365 Days of Blogging My Epiphanies

Whew. Tomorrow is 2010. Who thought they'd live that long?
I spent the last few hours reviewing my blog of the past year, and I thought I'd close out 2009 with all the things I learned and a final one for today.
I had so much fun rereading some of my entries from the last year, and I've found that President Kimball's commandment to keep a journal is a true principle. Many of the things that I learned this year and put to computer keyboard I had forgotten until I took the time to review.

Entry with the most comments: Birth of Eve
Most sensational entry: April 1st
Tenderest entry: For the last time, October
Funniest entry: What's your price, May
Political entry of the year: If, February
Happiest birthday ever: August 21
Greatest life lesson of the year: Epiphanies 85-87

January
Epiphany #1 for 2009--Pinatas are about the violence.
Epiphany #2 for 2009--The second after the final toll of midnight on New Year's Eve . . .
All the decking of the halls becomes clutter.
Epiphany #3--Baseball Caps Were Created for Long Vacations and Too Much Time Between Cuts.
Epiphany #4 for 2009--A newly-organized closet, shelf, cupboard, or drawer is nature's answer to heroin.
Epiphany #5--Gratitude to God shouldn't always be just the grand, but should include the simple as well.
Epiphany #6--Why is it that you don't realize what a disgusting, dirty, messy, cluttered place you live in until someone comes to stay with you?
Epiphany #7--The best way to take gum from a 20-toothed toddler--change his diaper.
Epiphany #8: A stylist you trust is worth her weight in gold, and even harder to find.
Epiphany #9: You are there every day of their lives, but somehow, you blink, and you missed that moment when they grew up.
Epiphany #10--You can NEVER guess what a teenager is thinking.
Epiphany #11--Reusable shopping bags were created to be forgotten at home when needed.
Epiphany #12--I blog because it is my only connection with the outside world, helping me remember that I'm still here, even if I'm mostly invisible these days.
Epiphany #13--I am stronger than I thought. Battle #1, and I emerge victor.
Epiphany #14--Parks were created to not for playing kids but to make motherhood easier.
Epiphany #15--Sunday is a day of rest only if your calling allows sleeping in or an afternoon nap.
Epiphany #16--I am addicted to schedule. I hate having my schedule interrupted.
Epiphany #17--Seeing your child live one of their dreams fills a mom with inexpressible joy and unanticipated sadness.
Epiphany #18--When you're a mom, your day is rarely over, even when you say it's over.
Epiphany #19--Old dogs' schedules are more comforting than rawhide chews.
Epiphany #20--It is virtually impossible to get three kids that are about two years of age to sit still and look at a camera at the same time!
Epiphany #21--Nothing fills an organizer's heart with more joy than finding the exactly right tool to use in exactly right space to fill the exactly right purpose!
Epiphany #22--Reality hurts.
Epiphany #23--Taking care of three two-year-olds is exponentially more difficult than two.
Epiphany #24--I love Baby A. Like he was my own. Like a child I had carried for nine (or in Heidi's case, seven!) months. And it will take me to the brink when he is taken from here.
Epiphany #25--Crock pots were invented for Tasmanian Devil days.
Epiphany #26--Always marry above yourself.
Epiphany #27--A day alone can soothe even a savage mother beast.
Epiphany #28--Sometimes completed checklists just can't measure your achievements for the day.

February
Epiphany #29--Self-improvement shouldn't be reserved for January only!
Epiphany #30--Six more weeks of Arizona winter make sixteen weeks of Arizona summer tolerable.
Epiphany #31--Acting your age age is relative, but the calendar doesn't lie.
Epiphany #32--The more I see of the foster care world, the less I really want to know.
Epiphany #33--Some things just can't be artificially duplicated.
Epiphany #34--Too much technology can ruin even the best dreams.
Epiphany #35--Don't mess with CPS. No matter how gallant your intentions.
Epiphany #36--It can't hurt to give just a little.
Epiphany #37--Birth doesn't make you a parent. Training doesn't make you a parent. Daily baths and timeouts and bandaids and homework and stories and songs and chores and soothing and holding and nurturing and caring and loving make you a parent.
Epiphany #38--Confession is good for the soul.
Epiphany #38--Never give up hope. You may be surprised.
Epiphany #39--It's not worth the all-day groggy feeling to take an antihistamine.
Epiphany #40--Never get on the scale before your body goes on display.
Epiphany #41--Everyone needs a day like today.
Epiphany #42--Prince Charming and Happily Ever After are still what every little girl dreams of. And deserves.
Epiphany #44--Sugar-free pudding ain't so bad.
Epiphany #45--We all are imperfect and flayling around, but we're doing better than we think and do more than we ever give ourselves credit for.

March
Epiphany #46--Vacation time rejuvenates the soul and refocuses you on what's important in life.
Epiphany #47--You can never be faster than vomit.
Epiphany #48--I will continue to have dinner together with my family. Despite what the opposition says in agreement. And that's huge.
Epiphany #49--Freedom isn't free.
Epiphany #50--The natural man is an enemy to resolution and waistline.
Epiphany #51--It must be natural man week for me.
Epiphany #52--Doctors can take me out of the running, but my body will never forget.
Epiphany #53--Toddlers are Jackson Pollock creative.
Epiphany #54--Never parent without a camera. Sometimes, that's the only way people will believe you.
Epiphany #55--It's nice to see these historical sites with your eyes. But your eyes don't feed your testimony. The Spirit feeds your testimony. Your soul contains that testimony. And my soul was fed today.
Epiphany #56—New Yorkers aren’t rude. They’re busy.
Epiphany #57--There's no place like home. And nothing like a washing machine in times like these.
Epiphany #58--Fighting the flu isn't nearly so bad when you have warriors in your house!
Epiphany #59--We were all created equal, but not on the mat!
Epiphany #60--It doesn't take much to throw a two-year-old's party.
Epiphany #61--The simple things in life are the best.

April
Epiphany #62--Perspective makes all the difference.
Epiphany #63--Great advice from friends is a spoonful of sugar.
Epiphany #64--I know that my Redeemer lives.
Epiphany #65--Knowing doesn't make waiting any easier.
Epiphany #66--Last night's show proved that Simon's opinion really does make American Idol.
Epiphany #66--Selfless and loving spouses make bedridden days bearable.
Epiphany #67--Let all the complaining out. Now back to eternal perspective . .. .
Epiphany #68--Income and financial stability aren't always an accurate gauge of brilliance.
Epiphany #69--Families are the best!
Epiphany #70--I don't know what is best. Only the Lord knows, and I really trust that whatever is best for A and his family will happen. And that seems a little easier today, somehow . . .

May
Epiphany #71--Everyone tries to study. Life just sometimes interferes. And that's ok!
Epiphany #72--If a spinal headache doesn't motivate you to have a natural labor, nothing will.
Epiphany #73--Thank heaven for a day that reminds me of the real reason for Mother's Day--the gift of children.
Epiphany #74--Never eat Milk Duds before breakfast.

June
Epiphany #75--Don't judge books (or gangsters) by their covers.
Epiphany #77--A little organization is an instant prozac.
Epiphany #78--Humor and two-year-old boys can erase an egregious error in judgment.
Epiphany #79--Nothing is ever safe from the conniving minds of two-year-old boys.

July
Epiphany #80--Family is where my heart is.
Epiphany #81--Sometimes the mainstream press gets it right.
Epiphany #82--I hate change.
Epiphany #83--Boys need big muscle work and lots of food to keep them out of trouble.

August
Epiphany #84--A little individual attention is well worth the effort.
Epiphany #85--Just a few doses of distraction prevent the emotional meltdown, emotional meltdow-own, emotional meltdown (with full credit given to Mary Poppins).
Epiphany #86--God's hand works unexpectedly and powerfully to ease difficulty in our lives. He doesn't erase trial or eliminate pain, He just makes it possible to continue on.
Epiphany #87--Life changes, but the joys in life are ever-present.
Epiphany #88--It's fabulous to be forty!
Epiphany #89--None of these designers will have a show like Colorsplash.
Epiphany #90--Sometimes it's the little things that surprise us most.
Epiphany #91--I may live to regret this post.

September
Epiphany #92--Hard is the most effective teacher.
Epiphany #93--Life is good. Enjoy it.
Epiphany #95--Microwaves come with locking features for a reason.
Epiphany #96-- I realized that I'm a Monday gal because Heavenly Father gave us the Sabbath to rest.

October
Epiphany #97--A weekend in front of the TV surrounded by my fighting/listening family. What a blessing.
Epiphany #98--Good friends are like flowers--they come in every shape and size and fragrance, and you can never have too many in your bouquet.
Epiphany #99--And I love knowing that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to share this blessing with me, one last time.
Epiphany #100--The ups and downs of childbirth

November
Epiphany #101--Few are the friends that you can sit and cry with in your nightgown.
Epiphany #102--Heavenly Father is aware of us. Even when our needs are small or dumb or even mostly imaginary.
Epiphany #103--It's not the trial that is valuable. It's the lessons we learn while fighting in the trenches.
Epiphany #104--Angels surround us and minister to us daily. It's up to us to recognize them in their earthly forms.

December
Epiphany #105--Life is always busy and crazy. But it's my life. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
Epiphany #106: Arising at 3 am on Black Friday is totally worth the craziness to avoid hours and hours and days later in the season.
Epiphany #107--Macaroni and cheese tastes better when eaten with a spoon. A soup spoon.
See you in 2010!