I am just in heaven right now, after spending a most lovely morning with some amazing women who, after four years of being in a playgroup together, I am honored to call my friends.
We were few...
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Growing Up
CareCub and the Mousies have been really hogging the blog lately, so I have one last post about our lovies to share with you and introduce you to Scarlett's special companion: Her White Tiger,...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
a Life Lived for Others
Ever since my first experience in service boot camp, the fortune cookie has become my personal symbol of service to others.
I am always secretly on the lookout for fortune cookies to use as special reminders...
Just 30 Days
You might have noticed that I like to do things in 30 day increments: 30 Days of Service Boot Camp, 30 Days for the Family Proclamation, 30 days of Christmas Crafting, and 30 Days to Read The...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Be a Bucket Filler
I found the most amazing book at Border's last week. It is ranking in my top five books for teaching children about life. Actually, at the moment, I cannot think of another book that lays...
Monday, July 25, 2011
What Is Real?
Last November, this is what Guy's special "Care Cub" looked like. Blankie, Care Cub, and Guy. The three are quite the team. But after four years of love, Care Cub was looking more than...
Sunday, July 24, 2011
"The courage to live my dream..."
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| Scarlett and Me enjoying some Penn State Creamery ice cream after the conference. |
The writing workshop that I taught at Youth Conference on Friday was a neat experience for me. I think the next time around, I'll have a much better idea of how to formulate my thoughts and how to present to teenagers. I'm so used to talking to other women that I take for granted that we have all of these shared Mommy experiences. It wasn't that long ago that I was where they are now, so I think it worked out. They did love my streaking story though. That sure livened them up!
One of the most memorable aspects of the conference was meeting a woman who was familiar with my blog and receiving this message from her afterward. She said:
"At youth conference this week you mentioned your blog. I rushed home and found that I was already a follower. As I listened to you on Friday and read your blog today, I feel inspired to share my own story and conversion to being a stay at home mom back in 1988. It will never get published, it will not be professionally written, but it will hopefully be passed on to my descendants.
"I want them to know that, as a convert of 3 months, I followed the counsel of Pres. Ezra T. Benson to stay at home if at all possible. After 12 years of working in the corporate world, I found the courage to live my dream and be a stay-at-home mom.
Thank you, Jocelyn, for being an inspiration to me and for reminding me why I had the courage to live the dream that I had dreamed."
Thank you, Jocelyn, for being an inspiration to me and for reminding me why I had the courage to live the dream that I had dreamed."
I thought her comments were so inspiring, that I just had to share them.
Thank you, Debbie! Thank you for inspiring all of us!
I can't wait to read what you write!
What Does France Have That We Don't?
My husband is handy. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that before...
I went to the store yesterday to make ID tags for Autumn's Mousies and when I returned, Steve had sewn this cycling hat for Guy....
Saturday, July 23, 2011
A Tale of Two Mousies
Autumn and Mousie-girl, July 2010
You might have noticed the stuffed mice that Autumn carries around with her in many of the photos on my blog. I almost bought her this Mouse (from the book...
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Heart of the Home
I just received a care package in the mail from my sister Dawn. She's too good to me. She said that she saw this stamp and thought of me...so she made a bunch of cards and then sent me this stamp...
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Dear God: "Thank you for the dart gun."
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| Guy doing his morning job. |
This summer, my kids have had six jobs to do EVERY DAY.
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| Scarlett doing her morning job. |
AM Job 1: Make bed, tidy room, put clean clothes away, brush teeth, get dressed
AM Job 2: (Rotates Daily) Either clean windows, scrub bathroom, or tidy playroom
AM Job 3: Behave (i.e. read or sleep) during "Quiet Time"
(This actually happens after lunch.)
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| Guy and Scarlett: On Dinner Duty |
PM Job 1: (Rotates Daily) Set table, Dinner Duty, or Toy Patrol (Pick up toys from living room before Daddy gets home.)
PM Job 2: Kids choice (a.k.a. The Extra Mile Job)...They can figure out something that needs to be cleaned/done and do it for an extra mile job. They can also help a sibling with their job for an extra mile job.
PM Job 3: Get themselves ready for bed, lay-out clothes for next day, brush teeth, go to bed.
If they complete all of their jobs by 5pm, they can watch PBS while I make dinner.
If they do all of their "Jobs" every day (except Saturday and Sunday), they earn 25 cents.
If they ALL DO ALL OF THEIR JOBS...including the "extra mile job" then they each get an extra 50 cents for a total of 75 cents per week. I think they've only earned the full 75 cents three times so far.
This little job schedule has made this summer a lot of fun for us. We do our morning jobs first thing and then head out for adventures after that.
I probably would not have thought to do this in such an orderly way, except that during Guy's Parent/Teacher conference in preschool, his teacher was emphatic about how Guy thrives on order. I thought, yeah, yeah, we have order. We eat dinner together every night and read scriptures together every morning.
But as I thought about it, I realized that we did not follow a strict schedule. Our days are fairly free and unpredictable, and my kids are good at rolling with the punches. But now the children are getting to a point where they want to anticipate and prepare for what is coming next. So this was my way of giving them that.
But as I thought about it, I realized that we did not follow a strict schedule. Our days are fairly free and unpredictable, and my kids are good at rolling with the punches. But now the children are getting to a point where they want to anticipate and prepare for what is coming next. So this was my way of giving them that.
And doing jobs all summer has also been a great way to get them ready for the schedule and responsibility of going to Kindergarten: getting themselves ready, keeping their rooms clean, taking the initiative to recognize a need and fill it. They are young, but capable of a lot.
The kids love checking to see what their assigned job is for the day, and they take pride in the fact that they can do "grown-up" jobs around the house.
Scarlett even learned to unclog the toilet.
So the KICKER of this story is that after half a summer of this (and adding some $2 bills from his uncle), Guy had saved enough to buy something that he has really wanted for a long time: a Nerf dart gun.
We were at the grocery store waiting forever while the women ahead of us did a price check on a Nerf gun she was buying. When we realized they were 50% off I said that Guy could use his money to buy himself a Nerf gun. The sale price was $4.99.
BUT when we went through the line again to purchase Guy's well-earned toy, the price rang up incorrectly--just as it had done for the woman in front of us the first time around. So, we called the manager over and she promptly handed Guy the toy...FOR FREE...because they have a store policy--If something doesn't ring up right the first time, you get it for free.
We were at the grocery store waiting forever while the women ahead of us did a price check on a Nerf gun she was buying. When we realized they were 50% off I said that Guy could use his money to buy himself a Nerf gun. The sale price was $4.99.
BUT when we went through the line again to purchase Guy's well-earned toy, the price rang up incorrectly--just as it had done for the woman in front of us the first time around. So, we called the manager over and she promptly handed Guy the toy...FOR FREE...because they have a store policy--If something doesn't ring up right the first time, you get it for free.
Now what was I JUST saying about living in a material world?
As we walked out of the store with our groceries, I commented incredulously to Guy, "Wow, that was really lucky that you got that gun for free. What a blessing...You should say a prayer thanking Heavenly Father."
The next thing I knew, Guy had dropped to his knees right there in the parking lot and said this simple prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father: Thank you for the dart gun."
I just had to laugh at his perfect faith and immediate expression of gratitude.
I guess the lesson is that our children can learn what they need to regardless of what our particular circumstances are in this life. There will be times that we will have everything, and times when it seems we have nothing, but both times are equal in their potential for demonstrating faith and values to our precious children.
Try as I might to orchestrate the perfect learning situations for my kids, the Lord always has a better plan...so I am happy to defer to him.
Living In a Material World
Guy with the free items we acquired today.
We're nearing the last half of July and the second half of the year, and not a single one of you (except for Jenn and Gantrie) have kept me accountable for...
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
This Place of Silence and Solitude
Source
"We've lost our solitude too. We walk around with electronic leashes clipped to our handbags, backpacks, and belts. As soon as we get a moment of silence, a moment to think, our hips...
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