Lately I have been so sad, frustrated, and disappointed with the world and the people in it (including me). I have watched or heard about people taking advantage of others, abusing others, and just being selfish. I have really been disappointed in the children and youth right now. I am a primary teacher and Shawn is in Young Mens, so I get to work with them a lot. It seams that there is a "I deserve it, or I should be rewarded for it" mentality among them all. I am also not blind to the fact that they are being taught that or allowed to be that way by the adults in their lives. It makes me really sad to see all the selfishness.
So, I started working on this in my own life and in my childrens... After only two days I am starting to see how hard this change will be to make even on my little level. It was startling to notice how many things we take for granted or how often I give in to my children because I didn't want them to have to suffer or "wait". I read this great talk on teaching children respect and it is what I am basing my efforts on. I realized that my children are "disrespectful and selfish" because I am not a very good teacher or example of the opposite. I truly want to be able to follow President Monson in his conference talk and think of others first. That is now my latest "new years resolution" for our family - to become less selfish, more respectful, and to do good every day. Anyway, just sharing my thoughts "out loud"....
Have-I-Done-Any-Good-in-the-World-Today?
joe with his missing front teeth, then me with mine...
As some of you know, our cute little Jacob is not a very happy baby... He cries A LOT and he sleeps very little because of his discomfort. I find myself getting about 4-5 hours of interupted seep each night only to get up to 4 other chidren in need of feeding, teaching, and loving (all while almost constantly holding Jacob). This last week I have found it so hard to be happy about motherhood... But after watching a clip from LDS clips I realized how lucky I am to be a mom and to have 5 beautiful children, a healthy body, an amazing husband, a great family, and the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It is such an honor that God would allow me to raise so many of his precious chidren and to let me love so deaply in this life. I decided that i need to find a way to slow down and enjoy what my Heavenly Father has blessed me with.
Jacob Lewis was born on March 28th at 8:54am. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 in. long. He looks a lot like our other two boys, and is our biggest baby so far... Mom and Jacob are doing good, just really tired. The kids all like him (mostly), and everyone has been so much help.
Well, this wrestling season is over... Joseph has learned a lot, had tons of fun, and he won three of his matches!!! This last match he was awesome!!! He was able to pin the other boy three times in one match! We are so proud of him and all his hard work.
Joseph started wrestling this month! He and Shawn are so excited. Tuesday was his first match and he did really well. He didn't get pinned in either match! 
