The more things change, the more they stay the same...

This week, I read an entry from my journal in October 2004 (when this picture was taken), and I made an interesting discovery. Interesting to me anyway. Among my scribbles about funny things things my kids said and did at the time, I read this:
"Jacob continues to grow and mature into a fine young boy...his interests seem to be expanding...Jacob likes Star Wars and Spy Kids, even if I have to sit with him to watch because they are so intense for his active imagination. A good day to Jacob is when he has memorable fun and he doesn't get yelled at. He still can and does act impulsively and is obnoxious a lot of the time, but at least it's not ALL the time...and he takes a consequence for a wrong choice better than he used to...
"Katelyn loves clothes (and fashion). Is the first one dressed every AM and has changed 3 or 4 times before I am dressed! Lately, in this (cooler) weather, she doesn't even want to put a coat on so that "people will see my pretty...(whatever clothing article...) She even does this on school mornings when we are only gone for a grand total of 8 min and she doesn't get out of her car seat either!
"Madelyn loves to help...esp. in the kitchen-dishes, stirring, cracking eggs...she loves to cook. To keep her feeling like a helper, she will pull a chair beside me and the stove, hold my arm, and 'help' me stir---she says, 'Look, I'm not burning my arm!' Another thing is that she love to play w/toys (the other 2 don't so much.) AND, she will play by herself w/her toys...wow!

"Yelling, fighting, and not handling frustration seem to be the bigger issues these days. If a situation escalates to that point, it's all over! But, we seem to be having more even-keeled times than not lately, and those times are so heavenly that I wish I could capture them and put them away safe. I LOVE watching the children display loving affections to each other. I love it when they discover something new. Like, Katelyn surprising us by cleaning every inch of the bedroom without being told. Or, Jacob wanting to learn something new with his hands...even sewing with a needle and thread. Or, Madelyn acting silly and making us laugh. I love learning and growing along beside them. I love being at a point where the overall condition of my house doesn't keep me from enjoying THEM. I'm glad to have finally learned that we will all survive day to day living even if every detail of that day is not perfect. This knowledge has eased my life up in the most surprising ways. It makes my life more peaceful on the inside and I am starting to notice small changes on the outside because of it...."

So my observation is... that this journal entry could have been written TODAY! Wow, am I surprised to see that the personalities and characters and even the little quirks about each one of my toddlers-at-the-time AND our daily life-at-that-time have not changed much. Naturally there has been tons of learning, growth and maturity since then, but I think the marvel of this is the evidence that we each have an eternal nature, indeed! And by eternal, I mean "has been and always will be." How blessed I am to have children with strong spirits to teach me and help me to grow! How blessed I am to have been taught the gospel principle of pre-existence(Jeremiah 1:5) and to know (especially now) that many things in this life are eternal. I have been reminded that even though this physical life is certainly full of challenges, I've taken note of some patterns and seasons, and even some predictability, and that makes it seem more manageable somehow (especially on days when "balance" seems to be teetering)....Further evidence that I have a very wise Heavenly Father who is in control and who loves me very much.