Happy Thanksgiving

Well as luck would have it Jordan had to work on Thanksgiving so I got the opportunity to spend the holiday's with my in laws in Vegas. We had a fun time eating food, playing Just Dance 4 (videos to come), eating more food, enjoying the hot tub, shopping at a few stores Pocatello will never ever get, and looking at cute stuff for Baby Sparkle Scow. I also got to got to the Cicirque Du Soleil show Mystere

 Which was absolutely amazing!!!! Words cant even describe how fantastic it was. I defiantly want to take Jordan to a show and then I would like to participate in the silk aerial ribbons portion! She was so stunning and elegant.. Totally took my breath away.

 

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Good amidst the Bad

Just thought I would share my happy thoughts today. This last couple days have been an emotional roller coaster for America no matter what party you chose for President. In the end our responsibility as American citizens is to support those who lead this country and pray that they will make decisions that will be in accordance with Gods will. God's hand is in all things and this is all a part of his plan.

Comments made by those around me I thought were uplifting.

"Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens in your house" - James E. Faust

Book of Mormon speaking of the American people before Christ was resurrected:
Helaman 5:2 "For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.
3 Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch tha

t they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction.
4 And it came to pass that Nephi had become weary because of their iniquity; and he yielded up the judgment-seat, and took it upon him to preach the word of God all the remainder of his days, and his brother Lehi also, all the remainder of his days;"

"These are the times that try men's souls."

~Thomas Paine's The Crisis

We live in a world of great tumult, clashing opinions, opposing beliefs, ups and downs, disappointments and successes, yet we must always remember an all important truth- our fortunes in life are not dependent upon other people, not dependent upon others' opinions, and certainly not dependent upon the government. Our fortunes in life depend upon no one but ourselves. The greatness of a nation resides not with who its leader is, but the caliber of its people. Complain not, trust in God, and be someone who makes this nation great not someone who tears it down

‎"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. " - Viktor Frankl. 

This quote sums up how I am feeling. No matter what happens around us we ultimately choose our own happiness. There is a lot to be grateful for... Where do you place your gratitude?

"Keep God in our future and personal lives He will do more for you than any president could" 

 The Apostle Paul declared, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"

You and I cannot control everything that is happening or will happen in this earthly existence, but we can control ourselves, our faith, and our eternal perspectives. It will undoubtedly get worse before it gets better, but we can BECOME better among the worst of it all.

...fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.
-Pres. Thomas S. Monson

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Tone

Thursday thoughts but it is friday due to an ultrasound appointment to find out what we are having. Please forgive me for putting this on the back burner this is my first child and finding out what we are having has been on my mind and caused great inner turmoil. :)

Since finding out that we are expecting, I have been doing a lot of reading and studying on parenting. I have found many things that I agree with and don't agree with. But, one universal thing I have found that is so important is the tone we use to teach right from wrong.

Check out this site to see where I got started on this topic today.

What is tone? Dictionary.com states this

tone

   [tohn]  Show IPA ,noun, verb, toned, ton·ing.

noun

1.

any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch,strength, source, etc.: shrill tones.

2.

quality or character of sound.

3.

vocal sound; the sound made by vibrating muscular bands inthe larynx.

4.

a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, orintonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning,feeling, spirit, etc.: a tone of command.

5.

an accent peculiar to a person, people, locality, etc., or a characteristic mode of sounding words in speech. 

Now keeping that in mind think about how you talk to your dog. In a high pitched loving voice "Oh you are such a bad dog but I love you!" In  a deep mean voice "Oh I love you dog!". We talk like this naturally when talking to animals. I know that I do when I talk to our puppy. She has no idea what I'm saying but based on the tonality of my voice she either cowers or wags her tail like there is no tomorrow.

She is just so dang cute! 

But how does this relate to teaching and children. From the time we are newborns we are conditions to read tone without any other forms of communication. Little babies can't talk or understand words but they do understand the tone in our voices. They know when we are sad, happy, anxious, angry and they can read into those feelings. Even Animals can.  Sometimes I think as adults our tones are very negative and come across as rude or mean. We don't intend for our words to hurt but they do. 

I have caught myself on many occasions talking to my husband and realizing that my tone of voice is not very nice and may be a little bit condescending. It is in the moments like that that I realize how much my tone affects the outcome of the situation. When I keep my tone in check I'm able to receive the answers to my questions without ruining the wonderful relationship my husband and I have together.  

Nicholeen Peck states this about relationships and tone-

"Relationships are drastically affected by tone. When a child cries or whines their parent immediately changes. The alteration depends on the relationship habits and problem solving skills of the parent and child. Some parents immediately pamper the child, while others begin power struggling and threatening. By contrast, more assertive parents choose to recognize the tone and identify the skill needed. They check to see if they are calm, and then effectively communicate the needed change to the child... while focusing the whole time on improving the tone they are carrying in their own heart.

Since we feel more than we ever hear, parents change the hearts of their children by consistently governing their own tones while teaching essential skills in a self-government structure."

Her statement on how we feel more than we hear is so profound. How many times have we read and email, text, facebook status and taken it the wrong way because we have implied tone to it that is not really there. 

I have also tried to watch my tone when teaching my dance classes and primary class. I love teaching my classes and love when they learn and you can see the light bulb click. While watching my tone I have come to find out that the kids are way more responsive when I use a teachable tone. 

In preparing to welcome this little GIRL into our family I have made it my goal to watch the tone that I use when speaking with others. I don't want to be the type of parent that my child feels i'm condescending and that they can not do anything. I want my child to know what great potential they have. 

What do you think about tone? Does the tone you use or someone else uses towards you affect how you react? 

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