Soccer!

It's soccer season.  It's fun to see the boys improve and really enjoy soccer this year.  Hyrum has a few friends on his team and they are playing with a goalie this year too, so it's extra fun for him.  Most of the time he plays on the field but he did get to be goalie once so far, and he blocked a goal.  He was so proud of himself.  His team decided to name themselves the Great White Sharks.

 Noah's soccer team is the Green Wolfs.  He just can't contain his excitement when he's on the field.  It's fun watching all of that energy and smiles.  Sometimes he doesn't know what direction to go, but he just keeps smiling and running.  He has quite a strong kick.

 Hyrum and Noah have some awesome cheerleaders. 

Speaking in Church

I don't normally write out my talks word for word, but I really felt that I didn't want to miss anything with this topic.  To be honest, I was really looking forward to speaking, because I hadn't in 5 years. Unfortunately, the week I was speaking also happened to be the week that Brett was out of town.  I was very happy to have people willing to watch the boys so I wouldn't worry about it.  Each boy was with a different family and they were so well behaved the whole time.  I think I would love to give a talk every Sunday if they behave this well with other people:).  Here it is down for remembrance:

For the past month we have spent quite a bit of time and energy preparing for the new school year, making sure the kids had clothes that fit, backpacks, school supplies, registering at school, , etc.  This is the time of year that people frequently ask children what they want to be when they grow up.  As of yesterday: Hyrum wants to be an inventor, Noah says he wants to be Batman.  I am excited to see where their lives take them.   Sometimes decisions and circumstances change.  I have no preconceived idea or hope of what these boys will be when they grow up, but I am daily focusing my efforts and attention on WHO they will be when they grow up.  I want them to be kind, loving, honest, respectful, charitable, and hard working.  Who we grow up to be is much more significant.  Being a parent can sometimes be challenging, but having a goal of who we want to raise helps give me focus and direction.  There are many experts who can tell me how to be a better parent, but I know that my family can have direct help from my Father in Heaven when I call on him in prayer.

     The perfect example of parental guidance that we can follow is that of our Heavenly Father.  His work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of His children.  His goal is our happiness.  He wants us to return to our Heavenly Home.  From the beginning of time, with Adam and Eve, he has taught his children His plan for our happiness and how we can return to him, but also gave us our agency to choose.  He called Prophets throughout time to be his mouthpiece.  Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses were all called by God to teach God’s plan for them, call all people to repentance, and foretell of the fullness and fulfillment of God’s mercy in the coming of Jesus Christ.   

  Only a few years of  Jesus’ earthly ministry are recorded for us to study today, so we know that every moment recorded was vital for our learning and understanding today.  Jesus showed us how to live through his perfect example of love, conviction, humility, and unwavering faithfulness to doing God’s will.  As he served those around him, he frequently said to “come follow me.”  His disciples dropped what they were doing to obey his summon to ‘Come follow me’.  Those who followed Jesus were able to witness his pure love and devotion to all of Heavenly Fathers children.    Before he was crucified he rested his hands on the heads of twelve of his disciples and called them to be his apostles, or special witnesses of Him.  He did not just preach and minister, but he organized His church in the order of God’s will and with his Priesthood power.  The Church of Jesus Christ was organized with Prophets and apostles.  He taught that there was one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.  His church was not built on confusion or conjecture.  The Church of Jesus Christ was built on a solid foundation of truth directly from the Son of God, with perfect order, and brought together with God’s priesthood power.  Despite his perfect life he was often persecuted and mocked, yet he still was willing to take more upon him.   In Matthew we read Christ’s words saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  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.   For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)  In his last moments he became our Redeemer as he took upon himself our inadequacies and suffered the consequences of our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane.  When teaching the people of Gideon Alma testified of Christ saying, “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.  And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:11-12)  Then on the cross he submitted himself to death to be our Savior, saving us from an eternal death and opening the door to exaltation and eternal life.  Three days after he died he returned to show the wounds in his hands, feet, and side and prove to the world that death was conquered and through him we can all be saved.  

     Shortly after Christ ascended to the Father, his apostles and disciples tried to teach and testify of the good news of the Savior.  As evident in the letters and epistles to the members of Christ's church in the New Testament, people had questions about the doctrines and commandments.  The Apostles diligently tried to teach and testify the principles of the gospel but there was much persecution and as the apostles were being killed, it became more and more difficult for people to understand the fullness of Christ's gospel.  Long before this time, Amos prophesied saying “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”  That famine was felt as Christ's words were forgotten, changed, and interpreted by men in a time that has now been named the Dark Ages. Christ's church had fallen and his words were only read by a select few that had been chosen by men, not God.  Over time, great reformers came forward in an attempt to pick of the pieces of a broken understanding.  Through much persecution and even death the Bible was finally distributed to be read by anyone and translated so people could understand it.  Many truths that had been lost were found and several denominations were formed each gathering different pieces of truth and doctrine.   But Christ taught that there was only one lord, one faith, and one baptism.   In Luke we read that Christ taught that, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27).  In order to have the fullness of the Gospel and Church that Christ organized when he walked on the earth, it could not just be pieces of His word gathered by men.  Christ’s Church needed to be restored by Him directly.  

    So, just like Moses, Noah, and Abraham; God called another Prophet to restore the fullness of his Gospel once again.  God, the Father, and Jesus Christ appeared to the young Joseph Smith and spoke with him face to face.  Through his life he was instructed and ministered to by God and angels, restoring all that Christ had organized during his ministry.  The same organization, the same priesthood power, baptism, and Gift of the Holy Ghost were brought back to the earth.  Now through modern revelation and God’s continuance to call His prophets to speak for Him, we can have all of our questions in life answered with proper authority.  Many churches teach truth and can bring happiness in following the Savior but it is only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that we can enjoy ALL that His gospel has available for us. 

  This is not a gospel of perfect people.  This is a place for those that thirst for truth and knowledge.  This is a place for the week and the suffering.  When Christ invites us to come unto him, he does not pick and choose the best, but he picks each person and teaches them how to become their best.  When Christ said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not”  I know that he did not just mean the well behaved quiet children.  He also called the children who talk too loud and sometimes throw things a few pew’s ahead.   He is always inviting to Come Unto Him.  

The testimony of Alma in the Book of Mormon: (Alma 36:12-)

“ .  . .while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.  And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy. Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.  Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.”

   Alma taught his sons to learn from him.  He taught the joys of the Atonement and 

following the Savior.  There are many people around us that need a hand to lift them up and point them to their Redeemer.  We can be that hand and the light to show them the way.  By sharing the good news of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ we are essentially handing them a life vest in hard times.    As we strive to be the person that Heavenly Father sees in us, we can find peace and comfort in the knowledge that our loving father in heaven has restored His church led by prophets and apostles, with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.  

The First

This year we sent Hyrum off to second grade.  He has been really excited about school starting.  So far he's been doing very well in his new class. He has some friends from the neighborhood in his class.  His teacher is from Hawaii, so he was excited to tell her that he went there this summer.  We hope it will be a great year for him.  

 Noah has been pretty anxious about going to school.  The last couple of months have been filled with questions about what Kindergarten is like.  He was worried about having friends, not getting recess time, being able to find a bathroom, etc.  When his first day finally came he had the biggest smile on his face when he woke up.  He got all ready for the day as fast as he could, did some jumping jacks, danced, and ran all the way to the bus stop.  His anxiousness turned into joyful excitement, and we were so glad.  Even when I picked him up, he was still filled with joy and couldn't wait to tell me about his day.  Several hours after he got home he asked me when he got to go to school again.  He was so excited when I told him that he got to go every day just like Hyrum.  It's going to be a great year! 

A week after school started Owen started Joyschool.  He has been SOOO excited to go to school like his big brothers.  It's a fun relaxed Joyschool with lots of his buddies. (You can tell by the lighting in the picture that his brothers leave early before the sun is on our porch.)

The Zoo

A week before school started we went with a couple of friends to the Hoggle Zoo.  I really love summer.  I'll miss being able to do these fun things with them when they are at school and having to worry about homework and studying.  This was a great last big activity to fit in, and the kids had so much fun seeing the animals and playing together. With three moms and twelve kids, we felt like we brought the zoo with us.  :)

Blessings

Today is Sunday.  The boys were fighting this morning and it ended with Noah punching Hyrum in the face and what I thought was going to be a black eye (luckily it ended up being a small bruise under his eye).  I had a nice long talk with both of them, privileges were taken away, and apologies were given.  I had a good talk with Noah about what we use our hands for and on each of his fingers I wrote one of their uses; eating, playing, helping, hi-5's, and praying.  I hope it sunk in.  Sprinkles and a bowl of cereal were dumped on the floor.  I didn't have a chance to finish fixing my hair.  When we got to church I was happy to see each of my boys with scripture bags in hand, hair combed, and all their clothes on.  We sat on a side bench in front of another family with young boys.  The boys sat nicely and did very well for the first twenty minutes of Sacrament Meeting.  They each had pre-packed activities, coloring books, sticker books, etc.  Owen started to get pretty antsy after the sacrament and his snack.  After several failed attempts to keep him busy, he ran out of the pews and headed for Brett on the stand.  I had Emmett on my lap and so I quickly tried to clear a space in the pew for me to get through to the exit without making too much noise.  Owen ran back to me and I grabbed him and headed for the hall with the two babies.  A few people in the foyer were trying to help me, but my two boys only wanted me and all of my attention.  After I had calmed them both down and Owen promised to sit still and be reverent, we went back on our bench.  Shortly after we sat down he went running for Brett again, before I could grab him.  He sat with Brett and after he started to get squirmy Brett whispered to him that he could fold his arms and quietly walk back to me.  His arms stayed folded and he nicely walked until he got to the bottom of the stairs of the stand, then he was off  like a cheetah to the back of the chapel and on to the back of the cultural hall.  Many arms reached out trying to help out and grab him as I tried to catch up to him, with Emmett in arm.  I handed Emmett to a nice sister who has offered to help and I caught up to Owen.  Welcome to the Partridge circus!  Once I finally grabbed him I quickly made it to the hall with a tight jacket grasp on our little runner.  Meanwhile, Emmett began crying immediately after I handed him off, so he came out and met us in the foyer. Both boys were crying at this point and both boys wanted me to hold them.  For about 10 minutes we went back and forth between a few kind people in the foyer who wanted to help.  I would try and calm one child down long enough to put him down so I could calm the other one down.  During Relief Society Emmett had fallen asleep and I could feel his warm body resting on mine.  I stared at him and teared up a little as I looked back on the day and felt overwhelming blessings.  I feel so blessed to have my four amazing boys.  I love their energy, their excitement for life, their humor, their passion, their example.  I love knowing that each of my boys are healthy and strong and can run and play without difficulty.  I love that each of my boys are so smart and constantly coming up with new ideas and inventions.  I feel blessed to be loved so much by these boys that my two youngest only want Mom and Dad, because they know that we will give them love in return.  Had this been a few months ago I think I would have felt very overwhelmed and frustrated by the day, but I know the Lord has blessed us with Brett's new calling in the Bishopric.   When Brett accepted his calling I was hoping the Lord would bless us with well behaved children, but I am even more grateful that the Lord blessed me with perspecticles to see my boys the way He sees them.  My boys are not perfect, but neither am I.  We are at the Lords House on Sunday to please the Lord and worship him.  I am reminded that Jesus told the little children to come unto Him and that they should not be dismissed.  I know he was not just talking about the well-behaved quiet children, but he was also talking about the ones that have running legs, loud voices, and mischievous ideas.  We will do our best to be reverent and allow for others around us to receive revelation and feel the spirit, but sometimes our best needs help.  I am so grateful for all of the helping hands around me who try and grab my running child or hold my crying baby.  I am blessed.

The Other Woman

Dear Boys,

     On this blog I record the moments and experiences in our lives that I want to remember forever.  Most of what you see is our happy mormon life.  Our life is wonderful and blessed, but I often choose to not remember the harder times and the struggles, because I know they will pass.  These tough moments are not often recorded, but I don't want you to look back at this 'perfect life' and have false ideas of your future.  I know you will not be reading this for many years, but I wanted to write this while my memory is still somewhat fresh.  Someday you will become madly in love with a sweet young woman who may seem perfect.  I'll talk to you about precautions you should take while wearing 'love goggles' later, but for now lets talk about after you're married and the honeymoon is over.  This is not always the same for every woman, and your experience will be unique, but what I share will still be useful for you to be aware of.  When Emmett was six months old it dawned on me that of the 8 years that your Dad and I had been married, six of those years combined were spent pregnant or nursing.  Why is this relevant, you may ask?  This is relevant because something changes in a woman during this time.  No, I'm not talking about the obvious development and nourishment of a baby.  I know that someday I will forget about how I was while pregnant, but I feel it is important to record my experiences so that it might help you in your marriage someday.  I told you about my post-pardum depression HERE, but that is not all of it.   Here is a glimpse into a few things that I hope you can learn from and be aware of so that it does not catch you off guard.  

Sleep Depravation:
When I was pregnant with Hyrum we would joke with our friends about how we should sleep all we can now, because once we have kids the sleeping would stop.  Believe it or not, I used to sleep ten hours every night.  I LOVED sleeping in until nine or ten in the morning. You may think it's not a big deal to loose a little sleep.  There is a reason that you will find prisoners of war who are tortured with sleep depravation.  TORTURED!  Prolonged sleep depravation was a way to brain wash people and mess with their memories and recall. This is real!  We were under the false assumption that babies slept through the night when they were a few months old.  Hyrum was up about every two hours until he was 6 months old and then he would wake up two to three times a night after that until he was about 3 years old.  While he was teething, he would sometimes be up for several hours during the night screaming and crying.  Meanwhile, we had Noah when Hyrum was just 19 months old.  Noah was up every two to three hours until he was 10 months old and also didn't fully sleep through the night until he was almost 3.   Sleep is the reason why there is a bigger break in ages between Noah and Owen.  During that time life was REALLY hard!  Brett and I both suffered the effects of no sleep.  I would frequently forget things.  They call it 'Mommy brain," I call it survival mode.  You just do what needs to get done to survive each day.  I frequently would fall asleep in the middle of reading a book to you, literally slurring out words on the page until the book would fall in my lap and my eyes would shut.  You boys learned quickly to yell at me and tell me to wake up and finish the book.  Sometimes during the night when I was nursing you, I worried that I would accidentally dose off and drop you.   I never did, but I was close many times.  A successful day was one where I was able to take a nap and shower.  Forget about anything else.  Many days would go by in a blurr.  We loved the blessing of your company.  The days were filled with love and laughter, but they were also VERY hard.  You can see now why I call Emmett our Angel Baby.  He was our first baby to sleep all night long by five months old.  Owen was better than Hyrum and Noah, but he still struggled to get a good nights sleep before two years old.  It is probably because of years of sleep depravation, but currently if I sleep for six hours uninterrupted I am well rested.  I never would have imagined that six hours would be enough before we had kids, but sleep depravation changes you.  

Pregnancy Hormones:
If a woman can suddenly change her entire appetite and food palette while pregnant, just imagine the change that happens with her emotions, temperament, etc.  We joke about how suddenly pregnant women want to eat strange foods at a moments notice, but we often overlook what happens to their emotions.  Yes, crying happens a lot when pregnant, sometimes for no reason at all.  These hormones that are released when pregnant can put a woman's emotions in a heightened state.  What does that mean?  Let's say everyday when you get home from work/school you walk in and give your wife a kiss then take your shoes off and go on with the day.  Sometimes, unknowingly, you track dirt in the house with your shoes when you go to give your wife a kiss.  She doesn't mind though, because she loves you and knows you're oblivious to the dirt.  Let's say this routine has been going on for a few years. Now your wife is pregnant.  You come home and go to give her a kiss, except this time she is crying uncontrollably because she just swept the floor.  She is completely exhausted, because growing a baby is basically equivalent to climbing a mountain with heels on, and she managed to grow a baby AND sweep the floors that day and you just brought dirt in the house.  Get it?  Be prepared and extra courteous.  Looking back at things that I went crazy about while pregnant, now seem funny, but at the time it was far from funny.  Unfortunately,  there's no pregnancy sensor to the emotional vomit that gets spewed on everyone in sight.  Feelings will get hurt, tempers may rise, and patience will be at an all time low.   The worst part is after the moment has passed, the Momma will feel horrible for whatever actions she made, and the crying will begin again.  I can honestly say that EVERY NIGHT before I fell asleep I prayed to Heavenly Father that my children (YOU) would forget the person I was while pregnant and forgive me for who I was that day.  There were many days where I was a very bad mom.  I would yell at you for no good reason.  I would have a hard time getting out of bed before noon a lot of days.  You watched a lot of TV when I was pregnant.  I am not proud of the Mom I was when pregnant.  I am so grateful to your Dad for seeing the real me and knowing that 'pregnant me' was not permanent.  The best thing you can do for your wife during this time (aside from sweeping and dishes) is reminding her that you still see her as the amazing person that you married.  She will wonder, like I did, if the happy person she sees in pictures of herself from years back will ever come back. 

How trials change you:
The sleep depravation and mood swings were hard on your dad and I individually, and also as a couple.  These are not the greatest trials in our lives, but they are trials and every trial changes you.  Having children changed us and we will never be the same people we were when we first got married, because we have become better people.  We have become happier people too.  Trials stretch and push you out of the realm of comfort and ease, and it's somewhere there on the edge of sanity and breaking down where we find our greatest strength.  It's at that pivotal point just before you are about to fall down where you find that you have the will, power, and ability to fight through it and come out on top. I am grateful for the struggles that we faced early in our marriage.  Looking back, they don't seem like much anymore, because when you slay a giant, it looks much smaller and insignificant lying on it's back behind you.  Remember that ALL trials are to help you find your own strength.  Having children has given me confidence in my own power, it has given me confidence in Heavenly Father and His power, it has strengthened my understanding of the Priesthood and the Plan of Salvation, and it has given me four of the greatest things I have been privileged to learn from and grow with.  I really do hope that you don't remember the woman I was when I was pregnant, but I also hope you will know that our life is not perfect and that it is the hard times that make us who we are. 

I love you!
~Mom

Hike

Last summer I remember being excited for school to start so the kids could get back into a routine and back with friends.  This summer I've been following my summer school curriculum with daily lessons, activities, science experiments, etc.  Because of this, I feel that this summer has flown by faster than I can blink.  I'm a little sad to send them to school, because we've had so much fun together.  I hope that every summer is this fun.  We hiked up to a waterfall last week.  These boys were born to be dirty:)

Hyrum and Noah did a great job on the hike, but Owen struggled on the way back down.  I ended up carrying Emmett and Owen for a big chunk of the hike back.  I was pretty tired when we got home, but it was great exercise. 

 Owen is the dirties little boy and he loves it!  He almost always refuses to wear shoes outside, which means his feet are almost permanently black on the bottom.  I love his dirty little body.