Sunday Ponderings and new photos

I just love Sundays. They are a great way to "refuel" and recharge from the week. Let me back up a little....it's been four weeks since we've had a normal Sunday at church. We were sick one week, Easter the next week and out of town, General Conference the next week (an annual church service/meeting that is televised in which you can go to your local church and watch it or watch it at home on the BYU channel. MUCH easier to watch at home on TV! lol), then Stake Conference the next week (all the churches branches/wards in the area come together for one big long church service, but no Sunday school or classes held during that), and then finally today we were back to church again - week 4.

Billy stayed up too late last night and had a hard time waking up this morning. We actually got up at 7:30am and we had to be ready to leave by 8:30am. (Church starts at 9am now and the pews fill up fast so we like to get there early) There have been times when we would have just stayed in bed rather then jump up and frantically try to get everyone ready in an hour. It's exhausting. But I was motivated and pumped up this morning. I was excited to get up and going (SOOO not me. I'm NOT a morning person! haha). So I got everyone going, clothes laid out, breakfast cooking (okay, toaster waffles..not really cooking), and drug Billy out of bed. Grudgingly everyone started to slowly get ready.

I'm so glad we did too. It's funny how the message at church really speaks to you in exactly the ways you need it to. Today the theme seemed to be about how important church is and going to church is. Even in our first Sunday school class which the topic was on the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) and still the conversation went to how important it is to go to church every Sunday to feel that spirit, to recharge from the week. It's so easy to lose that throughout the business of a week. At church you can feel the Spirit all around you though and it's so uplifting. I wish I could take that feeling with me around all of the time...and I could if I just paid attention more and devoted more time to praying, studying the scripture, being more in tune with our Heavenly Father. However, like the analogy given in our first Sunday school class - it's like a radio. At church you're on the right station and its clear as a bell, but as we go about our week we get stuck between stations and while we still have that station the whole time it's hard to hear it clearly because it cuts in and out and is fuzzy or you pick up several stations at once. The same goes for feeling the Holy Spirit. He's always there with us but sometimes we just aren't as in tune. Life gets in the way. Stress and business and so many other excuses get in the way. I need to do more throughout the week to keep our Heavenly Father in my thoughts first and foremost. I can't put Him on the back burner and let life get in the way, as hard as that is. Sunday can't be the only day of the week that I devote to him. Every day should be Sunday. Every day should be as devoted to Him.

I love Sundays. After Church the boys are a little nicer to each other, and the messes around the house don't seem so bad, and life seems a little easier then it was on Saturday. I just feel so happy and warm and...grateful.

The craziness of this morning, getting all five boys ready in an hour (six if you include Billy!), was all worth it of course. Billy was just as grateful and happy to go to Church once we finally got up and ready and out the door. After we got home from church he came and gave me a hug. Then he said "Thank you." I ask, "thank you for what?". He responds, "for making me get up this morning and go to church."

Okay on to pictures! Nothing really spectacular today. ;) I just had to share how Gabriel is growing! He fits in the exersaucer now and he looks totally cute in it, but I'm a bit biased. haha

Here is checking out the toys. He loves looking at the brightly colored toys:

And here he is looking at me. I don't know why he opens his eyes so wide! I think it's the flash. lol