First Communion Today

My fifteen-year-old son, who has been coming to church since he was a baby, partook of the sacrament for the first time today. There are several GF families in our ward and each sacrament tray holds a small cup of Rice Chex cereal along with the bread. I never had him partake before because I figured if his severe disability made him exempt from baptism, it made him exempt from everything else. It was a very sacred feeling to watch him eat the Rice Check and drink the little cup of water.

I came home from church to an email from his letterboard teacher including a religious lesson she wrote for him based on the "Who Am I?" topic from mormon.org. It was so touching to read how perfectly this nonmember teacher transferred the information into a beautiful lesson. Makes me feel warm all over. :)

Make Room for Joy

As I was busily and happily decluttering and getting my son's room ready for him to live in when he moves back home at the end of August, the words "Make Room For Joy" popped into my head and I knew it should be my theme for August and for this big new chapter in my life. I found some word art of the phrase and printed it out and framed it for my front door. I also believe that my having just paid my tithing allowed the blessing of the new tile floor to come to pass: "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10. 

My son came home for just a few days to bring a load of stuff and apply in person for the program he hopes to attend. First thing this morning he drove to campus for orientation and an interview. He called about half an hour later asking if I would bring his passport to him because he needed a second form of ID. I was happy to do it because I knew Sam would enjoy the ride. The extra blessing was seeing my tall, handsome oldest son in front of his (hopefully) new school and fresh start. It was an image I recognized as a treasure. And then as I pulled out of the parking lot onto the main road, I passed the headquarters of Chuao Chocolate on my left, with this beautiful word in front:

Today marks three months since my brother passed over. This doesn't dominate my thoughts but it's always there. What a sweet God Wink to experience this morning. The windows of heaven are overflowing with blessings for me and my family.

He's So Good to Me

Tender mercies are raining down on me right and left. Maybe I'm getting extra help because of my brother's passing, or maybe I'm noticing things more, but I'm so grateful. After about six months of discussion and pondering, my oldest child has decided to move back home (with his dog!) to further his education. I don't know if any of us would have been ready for this five years ago, but ten years after he first left home, this news bathed me in gratitude and relief. It also triggered one of my favorite maternal instincts: Nesting!

As soon as I got the news, I started clearing and reorganizing the room that he'll be using. A few months ago when it was on sale, I bought two bedrooms-worth of the wood-look ceramic tile from Lowes that I have in my living room and Sam's room. I love this stuff! I decided I wanted to get my son's room tiled before he gets here, which was an ambitious goal, plus I didn't want to spend too much.

I found a cheap and highly recommended installer and thought I was all set but turns out he couldn't start for six more weeks. I tried to tell myself it wasn't necessary to have it done by my deadline but I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I thought, what the heck, why not pray for this very specific optional-but-desirable miracle! I knew it wasn't "necessary" but I really wanted to get the tile floor installed before next Friday when my son comes down to drop off his first load of stuff. Plus, I loved the idea of getting all this done while my husband's out of town. It felt like a stretch but I just *knew* it was possible to get it done by next Weds. Focused my thoughts and prayed. Prompted to call a contractor friend's tile guy who I assumed would be super expensive. He called me right back, is equally cheap, and will start tomorrow and be done by Wednesday! God is so good to me.