Happy Chaos

Sometimes I wonder if life will ever slow down long enough to genuinely enjoy what is happening, good, bad or otherwise. So far, that has not been the case with our little family. Life is moving quickly, and it is a good thing my body breathes without my conscious effort, or I would probably forget! Mark has taken to his new calling with a vigor I have never seen in him. The entire presidency is brand new to the Elder's Quorum so watching them all grow and learn is a precious sight. I am excited to see them come together and accomplish the tasks they wish to accomplish, and with this group of men, I have no doubt all goals will be met, and soon! I know they are being led by the Lord and will be successful in everything the truly set out to do. Mark actually used the phrase, "I am excited," the other day and I about fell out of my chair! Knowing Mark knows he isn't much of an outwardly emotional person. When it does happen, it is generally about his kids, or his wife, or something of that nature, never does he show outward emotion about tasks he is given or other "worldly" things, if you will. I can't wait to see what he does with this calling and the excitement that he has already expressed. Stay tuned, things could get interesting!

Call me crazy, but I am going out on a limb here and shouting from the roof-tops...

CARYLON IS POTTY-TRAINED!!!

I cannot express my excitement for this enough!! It is like something finally clicked with her, and she just figured it out. Whatever that was, I will take it! Mark keeps thinking we need to try and potty train Madison before Traydon gets here, but I am exhausted! Who knew potty training was so much work? Not to mention we finally broke Madison of playing in the toilet and sink water in the bathroom, do we really want to re-encourage her to spend more time in there than is necessary at this point? I am thinking, "NO!". Regardless, Loni is potty trained and we have even taken day trips into town to run errands and do the dreaded grocery shopping without an accident. She is very good about telling us when she needs to go, if we are out and about, and she will just go on her own now at home. If she does happen to have an accident, she is quick to tell us about it and helps with the clean up... Even in the middle of the night. Luckily, they are few and far between, otherwise those late nights would be a little much for me to handle given my lack of sleeping time as it is! :) She is doing very well, and I am so glad it finally clicked with her.

On a personal note, for the first time, I have finally finished reading the Book of Mormon from cover to cover! Sure I attended Seminary, and sure I have studied certain portions for talks or lessons, but for the first time, I was able to simply read it from cover to cover, in its entirety! This is quite an accomplishment for me. I have started reading it, I don't even know how many times, and never made it all the way through before needing to start over because I had forgotten what I had read after putting it down for months at a time. I am ready now to read it again, even faster this time and find even more doctrine that I missed the first time. I have also started studying it in depth. Mark can't stand it with all my markings and notes in the margins, but that is why I tell him, it is a good thing he has his own set of Scriptures, so I can mark mine up all I want. :) He still thinks I am crazy... I think my next challenge will be the Old Testament. There is so much that happens, even if I know the main stories, what am I missing from them?? I am determined to find out!

Mark and I have the opportunity, along with our Stake, to attend the Temple in Billings this weekend, and for another first for me, we are taking family names through! I am so grateful for this opportunity and the opportunity I have to teach my children the importance of the Temple. Knowing this may be the last chance we get to go before Traydon gets here makes it that much more special as I will be able to say I will have attended the Temple with all three children, in a capacity I can actually feel their movements and essentially their spirits before their arrival. I was a little worried we wouldn't get a chance to go to Billings while I was pregnant with Traydon, but it is quickly approaching us, and even though I generally wish Monday would never rear its head, I am anxious for this week to go by so we can get to the Temple! I can only hope my girls children (I am still adjusting to the "having a boy" idea...) learn the importance of the Temple through my example and have the same excitement to attend when they are old enough. I love the Temple, and I can only hope to portray that to my children as they grow.