Today was a great day. It didn’t start out great and it didn’t really have anything in it that was that great but I have had a few really wonderful and inspirational moments as a mother today.
I woke up today and everywhere I looked or turned my children were doing something they shouldn’t or having some issue with their potty needs. We had accidents, diaper messes etc. I had to get the kids ready for church alone because Andy was at meetings. Nothing out of the ordinary only it seemed like one thing after another with all of my kids. I got to church breathless and ready to hand the kids off to Andy and go home or at least sit in the car and have a good cry. But I didn’t I just sat there in the pew and asked him to talk to “his” kids about what they shouldn’t do regarding their potty needs. All the way to church I prayed – laying out all my frustrations and irritations and asking for help, patience and fix-its. Throughout church I would continue to pray because I was still sitting there fuming about it all and not getting anything out of the talks, lessons etc. I love how Heavenly Father works when it comes to personal revelation. I kept asking for what I thought I needed but he would keep giving me nudges towards realization of what I really needed. Here are a few of the great things I learned today.
While praying one of the times about how hard I had it in life right now regarding this potty issue and feeling a bit like I had more trouble than anyone else I was reminded by the spirit that it could be worse. And instantly I remembered that I am still nursing Ruby and that is a direct blessing given to me. And I thought – yes, it could be worse. And I felt better.
Later, I was praying about how hard it was to be a mother, and how every day was the same. And then we had a lesson on the Israelites and how they murmured about having Manna everyday and nothing else and they were tired of it. All of a sudden I thought of how my kids and my family life – my every day of my life- is sort of like Manna from heaven. I thought about how some days I find it really rewarding to do what I do every day (almost identical to the day before) and how some days I am so very bored at the sameness in my days. The difference is my attitude towards it on that day. I can be like the Israelites and not have gratitude that I have been provided with a blessing and or I can have gratitude for the three little blessings in my life that cause the monotony. I would much rather raise my kids than send them to babysitters so in that way we have been blessed with an income that supports that. So what if it means some days I burn through a few brain cells in the process?
Lastly, while talking with a friend about the whole lot after church, she mentioned in humor how she would like to see one day before she dies where all her kids go to the bathroom and she doesn’t have to be aware of any of it. No cleaning diapers, dribbles on the seat, unflushed toilets, yellow underwear in the laundry etc. I laughed because I thought – YEAH! I’d like to get to the point where my kids can use the restroom and I don’t know about it somehow. Later when I was musing to myself about the humor of it I felt the spirit say to me essentially that “but then they would be gone” – grown and on their own and away from me. It’s not so bad to have to see all the stuff I suppose if it means I can keep my babies babies a little bit longer.
I am thankful that I am still nursing. We had a scare a few weeks ago when my milk decided to take vacation without asking but its back and I am sooo thankful for this blessing.
I missed yesterday because it was a very full day in preparations for guests to arrive last night for Ruby's blessing.
So I am thankful for visits from family! Cheryl and Andy's parents are here and its so nice to have people visit us. The kids were really excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and Lyman even wore his Hawaiian shirt to match his Grandpa who wears them all at the time. I haven't seen Cheryl for a few years and haven't met her 1 yr old girl until yesterday. So since she is here and since there are few people in this world that I love as much as I love Cheryl - I am keeping this short so I can get back to visiting with her.
This morning at the breakfast table the kids and I had this conversation:
"Mom, your hair is sticking up right there and there" Corilynn
"Mm- hmm" Me (I had just woken up)
"I guess you shouldnt wear your hair that way or my teachers might think you are strange." Lyman
Today I am thankful for blossoms, 4-8 mo., and 150 miles to Zion.
The spring has arrived in Ohio and I love love love love love and love it! The trees are blossoming into beautiful pinks, whites, reds and yellows. I am thankful for the green leaves budding out and the cleansing rains and sunny afternoons.
{Ruby with Corilynn in their matching bermuda shorts summer clothes}
I am thankful that Ruby is in my favorite part of the first year. So every part of the first year is cute but my favorite part is the portion between 4-8 months of age. They are smiley, giggly, wiggly and snugly. I love when they nuzzle their faces into your neck to pretend to be shy or because they love you. I love when they gurgle out their voices and tell you long and wild stories. I love that they think they are saying something coherent. I love that Ruby has discovered her thumb to suck. I don't care what people say about that as good or bad - I love it and its so cute! She has such a tiny fist and its just adorable. Especially when she looks at me and smiles and lets her hand fall out in excitement. I love it.
I am thankful for the health I have been feeling lately. I am taking it slowly but I have started to get running again it feels liberating! Its wonderful to run and imagine myself carefree. Its even better to do it without hip pain. I feel like I am fighting back to a healthier me. I have set myself a goal to run 150 miles to Zion this year. For ever mile I run on I am going to read a chapter of scriptures so that I can accomplish both areas of my life where I want to be a better me. 150 miles or 150 chapters isn't a lot but its a number I can reach and hope to go past. Anyone want to do it with me?
Ive organized and grouped the photos and comments for our DC trip into a few posts. There are quite a few photos to see and they are all really good posts. But if you do not have enough time now - go and see the one on Arlington National Cemetery and come back another time for the others. Arlington was the most amazing of all the things in DC. The posts below are ordered as:
1. Capitol Building
2. Washington and Lincoln Memorial
3. Other buildings and some house that was white
4. People and things
5. Washington DC Temple
6. Arlington National Cemetery
Also if you scroll down and do not see the last couple of posts - either click older posts or the post on the side bar.
God Bless America!
Lyman contemplates his future on capitol hill as he eats his Sun Chips and sits under a tree.
Our tour of the US Capitol Building as VIP. We had a friend who's uncle works in security there and he gave us a great tour with bonuses not on the usual tour route. Including being able to walk around the front of the Capitol building as it faces the National Mall. It was way better than the normal tour which he hooked us up to do without waiting in lines or having to reserve ahead of time.
We came during the Cherry Blossom festival which made the trees surrounding the buildings really make for a beautiful setting.
After it all we sort of got lost and found our way into a back conference room where I had to snap this shot of the pedestal for the US House of Representatives.
This photo was taken inside the old House of Representatives meeting room.
ha ha ha - this one was just for my mom. She is a HUGE fan -jk.
The rotunda in the US Capitol Building
Out front, view of the National Mall - The Lincoln Memorial is at the very end and very tiny. Compare this photo the one I have looking the other way back at the Capitol Building - You'll get an idea of how HUGE this building was.
Nancy Pelosi's private balcony.
Overall impressions of the Capitol building. Rich with history, it was really something. Very ornate inside, and beautiful architecture. It was sad though in a way inside it when you hear so much of the history of the building, how it was built, burned down and rebuilt. How the founding leaders of our nation wanted it to be a symbol of our nation and the ideals they set out to preserve regardless of if it required their lives sacrificed to preserve it. All the history and patriotism in the building is beautiful. But then you get a sense of how different it is now. I believe that today's leaders (Senate/House or Representatives) do believe they are leading this country the right way. However the absolute will to create and hold to "a more perfect union" seems lost. Their grand offices and side table deals speak to me as a far cry from the days of Lincoln where the Representatives would bring their dogs with them to congress, speak and discuss together and sacrifice their lives for the cause. Even the fact that we got a behind the scenes tour (which was absolutely awesome!) made me realize how much you can get for yourself in Washington if you "know somebody." There was even a second line (where there was no waiting) for the general tour for people who knew somebody so to speak. This is a nation of the people and for the people but not everyone can even have a full view of its Capitol Building. It made me realize how many of us are waiting in line for our piece of this pie and others get to walk to the front because they know the pie maker. It was hard for us to reconcile the two overwhelming feelings of absolute patriotism we felt for our country and sadness for the essence of what we have lost in history. We are a beautiful nation, full of freedoms, rich history of bravery and triumph - and I believe we still can be if we get back to the routes - where the Representatives and senators actually speak for those who elect them.These were really fun to see. I've seen them in pictures, movies, on TV - but to see them in person was something else. First thing - the walking! Oh the walking! You think you are getting closer to the Washington Monument because you can see it so well and it is so big and you keep walking and walking and walking and its like a mirage- and you think your feet will fall off before you make it there. The Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial are on opposite sides of the National Mall and they stand just over 2 miles apart. After making our way to the Washington Monument we walked along the Reflection Pond to the Lincoln Memorial. My feet were dying and I thought "Did they have to reflect so long? What is it they were reflecting on for so long?" Ha ha jk.
This picture will give you an idea if you compare it to the one I took looking from the other direction from the Capitol towards the Lincoln Memorial of just how HUGE the Capitol Building was. The Lincoln Memorial was tiny in the other picture and the Capitol building is huge in this one.
The kids liked the Lincoln Memorial because it was like in the second Night of the Museum movie.
Here we are next to the Washington Monument.
Overall impressions and thoughts: These buildings are iconic and valuable to our country. They are the images that people see in their minds when they think of Washington DC. The monument was so tall, I couldn't see the top once I got closer. I didn't go up because I didn't want to get up and wait at 5 am to get a chance at a ticket for the day. It was neat but didn't really make a huge impression on us. Maybe we need to learn more about it and why it was erected. The Lincoln Memorial was something else. It paid tribute to one of the most valuable citizens our nation has ever had. I had always though of Lincoln as the one who brought slavery to an end with the Emancipation Proclamation. But he was responsible for much more. He saved the Union and this great country from utter destruction from within. There was a really neat feeling in that Memorial as you stood and looked at such a humble face. Down the stairs a Ranger was playing loudly on a stereo Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and the emotion was electric. To have been there would have been amazing. To be there now, the feeling was still there, and Lincoln encompasses it all now. He represents the darkest part of our nation's history and the brightest hope that was born from it - from his earthly sacrifice. It was a much more humble building (though still beautifully big) than the Capitol building bookending on the other side. It was like being back in time and looking towards the future. I wonder if Lincoln's eyes would see progress or not?We didn't get to go into many of these buildings because there is just too much stuff to look at in Washington DC. We'll just have to come back again.
The US Treasury Building
The Supreme Court Building
The Senatorial Office Building - Big and spacious isn't it?
Natural History Museum - We went in this one. It had some pretty cool exhibits. My favorite one was the forensic exhibit. It showed examples of different bone injuries or diseases and how to tell if something was pre, post or at the time of death. I was all over that exhibit. I love forensic shows and I love FOX's Bones. The museum did spend a great deal of its square footage on how I originated from monkeys which I didn't so much appreciate since I know I originated from something a bit more divine.
Super cool architecture inside the Natural History Museum.
National Archives: Oh how I wish we had time to have gone to this one. It would have been cool to see the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence etc. 
Library of Congress - I wonder what it takes to get a library card there?
National Gallery of Art - wanted to see this one too ::pout:: no time!
FBI Building - construction on a steam vent nearby makes it look like it is on fire.
Smithsonian Castle
We also went to the Holocaust Museum. Didn't take pictures there - not supposed to of course. That was overwhelming. Your mind automatically wants to tell you it cant possibly be true because it is so horrible even as you know it is and see the evidence of it. So many shoes.....
It is a pretty building. And no matter how you feel about its current resident - you cannot look at the building without thinking it must be really something to be able to live there. The snipers on the roof are a nice artistic touch don't you think?
Secret Service police outside the white house fence. Andy pointed out that it says right there on their cruiser that they are the secret service - doesn't that make it not such a secret anymore? :) There was a stroller without anyone standing near it when we were there. They got right on that and were yelling at everyone to see who it belonged to. Kind of fun to see a little bit of the action - even if it was just a couple of not so secret service officers and an empty stroller.
Thoughts and Impressions: The buildings all around Washington DC are some of the prettiest I've ever seen. It was nice to see such a historic city be so pleasant to visit and look at. The whole city gave me a real sense of patriotism. Every American should travel to DC - sort of like a Pilgrimage to Amerecca. (Mecca - get it!) It was defining and refining.
