Just Sit For a Moment

I got a phone call from a friend recently.  She just had a baby but needed to go to a class with her kindergartner - where babies are not allowed.  Could I babysit?

Watch a two-week old baby?  Yes.  And yes.

I am not an "Awww!  Sweet widdow baby!  Can I hold your precious bundle please?" kind of person.  I do not have baby envy or need baby fixes.  I like your baby - but I love mine.  You take care of your babies and I'll take care of mine.

But a new tiny baby?  That's slightly different. I babysat for my friend, because that's what friends do.  And I sat for an hour, holding a fresh little slice of Heaven. It was wonderful.

When my babies were this little, I was still healing.  My body was beginning to come to grips with the fact that it needed to shunt resources from growing a baby to feeding a baby.  I was sleep-deprived.  I was fumbly-bumbly anxious to not drop anyone on their head.  I was a crazy mother, trying to take care of a newborn and my other children and my husband and the laundry and a million household messes that pile up those last few weeks of pregnancy.  I seriously think I can (and should) do all of that.

And I sometimes forget to just sit and snuggle the new baby.

So yes, I'll watch your new baby.  And I'll rearrange my schedule so that I can hold still and enjoy the freshness of your little bundle of joy.  Because I know that the laundry can wait and dinner can wait and the messes will wait.  They will still be there when the baby goes back home with her mama.

And my day will be a little bit brighter for holding still for a moment.

Mission Monday

My boys called home yesterday for Mother's Day.  Well, actually they called home on Mother's Day, because that is one of the two days every year that they are allowed to call home.  I do not think they called home for Mother's Day because neither of them wished me a happy Mother's Day.  I do believe they still love me, though.  :-)

Due to the time differences, we had to set up the call for 6 AM Sunday morning.  I might have wondered about the sanity of that schedule a few times during the week.  They are worth it, missed beauty sleep and all.  Loved seeing these happy faces!  It was nice to have my family together for a little while.  And I loved listening to the two of them tease each other.  Happy day!


From South Africa:

Also, church on Sunday was amazing! It was really full. We had over 130 people there and it was amazing to see all the people that decided to come for mothers day. Also this week, we had another crazy week and it was busy as could be. I love being a missionary here and getting the chance that I have right now to work with the people that are around us, and also my companions! They are awesome, that is all I have to say.

Read (the Book of Mormon). It changes lives, and there really is nothing better that seeing somebody light up about what they read, and how they have seen it bless their life. It is such a simple thing, but it has Eternal Consequences. Heavenly Father blesses us not for how much we read, but the simple fact that we did read, and that we made the effort to read. I love it and it is amazing. The Book of Mormon has definitely changed me and my life, and I have seen it change so many other people's lives. So let it change yours!


From Madagascar:

Skyping was way good! I loved every minute of it and had a blast! I did notice that of all of my brothers who promised to email me, none of them did... But I'm sure they still love me... But really, it was way good to see everybody! Go family!!!

I'm not going to lie, one of my favorite feelings in the world comes from coming in to a time and asking how their Book of Mormon reading has been going, and they brighten up and start sharing what they read and how they felt. It just gives me the best feeling because they're building a very strong foundation. The Book of Mormon is irreplaceable in missionary work. It is irreplaceable in our own conversions, and it is irreplaceable in God's work here on the earth.

So read it. You'll see that it's good. And if it's been a while since you've read it, or if you've forgotten its goodness, now is a good time to discover it again.

Happy Mother's Day

This Mother's Day weekend, I am so thankful that there ARE such wonderful things as mothers.

I'm lucky to have had the best mom ever.  She was just what I needed to make me grow how I needed to.  I wish I could give her a big hug today, and tell her how much I love her.  I'll have to settle for asking the Lord to relay my message of love, and putting soggy flowers on her grave in the rain.

I'm lucky to be a mother.  I never would have guessed that having all these little ones and big ones and medium ones would fill my heart up with so much love and joy.  Sometimes when I've been wiping too many noses and bottoms, I just want to hear a little bit of thanks.  When I've had too many late nights with my teens, with middle of the night bad dream comforting, and early morning emergency homework, I want to have a break.  I worry.  I plan.  I cry.  I ache.  And at the same time, I love like I never knew was possible.  My heart is so full.

This Mother's Day, I'm not going to fret that I've missed my day at the spa... again... because I'll be too busy getting hugs and kindergarten drawings.  I'm not going to complain that I have to drag myself out of bed at an unearthly hour because I'll be too busy happily talking to my missionaries.  I'm not going to sit and mope about all the opportunities I've missed because I'll be too busy loving other good mothers at our family dinner.  I choose not to be sad or depressed because I'm going to choose to count my blessings that I get to be a mother.

I'm grateful for families, with all their warts and wrinkles, and for good women who have loved and nurtured me.

Thanks, Lord, for giving us mothers!

When Mom is Sick

When I am sick, my house is sick, too.  I always hope that everyone will stop and notice how much I normally do, gush over me in appreciation while they step up and clean up the house, do the laundry, make dinner, and rub my feet.  Um, I get a little delirious when I am sick.

I was laying on the couch, listening to my heart pound in my sinuses and my ears ring without a hint of harmony, when the twins thundered up to me.  "Can we watcha movie, Mom, canwe, huh?"  Yes, please, if you will do it very quietly!

But in order to maintain my mean mother reputation, I had to weakly insist that they cleaned their room first.   They crashed down their stairs and I was left to moan in peace for a while.  A short time later, they tumbled back in and sheepishly claimed the work was done.  

I didn't believe them, so I sent Freddy down with my tablet to take pictures of what their room looked like.

Nerf gun wars, stroller accidents, dirty pans on the stove... man, I love those little feet on the rug!

What do you think?  Should I let them watch a movie?

Choir Concerts

It's the end of the school year, and that means we get all the last concerts.  Chris and David both had choir concerts this week - of course I went!  Oh yeah, I was sicker than a dog and spent the day trying to merge with the couch.  Being horizontal was lovely.  The only thing that would ever get me out of my comfy little nest is needing to support my kids.  They mean the world to me.  I'm so glad I went.

David is on the third row down, left side, in the left picture.  

Chris is on the top row, second head-dot from the right.  What?  You can't see them?

Don't you love these in-the-dark pictures?  You really can't see anything in them, and yet I always see dozens of parents holding up their phones, straining to get a blurry, washed-out shot of their kid.  It's because we love them and are so dang proud of them!

As I was looking at my bad choir concert shots, it occurred to me that life is like this sometimes.  We go to an event mechanically, out of duty, and in the middle of the dark it gets all liht and blurry.  I enjoy the music and have a wonderful time, but my memory is a little bit washed out about the pariculars.  I have gotten good shots of a dark concert before, when I bring my good camera, adjust the settings just right, and crawl up closer to the stage to get an unobstructed view.  Last year, I got some really good pictures of Ben singing in his boy band, Lads in Plaid that way.  And I remember some very cool pictures of Alec in his senior ballroom dance concert.

But when I am focusing on getting the good shot, I miss the concert.  My pictures are great but my memories are fuzzy.  If I sit back and enjoy the show, then my heart is full and I enjoy the evening - but I only have blurry pictures.  It's a decision I have to make every time.

And tonight, I filled up my heart with beautiful music and left my photo gallery alone.  I think it's better that way.

Running, Running

I went to Chris's track meet today.  It was a regionals finals, so I was pretty excited to see how he did.  The weather was dark and blustery, and it had been raining earlier in the day, so I  wasn't quite sure what to expect from the sky.  I pulled on a jacket and a large, warm scarf, and brought a thermos full of hot Gatorade.  

Evidently, the weather was even a bit more sketchy at the track meet, as it has been raining hard and eve hailing before I got there.  The stands were dripping, but fortunately the benches were dry.

I love watching my kids perform.  I love seeing the determination on their faces and the fierceness with which they do their best.  I do have to admit, however, that the competition makes me crazy!  If our team is behind a few points, my blood pressure starts going wild.  As my kids line up on the starting line, my hands get shaky.  I love to watch them, but I'm glad when it's over and I can hug them and tell them what a good job they did.

Good job, Chris.  I love to watch you do your best!

Mission Monday

Yeah, I know.  I went offline for a week.  I haven't been feeling well, and something has to go.  But now it is only one week from when I get to skype with my missionary boys!  I'm pretty excited about it.  Gotta take care of myself and get all better this week, and get lots of sleep so I don't conk out during their call.  Oh yeah, due to the time differences, they will have to call at 6:00 IN THE MORNING.  I love these boys so much that it is worth it to talk to them at any hour.

<going back to bed now>


From South Africa:

Well, this week has been a HUGE transition for me. I'm not used to teaching with three missionaries. I'm only used to having two in a companionship. But it has been good. And the amazing thing is that even though we had to go to Cape Town to pick up Elder Castro, (and that ate a bunch of our Wednesday) we still had a really good week. And the mountain is still on fire, so that is cool, but scary at the same time.

Picture from a news story about the earlier fires in March

And the weather here is changing... it is starting to be winter (well autumn) and that means that it is flu season here. And guess what. We got it early this year. I guess that's what happens when you have two other missionaries around you all the time. But it has been fun, not being sick, but having two companions. We have gotten a lot of work done, and it was cool to see so many people there at church on Sunday. It is really an amazing thing to see the fruits of your week. I love being here and it has been a really spiritual week. We even had a baptism! Given, it was a child of record, but we had a hand in getting that taken care of. I love being on mission and love having the opportunity or the chance to share the gospel. It really does change lives, including mine. It has been amazing to see how much mission has changed not only those that we teach, but also me.


And from Madagascar:

So this week I just want to share a spiritual thought mixed with a Morsel of Malagasy. The word is fahasoavana and it means grace. It comes from a word that means to benefit, and that's exactly what grace is. It's Christ's way of providing a very big benefit to us. I know that Easter time has passed, but it's never too late to celebrate our Savior. He lives, He loves us, and He has given us the way to be exalted and recieve all that our Father hath. THIS IS WAY BIG GUYS!!! I'm so blessed that I get to work out here and be an instrument in the Lord's hands to bring His children into his life! My favorite part of this great work is the love that I'm getting for my brothers and sisters. I find so much satisfaction just in serving my fellow man and my Lord and all I need to feel that is some clothes and some scriptures and a desire to go out and work! It's so simple! I feel so blessed that the Lord has given this great chance to work to a bunch of his young children who are definitely not up to the task on their own, but that doesn't matter, because it's really not our job to get things happening. After all the Lord has said that he will hasten his work in his own time. We just need to show up and be ready to harvest that which he has prepared! What a blessing that is! Especially because I get to help others obtain this gospel gift that has blessed my life so much and given me so much joy and happiness. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us, and because of that we can dwell in the presence of our Father in celestial glories with our own eternal families! I love my Savior and his work that he has given to me to do! And I love you all too! Have a fantastic week and let your lights shine forth a little more!