11/5/23

You know I'm living a good life if I have time to read, and I've had lots of reading time this week! Partly because we had lots of colds in the house, and while Seth was sick, it was safer for me to be home (and reading!). We LOVED hearing Anne's first Madrigals concert (they sounded SO good!!) Monday night. We did help at Jane's class Halloween party, but I wimped out of the hot dogs and cocoa this Halloween (and a few neighbors commented on missing it!), but with the high not even getting to 50, it just sounded miserable. With the sun out, it actually did feel SO nice as we left to go trick or treating with some sun still out, but I didn't mind the simplicity. Fortunately, Seth only had a few sniffles that day (he said he would just save his candy until he felt better--and he has!), but as of today, Seth, Jane, Dad, Lucy, Anne, Brent, and Lily have all had it! Had lots of good visits, catching Joan before she left for a trip to Vietnam, and checking in on birthdays and a few others. Dad & I had DELICIOUS pupusas/burritos at the El Salvadorian place in Logan for date night & did some shopping for date night. While the girls were at orchestra, I slipped over to the temple. I did initiatories with a bunch of temple workers that were all just beginning, which I loved. Even though they were stumbling over words, etc., I soaked up the feelings of home and comfort that were just what I needed. And knowing that I could bask in the Spirit there, even with imperfect workers helped me remember that when I feel so inadequate in my calling, God can do good even with my little efforts. Like the phrase Elder Holland talked about that Jesus used, "She hath done what she could" (Mark 14:8) in his talk "Are we not all beggars?" We brought early pizza home, then I played through Christmas songs with Stephanie DeFillipis who was needing a number to sing (so fun to play together!), then took Anne & Lucy to SL for Anne's tennis tournament. It was great to see how much her net game and serve had improved with the Sports Academy clinic she's gone to! She won the first match, and lost the 2nd, and we had fun visiting with the other parents from all over. Seth got to give a talk in Primary today! I helped him write it, and he did great today (he even left out the line about it being a little bit boring, which I wasn't sad about :) ). I went to Ryan’s baptism. He is my friend. I like Ryan. It was a little bit boring. My favorite part was I could draw a picture for him on a card. I felt Jesus there a little bit. I want to get baptized like Ryan and like Jesus did. Jesus wants us to be baptized because He loves us. Then we can feel close to Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen We were excited for Brent having a first job interview this week and building great connections. Emily also found out she not only got a grant to help her with this study abroad, but they increased the contribution (more than doubling!), so combined with everything else, she's almost getting paid to go instead of the other way around! Maddie & Brian are settling into their new house and have tons of kids around to play with (and for Thomas to convince that his real name is Mario). Love you so much, and hope your week is wonderful! Love, Mom