Weekend Snapshots

 Friday night

Late night pizza and karaoke with friends. 

Saturday morning

Me:
"Sis, time to get up for your flute lesson."

Her:

She knew that consolation for the Saturday lesson was no school or lessons on MLK day Monday.

After flute there were Saturday chores, interspersed generously with Studio C episodes.  

In the evening, Lucy chipped away at her geography report on Norway.  

Sunday morning

Me: 

"Lucy, will you paint a tree of life for my primary lesson on the back of this old alphabet poster?"

Her: 

Spencer is the quickest to get ready on Sunday mornings, so he defaulted to his usual waiting stance of nose inside an illustrated copy of Harry Potter.

After church, we drove to Bountiful and ate dinner with Dad and Brenda, and Lucy showed us Family Search's face matching game. The phone rang late into the night as more siblings and cousins tried it out and reported their results.  

Sunday night

Cozy fire in dad's basement.

(Love these boys working on the kindling while Lucy read the old newspapers about to be burned.)

Dad regularly records movies he thinks the kids will like and then saves them for when we visit.  This time was The Black Stallion (which book Spencer's class is currently reading, hence his continual commentary about differences from text.) 

We munched on the pretzels I had purchased last month for dad's Christmas stocking and forgotten to put out on Christmas morning.

Monday

Standard breakfast table at Grandpa's.

Puzzle of the USofA (which had us planning all kinds of hypothetical summer road trips).

For lunch, Brenda brought firehouse sub samples and we played with Navy before driving home to Payson in time for Lucy to have a movie night with a couple of her besties.

Spencer is often welcomed to join in with the girls, but I tried to keep him at bay for a little while with a banana split and a round or two of memory.

   Which game he enjoys winning very much.  

And I'll probably keep letting him for a while longer ;)

Sunday Snapshots

The words are repeated once again
this sacred Sabbath time;
words I can trace through the week,
but this time unique,
spoken,
quietly,
in youthful intonation
and the nourishment
is proffered me
by a boy's hand
in exchange for my changing.
-Ann Madsen

Spencer helped to pass the sacrament today.
We've been reading in the New Testament and discussing what that ordinance is about at its heart.

An opportunity to remember the Savior with the loyalty and love with which he remembers us.

Reverently and meekly now
let thy head most humbly bow
Think of me thou ransomed one
Think what I for thee have done

There were tears a plenty on my part as we sang and prayed and waited a little extra time for the bread and water to be passed by the sweet, careful hands of new deacons doing their best to "watch over the church" and ensure opportunity for all choosing to partake and remember.

At home we opted out of real lunch in favor of an "eat whatever you can find" free for all.  When Spencer followed his first course of soup and rolls up with cereal and nachos and hot chocolate, I said, "we should have just made dinner."  But he shook his head and said with a mouthful, "No, this is my favorite!"

Lucy helped him set up a Family Search account to print off names for a temple visit later in the week.

Those two played in the snow much of the afternoon and then Lucy asked to help make dinner.  We visited, and watch the robins outside the window, and sang along to The Music Man soundtrack.

At the youth fireside tonight,

John Bythway made us laugh, and President B referenced an Andy Griffith episode we'd never seen, so of course...

...had to remedy that. 

Sunday Snapshots

First Sunday of the new year (but I still listened to Christmas music while working on dinner prep early in the morning). Went to church and taught my new primary class of five year olds.  I love five year olds.  

In the afternoon, Dad drove down with Brenda and Parker.  

Spencer was ordained a deacon.

How I love him. And my dad, and Grant Leavitt, and our bishopric - all there encircling Spencer and welcoming him into a brotherhood of men and boys dedicated to serving God, listening to the promptings of the Spirit, ministering to others.   

How I love the priesthood.  A power that has blessed my life continually since I was a child and has been present and sustaining to me through the difficulties of losing Wes and rearing our children without him.  

I'm grateful for the increased conversation and discussion about the priesthood happening since President Nelson's invitation to study the topic in greater deapth.  It's so good for all of us - men and women, boys and girls - to understand God's power and our related roles - better and better.

A few weeks ago, a kind person heard of Spencer's upcoming ordination and said to me excitedly, "You'll have the priesthood in your home!"

I smiled and said, "We've never been without it," but wished there had been time to explain.  Time to share Elder Anderson's words: "we can live every hour 'blessed by the strength of priesthood power,' whatever our circumstance."

Been re-reading Little Women since seeing the movie last week (💗).  Love Mother's words to Jo:

"I have a better friend, even than father, to comfort and sustain me.  My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all, if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do your earthly one.  The more you love and trust him, the nearer you will feel to Him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom.  His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength."

Time to go sit on the bed of a new little deacon who still has trouble falling asleep on his own.  (But he doesn't need any help building marble machines.)