Feeling the Spirit

We had our ward Primary sacrament meeting program recently. The three youngest participated in it. Our music leader asked the girls if they would sing together two lines from the hymn I Know That My Redeemer Lives. The whole Primary sang the first verse together then the second verse was split up among a few kids singing the lines as solos.

As the kids started singing the first verse I’m telling you those words alone have power but then you get a whole Primary full of children singing it takes on a whole new meaning.

I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to bless me with His love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.

The second verse was then split up and a few children sang two lines together as solos or with a sibling.

He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my souls complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.

Lulu, Gennie, and Sadie sang together the last two lines in the verse. I’ll be honest it was not the greatest performance. Some of the kids forgot the words, some kids sang other kids lines which messed up the next kids, and some kids (like mine) sang quietly and were a bit shy.

But it did not matter! The Spirit was so strong as those kids sang those sacred words describing our Savior, his role in our lives, and how he truly does live and care about every aspect of our lives.

And here’s the best thing ever ever ever! My kids felt it! Lulu actually had tears in her eyes as she sang the song.  It’s the best feeling in the world when you know without a doubt that your child is feeling the love of our Savior. It was such a sweet moment.

After the program was over I asked Lulu how she felt. She said she didn’t know. I asked her if she was crying because she felt the Holy Ghost and she said, Yeah, I think so! It was the sweetest thing ever.

Dog Ugly to Dog Awesome

There are times when I just can’t stand the ugly any longer and I just have to do something about it. The girl’s bathroom was a big time source of disgust in my life. I had been holding out with the hopes of gutting the whole entire bathroom and starting all over. But as the years passed I realized that was not ever going to be a reality. I had to put my budget-friendly, frugal minded creativity to work. I needed to come up with a plan that cost a minimal amount of money and it had to be a project I could do 90% of it by myself since Charlie didn’t want to have anything to do with my shenanigans. 

I landed on an idea to make a dog-themed bathroom since all four girls are in love with puppies and dogs. I had to think about what we already had and try to repurpose existing items. I remembered we had some dog tail hooks from our Pueblo house. I decided to spray paint the light fixtures instead of replacing them. I also decided to live with the existing faucets, counters, and cabinets. Some of the drawers were falling apart so we glued and nailed them back together. But the floor...oh that floor! After some research I learned that I could install a peel and stick tile right on top of the existing linoleum.  Score!! So with a new coat of paint, new flooring, a doggie shower curtain, some cute doggie hooks, new towels, new bath mat, and a bit of artwork, I was able to transform the bathroom for less than $200! It took much longer than anticipated but well worth all the effort it took. I’m much happier with the improved bathroom now.

Here’s what the bathroom looked like as I was taking things down.

After a coat of paint and the hooks are installed.

During the floor installation process.

Finished product...

  

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.

December Photos

It's been ages since I did a photo challenge so I decided to give it a go during the month of December. Here you go!

Furry

Bokeh

Happy

Ornament

Baking

Cozy

Laughter

Stockings

Service

Performance

Hard Work

Friends

Love 

Sunshine

Tradition

Outside

Homemade

Natural

Fun

Cookies

Oh Christmas Tree

Cold

Sadie's 4th Birthday

Sadie had her 4th birthday yesterday! This year it landed on a Sunday so she was able to celebrate at home and at church.  We started out the morning with Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes, followed up with the opening-of-the-presents.  After church Sadie picked the menu for dinner: popcorn chicken, meatballs, curly fries, and buttered noodles.  When I told her I was also adding a salad, she began to cry! LOL!  We topped off the day with Mickey Mouse cupcakes.  It was a pretty special day.

Here are a few things we all love about Sadie:
Kenzie said, "I love how she draws people.  And I like when she sings, it's adorable!"
Dallin said, "I love her vocabulary and the tone of her voice and the cuteness she brings to our family. I also love watching 'Sadie shows' with her like Muppet Babies."
Dad said, "I love how she's the best at going to bed at night. She lays down in her covers and she says 'sweet dreams, good night!' I also love how she covers her ears when she's scared."
Gennie said, "What I love about Sadie is that she's cute and chubby!" (To which Sadie vehemently disagreed!)
Lulu said, "I like Sadie because I like stealing her blanket.  I like the video she made when she said, 'uh....Dad?'"
Mom said, "I love how Sadie always says, 'uh...a little help here please!!'"

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY SADIE~ 

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!

School's Back!

Usually I'm so ready for school to start back up again but this year I wasn't feeling strongly one way or the other.  It just kinda came upon us and we rolled right back into a new schedule.  Dallin started middle school this year (yikes!), Kenzie is in 5th grade, and Lulu is in 1st grade.  I was a little worried about Dallin starting at a new school and taking on the big middle school but he's surprised me with how well he's been able to keep up with everything and has been very responsible.  I was also a little worried about Lulu having all day school for the first time, but she too has proven I had nothing to worry about.  They've all handled the new transitions very well.  Kenzie is excited to be the oldest grade at her school and LOVES her teacher, Mrs. Curry.

Kenzie, Brykin, and Lulu

While the big kids are in school I get to hang out with these two cuties whom we affectionately call Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum.  They sure are cute but they are also a handful!  When they aren't fighting for my attention or fighting with each other, they are drawing on walls/furniture/floors etc, or making huge toy messes all round the house, or helping me in the kitchen, or creating lovely pieces of art.  It's weird to think that in just another year I'll have four in school and in just three years ALL of them will be in school! Sheesh!  

Jacob and Janet's Reception

Jacob and Janet held a reception of their marriage this summer.  The flowers were beautiful (thanks Carmen) and the location was gorgeous.  Such a happy couple and lots of kids!!  I'm the lucky one to have them live close to me now!