Happy Homes do exist!

You know how sometimes you have a perfect vision of how something is going to work out? And then it doesn't end up looking exactly what you pictured? If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about.  Dieter Uchtdorf referenced this in a talk  in 2018- he said, "There is a word in German, Weltschmerz. Loosely defined, it means a sadness that comes from brooding about how the world is inferior to how we think it ought to be."  Ever since I heard it, I've been obsessed with this concept- and how to stop it in my own life!  Before I go on, let me clarify- I am all for holding high expectations for yourself, your kids, your family and your life! I believe that the more we expect, the more we (and our kids) can rise to the occasion. When I talk about "expectations" here, I am referring more to our picture of what we thought things might be. You know- that picture of perfect children with clean matching clothes, perfect hair and a clean house- before you had ...

I've gotten really busy with my coursework this summer- it's an 8-week summer session, and my 3-credit course seems to have A LOT of reading expectations (and really long lectures). I'm enjoying the subject matter (intimate relationships) especially as I find research that supports my belief in the sanctity and importance of marriage.  My big presentation that I will create is on the topic of "Building and Maintaining marital intimacy after kids join the equation." So far I've looked through my google photos to find pictures of Brant and I- together without kids, together while I was pregnant, together with one baby, together with a million kids (aka right now). I figured that was easier than trying to find photos on the internet that were accessible to use in my slide presentation. This is the picture (above)  I'm using for the cover of the presentation: a real life, candid shot of how things really are when you have a new baby.  And this is one of my fav...