2 birthdays and a non thanksgiving.

Monday: Lainy came home from school with a stomach ache.   4 pm, she threw up.   Jayce started in harmony at 8pm.   Bro. Nielson called and asked if I could speak on Sunday. 

Tuesday: 3 kids home from school just to keep it contained.  Lots of sleeping and 7-up.   Skip piano.  Skip soccer.  Skip scouts.

Wednesday: 5 am, it was my turn.  The kids stayed home again.  Jason came from from San Diego at 11pm.  Yay. Reinforcements. 

Thursday:  Thanksgiving.  I started to believe that we were out of the woods.  No thanksgiving dinner.  Jared said he had a stomach ache.

Friday: 6 am Jared threw up.   Happy Birthday Lainy.  Good thing your birthday party is next weekend.  I’m still sick.  Or sick again…

Saturday:  Happy birthday to me.  Managed an hour or two date night out with my bestie Shelli and husband.  

Sunday:  Gave a mediocre talk and came home to nap.  Jason went back to San Diego. 

My talk was on Thanks be to God.   Here’s my positive spin.  I don’t think I spread the sickness. (no one came in, and no one came out),  I’m SO grateful I wasn’t sick a the same time as the children, and that they can all hit a bowl, or a toilet, minimizing clean up.  I love that I could lay lifeless on the bed while the talk I was assigned played over and over from my tablet.  I know Jason probably isn’t grateful he came home for 4 days, but I sure am.  And lastly, but certainly not even slightly least, after sacrament meeting today: enter Shelli.  Who skipped her own meeting to come see me give my talk. 

AAAAnd that’s a wrap!

Perfect creativity

I have a hard time allowing my children creative space.  I like to make sure things are neat and tidy as the craft/project/learning activity is in progress.  I usually have a vision of how I want things to turn out and want to make sure we they have success in everything that they do. 

I am learning that when I give my kids a chore to do, I have to let them do it while I am not watching.  If I don’t, I end up doing the entire chore myself because it isn’t done my way.   Having spent some time in each of my kids classes, I get to see how each teacher responds to the organized chaos of certain aspects of teaching.  For instance, Art.  Assignment: create a scene in AZ.   In my narrow mind I would have directed them all to a desert scene.  Here’s what I saw in the end…  An up close snapshot of an aerial view of a lap pool,  a green piney forest (yes they exist in Northern AZ),  kids swimming at a public pool,  a few different versions of a typical desert scene, a giant cactus, and so many others that weren’t my way.  They were perfect.  And each characteristic of the owners uniqueness.

It got me thinking about the Creation.  You know.  The big one.  This earth is a wonder, and the tiny bit I know about how it was created leaves me in awe.   I may be way off base here, but I wonder how much creative space was allowed when Heavenly Father instructed Christ on how to create the earth and it’s contents.  And that since we believe there are other worlds, how different are they?  The bounds of the beauty have to be endless due to the individuals view or take on it.  And if we live worthy enough to one day create our own world…   oh my goodness, my brain is on overload.  Such a cool line of thought. 

That said, I would never in my wildest dreams think that I could do even the simplest of things while I am here on earth, on my own.  All I have been given, and have yet to be given, all that I have done, and have yet to do, I owe and dedicate to my Savior.  I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of a Savior who is willing to tolerate, teach and love someone as imperfect as I am. 

"Don’t worry about how inexperienced you are or think you are, but think about what, with the Lord’s help, you can become."

—Henry B. Eyring