Lady Cady

Faith * Family * Life

Family

To the Inventor of Dirty Dishes

When I was in college, I remember being amazed at how often the sink was full of dishes. And how often I found myself being the only one to clean all the dishes… It often felt as soon as I left the room the sink would magically refill itself.
And then a few years later I became a mom.
My oldest two kids are now becoming more and more independent in the kitchen (which I love) but it also seems to be increasing our dirty dishes each day exponentially. The last few months, over the holiday season when they’ve had more free time, there has especially been a big increase. And so, I remembered this silly poem I wrote ages ago and decided to share here for anyone else you knows the pain. 🙂

Who invented dirty dishes?
And do they know they never stop?
That they just keep getting dirtier
and piling on the spot?
The water makes my fingers wrinkle
and it never stays too hot.
And the dirtier the dishes,
the dirtier the pots.
And everyone I know
seems to have a dish disease –
every time they see a dirty dish
it makes them sneeze and sneeze.
So here I stand once again,
with dishes stacked up to my chin,
and here’s my wish, my wish to you,
–wouldn’t self-cleaning dishes do?

Drawn In – Our favorite Come Follow Me Resource!

It’s time to jump into a new year of Come Follow Me scripture study. Can you believe it? Where did 2021 go?! As a mom of four and former Primary President, I know this is an area that can bring many blessings but can also be a big struggle to implement. Especially with kids! (Trust me, with my four kids, I’m right there with you). As a family, we have tried several different approaches to our family study through the last several years. Between my husband and I, we’ve been through many callings that have kept us crazy busy too – Bishopric 1st councilor, early morning Seminary teacher, and now Bishop for my husband and Primary 1st Councilor, Primary President and now Nursery Leader for me. (Okay nursery leader isn’t so busy but every Sunday I kind of become Single Mom by default. 🙂 ) After much trial and error, we discovered that Sunday evenings is Our Time. This is the one day we’re home and it just works best for us. I know that it’s different for everyone and that’s okay!! What matters is that we’re studying the scriptures as a family, right?

The second half of successful Come Follow Me study we’ve discovered is finding something that works, that keeps all the kids engaged, that teaches us, and is easy for us parents! I hear stories about amazing but elaborate things families do for their family Come Follow Me and at first, I felt a bit of Failure Syndrome creeping in to eat me up, but eventually I got over it. I love to keep things simple, it works, end of story.

I was called to be the Primary President in 2019, that first year of Come Follow Me, when we studied the New Testament. I began looking for different resources out there that families were using and passing them on to the Parents in our ward in an email each week. At the end of 2019, one of our favorite authors, David Bowman, announced he was going to start doing videos for Come Follow Me starting in 2020 too. We were excited! We signed up right away and have loved every single one! They have been a huge blessing to our family. David does an amazing job of teaching the concepts for each lesson and making them fun and engaging for all ages. He does it in a way that helps my kids get what the lesson is trying to teach them, often better than my husband and I teaching the lesson from the manual. There have been so many episodes my kids have asked to watch over and over on their own. When my daughter is asked to give a talk for Primary, she now will watch the video for the week and is able to write much of her talk on her own. My husband has even admitted to looking up a video or two for ideas on how to teach a particular concept/story to the youth. We usually go through the lesson in the manual as a family and then watch the video when we’re done. Sometimes though we do have those weeks where we just watch the videos and call it good… Life is real Ya’ll. I am especially grateful for this option as we plunge into the Old Testament!

David has a lot of great books for kids and teens as well as beautiful artwork. He did a thing for a while called “Teancum’s Warriors”. He stopped doing this for now to focus on his Drawn In videos so somehow, I need to figure out how to get my youngest two kids included in the group someday. 🙂 The package included a cute picture he drew of each kid and an assigned number of which one of Teancum’s Warriors they were. They also got a beautiful picture of Christ of their choosing and a fun headband. My kids are #26 and #27. My daughter has her picture hanging on the wall surrounded by some of her favorite scriptures.

We have loved David’s books as well. (Not pictured below – Dude, Don’t be Lemuel simply because it’s lost somewhere in a teenage bedroom….) We read the Who’s Your Hero series over and over when my oldest two were younger. We still occasionally say “Natural man – scram” when someone is needing a reminder to behave better.

If you are interested in finding out more, (which I recommend!) you can go here. You will find samples of videos, what’s included in your subscription, pricing options, etc. This is one Come Follow Me resource you won’t regret adding in each week!

Always Be Loved

We recently celebrated the two youngest Cady Kids birthdays. (They share a birthday which is so fun!) It’s hard to believe how fast the time is going and how big they are already! Of course, my babies growing up caused me to reflect on life, where they’re all going, and who they’re becoming. Each of my kids is so unique in their personalities. I know each will go different places in life and do great things but for now, I’m going to love as many moments as I can – even through all the crazy, blue paint episodes. 🙂

One by one my babies grow.
Where they’ll go – I don’t yet know.
But this I guarantee to you
Each will be loved through and through.
Through each broken picture frame.
Through each family night board game.
Through each forgotten set of chores.
Through each trip to the grocery store.
Through each night while sick in bed.
Through each silly thing they’ve said.
Through each crazy sibling fight.
Through each crazy Halloween night.
Through each homecooked meal uneaten.
Through each card game that I’m beaten.
Through Sunday evening scripture study.
Through wet gloves and shoes all muddy.
Through lots and lots of piano practice.
Through all the little things that distract us.
And yes, perhaps even through
The times my walls are drawn on in blue.
And through it all as they grow
I’m grateful for one thing I know –
No matter what may come to be,
Our family is Eternally.
What a blessing, what a gift.
How much the knowledge gives a lift.
For this little clan of mine
Is a part of God’s design.
And though one by one my babies grow,
They’ll always be loved – this I know.

A Homecooked Meal

My mom passed away when I was a teenager. I will forever and always be a big mama’s girl, so as you can imagine it was one of the hardest experiences I’ve ever had to endure. In addition to so many other wondaful things she was good at, she was a fabulous cook. In the first few days, and weeks after she died I was in shock and survival mode. When I started coming out of it, I remember watching my dad heat up a can of beans in the microwave, then serve it to us in it’s can/cylinder shape in a bowl – something my mom never would have done! (My parents were divorced and we didn’t even have a microwave). I still vividly remember the sadness I felt in that moment realizing that I would never again eat my mom’s homecooked food. I’ve had many delicious meals since then but none quite like how she made things. Now as a mom myself, I can attest to how hard meals can be and how much I’d love to just never cook again some nights! But I also will be the first to testify how special that time as a family can be. So keep it up! That special family time will always be worth it.

Oh, the blessing of a homecooked meal!
How good that food can make you feel.
Bring comfort to the anguished soul
With just a single, simple bowl.
Bring courage to the travel worn
And healing to a heart that’s torn.
A smile to so many faces.
Happiness in so many places.
Bring back the soul that once was lost –
No matter how humble or grand the cost.
So don’t worry about how long it took
Or worry about how perfect it looks.
Serve it up with your smile and love.
It’s something that you can be proud of.
You never know the memories you’ll make
When you all sit down and all partake.
You never know how good you’ll feel
When enjoying the blessings of a homecooked meal.

The Terrific Two’s

Do you have any little kids in your home? We have a couple of little people who live in our house right now. One is on the count down to his third birthday, which makes me sad. I love them all so much!! With that I’d love to tell you all it’s been sunshine and daisies all year, but… That little two year old boy has definitely kept us on our toes! Somedays it’s hard to not pull all my hair out when I find, you know, paint all over the place hypothetically speaking, but I also have learned to find the humor in those moments, (Eat some chocolate…), love him even more, and move on because really, it is a wonderful time in life.

Some call these years the Terrible Two’s
But I know that’s simply just not true.
For what other time can you
Paint so many things all blue.
Or simply throw food on the floor
Because you just don’t want anymore.
Or take a blissful afternoon nap,
Wake up and unroll Mom’s plastic wrap.
Get treats for successfully going potty!
And simply smile when you are naughty.
Put each shoe on the wrong foot
Then kick them off and go barefoot.
Give the cats and dog a ride
Then carry the chickens and put them inside.
Draw a picture on you face
And on the wall – just in case…
Be pushed and pushed, on a swing so high
Then slide on your tummy down a big tall slide.
Be caught up in the wonder of
Bugs and slugs and planes above.
Then there’s reading your favorite book –
And making everyone take a look.
Eating cookies behind Dad’s chair
And getting food stuck in your hair.
Getting rides on Dad’s tall shoulders
And climbing up on big tall boulders.
Snuggling up with Mom and Dad
Because of a bad dream you had.
Watching a movie when you feel sick
Then from the popsicles – getting your pick.
Happily playing in the dirt
Getting kisses when you get hurt.
Carrying your blanket all around
Or playing the game “Don’t make a sound!”
Playing with toys in a big bubble bath.
Making your family laugh and laugh.
There’s so many fun things to do
When you are little, when you are two.
If you’re blessed with someone this age
Remember the hard things – they’re just a stage.
This little person won’t always be two
So cheer them on for all they can do
And never forget how much they love you.

A Plea to Time

I have a confession to make. I think Time is out to get me. It flies it’s merry wings quicker and quicker every year. And my life feels like it’s passing me by quicker and quicker. I try my best to hold onto the most important things in life and ignore the lesser things but sometimes I really wish I could just figure out how to stop time altogether! If you happen to have figured out the secret, please pass it on to me! 🙂

Time, please stop your ever flow –
Don’t make each of my children grow.

Let my baby always be
Cute and small and cuddly.
Let him keep that toothless grin
And want to be picked up once again.

Let my toddler always stay
As curious as he is today.
Let him pick up one more book
And ask for me to take a look.

Let my sweet and clever girl
Always love her precious curls.
Let her always want to be
Friends with someone just like me.

Let my first born always stay
As silly as he is today.
Let him always be okay
Hanging with each of us all day.

Let them each keep the wonder of
Gazing at the stars above.
The fun of playing on a beach
Or how delicious is a peach!

Let them always feel so small
When standing beneath a tree so tall.
Let them always feel glad to be
From a place so brave and free.

Let them never question love
From their Heavenly Father above.
That the Savior will always stand
Right beside them where’re they land.

And Time please keep them safe from harm
And know there’s always welcome in these arms.

But since you must keep marching on
Until each one of us is gone,
Then make this promise to me now –
These things we’ll never forget somehow.