Inside Out

What does it say when you realize at the end of the day that your sweater is on inside out and that the tag has been sticking out ALL DAY?!! And furthermore, that your teen age son says he noticed but thought it was just supposed to be that way?

Friday the 13th!!

Spencer turns 10 today and he has the distinction of having his birthday on Friday the 13th this year along with the Valentine's celebrations at school. He'd rather not have his Birthday associated with Valentine's so we decided to play up the Friday the 13th theme! You have to love iron-ons! We made him this t-shirt to wear to school.

We have decided that Friday the 13th is a lucky day in our house! Grandpa Hall's birthday fell on the 13th of the month along with 2 of his siblings. Spencer also has an Aunt and an Uncle with birthday's on the 13th! Ironically, I had 3 of my 4 kids on Friday and Spencer was the only one not born on Friday. He was born on Saturday. He was also my only child born with the aid of an epidural and he came into the world with his mother laughing (I couldn't believe I was actually having a baby because it didn't hurt!). I think that laughter transferred to Spencer because he has the most amazing smile. He certainly knows how to melt my heart!
Happy Birthday Spencer!!

Choir

For those of you that have ever attended choir with me, you know that there is just something about choir that loosens me up. Maybe it is the people that I attend with or that somehow it is a place that I don't have to worry about anything else. And yes... Sometimes I have been know to relax a little too much at choir.

Today we had the opportunity to sing for stake conference. And while the conference was good, I really think it was singing with the choir that really made me feel good. So I have been pondering this experience today. I've decided that it is probably a combination of things. One reason I think goes back to Pres. Uchtdorf's talk to the women last September reminding us of our abilty and need to be creative. Being part of the choir is one way that I can let that creativity out. Music for me has always been a creative outlet, and I just don't take enough opportunities anymore to use that creativity.

Another part of it probably has something to do with the fact that I get the most satisfaction out of the intense moving pieces. Think about it. When do we really get the chance to stand up in church and raise our voices to the fullest and have that be a good thing? So I get to let out my emotion and stress, do it in full voice, and... I wasn't actually yelling at anyone!

To top it all off. Spencer gave us the greatest compliment! He said that we sounded just like the tabernacle choir! What a great kid!

Warning...

Should have known it was coming.

Would have rather it hadn't happened at work.

Thanks for the hugs and the Diet Coke.

Moving on...

What would you miss most...

It's been a crazy couple of weeks in our family. We have been dealing with my Mom's health problems trying to find answers and solutions. A long and often frustrating experience. As we dealt with that, a week and a half ago, my 15 year old nephew was hit by a car while crossing the street. He's okay, but he has a tear on his kidney and so no rough housing for a few months. At work, a former student's mom is threatening a lawsuit and so now the district is having us jump through hoops to keep everyone happy, and then a week ago, while on our way to Ogden to visit my Mom, we were rear-ended on the freeway. Again, everyone is okay, but can you say Arghhh!!! As if everyday life isn't stressful enough!! (Oh ya, and tonight I dropped my cell phone in the sink of running water - trying the rice trick!) But that brings me to my post title. Two weeks ago, when I was teaching my Sunday school class, the lesson posed a question that has been on my mind. If you could not have the gospel in your life what would you miss the most?

My favorite answer from the boys (we teach 13 year olds) was the one who said he would miss the song "Love at Home" which his mother sings whenever he is fighting with his brother!

The answer that I shared with the class has stuck with me. What would I miss? I would miss the Knowledge that I have that my Heavenly Father is there watching out for us and that no matter what, when I turn to Him, He is there. What would my life be like with out that knowledge? I honestly think that there are times that I would quite literally lose my mind if I didn't know that one thing. So while there may have been moments this week when I thought I was headed in the crazy lady direction, over all I know that I will be okay. In this world we live in, that is something to be grateful for.

Draper Temple

Monday we had the opportunity to attend the open house for the Draper Temple. It was so neat to be able to take all of our kids and be able to give them a glimpse of the beauty and more importantly the peace that is found inside the temple walls. We began at a church in Draper where we saw a short movie about temple and then we loaded a bus and headed up the hill. The temple was beautiful. The beautiful wood and subtle floral motif were stunning, and of course all of the touching paintings.

It was a touching experience for me to sit with my entire family in the sealing room, take a few moments to look in the mirrors and reflect on out eternal family. No where else in the world brings into focus the things that are the most important like the temple.

A Change of Scenery

I actually always look forward to winter. I love the first snowfall and I love bundling up in cozy clothes. But then the we get the dreaded inversion and the snow turns black, and I never see my neighbors because we are all hiding inside. So in honor of my wish for clear skies and maybe a little green and I am retiring my winter blog early and dedicating this next theme to my sweetheart! Yes we did get engaged on Valentine's (well technically it was the day after because it was about 2am), and he's now put up with me for almost seventeen years. Maybe we can drive the inversion away through sheer will. It's worth a shot.