Evelyn's Baptism
We started the week attending Phillip's Open House at East Valley. Everett and the little girls went with us to get the scope on Phillip's school. Oddly, the first thing that stuck out to me was how many rainbow flags were on display (in Middle School?!). Most sign proclaimed it's ok to be yourself and that everyone will accept you as you are. While I believe this statement there was a tinge of LGBTQ+ to the affirmations. We had quite a serious chat with the kids after dinner about our beliefs on gender, identity, and the gospel. The kids will be faced with all these platforms (LGBTQ, Critical Race, Global Warming, COVID, etc) and may not even know it. I am establishing a debate/discussion culture slowly as these issues are leaking into our home life. Other than that Phillip was very excited to take us the long, circuitous route to visit each teacher. Phillip has done more work in two weeks than I fought with him for 9 months to accomplish. Everett was quite excited to tour the school he could attend next year. The little girls were fascinated with the bathroom sinks activated with a floor pedal and the lady running a game. Everett won a pair of earphones!
The van alternator decided to need replacing last week. Sara picked me up from Aamco once I dropped off the van. We were chatting about COVID, the church, and recent changes. I was explaining my thought process, maybe even trying to clarify to myself why my view changed. I said something that made Sara cry, she felt judged by me. The rest of the day felt tainted, later a thought came to my mind that maybe those words popped out because they needed to be heard. I knew better than to say what I said to Sara. Staying away from hot topics seems like a really good move right now. Although, I did learn the difference between judging and observation: judgment means to restrict ones actions and to force change; observation is sharing observations without assignment of goof or bad, right or wrong...more like reflecting a mirror on the situation. I feel more and more that keeping my mouth shut about what I truly think is a great idea.
After school we attended Amelia's open house at Columbia HS. That was not as exciting since most of her teachers were gone. The HS is based more on a community college feel than the HS I briefly attended. Amelia is very excited about her choir and social dance classes.
I spent some time cleaning the laundry room, making room for the kids to hang backpacks and coats. It was a small disaster since the garage mess was leaking inside. The worst area of the house was the loft and little girl's room. Wednesday and Thursday we worked on those two areas. The girls were willing to downsize their toys and let go of things we don't often use. That felt great! I really want to make a space for the doll stuff, it is all over-sized and hard to store, add in all the tiny accessories and keeping it tidy is not easy. One day I would love to build a pony wall or move the IKEA shelf to make a space just for dolls. Evelyn can explode in there instead of all over the house. Most of the busy was cleaning and organizing stuff.
Friday morning I took Phillip and Evelyn for their well-child visits. We discussed the possibility that Evelyn has ADD and or Anxiety. She is only 8 and often comes home smelling like sweat, she is using deodorant already. Could be more anxious sweating than early puberty onset. We will go back to discuss her in depth next week. Phillip made a huge jump on the growth charts. Both kids missed lunch so they enjoyed some JJ sandwiches before heading back to school. The kids also helped me vacuum and clean out the van. Grandma Debbie arrived for a weekend visit around 1:00! Justin and I had a virtual meeting to close on our new home refinance. We signed about 60 times before that deed was done. Yes! Bring on new HVAC and flooring. The kids were excited to have Grandma Debbie here! I made cute cupcakes for Evelyn's baptism treat the next day while the kids watched Black Beauty. Yes, I stayed up until after midnight making tiny white chocolate "8's" for some of the cupcakes.
There was quite a bit of ward drama going on this week. The result was reworking the baptismal program again and making changes to accommodate the changes. I find it strange how hard Satan is working to divide us, even our wards. I think FaceBook has taught folks how to be toxic and how to communicate whatever they want without filters. I am deeply saddened that within our own ward people are bickering, back-fighting, and spreading information even when told to stop by the Stake President; all in the name of truth.
I am glad the "adults" cinched up their opinions in order to celebrate and witness the baptisms of Evelyn, Lincoln, and Henry! I got permission to zoom broadcast the baptism at the last moment. In all my haste I neglected to let Justin know of those plans. Dad let me use his account since he has unlimited minutes. It was quite a rush setting all that up, I hear the audio was awful. Sorry guys. Mom gave a lovely talk about the Holy Ghost, she had some folks jingle coins in their pockets, ring tiny bells, and rustle things. We had to listen intently to hear those sounds! I think the kids loved that imagery. Evelyn and Lincoln sang "Step by Step" before they were ushered into the RS room. Phillip and Amelia witnessed the ordinance. Evelyn was beaming from ear to ear. I loved the tender moments we shared while getting her dressed. She reported feeling washed clean and ready to be a member. Justin and Kyle Finch confirmed her a member of the church. We got to see Esther for a moment after, she was at the church for kids in her primary also getting baptized.
Evelyn chose to celebrate her next best step with lunch at Golden Corral. The cotton candy was a powerful motivator! The rest of our Saturday was boring and uneventful...thank goodness. Sunday morning Evelyn got to stand up as one of 3 new members in our ward. She insisted on having a ballet bun to wear with her tiara. She is a character. Mom and Justin helped me pare and quarter about 20 pounds of apples. The apples were small, packed with intense flavor and so sweet. I made an apple pie shortbread and a pan of apple crisp. That dessert hit the spot.
Here are some of Evelyn's words: One of the things I know is my sins washed away. I felt blessed to step in the water with my dad. I liked the warm water. After I was baptized I felt good about making that big choice to get baptized. I loved singing Step by Step. I felt the spirit a lot when I got the gift of the Holy Ghost. During the blessing I got tears in my eyes because every single time when I get a blessing I cry. I cry because I feel the Holy Ghost, that feels like I know Jesus lived on the Earth and I know that Jesus loves me. I know I am a child of God. I can hear the HG when I listen closely and when it is silent. I got a pink eraser from Lincoln's Grandma because like an eraser I can repent of my mistakes. I love my new white towel because it has my name, it's white like the Holy Ghost.
This week I spent some time learning about Critical Race Theory. Basically, an agenda pushing our country towards Communism and/or Socialism. CRT proposes that white supremacy is everywhere; everything should be seen through the lens of race (people should be seen by skin color); we should be activist to see racism in all forms of communication; black people cannot be racist; and etc. In essence its agenda is to remove opinions and belief. I was listening to Charlie Kirk who said it is discriminating for discriminations sake. Diversity is the new word of the day...a red flag that CRT is being taught. More fodder for dinner table discussions.
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