To begin with, how many things can you point out that are wrong with this picture above? Yes, there are no sheets--good. And yes, Kayden is wearing girly pajamas, and why you may be asking are Lanaea and Kayden sleeping in the same bed? Well, let me explain, the sheets? Mondays happen to be my laundry day and this Monday I bit off more then I could chew and the sheets didn't make their way back to beds before evening. Kayden's pajamas? Well, you know he has three sisters and I tend to have laundry issues...apparently. Don't worry he does own boyish pajamas too. And why are they sleeping in the same bed? Lanaea got irritated by her sisters and decided to sleep in Kayden's bed without my knowledge. When I came in to put Kayden down for the night I found her in his bed so I set up his pack and play port-a-crib for him to sleep in for the night. Later that night when I came back to check on them, that pic above is what I found. My little boy is a monkey and no crib of any kind can contain him anymore so I have to lock his door so he doesn't come out of his room to get him to go to sleep. The problem is, is that he can't climb back into the port-a-crib without help, so he bunked up with his sister...girly pajamas, no sheets and all. And don't worry, Lanaea was put back in her own bed WITH sheets and Kayden got put back in his port-a-crib until I got his crib sheets back on the next day.
Other then this motherly blunder, the rest of the week went well, just busy. Blake had call on Monday and Wednesday. Monday night was a doosy with phone calls throughout most of the night keeping both of us awake for what felt like all night. I injured my arm about 3 1/2 week ago donating plasma, I know...donating plasma? Blake had been doing it too because we needed some extra cash. I was in for my second donation and they infiltrated my vein (blood essentially got into my tissues) and I got the biggest and ugliest bruise you have EVER seen on my right arm. I haven't talked about it before now because it's been quite upsetting to me, but it doesn't hurt anymore and the bruise has mostly resolved. It still has at least a week or two to go before my body absorbs the rest of the blood. Anyways, Wednesday was my first day back to lifting weights with my arms and getting back into my normal workout routine at the gym. It felt really good and I did better then I thought I would. Friday night and Saturday I paid for it though...my legs were so sore!! It was good though, it has been a while that I have been so sore and apparently whatever I did, my body needed it to get stronger. It's been just over a year since I got my gym membership and it's been such a blessing to me. I never realized before how much I love to exercise! It's such a release. I have the most amazing gym to go to too. The classes are great, but what makes it SO awesome is the free kid's club that watch my kids while I work out. I have become friends with the ladies that take care of my kids and they have all lamented over the fact that we will be moving soon.
Friday Blake had a mock oral boards with his attending physicians. He said it went well and was glad to have it over with. Oral boards come after his written exam that he takes on July 10th of this year. After so many months into practicing, I want to say 6 months, you start collecting all the cases you have done and have to present them to a national board for review. This collection period lasts for about 6 months (I think?). The committee of board members pick 10 cases of your cases and then you have to study them and be able to answer questions pertaining to them. They may ask why you chose a certain approach, or why they used this method instead of another, etc. If the committee is satisfied with your answers you become what is called "Board Certified". It's very important to become board certified!
Blake and I also had our annual Friday night date. We played it simple and went to a burger joint to eat and went to some stores. It was low key and nice to be together. Saturday Blake and I were in charge of our Ward Party. We had a breakfast and softball game at the park. The ward provided eggs, tortillas, cheese, salsa, brisket, and drinks and ward members brought sides. Thankfully another member of the quorum went shopping to get the food so I didn't have to. We just had to cook eggs in the morning before we left our house. Blake did most of the hard work of setting everything up at the location. The kids had a blast playing with friends and on the playground. I even played a little bit of softball with the boys. It had been a while since I had swung a baseball bat. I had forgotten how much fun it is. Kayden LOVED watching. He's such a little boy and I LOVE it!! He loves balls, trucks, cars, planes, anything boy and he doesn't get those interests from any of the 4 girls that love on him all day. Below is a little video of him. Instead of saying car, he makes the sound of "brrrr" vibrating his lips....SO CUTE, I'll be sad when he grows out of it.
And for the finale to finish off the week....Blake and I spoke in church. I was grateful for the opportunity because it gave me a chance to leave my testimony with a ward that has been so good to me and my family while we have been here. It was like a parting testimony. Both our talks went well. We were asked to speak on experiences we have had here in Lubbock and how they relate to the scriptures. The things I spoke on were very personal and close to my heart and I struggled to keep my composure during my entire talk. After the meeting I had to go outside and hangout by the temple (our temple and stake center share the same lot) to cry and get my composure back. I think many were touched and I was thankful I was able to share something so meaningful to me. Blake bore his testimony on the Book of Mormon, but didn't go into much about our time here in Lubbock because I covered that ground pretty thoroughly. I usually don't write out my talks, but this one I did because it helped me collect my thoughts. I attached it for your reading pleasure below.
The
Lord is my Shepherd
I’m grateful for the
opportunity I’ve been given to speak to you today. I’ve actually been going
over this talk in my head for a couple of months even though I was just asked
to speak last Sunday because as many of you know, we are moving in July and I’ve
been thinking about what I would want to say to you all before we leave. As I
have been contemplating about this more deeply this week, my heart has been
full of gratitude and love as I have reminisced on how the Lord has guided us
and taken care of us these past five years. I’ve been praying to know what
Heavenly Father would have me share with you all and I have felt strongly that
He wants me to share some experiences we have had here in Lubbock that have
helped me realize how much the Lord loves each of us and that He is with us
continually to help us with whatever it is we need at the time. This scripture
found I found in Isaiah 58:11 sums it up perfectly: “And the Lord shall guide
thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat they bones: and
thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters
fail not.”
Funny how this scripture mentions drought,
because I believe Lubbock has been in a drought the entire five years we have
lived here. Ironic it may be, but I have truly felt the Lord’s love, guidance
and comfort during the different seasons of drought we have experienced during
the time we have been here.
For those that don’t
know, my husband Blake has been doing a residency in orthopedic surgery and is
just about to finish, marking 9 years from the time he started medical school.
The rigors of this pursuit have not been easy and all of us have felt strained
at one time or another constituting what can be described according to that
scripture as a drought different periods of his medical training. Despite the
challenges, as the Lord promised in that scripture: He has satisfied our souls
in these periods of hardship or drought, and like a watered garden, we have
felt nourished and have felt His loving care and comfort. Our burdens when
heavy, were made to feel light, our marriage when tested was strengthened, when
all the world’s logic said having children during this time was unwise, we were
blessed with 4 and they have been nothing but a blessing to us. The list could
go on and on. Like Nephi, I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the
children of men, save he should prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing
which he commandeth them.
One experience I feel
inspired to share happened not quite a year after we moved here to Lubbock and
about 2 months after we were blessed with our 3rd daughter Lanaea.
It was the most severe drought we had yet experienced as a family and it was
during a time that the Lord took especial care of us. My husband Blake became
very ill from a chronic disease he was diagnosed with many years back. His
condition was such that he was hospitalized for a week, lost a significant
amount of weight among other things, and had to have 3 different surgeries at a
hospital in Abilene over the course of not quite a year. As you would expect,
his illness then subsequent surgeries was not conducive to his medical
training. My heart ached with worry, but
I took hope in reading Blake’s patriarchal blessing and did my best to live
with faith that the Lord would take care of us.
In a talk given in the
October 2008 General Conference, Elder Holland said when talking about Adam and
Eve soon after they left the Garden of Eden,
“God knew the
challenges they would face, and He certainly knew how lonely and troubled they
would sometimes feel. So He watched over His mortal family constantly, heard
their prayers always and sent prophets (and later apostles) to teach, counsel,
and guide them. But in times of special need, He sent angels, divine
messengers, to bless His children, reassure them that heaven was always very
close and that His help was always very near.”
During this difficult
time in our lives, we received all these things. We did not have any
visitations of heavenly messengers, but Heavenly Father sent many of you to
“reassure [us] that heaven [was] very close that this His Help was always very
near.”
Elder Holland
continued:
“When we speak of those
who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are
from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here,
now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods, Some of them gave
birth to us…Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God
manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that
angelic is the only word that comes to mind.”
One of these angels sent
to us during this time was our dear bishop who we learned happened to have the
same disease as Blake and was therefore able to offer perfect empathy and give
me a special kind of hope that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. Another
was our next door neighbor who we learned after we bought our house was LDS.
Some of you may remember the Bentley’s. Because of Blake’s condition, he was
unable to do any yard work so I had been mowing the grass myself. KC Bentley
would often beat me to it, arising early on a Saturday so he could get it done
before I did. Having them right next door brought me comfort.
Blake’s parents were
our angels for a season when they both flew out for each surgery, Blake’s Mom
staying with Kelsey and Mylee in Lubbock. Even taking Kelsey to her first day
of Kindergarten that happened to overlap with one of Blake’s surgeries. Blake’s
dad came with Blake, Lanaea (who was still a young nursing baby at the time),
and I to Abilene. Blake’s dad paid for my own hotel room and took care of my
every need and was there as a support during Blake’s surgery. Another angel was
my sweet Lanaea. When she was born we were unsure about a middle name, but felt
inspired to name her Lanaea Joy after getting to know her a little bit at the
hospital. She has lived up to her name because she has been nothing but Joy to
us. She was a Joy to me during a time when having a young baby to care for was
not convenient. The hospital staff were all amazed at what a good baby Lanaea
was during each of Blake’s hospital stays that lasted about a week each time.
Over the course of
almost a year, Blake struggled with his health. I was extremely fragile
emotionally and spent physically, but we both did our best to get back to
“normal” life as we knew it even though we were far from normal especially
Blake. His powerful faith and heavenly
help enabled him to continue to go to work and he did his best despite his
physical limitations. Heavenly Father blessed Blake’s bosses and most of his
colleagues with a sympathetic heart, taking extra call among other things to
assist Blake in his recovery.
Part of getting back to
normal for me included being active in my calling as Stake Young Woman
secretary. One night, the President, Marti Wallace said she felt inspired for
me to go to a meeting for her, so I went. I honestly don’t remember what was
talked about at the meeting, but I remember feeling like President Shumway was
going to ask me to pray to close the meeting, which he did. I don’t remember
what I said, but Sister Merrill said that she felt a strong prompting as I
prayed that she needed to talk to me to see how I was doing. We talked for a while and my emotions
overcame me. I shared with her my burdens and she took some of them with her as
we parted that day. Our newly called Relief Society President Sister Mitchell
showed up at my door the next day. After a long talk and another dump load of
burdens, she left promising me visiting teachers who she knew would come to
visit me, she arranged to have meals brought in to me a couple days a week, and
said she would coordinate with the Elder’s quorum to have them come mow our
lawn when it needed it. I felt embarrassed for accepting such service, but it
humbled me and I needed it and Heavenly Father provided a way for me to get
help because He knew I wouldn’t ask for it.
I was grateful and
humbled for that service during that time and it was done by many of you,
working as instruments in the Lord’s hands, my angels. It helped me re-charge
my batteries and helped me focus on my family and in nourishing my testimony
and faith in the Savior. I learned from President Uchdorf’s talk he gave in
October of 2010, that during times of stress we need to slow down on focus on
the basics. He said,
“One of the things we
learn from studying the growth of trees is that during seasons when conditions
are ideal, trees grow at a normal rate. However, during seasons when growing
conditions are not ideal, tress slow down their growth and devote their energy
to the basic elements necessary for survival.”
I expressed concern to
Sister Mitchell that I was receiving too much. She reassured me that I would
get my chance to give back. When I received my call to serve in compassionate
service almost two years ago, I felt so thankful and knew that call had come from
the Lord. It was Him giving me a chance to give back during all those times
that I was the receiver.
Sister Cammack, whom I
served with in Young Women’s is another woman I consider an angel that was sent
to me in a time that I was in special need.
In the early days of Blake’s illness and before Sister Cammack knew much
about what was going on, she asked if she could start taking my girls for the
day once a week. She said she felt like she should have asked me sooner and
apologized for not doing so. At first I was hesitant, because it was such a
generous offer and I didn’t want to burden her. But in the back of my mind, I
wanted to accept because I needed it. After some humbling, I consented and she
took Kelsey and Mylee once a day every week for 6 hours at a time. She did this
consistently for TWO YEARS, taking just Mylee once Kelsey started Kindergarten
the 2nd year. It was such a blessing to me and ending up being a big blessing
to her and my children as well. Her grandchildren lived far away and she was
not able to see them very often. My girls loved having a grandmother figure to
look up to close by. Sister Cammack had the tradition of taking them to
Chick-fila or McDonald’s for lunch EVERY visit and would always send them home
with snacks of cheese puffs and Hershey kisses. She has since moved from
Lubbock, but her friendship and service is something I will hold dear forever.
Sister Wallace, who
served as President when I served in the young women’s, is another dear sister that
has brought me much comfort and served me in times of need. Sister Wallace had
served as my Beehive advisor when I was a girl in Utah. I had learned about her
living here after Blake matched here for residency. It was another tender mercy
of the Lord. Knowing that she lived here made me feel immediately at home. When
I came to look for a house without Blake, she let me stay at her house, found
me a great realtor, and escorted me house shopping. I consider her my mom away
from home. Our schedules don’t allow us to see or talk to each other much, but
she is someone I can call if I need anything and she’ll do it. On one day, I
was out on an assignment to pick up t-shirts I had ordered for youth conference
downtown and I got lost. Due to a limited budget, I had decided to not have the
added expense of having a cell phone, so I was lost without a phone to call for
help. I remember going into a dairy queen to use a pay phone, but couldn’t get
a hold of anyone. After some fervent prayers I eventually found the t-shirt
shop and I made it back just in time for the stake youth committee to organize
the shirts for youth conference. After this experience, Sister Wallace showed
up one day at my house with a new cell phone she had purchased just for me that
she put under her plan and insisted that I take it and use it at no charge. I
once again felt humbled and blessed.
In D&C 84:88 it
reads: And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your
face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in
your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.
I have seen this
manifested in my life so many times. The Lord loves us so much, we are his
children and he wants us to come back to him.
Just recently I’ve had
a couple of experiences that have once again reminded me of how much the Lord
is aware of us and how much He truly watches over us. I took my oldest daughter
to a gymnastics meet here in town because some teams from Albuquerque were
coming to compete and I wanted to see the talent in the different gyms to get
an idea on what gym we should transfer Kelsey to when we move to Albuquerque in
a couple of months. The next day was Sunday and Blake and I noticed a new
family sitting on the front row. Blake went to introduce himself and welcomed them.
They happened to be at the meet the day before competing and were just
visiting. While talking we found out they lived in an area of Albuquerque that
we have been looking for a house to rent. He mentioned that he knew a family in
their ward that was just finishing up a fellowship and may want to rent their
house out. He gave us their number and he gave the family our number. Within
days that family called us. They were in fact wanting to rent their house. And
their house happened to have the EXACT square footage as ours, the same number
of bedrooms, and the rent they were asking was the EXACT amount we are
currently paying for our mortgage. Again another tender mercy from the Lord.
Another occasion
happened about a month ago when we were getting ready to put our house up for
sale by owner. Every year Texas Tech gives the new incoming residents a packet
of information to fill out. In that packet they give residents that are leaving
an opportunity to include a house flyer for those that are trying to sell. I
put together a flyer and put together a nice website with pictures of our
house. Blake also emailed the residents that matched into his program our flyer
in case they were interested. Blake received an email back within hours from
one of the new in-coming residents in his program expressing a desire to come
look at our house. After going through our house, they came back with an offer
within a couple of days and we were able to agree on a price that we were both
happy with. Our buyer’s mother also happens to be a realtor in Texas so she
took care of all the paper work that none of us had experience with. All tender
mercies of the Lord and once again confirmation that the Lord is aware of us
and that He takes good care of us.
In D&C 90:24 it
says, “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall
work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant
wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.”
I testify that this is
true. BEAR TESTIMONY….CLOSE
