With All Our Love

Dear Boys,

This is the week! Your homecoming will be sweet. Friday can't come soon enough. Enough of being gone, or too busy to chat and definitely too far away to visit. We were listening to the speaker in sacrament meeting today who quoted, "There was no room for them in the inn." His point was there was probably room, just not for them. It's an interesting thought, and made me ponder on who I choose to let into my "inn." Definitely room for you here! Come home soon!

Breyer and your brothers spent some time today making Christmas lists...Breyer's was five pages long! Somehow Cooper, who was writing for her, got her to put "flame thrower" for  #10. Sawyer had pomegranate and Heath bars. More my style! Breyer insisted on mailing her letter immediately, without envelope or stamps, and marched it out to the mailbox. Hopefully the letter carrier will smile tomorrow over the treasures she finds in our mailbox ;-)

Speaking of Breyer, she is rejoicing in the fact that she only has two more weeks in nursery. She does not want to go, even though she does, but lets us all know she feels otherwise. Miller was pulled out of his class today to be interviewed by the Bishop for his baptism. The Bishop got a little busy, and when I walked by 40 minutes later he was still sitting there! I asked if he could be pulled out of class, when the Bishop was ready, which they agreed to, and no sooner had Miller gotten to class, they were ready! He made out his baptismal program today, of which you're both integral parts ;-) He wanted to know who else was coming, so we had to talk about how no one else would be coming, because a lot of his extended family is FAR away from Texas!

Basketball tryouts are tomorrow for your younger two brothers. I'll probably see if Miller can try out with second graders, as I think first graders here won't be challenging enough considering he could be in third grade! Porter is excited for you to see him play. He had one game this week pulling down 17 rebounds! Okay, the opposing team was probably a little on the short side, but still. He's tall! He's still number six going in, but gets lots of playing time, and has great steals and blocks.

Cooper still stays after school everyday to practice in the band room for an hour. And he likes it! He says it's better than trying to practice at home! He came home everyday after school complaining about athletics, because they did "leg" days four days in a row! He does not care for pain ;-)

Your father attended his first graduation at Tarleton. He was able to find a robe to borrow, as we have yet to purchase on for him to wear. (And it was the property of a deceased faculty member! We have had a few experiences similar to this in the past!) I was going to watch him on the local channel, via computer, but had to work concessions at Granbury's basketball tournament.

My lesson today was on spiritual gifts. We reviewed the scriptures based in 1 Corinthians 12, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant..." as well as Moroni 10 and Doctrine & Covenants 46. "For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God...To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby... And to others the discerning of spirits."

And in conjunction with these scriptures, I found Elder Bednar's talk from May 2005 where he said, "Discernment is a light of protection and direction in a world that grows increasingly dark. In these latter days you and I can press forward safely and successfully through the mist of darkness and have a clear sense of spiritual direction. Discernment is so much more than recognizing right from wrong. It helps us to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant, the important from the unimportant, and the necessary from that which is merely nice." So may prayer for you this week is that during these days of tests and papers, may you exercise the gift of discernment, and cultivate it even more for these dark latter days.

Rest easy, work hard, travel safely.

Love,

Mom