Familial Research and Development

Sometimes you're at the top of your game. You're smart, good looking, and good at every cotton-pickin' thing your turn your hand to AND any and everyone around you knows it too. That's when you're in your moment. Doesn't seem to matter what your social class. Bottom of the heap or top of the pile of humanity-when you're in the moment-you are king. Feels good when you're there too. This song talks about looking back and being able to recognize those moments. This song also warns everyone of us that our day is coming-the day when we won't be top of the heap and we will be looking back and be able to say it felt good and it's okay that I'm not now, not any more, may never be again. I promise you-your time is coming-to be at the top and to have it all behind you. And that bum on the street? That senile old man or woman? That grouch down around the corner? Just remember-you don't know them well enough-but they've had their moments too. Eme...

A truth is a truth and you can't lie it away. It just is. You can deny it-but that does not change it from being a truth-it just means you're living a lie. I love this song. It lists truths and facts and you can't get around it. So, despite what you want, what you think you want-truth will out-everytime. Tracy Byrd, Drinkin' Bone Well it's Friday evenin' six o'clock And all my friends are twistin' off I'm at the house just turnin' on T.V. Well they all wonder why I’ve changed How many times must I explain It's basic honky tonk anatomy The drinkin' bone's connected to the party bone The party bone's connected to the stayin' out all night long And she won't think it's funny And I'll wind up all alone And the lonely bone's connected to the drinkin' bone Hey two plus two is always four And down is south and up is north and thirty-two degrees is freezing cold You play with fire you wind up burned The early-bird ...

It can be considered a curse to be an optimist. If you're always looking on the up or bright side of things you can decive yourself into thinking you can do it all, have it all, spend it all and worst of all afford it all. Not so-at least not all at once. A little here and a little there. Pay it off as you go along and you'll be fine-for the most part. For that reason-I really like this song. Not something you have to listen to often, but you definitely get the message. The Limeliters, A Dollar Down and a Dollar a Week Throughout history mankind has been plagued with triangles A there's the eternal triangle The isosceles triangle And the schrons flippus (That's the one! yeah) However this song is about a friend of mine Who bought an automobile Dollar down and a dollar a week And everytime he turned the wheel Dollar down and a dollar a week He got a credit card for that new machine Dollar down and a dollar a week And he kept it full of gasoline Dollar down and a dollar a...

You can be easy going (aka tolerant) of a whole lotta things. You can let a lot of things not rankle you. You can put up with a certain degree of name calling, having dirt done to you, and general discourteous behaviors-well, if you're either quite mature and secure in yourself and your standing with the man in the mirror and the Man on the other side of the Judgment Bar OR if you're plain out of touch with reality. However, there are some things that you just can't sit there and take and that you have to take a stand on. Each of us has that limit/line that cannot be crossed without not just an eyebrow being lifted but also the adrenalin level start to rise. For me it's a LOT of different things. Treat children with respect. Children-treat adults with respect. Treat God with respect. Treat animals with respect. Treat Mother Earth with respect. Treat yourself with respect. Yeah-those are the big ones. One day as a Brownie Girl Scout Leader I was bringing a car load (they...

Sometimes when you think about life and its challenges you wonder what the heck you think you're doing-loosely translated I would say you're asking yourself if you've bit off more than you can chew. Bottom line is, you probably did, it's too late now, and let's get on with it. Hundreds, thousands and probably millions of other people through the annals of time, have done this same thing (dumb, stupid, smart, hard, whatever-the needles and nails brambles and thorns that life entails) and they survived it (probably were better off for trying) and if they survived, you can too. Which brings me to another favorite song!! :) by Chris LeDoux, The Ride I was six years old, my brother was ten One July day came running in, seen a Ferris wheel at the edge of town So, of course, we headed on down Well it took us an hour to walk that far Carrying our fortune in a Mason jar It was all pretty sad, a cheap county fair With a few old rides, but there was ponies there Well, the poni...

In the Temple chapel tonight, with a mildly extended wait for a session to begin I leaned over to Dove and said, "We might as well start our scripture study now-it's going to be late by the time we get home." He agreed and we both reached for a Book of Mormon. When I read, "Yeah, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God...," it got me to thinking that is one of the major markers of change or repentance. When you learn a concept from the scriptures or from others, see how it is applied again in your lifetime and then respect that concept-you then alter how you think of things, how you respond to things, how you feel about things. You realize that your relationship with Him is much closer, caring, and comforting than the 'world' would have you believe. Funny-just after Alma states this comes the story of Korihor-one who totally goes against everything He has taught, Alma preached and lived by, and the sad truth is-people beli...

Yeah-sometimes you have your hour, day, month, paycheck, life all planned out. You know exactly what you're going to be doing, when, how long, and what comes next. Ya think. Then life happens. I used to have an unwritten list of what was going to get repaired, replaced, renovated next for the next time there would be 3 paychecks in a month. Yeah. Then life happens. Something that was a good 3-5 years down the list moves up to the top and bumps everything else down. Like when the spring on the garage door broke, letting that old heavy wooden garage door crash and break. This song is so true and real-I really like it. It's about what's most important in life-things that are always at the top of the 'priority list'. There Goes My Life, by Kenny Chesney All he could think about was I'm too young for this Got my whole life ahead hell I'm just a kid myself how I'm gonna raise one All he could see were his dreams going up in smoke So much for ditching this town...

Sometimes it's hard to see through your current overwhelming circumstances (demands of young children, finances, demands of limited time, etc.) the needs of the greater populations of humankind. As a young mother listening to General Conference it always hurt my heart, soul, and spirit to hear the Brethren encourage us to reach out-beyond ourselves when I could see so clearly my immediate families needs and us with such limited income. Oh yeah-I knew that as an American we had much more than people living in Third World Countries. I also knew that here in America we couldn't just live anywhere-there are deeds to property, contracts with landlords, required car insurances, etc. Hence with these constraints there was less 'disposable' income, less to spend frivolously. I reasoned that if I could do things less expensively, live on less than we had I could reach out and help others. We had no savings. We had no inheritances. Yet... So we ate out very little (even tortillas...

Well-that's what a reader sent to Dr. Laura today, quoting the 'just a mom's' 3-year old son. Of course that got me to thinkin'. I'm in my fulfillment years which means a lot of different things. Like-if I didn't get a chance to do it as a young chick, or a young hen, I can now do it. Like go to college-I finally got to do it. Fulfillment stage also means the 'opportunity' to look back and either beat yourself up over the 'wouldda, couldda, shouldda' things or to be able to look back with no regrets (genuinely or out of prideful deceit). Frankly, I know I was NOT a perfect mom-who in mortality is? You're not sure either, eh? Understandable. However, I have few regrets because each time a living prophet spoke and said do this, I strove to implement those changes. Now, don't get me wrong-right at first, being the prideful person I am, I would roll my eyes and go through the following internal conversation: 'One more thing; how do Y...

I've thought about this a lot. Especially while raising my children-for I certainly didn't want to have a child grow into an adult and have the feeling that just 'cause they want it, or 'cause their friends/peers have it-doesn't mean they should have it or even need it. Let's face it, when one person has strep throat-they need an antibiotic. What's good for one, isn't necessarily good or needed for another. So yesterday I heard a song (first time for me to hear it-don't know how long it's been around) that well describes the problem of letting someone excessively have their own blessed way... Thanks Tim McGraw- It's a Business Doing Pleasure with You! I spent fifteen hundred dollars on your damn dog's collar Put new spinners on your escalade I swear I almost started cryin' when you brought up buyin' diamonds Lord I'm spending more than I'm getting paid You got more purses than Versace Got more rings that Liberace Fill your...

Your mama (if she's worth her salt) warns you who to give your heart to. Well, I found someone I can give it to without ever thinking twice. Yeah-really! Thou Fount of Every Blessing Text: Robert Robinson, 1735-1790 Music: Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second Tune: NETTLETON, Meter: 87.87 D Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love. Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I'm come; and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood. O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander,...

Lonestar - Mr. Mom First time I heard this song I laughed-almost until I cried. Man does it ever tell it like it is. How well I remember the days of raising my children. My daughters have asked me repeatedly how I did it-so many children, so close together in age, no familial supports. The answer? I don't really know. It was kind of like the song, "If You're Going Through Hell" by Rodney Atkins. A few weeks ago I was watching (for all of about an hour-maybe that long) 2 of my grandchildren. A 5 year old and a 2 year old. At dinner time. While they were hungry. And under my feet as I was trying to prepare the food. Can I have this? I want one of these. etc. I was ready to pull my hair out. I couldn't focus on one thing and finish it without the distraction from the two of them. That's just an example of why this song is so 'right'. Mr. Mom Lost my job, came home mad Got a hug and kiss and that's too bad She said I can go to work until you find anoth...

I realized that there is a common thread found through several of my favorite songs. Songs are: 1) I Hope You Dance (Lee Ann Womack) 2) If You're Going Through Hell Lyrics (Rodney Atkins) 3) PHOTO FINISH (Chris LeDoux) From I Hope You Dance I hear the message of press forward, try harder, don't fear the unknown, don't fear what appears 'hard' for everyone-it may or may not be for you-so try anyway. From If You're Going Through Hell I hear the message of press on, don't worry what others may think, just do it. From Photo Finish I hear press forward, and if you didn't plan well enough to make sure that it can work out-serves you right if you break the laws. I also learned from it that some people just don't know how to grow up-his final line, 'If I could do it again I wouldn't have drove so slow'. Yeah-he'd be like the over confident truckers who take the 6th South exit in Salt Lake too fast, their load shifts, and the truck rolls. S...

Yes, it's that time of the year. Ever since I was a young whelp I've wondered about just what American culture is really all about. I was taught in school that America is synonymous with melting pot. America is everything to everyone. America is where everyone else wants to get to. Some of that is true-to an extent. I just watched an online presentation of what I have come to know that America is all about. Check it out: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=21689194 I've seen the bumper stickers, "Proud Parent of a ....." (fill in the blank). Recently I've read that proud could easily be replaced with 'puzzled' or 'petrified'. That probably most closely fits my feelings when I slapped that first bumper sticker on my car when my third child who I nursed, nurtured and pampered every bit I dare without spoiling him presented me with my 'trophy' bumper sticker. The second 'trophy' I received was a...