Ch-ch-Change

So today is the day that we have been told is coming. We are yet again about to switch up the ward situation at church. Big B has meetings starting at 6:30am the going all the way until at least 8:00pm today. It will be nice to have all of the changes behind us, and finally know where we belong. It will also be nice to have a more reasonably sized ward. However, with all changes somethings are lost. I am sure that some of the people that came over with us from our last ward will end up in yet another ward and that makes my heart a little sad. We have been with some of those people for the last 8 years. This last week Mr. C asked if we could go see our old church....the one he went to when he was a baby....because he was forgetting what it looked like. It made me a little sad when I remembered that that was the only church he knew, and that he would soon forget the building he was blessed in. However, it is nice to know that no matter where you go in the world the gospel is the same, and the people are the same. We are all children of God, and we are all trying to make it back home to live with our Heavenly Father again.

I have to teach RS today, and the lesson is about the Restoration of the Fullness of Times. The last section in the lesson was really inspiring. Joseph Smith says that we are part of “a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God and the salvation of the human family.” He goes on to say, “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, ‘the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God will gather together all things that are in heaven, and all things that are upon the earth, even in one’.

It is my testimony that we do live in the “fullness of times” that the Lord has reveled and resorted all of the keys, rites, and ordinances necessary for the establishment of the kingdom of God here on the Earth. I testify that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know that he was given the keys necessary for the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days. It is my testimony that we have been saved for a great work in these last days. It is our calling to user in the coming of our Savior.

Wards may change....people will come and go....but we all have a work to do...and because of that we will always be united in purpose, cause, and heart.

RS Broadcast

The Relief Society broadcast was last night. I went and helped my mom with her stake's dinner and broadcast. It was a nice evening. I enjoyed the spirit that was at the meeting, and the counsel that was given. I look forward to reading the messages again when they come out in the Ensign next month. I always look forward to conference time, I always have. It usually comes at a time when I need a good "re-focus" or "re-direction" if that makes sense. Over the last few years conference time has been a little bitter sweet, and most of you know why. However, I think that because of the memories that come with conference....sometimes I am a little more open and willing to receive guidance because of that. Last night, at the Relief Society Broadcast, it seemed to me that a lot of that talks were going back to the basics, trying to re-focus us on the purpose and principles of the Relief Society. A lot of the talks talked about charity. Pres. Eyring said something that hit particularly close to home (you will have to forgive me, it is not word for word, it is just what I wrote down in my notes) he said charity (the pure love of Christ) is born of faith, and is an effect of the atonement working in your life. Today in my teacher improvement class we talked about how we could show and teach of charity. I was reminded of the words Pres. Eyring shared. It is only once we have experienced the unwavering love, or charity, that the Lord has for us through the greatest gift he has given, that being the atonement, can we truly understand what charity is and how we can in turn cultivate it in our own lives and teach others how to cultivate it in their lives. But first, before any of that can happen, we have to have FAITH....faith that our Savior loves us, and faith that his atonement is great enough for all of us and all of our shortcomings. I know that as I have walked through some of my trials, I have felt the love of our Savior, and have gained a greater understanding of the magnitude of his love for each of his children. I am excited and eager for this next weekend when we can hear more counsel and direction from our church leaders, who are called of God. I look forward to hearing from our prophet who is God's mouth piece on the Earth today. I pray that I will be able to receive answers, and guidance, and most importantly I pray that I will have the faith to follow the counsel given. I know that prayers are answered, sometimes not in the way or in the timing we would like, but I know they are heard and answered, we just have to ask.

Primary Program

This is a horrible picture of Mr. C...but the rest of the ones we took need some editing....so this will do for now. Anyway, today was Mr. C's very first primary program for church. Big B and I were TOTALLY NERVOUS!! If you know Mr. C or have heard of his personality you will know why. My family all decided to come for the show....because they were banking on it being a good laugh. Mr. C's part was "Keep the Sabbath Day Holy." It was easy enough, he had it memorized the day he got it. However, he likes to make crazy faces, and do even crazier voices, so we have been practicing using a normal voice and face. So today when the program started we were holding our breath. My stomach hurt so bad because I was so worried he was going to act like a goof and either Big B or I were going to have to go up on the stand to get him. Anyway, he went up on the stand when he was told to, so that was check one. Then the children begin to say their parts....Mr.C is still sitting still in his chair....check two. Then it comes time for the first song. The piano starts, the music director motions for the kids to stand....and Mr. C stands....check three....but wait before the singing begins he plops himself down at the organ!!! He starts pressing keys and the pedals.....THANK HEAVENS it was OFF!!! I must have turned BRIGHT RED!! He sat there the WHOLE song acting like he was playing the accompaniment!! I was dieing!! After the song was over, the old grandma organist lady went up to the organ and sat at it as to prevent him from doing it again. That was probably our saving grace as I am sure he was seconds away from figuring out how to turn the organ on!! After the little organ incident everything else went pretty smooth....he said his part, he sang or at least mouthed along to a few songs....and behaved well enough for Big B and I to be able to stay at our seats! He stopped standing for the songs by the end, but we did not really care, for Mr. C it was an AWESOME day!! So PHEW.....one Primary program down....a million more to go!!

Temple

Saturday Big B and I were able to go to the temple for our Stake Temple Day. There is such a sweet, renewing spirit in the temple. Temple attendance is important and gives you a better, clearer perspective on what is really important in life. Temple attendance sustains, and uplifts you through life's trials. The beginning of July will mark 8 years since I first attended the temple for myself, in preparation to being married. I can not tell you how many blessings I have received as I have gone to the temple. I have a strong testimony of temple attendance.

Having kids has made it trickier to attend the temple. You have to have a REALLY dedicated babysitter to watch the kids for as long as it takes for us to go to the temple. We had been really wanting/needing to go to the temple for awhile however it just was not working out with the babysitting situation. We had nearly dismissed going this month, when Aunt C offered to watch our kids for us!! It was such a SWEET gesture. We could not have done it without her! So THANK YOU AUNT C for helping us get to the temple!!! And thank you for taking Mr.C to his birthday party....it meant the world to him. You will never know how much we appreciated your kindness!! When you have kids remind me.....because I OWE YOU!! Thanks again, you are the BEST! WE LOVE YOU!!

PS. Thanks to all of those who were back up support to Aunt C while we were gone....Mimi...Pops....Uncle D...THANK YOU

Church makes us....

SLEEPY!!

This is how our new church schedule make us feel....SLEEPY!!! Our new ward meets smack dab in the middle of nap time. Since Sweet E and Mr. C were super excited to go to their new ward they woke up at 5:30 am!! And then they did not get naps because we were at church....then we went straight over to Nonny and Poppy's for dinner. It makes for two very SLEEPY kiddos!!

On a side note our ward was HUGE. Everyone was very welcoming and happy to have us. We were told not to get too comfortable because they will be splitting us again in a few months....uhhh!!! It will be hard to get to know everyone right away since over 1/2 of the ward is new. Oh a happy note....Mr. C had a SUPER day at church! He made it all the way through sacrament, and his new teacher said he did well!! Sweet E did pretty well the only problems we had with her was she was a little noisy during sacrament meeting. In our new building there is a stain glass window of Christ in Gethsemane praying....well that reminded Sweet E that Jesus was "Owie" and that he was "crying". She kept saying "Jesus Crying" she was getting her self all worked up and upset, we had to keep reminding her that Jesus was happy now. Anyway, the stain glass was pretty....but troublesome for our 2 year old! Then later in sacrament Sweet E wanted her blankie and pillow and "COW MILK" so she could sleep. The problem was we had none of those things....so she was not happy! Overall our first impressions of our ward were positive. We hope that Mr. C can keep it up, and that we can get to know more people in our new ward.

PS. For those that have been following the blog. I did go to the enrichment night for the new ward. I did not make it to the dinner portion because I was at a baby shower for my cousin....but I did get there for the classes. It went well. I was brave, the classes were good. I wish I could have stayed longer at the baby shower.....but it was good I went and jumped feet first into my new ward.

Bittersweet

So we went to our "BIG" stake conference on Sunday and like we were told they made a new stake here in town. It was exciting to be part of the meeting, you could really feel the spirit. I know that the changes are the right changes, I have felt that. I am excited the church is growing here in town, hopefully soon we will have a temple, but I still think it will be a while.

Elder Anderson from the quorum of the 12 apostles was at the meeting. It was neat to be so close to an apostle. He talked a lot about how he has felt in the last few months since being called to be an apostle. He also talked about forming different wards and stakes in different areas of the world. It was neat to hear his testimony. We left feeling a desire to serve more, and try harder to be faithful members of the church.

While I know in my heart that the changes are right....it still is a little bittersweet. If you know me at all you know that I am not one to seek change. I am pretty shy and have a hard time feeling comfortable, and confident around people I do not know. I was finally feeling like I knew most of the people in my ward and that they knew me....even if they did not know how to say my name :-) . Now I am thrown into a new situation and my stomach hurts!! I am scared....even though I know it will be fine. There is an enrichment meeting for my new ward this week, and I have promised myself that I am going to try to be positive and outgoing. Heck I was the enrichment leader in my old ward....so I know how important it is to go and support those who have put in so much work and effort to make a nice evening. But I'm still scared....anyone want to come with me??? Wish me luck....I will need it!

Under Attack

Tonight when we returned from our outing Big B noticed that someone had left a plate of goodies on our doorstep. He was quickly disappointed to notice that the note on top was addressed to me. He handed me the plate and went about unloading the kiddos from the car. I went into the house eager to find out who the plate of goodies was from. As I was undoing the card I felt something crawling on me, I ignored it and continued with the card..."we want to thank you for all you"....OUCH!! Something bit me I looked down and there was a handful of ants crawling on my hand! I placed the plate down to try to get the ants off before my hand was devoured, only to realize that the plate was swarming with ants that were now making a bee line to my kitchen! I grabbed a paper towel and started smashing the little monsters but I quickly realized I was outnumbered....so I ran the plate to Big B outside and continued to squish and destroy! Big B is outside trying to see if any of the yummy mint brownies that were on the plate can be saved...I guess a little extra protein never hurts (GAG!!). I still am having the creepy sensation that bugs are crawling on me....even though they are not....I hate that! Oh well, the thought was nice. See I told you there is a rhyme and reason for my blog being called 98 percent chaos.

PS. On a side note the card was from the Primary President of our old ward...the funny part was my name was spelled differently on the outside and inside of the card....and neither were right! We lived in our last ward nearly 8 years and only a handful of people ever learned how to say my name right! Even after being told a million times.....I don't mind....but it drove Big B and my mom nuts!! I used to joke that I never really got called to any of my callings because the person's name that was called for the position was obviously not me! I wonder if my new ward will have the same problem??

Change Is In The Air

So we went to our super secret stake meeting yesterday....to confirm if all the rumors were true....and a few were. Luckily the rumor that tithing was going up to 20 percent...was WRONG, or the rumor that the Prophet was going to make his winter home in our lovely warm desert was WRONG! However, it was true that they were chopping all the wards and stakes up in town. We are now is a new ward, and a new stake. It is the third ward and second stake we have been in and we have NEVER moved! Changes were being put in place to make way for a new stake in our area. So for this week our little family is part of the biggest stake in the church, with 8,000 members!! We will get split up next week at another special meeting....who knows maybe by next week we will be in yet another stake and ward!

We are moving wards with a good chunk of our old ward, so we are not totally starting over. But we will be at a new building. It was a little bittersweet since we are leaving the building that we have gone to since we were newlyweds, and the building where we blessed our two little babes. We were comfortable in our old ward, we enjoyed our callings, and Big B was finally getting to know everyone's names (he is not good with names). I guess we will see what the Lord has in store for us next. I just pray for a VERY patient and loving teacher for Mr.C.

We have been praying for a change.....we were hoping it would be an employment change, or a housing change, or some super nifty future change....however we will take this change for now and continue to trust in the Lord.