HAPPY EASTER!!!! Miss you on these family days, but can't forget hope on a holiday like this one!
I was SOOOOO wiped out Monday and Tuesday, but the youth were going ice skating Tues night (& nothing beats our van for carpool), so I dragged myself over there and (in case I haven't figured out this pattern yet) came home refreshed and hopeful. I didn't skate this year, but had a good visit w/ Diana while we watched/ tied laces for the youth. It is so strengthening to have friends with such faith and hope (while still understanding the real struggles), and who always see the best in you. It was funny because we were sharing our woes of financial stress/faith that things will work out, and then starting talking to Brother King--a young newlywed youth leader, who just finished his engineering degree, and is trying to be patient while they save up to buy their first house. They're expecting their 2nd baby, and he was overwhelmed with how much more expensive it is to live than he expected, and how long it takes to save up/reach financial goals, etc. Diana & I laughed since we'd just been talking about the same thing, but in a totally different stage; we assured him things WOULD work out and get better (but also be similar & somewhat never-ending!). I knew I needed to just put things in the Lord's hands, but it's hard to know what that means sometimes, and balance that "Acting in faith, doing all that we can" w/ "Trusting in the Lord & leaning not to our own understanding." The good news is I've been able to practice so much daily repenting they talked about in Conference as I TRY to get my heart in the right place. Mostly, it's staying in tune with the Spirit---when I feel the Spirit, everything balances into perspective, but it took me most of the week to get there!
Gratitude is definitely something that blesses me when I try to have it! And I think to remind me of that, the younger girls have shown ME how whining/ingratitude feels to a parent. Jane often lets me know how boring I am to be at home with, and the girls often get tired of playing with her, so she gets easily disgruntled. We had Kindergarten Registration this week, and every day she would remind me, "Don't forget about my meeting!!!" She loved EVERY minute, and is SO excited to start school! In between her complaints, she does say some pretty cute things too.
-After talking to Aunt Stacey on the phone, she asked, "Is Sadie our cousin? or our aunt?" I told her cousin, and she said,
"Oh yeah, because cousins are family that live far away!" (mom tears)
-Then we heard a commercial that mentioned Alexa, and she says, "We have Alexa! I love Alexa, but she passed away." (we replaced it when it was malfunctioning--haha)
-After asking if I like ice cream trucks, and explaining not really, since they make you pay so much for a popsicle when you can get a whole box at the store, and it makes all the kids beg for ice cream, she said she still liked them. Then she said,
"At least they have beautiful music!--and you can listen to it for free!" Then later she asked, "Do they have ice cream trucks where Brent's on his mission?--we are SO lucky to live in America where we have ice cream trucks!"
-And today, in the middle of coloring eggs, she just says out of the blue to Maddie, "I liked him better with a beard." (Brian just shaved his!)
She's a kick, and even with whining and complaining, we tried to go over what Jesus did each day of the week leading up to Easter, and the night we were talking about the Garden of Gethsemane, the girls were tired and arguing, Anne's eczema was still bad, and of course I felt like Mother of the Year not even having strength to know how to help any of them--not to mention helping Emily who was overwhelmed finishing her student council posters & video, keeping her GPA up, and finding time for track and piano lessons. But after talking about Jesus's suffering, it was a good reminder that no matter HOW dark life feels, there is ALWAYS hope, and knowing Christ's suffering ended with the first Easter morning was something to cling to.
I went to watch Victoria's last colorguard performance Wed night before she graduates, went to a bridal brunch for Emalee Whitman (her parents have just divorced/not active right now, but still love them lots!!), took Jane + friends to the Bird Refuge (may be named "Bug Refuge") Friday morning, and hustled to all the dance, violin, tennis, and track things going on all week (lots of concerts/recitals/school play next week!). Also fit in a lawn mowing, but it's nearly full grown again with so much rain! We had a GREAT Saturday--heading down to Ogden first thing to watch Spencer play at a Tennis Match. Sad to miss Emily running events at a track meet in Logan, but we got to watch 2 of Spencer's game--and his first win, AND we got the girls to 2 Egg hunts nearby--including a free hotdog lunch, and then got Easter candy before we headed home. Then we cleaned the church and then our house while Dad made delish Tikka Masala pizzas for dinner! I was exhausted and my usual monster-cleaning self trying to get the house ready for company (more repenting), but it was so nice to have Brian & Maddie for most of the day today. It's rained most of the day, so Dad hid the eggs inside (we actually found them all this year!), and we did our little Easter Egg Scripture Scavanger hunt (that I made back in Paulding County!, but is still new to the younger girls at least!), colored eggs since we never found time yesterday, and then the kids showed poor Brian way too many of our webcam classics--mostly kids lipsyncing and acting crazy in front of the camera. Fun times, but it's been a happy day.
I've been praying about how to better teach Anne & Lucy to have their own testimonies (after Pres. Eyring's talk "A Home where the Spirit Dwells")--& struggling. I KNOW faith in Christ will help with their feeling like life is always unfair, or feeling ungrateful/selfish--also they're kids, but I don't know HOW to teach so they get it, but this morning, I had the impression that service was a great key! They complain about how boring Come Follow Me can be (or silently tune out), but they LOVE DOING things, and they love serving. Now just pray I'll have the energy to follow through!
Can't wait to hear all about your new companion, and how things are going!! Pray for Dad as he's working to get into better health (Pres. Nelson's priesthood talk about taking care of our bodies was like a personal delivery!), and that he'll be guided in what to do with this Judge opening. Also, if you have any great Taiwanese boy names we could use for this baby, let us know! Pres. & Sis. Merrell are leaving on his mission to ATL, GA, so they just called Bro. Zollinger in our ward (Stephanie's dad) as a new Stake Patriarch!--So great--Love you tons!! Mom
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