Tales from the Wife of a Second Counselor

On October 12, Kevin was sustained and set apart as the Second Counselor in our ward's bishopric. When we were both called into the Stake, we knew it had to be something serious:) My father-in-law told us that if they want to talk to the wife first, you know it's going to be a big calling. And I was called in first! We had a lengthy discussion with the Stake President and His first counselor about serving in the Lord's kingdom and were promised great blessings if we were obedient. So, on the 12th we had a combined meeting with the three wards who meet in our building and they combined our wards down to two and put Kevin in as 2nd Counselor of our ward. After the meeting, Kevin was ordained a High Priest and then set apart. President Signs, who set him apart gave him some really neat blessings and promises and even blessed me that I would never feel alone. I felt the spirit so strongly when he said that and I knew that our little family would be watched over in Kevin's absence. It has only been a week and a half and I have felt so close to the Lord. I know he is watching over our family. I feel at peace and comforted to know that Kevin's calling has come from Him. I am so blessed to be married to such a willing and able man. I love Kevin's humility and willingness to be obedient.

Now for the first "Tale"...
Last Sunday was our first week as a new ward and there were 240 people in sacrament meeting and our primary doubled! (Yes, we were hurting for primary kids, so it's OK:) That meant that my Sunbeam class had 8 kids (possibly 10). I was prepared to teach and was excited to meet our new kids. I just didn't really prepare for how crazy it was going to be! For the past few weeks, Emery has gotten really sad in Nursery and has had to go to Kevin. I hoped that she would do o.k. but there was no telling. Because of Kevin's responsibilities during church as a Bishopric member, I take Jane to primary with me and just pray that Emery will stay in Nursery. Well, she was doing o.k. till she ran into the corner of a table and got too upset to stay. So it ended up that there were 8 sunbeams, two teachers, both teacher's nursery-age girls and Jane in a maybe 12 square-foot room. It was almost impossible to sustain order and almost all the kids were upset or crying by the end...except Jane- she fell asleep luckily, as I thought I was going to have to leave in the middle of my lesson to feed her. I left feeling very haggard and tired, but very happy. The Lord really helped me feel that I did do my best and I look forward to new adventures!:) Stay tuned!

Family Room

Here's the family room wall finished...well almost!:) I still need to get a picture of Jane and me in the last frame! Thanks again Kristy!

Hot Mac N' Peas

I've been wanting to do this for a while now...I'm hoping to highlight a favorite recipe from my week of meals every week. We'll see how long it lasts. I just like to share good recipes and ideas. I usually get my ideas from other people, but this one came from my little brain - Hot Mac N' Peas. "Hot" for hotdogs, "Mac" for macaroni and cheese, and "Peas" for, well peas of course! It is Emery's favorite dish and she calls it "noodles". She tells me they're "licious". This meal is something I used to make in college and I secretly love it too:)

Just make the box of macaroni and cheese as directed and add 4 cut-up hot dogs and a cup of frozen peas toward the end of boiling the noodles. When the noodles are done, drain the whole pot and then return to the pot. I add half the butter called for (2TBL instead of 4) and the called-for 1/4 Cup skim milk with the cheese packet. Emery loves to help me stir and eats a TON of it. When we've finished what we want for lunch, I put the leftovers in individual portion sized ziplock bags to freeze. Its easy, a little more healthy, and fun! :)

Family Pictures

I love the classifieds on ksl.com. I often find myself perusing the merchandise there. I have found lately a $40 double stroller, a $25 kitchen rolling cart, $5 swimming pool, two $5 plastic drawer towers and best of all, free family pictures! A few weeks ago we went to "Expose Photography" in Midvalle to get our pictures done. All we had to pay for was the CD with all our pictures on it! Most everyone I talked to was sceptical that it was a legitimate place, but we're still alive and a nice girl from UVU was our photographer. :) Here is a sampling of some of the pics: