SUNDAY AFTERNOON

 James has become a little artist. He draws constantly. He is getting really good. I love this phase of my children's growth. There little masterpieces become so detailed. He was telling me all about his picture. There is a rainbow sun and rain clouds and flowers. There is a man swimming in the water in the rain cloud. I love his imagination. I love his drawings. The ultimate compliment to him is when I say, "This is so good. It needs to go on the fridge." He is so proud.

Church was good today, really good. All my children got along on the pew. I actually heard the speaker. Ashton didn't run off once. Dare I say, it was a joy to be a church. I feel really blessed because I have been a crabby mom lately and I know Heavenly Father blessed me. I am so grateful. Sierra made the bracelets her grandma taught her how to make the whole time an didn't bother anyone. Madison drew in her journal. James drew robots and Ashton played with a puzzle. I actually thought about the Savior during the Sacrament. These small triumphs are monumental to my mother heart. I love it when church feels glorious instead of pain filled. We have both kinds of Sundays. It is good to know that we have the other kind too.

I got to go and sing tonight in the Stake Choir. Every other year the director of the Grand Junction Choir. and the head of the singing department at Mesa State, heads up a volunteer stake choir. He chooses music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and proceeds to try and turn a stake choir into the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I feel he is mostly successful. I am inspired by how amazing the end result is. Since I have always dreamed of singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, it is the one time I can pretend I do. The concert is at the end of November and rehearsals are every Sunday from now till then. I love singing with and for Dr. Atkins. He is an amazing director. In the first minute I felt I was singing better. It is such an unearthly feeling when a choir sings well together. You feel your own voice reverberate off of a piece of music. You feel like the voices of the choir are one-hundred and fifty voices that sound like one voice. When you do all that but do it praises of your Lord and King it fills your soul and is such a heavenly experience there are no words.