bragging

I was at a Ward Conference in Williamson today. It was really wonderful. I was inspired today by President Packard's unabashed bragging. I know that sounds funny and wrong, but hear me out. He was and has many times before, bragged on his nieces and nephews, his son, his brother, and anyone else that he has contact with. I love that. He doesn't make things up, but he looks for the positive and IS positive about it. I have always been one to see the negative and point out problems in my husband and my children and myself, for that matter :) I don't want to be that way. I don't want to be a fault finder. It's not that I want to go around bragging, that is not what he does, but I can see that with his praise, one would feel that they could do and be more than they thought they could before. His praise inspires confidence and hope. I have wonderful children and husband. They know their faults more than I do, but for some reason, I feel the need to point these out constantly. WOW, that sounds awful, and it is not something I am proud of, but it is true. I have been able at times to help OTHERS see the positive in their character, but for some reason, when it comes to my own family, I can only focus on faults. I am going to make a real effort to only point out good, positive things this week. I will only brag in my blog and in person to my family. This will be very difficult, because I have planned to clean rooms tomorrow.....one of the worst times for fault finding. But, there is a silver lining to every cloud and I will find it! So, to start off the week, here we go..............
Alex---He is a funny, funny guy. He has this natural ability to intelligently find humor in many situations. He has a great laugh. A real belly laugh. I think he gets it from me. When he thinks something is funny you can tell it brings him great pleasure. Sometimes, I am trying to get everyone gathered together and he says just the right thing and I lose it. Alex is the person who watches a sitcom or cartoon and in the room by himself rolls on the couch laughing. Too, funny. Also, Alex is brilliant!
Taylor---Taylor is a stickler for details. He loves to have a project and think out the details of it. He and Zack are planning a camp on the river for sometime in the future. He has drawn out his ideas and had many discussions with Zack on how different things would work. He is so good at building things and working on them. He definitely gets that from Zack! Also, if you need someone to do something around the house, you need Taylor. He is so helpful. He will be a great husband and dad.
Mary Catherine---She is so fun to talk to. I love to go up to her room and lay on her bed and talk. We love to shop together and do things. She can be such a good friend. She had lots of her own friends, too. She is also beautiful and smart. She sets goals and sticks to them. She likes to eat healthy and can hardly be influenced to indulge. She inspires me to take care of myself. I can ask her to do something around the house and have confidence that it will be done the way I would want it done.
Sarah Beth---She loves children and they love her. She helps out in a 1st grade class at school and all the kids love her (not surprising). They sent her valentine's and their phone numbers with pictures. She loves to help out the Jorgensen's and me, actually. She is SO good with Emma and Lily and they really look up to her. She probably has had as much influence on them as I have had. She loves to set goals and accomplish them. She finished her Faith in God booklet in primary! She is very proud and is very anxious to start on Personal Progress. She helps me organize my days, because she likes to have things planned out. She is a great cook.
Emma---Emma is very imaginative. She can get carried away in her head. She loves her American dolls and is a very good mother to them. Emma is very kind to others. She has never been in trouble at school and is an excellent student. She loves to read and is a great hugger!
Lily---Lily is my constant companion. We are together all day. She loves to talk. She loves to ask questions. She is a great friend and loves to have them over. Lily can really bring our whole family together to laugh at one of her latest lines. She has been able to command the attention of all 7 of us. She is our cajun beauty.
Zack--- Zack is a very hard worker. He is very complimentary of me as a mother and a wife. He is very encouraging of even the little things that I do. I really appreciate him for this. He can also diffuse a tense time with humor. I love when he does this. He can help me see things with a different perspective. I love to hold his hand and I love that he has tried to do little things that I have told him are important to me. I also love that he unashamedly cries at movies and loves our children. NO tough guy image for him. He is crazy about our kids and is not afraid to tell them.
So, thanks for the indulgence. I have a great family and I am going to tell them that all week. Even in stressful situations. WISH ME LUCK!!!