Mary, the Mother of Jesus

I have been asked to speak next week in the Christmas program in Sacrament meeting. The request was unusual in that I've been asked to speak in the first-person, as Mary.

Now, I have my own concerns with this approach, which I am not interested in discussing here. I do believe in doing my best to fulfill the assignments that I've been given. I must say that it has been a very interesting experience to ponder on Mary's role, and what she might have been thinking and feeling.

I wonder, how fully did she understand the Plan of Salvation? How fully did she understand what would be required of her Son? I know that all the prophet since Adam have prophesied about Jesus Christ, but how well was Mary taught in those prophecies? How much access did she have to those sacred records? Obviously she loved God the Father and Jesus Christ, and had incredible faith to do whatever was asked of her.

Were the people of Nazareth unkind to her and Joseph as it became obvious that she was "with child" from before the time that they were married?

I am interested to know if any of you have thoughts on Mary, her role, and what she may have been thinking and feeling. I would love to hear any of them.

Brianna's first words this morning ...

"Oh, the lights on our Christmas tree are so beautiful!! We better get the lights put up on our house really fast!"

So Blessed

I have just had the privilege of spending the last nine days with family -- my own, the family I grew up in, and the family I married into! It was wonderful! I can honestly say that I love and enjoy every one of them. I am very grateful for Eternal families because these are the people I want to spend eternity with.

My kids were so delightful and had SO MUCH FUN with all of their cousins! I think they may never quite recover from the sleep deprivation, but they will also treasure these memories.

Now it's time to deck the halls! I'm really tired from all the partying, but I also want to get the house all gussied up, and get the Christmas music filling the air! (James is very strict about no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. Bah-humbug!)

Oh, the lemon car, you know the one that I tried to make into lemonade, well, let's just say that the dealership may have a lemonade stand up right now, trying to sell that to some other sucker! And we are now driving a beautiful Hyundai Veracruz which is very nice, and, incredibly, the check engine light has not come on once! For me, reliability is worth the higher price tag!

I hope that each and every one of you is having a wonderful holiday season; that the peace, the joy, and the healing that this season offers will be yours!

Lemonade

I took the car into the dealership and they cleared the code yesterday, and said that it was nothing to worry about. Today, after driving about another 10 miles, the check engine light came back on! And the car was shaking!
So, back I went to the dealership and went right up to the owner. He agreed to fix the car at his expense and he gave me a loaner car until it's done. Between the service tech and my dad (who is basically a car GENIUS -- not that his genius is limited to cars, ... but I digress) we think that they are actually maybe fixing what needs to be fixed, and we'll be good to go tomorrow! Hopefully this will take care of the problem and this car will work really well for us for a long time.
James pointed out to me that the timing of all of this is probably a huge blessing. If the check engine light had come on when we were test driving the car, we wouldn't have bought it, and would have ended up in a much more expensive vehicle. If it had happened in a week or two, we would be paying to fix this. All in all, if this is the sole problem, then we are very blessed in the timing!

There's just one more problem, I was working on using this experience as a teaching metaphor for my kids when they are old enough to date. You know, "sometimes cars and people are just plain gorgeous, and they seem to offer all that you could possibly desire, but if you can't depend on them, if they let you down when you need them most, then the cost of the relationship just isn't worth it."
Now, I have to change my teaching metaphor to something more along the lines of "none of us is perfect. We all make mistakes and unfortunately sometimes we let down even the people we love and care for the most. It's important to work through these situations and to support each other in becoming all that we can be." Or something like that.

Isn't it scary to get a peek into the workings of my strange brain??

Lemons Suck!

Last night, we spent four hours at a car dealership working to buy a used Chrysler Pacifica. In the end, we walked out with a NICE vehicle. This afternoon, as I drove to pick Ben up from school, the check engine light came on.

Seriously?! Less than 24 hours after signing the papers, and in less than 20 miles with me behind the wheel, and we've got engine trouble lurking?

Guess what else?! There are no "Lemon Laws" for our state! Nice.

I spoke with a manager on the phone, and he will speak with the owner in the morning to see if we can work something out. But, he made it clear that there were no guarantees, and the deal is done.

(Well, I did some research, and it seems that there are Lemon Laws, but just having the "check engine" light come on doesn't qualify.)

Soccer Pics

In the middle of one of Brianna's crying fits:

Ben says with a sigh, "Sometimes I wish Adam and Eve had never eaten that fruit."

Seasonal Sillies for the Younger Crowd

What is the one room in the house that ghosts avoid?
The living room!

Why don't cannibals eat missionaries?
Because you can't keep a good man down.

What does the rooster's ghost say each morning?
Cock-a-doodle-BOO!

Why don't bats live alone?
They like to hang around with their friends

What kind of music do mummies like?
"Wrap" music.

What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman?
Frostbite

Why do vampires need mouthwash?
They have bat breath.

A Perfect Day, ... and Gorgeous!

Today was a perfect fall day! The sun was shining; the sky was blue; and the trees were in beautiful color! We were blessed to be able to spend the whole day together!!
After soccer games, family pictures, going out to eat, watching a movie, and riding bikes, I said to Brianna, "Brianna, you have just been delightful today!" She gave a modest little laugh and then said, "Ya, and gorgeous!"

Maybe we should all adopt this response to compliments we receive.

Possibly My Best Idea Ever

Yesterday I took control of a situation that has been really bothering me for quite some time. Getting my home clean and keeping it that way has been virtually impossible. I have two wonderful, bright, and VERY creative children. An important part of creativity and imagination, as I have learned, is to make the absolute biggest mess you can by getting out EVERY TOY, CRAYON, MARKER, SCRAP OF PAPER, AND BOOK in the whole house. It is usually best to do this at a VERY rapid pace if you happen to notice that mom is trying to clean.
The idea came to me a couple of days ago after I spent an entire HOUR after the kids were in bed just putting things away. I'm not talking about vacuuming, dusting, or wiping things down; no, simply picking things up, and putting them in their homes. Though I had the idea a few days ago, I had to work up the courage to carry it out, as I was unsure how the kids would take it.
I decided that we would have a Toy Library. Only a select few toys were left, and the rest went to the attic. Actually, that's a slight exaggeration, as I filled my car trunk with things for the Goodwill, but let's just keep that between you and me. I worked on this project for hours yesterday. The kids were home the whole time, but didn't even take notice. Then, when I was done, they started noticing things.
"Where are the toys, Mom?"
"All the toys are upstairs in the playroom."
"But, Mom, where are my army guys?"
"Well, they are in the attic in our new Toy Library."
"But, Mom, I want to play with them."
"Well, I left lots of toys for you to play with, if you don't like what I left, you can "return" them to the Library, and "check out" new toys."
How did it go, you ask? VERY WELL. Ben immediately jumped on board, gathering toys that he'd rather "return" and even coming up with three of his own donations for the Goodwill! Then, we took his "returns" up to the attic, and he "checked out" his army guys and some HotWheels.
I also let them know that any toys left out when they go to bed will be returned to the library. I had to pick up NO TOYS last night!! I even took a few minutes to read a book to myself in my orderly living room!
I hope it lasts, but I am encouraged that I met with absolutely no resistance from the kids.