In My Perfect World. . .

I would never have to clean the toilet again! Those of you who do not have sons have no idea how lucky you are. And for those of you who only have boys, let me express my sympathies.

Question (and I want responses, please): 

How do you keep your house clean?

I am a lousy housekeeper. I hate cleaning, but I also hate living in a dirty house. I am a pack rat as well, so every horizontal surface in our house is covered with clutter. Shad and I have discovered that hosting events at our house is one of the few things that actually motivates us to clean. Emily had two friends over to play tonight and Shad and I spent about 4 hours cleaning before the girls arrived. We're pleased with the improvement, but know that the mess will be back within 24 hours.  So, again I ask - how do you keep your house clean? Share your tips and secrets with a woman in need!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Last night a storm blew into Albuquerque. My kids were so excited when they woke up this morning to snow on the ground. Of course, this is Albuquerque and so it was only 1/2 an inch of snow. (Albuquerque experienced a Blizzard (or two) of the Century last winter - while we were stuck in Houston. We were sad to miss it.)

School was put on a 2-hour delay due to the road conditions and then it was cancelled outright. Peter and Laura spent an hour in the snow in our backyard. Poor Emily was in bed with a cold, so she missed out on the fun.

Grateful Sunday

I'm going to steal an idea from someone else's blog. Sunday will now be my day to post a list of things for which I am grateful.

I had some trivial things to list, but I just found out that President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away this evening.   

And so I must express my gratitude for this man. I have been in several meetings where President Hinckley spoke, at BYU, at the dedications of the St. Louis and Albuquerque temples, at a regional conference, and at a stake conference. Shad actually worked security for both the regional and stake conference. At BYU I worked as an usher at the Marriott Center and was able to observe Pres. Hinckley up close and personal on several occasions. 

• I will always remember how tenderly he treated his wife. I hope to have that kind of loving relationship with my husband in my 80's!  I am grateful to know that families are forever and to know that right now Pres. Hinckley is with his beloved wife again. I bet he is so happy!
  
• I am grateful for the temples that now dot the Earth (including one right here in Albuquerque) because of Pres. Hinckley's inspired vision. 
• I am grateful for his optimism and his counsel to "enjoy the journey." 
• I am so thankful for modern prophets and I know that our new prophet will be called of God. I am thankful that God loves the people on Earth today as much as he loved the Israelites and that He speaks to us through a living prophet.
• I am grateful that I will be able to pray and receive my own confirmation from the Holy Ghost that Pres. Monson is Heavenly Father's choice to lead and guide His Church upon the Earth.

-Windy

The Best of Intentions

I truly hope that our intentions do count for something, as my results don't always turn out so well. Here are two examples:

First off, I made 2 bundt cakes for a baby shower I'm going to tomorrow. One of them sunk in the middle - now there's a moat running through the cake. I'm sure it will taste wonderful, but I had hoped it would look great too.

Secondly, a neighbor called me to ask for help. His wife had just taken their 2 month-old baby to the hospital with RSV. He was working on a film crew shooting a movie downtown and couldn't get away to pick up his 2 year-old son Rowen from daycare. So he asked me to get his son and let their dogs out. He told me the patio door was open and that's how I could get in to let the dogs out and to get diapers and stuff for his son. I had the 2 bundt cakes baking so I told him it would be an hour or so before I could pick up Rowen. No problem. While the cakes baked I ran next door and let the dogs out. I figured I'd leave the dogs outside for a while as they had been in their kennel all day. I went out through the front door and went to pick up Rowen. When I got home with Rowen, I ran next door to let the dogs back into the house. Unfortunately I had locked the patio door after I left the dogs in the backyard and ran into the house to get Rowen's stuff. So I was locked out, the dogs were locked out, and it was cold, cold, cold! I had to call my neighbor to see if he had a spare key hidden anywhere. He didn't - so I went down to where he was working to get his garage door opener. I meant well, but I have the feeling that my help might have caused more stress than it relieved.

Who Knew?

Apparently my husband was ahead of the times. He set up our blog 2 years ago! After having spent too many hours looking at other people's blogs, I told Shad I wanted to have my own blog. He informed me that we already had one - who knew?! I'm hoping this blog will inspire me to take more pictures of my family (or to make Shad take more - he's the photographer in the family) and to find more "tender mercies" in my life.

I found a quote from Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley that I'm going to take as my motto this year:

Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.

I'm really good at enduring. I want to learn how to enjoy!

And speaking of enjoyment, here's my trio enjoying a moment of hilarity!