Clubbin'

We bought our Christmas tree from a fundraiser lot being run by the optimist club. It makes me smile to know that there is a (nation wide) group of older gentlemen who have a club that is about looking on the bright side. ;) We bought our tree on a saturday and then went to pick it up on a monday. The genltlemen helping us with our tree invited Nate to be in their club. I don't blame them ... if I had a club he would be the first person that I would want to be in it. ;) I was throwing away their pamphlet when this creed caught my eye. I liked it so much that I am posting it here and on the cupboard in my bathroom.

The Optimist Creed by Christian Larson 1912

Promise yourself:

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Pretty smart club if you ask me!! Have a good day!!

Ava-lina Ballerina

short but sweet

Two funny things....

.... that happened on Monday.

1) Sophie is almost all the way potty trained but to encourage her in her efforts we all give her a lot of applause when she goes to the bathroom where she should. The other day she dragged us into the bathroom to see her "good work" and then took a big bow. :)

2) The other night for Family Home Evening it was Josh's turn to pick the song. Completely serious, he told us that he wanted the family to sing "Rio" by Duran Duran.

Thanks mom!

My mom gave me the best welcome home present ever. She did all my laundry while I was away. Every last sock. And put it all in drawers too. With four kids this is no small feat. And was especially wonderful considering that after she left I brought home 3 suitcases full of dirty clothes. But never fear - I have a plan. Have you ever noticed the magical power of making your bed? Everyone knows that when you make your bed the rest of your house magically becomes cleaner. I am not kidding about this. Martha Stewart calls it "tidy begets tidy" but I am confidant that their is something more mystical going on than just that. So today I made my bed - dumped out the three suitcases - and dug in.

Happy-making!

Have you seen these?

These were actually done - no computer generated images

Check out sony bravia ads the making of on you tube to see how they were done!

What I saw at the airport

I was in the airport the other day returning home from my sisters shower. While I was waiting for my flight to board, I sat in a chair across from my gate and therefore had an excellent view of all my fellow passengers. But really I was only watching one. And so was everyone else. He was a marine. He was very tall and he was standing very straight and carrying his hat in the strangest way. His left arm was bent at a 90 degree angle and the hat was perched on top of his perfectly flat hand. He walked all around the gate area this way for at least 30 minutes. At first I scoffed - why didn't he just put his hat down. Or if he was afraid of smashing it, put it on his head. I mean his arm must have been getting tired. But then I started noticing other things. Like his shoes. They were the shiniest black shoes I have ever seen (and both of my girls have black patent leather mary janes). Clearly those black shoes had recently been polished within an inch of their life. Did you know that there are people that still polish their shoes? And his shirt. Immaculately pressed. Sure people iron their shirts every day ... but 20 year old boys? And he stood so straight as if at attention even though there was no one else from the military around.

Then we boarded the plane. My seat was next to a young man with a missionary name tag. Although I had spent the whole day putting my foot in my mouth, apparantly I just can't get enough of the taste of shoe leather so I opened my mouth once again and said. " Elder, where are you headed?" "Home to Boise." he said. "Home to Boise!! How exciting!!" I said "Where are you coming from?" "The MTC." He told me that he had a few things at home that he needed to work through. So I took a vow of silence and decided that I will never speak again. --When I told Nate this story he explained that the spirit at the MTC is so strong that it is difficult for those who are there trying to fake it. The spirit makes you want to tell the truth; to be really worthy. I wished the missionary good luck. I felt a little sorry for him as he looked out the plane window at the black sky.

But as we walked toward baggage claim, I had reason to believe that perhaps I was mistaken. For there was a huge family gathered outside of security with welcome home signs and balloons. And I thought that perhaps this was a happy homecoming after all. So instead of heading right down the escalator, I lingered for just a moment and turned around to see what would happen. But the missionary walked past the balloons and signs and into the arms of one woman that had come to meet him. I saw both of their faces crumple with pain. I saw them hold each other and sob in the middle of the Boise airport. And then I saw the marine. He walked into the middle of the huge family with banners and balloons and received hug after hug with smile after smile. The image of those side by side homecomings has haunted me for the past few days.

I think it's because at the end of the day we all have a homecoming in our future. And I imagine that the spirit there is so strong that you will want to tell the truth and want to be really worthy. So I have been checking my soul to find the dull spots and examining my conduct for the wrinkles, because when it comes right down to it crying makes my face puffy and red and I have always had a thing for balloons.