Happy Halloween

Buzz Lightyear and Princess Jasmine both wish you a Happy Halloween!

2002

A Week of Crazy

This week is Red Ribbon week. Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. In honor of this week, there was a different theme each day at Jonathan's school.

Monday
Crazy Sock Day - Jonathan is wearing his dragon socks.  He wears these every year for crazy sock day.  He has just about grown out of them.  These socks aren't especially crazy.  He just really likes them.

Tuesday
Crazy Tie Day – We didn’t have a crazy tie, so Jonathan just wore an ugly one.

Wednesday
Wear Red Day

Thursday
Crazy Hair Day – There really isn’t anything crazy that you can do to Jonathan’s curly mop. Instead, he chose to wear this hat (a hat that my mother made to torture me) that looks like green hair.

Friday
Dress Like a Twin – Jonathan didn’t make plans to dress like someone else, so he just wore his usual Friday spiritwear. Surely, there were lots of kids wearing their Gunstream shirts today.  Hopefully, he found lots of twins.

Flour Baby

It is official! My future grandchildren are going to be in BIG trouble. Last Saturday, we had to drop Jess of at the church early for her Road Show. I assured her that I would take care of Baby Emma (I like to call her Flour Baby). I was entrusted with this sweet little five pound bag of flour. She was wearing a cute little onesie that both my kids had worn. She was swaddled in Jonathan’s favorite blanket as a toddler.

Fred, Jonathan and I decided to kill time before the show by hanging out in Lewisville. We went in to Walmart for about 45 minutes or so. I decided to leave Flour Baby in the car. I figured it was harmless. Who would know? Otherwise, I would end up looking like a nut case. I was afraid that security would call someone to haul me off. Think of how it would look… a grown woman walking around with a bag of flour swaddled in a baby blanket.

When we got back to the car, Fred realized what I had done. He got a big laugh. We stopped for dinner and he asked if I was going to leave the baby in the car, again. I smiled sheepishly and acknowledged that I indeed was going to leave the baby in the car. He is so silly. He cracked the window, so she would have some air. He assured me that should keep CPS from coming in to the restaurant and arresting me.

Oh, but it gets better. I decided to bring her into the church for the Road Show. I laid her across my lap. Before long, I realized that I was leaning into her with my elbows. Poor thing! I’m lucky that I didn’t bust the bag open with my elbows. Jess would have gotten failing grade for sure.

Jonathan was too short to see very well, so he kept getting on my lap. During this time, I would lay Flour Baby on his chair. That probably wasn’t the safest place for her, but she survived. His bony bottom was cutting off the circulation in my leg, so I would make him sit in his chair every so often. While we were going back and forth, we discovered that Flour Baby was absolutely in our way. So, I wrapped her up and shoved her under my chair. Again, not very safe, but she survived.

What was my biggest Flour Baby faux pas? After the show was over, I bent down to pick her up off the floor and I dropped her. She rolled across the floor (not very far – bags of flour don't really roll that well). My visiting teachers were sitting next to me. Oh, how they laughed and proclaimed that I wasn’t a very good grandmother! Thankfully, she survived.

P.S. I was wrapping Flour Baby in her blanket, when Fred asked, "Are you really going to swaddle that bag of flour?"  This intrigued Jonathan and he said, "Swaddle?  Does that mean that you are going to kill the baby?"  I never thought of it, but I guess the word swaddle does sound like it could be something violent.

The Perks of Motherhood

Motherhood has lots of perks.  One of my favorites... laundry.  Yeah, that is right, laundry.  I figure that with all the quarters, dimes and nickels that I find in the laundry, I could plan a spa day for myself.  At the current rate, it will only take about 10 years.  Maybe I should come up with something a little more realistic. 

Some days are more fruitful than others.  On a lucky day, I find a few dollars.  On a really lucky day, I find folded up little notes about boys.  On a not-so-lucky day, I find sticks, rocks and pencils.

Saturday was one of those not-so-lucky days.  I found a binder clip - useful but not what I was hoping for.  The quarter was a nice addition to my collection.  However, I seem to have an over abundance of rocks.  Why do boys enjoy putting remnants of the playground in their pockets?  How many rocks does one kid need? 

So far tonight, I'm 0 for 3.  Three loads of laundry and nothing.  I have done white clothes, towels and delicates.  I really wasn't expecting anything from those loads.  Although, there is a nice big load of jeans for later tonight.  I think I have a good chance of hitting pay dirt!  Tonight could be my lucky night!

Sunday at Our House

Our church's Primary Program was this morning.   Each child had a little speaking part.  Jonathan had to say:

Temple blessings unite families. Matthew 16:19 says, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”

The whole primary did so well.  Both the message and the songs were beautiful.  This is the first time, in a very long time, that I haven't been up front helping the kids.  I was sad at first, but it is a wonderful experience to be able to sit back and listen.

We had our weekly Family Home Evening tonight. I had planned what I thought would be a fun evening. We watched the short video clip of Thomas S. Monson's What Matters Most. In the video, he talks about not assuming that our loved ones know how we feel about them. I thought it would be a good idea for us to write a note each Sunday to different people in our lives that we love.

I failed to get the mail yesterday, so it just so happened that both kids had received Halloween cards from Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe today. What perfect timing. Since they had just received their own cards, it was easy to get them on board with our note writing campaign.

I haven't decided how we will handle picking our future recipients.  For today, we each chose a person to write to.  Jessie made a card for her Great Grandpa Goyer in Arkansas.  Jonathan and I didn't go the homemade route.  We used a store bought card, but the sentiment is the same, right?  My card is going out to my Cool Cat Grandma (she really likes it when I refer to her as my Cool Cat Grandma).  Jonathan, on the other hand, chose to write a note to his cousin, Chris.  He is fourteen years old and Jonathan idolizes him.  Jonathan sealed up the card before I had a chance to read it. 

In the pictures above, the kids are enjoying their cards from Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe.  I hate that letter writing seems to be a lost art.  Emails are fun.  Blogging is impersonal.  But, there is nothing better than getting a note in the mail. 

Flashback to the 80's

We had our Youth Road Show tonight.  Our church ward, the Frisco 5th Ward, put on a wonderful show.  As you can see, their skit took us back in time to 1980!  I think the youth had a great time dressing like their parents did... you know, way back in the day!  It was funny seeing all of the kids dressed in their 80's attire.  I really didn't remember that decade being so over the top.  Maybe I'm just in denial!

Jonathan had a wonderful time.  He was exhausted and hungry by the night's end.  However, he giggled and cheered for every ward! 

Blue Belt

Jonathan worked very hard last night to earn his blue belt from Rick's Kicks Martial Arts.  The test started at 7:15 p.m. and they worked until 8:20 p.m.  All of the kids were exhausted and so thankful when their certificates and belts were presented to them. 

We put off letting Jonathan test for his blue belt.  They wanted to test him back in May, but we decided to wait.  I didn't think it was fair to test him at the end of May when he would be taking the summer off.  I was afraid it would be too hard for him to start back in a higher level class.  Then, they wanted to test him in September.  Again, I decided to wait.  He had just started back after the summer and I wanted to give him another month before testing.  In hindsight, I probably should have let him test back in May.  I guess Mom's don't always know best.

Jonathan did a great job and we are very proud of him.  Way to go, Jonathan!

The White Box

Jessica was excited to take Skills for Living class this year. You might be asking yourself, “What exactly is Skills for Living?” It is exactly Home Economics or Homemaking. Only, those two names are no longer considered to be politically correct. The definition of Home Economics is the science and art of homemaking, including nutrition, clothing, budgeting and child care. Isn’t homemaking a noble and necessary function of our lives? I think that Home Economics or Homemaking is a class that all boys and girls should take at some point in their academic career. Sadly, our kids must take Skills for Living, instead. Does this new name give the connotation to our children that learning the art and science of homemaking is not a valuable and worthy goal? Now they are learning practical skills for life (which includes the same stuff that I learned in Home Economics class). I could be speaking out of turn, but it looks like they’ve added a modular on college and careers, so that it isn’t just a “Home Economics” course.

Currently, Jessie’s Skills for Living class has her caring for her “baby.” She has a sack of flour that is dressed and diapered. Baby Emma (as Jess calls her) has to be diapered and cared for – much like a real baby. Only, a real baby wouldn’t have let Jess sleep in until 7:00 a.m. this morning. Hmmm… doesn’t this project sound very much like Jess is learning the art and science of homemaking?

Boy, have I drifted off topic. The intent of my post was not to discuss the merits of Home Economics or Jessie’s flour baby. No, I wanted to write about something that happened to me while I was searching for clothes for Baby Emma. Jess left me a frantic voice mail that we needed to make a last minute trip to Walmart for some onesies. It was raining and I was tired. I told Jess that poor planning on her part did not constitute an emergency on my part. (I was pretty proud of my firm stance on the subject.)

I dropped Jessie off at church and then I went to see what I could find at home that would work. I climbed into my attic and quickly located one of my most precious possessions. I pulled down the white box with the words boy/girl preemie clothes written on the top and side. Several years ago, I gave away all my baby clothes. But, I couldn’t bring myself to donate this special box. At one point, I swore that I wanted to be buried with this box of clothes.

I brought the box inside and set it down. I quickly went about doing my nightly chores and getting Jonathan settled in for the night. I wanted to be able to give this box my undivided attention. I sat down in my chair – which happened to be the rocking chair that I had rocked my babies in. I sat quietly and perused the entire box of tiny clothes. It was kind of like a religious experience for me. I wonder why that box is so important to me. Is it because those preemie clothes are a tangible reminder of how small they were and how lucky I am to have them? I don’t know, but I sure do love those little outfits (even though some have yellowed with age).

Did You Think to Pray?

 

Last night, I was clearly in distress. Jonathan was hovering over me and asking what was wrong. I explained that I had accidentally deleted several computer files that contained important family photos. The short cut to my recycle bin had been covered up by another icon. I couldn’t find it for anything. I was desperately clicking around trying to remember how to go about finding the recycle bin without the short cut. Seriously, I don’t think well under pressure. I didn’t realize it, but I was chanting under my breath “Oh, please let me find them; please let me find them; please let me find them.”

Jonathan sweetly took control of the situation and asked the obvious question, “Did you think to pray?” I was panicking and new that if I just calmed down that I would find the icon that I was looking for. I wanted to brush him off and continue in my panicked search. But, that still small voice told me not to dismiss him. All this time, I have been trying to teach him the power of prayer – how could I not respond? As silly as it seemed to take such an inconsequential thing to God in prayer, we stopped and prayed.

I thanked Jonathan for his wonderful suggestion. I calmly went and asked for Fred’s fresh set of eyes to find the icon that I needed. Of course, he found it within 10 seconds of sitting down at the computer. I was able to restore my pictures and life was good.

Jonathan really hasn’t had a testimony of prayer. He participates in family prayer, but never wants to say the prayer. His personal prayers have been tricky. He sometimes will just respectfully refuse to say them or he will ask me to do them for him. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed that Jonathan has started volunteering to say the prayer. Best of all, he has gone back to saying his own personal prayers. I’m struck by the fact that he only asks for a few things. Usually, he asks for help in school. However, he rambles off a long list of things that he is thankful for.

I am thankful that I didn’t give up. I am thankful that I chose to continually ask and remind him about his prayers without forcing. I need to apply that principle to other areas of my life.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Here are a few of my favorite things!

This computer lovin' girl!

This crazy boy!

This sarcastic hubby!

I love that on any given day I can find parachute men, action figures and army men hanging from my fireplace!

I also love it when Jonathan makes up his bed without being reminded!

This cranky senior citizen!

Last but not least, this spastic little girl!

Precious Pumpkins

Boy, did we need this weekend.  I had been hoping for a nice, quiet weekend for some time.  My request was granted.  Jonathan woke up Friday with a fever and a headache.  Out of necessity, we hibernated inside our house for most of the weekend.  Jonathan managed to get out of the house long enough to attend the first hour of church.  He was complaining of a sore throat, so we left Jessie there and headed home.

By this evening, it was very apparent that Jonathan was back to normal.  It works better for us to have Family Home Evening on Sunday nights.  Since he was feeling better, we went forward with our plans.  The first part of FHE was quite normal.  We popped popcorn and watched a church video about Joseph Smith.  Then we moved on to the activity.  I had a crazy moment where I got the bright idea to carve pumpkins for our activity.  Here is the thing... I had NEVER carved a pumpkin.  My mom didn't believe in carving pumpkins and I had just never found it necessary for my own kids.  We have a cute little witch's head (and her arms) that we stab into the pumpkin.  No carving... just decorating, sort off. 

So, we bought two pumpkins and two carving kits.  Thank goodness there were no injuries!  But, I am done.  There will be no more pumpkin carving for me!  It just isn't my forte.  At least, I can say that I tried.

Old Timer

Last night, Jonathan was inspecting Fred's pocket knife.  He and I had an interesting conversation regarding the knife.

Jon:  Daddy's pocket knife says Old Timer on it.  We should get one for Grady.

Me:  Oh yeah.  Why is that?  Because Grady likes pocket knives?

Jon:  Nope.  Because it says Old Timer on it.  That is what a lot of people call Grandpas.

Boy, did I get a good laugh at that one.  Of course, I wasn't laughing at you, Grady.  Never would I make fun of your age.

For the Love of Laura

 I was blessed to have a wonderful fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Hannon. It was the first time that I really remember developing a passion for reading. I discovered all sorts of wonderful books that year. My favorite books were the Little House series. Oh, how I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder. I longed to live out on the prairie and wear long dresses and bonnets. Thankfully, I discovered the books before I found the tv series. I didn’t have any preconceived notions of how Pa, Ma, Mary and Laura should look or act.

That same year, my Papa Jack died. My parents sat vigil at his bedside for two weeks. During that time, my brother and I stayed with a sweet family that lived near us. Jon Spearman was older than I was, but he had the most wonderful book collection. I spent those two weeks reading from his personal library. Jon had the Little House box collection and he sold it to me for $10. I think I used my birthday money to purchase the collection.  It was the best $10 that I have ever spent. I read those books well into my college years. About once a year, I would hibernate in my room and read the entire collection over the course of a weekend.

I was sad when I realized that Jessica didn’t share this intense love that I had. Jess didn’t learn to enjoy reading until about a year ago. Her fourth grade year, she read fluff for her book reports. If she was forced to read, then she would read Goosebumps or The Babysitters Club. Jonathan is in the fourth grade this year. I didn’t even dare to dream that he might enjoy the same books that I did. However, he surprised me and read Where the Fern Grows and he enjoyed it. I cautiously suggested that he might enjoy reading Little House in the Big Woods for his next book report. He agreed, so I pulled out my blue box set. It was still in great condition. We carefully pulled out the first book. The pages were a little yellowed with age, but otherwise it looked great. Jonathan proudly and carefully took the book and promised to be ever so careful with it. It was like a torch was being passed off.

Jonathan is about half-way through with the book. He likes the stories that Pa tells about hunting and he reports that the author is very descriptive (oh, the blasphemy, I would have never referred to Laura as "the author"). I don’t think he will have my same passion for the series, and he might not read the rest of the collection. Jonathan sometimes rejects a book on the single premise that the main character is a female. However, I am so happy that he gave the book a chance. I can’t wait to introduce him to more books this year.  I'm thinking I might suggest Number the Stars or The Great Gilly Hopkins next.  I love fourth grade book reports!

Love is Spoken Here

February 2008 - One of my favorite pictures

It is no secret that my kids have a hard time being patient with one another. My sleepy teenager staggered into the kitchen this morning. She was met by a wisecracking brother. Jonathan stuck his arm out to keep her from getting to her spot at the table. Fred was tired and didn’t feel good, so he reacted pretty harshly.

From the bathroom, where I was getting ready, I could hear wailing coming from Jonathan. He was beyond upset, gasping for air and frustrated by the injustice that he felt. Surely it was all Jessie’s fault that he got in trouble. He wailed, “She gets to act like a princess and I get in trouble all the time.” Of course, this isn’t true. They are equal offenders, and are equally disciplined for their offenses.

One of my favorite Primary songs is Love is Spoken Here.

I see my mother kneeling with our family each day.
I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray.
Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears,
And I am thankful love is spoken here.

Mine is a home where ev’ry hour is blessed by the strength of priesthood pow’r,
With father and mother leading the way,
Teaching me how to trust and obey;
And the things they teach are crystal clear,
For love is spoken here.

I can often feel the Savior near
When love is spoken here.

I asked Jonathan if he remembered that song. Then I asked him what he wanted spoken in our home. Sobbing, he mumbled that he wanted love spoken in our home. Then he acknowledged that the Holy Ghost can only be felt in our home when love is spoken.

Those were the words that I wanted to hear, but will they ever truly sink in? I hope so!

Happy Birthday, Fred

Today is Fred's 37th birthday!

After church on Sunday, Jonathan went off to his room and pulled out one of his Nintendo DS games. He said that he wanted to give it to Daddy for his birthday. He wanted Fred to have a game that he could play anytime he wanted to. Jonathan wrapped it in Christmas paper, added a green ribbon and made a card.

Jonathan was so excited that he couldn't wait to give it to him. He decided that Fred could open his present a day early. He also decided that Fred should have his chocolate cake on Sunday night instead of Monday.  The kids and I bought Fred the first two seasons of Burn Notice (one of his favorite shows). Thankfully, Jonathan let us wait until today to give it to him.

The kids didn't have school today.  Fred took the day off and spent his birthday with them.  It was a special treat for both Jessie and Jonathan.

Happy Birthday!  We love you, Fred.

A Boy and His Dog

Jonathan read Where the Red Fern Grows for his book report that was due last week. As he worked on the project, it made me wonder about our own two dogs. Billy had two hunting dogs that were fitting of a young boy. Jonathan has two girly Shih-tzus that require brushing and fluffing. These girls are two princesses that won’t even think of touching wet grass or going outside in the cold weather.

Have I done Jonathan a disservice by choosing dogs that Jessie and I like? In hindsight, it really was selfish of me. I think that the book made Jonathan think about the situation, too. Afterwards, he asked me about getting a little boy dog. When he is in high school and our oldest dog has left us, I guess I will consider it.

My moment of guilt faded quickly. A few moments after our conversation, I saw Jonathan and little Mollie rolling around on the living room floor. They love each other… even if she is a fluffy/sissy dog and he is a stinky boy.

Girls Gone Wild?

How on earth do I get roped into these things?

A Teaching Moment: Lessons from Columbine

This was the mood in our family Monday night. Unfortunately, I was dealing with a 13 year old and a 9 year old. Somehow, it wasn’t as cute.

Jessica had been grounded earlier in the evening and she was making sure that we all knew how unhappy she was. The two kids were fighting at the dinner table. I think Jonathan decided to dish out some advice on obedience. As you can imagine, this didn’t sit well with Jess. The next thing I knew, I had two disgruntled children making everyone’s life miserable.

I came to the realization that I had planned a Family Home Evening and it was looking like a disaster. They were a somewhat captive audience at the dinner table, so I decided to work FHE around dinner. I knew I couldn’t pull off what I had planned. Instead, I grabbed a New Era (a church magazine for youth) from the kitchen counter. I try to keep the latest magazine on our counter, so that I can take advantage of the time that we have at the dinner table. Of course, it was September’s issue and I wasn’t having any luck finding an article that we hadn’t already read. I finally found one, but didn’t even look to see what it was about. I just announced that we were going to have a prayer and read from the New Era. As they moved to get their arms in folding position, I heard lots of grumbling.

When I looked down to start reading, I realized that the article was about the Columbine shootings. I knew that Jess was very knowledgeable on this subject. Her school has taken part in an initiative called Rachel’s Challenge. (Rachel Scott was the first person to be killed in the shootings.) This initiative is very near and dear to her heart. Jonathan surprised me when he let me know that he had seen a video at school about Rachel Scott. Both kids were visibly touched by the Columbine story, which was told by a survivor. Afterwards, I asked Jess to share her feelings about Columbine and Rachel Scott. She cried as she told me of Rachel’s kindness. Jonathan shared his feelings about Rachel, as well. I asked Jonathan how he felt. He answered that he felt good and warm inside. It was nice to have that moment where I could remind him that he was feeling the Spirit. I think sometimes he doesn’t slow down long enough to feel it.

I am so thankful that I was able to figure out a way to pull a Family Home Evening off (even though it wasn’t what we had planned). It completely changed the attitude and demeanor of each family member.

Sabbath Day in the Ozarks

I had a wonderful time with the girls in Eureka Springs. Each morning, we all welcomed the rare opportunity to sleep in. On Sunday, I woke up at 7:00 a.m. I had a slight headache, so I grabbed some Excedrin and a bottle of water. While I nursed my headache, I pulled back the curtains on my window and marveled at the Ozarks Mountains and Beaver Lake.

The other girls slept while I took a shower and got dressed for the day. I had this wonderful opportunity to be lazy on the last morning away from my family. Yet, I felt so compelled to get moving. I showered, did my hair and make-up and packed for the day. As I came up the stairs and saw one of the other girls doing her Bible study, I was inspired.

I bundled up in my sweatshirt and sat out on the porch. There, in the beauty of the Ozarks, I gave a silent prayer to my Heavenly Father. I didn’t have my scriptures with me, but I had one of our church magazines. I pulled it out and read several articles with quotes from our wonderful and inspired church leaders. It had been weighing heavy on my mind and heart that I was missing general conference. However, I was so thankful that I could have my own worship service on the porch of a cabin in the Ozarks.

The Spirit filled my soul and I was edified as I read the words of Thomas S. Monson and looked out over the beautiful lake and mountains.