Oh Canada (and Boy Scouts of America)

December 3, 2014 By

At church, we are given “callings” to fulfill. For the past couple of years, I’ve been the pianist in Primary (our kid’s organization), working in public affairs with community leaders and also the volleyball coach for our young women.

Those were all fine and dandy but now I have been asked to serve in a new position that I’m really excited about: as the Cub Scout Leader for the “Bear” den (9-year-old boys). Many of them are Bode’s friends and he himself will join us when he turns 9 in July.  These boys are your typical silly pre-teens but they are smart.  I went in there thinking about how much wisdom I had to impart upon their impressionable minds but they put me in my place during our first first Den meeting when we learned about energy. When my co-leader Sarah asked them if they could list any energy types, they shouted out kinetic, chemical, wind, gravitational potential, electrical, sound, heat or thermal energy. Oh, and you can’t forget about electromagnetic.

These are 9-year-old child geniuses.

As we were beginning our meeting, I explained to them that I am Canadian and therefore do not salute or pledge the American flag. You’d have thought I had two heads because they looked at me like I was a freak-of-nature as they recited everything.

Later, Alex pulled me aside. “Next time, I might bring a Canadian flag for you to salute.”

Smart, and thoughtful, too.

These boys are gonna be one fun, wild ride.

Filed Under: Canada, Humor, LDS

How to honor pioneers in the easiest way possible-Part II

October 15, 2014 By

Remember when I shared pioneer stories with my kids and tried to get them excited for the Mormon pioneer trek reenactment they will do when they are teenagers?

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you must refresh your memory. Specifically the part when Bode proposes the easiest way possible to honor the pioneers…because his comments just keep getting better (read on).

I’ve pretty much confirmed that manual labor is not on his list of future occupations.

A couple of months after the pioneer trek in our stake, all the youth and their families met together for a “fireside” where they shared their feelings as they watched a video about their experience. The amateur videographer pulled together what must have been hours of footage and interviews–they really captured the spirit, hard work and beautiful theme of how to rescue one another as each of us struggles throughout our lives.

I wanted my kids to see them in action so we watched the video for Family Home Evening. Many of the youth shared how they had been particularly touched during the women’s pull, which is beautifully described in this article that I’d highly recommend reading in its entirety.

Later that day we had what many recognize to be called the “women’s pull.” The women’s pull is supposed to remind those trekking of the time in handcart history when the men of the handcart companies were called off to fight with the Mormon Battalion, and the women were left to pull the handcarts. If you can imagine tired and severely underfed women pulling handcarts up a very steep and rocky ridge, your heart might tug a little bit. Mine does, because that’s exactly what all the other women in our group and I did. It was hard and teary. All the fathers and brothers stood off to the side, some crying, and had to watch us as we struggled up the hill. Some women tripped, fell, lost hold of their handcarts, or had to stop….

The women’s pull is found on the video at about 9:39.

One of my favorite parts of the video was the story of pioneers Jens and Elsie Neilson (at the 18:38 mark).

We find one of the most touching stories of sacrifice, faith, and loving charity in the life of Jens Neilson, who was a member of the Willie Handcart Company. Jens, a relatively prosperous Danish farmer, heeded the call to bring his family to Zion. In Iowa he wrote that he had let all of his money go to the Church except enough to buy a handcart and stock it with 15 pounds of belongings per person. Jens wrote, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” The people for whom Jens was responsible were himself; his wife, Elsie; their six-year-old son, Neils; and a nine-year-old girl, Bodil Mortensen, whom Jens offered to take to Utah. In the early Wyoming blizzard, temperatures plummeted below zero. The Neilsons had consumed their last pound of flour days before, but somehow they made it over the treacherous Rocky Ridge, urged on by their indomitable courage and unconquerable faith. Tragically, 13 of the company died at Rock Creek and were buried in shallow, snow-covered graves—among them, Jens and Elsie’s son, Neils, and young Bodil Mortensen.

President Hinckley describes this portion of the trail as “a trail of tragedy, a trail of faith, a trail of devotion, a trail of consecration, even the consecration of life itself.”

Jens arrived at Rock Creek, 11 miles beyond Rocky Ridge, with both feet frozen. He was unable to walk another step and pleaded with Elsie, “Leave me by the trail in the snow to die, and you go ahead and try to keep up with the company and save your life.” Elsie, with her unfaltering pioneer courage, replied, “Ride, I can’t leave you, I can pull the cart.”Such was the strength and the faith of many pioneer women on the trail.

A couple reenacted the story of Jens and Elsie (at about 20:20). I got teary-eyed as I watched Elsie struggle to pull Jens up that hill. At 22:48, the commentator asked the young men: “If you see someone struggling like this, what should you do? Go now and help if you feel so inclined”

A floodgate of valiant, eager-to-serve teenage boys raced across the field and down the hill, clambering to help pull Elsie pull the handcart with poor Jens inside.

Following the video, I asked Bode to share his thoughts.

“Mom, I can’t wait….”

I was sooooo excited. Had he finally been touched with the pioneer spirit as he watched many of the young men he admires rush in to rescue?

“Yes, Bode?”

“Mom, I can’t wait until I’m the one being pulled up that hill like Jens.”

Filed Under: Bode, Humor, LDS

Meet the Mormons film + my new favorite song

October 1, 2014 By

What do a women’s amateur kickboxer, Nepal humanitarian, a missionary mom, a head college football coach and a “candy bomber” all have in common?  They are all Mormons and featured in the new full-­length documentary Meet the Mormons, opening nationally on Oct. 10, 2014 in more than 100 theaters across the U.S. (locations are here).

I’ve been helping spread the good word about the film as a part of my work with our church’s public affairs, which focuses on building relationships in the community with our political leaders, media and other churches. I’ve loved seeing the way our city’s interfaith community has come together. A couple of weeks ago, it was awesome to attend a preparedness fair that we’ve been holding for years but just this year, combined with the city on our efforts to reach a larger audience to teach citizens how to be prepared in case of a disaster. Colorado has known its share of them in recent years–from blizzards to last year’s wildfires and floods.

What I’ve loved about working in public affairs is I’ve been able to focus on building bridges and clearing up misconceptions about the Mormon faith. And nothing does it better than this new film and all proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross. Whether or not you’re LDS, you’ll love this movie. In fact, the church did several screenings with those not of our faith and they overwhelmingly agreed they would recommend it to a friend because it’s not about theology, it’s about regular everyday people doing extraordinary things.


Watch the trailer

On another note, David Archuleta of American Idol fame recently returned from serving a full-time mission for the church and recorded the title song, “Glorious.” The music video features highlights from the movie and is an awesome reminder that this life here on earth is glorious and full of miracles.

Watch the music video

The song is available to download for free on the movie’s Facebook page.

We’re going to see the movie next Saturday and I cannot wait.

Hey, if it does well, maybe Meet the Mormons: The Sequel will feature a giant pumpkin grower and his crazy Canadian wife. :)

Filed Under: LDS Tagged With:

Whole 30 and a Twinkie Overload

September 29, 2014 By

My dearly beloved works his butt off and has been dealing with chronic pain for years–so much that he barely sleeps but rarely complains. He’s been on a cocktail of meds that, in my opinion, only put a band-aid on the problem and are more reactive, not preventive when he has his debilitating rheumatism flareups. I really would love to connect with a doctor who specializes in not only traditional medicine but also alternative who is (brace yourselves for this) not a quack and is actually covered by Kaiser.

Does such a thing even exist? Ridiculous that I can’t find anyone like that in Colorado.

He’s been living in such misery and after he missed out on several weeks of commitments, I decided to take matters into my own hands. At Front Range Boot Camp, we frequently have month-long health challenges so I signed up to do the Whole 30 and somehow convinced Jamie to do it with me. Though we lead a fairly healthy lifestyle–both with food and activity–there are definitely a lot of things we should cut out. For me, it’s baking treats. For Jamie, it’s a pop addiction and nightly ice cream. Of course, he doesn’t need to lose weight but I’m a firm believer that food not only nourishes but it heals so I’ve been researching anti-inflammatory foods (and would love any of your advice!)

We’re a couple of weeks into the challenge and I’ve found Whole 30 ridiculously restrictive and have instead adopted a more Paleo approach, which seems to be helping by cutting out processed foods, dairy, carbs and sweets. There’s no way we’d survive this eating regimen permanently but it’s been good to clean up our eating habits and I’m crossing my fingers it helps him feel better.

Though he’s convinced there’s nothing more miserable than not having ice cream every night before bedtime.

Before we started the challenge, we had a ward BBQ and devoured the burgers and treats with a vengeance. There were a variety of fun activities, like this “blue bounce.”


Well, at least it was fun until they convinced Jamie and me to try it with our friends Kendra and Dave. Let’s just say we don’t bounce quite like we used to.

I was playing in the field when someone shouted to me, “Amber, you’ve gotta come over and see this. NOW.”

I raced back to the pavilion and there I saw my husband surrounded by cheering people. This is not uncommon because he is the highly celebrated Pumpkin Man! But the reason for the fanfare? My beloved husband had entered the Twinkie-eating contest.

If there’s anything to cure you of sweets forever, this is it (just see the disgusting ingredients)

It’s not something he’d normally do but my gosh, if he was going to be denied sweets for a month, he was going out in a blaze of glory. He started the strongest of the competitors but slowed down by his fourth Twinkie (the three plates of food he had prior may have had something to do with it). Someone handed him a water, which he said helped because “the Twinkies felt like concrete in my mouth.” Ewwwwww.

He ended up downing seven of them in three minutes and I didn’t know whether to be disgusted or proud.

Maybe I was a little bit of both.

 

Filed Under: Health, LDS

Our New Tradition: Labor Day Pancake Contest Eating Party!

September 7, 2014 By

I love throwing parties. It really started years ago with our annual pumpkin party and has grown to dinner groups, 4th of July bashes and then a few weeks ago, Hadley and Bode convinced me to invite a bunch of their church friends over for a night of movies, pizza and ghosts in the graveyard.

For Labor Day, the kids and I thought it would be fun to get some people together to do a pancake-eating-contest-breakfast so sent an email to some families to see if they were in town. Most of them were and so our house was flooded with eight Mormon families. If you’ve seen ‘em you know they have a lot of kids, which translates into a lot of fun.

Pancake Par-tay

 

Some of the men-folk

The women-folk

Last fall, the kids participated in their first pie-eating contest. Though the experience was hilarious, eating an entire pie was over-the-top so we thought doing the same challenge with a few pancakes would be a lot more feasible.

Here’s my sordid history with pancake-eating. When I was a wee Canadian lassie, my two brothers and I were very competitive. Oh wait, nothing has changed. So, one Saturday we challenged each other to a contest to see who could the most pancakes. For once in my life, I dominated, even beating out my brother who was four years my senior. I don’t remember how many I ate.

But I do remember how many I threw up afterward and it was All. Of. Them.

No lie: I couldn’t eat pancakes for 10 years after that.

For our First Annual Labor Day Pancake Contest Eating Party, the ladies went first. Yes, you will note my daughter is the only one who chose not to cover up her clothes.

Apparently, her strategy worked because she won.

Though I’m not sure if she looked like a winner.#She’sGonnaBlow

I had high hopes for the boys. Bode has an awesome group of friends so imagine my shock/dismay when I learned several of them had already started eating and didn’t want to participate.

“I prefer to eat with a fork,” said his friend Noah. What 8-year-old boy even says that?

I practically had to drag the few remaining boys down there but they sure loved it once they dove in.

Though Bode put in a good effort, his friend Carson barely beat him and even had a smile on his face doing it.

We had an all-you can-eat category and my friend Eva’s teen Rory dominated by eating something like 17 pancakes. Sadly, I did not photograph the evidence, probably because he was passed out in a corner somewhere.

We have invited a new family in our ward to several of our recent fetes and the father Craig commented to me how cool it was that we regularly open up our home as a place for all these people to come together for fun and chaos. “The party people” he called us, which kind of took me aback because it’s what we’ve always done. Growing up, my parents made our home into the place where our friends would congregate and it’s funny because Jamie once received a similar blessing that our home would be a “happy place, where our children love to bring their friends.”

I responded to Craig that it was important for me to have my kids build relationships with their church friends and I wanted to provide many extracurricular opportunities for them to have good, clean fun. I had fabulous neighborhood friends growing up and I’m still close with all of them. But during the teenager years, like many teens, they experimented with a lot of wild things and being the designated driver grew tiresome. Of course, I want my kids to have friends in all walks of life but there’s nothing like having friends who share your same morals and values.

Like stuffing your face with pancakes.

 

Filed Under: holidays, LDS

Bode’s LDS Baptism Day

August 20, 2014 By

I have many wonderful friends from all religions asking me about Bode’s baptism day so allow me to share with you what a special day this was.

Turning eight is a big milestone in the Mormon church. It marks the year kids can be baptized, a sacred ordinance that is similar to Catechism for Catholics but LDS children also receive the Holy Ghost, a separate ordinance that follows the baptism. They understand that this covenant or promise they make with God involves keeping his commandments, remembering Jesus, and serving Him the rest of their life.

It’s a pretty big deal but in case you haven’t noticed from my blog, clean living free from addiction, devoted service, eternal families and discipleship are also full of joy. Authentic and pure in a world that touts the opposite as desirable.

Bode is the best kind of boy. Kind-hearted. Good to his core. Selfless. And so darn attuned to others’ needs that he is constantly humbling me. When Hadley and my in-laws were recently driving from Salt Lake City to Denver for his baptism, the weather took a turn for the worse. “We need to pray they arrive safely,” Bode announced. I agreed but I was driving. A few minutes later I pulled into the parking lot to McDonald’s (he had earned a Happy Meal reward) and he reminded me to pray. So we did and a feeling of calm washed over both of us.

Getting both sets of grandparents to his baptism was nothing short of a miracle. The day before driving out, Jamie’s dad needed eye surgery. My mother’s health is as bad as ever but she was determined to make the trip–until we received a call the morning they were supposed to fly from Calgary and she had been hospitalized. I was devastated there was no way they would be able to come. Bode was to be the final grandchild (youngest of six) that she would see baptized.

Then, that afternoon, my dad called. The hospital had medicated her and she was able to travel–unbelievable! They rushed home to pack, I checked their flight plans and through another divine intervention, found out their flight had been canceled (it wasn’t listed on the airline’s website). I quickly called them right before they left, got the airline on the phone and we were able to fly them out the next day, which gave my mom another day to recover.

Miracles, I tell you.

Having both sets of grandparents and Jamie’s brother and sister there made for a perfect day.

Grandparents

Jamie’s family

Mother and son

Bode’s Grandpa Johnson gave a wonderful and entertaining talk on baptism and then Jamie baptized Bode by immersion.

This picture of my two boys is my absolute favorite from that day. Normally Bode does his fakey-canned smile but he was glowing.

Following his baptism, I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and how to recognize its influence for the rest of his life (it was largely based on this wonderful article I found).

The gift of the Holy Ghost is given when a person is confirmed a member of the Church after baptism by someone having priesthood authority from God. It is given by the person having authority laying their hands upon the head of the person who was baptized and giving them a blessing to receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:14-18). Whether or not we then receive this great gift depends on our keeping the commandments of God.

Jamie, Bishop Larson and both grandpas laid their hands upon Bode’s head as Jamie declared Bode a member of the church and to receive the Holy Ghost. What followed was a beautiful blessing of the life he was to lead and of the joy he has already brought so many people. I held it together and didn’t cry during the entire program, until Bode later divulged to me that when he felt Jamie pronounce the Holy Ghost and subsequent blessing on him that “it felt like tiny little sparks in my mind.” Talk about immediately being able to recognize the Spirit in his life.

We had many wonderful families come to support Bode on his big day and we invited them back to our house for an ice cream social that my wonderful mother-in-law helped me setup.

Ice cream sundaes for dinner with 25+ different toppings including homemade caramel, fudge, gummy worms, Captain Crunch and more?

Bode was in his element. I stopped him for a moment as he was racing around to ask if he was having fun. “Yes, AND I NEED MORE SUGAR.”

Chalk his baptism day up as being one of his best days ever.

Filed Under: Bode, LDS, Uncategorized

How to honor pioneers in the easiest way possible-Part I

August 11, 2014 By

Pioneers are a huge part of Mormon history and Pioneer Day is an official Utah holiday that is celebrated annually on July 24 in commemoration of when Brigham Young and a company of Mormon pioneers entered the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847. New LDS converts had made the harrowing 1,300-mile-long journey from Nauvoo, Illinois and since they couldn’t afford wagons, they pulled human-powered handcarts. Many lost their lives but the stories of sacrifice and survival are downright inspiring.

Every four years, the youth in our stake (and hundreds others) go on a mini-Trek for four days on a portion of the actual pioneer trail in Wyoming. Jamie was in the first youth group from our stake to do the Trek and has a lot of fond memories.

And not-so fond ones of the turkeys they killed, plucked and cooked in a pit.

Fortunately, our Treks aren’t quite so extreme but I guarantee most kids have never done anything so physically demanding as pulling handcarts for hours on end over four days, sleeping on the ground, cooking their own meals and enduring extreme heat, rain and wind. My friend Tiffanie went on the Trek and took these fabulous pictures of our youth. It was one of the hardest things they’ve ever done but also one of their greatest spiritual experiences.

The testimony meeting following the Trek is always the best part as the youth spoke of how they banded together and were deeply inspired by their pioneer ancestors.

Hadley will go on the Trek when she is 14. Bode will just miss the cut-off (he’ll be 12 and needs to be a minimum of 14) so he will go when he is 16.

During our 3,000-mile road-trip to Canada, we had to do a massive detour after a road closure in the armpit of Washington (read: ugly). Wildfires were blazing, the temperatures were sweltering and I was grateful for our air-conditioning. I shared stories of our pioneer heritage with my kids and mentioned how at that exact same time, the youth from our ward were on the Trek traveling several miles a day on foot.

Then, there was silence.

After a while, I asked the kids, “So, what do you think? Doesn’t Trek sound like fun?”

Bode was the first to respond. “It’s nice and all to not forget about the pioneers. But can’t we just honor them by doing a play about them or something?”

Filed Under: Bode, Humor, LDS

Our beloved ward family in Maui

May 6, 2014 By

Upcountry view from the church grounds

I regularly fall in love with destinations but Maui was different–it felt like we belonged. Two months later, I’m still moderately obsessed with buying a second home on the Valley Isle (P.S. Our dream home is still on the market. Why have you not bought it so we can come visit?)

I was reminded just how small the world really is and how connected we all are.  We’d only been in Maui a few days when we attended the Pukalani Ward in the upcountry. Shortly after I won the trip to Maui, I started researching activities. I also took to Instagram for real photos from locals and somehow happened upon an LDS mom Malia. I was inspired by her self-sustained country lifestyle, gorgeous photography and the way she captures the simple beauties in life.

We corresponded a few times and she casually mentioned that her ward was the best on Maui. As the trip drew closer, I Googled it and was pleased to see it was in what is known as Maui’s “upcountry” and its location made a lot of sense. We would drive an hour to get there from Napili, go to church 9 a.m.-noon, lunch at Kula Lodge and take a Sunday drive to Haleakala Crater. I also loved it was off-the-beaten path because I wanted my kids to have a more authentic Hawaiian church experiences vs. being in a ward near the beach that was constantly overrun by tourists.

Since Malia and I had only corresponded a few times, I didn’t want to appear like a stalker who just shows up at someone’s ward so I was undecided whether I should approach her. During the whole meeting, her beautiful 8-year-old daughter kept smiling at me, later saying, “I just felt like I knew you.”

That’s how this entire ward felt for me. Here’s the great thing about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Literally anywhere you go in the world, you have a ward family. Of course, every congregation has varying degrees of closeness but I’ve never experienced anything like the Pukalani Ward. Call it the “Aloha” spirit but I call it the most loving, welcoming group of people I’ve ever met.

Sacrament meeting was lovely and there were plenty of Hawaiian touches such as the ward choir and leadership who wore Kukui Nut Leis. As soon as the first meeting was over, I looked up and there was Malia. “Are you?…” And I assured her I was. (She recognized my hair–shocker). We hugged and I was grateful she didn’t make me feel like it was weird that I was there. We dropped the kids off in Primary, went back to hear Malia’s great lesson where we talked about the state of the world and she called upon me to share some insights. Her husband, not knowing us from Adam, came over a few minutes into the lesson and whispered to us, “Are you Bode’s parents? He’s a really cool kid.” Again, such unsolicited kindness.

It was their ward conference so the final meeting was taught by the stake leadership. We waited…and waited before the person teaching mentioned they were waiting for the pianist to show up. “Do we have anyone else who can play?”  Jamie glanced at me. I shrugged. I wasn’t about to volunteer in a ward that wasn’t my own but Doug, a hilarious podiatrist we had met, called out, “Sister Johnson can play,” and then a few people chimed in supporting him and before I knew it, I was getting volunteered to perform a song I’d never played in my life in a ward that was not my own.

Let’s just say it was memorable.

After the meeting, we dashed out to collect the kids and Malia came after us. “A few families are getting together at a potluck later today and we’d love to invite you,” she generously offered. How could we turn down that kind of opportunity? Doug later told us he was going to invite us as well but we had slipped out before he could catch us.

Jamie, the kids and I lunched at the gorgeous Kula Lodge and spent a memorable afternoon driving to the top of 10,023-foot Haleakala.

We were to meet Malia and company at the beautiful Pulehu LDS Chapel.  Although the chapel is not an official church historical site (and is no longer used for anything except for informal gatherings and firesides), it is the oldest LDS church building still standing in Hawaii and one of the first permanent structures completed by the church in Hawaii.

Pulehu LDS Chapel

A lava rock wall surrounds the grounds now and there is a stone monument with a marker that reads: “ERECTED BY THE LDS HAWAIIAN MISSION IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH IN HAWAII. NEAR THIS SPOT THE FIRST BAPTISM (PALE) WAS PERFORMED AND THE FIRST BRANCH OF THE CHURCH ORGANIZED IN 1851 BY GEORGE Q. CANNON AND JAMES KEELER.”

We spent the evening on the chapel’s verdant grounds and it was magic. Malia and her gracious family. Julia with her adorable little boy who is trying to get her novel published. Doug the podiatrist who had us in stitches the whole night. Not literal ones. Though he said plantar-fasciitis people like me keep him in business.

Free backrubs with Hadley’s new besties

Tag at twilight

The kids raced and played on the lawn with their new friends into the golden hour while the adults gathered in the chapel. The get together was intended to introduce everyone to the fiance of one of their dear friends who will be moving to the Mainland. While she played the violin, Kevin played the guitar and we sang hymns in that little chapel–beautiful, reverberating songs of praise, solidarity, love and beauty in a carnival of sound.

Photo: Malia. Just look at that sky out the window

Photo: Malia

As darkness intruded upon our night, we sang “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again” before filing out of that blessed chapel. Malia pulled me aside. “Kevin wants to serenade your family with a Hawaiian farewell song.”

Because really, doesn’t everyone get serenaded all the time? The shaky video I shot.

I have saved his song on my iPhone and whenever I’m feeling sad, I listen to it and remember that enchanted evening. As we reluctantly walked back to our car, Bode pointed up. “Mom, look at the stars.” Black velvet draped the heavens as a million stars’ ribbons of light pin-pricked the sky.

Serenaded by moonlight. Photo: Malia

Malia and I kept in touch for the duration of our vacation and on the final night, we were invited back to Doug and his wife Kristen’s for a farewell dinner with many of the same wonderful people. Their upcountry home has gorgeous views on the 16th fairway (and they actually rent out the other side for just just $129/night).

Fairway tag in Maui’s upcountry

Hadley and Kalena

The kids had a blast playing with their friends all night long as we watched the sun set into the ocean.

I regularly fall in love with destinations  but this trip was different: we truly fell in love with the people.

How grateful I am for experiencing a little slice of Maui heaven.

Filed Under: Family, LDS, travel Tagged With:

Because of Him, Sunday Will Come

April 18, 2014 By

After being really sick all week, my friend Lisa called me to go hiking today. We went to Matthews-Winters Park near Red Rocks and it was a glorious spring day.  We had a long talk overlooking this vista that put life into perspective again.

When we were driving, we saw a bunch of teenagers walking along the mountain road. I started tearing up when I realized they were carrying a huge wooden cross. This wonderful group of Christian youth were dedicating Good Friday to their Savior.

I have had many, many people post this beautiful Easter video and wanted to share in case you have not already taken a couple of minutes to watch it. It has received almost 2 million views in a week and for good reason.

My friend also posted this beautiful video of a former addict and repeat convict who shared his experiences with the Savior’s ability and willingness to forgive him again and again, even when he felt undeserving and the powerful message “I’m still here.”

“Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.”

-”Sunday Will Come” -Joseph B. Wirthlin

Filed Under: LDS

Our Happy Neck of the Woods–A 10-year Anniversary

April 15, 2014 By

I recently had an epiphany that I am truly in love with where we live. Not just Colorado because our state is undeniably awesome with world-class skiing, hiking and vistas. But our little corner of Denver’s suburbs.  Though I’m constantly vying to move to the mountains, I love our location in the city.

We’re five minutes to each of the kids’ high-ranked schools, are a 15-minute jaunt to some of my favorite hiking trails in the foothills, are extremely close to a network of bike paths and open space parks, have beloved friends in a family-friendly neighborhood, are in an awesome ward, have Jamie’s brother and sister a few minutes away and live right above a huge sports complex that is the pulse of our community where they shoot off the Independence Day fireworks.

When Jamie and I were first married, we heard about our neighborhood that was under development and were excited when we were approved to build a house. Today marks our 10-year anniversary in our home. I still remember the day we took possession of it.  Everything was squeaky-clean and untouched and I was really pregnant with Hadley. I had two thoughts: “We’ll never be able to fill all this space” (yeah, right) and “we will never be unhappy here.” One of these two is true.

A couple of weeks ago, I was reminded how much I love our area when Bode had his first soccer game on these fields near our house. It felt so great to cheer his team on to victory.soccerNot so great: the yelling soccer dad next to me.

A couple of hours later, the kids and I walked down our hill to the community Easter egg hunt.egghuntYes, Hadley is 9 years old. Don’t judge me (see the sign in the background).

On Saturday and Sunday, it was our church’s semi-annual General Conference, which always means lot of food and inspiration (President Uchtdorf’s talk Grateful in any Circumstance was my favorite). conferenceConference always means lots of forts and messes. And I’m (kind of) grateful for them.

We took a break in between sessions to watch the kite festival at our nearby fields. Our failures in kite-flying have been regularly documented (in Kites of Death and Let’s NOT Go Fly a Kite) but it was a really windy day. We spotted our neighbors and figured maybe-just-maybe this was our day to actually fly a kite!

kiteIt was glorious to finally soar.

I have been trying to be grateful for everything little thing and it has greatly helped my attitude and enthusiasm for life. Tired of the constant messes from the kids? Someday they’ll sadly be gone and so will those messes. Sore from boot camp? Be grateful you have a strong, healthy body. Overwhelmed with work? I’m so glad I have work opportunities.  I even find myself being grateful we can buy the bulk bins of laundry detergent at Costco because there was a time after college I was scraping by to even do that.

It is easy to be grateful for things when life seems to be going our way. But what then of those times when what we wish for seems to be far out of reach?

Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be. -President Uchtdorf “Grateful in Any Circumstances“

 

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