{m stands for}: April 2008

Could this have made me any happier?!

I know I'm lame for living vicariously through a TV show, but hey, we're in the thick of the long and anxiety-filled days of Grant's finals, I'm in the middle of packing up our apartment, which in case you missed the recent post, I abhor, and Eliot's in a very clingy phase of life, and I have a constant, dull headache from his high-pitched whines. I've gotta have something, right?!

Reflections of Christ

If you haven't seen this slideshow, please take a minute (well, a little more than 5 minutes) to watch it. The photography is amazing, and the music is beautiful. There are so many breathtaking images, but among my favorites are the ones of the Savior's baptism (the joy on the actor's face is perfect), the Savior with His apostles on the road to Emmaus (the lighting is incredible, and it depicts one of my favorite stories from the New Testament), the crucifixion shot with the Roman soldier (so thought-provoking), and of course the Nativity, which brings back my own special memories of the year that Grant and I got to depict Joseph and Mary in the Living Nativity in Provo. I can only imagine how these actor's felt about their experiences posing for these photos. I'm so grateful for talented, not to mention inspired people who are able to put into words and music the feelings for the Savior that I often struggle to express. Take a minute to watch this and enjoy a sacred moment.

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

If you're interested in learning more about these images, go to the following website. It's incredible!

http://www.reflectionsofchrist.org/

Moving Makes Me Moody

That's what "M" stands for this month! There's little I hate more than packing up and moving. So why we decided to pack our stuff up and put it in storage while we're away for the summer, I'm not sure. At least finals will go a lot more quickly this time around with an apartment to pack up and a little 9-month-old who unpacks as quickly as Mommy packs up!

Oregon Showers Bring These Flowers!

Just thought these were too beautiful not to share! One of the perks of Oregon living and the blessings of all that wondrous rain we receive is getting beautiful spring flowers in February
(Yes, my Utahan readers, FEBRUARY!!) and having some of the most beautiful blossoming trees I've ever seen! Here are some of the gorgeous flowers I've been enjoying lately:

Flowers that Grant brought home from a huge fund-raising
auction he helped put together for a public interest group he's a
part of. Love the burgundy calla lilies. So pretty with the blossoms behind!

My Easter present to myself was this hanging basket
which I filled with these pretty spring flowers. I love seeing
it out my windows, especially when I can see the pink
blossoms on the tree just behind it.

"Just Because!"

My friend Mary brought this bright
and happy bouquet over and made my day! The hot
pink ribbon was a very cute touch. Thanks, Mary!

Almost Missed This!

We learned a valuable lesson on our trip to the Oregon coast this last weekend. On our way up, we decided to take the "quicker, more direct" route instead of the scenic route because we didn't want to risk getting lost, especially with our "time bomb" of a hungry, tired, sick-of-his-carseat baby ticking away in the back seat. So with the promise that we would take the coastal route on the way back, we drove straight through. Unbelievably, we contemplated taking the more direct route again on our way home when the beginning of the scenic route did not look promising. The roads were terrible, the views mediocre, and practically no one was on the road with us -- a bad sign, or so we thought. But, we pressed on, at Grant's urging that he'd always wonder what we'd missed if we had gone. Well, this is what we would have missed, and it would have been tragic!!

These pictures honestly don't even do justice to the amazing scenery we saw on the Oregon coast. Some of the most amazing vistas I've ever seen. And to think we didn't think it would be worth it!! (Above: Eliot and me at Cape Meares.)

Me in front of the famous "Haystack Rock" at Cannon Beach.

Grant overlooking Cannon Beach.

Our little family at the first lookout point at Cape Meares,
our favorite stop on the scenic drive. Incredible!

A view of the majestic cliffs and a beautiful waterfall,
again at Cape Meares.

Me wrestling wiggly Eliot to get a shot in front of this
beautiful lighthouse at Cape Meares.

"Sunshine on My Shoulders"
Grant with Eliot in front of a temporarily sunny sky
at Cape Meares.

So the lesson we learned was not to pass up the scenic routes when you're driving in a new area, right? Well, yes, but I think it was more than that. As I thought about how truly sad it would have been to have missed that beautiful drive and to have missed the chance to have those picturesque views etched in my memory, I couldn't help but think about the parallel between that experience and our little "scenic detour" we're experiencing here in Oregon, or any "detour" in life that appears at first to be inconvenient.

To say the least, this law school experience has been a battle for us. From the get-go of taking and then re-taking the LSAT to moving away from family to an unknown place to struggling to hang onto Grant's scholarship, it seems like this period of our lives is just meant to be a fight. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or fail to recognize what an amazing opportunity this is for us; I know that many people would love to be in our shoes -- the chance to get a higher education with the opportunity for a successful career, to say nothing of the enormous blessing of having a beautiful, healthy little son. But, like our little scenic drive first appeared to us, this opportunity has been a bumpy, sometimes lonely road that has certainly had its own rocky beginning.

But just like our scenic drive along the coast of Oregon, now that we've weathered the uncertain first several miles of this journey, we're finding ourselves coming to a breathtaking vista, where we can see a panorama of beautiful, sparkling blessings -- blessings that we would have missed had we not taken this route. In the form of friends, wonderful experiences, growing together as a family, and just getting to live in a new and beautiful place, our scenic route is proving to be worth the trip. And just like the majestic scenes of the Oregon coast now engraved in my mind, I'm sure I'll look back on this unexpected "detour" and realize that I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

{Mantras}

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

-- Aristotle

What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?

-- Robert H. Schuller

Real life isn't always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgement of what is working in our lives can help us not only to survive but surmount our difficulties.

-- Sarah Ban Breathnach

One of the most important gifts we can give our children is the simple knowledge and security that their parents love each other.

-- Merrill C. Oaks

Though no one can go back in time and make a new beginning, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

-- Carl Bard

That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you; it is measured by the spirit with which you meet the problems of life.

-- Harold B. Lee

Of this you may be certain: The Lord especially loves righteous women -- women who are not only faithful but filled with faith, women who are optimistic and cheerful because they know who they are and where they are going, women who are striving to live and serve as women of God.

-- M. Russell Ballard

You are doing God's work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you, and He will bless you, even -- no, especially -- when your days and nights may be most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master's garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and weep over their responsibility as mothers, "Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole." And it will make your children whole as well.

-- Jeffrey R. Holland

The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.

-- Thomas Moore

There are seasons in life. Don't ever let anyone deny you the blessings and joy of one season because they believe you should be in -- or stay in -- another season.

--Jane Clayson Johnson

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.

--Mother Teresa

A mother relating to her child in the private intimacy of her home, with no audience but unseen angels, is the predominant influence for all that is good and decent in the world.

-- George D. Durrant

Faith in God means faith in His timing.

-- Neal A. Maxwell

We know about our Savior, but it is often in our adversities that we truly find Him and know Him and love Him. ... Some of our heaviest burdens, disappointments, and heartaches can in time be replaced with "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) while we "wait upon the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31).

-- Ardeth G. Kapp

I have come to realize that not every unhappy experience in life need remain unhappy, but is, in all likelihood, the training ground for a better and happier day.

-- D. Arthur Haycock ("Papa")

If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right.

-- Howard W. Hunter

The doctrine of the Atonement is a doctrine of healing. The Savior heals us from the effects of sin, when we repent. He heals our weaknesses and mistakes. He heals broken promises, broken lives, broken hearts. When we demonstrate the faith to seek after Him, and try our best to follow Him, He will heal us.

-- Sheri Dew

Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.
-- Tori Amos

I love being a mother. Aside from the love I have for my husband, I love mothering more than anything else in the world. ... I treasure every moment. ... Being an always present, always loving mother is the most demanding, fatiguing, and draining obligation that was ever placed upon my shoulders. Mothering, I believe, requires engaging every muscle, every nerve, every fiber of our being, and through it all we pray.
--Patricia T. Holland

The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.
-- Margaret D. Nadauld

I have wept in the night
For the shortness of sight
That to somebody's need made me blind;But I never have yet
Felt a tinge of regret
For being a little too kind.
-- Author Unknown

It is a good and safe rule to sojourn in every place as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an opportunity of doing a kindness or speaking a true word or making a friend.
-- Author Unknown

The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. . . . I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.
--Anna Quindlen

When God makes a promise,
It remains forever true,
For everything God promises
He unalterably will do.
When you’re disillusioned
And every hope is blighted
Recall the promises of God
And your faith will be relighted.
-- Helen Steiner Rice

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
-- John Lennon

It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning.
It will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers.
-- Gordon B. Hinckley

Life is fuller and richer and better for those who are not afraid to make a new beginning.
-- James E. Faust

The evidence of God's presence far outweighs the proof of His absence.
--Author unknown

Once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. 'Cast not away therefore your confidence.' Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you.
-- Jeffrey R. Holland

Jesus is my friend. None other has given me so much. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. He gave His life for me. I hope that I am deemed worthy of being a friend to Him.

He is my exemplar. His way of life, His absolutely selfless conduct, His outreach to those in need, His final sacrifice all stand as an example to me. I cannot measure up entirely, but I can try.
-- Gordon B. Hinckley

The Lord’s love is often delivered through others as they respond to the promptings of the Spirit. Are we hearing and following those promptings? I fear sometimes we see the Lord’s love only in the big events of our lives; we must also see His love in the smallest of things. Don’t underestimate your ability to share His love through a simple, genuine gesture.
-- Bonnie D. Parkin

I'm Currently Reading ...

My Simple Joys

Hugging Grant and having him rest his chin on my head
Eliot's slobbery kisses (which he now gives me voluntarily, and which he gives to the picture of Jesus on one of his books -- melts my heart!)
The smell of newborn babies
Sitting at the kitchen counter at my parents' house and talking with my mom
The McEuen girls' "sister hug"
Playing "Steal the Bacon" with my nieces and nephews
The smell of the pine trees in Flagstaff, Arizona, and hearing them sway and creak in the wind
How good it feels to stretch after a solid run
Remembering Grandpa's laugh
Climbing into a bed with fresh, clean sheets
The smell of home-baked bread
Watching "It's a Wonderful Life" at Christmas time with Grant
Eating a just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie
Taking Eliot to get his picture taken
Wave running and barbecues at my in-laws' during the summer
The look on Grant's face at Disneyland
Listening to Don Williams while floating down Lake Powell on the houseboat . . . miss those days!
Buying Christmas presents for Eliot
The sound of laughing with my mom and sisters
Any homemade dinner by my mom -- even if I use the exact same recipe, it never tastes as good as Mom's
Decorating for Christmas while listening to Christmas music
My mother-in-law's pie crust (and the pie that goes in it, obviously!)
Watching Eliot sleep
A freshly cleaned bathroom
Sunlight trickling through Oregon pine trees (it doesn't happen too often, but when it does, it's beautiful!)
My nephew Nate's power hugs
Seeing Eliot with his Nanny and Ampy and Grandma and Grandpa
Grant's huge, contagious smile
Fresh-squeezed orange juice and/or Hna. Dupont's fresh-squeezed guava juice
Getting a hand-written card or letter in the mail, especially from my mom (who has the most perfect handwriting I've ever seen!)
The smell of rain (and I'm in the perfect place for that, now aren't I?!)
Hearing Eliot laugh
The memory of holding Eliot for the first time -- one of the sweetest and most sacred moments of my life

Why This Blog

The title and concept of this blog came from an idea that grew and then seemed to gel when I found the quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley's book, "Standing for Something." Since a blog is a way of representing through words and visuals who someone is, and thereby what they stand for, I thought I'd let this blog be about what "M" stands for (Monica, Mom, Marriage, McEuen, Mormon, and many, many other things).

For so long I've hesitated to get this blog going, wondering if the whole premise was too "preachy" and wondering if that might turn people off. It was at the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet of the church I belong to (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) when I realized how much more I truly DO want to stand for something, just as he always did. I want to be associated with and stand for good things -- marriage, motherhood, family, love, honesty, creativity, joy, etc. -- and I'd love it all the more if I could stand for those things in the way that President Hinckley did: without apology, but humbly, sincerely, and always with a gentle sense of humor. So in honor of his life and in an effort to follow along that same path of goodness, here I go, attempting to stand for something in whatever small ways I can.

{m stands for}

Could this have made me any happier?!

Reflections of Christ

Moving Makes Me Moody

Oregon Showers Bring These Flowers!

Almost Missed This!

{monica}

{mine}

{married}

{mother}

{mceuen}

{member}

{missionary}

{Mantras}

I'm Currently Reading ...

Monica's bookshelf: currently-reading

My To-Read List

Monica's bookshelf: to-read

Just Finished ...

Monica's books

My Simple Joys

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