The day after Halloween Miriam and I were in Albertsons and a store employee gave her this balloon. It is still floating high and we’ve been too lazy to bring in the ladder to get it down.

I like to think he is watching over us.

Why is it that I don’t take time to blog about anything important and then I post about a balloon?

I don’t know.

Eli and I were searching for his football around the house. Well, mostly I was searching and he was pleading for me to find it.

“Mom- you are not looking in the right places!”

“What are the right places Eli?!”

“I looked in them already and it wasn’t there. “

After awhile he went outside to look in the “right” places. I spent another few minutes earnestly endeavoring to find it and then I poked my head out to see if he had any luck. Sure enough he was playing with said football.

“Eli! You didn’t tell me you found it. “

“Oops. It was on the slide. I forgot.”

Totally innocent smile.

Well, apparently we didn’t do much in November.  The only pictures I have are of the t.v. I sold on Craigslist because we finally broke down and bought a flat-screen.  What would Hugh Nibley think of me?

I think of these all the time, but forget to write them down.   So I’m going to post them here, and then start a list on my sidebar.

You might have too many kids if:

You can’t use “Your youngest child’s middle name” as a security question because the answer changes too frequently.

You carry two insurance cards because your insurance company does not allow more than five names listed on a single card.

I write about this a lot.  I do because it is a struggle for me and when I have these insights I like to dwell on them and express them with the hope that it will somehow change my behavior. 

I find myself frequently discussing with my husband the choices of others.  Recent experiences in my life have called into question the productivity of these discussion.  Often it is harmless, just sharing and expressing of opinions.  But many times it becomes judgemental and critical.  This is what has been eating at me. 

I am constantly observing people in my life and analyzing their choices according to what I would do, or what I think they should do.  Sadly more often than not I think that my way is the right way. Even if I could be 100% sure that in the same situation I would do what I deem to be the “right” thing, that doesn’t take into account many things.  It doesn’t consider the gifts of understanding, faith or character that Heavenly Father has blessed me with.  Nor does it account for blessings I have been given regarding the way I was raised or experiences in my life that have shaped me.  Of course God expects us to make the right choice no matter these other things, but he will extend mercy according to them.  Even with my gifts and blessings I still make mistakes, give in to temptation and become frustrated with my weaknesses.  I compare myself to others who were given gifts and blessings to be strong in the areas I am weak.  I dearly hope that the Lord will show that same mercy unto me. 

It is like the quote says, our view of reality is only our view, not reality itself.  My perspective of their choice is exactly that, my perspective.  Even should I try and view their choice from their perspective I would be unsuccessful because I have little or no knowledge of their desires, feelings and sorrows.

Only we can know when we point out the mistakes and weaknesses of others if we are doing it in a condemning or judgemental way.  Perhaps some are capable of doing it with a heart full of love and mercy.  But I haven’t found this to be the case for me.  President Monson teaches that even when someone’s weaknesses or errors are clear, “charity impels us to be sympathetic, compassionate and merciful.” 

So why is it so hard?

UPDATE: I wrote this post a long time ago and never published it.  Then I came across this post (go read the inspiring story) recently and was reminded of these thoughts and decided I’d share them.

Miriam and I were looking at this book and she kept pointing at this page and saying- what I thought was “pink.” I figured she thought it was a pig and so I kept saying “No, that is a bull.” Then I realized she was saying “bink” and she thought the bull was soothing with a pacifier.  Seems reasonable enough. 

I guess one of the perks to having a dental hygienist for a mom is that you get a little topical anesthetic on your gums while Dad pulls your first tooth.

If Cameron hadn’t been so thrilled about the whole experience I might have been a little sad about this milestone.

Not mention there is nothing more esthetically pleasing than the primary dentition. Once the permanent teeth erupt every child must face the awkward years when their teeth are much too big for their body.

Oh well. He sure doesn’t care.

As BSU fans we have set impossible expectations for our team.  And they come just close enough to realizing those expectations that we become devastated when they fall short. 

In my mind the National Championship was a “pipe dream,” as Richard always says.  But a BCS bowl was our expectation and anything else was unacceptable. 

A little slice of humble pie seems to be just the thing in order. (For the fans that is. The team is not known for “trash talk”. Jared Zabransky excepted.)  Sure our team can beat great teams in hyped-up games, once a year.  But it’s time to be patient while the Broncos work to prove that they can beat non-ranked teams in their conference each year. 

I refuse to be a fair-weather fan.  It is a team to be proud of, I’ve been honored to cheer for a brilliant quarterback like Kellen Moore and have my kids wear his jersey number.  And I am proud to support a coach with character.  It’s a great program, and I’ll cheer them on win or lose. 

By golly, if I’m going to be a college football fan, and Boise State is my team, I’m going to love it all.