how long the days can be.  This was a week of hard work.  Steps recorded:  78.

Highlights:

1.  On a whim, I tore my family room apart on Monday.  As it is right now, there are 2 items that have remained in their original location while the rest is completely different.  I love it.


2.  Tearing apart the family room created a ripple effect around the house, and I’ve cleaned out closets, rooms, etc. ever since.  A large majority of all my “storage” boxes and other containers now house completely different things.  It’s been a whirlwind, and I hope I can remember where things are.

3.  My husband and I went to the case lot sale at a local grocery store and stocked up on many items.  Later in the week as my four year old son was in the basement with his Dad pouring rice into buckets, he said, “Dad, I know what this means.  It means Heavenly Father loves us.”  Amen to that.

4.  I’m on a “finish all my projects before beginning another” kick, and I hope it lasts long enough to make some real dents in my bad habit of not finishing as much as I start.

5.  We had a couple of days off school this week, so we cleaned.  And cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned.  And it shows.

6.  We had a soccer game in North Salt Lake this week that we found out was canceled…. AFTER we got there.  The other team neglected to pass the info on to my son’s team.  So we turned around and drove home in rush hour traffic with construction on every imaginable road.  Talk about a waste of time and gas!

7.  Yesterday we cleaned out our garage, moved my husband’s tools, and swapped spaces for our cars.  Now we can walk to the refrigerator out there without opening the garage.  Hooray!  We’ve needed to do this for months.


8.  Today I took my eight year old daughter to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple for some pictures in preparation for her baptism.  Oh, I would have loved to have my sisters here to help me!  I prayed it would turn out, and we got several shots that both of us really like.

9.  My husband was awesome and played games with the older children tonight.  Four of them don’t have school tomorrow, so we were especially relaxed.  I appreciate his good example for me.


10.  Sat up late tonight talking with my husband about a thousand little things.  It was awesome.  Now it is very late and I’m dozing as I type.

And so I’m off to begin another busy week.  I wish you all the best in yours!

Jennifer