Tragedy Strikes

What goes on in the mind of a two-year-old I'll never know, but all I know is, my laptop is dead at the hand of Caroline. Did she see my computer and think, "It looks thirsty. I'll give it a drink," and that's when she poured milk over the whole thing? Or did my computer spontaneously combust and she put the flames out with milk? Maybe, oh, I don't know. I found my laptop dying in a pool of milk, with Caroline as the perpetrator.  No more computer.  No more camera, either, because I dropped it when we were moving. While we're on it, my piano has decided that the "D" note an octave below middle "C" needs to be 3x louder than all the other notes. These things happen in three's, right? I'm just happy it's not four's. Or five's. Counting my blessings...

*I'd like to thank Dan for the use of his laptop. I miss mine. RIP.

Hold to the Rod

Warning! This is a serious post! Feel free to navigate away now...
Consider this my "Monday Morning Devotional."

President David O. Mckay said, “If you have lived true to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and continue to do so, happiness will fill your soul. If you vary from it and become conscious that you have fallen short of what you know is right, you are going to be unhappy...”. My first experience with following the influence of the Spirit occurred in my youth and actually happened to my sister. We were on our annual fishing trip to Henry's Lake in Idaho and it was my sister's turn to take the fishing pole. As she was fishing, she related to us that “something said, 'Hold on,' so I did,” and seconds later she reeled in a fish. I was really struck by that incident, for several reasons, one being that Heavenly Father was aware of us; two, that he sent the Holy Ghost to speak to my sister; and three, she listened. It seemed so insignificant- a small girl fishing- but as I was reflecting on this experience, I realized that my sister was told to hold to the rod, which she did, and was thus rewarded. And so it is with all of us. We have been told to hold to the rod in order to receive our reward of eternal life, and if we listen, the Spirit will continue to point us toward our heavenly home, and give us reminders to “hold on.”

Follow the influence of the Spirit, and as you do so, do not doubt. Remember the scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 6:23, “Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?What greater witness can you have than from God?”. The Lord will lead us on the right path, and as we follow that great compass, the Spirit, we will feel a happiness and a peace that we would not have had we chosen not to follow. We must live as Nephi did, who said, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded...”. As we are led by the Spirit, we will ensure our taking the right path to return home, for that is our goal- to receive the gift of eternal life, to live in the presence of our Father, with aid from the Holy Spirit. I know that as we follow the Spirit, we will be filled with light, knowledge, and love from on High. And in those moments when we begin to let go of the rod, the Spirit will be there to whisper, “Hold on.”

Confession

I have a confession. I've been listening to Christmas music.  In my defense, it has been on the radio.  If it wasn't played on the radio, I wouldn't listen to it.  But I do.  And it makes me feel...happy. There! It's out! Now I can go on with my day, and listen to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" guilt-free. Almost. It's still a smidgen early, since my Christmas tree is tucked away in our basement until next Friday. Wait! Next Friday? I'm only a week early? Turn up the radio- I think I hear "Sleigh Ride" playing.

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Organ Nerd Gathering, uh, er, Organ Recital

I had a busy weekend and had no time for blogging. I am an organ nerd taking organ lessons and Saturday was my organ recital (I know, when you picture "organist," a little old lady with curly gray hair comes to mind, right? Well, I'm breakin' the norm, baby!).  I played Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G minor, which only took me about 8 months to learn. That's right- 8 months. That's a long time to practice a piece. I forgot how awesome it sounds because I've heard it so many times.

Me in all my organ nerd glory.

The awesome organ I played on.  It's a bit intimidating at first,

 but once I got used to it, I was ok playing it.  The inscription on the organ says, "Glory to God in the Highest." I love it! As I was listening to the pieces being played, I read that inscription over and over again, feeling grateful for the men who were inspired so many years ago to compose works dedicated to God.

Princess Booty

Potty-training is going better for us. I did buy more Princess panties because I was washing underwear everyday and always running out by the end of the day. I upped our panty count to 15. When I gave Caroline Sleeping Beauty panties, she excitedly said, "Wear Sleeping Booty!" "No, Be-au-ty." "Sleeping Booty!" "No, Be-au-ty." "Booty!".


I give up. The toddler booty is covered by Princess Booty.

The Faith as a Grain of Mustard Seed- and a Child

I walked outside to find Pierce (5) staring at the mountains with a perplexed look on his face.  I asked him what was wrong, and he replied, "The mountains aren't falling down." What? So when I asked about that, he said, "I prayed to Jesus to make the mountains fall down 'cause I want to see that." 

Thank you, mountains, for not obeying the whim of a five-year-old boy. Whew.

Ivory and White are Both White

As I was piecing an outfit together for Charlotte, I was matching brown leggings with a skirt that has brown in it.  The browns were a close match, and as I thought that, my mind immediately reverted back 7 years ago.  I was working as a bridal consultant at the time, selling gowns and accessories.  One winter afternoon, a bride's mom came in looking for a cape to go with her daughter's wedding dress. All we had left in stock were the cream capes, since white dresses are more popular than cream ones.  When we told this woman that all we had left were cream, she replied, "That's ok, cream is just another color for white." Huh? She walked out the door with a cream cape for her daughter's white dress.  Glad I missed that reunion. Unless, of course, her daughter thought the same way, then one oblivious mom + one oblivious bride= happiness, because ignorance is bliss.

Here comes the bride, all dressed in varying colors of white...

This might sound crazy, but I couldn't find a picture of someone

wearing a white dress with a cream cape.

Bagley

We own a cat. I am not a cat person. It was not my idea to get a cat. But we own a cat.  We named her Bagley, and Dan we got her so she would eat the mice that live in the field behind our house.  Bagley lives in our garage.  The garage smells like kitty litter. Today the girls and I checked on Bagley, and that's when I saw a mouse.  I like cats more than I like mice. I saw the mouse, Caroline saw the mouse, but Bagley did not.  Really? You're a cat, you know, with incredible reflexes, including incredible vision.  Or not. We kept yelling at Bagley to, "Go get the mouse, Bagley!", but Bagley continued to calmly drink from her dish.  Then the mouse crept silently behind the oblivious kitty and sat there, waiting for the strike that never came.  I think it was testing Bagley, and Bagley failed.  Or passed, if you're the mouse, because the mouse kept darting back and forth behind the cat's back, either taunting or celebrating. Maybe both. Bagley then went on to attack a piece of paper laying on the floor. Paper. Not the mouse. So now we have a mouser who doesn't mouse. It will come with time, right? I sure hope so. 'Cause right now I have a mouse and a cat living together in our garage with all of our stuff I have yet to unpack.  That creeps me out.  A little mouse sniffing around my possessions? Ew.

Go get the mouse, Bagley.

Mankie

Mankie is missing.  Mankie is Caroline's beloved blanket that used to be pink and is now a dingy, uh, well, a dingy pink, despite my best efforts to clean it and restore it to its original color. Mankie (called so because Caroline cannot say "blankie" yet.  Mankie has actually evolved over the last year.  It started out as "Mamie," morphed into "Mankie," slipped from "Manket" back to "Mankie." I still miss "Mamie." Back to the point). 

When Mankie disappears, it is usually at the hand of Pierce who likes to see Caroline fall into hysterics when she can't find the used-to-be-bright-pink-but-is-now-a-dingy-pink-and-sometimes-smells blanket. Update: Mankie has been recovered.  It's location came after a confession from Pierce, who stashed it in the TV console side door. I have also found Mankie tossed in the linen closet, wadded up behind the couch, and tucked inside a kitchen cabinet.  Shelves and doors seem to be the common denominators when it comes to hiding spots.  I'll keep that in mind for next time.

When Mankie goes missing, chaos reigns. When Mankie gets washed, crying ensues.  When Mankie gets taken, hysteria abounds. This delights Pierce to no end. To. no. end. Sigh. The reunion between Mankie and Caroline is always the same: girl hugs blanket, girl rubs the material that used to be silk, girl calms down. Immediately.  Is this cause for concern? Not yet. It could be a problem, yes, but we're not there yet. Why? Because I think that Mankie will slowly deteriorate into nothing but a thread of silk.  Hard to console yourself with just a thread.  Until then, hide-'n-seek will continue, as will the tears and screams.  Lots of screams. 

I better buy some earplugs. 

The Mankie thief and Caroline

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                                   Mankie, in the lap of a younger Caroline.