projects this week

These were a couple of my projects for the week. I got the lettering from my aunt, and I finally did the signs. Now I just need to figure out how to hang them on the wall (they're pretty heavy).

Day with Thomas

Yesterday, we took the boys to the Oklahoma Railway Museum for a "Day out with Thomas." The boys got to see Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, and they had some other activitities like mini golf, a magician, and tattoos. I think the boys had fun (they weren't as excited as I'd hoped they'd be). It was a little warm out and we were all a little tired. We did get to ride a train, but it wasn't worth the money... if anyone wants to go, don't bother with the ride, just get your picture taken with Thomas. They're doing it again next weekend. You can look up more info at www.oklahomarailwaymuseum.org.

Jared's friend

what does it mean...?

We heard an excellent talk today in church. Her topic was, "What does it mean to be of the house of Israel"? Not really knowing where to begin, she first asked herself the question, "What does it mean to be of the house of Russon (her last name)"? She explained what life was like in her house growing up and the expectations and blessings of being a Russon. She then went on to talk about how being of the house of Israel also brings certain blessings (of the gospel, priesthood, and eternal life), but also means we have certain obligations and responsibilities (like keeping the commandments, believing in Jesus Christ, missionary work, etc.)

That of course got me thinking about what it means to be of the house of Thompson or of the house of S*. So here are some of my thoughts on what it meant to be of the "house of Thompson" (I'll use past tense since I'm thinking about when I was growing up):

It meant that:

- We had love and respect for one another and a strong commitment to family.
- We supported each other in each of our activities (I went to alot of games, meets, and recitals just because that's what we did.)
- We went to church together every Sunday.
- We participated in church activities just out of support if nothing else. If we had a Wednesday night activity, you could be sure the Thompsons were there.
- We prayed at meals and other times and read scriptures together.
- We went to early morning seminary.
- We serve missions (or prepare to go) and get married in the temple.
- We accepted whatever assignments or callings asked of us and strived to magnify them.
- We didn't settle for "average." We tried to be the best, to make straight A's, to work harder than the "average."
- We didn't date until we were sixteen.
- We didn't drink, smoke, or use any harmful substances.
- We didn't use bad language or watch bad movies.
- We wore modest clothes.
- We sang together. We laughed and cried together.
- We didn't know exactly what our dad's job was, but we were well provided for. :)
- We played sports. On Saturdays, you could almost always find a Thompson at the soccer fields. :)

So there's a few of my thoughts. I'm sure my siblings could add to that list.

I also asked Alex what it meant to be of the house of S*:

- They ate dinner together every night and discussed topics like politics and science.
- They didn't use bad language.
- They didn't smoke, drink, or use any harmful substances.
- They worked hard. If you wanted something, you got a job and worked for it.
- They were honest with their fellowmen.
- Education wasn't an option. It was something you did. You went to college after high school, graduate school after undergraduate.
- They loved the outdoors. They weren't afraid of snakes and other creatures.
- They weren't vegetarians. (Hamburgers are a S* staple). :)
- They knew how to shoot a gun.
- They got a bath once a week whether they needed it or not. Ha-ha :)
- They were "low maintenance." They didn't wear designer clothes.
- They were polite and used good manners.

There's a few from Alex.

So now I'm thinking what we're starting in our own home. Many of those family traditions carry on (once a Thompson, always a Thompson or once a S*, always a S*). I hope we never lose those traditions we grew up with, but I know we'll also be starting some of our own. What will it mean to our kids to be of the house of S*? I hope they appreciate the things we're trying to teach them.

fear of success?

I went to book club tonight. Our book was "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. I liked it, although it was very simplistic. I felt like the symbolism wasn't anything new to me, since I already believe in God, the Holy Ghost, and basically that we are on a "journey" of sorts, with distractions along the way which keep us from reaching our "treasure."

One of the characters in the book said he wouldn't even attempt to fulfill his dream, because of fear of failure. He said it's better to still have the dream than to fail. One thing that I hadn't thought of was this: The question was, "Are we afraid of success?" I know many are afraid of failure, but what about success? That seems like a strange question- who would be afraid to succeed? But what comes to mind is "where much is given, much is required." With success comes responsibility. How often do we not go for a goal because we're afraid of the responsibility (and expectations to live up to) that comes with it? Are you afraid of success?

Just got me thinking...

it's only going to get worse...

It's never-ending! I've been trying to do laundry twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I now have this mountain of laundry from yesterday to fold. I think there's 5 loads there. Maybe I should space it out more? Anyway, I better start folding.

ahhh...fall.

I know it's not technically fall yet, but it's starting to feel that way. What beautiful weather we've had the past few days! The boys have only wanted to be outside, playing baseball, basketball, and jumping on the trampoline. They're actually pretty good at sports. They get their natural athletic ability from me. ;) Nathan does a pretty impressive slam dunk. (Don't blink on the videos- you'll miss it.)
















Try to take a self-portrait with kids... pretty hard.









I had to take this pic of Jared, with his baseball shirt, holding a soccer and basketball.

Piper Palin being motherly

Well, YouTube had a bunch of video clips of Piper Palin "spit shining" the baby's hair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wFt-BTi8jI

Palin Power

I hadn't posted anything about her yet, but thought I'd just say that I like her. I watched her convention speech last week on the internet and was impressed. She seems like a genuine person, and maybe it's because she has 5 children that I really like her. One of her lines that sticks with me from her speech was when she was introducing her husband. She said something like, "Two decades and five children later, and he's still my guy." I love that- it says alot about her in that simple statement. And she also said something about how "...sometimes the greatest joys bring challenges." (CHILDREN. How true that is.)

I'm definitely on board with her. I just wish she was the candidate instead of the VP... oh well. Good pick for McCain - he needs the "Palin Power."

One other little side note: During Palin's speech, did anyone see her little daughter smoothing down the baby's hair with her wet hand just like moms do? So cute.

more on the charts...

Some of you were interested in what I used for the charts. I laminated them and then used velcro. They don't seem to mind just putting on and taking off the same things. I cut out the suns and stars AFTER I laminated, and they've held up so far. The laminating was a little pricey - about a $1/ft. A friend later told me I should have gone to the "PDC," where teachers go to get things done for their classes. I'll have to check that out for my next project.

On a different topic, has anyone put up a cable wire curtain rod before? I'm thinking about that for our big kitchen window, but was wondering if anyone has had any experience using the wire.

routine charts

Since Nathan started Pre-K, we've obviously been forced to a set schedule in the morning. It was a little stressful trying to get out the door. I was constantly nagging them to do this and do that and hurry up...

I was thinking about what to do about that, and I remembered that Melissa J. had made a morning chart for her little girl. I decided to try that out and made a morning routine chart and a bedtime chart. Nathan and Jared both have their own charts. It's worked well so far. The boys are excited about putting on their suns or stars and they can see what to do next and what they still need to do. I even got them making their beds in the morning - we hadn't done that before. And Nathan says an individual prayer in the morning, as well as us saying a family prayer.

I was going to use generic pictures, but then thought it would be easier and more fun for the boys if I used pictures of them. They were great posers...

The bedtime routine still isn't perfect- when they're done, they still stall and try to stay up, but at least we get through everything. Then it's just a matter of them actually staying in bed and falling asleep.

sing, sing, sing

I forgot how much I love singing. I was asked to sing in a group for a musical number for stake conference this weekend. There were 4 of us - 2 sopranos and 2 altos. I really enjoyed it. We sang "Savior," by Melanie & Roger Hoffman. I will admit I was a little nervous right before, but when I got up there, I was fine. I guess we did well; we got a lot of compliments on it. And it was fun singing with 3 other young ladies who I admire and respect. All 3 of them are young moms and we go to playgroup and a scripture study class together. And these particular ladies just radiate happiness. I'm glad they asked me to sing with them.

I actually didn't realize quite what I'd gotten into when I said I'd sing. One of the ladies, Jamie, called me early last week, and I thought she asked if I was afraid to sing in large groups. I wasn't hesitant at all to say I wasn't. Who is afraid to sing in a large group? After the first practice, I realized she must have asked if I was afraid to sing in FRONT OF large groups. Maybe it was a good thing I misunderstood...I'm ready to sing again.