I'm The Meanest Mom Ever

Did you think this was going to be a post about how mean I am to my kids?




It's not.




I suppose it could be. My kids think I'm mean sometimes.





In fact, I AM mean sometimes.





But that's a different story.






This post is about how mean I am... to my poor dog.




See? Here's the before picture.

And during (see how miserable he looks?)...

The aftermath...
(Now imagine how miserable I would have looked if the next few months saw this slowly falling to the nothing-but-wood-floors of my house)

And I clicked a couple of shots of my complex while I was standing there with my camera...







It got into the 50's today, perfect dog shaving weather.

And behold the finished product. I don't shave his head or he'd look like a giant rat, and I don't shave his tail because he'd look like a giant squirrel. As is, he looks like a giant dog who is so cleanly shaved you could walk through my whole house and see no evidence that I own a fur-bearing canine who thinks he's a person.

Huzzah!






And here's a couple of pictures from the Tree Lighting Ceremony on post last week. Yes, there's Christmas in Korea!

Stay tuned, I have plenty of catching up to do!

I ♥ Korea

We drive past this establishment every time we go on post, and thus far it has never failed to illicit a smile from me. The first time I saw it I actually laughed out loud: "Is that a restaurant?!" No, actually it is a pet salon- but come on folks, in a country where the locals eat dog that just
lends itself to all kinds of misinterpretation.

In other news, our household goods came on Tuesday. That means that my very own bed, dishes, furniture, spices (I DARE you to go 3 months with nothing but salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder and onion powder. It ain't pretty!), the kids' toys and books, our movies...I am so happy and yet so distressed to be in moving mode again. So I completely turned away from life and dashed around the house with a knife opening and unpacking like an unhinged maniac (so...you know, like I usually am). From the time the movers left to now I have unpacked, organized and sorted for 4 days straight. Back ache? Yup. Thrilled to be done and settled? Definitely.

I have lots I want to blog about, but it's almost 2300 and I need to finish the talk I'm giving in sacrament meeting tomorrow. Fun updates comin' soon!

I'm Back

I've been sitting here for a while now, knowing I wanted to make a blog post, but not knowing where I wanted to go with it. Did I want an "I'm SO Glad We Made It Alive" theme? How about an "I've Been Here For A Couple of Weeks and I Can't Stop Laughing At All The Engrish Around Here!" mode? Maybe "I Didn't Like Kimchi Then and I Still Don't!"

My computer clock is still on EST, so it says it's 11:51 am on November 4th. So...it's really 00:51 on November 5th. I should fix that.

Anyhow, while I was waiting for some idea to jel, I perused my blog list and read the posts I've been missing these past 6 weeks. I read about exciting news, fun posts of autumn adventures, travels, saw some darling Halloween pictures- and read several very moving posts about appreciating motherhood, cherishing childhood, and building a personal relationship with our Savior. And my half-ideas of silly and funny posts kind of scattered.

I am feeling like I need a big slice of humble pie at the moment. I have been so completely wrapped up in my own stuff that...to be honest... I have been a big fat jerk to my husband and kids these past couple of weeks. I don't know why or how it started exactly, but lately every time they do something that shows that my needs and feelings aren't first in their minds I get angry. I have been irritable, short-tempered, and annoyed. I have been mean, because I felt like nobody gave a crap how tired or worn-out I was, or felt bad for me because I have a cold and still have to move and unpack and be a mommy to my kids. Nobody offered to make me lunch today, and it hurt my feelings.

Luckily, I got the kick in my pants I needed. And I got down on my knees and repented. When my kids and hubby get up in the morning I'll ask them to forgive me- and I am already grateful to them because I know they will. They are wonderful, and I can't believe I let my own selfishness cloud my vision of what sweet blessings they are to me.

I have seen lots of people on FB listing the things they are grateful for in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. I have read them and though it was nice, but not until this moment have I stopped to really think about all I have to be thankful for. There is far too much to list, so I'll limit it to a few for now:

I am grateful for the gospel. I am so thankful for my Savior. I am grateful for my little family- they are so dear to me, and the peace of knowing we can be an eternal family quells all the other little fears that I worry about. I am thankful for a loving Father, who mercifully puts reminders in my path to help me make the course corrections I need. I'm grateful for my testimony, and I know the gospel is true, that Christ lives and is the Son of God.

We have found lots that we love about Korea. Tales and pictures of our travels can wait a few more days, right? I think I'll get a mug of hot chocolate to go with my humble pie.

I Needed This Today

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
-D&C 123:17

Mostly I think I need to work on the "cheerfully" and "stand still" parts. I think if I get those down, the "utmost assurance" comes naturally.

In conclusion:

Scriptures + A Little Pondering = Happier Mommy

What I Did Today

* I got up and fed my kids breakfast.

* I did a bunch of laundry and housecleaning. It never ends, but you all know how that goes.

* I rejoiced some more that our command sponsorship (it was supposed to take 6 months) got approved after only 2 weeks. That means we'll all be moving to Korea together in October. Yay!

* I finally faced reality and got on PlanMyMove (most fabulous site if you're doing a military move) to make a day-by-day plan of what needs to be done between now and when the movers come on September 26th.

* I grimaced that by putting it off this long I am already several weeks behind where the calendar thinks I should be in my preparations by now. Oh well.

* I noticed one of the to-do items is "Find Age Appropriate Books on New Locations Overseas." Sure, I can do that. To Amazon.com!

* I picked out several children's books on the Korean alphabet, picture books of Korean geography and culture, and a few Korean folk tales. I stopped to read the reviews about one book I wasn't sure I wanted- and read a review left by a mommy who said they lived in Korea for a year when her kids were small, and how much she loved how the book helped them to remember the experiences they had there.

* I started to cry, realizing that someday I will be that mommy, hoping to preserve the amazing experiences my kids will be almost too small to remember, and having it really, really set in for the first time that we are going to a whole new world for two whole years- new food, new customs, new culture, new language, not to mention new sights and new friends and neighbors that come with any move... and I cried some more. Happy tears, sad tears, excited tears, anxious tears.

* I bought the books and checked that one lonely item off my 3-month long To Do List.

* I blogged about it, sighed, took a deep breath and then got back to the laundry. Next on the list: the treadmill, groceries, passport photos.




Here's a waterfall on the island of Cheju, where I hope we get to spend our 10th anniversary next spring.

The Question

Life is full of questions- the big ones, like "Will you marry me?" or "Is it time to add to our family?" There's the little ones too, "Do you want Spagettios or Mac and Cheese?" or, as we are asking right now, "Who colored on the rug?"

The tricky part is how complicated the answers can be sometimes. Our big question right now is simply this- What should we do?

There are several options ahead of us, and we don't have a lot of time to decide. Moreover, once we do decide, there's no going back. The Army doesn't tolerate waffling, for obvious reasons.

There are a million little questions involved in each of the options we choose, too. There are really no easy answers here.

Do we opt for the command sponsored tour and risk not having it approved? That would leave us apart for at least 4-6 months, possibly up to 24. We don't know if we could live on post, we don't know if we could bring Skeeter, and we understand that non-soldier hospital care (i.e. having another baby) is outsourced locally. I feel weird about that.

Do we opt for a hardship tour and just spend the 12 months apart? The kids and I would stay in the US, we would have some additional separation pay each month...but we would be apart for a year! Not to mention, Daddy might be back in the deployment bucket by fall of 2013.

Regardless , we will be apart for some amount of time- what do the kids and I do? Stay in Virginia? Move back to Utah? Move back to Idaho? Just be a nomad and visit everyone I can think of?

Do I try to keep working? Do I retire from nursing for now? Or forever? Can we even afford for me not to work yet?

*sigh*

My parents always taught me that Heavenly Father helps those who help themselves. So instead of waiting around for the answer to fall in my lap, I suppose I better get to work- the more information I can get, the easier it will be to decide, right?

Don't worry. I'm still going to be praying like crazy for the guidance we need, too.

I am thinking a lot of Elder Christofferson's talk from this last conference, and keep hearing the voice of the gardener cutting down the currant bush: "Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be." I think I've had some branches cut back and I'm looking and seeking for how the Gardener would have me grow now.

I have the calming influence of the gospel in my life, so I know without a doubt that everything will turn out as it should (however that may be), and the growing/cutting back pains are only a temporary time.

The Move

I am not in a wonderful mood today.

And rather than make the crabby, irritated post that was on the tip of my...fingers, I will just post the pictures from the big drive. You know, since we'll be repeating it in reverse in about 9 weeks. It's one little thing off of my Meaning To Do List. Emotionally, I need a win in the "done" column since my HAVE To Do List got really long suddenly (the timer for a lot of arranging of international travel is ticking much more rapidly than I formerly knew *grumble*).

So, here's to small victories in the form of a herd of pictures. Yay!



The Beginning: Getting on I-80 East in Salt Lake




Wyoming



Nebraska




Illinois somewhere (Illinois was pretty much underwater)




As for the rest of these, they are all from among the following choices: Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, or Virginia. I was mostly watching that big yellow Penske truck hauling the red Toyota pickup. For 5 solid days.

Wretched West Virginia toll roads!

And this was the morning after we arrived. Pretty much sums up how we all felt- crazy... eating cold cereal out of a paper bowl with our fingers up our noses!

And this was in Yellowstone over Memorial Day Weekend. If you're wondering if I miss Idaho and its ridiculously cold weather- yes. Yes, I do.

And here's the beast, because he's just noble and handsome.

And my kids, because I think they're cute.

What is it that makes me feel unaccomplished if things like blogs and scrapbooks go without attention? Add in dishes and laundry, folding and ironing, sweeping and mopping and dusting, finding meaningful scripture time, changing sheets and scrubbing toilets and washing children and animals, paying bills and cooking meals, making time for stories and songs and hide-and-seek, and the incredible guilt that piles up with each day the treadmill goes un-run on... Ugh. I am feeling a little overwhelmed today.

But I'm not gonna lie, knowing my blog is updated makes me feel a teeny bit better!

Tragedy Strikes!

We have had some unfortunate events in Andersonland of late.


For example, today Wyatt got his first bee sting. At least, I'm guessing that's what it was. I was sitting on the porch not 10 feet away, and he suddenly starting screaming. I would have taken a picture, but from sting time 2 hours ago until now, it can hardly be seen. Thank goodness he seems to have my lack of allergy to bee stings! But to hear his pain-filled squeal, and subsequent declarations that he could not play on the swing anymore or even eat his popsicle because ...[dramatic pause]..."I have an owie, and I don't feel much good" was a legitimate tragedy.



My tragedy is silly, but I went to the doctor yesterday to have my Overseas Screening done (basically a physical to make sure you're not too screwed up to go live in a foreign country on America's dime. They said I'm good to go. *relief*), and when I stepped on the scale I was sad. I have gained almost 20 pounds since the beginning of the year. The absence of a picture here is deliberate. I am starting a new routine and new eating habits to see if I can part ways with that. I have been under a fair amount of stress, but frankly, I don't foresee my stressors decreasing anytime soon, so I need to learn to live with stress and still keep a healthy weight. Tragedy, indeed.



And lastly, the true tragedy.



So sad.



Pink Lovey is...lost.


(*weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth*)



Jana is sad about it, but I am devastated. See why?


Wyatt and Daddy and I picked out Pink Lovey before Jana was even born (this picture was about 2 weeks before her debut). I remember hoping she would love it as much as Wyatt had loved his.




She did.


Pink Lovey has gone everywhere with us- sacrament meeting, trips to the library, airplane rides, you name it.


I know she had it on our walk Sunday afternoon, and I haven't seen it since. Both the Loveys have had occasional disappearances over the past few years, but they ALWAYS turn up within a day or two. Day Four of no Pink Lovey, and Jana is really sad about it. In fact, she walked over and saw me posting these pictures and in her sad, sweet little voice asked, "Mommy, can I have that Pink Lovey? Please? Can I please have my Pink Lovey?"


I thank Toy Story for all my imagination's conjurings of poor Pink Lovey out in the rain, all alone, wondering where we went and how we could forget her.


The saddest part is that after scouring the internet from Amazon to eBay and everywhere in between, an identical replacement is not to be found. I feel like we're missing a little family member. Boo hoo...

Lesson of the Day

Today's lesson?

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

Remember last post when I sarcastically commented that I wanted to move 2200 miles again at the end of the summer? Well, to be honest I was secretly hoping to NOT travel that far. I guess someone somewhere took me literally though, because the next move is not fewer miles, it's more.

A LOT more.





Lee's new orders are to Korea. In case you didn't feel like Googling it, I already did. From Richmond, Virginia to Seoul, South Korea is just over seven thousand miles. And that's the short route going west!

We are all going, and he has to report by November 1st.


And you know what? I am THRILLED!


Granted, I am a little worried about the details, of course- but this is something we would never have done just on our own. I am excited for the experiences ahead for our whole family, this is going to be such a great adventure. I'm trying not to think too much about all the people we're going to miss, but it's only for two years (!) and visitors would be sooo welcome!


Lee has a briefing on Friday and we'll know more then. And probably start packing then, too. :)

We're Here!

Monday will mark three weeks since we arrived. So far, Virginia has been a fun adventure! I don't speak Southern English very well yet, so sometimes at the drive thru or the store it takes a moment to figure out what someone has just asked me. I'll get there.

It's also been amusing to see the differences on the road. If someone is camped out in the left lane going 10 miles under the speed limit, everyone around just matches that pace! For someone who is used to being passed on both sides when going 10 OVER the speed limit, it is a very foreign feeling. It is SO green and gorgeous here (currently 82 degrees) and when it decides to rain it doesn't mess around- I have never actually seen "sheets of rain" before, but now I know what that means!

The kids are adapting as well as we could hope, and Skeeter is adapting to the balmy warmth by dropping his winter coat as fast as possible. Makes for a hairy house! Lee is still what they call a Snowbird, waiting for classes to start. He'll officially begin his Ordnance training on the 31st, and we've been told that the officers usually get their next set of orders sometime in the first week or two of classes- so by the middle of June we should know how long we will call Fort Lee, Virginia our home. It seems to be doubtful that we'll be here longer then just the summer, but we'll just have to see. Moving 2200 miles is so much fun, I really would love to do it again in 12 weeks. Mmm-hmm.

Here are a few pictures:






This is a regular occurrence lately. Captain America and the Pink Power Ranger go play on the teeter-totter while Skeeter basks in the grass. They will ride that thing for an hour at a time, seriously. Love it.





Kids' bathroom





Jana's room with Jana




Wyatt's room with Wyatt being silly




The front room, please ignore Wyatt's dirty clothes that I was carrying to the laundry.



The rest of the front room. Again, please ignore the dirty clothes centerpiece.




The kitchen. Have you noticed how much wood is in this house? Nothing but hardwood floors and tile, and the kitchen is wood from floor to ceiling. It's very pretty, but I'm going through Pledge like you wouldn't believe!


Master bathroom

Master bedroom. It's messy, but the dog is clean!

Here's our little place. I quite like it!

Lee's out back washing and waxing his truck.

Back yard again. The yard is all fenced in, huzzah!

The humidity hasn't been too bad yet, there is a cute park half a mile from here, and it only takes Lee about 10 minutes to get to the post. I took a job yesterday that I'm pretty excited about, except for the 25 minute commute. Since I am relatively sure it's just for the summer, I think I can survive.

I'll post more about the trip out here later, but now you can see where we are. Hope you're all doing well! We love and miss everyone out west, but we're having a fun time in a new area, and there is no snow here- that's a plus, right?

Love and a kid's meal that has hushpuppies mixed in with the chicken nuggets (seriously),

Melody et al

There Was a Book on the Snooze Button

It all started when my alarm didn't go off. I wanted to get to the temple for the 0600 session because I have such a long to-do list today. We wanted to leave by 0520- which is when I woke up. I grumbled my annoyance at my alarm (thanks to the book I accidentally set on top of the snooze button, the alarm started and turned off in the same moment. Oops.) and wondered if I should even go since now my schedule would be so far off.

I went upstairs and found my mom had slept in too, but she was almost ready. Okay, I thought to myself. I'll be faithful. I'll go. I hurried and got dressed and we were on our way.

The Jordan River temple has sessions every 20 minutes, and we got to the chapel just at 0640, so the next session would be at 0700. When we walked in, I noticed the organist was seated at the organ, but wasn't playing. There were just a few people sitting in the front benches, then 10 or so rows back was an entire congregation of Tongan members. Gorgeous dark hair, beautiful skin, all dressed in white- and they were singing.

It was amazing. I didn't recognize any of the songs they sang, but it was so powerful I just sat there and wept. Their voices were clear and strong and so rich- I cannot imagine any choir of angels could be more satisfying to hear. At times their harmony was more than four parts, and the rise and swell of the melodies that this beautiful people must have sung for generations was indescribably moving.

They sang several songs, and after the last was finished, it was announced that the session in Tongan would begin next, and there was room for about 10 more people if they wanted to attend and listen with headsets. I was the 10th person. My mom and I opted not to have headsets, but just to listen and feel the spirit of the words and the inherent warmth and peace being in the temple brings.

I knew everything that was being said, although I didn't understand the words. But still, I have never been so focused on listening during an endowment. It was incredible. I had so many new realizations, things that became clearer because the language itself was unfamiliar.

As I knew it would, the spirit bore witness of the truth and power of the covenants. The wonderful thing about the spirit is that it knows no bounds as to language, culture or race. If there is truth spoken, the spirit bears witness of it to our hearts if we can just be in tune. And even without comprehensible words, my heart was so filled and my soul so refreshed. The best part for me was the simple fact that I was so intent on listening to and soaking in the sweet, new experience I was having- I completely forgot to worry about and fuss over all the problems I came to ponder on and seeks answers to. For two whole hours, I just left everything else behind and focused on the truly important things that are not of this world.

It was possibly the most powerful temple experience I have ever had. My perspective has completely changed, my attitude adequately adjusted- and my heart feels healed. Granted, I still have work to do and much to accomplish, but somehow it all fits into its own place now. I have always loved the talk Elder Bednar gave on the tender mercies of our Father in Heaven, because it made me able to recognize them in my own life. My heart is so full of gratitude for the short yet life-changing tender mercy I was granted today.

Never in my life have I been so glad my alarm didn't go off.

A Big Mess

I'm hiding today. Hiding on my blog so I can pretend that there isn't a big mess on every surface I see away from my computer screen. There are also big messes on all the proverbial surfaces, too.

My fitness is a mess, I am genuinely annoyed at how hard I have to work to get rid of 10 pounds and how quickly and easily they sneak back.

My emotions are a mess. I went out to lunch with, and then hugged and said goodbye to, a very dear friend and realized it was the first of a lot of difficult goodbyes I have looming in the next few days. I can't even think about it without crying.

My finances are a mess. What a can of worms (more like a barrel of snakes), let's not even go there.

My spirit feels like a mess. I am striving to read my scriptures each morning and start the day with a smile and it literally takes 2 minutes before I'm barking at the kids and setting the perfect example of all the things I DON'T want them to be.

My parenting is a mess. Lately I am such a wad of inconsistencies and short-tempered selfishness that I can only hope my kids aren't paying attention, although doing just that is something they get in trouble for. There's no way for any of us to win.

And clearly, my attitude is a mess.

*sigh*

I'm so happy and excited to embark on our big adventure and to have my little family together again, don't get me wrong. It's just that these past few days have been more difficult than I can manage because of all my inner turmoil (and outer turmoil, I'm not gonna lie. I HATE packing).

I have developed this bad attitude, too. I have always tried hard to see the blessings hidden amidst my trials. For some reason these days all I can see is the trials amidst my blessings. Sure I get to move to this great location close to so many awesome historical sites, have a cute little house that the military is paying for, have a better paycheck, be in the Washington DC temple district, get to try a whole new lifestyle, get my honey and father of my children back... You'd think I'd be thrilled. Instead I'm just upset, and I don't even know what about.


*another sigh*


I have always noticed that when I am on the verge of doing something very important that is right for me, Satan works extra hard to keep me from getting there. And with my great job of driving the spirit away with my anger and faithless whining, I am as good as inviting that negative influence into my life.

My friend and I were talking over lunch today about some of our funny parenting stories, and we discussed the habit we all have of asking our kids, "Why did you do that?" (You dumped Fruity Pebbles all over the carpet and DANCED on them?! WHY?!?) In the parenting class Lee and I taught in Rexburg, the manual specifically said not to do that, because there is really no satisfactory answer the child can provide.


But I am not a child- I am a grown woman who is accountable for her actions, and I can't help but ask that question of myself. WHY I am acting and feeling this way? Not surprisingly, there is no satisfactory short answer.


Before anyone reading this decides that I am losing it, don't worry. Normally I do better than I have been doing lately, and I know with divine help I can find my way back. So here's what I have been repeating and seeing over and over in my head the last couple of days:

I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

Sometimes from the mud at the bottom of the trenches it's hard to see. But I know that if I just keep climbing and keep trying, at some point I'll be able to look back and see more clearly. And if there's one thing I know how to do, it's how to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I never thought it would be easy, and I know it will be worth it.

Time to go work on my messes.

Hooray!

So much to celebrate!
- Daddy is officially a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant!
- I survived the flights to and from Georgia with the munchkins!
- Jana is using the big girl potty- Huzzah!
- By the middle of next week, we'll be a FAMILY again! *Eeeeeeeeeee!* (think Leisl's Sound of Music post-kiss squeal, that's what I'm going for there)

I look forward to celebrating our finding a place to live, successfully packing in the next week, and the achievement of the big move. I don't want to get ahead of myself, so I'm celebrating the small victories as we go- today I thought about going out to the garage and finding some boxes. Yay!

Now for some hot chocolate on this chilly, rainy night. Tomorrow I plan to GO out to the garage and find the boxes, and maybe Wednesday I'll bring them inside, and MAYBE Thursday I can go get some boxing tape... Yes, I better get some hot chocolate and go to bed.

Find-A-Friend Friday

Whee! I am so excited, this week I was picked for the Find-A-Friend Friday at one of my very most favorite blogs. If this blog isn't in your favorites already, put it in. Now! Not just because of the little bit about me, but because Stephanie's posts are funny, insightful, clever and make me want to be a better mommy- while realizing that there are so many other women in my same boat and it's okay to have some self-perfecting left to do.

I love this blog, and hope you will too!

The Next Chapter

See that? It's Virginia. Home of Fort Lee, where we will be stationed for the next couple of years. (http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/images/usa/virginia.jpg)

The exact timing of the big move has yet to be determined, but I can say with 99% surety that it will occur by the beginning of June. Likely sooner, but we'll see.

I've never moved 2, 170 miles before. It will be interesting.

So...bring on the adventure!

Fearless

We are on the edge of some big decisions- the kind that HAVE to be made, because not doing anything would have repercussions as profound as those of any of the other options we might choose between. I know at some time or another everyone has choices like these, and I also know that the most important factor in all of this is faith.

On an unrelated note, we had quite a snowstorm Monday night. Tuesday morning Wyatt looked out at the snow and wanted to play in it. So he did, and bless his heart at least he put on his boots first. Coat, hat, gloves? No time. Jana took the precaution of putting on a raincoat and boots, but she was also so bent on getting outside that she wouldn't hear of a hat or gloves either.

They were so anxious to get started on that adventure that they just threw caution out the window and went for it- I suspect knowing that I was watching over them and would intervene for their safety if it really became necessary.

So while I was uploading these pictures and looking over them with a smile- a mixture of humor and incredulity- I started thinking. I had been pondering on courage and faith, and some ideas I had turning over in my mind started to come together.

Almost every decision can be compared to my kids' little adventure. There are times when I can decide carefully and completely, and take every single precaution I can think of in an effort to be prepared- but there are also times when the best/right thing to do is just dive in and have faith that a loving heavenly parent (who I sometimes imagine wearing a smile of humor and incredulity at my actions) will watch over and bless me with the knowledge and guidance I need- when I need it.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave.

-Mark Twain

Either life entails courage, or it ceases to be life.

-E.M. Forster

Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.

-Ray Bradbury

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.

-C.S. Lewis

When we went forth into the waters of baptism and covenanted with our Father in heaven to serve Him and keep His commandments, He bound himself also by covenant to us that He would never desert us, never leave us to ourselves, never forget us, that in the midst of trials and hardships , when everything was arrayed against us, He would be near unto us and sustain us.

-George Q. Cannon

This is a great time to live. When times are unsettled, when the dangers persist, the Lord pours out His blessings upon His church and kingdom. I have been associated now in the councils of the Church for upwards of thirty years. During that time I have seen, from the sidelines at least, many a crisis. Among the leaders I have seen great disappointment, some concern, maybe some anxiety. One things I have never seen is fear. Fear is the antithesis of faith. In this Church and in this kingdom there is faith. So let us look forward with an attitude of faith and hope.

-Boyd K. Packer (emphasis added)

I haven't come to any specific conclusion to the issue at hand yet- but I know where to place my faith and trust, and I have learned that there simply isn't room for fear in my life.

And this picture is just so Aunt Marianne can see how Hank and Mary are loved.

Thanks again!