Have you considered.......?

Today I subbed in band. Just before I left the high school the power went out, and as I was stalling my departure to the junior high I decided to wait for a minute, or sixty, to see what would happen. Because if the high school got out I was going to force, er, ask Emily to come help me at the junior high. I sat in the main office so I got a front row seat to the whole experience. First of all, so many students came in wanting to know what was going ON!? Would school get out? What caused it? How long did the power have to be out to call school out? What about the blood drive in the gym? Keep in mind this was within mere minutes of the power going out. There was no way to know those answers yet. In addition there was a principals meeting at the district office so our secretary had to notify them before anything could be done. Eventually an electrician was called in and power was restored. What was so fascinating to me was watching people come in and offer opinions about getting out, about finding the problem, how to fix it, what the students should do and so on. All of this when they had no idea what was being discussed and done by the few who knew what to do, who to call.
And then I wondered. How often do I do this? Do we all do this? Make snap judgements, or believe we know better than others about a situation that we probably know little or nothing about? Do we ever consider that we just don't know? And maybe we should trust that sometimes there are people who know better than us. Maybe the angry, disrespectful kid is just looking for a bit of acceptance. That a parent who seems to be handling THEIR child wrong is really just praying and listening to answers they are receiving. Maybe someone snapped at us because they had a bad day. We just don't know. Maybe the kind and Christian thing to do is to be loving and considerate to those around us. We just don't know
I need to remember this tomorrow as I get to sub in the junior high bands again. And believe me, if you see ME tomorrow afternoon please be loving, because I had a stressful day!

All's Well That Ends Well.......

We never were able to find tickets to the Broadcast. BUT! We had Gary drop us off right at the gates on the north side of Temple Square. Gary had said that was where the standby line would start. So we walked up to a senior missionary and asked him where the line began. And a lady standing there said SHE HAD EXTRA TICKETS! And we were welcome to two of them! And she didn't seem to mind when I cried and hugged her! THANK YOU NICE SISTER FROM CLINTON, UTAH!!!!!!AND the seats turned out to be in the section on the floor level right next to the door the Brethren come in. And we were close to the podium. So close it was easier to see them at the podium than on the big screens. So we SAW the First Presidency come in. And felt them. And just for general information, President' Uchtdorf's hair is just as splendid in real life as on the TV. And Sister Dalton is just a wonderful woman, she came in on our floor level. And she thanked us all for being there and said how beautiful the Young Women all were. it was just amazing. And I learned from this that Heavenly Father really, REALLY loves Gary because He made sure I would not be able to hold this against him for years to come. Before we left Brigham blessed our dinner and he prayed that Natalie and I would be able to get in. Oh the power of a child's prayer. I am just so happy Nataliecand I got to have that experience.
We were able to have dinner with all of our kids, except Nathan, and there were also Talisa, Tashya, Andy and Liberty. It was just so much fun to be with family. I love Tashya's husband Andy. She is our niece and it was fun to visit with them. Sometimes it seems like we were just their age, starting out in life together! I hope the future holds many, many more family get togethers. Something I learned this weekend. Young adults change their minds, when you think you know what path they are embarking on.....BAM....the path takes a sharp turn in another direction! It is exhausting. So just like I did on the California Screamin roller coaster at Disneyland, I am going to put on the safety harness, close my eyes tight, hold on and wait for the end so we can go on It's A Small World!

Took a big breath.

Well, I couldn't sleep last night. I just worried and worried about the Young Women's broadcast. And because I am me, I then traveled down numerous paths of worry. I have come to the conclusion we will just wait in line. If Natalie has a book to pass the time,all is well. The most important thing is we will be together, right? Now if I could just solve all the other stuff I stewed about. The Sports awards Booster night next week, will Nate be able to keep up his 4.0 while being a Senate Page for 6 weeks? how will we pay for four kids in college? Where are we going to put a basketball hoop? what does one wear at Time Out For Women? will I be able to lose weight? man, are we going to be squished in the Suburban when we go to Disneyland or what? why can't I figure out how to change my blog? why can't I go to sleep? And on and on. Around 4:00 I finally took a breath, got a grip and fell asleep.
So now I am going to read Hunger Games, well, REread Hunger Games and attempt to go to sleep. Night all!

What to do? What to say?

I could complain about the challenges of raising children, but most people can. And I need to be positive, need to remember to put things in perspective. When our kids were just little I decided I wanted to make a tradition of Gary taking the boys to their first priesthood session in Salt Lake, to the Conference Center. Then we had Hannah and I decided that I would take her and any other daughters to their first Young Women Broadcast in the Conference Center. I thought it would be good for each of them to have some individual time with me or Gary. And I want/ed them to realize how important they are and how important the priesthood and young womens are. And it has been a great experience. Every one of them. But this time it isn't working out, I guess we waited too long to have the stake presidency call. There are no tickets. And I don't know how to tell her!? Natalie is our youngest girl. She gets lost in the crowd of siblings I am afraid. Of all the seven she is the most reserved, the slowest to express what she might be thinking or feeling. And I worry that she will feel slighted, I know I would. Heck, I know I do. So, I guess I we will go early and stand in the standby line. And hope it doesn't rain or snow. Ironically enough, as I have more children getting older I feel less and less capable or successful as a mother. And I gotta say, this didn't help.

New,my favorite color!

I just love new! I love to go grocery shopping and fill my cupboards, freezer and fridge with new food. It is really fun to refill our cereal containers. Or how about the seasons changing? There is a cool Target commercial with people landing and dispersing from a hot air balloon and running while magically changing from the dull winter blahs to the bright, cheerful colors of spring and summer. All to a catchy French tune. LOVE IT!!!!! But lest anyone think it is just spring fever, I also love in the Fall when colors deepen and the air crisps.
And I also REALLY love new stuff. Shoes, socks, pajamas, clothes for my kids. But I am trying to reel that in some. I have a weakness for buying new Bath and Body Works stuff. So, my goal has been to use what I have before purchasing anything new. Challenging! Today I decided to clean out the pantry (UGH). And discovered we have a LOT of home decor thingamajigs. So I lugged them upstairs and have covered our dining room table with years of ideas and choices. My intention is to figure out where to use it, and to rotate stuff. So it will be like NEW!
I am also working on a new me. That is not as easy as getting new stuff. January went well, February was more difficult. But I have a NEW commitment. I think I am realizing that this is going to be a life long issue. The exercise part has also been challenging. Mostly because I HATE it. But if I want a new me, I have to do new things. So I have to buck up and just do it. Those are brave words, the question is, can I back them up?
Finally, the BEST new thing happening is my good friend's daughter is about to have a NEW baby! I have known her since she was 5 years old. I was there when she got ready for her first high school dance, I was there at her sealing and now she is about to be a mama! Newborns are the best new things in the world.
So here we are at the start of a new season (well almost) and a new little life!