Trapped

Visiting with my sister at her home one day, my little boy wanted a snack. I said, "There are snacks in my purse in the car, you can go grab them and bring them inside." He has done this before and so I thought nothing of it. Standing visiting back and forth for a few minutes near the front door, I had a feeling to go check on him. He had only been gone for 4 minutes, but still I thought it was necessary. Other times he gets distracted and starting jumping on her rocks or playing in her dirt. Another time I went out there and he was pretending to drive the car. I got in the car and he had pushed so many buttons while it was off that my car sounded like it was having a panic attack! Music up high, windshield wipers on, air full blast, etc. But this small venture to the car was different. 

I walked to the car to find him crying and pushing on the door over and over. He had shut the door and couldn't get it open again. He had pulled the handle but the car door was still attached. I quickly opened the door and held him close. He was so relieved that I came to find him. I kept saying over and over, "I will always come find you. I promise." As he cried, buried is head in my shoulder and as I held him close, I kept repeating, "It's ok. I will ALWAYS come to find you. I promise." He said through his tearful exhausted voice, "I was in there all day! I was so scared!" 

I am thankful for the Holy Ghost in my life and direction he sends me. He helps me and protects me daily.

We have all been trapped in a situation where we feel there is no escape. Literally or spiritually. When we feel like all hope is lost there is someone who will ALWAYS come find us. Jesus Christ, our Savior and Shepard. He is there when no one else is. When we are trapped and the door we frantically try to open won't budge, He will always find us and rescue us.

I am sorry this happened to our little boy, but yet thankful for the guidance of spiritual promptings. I am also thankful to reflect on this occasion and liken it to our Savior. I know he is real and he will ALWAYS come to our rescue. 

I can see Him hold us and say, 

"I will always come find you, I promise."

The Mountain of the Lord

Today in Sunday School some wonderful comments were said that I just had to share. 

2 Nephi 12:3 

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

I love that the temple is called the "Mountain of the Lord." 

The temple is where we receive instruction and He teaches us His ways and shows us how to walk in His paths.

The mountains are an amazing place. You literally feel closer to the Lord, amongst pure nature - the way He created it. All through the Bible and Book of Mormon prophets went to the mountains to gain knowledge and to converse with the Lord. Moses, the Brother of Jared, Nephi and many more. It's amazing that true prophets of the Lord went to the mountains to gain truth and be personally instructed by the Lord. It was the closest thing they had to a temple.

Mountains are a holy place. If you think of a mountain and a temple you can see and analyze many similarities between these two majestic places.

Peace - Serene - Pure

Tall and strong

The rivers and blessings flow down and out from it.

You can't look at a temple without looking up, just like a mountain - you always look UP.

A beacon to the world

Mountains and temples point to heaven

Places of learning

Beautiful

Etc.

I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to dwell and ponder on this verse of scripture today. To look at how the prophets of old spoke of a temple, and to compare it to a mountain. The similarities are amazing. The scriptures are wonderful and give me added insight into what I need personally. I love sharing small bits of what I learn in life and in church. It strengthens my testimony and builds me up! 

(A few of the Mountains of the Lord we have visited)

(Logan Utah Temple Summer 2015)

(Salt Lake Temple - 2008)

(Payson Utah Temple Open house - 2015)

(Jordan River Temple - 2008)

(Provo Utah Temple - 2016)

Eating life one bite at a time

This afternoon I was making about 100 small cookies for a big youth activity my husband was involved with. I decided to make the cookies during nap time. 

June loves to help me and just watch in the kitchen. It's always fun to have a little friend to cook with. 

When the cookies were done and nap time was over, I called both kids up to the kitchen to have their cookies. Connor immediately took his cookie and ate it whole. In one bite it was gone. I don't think he even tasted it. Then June took the cookie, ate a small bite and asked if she could save the rest for later.

I was shocked for a second at her request but then I said, yes. 

She later came up and ate the rest of her cookie and spoke of how good it was. Connor was mad at himself and asked for another cookie. The cookies were gone to the activity by then and a few tears were shed because he hadn't taken the time to "portion out" his cookie.

I found this little scenario interesting and likened it to life in general. 

Sometimes we want to take a million projects on all at once, and don't realize our growth in the process.

Life can be overwhelming in itself, but taken step by step can be beautiful and in this case, delicious.

I feel as a mother, I have to do a million things at once, groceries, laundry, preschool, church, cooking, dishes, playing with kids and more. It's a lot to swallow. 

I love the phrase, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

(My dad once told me that when he caught me in one of my long tangents of lists of 'to-do's')

Yes, there are day's where we will eat the whole cookie and just swallow without tasting it. But if we work on taking one bite at a time and portioning out our life, we will be able to taste the flavor and relish the sweet taste of the little things in life. 

Preschool day's and childhood in general are passing faster than I ever imagined. I know all too soon they will be gone forever. If I could portion out my chores and spend more time with what is REALLY important I will taste the sweetness and recognize the growth of body and spirit. 

Eating life one bite at a time. 

___________________________________________

This can also be likened to scripture study.

When we read 10 chapters of the scriptures all in one day, did we really taste them? Did we feel our spirits change? When we read the words of God, we need to study them, liken them to ourselves. Ponder and make a change in our lives to be better today than we were yesterday. 

Portioning out the scriptures and taking them one bite at a time, helps us grow and develop into the person our Father in Heaven wants us to be.

I love to read the scriptures and find a verse or two that really strike me. I write them down or type them up and keep them in a place I can see often. I re read them and try to apply them to myself. 

I'm thankful for the scriptures in my life and how they help me grow. They are truly delicious!

_________________________________

Motherhood Memory #3

(My baby girl smiling at my smile)

You're Cinderella!

It was a busy morning of chores and errands.

I asked my daughter June (5) to take a towel and a toy downstairs. 

She said, "Mom, why do I have to put these away?!" (With a big sigh...)

I calmly (said with a sigh of my own), "June, who makes the food, cleans up the kitchen, cleans the house and does the laundry?"

June pointed to me- then I said, "So, can't I ask for help sometimes?"

She paused for a moment and said,

"You're Cinderella!" (Haha)

_________________________________

All mothers are Cinderella's! All women are Princesses, even if most days we don't feel like one. We are daughters of a King. Our Father in Heaven who is above all gives us our royal and divine heritage. 

Sometimes we forget that even princesses like Cinderella, do the laundry, wash the windows, cook, clean, sew, and much more. Just because most days we feel like a scullery maid doesn't mean we are one. We need to remember that we are all princesses, true daughters of a king. 

We are Cinderella!

Our Heavenly King is always watching us as we progress through "princess training." We have to prove that we are worthy of such a title. To prove ourselves I believe we have to earn it. Hard work, dedication, and an optimistic attitude of life will witness of our royal endeavor. I LOVE the new Cinderella movie that has the theme of "Have Courage and Be Kind." It truly echoes what a princess is, and what we should always strive to be. Having courage through life will help us have faith instead of fear. Remember, fear is the opposite of faith. When we are kind to those around us, they will enjoy our company and want to be with us more. Kindness turns simple traits into amazing characteristics. Helping others along our way blesses us more than those we aid. 

As princesses of the Most High we are expected to act as such. As princesses we need to have the best manners and etiquette around. Would princesses start rumors? Would princesses make rude comments, or make others feel bad about themselves? 

-No-

Princesses would go out of their way to help others. Show kindness and love to those who they associate with. And they would NEVER make anyone feel bad about themselves.

Be a true Cinderella. We all have to clean, cook, wash, mend, and scrub, but we can do it with a happy heart and a sweet tune to hum. Those around us will find our attitude of life contagious and we will bless those whom we associate with.

"This home is filled with endless love and laundry!" 

Play with me so I can fly!

Whenever I hear "Mom, play with me!" I am overwhelmed. There's so much to do around the house and seems like so little time. AND... It always seems like they ask for me to play with them in the middle of making dinner, or when I'm up to my knees in paint, or folding a mountain of laundry. Kids have bad timing. I am no where near the perfect mom, I don't think anyone can be given that title, but as long as you try, you're doing great. 

  I read a quote the other day that that gave me a little relief. "The very fact that you worry about being a good mom, means that you already are one."

I pray everyday to be a good mom. To be a little more patient and to be a good teacher. I look back at all the practical traits I use everyday that I was taught by my mother. She taught be how to cook, sew, paint, clean, she helped with reading, good manners, and so much more. Teaching your children as they grow is vital to their success in life. It's very intimidating, but not impossible. 

I went to a women's day off conference a couple years ago and one class was SOO full of knowledge it helped me so much! I go back to my notes I took often to remember the information she gave. The class gave me confidence that I can be a good mom.

One thing the teacher said was, "Parent's try to throw their kids a toy and expect them to play with it. The kids have never seen the toy and don't know how to play with it. When a parent is always on their phone or tablet, the child sees that, and wants to do the same. But when a parent takes the time to SHOW the child HOW to play with a toy, you open the unlimited possibilities of imagination and true 'play time'." I love that by taking time to play with your kids you show them how to play. It's obvious that you can't just dump blocks in front of a baby and expect them to build a castle. It's US, the parents who have to SHOW them the possibilities. 

I have learned that my kids love to spend time with mom. It's very flattering that every time I go to the restroom I will have an audience when I open the door. Or when I try to cook a meal, I have two harsh critics as my side telling me what to do, or even more often, "JUST LET ME DO IT!" I have many opportunities a day to either turn my kids away, or to teach them. When folding laundry, I can tell them to go play or I can ask for their help with the small hand towels. When cooking, I can tell them to go watch a movie, or I can explain what I'm doing and have them help stir. 

I feel better when I choose to have their help. I am NOT saying that is what I do every single time, but I try more and more to include my children in my every day tasks to help them learn. 

No one will ever master parenthood, but I do believe that if you are always trying to be a better parent today than yesterday, you have already succeeded. 

Motherhood Moment #2

(Play with Me so I can fly)

Playing airplane with my kids is one of our favorites, and it gives me a great leg and core workout! Win Win!

Reading

On of my most favorite things to do with my kids is to read to them. WE LOVE STORY TIME! There's really no time like story time. Sometimes we read in mom and dad's bed right when they wake up. Other times we read right before bed, and most times we read in the afternoon when there's nothing else to do. We love to giggle at the pictures and mom loves to make funny voices. 

I enjoy watching their imaginations spark and their curious minds work. I love teaching my kids simple manners and lessons like; Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. "Do we just walk into people's houses? No......" "Do we eat other people's food without asking? No....." "Do we break other people's things and not fix them? No....." Etc. 

Cuddling up with my children and cute books is one of my most favorite 'mommy and me' times.

We have too many favorites to count, I know they will change, but here's a list of our most read, "mom memorized" books.

The Rain Came Down

Harry and the Terrible Whatzit

The Popcorn Shop

The Little Mailman

Going on a Bear Hunt

Mother Goose Tales

How Do Dinosaurs say I Love You

A Bad case of Stripes

If you Give a Mouse a Cookie

The Day the Crayon's Quit

Green Eggs and Ham

You are My I Love You

Time for Bed

Click, Clack, Moo

If you Give a Moose a Muffin

(And 20 more I can't think of right now.)

I've started a continuous project. I realize that my kids are growing up too fast and I can't stop it. So I've decided to take pictures of my favorite "motherhood moments" I have with my kids. Yes they are staged, but a picture is worth a thousand words and a million memories. I want to remember our favorite things at all stages of their lives. I wish I would have started earlier, but better late than never. 

Motherhood Moment #1

"Story Time"

Following a prompting

I've been asked a few times for various reasons such as talks or lessons on the Holy Ghost; "When have you felt and heeded a prompting of the Holy Ghost?"

I have to be honest, I feel the spirit and follow His guidance daily. Most people chalk it up to, "just a thought" or "I had an idea," but I know that the Holy Ghost is the one who is directing my path. It's my choice to choose whether I follow His guidance and change my actions or choose a different route for my day. A couple occasions come to mind to describe my simple promptings that seem small at the moment but can EASILY turn into something big. One happened about 5 years ago and one happened today.

----------------------------------------

We were living on an Air Force Base and the winters were long and hard. Our daughter was about 1 month old, and I felt like I had a handle on schedules with feeding and naps. (When you're a new mom it takes a while to get it figured out) I was getting cabin fever BAD.  I thought, "Just an outing to the grocery store would get me out of the small confines of base housing and do me some good." I bundled up June, prepared any extras I might need in my diaper bag and we hopped in the car for a small excursion. It had snowed all night but had stopped that morning. The roads seemed plowed and fine, but the air was BITTER cold and seemed frozen in place. As we drove 100 yards away from our home, I got the distinct impression to turn around. I had "thoughts" enter my head like, "the roads look slick up ahead, you don't NEED to go to the store, you can go another time." "Is your cabin fever really as bad as risking a car wreck with your new child?"

This was my moment.

I had always wanted DISTINCT spiritual experiences that I had chosen to follow the promptings of the spirit, but I felt like they never came. Most stories I had ever heard ended badly and the person relating the story WISHED they had listened to the spirit. Was I about to have a BAD spiritual prompting story if I didn't turn around? 

I didn't want to take that risk. I took this as a DIRECT prompting of the Holy Ghost and turned around. I unloaded my priceless precious cargo - our beautiful daughter, and held her tight in the safety of our home. I felt good about my decision. I didn't know what could have happened if I had stayed on the road 20 more feet or 2 more miles, but I was confident that I had felt the spirit and heeded the prompting to stay safe and not risk anything that could turn nothing into something.

----------------------------------------

Today our daughter is 5 and our son in 3. My June and I like to make crafts while Connor takes his afternoon nap. I was cutting paper on my mom's large paper cutter. (The one that looks like a block with an attached knife on the side- you've seen the industrial type) I explained to June that this was VERY SHARP and to never touch it. It can cut off your finger and hurt you VERY BADLY. She is VERY good about taking directions and following them. 

Connor however was asleep while I gave this instruction. He's a little more curious, and presses buttons because they blink (Power buttons on computers while you're in the middle of typing an important document), and touches things because they are red (microwave buttons, phones and more).

The large paper cutter has been out, perfectly untouched by my sweet children, and of course perfectly at their level of use if wanted.  It has been out for 1 day and hasn't been touched. I had almost forgotten it was there. I had just put the kids to bed and started to tidy up their play room. (Note to self: I've gotta get better at making THEM pick up THEIR mess before bed)

As I finished tidying up their toys I glanced over and saw the large paper cutter untouched since the day before. A moment of thankfulness came to me because I remembered I hadn't told my curious 3 year old about the danger of the blade. I thought, "He didn't touch it, so I can just leave it there instead of walking all the way down the hallway and put it back in the storage room where it first resided." I had another thought.... "Don't test your luck, he might try it out tomorrow." 

This was my moment.

It may seem silly to most, comparing the Holy Ghost to such a simple thing as putting away a paper cutter, but to me, "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 37:6)

ANYTHING small can become big with no time to react. Something small like a "thought" to move the paper cutter away from small hands reach can keep my child's fingers attached to his hand. Small movement to keep from a big consequence.

A small 'thought' or a small prompting, can bring you great gratitude for your Father in Heaven.

Realizing that you have a greater being in by your side makes your decisions in life much more meaningful.

I'm thankful for the Holy Ghost in my life. I've learned to give Him the credit instead of leaning unto my own knowledge and understanding. He knows the outcome of any situation and he knows how to help me prevent disasters great or small and keep me and my family safe.

To learn more about the Holy Ghost and more testimonies about having spiritual direction in your life click the link below.

https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng

I love taking pictures. I took these on a frozen morning on the base we were stationed at. I LOVE frosted trees like this! It does't happen often, but when it does, it takes my breath away. Oh how beautiful the world that our Father in Heaven has made.