Gospel Sing

Tonight I took Rebecca, David, and the baby to an outdoor "gospel sing" at a little country church down the road. I have been wanting to go to this annual event ever since we missed the one they put on last year. It was every bit as cute as I thought it would be.

Rebecca and David are on top, finding a place for us to set up our chairs. The bottom has the pastor of the church in the middle. He welcomed everyone and announced that the entire evening was free including the music, the pop, the popcorn, and the chiggers and ticks. After one of the ladies whispered to him he said, "She wanted me to tell you about the bathrooms. They're the modern-type that flush. They are right inside these doors if you need them. Right next to the popcorn." He then said, "Oh, and I need to tell you about the rules for the evening. No smoking. If you're chewin' tobacco-no spittin' on the grass...'cause God made the grass and he don't chew tobacco." He then made a comment about "keepin' it to yourself" if you pick your nose. I was loving it. The pastor then said a sweet prayer asking God to touch our hearts and help us all to leave better people.

Here were the first singers-a father, mother, and son. They were very talented. Most of the songs they sang were written by the father. After a few songs, the dad described how he and his two sons had performed together across the country for years. When one son left the group to go back to college, the mom decided to start singing with the group. The dad, with tender feelings for his wife, described the challenge this was for her. She is older and has a rare disease. He talked about how happy he was to be singing with her. Then he challenged everyone, "If God tells you to do something, get it on. You'll never regret it." Perhaps it was his tender feelings for his wife or the sweetness of the songs they sang together, but that message touched my heart. It was a most enjoyable evening.

Prayer

At lunch I asked Sarah to say the prayer. "Can Jacob say it?" she asked. "He could," I replied. "But I love hearing you pray. You always say such nice prayers." With a sweet, proud smile she started her prayer. Anxious to please, she thanked the Lord for everything she could think of. Jacob was unimpressed and hungry. "Amen," he said loudly as her prayer continued. "AMEN...AMEN!"

Family Home Evening and More

Monday night Ben was in charge of the lesson for Family Night. He had a plan. He wanted to write different ways to serve your family on slips of paper and have us act them out. "Great idea!" I exclaimed. Here is the list of ideas he came up with. -Sweep the floor. -Play catch with your brother or sister. -Play soccer with Ben. -Wash the dishes. -Feed Ben's dog. -Do Ben's 'after dinner' job. -Give a kiss to Mom. -Convince Mom to have more babies. -Help Dad shave. -Let Ben watch Jason and Keith play Pokemon. The best part of helping him with his lesson was watching him giggle as he came up with these ideas and as he watched all of us act them out.

First day of "preschool". The letter "A".

Two big helpers getting dinner ready. Jacob's look of dismay trying to get the husks off of the cob.

Sweet Baby

It is so much fun having a baby again. Kevin is such a little miracle. I love the way he instantly calms down when I pick him up. I love the way he snuggles up against me and clings to me with his tiny little fingers. I love how Jacob insists that he is his baby. I love seeing the tender side of LaMonte, Jason, and Keith as they cuddle and comfort him. I love the late night/early morning hours when I can marvel, uninterrupted, over his perfect little body and the supreme gift of motherhood. In these moments, the worries and challenges of life seem to fade. Heaven feels so close. As I cradle my little son in my arms, I seem to feel the arms of my Father in Heaven around me. I know then that whatever challenges lie ahead, in the end, everything will work out just fine...and I am grateful for the whole package of this journey of life.

Realization

Tonight I was putting a puzzle together with the kids. It was made by my mom from a collage of photographs of the kids from several years ago. The realization hit me of how quickly the time goes by. I get so worried, at times, about the day to day challenges of life. I spend a lot of time worring about the kids, the house, meals, animals, our budget, schedules etc. Tonight I could see how quickly the time is going. Soon our beautiful children will be grown and gone. I will wonder if I did all I could for them. I will long for their happiness...and I will miss them terribly. I will miss the spills and the dirty footprints. I will miss the little gifts they always give me...from their precious smiles, to the wildflower bouqets, their handdrawn notes and pictures, little homemade treats, the sparkling rocks, etc. I will miss their hugs and kisses. I will miss the cute, the funny, and probably even the obnoxious things they say. I felt a desperate longing to cling to the moments that I have with them...to fill them with joy. How I love my sweet little ones! I am so very, very grateful to be a mother! LaMonte could sense how I was feeling (probably not too hard since I was sobbing about not having enough time with my babies.) He brought them all along with us on our date night. We went to a little Mexican restaurant in Carthage and stuffed ourselves full of chips and salsa and other yummy food. It was a priceless evening together.

Court of Honor

Jason and Keith had their first Court of Honor last Wednesday. Keith advanced to the rank of Second Class and Jason became a Star Scout. Both of them earned several merit badges as well. I love the scouting program. It truly builds self-confidence, teaches goal setting, helps our boys develop their skills...and it is fun. They performed a really funny skit called "shoulder angel". They did a great job!

Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

Though I am a little late posting, this week was Rebecca's birthday. I can hardly believe she is already 10 years old! What she really wanted this year for her birthday was a pig.

Her name is Charlotte.

What a party!

Charlotte's first manicure.

It was a great party with a great group of girls from church. We are all excited to have Charlotte as the newest addition to our family farm.