Sources of Inspiration

I want to share a few sources of inspiration that I have read recently that have made a difference in my life:

1. Mothering Inspiration
A few weeks ago, my feelings of adequate homemaking and mothering abilities were ebbing and my feelings of being overwhelmed and discouraged were flowing.  This mom business can be tough.  I said my prayers before getting in bed, then continued my scripture study from where I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants section 64.  I love reading D&C because it is the Lord's voice directly.  I came upon verse 33:
"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.  And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."
It was an answer to my prayers.  I have felt strength and patience as I reflect on that scripture each day as I change diapers, do dishes, pick up toys, read to my kids, give baths, etc.  Each little thing we do as mothers really REALLY matters.  We truly can find inspiration for all aspects of our lives in the scriptures, and should look there before seeking other sources.  With that said, below are a few other sources of inspiration you might want to check out as well :)

2. Marriage and Relationship Inspiration
Do you all know my brother Richard?  I think you do-- he was on the ballroom team with me at BYU and we were together a lot.  His wife Celeste sent us an email a few weeks ago, letting us know that they've started a blog.  She said, "Rich and I were motivated by Elder Bednar's recent talk about spreading the gospel more online (To Sweep the Earth as With a Flood).  So, we're starting a new blog.  It's a blog about marriage.  Here it is:  www.athingcalledloveblog.com.  We're hoping to make it a big, beautiful collaborative effort where people will feel comfortable commenting, sharing and posting with the aim of producing edifying, uplifting posts about improving marriage and also providing a natural platform from which to share the gospel."  They have various people post on the blog and give relationship or marriage advice.  It is uplifting and funny, and I recommend you check it out!  You might come away with a new idea on how to strengthen your marriage.

3. Cooking Inspiration
My number one resource for the past year or so of finding recipes is from a website called Mel's Kitchen Cafe.   She is an LDS mom with 5 kids I think, and is a creative and amazing cook with a focus on nutritious, family-friendly food.  I have no clue how she does all of the things she does (I feel like I barely have time to check her website every few days, let alone create a recipe/cook it/photograph it/write about it like she does!).  Almost all of my latest favorite recipes have come from her website, so much so that Autumn started calling dinner time "Julie's Kitchen Cafe."  A few that you might want to try: Green Chile Enchilada Stack (we had this for dinner last night), Thai Chicken Crunch Wraps, Delicious Greek Pastisio, Freezer Beef and Bean Burritos, Black Bean and Butternut Squash Enchilada Skillet, Skillet Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, Chopped Thai Crunch Salad, Creamy Tex-Mex Quinoa Dippers, Healthy Applesauce Carrot Muffins, Perfect Lemon Bars, Lava Flow Drink, Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Bars, Caprese Skewers,  Those are a few that I thought of off the top of my head that we've had multiple times and really liked, and there are so many other great recipes.  Let me know if you try anything that you love!

4. Family Inspiration
You all get the BYU Magazine as BYU alumni, right?  I have a hard time throwing them away after I've read through them because they are so well done!  In the latest edition (Fall 2014), there were two articles that were especially inspiring to me.

The first article is about the importance of family recreation, called Living the Play-Full Life.  The article starts off with a story about Patty Freeman, who Nelson and I took a winter camping class from at BYU years ago.  We owe a lot of our outdoor-knowledge to Patty!  There is another anecdote in the article about a dad taking his daughters on a backpacking trip to the Highline Trail-- a different section and direction than we did, but still pretty much the same thing :)  So you can see why I loved this article!  It has some really great suggestions and ideas for recreating as a family.

The second article is called Immunization Misconceptions, and it addresses three common myths about immunizations, I feel that the reasoning is sound and very similar to what our pediatrician recently told me.  I agree with the points made in the article, and I feel so grateful for immunizations that keep us safe from the life-threatening diseases that our grandparents faced.

If you haven't had a chance to read them yet, I would recommend it!

5. Friends
Each of you provide inspiration to me, and I love reading your blog posts. You each have such insightful and valuable ideas. I'm so glad we're friends.  Love you all!

p.s. Happy Halloween tomorrow to everyone!  If we all made Michelle's white chicken chili and turned ripped jeans into Monster pants, it would be a pretty great day, wouldn't it?