I went to Vegas to get rich.

Moms have a million dreams and expectations for their children, many of which said children refuse to demonstrate, but sometimes,,,some very special times...a mom sees her dreams come true and her heart has to stop and be grateful.

So I headed on over to Las Vegas to meet a sweet little lady named Lucy Jane Stoker.  Is she ever stunning. She takes a person's breath away when she's lying there sleeping, and then she opens her big blue eyes and it's over.  Do I sound like a smitten grandma?

Anyway, so Lucy is very skilled at being 3 weeks old. She lifts her wee little head and nurses like a champ.  We're pretty sure she is making eye contact, at least some of the time. Okay, she does look at us cross-eyed a bit, but it comes with the newborn territory. She sleeps a lot in the day to save her strength for the party with Mom and Dad at night.

 And speaking of parties, she's definitely the life therein.  Other partiers start to poop out, but our awake little miss makes sure the party goes into the night.  That would be okay except Dad has to be up and out of the house for his Dental School party at 6:30 am.  Not sure how long everyone can keep up with this wild and crazy schedule. But she's definitely fun to be with.  Aaron said, "If you do nothing all day with Lucy, it's a great day." I was the designated rocker one night and Aaron kept looking at us wistfully, "She's so cute. I just can't leave her." Her mama feels the same way.  More than once awesome Clarissa asked for Lucy back, "I need some snuggles." And so it appears that life for Lucy Jane is going to be pretty sweet. And that's why I am so happy. My child has created a beautiful family and they all love and cherish each other.

My little boy has grown into a Dad. One evening while we were walking to the internet (the secret to their newlywed success-no wifi. They have to use the clubhouse or spend quality time communicating with each other) he said, "You know, I enjoyed being single, but that wasn't the point. This is the point.  There's no place I'd rather be than home with my wife and baby." Aww. <3 <3 <3 <3. It's so cute when he studies with Lucy. He just puts her in the crook of his arm, and they read about Dental materials and Pathogens. Sometimes it gets a bit boring for Miss Pretty Pretty, but she just dozes off.

Aaron said, "Babies are a cinch."

Clarissa is a dedicated, capable and loving mom. People ask her how she's doing. She says, "Great.  I've been waiting for this my whole life." What a perfect thing to say. I told her she was just the kind of girl I was looking for for Aaron. I'm glad he finally found her:)

Speaking of joy and blessings, I was looking through a cookbook that Clarissa's mother had put together.  She had gathered recipes and marriage advice from family and friends.  Not only had Nathan's wife, Ariane, contributed many delicious recipes, she also contributed these comments:

Her positive encouragement on the happy state of marriage brought tears to my eyes. I can't describe how it feels for a mom to know that their children are making their spouses happy. Similarly, I was visiting in Omaha with the Ericksons and Joseph and Hyrum were playing with the magnet letters at the library.  Next thing I knew, this was on the whiteboard.

  Thank you, children for loving the families that you've created. We are very blessed indeed for this eternal increase of joy and love.

So you can see that my week was already fantastic, but it got a little fantasticker when Clarissa and I went to visit a friend I've had for 30 years, Linda Schlauder. Seeing friends after many years is an interesting experience.  One wonders if they've changed, if the relationship has changed, if it's been too long since you were together and then you see them and hug them and of course Linda  looks as beautiful as ever (it's her jam) and nothing's changed.  Well, that's not exactly true, I think life has changed us for the better and felt even more love. She has always been kind and gentle and graceful and welcoming and talented. Life has shown her heartache but she has remained close to God and He has made her brighter, warmer, more inspiring and more beautiful (If that's even possible.) I feel very rich as I reflect on the blessing of our friendship and the blessing of being able to be together again.

And then I went home to my husband and 2 remaining children and I realized, having 9 children was a very good idea. As Ed Jackson posted on my Facebook page, "You are very wealthy." The wealthiest.

The parable of the speeding ticket.

Once upon a time there was a little girl who did many good things. Sometimes she was proud of herself for the good things she did, like the time she chided her husband for grocery shopping at Publix instead of Aldi because "We are conserving resources."  She thought about how extravagant he was being and how frugal she was, and then she drove on Redwine boulevard and got pulled over by a policeman and was given a ticket for speeding, the cost of which exceeded many times the difference between shopping at Publix and shopping at Aldi. Her first thought was, "Why did this happen, I'm doing everything right?" (She was on her way to go out teaching with the missionaries) The answer came, "Everything except obeying the speed limit, and being patient with your beloved, and being humble and acknowledging your weaknesses, etc. etc...." The end.

Don't walk home.

My daughter's friend shared this story that he learned from his mother in family night: Some turkeys were tired of walking and wanted to learn to fly like the eagles, so they embarked upon on a quest.  They climbed the highest mountain to the eagle's nest and asked the eagle to teach them to fly.  The eagle gladly shared his wisdom and skill until the turkeys could indeed fly.  And then the turkeys walked home.

This wonderful story of course caused me to ask myself, "What have I learned recently and has it changed me and am I flying or still walking?"

A couple of weeks ago, I (with hundreds of thousands of others) listened to the Prophet and the apostles testify of Christ.  I loved every minute of it and was taught to fly.  I want to revisit my new resolve and make sure I'm not walking again. All of the talks inspired me, but these comments resonated and gave me the desire to improve in specific ways.

Elder Richard G.Scott's talk was entitled, "Make the exercise of faith your first priority." He spoke about behaviors that we all know and recite in Sunday school every week, yet I was inspired to raise the level of my worship and daily habits. He said this:

"Prayer

The first tool is prayer. Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. He is interested in the most important as well as the most mundane facets of your life. Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences.

Because He respects your agency, Father in Heaven will never force you to pray to Him. But as you exercise that agency and include Him in every aspect of your daily life, your heart will begin to fill with peace, buoyant peace. That peace will focus an eternal light on your struggles. It will help you to manage those challenges from an eternal perspective.

Parents, help safeguard your children by arming them morning and night with the power of family prayer. Children are bombarded every day with the evils of lust, greed, pride, and a host of other sinful behaviors. Protect your children from daily worldly influences by fortifying them with the powerful blessings that result from family prayer. Family prayer should be a nonnegotiable priority in your daily life.

Scripture Study

The second tool is to study the word of God in the scriptures and the words of the living prophets. We talk to God through prayer. He most often communicates back to us through His written word. To know what the voice of the Divine sounds and feels like, read His words, study the scriptures, and ponder them.⁵ Make them an integral part of everyday life. If you want your children to recognize, understand, and act on the promptings of the Spirit, you must study the scriptures with them.

Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!

There are many prophetic promises of the blessings of daily studying the scriptures.⁶

I add my voice with this promise: as you dedicate time every day, personally and with your family, to the study of God’s word, peace will prevail in your life. That peace won’t come from the outside world. It will come from within your home, from within your family, from within your own heart. It will be a gift of the Spirit. It will radiate out from you to influence others in the world around you. You will be doing something very significant to add to the cumulative peace in the world."

I have felt "buoyant peace" and it's exactly what I want more of.

Monday I went to Iowa to visit my sister, Susie. She took me to lunch and we ate delicious food, and we went to her house which she's lived in for a long time and I appreciate that. While I am moving hither and yon all over the country, she has remained stable. Her house is the same house where our children had dance parties and played dress-up and watched "Lilo and Stitch." The house is constantly being  improved upon while it sits firmly in it's place on 2nd avenue. 

While I was there she showed me her projects at my request.  She is a fabulous quilter, you see, I love observing the fruits of her daily- over time, labor. She has a fantastic hexagon quilt--all hand stitched.  She carried the little pieces in bags so she could stitch in the car, or while watching TV, all the times I am just sitting idle. When she first showed me this time consuming and tedious project, I thought to myself, "Kill me now," But now she has a beautiful quilt to show she lived, and I have liked 1 million Facebook posts. 

This is her current project. These are a combination of squares from a civil war collection and "The Austen family quilt." These just make me so happy.  I'm pretty sure I am incapable of completing a project as vast as an actual quilt, but I decided that I could probably manage table cloths and runners. Now all I need to do is fly with the knowledge that daily applied effort yields great results over time.

And Susie learned that you have to be flexible when someone flies standby to visit you.  You never know how many times you will have to take them to the airport.

This week in seminary I was impressed with this scripture: D&C 38:24-25 "And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me." and how it relates to this clip:

I was feeling okay about this because I deliver "Meals on Wheels" once a month after all, and then I realized that considering my blessings, I wasn't really giving that much, and my heart needed an adjustment. I actually learned more about this on a food delivery.  My friend's daughter was having a bridal shower on the day of my turn.  I knew I could do both, but was anxious to finish my route to get to the party.  I was making good time until the last house.  The sweet lady was sitting on the porch in the nice weather waiting for me to come. The thought came to my mind that friendly conversation was as important to her as the food and my time was best invested on the steps, the shower would go on fine without me. I enjoyed our time together and still made it to the shower in time for food and presents-twice blessed

This week in seminary I asked the students to share times when they had blessed the poor and relieved the suffering of others and asked them how that helped them feel closer to Heavenly Father. I felt buoyant peace as they shared acts of service, comfort and love. Thanks for the lesson. I'll try not to walk home.

Game on

 It was scripture mastery day in seminary Friday, so we played a modified version of "4 on the couch" or "the couch game." This is a pretty harmless parlor game which surprisingly stirred up some intense competition in my "It's-so-early,-these-are-the-first-words-I've-spoken" students.  They hadn't played this game before so it was just a "practice round," but as their understanding of the strategy increased, so did the glint in their eyes. The students' concentration magnified as the win drew close within their grasp. It was a battle to the last 5 minutes as the "hats" claimed victory over the "no hats". Rematch was demanded as the resolve to "get 'em next time" burned in their heart.

Which is why our family plays a lot of games-I love rabid competition. Well, not really. It's just that I believe in games. I mean, I played games.  My parents played games.  It's the American way, right?  Right.  My parents played "Rook" and "Pit," both card games.  My mom tells great stories about my funny uncles cheating at Rook with signs during the bid to tip off their partners.  We played "Pit"during many a family night growing up.  Later I learned that my Dad doesn't like "Pit." He says he never wins.  Well, it's no wonder with him sitting quietly and calmly, softly calling, "two...two..."How's he going to get any trades with that approach? He's got to yell and grab and fight for it. Which reminds me of the parable of the Monopoly game.

I actually have no pictures of them playing games together
but isn't this one great?

 Dad told of brothers playing a game of Monopoly, one cheating, one having fits of anger, and one playing fairly and kindly.  The game ended, the cheater won, or did he?  They all carried on with their life, but one brother was a little more trusted than the others. One brother was a little more prepared to earn an honest living and treat people fairly and was rewarded with treasured relationships and real success. Apparently life is like a Monopoly game.

Eliza, Amanda, Brandon, Trevor, Nathan, Amy, Daniel, Abigail

Then there's Nathan's philosophy, "Remember it's just a game, but play to win." We're especially good at that second part, not necessarily winning, but really wanting to win.  But that is what I like about games, we improve our skills, many of the skills apply to life, and we learn how to win and lose and play without having our family members feel like they want to slap us silly.  That really applies to life.  We all need to work on our charm.

Board games are in the same category as sports equipment, movies, books, and music...a family just can't have enough. We always get games for Christmas and then we buy more in the summer at yard sales and then we do the same thing the next year and now our game closet looks like this:

This is inside the closet. (The Tide box contains Jenga blocks)

The family's current favorites stay out on the shelf always at the ready.
This is progress from when we used to stash them more-visibly-than-
was-attractive under the couch.

I invited my family members to share a favorite game, and by favorite we all mean a game that we're good at, and disclose the secret to their success. This blog is always open so if you have a game and a success secret send it to me.

Polly, Jacob, Abigail, Gwen, Trevor, Andrew

Paul-Battleship:Listen to your opponent's response as you call the shots.  A quick answer means you're way off, a slow deliberate answer means you're close. Watch for patterns.  People can't help but place their ships in a pattern.  Never position ships on the edges or in the very middle.

Laurie-Scrabble:Points, points, points. High point letters on colored squares only. Solfege notes are found in the dictionary so "Do, re, mi, fa, sol/so, la and ti" are all legal words.

Moods-play with your children. They're easy to read

Daniel-Risk:Selective logic with regards to alliance deliberation. Then advantageous alliance breach to cover the earth with little black risk pieces. Then going out first on the next game because no one trusts you.

Brandon-Stratego: Sacrifice man for man until you are one up.
Lord of the Rings Confrontation: Outwit your opponent or wake them up in the middle of the night for a rematch if he beats you:)

Nathan-Perudo: Learn some conditional probability and adjust your bid based on what others are bidding, then make bids you know are right or at least close that seem outrageous to everyone else that didn't do the math. Then get lucky at the end of the game.

This was electronic Stratego.  It made happy little trumpeting
sounds.  But not everyone thought it was so happy. Grandpa Stoker
(not pictured) once told Nathan he'd pay him a dollar to stop playing.

Aaron-Tenzy: Roll fast. Only pick up re-rolls and move roll to clear space. Try to avoid pull-outs.

Jacob-Blokus: You think it's about blocking people, but it's actually about sneaking around them. You play off your corners. Spread your territory. A really good block will hurt you too.

Epic Duels: Memorize the cards. Play defensively until you have enough cards to last a round.

Alexa-7 Wonders:Make sure you play the best card according to what you have.
Perpetual Motion-You can't be casual. Be in it to win it.

Eliza-Pretty Pretty Princess: When you land on "Pick any piece" always choose an earring. There is one space with each type of jewelry, but you have to get two earrings to win. Don't choose the crown unless it's your last piece. Someone will inevitably take it before it is your turn again, and then you've wasted a move. You can also take the crown to prevent someone else from winning. Be the prettiest princess and you will always win;)

Rebecca-Dutch Blitz: Go fast. Monitor the whole board including the other players' hands. If you are short, stand up so your arm can reach the whole table faster.

Blokus:block everything but don't block yourself out. Play the 5 piece first. Think a couple steps ahead.


Gabe-Rummikub:Stay organized. Think ahead.

Remember, play to win, but it's just a game...a game to show how loving you are, right everyone?

PS. Here's a list of our families all time favorites: Risk, Stratego, Hero Quest, Acquire, Perudo, Moods, Guess Who, Magic The Gathering, Connect 4, Kings in the Court, Othello, Chess, Battle Masters, Lion Heart, Racko, Skipbo, Pretty Pretty Princess, Don't Break the Ice, Moods, Blink, Dutch Blitz, Rat-a-tat, Cat, Epic Duels, Hungry, Hungry Hippos, Yahtzee Jr., Luck of the Draw.

A new person

Today I had a list. One of the items on this list was "Add Lucy Jane to my family tree." I just went to lds.org, clicked on resources, then Family Search then Family Tree. Out popped my beautiful page of ancestors and posterity. I went to Aaron and Clarissa and clicked on "add child" I typed in little Lucy's deets and poof! there she was. In that moment I got teary as I comprehended our family and eternity.  There was this new little person that wasn't there a few days ago who would likely grow to marry and have children of her own (my great-grandchildren) and they would all be mine forever.

Monday evening, Lucy's dad called to say he was on his way to the hospital.  The Dr. was inducing my son's beautiful wife, and their baby would be born shortly.  His voice choked a little and and I joined him with emotion of my own.  We both knew something amazing was about to happen with eternal consequences.  It would involve considerable sacrifice on the part of his wife, and it's always a miracle when a baby is born healthy, but a child is a blessing no matter what the circumstances. Any way you look at it, it's a big deal.

I kept my phone close and dreamed of Lucy all night.  I didn't want to bother them but could have called every 30 minutes.  I restrained myself.  Tues. morning I got a progress report, "Water broke. Dilated to 6." Not done yet.  I kept praying.  Thirty minutes later she was ready to deliver and I waited and waited and waited. In real time it might have been an hour, but you know how it is.  Every thing went well and Little Minute was healthy and strong even if she didn't weigh much.

I suppose this scenario is being played out in thousands, if not more, hospitals in the country but I'm only beginning to understand the implication of new life.  I thought I knew when I became a mother, but I'm realizing, our family is the start of something big.  If we fill it with love, it will fill the world with goodness.

I did my part. I had some children, and now they're blessing my life with who they are and adding some excellent new people for me to love. So thanks to all the people who are having children and teaching them and loving them and raising them right. They are making our world a better place. Thanks to my great-great-great-great grandmother and my even-more-greats-than-that-grandmother and all my other greats for having children.  Because of you and your life, I was born. And we're family, and our family will keep growing for eternity. And some day we'll meet, and we'll tell each other stories, and I can't wait to introduce you to some really fantastic new people, my grandchildren.