"As I have loved you, love one another"

It's no secret that I'm not entirely satisfied with the teachings of the LDS church. However, I've been told that this church has the answers to any questions I might have and I'm willing to wait for those answers all while passionately and faithfully agitating as I seek.

With just as much passion, and regardless of my feelings toward 'the church', I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I take His words seriously when He said "Love they neighbor as thy self".

Yesterday I posted this quote from Stephen Colbert on my Facebook wall.



I believe this with all my heart (or as you might hear in an LDS testimony meeting, "with every fiber of my being".) I also made the request for people to contact me if they had the desire to actually put Christ's words into action. I'm sure you can imagine my disapointment when the quote got numerous "shares" and "likes" but only one person- and not even an LDS person- contacted me.

I want to issue the call again, here on my blog, for the whole world to see. If you want to be a true follower of Jesus Christ and His teachings and not just pay lip service on Sunday in the pews, then here is something you can do.

Tracy McKay is a blogger, writer and artist in the LDS blogging community. She is a single mom with three children, one of which has special needs. She has been putting herself through college with an eye toward graduating in June then moving onto Grad School. She has been writing about her journey for several years now, and it never fails to move me. (Her essay in Dance With Them absolutely shattered me.)

This week she was informed by her bishop that the church would no longer be able to help her with her rent payment. She was already facing the Herculean task of paying for the GRE, applying to Grad Schools and an out-of-state move.

People in the LDS blogging community are trying to figure out ways to help this sister who has done nothing but continually pull herself "up by her bootstraps" and out of poverty so she can make a better life for her children and herself. Feminist Mormon Housewives has set up a scholarship fund for Tracy with an eye toward doing just that.

If you read the comments in the post at FMH, someone says that this is the definition of "Relief Society" in the purest sense of the word. I agree wholeheartedly. Another commenter at Tracy's blog said that "the church" might not be able to help her anymore, but since *WE* are truly the church, then it is time for us to step up and help a sister in need.

Just as Jesus Christ taught us.

Good Bye, I'm Moving to the BIG CITY

I was doing great, keeping calm and carrying on and all, when on Saturday our lawn guy put a rock through my van window. Did you know that auto insurance is not like medical insurance, in that once you meet your deductible you are good for a year?? No, with auto insurance you have to meet the deductible EACH AND EVERY INCIDENT!!

Luckily, I know a glass guy. A benefit of small town living- I have a personal glass guy! I called him up and told him my sob story, and he told me that he would order my glass and have it installed by Tuesday, and $50 cheaper than the insurance company recommended where we would get a "discount".

So now I have new glass, and we have also settled with the insurance company on James' car. All that's left is to find him some new wheels. And if we have any more car trouble this summer the title of my post will absolutely true.

In other news, we hosted a birthday party at our house last night, and it was a rousing success. In sadder news, now that all of these people have been to our house they will move, because that's what ALWAYS happens when we make friends. Sorry, Albany.

In other other news, I'm making Sloppy Joes for dinner. They will be tasty, because I'm *pretty* sure I make the very best Sloppy Joes ever.

I'm so popular!

I was getting ready to make a ginormous post about all the things we've been up to lately (birthdays! surgeries! more! more! more!) when I noticed that I have a new follower. How exciting is that??!!?? And even better, I have NO IDEA who he is! But my mama raised me with good manners, so let me be the first to welcome

Will Hiemenz

Now that you feel welcome, Will, do you mind answering a few questions???

Who are you? Why are you here? How did you find me? Do I need to be afraid for my life? Do you like it in the Tree Fort??

Hello? Is it me you're looking for?

1. As much as I tried to avoid it, schools starts on Friday for the girls. It starts on Monday for me. Jaws, not being affliated with school in any way, has had no break and has been going to work on a regular basis for awhile now.

2. Last Saturday we (meaning me and the girls) drove Mom down to Tallahassee for an almost all day seminary training meeting. We decided to do some final back-to-school shopping. Our first shopping trip was when we were down in Jacksonville last month. It's exciting to go shopping in the big city, doncha know? I'm thinking about making this kind of trip a tradition. Something to look foward to to shake off the End-of-Summer blues.

3. I am so sick of mowing our lawn. Jaws is too. This school year I use my school money to buy a Dyson vaccuum and a riding lawn mower, come hell or high water.

4. Last week Madeline got Stage Two braces put on. Poor thing. More hardware this time, for a longer period of time (two years). If I don't buy a Dyson it's because of these braces.

5. Bella will most likely go into Stage Two braces in November-ish. If I don't buy a riding mower it's because of these braces.

6. I've discovered a new Pet Peeve. I hate it when people complain about where they live. Let me repeat that. I HATE IT. Maybe it's because I grew up in a military family, but I was always taught that home should be wherever you are and to make it as joyful an experience as possible, because it does no good to complain about it.

If you don't like where you live, MOVE. If you can't move, find the good in the situation and learn to be happy about it. If you can't find the good and be happy, then SHUT UP, because no one -NO ONE- wants to hear you complain about how terrible Podunk City is, especially the people who choose to be happy living there.

I'm sure this opinion offends many people, but frankly I don't care. I am sick and tired of the complaining. It's fine if you think somewhere else is better than wherever you are. I think there are LOTS of places better than where I am! But it's not fine (with me, anyway) to constantly whine and moan about it. For Pete's sake, GROW UP.

7. Wow. Maybe that PMS medicine isn't working as well as I thought. On the other hand, maybe it is, as I haven't actually voiced this opinion to anyone in particular, to their face. And I probably won't. Probably.

8. My mom made me laugh - out loud - TWICE last week. It's not that she's not a funny person, because she is. But her humor is more of the subtle type. It's ninja humor. So the fact that I LOLed is noteworthy.

9. My birthday is on Sunday. Email me for gift ideas, although cash is always welcomed.

10. What do you think of my new art project?? Feedback to make it better always welcome!





The piece in the middle is a print from Urban Outfitters that says "Home Is Where You Are", and I've surrounded it with favorites pics of the fam. I plan on adding to it.

The Very Hungry Preschool Teacher

So recently I've been going through a lot of some medical things, and my digestive system has been whacked out. Normally I wouldn't complain about not having any appetite, but given that I've had an abnormal amount of stress and I'm prone to ulcers (the first one coming after I got married, quit my job, dropped out of college and moved 400 miles while driving a U-Haul truck all by myself from Jacksonville to Atlanta, all within the space of three days) and hate vomitting in general (thank you six months of day-and-night "morning" sickness times two pregnancies), it's just been easier not to eat than to deal with the effects of eating later on.

Now that I'm enjoying better living through chemicals, my appetite is returning. With a vengeance. In fact, I'm STARVING right now, even though in the past three hours I've eaten a Turkey and Cheddar Cheese Lunchable, a small bag of cheetos, a chocolate donut and some leftover lasagna, along with a 12 oz Pepsi and lots of water. And still all I can think about is "WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT FOR DINNER AND HOW SOON CAN I START EATING IT??!?!?!?!?" (Right now it's a toss-up between Popeye's Chicken- for which I have a very good coupon- or Hawaiian Haystacks. Each are immensly enjoyable in their own way. Decisions, decisions.)

I just took a break to eat an apple. It wasn't as satisfying as Hawaiian Haystacks or Popeye's Chicken will be, I can assure you.

I feel like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, eating my way through the week. But then again, the caterpillar eventually turned into a beautiful butterfly. Maybe I'm just building up the energy to burst out of my own little cocoon and turn into something more beautiful.

What??!?!?

How is it possible that I have ended up on the mailing list for the AARP? I was sent my membership card in the mail today. Truly bizarre.