Warriors

I keep saying I am going to send my daughter to the gypsies, and I am pretty sure that if I had their phone number, I really would...  Caroline has become a beast in her 12th year.  She will be 12 in October and will be entering Young Women and I just keep thinking, it will get better.  She will start being a polite, obedient daughter.  She will not whine and cry when I ask her to do something.  She will not pop off with some smart remark when I do something that does not please her.  She will conform to my way of thinking...  I am not thinking that I am delusional.

Saturday there was a Relief Society meeting with Sister Julie B. Beck at the I-Center.  It was for South Eastern Idaho.  I think 70 Stakes were invited.  I had to usher for it...  so I went.  There were almost 10,000 in attendance!  Almost all women!  It was a wonderful meeting and I feel like I got a lot out of what she had to say.  One thing struck me, well, a lot more than one thing, in fact...  but this one thing pertains to this particular post...  she said that Heavenly Father is not sending down the polite, obedient, submissive spirits to live in these times.  The spirits He is sending to earth have got to be warriors.  They have to be strong, independent thinkers.  They have to be the ones who are going to fight!  So when we ask why our children are so strong-willed and disobedient and obstinate, this is why.  I should be grateful for my difficult children.  She did say that we are the ones that have to teach them, to train them.  We are basically the boot camp drill sargents in a manner of speaking.  We need to whip them into shape.  Not in the same way they do at boot camp, but with love, compassion and with the Spirit as our guide.  But, I tell you what, it is getting harder and harder every day. 

I have good kids.  They are very well-behaved and polite in public.  To others, they would never dream of being the brats that they are at home.  But that really doesn't help me here...  I want my home to be a heaven on earth as the song goes, and it feels more like a war zone.   But listening to Sister Beck helped me to feel like maybe I am not alone.  Not everyone has this all figured out.  I just need to hang in there and make sure I am giving my children the tools they need to live righteous lives in unrighteous times.  The Lord is not apologizing for the times we are living in.  The greatest prophesies are coming to pass right now, around us.  He knew and knows everything that is happening and will happen...  and He is not telling us how sorry He is, because it has to happen.  But he needs his warriors on this earth for the big battle.  And my role is to teach His warriors.  That is a daunting task.  Our children need to be armed with an arsenal!  They have to have the truth in them before it can come out of them.  Who is the one to put it there?  Mom.  That is me. 

As the Mommy, I create the climate in my home where the Spirit can dwell.  That is terribly frightening to me.  I wish I were a better mom, a better person, a better member of the church.  I feel ill-prepared for this job.  I am trying to arm my children with no weapons myself and that scares me to death. 

But I will press forward and do my best.  If I yell...  (which I do, a lot,) I will have to try to remember that the Spirit speaks with a still-small voice.  And when I cry because I feel like I can't do it anymore, I just have to hang in there and remember I am not alone.  There are lots of us out there. 

So, here's to you mom's... get your warriors ready...  it's time for boot camp.

Our 8 year old!

I have not been great about blogging lately.  It is the darn iphone.  I do most of my computering on it, so I really don't even think about blogging! 

But I did want to blog about my beautiful boy who turned 8 last weekend!  Hilton had his birthday and baptism on the same day.  He was a little worried that it would not be a fun day because we had to go to church...  (Yeah, I know I should be teaching him that church is fun and great and everything...)  Anyway, we proved him wrong by doing all kinds of fun and cool things.  First, his Grandma Bates came up from Utah to celebrate with us!  And then his Aunt Ginny and Uncle Rich came up with his cousins, Elizabeth and Ethan!!  We had a great dinner with them Friday night and then the day of the baptism came and it was so wonderful to have some family there with us.  Our ward had 3 kids being baptized, so there were a lot of people there, but it is not the same as having family there to share this with you.  Uncle Rich was able to be a witness to the baptism and to be in the circle when Hilton was confirmed.  Justin gave an absolutely amazing blessing, as he always does.  (Even if he was crying through most of it...)  I really don't think there was a dry eye in the room.  After that we went bowling!  Hilton invited 3 friends to come with him.  Anthony, Tristan, and Joe.  We all bowled, ate pizza and cake and were silly for hours!  We discovered Uncle Rich and Aunt Ginny's hidden talents for bowling, but I think Ethan out-bowled us all!  (He is 2.)  After that, we went ice skating at the golf course.  Ethan and Elizabeth were not too keen on the idea, and Ginny decided to keep a dry bum...  But Rich and all the kids went skating as Justin and I walked around on the ice with Lorelai.  Ice skating here is not what you might expect.  They basically just have a liner on the golf course which they flood and put lights around it.  For $2 you get skate rental and an all-day skate pass.  It is a cheap, fun activity for the kids...  the ice isn't in the best of shape...  but hey, what can you expect for $2? 

After all of the fun of the day everyone was exhausted.  So we all pretty much just went home and crashed.  Later that evening we went over to Rich and Ginny's Hotel room for a bit to just hang out and visit with them for a bit.  When we got home it was late, but we were all hungry so we went to Original Thai for dinner.  This was quite a treat for the kids because we usually go without them cause it can be a little pricey...  But they love the fried rice and the thai dumplings, so they were really excited to go!  I did take pictures, and I will post them soon...  I just need to find the cord to hook up the camera to the computer.

Hilton is an amazing boy.  I love him dearly and am so grateful to have him in my life.  He is full of energy.  He is smart.  He is loving.  He is inquisitive.  And he has his own mind.  Sometimes this might be a pain to his parents, but I know that as he gets older, this is going to be a very important attribute for him to have.  He made his own decision about being baptized.  We made it clear to him that he did not have to be baptized.  I am sure he won't remember that when he is a rebellious teenager, so I am writing it down on the permanent record!  He wanted to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I am very proud of him for that.  He is a great friend to people.  He is polite and has very good manners.  (At least outside of our home.)  He can be a good brother when he wants to be.  Congratulations, Hilton!  turning  8 is a big step in your life!  Just one of many you will take.   I am proud of you and I love you!