Author: Sara W.

Living in the Moment

~ Sara W. ~ 1 Comment

I had the pleasure of attending the concert of one of my favorite bands, Dave Matthews Band, the other night.  It was my seventh time seeing them live, but this was by far the most intimate venue I had seen them at.  I had the opportunity to get up close to the stage.  And, as most excited fans would, I wanted to capture the moment with my phone.  Sadly, my phone had 1% remaining of its charge.  I snapped a few shots before I shared the news with my husband that my phone had died.  His response, “Uh-oh, looks like you’re going to have to live in the moment now.”  A woman standing in front of us overheard him and chimed in with, “Now you can enjoy the concert the best way.  Congratulations!”  Now, if you know me, you know I am often taking pictures.  My friends joke that I am the unofficial photographer for their families when we are hanging out together.  Mind you, I’m not good at taking them, but I do like to be able to catch the joy of the moment.  However, I get what my husband and this stranger were pointing out.  I do tend to get carried away and miss out on the beauty of just being in the moment.


As the concert went on, I, the usual photo taker, grew irritated with the many people who had their phones up to take pictures or video almost constantly.  I found myself watching the concert through their phone screen versus being able to see the concert firsthand.  One woman even held up an iPad, not a mini one either, to take video.  Seriously, woman?  Even I know that violates photography etiquette.  I’m not saying I was suddenly converted by the remarks of my husband and said stranger, but I did my best to embrace all the wonder and excitement that was around me.  Still, there were a couple times I was wishing my phone hadn’t died yet.  This makes me wonder, is there a happy medium?  And, if so, where is it?

I find it funny that the time in your life that warrants the most capturing, which to me is when you’re raising young children, is when you have so little time to write down all the milestones and events in yours and their lives.  I want to always remember that my girls tell me, “Don’t wrestle any alligators in your sleep,” as part of our bedtime ritual.  They got this silly statement from their Dad and it still makes me smile.  I want to remember the tone and tenderness of the way my toddler simply says, “Thank you, Mommy.”  I want to remember the piggy noises my infant son makes.  I want to remember all of these things.  And I’m afraid my memory alone may not be sufficient.  So, I try to capture what I can.  And, sometimes when I get really lucky, somebody captures the moment for me, while I’m living in it.

Let’s be honest though, this isn’t just about me taking pictures.  This whole “living in the moment” concept extends to the overuse of social media and all the distractions it brings as well.  I am so bad about getting sucked in to catching up on people’s lives via Facebook and Instagram.  It’s really quite sad.  My silly task-oriented self feels this sick need to see every recent update before closing out of Facebook.  I have this silly fear that I’m going to miss out on somebody’s engagement announcement, or baby arrival, or health issue, or whatever the case may be.  Oh, how I need to work on this part of my life.  I’m assuming I’m not alone?  If I am alone, tell me how you do it?  How do you make a point to focus on the priorities and live in the moment?  Perhaps my excessive picture taking and social media checking is more rampant right now since I am smitten by the precious expressions of my newborn and feeding him every 3 hours, which seems to pass by faster when my phone entertains me?  Although, who am I kidding?  This issue is not a new one in my life.

So, what say ye, dear readers?  Any ideas on how to better live in the moment and simultaneously capture the moment?  Do you snap a few pictures and then hope your battery dies on your camera or phone?  Do you set a time limit for social media use (which I tried and failed at)?  Do you shut off your phone completely at the same time everyday?  I feel like I keep trying to find a way to let go and make the most of the moment and my time, but something keeps pulling me back in.

I tend to lose sight of the proper balance and I need your help!  How do I capture the moment without it preventing me from living in the moment?

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Let Your Light Shine!

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

A few nights ago, while I was up feeding our infant son, I found myself marveling at the amazing things that have come about in our society through great minds.  The trigger to this thought process began with the fact that I was contemplating the genetic testing results that I am patiently awaiting to see if I have the cancer gene.  You can get cancer without the gene, but having the gene drastically increases your risk for cancer.  With a mom who passed away from Ovarian Cancer at a relatively young age and my maternal grandmother having battled breast cancer, you can probably understand why I’m diving in further.  As I sat there in our rocking chair, I was in awe thinking about the ability we, as a society, have to look at blood and analyze it in such a way that we can learn about the future outlook of someone at a molecular level.  It’s mind boggling to me.  My mind doesn’t work in such a way.  I can’t even imagine how these types of methods came to pass, but I’m grateful for those people who took the time, energy, and their God given talents to bring forth so many amazing things in our lives.

As I continued to feed my son, my thoughts kept racing along on this same topic.  I got to thinking about all these amazing inventions, discoveries, research studies, and technologies that are beyond my comprehension.  I happened to look up at the source of the light shining in my room and it caught my attention.  The four vanity lights from the bathroom served as my light that night.  Three were shining and one was not working.  I got to thinking about how the light that was not working was not broken because the light next to it was working.  It was not shining because it had just burnt out.  This made me think of the parable of the talents found in the Book of Matthew.  Stick with me here, if you’re starting to lose sight of my direction.

You see, I was not blessed with the mind of a genius.  These types of minds that create these marvelous things mentioned above aren’t even found in my circle of friends.  In referencing the parable of the talents, let’s say these geniuses are the ones granted 5 talents that then return to the Lord with an additional 5 talents.  Let’s say the ones that were given two talents to work with are all of my amazing friends and family that live simple lives but with great gifts and contributions to the world around them.  For the sake of the parable, I will be the person who the Lord gave one talent to and then that person buried the talent, then returning to the Lord with nothing.  Now, in tying this back to my vanity lights.  The person granted the five talents went out and made the most of their five talents.  He did not gain more talents because he stole from the person who was originally given one talent.  The person given the one talent (me) ended up with nothing completely on his own accord.  I am the one responsible for the lack of light and talents coming forth from me.  I still struggle with this from time to time.  Everybody else is so bright and gifted that sometimes I don’t see much point in making more of the one talent I’ve been given.  It’s easier to just hide what little I have for safe keeping, right?  Wrong.  And that’s where this whole crazy train of thought wrapped itself up into a little package with a pretty bow.  The three lights in my bathroom seemed bright enough to suffice.  Light was still filling the room.  But how much brighter could it be if that fourth light shined among the vanity lights?  I am always amazed at how much brighter a room of several lights gets when you merely replace one burnt out light.  And, even better, in that light shining nothing gets taken away from the lights around it.  The idea is simply beautiful.

Bringing it back to the parable of the talents.  Each of the people in the parable were given separate amounts, however, none of them were lesser because of it.  Both the person given two talents and the person given five went out and made something of it.  They, in essence, chose to turn their light on.  Though the last person only received one, he also was no less of a man.  He was not left with nothing, or burnt out, until he chose to bury it.  What I’m trying to say, and perhaps not as eloquently as I’d like, is that it doesn’t matter if Suzy is given the talents of a genius and Jane is given the talents of your most admired friend, and you are given one talent.  It’s what you do with that talent.  Do you let it shine and work for your betterment and the world around you?  Or do you simply throw in the towel, as I often did (and perhaps still do) at times?  And, if you are throwing in the towel, might I suggest that you consider the fact that while three lights may very well light the room sufficiently, one additional light can make the world that much brighter?

How grateful I am for the marvelous minds that have enlightened our lives in ways that I cannot understand.  For all the effort they put into not only keeping their light alive but bringing greater light to the world around them.  Now, it’s my desire to be the light in my own life.  I don’t have to be at some genius level to brighten the world.  I just have to turn on and make the most of the individual beauty I’ve been given.  I am striving to let my light shine.

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Are You Enrolled in Parenting 505?

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

This coming Sunday, I will have the privilege of posting on Over the Big Moon (OTBM).  I appreciate the opportunity that I have to contribute to their site.  This week, I’d like to post one of my previous OTBM posts here on my blog.  Since this post was originally written earlier this year, I feel the need to clarify that I am now the mother of four beautiful and delightful children.  It’s always good for me to re-read my past posts, as it reminds me of positive insight I have received that I tend to forget.  Whether this is your first time or fifth time reading this post, I hope you will find it beneficial for you as well.


I have three wonderful children and one on the way.  As any mother of multiple children will tell you, each child comes with their unique personality.  It baffles me how children being raised the same way can bring such a different dynamic to the family unit.  As it stands right now, my eldest is my most challenging child.  I used to say that with frustration, but lately I’ve been feeling pretty darn grateful for the difficulties I face with her.  It sounds strange, right?  But over the past three years, what were once feelings of irritation in raising my eldest have now turned into appreciation for all that I’ve learned.  This transformation did not come without cause.

Almost three years ago, I heard this talk by Lynn G. Robbins that I have referenced several times since.  The portion of his talk that stuck with me and led to my change in perspective was this, “A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101.  If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505…With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed and refined?  Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?”  Those words were enlightening to me.

My eldest is actually a really amazing little girl.  It’s more my struggle in learning how to be a mother that leads she and I to butt heads so often.  Also, it doesn’t help that she’s a lot like me.  I’m still trying to figure out how to handle myself, let alone raise a mini-me.  How do you teach a child to communicate calmly when you yourself are quick to escalate?  Motherhood is just tough stuff and it gets more challenging when you’re raising the child who tends to test your patience to the nth degree.

I think about my various struggles with my eldest over the years and most every incident resulted in me learning a lesson.  The most obvious lesson I’ve had to learn repeatedly is patience.  I will likely be tested on this virtue until I leave this world.  I am just not very patient.  However, if I have made any improvement in this department, I owe it entirely to my eldest who has given me multiple instances to try and try again.  I write these words with sincerity.  Of course, in the middle of our battles, I could not tell you that I am grateful for her behavior nor my own.  But reflecting on how far I’ve come through the years has humbled me.

Another thing that my eldest has taught me is how to refine myself to be the woman and mother that I want to be.  Previously, I just sort of floated through life thinking I was a decent person and likable enough and that was that.  I didn’t feel like I owed it to anyone to be the best version of myself.  I wasn’t trying to be a lesser version of myself, I just hadn’t given it any thought one way or the other.  That can change when you have a child, whether they be the prerequisite to Parenting 101 or Parenting 505.  Realizing that I am the model for my children’s behavior has made me evaluate what kind of model I am giving them.  Many of us are familiar with the saying, “When you point one finger, three fingers are pointing back at you.”  I feel like all the disappointed finger pointing I have done towards my children has led me to really reflect on my role in their behavior.  As a result, I’ve had the chance to work on my shortcomings.

That’s what I love about life.  We can change and grow.  There are exceptions to the rule, of course.  The number one exception being that change will not happen if one does not truly want it to be so.  But I believe that change can happen.  I’ve seen it happen in my own life.  I have terrible memories of how I would respond to my daughter when we didn’t see eye-to-eye.  I still catch myself getting caught up in a moment and reverting back to my senseless yelling.  I thought I was helping by scolding her so much that she would not want to ever see that side of me.  But she’s taught me that my method does no good with her personality.  I have had to humble myself.  I continually pray for guidance on how to best raise her so that she can reach her full potential.  What is more conducive to change and growth than humbling yourself and admitting that maybe you really don’t know what’s best?  That’s what Parenting 505 can teach you.  The child that enrolls you in Parenting 505 is the child that says, “Nope.  You still have more to learn.”

Through out my learning process with my eldest, I have come to realize that the number one trigger to her poor behavior is when I’m not doing well personally.  She feeds off of the vibe I’m sending out.  This has been eye-opening for me, as I have to step back and try to find the true root of our struggle.  Sometimes it’s my sincere irritation with one of her white lies and other times it’s ill-founded frustration that I take out on her because I’m stressed about something else.  The latter being an unbecoming behavior that I long to change.  And then I think again about Robbins words, “Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?”

I’m realizing that I need my eldest more than she needs me.  Being a mother to her has strengthened my resolve to be better and do better each day.  I’m truly grateful that my eldest enrolled me in Parenting 505 and I pray that I don’t fail her or the class.

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The Truthiness About Strength

~ Sara W. ~ 1 Comment

I have to laugh.  The quote that’s been on my mind lately is Steve Maraboli’s quote that, “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”  I’m sure you could guess why that quote has been on my mind based on my post from last week A Stroke of Luck. I had full intentions of writing a post around this quote, only to find that I already did a similar post back in June called Strength and Purpose from Our Trials, which compliments and references yet ANOTHER post Finding Happiness Amongst Trials.  You think maybe I have a strong opinion on the matter of trials in our lives?  I guess it’s a good point of view to have, as many people have been telling me that I’m such a strong person in regards to my recent news.  The remarks got me thinking though, what qualifies someone as strong, as I certainly don’t consider myself such a person?


In trying to answer that question for myself, I analyzed how I was handling all the events of the past couple weeks.  I still came up without answers.  So, I decided to contemplate how a weak person handles things?  Perhaps I don’t know a weak person to reference, as I was still stumped.  Does a weak person cry?  If so, then I am weak, as I sobbed hysterically when they told me I had had a stroke.  I saw no point crying over the prospect of the tumor, as it’s level of concern had not yet been determined.  As a side note, I have since received word that my tumor did appear on the MRI from two years ago and is the same size now as it was then.  This means that the tumor is deemed as stable and I will now receive annual MRIs to ensure it stays that way.  So, you see, there was no sense in crying.  I was worried, of course, but I think that’s understandable.  I imagine a weaker person worries.  This leaves me 2 for 2 in the weak department.  However, people kept telling me I was strong.  Is that just something someone says to make you feel like you can handle the scariness of the unknown?  I genuinely wanted to know so I asked a dear friend of mine her thoughts.  As any kind friend would, she said lots of nice things about me and indicated that I was, in fact, strong.  Her thinking was that I had been through a lot in my life thus far and didn’t seem to let it get me down.  I also got remarks about how some marveled that I would be out and about doing stuff so soon after my baby was born and shortly after the stroke and tumor news.  So, I’m deducing a positive outlook and movement is the sign of a strong person.

So, lets talk about a positive attitude.  I hardly consider myself an optimist.  That’s always been my husband’s role in our relationship.  I rarely think positive when it comes to matters of my own.  But I am quick to see the best case scenario for someone else.  Does anybody else do this?  The times when I do feel at peace or seem to have an it’s-all-gonna-be-okay attitude are when I have spent much time on my knees in prayer.  My positive attitude comes from answered prayers and the comfort and love felt from my Heavenly Father and my dear friends and family.  It is not my own doing.  And, if I do seem to have a positive outlook on a difficult event in my life, it is because I believe 100% that every trial I have faced has made me stronger for the next.  Maraboli’s quote is truthiness.  And, in case you’re wondering, truthiness is a word.  Go ahead and click on the word for proof.  Thanks, Stephen Colbert, for getting this word officially added to the dictionary.  It should have been there all along and that’s truthiness.  Alas, I digress.  Oops. I just realized that if Maraboli’s quote is truthiness, which it is, then I am strong; or at least stronger.  I am not stronger from any magical thing that I am doing.  I am stronger by enduring each trial.  This means that each of us grows stronger day by day with each hit we take and get back up from afterwards.  Certainly, I am not the only one experiencing trials in life.

Although, I imagine the key to becoming stronger after a trial would be the whole get-back-up part.  This brings me to the topic of movement as a sign of strength.  Yes, I have been doing my best to keep moving as though nothing has happened.  Who wouldn’t?  A full recovery from a stroke tends to bring the marvelous abilities of a healthy body in to perspective.  Just being able to sign your name or brush your teeth seems to have a whole new appreciation.  So, yes, I’m going to get out there and use this full-recovery-stroke body I have.  That’s one reason that I keep moving.  The other reason that I keep moving may seem confusing to someone who considers themselves as weaker.  I’ve spoken to a couple people on this matter and they told me that if it were them they would just hide in their home.  Well, I suppose hiding in their home would be the method that would bring them comfort.  The thing with me is that hiding in my home tends to bring me down.  I don’t go out and do do do because I’m strong.  I go out and do because that is my medicine.  That’s what I have to do for myself to keep my sanity when life has me down.  I will admit that there are many times that I do choose to hide in my home and let myself throw my very own pity party.  I am quite good at hiding out so no one has to deal with Debbie Downer Sara when the time comes.  But, overall, if I want to feel better, getting out and moving is my therapy, because life is like riding a bicycle.  To keep your balance, you must keep moving.  Thanks, Albert Einstein, for that quote.  Oh, and thanks for all that other cool physics stuff you came up with too.  Much obliged.

So, if the conclusion is that strength comes from a positive outlook and moving, then I am surrounded by people that are stronger than they realize.  Because aren’t we all trying to survive the challenges of the day?  Sometimes our days have harder challenges than others and sometimes we handle our challenges gracefully and sometimes we sit and pout.  However, I think if you’re facing each day, then you’ve got enough positive attitude left in you to believe that things can improve and you’ve got enough movement in you to give that day’s challenges a go.  And, as life tends to do, things do improve and the movements become easier.  Then you’ve done it, you’ve come out stronger and more resilient.  So, while I still contest my being strong, I do consider myself stronger.  And that’s the truthiness about strength.

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First Friday Find: SPLAT!

~ Sara W. ~ 1 Comment

I know, I know, this should hardly be considered a First Friday post, as I am barely getting this in before midnight.  I’ll just pull the New-Baby-Card and we’ll call it good.  This month’s find is just a silly little toy that our family fell in love with when we were at the County Fair this past week.  Speaking of the County Fair, how are you doing on your Ultimate Summer Bucket List?  We hit our half-way mark this past week and attending the county fair helped make that possible.

But, I digress.


We came across this way cool toy called SPLAT!  I really can’t describe how cool it is in words.  I just have to show you video so you can see it for yourself.

As I mentioned, we got ours at the fair, but you can get it on Amazon by clicking SPLAT above.  It looks like it’s cheaper on-line than what we paid for it, which seems typical.  I noticed the reviews on-line speak about the product bursting fairly easily.  We have not had that issue at all (at least not yet) and our whole family has been making the most of the toy.  It just doesn’t get old to watch it transform from flat to spherical.

Happy playing!

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A Stroke of Luck

~ Sara W. ~ 6 Comments

Perhaps you noticed that I did not publish a post last week, perhaps you did not.  I noticed.  It wasn’t for lack of wanting to, it was because I had something quite big to process myself.  I’ve debated on how to share this bit of news with the public world.  I thought of keeping it light, I thought of going in deep, and I tried to figure out if there was an in between.  I’m opting for “in between” for now.  I took this same approach on my family blog years ago regarding my Mom’s battle with cancer.  It wasn’t until her final days that I switched over in to “deep” mode.  Perhaps one day I will change my mind, but for now, the following post is somewhere in between the full spectrum of what we’ve experienced over the past couple weeks.

As you know, we had a baby boy.  He’s perfect.  He is by far the most mellow baby we have ever had, which is saying a lot since our second daughter was immensely chill as well.  He was over 24 hours old before we even heard him cry.  He is still such a sweet little baby.  Hopefully he is not lulling us into a false sense of security.  Here he is on what would have been his due date.  Instead, he was already 1 week and 6 days old when this picture was taken.


The first week following his birth consisted of a couple days of getting in to a new routine as a family of six and a couple days of adventure.  I like to keep moving, so adventure is as much a part of my healing process as a good nap is.

On the eve of our little man turning one week old, my mother-in-law flew in to town to meet our newest addition.  I was originally scheduled to be induced on the Saturday that our son turned one week old.  My mother-in-law was in town to help with that process.  Instead, she ended up helping with something we could not have possibly anticipated would happen.

On Sunday, July 20, at 6:05 PM, I walked in to my kitchen to help my husband and mother-in-law prepare for our celebration of National Ice-Cream Day.  I tried to say something and I couldn’t get the word out.  Then I began to apologize for my lack of ability to talk and couldn’t get my tongue to work.  It was as though my tongue weighed a hundred pounds and had swelled up in seconds.  I tried to say, “What the heck?”  The next thing I know, my husband is rushing towards me and my mother-in-law has pulled up a chair for me to sit.  I’m aware of something happening to me, I’m just not sure what.  I flash back to two years prior when I had what was then deemed as a stress-induced seizure.  Now, as this is all going down and I begin to cry and panic, I can hear my husband telling me, “You’re not alone.  You’re not alone.  You’ve been under stress.  This is a stress-induced episode.  You’re not alone.”  My husband runs me through a series of tests they give in the Emergency Department to determine if you’re having a stroke.  I struggle to perform most of the requested actions and fail at the others that I assumed I was passing with flying colors.  I am now aware that my mother-in-law is trying to get my kids upstairs and spare them from the scene.  I feel my speech slowly start to return and try to shake off the whole episode, as my husband debates back and forth as to whether or not I need to go to the hospital.  I try to maintain my composure and keep things looking and sounding normal, but my husband notices my feeble attempts at normalcy and soon I am on my way to the Emergency Department, where my husband works as a Registered Nurse.

As my husband walks me into triage, he says the right words that get me a bed immediately.  It’s not long before a doctor is running me through the same stroke tests that my husband ran at home, I have an IV in my arm, and I’m off to get what would be my first MRI of three.  At this point, I’m vacillating between keeping it light with jokes and being terrified of the events of the evening.  Moments after returning from my MRI, the doctor comes in to inform me that I have had a stroke.  All my fears are confirmed and I began to bawl my eyes out.  My husband assures me everything is okay.  I respond through sobs with, “No, it’s not.  It’s not okay.  This is not okay.”  The doctor has since walked out to give us some time to process everything.  Once I’m calmed down, my husband steps out to review the MRI firsthand and doesn’t come back with a look that tells me that everything is okay.  I later see this picture of the damage from my stroke (indicated by the white portion of my brain) and marvel at the size proportionate to my full recovery.  A full recovery that still managed to buy me a couple days on the IMCU floor.

But, as I mentioned, I still underwent two more MRI’s.  I had to have a second one in an effort to find the actual clot.  No clot was found.  Unfortunately, what was found was a tumor in my left optic nerve.  Yes, a tumor.  A tumor which called for a third MRI to get further answers.  However, the third MRI did not give them sufficient answers.  The real problem with this discovery is that even the doctors currently don’t know what to make of it.  It could be something that is really slow growing, like really really slow-growing, and I’ve had it since my youth.  Or, it could be malignant and then I have a completely different battle ahead of me.  So, do you remember me saying I had a stress-induced episode a couple years ago?  It was not to this caliber, but it did earn me an MRI back then.  An MRI that will now likely hold the answers to the level of concern that this tumor will be for my future.  If that old MRI shows no sign of this tumor, I’m in trouble.  If there is an indication of a tumor being there previously, then we know it’s growing quite slow and is not an issue.  So, now we play the waiting game.  We’re waiting for the snail mail to deliver my previous MRI images to my new Ophthalmologist.  A waiting game that is getting tiresome for both my husband and myself.

As I mentioned before, I am giving you the “in between” version.  It may come as a surprise, but I can bore you with more hypotheses, concerns, and details, but this seems like sufficient details for now.  I just have some closing thoughts to offer on the matter.

Customarily, I try not to get too spiritual or religious on this blog, but I would be lying if I didn’t say how many tender mercies from my Heavenly Father that I have witnessed in these events.  Honestly, there are almost too many to mention.  The things I am most grateful for are that my mother-in-law happened to be in town to help with the kids, my husband was at home during the stroke to evaluate me, that I was able to have a stroke with a full recovery that gave us this serendipitous finding that will provide us with a fighting chance if it comes to that, and that I had an episode two years ago that will hopefully provide clarification on what we’re dealing with now.  For those that do not believe in a Higher Being, I am sure these are just considered coincidences.  For me, I know of a surety that these blessings are directly from a Father in Heaven who knows and loves me.  These events, as with each struggle I’ve endured, have reconfirmed my testimony in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I also feel the need to reiterate in this post the thoughts that I shared in my previous post Living a Life with Laughter.  I can’t stress enough how important laughter is in physically and emotionally healing from difficult events.  Friends and family seemed shocked at how well I was handling everything.  While I had moments that left me overcome with emotion, I just kept repeating to myself the quote by Marjorie Pay Hinckley, “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way though it.  You either have to laugh or cry.  I prefer to laugh.  Crying gives me a headache.”

This post may have left you with more questions than answers.  I feel your pain.  Our family has been left with so many unanswered questions that all we are left to do is have faith that our Heavenly Father’s hand will continue to be in our lives going forward as it has been thus far.  I know for me, personally, I feel beyond blessed that I am home with my family and currently able to care for them in the manner in which I always have been.  I feel great joy in counting my many blessings.

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It’s a BOY!

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

My favorite thing to hear people say to me when I’m out and about with my kids is, “Wow!  You have your hands full!”  My response is always the same, “That’s how I like them.”  I love my hands full with my sweet children, as they each make my heart that much more full!


Our hands and our hearts became fuller this past Saturday, as we welcomed our new baby boy to our family.  You’ll have to forgive me if this serves as my post for this week.  We’re all relishing in our time with our newest family member.

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The Present is Here – Live in It!

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

You know those truths in life that you know to be true but still have a hard time abiding by?  Most of them were likely taught to you in the form of a saying.  For instance, practice makes perfect, early bird gets the worm, you are what you eat, and so on.  We know these things to be true, right?  But sometimes we don’t want to practice, we don’t want to get up early, and we certainly don’t want to be a carrot when we can be a cheeseburger instead.  Well, all the different sayings that exist that speak to the importance of living in the present is what I wish to write about this week.  And why do I want to share this topic?  Simple.  I want to discuss it, because I seem to be fighting the need to do it.

I know I need to live in the present.  I know it’s a gift and that’s why it’s called the present.  I know it.  Apparently, I just don’t want to do it.  I’m assuming it’s the crazed mind of a 37 week pregnant woman, but I just want to fast forward to the part where I get to deliver a healthy baby and learn the gender of kiddo #4.  The waiting is slowly driving me mad.
This past Monday was a perfect example of a nearly missed opportunity to live in the present.  I got to go to one of my favorite places and I had to continually tell myself to let go of my obsessive thinking about the unknown arrival of our baby and focus on the three babies and wonderful husband I already had with me on this gorgeous day.  It seems absurd to me that I had to struggle to focus on the goodness that was right before me; the magnificent scenery of the lake, hills and trees and the pure joy of my kiddos playing in the clear water.  What a waste the day could have been had I not at least attempted to let go of things I could not control about my future.
As I learned to let go, the time at the lake became more peaceful.  It became more peaceful because I became more present in the moment.  I even had an opportunity to float out on my own and just soak up the sunshine.  Time seemed to slip away in a much more pleasing manner.  
Lately, each minute has felt like hours.  Time feels like it’s standing still, as my induction date seems to be forever ahead of me.  My OB doctor assured me today that he has yet to have a patient stay pregnant forever, but boy do these last few weeks seem to be dragging on forever.  I can’t help but think of this ecard I found on Pinterest that states, “Bless me with patience…Not opportunities to be patient, I’ve had plenty of those and they don’t seem to be working.  The actual patience…”
So, here I am, slowly approaching 38 weeks being pregnant and trying to appreciate the opportunities I have been given to be patient.  I learned long ago that the term, “I’ll be happy when…” never gets fulfilled in the way we think.  I don’t want to live with the idea that, “I’ll be happy when this baby comes.”  I’d rather live with the knowledge of, “I’ll be happy when I live in the present.”  Sometimes, it’s just a little harder for me than I’d like it to be.
For others who have difficulty living in the present, it’s due to their need to hold on to matters in the past.  I feel like I’ve been on that side of it too, but that’s a topic for another day.  
If you’re living in any time other than the present, perhaps it’s best to apply the words that were spoken back in 1989 by the current President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson, in a talk titled Go For It!, “The past is behind – learn from it; the future is ahead – prepare for it; the present is here – live in it.”  My goal is to strive to do just that.
The present is here – I’m gonna live in it!
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First Friday Find: Goodreads!

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

Summer is such a beautiful time of year!  I know I’m enjoying it even more now that I live in a place that has changing seasons.  It’s fun to see our little vacation town come alive with different activities.  I love how summer can be equal parts active and relaxing.  One minute we’re off kayaking on the lake and the next we can be sunbathing and reading along the shoreline.  This is why I thought it would be fun to share the site Goodreads with you all for July’s First Friday Find.

I’ll be honest, Goodreads is not a recent find for me.  In fact, according to my profile, I joined the site in April 2013, one month prior to starting this blog.  I know many are already familiar with this website, but for those that aren’t let me share with you what it’s all about.  In short, it’s a free website where you can keep track of the books you have read, want to read, and are currently reading.  This is excellent for me because I often hear about books that I want to read, then I tend to forget about said books once I finish my current book.  Another feature it offers is being a search engine for books.  This means that I can get all the details on a book quickly, including readers reviews.  This is especially helpful because I really like to know how many pages are in a book.  I’m the first to admit that a thick book is difficult for me to commit to.  Plus, I like that I can get a rough idea of how good the book really is based on their 5 star rating system.  While I enjoy reading, I don’t always get an opportunity to sit down to a book for one reason or another.  So, when I do, I want the book to be worth my time and Goodreads helps make that possible.
Another big plus to the website is that it creates a community of readers.  I like that I can see what my friends are reading and what they’re finding to be a good book.  I get notifications now and again about latest best sellers or what my friend’s are adding to their book lists and it gets me excited about reading.  Another way that it gets me pumped up to read is by tracking my book genres and ratings for books that I have already read and then recommending me new books.  Overall, I find it to be a really user-friendly site that helps promote a world of reading.
Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you of how awesome this website is, let me share with you one book from each of my four list categories on Goodreads: Read, Currently Reading, Want to Read, and Children’s.
READ – Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson.  While I have read several good books, I feel this is a good book to share for a summer read.  It’s a light and easy romantic read that is perfect to enjoy while sunbathing or lying in the shade of a tree.

CURRENTLY READING – The Child Whisperer, The Ultimate Handbook for Raising Happy, Successful, and Cooperative Children by Carol Tuttle.  I would not be reading this book had my friend not sent it to me for Mother’s Day.  Parenting books are just hard for me to get excited about for some reason.  However, my friend kept pushing me to read this one and I’m definitely glad that I am.  I’m not 100% sold on everything this book says, but it has been a very eye-opening and thought provoking book to read.  I find myself wanting other parents to read it with me so we can discuss it together.

WANT TO READ – Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.  You can read more information regarding this book here on Goodreads.  I have heard nothing but great things about this book.  It’s a non-fiction book based on the life of Louie Zamperini who was an American WWII prisoner of war survivor.  Zamperini actually just passed away yesterday at the age of 97.  A full life for certain and one that I’m excited to read more about.

CHILDREN’S – What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson.  The default categories on Goodreads does not include a Children’s list.  I have just grown to love children’s picture books so much that I had to add a list to note my personal favorites.  Some children’s books are so pathetic I hardly feel like they should have been allowed to go to print.  Then there are others that are either so clever or poignant that I feel every adult and child should read them.  What Animals Really Like is one of those darling books that just makes you happy to read it to little kids.  You may recall, from my post called Breaking Through Boredom, that I read it to my daughter’s Kindergarten class on her birthday and it was a hit!

So, there you have it!  Some good reads to add to your Goodreads account!  And, since this is being posted on Independence Day, think of this First Friday Find as my personal appreciation and support for the freedom of press!

Happy Fourth of July!

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Journaling the Journey

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

This week has been filled with much false labor, multiple bucket list items being checked off of our Ultimate Summer Bucket List, and preparations for our celebration of Independence Day tomorrow.  As a result, I’m taking this opportunity to bring a post that was originally published on Over the Big Moon back in January, Journaling the Journey, and including it here on my blog.  I was particularly grateful to give this post a re-read, as I have been desperately lacking in my journal entries.


Perhaps it’s pregnancy that makes me more reflective or embarking on a new year, but I found myself wanting to look back at previous posts on my family blog.  As I was reading through it, gratitude filled my heart for the time I had set aside to write blog posts over the past seven years.  I recall it feeling like a chore at times to do so, particularly during the more difficult periods in my life.  Re-reading the ups and downs and pondering how I’ve grown and changed brought me peace.

I was once encouraged to keep a record of my personal faith-promoting experiences.  It was not just to be for posterity sake, but it was supposed to serve as a reminder to me when perhaps my faith was lacking.  I can’t tell you how valuable that suggestion has been in my life.  I’m not always the best about writing in my personal journal, but I do make a greater effort to do so when it comes to the things that I know I’ll need to remember during the more tumultuous times.  It’s been immensely helpful to re-read my own experiences instead of relying solely on other’s faith-promoting moments.  I love how Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, once put it: “I don’t want to live in a hand-me-down world of others’ experiences.  I want to write about me, my discoveries, my fears, my feelings, about me.”

I realize writing is not a favorite past-time for a lot of people.  There are many who would love to have a journal to look back on but aren’t up for taking the time to write it out now.  In these circumstances, it may be best to tailor something to your specific situation.  Perhaps create a private blog so that you can type up your thoughts quicker on a weekly basis?  Or maybe your feelings are equally effective when expressed through drawings?  In that case, grab yourself a sketch book and jot down the date, a picture, and maybe a few key words to describe how things are at that moment in your life.  Maybe taking video and pictures comes easily to you?  An option might be to save these files in chronological order with very specific titles for each video or picture (e.g., “Hubbies first time trying octopus”).  I am a strong supporter of the action of putting pen to paper, but do whatever works for you.  If conventional journaling prevents you from doing any aspect of it, then take baby steps for now.

If you are feeling so bold as to do conventional journal writing, but feel like you don’t know what to write, here are a couple suggestions.  One would be to get your hands on a Journal Jar.  Perhaps you’ve seen or heard of these before.  My cousin gave me a Journal Jar, as shown below, stuffed with journal topics.  Some examples are: Share a principle you have learned or taught; Tell about how you feel about water – playing in it, seeing it, using it; What instrument do you play or wish you could play?  Why?; Did you and your Mother share an interest in any special activity?; How did your Father spend his time?; and so on.  Another option for the unsure journal writer is to simply begin by putting pen to paper.  Half the time when I write in my personal journal I don’t know what it is I want to say.  Oftentimes, I haven’t even figured out what I’m feeling at the moment until I find where my pen leads me.  This was particularly helpful in my teenage years when I was trying to understand all the feelings and changes I was going through.  Journaling helped me sort my mind out.

Which brings me to the last aspect I wanted to bring up regarding journaling: start young.  Teach your children the importance of writing in a journal now.  A couple weeks ago, I chatted with my girls about journal writing.  I have a daughter who is in the second grade and one in Kindergarten.  Both are capable of putting words together.  I encouraged my Kindergartner to use pictures when she didn’t know what to write.  It was fun to see what they chose to share in their first entries.  I can only imagine how fun it will be for them to look back and see how far they’ve come, not just in their thoughts and ideas, but in their writing also.  If your children are now grown and you would like to encourage them to journal, perhaps making a Journal Jar as a gift for their next birthday would be a fun idea.  StoryCorps has a great list of questions to help make your jar possible and motivate your children at any age to get journaling!

I’m grateful for the example my parents set for me on this matter.  My Dad has always been a dedicated journal writer.  He even gifts a “Year in Review” to my Step-Mom each Christmas with the highlights of their past year that he’s pulled from his personal journal.  It’s a gift my Step-Mom looks forward to every year.  My Mom was not as consistent with her journaling as my Dad.  But I treasure the entries she did leave behind for us.  Upon her passing, it was fun to read through her journals.  She would always note what she ate for all of her meals.  It might seem so trivial to write, but I love reading of her adventures in cottage cheese and pineapple.  As noted before, the process of journaling is as much of a blessing to ourselves as it will be to our posterity.

I actually jot my thoughts, memories and feelings down in various places.  One of my favorites is a little journal where I only keep memories of things my kids are currently doing or saying.  It’s an absolute blast to look back and remember how they used to pronounce certain words when they were first learning to talk.  We think we’ll never forget these precious moments with our children but they slip by all too quickly and, sadly, our memories tend to slip away with them.  I confirmed this as I was re-reading blog posts from years prior.  I could hardly believe how small my kids looked in the pictures and videos posted.  Now is the time to write and capture the moments in whatever manner works for you.

In my exercise of reflection through re-reading my family blog, I reaffirmed that my blog, journals, pictures and videos are invaluable.  Not only did I grow in the process of writing it all down in the first place, but I’ve grown in re-reading it and bringing back to my mind all the ways that I have received tender mercies and grown over the years.  My belief is that journaling blesses our lives in the moment, in our future, and in our children’s future.

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