Utah

Jeff and the kids had to fend for themselves for a few days the week before last while I went to Utah to meet Jon and Laura's new little guy, Christian. I had a great time with Matthew, Christian, Jon and Laura, and with Naomi, David and Cassie.

Hermes has Friends

A few weeks ago Sophie and Maggie accepted a hand-me-down hermit crab and all of his gear from a friend. They renamed him/her Hermes (he's the big one). He has adjusted really well to his new home, and today we got him 2 little friends, Artemis (he/she is green) and Racerunner (but I will probably call Racerunner Nike, to fit with the ancient gods and godesses theme). Here they are getting to know each other.

I'm Blue!

A few minutes ago, Maggie popped up in between Sophie and I (we were talking about important 9 year old stuff) singing:

"I'm blue, abidee abidoo, I'm blue."

Apparently, when she was finishing off her blue Bottle Pop, she walked past a mirror and immediately thought of "I'm Blue" by Eiffel 65.

New Year, New Goals

I have 2 major goals this year:

1. Become healthier through healthier eating.

2. Become more relaxed despite my hectic schedule.

Goal number 1 is pretty self-explanatory. I've got a bunch health issues that I'd like to boot out of my life. Some of them aren't going anywhere--there's nothing I can do about them. But there are some that I could control, if I work at it. I am making small changes, one at a time, and working towards a healthier me. Right now I am working on not snacking after dinner.

Goal number 2 is a little more nebulous, at least in my mind. There are lots of reasons for me to feel stressed out a lot of the time. Some of the reasons have names: Sharon, Michelle, Sophie, Maggie... For the past several years, I have reviewed my list of commitments over and over again, cutting out things that are unnecessary. I think I am now down to the basics, but I still feel a lot of stress. I have tried to consider why I feel stressed. One reason, which I should have realized earlier, is Jeff. Not Jeff himself, or anything he does, really, but being married to someone who has ADHD puts a certain amount of pressure on the non-ADHD spouse. Because he can't sit still, Jeff accomplishes a ridiculous number of tasks per day. When you add that to the fact that he literally cannot sleep more than 6 hours per night, the pressure really begins to mount! With these realizations, my first step in being more relaxed is to accept that the number of things I accomplish in a day will not match the number that Jeff accomplishes in a day. If I figure out a second step, I'll let you know what it is, but this one will take me a while. In fact, maybe that should be my goal for the year. ;-)

Nephi and his brothers

This evening for Family Home Evening, Sophie gave a lesson about Nephi and his brothers. We re-enacted the story of Nephi and his brothers obtaining the Brass Plates from Laban. The re-enactment had 2 basic challenges:

1. There are a minimum of 9 characters in the story, but only 6 people in our family.
2. 8 of the 9 characters are men and 5 of the 6 of us are female.

However, with some double-dipping and creative casting, we found that this is what Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel look like in our family:

And by the end, we learned that we can go and do the things that the Lord hath commanded, just as Nephi did.

Four Completely Random Things

1. When we had our first snowstorm 2 weeks ago, Jeff did a snow dance. He jumped up and down and sang, "It's snowing, it's snowing." The next evening, he took this awesome picture of our roses still blooming in all that snow.

2. For Trick or Treating on Halloween, the older girls invited some friends to come for dinner and trick or treat together. The Ghost Shepherd's Pie we had for dinner energized all 11 girls for the evening of running and begging.

3. Today I rediscovered the joy of a project. I painted our guest bedroom, using paint left over from previous projects. I am thrilled with the result!

4. Maggie was fascinated with painting as well. She watched me for a long time, occasionally commenting on how different the room looked and how it will still look different in the morning, and after church, and after school on Monday, etc., etc. She doesn't remember me ever painting anything before, since the last room I painted was when she was about 3.

Learning from Children

Our Relief Society lesson today was about becoming like little children in order to become more like Christ. In the course of the lesson, the teacher asked what we have learned from children in our lives. I considered this question carefully. Obviously, in the course of being a mother for the last 15 years, I have learned many lessons. It is difficult in some cases to decide how I learned various principles. However, there are a few specific things that I feel quite certain I have observed in each of my children and hope someday to learn.

Sharon has shown a consistent example of how to let things go. She has an amazing ability to let things roll off her back and continue forward, regardless of the hurt or frustration she may feel in a given circumstance. I believe she derives this strength mainly from her consistent focus on the things that matter most. For example, when she was in 6th grade, I questioned her about friends. I was concerned about her adjustment to middle school. Her response is something I will never forget. She said, "I only need a few friends who have good values." The reason that this response is burned into my brain is because I have seen her consistently choose just a few friends for their good values, and remain unconcerned about the popular crowd. Someday I hope to be able to be as focused on the important things as she is.

Michelle has great instincts about emotions. She can immediately sense the mood of those around her, and she is very open concerning her intuition. I feel like Michelle teaches me to trust what my intuition says is happening, and say it like it is.

In Sophie, I see an undying curiosity. Sophie likes to understand every detail of the books she reads, of the things people say, of her own life and her own problems. She asks for the meanings of more words than most people ever use. Most impressively, she is willing to probe her own difficulties and worries. She considers her troubles even when it is scary or painful.

Maggie demonstrates an uncanny ability to respond with love. She is able to identify those who are in need of love in their lives and give it to them, giving hugs and sweet concern to those who I would pass by without a thought. Additionally, Maggie responds with love in almost every type of situation. If those around her are sad, frustrated, smiling, friendly--no matter what the emotion, I see her responding with a hug and concern. Even at times when I have been angry, and even when I am angry with her, Maggie responds with love, with a hug and a smile.

Someday I hope to be able to do the things I see in my wonderful girls.