The fruit is "desirable to make one happy" (1 Ne. 8:10)‏

 This week I have been studying the Tree of Life Vision.

Elder David A. Bednar said, “You and I must look to and come unto Christ, who is “the fountain of living waters” (1 Ne. 11:25; compare Ether 8:26; 12:28)... Father Lehi saw several groups of people pressing forward along the strait and narrow path, seeking to obtain the tree and its fruit. The members of each group had entered onto the path through the gate of repentance and baptism by water and had received the gift of the Holy Ghost (see 2 Ne. 31: 17-20).   The tree of   life is the central feature in the dream and is identified in 1 Nephi 11 as a representation of Jesus Christ. The fruit on the tree is a symbol for the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement. Interestingly, the major theme of the Book of Mormon, inviting all to come unto Christ, is central in Lehi’s vision.  (‘A Reservior of Living Water’, CES Fireside, February 4, 2007) 

A few years later Elder David A. Bednar said: "The importance of reading, studying, searching, and pondering the scriptures in general and the Book of Mormon in particular is highlighted in several elements of Lehi’s vision of the tree of life (see 1 Nephi 8).

The central feature in Lehi’s dream is the tree of life—a representation of “the love of God” (see 1 Nephi 11:21–22). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Thus, the birth, life, and atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ are the greatest manifestations of God’s love for His children. As Nephi testified, this love is “most desirable above all things” and, as the angel in his vision declared, “most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:22–23; see also 1 Nephi 8:12, 15). Chapter 11 of 1 Nephi presents a detailed description of the tree of life as a symbol for the life, ministry, and sacrifice of the Savior—“the condescension of God” (1 Nephi 11:16).

The fruit on the tree is a symbol for the blessings of the Atonement. Partaking of the fruit of the tree represents the receiving of ordinances and covenants whereby the Atonement can become fully efficacious in our lives. The fruit is described as “desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:10) and produces great joy and the desire to share that joy with others.

Significantly, the overarching theme of the Book of Mormon—inviting all to come unto Christ—is paramount in Lehi’s vision. Of particular interest is the rod of iron that led to the tree (see 1 Nephi 8:19). The rod of iron is the word of God." (Ensign, 'Lehi's Dream:Holding Fast To The Rod', October, 2011) 

Photos of the week......

Elder Houston & Raso returning to Nampula after Zone Conference.

 

 

A lady with a baby on her back and a bundle of lettuce on her head!

 

Mom passing out stickers on her last week in Dondo. The District President has asked us to visit throughout the twelve (12) branches in the Beira District.

 

 

 Man painting the roof

 Close up of the man painting the roof

 Bananas!!

 Mom after teaching her English class

Young girl carrying a baby on her back

I love you!

How much is that chicken?

This week was a slow week, which we needed. When we go,go, go,

 it's nice to have things be a little slower once in awhile. 

    Tuesday, the elders called to say that they had started

 teaching Rodriguez, one of our guards.  He had expressed 

an interest so we introduced him to the missionaries. He's the 

one that had his whole house robbed while his wife was visiting 

family and he was guarding overnight. He's a really good guy - 

I hope he gets baptized.  In this picture, I took him food while he was 

on the night shift, and he was eating rice with his hands, out of the 

yogurt container that I had given him some food in. I wanted to show

 you that, but when I said I wanted a picture, he immediately put 

it down and wiped his hands off with a rag. 

On Wednesday, Dad and I went to a funeral for Isabel's brother-in-law. He was the youngest of eight kids and was only 38, married, and had four kids. I asked Isabel if he had been sick and she said no, that his son had just called her husband last Saturday to say that the brother had gone to the hospital. He died the next day.
This funeral was at the church so it was a more 'normal' funeral, as opposed to the one that I went to at the hospital. The mother was there (it was a miracle that she's still alive) and she was about 4'6". So tiny and so sad to lose her youngest child...

Thursday, Isabel was busy with a family ceremony at the graveyard and we needed to shop for a wedding the next day, so Sandi and I volunteered to do the shopping without her. BIG mistake!! First of all, I told Isabel to text me the shopping list (she just got texting on her phone - so great!) because I thought it would be easier than trying to translate what she said over the phone. Well, it probably was easier except when I put the list into google translate, I came up with words and phrases like, "a honeycomb of eggs". What the heck is a 'honeycomb'?? I decided that an egg carton looked like a honeycomb so it must mean 'a dozen'. I still don't know for sure..... 

But what we did learn is that we don't know what stores to go to for whole chickens and rice, because we paid double what we should have for the chicken and more for the rice, such that we spent twice as much as we were budgeted for and ended up paying it out of our pockets - about $70 worth! :( Isabel was horrified when we told her! I think she thought that we were expecting the district to reimburse us. When she realized that we were going to eat it and we weren't upset about it, then she laughed and laughed - and told everybody else about it. "Stupid Americans that don't know how to shop smart." You guys know how much I hate paying too much for stuff....oh well.... We just didn't know that there was a difference between chicken dealers. Apparently there is!! Last time we try to do a favor and shop without supervision...;)
What's even more ironic is that before we went 'wedding grocery shopping', we stopped in at a new Chinese store that Mariana had told us about. It was supposed to be cheaper and better. And it was - yippee! This skirt was only $2.66.

 

 

 But of course we later lost our big savings at the chicken dealer.
That night, I had my class and I'm always tired after those because it takes a lot of brain-power for me to understand their Portuguese and teach the English with a Portuguese explanation. Plus, I have to be enthusiastic so they don't get bored or discouraged. Anyway, I was beat but Sandi had dinner for us. Yippee!! She looked online and figured out how to make taco seasoning - something we can't get here - and cooked some hamburger with it. And made tortillas - something else we usually can't get here. Oh man! Dad and I thought we were eating at Taco Bell. It tasted so good to us, but we're very easy to please at this stage of the game.
Sandi and I are always trying new recipes out and sharing our creations with each other. It's so fun!! It really makes a difference having another couple close by. 

Saturday, we had our Seminary and Institute teacher training. It's usually about an hour or so and Dad and I always split the time. But right after the opening song, he got a call from a branch president, Pres. Fombe, who had traveled with his wife and two other couples, to a city that's three hours away, to apply for emergency passports to be able to go to the temple in Johanessburg. On the way, they had a car accident and the car was un-drivable. He kept calling Dad for help and advice so Dad finally had to step out and I had to do the lesson myself. 45 minutes of speaking non-stop Portuguese was a new record! And actually, speaking isn't the hardest part, it's asking questions as I teach and understanding their responses. I got some of it, but not all.
The whole Portuguese thing has been interesting. When I have to speak for church, I can say what I'm supposed to - not the most grammatically (think: KumSook), but they get it. And when I have to speak on the fly, thoughts and words and stories come into my mind. It's a good thing that Heavenly Father is in charge of this. I just ask Him what he wants me to say and then ask Him to help me say it. I guess 3yr. old Portuguese is good enough to get the message across. ;)
Here's some of our teachers getting a ride home with a couple of elders hitching along.

 

On the way home, we stopped to buy food. Shopping isn't fun here. Well, it is when we find something that we haven't been able to get before. But usually no. We go to multiple stores to find things and then have to bleach all the veggies/fruits and wash all the cans off before we put it away. We are SO going to love Costco when we get home. I might ask them if I can spend the night there just so I can soak it all up. ;)

The next day, the ride to church had a couple of close calls. People were darting across the road and one man lost his hat so he ran back in front of us to get it. Dad stopped just in time. Then a boy wiped out on his bike in the dirt and went down right in front of our truck. I had to shut my eyes and had a stomach-ache by the time we got to church. Blech...!!
On the way to Primary - outside in the garage - some of the youth were having an impromptu photo-session by the pool. Yup, a pool. The chapel is a big house that the church rents and it has a pool out back. It's one of the leftover homes from when the Portuguese were here. The pool is a pain because the kids want to play in it during the break and so we always have to monitor it. Anyway, they were having a photo-session and called me over to take pictures with them so I took a few minutes and took pictures with them. Some of the primary kids (the boys) kept jumping in the pictures so I told them that if they were good, I'd take a picture just with them. Photos between Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School - not standard protocol but, pois è? ("why not?")
This is Odette. Until recently, she was the YW President. At 16 yrs old...

 

Some of my Primary kids

Then the YM wanted a pic too:

Ok, here are some random pictures with a transportation theme.
Cars are few, so people hitch rides however they can. It's crazy to watch some of them...
Piled in the truck hanging on to each other:

Not quite enough room to get all the way in the truck:

In the back of the dump-truck. The driver was trying to change lanes so these guys were hollering directions to him of when to get over. Oh boy...

And if you don't have a car to ride in, then just pile the car - or car parts - on a cart and haul it.

Kinda makes you appreciate your little Toyotas, huh?? ;0

Well, that's our week.
Love you more than the number of stars!!
(That's pilfered from The Fault in our Stars, which I just finished.;)
I DO love you!!! ~mom

A purpose of the Book of Mormon-"that ye may be found spotless at the judgement-seat of Christ"‏

On Wednesday, July 2nd, I have started to re-read the Book of Mormon! 

The Prophet Joseph Smith described the location of the title page among the plates of Mormon: "The title-page of the Book of Mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates . . . [it] is not by any means a modern composition, either of mine or of any other man who has lived or does live in this generation" (1:71).

The title page was probably written by Moroni. The last twelve (12) words describe a major purpose of the Book: "that ye may be found spotless at the judgement-seat of Christ". In other words: "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book" (Book of Mormon-Introduction) 

What a blessing to have a Book "Which contains...the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (D & C 20:9) and knowing that "there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel" (D & C 10:45) 

How blessed to be able to reacquaint myself with my good friend.....

Yesterday, was Zone Conference with fifty two (52) elders ! It is always great to associate with these good full time missionaries. In June 2014, the mission had 158 baptisms including 37 families. The highest total ever!! 

At one point in the Zone Conference the mission president described a situation that had occurred and asked Mom and I to comment:  A young woman who had lived a faithful and obedient life had fallen in love with a seemingly worthy returned missionary. They had chosen to be married on Christmas Eve in the São Paulo Temple. The mission president was serving as the stake president at this time and one (1) week before the scheduled marriage he interviewed the young man: 

Do you have faith in God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost ? 

Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer ? 

Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer and revelator and as the only person on the earth who posses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys ? 

Do you live the law of chastity ?

Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowman ? 

The young man had answered all these questions in the affirmative. The next question is:

Are you a full tithe payer ?

The young man said he had not paid tithing at all that year but he promised he would pay the next year. The stake president said that if in fact he paid tithing the next year and otherwise remained faithful he would be privileged the following year to issue him a temple recommend. 

The young man was shocked and disappointed. The mission president had described the young woman as someone similar to you, Aubrey. He asked if you had attended seminary, participated in the young women's program, attended Church on Sunday, attended the temple, kept the commandments, we happily replied that you had. He then ask how we felt about this situation and how you would react.

I said first I would want to thank the stake president for fulfilling his calling as a judge in Israel. I next said that in this situation, once you learned about the unworthiness of the young man you would end the engagement and find someone who was truly worthy.

Mom then explained that previously you had dated someone and upon learning that he had experimented with a simple coffee/frappe from McDonalds you ended the relationship. 

Thank you for being like the 2,060 stripling soldiers who "did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness"  similarly "they said...that their mothers had taught them." (Alma 57:21)

Photos from the week:

Last Saturday, June 28th was a YM/YW fundraiser craft sale.

Notice in front of Mom is a Christmas tree decorated with sand dollars! Mom ended up being the best customer they had!!

While Mom supported the craft sale, I watch a parade from our apartment window.

Here is a shot of the approaching parade. Notice the three (3) sand dollars on our windowsill...

Primary last Sunday. The other teacher resting his head on the bench is taking a quick nap as Mom teaches.....

Mom negotiating for some tangerines 

Two women carrying large buckets as they walk together

These are employed workers that pick up trash from the street.

Notice how they use two pieces of plastic or cardboard to put the trash in their wheelbarrows.

Woman just casually talking with our guard.

She turns to reveal what she is carrying 

I love you!

We are on TV!

Hey Chiquitas!

  Monday the Dilles left for South Africa. I tried not to be toooo jealous. ;)

 I love South Africa - it's green and clean and has water and electricity 

and restaurants with good food!! Your dad likes the chocolate chips... 

Anyway, we are holding the fort down while they are gone. 
That night, we had Freeman Dickey, their little boy and his mother,

 who was visiting from Zimbabwe, over for dinner. He's a new counselor

 in the District Presidency and visited our branch yesterday. He

 mentioned that his wife was in South Africa with their little girl so 

I invited him to dinner and FHE.  Freeman is Amalia's younger brother.

 He's 31, an RM, and is smart and ambitious. A few years ago, he left

 his wife and two kids for a year while he got his MBA in the Netherlands,

 and he now works for Rio Tinto.  The company has a big mining operation

 here.  Like Amalia, he speaks English very well because they are from Zimabawe. 
Anywho, his wife is in South Africa because their 6 year old daughter had a seizure.

 She had had meningitis, which the doctors here said the cause, 

but they decided to take her to South Africa for an MRI.  It showed that she has

 epilepsy. They are sad about it.  He called that night and said his mom was

 visiting and asked if she could come too. We said sure. I fixed taco soup, 

garlic bread, fruit salad, and banana/chocolate chip cake. They had seconds 

of everything. I loved their mom!! She is a couple inches shorter than me, 

has been widowed for quite a few years, and is so sweet.  And spunky!! She said,

 "You know, the African people are always trying to earn more money so I decided 

to raise pigs." She went to "Pig University", a school in Zimbabwe that trains people 

how to raise pigs. You pay tuition, take this course, and they teach you everything

 you need to know about caring for pigs.  She has 5 pigs now and is waiting for 

piglets to be born so she can sell them. Talk about a new career!  She's figured 

out that if it goes as planned, she will have enough money in a year to go on a mission.

 She was so great!! I wanted to go home with her and see her house and her pigs! 

 I could see where her kids get their ambition and 'can do' attitude. 
  

Tuesday, Fernando came over to use our computer to write his 'conversion/decision to go on a mission' story.


We have some amazing youth and young adults here. Right now, there is a surge of them applying for missions. It's a long, hard process for them, even harder for some, and they have incredible stories. They tell your dad and I bits and pieces, but I wanted to be accurate in the retelling, so I asked a few to write their stories down for me. He was one of them. I'm not sure if you remember dad taking about him. Both of his parents are dead and after his brother converted and was baptized, he died a couple of years later. But he had taken Fernando to church and that planted a seed. Fernando was baptized and has been faithful ever since. He worked for a couple of years to earn the money for a passport, finally got it, and then it was stolen. So, he had to start all over. He finally got a second one and then worked to earn the money for the medical and dental tests, etc. He's waited a long time for this mission but leaves next month to Capo Verde. He is SO excited!
After Fernando finished, he rode with me to English class. That day, I told them about Grandma's saying of "I'm going to paddle your canoe." I acted it out for them and they thought it was hilarious! We were working on verbs and when we did the word 'hide', I told them that we have a children's game called 'Hide and Seek'. They said they have the same game but they call it 'Bananas.' Then talked about animals and I don't know all the Portuguese names so I made the sound for a dog, 'Ruff, ruff, ruff' to teach the word "dog". They finally got it and said 'Oh, you mean, 'Hoo, hoo, hoo.' I started laughing and said "Mozambique dogs say hoo, hoo, hoo??" They laughed when I did it and said 'Yes, at night the dogs don't say 'Ruff, ruff.', they say 'Hoo, hoo, hoo. ' As I listened to the kid demonstrate, I had to agree that ' Hoo, hoo' was more accurate. It was so funny! I made them do some other sounds just to see how different we were. Same animals but different languages. Haha!

Thursday, dad and I went for a super quick walk - actually, we just walked across the street and your dad watched the ocean while I did laps for 15 minutes because our staff meeting got changed from Tuesday because Kretlys went with Larry and Sandi to South Africa to take them to Kreuger and Nelspruit. I set my water bottle holder and sandals down and went jogging. Apparently, sometime during that 15 minutes, somebody walked by and took my water. They left my holder, thank goodness, but it was so bizarre. Dad was 10 feet away, which is a little scary because he's supposed to be protecting me. ;). Oh Africa, oh Dad...
That morning, one of the elders had called to ask if your dad and I were going to be at the church when they sang the next day. I had no idea what he was talking about so I asked about it during the meeting. Good thing because we found out that a reporter was flying in the next morning from South Africa to interview the missionaries and do a piece about the church. Well, okey dokey. Good to know. Once again, prepare for the unexpected...sigh.... So, the office elders called the public affairs people who told us to be at the hotel to pick up the reporter and the public affairs woman, who happens to be the wife of the District President in Maputo, Sis. Castanerro.
So, the next morning, we got up bright and early to be at the hotel. When we walked in, I noticed a white couple sitting in the foyer but didn't say anything because we weren't expecting anyone. Turns out that they were from Public Affairs. They (the Humphreys) live in Zambia and serve throughout Southeast Africa. They were super nice and fun to talk to because they travel all over. We all waited for the reporter and Sis. Castanerro - and then we waited a little more. They finally came down and we took off with Sis. Castanerro to make sure the church was clean and have me practice a song with the Beira elders to sing for the broadcast. We ran through the song a few times and then left to go back to the hotel to pick up the reporter.

After we got her, we went to the T.V. station to pick up the camera guys. That took awhile (more waiting at the station ...) but we got to visit with Sis. Castanerro and get to know her. She's a bundle of energy!! Her husband (the district pres) is an attorney in Maputo and they have 6 kids. She definitely has ADHD, which is a good thing because besides raising 6 kids, she serves in this public affairs calling, and raises chickens. At one time, she had 1500 chickens but has scaled back to 300-400. She's a go-getter and laughs full throttle!! You like her immediately.

Anyway, after we got the camera crew, we headed to Manga where all the elders in that city sang two songs and then she interviewed three of them. They did wonderful!! She also interviewed Pres. Camalizane and a branch president.

When we finished there, we went to Beira and the elders there also sang two songs and then she interviewed two elders there. Everything went really well.
The cameraman, reporter, Sis.Castanerro, us, and the Pres. Samos, from Public Affairs and Pres. Kretly's counselor.

While the interviews were going on, one of the elders asked me if I could help a bride try on wedding dresses to choose one for the wedding the next day. So she and I went into the bathroom, tried the dress on, and it fit her like it was made for her. She was thrilled!

We didn't get done with the TV crew until after 3:00 pm so we were pooped, but that night, they had a dinner and slideshow presentation for different dignitaries, like the Mayor of Beira, so we went to that. President Camalizane and his wife, Graca, and his two counselors and their wives (Freeman and his wife, Sue, were one) were there, so we sat with them.

Me, and Graca, Maria (2nd counselor's wife), and Sue (Freeman's wife)

 It was a nice evening, but they didn't get the attendance that they had hoped for. :( 
Graca is the Relief Society President in their branch and she asked me to come and help her teach a class about food storage the next day (It took a lot of brain cells - and a few charades - to figure out what she was talking about.) for a R.S. activity. I said I would. (Advanced notice is a rare thing here...) 

Saturday, the Dilles came back, so Dad and I went to pick them up from the airport. We came home, and then we zipped over to the church where we had two weddings. The girl that I had helped the day before was one of the brides.

 During pictures, everybody told the grooms to pick up the brides. The one on the right said, "She's too heavy." That drew some jeers, so he tried, and picked her up for a few minutes. It was funny....

Isabel was there decorating the cakes (with ribbon) and overseeing the food. She had the other bride's little boy strapped to her back the whole time. He was bundled up and it was 80 degrees outside. :)

 After the weddings, I went to teach the RS class in Manga. I had asked Graca if she wanted me to ask Sandi to come and demo her crocheting with plastic bags and she said 'sure' so Sandi came too. I did a combo food storage ('put your rice and beans in old water bottles' / nutrition ('shima - (flour and water) - isn't nutritious but beans are') / budgeting class. The budgeting class was the most interesting.

 I first asked if they knew what their monthly salary was. Nobody did except for Ana Maria, the little widowed mother of 8. Some said "mais ou menos", which kind of says it all. I laughed and said that of course Ana Maria knew because she's the only breadwinner and she said 'Sim!" (Yes!) 
So I asked them to come up with an average number and they said 3000 metacaiz, which is equal to $100. Then I asked them to list their monthly expenses. I got them started with rent and food. Then they added things like coal for their cooking fires. When we finished, I added it all up and subtracted it from the income. Not counting clothes and other non-necessities, we had 60 metacaiz left. That's $2.00. Which is why they can't go to the doctor or buy medicine if they get sick. And why so many die. But bless their hearts. I went ahead and taught them the concept of saving, and asked how much of the 60 metacaiz they could save and they said 30 so I multiplied that by 12 and explained that that's what they would have if they saved for a year. That's $12. You can see why it takes years for them to save for their mission application expenses. The passport alone costs $83, plus they have to pay for their medical and dental tests, and shots, etc. I wish you could see the list on the board.
After we taught, I told them that I wanted a picture to show my husband that I had taught the class in Portuguese. They laughed and posed for it. 

  
Graca had bought cookies at the bakery. I have to explain about the baked goods here. Some bakeries are good but the small local neighborhood bakeries are pretty rustic. Sandi found sand in the bread of a bakery we have bought bread at and the cookies are square blocks that are tasteless and brick-hard. They need sugar (a lot!) and salt. We helped pass out the cookies and then Graca told us to take a couple so we did to be polite. (I always feel bad taking their food because I know they need/want it more.) Then we said goodbye and left.
On our way out, Sandi said her arm was 'crawling' and I asked her if it itched. She said 'No, the ants are crawling on it.' I said, 'what ants?" And she said the ants from the cookies. I looked down and sure enough, there were teeny ants crawling all over the cookies. Sandi said to wait till we had left the parking lot to chuck them and I said somebody would want them (I've learned not to throw hardly anything away) and just then Mariana and Tomazia walked up to show us their bargain clothes that they had just bought on the street for 5 metacaiz (17 cents) apiece - a cute jacket and a skirt. We asked if they wanted the cookies and yup, they did, so we handed them over. Oh my.
When we got home, I noticed that the guard and his friend were all bundled up. It was 76 degrees so I explained about snow and what cold really was and said I wanted to take their picture to show my kids. They thought snow sounded crazy. ;)

Dad and I decided to check and see if Humphreys wanted to go to dinner with us. They had already eaten, but they wanted to go out and visit, so we picked them up and went to dinner. They shot the breeze with us while we ate. It was interesting to hear about Zambia and their other travels and PR projects. He was an officer in the Air Force and they have lived a lot of different places. Boy, are they good sports!! He's very calm and measured, she's energetic, and they both just roll with the changes and setbacks. We liked them lot.

Sunday morning, I was getting ready for church when I heard a woman screaming outside. I looked out of the window and saw a woman running with a baby in her arms, wailing very loudly. I thought maybe her baby had died. People started running from the neighborhood behind our apartment - lots of people - toward the beach. She sat down on the ground crying while they ran past her. Our guard ran across the street too. When we left for church, dad asked what had happened. He said that the woman and her friend had been hauling sand from the beach and were just crossing the street when a drunk driver hit the friend. She was taken to the hospital. Just another day in Africa...
As we were leaving, the night guard asked for a ride home and we said yes. We always pick up the YW president and her husband on our way to church and today, they had a nephew with them that they needed to drop off on the way to church. So...we were a pseudo cab service and had four adults crammed into the backseat. Dad always drives crazy because he doesn't want to be late and today was extra crazy passing cars, semis, bikes, dogs, and chickens - well, you get the picture. I have to shut my eyes because he says it makes it worse when I tell him to 'watch out' and 'slow down'. It's definitely a hazard of the mission...:( I had to laugh when the people in the back said something and put on their seatbelts. If an African puts on a seatbelt, you know they are scared!! Haha!!! I turned around and said, "Are you as nervous as I am?!?" And they started laughing and said "Sim." But they don't want to offend because they are so grateful for the ride. The poor passengers! ;)
The teacher wasn't there in Primary but the president was and for the first time, she stayed the whole time - yay! She didn't do anything... But at least she stayed in there! Two steps forward, one step back. So I did my lesson and taught the second hour on the fly. When we got home in one piece from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, I collapsed on the couch and started a book. I had made soup the day before because I'm so pooped when we get home on Sundays, so I just kept reading and reading until I finished the whole book at 1:00 am. What a relaxing luxury! It was delightful!! I definitely appreciate 'life's simple pleasures' more than before. Maybe I'll want to move to the country when we get home.......NOT!! Hahaha!!
I sure love you little stinkers!