Winter Wonders....

I would love to be able to say that I'm seeing the beauty of winter all around me, but with the inversion here in the Salt Lake City area, it's not so pretty. Actually, it's making everyone sick, which is not fun when you have a newborn to protect and care for. So for me, the wonders of winter are being found within my home, not without. The ultimate creation is the creation of life. Nothing comes close to the miracle of birth. On January 13th my husband and I literally caught our 5th child as he was born (our midwife and assistant was close by). It's been over a month now and these past weeks have been full of many wonders as we watch this tiny little boy grow and develop. It always amazes me as I get to know my children's personalities from such a young age and see how it just "fits" them as they grow. Their personality may mature as they grow, but they are all so unique their character is just so "them" and continues to be so through the years. The most exciting part for me is watching them as they create, and noticing what it is that they do create. Each child has a knack for something and a desire to do their best and show it off to the world. I love it when they feel that their creation is perfect and they have no hesitation to share it. Unfortunately there comes a point when they start to feel their creation is not good enough and lose that freedom of feeling they're "good enough". As adults we often question our abilities and apologize for the results of our best efforts thinking only of the flaws and not of the accomplishment. I'm guilty of that to a fault. I have a desire to learn photography and have been told I have an "eye" for it, but I don't see it as clearly as others have expressed it. It's something I am working on. I'm trying to get past my thoughts of inadequacy and working towards learning and actually doing and sharing my love of photography, even with the flaws that only I can see.

Home Sweet Home....

After many years of planning and prayers and pursuit, we have finally purchased our very first home. The house is beautiful and as we check each item off the massive "to-do" list it feels more and more like a home. Being in my final weeks/days of this pregnancy has brought up a few challenges, but day by day I have been able to slowly unpack, assemble, hang, and organize my way towards less chaos and more peace in our new home. There is a special feeling of accomplishment and pride as we learn new things and see the results of our hard work and effort and new-found skills. There is also opportunity to teach our children the importance of work, maintenance, and responsibility that comes with ownership, big or small. Come spring we will have many, many projects to tackle outside that will guarantee many grumblings and gripes, but also activity and accomplishment. Inside and out we are learning to create a home out of a house that was not previously loved. It's a growing experience I hope everyone can one day experience.

Nesting....

Being in my 30th week of pregnancy, I often get the question thrown at me about whether or not I am nesting. This often happens when I get the urge to organize, purge, clean, etc.... for no good reason. I often get these urges whether or not I am pregnant so I find the fact that I am pregnant a non-issue and not the reason for my increased desire to get things "just right". Despite all of that, I will say that growing a life and taking part in creating another body for another spirit is an amazing thing. If this is what inspires me to find the time and energy (despite my growing belly and exhaustion) to do a little (or a lot) here and there to improve my home, then so be it. I welcome the challenge and I welcome the inspiration. If you find yourself "nesting", consider yourself blessed and go with it.

Music Appreciation

For those of us who have a serious lack of talent in the music department but also have a serious love of music, we absolutely love it when we stumble across a great musical resource. My husband first introduced me to a website several months ago that I have recently rediscovered. I've been struggling to find a station on the radio that I can listen to without finding a fault with it. Either the music or the DJ becomes annoying or down-right insulting, which really frustrates me since I find music very inspirational, energizing, and enjoyable when it's done well. Many have already discovered Pandora Radio, but if you have not had the privilege yet I would encourage you to check it out. Today I chose to create a station based on music from Rascal Flatts, one of my favorite Country music performers. The site then selected music from a massive Music Genome Project that is similar to the sound of the artist I chose and created a "station" full of music with a similar sound. So far I have enjoyed every song selected for me and am really enjoying the experience. There is an option to indicate a dislike for a song selected which will only make the station even more tailored to your taste. I've been washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen and can honestly say that good music makes the burden lighter. If you're looking for some inspiration, energy, and joy, consider creating your own station for a nice change.

A Powerful Message on Creating

There are times when something is said and it changes our lives. We may not realize this at first, but as we make choices we find the words replaying in our mind and influencing our behavior. I had the privilege of listening to a talk prepared for women by a leader of my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) that has changed me. This blog was inspired by this talk. I felt the need to create a place to express my thoughts and feelings on various things that my other online projects (www.crystalvoice.org) just didn't seem to fit. I strongly encourage you to watch this message and let the meaning really soak in and change you. It will be a change for the better, and a change that will benefit not only you, but all of the lives that you influence.

Create

You can read the entire message here.
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Happiness, Your Heritage,” Ensign, Nov 2008)

I've never considered myself very talented at much of anything. My childhood did include many crafts and sewing projects as I learned what I had the mind and patience for from my mother. How I wish I could have that kind of time to learn today.... Life tends to bring more people and responsibilities that will require more time and energy doing the day-to-day tasks and not so much time for learning and developing our talents or pursuing our interests. But with these people come opportunities to serve others with what we have acquired. This sharing, this creating for others is what truly gives us a fulness of joy.