Thankful

This is the season to reflect back on the year that has passed and be grateful for the blessings I have been given.  So much has happened in our little Wilde family, that I can't possibly name every single thing that I am grateful for.  So I think I will just settle on naming a few of those that stand out for me.  Some of them are big, and most of them are little, but all of them are blessings from my Father in Heaven. 

•  I am grateful for the safe arrival of our sweet baby Joseph last December.  I know that he is such a blessing to our family, and he truly is a miracle to us.  What joy he brings into our home and our family.
• I am so very thankful for all my Wilde ones.  Thankful to be their mama, and for the love that they share with me each day.  I am so glad to watch them grow and change, and to see the world through their eyes.  I pray that I can raise them to love the Lord, each other, and those around them.  I hope to always see the wonder in the little things, as children have such a talent for doing.
• I am, indeed, very grateful for their father, the biggest Wilde one of ALL.  He is the best husband this girl could ask for, and I am so glad he is mine!!!  I am so thankful that he is willing to work and support our family, so that I can stay home and be paid in HUGS AND KISSES!!  I am grateful that he is a worthy Priesthood holder, and is striving to teach his children to love the Gospel.
• I am thankful for my parents, who have ALWAYS loved me and supported me, even when I didn't necessarily deserve it.  They do so much for my little family, I am grateful for their influence in our home.
• I am thankful for a warm home, food on our table, and safety and security in our little valley.  There isn't a better place to raise my family, and I am thankful to be able to call Croydon home.  I love watching my children work alongside their father, grandfathers, cousins and uncle.  What a blessing it is to watch your children grow and thrive in a place  you love.
• I am thankful for my own brothers and sisters.  They are, and always will be, near and dear to my heart.  What an influence for good they are for me.  I am so very glad to call them my own!
• Most of all, I am thankful for the Gospel.  I am so very grateful for a loving Father, who knows my needs and my heart, better than I do.  I am thankful for the chance to learn and grow, repent and improve.  I am so grateful for the perspective that comes when you realize that today is not forever, and you can get through the trials that are placed in your path, when you trust in Him.  For the knowledge that my family can be forever, I can never express enough gratitude.

As I started to list all the things that I am thankful for I realized two things.  One, I could go on and on and never run out of things to list.  Two, not one of these blessings are LITTLE!!  I am always amazed at how blessed I truly am when I stop to think about it.  The blessings are always there, I just need to take the time to recognize them. 
May you have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and stop to count your blessings today!!

Bawling through Book of Mormon Stories

Yep, that's right folks, today, the unthinkable happened.  I sat and cried through Book of Mormon Stories in our Primary.  Granted, there were extenuating circumstances, but still, I never expected to cry like a baby while singing BOM Stories.  This morning, our Primary Presidency was released, and I was sad.  I can't believe how much I have grown to LOVE Primary and those beautiful little ones I have had the joy of serving each week.  I have also had the pleasure of serving with some of the most amazing women in our presidency, and to think that I don't get to share the joy of Primary with them anymore makes me sad.  Not to mention the fact that we pretty much have the BEST teachers and music leaders on the planet!!  I know they will survive without me, but how am I going to survive without the Primary??
I wanted to share just a few of the neat, fun or funny things that have happened to me while I have had the blessing of serving in the BEST Primary in the known universe...and no, I am NOT exaggerating (at least not very much)!

• I had the chance to witness two beautiful daughters be sealed to their adoptive parents.  What a blessing it was to be there that day as a family knelt across the altar and became a forever family.  As I watched these sweet girls be sealed, I knew that they were placed in that particular family because of Heavenly Father's love for them and for their parents.  It was a testimony to me of our Father's hand in that family.
• I had the chance to make a connection with a very special child of God.  There is an autistic boy in our ward  that I had tried to reach out to and never had any success.  Until I had Joseph, that is.  I wasn't aware of this, but this particular boy LOVES babies.  The first Sunday that I brought little Joseph in to Primary, this sweet boy came right up and sat next to me.  He started asking me all sorts of questions about the baby, and I could tell he was really excited.  I asked him if he would like to hold the baby, and told him that he needed to be very careful because Joseph was very fragile (only 2 months old).  As Tyson took my son into his arms, I felt so grateful for the chance to share that moment  with both of those children of God.  The neatest part was that, Tyson was so excited that his legs were bouncing up and down about ninety miles a minute, but his arms were perfectly still as he so very carefully held my son in his hands.  It was beautiful, and still makes me cry when I think about that moment.
• On a lighter note, I have learned that those cute kiddos say the darnedest things.  They tell all sorts of family secrets, and basically say whatever is on their minds at that moment.  One week, during Opening Exercises our first counselor asked if any of the kids could think of another word for lucky and her little boy piped right up with SUCKY! (I don't think that's quite the word she was looking for).  The same week, the kids were supposed to be drawing pictures of something Jesus has done for us, my boy came up to show me his picture, and it was Jesus WATER SKIING(he told me it was His favorite thing to do)!! 
• I have learned to expect anything and everything in Primary, because if you don't think it could happen, it still just might.  One week, I witnessed one of our cute boys army crawl under the entire back row of chairs.  I was so caught up in whether or not he would get caught, I completely forgot that I should be STOPPING him. 

I have learned and grown so much this past year and a half as I have served in Primary. I am so grateful for the chance I've had to love the littlest members of the Morgan 7th ward.  I'm not quite sure what to do with myself now that I am without a job in our ward, but I am looking forward to going to Relief Society for the first time in about 5 years next week.  Here's hoping I don't tell all the sisters to put on their Elephant Ears and Lizard Lips so we can be quiet and hear the teacher speak!!

Blankets for my Babies

This time of year, especially the end of October, always makes me a little bit sad.  I spend a lot of time thinking of my little ones.  William was delivered in October, and the other two should have been born in October as well.  So, I find myself thinking and reflecting on them so much during the fall.  And yes, it makes me sad to think of how old they would be, and what they would be like now.  I miss them, and I guess that part of me always will.  But I am by nature, a cheerful person, so I try not to dwell on heartaches and sorrow.  Instead, I try to do something to honor the memory of those sweet little ones.

When I was in the hospital delivering William, there was a kind group of women who came to see me.  They belonged to an organization called SHARE.  They are all women who have experienced infant loss as well.  They came to the hospital, and took care of my sweet little boy.  They washed him and dressed him, and wrapped him in a little tiny blanket.  When I came home from the hospital, I didn't get to bring my little one, but I did bring the blanket that held him for just a moment.  Being able to hold the tiny blanket that had held him brought me so much comfort.  There were many nights that I fell asleep with that little blanket tucked in my arms.

Every year since then, I have made little blankets for Utah SHARE.  My hope is that some little momma will find just a little comfort and peace from them, as I did.  Making them also brings me comfort, and helps me to remember my little guys.  Here are this year's, I finished snipping the last one this morning, and I think they turned out pretty nice.