The Summer Life

I have sat here for 5 minutes trying to figure out where to begin.  Haha, I just haven’t written for a while and sooo very much has gone on I’m at a loss as to what to say. 

 

We have had a very busy summer, cram packed with many birthdays, fun filled trips and lots of family fun. First we went to Hawaii with the Padres and Lyndsey and Katie.  It was great!!  We had so much fun and enjoyed all that Hawaii had to offer.  Then we had a break for a couple of weeks and then everyone began arriving in Houston (Mom, Dad, Lynds, Katie, and the Kusilek clan) for Tyler’s ordination.  It was awesome.  We played hard and really enjoyed having everyone around.  The cousins absolutely LOVED being around each other and I think little Wade was so pleased to have playmates 24/7 that going home was difficult J

 

I have attached several pictures of our visit with the Family.  We played several games that were a HIT, some classics such as “Poor kitty kitty” and some new ones like the “sitting uno game” and “minute to win it.” (I will put more pics on my blog because I just can’t fit them all on here).

 

The main reason for the gathering of all of our family was to celebrate Tyler’s ordination.  I can’t believe my son is old enough to hold the Aaronic priesthood!  It has been quite the emotional and spiritual experience for me!  He is growing up in so many ways and I am so proud of him being the kid he is.  Yesterday was his first time passing the sacrament due to traveling, and he did such a wonderful job!  Andy and I were watching him the whole time with HUGE grins on our faces.  He mentioned when he sat back down with us that he was so nervous the tray was shaking as he handed it to the first few pews of people.  But he also said it wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be.  All around a really neat experience. 

 

Then a few days after everyone left our home we traveled to Florida to visit the Hart family.  It was great!!  We went to Sanibel Island and stayed there for a couple of days and then simply enjoyed being with Grandma, Grandpa, Cousin’s Eli and Annika, and especially fun Aunt Sarah.  Good times all around. 

 

I am glad to be home and am trying to get back into a routine of sorts, struggling in some regard but having great success in others. 

 

We decided to do an electronic cleanse when we got home…meaning no tv, no computer, no wii, ipods, kindles, ipads, etc…NOTHING.  I was so surprised the kids didn’t even protest a bit, not ONE BIT.  I haven’t had to lock doors or threaten punishments because they have actually followed through without any hesitation.  It’s like they all knew it was time.  I have seen Tyler come alive in ways he hasn’t for a while and all of the kids seem to be rediscovering their true relationships with one another.   It actually has been an incredible spiritual experience for me!  I can FEEL the spirit in our home more and when there is contention the feelings of contention seem to leave faster.  It’s as if everyone has been set free in a way and the spirit speaks louder and more often.  Tyler, Audrie and Kaylee each on their own (without knowing each other have mentioned this) have said they haven’t had any nightmares or bad dreams while the electronics have been off…which I thought was fascinating (and we are VERY particular about what our kids watch because they have always been so sensitive to anything…I mean we are talking Scooby doo scares them).  Andy said how he has been sleeping better as well.  I found out yesterday after I went to a church meeting that Tyler voluntarily fasted over lunch to Thank Heavenly Father for the good times he has had this past week!  I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK…I feel like we are living a higher law of sorts and cringe knowing that this is going to end. 

We are going to set up new parameters around everything before we give back electronics, but I know it won’t be the same.  There will be a limit to times on electronics….2 hours a day including TV and that is it.  Maybe one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening and when that time is up there is no more.  I am anxious to do this “cleanse” again and am wondering how we can keep the peace we have had in our home despite the need for electronics during the school year.  Using electronics for pleasure is controllable but using electronics for school is a whole ‘nother matter. 

 

We went to the temple on Saturday and I had many promptings while there in conjunction with our little 7 day experiment.  I kept having the words “our home is our Temple” and thoughts about how we should only invite WORTHY things, games, electronics and especially TV shows and movies into our home.  If our home TRULY is like a temple we need to treat it as such and never give evil the opportunity to lurk inside our walls.  Simple, yet profound, as are all of my personal revelations J  I am excited at the possibility of being better and having the distractions of the world not be so distracting in our home.

 

While traveling to and from Florida Andy and I read a book called “Visions of Glory” (thanks to Dad’s recommendation).  It was a VERY interesting and though provoking book…I simply could not put it down.  I had never really contemplated the reality of people being so “visionary” in our day, but after reading that book and then picking up the scriptures and reading I realized how similar his experiences were to MANY of the Book of Mormon prophets and (non prophets).  It really has rocked my thinking and perspective on things…which is partially why I wanted to do the electronic cleanse, among other things.