Of all the jobs for me to choose...

Of all the jobs I COULD have chosen, I chose to be a mother.
I made that choice when I was young. :)
As kids we listened to a wonderful cassette tape (yep, back in the day before CDs) called "I'm a Mormon". On this tape was a song I sang and sang and sang.
Here are the lyrics:

When I grow up, I want to be a mother and have a family:
one little, two little, three little babies of my own.
Of all the jobs for me, I’ll choose no other.
I’ll have a family. four little, five little, six little blessings of my own.
And I will love them all day long
and give them cookies and milk and yellow balloons,
And cuddle them when things go wrong,
and read them stories and sing them pretty tunes.
(Janeen Brady, “I Want to Be a Mother,” in Beloved Songs [1987], 10–13)

It is a lovely song and I want my kids to hear it.
I want my daughter to want to be a mother.
I want my boys to marry girls who want to be mothers.
Being a mom limits any career choice, but it is the most rewarding career I can think of.

Is being a mom easy?
ha - not on your life!

In fact, today I shed many a tear.
President Monson said (talking to young men), "Men, take care not to make women weep, for God counts their tears." I like to think that our tears are counted whether we cry because of a young man (or old man) or because we are frazzled by our children. Elder Wirthlin also said, "the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."

After Greg got home (thankfully he came home early!) I went into the bathroom, turned on the bathroom fan, sat down and cried again. I thought of the quote by Elder George Q. Cannon (1827–1901) found in the February 2009 Ensign:

“The Saints should always remember that God sees not as man sees; that he does not willingly afflict his children, and that if he requires them to endure present privation and trial, it is that they may escape greater tribulations which would otherwise inevitably overtake them. If He deprives them of any present blessing, it is that he may bestow upon them greater and more glorious ones by-and-by."

So I was trying to figure out what greater tribulation I was "escaping" by going through my day today. I was really praying to know how to handle this trial. I was tying to live "Come What May and Love It", but I was tired and I wanted to be done. I felt as though I was literally running in circles to chase Liv and the boys and I thought of Moses who really did run in circles . . . for 40 years! Oh, man - I could NOT do this for 40 years. Thankfully, I don't think I will have to. :)

I was waiting to be "fortified in my distress."

I am not sure if this is exactly what my trial is for, but the I had the thought . . . I am keeping my boys home with me for now to prevent some rough teenage years.

That is a trial I should be glad to experience. lol.

My night didn't suddenly improve. I was exhausted and, in fact, I was ready to cancel Family Home Evening.

That is, until I thought that FHE is a small sacrifice to help build my eternal family.

It is a small sacrifice to show my children how much I really do love them.

It is a small sacrifice to strengthen our family unit.

So . . . we had FHE - and it turned out NOT to be a sacrifice after all. :)

We made a General Conference Day Menu!

We plan to make this a holiday-like celebration.

We voted, and we're having:

Rotisserie Chicken

Rolls

Rice

Veggies

Milkshakes

Brownies

(anyone wanna come over?) :)

Calvin also suggested a snack buffet for time between conference: Ginger snaps, sugar cookies and brownies.

During conference we will play a little game that I found in March's Ensign:

The Sorensens set out a bowl of small treats for each session. Next to the bowl, they place objects that represent key words for that session. Each time the children hear one of those words spoken from the pulpit, they can help themselves to one treat. Sister Sorensen notes: “It’s surprising to see how much young children can and do listen. Their enthusiasm is priceless as you hear them say, ‘Mommy, he said temples!’”

We also played a super fun game called DON'T EAT PETE (Thanks a ton, KB)!

We had such a good time!

I will go to bed sleepy but satisfied that our day ended on a very positive note.

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You can get a free DVD Called "Family First" here. It explains how setting one evening a week aside for family activities can strengthen family relationships.