Politics Plane

     The door creaked open and in flew a paper airplane with a giggle trailing behind it. David and I were sitting on our bed when we received this delightful surprise.  It accomplished two goals for Joseph, election advertisement and alert dad that they were ready for story time.

    You might be wondering about the election advertisement or you might not be seeing how tomorrow is election day. Well let me just fill you in anyways and invite you on a little Delimont journey with us.

    In our family council last week the kids thought it would be a great idea to do a mock election and establish a family government system. We actually did this once before a couple of years ago for a homeschool project. With the Presidential election coming up we thought this was a good time to play to the kids desires. Yesterday, David and I came up with what positions there would be and presented it in our weekly family council. We reminded everyone of the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of government. We handed them the pile of mailers we have collected over the past several weeks from local candidates and told them that they had basically 2 days to campaign for their position. 

    The boys took this way beyond what I imagined yet I should not be surprised. The posters are all over the house and they spent a good portion of time today creating power point presentations. I even walked in on Joseph and Eliot practicing presenting with each other.  When it came time for presentations earlier this evening they had us in some gut wrenching laughing. That wasn't all though, I was thoroughly impressed. I knew my kids were cool but I didn't actually know how cool they were until tonight. 

    Tomorrow, we will not only know the fate of our country for the next four years but the fate of the Delimont home for the next four weeks. 

    I want to keep a record of this experience so I thought this was a good way and if anyone wants to follow along and see how this goes, hop on the ride. 

    In the next post, I'll share more details on the structure, but for now, enjoy these presentations. Who would you vote for? I'm still undecided but I'm thinking the slapping might violate our family constitution.

Eliot for President   - I didn't think to start videoing untill the end

Jarom for President

Joseph for House  

Dance

  Today in our church meeting a brother shared a little life parable.

   As a kid he loved dancing at parties.  His mom revealed to him that when he got to middle school they would have school dances where he could show off all his cool moves. He was so excited and spent his days working on getting those Michael Jackson moves just right. 🕺  When the day came for his first middle school dance you can imagine the excitement when the first song came on "Billie Jean."  But no one danced and neither did he. 

   No one wants to relive the middle school dance. I don't want to look back and see all the joy I missed because I was afraid to dance alone.

   This brother shared that he has felt the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit testify to him throughout his life. He has felt the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ and he has felt the pull from opposing forces. A tactic of the opposing force is soliciting our fear of man. 

   I too have had the Holy Spirit witness to me the reality of a savior, the Savior even Jesus Christ. I have felt the joy of his redeeming love. I have experienced his guiding hand. I have been wrapped in his protecting arms. 

   I don't want to dance alone. I don't want to fear man. I want to be fearless in my witness of Jesus Christ. He is the healing power in our lives, families, communities, country and world!! 

  My life is not without struggles or difficulties but it is without hopelessness. I have a guide to lead me up every mountain, through every trail and give me a surety of peace and joy at the summit. 

  Please, come and dance with me. Come and enjoy the fruits of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Love,

Kina

   

Week 1: The Dark Ages

Week 1:  The Dark Ages



Can you imagine how that sounds to three little boys? The Dark Ages.  Their interest was peaked right away.  

If we are going to be talking about the preperation for  the retoration we should probably start wiith why did we needed a restoration?

Deffinition of Restoration: an act of restoring or the condition of being restored   Merraim-Webster

               

·         the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment.

·         the state or fact of being restored.

·         a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.

·         restitution of something taken away or lost.

·         something that is restored, as by renovating.     Dictionary.com

Ok Anyways so why a need for this.  Well in a small amount of words, Througout the Old Testament is was foretold that the Son of God would condescend and come down to earth to save to redeem the world. And just that happened but first He came and he taught the people and he called 12 men to be his apostles. He gave them keys to act in His name and to help him oraganize his Church on the earth. Just like a police oficer needs authority to act in his duties so did these apostles. Christ put his hands apon them and and gave him His authority.  As we know Christ and these apostles were rejected. First Christ then the rest. Slowly his teachings were lost and because his apostles were killed his keys, his authority was gone from the earth. There was a Great Apostacy.



David had great fun telling bedtime stories to the boys of such things as Rome being sacked, Genghis Khan and all the other wars and “exciting” things to little boys.     They love weird sounding names and get all excited and crack up laughing when names or words sound very unique.



To explore life in the Dark Dages we spent a day eating grains such as outmeal for breakfast and we had nothing but homemade bread and vegetable broth, and peas for dinner. The boys loved eating the peas with the hands! 

The next day (we only did one thing at a time, we discovered it was fun to pretend to be in the dark ages but only one thing at a time), We spent the day by candlelight.  Seriously, the boys woke up to candles, got ready for school by candles and we spent the evening together by candlelight.

They had so much fun with this one. My awesome mom had three little lanterns on hand of course, (have you seen her craft room!?) so the boys each had their own to carry around, CAREFULLY. 

I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the candles all around the house but the boys were taking this Dark Ages thing seriously, “they didn’t have phones!”

This has been a fun experience so far and I myself am learning a lot about history but I am also learning a lot about the Lord’s hand in our lives.  2,000 years ago people rejected his Son and brought darkness to the world as we sought power over one another, and pride, greed and envy overshadowed the spread of the word of God, but he did not give up on us. He right away started working through the good people that were still out there which were many. Inspiring them with their minds and hands. It would be a long time before people and the world would be ready to move out of the darkness and into the light but it would happen.

I know that God is in our daily lives. He is inspiring us and guiding us if we will but slow down and listen and then watch and see his hand in our lives in the little tender mercies of love.

Our 11 Week Journey-Following A Prophet's Voice

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 In the Spring of 1820, a young boy of 14, went to a grove of trees to pray and ask God which church he should join. His world and the rest of ours changed forever because of what occurred in that moment. The heavens weren’t closed, they never were. Just as in times of old God spoke to those who earnestly sought him and were called to do a special work. It was I this moment that God the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ through him.

Well that was just the start. We call it Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

Why did there need to be a restoration? Well that is the first part of discovery in this journey my family has started.

If you noticed the year above it was 1820. We just started 2020. So, this Spring will be 200 years since Joseph Smith’s First Vision and the beginning of the Restoration.

Because of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ we have a living prophet today (I’ll explain more about this later). His name is Russell M. Nelson. Last October in a general conference broadcast to the apx. 15 million members of the Church across the world he brought this 200 year mark to our attention and said “The year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference.” He then gave this promise and invitation,

“In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel… Design your own plan. Immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration. As you do, general conference next April will be not only memorable; it will be unforgettable.”

Unforgettable.   How do you get that out of your mind?!

I have always desired to follow the prophets voice because every ounce inside of me knows that he is called of God and he is hear to help us get through our time on earth during this time. But sometimes, like this time, I just don’t know quite how.

Well, it’s been a few months and it’s been on the back of my mind but the other week President Nelson reminded us and reinvited us to prepare for this bicentennial. Guess what? I did something else our prophet has been urging us to do. I sought for personal revelation for my family, and you know what, I got it! I got it!

I want to share my family’s journey with you not to show you how cool we are or to brag about how we follow the prophet but because I want to testify that when we desire to follow the counsel the Prophet of the Lord gives and we seek revelation how to personally do so, the Lord answers. He answers for me and my family. He told me what preparation would work best for me and my family. Maybe it would work for yours or maybe He has something that is better for your family. Maybe sharing our journey can help.

Here it is. For the 11 weeks leading up to General Conference, April 4-5, 2020 (we started last week), we are going to go through history discovering why we needed a restoration and how the Lord prepared the world for it. And the last three weeks we will be connecting with our ancestors and family and what role they played as well as reflecting on what The Restoration has brought to us and means for the world. Finishing with what role do we, my little family play in the ongoing restoration and the preparation of the Second Coming of our glorified Lord and Savior.

What does that look like you ask? Well I’m super excited to show you what it looks like so far.

I’m not a huge writer so most of the next posts on our journey will be pictures and brief descriptions. And I’ll do another one to catch you all up but for now enjoy a few pics from the Dark Ages and primitive record keeping.

All day we only ate things like oatmeal, and here we are eating bread and vegetable broth.

"Hot Lava" and "Chemicals"

This was written, but never posted, July 8, 2013 (Jarom age 2)

  Do you remember playing "Hot Lava?" The game where the floor or ground is hot lava and you can't touch it so you have to figure out how to get around without touching the ground. I loved that game!   So about a week or so ago my father-in-law put chemicals all over the back yard and we couldn't go out in it without shoes until it was all watered in. We had to explain it to Jarom and remind him several times why he couldn't go in some areas of the grass and such. Chemicals, chemicals, chemicals. Well today we were outside, barefoot. We were sitting down by this little portable slide just talking when all of a sudden he jumps onto the step of the slides and yells, "Chemicals!" I didn't get what he was saying at first so I had him repeat it. He frantically (in play) tells me chemicals and makes me get on the blanket. I quickly realized that he was playing "hot lava" but chemical style! It was so funny I quickly brought it to David and my mother-in-law's attention. So for the next 3o minutes we moved around the yard with the blanket and slide playing "don't touch the chemicals."   I am amazed at Jarom's level of play and communication.

Jarom is getting older, and bigger, and smarter. It seems like every day is a new challenge to learn how to help him and teach him. It's a hard job but one that I love and take very seriously. Something that I learned from an influential woman in my life is that I must take an active and assertive role in my child's learning, especially spiritual development. Sometimes though I just don't know how. I don't know what the best way to do something is. Or one day I think I know and the next I feel clueless. What I do know though is that the children that are coming to earth in this generation are ready and eager to learn and are here for great purposes and we as parents can receive guidance from God on how to help them be prepared. To receive that guidance though we have to be that active and assertive parent. We have to pray earnestly and then do something with our answers. We have to be involved and informed and be willing to step in and speak up.

I say these things not because this is who I am but who I want to be. I want to look back and be able to say I did my best, not I did the best. Well it would be really nice to be able to say that but this is real life and how can I become Kina if I don't have challenges.

For anyone out there that reads this I want to give a challenge to you. When you see a parent taking their child to a doctor for something that seems petty, or asking a teacher questions about a primary lesson or school assignment don't give judgement that they are a paranoid parent give them the credit of being an involved parent wanting to learn and give their child the best. I understand that there are situations where parents are giving blame to teachers and such for work they should have done but that's not what I'm talking about. It's the ones that take their kids out of school to home school them and you look at them and start coming up with parenting flaws or paranoia. We give ourselves enough criticism and recognize plenty of our own daily flaws.

As each of us look at each other as each trying to become the best we can; the true people we were designed to become, we can focus on our own families growth rather than feeling embarrassed and inadequate.

In the morning I was playing "chemicals" with my two year old. In the evening that two year old was telling me, "mom when I older and older and older I get married in temple with girl."

Parenting and Discipline- "Well a few months back in extreme emotion I quit."

     I am a mother. I am Mom. Is this a mommy blog? Maybe, but I hope it is different than the others. I'm actually kind of tired of all the mommy blogs, but I think it is because for too long I have let guilt run my parenting and my life. What is the "and", parenting is my life. I love that though. I signed up for it and I believe it is my divine role and it will help me truly become the person I want to be.

    With that said, let's talk parenting. How many parenting posts did you see today? So I am kinda weird and as a teenager it was a hobby of mine to read "parenting books." I loved Love and Logic. As I got older I continued to dig into all the methods of discipline and child rearing but things started to change when I had my first precious little baby. I remember reading a book that someone suggested to me to help infants get on to a good pattern or schedule. The first half of the book told me everything I was doing wrong. The more I read the more horrible I felt. I thought I was a great mom but now I thought I was destroying my child. Of course the second half of the book told you how to do everything right and makes you feel a little better. Well It seems that just about every book after that did the same thing. Worse yet most books didn't agree on which things were ruining your child and which ones were creating great human beings. Man it has been confusing trying to figure out which one is right and which one is right for each kid. So many conflicting ideas and even studies!

    Well a few months back, in extreme emotion I quit. I decided I was never reading another parenting book. I was on my own and I was starting from scratch, erasing it all from my mind. I knew I wasn't completely alone. I have David and I have the greatest source of knowledge and the only perfect parent at my side, our Father in Heaven.

    It was just a few days later that I had a sacred experience. In that experience I received revelation on the Lord's way of parenting. Simple and clear. In that very moment all my guilt was gone. I didn't have to question everything I did. I didn't have to wonder if the Doctor or this Psychologist was right or "oh no what if the other guy was right an now Jarom is going to have post traumatic stress from this." I'm being totally serious here. It was so hard to be consistent in my discipline because so many people had so many different opinions. But now I felt free and confident.

     Now I feel free and confident. I don't know everything and by golly man do I not have all the skills I want but what I do have is the tools. I don't have to piece through books and anguish through trying to figure out what is right for me and for each of my children. I don't have to guess or work really hard studying big long-term professional studies only to find out that after all that effort those professionals were wrong. I have resources from thousands of years ago to present and yet to come parenting truths. I have parenting doctrine.

     Don't worry I'm not keeping this all to myself. It is available to everyone. The best part about all of this is that the creator of these truths, these parenting doctrines is also willing to give us FREE 24 hour CONSTANT consultation.  Also it applies to every child. He will help us know our individual children and teach us about who they were and who they are to be. He knows them and loves them. This discipline expert not only knows but He has experienced.

    We can put aside all the worldy experts and put our time and energy into studying and receiving revelation through truths that have been given through the Lord's servants.

It is one of the best feelings in tho world to feel good about my parenting. I definitely still make mistakes and am figuring it out but so this doesn't bring immediate fixes or perfection but it brings confidence. It seems like every couple days or every day even that I have to reevaluate or find the next step but I know how to know. I feel good and there is NO GUILT.

So here are some resources:
Home and Family Site
The Family: A Proclamation to the World
Strengthening the Family    (Manual)
A Parents Guide     (Currently studying this one. LOVE IT)
Courageous Parenting (specifically for parenting teenagers)
 Search Results--  https://www.lds.org/search?lang=eng&query=parenting
Alma 42

And guess what! Next weekend there will be brand new fresh parenting truths! General Conference. GC 2015 Look for it. Prayer for it. Make time for it. He will reveal to us what we need. Do we trust him? He has trusted us with the parenting of His most precious souls.
                                             
I love being a mom. It is so hard. So all consuming. But, it just got a little easier and with the hope and confidence of letting go of the world and putting my efforts to the Lord, it is truly helping me become Kina.

Love and Conversion

   I was reading scriptures with J #2 this morning and we were reading Alma chapter 20. I have always loved the People of Ammon and have received much from their story. Today though, I got something more that struck my soul. I knew instantly I wanted to share, interestingly the people I wanted to share it with was my Relief Society sisters. I'm not sure why but anyways here are my thoughts and I hope my sisters read.

   King Lamoni, a Lamanite king who governs over a portion of the Lamanite land is converted quickly. This was always fascinating to me considering his history. Each time going into this whole story I make a point to think about who these people are, what do we know about them? They have been taught for generations how they were cheated out of their inheritance, land, everything from the Nephites. They were taught to hate them. They were taught to fight, to steal, and to murder. The Lord calls them a blood thirsty people. I'm sure they were filled with anger, and pain and had very little trust or confidence in anything or anyone.
   
     With that being said it was amazing to me that King Lamoni had the experience he had and the dramatic change his people and him had. It gives me so much strength and hope. But the experience I had today was with his encounter with his father...

     Starting in verse eight they meet, and his father, the King of all the Lamanite Land, asks why he did not attend the feast he had prepared for his sons and people. You could imagine he was probably pretty offended. Then he asks him where he is going with this Nephite, one of the children of a liar.  Then Lamoni told him everything. He just told him his conversion story. Surely the Spirit was there. I believe Ammon and Lamoni felt it strongly and thought surely it could not be missed by Lamoni's father. Verse 13 says, that Lamoni was astonished that his father was angry. So angry that he rehearsed Nephite history and their present conspiracy to rob them of their lands. He then commanded Lamoni to slay Ammon and not continue their mission to free Ammon's brethren. Of course Lamoni refused but he refused with his testimony, which must have been so powerful.  Again his father felt nothing of the Spirit but was so furious that he drew his sword to kill his own son. Then Ammon stepped in.

     Ammon opened his mouth to defend King Lamoni. He testified of Lamoni's innocence and righteousness. King Lamoni's father heard this and agreed with Ammon but it just turned his anger to Ammon. After raising his sword to kill Ammon he received his own wound as his blow was defended. This put fear in him and he pleaded for his life. He offered up to half of his kingdom for his life. That there gives a little insight into the Lamanites, all they have is their life. Anyways, Ammon responds with his request to free his brethren and for Lamoni to keep his kingdom, receive no repercussions from this incident and to do as he pleases in his kingdom, otherwise Ammon would smite the Lamonite King to the earth.  What happened next is the miracle.

    After all the testimonies which had been born, the act of love is what broke the hardened heart, the bloodthirsty soul. King Lamoni's father, saw the great love Ammon had for his son and INSTANTLY all barriers were broken and he even was able to reflect upon the words that were spoken earlier. He could not feel the Spirit before but some how still having heard it the Spirit brought back those words to his remembrance and the Spirit that was there then made its way into his heart now. How again did this dramatic instantaneous thing happen? One moment he was raising his sword to kill these men and his heart was full of hate for the Nephites, and now he was asking them to return to him and teach him? Love, love did it.

   We recently heard a few things in conference of how when we have loved ones that have strayed from the gospel we need to just keep loving them. Sometimes it is all we can do. After this experience it didn't become, "just all I can do," it became, what I can do. How can I bring them back? I can love them! These beloved sisters that I visit teach, that I want so badly to feel the joy of conversion, how can I help them? I can love them. They must see it and feel it though.   Do we understand that LOVE can truly change a heart, can truly change a culture, a tradition, a whole people, it can break down prison walls? LOVE can do this. Our acts of true love.

Today I became a little more of the Kina my Heavenly Father wants me to be.

     

"First Observe, Then Serve" --a thank you

Here we are again. I had an experience yesterday that I want to remember and share.

      Eliot is almost 4 months old now and I think I can count on one hand the times I got brave and confident enough to go grocery shopping on my own with my now THREE boys. Yesterday was one of them. I had my two big boys (3 and 2) in the double ride along seat part of the cart and Eliot in my Moby wrap in front.

(This is basically my life, Eliot turned around though)

 

The shopping was great got everything I needed, except later I realized I forgot sour cream, which the husband is happy about I'm sure. Anyways... boys were great and they even got to pick out a sucker to buy with their quarter they earned. By the time we got to the check out stand we are tired. No matter what or how much I go in for it always ends up being a very long trip. I love WinCo. I think it is a great company but part of that great company is bagging your own groceries and well though the kids think it is fun it is the most stressful part of the trip.

 

This time though heaven sent an angel my way. You see I;m still trying to figure out the Moby wrap and well a lady checking out behind me came up and asked if I realized my baby was coming out the side. Well of course I hadn't and it gave me a "what if" panic. I told her I was still trying to figure it out and she gave me a quick few pointers, and told me she was proud of me for wearing it. She then asked if she could help me bag. Well since I was trying to help the boys with their suckers, fix Eliot, and bag I said YES. =) She then gave me a big smile and said good. When most were bagged and kids were under control she turned back to her groceries, in which I did not know, were still sitting on the belt behind us. She then came back and put away my last two items. At some point she told me she had 5 kids out in the car with her oldest. I expressed my gratitude and we departed.

 

As I pulled up to my van with the cart and opened the doors, a large SUV pulled up and out came this woman and her 15 year old son. She told me her son was here to load my groceries and she would show me how to work the Moby. I was a little shocked with her kindness. I felt so blessed.

 

Before she walked away in short conversation she told me she had 5 boys the youngest being 2 months old. She then shared with me a little about being a mom of five. They got back in their vehicle and drove off.

 

Not the end....The big boys were not buckled in yet and were asking for snacks so it took five or so minutes to talk to them and get them buckled in the rest of the way. When I finally sat down in the drivers seat, I saw that SUV drive off. I can't be sure but I think she waited until she knew I was leaving because you know all is not well until you are actually on your way =)

 

So many thoughts but the biggest one is THANK YOU. She was heaven sent. Not that it was a critical moment or even that I was having a hard time but she gave me so much more than help with my groceries or even with my Moby, which will help in the future. But she gave me sight into who I want to be and what I want to teach my children through example. I would be surprised if there wasn't at lest one complaint when she drove over to help me or after the kids thought they were finished then waited for five minutes for me to leave. But I also wouldn't be surprised if that women wasn't telling those boys what life was like for her and just teaching them of helping someone in need. I can hear her taking that opportunity to teach them about love and service and families even.

 

I am not usually in a position to help like she did but I hope that when I am I will take it head on. I hope that I will take as many opportunities that arise to teach my boys to keep their eyes, ears, and spirit open to the needs of others. To see a need and fulfill it. A motto I want to live by and how I view this meeting, "First observe, then Serve." - General Relief Society President, Linda Burton

 

I actually never even asked this woman her name but wherever you are, THANKYOU. Thank you for not only teaching and loving me but also for teaching and loving the next generation. 

The Motherly Instinct

            There are about a million mommy/ motherhood blog posts out there so I said hey why not. Actually though, the other week I was visiting with another mom and I had a mind altering, emotional epiphany. I really don't know if those are the right words and I hope I can share this  right because the whole thing was mostly just about me admitting something to myself and saying it out loud. When I said it to this other mom I was astonished but yet not really, that she had the same experience but of course played along like I did and everyone else.  I know, I know get on with it and just tell us what it is.

            How many times have you heard some one tell you, or seen in a movie, "you'll just know, the mommy instinct will kick in?" Or, "you'll learn to read their cries." I'm pretty sure that even in my birthing class and the videos I watched in the hospital at delivery said things like that. Yeah sure it gave me comfort and hope, well until the first thing came up that I had absolutely no idea what to do.

There are so many decisions out there to make for a growing developing human being. I felt like Every decision I made was life altering. I know that is a little extreme but well that's just how I am. I've been working on that with the help of my husband and I think I'm doing a lot better. Anyways, a decision like giving your baby a pacifier. There area lot of opinions out there, personal and medical. It's ok though I can just go with my motherly instinct and well I can even choose to just give it to them for certain cries....

I'M OPENING MY MOUTH and saying for myself and all other mothers out there that have just gone with the flow of agreement and not wanting to sound like something was wrong with them... "All my babies' cries sound the same! Of course there is the blood curdling pain scream but other than that, tired, hungry, sad, mad, just want to make noise, or hey get me out of this diaper all sounded the same! 

Also sometimes, most times, when I really needed to make a decision I just had to make a choice and hope for the best, without any gut feeling. I do believe in prayer and I do believe that we have a loving Heavenly Father that cares about even our smallest worries and will help us out with these decisions. I understand though that for our own growth sometimes we just have to make a choice see how it goes and make changes where needed or just keep going when it works. We were created with minds and hearts, to direct ourselves with both.

So there it is. It's ok to not know what to do and to not know what your baby needs. The thing my husband tells me which has truly been a turning point in my stress and over thinking is "he (child) will still grow up, go on a mission, get married in the temple and have eternal life." You may or may not understand the significance of that statement but simply put, those things are the most important essential things that I would have for my children. Whether or not he misses a nap, takes a binky, breastfeeds or all those other things that weigh on us, they will not change the outcome of the most important things in life.

The Lorax

So I just watched The Lorax with my two year old for the first time... It has caused me to vow to never let him watch a movie again! 

I'll give more details in a moment. Movies have always been a difficult thing for me. I love movies and it was kinda of a family thing we did together growing up. I loved it. As I got older and started understanding the Latter-day Saint Standards on movies I wanted to follow them but it was hard. It wanted to be the one the would walk out of a movie or turn it off if it was inappropriate or contrary the spirit, but I was usually too afraid. I was too afraid to offend someone. Or I dismissed it as just that one time, or I won't watch it again. Recognizing my weakness about two years ago I decided that I needed to draw a clearer line for myself so I will be less likely to be put into a situation that I know I will have a hard time getting out of. It's like the age old scenario of if you know there's gonna be drinking at a party you just don't go, simple as that. So my decision was that I only watch PG and G movies. Lots of people have said things like, "well these days even those movies aren't clean sometimes." Yes that is true but it helps me avoid a lot of "traps." I know my weakness and I've chosen my strategy, to flee!! 

My husband is pretty critical of movies so since about the time I made that decision I have thought back and taken a critical look into movies and it is pretty astonishing at all the messages that are usually hidden under daises and chocolates. (I just came up with that myself)  But tonight I just had an awakening as I watched immediate results. So here's my story:

We were watching the Lorax for the first time like I mentioned, and well I'm not gonna go into what I think Dr. Suess would say or do if he saw what was done to his story... Any ways It came to the part where the last truffala tree was cut down. The lighting was dark, the music was dramatic and sad and the emotions of the all the characters were clear. They were overwhelmingly depressed (that's not quite the right words). Jarom who is two, he's very smart, but I'm sure only understood a portion of what was going on started to cry. I don't recall all his words except for in a quivering voice as he clings to me, "mom I'm not happy." 

I felt sick. I quickly explained to him what had happened and why everyone was sad. It was the consequence of not keepnig promises and other such things and then quickly told him that Heavenly father and Jesus Christ can fix it if we repent and told him to watch. He started to cheer up as I talked him through what was happening as he "repented" by providing another seed and saying sorry and fixing what he did wrong. He go so excited and happy.

 Media has so much power! It can control our emotions without us even understanding what is going on. Yes I have heard the idea of things like that being good teaching moments and learning opportunities but I think there are much better ways. What about examples of making good positive happy choices and seeing the outcome minus all the other stuff. Satan wants us to feel unhappy, not Christ. Christ brings light. 

I don't need the messages of the world, especially the ones that have to be hidden under daisies and chocolates.

"Be an Example"

The other day I read a blog about how telling young people to be an example can be very damaging. That it can put expectations on the youth that they may never feel like they are living up to. Also it said that they will live for people under a mask and not for Christ. I believe the author had good intentions but I really feel she missed so much.  
   Following is the response I made:

So much insight and so much to think about and consider. I am one of those girls. I am one that grew up desiring to be an example to my friends and to uphold everything I knew to be right and true. I wanted to be everything my Savior wanted me to be and died for me to be able to be. Because of that understanding I wanted everyone else to have the happiness and peace that came from that kind of living. I was outgoing, happy, and involved. My friendships though were rough. I was often called a "goody-two-shoe," and told I was judging people. I felt alone a lot of the times. I never felt like I was hiding behind a mask though. I lived what I really believed and that meant I made mistakes sometimes but I fixed them because that is what Christ taught us to do. It was always so frustrating when my friends would leave my side and treat me badly but the moment they were hurting and needed someone to comfort them and buoy them up they turned to me. It was hard for me but they knew who they could turn to. I loved them so I continued to be there. They had someone that was predictable. They knew where I stood, and they knew I stood with Christ and would always stand with Him. They didn't have to wonder if I had changed my ways. They knew they could come to me for an example of how to get back on to the Lord's path. 

My youth was hard and lonely. I had the comfort of knowing I was a daughter of God and that He was always with me but there was still the desire to have someone tangible, always and not intermittently at my side. But I do not regret being an example.

The peace and blessings it has brought are immeasurable. I have a close relationship with My Lord and my God. I am confident in who I was and who I am and who I am becoming. I have friends from my youth that have expressed gratitude to me for the example I was. Also, I have seen the blessings they have received as they have turned their lives to Christ, the joy that has brought knowing that I was a little piece of their path. I have a husband that I feel has worked just as hard as living a life for Christ and we will be eternally happy with our children. 

As I stood as an example as I was taught I should, sometimes I only stood with God but standing with God has brought experience, growth, and happiness that I would wish upon everyone. I will continue to challenge the youth I work with and my own children to be an example. With that though, I will teach them how, as I teach them of Christ. I will share the price they may pay. Most of all I will express the blessing that will come.

The Return

I have this friend who has really inspired me in a lot of things and one of them is to get back into blogging. I'm not a hundred percent convinced but I remember how it made me feel each time I wrote before. I loved reflecting on life's situations and how I was handling it and if I was becoming the Kina I was created to be.

So here it goes.

The thought of my creation has been on my mind lately. I am no longer a mom of just one but two and it is challenging. Sometimes it feels like more than I can bare with all the other things life brings. I enjoy it but there are moments when I think shouldn't I just get a moment to myself. When do I get to do what I want to do. And then you feel guilty for those thoughts and then you get frustrated. I never feel happy in those moments, not like the moments when I am down on the floor making dinosaurs chase each other, or running around chasing my boys with "great big stomping dinosaur feet," or helping them create.  So a couple weeks ago, probably after a hard day, I was praying. I don't remember what I said to my Father but I remember what he said to me. He reminded what I was created for. He reminded me that all my life I have been waiting for this time. I even played and pretended this time because it was a hope and a dream. Being a wife and a  mom is all I ever wanted and exactly what my Heavenly Father intended me to be. It was in my design. When I felt his words it struck with so much power and understanding that I was anxious to get up and get going again.

Being a mom and a wife is a 100% thing. It's selfless. But it is also so rewarding. Having this understanding there isn't such a selfish craving for "me time." When the opportunity comes for "me time" I can take it happily with no guilt, knowing that my family has received my best.


I still have my moments but as I reflect on those thoughts it feels my soul with a love for what I am doing and what I am becoming. I have the greatest career in the world and I can love it or I can go through the motions and live through it till retirement.

I love my husband and children with all my soul and I know that as I let Heavenly Father helps me fulfill my potential I can enjoy each day.

"look at that LITTLE belly," "I didn't even know you were preganant," "you're getting so big,"... so many phrases but you never seem to use the right one..

I was thinking the other day, as I was looking down at my expanding tummy, that I feel bad for everyone that comes in contact with a pregnant women and the topic of her stomach or looks come up. There are all these stories and stereotypes about the emotional or sensitive woman who gets her feelings hurt because someone said the wrong thing to her. So I decided that I'll help all those out that read this and run into me. I cannot fix the issue for every woman you run into because every woman is different.

You see some women don't ever want to look pregnant but as for me as soon as I start feeling pregnant I want something to show for it. Right now I am at the stage where it is definitely obvious (to me at least) that my stomach is bigger than it used to be. So feel free to mention my little tummy! As time goes on though I may still look little but I won't be feeling little so as for me I do not like my tummy to be referred to as little.

But how are you supposed to know when I switch to being ok with a small tummy to not being ok with it? And what woman goes around letting you know what they want to hear? I really just think that this is a forever egg shell situation. But I'm putting it out there that us pregnant women should just let people know! And for everyone that is about to say something to a pregnant woman... ask them how they feel... though ya know that could be a dangerous thing too... I think it would be ok... use this blog post as a conversation piece. Every woman is different but I think I'm safe to say that most women like to talk about how they feel.

Just some thoughts.

bumps and bruises

This is a whole new adventure. Jarom has become our little adveturer and explorer and of course taste tester. Among all his adventures and explorations, he has to make many stops along the way to taste all the interesting artifacts.
The hardest part about this stage is knowing what I'm supposed to do. Of course the smiling and laughing comes natural but what about when I see him holding onto the edge of the couch reaching for the next object to help him stand? With my mommy eyes I can see that it is just a little too far out of reach where the likely outcome will be a faceplant right in front of it. Do I let him reach? Do I let him fall?
This morning my little man was off on one of his adventures exploring how his carseat works if he climbs in it all by himself. He went tumbling over. Cries came and then were calmed in the comfort of mommy. With this experience I started to think more about my role as a mom. These thoughts turned me to the examples of the greatest parents of all, our heavenly parents.
It's hard to watch Jarom fall and I worry that he will get bumps and bruises but I've had a few of those and they've gone away. The Lord lets us fail sometimes so we can feel the joy and happiness of success. I love watching Jarom stand, reach, stop, analyze, and start all over again and then he steps forward and stands in his destination place. Such great joy and excitement runs through me to see him grow and achieve. I think those feelings are the very same that the Father has for us. He doesn't enjoy the pain of our bumps and bruises but He cannot stop the trials that bring them because He understands that they are essential for our learning and our growth. But what he can do is comfort us. He has sent His son to run to us in everytime of need. There is not a pain he cannot ease nor a bruise he cannot fade. If we will but be like little children and reach up to those arms that are there for our comfort there is not an adventure or exploration that we cannot succeed in.
I know that these arms are here for me in this adventure of mine to let Jarom learn, to explore, and sometimes fail. As I will be there to comfort him so will my Father and Savior be there to comfort me.

I'm Back

Well sincw I last wrote I had a large tummy, aches and pains, anxiousness, curiosity, a little bit of fear and no baby. Now I have an eight month old handsome baby boy and those are things in slightly different forms.

My son's name is Jarom Kalayo Delimont. Jarom come from a writer and disciple in the Book of Mormon, Kalayo means "fire" in Illongo, a filipino language from my husband's (David's) mission. He was born on February 11 weighing 8lbs 4oz with a full head of hair.

There are a lot of things about myself that I have learned and am still discovering. One thing, I thought I was pretty patient, but with those late night long cries i quickly discovered it was an attribute that needed improving. I guess the patience gained from the self inflicted patience practice of going exactly the speed limit no matter what for a few weeks only lasted for a while.

It has been a blast though and I truly believe that families is where we get closest to becoming our divine selves. Jarom and David intertwined with the gospel are my greatest joys here on this earth. I have been truly blessed

Husband.

Within this past year I've come to understand that I can't become Kina without him. I am learning from him everyday. This topic goes beyond what I can express in words but I'll share a few things.

He tells me I'm beautiful. He tells me I'm beautiful when I wake up in the morning and my hair is every which way. He tells me when I've just finished miserable morning sickness comings in the bathroom. He tells me I'm beautiful when I've gained 25 pounds and my belly button pokes out. He tells me when I'm curled up on the couch embarrassed because I've just put off some smelliness. He tells me when I get home and instantly put on the comfy clothes. He tells me I'm beautiful when I'm doing all I can to hold back tears because of the difficulties and uncomfort of pregnancy. He tells me I'm beautiful every day, but he doesn't just tell me, he makes sure I know that he truly believes I'm beautiful. --- I'm learning to truly love and see beauty.

My husband is a wonderful man that teaches me to be me. To laugh when times are hard, to break out in rap in the middle of the night, to randomly put my face in the snow, to rush to the need of a neighbor, to give away possessions when someone else is in greater need, to speak up and stop unkind words... to be more like my Savior.

Without him I could become great, but without him I could not become Kina.

10 more weeks... wow

Ok so as of today there are 10 more weeks till my due date. I didn't even know that until I just counted, I guess I have been thinking about how far along I am not how much is left. I think I will officially start counting that. I like it... 10 more weeks. A girl who was waiting for her missionary to come home, onve told me that the best way to count is in Fast Sundays... 3 more Fast Sundays. Oh yeah I like that!

Another thought on becoming Kina: So yesterday I was sitting on campus after my class waiting with David (my husband) for his class. He was working on the computer and well I was daydreaming about the vending machines down stairs. I was thinking about the muffins. I wanted a muffin and well frankly I believed that I deserved a muffin. --But than I started to remember how we looked at our budget the night before and well to say the least we needed to watch it till we get back to WA and start work. -- but I'm 7 months pregnant and I haven't eaten in like two hours-- but you don't really even feel hungry you just want a muffin-- come on it's only a dollar, do i seriously have to be that penny pinched that I can't even get a muffin when I want one-- well it's good self control practice-- ok ok you get the point, this now most hilarious battle between my own self was going on and frankly I had no idea what to do. Do I give in and buy a muffin or do I use self control cause I don't really need it, but its ok to have wants right. So then I turned to David and rehearsed the above thought conversation. He immediately laughed and told me to go get a muffin. Well so I still wasn't sure but I ended up deciding I would go down to the vending machine take a look at the muffins, and then decide. Well there weren't any muffins! =)
I'm not exactly sure what I learned here but it started me on the path of figuring out these simple desires or wants. I was sent here to enjoy life. Does that mean giving into every little want I have, I don't think so. I do think though that it's ok to have a muffin, even if our budget is tight. The key thing is though, do I have the self mastery to say I'm gonna continue on with out that muffin and my day is going to be great, and then forget about it.

(just to clarify, I'm talking about harmless little wants)

We have lots of wants, don't restrain yourself from all of them but don't let them become defining factors in your attitude. just a little thought

It has begun...

OK so I finally did it, I've jumped in and started a blog. Most say about time, but I was nervous about having nothing to say or rather saying something and well it just being plain boring. But well this is my blog so I can write what I want, boring or not, right?

Well so where to begin... First I guess, you might wonder what the title of this blog is all about. As you might already know or guessed, I'm Kina. I don't want anyone to think that by this I don't know who I am. It's quite the opposite actually, I know exactly who I am.

I had an experience when I was in high school where I was far far from home with a group of people from school and from some other schools around the country. When I say far far away I mean Europe. The people I was with decided that they wanted to stay up all night doing stuff in the hotel, I don't know what that stuff was because frankly I didn't want to, so I retired to bed. In the middle of the night my roommates felt it necessary to come in wake me up and question my faith and help me find myself. Among the lengthy lecture one girl straightforward told me that I just need to live life so I can truly find myself and know who I am. They then left. I don't believe I said a single word, one for shock and two I was half asleep. I laid in bed crying and then turned to reading my scriptures. When then of course all kinds of things flooded to my mind that I should have refuted back with. Why does all the good stuff always come later? I wanted so bad to have stood up and recited the Young Women's Theme.
"We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:Faith, Divine Nature ,Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and *Virtue*. We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation."

I know who I am, I knew it then and my heart ached for those girls to truly know who they are. I am a daughter of God who has been sent here with a divine nature. That divine nature gives me the ability and responsibility of becoming like my Savior, Jesus Christ, one who truly is those above stated values. Each one of us has been born at this time to become our divine nature, by all means I'm not yet there, hence I am working on becoming Kina, the ultimate, God desired Kina.