Time Out for Women

March 19, 2012

Dear Love,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching the children this weekend so that I could go to Time Out for Women.  It was grand.  It was my birthday present from my dad and Barb and what a good gift it was.

Raise your hand if you think Kaitlin and I look like twins.  We've been asked if we are on more than one occasion.  Next time I'm just going to smile and say, "Yep".

I really liked what Leslie Christensen had to say.  The message of her talk: 

Approach your life as if God has already fulfilled his promises.  What are you praying for?  Is that what you're waiting for to be happy?  Live your life as if He already answered your prayer.  How would you live differently?  Be bold and do everything with a cheerful attitude.

Approach God boldly with your prayer, don't be afraid to ask for the crazy desires of your heart.

  Hebrew 4:16 says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we my obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Your motives must be righteous and then go forward with a cheerful and unstoppable attitude.

Colossians 3:12 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.

Enos 1:15 Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.

She shared this inspiring quote from Elder Scott:

We become what we want to be, by consistently being what we want to become.

I liked Hilary Weeks a lot too and she shared a personal story about how she did an experiment to see how many negative thoughts she had during a week.  She began recording them and noticed there was a lot and that at the end of the week she was really depressed.  Nothing in her situation had changed, but by focusing on her negative thoughts it had made her depressed.  She then decided to see how many positive thoughts she had and she made a conscience effort to think more positve.  The results?  You guessed it... she was happier, more motivated, and she had a greater desire to be better.  It was a good reminder for me, the president of the Debbie Downer Club.

I can't remember who shared these scriptures, but I absolutely love them:

Hebrews 12 :1-2 Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

Doctrine and Covenants 111: 11 Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them.

You had quite the weekend with three sick kids, soccer games, and your mom was even out of town so she wasn't there to help you.  Thankfully my mom stepped up to help.  Thanks for being so willing to let me run away and recharge.  I feel uplifted and inspired.  You just wait and see, I'm going to rock your world.

Love, Me

Boys will be boys

Jaunuary 16, 2012

Dear Jonas,
     Sometimes I'm amazed at your depth, knowledge, and your kind, sensitive spirit.  Other times I feel very frustrated by your desire to wrestle and rough house, the constant nagging to have good manners, and your need to always be right.  I have to remind myself that you're only 9 and besdies that, boys will be boys.

I also remind myself of all the crazy boy stories of Papa's and your uncles and I tell myself this is all mild right now.  I should be bracing myself for what's to come.  I remember a time when your Papa blew up a couch with his friends in High School.   It wasn't his couch.  It wasn't even his friend's couch.  It was Travis' mom's couch and they were borrowing it while they lived in the Frat house.  One day Travis' mom called Grandma Cindy to see if she could get the couch back.  "Um, well... Judy, the boy's blew up your couch," Grandma Cindy admitted to her.   Instead of getting angry (maybe she did when her son got home?) Judy just laughed and said in her sweet little voice, "Oh, those boys".

Ah yes, boys. You were drawing in your church notebook a few Sunday's ago and I stole a peek to see what you were up to.  You know the notebook I'm talking about, right?  The one that says, "Private.  Keep Out!  Clara, this means you.  I know you're looking"  on the cover.  You had drawn a picture of a snowman and underneath the snowman were what looked like snowballs.  The caption at the top of the page however, said, "snowball poop."  You and papa chuckled and I gave you the evil eye.

The next Sunday I saw you drawing a house and the top was labeled, " My Dream House".   Throughout church I would glimpse over and see what you were doing next and there was page after page of hopes and dreams... My Dream Car... My Dream Backyard... My Dream Job... My Dream Money ($1,100,104,200.00)...

The speaker was concluding their talk and as he did he bore his testimony.  You casually glanced up for a moment and then quickly went back to drawing.  When the speaker was done you nudged me and held out your notebook for me to see.  As I looked at it I got a little teary eyed.  The top of the page said, "But over all of these I would rather live with my Heavenly Father."  Underneath you drew a picture of two people floating on clouds.  Thank you, my son, for giving me a glimpse of your soul.

Love, Mama

Scouty Mcbutterpants

November 16, 2011

Dear Jonas,
Good job on getting your Bobcat and Wolf badges for Scouts!

When you first started Scouts you had a leader who didn't seem to really care what was going on and then you got one who didn't seem to have any idea what was going on.  You weren't able to attend Scout camp because of our forced move.  Papa was so busy with school and work that he didn't know what was going on with Scouts and I was busy being a single mom to four kids so I didn't know what was going on either.

Well, because of all this when we moved to Farmington your new Scout leader told you there was no way you were going to be able to earn your Wolf before you turned 9.  You came home devastated and crying.  I told you to dry your tears and prove her wrong.  Don't ever let someone tell you you can't accomplish something.  If you want it bad enough then DO IT.  We worked on Scouts everyday until your Birthday and you succeeded in getting your award.

We're proud of you.
Love, Mama

Grateful I am

Wednesday, July 27 11:07pm

Dear Family,
     There seem to be a lot of things happening in our lives right now that have made me reflect.

I've been thinking about the kind of person I am, the kind of person I want to be, and the kind of person I will become.  

I've been thinking about the choices that have led me to where I am today.  It's a place that's so foreign and yet feels very familiar and right.  

I've been thinking about the major decisions we will soon face and how they can lead us down many different roads.

You know what the common thread to all my thinking has been?  

I'm not in charge.  I'm not the one driving.  Heavenly Father knows the way even when I don't. 

 Just the other day I was a mess, crying over things in which I have no control.  

Today everything is right in the world.

Three things changed.  My heart, my faith and my mind.  The situations are the same; worse even.  And yet I feel peace that it's okay.  

I still worry.  I still stress.  I still have knots in my stomache followed my bouts of butterflies. 

 It's such a comfort knowing that everything will work out though.

I feel so strongly that God is leading the way and we just need to pay attention and follow.  

This quote by Elder Richard G. Scott always helps to ease my burdens:

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion, which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.

Really though, all that's important is family.  I'm blessed.  

I am so grateful for my little family and the chance to grow with you.  xoxo, Me

Girls Camp 2011 in which I toot my own horn.

Dear Love,
     What a week!  Now I know it's not for everyone, but when the following combination occurred, I was completely in my element:

18 teenage girls + 8 leaders + the mountains + Beaver High Adventure Boy Scout Camp= A killer time.

Maybe it was killer because I boozed it up the whole time.

Okay, not really... it's Root Beer.  

The girls were so fun to hang out with and there was surprisingly very little drama.

"High Adventure" they say, and they meant it.  

Shooting wasn't on our list of things to do, but when I saw the shooting range I challenged Sister Nielsen to a shoot-out.  

Once the girls found out about our shooting contest they all wanted to join in so we ended up shooting every night for an hour or so.  Don't judge my form in the next photo.  I know I should have brought my right arm back and up to bring the gun closer to my face.  My bad.

I barely won, but when Brother Fowkes saw I liked to shoot he asked me if I wanted to try out his pistol he had brought from home.  That baby had a kick, but I got a bulls eye dead center!!  You would have been so proud, I totally represented the Foutz clan!

The C.O.P.E (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) course was an all day activity that involved zip lining, the Flying Squirrel, team building, and the towers.

Zip lining:

The Flying Squirrel:

I took off running in one direction and then a group of (very large) boy scouts went running in the opposite direction and the result was me flying into the air about 30 feet.  It was sooooo fun.

Another part of the course was the team building exercises.  We had to do overcome all kinds of crazy obstacles and the entire time the girls said, "I can't, it's too hard, I don't want to... wah, wah, wah".  Guess what?  They realized they can do hard things and I realized I can too!

I absolutely hated this activity.  Some of the girls refused to go and so I got up there to prove to them that even though I was terrified, I was still doing it.  Here I am making sure they weren't going to drop me.  I was literally shaking.

When it was done I may or may not have shed a few tears.  All the girls eventually did it and I was so proud of them!!

High C.O.P.E. included three different towers that were about 40 feet tall.  It was completely optional for the girls.  There were three towers to climb and then you had to traverse across something to complete the course.

I was the only one in our group that did all three towers and traverses.  Yes, I just tooted my own horn again.  The last tower (not pictured) was by far the hardest of the three.  It had a knotted rope you had to climb and then traverse a swinging beam.  I'm not gonna lie; the rope was a doozey, but the beam was just as hard.  Ugh!  I almost gave up twice, but kept on trucking up the blasted rope.  When it was time to cross the beam I was sure I was going to fall off because there was nothing to hold onto.  Someone yelled at me to just run across... so I did... and I made it!  

Toot, toot!! 

Another activity we did was white water rafting.  It was a BLAST! 

The reason I look so beastly in the next picture was because, well, I'm a beast.  At one point during river rafting we had to dock and then carry the boat over a bridge and set it in the water on the other side.  Our guide was supposed to jump off the raft, grab the rope, and pull us to shore before we got carried away in the current under the extremely low bridge.  

He jumped, he slipped, and we started getting swept away down the river!  I was at the back of the raft but pushed my way through the girls, grabbed the rope, and jumped to shore.  Woot, woot!  Toot, toot!

This was a random game of rat tail chasing.

Girls Camp wasn't all fun and adventure though.  I was in charge of the spiritual experience 

(i.e. devotionals and testimony meeting) and I must say, I think I did a good job.  I'll be writing more about that later, but to our daughters.

On the last night after Testimony Meeting was over (at midnight), four leaders and four of the girls decided to do the "Cat's Eye Honor Trail".  We had to follow a trail through the dark woods by shining flashlights on reflectors.  The path wasn't marked very well and we nearly gave up 50 or so times.  At one point I was trying to find the way so I was ahead of everyone else and Sister Richie said, "This looks like the start to a really bad horror movie."  

She was absolutely right!  I screamed and high-tailed it back to be with everyone else.  I was determined to make it the end of the trail and I wouldn't let anyone give up until we had done so.  I heard brother Lee telling the others, "Wow, I really admire Sister Foutz' determination to finish." (toot, toot).  We were all so tired and laughing hysterically, but we made it!!  My head hit the pillow around 3am.

Yes, I just tooted my own horn numerous times.  I did it to specifically point out that shooting, trust fall, tower climbing, river rafting, Cat's Eye Trail... I was able to do them all because of things you've taught me.  

You're constantly pushing me to be better, challenge myself, go out of my comfort zone, and do hard things.  I know I whine and complain at times, but I'm ready to say... thanks babe!!  Thanks for making me a better me.

xoxo

On Getting Out of a Slump

Sunday, June 19th, 9:36pm

Dear Daughters,
     I haven't written a letter for more than a week.  There's a reason for it.  A long, drawn out, boring reason;  but I'd like to tell you anyway.

About a month ago I was at a doctor's apointment and I mentioned a concern I had.  My doctor wanted me to do some blood work to make sure I didn't have a Pituitary Tumor.  After the blood work was done I had to wait for the results and then make another appointment to see my doctor so she could go over them in person.

The results were... okay.  At least they ruled out the initial thought of me having a tumor, but she thought I should then have an Ultrasound because my blood test was slightly abnormal.  An appointment was made and a few days later I was getting an Ultrasound.  At this point they were trying to rule out Breast Cancer.

While getting my Ultrasound it was suggested I stay and get a Mammogram as well since things still weren't quite right.  I waited for the results of both of these tests and then made another apointment to see my doctor to go over the results in person.  When she got the results everything was still just okay so she sent a referral for me to go to a different clinic and get a Ductogram.

I was now freaking out, but trying to play it cool.  I was certain I was dying and told Danika so.  She let me cry to her for about an hour and it felt good.  Trey kept assuring me I was going to be okay and that they were just taking precautions to get to the bottom of everything.

The end results were that I wasn't dying.  I didn't have a Pituitary Tumor.  I didn't have Breast Cancer.  Nope, it turns out I have hormones that are all out of whack.  Oh my goodness, as if I didn't already know that!!  I know I'm a mess, but at least I have a reason now.  Right?  Am I right?  Hello?

Over the course of the next few weeks I was in contact with a few friends who were; in some way or another, deeling with depression or out of control hormones.  We chatted about how to overcome them; should we take medication, or was it just a matter of being more faithful and trying harder?  I still don't know the answer.

My hormones don't always get in the way of life, usually just one week out of the month (you know the week).  Is that a reason to not write our life's happenings just because I felt depressed, unmotivated, mopey, tired, fed up and stressed?  I wasn't being the nicest person in the world and I'm sorry.  Oh me, oh my.  Life had me down!  Satan was winning!

Something happened to pull me out of my slump, something always does.   I was re-reading the book, "A Heart Like His" by Virginia H. Pearce and it was exactly what I needed to pull myself up, dust myself off, and start over fresh.

I was reading the book out of duty because "A Heart Like His" is our theme for girls camp so I was using it to help plan devotionals.  As I was reading though I realized how closed my heart was and that if I wanted things to change I needed to not only pray for them to change, but I needed to make a change.

The author quotes Elder John H. Groberg,
When filled with God's love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand.  Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways suprising even to us.

I wasn't feeling His love, but that was my own fault and I decided to do something about it.

1.  Wake up earlier so I have time to shower, get ready for the day, and read my scriptures before the kids wake up.  In order to do this I have to wake up at 5:30am.  NOT something I enjoy, but something that DOES help.

2.  Make sure all the blinds are opened for the day.  It may seem like a little thing, but sunlight = happiness.  Attempting to be outside in the fresh air and sunlight everyday will do wonders too.

3.  Make sure I'm eating healthy, getting enough sleep and excercising.  By excercising I don't mean going to the gym for an hour.  I'm talking about crazy busy mom excercises (I'll talk about those later).

4.  Try and get organized the day before so that things run more smoothly.  A disorganized mom = stress, chaos and blah!

As I was going about my new regiment of early morning reading I came across an article in the Ensign that quoted heavily from a talk by Elder Richard G. Sott titled, "Trust in the Lord".  He said, 

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously.  When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience , they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more.  He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion, which polish you for your everlasting benefit.  To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain. 

The scripture D&C 84:88 was also quoted,  
I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.  

For about a week now I've had a completely different attitude and it's amazing the difference it makes.  I share this extremely boring story with you to let you know you're not alone when you feel down and you're not crazy either. :)  I'm hoping that by reading about my trials they'll help you to better overcome your own.

I love you and wish you the best.  I'm always here for you.
Mom

P.S.  As always, these are my opinions and I don't expect anyone to adopt them as their own.  I'm just sharing lessons I've learned along the way of life.

Singing loud for all to hear

June 5, 2011

Dear Jonas,

For Young Womens tonight the leaders and I took all the girls to the hospital to sing and hand out balloons.  I asked my kiddos if any of them wanted to come spread some cheer and you were the only taker.  Yes, you enjoy singing that much.

At first you were hesitant being with all those teenage girls, but you warmed up real fast.  You seemed to be a-okay with the female ooglings.

I hope you always keep your love of singing (but don't get too comfortable with the female variety).

Love, Mama

Beautiful

May 4, 2011 

Dear Daughters,

Days will come when you don't have the strength

And all you hear is you're not worth anything

Wondering if you ever could be loved

And if they truly saw your heart

They'd see too much

Before you ever took a breath

Long before the world began

Of all the wonders He possessed

There was one more precious

Of all the earth and skies above

You're the one He madly loves

Enough to die

You're beautiful!

You are made for so much more than all of this

You're beautiful!

You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His

You're beautiful!

You are made for so much more than all of this

You're beautiful!

You are treasured

You are sacred

You are His.   

 - by Mercy Me

Please don't forget.  You. are. beautiful.

Love, Mama

Road Trip

April 23, 2011 11:04 pm

Dear Children,
     This weekend we went here:

Salt Lake City, UT.

We went for a few reasons and one of them was to attend the marriage of Papa's cousin, Shea.  At the last minute Papa decided he shouldn't go to the wedding because he had too much studying to do so we went ahead without him.  It hurt my heart.  The temple sealing was in both Spanish and English since Shea was marrying a girl from Guatemala.  It was very good and something the sealer said really stuck with me.  He said that you're going to undoubtedly have arguments in your marriage and the only thing to do is just get over it because marriage is eternal and if you break your marital vows there will be eternal consequences.  So just get over it, okay?

Another reason we went to UT was to see Clara's artwork in a Museum.  That's right, I said a Museum baby.  The Friend Magazine held an art contest with the theme, "How the Gospel Blesses My Family" and children from around the world were encouraged to enter.  Clara's painting was chosen to be featured in the LDS Church History Museum so we stopped by to see it.

It took her about a month to complete because she was very particular.  She would paint something and not like it so then she would paint over it and start again.  I think it turned out really good!  She was just beaming when she saw it on the wall.  

Of course she was loving all the attention.

Something cool we noticed was that Clara's artwork was the background for the "Missionary Work" theme.  The two sister missionaries are Clara on the left and her friend, Lexin on the right.

There were hundreds of entries and only some were chosen to be featured in the Museum.

We hung out at the Museum for awhile and then we headed to the luncheon.

Mmm, delicioso!  You were all very well behaved and it was fun to see so many of the Ulibarri clan.

We were able to stay at Mimi's house and she helped you guys dye Easter eggs.  She also had pillow pets for everyone and animal banks to paint.  What a fun grandma!

Although it's been a good trip I'm ready to go home to my other half.

Besos, Mama

Well I'll Be Darned!

February 9, 2011

Dear Jonas,
     Remember when you got baptized on Christmas Day and how great it was?  Remember that you had a goal to read the Book of Mormon by yourself before you got baptized and when you did we were all so proud?  Remember I was a slacker and you totally showed me up?
    
Remember one of your New Year Resolutions for 2011 is to read the Pearl of Great Price?  Remember your other goal is to have better manners?  Oh, you don't want to talk about that one?  Oops, okay.  Moving on...


Well, I just want you to know how proud I am to be your mom.  I came into your room last night and this is what I found:

You started reading all on your own.  I sure am one lucky mama.

Love you bunches.

Conference Celebration

October 2, 2010

Dear children,

When I was growing up General Conference wasn’t that big of a deal at my house.  I’m embarrassed to admit, but I didn’t even know there was a Saturday session until I went to college.  We were told we had to watch one session on Sunday and that was all.  Just two hours.  I totally could have handled more.  My brothers?  I’m not so sure.

When I was in college I remember being invited to a young couples house in Silver City, NM to watch the Saturday and Sunday session.  They must have thought I was so weird when I said, “What?!  There’s a Saturday session?  Ooh, I’m so excited!  What time does it start?”  I went to their house for the weekend and in between sessions the wife made delicious food and we played games.  I LOVED it!  I couldn’t believe what I had been missing out on my whole life!

Fast-forward through ten years of marriage and four kids later and I still love it.  Although I must admit, I haven’t made it as special as I would like.  I fluctuate between watching whole-hearted and just trying to hear one talk with four young ones around.  This year though, this year was different.

The week prior to Conference I made the three oldest Conference booklets that I found from varying sources on the Internet.  They were detailed and my hope was that they would entertain you long enough that I would be able to get something out of conference.  They were also geared toward trying to get you kids to listen to conference and learn something as well.  We had a talk on Friday night about the importance of conference and I presented you with your Conference books and a new pack of Conference crayons.  You guys were pumped!  We watched the Saturday morning session and it was absolutely wonderful to see you all fully engaged with your books and trying hard to stay reverent.

On Sunday morning we had Conference Casserole and chocolate milk for breakfast.  During Conference we pitched a tent with the door to the prophet, but it didn’t last very long because it was decreasing from the reverent atmosphere of yesterday.  You snacked on cookies and Cuties (tangerines) while you watched and worked on your books.

            One of the talks was about addiction and when Clara asked what it meant Jonas told her, “When you can’t get enough of something and you just want more and more so it drives you crazy.”  I thought that was a pretty apt description.

            When conference was over Jonas asked Clara if she wanted to play with him and she responded, “Well, I do want to play with you but I don’t think I should because then I might become addicted to it.”  

For dinner we had Chicken Enchiladas with corn and then cake for dessert.

I really tried to make Conference a time that you look forward to.  Did you notice all the “C” foods we ate for “C”onference?!  Oh yeah, Crazy and Cool.

Love, Mama

Diamond Valley

March 31, 2010

Dearest Children,

A few days ago we met up with our dear friends, the Gunns (Danika, Abe, Lia, Hazel & Olive) in Diamond Valley, UT.  We spent our time hiking, picnicking, watching movies, reading books, jumping on the trampoline, trying to catch fish in the pond, and relaxing. I think I may have found my dream home. 

Too bad Danika’s sister already owns it.  Perfect size (5 bed 3 1/2 bath), perfect location (nestled up to BLM land), perfect backyard (large garden, small orchard, grass area, small pond, fire pit, sunken trampoline), perfect neighbors (a falconer, horse owners, four wheeler-ers, master gardeners, goat raising-chess playing kids), perfect lay out (a mud room, large kitchen, an office, a library, and a large upstairs bonus room) perfect, perfect, perfect.  Oh sorry, where was I? Ah, yes, the letter…

Jonas, you managed to fall into the pond within hours of our arrival (way to make a first impression) and Lia fell in just minutes before we were leaving out the door (way to go out with a splash).  Ha, ha I crack myself up.  All of the kids enjoyed the hike to the white sand dunes the most.  You spent hours climbing up the steep dunes and then running, sliding and often times, tumbling down.  The girls loved pretending the fine white sand was pixie dust, while the rambunctious boys held races to see who could make it down the fastest.  The diversity in the scenery was absolutely amazing.  We began our hike along a trail littered with lava rocks as black as coal.  Soon, the trail stopped and we made our way up the face of a red sandstone mountain.  As we neared the summit of the red sandstone, it suddenly turned white.  There was a small trickling stream that we followed until we came to the white dunes.  It was gorgeous and I loved watching you all play while I basked in the sun and Atticus ate sand.

The purpose of this letter is not to tell you how lovely our trip was, it is to teach a lesson.  Yippee for you!  As we were packing to leave, Danika and I were discussing possibly flying kites or doing one last hike on our way out of town.  After some contemplation, we decided against either one, as it was very windy and overcast outside.  I told her that we would be stopping at the temple on our way out of town and asked if they wanted to join us.  Jonas, my dear, apparently you didn’t like that idea.  You let out a load groan and said, “Ugh, why can’t we do something FUN?  The temple is the most boring place on earth!”  I ignored your comment and we packed the car and said our fond farewells because they declined my invitation.  On our way to the temple I told you how sad I was that you said what you did and the even though the temple may seem boring, it’s one of the most special places on Earth and we should respect it.  You apologized, but I could tell you would still much rather go somewhere to play than be reverent and walk around the temple.  Completely understandable because, after all, you’re only seven.

As soon as we drove up to the temple my heart did a little flutter.  I love the way the St. George temple shimmers in the sun and it always amazes me how they keep it so white.  It’s truly stunning.  We began to walk the temple grounds and you all trekked to the top of the steps that are in front of the temple and I took your picture.  We descended the steps and walked along the path circling the temple, admiring the spring flowers blooming with their luscious scents and colors. 

As we rounded a corner of the temple a large, gnarly tree caught my eye.  At the tip of every knotty branch was a bright bud of green, waiting to burst open.  I stopped and looked at it for a moment and then began a speech that went something along the lines of, “You know, Easter sure is a fun time with Easter eggs, a magic bunny and candy… but that’s not what Easter is really about.  Easter is a celebration of when Jesus was resurrected.  All the new growth in the Springtime reminds us that Jesus conquered death and is alive again.  When you see things blooming like this tree you can think of the real reason for Easter.” 

When I stopped talking Clara looked at me and put her little hand in mine.  “I just heard the Holy Ghost whispering to me”, she said. 

Smiling, I asked, “Oh really, what did he say to you?”  

“Well, when you were talking I just kept hearing, “YES. YES. YES, Clara!” then I knew what you were telling me was true.” 

How sweet is that?!  When we were done walking the temple grounds we walked to the visitors center and quietly sat and looked at the Christus Statue for as long as Atticus would allow.  There was a special exhibit of Greg Olsen’s artwork on display for Easter so we walked around, admiring his pieces and talking about the life of Jesus.  When it was time to go Jonas asked me, “Ah mom, do we have to leave already?”  I was immensely pleased, knowing you had felt the spirit and enjoyed being at the temple.  At least I’m hoping that’s why you wanted to stay and not simply because you were dreading the car ride home.  Either way, at least the temple wasn’t the most boring place on Earth after all.

Love, Mama

The sweetest things

March 26, 2010

Dearest Clara,

You always say the most thoughtful and sincere prayers.  These are some of the things you have recently prayed about…

* Please bless Grandpa Steve that his hand will get better and that he wont have to have it hurt anymore.  We’re thankful that Grandpa Steve and Grandma Barb and Preston and Paige could come visit, but please bless Grandpa that his hand will get better so next time they come he can put it in the water when we swim…

* I’m thankful for carrots so we can eat them and our eyes will be able to see better…

* I’m thankful for our warm house we have to sleep in at night so we won’t be cold just having to sleep outside on the ground or somewhere and so bad guys can’t get us…

* I’m thankful for our clothes and our shoes and our toys and our beds and our cars and our food…

* I’m thankful for Papa and please bless him that he’ll pass his test so we can see him and have fun with him… 

* I’m thankful we have names so that people can say our names so they don’t have to say, “hey you, come here!” but they can use our names when they want us…

* Please bless us that we’ll sleep good tonight and that we won’t have bad dreams and that we won’t think about scary things and we won’t be scared even if we think someone is standing in our doorway and please help us to not be scared even when it’s dark, but that we’ll just think about Jesus and Heavenly Father and then we’ll be happy and not scared (that one’s a doozy)…

* I’m thankful that we have cars so we don’t have to walk everywhere we go…

* I’m thankful that God and Jesus gave us our bodies so we can try and be healthy…

…and on and on you go. 

You are so tender and sweet.  Thank you for reminding me to be thankful for the things I often take for granted (like carrots and our names)!

With love, M.  

Something to think about...

March 20, 2010

Dearest Clara and Sonora,

There I was, frantically trying to iron your dresses thirty minutes before church was to start and you were both watching me, patiently waiting.  I had procrastinated, once again, and now here we were scrambling to make it out the door to church on time.  As I was ironing Clara asked me, “If a human ironed their skin would it turn flat like our clothes? "  

I smiled and responded, “No, an iron would burn their skin.” 

Her curiosity peaked, she then said, “Oh.  Ouch.  What would it look like?” 

I let out a little sigh because I was gearing up for a chat that I didn’t have the time or attention for.  Knowing Clara wanted an answer and trying to think of the easiest explanation that would satisfy her curiosity and get her out of my hair I said, “Well, it would take their skin off and there would be blood and tissue underneath.”  I now held my breath, hoping the conversation was over so I could concentrate on the task at hand.

She cocked her head to the side in trademark Clara style,  “As much blood as when Jesus suffered for our sins?”

Ashamed I was trying to rush through this conversation to have it over with, I slowly set down the iron. “No sweetie, not that much blood.  No one will ever bleed as much as Jesus did when He suffered for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane.”

This whole time Nora had been standing to the side, watching me iron and listening to our conversation.  She then chimed in with her three year old innocence, “What happened to Jesus in the Garden?  Did someone iron him?” 

As I was later relaying this story to my mom she said to me, “Yes, someone did iron his skin.  We all did.  Every time we do something wrong we are hurting him.” Hmm, something to think about.

With love, mama