IRS says. . .

"The information you provided helped us to clear up the matter. We consider this case closed." I'm paraphrasing, but that's it. They have cut us loose, and we won't need to do anything else. "WE'RE FREE!"

It's a hit.

Baby boy had a sweet line drive to Right field tonight, an RBI which is even better. I was so happy for him - he had it coming. The game was a nail biter, their first win. The score was 10 to 9 and they got the last out with a strike-out and a runner on third. The winning pitcher also had an out-of-the-park home run tonight as well. Talk about the way to win your first game.

Follow Me.

The Mesa LDS Temple has an exhibit of photographs representing the life of Christ. I watched it with my four year old and was touched beyond words. It was a great way to start a conversation with him about the Savior, and he learned a lot about "happy tears".

The loop.

My child, my child, my twelve year old son. He makes me so proud. He makes me want to pull my hair out. And all this in the same day. Today, I learned that he has fallen behind in many of his subjects. He assumed someone would hand him a list of all the assignments he needed to make up due to recent illnesses. Not so. Taking responsibility for oneself is part of growing up, and learning that is rarely an easy lesson. I count my blessings that he is beginning to learn this in the sixth grade - and not next year in junior high. I don't doubt that there will be continued need for parental supervision in his work, but I am really proud of him. He's been through a great deal this year, with the changes our family is going through. He's had to grow up a little faster than I might have liked, but in many ways he has already shown strength beyond his years. I count my blessings, as well, that while we were working on back homework, I found out about the poetry project which is due this Thursday. We plowed through as much of this week's work as we could to make room for more make up work in the last few days of the week. It threw me for a loop, to have all of that work land on my kitchen table this afternoon - and I totally blew my good food behavior - but, it's coming along just fine. The fact that I was able maintain my emotional composure - even if I had to down a big bowl of Cocoa Krispies to do it - was really important in helping him to feel that he could accomplish what had to be done. These lessons are all going to serve him very well in the years to come. I can see that he is less and less panicked by difficulties that come along, and all I can say is HALLELUJAH! My baby boy, my firstborn, my precious child is not a baby anymore.

In Lisbon, there is a square. . .

I read this on the Lisbon Daily Photo blog today:

In the middle of the square there's a statue of Dom Pedro IV and at its foot the four female figures representing Justice, Wisdom, Strength and Moderation, qualities attributed to Dom Pedro himself.

Sometimes the Spirit just hits you over the head. Justice, Wisdom, Strength and Moderation. These are the qualities that I need to seek earnestly to develop more fully at this juncture in my life. Especially Moderation, mostly Moderation. My life as it has been for the last 14 years is going to change soon. With the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost I have been blessed with a greater sense of Justice, Wisdom and more Strength than I believe I naturally possess. I can feel the tug of Moderation, too. I'm grateful for it. Moderation is not deprivation. Moderation is not excess. I believe that it is the pillar that will help me to strike a lasting balance in my life, in spite of the challenges that will come.
I say all of this with the plain acknowledgement that without the Lord Jesus Christ I would be nothing. I would be a useless pile of broken up person. With him, I am healing, happy and hopeful. Justice, Wisdom, Strength and Moderation. It sounds a lot like Him, only He is so much more than that - He is also Love, Compassion and every other good and wonderful quality that has ever been known.

If you'd like to see some photos of the square, go here.

She's blue.

You Are A Blue Girl

Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you. You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict. If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well. You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

What Color Girl Are You?

Is anyone surprised?

Scentsy

Can I just say how much I'm loving my Scentsy Business? It's been such a fun endeavor, on top of practically running itself and paying for itself, I have been able to make a little money. That's a nice change from most "consultant" type businesses. It's just a plain fantastic family friendly, home enhancing, no skill necessary product. I love it, and so does just about everyone I've know who's tried it. They usually want to give it as gifts to their friends and family, who in turn love it and want more as well. I've been going very slowly, because my life has such a crazy theme lately, but I can see the potential.

The Spring/Summer scents have been out for a month now. Anyone who'd like a catalog, drop me an email - or head on over to my Scentsy website to see the online catalog! I'm excited to tell you about if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Please, let me be the one to share the world's greatest "candle" with you: No wick, no flame, no soot, no kidding.

IKEA?

Who'd have guessed. A position was posted at IKEA today in the office and kitchen area - which is what I'm looking for. I applied. I'll let you know what happens.

Here's what I've been up to

I've taken the To-Do list, and made a weekly planning system out of it. It grew naturally, first just grouping tasks by the day, then adding in other things that I wanted to do when an opportunity arose, then color coding and emphasizing easily forgotten routine items - And then, genius graced me for a moment and I added in - Meals. Along with planning the meals, I instituted some recurring themes. Thursdays and Fridays are now always the same. One of the other days we have spaghetti - because it is very well received (generally) by all the children - I plan that for one of the busier days. Then I choose two other meals and fill in the blanks. We've had fewer leftovers to manage, and my 12 year old has stopped begging for pizza. I realized that his brain is growing as rapidly right now as an infant's - He needs more fat, hence I believe, the craving for pizza. With Grilled Cheese sandwiches once a week, and sometimes as a snack on game days, he's getting more fat in his diet and his cravings have subsided a bit. That's my theory anyway. In addition to that, T - who could make his own grilled cheese before, has now been taught and is fully capable of making pancakes from scratch. (Good ones.) That means that he can make dinner for the entire family one night a week. It also means that if he wants pancakes for breakfast, he can do it himself. I expect to teach him much more in the coming years, but this is a good start, and I'm pleased. I believe that the root of good self-esteem in children lies in large part with their ability to function in positive, rewarding ways, and to experience the good feedback and consequences which naturally flow from doing a good and important work. (This didn't start out as a pshycology essay, so back to the original topic.)

This style of list is working for me like nothing I've done in a long time. I keep it on the fridge and make changes and adjustments as the week moves along. I've been able to keep my wits about me at a very challenging and draining time, I'm lovin' it.

And then there is the management of the emotional state and the self. I've been hibernating in many ways for about 2 months. With spring has come the desire to get back into my game, taking care of myself and as Connie Sokol would say, "thriving in the thicket." Yesterday, I had a few hours to work with - and so I started to think about some of the things I'd heard at the Weekend for Women. I remembered that Connie had also mentioned "Self Care lists." That thought seemed to ring in my mind like a clear pure bell-tone. So, that's what I did. I made my Abby Care list. At least one thing every day from each list, more if you feel the need.



Today, I did Yoga again for the first time. I've been a little concerned about my wrists, but I want to strengthen them, and I believe the only way to do that would be the simple use of them, pushing them a little to work the muscles. I'll need to check with a doctor if it seems to get worse. There are still some actions - like throwing a baseball that still make me wince. I need to be careful. I've been very self-aware lately. I haven't run faster than I have strength. I've only asked of myself what I truly have to give. I think that will have the be the theme of the rest of my life. On the other hand, I've noticed that I have more to give as my strength increases. It is heartening. There have been enormous challenges on just about every front. A little discouragement is normal. Not giving into it completely is the way I am, in much the same way that my son is learning to cook, learning to function in positive, rewarding ways, and to experience the good feedback and consequences which naturally flow from doing a good and important work. There are always setbacks in life, you burn some pancakes. You move on, you do more. You learn, you get better, you grow.