Breathe

"Just breathe."  That is what I keep telling myself these days.  And "pray."  I seem to pray more lately, for lots of reasons.   Moving twice, driving to the school three times a day (1.5 hours total) and working 15 hours a week are just a few of the reasons.  This is not me complaining, it's more that I am trying to sort out how I am going to juggle it all.

There are times we get time to breathe more slowly. Like last week. Mike's parents came for a visit and so did his Aunt Sherrill.   They do so much around here and the kids are outnumbered so there are plenty of adult hands to keep little hands busy and out of trouble.  And there was no school.  So we got to sleep in and not rush in the morning.

We had General Conference recently. That's where the leaders of the LDS Church meet together and give talks about how to keep our lives balanced and all sorts of wonderfully inspiring thoughts.  I always love General Conference.  I was motivated to do better at logging our family's history, that is, keeping up the family blog a little better.  I was also inspired that if I had enough time to log on to Facebook or browse through my smartphone several times a day,  I should have enough time to fit in better scripture study.  This has caused me to read or listen to the scriptures instead of looking at Facebook so often.  I have noticed that I feel more patient, more grounded, more centered because of this.  General Conference, what a blessing.  The gospel is such a blessing in my life.  It is my source for peace, for joy, for comfort and for guidance.  If I need to find an answer to a deep pondering in my heart, I can always find it through scripture study, prayer or when I attend church.  As I look back on my short 36 years of life, everything good has come into my life because of the church.  Most importantly, my husband and children.

This is completely off-topic, but my mom has come to stay with us for a while to save some money.  She has been a big help.  She loves to dive into all kinds of little projects for me and helps with all sorts of little tasks that can pile up quick, like the laundry.  It may not seem like a big deal to her, but it means a lot to me.  She just quietly goes around to each room when she sees dirty clothes piling up and gets them washed.  I know I do not tell her often enough, but I sure appreciate all she does.  So, Mom if you are reading this, THANK YOU.

And one more thing, our new neighbors have been so nice.  Especially in our church.  I keep shaking my head in amazement at how warm and inviting they have all been.  We got a plate a cookies the second day we lived here from a family that lives behind us.  Our next door neighbor shoveled our walks when Mike was at work.  Michaela has a whole gaggle of friends, she is never wanting for a playmate.  (Of course, it helps she is our little social butterfly).  She may drive me crazy, but she is very open and people just love to be near her.  She is also a good little cleaner--she is my best dish dryer and organizer.  Love you, Michaela. Well, I diverge.  Yes, we are quickly coming to love our new neighborhood.  It was terribly, terribly hard to leave Harvest Hills.  I have had a few nights I have had to cry because I wish I could magically make our new larger house that we love appear on our old street.  I am tearing up now.  I just loved all of our neighbors there.

Ahaha, this day is almost officially over and our boys will be bursting through our bedroom door in less than seven hours.