Highlights

This week went by quickly.

1. I have an extra child on Tue. and Thu. mornings now. He is good-natured and 6 years old, so it's easy to keep track of him. His mom was my visiting teacher and got a new job that doesn't allow her to take him with her.

2. Rain. It was wet all last week. That means not a lot of harvest, so I'm getting a little break from canning for now.

3. School. It's going well for Joseph and James. They seem to like their schools a lot. Aside from taking the finals, James finished up his classes. Yahoo!

4. Temple. We did sealings last Friday night. Those are my favorite to go do together. We took family names.

5. Walking. James has to do 5 miles a week to earn credit for discounted insurance. We have been on a few together exploring the little valley we live in.

Everything else has been pretty routine: a little yard work, visiting teaching, getting ready for the Primary Program on Sunday, and keeping this house from falling apart. It's a good life.

Another Busy Week

I don't feel like typing a long post, so enjoy the pictures. We had a great time with Christian, Myles, and Dad/Grandpa. Not shown: fixing our car for us so it can pass inspection, dinner at Golden Corral (tradition!), and the general hanging out that doesn't make good pictures. Also, I had babysitting, but it went smoothly. Dad helped me sort the old pictures he sent me, and I just finished scanning them today. There are some real gems!

reading with Uncle Christian

Grandpa and his babies at Rainbow Park

Island Park

McKee Springs petroglyphs

Several Good Things

We will have visitors later this week! Dad is coming to see his grandbabies, and Christian and Myles are stopping by on their way back to school.

I'm still canning a lot. I love my big garden.

James shot his 3rd jackrabbit. We will eat it for dinner tonight.

Joseph loves school and tells me every day how fun it is.

Kenny loves not taking naps. I love that he sleeps past 6:00 now.

Katie still runs around with only a diaper. She's getting her Vitamin D for sure.

We figured out how to fix our gutters! No more gap between the roof and gutters will hopefully mean no water in the crawlspace - ever.

I still haven't had time to be bored, and I'm grateful for that.

Dad is going to help me sort through a box of old photos. Next project: scan them into the computer.

The Perfect Life

No one knows my whole story. That became even more clear to me when my mother-in-law remarked that, to her daughter (my sister-in-law), I have a perfect life.

I scoffed inwardly at that comment. Too often, I find myself wishing for another life. I wish we had more money, a bigger house, and nicer cars. I wish I had a taller, skinnier frame, more children, and more musical talent. My life isn't perfect. I often feel that I don't measure up. I yell too much and don't play with my children enough. I get distracted from important things with mundane things.

It's not okay to sit here coveting someone else's life. Anyone could sit down and write this same post, just with different wants. I have to remember that when I start getting jealous. Material possessions are not a sign of how much God loves us.

Any life that includes God is a perfect one. He makes up for all those holes we think we have and the ones we actually do. I'm trying to see perfect as "whole or complete" instead of "easy".