Things on my Mind (A very long post with a cliffhanger ending)

Wow! So many things of little consequence to anyone but me happened today, but they were so big to me, I just have to write them.

This morning, my assigned soccer player was Brevin. It came time to go,and I started searching for my key. I couldn't find it anywhere and probably won't find it until I do laundry on Monday. I called Quinlan and Brevin up to my room, and we cleaned out under my bed--no luck. I asked Brevin to clean out a red bag that had been in my closet forever. I knew there was a spare key that I had probably left in a purse when I'd changed purses at some point.

As he dumped out the bag, there were the set of keys I had misplaced last June when I had my broken leg and everyone but me was driving the car. I was shocked! I didn't think that bag had been in there untouched that long. I was just thrilled to see those keys. It has both cars keys on it and both cars keyless entry remotes--that work! Ah! The joy and true luxury of keyless entry especially with the Honda that has the doors that remotely open too. I am truly a spoiled woman. I will never be the same again.

Brevin played well.

The other thing I ran across while searching for the keys was an insane amount of cash--insane for me is $14. I never have actual money. I was so excited about this cash that Brevin and I went to Burger King after the game and I got him a cheeseburger kids meal and me an order of onion rings with onion ring sauce (yummy, yummy) and a vanilla shake--I'm strictly a health food kind of girl. :o)

We went to the grocery store to get some supplies to get us through the weekend and then headed home.

When I left to take Brevin to soccer, I left Quinlan and Teagen at home. Teagen took his nap, and Quinlan had to work on a talk for stake conference tomorrow. She had finished it by the time we got home.

We put the groceries away, and I left to take the kids to get some new church clothes. I figured with Quinlan speaking tomorrow it would be nice to make it a special occasion for her to have something new to wear. Zan had meetings at 3, so I took all six kids with me.

I now remember why I've only been to the mall a handful of times since I've become a mother, and when I do go, I've never been as insane to take all SIX of them. We went to J.C. Penney thinking it would have something for everyone, and it did. I don't think I want to go into the whole ordeal here, but here are some highlights--there are no modest dresses for 14-year-old girls; they are all either too low-cut or too short or no straps. The first dress Dierden tried on was the perfect dress for her--yippeee! How often does that happen? Took the boys and got so overwhelmed that I had to take one boy at a time. Gannon found four ties that he liked (one being pink--it's my favorite color, so I didn't fight it). They all ended up in the bag, but we finally decided that the boys could share them. Aedan pulled the tags off of most of the clothes he tried on even those we didn't end up buying until I went into the boys changing room and stopped that from happening. At the point when I entered the dressing room, everyone was antsy and ready to be done shopping, especially Teagen. He had started to cry. I can honestly say I haven't been that overwhelmed in a very long time. I took a deep breath and quickly decided that I knew just what to do--I think this was inspired. I immediately started to delegate--not a behavior that comes naturally to me. Suddenly peace was restored. Ahhhhh.

We got downstairs with our stuff. Teagen was fit to be tied at this point (where does the term "fit to be tied" come from anyway?). He was crying full force,and I think everyone in the store wanted him gone, so I sent the older kids to the car with him while I checked out with the youngers.

I think everyone was very happy with what they got and will look so nice tomorrow for conference.

Okay, so now for tonight. Last Sunday evening, we decided that our home having two babysitters in it, with Saturday being the adult session of stake conference, was a waste, so Gannon called Ammon and Lisa Christiansen and offered to babysit Daniel (a little boy Gannon just adores). We took him over there this evening and took Ammon and Lisa to conference with us.

As usual, the talks were wonderful! President Bell spoke first on strengthening ourselves and others in our roles in our families. One comment he made that stuck with me was that the society we live in today doesn't support the role that our Heavenly Father intended for us and that we need to fulfill that role by how the Spirit dictates and not how the world does.

Patriarch Yorgason spoke next. He talked about how the priesthood blesses our daily lives.

After the Patriarch was Sister Templeton from the Aloha 2nd Ward. She spoke on how to strengthen our children. It was an excellent talk, I felt. She touched a lot on choosing the better part and being there for our kids when they need us; to keep in mind what we are really supposed to be here for--not running our kids a hundred different places everyday but to teach them and help them grow.

President Dalton spoke last. He is just wonderful! He talked about communication. He said we need to rebuild our communication lines and remove the static. He said that with our kids the listening we do is the teaching moment. They learn to trust us when we truly listen--not to fix things but when we listen to understand. He also said that if we do these things we will never regret it.

As the closing hymn was just starting, my cell phone started to vibrate. I walked out of the chapel to answer it. It was Dierden in tears. She said, "Mom, this is Dierden. I won't be able to sing tomorrow." She's been invited, along with about 30 other kids in the stake, to sing in a Primary choir for stake conference. "I just threw up." I told her that she should go to bed and that she would be fine that we'd take care of her when we got home.

When we walked in, she was laying bundled up on the couch. She was as white as a ghost, but there was no sign of fever. I'm just wondering if she ate something that didn't agree with her. We'll see how she does through the night tonight. I also found Brevin sleeping on our bathroom floor. Quinlan said he went up to bed complaining of a headache. There was no sign that he had thrown up, but I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet, so we'll see just what his story is in the morning.

So, will I get to hear Quinlan speak tomorrow? Tune in next time to find out just what happens.
Dun dun dun. I know...the suspense is terrible.