We're on baby countdown here (which is frightening close to mental insanity since it could be 1 day or 15)! Had a rough headache for a couple of days Sun-Tues, and felt generally unwell, but finally cleared up in time to enjoy a sweet Baby Shower put on by Dad's office on Wed. It was fun to celebrate this little boy, and great to see first-hand the good camaraderie Dad has with all of his co-workers. They'd prepared a great luncheon, had the whole office in on supplying us with MONTHS of diapers, and cute personalized onesies. Good to be reminded of what a blessing Dad has to be working there. That night was the Ward Summer Fiesta! Dad was on a liquid diet for his pill-camera test the next morning, so he couldn't eat, but he still made salsa for the competition....
AND WON!!!!--an apron & giant sombrero! The weather was not blistering hot thankfully, so it was nice to enjoy time with the ward. Also got to have a great breakfast date w/ Aunt Sarah Friday morning--always good to catch up w/ her, & I felt especially close to Grandpa as I drove home.
We also got kids registered for school, (found out teachers/schedules), Emily's physical done for Tennis Tryouts that went on all week, and moving a bit of furniture to make room for baby clothes, etc. Emily was happy to make JV again this year, and they had a fun Team Building Weekend Friday night and Saturday--having a movie night & doing games up at USU ropes course. Spencer's still at it w/ Cross Country (probably helps that there are girls there)--so impressed that he gets to practice every morning by 6:45! Anne tried a few mornings of swim team out last week, and seems to like it too, which I think could be a help to her asthma!
Dad & I have been reading about how much diet can affect conditions like Crohn's, and once we meet with the Dr., we'll see about making some strides in that direction (looking mostly at whole food/plant based--like Nate & Stacey have done).
Hope your baptisms went well this weekend!--so exciting to be a part of such blessings! We had a lesson on Bishop Waddell's talk "As He Did" today to learn more about ministering, but tied it into Pres. Uchtdorf's talk that we studied last time, and as the teacher said, "Missionary work IS ministering!" I still love Pres. Nelson's example of always asking "What can we do to help?" because the Gospel is the answer to EVERY problem!
So sad that there were 2 mass shootings this last week---one with very bigoted motivation down in Texas. As I read about what happened---& then read some facebook posts from friends (not with the Gospel) that were all but PLEADING for everyone to DO something (because they are loving people that care about our nation, etc., but barely know where to turn for solutions). I thought a lot this week about what am I doing?/what can I do?--& re-read Pres. Nelson's talk "Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives"--where he says what a difficult world/time we live in, but that God never intended us to deal with all of these struggles alone, then speaks about ways we can center our lives on Jesus Christ and better draw on His available power. I appreciated this line: Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel. It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought.15 But when we do, our doubts and fears flee. MENTALLY RIGOROUS!!!---it helped me a ton to just acknowledge that it DOES take a lot of effort, but is still a resource for peace that we have.
I also LOVED an article in the Ensign this month--citing 1 Cor 2:9, which is part of Come Follow Me in a couple of weeks: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." It just shares one family's experience of trying to make decisions/receive inspiration, and EVEN while faithful, feeling no guidance or direction/even stumbling blocks as they tried to move forward in faith. EVENTUALLY though, things DID come together, and the right opportunities worked together in even better ways than they had hoped. She said, "Even though there were plenty of times when God seemed to be silent during our time of need, we had endured in faith. And Heavenly Father, in His own time, had fulfilled His end of the promise by blessing us in unexpected, incomprehensible ways--ways that my eyes couldn't see and my heart couldn't imagine."
That was a precious reminder to me of God's mindfulness of us (whether we always feel it or not). Dad gave me a blessing recently that I'd be able to see the Lord's hand in our lives. Being physically limited takes away a lot of my ability to do those things that I know bring the greatest joy/peace. I don't have as much to give/serve with; can't study as meaningfully when I'm always so exhausted, and there are a lot of times where I just don't feel as in tune with things spiritually. I want to be more prepared/excited/uplifted to bring this baby home, but it was a comfort to just be reminded that the Lord is aware of where I am and my efforts, even if meager. I had that impression again clearly at the temple yesterday--that the Lord knows I am trying!--He really is SO merciful and loving!
Love you so much! Hope you're not swimming away in your sweat too much! Love, Mom
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