Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Witch Doctor,

the SkeleCutie,

and Princess Mariah.

Once again, I was in Casper for state volleyball and missed Halloween, so we did pumpkin carving, while wearing costumes for FHE activity last Monday night. The kids loved it, and had a great Halloween with their dad!

Harvest (just in time)

So, I'm SO glad I got this done last week before the SNOW hit! (I'm not happy about the storm, but we DID have a beautiful fall.)

I finally got all my root vegetables dug up. Here's the loot.

(Top to bottom: carrots, yukon gold potatoes, red potatoes, russett potatoes, red onions, white onions, yellow onions)

I'm especially happy about my carrots this year. It's my first SUCCESS with carrots.

We're trying an experiment this year. We're not going to be able to eat all of these vegetables in the next month or so, and our basement isn't a great place to store them, since it gets too warm down there. My mom heard about this somewhere and has always wondered if it would work, so we're giving it a go.

You take an old dead deep freeze,

dig a big hole in the ground,

and then bury it and put your bags of vegetables inside. Right now the buried freezer is covered with snow, but it should melt off in the next couple of days, and then I'll open it up and see how it handled the days of cold. Kind of fun. We hope it works!

Time-Waster

So, I've just wasted an hour or so reading THIS blog. I know a lot of you have read it, but if you haven't, it's a must. Check it out and get a great laugh! (Although I must admit that every once in awhile, I get just a little offended--"Is she making fun of ME?") Hahahaha.

Worth

Sunday morning, Mariah came into my bedroom looking like this--covered in little pink stickers that I had left in a drawer after a yard sale a couple summers ago. They ranged from 25 cents to $3 to Make Offer.

At first, it made me laugh. Then a thought came into my mind: "Maybe you need to teach Mariah about her worth." The more I pondered that thought, the more I realized how important that truly is. As a woman myself, I know the struggles that we as females in this world face with truly understanding our worth. Many different factors made me question my worth throughout my growing-up years: if I was popular or not, whether a certain boy paid attention to me, what my skin looked like, what my body looked like, what my talents were (or weren't), etc. As a mother, I have found peace with many of the issues that used to bother me, but now I find myself questioning whether or not I am measuring up as a wife and mother, and when I feel like I'm not, I begin to question my worth once again.

I LOVE my daughters, and never want them to feel this way. A couple of years ago, I read an article about how the interactions young girls have with others impact their formation of their self-worth. Most people, when they see a little girl, first mention something about how she looks. With only good intentions, they say things like, "Your hair sure is pretty," or "What a cute outfit you have on today!" But what happens is that young girls begin understanding that their appearance is what others appreciate about them, and therefore, that is where their value lies. I think this is extremely dangerous, and so I truly try to compliment my girls on things other than their appearance, and I don't put much work into their appearance on a daily basis. In fact, those who see my girls very often may judge me as a neglectful mother based on how their hair usually looks. But it's not neglect--it's purposeful. They are beautiful--not because their hair is perfect or they have the cutest outfit ever--but because they are beautiful just the way they are.

I do teach them that there are times to look our very best (church, for one), but I also teach them that it is okay to have people see us not looking our best. I also try to model this thinking, by going to the grocery store without makeup on occasion, not ever making negative comments about my body or appearance, and not talking much about how other people look.

I thought things were going pretty well with this and that my girls weren't going to be too concerned about always looking a certain way. But last week I found out that maybe all girls will feel inferior at some point, regardless of the efforts of their mothers. Mylie came home from gymnastics, and when I asked her how it went, she was nearly in tears as she told me that she wanted short hair again. WHAT? We've been working on growing it for almost a year, and she has been set on having long hair by kindergarten next year. She then informed me that AVERY has short hair and she needs short hair so she can be like Avery. Also, she needs a leotard with a ballerina on the front of it, since that's what Avery has. I didn't know what to do for sure, but I wrapped her in a hug and told her that I loved her just the way she is, and that she doesn't need to try to be like anybody else. And then I've worried about it all week.

I'd love to conclude this post with the magic answer, the sure thing, the never-fail tip for making sure that our daughters understand their worth. But I don't have it. In fact, I don't think there is a "magic bullet" for teaching self-worth. I think it actually comes bit by bit, with small doses of love, listening, teaching, being an example of confidence, and by complimenting the things that are truly "worthy" of our compliments. And as I look at my beautiful daughters, I pray that I can do this incredibly important job of helping them shed the "price tags" and understand that their worth is INFINITE.

My Life Lately--By the Numbers

1--Number of good meals I cooked this week. (Totally slacking!)
2--Number of cute girls I get to spend my days with.
2--Number of handsome boys that I miss each day from 7:30 to 6:30.
8--Hours spent outside this week, enjoying the beautiful weather while working in the yard.
26--Hours spent in the gym this week, coaching the sport I love most!
6--More days until Regional Volleyball, and we host it this year!
29--Age I WISH I turned last month.
25--Number of people that I hope will show up to sing in our ward choir in church tomorrow.
91--Days until I set sail on my next cruise!!
254--Number of items on my to-do list between now and then! Wish me luck!

Lunch

For the past six years (since being a mother of young children), most days my lunch is less than exciting. Quite often, it is actually awful. Ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese, and PB&J are the usual menu choices. After contemplating the choices, my decision is usually made NOT by what I would like, but by how much time I have or what the kids want to eat that day. Today, however, I indulged myself by creating (that's how amazing it felt) THIS lunch:

(This picture really doesn't do this meal justice.)

My tomato plants are producing very nicely right now, and I decided to take advantage of that by having a BLT and some homemade salsa with chips! And yes, it was divine! Of course, I made a BLT for Mylie as well, fully knowing that I would have to finish hers, too! (But what a better way to stuff myself than with a bowl of now-cold mac and cheese, right?)

Ranch Road Robbery

One day a few weeks ago, Mylie asked me if she could do a "concession stand" on the side of the road. Our road is just a lane into our ranch, which has four houses on it, and very little traffic other than the family coming and going. I was busy that day and told her to go for it. She decided to sell bread (fresh from the Wonder bag) and water (fresh from our faucet). I was happy about this, since I didn't need to help her at all. Before long, she had made $2 from just three sales--to Grandma and Grandpa, an aunt, and a great uncle. She was so excited about making some money, and when Connor got home from school, they went at it again! This time they sold some fresh garden vegetables that they picked themselves. By the end of the evening, they each had a few dollars. I figured that their customers may have been overpaying a bit, and that fact was confirmed several days later, when I finally read the prices hung on the fence. In Connor's handwriting, the paper read:

1 ceret for 50 (cent sign)

1 pee for 10 (cent sign)

Talk about ROBBERY! (And I got a little giggle about the "pee" part. Made me think of my trip to Mexico, where you actually DO have to pay to take a pee. Haha.)

October 1st Gratitude (the SHORT list)

There are so many things I am grateful for today. Here are just a few . . .

I'm grateful that I was able to make fresh salsa yesterday from my own HOMEGROWN tomatoes and onions. Next year I hope to grow everything I'll need!

I'm grateful that my two cute girls are starting to become great friends! Mariah is old enough to play now and thinks Mylie is awesome! She follows her around and copies her all day long, which Mylie doesn't seem to mind.

I'm grateful that we have had high temperatures near 80 every day this week WITH NO WIND!

I'm grateful that Tony and I were able to go to sealings at the temple this morning.

I'm grateful for the "proud mama" moment I had yesterday as Connor got an award at school for being a great leader.

I'm grateful that my living room window has been open for three weeks straight (day and night!) and my heater has not kicked on once! (So a lot of my gratitude deals with this incredible weather we've had this month! I can't help it . . . I love fall when it's like this!)

I'm grateful that General Conference is this weekend, and I will get to see my entire family (minus Sullivan) on Sunday!

I'm grateful that I am still getting to look at THIS each day (in October?!?)