A Few Happy Moments

Sometimes things get a little ugly around here. That is when I know it is time to slow down and enjoy these little rascals and all of their quirks.

Seems like there is always a fight to see who can get closest to Mom. I do not enjoy being crawled on, jumped over, and injured in the process, but this day, there were no bruises... Just a lot of giggling.

After church, I often return to my home and find the remnants of a very hectic Sunday morning; I find the milk sitting on the counter, the fridge door open, or any other number of other signs of a frantic dash out the door. However, one Sunday afternoon, I arrived and found this. Such a relief to know Katelin and Seth are responsibly caring for their dogs.

Katelin loves making, wrapping, and giving gifts lately. I told her that if she wanted to keep these bows for future use, she needed to find a place to keep them. An hour later, I find these attached to the wall in our entryway. Yes, that is a very handy place, just in case you need a bow.

Usually silence at our house equates to trouble. On this particular afternoon, it was too quiet. I discovered nothing more than Katelin "reading" to Seth. So refreshing.

Daily Essentials

Nothing beats playing on the stairs

It seems I am constantly working to find a perfect balance of time to myself, playing with my kids, and tackling the endless items that end up on my to-do list. I remembered today that for me, a few things are essential:

1. Exercise
2. Quiet time (nap for Sethie and quiet play for Katelin)
3. Taking several breaks to just laugh, read, or play

Cleaning and laundry are definitely optional. I'm always amazed with my kids. They both have their moments, but overall they are remarkably joyful little souls. Give them food, sleep and a bit of attention and they are usually good to go. Could my own needs possibly be that simple?

When Katelin Went to the Temple

A few weeks ago in her sunbeams class at church, Katelin learned all about what she needs to do to prepare to go to the temple. She reported everything back to me. She would need to eat healthy food, obey her mother, be kind, and so forth.

A day or two later I asked Katelin to do something. She responded, "Yes, because I want to obey you. I want to go to the temple."

By the end of the week, she was begging us to take her. I explained to her that until she was older and ready to participate in temple worship, she would only be able to see the temple from the outside. "But can Iplease just have a peek?" she asked.

Well, a week or two went by and we found ourselves in Dallas helping my sister-in-law move into their new apartment. In the middle of this visit, we found time to go to the Dallas/Fort Worth temple so I could attend an endowment session.

When I had finished my session, I met Trevor and the kids outside on the lawn and discovered that Katelin needed to use the restroom. Normally, we would take her to the distribution center bathrooms (kind of a temple bookstore) nearby, but they were closed. We thought we would have to head down the street. Then I realized something.

The Dallas temple is set up with a very large lobby and waiting room. This area is available to those who aren't yet able to go inside and participate in temple ceremonies. In this waiting area there was access to a restroom. When I told Katelin she could walk into the temple with me, and take a quick peek, she was elated. She was also pretty excited to use the temple bathrooms, which, by the way, were baby blue. Very memorable.

Katelin getting reverent so she can enter the temple.

I think Seth was a bit mad that he couldn't go inside.

But Katelin told him all about it afterwards.

Overall, a very nice day at the Dallas temple. I'm happy to see Katelin understanding how important the temple is to us. To learn a bit more about temples, you can go here.

The lives that touch ours

from left to right Nathaniel, Allison, Brad, Lance Winward, Lance Jensen, Mike

from left to right -Lance Jensen, Lance Winward, and Brad several years later

Both pictures courtesy of www.lancejensen.org

It is strange how different people touch our lives. Less than a week ago, a friend of our family's died while swimming at Henry's Fork near Rexberg, Idaho. Lance Jensen was just twenty-one years old and engaged to be married.

My associations with Lance were limited. I remember the little kid in the above picture. That's the boy who took Shorty's bus to school with us all those years ago. He was the other Lance, born the same year as my brother -Lance Winward. He was part of the 8th West crew, and a friend to my brother.. When my parents ward boundaries changed, and they were back in the Third Ward (long after I moved away), Lance was part of a great group of boys that made Scout camps and mutuals and other churchy type activities enjoyable for my brother. My parents watched him grow up alongside of our Lance, and I observed him from a distance. He was just a great kid.

So this week, I mourn with Lance's family. With his mom and dad - his brother and sisters. I mourn with his fiancee. I mourn with my parents and my brother and with countless others whose lives were touched by his. But I celebrate also. He lived well. He served well. He touched the life of our family and of many others, and we know he can return to his Father in Heaven and be reunited with friends and family once again.

If nothing else, this week has reminded me that in life, there are no guarantees. Our Father in Heaven hasn't promised us life without sorrow or pain. He hasn't promised us unlimited breaths nor any guarantee that we will live to do all we desire. He has only promised us that through it all, He will be there to guide us - to lift us. And in the darkest moments, He's promised he will come, bringing comfort and light.

I can't mourn and celebrate the life of Lance Jensen, without mourning and celebrating the life of Trevor's uncle, Cort Budge. It was just over a month ago when his life was taken, and we think of and miss him. We mourn his passing, and celebrate his limitless kindness. He was the uncle who treated me like a relative, before really knowing me. We are sad that he is gone, but grateful to our Heavenly Father for blessing our lives through his. And grateful to know that Sunday will come... (see here for more on what that means).

Got Four Minutes?

Just a little reminder...

Create

Something about creating something new just makes you feel oh so good.

I Can Do Hard Things.

One hard thing Katelin has mastered.

While living in Chicago, Trevor and I talked often about the people at AIU (Trevor's former employer) who worked from home, but traveled OFTEN -- and by often, I mean pretty much all the time visiting universities and promoting AIU's study abroad program.

"That would be soooo hard," I said. "You would be great at that type of job, but we could never do it with all of the travel."

Three years later, here we are. The four of us share our two-bedroom, 1040 square foot apartment day and night when Trevor is working from home. Trevor leaves us for days at time. I stay home with the kids alone.... for days at a time. We're doing it.

The other day after dropping Trevor at the airport (a regular event at our home), I thought, This isn't even weird anymore. I'm used to it. And so we come full circle. It looked hard. It was hard. But it isn't quite so hard anymore.

We grow into our circumstances. We pick up the load that is ours and while it might feel heavy for a while, after carrying it we get stronger and the load feels easier. And in the end, it's nice to know that we CAN do hard things. We can face illness, tragedy, heartaches. We can discipline our kids, wake up all hours of the night, and love them even when we don't feel like it. We can move away from home, go to grad school, and exercise. We can get organized, bill our clients, quit our job, recover from an accident, eat healthy foods, lose extra pounds. We can quit our bad habits, love the unloveable, forgive, and find the best part of ourselves. Sometimes it is just good to know you can. Our Father in Heaven knows it, and He often lets us learn it for ourselves.