In the Dark of the Morning. . .

Once upon a time there was a little girl (okay she was actually all grown up and over 30), who lived in a big house on a hill. Each morning she woke up very early (I consider between 4 and 5 a.m. early, don't you?) to prepare to teach a little class. This little class was called Seminary. It started each day as the last few stars winked out in the sky, and the sun peaked over the horizon. With a "smile and song" (to quote Snow White), class was begun. As each student opened up their Books of Mormon, some with more relish than others, the gospel of Jesus Christ was taught, and the Spirit and testimony of that book permeated the room. Some days this occurred more readily than others.

One evening, this little girl wanted to update her blog. It sorely needed to be done, but alas, her seminary lessons for the week, nay, even for the following day, lay unread in her teachers' manual. At least she had read the chapters in the Book of Mormon for the coming week. She gave a sigh, and quoting Jacob, bid "adieu" to her blog. Her melancholy faded as Excitement filled her chest. Isaiah, as found in 2 Nephi 6, was waiting. If you, dear reader, had attended Seminary In-service as she, you too would be excited. Isaiah was full of discoveries waiting to happen. Until next time, adieu.

P.S. by Mike

Sorry for being so slow to post. Things have been pretty crazy with moving to the new house, kids starting school, Lena teaching seminary, and work. In case you are interested, here is a photo of our new house from the outside. It's an older home, but with 5 bedrooms, a nearly endless walk-in attic, and a large double lot there's lots of space for our family to spread out. We just need to finish unpacking and find a place for everything. If you need our new address, just send us an e-mail or give us a call.

The previous owners left a bunch of stuff in the attic, which has left us with a good bit of work before we can use the attic, but it also has come in handy. In fact we started referring to it as the magic attic because often we say I wish that I had ... and then low and behold, there it is in the magic attic. We've discovered a chalkboard, mirrors, Legos, GI Joes, dutch ovens, pencil sharpener, scissors, a variety of tools, and even a secret room plus much much more.

Grandma and Grandpa brought some monarch butterfly chrysalises to our house. Two of the butterflies emerged here at the new house, which the kids thought was really cool. Here are some pictures from the butterfly emergence.



The kids really enjoyed going to the pool this summer. We really enjoyed having a neighborhood pool that we could just walk to for most of the summer. After moving to the new house, it was a little bit of a drive and not as convenient, but still fun.

Change

Each Sunday we watch a talk from the most recent General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The talk we watched tonight was by Elder Steven E. Snow of the Presidency of the Seventy. His talk, "Get On with Our Lives", focused on the changes that come into our lives and how we can handle those changes. Afterward I asked the kids what some of the recent changes in their lives were.

Jon said that he is now interested in cooking and has moved on from being able to cook eggs and pancakes to baking cakes and brownies. He made his first batch of brownies tonight. They were perfect, unlike the cupcakes he made a few weeks ago. We discovered, scientifically, that if you add too much baking powder, or baking soda to cake batter, such as 1/2 cup instead of 1/2 teaspoon, or whatever the amount, when it bakes it will explode. Rather exciting, and somewhat edible, but not a primary ingredient in cake baking. The cake will rise too much and will not be able to support itself, then it will fall, resulting in batter baking itself in all the wrong places. This is also what happens when parents spend too much time blogging and checking e-mail instead of supervising their children as they ought. :)

We also talked about how we change because we get older. No matter how much we like our "todays," there will always be tomorrow with new things in store for us. Our kids will grow up, go to college, on missions and get married in the temple. They will have kids and their kids will grow up, go to college, on missions and get married in the temple. They too will have kids. This will go on and on and on. Our world is a changing place. Our lives are constantly changing.

I guided Ethan into talking about the change he has now with attending kindergarten. He used to be at home with Mommy all the time and now he gets to go to school each day.

Rebecca has the change of attending a new school. She has also started ballet lessons. She is now interested in fixing her own hair, and likes to try new styles. I fixed Kirsten's hair this morning in a cute little side french braid before I went to church early. When she arrived the braid was gone with a side ponytail instead. I asked Mike what happened to the braid and he said that Rebecca took it out. He tried to put it back in, but failed and had to do a ponytail instead. It was a good ponytail, but I was disappointed because I had actually made the effort to do something extra with her hair.

Kirsten and Alyssa are constantly changing as they grow and develop each day. Of course many of these changes are gradual. So much so that many times we don't even notice that they are happening.

Sometimes we are presented with opportunities to serve and grow in different areas. These are times of change. How we face these challenges is important. We need to do so with faith and trust in God, being prayerful and mindful of him. If we do so, we can be sure to stay on the "straight and narrow path" even admist all the changes that are taking place each day.

The Lord loves us. He cares for us and wants us to be happy. I'm amazed that many times the decisions we are faced with don't have a right or a wrong answer. They are just a matter of choice. It would be easier to just have the Lord say, "Do this," or "Do that," but that isn't His way. He wants us to learn to choose for ourselves. Agency is so important. I know I don't fully understand how important it is, but I hope someday I will.

Embrace life, with all its changes. That's what makes life interesting afterall.

paint jam

We got our laundry room painted. Yea!!! We still need to get our shelves situated and set up. Then I can get some of our food storage put away.

I've been busy canning. It sure beats cleaning the house. I made peach jam yesterday and apple pie filling today. I also want to make some plum syrup, but I'll have to get more sugar first.

The kids are enjoying school. Ethan is memorizing everything at school. He will quote books that they made or read, sing all the songs that are sung, and then perform them for us at home. When he and Rebecca get together it's very entertaining. I'll have to record them in action sometime.

Otherwise things are pretty low key around here. Grandma and Grandpa should arrive sometime in the next week or so, although we don't know exactly when.

Have a great week.

A Smidgeon

Alyssa has mastered walking this past month, even with Kirsten around to pull her down.


"Pioneer children ate cornmeal mush, and mush and mush and mush."
(Sing to "Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked").
To celebrate Pioneer Day, I fixed cornmeal mush for breakfast. Sticking to old time tradition, I fried up the leftovers for lunch. The kids thought the fried cornmeal mush (eaten with syrup), tasted like french toast or pancakes. They thought the pioneer kids were so lucky to eat fried cornmeal mush all the time, and wished they could too. They liked it much better than the regular mush we had for breakfast.

On my birthday we went and picked figs. I know you will all be jealous that I got a plug for the tub, among other things, for my birthday. Mike picked up takeout lunches for all of us. In the evening, after eating cake, we hit the road to visit Deb's family.

Late the following afternoon, we arrived at Deb's. We then headed over to Chuck E. Cheese's to finish my birthday celebration with pizza and games. The rest of the week was filled with trips to the park, playing, shopping, playing, swimming, and picnics. We saw Darrell and Stacie's family before heading home. We stopped at the St. Louis Temple and met Ruth and Lee there for a babysitting swap and picnic. Even with the rain, we had a great time.


After arriving home, I was called and set apart to serve as Seminary teacher in my ward. The kids also started school.


Needless to say, we are very busy. Our days are starting earlier and earlier. I tried to sleep in on Saturday, my one "free" day, and I woke up at 5 a.m. Help!!!
I just have to remember the old adage, "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." I just need to get the early to bed part down and I'll be set. Have a great week!!!

Summer Days and Summer Nights. . .Gone

Summer has come and gone, and although we are still in the season, school has begun. New backpacks, clothes, lunch bags, crayons, paper, and pencils clutter our home and fill up our lives. Along with all this has come Seminary, each morning (except Saturday).
Hurray for Early Morning Seminary!!! It's an inspired program.

I know you want more updates. Sorry to disappoint our frequent viewers. Our spare time has fled. Once we find a smidgeon, we'll get back to you.