Priorities

I'm convinced that one of the Adversary's most clever tactics in these latter days is the distortion of priorities.  It is so easy to become confused about what really matters and what is most important.  I came to this conclusion not only by the evidence all around me in every day life, but also through the warnings of living prophets who have advised us over and over about being careful...and prayerful...about our priorities. 

I am so eternally grateful that my sweet husband understands this principle.  In addition to being a full-time student with a large credit load, Jeff is required to put in thousands of clinical hours.  In preparation for the next phase of his education, he also spends hours each week volunteering and shadowing in other clinics and medical modalities.  And so we can live, he works long, hard, physical hours at his old job two or three days each week.  This was Jeff's last week of classes for the semester, and he had his last big comprehensive exam on Friday night.  But Daisy won a prize from her orthodontist for her and three guests to go ice skating Friday night.  Daisy, of course, wanted her daddy to go ice skating with her for her first time.  So where was Jeff on Friday night?  He was ice skating, which meant he had to stay up most of the night on Wednesday after he got done home teaching, and Thursday night after shadowing all day and helping a friend with his front porch, and Friday night after clinical hours all day and ice skating that night to take his exam. 

Jeff is at Daisy's programs, Levi's tournaments, date night with me, movie night with the kids, temple trips with our friends, chores each night with our kids, family home evening every Monday, and everywhere else he needs to be.  This means he most often sacrifices the things he wants to do.

Each night after dinner, Jeff covers the table in books and homework.  As we gather for family scripture study, he lays his scriptures on top of his books and reads with the kids and I.  Every night.  Then he stays up late while we go to sleep.  Then he gets up early to do it all over again. 

I am certain that the blessings that have come as a result of Jeff's prayerful prioritizing are the reason we have been able to grow closer together through this process instead of further apart.  I am convinced it is why he has done so well in school, and why windows and doors of opportunity continue to open to us. 

Years ago after being touched by M. Russell Ballard's conference talk, I called my friend who cuts vinyl to have a quote made.  Hanging above the door in our home is, "What matters most is what lasts longest....Family."  Thank you, Jeff, for living this principle.  Your careful choices bless all of us.

Wrestlemania

 Levi has been wanting to wrestle for as long as I can remember.  He has been actively asking when he gets to start wrestling since soccer ended this past fall.  I had been a little hesitant to dive in because I had heard that wrestling involved a big time commitment, and I didn't know if our family was quite ready for that.  Three weeks ago, he went to his first practice.  He was hooked.  He talked about it nonstop.  He wanted to practice the moves.  He wanted to go to more practice.  He wanted to wear a singlet.  The next weekend was his first tournament.

 Lucky for Isaac...and me, our cute friends and neighbors were there too, so he was entertained the whole time, and spoiled with treats.

 Levi was so proud to sport the Juab singlet.  He stripped his warm ups off before we even got into the school.  It was exciting to see all the Juab boys wrestle and cheer each other one.

 I was so scared to send Levi out there for his first match. I felt like I was tossing him to the wolves.  He had NEVER been in a wrestling match before, and I was seeing some of these kids on the mat in a lot of pain.  I told the dad of his first opponent that he didn't need to worry since this was not only Levi's first tournament, but his first match ever.

 Turns out he did need to worry.  Levi was AWESOME out there.  He was explosively aggressive and very confident.  He said, "You know when the match is over mom, and that guy raises my hand, I love that part."  Me too, buddy.

 Earning a First Place "real gold medal" was more than a dream come true.  We all heard about it for days and days.  He showed everyone that walked through our door.  You can imagine how much he wanted to go to wrestling practice after that.  He was an addict.

 The following weekend, we were off to the next tournament.  The officials moved Levi from the Preschool division to the Kindergarten division, so he was wrestling more experienced kids.  The matches were a lot tougher for him and he had to work really hard during all the rounds of each of his matches.  While his first tournament was a great confidence booster, his second one was an ideal learning experience.  He exploded in his first match and ended up pinning his opponent.  His second match was against an older, more experienced wrestler.  During the second round he did a choke hold on Levi and Levi got really scared.  He didn't give up, though.  He wrestled hard and stayed right with the kid.  He lost the match by three points.  Even after taking his first loss, he came back tough in his third match and pinned his opponent again.

 When it was time for awards, he was thrilled to have earned another medal.  He stood in second place proud as punch.

 He was quick to notice that even though it was second place, his new medal was a "real gold medal" too!

 Grandma and Grandpa Jones had to make some big arrangements to be able to join us, but we were so happy they were there.  Grandma kept Isaac entertained with Angry Birds.

 Love this shot of all the Juab boys together.  They are such good sports and really encourage each other.

 Afterward we went to my favorite drive-in to eat.  The boys designated a "Wrestlers Only" table.

 We were lucky that Grandma and Grandpa Dansie were there both cheering Levi on, and celebrating at lunch afterward.

We all agree that Levi is one tough cookie. 

Levi's next tournament is on Saturday...the same Saturday of General Conference.  I was talking to the kids about this potential conflict, and explaining that sometimes we have to make a choice between two good things.  I was shocked, pleasantly surprised, and even inspired by Levi's immediate response.  With as much as he loves wrestling...eating, sleeping, drinking, thinking, and always talking about wrestling, he immediately said, "We should watch Conference mom.  It's ok because I already have two golden medals."  We decided that if we were committed as a family, we could go to the tournament on Saturday, and then exchange story time for the following week for Conference time, and watch Conference as a family on the computer.  Levi decided that was a much better compromise than missing his last tournament.  I decided that his decisive commitment to make the best choice when we have to choose between two good choices is something I want to emulate.

Just The Thing I Want To Do

We celebrated Jeff's birthday this weekend.  He gets better looking every year, I swear.  I didn't think it was possible, but it must be, because it is happening before my very eyes.  In addition to being hott damn (not a swear word, just an affectionate phrase,) he is nicer, smarter, happier, and more inspiring.  I love that I have a live-in example of the person I want to be.  The coolest thing about celebrating Jeff's birthday is that it was the same day as Daisy's baptism!

 We had waffles (Jeff's favorite...my LEAST favorite to make) for birthday breakfast and then spent the morning getting ready for Daisy's baptism and luncheon.  She was so excited to get so many sweet gifts from everyone.

 Grandpa and Grandma had to miss stake meetings to be here, but they wouldn't have missed it.  Grandma spoke about the Holy Ghost and brought YUMMY soup for lunch.

 We were so glad to have Great-Grandma Mary there with us.  Grandma JoAnn made our favorite chicken noodle soup and spoke about baptism.

 The birthday boy and the baptism girl.  These two are so much alike they make me giggle.  Daisy is a girl version of Jeff.

 She was starting to get a little nervous as the service started.  They didn't think there was enough water in the font.  But she sat down by Jeff and I and calmed right down.

 Daisy and Levi sang a special musical number with their cousins Ashlyn and Dawson.  Karson and Aunt Kandi played the piano.  Afterward we celebrated with soup and salad for lunch.  Daisy got to open more gifts and we got to visit with everyone. 

 As we have been preparing for this day, I have been thinking of what a privilege it is to belong to this church.  So few of Heavenly Father's many children have had the blessing of the gospel in this life.  I am so thankful, eternally so, that we get to enjoy the many blessings of the gospel every day.  Daisy has been looking forward to living the gospel more fully in her life.  She has been asking about fasting for a few months, and when she realized that Fast Sunday was the day after her baptism, she was thrilled.  She opened her fast on Saturday night, and then we went to Fast and Testimony meeting on Sunday morning.  After church when we were making lunch for the boys, she asked how long she was supposed to fast.  I explained a few things about fasting to her and then told her she could decide how long she thought she could fast, and since it was her first time, there were really no set requirements.  She finally broke her fast at 4:00 that afternoon.  I was so proud of her!  She is also so excited to bear her testimony in sacrament meeting, have her own scriptures, and pay tithing.  In fact, she took one of the checks her grandma gave her for her baptism with her to church the next day to give to the bishop.  I explained that she needed to cash the check first since it was made out to her, but her enthusiasm and generosity made me smile.

I am reminded every day as I am able to be at home with my kids, but on special occasions like these, the words of the Savior echo in my mind, "Behold your little ones."  Yes, I will.  And I am ever grateful for the privilege.

Invisible Children

I have always been fascinated by the Holocaust.  I devoured books about it throughout junior high and high school.  I continue to read and learn what I can about the horrific events.  When I was at Georgetown University in Washington DC, my friend and I happened upon the Holocaust Museum one Saturday afternoon when we were out sight seeing.  I was sickened.  It was such an overwhelming experience that we returned to our dorms afterward, our day of sight seeing finished.

Regardless of what I see or hear or learn, the question that I continue to ask is "how?"  How could something like this happen?  How could a cultured, civilized, respected group of people allow something as atrocious as the Holocaust to take place?

A few years ago I read "Left to Tell" by Immaculee Ilibagiza (get it at the library or on amazon) and asked the same question.  How?  How is it possible in the world we live in with the technology, wealth, luxuries, organizations, and knowledge that we have that the Rwandan genocide even took place?  And then last fall I heard Mariama Kallon (get her video on amazon or at Deseret Book) speak about the genocide in Sierra Leone.  I was brought to tears and found myself asking again.  How? 

So today I took 30 minutes out of my morning to find out what all this "KONY 2012" talk is about.  And I found someone who has determined to do something.  The answer to my question, how, is answered in a quote attributed to Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."  The world of technology that we live in today allows us to do something.  It is possible for individuals living in small rural USA to have an impact on the horror affecting the Invisible Children in Uganda.  When my grandchildren read about the world events that took place during my lifetime, I don't want them to ask "how?"  "How did my grandmother's generation do nothing about the genocide?  How did they allow this to happen?"  When I consider all the phenomenal feats that have been achieved by determined groups of people, I believe that evil dictators can be brought to justice.  I believe it is possible.  I ordered my kit today.

www.kony2012.com

Dream Come True

Have you ever dreamed that something impossible was actually possible?  That something completely unrealistic actually became reality?  I have.  A few years ago I read a blog post by Hilary Weeks where she described doing a private concert for some professional golfers.  I dreamed that it could happen to me, that I could have a Hilary Weeks concert at my house. 

Some dreams sort of fade away over time.  Though the memory of the dream is still sweet, it loses its luster as reality marches on.  Others, the kind that come true, grow bigger and bigger and sort of demand your attention in and of themselves.  This is what happened with my dream.  I listen to Hilary when I'm driving, when I'm cleaning, when I'm cooking, and when I need an extra lift in my day.  Every time I would listen to her, which was obviously a lot, I couldn't get the dream out of my head that someday she would be able to come.

This week my dream came true.  I started inquiring about the process in December.  I worked with Hilary's assistant.  I invited several close friends and family to come.  They were as excited as I was and all came together to make it possible.  And she came.

 She came and spent the whole night with us and did a private concert.  It was a surprise for Daisy, and she was thrilled.  She sat and listened and sang along to every song.

 My mother-in-law, in whose basement we dwell, graciously hosted all of us in her beautiful home so we had more space.  This is a picture of her, Hilary, Daisy and I, and my sisters-in-law and nieces.

 The little girls asked her to sign their arms and old t-shirts, and instead of calling them ghetto (like I would have) she played right along.  They were in heaven.

 My aunt and sister drove over two hours to be here...and then got caught in the snow storm on the way home.  I was so grateful they made the trip.

 Just like listening to her music inspires me to be a better person, spending time with her inspires me to reach a little higher, try a little harder, expand my circle of service, and lift those around me.  She is gifted in so many ways, and while I'll never be able to sing like her (which doesn't stop me from belting it out while I'm chopping onions) I can try to emulate her ability to be an elevating influence on all those she comes in contact with.  I can strive to follow that example.

My oldest friend in the world that I'm not related to came all the way from the other end of the state to spend this night with us.  It's hard for me to imagine spending time with Hilary without her since we sort of fell in love with her together.  It was so fun to share this night together too.

Even now, days later, I am still riding the high.  I feel uplifted and inspired by her music.  I feel my testimony strengthened by hearing hers.  I feel motivated by her example and the way she treats and interacts with others.  And I feel that complete elation that is only experienced when a dream comes true.