tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11357588107963320382024-03-16T03:06:56.387-06:00Mormon Mom Planners - Monthly Planner/Weekly PlannerIf you are looking for a mom planner or mom agenda that is designed to be both cute and functional you have finally found what you are looking for. The mom planner includes both a monthly planner and a weekly planner. We offer the Mormon Mom Planner (the only planner designed just for Mormon moms) and the Mom-on-the-go planner, with the same great look and function but without the specific LDS elements. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400592504837618867noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-58920353802574389772018-05-14T17:22:00.004-06:002018-05-14T17:22:54.065-06:00Summer Vacation: When a Plan is a Mom's Best DefenseOh, summer vacation. The thing our kids look forward to from Valentine's Day until the end of May. When I think of vacation, I imagine beaches and sunsets and holding hands with my sweetheart and amazing food and kids who are actually really best friends and reading and reading and more reading. The reality will probably be closer to the constant noise of Fortnite combined with whining about the lack of snacks in the house and the constant proclamations of extreme boredom. Soooooo, it's time to make a plan before summer turns into a train wreck!<br />
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First, <b>chores</b>. They just have to be done. They'll thank me for it someday. (I think that may be another parenting lie, but I'm running with it.) We are currently on chore chart attempt number 374, so it's time to create chore chart #375 for the summer. I stick to the very basics. We have animals that need to be taken care of, bathrooms to be cleaned, clothes to wash (if they actually put them away, bonus), floors to keep picked up and vacuumed, but that's about it. I normally have my house cleaned every other week, but not so often in the summer, so, before they can settle in on the couch for more screen time with a can of Pringles (which they should not be eating in the living room, btw) and a water bottle (let's be real, it's soda), they have to do their chores first. If they choose playing before chores, then bubye, Instagram or Fortnite or whatever will make their little faces screw up at the injustice of it all.<br />
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Next, <b>schedules</b>. I just made our schedule posters for the summer. I got all family trips, campouts, town carnival and parade, youth trips, cousin camp, holiday trips, etc. all laid out on posters that live on our living room wall all summer. That way we know what days are open for some bucket list fun! Make sure you schedule date nights in there, too, or the weeks will fly by before you know it!<br />
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Now, you can't forget the crazy amounts of extra <b>food</b> that you buy in the summer! All the kids are home all day and when there's boredom, there's grazing! So we stockpile food like we live in a fallout shelter. I also make sure there are easy lunches that they can make for themselves since I still work part-time in the summer, but the real winner for summer is throwing together quick and easy picnics! I take about four loaves of bread and make ridiculous amounts of PB&Js and ham and cheese sandwiches, throw them in freezer bags, and voila! Super easy picnic sandwiches ready to go. They last really well in the freezer for about six weeks so I have another sandwich-making assembly line that happens mid-summer. It makes for the easiest picnics! It also saves me from spending a ton of money on drive-thru food during the summer (which makes the maaaany Swig stops that much sweeter).<br />
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Now for the <b>bucket list</b>! In the past we've had a water park pass and that was our go to spot for summer fun, but this year we're going to explore different pools in our neighboring cities. My kids could swim all day every day so we luck out since everyone can agree on that outing. They also LOVE trampoline places and just plain ole' playgrounds. So the next poster to live on our living room wall is our bucket list:<br />
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<li>any movies we want to see</li>
<li>pools we want to visit</li>
<li>trampoline places</li>
<li>parks</li>
<li>escape rooms</li>
<li>probably a day trip or two</li>
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One of the biggest obstacles to get out the door is, well, getting out the door. This is why a <b>summer bag</b> should be your secret weapon! What is in the summer bag? It has sunscreen, bandaids, chapstick, ibuprofen, a few towels, wipes, water bottles, snacks like jerky and granola bars, quarters (honestly, that's weird, but they come in handy for that lurking candy machine), bubbles, deck of cards, etc. Grab an old backpack and you'll be set!</div>
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So, here's to having as close to a 10-week vacation as you can get! However you plan your summer, good luck! May the force be with you.</div>
Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-5545218884124878602018-04-30T17:30:00.001-06:002018-04-30T17:30:34.737-06:00My Favorite Not-So-Common Stress Relievers<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Jen Sorensen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Want to know the dirtiest s-word of them all?? STRESS. Ugh. There’s SO much of it in our lives and we have to make a huge effort to control it before it shapes us into a person we barely recognize. Here are a few ways I’m learning to do that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhSx_gtXiP_q2PUzbvQhIG1e-YPNCzhyphenhyphen2N-nqio3HPqzWqww9B4Tmmf2lmiALdOxzVS6ACE-4ioNcx95nVAWeHc-6wTACTcSw9M0b9MjFa8HvHVIuDDaGtUJvOMOl1AKmu3i2eETdRkU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-30+at+5.22.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1332" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhSx_gtXiP_q2PUzbvQhIG1e-YPNCzhyphenhyphen2N-nqio3HPqzWqww9B4Tmmf2lmiALdOxzVS6ACE-4ioNcx95nVAWeHc-6wTACTcSw9M0b9MjFa8HvHVIuDDaGtUJvOMOl1AKmu3i2eETdRkU/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-30+at+5.22.30+PM.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Give someone a compliment.</span></span></h2>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Really, this one should be called Do Something For Someone Else, but I find that giving someone a genuine compliment is one of the simplest, yet most meaningful, ways to get us out of our own heads and focused on someone else. One of the worst side effects of stress is that we zone in more and more on our own problems and we forget that one of the things that brings us peace is caring about other people. So tell a stranger that you love their shoes. Tell a coworker that they did an amazing job on a project. Tell your spouse that they look hot. For real. Tell your kids that their hugs are like a superpower. Tell your neighbor that you’re lucky to have them because they always have baking soda. (Unless you’re my neighbor because I never do.) Tell your sister that she’s the best listener and you should know. Tell a friend that she helps you be a better person. By the time you’ve thought about all of those compliments, the stress will most likely have faded to the background and allow you tackle it with a clearer mind.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Face whatever is stressing you, and beat it.</span></span></h2>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> So often our problems are never quite as scary or as time-consuming or as hard to figure out in real life as they are in our imaginations. All of us are affected by stress in different ways. For me, it really messes with my sleep! Usually I just stay awake because all the worries are swirling around in my head. When I do finally drift off I dream about the same problems that were plaguing me while I was awake, except there’s a weird unicorn selling ice cream or something.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> When I finally face the stress, it’s usually a pretty quick fix and definitely not worth all the apprehension that preceded it. I try to teach this to my kids. Especially where math homework is involved.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ask for help.</span></span></h2>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Uh, excuse me. I am Wonder Woman and I do not need help. Ha! I wish. I need sooooo much help, but I’m actually really bad at asking for it. It’s not because I don’t think I need it (I could barely write that without laughing out loud!), but I really don’t want to be a bother to anyone. Several months ago I asked my husband if he would start switching off with me every other week to take care of the menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking. He is the most amazing human on the planet and immediately started doing exactly that. Let me tell you, a whole week of coming home to delicious dinners that someone else thought of and shopped for and cooked and cleaned up after… HUGE STRESS RELIEVER. And it only happened because I asked for help. I did it and so can you.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
</span><br />
<h2>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Give yourself permission.</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This means so many things to me. One of my biggest stress-inducing flaws is that I never feel like I’m </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">good</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at anything. The way I’m learning to combat this is by giving myself permission to feel like I’m </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">good enough</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at something. Sometimes this goes hand in hand with giving myself permission to cry a little or permission to quit even when I feel like I should keep going or, weirdly enough, permission to feel inferior, but only for a little while. Sometimes you must give yourself permission to do nothing. The world will go on with Henry Higgins and it will go on without you. Lay in your bed and watch a show and then watch another show and then remember that you are a person.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Giving ourselves permission to feel or do something that usually isn’t allowed can be liberating, and you can’t feel liberated and stressed at the same time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Remember who you are.</span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> After all the other things we’ve talked about, this is the most important. So often one of my biggest stresses is keeping up with everything I’m “supposed” to do to keep myself spiritually put together. There are (way too many) days when I allow work, kids’ schedules, meal prep, housework, tv, social media, yard work, blah blah blah, to take all of my attention and I become so depleted that I’m too tired to talk to my Heavenly Father and waaaay too tired to read from the scriptures. I get so stressed out and snappy and overwhelmed and forget that I’m worth anything and I wonder why everything is going wrong?!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I’ve been through this cycle so many times that you’d think I’d start figuring it out a little sooner, but recently I found myself back in the same slump so I picked up where I left off last time in the scriptures and what do you think I read on that very first morning? This:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">(<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/9.32" target="_blank">Mormon 9:20</a>)</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Well, there you go. Depart from the right way, and God’s miracles cease in our lives. What a great argument to turn the things we're "supposed" to do into things that we "get" to do. I get to pray every day. I get to study His words every day. I get to serve those around me every day. </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">I want to know God every single day because I don’t have a chance of handling the stress of life without his miracles, big and small. So, above all, remember the things that we’re “supposed” to do are the things that will wrap his loving arms around us and keep us safe. No matter what religion you are, just remember that you are a child of God. You are worth taking caring of and you are powerful enough to take care of those around you.</span></span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-3226137263880367772018-04-16T18:04:00.002-06:002018-04-16T18:04:56.993-06:00The Right Way to Write a Note<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Danielle’ Dimond</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/my30somethings/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #d5a6bd;">@my30somethings</span></a></span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-5527e9f5-d0b8-2d91-f5d2-dac9b37a4562" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I estimate that I say the words “I love you” about 50 times on a good and loving day. On a super grouchy ‘good feelings gone’ kind of day that number is still up in the 20-25 times range (and then after bedtime I may sneak guiltily into rooms to whisper 5 more just to be sure I haven’t ruined them). What can I say? I’m a words gal! However, I have also experienced that mind-addling effect of saying one word over and over until it loses meaning and I begin to question my very existence in the cosmos. Yikes! Is that what happens when I tell my kids I love them day after day?! Are they questioning their existence in the cosmos because of it?!</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I kid, but I definitely feel like us Moms need to up our ‘I Love You’ game once in awhile to keep things fresh, fuzzy and meaningful.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have just the thing. I mean, obviously, here we are, me writing and you reading this blog post together to find out the answer. Now prepare for your mind to be blown. That IS the answer!! THE WRITTEN WORD is the answer! There are not-so-hidden messages of love in the act of taking out an actual piece of paper and an actual ink-laden pen and spending a few minutes to handwrite a note of affection to a loved one. Just knowing that some person felt the feels of love so strongly for you that they wanted to spend some time to do this archaic thing makes all them warm feelings, super fuzzy. Plus, if my name is written all fancy and decorated (you know, junior high in the 90’s style) forget about it. I’m all heart-eye-emoji feelings for days!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wPL45biJ-IUECuTyS9MBe4b8YOsoTZLP-npky0XROaQOlwWqgwHGSxd7T9fESjMB7QISK9EA8RCF-HwsMy3tAHkiHUvTTEhUphtmryPz-2kA53u4s9edggrwjC_kOUNyBpAlv-r4t0c/s1600/Adoption+Party+Ideas+Blog+Graphic-6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blog post about the right way to write a note. Let people know you care enough to handwrite a note or card for them! www.mormommomplanner.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wPL45biJ-IUECuTyS9MBe4b8YOsoTZLP-npky0XROaQOlwWqgwHGSxd7T9fESjMB7QISK9EA8RCF-HwsMy3tAHkiHUvTTEhUphtmryPz-2kA53u4s9edggrwjC_kOUNyBpAlv-r4t0c/s640/Adoption+Party+Ideas+Blog+Graphic-6.png" title="Blog post about the right way to write a note. Let people know you care enough to handwrite a note or card for them! www.mormommomplanner.blogspot.com" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I KNOW I’m likely talking to the right audience here since most of you are </span><a href="https://intheleafytreetops.com/" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #d5a6bd;">MMP</span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> users (or plotting to be) and clearly you recognize the superiority of modern day papyrus and quill over cold electronic messages, so let’s step things up, shall we? Here are some ideas for telling your people you adore them without having to speak a word. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Post-it Notes</span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Post-its with little sayings of adoration or jokes or quotes or cartoonish doodles on them are so fun to come across by surprise. I like to stick these types of notes on mirrors in the bathroom, on headboards, on laptop screens, inside cupboards, on picture frames, the underside of toilet seat covers and pretty much any other surface that I know the person it is intended for will see it at some point in the day. If I’m asked to house-sit or pet-sit for family, I can’t help myself. I will post at least a dozen or so of these gems around a house to surprise people when they get home from their trip. A surprise note is guaranteed to bring a smile to someone’s face. It also has the added bonus of being super fun to do! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Snail mail is a forgotten art and obviously an avenue to use for loved ones you don’t live with. But picture yourself on your birthday. How much more thoughtful is it to receive a birthday card with a lovely note of good intent written inside that makes you realize that this person wanted you to have this on your b-day and was thinking and planning for you days ahead of schedule…versus a text message that took 15 seconds to thumb out and send? Finding something written just for you inside your mailbox is like a sunny shot of delicious endorphins right into your heart! So why not send someone you love that organic endorphin shot today? Dust off that old stationary (or better, go get some new stuff) and write an old fashioned and papery correspondence to someone and stick an antiquated stamp on it for delivery! Use that <a href="https://intheleafytreetops.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #d5a6bd;">MMP</span></a> to plan ahead and send a birthday card to someone instead of (or in addition to) that birthday text or phone call. You wont regret it!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Hidden Note </span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hiding a note for someone to receive at a particular time brings intrigue, stealth and creativity that is all kinds of dorky fun for the note maker and the receiver. I love to hide notes in books my kids are reading, journals that are left out, backpacks, lunches, inside sandwiches, under pillows, in suit pockets, inside socks, shoes, hoodie pockets, hats, scriptures, drawers, gym bags…people, the possibilities are endless and it takes as much or as little time as you want. It also has the added bonus that if you do this enough, you may even receive one of these hidden notes yourself. I received two of such notes one morning when I set off early to a yoga class. My 14 year old daughter, who hasn’t written me anything since she was 8, left two notes inside the hoodie I always wear to class. One stated that she loved me and hoped I had a good class and the other proclaimed me a yoga master of premo abilities and I grinned (and scratched my head) for three hours afterward. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Neighborly Note </span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is room for notes to people we may not LOVE but who we really like, or appreciate or who we feel may need a little pick me up. It doesn’t have to be a love note. It can be a thank you note, a note of encouragement or compliment or any “–ment,” as long as it is meant to make someone smile and feel noticed. That sister who gave such a thoughtful lesson in RS would love to hear that she said just what you needed to hear. Your neighbor who always brings in your garbage cans would probably smile to see a note taped to the garbage can one day stating your appreciation. Your teen’s friend who left their water bottle at your house would likely feel all kinds of surprised and delighted to find some candy in there with a note saying what a great friend you think they are. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Writing down how you feel about someone has power. You can express yourself without interruption and without the pressure of the recipient’s expressions or reactions to what you are saying. You are free to say exactly what’s in your heart (eloquence is unnecessary and inconsequential) without feeling rushed or pressured. Plus, when you have to think about what to make your hand write down you have to think about how you really feel about a person. It requires an inward inspection of your outward feelings towards another. Whoa, things just got real around here. Inward reflections about my feelings? Sounds intense, but it doesn’t have to be! Just write what you feel! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The written word lasts much longer than verbal declarations or electronic ones. You can read and reread a love note as often as you like so you never have to second-guess something you heard or worry that it will get deleted. The written word of love and truth has stood the test of time! Written documents of worth are framed, preserved, protected, reverenced, analyzed, buried in the ground for thousands of years so some young man can maybe unbury it and translate it to change millions of lives and bring joy and happiness to millions of people alive and dead. Oh yes, I just went there. C’mon! WRITE something of worth to someone you love today!!</span></span></div>
Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-30963481457694172102018-03-30T10:52:00.000-06:002018-04-01T11:17:32.862-06:00What Easter Can Teach Us About Parenting<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Jen Sorensen</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/jennylynn/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit;">@jennylynn</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ve been really thinking about the last week of our Savior’s life and I keep drawing parallels between his great sacrifice and parenting. I consider being a mom the best thing I do every day. It’s definitely not the only thing I do every day, but it is the most important and I will take any help I can get, especially in the form of my Savior’s example.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>We need to let our kids do hard things.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I think of our Father in Heaven hearing that plea from our Savior asking if the cup could pass from Him and I just hurt inside, but they both knew it had to be done for the rest of us. While our kids’ struggles have little bearing on the rest of the world, we do know that they have to go through hard things to refine them and become capable, independent adults. But, man, it’s hard to watch! I don’t give in to many things—whining makes me angry and begging makes me roll my eyes—but real, genuine struggling is so hard for me to watch. When my kids are hurt or are sick or in pain, I just want to do anything in my power to make it go away. Sometimes, though, that is exactly what they are supposed to go through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">My 11-year-old has struggled in school for a long time. We always spend the last couple weeks of summer trying to remind him of all the good things about school like friends and recess and fun fridays, but all he would do is turn his back to us and pretend he can’t hear. It was so hard for him to even think about going back to school that he couldn’t face us. Literally. I wanted to just wrap him up, squeeze him tight, and tell him that it could just be him and me together forever while we ignore this hard thing in his life. Instead, we got him ready right along with all the other kids, told him he was brave and that he could do it and then took him on his first day. He looks like he’s about to throw up in a couple of his first day of school pictures. What he doesn’t know is that I always spent those first few days in knots and crying my tears while he was at school so I could be strong for him when he got home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Watching him struggle to read a simple book or relearn the same math he thought he had mastered the day before was hard. Really, really hard. But we couldn’t let him give up on himself. The Savior endured to the end with the help of his loving Father and so we kept fighting for him, praying for him and cheering him on, and it paid off. He just finished six months of vision therapy after finally being diagnosed with a form of dyslexia. He still has a long road of catching up to do and that’s okay. He’s grown and turned into a happy kid who doesn’t dread being at school and doing his homework, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>We need to try to feel what our kids are feeling.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">One of the most beautiful parts of the Atonement is that we know our Savior felt all that we have felt or ever will feel. I would love for my kids to have even the slightest trust that I feel and understand what they’re going through. To do that, I can’t “mom” halfway. I really need to stop the million-and-one other things I’m doing and listen to what they’re saying. And I <i>really</i> need to listen to what they’re not saying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">How else will we know that a “bad day” was really someone they thought they could trust telling everyone their biggest secret. Or how else will we know that the “grumps” is really a kid who is struggling to admit that they made a mistake and it’s affecting how they feel about themselves and they really need help and guidance to make it right again?</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">So often we just react to our kids instead of absorb what they really need from us. I am going to try harder to emulate the perfect empathy that our Savior has because understands all of our feelings with only one goal: to help us become who we can really be. If we strive to understand our kids’ feelings, then I know we can issue fewer rash punishments and instill more lifelong lessons.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfuAVhKNaX8XcK1dEa9heYo8QvJvmzzyr8JAWl8-d7hXqvtAQnBY-26nWmdoj5d1ydc0i-2riXtnn54UtmYfbn29uV97V3B0nGPWgkpfLBDlhX2pT-13y6CsZepmKTra48T9fziewhYI/s1600/kids+at+gateway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfuAVhKNaX8XcK1dEa9heYo8QvJvmzzyr8JAWl8-d7hXqvtAQnBY-26nWmdoj5d1ydc0i-2riXtnn54UtmYfbn29uV97V3B0nGPWgkpfLBDlhX2pT-13y6CsZepmKTra48T9fziewhYI/s400/kids+at+gateway.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm so grateful for the unmatched sacrifice of our Savior so that I could spend each day figuring out how to be a better mom to these cuties.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>We need to teach our kids to forgive others, but especially themselves.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Why is this lesson so hard for us to learn? I think sometimes we get so frustrated with our kids that we kinda hold a grudge. Don’t get me wrong. I do not believe in coddling our kiddos; sometimes they just need to know they’re in trouble. But when we hang on to our anger and frustration, they forget what they did that actually got them into trouble and focus instead on feeling uncertain where they stand with us. If we can make sure they understand the lesson (whether that’s through a talk or consequences or both), then forgive them for the mistake or behavior, then they will learn to forgive themselves and move forward.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I believe our Father in Heaven did not intend for us to learn lessons in this life by carrying prolonged guilt or surviving extreme punishment. I believe that he wanted us to learn our lessons by experiencing more and more of His Spirit with every correct choice we make. We can learn a deeper meaning to this by parenting our children with that same love. Of course, as we’re taught about repentance we know that they do need to experience consequences that nudge them back to the right path, but so often they just need our sincere love and adoration and forgiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I'm grateful for the example of our Savior and the layers and layers of lessons we can learn from His life. I'm grateful that this week I was able to ponder the last week of His life and the extreme and unmatched sacrifice He made for me so that I could be here and be a mom. I'm so grateful for Him! Happy Easter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Click<span style="color: #a64d79;"> <a href="https://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_FR-15-3-2018_dMIS_fCNWS_xLIDyL1-A_" target="_blank">here</a> </span>to learn more about Holy Week.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;">How great is it when Easter also falls on General Conference weekend??</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Click <span style="color: #a64d79;"><a href="https://intheleafytreetops.com/search.php?search_query=general%20conference&section=product" target="_blank">here</a> </span>for all our free General Conference downloads! </span></span></div>
Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-40404985090618954782018-03-19T17:25:00.000-06:002018-03-19T17:25:33.526-06:00The Art of Questions<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Follow Danielle' on Instagram </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/my30somethings/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #ffe599; color: black;">@my30somethings</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Has your 4-year-old ever asked you a boring question? I mean, <b>ever</b>? You’re thinking about it…and the answer is…an emphatic NO!! Kids don’t ask boring questions! They ask, “Why does Mr. Smith spit when he talks? Why can’t I have Kit Kats for breakfast? Where do babies come from? Why does the dog eat her own poop? Can I eat my poop? Why not? Who made our house? Can I get a giraffe? Where is Constantinople? How many people have you met in your whole life? Why doesn’t Mrs. Haniger wear a bathrobe to get her mail? Do giants drink hot lava instead of hot cocoa?” Kids know how to ask a question that gets your brain cranking. Sure, your brain crank will eventually snap and you will be willing to sell your own fingernails for a quiet drive to the grocery store, but those questions are <b>anything</b> but boring.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a newly called Relief Society teacher using the new discussion-based curriculum this year, I have done a lot of question crafting and trial asking and word picking. The art of asking questions has taken on a life all it’s own and I have found myself really thinking carefully about all the questions that I ask. In Relief Society I can get a lively discussion from asking a perfectly crafted question. Whereas a question with little to no life will get a well harmonized, but no less awkward, cricket chorus. I’m finding that the same can be said for the questions (and answers) I ask of my kids, my friends, my husband, my visiting teaching sisters and that really nice lady I always see at the park. There is a real art to the Who What Where and When of question asking! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Questions are powerful tools! They CAN serve two purposes. The first is obvious, an answered question provides us with information we didn’t originally have (or usually in my case, I forgot). But the second purpose is the clincher! An artfully crafted question communicates to the recipient that we want to know something about them. It says we’ve been thinking about them and wondering and, golly gee, we really want to know why they always wear a scarf on Sundays! Or whatever. (Scarf wearer, you know who you are and this question is coming for you!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you’re like me and you don’t like the stale, one-word answers you’re getting from people, you need to spice up your questionnaire! Ask your teen the ever inartistic, “How was your day?” and, honey, you’re going to get a shoulder shrug and an inartistic, “it was ok.” That’s just science. If you ask your 9-year-old what they did at school, the rules of child engagement clearly require a “nothing” response. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Art of <b>Asking</b> Questions</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">WHO should you ask questions? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Everyone. I’m telling you everyone has something interesting to say to a well-asked inquiry and almost everyone WANTS to answer one. The lady next to you on the park bench would love to tell you about her bracelet and she may not have gotten it where you think she did. The grocery store clerk would gladly share his ear gauging techniques with you and will smile the next time you see him at the register. The woman you visit teach who seems so closed off to you no matter how much you show her you care really does want to share things with you. Your hubby wants to tell you about the new deal he’s working on at work and good heavens your kids really DO want to tell you about their day at school. You just gotta make that question so juicy and drool-worthy that people can’t wait to open their mouths and hearts to you! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">WHAT should you ask? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anything. You can ask anyone almost anything if you lead up to it properly and have already proven that you care. This can take time for some people who aren’t open books, but can be the most rewarding. A lot of ground work and follow-up inquiries help to get to the more meaningful stuff. Some people are more open than others, but I have found that in general, if a person knows you care about the answers they give to smaller questions, then they’ll feel safer answering your deeper ones. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">WHERE and WHEN should you ask? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the car is my personal favorite! At the kitchen table (yours or someone else’s) during any activity that takes place there. Bedrooms when you tuck the kids in at night. Couches when it’s quiet. A front porch when a house is too noisy or the park on a nice day when the kids are playing. Quiet times with no distractions are the times to ask important questions. If those times are impossible to come by, then it’s just important that YOU don’t get distracted. Remember your questioning is art at work! Look them in the eyes; ask small follow-ups so they know you’re focused and that you think they are just the most interesting human in the world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Art of <b>Answering</b> Questions</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Have you noticed how a 4-year-old girl asks 14.3 million questions a day and a teenager asks maybe 1 and that’s usually just a hangry demand to know what will be served for dinner. What happened in between there?! Not only do the number of questions plummet with teen-hood, but the willingness to answer more then 1 or 2 questions at a time crashes as well! Is it possible that our own answers to our kids’ questions will directly result in the answers they will be willing to give us later on? If I am constantly shushing or claiming my ignorance to my little ones’ real wonder, am I teaching them that their curiosity doesn’t matter to me or that too many questions are not okay? Yikes! That’s a lot to think about right there! I don’t know the answers to these questions for sure, but I’m thinking I’m going to cover my bases and go ahead and answer each and every one of those sweet questions that get tossed my way. I’m going treat my answers like works of art, too! Well yes, sweetheart, I’m pretty positive that giants DO drink hot lava instead of cocoa AND I’m sure they add dollops of fluffy clouds to serve as marshmallows while they sit on the tops of moss-covered bushes to relax…</span></span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-60347522939548315442018-03-11T22:40:00.000-06:002018-03-12T11:32:40.731-06:00Fave Five!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJ-YMt9jz-g5-kYrIpbEEnOQQ_oSRNIJedbj5GTP8SYzqGTfXBD6EDbTwL4V98c9lkijogU3yBy18usCmqq1OClBKbZsVXw0XznJroGLCe2psAeEAmscMKJNH3M7cme_fl82q6Um2XWs/s1600/Top+5+Blog+Posts+Main+Graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Top Five Blog Posts EVER from Mormon Mom Planner!" border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="945" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJ-YMt9jz-g5-kYrIpbEEnOQQ_oSRNIJedbj5GTP8SYzqGTfXBD6EDbTwL4V98c9lkijogU3yBy18usCmqq1OClBKbZsVXw0XznJroGLCe2psAeEAmscMKJNH3M7cme_fl82q6Um2XWs/s640/Top+5+Blog+Posts+Main+Graphic.jpg" title="Top Five Blog Posts EVER from Mormon Mom Planner!" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below you'll find links to the five most popular <a href="https://intheleafytreetops.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Mormon Mom Planner</span></a> blog posts of all time! </span><span style="font-size: large;">Be sure to read through the comments on each post for even more good tips and tricks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy clicking!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Isn't washi tape the best? In this <a href="http://mormonmomplanner.blogspot.com/2014/04/utilizing-washi-tape-scrapbook-paper-to.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: magenta;">post</span></b></a> from April 2014, there are some fantastic tips and tons of ideas on how to use washi tape to spruce up your planner. Did you know washi tape and cute scrapbook paper can even help you add mini pages to your planner? Read all the way to the end of this post for the link to some adorable and FREE General Conference note cards!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0-g6s7tgMvJlHBvP86rSwgAsGOleiDdCWunctNzXpv2J_yW-gI6YO0Rquxg6ZCuFhe3lNa1WdzDOHQT-XCzgAGkGiOxQlpsjg-JXf5pa3bB1uiW2BWuCQSx6DjhzOqfDIaCgiAC4jVg/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0-g6s7tgMvJlHBvP86rSwgAsGOleiDdCWunctNzXpv2J_yW-gI6YO0Rquxg6ZCuFhe3lNa1WdzDOHQT-XCzgAGkGiOxQlpsjg-JXf5pa3bB1uiW2BWuCQSx6DjhzOqfDIaCgiAC4jVg/s640/2.png" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ever wondered just what you should do with all the pages in your planner? Then <a href="http://mormonmomplanner.blogspot.com/2015/05/planner-overview.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">this</span></a> is the blog post from May 2015 for you! It'll help you figure out how to use the monthly and weekly spreads, relationship tracker, even the to do's and budget tracker.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqXItvJwjUNzhTuKHUfgFqez0DzvRg0tL-jhWB21MLjMNbWoBk_ukx_7TRwmpSyk9omDUMM-WrS_p9hpX7WUVYXUI-37myRGYb1c8SryheZ36VVjJvNs38WlEK0Aa5BccPoKp_4BVeoo/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqXItvJwjUNzhTuKHUfgFqez0DzvRg0tL-jhWB21MLjMNbWoBk_ukx_7TRwmpSyk9omDUMM-WrS_p9hpX7WUVYXUI-37myRGYb1c8SryheZ36VVjJvNs38WlEK0Aa5BccPoKp_4BVeoo/s640/3.png" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Want to learn how to make dividers for your planner? Pockets for all your adorable sticky notes? Want the link for my favorite pen? Say no more. Just read this <a href="http://mormonmomplanner.blogspot.com/2013/04/accessorize-your-planner.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">post</span></a> from April 2013!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who loves free downloads?? What about free downloads that call for eating chocolate?! Then you'll love this adorable <a href="http://mormonmomplanner.blogspot.com/2013/07/baptismal-covenants-kitkat.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">idea</span></a> for teaching kids (or adults!) about baptismal covenants.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Doesn't it seem like Sundays are full <i>can'ts</i>? In this <a href="http://mormonmomplanner.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunday-cans.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">post</span></a> you'll find some great ideas so you can add some <i>can's</i>! </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;">Check out the latest <a href="http://Check out the latest Mormon Mom Planners!" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Mormon Mom Planners</span></a>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span>Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-16392342874955979942018-02-26T09:39:00.001-07:002018-02-26T09:39:35.193-07:00I'm not a Working Mom. I'm a Mom Who Works.<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">by Whitney Child</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Follow her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/whitney_child/" target="_blank">@whitney_child</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve always struggled with the term “working mom.” It feels like a derogatory term. On one side, it takes away from the fact that all moms work whether it’s as a stay-at-home mom or a mom who has a job outside the home. On the other side, it takes away from my primary role: mom. I am a mom who works. I’m a mom first.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony and Whitney Child and their two boys, Jack (right) and Thompson.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was lucky enough to go to college knowing exactly what I wanted to do in life, graduated in four years, and found a job teaching high school in the community—essentially living out my American dream. I was ready to take on the working world, and I found so much joy in it. I was involved in every single extra professional development I could. I worked for four years teaching, and I got married at a little bit older age. Then after some years of fertility struggles, we were able to have two boys. When my first son was born, I had been working for ten years, and I loved those ten years. Culturally, the expectation was that I would give it up and stay home because that is what is expected, but I never felt like that was right for me. I dealt with quite a bit of culturally imposed guilt as a result of other people’s ideas of what was right for me. When it came down to it, I had to do what was right for me and my family. As a self-proclaimed people pleaser, that was really difficult to do. My job is my hobby—it’s a calling in life, and I feel fulfilled doing it. All of the outside voices were telling me being a mother should be enough for me, and as much as I loved that new baby boy, I knew that I needed to both do my job outside the home and inside the home. After prayerfully considering my options, I decided to keep doing what I was doing, and then to reflect and revisit it each year to make sure it was still right.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I am at work, I know that I am ok being there. I have had some significant spiritual experiences in my classroom confirming to me that it is exactly where I needed to be at that time. When I was at home, I know it is ok being there. Going into this mom who works world, I knew I had to find a balance between the two, and even eight years later, I’m still reflecting, revisiting, and revising how to maintain (or even just get!) that balance. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Looking back over the past eight years, I haven’t been perfect in finding that balance; however, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of being a mom who works. When I decided to keep my full time job, I knew there were things I was going to have to be better at and there were things I had to let go. The following are some of my rules of thumb to help me maintain or find balance between the two worlds.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Working outside the home while raising children is not for everyone, and that is just fine. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. Make your decision because it’s what works for you and your family. I had to be willing to let go of what everyone else thought was right for me, and actually do what was right for me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since becoming a mom, I cut way back on what I do at school. I try not to take work home with me, and if I do, it gets done after the kids are in bed. I don’t do as many conferences or professional developments. As much as I’d love to travel to summer institutes, I gave that up to have time with my kids. I really want to pursue a Master’s degree; however, right now, I just can’t fit it in, and that’s ok. I’m very picky on any outside of normal school hours activities I attend. When my oldest son was two, I decided I needed to work closer to home if I still wanted to keep up with what I was doing. At the time, I had a 30 minute commute each way, which wasn’t that big of a deal before I had kids, but then I realized it was an hour a day of just driving. I decided to move to a school closer to my home and in a different district. In doing that, I gave up the comfort of a school I’d known for 12 years. I lost 5 of my years, and I took a $10,000 pay cut, but I was 5 minutes from home, and the school had a daycare in it, so my kids would be closer to me. It was a sacrifice, and the first year in my new school was incredibly difficult. In the end, it was the best decision for my family.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When one of my kids is sick, I do all I can to be home with them. Most of the time, I have been able to work it to stay home with them, but when I can’t, my husband has been great at sharing that responsibility with me. My older son’s school is close enough to mine that I can run over there when I need to.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At home, most of my outside social life is non-existent (more to the chagrin of the people around me than me). Most of my social outlet is actually at work, and I really don’t mind that. I have great connections with my colleagues, and I’ve made life long friends with those people I work with. By choice, I rarely do a girls night out or girls’ trips. People always invite me, and I always appreciate it, but when it comes down to it, I want to be home with my family, and I’m completely ok with that. I have one book club I attend monthly (after kids are in bed), and I leave it at that. I try to do a few date nights with other couples as well. I’ve found that those people who are truly my good friends don’t mind if I don’t go out with them all the time. They are always there when I need them to be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I first started this mom who works life, I had a friend who had already raised her kids who told me she knew I could do it because I was so organized, but she never could have because she wasn’t organized enough. This is where the <a href="http://www.intheleafytreetops.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #a64d79;">Mormon Mom Planner</span></a> has been a lifesaver! I sit down once a week to look at the week ahead and make a plan to accomplish everything from getting kids to where they need to be to meal planning. I make my weekly and monthly “to do” lists. I make our weekly menu based on what our plans are for the week. I try to find ways of serving my family members each week, and I write those down, so I remember to do them. I reflect on my spiritual and temporal goals and look at what small things I can be doing now to accomplish those. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have a pretty solid routine for grocery shopping, house cleaning, and laundry, and they have all become a family routine, not a mom routine. I can’t do all of it alone, and I need the help of my family. Those routines have changed as my kids have grown up, so they will fit the needs of my family at that time. I only do laundry once a week because that’s all I have time for. It makes for a long day of washing and folding, but it gets done. I do online grocery shopping, so I can order later at night, and pick up the next day quickly.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the words of Lorelei Gilmore, “I fancy myself Wonder Woman.” I really thought I could do everything all the time and be perfect at it. I can’t. I could kill myself over trying to do all of it. I had to choose what was the most important for me, and give up some of those other things. I can’t be a room mom at school, but I can take a personal day at school, and go on field trips. I can’t volunteer in my son’s classroom, but I can go over every other week on a prep period to change out take home reading books. I can’t organize the SEP dinners, but I can sign up to bring something. I can’t be the PTA President, but I can do the newsletter. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a few years, we had a house cleaner, which was a lifesaver. I really wanted to be able to do it all by myself, but that was one thing I realized I could give up to relieve stress and have more time with my family. I worried that I wasn’t teaching my kids how to work because I wasn’t having them help me clean the house, but I could teach them to work in other ways. (We are currently back to cleaning the house ourselves simply because our original house cleaner moved, and we have yet to find another one we like anywhere near as much!).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also have a husband who is incredibly supportive of me, and he does his fair share around the house. I could not be a mom who works if I didn’t have his support. The decision for me to work full time after having kids was a decision we both made.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I first started being a mom who works, I looked at my work time as my “me-time.” It didn’t take long for me to realize that it really isn’t “me time.” I knew I needed to have some quiet time every day in order to remain sane. I’m a morning person, so I decided to get up earlier to have that time. I give myself about 30 minutes each morning to read, study, or just sit, and I do it before anyone else in my house wakes up, which means my alarm goes off around 4:30 am. For right now, this has worked for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m far from perfect, but I’m working on balance. When it comes down to it, even though I have a successful career, being a mom comes first—always. Despite all my fears and worries, my kids are doing great having a mom who works. Everything gets done, eventually, and I’m ok with that. This is a path that has worked for me, but I’ve had to make adjustments to what is considered the “norm.” We have worked as a family to make it work, because I cannot do it all alone. I have a full and rewarding life that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I spend as much time as possible with my family, and we continue to grow together as we do. When I feel out of balance, I reflect on my decision and make necessary changes as they are needed. Being a mom who works is not an easy task to take on, but it has been a rewarding experience for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Click <a href="http://www.intheleafytreetops.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #a64d79;">here</span></a> to view all the different options Mormon Mom Planner has to offer.</span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-24735549626907330942018-02-19T09:51:00.000-07:002018-02-19T09:52:47.874-07:00You're Not A Martyr. You're a Mom.<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The below post was written by Becky Squires from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/makeminehappy/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>@makeminehappy</b></span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Welcome, and thank you for guest blogging here with us! 💜</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You could say that I’m in the midst of motherhood. I have thirteen years of experience. Hundreds of diaper changes, temper tantrums, and sleepless nights. I’ve lived the highs and the lows. But just recently I had kind of an “Aha!” moment. I had just sat down to eat lunch while my kids were all occupied doing other activities. If you’re a parent, you know what happens as soon as you sit down, right? My two youngest boys came running up to me demanding I get them a drink. I hadn’t even taken my first bite. I <i>almost</i> stood up out of habit to cater to their request, but then I paused as I looked at their faces.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“No,” I simply said. They looked confused. “Do you see that I’m eating lunch?” They nodded. “I would be happy to help you when I am done, or you can get yourselves a drink.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And guess what? They pulled over a chair so they could reach a cup, and they got themselves a drink. So simple, I know. But it changed my perspective.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When you are constantly keeping your needs on the bottom of the totem pole, you are creating children who are entitled. Then they may grow up expecting other people to handle their problems for them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Losing your sense of self is not indicative of your devotion to your children.</b></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Forgetting yourself doesn’t make you a more responsible and caring parent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So why do we think like this? Maybe it’s the way we were raised. Maybe it’s our culture. Maybe we moms enjoy the feeling of being needed all the time. But being needed doesn’t mean we have to fill our days with being busy, yet not really accomplishing anything worthwhile.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Why do we glory busyness? Filling your days with chaos doesn’t make you a good mom. Filling your children’s lives with endless activities doesn’t make them happy. Do you know what makes children happy? A mom who knows that taking care of herself is the first step. Then, we can take care of their needs. And as we take care of their needs we should be teaching them how to take care of their wants. We should be building children who are self-reliant and responsible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Why do we treat motherhood like martyrdom? If you don’t want to be victimized, stop playing the victim. Martyrs always want to be recognized for their “selfless” acts. But isn’t that the definition of selfish? You’re not a victim. You’re a mom. Let’s face it. Motherhood is probably the hardest job with the least amount of recognition. But we shouldn’t be in it for the recognition. That’s not why I became a mom. And I’m sure that’s not why you did either. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s so important to take care of yourself. It doesn’t need to take a lot of time away from your family or cost a lot of money. There are thousands of ideas out there on how to get started. Here’s <a href="http://makeminehappy.com/2018/01/03/10-best-ways-make-smile/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(5, 99, 193); color: #674ea7;"><b>one great article</b></span></a> full of ideas to get you started.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We moms think we are showing the world how to drain out all our moments and efforts into motherhood and that they will see a Super Mom. But what they are seeing is a tired and frustrated woman with little to give. Take care of yourself! You’re not a martyr, you’re a mom.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thanks again to Becky Squires for this sweet post! You can read more from her <a href="http://makeminehappy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>here.</b></span></a></span></span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-46822675995158118432018-02-14T16:37:00.000-07:002018-03-11T21:32:47.784-06:00Why I go all in on Valentine’s Day!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
by Jen Sorensen</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3ki2PPUhonfGV2_U3z4FHAsP0gFJKlJamcWPZA9qkvjnzzzCThZk2rO2Sooh2C3Z6R1TqyrkTdPs0ZV3l97GzKzUg90QM2QEGVXx3-RPMSXz2Ck8L3s-IK10hvtT9FALPEIXl23COkw/s1600/Valentine%2527s+Photos+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Why not use Valentine's Day as an excuse to make your kids feel extra special?" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3ki2PPUhonfGV2_U3z4FHAsP0gFJKlJamcWPZA9qkvjnzzzCThZk2rO2Sooh2C3Z6R1TqyrkTdPs0ZV3l97GzKzUg90QM2QEGVXx3-RPMSXz2Ck8L3s-IK10hvtT9FALPEIXl23COkw/s640/Valentine%2527s+Photos+1.jpg" title="Going all in on Valentine's Day makes kids feel special!" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I love holidays! I love that they are a perfect excuse to take silly family traditions and turn them into treasured childhood memories.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Years ago, when our oldest three were still tiny, my husband and I decided that for Valentine's Day, we would give each of them a little gift. They didn’t know much about the holiday yet, so we told them it was an extra special day where our family got to tell each other over and over how much we love each other. Amidst their giggles, we also told them we had a little surprise for each of them. They all climbed on the couch, tiny legs kicking and eyes and shoulders scrunched, and asked what the surprises were—a question that always makes me laugh. We told them to close their eyes and hold out their hands. We put a simple coloring book and a new box of crayons in each of those wiggly hands and then told them to open their eyes and you might have thought it was Christmas morning all over again. They were so excited and spent the rest of the day lying on their stomachs coloring, telling each other how much they loved them and their pictures, and saying how fun “Valentimes Day” was.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Fast forward a decade, and I still love having a special day to show my family how much I love them. Do I wish every day was spent like that? Of course, but let’s be real. Sometimes soccer practice and dinner and trips to the gym (as in gymnastics. not working out. puh-lease.) and jobs and homework and—you get the idea—just get in the way. So, on this special day, we’ve moved on from coloring books, but I love our new traditions, too. Our younger two love waking up to find a new stuffed animal waiting for them. For breakfast, everyone gets their own box of donuts and a huge bottle of strawberry milk all to themselves. For the last several years, I’ve started on February 1st and left a love note for each of them in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. Some years we make chocolate-dipped strawberries together. Some of them end up with more chocolate than strawberry. We call those quaDRIPled strawberries. This year, we’re introducing them to our favorite RomComs: Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Our boys are especially stoked about this new tradition. Not. But I think sitting together on a blanket in the middle of the living room stuffing our faces with Valentine’s treats while we laugh at the absence of cell phones and the introduction of AOL in “old” movies sounds nearly perfect.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Someday (sooner than I'll be able to believe), Valentine's Day will just be my husband and me again, which I will cherish, but until then we'll make this day extra special for each of our kids. Happy Valentine's Day!</span></span></div>
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<br />Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-17513790757918186202018-01-29T08:00:00.000-07:002018-02-12T15:30:44.336-07:00Five Reasons To Tuck Your Teenager In At Night<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">by Danielle’ Dimond</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Check out @my30somethings for even more!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As my kids have gotten older and 3 out of the 5 of their bedrooms have moved down to the blessedly out-of-sight basement (because you know, kids are slobs), I have fallen out of the habit of tucking them in at night. Gasp!! Yes, it’s shamefully true! I have even been known to skip tucking in my 5 year old when I’m too worn out. It’s ghastly, I know. So, I challenged myself in January to rectify this most heinous crime to motherhood. I began a 30-day challenge to give all 5 of my offspring a special tuck-in service every night. You know, for 30 days. Even by Day 23, I was astonished at what we have all been missing over the last few years! The response (especially from the older kids) has been staggering! Never before have my 9- and 11-year-old boys been so eager to get to bed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you have any preteens or teens I know you’re thinking they don’t need or want you coming in every night to tuck them in like little kids. You’re probably concerned for your safety if you try. I promise, they wont kick you out. They may play it cool and act like they don’t care what you do, but I’m confident that the average teen will not, actually dismiss you. In fact, I’m optimistic that you’ll see some major positives from this one little bedtime habit. So if you’re tired of your teen or preteen waking up on the metaphorical wrong side of the bed, here are 5 reasons to encourage YOU to securely tuck THEM in on the RIGHT side of the bed each evening.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">#1 Boogeyman Emotions are Minimized</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Boogeyman of emotions likes to lurk in bedrooms after dark. The pressures of schoolwork, family responsibilities, friend drama, church expectations and the ever-consuming drain of the technological world can make for a teenager who is bogged down. When the lights go off at night and there is nothing to distract them from negative thoughts, there are countless kids who can feel the pressures and anxieties of their world hanging heavily over them. When my kids are going to freak out about something, even just the little things, it’s going to be at or after bedtime. During the act of coming in to tuck them in for bed, I’m able to soothe away any built up stress with encouraging or tender words and planting a magical (yes even for teens) Mom-kiss upon a forehead. Having a person taking care of you is the ultimate way to de-stress. I don’t care what anyone says about a bubble bath, essential oils or meditating, this is the #1 way to calm the body and the mind. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">#2 They’ll Open Up</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The key to this one is taking your time on the tuck-in. Easy now. Make a point to straighten the blankets, turn down the overhead light, sit on the side of the bed, fuss with their hair and then look them directly in the eyes. Pause for a moment…a good pause…and then ask a question you feel needs asking. “Honestly, how was your day today?” “How’s your life going so far?” “Are you OK?” “How can I be a better Mom to you?” “Is anyone causing you trouble at school?” “Do you have anything you want to talk about?” You get the idea. I pinky promise, if you’re open to it, when you sit on that bed and look them square in the eyeballs, you’ll KNOW the question you need to ask them. When they know you aren’t in a hurry to get out of their room and on to other stuff, they’re going to be more open to opening up. Especially since you’re already in their room, without the distractions of daylight and other kids. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">#3 Infuses Them With LOVE</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my humble (but correct) opinion, there is nothing on this earth more comforting and safeguarding than feeling someone lovingly fuss over you. If you’re napping on the couch and someone lays a blanket on you its like instant warm fuzzy feelings. Say you’re sick and miserable (of the man-cold proportions) and your spouse lays a cool and tender hand on your forehead—it’s like for that moment you don’t mind being sick so much. Or when a friend comes over for the sole purpose of finding out how you’re doing and suddenly, you aren’t alone anymore and there are people who care! I’m convinced that taking 5-10 minutes a night to individually tuck in your kids is like ALL of these things in one simple action. There is something chemically stress relieving about having a loved one fuss over you. Even if it’s for just a few minutes! It sends a rush of wellbeing and safeness that a hug and a kiss goodnight cannot do by itself. Chocolate works too, but is put to better use for your own chemical stress relief later on. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">#4 Shows Them You Can Be Counted On</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kids (and teens) love and need routine and structure in their lives to help them feel grounded. If you are regularly and lovingly tucking them in they begin to look forward to that few minutes of one on one time every night. No matter how old they are! In fact, on days when life has been particularly hard on them: their friends are being nasty, they bombed that History test, missed the bus or lost the game, they will begin to rely on at least that few minutes at the end of the day when you will inevitably come quietly into their room and give them some much needed love and attention. What’s even more, if they know you’ll do this even when they’ve disappointed you or gotten themselves into trouble, their trust and faith in you is doubled! Nay, TRIPLED! If they can rely on you to do this, then they may just trust you enough to tell you the hard things. That’s what we want right? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">#5 End the Day On A Tender Note </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those hard days I just mentioned, happen a lot to teenagers. A LOT. Especially in this modern day in which they live. I am the proud Mama of a 14 year old and a soon to be 12 year old (amongst a few other kids too;). I am becoming more and more aware of some of the crazy awful influences they have to deal with on a daily basis. When they climb into bed at the end of a day where good decisions were hard to make or weren’t made at all, I like to think that it’s my job right then to let my older kids know that there is someone rooting for them no matter what. There is someone who knows that they’re doing their best and she’s in their corner to offer that reviving drink, that healing touch and those bolstering words to encourage a strong fight again tomorrow. I can send that message with the simple and yet time tested act of tucking the little (and not so little anymore) ones into bed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A little over dramatic? After this month of tucking in even my older kids, NO, I don’t think it’s over dramatic at all. This is a difficult world and these kids are up against a difficult fight! So I’m going to use every simple trick in my motherhood arsenal of care and encouragement! They deserve it. So before you write off your teen or preteen as too old, too independent or too prickly for a nightly tuck in, think again. They dearly need some extra love at the end of the day too! I daresay they may need it more than the little kids do. </span></span></div>
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<br />Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-30678793129307773772018-01-15T09:53:00.000-07:002018-01-15T20:16:04.638-07:00Seven Home Stations that will Curb the Chaos in 2018<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; text-align: left;">By Jen Sorensen</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For the new year, I went shopping through my own house looking for anything I had sitting around that could be rearranged for some magical organization! Here's what I came up with!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmEHvBQxZbcqyF69AzdBqFMlDVmgbCUJ64WGv3pW-poZRFoRU9fC7OW7z9InWcNQYpPxQBfzv-_zICnTehjhnPLCFV69JlWCid7OLcvpEy8PzSLGFYO3u7JnUQ9cXkSjC2tXlJPYerOU/s1600/B7D84CAF-31A3-4DB1-8426-6F99DD852864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmEHvBQxZbcqyF69AzdBqFMlDVmgbCUJ64WGv3pW-poZRFoRU9fC7OW7z9InWcNQYpPxQBfzv-_zICnTehjhnPLCFV69JlWCid7OLcvpEy8PzSLGFYO3u7JnUQ9cXkSjC2tXlJPYerOU/s400/B7D84CAF-31A3-4DB1-8426-6F99DD852864.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At our house we don’t allow devices in our kids’ rooms at night. They have to use good ole’ fashioned alarm clocks because their little brains need a break from the constant notifications that come with the world of social media and gaming, not to mention the less-than-stellar decision making that happens when kids are tired. So, all devices have to be checked in by 9 pm on school nights (yeah, even my high-schooler!) and by 10 pm on weekends. I found this old letter filing thing from around the house and used some command strips to stick it to the side of the little bookshelf in our front room. Voilá! It keeps all the cords off the floor and I can easily see who’s devices are checked in.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Busy Morning Breakfast Station</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSaMycnqM4kW-eInIyVIcxY1B1XqB5uVJOJr6QUOybacXwpsgSzCcTgYU57eBmWoPxko4Q7_88P8Iezz4EA_7PE0ugVh3ulmTeyJ74Yk3a1e5OgrfP8F-wEV11ysZMrLUGJGjyDHelAA/s1600/20662C91-01A3-406C-B39B-036D5A0584A3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSaMycnqM4kW-eInIyVIcxY1B1XqB5uVJOJr6QUOybacXwpsgSzCcTgYU57eBmWoPxko4Q7_88P8Iezz4EA_7PE0ugVh3ulmTeyJ74Yk3a1e5OgrfP8F-wEV11ysZMrLUGJGjyDHelAA/s400/20662C91-01A3-406C-B39B-036D5A0584A3.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 12pt; margin-right: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This used to be our catch-all counter. Such an eyesore!! So, killing two birds with one stone, I cleared out all the clutter (don’t look on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">other</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> side of the fridge) and turned it into a quick breakfast station. Breakfast is definitely a casualty of busy mornings around here and as much as I wish I was the kind of mom who had a hot breakfast ready for my family each morning, I’m just not. So, this quick breakfast station is our life-saver. Everyone can at least grab a hot chocolate to-go and a breakfast bar, pop tart, or even a quick microwaved bowl of oatmeal on their way out the door.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jTgU4kSVFClqHd5diTlAj3r7eA3YMIb9LS05FWlQZkQCaGClLFH2oUSHvuxt0CdCBamv70Oh6z-Kkl2k_8e82qMX0E0pYG5uizhsZzx_aKXcCvXJdyfP5ZO95ok9Oe8pNSiDudl90e0/s1600/7E4F2ED5-6229-46BA-A41A-95BF7449CFA4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1279" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jTgU4kSVFClqHd5diTlAj3r7eA3YMIb9LS05FWlQZkQCaGClLFH2oUSHvuxt0CdCBamv70Oh6z-Kkl2k_8e82qMX0E0pYG5uizhsZzx_aKXcCvXJdyfP5ZO95ok9Oe8pNSiDudl90e0/s400/7E4F2ED5-6229-46BA-A41A-95BF7449CFA4.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="318" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 12pt; margin-right: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Do you guys have kids who leave bread crumb trails (sometimes literally. gross.) and you can look at the clutter around your house and figure out exactly where they’ve been, what they’ve been eating and what they’ve been doing? Yeah, I have a couple of those. So, in order to help make the evening tidying up a bit quicker, we have this basket that sits on the bottom shelf in our entryway and it holds anything that should either go upstairs or downstairs that we’re in too big of a hurry to actually put away. Once a week someone gets the joy of divvying everything back to its rightful place.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Control Center</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 13.333333015441895px; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">The last four stations make up a 4-in-1 control center and it has helped us immensely! It's definitely one of my favorite spots in our busy house.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKQWk4e_m2X3Xnb4euooQFLT53VO_-YJjxQ-blIEHppAeSaWduPUVsrABZkIIJG7JQfGLA1-YkEpzMk9myizaxI9BcI-pIOS8Ffs-M5Jxl4104f7bc5KxfjsaFR1vbX9w8JxEPNZFnqg/s1600/7EFB6410-8FFB-4F54-A23C-07E693F99149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKQWk4e_m2X3Xnb4euooQFLT53VO_-YJjxQ-blIEHppAeSaWduPUVsrABZkIIJG7JQfGLA1-YkEpzMk9myizaxI9BcI-pIOS8Ffs-M5Jxl4104f7bc5KxfjsaFR1vbX9w8JxEPNZFnqg/s640/7EFB6410-8FFB-4F54-A23C-07E693F99149.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="425" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgKYLkxtV_KmDcmkOU1e7qUa4SLqmwcHsaRZgXgCbj46kday9kI1Kpc5cUAL-modE5TGkpusMf5SkPMBM9ijZFETE2BZhCbBuJbGtPUIlmxqMFUi13qwIWrla3xNjujqD4fKLU-aHg-k/s1600/FDA4D873-275E-4100-9B6E-5C79BB981031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgKYLkxtV_KmDcmkOU1e7qUa4SLqmwcHsaRZgXgCbj46kday9kI1Kpc5cUAL-modE5TGkpusMf5SkPMBM9ijZFETE2BZhCbBuJbGtPUIlmxqMFUi13qwIWrla3xNjujqD4fKLU-aHg-k/s400/FDA4D873-275E-4100-9B6E-5C79BB981031.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a lot of coming and going at our house, so we needed a central place where messages could be scribbled and the kids would actually look for them. I love these windows I have in my house and they make the perfect message boards right in the kitchen which, of course, has the most traffic in the house!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzARLScWCEDb5xJCReKLKImV-YIUIOQdeEmGoZCTlTVNXACiF5-BbVppjbxOIcd2Q8MHostAyUrJM_4VeyY7wNaB3gJ34euBuIiojgaaTl6KxOh1YLUrNrwmcmdBOLYvquBErJ3P6yVDI/s1600/A5562C2C-6F08-4B48-BBFB-DCE9F5CC32AE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzARLScWCEDb5xJCReKLKImV-YIUIOQdeEmGoZCTlTVNXACiF5-BbVppjbxOIcd2Q8MHostAyUrJM_4VeyY7wNaB3gJ34euBuIiojgaaTl6KxOh1YLUrNrwmcmdBOLYvquBErJ3P6yVDI/s400/A5562C2C-6F08-4B48-BBFB-DCE9F5CC32AE.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In case I’ve been subtle up to now, I’m all about time-saving tricks since I am a mom who works. I know that using paper products on a regular basis is soooo not cost-efficient, but it’s something I indulge in because it means fewer dishes. I know, someday my environmentally-friendly side will win out, but right now it’s buried reeeeaaaaal deep.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLeOa_FNeWY0L1XqFnztep4Czv0tdzbN6dS6m48ZuuCHkw7LLkn6wnhBjJx6ueLawGW_zNBvRZr7Q9kkXGjVPdfbbDuNbevG1Gw3KHVJU-UaHhAi37-oPAD7uJJ2AjBi8c2whopuCMRA/s1600/0E8C9DEB-6957-4B56-B706-4B308F2E01E0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLeOa_FNeWY0L1XqFnztep4Czv0tdzbN6dS6m48ZuuCHkw7LLkn6wnhBjJx6ueLawGW_zNBvRZr7Q9kkXGjVPdfbbDuNbevG1Gw3KHVJU-UaHhAi37-oPAD7uJJ2AjBi8c2whopuCMRA/s400/0E8C9DEB-6957-4B56-B706-4B308F2E01E0.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Homework is the worst. Come on, I cannot be the only one who thinks that! But, there is nothing worse than actually getting them to sit down and focus only to realize they need a ruler or some glue or even a sharpened pencil - all of which are nowhere to be found. So each school year I replenish all the school supplies and, now that they've ended up in this cubby, they are off-limits to any activity other than homework. (Or so I hope.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPV2Gu9vCIM1FfiEna1wdnYuDTdD9kZ1ID3MF6rqiCmPPzjyfGnE5M98WL5prRr6Q-9S8ZYohCC06YD_7avYWMkqLDYgZeGSpGcYpswyC7vltkOLLyfbz834krqg11LI1OBBDBJ4sHA4/s1600/D564A6C9-193F-4390-B8DB-BDBAAC3C726E.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPV2Gu9vCIM1FfiEna1wdnYuDTdD9kZ1ID3MF6rqiCmPPzjyfGnE5M98WL5prRr6Q-9S8ZYohCC06YD_7avYWMkqLDYgZeGSpGcYpswyC7vltkOLLyfbz834krqg11LI1OBBDBJ4sHA4/s400/D564A6C9-193F-4390-B8DB-BDBAAC3C726E.JPG" title="Seven Stations that will Stop the Chaos in your Home" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 12pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh, school lunches. How I loathe thee. My kids have always had to make their own school lunches, so I do a few things to make the process a little easier on them. I either buy in bulk and split snacks into little baggies or sometimes I splurge on pre-packaged lunch items. There are also uncrustables in the freezer (nope, not homemade ones … ain’t nobody got time for that around here!) and, of course, fruit in the fruit bowl, but I keep almost everything right here in these two cubbies for a quick assembly. Even lunch bags and throw-away sacks hang out right here. This will come in super handy in the summer when we’re throwing picnics together all the time! </span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-31953504197660896162018-01-08T11:10:00.000-07:002018-01-08T11:10:29.888-07:00How Being Smart with Your Money NOW, will Pay Off LATER!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-right: 72pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This guest blog post was written by Sheila Scarbrough from Eagle Mountain, Utah.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The day after school let out in 2015, we woke up our 4 fourkids, then ages 15, 14, 11, and 7, with the surprise that we were leaving for a California, Disneyland, Universal Studios trip. We spent 3 days in Disneyland, an epic day at Universal Studios and 2 days on the beach. While we did stay in a hotel that provided breakfast, we ate every other meal out either in a park, on the beach, or in a restaurant. It was a wonderful trip where even me, the mom, got to relax because I wasn’t trying to watch every penny.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSkDECE_5G5Ziu1sB6xEnR2FYcTC9vNPFuD3a65FGOp_xzD7cW6aiHFAYEp9NAT4oswPn4ujMdhYZov2l2yXkK0GUs9GKbckZ9bvMe9OagRrQ626jtp-EBBb4IzIoY3r3uH7vZ9DGa28/s1600/surprise+Disneyland+trip.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Disneyland trip planning - How to save money with good planning! " border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSkDECE_5G5Ziu1sB6xEnR2FYcTC9vNPFuD3a65FGOp_xzD7cW6aiHFAYEp9NAT4oswPn4ujMdhYZov2l2yXkK0GUs9GKbckZ9bvMe9OagRrQ626jtp-EBBb4IzIoY3r3uH7vZ9DGa28/s400/surprise+Disneyland+trip.jpeg" title="Disneyland trip planning - How to save money with good planning! " width="400" /></a></div>
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June 2015 Surprise Disneyland Trip</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt;">Rewind a few years (maybe quite a few) to the very first time we took our, then 3, kids ages 5, 4 and 21 months to Disneyland. We once again stayed in a hotel that could accommodate us in one room and provided breakfast. Not only that, but it had a mini fridge and microwave to help with some other simple meals. Our goal was to eat out a maximum of once a day, and cheaply when we did that. We packed in Lunchables to the park, the older kids wore fanny packs carrying their own snacks for the day, and we ate things like Cup of Noodles on the days that we were eating dinner in our hotel room. Our goal for that trip was to do a Disney trip for less than $2000. We did it then and at least one other time before spending a little more on a 3rd trip and finally doing it the way we did in 2015. No matter how we did it, our goal was always that we could come home and have the trip completely paid for. No credit needed. No worries about future bank statements.</span></div>
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2006 Disneyland Trip</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Where am I going with this, you ask. If you had to budget so much, why did you not wait till you could do it in the most epic of ways? If it was stressful, why did you bother planning and packing in groceries that could be easily made into dinner in a microwave? Why not do it the way you wanted and just put the trip on credit? Because, my friends, I’ve learned something vital in my 18 1/2 years of marriage:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">No number of trips, or things, or house upgrades feels as good as financial security.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am certainly no guru on the topic of finances. In fact, when you start talking about 401Ks and investing and things, my eyes glaze over and I feel REALLY DUMB. However, experience and good examples have taught my husband and me some really great lessons that have kept us from any scary financial situations. They have also kept us from ever having a fight over finances. So, with a new year and the new financial goals people like to set, let me share a few of those lessons. Take what you will, and laugh at the rest!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">#1 I REPEAT, No number of trips, or things, or house upgrades feels as good as financial security. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I can in all honesty say, we have never purchased something on credit that we could not pay off when the statement came the next month. This was a lesson my parents taught me and one that has served us very well. Now this does not include the big 3—house, car, school. We do have a house payment and one car payment, but thankfully, the school loan got paid off long ago. However, we have never bought furniture or an appliance or put a trip on a credit card that we couldn’t pay off when the bill came. Do you want to know one of the best byproducts of that? We have never experienced buyer’s remorse. We have never looked at each other when the credit statement came and said, “We shouldn’t have done that.” That’s because each major purchase we make has been talked about, thought about, researched, and talked about some more. We knew we could pay off whatever it was that we decided to buy and every night we get to go to sleep completely financially secure. Does that mean that maybe we haven’t had the latest and greatest? Yup. Does that mean that our kids didn’t always have the name brand stuff? Yup. But it also means that we have had the money to take our family on trips where unforgettable memories have been made and we could come home and pay it right off. Always feels good, I tell ya.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">#2 Pay yourself.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Another lesson my parents instilled in me. With each pay check, pay the Lord, in our case tithing to our church but could easily be any charitable contribution, and pay yourself. In other words, SAVE! My parents always paid 10% to tithing and 10% to themselves before paying bills, buying groceries, etc. Now, I have to admit that we haven’t always been able to pay ourselves 10% from every paycheck, but we have always saved more than we thought we could. Doing this is helping us to build savings for our favorite family activity, traveling, but it’s also helped us as we save for a secure financial retired future. Not living paycheck to paycheck is absolutely freeing!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">#3 Don’t expect to live like your parents do when you are newly married or have a young family.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Sorry folks. Not all of life is going to be instagram worthy. You may be living with hand-me-down furniture for years, like we did. You may not have the snazziest boutique clothes for you and your 3 month old. You will not get to take grand adventures to the Hawaiian Islands every other year. Guess what? It’s okay. Wonderful memories, strong relationships, happy lives are built one day at a time. We have so many funny stories from driving for all of our vacations. (Our kids have been on one airplane trip.) We have chosen to not move and “upgrade” our house because we and our kids would rather take some kind of great trip each year. We didn’t get to take that fourth California trip where I didn’t have to feed my kids in the hotel room until we’d been married for almost 16 years. Our memories from the previous trips were still amazing, even eating Lunchables in the park instead of turkey legs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">#4 Talk about it!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> Finances should be an open book for both people in a marriage! Never hide purchases or what you paid for something from your spouse. ALWAYS talk about big purchases, and when you’re first married, almost any purchase is a big purchase. If you both know what’s going on and where you are at financially, you can both plan and dream for the future. If you’ve both had a say, no one gets to be mad at purchases made. One less thing to be a possible source of contention is a great thing for a marriage, I promise!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Back to our traveling, because it always comes back to that for us. None of those four trips to Disneyland did we stay in a Disney resort. We always chose to stay off-site in a family suite that accommodates us and feeds us breakfast. Never did we buy every snack that sounded good or every souvenir that was amazing. Because we do things this way, we’ve also taken our kids on a Royal Caribbean Cruise and had a week in a beach house in California. Those memories are dinner conversation around here, frequently. We loved every minute of those trips and have gotten to come home and fall asleep completely at peace with our financial security.</span></div>
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The Scarbroughs on a Royal Caribbean family cruise.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For us, traveling is our thing. Maybe for you, it’s having the latest electronics, or getting your dream home. No matter what you do with your finances, do it together and stay smart about it, even when you do feel financially secure.</span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-38667089802625578432017-12-04T09:57:00.002-07:002017-12-04T09:57:56.217-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="color: #434343; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the beautiful story and </i><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "raleway";"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>testimony</i></span></span><i style="color: #434343; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of my sweet neighbor</i></span><i style="color: #434343; font-family: raleway; font-size: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</i><br />
<i style="color: #434343; font-family: raleway; font-size: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lord knows each of us. </i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libby (left), Kristin, Shawn, and Mallory (right)</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shawn’s and my life changed completely on January 7, 2004. It was the day our twins girls were born. It was the day we had been anticipating for months, even though it arrived sooner than we had planned. I need to go back about six months, to July, when I had a blood test done. I was scheduled for surgery to replace my pacemaker. (I was born with a complete heart block that has required a pacemaker since I was 19 years old.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 18pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">When the nurse told me the results were positive I remember thinking, “Positive for what? What disease do I have?”</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had done about 10-12 pregnancy tests in the previous months and all of them had been negative. The most recent one was done at my OB/GYN office two weeks before. At that time, they put me on birth control pills in an attempt to get my cycle regular so they could put me on fertility medication in the Fall. Well, to say the least I was shocked. After the shock I was so excited and called Shawn to tell him the good news. Then it hit me: I was having surgery the next day! My battery was running out on my pacemaker and I am 100 percent dependent on it, so I needed it done.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I went in the next morning for the surgery. Due to the pregnancy I couldn’t be under a general anesthetic, so they just numbed the area, leaving me wide awake throughout the entire procedure. That was a very long two hours! Through all of it, i just kept telling myself I was going through this for the baby.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A week later Shawn and I went camping with my family to Bear Lake. We got home Sunday evening and I was just laying on the couch resting. I got up and felt a rush of liquid going down my legs. I knew pregnant ladies could have some bladder control problems, but I thought this was a little early for that! I got into the bathroom and realized it was blood. I was scared I was miscarrying.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I called the OB doctor on call. He was so nice and told us he would meet us at his office. Here it was, 10:00pm on a Sunday night. He did an ultrasound and said the heartbeat was strong. I was so happy and relieved that I didn’t even hear what else he was telling me. Shawn kept waiting to see my reaction.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 18pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">The doctor had just told us there were two heartbeats; we were having twins! The doctor said it three times before it registered.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a second shock: I was already 10 ½ weeks along! With all my negative pregnancy tests, I assumed I must just barely be pregnant. What a wonderful night, not only finding out everything was okay with the baby(ies), but we were having two of them and a lot sooner than we thought.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That night, even before I had called the OB, I called my mom. So I called her again to tell her the news and that everything was okay. She said she wasn’t surprised. After she had gotten off the phone with me earlier she had knelt down and prayed. She told me that she had an overwhelming feeling that it would all be okay and that there were going to be two babies in there. I never seem to be able to surprise her.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next several months went along pretty smoothly and were uneventful. I just grew bigger and bigger! Shawn and I were getting more and more excited, yet I was very worried I would not be up to the task of taking care of two babies.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fast forward to Christmas day, I wasn’t feeling very well which I figured was probably normal since I was coming close to the end of my pregnancy. I was just big, uncomfortable, and very tired. We were spending Christmas with my family. My mom is a nurse and kept checking my blood pressure throughout the day. It kept creeping up and up. I still wasn’t too worried, but my mom called Labor and Delivery and we were told to come right in. Again, I just thought everyone was overreacting, but Shawn and I packed up and headed to the hospital. During the examination, one of the nurses said, “You guys could be having some babies tonight.” Shawn and I looked at each other and I thought, “Oh no, this is a big deal!” I think some of assumptions that things are not that big of a deal is my lifetime of health issues, and that I’m just used to it. But I had two other little people to worry about now!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thankfully, we were sent home from the hospital, but I was put on full bedrest. I also had to go to the hospital daily for nonstress tests to monitor the babies. I would usually be there for hours, sometimes up to eight, because the babies wouldn’t react, especially “Baby A”.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two more weeks went by and I was seeing the doctor on January 6th. The doctor asked if my ears had been burning that morning because his group had been discussing my case. They all felt it was time to take the babies. My blood pressure and protein had been getting higher and I had preeclampsia. I was now at thirty-five weeks. The goal had been thirty-four weeks, so I had made it an extra week. Yay!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had the babies via C-section the next morning. As soon as they were taken, it was clear that there was something wrong. The babies had what is called a Twin-to-Twin Transfusion. This happens when one baby is getting all the nutrients. We were so lucky that I had gone into preeclampsia since that made them take the babies early.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 18pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">We were told that, if I had gone another week, “Baby A” (Libby) would have been a stillborn and very likely “Baby B” (Mallory), also.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When women talk about the birth of their children being the best day of their lives, I really can’t relate to that. I was so sick and felt so drugged up I wasn’t even able to hold my babies. Libby was taken to the NICU in the hospital, but Mallory needed to be transported to another hospital to be put on a ventilator because she had a collapsed lung. That night, I was able to be wheeled down to the NICU to see Libby and hold her for the first time. She was only 4 lbs and I felt so weak I was afraid I was going to drop her.</span><br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/vf6VVyCbkTziL8q2r7_GG13FtAGfsTG1xnNe_Q3rnLRgL4Z8B-SN0ly3f0uJF_91OWN1cfSdJcT3jKbwHhaXo5ZuQ39GCtvFp3bxewcapjX9rl9Mh-MMh-iSJhZpudQ8Wacf5Cdx" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/vf6VVyCbkTziL8q2r7_GG13FtAGfsTG1xnNe_Q3rnLRgL4Z8B-SN0ly3f0uJF_91OWN1cfSdJcT3jKbwHhaXo5ZuQ39GCtvFp3bxewcapjX9rl9Mh-MMh-iSJhZpudQ8Wacf5Cdx" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a few days I started feeling better except that every time I laid down I felt like I was suffocating. The night before I was to be discharged, I asked the nurse if she would listen to my lungs. The month before I had had pneumonia and I was wondering if it was coming back. The next thing I knew, there were several doctors there and they had also brought in an X-ray machine. Then I was taken for a CT scan. As they wheeled me down the hall, we passed the NICU. I could see that there were several nurses standing around Libby’s isolet. I was scared something might be going wrong with her. I already felt like I had deserted Mallory since we were not in the same hospital and now I was leaving Libby.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After all the tests were done, they found that I had cardiomyopathy and was in congestive heart failure. I needed to be in the ICU myself. I just started to cry. I was so embarrassed! I was thinking, “What’s wrong with me?” I had dealt with a lifetime of health problems, so why was I breaking down now? All the emotions of the last several days with the babies and my hormones going crazy was triggering a panic attack. I was panicking that Shawn was going to leave me alone in the hospital. (He, of course, was not going to leave.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I spent the next few days in ICU and was finally well enough to be released. During my time in the ICU, Mallory was able to be transported back to be in the same NICU with Libby.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 18pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">Once the girls were back together, they started eating better and gaining weight.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The girls spent two more weeks in the hospital. We were so excited that they could finally come home and we could hold them without all the wires and monitors on them, but I was also terrified! Especially since I was still not feeling well.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In many ways those first few months are a blur. I was always so exhausted! Around 10:00 PM every night, I would get very sad and depressed because that used to be when I would go to bed, but with the babies I didn’t know when I would get to go to sleep. Shawn was always great to help me, but neither one of us was getting much sleep. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the girls were four months old, I was at an appointment with my cardiologist for a check up. My heart had not improved since having the babies, and he told me we should not have any more children and that my heart could not handle another pregnancy. At the time I felt so relieved that I never had to go through that again. In addition to the heart problems, I was suffering from postpartum depression. I loved my girls, and I was so grateful to have them, but I felt I was in a black hole and I couldn’t get out. I felt my life would never get easier. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, life did get easier! We all settled into our new life and our new normal. Shawn and I worked out systems so we could get more sleep. One night when the girls were ten months old they were both asleep in their cribs and Shawn and I were sitting on the floor in their bedroom. I looked over at Shawn and said, “I think I’m starting to like them and like being a mom.” Of course, I always loved them, but through everything it just took me awhile to love where I was at.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the moment, we sometimes don’t always recognize all the miracles that happen in our life, but we had so many miracles during that time. From being able to get pregnant without the help of fertility treatments to having twins when my heart could only handle one pregnancy, and so many others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 18pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">Sometimes you don’t know how you make it through, but I know how we did. It was Shawn and I working together and relying on the Lord.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fourteen years later I’m happy to say that the girls are happy and healthy, and so am I!</span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-35421615044872404902017-11-27T11:21:00.000-07:002017-11-27T11:21:06.973-07:00Life isn't fair!<br />
<span style="font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Danielle' Dimond</span><span style="font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-a8bedbed-fe3c-b585-0a87-eb416687cbcb" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m gonna let you in on a wee, little secret. My mother is a philosophical genius of Aristotelian proportions. Now, I understand that if you know me, you probably don’t realize that I was raised by such a Queen of Wisdom, but it’s true. She used to say things when I was a kid that were so profound that it took years for the brilliance of those words to actually light up the dark corners of my less than Aristotelian brain. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is one such phrase that she used to say to me very often when I was angry about some grand imbalance in my life. This phrase would make me positively mad with aggravation. She would say, “Danielle’, (my favorite child), life isn’t fair.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life isn’t fair.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life isn’t fair?!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqN_zQR8Qem0Vd9nqhVuaXxAP02MLyDaU5OoMES-wiU3H8daDv0tOLjC69vKLgAjMuGmuOx78vXHKakb9Ks1PKqe0pj4PYeaKXL5K6U3WzfzZfSySKSbSyKmRZAVHuR6wt5SHdasnbQR4/s1600/Life+Isn%2527t+Fair+Blog.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A blog post all about teaching kids that life isn't fair and that's okay" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqN_zQR8Qem0Vd9nqhVuaXxAP02MLyDaU5OoMES-wiU3H8daDv0tOLjC69vKLgAjMuGmuOx78vXHKakb9Ks1PKqe0pj4PYeaKXL5K6U3WzfzZfSySKSbSyKmRZAVHuR6wt5SHdasnbQR4/s640/Life+Isn%2527t+Fair+Blog.png" title="Mormon Mom Planner Blog Life Isn't Fair" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I abhorred it because it always meant I wasn’t going to get what I wanted, which was usually vengeance or candy. And she was okay with that! How could my mother be ok with me not getting every single thing that any other human being (or at least my siblings) got?! As a little kid this usually resulted in an elaborate temper tantrum with carefully choreographed maneuvers of flailing, weeping, melting to the floor and throwing my hands in the air as if I did, in fact, care. However, my tempers for life’s unfairness soon dwindled significantly. Eventually my anger at others and the powers of the universe when I was wronged became less and less raging and more and more shoulder shrugging. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I sort of forgot about this phrase until my third child made an entrance into this world and suddenly my parenting became grievously unfair to pretty much everyone. It came back to me on a day when my oldest daughter came home from kindergarten very upset because her friend had a sparkly new pencil set and she didn’t AND her little brother got to watch cartoons today while she was a school and this was all terribly unfair!! Up until this point I had fallen into a habit of trying to make my kids’ lives as fair as I possibly could. I tried to be sure they felt like they had things that their friends had and that they spent equal time doing things that their sibling got to do and making sure all portions of everything were exactly equal from all angles. But she came home in such a state this particular day and I realized that I couldn’t possibly make her life completely fair anymore. It was such an obvious impossibility. I suddenly understood that I hadn’t prepared her for this. She didn’t know how to cope with disappointment. I hadn’t even realized I would need to teach this technique! Clearly my metaphorical Motherly apple had fallen far, far from my Mom’s tree when I was born. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So my dear Mother’s words came to me in that moment and I uttered them to my child for the first time, “Avary sweetheart, life isn’t fair.” She blinked at me blankly for a moment and then understanding dawned on her sweet face and little, sad tears formed in her big brown eyes. So I added a little something to the devastating news that I have since added to this same heart breaking news a thousand times over the last 10 years, “but it’s okay! That’s just life! For everyone!” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had no idea way back when I was a kid just how true my Mom’s words were! Life just really isn’t fair! If it was fair, we wouldn’t have a reason to be grateful or to feel blessed. Sometimes we get what we deserve (for better or worse) and sometimes we get what we don’t deserve (for better or worse) and our only concern should be what in the world to do with whatever it is we got or what in the world to do about what we didn’t get. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life is full of disappointment. It’s full of blissful surprises and unexpected goodness too but boy, the disappointments are what can throw you sometimes. So why not raise kids who know how to roll with the dirty, street fighting, no rules and no honor punches life throws? Teach them that they happen; it’s a given fact. It’s nothing personal. Just because you broke your foot the day before Halloween and can’t go trick-or-treating does not mean that God (and all the fences in the world) have it out for you. It just means that you should listen to your mother when she says, “Don’t climb the fence!” and that you will get to learn to receive some service and love from your siblings when they share their candy with you. Not getting an invitation to Susie Simpleton’s birthday party does not mean every single kid in the school hates you, it just means that Susie couldn’t invite everyone in the third grade, so you get to make other fun plans that day. Life’s little imbalances cannot throw you off your course every time or you’ll never get anywhere fun! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obviously there will be instances when you will need to try to make things right for your kid. Disappointment is something to be learned, within reason of course and you’re the judge on that one. The idea is that when those times come, you think about what your actions are teaching your child. Are these hero moves teaching your child to take responsibility for their actions or teaching them that Mom will make things right every time something bad happens or every time they make a mistake. Be careful not to jump into reparative action every time our kids shout, “It’s not fair!” Take a minute to think it through. Is this something my kid can handle and should handle?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the third side of this fairness-of-life triangle is the fact that sometimes we have to teach kids that some things seem unfair, but are actually called, ‘reaping what we sow’. So your son ate ice cream, donuts and chips and stayed up late the night before basketball tryouts. As a result he didn’t make the team even though he’s a way better player than Jimmy Jumpshot over there who did make the team. As a parent you can either, call the coach and try to talk your kid’s way back onto the team and teach your kid that Mom will come to the rescue no matter what choices he makes. Or you can hug your kid and do nothing, and teach that learning ball player that he needs to work harder and take better care of his body if he wants to make the team next year.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because once in awhile, life IS totally fair and you WILL in fact get what you deserve. So work and live to deserve the best! Even though you might not always get it you’ll sure make it easier for fortune (or God, you know, whoever seems most giving at the time) to smile upon you!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once upon a time our loving Savior sure did something for us that was the most unfair thing of them all. He was perfect and he paid the price for all of our sins anyway, even though it wasn’t fair. I’m so very grateful to have a Savior who didn’t give a second thought to whether it was fair that he should suffer for the things I did. The mistakes I made. The pain I went through and the misery I have born. He just did it because he loves me and he loves us and it wasn’t fair. I’m so very glad, it wasn’t fair because I want to be able to thank him one day and be with him always.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So here’s to a generation of kids who can shrug their shoulders when life is hard and unfair and just work harder or find happiness elsewhere. We can raise kids who can handle hard and who can snort at unfair and make their own luck! </span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-60490004248244367512017-11-14T11:47:00.003-07:002017-11-14T12:37:55.011-07:00Attitude of Gratitude<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">It is the thanksgiving season and the time that we get together with loved ones and family to express our love and thanks for each other and for blessing we've received. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">YOU!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">That's right! I think back to when we first started this adventure and I feel so blessed and grateful for your amazing loyalty and kindness through the years. I have personally felt like you guys have been my cheerleader and have provided so much encouragement for me. You have made me a better person and push me to keep improving. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">So, w</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">e want to tell you how much we love you! And we are doing that through a fun giveaway. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">BUT FIRST...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">We would love it if you took the time to read <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/the-divine-gift-of-gratitude?lang=eng" target="_blank">this talk</a> by President Thomas S. Monson and leave a comment below this post to get you started in the giveaway. Tell us one way you're going to try to cultivate an </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTis-Gu4eo09ziXlmdt1Qt0a6xjgeCt0WQ0NEstvw91oGmsnN-1FruG-HgPam44u6qp29CvZTsaJPWbzd7Sm4f3JZggA8dR8WnDn1ZLQN7mVWAfoQwau5sAcoXEDEx5l0ezhmhMzKeww/s1600/gratitude1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="mormonmomplanner.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="1600" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTis-Gu4eo09ziXlmdt1Qt0a6xjgeCt0WQ0NEstvw91oGmsnN-1FruG-HgPam44u6qp29CvZTsaJPWbzd7Sm4f3JZggA8dR8WnDn1ZLQN7mVWAfoQwau5sAcoXEDEx5l0ezhmhMzKeww/s640/gratitude1.png" title="intheleafytreetops.com" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To me, having gratitude and expressing thanks is equivalent to having joy. When we feel joy we are grateful and when we are grateful, we feel joy. They go together. Pres. Monson tells us that gratitude is a divine principle and we are commanded to give thanks </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">in all things and to</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcJ4FNsAViK26bvlWpJGjR9EBIegNSU6P9jr4K5757MS18oUcyzX7CaD0m2NvrT2bMfLEHs3oJjafUPUf3g9w-KagpWcyAluYZIbOGGldcsgZKhhgGQvHyHkWU9QwuAoTqU4xTTtgK2E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-10+at+9.18.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcJ4FNsAViK26bvlWpJGjR9EBIegNSU6P9jr4K5757MS18oUcyzX7CaD0m2NvrT2bMfLEHs3oJjafUPUf3g9w-KagpWcyAluYZIbOGGldcsgZKhhgGQvHyHkWU9QwuAoTqU4xTTtgK2E/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-10-10+at+9.18.58+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is easier said than done though. Sometimes, we just don't feel grateful because we are so caught up in what we are missing, what we aren't getting, doing, being, seeing, feeling, etc. We scroll through countless images and enticing marketing that makes us all of the sudden realize all that we lack. These are real feelings and normal, but we can't dwell in them, we need to quickly refocus our attention on our Savior, where we can see our divine nature, our individual worth and our own talents and gifts. We can rely on our Heavenly Father to always give us those glimpses of our amazing potentials and of the blessings he has given us. When we pray to Him, it becomes clear how blessed we are and our hearts become full of thanks.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This works in our relationships as well. It is very easy to pick apart other people, especially our family members. Sometimes we see another family that seems to have more fun, more money, more good looks, more house, more more more more. This is not a good place to go. Remember, comparison is the thief of joy and when we don't have joy, it is almost impossible to have gratitude and visa versa. We need to rejoice in others especially their successes, their beauty, their talents, skills and gifts. Remember, someone else's beauty, talents, successes doesn't diminish or cancel out our own. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> So...how do we train our heart to be full of thanks? Pres. Monson tells us that</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZaqRNuRqpI-6kYVARQkXmZD0xxxNY8VG2DPc_w5VvmqEqAoEvMarIVVs6rG79lN6trfNWKGgWk5mA9LWJw-CuOk1NOfMKPhBQdWPSWPI4uc5gqTSx5er2KigZkRT9vb1g9hqgT-0SjA/s1600/grateful.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1486" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZaqRNuRqpI-6kYVARQkXmZD0xxxNY8VG2DPc_w5VvmqEqAoEvMarIVVs6rG79lN6trfNWKGgWk5mA9LWJw-CuOk1NOfMKPhBQdWPSWPI4uc5gqTSx5er2KigZkRT9vb1g9hqgT-0SjA/s640/grateful.png" width="594" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">and this...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCopIFEUwJHeGxYhEICqKPdSwHgTJvhtKvLBwPa5dHsCElb8JF5K7niiEKs4XvIEeaFKJyah5RvRtiP_ia6KxxfTKwvZxUUb20m8SzC6FWCTmc-CUGEMFebFkW15RCNgtGEeGSYNZMu8/s1600/gratitude3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="1600" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCopIFEUwJHeGxYhEICqKPdSwHgTJvhtKvLBwPa5dHsCElb8JF5K7niiEKs4XvIEeaFKJyah5RvRtiP_ia6KxxfTKwvZxUUb20m8SzC6FWCTmc-CUGEMFebFkW15RCNgtGEeGSYNZMu8/s640/gratitude3.png" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">and last one...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MYiNycMYRogWKbGhOJ__kSwU-LFKYsRVm22_M6D7J9kxeKKr4ZR0HaVhqSpdlk1wmQKwVBRvwS00MKiJNa34Y9_DZ9kOdo6N9WHoCJB5YdAWCxe-hqywzJxsLv0ohtHWJI2x4DwWej4/s1600/gratitude4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="1600" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MYiNycMYRogWKbGhOJ__kSwU-LFKYsRVm22_M6D7J9kxeKKr4ZR0HaVhqSpdlk1wmQKwVBRvwS00MKiJNa34Y9_DZ9kOdo6N9WHoCJB5YdAWCxe-hqywzJxsLv0ohtHWJI2x4DwWej4/s640/gratitude4.png" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So basically, we feel more gratitude as we express more gratitude! A lot like a testimony, the more we share and express it, the stronger it gets.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awesome stuff!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay are you ready for the giveaway?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let's start with what the Instagram winner will win.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We thought that since it was the season for gathering, and whenever there is a gathering, there is usually food involved, we thought we would give away a ....</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">KitchenAid! WAHOO!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">but not only a KitchenAid (the winner picks the color), but also</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">some extra goodies from the new Hearth and Home Magnolia line. Yes! But that's not all. You will also get...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">some amazing planner goodies to go with it, including your choice of a planner, notebook and all of our Mormon Mom Planner accessories. Yes! Yes! and Yes! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">$700 value</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So here is a shot of what our Instagram winner will get total</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Awesome huh! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay, so now I will show you what we are giving away on our Facebook page.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are giving away a....</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Instant Pot! These things are amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are also including these...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">from the Hearth and Home Magnolia line including an apron. So cute.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We will also be including all of these amazing goodies...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Holy smokes. Along with a planner of your choice and a notebook and all of our Mormon Mom Planner accessories too.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">$500 Value</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, there you have it. We are so excited and this is going to be such a fun giveaway.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This will go on for 8 days and each day you will get new instructions. The winners will be announced the day before Thanksgiving. But for today, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling us one way you're going to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Easy Peasy!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400592504837618867noreply@blogger.com221tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-90880217379132364852017-11-06T11:14:00.001-07:002017-11-06T12:05:07.196-07:00Record & Preserve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqneHTL_7Ekc7YRULLXCF0cUgxu12p0B1aZcChwuEn-REwjM6GpBfmp6vjFGaaUwrtCctKBvbALCoAVqzLSXpjT60BkB-Tfe6TywziA16Zro1cdlOKOAa4jEK6bfDTHINBJmA7E1f4TJA/s1600/FullSizeRender-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqneHTL_7Ekc7YRULLXCF0cUgxu12p0B1aZcChwuEn-REwjM6GpBfmp6vjFGaaUwrtCctKBvbALCoAVqzLSXpjT60BkB-Tfe6TywziA16Zro1cdlOKOAa4jEK6bfDTHINBJmA7E1f4TJA/s640/FullSizeRender-10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was reading <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/news/keeping-a-journal-blesses-generations?lang=eng" target="_blank">this</a> article and came across the following little tidbit that really struck me. It says:<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">After 400 years of intensive research into the life and works of William Shakespeare, we know almost nothing about the personal life of the most famous writer in the history of the English language. Only about a hundred documents related to William Shakespeare and his immediate family have been found: baptismal records, property deeds, marriage bonds, tax certificates, and court records—nothing about him personally.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Shakespeare’s works are all we know about him. We can study, along with the scholars, his plays, poems, songs, and sonnets and discover something of what life was like for him. “The songs in the plays themselves illustrate many sides of Shakespeare’s genius—his incomparable lyric gift, his ready humor, and his marvelous sensitivity to the sights and sounds of English life, especially the life of the country” (<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Norton Anthology of English Literature,</span> vol. 1, 3rd edition [1962], 820).</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, because he did not keep a journal, we don’t know, and probably never will, if he was happy or sad, if he liked sunsets and long walks by the Thames, whether he liked music, what his favorite foods were, if he enjoyed company or preferred to be alone. Some of his plays are set in other countries, and we don’t even know if he ever left England.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Isn't that kind of sad? It got me thinking about my own ancestors and wishing more of them had kept records of their thoughts and goings on. There are many grandmothers in particular that I would've liked to have "met" through their writings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Luckily, I had a couple grandfathers that did keep records and boy do I cherish those. Ironically, they kept their records in little agenda books and planners (maybe that's where I get it from) and they are small and simple but they provide amazing insights into what they were up to and what they were experiencing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is a shot of of 4 generations, including mine of record keeping in planner books. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwPVL1OL45DkHCim9t_k9I2ERQt9VfBkz0OG93va03DRwc6136qB20MPpMdz-g1KJRZs01wCoRFrLSzbhShAHdepRri_z91gtWCVgQNCeQr0-UqFtQa18yZcTaTwTxy5rh0EKwjLDOX4/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwPVL1OL45DkHCim9t_k9I2ERQt9VfBkz0OG93va03DRwc6136qB20MPpMdz-g1KJRZs01wCoRFrLSzbhShAHdepRri_z91gtWCVgQNCeQr0-UqFtQa18yZcTaTwTxy5rh0EKwjLDOX4/s640/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> There's a lot more where these came from. These are small planner books and a ledger book of my great grandpa Alfred that go as far back as 1891, my grandpa Wendall's history in the early 1900's and my own dad, John that he kept through the years. I even discovered my dad made his own very cool planner book when he was bishop that make me think this planning business definitely runs in the family. Haha. I love seeing their handwriting and I love touching these books and holding them knowing they carried them around as a part of their lives. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSua_veso8UVSNnSkYDQRZ5WwLiP3jnIljdtV7RjmqDZekHboQ5GCENpJMXSmxzduRbKPMKH0wLW59DYmmZecX-xVyM-QZ1v8YLrH2ftJLMpvFqizbPKeORQfn5A4ZPiV_8enfVvmN6Z4/s1600/FullSizeRender-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSua_veso8UVSNnSkYDQRZ5WwLiP3jnIljdtV7RjmqDZekHboQ5GCENpJMXSmxzduRbKPMKH0wLW59DYmmZecX-xVyM-QZ1v8YLrH2ftJLMpvFqizbPKeORQfn5A4ZPiV_8enfVvmN6Z4/s640/FullSizeRender-5.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Check out three generations of memory keeping right there of a man, his son, & his grandson. Little did great grandpa Alfred know his little journal would be featured on something called a blog, which will now preserve his journal on another level. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ERIiGvrnb1xZRL2VWAnyweF_94bcVEnq2OvE9QlbFL1g3VVasnCzxe5P0TGjeqlDKMRMAmgx0Jmu12Dm-gfTM4wRVYHljMi_ElQ7y421ezvTOjl6Yhm6Fr2IizNOsdIxglRbVy-avSY/s1600/FullSizeRender-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ERIiGvrnb1xZRL2VWAnyweF_94bcVEnq2OvE9QlbFL1g3VVasnCzxe5P0TGjeqlDKMRMAmgx0Jmu12Dm-gfTM4wRVYHljMi_ElQ7y421ezvTOjl6Yhm6Fr2IizNOsdIxglRbVy-avSY/s640/FullSizeRender-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrRmklBTVyiO5WYkAiLK_BOXoI3N4A932sDkGiWXvNmkA6AHZkrPJ6uRrAP9S9XrWeLj73U_yrfQ638H-M2lXwH7j5rqm5xsJ_4hcR6hjL4ytB3MPQvLowFkE_ElJ2AEbvuNDO-wI1LE/s1600/FullSizeRender-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrRmklBTVyiO5WYkAiLK_BOXoI3N4A932sDkGiWXvNmkA6AHZkrPJ6uRrAP9S9XrWeLj73U_yrfQ638H-M2lXwH7j5rqm5xsJ_4hcR6hjL4ytB3MPQvLowFkE_ElJ2AEbvuNDO-wI1LE/s640/FullSizeRender-8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I want my posterity to know me. I want them to know my goals, ideas, ramblings, challenges, sense of humor, etc. I want them to feel connected with me just as I want to feel connected with my ancestors. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was chatting with my mom the other day when I went to pick these agendas up and she was telling me how much she regrets not keeping any kind of record of her own in regards to her thoughts and experiences. I agreed with her how sad that is BUT, it is never too late. My mom has decided she is going to write her history right now and give us that wonderful treasure and keepsake. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Never think that nobody will be interested in your thoughts and ideas. My grandma Ruby who lived her life in the service of others didn't keep any journals, but she has this cute little book of scraps, recipes, articles or jokes she liked that she glued into this little book and I adore it. What a treasure.</span></div>
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Did you read that last joke? So funny.</div>
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and she gave us one little glimpse of her handwriting on this little page. Isn't that a great thought she wrote down?!</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So...are you inspired to keep a record, <b>ANY </b>kind of record of your life? I hope so. I even want to start keeping a political journal and record the daily news and such just because there is so much going on, it's hard to even keep up, but wouldn't that be a fun record? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are so many different creative ways to keep a record and preserve it nowadays. Video, blogging, audio recordings, youtube, social media, memory keeping, etc. W</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">hether it's daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly recordings, t</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">he important thing is to just <span style="font-size: large;">do it </span>and try to be consistent.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">click <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.mormonwiki.com/Keeping_a_Journal" target="_blank">here</a></span> for more motivations ands tips</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400592504837618867noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-35780162080862454712017-10-23T09:54:00.001-06:002017-10-23T10:17:51.116-06:00Date that hunk you married!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
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By Jen Sorensen<br />
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Okay, ladies. Who likes going on dates? I don’t mean the terrifying, stress-inducing dates of our teenage years (please say that wasn’t just me!). I mean going out with that hunka hunka burnin’ love you married. I’m talking about pullin’ out the gooood sweats, y’all. Maybe even the skinny jeans! (Not the ones you have to lay on the bed to zip. I mean, please. I said date, not PTA meeting.)<br />
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For my hunka hunka (whom we will call Josh, because that is his name) and me, looking forward to our Friday night date gets us through the week. Monday: baaaack to the crazy schedule OR only 5 more days until we get each other all to ourselves again! Wednesday: taxi kiddos everywhere in between laundry and dinner and homework again OR 3 more days until we give a conceal-our-joy-so-we-don’t-hurt-their-cute-little-feelings-too-much wave to the kiddos and speed walk to the door? We look forward to them a lot, in case I was being subtle. That’s one of my strengths.<br />
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Now, our dates are not glamorous. They would be, but I just don’t have the right shoes. ha! yeah, right. I have a million shoes. Our dates aren’t glamorous because<br />
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<strong>a)</strong> we’re too tired for glamour (dude, we just survived fiiiive weekdays)<br />
<strong>b)</strong> it’s expensive (who wants to budget that in??), but, most importantly, because<br />
<strong>c)</strong> dates aren’t about what you <i>do</i> - they’re about what you <i>say</i>.<br />
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There are so many things that spouses need to actually hear from each other and way too many times that they don’t ever get said. I need to hear that I look beautiful. I actually kinda hate that I need to hear it, but I do. And guess what? I mostly need to hear it when I’m in my good sweats, so date night is perfect! I need to hear that he thinks I’m doing an amazing job at keeping all the plates spinning. I’m not going to believe him, but I need to hear it. I need to hear that I’m the world’s best mom and that our kids adore me. And even though all the mom fails from the week will come zooming through my head like a comic strip on steroids, those will be the words that help me have a little more patience the next week.<br />
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He needs to hear that I am amazed at how well he juggles work and family. How I fall in love again every time he helps our kids with math. If I did it, I’d have to whisper-google every single problem because I can barely double a recipe. He needs to hear that I saw our daughter’s eyes light up because he told her she looked beautiful. He needs to hear that I feel safe with him and that I can’t wait to fall asleep by him every night and that holding his hand actually makes me breathe slower and feel calmer.<br />
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Sometimes we talk for so long that we just drive and drive and drive-thru and drive some more. And other times, we talk a little bit on the way to a movie and I fall asleep on his shoulder while we drive home. It doesn’t always matter how much we say. Just that we say the right things.<br />
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Most of the time, our talks are simple and sweet, but there are times when the talks are hard and important and we hold hands anyway because hard talks don’t have to mean hard feelings. They might require hard steps, but we can do it. Life just happens one short, crazy day at a time. People don’t suddenly fall out of love. It’s a slow, sneaky thing and dating each other forever might just keep it from happening. In fact, it could keep it from ever starting.<br />
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You fell in love while you were dating. <br />Don’t you think if you keep dating, you could stay in love?</h2>
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Just make it happen. If you have littles, pop open a bag of chips and play a card game before you fall asleep. Need groceries? Skip the restaurant portion of the date and proceed to the nearest grocery store. Actually, go to the farthest grocery store so you can chat while you drive. Ask each other questions. Believe it or not, your spouse can still surprise you no matter how long you’ve been married. For example, after about 12 years of marriage Josh asked me to tell him something he didn’t know about me. I thought really hard and finally said, “My favorite sound is dropping a lit match into a cup of water.” It took a while for the laughter to die down. Good talk.<br />
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Marriage is absolutely the closest thing we have to understanding the selfless love that helps us become more like our heavenly parents. I know my husband is always, I mean <i>always</i>, more concerned about my needs that he is about his own. He knows that I am always thinking of how I can meet his. When someone else is always putting you first, then you don’t have to put yourself first; suddenly you have a selfless relationship. I know this doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen easily, but it can happen one little day and one little date at a time.
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-39915009085829194972017-10-16T13:34:00.000-06:002017-10-23T12:49:33.335-06:00A Happy Family of Planners Who Plan for Family Happiness (Say That Five Times Fast)<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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by Danielle' Dimond</h3>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cab624a0-2573-0f2d-15e4-f5cd919412b9"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have you ever tried to rescue a young boy from his older sister’s verbal rage when she is late to school because he can’t find his jacket? I’ve been there. The scars are still fresh and even months later, that young boy’s eye still twitches nervously whenever I jingle the car keys. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cab624a0-2573-0f2d-15e4-f5cd919412b9"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This school year our family has had a little routine adjusting to do, as our daughter started seminary and we need to leave for school 10 minutes earlier than usual every other day. Mornings are hard as it is around here since I’ve passed on my genetic a.m. disposition to my spawn. It’s a disposition of general disdain for all mankind until 8:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Sorry about that kids! </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Better make a note of that on my family history page for future generations to beware.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cab624a0-2573-0f2d-15e4-f5cd919412b9"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we don’t remind everyone the night before that we’ll be leaving early, we are all certain to be late, dangerous and well, less than spiritually awesome. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This proactive peace effort takes place on Sunday evenings during Family Counsel. Everyone who has one brings their calendar/planner/coloring page to the table and we plug in all the soccer practices/games, basketball practices/games, Young Women’s activities, Scout activities, and meetings for callings, social plans and school events. If we are over scheduled on any given day we talk it out together and decide how we’ll make it work, or what we’ll need to cut to make things run smoothly and keep everyone chill. I write everything in my calendar, which generally remains open in the kitchen so everyone can be in that smug state known simply as “the know”. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-cab624a0-260b-1353-babd-de3f551c6f63" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A first step to working on any team is for all team members to understand the overlying plan. You have to know what each player is going to be doing in order to anticipate what </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> yourself will need to do. If Jr. knows that big sister needs to get to school early in the morning, he knows he can’t lay around in bed for five more minutes, or luxuriate over which already dirty school uniform to wear. He knows that the team goal is to get out the door in time, so </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">his</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> role is to get his cute patootie moving so that the team wins all the things!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Involved and Invested in Every Activity…</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">even if it’s not theirs</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you include everyone in the family on the planning and figuring of events and activities, you’re involving everyone in every event. Planning together how you’re going to get one kid to a piano lesson right after school is going to help the other kids respect the plan and feel like the plan is theirs too, not just piano going Jimmy. Hustling those metaphorical bustles home after the bus drops them off will be their part of executing plan ‘Jimmy gets his music on’. They can then feel the same satisfaction you do when Jimmy gets to his lesson on time because they helped make the plan to do it! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prioritizing Prioritization</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inevitably, your family schedule is going to have some hiccups, especially if you have a lot of kids and/or a lot of activities going on. Hiccups are ok; in fact, they can be great tools for teaching! When everyone sees the problem laid (i.e. a soccer practice and a soccer game scheduled at the same time), you get to teach about prioritization. Soccer practice kid learns that a game is more important and he’ll have to miss this practice so his sister and family can make it to her game. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Problem Solving + Time Management = Super Powers!!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This act of teaching prioritization also helps kids learn about problem solving and time management. Problem solving comes in if there’s a school play going on at the same time as the violin recital and Mom and Dad are going to be out of town. Everyone need not freak out and burst into “it’s not fair” tears. We all just put our heads together and figure out how everyone can get a ride from a friend or neighbor to their events. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can teach time management skills when there’s a busy afternoon planned on Thursday and a big report due for Henrietta on Friday. You can all plan out together when she can work on her report earlier in the week so it’s all done before that busy Thursday afternoon. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone Has a Voice</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the biggest perks to planning as a family is that everyone gets to feel like they have a say in what is going on and that their voice is heard in the planning stages. As a result, it’s easier for them to accept and respect everyone else’s voice too. This isn’t to say that you won’t have to play the parent card sometimes and make the hard decision yourself when no one can agree, but it may lessen the blow a bit if everyone can see the big picture in front of them.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_xmq71hCgTxRmSpV4DK55U71NWYsiR6CeRPOrWimuBOfFjk7cE0-u4F4yjo99yNRYs9U_tQh4InyEDA3-z0bMbl0p8BeWvvMqqvyrMRZJKuuBZoaNFvGaAw1D3iyL6iAEYeJU044Rhs/s1600/image1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cute October planner filled out with Halloween stickers, witch and bat drawings Mormon Mom Planner" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_xmq71hCgTxRmSpV4DK55U71NWYsiR6CeRPOrWimuBOfFjk7cE0-u4F4yjo99yNRYs9U_tQh4InyEDA3-z0bMbl0p8BeWvvMqqvyrMRZJKuuBZoaNFvGaAw1D3iyL6iAEYeJU044Rhs/s640/image1.JPG" title="Mormon Mom Planner October Halloween" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Planning together will unite and bless your family!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Think about it, our wise Heavenly Father was a planner. Before we even decided we’d participate in this hectic thing called life on earth, He laid out a plan of salvation for us during the very first family counsel ever! He asked for solutions and whether or not we wanted to participate. Our voices were heard (for better or worse) and those of us who chose to come knew the plan beforehand and we loved it. We felt that we were a part of it, for all eternity. God shows us how to do all things, even things as simple as how to plan a week/month or even a year together with our families. Our hope can only be that by following this example we can truly have our own Family Plan of Happiness.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvIelaCPBY8CibT2VhQgzy1Wu2UeFPiGDHh6Kbrf15Ueb1BopY9IfD8Dio2zUjkGUvRJlnWB_E9tTP3ZEZbRx6y06YhilUq0SmXm_yGYEPBrVzcEf6WSoftyVHAQXGgUdzc18_uqCSXs/s1600/image3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Family gathered around the table planning out their week Mormon Mom Planner" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvIelaCPBY8CibT2VhQgzy1Wu2UeFPiGDHh6Kbrf15Ueb1BopY9IfD8Dio2zUjkGUvRJlnWB_E9tTP3ZEZbRx6y06YhilUq0SmXm_yGYEPBrVzcEf6WSoftyVHAQXGgUdzc18_uqCSXs/s640/image3.JPG" title="Planning out your week with your family" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-71063752197467669372017-10-09T18:48:00.000-06:002017-10-23T12:48:59.963-06:00<b id="docs-internal-guid-0ddbdf72-03b2-2b28-6768-ecb72bfcee73" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0ddbdf72-03b2-2b28-6768-ecb72bfcee73" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who loved <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP_SA_23-9-2017_dGC_fBCAST_xLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng" target="_blank">General Conference</a>?! All of us. Who can remember much of what we heard? Probably not many of us. That’s okay! Our Heavenly Father knows we learn “<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/28.30?lang=eng#29" target="_blank">line upon line, precept upon precept</a>.” Basically, our little human brains - as amazing as they are - need lots of chances to learn.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0ddbdf72-03b2-2b28-6768-ecb72bfcee73" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-spirit-of-revelation?lang=eng" target="_blank">talk</a> from the April 2011 General Conference, Elder <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/david-a-bednar?lang=eng" target="_blank">Bednar</a> said, <i>“Most frequently, revelation comes in small increments over time and is granted according to our desire, worthiness, and preparation.”</i> What’s the takeaway? Let’s study General Conference in small increments over time.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0ddbdf72-03b2-2b28-6768-ecb72bfcee73" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In an October 2011 General Conference <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-power-of-scripture?lang=eng" target="_blank">talk</a>, Elder <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/richard-g-scott?lang=eng" target="_blank">Scott</a> said, <i>“Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change.”</i> These memorized passages, including quotes from General Conference, can become like friends that help us in times of need. When our kids have questions, we have counsel memorized and at the ready. Elder Scott says, <i>“Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.”</i></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "raleway"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Choose something from your General Conference notes or studies (or use a quote from below) and start memorizing! Let’s fill our filing cabinets together!</span></div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-20877894853373319162017-10-02T09:00:00.000-06:002017-10-23T12:50:02.150-06:00Five Habits of Highly Successful {at looking like they have it together} Moms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been married for an amazing 16 years. Since those looooong ago single days I added a hubby, four kids, a house, about a million socks without matches, a certificate in master gardening, a new job, a looooot of volunteer hours with the PTA, and about 40 pounds. Do I love each of my kids ten pounds’ worth? Let’s go with yes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Even after 16 years I can't be serious when we try to take couple photos now.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>They always turn into awkward engagement photo reenactments.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>First baby</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Dreamy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Second baby</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: We’ve totally got this!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Third baby</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Outnumbered but I have adorable little helpers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Fourth baby</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: What the?!?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I mean, after my last baby it took me nearly five years to finally buy a new bra and nearly eight before I went back to the dentist.. Anyhoooooo ...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Someday my house will be quiet and I’ll miss the noise, the graffitied walls (the 8-year-old still. draws. on. the. walls.), the constant shock over how quickly food disappears, but, for now, I just have to keep up with the crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So here are the FIVE things that help me keep up the facade that we have our lives together.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Adjust, Don’t “Lower,” Your Expectations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can we, just for one second, vent about this phrase?? Lowering my expectations? Really? How about setting expectations that sit wherever the heck you want because they make sense for your reality?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 67.5pt; margin-right: 9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For example, I used to make dinner every night. That’s because I actually got the grocery shopping done. And that’s because I actually made a menu. And that’s because I had two seconds at a time to think about life. But now things have changed and I no longer make menus or trips to the store or dinner. My goal has become to make dinner two nights a week. I adjusted my expectations to our reality. I didn't lower them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do I miss our evening ritual of catching up {complaining} about our days, talking {moaning} about what might be happening the next day, or everyone pitching in {disappearing} when it was time to clean up? Maybe a little. But it sure is nice to feel good about myself a couple times a week instead of feeling like a crap mom on the five nights we don’t get to eat together.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The benefit to this is that my kids can now successfully cook dinner for themselves (you’re welcome, future college children), do their own laundry (you’re welcome, future college roommates) and quickly do their chores 1o minutes before I get home and pretend they weren’t watching TV (you’re welcome, um, no one).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Like Your Kids.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, we have to love our kids. It’s natural. We can’t help it. But sometimes they're really hard to like! It takes a lot of effort to look past the twerp they are currently and see the amazing human they’re trying so desperately to turn themselves into.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Try to love having your kiddos around. Mine are hilarious - when they’re not arguing. My oldest can quote movies so well that no one even realizes she’s doing it. She can sing. Play guitar. Frankly, there’s not much she can’t do. My second is totally into parkour (like running up the sides of buildings and flipping off!) and I’m constantly amazed by what he’s brave enough to do. My third is going to be the most amazing soccer player who has ever lived or breathed or walked the earth, At least he will be to me. And, guys, he has this smile! Like melt-my-heart-every-single-time smile. My littlest is a vandal. But a super cute one! (Seriously, though. She draws on everything! But if you give her a coloring page and some markers she looks at you like, really? You want me to color? I’m, like, already 8 and stuff.) Let’s just agree that some phases are easier to like than others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All in all, my kids are the ones other people watch with wide eyes and say, “Wow! They have a lot of energy!” Yes, they do and I like it!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Change Your Attitude.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One day on the phone my BFF was telling me about her rough day and the she said, “I just have to change my attitude.” I thought, hello? Just change your attitude? Uh. Okay. But she’s pretty much the smartest person I know and she actually has her life together so I decided I would try it. It’s amazing what happens in your brain when you decide to be positive. Guess what? All your problems are manageable. Smiling? It’s magical. A smiling mom makes kids feel safe. A mom who’s smiling on the inside, too? There’s no stopping her. Thanks, bestie. You’re a keeper.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Do Things For Yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sounds heavenly, right? Run. Right now. Hang out with some friends. Buy yourself a new book. Hide in the car and devour a milkshake like there’s no tomorrow. (True story.) Or get really crazy and plan an actual night out. Sometimes we moms experience this awful condition called Mom Guilt. Its symptoms include feeling badly about absolutely nothing. That is all. When we remember that we are actual people then our kids remember that we are actual people. And actual people have feelings and needs and flaws and that’s okay. It’s like that oxygen mask comparison. You have to put your mask on first if you have any chance of helping others. The struggle is real, but you are worth it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Do Things For Others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I actually do a lot of volunteering. Sounds amazing, I know (don’t worry … I just rolled my eyes at myself), but honestly it’s my way of getting to know my kids’ teachers and principals and office staff. It’s pretty great when you get a voicemail from the secretary at school laughing and saying, “Hey, Jen! Call us when you get a sec. Jonah stuck a penny up his nose.” Then more laughing. The penny up his nose part was slightly terrifying, but the voicemail could have gone like this: “Hi, Mrs. Sorensen. This is your offsprings’ school calling. We don’t really know who you are or who your child is, but this is the phone number he gave us and he is currently sitting with our medical professional who is performing an extraction of a coin right out the part of his face where he breathes. Please call us back at your earliest convenience.” I mean, it could have. It probably wouldn’t have, but still, it’s better if they know you, right?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though I have slightly evil reasons for volunteering, I’ve still been lucky enough to give so many tests to sweet little ones who needed some one-on-one support, smiles to kids who were having a rough day, high-fives to classes walking quietly through the halls - or at least they were quiet before the high-fives started, sorry teacher. And through all of those hours at schools I’ve always been thankful for the next mom to walk through the doors and do just the same thing for my little ones.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkMKFhsOYq5yKsTO3XqLSZPrjQFDqWSuX183dWeJR8YeJHx6XEhNG-nIKaf3cy8EPvlONsY5QEKCevID_IdZCDXDtkQPBznYyGT_6To_BkrgYEE3kvN7b28PiyCTpztMzXjLlAlc6kmQ/s1600/DSC_8828-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkMKFhsOYq5yKsTO3XqLSZPrjQFDqWSuX183dWeJR8YeJHx6XEhNG-nIKaf3cy8EPvlONsY5QEKCevID_IdZCDXDtkQPBznYyGT_6To_BkrgYEE3kvN7b28PiyCTpztMzXjLlAlc6kmQ/s640/DSC_8828-Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">My people.</i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Alli, Jonah (blue shirt), Asher (blondie with the glasses), Sophie tethered to me,</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>and Josh right in the middle of all the crazies.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "raleway"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below is a Pinterest-friendly pin! Save it for easy reference later!</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNobMI8dVSCerucmiJKhTo4YWvoTDNwskpHhOPdXrsoAStSesocnSRDHPCH_kP_z8SBQfdjL9dQzDYJ-cIpwB33iAJn0FidYsOrphOcaeqlF123UQ7T-z_WgP3ZLUUpXBFaQYC0xvNCF8/s1600/5+Habits_Infographic+for+Pinterest.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mormon Mom Planner Blog Post: 5 Habits of Moms Who Are Good At Keeping It Together" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNobMI8dVSCerucmiJKhTo4YWvoTDNwskpHhOPdXrsoAStSesocnSRDHPCH_kP_z8SBQfdjL9dQzDYJ-cIpwB33iAJn0FidYsOrphOcaeqlF123UQ7T-z_WgP3ZLUUpXBFaQYC0xvNCF8/s1600/5+Habits_Infographic+for+Pinterest.png" title="5 Habits of Moms Who Are Good At Keeping It Together!" /></a></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-46987039490918894512017-09-25T14:15:00.001-06:002017-09-25T14:15:07.771-06:00Plan Your Action!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOehcxI3_208CboJ4QwbGUypS8mFpAWa5z49decxWBiwBwaMk9ePWXVFEafQaurBzbc7hqOuA83jlmzCSz4lhjC5RX3H0812P8VdjDPYlXHGSTDgL9vGLe4TIvL4wHRpGBMk-S3ugLik0/s1600/Blog+Title+-+%25E2%2580%259CAnd+because+that+they+are+redeemed+from+the+fall+they+have+become+free+forever%252C+knowing+good+from+evil%253B+to+act+for+themselves+and+not+to+be+acted+upon.%25E2%2580%259D+%25282+Nephi+2_26%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOehcxI3_208CboJ4QwbGUypS8mFpAWa5z49decxWBiwBwaMk9ePWXVFEafQaurBzbc7hqOuA83jlmzCSz4lhjC5RX3H0812P8VdjDPYlXHGSTDgL9vGLe4TIvL4wHRpGBMk-S3ugLik0/s640/Blog+Title+-+%25E2%2580%259CAnd+because+that+they+are+redeemed+from+the+fall+they+have+become+free+forever%252C+knowing+good+from+evil%253B+to+act+for+themselves+and+not+to+be+acted+upon.%25E2%2580%259D+%25282+Nephi+2_26%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Jen Sorensen</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I actually thrive on a little bit of chaos. Sounds crazy, I know, but it’s a huge challenge and I like beating it. But chaos in a calendar is one thing. What do we do when the chaos is happening in our hearts? For me, the key lies in this wisdom from Lehi in The Book of Mormon:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to act for themselves and not to be acted upon</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.” (2 Nephi 2:26)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love this. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us and knows what we can handle better than we do. So when I’m faced with an especially crazy week, I focus on not letting myself “be acted upon.” Instead, I look at everything, take a deep breath (and an extra hug from my husband!) and make a PLAN!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t let the word intimidate you. You don't have to be an architect to put together a plan. It's more like a quick time-out. Keeping things simple won't add another rock to the bag of everything you are already carrying. Take a minute, huddle up and say, “here’s what I'm going to do...” </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, General Conference is only a few days away. It's an exciting time for all of us! I’m ready to learn how my Heavenly Father wants me to grow and improve. I’m determined. It's a great time to take a look at how I'm going to </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">act for myself.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> So, here’s my </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">plan of action</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (beware: it’s so simple) - I’m going to pick six topics that stand out to me and focus on a different one each month until the next General Conference. These topics will be the focus of my prayers, my personal study, my thoughts, my parenting, my planning, my decision-making.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another one of my favorite verses is one we probably all know well. In James we read, “faith without works is dead.” So, let us show some faith in ourselves by our actions, our plans of action. What will you do next to </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plan Your Action</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Watch on Instagram this week for #PlanYourAction posts!</span></div>
Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-10925285708815893692017-09-22T14:57:00.000-06:002017-10-23T12:51:13.007-06:00One Family's Story of Hope and Prayer During Hurricane Irma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEb9ObaSjJiBT_hGqjWHFmTRiEYlRClg86ESlhHz222Ys0UjH6iyUfORe9FINE1523OV4OoaWMx3YDz1UB97r-8BcP7nQ7ZfBF7mdU5qESLhGX2hywn3fIouVmzl2jaIkN-SEjs7p0BPo/s1600/Melinda%2527s+brother+family+pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1600" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEb9ObaSjJiBT_hGqjWHFmTRiEYlRClg86ESlhHz222Ys0UjH6iyUfORe9FINE1523OV4OoaWMx3YDz1UB97r-8BcP7nQ7ZfBF7mdU5qESLhGX2hywn3fIouVmzl2jaIkN-SEjs7p0BPo/s640/Melinda%2527s+brother+family+pic.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="s2">What is the significance of 180 minutes? So many things happen every 3 hours that just seem part of your day. You could enjoy a round of golf, clean your house, or take in a baseball game with your family. After August 30</span><span class="s3"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s2">, 2017 the 10,800 seconds in a 3 hour period had new meaning to me. Every three hours, the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems in the South Atlantic, delivers an update on the storm systems that are active in the area. Prior to August 30</span><span class="s3"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s2">, I had never even heard of the NHC…now I am an expert on the proper procedure to refresh the page when the latest update isn’t pulling up (just so you know, you have to leave the previous page that you had been staring at for the last 179 minutes, wait 5 seconds, and <i>then </i>hit the refresh button…works every time).</span></div>
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<span class="s2">What is the significance of August 30</span><span class="s3"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s2">, 2017? That is when disturbance 13 formed to develop Tropical Storm Irma, just off the small African Island of Cape Verde. The storm rapidly increased and was officially designated a hurricane on August 30</span><span class="s3"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s2">, exactly 45 days after I moved my family of four from the Rocky Mountains of Utah to the beaches of West Florida. Five days later, while enjoying a beautiful Labor Day at the Tampa Zoo, the Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, declared a State of Emergency after Irma strengthened to a category 4. I vividly remember looking at the alert on my phone and thinking for the first time that we could be in trouble. After the zoo we casually went to Sam’s Club to get some food while in the area. On the way in to the store we passed 4 generators leaving the store, countless cases of water and other supplies, and Melissa and I looked at each other with a higher level of fear in our eyes. A hurricane was coming our way and we needed to jump into another gear. We skipped our normal slow stroll through the store and went right to the back for the water. They had one pallet left. It’s probably the only time in my life I didn’t look for the price of the product.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<span class="s2">Six days later we were bunkered in our home as Irma was passing right above our head. They say that Hurricanes are better than say a tornado because you have advanced warning. At this point, I think I would have taken the twister…the anticipation and preparation was brutal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIn8E0dKXAobkLYpurY4-dTqcdMegq2vAE99ilTBqZ4s6mSxcFAgBz4LfaMwCwAJ9y49aokr3zbb8D8oUxZASgVOe2lzPjJVk5HRfFIsvBCq9Q8mZ0ETE9ODs4AVW2hgNitcjgwrCS8o/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-22+at+11.11.02+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="518" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIn8E0dKXAobkLYpurY4-dTqcdMegq2vAE99ilTBqZ4s6mSxcFAgBz4LfaMwCwAJ9y49aokr3zbb8D8oUxZASgVOe2lzPjJVk5HRfFIsvBCq9Q8mZ0ETE9ODs4AVW2hgNitcjgwrCS8o/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-09-22+at+11.11.02+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s2">Do you know what ¼ 20 x 1 ½” threaded rod is? Me neither…up until Irma decided to grace us with her presence. This little piece of pipe, and its corresponding wing nut washer, led to the most stressful two days of my life. Shortly after helping my neighbor install his hurricane shutters, we went back to our house to do ours. According the Florida building code, each new home must come with hurricane shutters and the corresponding hardware…these little guys.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2">Unfortunately, the previous owners of the home accidentally had the parts packed with them. In South Carolina. We were two days from the hurricane making landfall and I had no way to install our shutters. The good news is…there wasn’t any good news. Our home is rated to withstand 150 mph wind, contingent on the windows staying intact. While we were lucky enough to find the wing nuts, we had zero luck finding the threaded rod. It was now late on Friday afternoon, Irma was just 48 hours away and I was legitimately concerned for my family’s safety. As a father, you know one of your responsibilities is to provide and protect and I was drastically failing. I needed help.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2">After calling the last Nut and Bolt store in a 75 mile radius with no luck, there was only one thing I could do. Looking back on it now, I feel a bit selfish for even saying the prayer in the first place. While we are good at praying as a family, I have really struggled making time for my personal prayers. I can only imagine my Father in Heaven looking down at me in the parking lot of Rent King with the same look that I have for Conner when he doesn’t pick up his toys. Like really…NOW you are going to listen to me…when you know you are in trouble. But he did have pity on me and after saying the prayer, I had the thought (guidance) to post something on our neighborhood Facebook page. I had tried this earlier in the week with no luck, so I was a bit skeptical of doing it again but did it anyway.</span></div>
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<span class="s2">I stopped at Home Depot to get some more supplies and refreshed the post to see if anyone responded…nothing. Again, as I was leaving…nothing. Feeling frustrated and mad, I headed home to tell Melissa that I had failed and that our house was going to blow over. I stopped at a stoplight, had the thought (guidance) to check the post one more time and…something. Donna to the rescue!</span></div>
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<span class="s2">We took cookies to Donna last night to thank her for saving our lives and she made the comment that she usually isn’t on Facebook and the thought (guidance) came to her to check on the neighborhood before we lost power. Inspiration and the Holy Ghost is real, and I will never doubt it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>“Should I stay or should I go now?”</b></span></div>
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<span class="s2">Speaking of guidance from our Heavenly Father, when a category 5 hurricane with 180 mph winds is looking you in the face, an obvious question is should we leave? Water cooler talk at the office changed from sports talk and office gossip to “so, where are you evacuating to?” Early on in the process, Melissa and I prayed to know what we should do. While I won’t go into details on that experience, I will tell you that our family was less than pleased when we told them that we felt prompted to stay home.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2">While I can understand their frustration, it has to be hard seeing these reports and being thousands of miles away, we had prayed and fasted that we would know what the best course of action would be for us. A few days after the storm passed, Melissa and I were talking about what we learned and what we would need to do in the future. While I did the “man thing” and jumped right into forecasts and go/no go timeframes, Melissa did the typical woman thing (recognized the moment and learned from it to make all of us better) and reminded me that we need to fast and pray about the next situation and follow our feelings (guidance). Thank goodness for my better half. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2">Irma changed course 100 different times, ended up being late, and just ended up being a lot of drama. Irma lost a lot of power before it got to us, and while we had some pretty gnarly winds and a couple of sleepless nights, we avoided any major damage or power outages. Others in Florida were not as lucky as us. Some estimates put the power outages at 5 million residents with 39 fatalities and over $35 billion dollars in damage.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2">Two days after the storm, I was lucky enough to join the LDS Helping Hands and head south to support those that were majorly impacted by Irma. The LDS church we met at had 890 volunteers show up to do everything from roof repairs to tree removals…lots of tree removals. It was hot, humid, bugs everywhere…but it was the most fulfilling service I have ever done.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2">On the way home, we experienced something truly amazing to see. Do you know how far it is from Allentown, Pennsylvania to Tampa, Florida? 1,133 miles, or 18 hours of driving. Or how about Cypress, Texas to Tampa? 1,206 miles or 18 hours of driving. And that is if you are in a regular car doing 70 mph with air conditioning. But what if you are driving one of these.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2">Driving north on I-75, we were passed by 100’s (no exaggeration) of these trucks driving south. Hundreds of crews that left their families, drove for days in trucks that I am sure didn’t have air conditioning, all so they could help complete strangers get their AC. Two of the trucks had logos I could read, PPL Electric based out of Allentown PA and MP Technologies based out of Texas (can you imagine the month that MP Technologies has had with Harvey to deal with).</span></div>
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<span class="s2">While tragedies like this are terrible, I do believe that they make us better humans and that it brings the country together. For every 1 story about looters (that the news shows over and over again) there are dozens of stories of kindness, sacrifice and love. A neighbor of mine collected 250 cases of unused water and other supplies and personally drove them to the Florida Keys. Not to make it on CNN, but because she cares about those that are suffering. Or the story that did make the news about a man giving up a generator that he was going to purchase to a women whose husband needed a breathing machine to survive. In a day filled with hate and political uncertainty, it is refreshing to see human kindness in the wake of adversity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-81507052414795690012017-09-18T06:00:00.000-06:002017-09-18T15:24:02.919-06:00A Chaotic Life: Is It Time To Surrender?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the ringmaster in your home you know all about those afternoons when the circus is indeed in town, your home is its tent, your family is the main event and you are the one on the platform juggling, lion taming and strangely enough pulling things out of the oven like a magic hat magician. Yesterday, as master of my own circus I found myself orchestrating 5 different acts simultaneously! I prepared to head off for my son’s cub scout den meeting while arranging a quick return transport of a play date friend, whilst my daughter called out arrangements for a ride to and from the football game, and simultaneously I set the chicken for dinner soaking in the sink. Oh, and all the while my husband was urgently texting me about a KSL item I had sent him to look at. I had broken into a sweat by the time I was alone in the car.
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Right in the sludgiest, thick of the thick of it I began to panic as I was filled with absolute certainty that my head was going to in fact EXPLODE with the pressure, and all that brain goo was going to get in the kids’ hair and they’d never be able to wash it out on their own and the kids at school would tease them and call them Brainy Hair McGee and they’d be scarred for life for sure!
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Thankfully though, a phrase I’ve heard many times before came floating on the breeze of sanity, “Surrender to the chaos”. I shook my head, rolled my shoulders and continued ring mastering the circus of my life and family and ignored the possibility of head explosions.
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Later that night I returned to that term of surrendering to chaos. Surrender generates images of armies falling to their knees in front of the adversary and praising the enemy with tears of defeat. Or in terms of surrendering to family chaos I imagine the toddler running naked through the house wielding half eaten chocolate pudding cups, mashing play dough into the carpet and drinking my essential oils. I see the teenager going and coming to and from heaven only knows where while the 8 year old jumps on the couch, the 5 year old plays in my makeup and the 11 year old stares vacantly at the computer screen while shouting insults at this brother, and all the while I am obediently surrendering and pretending I am so very zen when really my head is still about to explode with all this “surrender” nonsense.
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Here’s the big Ah-Ha reveal…chaos <i>isn’t </i>the enemy. It’s the <i>inevitability </i>of living a life with responsibility, meaning, people and especially <i>children. </i>Chaos isn’t something to be fought against or given over to, it just IS. It is neither bad nor good, to be envied or feared, it is simply something you must learn to deal with or fight against until you’re weak and defeated with your brain goo in the children’s hair.
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God created a beautiful and perfectly organized and formatted world in which we flourish and thrive, and he did it using only chaos and matter. So you see, the chaos matters. In fact, the chaos in your life IS the matter you get to use to create happy and well adjusted human beings. All that flurried activity is life happening and is the time for teaching and example setting so that those littles of yours can learn to ring master the chaos that is and will ever be in their lives.
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Now, the only way you can use that chaos for the greater good is if YOU yourself are not chaotic. There’s that scene in the movies where the heroine stands still and calm while everything around her moves with dizzying speed. Your family needs you to be that still center around which everything spins. So just breathe. Find what works for you to clear your head, ground yourself and organize your priorities. If you can manage this then from your viewpoint in the center of it all you can appreciate the little still frames of beauty all around you. Your boys tying their first ties in the mirror, your daughter twirling in a sparkling skirt and fairy wings, your teen’s bright face as she heads out to soccer, your son’s serious walk as he readies for scouts, your family passing dishes across the table to one another, your toddler running to hug her Dad as he walks in the door and that moment of surprise when he lifts her in his arms and you remember just how handsome he really is.
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Surrendering to the chaos doesn’t mean you lie down and let it consume you in its path of destruction. Surrendering to the chaos means accepting its inevitable authority in your life and letting it hustle around you while you enjoy the rush of its living breath on your face and the beauty it stirs up in the life about you.</div>
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>Need a place to put these good ideas to use? Check out our planners at <a href="http://www.intheleafytreetops.com/">www.intheleafytreetops.com</a>.</i></span></div>
Jen Sorensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894702316552949691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-20094140071681960652017-07-06T08:47:00.001-06:002017-07-06T08:47:15.168-06:00Attach items to your Coil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finally made a video, my first tutorial of how I attach different items to my planner coil. </div>
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I love to buy the clear sturdy cards from the Heidi Swapp brand found at most craft stores, and I know Becky Higgins brand also has some really cute cards from Project Life. Most of the embellishments and cute stickers I get are from <a href="http://www.scarletlime.com/plannersociety15.html">The Planner Society</a>.</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rdm6U0rkkeA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rdm6U0rkkeA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Hope you enjoy the tutorial. Leave a comment to let me know what other videos you would like to see me do.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400592504837618867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1135758810796332038.post-4807098882310740622017-05-17T11:10:00.002-06:002017-05-17T11:10:36.997-06:00Cultivate an attitude of Happiness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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