CTR

It's Friday!  I always feel like it's such an accomplishment to reach the end of the week.  Ha!

We have soccer and basketball games tomorrow.  I'll go for a run.  Jacob will play  a round or two of disc golf.  But besides that, it will be a pretty low key weekend.  

I read this today and I loved it so much I thought I would share.

"The great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God's commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage."
                                               ~Henry B. Eyring

I love this!

Choose the Right!
Endure!
And Have a happy weekend!  :)

Mac and Cheese

It was the usual routine this morning.

Up at 6.  Feed baby.  Change baby's diaper.  Go for a run.  Wake up Lo and Isaac for school.  Make breakfast.  Make lunches.  Pack backpacks.  Scoot the kids out the door so we aren't late for school by 7:45.  Drive kids to school.  Try my best to fill their little buckets full before sending them out of the car door and into the school.  Kisses. Hugs.  Goodbye until 3:10 when school gets out and the excitement starts once again.

While I was making lunches for Lo and Isaac I had an interesting thought.

Lo was helping me make mac and cheese for their lunch.  Lo was doing most of the making and I was more supervising.  I told her after she added the water, the directions tell to stir the noodles and water together before putting them in the microwave.

 She responded saying, "Why do they have you stir it before you microwave it?  That's dumb.  I bet it doesn't matter if you stir it before."

I told her if they wrote it in the directions, its probably important that we stick to the directions.

But, that got me thinking.

How often do we 'skip directions' because we think we know best?  How much better could our relationship be with our Heavenly Father or Savior be?

If we skip the steps in making Mac and Cheese, who knows how much better that Mac and cheese would/could taste?   We are cheating ourselves out of some much more delicious tasting cheesy goodness.

Doing all we are asked (daily prayer, scripture study,...) might seem like a step we can skip and not feel a difference in our own lives.  But it matters.  I guess that's what I'm getting at.

IT MATTERS.

Don't skip out on those small things that can help bring you peace, comfort, love.

Now go make yourself some Easy Mac and Cheese.

Moments

I had a moment today while driving in the car with Isaac and Loraya.  A moment that doesn't happen often as a mom.  I felt prompted to tell them that I loved them and express how lucky I was to be their mom.  Such a simple thing.  To tell someone you love them.

 I was over come with emotion, and looking at them thru the rear view mirror I could see their sweet eyes filling with tears as well.

The moment came and went.

But, I'm so grateful I didn't let the moment pass and say nothing.  

I tell my kids often how much I love them, several times a day.  So, I'm not sure why I was, at that time, prompted to share my love to my beautiful children.  

But do you ever tire of being told you are loved?

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! 

Because of our Savior, I can be with my loved ones for eternity.  I am so grateful for his love for each of us.  Because of him I have peace, comfort and hope.  

I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

On December 15, 2013 Isaac was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Josh, Alexis and family came out to help celebrate with us.  We are so blessed to have them close enough to make the drive out to our house.  We were all feeling quite sad that Jacob's parents or my parents couldn't be with us. But, the feeling of love that was in the room was overwhelming.  I was only excepting a few of our good friends, but the Primary room was bursting to over flowing with friends and loved ones!  There weren't enough seats for everyone and people were standing in the hall!  I gave a talk on Baptism.  Loraya sang "If the Savior Stood beside Me."  Jacob baptized and confirmed Isaac.  We watched a picture slideshow video that I put together.  Macey gave a talk on the Holy Ghost.

It was a very special evening.

I  love this boy of mine so much and so grateful he is making choices that is bringing him closer to his Father in Heaven.   

Shine on little star

Every year we look forward to going out to the Skousen's Farm for the annual hayride.  It is breathtakingly beautiful and the kids like to see how many times in one night they can ride the hayride.  It is also an easy and fun activity to invite our friends to whom are not of our faith.

I noticed at church there were a stack of flyers sitting in the foyer telling about the upcoming church activity.

Loraya took about half of them and started passing them out to who knows who.

 Neighbors, teachers, friends at school, the mailman...pretty much everyone in Morgantown has been given a flyer and been welcomed by Loraya to come to this fun ward activity.

I mentioned it to Debbie Skousen on Tuesday night that Loraya has been passing out flyers all over town and who knows if anyone of these people will show up.  I'm glad I mentioned it because this afternoon a mom of one of Loraya's friends from school called and was asking questions about the activity and is probably going to come!

This was exciting for me!

I'm proud of Loraya and I love her light that shines for all to see.  From an early age she knows who she is and wants to share the light that she has with others.

Gift of the Holy Ghost

We had a lovely weekend.  The highlight being General Conference.  My spiritual tank is filled and I am ready to try harder and to be better.

 

Some of my favorite quotes included:

 

"Your Father in Heaven expects your loyalty and your love at every stage of your life. His voice is heard ringing out, 'do you love me?' We answer, yea Lord we love thee, and having set our hand to the plow we will never look back until this work is done."

Jeffrey R. Holland - Apostle

 

"What you do when you think no one is watching you is a true measure of your righteousness." Elder Gary L. Stephenson

 

"We are to forget all excuses and justifications if we are to have eternal life. There are sins of commission and sins of omission and we must rise above both." Elder Robert C. Gay

 

"Sometimes our trials can be destructive to our faith. This is the time to immerse ourselves in the very things that built our faith in the first place. Distancing ourselves from the Church in the middle of a trial of our faith is like leaving the safety of a storm cellar just as the tornado is upon us."

 Neil L. Anderson - Apostle

 

"Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God; it occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10), create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time."

~Henry B Erying- Apostle

 

I could go on and on.  Just let me say how grateful I am for my own testimony of Jesus Christ.  I know he loves us and I know he lives! 

 

 Christ's love for each of us is all around us.  I felt his love this weekend while listening to conference and also felt his love for me through the beauty of his creations.  We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful world.

 Switching gears for a minute...Saturday was filled with soccer games and picture taking.

 Monday was no school.  We enjoyed a chilly playdate at the park.

 

Afterward went and say this movie. 

Now let me tell you a tender and very personal experience that happened last night.

First off, this movie was SCARY.  Isaac hid his eyes and cuddled close through most of it.  Macey and Loraya didn't seem to be bothered by it.  Isaac was a different story.  I knew it bothered him greatly and he kept bringing up the movie and various parts of the movie through out the evening.  I also knew it was greatly on his mind come bedtime as well. 

We said family prayers.  I went up and tucked Isaac in bed.  I went and turned on the TV, ready for some 'do nothing' time.  No more then a few minutes had passed before I heard Isaac coming down the stairs.  He was hysterically crying and was very upset and scared.  He told me he couldn't stop thinking about the movie.

I let him cry for a minute or two and tried my best to calm his fears.  I took him by the hand and told him I would stay in his room while he fell asleep.  Selfishly I began thinking about how long this fear would last and how long will I have to stay in this room.  I began tucking Isaac back in bed and the thought came into my mind to say a prayer with Isaac. 

I told Isaac that I knew that if we were to pray, Heavenly Father will send the Holy Ghost to calm his fears.  He will help him not be scared anymore.  I said a very heart felt prayer and pleaded for Isaac to feel safe, loved and calm.  The feeling of love and warmth that I felt was all consuming.  I knew that Isaac could feel it too.  I asked him if he felt better and if he could feel the warm feeling inside him.  He said he could feel it and told me with tears in his eyes that we are so lucky to have the Holy Ghost to help us.  This led to a discussion; I tried my best to answer Isaac's questions about the Holy Ghost. 

After a time the questions stopped and I thought that Isaac was asleep.  I watched his chest rise and fall.  He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at me and told me I didn't have to stay in his room anymore and I gave him one last kiss and left the room.  He didn't wake up once in the night from nightmares or from scary images in his mind.  Heavenly Father had heard and answered my prayer.

There is no greater joy then helping your children recognize the love that our Savior has for them.  We are so blessed to have the holy ghost in our lives calm our fears and help us feel safe in a very scary world. 

Blessed

"I have a suggestion: When a temple is conveniently nearby, small things may interrupt your plans to go to the temple. Set specific goals, considering your circumstances, of when you can and will participate in temple ordinances. Then do not allow anything to interfere with that plan."

—Richard G. Scott

 

 

 

"I promise you that, with increased attendance in the temples of our God, you shall receive increased personal revelation to bless your life as you bless those who have died."

—Ezra Taft Benson

 

 

 

"Everything that occurs in the temple is uplifting and ennobling. It speaks of life here and life beyond the grave. It speaks of the importance of the individual as a child of God. It speaks of the importance of the family and the eternity of the marriage relationship."

—Gordon B. Hinckley

 

 

Blessed to go to the Washington DC temple with my eternal sweetheart this past weekend.