Yankee Doodle

Yankee Doodle went to Grandma's, riding on a pony.
Kyle is that Yankee Doodle Boy!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!!!!!

Rock Band

Kyle's having SO much fun with Grandma and Grandpa and aunts and uncles! He's not used to having so much extra attention and people to play with, but is sure taking advantage of the opportunities which come along with these willing playmates. He's learned to get people to play chase around the house and catch him when he wants to jump off the stairs or into the pool. He was even able to convince several of these pals to join his band! They totally rock and can be playing in a living room near you!

Hous-ta-ton

I thought I liked to travel....before traveling involved a lap child. 23-month-olds have NOT learned the virtue of patience and mine, especially, does not like to sit and be still OR to wait. Unfortunately, these are all parts of flying...waiting to check in luggage, waiting to get through security, waiting for the airplane because you had to get to the airport early enough to wait for the previous two events, waiting to board the flight, waiting for others to board the flight, waiting on the runway, waiting until you reach the appropraite flight altitude required to use electronic devices.....you get the point.

The good news: we made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house and to their pool. Lesson: the hassel of a day of travel with a toddler is worth the happiness said toddler can spread to ones who love him.

Temple Trip

In case you didn't know, 4:30 a.m. is EARLY!! That's the time I had to be up to get everything ready and out the door to meet at the church to catch the bus with the young men and young women to go to Orlando to attend the temple for our 10:30 a.m. session. It made for a very long day, but was well worth it. I just wish more young women had come!

Cold

It's amazing how record heat can suddenly shift. For one thing, we've had crazy thunderstorms off-and-on all day long today. For another, Kyle has a COLD!

If you remember correctly, Kyle has a high sickness threshold, meaning it's nearly impossible to tell when he's sick. He doesn't ever have much of a fever or exhibit other "classic" signs of illness. But, he woke up yesterday with an awful-sounding cough. (The last time he was really sick, I thought it was nothing...it turned out to be the flu and double ear infections.) Not wanting to ignore a cough that might be something more, I took him to the doctor yesterday. Result: nothing wrong with ears, no redness in throat, no fever. The doctor's response: "Mommy--he has a cold." (*tone: You stupid parent, wasting my time, freaking out over nothing, since he's obviously your only child and you have no experience.)

She gave me a prescription anyway-one that isn't really supposed to be given to anyone under 2 years old, but "hopefully the pharmacy will make an exception since he's so close to being 2." That didn't matter since the drug turned out to be discontinued, meaning I had to wait until today for something else. When I went to pick it up at 1:30 today, the pharmacy still hadn't heard back from the doctor about a replacement prescription, so I had to come back later. When I went back, it turns out the Doctor wrote a drug that my insurance doesn't cover!! By then, it was already past 5:00, so we couldn't call to have it changed. I just paid the ****ing $15.76 and got the **** outta there.

I immediately called the insurance company to figure out what the problem was and what I needed to do to ACTUALLY have any future prescriptions covered by the service claimed on the insurance card. The representative said that they do cover prescriptions, but "chose not to cover this one because there are so many alternatives and the doctor didn't fill out a pre-approval form." Me: "How long does this pre-approval process take?" Representative: "It could take up to 3 days." Me: "Great. So, my child went all day yesterday and today without medicine and he could have to wait 3 more days to get medicine to treat his symptoms?" Representative: "Well, it could go faster if there was a reason why he needed that exact drug." Me: "Don't you think there's a reason he needed that drug if a doctor presribed it????" Representative: --------(silence) -------"Do you want me to send you a list of the drugs that are covered?" Me: "Shouldn't a doctor know this or shouldn't the pharmacy be able to substitute one for another, depending on coverage?" Representative: "No. The doctor wouldn't know. That's why they have to do a pre-approval." Me: (to myself *Oh. The doctor doesn't know. That's great. A doctor is exactly the person from whom you should be keeping these "special" drugs a secret. That makes perfect sense!*) "What options do I have now? I had to get the medicine so my child's upper-respiratory "cold" doesn't turn into RSV or pneumonia by the time his medicine is 'pre-approved.'" Representative: "You could call your doctor and have her fill out a "pre-approval form" but post-date it for today. If it's approved, you can be reimbursed." Me: (thinking, but not saying *How can you really "post-date" a "pre-approval" form? Is that even possible???*) "So....I guess there's really nothing more you can do for me until I talk to my doctor." Representative: ----------(silence)------"Is there anything else?" Me: *Anything else? Anything else!??? 'Else' is used when you have, actually, done something and want/need to add more to that something. You've accomplished nothing for me, and thus would not need to add 'else' to describe anything in addition to nothing!!! Yes!!! There are LOTS of 'anything-s.' How long do you have????* "I guess not."

Wow. We are in a MESS of trouble with National Health Care on the horizon. As it stands, the doctor-pharmacy (drug companies)-insurance triangle can't even communicate effectively and efficiently. Now, Obama wants to add the government into the mix???? Forget 3 days to get approved for a medicine-you could get down to Mexico faster than the time you'll need to "someone" to decide which medicines they will mercifully allow you to have.

I don't know why I'm getting so worked up, though. Kyle does "just" have a "cold."




P.S. On a happier note....The storms let up enough for us to go to the free movie, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, and to get some grocery shopping done. (Kyle made it through the WHOLE MOVIE...barely...for the first time ever!)

Record Heat

We're feeling hot, Hot, HOT, here in Miami!

Temperatures have reached record heat for the past two days. 98* with humidity feels MUCH hotter than 100+ in the desert. It's H.O.T. Trust me. Stephen feels like he's back in Ecuador, but without having to wear a dress shirt and tie everyday.

Luckily, we can always cool off in the pool.

If we still feel like spontaneously combusting, we can always call the local fire department. I think we've got an inside man:

A Day for Dads

"Daddy's Shoes"

I love to wear my Daddy's shoes
even though my feet are small.
When I'm in my Daddy's shoes,
I feel 10ft tall.

Someday I'll grow to fit them.
I only hope to be
as fine a man and great a dad
as my Dad is to me!

Exodus 20:12

"Honor thy father and they mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God has given thee." One of my young women shared this as a spiritual thought for the day. She doesn't have a dad in her home and said her mom is "both her mom and her dad," but there are some things a mom just can't do. She said, "I understand how important dads are to our lives and of all they teach us and of their examples." That touched me and made me want to strive to truly honor my parents (especially since I DO have both of them) and do a better job at keeping this commandment.


My Dad
One day out of the year isn't enough to give sufficient honor for all my dad has done for me, but it's nice to have a reason to spotlight some of the things I love about my dad.

My Dad is a rock. He grew up the oldest of 5 kids of divorced parents with anything but a sure family foundation, so he became the solid formation on which to build his future. I am amazed that he turned out to be as "normal" as he is.

My Dad is a leader. I've heard stories about how he was always the one in the neighborhood coming up with ideas of what to do, that the boys would wait around until Mike was done with his chores so he could lead them in adventures. He still has great ideas today and was an amazing leader in his role as head of the household in which I grew up. He lead by example and by the motto, "Teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves."

My Dad is amazing. He's creative, inventive, knowledgeable, and flexible. He never ceases to amaze me with his incredible library of knowledge. Even though he never attended college, he has a thirst for learning and knows the answer to just about any question. He cooks and sews and can fix or build anything and turns junk into treasures. It's truly amazing.


Stephen's Dad
Part of getting married is the joy of extending our family connections into the family of our spouse. How grateful I am for Stephen's father and for his love for us and that we get to honor him on Father's Day, too.

Steve is a great example. After having somewhat of a rocky youth, he made the choice to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. From that day forward, he has tried to live his life in connection with the gospel of Jesus Christ and has been an amazing example of testimony and service.

Steve is a hard worker. Not too many people these days can say they've worked for the same company for 35+ years, but he is one. With no education, other than the "school of hard knocks," he worked his way up from a peon in the oil field all the way to a Team Leader in the big, downtown building! He has always worked hard to support his family....from the humble trailer beginnings until now. Working hard for the things you need/want is getting more and more rare these days, so I'm glad this is a value that has been passed down to Stephen.

Steve loves his wife and taught his children to love and respect her, too. He doesn't tolerate ill-speaking of her, and "has her back." He puts her needs first, which is a great thing for a son to see. (I've seen the benefits of Stephen learned from this example!) I've often heard that one of the best things a father can do for his children is to love their mother, and Steve definitely lives this principle.


Kyle's Dad
I love our "dads" and am so glad I married someone who will be just as amazing a leader and foundation for my kids. It is a wonderful feeling to have that sure foundation of marriage and to know that we are working together to build our family and make it the best we can. Having Stephen there as the father of my children is a great blessing to me because he has so many great qualities. He's patient, hard-working, thoughtful, not easily angered, resourceful, strong, loving, giving, a great problem-solver....

"To Dad from Mom on Father's Day"

I'm sure, like you you often feel
when all is said and done
the job of raising kids today
is not an easy one.

I'm glad you're there beside me
To counsel and advise
and help me find the answers
to the never-ending 'whys?'

As long as we're together
we can weather storm of strife
and take in stride the ups and downs
that go along with family life.

And someday when are little ones
are old enough to stand
on their own, straight and tall,
without a helping hand

We won't recall how hard it was-
we'll just be proud and glad
We happen to be chosen
for the roles of Mom and Dad!

I hope I honor my dad, Stephen's dad, Kyle's dad, and all the other Fathers out there by wishing you all a wonderful Father's Day!!!

Happy Birthday

Dear Uncle Hubba,

Have a wonderful birthday. We sure wish you were here in Miami, getting to swim and go to the beach with us. I'm sure you will have a great day without us. Keep it real in Aggieland for us!!!

love,
Kyle
(and his Dad and Mom)

Hooked on Phonics

Kyle has really started paying attention to letters/words. He'll point them out on television, signs, clothes-pretty much anywhere. We did have to work with him about "reading" left-to-right, the way we do in English, not the other way around, like in some crazy hieroglyphics or something. I've always loved the way he loves books. Who knows....maybe he'll be reading before he's speaking!!!

Young Women Father's Day

The Young Women value for the month is Good Works, so we decided to do something nice for Bishop Tyler, the "father of our ward."



We all got together and made this cute candy bar poster. (Tiffany and Elisa didn't want their pictures taken, but still wanted proof that they were there, letting their 'light so shine before men that they may see [their] good works.') It was nice to be able to do something to celebrate Father's Day a little early and show our appreciation for all the Bishop does for our ward. (We made a big deal of presenting the card to him, singing "Happy Father's Day to you. Happy Father's Day to you. Happy Father's Day, dear Bishop, Happy Father's Day to you!") What fun!


Here's what the card says, in case anyone wants to steal this awesome idea!

Dear Bishop,
The Young Women would like to thank the Father of our ward for being a "Whopper" of a "Lifesaver." Don't "Snicker," but we think our ward totally "Skor"-ed when we got you! You are "Extra" special to each of us. Thank you for being such a "Sweetart" and always teaching us to keep the commandments and to "nut" (peanuts) be an "airhead" so that we can have "Mounds" of "Joy." (cross out the Almond) You and your counselors are like the "3 Musketeers," making sure our ward is not a "dud" (Milk Duds) or "corny" (popcorn) but stays strong in the gospel at "Crunch" time. Even though you don't ever get a "Payday," be-"Twix" you and us, you're worth "100 grand!" Hugs and "kisses,"
The Young Women

(We were going to put in at the beginning....The YW would like to "Take 5" to thank the "Dad" (cross our Sugar and dy of Sugar Daddy).....and....keep the commandments "Now & Later"....but couldn't find those candies.) I think it turned out pretty well even with the changes!!!!

Don't Forget!

Okay, Okay. So there's more than just 2 people who read my blog. Readers three, four, and five....don't forget that you can check my curriculum blog, which will probably have a new post if there's not one on my home page. That's where I will update daily, at least on weekdays, as we do our lessons.

Also, I went in and deleted about 100 extra/unnecessary pictures from my account and freed up about 5% of my available space! Yay, me! That should get me a few extra weeks of posting, so I can continue to keep up with my habit. No need to enter rehab quite yet....

I Can Quit Anytime I Want!

For those who have said that I am "addicted to" or "obsessed with" blogging, let the record show that I did NOT post anything yesterday. I *could* quit....if I wanted to. I wouldn't even be posting anything today, but after six months of daily posting, the one or two people who actually read this everyday might start to wonder if something's wrong.

Let me assure you, readers one and two, that nothing is wrong. I guess I'm just trying to simplify and restructure a few things in my life, thanks to the extra time commitment of planning and putting together preschool lessons for Kyle and the extra responsibilities that have been added with being Young Women President. (Just when you think you're doing a pretty good job of balancing everything that has to get done while also being able to do some of the things you want to do, something else is added to upset the delicate balance.) My "free time" has been decreased, replaced with service hours. I still want to be able to scrapbook and read and swim or just veg out every now-and-then, so I may be using the time which could be spent blogging for some other leisure activities. Plus, after only two years of posting on this blog, I've already used 76% of my available storage space, and I'm trying to extend the free time I have left. (Once I use up this available storage, I have to start paying to keep up my blogging habit. And, honestly, we all know I can't really quit....)

Ocean Field Trip

All week Kyle and I have been reading, singing, and creating art about the beach/ocean, so today was the day to actually get out there and see the real thing! How blessed we are to be able to pack up and go and experience a perfect day at the beach! (Michele: wouldn't we have loved to take our 5th graders from the desert of West Texas out on a trip like this into "the field" to study? That's how you teach, after all-just go out into "the field.")

The best part of the trip was getting to share it with the tribe from The Johnson's Jungle! Kyle actually had some other kids to play with, which made our stay much more relaxing for me. (Thank you, Savannah and Joseph, for keeping a watchful eye on my little guy and having the patience to follow him around.)



We saw lots of little fish in the shallows and collected sea shells and sea weed and dug in the sand. (No shark siting today like they had on Monday, though!) Savannah did take Kyle on a boogie board ride along the sand since he's not quite big enough to go out on his own, like the other kids.


The weather and water were perfect, and our field trip was a major success~a worthy journey on which to pass the 100,000 mile-mark on the Explorer!

Go With the Flow

Stephen was dressed in scrubs and ready to head out the door for his class this morning when he had the feeling to check his email. It's a good thing that he listened to this prompting because he found out his class had been canceled! No school + hot Florida summer morning = swimming!!!

We met up at Shannan's pool for the beginning of our summer session of play group. Kyle had so much fun playing in the water with other kids and was much more daring and willing to try to swim.


The funny thing is that he'll push off and jump right in, but won't kick or paddle his arms after that; he just wants to let the waves take him where they may, floating along and waiting to get somewhere soon.


I'm hoping this will be a glimpse into his future personality, that he will be able to have patience and "go with the flow," NOT a metaphor for his future level of ambition. Hopefully, he will inherit his father's ability to not "sweat the small stuff" and to be motivated to reach for his goals by doing something, not just waiting around for the weather to change.

This Week's Project

Kyle's room has a HUGE window, which means it can get quite bright in there in the morning. Stephen suggested we try putting up some curtains in there to see if that helped Kyle not wake up with the sun, possibly allowing us to sleep a little longer, too.

Instead of running out and buying stuff for the project, I decided to look around the house. We had a rod from our bedroom in our old place and some curtains we had up on Kyle's little window there, too. These curtains didn't have quite enough material to cover the width of this new window, so I decided to throw in a cool bug shower curtain I've had since my first college apartment. The curtains aren't long enough to reach the ground like I would like because the ceilings are so dang high and the hurricane-proof window casings make it nearly impossible to hang the rod any lower, but I'm not too worried about it....it's a little boy's room, after-all.

While I was at it, I also decided to move Kyle's armoire in front of the window, switching it with the changing table. Kyle has been messing with the blinds and window while having his diaper changed and would certainly try to pull down the new curtains if I left the changing table where it used to be. Also, the armoire might block out additional sunlight from the window. I hope to get a cork memoboard to hang over the changing table to hang some of the art Kyle's been doing at "school."

I forgot to take a "before" photo, but you can see what the room looked like in a video clip from a previous post here.

Here's what the room looks like now!

Horton Hears a Who

I took Kyle to the movie theater for the FIRST TIME EVER this morning. One of our local theaters hosts a "Free Family Film Festival" during the summer months, so we decided to try it out today. We got there early enough to get some popcorn and a good seat, but not too early where Kyle would get bored before the show even started. He loved the big screen and seeing Horton the Elephant doing all kinds of crazy stunts. He laughed, made animals sounds, pointed, squealed, ate popcorn, and loved the movie....for 47 1/2 minutes. Then he noticed the lights coming from the small window at the top of the back wall. He wanted to walk around and climb the lighted stairs and go up to that window much more than to sit and watch the movie. Then, someone came in late a climbed over us, kicking over the popcorn. Without my major bribe, I was left a bit helpless. I was able to convince him to come back to me and sit a little longer, but we ended up leaving about 10 minutes after the original distraction.

I consider our first trip to the theater a success. We made it a whole hour (plus waiting time) and got to experience the fun of a movie without the concern of wasting money. It's a previously released show, but one Kyle hasn't seen before. He enjoyed the time we were there, but I don't have to feel bad about not getting to finish a show I really wanted to see. I think overall it was a win-win situation. Plus, there are many more weeks of free movies and plenty of time to make this part of his regularly-scheduled activities.

Child Labor

In 1832, the New England Association of Farmers, Mechanics and Other Workingmen resolved that “Children should not be allowed to labor in the factories from morning till night, without any time for healthy recreation and mental culture,” for it “endangers their . . . well-being and health.”

Let's assume that they also resolved that it is allowable for children to labor in their houses from morning till night, as long as there is time for healthy recreation and mental culture. Just in case anyone feels like reporting us to a labor union after watching this video, be prepared that I have plenty of proof of Kyle's recreation and mental culture over on my curriculum blog!

Sun is Shining...

....all around,
on the rooftops,
on the.....

This is one of the songs we worked on last week in our "Summer Fun" lesson. It's amazing how quickly kids (people) can learn things when they are put to music and actions. (Hmmm...that theory sounds familiar. Oh, yeah! I'm trying to get someone to publish a book of my teaching ideas on the same subject!!!)

No Passport Needed

I keep telling Stephen I want to go somewhere that I can get a stamp in my passport. (I'm like Lucy in While you were Sleeping....."She would go all the way to Europe just to get a stamp in her passport.") A girl can dream, right? Someday, hopefully before my passport expires, I'll get a stamp.....however....I don't like my current picture, anyway. It's before I lost weight and had eye surgery. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let that one expire and start fresh. But, this is not what I meant to be discussing. How easily distracted I am....

It turns out I don't really need a passport to leave the country, nor do I need to actually leave the country. I just need to go to a Stake function, like seminary graduation, in the Miami Lakes Stake, i.e.: Northern South America. Yep, I just returned from a visit to a new country, within the United States, right there in the church building!

*Word of warning, okay? People who live in this stake, please don't get offended at this post. I'm being sarcastic and poking fun. I'm not going to leave the church or anything and my testimony isn't easily shaken.

However.....there ARE people who DO NOT speak Spanish in this Stake who would like to go to a meeting and actually understand what's going on. Call me crazy, (or 'loco,' in your case, people of Northern South America) but even though this IS a new country, it still is, technically, within the United States, and, therefore, should have a contingency plan for the English minority who find themselves within said borders. Here I was, a member of that English minority, trying to support the Young Women, as their new president, at their seminary graduation, and this is about all I was able to undertstand: blah, blah, blah...programa....blah, blah, blah...no....blah, blah, blah....si....blah, blah, blah......musica......blah, blah, blah........graduacion......blah, blah, blah.....oracion.....blah, blah, blah......testimonios.....blah, blah, blah......escripturas.....blah, blah, blah......presentacion......blah, blah, blah.....amen. Throw in a few names of those receiving awards/diplomas (those were the same in both languages...kind-of) and a few English-speakers (they must have been new to the land of Nothern South America) and you've got yourself a foreign graduation, no passport needed.

I get that the majority of church members in this area are Spanish-speakers. Cool. Bueno. Fantastico! But, people, we are in the UNITED STATES. SPEAK ENGLISH!!! Or, atleast provide a translator for people who are just visiting your Nothern South American borders. I sure belted out the hymns..IN ENGLISH, even though it was pure espanol around me. I guess I'm just one of those annoying American tourists, not wanting to "do as the [Northern South Americans] do."

P.S. When a meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 and doesn't get going until after 7:00, don't be offended when I walk out at 7:45, even if the meeting is only half-way over. I techincally gave you more than an hour of my scheduled time....it's not my fault that 30 minutes of that time was spent waiting for the show to start.

Wall-to-Wall Tile Might Be Nice.......

.....when you come home from swimming, go upstairs to change clothes and realize, after your 2-year-old son climbs up after you, that he is dripping wet, but NOT just dripping with pool water. While you were pushing him home from the pool, in his Radio-Flyer car, he pooped in his water-logged swim diaper, immediately changing the state of the poop from solid to liquid. You didn't realize this had occurred, and he walked through the whole, carpeted house, from the first floor to the third floor, leaving a liquid-poo trail behind him. You bathe him (again) and throw in another load of laundry, and as you spend the next half-hour with your nose to the floor, spraying your left-over pet-stain/odor remover and scrubbing along the path from the front door all the way upstairs, you think that bleach and a mop over wall-to-wall tile might be nice.

"For your information, Hairdo,......

..... there is a major network interested in me."



Kyle got this new, *fantastic* hairdo after going swimming. He looked like a little, golden-brown peacock!

Life is Like Dodgeball

I was in charge of my first "official" Mutual activity as Young Women President last night. I think it went pretty well, with only a few minor hang-ups.

The former president "planned" to play dodgeball. By "planned," I mean, she told me about it and let me put it all together. I borrowed the balls from a friend and got to the church early, only to realize that the Relief Society had tables set up in the gym for their "Jolly Junken" garbage sale, scheduled for the next evening. (They were having people drop off their donations on Wednesday night.) Thankfully, we were able to work out a compromise of moving the tables into an adjoining room, promising to carrying them back into the gym when we were done playing.

We started the activity with a little spiritual message about how life is like dodgeball. I had some of the youth (youth: "U-T-H. Youth." Jane Long spelling bee memories...) volunteer to read some scriptures, asking everyone to listen for the common theme (God's Plan of Happiness):

And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish: yea and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angel, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.
And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.

Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.

Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hate been laid for you?

And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.

Here's a basic outline of the rest of the message:

Each of these scriptures talks about the plan of salvation, the plan for this life. Life is like dodgeball. There are ups and downs, challenges, opponents to our goals, temptations. The plan of salvation the way we can “dodge” these challenges and receive a fullness of joy. The plan includes the Creation, the Fall, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and all the laws, ordinances, and doctrines of the gospel. Moral agency, the ability to choose and act for ourselves, is also essential in Heavenly Father's plan. Because of this plan, we can be perfected through the Atonement, receive a fulness of joy, and live forever in the presence of God.

Joseph B. Wirthlin tells a story about how he dodges life’s challenges (Most of the rest of this message is his words, but I condensed/added here-and-there....I'm just not exactly sure where!):

When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted.

When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life.

“Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.”

I have often reflected on that counsel.

I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

Over the years I have learned a few things that have helped me through times of testing and trial. I would like to share them with you.

Learn to Laugh

When challenges, disappointments come your way, try to “go with the flow,” laugh about them and move on.

Seek for the Eternal

Don’t ask “Why me?” At one time or another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt.

Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.

Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief. We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others.

Remember the sublime words of the Savior to the Prophet Joseph Smith when he suffered with his companions in the smothering darkness of Liberty Jail:

“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.”

With that eternal perspective, Joseph took comfort from these words, and so can we. Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome.

The Principle of Compensation

The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.

One of the blessings of the gospel is the knowledge that when the curtain of death signals the end of our mortal lives, life will continue on the other side of the veil. There we will be given new opportunities. Not even death can take from us the eternal blessings promised by a loving Heavenly Father.

Like in dodgeball, if you get “out” there will be more opportunities to come in another round.

Trust in the Father and The Son

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in.

Conclusion:

“Come what may, and love it.”

I know why there must be opposition in all things. Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it. Just like in dodgeball, sometimes life hits us with challenges that could knock us out of the game for awhile. As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, “Come what may, and love it.”

Then, I went over the rules for the game (because there are "rules" to life, also.) And, I talked about how God knows we have challenges and gives us blessings to help us out with these challenges. I made some "blessing" cards to pass out to some of the youth/leaders. (Those who volunteered for the prayer/reading scriptures/playing piano/came on time/early, etc. got extra blessing cards)

Here's examples of the cards (I made 2 of each because we don't have that many young men/young women):

Repentance: You got knocked down, but this card entitles you to get back in the game! (May only be used once and cannot be used when down to just 2 players.)

Hold to the Rod: You stayed close to the Word of God and know your way back. Using this card, you may attack from the middle of the court.

Choose the Right: This card entitles you to choose one member of the opposite team to leave the game at any time, except when down to 2 players. (May only be used once, so choose carefully!)

Rescue a Soul: This card entitles you to “resurrect” one player from your team at any time except when down to just 2 players.

Eternal Life: This card entitles you to one round of “eternal life.” You may not be knocked out of the game until you are the last person on your team.

Called to Serve: At any time in the game, this card entitles you to call all the balls to your side of the court.

(During the game when a person wanted to their card, the game froze until the action was completed.)

We drew names for teams and played a few rounds. After the blessing cards had all been played, I shuffled them up and passed the out again as blessings for being at the activity. After every few rounds, we'd switch up the teams and start again.

It turned out to be a great activity. Not bad for my first try!

Cheap Summer Fun

It's amazing how 3 bowls (one with "tools," one with water, and one with ice) can give a child (and his mom) 30 minutes of uninterrupted, joyful, imaginative, cool, wet fun!!! (More about this activity and its lesson can be found on my curriculum blog!)

A Classmate

We continued our "Summer Fun" lessons today, but had a classmate for Kyle! Nicolette spent the morning at our house, so she got to participate in our activities. We learned about how God created the sun (and moon and stars) and that the sun allows us to play during the day and helps plants to grow. We took a nature walk outside and collected leaves and flowers that grow in the sun. You can check out my link on the sidebar for "Curriculum" for the full lesson plan. I'm going to try to start recording all the lessons there from now on.

Summer School

Kyle has started picking up on letters, numbers, and colors (even though he's still not talking) so I thought it would be fun to start doing some toddler/preschool lessons with him. There are HUNDREDS of resources online, so I'm sifting through ideas and trying to come up with a month-by-month set of lesson plans to post on my blog. (By the way, this is SOOOOO out of my comfort zone. I was one of the rare people majoring in education who NEVER wanted to work with the young ones. Give me the 5th-8th graders all day long, just don't make me go into a pre-K classroom!!! I guess when it comes to your own kids, things seem to change. Plus, there's only one of him, so I'll give it a shot.) For now, I'll just try to do an overview of what we're learning, complete with pictures, of course!

This week's theme is "Summer." Makes sense, right? Not too big of a stretch to pull that one out. Our words for the week are: summer, sun, yellow, circle, one.

Today we learned about the sun. I used a lesson from the OLD LDS nursery manual, straight outta the 80's. We talked about qualities of the sun: it's in the sky, it's big and round, it's yellow, it keeps us warm, it helps plants to grow, etc. We sang a couple of sun-themed songs: "You are my Sunshine," "Sun is Shining," (a variation of "Rain is Falling" from the LDS Children's Songbook) and "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam." Kyle LOVED the jumping up with that one!

We went over our words for the week and Kyle colored a sun picture, making yellow circles and counting the one sun on the page. By then, his attention span was spent, so we took a break and went shopping.

When we came back, it was time to make our very own sun!!!

We painted paper plates yellow.



While waiting for the paint to dry, we read several books about the beach and talked about the sun. We read a book about colors, trying to focus on yellow. We also looked up information about the sun in a book I have about the universe and in our visual dictionary. Finally, we found the Spanish word for sun in "The Cat in the Hat's Dictionary in Spanish."

The paint was dry by that time, so we glued on strips of yellow and orange paper around the edges of the circle to make the sun's rays.


Kyle was being silly about holding up his finished sun, so this is the best picture I was able to get.


I even got to join in on the fun and make my very own sun!