Monday June 30th

We had a really fun Family Home Evening tonight. We went up to a little picnic area in the mountains near our home.  My brother, Lance, was able to come with us, and he was great with helping Brigitta and Marta back down the mountain after they had climbed half way up and decided they were too scared to go either up the rest of the mountain or back down.  Both options were too scary.  Luckily Uncle Lance was there to save the day.  Evidence of God's hand #1.

Kurt, however, had no such fears, and made it all the way to the top.  I wish he had worn a brighter color so that he would show up a little better in the picture, but he's there in front of a tree.  Can you see him?  He also made it safely back down the mountain, and encountered no rattle snakes on the trip.
Evidence of God's hand #2.

While the men/boys were climbing mountains and breaking rocks, the girls took a little stroll and found a bridge over the stream.  I sure have some beautiful girls.

Lance brought the fixins and equipment for us to make Wolfems, something we had not had before.  What you do is wrap biscuit dough around a round wooden block on the end of a roasting stick, and cook it over the fire. 
You then line the resulting biscuit cup with Nutella and fill it with whipped cream. The result is quite delicious, and we ate (wolfed down) every single one of them.

After all the eating had been done, we held our usual Family Home Evening, but around the campfire.  We sang lots of songs, went over our schedules for the week, had Lance sing us a song in Russian (that was cool), and had a lesson.  The Captain gave some thoughts on the Book of Mormon and its translation, and there was a little discussion, and it seemed like we were done.
However, I had the clear thought that I should bring up a discussion on the Birds and the Bees.  It's not an easy topic, and with my brother visiting it seemed an awkward time, but I've learned enough to know that the Spirit is always right when he tells you to do something.
By this time, it was pretty dark, and I think that made it a little easier to bring up an uncomfortable subject.  But it went really well, and the Spirit of the Lord was with us and very strong around our little fire.  I was able to tell my kids of the sacred nature of the relationship between man and wife and the dangers of using that power inappropriately.  I hope they felt the truth of what I was saying to them. I know that I felt the support of the Lord and knew that I had delivered the message that He desired at that time. Evidence of God's hand #3.

Sunday June 29th

This morning before church I made a cake, an apple pie, and gave the three youngest baths.  It was a lot to fit into one morning.  We did make it on time to church, which was good because I was supposed to be leading the music in Sacrament Meeting.  We managed to get through the Sacrament without mishap, even though I was on the stand and the Captain was helping to pass the bread and water. 
After church was over, Friedrich and I helped the Captain clean up the church.  We run a sweeper over the chapel, empty all the garbages,  put up any chairs left out, turn off lights, and lock doors.  It is supposed to be an Elders Quorum responsibility, and we usually have a couple of helpers, but today it was just us.  It took a little longer than normal, and we didn't get home from church until nearly five o'clock. 
We were supposed to be at my parents' house for a birthday party (mine and my dad's) at 6:00, but everyone ate after church, and then I fell asleep. (Woops.)  We nearly missed my brother and his wife who were visiting for the evening.  But even though they were anxious to get going, they lingered for a quite a while after we arrived.  We must be pretty good company, huh?  Another of my brothers also showed up, and it was fun to visit with them all.  My brothers are always entertaining, and these two especially are fun to get together.  They both have a fascination with mechanical engineering, and tend to get into some crazy stuff when they're together. 
We blew out some candles and ate some cake and ice cream, and passed lots of movie quotes back and forth.  We talked about real life super powers, Princess Bride trivia, and other deep and meaningful subjects.
I am grateful to have a family that has so much fun together, both the family I grew up in and the family I am raising now.  God has been very generous to us in our families.

Saturday June 28th

I have been a little worried about money.  I know, I know.  Me and the rest of the world.  The Captain's last check from his last job was supposed to come in this week, but I knew that it would only be half of what his other checks had been, since it would cover the last half month that he worked.  It wouldn't be enough to cover our bills - not even close - but it would at least be something.  My only other hope was that his job with my parents would bring something in this month.  My hopes were not super high for that to happen, so I've been a little worried.

 I hadn't even checked my bank account to see if that last paycheck had come in yet, but the the Captain checked it out today, and what do you think?  It had come in as a full paycheck.  I'm not sure what happened, if I misunderstood something, or if they made a mistake, or if it's just my lucky day.  I'll have the Captain look into it on Monday, but in the meantime I'm feeling much better about life, knowing that God's hand is involved in all we do.

Friday June 27th

Friedrich is on a campout tonight.  He sure leaves a big hole when he's gone.  He was supposed to meet everyone at church in the next town over.  I drove him over there because the Captain was busy, but before I left I asked the Captain if I had enough gas to get there and back.  Because our van runs on CNG, I wouldn't be able to fuel up until I got back to our town.  There would be no place to get any more gas while I was gone.  I told him I had an eighth of a tank, and he said he thought I'd be alright.
But by the time we had picked up Friedrich's friend and were headed toward the freeway, it was starting to look like a little less than an eighth of a tank.  That meant that I should probably have stopped to fuel up, but Friedrich and his friend were supposed to meet everyone else at 2:45pm, and I didn't think I had time to stop for gas.  (I know, I know.  I didn't have time to run out of gas, either.) 
I was a little worried, but I got the boys to the rendezvous spot alright, and headed back toward home.  The gas gauge was by now barely above empty, and the Low Fuel light had been showing for a while.  I started praying and hoping that I would make it back to town, because if I ran out of gas on the highway, there would be nothing to do but have the van towed to the gas station.  That's one of the only problems with having a CNG vehicle, is that there's no way to bring gas to them.  They always have to go to the pump.  That and the pumps are too few and far between... 
So I took the highway home instead of the freeway, just in case I did get stranded, but I knew that God could get me home if he saw fit, so I kept praying and trying to have faith. 
And it worked!  I did get home alright, and I was so glad.  Sometimes the Lord saves us from things that aren't our fault and we have no control over, and sometimes he's gracious enough to save us from things we've gotten ourselves into out of plain old impatience or even stupidity.  Such was the case today.  I should have been smart enough to fill up when I was getting low instead of risking it.  I was dumb and impatient, and the Lord helped me out anyway. And boy am I glad!

Thursday June 26th

Today is my birthday!  Happy Birthday to me!  On this day I must acknowledge the Lord's hand in giving me such great parents.  They're not perfect, but they were the perfect parents for me.  I am thankful that the Lord knew what I needed and sent me to people who would help me become the best person I could be.  So thank you, Mom and Dad, for bringing me into the world 36 years ago and for taking such good care of me ever since.

Wednesday June 25th

Today sure started out like a regular day.  I started out by spraying some weeds in the lawn.  They have been bugging me for a while, and since Friedrich still hasn't gotten around to mowing, I figured this would be a good time to spray them.  By the time I had finished with that, the kids were waking up and I went in to fix breakfast.  They wanted German Pancakes, and I only had three eggs, so I made a quick run to the store.  The Captain had left early that morning to go check vending machines in the northern part of the state, but thankfully I had the car we've been borrowing from some friends.  I went to the store and got the eggs (along with a dozen other things.  I simply cannot walk into a grocery store without buying more than I planned.) and went home to fix them breakfast. We got that done, but by the time we had finished breakfast, it was already lunch time!  Such is our schedule in summer.  I had some German Pancakes, too, even though I shouldn't have. The sugar sent me into a depressed slump that I couldn't shake for several hours.  I made it over to my mom's to return the Bosch and get milk, but then I came home to hide in my closet and read/doze for a couple of hours.  It wasn't until about 4:00pm that I finally got to work on anything.  I still managed to get the kitchen clean and some laundry done today, even though I wasted half the day before I got started.

In fact, it was quite miraculous how I was able to accomplish an entire day's work in the last few hours of the day.  I often have whole days where I don't get done as much as I finished after 4:00 today.  I believe God's hand had to have been involved.  Now if only I could have that kind of productivity all day long!  Imagine what I could do!  But that thought alone has just made me incredibly tired.  Maybe a few hours is good enough, after all.  Good night!

Sunday June 22nd

This morning we attended Sacrament Meeting with my sister Jamie.  We headed north and spent the night with the Captain's sister last night so that we wouldn't have so far to drive in the morning.  That explains why there was no post yesterday.  But the hand of the Lord was evident in that we had a vehicle to drive!  Our large van has been at the mechanics for almost two weeks, and we wouldn't have been able to go at all if it hadn't been fixed.  But miraculously it was finished just in time to start on our trip.

This morning my sister, Jamie, and her husband, Jon, were blessing their baby in Sacrament Meeting.  I suppose it is similar to a christening, in that the child is given a name and a blessing.  It is an important family event, and we were glad that we could be there.  It is always so inspiring to see a circle of priesthood holders gathered to perform baby blessing.

I believe the Priesthood to be one of the greatest blessings the Lord has given us, and was happy to see it in action this morning.  The hand of God was certainly evident in not only the gift of the Priesthood, but in a group of men worthy to hold and use it for the good of their families.

Friday June 20th

Today I feel better!  Hooray!!!  I woke up feeling so much better than I had in days, and so I got dressed and went downstairs to find...  chaos.  Absolute chaos.  It looked like a tornado had gone through the kitchen, and the rest of the house didn't look much better.  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.  Mom is out of commission for a couple days, so why should anyone clean?  I totally see their point of view.  But good grief.  You people are really ok with living like this?

But actually it was a good thing for me.  For the past little while I've been frustrated with my life as a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom), because it seems like I accomplish nothing.  I run around in circles all day starting things and sometimes finishing them.  I dry tears and kiss owies and stop arguments and run kids all over town.  I make meals that no one seems interested in, and I wash dishes that are never done.  I do mountains of laundry, but there are always enough dirty socks on the floor to fill another laundry basket.  At the end of the day I'm exhausted, and I wonder, "What have I accomplished?  What did I really do today?  I can't even remember." 

You know that story (is it supposed to be a joke?) where the husband asks the wife what i the world she does all day, and then one day he comes home to find the kids in the yard in their pajamas playing in the dirt, the front door wide open, muddy footprints tracked into the kitchen, bowls of cereal spilled on the kitchen floor, and water running in the kitchen sink.  There is no sign of his wife, and he panics that something has happened to her.  He runs upstairs to find her happily snuggled in bed with a book, and when he demands to know what's going on, she says, "You know how you asked me what in the world I do all day?  Well today I didn't do it." 

I feel like I lived that story today.  Except that the Captain would never ask such a question, and it was two days instead of one.  And I was upstairs suffering, instead of enjoying a book.  (Oh, how I wish I could have enjoyed my two days off!)  But when I came downstairs and saw the chaos that reigned in my absence, my first though was, "My family needs me."  Which is a silly thing to think, because of course they do.  I mean, I have seven children. How could I doubt that I was needed?  But I think I had begun to wonder if my running around in circles all day was really doing anyone any good. 

So, no.  I wasn't upset that my house was a disaster.  I wasn't thrilled about it, either, but I did enjoy a moment of assurance that what I do all day is valuable extremely necessary. 
So how did this show that the Lord's hand is at work in our lives?  I don't think He made me get sick.  I don't even think he let me get sick.  And I don't think he set up the chaos, either.  But I do believe that he can make every situation into something for our good.  Even being sick and miserable for two days.

Thursday June 19th

Ugh.  I am so sick.  And miserable.  And I can't sleep, because no matter what position I lie in, it will only take a few minutes for something to start aching.  So even though it's two o'clock in the morning, I might as well be writing, right?  And as long as I don't tell you about it, you'll never know if a sentence was interrupted by a run to the bathroom, or how long this post took to write because neither my mind nor my eyes will focus. 

So let's go back a couple of days.  I somehow got myself roped in to helping with the Webelos Day Camp for our District. (Long story.)  I was in charge of the games station, so on Monday evening we took the family over to the park where the day camp would be held.  I had been assigned a little triangle of grass in which to play games with 27 boys for an hour - six times.  I just wasn't seeing how I could keep them all happy for that long until I started looking beyond the little triangle of grass. (No doubt nudged by a higher power.)  I discovered that across from the grass park was a lovely expanse of wilderness with a creek running along one side.  Perfect!  The Captain and I came up with a game where the boys would start at the top of a hill on the park side of the wilderness, make their way to the creek, pick a rock, and carry it to this dead tree.
The catch was that they had to do it without being seen by the "seekers," who were boys with whistles and a piece of red streamer wrapped around their middle. If the seekers saw any boys, they would point at them and whistle.  The boy then had to drop his rock and go back to the creek to try again, or go back to the hill and try again to get to the creek.
It seemed like a game that would not only keep them happy for an hour, but also give them a chance to run around and get dirty.  I went to bed grateful for the divine inspiration that helped me come up with something for my six rotations of 10-year-old boys.

The next morning I got up bright and early and set out for the park.  During the night my brain had come up with a couple of concerns about my game.  My first and biggest concern was rattlesnakes.  They are found in our area, and they are extremely poisonous.  We don't see them much in developed areas, but my little area of wilderness was a perfect spot to find them.  Not that I wanted to, of course.  My second worry was just that my ideas always seem good until I involve other people.  That's when they usually fall apart.  But I kept reminding myself that my idea had come from the Lord, and that meant that it would work.  My third concern was my popsicles.  Silly, I know, but I had brought a cooler full of Otter Pops to give the boys at the end of the game, and I was really worried that by the time I got to the last group of boys, I would be handing out lukewarm sugar water instead of popsicles.  So I said a prayer (repeated many times throughout the day), that these concerns of mine would be taken care of. 
And they were!  No one saw a single rattlesnake all day.  They did see some rabbits, a wild turkey, a water snake (harmless), and a dead deer that was reported to me by every single boy in attendance.
My game worked extremely well.  There will always be boys who whine and complain, but I didn't worry about them because they would have been complaining no matter what we did.  Most of the boys had a great time and proudly showed me their rocks.  Some of the boys who quickly made it back to the tree decided that instead of sitting around waiting for everyone else to show up, they would see how many rocks they could bring back from the creek without getting caught, and were "keeping score."  One boy got caught when he was almost back to the tree, and dropped about eight rocks at his feet.  I had a hard time not laughing.  Another boy went to the wrong dead tree and waited there for most of the hour with his rock before we finally found him.  Only one boy got lost (something I hadn't even thought about including in my prayers), but he was quickly found and brought safely back to the park.
Some of the popsicles did melt, but there were always some at the bottom of the cooler that were still frozen, and I a had frozen popsicle to give to every boy.
I know that the Lord heard my prayer and answered it in every way.  He even took care of problems I hadn't thought to pray about.
I went home sunburned and happy, and it wasn't until the next day that I started feeling sick, which is no doubt another sign of God's hand in my life.  If I had gotten sick during day camp, I would have had a lot more to worry about than melted popsicles.  

Sunday June 15th

Happy Fathers Day!  I really must start out this post by bragging about the the Captain.  He is just amazing.  He is the sweetest, most patient man I have ever met.  He is a super fix-it man.  I tease him about being a compulsive fixer, because if it needs fixing, and he can fix it, he will do it.  Right now.  He was once picking up Louisa from a friend's house, and when he went to leave, noticed that their door knob was having a hard time.  Well, he couldn't leave until he had fixed it.  He can fix pretty much anything and fix it so that it will stay fixed. 

He is also an awesome dad.  He loves our kids and will take the time to help them with any project.  He doesn't usually mind them tagging along wherever he's going, and likes to teach them things. (Especially if it's math.)

I was thinking this morning that this post would be about the Lord's hand in sending me such an amazing man to be the father of my children.  And that is definitely true.  But I'm also pretty sure that God saved us from a pretty bad car accident today. We were headed from my parent's house to drop off the Captain and a couple kids at play practice, and driving down the highway at about 60mph. We were just coming into town when a car pulled out in front of a turning vehicle.  The other vehicle must have been blocking the car's view, because the driver pulled out as if to turn left, but came out right in front of us.  I hit the brakes, but we were going too fast to stop in time, and there wasn't room to swerve around.  For a moment, it looked like there was no way to avoid hitting the car.  At the last second, the other driver saw us and hit her brakes, giving me a chance to swerve around her and probably save her life. 

We were all a little shaken, and it was quite a while before the adrenaline wore off, but we were all very grateful that we were able to avoid a collision.  I am so very grateful that we didn't spend Fathers Day in the hospital or worse.  I clearly saw the Lord's hand in keeping our two cars from hitting each other, and I am very grateful that I am sitting at home, healthy and well, with all my family a car that will still run tomorrow.

Saturday June 14th

I went to the coolest wedding ever today!  One of my Young Women was being married in the temple, and I was invited to the sealing ceremony.  They were being married in the Oquirrh Mountain temple, but my sister gave me directions to the wrong temple!  So when I showed up at the Mount Timpanogas Temple, I had half an hour to find and make it to the Oquirrh Mountain temple.  I definitely saw the Lord's hand in helping me find it and get there in time.

 

Once I was inside, I was a little bit worried about Jessica.  I didn't know anything about the boy she was marrying, but Jessica is deaf and I was hoping they would have someone there to sign for her so that she would know what was said at her own wedding.  I finally noticed a temple worker standing in the room who had American Sign Language written on her name tag, and then I felt better.  I figured that she would be there to sign for Jessica and interpret what was said.  I was completely wrong, but it made me feel better for a few minutes.  

While sitting in the sealing room, waiting for the bride and groom to come in, I talked with the other people in the room and found out that the guy Jessica was marrying was also deaf!  I then became extra grateful for the interpreter.  But when the bride and groom came in, and the sealer came in after them, I found that I had been completely wrong.  

The sealer never said a word, he just started signing.  The interpreter was for us!  She was there to interpret everything the sealer said for those who didn't understand ASL.  I was so impressed that there was a sealer in the temple who was fluent enough in ASL to do an entire ceremony without speaking a word.  The interpreter shared everything he said, and I was glad because my ASL is very rusty, but I was also glad that the ceremony was all about Jacob and Jessica.  I was so glad they got to "hear" it all in their own language.  It made it so much more special to me.

So the second way I saw the Lord's hand in my life today is in the way it was brought home to me how much he loves his children, and how he has prepared ways to take care of every single one of us.  He knows us, He knows our needs, and He has prepared for it all.  I'm so glad I got to witness this very special wedding.

Friday June 13th

My calling is with the Activity Day girls.  That means that twice a month I have a group of 10 and 11 year old girls who come over to my house, and we do something fun.  We also do a lot of work on memorizing our  Articles of Faith and completing goals for their Faith in God awards.  Most of my girls are very good about coming to activities, but not so good about coming to church on Sundays.  So I feel like my activities are especially important for teaching them the truths of the gospel.

One of my girls who was baptized about a year ago, but who doesn't come to church, is very good about gathering up every girl on her block and bringing them with her.  Today she brought an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old girl, both non-members.  Both of these girls have come before and had fun at our activities.  They have both told me several times that they don't go to church, but they are very willing to jump in and learn their Articles of Faith.  So these girls who don't go to church, and have very little religion in their lives, go home having memorized things like, "We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."  How cool is that?  I am so honored that God is sending these girls to my home to learn about the gospel.  If I can get these basic truths into their hearts, then hopefully someday when they need them, they will know where to look.

Thursday June 12th

I went to the temple today! It was Stake Temple night, and the Captain couldn't go because he had play practice.  (It's hard to miss practice when you're the director.  People tend to notice your absence.)  So I found a ride with some friends and left the kids with the Captain for the evening.  (He's drafted most of them into the play, so most of them would be at play practice, anyway, and those who weren't involved could hang out and watch.)

The nearest temple is about an hour away from our home, so while it's not a huge sacrifice, it still takes some planning and ambition to get there.  But it is beautiful on both the outside and the inside, and provides such a feeling of peace.

I confess, I have not been dealing well with summer so far.  I was excited to be rid of the rigid routine of the school year, but now it feels like constant chaos, and I just feel crazy all the time.  I'm sure we'll get into a rhythm before too long (probably right before school starts again), but in the meantime I was very grateful for somewhere to go where it's not chaos. I am grateful that the Lord has provided these temples and that I have the opportunity to go inside. 

Wednesday June 11th

I learned how to hear promptings from the Holy Ghost while shopping in the grocery store.  And I still hear and recognize more promptings while grocery shopping than any other time.  Maybe it's because I'm listening more closely, but I feel like I receive a lot of direction while buying food for my family.  And it's not just about the food.  Today I was pushing my cart along, and suddenly knew that I needed to check my phone.  It was in my purse, and one of my kids was calling me at that moment, but I hadn't been able to hear it.  A few moments after I finished talking, it was almost like a hand tapped my shoulder, and when I turned around I saw the battery display and remembered that I needed to buy batteries.  I felt like I had my own personal guide all through the store. 

Now, I know that these things could probably be explained in other ways.  I heard my phone, but not enough to recognize it, just enough to remind me of it. Or I saw the batteries as I passed, and it just took me a second to register them and remember that I needed to buy some.  It could all be explained away by scientific balderdash about my subconscious, but that wouldn't explain the presence I felt by my side through the entire store. 

Did any of those things have huge consequences or huge importance?  No.  I would have just been annoyed with myself for forgetting, or for having to go back to an aisle I already went down three times before.  (These things have happened many times before.)  No, it wasn't important to anyone but me, but since I am loved by and important to my Father in Heaven, these things become important to him, and He helps me out as much as I'll let Him. 

Tuesday June 10th

I got an odd text from my mom today.  It said, "Could you escape for a little bit?" I said that I thought I could, but I didn't have a car.  She said she was going to get a hot fudge sundae, and she'd be by to pick me up in just a minute.
Odd.  Very odd.  My mom and I are good friends and live a couple miles apart, but things like this are not part of our regular routine.
I figured something was up, so I told my kids to put the bread in the oven, and I would be gone for a little while.  I said Grandma was probably having a nervous breakdown, and I wasn't sure how long I'd be.
Sure enough, soon after I climbed into my mom's truck, she started crying.  I wasn't too worried, because, to be honest, my mom cries a lot.  It turned out that a customer service representative of the local phone company had been extremely rude to her, and she was just plain ticked off.  My mom's life is not one to be envied these days, and it doesn't take much to push her over the edge.
So we went and got a hot fudge sundae and drove around for a while.  She told me how rude the woman on the phone had been, and I told her how rude the lady at church last week had been.  We talked about my siblings and my father and raising kids, and all the other things moms talk about with their grown-up daughters.
I don't think we discussed anything profound, and I didn't give any helpful advice, but when she dropped me off at home, she seemed much happier.
Sometimes I look for God's hand in my life by looking for the things he's given me and the people he's sent to help me.  But today I saw God's hand in my life in the way that he used me to help someone else.  I didn't do anything amazing, but I'm glad that both my mom and the Lord knew that I was available when I was needed.

Monday June 9th

I mentioned before that my husband was looking for a job.  Well, we got his last full paycheck from his last part-time job, and I was doing my budget, trying to figure out how to make it pay all the jobs.  It was obvious from the start that it wasn't going to get the job done.  Not even close.  This is when the power of tithing comes in handy. 

One of the principles of the gospel, found even in the Old Testament, is the principle of tithing.  If we give the Lord one-tenth of our increase, he has promised to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing. It is a principle that takes a lot of faith to follow, but we have proven the Lord again and again and he has always come through for us.

So, looking at the amount of money I had and the number of bills I had to pay, it clearly did not add up.  So I wrote out a check for one-tenth of the paycheck, and turned it in to the Bishop.  This left me about three hundred dollars short.  But I had a good feeling about things, so I went ahead and scheduled my on-line payments for later this week and counted on the Lord to make sure there was enough money to cover them all.

And today it happened!  The Captain has been doing some work to help my parents out in their business, not counting on being paid for it.  He was just helping out, like he always does, but today they were able to pay him, and I have enough and to spare!  I don't know why I ever worry about these things.  The Lord always comes through for us if we put Him first and obey His commandments.

Sunday June 8th

Today Louisa was sitting next to me in Sacrament Meeting, and suddenly leans over to me and whispers, "I lost my rose!" What?  She seemed fairly upset about it, but I was fairly confused.  I finally figured out that she had worn a necklace to church that had a pink rose on it, and she had just noticed that the rose was missing.  It had been glued on to a small piece of metal backing, and now there was just the backing with no rose attached.  We looked around the best we could in the middle of the meeting, but couldn't see it anywhere.  I began to think back to all of the places it could have fallen off:  her room, anywhere else in the house, the front walk, the car, the walk into the church, etc.  It was a very small rose, and the more I thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed that we would find it.  Louisa must have been thinking the same thing, because she started to cry softly.  I sighed and said a prayer in my heart, asking the Lord to help Louisa find the rose from her necklace.

Now it might seem like a silly thing to pray about, and it might seem like it wouldn't be big enough to write about, but it is exactly these kinds of things that prove to me how much God loves us.  Of course Louisa's rose necklace was not going to have a huge impact on the safety or future of our family.  Of course it was not as big a problem as others are facing around the world.  Really, it wasn't even a problem to anyone but Louisa.  But she cared about it, and was sad that it was missing, and that was enough to make the Lord care, too.  To me, it is those little things that God is willing to help us with that prove how much he loves us. 

Of course you've already guessed that we found the rose.  Liesl found it as she stood up at the end of the meeting and handed it to Louisa, who was overjoyed to see it again.  It may not have been a big thing, but to Louisa it was, and to me it proved that God is paying attention to the smallest details of our lives.

Saturday June 7th

Five of my kids were in a play today.  That's right, five of them.  Liesl and Gretl, the oldest and youngest, didn't participate, but all the other kids had parts.  The play was Blackbeard the Pirate, put on by the Missoula Children's Theater.  They did an awesome job.  Friedrich was Blackbeard, himself. 

Louisa played a Beach Bum.

Kurt was PeekyToe Crab.

Brigitta was a Seaweed Creature.

And Marta was a parrot.

And how does any of this show God's hand in our lives?  Well, I was a little worried about my kids, because Marta really really wanted to be a pirate, and Brigitta really really did not want to be a seaweed creature.  Kurt wasn't excited about being in the play at all, no matter what part he was playing.  So I said a little prayer, asking God to help them have a good experience with the play - that they would have fun and do well.  And they did!  They all had a great experience, and no one came away with any complaints at all. 

Friday, June 6th

 Last night I lost it.  Lost. It. It's been building for a few days, now, and today it all came to a head. The problem is this:

I am tired of not being enough.  I am tired of having my best efforts be not even close to what's required.  I am tired of feeling like it's eight against one every day.  I am tired of working myself to exhaustion, and never even making a dent in my To Do list.  I am just tired of it all.  So tired.

I had dinner in the Crock Pot first thing this morning, but I waited to serve dinner until Friedrich got home. I was still on my knees, just finishing with vacuuming the stairs, when Friedrich came in late, and said he wasn't hungry and was leaving again. Louisa had already left for a babysitting job without getting any dinner, and the Captain and Liesl were at the door, saying good-bye on their way to play practice.  Gretl, who is potty-training, picked that moment to have her second accident in twenty minutes.  And I lost it.

Today I spent hours vacuuming.  I vacuumed stairs and closets and bedrooms and hallways and a popcorn-covered family room.  But that means that I didn't clean the kitchen or do the dishes.  That means that I didn't do any laundry.  I didn't pull any weeds in the yard, or scrub the bath tub.

I wanted feed the whole family dinner together.  I have this hard-to-banish vision of the family sitting down at the table to eat dinner together that I try very hard to make a reality every day. But it just wasn't possible tonight.  And I was the only one who cared.

Gretl had done so well in potty training all day long (my Gretl is a little younger than the girl on the movie), until she left a giant puddle on the carpet with no warning at all.  She received a cold shower, new clothes, and encouragement to make it to the potty next time. But twenty minutes later, she did it again.  And in the same spot, too!  What in the world?!?

So to sum it all up, I was feeling pretty picked on.  And it hadn't completely gone away this morning, either.  I was still feeling like I had an impossible job to do, and no one cared, and there was definitely no one interested in helping out or making it any easier

I went to Walmart with my mom, and while she was shopping for groceries, I went to the Garden Center.  I love flowers, and my house has a ton of flower beds. They looked gorgeous in the spring when all the bulbs were blooming, but now the bulbs are done and my flower beds look awful.  Time to plant annuals, and fill them up with color!  However, there has been a small money problem, and I haven't been able to buy any flowers at all.  In an attempt at rebellion, I grabbed a cart and filled it up with all the flowers I wanted.  It was making feel better to imagine where I would put each kind of flower and how it would look, but in the end I just couldn't do it.  There just isn't the money, and I left my cart full of flowers standing the Gardent Center and walked away.

As you can imagine, that didn't help my feeling of being picked-on very much.  My mom must have noticed that I was pouting, and she asked me what I had been looking at.  I told her about my cart full of flowers, and she told me to go get it.  My mom doesn't have much money right now, either, but she bought my flowers for me!  She bought the whole cart full of flowers, and I was so excited. 

I am so thankful to the Lord for sending a sign that someone was still on my side.  Someone still cares about me and what I want.  And, of course, I know that my family loves me and appreciates me.  I'm just glad that God loved me enough to send me that little bit of proof.  And now I get to plant flowers!  Hooray!

Thursday June 5th

I could see Gretl outside as she was playing on the back patio, drawing pictures with chalk.  I had to leave the kitchen for a minute, though, and stopped thinking about her for a minute.  Luckily, the Captain went outside for some reason, and heard a little voice, saying, "Help, Somebody! Somebody help me. Help!"

While I wasn't looking, Gretl had climbed up on a pile of lumber and somehow managed to get out on a piece sticking out from the others.  She was holding on to the branches of a tree, but they were sure little branches!  Just right for little hands, but I don't think they would have held her if she had lost her balance. 

I am truly grateful for God's hand in keeping my baby girl from falling and in bringing her dad outside to help her.

Wednesday June 4th

The Captain has quite a few vending machines around town and in a few of the surrounding towns.  They are the little ones that give you a handful of candy for a quarter. He has been working on servicing them today - collecting the money, refilling the candy, fixing anything broken - and was very worried about his candy supply.  It didn't look to him like he would have enough candy to fill all the machines that needed filling.

He set out, anyway, to take care of as many machines as he could, and so far has been able to fill every machine with candy.  He may not have had his first choice of candy for every machine, but he did have something to fill the machine with every single time.  This means that they will continue to collect money which is much needed.  I'm so grateful that the Lord chose to show his hand in this way today.

Tuesday June 3rd

Liesl has had the hardest time working on her Personal Progress.  Louisa almost has her's finished, but Liesel has gotten too busy with school and friends, and it was starting to look like she would never get her Young Womanhood Recognition award. I have been worried about her for more reasons than her Personal Progress, however.  She has seemed disconnected from the family, her grades have gone down, and she has not been the smiling, bubbly girl I've known.

This summer I decided it was time to see what I could do about helping Liesl get her Personal Progress done.  I decided that I would earn mine again, and maybe she would want to do it with me.  I outlined my plan of how to accomplish every goal by the end of the summer, and got to work.  Happily, she took an interest and has joined me in the experiences I have started.

We decided together that one of our projects would be for me to teach her how to make bread.  She wasn't very excited about getting started today, but once she had dragged herself to the kitchen, she was very good about jumping in and doing everything I told her to do.  We were in the kitchen together for most of the day, working on making butter while the bread raised, and even making some cookies.  We didn't talk about anything significant, or have any real breakthrough moments.  We were just working together for most of the day.  And what a huge difference it made!  She was much more friendly to everyone in the family, even helping with the younger children without being asked.  She laughed with me when I got sprayed by the sprinklers later in the day, and joined in our evening reading without keeping her nose on her iPod the whole time. 

I have seen the Lord's hand in our lives today in the way that he first provided the Personal Progress program for girls and their mothers to work on together.  And second in the way that he brought my daughter and I closer together while we made bread.

Monday June 2nd

Wow.  Who knew my resolve would be challenged so quickly?  I am soooooo tired.  I went to bed way too late last night, and got up several hours earlier than normal.  I made it through the day without a single nap, and did fairly well. But now we are in the last stages of bedtime, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to make it.  It may finally be that night when we find out just what would happen if Mom fell asleep before she had the kids in bed.  Though I've never been asked to balance a basket on my head that was filled with heavy fruit, I'm pretty sure that after several hours, my head would feel exactly like it does right now.  The idea of brushing my teeth is so overwhelming as to cast me into despair, and my kids are no longer cute.

BUT...
I resolved to write every night about how I had seen the Lord's hand in our lives that day.  Every single day.  It seemed like such a good idea on the first day.  And now here I am on the second day, thinking yesterday's good idea is the craziest one I've heard in a while, and wishing that version of me would just keep her ideas to herself.
I wrote President Eyring's quote at the top of this blog, right under the title. It is the quote which gave me this crazy idea and got this whole thing going.  The words he said immediately before that quote are, "I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day."  Ugh.  So that means that I can't say I'm too tired and go to bed without writing something, even if I promise that I'll write something tomorrow.  I just can't do it.  Because President Eyring wouldn't.  President Eyring didn't.  He wrote about the Lord's hand in his life, and he probably didn't spend three paragraphs wining about it, either.  Sigh.
So yesterday was fast Sunday, and I fasted for the Captain.  He is between jobs right now, and even though I have not been too stressed about it - I'm sure something will turn up - he has been very stressed out.  He usually whistles everywhere he goes, and the whistling has stopped.  That's bad.
So I fasted for him, that he would find a job and find a way to be happy again.  So...  today he got an email from a friend telling him about a job opening that looks very promising.  And he's happier.   He still doesn't have a job, and he still doesn't know what he's going to be doing next month, but he's happier.  And so am I.  Hopefully it will work out, and that will be the job he gets because it would be an awesome opportunity for him.  But even if it doesn't work out, I am still thankful that the Lord sent that little pick-me-up for my guy. 

Sunday, June 1st

Today I did what a short fifteen years ago would have seemed impossible.  I got seven kids ready for church, and got us all there on time.  Now if that's not a miracle, I don't know what is.  To be honest, it was much harder with two children, and three was nearly impossible.  People don't believe me when I tell them that seven is easier than three, but it's so true.  It may be that I've grown some in the last fifteen years.  That would be nice.  But it probably has more to do with the fact that I really only have one child that needs me to dress her.  The rest have gotten big enough to get themselves mostly ready on their own.  I still have to do three heads of hair (four, including mine), but it has become so routine that it is no longer the huge job that it once was.

Last week in church we managed to spill the sacrament tray full of bread all over the floor.  Thankfully this week was better.  I can't say that the two-year-old has learned how to sit quietly in church, yet, but there were no major disturbances, and I actually got something out of the meeting.  That probably wouldn't have happened fifteen years ago. 

In looking back on this day, and trying to see the hand of God, the biggest thing that stands out is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Today's Sunday School lesson was on sacrifice, and the teacher asked us what sacrifices we had made for the gospel.  As a class, we came to the conclusion that there really weren't any.  Anything that may have seemed like a sacrifice at the time was rewarded with such amazing blessings, that we eventually came to realize it had been no sacrifice at all. 

The gospel is the biggest and most amazing part of my life, but I'm afraid that sometimes it is so pervasive that it becomes invisible.  Sort of like electricity.  Can you imagine your life without it?  For one, you certainly wouldn't be reading this post online.  It is such a huge part of our lives that we have come to take it for granted and don't see it as the amazing thing that it is.  Such is the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in my life.  Every day is built around it's teachings, and I can't imagine my life without it.

So today I saw the hand of the Lord in my life in how easy it was for us to go to church and hear and discuss eternal truth with so little sacrifice on our part.  I am grateful for those who did sacrifice so that I could have this life built around the gospel.  Everyone from Adam to Moses, from Nephi to Moroni, from Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson , and especially my Savior, have all contributed to make it possible for me to read my scriptures, attend church, and raise my family in the gospel.  Thank you to all of you, and to the Lord for his hand in my life.

The purpose of this Blog

In October 2007, President Henry B. Eyring said, "Before I would write, I would ponder this question: 'Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?'  As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done."

I want to be able to recognize God's hand more clearly in my life.  I know that it is there, that He loves us and watches out for us, but I want to recognize and share the evidence.  I hope that this blog will help you to recognize God's hand in your own life so that you can see how much He loves you.