10/27/2012

1.  OK, here is a cool story about today.  I went to archery with Joseph (he did great!), and as we were driving home, he asked me, "Do you know if Nissan owns Infiniti?" (Yes, my boys are still on their car kick.)
"I'm not sure, you'll have to Google that when we get home.  Why do you ask?"
"Well, the Nissan Armada looks just like the big Infiiniti SUV.  You should look next time you see a Nissan Armada."
So that was the end of that conversation until we got to Target, where I decided to stop for some errands before going back home.  What did we see as we pulled into the handicapped parking spot?  A big black Infiniti SUV, just like the one he had been talking about.  Weird, huh?  So Joseph got out and inspected it and pointed out a few things about the car to me, and we walked into Target to do our shopping.
Thirty minutes later, we walked back out of the store, towards our van.  The owner of the Infiniti had since left the parking lot, and guess what car was parked in its exact place?  Yep, a black Nissan Armada.
Now, I ask you-- can that be a coincidence?  That only a few minutes after Joseph and I were talking about those two cars, one would be parked exactly in front of our car is a pretty interesting coincidence.  But to have the other of those two exact cars to be parked in exactly the same place in front of our car when we got out of Target is too wild to be a coincidence.  What are the odds??
I told Joseph that it wasn't a coincidence.  That God was telling Joseph, "Hey buddy, I see you!  I know you're there!  I'm listening to you and I care about you!"
And I believe it.  I am a pretty firm believer that God is usually laissez faire when it comes to the affairs of mankind.  I don't personally believe that he intervenes to change things around all that often.  But I do believe  that he is intimately aware of the personal circumstances of each of us and that he will let his presence be known, if you're looking and asking.
Did Joseph need to know that God is watching over him?  Did I?  We probably both did.  Anyway, I'm thankful for that cool little experience this morning that Joseph and I shared.

2.  OK, here's a brag about Brigham.  He's getting really good on the piano.  So good that he can now sit down and sight-read  hymns.  I love it.  Also, his compositions are really, really good.  I have got to get some of them recorded.  He plays so often at home, I don't always really notice how good he is.  But he is really good.  And he practices hard and has been super about practicing recently.  He said to me yesterday, "Always on Fridays I realize how much better it is to get practicing and math done first before my other schoolwork.  But then on Mondays I forget again."  :-)  But even when he does put off practicing until later in the day, he's been super-willing and has been trying hard to work well with me, and it is paying off.

3.  Joseph's new bow came in the mail today!  It was awesome to see how happy he was.  Ben put it together for him and Joseph's been practicing ever since.  He's hoping to have enough practice on it to be able to use it at his competition next weekend.

4.  The ward Trunk-or-Treat was this evening.  The boys went dressed as soldiers, of course.  I went dressed in my Mitt Romney T-shirt, wearing a hat I ordered off of Amazon-- a super-sophisticated plush elephant head with big googly eyes and a stars and stripes top hat.  I told everyone I was dressed as a Mitt Romney fan.  :-)  Ben stayed home and studies for his actuary exam coming up next week.  The boys had fun, all my chili got eaten up, and most of the candy I purchased went home with other people's kids.  :-)