Day 1 Done

Traveling for the next few weeks and I didn't want to carry my journal with me.  So this maybe a great time to restart blogging!

Wednesday night (July 4th)  I left the festivities about 7 to go home and crash, hoping to sleep many hours.  Well I got a about a 2 hour nap before being woken up by a thought of something I needed to do.  Got up and worked on last minute packing things until the kids got home about 11:30 pm.  When I awoke Thursday  morning before my alarm (1:55 am)  I decided to get going.

The driving day went VERY WELL!

The kids and I loved having a DVD player.  We stopped at Redbox on our way out of town and got 4 movies (one each).   I made them take a break between each movie (hoping they'd go to sleep) but they just stayed awake.  I even made them lay down the first time I stopped to take a nap (about 8 am) but they just fidgetted.   So the next two times I let them get out and go to the rest area without me.  (they did good and I needed the 20-30 minutes rest I got.  The last rest I took was only 20 minutes from my final stop but I could just tell my brain was going and I would not push it.    Needless to say after only 3 hours of sleep Wed night my kids are still sonked after about 12 hours of sleep now Fri am.  We stopped n Moline, IL.  The John Deere headquarters were alright but they told us about the John Deere Pavilion which is closer to the river which was pretty neat.  They had several interactive displays and I got my second nap there.

We arrived in Johnstown (sp?)  Iowa about 8:30 pm EST.  The google maps stopped when we got to Rachel's neighborhood so we had to call and get directions around the circle to her home.  Rachel hosted us with some yummy lentil soup.  I enjoyed chatting with Rachel and she reminded me that my comments about my parents haven't always been the best.  I am newly determined to speak kindly of them.  My parents have serve their children and their community (esp. church community) with undaunted dedication.  I admire them for their constant love and service.   I am grateful for the wonderful childhood they gave me.  I reminded Rachel that the only thing they really lacked was their inability to help me work through my emotions when they happened.  Being an extremely emotionally affected person, I can't really fault them for that.   The other things (living more thrifty then my taste, and nuances of sociality issues)  just happen to be things we learn to live with and grow from.  They, in many ways, have been blessings.

This morning I was reading my Book of Mormon and reminded of the spirit of service Ammon and his brothers had in their willingness to go to a "ferocious" people to teach them the gospel.  I am grateful to be given the chance to keep going in my own life.  I feel supported by my Father in Heaven daily.

I was then reading in the Ensign.  A short article about cleaning the temple struck, me significantly.  The author went to the temple thinking "why am I assigned to clean something that isn't even dirty".  The person who led their devotional reminded them they weren't here to clean something un-dirty but to keep the House of the Lord "unspotted from the world"   I have a new determination to keep my own home cleaner and more "unspotted from the world"  rather then let it get dirty before I clean.  I was also renewed in my determination to do the little repairs it needs to care for it.