New Beginnings

I thought this picture and excerpt from Golda's letter were timely this year, as we're hitting milestones and having new beginnings:  "Even though I'm more grown up, I think growing up is kind of a cycle.  Some of the things I become or want to become are just more reminsicent of who I was as a child.  It was easier to have unconditional love, to not judge, to know what was important, to have joy in others' success, to love the simple things. I think all kids are like that.  That is why Christ commands us to become as little children. We just have to find those intrinsic Christ-like attributes that we are born with as children of God, and decide to cultivate them amidst change, adversity and sorrow as we grow."  Wise girl, beautiful writer.

Little Tziporah gave a talk in church. I didn't get to hear it because I was at an audition for Freestone, but Scott helped her read it. I had typed it up and sent a screenshot to everyone in the family, knowing that the hard copy, which Tziporah had decorated with pictures of flowers, would get left home on the kitchen counter. Sure enough...

 That same night, Ptolemy had his baptism preview! He turns 8 in July, but he's opted to wait for Golda to get home from her mission and Ruby to return from Miami for Christmas, and get baptized in January. That could change... We'll see. He loved the preview. He wanted to go back to the church and do it again the next day. Maybe it was the chocolate milk, or having Scott conducting the meeting. The kids love having their dad involved in every church activity. Scott got another chance to give a little talk at New Beginnings.

It's great to have letters from Golda, because we can just quote her whenever we have to teach a lesson or give a talk. In talking about the growth the girls experience in the Young Women's program, Scott read from Golda's letter the excerpt I put at the top of the post. See why we always quote Sister Dopp?:)
 Xanthe was introduced as a new Beehive. She turns 12 in April. She was nervous about the night, not knowing what to expect. I kept telling her that Esmae would be there too, and it wouldn't be scary. Well, Esmae was sick and couldn't come, so that threw her off. When I walked in late from teaching, Xanthe was sitting perfectly still and stone-faced, one of her go-to coping mechanisms. She carried that through Ruby's entire introduction, which Araceli had written up. She only cracked a smile when Ruby presented her with a Twix, her favorite candy bar.  She ended up thinking that Young Womens is going to be fun, especially after there was a table full of treats at the end of the night!

These three could not be more different, and they're all perfect.