And In This Corner...

All I hear ALL day long from my two oldest kids is,

"Don't touch me!"
"Don't look at me."
"Stop touching me."
"Mom, he's standing in my bedroom."
"Mom, she's not cleaning up."

And a million more just as annoying. They fight [almost] all day, every day. At least they don't fight in the physical way. My son is the least likely person to ever hurt a fly. Literally. It would break his heart. If he so much as steps on my toe accidentally, he freezes in fear that he's deeply wounded me. It's cute. Usually.

And my daughter...well...she might hurt her brother on purpose, but it's happened maybe 2 or 3 times ever. But they are sooooo completely different in personality that they just do not get along. Lately, I've almost given up on them trying to get along, and just tell them to spend their time in separate rooms. Like, all the time. Of course, that is impossible, but when they do- it works.

However, there have been a few times in their lives that they just stick together. They would deny ever loving each other, but I know better. As they have gotten older, they come up with ideas (on their own) to surprise me or their dad. They'll work great together for hours. Or, when we go someplace new or unfamiliar, they always hold hands and walk together, giving each other that little boost of confidence. Why can't those moments pop up more often?

But as for today, I am sticking them in separate corners of the house!

Support The Priesthood

When I was at Women's Conference, I saw this checklist about how to support the priesthood. I didn't get this in a class, so I didn't hear any specifics about it, but overall I thought it was really good. I think as women, we could ALL benefit from doing these things:

• Be happy when he goes out the door


• Smile when he comes home


• Ask for a blessing


• Concentrate on his good points


• Stand up and push


• Pray for him


• Have a listening ear


• Treat him as you want him to become


• Honor blessings


• Support bishop in callings


• Attend meetings


• Be honest in your praise


• Make chocolate chip cookies :)


• Be a counselor, when asked


• Encourage patriarchal blessings


• Refrain from criticizing priesthood leaders


• Honor our husbands as they follow the Savior

There are several on this list that jumped out at me. One of them was making chocolate chip cookies. As you know, I make plenty of cake, brownies, etc. But I never make cookies, because I really don't like them. My husband and kids loves them though, so maybe I should keep some on hand. What things can you do better?

If You Want Something To Last, You Treat It Differently

That was the title of one of the classes I went to. I loved that title, especially because it was referring to marriage.

The couple giving the class started out talking about men and women's brains. The husband talked about how men's brains have boxes or compartments in them. Each box is something like "work" or "children" or "golf" etc. And men can only open one box at a time. SO TRUE. So when talking to a man, you need to only open one box at a time, and if you want to open another box, make sure you close the first one and put it away.

Women's brains, however, have wires connecting each box and the wires are always sending signals to the other boxes at the same time. And they are fueled by emotion. Again, SO TRUE.

The couple gave a great analogy that I think every married couple should remember. They said that husbands and wives are each one pillar, and those two pillars need a foundation. The foundation is charity. Charity is SO important in marriage. Moroni 7:45-48

Some of you may have seen this picture before. It's called "The Hidden Tiger"

And surprisingly, you are supposed to find a hidden tiger in the picture. Can you see it? Take a minute and look before I tell you where it is.

Can you read the words spelled out on the tiger's stripes? "The Hidden Tiger"

The point of this was to show that it takes work to see what others see. Everyone has a different perspective, and in a marriage especially, you should try extra hard to see what your spouse sees. Just because you don't see it at first, does not mean it's not there.

There was SO much more in this class that I learned, but I don't want to make this longer than it needs to be. So I'll just leave you with this thought. I loved it and think that if everyone applies it to their marriage, it can only get better.

Show in every action that your spouse has highest priority in your life!