10.31.23 Birthdays and normal Days

Lia made another trip around the sun and turned 5 years old. She has started styling her curls out of her eyes. She still doesn't love her ringlets but is resigned such is her fate. She requested angel cake for her birthday. We sure love our fun loving sweet Lia. I told her her birthday was when we finished harvest. Thankfully with high moisture corn that is a reality. She partied and had presents for more than one week. She thought that was great. 

She likes pretty things and shared her new lipgloss with me. Applied with a spoon no less. 

Andrea loves to be held. My hip has not loved holding her the past few months. 

Addie working on time lapse pictures for her photography class. 

John stopped the weeks of Lia birthday celebrations by having his birthday. He is now legally an adult. He requested lemon sunshine cake. I was tired of never having chocolate so also made brownies. John continues to be a pleasant young man. He says thank you for every dinner gives great hugs and smiles, has really improved his school performance and is an aspiring mechanic able to do most jobs unattended. He cheers on my weight lifting and is thoughtful. 

This week was the end of the quarter awards assembly. Everyone but Alivia got an award. I was worried she would be in tears. I explained that in middle school the main awards were for reading or honor roll. She can work hard and gain either of those. I'm happy to report that she was not sad and is doing so much better this year. She is still stubborn and chooses not to do all her work but for the most part she is participating much better. 

At the awards assembly Reed and Millie were recognized for 3.5-3.9 honor roll. Reed has also decided to comply and complete most of the work assigned. I'm thankful for his change of heart. 

My younger 5 in school. Afton and Bruce got awards for their computer program i-ready. I don't love that program but supposedly it works. Each kid is doing well this year. The most often heard concern from teachers is that they ask questions when they don't understand. Other than that they are polite, readers, hard working, and very competitive students. 

On the home front, we had a week of sickness. This is me holding the youngest while they sleep. Oh how I hated to crawl out of this to go to the cold football game. How thankful I am for these sweet little ones.

I watched my sister parent her toddler and another a few weeks ago. I was impressed with her words. She didn't just allow situations to run her over and she wasn't ridiculously long-winded but she was kind and the situations quickly resolved. She told me later she was learning about conscious parenting. She shared some videos and thanked me for the encouragement. I started watching the videos and have been working to make changes. I really believe we are raising the genertation that will parent during the millennium. I have no idea about my particular activities then but truly believe they will be busy and working through that time period. Thus they need better skills and self-control than is currently on display in my home. This journey is just starting and we have a long way to go. 

There have been moments of success and laughter. Lots of crying and consoling, and plenty of feeling like an utter failure. Being a parent is so much about meeting the needs of others it's hard to feel like a person who matters or has any place for personal feelings. Alas such is life and this too shall pass, and hopefully be better for the journey. I'm thankful for sisters who teach and inspire betterment. Families are a great blessing in my life. 

 

10.30.23 talent development

District Cross Country was the same day as the senior night at the football game. I could not be in two places at once so I sent Aliza to the district event as parents were required for the senior night. I got a few pictures from the meet and a kind friend live-streamed the event so we could watch from home. I really appreciated her thoughtful asking before the race started so we could see what happened. In XC girls 1a, 2a, and 3a all run together. Boy divide the 3a from the lower schools. So the pack was huge. 

Addie working hard she was very determined this day. 

Last Sunday as she was talking about her race and saying she just ran out of energy in the second mile I was evaluating in y mind what provides energy. In car diagnosis when checking for startability problems you always evaluate the three components spark, air, and fuel. Nothing happens if either component isn't present. Same for running you need fuel (proper nutrition), air (conditioning), and spark (mental toughness and determination), and new to us this week adequate sleep. Not just early to bed the night prior but banked sleep. a reserve of energy if you will that allows the body to function at peak performance. This was a prompting I had a saying "gotta sleep to put fuel in the bank, for energy in your tank."  Addie scoffed but agreed to an early bedtime all week.

The next day I read an article that reported on a study where college athletes who slept more performed markedky better. Many set personal records and activity directors changed travel arrangements so they could have more time to sleep. 

This was proven to be true data as Addie set a personal record of 19:49. Although she got passed in the final 10 yards by two runners we are so pleased with her ability to achieve her goals! She has wanted all season to break into the 19s. 

She placed 5th! This is an improvement from her 7th place finish last year. 

At home Andrea was learning to clean walls. She likes to do anything the big kids are doing. 

Other kids worked at cracking walnuts. The new tool was a hit the kids were able to quickly crack the nuts.

Livy was more interested in painting. She sure does well-making things look realistic. 

And a surprise from Aliza Addie broke the school record time for the 5k. This was an unexpected surprise but she has been working really hard to get to this point. She has stopped pre-race studying times and projected placements. She has just focused on her own preparation not what might be. 

 Sleep is apparently much more important than we realized. Relaxation and keeping stress under control is also helpful. I'm so thankful she is learning bit by bit how to get the results she wants. I'm thankful for the promptings. Another teammate shared with Addie on Monday her dad wanted her to sleep more as well. It was nice to have a second witness that this was an important key to success.

 Furthermore, Greg talked with Addie that she needed to envision and believe she could run that fast. He started calling her Ms. 19.0. All week he would address her as Ms.19.0 His mechanics coach and teacher really emphasized the importance of visualizing yourself winning. From the steps to winning, to cleaning up, driving the complete car, checking off with judges, and then hearing your name announced as the winner, and climbing on the stage to receive your award. I think all these pieces helped her find success on race day. We are truly blessed and so grateful for the many talents and skills being developed each day one day at a time. 

10.28.23 Senior Night Football

A few weeks ago some Senior moms who are much more nostalgic and invested in special events contacted me asking for financial donations to sponsor my senior football player special gift package. Gifts are not my love language! And the reality side of me is very present whenever considering presents. Thus I sent more than one text encouraging the gifts to be smaller and less involved. However, the end result was a powerful presentation of these guys who are growing up and moving on. I was impressed and thankful for the moms with bigger visions and fewer hangups like 'what will we do with that after the night of use? and/or One more thing to carefully store while John moves on with his life.' 

They asked for a young picture of John we are not believers in playing sports when young. I believe in free play and growth without repetitive motion. I found I didn't have a lot of pictures of John as a child. I also found two really cute ones of him in sports theme shirts. 

Presenting John with his gift bag. He had goosebumps already and the sun wasn't down. We are so pleased of the young man he has chosen to become. 

It was a cold night. We wore our work apparel which we know is cold and windproof. Harold and his dad. Greg smiles a little bit bigger whenever Harold is around. I don't know that Harold realizes how proud Greg is of him. 

After a hard fight they won easily 69-0 against Nyssa. A picture with the coach. 

I am very thankful for this man's patience, teaching, and example. He is a devoted father and husband, he is a regular church goer and thoughtful man. I agree with the coaching staff their methods and their character are good. Because they are good I don't mind my sons learning from them and spending a lot of time with them. 

Another great man and supporter is papa Corn. He had the vision for his sons to learn life lessons through football and has been so supportive on and off the field of his grandsons. They sure appreciate his encouragement and interest. 

Grandma Corn! She loves to feed people and is sometimes tricky in what she makes. She would challenge John's tastebuds and we were amazed at her ability to mask uncommon ingredients. Most people think zuchinni bread is an oddity thats small time compared to our grandma Corn's imagination. 

The Junior class with the coveted wagon wheel trophy. It has mostly resided in Vale since the rivalry began.

One with mom. How I love watching them do things they love. I know these smiles are genuine and I'm thankful they are such fine young men who choose to be righteous, who are smart and so interesting to visit with, who work hard, who are mostly polite and grateful. 

One bittersweet part of the game was playing against cousin Michael. He's a freshman lineman. These guys are friends who love to discuss farming and sports. 

Papa isn't partial toward either side he just loves that his grandsons are able to grow into strong men in everyway mental, physical, spiritual and emotional. 

Seniors pictured with Dr. Munk who sponsors the game and gives a sizeable donation to each team each year. 

After a very successful day Andrea stayed up to share in the visiting with Addie and Mark. She is stealing the spoon from Addie and eating the ice cream then demanding the spoon be refilled. 

High school athletics requires constant attention to hydration and nourishment. We also work on relaxation and listening to experiences. The little kids provide much needed love and diversion. 

Part of John's gift pack. I think the photo shoot to get some of these pictures was as much fun as seeing them. A mom had all the seniors come over for an hour or so of staged pictures. Any opportunity to be with friends is welcome to John. 

President Hinkley said the most important part of teenage life is good friends. It's not more scriptures or church or married parents it's the friends you cultivate. Football has opened the door to acceptance and friends for my sons. Special learning relationships have formed with men and peers. Football has been a life-changing experience. We pray it is for the better. So far we are happy with the results. Another special night in the books, on to play-offs. We are blessed. 
 

10.26.23 fall harvest

One continuing benefit of county fair is the growing friendship between these two cousins. At our house we think Millie is our little daughter but she and her close cousin are about the same size. I guess the other kids at our house because they are much taller. Nonetheless, we are thankful for shared interests, world view and the fun of having cousins around. 

Another weekend project was cleaning the garden. This is the first load of pumpkins harvested. Reed is so proud of these. Looking at the beautiful day as the wind howls today I miss the warmth. 

Next the squash were picked. After picking the younger kids washed them with clean water then bleach water so hopefully they last longer giving us a bigger window to eat them. Pictured on the right is Livy's special cousin/friend Emilynn. 

Later in the day we went to pick apples. Bruce volunteered to be the tall guy he was on top of his tall cousins shoulders and they worked to pick every apple available. 

We picked hundreds of pounds of apples. These Romes are the best to cook with. They bake into a delicious dessert. 

One morning Lia and I spent some time painting together. Since the kids have returned to school she has been my buddy I'm thankful she enjoys being with me as much as her sisters. It's easy to get lost in the many loving people in a family. Mom has to be the disciplinarian (that means to teach and correct). Spending time together has helped our relationship grow. 

A few of the cards I painted. 

 I really enjoy painting cards. I listened to a parenting coach explain her thoughts and methods while we applied color to paper. I'm thankful for sisters who share their learning journeys with me. Two of my younger sisters shared with me whom they are studying and I have benefited greatly. I've been working out with weights for over a month and am now on a path to improve my parenting skills and use more language to teach and coach my children in a better way. 

I'm thankful for the many methods and mentors that are available via technology. I can learn anything while I wash dishes, hold sad or sick kids, or do mindless data entry. We are so blessed with an abundance of information. Life is good and we are very blessed.