Now I wished I would've written about this right after it happened, so that I could remember everything that I'd like to, but I didn't. But I want to try to my best so that I can have it in my blog book (journal) at the end of the year.
The first weekend after school began, our Stake put on a Book of Mormon activity for the youth up at Mutual Dell, in American Fork Canyon. And because I am a Laurels Advisor I was asked to attend with Youth, Tanner & Bailey. This is where I must add HOW IMPRESSED I was with it being the first Saturday after school started & all the activities, HUGE LP Football game up @ the U, Band preforming at the game, the Stake had a GREAT turnout. I made sure to tell the youth how impressed I was for their decision to come.
With Saturday's being so busy around here with soccer, Bailey had her game first thing. My mom took her, Mike took Madi to her game in Springville at 11:30, and Tanner & I were up at Sunnyside Park by the U for his game at 10 am. We were able to be home just in time to grab a drink, change and head out the door to meet at the church at 1:15 pm. When we got home Bailey was ready, but Tanner (being the teenager he is) now decides or tells me that he's NOT going. Well, we had been asked to FAST from after dinner on Friday night to Saturday evening's FEAST at the activity. Which was called "Feasting on the Book of Mormon." Because I had been fasting, (the kids hadn't been because they had soccer games.) So with Tanner's new found decision NOT to go to the activity, I pleaded, begged a couple of times, told him we'd wait for him to shower, etc. but with everything said & done I DIDN'T want to fight with him- all this fasting I had done, & I knew the spirit is what I wanted to keep for this activity. In the end it was just Bailey & I who ended up going.
It was an memorable day/night, it began at 2 pm with a rotation of classes, then a FEAST where we broke our fast around 5:30 & then had a GREAT speaker Sister Kathleen Terry (a Seminary teacher who does lectures), and let me not forget some "prophets" (Bishop Doman/ Bro. Puriri/Bro. Payne, etc. dressed up as characters) that made appearances through out our night. After the night ended Bailey & I got home to Mike mad with Tanner & me (Tanner for not going, & me for not MAKING him go) and Madi hadn't taken her bath, so Madi was in trouble. I had gone into Madi's room to console her as she was mad at us. She wouldn't talk to me, so I was prompted to get one of my favorite books that I used to read to my kids- THIS was the book. I picked it up, crawled into bed with her, began to read it to her, but changing out the "boy", "he" & "his" for Madi. And even with this, she would not turn and look at the book, but she was Listening! As I began reading, I was warmed with the spirit and it brought back sweet memories of how I loved doing this when my kids were little, but now that they are older we just simply wouldn't do THIS. As I read, tears filled my eyes and my LOVE for my kids warmed me, and then when I had finished with Madi I was impressed to go into Bailey's room and do the same thing. Even though she's 12 years old & wouldn't want me to read to her, but I did. The same feelings I had with Madi, I had with Bailey. Knowing my kids ARE growing up & I'm not so much apart of their everyday moments anymore. I looked at Bailey & she too was crying. I'm not sure if it was because I was crying or if she was feeling "that something" too. Then after the reading in Bailey's room, would I dare? Could I do it? I went downstairs, knocked on Tanner's door, told him that even though I was mad at him for NOT coming, I STILL loved him & wanted to do something. He wasn't sure. He wouldn't move over on his bed at first, but I told him I wanted to do something & to just "let me." So there I laid next to him, opened up that same book that I read to both Madi and then Bailey. But this time I didn't have to change the "he", "him" and "his". I held it together for Tanner's reading pretty well, that was until I got to the part where when the boy is all grown up & the Mom goes to HIS home, takes a ladder & climbs up it to get to his room where she rocks this grown man and says those words. "as long as I'm living my baby you'll be." Wow, just like now the tears began flowing from me, and out of the corner of my eyes I see Tanner wipe some tears away also. When I was all done I told him that I was grateful I had gone today, that I was able to keep the spirit & that is why I didn't force the issue of him going. I told him I wished he had gone, that I had been looking forward to being up there with Bailey & him, but with how sad I was he didn't go, I still love him.
I must say how GRATEFUL I am that I followed that spirit. Because of some things that had happened earlier that day at the activity, I saw that I needed to follow the spirit WHEN He prompts me. Even though I knew my kids would shake their heads & roll their eyes, I DID it, and SO grateful I did. Its not always moments like these at our house, so when moments like these happen I WANT to remember them & journal them and since this IS my journal, its here for others to see and hopefully make their OWN "moments."
This book is such a cute book and now just as it had been memorable to me in the past as my kids were growing up, it now will even have more meaning.
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