Our family is finally healthy!!!

We finally have everyone healthy at our house - knock on wood! E and A were both diagnosed with pneumonia the beginning of February and had a good week out of school. Then mid-February J and I went to the doctor and J had RSV and I had pneumonia. J was supposed to go in the next day and get his tonsils and adenoids out, but with RSV running through his system, they were going to have to wait. The doctor said it is too hard on the lungs to put them under when they have RSV running through their system.

Now that he is healthy again, we have his surgery booked for March 18th - the trick is going to be keeping him 100% healthy until then. We have been keeping him away from nursery and any place that would have kids. So basically, J and I don't go anywhere. :) I took him to the grocery store the other day and wiped down the cart with about 20 antibacterial wipes before I would let him touch the cart. I think the store workers weren't too happy with me! :) Dad and I have been looking forward to this surgery for so long for him. Hopefully it will help him sleep through the night. He has sleep apnea that makes him wake up in the night.

We are looking forward to spring and have been playing outside all day today in hopes that spring will soon be here. I took a break from the monotony of house cleaning and sat outside in the cool breeze reading a book and watching the kids ride bikes off the jump. J has a new phrase lately, he told me that he is all "sweatery" and needed to take off his jacket. He's growing up really fast. He's potty trained (yes...no more diapers for us!) and thinks he can do everything his older brothers can do.

Speaking of books, I read a really good book last month...it is called "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith. It was a fun book that is great for book clubs.

Thoughts on the passing of President Hinckley

It's not that I feel I have anything profound to share with the world, but there have been so many times in my life that I have appreciated reading something I wrote down previously, that I felt I had to write my thoughts down before I forget them. So this blog is more just for my own history and journal. It is late, but I keep putting this off.

While on my mission in Ireland President Hinckley was scheduled to visit and speak both to the missionaries and to the saints there. It was September 1st, 1995. I had the wonderful opportunity of playing my violin at the missionary meeting. Another elder played the piano and another sang - we performed Danny Boy. I have heard the prophet tell of a lone Irish tenor singing that song on the dock as he was making a pitstop in Galway on the way to Liverpool. That story was the reason we chose the song. After performing, he again told that story, and looking directly at the three of us, said, "Thank you for performing that for me. Thank you, thank you." It is often said that people remember more how they felt than what was said, and I believe that is true. As I heard the prophet say "Thank you" while making direct eye contact with me, I will never forget that feeling. I remember thinking that I would never feel that again. But you know what, I did. In fact, I think I felt it just about every time he spoke. I felt it all over again. I had confirmed to me that he was indeed a prophet of God, over and over again.

The last time I saw President Hinckley was about a month and a half before his death at our work Christmas party. We were blessed to have him speak. It was late, and he was tired. We had all become so accustomed to President Hinckley delighting us when speaking that we were all a little surprised (including those helping him to the stand) when he offered only a few sentences and closed. As we all stood as he got up to leave, he asked, "What's all the fuss about?" And as he left, in his true fashion, he lightened the mood by stating, "Don't ever get old." I remember thinking as I watched him walk away that it may very well be the last time I would ever see President Hinckley. Indeed it was. How I love him, and miss him.

Now to be honest, I just have never felt the same connection to President Monson. I love him and have revered him as an amazing man, as an apostle. I've always had a deep respect and admiration for his knowledge of the scriptures, his memory, and the seemingly endless examples of Christ-like service. I just didn't know if I could ever feel the same way about him as a prophet as I did of President Hinckley. Of course I would accept that he was the Lord's chosen prophet, and I truly believed that. I just had this sense that I didn't know him - like I only knew the "General Conference" President Monson, and not the real person of President Monson.

Today was the press conference where the new first presidency was announced. We set up a projector and watched it at work. Even though I was at work, surrounded by coworkers in a very casual setting, I had a most amazing experience. I mean, simple, really, but to me, amazing. As I listened to President Monson speak in a setting I had never before witnessed - not the carefully choreographed general conference talks, but impromptu responses to reporters questions, I came to a stunning realization. "General Conference" President Monson IS the "true" President Monson. That is just who he is. As I heard him turn simple questions into teaching and testifying opportunities, spoken with all the skill of a carefully rehearsed speech, I was simply amazed. All at once the spirit witnessed to me, "You are watching the prophet of God." In an instant the Apostle, the Counselor, was now the Prophet to me. He was not a different person - I was a different person. This experience gave me what I was lacking in faith, and I guess comfort level in him as a prophet. I am so excited for what is to come. In President Hinckley I had an example of someone that made me want to be better - more like him, and even someone I felt, although I was so far from where he was, I could relate to. In President Monson, I now feel the same way. I want to be more like him. He is truly a man that does. The gospel is truly written upon his heart. He life is a living example of true Christianity. And as wonderful and amazing as he is, he makes me feel like I can do the same things. I can care for others, I can extend myself, I can do, and make wonderful things happen. And by small and simple things, I, even I, can bring about miracles too.