A while back this video showed up on Facebook. It's haunted me (maybe not the right word...stayed with me?) ever since. So, my new goal is to document a moment here and there. Moments that matter. There are a lot of moments of me pulling my hair out, but you know what? Those moments do NOT matter. "Strength comes not from frantic activity, but being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light."
Frantic activity. Wow. Did President Uchtdorf see a scene of my life when he wrote this talk?
Monday night, Family night. Not gonna lie. I'm pretty sure Satan has it on his calendar to rear his ugly face around 7:00 Monday night in the Bateman home. For some reason it's like pushing an elephant up a mountain to get us all together for what, in my hopes and dreams, would be a family of five stuffing ourselves chalk full of spiritual goodness. I've learned to keep it simple. Planning a big lesson only leads to frustration. Song, prayer, and short story is what we do. After singing Choose the Right, which Jeremiah cried through because he did NOT want to sing a song, Tessa offered a beautiful prayer, which Jeremiah was miraculously quiet through. The prayer included pleadings that Bear would stop freaking out for the rest of family night. (I wish I could report that her prayer was miraculously answered, but we're here to be tested, right?)
Malia shared a story that she really liked out of the Friend. She is so strong. She shared the story and even gave instances where she had made good choices. All the while, her little brother, cried in the other room. She stayed calm and collected. So, here's my moment...
Malia sharing her sweet testimony and example through tense cryings of a little brother. I don't know if I could have done it tonight, yet she stayed strong and carried on. Take that, Satan!! :)
We'll get through this. This 2 1/2 year old Jeremiah is definitely the most exhausting portion of my life thus far. (bless his heart, I love him). Anyone that's been around him for any amount of time, though, will vouch for the amount of energy and VOLUME this kid has.
BUT--redeeming qualities abound! He's so, so, so, so willing to snuggle. Should his "hi-ahs" accidentally hit you in the face, he is instantaneously putting down said weapon and hugging and kissing you profusely. It's almost as if his body is overtaken at times by some sort of intense burst of energy traveling through the atmosphere. Sometimes I just want to take his flailing limbs and just wrap them up like a burrito, forcing the crazies out.
So, anyways, this blog post got longer than I intended. I'll be back with more moments. These, as President Uchtdorf comforts us with, are the moments that matter.
