Thank You, Uncle Sam

Every year we get a pretty big tax return. To say it's a "return" is a misnomer because we don't make enough money to actually pay income tax. The amount given to us is for child credit (times 3) and earned income credit. So no, it's not our interest-free government savings account. Anyway, I am grateful for these returns. We generally have some needs like medical bills and car repairs that aren't possible to pay for on the monthly paycheck. The tax return helps us catch up. We then each get a small amount (usually about 2% of the return) to spend on whatever we want. The last of the state money came today, so I ordered myself a bunch of stuff on Amazon. Hooray! It feels good to not have a wish list anymore. What did I buy?

a few items for Asian cooking that I can't find anywhere in Vernal
supplies for latch hook rugs
a rotary cutter and mat
a digital thermometer with remote sensor and timer
a new grain mill (since I killed my other one :( )
a belt for my sewing machine
a phone case
rennet, so I can make my own cheese

I am so excited! It's like Christmas again!

Articles of Faith #1

I want to use social media for good and not just entertainment. To partly fulfill that purpose, I want to do a mini series on the Articles of Faith. When anyone asks what I believe, I recite those articles to them. I think they are the most succinct way to express what I believe as a Mormon. I will try to make these articles short as well. There is a lot more information at https://www.lds.org/ and some nice infographics on my Pinterest board. (I will add a lot more in the future.)

The 1st Article of Faith talks about the Godhead.1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

I know that God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are separate people but function as one in purpose. Jesus is the literal Son of God who came to dwell among men and show them the way back to the Father. God loves each of his children and knows them by name. I can become like him. I am trying to have a personal relationship with my Father in Heaven through prayer. Knowing God blesses my life every day because I know who I am and where I'm going.

Changes

I suppose the only real changes around here right now are in the weather. We've reached the melty, muddy, windy part of the year. Today is also rainy. I love the sound of rain falling and of snow melting. My favorite thing to do is curl up with a book in the semi-dark house.

I finished my faith project. I wrote a poem about faith and composed music to go with it. Since it didn't take up the whole 10 hours, I worked on the song for Joseph's baptism with my boys. (It just happened to be about faith!)

Other than that, it's life as usual.

Baptism

We took a sort of last-minute trip to Idaho for James's brother's baptism. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go or not, not because of seeing people, but because I've been feeling stressed out and grumpy. It was a pretty good trip. We left Friday after school and picked up Anna on the way.

Saturday was the baptism. It was a nice service, even though it felt like sitting through sacrament meeting with the kids. My boys and their uncle Joseph sang the closing song, "I'll Stand Tall" and did a great job! Kenny starting singing during the intro, but he started over with the other boys and did a great job. Katie ran up right at the end yelling, "My turn!" since she loves to be the center of attention. It was really cute.

We had a luncheon right after and dinner with the Lees. All afternoon we pretty much sat around and ate Milano cookies. Those things are addicting. We stopped in at Cabela's in I.F. after the dinner, but it was small and pretty disappointing.

Sunday was church, then dinner (finally!) with Christian and Rachel. It was Fast Sunday, so it was a long day. The only way I make it through is to sleep through part of it.

We headed home on Monday and got back into the swing of things. It's never fun to go shopping at night or do mountains of laundry, but I'm all caught up now. The missionaries came over for dinner last night, and the kids were so cute. They answered all the questions correctly and paid attention.

This weekend is 4 days long. It would figure that it's a week after we go out of town and had to miss a day of school, but that's just how it works sometimes. I can't wait for my Valentine's date. I planned it!

Life Updates

Highlights of the last week (both good and bad):

1. Filed our tax return! About 75% is spoken for for necessary items like medical bills and car repairs. However, we will be able to get a rec center membership and a few fun things!

2. Broke my grain mill. It was missing a filter when I bought it 4 years ago. I accidentally put in too much grain and the motor got overheated and died. I tried to bring it back to life, but no luck. Thankfully, I can buy a new one with the tax return, and I will treat it more carefully since it will cost more than 12.99!

3. The cat died. Well, I'm 99% sure. She was sick when she disappeared last week. I don't know if we will get another one soon or not.

4. I've been trying some grocery rebate apps. So far, I earned 22.50 from one shopping trip. Once I have a better feel for which apps I like best, I will write a post about them.

5. Goal of various sorts. I will report once I finish some of them. They are mostly for Personal Progress, so I do have an end in sight for each one.

6. It's still freezing. When it's not bitter cold, it's snowing. Please end soon, winter!

Winter

It's my least favorite time of year. Until I was 18, I never had to experience a real winter.

Average highs and lows for places I've lived (in January, since it's the coldest month):

Columbia, SC: 56/34

Pace, FL: 60/42

Apex, NC: 50/30

Rexburg, ID: 29/13

Vernal, UT: 30/7

Am I cold? Yes, sometimes. But my real problem with winter is not just that. I never really dealt with S.A.D. (that I know of) until living in Rexburg. It is manageable but not very fun. People think I hate winter just because I'm from the South. That's part of it, but I am quite capable of dressing warmly. It's really the lack of sunshine that gets to me after a while. The fact that January is both cold AND dark adds insult to injury, so I'm glad it's coming to an end soon!

Shortest days of the year (winter solstice):

Columbia, SC: 9:32 hrs.,  less than 11: Oct. 26 to Feb. 15 (112 days)

Pace, FL: 10:10 hrs., less than 11: Oct. 31st to Feb. 10 (102 days)

Apex, NC: 9:44 hrs., less than 11: Oct. 24th to Feb. 17th (116 days)

Rexburg, ID: 8:55 hrs., less than 11: Oct. 16th to Feb. 26th (134 days)

Vernal, UT: 9:17 hrs., less than 11: Oct. 19th to Feb. 22nd (126 days)

I seem to suffer the most on days with less than 11 hours of daylight. There is a difference of 32 days between Rexburg and Pace. That's a whole month of extra suffering, not considering the 30 degree temperature difference.

When James retires, we are moving South like all the other old people!

Personal Progress

I completed Personal Progress as a young woman and didn't think about it again for several years. At the age of 22, I found myself feeling empty. I had just graduated from college, had a baby, and didn't know what to do next. I felt inspired to do Personal Progress again, so I did. It filled the void I felt at the time and helped me become a better wife and mother.

The first 5 1/2 years of my marriage were spent pregnant, nursing, or both. Now that I've had over a year without either and it's the dead of winter, I've been feeling that same void - where I'm not quite sure what I should be doing or learning. I hate to admit that I've been bored, but it's true. The slow pace of winter seems to happen so slowly that I feel like I'm going to go crazy.

So I've started Personal Progress again. It's been long enough that I don't remember a lot of the scriptures or experiences. Of course there are endless projects to be had as long as I can come up with ideas. I already have ideas for all of them! So far, I'm working on getting better at doing Katie's hair. It sounds silly, but I really want to be good at making her hair look nice, even if it's short-lived right now. My mom never knew how to French braid, and though I know how, it always looks terrible. I'm determined to get in a lot of practice so by the time she goes to school, she will look somewhat put-together. We'll see how that goes. Once I feel proficient enough, maybe I'll even post the pictures.

Other than that, things are pretty routine around here. I definitely can't wait for spring and summer so these cloudy days will go away and I can get outside in the dirt. Until then, it's snuggle and read time. I'm working on a list of "100 Books to Read Before You Die". I had already read about 1/3 when I started. I hope to get a good idea of which authors I like best so I can always have a good classic to read. I already know I won't like at least half of them, but that's okay.

James is 28! I made an ugly, but tasty ice cream roll cake. I got him a few small things he asked for and made him some caramels. I bet they won't last another day.