Meeting a Prophet

As told by M:

"Today for a special stake meeting, Elder Richard G. Scott, came to speak. During his talk, I prayed several times that I would be able to meet him. Soon, I was very confident that I would. I began turning over in my head how this might happen. I often do this before I actually do something, but my plans are often very different than what actually happens. This time, most of my plans involved me racing down and then explaining to my family later. As it so happened, I told my mom that I had prayed to meet this prophet, and could we at least try? She said "You can't rush down there. We have to stay together as a family, but yes, we can try to help you meet him." I guess she knows me pretty well! :)

So, after the prayer, we made our way to the exit we figured he would probably use. We weren't alone, other people seemed to have the same idea. Over the microphone, they said "Elder Scott has a plane to catch. He would love to shake everyone's hand, but if he does, he'll be walking to Salt Lake City." For a moment, my spirits sunk, but only for a moment because my mom told me we would stay there in the hall and still try. The people who still wanted to try formed a little path for him to walk through. The ushers became something like his body guards, but as Dad said later, "They were low-key body guards, but I'm sure they're well trained." I was very excited as Elder Scott came into view. He was moving down the line pretty fast and soon he would be to me. When he came, I told him that I liked what he had said about putting a coat hanger in your mouth (so that you wake up smiling every morning). He smiled and thanked me and I said, "You're welcome." He then asked me my name (he hadn't asked anyone else that!) and I said, "M., M.L.R." and he said, "You have a great spirit." I thanked him, a little unsure exactly what that meant, then he moved on down the line to the door.

I am positive that this wasn't just a mistake. I know it was an answer to my prayer. I am privileged to have met this apostle and prophet of Jesus Christ. I think the reality turned out better than the best of my plans."

Notes from M's Mom:

What a spiritual experience to see my little girl so determined and moved to try to personally meet this apostle today. There were 1200 people in attendance. We got there 45 min early & the place was almost full. We sat on the very back row of the stage (there were other overflow rooms where they close circuited the meeting on tv), and actually had a better view than if we would have been sitting on the floor, I think. Anyway, the Spirit was very strong as he spoke and I wrote as fast & furiously as I could to record his words. I was touched with M's sincere desire to try to meet him afterward, as the thought had crossed my mind, but I had dismissed it, thinking, "There's too many people here, we're too far away from the stand, he's busy, etc. etc." Reminds me of the scripture, "And a little child shall lead them!"

I could feel her anticipation as we stood in the foyer, waiting for him to exit. It struck me how awesome it was that she was so excited to meet him, with an enthusiasm usually displayed by 10 yr old girls meeting rock stars (Jonas, or Hannah Montana came to mind, LOL). He was so sweet with our girls, and I was incredibly touched that with just an exchange of a few words, he could tell just how great her spirit really, truly is. It strengthened my testimony that the Holy Ghost really can and does bear witness of eternal truths like that. I really feel that he caught a glimpse of her spirit, and how valiant and strong she is. He saw far beyond her 10 yr old body, and into the heart of testimony that she has. I hope that she will always, always remember what it felt like to have a prophet say to her, "You have a great spirit." I know I always will!

36 And Counting

When I was little, all my friends were going to kindergarten, and since it was privately run at the time, my parents sent me along, too. It wasn't until the end of year that anyone pointed out to them that my birthday was one day after the cut-off date for 1st grade, and that therefore, I would have to repeat kindergarten again. After much effort, my teacher & parents convinced the school board to make an exception for this brilliant, darling, mature little girl, even though she was only 5. ;)

So, I had the illustrious honor of always being the very youngest person in my classes at school. It never seemed to affect me academically or socially (I think?) but emotionally, I felt like the days between my birthdays numbered 547 - 6 months longer than anyone else's. I always felt completely triumphant when my birthday arrived each year and I could FINALLY be 8, or 12, or 16. Nothing burst my bubble more on Nov 16 than to have someone ask how old I was, to hear my response, and then to get a "What?! You're ONLY ____?!" COME ON, people, this was a HUGE accomplishment for me!

Somewhere in my late 20's, I got a little less enthusiastic about my birthdays, for 2 reasons. 1. I was so sleep deprived by my nocturnal children that I wasn't enthusiastic about much of anything and 2. I had that realization that I hadn't really planned much for myself beyond "graduate from high school, graduate from BYU, be a teacher, get married, have kids." The End. Well, it turns out there were a whole lot more years beyond those goals but I didn't really have a vision for what I wanted to be when I grew up from there, and that was unsettling.

I remember lamenting my 30th bday w/my "old" roommate, Denise. She said something to the effect of, "Well, honestly, it's not like your 20's were so great. 30 has got to be better," and I had a huge ah-ha moment. She was right! My 20's were full of uncertainty: "Will I have a date this weekend?" "Will I ever survive student teaching?" "Oh jeez, do I actually love this great friend of mine, P?" Then there was the craziness of getting married & getting used to all of that (though that was all good 'getting used to!'). I taught elementary school for 4 yrs in my 20's, which was a great experience, but soooo much work. Then there were the surgeries and the fertility treatments and the miscarriages and the rough pregnancies, deliveries, and recoveries... Yeah, "20" was quite a ride!

The beauty of my 30's is that a lot of that has been resolved. I don't worry about dates anymore, and I know who I'm married to & I still love being with him (that's a good thing!). I don't have all the baby stress anymore and I honestly enjoy my children very very much. They are such great people who are really portable and rarely wake me up in the night. I am blessed by good friends who live all over the place - did I mention we've moved 10 times in 13 yrs? - and we love living in our little town, where we were finally able to buy a place & put down some roots (we hope - never want to speak too soon).

I am also figuring out more of who I really want to be when I grow up, and accepting that it can't be summarized by a job title. I am letting go of a lot of the preconceived notions of who I "should" be and embracing who I am right now as a work in progress. I acknowledge that I still have a lot to learn, but I've lost a lot of the anxiety I used to feel about who I am. I guess you could say that I suck my stomach in less and open my arms for hugs more these days? :)

A huge part of this process has, unfortunately, been the passing of dear women who left this earth far too early. Their deaths (cancer, I hate you) have reminded me time & again that life is absolutely precious and that celebrating a birthday is way better than not having any more to celebrate. If I'm lucky, I will cling to this belief until my body is so old and worn out that I will be ready to leave it behind and move on to my next life...what's that whole sentiment about sliding into heaven yelling "WOW! What a ride!"?

So with older and wiser enthusiasm than I had 20 years ago, I am joyfully celebrating my arrival at 36. It is not the 7th anniversary of my 29th, and I hope I never count my years like that. But, for the record, I do know that I will miss the health of my younger body (I already do!) but other than that, I hope that I will always just be grateful for another year of "experiences," the joyful as well as the painful, for I am finding out that both kinds can work to teach me and mold me into the kind of woman I want to be when I grow up.

"Captain Hook"

I use this blog as our family's journal, so even though I posted this on facebook already, I wanted to make sure that I officially recorded this conversation, b/c it is destined to be a classic.

E came home from school the other day saying that her friend was singing a song that she just couldn't get out of her head now. I asked what it was, and she sang, "She wears high heels, I wear sneakers, She's Captain Hook and I am a leecher."

I honestly try not to outright laugh at my children very often, but I laughed and laughed and laughed. Of course, she didn't understand why. So, I explained that the lyrics actually say, "She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers."

Sorry, Taylor Swift, I will never hear your song again without laughing out loud.

I LOVE SIX YEAR OLDS!

Big Thanks to Our Veterans

For the past few years, M has written a poem for my granddad (who served in WWII) for Veteran's Day. He often commented how her "thanks" made it all worth it, and that touched me so deeply. I mean, seriously, an eight year old girl says "Thank you" and all those years in the jungle of the Phillipines are all worth it?! Wow!

Granddad passed away this summer, so I sat at the school's (excellent) Veteran's Day concert last week, feeling sad that we couldn't do that tradition this year. Suddenly, I realized that we know 3 families from church whose husbands/daddies are currently serving in the Army! Hmmm.

So, after talking to their wives, the girls & I decided to make these great big cookies as a small token of our appreciation. One just returned home this summer from a year long deployment in the Middle East, another leaves for his 4th tour over there in Feb for an expected year. The third has served multiple tours & and is currently a recruiter. The girls each wrote a letter (complete with illustrations) and I wrote a letter, too. We are so grateful to all our service men and women who have given and continue to give so much to our country.

The best part of the whole day - even better than eating the dough - was watching these men's expressions as we delivered the unexpected treat. We could tell that they aren't used to being personally thanked very often. We've created our new favorite Veteran's Day tradition! Next year, I hope to be able to include local men & women we know who've served in the past as well (but I've got to figure out who they are - it's not really something that most really talk much about). It was just a terrificly humbling experience...how do you really put this kind of admiration and gratitude into words (or cookies)? It was a WAY better day than spending it at the mall, "honoring" the Veteran's Day Sales (although I'm sure there were some pretty good deals out there). THANK YOU, Veterans!

What Kind of Food Are You?

While driving the girls to school this morning, we were listening to an oldies station and a Karen Carpenter song ("Rainy Days and Mondays") came on. I turned it up and said, "I love her voice and I totally wish I could sing like her." M said, "Mmmmm. Reminds me of apple cider. All warm and spicy."

E & I laughed, and she said, "What?! People often remind me of foods."

E: "What am I, then?"
M: "You're a pineapple. That's the fanciest fruit. It's sweet and everybody likes it but if I eat too much of it, it makes my mouth hurt."

E: "What is mommy?"
M: "A strong after dinner mint. It makes all the bad tastes go away."

E: "What is daddy?"
M: "A big juicy watermelon. Messy, but really fun to eat."

E: "What is Abby?" (M's bff)
M: "She's a carmel apple. Kind of hard to explain why."

E: "What is Zeus?" (A's dog)
M: "Animals aren't food to me. Just people are food to me."

I'm still laughing...

New Dresses

The girls' Primary program was this past Sunday and all the children were asked to wear "white on top." It really does look nice - and almost angelic - when they're all up there. Anyway, we happened upon a 60% off sale at Penney's the day before, and they were even the dresses that mom & I had considered buying for the girls when she was here over Halloween. So, it seemed a "sign" that both sizes were still on the rack - and on sale to boot - plus I found an "extra $15 off purchase" coupon in the dressing room...the universe really wanted the girls to have matching dresses, apparently.

The program was great and the girls both did a great job having both their parts memorized and each of them was asked to sing in small groups, too. There was just enough break in the rain to take a few quick pics when we got home from church...

Yes, M got some new glasses, which we love, but they also have transition lenses, which M likes, but Mom doesn't like them in pictures!

Cake Walk

The girls' school has a traditional cake decorating contest for the cake walk at the Fall Festival (not Halloween Party, mind you). Here are the girls' entries for this year:

We were surprised that neither won a prize, but that's ok. The fun is in the creating - and eating the leftovers! We didn't win a cake at the cake walk, either, but with all the flu going around, I was a-ok with that!