My Laugh For The Day....

On Tuesday mornings I do the carpool thing and pick up a group of Seminary kids and deliver them to the high school. Jacob rides in our car and is usually pretty amusing with his antics and sense of humor. (He's much like his father!) This morning just before exiting the car he says, "Mom, I made my will in case something happens to me." I said, "Oh yeah? Well, be sure I get a copy of it before you die so I will know what do to with your things." He said, "Okay," and then handed me a paper. This is what it said:

My Will
I guess I'm dead. I hope it didn't hurt. If it did....ow. First of all, I would like to donate the left side of my body to science. I would like my alarm clock to go to my brother, Tim.

That is as far as he got and said he would finish it later. It just made me laugh...it's so Jacob. :)

I Love This Quote....

"During a perilous period of war, an exchange of letters occurred between Moroni, the captain of the Nephite armies, and Pahoran, the chief judge and governor of the land. Moroni, whose army was suffering because of inadequate support from the government, wrote to Pahoran 'by the way of condemnation' (Alma 60:2) and harshly accused him of thoughtlessness, slothfulness, and neglect. Pahoran might easily have resented Moroni and his message, but he chose not to take offense. Pahoran responded compassionately and described a rebellion against the government about which Moroni was not aware. And then he responded, 'Behold, I say unto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul. . . . And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart' (Alma 61:2, 9). "One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be offended--and to say with Pahoran, 'it mattereth not.' "



(David A. Bednar, "And Nothing Shall Offend Them," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 91)

Family Home Evening Envy....

Okay, I'll admit it....I have Family Home Evening envy. I am so jealous of the glossy, colored photos I see in the Ensign of families gathered around for family home evening -- perfect posture, nicely dressed, sitting at the feet of their parents with scriptures opened in their laps as they gaze adoringly at their smiling parents. That is my dream.

Our FHE is nothing even remotely close. Our kids gather for FHE only after begging them repeatedly and when they do finally gather they fidget, poke, throw pillows and cover their heads with blankets as they lay down, spread eagle on the floor all the while claiming they ARE listening! When asked to read a scripture they read it as though they have a mouth full of marbles trying desperately not to move their jaws as if they are training to be a ventriloquist.

Tonight we had a lesson on the importance of listening to prophets since General Conference is coming next weekend. Once the blankets and pillows were pried away and they were forced to sit up we gave our lesson to the murmuring crowd.... okay, there's only 3 of them as the years have whittled away the number of children at home, but I swear at any given FHE we might as well have 6 again! The kids are either getting tougher or we're getting older -- probably the latter is closer to the truth.

After the a rough patch in the lesson we got back on track and taught the lesson. Tim had planned to be Samuel the Lamanite calling us, the Nephites, to repentance upon the "wall" (line of tall stools to stand on). Just as he was going to assume his roll I saw a light bulb go off and he took Jacob across the room telling him the plan so he, Jacob, could be Samuel. Ahhh, a teaching moment for the rebellious boy. Yes, he was the disruption for FHE as he is almost every week. So Jacob became Samuel the Lamanite standing on the wall calling us to repentance as we mocked him and threw "stones" -- big marshmallows at him! What had been a rough start turned out well in the end with everyone happy with each other again. As we wrapped up our time together and got ready for prayer our cat, Mystic, jumped up on the back of the couch and layed down so nicely. She just looked like the perfect target to pellet with the marshmallows we had gathered up from trying to stone Samuel. Tim tried crowd control by saying, "Let's have prayer first, then we can stone the cat." With that comment we all started laughing and of course, then we couldn't pray. So, we stoned the cat first then prayed! :)

So I admit that each week the perfect families portrayed in the Ensign make me jealous even though I know they aren't real. One day I want Ensign magazine to come to photograph MY real life family during FHE -- a kid spread eagle on the floor under a blanket, another hanging off the arm of the couch, still another starring off into space. THAT is our reality of FHE. But, all that aside I hope that one day the kids look back on Mondays as time we always did family home evening. I am sure that they won't remember a specific lesson we taught but just maybe they will remember the the time we pelleted Jacob and the cat with "stones" and smile.

A Little About My Little Life......

My little life...
I have been married to Tim for 23 years now and living happily ever after since. In that 23 year time span we have moved 5 times, had 6 kids, 8 cats, 2 goldfish, a few dogs, 3 lizards, and 2 hamsters. Currently we have 3 kids and two cats at home.

Tim works for a medical diagnostic company and it is that job that origianlly brought us here to Kentcuky 13 years ago. Kentucky is home to us now.

I am an instructional assistant at the elementary school when our youngest daughter attends. This is my third year there after spending 20 years as a stay at home mom. I do find it's a very "family friendly" job since I am on the same schedule as my kids are so when they are off school, I am off too. It's worked out really well for us. I can't see me doing this job long eough to retire from it but for now it works. This year I am only working 4 1/2 hours a day so it's been better for me. I have more time to be able to take care of the needs of my home and family.

Our oldest son, Tim (a.k.a Tim the Younger, as in Alma the Younger) just got married in August and has begun his new life with his beautiful wife, Lisa, from Ottawa, Canada. Tim served his mission in the Canada Montreal French speaking mission where he met Lisa's family. Lisa was on a mission in Japan at the time so he wrote to her and they began corresponding periodically over the next 10 months or so. They never met in person but come October 2008 when Tim returned home from his mission we took a family trip back east to New York (where I am from) and then up into Canada to see Tim's mission area. It was on that trip that Tim met Lisa in person for the first time and we met our future daughter-in-law and the rest is history. :)

Andrew is next in line and at 21 he is living nearby and working and trying to sort out his life. He's a good kid with a cloudy vision of himself. He's not yet realized how much potential he really has. One day he will have his eyes opened to be able to see how much he is loved by his Father in Heaven and by us. Till then we love him and pray for him and see him as often as his time permits.

Jordan is 18 and graduated from high school in June. He is attending the University of Kentucky majoring in boiolgy. He is toying with the medical field but isn't settled on what aspect of medical he wants. So he is enjoying college life, beginning to realize just how expensive it is to live in the dorm and liking being "on his own". Don't tell him I told you but I expect that by next semester he will be living at home and commuting to college because he will realize just how much money he can save! He's only about 15 miles away so it's feasible!

Then there is Jacob. He's 14 just started high school and is a computer wizard! He has truly amazing computer skills! I am sure he will go into computer work when he's grown up -- he knows too much NOT to! He has a wide range of interests and dabbles in everything from magic tricks to computer hacking -- he's a boy of many talents! :)

After those 4 boys came our two girls....
First there is Abigail who is 11 and is amazingly and suddenly looking so much more grown up. She is in her first year of middle school and never have any of our kids been as excited about middle school as she was. (Maybe it's a girl thing?) She loves dogs and horses , neither of which we own, much to her dismay. She begs for a dog nearly every day!

Then there is Annah who will be 9 next month. She used to be a shy little girl but is coming out of her shell more and more. I am thinking we are sooo in trouble! :) Life with girls is so different than with boys -- it's a whole new ball game.....uhhh, I mean tea party!

My little life continues on......

Who Knew?

Wow...me blogging....who knew?

At the encouraging of my good friend of many years, Patty, I decided to give this a try!
Coming up with a name proved to be most difficult. It occurred to me that I lead a very boring life when I can't even come up with a catchy name for my blog. My first thought for a name was "I Got Nothin' " but wouldn't you know it, it was taken. Apparently others have nothin' too....how comforting....I think. Then I tried to fill in my interests, favorite movies, favorite music, and whatever else. Again I struggled to even remember what I thought were my interests or come up with a movie title. I concluded that I live a little life....thus the name Loretta's Little Life. :) Maybe this blog will inspire me to make my life bigger than it feels right now....what do you think?