October Starts with General Conference

It has been since Brystol's birth that I have actually sat down to write anything.  The previous months are there but they were all catch up months, not written live.

We just finished General Conference this past weekend and resuming the blog has been one thing that I've pulled from conference.

President Nelson gave a challenge to the women specifically, but the challenge applies to all:

I started the social media fast and immediately thought, what can I accomplish with my spare time?  I thought about the blog and the things that I haven't don't this past year.

Post partum after Brystol has been beyond rough.  I feel like I haven't lived much through 2018 and I don't remember much of it.  Good thing I have pictures to help tell the story.  BUT recently I have starting doing those things to help me pull up and out of the post partum trench.

I've have gone back to my oils and that has helped. 

I have started volunteering at The Church Bishop's Storehouse.  I found that by volunteering my time I felt better.  I am able to work and contribute to something and talk with people.  I feel like inspiration comes through the mouths of those I worked with--most of the time I'm sure they never know that they are helping me.

Hailey started kindergarten and I found a routine that has been working well.  The first few weeks of school was rough though!  Each morning as we drive to school we get to the first school slow down point and that is our cue that we need to say a morning prayer before we send Hailey off to school.  Why don't why say it in the house?  Because it's crazy hectic and overwhelming to try and get it done before we are in the care.  Plus then they are all strapped down and have to stay up.  Hailey prays, then Emi prays, then I finish it off.  We pray for family, school, teachers, and all the little random things they come up with.

Hailey is smart and is a peacekeeper.  She doesn't like when she hears Joel and I bantering, arguing, or raising our voice.  She doesn't like it when I lose my temper.  I mean who would.  BUT she tries to do something about it.  She tries to say, "calm down Mommy".  Or "let each other speak and don't interrupt".  In her morning prayer she prays that Mommy will have a good day and not lose her temper or her nuts.  We thought that part was funny.  I guess I say I'm going to lose it, or I've lost my mind, or I'm going nuts often enough and that translates for Hailey into--Please bless Mommy not to lose her nuts.

I hope that during the time that the media fast creates I can catch up on the blog and life.  I know that Hailey and Emi love looking through the past years blog books.  I'm sure the books don't get read as often as they could, but at least our adventures will be written down.

I hope that October and the fast can start a New Year or at least finish this one on a great note.  I had the thought to do the fast and invite Joel to do it with me.  Then as we are in Utah this weekend we can go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple where we were married to basically start again where everything began.

We have done a lot of traveling this year and I have been beyond burnt out.  But as this weekend trip approaches I have been impressed by a few things.  1) It costs time and money--that we usually don't have--to take this trip.  2) Time and money come second to supporting family.  My patriarchal blessing says in a sense that I will learn the importance of family because of the person I'm married to.  He has helped me to see more clearly that.