Hello again - here's what I've been up to

March 18, 2019

Well, I obviously took a long break from any thing “miraculous” happening in my mornings.  I have felt super tired and harried.  It actually feels kind of good to be up early and hopeful that today will be a good productive day.

It would be too hard to go back through and detail everything that has been going on, but I’ll hit a few highlights.

March 3rd, Tim was called to be the 2nd counselor in the bishopric of our ward.  Yes, I realize that I did make two journal entries since after it happened in which I didn’t mention it - I had been in a bit of a rush both of those days and wanted to be able to give it proper thought and detail - now I have the time... but I can’t remember “detailed” anything that I felt or experienced two whole weeks ago, so you get the blurb announcement and I’ll move on.

March 10th (last Sunday) - both Katrina and Tim spoke in sacrament meeting.  The topic was the temple - how  attending the temple blesses their lives.  They both did a great job.  I am continually so impressed with Katrina.  Her strength of testimony, her ability to articulate things.  Some people have great “doctrinal” information to share, but the delivery is so halted or difficult to follow or listen to, that you miss out on really getting much of value from the talk.  Other people have great personalities and delivery, but the structure and doctrinal content is lacking, so even though you might be entertained by them, you aren’t really edified.  Katrina nailed it!  Both delivery and content.   Tim also did a great job.  He is so NOT comfortable with public speaking, yet he really does do a great job - as long as he has time to prepare something.  He does not do quite as well if he has to “wing it.”

Another thing that's been happening -  Aaron was gone to New Mexico all last week.  He left Saturday, the 9th, at 7am and got home on Saturday, the 16th, at 9pm.  He was at Philmont scout camp, participating in BSA's “Camp School.”  It means that now he could be a climbing director (or assistant director right now since he’s not 21) at any BSA camp.

I have been up to my eyeballs in scout stuff.  Both Caleb and Bryan participated in the BYU scout POWWOW (march 2nd & 16th)  We went to the 2nd session on Saturday and both boys completed all 3 of their chosen Merit Badges.   (Which meant we were working on a lot of scout homework on the "in between" weeks,  including Caleb's 8 hours of service needed for the citizenship in the community badge).  I probably already mentioned that Bryan advanced to the rank of Life scout at the end of February and is now moving forward with eagle project stuff.  He was able to contact someone from camp MIA Shalom (a church camp used mainly to host girls camps) and they had a project for him to consider, building 4 sets of corn-hole games.  They need them completed before the start of this camping season, so by June 1st.  It puts us in a bit of a time crunch, but it will be good to get it done and out of the way.  We spent a bunch of time yesterday filling out the “Project proposal” portion of the workbook, and hope to gather the signatures needed in order for him to present it to the approval board on Thursday.

This weekend, Tim will be taking the boys up to a “Merit Badge Adventure” up at camp Maple Dell.  Caleb will be working on some “trail to first class” requirements, and Bryan is going to attempt to earn his Welding merit badge.  (he was signed up to do the climbing merit badge, but then he found out that troop 707 is doing the climbing merit badge in April, so he might as well do that one with them, and do something else at this event.

Um, let’s see.  Another thing I am busy with - last Sunday, March 10th, we started back up with the stake choir as we prepare for our annual Easter fireside on April 14th.  As the stake music chairman, it was my job to get all the music pulled from the stake music library so it was ready to go, plus I hang the advertisement posters, send the reminder emails, keep the attendance rolls up to date, and other behind the scenes stuff like that.  I LOVE the songs we will be singing, and I am excited that Brother Ryan Murphy (associate director of the Tabernacle Choir) will be our guest conductor that night.  He is super fun to sing with!  (He is good friends with our stake choir director, Jim Kasen, so we've had him come before to rehearse with us, or as a guest conductor.  We've actually had Mack Wilberg come too, which was super cool. 

I think that is the “fire hose” version of what’s been happening in my life for the past couple weeks.  It has been busy, which has been compounded by my sleeping and staying up too late on most nights.  Hoping to rectify that.

or not...?

I’m sitting here, 15 minutes before i need to leave for work, and it is seriously a BATTLE to keep my eyes open.  My watch buzzed me awake at 5, and I promptly fell back asleep.  Finally got up at 6:50, just in time to get dressed and eat breakfast, have family scripture, and drive the kiddos to school.

I guess my question this morning is;  How is it, that I did so well for over 30 days.  Up by 5 am EVERY SINGLE DAY… accomplishing good positive things first thing in the morning, EVERY morning, then suddenly I lose all ability to control myself? It’s just messed up.  You would think that once the habit is established - and once I’ve seen and experienced the “fruits” of that positive habit… that maintaining it would be more natural and…  well…  EASIER!  Instead, I am finding the  opposite to be true - it seems harder than ever for me.  I just don’t get it.

back in the saddle?

March 5, 2019 Wow - it’s been a few days. In my last entry, I mentioned working on Bryan’s project… well, last Wednesday night we stayed up late finishing it. I knew we had stuff that would keep us busy on Thursday, so we stayed up late getting it done and he turned it in on Thursday instead of Friday. I think it turned out amazing.



I'm posting a picture here, but I know it is too hard to read the papers in the corners.
 One corner is the “Wall of Fame” and has a few of our more “famous” or outwardly noteworthy ancestors. (Charles C Rich, early apostle of the church; Lavina Christensen Fugal, 1955 American mother of the year; Thomas E Ricks, founder of Rick college)
Another corner is a timeline of the year when each basic family line came to Utah. (using the 8 ancestors at his the level of his great grandparents - Mellor, Campbell, Yost, Ricks, Fugal, Robinson, Allred, Strickland)
Another corner was “characteristics of my ancestors that live on in me” (hard work, love of music, theater/acting, strong faith)
and the last corner was “What’s in a name” where he explained the meaning & origin of his name, plus the origins of the 4 family names of his grandparents (Mellor, Yost, Fugal, & Allred) 

Anyway - We stayed up late Thursday night, I got up early the next day to work out… we had a crazy busy day on Thursday with school, after school robotics class, scout court of honor, then the camp JJ parent meeting. By the time I was getting in bed, I was beat and decided I was not getting up early on Friday - that my body needed sleep. So I didn’t get up at 5 when my watch beeped at me. Saturday I got up early enough for bountiful baskets, but not early enough to do my miracle morning routine first, then I went straight from there, back home to pick up the boys then off to BYU scout powwow. Then Caleb has his service project (for citizenship in the community), then a little housework here at home, then off to the temple.

Sunday I also rebelled and slept in. Monday too. Mornings have never really been “my thing.” I am much more of a night person. That being said, I CAN still see that getting up early and following a morning routine is good for me. I’m still not sure I have the “right” routine for me… and it is super hard because I have the 3 days a week when I have Bountiful Baskets, or my workout that mess with the schedule, and I still haven’t figured out the best way to work around that… But for today I am up, and now I have 3 minutes to get to my workout.  Good thing it is only a couple minutes away!