A Place to Write

This week's Come Follow Me lesson was about listening to parents. Brendon showed a video of a little girl who wouldn't stay buckled into her carseat--until her grandma explained why it was important to stay seated. To stay safe because I love you. We asked the girls why it's important to listen to parents. They got stuck on safety for a while but then we mentioned cleaning. I told them we ask them to clean so they can learn now how to keep their house clean. Kaybree: Yeah cause if you become a grown up and never learn how to clean it would be a disaster! Eisley: Does _____ not know how to clean? I know I shouldn't judge others but I died laughing at that. I hope she doesn't go ask that person directly. I explained most adults know how but sometimes struggle to find the time to clean so that's another skill we have to work on while young--finding time to clean. Both girls bore their testimonies on Sunday. Kaybree wrote her testimony down on a piece of pa...

I love to travel. I love experiencing new things, seeing new things and stepping outside of my every day. To me it's a slight adrenaline rush. You never know what could happen but I feel confident following the example of people who have gone before me. If a place is generally safe for most people, I feel comfortable going there and I enjoy every second of it. It's not the same for J. You'd think a child who has lived with more families than he can count would have no problem adjusting to new cultures or people--yet he hates travelling out of state. Street smarts don't transfer, he explained. That only leaves him one card to play--physical strength--if he gets into any trouble. He's assessing his risks in a very different way than me. His survival instincts tell him to stay in his safe zone. Stay where he knows the laws, the culture and the general rules. Stay put. He told me last night his life has gotten a little boring and he's not sure how he feels a...

I have to teach a lesson to all the young women on Wednesday about modesty. I’ve already written about why that’s a tough topic for me. I don’t want anyone to be ashamed of what they are wearing or judge anyone for wearing something else. Brendon and I had a long conversation about how to teach this concept and the possible pitfalls. Modesty really should have nothing to do with men. The actual definition of modesty is decency. It’s a church cultural thing that ties it so closely to the way we dress. But being modest really means being a decent human being and our clothing should reflect that. We should wear clothes that make us and those around us comfortable. As I fretted over how to teach this we sat down for lunch and asked Kaybree what she had learned at church today. She said she learned her body is a temple. When we asked what that means at first she said to avoid drugs and things that would cause harm to our bodies. I asked “what about what we put on the outside of our bodi...

Kaybree came to me at 12:42 a.m. to let me know she was going to heat up the heating pad for an aching foot and that she had not fallen asleep yet. I had been asleep for hours and the house had been silent. I know she was trying to sleep. I slipped out of bed and snuggled up next to her, hoping the comfort of having me nearby would be enough to lull her to sleep. I stayed there for almost an hour, tickled her back, and snuggled up close. Still she was awake and frustrated and worried that she would be exhausted for school the next day. I gave her melatonin and let her come into bed with me. Still, she couldn't fall asleep. Her head started hurting. I gave her ibuprofen. Another hour passed. She started to cry because of the pain in her head. Finally, like a breath of fresh air, Brendon rolled over and said "What's wrong, sweetheart?" He took that precious baby girl in his arms and gave her a very short and simple priesthood blessing that her head would feel bett...

"But what if I don't make any friends?!" you shouted suddenly as angry tears reached your eyes. Going to school is not what you wanted to talk about during Family Home Evening, my sweet Eisley girl, but it had to be done. I told a story about a girl who was brand new to school and when she got there on the first day she realized everyone else was brand new too and they were all scared too. So she talked to someone and she made a friend and she found out everyone else was scared about making friends too. On Monday you girls start school. Kaybree will be in second grade. Eisley will be in kindergarten. J will be a senior. (Senior, part 1 of 2...) J is resigned. He knows he has to go back to school and he's not excited about it but he has accepted it is necessary. Kaybree is excited to see friends again every day. Eisley is terrified. Eisley is not a shy girl. She speaks up when she needs to and she can jump right into crazy when it presents itself. But she has had...

Our last day was full of travel. We stopped at Niagra on the US side very briefly and took pictures of three sisters at Three Sisters Park. Then we drove for four hours to the airport. Our flight was delayed so we had to wait at the airport for about four hours as well. Luckily the Pittsburgh airport has an awesome kids center where the kids could play and we could charge everything up for the plane ride. By the time we got on the plane Aspen was out for the night. I think everyone fell asleep on the plane at some point. It was 1 a.m. by the time we got home and J was up and waiting for us. He even gave me a hug!

Our final day was spent at the Great Wolf Lodge in Canada. The girls loved the water park and even Eisley was adventurous and tried all the slides. She didn't want to leave at the end of the day! Later that night we went to Niagra falls and saw the falls lit up. There were fireworks too!