All they want for Christmas....

Is Christmas almost here? Holy COW -- less than 2 months of shopping left so I asked the kids what they want this year.

Hunter wanted Harry Potter wands, a mini ninja game and "your love" -- Way to go my boy, always wanting peace and happiness.

Kadan wants his own Santa AND Santa's helper so he can get gifts all year long. He also wants a servant, a money making machine and a candy making machine -- Mr. Dreamer, smart, wish I would have thought of this as a child. Now, if I find a genie in a lamp I'm going to HAVE to ask for Santa.

Addy wants some carpet skates (don't know what it is -- she says it let's you slide on the carpet) and a light bulb for her lava lamp. -- Just like Ms. Addy, sweet and simple.

Bo wants lots and lots of toys and it's okay if they are "baby toys 'cuz I like all kinds of toys." But she doesn't want clothes and "defininately nooooo pants" -- Well of course, she's my little stuffed animal lover will be happy with whatever she gets as long as she can play with it -- the more the merrier. She's been perusing and circling and sleeping with the toy magazines since they started to arrive last week.

Not too bad (well, besides Kadan), we'll just have to see what Santa can do :-)

Boo YAH! A Halloween party success....

The grand plans of completely redecorating the inside to be spooky haunted alley had to be scaled down MAJORLY but we still had a great time with yummy soup (made by Alicia), painting pumpkins (yawzers -- 25 pumpkins with just not enough), bobbing for apples (thank goodness for warm weather or the kids faces would have frozen off), airsoft gun wars (the boys' idea), and ending with the city trunk or treat in the nearby park. We definitely pulled it off with under 30 hours of planning (but the endless furry taught us that next time we need to plan ahead).

Happy Haunting....

Since we live in a house that looks haunted, we decided to decorate and have a spur of the moment Halloween Party -- let's just see if I can pull this one off. Less than 24 hours to plan, it's Sunday so I can't go shopping tonight to get goodies for the party 'til tomorrow AND I have to work at the hospital Monday until just before the party starts. Wish me luck :-)

Wallow Fire -- Just because someone ignored the rules

I just can't stop thinking about the devastation in one of the most beautiful places in Arizona just because someone ignored the rules -- a simple rule -- NO burn -- and visitors just couldn't listen and made a fire anyway. Now over 200,000 acres, thousands of families, countless wildlife including newborn calves are devastated. I just can't sleep -- wanting to help but not sure how.

I am sure that the Red Cross is sick of me now but I just can't sit an wait. "Well, we need towels" one woman said. So I round up towels. Anything else? "Well, you can sign in on our list to house families." But I am too far down on the list so no one has called. So, I go into Red Cross again. Anything I can do? Food? Blankets? "No...just hang tight. Is it okay if we call you anytime? If so, we'll call you when we need more help." So I just sit and wait and wait and wait and wait and keep busy. Burst out into tears a little. Then keep busy some more. The only thing that gives me solace is prayer. When you can do no more the best thing to do it pray. So, I ask everyone around me to pray. Pray for the wind to die down. Pray for miraculous rain. Pray to keep over 3,000 fireman safe. Pray for the families that have lost their homes, their source of income, their animals.

So, I keep praying. Then as I pray and mediate a thought of strict obedience comes to my mind. We are supposed to cultivate and take care of the land. Simple as it seems, yet we forget. Just a simple mistake from hikers -- probably kind and ordinary people who meant no harm -- yet this simple mistake will bring deep rooted scar for decades. Will the land ever be the same?

This makes me think about obedience to all of God's Commandment but too often we forget the more important commandment -- LOVE. Some may think -- oh, I only need or have time to be nice to the good looking, talented, well-educated neighbor. They are easy to love, easy to like. Yet at the same time this individual may choose to ignore the neighbor that really needs loving and constant (maybe even painstaking) nourishing and because they are too busy or too thoughtless devastation erupts. Then just like the fire, it takes decades to heal the scar and multitudes of people to squelch the harm of the mindless one that did not take the time to care.

This year, while teaching gospel doctrine I realized that each gospel principle, each commandment continually points back to love of others and love of our Heavenly Father and His Son. Doesn't matter the topic, whether it be the story of Eli the Prophet or the parable of the Talents or raising Lazarus from the dead, each points to LOVE.

This Wallow Fire is also teaching me love -- love for the land, love for the people, love for rain, love of prayer. Let's us continue to pray and hope that through simple obedience peace will come from the most devastating of circumstances.

A mom's best day...

As a mom, I am so proud of my children -- from singing in school plays to saying beautiful prayers to watching them speak kindly to others to having them come home with another 100% on a spelling test. My supremely ultimate proudest days revolve around the spiritual accomplishments of each of my children and yesterday was one of those days. Hunter, my dapper dressed sweet boy, passed the sacrament for the first time. You could tell in the way that he walked that he reverenced his duty and was so excited to participate. We were hoping that he could pass to our family but he was positioned on the other side of the church. Kadan leaned over to me and said, "Mom, I so wish that we could be on the other side so Hunter could pass the sacrament to us. He is doing such a great job."

As he finished his side row, Hunter came to our side of the chapel and passed to a little family on the front row. Addy and Bo sat so quietly as they watched Hunter. Kadan sat on the edge of the pew taking in every second. As we all watched, Hunter then turned real briefly and smiled a sideways smile at me then promptly went back to his priesthood duty. It was sweet to see the other deacons help him progress row by row and even take him by the arm and nudge him to stand after the prayers were completed. The room was filled with ultimate sweetness and compassion and reverence. Proud moments like this make me think of Heaven and gives me a glimpse of the little nudges, nodding and smiles that help us on our daily journey. Indeed, this day was one of my mom best days.