Weekend

Saturday was a packed day!  We started at 8:30 AM cleaning the church and ended after 10:00 PM, gathering up stuff in the dark by the fire pit.

It was also a good day.

We cleaned out the garage.  Mark came to help and we pulled out everything not already on a shelf (there shouldn't have been that many things not on a shelf, but here we are) and Adam pressure washed it and Mark or I swiped the water away with a huge squeegee which was kind of fun.  We pressure washed the sidewalk on the side of the house and the chairs that live by the fire pit (we're in a turf war with magpies).  Adam moved the little chest freezer and cleaned behind it which was really dirty.  I said, "We are filthy people!"

Mark said, "Imagine how it would be if we weren't doing this."

It was exhausting and involved a lot of moving stuff around.  We ran out of time before we ran out of work to do so there's a table with stuff on it that still needs to be dealt with.  We'll get to it.

Adam changed in and out of his suit two times for bishop stuff and we went grocery shopping and I dipped my toes in my WGU course because June 1 was the first day.

I had my end of year gathering with my friends in the evening.  Emily came for the first time which was great.  She has a very limited diet, so after getting advice from Mark, I had berries for her and the rest of us had s'mores and berries.  Do yourself a favor and put some fresh raspberries on a s'more.  It maybe changed my life.

Jamie brought two types of cookies for making s'mores too.  I challenge anyone to have a party with Jamie and not have her bring the best food at the party.

I crowdsourced my first task for WGU and got some good advice.  

We sat in the fire glow and talked about everything:  families, church callings, politics, deer, school.  Adam joined us late into the evening (in his suit).  

I told them about the day earlier when I was talking to an enrollment counselor and she said, "I see it says here your husband works at WGU.  What does he do?" and I completely stalled out on knowing what to say.

"He goes to work?" didn't seem adequate.  (I know generally what he does, I just didn't know the official title.)

Adam said to the group, "I know what she does.  I know PLC, RTI, RISE testing."

Everyone nodded their appreciation.

Adam can talk the talk with my coworkers way better than I can with his.

But, I named the van Hootie and everyone calls it that, so I'm taking that win.

I took a pair of spurs to Sunday School.  Maybe that's the first time that has ever happened in Pleasant Grove, Utah. There's a first time for everything.

(They were of course spurs made by my dad.)

I explained about my dad being a bit and spur maker and the proximity of his shop to our house.  I visited him a lot.  I loved to stand there and watch him work and tell him about my day at school.  I have been to art shows where he has things displayed/for sale.  I know a lot of the lingo associated with bits and spurs.  I pointed out the rowel and the shank and the place for spur straps.  I told them about jingle bobs.

I told them that all of this peripheral experience around my dad did not make me a bit and spur maker.  

Going to church, even going to General Conference, doesn't convert us.  We can know all the lingo and be able to understand basically the parts of the gospel, but that doesn't convert us any more than I am a bit and spur maker.

I told them about our nephew Marcos.  The last time I was in my dad's shop, so was Marcos.  He was working alongside my dad, learning how to make things.  

A big difference between me and Marcos in this instance is that he has a desire where I do not.  He is putting in the work and I did not.

So how do we instill that desire in people we love to become converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Isn't that just the million dollar question.  

We had a lot of good conversation in class which I loved.  Any time I run out of time for everything I prepared because people talked so much, I feel pretty good about it.  When people besides me are talking, we are all learning more together.