**Punch it Margaret!!!!

I have pondered this a lot. I read a while back about how someone used a word as their New Years Resolution. I really liked this idea and thought for a while what word could I make my slogan for the year? So I looked at my weaknesses...eee gads that was not fun. So I looked at my strengths...Aaahh much better...self esteem in check. Okay back to those weaknesses..gently. Their was a common thread to a lot of them..which I won't discuss. But they seemed to circle around my color code. Out of Red, Blue, White, or Yellow; I am most white and the rest yellow. I am defined as A peacemaker. A peacemaker brings a great gift of clarity and tolerance and are generally kind, adaptable and good listeners. Sounds nice huh, but there are a whole slew of negative traits that ring very true.
I decided that to develop positive traits that are associated with other colors would take work. But I don't think it is beyond my reach. I decided that the word for the year would be Initiative. I put it in those two colors because I am pretty sure it comes easy to both of those colors which I have very little running through my veins. Instead of shying away from things I want to jump in with both feet. Instead of waiting for my husband to do it I want to
"get ur done"!
Please don't confuse this with feminism. Shane will still be responsible for the garbage every Monday and I will still peel his oranges for him. I just want don't want to be wishing 4 months after my taillight goes out that he will notice and sweep in and fix it for me. I went to Schucks myself (shameless plug for those nice, helpful men), came home, read my manual, and installed the little bugger myself. I felt so proud for fixing something that had driven me nuts for so long. Goodbye annoying red light that glared at me every time I turned my car on.
Instead of sitting back and waiting for things to happen I am going to visualize that green light and put the pedal to the metal....not quite to the point of buying my own living room furniture but give me a few months.

Here are a few things I have put off that I may decide to tackle:

1. Construct mesh ladder for my tomatoes on my garden box
2. Tear down UGLY fence in my back yard that my FIL put up before we left for Florida.
3. Hmm I broke into a cold sweat thinking about doing 1 & 2...I better baby step my way into those first.

I don't know what kind of effect this will have on me if any. But worse case scenario is my tomatoes will be fabulous and I can guilt Shane into doing even more things like finishing trim work on bedrooms that have gone untouched in 4 years on January 25th.

**vague reference to an obscure 80's commercial.... scroll ahead to 7:55 if you are curious. Yes I remember this; I know I am random; I can't believe youtube had it either.

Provident Living

"We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts."—The First Presidency,

Is it just me or is this one of the hardest things. I am a simple girl but sometimes I have a hard time defining wants and needs. I need my carpets cleaned...or do I just want my carpets cleaned? I think I really need it, but do you see where it can be hard? I have been trying to save for new furniture but then sometimes the thought creeps in..."you do have somewhere to sit ya know, you don't really need it".

The tragedy in Haiti puts a lot in to perspective and I think I could use that money to sock away a lot in my food storage, but let's be honest, How Boring. I decided this month to buy nuts because they are 1/2 off from the holidays and fill the jugs that I bought two years ago with water. Not spectacular but more than I had yesterday.

Has the New Year brought any resolutions in this department for you? What are you doing to 'feel more secure'? How do you discern between wants and needs?

Random Schmidt

What a room can look like after one week with cousin and a very inattentive mother!

What a most excellent team looks like while participating in the Amazing Race! Did I mention winning team?

What a daughter looks like on Nerd Day at school. I know...apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

What a toilet can look like after a two year old has watched too much Finding Nemo.

Christmas With Family

The Christmas family gathering featured everything from formal Christmas dining to watching college bowl games. Here you see some musical chair competition with the kids showing off the latest dance movements.

Dress-ups and pair-ups were ongoing. The kids had a great time dragging out all the dress-up clothing -- for the adults to pick up for them later.

We found time for ice skating again this year. The big kids played tag, while the younger kids just tried to stay standing. Thank goodness for the helper supports.

Our favorite past time was eating. The formal Christmas dinner was divided into three settings to get everyone to the food at the same time.

Did I say something about eating? Ham and potatoes au gratin. What a feast.

An afternoon bowling revealed some talent that had heretofore lain dormant. It also revealed a need for some of us to practice a bit more.

Perhaps it is obvious who was the big winner for the day.

Jacque teamed up with some of her Chorale friends for a Christmas concert. The music was special and the food afterwards was an added treat.

Christmas comes but once each year. It's a shame, because there is nothing like Christmas to show families how much each one is loved and appreciated.

What a little time will do

Today we carved pumpkins. A great Sunday activity if you asked me. As I helped the kids with the activity my mind wandered back a few months...

...to when Halley began school. Here is a picture on the school bus. I remember walking Lindsay to that same school bus, with the same Mrs. Rose as a bus driver. I was pregnant with Evan and Halley was a difficult toddler. I couldn't even imagine the day when it would be her turn to climb on that same big, yellow, bus.

As I gaze at this picture my heart can scarcely remember when this very bright child would drive me to tears with her head strong ways. She knew what she wanted and she could hold out as long as it would take to get it. My mom used to tell me that she will probably need that determination later in life to remain true to her beliefs. I would cling to that...because sometimes it was all I could understand. She is now such a joy to have around. I miss her when she is gone, and can't wait for her to come back. She comes home with such tales of adventure like trips to the Farm with Mr. Bill the bus driver, and to make the "TH" sound you think of Thadius Thickknees, and the life cycle of a pumpkin. I love to see how much she wants to read during scripture study because a world of jumbled letters has now opened a door for her to climb in. I love to hear her quote movies and try to stump me....happens a lot...and every few nights when she can't quite make it until dawn in a bed by herself she tiptoes in and snuggles by my feet...(because she knows if she climbs in by our heads daddy will have her sleep on the floor.)

I am amazed what a few years will do to change a life, or a perspective. I have learned in Motherhood to squeeze every ounce of joy from where you are because soon you won't be there any more. As we carved pumpkins tonight and the craziness that ensued I had a flash forward to a time when there would be no more little hands wanting to scoop pumpkin goop out with a spoon and no more giggling at the sight of brightly lit pumpkin faces in the moonlight. Treasures I now keep.

Hawaiian Addendum

It is inexcusable for me to exclude one of the most exciting things I have ever done. On the first day of our Hawaiian adventure we went diving at night with Manta Rays. In the hour or so we were in the water we had at least 10 of these hugh creatures swim past us -- sometimes so close they skimmed across our stomachs. It was unbelievably exciting and a great introduction for Jeanne to prepare her for "swimming with fishes". Although a member of the shark family, Manta Rays have no stinger and no teeth. We had to remind ourselves of that frequently when one of those monsters came swimming towards us.

Aloha to Hawaii

Whereas we didn't take much time for swimming, the world-class beaches and amazing waves were unbelievable.

We visited the memorial to the servicemen who lost their lives in the Pearl Harbor attack. It was moving to think of how close to our shores the attack came, and how many unsuspecting servicemen still lie at the bottom of the harbor.

This is the battleship Missouri. It has been deactivated since Desert Storm in which it fired the first volleys. It is more renowned as being the site where the Japanese surrender took place when WWII came to an end. It is docked in Pearl Harbor adjacent the the USS Arizona memorial.

Before leaving Ouahu we visited Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. This sunset scene was taken from there.

In Kauai we were driven to the highest lookout in Waimea Canyon, and then biked the 17 mile distance to the bottom. It was all down hill, and a nail biter at times. Mark burned out his brakes and had to get a replacement bike.

Perhaps the most impressive sight we saw on our trip was the cliffs at the Napali Coast. We paralleled this coast in a catamaran for 19 miles of the most beautiful scenery I can imagine. Many movie scenes have been filmed in or around these cliffs. They are the second highest in the world -- topped only by the cliffs of Molokai, the next island south of here.

This picture was taken during our catamaran cruise of the Napali Coast.

Jeanne had to make sure we all ate enough fruit -- here seen raiding a banana tree. The fresh fruit here was to die for. We had no problem satisfying our nutritional needs.

I have never seen a more beautiful golf course. How would you ever concentrate on your game. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to find out.

One more lighthouse before heading home. Leaving Paradise was not easy -- especially knowing we were going back to October in Petersburg.

This last glimpse of Oahu was shot from the plane on the way home. You can see Diamond Head very clearly at the bottom of the picture.