The Motherhood Project: Part 3

This Mother’s Day, as I lay on the couch recovering from my gallbladder surgery, I read this quote by Patricia Holland posted in a meme on therhouse.com Facebook page, “In a poignant exchange with God, Adam states that he will call the woman Eve. And why does he call her Eve? ‘Because she is the mother of all living.’ (Genesis 3:20; Moses 4:26) … Eve was given the identity of ‘the mother of all living’ –years, decades, perhaps centuries before she ever bore a child. It would appear that her motherhood preceded her maternity, just as surely as the perfection of the Garden preceded the struggles of mortality.”

To most people, a mother is someone who has given birth to or is raising children. In fact, the Oxford Dictionaries defines the word “mother” as, “A woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth.”¹ So, by definition, I am not a mother. But, if Eve was a mother before she had children, maybe I am too. What made her a mother? I think that motherhood is being in possession of the greatest attributes of womanhood. 

I decided that if I study the attributes of great mothers and women, I can use those attributes to become one of the greats myself. 

·         Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there for Christ during His trials and sufferings. She stood by Him while he hung on the cross.² I would say that she was empathetic and compassionate. I can do that. 

·         The mothers of the 2000 stripling warriors taught them about God, right and wrong, and obedience. They were teachers.^3,4 They were teachers. I can be that. 

·         The amazing Emma Smith endured hardships and was a comfort to her husband and others. I’m trying to be that. She also had a spirit of meekness, used consoling words, and laid aside the things of the world.⁵

There are countless other scriptural examples and models of great women that I see in my everyday life, including my own earthly mother. It would be impossible to list them all. I think that if I strive to be a great woman, I will find that I am a mother, with or without children. Join me in claiming your motherhood. 

References:

1.       http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/mother

2.       John 19:25

3.       Alma 56:47

4.       Alma 57:21

5.       D&C 25

Christmas in the Springtime

Right now it is kind of like Christmas morning in our house. We saved up a bunch of yogurt, sour cream, and cottage cheese containers and planted starts for our little garden last week. Our kitchen has become a little greenhouse and each time we walk in we have to examine our little yogurt cups and count how many sprouts we have. I found myself wanting to jump out of bed this morning and run into the kitchen to check on them. Hold on... let me go update my count... 18!!! It was 15 when I counted this morning!

Do you think these beans will turn out with a strawberry-banana flavor?

I walked in the door from work yesterday and found this:

Adam was worried that our fabulous baby plants weren't getting enough sunlight, so he nailed a lamp to the wall! Our very own greenhouse!

Pop Quiz

Quick, pop quiz! What happened on April 3rd 5 years ago (2009)?

ADAM AND I WERE MARRIED FOR TIME AND ALL ETERNITY!

We weren't planning anything this year because of our recent vacation, but both of us thought that 5 years was a pretty big deal and we wanted to do something about it. Darn Adam beat me to it! I was going to come home from work and take him out to dinner, but when I stepped in the door our table was set up in the living room with candles and our "fancy" plates. Adam acted as waiter and brought me my first course which was salad and Texas toast. Next, he brought in Hot Hawaiian pizza from MacKenzie River Pizza. I was ecstatic! Delicioso! Finally, we ate home made brownie earthquakes (Did you know Adam worked at DQ when he was in high school? We'll have to tell you the story of the time I walked into his store!) It was so simple, yet thoughtful. Adam had taken flowers to my work and they were sitting on my desk when I got there. He included 2 chocolate caramel Cadbury eggs (well 3, but he ate one) and a tear jerking card. I sure love that man!

The Dangers of Sports

Sports are dangerous. In my humble opinion. You see, every time I play a sport or even watch one, I get hit by the ball. One time before Adam's mission I got hit by a foul ball at the local Chuckar's baseball game. I kid you not. That darn ball chipped off some of my knee cartilage and left me bruise for months. The ball park offered to get the ball signed for me as a memento or something, but I didn't want that thing anywhere near me! See what I mean? Sports are dangerous. Just the other week I was trying to watch a volleyball game of Adam's and was chatting with someone outside the gym doors. Lo and behold the ball came whizzing out and almost hit me!

Now, Adam is not one to shirk at flying balls. He pretty much loves all things sports. Golf, soccer, football, softball, and on, and on, and on. But, SPORTS ARE DANGEROUS, and Adam sure has had to pay the price this last week.

1. 1 jammed thumb in intramural volleyball
2. Another jammed thumb in intramural softball
2. 1 major calf "raspberry" from sliding into 1st in intramural softball
3. 1 strained ankle from a rousing game of racket ball

I can be a pretty good cheerleader, but unfortunately not this year because I haven't been feeling well this sports season. Come to find out today, my gallbladder is only functioning at 12%. Looks like my future has the makings of a laparoscopic surgery.

Spring Break: Days 6 Until Our Return to Real Life

Thursday March 27, 2014- Sadly our visit to Savanna, Joe, and Nora came to an end.

We bid our adieus and hit the road again. This time were heading home in a round about way... through Phoenix. In Phoenix Adam, my mom, and I attended the Mesa temple. My dad had forgotten his temple recommend in his suit coat back in Idaho.

It was really nice to take a break from life and experience peace. Sigh. You want to know what else was nice? Eating a delicious dinner at Tia Rosas and watching Locklynn flirt with the ladies a the table next to us.

Friday March 28, 2014- Driving and traffic. Driving and traffic. Driving and traffic. Driving and traffic...

Saturday March 29, 2014- We spent the day in Las Vegas. Adam and I went to a showing of Cirque Du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island with my mom and dad. The dancers/acrobats are sure talented, and maybe I was just tired, but it was very very strange.

Sunday March 30, 2014- We left the warm weather of Vegas and Phoenix to come home to snow! It was a white knuckled drive home, but luckily we made it safely. My little Lock friend was sad when they dropped Adam and I off. When I hugged him goodbye he grabbed my arm and tried to pull me back into the car. Oh! Be still my heart! Don't worry little Lock! Maybe we can road trip again someday. And maybe we can see this little girl again soon!

Spring Break: A Continuation of Days 3ish to 6

Wew. Savanna finally returned my stolen pictures (JK! Love you Savanna). Anyway, time to continue on with our Spring Break journey.

Sunday March 23, 2014- Remember how we were all bored out of our minds in the car? Well, it all ended up being worth it once we reached Silver City. Savanna and her little family didn't know about the surprise we were carrying with us, although I wanted to spill the beans a million times and it was hard to keep Locklynn quiet everytime Savanna called and we had to fake bad cell service. They thought we were driving a rental van so that Adam could pack his golf clubs along with us. Well, once we got to Savanna's home, my mom, dad, Adam, and I went into the house. While we were greeting everyone the door opened again and in walked Abby and Locklynn. Savanna was so excited and so surprised that she scared Locklynn and made him cry.

I'm not quite sure what Nora thought. She may have been so excited that she threw up hot dog chunks about 8 times that night. She seemed to like Locklynn ok and dubbed him "Locket".

Moday March 24, 2014- Although Nora threw up the night before she was content to munch on "ponchos" (pretzels) while Abby almost threw up on our winding drive to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Luckily we made it safe and sound. We ate a nice picnic next to some hummingbirds and then we hiked up to the cliff dwellings.

Tuesday March 25, 2014- We decided to brave the cars again and took a long day trip to El Paso, TX (by the time the trip was over, we had been in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada). We visited the El Paso Zoo. Nora liked the goats and sea lions. Locklynn liked the meerkats. He called them doggies. He can also make a lot of animal noises now.

Umm... at some point in the zoo, lucky me ended up with bird poop on my shirt. What the?

There was a really cool tree top playground at the zoo. Adam climbed all the way to the top with Locklynn and they both had a blast riding down the slide. In fact, Adam probably had the most fun.

Wednesday March 26, 2014- We had another surprise in store for Savanna and Nora. Their birthdays are on April 4th (Nora) and April 6th (Savanna). We wanted to celebrate with them while we were there so we had a little party. We decorated the dining room with pink and Tinker Bell, we ate pizza, and had delicious Chocolate Oreo Cookie Cake. Yum. My mom had also made Nora a Tinkerbell outfit.

Can you believe she is a dental hygienist?

Sugar crazed kiddos

We also danced our hearts out to "What Does the Fox Say?"

Spring Break: Days 1 to 3ish

Last week was Adam's Spring Break! Woot! Woot! And, while we didn't go to Hawaii like some of Adam's family, we got in some nice warm weather and some fun. The goal of this Spring Break was to visit Savanna, Joe, and Nora in Silver City, New Mexico and we drug my mom and dad and Abby and Locklynn along with us. Locklynn did surprising well, even though Silver City is an 18 hour drive away.

Friday March 21, 2014- We I got off work for the day, we all packed into a rented mini van and hit the road. We stopped in Spanish Fork, Utah for a potty break and Abby got hit on in the gas station! We stopped for the night in little Wellington, Utah and poor little Lockie had a rough time. He cried and kept pointing to the door saying, "Daddy!"

Saturday March 22, 2014- We toured Arches National Park. It was amazing! Locklynn loved the big rocks and red dirt, but it was a little chilly and windy there. Afterwards, we took a pit stop to see the Monticello temple on our way to Cortez, Colorado.

Once in Cortez, we spent a little bit of time at Mesa Verde. It is this really cool place where you can see ancient cliff dwellings and other primitive habitats. It made me think of places that the Nephites and Lamanites from the Book of Mormon may have lived.

Finally, we crashed for the night in Cortez. Abby was pretty creaped out because the ceiling in our hotel was sparkly!

Sunday March 23, 2014- After attending a really good sacrament meeting (all of the little children were super quiet and reverent), we began our long journey to Silver City, but stopped at Four Corners. There isn't too much to see, but you seriously have to be at 4 places at once at least once in your life!

Please forgive my double chin!!!

Back on the road... Locklynn got a little bored...

Who can blame him?

More to come on Day 3 later... Savanna accidentally stole some of the pictures off of my camera.