Seven? Years of Service

 The day after we gathered in the temple with Emily, Jared accepted the call to serve as the first counselor in our new Stake Presidency, with President Holt and President Moss, who are men I am sure he will enjoy serving with!

 I think I will always have fixed in my memory the few moments before we left as I played some calming piano music (I Know That My Redeemer Lives/I Stand all Amazed) in the piano room while Jared sat back to relax and listen. Then we slipped out of the house and drove off, holding hands heading to the second appointment with a little trepidation but a lot of love too. 

It reminded me of other pivotal moments in my life when I have felt both eager, nervous and blessed all wrapped into one.  I had similar feelings when we first discussed looking for an engagement ring, when Jared opened his acceptance letter to BYU grad school while standing in the Boys Ranch cafeteria, when we held our first newborn baby in our arms, when we made the split second decision in a gas station parking lot to accept the job in Rexburg and move our family away from Pocatello. My heart just felt so grateful to have my best friend by my side as my eternal companion going through the changes of life together, and I love him for his devotion to and willingness to serve God. 

As part of the interview process, the visiting authority Elder Hall interviewed me before Jared, and his first question was, "What kind of father and husband is Jared?" My response was, he is everything I dreamed of in a husband! Some of my favorite things about him are that he loves God deeply, he loves people, and he repents quickly. 

In his work as a counselor, he has the opportunity to help and love people in meaningful ways every single day, and although he is not perfect, he is always seeking to become better. 

I love how when he makes a mistake, like saying a curt word to a child (which is rare), or spending more time than he feels is reasonable watching sports updates, he is so quick to apologize and recommit to being better. 

We were blessed to have the whole family gather for Jared's setting apart, although some were happier to be there than others 😉. Livia held out for so long, but just as the blessings began, she decided it was time to wail.

 

Training Meeting Notes

One of the other highlights for me this weekend, besides going to the temple with Emily for her endowment,  was attending the training meeting before Jared was sustained.

They told us about it when he accepted the call, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to go. So Jared headed off 15 minutes early, then called me and said I was supposed to be there and he'd  be back to get me in 5 minutes. I'm standing there, with sopping wet hair, no makeup or contacts, only half dressed. NOT the way you want to be 5 minutes before meeting with a general authority! Good thing I'm a low-maintenance woman with thin hair that dries quick.😂

I loved these principles that were mentioned by Elder Hall and Elder Kiehl in the training.

• Intentionally schedule times to study and worship.
• Date night every week is a commandment💗!
• Minister to the ministers.
• Testify of Christ in every teaching.
• Minister to those you have stewardship over. 
• Loyalty to the Lord and to the family are not competitive but synergistic.
• Prioritize Heavenly Father and ask often, "What do you want me to do now?"
• Teach doctrine instead of diverting to side less authoritative sources. True doctrine understood changes behavior.
• Extend inspired invitations to act often.
• Promise blessings. 

During the meeting, I felt inspired to be a better spouse, parent, minister, and RS counselor after hearing them teach.  I really prefer being a supporter more than a leader and saw so many compensatory blessings come into our lives while Jared served as bishop. So, although I'll be seeing my husband a lot less, I look forward to feeling the spirit a lot more and am grateful for the way his service brings blessings into our family and look forward to the experiences we will have over the next 7-10 years.

Glimpse of Eternity

  Emily will be heading to the MTC in January for her mission to Norway. I am going to miss having her cheerful spirit around. I love hearing her spontaneous happy whistle and the reports of her work and school day that she so freely shares with enthusiasm. 

This past weekend was surreal and serene as we gathered with our four oldest children to be a part of Emily's temple endowment experience. I felt God in the details of our life as the temple matron happened to be her good friend and old roommate's grandmother Sister Stucki. She was so kind and attentive and helped Emily to feel loved, at peace and present. 

As I stood and gazed around at the faces of my family before entering the Celestial room I just felt so much heavenly peace. These are the moments we sing about in primary and its hard to believe that in just a few short years our entire family can be gathered there together!

Another blessing was that I was able to quickly find some relatives that needed temple work done that all belonged to the same family. The rest of us did the work for the 7 children of Emilie Jonsson. That brought another level of sacredness to the experience for me as I contemplated their little family gathering on the other side of the veil for this day. She had 2 sets of twins, 7 children in 8 years!

Hard to believe that our sweet baby Livia will be talking by the time her Aunti Em comes home!

Motherhood

 I love looking over the pics and blog posts of my little children as they grow up. Becoming a grandma has been amazing, and as I watch Livia grow, it gives me flashbacks from the past when I was a new mom with Becca. I love seeing my children dote on little Livia and feeling the peace and joy that children bring into our lives. 

This interaction with Livia and my mom (Great Grandma Knight) is priceless! As a child all I really wanted to grow up to be was a mom and piano teacher. My mom had such a positive impact on my life as she served and prayed and listened and took time to connect with each of us. I'm grateful that my dreams have come true, and although motherhood isn't always quite like the fairy tale I pictured, it definitely brings me immense joy and touches my heart when I get to see my once baby girl Becca now interacting with her baby girl and see my mom getting to spend moments with her too. The family is of God!

Grown Boys

 They are all grown up!  I've taken a long break from blogging but reading all my posts from the past makes me want to start it up and record the memories. I have loved having the family all together again now that Daniel is home from his mission and the boys returned from summer sales. Loved our most recent family pics from Picture Patch studios. Today we watched the BYU football game win their 8th game in a row and it was fun to see the boys energy and excitement. I'm glad they enjoy each other.