Why My Children are Driving Me Crazy and Other Pointless Rants: Things I don't want to forget

Saturday morning, I got out of bed to the sounds of my children awake and active. They burst into my room full of excitement. They had a plan for the day and wanted my motherly approval. Saturday in our house is chore day...and the boys know it. But before I could dish out the assignments, the boys showed me their own freshly written lists. Surprisingly, each child had a complete list of chores I normally give them on a Saturday morning. They wanted to get them accomplished fast so they could watch Harry Potter movies ALL DAY. I deemed their lists as acceptable and they had their chores completed by...get this...8:30 am. This included toilets being cleaned, baseboards wiped down and furniture dusted.

I love my boys.

My favorite list was the one they wrote for me:

(spelling and grammar will not be corrected so I can remember it for all time.)

Mom chor list

vacum

and the other normal things you do.

Love you mom

My kids are adorable.

I'm letting my head swirl, meditate if you will, around what my kids really believe is "the other normal things you do."

I hope one day they truly understand.

***************

Sacrament meeting today was awesome. We are sitting near the front of the chapel now due to the gluten free thing. It's easier for the deacons passing the sacrament to get me my covered cup of non-gluten bread brought from home if I'm near the front...I don't want to be a spectacle and this seems like the easiest way. Astonishingly, I'm liking the front even though every fiber of my being wants to run chicken-like to hide in the back. I'm finding the kids are better behaved when sitting spitting distance from the bishop and speakers. A little fear of authority goes a long way.

Today Bishop Coleman spoke on gratitude. It was an amazing talk that inspired me to do better, be better, and to teach my children better. I love talks like this. I nudged Steve a few minutes into the talk and asked him to take notes. Here are some of them that I want to marinate myself in.

"Starve the problems, feed the opportunities"

"Less gratitude = more disappointment"

"Gratitude is a character trait that can be cultivated"

"Because we have so much, we want so much"

"Remember God in all things and gratitude will fill you"

When we got home from church, I asked the older two boys to write down a list of ten things they were grateful for. I don't want to forget them. (Once again, I refuse to correct spelling or grammar- it would ruin the cuteness of it all.)

Andrew Dixon age 11:

house

family

all seorses of intertanment

FOOD and water

the ablilty to sleep

a bed to sleep in

to have a temple in twin falls

hevenly father

Jesus Crist

are bodies and the ability to see, feel, smell and taste.

Carter Dixon age 8:

faimly

house

food

eath (earth)

legos

music

Jesus

god

medsin (medicine...me too Carter)

love you

It would be silly of me to end this journal entry without writing down what I am most grateful for. I think it is pretty obvious. I am most grateful for my family. They make my life worth living.

I am grateful for Steve.

He is loving, selfless, hardworking, handsome and my best friend.

I am grateful for Andrew.

He is honest, stalwart, compassionate and wants so much to do what is right for the right reasons.

I couldn't ask for a better oldest son. I think this boy is going to be an awesome teenager!

I am grateful for Carter.

He is happy, lovable, exciting, brave and his smile can light up and entire room! He is the perfect of example of shining through adversity. I want to be as good as him one day.

I am grateful for Colby.

He is bold, daring, dramatic, bigger than life and has more potential in his little finger than I could ever imagine. Colby is a leader and will never let anyone get in his way of greatness.