Goodbye June, Hello July!

First things first: Random pictures from the week.

From the files of: "Pictures from my camera taken by someone other than myself."













Well, July is upon us again! Two years ago I was at MD Anderson having my first day of chemo. I'm pretty glad it is 2010 and not 2008.
This last week was pretty good.
On Tuesday I took the boys to see the free movie at the mall-- Astro Boy. So far we've seen The Spy Next Door, Planet 51, Kitt Kittredge An American Girl, and now Astro Boy. Believe it or not, the boys really liked Kitt Kittredge. I wouldn't have thought to take them to it, just because of the name, and my boys' seeming aversion to all things "girl," but at the mall a couple of weeks ago after watching "The Spy Next Door," Mosey and I ran into another family in the other ward who have 2 boys also 8 and 6, who had just seen Kitt Kittredge, and she said her boys really liked it, so I decided to expand their horizons. :-)
After the movie we wandered the mall trying to find some cologne for Ben (belated Father's Day present), and then ate lunch at the food court. As we were leaving the mall, I suddenly remembered something.
It's so weird how that happens. I wasn't thinking about anything related at all, it just suddenly hit me that I forgot to go and pick up the boys' artwork the day before.
The boys took an art class this past year, every Wednesday afternoon. They had an art show at the end of May, and I was supposed to go pick up their artwork the next week. I completely forgot about it until I got an email from the fine arts school informing us that they had closed due to low enrollment. Then it occurred to me I never picked up their stuff. So I emailed the director and she said they'd already turned in the keys to the landlord and she thinks all the leftover stuff had been left in the building, but she'd try to find a way to get in and pick it up. She emailed me a couple of weeks later and told me to come to this church in the afternoon last Monday. And I totally spaced that, too! When I remembered, I felt ill. All of the hours that my boys spent on their artwork. They were so proud of it and we had talked about hanging up some of the pieces upstairs. So as soon as I got home, I called the lady again and thank goodness she still had it, and told me to come back the next Monday (today) to pick it up. I'm NOT going to forget this time!
Anyway, how's that for a tangent.
Last week a hurricane made it's way down to Mexico and we felt the weather effects for about 3 days. Lots of rain and thunder and humidity!!! (Since I am on a self-imposed news fast, I had no idea about the hurricane, and only found out when I mentioned to Ben how much the weather was reminding me of Miami, and he was incredulous that I hadn't heard about it!) Sometimes people in Austin complain about the humidity, and it *can* get muggy here, but it is nothing (nothing!) like how it was all summer long in Miami. My measure of humidity is if it's humid enough outside for the windows of the house to fog up on the *outside* because of the cool air conditioning inside. Well, we reached that last Friday for sure! It felt just like Florida. Man, I do not miss hurricanes.



The boys had fun writing on the windows.



Someone's trying to butter me up. :-) "I love mom."


On Saturday Ben took the boys down to San Marcos to go tubing down the river. I was a little worried because of all the rain we had last week, but the boys loved it! I wish I could have gone.
I wasn't feeling very well on Saturday, and I had to get ready for a lesson the next day, so I guess it was just as well.
Yesterday (the Fourth), we went to church and had a quiet afternoon, and then decided at the last minute to go downtown to the big fireworks display and free concert by the Austin Symphony downtown. I packed a super-fancy picnic of peanut butter and jelly, bread, graham crackers, dried apricots, and pink lemonade. We drove down there and got caught in a great big traffic jam. We left around 7:15, and the concert didn't start until 8:30, so I had brought some books thinking we'd have time to wait. Well, by the time we finally got down there, it was 8:15, and by the time we parked (thank goodness for handicapped parking at the parking garage-- the lot was full for everyone else and I have NO idea where all those people were finding places to park), and walked down to the park, it was 8:27. Perfect timing.
There were tons of people. I guess there are routinely more than 100,000 people who come down for the fireworks, and I believe it. The park was around Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake), just south of downtown. It is a BIG park, and there were LOTS of people.
The concert was nice, especially the 1812 overture with real cannons! (Courtesy of the Texas National Guard.) And the fireworks were awesome, accompanied by the orchestra playing patriotic music. Not quite as big a display as the Rose Bowl, but still really good. Definitely worth going.
And thank goodness, because it took us an hour to get out of the parking garage! LOL, I guess that's the price you pay for close parking. We just relaxed and listened to our audio book and enjoyed the night. The weather was perfect-- clear with a warm breeze. I'm so glad we decided to go instead of just doing nothing at home.

Waiting for the fireworks.



Listening to the concert.



Brigham's first live orchestra concert. I need to take them to more!



The beautiful Austin skyline.





Just a small segment of the huge crowd at the park.


And the obligatory fireworks shots:






Today Ben is off work, but not really since he's been working outside all day! I even went outside to pull weeds for a while, wearing my ice vest. And now Ben and the boys are off doing errands and I'm enjoying the peace and quiet while waiting for the laundry to finish.

Happy Independence Day!

My mom scanned and sent me these adorable pictures from 1984, by the looks of the baby in my mom's arms (must have been either Rachel or Jacob). I remember a pancake breakfast and a flag ceremony every 4th of July. Sometimes we'd have our pancake breakfast up in the mountains. We'd listen to patriotic music in the van on the way up and back down.
So many wonderful memories. I had such a charmed childhood.





Actually, either the first two, or this picture must have been from Flag Day of the same year. I think the three girls are all dressed exactly the same! But my hair is different, and Brigham is in PJ's in the first two, and in regular clothes for the 3rd. At first I thought these were all three from the same day and I was very confused. :-)

Houston appointments

I got my schedule for going to Houston for my 24 month follow up. I guess they're doing a lot more extensive stuff, since they want me there for 3(!) days. Actually 4, but since one of those days is only a blood draw I'm going to tell them they need to put it with one of the other days. I have the full neurological exam on Wednesday, an MRI that night, a bunch of stuff at MD Anderson the next day (including another stem cell apheresis), about a thousand blood draws, and a lovely lumbar puncture to round the trip off on Friday.
I don't want to go.
I hate Houston.
Ben will be with me on Wednesday, but he can't stay the whole time since we're going on a long road trip later on this summer, and all of my sisters either have children (how dare you?! :-)) or have major obligations that week. This is one time when I really (really) wish one of my sisters could be there with me.
(By the way, this is not a subtle hint or guilt trip for any of my sisters since I know that coming out here is simply utterly out of the realm of human possibility, and that if there were any possible way, you would jump on a plane on a moment's notice. I know this. That's why I love you.)
Anyway, that's what I've got to look forward to in a couple of weeks.
Yuck.

weekend report

Ben flew out to Utah early Friday morning to get some dental work done, so the boys and I were on our own for the weekend. We didn't misbehave too much. :-)
It's weird to be in the stage of parenting in which it's not too much of a physical burden to have Ben gone. The boys mostly put themselves to bed, and are very self-sufficient. Now we're in the moral support stage, I guess, not so much the physical support. About 4 years ago the thought of 3 days of being a solo mom would have been enough to send shivers up my spine.
Joseph felt Ben's absence, though. A few minutes after the boys went upstairs to bed on Friday night, I heard some stifled sobs from upstairs. Joseph was sitting on the landing crying. I told him to come down and tell me what was wrong. He said he couldn't sleep. Ben often goes upstairs and either lays on the couch in the boys' room, or lays down on the landing working on his computer while the boys go to sleep, so Joseph is used to him being around. I asked him he wanted to sleep in my bed, and he nodded and happily crawled under the covers. So I got a little bit of Joseph-snuggle-time which is rare these days.
Friday morning we all went to a birthday party for Luke, the little brother of one of Mosey's preschool friends. Mosey and Jack (the older brother) actually have the exact same birthday, and shared their 5th birthday party. April, their mom, knows how to put on a good birthday party! April and I have a lot in common, as she also has a life-altering chronic disease (it's very rare and I can't remember the name). She's had numerous surgeries including several brain surgeries, and we both share a hearty dislike of hospitals. Actually, "hearty dislike" should read, "extreme abhorrence." It's good to have someone in my life who "gets it." We both live with a lot of fear, and are trying to balance living every day life, raising little boys, having a happy family, with chronic medical needs and an uncertain future. I don't think anyone really can understand except someone who is also there (or who has been there). I'm not one to really feel like I need to go to support groups or whatever, but it is nice to have someone who understands where I am.
Anyway, the party was fun, and it was especially fun watching Mosey watch Luke open his present. Mosey bought him a Star Wars light saber (no surprise there-- we only have about eight of them by now), and Mosey was jumping with anticipation watching him open it, and was supremely anxious to show him all about how it works.
The rest of Saturday the boys spent playing with each other (really nicely!), building giant kapla block siege towers, and watching Wall-E for the umpteenth time, and I organized my sewing shelves and sewing table. I didn't intend to do that--- I was really wanting to work on a sewing project, but I decided I couldn't abide working in there with the shelves and table in such a shameful condition. So they got organized and the project remains undone... And I got to talk to my little sister Rachel and hear itty-bitty-baby-sounds on her end of the phone. Baby girl has a name now-- Rosalia (rhymes with Azalea) Grace Jardine. I hope all my sisters are OK with the fact that I claim a small part of each of their baby girls. It's only fair since I've got all boys! What are sisters for if not to share, anyhow? :-)
Last night we ordered pizza and watched the first half of "The Karate Kid" (the original). It's so interesting to watch old movies and T.V. shows from my childhood, and see the differences between those made 25 years ago, and those made now. And I was chagrined to see how dependent my boys are on action! "The Karate Kid" has a lot of plot development, and actually very little karate action, and I kept having to tell Joseph and Mosey to sit down and pay attention, or they wouldn't understand the rest of the movie! What would they ever do if I made them sit through a Jane Austen production?! :-) I'm going to make them do that when they're teenagers, it will be good for them!
Today we went to church and Ben was sustained (in absentia) as our new ward organist. I'm excited about this calling because it means we will early for church! I hate being late for church, really and truly. So Ben once again has a double calling, but he can handle it.
I made broccoli chicken divan casserole for dinner (feeling a bit guilty about the pizza from last night), and then the boys and I drove down to the airport to pick up Ben. He has Invisalign braces now, which are awesome! You can't even see them. Of course, at dinner tonight one of the little brackets holding them into place already broke off. That's going to be one disadvantage of having his orthodontist be 5 states away... It's still working though, so no harm done, we think.
We watched the end of "The Karate Kid" tonight, and it was fun remembering how that was my favorite movie for a long, long time. I remember we went and watched it on the 4th of July one summer when we lived at our old house. I still remember vividly how much I loved it. I even remember that my wrist was bandaged up from burning it on my mom's electric frying pan. It's funny the memories that remain crystal clear while so much of the rest of my childhood is a blur. I hope my boys remember their childhood better than I remember mine! At least they'll have this scintillating blog and about 842,957 pictures to bring it all back... :-)
When I sent the boys upstairs to bed, I grabbed Joseph on my lap and told him I wouldn't let him go until he either gave me a kiss or told me he loved me. Brigham and Mosey are really, really affectionate (Mosey has to make sure even Arctie, his stuffed arctic fox, blows me a kiss before bed), and I think Joseph's just trying to balance them out. Or something. I held him wriggling and protesting, "I have philiaphobia, mom!" Ahh, his Greek and Latin roots memorization is paying off! Finally, I asked him, "I just want to know why my boy doesn't love me?" And he said, "But I do!" And that was what I was waiting for. It's probably terribly wrong of me to guilt him into admitting he loves me, but I'll just have to add that to the ever-lengthening list of my maternal failings. I'm just happy to know he loves me.
Now it's just about bedtime. Ben washed all the dishes that have been accumulating since he left. He washes almost all the dishes around here. I couldn't let him think we're *too* self-sufficient without him around here! Whatta guy! The last 3 days of June are upon us. Where-oh-where does the time go. Wherever the socks end up after they disappear from the dryer I guess. Someday I am going to find about 47 mismatched socks and several years in time hiding in some dusty corner.
Good night!

Because we really didn't have enough

I took the boys to Target this afternoon to pick up some prescriptions and a birthday present for the party Mosey is invited to on Saturday.
While we were perusing the toy aisles, we came across some blocks on clearance. I saw Brigham's eyes go wide. If he were a dog, he would have been salivating. Blocks are like drugs for Brigham. He keeps needing more and more.
So, I bought some more blocks. At this point I'm wondering if there is any other household in America that owns as many building blocks as we do.
It's hard for me to say no, though. The boys use these blocks every single day. And they use *all* of them. If I buy more, they *will* get used. However, I think after this last purchase, our blocks boxes (say that one 10 times fast) are well and truly filled.
We'll see how long this latest fix lasts.

This isn't even all of the blocks. The bin behind Joseph is still probably a third filled with Kapla blocks. Really, we are a bunch of block gluttons.

Reflexes

First of all, Rachel's baby is here! 8 lbs 3 oz., but no name yet. I wish I could be there!

The boys are all overtired. It's hard to get motivated to get them in bed when it's still light outside. I guess it's a very good thing the days are starting to shorten from here on out. They've had too many really, really late nights, and it shows in their behavior. Particularly one 6-year-old night-owl that I have here. I heard him last night at 11:00 PM, no kidding. He had smuggled blocks up into his room and I heard a tower collapse. I looked up there and saw the tell-tale rim of light around the door, and hissed in my loudest mad-whisper, "GET IN BED IMMEDIATELY. I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER SOUND!" Does it make sense to quote a whisper in all caps? It was a really angry whisper.
So anyway, fast forward to tonight, that 6-year-old night-owl is pretty much at the end of his rope. I have another 8-year-old night-owl who thinks it is rather fun to torment his brother when he's at the end of his rope. Not too obviously, just enough to keep plausible deniability. Turning off all the lights here, pretending to use his brother's toothbrush there. This and that until the 6-year-old night-owl finally breaks. Then it is fisticuffs and tears and screaming and running and slamming doors. Fun, fun, fun.
My favorite line during the aftermath of it all was from the 6-year-old night-owl. "I DIDN'T PUNCH HIM!" (These all-caps are because he was yelling at top volume.) "BUT IF I DID IT WAS JUST A REFLEX AND I CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY REFLEXES!!!"
That pretty much says it all.
I wonder if my boys' pediatrician will be testing for the "punching reflex" at their next annual checkup! :-)

Pretty soon

Pretty soon I'll have a brand-new niece! My little sister Rachel will be having her first baby sometime in the next few hours. I'm so excited! I wish I could hop on a plane and be there with her.
This summer we are doing 4-day-a-week lessons, and the boys chose today as their free day. Perfect, because I really needed some time to catch up on laundry.
They woke up and decided they were going to do puzzles. There are now approximately 37 puzzles on our big homeschool table in the living room. OK, maybe not 37, but a lot. And I only had to yell at them twice about puzzle pieces on the floor. I had fun remembering when Brigham was a four year old and obsessed with puzzles. He was good at them! I didn't even have to help him.



Here are a couple of other random things:
1. I finished the Old Testament! All the way through, word-for-word. I read the NIV Study Bible, and also read every single word of every single footnote, which was a lot longer, word-wise, than the Old Testament itself. Whew! It took me two and a half years. What shall I read next? It's probably time for the Doctrine and Covenants, but I need to get a BYU study guide to it. It is probably my least favorite book of scripture, and I feel really guilty about it. I know it's full of all kinds of treasures. I enjoyed the Old Testament so much because of the footnotes in the NIV study bible. I got about 500% more out of it than I would have had I just read it straight. I know the same thing will be true of D&C. I wonder if I can get one of the BYU study guides online?
2. My boys are weird. Well, that's nothing new, but here's a recent example. Whenever we get ready to go somewhere, the boys race around trying to be the first ones in the van. Then they hide in the back seat, and when the next boy comes in, the first one pops up and yells out, "POP GOES THE WEASEL!!" And all kinds of laughter ensues. Then the two of them hide in the back seat and wait for the last boy and do it all over again. Joseph hates being the last boy in the car, and stands outside of the car yelling, "Don't say pop goes the weasel!" "Mom, tell them not say pop goes the weasel!" So I dutifully say, "Boys, don't say pop goes the weasel!" But it does no good. As soon as Joseph steps up into the car, Brigham and Joseph jump up from the back. "POP GOES THE WEASEL!!" It's pretty much the funniest thing ever. At least, to them. :-)

Recap of the week

Aside from getting ready for the Relief Society program yesterday, we had a full week!
Monday evening we took the boys to see The A-Team. Big mistake. The movie is not appropriate for younger kids at all, and bore little to no resemblance to the original series... The language was the biggest problem.
Because we don't watch TV and the boys are not in public school, they really don't know any bad words, so I believe 95% of the language went over their heads. I don't believe we have caused any permanent damage to the boys' psyche, but it was disappointing. The plot was quite complex and difficult to follow, so that was also not so good for the boys. There is a website that Ben goes to which reviews movies especially in terms of what is appropriate for families, and according to that website, this one was supposed to be ok. I guess we won't trust that site anymore.
On the positive side, the movie did give us a chance and a reason to talk about bad language with the boys, which we did all the way home. :-)
I guess it wouldn't have been as disappointing if we hadn't been expecting something actually based on the original A-Team episodes! Aside from the names and racial makeup of the characters, there really was no resemblance.
We've watched a couple of A-Team episodes on Hulu since then, and the boys really enjoyed them.
The next night we made homemade pizzas! The boys had been begging to make pizzas for a few days, but I hadn't gotten my act together enough to start the dough for the crust in time (it takes about 2 hours with 2 different risings). Each boy got to make his own pizza, and it all go eaten up. :-)




Waiting anxiously and hungrily!


Joseph never wants to squander an opportunity to capture a weird look on film!


And if one boy is going to be weird, they all are!


Mosey's final masterpiece. He made a smiley face with sausage, and glasses around the eyes with onion pieces.


Brigham's creation. He likes pizza with everything on it!


And Joseph's. Again, life isn't worth living if he can't give me weird looks. :-)


On Wednesday we went to the lake and rented a boat and a tube. It is the first time we have done that on Lake Travis, but it won't be the last. What fun! The boys took turns on the tube, and I was really proud of them. I personally find lakes to be a bit creepy, especially deep lakes, and Lake Travis is pretty deep. But the boys were brave and had a wonderful time.

It was such a beautiful day. It was pretty hot, but once we were out on the water, it wasn't bad, and soon the sun was going down and the temperature was perfect. We actually got a few minutes of rain-- one of those weird times when it is raining and the sun is out, and the most gorgeous rainbow appeared in the sky.

See the rainbow?

Mosey was the first one to give the tube a try. The first time, he didn't hang on for long, but by the end of the evening he was a pro.


Here's a closeup on his face. Cracked me up!


Here he is, immediately after his first dunking. Still smiling!



Mister came with us. He was not interested in the water. Like, at all. I don't know what kind of dog you are, Mister, but you're sure not a water dog!



Here's Joseph! I think he would have spent the entire time on the tube himself if we let him.
When he wasn't on the tube, he was leaning out at the very front of the boat.



Here he is waiting for his next turn to tube. And, shockingly, giving me a weird look!


Brigham also had a great time.

He wanted me to take a picture of him like this. He looks like an explorer!



Isn't that rainbow awesome?




Ben also took a turn on the tube. He wanted me to drive as crazy as I could to try to knock him off. He hung on, though, until he tried standing up on the tube.



We had some adventures with the van this week as well. The automatic locks on the 2 front doors went out, and then the AC went out on Monday. It's been in the 90's here every day, and I really must have AC in the car or I can't drive. I mean, I literally can't drive. If I spend any time at all in temps over 85, I start to lose my eyesight and my other MS symptoms go crazy.
We had taken our van in to the dealership to have the locks looked at a couple of weeks ago, but they wanted nearly $300 per lock! That seemed crazy, so on Monday afternoon we took it to another place that Ben had been to before (at least, he thought he had-- in retrospect he thinks it must have been a different place). It turns out, they wanted even MORE to fix the locks, and the estimate for the AC was ridiculous as well. So we went back Tuesday morning and I resolved just to take it to the dealership. But once we were there, the mechanics tried to put the screws to Ben. They kept increasing what we owed them for the estimate, I guess trying to make us leave it there to get fixed. I was really mad because they were very deceitful. I had been there when Ben signed the paperwork for the estimate. I remember him asking, "So it's $49.99 for the estimate?" and the guy saying, "Yeah." Well, it turns out if you read the very small print, it is $49.99 PER EACH ITEM that is being looked at. So $50 each for the locks and the AC. And then they wanted $90 more because the locks were an electrical problem, and those are more. At one point we decided just to let the guys fix it, but then I called Ben again when he was in the office (I was waiting in his car) and told him to forget it. I don't want to give creeps like that my business, even if it is going to cost us more. So, $190 later, I drove the van back home, still not fixed.
It ended up being a good decision, though, because when we took it back to the dealership, it turned out that the other mechanics were wrong on every count when it came to what was wrong with the locks and the AC. So we would have spent $1400 and the problems wouldn't have been fixed. I hate getting ripped off, though.
Let's see, what else. Joseph and Brigham went to a Scout thing on Thursday afternoon up at the lake. Joseph had been moaning and groaning, not wanting to go. But I made him go and he ended up having a really great time. Sometimes mom does know best. :-)
On Friday afternoon the boys set up our tent out on the back deck. They dragged in sleeping bags and pillows and every single stuffed animal we have (it seemed like anyway). They roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire in the fireplace that night, and planned on sleeping out in the tent. But it is LOUD outside! There are these really loud bugs-- not cicadas, but really loud like that, that make a ruckus into the early hours of the morning, and the boys couldn't sleep. Funny, huh? So they came back inside. The tent is still up out there. I need to make them go clean it up before we get another rain storm.


And here are the last pictures off my camera this week.


Joseph, our very own zoologist and entomologist caught this bug last week in the middle of molting. He watched it crawl out of its old skin, and was amazed to see it come out this vibrant green color!


It's always funny to see what pictures the boys have been using my camera for. Here's Chrissy hiding out under the deck.


Mosey had some solo horseback riding lessons for a couple of weeks while the big boys were at Scouts. He is starting to trot now!

The boys love, love, love their toy soldiers. They set up a gigantic battle here in the living room. There were armies led by Napoleon, the English, the "rebels," the Texans, Santa Anna's forces, the "sneaky guys," and the firefighters.


Napoleon won this gigantic battle. Of course!

On a slightly related tangent, the boys have been requesting "Napoleon" ice cream whenever we go to the grocery store. I keep trying to convince them it is "Neopolitan," but they are unmoved. Napoleon ice cream it is!

And of course, lots, and lots, and lots of block buildings.








Joseph builds them too, but doesn't like me to take his picture with them. I'll tell him next time he can give me a weird look. :-)

Whew!!

Ahhh, it is June 20. Which means June 19 is over. Which means my Relief Society program is over!
I think it went well. It was the product of several months of planning and many, many hours of preparation.
We met in the Relief Society room and heard 4 speakers (including me) speak on our theme, and then had a mother/daughters musical number. Then we broke into 2 groups, one going to make cute embellished journals, and the other coming with me to make Brigham Young doughnuts for our lunch dessert.
I had worried about how the doughnut making would go. I practiced making them 3 different times, and thought I had everything all figured out. Then I went and forgot the eggs. D'oh!! Judy was nice enough to race up the road to the nearest grocery store to pick up eggs, and it all ended up ok.
We had displays set up in the cultural hall of ways different women in the ward take "the normal opportunities of daily life" to create beauty. I brought a binder filled with all the e-mail letters I sent from when we first moved to Florida until I started this blog, a time of about 18 months. I have literally hundreds of pages of memories from that time of my life.
We ended with lunch, and then it was clean-up time and time to go home and get some sleep!

Here is the talk that I gave:

Molded Into a Thing of Beauty
When President Uchtdorf gave his powerful talk on our heritage of happiness in the Relief Society broadcast in 2008, I was struck like a thunderbolt with how simple and true was his formula for a happy life: creativity and compassion. I have spent a lot of time since then thinking especially about the first part of his formula, creativity. I loved how he challenged us to think of creativity as far more than painting a picture or baking a cake. He spoke powerfully about how, as we take normal, daily opportunities to mold the unorganized matter of our lives into something of beauty and helpfulness, we not only improve the world around us, but, and perhaps more importantly, we improve the world within ourselves. His talk has helped me to shift my perspective in how I view my everyday life. When I am helping my children with their schoolwork, I am creating enlightenment, knowledge, and, I hope, wisdom in the minds of my children. As I am folding laundry and picking up toys, I am creating a place of order and peace for my family. When I am feeling blue, I try to find some way to improve or beautify something around me, and am amazed at how these simple actions lift my spirits. I love how this simple instruction: create something of beauty and helpfulness, empowers me to find happiness, no matter my circumstances. This is true empowerment!
During the last General Conference, I was equally struck by Sister Beck’s talk, “And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit.” Her words melded with and complemented the second part of President Uchtdorf’s formula, compassion. Elder Uchtdorf broadly defines being compassionate as becoming a true disciple of Christ, that is, becoming instruments in the hands of the Lord. He quoted President Kimball who said, “The more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls.” What a beautiful concept! In giving away to others, we are enlarging our own souls. He also said, “As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness.”
In Sister Beck’s talk, she spoke of the critical role that the handmaids of the Lord will play in the last days. She said that there has never been a greater need for us to help increase faith and personal righteousness—in ourselves and in others, for us to strengthen families and homes, and for us to be Disciples of Christ willing and able to help those in need. These are our responsibilities as women of God. She promised us that as we nurture as Christ nurtured, power and peace will descend to guide us when help is needed. Sister Beck outlined some of the tools that we have in becoming handmaids of the Lord—in particular qualifying for, seeking, and then following personal revelation.
Toward the end of her talk, she quoted Eliza R. Snow at length. When I first listened to this talk, I hadn’t realized the length of the quotation, and I remember thinking what wise advice I was hearing, and how timely it was for women in our time! When I received my Ensign and read the talk, I discovered that all of those words that impressed me so much were from Eliza R. Snow, from well over a century ago. It amazed me that her advice to the women of the church back then applies so directly and forcibly to the women of the church today. She said, in part, “We want to be ladies in very deed, not according as the world judges, but fit companions of the Gods and Holy Ones… We know the Lord has laid a high responsibility upon us … and the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to qualify us for those responsibilities.”
In a sense, she is telling us that there is another great work of creation for us to do—refining and cultivating ourselves to become true handmaids of the Lord. And we know the Lord is pleased with our efforts as we feel the Spirit working through us. Our markers for success, as women of God are far different from the measures of success the world would have us adopt for ourselves.
While I was at the grocery store yesterday I picked up a couple of magazines that were sitting out in the check-out aisle. As I flipped through them, a few headlines caught my eye. “Get Your Best Bikini Body: The Ultimate Secret to a Great Butt, Flat Abs & Major Confidence” (apparently a great bikini body is the ultimate secret to major confidence…). “645 Ways to Look Cute All Summer!” “Meet the Cutest Guys at the Beach!” “Have Your Hottest Summer Hookup!” “Lose Weight in a Hurry: Fit Into Your Skinny Jeans By Next Week.” “What Men Find Hot: They Rate Their Favorite Looks.” And these are just the headlines that are even remotely acceptable to repeat in Church.
These headlines reflect how Satan would have us judge ourselves. How about God? Here are a few headlines from another couple of magazines I happened to have laying around my house. “Finding My Purpose.” “Hope: The Misunderstood Sister.” “Participate in Sincere Prayer.” “Creating Heavenly Homes.” “Putting My Hand in the Lord’s.” “My Guilt was Swept Away.” “Stand Strong and Immovable in Faith.” Any idea where these headlines came from?
President Kimball prophesied that the great work of the Church in the last days will come about “to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives, and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world.” I can’t think of a better illustration of “distinct and different—in happy ways,” than the contrast between my Ensign magazines and the “Seventeen,” “Allure,” and “Cosmopolitan” magazines that I brought home from Wal-Mart.
Sister Beck closes her talk by bearing witness that “the Lord depends on His daughters to do their part to strengthen the homes of Zion and build His kingdom on the earth.”
How are we doing in this creation—molding ourselves into a thing of true beauty, a handmaid of the Lord? How are we doing in helping the girls in the church—our daughters, sisters, nieces, students, and friends understand and know with conviction that her true measure of success lies not in the proportions of her body, not in the approval of her peers or worldly accolades, not in her clothing, not in her income, and, really, not in any of the passing measures of success that the world would have us buy into, but instead, her true success as a woman, and her true path to happiness lies in developing attributes of Christ, refining and cultivating herself in everything that is good and ennobling, and, ultimately, becoming an instrument in His hand?
Today, as we have the chance to hear our sisters talk about their experiences in this great work, and to see how our sisters create beauty in their lives, I hope we will reflect on what these things mean in our own lives. In this beautiful plan of Salvation, what are we molding into things of beauty, and how are we allowing the Lord to mold us into a thing of beauty?
I testify that as women in the Gospel, our value and power is great. Each of us has the opportunity to become a fit companion of God. Our path to happiness lies in seeing and reaching for our true potential as beautiful things of God.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

This is why...

This is why I have been so silent. I've been really busy getting everything ready for this event on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, and really looking forward to having it be OVER. :-)

Rain!

I woke up last night around 1:30 AM to the sound of thunder and rain pounding down on the roof. It rained all night and all morning and didn't stop until about 1:00 PM.
It was also the last day of the boys' Cub Scout camp. They canceled the morning activities, and I drove them down at noon so they could go to the museum at the Army base, and have their closing ceremonies under the pavilion.
That left this morning free! We went to the free kids movies and saw Planet 51. When I asked Mosey which he liked better, Planet 51 or The Spy Next Door (which we saw yesterday at the same free kids summer movies deal), he said, "Well, Planet 51 is more action packed, but The Spy Next Door had a more complicated plot, so it's hard to decide." Yeah, I guess that sums it up, Mr. Ebert!
I realized on the way that we'd have to skedaddle out of the movie to get to the camp on time, so we stopped at a Shell Station (this is me NOT thinking ahead) to buy some snacks for their "lunch" before camp. Cheetos and Sunny-D were the fare of choice for the boys. Mmmm, nutritious! :-)
Mosey and I did have one last afternoon together. Yesterday, after the movie, we went to HEB, where he scored a Webkinz horse for $1.99 (it was missing the tag with the Webkinz World code). I helped him construct a saddle, complete with stirrups for the horse, which he named Jackson (after his horseback riding lesson horse). This afternoon I helped him make a "police uniform" for Sniffer, the Build-a-Bear stuffed animal he got on Monday. We made it out of a sock, and I very carefully cut out tiny felt letters to spell out POLICE which we glued to the back of the "uniform." Mosey was very pleased, and I felt like a good mom. :-) Success!
After we picked up the boys from camp, we listened to a few more complaints from the big boys. I need to nip this complaining thing in the bud. They told us after the first day that they were the "only ones" who didn't catch a fish. And they were the "only ones" who didn't get to shoot their bottle rockets. Brigham was up in arms because one of the camp counselors was teaching about global warming. At least, that's how he interpreted it. Brigham has an extremely opinionated personality and I'm going to have to work with him on tolerating differences... Yesterday, one of the other groups "copied their skit," and then today, Joseph was the "only one" who couldn't find his wooden space ship he decorated. This last one may be true. Actually, it all may be true, but the complaining after the fact doesn't help with having a good attitude. I guess I'm glad that they have these experiences if only so that I can identify things I need to work with them on. Or, I guess, "things on which I need to work with them." (I think the rule against ending sentences with prepositions is stupid. :-))
Tonight we did a big clean-up of the house (again, more complaining, but it did get done), and Ben is working late. Almost 11:00, not home yet...
So, that was our day. I'm off to put away laundry and go to bed myself.

Millipede Mazes

The big boys started Cub Scout day camp this week. It's just a 3 day gig, Monday-Wednesday. Ben took them down there this morning early (7:45!), and I went and picked them up this afternoon. I think I'm slowly learning my lesson. I will never let them go to something like this where I'm to pick them up without giving them a note explaining how I can't walk and so I need them to come to the car. I can't walk over and get them. This was the same drama as their gymnastics camp over Christmas. The adults won't let them leave without a parent coming to get them, but they see me in the car and want to come over, and the adult doesn't listen or doesn't understand the situation, and so then the boys are in tears by the time they finally do make their way over to me. Frustrating for everyone involved, I'm sure.
Also, these kinds of events really highlight one of the disadvantages to homeschooling. My boys are simply not used to being in large groups of kids with only a few adults in charge. There are all kinds of rules that have to be followed that seem ridiculous to my boys. Brigham got in the van and said, "It was just like being in public school again, mom! They make all these rules that don't make sense that we all have to follow!" My boys are good, and they *did* follow the rules, but they weren't happy about it. We talked all the way home about why they have the rules the way they did (because some of the boys *won't* be as well-behaved as they are). Also, they played kickball, which Joseph and Brigham had never played and didn't understand the rules. I promised them we'd teach the game to them tonight.
I think they're ok about going back again tomorrow, but they did have to be talked into it. I encouraged them to try to make friends with the other boys, follow the rules, try to understand what some of the purposes are behind the rules, and just shrug off whatever annoyance they may feel.
Meanwhile, Mosey and I had a day to ourselves! I asked him what he wanted to do this morning, and after reviewing all the choices, he chose to go to the mall. The mall? OK, whatever, it was his day! So we went to the mall and perused a few stores. He rode the carousel, got a bug net at the dollar store and a small stuffed animal (yes, another one) at the Build-a-Bear Workshop. He drank a peach-strawberry smoothie and tried to talk me into taking him to a movie (they were all playing at a bad time, so it didn't work out). Then he went with me to the fabric store and then home where he painted some pictures until it was time to go pick up the boys.
Tomorrow the free kids movies start, so we'll go see something, and then there is horseback riding in the afternoon. He'll get another lesson all to himself! (He did last week, too, while Brigham and Joseph were at their end-of-the-year Cub Scout swim party).
It was fun to spend the day just with Mosey. He is a pretty great companion. We went up and down the two levels at the mall a couple of times, and he wanted to ride the escalator while I went on the elevator. It was so funny to watch him running down the hallway. He is wearing his brothers' hand-me-down pants, and I haven't adjusted the waist straps, so his pants are always threatening to fall down. So he's taken to running with his elbow crooked out, holding up the waistband of his pants to keep them up. It's so cute. And I really need to adjust his pants. :-)
This past weekend was Stake Conference, which freed up our Sunday schedule, but was awfully busy for Ben who had to play the piano and the organ at the priesthood and adult sessions on Saturday. So he was gone all afternoon while I hung out with the boys, went to the grocery store, picked up dinner at Sonic, and then watched "The Count of Monte Cristo" on Netflix. It's a great movie! It followed the plot line of the book pretty closely for the first half of the movie, and then, for better and for worse, diverged quite a lot for the second half. It is a great book, but does have some pretty weird, not-very-family-friendly elements that were definitely better left out of the movie. But the complex plotline of the book is part of what makes it so interesting, and that just wasn't possible to replicate in a 2 hour movie.
Sunday afternoon was relaxing and low-key. The boys made millipede mazes in the play room.
Yes, we're still battling millipedes. I've read up on them, and our house is unfortunately in the way of a millipede migration. Millipede colonies will migrate when there is sufficient population pressure, and with our recent wet weather, it's not surprising that they've multiplied. So the millipedes (hundreds of thousands of them sometimes), will start to migrate. They'll go in a certain direction, and if your house is in the way, too bad! They'll try to crawl over or through or around or any way they can to get past it. So if there are any small cracks or holes, they'll find them. We've been pretty diligent in spraying on our back porch, but several still make their way in every night (they migrate at night). So the boys have taken to making millipede mazes with kapla blocks, and having contests to see which millipedes can navigate the maze. They have been naming the millipedes, too. So far, I think Minda has been the winner. There have also been John, Mike, Jason, and others. Jason was the 2nd best millipede maze navigator. I guess if you can't beat them, you may as well have fun with them!
Let's see, what else. It's been pretty hot. Thankfully so far not as bad as last year! The boys have been swimming almost every day, and have gone through an entire humongous bag of frozen blueberries.

That is blueberry juice on Brigham, not blood! At what age to kids stop getting food smeared all over themselves? :-)
I'll end with one more picture of a Brigham block creation. This is a ship. Inside, he had several decks, occupied by animals, soldiers, knights, etc. On the front deck there is an archer protecting the ship.

Brigham is a little weary of the babyish alphabet blocks. He's been after me to get some white spray paint so he can paint them. We tried, and failed, to get white spray paint last Friday at Walmart. We got there and there were no motorized carts. I like Walmart except for their unreliability when it comes to carts. They need more. They frequently don't have any available, or the ones they do have available are just about out of power. I've had to have the boys push the dead cart back to the front of the Walmart on a few different occasions. Anyway, we sat in the front of the store for nearly 30 minutes before giving up. The boys bought gumballs from the gumball machines and we had a nice conversation about credit and debt and wise money use (spawned by Mosey begging to get another gumball: "It's only 25 cents, mom, what difference does that make?!"). But finally I just sent Joseph and Brigham to the back of the store to get a couple of things that I had to have, but they couldn't buy the spray paint, of course. They are getting to be pretty competent little shoppers. Pretty soon I won't have to go into the store at all. I can send them in with my list and they can take care of it themselves! They still get weird looks when they go up to the checkout counter to pay for things all by themselves (Joseph's been going into the pet supply store on his own to buy crickets for Spots while I sit out in the car for months now), but they are very confident and do a great job.
That's it for tonight!

Genealogy

I've just spent the last 45 minutes on new.familysearch.org, trying to find out how far back my genealogy has been done. How fascinating!! I discovered I am a direct descendant of Alfred the Great, King of England, Charles "The Hammer" Martel (!!), and to Henry De Huntingdon, grandfather to Robert, who has been purported to be the original Robin Hood. I kept going back on this line (my father's line) and got all the way to Julius Caesar!! Julius Caesar has had his Temple work done. Amazing.

I haven't figured out how far back that line extends, since the website finally froze up on me. Let's just say it's been done a really, really, really, really long way back. :-)