Come Unto Me

2016-12-122018-03-07

One morning when I didn’t feel like getting out of bed (those pregnancy hormones remember?) and feeling quite tired and unmotivated to do anything, I read this scripture that someone had posted online.

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I have read and heard that scripture countless times, I even have it memorized! But for some reason I hadn’t fully considered it in all my “heavy laden” feelings until that moment. And I so needed it! I read each verse a few times, then sat and thought about it for a few minutes.

“What does it mean to come unto him?” I thought. “How can I really feel that rest, how does it work?”

I closed my eyes and asked those same questions. “Please help me. Please help me learn how this works.” I thought of the Savior and how much I just wanted to be strengthened again.

It’s interesting how spiritual things work. I wish I could lay out just how it worked for me, just how He answered my prayer, but I can’t even explain it. I think it’s something that everyone experiences differently, but it made all the difference for me.

After that prayer, I got up and determined to try my best, and somehow it seemed easier. After asking for help, I knew that I could do it. That’s how faith works I guess. I knew that I had laid my burden at the Savior’s feet, asking for His help to carry it. I was happier. Honestly, days before this it was so hard to feel enough energy or motivation to take care of my house, make meals, or tackle those bathrooms that I had been putting off cleaning for longer than I want to admit. I usually just did the bare minimum and then felt pretty crummy about it. But I did what I needed to all that day! My house wasn’t totally clean, but my bathrooms were! And I even made a fresh dinner and finished some other things. I was able to rest in a way, knowing that I had heaven’s help. That’s all I needed to get me going and keep me going. It’s been five days since I prayed for the Savior’s help, and I am still feeling it.

I’m still having mood swings here and there, perhaps those will stick around until sometime after the babies are born, but I know I can do this because I have the Savior’s promise of rest (even if my kind of rest means the strength to do the things I need to). What a gift.

Making Christmas in Our House

2016-11-292016-12-20

Ava waited all day to get out the Christmas tree and the Christmas decorations. We cleaned the house and waited for my hard drives to finish backing up before we could move the desk and computer for the Christmas tree.

Then Jake put on a coat and his super tall boots and trudged through a few feet of piled snow drifts to the garage to get the tree and all the fun Christmas stuff.

We’ve been hibernating the past few days in our warm little townhouse while a true North Dakota storm has been piling snow and blowing it all around us. No school and work from home means a lot of together time and we really like that.

I’m supposed to drive to Bismarck tomorrow for an important ultrasound that needs to be done no later than this week so we’ll see if we can make it out there. School is closed again tomorrow.

We put up the Christmas tree, broke a few ornaments, and noticed that some chunks of lights weren’t working on the tree. So we decided to hold off on the ornaments and ribbon until we could get those working again, and tucked the kids into bed.

Ava sat up in her bed marveling at the little Christmas tree we set up in her room, the same one I had in my room when I was young. Her bed time prayer went something like this:

“Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the Earth and for Christmas. Thank you that we could have Christmas and make Christmas in our house today. Thank you for our bodies and that we could have a nice home to keep us warm. Please bless Mommy and Daddy and Hyrum and the babies and help us have a good day tomorrow. . In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. “

She fills my heart this little one.

Happy Halloween!

2016-11-022016-12-20

Hyrum’s been doing a lot of roaring lately, so it seemed only fitting to get a lion costume for him. Then I thought how cute it would be for Ava to be Dorothy, and since she has no idea who Dorothy is, we all watched The Wizard of Oz last night, despite the memories I have of being terrified of witches and tornadoes after seeing the movie when I was her age. 😁 She loved it and so far doesn’t seem scared so that’s good. This morning after her bath she brought me a hairbrush and two hair ties and said, “Mom, since I’m going to be Dorothy, I should do my hair in two French braids like her.” So I braided her hair and not an hour later we got the costumes dropped at our door. She was SO excited, and danced around the room for a good ten minutes with it on, only changing her clothes to play outside with her friends. Sure glad that worked out. 👍 #mamanotes

Halloween–Ava had so much fun in her sparkly red shoes and her poofy skirt, and Hyrum kept his costume on for over half of the branch trunk or treat (even with all the cornbread crumbs tucked in his mane and the sticky drool from the four suckers he downed as soon as he got them. 😄) It was so fun with them. Jake and I dressed up too (Clark Kent [superman]–see the resemblance?? and Cat Woman) but we didn’t get any pictures of that (they were last minute costumes anyway 🙂

Happy Halloween!!

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

2016-06-302016-07-13

The four of us were in town at Old Navy the other day and I saw these cute patriotic shirts. It’s kind of silly that they were $8 each, but I loved the message and how often can I get matching shirts for my 1 year old boy and 4 year old girl!? Jake was even on board to get them (I think it was the patriotic thing. )

A little while ago Ava was wearing her shirt, and since she changes her outfit an average of four times a day, I figured if I wanted pictures I should probably act fast and put Hyrum in his! So in the middle of making pancakes with my neighbor, we went outside on the back porch to grab a few. I offered chocolate chips and popsicles, but in typical mom style, I didn’t manage one with both really smiling. Ha! I still love what we came out with. The light was beautiful out there. I could take pictures of them all day!

“And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A!”
-Lee Greenwood

Here’s to this country that we sincerely love. Regardless of present circumstances, we are most certainly proud to be American. Happy Fourth of July weekend friends!

“May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right.” -Peter Marshall

Blissful Togetherness

2016-04-042016-04-04

I know I’m a little late on this post, but the week before last we celebrated Easter! And I felt like this year more than ever, I really celebrated it. I really appreciated it. I never got around to dying eggs (it seems I fail at that every year–but this year at least I boiled some!) but I read A LOT about the Easter story in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon. It has FILLED my heart and increased my gratitude for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and Our Father in Heaven, who sent Him to us. Easter morning was all the more meaningful as we greeted the sun and recognized the eternal LIGHT and LIFE we can have because of Him.

ALSO on Easter, we packed the day with so many good things. Kite flying, egg hunting, and church going, to name a few. After church, ours was a napping house. ALL of us were sleeping. It was wonderful. The day continued with baking and bubbles and a whole lot of blissful togetherness and I couldn’t help but recognize, especially this day, that all this goodness, joyfulness, family-ness, is possible FOREVER because of HIM. On this day we rejoiced with the world that “He is risen, as he said.” Thanks be to God for the gift of His son.