Where Can I Turn for Peace? (8/19/18)

Yesterday I was not in the best mood.  Parts of the day were great and I enjoyed my time with the boys and visiting with people we ran into at the Heart Center Carnival and Porter's soccer game, but there was an underlying sullen mood.  As the day progressed into the afternoon it continued.  Around 6 pm David was talking about going to the temple.  He had been gone for the past few hours, but I knew he had wanted to go.  Within about 5 minutes he determined that I should go.  Since my mood was already sour, I told him no.  I didn't want to go to which he immediately said then I definitely should go.  So, by 6:15pm I was out the door heading to the Salt Lake Temple.
Of course, the temple is exactly where I needed to be.  I didn't immediately feel better, but slowly the peace replaced the sullen feelings I had been experiencing.  There were a few things that stood out to me.  In the room representing the telestial world, part of the mural depicts 3 lions attacking each other.  This world is called the lone and dreary wilderness.  As I looked at this mural, I realized that sometimes we are like these lions.  We "attack" and "disconnect" from one another and create a "lone" and "dreary" place.  Rather than embracing one another and lifting each other up, we separate.
There was another part during the ceremony where covenants we make were discussed.  More directly it was talking about the covenant of how we serve and give.  One of my gifts is to love children.  My own, but also others.  I am using my talent as I continually open my home to kids around me.  I know they feel welcome around me and they know that I love them.  Sometimes I need the reminder that I am doing thy work, although it may look completely different then how someone else is doing it.
The last thing that stood out to me was at the very end of the ordinance when each individual is being presented to the Lord.  This portion has touched me many times before, but last night it struck me again as the imagery of each individual seeking the presence of the Lord reminded me of each individual's journey with the same goal in mind.  No matter where we came from last night or what mistakes we have made, we were each there seeking the presence of the Lord.  Seeking to return to Him.
I am grateful for a husband who recognizes my need to be in the temple and helps to make it happen.  I am grateful that he loves the temple just as I love the temple.  I am grateful that at 6:05pm we can determine to go to the temple and be in a session by 7pm.  This is a tremendous blessing.

Porterisms (8/4/18)

Tonight Porter declared that he did not need me as his mom.  Our friend Amber Sagers was over and she proceeded to ask him what he would do with out me.  How would he take care of himself, buy food, get clothes, etc.  This led into a discussion about ways that Porter could work and make money. One of his ideas was a Lemonade stand.  As he was discussing the various aspects to making this happen, he turned to me and said, "Mom, can you go make some lemonade."  Oh, the irony of this statement!  Amber and I laughed and laughed.
He came up with a few other great ideas too.  He would charge $950 to mow a yard and blow off your driveway.  He would by Legos and then sell those legos.  I was a little concerned about this one because he loves Legos, so I probed a bit further.  Of course he had this figured out, he would buy the legos he doesn't really care about, "those little car sets".  We also discussed a garage sale where he determined he would sell water balloons and the boys outside trucks that he is no longer interested in playing with.  It was quite an entertaining conversation.
I love this kids mind.  He will definitely go places.

Later this evening he was talking about a girl from our ward, Kenna Mitchell.  She is an adorable, sweet little girl.  She is a few months younger than Porter, but he gets a little frustrated with her because he doesn't like when she wants to sit by him all the time.  Tonight he did say she was fun and he liked her because she's obedient.  I thought, that is great.  It's impressive that he noticed her obedience and I loved that this was a characteristic he appreciated.  Then he continued on with his thoughts about her obedience.  He realized that because she was obedient, he could probably get her to do the things he wanted her to do.  He said, "I can tell her to do (fill in the blank) and then she'll do it."  Oh my goodness!!!  Heaven help us.

Pure love (7/19/18)

A couple of days this week I have watched some kids (Hannah, Rya, Namia, Mikayla and Quentin) from our ward.  They are newer to our ward and don’t come to church every Sunday because their parents are in the process of a divorce.  And Ryker Thompson comes over almost every day or he calls.
It is interesting how your heart can swell with love for those you don’t know well and those that aren’t your own children.  Every time I have a house load of kids, I feel this swelling love.

I am grateful that people feel comfortable and welcome coming to our home.

Sometimes Porter has a harder time with all these people, so I need to figure out how to still be attentive to him, but also allow him freedom and room to play.  As he struggles, he can be unkind, so we need to work on this.

Jonas is usually pretty easy going and full of love unless he’s following Porter’s lead.

Mason loves everyone and everyone loves Mason.

What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be (July 12, 2018)

I listened to this talk by Lynn G Robbins tonight.  I needed to hear this talk for a lot of reason, but especially for the kind of parent I am.  I need to “be”, not just “do” in life.

Jonas and Mason both have hand, foot and mouth disease, so we’ve been home the last few days. We’ll get outside and run an errand that doesn’t include all of us going inside somewhere, but it makes for longer days.  But, I love the good moments we get to have everyday when we laugh, snuggle, talk, read together and when I can watch the boys play.  I have realized more and more that I need to chill out as a mom and not control everything.  The only thing I need to control is my mouth, my emotions and my thoughts.

Porter and Siri (5/11/18)

Porter loves talking to Siri and asking her questions. Siri is the computer on my phone.  He has listened to me talk to her or tell her to do things.  Today during our walk, Porter was laughing and asking Siri poop questions.  Then I hear him so, "Siri, how do I get a girl to like me?"  Poor Porter still has a thing for Caitlyn from his preschool class.  He thinks she is "nice (kind) and funny".  He has liked her since day 2 of preschool.