The Thompson Family

Our morning getting ready for church was a typical one-crazy.  I thought we were going to be there in plenty of time because Kylie was super cooperative in getting herself dressed, but we still managed to be late somehow.  Brandt was a big part of that "somehow".  He has really been putting up a fight about going to church lately and today was no exception.  Even after we made it inside the building, he was pretty wild and we missed a large amount of Sacrament meeting.  At one point he ran out into the hall and I couldn't find him anywhere.  He learned very early on as a toddler that if he keeps circling around the hall in our building I can't catch him unless I have help.  Thankfully one of my friends, Jessica Ward, saw that I was having problems and came out of the chapel to help me find him and then catch him when he made another run for it.  At this point I was thinking, "why do I even bother?"  Of course, I already knew the answer, but I know my Heavenly Father found ways throughout the rest of the day to pound it into my heart even more.  Primary went really well.  I love being able to see both of my children during sharing time and singing time as they learn about the truths that I hold so dear.  Today I was in charge of sharing time and it was on strengthening our testimonies in Jesus Christ.  Brandt got to be my #1 helper (the bribe that got him to chill out toward the end of sacrament meeting) when it came to the object lesson I'd prepared.  He got to come up front and show the children how easy it was to break one popsicle stick as it represented a testimony.  I then had children come up and pick out pieces of paper on which I'd written ways to strengthen their testimonies and they got to hand 2 popsicle sticks to Brandt for each one.  He felt pretty special as he got to hold all the popsicle sticks and show them that it became impossible to break the sticks when that many were put together.  I was proud of him as he offered to help the younger children read the papers they picked-especially when he helped his sister.  After sharing time we had a special singing time as it was the first one since Sonja Bassett was put in as our singing leader.  The spirit was so strong in our little primary room as those children and their teacher's sang.  Then during senior primary I changed the object lesson as I was prompted to.  Instead of having the kids pick out my pre-written ways to strengthen their testimonies, the thought came to me to have them share their own experiences.  Kelcee Olsen started it off with telling about her aunt who drowned in their tub.  Her husband came home and found her unresponsive and tried everything he could physically do to revive her.  When that didn't work, he prayed and used his priesthood power to bring her back.  Sister Pat Keetch also told us of her near-death experience in the past few months when she had blood clots in her lungs following knee surgery.  The spirit in the room was palpable as she testified to us all.  I thought of a few experiences but I didn't have time to share them, and a couple of them I felt were to sacred and close to my heart to share at the time.  Something that has strengthened me in recent years was being able to spend time with both my grandpa and grandma Pugmire as they neared death and then being there and holding each of their hands as they passed from this life to the next.  The spirit at each of those times was also strong and something that I hope I don't soon forget.  One thing that especially touched me was that my grandma spoke to family members who had gone on before her-her dad in particular.  She was wide awake and talking to them as if they were in the room with us, and I have no doubt that they were.  What a testament that was to me of a life after this one where we can be with our loved ones again.  It also helped me know that our Father in Heaven knows and cares about each of us and surrounds us with angels who can strengthen us and help us through our toughest times-whether we can see them or not.  Just in the last week our family has faced something scary as my sister Jana has had more complications with her pregnancy.  On Monday she suddenly had excruciating pain and Dr. Campbell was pretty sure she had another kidney stone.  He gave her pain medication through her PICC line and by the next day she was feeling quite a bit better.  All of a sudden on Wednesday she started having a lot of swelling in her face and in her legs to up above her knees.  On Thursday morning she was still swollen and she started having more pain again.  That afternoon it was discovered through an ultrasound that both kidneys had moderate blockages.  The next day her pain and the swelling was worsening again, so she was sent to Logan Regional where she ended up going in for surgery that evening in order to have a 9 mm kidney stone removed.  So many family members, ward members, and friends were praying for Jana and baby to be watched over and those prayers have been answered.  There have been many tender mercies including Dr. Larsen being able to get the kidney stone out in 13 seconds meaning that the baby was only exposed to the radiation from the CT needed to see the stone for a much shorter amount of time than usual.  Both Jana and the baby recovered from the anesthesia much quicker than usual and they were able to be discharged that night within just a couple hours from surgery which meant they didn't have to travel home in worse weather the next morning.  While she is still a few months away from when she is due to safely deliver this baby, we feel comfort in knowing that for now the baby is doing ok and so is she.  One blessing for me has been having the opportunity of hearing my children pray for my sister in a simple and sincere way.  Tonight Brandt prayed that "aunt Jana's baby will come out a good one and not be too naughty."  He then asked that she be able to sleep well tonight and tomorrow night because he saw how tired she was when we visited her and Amanda at my mom's this evening.  I love hearing their innocent pleadings with their Heavenly Father.  Yesterday our friend Mitch Lauridsen wrestled at state (and took 3rd place I might add) and he got a nasty black eye in the process.  Last night the kids and I took Amanda and Mariah, DJ, and Gabe swimming and Riah showed them a picture Mitch had sent her of his eye.  Not another word was said about it until last night when buddy said our family prayer and asked for Mitch to be blessed that his eye would get better and not hurt anymore.  My children often remind me to be thankful for the little things and to be more diligent in expressing that gratitude. And those are just a few of the reasons that I continue to "bother."