Coincidence or God's Hand?

Do you ever get a random tickle in your throat?  When your throat suddenly dries up and causes violent uncontrolled coughing?  Well, this happens to me on occasion.  Usually in the most inopportune times.

Over the summer, I needed Dallin to mow the lawn before we left on our trip.  He needed to get it done in the morning because it was going to rain in the afternoon and he couldn't do it the next day because we were leaving super early to get ahead of rush hour traffic.  I made it very clear that he needed to get a jump on it before it rained.

I didn't want to harp on him so I let him him-haw around the house for a little bit, trying to let him make decisions on his own.  Finally, right around 11am he headed out to mow and I thought to myself, he's cutting it a little close!

I'm busy getting laundry done, packing bags, getting things squared away for the trip so I'm not really paying attention to what Dallin is doing.  But I notice in passing that he's eating lunch.  Being the optimistic person I try to be I assume he's done mowing and came in for some food.

By this point the clouds have rolled in and it's looking very ominous outside, rain is sure to be here any minute.

As it starts to rain I ask Dallin if he put the lawn mower away? He said no because he wasn't done mowing yet.

WHAT?!?!?!?

Why would he stop mid-mow to come inside and eat and then take so long to eat and goof around that now it's raining and he's lost his window???  Oh yeah, he's 13!

I was livid!!

I was so mad!!

I thought how senseless, how immature!!

I started to rail into him..."I can't believe you didn't finish!!  I specifically told you to mow before..."

And then the tickle came!  I started coughing and sweating and my face turned bright red and not only was I embarrassed I was also so angry at him and there wasn't anything I could do!  I couldn't speak! It was like my whole temper tantrum was just completely cut off in an instant so I ran to my room to avoid more embarrassment and to cool down.

I have thought about this often since this happened.  Was it just a fluke thing that right in that exact moment the tickle came?  Or did God intervene to teach me a lesson?  I guess I'll never really know the answer to that question but does it really matter?  I can just shrug it off and take it as coincidence or I can use it as a learning experience.  I'd like to think that every once in a while God sees a teaching moment and takes advantage of it.

Did it really matter if the lawn was mowed before the trip?  No.  Was it really necessary for me to loose my cool, yell and scream at my child, and in the process withdraw the Spirit from our home?  No!  Have I since yelled at my kids? Yes!  But I am more aware of the effect it has on the people I love the most and how it's truly not an effective way to communicate.

I am grateful for that teaching moment and hopefully I can start to catch myself on my own from yelling at my kids in the future.

Twelve

Dallin turned 12!!  He's officially entered his journey to man-hood with this benchmark.  Twelve is a big deal.  He's graduated from Primary...which he was actually a little sad about...and has entered the great unknown of Young Men's!!  His first activity with the youth was a movie night at the bishop's house and he had a great time.  His second activity was combined with the YW and they had a karaoke night.  So far it's been great.  He was ordained to the office of Deacon and was given the Aaronic Priesthood on October 22, 2017.  Charlie gave him a very nice blessing, it was really special.  Mom and Dad Pratt came for the occasion.  Dallin is growing up and maturing into a fine young man.  He bears his testimony every fast Sunday and loves to pass the sacrament.  He is starting to become more responsible and proving that he's trustworthy.  He has a tender heart and a funny sense of humor.  He's picked great friends to hang out with and loves to play x-box.  I'm still forcing him to take piano lessons (which he's very talented at if he'd just take it serious!) and will perform in his first official recital in December.  Love this kid!!  Can't wait to see what the future holds for him.

This very blog

I have to admit that my enthusiasm for this here blog has dwindled a bit.  You might have noticed my posts are often delayed and sporadic and definitely not as frequent.  I swore I wouldn't be one of those mom's who has a million pictures of her first-born and zero pictures of the last-born.  I've tried to make documenting our lives a priority but life happens and I get busy and I find myself not taking as many pictures and not taking the time to sit right here and reflect.  But I've recommitted myself to keep it up as much as I can.  I'm trying to get back into taking more pictures of the everyday and capturing my kid's childhood.  The other day I saw the kids huddled around the computer reminiscing as they looked at previous posts on the blog.  It made my heart happy to see them laughing and enjoying the memories that I had captured and preserved.  It sure gives me motivation to keep going!

Uh-Oh

Sadie decided to take organizing matters into her own hands by eliminating clutter in her drawers.  I guess she felt like her floors were a better place for her clothes.  Oh boy!!  We had a nice lesson on how to properly store our clothing.  Silly girl!

Snowy Flowers

I just thought our hyacinths on our side yard looked so pretty with all the snow on them.  Reminds me of how strong we really are, sometimes we just don't realize it!

Random Cuteness

I know I need to be better at grabbing my camera to capture everyday happenings.  I used to be really good at it, but now...well, let's just say there's room for improvement.  However...I was able to snatch a few random shots over the last few weeks.

Sadie at lunch time.  Love those eyes!

Gennie, the baker, who ALWAYS wants to help in the kitchen.

Lulu the artist!

Time to warm up with some hot "toe-toe".

Squishy soft skin...just love it!

Mischievous Gennie coloring with marker on the floors!

Gennie and Sadie do love each other sometimes!

Dallin and Kenzie had a blast making Muddie Buddies together.

Post-Church snuggle party!! This picture is actually pretty significant because Sadie doesn't usually snuggle with "Desie" like this.  Kenzie was in heaven!

Susan's Funeral

Gennie Bennie

I have to say a few things about my Gennie Bennie.  This girl...where do I start?  The thing about Gennie is she LOVES to be with me and LOVES to do whatever I'm doing.  Yet, she's also super independent and wants to do most things for herself, except for those times when of course she wants me to do EVERYTHING for her.  Somehow she feels like she's staked her claim on me and owns my lap and my undivided attention not to mention a free ride up the stairs anytime she decides her legs all of a sudden don't work.  Most of the time I don't mind my little sidekick hanging around.  But you know, there are times when I just want to make dinner without interruption or I want to quickly wrap a present without "help".  Or heaven forbid I give her sisters some attention or allow them to sit on my lap!  I love that she wants to be with me, and I know that there will come a day when she won't want to be with.  Such a hard juggle for me as a person who values her own space.  I can't even take a nap without her snuggling up to me and following suit.  I wish I could have the personality to just relish in the attention and welcome the smothering.  I hate to admit it but I find myself irritated more often than not and I know I need to get over it.  I try, I really do.  She helps me in the kitchen everyday and I let her stir and pour and measure.  I let her pour her own milk, I've learned to not look!  I invite her to help me clean the bathrooms and she willingly obliges with a scrubber in one hand and a paper towel in the other.  She loves to help me in my craft room, which stresses me out, but again I try to find projects she can do and doesn't make a big mess.  Anyway...I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you Gennie and I'm trying the best I can to be a good mom to you however stressful it can be at times.

Dancing in the Rain

Grrr...I was SO MAD!

Lulu had soccer practice tonight and the weather was looking a little dreary but the coach never emailed or texted to cancel.  I figured he was going to stick it out.  So I got Lulu all geared up for practice (no easy feat) and got the rest of the kids bundled up and equipped with entertainment for the hour long practice (no easy feat) and drove over to the practice field.

Sure enough we get there and NO COACH!  Aaagghh! I was so mad!  Then I checked my phone.  He cancelled practice THREE MINUTES BEFORE PRACTICE WAS SUPPOSED TO START!  Who does that?!? Seriously!!

So we went back home and got out of the car and the kids danced in the rain and made me forget how mad I was at the coach.

Backwards Gennie

Me: Hey Gennie, did you know your shirt is on backwards?

Gennie: Yes!

Me: Do you want me to help you fix it?

Gennie: NOPE!

Me: Ok, lol!!

She Did It!

I've been trying to teach Kenzie how to ride a bike for years and she's just not been interested until finally I told her that she's NINE years old and it's pretty pathetic that she can't ride a bike when most 6 year olds can.  She finally agreed.  We worked on it for 3-4 days on our street and it just wasn't clicking with her.  Then I decided to take her to the church parking lot where she didn't have to worry about the neighbors watching her or cars coming and SHE GOT IT!  She finally did it.  It was so fun to watch her succeed and having fun.  

Ft. Collins Temple Open House

We are blessed to have another temple in Colorado.  It has been an exciting time for church members in Colorado as the excitement and anticipation has been building up in preparation for the Ft. Collins Temple.  Charlie and I knew the importance of going to the open house with the kids as this would be a rare opportunity to be inside the temple with our children.  We made the hour trip up to Ft. Collins and it was so worth it!

It just so happened that as we toured the temple we had a moment in the celestial room together as a family, no one else was in the room.  We all knelt down in a tight circle and as I started to speak, the Spirit was so strong!!  I started to cry and the kids could feel it and we talked about how special this room is and how THIS is where we want to be.  How important it is to stay worthy to go to the temple and I told them how I'm looking forward to the day when we can all be back in the celestial room together again.  It was a touching moment.  It confirmed to me how truly blessed I am to have such a beautiful family, to live in a time when the gospel has been restored, and to live so close to a temple.  What a beautiful day and such a beautiful spirit that we all felt.  It was awesome!

After the temple we went to Cinzetti's for dinner! Yummm!!