The Mountain of the Lord's House

There are four places where I feel closest to God, and over Memorial Day weekend I was able to spend time at each of them.

1) The Temple

The temple to which we are currently assigned is just south of Denver. The drive is short enough that we usually are able to take the whole family when we go. Ramona and Mika love being by the big fountain out front. I love being in the Celestial Room . . . sitting in there helps to remind me of who I am and the direction I am trying to go.

 

 

2) Church

Too often I take for granted the peace that comes from participating in church services each week. It takes some effort to get everyone in their Sunday best and out the door on time, but the spiritual renewal I find there makes it all worth it. Sometimes there are a few extra minutes to snap photos before we leave, and those are usually worth it, as well.

 

This past Sunday Ramona even found a few extra minutes (when I wasn't looking) to inscribe her name on the front door with sidewalk chalk. It is HER house, after all.

I didn't get a chance to take my baby's official 5 month pictures (like some moms are so good about doing), but at least I got these, just a few days late.

 

 

 

3) In the Mountains
The bible records that Moses went up Mount Sinai to speak with God. Although my life experiences are much different from those of Moses, I can relate to the idea of communing with God through nature. For me, there is nothing quite like a higher altitude hike to help me feel the power and majesty of my creator.

On Memorial Day our family ventured out to Horsetooth Falls, hitting the hiking trail with Paula on my back, Mika on Forest's back, and the snacks on Ramona's back.

 

 

 

 

 

This particular hike was monumental for our family because we actually completed it--made it to the falls and back. No turning back partway through because someone was too tired or peed their pants.

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I look at these family photos, I realize the baby looks a little squished. Sorry, Paula doll!

We did pull you out to enjoy some freedom every now and again.

Overall the baby did great on her very first hike. And Ramona hiked almost the entire 2.4 miles on her own. There was just a little stretch toward the end where I piggybacked her after she fell head first into the dirt and burst into tears. (I had Paula swiveled around up front at the same time, so we looked like a three-headed hiking monster, I'm sure.) But other than that, Ramona did it all!

 

 

Mika stayed mostly on Daddy's back for the hike. But she did get out to spend a few moments on the trail with her big sis.

4) At Home with Family
Our house is far from picture perfect, but on most days it's just the place where my heart needs to be. I know God gave me this family to help me become a better person. When I remember that, our home feels sanctified somehow--despite its shortcomings--and it's a place where I can feel close to Him.

Mother's Day: Good News and Bad News

Lately Ramona has been identifying both the positive and negative aspects of our family's experiences and describing them as "the good news" and "the bad news." Here are both the good and bad news of the recent events surrounding Mother's Day 2014:

Good News: The week before Mother's Day, Ramona's preschool hosted a Moms and Muffins brunch. I got to spend some special time with my big girl, see her in action as a little waitress, and share lemonade, muffins, and chocolate strawberries with her.

Bad News: It was probably around this time that Ramona and I were exposed to a severe stomach virus that recently caused over 50 students to be sent home from the neighborhood elementary school in ONE day.

Good News: Miss Jamie helped the kids fill out questionnaires about their moms. Some of the responses were hilarious.

Bad News: Each questionnaire was read out loud to the class after brunch.

Good News: Forest's buddy Scott invited us to his wedding, scheduled the Saturday before Mother's Day at Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago.

Bad News: On Friday, while we were on the road to Illinois, Ramona started throwing up in the car (every hour for half of the trip) and I got hit with nausea and body aches. We showed up at Paca's house as some very weary travelers.

Good News: I felt a lot better the next morning, so we left Ramona and Mika with Paca as planned, and dropped the baby off with Carol before heading up to Chicago.
Bad News: My stomach did NOT like the lunch we picked up on the way. And it retaliated, big time.

Good News: We still made it to both the wedding ceremony and reception. Forest got to see lots of old friends.
Bad News: I could barely nibble on my food at the dinner table and was sure everyone thought I had an eating disorder (Especially coupled with comments like: "Wow, you look great after just having a baby!"--even if they were obligatory)

Good News: We snapped some pretty good pictures.
Bad News: It was hard for me to smile--I not only had angry stomach issues but engorgement issues from surplus breastmilk. We were one of the first couples to leave the party.

Bad News: My Mother's Day began with me throwing up in the hotel toilet.

Good News: Ramona and Mika had made me giant Mother's Day cards to show me when we got back to Paca's house

Bad News: I missed church.

Good News: Everyone else made it to church, and afterward Paula got to meet Great-Grandma Rosanne for the first time.

Bad News: Back at Paca's house, Ramona cried because I was too sick to walk down to the river with her.

Good News: Forest went with her, and she brought me back a pretty little sprig of wildflowers.

Bad News: Mika slept through dinner.

Good News: I actually had a little bit of an appetite for dinner! And we enjoyed the company of Gavin, Kristen, Cheryl, and Dick. Once Mika woke up, she ate her share and helped her sisters provide the post-dinner entertainment.

 

 

Good News: The next day we got to visit my parents before hitting the road back to Colorado. Baachan of course had lots of goodies to give to the girls . . .

 

 . . . including these adorable bear-face cookies.

 Bad News: We could only stay for an hour.

Good News: The car ride home was puke- and diarrhea-free.
Bad News: The days following were anything but puke- and diarrhea-free. In addition to cleaning up the aforementioned substances, I have also been canceling/rescheduling an entire week's worth of appointments, tackling larger-than-normal mountains of laundry, and battling stronger-than-normal feelings of discouragement and self-pity.
Good News: Morale is back up. Let the good news (and healthy bowels) prevail!