Sunday Thoughts

Ernie gave her very first talk in Primary today- the topic was "What my family can do to help other people."

This is what she said:
"I have been asked to answer the question "How can my family help other people?"


Sometimes we take our neighbors and friends cookies.  My preschool class is going to visit a nursing home.  We are going to do a play about the night Jesus was born.  We will sing songs and hand out cards to the people who live there.  Another thing we do to help others is pay our tithing and fast offerings.


I love Jesus and Heavenly Father.  I love my family and I'm glad we are a forever family.  I love my friends.  I know the scriptures are true. [smiley face at the bottom of the page]"

I was so proud of my girl.  It's amazing to me that at this time last year SHE WAS NOT SPEAKING!  She really didn't start until late December/early January.  We came into Primary to watch her give her talk, and she was so proud to be sitting up front, facing everyone (there are chairs set up for the children who will participate that day for talk, prayer, and scripture.)  The primary president gestured to me when Ernie stood up, to ask "do you want to come help her?"  No, no- she's fine.  And she was!

She read her talk so well- I'm so happy for her.  It's such a big deal for these kids to have the opportunity to succeed- I firmly believe that we should make efforts to create environments where they are able to learn and grow and feel well-earned successes.

Sunday, Over and Out

Wonder Daddy and I spoke in church today, in Spanish.  Wow, that's a sentence I never thought I'd type.  When Hermano Barrio announced that I would speak next, he turned around and smiled encouragingly at me (I was seated behind him, at the organ), and then faced forward to start frantically motioning another man in the congregation to come and sit on the stand and translate for me, in case I completely foundered/needed assistance.  What Hermano Barrio didn't know was that I was clutching a small pile of papers- most of my address was quotes pulled from already-translated sources, and I translated everything else I meant to say.  In the 8 minutes I was speaking, I never once looked up from those papers!  But with a prayer in my heart, and doubtless in the hearts of the kind people in our branch, I think I gave the message that needed to be heard today.

In a nutshell, here is what I said:
To have happier and peaceful homes we need to:
1)  Show and express love to our family members often.
2)  Tell our family members often what we believe.
3)  Be consistent.  If you decide something is important for your family, ALWAYS do it.  Even if you think no one is paying attention, they'll remember that you thought it was important enough to do it consistently.

Ernie has been thinking more and more about the differences between our old and new church.  First, it was the heart-stopping statement "We used to go to the white church, but now we go to the brown church!"  (Our old building had a large white spire on top, the one we attend now is dark brown bricks.)  Then it was the constant questioning "How do you say that in Spanish?"  That line of inquiry was quickly followed by "I can speak Spanish!  oxoblepishfillup."

Today, while I was speaking, Ernie sat with Mimi and Wonder Daddy, quietly coloring in her books.  She stopped, looked up, and loudly exclaimed while pointing at me "DADDY!  SPANISH!"

So at least I impressed SOMEONE today!  :)

Happy Sunday: Create

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create.  You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty."

"You might say, “I’m not the creative type.

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe.  Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God?  Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."

--President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Happy Sunday, everyone.  Enjoy this 1:54 video.

Trashing Soles, Saving Souls

Oh I know- I'm too punny! Thought I'd share a cute picture I received today of the missionaries in my brother's area. Could we try and guess how many months each boy has been out, based on the condition of his shoes? *grin*

Seriously though, I can't tell you how proud I am of this man- he's spending two years to serve a mission and try his hardest to get to know and help and love and serve the people he's with.

I'd say that's worth a pair of shoes or two, wouldn't you?


PS- He's the one with the buzz cut.
PPS- He's the one that's wearing a dark suit.
PPPS- He's the one that's the spitting image of our dad at his age.
PPPPS- He's the sixth from the left, who is looking at the camera.

Amanda Barnes Smith

June 24th is celebrated as Pioneer Day- the day that the pioneer members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entered the Salt Lake Valley, in what is now Utah. They didn't know where they were going, they only knew they would go as far west as they had to to escape the mobs and hatred they left behind in the East. The story goes that when they rolled into the valley the current prophet, President Brigham Young was ill and laying in his ox-drawn wagon. When he saw the valley he raised up and said "This is the place." So there they stopped!

***(Yes, Joseph Smith was our first prophet. He was murdered by a mob in 1844, so President Brigham Young became the second prophet and led the early church members. Our current prophet is President Thomas Monson, the 16th prophet of the church.)***

***(Did you know that in 1846 the Governor Lilbrun Boggs of Illionois issued an extermination order against the Mormons? Kill on sight, and it wasn't repealed until someone said oopsie in 1976? True story!)**

This is a story from a woman I'm descended from, Amanda Barnes Smith. She had 11 children, so a LOT of people are descended from her! (Like Wonder Daddy. Yeah, I was pretty surprised to find THAT out! Good thing she's a good few generations back, eh?)

My dad scanned these and sent them over- enjoy! It's an amazing story. When I think about what others have gone through so that I can enjoy the freedom that I have, it just about breaks my heart open with gratitude.

Now, because I'm curious, leave a comment if you learned anything! My parents have been traveling back and forth from Utah this summer, and were surprised to find out that most of the locals who don't belong to our church have no IDEA why there are so many Mormons in Utah. I guess that part of our national history gets dropped in most classes, eh?

Below is a PDF of her story- if it's blank, wait a few minutes for it to load, it's linked to from a host site.

Free Art Exhibit- Reflections of Christ

If you're in Washington or New York state, you NEED to go see this art exhibit! It's on tour right now- Mark Mabry is a photographer, and has re-created scenes from Christ's life and ministry. It's free, and the art work is just amazing. (He has a book out, by the same title I think. There wasn't any mention of it at the event, so I'm going on memory.) Even my three-year-old was whispering. When she saw the picture of Jesus on the cross, she climbed down from her Daddy's arms and looked up at the photo and sadly said "Daddy, Jesus died."

The joy and pain the photographer has captured is just riveting- not only of our Savior, but of the people around him. If you can make the drive to one of these locations, you won't be sorry.

Check out this website for a sample of what's on tour
www.reflectionsofchrist.org

Here are the tour dates:

Bellevue Washington

• Sunday, May 3rd, through Sunday, May 10th
• 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends (Saturday and Sunday)
• 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays (Monday through Friday)
• Location: Bellevue Stake Center Chapel, 114536 Main St., Bellevue, Washington

Olympia, WA - May 13 - 19

Downtown Seattle - May 21 to the end of the month.

Everett Washington Stake

• May 23 (Saturday) - 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
• May 24 (Sunday) - 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm
• May 25 - 29 (weekdays) - 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm
• May 30 (Saturday) - 9:00 am - 12:00 noon

Vestal, New York - May 26 to June 14
Vestal Chapel: 305 Murray Hill Road, Vestal, NY 13850
Oakdale Mall: Corner of Harry L. Drive and Reynolds Road, Johnson City, NY 13790
(Chapel and Mall dates to be determined.)

Happy Easter, Everyone!

Saturday morning, after a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt/slip n' slide, we dropped Wonder Daddy off at his office and stopped in to chat with his co-workers and show off...err...re-introduce the kids to everyone. I think Wonder Daddy felt like a ROCK STAR, with every female in the office flocking to see his baby and toddler.

One co-worker in particular, I'll call her A, especially loved the girls. She spent at least 15 minutes on the floor, watching Mimi crawl, rubbing her fuzzy head, and gushing "I LOVE babies!" I believe her, too! I knew she was Jewish, so I asked about her Passover plans- they had their Seder last Wednesday (a little early?) and were planning a big Easter dinner for Sunday. Her family also celebrates Hannukah in the same room as a Christmas tree, which I love.

I have to think there's some real genius at work here: celebrate your heritage and beliefs, and celebrate them every way you can. When it comes down to it, Easter dinner isn't a religious affair- it's a wonderful occasion to gather family together and eat foods steeped in history and family-lore.

There's also a real genius in celebrating both the Easter and the Passover, I believe. The Passover is a celebration of remembrance and thanks of the night the destroying angel "passed over" the Israelites, when they were in bondage to the Egyptians. They were promised that if they killed a perfect and pure male lamb, marked their lintels with his blood, and ate his meat for their supper the destroying angel would pass over their house. They would live.

On Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ. He was the Perfect Lamb of God. He was sacrificed that we might live. We take the sacrament in remembrance of his body and blood, and take His name upon us and witness to the world that we remember him.

The Israelite's covenants showed outwardly, and ours show inwardly. We are all celebrating a deep and abiding reverence and love, regardless of how we show that love and faith.

So, to all our Jewish friends: I wish you a wonderful Passover. I wish I knew the right words, but enjoy your Seder. Enjoy time with your family, steeped in thousands of years of tradition.

To all our Christian friends: Happy Easter. "Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives: I know that my Redeemer lives!"

Enjoy this 3-minute video as my Easter gift to you. I'm actually pretty nervous about this! The camera is pointed at a pretty picture, rather than showing me, at 11:30 at night, in my jammies in the basement :o)

Give Me the Dirt

Welcome to our friends from Melissa's Beautiful Life linky fest. Come and add your thoughts!




I'm going to be straight with you guys: this was a hard winter. It's been a hard Spring. Our area is famous for the widespread problem of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder...basically, we go a little crazy without sunshine.) and if you add that to Baby Blues/postpartum depression and chronic lack of sleep it gets a little dicey around here. To be honest, I haven't felt this low since my hormonal high school days.

So let's lay it out. Ladies, why do we do this? Why do we get so HARD on ourselves? It's as if we don't use the brains God gave us. Let me show you.

A few facts about me:
1) I have a Bachelor's Degree in accounting from a very good school, and a minor in music.
2) I am a talented musician- I can play piano and organ quite well, and have 9 years of classical vocal instruction under my belt.
3) I am a darn good cook. Most people really like what I make.
4) I have a fabulous husband and 2 beautiful daughters, who all love me very much.
5) I was raised in a happy, healthy home.
6) I can't think of a single person that has ever said "I don't like you."
7) I have been blessed with extraordinary health. The sickest I've ever been...umm...well, I had a 24-hour flu last Spring. Other than that, I get a cold or two every year.
8) I take good care of my family, creating a healthy home environment for learning and nurturing, and plenty of healthy food from scratch.

So why do I go to bed feeling like a failure every night? Why do I look at everything through a lens of

• "Oh, they don't really mean that."

• "They wouldn't compliment me if they knew that I faked a few notes/lost my temper yesterday/haven't cleaned my shower in 6 months/have been overweight since I was 10."

• "If I was REALLY ______, I wouldn't ______, so that compliment doesn't count."
  

Why can't I find the guts to just say "I'm a success" Why can't I look in the mirror and for once in my life say "Wow! I look great!"

Why don't we? Why WON'T we?

So let's try it. A new week is coming up. This is a safe forum. What is it that you can't forgive yourself for, and you won't let go of (even after the issue is solved.) Just say it, I promise you'll feel better (and yes, anonymous comments are allowed.)

And, back to those high school days for a point to ponder.

A little excerpt from Enos:
4 And my soul ^ahungered; and I ^bkneeled down before my Maker, and I ^ccried unto him in mighty ^dprayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

5 And there came a ^avoice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are ^bforgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

6 And I, Enos, knew that God ^acould not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.

The part that completely arrested my attention, reading this after studying on a late and dark night, was "God could not lie." So if He says he loves me, I can trust Him. Even when I can't see a speck of good in myself, or find a way to believe that anyone should have a reason to love me, if He says I'm doing well, I am. And sometimes, a thought like that can be a life line in the dark.

It Needs To Be Said

I wasn't going to say anything, was just going to let it slide by. But I can't. I've been having heart burn all week, and something must be said.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm a Mormon, if you will. Besides the Muslim faith, I'm not aware of many other churches or faiths on this green earth that elicit such strong reactions. People love us- we're good neighbors, we're Boy Scouts, we make casseroles. People hate us- we stick to our own, we have a weird religion, we don't vote like they do. Are any of those stereotypes true? Yes. No. Maybe. Depends. It's hard to characterize over 10 million people based on a handful of people you happen to have met in your life.

We've gotten a lot of publicity the last year. Mitt Romney, Proposition 8, Big Love, among others. Three things that have very little to do with the Church and what we believe, but rather more to do with individuals who have joined or left our church.

And so, as a favor to me, can you do this? Next time you hear something you don't understand or think is wrong...go find someone to ask. Shoot me an e-mail. Flag down a missionary- they'll answer any question you can throw at them, and have fun doing it. Heck, you'll make their day if you just make eye contact!

Most of what's smeared around out there is just gossip, half-truths, misunderstandings, or just lies. And it hurts to see something that I believe in and love so strongly bandied around like playground gossip.

And for the record, I don't make casseroles. *smile*

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are a few links if you have questions.

The Church's response to Big Love preparing to air an episode showing our most sacred and holy temple ordinances. Things that we promise Heavenly Father himself that we'll never share, outside of the temple. What they're doing quite honestly makes me cry.

If you're curious about temples, those beautiful buildings all over the world, check out this 3 minute video regarding why we build them.

Food Storage

The kitchen pantry

I've had food on my mind a LOT the last little bit.

The larger kitchen pantry

In the past week I've purchased:
25 pounds white sugar
75 pounds white flour
1 pound baking powder
36 cans vegetables
10 cans spaghetti sauce
25 pounds Krusteaz (umm...I grind my own wheat for goodness sake. Why do I purchase pancake mix??)
6 cans coconut milk
1/2 pound curry powder
16 pounds spaghetti
25 pounds jasmine rice

Bulk sugar and flour for immediate use, and long-term storage hard red winter wheat, canned

I received a challenge recently to write down 10 meals my family likes, and make sure I have the ingredients to make each meal THREE times. Then...BOOM. You have have a month's worth of food stored in your pantry! A few people scoff- "I only eat fresh food." Yes, that's very true. And it's very good for you, and probably the best thing you could do.

Last summer's canning, plus a few extras: rasberry jam, cantaloupe preserves, marmalade, mint jelly, strawberry jam, chokecherry syrup, apple butter, chow chow, apple sauce, and apple pie filling

But what do you plan to do if the grocery store has no fresh food, or you have no power and can't store it in the refrigerator? We know grocery stores only stock so much, and they depend on trucks coming through every day or so, and they depend on electricity flowing to their coolers.

Well, they WERE on sale...

We sat down to write our meals as a family tonight (well, Ernie just wanted chicken nuggets and rice for the rest of her life) and were surprised we could only come up with 5 meals I make on a regular basis. But you know what, we're OK with that.

Our meals:
pinto beans and rice (a nice, complete protein)
chili and rice (again, a complete protein. If we have company, I throw in half pound ground beef)
spaghetti with meatballs and homemade french bread
quesadillas
coconut curry (we've used prawns, but this could be combined with chicken, or even lentils) and rice

The best way to store things short-long-term: free buckets from the grocery bakery, plus a gamma seal lid.
This is the bulk wheat we use to make our bread, I fill a smaller kitchen container from here every two weeks.

So this week I'll be checking our pantry, making sure we have enough on hand to make each meal 6 times, along with enough to make our daily bread (wheat, naan, corn bread, biscuits, french bread) and breakfast foods like oats, cold cereal, and grits.

Oh dear- our stash of "prepared foods" plus quart-sized Ziplocs. I use SO MANY of those to freeze fresh produce during the summer.

Eventually, the goal is to have three months' worth of food stored in our cupboards, and a years' supply to long-term storage food. Did you know, properly stored, that wheat, rice, oatmeal, powdered milk, sugar, and beans can last over 30 years? At least well enough to sustain life?

We go through about 25 pounds of flour every month- I'm the family baker. We normally make two loaves per batch (about 3 batches a week), and one loaf goes out the door from each batch. I LOVE it! What good is baking if no one will eat it?? We go through 6 cups of wheat, and roughly 10 cups of white flour every week

What does your family eat? What do you store? Do you plan on storing more?

Ernie's Lunch Prayer And a Jar

Ernie has started saying her own prayers, after listening to Wonder Daddy and myself for 3 1/2 years. She does a pretty good job!

***************************************************************

And the snow. And the plane. And not kill us.

And Mommy and Daddy and Baby Mimi happy. And me happy too. And a ball in the jar.

Amen.

**************************************************************
Ernie is grateful for the snow we got last night.
And she's grateful that no one died on the airplane that landed in the Hudson.

She wants us all to be happy. She wants to be happy.

And she wants to put a ball in her jar.

**We have a jar labeled "My Eternal Family." Every time we do something that helps us to be a happy, eternal, family (helping unload the dishwasher, putting away toys happily, reading scriptures, Family Home Evening, having people over for dinner and sharing our food) we get to put a ball in our jar. Tantrums and bad attitudes get balls taken out. When the jar is full, we're all going out for ice cream! I am amazed at how much this little jar has changed our house- she's 10 times happier than she was before. Much fewer tantrums, quicker to do what she's told, and she wants to pick up her toys and read scriptures to get extra balls in the jar. So cool! **

How are you doing?

Hello to Melissa's Mr. Linky buddies! Welcome to my space, and thanks for stopping by! I'm happy to participate in her "Beautiful Life" series again this week.
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Honestly, I haven't forgotten you guys. I have a great post written, that I'm really excited to share with everyone (new tutorial!) and I just can't get the pictures right.

So.

Mimi's pediatrician asked me yesterday "How are you doing with post-partum depression? I mean...you look like you're doing just FINE."

How do you explain the stream of wants and needs that seem to swirl and eddy around your ankles, and get tangled up in your ears and hair like so much seaweed. The never-ending parade of dirty dishes, dirty diapers, dirty floors and faces. The vague nagging sense that at one time, you had a clear head and clean windows.

The days you just want to crawl back under the covers and the days that you do. To say nothing of the unquenchable fear clawing at your heart: I am not enough.

We're like Molly Brown, the unsinkable heroine. "I ain't down yet!"



For every dirty diaper, there's a chubby-thighed wriggle, a hoarse chuckle as she grabs her ankles and swooshes over to her belly and you're standing there realizing that your child is mooning you. Again.

For every dirty dish, there's a life that you've nurtured with good food.



For every dirty window, there's a tiny nose pressed against the glass, counting the squirrels, counting the birds, counting the seconds until Daddy gets home.


"We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult. Through my own four-generation experience in our family, and through discussions with mothers of young children throughout the Church, I know something of a mother's emotions that accompany her commitment to be at home with young children. There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives. "...[W]e have enormous respect and gratitude to you mothers of young children. We want you to be happy and successful in your families and to have the validation and support you need and deserve." (M. Russell Ballard, "Daughters of God," Ensign, May 2008, 109 )

Am I doing fine? Are you doing fine? Perhaps not right now, but by golly we're GOING to be!



Life's just too good to miss.

Wow...she was listening

Last night was our weekly Family Night- we have dinner together as a family, and then have a family prayer to start off right, followed by a song (normally Popcorn Popping), and a short scripture lesson and a small activity. If Ernie is really lucky, all this is followed by a treat. It's a great thing, and I think it will make our family stronger if we keep at it.

The past few weeks we've been pulling our lessons from the new nursery manual "Behold Your Little Ones"- it's fantastic! It has great little lessons, with activities, coloring pages, teaching tips....everything you need to get a grasp on how to teach the gospel to your tiny tots. Maybe it's just me, but it's rather daunting to think of everything I know to be true, and try and figure out how to distill that knowledge and pass it on to my children.

Last night's lesson was number 5, "Jesus Christ Showed Us How to Love Others." I told Ernie the story about when Jesus taught 5,000 people and they were hungry. He took the bread and fish he could find, blessed it, and told His disciples to tear it up and fill some baskets to take around to the people. When they came back everyone was full and the leftovers filled more baskets than when they started! He loved the people and so he fed them. We handed Ernie a little basket and she took it around and pretended to "feed" us all until we were full.

I thought it was just a cute little activity for her, but this morning she grabbed the basket, filled it with all her "Cootie" pieces (you know, the build-a-bug game?) and proceeded to feed me and herself until we were both FULL. Then she sat down and told me about Jesus- when he was born, it was sunny. Then he died and went home, and it was dark. Then he came back to his body!

"Behold Your Little Ones" indeed.

I Do Not Live in California

(Picture from KOMO news)

A couple facts that you already know:

1) I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
2) I do not live in California.

When my mother was married, a woman's group was still protesting our church by chaining themselves to the temple fence. This particular temple had just been completed and dedicated about 3 months prior, if I remember my dates correctly. (They were unhappy that women do not, CAN NOT, hold the Priesthood in our church. And yes, I am absolutely OK with that.)

Protesters stationed themselves outside of a number of Seattle-area LDS church buildings again yesterday, waving signs and shouting slogans at the families as they entered and left- most of the signs centered around gay rights in reaction to Proposition 8 passing in California, although it seemed to also include a number of other Mormon-haters.

I understand they are upset (although after reading their signs I don't think they understand what our church ACTUALLY teaches) but why picket our families? We don't live in California, we didn't vote on the proposition, and if they have a beef with the way our church conducted itself, what do they want US to do to change that?

It's just mean.

Can We Do It?

I now have a handful of posts, in various states of completion- the result of one-handed typing during the wee hours, while nursing our daughter.

I always expected to have children. I am the oldest of five children, just like my husband. We intend to have as many children as God wants us to have, although recently I've been telling people that we're gunning for 12 because we don't know and it's as good a number as any. It's fun to see their faces, and they stop asking questions I don't have answers for. We might be finished, we might not. You don't know until you get there!

We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes affectionately (but most times not) referred to as "the Mormon church". We know that bearing and raising children is a sacred responsibility, and an enormous privilege.

In recent years, I have had a handful of women (both in and out of our Church) say "Children are harder and more expensive to raise these days. We just can't have big families anymore."

What do you think? Are kids worse behaved then they used to be? Is it prohibitively expensive to have more than 3 children? I know I have at least 3 women reading this who have 5+ children each. What do you think? If you haven't had children or have a small family, have you considered this? Do you agree?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Ernie Pictures!

How could I not post these? My sweet sister-in-law took these photos of Ernie at the temple while they were in town. Isn't Aunt B a fantastic photographer? Enjoy!

Too Much to Say

There's so much to say about this week- J's family is in town visiting us (Yay! We have room for house guests!), my Dad's cousin and her husband came up from California to visit for a day, Ernie is over her cold, and life is wonderful. I'm sure once I get the pictures in order, you'll hear about all this in LOTS of detail. Or not.

However, the most important thing happened Friday morning: my little brother, Boy/Uncle Bear, went through the temple for the first time. This is a huge occasion for Latter-day Saints, as this is the time we make eternal covenants with our Heavenly Father- we make promises to Him, and in return we receive promises of blessings.

King Benjamin explained it very well (Mosiah 2:22-24) (taken from LDS.org, online scriptures)

22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeep his ^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

24 And secondly, he doth ^arequire that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately ^bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

I found a picture from 2004, when my oldest (younger) brother went through the temple. So fun to see, and I am so grateful to have been raised in a family that raised me in the Gospel. My parents both made the decision to join this church when they were younger, before they ever met. I will be grateful for their decision every day of my life.

Here is our family picture from Friday. Boy, J, Me, Mom, and Dad

Here is our family picture from 2004, when R went through the temple. In this picture, we're only missing my twin sister! Amazing that in 3 years we've gone from only missing one to missing 3 when there are 5 people in the picture!

I'm hoping some day soon we'll be able to have every one in town so we can go in together: Mom, Dad, Me, J, LoLo, LoGung, Boy, and R. As LoLo and LoGung are on the East Coast right now, and Boy is leaving for his mission in a few weeks...it could be a few years!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is here again, and women across the country (and world) are possibly spending a few extra minutes thinking about their roles as mothers, and wives.

I know women who dread the coming of this holiday- it reminds them of everything they DON'T do or HAVEN'T done. Other women look at it as one more day their children take them for granted. I also know this is probably one of those holidays created by a greeting card company looking to boost their revenue in between the much-vaunted Valentine Day Card season and the even more distended Christmas Card season, but all the same it's nice to set aside at least one day to give our mom's an extra hug (or not, as her preference goes) and make sure her needs are met.

Who are we? All over the world, girls aged 12-18 recite this as part of their theme: "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us, and we love Him."

When you picture the perfect wife and mother, what does she do? For me, she has a beautifully decorated and clean home, her children are well mannered and clean, dinner is on the table (with starch, vegetable, entree) every night, desserts are delicious and served on all special occasions, she sews, she gardens, she has perfect posture, her voice never raises in anger, she serves faithfully and magnifies her calling in the church, is active in the community, attends the temple at least twice a month, and her husband and all of her children appreciate her.



Whoa- who IS this woman, and where did she come from? It's a well known fact that Satan is a master deceiver- it's child's play for him to take a truth and twist it just enough so that application becomes a horrible, soul-shattering experience.

In 1995, we received this divine counsel from our Prophet: "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed."

The mother has three main roles: nurture children, honor the Priesthood, and comfort their husbands (see Doctrine and Covenants 25:5, where the Lord gives commandments to Emma Smith.)



So where did all that other stuff come from? We know we should never judge the Lord by how his commandments are carried out, just as we should never judge those who try to carry them out. I have enough to worry about on my own, without trying to figure out if someone else is messing things up! For me, nurturing my children and comforting my husband means striving to create a home where the Spirit can dwell- clean, orderly, and filled with love.

What is a husband's role, then? The scriptures say to lead the home, bear the Priesthood and meet the needs of their wives and children (D&C 75:28), .

Men are to be the leaders of their home. At first blush, that sounds like a tyrannical arrangement- meek little wives, subservient to their all-knowing and all-deciding husbands. Men lead the home because they bear the Priesthood- it is their role to receive inspiration and revelation for the family. I always wonder at the expression "bear the Priesthood." Responsibility is a heavy load- one that should never be taken lightly by our husbands or by us. Our church has a Prophet to lead us, our stake has a Stake President, our home has a husband and father. What a blessing to have someone with that authority and responsibility whose sole responsibility is our family. However, it is NOT our job to meekly do whatever they say (just as it isn't our responsibility to meekly follow the Prophet in all things.) It is our sacred responsibility to seek confirmation from the Lord, in prayer. If you've ever been a leader, you know it is not an enviable position. It brings lots of joy, seeing people under your care progress and watching the work your group is assigned to move forward. But it is not easy, and for a good leader it does not bring power, only responsibility.



So tell me, what kind of world would this be if men focused on meeting the needs of their wives and children (emotional, physical, and spiritual) and women focused on nurturing their children, comforting their husbands, and honoring the Priesthood? A husband and wife, working together and helping each other in their separate and complimentary roles.

Now THAT would be something to celebrate.

I'm grateful for my mother and father, and the care they took raising us. I'm grateful for my husband, and how he leads our home. I'm grateful for my soon-to-be 2 children, and the opportunity we have to raise them.

Happy Mother's Day, Everybody!