Valentine's Day at Our House

Derek took the picture.  It was nice of him to cut out the mess in the kitchen!

Valentine's Day started like any normal Friday.  Derek went off early to play basketball, the boys went to school and Kayli went to work.  I did a few things and then fell asleep for an hour.  It wasn't until I woke up that I remembered it was Valentine's Day!  Derek didn't neglect me.  He got me beautiful flowers a few days ago, and had texted to wish me a happy day, but the sound was off on my phone and I slept through it.

Derek was able to come home early so we went to the temple.  Now we are waiting to be joined by Trisa, Connor, Chewy and our nephew Weston.  I did remember Valentine's day earlier in the week so once I remembered I just needed to get the things out that I had gotten.  Usually we just get everyone a book.  This year I didn't want to try to guess what books everyone would enjoy so they are going to pick their own.

I wanted to put some kind of quote on the table but I finally decided that I could just say what I wanted to say without quoting anyone else.  There is joy to be found in loving one another!  Happy Valentine's Day!

I Can Be Patient. I Hope.

On my latest trip to Deseret Industries to look around I found a table.  It cost $12 and I decided to buy it.

It is solid wood, just like the red "desk" that I bought last year.  It used to be a leaf table -- but there wasn't a leaf.  So my plan?  Take it apart.  I've accomplished that.  Strip the paint off and sand it and see what it looks like underneath.  Glue the two sides together and try to make it look like one piece.  And then refinish it. 

The plan is to use it on the back porch.  I could paint a checkerboard on it, or make it a map table.  (I've been looking on Pinterest again).  Or, I could just make it an ordinary solid wood table -- stained or painted.  We'll see.  I do know that I have a lack of patience when it comes to sanding and so I figure I'd better hang a sign up somewhere that says, "I can be patient!" and then I need to actually be patient so it will look decent. 

Jake Grew Up!

Today (the 12th) -- Jake turned 18.

Jake getting ready to open presents while I "help" by taking a selfie.

Teddy wants to help, and Derek is getting a peak under the jacket hood.

More slow unwrapping.  Jake likes to open presents slowly and torture the crowd.

Jake's great smile and Derek helping hold up his gifts.

And again -- only only Derek's hands are in the picture.

And now who is the gift?  Kayli!!!!

Jake is great!  He has a great smile, is a thoughtful, skilled helper, and is the designated spider smasher downstairs.  If Kayli needs a spider "taken care of" or something fixed -- she calls Jake.  I can't believe how fast 18 years went by and now all but Dan are taller than me -- and I'm sure he'll get there too!

Finding the Root

When the root is not pulled, the dandelion will grow back.
Photo by Denis Agati on Unsplash

Monday on the Christian radio station someone said that, in order to solve a problem, you must first find the root -- the reason that the problem exists in the first place.

For example, if you had a leak in your house, continually mopping up the water is not going to solve the problem.  We would have to find the hole and fix it.  If we sin, it is helpful to know why.  Maybe I am caring more what people think than what God thinks.  Maybe I'm feeling lonely or stressed, and a distraction helps me forget.  Maybe someone -- even myself -- told me something negative about me and I believed it, and decided God doesn't love me, and so there is no reason to follow His laws.

When we know the why of what we are doing -- then we can work on a solution, and the sin will be easier to say goodbye to.  I think one of the best things to do to help is to study scripture and try to understand just how much we need our Savior, and just how much God loves us.  The more we trust Him and turn to Him the easier it will be to say no to sin.  We will still be tempted, but our love for God will act as a kind of shield.  God will help us find the root of our sins and eradicate them!

Mercy

I was listening to Emily Freeman and David Butler and the subject of Mercy came up.  Emily has been studying it very recently and the definition she came up with is this:  Mercy = Active Compassion.

Jesus has mercy on us.  He has compassion, and actively and willingly performed the Atonement for us so that we could have the chance to repent and so that death will not be a permanent thing.

Emily gave the example of a Mother as being actively compassionate as she allows a baby to grow inside her.  She actively gives nutrients, energy, and a place for the baby to grow.  She gives up her shape, and often her ability to do things she has always done -- at least for a while.

This is Valentine's Day week.  It is a hard week for some.  It is a good week (not that there is ever a bad one) to give active compassion to those around us, especially anyone that we know will be struggling.  Of course, it is also a good week for those who are hurting to try to work through the hurt and find enough energy to have mercy on someone else.  Even if no one else sees or appreciates our efforts, for sure Heavenly Father will!

Photo by J W on Unsplash

Pictures!

The first picture is our beautiful Trisa.  We were taking this for Connor whose name she had for Christmas.  There is an ongoing thing at our house about being "the gift".  In this case, Trisa was the gift!  I know that having her in our family feels like a large gift to all of us.  She is beautiful, thoughtful, smart, kind, helpful, and a generally all around great person.  We love our Trisa gift.

Quinn, Tonya, Derek and Me at Quinn and Tonya's house in St. George.
It was fun to get to visit them!

My Mom with Lizzy and Dan at my parent's house in St. George

Sherie (Me), Derek, and Kayli at the Hale Center Theater in Orem

Dan, Jake and Me at the Hale Center Theater

Derek got us play tickets for this past snowy Monday -- one of those rare snow days in our school district.  The roads were fine by evening.  The play was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately Dan got a stomach ache and Derek ended up taking him out to the car to lay on the seat (with the heater running).  They missed most of the last half.  My explanation of the last half was rambling at best.  It did end in a happy way though, and I'm sure I got that across at least even if I couldn't reproduce any of the hilarity.

Tender Mercies

There is never a bad time for tender mercies, but sometimes they happen at just the right time, and therefore are hard to miss!

Last night when I went to bed I was tense and maybe a bit cranky.  Dan missed school again and I always worry about him getting behind.  He didn't seem too sick, but he was having trouble breathing -- needing his inhaler as often as he could use it.  It hadn't been a bad day for me, but I am frustrated that Dan gets sick so much, and I was really tired.  Unfortunately, being tired and cranky makes it harder for me to sleep.  And then my phone made a noise signaling that I had a text -- and that I had forgotten to turn the sound off.

I picked it up, and there was a text from Derek's cousin Melanie, who is my friend.  She had sent me a link to an instagram post on how to make a fairy garden because she knows that I'm interested in making one.  It really made a difference to be thought of, and after deciding we should probably go fairy garden plant shopping together in the spring, I turned off the sound on my phone and felt more ready for sleep.

I also had the tender mercy yesterday of seeing a comment my Kentucky cousin Mike had made on my blog.  It was thoughtful, and encouraging, and kind and I am so thankful that he takes the time to write me messages sometimes!  He is good at sharing his faith in Christ, and I really love that!

Quotes To Ponder

A long time ago I started reading Christian fiction as a way to learn a little something while enjoying a good story.  Last year I read a story called In Too Deep by Lynn H. Blackburn.  I took a screenshot of one page (since I was reading it digitally) so I could ponder a couple of quotes.  I still want to ponder them, without keeping track of the paper, and maybe you will enjoy pondering them too.

"If you're worried about having enough faith, then you're putting faith in yourself and of course you can fail.  But when you keep the focus on the God you believe in, then everything changes.  He's beg enough for all our doubts, fears, and questions.  He's big enough for our anger and our pain."

Then, after some discussion about how God allows bad things to happen and we often don't understand what possible purpose it could have the character says:

"I'm very intelligent.  I often start thinking I know the best plan because I've evaluated the plans on the table and chosen the one that makes the most sense.  Then when God doesn't do what I expected or what I think is best.  I get mad.

..."But God is infinite.  He's eternal.  He looks at a situation and doesn't see three or four possible paths to a solution.  He sees thousands.  And he can see that solution number five hundred eighty-two is best, and because he loves me, he chooses not to allow me to have the solution I chose.  No because I chose poorly, but because he's chosen the best." 

 Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

(And I wonder how long I could sit on a stack of books like in the picture above without falling over!)

 

Dancing in The Clouds

When I was thinking about all of the wonderful things there are to do and see and how little time I have to cram in as many good things as possible, I wondered if I could be happy if I couldn't DO things.  I like to do things.  I like to feel like I am accomplishing something.  What if I was not able to move?  I mean, two weeks on crutches was kind of depressing for me.  It's hard to do things with your hands occupied!  (I plan on living a long healthy life -- in case you were wondering).

I decided that if that ever happens, and I can't move much or accomplish the things I regularly do, I would have to get good at being like Dan -- getting lost in my imagination.  Of course, my imagination wouldn't have me creating awesome animations or video games like Dan's does.  I would create a vision of me doing things that I wish I could do -- like flying, or dancing in the clouds.  Hopefully, while doing that, I would be able to pull up some gratitude for the things I can "do" without moving.

Not Enough Time

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

The other day I was thinking about all of things I enjoy doing, and all of the things that I still want to do and see and experience, and I realized that there isn't enough time.  There also isn't enough energy.  I am glad that we have eternity and not just time because during this life I can't learn everything I want to, or meet all of the people I'd like to, or visit all of the countries, or clean all of the closets :-).  I don't have time to discover all of the treasures that are here to discover!  I will do my best to enjoy what I can do, see, learn and experience, and I will look forward to an eternity when I will have the energy to do even more of all of those things!

Flowers

I got this vase at the D.I. in Provo when I went to drop off things from the storage room that we cleaned out on Saturday.  I had about 10 minutes before I needed to leave for the doctor and I thought this pitcher was pretty.  I put these on the desk in my room.

 I added more flowers!  I got a few taller ones and I like it a bit more than I did before.

Making Space For Greater Joy

This pot was a D.I. treasure too.
I think it will look better with taller flowers
but it is pretty this way too.

"The joy the Savior offers [us]...is constant, assuring us that our 'afflictions shall be but a small moment' and be consecrated to our gain."  Our trials and afflictions can make space for greater joy."  (Elder Budge quoting Pres. Nelson)

I like this view of trials and afflictions.  It turns hard things from something that is just painful to something full of possibilities.  Possibilities for happy change, learning, growth, and a different perspective that can give us greater empathy, or a better view of our value.  With faith in our Savior we can look past the hard moments with hope for greater joy than we have experienced so far!

Focusing on The Right Things

The vase is a D.I. treasure I found this week.
I already had the flowers.

Sometimes I have made the mistake of listing in my mind all of the problems, or challenges that everyone in my family is dealing with.  The longer I count the problems, the more picked on and discouraged I feel.

One of my favorite quotes lately is from Elder Christofferson:  "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."

When I catch myself starting to think of all of the things that are wrong, I change my focus to all of the good things about, and happening to, each family member, or I focus on the Savior and all that he has done for us all.  Changing my focus changes my mood and makes my days brighter.