Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

Yesterday I experienced my first-ever all women's ride. I've never been an all women's anything type of person. When Brett and I were looking at the calendar for our rides this summer, I decided that I wanted to do the Little Red Riding Hood ride that begins near Logan, UT.  (About 3 hours away)

I had heard about the ride. Brett was planning to do other rides, and the ULCER that we did last year together falls on the same day that Sydney is going to be baptized. So, I stalked the Little Red blog for weeks. They finally posted when they thought registration would open up, so I put a reminder on my phone to check the registration page daily. The day finally came and they opened registration. I sat at the computer until the clock turned over to noon and I tried to register. The link was down. :(

I looked them up on Facebook and someone there said that the link on Active.com was live so I hurried over and registered. I'm glad I did as registration filled in less than 24 hours.

Over the course of a few months, I took a few bike rides. The weather in UT has been less than inviting for a bike with skinny tires. Plus, I'm lazy, so I didn't make it out as much as I should have, but I rode in conditions that I never have before, so I'd like to say I evened myself out :).

We traveled to Brigham City on Friday night after we attended a bee class. Our hotel was a dive, but it was a place to sleep. After a horrible night's sleep, we were up at 5:15am to shower and get ready to make the hour drive to Lewiston, UT.

We met a group of ladies from our neck of the woods at their hotel at 6:30am. After filling my water bottles and using the facilities, we headed to the start line.

By 7:30 am we were on the road. I forgot to hit the start button on my watch for the first two minutes of the ride. I'm glad that I had the thought to check it so early on as I like to know how far I've gone, etc.

Right before the starting bell

Shortly after the 14-mile rest stop, (I guessed around mile 20 or so) we came upon a set of railroad tracks. I had latched myself onto a woman and we were getting to know each other. As we went across the tracks, I hit them at a wrong angle and I hit the pavement. Nice. I quickly got up and my new friend turned around and made sure I was ok. Thankfully, I was ok, but I now have a cracked helmet that will have to be replaced and have road rash that is less than pleasant.

We were able to join a group and ride for quite some time. It was really nice to get a break from having to ride like we were. I rode with my new friend Cecilia until shortly after the lunch stop at mile 55 where I could no longer keep her cadence and told her to go ahead.

Me at about mile 40 - after the wreck

I rode alone for about 20 miles. It was a miserable part of the ride for me. My negative self talk tends to get the best of me. I am usually a strong rider on hills, but not that day. Every hill seemed to take the wind out of my sails. By the time I hit the rest stop at mile 78, I was ready to be done. I sent Brett a text message and told him where I was and that I was struggling. He called me and told me to hang in there and he let the kids cheer me on through my voicemail. Not long after that I heard a lady say - "Hey, if you're coming, now's the time. We have a train." I looked up and a huge group of women started to get their bikes ready. I knew that if I was going to finish the race at a decent pace, I needed to jump on the back of that train.

I kept my distance for a while as I didn't know these women and I didn't want them to be upset that I was drafting off of them. I finally got the courage to ask one of the women if it was ok if I rode with their group. She was gracious and she said yes. It wasn't too long after that that I actually dropped her and scooted up and asked another woman if I could ride with them. I spent the next 20 miles with that group, and I was grateful for the relief. I worked really hard, but they were riding so fast that I was never able to take my turn at the front. For that I am very sorry.

(Me just minutes before the finish line. I was busting my butt and I had no idea these ladies were behind me.)

I finished the ride in 5 hours 37 minutes and some seconds (can't remember how many). My average time was 17.5 mph. It was a great day.

Me at the finish line

The Road Rash - Notice the pavement that is now a part of the uniform

My Knee. Strangely it has looked like this before :(

I learned a few lessons that day.

1. Take pain medications on the road with you. (Thanks to the lady that stopped and gave me some when I hit the pavement)
2. Our bodies can do amazing things.
3. If I want to be the one pulling on the rides, I need to be more consistent in my training. My new goal is to be that person.
4. You can still be fat and ride 100 miles. Even with all of the training I have done, my body is not where I want it to be.
5. Having a supportive family means everything.

6. I am a cyclist now. It is in my blood.

The Big Bad Wolf - He rocked!

Wash Your Face

Yesterday I asked Ryan to shower and wash his face. Later in the day I had taken him out with me and I looked over at him and noticed that his face was still dirty. Our conversation then went something like this:

Me - Ryan, did you shower today?

Ryan - Yes.

Me - Did you wash your face?

Ryan - No.

Me - Why?

Ryan - Well, because I didn't want to wash my butt and then wash my face.

Me - Nice.

Sharks!!!

We got a new computer recently and last night I was browsing the different applications and came across this video. Soooo funny!

Women's Conference - Day Two - Sister Beck

SIster Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President opened the Second Day of Women's conference. As always she was wonderful. Here are my notes from her words.

Identity can only be made known by a spiritual confirmation.
Women are the guardians of the hearth of the home
Non-negotiable responsibilities - Mother, Sister, Aunt, Daughter, Wife

Am I aligned with the vision the Lord has for me?

We do not get a pass to the responsibilities that we were given.

When I remember the Savior's sacrifice, I remember "Who owes who?"

Relief Society, when functioned properly is Charity
Charity requires repentance and change. We should be seeking charity always -- it is more than benevolence, it is becoming like our Savior.

Faith that he will fulfill every promise.
Faith is how the Lord heals us
Faith is possible

We should never confuse the holder of the priesthood with the priesthood. The priesthood is the power of God.

Sisters and brothers have the same ordinances and covenants to help us to return to our Heavenly Father.

Go to the temple and pay attention. - Look - feel - learn - pay attention

Help our home be blessed by the strength of priesthood power.

Female identity - to know that I am a Child of God. It is an expectation to live so that I can qualify for God's presence.

Charity Never Faileth = The Atonement in action

The companionship of the Holy Ghost should be our strength and our goal.

Rather than plan for a product, prepare for the Lord's plan for me

In the end it will be ok. If it's not ok, it's not the end :)

If you want to have a good experience, go after it.

Women's Conference - Day One Sister Dalton and ???

Well, here I am almost a month later and I have forgotten who spoke these wonderful words so I cannot give them the proper credit. I want this information documented though, so here it is anyway.

------------

• It is better to please God than to please others. Our rewards for pleasing God are peace, joy and love. Our rewards for pleasing others are status and superiority. None of which last.
• If we are having a hard time feeling at love with ourselves, keeping the commandments will boost our confidence.
• As if principle - Treat them as if they are our own best friend.
• Feelings of faith promote faithful behavior.
• Love ourselves as much as we love our neighbors.
• True greatness requires noticing and then doing something about it.
• Quantity and Quality of our love for the Lord should be our yardstick by which we measure ourselves.

----------------

Sister Elaine S Dalton

Sister Dalton is one of my favorite speakers. She too spoke of the importance of our identity. She said

• When we understand our identity, it defines all that we do.
• Charity is there because Christ is there
• Reach out and light up the life of a young woman
• Winners help others succeed. We can change lives.
• Recognize that each one is doing their best
• What matters more in life is not winning for ourselves, but helping someone else win

Women's Conference - Day One, Sister Dibb and Sister Cook

My second break-out session of day one was called "The Joy of Womanhood". I'll admit it to the world - I have a self image problem. I truly don't see what others claim to see. I wanted to go to a session that might give me some insight as to how I can stop the cycle I am in and not pass it on to my own daughter.

Sister Dibb and Sister Cook are counselors on the Young Women's General board.They both gave wonderful talks. Sister Dibb collects obituaries. The overall topic of her talk was "I want to leave a legacy. How will they remember me? She spoke of many obituaries that she has read over the years. Some of those were people were inspiring -- people you would want our life to be remembered just like. Others were sad, feeling like a life almost wasted. She said "We do not control when we leave this life. We must prepare every day to live with our Father in Heaven." I was very touched by her remarks. Having had the experience of helping to write an obituary myself, I really self-reflected and hope that if I were to die tomorrow, my obituary would touch the life of someone.

Sister Cook spoke of how we become women of God. She said that we must first know our identity. Second have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and third set a good example.

She said that the best way we can teach our young women is for us to know our own identity. I'm working on that. Of course I know I am a daughter of God. I know it. I just sometimes wonder if it pertains to me, like somehow I'm the one who is exempt from those blessings.

She said that there is danger in neglecting prayer. We were encouraged again, like the young women of the church are encouraged.to do three things 100% of the time:

Pray morning & evening
Read 5 minutes from the scriptures every day
Obey the commandments
Smile

She then taught that "even in our weakness, the Spirit comes from our Father.

She admonished us to make it a priority to be still, and taught that our examples do matter.She also said that "We should not deprive our Savior of helping us become who we should become."

Geologic Time

The other day we were talking to Sydney about her orthodontic work. We had just come from the orthodontist and we were talking about the plans. Two weeks prior, Ryan had gone to the orthodontist and he said he wanted to wait 18 months before we do any more work on Ryan.

Ryan was whining to Sydney about how soon he was going to have to have braces on. I said "Ryan, you have a long time.."

His reply, "Not in geologic time."

"Geologic time?"

"Yeah, you know how long it takes a rock to form? A mountain? In geologic time, 18 months isn't a long time."

Of course.

Women's Conference - Day One, John and Kim Bytheway

I wasn't sure that I would attend the session that John Bytheway taught, but I am glad that I made the decision to go. I ran across campus and arrived in the Smith Field House before about 3300 other people. I realized that I probably didn't have to run like it did, but the building was expected to fill to capacity (3500 people).

The topic of this session was on Covenants. They posed three questions and then answered them.

1. How can we keep our covenants in sight every day?
- God is all about freedom
- Satan is all about bondage
- Put a picture of the temple in every room.
- Put reminders of your covenants everywhere - pictures of Christ on the wall, pictures of the temple, scriptures out in the open to be used frequently.

They told of a family member who often told her kids as they walked out the door "Remember who you are". One particular day their teenage son was leaving with his friends and his little sibling (can't remember if it was a boy or girl) yelled out the door "Don't forget your name!" :)

They said "If our children see a lesser version of ourselves Monday-Friday, we cannot expect them to be different"

We watched a video from the April 2003 General Conference. It was Elder Holland's talk entitled "A Prayer for the Children"


We were admonished to Keep the Covenants that our children know we have made. Do they know we have made covenants?


2. What activities move us closer to our coventants?

With whom have I made my covenants.?"I have not made a covenant with ESPN, TV, INTERNET, SIBLINGS, PARENTS, etc."
Any activity that brings us closer to our family is a covenant activity.
Pray for spiritual eyes to see those in need

3. How can we look to our covenants to find strength?
"No matter what, I will not leave him"  They told a story of a young boy who had been having some trouble with behavior at school. The teacher, in response to his behavior, gave him a project that was due the next day. It was a lengthy project and it caused a lot of stress for the young boy. The parents were at their wits end. The mom sent all of the kids, and her husband away and she stayed with her son until the project was finished. When she ascended the stairs, her husband asked how she could possibly help him and she said "I don't know, I just said to myself - No matter what, I will not leave him."
The Lord is the same with us. He never leaves us no matter what.
They taught to use what they called the "vertical dimension" (prayer)

Pray in the morning for the Spirit. When temptations come, or when situations are trying -- pray again and really picture the Spirit of the Lord being right there.

Covenants are power!

At the end of the session, though they were out of time, they posed the question "How do we find strength from our covenants when our children are struggling?" They then recommended that we read "Our Moral Environment" by Elder Boyd K. Packer. I haven't done that yet, but I plan to.

Women's Conference - Day One, Morning Session

This week I had the opportunity to attend BYU's Women's Conference. I am grateful to my husband for making his time available so that I could attend this 'fill my cup' event. I always learn so much from Women's Conference. This year was no exception. Hopefully my notes will be helpful to some.

Sister Virginia H. Pearce (President Hinckley's daughter) spoke in the opening session. She is just as lovely as her parents were. She spoke of prayer and how it is essential in our lives. Prayer, she said is a basic religious ritual that spans throughout all time, and all religions. Prayer rests on the principle of faith and is an expression of our agency. We choose whether or not we pray.

She spoke of the trials that we all must face. She related the year that President Hinckley passed away. She said that they spent a long time going through her parent's stuff, and dividing it up among the family. They moved, and moved boxes. Her husband retired from being a physician that year and they moved more and more boxes. They planned to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints together and they arranged to rent their home, so they moved even more boxes into their rapidly filling basement. During this time her husband began having symptoms that were less than pleasant. He visited a doctor and tests were run. He was diagnosed with a fatal illness that took his life just a short year later. During that year she said they prayed. They spent precious time together, they laughed, and they prayed.

She spoke of the dark and rainy skies that all of us experience in our lives. she said "One must be washed off thoroughly before they can return to the presence of God. We need the dark and rainy skies to wash us clean." I loved that. What a truth!

She said she has a little note on her computer, a sticky note, that says "Keep it small, keep it simple, and give it time"Another treasure to live by.

She spoke of heartfelt prayers, and taught that Faith, coupled with pure charity makes a difference.

She reminded us to attend the temple often, and to humbly pray there.

In her final remarks she spoke of the Tender Mercies of God and that through them He teaches that "I am here, I approve of what you are doing. Everything will work out for your good. Trust Me."

The Day I Played Slave Driver

Yesterday before conference I asked the kids to give me 20 minutes of their time to help tidy up the house before we watched the first session. I didn't want to have to look at the clutter while trying to feel the spirit of the meeting.

In true Ryan-like fashion, Ryan began to stall. "Twenty minutes, that's all I want," I said. He continued to do a small task and then get sidetracked on a story, or the art of just standing there watching me. I finally said "Ryan, you can get out of cleaning better than anyone I know." To which he responded "I'm not as good as Tom Sawyer. He convinced people to do things for him."

Like Father...

He gets his style from his dad. He couldn't figure out why I wanted to take a picture of him. Uhhh, check out the feet. It's all in the feet.

Woman of Many Faces

Seriously, Can't get much cuter than this.

April Fool's

Ryan and Sydney LOVE April Fool's Day. They both went to bed last night thinking of all of the things they could do to each other this morning.

I went to the church at 6 to exercise and Ryan called at 7 sharp. He said he switched the cereal. Funny as Brett did that to him last year. Sydney didn't fall for it. She's smarter than he gives her credit for.

I thought it would be fun to have dinner tonight with a special menu. On the docket:



Oinkers wearing pants (Pork Chops)

Pill Bugs (Twice Baked Potatoes)

a Basket of Grandma's Breakfast (Salad) - If would have been thinking I would have named that "On Second Thought Make My Potatoes a Salad. I wasn't thinking quick enough though.
and Peas and Carrots for dessert.


I think they enjoyed dinner. Ryan was afraid that I had done something bad to the meal and he was hesitant to come.

A Special Thanks to "Emperor's New Groove" (A favorite movie) and Our Best Bites for the inspiration.

Arrow of Light

Ryan got his Arrow of Light award on the 23rd. We are so proud of him. It was a lot of work.

March 15

Took a 20 mile bike ride today. Man it feels good to be on my bike. I didn't think I was going to be able to ride because Sydney has been feeling under the weather lately, but she went to school at 10:30, so I had the rest of the day to ride. I hope that one day my fluttery heart will calm itself when seeing cars come on to side roads. I have a huge fear of being hit again.

We were asked to speak in church on Sunday. Uggh! I hate speaking in church. It's not the speaking that I hate really, it's the fact that I can't control my tears. I get up there and I am touched by the information and I cry through it. I can't get my thoughts together either. Double Uggh!

Brett is at a meeting with the Young Women leaders. They are planning a Youth Fundraiser. I think the youth should be planning it, but they didn't ask me :).

11 weeks until the Little Red Riding Hood Ride. Can. Not. Wait.

Life is good.

March 8

- Finally got caught up on laundry - I hate laundry

- Took Brett to the Dr and then took the kids to the grocery store.

- Sydney was happy for 20 days and earned a prize. She picked her very own white board. Hopefully that will save the white board that I bought for scouts.

- Watched Open Season 3 with Sydney, and then the end of Biggest Loser. I love that show.

Life's experiences that change you

On Tuesday we took the scouts to the UT County Jail. It was a humbling experience for me to say the least.

As we entered the jail, we were asked by the tour guide, a man in our ward - Brother Lomax, if Mormons could go to jail. One of the boys said "Absolutely NOT." Brother Lomax smiled and said "There are 800 inmates in this jail. 80% of them are Mormon." That was a shocking statistic for the boys.

Many years ago, I wrongly judged a mother whose son was in and out of juvenile detention because of drugs. I had heard things from her brother about how this boy was allowed to dress a certain way and therefore it put him in situations that allowed his drug experimentation. My judgments were harsh and it is embarrassing to me now.

We were able to see the  inmates who were in heightened security. Some of them were in there for murder. They were in tiny cells and the only thing they could do was pace back and forth. They could see our silhouettes and some of them started yelling. We could not hear them, but we knew they were talking to us.

We were taken to the chapel and there we were taught. An inmate came in and spoke to the boys and told them how he came to become an inmate. He was raised in a strong LDS home. He was a strong member of his faith up until college. He went to college on a basketball scholarship. While there he hooked up with bad crowd of friends and started experimenting with tobacco. This led to alcohol consumption and eventually drug use. He was kicked out of college and went into rehab. After rehab, he went through the repentance process. He transferred to BYU, and then was married in the temple. Nine years into his marriage, he fell into a deep depression and returned to his substance abuse. He is now divorced. He has three children - 11, 6, and 2. It is heartbreaking, and he knows it.

I learned that no family is immune to the temptations that hit us so hard. Sometimes it is substance abuse that gets us. Sometimes our trials come in other forms. Sometimes we fall into these temptations, and it lands us in jail. Sometimes we fight these demons alone, and sometimes we fall into temptation and our family is faced with the borderline of loving the sinner, but not the sin itself.

We have been taught by apostles of our Savior that our world is worse than that of the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. That is scary to me.However, we are also taught that we have a loving Heavenly Father. He did not send us to earth to be alone. It may be hard sometimes, but we are not alone. I know that to be true.

We are given these life experiences so that they can change us.

Angels in the Outfield

It is said that angels frequent the halls of a children's hospital. I was administered by them. Ryan was administered by them.

10 years ago I distinctly remember asking the nurses of the Children's Hospital Los Angeles how long it would take for Ryan to heal. The answer was "a long time". My first thought - 10 years. Of course, it didn't take 10 years to heal my son, but here we are 10 years later and I can hardly believe that we are that far out.

A baby died last month of SCID. The death triggered some emotions that I haven't felt in a long time in regards to SCID. The disease is curable. The problem is that very few states even test for it until it is too late.

This month Ryan is learning about genetics in school. I asked his teacher if she would like me to come and share our story with her class. She agreed and so I went and taught Ryan's 5th grade class about SCID. I showed pictures and answered questions and tried not to get choked up.

 

I looked through more pictures when I got home and realized that my faith is stronger because of Ryan's life. I know that angels carried me as did the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. After all, if you build your faith, they will come.

February 25

This morning we woke up to about 8 inches of snow. The ground was beautiful. Sometimes it is hard to go back to snow when we have been enjoying spring-like weather. I must say though, it is beautiful, and for the past few years, I haven't gotten tired of it.

I'm still feeling under the weather. I spent the morning loading the dishwasher. I didn't do that yesterday as I laid in bed all day. I hate it when I do that as it makes it much worse the day after. After I got the dishwasher loaded, I blended some apples and put them in the dehydrator to make apple fruit roll-ups.

Once I finished my project, it was off to bed for me. I can't stay up for too long without feeling like complete dirt. I read more of President Monson's biography, and then I slept off and on for a while.

At 11:30 I got up and fixed me a bowl of soup, then it was back in bed for me. Even the soup didn't help me feel any better.

I got to talk to my dad today. I love it when he calls me. We talked about his mission, and his new calling as the ward mission leader. I love my dad. He is a wonderful man.

I need to take more pictures of my family and what is going on around me. It is another thing that I have put on my list of things to improve.

Looky There

So much for my every day posts. I'm not in the habit. Bare with me.

Last night was our Blue and Gold Banquet. It was our last B&G as a family. Ryan will move on to Boy Scouts this year. I can hardly believe it. I am proud of Ryan he is a good boy.

I made a campfire cake for our cake contest. We won Judge's favorite. That's the 2nd year we have won. I think it turned out well, and I'm glad I'm done making these too. Last year we did Burger's and Fries. This year it was much less involved, but took an extra cake mix because the first one broke.

I went to bed last night feeling like a cold might be coming on and sure enough. I woke up this morning not feeling well. I have been in bed all day. Hopefully this is a fast moving cold and I can be back to normal in no time.