Last First Day of School... FINALLY!

I can officially say that today marks my very last, first day of school. At least as an undergrad. And my kids made sure to make today extra memorable for me. I was already feeling stressed about today because classes started on Wednesday instead of Monday so that was throwing me off. Then Monday night I got on and looked at my Week At A Glance schedule and saw that the time was changed for my Wednesday class. It was already late in the day and overlapped with Nick's work schedule, so I had a babysitter lined up to watch my girls during that hour and a half while we were both gone. But the class got moved to start at 4pm (the time when it was supposed to end) and end at 6:30pm. Ugh. Did I mention it was a two and a half hour class? That means someone has to watch my girls for three plus hours once a week for the next sixteen weeks (including dropping them off with enough time for me to park on campus and get to class and of course driving back to pick them up). It stresses me out to leave my kids with other people anyway and especially knowing it's an inconvenience for them, and it costs money that we don't have, so the idea of having to ask my friend if she can watch them even longer and later in the day had me fearing the worst; that she wouldn't be able to do it, I wouldn't be able to find a replacement, and I wouldn't be able to take the class. Of course she was happy to still watch my kids and I worried for nothing, but I can't help it.

Then today came and everything seemed to be going smoothly. I had a really productive morning while I waited for 3:30 to come around when I would drop my kids off and go to my first class. But then around lunch time I noticed Shelby was really warm and her eyes were really watery. I couldn't bare the thought of taking my sick child to someone else to take care of her. Mom guilt at its finest. Plus my friend that will be watching my girls this semester has a daughter younger than Shelby and I definitely didn't want her to get sick. So I asked Nick if he would be able to take a half day off from work to stay home with the girls while I was in class. He wasn't willing at first, but I think he could sense my desperation and told me he would figure it out. He went to work and came home about half an hour later, watched the girls while I was in class, and went back to work once I got home. What a relief that he was willing to do that for me.

It feels good to be back in the swing of things. It's exciting to know that I'm in my final semester at Utah State University. Right now I feel motivated and ready to tackle the mountain of homework I already have from the one class I attended today. But then again, I'm sitting here blogging instead of working on it so we'll see how long my motivation lasts! Only 16 weeks and 115 days to go until graduation. I can do this! Gulp.

The Parent of the Savior of the World

I wanted to bare my testimony in sacrament meeting today since we're new to the ward, but after the first two or so people stood I realized I wasn't going to get a chance. There wasn't a moment of silence during the whole meeting. There was always a steady stream of people sitting on the stand, waiting their turn and since that isn't my style (yet), I decided I would still have a chance in Relief Society. I should have known better. The steady stream of people from sacrament meeting flowed right into the relief society meeting. I set a goal to bare my testimony six times this year. I think that's a little ambitious for this ward. I'm not the type to claw my way to the front so I can have a turn. And today I learned that I can't hesitate for even a moment or the opportunity is lost. However, my blog is as good a place as any to share my testimony so here it goes.

This Christmas season has given me a new perspective on how much our Heavenly Father loves us. I've always known that He loves me and wants what is best for me, but this past month I've seen it a little differently. As a parent, I want nothing more than to protect my children from every hardship and trial that they will face. I never want to see them suffer or experience heartache. I just want to shield them from anything that will hurt them. And I'm sure Heavenly Father has those same instincts as a parent.

I thought about that moment when He realized what it meant to provide a savior for the world. And I imagined that conversation He exchanged with Jesus Christ when He told Him what had to be done. I doubt that either one of them hesitated for even a second, but I would imagine they felt heartache and sorrow, as I'm sure any parent and child would. I'm sure they even shed a few tears as they embraced each other in what was probably the most compassionate hug they have ever shared. And then that moment came when He sent His son to earth; to an earthly mother and an earthly father that wasn't Him. He looked at that precious, little child and knew what his fate would be. And He did it because He knew it had to be done. He did it because He loves us so much and knew a way needed to be provided for us to return to live with Him again. He did it for me; because He loves me.

I look at my sweet, little girls and feel so relieved that it wasn't me that had to make that choice! But because I know what it means to love a little child I call my own, I know how I would feel if I had to make that kind of decision. And I know that it would take a whole lot of love towards those the choice was being made for to be able to follow through with that. Because let's not forget that in the end, it was still a choice. If my Heavenly Father was willing to go through all of that as a parent, to allow me a way to return to live with Him again, then how could I ever deny Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World? From the wise words once shared in a talk in General Conference several years ago; "He is the way. Any other way, every other way, whatever other way is foolishness". I know Jesus Christ is the only way back to my loving Heavenly Father and I say this in His name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ringing in the New Year, Child Style

New Year's Eve isn't quite the same once you have kids that need to go to bed at their normal scheduled time. I guess we're kind of lucky to live far enough away from Nick's parents that it's normal to stay the night when we visit! Which also means we get to put our kids to bed and still stay up and "party" with the rest of the family. And since Josh and Kaleena are in the same boat, they stayed the night too!

Kaleena wanted to make it extra fun for the kids so she brought games, party supplies, and of course treats! They all looked so cute in their hats and necklaces. And Shelby made a new friend. I thought it was so cute the way she kicked back with Grandpa and stayed a while.

Around 8pm we played a movie on Netflix that was added specifically for kids to celebrate New Year's Eve before midnight. It was a short clip with dancing and music, and then a countdown to celebrate the new year. The girls were so cute dancing!

And then after the countdown we celebrated with fringed horns and party poppers! It took some practice before the girls could really do them on their own, but once Shasta had it down there was no stopping her! She probably popped a dozen of them all on her own. And then when it came time to clean up all the confetti, she checked every single popper shell to see if it had already been used or still needed to be popped! And she was thrilled when she actually found one!

After we finished cleaning up and put the kids to bed, then the real party began! Haha! We played games until one in the morning... some of which I did really bad on, others that my husband cheated me out of points, and some that I didn't do too terrible on. I never won a game, I don't think, but it was fun all the same. We didn't pay much attention to the time and kind of missed the countdown on tv, but we still popped open some sparkling cider (a little after the fact) and celebrated with a sparkler out in the snow. Here's to another year in the books and hopefully some positive changes in the year 2015!