Sunday Sermon, Christmas Dress, and 5 Months Old

I realized that I left a bunch of the pictures I had taken on the computer in Utah, so my Thanksgiving stories will have to wait!

Today at church we got the excellent news that our new meeting time (starting next week and going through 2008) will be 8:00 am. Yowza! The spanish ward in our area split and one of the new units needs to meet in our building. It's too small to overlap so the meetings will be 8:00, 11:30, and 3:00.

In Relief Society, our lesson was on Visiting Teaching. This is a sketchy subject for me. My feelings have really run the gamut on the issue. There was certainly a point in time where I would rather they just leave me alone, and I guess I assumed my teachees must feel the same way, and I didn't do a great job. It was a turning point when on one of our few and far between visits, we asked "Is there anything we can do for you?" And this lady, who lived in a tiny married housing apartment with her husband and 6, count 'em, 6 kids, replied, "Just come. It would help me a lot if you would just come."

Boy did I feel terrible. And we moved the next week. I wanted so badly to repair the damage I had done. But we were moving to Ogden and it would be impossible. I decided then that I would really try my best to make my visits. I would let them personally tell me, "Hey, don't come." Instead of just assuming that's how they felt, just because that's how I felt.

Then I heard in a lesson sometime, that it was our responsibility as teachees to let our sisters visit us and serve us, so they could be blessed for their efforts and service. And maybe along the way, we would be blessed too. I finally figured that it was not my place to deny them their blessings.

I have enjoyed visiting teaching so much more since I've had these realizations and experiences. I try really hard to make contact each month. But there is this lady on my list who is inactive, and we have yet to contact. It seems it is really easy for me to fall back on my assumptions that she is probably a person who would rather us not come. Cause if she wanted to see people, church members, wouldn't she just come to church? This is all just my thoughts, because I truly have no idea about her or her situation. It just scares me to call her, honestly.

So today, the woman teaching the lesson, said she had some sisters who were going to share their experiences about VT. A sister I had never seen got up and explained that she was inactive, and that Sister Cotter (who was teaching the lesson) was her visiting teacher. She related some of her very sad circumstances and how she appreciated the visits. She comes to church only once in a while, she had a lot of things to work out with Heavenly Father, and that the reasons she did come to church ever were because of Sister Cotter. She said she knew that Heavenly Father still loved her because of this sister and her visits.

This was just the kick I needed to gather my courage and call the girl on my list. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna bring her a treat. Or at least try. I will let her tell me with her own mouth, "Hey don't come." And then again maybe she'll want us to come. But I figure I better let the decision be hers and not mine.


Ava wore her Christmas dress today. I thought she looked beautiful and so did she. She wouldn't stop twirling and "tying her shoes" to give a good pose.

"Tying her shoes"

And twirling...

Ava is just a character. I don't no how else to describe her. In the store yesterday, she was blocking the aisle and a 2 people with a cart were approaching. I asked her to scoot over. She complied for a minute and then all of the sudden jumped right in front of their cart, with hands on her hips and yelled, "No! I won't scoot over!" I had to pick her up and she through a royal fit!

I warn her periodically that we will be doing such and such and that she cannot have a fit or she can't whine and she has become famous for saying "Yes, wants fits! Needs to fit! Want a whine! Need a whine!" I can truly say that she makes me laugh out loud at least once a day.

And my Mr. Luke is now 5 months old. He is so handsome and smiley. He flops like a bean bag but he just rolls and rolls. He has now been diagnosed with reflux. Booo! But he is no longer wheezing. Yeaaa! He loves still to be snuggled, snorted, and kissed on.



Love you, Mr. Man!