Daily Preparation

Wednesday night I forgot to charge my phone.  Because I had spent quite a bit of time Tuesday night playing games, the battery was nearly dead.  I wasn't meeting James at our usual time and place after work, so I turned the phone off to conserve what battery I did have let.  It was hard not having use of my phone during the day, and to make matters worse, I only got one message to James about extra bad traffic before the phone died all together.  It's a first world problem to be sure, but it reminded me a lot of the story of the ten virgins.  I wasn't prepared.  I hadn't charged my phone.  I didn't have an extra cord to charge my phone at work or in the car.  It was cold outside, and my lack of preparedness affected more that just me. 

We read about the story of the ten virgins in chapter 25 of Matthew.  The consequence for those who were not prepared was that they were not received into the presence of the Lord.  D&C 45 also talks about the ten virgins, how "For they that are wise and have received the ^atruth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their ^bguide, and have not been deceived". 

As I sat in traffic Thursday, I reflected on how I am doing spiritually, and how much I want to be welcomed into the presence of the Lord.  Preparations from my youth and previous service are not sufficient.  We must prepare regularly to have the Holy Spirit as our guide.  We need to constantly build and share our testimonies to be prepared for the challenges of today.  Recent counsel from church leaders have even indicated that we need to increase our efforts to hasten the work of the Lord. 

I definitely have room for improvement.  It's easy to spend time playing games, or otherwise become distracted by my own comfort or entertainment.  There are times relationships are hard and I am tempted to ignore them rather than work to fix them.  Satan is a great deceiver.  I'm grateful for the prayers of others on my behalf.  I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I am grateful for reminders of how I need to live.  I am grateful for gentle reminders of how I need to improve.  I am grateful for inspiration.  Heavenly Father wants us to pray ALWAYS.  Life is hard, but I know that if we remember the Savior, we will be lead and guided.  If we loose our focus, we will be lead away and will be unprepared.

I'm glad that I was able to reach my destination Thursday night in safety.  James was waiting for me at the temple, where we were able to enter together into the House of the Lord.

Museum Tour

To celebrate Native American Heritage month, the Census Bureau arranged for a tour through the museum/storage facility in Suitland.  It was interesting to see how everything was stored.  Most items were stored by geographic location, except the boats, totem poles, and other large objects.  There was embroidery work done with porcupine quills, doll clothing made out of animal intestines, bent wood boxes that were only connected on one side, amazingly small baskets, foot-long ear pieces, and so many other fascinating things.

 

 

 
 

Where does all the time go?

It was Veteran's day, so we had a little extra time for turtles, trees, Wii, playing at the park, computer lessons, board games, and hot chocolate by the fire.

November Birthdays

My attempt at a chocolate fondue castle cake to celebrate birthdays.  

Fall Color

Sharing talents

The last weekend in October turned out to be a little tricky.  Joseph and Jonas had campouts plus all day Saturday merit badge meetings, so we didn't get to spend time with them.  Since we had stake conference and the Fredericksburg ward had their Primary program on Sunday, we arranged to have the younger kids on Friday and Saturday this weekend.  We had fun swimming, going out to eat, getting foot massages from Jenna, custom bracelets from Hyrum, and decorating cupcakes.   James was able to make his leadership training Saturday afternoon and we both were able to attend the adult session.  We missed our stake conference meeting Sunday, but we did get a text regarding who the new Stake President was.

 

I'm glad that the children were able to participate in at least one of their Primary programs.  At the beginning each child introduced themselves as a Child of God.  Jonas also indicated that he was a good brother, Hyrum said that he was good at games, Jenna likes to make new friends, and Joy said that she is a good dancer.   

 

Budget Impacts

For fiscal year 2013 Census was able to put hiring, travel and training on hold to save money from the sequester to avoid mandatory days off or other cuts.  For 2014 we were not so lucky.  Wednesday afternoon I got an email about a mandatory meeting.  Thursday morning 86 of us found out how the budget short falls would affect us.  Our positions were being cut.  We were given the option to take a temporary assignment to another area of the Census Bureau in order to keep our jobs.  The hope is that our budget situation will improve and we would be able to return to our positions in 120 days.  If funding stays at current levels that won't even happen.  I definitely feel like I am 'taking one for the team'.  Starting Nov 4 I will be working in Human Resources.  I guess I'm glad that I still have a job, but I'm not sure what to think about this sudden career change.

Columbus Day Camping

With the National Parks closed, we didn't go to Shenandoah as originally planned, but we had a lot of fun at Pohick Regional Park.  It was Joy's first time camping, and the first time that Hyrum and Jenna remember.  One of the boys described us as setting up our tent "like a hotel".  Yes, I like my air mattress, and we are good with using blankets rather than a sleeping bag.  We had tin foil dinners, and a fabulous breakfast of both pancakes and a mountain man breakfast (with sausage, eggs, and potatoes).  We had a really good spot, close to both the bathrooms and the playground.  In the morning we split into groups to play Frisbee golf and go mini golfing.  We let everyone pick what they wanted to do, but it did end up being a boy/girl split.  We are looking forward to going camping again!

Lake Michigan

What I really wanted to do during the shutdown was to take a trip to see lighthouses. (Surprise, Surprise!)  I contacted my cousin in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and lined up a place to stay with them.  We had no idea how long the shut down would last, but we decided the sooner we took off, the better.  We listened to general conference in the car on Saturday.  On the way we stopped by Grand Lake, Ohio, which has three lighthouses.  James attended priesthood session that evening with my cousin.  It was fun to hang out with them for a while.  I've been in the DC area for 15 years, and really haven't had any family live close. 

The weather was pretty interesting for our trip down Lake Michigan.  It was cold and wet and windy, so after our first lighthouse stop, we purchased some hats and ponchos, to be better prepared for our trip.  By the end of the next day, it was 80 degrees, and there were people out in swimsuits on the beach. The Grand Haven Lighthouse was under construction, but we were there at sunset and compensated by a fabulous water show as the waves crashed against the pier.  We climbed sand dunes, and enjoyed the rocks, shells, birds, and other 'treasures' along the beach.  Some of the leaves were changing along the way to add to the beautiful scenery.  The best part was spending this extra time with my amazing husband.

First Things First

October 1 James and I went into work just long enough to complete our timesheets, set up an out of office message, get our plants, and whatever else we needed to do to conduct an orderly shutdown.  As long as the shutdown doesn't last for too long, the time off of work isn't a terrible thing.  Tuesday we went to Lowes to get our shed.  We (i.e. James) did some more planning and prep work for the base, and Thursday we had two friends over to help us build a new shed.  No longer do we have the embarrassing rust trap out back off its base, but now a respectable looking shed.  I won't lie.  It was a lot of work... and I did very little of the heavy lifting.  I'm glad that I have an office job!  Or at least I still think I have an office job....