Okay, I know it's been a thousand years since I added anything to my blog. But today I just had to take a minute to tell you what happened...

 Twice a week I go to Zumba at the church. It's SUPER fun and I love it! The other days of the week I walk because it is the only thing that keeps my back from hurting. (I know, boring. But relevant to the story.) So my friend, Julie, and I figured out that Zumba is fun but not so good at keeping the back pain down. So... we figured out if we WALK TO ZUMBA we can have fun and not hurt. Okay, one more bit of relevant information. Julie started babysitting a newborn a few months ago. Now the story.

We were walking to Zumba and the baby, Conner, was fussy because he needed to burp. I offered to burp him while we walk because he was crying. So we were walking along the road and talking away. Somehow my foot twisted. I don't know if I stepped in a hole or stepped on the side of the asphalt or if I just tripped on myself. But because I was holding the chunky monkey, it threw off my balance. The next thing I know, I am falling forward and watching Conner's head plummet toward the asphalt. The only thought going through my head is, "SAVE THE BABY!" So I reached out and caught his head. We landed and everything was fine. Julie picked up Conner and he screamed for 5 seconds and then he was fine. I stood up and checked on Conner. Then I noticed a lady honking her horn. I looked over and the stroller was rolling down the street and it fell over. (Later I realized that she thought the baby was still in the stroller.) So we gathered up all of our stuff, put the baby back in the stroller and told all the people who had stopped (in traffic) that we were fine. We went into the church and I washed off in the bathroom and shed a few tears while I thanked Heavenly Father for protecting Conner. Then we did Zumba and it was great! I have some road rash on my right leg, elbow and the palm of my right hand. I will probably be hurting pretty good tomorrow but for now, I'm good.

 Here's part of the story form Julie's perspective. As we were walking, she saw me fall holding Conner and watched his head plummet toward the pavement. Then out of nowhere, my hand caught his head about an inch from the road. (I think she's going to have nightmares about this!)

 I've had a few hours to think and talk about this and here is what I have taken away from this experience. It is SO important to live our lives in a way that allows up to be worthy to have the spirit in our lives. I have very rarely had the spirit speak to me in an audible voice but I know that he did today. I know this because I struggle to give my kids basic directions because I'm old now (I just turned 35!) and I can't come up with words like "shelf" or "basket." When the pressure in on I can barely remember my name. Yet in the moment I was directed, very clearly, what to do. I'm pretty sure that if I had not been living my life the way I should, I would have been left to my own devices. Scary!

It's easy to ask for the Lord's help when we are facing a huge trial or dealing with a tragedy. Do we remember to ask for his help on a daily basis for the small things? Recently the youth daily gem from lds.org said, "Little children, young people, and adults alike, please believe how very much your loving Heavenly Father wants to bless you. But because He will not infringe upon our agency, we must ask for His help. This is generally done through prayer. Prayer is one of the most precious gifts of God to man." (Elder J. Devn Cornish, "The Privilege of Prayer", General Conference, Oct. 2011) So, here is what I have been trying to do. Ask Heavenly Father for His help. It's that simple. I see it with my kids all the time. I try not to intervene when they are working on something until they ask for help. It is good for them to learn how to try and IT IS GOOD FOR THEM TO LEARN TO ASK FOR HELP! It is that exact same thing with me and my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for His constant guidance and presence in my life!

I am grateful for the spirit which helps me in SO many ways! And even though I'm starting to feel the pain of my fall, I'm thankful for the lesson I learned today. I KNOW my Heavenly Father loves me!