Thornton Mom

For Christmas Santa gave Elizabeth a ticket to Disney's Beauty and the Beast the Traveling Broadway Musical.  Santa arranged to go with our cousins, aunts and uncle and sister and spend the weekend with them. Friday I picked Elizabeth up from school and raced to Virginia to beat a storm that was blowing in.  I was nervous that it would interfere with the show.  On the way we listened to the Broadway Musical Alexander Hamilton.  Elizabeth and her cousins are obsessed with this musical and listen to it constantly but I had never listened to the whole thing. The musical was a fun idea and very creative in its use of words and music.  I had to ask my aunt lots of questions to be able to understand exactly what was going on, but now I do know more about our Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. We LOVED Beauty and the Beast.  The best part was seeing Elizabeth's jaw dropped through the different scene.  When it was over she said, "That is exact...

 John Derek is a good big brother.  He loves being with Michael and he is so good with him.  They play outside, inside and love to sleep together.  Lately they have even been falling alseep in the top bunk together.  It is so sweet.  What great boys I have. Michael fell asleep watching tv on my bed.  He has his shoes on and a rolling pin.  So Cute!! I have been trying to work on keeping my thoughts directed towards the Savior and His gospel.  Yesterday instead of browsing on my phone while I ate lunch I opened the New Era.  I found a story entitled, Things I learned as a Young Convert .   He talks about wanting to remain worth of going on a mission while he was in the German Army.  So he decided to pray always.  "Walking from building to building, going up and down hills in the forests, lying in the foxholes, playing war games—wherever I was, I would engage with Heavenly Father in prayer whenever I could,...

The other night we implimented a new bed time routine.  I explained, "Everyone, Elizabeth and under is to go to bed at 8:00 on school nights."  Maddie came over to me after I finished the details and said, "Hey Mom, you have to go to bed at 8:00 too because you are shorter than Elizabeth!"  This sent roars of laughter throughout the family.  Derek could hardly stand he was laughing so hard. Notwithstanding My Weakness, Neal A. Maxwell, General Conference, 10/1976 "Some of us who would not chastise a neighbor for his frailties have a field day with our own. Some of us stand before no more harsh a judge than ourselves, a judge who stubbornly refuses to admit much..." I went to therapy for the first time last week.  We mostly just talked about my history.  She did say that she is a cognitive therapist and expla...

Samantha hurt her arm.  It is not broken but it does hurt so the doctor thought we should put it in a cast.  Poor baby.  This is the third injury to this arm.  Derek and I are still fighting for our family.  We daily give things up for the betterment of ourselves and our children.  I know that we are on the Lord's side.  I feel so blessed to be a daughter in His kingdom. Elizabeth and me love makeup but we love Jesus and God because we go to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Me and Elizabeth want to God.  We love our family. These are some cute passages Maddie wrote and shared with me at her Student Lead Conference.  I am amazed at her love for others and for Heavenly Father.  She truly has an early testimony of the love of the Father and his Son.  I hope it continues.   Mom helps me do my homework.  Mom looks at me when I do my chores.  Some times mom helps me do my chores.  Mo...

Elizabeth liked these white flowers we saw. I have to be careful of what I watch.  My mind will play scenes over and over during the day but especially as I try to fall asleep.  If I have watched a disturbing show before I fall asleep I usually end up with nightmares and little rest. I remember a few years ago watching something that I wish I hadn't before going to bed.  I remember praying before I fell asleep that those images would not haunt me that night.  I opened the scriptures and read these words from the prophet Mormon to his son Moron: Book of Mormon, Moroni 9:25 "25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in...