Next on my list...

Why is it that I feel so fed up with school right now, when I secretly know that I will be missing having  the consistency of a school schedule like crazy once I'm done in May?

My coping mechanism: I made a list of every single assignment I have for each of my classes about halfway through the semester just so I could have the satisfaction of crossing them off one by one. When I'm stressed copies of this list tend to multiply and spread all over the place...

I have one on my computer desktop, a "to go" copy in my bookbag to take with me to school,  and one that I leave out in plain sight at home to guilt me into working...this is the only way I am accomplishing anything at this point. A bonus of this multiplicity system is that I only have to do one thing, but I get to cross it off three separate times...talk about sense of fulfillment!  If I have learned anything about myself and personal motivation, it's that I can't resist crossing off a to-do list.

What on earth will I do with myself when school is done and my current list is completed?

Ultrasound at 10 weeks

Well...for those who don't know yet about our exciting news... We are expecting a little baby to join our family around October 14. Obviously, this little one is consuming most of my thoughts and will continue to do so from here on out. I already love this little baby to pieces. (We all were pretty excited to meet each other when the time came for an ultrasound. The baby kicked the entire time showing off, and made it hard for the doctor to get his measurements.) Ammon and I are so thrilled to be parents, but I often find myself getting overwhelmed with the idea of how much responsibility that role brings.

This past weekend I really enjoyed the chance I had to listen to some of the leaders of my church speak at General Conference. I felt spiritually renewed, uplifted, and inspired to be better. I feel like my needs were met and my questions were answered.

For obvious reasons, one of the talks that really caught my attention was from Elder Lynn G. Robbins. He said...

"Many of us create 'to do' lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish, but people rarely have 'to be' lists. Why? 'To do's are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. 'To be' however is never done. You can't earn check marks with 'to be's. I can take my wife out for a lovely evening this Friday which is a 'to do', but being a good husband is not an event. It needs to be part of my nature, my character or who I am."

 "To be good parents, one of the most important things we can teach our children is how 'to be' more like the Savior. Christ-like 'to be's cannot be    seen but they are the motivating force behind what we do which can be seen."

I think instead of focusing on my current 'to do's and constantly living moment to moment (or in my case--assignment to assignment), I need to develop a broader perspective and work on my long term 'to be's.

 With such a special spirit coming to bless our home, I feel like I have a lot of 'to be's to work on so that I can live worthy of such a huge blessing. I hope that I can develop habits  through meaningful 'to do's now that will help me 'to  be' a better example for our little family of Christ-like behaviors.