mother's day, the day after

I am so grateful to be a mother. And I LOVE the phase of motherhood that I am in. I am so sad thinking about how soon I will be in another phase, with my children starting to leave. But I can't spend all my time thinking about that, can I? There's too much to think about in the moment. There's so much going on all the time, but in such a different way than when my children were little. I am finding such joy and satisfaction in watching my increasingly independent children run their lives. Sometimes I have way too many opinions about that very thing, but I'm learning to sit back and be quiet a lot more. I was reading a book the other day about mothers, and I found this thought that jumped out at me:

God knows a mother

needs fortitude and courage

and tolerance and flexibility

and patience and firmness

and nearly every other

brave aspect of the human soul.

But . . . I praise casualness.

It seems to me the rarest of virtues.

It's useful enough when

children are small.

But it is important to

the point of necessity

when they are adolescents.

- Phyllis McGinley

I don't know who Phyllis McGinley is, but I think she has hit on something good here. My adolescents sure do seem to appreciate me more when I am casual about things. Not always easy to do, but something worth thinking about . . .

good times

Life has been moving quickly the last few weeks, which is pretty normal I guess! We have had a lot going on, and time is just flying by. This may shape up to be a too-long post full of non-interesting-to-anyone-but-us details of our life, so be warned.

One recent event of note was Brennan's Eagle Scout project. He worked with a contractor to landscape a recreation area behind our church building. This recreation area actually provided eagle projects for three young men, which was great. One of those is Brennan's closest LDS friend, and I heard him tell Brennan one day, "It will be so cool to bring our grandchildren here someday and tell them WE did this!" Made me smile. I was very proud of how Brennan handled all aspects of the project, once we got past the "procrastination phase", that is. In the end, I think he had about 175 man-hours toward the project, and the requirement is something like 30. About 55 people showed up to help him on the day of the project, and he was humbled by such a great showing of support.





Last night our YW had their fundraiser for girls' camp by doing a dessert auction. This is something we started a few years ago when I was YW president, and it's become somewhat of a tradition! So last night we had a Mexican potluck dinner, and then the auction afterwards. Each young woman and each leader made a dessert to auction off, and it got fun and crazy, as usual. Some people (like my husband) really get into the competitive spirit of things, and it is quite the event. Kristi made a "White Chocolate Berry Pie" which looked beautiful and sold for, are you ready? $120.



Unbelievable, right??? We came home with a lemon bundt cake, but we got off easy at $42. Keith won another cake too, this time for $85, but then another ward member yelled, "I just can't let Keith win -- I'll take it for $100!" Yes, it was some good times in the Clear Creek Ward.

Today was our kids' annual spring piano recital. Dallin was so ready, he didn't need his music or anything. He played "The Entertainer" and "Maleguena", and did a great job. He's one that doesn't really get nervous, which is weird. Austin complains a bit about piano, although he's a pretty good sport. He played Bach's "Menuet in G Major", and then a ragtime version of the same song. In his practicing, he would either play them extremely well, or extremely poorly. You just never knew which way it would go. Earlier today as he was practicing, and it wasn't going so well, he asked if I would just call his teacher and tell her he was throwing up and couldn't make it to the recital. I reminded him that he wasn't actually throwing up, to which he replied, "any minute now, any minute." Well, he didn't get sick, and he played so well! WHEW. His big grin of relief as he stood up from the piano said it all.

Kristi doesn't take piano lessons anymore, so she hasn't played in this recital for a couple of years. Her former teacher always invites her to play, but she always politely refuses. This year, for some unknown reason, she agreed to play. I tried to hide my joy for fear it would make her change her mind, but she didn't! She played a song called, "Piano Fantasy" by William Joseph. If you are unfamiliar with William Joseph, then you will be glad you read this post. He is an LDS musician and Kristi just loves his music, both to play and to listen to. Here he is playing the song Kristi played today, and honestly she very nearly plays it as well as he does. Just sit back for three minutes and enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmbb8-ry5JY

Tonight Kristi and two friends are going to the "Mormal", which is a Dr. Suess word for "Mormon Formal". They do not have dates, but since it is a regional event in Reno, they are hoping to meet some equally cool and equally dateless young men. Cross your fingers for them.

Tomorrow Keith has to speak in sacrament meeting, and then each young man in the ward is supposed to take 2 minutes to talk about their moms. Oh boy, should I be nervous to have Keith, Brennan, and Austin at the pulpit on Mother's Day? There are just so many things they could say, not all of which I want broadcast in front of the ward . . .

And one more thought on Mother's Day -- don't you think we should always sing, "We are All Enlisted" as one of the songs in sacrament meeting, or maybe it should be a special women's choir? Just check out the words in the hymnbook and see if you don't agree with me.

That's all for now. My in-laws are coming for dinner tomorrow, so it's time to vacuum!

My Middle Child

Okay, technically I have two middle children, but with Kristi being the only girl, she's in a class by herself, which seems to suit her just fine. So it's Austin that plays the middle child role in our family. According to experts, since middle children often aren't the biggest and strongest, and they aren't the babies who get away with murder, they can feel that they aren't really anything special. Sometimes they feel invisible. They have to try a little harder to be heard or get noticed, and they may feel that they do not get as much praise as the older children for simple firsts like tying a shoe or riding a bike. But I think middle children, if they know how to play their cards right, sit in a pretty good spot. They don't have to live up to parents' expectations the same way the oldest child does, and they don't get babied too long like the youngest child. They learn to be good mediators and negotiators, and learn to be self-sufficient and independant.

This is Austin.

I just love this kid. He is kind-hearted, thoughtful, sensitive to others' feelings, helpful, doesn't complain, and loves to see others happy. And he's turning THIRTEEN tomorrow. Perhaps because he's such a sweetheart, I tend to think of him as a little kid. But as his adolescent hormones are starting to boogie, I am forced to accept that he is a young man now. He's getting muscular and tall, he leaves the house smelling of cologne, and he gives me a little less public attention. Once in awhile he even gets mad, which is so unusual that it surprises everyone, mostly him!

I remember when he began middle school, I told him several times, "Don't let middle school ruin you!" It was hard for me to let him go to middle school because sweetness and cheerfulness and innocence are characteristics that are more likely to be ridiculed instead of praised. I do think that middle school has changed him, but thankfully not ruined him. And I don't think becoming a teenager will ruin him either. I think "Awesome Austin", as we have called him since he was little, will always be awesome.

younger days:




at scout camp last summer:


hiking to the top of nearby Job's Peak:


on his way to another touchdown:


Happy 13th Birthday, Austin!!!!!!!!

What does Easter mean to you?

Because we must need the blessings, our family was asked to "do the sacrament meeting" on Easter Sunday. Our older kids and Keith and I will be speaking, and the younger boys will be playing a piano duet. To go along with the many -and varied- thoughts bouncing around in my head about Easter and the Atonement, I wondered if any of you would like to share your thoughts on what Easter means to you.

And on another subject, wasn't conference uplifting?? Somehow I expected there to be a more serious tone, more messages about getting prepared, etc. But for me, I just felt like my understanding of certain things was expanded (Elder Holland's talk for example, wow), and I felt peaceful and not anxious. A favorite quote for me was from Pres. Monson: "The future is just as bright as our faith." Could it be any simpler?

Book Recommendation

Recommendations are risky. Whether they be books, movies, restaurants, whatever. We all have different tastes and different opinions about what is worthy of our precious time. That said, I'm taking the plunge anyway. Probably some of you are already familiar with this series, particularly those of you living in Utah.(?) It's "The Great & Terrible" series by Chris Stewart. There are six books (I know, I know), but having finished the sixth one this afternoon, I can say I'm glad I took the journey. And I read each one faster than the last. My mother-in-law has been telling me about these books for the past couple of years, but I never made any move to read them until she dropped off the first two at my house one day. Brennan is now in Book Two and is really enjoying it (if you knew Brennan better, that statement might have made more of an impact). Note: Book One, "Prologue: The Brothers", is completely different than the rest. I was a bit hesitant about it at first, but by the end was ready to see where the author was going. They've been very thought-provoking for me. Okay, enough said. Gotta go work on my emergency preparedness plan now . . .

A Little 'Crush'

I'm not ashamed to admit it -- I had a great time at the David Archuleta concert last week! Alana, a good friend of Kristi's, gave her a ticket to the concert as a birthday present, so Alana and her mom went, plus another friend Shannon, plus me of course. Like I could stay away! Our seats weren't bad, and we were also able to walk down to the front to get quite close. So we see-sawed back and forth. Here's the proof!

Waiting in line beforehand:

At our table, waiting some more:

Here we go!

What a cute kid, and wow, can he sing. He sounded amazing and we all had lots of fun. Kristi and I continue to think that after a couple of years of performing his music, he'll decide he needs to continue his education at, say, Brigham Young University. And then one day, his path will cross with Kristi's in, hmmm, the Harris Fine Arts Center, and the rest will be . . . history. Stranger things have happened, right?!?

Signs of the Times

Wow, if you just keep your eyes open, "blog-worthy" things can be found everywhere.

I could not resist sharing this, although I'd rather pretend it's not real. Austin told me last week that he had been invited to a birthday party given by a girl at school. Hmmm, a boy/girl party, I thought. My little Austin. Hard (for me) to believe he's old enough for this stuff. It was on the night we had planned to take Kristi out for her birthday, and when I mentioned that, he assured me he wasn't interested in going to the party anyway. That made it easy; schedule conflict averted; boy/girl parties for Austin postponed until the next invitation.

This morning I ran out the door with the lunch he almost forgot to take, and as he was putting it in his backpack, I noticed a bright piece of paper sticking out. He handed it to me, saying it was the invitation to that party, and that I could just throw it away now that it was over. So then I looked at it and noticed something, well, blog-worthy. See what you notice.

Let's look a little closer:




Did you catch that? My 12-year-old was not just invited to a boy/girl party (which I CAN wrap my mind around, despite my reluctance to), but he was invited to a boy/girl sleepover. Yup. This I cannot wrap my mind around. I think I may need to go lie down.

Deep breath.

The really important news of the day is that it's Kristi's 16th birthday. Perhaps I will blog more about that later??

p.s. don't ask my why the date on the pictures that I took this morning say 5/4/06!