Craig stayed home sick with a cold, and Emma had a singing engagement at a charity event at the PAC, so three kids and I went to church completely underdressed for the cold front. I really thought I could get away with heels instead of boots today. Church was awesome. I played the organ, which I always love. I'm so happy that the regular organist lets me sub for her once a month. And then the testimonies that everyone bore were just really amazing. Some Sundays are like that, every talk, every connection, every song is just exactly perfect. I taught our Sunday School class by myself on the Atonement...eek! But, as usual, I launched them and then those amazing kids actually taught most of the class themselves. (For a second, I considered taking a quick picture of them teaching each other and posting it on Instagram because they were so dang amazing, but then I thought they might be creeped out by that, so I didn't.) The Relief Society lesson was awesome, too. It was entirely based on my favorite General Conference talk of all time and the only quote I have memorized: "The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the greatest skill we can acquire in this life." - Julie B Beck (oh, I love that so much!)
After church, I looked outside and realized that the snow was coming down harder and people looked like they were heavily bundled to go outside. As usual, I did not even bring a coat with me. So I lingered and talked to as many people as I could before committing to walk outside in the Texas blizzard. And then, the most amazing thing happened (I totally overuse that word, I know, but the day really was THAT amazing!) I walked to the foyer with McKay (the girls had already driven themselves home) and the nicest boy was standing there at the door waiting for me. He said, "Sister Thunell, can I walk you to your car?" Hallelujah! I enthusiastically said, "Yes, please!" because I knew that I had parked my car at the farthest end of the church parking lot, and that my choice was either to take my life in my own hands and walk across the icy lot in my spiky heels, or to take off my shoes and risk frostbitten feet. Neither sounded very appealing. Matt let me hold his arm all the way across the parking lot. And when we arrived at the Jeep, he pulled out his handy ice scraper (why does he even own one of those in Texas?) and scraped all the ice off my windshield. Have I mentioned how much I love the youth in our ward? Well, I do. They are extraordinary kids who continue to surprise me every time I am with them.
I made a mental note while I was sitting in my frozen car to:
1) throw a jacket or a blanket in the trunk in case of future unexpected inclement weather
AND
2) to make sure to teach my little McKay to be as courteous and thoughtful as Matthew Collins was today.
I am so grateful for perfect snowy Sundays, for wonderful youth, and to come home to blankets, heat, hot chocolate, and kids who like to snuggle.
