A Special Moment

Jake and I are always looking for ways to create a sacred space in our home. We want our home to feel safe for our baby girl and our future children that we will bring into this world. We want to make sure they feel loved and happy.

I was telling Jake how blessed I feel that Covid-19 has allowed us to spend this added time together. Because he recently got a new job, he was granted only one week of paternity leave, although thanks to this pandemic he has been able to work at home most of my maternity leave and be with me and baby girl. For us, that was a miracle. We discussed how staying home as a family has been an amazing opportunity but some other people may not feel the same way.

I talked with him about how there children in the world who are stuck at home with abusive parents or how there are wives or husbands who have a spouse that belittles or emotionally hurts them and what a nightmare this pandemic might be for them. Their home is not a sanctuary and that hurts my heart.

I’m glad that Jake and I have worked hard to create a home that’s filled with love and happiness. It’s. Not. Easy. We work at it. We work at improving our communication so that there are less and less arguments or fights. We work at serving each other. EX: I fold and put away Jake’s laundry because I know he hates doing it and to him it’s a relief to not worry about it. Jake washes most of the dishes because he knows it stresses me out to see a sink piled with dirty dishes… and he does most of the cooking…(he’s basically the ultimate house husband *wink*). It takes teamwork.

One thing that has really strengthened our home has been our faith in God and Jesus. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and for us, our faith has been our anchor. We have dedicated our nights to reading scriptures as a family. Even though our baby is only 3 months old, we want to get in the habit of reading together so that she knows the peace and assurance of happiness that comes from reading God’s word and allowing God to be a part of our lives. We have felt an added spirit in our home because of it.

The other day I had a friend visit and she said something that really struck me. She said “Kayla, last time I came over I could feel The Spirit [God’s love & presence] in your home and I thought to myself ‘they must be doing something right.’” I was in utter shock! I felt very grateful that Jake and I had created a space where my friend could feel that Spirit because I know at times our marriage and parenthood is rough. There are disagreements and negative feelings at times, but what my friend felt that day, I owe that special Spirit to all of our dedication to our faith and love for each other. Our faith in God keeps us motivated to try harder as a family everyday, Everyday, EVERYDAY.

This past Sunday we were able to give our baby girl a blessing. (This is a common event in our church.) My husband prays in the name of Jesus Christ and gives her a name and a blessing from God as directed by the Holy Spirit. Since Utah’s Health Department decided to lift the group gathering limit to 20 people, we were lucky enough to have our parents and my sister over to attend the blessing.

While saying the blessing, one of my favorite words Jake mentioned while praying was that our baby girl would ‘love her mom and dad.’ To me that sentence was something that God needed me to hear. I often worry too much that I am not doing enough, but once Jake said those words I knew that we WERE doing enough. God wanted me to know that Jake and I are the best parents for our child and we were doing enough to help her feel loved.

So when times get rough, remember YOU ARE ENOUGH! You are doing great! Sit down and find something to do to bond as a family to remember how much you all need each other. Whether that be praying, playing a game, singing a song, reading scriptures, going on a walk, star-gazing, etc. Find something unique and make it special. I’m so grateful our baby girl’s blessing was a special moment for our family and I can’t wait to create more special memories in our near and far future.

^{Comment below with some things you do with your family to create special moments. What are your anchors? Your unique activities? Something that bonds you as a family? We’d love to hear it!}