Happiness

This morning we had to take Josh's car in to get a few things fixed. On the way there we got a little lost. It ended up taking 45 minutes to get there, not to mention the trip back. Luckily, the kids have done this before so when they heard take Daddy to work and car getting fixed they grabbed whatever toys they could and piled into the car. During the trip this is what I heard: Elizabeth: "I'm going to get my own phone when I'm 16." (I said nothing. At least she didn't say 9!) Ethan: "Oh, I don't care about those things. I care about coloring (as he was coloring). I am going to color my whole life long." Hee hee. Just now I said "It's quiet time." and Ethan said "Where are my crayons? I get bored without my crayons." Funny kids. This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

Blowing out 7 candles! The kids, all goofing off before present time! Opening presents with some friends Painting one of her princess art craft presents with Dad. Elizabeth had a busy weekend! We celebrated her birthday on Thursday with cake and presents. Friday she was sad to have piano lessons because she wanted to play with all her new things. Saturday we had a small friend tea party and then Sunday the other Abbotts came over for dinner. This morning she was tired and kinda, ok quite, grumpy. Not so much partying for a 7 year old, I guess. We did have fun though! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

Elizabeth, You are growing up to be such a big girl! You love Princesses and reading and playing with your friends. You are so excited to be 7, since that means you are older and more grown up. You want to be a Mom someday. The other day you said " I need to learn how to make pancakes so that when I'm a Mom I can make pancakes too." You are so cute, so happy and so fun and you light up our lives with your joy and enthusiasm for life! We love you, Elizabeth.

In our Church we sing a song that goes..."Adam was a Prophet, first one that we know. In a land called Eden he helped things to grow..." Asher was singing this song and sang "no one was a Prophet..." Uh, Asher? I think you meant Noah. Noah was a prophet. Silly kid!

Our ward in Church yesterday dedicated the whole meeting to the singing of hymns. People would share what their favorite hymn was and why. Josh talked about his favorite hymn- Lead Kindly Light. I was in the shower this morning and the words of that hymn ran through my head: Lead Kindly Light, Amid the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on! The night is dark And I am far from home. Lead thou me on! It goes on, but I love the word "kindly" in Lead, kindly light. It speaks of the kindness our Heavenly Father shows to us so often. We can see it daily in the tender mercies that He gives us- like seeing a favorite flower, or hearing your child laugh. I love the Lord and am thankful for his kind light in my life.

www.memorablebirth.com My sister, Amy, who lives in Logan, Utah, is a certified hypno-birth instructor. She just started this awesome website- check it out! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

I just got back from an amazing Counseling session. For a little background, I feel a lot better taking lithium (It's a good mood stabilizer) but I still feel some anxiety and guilt over being a good Mom. I never knew why I felt this way and talking with Joe helped me realize why. It's because I feel that to be a good Mom, I have to totally focus on my kids 100% of the time. If I'm doing something else- say being online- I feel guilty after twenty minutes and the guilt just goes on from there. It's gotten so bad that I've neglected my hair, my clothes- I've even gained weight in the past because eating would help me forget the guilt that I felt. I would even go as far as saying these past two weeks I've felt bad for reading my scriptures in the morning because I could have been making school lunches, etc. Now I know that a good Mom takes time for herself. I need to do that more often. I also need to not focus on pleasing others so much and be centered in mys...

(Sugarloaf 2007) This morning we took an amazing hike up Sugarloaf Mountain- just north of here. The kids are getting older and all did really well climbing up some steep parts. There were times when all four were perched on top of one rock, or we got to the top and saw an amazing view! And I forgot our camera! I am going to have to remember better if I want to be a better blogger! I won't forget how Ethan was playing on some rocks at the top and I told the other kids that they could go play over there too. When Josh walked over there, he said "Hey-there's a big drop off over here." Glad nothing happened! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

Today we went to the Monarch Butterfly Festival at Black Hills Park. It was really fun. The kids got to do lots of fun butterfly crafts, there were cookies for sale and they even saw live crysallises and saw a lady tag a butterfly and let it go. The butterflies fly south to Mexico and they pay the natives $5 each for each tag from a butterfly that they turn in. Pretty cool!

Welcome to Fantastic Friday! Here I will put up a picture or two that I love from the past week. Here goes: Here's Ethan- showing off his dinosaur book that he got for his birthday, complete with new bookmark and brother, Asher, to share it with! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

Asher is now at the stage where he asks why? all the time. I don't know when it started but the why stage is now here! As heard today while driving: Why is there an American flag there? I don't know. Why, Mom? Why? Can have my lunch box too (like the other kids have)? Not right now, Asher. Why, Mom? Why? I have to improve my answering skills so that he won't test my patience with his constant whys! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

Before: 3 smiling faces 3 backpacks filled with new school supplies 3 lunches, packed by little helpers 3 nervous tummies on the first day of school After: 3 still smiling faces 3 backpacks with completed projects and assignments 3 lunches, mostly empty (Ethan didn't know about the trash cans at lunch) 3 happy students! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.