The Tip of the Iceberg

I took this picture when Adriana and Annika were taking a bath and wanted to stay in the tub and play for a while. They were both laying down like this with just their faces showing, like two icebergs. As I took the picture I started thinking about how from just their faces you might not be able to tell which of my children they were or even if they were girls or boys, and it got me thinking about the tip of the iceberg and how much we just don't know about people when we first meet them. We don't know what talents they have or what their interests are.
As I have been recovering from the holidays and getting back into a daily routine this week I have had ups and downs. Moments of inspiration and motivation like reading with my kids or getting projects done or cooking and moments when I really didn't know what to do with myself (put a movie on for the kids and take a nap?). It didn't help that my plans kept being thwarted by the weather. On Monday my mission for the day was to make 2 doctors' appointments that I had been putting off for a while, once I had that accomplished I felt pretty productive and motivated to get other stuff done too, like making dinner and practicing the piano. On Tuesday afternoon kindergarten was canceled and the Ariel's school got out 2 hours early due to the possibility of bad weather which never materialized, I og t out the play dough for them (a rare treat), and took Dallin upstairs to keep him from eating it. Then Wednesday morning school was first delayed by two hours and then canceled altogether, so it was hard to get shopping done, with bad weather and four kids in toe although I did manage to get some groceries and bought a work-out video, to help with my not yet articulated New Year's resolutions. So, Thursday when the big kids were back in school, having already done my morning workout, I was feeling a little wanderlust and decided to drive 15 miles to a shopping center that I had not been to yet (thank goodness for our GPS), and got some great post-holiday deals on some clothing items that the kids needed. By Friday I had all the shopping taken care of and tried to remember what I did with my time in the afternoons when the big kids were at school and the little ones playing peacefully or napping. Then I remembered that the library had called earlier to let me know that I book I had requested was in, I was suddenly so excited to get out and do something and have something interesting to read. It is for the book circle that I am planning on attending at the library later this month in an effort to get to know people here and overcome my culture shock. Saturday Nikolay and I went to his company's end-of year party. It was nice to get dressed up and meet people that he works with, but the whole thing seemed drawn out, cocktails starting at 6pm and dinner at 8 where there were long periods of time between each course, desert not being served until 9:45. We spent a lot of time standing around and sitting silently or making awkward small talk with Nikolay's co-workers. We were some of the only ones who didn't get more relaxed and talkative as the night progressed, as we were not drinking, there has got to be an alternative to get shy/reserved lds people like ourselves to come out of our shells a little bit. Any suggestions?
I was genuinely uplifted and inspired by the women at church today who put so much time and effort into their lessons and care so much about the children. Who says you can't be spiritually fed in Primary? Sometimes the basic lessons that we teach the children can really have a deeper meaning when you reflect on the influence that these principles have had on your life.

Well, that was a week in the life of Heather, and as I reflect on it, I am reminded of President Uchtdorf's talk during the General Relief Society meeting where he talked about creativity. It seems that the best times of my week were when I was trying to be creative and use my time wisely to accomplish a higher purpose, or the little buzz I got thinking about and planning my sharing time lessons for next month. I love how he linked being happy with being creative and compassionate. That is something I've got to remember in those down moments that tend to haunt me.