I Believe

Yesterday, a woman that I am acquainted with through Church passed away. She was not young, but her death was not expected. I had just spoken with her on Sunday and so it was surprising to learn of her death. Perhaps out of morbid curiousity I went to her facebook page to see what some of her final thoughts had been. (How odd that we live in a time when this is even possible.) Her last posts were of her family and of her faith. It caused me to reflect on my own life and what kind of a legacy I am leaving. I'm not sure that my blog or my facebook page are an accurate reflection of who I am and what I believe. I don't normally share my most private and personal feelings or my strongest convictions in this type of format, but I'm going to do that now. I want to be sure and make a statement that will leave no doubt.

I believe in a loving Father in Heaven. A being who is a man, not a vague figure, but a flesh and bone man who is perfect, omniscient and omnipotent. I believe that while He is this powerful person, He is also loving, caring and forgiving. I believe that He is interested in me as an individual, He knows my name, He knows who I am and He loves me. I believe that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to Earth to suffer at the hands of evil men so that death and sin could be overcome through the Atonement. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that He was willing to live as a mortal man in order to experience mortal pain and emotion so that He can truly succor me when I am hurting. I believe that when no one else understands what I am going through, He understands. I believe that because of Him, I can be forgiven. I believe that He too loves me.

I believe in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a Mormon. There are so many reasons why I believe in this Church. I have not seen a vision. I have not heard a voice from Heaven. But I have had innumerable small, spiritual experiences that have spoken to my soul and confirmed my belief.

I was born to amazing parents. The more time I spend as a mother, the more I realize how blessed I was to be raised in the home created by my parents. There was not much money, but there was much love, and there was a strong devotion to God and country. My favorite thing about my religion is the belief in eternal families. I believe that my parents, siblings, husband, children and all the extended family that comes with them are tied to me beyond death. Death is a temporary separation.

I love my husband. He is a good man. I have been very fortunate to be his wife for 10 years. He makes me laugh frequently and always makes me feel like he enjoys being with me. I often focus too much on his failings and not on his goodness. He is kind to me and never raises his voice to me in anger. He is a great dad and his children are lucky to have him for a father. The greatest gift I could have ever given to my children was to marry their dad.

I love my kids more than words could possibly express. I know that they are gifts to me from God and from their birth mothers. My life would be so empty without them. They have given my life a purpose and meaning that it never had before. I waited for what seemed like forever to be their mom and the wait was well worth it.

My life has been enriched by good friends. I don't like to move, but every time we move somewhere new, I make friends without whom my life would have been lacking. They have blessed my life in so many ways.

I am a simple person. I will never be rich or famous. But I believe that I can make a difference in the world around me. I believe that one smile, one kind word or one small act of service can result in a ripple effect that can have an enormous positive impact in the world. I believe that all of us causing these ripples can change families, communities and even the world. It sounds simplistic, but I believe it to be true.

I have been blessed and I am grateful.

Vegas - Final Day

Today is our final day before heading home at the crack of dawn tomorrow. The time has actually gone quickly and it's been a lot of fun. Baylie in particular is not ready to go home. She wants her daddy to come out here so she can see him, but still be with her cousins.

Today we watched two more sessions of General Conference and the girls were well set up with arts and crafts.

When I was growing up, my parents would often make popcorn. I have lots of popcorn-related memories. I make popcorn A LOT. Baylie is as addicted as I am and thinks we should have it every night. My sister and at least one of my brothers eat popcorn with their kids as often as I eat it with my kids. Cameron is the popcorn maker around here. He made us a triple batch tonight (and was frustrated that I didn't let him make more).

The girls and Jalen watched a Disney movie. They insisted on all sitting in the same chair, even as they complained  about being squished.

Cameron and I watched football. (It's so heavenly to be able to watch it on real t.v. instead of over the internet.) Cameron knows the score of every game he's ever seen and some he hasn't. He keeps track of scores and stats on this little board. (TO=time outs, CH=challenges, TU=turnovers).

I love these kids. They have been so great this week. I think our house is going to seem pretty quiet after this.

Vegas - Day 5

Today was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My sister has some fun traditions that I think I will incorporate in the future.

First, her kids watch conference from a tent, reminiscent of King Benjamin's people. The kids don't actually last through conference, but it's a great way to start.

The kids also get bingo cards that they cover with Starbursts. Cameron is the only one that is faithful to the game. Everyone else just played for a few minutes, then ate their Starbursts.

My sister takes 12 cups and puts a picture of an apostle on each one. Then she puts one piece of candy for each child in the cup. When that apostle speaks, everyone gets a candy. The kids don't stay focused on the talks (they're too young), but they do learn which speakers are apostles.

In non-conference related news, my sister also made these cool cards to assign her kids chores. I'm definitely going to create these when I get home. Once they've completed their chores, they get to pick a prize from a treasure box.

One of my favorite things about my sister's house is this sign.

When we grew up, we had a pseudo back porch area where we had the washer and dryer. It was almost like a lean-to. Ever since then, my siblings and I call whatever part of the house has the washer and dryer "the back porch." We don't even think about it and didn't even realize how weird it was until our spouses started pointing it out. For example, this sign is found in the laundry room, which is in the front of my sister's house, off the garage. I wonder if other families have little idiosyncrasies like this.

And of course there was more swimming. Today Jalen went au natural.

 

After all, we are in Vegas.

Vegas - Day 4

Today was a day of mostly swimming. My kids are in heaven with a pool constantly available.

 

I keep Jalen in his life jacket all the time. He has loved riding the girls' scooters.

Baylie is getting really brave in the water. She jumps in with total abandon.

All three girls are little divas. It's great when they're all getting along and a pain when they're not.

In the evening we went to the neighbors for a surprise birthday party. The kids waited all day long for the party, asking me every 15 minutes if it was time yet. They made some new friends and had a lot of fun.

 

They even swam with the dogs. (I blurred out a couple faces because I neglected to get permission from the parents to include these children.)

After the party, most of the kids crashed from being so tired. Cameron, Jalen (who had another five-hour nap) and I stayed up to watch the BYU - Utah State game. To be honest, I slept through most of it.

Vegas - Day 3

The morning started bright and early with Jalen waking up at 4:30. This three-hour time difference is a killer! Early this morning the girls created their own rock band. They were jamming pretty hard and I thought I had it on video, but it didn't record. It's a bummer because it was pretty impressive.

Today the twins had preschool so I took advantage of the chance to give my kids a much-needed nap (and I grabbed a quick one too). The day was pretty mellow with the kids just playing. It warms my heart to see my kids playing with their cousins.   They love each other so much. In fact, I'm pretty sure Jalen has developed his first crush - his cousin, Clara.

Tonight was movie night. Cameron popped corn for everyone and the kids watched Tarzan while I watched football. (Cameron watched both the movie and the game. He knows more sports trivia than anyone I know.)

It is amazing how much screaming can be achieved by three little girls. Is it bedtime yet?

Vegas - Day 2

I love being at my sister's house. I always feel comfortable here. Maybe it's because she's my best friend and I know I can trust her completely. She's one of the few people in my life that I know loves me unconditionally. I could ask her for anything and she would do her best to help me. I would do the same for her. I also like that I can find anything in her kitchen. Unfortunately, I cannot reach everything in her kitchen. She is almost six feet tall and I am 5' 5". Everything she put out of reach of her children is also out of reach for me. 

She has this beautiful pomegranate tree in  her back yard. (I always think of Demeter and Persephone when I see pomegranates.)  

Today the kids gave each other makeovers. They definitely have not bought into the concept of "less is more." They went all out.

They looked like prize fighters or goths.

Jalen was not to be left behind. He loves the sand box and I can't keep the sand out of his hair. He pours it on by the shovelfull.

Lunch poolside.

The kids love the fact that there's a swimming pool. I'm okay with it as long as Jalen always wears his life jacket. I was hoping that a little dip in the pool would wash off the make up, but the results were mixed.

Jalen loves the hot tub. He's not terribly fond of the cold pool.

He also liked playing with the "mermaids."

The girls love the pool, regardless of how cold it is. They're not always happy about taking turns on the floats.

After swimming, I bribed them to clean up toys and we made cookies.

Cameron preferred reading to baking, but he was excited to sample the chocolate chips.

Jalen is still recovering from the trip. He slept for about four hours, woke up for a couple and then went back to bed for the night. I think he's exhausted.

So am I.

Viva Las Vegas - Day 1

When I tell most people that I'm spending a week in Vegas, they have a specific image of what I'll be doing. While I am definitely hooking up with some crazy girls who love to dress up and dance, will be staying up too late, will be eating great food and will possibly want to forget much of what happens here, I'm pretty sure my Vegas stay is different from most.

The kids and I have come to watch my twin 5-year-old nieces and 9-year-old nephew while my sister and her husband get away for a well-deserved break. My kids have been looking forward to this trip for several weeks. They LOVE their cousins. It doesn't hurt that Aunt Tiffy's house has the best toys and tons of dress ups.

The twins decided to get pink braids like Baylie. It will be a miracle if these braids last all week, but for now all three girls are thrilled with them.

We actually got bumped coming here and spent a night in Houston. It resulted in the kids only having about five hours of sleep, so last night they crashed pretty early. I love it when they curl up together to sleep, even though they hog the bed.

Jalen is the girls' favorite villain. They love to have him chase them as they run around screaming. I don't know if it's because he's scary or because he spends half the time naked.

My sister is way more laid back than me. Every time I'm around her or her kids, I want to be more like her - in many ways. So I'm going to let go of my up-tightedness for this week and just let the kids play. I'll clean up right before the parents get home.

Things for me to remember:

• I can watch my programs the day they are on - on a real t.v.! I don't have to watch them on my laptop a day later.
• I can watch the BYU football game on Friday - WAHOO! (I've been listening to them online or watching them a day later on ESPN3.)
• I must have the GPS with me at all times. The three blocks home from dropping my nephew off at school resulted in two u-turns and two less-than-friendly car honks (u-turns not having anything to do with the honks).

Should be a fun week. But I sure miss David!