Mac & Cheese for Breakfast

With his own money, my 8-year old son, Jordan, bought Mariah a sweet little journal with the word “Love” imprinted on the top. 

He intended to give it to her for Christmas but forgot.  He had been hiding it ever since to give it to her for Valentine’s Day instead. 

Mariah was the most excited of all the children about Valentine’s Day.  She was especially sad that Abe was gone for this VERY special holiday about love.  In fact she had been going around the house saying, “Who votes for love?”  (Of course we all raised our hands each time love was up for a vote. J)

Since Jordan was the only one with a gift to give this Valentine’s Day, everyone gathered around to see Mariah’s face.  Just as we all hoped, she was thrilled.  That prompted all the other children to scramble and find gifts from their personal stashes to give to each other. 

Tyson and Jordan gave me a couple of their favorite bracelets they had made.  

After the spontaneous, mass giving party, Jordan wrapped his arms around me, laid his head on my lap and said, “It feels good.” 

I questioned him, “What feels good, honey?  Giving?”

“Yes… giving feels good.” Jordan replied. 

I loved receiving the bracelets, but I loved even more the moment of pure peace after the giving. It was pure contentment in his entire being.

Abe came home yesterday, so he wasn’t a part of our family’s Valentine’s giving party on Friday.  It was an exciting reunion once again.  (I never get tired of seeing the children's squeals and hugs when they reunite with their daddy.)

Yesterday, before Abe arrived home, I listened to a talk about the importance of teaching our children how to fulfill the covenants they make with God.  

I talked to Jackson the day before about getting up earlier and showing more responsibility.  I talked to him about his duties as the only priesthood holder in our home when Daddy is gone.  I prayed for him to understand the importance of his duties. 

This morning… Jackson and Jordan were up to something…

Jordan brought baby Jayden to our bedroom and told Abe and me to stay in bed.  We were happy to do that! J 

About 15 minutes later, Jackson entered our room to ask us what margarine was.  I explained to him that it was similar to butter. 

I could hear clanking around in the kitchen, and about 20 minutes later, Jackson and Jordan showed up in our bedroom like this… toooooo cute!!

Abe, Jayden, and I enjoyed a delicious dish of mac and cheese for breakfast in bed!!

Let me explain why this was so special.  Macaroni and cheese is one of my kids' favorite food.  When I make it for them, I always add chili beans, black beans, green beans, and sometimes corn to make it stretch, fill the children’s tummies more, and to make it a tad healthier. 

Last time we ate it, I noticed Jackson had eaten all the beans and vegetables first, so that  he could fully enjoy just the macaroni and cheese.  As he ate his plain macaroni and cheese, I could see the pure enjoyment in his face. 

One might be tempted to think that Jackson made us plain macaroni and cheese so that he could eat it that way too.  Not so, he gave Abe and me very LARGE bowls of macaroni, so the other children actually didn’t get very much of it at all. 

My heart was touched.  Jackson had listened to our talk, woke up earlier, taught his younger brother how to cook as a good priesthood leader would do, and then brought us the best of what he had to offer.   Then, to my pure contentment, I was grateful to see that Jackson was humble enough to allow the Holy Ghost to teach him how to fulfill his priesthood duties as a leader in the home… as an answer to my prayer. 

What a miracle to me to see these young children learning the joy of giving and the joy of fulfilling baptismal and priesthood responsibilities to love and serve how Jesus would.

Angels at Work

Yesterday, I wrote about our van…

They're Fixing It!!

Since Abe is so new at his job, in order to fix the van, they needed our van title as collateral, and they need Abe’s signature for the $2000 loan.  Abe doesn’t return home until Monday!!  I pleaded with them to work something else out because if they waited until Monday to fix the van, then we wouldn’t have the van for 2-3 days still after that.  Fixing the transmission is a 2-3 day job.  They called me back, told me to think positive thoughts, and decided to start work on it immediately!  I’m not sure when we’ll have the van back, but I think it won’t be until Monday.  I'm just so grateful that they are trusting us.  I spent almost the entire day yesterday on the phone!!

I have been feeling confident in my family’s ability to ride our bikes to where we would need to go.  My only concern was Sunday morning.  The closest member of our congregation lives 20-25 minutes away, and I was certain they wouldn’t have room for their own family and all of us too.  We were planning on riding our bikes to church, and all the children knew that we would have to leave on our bikes by 7am to get there on time.  It was doable, and the pioneers did much more to get to church… we would just be pioneers.

 Visiting Teacher with a Plan

Just this week I was assigned a visiting teacher.  (A visiting teacher is a woman in the church called to visit a few assigned sisters to check on their wellbeing.  Ideally, every sister should be a visiting teacher and every sister should have 2 visiting teachers who come visit her each month.)  The sister who had brought us spices a few days ago happened to be the same one to become my new visiting teacher!  She sent me a text to check on me; and since she was my visiting teacher, I felt confident to tell her we had car problems. 

Last night she sent me a text to see when my car would be done.  I told her I wasn’t sure.  (I figured it would be done on Monday, but I didn’t want to let on that I needed help because I really didn’t want to put anyone out.) Immediately, she called me to tell me her husband is out of town, so they have an extra van that we can borrow over the weekend!!  I had already accepted our situation that we would be riding to church for 12 miles on bikes, so it took me a moment to realize that the worst of our weekend transportation problems were being solved right then and there! I couldn't thank her enough.

Last night I felt so grateful we would have a car to get to church.

However, I still wanted to get the kids to a Valentines party going on this morning.  I also had to get to the bank, get some groceries, and return a movie that was 3 days overdue… since we didn’t have a car.  We were planning a bike ride of a total around 25 miles today.

Earlier this week, while Abe was still here, the brakes on my bike mysteriously froze up.  He looked at it and couldn’t figure it out.  I looked at it and couldn’t figure it out.  The brakes on Jackson’s bike had also frozen up this week. 

Worst timing ever!!!! Two bikes and two cars out of commission!!!  Ugh!!!

Miracle of the Bike

We needed one of the two bikes to be working in order to get the whole family where we needed to go today.  I tried really hard last night to figure it out. 

Jackson and Tyson worked in the garage with me trying all kinds of tools…. nothing worked.

This morning I called Abe to see if he had any ideas.  He apologized that he had no idea how to fix brakes, but he did suggest that maybe I wouldn’t need a tool…   I hung up with Abe and knelt by my bike.  I prayed "with all the energy of heart" like the scripture I read yesterday in the book of Moroni 7:48.  I told Heavenly Father that my van was broken down- I had places I needed to go- my bikes were all I had.  I told my Heavenly Father how much I REALLY needed help fixing my bike.  I pleaded for help.

Wow!!  I tremble now as I write… a true miracle took place!!  I opened my eyes and looked directly over to the problem.  It honestly felt as if an angel had placed her hands on my cheeks and turned my face to the problem.  I fixed the problem with my bare hands… no tools.  It took a total of about 30 seconds to fix, and my bike was moving smoothly again. 

It was such a direct answer to prayer!!  I knew it was not me who found the problem to the bike!!  I immediately knelt down and sobbed as I thanked God with all my heart. 

I ran into the house and announced to the children what happened.  The boys who had been trying to help me with my bike the night before were extra excited.  Tyson shouted out, “THAT IS A MIRACLE!!”

“I know!  I know!”  I said.  We all hugged… knowing God is taking care of us. 

We’ll ride our bikes today, borrow a van from my dear visiting teacher/new friend for the rest of the weekend, and my van is being worked on right now as I write.  God works in marvelous, mysterious ways.

My heart is filled with love, joy, and gratitude!!  

Happy Valentines Day!! Jesus loves you.

Broken Van… Lots of Love

On Sunday we spent the evening with a couple of families from church.  I wrote a little bit about some of these new friends in a previous blog post.  I brought cookies to the dinner with the apologies that the cookies were missing vanilla.  I explained to the sister from church that I had lost several of my spices in our move from Michigan. 

On Monday night, I walked by my front door and was surprised to find the same sister standing there holding a beautifully wrapped package!  She had been ringing the doorbell, but we didn't hear it.

She lives 20 minutes away from us!  She presented it as a house-warming gift and left before I could even open it. 

All of us anxiously opened the package, and I cried as I saw what she had delivered…. a beautiful box of spices. 

How thoughtful!  How kind!  How loving!  She listened to my needs, and she acted on it!  She even included 2 containers of pure vanilla. 

I of course called her immediately…. still crying from all the love I was feeling in my heart and thanked her for blessing our family. 

I am grateful for her service, and I am grateful for the spices.  I am ALSO very grateful that my children were able to learn from her shining example of how to show love. 

After we opened the package, Mariah said, “Mommy, people remember you.”  I thought that was an interesting comment.  She continued, “People love you because they want you to be safe.”

The Broken Van

Yesterday morning, Abe left again to go on another business trip.   I left shortly after to take Jackson to his college class.  On the way there I noticed a weird chugging with the engine.  I hoped it was nothing and kept going. 

On the way home, I noticed the chugging was actually getting worse.  I pictured myself 20 minutes from home… stranded with all 6 kids and nobody to call.  Abe had just spent $600 getting new tires on his car, so I took the van to the same place where his car was fixed.  The man drove my van and confirmed my worries that it was indeed the transmission that was beginning to fail me.  He said it would cost between $2500-$3,000. 

He didn’t have time to fix my van that afternoon.  The technician sat in my van for a moment after the test drive and told me that he thought my transmission wouldn’t stop all of a sudden.  He thought I would have time to get home first.   While he sat there, I warned the kids that we would be riding our bikes from now on to church… to the grocery store… everywhere.  The technician confirmed that it would be a smart idea to do that until we could afford to fix the van.

I called Abe to inform him of my troubles.  He was in Houston waiting at the airport.  He broke the news to me that his car stopped and wouldn’t start again after he parked it at the airport in Orlando.  I felt my shoulders slump and my heart drop… 2 broken vehicles??

As I started the drive home, I prayed that our van would make it.  My GPS took me a different route home.  Just before we crossed the bridge, I looked to my left and a saw a sign that read, “Aamco Transmissions.” 

I immediately pulled over!  Feeling vulnerable, alone, and worried, I walked into the transmission shop hoping for a 2^nd opinion saying that our transmission wasn’t so bad after-all.  An elderly lady sat at the desk.  I told her, “I have 6 kids.  My transmission is going out.  My husband is out of town, and we just moved to the area.” 

I don’t know why… but in my rambling mess I also told her about a conversation I had with a friend over the weekend.  I said, “I just told a friend that if we don’t make enough money, the Lord will help us in other ways… maybe our car won’t break down.  If it does break down, then God sends people to help us. Now both of our cars are broken down!!”  I rattled it all off so fast I’m not even sure if she heard everything, but the general manager came to help.

He said they would inspect it for free.  They would start the inspection right then, but they wouldn’t be able to finish it until the next morning.  I told him I would have no way home if they did that.  He suggested I get a rental car.  I told him I didn’t have any extra money to pay for a rental… especially if I was going to be getting my transmission fixed.

He was the sweetest man ever!  He understood my situation but refused to let me leave in my van even though it was still a moving vehicle.  He sat me down and made me drink a bottle of water while I explained the problem with our van.  He was so kind that I started to cry. 

He said that our van COULD leave us stranded on the way home.  A big thunderstorm was rolling in, and he did NOT want us to be stuck on the side of the road.  He tried to figure out how to get all 7 of us home.  The elderly lady’s husband offered to squish my 6 kids and me into his 5-seater station wagon. 

I couldn’t believe his generosity!  It was a 25-minute drive to our house, so he would be going almost an hour out of his way to help our little family.  Aamco didn’t even know if they were going to get any money out of us since the inspection was free…but they weren't giving us a ride for the money...

On the drive home, I didn’t know what to say to this man besides thank you.  He was a quiet, elderly man.  He humbly replied, “Well… I just couldn’t leave you stranded.”  I thought about Mariah’s comment.  “People love you because they want you to be safe.”  This really was about love for mankind.  This was not about money or business.  This was about love.

So… last night.  I arrived home safely with all the kids needing to prepare for a severe thunderstorm watch… possible 100 mile winds heading our way.  I was feeling a bit of anxiety knowing I was home alone with all the children with no vehicle.  

We prepared for the incoming storm, and I made whole wheat pancakes for the children for dinner.  As worries ran though my mind, I flipped the pancake over and look what I found!!  I have no idea how this perfect smiley face formed, but I think that I needed to be reminded to smile… all would be well.  Every time I look at it I smile!!  I couldn't have made that even if I had tried! :-)

 

Last night I sent a text message to my friend about our broken car. 

This was her loving, faith-filled response: 

“Praise the Lord!  Rachel, you know and I know something totally wild is gonna happen.  Miracles are for believers!  We expect them!  Can’t wait to hear bout it.”

I woke this morning feeling confident that I would receive a phone call telling me that my van was miraculously ok!  No problems!!

This morning in my personal scripture study I read in the Book of Mormon in the book of Moroni 7:13.  It says:

“But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” 

Everybody in that transmission shop was so full of love and compassion that I knew their actions were inspired of God… therefore, I knew God was taking care of us and something great would come from this.

After my personal scripture study, our family morning devotional happened to be in the same book and same chapter that I was reading… it also talked about love:

The first part of Moroni  7:48 says:

 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with his love...”

Shortly after, I received the much anticipated phone call…

The general manager started off by saying, “I’m sorry…. I don’t have good news.  I think I’m going to make you cry again.  We're going to have to take your transmission out.  It will cost about $2,000 to fix it."

So…  here I am… stuck at home… no car… no answers… yet…

However… I believe in Jesus, and I believe HE will guide us and help us to find a way… I believe in miracles even when they're not as blatant as I would sometimes prefer.

Luckily... Jackson, Juliana, and I went on a 12-mile bike ride to Lowe's on Monday, so we already know that we can get most anywhere we need to on our bikes….  

Jackson's Confidence

Yesterday I wrote about Jackson’s meeting with a professor of meteorology… and that it is his ultimate dream to become a meteorologist and a storm chaser. 

Yesterday was his first day of his first college class.  We arrived to the campus 20 minutes early not knowing exactly where the class was.   The administration office had no idea where the classes were being held either.  They only knew the building, so they called 2 golf carts to escort us to the science building.

Once at the science building, all 6 kids and I went up and down the stairs about 5 times looking for the right room.  On our final ascent up the stairs, we found the room. 

Jackson looked into the room and turned to me with surprise, excitement, and confidence.  He said, “I had a dream about this room!”  The room was different than any of the other rooms we had seen.  It was built on tiered levels, and the teacher stood at the bottom level right near the front door.

Jackson has told me about dreams he’s had in the past, and immediately all was confirmed in both of our minds that this would be an amazing and pivotal moment in Jackson’s young life.

After searching extra long for the right classroom, we ended up being 3 minutes late.  Because the door to enter was at the front, I told Jackson not to interrupt the class; he would just have to start his class on Wednesday.

We decided we would get familiar with the campus with our extra time. Right before we were about to leave the hallway, I saw 3 other students hurriedly entering Jackson’s classroom. 

Without any warning and without any prep time with Jackson to tell him what to do or where to go, I quickly grabbed him by the shirt and said, “Run!  Go in with those kids!”  (Those kids were not actually kids.)  Jackson confidently walked into the room full of grown college students.

At first he stood at the back of the classroom.  I think he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to sit wherever he wanted.  I was visible to the other students from the window; so as discreetly as I could, I motioned for him to take a seat wherever he wanted. 

He sat down and pulled out his notebook.  What a strange feeling to watch your innocent 12-year old sit amongst such big kids.  I casually walked by the window a few more times to check on him.  He was doing great!! 

After feeling satisfied that he was ok, the other kids and I went outside to sit on the grass and wait.  After class I wanted every detail about Jackson's first college experience.  He told me the professor was talking about research papers that they would be working on in groups.  Since Jackson is only auditing the class, I asked him if he was going to do one as well.  With all the confidence in the world, Jackson said, “Yeah.  There are a couple of kids in there that I think I’ll meet up with, so we can work on that together.”  I reminded Jackson that he was just auditing this class, so he couldn’t do that.  However, I was mostly impressed that he was confident enough to feel like he could be a great team member with other students 6-9 years older than him!

Then he told me there was a student who presented his research topic to the class.  Jackson told me he had already studied that topic and wanted to answer his research question for him.  He chose to keep quiet in class; but again, I was grateful for his confidence in his knowledge.  If I were in his position, I think I would have assumed that these other students would know way more than I did.    

I always hoped for my children to be more confident than I was.  I appeared confident, but I always worried about what was happening around me.  The entire reason I decided to home school was because I watched Jackson in kindergarten.  The teacher kept telling me she was concerned because of how different Jackson was.  With every concern she had, I asked, “Is he obedient and respectful?”  “Yes.”  She answered every time.  I questioned again, “Is he doing anything to bother the other students?’ “No. He’s really kind.”  She answered.  "Is he doing well in class?"  She answered, "Yes… he's just different than the other kids."

I told her I wasn’t worried about him being different.  That was when I decided to home school my “different” child.  I wanted him to be CONFIDENT with his differences and never change who he was.  God made him different, and I was absolutely ok with that!  I understood why his kindergarten teacher expressed concern.  In the public school system, it’s easier if everyone is the same.  They have a lot of kids to teach!!  I didn’t blame her, but I also knew what my son needed.

I prayed for him to always be confident in those differences.

Last Sunday, all the young men were sitting in their row to pass the sacrament.  They all looked similar:  white shirts, ties, and well-groomed.  When they stood up, the young man next to Jackson was easily 2 feet taller than him.   Actually, all the young men were at least a foot taller than him.  It was such a stark contrast that the father of the tallest kid even approached me after church to tell me how funny it looked.  I asked Jackson if it felt weird to be such a small kid passing the sacrament with all those big teenagers.  He looked at me with a bit of confusion….

He hadn’t even noticed the height difference.  He wasn’t worried about that.  He was more concerned with fulfilling his priesthood responsibilities of passing the sacrament.  His confidence in his priesthood from God gave him confidence in his duties.

Similarly, Jackson wasn’t one bit worried about how tall, old, smart, or advanced the other students were in his college class, he had seen that classroom in a dream, and he knew he was exactly where God wanted him to be…. So he was CONFIDENT.

Jackson’s confidence is a gift from God.  I have written in the past about his rough start to life including oxygen tubes, open-heart surgery, and multiple other emergency procedures-which traumatized him greatly. 

I am eternally grateful that Jackson has chosen to turn those challenges into strengths.  He knows his life is a miracle from God, so when a challenging situation arises, his confidence in God supersedes all other possibly intimidating factors.

A little side-note:  Abe is home for a couple of days!!  Hooray!!! :-)  After Jackson's college class, we met up with Abe at the tire store.  The kids saw Abe walk out of the store, and literally leaped all over him.  I got a picture of the excitement this time…