Who am I?

~I am your constant companion.
~I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
~I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
~I am completely at your command.
~Half of the things you do might as well just be turned over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
~I am easily managed, you must merely be firm with me.
~Show me exactly how you want something to be done and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
~I am the servant of all great people and, alas, of all failures as well.
~Those who are great, I have made great.
~Those who are failures, I have made failures.
~ I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person.
~ You may run me for profit or run me for ruin - it makes no difference to me.
~ Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.
~Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who am I?
I am a habit!

I love this quote! I am trying to establish some very important habits at the moment! I need help! Any advice is welcome.


I am going to try to go to bed earlier! It is so hard to give up those quiet nights to sleep!


I'm going to try to read scriptures every day. Any advice from any of you as far as when to do this and what has worked for you please share.

Exercise! I hate this one! I love to dance and that is what I always did in my days before kids. I have found it really hard to work out just for the sake of working out. Please help! I know all of you dancers out there must know what I mean. What have you done to get over the boredom of working out when you are used the creative high of dance??

BAPS

Last month I went to Atlanta with my Mom and Dad and my Brother Tyler. We were invited to go to the opening of one of the BAPS Temples or Mundirs. A little background. . . A couple of years ago my Dad was asked to write the music for an IMAX film called Mystic India. In preparation for this, he was invited to come to India and live among and participate with the people in BAPS including their Prophet and all of the Devotees and Swamis. BAPS is to the Hindu religion as Mormons are to Christians. They are part of the Hindu religion but they believe in a more recent Incarnate God that the other Hindus do not recognize in the same way. They believe that there have been a small number of times that God himself has come to Earth incarnate. BAPS believes that the most recent time was Bhagwan Swaminarayan. The film was about him while he was young and his name is Nilconte. They also believe that they have a living "prophet" who gives them guidance. This is obviously an elementary explanation but it is a truly fascinating faith.
Anyway, my Dad was accepted with open arms and given blessing by their prophet and it was a truly high honor. So, fast forward to to now, he is still great friends with the people that he met through this project. They invited us to come to the opening of their Mundir in Atlanta and they also had a special screening of Mystic India. I was so excited to get to experience their culture myself as my Dad had told me so much about it.
They are so devoted and are some of the most humble, friendly, and committed people I have ever met! We were privileged to visit their Mundir (temple) and were also invited to go and participate in their Sunday services! It was one of the neatest experiences I've had. I almost forgot that I was in the U.S.! The Men and Women sit on different sides of the meeting room. They sit on the floor and the Men sit in the front of their side and the women sit further back on their side. The Swamis are dressed in orange "robes" for lack of a better word. They are like catholic monks in that they have taken a vow of celibacy and they commit their lives 100% to God. They make no money and are committed to teaching and denying the temptations of "natural man." They are devoted to caring for the Idols that live in the temple. They dress them each morning and feed them three meals a day. They even put them to sleep for naps and at night for bed. The idols are Swaminarayan as well as several of their prophets. They also have an idol of "Harichrisna." They believe that these Idols are physical representations of the individuals but that their spirits are actually put into them so that they are living Idols. Anyway, the Swamis come to the services on Sundays and they teach. They sit on the "stage" and they have people that are behind them, also on the floor that play instruments. They play hand drums and they chant prayers. The women are seated further back and on the side furthest away out of respect for the Swamis vow of celibacy. Later in the services they light candles and wave them in a circular motion while they worship their idols. From what I understand this is an ancient tradition because when they didn't have electricity they would have to hold a candle and circle it around the idol in order to see the idol. It was really neat to be able to participate in these rituals.
The ladies are so beautiful! They wear colorful dresses and decorative and embellished "dots" on their foreheads. The men also wear red dots on their foreheads. I could go on and on and on! What most impressed me was how welcoming and friendly they were and how willing to explain things and answer my questions. What I also found interesting is that when I asked them about their missionary efforts they said that they try to help people to become better and stronger in their own religion and that they do not really try to get others to share their beliefs. They said that their beliefs are a part of who they are and a part of their heritage. Their goal is to make themselves better, to change the world by first changing themselves.
They have high moral standards including not drinking alcohol or smoking. They also teach abstinence before marriage. They truly are some of the most humble, ready to serve people I have ever met. My dad said that while he was in India there was a man that drove him around for three weeks, always picking up his bag for him and opening the door. He later found out that man was a Doctor in his every day life. They each have positions that they are asked to fulfill in their "church" according to their strengths and abilities. One of the women I met was in charge of making Leighs for the Idols every Sunday. Another thing that I found interesting is that the women get together once a month to learn and share skills and talents and the enjoy each others company. Sounds a bit like Enrichment night! They also have an incredibly organized youth program including Mentors for each young man or woman. They are very organized and their services, from what I understand, are the same everywhere.
If you have a Mundir near where you live you should definitely go and take a tour. The building is amazing! Every stone is hand carved in India and there is not a single nail! Each piece locks into place. They also have festivals and I have been told that the Harichrishna Temple has a festival of colors in Provo. If you have a chance you should go and check it out!

Atlanta Trip

Here are some photos of us on our "nature walk." You can't really call it a hike when there are no mountains. Atlanta is really beautiful, green with rolling hills. I really liked it there! It reminded me a lot of Houston but with hills. We went to see the Martin Luther King museum which was really humbling and AMAZING! It was timely in that I was reading Gone With the Wind at the time. It made the book all the more interesting. We had a great time eating out, braving near death experiences with my Dad behind the wheel (including but not limited to backing up the on-ramp), eating Sushi for the first time (me), staying up late talking, etc. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great trip!

Mother's Day

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Fitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last weeks mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile

Sometimes I take for granted my calling as a Mother. It is true that there are moments that I look at my children smiling and I remember that God has blessed me with more than I could have ever imagined!

I chose this picture of Adam because I can see the twinkle in his eye. There is something about the way that he has looked at me since he was born that is unique to the way that the girls look at me. There is a certain admiration that I feel from my little boy. He is so unconditional. The girls get upset with me and can be so moody but my little Adam is always willing to give me his most sincere smile. He has brought so much joy to my life. He is a welcome change from the pink and purple frills at our house. The bull in the china shop!
I chose this picture of Rachel because she is my little princess and the true queen in the Carter castle. I love her for her imagination and her wit. She is the sugar and the spice of my life. My little snow white!
I chose this picture of Audrey because it shows her sweetness and sensitivity. She is so attune to the sensitivities in life. She understands relationships and all the underlying nuances. She understands social interactions and for this reason, among many, she is a lot of fun to be with. She is very sensitive to the spirit and has a simple and sweet understanding of gospel principals. She has a mind to please all those around her and works hard to be "good" in every sense of the word.

I am truly grateful for my children! I love them individually and equally. I feel so blessed this Mother's Day. I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day!

Friends!

What is the occasion?? Oh, just another day at the Carter household. We are so excited to have so many neighbor girls to play! Rachel said, "Mom! All of the new friends match my hair!" Look at my little lone Blondie in the mix. The girls have been in friend heaven! Gotta love Suburbia!

Daddy's Little Girl

I love this picture of James and Rachel. You can tell how much James adores her! She has had him wrapped around her finger since day one and it gets tighter every day. This picture was taken after her first music concert at the Preschool. We could hear her voice above all the others. She is quite the little singer. She loves musicals and sings all of the songs from Enchanted. It is especially cute when she sings "I'm dreaming of a true loves kiss!"

A word about my husband . . .
I usually don't do this but for journaling sake I have to say how amazed I am at my husband. He is truly the most loving and tender Daddy to my kids. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life. The look on his face in the picture below speaks a thousand words to me. He genuinely loves being a Father and everything that goes with it. He finds humor in the most stressful and frustrating moments and he enjoys those too. He loves to study the kids and how they react to different situations. He challenges us all to do more and to be more and that is what is the greatest thing of all. I have seen my kids rise to the occasion time after time because of Daddy's expectations and I know that I wouldn't have asked as much. Because of that they are becoming greater than they would be. Life is not always perfect and for that, I have to express my gratitude for my husband who is always there.