Thursday, February 26, 2015
I Want to be Elastigirl
Today I ran errands with only Sophia and David. It was fun to have all that time in the car and in the stores to just enjoy Sophia's 3 year old chatter. Today I found out that Sophia thinks I am a superhero…somewhere in the same vein as Elastigirl!! I knew that it was snacktime so I bought some bananas at our first stop and offered her a banana to eat in the car while we drove to our next destination. She declined saying, "I will just wait and eat the samples at Costco." I had to smile at that one. We got in our belts and headed off. After several minutes of driving the inevitable cries of "I'm hungry," started. Sophia said, "I'm ready for my banana now. Can you give it to me." When I tried to explain that I couldn't as I was driving, she had a very simple answer. "Just climb back here and give it to me while you keep on driving." I drive a great big passenger van with three benches behind the front seats. She was in the second bench back. I answered, "I don't think I can do that." She simply stated, "Yes you can!" Oh, if I only had the stretchable arms of Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl, aka Mrs. Incredible. Sophia did survive the drive however, and never did need her banana. She got her fill at the sample tables at Costco!
Monday, February 16, 2015
After the Scone...it could only get better!!
With Valentines Day being just this past weekend I found myself thinking about other Valentines Days that Jerry and I have shared together. Two particular Valentines Days stick out in my memory.
The first Valentines Day that Jerry and I celebrated together was when we'd only been dating a short time. We had met for the first time the beginning of January, had our first date a couple of weeks later and by February 14th we were already feeling that we might be destined to spend forever together. Jerry worked all day long on Valentines Day and we only had the evening to be together. He dropped by my apartment on the way home from work and handed me a warm fresh scone wrapped up in a napkin. (At the time he worked in a fast food restaurant that specialized in scones and honey butter, fried mozzarella and fried pickles.) "Happy Valentines Day," he said. I got a big hug and…and that was it. No flowers, no chocolate, no sentimental card….just a scone. I'd eaten dinner already so I stuck the scone in the fridge for later. I think I may have forgotten about it. I don't remember ever eating it. Sometime later, after our marriage, the Valentine's Day scone came up in conversation. Apparently he'd gone to the trouble of making me a heart shaped scone. And I hadn't even noticed the cute shape. Of course, when he fried the scone and it cooked and puffed up, the shape was a little sketchy. But it was a sweet offering from the man who loved me very much, didn't have much money, but who still wanted to do something creative and special for me on Valentines Day. I still feel bad to this day that I didn't realize that he'd been giving me a gift. Of course…we've kissed and made up by now….and if he ever gives me a warm scone on Valentines Day ever again, I'll be sure to check it closely to see if it is shaped like a heart.
A number of years back I took a trip to visit my parents….without Jerry. He stayed home to work, feed and look after the five boys, and run them around to their activities. I took our two youngest with me (at the time that was Olivia and Emily). We flew to Seattle and my parents picked us up at the airport and drove us up to Canada. We had a wonderful visit and flew home on Valentines Day. Flying with two small children is not very fun and I was not really looking forward to the flight. We pulled up to the curb so that I could get my luggage checked outside and not have to haul it through the airport when all of a sudden I saw this crazy guy holding a sign that said something like, "Will work for wife and children." I felt utterly confused. I was sitting in the car with my mother, but there was my husband…yes, he was the crazy guy with the sign. Was I in Seattle? Was I in Salt Lake City? What was going on? It took me a couple of minutes to process everything and even when Jerry opened the car door to let me out, I think the confusion on my face was apparent. He had decided to surprise me for Valentines. He flew to Seattle early that morning…so he could fly home with us. Once I finally got my head back on straight, I gave him a hug and a kiss, and we laughed and enjoyed a flight home together.
Elder Russell M. Nelson (April 2006 General Conference) reminds us that we need to celebrate our love for our spouse each and every day not just on Valentines Day. He says:
"Marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other human relationship. Yet some married couples fall short of their full potential. They let their romance become rusty, take each other for granted, allow other interests or clouds of neglect to obscure the vision of what their marriage really could be. Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully.
Celebrate and commemorate each day together as a treasured gift from heaven."
My son, Nathan was in the room on Valentines Day listening to my mother talking to my father on the phone. Mom and my brother David have been visiting this past week, and my Mom and Dad had to spend Valentines Day hundreds of miles from each other. As my Mom expressed her love for my Dad and gave him kisses and hugs over the phone, Nathan got a funny look in his eyes that his Grandma noticed. When she got off the phone she said, "Yup!!! Even old people who've been married for a very long time, still feel that way. In fact, they love each other more and more as the years go by." What a great thing for my 13 year old to see the love that his grandparents still have for each other after more than 40 years.
The first Valentines Day that Jerry and I celebrated together was when we'd only been dating a short time. We had met for the first time the beginning of January, had our first date a couple of weeks later and by February 14th we were already feeling that we might be destined to spend forever together. Jerry worked all day long on Valentines Day and we only had the evening to be together. He dropped by my apartment on the way home from work and handed me a warm fresh scone wrapped up in a napkin. (At the time he worked in a fast food restaurant that specialized in scones and honey butter, fried mozzarella and fried pickles.) "Happy Valentines Day," he said. I got a big hug and…and that was it. No flowers, no chocolate, no sentimental card….just a scone. I'd eaten dinner already so I stuck the scone in the fridge for later. I think I may have forgotten about it. I don't remember ever eating it. Sometime later, after our marriage, the Valentine's Day scone came up in conversation. Apparently he'd gone to the trouble of making me a heart shaped scone. And I hadn't even noticed the cute shape. Of course, when he fried the scone and it cooked and puffed up, the shape was a little sketchy. But it was a sweet offering from the man who loved me very much, didn't have much money, but who still wanted to do something creative and special for me on Valentines Day. I still feel bad to this day that I didn't realize that he'd been giving me a gift. Of course…we've kissed and made up by now….and if he ever gives me a warm scone on Valentines Day ever again, I'll be sure to check it closely to see if it is shaped like a heart.
A number of years back I took a trip to visit my parents….without Jerry. He stayed home to work, feed and look after the five boys, and run them around to their activities. I took our two youngest with me (at the time that was Olivia and Emily). We flew to Seattle and my parents picked us up at the airport and drove us up to Canada. We had a wonderful visit and flew home on Valentines Day. Flying with two small children is not very fun and I was not really looking forward to the flight. We pulled up to the curb so that I could get my luggage checked outside and not have to haul it through the airport when all of a sudden I saw this crazy guy holding a sign that said something like, "Will work for wife and children." I felt utterly confused. I was sitting in the car with my mother, but there was my husband…yes, he was the crazy guy with the sign. Was I in Seattle? Was I in Salt Lake City? What was going on? It took me a couple of minutes to process everything and even when Jerry opened the car door to let me out, I think the confusion on my face was apparent. He had decided to surprise me for Valentines. He flew to Seattle early that morning…so he could fly home with us. Once I finally got my head back on straight, I gave him a hug and a kiss, and we laughed and enjoyed a flight home together.
Elder Russell M. Nelson (April 2006 General Conference) reminds us that we need to celebrate our love for our spouse each and every day not just on Valentines Day. He says:
"Marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other human relationship. Yet some married couples fall short of their full potential. They let their romance become rusty, take each other for granted, allow other interests or clouds of neglect to obscure the vision of what their marriage really could be. Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully.
Celebrate and commemorate each day together as a treasured gift from heaven."
My son, Nathan was in the room on Valentines Day listening to my mother talking to my father on the phone. Mom and my brother David have been visiting this past week, and my Mom and Dad had to spend Valentines Day hundreds of miles from each other. As my Mom expressed her love for my Dad and gave him kisses and hugs over the phone, Nathan got a funny look in his eyes that his Grandma noticed. When she got off the phone she said, "Yup!!! Even old people who've been married for a very long time, still feel that way. In fact, they love each other more and more as the years go by." What a great thing for my 13 year old to see the love that his grandparents still have for each other after more than 40 years.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Answers
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has counseled us:
"As you prepare for general conference, I invite you to ponder questions you need to have answered. For example, you might yearn for direction and guidance by the Lord regarding challenges you are facing.
Answers to your specific prayers may come directly from a particular talk or from a specific phrase. At other times answers may come in a seemingly unrelated word, phrase, or song. A heart filled with gratitude for the blessings of life and an earnest desire to hear and follow the words of counsel will prepare the way for personal revelation."
(Ensign, September 2011)
I have heard council similar to this many times from Sunday school and Relief Society teachers, bishopric members and general authorities, that we ought to come to General Conference with a prayer in our heart and a question or problem for which we need an answer or guidance. This weekend was our stake conference and I took the opportunity to go with a very specific question that I've been struggling to find the answer to.
When I heard the topic for the Saturday night session, I wondered to myself, "How will I ever receive the answer I need when the focus is on this particular topic?" I listened carefully through the meeting with a prayer in my heart that somehow I would get the answer I needed. I enjoyed every talk but in the last five minutes of the very last talk, I knew that what I was hearing was part of the answer I had been seeking. During the Sunday morning session, I went hoping to receive more inspiration and answers. In a talk that was not even listed on the program I found what I needed. The Lord was mindful of me this weekend and I feel invigorated and renewed to tackle the challenges I face. My testimony of personal revelation has also been strengthened and I am inspired to more quickly include the Lord in my day to day activities as a wife and mother.
"As you prepare for general conference, I invite you to ponder questions you need to have answered. For example, you might yearn for direction and guidance by the Lord regarding challenges you are facing.
Answers to your specific prayers may come directly from a particular talk or from a specific phrase. At other times answers may come in a seemingly unrelated word, phrase, or song. A heart filled with gratitude for the blessings of life and an earnest desire to hear and follow the words of counsel will prepare the way for personal revelation."
(Ensign, September 2011)
I have heard council similar to this many times from Sunday school and Relief Society teachers, bishopric members and general authorities, that we ought to come to General Conference with a prayer in our heart and a question or problem for which we need an answer or guidance. This weekend was our stake conference and I took the opportunity to go with a very specific question that I've been struggling to find the answer to.
When I heard the topic for the Saturday night session, I wondered to myself, "How will I ever receive the answer I need when the focus is on this particular topic?" I listened carefully through the meeting with a prayer in my heart that somehow I would get the answer I needed. I enjoyed every talk but in the last five minutes of the very last talk, I knew that what I was hearing was part of the answer I had been seeking. During the Sunday morning session, I went hoping to receive more inspiration and answers. In a talk that was not even listed on the program I found what I needed. The Lord was mindful of me this weekend and I feel invigorated and renewed to tackle the challenges I face. My testimony of personal revelation has also been strengthened and I am inspired to more quickly include the Lord in my day to day activities as a wife and mother.
Monday, February 2, 2015
The End of Missionary Mondays
In every mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, missionaries are given the time and expected to email or write their families once a week. Typically they are asked to email/write on their p-day. This is a "preparation" day given to missionaries one day a week for them to buy groceries, do laundry, clean their apartments, enjoy activities with other missionaries, and…. Write their families.
Monday is the most prevalent day chosen for the missionary p-days throughout the missions of the church. And so…. "missionary Moms" and of course the rest of the family too… love Mondays. When your missionary is overseas, as when Brandon was in Uganda, and Kyle, who is now in England, you wake up Monday morning, and more likely than not, your email from your missionary will already be there just waiting for you to open it. It is a great way to start your Monday morning.
Since Benjamin left on his mission this past July, (he is in New Mexico) we have had two missionaries serving in our family. So we've been having double the fun reading emails from our boys each week. BUT NOT JUST ON MONDAYS. In Benjamin's mission they have their p-day on Tuesday. So for the past 6 months we have been hearing from Kyle on Monday and Benjamin on Tuesdays.
Kyle will be returning home from his two year mission in Birmingham England in less than 6 weeks. We have his flight itinerary and that just makes it seem more real. It is hard to believe that our son and brother will be home so soon. We have missed him dearly and cannot wait to see him and hug him in person. He has served well and enjoyed it so much, and we can tell that he has grown and is coming home a man.
But this will mean the end of "missionary Mondays" for our family. For the rest of Benjamin's mission, we will be enjoying "Missionary Tuesdays!" That just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? But we will be loving every Tuesday because we will be hearing from our son/brother who is serving the Lord far (well, maybe not so far) from home.
Monday is the most prevalent day chosen for the missionary p-days throughout the missions of the church. And so…. "missionary Moms" and of course the rest of the family too… love Mondays. When your missionary is overseas, as when Brandon was in Uganda, and Kyle, who is now in England, you wake up Monday morning, and more likely than not, your email from your missionary will already be there just waiting for you to open it. It is a great way to start your Monday morning.
Since Benjamin left on his mission this past July, (he is in New Mexico) we have had two missionaries serving in our family. So we've been having double the fun reading emails from our boys each week. BUT NOT JUST ON MONDAYS. In Benjamin's mission they have their p-day on Tuesday. So for the past 6 months we have been hearing from Kyle on Monday and Benjamin on Tuesdays.
Kyle will be returning home from his two year mission in Birmingham England in less than 6 weeks. We have his flight itinerary and that just makes it seem more real. It is hard to believe that our son and brother will be home so soon. We have missed him dearly and cannot wait to see him and hug him in person. He has served well and enjoyed it so much, and we can tell that he has grown and is coming home a man.
But this will mean the end of "missionary Mondays" for our family. For the rest of Benjamin's mission, we will be enjoying "Missionary Tuesdays!" That just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? But we will be loving every Tuesday because we will be hearing from our son/brother who is serving the Lord far (well, maybe not so far) from home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)