Sweet Sunday - Come Follow Me

One day at church a young mom came over to tell me a story. She told me that she was puzzled as she watched her 3 year old daughter and finally asked, "What game are you playing?"

Her daughter replied, "I'm playing Primary."

As the mom continued watching, she suddenly knew exactly what her daughter was doing.

"You're pretending to be Sister Hartz, aren't you?"

As she told me the story she explained, "She was doing a great impression of you. She had your mannerisms and everything."

That little Sunbeam was the one doing the impression, but it really made an impression on me! I realized that lots of eyes were on me, watching my every move. Were my words and actions worthy of emulation?

Today in nursery I had a similar experience. We were singing songs together and I realized that some of the children were watching me to see what actions they should be doing. I noticed lots of little eyes watching me very closely.

Do I always keep my eyes on the Savior? How would my life be different if I always looked to Him and watched Him closely? The scriptures tell us that's exactly what He wants us to do.

Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me. D & C 19:23

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. D & C 6:36

Holes

When I experience loss and sadness I feel like there is a hole in me. It seems like a part of me is missing. For most of my life, I have suffered with very few of these holes. The ones in my past have healed and there is no sign that there was ever anything lacking.

But lately, I feel like a piece of swiss cheese. A few holes opened up over the past couple of years. Then the loss of my mom last month left a huge gaping hole. Today, I was released from my calling as Primary president--another hole! I have never been so sad to be released from any calling. I think it is because of the joy I feel when I am around the children. I love teaching children, so doing sharing time in Primary is one of my favorite things!

This year my youngest son turned twelve. I love seeing him grow and progress, but I have felt the loss of my own children. I miss having young children in my home and I think that being with the Primary children each week helped ease that loss. I am going to miss them terribly. I think the pain is more acute because I so recently suffered the loss of my mom.

I will also miss the closeness I felt with the great women in our presidency. I have been in numerous presidencies and I have enjoyed all of them, but this one was especially sweet.

I know that the Savior will heal these holes and give me peace and comfort, but I need to be patient and focus on prayer and gratitude. This scripture says it all!

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:6-7

A Perfect Sunday

I love Sundays, but sometimes they are crazy busy. I still love them, but it can be tiring.

This Sunday was perfect! No early meetings and everyone was up and ready to go on time.

At church, Evan passed the sacrament to me and then he gave a wonderful talk about the importance of testimony. We had a gorgeous musical number O My Father by two very talented young moms in our ward. John was next. He is the Young Men's president and he spoke about the new Duty to God program. It may sound like a bit of a dry topic, but John made it interesting and uplifting. Best of all, Evan played it cool and kept a straight face when things started flying through the air. While sitting up on the stand, Evan took apart his pen and accidentally sent a piece shooting straight up!

Next was Primary and I love hearing the children sing with such enthusiasm! We have such amazing teachers and leaders that it makes my job easy. Cammi & Dallin both gave great talks in Primary, so I heard from lots of family members today! My counselor gave a very inspiring sharing time about the pioneers and I got to sit back and enjoy it.

After church, I almost got a nap, but it was happily interrupted by kids who wanted to talk and snuggle on the bed with me. Then John and I got out an old photo album and reminisced about our first dates and (less than 3 months until) our engagement.

In the evening we headed to a lovely spot in LaJolla for a picnic with two of my favorite girls, Molly and Brianne.

Thanks to (my other favorite girl) Marianne for planning the menu. We had BLTs, fruit and brownies. I tried a no-cook brownie recipe from Marianne's Martha Stewart magazine and she made the more traditional kind in her new edge pan. We got to see lots of cute babies while we were there.

The ducklings were adorable, but . . .

this girl takes the cake!

Back home I got to take a walk in the beautiful cool air while holding hands with my husband. Later we got a call from our favorite BYU student. We seem to miss Aaron the most on Sundays, so it was good to hear from him. He got to take part in the world's largest water balloon fight a few days ago. Take a look at the video; he was one of the yellow shirt "referees" in the middle.

I feel very grateful for such a peaceful and relaxing Sunday!

My Status

Here are my Mother's Day gifts. I love them all, but the one on the far right really boosted my status from "aunt" to "most favored"!

This colorful heart-shaped extravaganza was created by my 6 year old niece Cammi. The message she wrote said, "Thank you for being my teacher." I think this refers to my teaching as Primary president, but I'm not entirely sure.

I was impressed with my gift and I couldn't help laughing when Cammi handed grandma a very small, simple card. She explained, "Sorry it's so little Grandma, but I spent so long on Aunt Melanie's card that I ran out of time." Apparently Cammi told her mom the same thing when she gave her a rather small card.

I was surprised to have merited such a wonderful Mother's Day card from my niece, but I'm not asking why, I'm just feeling grateful! I hope my Mother's Days are always filled with little children and homemade cards.

Questions I Answered Today

Q: I think it stopped raining, do you want to go for a walk?
A: No, it's cold and wet out there!

Q: Are you ready to go for a walk yet? I'll get your shoes.
A: I think it's still raining.

Q: Can you take me now, Mom?
A: (Nonchalantly) Sure honey. (Especially since you're going to do something really hard that you don't want to do, but know you really should. I'm so proud!!)

Q: Can you wait a minute? I'll take you out to lunch.
A: Okay, that would be nice. (Yes!! I didn't get the house cleaned yet, but it's okay, no one's coming over.)

After lunch

Q: Can I stop by in 10 minutes?
A: Sure! (Silently cringing as I look around my house. Thank goodness I've got amazing kids who can pick up the front room in 8.25 minutes)

Q: Do you work?
A: (I never know how to answer this one. Guess I'll go with. . .) Well, I homeschool my kids.

Q: Are you ready to go for a walk yet? It quit raining.
A: Okay, fine. Will you get the umbrella?

Q: See, isn't walking in the rain invigorating?
A: Well, I love being with you honey. (But, no I wouldn't use the word invigorating.)

While discussing potential treats for Primary teachers . . .

Q: Do you put frosting on them?
A: No they're fine without (But isn't everything better with frosting?! I really, really wish I had a batch of cream cheese frosting whipped up.)

Plus, a few I answered with "Um . . ."

Q: Mom, will you get me a field sparrow?

Q: Do we have birthday presents for [list of 6 family members with March birthdays]?

Q: Do we have any rubbing alcohol?

Q: Do you have to be 18 to buy spray paint?

Q: Will you google "where to buy a field sparrow"?

Q: Don't you think I'm old enough to be trusted with a BB gun?

Q: So you really don't like walking in the rain?

Time to Write

Evan is finishing up his Faith in God award. He's got the Articles of Faith memorized; he's finished all of his goals. He's only got one things left to do: write his testimony!

And it's got me thinking . . . . and asking myself a question.

When was the last time you wrote down your testimony?

Until recently, my answer would have been, "Ummm, well. . . . maybe I wrote something when I did my Personal Progress in YW?"

And yet I love reading the personal testimonies of my family members. The few I have are real treasures. Maybe it's time to re-read a few of those testimonies, or even better--write one!

Lessons Learned This Weekend

Lesson #1 - If you've committed to give up sugar for a week, don't let your daughter near a cookbook like this:

She'll probably tease you by reading aloud recipes that include phrases such as "one of the most tempting cookie combinations ever" or "crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and packed with chocolate"

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Lesson #2 - If you love chocolate so much that giving it up for a week sounds like a life sentence, don't bother reading cookbooks like these:

Reading phrases like, "a nutritious squash-and-date-filled cookie" or "an intriguing texture" will only make you feel worse.

(And yes, these are actual descriptions of sugar-free desserts!)

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Lesson #3 - The Phantom of the Opera is named Erik.

I discovered this on Saturday night while watching the 1925 silent version of the film accompanied by the San Diego Symphony.
We even got to eat popcorn (in the usually no-food-allowed symphony hall)!
Thank goodness there's no sugar in popcorn.
I was surprised by the ending when "Erik" is beaten by an angry mob and thrown in the Seine. This was definitely not Andrew Lloyd Webber.

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Lesson #4 - The longer you spend in Primary, the better it is!
I've spent about 24 years there, more than half my life.

I actually started in Primary a year early at age two.

At age 42, I still love it.

I love the kids (especially the ones who can fall asleep sitting up in a chair!).
I love the teachers, the stories, the activities, the music and all the lessons the children teach me.

What lessons did you learn this weekend?