Easter

Today is such a special, sacred day and I am so thankful for it.  The reality is that we are all so in need of the hope, peace, forgiveness, mercy and grace afforded us by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Our morning was not a peaceful, happy one.  Everyone was kind of cranky, unprepared, and out of sorts.  We left for church with tears, hurt feelings and frustration rampant.  Exactly the opposite of what I hope for and strive to achieve. Usually the sacrament helps soothe my troubled heart on days/weeks that I feel that way...but not today.  I felt terrible because I recognize the importance of this sacred day and it was anything but what I want my children to experience...but then the primary sang "Gethsemane".   And my heart began to soften. Then Halee stood and spoke about the promptings of the Holy Ghost and the spirit came and comforted me.  I think it soothed Ella's troubled heart as well.  And Emalee gave a beautiful talk about how we bring Christ joy as we are baptized, keep our covenants, serve, study and strive to become like Him.  That one sentence summary of Halee's talk and one sentence summary of Emalee's talk do not do either of them justice.  Because these two spoke with the spirit, my heart rejoiced and I could feel the love of my Savior. The rest of sacrament meeting and Sunday School were wonderful and the spirit was present.  It was a wonderful day!  We were in need of peace, forgiveness, mercy and grace and that is exactly what we received on this most sacred of days!

In young women's, we had decided to teach together as a presidency on this Easter Sunday.  We didn't really have a concrete plan for what we would teach other than that it would be related to the Savior and Easter.  But I felt the Spirit so strong as each member of the presidency shared her small portion of the lesson...and I felt they connected and were interwoven so beautifully.

My part of the lesson was about our Prince of Peace.  The church has an Easter initiative each year, a video that helps turn our thoughts to the Savior and allows members to share their testimony through social media.  This year's video was about Christ as our Prince of Peace.  It was such an inspiring and touching video and so I decided to share my thoughts about how Christ has brought peace to my life. I brought just brief notes about what to say so I'm sure these words below aren't exactly what I said, but they give the gist of what I said.

I began by stating that we have peace because we understand the plan, we know our purpose, and we recognize our potential.  Christ truly is our prince of peace.

One of my favorite stories of the Savior is in 3 Nephi.  After Christ's crucifixion, there were earthquakes, tempests, and terrible destruction.  The land was covered in absolute darkness for 3 days.  The people must have been scared, troubled and grieving.  In 3 Nephi 8 it says, "there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually..."

And then Christ comes.  The people hear a voice, but they can't understand it.  The listen closer and hear the Father's voice exclaim, "This is my beloved Son."  They see Christ descend out of the heavens and he says, "Behold I am Jesus Christ whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.  And behold I am the light and the life of the world..."

They had been filled with sorrow and fear.  Imagine the joy and peace they must have felt to see Jesus descend upon them.  Just seeing His light and hearing His voice probably spoke peace to their mind.  Just to hear Him teach would probably bring healing to many troubled hearts.  Yet that isn't all that Christ did.  He ministered to them, one by one.  He let each man, woman and child thrust their hands into His side and feel the prints of the nails in His hands, feet and side.  They came "forth one by one"...and just as He ministered to them individually then, He does the same for us today.  When our hearts are troubled, when we are filled with sorrow or fear, we, too, can and will be ministered to by our Savior, through the Holy Ghost.

I shared 3 times when my heart has been comforted and I have felt peace (although there have been many other times, big and small):
1.  When I was a high school student, about to graduate.  I was trying to decide what college to attend.  I had been offered scholarships to a couple of different universities and I was trying to determine where to go.  There were pros and cons to each.  So I studied it out, visited each campus, and made it a matter of prayer.  I decided to go to BYU and I felt peace about that decision.  It was a decision that richly blessed my life.

2.  When Ella was 4 months old, we learned she had a hole in her heart.  When she was 19 months old, they decided to do open heart surgery.  Having your young child have surgery is scary.  And the doctors have to tell you everything that might go wrong.  But rather than feeling absolutely terrified, I felt peace.  Ella had received a priesthood blessing and was promised that she would be fine.  And she was.  She healed so quickly and left the hospital sooner than the doctors had predicted.  She is completely healthy today.

3.  About two years ago, things had become fairly unbearable at the school I was teaching at.  I don't like change and don't really seek after change, but things were bad enough that I felt like it was time to change.  But (more than probably anyone realized), I agonized over that decision.  I loved the teachers I worked with.  I'd been at that school 11 years and I loved the students and I loved my coworkers.  I also felt like working with children in poverty was making a difference and I felt a bit like I was betraying them by leaving.  Like I was throwing in the towel and quitting instead of fighting to make things better.  I shed many, many tears and didn't feel certain I was doing the right thing.  Nevertheless I prayed and hoped and looked for another job.  I interviewed at several schools.  And then I was offered a job at Ensign.  I'd liked it when I went for my interview but just wasn't sure.  Nevertheless I accepted the job, feeling excited but still unsure.  A few weeks later, I went to meet with one of the teachers and to get a tour of the school.  The secretary, Dani, had been very friendly and welcoming in my interview and she was that day as well.  She showed me around.  I met several teachers and they all seemed great.  And I looked at the work hanging on the wall...and it was incredible and the kind of teaching I wanted to be doing but didn't feel like I could at Parkview.  Suddenly, I felt true joy and peace wash over me...that Ensign was where I belong.  I still shed tears my last week at Parkview...it was bittersweet to leave, although most of my friends left there at the same time...but I felt peace about my decision.  And it has been a blessing to be at Ensign.  I love teaching again.  I feel successful.  I feel my confidence returning.  It has blessed my family.

Jesus Christ truly is the Prince of Peace.  He will minister and speak peace to you too.  I am so grateful for Him!!  I testify that He lives and He loves us.

Ella

Ella loves taking photos/selfies.  I regularly find silly, cute, and strange photos on my phone, almost always taken by Ella.  Here are just a few of the selfies I've found:

I love you more than ice cream (That's a lot!)

I saw this saying on Pinterest and thought it was cute...

My girls had spring break last week.  I, on the other hand, have spring break next week.  So they spent most of the week at Sara's house.  I am so grateful for good friends that are always so willing to help me when I need it.  They not only got to hang out/play with Sara's kids (which is pretty great...Sara has great kids!), but Sara took them to Wheeler Farm one day.  Gracie and Gabby made slime one day.  They had a good time and I am so thankful.

But I tried to do a few small things during the week to let them know I love them and that I was sorry I had to work.  On Thursday, when Michelle had violin lessons, I took Ella and Gabby with me.  We dropped Michelle off and went around the corner to Baskin Robbins for ice cream.  And I really do love all 3 girls more than I love ice cream (and I love ice cream a lot!)

Ice Skating

On March 21, I took Michelle, Gabby and our friend Kate ice skating.  Ella was invited to come but she didn't want to.  It was Gabby's first time going.  She was pretty nervous and wanted to hold onto me and the wall at first.  I'd try to get her to let go of the wall and let me help her and she would for a few minutes and then go right back to the wall. After a little bit, she was ready to be done.  She sat down for a little bit and just watched.  Then finally she decided to really try to learn.  I helped her, Michelle helped her and Kate helped her.  She would skate from Michelle to me, just a few feet apart.  Then she would skate holding on to one of us but actually skating.  Soon she was skating on her own...slowly but she got the hang of it.  She ended up really loving it and wants to know when we can go again. I loved watching her confidence grow as she tried and learned something new.

I really enjoy ice skating.  If it wasn't so expensive and my schedule was a little less crazy, I'd love to ice skate several times a week.  It's an exercise that I find relaxing and enjoyable. I"m no expert...can't skate backwards or do any tricks, but I enjoy it.

Fun is...

Ice Skating with the Beehives:

 Getting ice cream and going shopping for books (with gift cards from your students) with your oldest daughter:

 Watching Moana with your youngest daughter at her school's movie night:

Reading Pax with your 11 year old (such a great book!) or Harry Potter with your 8 year old (also a great book!):

Going to see Beauty and the Beast with your family and then getting burgers and fries at In-N-Out afterwards:

Alfredo hates getting his picture taken...so he often makes faces, assuming that I won't take the picture if he's being obnoxious. Most of the time it works, but I wanted a photo.  It had been a stressful couple of weeks and it was really nice to go spend time as a family!  These people may be silly, but they are mine!!

Solution for every problem

Some days this world gets to me.  Some days it feels like there are lots of bad things in the world and not nearly enough good.  Some days it seems like hate is rampant and love and compassion are in short supply.  So when I saw this t-shirt, I fell in love. I like math. I don't like it as much as reading, but I do like it.  I actually like teaching it quite a bit.  But mostly, I like the thought that there is a solution to every problem.  The solution probably isn't found in math...but like in math, there is a solution.  Usually the solution really is to minus hate and add love.  The shirt gives me hope that I can bring a little more love, a little more light, a few more solutions to this sometimes crazy world.  So this is my hope shirt...my reminder to myself that there is still a lot of goodness in this world and that I can work to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Conference Reflections

What a wonderful weekend it has been!   I love, love, LOVE General Conference.  I'm happy that my children are learning to love it too.  Michelle, in particular, took great notes and was really focused on what was being said.

There was so much said and I am so excited to go back and study the talks again (and again).  I know that as I reread and study them, I will gain additional insights.  But here are my immediate reactions:

There were so many talks that I really loved...every single talk had value.  Elder Holland gave a talk that deeply touched me.  I also really loved Elder Bragg's talk.  And Joy D. Jones' talk gave me some insights that I absolutely need as a parent.  I loved L. Whitney Clayton's talk about how doing the small and simple things allows us to be more and do more than we could on our own.  So many great talks!

A couple of quotes that especially touched me:
"Seeking the light is in our spiritual DNA."  --Elder Mark Bragg

I loved Gary Sabin's stories of his father.  His father, in his 90's, when asked how he was doing would reply, "On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm about a 25."   Also, when asked if he wanted a wheelchair to get around, he'd reply to wait until he got old.  He'd say, "If I get tired of walking, I can always run."   What a great attitude!  I want to be more like him!

Elder Hales said, "Disciples live so the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fiber of their beings, as a spiritual tapestry."

Sister Jones said, "Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate."


Themes that stood out to me:
1.  The Godhead...D&C 130:22-23 was quoted numerous times.  Several different talks spoke about the Godhead...some focusing on all three members of the Godhead and several focusing either on Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost.  As I reread, I plan to take notes on what was taught about each member of the Godhead in this conference.  There wasn't any new doctrine but it is important doctrine.  Joseph Smith taught that to acquire faith unto salvation you must have a correct knowledge of God's attributes.  He also said, "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves."   So this is something I plan to study in greater depth.  We were encouraged to study The Living Christ.  I'm going to break it into chunks and use it for our family to "ponderize" for the next month or two.  We were taught to recognize the Holy Ghost, live worthy of his inspiration and act on His promptings.

2.  Love others...see them as God sees them.  Help your children and others to understand their divine identity.  I loved Elder Palmer's talk focusing on Mark 10, "Then Jesus beholding him, loved him."  We need to look at others with the Savior's love.

3.  So much great counsel on how to be a better parent!

4.  Several talks on LIGHT.

As I study, I plan to focus on what was taught about the Godhead.   I also plan to focus on counsel given/things we (I) need to do and blessings promised.

I'm so very thankful for the blessing and privilege it is to be a member of the Church and to be taught by a living prophet and apostles and other leaders!  It is clear they are inspired and so many of their words felt as if they were spoken directly to me, for me.

This weekend was also nice because on Saturday evening we were able to go to Alfredo's cousin's house for dinner and spend time with his family.  Today we had a family from our ward, Chad and Teresa and their children, over for dinner.  For the past several months, I've been trying to have someone from the ward over for dinner about once a month.  Chad and Teresa said this was the first time they'd been invited to someone's home for dinner in the 7 years they have been in the ward.  I'm glad I listened to the feeling to invite them, but I'm sorry that no one has done that yet.  We can do better.  I can do better.  We had a great time visiting and eating and getting to know each other better.  I feel so very blessed to be in the ward that I am in.  We are surrounded by wonderful people.