Moms gone wild...not really

 Had a fun friend mountain biking day up in Park City. We rode Jenni's to Tommy Two Step and then down to Spiro.  It was  along ride for me as I haven't been on my bike as much this summer but it was a beautiful day!

Last pool day of Summer 2023

 Russ had Elle and Walker and the weather forecast was for 95 degrees.....so we hit Willow Creek Pool with them.  We ended up staying till 7 when it closed and they kicked us out. We had a nice summer and its sad to see it go. 

Grammy turns 82!

 Grammy turned 82 yesterday!  She had plans with friends but she stopped by so we could give her the gift all me and my siblings went in on, drum roll please,  pots and pans.  I know not super glamorous but practical and grammy liked them.  We did go to brunch today with Grammy to celebrate her!

Sums up my feelings.....

 I read this post yesterday and it sums up my feelings....so I am coping it and posting here:

My kids went back to school today.  A great, hard day.  The empty house greeted me with more of a void than peace.  I don't like this feeling.  A frequent reminder of life's acceleration only continuing to accelerate.  The tears came as I found myself instantly craving the past.  I just want you to be six years old again. Can you do that?  Can we please go back? I want brush your hair after a bath.  I want to read Chicka chicka boom boom.  I want to smell the Johnson and Johnson lavender lotion.  I want to snuggle with you in your flannel onesies.  I don't want THIS change.  Motherhood has so much sad to it.  It just does.  Sadness married to Joy; a horrendous union.  But, a truthful one.  And even acknowledging this truth doesn't help make it less sad.  It might sound stoic or poetic to embrace this synthesis of opposites.   My kids are growing up and I am grateful they can grow and develop and have these experiences but it makes me sad as they move away from being dependent on me, but I know they need to do it.  

Rebecca sent this picture to me - to came up in her memories from 12 years ago 

First Day of School

 This summer flew by!  The first day of school is always so bitter sweet, I think for everyone!  

My handsome boy!  I can't believe he is going to be a junior this year!   I hope he has the greatest school year!

Lexi spilled a bit of breakfast on herself this morning so she was trying to dry off quickly before heading to school!

My sweet 8th grader, broken shoulder and all!

My baby in Middle school, a few tears were shed on my part, but I know the girls will do great things!

showing me serious face!

I'm crying.......

Time is a thief, you think they will be this little forever!

Lexi's Primary Talk 8/20/2023

 Probably Lexi's last primary talk, I'm so sad, but so happy she is going to be in Young Woman's with me!

18 years!

 Yesterday was mine and Shawn's anniversary.  18 years!  We did a mountain bike ride together in the morning, worked on painting Alegra's room in the afternoon, and then grabbed some Indian food and a foot massage later in the evening.  It was a good day!!  So grateful for Shawn! 

Both of us jumped into painting right after the bike ride.....hopefully that epitomizes our relationship- work hard in life and work hard on our marriage!

Star Valley for Alegra

 Alegra was invited to a sleep over birthday party at a cabin, which we don't do sleepovers but I decided to make an exception. I though they were going to Oakley or somewhere kinda close but I found out when I dropped her off they are all the way up in Star Valley. These are some pictures from Natalie the mom. 

6th grade orientation day

 Today was 6th grade orientation day at Albion Middle.  Just the 6th graders went and they had about 20 minute classes and could spend some time meeting their teachers.  We picked up Maddy in our neighborhood and that helped so they could walk into the school together.  

When I picked Lexi up she seemed happy but she said she didn't really have any friends in her classes.  

I can't believe my baby is in middle school!!!

Alegra, Lexi, and I did walk through Albion on Thursday to find Lexi's classes before today's orientation.  So glad my girls will be in middle school for 1 year together~

Wisconsin and finishing up summer

 We are in the last week of summer break - so sad.  Lexi and Shawn took a last minute trip (due to a companion pass expiring) last weekend.  Lexi got to barefoot waterski, hang out with Grandma Frye, and spend time with cousins.  Alegra, Cruz, and I got to swim at the Country Club and go to the dentist. 

My Sacrament Talk in Church Today 8/13/2023

Do you know how some  whales die?  They drown.  They spend their whole lives living in and swimming in a world that will eventually kill them.  

Do you know why that is? While fish can swim around for their entire lives with gills, breathing in the water, the whale must come up out of the water to live. Whales are mammals, but unlike most mammals who walk on the face of the earth, whales live in an environment that doesn’t offer a critical life source. They must regularly, leave their world to surface for oxygen. You might even say that whales are in the ocean but not of the ocean.  

Like the whales, we are in the world but not of the world. I heard this analogy from a preacher named Russell Dafourth.

Jesus said in John 17,

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee….

“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” 

In this mortal realm, our spirits need to regularly come up for air and receive their critical life source of spiritual nourishment.  I’d like to elaborate on five ways to be like the whales and surface for life sustaining spiritual oxygen, and share how these things have impacted my life.

1. Listening to our prophet – We are blessed to be able to have a prophet to guide us today.  Listening and heeding his council is one way we can get “air” in this world.  I remember I was sitting at my parent’s house in 2008 listening to general conference.  I wasn’t paying particularly close attention.  They announced from the pulpit that President Monson was the new prophet.  I had a really strong spiritual impression right then, and I knew that Pres. Monson was called of God to be our prophet.  That experience was very special to me and one that I had not experienced before with previous prophets.  When President Nelson was called as our new prophet and announced in General Conference, I had prayed to receive confirmation for myself that He was the man called of God to lead our church.  Again, I received a spiritual confirmation that President Nelson is God’s mouth piece on earth. 

In Amos 3:7 it says “surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”  From the days of Adam, God has spoken to His children through appointed oracles who are charged with revealing His will and counsel to others.  As Elder Uchdorf has said, “Much of what the Lord reveals to His prophet is intended to prevent sorrow for us as individuals and as societies.  When God speaks, He does so to teach, inspire, refine, and warn His children.  When individuals and societies ignore their Heavenly Father’s instructions, they do so at the risk of trial, torment, and toil.” I have loved listening to President Nelson’s counsel.  President Nelson recently posted this: “Civility and decency seem to have disappeared during this era of polarization and passionate disagreements.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be examples of how to interact with others – especially when we have differences of opinion.  One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is by how compassionately that person treats other people”.  What a timely message for all of us.  

 

2. Another way to get “air” is through reading our scriptures.  The scriptures are the word of God and studying them can help us know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, give us power to resist temptation, and strengthen us in our challenges. Being a consistent scripture reader has not been my strength in the past.  But I can personally testify that I can tell the difference in my life when I am or am not reading the word of God.   My sister told me about the Scripture Plus app on my phone.  In the app they have “reading plans” that you can set up for any of the books of scripture.  This year I have been following the New Testament Come Follow Me plan. I have loved reading the daily assigned scriptures, and then the app sometimes has articles or video clips attached to each day’s reading.  It has been very insightful for me.  

3. Another way to get our critical spiritual oxygen is through prayer and communication with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ.  In the bible dictionary it says, “As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God – namely God is our Father and we are his children then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part.” I am beyond grateful for prayer. I am grateful for that open line of communication to my Heavenly Father.  I am grateful for the opportunity to be thankful to my Heavenly Father every day and throughout the day. I am grateful that I know I can turn to my Heavenly Father for repentance, council, direction, and  peace. In Alma 37 it says, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day”.  

A few weeks ago Alegra was in an E-bike accident in California.  I was a few minutes behind her so I didn’t see it happen.  When I pulled up on the scene she was sitting there  in shock but seemed very calm.  Her cousin who was with her was in tears and very upset.  It was a scary moment.  During the whole process of taking her to the instacare and getting help, I was offering up pleading prayers to our Heavenly Father.  I feel like Alegra was very blessed.  She was wearing a helmet which saved her life, but I know Heavenly Father was watching out for her in other ways too. Her injuries could have been so much worse.  I asked her a few days after it happened how she remained so calm when she first went down on the bike.  She replied that she had  said a prayer. She knew her cousin Isla was very upset and she knew she had to stay calm to not upset her more, so she said she just talked to Heavenly Father.  I am grateful for her example. With prayer the key for me is trying to figure out how to align my will with Gods and having faith to receive the answers that come.  

 

4. The fourth way to get spiritual nourishment is to really get to know our Savior.  A very pivotal part of my testimony is the incredible opportunity I had to study in Jerusalem.  For me, it was a life changing experience.  Up until then I really didn’t know who Jesus Christ was.  My favorite week of the whole time I was in Jerusalem was the week 28 years ago that we walked Christ’s last week on Earth -from waving palms on Palm Sunday, sitting in the upper room, reflecting at the Mount of Olives contemplating what our Savior has done for us, to sitting at the Garden Tomb on Sunday watching the sun rise knowing Christ has risen.  I know I was very lucky to be able to have that experience, but as I tell my young women, we don’t have to go to Jerusalem to get to know Jesus.  And although I was fortunate to be able to have that intensive study at a crucial time of my life, our relationship with the Savior needs to be ongoing. When we want to make or keep a friend, we need to think about ways to invest in that relationship. Our relationship with the Savior is no different.  We can read his words, determine His character, read about the Savior, watch videos and shows about Him, and really try to foster that relationship with Him.  When Jesus is real in our lives then it makes prayer, scripture study, and following the commandments easier.  Those things become more of an act of love  because we realize everything He has done for us.  

5. The fifth way to get “air” is to listen to the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost can be our constant companion.  The Holy Ghost can reveal to us instruction from God for our  lives.  During President Nelson’s first address in general conference as a prophet he said: “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” I am grateful for the promptings from the Holy Ghost I receive.  

Last summer sister Lonnie Thorpe along with other Relief Society sisters helped the young women’s group create a quilt.  This was Lonnie’s idea, and although she had her diagnosis at that point, she wanted to get it done.  The idea of this comfort quilt is that different young women could use it over the years when they were going through something difficult-it would be passed around.  Lonnie cut out all the fabric and had it ready for the girls to pick out their colors and then she along with a team of quilting experts in the ward helped the girls put together their quilt blocks.  On the blocks there is a white space that the girls wrote their favorite scripture passage.  We finished the blocks and Lonnie took it and finished the quilt. Then school got started for the girls and lives got busy. This past year, the comfort quilt has gone around to different girls in our ward.  

I knew we hadn’t properly thanked Lonnie and all the ladies.  One evening for an activity, after the quilt had long been finished, the girls and I decided to make yard signs for Lonnie thanking her. I had heard her health was declining.  The sign making activity went long and we finished late on a school night. I thought to myself, I will go put these up in her yard later this week, I need to get my kids to bed.  Then I had a thought, “go do it now”.  So, we quickly loaded the signs up and drove over and put them in her yard.  I learned later that Lonnie passed not too long after we had put those signs in her yard, but that she did see them.  I wanted Lonnie to know how much we appreciated the idea, the follow through, and giving the young women this wonderful gift.  Lonnie could have been doing other things with her time but she chose to help the Young Women of this ward. I hope she knew how grateful we were for all her time and sacrifice for us.  I am grateful for that prompting to “go now”.  That might seem like a “small thing” or a “coincidental” thing but I choose to believe it was the Holy Ghost  giving me those promptings.  I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and how personal revelation has helped me in my life.  

Like the whales, we need to come up for AIR.  These are just some of the ways that I try to come up for AIR in my life.  I know there are times in my life that I just keep swimming in the ocean water, wanting to figure out everything on my own, or just getting weighed down by the water or even just thinking it is too hard to go up to the surface to get air.  It is my prayer that we can come up for AIR OFTEN.  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for our Savior Jesus Christ.  

Sisters

 

Alegra is getting a new room (for her birthday) but we started working on it.  We picked up a new bigger mattress the other night so the girls slept together on it.  Alegra tends to be scared so Lexi was being a cute sister and tried to help Alegra out!