Mazel Tov!

ma·zel tov  

/ˈmäzəl ˌtôv/

Exclamation A Jewish phrase expressing congratulations or wishing someone good luck.

Today's the day.  Erica's up, dressed, out the door, and leaving on a jet plane in an hour.  She meets up with 81 other students and they'll arrive in Jerusalem tomorrow morning our time.  Can't wait to hear about all the adventures over the next 31/2 months!

Mazel Tov!

(After taking my parents to the airport for Australia and Erica for Jerusalem, I'm feeling like heading somewhere exotic myself. Somehow grocery shopping tomorrow is just not cutting it for me!  Oh, wait, I get to drive to school again this afternoon.  That should do it... or not!)

Graduation Flashmob

Other people had functioning cameras at graduation last week.  I'm glad, because they were able to record this:



Fun memories!

It Really Does Happen

For all those who feel like these days will never end...

I'm here to say that they do- even though I didn't believe it back then.

And you really will turn around and wonder where the time went. 

 

And you'll wonder when, exactly, did her friends switch from the stuffed, plush type to the living, breathing help-you-be-the-best-you-can-be type?

 And you'll feel happy and sad at the same time.  But mostly happy.

 And you'll wish that you had fully charged the battery in your camera before you left home.  Because then the picture of your child leaving the auditorium to get in line to be announced as a graduate won't be the last picture on the camera with a good "zoom" function.

And you'll be left taking the picture of her big moment with your cell phone. (Which at least you'll have and be grateful for it!)

(Still not perfect parents- not sure exactly when that part comes- but blessed to have such amazing children, anyway!)

 

Congratulations, Erica!

Leaving the Comfort Zone

3-part miracle for today:

1) Sang a duet with Erica at Seminary Graduation.("Oh How Lovely was the Morning" arranged by Janice Kapp Perry)
2) Sang all the words.
3) Did not pass out from stage fright.

 Good day all around.  I've earned a good night's sleep.  'Night!

Sweet Heart

It's dance season again. Erica is off tonight at the Sweet Heart dance. No sweet heart for her, just a good friend- Ben. She wanted a red or pink dress and lucky her, we found a fantastic deal on the perfect dress at the first store. Some body upstairs must love her! She has the camera with the other pictures, so this will have to suffice for now.

Thanks, Thanks, and Thanks

“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs”
Spencer W. Kimball (“Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, Dec. 1974, 5).

And sometimes he meets our wants. And sometimes it's in ways we wouldn't necessarily have chosen.

This week has been a great example. The screen door on our house has needed to have the screen replaced since we moved in. (That would be over two years ago, in case you've lost count!) Every morning I look at it and think how terrible it looks. Then I remind myself I don't have time to take it off it's hinges and replace it, so I walk on through and do my best to ignore it. I think Heavenly Father got tired of my silent wishes. This week the screws on the lower hinge pulled out of the frame. Twice. I now dreaded going through the door because we really didn't have time to fix it until today and it now sounded terrible as the bottom dragged across the porch. And, if I thought the screen had looked bad before, well swinging in every possible direction from only the top hinge wasn't doing anything to improve my opinion of the situation.

Enter today and my sweet husband. He spent the better part of the day working on the frame and hinges. I spent the better part of an hour on the screen. He wins the prize for doing the most work, hands down. End result is that we have an unblemished screen on a door that not only is hung properly, but now closes all the way by itself, no scraping sound effects included. Bonus!

Or, how about that food storage we're always working to build? Some days it seems like we aren't getting anywhere. Nearly a year ago we signed up for Sunday papers to get coupons. I hadn't had a ton of success over the summer and was considering canceling the paper. This week Macey's had Libby's canned veggies on sale for 3 cans for $1. That was a great price I hadn't seen in a long time, so I ad matched it at Wal-mart and bought 2 dozen cans. Then, on Sunday, both the Parade magazine and one of the coupon inserts had coupons for $1 off three cans. Well, they were still on sale for $.33 each at Maceys so off I went and bought 33 cans for something like $.34- I still had to pay sales tax. New printable coupons for $1 off 3 cans of Libby's veggies came out the day after the sale went off. Drat. Figures! At least I'd gotten what I could. I'd just save those coupons and hope for another sale before they expired. Greg brought home a copy of the Daily Universe from work later in the week. Macey's ran a one page ad that included 3/$1 Libbys veggies extended until Friday at the Provo store only. So, happy, cheap date night, we went and bought 24 more cans for $.25 total. The shelf is full and the wallet's not totally empty.

And, sticking with the finance theme, Erica was in the market for a Homecoming dress. She'd been asked by a nice guy from school and was looking forward to a fun evening. She and I have looked a bit for dresses, but not found anything. Someone mentioned yesterday that Penneys had dresses on sale- and clearance prices at that. We headed over there this morning. Lo and behold, the second one she tries on looks great and is modest. It also has a clearance price tag for $27. Mom and daughter are both very happy! Upon checkout, it rings up at $13.97 for a with-tax total of $14.91. Even happier! Less than an hour of shopping, a cute dress, and a fabulous price. Who could ask for more?

Now, none of those things mentioned above are needs in the sense that we were going to die if we didn't have them. A screen does allow us to enjoy the cool breezes while keeping the bugs out of the house. We are counseled to have food storage and there have been times when we've really needed it, so we do our best to be obedient. Homecoming isn't a required event, but it sure is a fun date and a memorable part of high school. (However, if you agree to go to the dance, you do need to wear clothes. That one is an absolute must.) Wants they all were on some level- verbalized or not. I like to think that Heavenly Father was watching over us this week and through many different people, most of whom have no idea who we are, gave us little gifts to lift our spirits and brighten our journey here on earth. None was big or grandiose, just something small to let us know He's up there and aware of us and our needs. I know that I'll be saying silent thank-yous every morning on my way out the screen door, each time I open a can of vegetables, and as I smile and wave Erica out the door to the dance. And, those are just three of the reasons today I have to say thanks.

Dances, and Cameras, and Little Girls All Grown Up

Tonight is Senior Ball. Our camera was temporarily unavailable so I borrowed one from a friend. I don't normally post a ton of pictures, but the camera was so nice we had lots of fun figuring out how to use it and pretending we knew how to set up a shot. What a great daughter I have to be ready early so we had time for this! Here are some of my favorites.

She did have a date, too, but I tried to not be an obnoxious parent and take a million pictures after he got here. That means I just snapped a couple of them together and sent them out the door. Tanner was her date to Prom last month, in case his picture looks a little bit familiar.

Monday

It's 1:30 (in the p.m.) and I should be taking a shower, but I'm allowing myself to be slightly distracted for a little bit.

My day started out just fine. I even got up a little early to read my scriptures before everyone else was up and the noise level increased. The idea was that when I got back from walking my boys to school and getting some exercise I could come right in the house and get busy cleaning my bathrooms. Today was my day to do a complete Houseblessing. (If you've never heard of a Houseblessing, click here and scroll down to "Basic Weekly Plan".)

I was thwarted. Trying to be a cool mom and remember what it's like to be 16 with a freshly minted drivers license, I finally agreed to let Erica drive the van to school. Her Auto class will even wash it and change the oil for practice today. (Good deal, if no one dies and nothing gets munched in the parking lot. I've driven in that lot and others like it and am not totally sold on the idea.) The idea being that Erica can drive and I have to be home with my house blessing because I can't let a little errand- like that stamp I need- distract me.

I left the house with my boys right on time. We walked down to our friends and were just leaving their house when Ryan informs me he forgot his backpack. Not a big deal, except that it's a bit of a walk back up to our house and would require running all of the 3/4 of a mile to school to be on time. I'm all for exercise, but not so much for killing myself. I contemplated making him go to school without it and dealing with the consequences but today is "Penguin Parade Day". I had to get up at 7:30 (the only day to sleep in last week, mind you) on Saturday morning to help my 3rd grader make "clothes" for a paper penguin out of material scraps. I'll be darned if they don't get to parade! I didn't have a car to make the clothing run later or to drive Ryan to school. I probably should have just made him run and/or be late.

Deborah, my friend and hero of the day, offers to drive me back home, then to take the kids to school. (She's the best, by the way.) I thought I'd go for the drive so we could visit a little bit. Still trying to make Ryan somewhat responsible for his actions, I gave him the house key and sent him in to get the backpack. He did just that and very obediently locked the door with my keys still sitting inside on the chair. AHHHH!! Deborah added "Drive Shannon to Greg to get a key" to her list of things to do today and even managed to not laugh at me too much. Greg did, though.

Deborah and I visited for a while- longer than we would have on our walk- which was way more fun than cleaning bathrooms. I grabbed a midmorning snack and got going on the bathrooms. I got 1-3/4 done. The second just needs a floor job. I did get the floor in the laundry room washed, too. That's amazing in and of itself. The third bathroom will just have to wait. The rest of the houseblessing? Maybe next week, or later this week if the stars align.

So, here I sit with dry skin on my hands and the rest of me in desperate need of a shower. I need to leave in an hour to get the kids so that I can have at least a little exerecise today. My to-do list was hardly scratched today, but I'm thinking the following. It's sunny and almost 40 outside. If I don't look up, I can even ignore the terrible air quality from the inversion. The cleanliness of the house is a notch above what it was this morning. I have a family who fills it with love (and sometimes other stuff!) whenever they're here. They all love to be home and have their friends here. I have friends who are willing to help out at a moments notice and like me even if I haven't showered. I am blessed and wouldn't have it any other way. I'll clean the bathrooms and whatever else when I get to it. Someday my days and house will be quiet and empty much longer than the current school day. For now, I'm happy and in 30 minutes I'll be clean. What more can I ask for?

Mother/Daughter Time, round 2 and Happy Thanksgiving

Thanks to the school district for giving Erica and I some more fun mother/daughter time. The entire school district has Wednesday off for Thanksgiving, but for some reason, the highschool only has a half day on Tuesday as well. It worked out well for us, though. See, Erica turned 16 recently and her permit was expiring soon and she finished her driving course at school so we made good use of her time today and went to get her a drivers license. Woo hoo!

One Happy, Licensed, Young Lady

(When did we we get over training wheels?)

(Side note- It's kind of weird for me still. I'm not too excited to have her take the car out the first time alone. I think it's the control freak in me and a little paranoia sets in when I think what COULD happen, though probably WON'T happen. I've already explained to her I'll probably be a little weird about it and to just be patient and humor me when I don't want her to go farther than the church! She just smiled and said ok and then very wisely didn't ask to drive today. A nut case mom can only handle so much excitement in her life in one day! I got over driving in the car with her, I'm sure I'll figure out not driving in the car with her. Surely I was an older 16-year-old- not that she's a problem child, I just remember changing diapers and helping her learn to ride a bike. There was much more time between those things and driving for me, at least from my perspective!)

There was a miracle involved with this experience. School got out at 11:40 and I was 5 minutes late picking her up at school. It's a 15 minute drive, or so, over the the Driver's License Division from school. We were done and driving away at 12:24 on the van clock (which is set 3 minutes fast, so it was really 12:21). In case you don't want to do the math, that's 36 minutes from pick-up at school to finished at the DLD. Never, in my wildest dreams would I have thought a person could get a new driver's license in such a short time. Granted, she did both the written and driving portions of the test as part of the driver's ed class at school (finally found a good reason for that school fee!) so all we had to do was turn in paper work, pay for it, and take her picture. Still, I think that's pretty amazing. Here I was, hoping that the 3 hours I had before Steven and Ryan got out of school would be enough and we were done in 36 minutes. We ran a couple of errands on the way home and celebrated with Sam's Club deluxe pizza at the end. (I know, you're jealous!) Pretty fun day thanks, again, to the school district and their days off.

Tomorrow everyone (except Greg) is home. The kids are planning an all day Star Wars marathon and I'm starting the baking for Thanksgiving. If everyone shows up for the movies that has said they're coming, I may have to bake a bunch of extra goodies! We'll see!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

What are you grateful for this year?

Football or New Moon...Decisions, Decisions

For those of you not following the UT 4A High School Football playoffs (and that would include us), Erica's high school made it to the championship game. It happens to be today. For some odd reason, they play these games in the middle of the day on a school day. Maybe it's just because we're a 4A and not a 5A school and the 5A might play tonight. And, since they play at the U of U and there's a chance the U of U might want their team to play on the field tomorrow and not ours. Either way, the school district has this little policy that if the school can pre-sell 1000 tickets to the game, they'll cancel school for the day so all the students can go. Erica pointed out that there are very few high school students who wouldn't pay a couple of bucks to get a day off, whether they actually go to the game or not. She assures me that she did not do that, though. So, it's been an anxious week as they've waited to hear on the school status for today. The great news arrived during lunch yesterday. 1000 tickets had been sold! No school at the high school today! Erica called to tell me right then and woke me up from a nap, so I was less than excited or supportive in this wonderful turn of events.

I suddenly found myself with some quantity mother/daughter time and I changed up my plans so it could be quality time as well. She chose to sleep a bit this morning, which was fine. I walked the boys to school like normal and then planned to take Erica shopping to get the items I meant to get for her birthday (Happy Birthday!) but circumstances prevented my actually getting to the store. She had other plans and met me at the door when I got home excitedly announcing that there was a showing of "New Moon" at 10:00 this morning. We could see it and still have time for me to get back to help out with Book Club in Steven's class. Why not?! She's been pushing for this movie to be the "reward" movie for all those in the family with no cavities- which would be everyone but me. I know for a fact that Greg doesn't want to see it and no matter how much Erica tries to convince herself and them otherwise, I'm pretty sure her brothers don't want to see it either.

We picked up friend, Katie, on the way and had quite a bit of fun. The movie's better than the first- at least at following the storyline. We had to split up because we weren't three hours early for seats. I got to sit behind Erica and Katie, right next to 2 pre-teens who were skipping school and at the movies with one of their mothers. Judging by all the twittering and nervous giggles, they weren't the only ones who should have been in school and were not. Pre-teen girls should not be allowed to watch this movie. They also should not be allowed to be interested in boys. There are way too many new hormones trying to figure out where they belong and too many parts in the movie that get them all out of whack. Pre-teen boys would probably be ok, though they'd wonder why a good action flick has to be interrupted so often with all the lovey stuff. Either way, I've now seen it, Greg hasn't, the boys are off the hook, and Erica, Katie, and I had a fun morning. Thanks, football team, for making it to the championships and giving Erica the day off.

Oh, BTW, we won 35-6. We learned that from the teen-age boys in our house who went to school today and saw snatches of the game on TV there. Maybe the school district should hold school and just show the game instead of holding class. Just a thought. Of course, I wouldn't go to school to watch with Erica, so maybe this way's better in the end- quality, quantity mother/daughter/friend time. Though, showing the game and holding school would not result in my being anywhere near twittering pre-teen girls on a Friday morning. Ah, decisions, decisions!

Right

I should be doing dishes, but I don't feel like it. I want to write something, but haven't figured how to put what I want to say into words. Rock and a hard place. Tough one.

For those that don't know, we've had a pretty amazing weekend. The kids had Fall Break beginning last Wednesday. It happened to coincide with the first available time at the Mesa Temple for my one-year-ago baptized brother-in-law to take my sister and their sweet family to the Mesa temple to be sealed for eternity. Greg, his dad (Tom), and I were able to spend part of an afternoon in the Mesa temple with three of our children doing baptisms and confirmations. Another brother was able to schedule his 8-year-old daughter's baptism for the same weekend. All of my siblings, most of their spouses, both of my parents, my father-in-law, and my grandmother were able to be together for a few days. I love my family, all of it, both sides, and I love every minute we get to spend together.

The kids picked up perfectly timed cases of gatroenteritis on the drive home. Even this turned out to have several silver linings. Since all 5 were all sick at the same time they kind of watched out for each other. Sunday morning found them all on the floor in the living room with blankets and bowls, keeping each other company. That sight continued while Greg, Tom, and I went to church that afternoon. We were met there by Greg's brother (Mike) and his wife (Terri) and later my Aunt Nancy. They were all in our ward to be present while Greg was sustained as our bishop that day. All 5 of our kids missed it. I tried calling home on the cell phone so they could at least listen on the speaker phone at home, but the mike on my cell phone wasn't strong enough. The sweetest part came when Tom and I got home after church, though. The kids had really wanted to be there and were bummed when they couldn't hear anything. Since they couldn't hear what was happening and when, they picked a random spot during their meeting and all raised their hands to sustain their dad on their own. I don't know why that meant so much to me. I guess I just felt like that was the end of any issues we'd have with dad being bishop and gone alot. I hope I'm right.

I slept more and better than I had in weeks that night. Probably had nothing at all to do with getting no sleep the night before with kids sick all night. I know it had lots to do with a feeling of peace and that everything was right. Travel was done, we'd had some great family time, and the stress of keeping hushed about the bishop news was over. Everyone keeps asking me how life is going now. All I can say is great so far. Regular life hasn't been affected at all (knock on wood at the end of day three!). The kids are all back on their feet and back to school. I'm coming to grips with the fact that my remaining time in YW is rapidly growing very short. Even the dishes and backlog on the rest of the housework haven't been able to disrupt this feeling that everything is just "right" with the world. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm loving it.

You're Invited!! (Or at least you should have been.)

It's August. At our house that means lots of things are going on. This year the list looks something like this so far: the end of youth conference, Shan's birthday, a little Nelson reunion, Greg's birthday, Steven's birthday, friends visiting for BYU Education Week, the start of school, the start of soccer, the start of school again, the start of soccer for a second time, and our anniversary. I always hope that September brings a little bit of calm, but I'm giving up on that this year. So, bring on the rest of the birthdays and holidays and I'm looking forward to a fabulous nap in January. I've included a few pictures, if I have them, so you can feel a part of our month and all the celebrations, even if I forgot to send an invitation in time.

Shan in Maple Canyon on her birthday and at the end of Youth Conference (It's a "two-fer-one" shot. Facebook has the rest of the Youth Conference pics or email and I'll send you an invitation. The other birthday pics are of me blowing out candles with wet hair. They will not be posted here or on Facebook. Not even if you send me an email.)

Most of the Nelsons in town for our little reunion.
We're on the observation deck at the Church Office Building in Salt Lake trying to not be blown off. Majorly windy day. Others joined us later in the week, but I don't have any pictures.

Happy Birthday to all the Nelsons who have a birthday in August!
(Shan, Terri, Julia, Greg, Steven, Mike, and David)

Happy Birthday, Greg!
(He's holding the wooden knives that Steven carved for him.)

Happy Birthday, Steven!
He's holding the wooden knife Greg carved for him. It was a carving week. He also wanted this picture left just the way it was because, and I quote, "We look AWESOME with red eyes."

It was also an electric week capped with the complete dismantling of an old boom box when Steven got a new one for his birthday (which was still in the box at this point!). And I quote, "This is even better than video games!" So, I guess they really are happier without real presents. It may not be boxes like when they were 1, but old radios seem to make great presents. That should save on money spent at Christmas. (hint! hint!)

I forgot to take any pictures of our the two sweet ladies who stayed with us during Education Week, but they would go right here in our time line if they existed. I would like to make it to Ed. Week at some ppint. Unfortunately, it falls on the first week of school and I kind of feel like a mom ought to be around that first week. Maybe I'm crazy, but Ed. Week will still be there even when I don't have to think about the magical First Day of School.

That brings us to the first First Day of School:

Joseph- 7th grade

Steven- 5th grade

Ryan- 3rd grade (Yes, I TRIED to tell him those shorts didn't really match and couldn't he PLEASE make a better First Day impression and change into jean shorts, but he was quite adamant that black goes with blue and this is what he wanted to wear on his first day. Oh well. Moms worry about that kind of thing too much, I guess.)

The first First Day of school was also the first soccer game for Ryan this season.
(Don't you just LOVE his shorts? He does.)

A small diversion. Greg was working on a video project for the Library this week. This is the Science section at the library on the first First Day of School for us. Notice that it is empty. They have not started school, yet, and for some reason the people at Education Week don't stop down there much. I kept trying to get my friends to go down there for a nap because it's quite and there are soft couches to lay on, but I don't think even they stopped in. Oh well, their loss!

We had two first days of school because the middle school and high school use the first First Day of School as an orientation for the incoming 7th and 9th graders respectively. So, Joseph, Steven, and Ryan went on the first First Day. Erica and Spencer went on the second First Day.

Erica- 11th grade
(Yes, she catches the bus at "Sun-rise O'clock"- at least for now. Later in the fall and winter she catches it pre-dawn.)

Spencer- 8th grade

If we had a kindergartner we would have a third First Day, but that's not until next week and thankfully it won't impact our lives. Whew! Our little friend, Lizzie, is very anxiously counting down the days, though.

The second First Day also happened to fall on our 17th anniversary. It did not even dawn on me to take any pictures. Greg took the following:

because the second First Day and our anniversary also happened to be Steven's first soccer game day. It was also soccer practice for Spencer and Joseph as well as the open house at the middle school. Greg went with Steven while I took Spencer and Joseph. So, in order to have a little celebration, Greg took the day off and we went to the temple and out to lunch at the Sky Room Restaurant at BYU. (There are many, many Ed. Week people that visit the Sky Room. Maybe that's why they're not in the library.)

Well, that's it for now. Greg, Spencer, and Joseph had a scout camp out last night (no pictures, aren't you glad!) and we had a Stake picnic tonight.

As my friend, Lisa, named her- Erica Shortcake

Our friend, Dallas.
And everyone thinks we are boring people. Just look how wild and crazy we can be.

I thought it was nice of the Stake to fix dinner for me to celebrate our second-day-after-our-anniversary. Do you celebrate that day? We usually don't either.

I should probably write...

As the title of this blog is "Everyday Miracles", the idea was to record everyday, or at least close to it. Who knew July 8 was so long ago!

So, what's miraculous about today, or even any of the last 15?

1) The pumpkins have lived and we actually have a pumpkin growing. For some reason, there are currently LOTS of male flowers on the plants, so one is all we have, but it appears there may be a couple more female flowers opening soon.

2) Two days ago I got all the laundry washed, folded, and into the right bedroom. Yesterday was the same, only because I never put any laundry into the laundry room. As a result, the baskets in the laundry room were put away and empty for more than 24 hours.

3) We had a Young Women presidency meeting that only lasted 45 minutes.

4) I found out that even though school is going to be starting a day later than originally announced, all of the extra days off have been canceled- I assume for budgetary reasons. Now we only have days off around actual holidays. I'm happy, Erica is not.

5) Steven and Ryan have somehow kept themselves nicely entertained even though Spencer and Joseph are at scout camp.

6) The heat has reminded me that the person who invented air conditioning deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

7) Sparkling blueberry frozen yogurt is really yummy. Another wonderful invention.

8) Saw a perfect clear double rainbow right outside the front door.

9) Made tofu spinach dip and people (most of whom were not related to me) actually liked it. Erica was the only real exception, though I'm not sure Greg ever had the chance to try it.

10) Watched Greg run the games for the little kids at the Library picnic and was reminded why he's such a great dad.

11) Joseph told me he likes baby carrots. (About fell down at that announcement.)

12) Ryan said he's beginning to like green beans. (Good thing I was already sitting down at the table. FYI- I don't know what the current "# of times to try before they like it" guide doctors are telling moms these days, but for us it was 8 years, 1 month, and about 2 weeks of having green beans a couple of times a week.)

13) USM didn't raise their tuition for Greg's MLIS program for the fall.

14) After a year of living here, Greg and I fixed the sprinkling system. Now, not only do all the heads spray like they should, not one of them needed to be replaced. They just had dirt, rocks, lint, and grass inside the filters or needed the spray levels adjusted.

15) I hiked up to the "Y" twice in 3 days and had fun doing so.

16) Saw the chewed piece of gum that some passerby thought would be funny to stick on the black car door handle in the hot sun before I put my thumb in it when opening the door after shopping and had a piece of paper handy to remove it.

So, what little miracles have happened for you today?

10 Random Things For Today

I'm in the mood to write, but don't have really anything to say. It's kind of a strange predicament. So, we'll see what we get with a little stream of consciousness exercise.

1) Erica voluntarily sat and watched both sessions of conference today. And took notes. It was cool, but kind of strange. That's definitely a new attitude.

2) The boys only watched the few minutes of conference that we asked them to. That means all 4 watched when the the new member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Neil L. Andersen, was announced and Spencer and Joseph watch when Bro. Neider spoke to the young men and then at the Priesthood session, of course. Otherwise, they didn't interrupt us or fight once during both sessions. It was cool, but kind of strange. That, too, is definitely a new attitude. (We should have General Conference weekend more often!)

3) We watched "The Count of Monte Cristo" with the kids last night. They loved it, especially all the sword fighting and treasure.

4) The General YM Presidency was released today. Bros. Dahlquist and Burgess spoke at the YW Training that I went to earlier this week. Bro. Dahlquist finished his Virtue value three weeks before Sis. Dalton, the General YW President. Yes, that is a YW project, but I think it's great that he did it. I'm getting there, but am not done yet. Consider yourself challenged to complete it as well. Click on the link for more info.

5) We got a piece of junk mail addressed "To The Parents of" Greg today. What?! How did that happen?

6) Our mailman lives down the street. I'd ask him about the junk mail, but he doesn't address it, he just delivers it.

7) We had popcorn and tomato soup, quesadillas, and pears for dinner. Except for one child about the pears, there were no complaints. Miracle. I even heard some "yum"s and "yes!"s while I was serving it up.

8) I love watching the weather move across the valley. Today we had little falling balls of snow. Not ice or hail, snow, and I could see the sun shining farther south.

9) I should be writing a newsletter. I thought this would be faster, though, and then I could go to bed.

10) I think my Stream of Consciousness either dried up or became a Stream of Unconsciousness because that's all that is coming to mind.

Happy Saturday. Hope you have a great weekend!

Joy Cometh in the Morning (Psalms 30:5)

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

Joseph turned twelve a week and a half ago. Because his birthday fell on a Monday, he wasn't able to get a temple recommend until the following Sunday, so today was his first trip to the temple. The last couple of weeks have been nice, but this morning there was a slight dusting of snow on the ground and it was pretty chilly- all the more incentive to hurry up and get inside. It was crowded today for some reason, but it was a great morning. I loved watching Spencer play the role of big brother beautifully and direct Joseph where he needed to be. Once again, I'm so grateful that Erica wanted to start this as a weekly experience and I overrode my own hesitations and agreed. The above scripture, 3 John 1:4, has been running through my head all day. I think there may be only one joy greater- to actually be able to see it.

Post Pre-Birthday Camp Out

This is what I found last night when I went to check on everyone:
(Sorry, but I can't figure out how to turn of the underlining. This must be REALLY important stuff!)

What an amazing amount of rest is going on!


This is the result this morning:

The only thing that got any one out of bed today was the promise of Joseph's presents and donuts and juice. Good thing there was no school today. I thought they'd crash at some point, but they made it all the way through. Bed time was pretty welcome, though!

Erica Report

I told Erica I would make sure to give a report. After 3+ months, she and I both drug up enough courage to let her drive on the freeway. She did great! It was dark, which made it hard to see but reduced the amount of traffic. It was a good trade off. I didn't even get nervous. I think she did, but she handled it really well.

We were headed over to the store to get her a pair of running shoes. She called from school last week to ask if she could be on the track team. That was the last request I expected to hear, but what do you say when your child wants to get a little more exercise?! So, she's had one day of practice (her legs are still wondering what the heck happened!) and we've done the physical thing, bought shorts and now running shoes. Right now her plan is to run in the 100 and 400 meters and compete in the high jump. We'll see how it goes. The first track meet is tomorrow, but she's bowing out. Having only had one running day since soccer in 4th grade does not prepared one make. (That sounds like Yoda. Must be time for bed!) I'm excited for her and this new adventure. Thanks to whatever genetic mutation that skipped me but has shown up in most of my siblings. It has somehow rubbed off on her.

There, I've done my part. I'm sure she'll have lots to say on the subject as time goes on. Stay tuned!

Three Things I'm Grateful For, and It's Barely 9:00 in the AM

I think sometimes I get so caught up in my hectic life that I forget to look around me and see what great blessings are every where. I've enjoyed this morning so much, that I thought I'd write about what was so great so that I cement it in my brain a little bit better.

1) We learn from our children all the time. Erica has set a new goal (not even for Personal Progress, just because) to go to the temple every week. Now, that's definitely a goal that a parent would want their child to have, but as she can't drive alone, yet, this particular goal would involve a parent, most likely me. When she first told me, I heaved a sigh, and said we'd figure it out, not sure where I'd find the time to get her there. What kind of parents feels that way?! We decided that since she has a late start almost every Wednesday and since the baptistry opens every morning at 6:00, that Wednesday would be the day. We've gone twice, now- last week just her and I, this week we added Spencer (mostly willingly) and Rachael (a fabulous YW in our ward). We leave about 5:30-ish (to be dressed and ready to go at 6:00) and are finished and at school by 7:00. Yes, that requires me to be up and looking nice that early in the morning, but can I just say that after only two weeks it has become a favorite weekly experience and I wouldn't willingly give it up for anything (well, maybe a blizzard or deathly illness). What makes it even better is that Greg and the three other boys go to school early for Chess Club Wednesday mornings. Last week I went grocery shopping. Today, after getting Erica, Spencer, and Rachael to school, I went back to the temple to do initiatories. I was done and on my way home by 8:15. What a great way to start a day! Isn't it amazing. What I initially took to be one more of those "Parental Obligations" has turned out to be a marvelous blessing and some great non-tv, non-computer, non-homework time with my children. Dumb thing is, I knew it would be and still chose to be a little grumpy about it at first. Good thing Erica is patient with me and wants to do good things with her life. Life is all about choices. I will do better.

2) I've lived here for 6 months now, and every time I walk out the door the mountains still take my breath away. Their appearance changes with the light during the day and with every season. We've had a little snow this week, so everything looks like it's covered in powdered sugar. When you add the pink sunrise glowing off that snow this morning it was a view that made my heart sing. Beautiful!

3) This is something I was going to post earlier this week, but never got around to it. It is a blatant, non-apologetic product endorsement. Sorry, in advance, if it offends you, but I am very grateful for it (the cleaner, not offending you) so it fits into this post instead. Go to this website and order a bottle of Advanage. (I have green because it smells like apples and I liked it, but get whatever you like.) I never buy anything from door-to-door salesmen, but one came around last fall selling Advanage. I was polite, but in the process of telling him "no", when he sprayed some on the chrome on the van tire rims. They hadn't actually looked like chrome since our first winter in NH (2004). Nothing, I repeat, nothing (including my brothers power washer) could get the gunk off. I assumed we'd ruined the finish somehow. Nope. One spray, a couple of scrubs and there was a gleaming chrome streak in the middle of all the grunginess. Sold. The cleaner was cheaper than new rims, plus it came with a promise to remain streak free (on the chrome, but also windows, mirrors, etc.) for at least three weeks. Hello! I have a son who feels it is his responsibility to keep the glass on our china cabinet smudgy so we don't accidentally get horrible glares in our eyes from the reflected light. Guess what. I fooled him. He could rub his hands down the glass and leave not a single mark. (Disclaimer, it would probably not work if he had, say, peanut butter or spaghetti sauce on his hands. This just keeps off regular old fingerprints.) It also keeps bathroom mirrors from getting steamy during showers for, yes, up to three weeks. It has also removed green paint, spaghetti sauce , strawberry jam (that sat there for the entire weekend), and melted chocolate from our white carpet with no more than a spray and then rubbing with a rag as well as a rust stain from the front porch with a spray and scrubbing with a brush. And, for all you defenders of planet earth, it is natural and biodegradable (At least that's what the salesman told me and he was backed up by the claim on the bottle. Take that for what it's worth to you.) So, until I can replace my white carpet with something a little more child/spill friendly and find floors, windows, and mirrors that repel dirt and smudges, I am grateful to have a bottle of Advanage sitting in the laundry room.

That's it for now. Had a great start to the day, and the rest of it is coming on fast. Time to get off the computer and greet it. Happy Wednesday!

Snow

We had beautiful snow today. You know- the really big fluffy flakes that make the whole world (out our windows, at least) look like a gigantic snow globe. It was a perfect stay-at-home-and-bake-for-Christmas kind of day. Erica decided to try her own snow-measuring device. She taped two rulers together, end to end, and stuck them out on the deck. There were a couple of inches already out there from the weekend, but the chair started out with no snow on it at all. The blue tape you can see is where the 2 (12 inch) rulers are joined together.



At one point today our neighbors' basketball net was filled up with snow. Guess that makes it a wet, sticky snowfall for today. The temps were right around freezing, so this afternoon the snow started melting a bit. It was an odd sensation to watch the snow fall from the sky and melt lower down the ruler at the same time. That didn't happen long. The snow fell faster and crept back up the ruler as well. And, tonight is supposed to be in the teens, so I doubt the snow goes anywhere before morning.

Dear Next Door Neighbor even showed up with his snow blower a couple of times and cleared the driveway and front walk for us. I really do need to make that man a loaf of bread or something.

Education

My daughter drove the couple of miles home tonight. In the dark. For several blocks on 9th East (semi-major road here). She really does pretty well, I shouldn't complain. This is just one of those times my major perfectionist, dislike-of-the-unknown self comes right up front. It's the experience she needs and that requires actually driving. Too bad one can't learn this osmotically. I'd talk her (and some day his, his, his, and his) ears off. Education is expensive (still!) for both the parents and the child. Both are at least trying very hard to be understanding of the other. I'll continue to be grateful the expense we're paying is emotional and not monetary. I have a new and very deep appreciation for my parents. They have moved up several notches on the respect meter. Younger siblings, once again, HA! By the time you get to this point I will be so done. Children, if you read this, I love you all and really do want your happiness a freedom. Even if there are times I'm a little less relaxed in the car than others.