summer of miracles.

Could you use a miracle?  

I'll make you a promise.  If you join me in this challenge that our bishopric gave our ward, you'll see miracles in your life this summer.

Seriously.  

I know it will happen for me, and I know it will happen for you, too.

(It was originally given to the youth in our stake by our stake president at seminary graduation a few weeks ago.  Our bishop thought it was worth giving to our ward as a ward-wide challenge.  I'm so glad he did.  I know in my life that I've seen over and over again that when I show Heavenly Father that I really mean it, when I put in the work to let my faith grow...miracles happen.  It's always good to get a reminder of that, and that now is always a good time to try harder and to love more.)

Here's the challenge: (my thoughts are in blue)

The Summer Formula

1. Daily Private Devotional

  a. Read and ponder the scriptures - The Book of Mormon (There is something about reading The Book of Mormon that connects me to my Heavenly Father more than any other scripture.  We read a chapter a day as a family and I know that we've received mountains of blessings just for that one effort.)

  b. Prayer that connects ("What can I do to be more clean and pure before God?") (I loved this phrase, "prayer that connects".  Sometimes doesn't it feel like your prayers don't even go past the ceiling?  You know what I mean?  I love the reminder that prayer is a conversation, a communion, and, when we put our hearts into it...a connection.  Oh, and one more thing.  Part of my efforts to be "more clean and pure before God" is to clean up my language.  I don't swear, but I do say crap and turd a lot.  I think they're funny, but they are also rude and not very...well, clean and pure.  So, I'm doing it.  I'm going to clean up my language.  If you hear me say either of the aforementioned words, then get me in trouble.  Okay?)

2. Daily Christian Service

  a. Eliminate selfishness (Wow.  That will take a lot of work.  But even small steps toward unselfishness are going to make a big difference, no?)

  b. Contribute to love and peace in the family (We can all do a little better, right?  And imagine if everyone in the family each did a little better.  That's a LOT better!)

3. Keep the Sabbath Day Holy

  a. Prepare, serve, magnify, worship (I am proof.  Miracles happen when you prepare.  We've been working really hard to try and be more reverent during the Sacrament.  Usually that's exactly when the babies are hungry, so that means that during Sacrament Meeting we (and everyone around us) hears a lot of LOUD slurping, burping, spitting up, pooping, farting, fussing, etc. etc. etc.  Not very conducive to worship.  So we've really put a lot of effort into changing our schedule so that the babies will be ready to sleep about the time that Sacrament Meeting starts.  That's tricky, though, because that means they're tired, and it's a risk.  Sometimes tired babies fall asleep.  But, sometimes, tired babies want to scream.  Our miracle is that for two weeks now! the babies fell asleep in their car seats parked in front of us.  Like it was no big deal.  Their eyes were open one minute and closed the next.  And they slept all of Sacrament Meeting.  For me, that's a miracle.  A big one.  I'll tell you what, putting in the work necessary to have a fulfilling worship at your Sunday meetings it worth the effort.  It makes a difference.  I don't know why I forget that sometimes and have to be reminded.  But I guess that's just how it goes.  We just always have to try a little harder and remember things we used to know.)

  b. Duty to God, Personal Progress (These are programs for the youth, but the first thing I thought of was things that I should be spending my Sabbath time on.  My goal?  My journal.  I know I'll want to look back on this time and remember all the little details of my sweet little ones and our wacky life.  One thing I know, is babies don't keep.  Our babies our six months already.  SIX!  I desperately need to write our family's story.  It's a good one and I'm going to want to read it in the future.)

So there it is.  I hope you'll join me.  And let me know how it goes.  I'll post about the miracles I'm seeing in my life, and I'd love to hear the ones that happen in yours.  Believe me, it's gonna happen.  

True business.

Oh, and do you have a Book of Mormon?  If you don't I would love to send you one.  Send me an email with your mailing address and I'll get one out to you right away.  And I'll send a fun little present in there, too.  How about a cute little pincushion or something?

Okay, that's misleading.  I am not sure that I could make a pincushion this cute.  But I'll sure try.

for your own safety...

Let's enjoy another round of fun pictures from days gone by:

In Alaska (oh, I miss Alaska sometimes...) there was this course that Erik and I would take walks on sometimes (when mosquitoes weren't out to kill) that had little stations along the trail to do small workouts/skill training on.  One of the stations is this little pile of logs that you are supposed to jump over.  Here is Erik jumping.  Look at how high his legs are above the logs!  And look at how awesome my photo skills are and how I completely cut his head out of the picture!
Then it was my turn and I was terrified.  It may not seem like much (I admit, looking at this picture and how few logs there are gives me a bit of shame), but I was fairly convinced that I wouldn't clear it.  We both were cracking up at the high likelihood of me biffing it and knocking my big teeth on the logs.  Not that it would be funny, but...you know, kind of funny.
After getting up enough courage, I went for it.  This shot might leave you to wonder if I cleared it, because my feet are barely above the logs.  But I did.  Awesome.  

A small but funny memory for me.
One time we went to the Fairbanks Pioneer Day parade and for some reason there were wiener dogs dressed up like saloon girls.  I can't for the life of me remember why, or if there was a reason.  But, man oh man, was it funny.  You can kind of see that some of the dogs are in wagons, too.  I'm guessing because they would get tuckered out with their little legs trying to walk the parade?  Funny.
Then, one time when we were in Colorado with Erik's parents, we went into this store that sells all kinds of hats, actually anything you can put on your head, really.  Erik tried on this wig and I love this picture.  He would have been smokin' hot in an '80's hair band, no?
And last on the roundup is one summer when we were checking out a glacier and there was a little creek of glacial runoff.  Erik dared me to stand in the water for 60 seconds, and he was pretty darn sure I couldn't do it.  Here I am doing it, and while I'm not positive, I would bet that his losing meant he had to watch Pride and Prejudice (the A&E one of course) with me.  Again.

Now here we are.  Here's life as we know it:
This is what I like to call "Baby Greco-Roman Wrestling".  The babies rolled up to one another and then things got tricky when one wanted to roll one way and the other wanted to go the other way.  So they just put their heads down and tried to out roll the other baby.  It was funny.  I eventually had to break it up.
You know how the other day Reid was carrying around his toothbrush and a shovel and pail?  Well, on this day it was one of those neck pillows that you take on planes, in its little mesh bag.  He wore that thing around his back all day.

The babies after church.  Could you just die?  I love the overalls.

Alec being cute.
My little men.
Out in the front yard, right by the sidewalk, we have a very small magnolia tree.  Small, but yesterday it bloomed!  This ginormous bloom!  I wished that I knew someone getting married that day because it was in perfect condition to wear on the side of a low bun.  And it smelled heavenly.
They're getting so big!
Alec's arms move too fast for our camera!
Happy babies.

And here's the safety warning:

I think I manage to be a moderately positive person.  Most of the time.  But sometimes, heaven help us, I just get bugged!  And on days like today, when I've changed FOUR poopy Reid diapers, and he's battled me on everything (No lunch!  Coooo-kies!), and the babies and I are not very gracefully going from three naps to two...I get super bugged.  So, for your own safety, here are some tips of what NOT to say to me.

If I'm in the middle of a trial...do NOT say "this too shall pass" (unless you have a good Seester Incarnacion impression)

If I'm talking about something fun I want to do that may be difficult because I have like a hundred babies...do NOT say "there is a time and a season for all things" 

and, here's the big one.  

If I had a nickel for every time I heard this one, I would seriously be looking to invest in some real estate.  No lie, I manage to get told this EVERY DAY (imagine that one in a Nacho Libre accent) and even more than that if I'm out running errands.

here it is:

If you're meeting me for the first time and see all my little kiddos...do NOT say "wow, he he, you've sure got your hands full!" (oh, how that one grates on me.  It's always said in such a condescending way, even though I bet they don't mean to be so darn rude.)

And, to end on a happier note...

I sure do have my hands full.  My hands are full.  Full to the brims and overflowing.  And what a wonderful thing.  

If I had to choose (and because of many small and big decisions throughout my life I guess I have) between having hands that were empty and hands that were full, I would happily choose full hands.  My hands hold the hands of my sweetheart Erik, my happy little Reid, and the sweet babes Dane and Alec.  My hands make the food that we all eat, my hands wash the clothes that we wear and our vast collection of spit-up rags, my hands wash the dishes that we use, my hands change many diapers, my hands can make things that are beautiful to me and bring me joy, and my hands end the day praying with my little family in gratitude for all my many blessings.  

So, yeah, my hands are full.  I would definitely recommend it.

While we're on the subject...

While I'm getting all churchy and stuff...

this last weekend was General Conference. Twice a year the leaders of my church address the body of the church (and the world at large, actually) and give counsel, love and support. It's wonderful. I heard someone call it "spring cleaning for the soul" and that's exactly right.

You can listen to clips here.

(in a few days you'll also be able to watch clips or read in .pdf files)

Feeling a little overwhelmed with the current economy, feeling financially and emotionally strapped and wondering what your family can do? (listen to Elder Robert D. Hales from the Saturday morning session)

Feeling alone, lonely and a little forgotten? (listen to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland from the Sunday morning session)

Feeling like life changes so fast and not always for the better? Are those changes getting you down? (listen to Elder Steven E. Snow from the Sunday morning session)

Feeling like life is just too much to figure out on your own? Wondering how to find your path? (listen to Elder F. Michael Watson from the Sunday afternoon session)

I promise you'll feel like your soul just got a big drink of Gatorade, a renewed sense of purpose, energy, devotion, peace and joy.

If you did watch Conference, what were your favorite talks? I usually feel like there's a theme that sort of surfaces (one time like 4 people used the parable of the Good Samaritan in their talks) and this time it seemed like the theme was temple attendance and understanding temple covenants. What did you think?

Okay, now I'm done.

It's true, it's true. It's all true.

The other day I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Black Eiffel, and saw this post about a few movies she had seen recently. Erik and I had seen "The Visitor" just a few weeks prior, so it was interesting to read her thoughts. Want to know my thoughts? Probably not, but I think I'll post about it someday because I have a lot to say about that movie. Anywho, so I was reading some of the comments for good movie suggestions (the huz and I are always looking for something interesting to add to the netflix queue). Someone had suggested the movie "Defending your Life" saying it was a sweet and inspiring movie. So, I put it in the queue and last week Erik and I watched it.  These days it takes us at least 2 or 3 times to watch a movie because of lack of free time, or because we are so exhausted that we fall asleep every time we try to watch something.  But when I finally finished it, I have to say that I was mad.  Really annoyed.  This movie is such crap.  I know I said I'd try to say crap less, but this movie is total garbage.  

I don't want to "spoil" (that was sarcasm for ya) this movie for you, but the storyline is that this guy dies, and goes to Judgement City where judges review his life and determine whether he's ready to move on or if he needs to go back to earth as another life and try again.  Interesting concept, but it's full of lies.  

It feels to me like this world is full of noise, full of people trying to tell you what to think.  Trying to convince you of something.  Propaganda, really.  It's not always malicious, but the problem is that it's not always true.  Like this movie.  

It's a seemingly harmless movie, just a mindless way to spend a couple hours.  But that's just how lies creep into our lives.  We mindlessly listen and allow them to root in our minds.

Lies of this movie:

1.  It shows all the previous lives that the characters had before.  Women were men in previous lives and vice versa.  Lie.  I just don't believe it.  I believe (with all of my female soul) that "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose."  

2.  The main guy dies, meets a girl and they fall in love.  Seems sweet, right?  Except that this girl (Meryl Streep) was married with two kids.  Did they just disappear from her memory?  She hardly mentions them.  She's all of a sudden like a schoolgirl, giddy in love with this guy she just met in Judgement City.  So what, when we die all our dearest relations here on earth are just faint memories?  What a sad thought.  I can't imagine my life without Erik and our sweet boys, let alone imagine an eternity without them.  I believe that "The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave."  I know that that is true.  I know it.

So, the point...

My faith in the truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is powerful force in my life.  It's not just a faith, really.  I know that it is true.  It's all true.  We can agree to disagree on this point, that's fine with me.  But I had a moment while the babes were sleeping and Reid was eating breakfast and something in me just had to write this today.  

I hope we are all careful of what messages we allow to come into our homes/minds/hearts.  The truth is just so freeing and beautiful that I hope we don't waste time on the lies...whether they are malicious ones or just time and energy wasters.  

If you, of my small but wonderful readership, are not of my faith and are curious about what I'm talking about...please ask me.  You can email me, comment on this post, or check out lds.org

In the meantime, please read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", I believe this with every bit of my being.  It gives me hope and happiness.  It makes my everyday worthwhile and meaningful takes away the uncertainty of the future.  

Bottom line...Families are Forever.

...and thank heaven.