I Need Thee Every Hour

*Because you all care so much, I'm sure, you will be happy to know that Brandon fished the rodent out of the garbage yesterday, measured it, and took a photo of it to find out, once and for all, if it was really a rat. Guess what it is? A gopher. That's right! A gopher, through and through. The evidence was conclusive. I'm quite relieved, to tell you the truth. Gophers are much cleaner than rats. Much, much, much.

On Saturday, I opted for a day off. For all of us. I had nothing to do all day until the babysitter came at 5PM, and the house was in a need of some major cleaning. The kids had nothing to do all day, either, and their help with the major cleaning would have been most welcome. But we did nothing, instead.

Nothing.

There was no motivation left inside any of us, and so I decided we could opt out. The kids watched movies, played video games, read books, colored, made snowflakes, and played with toys. I did neighbor gifts, wandered around aimlessly, read a book, and... something, I'm sure. I think I stayed in my pajamas until 4PM.

One would think I would have been grateful for the reprieve, but honestly? I'm not so sure. The basement is still in a tornado-like state, the laundry needs to be done (again!), and the Sabbath Day Activities have left the house in pretty bad shape. I know if we had been proactive on Saturday and done our chores, it would all be done now. Finished. Instead, I'm faced with the fact that I need to do the laundry, clean the basement, go grocery shopping, finish Christmas stuff (that's gonna happen up until Christmas Eve, I am SURE of it), take a shower, and all that other stuff. You know, stuff.

Stuffy, stuff, stuff.

On a brighter note!

I visit teach the LDS artist Emily Dyches Pugmire. You already knew this. Because I told you last week. Anyway, I went to the Inspirational Artist Association's Inaugural Event at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Saturday night. My sister came with me (which was, frankly, quite awesome. I don't get to spend much one-on-one with her; our kids are always around!) and we got to see Emily and her hubby and enjoy all the amazing (better than amazing) art. Original art! Not prints. These were originals. As in, thousands of dollars, each. The smaller ones were hundreds of dollars. Either way, it was amazing! We got to meet some great artists, too [including, but not limited to, Jon McNaughton, Jay Bryant Ward, Scott Sumner, and Ortho R. Fairbanks (the sculptor of the bronze replications of the Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith death masks)].

Emily unveiled her new photo at this event. Some of you might know Emily because of this painting --it's called "Sweet Hour of Prayer." She decided to do a sequel, and it's entitled "I Need Thee Every Hour," and it depicts three children praying.

MY children.

Yep! She used #1, #2 and #4 as her models for the painting. It is amazing! My sister took a quick shot with her cell phone, and with Emily's permission, we can share it. Oh --but I should point out that she's still working on it, brightening parts, changing shades, but the basic gist of it is the same:

[Please notice the paintings in the background of the painting. Her "Sweet Hour of Prayer" (the soldier one) is on the table. Also, see that #2 is peeking. Too cute!]

I can't wait to buy a print.

*Another bright note: Brandon is HOME! He's been gone since last Tuesday. I love that he's back.