Sabbath Day Observance

I had the privilege opportunity assignment to speak in church a couple of weeks ago. Whenever one of us speaks I like to include our talk and testimony on our family blog. So here it is.

What is THE most influential thing we can do to build our testimonies?

Elder Ballard said Brethren spent many months reviewing every bit of doctrine and every principle in the gospel of Jesus Christ trying to figure out the answer to that very questions. What singular thing we can focus on, individually and as a worldwide church, in order to build and increase our faith in God?

Do you think it’s diligent scriptures study and prayer? Repentance? How about temple attendance? While these are all very important and fundamental, the conclusion was that partaking of the sacred Sacrament ordinance and keeping the Sabbath Day holy, above everything else, are THE most influential things we can do to build our testimonies of the atonement and our faith in God.

Doctrine & Covenants 59:9
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

Rob has a memory (one of his few) of when he was a young child. He remembers sitting in Sacrament Meeting, looking up at the ceiling and trying to figure out where the voice of the sacrament prayer was coming from. After a lot of thought, he concluded that it must be the voice of Heavenly Father coming down to him from heaven. It was perfectly logical. As he’s grown, he obviously knows it’s not Heavenly Father’s audible voice in our meeting but those prayers and the covenants we make were given to us by Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father has commanded us to listen and think about the atonement weekly. As we do, we will feel His spirit testifying to us that Christ died for us and that He lives so that we may live with Heavenly Father again. 

……..

During General Conference, the Brethren gave a training on Sabbath Day observance to all Stake Presidents with the request that it be passed down to ward councils and then to congregations.

In that training, Elder Nelson & Elder Ballard said that If the commandment of keeping the Sabbath Day holy is taken seriously and literally, members will remain active in the church and faith will increase around the world.

Elder Nelson tells us that if we do these things, keeping the Sabbath Day holy won’t feel like a burden, that it’s hard to do, or that we are missing out on any fun. But it will be a true DELIGHT.

Doctrine & Covenants 59:13 says that we do these things so that our joy may be full.

I have a lot good memories with my family when I was growing up. As I think about it I realize that many of those good, joyful memories came from spending time together on Sundays. It was really the only day that we got to spend all together rather than separated off at work and school and with friends. There weren’t any distractions. Those Sundays really were a “true delight.”

……..

Now, keeping the Sabbath Day is not a new concept or commandment. It was first implemented with the creation of the Earth when Jesus rested on the 7^th day. 

The children of Israel were commanded to observe the Sabbath. Exodus 31:16
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

One of the last things Jesus taught and implemented before he was crucified was the sacrament. Then, it was one of the first things he taught and implemented after His death when he visited the people in the Americas.

……..

I want to give a challenge to everyone. Offer a prayer and ask to know and feel of the importance of Sabbath Day observance and for the desire to improve how you spend your time on that day. Elder Nelson doesn’t want us to follow a do or don’t list. It’s not a one-size fits all answer. But are there simple, small, but long-term changes we can make in our Sunday habits in order to block out worldly distractions and add spiritual refreshment instead? I encourage you to hold a family council today or a Family Home Evening tomorrow and discuss this subject together. Rather than experiencing Sundays as just another day (on which we just happen to go to church) what can your family do to make Sundays more of a true delight and a blessing for yourself and your family?

One of my goals is to have church music playing in my home more often on Sundays. As I sat at my desk putting the final touches on this talk, I overheard my 7-yr-old daughter Madeleine in the next room singing The Holy Ghost, her new favorite primary song. Hearing that brought tears to my eyes as I felt the Holy Ghost uplift me on this Sabbath Day.

I know that as we try harder to follow this inspired counsel of the Brethren, our faith in Christ will increase, our testimonies will strengthen, and our families will be blessed. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

A New Table Flow Chart

BEFORE

AFTER

I purposefully wanted some mismatched stools. I don't yet have enough seating for when the table is expanded. But even at the smallest size, it feel so expansive to us!

We ordered these stools knowing they were a bit too tall (in the pic below they look taller than they actually are). We will be sawing off a couple of inches so they fit the table a little better. We just love them so much that it is worth it. They are SO comfortable which was my #1 priority. I hated my last chairs and couldn't sit in them for long at all.




Underneath the table does look a little "busy" but comfort and clean-ability trumps. They wipe right off! No crevices for food to get stuck in! Speaking of clean-ability, feel free to ignore the dishes in my sink...




If you're in the market for furniture or decor, I ordered these from France & Son. They have really great stuff. Much of it is kind of pricey but these stools were on sale for 1/2 off which made them doable since the table was so cheap. Rob and I are both impressed by their quality. I initially only ordered 2 thinking they'd be used on the ends of the table but we all kept fighting over who got to sit in them. We may end up ordering 2 more at some point but I reached my budget and like how this looks.  Oh, and they were shipped mostly intact! All we had to do was screw the seat on top of the legs. Phew! Since when don't you have to put the whole dang thing together yourself?

Overnighter at the Falls

There is a wonderful place to explore just a 1 1/2 hours away from our house. Head up the canyon past Kamas and a half hour later is Provo River Falls. Man, are they awesome fun! You can't get a picture of all of them because there are probably 15 waterfalls with shallow pools cascading down the mountain. You can just climb and play and swim all day! It can be a little busy on the weekends but we were pretty much the only ones there on the weekday.

It can easily be done as a day trip but we decided to camp overnight. Our campsite was a bit overrun by mosquitos and chipmunks but we still had a good time.

We took paints for nature art and our kids even made friends with the neighbors.

We decided to try our hand at campfire pizza and we'll call it a success.

All in all we loved our time in the mountains.

Family Pictures 2015

I had been planning to do snowy, wintery family pictures this year but since we didn't really have any snow we didn't get the chance to take them.

Then I decided to do some dressy, urban family pictures downtown. It was two weeks away and I needed to get all of us a haircut and an outfit.

Then one Sunday morning Rob told me in passing that he rode his bike next to a cool meadow in full bloom with poppies. I decided right then and there that we were going to be spontaneous and take our family pictures that evening in the meadow, old outfits, untrimmed hair and roots, and all.

I wanted to keep it as low key as possible so it was a fun event rather than a stressful one. Well...it wasn't exactly fun but it could've been worse. It would've been a lot easier if the meadow wasn't full of a dozen other photographers and families with the same bright idea.

Regardless of the crowds we still got some really cute shots. I love how my kids' personalities SHINE!

Cara was in a really good mood at first and came up with her poses all herself. She's such a doll!

Madeleine is a pro. Her sweetness sure wins us over.

Nate, on the other hand, had only the desire to make weird faces. Typical.

All three all together. So sweet.

Next up, me and Rob. We only got one in before the kids bombarded us.

We also got one family shot in before Cara's mood changed for no reason.

Here's a similar picture from our last family portraits.

Packing out!

Happy 90th!

My Grandma Allred turned 90 in May. What a feat! 

She has a strong mind and strong opinions and I like that about her.

The Amputation Bench Incident

Here is my retelling of the somewhat traumatic event that transpired a couple of weeks ago. It's not a fun thing to relive, but for posterity's sake and to prove that our life isn't all birthday parties and vacations...here it is.

It's been a few weeks and people still ask or tease me about "the bench" incident often which is just so great... I love admitting that I'm a failure at keeping children safe in my own home. Just kidding! It's fine, it's fine...  ;)

Our 9-yr-old neighbor friend came over to play and she was sitting on the bench at the kitchen table. I decided to go upstairs and as I walked past the girls, I had an inkling that something might not be right. It was so very slight and so very vague that I didn't give it any thought.

Just 2 minutes later I heard the bench tip over and hit the ground. It has happened just a couple of times since we bought it 4 years ago and I didn't think too much of it. I just listened to make sure there wasn't crying. All was silent for a few moments. Then there were three awful, loud, high-pitched screams. I ran downstairs and found our neighbor clutching her foot and screaming, "It hurts so bad!" What most likely happened, I figured, was that the bench landed on top of her foot and gave it a bad bruise. But when she moved her hand so I could see it...oh, man. Her left pinky toe was separated from the rest of her foot. Between her two smallest toes was sliced all the way through about a half inch up and open like a book. I saw tendon and muscle and blood.

My immediate reaction was to hold her foot together and put pressure above the slice in order to keep the bleeding limited. All I knew was that I needed to keep that foot in my hand and kept feeling that throughout the whole ordeal. "Keep that foot in your hand!"

I picked her up and ran her to the front door where she could sit on our stairs. I'm not sure why I put her there, it was just a gut reaction to take her somewhere "safe" I guess. It's so interesting what instincts kick in during moments of stress.

With adrenaline pumping I told Madeleine to get my phone and then run and tell her friend's mom to come now! Now this little girl has asthma and I was worried that she would panic and have an asthma attack on top of everything else so I was trying to keep my voice calm as I talked to the 911 operator. In the meantime, her mom ran over and since I was on the phone, I just shook my head at her and gave her a serious look.

Our friend was still crying and repeating, "It hurts so bad!" Her mom sat down next to her, me on the floor and phone, holding her foot with it bleeding into my hand and down my arm, and said a beautiful prayer...something I hadn't even thought of doing. Immediately following the prayer, we were all much calmer and the crying stopped. She said it didn't really hurt much anymore. I was a little worried that she was slipping into a bit of shock but the calmness never left and the pain never returned.

6 minutes later, 5 EMTs arrived. I was feeling so protective and didn't want to let go of that darn foot! I reluctantly opened my hand and the foot was mostly pressed back together so the EMT said it just looks like a bad cut and maybe she would need stitches. Without trying to freak anyone out I tried to tell him it was much worse than a cut but he wasn't concerned.

Her mom and grandma ended up driving her to the hospital where it was determined that her pinky toe was dislocated, broken, and partially amputated. AMPUTATED! When that bit of info was texted to me I went up to my room and cried. I couldn't believe it!

She waited all day for surgery and ended up with a pin and a cast for 3 weeks but at least she came home with all 10 of her toes.

Since the accident we have banished the bench (just a run-of-the-mill, not-very-tippy or sharped-edge bench) and I've been more aware of random things around the house that could cause peril. What about Rob's bike leaning up against the freezer in the garage? Could a kid sitting on a chair tip it backwards and fall through the sliding glass door behind our kitchen table? What about the swings and, hello!, zip line in the basement?!

You won't believe it but when my neighbor took her daughter to the hospital I was babysitting her other kids. The 2-year-old went onto our deck and immediately started crying. There was a big rock sitting on our rocking chair and the little girl leaned on the chair and the rock rolled right off and, yep, right onto her foot! Luckily, there was only a scratch and a few tears resulting. But my nerves were shot!

I've never been a paranoid person, I've left that up to Rob ;) and I understand that accidents can happen any time with any thing but the whole event has left me a little more aware of the potential of every day things causing harm.

I'm so glad we have understanding, kind, and forgiving neighbors! They've been so great about the whole thing. I can't wait to see our friend running around, playing soccer, and swimming again very soon!

Caroline Lately

Caroline sure is growing up! When she is in a good mood, she is charming and hilarious and cute! She is smart and has a good memory. She is independent and will not let you help her figure something out. She wants to do it herself! She likes to push back on expectations. She is her own person and wants everyone to respect that fact.

This is her silly selfie. One of her quirks actually has to do with underwear. It's a daily battle and has been ever since she started wearing it. There can't be any gaping, binding, bunching, tightness, or looseness. When she puts on her undies, she moves around, sucks in her stomach, bends over, and walks around to make sure everything is feeling proper. If it isn't absolutely perfect, she has a breakdown and there is no consoling.  Every day that she is happy with her underwear is a good day. "Don't get your panties in a bunch" is a literal things around here. 

She loves to get facepainted, play with makeup, where dresses, and fancy shoes. One of the things I love about this age is the crazy fun outfits that are created. Kitty boots, rabbit slippers, red glitter shoes, minnie mouse headbands, any hat, bright colors, mismatched patterns, you name it. And somehow, on a 4 year old, it just works.

What she doesn't like to wear are her glasses. She doesn't necessarily have anything against them, she just prefers to not have them on. I usually get her to wear them for only 10 minutes once or twice a month is all. Hopefully that'll change soon. 

We have a few friends and family members with a pierced nose and she decided that was cool. One day she found this tiny jewel and asked me to tape it on. She wore it most of the day.

This is one of her many independence declarations. She won't let anyone help her open the cereal. This is an interesting technique.

Other independence declarations include: buckling her own seatbelt, getting herself anything out of the top cupboards, ziplining, and a number of other things. 

However, one thing she won't do herself is fix her blanket in the middle of the night. She'll gladly wake me up and whine that her blanket is twisted and I have to go fix it.

Anything I think she needs help with, she won't allow help. Anything she should be able to do herself, she demands I do it for her.

She gets along well with her brother and sister. Most of that is due to the fact that she has learned how to manipulate their kindness to her advantage. This girl gets her way much too often. I've tried talking to her about this but so far it's not helped a bit. Why would she want to get her way less often? She's logical about the situation.

Caroline is quite intrigued by anything gross or bloody or squeamish.  She has always picked all her scabs until the bleed and never heal. She loves hearing stories about danger. Her eyes get big and she listens intently and then repeats the story whenever the opportunity arises. 

She likes risky behavior and pushing her physical boundaries. Climbing, ziplining, jumping off of things, it's a very rare occasion for her to be too scared. 

The other day we were at the pool and I was watching her go down the kiddie slide. Next thing I know, she purposefully snuck into the deeper lazy river pool without me. Luckily I found her before she let go of the stair bar.

One day I was watching a show and the dr had to perform a tracheotomy. Cara walked in and I told her to close her eyes. She insisted on watching, relishing in it. I asked her if she wanted to be a dr when she grew up and she said, "No. I just like watching people get cut open."  This type of comment is not at all uncommon with her. Rob and I are actually a little concerned about her fascination.

Here she is with her black eye she got when she and our neighbor crashed. The side of her eye was hit by the handlebar and for the next week her eye got progressively worse. She thought it was pretty darn cool.

She says "last year" or "next year" rather than yesterday and tomorrow. For example, "Mom, can I have more candy next year?"

She still says "human" rather than adult. It's one of our favorite things to hear when she says something like, "Mom, there are humans outside."

She loves to sing and has a wonderful voice. Click on the video below to play. When she is pretending, she likes to be the "mean" character. Whether it's Frozen, Annie, or My Little Pony, she is drawn to the songs that are sung by the "mean girls." Interesting...

Well, that's our little Caroline in a nutshell. She is a wonderful little package of life lessons all beautifully wrapped up and given specifically to me and Rob to experience. She is teaching us a LOT and we have a feeling she always will. We thank our Heavenly Father for her, even during the many moments when he and I just look at each other and shake our heads, knowingly of what the other is thinking.