2018 :: week 21

May 13

Mother's Day! At 11am Anthony asked me if I wanted to speak in church because one of the scheduled speakers was sick. The perks of being married to a bishop never end. He told me I could speak about whatever I wanted related to mothers or Mother's Day. I decided to speak about lessons I learned from my mother that apply to everyone. One--The Lord wants us to remember other people, to seek out the lonely and forgotten. "Every unselfish act of kindness and service increases your spirituality. God would use you to bless others. Your continued spiritual growth and eternal progress are very much wrapped up in how you treat others. Do you indeed love others and become a blessing in their lives? Isn't the measure of the level of your conversion how you treat others? Service to others is what the gospel and exalted life are all about" (Elder Robert J. Whetton, General Conference April 2005). Two--There is power in consistent personal prayer. You don't have to pray with flowery language, but you can cultivate a strong relationship with the Savior through regular prayer. Three--Seek after beauty and find small ways to add it to you life. The 13th Article of Faith says, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." A vase of fresh flowers or tidy room can foster a sense of peace in a chaotic world.

May 14

This is our neighbor and Elliott's buddy Blasie. He lives a few houses down the street and is two weeks older than Elliott. When we went outside to go for a walk after dinner Elliott was delighted to see him motoring down the sidewalk on his "truck." We delayed our walk and let the boys play together.

May 15

On Wednesday Will came home with an invitation to the Kindness Counts Ice Cream party. Every teacher gets to pick one or two kids from their class to go to the party. The students that are chosen are those who do an exemplary job of modeling kindness in the classroom. Will does a lot of things to make us proud, but this might be what makes us feel the proudest.

May 16

Elliott and I joined the OPC kindergartners for a morning at Deanna Rose. Elliott finally got over his fear of feeding goats and had a great time. Lauren enjoyed playing with the goats as well. I supervised Lauren and her friend Brianna who were very easy to manage. A lot of parents went on this field trip, and I enjoyed seeing some who I don't get to see very often. As soon as the field trip was over Elliott and I headed home to watch the Wilson boys while Emily went to a primary presidency meeting.

May 17

Elliott is getting more involved in the bathing process, insisting that he wash his own hair. He does a pretty good job of rubbing the soap in, but I have to help him wet and rinse his hair. It is so thick and seems to repel water.

May 18

I ordered a new chair for our front room. Anthony sits on it to read his scriptures most mornings.

May 19

The youth went paint balling Saturday. All of the youth, youth leaders and several parents attended.