Thursday, January 31, 2008

Going to the dentist is painful!

Not in the way you may think, though. Sure, there is nothing fun about having someone pick and inspect your mouth, spray water into your gums at a sonic speed to minimalize the the scraping and boring holes to China with the least amount of anesthestic they can get away with; but this isn't what I find the most painful. The part I hate the most is when your dentist calls you in to fill you in on your child's mouth.

I dread this part the most because it is one more place to make you feel like bad mom because you haven't done EVERYTHING perfectly. My children are pretty dilligent about brushing their teeth and when I feel I need to help they pretty much let me. This is the first time any of them have had a cavity; and the two that do, have them due to malformations not poor hygeine. So it seems like the visit should be breezy.... . Well, no. This is the part with all the advice that when put all together we should be spending about an hour a day as a family devoting our time to dental hygiene.

'Make sure your children always have chapstick on to prevent chapped lips, this is a main area for contracting a cold.' { who knew that chapped lips were grounds for negligence}

' Floss your children's teeth a few times a week on any teeth that touch, the other ones don't need it.' {I guess I better invest in a dental chair and hygeinist degree}


' Stop letting her suck her thumb.' { like I enjoy my 3yr old sucking her thumb and playing with my hair all day - I get so much done.}

' She has a little sore underneath her tongue. She says it is from trying to touch her chin with her tongue. I thought you should be aware and she probably shouldn't do that anymore.' {there so many reasons why this is just, well ?????}

' No candy, no soda, no chips, no juice, no fruitsnacks, no white bread, if they need to drink something water or crystal light.' {Crystal Light? and remember my kids have good clean teeth, we do indulge in these things some times, but never?}

' Brush your teeth with a small amount of toothpaste, with your brush at a 45 degree angle for 2 minutes in a circular motion. Spit, don't swallow, the toothpaste and don't rinse with water.''

How have we survived the ages with out modern dentisry? Will my children live to a ripe old age because I failed to apply enough chapstick? Will I live to see the day when a cavity can send you to jail for child abuse?

So why do I keep going back every six months? Because I know that dental care is beneficial. Why do I endure the motherly torture? Because I love my kids and want them to have a healthy mouth. Why do I keep going back to this dentist? Because he is a very nice man who my kids like and trust and I admire him for posting The Family: A Proclamation to the World in his waiting room. So really, I am either a glutton for punishment or I have a high tolerance for pain :)

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Our fun get-away..

Finally, after about a week of getting back to normal I have a chance put up some pictures. While it is always nice to be at home, we didn't want to go home back to the cold and snow from the sunny 60F beautiful weather! The wedding was lovely and a happy time being with family. My parents rented a house so that we could all be together, have a place to hang out and let the kids play.

The hot tub was an added bonus we all enjoyed:

Amellia, Riley, my nephew Parker, Olivia and Claire
The happy couple, Matt and Wendi Murray were sealed in the Mesa Temple on January 19th.


David and Rebekah Murray

Our family

Dad and Mom


Lorna and Daphne Christopherson.


Baden and Emmaleigh Neilson and their boys, Wyatt, Parker and Troy.

On our way home we made a quick stop at the Hoover Dam. I've always wanted to drive over the Dam. It is interesting to see it in real life, not quite what I expected. We didn't get out and tour it because well, the thought of a side walk that looks over a huge dam and my {overly excited and curious} children sent me into a panic. It ended up being really busy that day as well. Speaking of panic, check out the bridge they are building to divert traffic from being on the dam! That's one I will have to close my eyes for next time I head down that way!
You can see the dam in the bottom of this picture to get perspective on the height.
This is where it will connect on the other side.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Praise to the Man!


We will miss our beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. We adored him and all that he stood for. We revered the man that he was, he is one of our heroes and will be blessed by the wonderful legacies he left us as a church and a people of God. My heart breaks that we will not see him next conference but rejoices in the reunions he finds himself in beyond the veil. Truly, praise to the man!

Monday, January 14, 2008

We are off..


To the great state of Arizona! We will be enjoying warm weather while we attend the wedding of my brother Matthew Murray and Wendi Christensen and spending time with my family and friends. We are so excited for this little mini vacation and the addition of a new family member. My family is spread out all over the Western US and we look forward to opportunities to be together. A few of us won't be there, though. Stephen, Deedra and Tristan aren't able to make it because of their work schedules and Lorna's husband, Brian is currently serving in Iraq. They will all be missed. Catch up with you all when we trudgingly come back to the cold!

Monday, January 7, 2008

Still Standing

Friday night we survived a storm that had some fierce winds {gusts to 100mph}. The power went out around 7:30 pm so we spent the night listening to our house being torn apart and praying the roof wouldn't fly off. It was unnerving listening to the siding rip off and hear every staple pull out of the wood. It snowed after the wind so we haven't even assessed the damage on the roof other than around 9 pm one side of our house was littered with shingles and the wind only got worse and continued on past 2 am when I finally fell asleep. Around 7am I woke up because it was so quiet and looked outside to see a neighborhhod that looked like a war zone. Fences down, Trampolines tossed and mangled etc and then of course some houses untouched. Mother Nature is so unpredictable.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Grandma


On Sunday, December 30th, it was the one year anniversary of my Grandmother,
Wanda Ruth Logsdon Murray, passing away after a long battle with cancer. The year has gone by quickly and I have often thought and wondered about her. I just wanted to share a few memories and things that will always remind me of her.
Orange Bubbalicious Gum
birds
a Southern drawl
seeing her strategically crouched over her heater to eat a bowl of ice cream
watching her make cheesecake at 1 am
listening to her sing 'The B-I-B-L-E' and 'Jesus Loves Me' to us
trips to Tennessee especially when we went to Gatlinburg and The Big Rock Candy Mountain
all the dresses she loved to sew for us
hearing her yell, with exasperation in her voice, "Y'all go out yonder and play!" when her grandchildren were causing too much trouble
her smile
her love of Jesus Christ
pleasure she got from singing in her church choir
the time when I was in college and she called to warn me about GHB
watching her play with babies
sad that I couldn't call her in her last few months because she couldn't talk well enough....
the list can go on and on. I love and miss her and find comfort that I will see her again.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Happy New Year!

I wanted to share this email I received on a yahoogroup that I belong to called TJEDMuse. It is devoted to families around the country who shape their lives and particularly the education of themselves and their children in a leadership/mentoring style model commonly called a Thomas Jefferson Education(TJed). It is commonly called this because of a book called A Thomas Jefferson Education written by Dr. Oliver DeMille who has popularized this age old method of learning particularly with home-schoolers {although it's philosophies are useful to anyone and everyone} . If you are curious about TJed you can find information at http://www.tjed.org/

This email was written by the groups moderator.
" Hi All,
As the year comes to a close many of us find ourselves balancing gift buying with making sure to focus on the more important messages of the holidays. Then the next thing we know the New Year rolls around with all its temptation to make resolutions. But before we know where we are going we need to know where we have come from and where we are now. So before we vault into 2008 let's review 2007. What gifts did you give to the world?
What did you accomplish this year?
What value did you add to the world that comes easily for you? (Yes, this is the opportunity to acknowledge your talent.)
What did you contribute that was really difficult to do?
We have all done something to improve the world this year but often it is hard to recognize and appreciate what we do. So before you start thinking too grand and find yourself saying, "nothing I did was worthwhile" look to the little things.
In his lectures, Dr. DeMille has often given a list of some of the major missions in the world. Which of them did you work within?
Feed the hungry
Clothe the naked
Heal the sick
Liberate the captive
Educate the ignorant
Guide the lost
Comfort the lonely
Heal the family
Create Beauty
Or is there some other primary purpose to your life?
Did you help a child learn to read this year? Did you bring a pot of soup to a sick friend? Put your arms around a sad or lonely relative? Make a beautiful quilt? Run for public office? Write a letter to a government representative? Start a business? Say "no" to an injustice? Make a home for a lost pet?
We all have contributed something this year to make the world a better place to live in. How did you help? Don't be afraid to share the little things. We all know the pebble in the pond analogy. And if you did do something grand and amazing by all means, please share.


Shawn Crane "

I must say that I am happy that I just survived the last year, it was a hard one for me. Along the way I was able to be there for those in need around me, offer love and service, hopefully inspired my children to a few of the wonderful things the world has to offer, and as I make my master inspire plan for the year ( I don't call it resolutions any more) I look forward to all that I can hope for.
I hope your new year is full of all the wonderful things you do to make our world a better place, without even having to RESOLVE to do it.