Primary Truths

 Today was my first time back in Primary for about a month. I was not looking forward to planning singing time again, but I did love being back with the kids. I love focusing on the fundamental principles of the gospel and sharing my testimony with them. It really brings home the importance of it all, and helps me realize how I sometimes take my blessings for granted. 

I love working with the other leaders, and I love helping the kids learn songs that can help them for the rest of their lives. Today we sang "Did Jesus Really Live Again?". I was not familiar with this song until I taught it as the song for April last year. I had some special experiences teaching it, and I love it now because of the simple truths it conveys so well. 

He lives. And because He lives again, we will too.

Easter Wishes

As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, may His peace be upon you!

On Giving Blood and Service

This evening I had the opportunity to give blood. Terral was planning on going too, but he wasn't feeling well again (what is up with that?) and time wise it just wasn't going to work for both of us to go. So I went by myself while Terral stayed home with Ethan and made sure dinner didn't burn.

I think my time for filling the bag was a record for me. I don't remember exactly how much time she said, but it was under five minutes. When I stood up, everything went dark for a moment, but I could tell it would pass. One of the ladies asked me if I was okay, and I said I was fine, I just needed a second. She made sure I sat and got some goodies in me. The feeling passed and I decided to call Terral while I was waiting. Our phone call ended abruptly because I suddenly felt I was going to pass out. Those nearby came to my aid and got me to the floor with my feet on the chair. Luckily, that was all I needed and there was no more darkness for me this time. :)

I've passed out twice in my life. The first was my second time giving blood. I was still in the chair that time. The second was on my wedding day. Have I mentioned that before? Maybe I'll tell that story sometime.

As interesting as fainting can be, that's not the real point of this post.  I'm not sure when I gave blood last, but I know it was some time before I was pregnant. I've been thinking for several months that I wanted to do so. I feel the need to give more service, and this is a small act that has come to mind frequently. Consequently, I very much wanted to take advantage of the opportunity when it arose.

Every time I go and read through the booklet and questionnaire, I am always struck by the way our treatment of our own body determines to some extent the service we can offer to others. Of course, there are circumstances out of our control which sometimes prevent giving blood, but many of the things which can make your blood unsafe for transfusion are lifestyle choices. It always makes me so grateful for the guidance I have in my life to help me make correct choices. It also reminds me that when we exercise the agency given to us by God, the choices we make most certainly affect ourselves, but they also affect those whose lives we touch for good or ill. Today, I was reminded of a couple quotes from the recent General Conference.

  Whether we are young or old, what we do today determines the 
  service we will be  able to render and enjoy tomorrow.
    ROBERT D. HALES

  When we actually live the gospel in the pattern taught by the 
  Lord Jesus Christ, our ability to help others increases.

    PAUL E. KOELLIKER

I hope that someday I can not only live my life in such a way that I not only have the potential to help others, but I also have the awareness and ability to do so.

Unshoes Workshop

Between my teenager-like act of staying up all of Monday night to finish a book and Ethan thinking it was morning at 4:30 am today, I'm beat. So I'm kind of copping out by directing you to some posts that Terral wrote about our recent-ish move to an actual workshop for the business.  You'll find the first post here, and the second here.

It has been such a good thing for the business and for our family. Now work doesn't interfere with Ethan's naps, and vice versa. ;) We are so grateful for Heavenly Father's guidance.

What Once Was Lost

So, remember how one of the things that made our SLC trip a rollercoaster was Terral's lost wallet? Well, he just walked in a few minutes ago and shared the news that he finally found it! It's kind of scary to have a wallet missing for so long, and he had searched everywhere he could think of, so we are very relieved!

But now Terral kind of feels like he has a curse. You see, he was working on a photography project this evening, which is how he discovered his wallet. He doesn't remember putting it in there, but it was snug inside his camera case. Unfortunately, he also discovered that an important piece of camera equipment is missing. *sigh* And the back-up for that equipment is suddenly not working. Which meant he had a rather difficult time with his project.

On the bright side, Terral found several other missing items while searching for his wallet the past week and a half. He recovered our bottle of lavender essential oil, four sticks of chapstick, and other sundry objects, the details of which I will spare you. Actually, I think he found the chapstick while looking for the lavender, and the lavender while looking for the wallet.

Maybe if we lose something else, he'll find that camera equipment.

CC Salve

Yesterday Ethan developed quite the diaper rash, and it reminded me that I never posted about our Christmas gifts. I just reread that sentence and realized that may like quite a stretch, but hang with me for a moment and it will make sense.

One of the gifts I made Terral was a Calendula-Comfrey Salve. He liked it, but truth be told, he was more excited by the home made deodorant. ;) He has used it a few times since, but it turns out that little boys learning to walk, run, climb, and explore get quite a few more "owies" than their dads who teach and make sandals. So even though the salve is still Terral's, it kind of became Ethan's too. Especially once we found out how good it works on diaper rash.

When I was researching cloth diapers, most of the websites made it sound like diaper rash was practically nonexistent with cloth diaper users. Although it hasn't been a real frequent occurrence, Ethan has definitely not escaped this babyhood experience. But the care instructions for our diapers forbid the use of creams, so we had to find another way. We used cornstarch as a preventative measure when he was younger. When he did get a rash, we usually applied silver gel. That helped prevent the rash from getting worse, but it didn't speed up the healing process much.  The thing that seemed to aid healing the most was baking soda in his bath water. That usually cleared it up pretty well.

Some time after Christmas, Ethan got another rash and I tried the salve I had made. It cleared up so quickly! I was definitely impressed and vowed to make another bottle to keep in the nursery. Only I haven't done that yet, so we're still using Terral's. :) He's very generous with it. It helps that a little goes a long way.

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post. As I said, Ethan got a rash yesterday, and he somehow pooped in his diaper twice after that without us catching it quickly. The result was one sore little man. A baking soda bath and a couple salve applications later, and not a sign of red lingers.

It feels so good to know that I can make something like that to help my family. I'm continually amazed by the gifts God has given us, and the wisdom He used in making them.

PS The above recipe made enough to fill 2 baby food jars. I gave the other one to my dad. And just in case you were wondering, I took these pictures today, so you can kind of see how little we've used the past few months—in spite of frequent use.

Signs

Conference went by so quickly for me this time. There we so many wonderful things said. I have so much to work on! I've had a lot of thoughts, and I thought I might write some of them here, but they are all so jumbled right now. I need to do as Elder Scott said and get better sleep.

I'm afraid Ethan might be getting sick again. I'm hoping it's just teething, but his symptoms have me a little worried. He was quite whiny again today, but still managed to have a good amount of play. It's so fun to teach him things. In the past few days he's started signing eat and bird, and he also is learning to pucker kiss and blow kisses. Such a cutie. Here's a fun video of him signing from a couple days ago. If you watch till the end you can see him make one of his favorite faces. Cracks me up.