There are many tender mercies from the Lord from the last couple of weeks.
Yesterday, Saturday, Derek surprised us and decided to come home! Yes, he's just in Rexburg, but he stays very busy and on task, so it was a treat. He called around 10 and said he felt like he should come and talk to Nikole, who had just been assigned her "undesireable" fall/spring track for BYU-I - which means you go to fall, you're off winter, and then you go to spring, he also wanted to visit Grandma Ripp, do his loads of laundry and work on some homework, he also wanted to sign up for some stocks with Blaine and fill his taxes out on the 1040 Supposedly Easy form.
Originally, Blaine and I were going to the cabin to cross country ski with Breckenridges, like we have done for the past few years. But they couldn't go this week-end, so we decided to stay home. I still wanted to cross country ski, but Blaine didn't, so Carl decided to go with me. We used the skis we bought for Nikole for him, and I have mine. We just took off out our driveway and skied down a half mile to "Lawlesses" and back. There is barely enough snow left. It was Carl's first time cross country skiing. I felt like that was the first tender mercy - he loved it. I had fun with him, created a nice memory, and got some physical activity in.
Derek arrived after that, around 11. It's just so good to see your son, when it's been a while since you saw him. And in our home. He is tall, dark and handsome, and most importantly, handsome on the inside, too. He had a date planned for 7 with a young woman in Rexburg, starting with an A, so he was going to spend the day and then go back. He had planned a fun night to iJump and dinner. He talked to us, talked to Nikole about her college plans, worked with Blaine on stocks - even bought some, did several huge loads of laundry - which didn't dry well - we think we packed too many in the loads : ), and talked and talked to us. That is a tender mercy - just to have him near.
It turned out that his date canceled at short notice, because her sister needed a babysitter. We didn't say anything until Derek himself said, "That is kind of a lame excuse, isn't it? If she really wanted to go, wouldn't she tell her sister she made other plans long ago?" This is the fourth or fifth time the same young woman has done this to him. We told him that we pray every single day for him, in this critical time of his life, when he is making the biggest, most important decisions of his eternity - we plead with Heavenly Father, to lead Derek and his wife to each other, to not let Derek make a mistake. I joked that, "I feel the Holy Ghost here again", meaning that this girl must not be right. Tender Mercy Time, for sure.
He is a bit discouraged, but we had told him he might need a trip to see his cousin Kelley in Provo. Kelley has a roommate, who recently returned from her mission to Australia, her name is Saysha. Kelley said she wasn't ready a couple of months ago, but now she is. So, he called Kelley and is going to go down to the Provo City Open House and go on a double date with Saysha. Derek is taking Gary Breckenridge. I think they will have lots of fun. A lot of Derek's companions live in Provo, attending BYU, so he will get to see some of them.
Nikole sang in our ward's young women's choir today. Elizabeth was the accompanist. They sang Abide With Me. It was very pretty. Tender mercy to see young women who are keeping the commandments and have high goals and love the Lord.
I have a big new assignment at work, which has turned out to be a tender mercy. At least the process of how Angela Booker asked me - I went from having bad dreams about it the first day she mentioned it to having peace the next time she explained it better. I will have to write about it later, because my daughters are pacing the floor, wanting the one lap top computer our family has.
Last week, Blaine and I attended the temple on a Thursday. I was feeling quite a bit of stress at work. I had several deadlines and not enough time to do them all. I had ACLS, PALS classes to take online and pass in person, NHSN to sign up for, L. Piquet demanded many things for her WEN report, plus many other duties. I just yearned to be in the Lord's House. Blaine and I prayed, like we always do, for the purposes of our children's needs, but also for me to receive some relief and peace.
As soon, as I walked in, I felt different. I started to cry in my locker, changing my clothes, because i felt "home", I could feel the peace I needed, already. The whole session was like that. I just felt Heavenly Father's love for me, His knowledge of my little life, His desire to help and guide me. I felt my grandparents that I had prayed would come to help me carry my burdens. Ohhhh, how I love the tender. Tender mercy!
We had been praying that Carl would find his temple names that his Aunt Tammie and Uncle Ken gave him to get baptized. It had been at least a month since we had them. They were lost. Carl found them on his bed side table! Tender mercy.
We are going on a trip to Las Vegas for our Spring Break! Tender mercy, because we were just talking about his. Our three youngest children really wanted to go somewhere warm - we had talked about Arizona or Blaine wanted Salt Lake. We looked at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, because Cindy Terry had told us two years ago that they loved it there. We checked it out and I reserved one room, because the hotel said they were going fast, since it is spring break. That was yesterday, and I knew I could cancel, if Blaine wouldn't let us go.
Turns out that today, he decided that it sounded fun. He asked his mother if she wanted to go, and she did! We are so surprised, because she hated to travel the whole time I've known her. Now, it's like she's gone mad, and wants to go on every trip we go on. She wanted us to see if Blaine's brother, Terry, would want to come, too. He lives in Safford, but he could meet us. Blaine called Terry and they think they want to come! We are just stunned and excited that we get a spring break! Yay! Tender mercy.
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