A Mormon on Drugs

My sister sent this to me - we thought it was hilarious so thought I'd share:

Mormon on Drugs
short version above (10 min) long version below (20 minutes) - he talks some politics in that one! Funny!
Long Version

The operating room part is hard to hear, but when he gets in a recovery room (at 2:47) it's better. SO FUNNY! Worth the 10 mins. There's lots of good parts, here are two of them...

"You just knew what Mom? You're always saying you know EVERYTHING!!!"

"I don't want to go to BYU anymore. Those Mormons... some are so nice, but some are soooo ...
rude."

Parenting Strategies - Fights

What do you do when the kids are fighting?

Corey in the Nacho Libre mask for some friendly family wrestling in March 2010

Well, the fights we have to deal with the most often are between the boys. There are three strategies that we use most often to help them stop fighting.

#1 - Pull out the video camera - Just start recording them explaining their grievances. For my kids this works like a charm everytime. Very effective, cause they immediately see how ridiculous the whole situation is and they also see it from the outside (aka they think of how the "themselves" in the future will be rolling their eyes and laughing when they see the video). Try it!

#2 - Corey's strategy: Radio Programs on Relationships - Corey usually doesn't want to listen to who did what and why I'm right and he's wrong yada yada. He's usually busy working in his office and is often listening to talk radio online as he works, so he makes them sit down, shut up, and listen with him to Dennis Prager and "The Male/Female Hour" which is pretty funny cause it's usually about relationships and putting aside your petty grievances - hopefully they learn something. He makes them sit for a long time or until I come rescue them after a half hour.

#3 - Tiff's Strategy: Drop and give me 50 on your knuckles! I've just tried this once with the kids, but I've done it several times on myself, and it works great - Joe, Eth, and Hyrum had been in a bedtime fight, they were sitting in Corey's office listening, it was getting late and they had school in the morning, so I said they were free to go back to bed if they did 20 high knee get ups with me (I had already done 40 and was finishing up my exercise for the night when I decided to rescue them from the Male Female hour) They were all laughing as they did it cause it was hard, so it worked cause they had to change their focus from their argument to getting their knees up. They were pretty sloppy in their form and thus all beat me for time, but it was fun. When I feel myself getting stressed and like I need to vent, it helps if I do some quick exercise routine (like 500 mountain climbers or 200 pushups w/plank jacks (alt every 10 reps = 100 each) - always makes me feel 100% better.

:) solving fighting between children sibling rivalry arguments kids fight how to stop ways to stop sibling fighting sibling struggles

Banned from the Bathroom

... and here is why.

So help me Lily, I shall try my best to keep my bathroom locked at all times. She's taking the advanced toddler destroyer class and as homework now skips the drawn out "unrolling" part of ruining tp, much more time efficient to just throw the whole thing in. Although, as you can see from the pic above, there were three rolls of tp that were spared, so I did count my blessings as I cursed while reaching my hand into the toilet to fetch these loaded rolls out. But it did teach me that White Cloud tp really is as advertised - they almost had that whole toilet bowl of water absorbed - impressive!

BRIAN REGAN!!

"Bring me the head of a pig!"


Corey and little Abi at Brian Regan's show at Thanksgiving Point in August 2008

Ok, I'm so excited for Saturday!!! Just read these two articles (1 and 2) and I'm just so stinkin' excited! Our tickets were for next Thursday but now I get to go earlier! Corey has to go to Chile on our original date, and I knew that was a possibility he was going to have to leave for several weeks before he booked his flight so I've been on the hunt for tickets for his first week here - 10 SHOWS!!! Can you believe it? Next time he comes around I'm sure it will be 20 since word of mouth I'm sure will double his fan population. It was hard finding tickets, and even with 10 shows they are all sold out so I've been watching the classifieds - finally found some for this Saturday and picked them up yesterday and sold our tickets for the same overpriced price, sweet! This will be our third time going to see him, so excited! We don't do music concerts or go to the movies (well, sometimes we go to the dollar, but Redbox is just easier), so this is our one splurge and it will be worth it for us to be able to go together - last time just 5 minutes into the routine and Corey was laughing so hard he was crying (body crumbling and hearing, so funny!) and I just loved it and knew we'd have to come next time he's touring, Brian Regan is HILARIOUS and I also love his his jokes about family, being a parent, and getting older, totally hits the spot - it's hilarious.

My kids love him too - I remember growing up and listening to 8-tracks and records of Bill Cosby and it was so fun and funny, so glad that my kids have a comedian that they will grow up with too, so kids love it, Corey and I love it, just tons of fun for the whole family, yay!!

1 a.m. Ramblings

Corey's in St. George for a few days, the kids are in bed, I just did 20 minutes of gymboss running and exercising outside - that was me out in the dark doing plank jacks in case any of you were in the cars that drove by. So, since I exercised now I'm here at the computer winding down, my brother commented on my facebook share of the video of Colum I posted yesterday, so of course I watched it again and started to cry again. So sad!!! Driving home from a Christmas party, and in an instant everything changes...


Who knows what trials we all will face in life? I re-read a few chapters in the above book today, (I have a slight fascination with NDE books... and remember, Corey's going to Chile again, so of course I'm thinking of him dying and me becoming a widow again...) so I've been thinking of losing a child or Corey to death, I know in such a trial the Spirit of God would be there to sustain me, but wow, definitely not a trial I'd pick off of the shelf if I had a choice. In that book above, here's what the back cover says:

Chris Monsen's husband was drowning in the freezing waters of Yuba Lake. Terrified, she left her children on the shore and braved the icy waters in an effort to save him. Then a voice sounded in her mind: "Chris, go back!" She turned and saw her young children struggling towards her, neck-deep in the deadly waters. Already numb with cold, she faced a dire decision: try to save her husband or turn back to save her children. Crying out in despair (now I'm tearing up again) she left her dying husband, all the while praying for a miracle-but it was not not be. Moments later Chris watched in disbelief as her husband sank out of sight.

Doesn't that just sound like an uplifting read? Not really huh, but you know most stories need to have a tragedy and trials to make them wonderful. Thus, this is a wonderful book, I give it two thumbs up.

So, like Valley Forge and "Life is Beautiful" (The Book of Mormon is also mostly about wars and family feuds) here's one more depressing story to give us perspective, here's a talk called "Be of Good Cheer" that shares this story (I remember totally crying through this one too... why do they teach us to be cheerful by depressing us? (...atleast temporary depression) I guess to make us grateful for the blessings in our lives, right?):

In about March 1946, less than a year after the end of the war, Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, accompanied by Frederick W. Babbel, was assigned a special postwar tour of Europe for the express purpose of meeting with the Saints, assessing their needs, and providing assistance to them. Elder Benson and Brother Babbel later recounted, from a testimony they heard, the experience of a Church member who found herself in an area no longer controlled by the government under which she had resided.

She and her husband had lived an idyllic life in East Prussia. Then had come the second great world war within their lifetimes. Her beloved young husband was killed during the final days of the frightful battles in their homeland, leaving her alone to care for their four children.

The occupying forces determined that the Germans in East Prussia must go to Western Germany to seek a new home. The woman was German, and so it was necessary for her to go. The journey was over a thousand miles (1,600 km), and she had no way to accomplish it but on foot. She was allowed to take only such bare necessities as she could load into her small wooden-wheeled wagon. Besides her children and these meager possessions, she took with her a strong faith in God and in the gospel as revealed to the latter-day prophet Joseph Smith.

She and the children began the journey in late summer. Having neither food nor money among her few possessions, she was forced to gather a daily subsistence from the fields and forests along the way. She was constantly faced with dangers from panic-stricken refugees and plundering troops.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks to months, the temperatures dropped below freezing. Each day, she stumbled over the frozen ground, her smallest child—a baby—in her arms. Her three other children struggled along behind her, with the oldest—seven years old—pulling the tiny wooden wagon containing their belongings. Ragged and torn burlap was wrapped around their feet, providing the only protection for them, since their shoes had long since disintegrated. Their thin, tattered jackets covered their thin, tattered clothing, providing their only protection against the cold.

Soon the snows came, and the days and nights became a nightmare. In the evenings she and the children would try to find some kind of shelter—a barn or a shed—and would huddle together for warmth, with a few thin blankets from the wagon on top of them.

She constantly struggled to force from her mind overwhelming fears that they would perish before reaching their destination.

And then one morning the unthinkable happened. As she awakened, she felt a chill in her heart. The tiny form of her three-year-old daughter was cold and still, and she realized that death had claimed the child. Though overwhelmed with grief, she knew that she must take the other children and travel on. First, however, she used the only implement she had—a tablespoon—to dig a grave in the frozen ground for her tiny, precious child.

Death, however, was to be her companion again and again on the journey. Her seven-year-old son died, either from starvation or from freezing or both. Again her only shovel was the tablespoon, and again she dug hour after hour to lay his mortal remains gently into the earth. Next, her five-year-old son died, and again she used her tablespoon as a shovel.

Her despair was all consuming. She had only her tiny baby daughter left, and the poor thing was failing. Finally, as she was reaching the end of her journey, the baby died in her arms. The spoon was gone now, so hour after hour she dug a grave in the frozen earth with her bare fingers. Her grief became unbearable. How could she possibly be kneeling in the snow at the graveside of her last child? She had lost her husband and all her children. She had given up her earthly goods, her home, and even her homeland.

In this moment of overwhelming sorrow and complete bewilderment, she felt her heart would literally break. In despair she contemplated how she might end her own life, as so many of her fellow countrymen were doing. How easy it would be to jump off a nearby bridge, she thought, or to throw herself in front of an oncoming train.

And then, as these thoughts assailed her, something within her said, “Get down on your knees and pray.” She ignored the prompting until she could resist it no longer. She knelt and prayed more fervently than she had in her entire life:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I do not know how I can go on. I have nothing left—except my faith in Thee. I feel, Father, amidst the desolation of my soul, an overwhelming gratitude for the atoning sacrifice of Thy Son, Jesus Christ. I cannot express adequately my love for Him. I know that because He suffered and died, I shall live again with my family; that because He broke the chains of death, I shall see my children again and will have the joy of raising them. Though I do not at this moment wish to live, I will do so, that we may be reunited as a family and return—together—to Thee.”

When she finally reached her destination of Karlsruhe, Germany, she was emaciated. Brother Babbel said that her face was a purple-gray, her eyes red and swollen, her joints protruding. She was literally in the advanced stages of starvation. In a Church meeting shortly thereafter, she bore a glorious testimony, stating that of all the ailing people in her saddened land, she was one of the happiest because she knew that God lived, that Jesus is the Christ, and that He died and was resurrected so that we might live again. She testified that she knew if she continued faithful and true to the end, she would be reunited with those she had lost and would be saved in the celestial kingdom of God. ⁸

From the holy scriptures we read, “Behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in [Him], they who have endured the crosses of the world, … they shall inherit the kingdom of God, … and their joy shall be full forever.” ⁹

I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.

I declare that God lives and that He hears and answers our prayers. His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and our Redeemer. Heaven’s blessings await us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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.

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So if you've made it this far, one last thought - I believe President Monson is a prophet of God - a Moses or Peter sent by the Lord to guide us in our day, the latter days, the perilous times before Christ returns to earth. So the world is wicked, lots of bad things happening, lots of work to do, and what is the message of the prophet? It's not hellfire and damnation - it's Be of Good Cheer, be Grateful, Be happy! Of course that happiness only comes from keeping the commandments, but people need to choose it, you can't force it upon them. It's not a doom and gloom work we are doing here, it is the kingdom of God on the earth, we know how the story ends, the good guys win, it's our job to keep out chins up, keep working hard serving and blessing others, that's how we can lift and bless and help others come to Christ. Life is good, "the future is as bright as our faith!!!"

The Pack Family

A friend posted this on facebook ~ I started to cry at :28...


As I saw this little angel boy's face in the video and his little sweet tiny hands holding the flower, oh my heart would just break to bury one of my children. My love and prayers go out to this family. I know their knowledge that families are eternal will give them peace during this great trial ~ Families are forever, our loved ones are not lost to us because of our Savior Jesus Christ who overcame death, and through him we will all be resurrected and live again, I know it is true. May the Lord bless this family!


Also, Joseph Smith Jr, who I revere as a prophet of God, had 11 children (2 adopted) 6 of which died in infancy. When I think of him and Emma burying all those precious babies, oh my heart breaks. I know that Joseph Smith was a good man who loved his children and all children. I think trials like that make the plan of salvation REAL, it's not just a matter of faith cause in those extreme trials like this come to KNOW and learn to live life with the big picture of eternity and forever on their minds every day.

Imagination and the Batmobile

Wes is always in character - I love his imagination.
Here he is as Ben 10, pushing the Omnitrix, and then transforming into ...
XLR8!!!! (I know he still looks like Wes dressed up at Ben 10, but trust me, this is now Wes dressed up as the alien XLR8!)
Here he is as Jock from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Jock is the guy who flies the plane when they get away from all the indians trying to kill them - and Jock has a snake that Indiana hates "Aw, that's just my pet snake Richie - show a little back bone!"
And Wes as Avatar the Last Airbender, doing a little bit of water-bending with his water - aka a little ball of paper that he colored blue. He also had a brown one for earth, white for air, and red/orange for fire. - you can tell he's a serious waterbending student

And you've already seen him riding on the rodeo horse, but I love it so we'll repost this one

And life just got more fun for this little boy, cause we got a car -
...and not just any car, this is a black car that's shiny and looks cool, so that means it's gotta be the Batmobile. I know it's the Batmobile, cause Wes told me.
I call it Corey's Car or Dad's Care, but the kids call it the Batmobile, and there have already been fights over whose turn it is to ride in the Batmobile. "But so-n-so rode in the Batmobile to church! Now it's my turn!!" Lucky kid, Wes was the first one to ride in the Batmobile, maybe that means Corey's Batman? That might mean that Wes is now Robin... time to go create a Robin costume, Wes!

Boys Love Babies

These pictures are from New Year's Eve - Here's a pretty little lady ~


Go grab the girl you love and kiss in the new year!


With a smooch like that, I know 2012 is going to be great.

Assigned Reading

Mel was laughing at the school books that he had to read today:


"Mom! Look at this book! How BORING!!!" she laughs

And Wesley sat at the table resigned to his assignment and dutifully read it. I admit, I'd be pretty bored with school if I had to read books like this. Just doesn't ignite the fire for reading. It's painful for me too.

(Since I know you're dying to know, the shoes were: flip-flops for the beach, sneaker for the park, cleats for soccer, hiking boots for the woods, work boots for work, winter boots for snow, wingtips for dancing, slippers for rest)

I Heart Curry

I love curry. If you have a good curry recipe, do share ~ Here's a recipe I use a lot - it's my own version that is my ol' stand by on "Curry Night" (Abi thinks it's "Corey Night" and that he just always chooses curry cause Corey likes curry)... My recipe goes as follows:


basic curry sauce:
1 T. olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
3 T. curry powder
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. ground cumin
3/4 c. plain yogurt
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
2 T. honey
juice from 1/2 lemon

garnish with cilantro and/or scallions

serve over jasmine rice

Each week the flavor varies just a little bit depending on the brand of coconut milk, the fat content of the yogurt, sometimes I don't add yogurt, etc - there's a lot a flexibility with it, so kinda play with it and see what you like!

But for my usual curry, here's the directions:
heat oil, put diced onions and garlic and saute til brown, then stir in the spices. Next, add the coconut milk, can of tomatoes, and yogurt

then stir in honey, lemon juice, and add salt to taste

Now, you can add the other stuff that you're in the mood for - chicken or shrimp? Or just plain curry tonight? Serve it over rice or vegetables, and there's usually plenty left over that I'm quick to hide and save for myself - it lasts me a few meals :)

For chicken curry this past week, I added 4 slightly-cooked-in-the-microwave-and-then-cut potatoes, and 4 breasts of chicken cut into pieces. Feeling like extra veggies? Add some yellow squash.
Then just let it cook and simmer til it's done and the table is set

Another time I made shrimp curry with no potatoes and served it to myself over green beans

Hope you like it!

C is for Courage

Yesterday Corey booked a flight to Chile. This will be his 4th trip down since we got home from spending 5 months there. This time he's doing a pilot at the Catholic University of Santiago (I think - don't really know that much about what's going on... usually if we do have a chance to talk, he doesn't really want to talk about work...) Corey usually works at home, and I admit I do seem to function better when he doesn't work at home cause the kids knock on his office door and he "can't say no to Lily" and so he gets interrupted and frustrated then I'm frustrated - so it's usually better if he's gone during the work day, but I don't like him being gone for the whole day or for whole weeks. But it'll be okay, I will survive! Easier to stay here and wait while he takes a trip than for us to all pack up and move there together, right? ...Although that is fun to go and experience all the fun with him. He said when he goes to Santiago it doesn't seem as foreign or as far away since we all lived there together.


So Corey is pressing onward with Media Mouth, but this just might be his big break! ...then again, we've both thought that before, so it's probably best to just keep expectations low. We are learning to enjoy the journey and trust that he will arrive at the destination he seeks. Like President Monson said in his ABCs,

"There will be times when you will be frightened and discouraged. You may feel that you are defeated. The odds of obtaining victory may appear overwhelming. At times you may feel like David trying to fight Goliath. But remember—David did win!

"Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

"Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required."

Corey is well beyond his second effort, probably in his 94th effort. (This is where Corey would say "Can we not talk about how long this has taken? It gets me depressed...") This next trip of 2 weeks will probably get him up and over his 100th effort. But Media Mouth is a great idea, and I love Corey's heart, his desires are in the right place. I listened to this talk this morning as I folded laundry, it made me think of him. Good stuff.

Jon M. Huntsman Sr.
"God Did Not Put Us Here To Fail"
Read it at the link above, watch it here

Some of my favorite parts:

“Faith keeps one true in the dark and humble in the spotlight.”
- Alfred C. Lane

“There is no education like adversity.”
- Benjamin Disraeli, a former prime minister of England

“We receive our inspiration from the mountaintops but receive our maturity from the valleys of life." & "Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them."
- Sir Winston Churchill

So go Corey! Go Media Mouth! You'll make it sweetheart, you're doing great! Knock 'em dead!

Queeny with a Binky

Lily didn't use a binky as a baby. I don't know that she'd ever seen one before Sophia came around and started to always want it. I guess it piqued Lily's interest so she's trying it out for herself... The older kids were watching tv with the younger siblings, and when I came in I see Sophia in her swing with her binky gone, not crying though, and Lily helped herself to it and to my bed for a little afternoon nap.


Totally made me laugh!