Constipation of Life (not body)

My life (NOT my body) is in the late stages of constipation right now. Everything is so clogged up at the end of this summer. I don't even have time to take pictures and upload them. But then, pictures of constipation probably aren't a pretty sight.

So what is causing all this blockage? What is going on resulting in everything coming together at the same time? Here's the list, in stream-of-consciousness order:

* helping Fred and Nick get registered for UVU which starts next week.

* determined to get my photos organized. Yes, it is taking all the summer because we haven't been home enough. Getting VERY close to being done and it feels great!

* was released from counselor in Primary and am now chorister (wahoo!) Am trying to get good visuals for the songs for the Sacrament meeting program which is Sept. 28. The kids need a lot of work on the songs.

* had mentally started getting the Primary program ready and the new counselor was too spooked about trying to write the program and asked me if I'd get it written and she'd take it from there. Last Tuesday night I spent from 11:00 PM until 4:00 AM writing the program and I e-mailed it off and that was a load taken off my shoulders.

(Just a note here about writing the program. The way we have done this for the last two years is to send a topic home with each child and they are to write their own thoughts and feelings about their assigned topic and return it to us, and we then put all the parts together to make the program. It involves a little more work than just giving out pre-written parts, but it is more meaningful. Tuesday night, after my family was in bed, I gathered everything I needed to get started on the program. I said a prayer and told Heavenly Father that I really needed His help. I was really tired (we'd come back from Snowbird the Friday before and I was still unpacking and trying to get caught up with life) and I had so much that I needed to do that week and I didn't have a lot of time and I really needed to get the program to Sheila, so would He please help me? So then I set about deciding which class should have which theme, and I got that done. Then I needed to decide which child from that class should speak about certain topics based on that theme. That went very smoothly. A name would come to my mind and that was the child I'd use. Two times a name came to mind and then I started thinking about another child and then the Spirit said to me, "I already told you who to use." It was that easy! So in 4-5 hours I had the program written and organized and e-mailed and DONE! That's what working WITH and listening TO the Lord can do for you. Of course, I was worth nothing the next day until about noon!)

*helping Nick and Fred find a place to live. It should be another post about the fine line between doing the things for your adult-in-training-kids that you know need to be done, and letting them get it figured out themselves. Because they don't bother to look at a calendar enough (are they really my children??) they don't see deadlines creeping up on them and then they have to do last minute scrambles. I will only nag them so much and then I let the chips fall where they may. The chips are falling really hard right now on this point...

* Fred has his Eagle Court of Honor this weekend and I am trying to finish a scouting scrapbook for him. Since I've been organizing my photos all summer it was the perfect time to pull out all his scout photos as I went along.

* need to get badges and baubles sewn on his sash and uniform for his Court of Honor. Had to go to the scout office in Vernal yesterday to get some missing things.

* still need to finish planning with Fred and get the program written and printed. Lots of decisions still need to be made.

* need to take Jake to school to pay fees for new year and get him registered.

* get Jake and Abbie registered for AYSO soccer. Now we get to go to soccer games through October.

* pay bills? Oh, I forgot about that...

* keep the garden semi-alive. It isn't working. Note to self: if we are going to be gone most of a summer don't plant a garden.

* this was also the summer to get the new lawn put in. It hasn't happened yet.

* need to get readings done for co-op next week.

* need to have time to think through co-op for the year.

* need to plan for Abbie's reading club at Library.

* help Sam make decisions over the phone. He has been calling often trying to get things figured out. He'll be back in Utah by Monday!

* help Doug get information for office stuff

* stop everything and have serious talk with whichever child comes to me to talk

* laundry? meals? ironing? general cleaning? go figure...

* get the LOTOJA bike ride logistics figured out. I'm one of the women driving support for the 10 riders. Need to get reservations for dinner in Logan on Friday night for 33 people. I'm glad I just remembered that.

Well, I'm getting tired of all this. I need to get going. I know that after this month is done things will lighten up immensely. That huge sigh of relief--ahhhhhhhhhhh--when life is running smoothly again! ha ha!!