May 19-24

I finally figured out my problem with blogging. I've been trying to do it for other people and not for me. I realized today that I want my blog to be a personal family history. I don't really care if it entertains or gets a lot of "hits." So, I'll plan on blogging every Sunday by putting my week in review.

Sunday 5/19: TJ and I spoke in church. Our topic was "Temples and Family History." I was energetic, affable, and I told lots of good spiritual stories. TJ followed up with a talk full of scriptures and discussion rooted in doctrine.

Monday 5/20: I took Sophie to school today then I went to Target with Hallie and Henry and Rose. I love having Target so close! TJ...not so much. TJ went to Pocatello for some meetings. Can't remember too much about Monday, it must have been "just another manic Monday." 

Tuesday 5/21: Sophie and Henry had their preschool and Kindergarten graduation programs this night. They were so excited. We wanted to make it a special event for them so we decided to treat them out to their favorite restaurant, China Palace, in Eagle. It's right next to Grandma June's home so she walked over to join us. As the Cashew Chicken was making its way around the table, little Hallie reached out, grabbed a cashew, and popped it into her mouth. Within moments we realized that she is extremely allergic, as she spat it out and started screaming, scratching at her throat and breaking into hives. After a while we calmed her down and then she started to vomit all over the place. It was CRAZY! TJ and I bathed her in the rinki-dink sink that was in the bathroom. There was no soap. And we dried her off with paper towels. Luckily I had brought an extra two pair of clothes knowing that she might make a mess of herself.

After dinner, we went to Henry's preschool program. My favorite little "ditty" was "I'm a little Teapot." Then we went to Sophie's program and she was all too nostalgic and grown up. As I got her graduation garb on and was readying myself to leave the room she said with a heavy sigh, "Well, I'll see you at my graduation, Mom." Her cap kept falling off during the program and she was so cute to watch as she tried to do the actions to the songs with her usual exuberance, but had to hold back so she wouldn't keep losing her cap. It was adorable.

Tuesday, Aunt Joey also came to town and picked up the truck to drive it back to UT so Ridgey can drive it to school. We also got to walk through our future home with her. Tuesday was a BUSY day to say the least!

Wednesday 5/22: Sophie went to school for her field day. It was a same-old same-old sort of day. Sophie and TJ have been reading Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and finished the first book on Wednesday evening.

Thursday 5/23: Sophie and Henry had a "park day" for their last day of school. It was our last time to see teachers and friends from school before Summer. It was pretty chilly but the kids enjoyed playing at the park. I decided to let Hallie and Rose play, even though they were both showing a lot of signs of sickness. I'm pretty sure that this only accentuated their ills.

Friday 5/24: Sophie, Henry, Hallie and I sat down together to play with our toy zoo. We were having a great time and then all of a sudden Henry started throwing fits of RAGE every few minutes over everything. And Sophie started crying a LOT. And I discovered that they were running fevers like their baby sisters. So, we had a "movie day." I tried to mow the lawn and had to restart our used lawn mower something like 12 times. ARGH.

Saturday 5/25: We got a refrigerator for our new home. We cleaned out the van. TJ took one of our dressers over to Grandma June's. Then he went to buy a new lawn mower. I'm sure that if we were fix-it guys we could just have tinkered a bit with our current machine, but we don't have the skill, time, or patience for that. We did our grocery shopping and at the end of the day TJ got to go to the driving range and hit a bucket of balls. He only broke one club.

Out to Lunch!

Last Saturday I got to get together with three of my girlfriends from High School. I love those girls so much and it was so great to see each other and talk about getting old! Ha ha! No, seriously, we mostly talked about health problems and getting old!

We had such a fun time and it reminded me of how true friendship never dies. When I think of my experience in High School I count myself SO lucky that I had the best friends ever! And when I see these girls now, I still consider how lucky I am that, though we don't see each other all the time, when we do we don't skip a beat!

So, a funny thing happened when we were all together. (Actually, lots of funny things happened like when Anna said "Stoffing stuckers.") Anyway, Anna, Michele and I took an extra minute after lunch to walk through a couple shops and we continued talking about our lives and Anna and I started asking Michele all sorts of questions about what it was like to have a professional life. Question after question came and  Michele's answers of "working late into the night", "always being available for work" and "80 hours a week" seemed to just floor us. We stood there mouths ajar as she explained her job. And then Michele said something truly poignant she looked at us and said, "Yeah, but you guys are mothers, you never stop working either. It's not much different."

I've reflected at that moment a couple of times since and I chuckle to myself.  Here we were, looking at Michele as though she were some fabulously rare thing "a working woman," and I've wondered if we could turn our gaze back to ourselves would we see something equally amazing and wonderful?

We (stay at home moms) really are so quick to think less of our "work" as mothers and to not highly regard it as we should. And I confess and know that if I would just take to my job as seriously and with as much importance as Michele does hers, I'd be a much, much, much better homemaker, mother, cook, cleaner...everything.

And that leads me to think about a comment a woman made to me once long ago. She said, "Debra, you will never work a day in your life. You will find joy in whatever job you do and you will be happy." I loved the comment at the time. It led me to think that I had the power to successfully achieve a great life. And I'm sad to realize that I've forgotten about that inner ability and power I have. I've always thought of myself as a positive and happy person and I've always enjoyed life. So, why is it harder to summon up my whistle while I work, just because it lacks "glamor" or is not "professional" When in reality it can be the most glamorous and professional thing if I make it so! Right? Right!
It's like this: I'm the CEO. I get to decide just how great of a job this will be! Wonderful!

Counting Blessings

This morning something truly scary happened. Scary like, Henry came and happily informed me that he put a jelly bean in Rose's mouth, scary. (He was so pleased with himself for feeding her and for giving her a jelly bean.)

I ran and grabbed her, swiped my finger and found nothing. Then I calmly sat and just watched her. Black spit oozed out and I knew it was still in there. So I swiped again and found it in her cheek.

I am so grateful for each of my children. I couldn't bear the thought of losing one. I'm counting my blessings today for Rose's beautiful cheeks which securely held that jelly bean away from her throat, and I am also counting my blessings that Henry would come and tell me what he did. 

Meet Roger

 Meet roger. 

Roger was a friendly spider who came to visit earlier today. 

It seemed all too soon and sudden that he had to leave this earthly life when our neighbor-grandpa Rod sprayed him with insect killer. Funeral services were held. I was the pallbearer, and before I deposited roger into his large black casket I asked the children to say something nice about roger. Sophie said, "Roger was a spider." I agreed and added that he was indeed a spider, a very large one and friendly to boot. I then asked the children to say goodbye. Sophie's goodbye was simple even a trite: goodbye. Cheerfully said. Then Henry came to pay his respects. He looked at the dead thing sitting on the edge of the sandbox shovel. Roger's poor mangled body did not look at all stately or regal as it once had. And Henry's lip started to quiver. His eyes turned a weepy red. And no words could escape his embittered tongue. He ran, as little boys do, and hid his sensitive self, shielding his deepest feelings, and hiding his tears. Roger was gone. Roger. This ugly spider that we came to know and name just minutes before was gone. 

There's the story of Roger.