October 12, 2014
So, it’s been awhile since we’ve posted anything. Mostly I’d say we’ve been busy. It seems like our weekends are gone before we
even get a chance to start them. The
kids are doing great. It’s hard to believe
that Zachary is turning 1 this week.
Some days he seems so much older, he’s been walking for what seems like
so long and he already doing a great job at expressing his opinion, often I don’t
appreciate it. Still, I’m looking
forward to all of his continuing advancements and the development of his
personality. He definitely keeps life
fun.
We’ve started working with Ben on reading. He’s doing pretty well, when he focuses. He’s still excited about Batman. We got him a mask to go with his Halloween costume
and at least once a day he asks to wear it so that he can run around and play
Batman, as long as Bekah Mae is Batgirl and Zachary is Robin. He loves playing with his Legos and has
gotten really good at building spaceships and airplanes. He even made sure to tell us that Zachary
really wanted Batman Legos for his birthday.
Bekah Mae is our princess.
She loves to dress up and twirl around.
She likes pretending to be a ballerina.
I think she may have spent a little too much time watching Angelina
Ballerina, but it’s cute and sweet. I’m
looking forward to getting her into a dance class at some point. I think she’d love it.
Robert and I are busy keeping up with the kids. We’ve painted Bekah’s room, in hopes of her
spending more time in it and so that maybe just maybe I wouldn’t continue to
store stuff in it. So far the not
storing stuff in it has worked out, but Bekah spending more time in it has
pretty much been an epic failure. The
biggest result of painting Bekah’s room has been a constant demand from Ben
that we paint his room blue. We’ll do it
eventually, but we have to forget how much work it is before we start again.
Thoughts
During the Women’s Conference a couple of weeks ago,
President Utchdorf gave a talk on what he titled, “Living the Gospel Joyful.” I’ve got to admit when I first saw it, I kind
of rolled my eyes. I have to admit
trying to get three young kids through Sacrament Meeting without going crazy
doesn’t exactly leave me joyful, but his talk made me think.
He reminded us, that “God sent you here for a future greater
than anything you can imagine.”
He asked the question, “Do we really need to obey all of God’s
commandments?”
His answer, “I think God knows something we don’t … In other words, He not only
knows what is best for you; He also anxiously wants you to choose what is best
for you. If you believe this in your
hearts – if you
truly believe the great mission of our Heavenly Father is to exalt and glorify
His children and that He knows best how to do it – doesn’t it make sense to embrace and follow
His commandments, even the ones that appear difficult?”
He continues, “In reality, Heavenly Father is constantly
raining blessings upon us. It is our
fear, doubt and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching
us. His commandments are the loving
instructions and divine help for us to close the umbrella so we can receive the
shower of Heavenly blessings. We need to
accept that the commandments of God aren’t just a long list of good ideas. They are divine counsel based on eternal
truths, given to bring ‘peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to
come.’”
“God loves you this very day and always. He is not waiting to love you until you have
overcome your weaknesses and bad habits.
He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware when you reach up to Him in
heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows
the times when you have believed - even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for times you have
fallen short or failed. And still He
loves you.”
“It is my prayer that you will experience a renewed and an
expanded measure of the beautiful love of God in your lives; that you will find
the faith, determination, and commitment to learn God’s commandments, treasure
them in your hearts, and live the gospel joyful.”
“I testify that the way to accomplish this is to place the
selfish desires and unworthy ambitions on the altar of sacrifice and service.”
In general I don’t put too much stock into the talks directed
only at the women of the church, not because I don’t feel that they are
doctrinally sound or important, but because I just kind of feel like they are
filled with a lot of fluff and unicorns and rainbows and I’m really a more
direct and to the point kind of person.
But this one truly struck a cord.
I guess I just have felt over that last few months that I don’t get as
much as I should out of my meetings because I’m trying to keep the kids quiet
and happy and I go because I’m supposed to and not because I get anything out
of it. I guess what I’m choosing to take
from this is that handling the kids isn’t going to change, it’s still going to
be a lot of work and a distraction, but I choose what I get from my church
meetings, my attitude affects the amount of the Spirit I get to feel and so my
goal going forward is to try to find more joy and to seek the Spirit and the
blessings that Heavenly Father is waiting for me to be ready to receive.