COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS

When I have trouble going to sleep, I find that counting sheep does nothing for me. So a few years ago, I decided to count my blessings instead. As the hymn goes, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done." I will lay there, and start naming off the things that I have been blessed with. I could name them the whole night and never repeat one blessing more than once - but thankfully I fall asleep first. I wish I could list here on my blog all the things that I have been blessed with, but I think that would be impossible, so I am going to write about my top 3 - God, Family, and my Country (freedom). Tonight, our family read a paper that lists some things that show just how blessed we are. To name a few, it says,

"If you own just one Bible, you are abundantly blessed. 1/3 of the world does not have access to even one.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week."

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people around the world.

If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest or torture of death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy."

That put a perspective on just how blessed we are, even during a time when everything seems to point the other direction.

FAMILY
Of course, with Thanksgiving just behind us, we spent the weekend with my side of the family. I am SO blessed to have such a great family. I love and adore my husband and children, and I love our extended family get-togethers. We all get along so well, and I think the feeling is the same for all the others - that there aren't any of the 8 kids, 8 spouses, 27 grandchildren (plus 4 of their spouses), 5 great grandchildren, and of course 2 very cool parents who don't love to spend time together. I can't think of any arguments between us (in our adult lives anyways). My parents are planning on leaving on an 18 month mission for the church next fall. I haven't realized just how much I rely on them for so many things until this "final countdown" is on. Next Thanksgiving they won't be here - does that mean I might have to learn to cook a Thanksgiving meal? SCARY! (As hard as I try, I couldn't possibly make rolls like my mom does. You've never had a dinner roll until you've tried her hot, yummy rolls)! OK I'm getting sidetracked now. What I'm trying to say is that sometimes I take my blessings for granted until I don't have them anymore, even my "Littlest" (really my greatest) blessings - my children. I definitely take them for granted, wishing sometimes that they would grow up a little faster. One of the things I love is a perfectly left-behind little hand print (on the window or cupboard). I can't stand all the cluttery messes, but I love the hand prints as a reminder to me that they will only be little once!

Mmmmm....Mmmm, can't you just smell them and taste them? My family made fun of me taking this picture - but it's serving it's purpose! Maybe I will enlarge it and put it in the center of my Thanksgiving table next year, and pretend I can smell and taste them!

My nephew Travis

The football game after the big meal - gotta burn off some calories to make room for all the pie!

My brothers-in-law, Derrick and Reece

Go Brayden, Go! The kids playing.
Kam with his cousin Des (look at those sweet little feet!)


COUNTRY

When I was 16, I spent some time in Germany as an exchange student. While there, I had the opportunity to go, with a few teenage girls, on a trip to Berlin. We also went across the boarder in East Berlin (before the wall came down). It was like walking from a color tv set into a black and white set. It was so bleak and sad. (I think had my mom known what I was up to, she would have been a wreck!) I remember the fear I felt. I remember the soldiers with their machine guns all around, checking our passports. My only other American friend and I tried to bring a Book of Mormon through the gates, and the soldiers compensated it (hey, maybe they read it!) Anyways, I will never forget the feeling of gratitude and reverence I felt as I stepped onto American soil again after that experience. I will never forget seeing the American flag blowing in the breeze, and knowing I was home with the freedoms I had always enjoyed, and didn't realize were so precious to me before that time.

Someday I will need to scan my Germany photos, but for now - these pictures remind me of the beautiful land that I have the privilege of calling home.

The old sugar factory in Whitney, ID.

RELIGION

Lastly, (is actually first on my list, but last one I'll write about), is God. The church I belong to, and have very strong feelings for has been under attack since the beginning of time - when Christ himself was the head of it when He was on Earth. Of course, Jesus Christ is still the head of the church, but his hands on earth are our prophets and each of ours. Many of the early pioneers of the church (my ancestors included) were driven from their homes, tortured and killed. They walked to the desolate valley of Salt Lake to have a place where they could worship freely. They tried to get protection from the American government, to no avail. Yet, they still proudly waved the American flag. They knew the blessings of being Americans, and that someday they would have the right to worship freely, as was their right. During the last year, we have been under attack a lot with Mitt Romney in the political light, and of course our stand on Proposition 8 in California. I feel that if there weren't truth to what we are, and what we believe, then Satan wouldn't be so determined to bring it down.
My life would be an empty slate if I didn't believe and KNOW that God lives, and that I am one of His children. I don't mean to sound preachy - but it is a very big part of who I am. So many people in this world don't have the blessing of having the knowledge that I have, and that is one blessing I will never take for granted.


I am so grateful for the blessings of Family, Freedom and God.

husband tag

I thought husband tag was a fun tag. So here goes:

1. Full name: Ira Jeremy Crawford - not named after anyone. I guess his parents just liked the name

2. How long have you been married? 15 years 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours - NOT LONG ENOUGH!

3. How long did you date? 4 months before we got engaged, then 3 more months of engagement.

4. Who eats the sweets? Isn't that obvious?! I am a huge baked goods fan. Ira likes things like nuts or crackers, cheese and beef stick.

5. Who said "I love you" first? He did. I still was in the battle of working through my feelings (story of why is answered in #16)

6. Who is taller? No brainer!

8. Who is smarter? At home...me (Ira still can't find where things belong in our house). With Brayden's homework...Ira. With business...definently Ira. With common sense - of course me! (just kidding). I think we pretty well balance each other out.

9. Who does the laundry? Me. I have been teaching the older kids how to do their own. It becomes their consequence when they put their clean clothes in the laundry, just because they don't want to put them away. So...they are learning to do their own quite well! But almost never does Ira do laundry - he's not home enough!

10. Who pays the bills? Both. He does the ones at work, I do the ones at home. It is a source of frustration for him. He pays a bill the day it comes in the mail. I get around to it once a month.

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Ira. The left side is easiest for me to get out to the baby.

12. Who mows the lawn? Me, me, me! I love mowing the lawn. When I was many months pregnant, and still mowing the lawn, I think my neighbors must have thought Ira was so mean. But if truth be told - it was all my doing - it is my therapy. Ira comes home and takes over the kids, and they all leave me alone when I'm mowing. So in a way, it is my "quiet" time. And, unlike most jobs I do, it stays done for more than an hour or two! However, now Brayden is old enough to mow, and we feel that there are few things (not living on a farm) that we can have our kids do that are manual labor. I am such a perfectionist with mowing the lawn and trimming it just right, that it will bother me when it isn't done just right, so I often go fix it when kids aren't home. This year was the exception - I was just so grateful to have it done at all!

13. Who drives? Both of us. I drive on the way TO our destination while he does that days paper work and I talk non-stop, probably making it pretty difficult to do paper work - but he always smiles and says "uh-hu" at the appropriate times. Then on the way home, I'm always too tired, and he drives.

14. Who admits they are wrong? He does - of course. What have I ever done wrong??!! :) That is actually one of the things I admire most about him, he is very good at letting things go and swallowing his pride for the benefit of our marriage, even if it is me that was in the wrong. I am trying to be more like him in that way.

15. Who kissed who first? He kissed me...I think. Actually, doesn't it take two to tango? I think it was a pretty mutual thing!

16. Who asked out who first? Ira asked me out to a Valentines dance. I wasn't in the market for asking for dates - I was a girl in "waiting"! There is actually a very neat story that goes with this. A little long, so sit back and relax - or skip right past this. As I mentioned earlier, I was "waiting" for a missionary, and he was past his one year mark, so I was sure it was smooth sailing from there on. Then this tall, red head asked me out. When I was talking to my mom on the phone, I was telling her about this guy who had asked me out. She experienced a spiritual moment where she heard a voice loud and clear tell her that this was the man her daughter would marry. She pushed it aside, knowing how devoted I was to the other guy. Then that voice came again repeating what she heard before. She did not tell me of her experience until the week that I was getting married. At the time I wondered why she hadn't told me that from the beginning, then I wouldn't have had to go through so much heartache while trying to make my decision. She is such a wise mother. She wanted me to come to my own decisions without her influence. It was a very difficult time for me, wrestling with my feelings and what was the Lords plan for me. To this day, I am so grateful for a wise mother who waited patiently for me to come to my own decisions, and get that prompting for myself. Had I gone off of my mom's promptings, and not my own, then it would have been a much rougher road in our down moments in our marriage. Instead, when we have a moment of weakness, I remember that feeling of peace and complete knowledge that Ira was and is the perfect man for me!

17.Who wears the pants? I think mostly Ira. I like letting him take charge, and I just follow along - it suites me just fine. However, if I really have an opinion on something, then I almost always get my way. So I guess maybe we both do.

Ira is the best thing that ever happened to me. We laugh together and cry together, and love each other. I love being with him, and just wish we had more together time. He is one of the most tender-hearted, compassionate people I know, and I'm blessed enough to call him my best friend.

It takes a real ladies man to paint his daughters fingernails! Not only is

Ira a great husband, but a wonderful dad!

That's it! Now I'll pass on the tag....to anyone who wants something to write about. Have fun!

Pay it Forward

I had a very good deed done for me yesterday by a total stranger, and I thought I would share. I was at Wal-Mart (the place I only go to when I have a list a mile long - can't stand fighting the crowds there). Anyways, I didn't have ANY of my children with me, so I thought I would get a little Christmas shopping done while I was there. I get to the check out and realize that my credit card and drivers license are both missing from my wallet, and I have very little cash. The cashier told me that they couldn't accept my check without an I.D., so basically I had wasted my time and would have to come back another day. The lady checking out right in front of me heard our conversation, and she offered to pay my bill with her credit card, and I could write my check out to her. She didn't even know me!! How would she know that my check wouldn't just bounce or something, and she would be left with my $150 tab? She won't - my check will go through, but she didn't know that! The cashier said, "wow, that's a nice friend." I said, "I don't even know her." The cashier looked a bit shocked, but probably not as shocked as me. It is so wonderful to know that there are still nice, honest & trusting people in the world. Thank you Christie Hansen from North Logan, I will try to pay it forward with a kind deed when I see someone else in need.

By the way, I found my credit card and drivers license by calling the stores I had gone to during the weekend on my sisters shopping trip to Salt Lake. Another honest person had turned them both in to the Layton Hills Mall security, without even using it! I have been so scared what our world is coming to, but you know...times like these I can't help but to remember that there is still a lot of good in it! Thank you anonamous person in Layton!

good...BeTTeR...BEST!

Have you ever watched someone that you admire and wonder how in the world they seem to have it all together and how they get so much done? I know... I've heard the saying that if you think someone has it all together, you just need to go to their house on Sunday morning, and you would feel better. I am sure there is truth to that. In fact, I don't think I would invite anyone into my house on Sunday mornings - total destruction in every way! However, that isn't what this post is really about, it is really about the things in life that I am missing out on because I am just too busy. I realize that I have the exact same 24 hours in a day that you have. I believe that the difference between someone who seems to have "time" to do all the things on their list and someone like ME is that they only put the most important things on their list in the first place! I remember giving a lesson in Relief Society from Elder Dallin H. Oaks in General Conference, titled, "Good, better, best." Following is one of the things he said that I liked the most:



Some of our most important choices concern family activities. ...I have never known of a man who looked back on his working life and said, “I just didn’t spend enough time with my job.”
In choosing how we spend time as a family, we should be careful not to exhaust our available time on things that are merely good and leave little time for that which is better or best. A friend took his young family on a series of summer vacation trips, including visits to memorable historic sites. At the end of the summer he asked his teenage son which of these good summer activities he enjoyed most. The father learned from the reply, and so did those he told of it. “The thing I liked best this summer,” the boy replied, “was the night you and I laid on the lawn and looked at the stars and talked.”



This article has really stuck with me. There are so many good things to chose to do with my time, but am I chosing the BEST? If I feel every day that I am sinking faster than I can swim, than obviously I'm not always chosing the "best" things to do with my time. In fact, as I am writing this, Kamden is sitting on my lap "talking" to me and smiling. So I am going to chose the higher road and chose the "best" and play with him, and stop blogging right now. I will continue this blog later...

I'm back. We played and laughed, and now I can do my thing - maybe for a second or two anyways. So back to the issue of time. I feel an urgency to do all the things that I know I should do, like read my scriptures every day, have consistant family home evenings, doing my church calling, supporting Ira in his ever-busy church calling, making sure we are having our family prayers, helping my neighbors, etc. etc. etc. (the list can go on for miles). Then there's the things that absolutely have to take priority, like listen to my husband and children (takes time), play with them (takes time), helping with homework, making sure they are all fed etc. etc. etc.... Then there are fairly important things like keeping a house of order, (that one went out my dirty windows months ago!). Then there are the ABSOLUTE MUSTS :), and that consists of MY time (that's when I blog and scrapbook). And there are the things that should probably be up to the top of the list, but unfortunantly are almost at the bottom, things like exercise and date nights. So do I have my priorities mixed up? Probably! I know from past experiences that when I re-prioritize these things, and put the things that Heavenly Father has asked me to do FIRST, then somehow, all the other things either fall into place, or don't seem quite as important as they once did. I know that Satan knows that he can't get me with things like drugs or alcohol or countless other tools he uses, they just aren't a temptation to me. But I know that he knows that he can get me with my time. He can, and has destroyed countless families by making us too busy for each other, and for the most important things in life. I am certainly not lecturing any of my blog readers with this post, I am just putting my own thoughts into words of what I need to fix in my own home. Following are two of my most favorite quotes that hit home to me.

"The adversary would keep us busily engaged in a multitude of trivial things in an effort to keep us distracted from the few vital things that make all the difference."-Ardeth G. Kapp

(Try to guess who wrote this next one... it fits how she lived her life.)

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenck's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Sometimes I find myself "wishing away" the time I have right now. I just feel so overwhelmed, that I think that when my kids are a bit older (like out of the house - on their own), THEN things will calm down and I can enjoy life more. How terrible is that? So many people tell me to enjoy them while they are young - time goes too fast., and in my mind I think "Ya, right - tell me how!" - everyday seems like an eternity until I can finally throw my tired body into bed just to be waken up again a couple short hours later." How sad is that? My babies are growing up, and I have enjoyed most of it, but have totally skipped over a bunch of it. We watched the Kung Fu Panda movie this weekend, and in it there was a very profound statement that I just might make into great big signs and hang in every room in my house. The "wise old turtle" said, "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift - that is why it is called the present." How cool is that? That is going to be my new goal starting right now - to make today a gift, and enjoy the craziness in my life, and to simplify. If something I think I need to do doesn't make me or my family or neighbors better people, then is it really worth my time? (by the way, I'm justifying blogging as making myself a better person - it's giving me a place to express my thoughts and our family journal - pretty good justification, don't ya think?) I could keep going on this subject for a very long TIME, because it is something that has been weighing heavily on my mind for quite some TIME. However, I think I have worked out in my mind what I needed to, and now I need to re-prioritize my TIME, and do something else useful with it. And with the Lords help, I will figure out how to do that! I just love my family way too much to wake up one day and realize that I have wished them away because I was just too busy, or that they have gone down some scary paths because I was too busy to take them by the hand and walk them down the right path.

GOING PRIVATE

So I'm finally getting off my lazy behind and getting around to doing what I've been meaning to do for a long time - making my blog private. I got a little nervous when I started posting pictures of my sweet newborn for the world to see, then as I would post pics of my other kiddos, I realized that I just didn't want anyone I didn't know, checking in on my beautiful babies who could want to cause them any harm. So...please leave a comment with your e-mail address if you would like me to add you to the invite list. Or you can e-mail me directly at nickymcrawford@yahoo.com . Please don't be shy to leave me your e-mail, I love hearing that people read it, even if you don't leave comments!

Happy Birthday Brayden

Party time with a bunch of 12 year old boys - uughhh!!! Actually, it was a really fun party. I was really worried about how to entertain this age group, and have it be "cool" enough. As it turned out, I had many things planned, but they entertained themselves quite a lot (like the impromptu dog pile pictured below). We didn't even have to do half of the things I had planned.

We tie-died t-shirts, which turned out pretty "awesome".

But the hit of the party was when we played "wolf man". We had a bunch of nerf guns that have the lazer light on the end. We made our basement pitch black, and Ira (aka "wolfman") was hiding somewhere down there, and the goal was for the boys to tag him with their guns before he could tag them. According to the boys, it was "so intense". They could have played this game all night.
"Wolf Man" Ira. Can you imagine being in pitch black, and seeing this thing with your red beemer?
I used to love these big balloons that have the elastics on the end, and you punch them. Apparently they still have their magic, cuz the boys had a great time with them.

I can hardly believe that Brayden is the big twelve! So many wonderful things happen at this time of his life. He is old enough to be responsible to hold one of the most sacred gifts that Heavenly Father has blessed us with through modern revelation, through a prophet of God, in these latter days - the Priesthood of God. I hope he will always find himself making choices that will make him be worthy of this gift. I have such a strong testimony of the power of the priesthood, and feel so blessed to have two priesthood holders in my home. Brayden is such a special young man. I will always remember holding him in my arms for the first time, and thinking about what his future would hold. Some of those thoughts scared me, and even scare me more now that I see just how scary our world is becoming. But so many of those thoughts were of the wonderful man he would become, and he has lived up to those hopes. He has a very tender heart, and is one of the most thoughtful young men I have had the priviledge of knowing. Unfortunantly for Brayden, he also gets to "raise" and "train" his parents to be parents. We have made a lot of mistakes in parenthood, and will continue to in the future, I'm sure - but luckily for us, he is very forgiving. We love you Brayden, and are so proud of the person you are, and the man you are becoming!

Freedom of Speech

I copied this from my sister-in-law, Marias, blog. They live near Oakland, CA. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has given each of the members in California a phone list to contact their neighbors in California regarding proposition 8 (to reverse the law of legalized gay marriages). The church doesn't very often get involved in political debates, and almost never encourages it's members to vote a certain way. So when they do, you know it is for an extremely important cause. My brothers family (Todd) lives in the San Diego area, and their wards have been doing picketing on the streets. He said that they had lots of "thumbs up", lots of "thumbs down", and several middle fingers up! Do we feel a little bit like Saul in the Bible, when the Phillistines (the enemy) were pressing in around him and his people? I hope that we won't cave under the pressure of our current day Phillistine.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Freedom of Speech (written by Maria)
Why is it that those who are crying for 'Equality for All' are so quick to limit my rights by taking away my freedom of speech? We have had 3 vote 'Yes on 8' signs stolen from our yard. The first one was stolen almost a week after we put it out. We had not been bringing it in at night and when we woke up Sunday morning, it was in shreds on our lawn. The second one was stolen yesterday afternoon. I assumed I made it too easy for someone walking by to take the sign off the wires by putting it too close to the sidewalk; I wanted more people to see it. It also rained all day yesterday. So we got another sign today at church and this time I taped it to the wires and put it out in the yard close to the house and opened the windows. An hour after the last time I looked out the window, the sign was gone. Today was a beautiful, clear sunny day. The first time our sign was gone, I was furious that someone would do such a thing and started taking our sign in each night. When they handed out more signs at church we got an extra one and I hung it up in our window. Now I have given up on putting the signs in our yard and the only sign we will have is the one in our window.This afternoon we had a knock on our door. Our neighbor directly behind us (they live in the duplex owned by the same woman as us and we share our back fence) was at the door. She introduced herself and said she was outside pruning her roses and saw a couple of girls who were jogging by take our sign. These neighbors have 3 'vote no' signs up in their house and one in each of their cars. She said that even though we are on opposite sides, she wanted to let me know what she saw and that she doesn't agree with it. We then went on to talk about how we are both so tired of this whole thing and are ready for it to be over. She said how much they enjoy hearing McKay laugh and play and told me she has a 18 year old son and a 21 year old daughter. I then asked if the other woman (who appears to be much older and was waiting in the car) was her mom. No, she is her partner. Excuse me while I take my foot out of my mouth! Oops! How embarrassing. We visited for a minute longer and she left. I am glad she did what she did even though she was obviously very nervous. Honestly, I had suspected them of our 'sign problems'. On all my walks in the neighborhoods around us, I have NEVER seen two opposing sides with signs out next door to each other. We assumed that we would never be very good friends with our neighbors as soon as we saw them put their signs out, a week after we put our sign out. But tomorrow, I am going to take some cookies over and thank her for her effort and tell her I hope we can be friends no matter what happens. BEFORE we find out who 'wins'. I can't wait for Tuesday to be over. Then hopefully the 'NO's being painted on the Yes houses driveways will stop and the Yes' being burned on No's yards and the No's blocking the entrance to the temple will STOP. Maybe then the media will stop being biased. (Yeah right!) I don't like the feeling of contention and anxiety I feel. Yesterday I finished making my phone calls to registered voters about Yes on Prop 8. It was a very depressing couple of hours. I hung up on one lady who was tearing into me and was glad I couldn't answer when a number I left a message on was calling me back. I probably should have answered because I am SURE he was calling to ask how he could call people for 'YES on 8' and get a sign for his yard. I was so thrilled when I got a few people who said they were going to vote yes. Unfortunately for me, I think I was calling a very liberal street. Luckily, I got a lot of voice mails and not too many, angry people, though the few I got were more than enough to last me a long time. Emotions are VERY high and it really makes me nervous for what may come. We are fighting a clear battle and all we can do is to make sure we are doing the things we have complete control over. We can strengthen our own family and do what we need to do to draw closer to the Lord. We can teach our children what a family is and how to combat the forces around us that will pull us down and teach otherwise. We can follow our living prophet who will guide us in these very troubled times. We can prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior. We can have FAITH and that is what will get us through, 'come what may'!

My nieces in Temecula, California

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN

Right now I am joining an elite group of people. Wanna know who? The group of thousands who have, or very soon will, post their cute kids in their Halloween costumes! Wanna join too?? So here they are:

Just Kidding!

These are pictures I took of our kids last Sunday.

I know...the anticipation of seeing their costumes is killing ya, right?

You'll have to wait a little longer and endure seeing our Halloween activities first.


Our traditional sugar cookie decorating (only do this one 2x a year - Halloween and Valentines)

This is a tradition we call "pumpkin carving". Ever heard of it?

I know...you can hardly stand the anticipation of seeing their costumes - just a little longer!

The finished products!

And the costume pictures...DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

Oh wait, I forgot the pumpkin walk and the schools DARE week (crazy hair and decades day).

Crazy hair day

Decades day

Me and my boys at the pumpkin Walk

What do we call this day for Kam? Dunno...maybe crazy day at the Crawfords?!

All right, enough at my attempt at humor. I've never been the funniest cookie on the block (not on purpose anyways). So...here are the kids in their costumes (really this time).Kamden with his cousin Ryan. No arguing that they really are the cutest pumpkins around!The question of the day season was, "Jarin, what are you going to be for Halloween? At first it was a chicken, then a ghost, then a "Bum-bum bee", then back to the chicken (you get the idea). The final verdict was....the bum bum bee!

Our snow princess.

When I first saw these costumes when Brayden was very little, and they terrified him - I swore I would never allow my child to wear such a gruesome costume. Well...I wouldn't buy it for Brayden, so he bought his own! So the moral of the story...never say never!

So that's it. Lots of pictures, and lots of fun. Thanks for indulging me by reading all the way to the end!