Young Women President

I believe I've mentioned in the past that in our church, we receive callings in regards to where we serve.  In the 10 years that I have been a member, I have held numerous callings, most of them in a teacher capacity.  I can honestly say that I have loved MOST of the positions I have been asked to serve.  There have been very few exceptions but I can still recognize why the Lord called me to those positions and am grateful for the opportunities to learn and grow when the Lord wanted me to.

A couple weeks ago I was called by my Bishop and asked if we could meet.  For some reason, I constantly feel like I am in trouble when I have to go see the Bishop and immediately started thinking about what things I may have done that he found out about.  That's really a silly way to think because I don't go out and do terrible things.  I really need to work on this thinking trap because it's not helpful and causes a lot of stress.

It was almost 3 full days before I got to meet with the Bishop and I had convinced myself that he was going to call me to serve somewhere I would rather not work.  I know, that's not nice to think about, but I'm just being honest.  As we begin talking, I started negotiating hard with the Lord in my mind about where I did NOT want to be called to serve and at the same time repenting for having such thoughts.  I know, I have issues.

I was completely taken aback when the Bishop extended the calling of Young Women President.  That had NEVER entered my mind.  I was overwhelmed at first and suddenly felt like crying.  I knew immediately that this is where I was to serve but wow!  Not growing up in the church, I really feel like my knowledge of the YW program is extremely small.  Taking on this leadership role really had me freaking out!  Thankfully my Bishop, friends and members of my ward had faith and trust in my abilities. 

I'm really looking forward to this experience.  I know that I'm not in this position just for the girls but so I can gain some perspective for me.  I already know and love these girls as I have served as Girl's Camp director the past few years.  I was asked to pray and call counselors to serve with me and that was truly an awesome experience.  I am blessed with amazing, strong, talented and loving women who I know have been placed right alongside me to serve these special Daughters of God.

I have so much to learn but am excited that the Lord placed trust in me to help guide these young women to understand their full potential!

Serving Our Friends with Love

Today Neil called me and asked if I could bring him some food before his football game.  I asked him what he wanted and he replied..."we just want sandwiches."  I asked him who "we" was and he replied with the name of a friend and said that his family wouldn't be able to bring him food and so Neil told him that his mom wouldn't mind.  When I dropped the food off, I love that his friend yelled to me "Thank you, I love you!".  His words probably meant more to me than the food meant to him.  It wasn't hard, I simply packed up some sandwiches, chips and pumpkin cookies.  That's all it took to make someone else feel loved, how wonderful and simple!

Last week in our Sunday school class we were talking about something that sparked a comment from me about how I believe our kids learn to be charitable when we agree to do simple things like give their friends a ride home, bring extra snacks and food to share and other simple things like that.  It also allows our children to think about serving others comfortably.  I love that my kids want to help their friends and that they feel comfortable asking me to serve them too.  Kevin and I want the boys to know that we want to take care of them and their friends.  It truly takes a village. 

After the game, Neil was climbing in the car when he asked if we could give another friend of his a ride home.  I smiled as I said yes.

I love this picture of one of Neil's friends helping him during the game when he had a nose bleed that would not stop.  Not only do my boys serve their friends, but their friends serve them.

I want our boys to learn to serve others and I am grateful for these small moments when I get to glimpse the men they are becoming.

Life

Life has been so busy I feel like I don't really have a moment to sit down and blog. Actually I blog a lot in my head and then I'm so tired that I check email and go right to bed. Most times I don't even need to get on the computer to check email since it all goes right to my blackberry. I miss blogging though and reading blogs. I feel like it's my time to sit and reminisce and write down those memories. But as many of you know, life happens and priorities must be set.

We have been busy at the Albrecht home. With the boys in school again, activities have started and I feel like we are a full-time taxi service. We have two boys playing football so practices must be attended. They practice at different times and at different places. The oldest boy has Marching Band practice twice a week and every other Saturday. Sometimes all three kids have somewhere to be on Saturday. We still have Scouts every other week but really we are always doing something Scout oriented. Plus I have my volunteer work and Kevin has his work. When you think of driving time to and from practices, plus homework, plus showers and dinner and getting stuff ready for the next day, we are falling into beds exhausted!

But we love our life. The fact that I have my husband home with me to help me fulfill the desires of our children's hearts, makes me happy. I know many out there do all of that on their own and I am grateful that I don't have to.

I was recently asked to help provide service for a special family dealing with some health issues and I feel blessed with the opportunity. I know I'll get far more out of it than I will probably give but I hope that I can do my best to make things easier and not more stressful.

The boys have also had the opportunity to serve others in various capacities and in our conversations I know that those experiences are really building their testimonies of service. I am grateful for our opportunities to serve others.

We are getting ready to transition with Kevin's unit and we don't know what that will bring. We do know we should be here at FLW for another two years and that should take us to closing out our life as a full-time Military family. That thought is both exciting and anxiety-filling. So as we prepare to transition into that mode and make decisions for our family for the future, we remember one thing...no matter what, the Lord's hand is in all things and He will bless us with opportunities that will strengthen us as individuals and as a Family and we can find comfort in that knowledge.

Joplin Weekend

A couple weekends ago the men from our church went and spent the weekend helping with the continued clean up of Joplin. Kevin and our two older boys went to help. I am so proud of them and their willingness to serve. Kevin and a friend of ours left a little earlier in the day with some of the young men from our youth program to get set up and see how the weekend would go. I love, love, love these boys. I am always amazed at how hard they work and how self-less they are. We hear so much about how lazy the new generation is but thankfully these boys do not fall in that category. It was great to hear my boys tell me about how awesome they felt helping other people. I really need to get my boys and hubby into blogging so they can share their experiences first hand.

Our sweet little Daniel wasn't old enough to go this time, but we are hoping he can go in a few weeks with the Scouts. I will stay home with Neil as he is having his tonsils removed and his doctor told him he would not be able to go on the scheduled weekend.

I have watched my boys grow so much from different service projects. It is truly blessing our family. I love that my boys jump at the opportunity to help and that they come home with renewed testimonies of charity. I will always support them in their desire to serve those who have need. I hope and pray that they will always have that desire in their hearts.

Just a few pictures from their weekend.

Where the boys slept. A lot of other people slept in tents, our boys chose to sleep under here and enjoyed it.

Working hard in some of the areas

Our boys and men went to have lunch at one of the volunteer tents. There was a lady who was doing acupuncture for the volunteers. Some of the boys including my husband and oldest son decided to give it a try. They both said it was so relaxing!

Not sure what Neil as doing here...he says he doesn't know either!

My husband working hard!

Take a Vet to School 2008

Wow, let's see if I can convey the many emotions that I have felt today. I am so grateful that our school takes pride in Veteran's Day and honors those who have served and are currently serving. Today was Take a Vet to School Day. Students were invited to bring anyone who may have served or who are serving with them for a day full of events honoring our Veterans. I had the honor of escorting CSM Neil Ciotola, our III Corps and Fort Hood Command Sergeant Major. He was gracious enough to come and talk to a total of six classes. Four classes were combined so he went into four different classrooms. He was FANTASTIC, the kids opened right up to him and he was sincere and so real with them. He often got down on one knee as he talked to the students, showing that they were important and he cared about what they had to say. I know the things he was sharing with them touched my heart and I know the comments touched theirs as well. The kids asked funny questions and serious questions and he had an answer for each of them. He shook each of their hands making them feel important. He had everyone laughing and a few crying (good tears). I cannot express how blessed I felt today being able to escort this wonderful Soldier around. CSM Ciotola, thank you for your time and sincerity, you made the day memorable for many of our Silent Warriors today, words are not enough.

After our visits to the classroom, I got to have lunch with my boys. We were treated to a hot dog lunch in a paper bag decorated by the students saying thank you to our Vets. It's times like this I miss Kevin so much, he has never been home to participate in one of these (but he is always being honored). I also missed Michael, it's hard when one kid moves on and your kids are separated.

This afternoon the 5th graders performed songs they had written. Each had a similar theme, they talked about Freedom, Soldiers and our nation. They wrote their own lyrics, I was very touched. I became brave enough to glance around and saw many a Soldier in the audience with tears in their eyes (there is nothing that will make me cry faster than that view). We also had 5th grade students who did some "storytelling". They wrote their own stories about what life is like as a Military Child. They talked about the constant moving, having to say goodbye to their loved ones, friendship and loneliness. One that caused tears in my eyes was about a girl who's father deployed, got injured and is now serving again. All of them spoke with pride and conviction, we could certainly learn from their examples.

It was a wonderful day full of honor and pride. I am so proud of the students who attend CCE and serve honorably. They thanked those who came in and spoke to them (Daniel told me two "old" Soldiers talked to him and he was proud to tell one of them that his daddy wore the same 1st CAV patch that was on his hat!). I want to say that I think we owe gratitude to these amazing Silent Warriors in their service of supporting their Soldiers with pride and honor. So to all serving, those in uniform and those who love the one in uniform, thank you!