Our Busy Lives

Life is busy. Between football, football, and more football, I don't see Jon Mark or Joshua much most evenings. But, they're liking it and it's almost over. After football, we've got wrestling and gymnastics. Because we've been busy, my blogging has been sparse. It's overwhelming to me right now, so I'm just going to jot down some things I don't want to forget.

Jon Mark: He's had surgery on his wrist and we're hopeful that it will heal the problem he's been having. He's a great dad who gives so much of his time to church and our family after working hours at a job that is stressful. He coaches football and finds time to take me and the other kids on special one-on-one dates. I love this man and our marriage is so good. He makes me happy beyond what I ever hoped for.

Joshua: Football! I loves football and spends most of his time outside of school practicing. He loves scouts as well, and thankfully we were able to move scouts to Tuesdays so that he could still attend. The other night at football, he did such a great job that he was awarded the highest honor for his team which is called a 5 clap Dab. He won't admit it, but he still likes me tucking him in at night and will remind me if I forget. He likes kisses on top of his head and not really anywhere else. He likes waking up early with me to go running. He recently ran a 8:45 mile. He's got strong endurance.

Mercedes: The other night she was crying because she misses Great Grandma Peterson. I told her that she'd see her again someday and that the Holy Ghost could help comfort her if she prayed. She exclaimed that she knew she'd see her again someday but that she really wanted to see her again in this lifetime, not after she dies. The next morning she woke up and told me that she had prayed to Heavenly Father and told Him how she felt. She felt well enough to fall asleep after that, and while she was sleeping she said that Great Grandma Peterson had come to her in her dreams. I asked her what she looked like and she said, "Oh, she was beautiful, Mom! She wasn't old like she was when she died. She was young and happy and looked just how she looked on her wedding day!" What a sweet tender mercy that was. I was so thankful to hear that Heavenly Father had answered her prayer in such a sweet way. Mercedes wanted to bear her testimony about the experience but was too scared.

Luke: Luke loves bearing his testimony and bears it almost every fast Sunday. He always does such a great job and many times I have people come up to me and tell me that he said exactly what they needed to hear. His testimony is all his. He thinks throughout the month how he can relate certain experiences to the gospel and then he tells me that he wants to bear his testimony on those experiences. This past month he wanted to bear his testimony about my friend April. April miscarried around 18 weeks but it was thought that the baby had died a few weeks earlier based on the size. She was heartbroken. I brought her dinner a couple of times and explained things to Luke. He went with me. I think he was touched by the experience. Mercedes also wrote April and sweet letter and attached some candy to it. She is always very thoughtful like that. Anyway, Luke's testimony went something like this: "I'd like to bear my testimony. The other day, my friend April's baby died while it was still in her stomach. My mom and I brought her dinner to make her feel better. Heavenly Father is happy when we comfort people who's baby dies in their stomachs. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." It was sweet. On a different note, I took Luke and Hannah and Caleb to my old high school for an errand I was on. There was a football game and there were cheerleaders. Hoping to get Luke excited for football, I pointed out the players and told him how neat it was that we were there while a game was going on. After the errand was completed and we were walking back to the car, I asked him, "so, Luke, are you excited to be a football player?" To which he shook his head and said, "No, but I am excited about the cheerleaders!" I told him that cheerleaders liked football players and he asked me if I liked football players. I said that I did and that I married one. Luke is always telling me that he wants to marry someone who looks and acts exactly like me. I tell him that if he found someone like that, then I'd like her :)

Hannah: Hannah loves helping me cook. She loves dancing and stretching with me. She can do the splits which is good because we are thinking that we will sign her up for gymnastics. I take the kids hiking and running with me whenever I can. Last break we had I took them on a pretty easy hike. Hannah, who used to be a good little hiker, has decided that she doesn't like hiking any more. She was very upset and at one point I caught her on video saying that it was a crappy day. What?! I don't use that word, so where she learned it I'm not sure. Grandma Haws took her aside and started singing songs with her and making rock sculptures with her while the rest of us hiked on. She loves Grandma Haws and was very happy after that.

Caleb: Caleb is a joy. He's getting so big and talks so much. He's a toddler turning into a preschooler. It makes my heart happy and sad at the same time. He has some warts on the back of his head which are gross and I'm trying to get rid of them. Luckily they are covered by his hair, but I kind of don't want people to know about them. But, whenever he remembers he has them, or he touches one, he says quite loudly (usually at church) that "I have a wart!" He loves jumping on the trampoline and loves to wrestle. He plays rough with his brothers and particularly likes Joshua. He walks in slow motion sometimes and then puts his fists out and runs full speed, that's his Batman run. He loves his Batman shoes and he loves his dinosaur shirt. He doesn't like "happy nappy's" and tells me "I wake up, Mommy" every time I tell him he needs a nap. The other day I subbed in his nursery class and I was sitting next to another boy. The boy kept saying, "Hey! Hey!" to get my attention. Cubby didn't like that. He said, "she is not Hey, she is Mom!" The other kids turned and asked me, "You are mom?" I said, "I am a mom. I am Caleb's mommy." The rest of the day, that kid called me Mom. Caleb sings a lot in the car. His favorite song right now is "Nephi's Courage" and he sings it loudly. He also likes a song called, "I'm on Top of the World". When someone puts him on their shoulders, he says, "I'm on top of the world!" He tattles on others and says, "that's not even funny!". He loved Halloween but refused to wear the dinosaur costume I bought him. He went as Caleb. He loved getting all of the candy. Now he's looking forward to Santa.

Me: I'm good. I'm living the dream and enjoying it. I exercise and run. I paint and I work hard. Nothing is really new with me. I had an experience the other day on the elliptical. One of my most spiritual experiences happened on the elliptical. I've written about it before, but basically, the Holy Ghost confirmed to me that my Grandpa's (at the time, my grandma's were both still alive) were aware of me and that they would be with my children helping them throughout their lives. I realized that my angels were real, and that they were those whom I have loved in this life. I felt the presence of my grandpa's, at least I think I did. Anyway, during this experience, a certain song came on the radio. It was an acoustic version that was recorded Live. I bought the song because it now had meaning to me, but I wasn't able to buy that version. I hadn't heard that version again for a very long time. Then, the other day, I was on the elliptical again and my thoughts had turned to my grandpa's and that experience. I feel as though I'm in a valley right now with spiritual experiences. I was having a lot of them for a while there and feeling very close to my Heavenly home. The line in the song, More Holiness Give Me, where it says, "more longing for home" I understand that line more clearly whenever I have a spiritual experience. Heaven feels closer and my desire to sin is absolutely gone. Living a perfect life feels almost attainable in those moments because I see so clearly with my spiritual eyes. But, the feeling fades as life sets back in and I guess that's why we're required to live by faith. If we always felt that close to Heaven, it wouldn't be as much of a test. Anyway, I was on the elliptical lost in thought when that same Live version of the song came on. I thought to myself that that was strange. In the Live version, the singer is talking as she begins playing the chords. She says something like, "you know how sometimes some things just flow to you? This song kind of just flowed to me. I don't even know where it came from." I thought, is it possible that back when this artist was composing this song that Heavenly Father knew I'd someday associate it with a sweet experience about my grandpa's? What kind of orchestration happens in the Heavens to make sure everything happens in it's time and place like it's supposed to? How many eons before the birth of Christ was the star that would be the new star set into orbit so that it would fall over Bethlehem to mark the birthplace of our Savior? Is it then possible that in some way, this artist wrote this song for me? I shrugged it off. I doubted. Still, I don't know. Is it crazy to think that I'm the reason she didn't know where the song came from or how it came to be? Maybe I am one of the reasons. I don't know. The point it, all things are possible with God and He gives us tender moments where Heaven feels close. I started sobbing. I sobbed. I miss my grandparents. I can't think of it in terms of how many years until I see them again. That's too much. Too sad. Instead I like to think of them as helping me and my little family along the path of our mortal journey. And I like to think of the happy reunion we will someday have. A few days later, my parents were over at our home and we were talking about things. My mom told me that she had been a little emotional that week because it was the anniversary of my grandpa Peterson's passing. Now it made sense. Could it be that the reason I had heard that particular version again, and was thinking of my grandpas on that day because it was the anniversary of my Grandpa Peterson's death? Was he trying to tell me that even though time has passed he was still aware of me? He was still there? I think so.

I prayed for a long time that I'd awaken to know who I was before this earth life. I think I kind of expected something big, like a vision or something of me in the grand council before mortality. Or that I'd see some sort of snapshot image of me prior to this earth life. An apostle said that if we prayed to know even a glimmer of who we were in the pre-mortal realm, our lives would be changed forever because we'd know our potential and all that Heavenly Father has in store for us, all of the good that we could do. I prayed for a long time about it and my faith was tested. I had spiritual experiences (many of them) but nothing that seemed to answer my prayer. While pondering recently, I discovered something that I believe is the answer I was seeking. Each of those spiritual experiences built upon each other. Each one led my thoughts and slowly I came to see something. I have spiritual gifts. Gifts that have been with me throughout all eternity. I have gifts that I brought with me into mortality that are meant for me to use throughout my life's mission to help others. If I can come to know my spiritual gifts, I will know a little of who I was before I came to earth. While I am sure my gifts were more pure and perfected there, I do still have them here. I can utilize them and work on them throughout my life and awaken to my potential. I think that's the answer.

My Artwork and the Kids Artwork

Mine:

Kids:

Hannah

Luke

Mercedes

Hannah

Joshua

Mercedes

Luke sleeps in the most interesting positions. He is THE deepest sleeper I know. I fear for Cub's life that Luke will roll onto him and suffocate him because he won't wake up. It's a real fear when I check on them in the middle of the night and find this.

Joshua went on a birthday date with Jessica recently. He was happily playing with the same train set he had when he was a little boy obsessed with trains. She took this picture (that he is quite embarrassed about) with the caption that read he was still our little boy. I saw the same two-four year old behind those ten year old eyes and I got all sorts of emotional. I LOVE this picture.

Cubby likes dressing up and really plays the part. I recently bought him new Batman shoes and whenever he wore them, he'd say in a gruff Batman voice "I BATMAN!"

Mine:

Joshua has been enjoying football this year and it keeps him on a pretty intense schedule.

Notice how this is a different night because they are in different clothing. He rolled off of his bed and then off of Cub's bed.

Mine: But, to be completely fair, I traced the image before I painted it. I signed it because I was nervous that Costco wouldn't let me print it.

Mine: A hummingbird, I think I may have already posted this one.

Mine: The Gilbert Temple

Luke said some funny things yesterday. Both Mercedes and Joshua had fun playdates that required me driving them all over the place with Luke, Hannah, and Caleb along for the ride. We drove for like an hour at least and Luke was becoming resentful. He moaned and said, "Man, they get more play time and I get more butt time!" On the same drive he told me that he was worried that he might end up marrying a bad girl because she will act like a nice girl until they get married and he realizes that she tricked him. (By the way, Luke prays EVERY night for his future wife, that she is making good choices and that they may one day make it to the Celestial kingdom.) I told him that there were things he could look for in girls he dates one day (a long time from now--after his mission). Make sure she is going to church every week and that she is nice to others. Observe her when she is with you, does she care about treating you nicely? I went on like that for a while, when I heard him mutter under his breath, "and that she's pretty". Then he told me that he knew the perfect girl to marry, Annalissa. She is a girl in his class who he boldly professed his love to recently and told me he wasn't embarrassed about it at all. He said, "I told her I had a crush on her and she was like, WHAT?! I had no idea! And I said, why do you think I follow you around all the time. It's because I like you." He then told me that he will tell her to serve a mission so that she doesn't marry someone else while he is on his mission. Yeah, so you wonder why I worry about this kid? It's things like this. I reminded him that he can't have a girlfriend until after his mission. And, that he can only group date at 16.

Joshua also said something funny. He was telling Luke that they were built to be wrestlers because Dad was a wrestler. I told them that Papa Haws was a wrestler too. Joshua gasped, "Papa Haws?! I did NOT know that. I cannot believe that my big ol' soft Papa was once a killer! He's so good at practicing being calm!" He was shocked. He also believes that Papa Haws will one day make it to the Celestial Kingdom out of everybody he knows because Papa Haws is always reminding him to pray and read his scriptures. He's the reminding Papa.

My Babes and Hubby

Jon Mark: He's hoping his injuries subside soon so that he can resume an active lifestyle. It's difficult not doing the active things you love so much because you're unable to do so without pain. He's enjoying writing his own novel. He's very talented with writing and it's a good hobby for him. I want him to write faster so that I can read more. We're walking together at night time. It's nice having Joshua a little bit older. We put the kids to bed and give him the phone. I've always wanted to go walking with my spouse. He's also serving as a coach for Joshua's speed camp and football team. And, as if that's not enough, he serves alongside the bishopric as the ward clerk. He doesn't have a lot of free time, he gives a lot of himself to others. He's selfless and loving.

Me: Life has picked up for me. I'm finding myself pretty busy. I am a taxi driver driving my kids back and forth to school and scouts and other activities. I am the Cub Committee Chairman. I wake up early to go running. I enjoy painting in my spare time and try to find ways in which my talents can help others. So, I do a lot of painting for my calling in church. As you will see, some of my paintings are ok, and others are not that great. I post them all so that I can see progress (or lack thereof :)).

Here's a watercolor painting I did of Luke. It's not great, but there are parts of it that show improvement.

A picture Luke colored and gave to a widow in our ward.

On the weekends my kids sleep like this. It warms my heart. Hopefully they're creating memories.

Hannah had me write down her testimony. She sang it to me.

A painting I did for scouts. The kids have to tell us what they learned through the canvas cowboy. The theme is a western theme on courtesy. If you can't tell, the mouth of the cowboy is cut out and the kids stick their mouth through it.

Mercedes is growing up. She's a little lady. She remembers to pray over her food at lunch time at school. She's a great big sister to Hannah, who happens to ADORE her big sister. She likes to dress Hannah up and parade her around. She loves art and is quite good at it. She is close to the spirit. She loves the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner. She gets emotional when she hears it. I asked her what was different about that verse compared to the other verses. She said, "I don't know, I just FEEL something different when I hear it." I told her that the third verse talks about Heavenly Father and the spirit is testifying to her that this land is the promised land and that Heavenly Father is the reason why it's great, He's the One preserving our nation. What makes the third verse different? It's the power of the Holy Ghost. She is feeling the spirit. Luke also loves that verse. He told me that he wants to bear his testimony in church this week about it. Here's what he told me: "I'd like to bear my testimony about the Star Spangled Banner. There are military men who we should thank. Some of them died for our country. One man, on a boat who saw the flag, he prayed to Heavenly Father that the flag would still stand. It didn't fall. Brave men held it up. I know that the third verse is different because the spirit is telling me that Heavenly Father protects us and our country. If we keep the commandments, Heavenly Father will protect us. That's why the third verse is special. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Beautiful Hannah. My little sweet Banana. Those eyes.... I'll never get enough of those big, beautiful eyes. You are a sweet little girl. You love Mercedes. You want to be just like her. You want to speak like her, look like her, and act like her. You want to sleep next to her every night. And even though you are potty trained, Mercedes won't let you sleep in her bed unless you wear a pull-up. You don't have any pull-ups and I won't buy you any, so it's a surprise to me when you wake up in the morning wearing Caleb or Luke's pull-ups. Completely dry of course. That's how much you want to sleep next to Mercedes. The other day when Kevin was visiting, you had him pretend to be a doctor. You brought him a baby doll and told him to give the baby a check-up. He accidentally dropped the baby and you gasped. You're big eyes got bigger and you said, "YOU MONSTER!"

Here's a painting of Hannah. It's not great. I threw it away.

Cubby is such an exploratory child. If there's a puddle to jump in, guaranteed he'll jump in it. He throws rocks just to see if they'll bounce. He breaks TV's just to see what will happen. And... he shatters blue nail polish all over carpet and tile just because he can.

The perfect curl. Mercedes is wild about her curly hair.

Ignore the fact that he's wearing a braid. He was trying to be funny. When you ignore the braid, he's one handsome kid. He does ten perfect push-ups in a row. LOVES to rough house and wrestle ANY male who dares come near him. He's motivated, smart, and a go-getter. He's a great catch to any girl, but first he needs to grow up, so ladies... stay away! 

Caleb John, is my other boy. Caleb John, he brings me so much joy! Caleb John, every day I need, my Caleb John McAvoy with me.

Here's a painting of Jesus that I did that I really really love! I did trace the image before I painted it, but I love the way it turned out!

Of course I didn't paint this one, but I lOVE it!! 

Jon Mark eating the breakfast I made for him and enjoying the shoulder massage I gave him. He feels lucky that he has a wife who makes him breakfast and brings him things. His love language is acts of service (and physical touch--holding hands and stuff... sheesh, get your minds out of the gutter ;)) I guess it works out that he got a wife who is pretty good at service. Not to say that I'm perfect, but I like doing acts of service for him to show him I love him. That doesn't make me subservient, he gives back to me. I dare say that if men and woman in the world would be more concerned about their spouses happiness and putting their spouses needs above their own, marriages would be far happier.

Joshua LOVES school this year, I can't remember if I posted these pictures or not, so I am doing it again. He's such a smart, good, handsome, loving kid. He's been going to speed camp and has the muscles to prove it. He loves working with his hands. He enjoys building with Legos and using his microscope. He's quick-witted and funny. Caleb loves his big brother and when he's crying at night, it's usually because he wants big brother. He asks for big brother Joshua and once he climbed to the top bunk to lay next to him. I think he feels safe whenever Joshua is around. He kissed Joshua the other night, but wouldn't kiss me until Luke gave me a million kisses to be a good example. 

He's two-digits old!

My dad is 60 and the spriest, most healthy 60 year old that I know. I'm excited for them to move closer so that we can go running together again sometimes. I loved running with him in my teenage/young adult years. :)

Grandma Peterson would love this bird painting. I think of her when I see it. I painted it and I think it turned out pretty good.

This one is okay. Not my favorite, but I didn't throw it away yet, so I guess it's okay.

This kid is so funny. He gasps and has big eyes if you take something from him, and then follows the gasp up with a "HEY!" like, that's mine! He tells us he's the Boss. There's a movie called Boss Baby that the kids watch and I must say there are similarities. He even looks like him.

Hannah enjoyed taking pictures of Grandma. She had her wear sunglasses and look cool. Grandma was happy to oblige. What a fun grandma she is!