Robin's Ramblings

Goals for 2011:
1) Early to Bed, early to Rise (this was a goal last year which I failed miserably at) hopefully I will do better this year.
2) Speak kindly of others. Less critical and judgmental and more positive and uplifting.
3) Focus on what matters the most. Less is more. Sitting on the floor is more important than sitting at the computer. Holding and reading to my boys is better than spending hours cooking and cleaning up dinner. Playing cars is better than playing with my camera or kitchen gadgets. Those are good things too, but when I look back on these years, I'm going to remember the times I held my boys close and connected with them. The meals I cooked, my perfectly edited photos, or even the size of jeans I fit into won't seem as important as how they came out and how I relate with them.

Bread. I can now say I'm officially a homemaker. Mike got me a new and amazing Bosch for Christmas-- which I am LOVING! I have had it for a few days now and am wanting to make bread every day. Bread has never worked for me before. I figured I just didn't have the touch. But with fresh yeast and this new machine my bread looks (and tastes) beautiful. It's so exciting to pull out loaves that my family actually eats instead of throwing the entire batch out to the birds.

Nursery. For the past 6 1/2 years of being in a family ward Nursery has been the much dreaded calling! I had the calling the summer between high school and college and referred to it as the longest 5 hours of each Sunday. Well, last week, to my total surprise, I was asked to serve in there and am actually totally excited about it. I think it will be a lot of fun to be with my two boys and their friends, but I'm also looking forward to having more say about what they do and learn during that time. I'm happy to be in there, the kids can sense that, and I'm looking forward to helping out.

James. Is as sweet and tender as ever. He is the model child. He is the kid all the leaders want in their nursery and the boy none of the kids fear. He has this adorable imagination and is very creative. He's a bright kid and is continually amazing me with what he knows. He's enjoying singing along with out more frequently sung songs and he has an impressive memory. He also has a very good sense of direction and is good at finding our car parked in a parking lot. He usually finds it at the same time we do.

Daniel. Has just started saying "No" and does so very clearly and conscientiously. He has the funniest personality! His new thing is to take a toy from someone bigger than him and then squawk and pitch a fit if they try to take it back. Unless the bystander is watching the whole thing it looks like the big kid is being a bully and picking on little innocent Daniel. A few weeks ago at the Children's Discovery Museum in Palm Desert he took on a boy twice his size and tried to take the miniature grocery cart from him. He almost got away with it too! He is tough, opinionated, and persistent.