Required Review of 2012

It seems like at the start of a new year you naturally spend time reminiscing about the year that has just ended.  2012 was a great one, but also an interesting one.  There were some definite highs, but also some tough spots too. At the beginning of last year I said, "Who knows what changes will come in 2012, but it is probably best that I don't know!  Change is inevitable and out of my control.  My attitude is within my control though, so I plan to make 2012 a great one!" It was a great one, even though the events of 2012 make 2013 more unpredictable than normal.  Some of the highlights of the past year for me (in no particular order)-

Love these people! The time I spend with them will always be my top highlight!

• Missionary age change, Lexie's mission call and taking her to the temple.  Wow!  It has been an incredible experience.  
• Going to the Brigham City Temple open house.  I still call Brigham City home, or at least my part home. Loved watching it be built right across the street from my "ice cream" tabernacle. (When I was a kid I thought all the spires on the tabernacle looked like ice cream-just in case you were wondering)
• Going to trek.  I don't really like camping, and I hate being dirty, but I love Trek.  What a spiritually uplifting experience it has been both times.  The youth are amazing! I also always come home with a renewed desire to be faithful just like my pioneer ancestors.
• Watching my children grow and develop their testimonies.  What a blessing to have them share these life changing experiences with me. 
• Girl's Camp-love the young woman and love the leaders that I have the privilege to work with.
• Summer trip Back East-It was a fantastic experience from start to finish.  We haven't ever done this kind of family trip before, but I just felt so strongly that we should.  Now with the events of the last few months it makes a lot more sense as to why the timing was so important.  I have always wanted to take my kids to the Sacred Grove- to actually be able to do it was a dream come true.  
• Celebrating my Mom's 80th Birthday-I feel blessed beyond measure to have my parents both still living and healthy to boot.  Their lives are not without challenges, but I am so grateful that all my kids have had the opportunity to form strong and memorable relationships with their grandparents, something I wasn't given the opportunity to do in this life.  (I look forward to making up for it later!)
• Tony losing his job.  How is this a highlight you might ask?  Well...it is because through these experiences I can so clearly see the hand of God in my life.  Trials usually come to us because there is something we need to learn, so we always joke that we will try to learn whatever it is as quickly as possible! 
• Jared finishing his Eagle Project.  Oh the weight that has been lifted to not have that constantly nagging at me.  Grateful for his effort and hard work to make it happen!

I am sure there were many other highlights, but that is what comes to mind right now.  I wrote my first check of the new year, and I remembered to write 2013.  I think it's a sign that it will be a great year, even with the changes!

Merry Christmas!

What a perfect day we had yesterday.  All of my family around me, snow lightly falling, Christmas music playing...as I was taking pictures of my kids last night, and watching them interact, I was suddenly overcome with emotion.  I feel truly blessed to not only have a wonderful family, but to have children who love each other and actually like to be together. Then I looked at my beautiful 19 year old daughter and thought about her being in Australia next Christmas, and I lost it (just for a minute, don't worry). Life is definitely changing, children keep leaving home.  I plan to cherish every single moment today!

    Seeing the lights at 9pm on Friday night.  The only time we could all get there together.

 

 

 

Read these scriptures in 3rd Nephi 9 on Sunday.  Seems appropriate for the day today. "...will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."

We all need the healing power of the Savior today and always.

Merry Christmas from Kyle Van Noy

I have not written many football posts this season, but anyone who knows me, knows that BYU football is a big part of our life in the Benjamin household.  We painted our basement with BYU colors, and BYU banners, pictures etc. adorn the walls.  We are season ticket holders, and life stops for game day.  Our children are pretty passionate about it too. So this season has been painful for us.  Yes we have a winning record, but we came so close to having an amazing season and couldn't do it.  We were within three points of the team that is playing in the National Championship.  That game and others could cause me endless frustration if I chose to dwell on it (4 of 5 losses were 6 points or less-ahh the agony!). All that being said I was nervous about our bowl game against SDSU last night. First half did nothing to restore my confidence.  Same old story of the whole season...defense came to play, and the offense...what offense?  Then the fourth quarter happened, and Kyle Van Noy decided he was not going to let us lose another game.  He scored two touchdowns, and was SDSU's worst nightmare play after play.  (Of course he had some help from his defensive friends, and from our punter-his punts were a thing of beauty.)  So I give my heartfelt thanks to KVN and the rest of the team for at making my Christmas a little merrier. 

Brain on Overload

There are so many thoughts running through my head that I am afraid that any attempt to put anything in word form could be dangerous.  I will attempt it anyway.
First off some updates-
-Took Lexie to the temple.  Words cannot express how amazing this was.  To hear her desire to attend the temple, to see her willing and anxious to do all that is required of her.  Tears still stream down my cheeks when I think of it.  I love the gospel, I love the temple, and I love that my family is mine forever.
-Finished an Eagle Project.  My son has been one project away from his eagle for almost two years...he collected over 400 books for the prison branch. So grateful for the young men who helped him and for all the generous donations.  It was cool to see, and they are finally out of my family room! (I had visions of Christmas morning surrounded by eagle project books.)

-When you feel change is imminent in your life..buckle up! Silly me for thinking that the change was Lexie going on a mission. More change is coming as Tony was informed that he will be losing his job next year as they continue to downsize and eliminate jobs in his office.  We were kind of expecting this at some point, but...anyway try as I might to work myself up about this, I feel calm. I have no idea what the future holds for us, but I do know that the Lord will provide.  He always does, maybe not always in the way I want, but always in the way I need.  So we will go forward with faith.  Last time this happened it proved to be a great blessing in our life.  We are hoping this time works out the same.
-Have attended two of my children's Christmas concerts.  First was Ashley's in Logan, and then the high school one last night.  I love music, especially Christmas music. It brightens my spirit, and fills my heart.

-Spent hours reading and learning about the new curriculum for the youth.  I get to teach the first lesson of the year! It could be interesting, but I am really excited about this new program. It will stretch me as a parent and a leader, and I hope will stretch my children as they work to strengthen their own testimonies and become converted.  
-Participated in wonderful family traditions that never fail to strengthen my testimony, and remind me of the blessings in my life.

I have done a lot of thinking over the past week about the church, my role in it, and my responsibilities, and if it is appropriate to wear pants to church. I have also thought a lot about all the families affected by the shooting in Conneticut.  I originally wrote about both of these things, but it just didn't feel right.  I have an opinion, yes, but there is too much hatred in the world,  too much judging inside and out of the church, and too much focus on things that don't heal hearts, and don't bring peace to troubled people everywhere. I feel deep gratitude for my Savior, and have felt His peace in my own troubled times.   I have lots of favorite scriptures, but there are two that always bring me comfort.  I have shared them with my children when they have been scared or worried.  One is found in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  The other is found in the Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." I love Christmas time, with it's daily reminders of what life is all about.  I pray for those who have lost loved ones, and I might just hold my own a little tighter this holiday season.

October?

It is now the 8th of November, and I am left wondering what happened to October.  I think I lost a month in it's entirety.  As I already posted General Conference brought some big changes for our family, and I think I lost the month of October to helping my 19 year old daughter get everything done to submit her papers.  It was a physically intensive process that required multiple trips to Provo (1500 miles worth to be exact), and hours spent in doctors and dentists offices.  We did shots, physicals, checkups and the crowning accomplishment wisdom teeth removal-all four of which were impacted.  It was also a bit of a mentally exhaustive process trying to wrap my mind around the idea of having a missionary right now!  Her call arrived on Halloween.  We were expecting it, but I was so nervous that for some reason it wouldn't come ( I often expect the worst).  I was so relieved to open the mailbox and find a big white envelope addressed to her.  I took a picture and then promptly put it in my cedar chest and then left the house.  No use tempting me with an envelope that contained my daughter's fate!  Then as soon as I picked up my other kids from school I drove down to Provo (yes another trip) and brought her back home.  Around 6:15pm or so, Grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts were at our house, and we had multiple computers and iPads linking us to grandparents and cousins who couldn't be there with us.  Finally at about 6:45 she sat down to open that all important envelope.  It was only seconds before she was crying, and Tony and I joined in for good measure.  She could hardly read the call to us, but managed to get out the important info.  The Australia Sydney Mission leaving March 13th.  Wow!  So exciting!  Grant, our only child still trick or treating, decided not to postpone his candy gathering. But he stuck his head in the back door for just a minute as he was going around the neighborhood to find out where his sister was going.  Upon hearing, he was exuberant as he guessed Australia, which means he got the coveted milkshake. I still feel a little overwhelmed how in just a few short weeks your life can change, but it's a good change and I am grateful for the blessings that have come along with all the chaos.

 Just about an hour after Alexis opened her call, her cousin opened her's down in Provo.  We watched through skype as she opened her call to serve in the Australia, Perth mission.  They both leave for the MTC on March 13th.  What are the odds that these two cousins who have grown up together would leave for their missions on the exact same day and go to the same country?  Of course they are on opposite sides of the huge country of Australia, but still.

This picture was taken the day after Lexie got her wisdom teeth out.  Other than a rough first day, she healed remarkably fast with minimal swelling.  3 of these 4 girls have received their mission calls since Pres. Monson's announcement.  We are hoping that when the other call is opened this Friday that she is going to one of the other three missions in Australia. :)

Grant and friends-The Three Amigos

General Conference = Change

19th Birthday in June-What did she ask for? New scriptures

Conference is my favorite time of the year, I love the spiritual enlightenment and the renewed desire to be better that it always brings.  This year was just like all the others.  I received some direct promptings on things I need to be working on and changing in my life.  Of course the trick is always to stay motivated after conference to make the needed changes.  This conference brought with it a few more changes then I had been anticipating however.  When school started I mentioned that you never know when major changes were on the horizon-well now I know when...Saturday morning within the first 15 minutes of General Conference!

Lexie has felt very strong promptings that she should serve a mission for probably about a year, but 21 was so far away that I wondered if she would still feel the same when the time came.  She and her cousin decided to take Mission Prep at BYU this fall together.  When she told me they were going to, I thought it was kind of early to be taking it, but of course it wouldn't hurt.  So when Pres. Monson made THE announcement, Lexie and I both started crying.  We all knew it was time for her to serve.  We continued to cry off and on throughout the day, not because we were sad, but because we could see the Lord's hand directing her life and preparing her for something He knew was coming.  I was also overwhelmed by her immediate acceptance.  She went from initial shock, to how soon can I get my papers submitted.  As we have discussed the matter further we have seen even more ways that the Lord has been helping her to prepare.  Truly the Lord loves His children and will not ask them to do things without preparing a way.

So Saturday evening and Sunday she filled out the paperwork and in between sessions she had an interview with the Bishop.  That was another sweet part of this experience since her Dad is the Bishop.  Clearly it was a great and emotional experience for both of them.

The day following conference I started making phone calls, and surprisingly the dentist could see her the next day. When does that happen?  I was also able to arrange her physical as well.  She was not happy to get 4 shots, and to find out that her wisdom teeth will have to be removed (this Friday!), but all in all everything looked fine and she was good to go.

Yesterday she met with the Stake President and her papers are now officially submitted! He said she should expect her call a week from Wednesday!  Wow!  I am trying not to expect the call that soon because I have to manage my expectations.

I am sure that Alexis was not the only young woman listening to conference with these kinds of experiences and with similar feelings and promptings.  In fact she has two cousins who are preparing now to serve because of this announcement. We were doing a count and realized that there could be 6 cousins serving at the same time from our family because of this, 3 boys and 3 girls.

What I am most grateful for through all of this is my daughter's willingness to do the Lord's will.  I know this is a frightening thing for her, and she could have easily found reasons to delay her decision.  She has chosen not to be paralyzed by her fear however, but instead has chosen to be empowered by her faith. Like Nephi in the Book of Mormon (not the first Nephi, the one from Helaman), who was going home and was commanded of the Lord to call the people to repentance.  He received the call and immediately turned and and responded to the call.  My daughter and my nieces and many others out there have responded in like manner.  I am impressed and inspired by their faith.

Things that make me smile

 Last night my daughter asked me to watch a powerpoint presentation she had made.  Now your first thought is that this was homework and that she wanted me to check it right?  Yeah me too.  Not so!  She had prepared a short presentation on why she should get a cell phone.  Her resourcefulness and persistence make me smile.  Still undecided about the cell phone though.  Here are a few of the slides-

Another thing that makes me smile is that there were almost no gnats when I was running this morning.  I have so loved the extra protein in my diet the last couple of weeks as I have been swarmed by hundreds of gnats each day.  In my eyes, nose, hair and everywhere else you can think of.  Could it be because it was deliciously cool this morning?

One more thing I am loving this morning is the scripture that has been going through my mind since I used it in my lesson on Sunday. It is found in 2 Timothy 1:7.  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Love that!