For once a Sunday was pretty much a day of rest. No meetings other than our regular 3 hour block, no one coming over for dinner, we didn’t go to anyone’s house for dinner, no phone calls asking for help with anything, relatively well behaved children… all in all a restful, wonderful Sunday. We always try to have the girls bathed, clothes set out, the menu planned and ready to be prepared on Saturday. It really helps us to have a quieter, more peaceful Sunday morning (as peaceful as it gets with 4 kiddos under the age of 8). We don’t always manage it, but this week we did. In fact, we were ready to head off to church with 30 minutes to spare! Considering we live 6 houses away from the chapel, 30 minutes was a but early, EVEN for me. Anyone who knows me know I’d rather be a half hour early than one minute late.

I decided it would be fun to snap a couple of photos of me and the girls (mostly to pass the time before church). Didn’t my hubby do a nice job with the first shot? It’s been a goal – one of the hardest for me – to be in more photos with the kids, etc. I know I’ve talked about WHY this is important to me, but even knowing why it’s important hasn’t made it easier to step out from my hiding place behind the camera.

I was telling my husband how disappointed I am in myself for not sticking to my healthly lifestyle goals very closely. I haven’t stayed on track, and while I haven’t put on any weight since losing 13 pounds (like, back in February/March) I haven’t lost any more. 100% my fault. I KNOW I’m addicted to sweets, no question. You stick some brownies or a DQ blizzard in front of me, and I’m a gonner. Ugh. So disgustingly weak. I’ve also been SUPER lazy when it comes to exercise. If I’m lucky I exercise once or twice a week. Maybe enough to MAINTAIN my wieghtm but not enough to lose more. I’ve wasted a lot of time – and just thinking where I COULD be right now makes me more sick to my stomach. When is it going to just hit me – enough to stick??
But then I look at my little angels. I think I’ll be passing along enough issues to my poor unsuspecting children, that issues with body image does not have to be one of them. I’m careful to not express my negative thoughts about my weight around them, but they pick up on these things. I want them to look at the beauty inside of a person, and not feel that they have to be a size 2 to be worth something – to me, to themselves, or to the Lord. It’s something I’m going to have to take more care about, and a message I’ll have to be more proactive about teaching my daughters. In just a few short years they’ll be teenagers, and I want them to be full of confidence, happiness, and excitement for life. Have I told you what cool kids I have? I think they are the bees knees 🙂

TJ was talking to us about what she learned in her Primary class today, and she mentioned how her teacher was trying to teach them how to recognize the difference between being reverent, and irreverent. She took them on a little trip down the hall to the foyer where there were people talking noisly, and her class mates were “twidgeting”. LOL! I love that word. Then she went into the chapel to listen to some young women singing a song, and she noted how everyone was quiet, sitting nicely, and how she felt really happy inside. She wrote about it in her journal when we got home, and I was thinking how sad it is that us as adults can’t be reverent in every place in the church. We have classes to be at… why are there always many adults sitting out in the foyer yakking loudly and setting a negative example for our children? GET TO CLASS!!! Oh, and NONE of them have children with them either, so there are NO excuses, in my opinion. Besides, it’s THEM who are missing out on a great spiritual boost that I look forward to each week. Too bad.

I can’t believe my JJ is getting so big. It’s fun in so many ways, and I have to admit, that I don’t miss the tiny baby stage with her one tiny bit. I love watching other moms with their new babies, but I feel zero desire to be there again. JJ is in nursery, which is AWESOME (though lately she has started making a fuss when we drop her off) and she is SO CLOSE to being potty trained. Oh happy day when that happens. Not that I have anything against diapers (actually, I do) but it will be one stage I don’t miss…at all!

All in all a great Sunday. I’m off to drop off a birthday card for that sister in the ward who had a brain tumor removed (nice way to spend a birthday) then it’s time to relax a little more. My calling has kept me busier than I could have imagined, but like I said being busy is a great way to keep out of trouble 🙂 Remember, there are good, better, and best ways to spend our time. Blogging is probably a good one, maybe not the better or best way, but it is my journal a lot of time (like today) so I guess writing in my journal isn’t such a bad Sabbath Day activity. I do handwrite in my journal as well because, frankly, I can’t say everything I’m really thinking and feeling on here. Who wants to read about that?!? My husband doesn’t even want to hear everything that’s on my mind, even though I use every opportunity to tell him 😉

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday, and a great week to come! See ya!