Sunday morning thoughts

During the Sacrament I often keep the hymnbook open to read the words of hymns and center my thoughts where they should be. Last Sunday I randomly turned to a hymn (#231). I know I have never heard or read before. The words resonated deeply with me.

Father, cheer our souls tonight;

Lift our burdens, make them light.

Let thine all-pervading love

Shine upon us from above.

Calm the surges of the soul;

Bid the dark waves backward roll.

Let us all thy mercies feel

Thru the pow'r thou dost reveal.

Bless our loved ones far away;

Grant them health and peace, we pray.

In their hearts let holy light

Beam to guide their steps aright.

Let implicit faith and trust

Help us know thy ways are just.

May thine ever-tender love

Lead our hearts to thee above.

I really love the messages of this hymn.  This is what I get out of it:

• The Savior's power can lift our burdens, so that they are light and we can barely feel them. 
• Our souls naturally surge with strong emotions, and the Lord's tender mercies can calm us and turn back the darkness.  
• My heart is continually thinking about those I love who are far away, and I pray for their health, happiness, and progression.
• We need to trust the Lord instead of rely on our own strength or reasoning. His ways are just and love is tender and will lead us along.

Valentine's Day 2016

I attended Joseph's Valentine's party, which was his LAST class party of elementary school and, since he is my youngest, the last class party I will be involved with. That was a strange moment, and kind of sad!  But it was so fun to see these cute kids.

 This is also the last year that we will need to assist a kid with making a Valentine's box, which doesn't make me as sad. Joseph's box was his own creative design and reflects his current interests! His classmates had to try to "shoot" their Valentine through the basket into the box.

Two days later was the actual Valentine's Day, which fell on Sunday this year. We had thin pancakes for breakfast, because both Joseph and Aubrey like them.  Aubrey was our chef.

For church we had a regional broadcast/stake conference at the stake center. We actually arrived in time to sit on the soft seats in the chapel which has NEVER happened. We were highly motivated by the desire to arrive in time to not have to part in the muddy overflow parking and hike in through ankle deep slime. It has been very rainy lately. The meeting itself was really great. I felt edified and inspired.

I received this Valentine from my cute boy.

That evening we held our yearly Valentine's Dinner. For the first time in this house we didn't eat it in the dining room, as it looks like this:

Everything from my kitchen cabinets has been moved into the dining room while the cabinets are being painted. It's been an adventure! More to come on that later.

First, pictures of our dinner, in which everything was pink, red, or heart-shaped. And obviously we emphasized the sugar food group.

We didn't forget our favorite college students. A few weeks before Valentine's Day I sent them some packages with goodies inside to eat and to decorate their homes.

Bailey sent me these pictures of the ways she used the contents of the package to decorate her apartment (I believe that they wrote Harry Potter pickup lines on the foam hearts) and the Valentine's dinner she did with her roommates.

Growing in a poor spot of ground

Sometime last year I came upon something in my scripture study which was a personal answer to my prayers. I want to document my thoughts about it.

Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon is what we call the "Parable of the Olive Tree." It has never been my favorite chapter of scripture. It's long and repetitive and there's a lot of grafting going on, which isn't something I can really relate to. But one day I read verses 21-22 with new eyes:

And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.

 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not: I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.

Suddenly, the vineyard and the servant vanished and I realized that these scriptures were a conversation I was having with God.

I said: "Why have you given my loved ones these great challenges? It's not fair and it's really hard and it feels like too much for them to handle. I know that You can make heal them and make these hard things go away. Will you do it?"

 And the Lord said: "Counsel me not. I knew that this was going to be a challenge. Did you think I didn't know? I "planted" them. I was fully aware of the hard things which they would deal with. But I want you to remember that I am watching over them with loving attention and I have been nourishing them for many years and will continue to do so as long as they turn to me. And if you really look you will see that there are great "fruits" which have been harvested.  There are things they could not have learned without the experience of growing in this poor ground. Have faith in the Lord of the vineyard."

I hope it's not sacrilegious to document my conversation with the Lord in this way. This was a very real answer to my prayers and still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. I am grateful for the Lord's nourishment as we contend with our poor spots of ground. 

January thoughts

It has happened. I actually caught up on all the "events" of our life on the blog and so now I have the luxury of writing some of my thoughts instead.

I can remember quite a few years when I disliked January. Especially in areas where it snows a lot, January is often tedious. I can recall snow stained brown from road grime, mind numbing cold and bad roads, and in Utah there was often polluted air from the inversion. Many years January felt like punishment after the warm glow of December drifted away.

I feel differently about this January. This last month I felt invigorated. I felt full of energy and unburdened. I felt hopeful, optimistic, and peaceful. All those things were in contrast to how December felt. December had so many great moments, including some wonderful family time during the holidays. But there were some particular situations which felt suffocating, hopeless, and burdensome through the myopic vision I develop while going through hard things. Couple that with a month full of nonstop events and important Christmas rituals and traditions which require a lot of work on my part, and I was really exhausted by the end of the month. A few days of emotionally and physically resting after Christmas, and a turn for the better in some of the challenges, and January dawned with new light and clarity.

Once I felt my energy return I experienced a severe case of the January de-cluttering and organizing I do every year. I have unburdened myself of hundreds of things in the last few weeks. Books, toys, mementos, clutter, extra kitchen stuff.  I've been giving away things to friends almost every day, selling some things on ebay, and giving the rest to Goodwill. It really feels great. Lighter.

I didn't formally set resolutions this year, and I didn't last year either. But I have been gradually chipping away at improving myself in small ways. I've made progress, and that's what counts. This new year is shining brightly with hope. I can see the many blessings in my life, and I can see the ways the Lord has supported me through the hard times. Whatever comes, I'll meet the challenges of 2016.

January

This month has gone by in a flash. Joseph said the other day "I used to think that time went really slow. Now I think it goes fast, because weeks go quickly."  Very true. Although, at my age the YEARS go by quickly as well!

New Years Resolutions

This month we researched ad infinitum and finally chose a good quality home treadmill. I think we all will get use out of it, but Aubrey in particular really wanted to have a treadmill available. Over the last few weeks she has been really focusing on eating healthy and walking or running.  

I forgot to take a picture of this, but the shipping company delivered a huge box to our front walk, but wouldn't even put it on our porch out of the rain.  By the time Dan got home it was dark and he needed to prepare seminary, so he tipped it over onto the porch on its side and we hoped that no one would steal the very heavy machine overnight.  The next morning we broke open the box and laboriously wiggled the pieces inside. To get the main part of the treadmill upstairs we had to have two strong men come help equally strong Dan. It was so heavy and awkward, that we have decided that the treadmill stays with the house. If we move, it stays!

Super Shooting All Star

Joseph's basketball team all joined a local basketball gym for extra shooting and ball handling practice. It's a pretty cool place, with amazing measurement tools that give instant reports on the angle and speed of the shot and the minutest details about the handling of the ball. I've really seen improvement in all the boys as they have been doing the drills. And Joseph is really a great shot - he is a great asset to his team!

"So Sad to Be All Alone in the World" - Mrs. Meers

And then, there is theater. Aubrey finished rehearsals for her latest play, Thoroughly Modern Millie, in which she played the creepy and delightfully wicked Mrs. Meers. She did SO well, and stole the show again with her comic timing and singing! She received so many effusive compliments afterward. It was a fun weekend!

 Aubrey taking her bows.

 Some of her adoring fans, including friends from school and church. Oh, and her family, of course!

We're so proud of our amazing actress! Aubrey works very hard, and this particular role was one she didn't really want and was really nervous about (she was a pretty despicable character and had to adopt a "fake Chinese" accent), but she really magnified and ROCKED it!

Big changes for the church in Vancouver

And, last Sunday we were part of a huge meeting in a high school auditorium in which two stakes became three (and we lost two wards from our stake to the new stake, which actually makes my stake calling a little easier!).  There will be a lot of ripples from the new callings (three new stake presidencies, and our stake now needs new stake auxiliary presidencies in everything but Primary, 5 new high councilors, etc.  Two bishops also need to be replaced, including the one for our ward.)

This was our view from the very uncomfortable and rickety bleachers.

50 wonderful years

Yesterday was Dan's 50th BIRTHDAY! WOOHOO!  This is what he did for his exciting birthday . . . 

• woke up at 4:30 to get ready for Seminary
• came home and had breakfast in bed (his choice was egg burrito with grilled peppers and ham)
• went to work all day, where his employees had decorated his office.
  
• came home just as I was leaving to take Aubrey to a school theater performance
• got Joseph to Cub Scouts and then sat alone in the house working on music for the upcoming Yule Ball (which is tomorrow - this is the 8th and probably the final year of the Yule Ball since the people that organize it are now in the new stake. He has done the music every year, but since he was released this year as official stake deejay, the new deejay was supposed to do the Yule Ball. However, at the very last minute there was a lot of tumult and the organizers insisted that Dan come back to be the emcee.  It was slightly awkward, but all resolved and now he is frantically putting together playlists and buying all the supplies for running the dance portion (numbered necklaces and mints, etc.))  
  

Anyway, not a very exciting birthday for Dan. He didn't even get to open his super awesome presents until this morning because he was too tired by the time we got home from Aubrey's performance.  

A fun party is being planned for next Saturday, however.  Stay tuned for details!

Thanksgiving in Arizona

We enjoyed a week in the sun at the end of December. We stayed in a rental home with the Texas Porters and ate Thanksgiving at a church with all of the Porters.

We played in the park behind our rental house as often as possible!

The rental home didn't have enough couches and chairs for everyone, but did have a big pool table in the middle of the family room, which the boys loved.

 We stocked up on just about everything for Thanksgiving Dinner for 40 people and filled the freezer and fridge!

 Sadly, our plans to swim every day in our awesome heated pool went awry when, on the FIRST full day of our trip Jeffrey split his head open while playing with cousins (and required staples in the head) and Joseph got a nasty spider bite at the same time. By the morning after the bite, Joseph's ankle was blistering, oozing, and swelling. He wasn't really in pain, but wasn't able to wear shoes the entire week, including for family pictures. Good thing we were in warm Arizona!

 We looked up info on spider bites and determined that we would take the "watch and wait" approach. As the week went on, the leg continued to swell and look quite terrible. 

We finally took him to Instacare on Thanksgiving Day after we decided that a bacterial cellulitis had set it. We were right, and he was put on a very strong antibiotic, which finally turned the tide. 

We had Dave take some pictures of our family. We used the small hill behind the rental house as our backdrop and timed it for the perfect light, an hour before sunset.

Sadly, most of the pictures are like this, where everyone is in focus except for Aubrey.  

 But some worked out.

(click to see more)

Celebrating Dad

The second weekend in September my siblings and I gathered in Utah to celebrate our Dad's 70th birthday.

We all met in Emigration Canyon at Ruth's Diner for a relaxing and delicious brunch outside on the patio.




























Then, Ali and Kara and I visited Bailey, Brandon, and Angela at BYU before heading to the cabin in Heber.  It was so fun to see my kids!

While at the cabin in Heber we did a lot of relaxing and relishing the rare opportunity to be together. Dad had set the itinerary for the weekend. We hiked to Danger Bridge and tiptoed around in the cold mountain water. We sat on the deck and looked at the magnificent view while we talked and ate. We laughed a lot and stayed up late visiting.

On Saturday night we picked up Cafe Rio and ate it while we watched a free concert at the Homestead Resort in Midway.

On Sunday morning Mom prepared a delicious brunch for us to eat before we all left for home.

I gave Dad this plaque, which Bailey and I had found in San Diego. It immediately reminded me of what Dad always says: "Life is good and God is good."  

It was such a privilege to spend a weekend celebrating my Dad, who embodies so many amazing qualities.  Here are just a few:
Optimistic
Intelligent and continual learner
Hard worker
Faithful
Service-oriented (serving others and serving God)
Love for family
Great listener 

I try every day to embrace his example in my own life.