The Thompson Family

Some days are harder than others to find the positive and learn from and let go of the negative.  Last Sunday Kylie was an angel child and was ready to go to church ahead of time while Brandt was still in his pajamas and out in the pasture with the horse when 10 am came and went.  We finally got to church 30 minutes late and by that time I was thinking, "what's the point?"  Well, we had some good talks and Brandt spent some days with no technology and we were ready to try to do better today.  So.....this morning buddy was great to get ready for church and Kylie was terrible!  She was moody and uncooperative and didn't want any part of bathing and getting dressed up to go anywhere.  So once again, we were late.  At least this time we got there before the end of the sacrament, but both kids spent the first half of the meeting fighting with each other and crying. And once again the thought kept creeping in, "why am I doing this?"  I was in charge of sharing time today and was feeling pretty good about it going in.  I had downloaded the Bible Story "The Prodigal Son" onto my laptop and then planned to hook it up to one of the TVs to show and then discuss afterward.  For whatever reason we (meaning me and multiple kind people in my ward who tried to help) couldn't get it to work, so I ended up showing it from my laptop, which wasn't even close to optimal since there were a lot of visitors and it was hard to hear. It felt like a complete flop!  So what is the point and why do I keep doing this?  Why do I make myself crazy trying to get the kids and myself to church when it seems like we aren't getting much out of it anyway?  Because more than anything I want my children to learn of their Heavenly Father's plan for them and to know how much they are loved.  I want them to learn to recognize the spirit and choose the right. And I think it's happening despite all the chaos that often goes to church with us.  Today Brandt volunteered to say the closing prayer in sharing time and did it with a smile.  Then he went to class and had a wonderful time. His teacher later called me to tell me how great he was in class and that he participated and answered many of the questions. Kylie's nursery teachers keep telling me about the sweet things she does in there and about how she knows the answers during lesson time. Both kids sing primary songs intermittently throughout the week.  Both children know that when they pray they will be answered and there are many times that they are the ones who remind me to pray.  So why do I keep trying so hard to teach them to keep the commandments even though it often seems like it would be a lot easier to just quit?  Because I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I know that they love me, and I want my children to feel the same way because they are what I treasure most in this life.