Christmas Tree Decorating

Our first Christmas we were so poor we were planning on not getting a tree. After sticking with the plan for most of December, I finally melted in a puddle of "I want it" tears (yeah, real mature) and my husband went running for cover to the local grocery store. I think this might have been our first big uh, disagreement. So he brought home a cute table tree and set it up in our apartment with little gold balls and purple lights (the only decorations left at the grocery store on December 20). I don't have a picture of it (we probably didn't have a camera), but we still have the tree. I was touched, and we named it Teeny Weeny after a local Chihuaha we would see on walks. Anyway, here are pictures of us decorating Teeny Weeny (the tree).

Safety in Counsel

This is one of my favorite quotes about following the guidance from prophets and scriptures. The imagery is striking.

Sometimes we will receive counsel that we cannot understand or that seems not to apply to us, even after careful prayer and thought. Don’t discard the counsel, but hold it close. If someone you trusted handed you what appeared to be nothing more than sand with the promise that it contained gold, you might wisely hold it in your hand awhile, shaking it gently. Every time I have done that with counsel from a prophet, after a time the gold flakes have begun to appear, and I have been grateful.

--Henry B. Eyring

The Human Body

This week we'll be learning the basics of the human body. Muscles, blood flow, bones, and I hope to find a book about viruses and bacteria so I can understand why my family's been sick for two weeks!

Recovering Whiner

Do you want your sweetheart to come home to this?


The following letter reminded me of who I once was (a whiny housewife who took no fiscal responsiblity). We don't own a house yet and spent our first 2 years in a 1-bedroom apt. You may ask, why don't we own a home when interest rates are so great and my husband has a great job and we live in an area with low housing prices? Because I personally think the breadwinner's salary should be 30% annually of what the house loan is, before a 20% downpayment. I hate the idea of being housepoor. Or worse, upside down in a house! But before I grew up and got serious about our finances, I didn't understand why I couldn't have a house. I mean, come on, I'm a married woman, I DESERVED it. Enough ranting, here's the letter that inspired me to be a better person.)

Dear Dr. Laura,

I have read a few of your books and I've intended to write after I've read each one. I'm in the middle of "Stop Whining, Start Living"

I had an "aha moment" before I picked up your book, but I see myself so much more clearly. I am 24 years old, married with a 7 month old son. I have an amazing husband and I didn't realize how my whining was really affecting him. Since I am a stay-at-home mom, and we are still paying on our medical bills, we are living quite frugally. Usually, I can 'count my blessings' and be okay with living in our 1 bedroom apartment. Occasionally though, I will go on venting my anger about being here. One such night, I was going on and on about how much I hate where we live. That is when I noticed the hurt look on my husband's face. I realized at that moment what he was actually hearing through my words. The conversation to me sounded like, "I'm just mad at our situation and disappointed that we're not where we want to be." To him it must have sounded like, "I'm disappointed in you as a man. You can't provide for your family the way you should be. You're stupid and a failure."

I apologized profusely the next morning. I also realized that my words are not enough. I need to keep my end of our bargain. I stay at home, but our house is typically very messy. I know that this bothers my husband. He comes home very frustrated when he trips over shoes or the dishes are piled high. I have decided to STOP WHINING and start taking care of this little apartment like it is the mansion of my dreams!!