just like heaven

i hope they have brown rice pancakes in heaven,

with peaches and honeyed greek yogurt.

i could eat these all day long.

there's this picture of a piece of toast, just hanging out on our refrigerator door.

winking.

with a gob of buttah melting down his forehead.

just chillin' with his bellybutton hanging out in a pair of chic skinny jeans...

made just for pieces of toast.

i love sundays. we're a very religious family and you can usually find us chasing down our children in the chapel halls. on the not-so-usual sundays, we are elsewhere.

it has been a challenge dragging ourselves out of bed, stuffing crying children into stiff church clothes, scavenging for shoes and combs, and anything to eat as we run out of the door on our way to church during our time in sparta.

we live in a small branch and our children, for the most part, make up the entire primary class and nursery. it's hard.

we spend the majority of our time in the relief society room supervising the sitting still, listening of talks through the loud speaker, and basic rules of being reverent.

if we're not in the relief society, you can find our children crammed in the nursery while sam and i listen to the sacrament meeting. the members in our branch are sweet and say things like, "oh, we don't mind your children, why aren't you in the chapel?"

because, WE mind them. i don't like having to chase them all over the place. it's just simply easier for me to contain them in a small room without a podium and a microphone. thank you, but no thanks.

as much as i love sundays, and as much as i'd love to love sundays all the time - the mornings are stressful, and leave me feeling put out and frustrated, and like not a good person at all.

yelling at kids is not my preferred method of worship.

shocker, right?

but, it's really just inevitable that some kidlet is going to have a meltdown, and unrealistic for me to think i can paste a smile to my face and be happy about carrying a kicking and screaming child to the car. because, no, that doesn't make me happy, and actually kinda makes me feel the opposite.

so, on the days we want to actually put all the lessons on love, gratitude, and family into practice on a beautiful sunday day, we go out to explore the amazing creations around us.

i truly love sundays like this.

we wake up when we wake up, and greet the sun with smiles.

our tummies are happy and filled with the goodness of the earth and we give praise and thanks.

we hug and snuggle, and we have time for it all.

we get dressed and head out for a sunday drive through green hills and lush trees beneath bright, blue skies.

we drove around looking for a place to park ourselves and found one.

if jesus wants us for his sunbeams, this was the place to prance and twirl and dance around like one.

the water was warm and inviting.

it's nice to have time to adore these beautiful creatures of mine.

mosiah wasn't too keen on getting wet. but he did admire the sparkling lake from the sandy beach.

this boy makes my heart burst.

who let's their kids go skinny dipping in lakes?

that would be us.

he found an icky old water gun. he didn't care and made gun noises almost the entire time.

crazy kid.

we laughed, we splashed, we ran along the beach barefoot - enjoying the way the sand squished between our toes. we made homemade rafts and sandcastles. the kids threw wet sand into the air, thankfully missing eyeballs, but most definitely plopping on top of heads.

we fished, we explored, we held our breath as we entered the park bathrooms, and cuddled up in the blankets, drying off and warming up.

we talked, we reminisced.

we dreamed and held each other tight.

today was perfect.

if this is what heaven is all about, sign me up.

the end.