No Water Shall Swallow The Ship

Remember that fever Eve had last week? It turned out to be COVID and I got it too. We have so far miraculously avoided giving it to Alan and Griffin. And Wyatt flew in late last night. We hope to avoid giving it to him too.  I was going to lead with my best things, but I thought you needed context first.

The first picture of the week is not only hilarious, it is most of my view for the week: slow, calm, and trying to rest, but often getting stuck on the computer.

Here are some of the best things:

I got a video call from RAPUNZEL! How exciting!

Oh no wait it was really JULIET!  She is so hilarious!

Eve wanted to go to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead before school started. Griffin didn't want to go so he hung out with Meyer. 

Bottle feeding pygmie goats is so much fun! And a little harrowing. They nibbled on my pants and Eve's shirt. The goat spit dried pretty quickly though. Haha!

We got to go to The Rabbit Hole, which is a cool children's book museum where you get to feel like you are inside some of your favorite children's books. Our favorite place was the great green room from Goodnight Moon.

We went with the Langfords--our triplet friends!

We got ready for school to start. We did a little bit of online shopping and Griffin and I biked to the school to meet the teachers. Eve wasn't up for it at the right time so she didn't come.

You don't keep the dress that doesn't thrill you, even if your mom thinks it is so cute.

We went to see Come From Away at the Starlight Theater (it's a really fun outdoor venue). It was wonderful! 

My family behind me as we were leaving.

I felt too lousy to serve on my regular temple shift on Tuesday, but I was better enough to go in a well fitting mask to sub for my friend Mary Jane Johnson on Friday. I had an unusual schedule with a little bit of flexibility in it and tried to follow the spirit on where exactly to be. Twice that ended up being in just the right place to see the Webster family as they were there for Patrick's endowment (he is Kyra's husband)! Once it ended up being in a place where I learned about how Spanish translation works in the Kansas City temple. Both things felt like amazing blessings! And I got to hug Julia Yano and Kim Owens as a double bonus. The temple often feels like a double or triple bonus to me.

With the shake up in our stake last week, I spent a lot of time praying and pondering about callings for the stake Communication Council. We are releasing 10 people and calling 10 more, and then late last night I got a text that a bishop would also like me to release my social media person. I didn't handle that really well but I think I'll tell the stake president we can release her if I can have his wife. And the wife of the bishop who asked! Hahahaha! 

My last best thing is my siblings. They really help me carry my load. I had calls from Paige and M'Li that really made a difference. And a small message from Kirsta. I'll end with a short caption I wrote for a post for our stake page for this marginal COVID picture.

My name is Heather. I had COVID this week and one day when I felt particularly terrible I tried to lie down for a nap but my phone rang. It was my sister in Utah who rarely calls me unless it is important, so I answered. She said she was just checking to see if I was okay because she knows I am doing some really hard things. We visited and laughed together for a few minutes and by the time we ended the call I felt so much better than if I had taken an actual nap. I think she was listening to the Holy Ghost and following a prompting to help me feel seen and loved and refreshed when I needed it. Our families can often be just the gifts we need from our loving Heavenly Father.

My name is Heather. I had COVID this week and one day when I felt particularly terrible I tried to lay down for a nap but my phone rang. It was my sister in Utah who rarely calls me unless it is important, so I answered. She said she was just checking to see if I was okay because she knows I am doing some really hard things. We visited for a few minutes and laughed together and by the time we ended the call I felt so much better than if I had taken an actual nap. I think she was listening to the Holy Ghost and following a prompting to help me feel seen and loved and refreshed when I needed it. Our families can often be just the gifts we need from our loving Heavenly Father.