Welcome to Find-A-Friend Friday again.  Today I’m looking forward to introducing you to Wendy.  I don’t know her as well as I’d like to, but I loved this interview with her, and she said something that is so true:  We’re all amazing.  All you ordinary people out there don’t realize the power of the simple good you do.  Take Wendy for example.  You’ll see.  (And I just have to say that I always thought my romance moved fast, but- wow- I think her story takes the cake!)  First I need to announce the winners (as promised) to the General Conference contests.  I don’t want to steal Wendy’s thunder because this is really her day, so I’ll publish all the trivia answers on Sunday along with the GCBC post.

Greetings! I’m nervous and excited to be a part of Stephanie’s Find-A-Friend Friday! I have enjoyed meeting the different women and think they are pretty amazing! I guess we are all amazing. Elder Cook told us so last Saturday.  My name is Wendy (34) and am married to a rocket scientist (Sweetheart). We are the parents of 2 Bedlamites – Underfoot (4) and Hurricane (2). They keep us busy as we work, play, and learn together. Our hope is that they know they are loved from the hugs, kisses, and correction we give them. We live on the moon (the Southwest desert). I say the moon because for us to grow our garden it takes a lot of work and that is what my Mom calls it – the moon.

I am the oldest child of 4 and grandchild. I am also the oldest great-grandchild to 2 sets of my great-Grandparents. As a child, I knew and associated with 6 of my great-Grandparents. What a great blessing to learn from their lives and who they are.

As a 3 year old child, I decided I was going on a mission. I was so focused on a mission that when I went to college, I bought a ring to wear on my left hand. Looking back, I was very immature to marry but was determined to be a missionary. I went to the Panama Panama City Mission. I LOVED being a proselyting and welfare missionary. I planted a lot of gospel seeds and heard later about the growth of people after I left.

When I returned home, I thought I would marry and start having the 10 children I had planned on. Yet Heavenly Father had a different plan for me. He needed me to finish a Bachelor’s degree (Social Work) and a Master’s Degree (Marriage and Family Counseling). I worked in my profession and went to school concurrently before my Sweetheart and I were introduced. The weekend of graduation Sweetheart and I were introduced through my Mom’s cousin. He lived in Pennsylvania and I lived in Idaho. We started a correspondence and 3 weeks later made arrangements to meet in California after a conference he was attending. We met and were engaged in the same weekend (the rocket scientist figured out it was 60 hours). We married 9 weeks later in Utah. A lot of different states in a short amount of time. Now almost 6 years later we are still learning life lessons together.

1. What’s your favorite part of motherhood?
I love to go on adventures with my children and discover. I love to take pictures of them and to listen to them laugh. I love read to them because they will cuddle with me. I love the questions to a point. I love the soft touches they give me when I am sad because they are concerned for my welfare. I love when my son will say that he wants to be a father when he grows up so he can teach his children and then will pray for that.

2. What part of motherhood would you subcontract out if you could?
Being the bad guy. I wish I could be fun all the time and not lose my temper because I have said no so many times that I have lost count. I know that being the bad guy is necessary to help them help them. I just get so tired by the end of the day.

3. Name 2 or 3 items on your “bucket list.”  (Some things you’d like to do before you die.)
My bucket list is ever so long. I am a queen at making to do lists. I also learned lately the difference between the do and the be.

• Travel (Bicycle Maine’s lighthouses, return to our missions, serve missions, Civil War sites, Revolutionary War sites, Visit every State in the Union)
• Build a home (canning kitchen, game room, library, upstairs and downstairs, outdoor room)
• Provide cultural opportunities for children (Broadway plays, Symphonies, Art shows)

4. Brag for a minute.  Do it.  What are a few things that you’re pretty good at?
I am great at making a delish meal in about 30 minutes. I am a pretty good cook. I like to cook almost anything. I love to send the left-overs to neighbors or Sweetheart’s co-workers. I like to include my boys in the cooking process. I also like to host people in our home – usually with food. We have an annual Pie Party just before the holiday season.

5. What are you loving lately?
I am loving that my boys are starting to understand they have jobs they have to do before they can do other things. I am loving that my body is waking up without the alarm clock. I am loving my boys as they are learning new things. I am loving a picked up house at the end of the day. I am loving that we got a commuter car for my Sweetheart after 2 1/2 years! I am loving the green in our backyard. The fresh beautiful color green in contrast to brown.

6. Do you have a favorite scripture or quote?  Why?
I have a lot that I really love. I love scriptures that talk about being of good cheer, having courage, and seeking the Lord because He will answer. The scripture I have thought most about lately is in the Doctrine and Covenants.

For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift. Doctrine and Covenants 88:33

I believe for me that Heavenly Father has given me many gifts, and I am like a tantruming child saying that I don’t want the present that is in front of me. It has caused me to think about what I need to change and to accept again the plan that God has for me. The verses that follow talk about the order and how virtue loves virtue and light cleaveth to light. It reminds of the scripture line upon line, precept upon precept.  I hope to be a more gracious humble receiver of the gifts that have been given me.

7. What do you gravitate toward during your unscheduled time? I wish I could say that I love to clean up or make the world a better place. I like to check email, blogs, and listen to music. I also like to curl up with Louis L’Amour books. His books have a strong moral hero with character flaws and a heroine that is virtuous. It has helped me appreciate also living on the moon and seeing the beauty here.

8. Tell us some of your best mom-tricks  (things you’ve figured out that work well for you).
My Gamma Rae’s motto was Be Obedient. We give a choice usually between two things to do. The boys get three opportunities to follow through with a task. When they don’t do it, they go to the corner. They hate the corner and are very motivated to complete the task. If they go to the corner, they know they will still need to complete the task immediately after they exit the corner. The funny thing is that now Underfoot has started to try and negotiate the choices. I am grateful for his problem solving skills and using his words.Some times his choices are better than the ones we’ve come up with. Another is we have taught them that they need to come to us if they are hurt or if there is unfair treatment. This way they have learned to solve their own conflicts. Don’t get me wrong. There are times I have to step in but not all the time.

9. What’s something you don’t usually want people to know about you, but that they need to know if they’re going to be your friend?
I am a great listener. I can listen as long as the day is long. I have done it for a profession for many years. I am not the greatest at offering up much information about myself because I have learned that people like to talk about themselves. My husband has learned that when I start to talk just let me talk because I have a lot to say. Since I have “retired” for a season to be a Mama, I am learning to add more into conversations about myself and not always carry the counselor hat around. The transition between a paid helping profession and Domestic Goddess life has been more difficult than I planned it to be. I guess I know when someone wants to know me they will ask questions about me.

10. If you were in charge of a girls’ night out, what kind of activity would you love to plan?
My favorite GNO have been a live show (even a high school or middle school production) and eating out usually Thai or Indian food.

11. Friends are great for venting.  What’s been frustrating you lately?
I wish I had more control over circumstances that I don’t have control over. I wish I could stay pregnant. I wish I could get the truck route to work for the co-op. I wish that I could be happy with myself and who I am and not what I’m not. I need to look for the joy in what I DO HAVE and not what I don’t have.

12. What parts of your testimony are you the most sure of?
I am sure that Atonement is real. I love the Easter season because the heavens rejoiced for Christ’s completion of the great plan of happiness. Because of what Christ did, I am responsible for being obedient and accepting the plan God has for me. I know that God answers prayers. The answers don’t always come in the timing that I expect them, but answers do come. I know that I can accomplish many wonderful things on my own, and I am learning that if I will trust Heavenly Father the wonderful turns into magnificent. I know that God tries the faith to bring me greater joy.

So awesome.  Thank you, Wendy.  And thank you to all of you who participated in the contests.  Man, there’s a lot of fun going on around here.