In the last week, Tom, Taivan, and Tommy all came down with the walking pneumonia, and because I knew the symptoms was able to get them to the doctor before they got bad. I hope I don’t get it. And yes. I have knocked on wood, but will that really change anything? Who knows. I’m hoping I have had it before, not knowing and am immune. That would be the best case scenario.
So there is that. We have had a cold spell here in Georgia. Stays around freezing and below for the past few days. And it has snowed and I am reminded of what winter used to be like. And I am grateful that by next week we will back up close to 70 degrees for a day or two. And spring is really right around the corner. This is huge for me. It was one of the big pulls for me when thinking about moving here.
Taivan has been singing one particular song lately, not the entire song, as he is still learning how to memorize something so long. He is getting long phrases one at a time. I tried to get him to perform for me so I could have it for a keepsake, but that is not his style. He doesn’t perform on cue. He can be very shy. So I will just share with words so I can try to remember. The words of the song go like this as he sings it, “I love Momma. She loves us. We are a happy family.” His lesson in nursery a few weeks back was on how Heavenly Father and Jesus love us, and he has definitely internalized it. He talks about how he wants to be nice because Jesus is nice. He says he wants Jesus to come to our house. So naturally another variation of his song is “I love Jesus. He loves us. I love Jesus. And so you see, we are a happy family.” When he sang this, it struck me how very true that very simple statement is. I can be happy because Jesus loves me. Because of what He has made possible for us as individuals and as families we can make mistakes and be forgiven. We can be strengthened in weakness. We can have hope for the future and know that when we seek after Him, He will always be there to give us peace.
Another thing lately that I feel like I need to write about is my fight to let go of things that don’t matter, mostly those little things that I feel like I need to control. My kitchen is one of those things. How things are cleaned and how the laundry is done are also things that I seem to control. There are so many more areas that I am beginning to recognize. I guess the thing that I am learning is that letting go of this control only helps to me me more happy in the end, instead of so uptight. It is easy to say, but harder to do, letting go. It is something I am praying for help with as it bleeds over into so many things in my life. And really I am not in control. I just think I am. And when I give up my will to follow God’s will, I am always happier. Something for me to remember.
My baby sister Mary entered the Missionary Training Center today. Kind of a big deal. She has been called to the Tennessee Nashville Mission and will serve there for the next 18 months. I am very excited for her. Crazy that she will actually be closer in proximity. But she is not there for me to go visit. She is there to help others feel the love of our Heavenly Father and to help bring them to Christ. I know she is going to be a very wonderful missionary, and I can’t wait to hear about her experiences.
Now a few pictures to end with. I guess this is one of the few times he has performed. I’ll take it.
