May flew by! Brandon took a wellness day to help me get all of the kids' vision checked. We were pretty sure that at least Brandon needed glasses. Since Ruby got hers in February he had made quite a few comments that made us think his vision had changed. He was the only one that needed them, and I think he looks pretty handsome! I was able to exchange the new ones I got in February that I have hated and regretted. My new ones are SO much better. I am so glad Dallin talked me in to mentioning it to them. They were really nice about it.
I was pretty busy with dress rehearsals and gathering last minute costume supplies. I found a surprising number of lovely fedoras at DI. The play was a 1940's musical version of The Taming of The Shrew. It was so good! So much fun! They did a dress rehearsal on the 8th and their performance on the 10th. They performed it again at Shakespeare Showdown Camp on the 20th. I was so glad I got to go help out and get to know the kids and the other moms better. The first night there was a dance, so I got to help a few of the girls do their hair. The counselors asked me to judge the skit competition and told me I needed to be a character. I decided to be Rozz from Monsters Inc. It was really fun to have the kids get me dressed up. They made me fancy glasses and painted my nails and did my makeup. I had a fun wig in my costume stuff. My sister-in-law Lara was at Showdown with her daughter, and she had the perfect green dress for me to wear. We got to judge together, and it was so fun! She was Mrs. Gandalf. I didn't even know she would be up there so it was a great surprise! It was really fun to be Rozz. I think I shocked some of the kids I was chaperoning!
Ruby's face and jaw have really been changing quickly so we realized we'd better get her in to the orthodontist. She is missing 3 permanent teeth, so she has some serious problems. It will be over $6,000 by the time we're done, but she hopefully won't need implants. And one of her permanent teeth came in that they thought was coming in the roof of her mouth, so she won't have to have oral surgery to expose that like they thought she would. She has her first appliance in her mouth right now, and it is giving her a big gap in her front teeth that is pretty goofy. She is struggling to talk and eat properly. Poor girl.
Nathan's end of year concert was fun. I'm glad he likes choir even though I don't think his teacher is nearly as good as his Jr. High one was.
Brandon was able to advance to Life Scout, so he can start thinking Eagle. Woo Hoo!
We forgot to take any notes about our little cat's behavior, but it soon became obvious she was pregnant. We did our best to guess based on when she started showing and thought that it would most likely be the last week of May or first week of June. She is a very shy and skittish cat. She doesn't want anything to do with me, and especially not Dallin. On Sunday the first of June (I know, but I couldn't wait to announce it...) She was looking in the garage window when Dallin and I got up to go for a stroll through the yard. She came in the garage, mewing a lot. She came right up to me and then walked into the house in front of Dallin. Both things she would not have normally done. Made me wonder....That evening, we went in the garage to go to the neighbors for an ice cream social and I heard the tiny little meows! There she was with her 4 tiny babies. She is a calico and I was really hoping for at least one orange kitten. She has 3! And one little black and white one. It is so fun to go check on her and watch her mother them. They are so tiny and cute. I am happy that my kids get a summer of kittens.
Our stake did a big party for Stake conference on Saturday the 10th. Dallin and Brandon and Simon went to the father and son's campout. Nathan decided to stay and run the 5K. Ruby also ran. Nathan took 4th overall. The 3 ahead of him were kids he knew from school and soccer. It was a pretty hard race because it was mostly uphill the first half and mostly downhill the 2nd. Nathan said the downhill was actually really rough. Ruby did really well. I think she was the first girl in her age group to come in, but they didn't distinguish between boys and girls for the awards. After that was a pancake breakfast and games. We took the boys to the adult session that night. The next day they had planned to pipe the conference into two other chapels, but it was not working in our building. When we went down to the Stake Center, it was completely packed. Every nook and cranny was full of people trying to listen. There were people in the library watching it on the tiny little monitor in there. There were people in the kitchen, too. We ended up setting up 2 rows of chairs in the foyer and getting bits and pieces. Definitely not the most inspiring thing, but I got a few good notes.
Daisy has continued to have swollen glands since Christmas. She has them pop up in different places. Sometimes right under her ear so she feels like she has an ear infection. Sometimes lower on her neck or on her cheek. She has never had a fever or seemed really sick. She would maybe have an earache or a sore throat for a few hours one day but then seem fine. She would occasionally mention a bad taste in her mouth, so I figured she was having sinus drainage, but again it never lasted very long and she never had a fever. She also complained of a really bad toothache a couple of times, but then it would go away for weeks at a time. I was trying to support her immune system with herbs and oils, but I'm notoriously inconsistent with those things. The Friday before Showdown, her tooth was hurting really bad again. I thought it would be just another come and go thing. It wasn't. By that night she couldn't sleep, even with lots of ibuprophen in her. She was pretty miserable on Saturday as well. I wasn't sure what to do. By that night, I was extremely stressed out about leaving for Showdown if she was not well, but wasn't sure she was sick enough to take to the emergency room, plus what would they do for a toothache? She was still acting pretty normal other than the pain that we were managing with iburprophen. There were no visible signs and no fever. Nathan also had a giant wart he had been treating with dry ice that had begun to ooze and smell bad. It was pretty stressful for me to think of leaving kids that could need medical attention. I prayed and prayed that evening to know what I should do. We all got blessings. I decided that if there was no improvement the next day, I would find someone else to go to Showdown. In the middle of the night, I was awakened suddenly with the thought that Daisy had a sinus infection. I thought back to all of the symptoms, and it made sense. I had had sinus pain earlier that felt like toothache and talked to my dentist about it. He said it is pretty common because those sinuses are right above the teeth. Everything came together in my mind, so I thought it must be the answer to my prayer. Early the next morning when she awoke for pain medication, I noticed that that side of her face and cheek were swollen, and under her eye was darker than the other. I have plenty of experience with my own sinus issues, so it seemed to be another confirmation that it was sinuses. We got her into the urgent care as soon as they were opened. The doctor listened to the symptoms and agreed it was a sinus infection. He prescribed amoxicillin for 10 days, thinking that it would work well since she has not been on antibiotics very much in her life. Her pain and swelling continued to get worse that day, but the Dr. said it could take up to 3 days for her to feel better. I was just glad she was on antibiotics and felt that it would be okay for me to go to the camp. Later that day, she showed me that a bump was rising on her gum just above the tooth that was hurting. Great. So maybe it IS a tooth! By the next morning, it was about as large as a small pea. Dallin texted the dentist, hoping he could somehow manage to get Daisy there and still fulfill his busy work schedule for the day. I talked to a friend and signed a release and gave her the forms in case she needed to take her to the dentist. Stressful. By this time I was loading kids in my van and wondering again if I was being completely ridiculous. I felt I should go and all would be well. It was. Daisy was able to rest. Ruby did well with the kids. My neighbor was happy to help out. Dallin finally got ahold of the dentist after 6pm. The dentist had already had a crazy day with no lunch break, but he told Dallin to meet him at his house. When he saw Daisy and felt that the lump was somewhat soft, he decided he needed to take her back to the office for an X-ray. There was nothing. Absolutely no explanation for the lump or the pain. Her teeth looked fine. No sign of cavity, her permanent tooth in that area was still a year or so away from growing in. That was very disappointing and disturbing to Daisy. She was really hoping for some answers! The pain slowly got better over the week of antibiotics. By the time I got home, she was not needing ibuprophen except at night. Then she stopped needing it. Because of Memorial Day, we missed her last couple of doses. The pain returned. We had her finish up the rest of the medicine for the next few days. The pharmacist said there would be leftovers, but we just had her finish it up. Last night, she accidentally bumped the bump with her toothbrush. It is slightly smaller, and has divided into two bumps. She says it looks like a bum. :) It bled a little, and she woke in the night with some pain. She was able to go back to sleep without medication. She showed me last night that she has a cyst-like bump on the lower back part of her head and it hurts. What in the world??? She already has an appointment with the dentist on Monday. I hoped today I could at least consult with the chiropractor, but I didn't hear back until it was too late to make another appointment. He can't see her till next week, so I guess I'll take her in tomorrow. Weirdness.
We've Given Up the Easy Life for the Good Life
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Not Room Enough To Receive
I see.
I am learning to notice, to pause, to appreciate.
But how can I record when the moments demand all of my attention?
The windows of heaven are open and the blessing moments are spilling, flowing, rushing.
Pouring down upon me and around me, carrying me away.
Gifts of long eyelashes and chubby hands
Of foot pain and sinus headaches that remind me of his suffering and therefore his love
Of gloriously beautiful views of the lake. A different color every day--always beautiful or at least interesting.
Gifts of stumbles and tiredness and problems I can't solve.
Of the grass. The lovely soft green grass that was only imagination when we moved here.
Of kids hurting from bullies, from toothaches, from sick stomach, from giant warts, from imperfect parenting.
Of homemade love notes and creations with staples and tape and cereal boxes that overflow my kitchen and my heart.
Of soccer games and concert and play and Shakespeare camp.
Of hours gathering costumes and hours away from babies and hours of pure enjoyment with youth.
I was alone once. There atop a mountain tending a fire. I saw or heard no other person. Alone.
But I saw that there was much to notice. Leaves emerging from dead looking branches. Clouds moving quickly across a blue sky. An owl hooting. The fire--it was truly licking the logs.
I was not alone.
As I noticed all that loves to be noticed, I remembered each of my children. Memory photos flicked across my mind. Moments captured but impossible to describe.
I was noticed.
They love to be noticed by me and I love to be noticed by Him and he loves to notice even hairs on my head and logs being licked.
As stars appeared I wondered about His home and which way should I look to see Him?
All ways. In every direction. In all of the moments. In all of the gifts he sends.
In conversations with friends where we both leave feeling edified.
In spontaneous family soccer games in the back yard.
In months and months of enduring the failure to get up and do the routine.
In the satisfaction of slow mornings full of snuggles.
In the thoughts expressed two-year-old fashion. Remarkable.
In the worry. Will he be okay without mommy milk?
In the disappointment that weaning does not mean full nights of sleep.
In the pleasure of hearing his voice from his little room, speaking so clearly: "I'm ready to snuggle, mom."
"I need a drink because my milk all gone." 9 words! I think he is a genius!
In the new look of two kids now in glasses.
In orthodontic bills over 6 thousand dollars! Really? Even there?
Yes, because I know He will provide. He will show us the way.
In the surprise of a snowblower gift. A gift of generosity that will help us look forward to winter even while spring snow still gleams atop our mountain.
Our mountain is so beautiful in spring. All shades of green below, rising to purest white, topped with bluest sky. I live in such splendor!
Cars and washers and the roof need fixing.
The plants are dying in the garden. I can't seem to keep up with it all.
But I am growing.
...
I am learning to notice, to pause, to appreciate.
But how can I record when the moments demand all of my attention?
The windows of heaven are open and the blessing moments are spilling, flowing, rushing.
Pouring down upon me and around me, carrying me away.
Gifts of long eyelashes and chubby hands
Of foot pain and sinus headaches that remind me of his suffering and therefore his love
Of gloriously beautiful views of the lake. A different color every day--always beautiful or at least interesting.
Gifts of stumbles and tiredness and problems I can't solve.
Of the grass. The lovely soft green grass that was only imagination when we moved here.
Of kids hurting from bullies, from toothaches, from sick stomach, from giant warts, from imperfect parenting.
Of homemade love notes and creations with staples and tape and cereal boxes that overflow my kitchen and my heart.
Of soccer games and concert and play and Shakespeare camp.
Of hours gathering costumes and hours away from babies and hours of pure enjoyment with youth.
I was alone once. There atop a mountain tending a fire. I saw or heard no other person. Alone.
But I saw that there was much to notice. Leaves emerging from dead looking branches. Clouds moving quickly across a blue sky. An owl hooting. The fire--it was truly licking the logs.
I was not alone.
As I noticed all that loves to be noticed, I remembered each of my children. Memory photos flicked across my mind. Moments captured but impossible to describe.
I was noticed.
They love to be noticed by me and I love to be noticed by Him and he loves to notice even hairs on my head and logs being licked.
As stars appeared I wondered about His home and which way should I look to see Him?
All ways. In every direction. In all of the moments. In all of the gifts he sends.
In conversations with friends where we both leave feeling edified.
In spontaneous family soccer games in the back yard.
In months and months of enduring the failure to get up and do the routine.
In the satisfaction of slow mornings full of snuggles.
In the thoughts expressed two-year-old fashion. Remarkable.
In the worry. Will he be okay without mommy milk?
In the disappointment that weaning does not mean full nights of sleep.
In the pleasure of hearing his voice from his little room, speaking so clearly: "I'm ready to snuggle, mom."
"I need a drink because my milk all gone." 9 words! I think he is a genius!
In the new look of two kids now in glasses.
In orthodontic bills over 6 thousand dollars! Really? Even there?
Yes, because I know He will provide. He will show us the way.
In the surprise of a snowblower gift. A gift of generosity that will help us look forward to winter even while spring snow still gleams atop our mountain.
Our mountain is so beautiful in spring. All shades of green below, rising to purest white, topped with bluest sky. I live in such splendor!
Cars and washers and the roof need fixing.
The plants are dying in the garden. I can't seem to keep up with it all.
But I am growing.
...
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
April Notes
I sure love April! Especially General Conference. This is the first time I didn't fall asleep at all! I enjoyed it so much. I am always sad when it is over now. It is so nourishing to feel supported and inspired by our Prophet and Apostles.
That weekend ushered in Spring Break for us. We had talked about doing a family vacation, but things kept getting scheduled in here and there and we finally gave in and just stayed home. I'm so glad we did!! It would have been fun to go on a trip, but it was much more fun to just be home and be together.
My favorite thing about my birthday was that I didn't have to check the clock once all day. We spent some time playing together at the park, we went to Pizza Pie Café, and we watched the new episode of Studio C. It was just so nice and relaxing and lovely to be with everyone.
We spent some time the next day at the park before taking the girls to their book club. The next morning we got up very early and drove to Fillmore to play in the hot pots there. It was a highlight of our Spring Break last year and it didn't disappoint this year either. There were some other campers there, but they were just waking up and it worked out just fine for us to enjoy the pool. We were hoping to go to the Statehouse museum again, but ran out of time. We all went up to Trenaisa's so she and Tanner could go with Dallin and the boys to the Oquirrh mountain temple. I stayed back with the little ones and had a nice visit with Paul. The younger kids had a great time with Connor and their doggies. Paul and Trenaisa are so generous to us! They fed us a wonderful dinner and sent us home with bags and bags of amazing hand-me-downs. What a blessing! Trenaisa even let the little kids take a big bubble bath in her deep jetted tub. It was such a treat, and so nice for them to go home nice and clean in fresh jammies. Sullivan completely freaked out when we turned on the jets, though!
Brandon spent all Friday at a Constitution Bowl with his Key of Liberty class. His team did not do very well, but he had fun and learned a lot about the Constitution, so it was all good. Grandma and Grandpa came that night and stayed with us. I traveled with them to Heber the next day to attend Garth Brown's funeral. (My first cousin) It was incredibly beautiful and spiritual. It was lovely to see Suzie and all of her children. She has always seemed like such a soft and spiritual person. True to that form, she delivered a very beautiful and spirit-filled life sketch of Garth's life. It was really neat to see some of the family members that I haven't seen for awhile, especially Suzie's 11 living children and their families. What an example she is! We had fun sitting at a table with Tanaya and Sheryl and Chris and Kalynn and visiting with them during the luncheon.
Nathan has been having a really great soccer year, getting better and better throughout the season. It is always amazing to me what he can do when he is so much smaller than everyone else. He has really learned how to hustle after the ball and keep up his energy during his games. He got a couple of injuries that kept him out a few times. I finally took him to the chiropractor and he instantly healed the hip flexor problem he'd been having for months. He went straight from the chiropractor to one of his final games and was able to play just fine. He hasn't had a problem with it since. Unfortunately, he never got back on top of his game. He kind of struggled for the rest of the season and ultimately told us he was done with soccer. He was done with the profanity and bullying of some of the kids on his team. It was really heartbreaking to hear that that was going on and that it really began to affect his ability to perform. He was also trying to decide what to do about choir. He decided not to try out, but to do other things. His choir teacher begged him to try out, alluding that he would be able to make the advanced choir. So Nathan practiced and made it to call backs and then wasn't chosen. And his soccer coach who is a seminary teacher belittled him in front of the team for missing a couple of practices to go to the temple. Let me just say that my mama bear instincts were fully tested! I wanted to punch a few people in the face!! I'm proud of him for handling it all so well and ultimately deciding to keep going with choir and soccer because he loves to do them. (Some of this happened in May).
Easter was really neat this year. In March, my friend showed me an e-book she downloaded about Lent. We decided to do some of the activities and try to make Easter as special and Christ-focused as Christmas. We learned some of the traditional sayings and rituals associated with lent. We put up paintings of Christ that we have from several different artists. We hung a banner in the living room that says He Is Risen! We planted Wheat Grass to remind us of resurrection. I hung my string eggs and some wallet-sized prints of Jesus over the kitchen table. It was serendipitous that when Nathan's friend returned from choir tour and told us they sang in a cathedral, but couldn't sing All Creatures of our God and King because of Lent. We pulled up some articles and found out that they save the "Alleluia" for Easter and don't use it during Lent. We all wore purple one day as it is symbolic of Christ's bruising and also his royalty. We downloaded some really beautiful music from Hoffmanhouse.com about the savior that really added to the spirit. The Sunday before Easter was my Choralais Choir concert. I was asked to prepare a children's choir number for the program. I knew I wouldn't have time to practice with a group, so I just asked if my kids could do it. They asked them to sing Gethsemane. It was really really wonderful! A lot of people said it was the highlight of the concert. Ruby, Daisy, Simon, and Sarajoy each had a little solo part. It was so cute to hear Sarajoy sing at the top of her voice, "Get-sem-a-nee, Dee-sus loves me!" and to see Simon with his little paper that he always wanted to have to remember his words. The big boys stood in the back and did background harmony. It was pretty special! We sure love that song and another one by the Hoffmans, I will Anchor My Soul In Christ, that has become a sort of anthem for our family. I also got to do a solo that really showcased my voice, so that was neat. I was surprised at how much I loved singing in the choir this year. I was so busy, but glad I made time for it. The music really stayed with me and strengthened my spirit throughout the week. I loved having a more Christ-centered Easter.
We did Easter Baskets a week early since Grandma and Grandpa were here for Spring Break. It was fun to have them be a part of it, and especially fun to stay up with Mom getting them ready. So nice to have help! We had lots of good candy, a few kinds we'd never tried before! The kids got a few fun outside things like chalk and bubbles. We got some nice soccer goals to use in the backyard and they've seen a lot of use! Hooray for having a lawn! The day before Easter was a gorgeous day, and we had a great time at the annual neighborhood Egg hunt. We were the last to leave because the hosts are so neat to visit with. Brother Bigler has helped us a lot with our landscaping and he was telling Dallin about a good deal on a used fence he knew about!
Shakespeare really got busy in April with lots of long rehearsals, and I was asked to be the costume director. The director had already purchased quite a few costumes and the boys were mostly wearing their own suits. I was in charge of all of the little details in accessories and props and also in charge of keeping everything in order and together. It was a big job, but really fun!
Thanks to Chris skyping in and giving us a tutorial, we were able to finally build the new computer. It was a really neat project. I'm still (in June) trying to figure out how to use it! It has been nice, and all of the kids have enjoyed creating on minecraft. I love how they can make their imaginings come to life. Ruby is in heaven because she made a farm with horses she can actually ride and cats that follow her around everywhere.
One night when I knew I was going to be gone and Dallin was feeling a little under the weather, I suggested he take them to the movies. The Lego movie just happened to be playing at the cheap theater. They had a great time. Dallin was thinking he'd go on a campout with the boys, but the campout ended up being cancelled. Brandon was really glad because he was kinda burned out from all of his Shakespeare classes and campouts are not his favorite. He was thrilled that he got to go to a movie. When the kids announced he wasn't going camping and they were going to a movie instead, he thought it was a mean joke! They had a great time and so did I at a mom's planning meeting for next school year.
That weekend ushered in Spring Break for us. We had talked about doing a family vacation, but things kept getting scheduled in here and there and we finally gave in and just stayed home. I'm so glad we did!! It would have been fun to go on a trip, but it was much more fun to just be home and be together.
My favorite thing about my birthday was that I didn't have to check the clock once all day. We spent some time playing together at the park, we went to Pizza Pie Café, and we watched the new episode of Studio C. It was just so nice and relaxing and lovely to be with everyone.
We spent some time the next day at the park before taking the girls to their book club. The next morning we got up very early and drove to Fillmore to play in the hot pots there. It was a highlight of our Spring Break last year and it didn't disappoint this year either. There were some other campers there, but they were just waking up and it worked out just fine for us to enjoy the pool. We were hoping to go to the Statehouse museum again, but ran out of time. We all went up to Trenaisa's so she and Tanner could go with Dallin and the boys to the Oquirrh mountain temple. I stayed back with the little ones and had a nice visit with Paul. The younger kids had a great time with Connor and their doggies. Paul and Trenaisa are so generous to us! They fed us a wonderful dinner and sent us home with bags and bags of amazing hand-me-downs. What a blessing! Trenaisa even let the little kids take a big bubble bath in her deep jetted tub. It was such a treat, and so nice for them to go home nice and clean in fresh jammies. Sullivan completely freaked out when we turned on the jets, though!
Brandon spent all Friday at a Constitution Bowl with his Key of Liberty class. His team did not do very well, but he had fun and learned a lot about the Constitution, so it was all good. Grandma and Grandpa came that night and stayed with us. I traveled with them to Heber the next day to attend Garth Brown's funeral. (My first cousin) It was incredibly beautiful and spiritual. It was lovely to see Suzie and all of her children. She has always seemed like such a soft and spiritual person. True to that form, she delivered a very beautiful and spirit-filled life sketch of Garth's life. It was really neat to see some of the family members that I haven't seen for awhile, especially Suzie's 11 living children and their families. What an example she is! We had fun sitting at a table with Tanaya and Sheryl and Chris and Kalynn and visiting with them during the luncheon.
Nathan has been having a really great soccer year, getting better and better throughout the season. It is always amazing to me what he can do when he is so much smaller than everyone else. He has really learned how to hustle after the ball and keep up his energy during his games. He got a couple of injuries that kept him out a few times. I finally took him to the chiropractor and he instantly healed the hip flexor problem he'd been having for months. He went straight from the chiropractor to one of his final games and was able to play just fine. He hasn't had a problem with it since. Unfortunately, he never got back on top of his game. He kind of struggled for the rest of the season and ultimately told us he was done with soccer. He was done with the profanity and bullying of some of the kids on his team. It was really heartbreaking to hear that that was going on and that it really began to affect his ability to perform. He was also trying to decide what to do about choir. He decided not to try out, but to do other things. His choir teacher begged him to try out, alluding that he would be able to make the advanced choir. So Nathan practiced and made it to call backs and then wasn't chosen. And his soccer coach who is a seminary teacher belittled him in front of the team for missing a couple of practices to go to the temple. Let me just say that my mama bear instincts were fully tested! I wanted to punch a few people in the face!! I'm proud of him for handling it all so well and ultimately deciding to keep going with choir and soccer because he loves to do them. (Some of this happened in May).
Easter was really neat this year. In March, my friend showed me an e-book she downloaded about Lent. We decided to do some of the activities and try to make Easter as special and Christ-focused as Christmas. We learned some of the traditional sayings and rituals associated with lent. We put up paintings of Christ that we have from several different artists. We hung a banner in the living room that says He Is Risen! We planted Wheat Grass to remind us of resurrection. I hung my string eggs and some wallet-sized prints of Jesus over the kitchen table. It was serendipitous that when Nathan's friend returned from choir tour and told us they sang in a cathedral, but couldn't sing All Creatures of our God and King because of Lent. We pulled up some articles and found out that they save the "Alleluia" for Easter and don't use it during Lent. We all wore purple one day as it is symbolic of Christ's bruising and also his royalty. We downloaded some really beautiful music from Hoffmanhouse.com about the savior that really added to the spirit. The Sunday before Easter was my Choralais Choir concert. I was asked to prepare a children's choir number for the program. I knew I wouldn't have time to practice with a group, so I just asked if my kids could do it. They asked them to sing Gethsemane. It was really really wonderful! A lot of people said it was the highlight of the concert. Ruby, Daisy, Simon, and Sarajoy each had a little solo part. It was so cute to hear Sarajoy sing at the top of her voice, "Get-sem-a-nee, Dee-sus loves me!" and to see Simon with his little paper that he always wanted to have to remember his words. The big boys stood in the back and did background harmony. It was pretty special! We sure love that song and another one by the Hoffmans, I will Anchor My Soul In Christ, that has become a sort of anthem for our family. I also got to do a solo that really showcased my voice, so that was neat. I was surprised at how much I loved singing in the choir this year. I was so busy, but glad I made time for it. The music really stayed with me and strengthened my spirit throughout the week. I loved having a more Christ-centered Easter.
We did Easter Baskets a week early since Grandma and Grandpa were here for Spring Break. It was fun to have them be a part of it, and especially fun to stay up with Mom getting them ready. So nice to have help! We had lots of good candy, a few kinds we'd never tried before! The kids got a few fun outside things like chalk and bubbles. We got some nice soccer goals to use in the backyard and they've seen a lot of use! Hooray for having a lawn! The day before Easter was a gorgeous day, and we had a great time at the annual neighborhood Egg hunt. We were the last to leave because the hosts are so neat to visit with. Brother Bigler has helped us a lot with our landscaping and he was telling Dallin about a good deal on a used fence he knew about!
Shakespeare really got busy in April with lots of long rehearsals, and I was asked to be the costume director. The director had already purchased quite a few costumes and the boys were mostly wearing their own suits. I was in charge of all of the little details in accessories and props and also in charge of keeping everything in order and together. It was a big job, but really fun!
Thanks to Chris skyping in and giving us a tutorial, we were able to finally build the new computer. It was a really neat project. I'm still (in June) trying to figure out how to use it! It has been nice, and all of the kids have enjoyed creating on minecraft. I love how they can make their imaginings come to life. Ruby is in heaven because she made a farm with horses she can actually ride and cats that follow her around everywhere.
One night when I knew I was going to be gone and Dallin was feeling a little under the weather, I suggested he take them to the movies. The Lego movie just happened to be playing at the cheap theater. They had a great time. Dallin was thinking he'd go on a campout with the boys, but the campout ended up being cancelled. Brandon was really glad because he was kinda burned out from all of his Shakespeare classes and campouts are not his favorite. He was thrilled that he got to go to a movie. When the kids announced he wasn't going camping and they were going to a movie instead, he thought it was a mean joke! They had a great time and so did I at a mom's planning meeting for next school year.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Fulfilled
Things I've studied and learned because I am a stay at home mom:
Organization
Time Management
Meal planning and organizing
Food storage and emergency preparedness
Food preservation
Natural Medicine, nutrition
Natural Childbirth
Gardening
Discipline, Parenting, Self Discipline
How to stay calm when emotions run high.
How to be cheerful on very little sleep for extended periods of time.
How to seek and receive inspiration about my family
Homeschooling, educating
History, Science, Classical music, art, and literature
How to let go and let kids learn
How to manage a large home
How to train my children to work and contribute to the home
How to manage the use of entertainment in our lives
How to be a better wife
How to appreciate the moments
How to be thankful in adversity
How to appreciate a person as-is
How to give when I don't think there's anything left to give
How to sacrifice the insignificant for the divine
How to help and love when someone is acting unloveable
How to lose myself and become really me
And every day is brimming with more opportunities to practice patience, learn something new, learn someone better, solve problems, manage something, grow.
I am so glad that I am blessed with this life of learning by love.
It is hard, but life is hard.
What a blessing to be able to learn so much and grow so much in such a joyful way!
I get to learn the lessons that prepare me for heaven surrounded by 7 angels.
People like to comment that I have my hands full.
Oh, yes! FULL!
Organization
Time Management
Meal planning and organizing
Food storage and emergency preparedness
Food preservation
Natural Medicine, nutrition
Natural Childbirth
Gardening
Discipline, Parenting, Self Discipline
How to stay calm when emotions run high.
How to be cheerful on very little sleep for extended periods of time.
How to seek and receive inspiration about my family
Homeschooling, educating
History, Science, Classical music, art, and literature
How to let go and let kids learn
How to manage a large home
How to train my children to work and contribute to the home
How to manage the use of entertainment in our lives
How to be a better wife
How to appreciate the moments
How to be thankful in adversity
How to appreciate a person as-is
How to give when I don't think there's anything left to give
How to sacrifice the insignificant for the divine
How to help and love when someone is acting unloveable
How to lose myself and become really me
And every day is brimming with more opportunities to practice patience, learn something new, learn someone better, solve problems, manage something, grow.
I am so glad that I am blessed with this life of learning by love.
It is hard, but life is hard.
What a blessing to be able to learn so much and grow so much in such a joyful way!
I get to learn the lessons that prepare me for heaven surrounded by 7 angels.
People like to comment that I have my hands full.
Oh, yes! FULL!
March Notes
March started out with another Speech and Debate tournament. I just love being able to go and be a judge and be with the kids! Ruby and her friend got to come along and help take care of their baby. It was really fun to be there with a friend. It was the first time I'd ever judged Student Congress. It was really fun! It kept me busy because I had to keep track of the action and make notes on 17 or 18 kids all at once. Some of them had really silly bills and others had really intelligent ones. The interesting thing was to see how they voted. Sometimes it was just to keep things moving, not because they really had the details of the bill worked out. Sounds a bit too familiar...
Brandon had a fun birthday. We celebrated part of it early because he had a campout that weekend. We had the traditional Bagel breakfast and had vegetable bagels for lunch instead. It was fun to share that lunch with the Jacob Meyers family who we were visiting with that day. Brandon has developed a really great friendship with Jared and Isaac's cousin Michael! It has been so fun to get to know their family better. That night we rewarded Nathan for finishing his Eagle project with a Vocal Point concert. It was very very enjoyable and fun! It was not very expensive compared to the globetrotters game, but way more fun! Dallin, Nathan, and Simon got up early to go to meet Brandon at the campout. They were at the Midway hot springs and had a great time. As soon as they got home, we were all excited to watch Brandon open the giant presents that had been sitting covered in the guest room for a couple of weeks! Inside were all of the components for a new computer for him to build so he could work on some graphic design stuff and FINALLY get his own minecraft account! I was excited to find Sour Patch gum because it combines two of Brandon's favorite things! Grandma got him the zipline set for his nanobugs, and it is so fun! Then we headed out for an early dinner at the Pizza Pie Café. It is a salad/pizza/pasta/dessert pizza buffet. It was pretty good food and fun for everyone. Plus we had a buy-one-get-one coupon for up to 4 uses that made it very affordable!
The next week I went to a class and came home with some herbal remedies that we made right there. Seems like stuff like that will become more and more of a blessing to know about and have as the healthcare goes farther and farther south.
For Sullivan's birthday, we unveiled a spring surprise for our kids: We bought two mini-tramps and some gymnastics pads for the racquetball court. So fun, and perfect for an activity for his birthday. We went to the Gem Show in Spanish Fork which is always a fun free activity. They give each of the kids a polished stone, and they can buy a variety bag of rocks and learn what each one is for $1. Sarajoy was so excited to bring her purse and get to buy things. She has just recently started earning money, and she loves it so much! Her purse is really big and she's so cute carrying it. After the Gem show, I wanted to get a couple of things for Sullivan, so we decided to get some "hangaburgers", which he was really excited about. I got him some fun balloons and pinwheels at the dollar store. He also got some really awesome motorcycles from Grandma that he loved and took everywhere. We got him a big nerf soccer ball and a nano goldfish that really swims in water. It is really cute! We had Trenaisa's family for dinner and she brought him the cutest Duplo Lego set that you can make several different vehicles with. It is the perfect addition to our other little sets like that. I love it when presents can make an old toy seem new again. After he ate his cake, he got to have a bath with his little fishy. So fun! He LOVED having a birthday. He had donuts for his cake. It wasn't until days later that I realized that all of the other kids got an elephant cake on their 2nd birthdays. Bummer.
Nathan did a presentation on his Eagle project for the Empty Nester's Family Home Evening group. He did a really good job. That weekend was a reunion dinner and slide show for the people who went to Mexico. It was great for me to meet some of the people they got to know so well. We had Milee join in on Skype, and it was really fun. I was surprised that she stuck with it for so long. I think they people all really enjoyed her and vice versa. I'm glad it worked out for her to go. I had fun taking the girls to the Women's Broadcast. We all went to Wendy's afterwards to use some coupons. Eating out is a pretty fun family activity. We had a lot of fun that night. I love how much fun and liveliness teenage boys bring to our family. For Dallin's birthday we went to the temple and we got him a large print of Agony in the Garden from the Sacred Gifts exhibit. It really is such a touching portrayal of that sacred event. We always have tacos and strawberry shortcake as well! I got him a new waffle iron, too.
Brandon had a fun birthday. We celebrated part of it early because he had a campout that weekend. We had the traditional Bagel breakfast and had vegetable bagels for lunch instead. It was fun to share that lunch with the Jacob Meyers family who we were visiting with that day. Brandon has developed a really great friendship with Jared and Isaac's cousin Michael! It has been so fun to get to know their family better. That night we rewarded Nathan for finishing his Eagle project with a Vocal Point concert. It was very very enjoyable and fun! It was not very expensive compared to the globetrotters game, but way more fun! Dallin, Nathan, and Simon got up early to go to meet Brandon at the campout. They were at the Midway hot springs and had a great time. As soon as they got home, we were all excited to watch Brandon open the giant presents that had been sitting covered in the guest room for a couple of weeks! Inside were all of the components for a new computer for him to build so he could work on some graphic design stuff and FINALLY get his own minecraft account! I was excited to find Sour Patch gum because it combines two of Brandon's favorite things! Grandma got him the zipline set for his nanobugs, and it is so fun! Then we headed out for an early dinner at the Pizza Pie Café. It is a salad/pizza/pasta/dessert pizza buffet. It was pretty good food and fun for everyone. Plus we had a buy-one-get-one coupon for up to 4 uses that made it very affordable!
The next week I went to a class and came home with some herbal remedies that we made right there. Seems like stuff like that will become more and more of a blessing to know about and have as the healthcare goes farther and farther south.
For Sullivan's birthday, we unveiled a spring surprise for our kids: We bought two mini-tramps and some gymnastics pads for the racquetball court. So fun, and perfect for an activity for his birthday. We went to the Gem Show in Spanish Fork which is always a fun free activity. They give each of the kids a polished stone, and they can buy a variety bag of rocks and learn what each one is for $1. Sarajoy was so excited to bring her purse and get to buy things. She has just recently started earning money, and she loves it so much! Her purse is really big and she's so cute carrying it. After the Gem show, I wanted to get a couple of things for Sullivan, so we decided to get some "hangaburgers", which he was really excited about. I got him some fun balloons and pinwheels at the dollar store. He also got some really awesome motorcycles from Grandma that he loved and took everywhere. We got him a big nerf soccer ball and a nano goldfish that really swims in water. It is really cute! We had Trenaisa's family for dinner and she brought him the cutest Duplo Lego set that you can make several different vehicles with. It is the perfect addition to our other little sets like that. I love it when presents can make an old toy seem new again. After he ate his cake, he got to have a bath with his little fishy. So fun! He LOVED having a birthday. He had donuts for his cake. It wasn't until days later that I realized that all of the other kids got an elephant cake on their 2nd birthdays. Bummer.
Nathan did a presentation on his Eagle project for the Empty Nester's Family Home Evening group. He did a really good job. That weekend was a reunion dinner and slide show for the people who went to Mexico. It was great for me to meet some of the people they got to know so well. We had Milee join in on Skype, and it was really fun. I was surprised that she stuck with it for so long. I think they people all really enjoyed her and vice versa. I'm glad it worked out for her to go. I had fun taking the girls to the Women's Broadcast. We all went to Wendy's afterwards to use some coupons. Eating out is a pretty fun family activity. We had a lot of fun that night. I love how much fun and liveliness teenage boys bring to our family. For Dallin's birthday we went to the temple and we got him a large print of Agony in the Garden from the Sacred Gifts exhibit. It really is such a touching portrayal of that sacred event. We always have tacos and strawberry shortcake as well! I got him a new waffle iron, too.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Early Spring
Lovely weather came so early this year.
Flowers blooming.
Front Lawn growing in.
Birds and buds and bugs.
I was ready for a season of renewal.
Flowers blooming.
Front Lawn growing in.
Birds and buds and bugs.
I was ready for a season of renewal.
Friday, February 28, 2014
January and February Notes
January was all about trying to get back into the swing of things. It was really hard! I was just too tired from the hectic December to let myself jump back into a fast-paced routine. One of my favorite new habits is to get up in the morning for scriptures with Dallin and the big boys and go lie on the couch on my side. Soon Ruby's alarm would go off, and she'd come down all wrapped up in her blanket and cuddle down behind my legs in my "nest". It was sooo cozy and nice to start the day with cuddles and we'd drift in and out of sleep while listening to the scriptures in Spanish and English. Often the other kids would come for a cuddle or a story as we slowly started the morning. I'm tempted to say "not super productive", but I know it is just a different kind of productive. A lot of us had lingering sickness that was never really bad, but left us feeling tired and achy. The girls had a lot of earaches, sore throats, and swollen glands. I took Brandon to a Speech and Debate tournament at LDS Business College. He did really well. I really like that school. It has a nice feeling to it.
I don't know if I've mentioned this, but we started using our weekly character qualities chart that we got from the Duggars' website to give us a theme for each family evening. It has been great because it takes away the guesswork of "what are we doing for FHE?" as well as helping us dig a little deeper into the meaning and application of the virtues. Our co-op hosted a family dance. I was nervous about being mostly in charge of it. It turned out really great! We did a little math/science fair with our co-op just before the dance started. Brandon did a little demonstration on the "Dice of the Gods" which is a set of regular solids that fit inside one another. It was neat to see the symbolism and see how it crossed many cultures and religions. I thought it was amazing that when you have 2-dimensional objects, there are an almost infinite number of regular shapes (regular meaning all sides are equal), but when you add the third dimension, there are only 5 regular solids.
It February we still kept things slow. We focused on relationships instead of achievements. We spent time with friends that helped us know them and learn and grow from them. We've been involved with a Commonwealth this year. It is a sort of co-op that offers classes for homeschooled youth. Once a month they have a parent meeting. We have had some neat discussions about learning and liberty and about preparing our children to deal with persecution and about focusing our families on the Savior. It is so nice to feel supported and get ideas. I've really enjoyed going to them with Dallin. Dallin and the boys went to the Klondike derby this month. They were happy to have snow. They placed 2nd out of 50 troops, so not so bad! We love the Porter Valentine Party every year! Yahoo! I love doing the folk and ballroom dances. Thanks for putting up with a lot of Virginia Reel! I am always excited when every age can enjoy an activity like that. On the 21st was the Shakespeare Fair for Brandon's class. I was pleasantly surprised to see what a great turnout we had and what some of the fun activities were. We had dinner there and watched Brandon get "crowned King" the 2nd year in a row for reading/watching/ or listening to at least 17 unabridged Shakespeare plays. Brandon's math/science class phased out so we decided to have him take the 2nd semester of Key of Liberty because his teacher wasn't able to finish out the year last year. I sat in on the class a couple of times and was really impressed with the great stuff they were learning about the government and how much Heavenly Father loves liberty. We also had a fun Valentine party with our co-op. So far Sarajoy has used her box for 3 years and just adds a little to it each year. Simon made a cute Alligator box and handed his train valentine box down to Sullivan. Daisy updated the froggy that Ruby used last year. Brandon did his trash can with the pop-up lid from last year and Ruby made a really cute giraffe.
The last day of the month, we went on a group date with our friends from Spanish Fork to the BYU Museum of Art to see the sacred gifts exhibit. It was so nice to be able to go slowly and read the information and really enjoy the art. It was also great to catch up with our friends and have a nice dinner with them.
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