Words of Wisdom, courtesy of Jerry Seinfeld

Dustin and I are avid TV watchers! We owe a lot of this to our beloved DVR. If it weren't for him, we would not be able to watch that much. When we were newlyweds, our favorite sitcom was Seinfeld. I remember laughing our heads off every Thursday at 8:00 pm. We still quote the show, I think everybody quotes the show.

Is it any surprise that when he was featured in the Parade, part of the Sunday paper, I chose to read? Of course not! I was so surprised by this article. After reading it, I realized he was not only funny, but actually pretty wise when it came to parenting. I guess I harbor a lot of preconceived notions when it comes to celebrities and raising their kids. I'm sure I'm not the only one!

Here's one of my favorite parts:

Although his own children obviously want for nothing, Seinfeld works hard not to be too indulgent. He bemoans the way some people cater to their children’s every whim. Seinfeld has three rules of parenting, what he calls “the poison Ps.” The first is Praise—“We tell our kids, ‘Great job!’ too much,” he says. The second is Problem-solving—“We refuse to let our children have problems. Problem-solving is the most important skill to develop for success in life, and we for some reason can’t stand it if our kids have a situation that they need to ‘fix.’ Let them struggle—it’s a gift.”

Just as he’s explaining the third P—“Giving your child too much Pleasure”—a woman comes in the deli with her three young daughters and buys them all huge cookies. “Can you believe this?” Seinfeld says, gesturing like his TV counterpart used to. “It’s 5:30 p.m.—when will they have dinner? At 8?”

I laughed when I read this, while nodding my head in agreement. Even when he's serious, he can make me laugh!

I think kids these days are catered to way too much. I see a generation who is suffering from a HUGE sense of entitlement. What's wrong with making our kids work for things? What's wrong with them not having everything their friends have? Ryan asked the other day why he couldn't have a working cell phone (he has one it just has no service), or a PSP. I get tired of those questions. Are we that terrible for making our kids pay for half the Wii? They are almost there, and I think they will appreciate it a lot more. After all, it's not like I'm going to be the one sitting and playing it all the time. Why should I have to pay for all of it? And regards to the cell phone, I told him when he is sixteen, has a job, and pays for it himself he's more that able to have a working cell phone. When did it become a rule that a parent has to supply all the luxuries of life? UUUUUGH!!

I have seen parents who do everything for their kids. I watched as a parent lifted her 5 year-old daughter out of the car, closed the door for her, and held her hand as she came to the front door. I thought oh, that's kind of funny, she's 5! Then when I took her to school she waited for me to walk around, open the door, and help her to her classroom. I said, "Go ahead, open the door." She looked at me, confused. "I don't know how to open the door." So I got out and opened the door. She wouldn't get out. "Hop down," I said. She looked at me like I just asked her to jump off a cliff! She's FIVE!!! I said, "You'll be alright." She did it. I think she knew by then not to ask for help to her class. I guess my point in this whole story is, that kids need to do things on their own. That's how they learn to start solving problems. I will tell you at the end of the school year that girl did everything on her own, slowly and hesitant, but all on her own. I think it was great to see her feel like she could do things. She was always capable, her parents just needed to let her do it.

I could go on and on, but I won't just will leave you with one last quote from the article:

Has raising children interfered with his comedy? Quite the opposite, Seinfeld says. “Kids are a great creative corridor that I didn’t have before, didn’t know existed.”

I love this because I think raising kids is very comedic -is that a word? I laugh everyday because someone has done something off the wall! I heard things like this yesterday:

"Mom, if you were a pirate, what shoulder would your parrot sit on?"
"Can I wear these hunting?" Kate was holding up her purple camo pants.
"Mom you have beautiful bang bangs." Becca meaning boobs, she's obsessed with body parts right now. Of course I told her we don't make comments like that.

Kids are so funny! We need to take the time to laugh and enjoy them. Before we know it, they'll be grown and in jr. high! (I'm traumatized with that fact right now) Before we know it they'll be gone and off to college! We only get one chance to raise them!


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My Thoughts on Valentine's Day

When I was 15 I wrote this poem:

A True Valentine

He was honest, caring , and dearly loved,
but into the courts He was shoved.
"Crucify Him!" they loudly cried.
"Crucify Him that He might die!"
"I see nothing wrong with this man," Pilate said.
"Why is it that thou wants Him dead?"
"He claims to be Christ, the chosen of God,
the King of the Jews," they all mocked.
Pilate gave in and said, "Let Him die!"
With a loud voice, they all did cry.
So He was crucified on the cross.
They did not understand the cost.

He gave His life that we might live,
lifted from sorrow and saved from sin.
His love is great and ours will be too
if we learn to care and always be true.
Give of yourself and let your love show,
share it with others that they might know
of Christ's love and how truly it shines.
He, himself, was a Valentine.



Some might say it's a little off-the -wall to relate Valentine's Day to the Savior. I realize my thoughts at 15 were immature and laughable to some. But they were honest feelings. I love my Savior. And I was just beginning to understand the role He would play in my life.

Valentine's Day is the day we have the opportunity to tell somebody we love them. We go out of our way to do something nice and thoughtful for one another. I can't think of a better example of this than our Savior, Jesus Christ. No one has ever been more loving, thoughtful, gracious, or selfless.

The colors of this special day are red and white. Is there anything more fitting to represent Him? Red, symbolic of the blood shed. White representing the opportunity we all have to become clean through the Atonement. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow..." Isaiah 1:18.

I would like to wish you all a happy Valentine's Day! This is my 2nd favorite holiday. Christmas being #1, of course. Take the time today to tell those you care about how grateful you are for them! Make a goal to be more kind and loving to others. The greatest gift we can ever give someone is LOVE.

Thankful for a Second Chance

A long time ago I earned my Young Women Medallion. Honestly, I think I could have done better at it. I know I earned it and did all the work required, but I don't think I realized its importance at the young age of 17. I feel like I went through the motions of getting it and not paying attention to what I was supposed to be learning.

So now that I am in Young Women again, I am taking advantage of the fact that I can earn my medallion over again, this time with better eyes. It has been somewhat difficult, just finding the time and working it into the routine. I don't remember having to read so much and writing in my journal, but like I said, I kind of didn't take the first time serious.

I am excited though. I lost my old medallion and I'm happy to get the new version. I like it, it's prettier! I'm also looking forward to learning what I should have learned when I was 17! Thank goodness for second chances!

Merrits and Cabin Fever

When winter comes, we suffer A LOT from cabin fever. Being shut in with nothing to do is enough to drive anyone crazy, especially a family of seven! We are coping nicely though. We are getting caught up on reading, watching movies, playing game after game after game....

Today we got to do something we haven't been able to do in a while. We went to the park. Oh, it was glorious! The sun was shining, we didn't even have to wear our jackets. I got a long, over-due break while the kids had a blast just running, climbing, and swinging.

I hope we can do it again tomorrow. This time I will remember a blanket and a book! And maybe it will get OVER 50 degrees!