Monday is here.

So I am sitting at the University of Utah waiting for my last class to start and I began to think about all the things I am grateful for.
First my family. It has been a crazy past week and week-end. Since I was sick Eric had to take the lead, mostly because I was out of it. Then Mackenzie got sick Saturday and it was fun to watch how loving and gentle he is with her. He is gentle with me too, but I am the worst patient to have because like my dad I do not have time to be sick. Mackenzie is still young enough that all she wants to be held and cuddled. Sunday due to her fever and my cough we stayed home from church. While we missed being with our fellow saints and ward family it was nice to be together. We laid in bed most of the day watching church videos and reading. Mackenzie laid in between Eric and I and would take turns cuddling with each of us. While many people would say why is this a moment to be grateful for and to them I would say because we are together. There were no expectation of anything other that pure love for another.
Second I am grateful for the gospel. Yesterday while watching Mackenzie's videos and reading her books it hit me. The gospel is truly simple and sweet. It is all about Jesus Christ. I am grateful for this simple truth and that my daughter loves Jesus so much that not matter where we are or what we are doing to always finds a picture of Jesus or some other way to remind Eric and I that Christ is the center of life. He is who we are striving to be like and everything we do in the life needs to help us progress towards this goal. With this I am also grateful for the Atonement and the repentance process. I am anything but perfect and this amazing gift everyday. It is because of this gift not only am I able to be forgiven but to also forgive myself of wrongs I have done. Mackenzie is right if our focus is on Jesus our lives will be richer and fuller.
Finally, I am grateful for the things that I am able to do with me family. This is where our sweetest memories are made. For example, we went down to Orem on Saturday for the LDS Film Festival. We love the Liken the Scriptures shows and they were screening Jonah and the Big Fish. So we went and had a great time. This was Mackenzie's first movie so we did have to take turns going out with her due to the fact that she is not use to watching movies in the dark. That was OK, for it was fun to watch her crawl around and try to walk on her own (getting closer everyday). Well that was until she ran over David Osmond. I was mortified. She didn't seem to even noticed that she had crawled right over his feet and just kept going. Luckily he was very kind and just laughed. Also he told me it didn't hurt, which I can believe because Mackenzie is a skinny girl. This is one memory that Eric and I will retell to Mackenzie for years to come and it will always bring a smile to my face when I think about it.

When mom is sick!

So Sunday evening I began to feel a little sick and by Monday I had a pretty bad head cold. Well it is was only a head cold, right, wrong. As of yesterday I have strep throat. This is so frustrating on so many levels. First, I am contagious so I am isolated from the world. I would feel awful if anyone caught strep from me. It is not a fun sickness. Secondly, I can't kiss my husband. Now I know, so what. Well I din't realize how hard not kissing Eric would be until the doctor told us not to kiss for at least 48 hours. Now we could ignore the caution and go ahead and kiss but then there is a chance that the man that I love with all my heart will catch strep from me. If that happened it would break my heart. So instead we are trying to be strong. But my husband is torturing me! I feel like a cat with a toy that I really want just out of reach. Oh, well all good things come to those that wait. Finally the worst part about being sick is that the house falls into chaos. Eric tries to keep it running and my parents have helped too but things are just not the same when I am out of commission. Oh, well thank goodness for good doctors, advice medicine and the healing powers of rest. I am on the mend and so is the household.

School is in session

While this statement is true, I have been back at school for three weeks now, I have come to the realization that I am in an even greater school. The last few weeks I have been struggling trying to figure out where I stand with things. You see marriage and family life have happened so fast, it great! But I am still adjusting. I have been learning about trust, patience and humility. All of this from two of the most important people the Lord has placed in my life, my husband and little girl. Eric is such a sweet guy and really is trying to help me but has a difficult time of it because while I explain or think things out in my head they don't always come out of my mouth. He is very talented but I don't think he knows how to read my mind yet and probably wouldn't want to. Especially since it races about 20 million miles a minute. He is teaching me that while it is great to get things accomplished in a timely fashion it is also great to stop and enjoy the task at hand. Life seems so much more rewarding when I look at it through his perspective. I just hope I can do that more often.
Then there is little Mackenzie. She is such a joy even when she is a trial. Her smile is so infectious and her love for life. I have learned that even the simplest thing in life is a joy. Again thanks to Eric teaching me to enjoy the journey, I am finding myself enjoying the late, restless nights and the struggles with listening. I am reviling is all the good. She is talking more and more. A lot of it is baby babble but there are moments of English and yes German words too. Tonight for example I was reading her favorite book to her Llama Llama Red Pajama, (this is a nightly thing) and all of a sudden I asked her to point out the mama llama and she points to the word. I thought it was a fluke so I continued reading and asked her to do it again and she did it. I know it sounds crazy but every time she says a new word, or advices in someway I say a silent prayer of Thanksgiving. I never imaged in a million years that my daughter would be so amazing. Now I know, I am her mom so I think she is the most amazing baby on the earth, and you would be right. She is an amazing gift from my father in heaven and I hope that I never forget that. I know we will have our struggles but I hope to always hold on to the good and let go of the bad.
One final thought, every child deserves to feel loved and treasured. We have the opportunity to team teach the sunbeams (really Eric is the amazing teacher, I am just the music person). Those little ones are so sweet and want so much to be loved and to show how amazing they are to all who will listen. They are in charge of opening exercises for sharing time this coming Sunday and they are all so excited. The Lord truly has some of the most valiant and amazing spirits on the earth today. I just hope I do not disappoint them.

Time for Change

So today at church was both wonderful and difficult. It was great to see the changes that were made but also hard. You see my dad was released from the bishopric today. He is need elsewhere in the stake but it is still hard. Mostly because he has worked so hard to come out of his shell and he really loves all the members of our ward so much. I am grateful for the service that he rendered the the example that he has been for me. He has never turned down a calling even when it was extremely difficult to fulfill due to his work schedule or lack of support at home. He has always put the Lord first. I know that it is in part because of this attitude that he has been able to accomplish what he has. I hope that I can always have that attitude. For right now I am exhausted. You see our ward is so small that I am doing triple duty. I team teach the sunbeams with my husband, work with the activity day girls as their leader and also do the ward history. While it is fun to be doing so much for the Lord it is also difficult. I feel like sometimes my family loses out. It is hard to give my all for the Sunbeams when Mackenzie is not yet in Nursery. It is also hard to remember all of the changes and activities the ward has done over the year. Thankfully there are wonderful people who help me to be able to accomplish all the Lord asks me to do. I am grateful for my callings and hope that I can continue to magnify them to best of my ability. For I know that while they are not big and not really spotlight callings what little I do does help the ward as a whole. I do have to say that while I love writing the ward history and working with eight to eleven year old girls, my greatest joy is the Sunbeams. They are so much fun and so sweet. I am grateful for all that they and my little daughter are teaching me about the gospel. For it truly is simple and complete. May we all come to feel the pure, simple and sweet love of our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ!

Happy New Year

So I am lying here in bed wishing I didn't feel nauseated every so often and thinking about my little family. I am so grateful for my loving husband who puts up with me even when I am moody. I also feel so blessed to have Mackenzie. She teaches me everyday what is truly important. I love it that whenever Eric comes home she gets all excited to see her Daddy. She also reminds me that the simplest joys in life are the sweetest. Like a homemade ride in a wicker basket in the hotel room is much more fun than all the amazing rides in the park. She made her dad pull her around the room in the laundry basket provided at least ten times in the morning while I was getting ready and then ten more times in the evening before bed. And spinning around in on office chair is the greatest thing in the world to do with your parents. I hope that I can continue to learn and grow from my amazing little family in this coming year. For their lessons are the ones with the most eternal relevance. Happy New Year everybody!