Author Archives: Meredith

About Meredith

Meredith is a native Texan who is currently living in Salt Lake City, UT. She graduated from the University of Utah in 2002 with a B.A. degree in Psychology and a minor in Human Development and Family Studies. She has been married for almost 10 years and has three beautiful children who consume most of her time. However, she started blogging in 2007 and has fallen in love with the idea of becoming a writer. She started scrapbooking over 10 years ago, and has become obsessed with that as well. She also dreams of the day when someone will pay her to scrapbook for them! When she is not scrapbooking, or blogging, she loves to people watch, and analyze what makes people tick. Meredith is proud to be a Mormon, and even served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints where she fell in love with the Latin culture and learned to speak Spanish. Visit Meredith on her personal blog at www.fakingpictureperfect.wordpress.com

Work While You Work

As I was sitting at my desk the other day, I looked to my right and noticed a book that we inherited from my Mother-in-law’s library when she passed away. It is titled, The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett. I open it up and start to flip through it curious what the book is about. It is a book compiled for parents to share short stories, and poems that teach a lesson on a certain virtue. It is compiled into sections based on the virtue. I immediately turned to the “Work” chapter curious what I might find. I … Continue reading →

Moving On From The Baby Stage

Three days ago, my baby took his first steps. We were all thrilled. And, so was he. He was just on the floor playing with us, as usual, and decided to let go, and start walking. Of course, he only took a couple of steps and then fell down. But, he wanted to do it over and over again as we squealed with delight. My four-year-old said, “I’m so proud of him!” Moments like these are what make having a baby magical. When they are first born, and you are suffering from lack of sleep, and a bewilderment with being … Continue reading →

Who Are We Trying to Please?

I am the queen of trying to please those around me. I want my coworkers to think I’m great. I want my children to think I’m the best Mom in the world. I want my husband to admire my cooking. I want my friends to think I have it all together. For me, it is very important not to disappoint those around me. Yet, how often do I look at trying to please the most important person of all? My Heavenly Father. Recently, I read a great talk that appeared in the January 2012 Ensign. It is titled, “Look Up” … Continue reading →

Don’t Let Baby Crowd Your Marriage

When a baby enters your family, the whole world seems to change. There is a lot of joy and happiness to go around. Each new day is beautiful and special, and as a mother, you look at life in a whole new way. It truly is miraculous. But, there is something else that comes along with babies that you have to be careful about. It is letting that baby control the world in which you and your husband now live. There is always an adjustment period that comes along with each new life you bring into your family. For a … Continue reading →

Consider the Blessings

Another Sunday, and another great lesson in Relief Society. I really enjoy getting to participate in lessons in Relief Society after a long run in Primary. The lessons always seem to be exactly what we need to hear and being a part of a great group of women and their insight is always uplifting. The conference talk that was the subject of our lesson this week was “Consider the Blessings” by our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. The talk is a great one reminding all of us that we need to be more thankful for the blessings in our … Continue reading →

The Sleep Puzzle

The past couple of nights have been difficult for me and my little one. He has not been sleeping well because he is sick with a cold virus. It is always difficult for the mom when your baby isn’t sleeping will. Sometimes, it can make you feel downright crazy. Well, lately, his naps have been a challenge, too. Yesterday, he spent almost two hours fighting his nap. I went in there several times to figure out what to do to  help him. I even offered a second bottle. Yet, he wasn’t hungry. I’m not sure what he needed exactly, except … Continue reading →

Relief Society Binds Us Together

Last night, we had a great Relief Society activity that I really enjoyed. It was our first weekday meeting since our ward realignment. Since I am the member of the Relief Society presidency that is over the weekday meetings, I was anxious to see how it would go. Our focus was to have an activity that would help us get to know each other better. We started the evening by having a casual potluck dinner of soup and breadsticks. Then, I was asked to give a short thought at the last minute. One of our focuses as a new Relief Society … Continue reading →

What Makes Your Baby Special?

This past weekend, I got a trip away from my own kiddos to go and meet my precious new niece who is 4 months old. She is my youngest sister’s first baby, and I was thrilled to meet her. I can hardly believe my baby sister has a baby herself. I loved snuggling this new bundle, and seeing her smile was such a delight. Why is it that babies are so enticing? Especially little nieces and nephews? I was astonished at how much she reminded me of my own babies. All the little sounds, coos, and facial expressions were priceless. … Continue reading →

Love Being Home

This past weekend I went away for the first time since I became a mother. Sure, I have left my kids with the babysitter from time to time, but never have they been left by Mommy for days in a row. It was an interesting experience for all of us. I went away to enjoy a weekend with my sisters. There were going to be no kids involved, and I had the idea that it was going to be a perfect, stress free weekend. Quite the contrary. One of my sisters got sick, and a big change of plans had … Continue reading →

FHE For Small Children-The Prexistence

This past Sunday, my 4 year old gave his very first talk in primary. I was so proud of him. I helped him prepare his talk by asking him a series of questions about what he knew about the earth since the theme was, “Heavenly Father created the Earth for His children”. He told me things like it is really big. It is in space. It has lots of different countries. It was really fun to find out what he knew about earth. I asked him what his favorite thing to do on earth was, and he replied, “Eat!” Very … Continue reading →