Let's Get Cooking

After more than a month without an oven and more than three weeks without a stove I am happy to announce that we have rejoined the world of home cooking.

Behold, the beauty of a new, clean, fully functioning oven and stove.

Thank you Bryan for installing this wonderful appliance and making sure nobody blew up. Seriously though, we were kind of worried about hooking up the gas, but he did swimmingly.

We have homemade bread in our future...

Weekend Peace

There was something different about this General Conference. I don't know if the difference was in me, my family, or the talks themselves, but I felt a much deeper connection to what was being said than I have in recent memory. 

After Conference ends I go back and review the talks, usually listening to one talk each day until it's time for the next General Conference. Often the kids are too busy and loud for me to get much the first time I hear the talks, so that's my workaround.

But this time? I felt like I really heard the talks. The kids were so well behaved, I'm sure that helped. They even had some favorite talks. I asked Phoebe for her impressions and this is what she said. "Um, well, I liked the one about the seat belt. And I liked watching President Monson talk. And that's it." Cooper liked the talk about the sharks, which was one of my favorites too. Peter liked hearing about the importance of reading the scriptures.

Cooper was anxious that I would forget to prepare the Conference notebooks. He asked me to make sure they were done in time. They were, and the kids used them all weekend.

In writing this post, I went to lds.org and tried to identify the talks that really stood out to me. The list was long, probably too long to talk about in one session. So instead, I will direct you to the four talks that left a profound impression.

Elder Holland's talk on mothers was beautiful and overwhelming. I recommend it to all mothers, whether they are LDS or not. The entire talk spoke to me, but these two quotes especially impressed me.

You see, it is not only that they bear us, but they continue bearing with us. It is not only the prenatal carrying but the lifelong carrying that makes mothering such a staggering feat. Of course, there are heartbreaking exceptions, but most mothers know intuitively, instinctively that this is a sacred trust of the highest order. The weight of that realization, especially on young maternal shoulders, can be very daunting.

To all of our mothers everywhere, past, present, or future, I say, “Thank you. Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming character, and for demonstrating the pure love of Christ.” To Mother Eve, to Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, to Mary of Nazareth, and to a Mother in Heaven, I say, “Thank you for your crucial role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity.” To all mothers in every circumstance, including those who struggle—and all will—I say, “Be peaceful. Believe in God and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are. In fact, you are saviors on Mount Zion,¹³ and like the Master you follow, your love ‘never faileth.’¹⁴ ” I can pay no higher tribute to anyone. 

I loved Elder Stanfill's talk on light and his personal story about driving through a dark tunnel. One quote that stood to me:

When we consider thoughtfully, why would we listen to the faceless, cynical voices of those in the great and spacious buildings of our time and ignore the pleas of those who genuinely love us? These ever-present naysayers prefer to tear down rather than elevate and to ridicule rather than uplift. Their mocking words can burrow into our lives, often through split-second bursts of electronic distortions carefully and deliberately composed to destroy our faith. Is it wise to place our eternal well-being in the hands of strangers?

President Nelson's talk to the women of the church was powerful and felt like a call to action. If you want to know what kind of feminist I am (and I do consider myself a feminist), listen to this talk.

We, your brethren, need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without women who make sacred covenants and then keep them, women who can speak with the power and authority of God!⁷ 

My dear sisters, whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions, your insights, and your inspiration. We need you to speak up and speak out in ward and stake councils. We need each married sister to speak as “a contributing and fullpartner”¹⁰ as you unite with your husband in governing your family. Married or single, you sisters possess distinctive capabilities and special intuition you have received as gifts from God. We brethren cannot duplicate your unique influence.

So today I plead with my sisters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to step forward! Take your rightful and needful place in your home, in your community, and in the kingdom of God—more than you ever have before. I plead with you to fulfill President Kimball’s prophecy. And I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that as you do so, the Holy Ghostwill magnify your influence in an unprecedented way! 

Finally, and perhaps appropriately given my feelings on President Nelson's talk, is Sister Stephens talk. Her story about her granddaughter Chloe refusing to wear a seat belt was memorable for the kids too, as Phoebe mentioned.

Like Chloe, we can choose to see commandments as limitations. We may feel at times that God’s laws restrict our personal freedom, take from us our agency, and limit our growth. But as we seek for greater understanding, as we allow our Father to teach us, we will begin to see that His laws are a manifestation of His love for us and obedience to His laws is an expression of our love for Him.

I turned to Bryan at one point during the weekend and said, "I hope you're getting something out of this, because I'm pretty sure all these talks were written for me." I love the spiritual boost that I receive from General Conference, the strength that the talks give me, and the opportunity and invitation to refine and retune my life.

I know that President Monson leads the church and is divinely called to do so. Likewise, I know that the men and women that spoke to us during General Conference are called by God to teach and lead us. I look forward to studying the counsel they gave as part of my daily scripture study over the next six months.

Righteous Examples

When we first moved into this ward we had Sister Missionaries serving here. We had them over for dinner one night in September and they performed a great service in helping us attack the massively overgrown garden plot in our backyard. The evening was delightful and we looked forward to having them over again.

The next week Elders were transferred into our ward as well, which means half the ward is covered by the Sisters and the other half is covered by the Elders. We happen to live where the Elders serve. So instead of feeding the Sisters at the end of the month like we had planned, we fed the Elders. Cooper was so excited he even asked to take a picture with them.

That night as I tucked Phoebe into bed she asked when the Sister missionaries would be coming back to our house. I explained that we could see them at church, but our house wasn't in their area, so they couldn't come visit anymore.

And then she cried herself to sleep.

The next night at a Relief Society activity, I told these sweet Sisters about Phoebe's strong reaction. They were touched that she thought so highly of them. Yesterday at church Phoebe insisted that we find them so she could have a picture too.

I love that we have such fantastic examples of service and faith for both my boys and my girls to follow.

Lucky Daddy

This picture makes my heart happy.

In fact, it reminds me of another picture that also makes my heart swell.

Poor Man's Pumpkin Patch

The kids had the day off from school, and while I could have crammed our time full with adventures, I decided instead to watch and wait and see where the day went on its own. The morning was spent reading and listening to music. Sophie's (and, full disclosure, Mommy's) nap time was spent snuggling on the couch (I slept while the big kids cuddled around me) and watching movies. There had been almost no fighting and I was truly enjoying our day at home.

We had been invited to meet some school friends at a pumpkin patch in the afternoon. I accepted, but said we wouldn't be able to join them until Sophie was finished napping. Since we had had such a laid back morning, by the time Sophie woke up I was the only person in daytime clothes. The promise of fun on the farm was not enough to properly motivate my children and we weren't ready to leave until after three, more than two hours later than our friends had arrived for their fall festivities.

It took about thirty minutes to drive there, which meant that we arrived a mere hour and forty minutes before the farm closed. I've seen other venues offer a discounted afternoon price and I hoped this place would offer something similar. No such luck. They wanted me to pay nearly $50 for our family to have access to their pumpkin patch.

Here's what was happening in my brain:

THAT'S TOO MUCH MONEY! I can't pay that much for such a short amount of time! But we have friends waiting inside. And I just drove all the way here. And I told the kids we would get pumpkins. BUT THAT'S REALLY TOO MUCH MONEY!

So I came up with a compromise. We would visit the not-quite-as-authentic yard full of pre-picked pumpkins near the parking lot, each choose one, then we would stop by lots of parks on the way home. The kids thought that idea was grand and were pretty excited about the prospect of park-hopping. The friend was very sweet and understanding when I texted her and explained the situation.

Check out that picture, they look like they're having fun, regardless of the fact that they didn't actually go inside.

And in case you're wondering, they did have lots of fun at the parks.

Run!

The Safe Place

My hope was to knock out two or three blog posts tonight. I have a kitchen to clean, a massive pile of laundry to fold, and about seven teetering piles of papers on and around my desk that need my attention, items ranging from bills to pictures the kids have drawn. My plan for the night was to ignore the kitchen and laundry and focus on the blog, then work my way through the papers. I figured if I stayed focused I could fall into bed a little before midnight.

Earlier today Sophie started coughing, just a little at first, then more and more. By dinner she was really hacking. She had a warm bath and a lot of water, but by the time I was done with the bedtime routine, her coughing was even worse.

I had just opened my computer to write those planned posts when I heard Sophie start to do a cry/cough combination. I put down my computer, walked into her room, and leaned over her bed.

"Sophie, do you want some water?"

She looked at me but didn't answer.

Phoebe, from the other side of their small room, offered her diagnosis. "She wants to snuggle."

Hearing Phoebe echo my own suspicions, I scooped up the still coughing Sophie and walked back into my room. I closed the computer, laid down with her in my arms, and started humming I Am a Child of God. After several verses her breathing calmed and she fell asleep. Then I held her for another thirty minutes, more for my sake than for hers.

This is not the first time that holding my babies has taken priority over some other task. Those babies are getting bigger, so I worry that my time to hold them may be growing short. For now though, when they are sick or sad or scared, I am still their safe place.

I hope Sophie can sleep well tonight, but if she needs me again, I'll be here.

Weekend Joy

I had a marvelous weekend. Our home was happy and peaceful throughout General Conference, and while I have a blog post on that topic brewing in my brain, there was another exciting event that happened this weekend that was met by whoops and shouts of glee by the members of our household.

Bryan's brother Dallin and his wife Melody are the new parents of a sweet baby girl. She is the third first-cousin on Bryan's side and the first cousinette.

Meet my newest niece, Harmony.

Following a great lesson about General Conference, our Family Home Evening activity tonight was looking at pictures of Harmony. The kids all oooed and aaaaed over their new baby cousin. Sophie was especially taken with her and each time she saw a new picture she would say, "Aww!" with the occasional "Baby!" thrown in for good measure. I think Sophie is happy to relinquish the title of Youngest Grandchild as long as she gets to look at pictures of Harmony.

We wish we were close enough to snuggle this sweet girl, but we'll be content to gaze at her pictures.

Congratulations Dallin and Melody!

What Are Your Weekend Plans?

I'll be spending ten hours listening to the divinely inspired leaders of my church, being spiritually strengthened and renewed, and feeling the Holy Ghost. This is one of my favorite weekends of the year.



I invite you to join me. You can watch or listen at these times.

The Joy of Lip Syncing