Doctrine and Covenants 64:33-34

Wherefore, be ye not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

2 Nephi 13:10

Say unto the righteous that it is well with them; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. (See Isaiah 3:10)

Sarah's 15th birthday is fast approaching, and the possibility of her learning to drive is on everyone's mind. Eliza saw a police car yesterday with lights flashing and a car pulled over. "I bet it's a 15 year old driving without a parent. Or 14...."

Sugar cereal is a Sunday morning phenomenon at our home, except on Fast Sunday, when children who are fasting "catch up" by eating it for lunch. I told Julia and Nate they could NOT have 5 bowls--2 would be better. Nate objected: "Two? C'mon! I collected fast offerings with my [suit] coat on [and it's hot today]!"

"How do you know I'm old enough to do my laundry basket?" asked Peter this morning. I said that if he was old enough to go to cousin sleepovers, then he was old enough to do his jobs. He conceeded.

"It feels so lonely in here." Eliza to Becca, after waving goodbye to Sarah, Mallory, and Christina, who had just left for EFY.

Anna, with great excitement, as she watched the eggs boiling on the stove: "Mom! The eggs are dancing!"

Eliza, on driving: "I know how to drive a car. I just don't know what the gas pedal is for."

Peter to Eliza, in the car: "Hey Eliza! We just went by a sweetness car." I chuckled. "No, seriously, Mom, it was soooo cool!"  Peter's favorite superlatives these days are "sweetness" (used as an adjective) and "awesomeness," as in "That Jeep is awesomeness!"

An Unfinished Woman

Here am I, Lord,

The dishes barely done and night long since fallen,

The children would not go to bed

And would not go and

Would not go--

And now they are gone.

Gone to places of their own with children of their own

Who will not go to bed and will not go...

And I have taught them what I could and

They have learned the things they would

And now they've gone their way alone to learn the rest

Most on their own.

And I remain, not half spent.

And I remain, not yet content.

So much to do, so much to learn,

So much to feel, so much to yearn.

My past mistakes make stepping-stones,

Not millstones great around my neck but

Stones to guide my searching feet--

And I must search; I'm incomplete.

I watch my years go tumbling by

And I must use them better, I

Have yet so much to learn and do

Before I can return to You.

The hour is late. The night comes on,

My celestial self I would become.

Ah! What wisdom thou gavest to mortal life--

I, 

As sister, mother, daughter, wife--

In earthly roles have seen Thy face

In womanly life Thy heavenly place

Is taught through humble tasks and pain.

So, if royal robes I would obtain,

To wear as all Thy glories burst--

I'll need to do the laundry first.

--Jeroldeen Edwards

(She is a mother of 12. I think this came from one of her books entitled Celebration!)

Anna and I were in the car. She asked me something, to which I replied. Then she asked, "Are you serious?" "Yes, I am, " I answered. "I'm talking to the garden!" she retorted. (?!)

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, 

When all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream,

Or lazily dream on the banks 

As the clouds go by?

...Do you swim in a pool,

To keep yourself cool,

Or swing in a tree up high?

...Do you march in parades,

Or drink lemonades,

Or count all the stars in the sky?

Is that what you do?

So do I.

Dorothy S. Andersen (Children's Songbook, 245)

Liz: Wash those strawberries!

Sarah: It's just a little pesticide. Wouldn't hurt a fly...

Anna: I don't want any ice cream.

Sarah: Are you related to me?

In the spirit of self-preservation, sometimes Lane and I say endearing things to our children, such as Lane the other night: "I'm trying to have a peaceful moment hear. Hit the road."

Oh! what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days;

Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,

And over it softly her warm ear lays:

Whether we look, or whether we listen,

We hear life murmur, or see it glisten.

Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,

We are happy now because God wills it.

No matter how barren the past may have been,

'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green.

-James Russell Lowell