Purpose

This morning around 4 Tanner woke up crying. I went in to settle him back down. I picked him up and snuggled him. He put his 2 fingers in his mouth and nuzzled into my neck as I stood there rocking him. I was thinking how rare moments like that were and how much I enjoyed being there. I was staring blankly at his crib when a very distinct thought came to my mind, "To this end were you created". I had a flood of emotion and thoughts and impressions come to me. I had this feeling like I had "arrived". I felt like my whole life I had wished, wanted, waited, and prayed for exactly what I have now. I am a mother and a wife. I had a glimpse of who I was to my Father in Heaven. I may not be a perfect mother or wife, but He doesn't care. Just as my own parents love me for who I am, so does He. Nothing else mattered at that moment but to hold my baby and relish in that feeling. He loves each of us for our effort in trying to better the kingdom in the ways we can. I am so grateful to be a mother. Everything in my life has prepared me to be a mother. Every lesson in Primary, Young Women's, and Relief Society has lead me here. Heavenly Father sends us here to be a part of a family. I loved being raised in my family. I had excellent examples of loving the roles of being a wife and mother. I am blessed to have 4 beautiful children. Hopefully the Lord will bless us with a couple more. I love being married to Nathaniel. I love how fun marriage is. I love that I get to be with my best friend every day. I love that he loves me even though he knows my flaws more than anyone else. What a blessing he is in my life.
I am planning a Standards Night for the Young Women in our ward. I have thought a lot about what I want to speak on. Of course there is the obvious modesty topic, but there has to be more than that. I want them to see how much the Lord loves them and all he has in store for them. Women are so blessed to be who they are. I want these girls to see that. I want them to not just prepare now to be a wife and a mother, but to look forward to it. I want them to feel of their potential. We are daughters of God. We are blessed to have that knowledge. With that comes strength and responsibility. I hope I can help them see who they really are. I am grateful for that moment this morning to help remind me who I really am.

April Fools Joke

This morning Laurel called me and told me that my brother Keith's joke was not a joke. I had to check my email to see what she was talking about. Keith had emailed all of his siblings and attached a birth announcement for his son. None of us had any idea that his wife, Maggie was even pregnant. My mom and Laurel quickly got on the ball and called the hospital where she supposedly delivered and they connected my mom to Maggie. It wasn't a joke. She really had a baby boy. They now have 8 kids. I have a new nephew, Tristan William Richards that was born on March 30th. They kept the secret until today for a good joke. I thought it was pretty funny. I could never pull it off...something to do with me running my mouth. My husband could though. I think that is the best April Fools joke I've had.

Marshmellow Gun Wars

I am the 1st Counselor in the Young Women's Presidency and I love it! I love the ladies I serve with and I love the girls. I will miss them so much when we move. I have always thought it would be fun to serve in the Young Women's program and now I have the opportunity. We did marshmellow gun wars last Thursday and it was a success. There were more people for that activity than any other one we have had since I have been here. I was happy it turned out so well. We are going on a youth temple trip on April 9th and I am very excited for that.

Utah Getaway

This is such a beautiful sight! This is so rare I had to get a picture. My kids are lacking the sleep-in-the-car gene.

(Here's Tanner having a ball in the hotel bathroom. I figured we paid for it, we better live it up.)
Nathaniel took Friday the 25th off work and we went over to Utah for a quick trip. We booked a hotel in Orem and got lots of shopping done. I bought a couple of new dresses, unfortunately neither of them are the right color for Becca's wedding. Oh well, I like them a lot so I'm happy. I got to spend Friday night with Brianne. We went shopping and to Outback. She got a phone call right as dessert came. I told her she better get off the phone before I inhaled the whole Chocolate Thunder from Down Under. Mmmmm! It was so fun to spend time with her. She is so easy to talk to and laugh with. It was nice to have another girl's opinion when shopping. I loved it when I would try on a dress and she would ask what I thought before she would give her opinion. My favorite was when I tried on this one dress, I didn't like it and I opened the door and Brianne started laughing. I love people that are honest. Brianne is definitely that. I really needed a little girl time with her. It reminded me of the good old days.
We also got to see Daryl. I haven't seen him in over 2 years. He looks exactly the same as he did when we were friends in college. I think my kids have aged me. I can't believe how much has changed since we were in Provo. I've had 4 kids, my husband is now a lawyer, and I drive a minivan. Time flies!
We also stopped by the Largey's to spend a little time with them. I love how much we laugh when we are together. It is so comfortable with them. Nicole is pregnant with their third baby, a little girl. It's too bad we don't live closer to them. I miss them.

I have enjoyed living closer to Utah. It has been fun to see people I haven't seen much in the last few years. I will miss these quick weekend trips to see family and friends.