Temple

I had a completely different entry I was preparing to post, but then felt like I should switch gears.

Yesterday we went to the Frankfurt Temple.  And I'm super bummed I didn't get a picture of our family  in front of it… I meant to, and then it slipped my mind.  Dang it!!!

But, I wanted to share my experience there…

It's a two hour drive to the temple, and since we have little ones, we just don't make it as often as we should.  And honestly, we could try a little harder.  But the Frankfurt temple is about to close for renovations for a whole year, so Ben and I knew we needed to make attending on our ward temple day a top priority.

We got our kids up early, and drove our trusty van up to Frankfurt, with an additional passenger, Sebastian, a dedicated German convert, hitching a ride.  We swapped kids with another family… they did the 10:30 session first while we watched their three kids with ours… and then three hours later Ben and I did the 1:30 session.  The kids were outside the whole time.  It was a warm day, but luckily we were able to find reprieve under some shady trees where we spread out a picnic blanket and watched the kids run around.  Kids have so much energy it's ridiculous.  Other members from our ward with kids came and joined us as well and we had quite the little group going… everyone pitching in and helping.

 It was a big day for us… a long day, but I felt spiritually realigned after attending the session.  I certainly don't profess to understand everything that is taught in the temple, but it seems like every time I go I gain some new little nugget of insight, which I treasure.

I've had a lot on my mind recently… been seeking guidance on decisions regarding our family and also Ben's job opportunities for the next year… uncertainty of the future must be the root cause of everyone's stress and worry, don't you think?  As I was sitting in the Celestial room, mulling over the decisions we've been grappling with, I recalled one of my favorite scriptures, 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind."  And really, I felt at that moment that I was receiving that God given strength.  I struggle with being confident in making decisions, or how I should handle a certain situation. At the end of the day, we just have to put our trust in God and be CONFIDENT that things will work out, even if we're not entirely sure we are making the best decision… God gives us the spirit of power and love and a sound mind.

And then I think about the people who REALLY have struggles in life… I've been following the heartbreaking news of all these African and Middle Eastern refugees who are pouring into Europe, leaving their families behind, gambling their life savings, and ultimately putting their lives in jeopardy (many don't survive the perilous journey)  just to have a shot at freedom or a job or a chance to save their family back home…. any thread of hope that is better than staying in their war-torn homeland.  And then if they do survive the journey, they have a whole new set of challenges awaiting them here.  And then I think, Gosh, my problems are not really problems at all.

I'm so grateful for the temple, for a place we can escape from the cares of the world… to be able to pray, ponder, reflect, learn… and ultimately be endowed with power from on High.  

This Little Boy of Mine

On July 2 James turned two!  I know I'm woefully behind, but whadaya gonna do?

His birthday bash was pretty low key… in that the gifts I ordered from Amazon didn't even arrive in time!  Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa are much more on the ball, so he had something to open.  

Check out this bad boy cake.  It was DIVINE.  Chocolate, nutella, strawberry cream cake.  Grandma and Emily made it.

We were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa in town to join in the festivities… sorry you're pretty much decpitated in every photo, Grandpa!  My bad!  We also had friends visiting from the states, Josh and Kristen.  And because I am that awesome, I have no photo of them at the party either.

So, at two years old, here is the run down on James:

*He's not much of a talker, but he is a pro at singing the "Star Wars" theme songs at the top of his lungs, thanks to the indoctrination by his dad.  Ben bought him a Darth Vader Pez dispenser the other day, and when I gave it to him he immediately launched into the Darth Vader theme song… you know, the formidable song that comes on when ever Darth enters the scene with his storm troopers in tow… that one.  James furrows his brow, grits his teeth, lets the spit fly and with all the seriousness a two year old can muster just belts it out… it's pretty amazing.

*His favorite word to say is "truck"… and he probably says it about 350 times a day. "Car" comes in a close second with "choo-choo" not far behind.  Oh, and "appa jus" when ever he's thirsty.  He does try to say his sisters' names, which is always endearing… "Kukaline" and "Emly" are about as close as he gets.

*He loves his little Thomas the Train magnetic toys and will play with them all day… as well as his toy trucks and cars… basically he's infatuated with all motorized vehicles.

*James loves to stand on the balcony and watch the construction that's going on behind our building…. the cement trucks, the cranes, the hammering and drilling.  The headache I receive from the relentless noise is somewhat more tolerable when I see that he is being thoroughly entertained.  

*James LOVES to play with a ball and when ever we head out to the park he wants to either throw it or kick it back and forth with me.  However, if there is an older boy around, or another daddy, he immediately ditches me to play ball with them.  Come on, I'm not that bad!  If we go out to the park by the basketball court, he will make his way over to the court and try to weasel his way into a basketball game… you know, a two year old trying to join in a pick-up game… the boys are usually pretty nice to let him "play" a bit.  But, I love how he's not shy about wanting to join in with the others.

*I got to say, it's so much fun having a boy… and so different than the experience of having little girls… trucks, balls, trains, shouting, hitting, aggression... all of that… it's amazing how it really is engineered into their hardwire.  

*James adores his dad above all else in life.  He much prefers him to me (what is with that??) and I'm quite convinced there's no bigger display of enthusiasm than when Ben comes home from work.  When J hears the door open, he immediately drops what he's doing and runs as fast as he can to the door sceaming all the way, "DAAAAAADDDYYY!"  I mean, it's LOUD!  And super adorable.  

*But, I will say he does have a soft spot for his Mama… he prefers going to bed with me rubbing his back in his crib while I sing You are My Sunshine, Hush Little Baby, or Teach me to Walk in the Light.  And in the mornings, oh I love the mornings when I go to get him out of his crib… he just cuddles up to me, lays his head on my shoulder and hugs me tight… and I'm usually the first who has to let go.  It is the sweetest thing ever. 

Speaking of sweet, here are some great pics from the last year:

Viva la Mexico!

So, back in June our little family joined my very large family for a reunion in Cancun, Mexico.  

I feel a little sheepish even blogging about this… like my five loyal readers are thinking, 

"Who does this girl think she is?  Traipsing all over Europe isn't enough for her?  Now she shows up in Mexico?!"  

Let me explain.  My mom has been planning this reunion for our family for quite some time.  It's not our typical style to go on outlandish vacations.  But you see, back in the day, my dad built a beautiful cabin.  My parents saved for YEARS to build it.  All growing up I remember them talking and dreaming and planning it.  My dad finally started construction on it when I was in high school… he and my brothers did the bulk of the labor…and it finally came to fruition when I returned home from my mission.  It was a beautiful and peaceful place to be and we made a ton of great family memories up there. 

Fast-forward seven years later to my dad's untimely death.  The cabin was too much for my mom to upkeep and maintain on her own.  So, with a heavy heart she sold it.  I was crushed, but I knew it wasn't practical to keep it.   The silver lining was that she promised to use the proceeds from the cabin to finance family gatherings every now and then.  That is how my dad would have wanted the money to be used… to gather the family.  So, that's how we ended up in Mexico.  

The flight really wasn't all that bad… it was direct from Frankfurt to Cancun.  Now that is awesome.  

So the reunion consisted of seventeen adults and nineteen grandchildren!  You may wonder how we managed to feed ourselves for a whole week!  Costco, my friends.  There is a Costco in Cancun!  Each family took a turn cooking.

We ran into a few glitches…. like the promised "beach front" property had NO beach.  And we had a major tropical storm with torrential downpour for two days… to the point where some of the rooms flooded… and the wind never stopped!!  BUT it was so great to spend time with my siblings and the kids, of course, couldn't get enough of their cousins.  

One of the calmer days

We did a couple excursions… one day an LDS tour guide named Helaman (no joke) took us to some ancient Mayan ruins in Coba and Tulum

This is the Blackburn Bus!! Check out that bad boy!

We got to ride bikes in Coba, which made it handy to get from site to site. 

Do the on-lookers look impressed or what?

We stopped at a cenote, or water hole. 

Check out how ripped my brother is… he has like a ten pack!

Because my mom is da bomb, she arranged for us to give some clothing, toys, and school supplies to some less fortunate Mayan villagers… she's always looking for ways to think outside of ourselves

And then finally onto Tulum… so beautiful!

We hiked to a beach one afternoon… wish we would have had more beach time, but the weather wasn't very cooperative!!

Playing Four Square

Our last day we went to a resort called Xel-ha.  We did snorkeling… I saw a giant sea turtle!… and zip lining.  I was so proud of Em for going on the zip line!

She had a blast as we did it over and over and over again!

I got to hand it to this amazing lady here, my mom.  She has so much drive and persistence… I don't know if I would have the tenacity to plan a family trip like this one, but she did and we are so appreciative!

Before you go, I do have to add this awesome tidbit… this trip was especially meaningful for Ben and me because we met in Mexico ten years ago to the month!  I can't believe it's been ten years!!  So, here is a pic of Ben when I first met him at Chichenitza.  What a stud, eh?

And here he is ten years later in Tulum… still pretty studly I must say.