Expectations and Hema's First Talk!

From the time I was about 12 years old I started thinking and planning out what it would be like to be a mommy, before that I mostly just played with dolls and tended to my younger siblings. I planned out my kids first primary talks somewhere around that age. There was never any question what the talk would be, in our family you gave the Great Daniel talk first. So when Little Hema started Sunbeams in January, we started practicing the talk. He knows it inside out. Here he is practicing today.....

He knows this talk so well and when he was assigned to give a talk for today, we started preparing him for what it would be like to say it in front of the primary. He has practiced the talk at least 100 times this week flawlessly. I wanted him to be prepared, after all many people get flustered when they get in front of a crowd. Well here he is giving the talk in primary today. (By the way, Hema was taping it on our camera - we are serious about documenting every first. I'm not sure if that is against the church rules - but I hope not. Also, try not to notice how nervous I too look in the video!)

Pretty sweet huh?!?! Poor Little Hema, he got so nervous up there. He told me that the kids didn't make him nervous, it was all the mommies that he didn't want to talk in front of. In his defense there were a lot more adults there than usual. It was our ward conference so the stake primary presidency, a member of the stake presidency, my parents, and a few others were there along with the teachers. It was pretty heartbreaking to see him get so sad and scared. He asked me after if he could say it for his primary class. So he did and he did a great job in that setting that was more familiar.

I left church laughing about the whole thing. My parents had come to our ward today to see him talk. All this preparation and planning and when it came right down to it, he is still just a shy, sweet little 3 year old. After church I gave him a big hug and told him how proud I was for giving a talk. He asked if I was proud even though he got nervous. I told him of course and that all he ever has to do is try. I'm sure this is just the first of many such experiences we will have. Hopefully as we continue through this journey, he will be prepared for the things that really matter as they come, and the rest we will just be able to laugh when our expectations and reality are so different!

And here is a shot of Vela as we were leaving to church today!! She is so cute she kills me!

Oh yeah, and of course I remember that it is Father Day today and will post about that as soon as we get home from dinner at my parents house. Ribs and sauerkraut.....yummy!!