A few weeks back, Elijah was given a cup in primary which he filled with dirt and planted 2 small sunflower seeds, Following church this day, the cup was given to me and we told Elijah that we would water it and wait for it to grow. After about 1 hour Elijah came running back to the cup looking for the plant. It had not grown yet. This surprised him. I told him that plants need water, sunshine, soil, and time to grow. We cannot expect this little seed to burst through the soil after merely a few hours/minutes. I told him that we would continue to take care of it and eventually it would grow. A few days passed and before we knew it the plant had grown tall. So tall in fact that it was beginning to lean to one side (in search of the sun) so we put it outside.
Then there was a big windstorm...
The cup was knocked to the ground. The plant was torn from the cup and left to die. Unfortunately as this was happening, my family and I went out of town so we did not discover the plant for a couple of days following the windstorm. Elijah saw it first. He called to me and showed me what had happened. I quickly picked up the plant (which was limp and obviously dying/dead) put it back in the cup, added new soil and water and prepared Elijah for the worst. I told him that we would try everything that we could to help the plant get better but that it was probably not going to make it. Sometimes plants die. The poor little plants were hanging lifelessly over the sides of the cup--I thought it was too late. This plant could not weather the storm, it was just to small and lacked the support it needed to grow.
To my surprise, after a little TLC and some time, the plants started to perk up. After about 1 hour the stem of the plants had gone from withered to "fattening" but the leaves still appeared dead. After about 3 hours the leaves began to take their regular shape. After 4 hours the plant once again stood tall, leaves plump and in tact, once again leaning in search of the sun. This time, Elijah and I quickly grabbed some small sticks, placed them in the dirt near the base of the plant and attached the plants carefully to the sticks. This was to act as a support system for the plants. It would help them to gorw up straight and tall,
It may seem silly that I am recounting this story. But what a huge effect it has had on me. How often do we feel that we cannot weather the storm? Have you ever been thrown around by external conditions and left to "die" feeling only that you are too small? Not ready? Unprepared?
Just like this plant, we too can be saved. It is never too late. Given a little TLC and some time we can once again grow strong in search of the sun. This time, we know better. This time, we will grasp at a support system to help us to stand tall and grow upright.
This plant was intended as a lesson on testimonies/faith in God. I have always enjoyed the section in the Book of Mormon that relates our Faith to a small seed. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/32 . Never before has this lesson had such a huge impact on my heart. I feel so strongly now that once our faith has begun to grow--it may be knocked down not because it was a bad seed (because, remember it had begun to grow strong) but because of external forces. But it is never too late. We can be saved.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Crazy Day!
It is funny to me that when the sunshine comes out, everyone heads for the door! ...myself included! Aaron announced to me last night that the weather was going to be great so immediately we started planning for our day. Zoo followed by Ikea followed by...? Now if we could move a little faster in the morning to get out of the house a little quicker. (that would be golden!)
By 10:00 we were on our way to the zoo. We found street parking (avoided the parking fees), have a membership pass, and brought our lunch so all in all this was a relatively free outing! WAHOO! All of us had a blast. Because of the sun all of the animals were outside moving around and doing cool animal things. We saw a HUGE brown bear just chillin' next to the water. SO COOL! Then we saw the giraffe, zebra and other safari animals out and about (usually when we go they are hiding) That was neat! Towards the end of our trip we stopped at the outside play area. It was cute to see Elijah and Ariana play together (sort of) They both love the spider web and the caves!
Once we were done with the zoo we headed directly to Ikea on a mission. A few weeks back I bought some items for our bedroom that did not work. I wanted to return them before my 90 days were up. The plan was to eat lunch and then let Elijah play in the smaland (sp?) with the balls while aaron and I did some shopping. Well, Ikea was packed! So...no play area for Elijah (the wait was way too long) :-( This turned our fun shopping trip into aaron and I shopping while the kids went crazy in the cart. Let me explain... Some kids get quiet when they are tired. My kids get crazy, unpredictable and needy. Fun to watch! (most of the time) My favorite part was when Elijah starts wiggling like crazy announcing that he has to poop. (We had just come back from a potty trip) Once I asked him if he wanted to go to the bathroom he freaks out! (Elijah is afraid that public pottys will flush him if he sits on them) (In his defense, they did once! ...a story for another time) So to avoid the poop Eli begs Aaron to let him sit on his shoulders. He gets on the shoulders and he is still wiggling like a crazy person but...the potty trip was avoided! Overall it was a fun and exhausting trip.
Now home. If only it was bedtime and I could put the kids immediately to bed. I am tired!
By 10:00 we were on our way to the zoo. We found street parking (avoided the parking fees), have a membership pass, and brought our lunch so all in all this was a relatively free outing! WAHOO! All of us had a blast. Because of the sun all of the animals were outside moving around and doing cool animal things. We saw a HUGE brown bear just chillin' next to the water. SO COOL! Then we saw the giraffe, zebra and other safari animals out and about (usually when we go they are hiding) That was neat! Towards the end of our trip we stopped at the outside play area. It was cute to see Elijah and Ariana play together (sort of) They both love the spider web and the caves!
Once we were done with the zoo we headed directly to Ikea on a mission. A few weeks back I bought some items for our bedroom that did not work. I wanted to return them before my 90 days were up. The plan was to eat lunch and then let Elijah play in the smaland (sp?) with the balls while aaron and I did some shopping. Well, Ikea was packed! So...no play area for Elijah (the wait was way too long) :-( This turned our fun shopping trip into aaron and I shopping while the kids went crazy in the cart. Let me explain... Some kids get quiet when they are tired. My kids get crazy, unpredictable and needy. Fun to watch! (most of the time) My favorite part was when Elijah starts wiggling like crazy announcing that he has to poop. (We had just come back from a potty trip) Once I asked him if he wanted to go to the bathroom he freaks out! (Elijah is afraid that public pottys will flush him if he sits on them) (In his defense, they did once! ...a story for another time) So to avoid the poop Eli begs Aaron to let him sit on his shoulders. He gets on the shoulders and he is still wiggling like a crazy person but...the potty trip was avoided! Overall it was a fun and exhausting trip.
Now home. If only it was bedtime and I could put the kids immediately to bed. I am tired!
Monday, March 1, 2010
How do "super mom's" do it?
Super moms! You know the type. You walk into their house and there is organization emanating from every angle of the house. There are chore charts, FHE charts, the floors are clean, the walls are spotless and there is a mysterious sweet smell filling the rooms. HOW DO THEY DO IT!?
I try. I feel like I am always cleaning, cooking, folding, entertaining, cleaning, cooking, folding....etc. and to top it off I am always attempting to think of new ideas to make my house run smoother but still, at the end of the day laundry is spilling out of the basket waiting to be folded, dishes are in the sink waiting to be cleaned up from dinner and don't even get me started on the bathrooms! AH! We haven't even touched on paying the bills AND dropping them off in the mailbox.
My question is this...is there ever a moment where a mom looks at day to day life and says,"I've got this all figured out!?"
Don't get me wrong. My kids are great! Elijah is a good kid (most of the time) and Ariana is well...cute. Also, my house isn't disgusting. it is mostly clean but...it is not "super mom" clean. I am just too tired/lazy/would rather do other things to put in the time necessary for this organization. Maybe there is something I am missing. Does anyone have a quick trick to become a mom superhero?
I try. I feel like I am always cleaning, cooking, folding, entertaining, cleaning, cooking, folding....etc. and to top it off I am always attempting to think of new ideas to make my house run smoother but still, at the end of the day laundry is spilling out of the basket waiting to be folded, dishes are in the sink waiting to be cleaned up from dinner and don't even get me started on the bathrooms! AH! We haven't even touched on paying the bills AND dropping them off in the mailbox.
My question is this...is there ever a moment where a mom looks at day to day life and says,"I've got this all figured out!?"
Don't get me wrong. My kids are great! Elijah is a good kid (most of the time) and Ariana is well...cute. Also, my house isn't disgusting. it is mostly clean but...it is not "super mom" clean. I am just too tired/lazy/would rather do other things to put in the time necessary for this organization. Maybe there is something I am missing. Does anyone have a quick trick to become a mom superhero?
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