Category Archives: North Dakota

Frozen Lake fhe

Frozen Lake | thatwemighthavejoy.com

We drove out to one of our favorite places today. It was so strange to see this massive lake completely frozen over. It was beautiful though, and we had so much fun sliding all over it! Jake is determined to find some ice skates at a thrift store for us.

On the way home we had family home evening in the car. Sometimes I think we should always do it this way because we have Ava’s complete attention and she seems to like it too. We talked about this amazing Earth that we live on and the animals and people and how God created it all for us because He loves us so much.

We shared some of our favorite creations. Ava said she loves the butterflies and sunsets. Jake loves the mountains and I love the rivers and lakes. We all said we love the ocean.

Then Ava exclaimed, “I love blossoms! You know, in the summertime all the trees will have blossoms! That’s my favorite.”

That’s my favorite too.  In the meantime, I’m grateful for Jake because he has so much good to say about winter and it rubs off on the rest of us.

Ava finished with a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for the Earth and the tigers and all the people, and we were all feeling pretty grateful right about then. #mamanotes

About Sundays

Most Mondays on social media I see posts that say some thing like “Oh Mondays” or some kind of picture showing how Mondays are rough. I totally get it. We are all coming back from a weekend, a break of sorts, and getting back into the swing of things isn’t always easy or fun. But I have a different feeling about Mondays because I kind of like Mondays; and that’s because of Sundays.

Since the four of us were probably still carrying around remnants of our uninvited visitor (the stomach flu), and we did not want to send him home with any of our friends,  we stayed home from church on Sunday.

It felt so strange.

I have to admit, it was kind of exciting to think that we’d have a whole extra day of doing nothing and just hanging out together, but once two o’clock came around and we still hadn’t done anything that even slightly compared in value to being at church, I really just couldn’t wait until next Sunday when we could be there again!

We don’t go to church because we should, we go because it’s like an anchor for us. We rely on it. I feel so refreshed after taking the sacrament, renewing my covenants with God, and feeling His Spirit in abundance.  When Mondays come, I feel ready for a new week. I feel motivated to do good and to be a little better, and I enjoy the fresh start.  It’s subtle, but when I miss it, I notice the difference.

So basically what I’m saying is that I’m grateful for the little church that we get to attend each Sunday here in North Dakota and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gives it meaning. We are so blessed by it!

https://www.mormon.org/worship
Jake took this picture through the window of the moving van when he first arrived in our tiny town. He was excited to show me where the church was. He texted me after the first Sunday and said, “I think you’re going to really like this ward. I have the feeling we’re really going to miss them when we leave.”

Spring Dreams

spring dreams thatwemighthavejoy.com

Tonight when I tucked Ava into bed she said to me, “Mom, tonight I’m going to dream about flowers and rainbows and bunnies.”

“Sounds like spring to me. I’d like to dream about spring too.”
“I’ll tell you all about it in the morning,” she reassured me. I look forward to that.

It seems we had a little taste of spring today. The high was 43 degrees.  I opened a few windows to clear the smell of bacon from the air as Jake has now come down with the bug, and the thick smell of bacon is no friend to nausea.

I think we all enjoyed the chilly fresh air. We even sat outside on the back porch in just our long sleeved shirts, petting the gold striped neighborhood cat while Hyrum squealed in excitement at his new surroundings (and his furry friend.) He’s been begging to go outside for days. Perhaps we all have. #mamanotes

Winter’s Morning

Winter gave us such a beautiful morning!Winter MorningWinter Morning(and look at those cute bunny tracks! …at least I think they are bunny tracks…)

I feel like winter has given me a lot of good things this year, inviting me to slow down, refocus, and finish up some things that have been needing to get done. And despite the really cold temperatures, it’s actually been kind of fun experiencing a new climate. Jake and I often watch our phones on cold nights to see just how low it will get. Then we run outside to feel it. Brr!

All of this makes me so grateful for a cozy home. So grateful.