keeping love REAL (minty)

Let me be honest with you.
My least favorite part of yesterday was the part when I actually yelled. At my kids. More than once. On a SUNDAY! And on the kick-off day of the month of love. And when I set a goal to be professing love.
I did NOT feel good. The 'why' isn't the issue.
But I'm better. I'm SO so so not perfect. But I recognize that we get back up, wipe ourselves off, and try again. So here's my [well, one of them] favorite part of the day:
But let me preface it by saying that I am no longer in control of how and when our children show up to church. I'm on the early morning meeting circuit, and spouseman is in charge on the homefront. Which has actually been really good in so many ways. Because they all arrive BEFORE the opening song and prayer and announcements. Unlike when I was doing the Sunday morning homefront thing, and spouseman was smiling very friendly-like down at us from the stand. But my only real complaint has been the fact that the teeth brushing police have been on vacation on most Sunday mornings. And when the kids squeeze in next to me and say good morning, I'm wanting to de-fog the area with anti-morning-breath crest-in-a-can. So in the back of my mind, I've been thinking for a few months that there are a few things we could try to do about this problem. Except I usually don't think about it until someone says 'hhhhhhheeeeeelllllllloooooooo mom,' in a turtle-y breath sort of way on Sunday morning. Except this once. And I realize that was a VERY long preface, but here comes the favorite part I was leading up to:
Sitting on the pew in the chapel, eight people in a row, listening to some amazing testimonies. (And they really were incredible. There is never a shortage of people who stand up. Never an awkward pause of ANY kind in our ward on testimony Sunday... more like a run on the mike. And yesterday it was good spiritual feasting.) Usually right after the sacrament, my kids start foraging through my bag, looking for gum, mints, goodies like that. So yesterday I was ready. I emptied my bag. Of ALL minty goodness. Right after sacrament, when the urge to freshen the mouths began, I waited until almost everyone was looking, quietly poking me, silenty mouthing "GUM?" and pointing to my purse. Then I reached into my other bag, the RS full-of-important papers-and-hand-outs-and-manuals-bag and started handing out new packs of assorted gums all pre-pasted with pink sticky notes on them that said 'I (heart) your minty fresh breath!' Gum for everyone. (Except for the child who is VERY much anti-gum at all... He'll get something later.) It was quietly cute. I liked the surprise in their expressions.
(And I really DID enjoy their fresh breath!)
LOVE, me.