April Flowers

The month of April started out with general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It was wonderful.  The kiddies made it hard at some points but I actually paid attention to a few of the talks.  I really felt like I was being instructed personally by the Lord through the words of his prophets and servants.  During the afternoon session Eliza was in her room and she was supposed to be taking a nap.  Right in the middle of Elder Scott's beautiful talk, she came out of her room holding her poopy diaper in her hands.  Cody took care of it while I fed the baby and finished listening to Elder Scott's talk.  I don't remember him ever being so personal and intimate with everyone as he was in this talk.  He shared some beautiful experiences and life lessons he has had in his family.  He described an incident where he wanted to fix the washing machine so that his wife didn't have to wash the clothes by hand but his wife told him to go and play with the children.  At her insistence he did, and he had a great time with them.  He had been gone for a while so I imagine the kids were overjoyed to have him there playing with them.  (on a side note: the women that are married to these valiant and faithful men must be saints.)  He says that early the next morning he felt the arms of one of his children around his neck and heard these words, "Dad, I love you.  You are my best friend."  Elder Scott calls these precious experiences some of the "supernal joys of life."
As I listened to his words, I thought about my babies and their poopy diapers, messes, screaming, crying and the stress they cause me but it was all overshadowed by the thought of their sweet little faces looking up at me.  I have never felt such joy as I have within my own sweet little family.  It has been difficult keeping these babies of mine healthy, fed and clothed for the last 5 months, it is a juggling act and a lesson in patience but it has been so much fun to watch them grow.  With all the difficult times come the "supernal joys of life" like watching Eliza scream with joy and run into Cody's open arms or family tickle attack sessions or making faces at each other during dinner.  Kids bring an immeasurable amount of fun to a marriage but I learned during Elder Scott's talk that the marriage part of the family cannot be left to the wayside.  I loved that he shared with us the sweet things he and his wife did for each other to express love--that is so important to keep a family together and strong.  Families are blessings.

And I only have three pictures from the last few weeks to share with all of you.  Eliza was sick last week and now this week Coulson has been sick and it has been terrible!  He has croup.  It is so sad.  I tried so hard to keep him healthy by washing, sanitizing and staying home for months but now it got him.  Hopefully he is on the mend now.  I think I have given myself an ulcer from worrying about him so much.  Next time you go out and you have a cold, think of a little baby wheezing and hacking its lungs out and turning purple and then go back inside your house and stay there, please, nothing is that important that you need to share your sick germs with everyone.

This was last Sunday.

 Eliza is sleeping in a big bed now.  She is enjoying her new found freedom and opts out of naps frequently.  She has become quite skilled at playing silently so that I won't go in and put her back in her bed.

 Kori and John and fam came to visit and we had a good time doing the San Diego thing.  We went to the beach and Mormon Battalion.  Eliza loved playing with her cousins and talks about them frequently.  It is always fun to have family in town.