Opportunities of gospel living

I just finished re-reading the love notes that my parents and siblings wrote to me back in 2003 and it was just so fun to feel the love (from them and for them). I am so thankful that I got to grow up in a gospel home with parents who loved each other and their children, with siblings who worked and played together, with the gospel of Jesus Christ that helped us to repent and forgive one another. It is just so wonderful!

This week has been very fun for me. I have been practicing being happy by choosing to be and controlling my thoughts. I got a little book at the Holistic Health Fair I was at last week claiming that in 10 days I could be happier...I figured, why not give it a try? I am having fun remembering who I am, expressing gratitude for what I have, praying for those who I can forgive, and looking forward to my next daily assignment. Gee, sounds like gospel living doesn't it (because it is)! What power it is to be able to think and it is our Heavenly Father's intent that we can control our thoughts/actions until we have a knowledge of all truth!

In concert with this most recent project of mine, I took up a challenge given last Sunday of trying to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year (10 pages a day we were told then). It has been so fun to read a lot and see just how thankful and positive thinking Nephi was and how hopeful are the words of Isaiah. I probably couldn't explain them if asked to, but it seems like they are both a temporal situation that has been or will be but also that it can all apply to us spiritually, right NOW, if we are obedient. That may not make sense but it does when the Spirit is helping me to "get it"!


One of the great opportunities of the week was getting to have Sister Lant, the General Primary President, come to our home to visit with the kids. We had half and hour to visit with her and hear about her meetings with President Monson and how he likes to tell stories about when he was in primary and the people that he tried to help come. She said she had met with him a week and a half ago and he wanted to know how the primary children were, what they needed, and if they and their leaders were happy. We learned about the places she has visited (and that she likes it if the same interpreter can travel around with her). In general, she reminded me of my mom. She looks similar with hair cut, coloring, and a smile. They also have 9 children and she was so encouraging and positive toward the children exclaiming over their prepared artwork to welcome and thank her for coming. She related to me in child-rearing and made me laugh to say that she informed her husband that he was not President Hinckley and more importantly, she was not Marjorie in relation to his never ending work of refinishing the doors in the house in the room just off the entry-way! I am glad to say though that Randy's progress on refinishing the piano is coming along and it is looking lovely. Notice a child missing? He was taking a nap.

To laugh (I've been doing this a lot this week): Sweet Paul has been wearing padded underwear which he calls, "Underpanties." I help him to the potty when I can but when he is wet and dirty then we go to the bathroom to change. To clean out the BM, I dip the soiled underwear in the toilet to get off what I can before it goes in the laundry and affirm to Paul that the toilet is where it goes. Now, while I was feeding Levi, Paul noticed that he was wet and took himself to the potty. I could hear appropriate bathroom noises and then got concerned about hearing swishing sounds. I put down the baby and asked him not to play in the potty. When I rounded the corner I saw him (and heard his pitter-patter-feet) run across the kitchen floor in his birthday suit to throw his wet underpanties in the garbage. I guess it is tough to remember what goes in the potty, what goes in the garbage (since he wears disposable diapers regularly and deposits them for me), and what goes in the laundry!

To be brave I invited my neighbor to come over so that we can discuss things about health and wellness with the intent of inviting her to listen and learn about healing through the laying on of hands. I also, have another idea in mind for next month to invite someone to listen to the missionaries as a Christmas gift. (I got to lead the music at a baptism for some sisters now in our ward last evening. There was a lovely feeling and singing Joseph Smith's First Prayer and I Am A Child of God was bearing my testimony. It was a sweet opportunity to participate.

For the sake of consistency

This is in tribute of Elder Bednar's Conference report since I don't expect to share anything too profound but simply to be consistent in keeping a record and sharing it with family not so near.

Yesterday was an interesting day for me as I attended a Holistic Health Conference. I had six classes teaching me various aspects of health. I guess you could say it was a chance to become more familiar with eastern health practices of well-being as opposed to the western health practices of treating the symptoms. My brain is still on overload from what I heard so perhaps when and if I get a chance to process some of it then I'll share more. Randy spent the morning with the kids at the church passing out scout re-charter packets (they are changing to do it at the end of the year instead of early in the year so this is the second time for this year).

On Friday some of the kids joined other LDS homeschoolers to tour a local home that has been turned into a children's museum. We went through the home all set up like it would have been with fireplaces in each room and straw mattresses (learning about the phrase, "Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite"). It was the home where the first governor of Maryland (Thomas Johnson) lived with his daughter's family after his wife passed away. They had all sorts of toys but we didn't get long enough to play. The girls went to the doll house and Peter was at the checkers and enlarged tic-tac-toe board. They fed the kids some "cookies" they said were like what they may have had (probably not but it was fun for the kids that they included that in the tour). On the grounds they had a one room cabin which was in striking contrast to the mansion. They had a carriage museum that was more fun for the kids because we had been listening to Those Happy Golden Years by Laura Engalls Wilder and heard about the sleighs and carriages that Almonzo had been using (at least that is what made it more fun for me). They also had a blacksmith shop that was not original to the land but just to educate. It was a nice fieldtrip.

We took Thursday off from our regular schedule as well and spent many hours at the church with sisters sewing baby blankets and bibs. I took Grandma Ada's sewing machine and my old baby sheets and hand towels to through together some cloth diapers (I got rid of my old ones only a month or two ago). Poor Levi has a terrible diaper rash and yeast infection on his bottom. It was big motivation to make diapers and yogurt to relieve him some. We are still working on it but it is improving. I also found that I really enjoyed the sewing (especially because I didn't have to use a pattern, buy the material, or make it fancy).

Okay, this is longer than I intended but once I started I realized I had more to say than I thought. Here are a few other tidbits: The family sang "I am a Child of God" in church today with no accompaniment. Peter started solo on the second verse. Then Randy and I sang the third verse followed by the whole family singing the first verse with Peter on the descant to close. It was a really great opportunity for the kids (and for the mom who is scared to sing in front of people) and we got lots of comments at what a nice job Peter had done. His comment was, "I found that it is a lot easier if you avoid looking at all the people." :)

The other cute thing was that we sang "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" for FHE. The kids have learned to jump on the "-beam" part. However, we discovered that Mary Joy was singing, " A Sun-BEEP, a Sun-BEEP." It was so cute we didn't want to correct her but she liked it just as well since sunbeam ends with the same sound that her name starts with!

All stocked up!

I taught last week about prophets in Sunday School. President Monson in his closing remarks said that the Lord HAS prepared us for this time. I was at home with sick kids today but this week's lesson looked like it was on spiritual and temporal self-reliance (that is what the prophets have been teaching us). If we are prepared we shall not fear.

So, here is how it has affected us this week. We've been saving up money and now we can pay for both of our vehicles to be fixed (and one of them twice)! The kids and I went and picked up some bulk grains from the cannery to fill up our emptied shelves in the basement and now we do not fear going hungry during the winter (we are due for a bad one they tell us and we are excited for it since we have felt that the winters have been somewhat less that we were use to in Utah and Idaho. Okay to tell the truth, Randy likes more snow and I have enjoyed not having so much).

We enjoyed our Halloween by avoiding Halloween activities. During the ward Halloween activity we had the family at the temple and visitor center (meeting up with Randy after his work conference and our trip to the cannery). On Halloween we enjoyed having our new home teachers come and talk about the importance of families. It was really a tender lesson from a recently returned missionary (Robert Matthew's grandson for those interested like Grandpa Bart or Laurie and Mark's families -- he served in Boise mission) and a new convert, Joseph, from Africa -- who I was told had been a preacher prior to joining a month or so ago. They were humble and interested in us and encouraging. It was a sweet time. We followed that with feeding dinner to the sister missionaries (both Aggies -- go USU) and then playing Hide and Seek with the lights out. We had so much fun in that game. We think we'll make it a Halloween tradition!