Happy With What I Have!

This world has a tricky way of making me feel like what I have isn't good enough. Even when what I have is better than what I used to have. I'm pretty sure everyone can relate.

Ben has a friend that lives in a neighborhood not so close to ours. He and this friend wanted to hang out. We drove to his pal's house so I could meet the mom. When I pulled into the drive way, my thoughts were, "Woooow! What a beautiful home!" When I walked in, my thoughts were, "How big!! How fancy! I would LOVE to live in a home like this!"

The mom and I sat and chatted for a little bit, but I was so distracted by the grandeur of this dwelling that I had a hard time concentrating. That night I day dreamed about living in a larger, more expensive house. (All the time the voice in the back of my head was saying, " You have SO much already.") I knew that was true, but I wanted to fantasize for just a little bit about a different kind of life.

Then I came back to reality and realized, maybe not realized as much as remembered, that I am more than blessed. Chris and I started out in an appartment where no matter which room you were in, the other could always see and hear you. Still, I was greatful that we had our OWN place, no matter the size. Later, we moved to our first home. The basement was 0% finished so we just had an small upstairs. But I was delighted for the extra space!! Now we live in a home that's bigger. So many things are better about it than the old one. I remember how excited I was to move here!!!

But here I am, wishing for even better things. Why can't I be always thankful for that greatness Heavenly Father has given me? I am going to try to be better about this tricky trap we all fall into every once in a while. I am starting by making what I have the BEST it can be. I want to remember more often that the home we live in allows me to stay home with my children!! I couldn't do that in something gigantic. I think I'll continue talking with the kids about how lucky we are to be in a home. To have a roof, beds, and all of the extra things that make life so comfortable!

I believe gratitude in a concious decision we make! I am happy I could visit that lovely house so I could learn a lesson of being humble and greatful.

If you're ever in a jam, here I am.....

I'm aware that of all the very few posts I've put on this blog, none have actually been about cake. They've been about "other things I love" as I mention in the description. If anyone is annoyed by this, sorry. There have been many more 'things I love' going on than 'cake' things since I've been pregnant. I just haven't had the energy or the occasion to make them lately.

Having said that, I want to tell you about a kindness that was given to my daughter Hannah and me today.

I had a prenatal visit this morning in Riverton. I live in Magna- so it's not just a 'hop in your car and be there in five minutes' drive. While I was in the reception area I decided to check my cell phone for any missed calls. There was one from Hannah's school. Yikes, usually a call from your child's school isn't good news. I listened as my sweet 6-year-old, bravely trying not to cry, told me she'd had an accident and needed new pants and underwear. My heart was broken. I wasn't just five minutes away and the message was already 15 minutes old.

I called the office and told them I'd see if a neighbor could run some clothes over to her. Then I asked the secretary, "And could you please tell her I love her?"

I phoned one of my wonderful friends, Holly, and explained the sad tale. She didn't even hesitate when I asked for her help. I even found out that she's brought three pairs of shorts for Hannah to chose from. Holly also comforted Hannah by telling her the same thing happened to her when she was in first grade. What a thoughtful and go-the-extra-mile friend!!

When I thanked Holly later, she insisted that it wasn't a big deal. So humble. The big deal was that I was far away from being able to help my daughter. That I felt horrible not being able to comfort her in an embarassing moment. The big deal was that Holly didn't make me feel like it was putting her out or messing up her day. The big deal was that she was my angel!

This sweet friend and others I have the blessing of having are my angels every day. They spend a few minutes chatting even when they have other things to do. They listen when I've had a terrible day (according to a pregnant lady). A bushel of other services I can't list have been performed for me. Friends are the icing on the yummy cup cake that is my life (wow, that was EXTRA corny, even for me).

Holly, thank you a million times! I love you!

A Lucky Wife!

Chris and I have decided ,after a LOT of thought, to add one more to the Sayer family. It's an exciting and scary thing to bring another child into the world. We already have three precious little ones. Wouldn't one more mean extra expenses, chaos, noise, mess, responsibility, and so on? But we went with our feelings from the Spirit and said, "Let's go for it!"

My first two pregnancies ( Benjamin and Hannah) were smooth sailing! I almost wouldn't believe that I really was pregnant were it not for the starving feeling I'd get around 3:00 a.m. and the tell-tale growing stomach. I didn't have one minute of nausea. It was so dreamy!!!

When I was carring Max the queasy feelings started to hit about a month in. Nothing sounded good to eat. I was still ravenous, but if I'd eat I'd feel terrible. If I didn't eat, I'd feel hungry and terrible. I couldn't win. It's kind of hazy about how long that stage of morning ( more appropriately ALL DAY) sickness lasted. But it passed and things were pretty great afterward.

Here I am roughly 4 years later- pregnant again. It's so funny how you can forget the specifics of such a miserable time. I had hoped that this time I'd sail right through like I had before- no upset stomach continuously. But the last 4 weeks of my life have had me on the couch, walking around(when I absolutely had to) hunched over, and not eating anything but crackers and baked potatoes. Obviously the house didn't get the attention it used to. Nor did the children. What a blessing it was that all this took place during summer vacation!!!

Laundry and dishes piled up, kids didn't get the attention the were used to, and my guilt-o-meter reached new heights. This was the state of those weeks.

But here's the silver lining. My husband, Chris!! He was never impatient with me because I was no longer Happy Heather. He pitched in and did dishes. He cooked every meal with a smile. ( He does almost all of the cooking any way. I'm the baker.) He dressed the kids for church and even did a great job on Hannah's hair (good job, sweetie!). He provided peace and quiet so I could sleep. He bought me my favorite treats hoping I'd feel like eating. He just basically was AMAZING!!!

I knew he loved me before. I knew he was sweet and wonderful, and of course, VERY HOT! But when he served me so unselfishly I felt like the luckiest wife in the world!

Chris, you are the BEST! Thank you for everything you do. I love you!

Don't you just love that?

A while ago my husband brought a book home called "Don't You Just Hate That? 738 Annoying Things" by Scott Cohen. It's full of silly things that bug us in our every day lives. For example:

1.Wondering if the appetizer you're sharing with a friend is being divided evenly?

84. Finding an old "To Do" list, most of which remains undone.

181.People who don't remove their Christmas decorations until March.

And so on.....

Chris and I had a fun time reading these late one night. But the next day I started thinking-how hard it would be on someone's mind to spend so much energy searching for the negative, the bad and the depressing? What a downer! In this "glass is half empty" world, we need to seek out the happy, the pleasing and the wonderful.

I decided to devote some posts here and there to things I find uplifting. Here goes:

Don't you just love...

When your child wakes up with a smile?

Spending a lot of effort on dinner for your family and everyone LOVES it?

Laughing really hard with a good friend?

Snuggling with your sweetheart?

Watching the glow on your kids' faces when they hold a sparkler?

I hope you will take some time today to find a few things that you love!

P.S. I don't know how to put a caption on the picture here yet. This is Ben and Hannah 2 years ago on the Fourth of July.

In Honor and Praise of Mothers

Last year I purchased a wonderful book entitled "Errand of Angels: In Honor and Praise of Mothers". Elegant paintings of mothers and children paired with insights and quotes from various authors fill its pages. I was leafing through it this morning and read this gem of thought:

" Don't get so involved in the duties of your life and your children that you forget the pleasure.

Remember why you had children." --Lois Wyse

How easy it is to forget the real purpose of what we do in the home each day. Yes, having an orderly and tidy dwelling helps create a feeling of calm and peace, letting the Spirit of the Lord be with us. But often times I focus mainly on how many tasks have gone undone. The list of chores overwhelms me quite a bit. More than quite a bit. I wake up a lot of mornings and think, " How on earth can I do everything I need to??!" But I am happy to be reassured by this quote from Lois Wyse that the most weighty concern I should have is this- am I enjoying my little ones? Do they know that I enjoy them? Or do they feel second place when it comes to my priorities? I hope Benjamin, Hannah and Max never look back on these years and remember their mother worrying more about an imaculate home than worrying about their feelings, interests and needs. ( I doubt they'll think about the imaculate part-- my home is rarely imaculate. Did I just type "rarely"? I meant never:)

Moms, let's strive a little less on having a kitchen floor you could eat off of and a little more on feeding the hearts and souls of these precious people Heavenly Father has loaned us! I'll try if you will.

Hello

In the words of Summer Wheatley," Well, I never thought I would make it here today." I have enjoyed many other people's blogs ever since I entered the cyber world. I didn't plan on having my own, though. I always supposed that keeping up a blog would require too much time, commitment, etc. But I have so many thoughts running through my mind all the time and so many fun things to share that I decided to take the plunge!
Even if no one reads this other than my husband, Chris, I think it will be fun to try something new. Hopefully we can have fun together.