6.30.17 Learning Life Lessons

"But when you master the seemingly impossible, it does something for you that fits into your very character for a lifetime, and makes the next impossible thing seem that much easier."-- 71toes.com (http://www.71toes.com/2017/06/soccer-sorrow.html) 

I mentioned in the last post how intense this month of June has been with church needs. Thank goodness these events waited until my kids were out of school. My counselors are also more free. I have kids who can work and meet needs, and I have kids who can watch kids while I go assess situations. It has been so Providential! We are a big strong family. My kids have been taught how to work with some skill and endurance. They are very capable and the adage many hands make lighter work is proven time and again.

The sweet flower lady showed up at my door again. Her husband brings them up the stairs and oh it does bring a smile to my face to see the beautiful blossoms. Many different ways to serve.

However even armies have breaking points when being attacked or strung out on too many points. We have gained a reputation for being willing to work. I love that. I hoped for that and am honestly proud of that label. Yet with all the doing I began to drown. I am more of sprinter than endurance runner. I like to get in, get a job done, and get out. When I was younger I  liked to sew clothes in a day or quilt in a day I wasn't interested in months long projects...it's the same today.

So when projects extend without end in sight it wearies my soul.

I started delegating to counselors and youth. It was so great to share the load of responsibility and burden. But the load kept getting heavier and more diverse. I needed help. I spent a lot hours on the phone talking, texting, lining up and counseling. It is so refreshing to have willing and able help! Yet it still wasn't enough. So finally I cried Uncle. After a beautiful funeral that went smashingly well, again thanks to such competent energetic ward helpers, and family help with kids, and just miraculously being bore up by angels it was still too much of a crushing load. I asked for an emergency ward counsel meeting. Everyone came in about half an hour and we had our best meeting ever. We came away focused with assignments and a plan. I felt my burdens lifted. I love and know each person individually and respect and love them and their strength. It was a beautiful experience.

Livy loves to take pictures. She insisted on taking a picture of us on Sunday after church. Good to get one as we have very few pictures together. He is my strong man!

I too often muscle through life. I think I can do this on my own. I don't want to bother God, I don't want to impose on others, or be a burden or look to be a lazy wimp. But this week it became too much.
And the result was so much better than I could have done alone. So I learned:
1. A lot of background leg work and information needs to be gathered to proceed on a plan
2. It takes more people than I was thinking of to be successful
3. The answers aren't obvious. Each person in the counsel has specific wisdom to share don't leave any out
4. Real tangible problems are so much easier to address than vague something should be done.
5. BUT people have to ask to get Help. We cannot impose our way on others
6. There is so much strength in UNITY!

We are moving forward with a plan. I am so thankful for each of these people and families I get to serve with right now. We have had our differences and conflicts but we have moved on and do value the ability and service of each other. This was a touching bonding experience that I'm glad I was brought to my knees in submission to learn and be lifted back up by my brothers and sisters in the gospel. God is Good. He is Aware and He does Care.

We all have hard situations in a variety of colors. Yet when we bond together, backed up with a sincere desire to serve the Lord and DO what's Right, and then tapping into the power of prayer life is manageable. I hope I can remember this lesson.

6.29.17 Back in love

As a family we spend a lot of time serving others. We don't take much thought for ourselves. Which results in happy tired kids and a sense of worth. It also can cause stress, tiredness, messiness, and just plain discouragement at so much to do in so little time. Here we are delivering blankets and hygiene kits that was a community effort to a friend who cares for many others too. 

Everybody keeps growing. Bruce is getting more adamant about doing things himself. Life using a spoon. He would not let Anna put the spoon in his mouth but he would try it himself.

We took some time to watch the new Beauty and the Beast. It was delightful mindless entertainment. I have the song days in the sun stuck in my head. Lucky for me Aliza has it memorized and will sing it for me.

And then an opportunity came to go to girls camp for one night alone with just Greg. I tried to back out as per normal for me. He insisted I go as is normal for him. He of course won. My girls were disgusted we would be crashing their party. I promised to ignore them. WE got to town the restaurant was too full to feed us the deli at the grocery store was closed so we improvised with chips, pop, and a loaf of bread and some ham and lettuce for sandwiches in the car. Greg insisted on ice cream sandwiches for dessert which we tucked in the sleeping bag to stay cold while we attended a musical play. IT was a delightful experience. I love plays. It was so relaxing to just be with him and the 30 girls camp attendees 2 of which I pretended not to know too well.

WE headed back to the campsite preparing some more for his bishopric message. He gave it about patriarchal blessings. Then the girls shared some testimonies (we were informed by moody teen #3 that if we hadn't been there she would have shared more but it was too personal to share in front of us). The girls got word a dear leader friend was about to die. -- I had been attending to that need before I came- and I prayed for her release at the request of her family with the girls. Then I shared my testimony of God's hand in all our Lives and accepting the Will of the FAther. It was good to share.
We slept on cots in a tent- way better than an air beds. I went for a morning hike alone in the crisp forest air. We ate bacon galore for breakfast and enjoyed being mostly free of responsibility and worry. We helped pick up camp and listened to a few more activities and headed home with our teenagers. I came back so rejuvenated. I felt like a person and a wife again. Amazing how a little time away brings life back to the weary soul.
In the midst of two or three very intense church weeks I'm so thankful to have gone and renewed my relationship with my husband. It's been pretty easy to fall apart  just getting life and family done. In fact I promised Aliza last night if I could just make this one last meeting (an emergency ward counsel meeting) I would be back to being her mom and not on the phone all day today.
But I learned and was happy to rediscover that given less stress, responsibility, and commitment Greg and I are both more free to laugh, smile, and enjoy each other. Thank goodness with each rediscovery we find we like and love each other a whole bunch. So grateful for the blessing of being married to such a patient, loving, strong, and wise man.

6.17.17 Summer so Far

Well we are entering week 4 four (I think) of summer and we are doing a lot of this. Cooking, then cleaning. 

Aliza was really sick with a bladder moved into kidney infection. After trip one to two to the doctor office we made secret ingredient chocolate pudding. I had the little girls with me and while we waited on the visit we watched the know more tv show. They suggested adding avocado and banana to add substance to pudding. We love pudding and I always like making food more nutritious so Livy and I tried it out. Final consensus YUM!

Harold and his buddy Bruce. Love that Bruce is getting so big. Once upon a time  Harold had a few chin rolls now he has stretched into a long lean workin' machine. He is such a blessing to GReg. He is meeting quite a few interesting people this summer. I'm thankful for all the encounters and how my son is shaping his character. Old time apprenticeships make sense on so many levels especially for young men who get so tired of the monotony and plainness of current educational styles.

And even Bruce likes to cook. We were getting ready for the boys to go to fathers and sons and preparing their dutch oven contribution when Bruce decided carrots were much tastier than the tine foil liners. He is so busy and involved in all the happenings of our house. We are sure thankful for the pleasant little/big guy he is becoming.

So that's about the sum total of our summer. Kids work, we read. I cook and clean up while they are thus engaged. It's hard not to go totally crazy. In light of the too many cancer diagnosis swirling around our town and other a-typical ailments I will try to be grateful for our mundane existence. I am super thankful for medicine and that Aliza is finally feeling better. I week almost down in bed. When she gets sick she really gets sick. Now back to the sink. 

6.7.17 Memorial Day

Addie sported this look one night which was a look-a-like to the iris beauty below.

We had a great Memorial Day! An added highlight since my dear grandmother's passing is making the bouquets. Her yard was her happy place, her place to unwind and spend time while she waited or lived while my grandfather farmed.

At the cemetery the kids did well it is fun to share such pretty gifts. We had lots of helpers and the task went well. Some more of the beautiful flowers from her yard.

The dark purple are from my other grandmother's yard. Her husband had a green thumb. He too had/has a beautiful garden. I was commenting to my sisters beautiful the flowers are, and she replied and it's crazy how much time it takes to keep up with them. Yes! Years ago I noticed that the most successful gardeners are those that spend a lot of time caring for their plants. I realized my time was not yet. My job is to tend the many pepole in my house. Just as tender and even more precious than the plants. I need to pluck out weeds, prune, pick, water, ammend, and fertilize these little precious people in my home. This the pondering over what is mothering and what is home management and how do the two combine and divide? I think too much. One of the by products of lots of years being pregnant and the resultant lack of physical fitness and necessity of parenting... lots of thinking. Well enough writing today now to do some doing.

6.6.17 Summer Days

It's always good to have the big kids home. Aliza is so patient with the little girls and they get a lot done. She managed this cleaning out the fridge process while I took Addie to town to stock the pantry. All those days of years supply are now being gobbled up and I'm left with lots of empty buckets and shelves. It's almost alarming how much we consume. 

In an effort to be more frugal I decided to take up culturing. I have been doing yogurt for a month or two and heard buttermilk was super easy too. When I had just a bit left it made sense to try it out. Simply add 1 C starter (store buttermilk) to 3 C milk and let sit on counter for 12-24 hours with a cloth covering. EASY! Worked like a charm.

The best thing I did this summer, and might be a new tradition, was ordering about 150 books from ebay for my family to donate to a parade. The best part is the kids are in heaven reading so many diverse books at their leisure and no overdue fines!!! YES! It has been a relatively cheap fun part of summer so far. 

And Bruce is on many an adventure this summer. So many activities and possibilities. He loves watching the chickens we have 1 baby chick and he loves being outdoors with the other monkey(kids) here. They put on plenty of water fight shows, lawn mowing exhibitions and various singing and dancing renditions. He's a lucky guy to have so much stimulus.

There was an article on the lds.org website about mothering and how we needed to distinguish between house managers and mothers. They are different. Yes! At the beginning of our time together I was in a panic about how to manage the little kids and the active big kids. The scripture that spoke to me was Mosiah chapter 4: 14 

And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.

So I am focused and tired. I work all day doing dishes and cooking or buying more groceries and for good measure do some laundry. I'm working on organization and helping them learn.  Then today while searching that scripture I found this one just a little later

 Mos 4:27  And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.

All thing must be done in order. Ahh the wisdom. So I will be diligent and pace myself and focus on the most important things. Which for me are reading, feeding, loving, and teaching my children. hopefully we will have some fun along the way. So far we've had a lot of water fights, which are good! And a great memorial day. Now swimming this week, father's and son's and who knows what else. Best to you this summer.

6.5.17 School Wrap-Up

This was a fleeting moment, one that we miss now that summer is in full GO mode! She is so loving and concerned about him. Harold was appalled yesterday that Bruce had a doll under his arm after falling asleep in the car. I told him you can always tell who helped him go to sleep. That was Livy. This is Afton. Her comfort item is my garments. They can be seen under sleepy Bruce. I informed Harold I never give Bruce a doll, just a blanket. 

Well school wrapped up on a good note. All passing grades! Some Awards and some scary moments. This was not one. See the faint line? She got a bruise from her weights class. She loved the physical activity and thrived with the older students. She is strong, and discovered that more so as she worked with her peers.

The super writer awards. The reading and writing is really showing. If only my other kids would read so far and wide as Aliza. She is very articulate and interesting. Her mind is fun to listen to. The new teacher was a good bump in rigor on to a good next year too we hope.

I got a not so fun call from the principal of harold's school saying he had fallen and hit his head on the ice at the ice rink in Boise! This was just an hour after hearing my niece had broke her arm at school! All was well just a nice hairline split eye. No trauma or concussion or even too much pain. He was really bummed he was out of skating for the day. He has always done well skating so this was a surprise he heard a yell looked to see what was up and got his shoe in  divit in the ice and down he went into the wall. He's all healed up now.

And the end of the year awards, They learned a lot in the classroom, from their peers and teachers, and gained a lot of independence, confidence, and courage. Life is not easy. We are thankful for such a good environment to challenge and nurture them along as they try out life and learning on their own.