Thornton Mom

It really was delightful to be with my family for Thanksgiving.  Aunt Mary and Uncle Kyle were so sweet and kind, so accepting of our little kids.  They seemed to bask in the joy of family and that was contagious.  We felt a huge outpouring of love from them and felt so welcome. As we visited with cousins and my sister that we had not see for a while my heart grew and desired even more to be around these wonderful family members more.  My testimony of families increased.  I realized that it is so important for us to get together as families and strengthen this bond. It amazed me that here we were a pocket of family scattered over the East Coast but united in love and friendship.  We all wanted to be together for Thanskgiving to bask in the love of family.  This year I truly was thankful for family. One of my cousins had just moved to the east and had a 9 hour drive to come to Thanksgiving with all of us.  But he and his sweet wif...

Michael and his cousin celebrate birthdays that are one day apart. Maddie enjoys cupcakes Who wouldn't like more whipping cream? Derek enjoyed the Turkey Bowl with Uncle Kyle and Elizabeth enjoyed her cousin. We all sat around the living room and had an impromptu talent show.  That was a lot of fun!!  John Derek started us off on the piano.  He also scored 2 touchdowns in the Turkey Bowl. Maddie enjoys her cousin who follows her around and wants to be just like her. Maddie woke up with a swollen eye.  But a quick trip to an urgent care cleared things up in a day or two. Godly Characteristics of the Master Ezra Taft Benson, October 1986 General Conference "A priesthood holder who would curse his wife, abuse her with words or a...

Derek is having a hard time.  Yesterday was particularly difficult.  I was amazed how the Lord worked in both of our lives to help lighten his burden.  For me He helped my mood ant the mood of the home.  I have more patience right now, more strength, stamina, and joy.  Each of the children have had several breakdowns in the last few days but I have not flown off the handle and have been able to be calm and helpful in getting them through.  I can only attribute that to my Heavenly Father.  I am amazed that many times when the kids or Derek are off I am strengthened and not also off. The blessings I received today started with he kids being happy, they played quietly and let me rest.  When I prayed for guidance on what I should do while I sat with my foot hurting I was given the incite to do some work that needed to get done on the computer.  Then with my foot well rested I could go start dinner.  During dinner we had good conversatio...

Waiting for the rest of the family to gather for early morning scripture study. "My default assumption is that good sense and patience will triumph in our many challenges in life.   If we live wisely, our lives will go smoothly.   LDS folks may especially be vulnerable to the rosy world view.   We expect to be blessed for doing what is right.   Then the sky falls...We ask, What did I do wrong?   Didn't I have enough faith?   Is God mad at me?   It turns out doing good does not guarantee a life of contentment and fulfilled dreams.   We may be blessed for our efforts with the gift of serenity or new challenges.   God will provide precisely the experiences that can lead us to greater faith and a closer relationship with Him.   We can move resolutely and peacefully to our next rendezvous with God or shake our washing machine hoses at heaven....Maybe life is designed to deliver a solid and growing measure of failures for each of us--e...

My sweet John Derek is struggling right now.  He has a difficult time reading and we are working hard on helping him with that.  Recently he has gotten more and more frustrated and he does his homework less and less.  Yesterday the Lord helped me realize that he was embarrassed.  His homework is different from his peers and he is embarrassed when they pull him out of class to work with him.  I don't know how to help him, but I am grateful to a Father in Heaven who allows me insight and understanding that I would not normally have.  I know that JD will get through this trial and will conquer. Book of Mormon, Alma 21:15 "15  And they went forth again to declare the word, and thus they were delivered for the first time out of prison; and thus they had suffered." They did not give up. It is interesting that they were delivered for the FI...

In order to help our family be nice we have a marble jar.  If we are good we get marbles if we are bad we loose them.  If at the end of the week we have reached the top of the jar we get to have a family activity.  This one was one of my favorites.  I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of glow sticks and glow games.  We waited for dark turned off the lights and had a blast.  Who can't have fun with glow sticks? Book of Mormon, Alma 20:29 "29  And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords. And they also had suffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their sufferings." There are a lot of things going on in my family. Everyone is having issues and I fee...

Dressing up for Sunday!  Got to love my cute kiddos!! On another trying day a friend of mine reminded me of the Mormon Messages " Daily Bread ."  These three videos reminded me to take each day as all I have to do.  To not worry about tomorrow, to trust the Lord and ask for His help to get through today.  This is something I have to be reminded of almost daily as some of the trials get hard and the moments seem overwhelming.  But I am so grateful to a Father in Heaven who loves me so much that He has provided a Savior for me.  Someone who has suffered all I have suffered and knows my pain.  I know that I do not even come close to understanding the Atonement but I will continue to ask for His help, to use His Atonement, and to press forward one day at a time.

Maddie was feeling very alone and frustrated.  She is my girl who will keep everything below the surface.  She is usually very obedient and easy going.  Of late things have been hard.  I feel like she is at the bottom of the pile and everything else comes before her.  We decided to let her go up to Lake Gaston a day early with her grandparents.  She was so excited. I wish I had taken a picture but just picture this in your mind . . .  She ran down the stairs grabbed her pink bag ran outside and sat on the edge of the driveway waiting for her grandparents.  I brought out her pink car seat and she sat in it with her pink bag and waited for them to arrive.  She was so eager to go it was delightful.  I am grateful my Father in Heaven gave me that idea. The Brother in my ward who talked about "Turning Weaknesses into Strengths," said this, " In preparation for this talk I looked up Perfect on Wikipedia it had definitions you would expe...

This past weekend dawned with great hope and great ambition.  Derek and I have noticed in our family a feeling of negativity and rudeness.  It has taken over our children and even a part of us.  We decided to have a "restart" weekend.  I stared by going to the Temple Friday morning and received ideas of how to make this weekend great. We booked a room in a local hotel and picked the kids up early from school for a "surprise."  It was amazing to see how Satan was trying so hard to discourage us.  It started when we got the kids from school and they complained about what they would be missing.  (Doesn't it go without saying that everyone wants to get out of school?)  Derek and I were giddy with excitement but the kids just refused to enjoy the moment and were so frustrated that we would not tell them where we were going.  When we finally pulled up at the hotel a heavy gloom came upon everyone.  But walking into the hotel with a huge ...

Last night Michael toddled over to me with a book in his hand.  He loves to snuggle and read together.  He brougth me one of his favorite books.  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You Hear?  As we read we came across a frog and made a ribbit sound, when we got to the dog we "barked" and then we got to the Goldfsh.  I read Goldfish, Goldfish, What do yousee?  Michael pretended to grab the goldfish, put it in his mouth and say, "Yum, yum, yum! Mommy some?"  I was taken back, why would he eat the goldfish.  Then I realized that he does not know what a goldfish is.  He only goldfish he knows are the goldfish crackers.  No wonder he wants to eat it.  Samantha, who was sitting next to me, and I got a good laugh! Yesterday I listened to a book trying to learn more about anxiety.  The book suggested over and over again that I needed to listen to my kids.  By the time they got home I had been blessed with incredible patien...

A very proud Samantha!!  Samantha has been running with a group called Girl on the Run.  It is a great program.  They meet twice a week and work toward the goal of walk/running a 5K.  So this year at the "Raindeer Romp" our whole family supported her and ran with her.  She was the first person in our family to cross the finish line in 49 min.  We were very proud of her. GOTR Team Family together even in the rain!!   Doctrine and Covenants, D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." The other day I was having a very difficult time emotionally. I opened my grandfather's journal and began to read a talk given by my grandmother Arda Jean Ch...

One of my favorite books is King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood & Don Wood.  I have loved it ever since my mother introduced it to us years ago.  Naturally I introduced it into my own home and it has become a family favorite. Sunday morning we were getting ready for church and Maddison was in the bathtub.  I told her it was time to get out but she said, "I think I will stay in here all day." I replied, "Help, Help called the Mom when the sun shone bright Maddie's in the bathtub and she won't get out.  Oh, who knows what to do?" Maddie laughed and replied, "I do cried the bishop when the sun shown bright, get out it's time to go to Church." Maddie continued, "come in cried Maddie with a Church, Church, Church, today we Church in the tub." At this we broke out laughing.  Maddie kept going, "Help, Helped cried the Mommy when the sun sank low.  Maddie's in the bathtub and she won't ge...

I ran into a woman today who's husband is a bishop.  We started talking about being the wife of a bishop, the ups, the downs, the how do you?, the what do you do?, it was good.  Then she caught me off guard when she said, "but don't you think the blessings outweigh the difficulty?"  I decided that I needed to write down what blessings I am receiving while my husband is in this calling: The biggest thing I have seen in myself is my patience incerase.  Now I still loose it from time to time, but I can tell it is not as much, that when things happen my patience is so much greater, I don't react with so much harshness but with patience and love.  Even when I am in the middle of something that should make me so upset I stand in awe about how well I am handeling the situation and know that is a gift from Heavenly Father. We felt the need to involve our children in several afterschool activities.  One day I realized that I would need to be 3 places on Tuesda...

Michael loves to say prayers.  When it is time to go to bed he folds his arms and says "ahr."  We say a prayer and he laughs and smiles.  When it is time to eat he always reminds us to bless the food and sometimes has so much fun praying that he wants us to do it again and again.  Our food is very blessed. He also loves daddy's truck.  Whenever he sees a bladk truck on the road he points to it and says "dayie tuk, bye, bye, dayie" then waves his hands good bye.  When daddy comes home he is the first to greet him and always wants a ride in the truck. Patience  Elder Neal A. Maxwell  "Moreover, patience will not be an obsolete attribute in the next world!" We will have to have patience in the next life which doesn't surprise me knowing...

My sweet John Derek fell asleep on the couch.  He slept for 3 hours in the middle of the day, even with all of us running around him.  I think he had a great weekend. Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 32:9 "9  But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul." I do feel that this is an important step. In my quest for weight loss I prayed several times for help. Each time I felt the need to not worry that the time was not right. I would have patience for a while and then ask again. Finally the Lord helped me realize that the time was right. He wants what is best for me and He is here to help at the...

Saturday my son John Derek Thornton Jr. was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As we rode in the car together to the church we asked John Derek how he was feeling.  "Nervous, I am not sure if this is the right thing.  But I want to do this . . . kind of."  We talked about how this is a decision that is important and it is his decision.  He then talked about being nervous and excited.  I told him if his cousin Tyler were he Tyler could baptize him.  John Derek replied, "I think this is something Dad's should do . . . I want Dad to do it." When the meeting started I got up to lead the music.  I was overcome by the number of people there to support John Derek.  He had his mom, dad, and all his siblings, my sister Annelise, my Parents Jolene and Bill Dew from Utah, Derek's parents, Gerald and Katrina Thornton, Derek's sister KoKo, brother Will and his family, Sister-in-law Shannon and her kids, the Primary President...

John Derek and I played Jenga.  I enjoy playing games and he enjoys playing them too. I am continually amazed at how the Lord works.  This morning my husband volunteere to take the children to school and let me stay home and sleep.  I was delighted.  As I walked to my bedroom I felt the prompting to go sit and the computer and read my scriptures.  I dismissed it and got in bed, thinking surely the Lord will let me sleep.  I then had that thought that maybe the Lord wanted to tell me something and I should go listen.  That got me out of bed and I sat down at the computer.  I was drawn to a video about addictions on lds.org entitled Redeeming the Dead Redeamed Me .  I watched it and then turned back to my blog and read Stephanie Nielsen's blog about overcoming Pain Meds .  Which lead me to an artical by Elder Ballard entitled: O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One .  I have been dealing with the addiction to food.  This ...