God Is at the Helm

General Conference is an incredible creation. For those who don't know general conference is when the living prophet and apostles speak to the world about things that our Heavenly Father has inspired them to talk to us about. It is on tv, internet, and radio. Anyone can watch or listen to it. It's also nice for people like me that have little kids and it's really hard to hear or sit long enough because of my 3 little boys being boys that they have videos of all the talks and print outs of all the talks to read afterward.

As I am slowly reading through the talks since I missed most of them while they were airing I have come across a couple in particular that I really enjoy. One is "God Is at the Helm" by Elder M. Russell Ballard who is an apostle of God. In a previous talk Elder Ballard gave he talked about being on the Old Ship Zion which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints. This time he continued on that talk. He quoted a previous president of the church, President Brigham Young, "We are on the old ship Zion...God is at the helm and will stay there...He dictates, guides, and directs. If the people will have implicit confidence in their God, never forsake covenants nor their God, He will guide us right." To me this is an amazing analogy. God is directing our life. We have to trust in Him and follow Him, and He will guide us to exaltation. 

Elder Ballard continues in saying, "Our ship's destination is the full blessings of the gospel, the kingdom of heaven, the celestial glory, and the presence of God! God's plan is in the place. He is at the helm, and His great and powerful ship flows toward salvation and exaltation. Remember that we cannot get there by jumping out of the boat and trying to swim there by ourselves. Exaltation is the goal of the mortal journey, and no one gets there without the means of the gospel of Jesus Christ: His Atonement, the ordinances, and guiding doctrine and principles that are found in the Church. It is the Church wherein we learn the works of God and accept the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that saves us. It is within the Church that we form the commitments and covenants of eternal families that become our passport to exaltation. It is the Church that is powered by the priesthood to propel us through the unpredictable waters of mortality."

This is the ship that I want to be on. This is where I want to go.  It's not always easy. It's important that we remember that we can't as he said "get there by jumping out of the boat and trying to swim." We cannot get to where we need to go by ourselves. We need help. We need to do the things we are supposed to and follow God to get where we need to be. It may not always be easy, but it will definitely be worth it. 

Mommyhood

Once there were two and now there are three! Almost 4 months ago I gave birth to a sweet baby boy, Rylan Lewis Patton. Having three little boys 4 and under is hard, really hard. There are some days that I'm like this is no big deal, I got this. Then there are most days that I don't know which way my head is screwed on. I love all three of my little men! They definitely keep me busy. I can be home all day and have nothing going on and still nothing at home gets done because of my little men. My patience gets tested daily, multiple times a day. Some days I might be yelling all day because this or that. Some days I want to give up. Some days I question how good of a mom I actually am, but I know that I am doing the best that I know how. With having the gospel in my life, I have Heavenly Father helping me. I know that I couldn't do it without Him. Being a mom is what I'm supposed to do, but not only that it's what I want to do. I've always wanted to be a stay at home mom because I had an amazing mom myself. Being a mom is not easy, nor should it be. Heavenly Father entrusted these three little human beings to me. I am to teach them everything they need to know, make sure they are healthy, gain a testimony, take care of them and love them unconditionally. I do love my boys so much! I wouldn't trade my life for anyone or anything! There are days that are harder than others, but that's part of my job as a mom, teacher, nurse, referee, friend, and so much more. You know it does also help seeing these smiling faces every day!

 I also couldn't do it without my other half, my soulmate, the love of my life, Adam! Adam is so much more than a great husband, he's an incredible daddy!

I sure do have an incredible amazing family!

“There is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood.” —M. Russell Ballard

Incredibly Blessed

Today I feel incredibly blessed. Kaleb had his routine cancer check up at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. We go in every 6 months to see the oncologist and get an MRI scan to make sure his infantile fibrosarcoma doesn't come back. It is always a long day and I feel bad because they have to sedate Kaleb since he's two and won't hold still long enough for the MRI. I like to have it done though for a peace of mind that it hasn't come back. Kaleb is now almost two years cancer free. I can't help but think about Kaleb and when he was diagnosed almost on a daily basis. It depresses me, but then I'm happy that he's alive and doing well.

While we were at the oncology offices today there was a little girl not much older than Kaleb with just a little peach fuzz on her head and a mask over her face. She was undergoing chemotherapy. I'm not sure what cancer she has, but she is fighting. This poor girl doesn't have a normal childhood. She can't be around many people because of the germs and the high risk of her getting extremely sick due to being on chemotherapy.

There was a boy about 10 years old and he also had no hair, a mask over his face, and walking with a cane because he's so weak from his cancer and the chemotherapy treatment. He obviously isn't living the life a 10 year old boy should be living.

I feel so blessed that we didn't have to go through that. Kaleb was diagnosed with cancer when he was 6 months old. We were so blessed that his cancer was so localized he didn't have to have chemotherapy. He only had to have surgery. Yes he had three surgeries and it was tough and definitely a hardship. No one wants hear their child has cancer or that they have to have three surgeries. It definitely took a toll on me physically and emotionally. I am so grateful that he has been clean for almost two years, next month. We don't have to be cautious about who he plays with or wearing a mask. He has a full thick head of hair and gets to live a wonderful life of a little boy.

I feel incredibly blessed, grateful to my Father in Heaven and I pray for those that aren't as lucky.

Loving Our Busy Lives

Our lives have gotten busy in the last few weeks. I was recently called to be the young women's second counselor in our ward. It makes me a lot more busy, but I'm super excited for it. This is only one of three callings I have. Adam has started to study for the CPA exam which keeps him pretty busy. I also have been asked to make cakes for several different occasions, and I am about to start my cake class this coming week. I am loving my life. I can't wait to see what else comes to us this year. 

Last week was my siblings spring break so we went to the Topeka zoo which was a lot of fun. I absolutely LOVE the zoo. I'm a kid that way. I hope to go to the zoo several times this spring/summer. 

Keegan took his first two steps this week. Before long he'll be cruising. He also says mama and dada now. He's getting too big too fast. For the record he said mama first! Boo-ya Adam!  Hee Hee :)

Kaleb is getting more and more into his terrible twos. He is constantly throwing tantrums. He is cute too though. 

I'm trying to find new dinner and lunch recipes. If you have any that you recommend you should email me the recipe at bnicholepatton@aol.com or post it here on the blog! 

Grandparents, Phones. Callings, Kids

Wow, I really stink on keeping up with this thing. At least it wasn't too long. There have been five things that I can think of that has happened in the last couple of weeks that I want to write about.

First, my beautiful Grandma Smith passed away February 15. Her funeral was three days later on February 18. It was time for my Grandma to go. She had a lot of medical problems and was in a lot of pain. The family was relieved she past for that part of it, but we are going to miss her very much. Even though I knew for some time that she could pass away at any moment, I had a real hard time wrapping my head around the fact that she's gone. It shouldn't have been so upsetting for me, but it was. I can't even imagine how Grandpa or my dad feel seeing as she was Grandpa's wife and dads mom. It helps me to know that we will all see her again. We won't see her in this life, but in the next. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation and what it means. I know that Grandma is watching over us and spending time with her little boy, my Uncle Adam who past away as a child.

Second, my grandpa has moved in with my parents. My grandparents have been planning on moving in with my parents for a while and when my mom and dad finally went to help them move Grandma was in a coma and she passed away while they were there. Grandpa moved in with my parents as soon as the funeral was over.

Third, and on a happier note, Adam and I are officially with the times. We got our very first smartphones. We love them. I can see what everyone was talking about before. With getting our smartphones we also switched from Tmobile to Verizon. Adam swears on Verizon so we'll see.

Fourth, Adam and I are ward missionaries. In this calling we are to teach the new member discussions. There is this 50 year old man who was just baptized a few weeks ago and this week was his first new member discussion. The first two lessons the actual missionaries will do most of the teaching and then after that they won't even come it'll be just Adam and I. It was a good lesson. I can't wait to get to know Little John better.

Lastly, my children. Kaleb and Keegan are growing up so fast. They are getting bigger and learning new things every day. It amazes me how big they have gotten. Before I know it they are gonna be all grown up. Kaleb learns new words  all the time. He repeats everything he hears. Keegan is so independent. He loves exploring the house and doesn't mind playing by himself. The boys love each other which makes me so happy. I love watching them play and interact together.

That's the update on the Patton's.

Short and Sweet

Adam has been out of town for the week which sucks especially because he was out of town for a week two weeks ago. Granted they are business trips. The first one was in Alaska and now he's in Texas. I hate when he's gone. It's stressful being the only one taking care of two children under the age of 2 years. I am very grateful though that Adam has a job that supports us financially. 

That is the only thing that really has been going on. I have been thinking about different activities I could be doing with the boys that are educational but fun. Especially since Kaleb is 2 1/2 years old. Everyone I've asked just tells me to go to pinterest which I guess is fine, but that takes a lot of time to go through and I don't have much time to do things like that. 

A New Goal

I've decided that I am going to post in the blog once a week so it can be a sort of journal about my family and our lives. This week has been so long. Adam went to Alaska for a business trip. He left Sunday early morning and will be back tomorrow afternoon. We can't wait to see Adam. My boys have been off and on good and bad. They were a lot better at the beginning of the week, but the end of it has been awful. Last night Keegan cried literally all night long because he's teething. I didn't actually get to lay in bed until 6:15 this morning. Thankfully mom helped watch the boys so I could sleep more than 1 1/2 hours. I am so grateful for my mom and Sister Pat Morris for helping with the boys this week. They have helped a little bit with my sanity.

We got a dog about 3 weeks ago. She is half red heeler and half boxer. She's a sweet puppy, but she's just that, a puppy. She can be difficult sometimes because she's like another baby and I already have a 2 1/2 year old and a 8 1/2 month old.

With this blog as I said earlier I want to write at least once a week. It will probably be a Friday or Saturday that I write. I might start posting recipes that our family has and enjoys as well.

17 1/2 hours until Adam is home! We can't wait!