Children Are Angels Who Sing Off Key

Once a year, all of the children from three to eleven years old in our church do a presentation during the main part of our Sunday meeting. All year long, the kids practice the songs they will sing. For the last month or so before the presentation, they practice reciting parts that they are each [...]

Exhale.

Given how quiet it has been here over the past week or so, it would be easy to assume that I had fallen off of the face of the earth. Wishful thinking, I suppose, could conjure up thoughts of me going into labor and having the baby early (this is no longer an evil thought, [...]

Relax???

You know, when we were going through all those years of infertility, a lot of people would say a lot of things to try and comfort me. Probably the one I heard the most was, “If you adopt, you’ll finally relax about having kids—then you’ll get pregnant!” I’m sure many people felt their comments were [...]

The Mouths of Babes

I’ll warn you up front—if you aren’t familiar with the LDS church, this post may not make a lot of sense to you.
Several years ago, when we were still attending a small, inner-city Branch (tiny LDS congregation), Sean was the Young Men’s president and I was the Young Women’s president. It was a very small [...]

Self-Reflection from the Sidelines

I am a competitive person.
If I go to the gym, you can rest assured that I am looking at the settings on the treadmill/spin bike/elliptical machine next to me. As neurotic as it may sound, I don’t want to feel like I’m being “beat” by the person I’ll never see again working out on the [...]

Sometimes, It’s Easier than You Think. Sometimes, It’s Not.

I can’t remember if I have mentioned this yet, but Caleb has been a bit different since our car accident. Not in everyday life so much, just in church. Caleb has always loved going to nursery. He is the only one of my kids that I didn’t need to help adjust to the idea of [...]

Like the Stars

In case you have been wondering–no, I’m not dead. My absence this week (if you even noticed at all), was only due to me feeling like I was dying.
Colds suck.
You know that you are sick when you start believing that the five-year-old might be mature enough to watch the baby. Or when you stop [...]

I’ve Never Felt So Ashamed

Yesterday, during church, one of the speakers mentioned his deep love for all things related to his, and my, alma mater, Brigham Young University. And I thought, “The poor man, nobody has told him yet.”
I don’t fault him, of course. I had only found out the day before. I was in the car with my [...]

Relinquishing the Last Shreds of My Dignity

One of the first things that I had to do today was a mini-physical to prove that I’m not on death’s doorstep before my insurance company would let me make some changes to my life insurance.
After years of honor rolls, scholarships, and honor societies, I finally managed to fail a test miserably. How embarrassing that [...]

I Am a Child of God

Once a year, throughout the LDS church, the children of each congregation put on a program during the Sacrament meeting (the portion of our service where the entire congregation is together). The Primary kids (ages 3-11) practice the songs all year long, then spend a month of more leading up to the program practicing lines [...]