the Blessings of a Sunday morning

By nature I tend to be a frantic person.  I get really wound up about something very quickly and it takes me awhile to cool down.  I tend to be defensive immediately if someone I love is hurt or in need of protection.  I have a very hard time seeing the good in myself and like to compare myself to people who are very different personalities from my own.  But this past week and particularly today at church, I was reminded that the Lord has a plan for me and often, people perceive me in an entirely different manner than I perceive myself.
I've been in the new nursery calling for four weeks and the first week was SO hard.  I was determined to walk to the Bishop's office and let them know that they got the WRONG GIRL for this calling.  But last Wednesday, Henry (one of my three year olds) stopped by my house with a homemade card and cinnamon rolls.  Henry cried for 20 minutes straight that first Sunday and I was scared to death that I would not be able to help this child.  And here, 3 1/2 weeks later, he's making me a card and thanking me for being his teacher.  The hallelujah chorus was ringing in my ears that day and my heart overflowed with genuine love for this little boy.  I know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me.  He gets that I'm a frantic person; He understands that I am "blustery" and get all worked up over everything but He also sees me in a way that says "I made you that way and you make me laugh when you try to bull-head your way through things".  I had an opportunity to meet with Bro. Neel today and he talked about how he perceives me and he sees me as a different person than I see myself.  He believes in me and I have to say it made me feel special.  I want to be the person he sees and I want to continue to be worthy of his high opinion.  I am blessed in so many ways.  My God knows me, He loves me, He believes in me, and hey, He thinks I'm worth it!  So I'd better be worth it!

Preschoolers, ERs, and doctors....oh my!

This week has been crazy to say the very least.  On Sunday I taught nursery and it actually went pretty well.  Monday meant my toddler music class and we had 11 kids! It was a hit and I was really happy with when it was said and done.  Tuesday was my day to teach Isabel's preschool class.  As I was preparing for her class to arrive, I stood up underneath a counter and bashed my forehead on the corner.  I immediately put an ice pack on my head and went back to work.  I felt fine all day Tuesday.  Wednesday, however, found me waking up to nausea and dizziness and I was exhausted.  I spent most of the day in bed and by the time Sam got off the school bus, we decided to take me to the ER in case of a concussion.  Long story short: we spent 2.5 hours in the ER without being seen b/c my "condition" was not serious enough to warrant attention in a timely manner.  I was so discouraged.  Thursday was a slow start but I got up and had a great time teaching Isabel's preschool class.  Thursday afternoon I went to a gastroenterologist to see about treating my Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  After an hour with her, I am now scheduled for a 24 hr. urine sample today and a colonoscopy on Tuesday of next week.  I feel a little overwhelmed but am hoping that all this work will put aside stress in two weeks when we leave for vacation.  here's hoping!

Missionarie have too much fun!

This is actually a pretty late post from when we had the missionaries over for dinner a few weeks ago.  They asked us if they could share a spiritual thought and Sam wanted to play army men soooo.......
The missionaries begin to tell the story of Abinadi and how he was brought before the king.  We used army men to represent all the people in the story. Then as Abinadi is about to be burned alive for preaching, the missionaries ask me if they can set fire to the army man "Abinadi"!  Spoil-sport mommy would not allow them to melt down the green army man but I did let them throw all the army men into a glass of water when it came to "baptize all the people".  It was a little zany but Sam loved it so much and remembered the story.  I suppose I should be more adventurous when it comes to acting out the scriptures!

Isabel's first day of preschool

Last Tuesday was Izzy's first day of preschool.  I was way nervous for her.  She got up early, wore her new shirt that Mamaw bought her and put her Smurfette backpack on her back.  She was so excited.  We drove to Sis. Gustafson's house (it's a parent coop preschool) and took a picture right outside.  We went inside and started to get acquainted with everyone and five minutes later, she wet her pants.  I tried not to be upset with her because I knew she was nervous but it was hard for me to leave her.  When I came back two hours later, she was fine.  She had a lot of fun.  When I took on Thursday, she was so excited because they made puppets that day.  Coming up this week, I'll be the teacher so we'll see how well she does when it's just me.  I'm excited for her to learn new things.  I want her to become a smart, independent little girl but it is hard for the mom to let go sometimes.

Isabel on the first day of preschool

Glimpses of Heaven

Today I turned 32 years old!  And though it is not what would be considered a "milestone birthday", it was very profound to me.  I didn't spend it surrounded by my extended family but I did get calls from all the sibs and my mom and dad stopped by in the evening.  Instead I spent the day with some friends and their families. It was a lot of people!  But it was so nice to have people give me hugs and wish me a happy birthday.  People who care for me b/c they want to (not because they have to).  My kids had fun playing at home, on the swingset and in their rooms.  Kurtis had a good time and cooked on the grill.  For a moment I felt a little like a postcard:)  That may seem strange to some people but those are the moments that I stop and remember that my life is good.  We all go through struggles but the moments where you are reminded that life is basically good.....those moments are the glimpses of heaven!
The funny parts of today were provided by Sam (of course!).  Last night he asked me how old I would be and when I told him, he said to me "Mom, no matter how old you get, you will always be my mom!"  The classic thing about this is the fact that I always tell him "no matter how old you get, you will always be my baby!"  I guess he's picking something up from me:)  He also sang Happy Birthday to me as soon as he woke up and later he put on "a show" for me.  He was a hypnotist and kept putting Daddy to sleep and then having him wake up and attack Isabel!  It was very cute.  He has already promised me an extended show next year for my birthday!  And to top it off, he made me a Birthday booklet (not just a card).  My kid has tremendous imagination!
Below are some pictures of the day. 


my smurf cake was made by Natalie Day!  the girl has crazy talent:)



I thought she just might make a cake with a picture on it but no, she went all out!

my t-shirt was a present from Amanda Napier. I've been talking about "running for president" for awhile now.  Amanda helped make it official with my campaign t-shirt!