Tagged by Julie

Okay so a WHILE ago I was tagged by Julie but I was so overwhelmed by Halloween preparations and Halloween postings that I put it on the back burner but I promised I WOULD complete it so here I go. 

I am supposed to list 6 things I value and 6 things I don't value and tag 6 unsuspecting friends to do it too.   Okay.  Here I go.

1.  I value Eternal perspective.  Knowing where I came from and where I'm going and how it all fits together is of great value to me.  When things are hard; parenting, marriage, repentance, etc. it has helped me to understand the big picture.  I still make mistakes but I get it right a lot too I think.  

2.  I value Prayer.  I'm still learning a lot about how to really depend on the Lord. I would like to be able to say as Nephi did:  

2 Ne. 4: 34  34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.  

but I'm not quite there yet.  I trust too much in the arm of flesh but prayer is helping me to understand how to depend more on my Father in Heaven and my Savior, Jesus Christ.  As I test him by going to him with my challenges in prayer, I have had my prayers answered and I have watched as my children have prayed in faith and been granted help, answers, peace and comfort as well.  It's true!  Our prayers are heard.  They are answered- sometimes in ways we struggle to see/understand and sometimes the answers are obvious and affirming.

3.  I value Mark.  He is loyal.  He loves me.  He respects me.  I know that I can depend on him to protect me and to take care of me always.   One night, about 8-9 years ago, I went to drop off something at a friends house.  I saw her husband building elaborate forts with his children.  There were lots of blankets strewn about and the furniture was all pulled out in disarray.  I  began to fret that Mark was not a fort-building- disarray-loving kind of dad.  Then I was granted a gift, a little revelation, from a loving Heavenly Father, who I believe was patiently trying to teach me about marriage and gratitude and attitude.  The thought came to my mind "but if he was a fort-building disarray loving guy he wouldn't be something else that he IS."  What would I give up?  His joy.  The way he makes me laugh when I'm mad that diffuses our fights. His amazing work ethic.  His musical talent. His absolute devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That he likes to go on weekly dates and has made that a priority in our 16 years of marriage.  That he is not a brooder or a worrier which has helped me to try to change those habits in myself.  No.  I would not trade any of those things so I try to remember to Love him for what he IS and stop worrying about what he ISN'T.  

4.  I value my children.  They are wonderful, beautiful, unique little people with such gifts and talents and struggles.  I learn from them every day.  Without them I would not be a mother which was really all I ever wanted to be when I grew up.  I could go on an on about them but that's what I do every day on this blog so I'll stop right now.

5.  I value good food.  A little too much!   My waistline is much larger than I wish it were.  My favorites:  A nice CHICKEN SALAD with lettuce, grilled chicken, cucumbers, celery, green onions, chowmein noodles, almonds and sunflower seeds and tangy oil/vinegar/sugar dressing; chips and fresh tomato salsa made with lots of CILANTRO with sourcream and Guacamole on the side; home made french fries, Roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy and carrots cooked with the roast; my grandma's crazy cake, Russian drips and beef stew; my mom's spare ribs and saurkraut over mashed potatoes, her scones with butter & honey & her ham and bean soup is always so much better than mine; my dad's Mexican Delight AND HIS BEEF OR HAM SANDWICH SPREAD (Bring it on sibs-I can take you) ; Mark's dutch oven BBQ chicken;  enchiladas; homemade bread with butter, strawberries, frozen peaches; crisp cameo apples; homemade ice cream.  oh! I need to stop.  I'm hungry.

6.  I can't quite decide between beautiful music and Hot water so here you go.  They split #6.  There's nothing like a hot bath to relax in and take away the chill when you've been out in the cold or inside in the cold as my visiting family from warmer climes would venture to say...

There's nothing like great music to relax, edify, get you moving, etc.  

Now The 6 Things I Don't Value:

1.  Name brands.  I've not been a name brand kind of girl since I had to have my "Guess" jeans in high school.  I just don't really care all that much about what other people think I should have. I want to look nice but I don't need a particular name on my clothes to feel pretty.   I don't worry about it with food products either.  There are a few things I have found that are truly better with the "name brand" but usually I'm a whatever is cheapest or on sale kind of girl.

2.  Critters in my house that don't belong.  This includes the 2 mice we seem to get every winter, the cockroach in my dorm room in Hawaii, The ants that invade every spring and ick! the earwigs that I find lurking in the damp dirty rags in my laundry hamper, in my drains and crawling on my carpet in the spring and fall.  

3.  Cleaning Bathrooms.  I've always hated cleaning bathrooms.  I don't mind washing dishes.  I don't even mind ironing if I let it build up and I can put on a good movie and iron it all in one shot but bathrooms, I hate.

4.  People who don't follow the signs at the school parking lot.  People park where it says don't park, people stop their cars in lanes that are supposed to be moving and get OUT to go get their kids.  I really like it best when People follow rules overall.  If people obeyed the rules in the school parking lot and everywhere else life would be so much simpler.  Wash your hands before you make my dinner at the restaurant.  Nobody gets hepatitis.  Follow the rules when you get/offer home loans, no housing crisis.  No crippling bank failures.  sigh.  Following the rules is a good thing.

5.  Seafood.  I don't really like anything that comes from the sea.  No shrimp, no oysters, no scallops, no lobster, no tunafish, no sushi, no octopus. I mean, should people even be eating octopus?   Mark loves Lobster, shrimp, Salmon and fish in general.  Poor guy.  He doesn't get it for dinner very often.  I did however like the fresh fish we caught in Minnesota this summer.  My dad coated it in cornmeal and fried it and we squeezed lemons on it.  I think it was Northern pike & Walleye.  I liked that.  

6.  Calories.  They should not even exist in my perfect world.   

Okay, no pressure....

but I tag Maury, Emily, Heidi, Judy, Jena and David; nevermind... this post was too long, DAvid will never get to the end so instead I tag Karen!