SANTA = Serve And Never Tell Anyone
Yesterday our little Eve excitedly shared something she learned from her school teacher Deborah Clark, who learned it from an awesome Cub Scout…
A Simple Idea That Will Rescue Your Mother’s Day
I always loved Mother's Day when I was a child. I remember making little gifts for my mom at school--tokens of my love for her. A painting. A…
The Bumpy Road to Mother of the Year
You may have heard that I was recently named the Idaho Young Mother of the Year. It was an honor and an experience that I will cherish always.…
A Different Kind of New Year’s Resolution
Usually at this time of year I am knee deep in New Year's resolutions. Get organized. Lose weight. Save money. Learn something new. But this year I…
A Box of Donuts & A Lesson In Kindness
A few months ago I was asked to bring donuts to a church youth activity. It seemed like an easy enough task. However, I didn't budget my time well…
HOW to Know If Something Is Truly Good? An Object Lesson.
We recently celebrated our oldest son's birthday. He is the sweetest kid and we are so proud of him. For every birthday around here we prepare the…
Carpe Diem: Life Lessons from An Avocado
One evening last week my kiddos had a variety of places to be at overlapping times. I knew we wouldn't be able to swing a normal family dinner, so I…
Stop Being a Mom Hater!
Anita posted this last Mother's Day. We've had lots of people search for and read it this week so we thought we'd share it again. Enjoy! I made…
We Accomplish More with a Soul at Rest
Lately I've felt a little overwhelmed--like I've been stuck in a nightmare, running with all my strength while knee deep in mud. Springtime is just…
Did You Comfort the Savior in His Most Difficult Hour?
Recently our elementary school held a science fair and guess who got roped into running the thing? Yes, me. Now don't feel too sorry for me. I've…
Sticky Note Attitude Adjustment
The other day, one of my kiddos (who will remain nameless) needed an attitude adjustment. Maybe some of you with moody 'tweens can relate to this…
Reality is NOT in the Eye of the Beholder
Last Friday I hopped on Facebook for a minute and saw this dress. It was the first I had seen or heard of #thedress and it saturated my Facebook…
Punch your Passport & Embark- A Youth Family History Activity
This year our youth group is having a youth conference devoted to family history. If you aren't familiar with Latter-Day Saint folks, we are kinda…
Taking out the Trash–A Cherished Chore
Over the last month, I have been cleaning and organizing like a mad woman. I think it's the unseasonably beautiful weather that has brought on this…
Considering … Consider the Lilies
This past Sunday I lost my cool. Maybe you've done the same at some point and will have compassion on me. It was just one of those days!!! My…
Choosing the Good Part – A New Year’s Resolution About Time
Over the holiday break, I misplaced my iPhone. Well, actually, I unwittingly abandoned it in the child seat part of a shopping cart at Walgreens. You…
Still. Still. Still. Rediscovering Christmas
Of all the months in the year, I am quite positive that I pack the most into the month of December. My calendar doesn’t have enough space to even…
Sowing Seeds of Thanksgiving
My two oldest boys went to a football game with their grandparents on Friday night. It was a late game, out-of-town, in the freezing cold. They…
Why Blogs are Evil- From an Evil Blogger’s Perspective
Keeping it real here, folks. It's Anita. I know, this isn't my usual format, but I have something to say. I had a bad week last week. A small…
Grateful Expectations: 3 Ways to Embrace A Grateful Life
Have you ever spent time pondering grateful expectations? No, it’s not a book by Charles Dickens … but rather a natural human desire to receive…
Camping in the Rain (From the Adventures of Crazy Mom)
If you read this blog regularly, you have probably noticed that I tend to write about the crazy and sometimes embarrassing things that happen in my…
Listen to the Voice of Your Cheerleaders
When my kids were all little, I remember people saying to me, "This is the best time of your life. Enjoy it!" That suggestion really ruffled my…
Take the Time Fill the Tank
Monday was a crazy day! I was rushing from the moment I woke up until ... well ... I ran out of gas. Literally. That morning, I went to a…
6 Tips for Teaching Children Media Discipline
When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Grandpa Randall. He was kind of an enigma - a crusty old cowboy with a twinkle in his eye. …
Struggling in the Cockpit? You Are Not Alone!
Years ago, when my mother was in the exact stage of life that I am in now, she did a stupid thing. That does not sound very nice of me to say, but…
A Letter to My Daughters: On Respecting Boys
To my dear daughters: Years ago your father and I went on a trip. At the time we had only your oldest brother and sister, and they were very…
Allergies, Air Conditioning and the Power to Solve Problems
As a kid, I never had allergies. My sister Kaylyn had terrible hay fever though. When we shared a room, I remember her using dozens of tissues each…
Social Media-Free Summer Bucket List
I have a friend named Peggy. She is one of my absolute favorite people. Do you know what makes Peggy so special? She just seems to know what is…
A Perspective on Suicide
Before you read this post, I want to make it very clear that suicide is NOT the answer. Your life is precious. If you are struggling with…
Confessions of a Mother’s Day Grinch
Years ago, a good friend of mine gave me a hilarious book called Today I Will Nourish My Inner Martyr: Affirmations for Cynics. If you know me, you…
Fifteen Minutes to Parenting Success
I did something really noteworthy yesterday. I played hide-and-seek. My little Josh was IT. He covered his eyes. Meggie and I hid in the…
Because of Him, Thoughts on Easter
Yesterday my son Sean had a baseball game. He is very athletic and has been a great asset to the teams on which he has played. And he absolutely…
Jellybeans for Breakfast
My elementary kids recently participated in the school reflections contest, a contest which encourages children to create different types of art…
Greatest Among You
In my reading of the New Testament, something recently stood out to me. Just before the Savior’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the mother of…
Mom on Strike
My husband appreciates me… When I was in the hospital after giving birth to Joshua, Mike brought our seven other children in to meet their new…
Thinking beyond “What Would Jesus Do”
A while back, I went to the grocery store early in the morning. As I walked toward the store, a junky car pulled up driven by a hollow-looking man. …
True Gratitude and a Football Game
This past weekend my husband Mike and I travelled to attend a football game. Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, we began to reflect upon and…
Spinning My Wheels
A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend who loves biking … mountain biking, road biking, everything biking. Her enthusiasm was…
Telemarketers and the Golden Rule
When I was in college I worked for a telephone survey company. It was my job to call people's homes and allow the phone ring up to four times. …
Just in Transition – Lessons from Childbirth
A while back, my dear friend called for advice. She said that she was struggling with negative thoughts and feelings and asked how to get over…
See the good – Not the Broken Pencil Sharpeners
One of my silly frustrations as a mother is the fact that my family cannot own a functioning pencil sharpener. We have, within recent memory,…
Judge Not and a Sink Full of Dishes
What would you think if I told you that my sink was full of dirty dishes and that my kids were still in their pajamas at noon? What would you think…
A Clean Car and Other Futile Efforts
futile |ˈfyoōtl; -ˌtil | adjective incapable of producing any useful result; pointless Just a few days before…
Hide Me
Do you ever feel like you want to hide from everyone and everything? The other day I ran into a friend I seldom see. She had been…
Searching for Silver Linings
Sunday started out pretty badly. I had been sick all week with a head cold and the resulting headache. The kids woke me up way too early for a…
Transparency, Civil Disobedience and Sam
When we were young, our Grandma Randall took us to the Ice Capades at the old Salt Palace each year. She purchased tickets for the best seats. I…
Learning to Embrace Sentimentality
I am SUPER sentimental. There ... I admitted it. I have been sentimental all my life. But for many years I tried to suppress it. You see,…
Self Preservation through Selective Memory
A memorable incident that I’m grateful I forgot … move along. I just got back from taking my kids to their semi-annual dental check-up.…
As a Man Thinketh
A man is what he thinks about all day long. Ralph Waldo Emerson The central principle behind affirmations is that the thoughts I choose to think…
Creative Coping Strategies
You don't always get what you want. I'm just telling you the truth. Sometimes things go very differently than you would like them to. And in…
Learning to Love the Skin You are in
"We just get better looking with age" –Diane “The older the better” –Edith My daughter Jane has always been small for her age. We…
A Case for Serenity
For every problem under the sun, There is a solution or there is none. If there’s a solution go and find it. If there isn’t, never mind…
The Magic of Real Intent
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Lao-tzu One year ago this very week, I took a single step and commenced a journey of…
Coping with Disappointment
I encourage my kids to enter every contest that comes along. It gives them a reason to stretch themselves and use their imagination and creativity.…
The Individual is the Heart of Value
What I learned this Halloween ... Life can be stressful with eight children, especially around Halloween. Coming up with eight different costumes…
The Short-Lived Cereal Stockpile
Lessons in Value Part I I love to shop with coupons, partly because I have a big family and partly because I love a good deal. In August,…
The Garden Mums Mishap
Lessons in Value Part 2 One of the basic philosophical questions of life concerns value-theory. The question of course being: What is…
Perspective Project – Family Photo Display
In my Latin and Greek Word Roots class, I learned that the word perspective comes from the Latin per (through) and specere (to look). I…