Heartache and Hope

We had a rough week at our house. Aside from the illness, there was a lot of contention, lots of raised voices, lots of stubborn pride. By Sunday night I felt completely drained. Then I was reminded that there are several people I love that are going through really awful, hard things. And my sorrow and pain for my own little family was swallowed by my concern and heartache for those around me.

With those loved ones on my mind, I stumbled across a quote from Jeffrey R. Holland. I have loved this quote for a long time, but it takes on new meaning during this difficult time.

Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come. -Jeffrey R. Holland

If you're reading this and thinking, "She's writing about me, she knows what we're going through," you're probably right. But you're not the only person that I'm thinking of. There are several, some who read this blog, some who don't. However, if you feel that this message is for you, then it is.

I'll add my own words. Keep moving forward. Surround yourselves with love and support and faith. Remember that being kind, no matter how impossible it seems, is always the right choice. Build your testimony (to quote one of my favorite talks from the latest General Conference) "everyday, everyday, everyday." Heavenly Father loves you, Jesus Christ loves you, and I love you too.

Late Night Creating, Halloween Edition

Thankfully We Have a Big Couch

This is what my house looked like on Tuesday. 

Sophie had a little stomach bug last week (including throwing up into a bowl in the van and then two days later throwing up in the parking lot of our hotel), but now has a cold and a big cough. Phoebe came home from school early because of an upset stomach. Peter missed two days of school because of stomach pains. Thankfully neither of them threw up. Cooper, on the other hand, had the distinction of throwing up into a trashcan near the self-checkout section of Walmart. He stayed home on Wednesday. Bryan came home on Tuesday, changed into pajamas, and didn't eat because his stomach was tender as well.

Topher has been okay so far. I was fine until this morning. But that's okay, all the kids went back to school today, so I slept when Topher did and tried hard not to move too much when he was awake. Hopefully it passes our family quickly.

Yes, I do think we get sick more often than most. No, I don't know why.

Getting Out Their Wiggles

Yesterday I said we played at the church after the baptism. What I didn't say was that my kids spent most of the time running around the gym and singing at the tops of their lungs. It was Saturday and most of the people were gone at that point, so I didn't stop them.

Also, that's when I pulled out my fancy camera.

Nathan's Baptism

We took a mini road trip this weekend to upstate New York to attend our nephew Nathan's baptism. We drove up on Friday evening and back home Saturday night. We were all pretty beat on Sunday, but we're happy we made the drive. We especially loved seeing our family!

Here we are, getting ready in the hotel on Saturday morning and taking advantage of the TV being on.

The baptism was great. Aunt Melinda spoke about baptism and the Holy Ghost and Uncle Jake performed the ordinance. Everyone in the family was invited to sing As I Have Loved You for a musical number. I loved it.

After the baptism we stayed at the church playing while a few people picked up sandwiches. This game of Uno was apparently so intense that afterward Cooper came over to me and said, "That game of Uno felt like gambling. I liked it." Yes, I am mildly concerned.

photo credit: Melinda

After lunch we all changed our clothes and visited a lovely state park a short drive away. Peter, Aunt Melinda, Uncle Ben, and Papa Ron hiked up the waterfall.

photo credit: Melinda

Meanwhile, the rest of us played on the playground.

The day that we drove up, before we left, I mentioned to a friend where we were going and she rapturized about how beautiful it would be this time of year. I realized she was right and took my fancy camera and vaguely coordinating clothes. Bryan's dad graciously took pictures of our family while some of us looked at the camera and smiled and some of us made funny faces.

Then we got a few candid shots.

photo credit: Bryan

When we were all sufficiently chilly, we went to Jake and Melinda's house and enjoyed eating dinner, visiting, and playing with cousins. We even got a picture with Nathan before we headed home.

Nathan, we're so happy you chose to be baptized and that we were able to be there!

Pictures or it Didn't Happen

We just finished a lovely afternoon and evening visit with Bryan's parents and his brother Ben. We chatted, the kids talked about school and Halloween, Sophie treated Ben like a human jungle gym and he was a really good sport about it. We ate a delicious dinner that Bryan did the lion's share of cooking for. We had a fun Family Home Evening that included acting out and guessing different emotions. We had bunches and bunches of hugs as the kids said goodbye while simultaneously pushing off bedtime.

And I didn't take any pictures at all.

But it still happened.

Thanks for visiting, guys!

One More Photogenic Kid

The final school picture for the 2019-2020 school year arrived in my inbox this morning. I think all four pictures turned out beautifully.

A Message, Just For You

Every six months, after watching General Conference, I ask friends and family what big themes they got from the talks. There are usually a handful that we all see in common. Then we marvel at how the speakers knew just what we needed.

This year I've asked (or been asked) the same question, what were the themes from Conference? We've all said different things this time. We agree when someone brings up a theme, "Oh yes, I can see that," but that's not what stood out to us.

This was surprising to me at first. Was I not paying enough attention? How could I have missed so many messages? I was sitting in Testimony meeting on Sunday, listening to the many different themes that the people in my Ward got from Conference when a reason occurred to me.

This year a major shift took place in our church, moving to a home-centered, church-supported curriculum model. I wrote about it the first day of 2019. Each family was invited to spend much more time together studying the scriptures, specifically the New Testament, and the Gospel. We've also been reminded on a nearly weekly basis that personal revelation is a vital component of this. We've focused on this aspect in our own family study.

I suspect one reason we each got such different messages this time is that we've been working so actively on attuning ourselves to personal revelation. Each week we've had to determine what our family needs to hear from the assigned chapters, what our classes need, what we personally need. We've practiced listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. We know that the more we practice something the more proficient we become. We have practiced listening, and then acting on those promptings.

I shared this observation as a piece of my testimony on Sunday. Since then I've had people tell me they had noticed the same things.

I am so thankful that we can hear the same talks and yet receive such wonderful and divinely individualized messages.

Semi-Formal

Lullaby

I need to pick the girls up from the bus stop at a certain time each afternoon. This time falls right when Topher used to nap. Because of this schedule, I've taught Topher to take one long nap each day rather than the two he used to take. On weekdays this works fine.

But Sundays are rough.

Why? Because that important long nap occupies the same chunk of time during our day as church. He used to get a short nap before we left, but not anymore. This means that by the time we head home after choir, he's exhausted and sometimes hysterical.

That was the case this past Sunday. He was SO TIRED. Neither Bryan nor I could calm him down as we drove. We tried speaking in soothing voices, playing classical music, reassuring him we would be home soon. None of it even slowed him down.

Then one of the kids started to sing I Am a Child of God. Soon all four big kids were singing to him. I joined in as well. We sang the entire way home.

And it worked. Topher calmed to the point that he dozed off just before we got to our house. A lovely peaceful feeling filled the van and the grins on their faces showed that all of the big kids knew they had done something special for their tired baby brother.