Tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley-out of the mouths of Babes.

A couple of weeks ago we mourned the loss of a great man, Gordon B. Hinckley. He was a prophet, seer, and revelator in these days of uncertainty. As we broke the news to our children, especially our two older girls, we wanted to assure them that all is still well--Heavenly Father will choose another prophet. I think my little Samantha said it best.

The story continues...

We attended the funeral services via church broadcast system. Literally the chapel was empty. Everyone else must be watching this from there home dish service. There was only one older couple there and an older gentleman. My husband and I felt a bit disruptive there with our four children. We were trying to keep them quiet by serving them pieces of lunch, you know the usual, peanut butter and jelly, carrots, cubed cheese, raisin pieces, etc. But the reverence quickly ceased as the meal disappeared. Ah-hah I thought, "I am a prepared mom, I have "quiet toys" for them to play with (on the floor) so that they do not disturb anyone." So I pulled out the coloring books, the small cars, and lacing cards. Roughly 5 minutes later, giggles, cries, and pouts creep into my ears. Stearn looks and frowny faces should do the trick. Nope. Pointy fingers jerking to the children's direction. That will let them know I mean business. Nope. To the back of the chapel. Nope. Out in the foyer. Nope. To the car? Nope. The first services were over. The couple left.
I clearly understood that it was our children's quiet time and that this was not going to be easy. Robert was busy with the girls while I was working with Brian. So while I was out in the car, I grabbed a blanket and wrapped Brian in it. As soon as he was still he quickly went to sleep. I walked back inside, laid Brian on the back bench, and scanned the rows for problem child number two, Elaina. She had been squeezing between the wall and the pews, and squawking when her head got stuck. And yet continued to do it repeatedly. Once we made eye contact the game began. Running between the pews then ducking under to the next row as Mommy got close, clearly Elaina was winning the game. But alas, Mommy, with her quick legs and long arms reached and grabbed a hold. Now we can sit and watch the funeral cars go by on the T.V. We found something quiet for her to do until the grave site services were over.
The old man left.
We were there by ourselves now with a breath of relief that we didn't have to stress every time our children made a peep.
The life and tribute of the Prophet began and I wanted to see it since the media wasn't covering the death of the prophet of the world. So after 3 1/2 hours of services to the prophet it was time to go home.

The following Sunday was Fast and Testimony Sunday and our girls wanted to bear their testimonies. They, one by one, went up to bear theirs. Katie bore her testimony about Temples and how a family can be sealed for time and all eternity. She practically ran off the stage and down the aisle and into her seat. We quickly told her that running in the chapel was inappropriate. Then we let her know that we are proud of her. Then Samantha wanted to go up and so she went by herself. She began, "I want to bear my testimony. I know the church is true. I know President Hinckley is.......dead. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

Oh, everyone laughed. Even the Stake President stood up and said, "Just as that little girl knows that President Hinckley is dead, I know.......yatta, yatta, yatta." I didn't even get to listen to what he had to say because all of our friends around us were smiling and giving their condolences for our embarrassing moment.

But I would like to let you know that
I am glad that I have been able to share this experience with my children and to show them that The Lord has a plan for us. We are not left here to wander after a prophet has died. The Lord has order. I know that the Lord has called President Thomas S. Monson to be our next prophet and that his counselors Henry B. Eyring and Deiter F. Uchtdorf, are also called of God. I am grateful for this opportunity to test my faith and ask God, and to find out for myself. Have you taken the time to find out for yourself?

Off to a good start for 2008

Well I can see that this year is going to be a great one!

On January 4th Robert's Mom and sister were in town visiting and we were driving around town and decided to stop by one of the SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) buildings here for Robert to update his ID for school. While in the parking lot a lady backed into our van and did about $800 dollars worth of damage. (And is being difficult in settling).

Then Jan 21st we paid off our Discover Card!!! Called Discover on the 23rd after the money cleared to cancel our card!!! Debt free except for student loans. (but we will not go there)

A couple of hours later our washer transmission went out and our dryer smelled like something burning. We decided that we could handle this since we have a small emergency fund. Then our toilets get backed up. I think to myself, "no problem. I can handle this, this is a small thing." So we call our land lord and they give us the number for plumber and tell us that if it is our fault then we will have to pay the fee. I understood that (having dealt with that before). So I decide that why pay a plumber $100 to snake the line when I can do it myself. So I run to Home Depot and buy a 6 foot snake to clear our line and paid $50. I am all proud of myself for saving our family $50 because I am doing it myself and not having to pay someone to do it. I get home and I use it. The toilets are still plugged. Ok now what. I decide that we need to expedite our efforts to find a washer and dryer so we can clean up the mess and the towels. Well we soon realized that our toilets, tub, sinks, and anything else that had to do with plumbing backed up. Our kids have to go potty. I think to myself, "No problem, I can handle this we have our trusty emergency toilet from our 72 hour kit in the garage." We get it set up and the kids are taken care of. The potty dance has come to a halt. We call the plumber and they come our to fix our toilets and main line and we are good to go. We hang the towels on our fence to dry and call it a day.

The next day I realize that buying a washer and dryer need to happen quickly! So Robert and I load the kids, cash in hand and head to the store to do some bargaining (we did our research on the internet and found the best brands and the best prices. But we needed them now and can not wait for delivery so we load the kids in the car and are at Sears. As we approach the store there is a bi sign that says BEST PRICE GUARANTEED. I am looking forward to this since I have the best price in my hand. I walk up to the sales associate and tell him I want this brand and I have researched and this is the best price.
"oh, well we don't do price bargaining." says the salesman.
"Ok, I guess I will have to go online and purchase my items there." I say, thinking that if I play hard to bargain then I will get what I want at the price that I want. Didn't work.
Next store. Home Depot. Tried the same thing, didn't work either. They tried to get me to sign up for a credit card so I could get 10% off the purchase price. I asked if I could get that if I pay with cash. No.
I decide to leave. We go home and call it a day.

Friday. I usually do my Nursery lesson on Friday or Saturday. I could not concentrate on it because laundry was piling up and we had no clean towels to take a bath/shower for church on Sunday. Things were getting a little overwhelming.

Meanwhile I had been looking at craigslist for washers and dryers and e-mailing all who had a w/d in my price range. Almost gave up when I decided to e-mail one last person (not even expecting a reply back). I even called and left a message on his phone. Well what luck he called me back and told me he had a washer and dryer for me for $1350. They are 1.5 years old and have been in storage for 1 year. I met him at the storage unit to look at them and bought them. I even bought a leather couch and love seat for $200! (We have wanted to replace our couch for some time, but never did.) So I got a washer and dryer and a couch and a loveseat for less than the price of the brand new washer and dryer I was looking for at the store. I got a great deal. Even better he helped me take my couch and loveseat, washer and dryer back to my house and hauled away my washer and dryer away and paid us $50 for the dryer!

We get back to the house and unload, as we are trying to put the washer in the "closet-size" laundry room, the guy bumped our gas line with the washer and caused a gas leak. Needless to say we all had to evacuate and have a repair man come out for that and he did and did a great job!

We noticed that the washer did not have a drain hose and the man just hauled our away. So we called him and he said he would be by Sunday to give it to us. And he did. No problem I can wait one more day to do laundry.

Sunday we do the last minute lesson and snack for nursery. We wait around till 11 am to go to church and then when we get there we realize we are one hour late to Stake Conference that we completely forgot about. We put all of our preparation back in the car and go to the primary room at church to listen to the speakers. After the hour church is over and we go home. Not really getting anything out of church for the day.

So after that is all done, we enjoyed our afternoon and prepared for dinner. And as soon as we did Brian got sick and threw up every where. We got that cleaned up and then sent him to bed.
The guy came over with the washer hose and we were really grateful. Pukey clothes on top of Toilet towels is more overwhelming than I want to think about. So as soon as the hose is hooked up we get the washer rolling.

In the middle of the night Robert got sick. Then we got back in bed and fell asleep when Katie came running into our room telling us that Samantha got sick in her bed. Got that taken care of and then the next morning we checked in on Elaina and she got sick in her bed.

Well you can imagine that we did not go anywhere or do anything, but do laundry. The girls stayed home from school--which added to the fun.

Well Tuesday they felt better and so we sent them off to school and laid low for awhile. Meanwhile Robert had projects for school that he had to work on and research and present. What a trooper he is. We love him!

I on the other hand have not been able to attend my YMCA workouts like I would like to, but I guess that is the small sacrifice of being a mom and wife.

As I think about it I look back and ask myself what did I learn from these situations and I's have to say this-
1. Be prepared
a. financially (have emergency fund)
b. temporally (emergency kit-toilet)
2. Don't sweat the small things or even the big things. Just do the best that you can with what you have now. (there are more important things than worry)
3. Research
Find out as much much as you can and do all you can do, you will be blessed
3. Service
It's not always like delivering cookies, but they still need me, and it still needs to be done.
4. Sacrifice
It's always worth it. Give a little so later you can take a little when you need it.

I am grateful for my family and I know that the Lord has blessed me to stay healthy so that I can serve my family when they need me. I know that He helped me find a reliable washer/dryer and even threw in a great couch and loveseat.
I know I am blessed when I follow His teachings and do my best and He makes up the rest.

Our first Blog!

Hello and welcome to the Hagen Family Blog! I have seen a few blogs and thought I would give it a shot. I am so excited to see a few of my friends out there and doing great!

Well here are some pictures of our kids that we had done at the beginning of November. Katie is 7 yrs., Samantha 5 yrs., Brian 3yrs, and Elaina 1 yr.

We are in Savannah, GA now. Robert is attending Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), pursuing a Masters of Fine Art in Interactive Design. We have been here since March 2007.