Train Ride to the Salt Lake Temple Square

The train ride was a reward for doing chores for many days in a row.
Our favorite place was in the Children's Book of Mormon exhibit. We danced Latina Dances with big screen demos and mirrors.
The agricultural play was a favorite spot too. The girls went through all the motions of getting the vegetables and eggs to the play kitchen and then to the dining table for me to sample--delicious!!

Fishing from Nephi's ship was exciting to watch too because the girls know the story so well that they took turns being Nephi when his brothers tied him up.

We loved the temple grounds too. They kept reminding me to be reverent because a temple is more special and important than even a church.

BEST SATURDAY EVER!!

Here's my baby (she'll be 4 tomorrow) with her birthday cake from last Sunday.


Okay so I woke at 6:45 am with a TO DO list.

There were a couple of ridiculous things on it:

Organize Bedroom Closets

Organize 3rd grade students for Scatter Groups in math interventions

The first is pretty self explanatory; the second one may require an explanation, but I would bore even myself if I have to explain it to you. I decided that if I posted something on Facebook like this: "Organized people are those who are just too lazy to look for things" and if I have a few FB friends back me on this opinion, then I could cross the crazy closet task off my Saturday. Thankfully, Shawna and Viola saved me from closets.

What are friends for if not to make our lives easier?

I deleted the post so as to not offend all my organized friends and I headed to the gym. (My girls slept at my in-laws house, so it was a kid free morning.)

The second task was work related and isn't really necessary for another week, so I crossed that off quickly. I go to my classroom to work nearly every Saturday (my daughters love to go), so today I rewarded myself with a 5 day work week instead of the typical 6 day. This work week was really difficult anyway and I really wanted to play.

After my 7:30 cycling class, I headed to Walmart to buy small prizes for my purse. I needed these prizes and treats because later in the day I would be going head to head against the DISNEY CORPORATION and I was terrified. I would be taking my girls to the Energy Solutions Arena to sit through Disney On Ice. I had been once before and learned that the cost of the ticket is a small fraction of what the DISNEY people expect to get out of you. They sell snow cones for $15, not a typo that is FIFTEEN dollars. The price of cotton candy you ask? Oh it's only $20-TWENTY!! It is so INSANE!!

I spent $12 at Walmart and scored 2 tiny stuffed animals you can attach to a finger (horse for Kam and bunny for Em), some Disney Princess fingernail polish (5 colors with the princess faces right on the bottles), 3 Disney lip glosses with crown shaped lids and princess faces on the bottles, and then some M&Ms for Kamryn and Reeses for Emerson.


At home I threw some goldfish crackers in a baggie and also managed to stuff 2 caprison drinks into my bulging purse.

I grabbed a couple of our princess dress up dresses and headed to my in Laws to pick up the girls for our adventure. I want to confess that I did not want to go to Disney on Ice. I would have given my exhusband my ticket, but I really didn't want him to drive that far with our girls. He has a terrible driving record and there are specific exclusions about how far he drives. Both of my parents declined the ticket, so I was the chosen one to see Disney characters on ice.

It turned out to be a "magical" experience for my girls. Kamryn had hearts in her eyes when her hero, Buzz Lightyear appeared. Emerson was in Princess heaven and I really believe that she thought each princess recognized her and was waving exclusively at her.

It turned out to be a "magical" experience for me because at the security checkpoint, we had a kind grandpa let us keep all of the treats and prizes when policy says he is supposed to confiscate stuff like that. So, I didn't spend a single penny inside the arena. My girls were literally THRILLED with all the junk in my purse. (oh and playdough--I had playdough in my purse and Kamryn was in heaven with it during intermission)

We picked up Berliners and Brochen from the German Bakery since we were in Salt Lake. We dropped a brochen off to my sister Sharla and saw her baby for a few minutes. I dropped the girls back off at my inlaws because they are staying there another night (it is Kamryn's birthday, so I gave them the girls for the whole weekend--we celebrated last weekend and a few hours today)

Before heading home, I stopped at the Home Depot to get the lumber I need for my garden boxes. I'm doing 6' X 3' box gardens this year. I took the rest of the Berliners to Shelly's house. When we were kids living in Germany, the bakery truck would come through our neighborhood every Wednesday. We would buy brochen (hard rolls, light as air and so so soft inside) and berliners (delicious fruit filled sweet bread with fine powdered sugar on top). I think if there was such a thing as Bread-aholics Anonymous, I would be their poster child. I limit myself to one bread day a month--today was the day! I had a berliner and a brochen and was grateful to be rid of the rest. (At the bakery I ordered 2 berliners and 4 brochen, but he gave me 9 berliners for the price of 2--I corrected him, but he said it was on purpose) Shelly's family looked happy to benefit from the kind, but not too business-minded baker.

At home, I rubbed linseed oil all over my new lumber and drilled the holes for the bracket and screws. I realized that the screws were WAY too long. I changed my mind on how I would fasten the side boards to the ends while in the store. I decided to use L brackets and I never returned to the screw aisle to get shorter ones before leaving. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but when I start a project I HAVE to finish it within a 3 hour range or else I put it off for another weekend. So, I'll keep you posted on how the box garden is going. If I haven't posted pictures within a couple months--please be a friend and scold me, because chances will be that I haven't picked up the right screws yet.

Next I started my seeds in my indoor greenhouse. I'll get pictures of this too. It's pretty cool with my shop lights attached to a pvc pipe frame to get seeds going. Today I sowed red peppers, cucumbers and 3 kinds of greens.

I got ready for the adult session of stake conference and then took myself out to dinner for some soup at Zupa's.

The adult session is the best meeting in all of church. There was not a dry eye in the room. I absolutely loved it!! The Lord knows who we are and He knows who we ought to be. As we Come Unto Christ, we find our true selves and we reach out to those around us. There is familiarity. We remember who we are and who we were before we came to this earth. I love being taught by the Spirit of God. Side Note: As the meeting began, the conductor announced that someone's tan van across the street had its lights on. EMBARRASSING!! That was me and I was on the front row. I left the meeting and checked my van. I was nervous to go outside in the dark (usually, I have the safety of my 3 and 5 yr olds to protect me). My lights were not on, so I returned to the meeting. At the close of the 2 hour meeting (which felt like 20 minutes), the man next to me, Brother Hamilton, walked me to my van to make sure the battery wasn't dead. I was so grateful to him for taking care of me. It's only been the last year of my life that I have ever had anxiety in walking alone in the dark. He thought he was checking on my car, but I recognized that he was keeping me safe from potential danger. I don't imagine that many men read my blog, but if you are reading it, please, please insist on escorting women in the dark. Even if we act like it is not necessary--it really gives more than safety and comfort, but also gives the woman a sense of value. She is worth the time it takes you to do this for her.

I'm really excited for tomorrow's stake conference. Elder Fisher is our area authority. He will speak again to us in the morning. I met him in November. He took time to speak with me back in after an institute class. I had made an observation in class about how much Peter had been through and why his faith was shaken as he attempted to walk toward the Savior on the water. I was not defending Peter, but rather I was pointing out that the Savior knew very well what Peter had been through and He never left Peter although Peter may have felt alone. Elder Fisher approached me after class and with concern, asked me what I had experienced. When he speaks with you, it feels like he can see right into your soul. He listened as I explained that the last year has been the most amazing year of my life. I was compelled to be humble and have become so strong because of it. My eyes were opened to my weaknesses. I received blessings and amazing gifts to help me overcome major issues. I am no longer a victim and will never allow myself to become a victim again.

Well, I better set the clock forward an hour and get to sleep. Good Night all!!

Grateful for Storms

I had Thanksgiving at my house this year. There were going to be 10 of us, but I had my girls call their dad to wish him Happy Thanksgiving and he ended up inviting them to his grandma's house. So we only had 8 here at my place. It was the smallest Thanksgiving that I have ever celebrated. I had 2 iPads from my classroom to entertain my sister's 2 kids and it ended up being pretty quiet.

One event of the day that got me pondering happened before my girls left with their dad. Both girls were sitting up at the counter watching me cut up potatoes. We were talking and singing and I was distracted from my task enough to slice my left thumb. I didn't say anything, I just grabbed a half of a paper towel to wrap it and then continued with the potatoes. My girls asked me what happened and why I needed the paper towel. Their jaws dropped and eyes opened wide when they saw my thumb. By their expressions, you would have thought I had lost the entire thumb. It was small, but bleeding freely without the paper on it. Kamryn (3) was most concerned. I don't really remember what was said, but I do remember her eyes. She has amazing big brown eyes. This sweet daughter of mine just looked at me and those eyes filled with tears. She hurt to see me hurt. I stopped with the potatoes and I let her hug me and comfort me.

Later in the day I went with my brother, sister and brother-in-law to see the movie 127 hours. I sobbed like a baby.

Kamryn's tears that morning and the message of the movie that evening really hit me.

I need to allow people to know my feelings. As humans, we need to care and be involved, but we also need to allow people to care for us and be involved in our trials. The past year has been the most difficult of my life. At this point, I wouldn't give back those trials, but there were some pretty low times that I didn't allow others to comfort me. I thought that I had to be strong and alone. The Lord blessed me with some amazing experiences that I never would have imagined experiencing, but now I realize that I could have shared some of those blessing with others had I not been so selfish and drawn away from others.

I have been studying lately about Trusting in the Lord. I feel like the past year has really given me opportunities to test out my ability to trust. It has also given me the opportunity to remember that He is a Fourth Watch type of God. Remember before Christ walked on water during the storm, He had been watching his disciples from a hill. They were in their fishing boat during a terrible storm. He told them to go out on the boat following the feeding of the 5,000. He allowed the storm to beat upon them for hours. The 1st watch is 6 pm and each watch last 3 hours. Christ did not calm the storm until the fourth watch between 3 am and 6 am the next morning. Peter had to work on his trust issues before he could successfully walk on the water with the Savior. While only a few verses in the New Testament discuss this event, I want to know more of what the disciples were thinking and feeling during the storm. I recorded so many of my thoughts and feelings during my own storm this past year, but then my hard drive was destroyed and I lost my record. It may not be important for my girls to know of everything that I went through, but I know that because of my experiences, I have gained a perspective that may help me to become a more courageous disciple and a wiser mother than I would have been without these experiences.

I am so grateful for the small miracles that we experience. Even if these miracles happen during or after extremely difficult trials, they are for our learning and perspective.

Another reason that trials are so important in life is that because of them we can so appreciate the calm times in our lives. I have been sailing on relatively ripple free water for the past 2 months and it is incredibly amazing.

Children of God

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God". Elder Orson F. Whitney
Yesterday at church a darling little girl sang a medley of 3 primary songs. She started with I am a Child of God then a verse of Teach Me to Walk in the Light and closed with If the Savior Stood Beside Me. I loved it! If we know that we are truly His children and we try to gain more light and knowledge, it really does become easier to be like Him and do what He would do.

E likes church now

For the past year or so E has struggled with Welcoming Sabbath mornings.  Honestly, I was not looking forward to forcing her to church for the next 15 years.  Today, she loved it!!  She actually asked if we could go back again tomorrow.  I'm thrilled!!  It turns out, the little girls in her class have befriended her and she wants to spend more time with them.

While I miss the members of the branch in Malaysia, I am really glad that we are back in our home ward here.  We need to be nurtured and loved.  There are plenty of friends for all of us here.