LOVE

Just a couple of days ago I was feeling the stress of a sudden venue change for Thanksgiving day. My sister's kids were sick and so everyone would be heading to my house sans sick kids. I sat down in my living room chair and looked over at my cabinets to see this. A bunch of my larger paper clips bent all out of shape. I took a deep breath and moved on. Ignoring the paper clip mess.

The very next day I walked over by my cabinets in the living room and from a different angle saw this:

It was no longer a mess but a message. She wanted me to see that she loved me. Yesterday we went on a walk between movies. We were enjoying a lazy Friday and movie marathon. We've never done that before but I liked it. On our walk she expressed her concerns about her last three weeks at school. She'd fallen on the black top on her way to the playground, been kicked in the head by a mean boy, and punched in the face by another mean boy (he was on a punching spree and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time - I guess that is what going postal is in elementary school). She had been struggling to enjoy school - who can blame her - recess is an very important part of the day. By then end of our long walk up the gravel road near our home she began to smile again. She remembered why she liked school and how to concentrate on that instead of all the crap. Hmmm, a lesson I learn and relearn all of the time. Then she reached down and picked up a rock. "Look Mom, it's a heart!" And then she quickly knelt down and picked up another one. "Look Mom, another one." I began to look around. They were everywhere. How many times have I walked up that gravel road? How many times had I failed to see the heart rocks? Sometimes it takes the cheerfulness of a child to point us in the right direction and help us recognize the hand of God.

To quote a scripture from the Book of Mormon:

1 Nephi 1:1 "But behold, I will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

Yesterday my daughter and I were delivered from our own misery and I still feel happy for it.

Check ups and stuff

I go to my oncologist this Thursday for my now every-6-months-post-cancer-check-up. I'm hoping for a clean bill of health for sure. Of course, after that kind o f treatment, there is always something up even if it's not cancer. So I hope they can figure it out and get things under control again. Your prayers are much appreciated. Thanks!

little miracles

Yesterday I was having one of 'those days'. As I climbed into the car to go pick up the sitter so I could go to a photo session in town, I turned on the radio. This was certainly one of the Lord's tender mercies because the first thing I heard was "tomorrow will be better than today..." That's exactly where Martina McBride's "Anyway" song was when I turned it on. I sat there with my mouth open for a minute and as soon as I pulled myself back together I started driving. I wondered all night if tomorrow really would be better. Well, today was significantly better. I forgot about the significant stresses in my life and my upcoming post-cancer check-up. I talked with a sister at church who is going through more difficulties than myself. I really enjoyed the sacrament talks. Primary was quite enjoyable. Received some much needed counsel. And now I am ready to face a busy week.

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