Thursday, June 15, 2017
Ugg, it's been so long... picture overload.
What have we been up to? Here's some highlights and a whole bunch of pictures...
Jon Mark: Jon Mark is rocking it in the dad and husband department. He's a perfect match for me and such a great father and provider. He compliments me often and I never have to wonder how much he loves me. He's patient with the children and often spends many evenings playing with them outside after work. We love playing soccer as a family and recently took up a fondness for capture the flag. He leads our family in activities both physical and spiritual. He's the head of our home and does his duties with love and tenderness. He's supportive of me and my running, he works out alongside of me. He shows me respect and demands that the kids do the same. I love him so much.
Ralae: I've been running a lot and I've completed three runs this year. I injured my ankle two days before the Ragnar, Jon Mark gave me a blessing and blessed me that I'd be able to participate in it anyway. The day of the race came, and my ankle allowed me to run two of the three legs. Jon Mark said that when he said those words in the blessing, he was doubtful. It was sprained pretty bad. But, it showed me that the Lord cares about the little things as well as the big things. It was a good experience for my kids to witness. When I sprained it, I was crying pretty hard. Luke and Hannah were crying too. I asked Luke to say a prayer for me. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he said, "Mom, I already did." Then, he made me a card that said, "I love you mom, I will never not love you." I gave my ankle an ice bath and it was so cold. He went and got a towel and started rubbing the outside of the metal bowl and told me he was trying to make it warmer for me. What a sweet boy he is.
Joshua: Joshua is such an easy going child. He always has been. He doesn't rock the boat and is quite pleasant to his brothers and sisters. He doesn't like the summer work I have been giving him, but he's done his best and it shows. His attitude towards it has improved too. He's gotten much better at football. The other day he caught a really long pass! He's worked hard, but I think it surprised him a bit. Recently we went to the McAvoy's house to swim. As we were pulling up, we saw Papa on a bike with another man. Joshua looked at me and said loudly, "Are you even allowed to have friends at that age?!" On the last day of school, I picked the kids up early. Joshua wasn't expecting it and he told me later that it was the best day of his life. The other day, Joshua wrote me a love note and made my bed and put the note on my pillow. He was embarrassed that I found it before he went to bed. It was so sweet. I love notes from my kids.
Mercedes: What a sweet young woman she is turning out to be. She is so gentle and attentive to Cub. I trust her to take care of him when I am doing other chores around the house. She's patient with him, and quite loving in her reprimands. She gets baptised next month and she picked out a dress that to her appears to look the most like a wedding dress. She's beautiful in it. She loves art and roller skating. She went ice skating on a date wit Jon Mark and did very well. She loves her little sister and dresses her every Sunday morning for me. She reads to her at night and sings her songs. She refers to herself as big sister. The other day she exclaimed, "When Jessica takes me to Build-a-bear on my 21st birthday, I will tell everyone there that it is my golden birthday!"
Luke: I wrote quite a bit about Luke at the top. He's a sweet boy. He loves me so much and is so kind to me. He told is teacher that he loves his mom because she's pretty, but she is prettiest when she's at church. He has such faith and prays for help in his daily activities. He is caring to his younger siblings. We went to the Tucson temple open house yesterday and I told him to watch after Hannah. It warmed my heart to see them walking around with his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist. He's a great public speaker and loves to bear his testimony and help with Family Home Evening. He loves the Lord and wants to do what is right. On the day he graduated kindergarten, he kissed the palm of my hand and told me that it was a kiss to last me all day until we were together again.
Hannah: She is growing up before my very eyes. What a cutie she is! She writes her letters sooo well. She is smart and fun. She loves to sing and dance and make treasure maps. She tells me that the treasure is in my room and that it's golden, like money. She colors in the lines, and sings passionately to Moana. She got her blood drawn a few weeks ago and didn't cry at all because she told me ahead of time that she was going to be brave like Moana is brave. She even laughed and said that her blood looked like juice. She is helpful and sweet with a huge heart and sensitive feelings. She makes me pages full of letters, usually XHA and tells me it's a shopping list so that I don't need to make one. She tells me to fix her hair like a butterfly and I know that that means pigtails. Today she told me she wanted to look like an elephant, that meant one pigtail.
Cub: Caleb is so cute and quirky. I LOVE his many expressions. His scowl into a smile, his laugh, his sideways glances, his eyes when he spins, his cries when I wake him too early from naptime. I love that boy. He's so funny. When there is an action scene on TV, he acts it out. He falls to the ground like he's been shot and rolls to dodge bullets. e shoots monsters and bad guys. He killed a fly the other day after much trying and stalking. He was so proud of himself. He turned around surprised, hoping someone had seen and then started clapping for himself. He talks a lot! In sentences! He gives kisses and I love his snuggles. He keeps me on my toes. He likes to dump full boxes of cereal and pour cups of juice onto the ground. He's curious and fun. I love him.
Jon Mark: Jon Mark is rocking it in the dad and husband department. He's a perfect match for me and such a great father and provider. He compliments me often and I never have to wonder how much he loves me. He's patient with the children and often spends many evenings playing with them outside after work. We love playing soccer as a family and recently took up a fondness for capture the flag. He leads our family in activities both physical and spiritual. He's the head of our home and does his duties with love and tenderness. He's supportive of me and my running, he works out alongside of me. He shows me respect and demands that the kids do the same. I love him so much.
Ralae: I've been running a lot and I've completed three runs this year. I injured my ankle two days before the Ragnar, Jon Mark gave me a blessing and blessed me that I'd be able to participate in it anyway. The day of the race came, and my ankle allowed me to run two of the three legs. Jon Mark said that when he said those words in the blessing, he was doubtful. It was sprained pretty bad. But, it showed me that the Lord cares about the little things as well as the big things. It was a good experience for my kids to witness. When I sprained it, I was crying pretty hard. Luke and Hannah were crying too. I asked Luke to say a prayer for me. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he said, "Mom, I already did." Then, he made me a card that said, "I love you mom, I will never not love you." I gave my ankle an ice bath and it was so cold. He went and got a towel and started rubbing the outside of the metal bowl and told me he was trying to make it warmer for me. What a sweet boy he is.
Joshua: Joshua is such an easy going child. He always has been. He doesn't rock the boat and is quite pleasant to his brothers and sisters. He doesn't like the summer work I have been giving him, but he's done his best and it shows. His attitude towards it has improved too. He's gotten much better at football. The other day he caught a really long pass! He's worked hard, but I think it surprised him a bit. Recently we went to the McAvoy's house to swim. As we were pulling up, we saw Papa on a bike with another man. Joshua looked at me and said loudly, "Are you even allowed to have friends at that age?!" On the last day of school, I picked the kids up early. Joshua wasn't expecting it and he told me later that it was the best day of his life. The other day, Joshua wrote me a love note and made my bed and put the note on my pillow. He was embarrassed that I found it before he went to bed. It was so sweet. I love notes from my kids.
Mercedes: What a sweet young woman she is turning out to be. She is so gentle and attentive to Cub. I trust her to take care of him when I am doing other chores around the house. She's patient with him, and quite loving in her reprimands. She gets baptised next month and she picked out a dress that to her appears to look the most like a wedding dress. She's beautiful in it. She loves art and roller skating. She went ice skating on a date wit Jon Mark and did very well. She loves her little sister and dresses her every Sunday morning for me. She reads to her at night and sings her songs. She refers to herself as big sister. The other day she exclaimed, "When Jessica takes me to Build-a-bear on my 21st birthday, I will tell everyone there that it is my golden birthday!"
Luke: I wrote quite a bit about Luke at the top. He's a sweet boy. He loves me so much and is so kind to me. He told is teacher that he loves his mom because she's pretty, but she is prettiest when she's at church. He has such faith and prays for help in his daily activities. He is caring to his younger siblings. We went to the Tucson temple open house yesterday and I told him to watch after Hannah. It warmed my heart to see them walking around with his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist. He's a great public speaker and loves to bear his testimony and help with Family Home Evening. He loves the Lord and wants to do what is right. On the day he graduated kindergarten, he kissed the palm of my hand and told me that it was a kiss to last me all day until we were together again.
Hannah: She is growing up before my very eyes. What a cutie she is! She writes her letters sooo well. She is smart and fun. She loves to sing and dance and make treasure maps. She tells me that the treasure is in my room and that it's golden, like money. She colors in the lines, and sings passionately to Moana. She got her blood drawn a few weeks ago and didn't cry at all because she told me ahead of time that she was going to be brave like Moana is brave. She even laughed and said that her blood looked like juice. She is helpful and sweet with a huge heart and sensitive feelings. She makes me pages full of letters, usually XHA and tells me it's a shopping list so that I don't need to make one. She tells me to fix her hair like a butterfly and I know that that means pigtails. Today she told me she wanted to look like an elephant, that meant one pigtail.
Cub: Caleb is so cute and quirky. I LOVE his many expressions. His scowl into a smile, his laugh, his sideways glances, his eyes when he spins, his cries when I wake him too early from naptime. I love that boy. He's so funny. When there is an action scene on TV, he acts it out. He falls to the ground like he's been shot and rolls to dodge bullets. e shoots monsters and bad guys. He killed a fly the other day after much trying and stalking. He was so proud of himself. He turned around surprised, hoping someone had seen and then started clapping for himself. He talks a lot! In sentences! He gives kisses and I love his snuggles. He keeps me on my toes. He likes to dump full boxes of cereal and pour cups of juice onto the ground. He's curious and fun. I love him.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Flat Iron
I recently set out to go hiking with a friend of mine. We were going to hike Flat Iron on the Superstition Mtn range. It's a very difficult hike and it's easy to get lost.
Prior to hiking, everyone I talked to told me to remember to stay to the left after the amphitheater. We got to the amphitheater and we saw that there were two faded paint spots on a rock to the left, so we made the assumption that we were on the right trail. We stayed to the left. We hiked with our heads down for quite a while because of the boulders that had to be climbed and the cactus that had to be navigated around. The brush got thicker and thicker. Finally, we looked up and saw that we were definitely off of the trail and that our destination was far to the right. We realized that we could not go back down the way we came up because it was too steep and over grown.
We said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help us to get safely back onto the right trail. That somehow we would reach our destination in safety. After the prayer, we made a decision. We decided that since we couldn't go back down the way we had come, we would go across to the right because we could see that our destination was to the right of us. We blazed our own trail for a time, using our backpacks as shields from the cactus and trying not to think about what could be living in the thick brush that we were stepping on.
Before long, we heard voices. Looking down to the right, we could see two men quite a ways below us and they were on the correct trail. We knew that Heavenly Father had answered our prayers. We carefully scaled some boulders and rock faces. I would throw my back pack down and then climb down to a point where I could then jump. We did this over and over again until we made it safely to the men. We eventually made it to our destination, but we didn't make it completely unscathed. We had cuts on our hands and legs, but we were safe. Heavenly Father had answered our prayers.
As we sat on top of the mountain and we reflected on the experience, a couple of thoughts kept coming to mind. First, why didn't we look up every once in a while to view our destination? Why didn't we look up to see if we could see paint dots marking the trail? In our lives, it's easy to get complacent. It's easy to say all is well in Zion. Are we looking toward our eternal destination? Are we looking up to make sure we are still on the right path?
Second, we came to realize that we had gotten off of the trail by a staying a few feet too far to the left. It was amazing how such a small difference had led us so off course into dangerous territory. Had we recognized our mistake by looking up earlier on, getting back on course would have been much easier. Instead, we had to experience a longer, and more painful path in order to reach our destination.
Much like in life, when we evaluate and correct mistakes earlier on, the journey is often less thorny. There is joy to be had in keeping our covenants and staying on the right path for our eternal destination. There is safety in keeping the commandments. I was very thankful in this analogy for the atonement. No matter how far down the incorrect path we travel, we can always pray for guidance and we can repent of the things that were keeping us from our destination. The path may be difficult, we may experience pain along the way, but through prayer and through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can conquer our spiritual mountains and reach the top.
Prior to hiking, everyone I talked to told me to remember to stay to the left after the amphitheater. We got to the amphitheater and we saw that there were two faded paint spots on a rock to the left, so we made the assumption that we were on the right trail. We stayed to the left. We hiked with our heads down for quite a while because of the boulders that had to be climbed and the cactus that had to be navigated around. The brush got thicker and thicker. Finally, we looked up and saw that we were definitely off of the trail and that our destination was far to the right. We realized that we could not go back down the way we came up because it was too steep and over grown.
We said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help us to get safely back onto the right trail. That somehow we would reach our destination in safety. After the prayer, we made a decision. We decided that since we couldn't go back down the way we had come, we would go across to the right because we could see that our destination was to the right of us. We blazed our own trail for a time, using our backpacks as shields from the cactus and trying not to think about what could be living in the thick brush that we were stepping on.
Before long, we heard voices. Looking down to the right, we could see two men quite a ways below us and they were on the correct trail. We knew that Heavenly Father had answered our prayers. We carefully scaled some boulders and rock faces. I would throw my back pack down and then climb down to a point where I could then jump. We did this over and over again until we made it safely to the men. We eventually made it to our destination, but we didn't make it completely unscathed. We had cuts on our hands and legs, but we were safe. Heavenly Father had answered our prayers.
As we sat on top of the mountain and we reflected on the experience, a couple of thoughts kept coming to mind. First, why didn't we look up every once in a while to view our destination? Why didn't we look up to see if we could see paint dots marking the trail? In our lives, it's easy to get complacent. It's easy to say all is well in Zion. Are we looking toward our eternal destination? Are we looking up to make sure we are still on the right path?
Second, we came to realize that we had gotten off of the trail by a staying a few feet too far to the left. It was amazing how such a small difference had led us so off course into dangerous territory. Had we recognized our mistake by looking up earlier on, getting back on course would have been much easier. Instead, we had to experience a longer, and more painful path in order to reach our destination.
Much like in life, when we evaluate and correct mistakes earlier on, the journey is often less thorny. There is joy to be had in keeping our covenants and staying on the right path for our eternal destination. There is safety in keeping the commandments. I was very thankful in this analogy for the atonement. No matter how far down the incorrect path we travel, we can always pray for guidance and we can repent of the things that were keeping us from our destination. The path may be difficult, we may experience pain along the way, but through prayer and through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can conquer our spiritual mountains and reach the top.
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