October 2008 General Conference

I absolutely loved this past weekends conference addresses. There were so many wonderful talks presented this week that the messages couldn't help but enrich my life and the lives of my family. This year I was especially impressed with Thomas S. Monson, Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf and the other apostles as they spoke to us. I must say, I could not get enough of Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk. He was incredible to listen to. Some of the stories he related were so funny. I loved the story of his teenage daughter going on a blind date and the mishap that happened there. It was one of those stories that reminded me that we are all human, including an apostle of the Lord and his family members. It's refreshing to remember that we're all united by a common purpose. I loved when Elder Wirthlin stated:

"The next time you are tempted to groan you might try to laugh instead."

That sentence really hit home for me. It's another one of those extremely simple lessons I can apply to make life happier and a little easier for myself. Now, all I need to do is remember that phrase the next time I accidentally step on one of my kids toys that seem to have a razor sharp edge that my bare feet can't help but be magnetized to. Youch...but a little laughter just might be the best medicine to ease the pain.

I hope anyone who had an opportunity to watch conference enjoyed it as much as I did.

I wish I was a pencil

I love this book. As I've mentioned in past entries, my husband has been gone for most of the month. Most days we did pretty good, but there were definitely moments when I found myself wishing for that extra set of hands, or the warmth of him beside me. I wished he was there to help me tuck in our 3 little angels each night, and I found myself wishing we could talk face-to-face and not just on the phone. If nothing else I realized just how much we depend on him to keep our household running smoothly and effectively. Even though we managed to stay fairly organized and accomplished those "To-Do" lists each day, there was a tangible absence without him here. Luckily he will be done with his class this Wednesday and life should return to normal, but having him gone this month helped me prioritize my life once again.

This week my Visiting Teacher stopped by with the book, "I am a Mother" in hand. It was one of those books that once I started reading I could barely put down. There are so many great quotes about motherhood in this story that I found myself wishing I owned the book so I could highlight and mark up every page. There is one story in particular that made me stop and think...prioritize... yet again what this life is truly about. In her book Jane Clayson Johnson relates a story she saw in Time Magazine. It was an interview with Mother Teresa in which she was asked by the interviewer to describe herself. This is what Mother Teresa had to say:
"I am like a little pencil in God's hand. That is all. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used."

Man, if only I could get myself to that place...How amazing would life be if we all could submit our will to the Lord's will. I imagine there would be a lot less contention and destruction in our world if we did. A pencil in the hand of God is a very simple sentence, but it's a sentence that holds infinite power within its words. If we would allow Heavenly Father and our Savior to direct our lives rather than us trying to forge the way on our own, it would be so much easier. We probably wouldn't find ourselves wishing we had an eraser if we did.

A Tag of 8

This was on my friend Melissa's blog. I've seen a lot of fun tags this month, but I had to think really hard to come up with 8 things in a couple of these categories. The only one that came easy was the catergory, "8 things on my wish list." I have too many dreams!

8 T.V. shows I love to watch:

Top Design
Project Runway
E.R.
Lost
Survivor
The Amazing Race
So You Think You Can Dance
Monk

8 Favorite Restaurants:
Uno's
Crazy Horse
Copper Mill
Fuddruckers
Sonic
Culvers
Macaroni Grill
Any playland establishment because then my kids are occupied and Kevin and I can actually talk with each other.

8 Things that happened yesterday:

Finished reading the Old Testament. Started the New.
Went to Church.
Watched a Movie with the kids.
Helped Kevin Pack for Chicago.
Did a load of Laundry.
Mopped up our mini lake from a leaking water heater downstairs.
Read a bunch of books to my boys.
Checked out a couple minutes of the Emmy's...Wasn't impressed so I went to bed.

8 things I am looking forward to:

Friday because that is when Kevin will be home again!
Conference Weekend. I LOVE it!
Watching Caleb's Soccer game tonight. Go Golden Gophers!!
Our Washington DC trip in 3 weeks
The changing of the seasons. Fall is a beautiful time.
My sisters wedding because I can't wait to see my family.
Christmas. All of a sudden it feels like it will be here soon!
Our next move. Not sure when it will happen, but things are starting to align.

8 things on my wish list:

To have all 3 of my boys serve honorable Missions.
To visit all the temples I can.
A new mini-van. A few years down the road, but a nice dream.
A trip to Hawaii.
Visit Europe.
A Cruise...I am a vacation junkie.
Buy a house.
I wish Ethan's surgery will go ultra smooth next month!! Ethan is my brother Travis'and his wife Mary's baby boy and will be undergoing major brain surgery sometime in October. I wish everybody would say an extra little prayer for him.

8 people I'm tagging:

Any one who wants to do it!

A day in the life of Motherhood!

We still find plenty of time to play in the mud!
Continue to practice our "Cooking Mama" skills.
Enjoy a break from the rain so we can ride our bikes to school instead of take the bus. This of course means mom looks like a stalker as she drives alongside the boys in the van to make sure Jordan does okay on his first try at the mile and a half journey. I'm not sure why I was worried. He was a pro!

Throw in a game or two of soccer.


Manage to make it to karate class on time. That's a major feat in itself!
Take a few minutes of our day and devote it to friend playtime.
Visit our "favorite" store (wink~wink) as we are rushing on our way to Scouts.
Keep on perfecting those soccer skills on a field a few miles away from Jordan's soccer field. Wish that schedule worked out a little better.
Feed a few friendly ducks
Make that...feed a few friendly ducks our packed lunch after mom said not to!! Let's hope ducks don't mind a little peanut butter and yogurt!
Take homework to soccer practice knowing we'll be up really late tonight if we don't!
Cheer on our little Sunfish in his favorite shiny red shorts!

Now breath a sigh of relief because we can start the ride home, make a late dinner, relish those 10 minutes of quiet reading time, and tuck in for the night. Of course that's mom's cue to finish the laundry, load the dishwasher, sweep the floor, read to Caleb, and finally go to bed herself!



You know the song lyrics "Pioneer children sang as they walked, and walked, and walked, and walked....and walked"? Well, I've decided to change the words this week to "Mommy's so tired today as she drives, and drives, and drives, and drives...all day!"
Boy, without Kevin around I am managing to drive from one end of town to the other numerous times each and every day trying to keep up with a busy September schedule. The miles are racking up on the odometer, and my eyes are little more bloodshot than usual. Maybe I can go pick a cucumber from the garden and make some eye compresses which will hopefully, magically make those dark circles under my eyes disappear. Not likely, but a dream nonetheless.

It's a crazy, busy, yet wonderful life!

I feel incredibly blessed to have all of this beauty every day...even if it does mean a few extra dark circles under my eyes.
It's a minuscule price to pay to see my kids smiling faces each day!

We miss you Kev...See you late tomorrow night!

Happy Engagement Jillee & Allyn

My little sisters Kelcee & Jillee on my wedding day, April 12, 1997
The 3 Ehrhart sisters: Jillee (left-hand side), Tami, & Kelcee (right-hand side)

My little sister Jillee has officially announced that she is getting married. Lucky for my little family that means a trip to Utah is in the near future. It's been over a year since we've had the chance to visit home, and this will be a wonderful excuse to travel back. The wedding is set for April 10th and I am so happy to be one of the first to say congratulations on your engagement Jillee and Allyn!

Here's a little picture for you to reminisce the last time I saw you all in white! I can't wait to see you all grown up in an even prettier gown!