Gingerbread Men, Scripture in Me and My Kids, Etc.

"Mom," Summer asked me, as we were driving somewhere the other day, "if you were older, but like not too old, and all your kids were grown, could you adopt a kid so you wouldn't be lonely?"

"Yah, I think you could," I responded.

Then I heard her muse to herself, "So you could just do that instead of make a gingerbread man."

"Who would just run away and get eaten by a fox," I added to her musings. :)

(Though I certainly wouldn't mind having a couple of tasty gingerbread folk along with these later-in-life babies of mine!)

I often pray that the things I teach my children will be in them. (I am no longer referring to gingerbread men who "run run" as fast as they can. :)) I don't care if they recall where the knowledge came from, I simply hope that somehow those things will be there--to grow and expand with the experiences they have, and to be called upon by the Spirit and woven together with scripture and other truths they learn and are taught by others.

Not often, but every once in a while, when I'm reading a mission letter or listening to a testimony or comment from one of my kids, I'll hear it: I'll catch a glimpse of my own testimony and assurances spoken in their own language and with their own understanding.

It comforts me that maybe God really is magnifying my stumbling and small efforts. And it brings to mind these hopeful words from Isaiah:

"My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in my mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever."

And it makes me wonder how many of the truths that have become my very own ... have roots back in the things my parents taught and exemplified, and their parents before them, and their parents before them. ...

A woman spoke in our ward on Sunday. She spoke about the scriptures and of something her mother used to say to her that became "scripture" to her. As she talked, I recalled these words of promise to the early elders of the church as they headed out to teach:

"[T]hey shall speak as moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."

I think Elder Teh summed up well what I feel and hope about all of this (scripture becoming our own and passing that to our children in how we speak so it becomes their own) when he said:

"[A]s we are increasingly coming to know the Savior, scriptural passages and the words of the prophets become so intimately meaningful to us that they become our own words. It is not about copying the words, feelings, and experiences of others as much as it is coming to know for ourselves, in our own unique way, by experimenting upon the word and receiving a witness from the Holy Ghost."

But! Back to the less serious. ...

Here is a birthday sign for Anders (from Abe) that I forgot to add to Anders' birthday post. 

And here Anders is with a nerf "gun" from a friend at school. We didn't even have a friend party. His friend just heard it was Anders' birthday and brought him a gift the next day. (And another friend brought him a giant cookie!) I am so so grateful for every kind kid and every person who has stepped out of their own comfort zone to make my kids feel comfortable and welcome here!

And, the electric fence is off for the next few months! Our landlord rented the field behind us to a woman who kept two horses (different from the herd of horses that were kept for some time in the field just beyond that), but she moves them during the winter months, and they've been gone for several weeks now. 

So, when our landlord (Chris) stopped by to winterize something the other day. I asked, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, do you still want that electric fence kept on now that the horses are gone? Or am I ok unplugging it?"

He gave me a slightly pained smile and replied, "Yah. You can unplug that. I thought it was already off actually ... and just found out the hard way that it wasn't." 

Hahaha. Poor fellow.

Anyway, with the fearsome fence off, my kids have been venturing much further afield:

(Much further. Anders and Hans told me their stuffed animals were exploring outer space when I asked what they were up to out there.)

Meanwhile:

Also, we almost missed (mist? haha hoho) the bus this morning. Usually the fog has faded by the time we walk to the bus stop, but not today!

We usually see the bus lights a full mile away, but we had no warning it was close at all until we suddenly saw it materialize through the mist--with us still a ways from it! (I should add: their pants. It was in fact pajama day.)

And we will end with this small hodgepodge:

Painted rocks.

At the farm to feed the geese. (Eek! That reminds me I need to get over there to get them fed again!)

A Christmas tree at the park. In October. (Who? Why?)

A lovely, artistic photo :) one of the kids took of my nightstand (after they'd knocked down the hummingbird Daisy needle-felted me).

Little friend ready to go in the stroller. (It's going to be tricky to get her to switch to wearing pants with winter approaching. She currently wears this dress, her pink dress, and, surprisingly, a red dress.)

The End.