I see the Hand of the Lord today

I see the Hand of the Lord today.

This morning, when I felt too tired to get out of bed and study together with DH,
I felt the tug of the Spirit to go,

and

heard the tender words of my husband
that his day runs so much smoother when we have our study time,

and so,

I listened.

This morning, as he and I read together,
I learned from Lehi's example,
that in all things and in all times I can show gratitude to Heavenly Father.

This morning, when the girls came up for prayers, breakfast and scriptures,
they were willing, and cheerful,
albeit tired.

This morning, when I knelt to pray, 
I felt the Spirit's comfort.

This morning, before our children left for school,
their grandma gave each of them a hug
and an "I love you!"

A hike to Ensign Peak

Our family hiked Ensign Peak Monday morning. At the top, DH wanted to share with our children the significance of this beautiful place. It turned out more lovely than he had planned.

If each family member voiced how the hike was, the words would be:

AWESOME,
long,
too warm,
hard,
adventurous,
beautiful.



Albeit the scenery and the view from the top was beautiful, the highlight of our hike was just before reaching the top, and meeting Elder and Sister Dallin H. Oaks.

What a delight!

Our children who were feeling rather tuckered out before reaching the top were suddenly filled with the energy to finish the hike. They raced to the top and talked with he and his wife before we parents caught up with them.

And when we were there together, our newly baptized daughter declared,

"I've never met a REAL prophet in real life before!"

And with that, Elder Oaks turned and bent down, he looked at her, extended his hand and said,  "You have now."

He shook each of our children's hand, including baby's (and mine, too). What an experience for our family!

 

Happy Family Home Evening

Yes!

We had a Happy Family Home Evening tonight!!!

YEAH!!!

Let me clarify...it was formal...ish...kind of...but not.

It really led off like some kind of circus affair. Hmmm. Not what I had in mind for FHE.  But it was happy all through FHE.

We began with me conducting FHE tonight...and well...I was conducting a formal meeting of one (me).

So, noticing that everyone else was really in a FUN mood, I tried changing my tone  from formal to ... semi formalish but trying to be fun... (okay, truth be told...I hate admitting it...but too often I act like Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh. Ish)!.

As the opening song started, "Love at Home", oh my, I wondered about FHE for this night. 
The redition was...Something Unlike I've ever heard...truly!

I believe from the sound of the family, 
we all sang the hymn...
in our own key...
with parts...
on purpose.

Really.

I exagerate not!

It was really something else to hear. I wonder if I will get to hear a replay of this one day.

I think by at his point I figured out that what I really needed to do was smile and breathe and listen and watch...because everyone was Happy! And FHE is about happy.

When the laughter died down, we did have as quiet and reverent of a prayer as we could.

The playful mood continued and so we had some kind of move and stretch and laugh some more before we moved to scripture and motto.

Our lesson started with a brief 2 minutes of Q&A of "What makes you Happy?"

Answers that were common were: no school, playing with family, laughing, being kind, love at home. 

Then, we divided into teams. Each team picked a scripture from the Topical Guide under HAPPY, and then prepared a song with actions to sing for the family.

Team dad and daughters 2&3 read from Psalms 127:3-5. They sang a medley of "Daddy's Homecoming" and "Happy Family" and ended with a Cheer. It was AWESOME!

Team 11 year, Mom and 2 year old read a scripture from John 13:15, 17. We sang "Jesus Said Love Everyone" with actions from all three of us. It was SWEET!

By this time, we were all together in a Happy Family mood.

We rallied together and played a round of 3 five minute games that included everyone:
Build up blocks and let the youngest knock 'em down... Lots of laughter
Chase after the youngest for the missing block...More laughter
and finally....
Hide and seek!

There were no tears. It was a great night of games!

When the games ended, we joined together for a final closing of FHE and reviewed that things that make us Happy.

We agreed that how we treat each other affects us being Happy.  Being kind to each other makes a happy home.

So, for our activity this week:

Each of us drew a secret "Happy Person" out of a hat. 
For the rest of this week, we are to do something for our "Happy Person" to feel happy.

I'd say, tonight's FHE's was HAPPY!

To boot, we had fudgy yummy no bake cookies for a treat.....mmmm!

School and Blessings

With the beginning of school I've heard the anxieties of our children.

They are real. They have taken up a bulk of their thinking the past couple of weeks.

Some of these anxieties are familiar anxieties I had at the beginning of the school year and some are different.

Here are just a few:

Am I going to do well in school?  What if I don't? What if I am behind?

Will I make any friends? What if no one wants to play with me?

What if my friends want me to choose wrong things? If I don't do what they want me to, they might not like me.

Are there bullies?

Is my teacher nice?  What if she's not?

As a family, we have been praying for several weeks that our children will feel the Lord's love for them. That they would have the courage to make good choices in school. That they would feel confident in their learning.

Knowing that the Lord is ALWAYS aware of us and will bless us IF WE ASK HIM, we have been asking and waiting.

Today, listening to their school experiences and watching them as they did homework, I saw and felt a reassurance of the Lord's love for them. I saw His hand in their lives.

One child came home overjoyed that she found a friend.

Another child was able to concentrate and FINISH her homework. Her focus and determination was AMAZING! By the end of the night, she was reassured that she can learn...VERY WELL! She could feel the happiness that comes from growing

Our other child felt confident in understanding her studies. I could hear her excitement for learning. This same child, after several years of feeling like she has been without true friends, has extended friendship to others. 

I see the Lord's hand in these small...yet big things today.

"In the STRENGTH of the LORD, we can do hard things!"