Ice storm: before and during church

We woke up to a world glazed over with a thin layer of ice (not the half inch we were predicted to get, which is probably for the best). Our power went out a time or two in the morning (and about a dozen more times throughout the day), but only momentarily. We were quite lucky on that front. 

Some of us had a hard time sleeping last night because they were so excited about the storm, and so perplexed about the weird noises frozen rain makes (yet somehow she is sleeping through all the ice crashing onto the roof this evening—make it make sense!). When Phoebe woke up she wanted to explore the ice. 

She found that it was interesting.

And tasty. 

And cold...which...I mean, it's ice...so...

Here's Alexander showing off a leaf that he found coated in ice. Again—very interesting.

Here are the icicles on our railing:

And here's Alexander holding one of the icicles:

Due to the sleeping in of some members of our household, Alexander, Zoë and I were able to play a game of Scrabble before church. The cat watched...until she tried to sit on the board...and then we sent her away.

We came up with some pretty good words and these two are pretty strategic players. Zoë played "pyros" under Alexander's "king" and scored a whopping 39 points for "pyros" plus 30 points for "kings," for a grand total of 69 points that turn...which was pretty incredible (and perhaps taught Alexander a lesson on leaving set ups like that open)!

I thought it was interesting that we had words like "ice" and "entice" as well as "irons" and "environs." Alexander was thrilled to get to play the word h-e-l-l...because "what choice [does he] have?"

It's not like he couldn't play it! It gave him a triple word score—with an H tile! 

Interesting that we had the word "sinner" to go along with that. 

"Kapo" was another word of Alexander's. In our defense, we're reading Prisoner B-3087 (by Alan Gratz) right now, so he's encountered the word "kapo" quite a bit recently. 

I was pleased to land "vex" on a double word score. 

Zoë was pleased come up with coof (though that was a bit of a wild guess when she looked the word up and found it was acceptable) and ice right at the very end. Coof was her second to last turn. Ice was her last turn. She fretted for quite a while on how to use that last C and E. 

I thought for sure I was going to get one more turn, but then she said, "If only I could find another I that was availab...oh! Here's one!"

And that was game over.

*****

Church was cancelled, as I mentioned, so we had church at home. We sang all new hymns (because we're...like...rebels...when it comes to our ward which rarely sings new songs). And Benjamin practiced giving the lesson that he was supposed to lead today in class (but will instead be leading on February 8). 

Primary went smoothly. Everyone was reverent the whole time. Nothing weird happened. 

How'd that video of Phoebe running laps around Zoë (doing whatever it is Zoë's doing) while yell-singing "Once There Was an Ice Monster" get there?

*****

Last week we actually sang a new song in sacrament meeting—"Bread of Life, Living Water." I'm...learning...to like it. Honestly, I don't love the entire melody. I can't quite put my finger on why that's the case because most of it I think is lovely. But there are a few bars where I'm just like, "Meh..." 

Like I just want more for those bars, you know? 

Annette Dickman, if you reading this...I'm truly sorry. I think the song is overall quite lovely! 

And I only share my feelings about feeling "meh" about some of the song to contrast with how much I love other parts of the song (and maybe also because I've grown into a bit of a literary critic...and believe that it's valuable to express what things hit and miss and to explore the reasons why).

Like I said, we sang it last week in sacrament meeting (for the first time because our ward never sings new songs) and I've had it stuck in my head all week (which is saying something), so I was happy to sing it again today. And I will forgive those few bars that I think could use some more oomph because I simply cannot get over the line: "And make me whole—complete and holy..."

I cry every time it comes up. 

The way the music emphasizes the word whole? 

*chef's kiss*

Don't we all just have those huge gaping holes that need to be made whole and holy? 

That "whole" is the whole song for me.

There are a few articles detailing Dickman's experience of/motivation for writing this song (here and here). And I must say that I agree with her—taking the sacrament in the hospital can be the (w)holiest experience. 

The first time I took the sacrament in the hospital was the day Benjamin was born, I believe, and I don't know that I have ever felt so entirely broken and alone. 

Did we have the entire Mormon Tabernacle Choir fasting and praying for us? Yes (thanks to Janet Bradford for throwing our plight into their prayers that morning). Did we have friends all around the globe thinking about and praying and lighting candles for us? Absolutely. Did we have wonderful grandparents watching over our other girls? Yes, again!

Was he delivered safely? Sure. 

But then he was life-flighted away and I wouldn't be discharged from the hospital for thirty long hours after his birth.

Safe travels, little dude

So I just sat there alone with my dumb can't-even-bake-a-baby-right body waiting to actually meet my baby boy. 

Andrew was juggling fatherly duties at home in one city, fatherly duties at the NICU in another city, husbandly duties at my hospital in yet another city! We had him driving all over the valley! Not to mention, he still had his classwork and other things. 

That's a lot of things to juggle. 

And I don't want to even suggest that Andrew dropped any of those balls because he was an absolute hero of a man (and again, we had plenty of help—it's not like we didn't), but I did end up spending some long, worried hours alone in my hospital room. 

And, anyway, I just...am grateful to those who spend their Sundays bringing around the sacrament to those who can't make it to a meeting because they're sitting bedside or actually in a hospital bed. I'd have several hospital sacrament meetings before we got bring this little bundle of joy home—some were individual, some were small gatherings—all of them were sacred.

I don't entirely love Benjamin's birth story. 

There are some parts that I'm completely "meh" about, honestly. 

Like, 0/10 would not do again.

But that's okay...

We don't have to love every bit about every experience to have it be meaningful. 

So...anyway...I'm sure the melody of that song will grow on me the more I hear it. In the meantime, I will absolutely savour that pleading line, asking the Saviour to make me whole—complete and holy.

Also, Benjamin is doing just fine these days, as regular readers should know, but which visitors to this blog might not know. 

Here he is—looking like he's on a magic carpet ride—careening down an ice-slicked hill on a boogie board after church (which we'll get to later):