4 agreements

 Our book club today was on the" 4 agreements".  I served themed refreshments.

Be impeccable with the word: Pickles

Take nothing personally: Fruits and vegetables.  That's how they are.

Assume nothing: Cheese Ball.  What's in it?

Do your best: P Breads.

In our discussions I gained more appreciation for my mom.  She was criticized a lot as a child.  In her marriage she was criticized a lot and abused.  But she didn't pass that on to me.  She told me stories of people being mean to her and I developed an internal dialog that it was wrong for people to treat her that way.  She supported me in pursuing sports and music.  She advocated for me to be included in the classes for smart kids even though I wasn't the smartest kid.  So many people are torn down by their parents but she always built me up.  I wish I had appreciated her more in this life.

P took me to see a concert where I heard this piece.  The words are not so poignant, but the music is so heart breaking.  Morten Lauridsen is my favorite composer.  We went to hear another piece, O Magnum Mysterium, which was very nice, but "Prayer" was so beautiful I just lay my head on P's shoulder and sobbed.

P finished the book shelves!  We also replaced the sink in the kids bathroom and framed the mirror with trim.  It looks great.  I love our home.

sacrifice and consecration

Last week at the temple my mind was very drawn to the law of consecration.  We consecrate everything we have been blessed with our which we may be blessed with to building up God's kingdom here on earth.  It is eternal going into the past and future.  I am already consecrating my speech therapy classes, knowledge, future job to the Lord. 

Sacrifice is letting things go.  What do I let go?  Expectations, anger, pride and sometimes comfort.  I give up my will to let God prevail.  To let his plan be the plan I love, I give up my plan in favor of a better one.

Consecration is letting things grow.  So you find yourself in a situation you didn't anticipate, expect or wish for.  In the words of "Cruz" in "Cars 3" "Use that!"  All God's creatures have a place in the choir.  Some sing low, some sing higher, some sing out loudly on the telephone wire and some just clap their hands or paws or anything they've got.  Yeah.

Life is so beautiful.

Family Retreat

 Friday night we went to a family retreat for families with deaf kids.  This group has state and commercial sponsors so it only cost$50 for our family.  It was incredibly nice and the kids had a great time.  Many of the people there had small children with implants.  The mission of this organization is "If it works for the child it is the right decision."   Some signed, a lot did not.  But it was really nice for that to be a non-issue.  We all got along and enjoyed the common struggle like IEP meetings.  There was a formal interpreter and captions for sessions and farm tour.  But it was more chill, like our old home ward.  The camp where it was held was so nice.  Our family had a large room in a house with a common room.  We took a really nice hike on Saturday including a swinging bridge that lP triumphed over.  I love our family.

Books, books, books!

 

P bolt these beautiful shelves.  We haven’t had our books for over a year since packing to sell the house in February.

He designed them including the nice base that fits over the floorboards.  It is built onto the wall and the shelves are only 8 inches deep to conserve floor space.  Beautiful!