Cleaning With A Happy Heart

We had toyed with the idea of heading out of town for the holiday weekend, but we never planned anything.  We ended up with errands and trying to get a few things done around the house.  Jess got her hair cut.  Fred and Jonathan went to see a movie.  A portion of the Simmons family dropped by to show us their super cute new car and then we all went out to eat. 

However, the day started bright and early at the church.  We were assigned to clean the church and Jonathan wasn't happy about it.  I tried telling him how blessed he will be for his efforts.  I knew how lame it was and I'm pretty sure he rolled his eyes. As soon as we walked in the church, his attitude completely changed.  He spent 2 hours working with a happy heart.  To celebrate our hard work, we went to Bahama Bucks for snow cones.  Jonathan enjoyed his reward.

September in Pictures: Sunday Morning Sun

 

It is a beautiful and peaceful Fast Sunday.  A nice morning where the temps are still at 80 degrees and I was able to spend the morning sitting by the pond reflecting on all the things I am fasting for.  A day when the beautiful morning sun is shining down and there is so much to be thankful for.

 

 

"I am grateful for the dailyness... Nature shows the strength and joy of dailyness.  I am grateful for daily sunrises and sunsets, for the stars' and moon's appearance daily.  In times of great stress and trial, the routine things sustain us - daily prayer and daily scripture study."

 

- Elaine S. Dalton

I Love To See The Temple

 

I had today off.  Most of it was spent running errands.  One of those many errands was to the Distribution Center at the Temple.  I had my stuff packed and ready - just in case I thought I had enough time for a session.  I knew I wouldn't, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.  I did have enough time to walk the grounds.  I even sat and reflected for a few minutes and said a prayer.  If every Friday could start like that, there would be no troubles in the world. 

T-I-M-E!

I love Sundays... I really do.  They are just so peaceful.  Usually, the Sunday before school starts kills me.  Not this time.  Jess had already started school.  Jonathan's school supplies were safely tucked away in his locker.  The only prep work I did was to hang his clothes on his door and to make lunches the night before.

The rest of the night was spent enjoying a couple of rounds of Apples to Apples and a most interesting Family Home Evening.  Jonathan chose the topic - spending more time as a family.  The message came from President Uchtdorf and the For the Strength of the Youth pamphlet.  Then we brainstormed activities that we could do as a family, which is completely reminiscent of a FHE that we had at the beginning of the summer.  I think our problem is compromise!  We don't all enjoy the same activities.  I suggested a family bike ride.  Everyone remembered the off-road trail ride that we took and in unison declared, "NO!"  Jonathan wanted a board game and Jess said, No, but relented and we had a good time playing Apples to Apples for the rest of the evening.

No matter what activity you come up with, the message we came away with is that love is spelled T-I-M-E!  I just love that quote from President Uchtdorf.

Last Day of Summer

Saturday was Jonathan's last day of summer vacation.  I bet you can't guess what he spent his time doing? 

Yep, swimming, his favorite activity.  I'm sure he'll get some more swimming in on Labor Day weekend, before the pool closes.  It was hot, too.  I came home with a sunburn, but I'm glad Jonathan got to spend some more time in the pool.  That kid loves the pool.

Sweet 16

Our Gracie celebrated her 16th birthday on Sunday.  We got her when our little Jessie was just a year old.  Jonathan was excited when I announced that it was her birthday.  For whatever reason, that has always been my goal for Gracie.  I wanted her to live to see her 16th birthday.  The first thing Jonathan asked was if we thought she would see her 17th birthday and what about her 18th birthday.  We just told him it was unlikely she would make it to her 18th birthday and that we would have to wait and see on her 17th birthday.

Who knows how long our girl has left.  She is small and frail and not as spry as she once was, but she is happy and healthy and that is what counts!

Big Man On Campus

Jonathan headed out the door for 8th grade today.  It is hard to believe!  He didn't really want to make time for 1st day of school pictures.  They really aren't his thing.

He thought I was torturing him or something.  Good grief.  He got his stuff together and jumped on his bike and away he went.  I wanted to yell out to him that he needed to be careful, because all of the crazy moms were going to be on the road this morning.  Instead, I calmly told him that he needed to give himself plenty of time, because there would be extra traffic.  He replied, "I know, Mom.  It's the first day of school."  I guess he knows everything now.  He's in 8th grade!

He has some nice outfits, I promise.  He just chooses to wear t-shirts and basketball shorts.  I asked him about wearing something nicer for his first day of school.  He said he couldn't.  It is too hard for him to ride his bike in his nice shorts.  "And, besides, I'd better save those for picture day."  That is the reasoning of a 13 year old boy.  Better save those nice clothes for picture day, because you can only wear them one time in your life!

You gotta love those brand new teenage boys.  I don't think all their brain cells work.