Easter

I love Easter and I try hard to keep perspective and focus on the day, but I do hold onto some fun (usually), but frivolous traditions that took me to the brink this weekend. Finding a spring dress that is modest for teenage girls is a nightmare! I have gotten out of the habit of sewing for my children because it is so time intensive and can become quite expensive, but next year that may be the only option. I spent two weeks, on and off, looking in every store in Nampa and we could find nothing that covered the girls knees. On Saturday I got desperate and went to the mall in Boise (you don't even know how desperate I have to be to go there) and after HOURS and embarassingly loopy girls =) we finally found things that barely brushed over the knees. Oh for the days (that I still have with the twins) where the hardest decision is which princess dress to buy. After that marathon I didn't even want to look for me, but I think my family felt fresh and "beautiful" Easter morning. 

We had stake conference this weekend, which added so much to our Easter celebrations. I love the adult, Saturday sessions, which are always so intimate. Our stake presidency is remarkably powerful and their messages were profound. I am always sad that those talks aren't recorded so we can re-read them over and over again like General conference messages. I forgot my glasses that evening and was taking notes as fast and furiously as I could write , but I couldn't see which made the task so much more difficult. =) An announcement was made that our stake has been authorized to organize our own Young Single Adult branch. Currently there is a branch that combines 3 other stakes and which meets in Caldwell, but it doesn't attract a huge amount of our youth because it is far away and Caldwell has so many spiritual struggles, but there is much excitement about having our own branch. I've never been a huge advocate of singles wards outside of the college environment, but I do see a unique potential in this case for unity and leadership training opportunities as our huge group of youth come to and fro from college or prepare for those experiences. Even Mikayla is excited and she has never shown any interest in attending the student ward before and Fred and I get to be right in the middle of it all. I'm feeling a little giddy! ;)

After the meeting we got to talking about the announcements and the talks and I asked Jet what he thought about Elder Uchtdorf's talk on fulfilling a mission and without a pause he told us that he had already decided to serve a mission, right after listening to General Conference. The boy is a mystery to me, but that was exciting news for all of us. He will still fulfil his enlistment and so isn't planning on going for 3 years, but that will give him time to prepare himself and I will continue to make sure we stay in touch as he leaves in June, so he doesn't get "lost". He has a warped "shock and awe" sense of "humour" which he thrives on and which often crosses "the line", but I am learning not to feed into that, which only eggs him on, and I think he is learning to respectfully retreat when I call him on crossing the line. Mikayla says the change is much more dramatic than I know. I feel invested in him and am glad for that insight.

As part of our family Easter basket we bought the new all Men's voice Tabernacle Choir CD. I know Mom doesn't always especially care for Mack Wilburg's arrangements--he loves spirituals and big, dramatic music but we love that and I was so impressed by the way that they could take common, everyday songs and make them into Sabbath fare. Jordan would love the CD and I thought of him all day. I miss his music (well some of it =).

As the close to a perfect Easter day we attended an Institute Easter concert right outside the temple. It was a cantata about the life of Christ. Cantatas can be a bit random for me and this one had it's moments but the Spirit was there and the setting was perfect and some of the pieces were beautiful and we all enjoyed the opportunity to re-contemplate the true meaning of Easter. We are so blessed to live in a spiritual lap of luxury where our opportunities are boundless. I just feel grateful every day to live where we do. I invited Jet to go with us. He never says no, so I try to use that to his advantage (though he may not know it now) and invite him to anything where he may be able to feel the spirit and leave behind the "dark" that he seems to constantly be attracted to.

Things are as crazy around here as usual. Abe is getting stranger by the day (trying to fill in the gaps that Jordan's absence has left=) and sometimes I don't know who raised Mikayla and Eden. They are loud and boisterous and find much pleasure in sitting on each other and being genuinely unladylike. When we are having family time in our back yard Fred and I just shake our heads and feel sorry for our neighbours who no doubt are shaking their heads as well. And yet we often find ourselves laughing at their antics and the twins witty remarks to their antics. They are all a goofy bunch of bones.

The next few weeks have much to keep us looking forward. Fred and I leave for Taylors wedding on May 6th. I'm nervous and excited and am so glad that I don't have to go on my own. I don't think the farm girl will ever be squeezed out of me and when I board my first ever plane, destined for a big, wild city my husbands presence is the only thing that will keep me from shaking. It will be fun to have a little bit of date time in between planned family events because it's the only get-away we'll get this year. And then, when we get home on Mother's Day, we get to talk to Georgie. That will be the most perfect gift of all.

A Smile Only a Mother Could Love;)

Ditto

Our Elder Ware and Elder Crosby

Hunting For Eggs

Eden and Mikayla's Favorite Pastime

Easter Basket looms for Humanitarian Service

Easter Dinner

From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Jordan Bloomquist
Date: Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 3:53 PM


Dear Bloomquists,

             First of all I would just like to say what a privelage it is to be on the lords errand while recognising the very reason we have to be joyful.  Easter here was wonderful,  for the most part here in Chile people have a belief in Christ and over all the people are super friendly so everywhere we went people were glad to let us in their houses and here a message about his resurection.  We found many people in this way.  For this next week we are going to have a lot of visits.  We found some people in some sad ways.  One lady we found said her grand daughter had a ping pong table fall on her head and was in her 3rd operation in 10 hours.  The other was a young man that had his aunt pass away recently so started drinking and doesn´t know how he will ever fill the gap.  These are both sad stories, but I am so excited for our next visit because I know this will fill the gap the only thing that can fill the gap.   What a blessing it has been for me to be born with the gap filled.  On good friday it rained hard here I always love it when that happens because the air clears up and the mountains tower over santiago.  Those are what the pictures are.  I also used the rat trap object in a couple of lessons but I found a rat trap that was `pure metal with jaws so when I put my pen in there it shattered in pieces.  I am pretty sure it would take a finger off.  We used it with Alvaro that has been with the missionaries for 4 years  and it made a good impression on him to take the step to be baptised.  I hope the spirit will work with him to give him the courage to make that step.  As for my birthday presents I recieved them on tuesday and I could not have been more excited or pleased.  I have already given out one of the ctr rings to the girl I baptised last week and I carry my book around everywhere I go to show off my family.  Thank you so very very much.  Lily I want you to know that the ctr rings were not rude,  it was the mostest bestest.  I am so excited to talk to all of you in two weeks, I will let you know next week the times.  You all have the best week.  I love you to the end of the universe.

Con amor, 

Elder Bloomquist

Los fotos son de

the rain

my chilean ID i am know chilean

me reping my colo colo hat, the best soccor team in chile

The North Star

It has been a busy week and our bodies are just starting to pull out of the tiredness of it all. Everyone, except Mikayla and I were in bed by 9:00 last night which is a miracle. I planned on going to bed early, but then I remembered I needed to make granola and Mikayla wanted to talk so we went to bed late AGAIN.

The craziness all started on Saturday when the temperature climbed past 65 and we were compelled into the yard to accomplish a weeks worth of work in one day (Fred was so sore the next day from all the manual labor and my arms were were scarred so badly from the raspberries and rose bushes that I had to wear a long sleeves--I wasn't bright enough to do that on Saturday.) It was also Prom for Mikayla, who had the most horrendous cold and the stake dance for Eden. At 4:00 Jeff, Mikayla's date showed up and we met him in the back yard holding tools of various degrees of intimidation =). We needn't have worried, after all the girls incense (the other day he told Eden she didn't need to get a drivers license because there were no roads between the kitchen and the laundry room =) I was prepared for a more chauvinist attitude and greeted him with, "...so this is the infamous Jeffy--I am assuming that all of the talk is just that?" At which point he hastily assured me that it was and then almost swallowed his tongue when his phone went off to the tune of some "screamo" band, so we didn't really get to meet the "real" Jeffy at all, but I did feel confidant that I didn't need to worry about him with my daughter. And after they left to go Frisbee golfing Mikayla said he immediately relaxed and they had fun. They brought the girls back by 5:30 and went home to make dinner for the girls, giving them 2 hours to get ready (which is the kindest thing any of her dates have done for this mother =). Funny note that the girls were ready before the guys who were still shaving when they called and Jeff showed up with his hair still uncombed. =) Eden says she fixes it for him in student council--I had to hold my hands behind my back so I wouldn't be tempted to do the same. =) We took pictures (a tiny bit of his goofy side started to show up then) and Eden and Fred whisked out the door for the stake dance. Fred and I played board games with the little kids until they begged for bed and then exhaustedly waited up for  both of our girls. Eden was home by 11:30, at which time Jeff called to tell us that the dance was over and they would now start cleaning up (the girl they doubled with is also on student council and was on the Prom committee). We had been forewarned of that and they were given previous permission, but I asked them to call us when they finished and were heading home as they were clear in down-town Boise. That phone call didn't come in until after 12:45 and she didn't walk in the door until after 1:30 and then of course we had to talk so we went to bed after 2:00 and I woke up at 6:00 on Sunday morning. Such fun!!!

Sunday morning a good friend of Jordan's, Jancen Walker, spoke in sacrament meeting before leaving on his mission, so we attended that in Eagle, then went straight to our ward, then came home for 15 minutes to grab something to eat and headed over to a different building to hear Bro. Leeren and Sis. Beverly Walker report from their mission. They were both such uplifting meetings. Jansen and his family are so inspiring to me...always so joyful and gracious. I went up to hug them afterwards and when Jansen grabbed me in a bear hug I had such tender feelings thinking of Jordan and the mission field and motherhood that I cried and cried. I told Mikayla and Eden they had my permission to marry any of our Middleton Walkers, but they just roll their eyes and tell me that they are cousins........... which really isn't true because there are no blood relations there, but their loss. =) We are so happy to have Leeren "the Tornado of Love" back in our midst. I love the genuine concern, inclusion, cheerful energy and pure joy that radiates from that entire, huge family. It is addictive to be around them. Maybe that is because I am nothing like that and I yearn to be.

As we were waiting for the meeting to start in Bro. Walkers ward, I noticed that Brooklyn, one of the young women that I have learned to love in the stake, who has Down Syndrome, sitting a few rows ahead of me. I noticed that she was wearing a formal as has become a tradition the Sunday after any dance. I thought maybe she was just dressed up because she knew some of the other girls would be, but as I made my way up to talk to her, I noticed she was also wearing a corsage. She saw me coming before I reached her as gave me a vivacious greeting, as she always does and I commented on her dress and her flowers and she excitedly told me that she had gone to Prom. I was so pleased. When I sat back down I asked Mikayla who had taken her and she pointed to the sacrament table where a beautiful young man was sitting; dark and handsome and I almost cried. These Middleton youth never cease to amaze me. Mikayla's date walked in and I saw crazy hair and a suit that was way too big, but Mikayla and Eden and their peers see intelligence, wit, kindness and goodness and as this young man at the sacrament table came off the stand and sat beside Brooklyn, I could tell that he could see a daughter of God. I am greatful for the strength of this generation and the way in which this community of young people live up to their potential because of the support of each other.

One of our missionaries, Elder Ware was transferred on Monday. Lily wrote Jordan and told him that he was "translated". He wasn't that perfect but he was fun and I will miss his southern drawl and hearing his "yes ma'am". I will be interested to see who takes his place and what their visits will add to Jet's visits. This is the fourth missionary to leave since they started teaching in our home and it is always sad to see them go.

We are enjoying the week of Easter as we changed our family scripture study to incorporate Christ's last week. I am always trying to think of ways to make it more spiritually meaningful for the kids. Honestly, it is hard to keep my youngest ones focused on things of depth when there are so many fun traditions surrounding Easter. I think there is a place for all of it but it does take work to keep everything in perspective. We have a tradition that our Easter basket on Sunday morning is a family one and filled only with spiritually relevant things. I am always so surprised how hard it is to find things that satisfy that goal and are relevant to all of the age groups of our family.

Mikayla had her bottom 2 wisdom teeth removed on Monday. They gave her IV sedation and she was in there for hours so she wasn't firing on all cogs yesterday afternoon. She had a mouth full of cotton when I brought her home and kept trying to talk to me, but I could tell she was "falling a little behind" and she fell instantly asleep when I brought her in the house. An hour later her best friend stopped by with a milkshake just as she was waking up and we sat on the couch with her for an hour as she volleyed between fits of laughter for no apparent reason to sobbing in my arms because of the most minute things. Eden started cam-cording her at first but it became a bit too vulnerable when the sobbing started, so that was immediately terminated. Drugs are such a powerful thing. Of course after she pulled out of it we all had a good laugh, but it was sad at the time and I didn't dare leave her side. The soreness is starting to kick in today and she is getting sick of the liquid diet, so I'm hoping she heals up as quickly as Jordan did as she lives for Choir Tour in San Francisco next Thursday.

Life is crazy---crazier than I ever imagined it would be. I am so grateful for the lifeline of the gospel and the absolute confidence that I have that the prophets words are equal to the Lords and that the Lord is omnipotent and has everything under control. Without the Sun and the North Star I am sure I would be lost, wandering to and fro. It's easy still to feel that way some days when I take my eyes off the skies. One of my favorite quotes says, "I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars." Most days I see a bit of both.

 

From Jordan

From: Jordan Bloomquist
Date: Mon, Apr 18, 2011 at 4:02 PM


Hola Chiquillos,

          Hey remember that time when you guys are like my most favoritest people in the whole wide world. SHazamm.  So this week has been so great, I have gotten to know Elder Erickson much more and so we are working on the same page and going to town, going to town is a figure of speach we only go to town on p days so don´t you worry your little horses, ... which is also another figure of speach.  Anyways  we Baptised a girl named Liz yesterday, she is such a strong girl.  She is only 12 years old but has already had a harder life than most people I know.  I am so grateful everyday that I had the privelage to be born into the church.  The baptismal service was so special, it felt like we really were just a big family.  I forgot to fill up the font until an hour before the service and it take about 5 hours to fill up using warm water so we turned on straight cold water and I didn´t do it right the first time so I had to baptise Liz twice in freezing cold water, I felt so bad for her but the best part was she was so calm about it, she is usually so shy but she had no fear just pure calm and the spirit was so strong.

  We have also been working with this other family of 4 that are so great they have been praying every night as a family even though they don´t like to because it brings tention and fighting being in the same room.  I have seen that they are growing closer together through this simple act.  I know that Heavenly Father blesses us through the small things.  Its like dimonds they are only small rocks so why bother with them but we don´t realize that the banker is waiting with a thick stack of cash if we will only turn the rocks over to him.

   Mikayla and Eden take lots of pictures on tour and have so much fun.  

Dad the white stone is working magic.  I was wondering if you could send me my line of authority if you have that.   

   Tonight we have a lesson with a Jehovas Whitness which will be interesting I hope we just don´t start fighting.  Because I here they like to do that so we will go and talk to them the best we can.

 Well I love you all 5000 google times 

Love Elder Bloomquist

 P.S.  Por favor manda saludas con amor, say hello with love,  a hermana y hermano Walker 

P.s s  I haven´t recived any package yet I did recieve the letters but only a couple from semenary

The foto is Liz at her baptism

Little Things

They read a first presidency letter today in sacrament meeting asking us not to speculate about the location of the Meridian temple. Whoops! That warning came a little too late.

There was a big stake Relief Society mtg. this last Tuesday. The Laurels were also invited but Mikayla couldn't miss choir so I went on my own. The theme was compassion and the wife of one of the Bishops in our stake spoke. She is an entertaining woman, but she is also a woman with an immense amount of depth and insight. It was both humorous and moving. She based her talk on a Neil A. Maxwell quote that differentiated between compassion and pity. I can't seem to find the exact quote online, I'll have to ask her to send it to me, but her talk was so intimate and profound and she emphasized that compassion was tough and the real McCoy and that pity was weak and an imposter. I was moved and motivated to work more on becoming truly charitable. One thing that she said was that Christ had the power to have accomplished everything he did by his words alone, but he chose physical touch. She talked quite a bit about the healing power of that alone. I almost didn't go that night. Tuesdays are busy and I'd almost always rather stay home by evening time, but something bigger than myself got me out the door and I am so glad that I went.

We are over a week into Middleton Unplugged. We forgot about it during Spring Break, and then conference was on Sunday so we started two days late, but it is always a good thing to go through "screen de-tox" and spend more time together as a family. We've been playing lots of games and made our annual trip to the YMCA yesterday, which I think the kids really enjoyed. Abe, Lily and Sophie were issued a "screen free challenge" from school and signed the contract. Those who make it will be awarded with a special party and prizes, so they are excited. Their challenge only involves "entertainment" so they can still get on the computer for homework or work charts or to write Jordan, but we try to keep the computer off as much as possible after school hours and they have all been very stalwart and will have no trouble reaching their goal. It is a little more difficult for some of the rest of us and a downright struggle for Eden, but we are all doing great as well and as usual I am seeing positive family benefits. It's a unique community challenge and I love how it brings us together.

Speaking of our little community a brand new Ridley's is slated to open up in June and in anticipation of that we now have our first stoplight in Middleton.=( It is not working yet, but it is standing as a testimony to progression, no matter how hard some of us (me) resist change.

Mikayla was asked to Prom last Friday by a boy the girls refer to as "Jeffy". I hear of him continuously in Eden and Mikayla's conversations and I could tell they both enjoy his company, but their comments have always been about his male chauvinist jokes or his "nerd appeal" or his Star Wars obsession or his "Phone Call" hairdo etc., so I was a little surprised that Mikayla seemed excited to go. He isn't a member of the church, so of course my mom alarms have been going off like crazy, but Eden and Mikayla both insist he is a good kid with high standards, from an actively religious family and that this is purely a "friend date" with absolutely no attraction on either side, so what can I say? Since the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet was revised there are no black and white RULES. I guess Eden works with him on student council and gave him quite a tongue lashing when she discovered that he wasn't planning on going to his Senior Prom and convinced him (or probably more likely verbally abused him until he gave in=) and the next thing she knew he was planning on asking Mikayla, so Eden is sure she has accomplished heroic feats. I just hope he passes "the mother interview" at the front door.

He asked her with a sandwich delivery during lunch period at school and a note attached that said, "I did the womanly thing and made you a sandwich, now why don't you do the womanly thing and say yes to going with me to Prom." I guess there is quite a bit of sparring (they say, all in good fun) that goes on between him and the girls at school and the amount of feminine incense directed towards him is encouraged (what better way to get so much female attention). Mikayla answered him with a box of tide detergent filled with old clothes that had a Mikayla poem written on them about doing more womanly chores and washing the laundry and wrote most of it in washable marker and the words, "of course" intermingled in the poem in permanent marker. This was pretty late notice, so I am glad she already has a dress she hasn't worn and we found a pretty jacket so I don't have to sew one this time.

I am looking forward to Easter in two weeks, as it is my second favorite holiday. Our stake conference is scheduled that weekend which will add a nice touch. I am hoping for beautiful weather so we can have our family's traditional semi authentic Easter dinner outside. The chill has been hanging in here pretty well lately, but everything is greening up and blooming, so nature is convinced that it is spring.

Jordan still hasn't gotten any of his birthday packages that we mailed over a month ago. Taylor said he never had any trouble with mail in Chile but I'm getting worried. We put so much time into making him a book of family pictures and quotes from prophets and even had it published and bound online. We also sent him 30 spanish "CTR" children's rings that he wanted to give away, but I guess we'll just wait and see. I guess those are all "little things".

I'm waiting for the temperature to hit 70 degrees so I can start officially come out of hibernation and start working on my yard. It better warm up fast, because I'm already falling behind! =)

From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist
Date: Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 3:22 PM


Dear Bloomsqueekers,
  Middleton un plugged huh what a great program an opportunity.  That is something that I would have loved to do more.  I love music and I loved talking to my friends on the computer but I have noticed that all those friends that I had in high school are kind of faded away with an exception of some of my best friends.  But more time spent with family here means less awkwardness up in heaven when we have to say we chose electronics over family time.  I know it is much easier said than done but I have learned from my mistakes.  I am so excited for this new temple in meridian.  That will be cool...   CODY PALMER is coming to this mission that is so awesome I knew him really well in high school what a wonderful kid he is.  That will be so fun.  Mikayla you will have to tell me everything that goes down in your prom date I already know that you are going to have a memorable experience.  As well as a fun experience.   This week has been a good one with my new companion it has been different and I miss Elder Lyman but Elder Erickson is awesome and we have found 3 wonderful families together that are working toward baptism.  It is starting to get cold here and begining the raining season.  Im excited for that I love the rain and they say that you can swim in the streets because there is so much rain. 
   So I am starting to get a little bit of love around the middle and about 5 chins instead of three, I am doing my excercises and have made the choice not to eat after 10 when we get back to the pention but the people feed us so much here that sometime we end up throwing the food away because it goes bad faster than we can eat it.  We have started giving everything that we get from members to homeless people and it has led to finding contacts.  We have had some wonderful experiences that way.
I love you guys, have a wonderful beautiful rest of the week.
Elder Bloomsqueek

From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist
Date: Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 3:44 PM


Dear Family,

   Isn´t it that so cool that we have 3 Christmases a year.  Wow what a blessing to have a prophet in our day, someone who can speak face to face with a being that has more glory and greatness than we can imagine,  a being that has created everything that the human has ever seen and not seen and has more love for every single person on this earth that our minds can not even begin to wrap our mind around the concept.  I felt a little bit of guilt during Elder Scotts talk for not telling those I love how much I am grateful for them and how much I love them often, so I am saying it right now.  My family is the most important thing to me ever Mom, Dad, Mikayla Eden Abe Sophie and Lily you are more important to me than food, than shelter , than Fun, I love you guys and I am so happy that we can live together forever.  I think my favorite conference talk was the one about pain and how sometimes we think it is just hurting us but if we understand the deeper meaning, it only hurts so we can become stronger.  

    Some days out here all of our appointments have fallen through and it is in the middle of the day frying out side so everyone is sleeping and doesn´t want to come out of their houses and it would be so much eaisier and less PAINfull to go back to the house and just rest up using the excuse that if we rest we will be more strengthened when night comes.  But every single time and I mean everytime that we have stuck with it I have learned so much about my self weather self control, perseverence, or we find someone to teach and we are filled with strenghth happiness joy and everything else wonderful.  I know that this is the work of our God and when we do it in HIS way he will bless us with HIS blessings which far out weigh any riches of the world.

  One of my new favorite scriptures is 1 Nephi 17:50 because he has such great faith despite everyone else murmuring, geting beat, almost killed, numberous times by his enemys and by his own family and having to leave his home to live in the middle of the desert, and to follow a ball that apeared out side one day.  Through pain we learn.  another one is in Hebrews 11:40 JST.

    Today was changes and Elder Lyman left, I am still in my sector but I have a new companion his name is Elder Erickson, he seems like such a great guy and I am excited to work with him for the next 8 weeks.  

My favorite person in the book of mormon is Nephi or Moroni.

My favorite snack   Food

My favorite song He is risen or um I can´t remember what it is called in english but in spanish Tengo gozo en mi alma hoy

My Favorite color Maroon

Hobbies Music, I love to play the guitar and sing and also draw

Well it seems that time again but I just want you to know I love you all so very much.

LOve 

 Son and Brother  

Elder Bloomquist

Now Is The Time

Spring break was wonderful! Just enough clouds and rain to make us want to cozy together under quilts we were tying and watch long Victorian movies and just enough sunshine to be enticed to dig in the dirt and lounge, arms spread wide on a hammock, feeling incomparably grateful for the promise of warmth. Unfortunately Fred had to work all week, but the kids and I were able to just relax and do whatever we wanted. We worked on goals and callings, visited cousins and friends, shopped, read, watched movies, played games, had a family barbecue, and had the missionaries and Jet over. He made the comment to me on Thursday that it must have been a hard week with all the kids home all day. That seems to be a common mis-perception and I'm not sure why people think that--I LOVE having my kids home! 

By far my favorite thing this week was being together as a family (I knew Jordan was doing the same thing, so our family felt complete) and watching conference. It is so inspiring to sit at the feet of prophets and feel the Spirit continuously for two full days. As it was wrapping up and Elder Holland was speaking I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face-- the Spirit was so intense. He has a tremendous gift to be able to draw on the powers of heaven like he does. There were so many messages that touched me. I was especially moved by Elder Scott's talk on eternal family relationships and the profundity of Elder Lynn G. Robbins talk on being and doing. I loved Elder Uchtdorf's symbolism of the road to Damascus and Elder Bednar's object lesson about time lapse and intensity of light. I was so surprised and pleased with the Meridian temple announcement. Only Utah has anything that close together. Fred is positive he knows where it is going to be built. It will be interesting to watch the construction unfold and see if he is right. The excitement of that announcement fueled my motivation to follow Pres. Monson's call to follow Pres. Kimball's suggestion to post temple pictures in every bedroom. It has taken me years just to get one in the living room, and I finally got one framed and one my wall a few weeks ago, but I will just keep moving forward. I was excited to learn, from Elder Eyring, about the welfare projects that each of us will be involved in this year and to recommit to my covenants to help those who are less fortunate. I was grateful for the reminders to attend the temple more often, be more attentive to my devotions on the sabbath day and regain childlike attributes. I was comforted by promises of peace and healing through our trials and strengthened in my role as a woman. I was reminded of the monumental importance of simple gospel truths like faith and testimony and the sacredness and importance of this name which the church bears and which we have taken upon ourselves. I was emboldened by the call to hone my desires, firm up my integrity and reach high expectations and humbled by the profound, ponderous truth that all these things are possible because of the atonement that is available to each of us. 

I invited Jet over both days to experience conference. I am learning that he is not a boy that says no readily so I try not to be too overpowering. =) I think he enjoys being here, but that many meetings in a row was new for him and he was exhausted by Saturday night and by Sunday night I think Mikayla was exhausted from being hostess. =) He is very young, his testimony is fledgling and based more on logical, intellectual fact than feelings and I think emotional reactions to the Spirit in our home are a little confusing for him (oh, who's kidding who--my emotions are a little confusing for everybody, including me=) but I think his familiarity with spiritual feelings will come with time as he continues to learn and do and become. His life is still dominated by violent computer gaming, and books and media which sound dark and oppressing, but I know learning comes line upon line. I am sure there are many who are more spiritually mature than I that could probably look on my some of my choices the same way, but we each have to learn on our own, through our own experiences, how to increase the light in our own lives. No one can learn that for us.

Sometimes that concept is frustrating to me; things can seem so clear to some and so impossibly murky to others. A few weeks ago, Mikayla was trying to program an excel spreadsheet to conform with my budgeting method. She is smart and persistent, but she isn't overly familiar with Excel and it was a complicated thing I was asking her to do. At one point a mathematical computation was not making sense to me (not a real shocker, I know =). Mikayla could prove that the computation had been performed correctly, so she could make sense of it and tried to explain the concept to me without a glimmer of success. We went over it numerous times until we were both a little frustrated. At that point, Fred came home from work and Mikayla explained the dilemma to him and because the computer said she was right, he could immediately see her point of view so he tried to explain it to me, without any luck. I really wanted to understand and I tried so hard to wrap my mind around what he was trying to explain to me and with complete patience, he tried various different ways to portray his point of view, but I COULD NOT grasp the concept, and was so frustrated that I was on the verge of tears and finally, in frustration, knowing my math deficiencies and Fred and Mikayla's superior understanding I decided to accept what they were telling me to do, even though it made no sense, trusting their experience and the computer's "intelligence". That is a hard thing to do! I had to run an errand, so left Mikayla working on other parts of the program and while I was gone she found a simple error in my transfer amounts which changed the math problem and in a moment was able to see that what I was trying to convey had been correct but because my information was skewed it messed up a function which was also correct. Within minutes of my return, Fred, Mikayla and I were seeing clearly and unitedly. The parallel is a bit of a jump, but I learned a few gospel principles from that experience. First that kindness and patience are essential characteristics in strengthening our relationships with each other. Even though each of our sights were skewed, our relationships, in that instance, were not. I felt loved by their honest, unpatronizing, extended efforts to help me and when the real truths were found there was no need for apologies on anyone's part. I also learned that no matter how right or wrong, we cannot force anyone to see our point of view. Points of view are colored by experience, by maturity and levels of understanding, by who we choose to trust and why and sometimes by mis perceptions and inaccuracies. I gave up on something I felt strongly about because I assumed that others knew best, but when we gain true wisdom we realize that we can't put our trust in "man" no matter how intelligent or experienced, but in God alone, who is truly omnipotent, and only then can we call our choices "faith". Over the years I have learned things for myself that I wish I could "make" others "see" and "see" things that others have learned that I wish I "knew", but that testimony isn't available by proxy. So, I have to keep reminding myself, "line upon line, precept upon precept". That is the whole purpose for our every single day.

Thursday, Fred and I went visiting our young single adults. We were able to talk to a young woman, who is trying to get back to college in a few weeks, and visit with the mother of a young man who is "drifting" It felt good to actually be doing something instead of just planning the doing, but conference reminded me that not even doing is enough. 

Last night Sis. Fisher called to talk to Mikayla and I happened to answer the phone. We talked for a few minutes about conference and about Jordan and about Young Women and then I handed the phone to Mikayala and cried in Fred's arms. And it finally hit me that what I miss so acutely is that constant, POWERFUL confirmation of the spirit that I felt continuously for almost 4 years because of the abundant programs and meetings that I was a part of almost daily. And now I have to WORK for that feeling, instead of it being consistently handed to me on a silver platter. It was like listening to conference for 4 years. And now I feel like it is the Monday after, which it literally is,=) and I have to get back to work and the "real" world. Well, you know what I've always quoted, "I am blessed with work". Now is the time to prove that.

FAVORITE QUOTE NOTES FROM CONFERENCE:

--"To do" without "to be" is hypocrisy and portrays a false image to others; "to be" without "to do" is void and portrays a false image to self.

--Never let failure be confused with identity

  (both from Elder Lynn G. Robbins)

--In this conference you may find a personal, prophetic epistle just for you.

  (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)

--Live the full feminine splendor of righteousness.

  (Elder Richard G. Scott)

--Those who cannot endure chastening, will not receive sanctification.

--It is not about what we have done, but about what we have become.

  (both from Elder D. Todd Christofferson)

--Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women.

  (Elder M. Russel Ballard)

--Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our actions, actions determine who we will become.

  (Elder. Dallin H. Oaks)

--Move forward with faith--do not wait too long on the road to Damascus.

 (Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf)