seek and ye shall find

When I was 14 years old I received my patriarchal blessing, that is coming on 10 years ago. I think I was like most young teenagers receiving theirs, excited and nervous, hoping or expecting some profound revelation. In a way I guess you can say that is what I got. One instruction I was given, a part that has always stood out to me, was to learn marketing skills to I could provide for my family when an emergency arises. My thoughts on that: "WHAT?! I don't know any marketing skills, nor do I care to!","My husband is going to die!", "We are going to be poor because my husband won't be able to get a job!". Let's just say they weren't comfortable feelings.

When I was in college I thought personal training would be the path I needed to take in order to follow the blessing and be prepared, however, with my eating disorder I was told it was not a healthy environment for me to be in so I dropped it. Shortly after I had kids and settled with the idea of just being a stay-at-home mom and not worrying about any of that marketing crap. The thought was always in the back of my head but not something I wanted to address. This was comfortable.

Mid-March I had a very lengthy conversation with a friend regarding essential oils and doTERRA's business opportunity. I had positive experiences with the oils and really loved them but never pursued anything with it because of money and fear of marketing. Anyway, after discussing with this friend the security that can come from doing the "business" I took a couple of days to pray about it and talk with David about whether or not this is something I wanted, or should, do. I felt like I should. I was scared/nervous but it was an exciting kind of scared. But the very day I made the decision to follow through with this path I had about 10 people that wanted to know more about the oils. I felt it was the Lord telling me this was the right thing.

Since then I have decided to put it all in. I have spent many hours researching studies about the oils, watching webinars, and listening to first-hand accounts from those I have met of the blessings the oils have been for their health. Anything I heard about the oils or the company and had a question about, I searched for a reliable answer. I was never disappointed. I was excited. Also, since I was putting everything into the business I was able to get more of the oils and I saw them working. I loved it.

It has only been 6 weeks but I have had my fair share of emotions on this trip. Every time I felt this is too hard, I would get a soothing feeling and I knew this was right. I have been insulted and discouraged, but again I would get a comforting feeling and something would happen that aided my success. Just this week I felt very disheartened and discouraged, probably the most I had been regarding this. Thankfully, David and I had already made plans to go to the Temple that night so I went there seeking further confirmation that this was right. Without fail, that is what I got. It was refreshing that during such a hard time for me the Lord was validating me, despite the world not. But He did not stop there. The very next morning about a dozen women came to me wanting to know more. A woman called me, someone I had never met, asking about doTERRA. It was such a great conversation and I felt like she was someone I had always known. At the end of the call she said to me, "I am so glad I called you! I felt like I was supposed to." I was elated. She and I are getting together tomorrow to further go over what she needs to help improve her health. It continues... within a couple of hours, a woman was stopping by to pick up an oil. She and I chatted for a moment at the door about doTERRA and before walking away she said to me, "I am so glad I found you!"

A line that stood out to me at the temple was "to fulfill the measure of its creation". It resonated with me and repeatedly during the session I asked, "what is the measure of MY creation?" I'm not saying these oils are my "destiny" are anything like that, but the Lord has answered my question by making it possible for me to bless the lives of these people that came to me. I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a daughter of God and His instrument to help others as He sees fit. I made a commitment to listen and obey and he has been very loud in his instructions. Now... I will obey.

What's new?

David is right. It has been quite a while since my last entry. I have been super busy and loving it! To recap...

Eli is growing up so fast. He started crawling beginning-middlish of March but quickly took to pulling up on EVERYTHING and walks really well when I hold his hands. He is certainly looking a lot bigger. He is now in the 25th percentile for his length and 10th for his weight. His head is still large for his little body - 75th percentile. He has his two front bottom teeth and LOVES to eat. He tends to chase down Morgan when she has food while she runs away saying "that's Morgan's!" or "that's mine!" They play really well together and it is nice to see how much they love each other. Eli often looks around for her - crawling around the house to find her. He can sign "more", wave, and boy does he LOVE David! I've now lost both kids to him... I'm okay with that though :)

Morgan is quite the kid. She is super smart and funny. She knows the entire alphabet, minus a few letters (of course, when I saw knows I mean she can tell me what each one is when I show her, or she will identify them on the keyboard). She will sign some of them too. She talks... a LOT. It is so entertaining to hear. She will repeat back words when we say prayer or read the scriptures, in fact, she would rather read than listen :) She has been really into bones lately. She saw a picture of the skeletal system one day and was obsessed. She wanted to see all the bones! I took her to the BYU dinosaur museum so she could see more bones and since then she keeps asking about dinosaurs. The femur bone is really the only one that sticks though.

Between playing with the kids I have been researching doTERRA essential oils and sharing them with others. I have been super impressed with the products, from my own experience as well as the research I have found on them. It is kind of disappointing though when others disregard them so easily without doing their homework. It's kind of like when an LDS does something that poorly represents the Church, those that were involved or what-not tend to make generalizations about all LDS. I am finding that is very true with essential oils and multi-level marketing companies. But I guess that is life and that is the way some people just are. Anyway... I am teaching classes on them at least twice a month and I have been meeting a lot of new people. It is so much fun! Not only am I doing something for my family but I am getting out of my "bubble". Most days I never get out to interact with anyone other than the kids and David, but with this I am meeting tons of new people! The slim & sassy oil blend really has helped with my PPD. I feel like I have control again and am much happier. Of course, an added bonus is it has helped me get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (I've lost 16 lbs so far!)
My jewelry was accepted for the Provo Farmer's Market which is to start in June so I am excited to get going with that.

For those that don't already know... we are moving this summer. An amazing deal came up that we just can't pass up on. Some friends from David's home ward own a condo here in Provo and David's sister was planning on living there when she comes out here for school, but was looking for roommates. When we heard the price we kind of joked that we wanted it, but the joke quickly became reality and we are going to be Katie's roommates. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with very small fenced in yard. It has a pantry and washer and dryer included. There is more storage than I initially expected which will be good and ALL utilities are included. So, since Katie will be paying for one room, our cost is $350 less than what we pay now (and we already have a KILLER deal!). Even though I LOVE our current place, I am so excited for the savings we will have. I tend to pride myself on my frugality and only buying things at a bargain deal (the way I see it, if David's job is to make the money then my job should be to save the money) so seeing how much we will be saving in rent is certainly exciting!

I think that is it for now! We are looking forward to summer and being home for a LONG time in June :)

HACKED!

Carrie just got hacked! I (David) have noticed that there's been a lack of photos, so here are a few recent photos of the kids.

Bath time is always fun with mommy!

This looks exactly like me (David) in on of my baby pictures.

 Carrie has been teaching Morgan about bones and dinosaurs lately. Morgan loves the dinosaurs!

(She also loves the computer!)

Eli doing the sign for "MORE" mommy! He likes eating.

I Can Do Better

Today was not ideal. David left just before 8 in the AM and I was under the impression he would be coming home around 11am and then leave for the night around 5:30. Morning was rough but I managed to pull myself together and make the bed, entertain the offspring and put away some things that had been sitting out for too long. 11:30 rolled around and I wondered why David wasn't coming home, then realized it was Monday school schedule so he would be a few hours longer. Kids slept and I did some crafting until everything crashed when David called sometime around 1:00 - I figured he was on his way home but was torn to hear that he was heading to work. I almost cried.

The little people woke up and it was only 2:00. I had no motivation to be mommy today as I just wanted to not exist. Seconds slowed down it seemed and minutes dragged on. Poor Morgan had to deal with my lethargic mood and it is no secret that I was short-tempered (it is kind of hard to not be annoyed when eldest child makes the youngest cry then starts crying because the yougin' is crying). Finally it was dinner-bathe-bed.

I was not Christ-like today. I was not loving and I was not patient. I was not a good mommy or even a good mother. I can do better. I need to do better.

Rockin' and Rollin'

David said my lack of writing gives the false impression I have died. Here is what has kept my life busy...

Eli is 10 days away from 7 months and still just as cute as he can be. Everyone says he looks chunky but he is still very light, only in the 7th percentile although he is a short little dude. He scoots around in circles but has yet to really crawl forward. It is really fun to see him and Morgan together. He really responds to her and she loves to make him laugh. Morgan is trying to encourage Eli to crawl so puts some toys just out of his reach and says "Crawl E-I".

Morgan is quite the chatterbox. She is forming sentences and even says prayers - basically just repeats each word we say. It started out very simple. She would say "Dear Henly Otter, dank you. Name Jesus. Amen." Even if I said more she would stop there. What a smart 2 year old. At such a young age she already grasped such a crucial concept. She taught me so much in just that simple act. I need to follow her example and just remember to be grateful for the endless blessings the Lord has given and continually gives our family.

David is busy a lot. He has a full school schedule worth work on top of it. I grew up looking forward to Fridays and still hear from everyone "TGIF" but I really don't like them. Because of David's academic demands it requires a heavy workload on the weekends, thus I am sitting alone on a Friday night (And yes, Kira, I am very aware that this is selfish of me comparatively).

I have been exercising at least 3x a week - one of my goals this year - which gives me a lot more energy and I find myself more enthusiastic about dance parties and chasing after a 2-yr-old while holding a 6-mo-old in a game Morgan calls "I ketch you E-I". My jewelry "business" is slowly improving. I am loving making jewelry and feel a great deal of pride when I look at what I created. I've done more crafts around the house but am on a down-time right now. Today I canned 14 quarts of chicken and earlier this week did 10 pints of ground turkey. I had a pile up with all the chicken I have been collecting over the past few months and needed to clear out the deep freezer a little. That is about it.

Morgan's new betta fish, Meeko. She brought her cow, monkey named Copper, and horse named Brownie to show them Meeko

The name signs I made for above their beds. 

I am very proud of this one. It is in the dinning room next to the front door. I painted on a stretched canvas board and then cut out a circle from cardboard and painted it for the center. It is dotted with white paint. The two middle blank boards will have pictures of me and David... if we ever get around to it.

This is also in the dinning room on the wall next to the entrance into the living room. I just glued ribbon onto scrapbook paper and wrote the words. I was tired of looking at the blank walls that I am glad they now have something going on.

This is our goal wall in our bedroom. We have goals for the month, week, and daily. The quote in the center is "We can become the masters of our own destinies by practicing self-discipline and by setting worthy goals that will lead to higher ground so that we can become what our Heavenly Father wants us to become." I thought it was appropriate. 

The Jewelry Box

I found a new hobby... about time! It is a lot of fun and even though I have only sold about 5 pairs I enjoy coming up with new designs and seeing the finished product. Here are a few I have made

All of them are at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Jewelry-Box/305030149607069

Christmas

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve because David worked from 7am to just after 6pm. The kids were almost ready for bed by the time he got home. It was a great day though. Morgan ran out to David on the couch at 6:30am, taking a moment to realize there was a dollhouse and chair set up. When she saw them she said "Wow! Whas tha?" She proceeded to play with it for 2 hours. But after breakfast, reading "The First Christmas" by my grandpa, and making our gifts to Jesus, she abandoned the dollhouse and chair for better toys under the tree :) Thank you everyone!

Eli LOVED this star wand from Morgan's stocking

In her cute new tutu skirt from my mom - she wore it all day

YUMMY!

After all the hard work opening gifts Eli chilled in his new blanket from Gail - it is SOOO soft!

When it was all said and done Morgan decided she wanted to watch her new Finding Nemo movie. The Elmo toy has blocks that go through the alphabet with the sounds and such, and the "ooh-ee" (it's a monkey) chair is her new favorite place to sit

At the Christmas Eve festivities Morgan was one of the shepherds in the nativity play. She and Adam were great and showed a lot of enthusiasm when the Angel appeared to them - without prompting too!

It has snowed a lot the past few days. Morgan and I made snowmen (our second one was better than this one) and snow angels.