This Past Week

This month instead of having a formal pack meeting, I decided that we should have a Cub Scout family hike.  We went to South Mountain and hiked about 3 miles.  It was so much fun and all of the kids did a great job.  Amelia only had to be carried for about 200 yards of the whole hike, though she was much slower because she is two and has short chubby legs.  She is so cute.  When she and Steve made it to the trail head, the other kids and I cheered for her and she ran to us and gave us big hugs.  While we were waiting for her and Steve, Amy got to pet a horse.  She was so excited.

I was having a conversation with my mom on the phone and I said "Last Sunday ....blah blah blah."  Well Burke was listening to the conversation and he said "That was the last Sunday?"  Then on Saturday, I told him we needed to have baths because we had church the next day.  He said "No we don't, you said it was the last Sunday."  He was really upset because he doesn't like his primary teacher and didn't want to go to church.

This week we had a really busy schedule.  Every night there was a game or a play or play practice, or a concert or mutual.  I told the older kids that next semester they are only allowed to choose one activity.  I can't keep this up!  We are not having quiet family evenings. It has been too much.  There has been more bickering, and blaming and chores are not getting done.  We have to stop this now.

"Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord’s kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power."  Julie B Beck 10/2007

Thankful

We had a really nice Thanksgiving.  The Despain family from our ward came over and shared our dinner with us.  The food and company were both good.  This year we chose to have our turkey deep fried.  It was good, but next year I'll probably just make it the way I always do.  This was the first year that my gluten free pie crust turned out well.  It was really good.  I also used some of the pumpkin I canned to make the pumpkin pie.  It too was really good.  Steve commented on both the better tasting pie and the pie crust.  That made me happy that he was happy and liked it.

I have so much to be grateful/thankful for.  I have children to love, a husband to care for, food to eat, a nice home to live in, water that comes directly to my home, water that turns hot with the turn of a handle, a gas stove, an oven three freezers and two fridges, sewing machines, skills to use the sewing machines, a desire to learn more skills to help my family become more self reliant, chickens to gather eggs from, a love of learning, a husband who supports and loves me, a healthy body, and of course the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful to have the knowledge of the restored church of Jesus Christ in my life.  I am thankful for the new Phoenix temple and am looking forward in attending there.  I'm also grateful that this semester will be coming to an end in 19 days.  I am worried about accounting, but if worst comes to worst I will just have to retake it.  I am not going to give up.  I know A can learn this, it may just take more time.

The chickens are doing great.  We are getting a lot of eggs.  This month I will be keeping track daily on our calendar.  They are fun and funny.  The kids still like them a lot.  I am still dreaming of buying some land to do a little more with. 

Stressed to the Max!

People used to look up to me.  They would depend on me for help, or ask for advice.  People could count on me.  I was some what respected as a mother who had it together.  I don't think that's true anymore.  Over the past four years something has happened to me.  I'm not sure what it was.  I have added two children to the family, started school, trained for a marathon and a few other races, and have pretty much lost my mind.  I am not the mother I want to be.  I am not the mother I used to be.  I do not have it together.  I cannot remember important things.  I cannot remember non-important things.  I am super stressed out because of my lack of remembering, especially in my Accounting class, which I am not doing well in at all.  My Family Foundations class has been hard for me to swallow this past week.  It is showing me all the ways I am not doing what I should be doing.  It is reminding me how I used to be, and showing me the awful truth of who I have become.  I am not the super mom I used to be.  I am not enjoying my kids to the extent that I used to.  I don't have time to.  I am not prioritizing properly, and I am not budgeting my time well.  My house is a disaster.  My kids don't like me.  I don't know what to do.  I don't want to quit school, but I may need to take a break.  I want to be the mom I used to be.  I want to be the mom my kids will like.  I want to show my kids that they are more important than school.

I have been doing a little research and I think I may have some mineral deficiencies.  I have ordered some cod-liver oil to take and also I need to take my other vitamins and eat more healthy foods.  Since I have not been running, I have not been using healthy foods to fuel my body.  I have been stress eating and have gained 22 lbs.  It stinks and I hate it.  I follow the menu plan but I eat junk in between.  No good.


I love this quote from President Monson.  I know it is true.  I just have to remember it is true.

" We know where we came from, why we are here, and where we will go when we leave this life. We know that we are children of our Heavenly Father and that He loves us. We know we want to return to Him after we leave this earthly existence. We know that what we do—and don’t do—here in mortality is of utmost importance. We also know that, should we fall short, our Savior has provided us with the precious gift of the Atonement and that, if we change our lives and our hearts and take advantage of the power of the Atonement, our sins and shortcomings will be forgiven and forgotten."

President Thomas S. Monson
"Be a Light to the World"
November 1, 2011 BYU Devotional

Now that I have that off my chest, I want to share that Amy Katherine Winn was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on November 22, 2014 by her father Steve Winn.  It was a nice program.  Michael gave the talk on baptism and Sister Trusler gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.  Mike Haynie played the piano for us and Suzette lead the music.  Tommy and Alexis gave the opening and closing prayers. Amy looked beautiful.  She is the sunshine in our home.  I love her so much and am so happy that she is part of our eternal family.

Choked-Up

I have not been able to watch any of the rehearsals for the Cultural Celebration.  I didn't even consider it as an option.  I know the kids have been working hard, and they really don't need any unnecessary people there getting in the way.  Steve has been at every rehearsal.  He is the YM president.  He is also a Captain of 10 which means he'll be at the actual performance.  Today someone posted on face book a video of the opening song for the celebration and it had me completely choked up.  I can see Tommy in the front row of the yellow group.  It is so impressive to see so many kids performing, and taking their part in the temple dedication.   The day after the Super Saturday all day practice, all of the youth in our ward bore their testimonies in Fast and Testimony meeting.  It was the more inspiring and wonderful meeting.  Seeing the youth go up to the stand in droves was more than I could handle.  I cried all through the meeting.  So did Steve.  So did a lot of people.  This Cultural Celebration has been a blessing to our youth.  They have felt the Spirit.  They have felt God's Love.  They feel an ownership of the temple, and want to go there because they feel it is theirs.  It is amazing.

Click this For the video...

Happy Halloween /It Finally Feels like Fall!

Last Friday was Halloween.  I confess it is not my favorite holiday.  I don't like candy, I don't like my kids to have candy and I don't like the idea of going door to door begging for candy.  I didn't buy candy to hand out (though fruit snacks are pretty much candy), Steve took the kids trick-or-treating, and Tommy handed out our fruit snacks.  I do love the costumes, though.  It is always fun to dress up. I loved dressing up as a kid, and still do a little.  Alexis went to a party where she was Rapunzel from Tangled.  Tommy dressed as "Bill" wearing a white shirt that had a "Hello, My Name Is..." sticker on it.  Michael was Batman.  Amy was an 80's girl complete with pink lipstick, and crimped ponytail.  Burke was Spider-Man and didn't take off his costume until yesterday.  Amelia was a fairy princess with wings and a crown.  They all looked great.  I was happy because all Halloween stuff was 50% off at Goodwill Halloween morning.  That was where we bought the majority of our costumes.  I spent $20.  I did have to go to Wal-Mart to buy fabric to alter Alexis' dress since it didn't have a back or sleeves, but that was only an additional $4.  Not too bad.

I am feeling some relief in my accounting class.  I talked to my teacher and there is extra credit work I can do and he drops the lowest exam score, which is so great.  I am hoping to earn an 80% over all for the class.

The temple dedication is fast approaching.  The kids have been working so hard to perform in the Cultural Celebration.  They will be in the front row and I know they will do a great job.  I'm not sure they completely understand the uniqueness and special-ness of this event.  I don't know if they realize the spirit they will feel when President Monson enters the stadium where they will be performing.  I don't know if they realize the blessings that their participation in this temple dedication will bring to them.  I am so grateful to have another temple in the Phoenix area.  I love the new Phoenix temple.  I love the work we will do there and that we do in the other temples.  I am grateful for my eternal marriage and my husband.

                                 

This week has been so busy.  Last Saturday our family toured the Phoenix Temple.  It is so beautiful.  It is warm and inviting and not overly ornate or overdone.  It feels like home to me.  On Tuesday, Steve and I had the privilege to be ushers for the temple open house.  It was a great experience.  I also helped on the skirts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  This cultural celebration is going to be amazing.

Also this week, Michael and Amy tried out for the school musical "Peter Pan".  They are so cute, and I hope they get a part.  Michael did have a call back and learned some songs and dance moves.  While he was in his call back I took the little kids to swing.  It was fun.  We also had running club this week.

I am worried about Accounting class.  I am not confident at all.  I have my second exam on Tuesday, and really need the Lord to help me.  I told Steve that I am going to drop out of school.  It is so hard.  He won't let me drop out so I guess I must press forward!

"As a mother you have been given divine instincts to help you sense your child’s special talents and unique capacities. With your husband you can nurture, strengthen, and cause those traits to flower."

Elder Richard G. Scott
"The Eternal Blessings of Marriage"
April 2011 General Conference

I hope that is true.  I need to be better at praising my kids and helping them grow rather that criticizing them thinking that I am teaching them.  I should use my instincts and try to be more patient.  It is something I am working on.

This Week

This week has been busy.  I was finally able to can my pumpkin today.  It turned our really pretty.
I decided not to can all four pumpkins because they are not easy to cut up, and after cutting up two of them, I realized that was plenty.

Also, on Wednesday I took Amy out of school early and we went to the State Fair.  We didn't go on any rides.  We went to see the animals and the quilts.  It was so much fun.  There were some beautiful chickens there. I think that next year I will encourage the kids to enter something in the fair.  I will be entering a quilt again.  I did a few years ago, and won first place in my division with this quilt.

The kids had a great time at the fair's petting zoo.

Moo

I wore Amelia on my back the whole time.  She didn't want to get down, which was fine with me.  One thing I learned that day is it is not a good idea to wear flip flops in a petting zoo.  

Last Saturday we celebrated Steve's mom's birthday.  The kids had a water gun fight with their Idaho cousins.  They had a really fun time.

Today I helped make more skirts for the cultural celebration.  We had seven ladies working on various aspects of the skirts in an assembly line type fashion.  I am so glad that Alexis doesn't have school on Friday's, because I think that it was good for her to help.  Not only that, she was in the company of some really neat ladies who are good women and have great experiences to share.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to help with the cultural celebration.  I am grateful for the experiences we are having in preparation for the new Phoenix temple.  Steve has been able to serve during the open house in a few different capacities, and he is in charge of a group of kids for the cultural celebration.  I have been able to help with the costumes.  Tomorrow we are going through the open house as a family.  It is so great to have another temple in the Phoenix area.  Now AZ will have five working temples.  I am so happy that we have temples.  I am so happy to have the restored gospel in my life.  I am so happy that I am sealed to my husband and family for time and all eternity.

"We have tasted of life’s successes and sorrows. We have dealt with disappointment, disease, and death among our children. But death cannot divide families sealed in the temple. That period of separation is only temporary. Thanks to the Lord’s great plan of happiness, we can all face the future with great faith and optimism."

Elder Russell M. Nelson
"Faith and Families"
February 6, 2007 CES Fireside

Must. Can. Pumpkin.

I love canning.  Sometimes I buy produce with the intent to can, and then don't really have the time to do it.  I bought four pie pumpkins on Saturday so that I could can pumpkin chunks which will become Thanksgiving dessert.  They are still on my counter.  Hmmm.  Time doesn't grow on trees.  It's a good thing that pumpkin doesn't go bad quickly.

Yesterday I coached my first Running Club activity at the middle kid's school.  Amy and Michael both had a lot of fun, and Tommy led the warm up stretches.  We ran .75 miles which I think is pretty good for K-2 graders.  

Part of being a mom is doing things we don't want to do.  I am busy, and I am stressed out with school.  my house has not been the same since I had Burke, and my mind is practically gone.  I can't remember things, because I have so much to remember.  I don't have time to be running club coach.  I don't have time to be Cub Master.  I don't have time to go to football games.  I don't have time to feed the missionaries.  I do it, though.  I do it because it shows my family that I love them.  It shows my family that I love the Lord.  It shows my family that I will do the things that are important to them.  Sometimes we just have to do for others.  I think I do for myself enough, and little things around the house can wait.  Being mom means selflessness and finding joy in your children.  That doesn't mean that I don't get to do the things I like to do.  I have made time in the middle of the night to make quilts and clean the house.  Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew, and I am grateful and blessed that I have an amazing, supportive husband who will step in and make the Arrow of Light boards for scouts for me, and drive to pick the kids up from school so that I can finish a skirt for the temple cultural celebration, or that he will take the two little kids out for an hour while I study in silence.  It's not like that everyday, but on the days it is, I sure am grateful for my eternal companion.  

The End of Fall Break

Well, today is the end of Fall Break.  I wish we could have another week of no school.  We did have a fun week off, aside from my accounting exam.  On Monday I canned 40 obs of chicken breast.  I love canning.  Food storage, or food hoarding as my sister calls it, is one of my favorite hobbies.  On Tuesday we made laundry soap.  Wednesday we went hiking.  Thursday we visited with cousins in town from Idaho.  Today we went to see the "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."  It was really cute and funny.  We rarely take our whole family out to the movies because it is pricey.  It was nice that Steve could take off the afternoon of work so that we could all go.  Also today, we found our third chicken egg.  Three in a month is horrible, but they are going through their molt so we are lucky to be finding any eggs.  The visiting cousins came over for a few minutes and saw and helped feed the chickens.  It was a great break.

Currently in the news there is a story about the Lincoln, Nebraska school district training its teaching gender inclusion training.  What this means is that the teachers are being trained not use gender specific terms, but more general terms.  They are not to say "boys and girls", they are to say something like "attention all readers" or "hey campers".  Or they are being asked to form groups such as "purple penguins".  They are instructed to teach the children that gender terminology is not something they should use, and that they should be told "some people like that, but not everybody does," when referring to the opposite gender.  This made me think of the lesson in my family religion class this week.  We are learning about the eternal nature of gender.  Gender is eternal, and not an accident.  Our genders were predetermined long before this earth was formed.  The male and female spirits, bodies, roles and purpose are very intentional.  The family is central to Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness.  Because that is the case, our genders are necessary for procreation.  If gender didn't matter, we would all be one gender able to reproduce without a partner.  A partner would not be required.  Adam was alone, and Heavenly Father knew that it was not good for man to be alone.  Eve was given as his help meet to multiply and replenish the earth.  She was his partner, his other half, the only way he would be complete.  Man cannot be without woman and vice versa.  I love being a woman and all that goes with it.  I love my role as a wife and mother.  I love that the priesthood blesses my family.

I am a Small (teeny) Hobby Farmer!

After eight years of discussion and a little (a lot of)  asking, I now have chickens.  I am so excited. We have 9 all together.  The breeds are Turken Naked-Neck, Black Australorp, Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, and Americana.  I love watching them and doing my daily farm chores.  Along with the hens, we have planted our Fall garden.  I am so happy when I see the tiny sprouts come up.  We have planted peas, broccoli, corn, lettuce, spinach, onions, carrots, radishes, swiss chard, and kale.  I am going to plant more kale in a different part of the yard so that I have extra for the chickens.  They love salad!

Our second egg

I had to add some of the kids, of course.

Finally, a New Post

Life is busy, stressful and fun.  My blog has had to take a back seat as far as priorities go since I have started school.  However, as part of my religion class this semester my blog is my homework!  I will be posting about my family as I always have, but now I'm going to include my thoughts on the importance of families as part of our Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness.

I have always wanted a large family, and by today's standards, that's what I have.  I am blessed with a great husband who provides and protects our family.  I am blessed to have been given stewardship over six of Heavenly Father's spirit children.  I love that I have the honor of being a stay at home mom so that I can raise my kids myself.  I love that I have the true gospel of Jesus Christ in my life so that I know where I cam from and where we are going after this life.  I know that I am a child of God.  I am His literal daughter.  I am so grateful for my temple marriage and the blessing and doctrine of eternal families.

This week is Fall Break for all of the kids.  Today they all started to get a little bit of cabin fever, so I asked Steve if he would go to South Mountain with us for a hike.  He did, and it was so much fun, and great exercise.  I carried Burke on my back on the way up the mountain, and I carried Amelia on my back on the way down.  I needed the exercise, and the extra weight was helpful for burning more calories!  I was able to take some nice pictures with my new to me iPhone.  The mountain was bursting with foliage thanks to all the amazing rain we had in August and September.  We even caught a glimpse of a rainbow!

" Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." The Family: A Proclamation to the World, Paragraph 7

I am Linked In

As part of my Business Orientation class I have to have a LinkedIn profile.  I have spent the past few weeks finding contacts, adding information, and joining groups.  The one thing I have been putting off is adding a photo.  I don't have any professional photos, and I really don't like having my picture taken.  Today i decided I would complete my profile and add my picture.  I took a shower, a good first step, and then put on a tiny bit of make-up.  I asked Steve if he would take my picture so I didn't have to try and be creative about it.  I stood in front of the back door curtain and he took about 5 shots,  Burke's head is in two of them, and I'm not smiling in two of them.  So the one we are left with is...

It turned out pretty okay.  Hopefully I won't have to do it again for a long time.

Mother's Day and Other News

Today is Mother's Day.  We had a great day at church and home.  Steve bought me a new stainless steel skillet that I've wanted for a while.  I love it.  The kids made me some cards that were really cute.  I am grateful for the calling of motherhood.  It is the best job I could ask for.

Yesterday Steve and I took Tommy and Alexis to the temple and performed baptisms.  It was so great to go to the temple with them.  Tommy was baptized for Grandpa Rasmussen.  It was very special.

On Friday my mom was in a terrible car accident.  She was driving home from Dothan after picking up some groceries and plants for her garden.  A man on a motorcycle was racing his friend and was taking a curve, but it was too sharp for him so he had to go wide, but hit my mom head on.  He was going 100 miles an hour and she was going 45.  He died, and she had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.  She is sad that he died, and his mother would not have him for Mother's Day.  My mom's car was totaled.  All of the airbags deployed and she had to be extricated from her car.  She is surprisingly ok.  No internal bleeding, and no broken bones.  She has bad bruises and is pretty sore.  It's a miracle that she's not hurt worse.  She has a great ward that has been helping her out.  I'm grateful she has them, since none of her children can be there.

Tommy turned 12 on April 2.  He had the day off of school and hung out with his friend Jason Canales all day. I  took them to lunch at Red Robin and then to a movie.  That Friday we had a small birthday party with his friends.  We had an ice cream bar.  They played the Wii.  It was a fun night. That Sunday, Tommy was ordained to the Aaronic preisthood.  I am a proud mom.  He has been passing the sacrament each Sunday.  I love that kid.  He is really awesome.  In March, he stared in the school play as Horton from Horton Hears a Who in the play Seussical Jr.  It was really cute.  He did a great job.  Pictures will be on here in the future.  I am really proud of Tommy.

Michael turned 9 on April 15.  He also was able to stay home from school.  For his birthday lunch he wanted to have hot dogs and chips.  We had them with grandma, grandpa and great grandma.  I needed to go buy GF buns, so I left Michael home and let him play video games for two hours while I went to Sprouts to buy the buns.  We had the traditional strawberry shortcake for his birthday dessert.  That is the 9th birthday in a row.  I love it.  Michael is a great boy. He has earned four character awards this school year from four different teachers.  We have him on a new asthma regime and he is doing well with it.  he has started the harry Potter series and is on the fourth book.  He is a thoughtful and creative soul.  I love him.  He is my sweetheart.

Amelia turned two on April 22.  I am so happy to be her mom.  We took the family to the drive in movie for her party.  It was so fun.  I bought her a baby doll, and doll playpen for her gift.  Sh loves them.  She is a good little mommy to her baby. She is still working on potty training, and doing pretty well.

On May 1 &2, I was given the opportunity by Steve to go to the BYU Women's Conference.  I made plans with Diana Baker to meet up there and go to conference together.  It was such an uplifting two days.  The main theme was grace.  I learned so much about grace and how I can apply it in my life.  While I was there I had the privilege to meet Stephanie Nielson.  I had her sign a book for Alexis, and Alexis loved it.

Burke and Amelia are in swim lessons with Jackie Lee.  They hate it.  It's good for them.

This is the last week of school.  I can't wait for school to be out.  I know the kids are ready to be done.

39 (School Days) Until Summer Vacation

I'm counting down again.  I can't wait for my kids to be mine again.  The next few months are going to fly by.  We have school soccer, and the school play.  We have gardening, and house cleaning.  We have camping and fishing.  We have a full calendar of activities to do as a family for the next few months.  I am really looking forward to all of it.

Alexis and Tommy are playing on their school soccer team.  They work well together and are doing a great job.  Tommy is the lead in the school play, and Amy is a chorus member.  Michael is preparing for the Pinewood Derby.  Burke is hanging out with me, and learning so fast.  Amelia is using to potty about 60 percent of the time now.  She's not 2 yet, but she lets me know when she needs to go.  I'm not pushing her.  She is talking more and more everyday.  She is loved by all.

Steve is working hard at work, church and home.  He's finding an appropriate balance.

I am not able to find the balance between home, church, kids and school.  I am working on it.  School is almost over for the semester for me.  I'll have a ten day break before my next semester starts.  I've put together my Grad Plan, and it looks like I'll be graduating Spring or Fall 2018.  Not too bad.  I will almost be 40, and Alexis will be a senior in high school.  Amelia will be in kindergarten.  I hope I can pull it off.

These kids are great.  My husband is my best friend.  I love this life.

2014 New Goals and an Accounting of Last Years

In 2013 I set some pretty lofty goals.  Some I wasn't sure I would be able to accomplish.  After studying goal setting this year I realized that part of the reason I didn't accomplish some of those goals was because they weren't S.M.A.R.T. goals.  I learned about these types of goals in my Life Skills Pathway class.  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.  Now as I look forward to my goals in 2014 I will make more specific goals.

The goals I did accomplish this year were not easy for me.  In fact I struggled and pushed myself farther than I thought I could go.  In January I started school.  For many years I have felt the need to finish my formal education.  I have started the enrollment process at different community colleges more than once, never enrolling in classes.  The programs offered at those schools didn't fit my need to stay home with my kids and not put them in day care.  I felt that it was more important to care for them full time, and prayed that someday I would find the "perfect" school for my situation.  I knew that the BYU-I Pathway program was the right way for me to achieve my desire to go to school.  It has been such a great year.  I now have six classes under my belt and can say that I have a 4.0 GPA.  I never thought that I could do that!  There were a few times this past semester alone that I wanted to quit.  I was taking an Into to Algebra/ Personal Finance class.  Math is something that has been a challenge for me my whole life.  I am pretty sure I cried out of frustration every week of the semester.  I worked through it and ultimately earned a B on my final exam and an A overall in the class.  I felt my confidence rise and feel like I really accomplished something.  I know that it may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but I really worked hard and am happy with what I was able to do.  So my unspecific goal of doing well in school can be checked off and have a gold star sticker placed next to it.

The other major goal I accomplished this year was my running goal.  I had a goal to run the Ragnar Relay in February, the Whiskey Row Half-Marathon in May, and the St. George Marathon in October.  I was able to do all three.  The training was time intensive, and there were days I thought my legs were going to fall off.  I had weeks when I ran more than Steve would run in a month.  All through the training I was going to school, and taking care of the family and all of the responsibilities that go with being a mom.  I could not have done any of it without Steve's support, help, and love.  He is truly the best.  There were many Saturday mornings when I would come home sore and tired.  I would shower and take a nap.  He took on the care of the kids and other things that we had to do those days.

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When I wrote the above, I didn't really understand the feat I accomplished last year.  It took a gift from Alexis to help me realize how much I did.  For Christmas, Alexis made a rack for me to hang my medals and race bibs.  Once Steve hung it, and I saw my medals lined up neatly in a row I became overwhelmed at the thought of all of those miles run.  According to my Run Keeper, I ran nearly 1,000 miles in training and racing. When you combine the time I spent training and the time I spent on school, family, church callings, housework etc. I know that the only way I could have accomplished any of it was with the help of the Lord. He does care about our daily lives, and righteous desires.  He wants us to succeed, not fail.  He was with me each step of the way.  As I stepped back and looked at my medals hanging there I was overwhelmed with all I had done last year.  I was overwhelmed because I don't know if I could do it again.  I was overwhelmed with the expectation that I had given myself to do it all again this year, and not really wanting to.  I felt that I had given myself unrealistic expectations wanting to repeat those goals for this year.  I started to cry looking at those medals and realizing that it was a miracle that I had accomplished all that I had.  I do want to run this year, but I'm not sure how much.  My classes are already more time consuming than last year.  I would like to spend more time on my quilting, which has really taken the back burner for the past three years since Burke was born.  This year I have less lofty, and fairly realistic goals.  I will work hard in school.  My goal again is to make straight A's.  It will be hard considering I will be taking two, maybe three math classes this year. Aside from my family, school is my priority until I graduate.  I would like to make/ finish six quilts this year.  I was going to try to make one a month, but that is unrealistic right now.  One quilt every two months is doable.  I will enter a quilt in the AZ state fair again.  The last time I entered was about two years ago.  I want to do it again.  I'm not sure right now if I will be able to train for the St George Marathon again.  I'd really like to beat my time, but I'll think about it for a few more months.  I am going to run the Whiskey Row Half with Steve this year.  No Ragnar.

So that's it for me.  Steve and I have some combined goals we'd like to accomplish, but they don't need to be listed here.

Happy 2014!