Repetition

I was reading a blog this morning where a woman was discussing how often the Savior repeated himself when teaching. How often He said the same things over and over. Maybe He said it a little differently here and there, but basically it was the same things over. And over.

This is good for us. We are told that hearing the "plain and precious" truths over and over will help us keep perspective while living in this world, help us on the straight and narrow. I have had clients complain that they hate going to church because they hear the same message. Over and over. To me, that is comforting; an unchanging, a constant I can count on in this unstable and often unpleasant world. In fact, I am looking forward to going to church this morning. I know exactly what I will hear, I know I need to hear it, and I know I will come home feeling refreshed and uplifted; buoyed for the week to come.

So repetition is good. It is reminder. If we didn't hear it weekly, (and daily in scripture study) we might lose sight of our goal, of what is important.

So.

I think of how often I tell my children the same things. Over and over.

Put your dirty clothes in the hamper.

Hang up your backpack.

Put the dog food pitcher away.

Clean up after yourself in the kitchen.

Don't yell at your sister.

Clean your room.

Brush your teeth.

Say your prayers.

Do your chores.


You get the idea. I say these things 3 or more times daily to each child old enough to do them. Usually it is about the third time a day, or after about a week of saying the same thing at the same time that I get sick of it. I mean really, how often do they need to be told? Can't they remember these things on their own? I get so exasperated with this process. I get SO TIRED of repeating myself.

It just might be that this repetition will benefit them someday; I will have drilled into them a sense of cleanliness and organization that they will take with them when they move out.

Why can't they get it while they still live here?

Anyway, after pondering the parallel of the Saviors repetition with that of parenting, I think I can have more patience. After all, how may times has the Savior reminded me of something I have been told over and over? Something I needed to be told again? Even as an adult, I am still working on those basic Christlike attributes and will be for the rest of my mortal life. And where would I be if Christ threw in the towel because I exasperated him so much? So, here's to another week of me reminding my children of the same things I always do, and to me being reminded of the things I need to know.

Happy Sabbath!

Pumpkin Fun

We started out with our usual dinner in a pumpkin. I had to laugh, because the pumpkin we picked up for our dinner was a perfect carving pumpkin. Very thin with little gunk inside. Not so with our other pumpkins! They were very thick walled, and lots of gunk!



Corrine didn't want to touch the gunk. At all. She got grossed out watching us touch it! Look at her face here:

What she would do was scoop out one seed at a time with an ice cream scoop. Not sure why she had an ice cream scooper. But it worked for her!


Nope. Not doing it. You can't make me. Also, ignore the laundry in the corner.

Everyone got to work creating their masterpieces.


Ava had drawn her design for her pumpkin days before and was so excited to unveil her creation when we sat down. She kept saying "you guys are gonna love it, its so cool!" When she showed it to us, we oohed and ahhed, then convinced her that something similar but slightly easier to carve would be better. Here is her design:

Very creative, but that would have been a doozy!


We ended up with some great ones! Michaela was creative and used the stem for her nose, it looks really neat. Corrine is infatuated with Minnie Mouse, so that is what hers turned out to be. Ava settled on an easier design and it looks fantastic. I did leaves, Payden did a skull. Jason's creation is our name and year. Such fun!

Pumpkin picking 2010

The quest for the perfect pumpkin took place in Utah this year, and I must say I find their pumpkins superior to Idaho's.

This friendly little guy was ready and waiting to spook us on our hunt. ( This is a picture of on the way back; since we knew they were there they didn't jump out, just waved hello!)

Throwing hay is a fun fall pastime.


Ah, here they are, the cream of the crop. Yeah, the pumpkins are pretty good too!


Ava tried so hard to pick hers up, but I think it weighed almost as much as she did!

Yeah, a Corriney sized one!

Payden's perfect pick.

Here it is mom!

It was hard to find a pumpkin that wasn't perfect in this field. They were all good shaped, good colored gems. Here is mine.

Jason found his within 5 feet of the tractor!

We were treated to a hay ride out the to field. Our driver was funny and entertaining. He really was proud of that tractor!

Some people just shouldn't take pictures. Oh well, we are represented!



The kids were so excited to do this. This is one of our favorite traditions.

The weather was great, and it was a fun evening. After we got our pumpkins, we went and got a pizza for dinner. Yeah for fall!

Happy 35th Jason!

Jason turned the ripe old age of 35 on the 2nd. We went out to dinner. He wanted to go to Lonestar steak house, but when we got there the restaurant wasn't open anymore! So we tried Olive Garden, but there was a 90 minute wait. We ended up eating at Garcia's, and it was yummy! Even though we had stopped off at Krispy Kremes on the way over for doughnuts for conference the next day and we all ate a fresh one. Amazing that we had room for dinner! Marlene came down and spent a couple of days with us and treated us to dinner. Jason enjoyed having his mom over for his birthday! He requested that I make my homemade mint brownies instead of a cake, so that is what he got.

We gave him gifts when we got home from Garcias.

They were wrapped really fancy, in Walmart sacks! I didn't realize that the box with all of our gift bags was unlocatable until too late, so thats that!



We all love our Jason! He is a good man, provider, husband, father, diaper changer, dog wrangler, dish washer de-gunker, cat box changer, getmeaglassofwaterplease.....sheesh, what would we do without him? We enjoyed the chance to give him a good day and celebrate him. Even though he would rather we didn't spend money on him! Happy Birthday Jason!!!!!!

Bed-Headed

Payden did our FHE tonight and she did a wonderful job, complete with lesson, activity and treat. It was well thought out and interesting. At one point though, she was telling us about John the Baptist, and said:

"It says he was bed-headed though, and I have no idea what that means. "

Jason and I cracked up, and in between bursts of laughter explained that he was BE-headed.

Oh, what a great FHE!

Fall Pics 2010

Here are our fall pics for this year. We went on a drive to Bountiful and found this nice park. I can't remember the name, I think it started with an m. It was nice; trails to walk, tables to eat at, and it was so pretty with all the fall leaves. We plan on going back to picnic there.

Marlene came with us and helped with the pictures. I set us up, set the camera up, and she shot it. It makes it easier than having to use the timer and run!


Corrine would not stand in the right place for this pic, but it still turned out cute!



Sillies!





This is the only picture of Corrine by herself that I took. Oops!


Payden

Michaela

Ava

Our angels

We had a good time. Ava and Payden collected leaves and made artwork with them when the came home. Yeah for fall!

What do you think?

I got this bird statue at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. I fell in love with it. The lady said it is "really old". I don't know about that, but it looks old. It is all crackled, and the colors look old. Jason thought it was ugly, but I said trust me, it will look awesome at home. I got it for two bucks! I just love it.

It looks perfect on our mantle. Just the right colors.

So. What do you think? It it cool, or ugly? (You won't offend me, I like it and thats all that matters!) For the record, when I got it home and put it on the mantle, Jason grudingly admitted it looked good there. So, weigh in!