Sweet Surprises Sunday

I was so happy this morning when Autumn wasn’t a little stinker b/c she was up until 4:00 am.  She took a bath and let me do her hair and was a really good girl during sacrament.  I think it helped that I told her they were going to sing her a special birthday song in Primary and give her a treat.  When I picked her up from her classroom after church, she had mauled the poor Hershey chocolate bar that they gave her.  I let her open it and eat it in the car, but only w/ a napkin under it b/c it was broken into such small pieces.  But she didn’t care and was thrilled that she had gotten a special treat at church.  We came home and I had Nick take our usual “after church picture”.  Autumn was in a silly mood (probably from all of the chocolate) and kept sticking out her tongue in all the pictures.

I changed my clothes (Autumn wanted to stay in her dress) and we went over to Mom & Dad’s house for lunch.  Mom made tacos and they were so good and hit the spot.  After eating, we just watched the playoff football games.  Autumn wanted me to put Hunchback of Notre Dame on for her, so I did and then laid down to watch it w/ her b/c she kept asking me to and I thought she might take a nap if I laid down w/ her.  Well, I was the one who ended up falling asleep for about 30 minutes.  It was so nice to take a quick cat nap.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that song, “God Help The Outcasts” on Hunchback.  Such a good song and it totally made me cry.

Mom had bought all the stuff to make scrapple for Christmas a few times, b/c we always make it for Christmas morning but then we usually have it once or twice during the week after Christmas b/c we like it so much.  Well, we never did have it then so she decided to make it tonight b/c we needed to use up the sausage before it went bad.  She and I make such a great team in the kitchen and we got a double batch whipped up.  Autumn loves it so much that she was getting Mom to feed it to her right out of the bread pan.

At 5:30, Autumn finally fell asleep and I left her w/ Mom & Dad and went back to my house at 6:15 so I could get ready to go to a Single Adult fireside.  The one I usually go to was cancelled last week b/c of the snow, and this one was about 20 miles away, but I decided I need to go b/c I need to put myself in places where I can meet a worthy Priesthood holder.

The fireside was about a talk given by Elder Bednar at BYU-Idaho in May of 2009.  It was about “things as they really are” and the lady giving the fireside talked a lot about how we waste so much of our time with “virtual friends” and doing “virtual things” that we miss out on “things as they really are.”  It was really good and at first I was thinking that it didn’t apply to me, b/c I don’t spend countless hours playing video games or in chat rooms or playing “virtual life” games on the internet.  But then, I had to stop and evaluate how much time I spend on Facebook and looking at blogs and watching TV.  All of these things can be good, but not if they’re taken to the extreme and done the exclusion of spending time w/ our loved ones.  It made me think that just earlier in the day I was looking on my computer and Autumn came over and tried closing my  laptop b/c she wanted me to go play w/ her and I brushed her off and told her, “in a few minutes.”  I do that WAY too much and need to spend less time on the internet and more time doing things with her.  It was a really good reminder for me.  Below are some of the quotes from Elder Bednar’s talk that I really liked:

Sadly, some young men and young women in the Church today ignore “things as they really are” and neglect eternal relationships for digital distractions, diversions, and detours that have no lasting value.

I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls.

Brothers and sisters, please understand. I am not suggesting all technology is inherently bad; it is not. Nor am I saying we should not use its many capabilities in appropriate ways to learn, to communicate, to lift and brighten lives, and to build and strengthen the Church; of course we should. But I am raising a warning voice that we should not squander and damage authentic relationships by obsessing over contrived ones.

Immoral thoughts, words, and deeds always are immoral, even in cyberspace.

“Our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.” ~ President Boyd K. Packer

Anyways, I came home from the fireside and got Autumn and we came home.  I decided to let her open another of the 4 presents from Jason & Nicole.  It was a Dora the Explorer (which she loves) necklace, bracelet, and ring set that had chapstick inside all of those.  It was right up her alley and she was thrilled beyond belief.

It also had 4 hair clips and fake nails!  I told her she had to wait until tomorrow after school to put on the fake nails.  I think she is all decked out w/ her hair clips, necklace, 2 bracelets, ring, and of course chapstick.  She’s so excited for her birthday tomorrow.