I have been very blessed this last month with being busy which in some ways is a great thing....new job which I love, traveling with new job, remodeling Laundry Room in our house which is turning out beautiful by the way, getting all the spring cleaning done in our house and yard, and all that among so many other blessings....in other ways it means I have been too busy to keep this up to date like I promised I would (or at least that is the excuse I'm giving myself, that and I had pneumonia which set me back a bit).
Anna doesn't want me to post photos of the Laundry Room as we want it to be a surprise when my parents come home but I thought this one would be okay because it doesn't give anything away. Besides we still are in the middle of it...who knew it would take this long and I seem to have lost some motivation to get it done. Here is Sophie and I stripping wallpaper...I'm starting her young just like my mom did for me. She is working harder then me.
Speaking of spring yard work...I was able to prune our Apple tree, Peach tree and Apricot tree this year and was very proud of myself for doing it. Mainly because I can cross it off my list.
After: I love this tree!
It does all of our hearts good to be outside again and our girls have loved playing in the dirt. Both the pots on our back patio that aren't planted and in the garden. One side effect of all this dirt around is the messes it creates...also Sophie calls it Pixie Dust (she loves tinkerbell and is watching Peter Pan a lot lately) and wants Molly and her cousin Luci to be able to fly...I don't think they were that appreciative of her desires.
We often find them back in the garden digging in the dirt and gathering sticks and rocks which they assemble on plates and bowls they bring with them. When you ask them what they are doing they look at you with all seriousness and say "making respees (recipes)" to which you can only muster an "oh" and worry about their future husbands and their cooking skills.
Sophie has been obsessed lately with getting married to the point she talks about it all the time. She says she wants to marry a boy who is "little" like her in the temple and that they are going to live in her Aunt Becki's house. Whenever she sees people kiss, she says she is going to kiss her "little" one day (that has become his name...Little Badger if you press her for his last name), although it disturbs Anna and I that when asked how she will kiss him it is always open mouth with a lot of tongue. Honestly we have no idea where she got that from as Anna and are aren't big on frenching...probably from her Aunt Becki...hahaha! She even got a little upset when we went to a friends wedding because she thought it should be about her and her wedding to Little and not about the actual bride...can we say Diva in the making. Scratch that...Diva already made!
This past month we had the fun time of celebrating Molly's 2nd birthday. Molly was so cute and I felt bad as it was my worst day for pneumonia so wasn't up for a ton. We ended up opening presents and then taking the girls to lunch. We let Molly choose and although Anna tried very creative ways to get her to choose Chic-fil-A over McDonalds, Molly wasn't having it and we ended up eating at glorious and glamorous McDonalds. I have to say though our little Molly is pretty content in life and always gave us the perfect reaction to opening gifts and getting surprises (Anna take note!).
Even when it was a little twix bar left in the bottom of the bag.
We took this photo of these two beautiful girls on Molly's birthday. They truly are each other's best friends...cross you fingers it stays that way their whole lives.
I have been reading the Mitford series lately, which is a series of book about a sleepy little town in the mountains of North Carolina. In the series you follow the life of a pastor in a small church and every once in awhile when I need comfort I turn back to these books. These books are to me like a favorite pair of jeans all worn in and stretched out or a hot crock of homemade Macaroni and Cheese on a rainy day. They are the comfort food for my soul. I find myself learning more about myself and life's lessons as I hear this middle aged pastor stumble through his very ordinary days. One such lesson that struck me was when he was wrestling with getting over an offense he wasn't even sure was his to take but couldn't let it go. As he lay in bed, unable to sleep he said he handed his burden over to the Lord as we are counseled to do but then quickly took it back. This hit home for me because how often in my life have I mentally and sometimes (although I'm ashamed to admit it isn't as often) spiritually only to hurry and take it back on my shoulders and then question the Lord why He isn't stepping in. I have seen moments in my life where I truly have let it go and handed it over to the Lord and so often it is then and only then that I have found the relief and often the answers I so desperately was searching for.
The pastor also discusses how he often sees angels...not in magical beings with wings descending from heaven but rather in ordinary people who are acting (often without being asked which I believe is key) in service and acts of love for each other. It is in those moments that he sees Angels among us. What a true statement.
It is my sincere goal to be an Angel acting for the Lord saying as the Savior did..."Here am I send me". Send me to make that meal or help prune that tree. Send me to write that note of thanksgiving. Send me to honor my Priesthood and give a blessing. I pray that I can be that angel.
