Shape Scavenger Hunt

A few days ago, Lucy wanted to play "preschool." It was from that round of pretend play that I had a genius thought; Both of my girls ALWAYS listen to their teachers and ALWAYS do what they say. But they don't always listen to me,... their mom. I think my voice sounds like static to them the way they ignore me sometimes. So I became a teacher. We had our very first Mommy Preschool. It took about 5 minutes of prep and turned out to be the most blissful couple of hours we have had in a long time. Our last activity was a Shape Scavenger Hunt. We took pictures with all of the shapes we found and walked over and got a pizza (circle) for lunch. We had so much fun.

 Circle.

 Rectangles.

 Circle. 

 Square or cube.

 Octagon.

 Triangles.

 Circle, squares, and a rectangle. 

 Rectangles. 

 Triangle and circles. 

 Star. 

 Square and rectangles. 

 Ring or circle. 

 Circle. 

 Square. 

 Triangles, squares, and rectangles. 

 Rectangle and circle.

 Oval and rectangle. 

 Circles small and large. 

 Rectangle. 

 Rectangles and circles. 

 Lucy found these and called them circles. 

Circle.

There were a couple of times that Lucy asked me, "Mommy, are you a teacher right now or mommy?" I replied, "teacher." She said "Can you be my mommy?, I don't feel good and I need some medicine."
And so if I want my kids to listen to me, I need to be their teacher I guess. Partly why this activity worked so well today, is that Louis took an extra long nap. The odds were in our favor. They do not always work so well on other days, but it's okay. This is one of those moments that was a reward for harder days and hours in between. And it always makes it worth it.

Christmas time is here...

I am sure enjoying the holidays this year. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving up in Tooele with James family (I have no pictures). And really have enjoyed a few of the holiday projects while also keeping things pretty simple.
It also helps that the weather has been beautiful and none confrontational. (I have anger spells, with snow and bitter cold). We have spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine and the cooler but not too cold weather.
I really love Christmas. I know that we can easily get caught up in the Christmas cards, presents, parties and other things like that but the truth is as much as I love those things it has yet to take my mind off of the true meaning of Christmas. I love my Savior and all he has done for me.
I am the primary chorister in our ward. We have been preparing a couple of songs for about 6 weeks now to sing in the Christmas program next Sunday. Today we sang, "Picture a Christmas" and I had them look for some gifts that we can give our Savior on His birthday in the song. The Chorus goes,
"Picture a little baby Jesus, think of his life and words so dear, Sing praise to him, Remember him, as you picture Christmas this year." In bold are the gifts that we highlighted in my lesson. I taught them that by singing these songs next week in our program we are giving Him both those special gifts. We practiced the songs after we had this lesson, and I can not describe their voices with any other words than, Angelic. They were so reverent as they sang. It was such a testimony to me of the reason for this season. I
do always need to remember him. That is why we have Christmas and it  is such a perfect time of the year. I can start the new year and give him a better me. At the end of the lesson the children added their gifts to Jesus Christ in a box. They were special, and from the heart. I love my calling and I love my membership in this church. What a blessing it is in my life.

The Reason for our Hope

James' Talk:
The Reason for our Hope

OPPOSITION IN ALL THINGS

In the book, THE GIVER, Jonas is an 11-year old boy who lives within a community which has eliminated all war, hatred, despair, prejudice, and pain.  They have also eliminated all choice, a state which is referred to as Samesness. Everything in the community is controlled by the elders and not one member of the community truly makes a choice of their own. Jonas is assigned the worker role of Keeper of Memories. As he receives his training from the current Keeper of Memories, who refers to himself as the Giver, he is taken through various memories of history and things as they once were. He experiences things such as music, the joys of nature, dancing, and the love of others. And he also experiences the terrors of the world such as the atrocities of war, the hatred of another, the heartbreak of losing a close loved one. He learns all these things by experience. He begins to understand the nature and depth of all emotions (happiness, joy, hope, sadness, loss and heartbreak, and despair), something completely new to him. He also sees the good and the evil in the world, something he did not know existed. He quickly becomes frustrated that others in the community are unable to obtain love or joy or happiness and to gain a greater understanding about life. Jonas knows that both the good and evil must be experienced, but that without the one, the other is unattainable.  He ultimately releases all the memories back into the community so that all can come to the same realization that he has now come to, so that all can experience a great depth of love, joy, and happiness even though they must also pass through heartache, sadness, and despair.

For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so… righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death…Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation…for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon. And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents…it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. (2 Nephi 2:11-16)

And so it is that, as part of God’s grand plan for His children, Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Through this act was brought about the ability to experience both happiness and sorrow, hope and despair, love and heartache. Through which means we may know the good from the evil and make choices for ourselves.

JESUS TO REDEEM US FROM THE FALL

                But although we have the ability to choose for ourselves, that does not mean we will always choose that which is right. The scriptures teach us that all will “[sin] and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Every choice we make affects not only ourselves, but all those around us. Likewise, we are affected by the choices that others make. We do not live in a vacuum of isolation, but in a world of interaction within our families and communities.  What is to be done both about the sins and mistakes we make as well as the injustices we receive from others? Beautifully written into God’s masterful plan is this verse of scripture:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17)

President Packer continues to answer this question as he has taught us in this last general conference about the role that Christ plays in God’s eternal plan by bringing to pass the healing power of the Atonement:

The Savior wrought the Atonement, which provides a way for us to become clean. Jesus Christ is the resurrected Christ. We worship and recognize Him for the pain He suffered for us collectively and for the pain He endured for each of us individually, both in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. He bore all with great humility and with an eternal understanding of His divine role and purpose. Those who will repent and forsake sin will find that His merciful arm is outstretched still. Those who listen to and heed His words and the words of His chosen servants will find peace and understanding even in the midst of great heartache and sorrow. The result of His sacrifice is to free us from the effects of sin, that all may have guilt erased and feel hope….The mercy and grace of Jesus Christ are not limited to those who commit sins either of commission or omission, but they encompass the promise of everlasting peace to all who will accept and follow Him and His teachings. His mercy is the mighty healer, even to the wounded innocent.

How I love my Savior Jesus Christ! Some of my fondest memories of my youth are those times when I truly started to learn about Him for myself through the scriptures, the hymns, and my own quiet ponderings.  My soul “[sang] the song of redeeming love” (Alma 5;) as I sought and experienced forgiveness of my sins and mistakes. Through those youthful experiences I learned that He knows me, loves me, and is ever watching over me. And then as a missionary, my love for Him continued to deepen as He helped me through a dark and doubtful time-Never leaving my side, but at the same time, allowing me to work through my own experiences. As I continue to grow and learn in the gospel and raise my own children, my love for Him grows even more. He suffered for me as He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane. And not in a collective manner of one lump sum of sins to be paid, but individually, one-by-one, seeing my life and understanding my pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses, infirmities, sins, and transgressions so “that he may know according to the flesh how to succor [me]” (Alma 7:11-13). And it is through Christ the Lord that I might obtain a “hope for a better world” (Ether 12:4).

HOPE IN JESUS CHRIST

“And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise” (Moroni 7:41).

                Hope is what the Atonement of Jesus Christ provides. President Uchtdorf explains that “hope…is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father.”

President Uchtdorf continues:

 The things we hope in sustain us during our daily walk. They uphold us through trials, temptations, and sorrow. Everyone has experienced discouragement and difficulty. Indeed, there are times when the darkness may seem unbearable. It is in these times that the divine principles of the restored gospel we hope in can uphold us and carry us until, once again, we walk in the light. We hope in Jesus the Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered. Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will “work together for [our] good” as we follow the counsel of God’s prophets. This type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair.

EXAMPLES OF HOPE

                I would like to finish with two scriptural examples of how hope in Christ, or the lack thereof, should influence our lives to move forward in faith. The first is the influence of a lack of hope in Christ:

                Most of us are familiar with the story of Lot’s wife in the Old Testament. As the Lord was about to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He told Lot and his family to leave the city. While they were leaving the city, the scriptures tell us: “But [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26)

                Elder Holland explains the scriptural significance of this story:

Apparently what was wrong with Lot’s wife was that she wasn’t just looking back; in her heart she wanted to go back. It would appear that even before they were past the city limits, she was already missing what Sodom and Gomorrah had offered her…I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. Apparently she thought—fatally, as it turned out—that nothing that lay ahead could possibly be as good as those moments she was leaving behind.

In contrast to the story of Lot’s wife is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These three young men were commanded by king Nebuchadnezzar to worship the idols of the king or they would be cast into the fiery furnace. When they would not bow down and worship, they were bound and taken to the king who asked “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (Dan 3:15). They replied: “If it be so [if you cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand. But if not…we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan 3:17-18)

Elder Simmons of the Seventy in an April 2004 general conference talk describes the amount of faith and hope required to make the statement, but if not:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego knew they could always rely on Him because they knew His plan, and they knew that He does not change. They knew, as we know, that mortality is not an accident of nature. It is a brief segment of the great plan of our loving Father in Heaven to make it possible for us, His sons and daughters, to achieve the same blessings He enjoys, if we are willing. But we must understand that great challenges make great men. We don’t seek tribulation, but if we respond in faith, the Lord strengthens us. The but if nots can become remarkable blessings. Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not … . He will deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not. … He will deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, … we will trust in the Lord.

Finding Faith in Christ

James and I spoke in church this week. We both wrote out our talks. I thought I would post them here for posterity's sake.
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My Talk:

Finding faith in Christ

I have appreciated the introductions that speakers have provided so that I can at least associate something with the faces I see each week. I don’t always remember a name but tell me about how you met or your education, work, …etc,  and for some reason I will remember that.

James and I met working at the MTC bookstore. He was a freshman and I was a return missionary. Although our friendship started then, the truth is that part is really hazy for both of us. He had a girl friend and well, he was a freshman…..regardless, we became good friends.  He left on a mission and I wrote a little and received his weekly emails, passed on to me by his mother.  After his mission, I was headed to grad school in Arizona and he was headed to BYU. His parents had moved to a stake where I served the last part of my mission. I had some time to kill before moving, and he was speaking in my favorite Spanish branch. So he invited me to come down, and I drove 11 and a half hours…  to see him, but mostly my friends from the branch. I ended up staying an extra day, drove home and told my mom I wasn’t going to grad school anymore… We were married a little less than a year later and I never regretted the decision once.

We have three children, Lucy, Molly and Louis. James is a recent grad with a masters in Occupational Therapy, and he got his first job, here in Utah County working at Kids on the move.

In all my life there have been countless times when I had to walk by faith. Not going to grad school was one of those times. James and I knew that we loved each other, but he was a recently returned missionary and still hadn’t made up his mind about me. I had dated enough that I knew there was no one better for me than James. I made up my mind quickly but had no control over the decisions that James was going to make. I prayed about the decision for a few weeks and I knew that grad school could easily be put off another year, but I wanted to take a chance on eternal marriage with him.

The choice to serve a mission required a lot of faith on my part as well. Although I was raised in the gospel, and knew that everything my parents required of me made me happy, I was not very well versed in the scriptures and my thoughts and knowledge of the atonement only touched the surface. I remember well, being very overwhelmed my first week in the MTC. I didn’t understand the principles I was supposed to be teaching. I thought maybe I had made the wrong decision. I prayed fervently and with in another week, was comforted by my savior’s love.  I felt as though as badly as I needed to gain a testimony of all these principles, there were many others that would benefit from the knowledge I would gain and share.

My mission changed my life. It changed every part of my being. I needed it more than anything I could have ever needed and God knew that. He does know what we need and the paths we need to take and that is why it is so important for us to have and gain faith in His word.

So how do we find faith in Jesus Christ? Elder Hales in his talk titled “Finding Faith in Christ” in October 2004 general conference uses Enos as an example of how to gain faith in Jesus Christ.

First we need to hear the word of God. Enos heard the word of God from his father, and those words were the seed that was planted that helped Enos to continue forward in this process. We hear the word, by making sure we are in good places. That can mean attending church each Sunday and listening to the talks and prayers that are given, especially if we don’t have those opportunities to hear the word of God in the home. Second we need to let the words “sink deep in to our souls.” This is done by pondering on the words and studying them out in our minds. Letting the principles that are taught become a part of who we are by living them. Third, we need to “hunger for righteousness.”  Elder Hales says,

“Enos was filled with a desire to know for himself whether these teachings were true and where he himself stood before his Maker. To use Enos’s words, “My soul hungered.” 25 By this intense spiritual appetite, Enos qualified himself to receive the Savior’s promise: “Blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.””

Fourth we need to obey the commandments of God. This enables us to be receptive to the spirit of the Holy Ghost. To be able to receive the blessings that God has in store for us.

Fifth, we learn from Enos’words in verse four:

“ I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.”

Elder Hales continues,

 ^“It wasn’t easy (for Enos). Faith did not come quickly. In fact, Enos characterized his experience in prayer as a “wrestle which [he] had before God.” 28 But faith did come. By the power of the Holy Ghost, he did receive a witness for himself. We cannot find Enos-like faith without our own wrestle before God in prayer. “

Later in his talk he says,

“Once we find the beginnings of our faith in Jesus, our Heavenly Father allows our faith to be strengthened. This occurs in many ways, including through the experience of adversity. “

I found this to be true, especially on my mission with people that I taught and had the opportunity to witness their baptisms into the church. With out fail it seemed that the second they entered the waters of baptizm and felt so good and so clean they were tried in countless ways. One family in particular is the greatest example of faith. The Herrara family lived in very humble circumstances in El Paso Texas. Regardless, from the day we met them, their faith grew quickly and was strong. I was still a little bit green in the mission and I asked my companion, “do you think we need to tell them about the crosses, and idols that are on their walls?” She very maturely answered me, “I don’t think we will have to.” Sure enough, all of the crosses and figures on the walls were removed with in the following visits with out a word from us. The father quit smoking before we had the chance to teach him about the word of wisdom. They were baptized and remained faithful. Shortly after their baptism, their father was deported back to Mexico and put in to jail unjustly. Other events took place that were trying for the family. Through it all they remained faithful. I was impressed by their faith, because already in my short time as a missionary I had seen others that fell away shortly after baptism because of the adversity that followed.

If you will allow me to share one more story of faith, from my own families history. When I was two years old, my father, only 35 was diagnosed with Leukemia. Medical technology was still developing at that time and there were very few cases of people living through this disease. There were many miracles that occurred to ensure my father’s life, but they did not come with out significant trials in between.  My mother, with my Father wrote this book that has become a valuable treasure and record for our family about the struggle that they went through.

Shortly after my father’s admittance in to the hospital, his brothers traveled down to St. George to give him a priesthood blessing. His oldest brother Mark was to give him the blessing and my mother writes of the experience,

“Before Mark came to give Scott a blessing, he spent some time in the hills south of town. He needed to know what promises he could give to his brother, Scott. He says that he knew from the thoughts that passed through his mind at that time that Scott would not die but would be able to raise his family. When he returned, the family had all arrived and dressed in their Sunday best, knelt together in family prayer to break the fast. The adults then went to the hospital to give Scott a priesthood blessing. Many tears were shed as the family reunited and gathered to pray. Mark promised Scott that he would get well. He did not promise that it would be immediate but that he would have to follow the plan set out by the doctors and have patience and perseverance in all things. But he did promise, “you will be healed.”

My mom told me that a patient next to my father in the hospital had several visits and blessings from general authorities and church figures. She felt bad that my dad did not receive the same company, but my father didn’t feel the same.  He writes,

“My real strength came from the blessing given to me as my brothers surrounded me Saturday afternoon. They had traveled long distances and had come in fasting and prayer. In the blessing, my brother Mark told me exactly what to expect. He could not proclaim me cured but through my faith and theirs and others, that my path to recovery would require all the medical knowledge and submitting myself to the treatments as prescribed. In the end, I would be well and would be able to return to a normal life. For every lonely night that my body struggled, my mind lay quite content to have the knowledge that I would be all right. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t accept the fact that if it were the Lord’s will, he could take me. Simply, I developed the philosophy of “I’ll take what comes.”

My father was healed from Leukemia. Not with out a struggle. He was able to raise his family. He saw my three brothers, serve and return from missions, he was there to witness their temple marriages. The summer after I graduated from Highschool and my sister was a Junior in Highschool, he passed away. We were granted 16 more years with him on this earth. So much of what he taught me has made me the person I am today.

Elder Hales says, and quotes,

An acquaintance of mine recently wrote:

“We lost a 2-and-a-half-year-old grandson to leukemia. … My children still haven’t taken his crib down; it will [soon be] 7 years [since he died. It is] hard to have faith. [I] lost a friend [who was] 69. [He] had three different cancers in 10 years, [He] couldn’t fight it any longer. [He] tried everything humanly possible and 6 years ago found faith … but not an extra day, so I guess it’s hard to believe.”

He continues and I have often had the same thought,

Isn’t it interesting that the one who is suffering often gains faith through suffering and accepts the Lord’s will, “thy will be done,” 30 while family members and caregivers may have a difficult time accepting the tragic outcome and being able to strengthen their faith from the experience. We cannot measure faith by “an extra day.”

 God does give us strength to overcome the trials that we are individually given. It is hard for others to see that. He gives us that strength so that our faith can continue to increase and we will be able to overcome other trials put in our path.

In Doctrine and Covenants section 122, A loving heavenly father gives this revelation to his servant Joseph Smith who has suffered so much,

“Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”

God loves us and knows us individually. If we have faith in him, he will lead us back to him. And it will be wonderful to be with him again.

I bear testimony of all these things. If nothing else, I know that this Christmas season that comes and passes each year is an opportunity for us to be reminded of God’s love. He gave us His Son, So that we might live again. What a blessing and a priceless gift it is to have that knowledge. I want to be better at sharing that gift with others. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN. 

Too cold to play outside, so we create inside.

Medium: play dough 

It's getting colder and that means we are getting our "artist" on. It's the only way to beat the cold and replace the outdoor time. We've had a lot of fun. I hope we can keep it up all winter long. 

Medium: marker. Canvas: Molly .

Medium: water color. Canvas: poster paper.

Medium: markers, stamps, and stickers. This is the base of our mural that was completed over a two week time period.

Meduim: marker. Canvas: Molly's shirt.

Medium: water color. Canvas: bathtub, bath water, and bellys.

Noodle crowns. Colored noodles and pipe cleaners.

Final day of our mural. The grand finale. Medium: crayola paints. Canvas: poster paper.

Canvas: feet and toes.....

.... And hands.....

.....and belly....

.....and legs, face, hair, diaper,..... 

Ta-Da!!! Our finished product. We left it up for a week and I loved looking at it everyday. 

Better days. (This is an older post but still worth publishing)

I haven't had the opportunity to write for awhile, and probably should just go to bed now, but I needed to get some thoughts down about my family.
First of all, I have seen a significant improvement in my life as a parent since I left the

social media world. For one it is so much easier to communicate with others around me and make and build lasting friendships with my ward family. Also, I have continued to receive revelation for my for myself and family since I followed that first bit of revelation my Heavenly Father sent me. I have had decreasing "freak outs" during the day. I love my children more. I hug and kiss them more. I have been able to find time during the day for one on one time with each of them. I have been able to make better meals for my family. I have been better able to show my love and enjoy the time I spend with them each day.
All of this has been so necessary and essential for me at this time, because James has taken

on a second job and has been away longer hours everyday. I relied on his help so much in the past that I often had anxiety when he would leave in the mornings. I find that not to be the case. Even in catastrophic moments that in the past would have set me over the edge, I am able to stay calm and let the madness take its course around me with out adding to it. For example. The other day, in the middle of cooking dinner I heard a noise in the toy room. In the amount of time it took me to walk from the kitchen to the toy room, Molly fell on her face, causing a nose bleed that bled everywhere. While trying to calm an uncalmable child, Lucy was in the kitchen pushing Louis all over in his chair running as fast as she could. Luckily that did not result in a disaster, but it could have been bad had he not been strapped in. I got Molly to calm down, leaving a bloody mess in the bathroom and resumed cooking dinner until it was done. It was such a good moment for me.

There are many other moments during the day that I look back and think of how my previous self would have handled those situations. Instead of several bad days in a row, I have had several good days in a row and that's a success for me.

This is either an intervention for little rapunzel or they are all attending an AA meeting.

Just a note for myself.

Today, I deleted my Facebook account. I don't think FB is a bad thing. I actually have been trying to use it as a missionary tool for the last little while. But here's the truth, I'm addicted to looking at pictures. I always have been. Before the internet, it was printed pictures, pictures on walls, anything, I'm intrigued. And I am addicted to posting pictures of my kids, because I think they are so cute. I didn't have a smart phone until just recently, and I found that although I tried to limit my use, it was still getting in the way of my time with my family and "real" relationships. So I deleted everything and deactivated my account. I always pride myself on staying in touch with people, but seeing what they post, is not staying in touch. I want to have to put forth some effort to build or rebuild relationships in a more personal way. I hope I can still do that.
I need to add, this was a hard thing for me to do. But here's the honest truth, I've been praying and pleading for help from my Heavenly Father to know how and what to do, to get out of this funk that I've been in for so long. I have wondered for sometime, if He was listening because I felt as though I was receiving no answers. The answer came very clearly to my mind last night, as I was going crazy with lack of sleep. "Get rid of Facebook." Isn't that silly? But it was so clear, I could not deny it. I don't advise everyone to do it, but for me it was the change I needed apparently. I am not really sure what difference it will make, except that it will perhaps give me the push I need to be more real with people. And get out and meet people face to face. And allow for the support I need to take place, be face to face. Whether it will make a big difference or not, it always feels good to follow the counsel of the Lord.
Another note for posterity.
The girls and I attend a Music and Movement class every Friday at the Lehi library. I absolutely love it. The girls like it too. It is put on by Kids on the Move. I was working at KOTM when they first started to implement these classes out in the community. I think it was genius. I love to see these special spirits each week, and allow my kids to interact with them. Lucy and Molly have gained more and more confidence each week that we have attended. They now happily leave my side to sit in front and participate in every action, song, or book that is read. I love love love to watch them. It brings my heart so much joy to watch them in this setting. I am not sure what it is about it. I just love this part of their development in listening skills. They are wonderful, and this class this morning really helped me to get out of a bad mood that would have lasted through the day.