Beautiful Day

I want to record a really neat and special night before I forget details. I want to remember this night and how I felt. This morning there was a 5k run to raise money for a guy who has brain cancer. I took the kids down to the football field but it turned out the race didn't start for an hour after we got there. The kids were good and we mostly sat and watched people come in. Caleb got a pancake breakfast (Annika had eaten already). We did pretty well and were the first stroller to finish. :) I would like to run a mile in 6 minutes and a 5k in 20 or 21 at some point. We've got a ways to go for that one and came in 7 minutes after the first person, but still it was really fun and it felt so good! And I LOVE, love, love the BOB stroller.

After the race there was a women's conference for our stake and my mom stayed home and watched Annika so I could go. I sent Caleb over to my friend's house and he was so excited to go over there. I didn't want to send Annika too because I thought that would be more work for my friend, where Caleb would just play all afternoon. Sarah and Brooks were so impressed with Caleb! He was so cheerful and played so well for the 5 or so hours that he was over there. They just kept telling me what a great kid he was and how impressed they were with him. They all had a really fun time.

Anyway, Caleb was just in the most amazing mood today. Sarah gave us little baggies of chocolate chips as we left her house and Caleb wanted me to hook his up to his bike handles. It was such a good idea and we poked a hole through the baggie and he had his own little snack on his handle bars as we rode home. Super cute. When we got home the kids still wanted to play outside (it's finally spring and warm here!!) and Annika likes to get what we call 'bird berries' (that's so the kids know that they are only for the birds and not for people to eat!) and squish them. They have picked all of what was left of last year's berries that are within Annika's reach and so Caleb climbed around the porch railing and was picking the berries for Annika to squish. It was just such a neat little way that they were interacting.

Then this evening as we were sitting down for scriptures and prayer there was just such a neat spirit in the room. Caleb wanted to read (he just repeats it) a scripture and there was no fighting or whining about who did what or which one (which there often is). We were reading Isaiah and Caleb liked his scripture: "And I did it because I knew that thou are obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass." I think he liked the big and interesting words and the funny description of a brass brow--we explained what it meant. Then it was time for prayer and again, no whining, complete cooperation, the kids were sitting on their little chairs and sat so reverently during a fairly long prayer. The Spirit of the Lord was so strong in the room. Afterwards my mom and I thanked Caleb and Annika for being so reverent. I asked Caleb how he felt during the prayer and he said he felt good. I told him that he was feeling the Spirit and that the Spirit helps us feel peace and good inside. He was asking for a drink of water and when I came back with his drink he told me "it made me feel warm." I asked, "what made you feel warm?" and he responded, "the Spirit makes me feel warm inside." Then Annika started talking about Heavenly Father and how Heavenly Father carries us. I'm not sure where she got that idea but I agree. I know that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, carry us through our hard times. They also both said that Heavenly Father keeps us safe. There was such a spirit of peace and love in the room. I want to keep it that way forever. I want to do what I need to do so that I do not bring a spirit of negativity or contention or laziness or anything bad. I don't want to break the magical spell--no it's not a magical spell, it's just the spirit of the Lord, it's peace and love, and I want it to stay. Then we played around for about a half an hour and the kids were being so funny. Annika crawled into Caleb's bed and wanted him to come to bed with her. Then at another point we got on the top bunk, turned the lights off and played with a flashlight. The kids were so happy! I was so happy! My mom was happy! There was just joy. It was so wonderful. Here are some super cute pictures of them playing in Caleb's bed: