What Is One Thing the Lord Wants Me To Do Today?

In November (I think) I was called as the second counselor in Relief Society. I haven't served in this presidency before, so I was really excited but sad to lose my compassionate service calling. I really enjoyed that one. The ladies I get to serve with are so amazing and I'm touched to get little promptings here and there that I think are just my ideas or little thoughts but turn out to be an answer to someone's prayer.

We do RS visits twice a month and we have A LOT of 80+ year olds who are homebound. As we have visited them I am often reminded of Grandma Watson - very intelligent, talented, avid reader, with a beautiful spirit. I have been so humbled to learn of their lives and what they have been through. I'm amazed at the talents they cultivate - one sister is an extremely talented painter and showed us all of her artwork hanging in her home; another sister is taking two Harvard classes (one class is speech/communication because she wants to communicate better with her granddaughter) and one class from an Israeli Bible University. The Israeli class is Ancient Geography and when I asked why she chose that class, she said, "Well, I thought since we're learning about the Old Testament this year then this class would help me better understand it." Wow! She's 73 years old.

I had a prompting last week to study my patriarchal blessing and see if it would help me in my calling. I'm amazed to read it again and feel so undeserving of such incredible blessings. I hope and strive to live faithful to my covenants so that I can fulfill God's purposes that he impresses on my mind. Due to COVID we have a lot of sisters that are cautious of coming to church regularly, sisters who don't feel they belong in our RS, and sisters who feel lost. I've been praying to know ways to reach these sisters and make an impact on them so they feel Heavenly Father's divine love and mercy. I have a lot of questions and thoughts but little time to write.

I feel so blessed to be part of a wonderful woman's organization where the sole purpose is to lift burdens, cultivate friendship, and grow closer to the Savior. I've been trying to think of ways to magnify my calling and be more in tune to the subtle whisperings of the holy Spirit. I hope I am doing the right things and saying the right things. Some days I know my purpose for that day is to focus on my family and only my family. But all the days, I ask, "What is one thing the Lord wants me to do today?"

Ouchies For The Boys

Two weeks ago Ezra underwent a small procedure to clip his tongue tie. I had him evaluated a year ago for this but the doctor said it would eventually stretch out which didn't turn out to be the case. Ezra is still choking and pocketing his food and struggles with his speech. As babies have this procedure it's a super quick thing with no stitches or recovery but since Ezra is 4, they cut the tongue all the way down the middle and stitched it up. His recovery was still pretty easy and we managed the pain with ibuprofen and tylenol. I can already tell a difference with his speech, he's able to produce the L sound MUCH easier. We're still working on his feeding and speech therapy but I'm hopeful that this will help him get ready for Kindergarten quicker.

Four days ago Kimball was doing tricks on his scooter in the driveway as Lance was changing tires and oil in the vans. The next thing I know Kimball's face is covered in blood (from his nose) and he's got some major road rash. It looked like his nose may have been broken but the main thing was his braces which cut up his lip and then got stuck under the brackets. Ouch! His lip was so swollen I couldn't get him to even open his mouth. Since it was evening we called a P.A. in our ward who quickly came over and ripped his lip out from the braces (lots of blood) and assessed that his nose was not broken, just severely bruised.

We got him cleaned up and bandaged and aside from his embarrassment at this scratched up face in public, he was perfectly fine. He wasn't wearing a helmet but he was wearing his biking gloves which saved some major road rash from his hands. I'm not sure if the helmet would've helped his face at all, probably just his forehead. But he healed up quickly!

 

Wicked & Freedom

Last weekend Lance and I went on a date to Wicked. This was our second time seeing the Broadway play but we had excellent seats so it was an all- around much better experience! Mexican food and frozen yogurt was pretty good, too. Love this husband of mine and how he supports and loves the kids and I.

I'm so glad that after TWO WHOLE YEARS our state had finally rescinded the mask mandate! Ugh, everyone hated wearing the masks. I'm sure there will be another COVID surge as more variants are spread around but for now things are finally starting to feel more normal. The kids can go to school without masks and social distancing which means they can sit by their friends during lunch! Such a small thing to take for granted but it has had a lasting impact on children. I know the mental health industry has been booming because COVID and the government mandates has had a VERY profound impact on the mental health of this country and individuals. I don't know of anyone that wasn't impacted in some way by COVID either physical health or mental health.

A two weeks prior to the mandate being lifted, I was on my way to Bell Tower and there was a freedom convoy lining every bridge and farm property near the interstate. It was an incredible sight to see and I honked at every one of them. We live in the greatest country on earth, even with Biden being our president.

 

My Cubs!!

Cora and I unintentionally matched to go to church.

 

Winter Staycation

The week of parent/teacher conferences we took the kids over to Triple Play in Hayden, ID for a little overnighter. In the past we usually do this one time each winter because we get tired of the cold and being stuck indoors all the time. That night we got to swim and play at the indoor water park and enjoyed a movie on the bed with late night snacks. In the morning as we were in line to pay for only mini golf, the woman in front of us turned around and said some of her family didn't show up and asked if we wanted the tickets so they wouldn't go to waste! I mean, there were 4 unlimited all-day passes, and 3 water park passes which exceeded $350. We offered to pay her for them but she wouldn't accept it and just wanted us to have fun as a family. I was blown away by her kindness and generosity. Since we already went to the water park the night before, we gave those passes to a family behind us in line. Then what was supposed to be a short game of mini golf turned into an all day adventure. We climbed the ropes course, played the arcade games, mini golf, bumper cars, roller coaster simulator, etc. It was so much fun!! We were all wiped out when we got home, which was perfect for everyone. Unfortunately, I didn't get too many pictures.

 

Artwork & Writing

Cora's colorful octopus

She did phonetically spell out "Murphy" correctly afterall.

On this day Kimball and I were butting heads, I can't even remember what the issue was, but I left the house to go to a meeting. When I got home he was already in bed, but he wrote me this sweet note and left it on my pillow with a treat. I sure do love that kid.

 

School Recognition

Cora got student of the month! She was recognized for the character trait Fairness and was super excited to be chosen. Way to go, Cora!

Kimball got to dissect a squid for two days in school and his teacher sent me these photos. He really LOVED getting to dissect and discover all the different body parts that they had been studying. I think in the future he may go into the medical field of some type, he really loves to learn about living things and how they work.

 

Random Photos

This goofy girl was doing math homework and her faces kept cracking me up. I love how focused she gets.

Twinners!

He rarely sleeps on me these days.

Off to reading therapy

I guess that's one way to get comfy

This cool photo is from the top of our hill. The valley was full of fog but the clouds made the city disappear and look like a lake.

He had to be super exhausted to fall asleep like that.

Date Night-Kid Focused

Rathdrum hosted a Daddy Daughter Dance night around Valentine's Day. These two got all dressed up and danced the night away! They had a photo booth with whimsical props to pose with, donuts, and cupcakes. Lance then took Cora to dinner and ended the night with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for her. In her words, "It was the most epic night, Mom!"

While those two were dancing away, I took the boys to glow in the dark miniature golf, and out to dinner. It was such a fun evening where both of us parents could connect with the kids in different ways than usual. We had so much fun!

Box Forts and COVID

We've begun the project of sloooooowly updating the house, starting with new doors. The new doors came with a ton of gigantic boxes so the basement became fort central! Everyone had their own windows and doors cut out, and lots of artwork on the inside and out.

The end of January brought COVID to us all, starting with Cora and Ezra. They fell asleep in random places doing random things. Ezra had a seal-like bark and a fever for a day, Cora was congested for a week. Kimball only had a back ache, which I hadn't heard of being a COVID symptom but it was his only symptom so at least it was easy for him. When Lance and I got it we were out for a good 1.5 weeks but it just felt like a cold. 

A boy and his dog