What I like best about being a mom

Mother's Day is sometimes a difficult day for me. I feel that I don't measure up to the ideal, more than a little inadequate, and frustrated with my weaknesses and failings.
This year I feel gratitude; I love being a mom!



I have learned everything I know about mothering from my own mom. She continues to teach me about mothering adult children, being a grandmother, and a mother-in-law. I will always be grateful for her teachings and, even more, for her constant example of love and service.

Today I want to share a few of the things I love most about being a mom.
* I love seeing my children succeed. From school work, to sports, friendships, work, marriage, and being parents themselves, my kids make me proud.
* When our children were living in our home, I loved to occasionally catch a glimpse of them kneeling in prayer in the privacy of their bedrooms.
* Five of the best days of my life are the days I first held my babies. My love for them started long before that day, and I treasure those first few moments when we met face to face.
* I love hearing the voices of my children on the phone. They often call just to touch base with us, make sure we are still getting along and haven't gotten into too much trouble. I love that they call to share their joys, heartaches, frustrations, and fun little things that happen in their day.
* I love to see my kids, and their families. We look forward to time we can spend together, wherever and whenever we can. They are definitely our favorite people to be with.
* I am grateful for the lessons I have learned about love, service, unselfishness, and focusing on what is really important that motherhood has taught me.
* My kids all have a great sense of humor. They are so much fun to visit with, and constantly surprise me with their comments and outlook. I love laughing with them.
* I love that our children have made us grandparents. Being far away from most of them is hard for us, but we love the phone calls, Skype, and our visits. We think about and pray for each of them every day.
* I am so grateful that our children often turn to us when things get difficult for them. They have grown to be such capable and confident people, so when they call with heartbreaking or disappointing news we know they can handle whatever comes their way. We love to share their burden, give encouragement and reassure them of the power at their disposal within our family and from their Heavenly Father.
* I love what being a mom has taught me about loving. My capacity to love has grown with the birth of each baby, with each of our childrens marriages, and addition of each grandchild. Learning to love as our Savior loves is my goal, and being a mom has taught me more about this than any other experience I have had.

My New Life

This video has a beautiful message of hope and faith.
Please take a few minutes to feel the strength of this family and learn a little bit how to face adversity.

Joy in the journey

We have so many amazing things and people in our lives. We often find ourselves counting our blessings and marveling at the love our Father shows us every day through so many things that bring us happiness.
Our family brings us constant joy. This picture was taken a summer or two ago, and is very outdated ~ we have several more grandchildren now ~ but it is a favorite. Whether through phone calls, blogs, email, facebook, Skype, or otherwise, we love being close to our kids and their families! (Robin and I shared a great Carter moment yesterday, thanks to Skype.) We see Steve, Krista, and Cache several times a week, although it is never really enough. We hear from Rick frequently, at least once a week. Robin calls or Skypes several times a week, and Rachel calls and sends pictures every week too. Jonas was with me in my dream a few nights ago, and it made me miss him even more.
Dave's sister Suzanne and her husband Jay came to visit last week, we had a wonderful time. We love visitors and spending time with those we love.

A few days ago we decided to include a 'scripture minute' before we pray together each night. It's a time to share our feelings and insights about the scriptures we read that day, a few sweet minutes to end our day.

Our opportunity to serve in the BYU stake is another joy in our lives. We have met such great young people, we have grown to love them all. The Relief Society had a luncheon a couple weeks ago, just before the semester ended. They didn't all attend (there are 72 women in the ward), it was held just before finals. They are amazing, so smart and talented, we hope they will keep in touch with us when they leave.


The winter semester ended last week, and quite a few of the students left for the summer, or just moved to another apartment complex. We didn't want anyone to leave without having been guests at our home for dinner, so we invited 'anyone who has never had dinner at the bishop's house, or anyone who wants to come again' to join us for dinner after church ~ about 30 came. Luckily it was a beautiful day, warm enough to eat outside. It was a fun time, and they ate all the food! We will miss those who left the ward, and look forward to meeting those who will move in.


After many years living far from a temple, we are enjoying having the Provo temple so close. Many beautiful and sacred experiences await in any of the holy temples; they are dedicated to the work of the Lord and the things we do and learn there turn our thoughts and hearts to eternity and bless our lives greatly.

And now for a tour of our yard, we love spring!

Our bleeding heart plants are growing nicely.

The peas are coming along too, hopefully we will get a good harvest before it gets too hot.

And there are blossoms on the strawberry plants!

Some of our tulips ~ to tell you the truth, they looked better a few days ago.

We also have carrots, lettuce, and spinach growing, and Dave has mowed the lawn about 4 times already.

We also love having Cache here. He is such a delight, he entertains us just likes our other grandchildren, and their parents. Today he learned to climb up on the kitchen chairs, and he loves to play 'where's Cache?' Krista is looking forward to the end of the school year, but we will surely miss having him here during the summer.

One of the things we enjoy most about this time in our lives is that we get to spend so much time together. This picture is 4 years old, but we don't have that many ~ Krista has promised to take a great picture of us this summer.

We have learned in the many years we have been married that life holds its ups and downs, good times and bad, sorrow and happiness. We are grateful to know the purpose of life, to have the gospel of Jesus Christ to guide us through all that life throws at us.
And we love having so much that brings us joy on our journey.

Prayer

I can't remember a time when prayer was not part of my life. My parents taught me to pray, and I learned from their example as we prayed as a family. We moved to California when I was 11 years old and prayer got me through the difficult months of going to a new school. Unexpected challenges and heartaches have been easier to bear because I have not borne them alone, prayer has lightened my burdens and given heavenly help. Some of the most sacred experiences I have had have been during my personal prayers.

Sometimes the things we do most regularly can become routine and automatic; my prayers too often slip into this category. A few weeks ago I decided to make a conscious effort to improve my prayers and found encouragement in Bishop McMullin's talk at General Conference, he said:

It is as important to be guided by the Holy Spirit while praying as it is to be enlightened by that same Spirit while receiving an answer to prayer. Such prayer brings forth the blessings of heaven because our Father “knoweth what things [we] have need of, before [we] ask him,”(Matt 6:8) and He answers every sincere prayer. Ultimately, it is the Father and the Son who promise, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matt 7:7)

It's hard to say exactly what I have been doing differently in my prayers, but they have improved. I avoid repetitious phrases, pray in specifics, focus more often on giving thanks, pause to ponder rather than rushing to be finished. As a result I more easily feel the love of my Father, thoughts seem to come more often and clearly to my mind, and I find myself wanting to prolong my prayer and strengthen the bond it builds between myself and my Father.

It is an amazing privilege to approach God whenever I choose, to speak to him of personal cares and concerns. I know that prayers are heard and answered, that our Heavenly Father knows us individually and cares about whatever we care about. I know that love and comfort can be found wherever and whenever we go to him in prayer.

Knitting for a cause

My favorite yarn shop sends a newsletter every month, and in the last one they issued an invitation. It seems that our servicemen in Afghanistan and Iraq need hand knit helmet liners, made from 100% wool. "When soldiers are in explosions from IEDs or in a fire, the wool helmet liner will not melt like synthetic fibers and will provide protection from the flames and help reduce the traumatic shock from the explosion."
They provided a pattern and are collecting the finished product to ship to our servicemen.
I have made 2; I need something to do when we watch TV, it's hard to keep up with the many programs the designated channel changer likes to watch at one time.


If anyone is interested, I can post the pattern, it's not difficult. Each one takes one ball of Galway 100% wool or Plymouth Merino Super-wash wool, 175 yards. The preferred color is black, but gray, tan, and brown are acceptable.

Prophets

The Old Testament is largely a record of the dealings of God with his children in ancient times. He communicated and guided those people through prophets such as Moses, Elijah, Abraham, and Noah.

During his earthly life the Lord Jesus Christ called and ordained apostles to help him spread the good news of the gospel. Before he ascended again into heaven, after his resurrection, he commissioned his apostles to take the gospel to all the world, that all might know and apply the saving gospel in their lives.


We have the same privilege as those who lived in Old Testament times, and those who lived at the time of Christ to hear authorized representatives of our Savior. We have living prophets who receive revelation from the Lord, and who speak his words as they lead and guide us just as the prophets of old. In the book of Amos we read:

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

It is no small thing to hear the voice of a prophet of God and to receive divine guidance from the Lord through him. Such is our privilege this weekend, to hear and heed the counsel of a prophet who bears witness of Jesus Christ to this world so much in need of his guidance, love, and mercy.

Two more sessions of General Conference are being held tomorrow at 10 AM and 2 PM; I invite all to listen on TV, radio, or on the internet. All 4 sessions are available to watch at this site.
http://www.lds.org/broadcast/gc/0,5161,9080,00.html

Holy Week

Spring is such a welcome time of year. We love the warmer air, the gradual greening of our grass, and the first shoots of tulips and daffodils that promise color and beauty in our yard once again.
It seems that the sacred events that took place in the early spring so many years ago and so far away too easily escape my attention.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the anniversary of the Savior's 'triumphal entry' into Jerusalem, marking the beginning of the last week of his mortal life.
The events of that week are recorded in the Holy Bible, at least some of them are. There must have been other things that happened that we have no record of, but we do know that he taught powerfully through parables we have come to know and love. He told his disciples about his eventual coming in glory, and the events that would proceed it. He defended the sanctity of his Father's house-the temple-as he cleared out the moneychangers and those who sold animals for sacrifice in that sacred place. He spent time in Bethany with those he loved. He celebrated the Passover with his apostles and prayed mightily in the Garden on the Mt of Olives. He was betrayed, tried, and convicted. He was cruelly beaten and crucified. He suffered for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross on Calvary that we 'might not suffer if we will repent'.
He was laid in the tomb of a friend, and he rose again on a beautiful spring morning.
He then spent 40 days teaching his beloved apostles, preparing them further for the great work he had for them to do.
How truly blessed we are to have knowledge of the life of our Savior, to know of his amazing and saving love and mercy. I once heard someone on a Sunday morning radio program say this ~

Mercy is not getting what we deserve,
Grace is getting what we don't deserve.

I am so grateful for the Savior Jesus Christ, for the part he continually offers to play in my life, for his constant invitation - 'Come unto me'. I am grateful for covenants I have been privileged to make to follow him, to serve him, to do as he would do in my place. I am grateful and amazed at the experiences I have been blessed with, when I have felt the love, peace, and assurance that only he can bring.
I share with you my witness that he lives. He is aware of each of us, he knows our joys and our sorrows; he knows our hearts and can change us to be the version of us he intends us to be. He will be intimately involved in our personal lives as we turn to him and welcome him in.
I love him ~ he is my Savior, my Redeemer, my Rescuer, my Joy. He makes everything in my life better.