The Rylee Saga

You might find it funny (although I was mortified) that Rylee (almost 6) spent last Sunday at church pretty much torturing everyone. He called his teacher an idiot many times, ask to see his "frickin" mother (said loudly in front of the whole primary), and then turned to the cute little girl next to him in sharing time and told her that her mother had just died.Which news caused her to she burst into tears and the primary presidency had to get the girl's mother to come see her in order to assure her that it wasn't true. Aaahh, the joys of parenthood.

But one redeeming thing is the joy of hugs and kisses that smooth a lot of the trials. And Rylee really can give the best hugs. He wraps his arms around me and whispers into my ear "You really are my favorite Mommy." Does he know this melts a mommy's heart?

When Taylor was little and he did these kinds of things, I sometimes took it personally and found it hard not to feel so guilty. Now, I try to realize that although I can teach them right, they have free agency to choose whether to listen. (Sigh) Luckily for me, he loves toys and when given a chance to earn one by using good words, he has only had one bad day in six. I sure hope tomorrow isn't another repeat performance at church. He has a talk in primary. He could do some serious damage while at the microphone in front of the whole group of kids. Heaven help us!

The Power of Prayer

So my dad Ted Watkins had surgery right after Christmas to correct a nerve problem in his back that has had him incapacitated since summer time. We were excited to go be with him and Mom Pam for the days surrounding this event. Although they were convinced that we should not come, we were so happy to be there and they ultimately were grateful we came. This is a picture right before they wheeled Dad in to surgery.

The nurses were convinced that he must be a star or a celebrity because of the entourage that accompanied him to the hospital. Three of the four daughters and most of their children were there. We missed our sister Wendi but the cousins that were there had fun catching up with each other.

Jeannine and I also got a chance to talk with a wonderful cousin Amy who we hadn't seen for ten years. Wow! It was an awesome trip.

We had a prayer and Dad got a blessing from Corey Hokanson before the surgery. There was a great feeling of peace and power in the room. When we pulled back the curtain, Dad's doctor sat waiting for us. He later told Dad, "You started this out right. There is great power in prayer." I believe there is and his surgery was a great success. We got to see Dad walking without pain less than 24 hours later.