Baily turns 6, Church, and Busy Saturday

Baily turned 6 years old last Thursday! She was really excited about it, and reminded us every day for about two weeks how many days were left until her birthday. We had some kids from the neighborhood and the ward over to play in the kid pool, run through Baily’s new sprinkler (that shoots balls out the top), and have cake and ice-cream. I came home for a couple hours at lunch time to watch the party and enjoy all the kids. It was a lot of fun. It was so good to watch Baily enjoying the water with her friends. Amy and I often worry about how she sometimes would rather spend her time doing things with grownups rather than kids her age. She did really well though this time and we didn’t even have to encourage her to go out and play. We sure do love our Baily and her wonderful smile. She’s the one kid we can rely on to not “burn the house down” when we turn our heads for five minutes. She is always so willing to go with me when I help people move or when we thin peaches out at the Church orchard. She likes to be where the action is. Baily is also very tender hearted and it doesn’t take much discipline to make her feel really sorry for something she did wrong. Baily likes to sit and listen as Amy and I read a book and likes to be a part of our conversations, asking lots of questions to make sure we involve her in it. I hope we can always have a close relationship with our Baily.

Saturday sure was busy. I woke up early to go to the temple, came back and had breakfast, helped Amy stain our fence, worked in the garden a little, fixed a couple of sprinklers, fixed a flat tire on my bike, went on a family bike ride, attended a birthday party for Garret Pancheri’s daughter, made cookies, helped with meals, and took care of all kinds of fatherly duties like diapers, rocking babies, disciplining, and providing snacks. It always feels good at the end of a day where I’ve gotten a lot done, but I also go to bed wishing I had a little more quiet time to spend with Amy.

On Sunday Amy was released from her calling as Sunday school teacher of the Priest and Laurel aged youth. It was hard for her to be released because she felt so close to those youth and felt like they were doing so well together. She is now responsible for Achievement Day girls, and with some time I know she will learn to love this calling just as much. She certainly puts a lot of effort into her responsibilities. We had an extremely unique sacrament meeting. A ceiling light fell from the chapel ceiling and dangled from its wires a short distance in front of us. We sang hymn #21, while the organist played hymn #22 and very few people even noticed. The conductor struggled through the song trying to stay on beat, but it looked like she was struggling to figure out what was wrong with the timing and placement of the wording. These two occurrences were representative of how the rest of the meetings went. The words of Alma come to mind: “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” Certainly the power of the Spirit comes more readily when sincerity, simplicity, and directness are used.

My good friend Ryan McBride and his wife Rose just got back from the Peace Corps in Morocco. It was so good to speak with him again this past week. He just got a job in Boulder Colorado where they’ll be living for at least a couple of years. I often wish that the good friends Amy and I have made over the years could all live close by, rather than being spread out all over the nation. I have recently been feeling a strong desire to have my family close too. Again, I look forward to the time when distance no longer prevents us from seeing each other and being a part of each other’s lives.