Sunday, July 13, 2008
Haircut
Hooray! My hair has been chopped off! I told Oliver that after Ryan was born I wanted to get my hair cut. Ryan is past 3 weeks old and I finally got tired of having Evan use my hair as a rope to help him climb Mount Mama. So I went to the beauty shop, realized it was long enough to donate and cut it up off my shoulders. Hooray! Less is getting pulled, my neck is not as hot and I don't look as old and tired as I might feel. I'll post a picture soon.
What's a little brother for?
A little brother is for cuddling:
Evan will often do cute things to Ryan when I let him get close enough. Wednesday morning, I was feeding Evan yogurt and Ryan was laying on the couch. Ryan started to scream which distracted Evan, eventually dragging him away from the yogurt. He crawled over to the couch, grabbed Ryan's hand and laid his head on Ryan's belly.
A little brother is for zerberting!
Wednesday afternoon, Natalie came to visit. Ryan was on the floor and Natalie was trying to lure Evan to her across the room. He, of course, got distracted by Ryan and crawled to him instead. He leaned down to Ryan's face and the next thing we here is this zerbert sound! For those who have never watched "The Cosby Show" a zerbert is also known as a raspberry. This was the first time I'd ever heard him do this and Natalie that it was the funniest thing she'd witnessed in at least a week.
A little brother is for SMASHing:
Oliver and I used to play the SMASH game(which is basically just taking the other by surprise and leaping on them and yelling "SMASH"). Well, apparently Evan instinctively knew how to play the game because on Thursday, Oliver had put Ryan on the couch, turned his back then turned again when Ryan started to scream to see that Evan had climbed on the couch and was now laying on top of Ryan.
A little brother is for biting:
This won't surprise those who have seen Evan in action. He connects with this world through his tongue--I think everything in our house has entered his mouth at one point in time. And Ryan is no exception. Ryan has such little fingers, toes, knees, elbows, face, etc. that Evan must think Ryan was made for eating.
Despite some of the more troublesome times of trying to protect Ryan from Evan, I'm grateful that he doesn't do this intentionally to be mean. And I love the times when I get to see him just show love to Ryan. Last night in the car, I leaned back to see Evan sitting calmly just holding Ryan's hand in his. Moments like that make me forget about the times when I'm trying to be referee. So last, but not least, little brothers are for loving.
Monday, July 7, 2008
"Are you willing to pray for the nation?"
The Independence Day weekend is coming to a close and I have thought about a lot of different things and had a lot of new experiences. I would say that it started Thursday night when Mom, Natalie, Evan, Ryan, and I went to SCERA Park in Orem to see the Ellis Island simulation. 
We watched a little video about the people that came through the island. Some stats of the island as well as personal accounts of the feelings they had riding into the harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty awaiting them. 
This meant so much to so many because they were coming to a land of freedom. I know I take this for granted. What does it mean and feel like to be free? I know that I feel it because I don't have the experiences of being bound or confined, but do I truly understand that blessing? These millions of people came in and had their dreams fulfilled in coming to a land "where the streets are paved with cheese"(An American Tail). In the park were a couple hundred American flags set up in the shape of a star and at each point of the star(inner and outer) were 10 commitments that an incoming individual had to make before becoming a citizen. They ranged from "Are you willing to fight for the nation?" to "Are you willing to pray for the nation?" Again, some thought provoking questions.
On the morning of the 4th of July, Mom and Evan participated in their first run ever. Mom registered to run the Freedom Run 1 Mile Fun Run. She took Evan in the jogger for a run/walk around Kiwanis Park.
The weather was beautiful and while many people did the 1 mile there were even more participating in the 5K and 10K runs that morning. Mom did great! She walked with Evan for just under 15 minutes to finish that mile. Faster than I could have gone. While they were doing that, I got to see several hot air balloons in the sky and then watch one land in the middle of the park! Cool for me! 
Evan liked watching all the people go by as he had the best seat--being pushed around as he lounged.
That evening, we went to Springville to have a barbecue that was a 4th of July & Oliver's Grandma's birthday dinner. It was very nice and cool and Craig, Pat, and Karen put together a great meal for us. Craig had purchased some fireworks so we had some fun sitting and watching Craig, David, and Oliver set those off, followed by the neighbors setting off their own and then we came back to the house to try and watch the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire but even up on our top floor balcony, their is a large pine tree in between us and the stadium so the fireworks didn't have their full effect. I'm sorry, Mom, that you didn't get to see the fireworks from a canoe, but I'm glad you were with us.
Last night had fewer celebratory events but as it came to a close, I flipped on the TV and ended up watching the second half of "A More Perfect Union" on KBYU and was reminded of how many things and how much hard work went into forming this nation so many years ago. It wasn't just a one time event on July 4, 1776. It's interesting to think that just a handful of men gathered together to form such an important document as the Constitution for our country so long ago and to think about the size of our current government. One comment made or quoted in this film was by Benjamin Franklin who is trying to encourage everyone to be reasonable and to compromise and he mentions that it is so important to pray because that is what was done by those who wrote the Declaration of Indpendence and the nation was built on the principle of nothing being done without God. "If a sparrow cannot fall without him knowing..."
Some final independence thoughts occurred today during fast and testimony meeting in church where many members shared their testimonies of freedom in this nation which also led to the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One comment that Oliver made was that he is grateful for the many men and women who love us more than themselves by serving overseas and risking everything for us and he connected that to the One who paid the ultimate price for us because of His love for us.
What an amazing weekend of freedom, independence and love. What a blessing of living in this country where I have never felt binding ties restricting me from dreaming, or acting, or believing. Hooray for a place to worship as I wish, to become whatever I wish, and to have so many opportunities available that I miss most of them just because there are so many. I hope that Evan and Ryan will be able to gain a respect for our country and that I may be able to help them understand the concept of freedom and opportunity that this country offers, that our beliefs and the church offer and that are even available throughout the world.
We watched a little video about the people that came through the island. Some stats of the island as well as personal accounts of the feelings they had riding into the harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty awaiting them. This meant so much to so many because they were coming to a land of freedom. I know I take this for granted. What does it mean and feel like to be free? I know that I feel it because I don't have the experiences of being bound or confined, but do I truly understand that blessing? These millions of people came in and had their dreams fulfilled in coming to a land "where the streets are paved with cheese"(An American Tail). In the park were a couple hundred American flags set up in the shape of a star and at each point of the star(inner and outer) were 10 commitments that an incoming individual had to make before becoming a citizen. They ranged from "Are you willing to fight for the nation?" to "Are you willing to pray for the nation?" Again, some thought provoking questions.On the morning of the 4th of July, Mom and Evan participated in their first run ever. Mom registered to run the Freedom Run 1 Mile Fun Run. She took Evan in the jogger for a run/walk around Kiwanis Park.
The weather was beautiful and while many people did the 1 mile there were even more participating in the 5K and 10K runs that morning. Mom did great! She walked with Evan for just under 15 minutes to finish that mile. Faster than I could have gone. While they were doing that, I got to see several hot air balloons in the sky and then watch one land in the middle of the park! Cool for me! Evan liked watching all the people go by as he had the best seat--being pushed around as he lounged.He even got his own "Finisher" award.
After the run, we woke Nat up and walked down to Center Street to find a seat for the parade. This is the first summer I've actually woken up and taken the time to go see the parade. It was fun to see a lot of different things. All of the high school bands that participated were great, but it was also very interesting to see the emergency vehicles starting out the parade(once I realized where the official beginning of the parade was) followed by a long line of military vehicles with soldiers and veterans driving or being driven down the parade route. Seeing the crowd stand up to cheer, clap, wave and salute these men and women was one of the best parts of the parade. I began to think about my father-in-law who is doing his duty this summer and whom all of his family is very proud. Thank you Dad! While I enjoyed it, my boys did not because it got hot and Evan wanted to be in Mommy's arms which made it difficult to have Ryan in Mommy's arms and so I was grateful to walk back to Natalie's apartment and spend the hotter hours of the day in her cool living room rather than finishing the long walk uphill to our house. 
After the run, we woke Nat up and walked down to Center Street to find a seat for the parade. This is the first summer I've actually woken up and taken the time to go see the parade. It was fun to see a lot of different things. All of the high school bands that participated were great, but it was also very interesting to see the emergency vehicles starting out the parade(once I realized where the official beginning of the parade was) followed by a long line of military vehicles with soldiers and veterans driving or being driven down the parade route. Seeing the crowd stand up to cheer, clap, wave and salute these men and women was one of the best parts of the parade. I began to think about my father-in-law who is doing his duty this summer and whom all of his family is very proud. Thank you Dad! While I enjoyed it, my boys did not because it got hot and Evan wanted to be in Mommy's arms which made it difficult to have Ryan in Mommy's arms and so I was grateful to walk back to Natalie's apartment and spend the hotter hours of the day in her cool living room rather than finishing the long walk uphill to our house. 
That evening, we went to Springville to have a barbecue that was a 4th of July & Oliver's Grandma's birthday dinner. It was very nice and cool and Craig, Pat, and Karen put together a great meal for us. Craig had purchased some fireworks so we had some fun sitting and watching Craig, David, and Oliver set those off, followed by the neighbors setting off their own and then we came back to the house to try and watch the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire but even up on our top floor balcony, their is a large pine tree in between us and the stadium so the fireworks didn't have their full effect. I'm sorry, Mom, that you didn't get to see the fireworks from a canoe, but I'm glad you were with us.
Last night had fewer celebratory events but as it came to a close, I flipped on the TV and ended up watching the second half of "A More Perfect Union" on KBYU and was reminded of how many things and how much hard work went into forming this nation so many years ago. It wasn't just a one time event on July 4, 1776. It's interesting to think that just a handful of men gathered together to form such an important document as the Constitution for our country so long ago and to think about the size of our current government. One comment made or quoted in this film was by Benjamin Franklin who is trying to encourage everyone to be reasonable and to compromise and he mentions that it is so important to pray because that is what was done by those who wrote the Declaration of Indpendence and the nation was built on the principle of nothing being done without God. "If a sparrow cannot fall without him knowing..."Some final independence thoughts occurred today during fast and testimony meeting in church where many members shared their testimonies of freedom in this nation which also led to the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One comment that Oliver made was that he is grateful for the many men and women who love us more than themselves by serving overseas and risking everything for us and he connected that to the One who paid the ultimate price for us because of His love for us.
What an amazing weekend of freedom, independence and love. What a blessing of living in this country where I have never felt binding ties restricting me from dreaming, or acting, or believing. Hooray for a place to worship as I wish, to become whatever I wish, and to have so many opportunities available that I miss most of them just because there are so many. I hope that Evan and Ryan will be able to gain a respect for our country and that I may be able to help them understand the concept of freedom and opportunity that this country offers, that our beliefs and the church offer and that are even available throughout the world.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Nursery Trial #1
Today was our first attempt in nursery for Evan. Due to his developmental delays, I have hesitated where nursery is concerned (and I'm still unsure of how I feel about it). This morning was easy for him because I was in there the entire time and he also had his Grammy to play as well. There were a whopping 12 kids in there(just between the ages of 18 & 24 months) and several adults so it was nothing less than chaotic. I did appreciate the teachers who tried to speak to every child and use their names along with encouraging them to get involved or to sit down or whatever was needing to be done at that time. Since Grammy has plenty of experience in nursery, it was also interesting to see her involved.
Evan enjoyed the first half where everyone was playing. Toys were out and he just crawled around the room and was interested not only in the toys but in seeing what everyone else was doing. Then came snack time. I was impressed by the obedience that these 12 kids had in putting away the toys and sitting down at the tables and waiting patiently for the Cheerios, raisins and cups of water to be brought to them. One young lady has got the nursery snack time down to a science because she turned to an adult and said "more water" instead of getting up to get more of whatever she wanted.
After snack time came story time followed by music time and then the lesson. During these last few, its attempted to be a bit more structured with the kids sitting in a circle and participating, meaning they need to focus on something that isn't necessarily their own choice and usually not something that they can hold and play with. So for my little blonde, this time wasn't as easy to focus on and he was also getting tired. So even though the lesson was fun and about families and about loving brothers and sisters, he was not really into nursery anymore.
Evan has never had a babysitter that wasn't related to him or that hasn't spent a lot of time with him with me around. So another aspect of nursery is as a parent being willing to leave him in someone else's arms. I know they are loving and caring, but when there are so many children and Evan is a non walking, non verbal 20 month old, I kind of worry about him being left without me who can focus on him completely. A few more prayers of faith and we'll see what happens as time goes on.
Evan enjoyed the first half where everyone was playing. Toys were out and he just crawled around the room and was interested not only in the toys but in seeing what everyone else was doing. Then came snack time. I was impressed by the obedience that these 12 kids had in putting away the toys and sitting down at the tables and waiting patiently for the Cheerios, raisins and cups of water to be brought to them. One young lady has got the nursery snack time down to a science because she turned to an adult and said "more water" instead of getting up to get more of whatever she wanted.
After snack time came story time followed by music time and then the lesson. During these last few, its attempted to be a bit more structured with the kids sitting in a circle and participating, meaning they need to focus on something that isn't necessarily their own choice and usually not something that they can hold and play with. So for my little blonde, this time wasn't as easy to focus on and he was also getting tired. So even though the lesson was fun and about families and about loving brothers and sisters, he was not really into nursery anymore.
Evan has never had a babysitter that wasn't related to him or that hasn't spent a lot of time with him with me around. So another aspect of nursery is as a parent being willing to leave him in someone else's arms. I know they are loving and caring, but when there are so many children and Evan is a non walking, non verbal 20 month old, I kind of worry about him being left without me who can focus on him completely. A few more prayers of faith and we'll see what happens as time goes on.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Birthdays
Happy Birthday to my love.
This is the 5th birthday I've been able to celebrate with Oliver and it was the first one that I didn't do a good job of planning. Years past has given him an entire 3 gallon bucket of Creamery ice cream and some cheesy poor college student gifts(even though I didn't actually get to be with him on his birthday that year), a scavenger hunt ending at a friends house for ice cream cake--and our car was a huge birthday present that year, a surprise party at a roller skating rink with ice cream cake, and last year was a barbecue and ice blocking at the park with siblings and more ice cream cake. This year we went to see Wall-E in the theater(the first time we've been to the theater in several months) and another ice cream cake. I keep apologizing for not preparing anything major this year, but he keeps telling me its okay because he got a baby for his birthday. I even let him take a nap this afternoon while Evan, Ryan and I went to a picnic put on by PEEP(Provo Early Education Program) that wasn't too exciting for a mother with two children who don't walk but was nice nevertheless.
Birthdays are crazy things. Marking the day someone entered the world. I love that at work, birthdays are an excuse to bring food to our staff meetings. And nobody has a problem with having extra servings of dessert or whatever food you like to indulge in. For some, birthdays are the day where you get to make the decisions: what you're having for dinner, what you get to do. For others, its the day that they don't want to have to make any decisions or want to make as few decisions as possible and just relax.
27 years and as Oliver said earlier (quoting Rudy & Claire Huxtable from the Cosby Show): "Yay Old!" Happy happy birthday! I love you.
This is the 5th birthday I've been able to celebrate with Oliver and it was the first one that I didn't do a good job of planning. Years past has given him an entire 3 gallon bucket of Creamery ice cream and some cheesy poor college student gifts(even though I didn't actually get to be with him on his birthday that year), a scavenger hunt ending at a friends house for ice cream cake--and our car was a huge birthday present that year, a surprise party at a roller skating rink with ice cream cake, and last year was a barbecue and ice blocking at the park with siblings and more ice cream cake. This year we went to see Wall-E in the theater(the first time we've been to the theater in several months) and another ice cream cake. I keep apologizing for not preparing anything major this year, but he keeps telling me its okay because he got a baby for his birthday. I even let him take a nap this afternoon while Evan, Ryan and I went to a picnic put on by PEEP(Provo Early Education Program) that wasn't too exciting for a mother with two children who don't walk but was nice nevertheless.
Birthdays are crazy things. Marking the day someone entered the world. I love that at work, birthdays are an excuse to bring food to our staff meetings. And nobody has a problem with having extra servings of dessert or whatever food you like to indulge in. For some, birthdays are the day where you get to make the decisions: what you're having for dinner, what you get to do. For others, its the day that they don't want to have to make any decisions or want to make as few decisions as possible and just relax.
27 years and as Oliver said earlier (quoting Rudy & Claire Huxtable from the Cosby Show): "Yay Old!" Happy happy birthday! I love you.
Friday, June 20, 2008
It's a Boy!
We'd like to introduce to you the newest member of our clan: Ryan! Born on Tuesday, June 17th at 4:43pm.
The above photo shows his balding spots already. On the sides and back of his head, he has more hair that is very dark. The reason I wanted to post this photo is to show how this child came out: with one hand up by his head. So I learned a little biology lesson on Tuesday(between the doctor & Oliver who had to take his Bio final on Wednesday). The lesson of "positive feedback". What is supposed to happen is that as the baby's head drops more into the birth canal, that signals the body to release more oxytocin which causes more contractions which pushes baby's head further which encourages more oxytocin and the cycle keeps going until the birth. (I apologize to all those biologists that understand this differently than I explained it). Anyway...because Ryan's hand was up by his head, his head couldn't properly engage in the birth canal like it should which is probably why I was "overdone" and had to be induced. Good bio lesson for the day?
All's well back in Heritage. We took our first family walk last night down to the Creamery for ice cream & the Central Building for our mail. An interesting aspect of home life is that the doctor said I shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting for the next two weeks. How much is heavy? 20 lbs. How much is Evan? A little over 20 lbs. :) Speaking of my blonde babe, he is doing okay so far with Ryan. Very interested when he cries, he will sometimes just laugh when that happens. We will see how he likes not having priority in Mom's lap. So far so good, although I miss my little(or not so little) Evan cuddling with me and its only been a couple days.
Thank you to Karen for watching Evan this week while all of this has happened and thank you to Natalie for being here and for playing cards with me and telling stories while I was having contractions. What a week! We are very glad to be home.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Fireworks!
Tonight we celebrated Father's Day in Springville with Oliver's grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, and mom. Tin foil dinners followed by a great cake or cherry pie(your choice). It was delicious. And then we stayed until 10 this evening to watch the fireworks display being put on for the Art City Days Festival. It was great. Very fun and relaxing. We were outside all afternoon and evening. It was gorgeous!
The fireworks were great. For those that know Springville, we watched from Kolob Park so we were a pretty good distance from Arts Park & the High school where the fireworks were being shot. Watching them reminded me of my fun days shooting fireworks with Chris & Casey for the 4th so many years ago. I miss it a bit. The weather tonight was beautiful although it was a little windy so I wouldn't have wanted to be walking looking for debris afterwards. Anyway. It would be amazing if I could do that again. There is a very unique feeling to being hands on in a fireworks shoot. I'm glad that I've had the privilege to ever had that experience. Thanks Casey & Chris!
The fireworks were great. For those that know Springville, we watched from Kolob Park so we were a pretty good distance from Arts Park & the High school where the fireworks were being shot. Watching them reminded me of my fun days shooting fireworks with Chris & Casey for the 4th so many years ago. I miss it a bit. The weather tonight was beautiful although it was a little windy so I wouldn't have wanted to be walking looking for debris afterwards. Anyway. It would be amazing if I could do that again. There is a very unique feeling to being hands on in a fireworks shoot. I'm glad that I've had the privilege to ever had that experience. Thanks Casey & Chris!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Late night happenings
I think the majority of people that know us may not know our random sleeping habits. We are night owls and have included Evan into that habit. I don't let him go to sleep until at least 10pm. At the same time, there are a couple factors that could contribute to Evan's unroutined sleeping. One being that we, as parents, don't have a set schedule for when he gets up, takes a nap, or how long the nap is, etc. etc. The other contributor may be the possible diagnosis of Angelman Syndrome where 20-80% of the cases have some sort of sleep disturbance. Anyway. Whatever the case may be, over the last week we've had a few fun late nights as a family.
One was a walk around Heritage leading us over to the waterfall where Oliver and I had a nice deep conversation while Evan had fallen asleep in the stroller.
The other was a few nights ago where we again went on a walk, but instead of going south, went north and ended up walking around Wymount Terrace(the married student on campus housing area). That was fun because Oliver used to work over there during a winter period where he would have to walk around late at night and so he had many memories from that walk and I found a beautiful spot with a nice view of Provo that I had no idea existed. Crazy. That one was fun, but we were gone much longer than we thought(got back home around 1:15am.--with a still awake Evan).
And then there was last night. Evan and Oliver fell asleep in the living room. Evan on the floor on a pillow and Oliver on the couch. At about 1am I decided that Evan needed to be moved and put into his crib. Well, the walk from our living room to the bedroom was enough to wake him up. Since he was awake, I changed him and then laid him down in the crib, from which he promptly sat up and pulled himself into a stand. He thought that was fun for awhile until I got dressed, turned the kitchen light off and got into bed. Unable to resist the temptation of standing up in the crib, he and I played the fun game of letting him cry for a while, then get up to lay him back down, put his blanket back on him and give him his pacifier again. This lasted for the next 2 hours until at 3:30, Oliver woke up from the couch to come into bed and seeing that Evan was so wide awake decided to take him back out to the living room. To make this story end sooner, I'll just say that at 6:30, Evan finally decided it was okay to fall asleep. He fell asleep on me on the couch, then was moved into his crib. I went back to sleep in bed and then Evan woke up so I pulled him into bed with me, where he actually fell asleep snuggled up next to me for an hour or two. It was amazing! (Evan thinks our bed is a playground as opposed to a place where one can cuddle with Mommy and Daddy). Oh the interesting life of being a parent.
The cute part is that as I am writing this(we got back from the grocery store about an hour and a half ago) my boys are sleeping on the couch together. They are very cute and I'm glad that Oliver has a little bit of a chance to snuggle with our normally wiggly son(one reason Oliver is looking forward to a newborn--less wiggles & more snuggles). Happy dreaming!
One was a walk around Heritage leading us over to the waterfall where Oliver and I had a nice deep conversation while Evan had fallen asleep in the stroller.
The other was a few nights ago where we again went on a walk, but instead of going south, went north and ended up walking around Wymount Terrace(the married student on campus housing area). That was fun because Oliver used to work over there during a winter period where he would have to walk around late at night and so he had many memories from that walk and I found a beautiful spot with a nice view of Provo that I had no idea existed. Crazy. That one was fun, but we were gone much longer than we thought(got back home around 1:15am.--with a still awake Evan).
And then there was last night. Evan and Oliver fell asleep in the living room. Evan on the floor on a pillow and Oliver on the couch. At about 1am I decided that Evan needed to be moved and put into his crib. Well, the walk from our living room to the bedroom was enough to wake him up. Since he was awake, I changed him and then laid him down in the crib, from which he promptly sat up and pulled himself into a stand. He thought that was fun for awhile until I got dressed, turned the kitchen light off and got into bed. Unable to resist the temptation of standing up in the crib, he and I played the fun game of letting him cry for a while, then get up to lay him back down, put his blanket back on him and give him his pacifier again. This lasted for the next 2 hours until at 3:30, Oliver woke up from the couch to come into bed and seeing that Evan was so wide awake decided to take him back out to the living room. To make this story end sooner, I'll just say that at 6:30, Evan finally decided it was okay to fall asleep. He fell asleep on me on the couch, then was moved into his crib. I went back to sleep in bed and then Evan woke up so I pulled him into bed with me, where he actually fell asleep snuggled up next to me for an hour or two. It was amazing! (Evan thinks our bed is a playground as opposed to a place where one can cuddle with Mommy and Daddy). Oh the interesting life of being a parent.
The cute part is that as I am writing this(we got back from the grocery store about an hour and a half ago) my boys are sleeping on the couch together. They are very cute and I'm glad that Oliver has a little bit of a chance to snuggle with our normally wiggly son(one reason Oliver is looking forward to a newborn--less wiggles & more snuggles). Happy dreaming!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Patience
So I've been having to learn the lesson of patience(again). I had a doctor's appointment today(the due date is tomorrow) and we determined that if I haven't gone into labor by next Monday when my next appointment is scheduled for, then I will be induced on Tuesday. It's funny because Evan never kept us waiting since he came a week early. So we will see how these guesses go. I apologize to those who guessed for days last week, but if you care, Oliver wishes that this baby were here. While being anxious before with all of the unexpected of having two children, there's also this fun nerves involved of never knowing when the child decides to come. Anyway. I just wanted to pass on the information. While I was in a staff meeting today, it was at least nice to be able to say that I would not be in the meeting the following week no matter what.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Faith
Sunday was a happy day where we were able to attend testimony meeting & Sunday school which both triggered specific thoughts about the topic of faith. In reality, faith never came up in someone's testimony, but that was where my mind was going. Then Oliver and I attend the Gospel Principles class instead of Gospel Doctrine where we were focusing on the first principle of the gospel: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I began thinking about the principle of faith and how much hope is connected to faith. I began to think on some superficial levels that we begin to have hope for things in the future and depending on what you decide to do after you have that hope, it will usually lead to having faith in the results of that unkown outcome. For example, I hope for a lot of things concerning the future and because I have prayed about them or recieved a blessing for that, I have faith that what the Lord wills will come to pass. I have a child that will be born anytime within the next week or so. Does that frighten me? Of course! Do I have faith that the delivery will be safe for both the child and myself? Of course! I have a beautiful son already who I've had to accept isn't perfect, unfortunately. Do I worry about how he will grow up and how I will be able to be a good mother to him? Definitely. But at the same time, I have faith that the Lord knows what he has in store for that bright "heavenly ray" in our life and I know(even if I sometimes forget) that I have excellent support and resources to make sure I can be the best parent to him possible.
While in the Gospel Principles class, there were several things mentioned that made me think a little more deeply about the topic. One, i was reminded of the specific definition of faith: "a hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Which just solidified the one thought I had formed during sacrament meeting. The second point made in the manual reads as follows:
"The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that faith is a principle of power that motivates our day-to-day activities. Would we study and learn if we did not believe we could obtain wisdom and knowledge? Would we work each day if we did not hope that by doing so we could accomplish something? Would a farmer plant if he did not expect to harvest? Each day we act upon things we hope for when we cannot see the end result. This is faith."
There are so many things that we do on faith without knowing that we have faith in it. So while that was interesting to think about, the next point that was reiterated to me was one that I'm still thinking about. The whole concept of faith without works is dead.
"Faith involves doing all we can to bring about the things we hope and pray for. President Kimball said: 'In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process.' He continued by explaining that many of us want to have health and strength without keeping the health laws. We want to have prosperity without paying our tithes. We want to be close to the Lord but don’t want to fast and pray. We want to have rain in due season and to have peace in the land without observing the Sabbath as a holy day and without keeping the other commandments of the Lord. (See Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 4.)"
I know this isn't a new thought for most of you, but I've needed some refreshing of the basics and this was a nice little bucket of water thrown on me again. For example, Evan has some developmental issues that we have learned may be permanent, or they may not be(yay for definitive answers, huh?). But we have also learned that with proper therapy and with our help, Evan can quickly come up to the level and potential that he can make it too. While I can pray all I want for Evan to be healthy and strong, my point is that without actually doing the physical/occupational/speech therapy tips that we as parents are given by the therapists, Evan won't be able to acheive as many of those steps as he could with the work we should be putting in.
Faith...an interesting concept as well as one that we put into action everyday without even thinking about it. How much a part of your life is faith?
I began thinking about the principle of faith and how much hope is connected to faith. I began to think on some superficial levels that we begin to have hope for things in the future and depending on what you decide to do after you have that hope, it will usually lead to having faith in the results of that unkown outcome. For example, I hope for a lot of things concerning the future and because I have prayed about them or recieved a blessing for that, I have faith that what the Lord wills will come to pass. I have a child that will be born anytime within the next week or so. Does that frighten me? Of course! Do I have faith that the delivery will be safe for both the child and myself? Of course! I have a beautiful son already who I've had to accept isn't perfect, unfortunately. Do I worry about how he will grow up and how I will be able to be a good mother to him? Definitely. But at the same time, I have faith that the Lord knows what he has in store for that bright "heavenly ray" in our life and I know(even if I sometimes forget) that I have excellent support and resources to make sure I can be the best parent to him possible.
While in the Gospel Principles class, there were several things mentioned that made me think a little more deeply about the topic. One, i was reminded of the specific definition of faith: "a hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Which just solidified the one thought I had formed during sacrament meeting. The second point made in the manual reads as follows:
"The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that faith is a principle of power that motivates our day-to-day activities. Would we study and learn if we did not believe we could obtain wisdom and knowledge? Would we work each day if we did not hope that by doing so we could accomplish something? Would a farmer plant if he did not expect to harvest? Each day we act upon things we hope for when we cannot see the end result. This is faith."
There are so many things that we do on faith without knowing that we have faith in it. So while that was interesting to think about, the next point that was reiterated to me was one that I'm still thinking about. The whole concept of faith without works is dead.
"Faith involves doing all we can to bring about the things we hope and pray for. President Kimball said: 'In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process.' He continued by explaining that many of us want to have health and strength without keeping the health laws. We want to have prosperity without paying our tithes. We want to be close to the Lord but don’t want to fast and pray. We want to have rain in due season and to have peace in the land without observing the Sabbath as a holy day and without keeping the other commandments of the Lord. (See Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 4.)"
I know this isn't a new thought for most of you, but I've needed some refreshing of the basics and this was a nice little bucket of water thrown on me again. For example, Evan has some developmental issues that we have learned may be permanent, or they may not be(yay for definitive answers, huh?). But we have also learned that with proper therapy and with our help, Evan can quickly come up to the level and potential that he can make it too. While I can pray all I want for Evan to be healthy and strong, my point is that without actually doing the physical/occupational/speech therapy tips that we as parents are given by the therapists, Evan won't be able to acheive as many of those steps as he could with the work we should be putting in.
Faith...an interesting concept as well as one that we put into action everyday without even thinking about it. How much a part of your life is faith?
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