A SUCCESS

It is a new day, a new week, soon to be a new year. We have emerged from our family hiatus reinvigorated and ready to resume our responsibilities, challenges and general mayhem that seems to take up such a large portion of our lives. I was so grateful for my children's friends respecting what I was trying to achieve this past week. None of them called with invitations that would distract them from this past week, but they all have plans waiting for this upcoming one, which is good and fun and how it should be. An entire week of shutting out the world is so therapeutic. We hardly even ventured out of our family with the computer or the telephone. That means we have some catching up to do with everyone else we love, but that seems to be "relatively" easy. ;-) Fred had to work Monday and Tuesday, so during the days, the children and I finished preparing for Christmas and in the evenings we celebrated together. I had enough food bought and prepared for buffet style eating for the most of the week, so I only cooked dinner Tuesday night and breakfast Saturday morning and we grazed the rest of the week. It was fantastic!

We spent the days sledding, playing board games for hours, reading, watching movies, visiting, making treats etc. We even tried roasting chestnuts, though we didn't have an "open fire", and found them to be quite disgusting. I'm not sure why they would be romanticized in a song, but that is knowledge that can be chalked up to experience. We learned that the Farming Game is so much more fun when played "speed style"; it is also much more violent. We learned that when you play board games for too many hours, and too late at night, that you get very loud and silly and people not playing with you keep casting sidelong glances of concern. It was reminiscent of very long monopoly games with Mys and Lulu. Because we never went anywhere outside of our neighborhood, Lily and Sophie spent three full days in "princess" clothes and we didn't have one dramatic outburst about someone choosing the cute flower pants that Annalie gave them first or having to change into clothes that "match". We did have other dramatic outbursts but that is just par for the course with twins.

I did wake up this morning to a very full Inbox on my e-mail, which will take some time to sort, but that is okay as well, because I'm up before any of my children who will probably all get up late because we partied them too hard last week, so I have a few minutes before I have to head off to a planning mtg. for this big New Years Celebration that has come down from Salt Lake. More partying.........! I think Pres. Monson likes parties ;-) Our stake has chosen to hold it on New Years Eve, so half of our family will be at the stake center from 8:00 PM until 1:00 AM and Fred and the youngest three will be at home. Not an ideal celebration-- I am trying to talk Fred into coming up for the countdown and "breakfast", but I think he is thinking he may actually sneak into bed before midnight for once on a New Years Eve, so I don't know how sucessful that will be. It would be so much more fun as an entire family!

If the weather and every one's health holds out, we will probably end these two weeks of vacation by staying with Joseph and Camille on Friday and Saturday. We haven't been up to the ranch in a very long time and Fred has a sleep study to do in McCall so we thought it would be a good opportunity to all go up together and visit.

MAKING OUR GINGERBREAD HOUSE FOR F.H.E.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

PERFECT PRINCESSES

CASUALTIES OF TOO MUCH SUGAR AND TOO LITTLE SLEEP

(He ran straight into the door jam!)

GAME CRAZY

GONE CRAZY

(This is what happens when your mother forces you to spend an entire week together as a family! Mikayla was having too much fun. I was hoping some of Jordan's friend girls would show up for just a minute ;-)

SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST (Fred gave me a tablecloth and napkins and rings for Christmas-- I was feeling very refined)

One Week

As my children get older and we all get involved in more diversions and responsibilities, it becomes more difficult to find any time to be together as a family. I have been very firm about having everyone home for dinner, but it seems that someone is always running to and fro. We are trying something new this week. This children are out of school and I have calendared the whole week as "family time". No one splits off to do something without the rest of the family. I told them if their friends can't deal with that kind of separation, then they are welcome to come over and spend family time with us, but we will all stay together. We have made plans to play games, do some fun baking, get ready for Christmas, put together friend deliveries, make gingerbread houses, have a taffy pull, go sledding etc. Unfortunately that has also meant my girls are missing out on a cousin Christmas party, which makes me sad, but unless we schedule family time on the calendar, someone always wants a piece of somebody and this is so important to me. I hope it accomplishes the memory building that I desire and not end up being a sad experience for all of the things that we "miss out on". Next week of break the children are welcome to "go crazy" living it up with friends. I'm looking forward to the next two weeks immensely.

Of course I am not ready for Christmas, but I will be done with shopping this morning, if the roads cooperate, and hopefully will be ready by Christmas Eve with everything else. I did much of my shopping online this year, because shopping with the twins in town was so unproductive and draining. Three of my gifts are still not here. The postal tracking has their estimated arrival dates listed as today, tomorrow, and Wednesday. Mikayla suggested that I start praying for them. I will!

I love my big extended family. Merry Christmas to all of you.

Redirected

I have been doing the CRAZY Christmas rush thing, since the day after Thanksgiving. This week it has gotten out of hand. I have been burning the candle at both ends, spending endless hours researching on google, driving, and chasing overactive twins all through the stores of town and by yesterday my home and my mind were both about to self implode from neglect. I came rushing in at 6:30 last night, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, to pick up Abe for Pack meeting and was met with a Jordan initiated intervention; my home was spotless. It was the sweetest gift of the season so far. Where before I had been dreading caroling with scouts in 17 degree weather, I now joined Abe and his friends at a senior citizen apartment complex with a repentant heart and was met at their doors by 12 lonely and appreciative people. Yesterday evening, as I read this years addition to our story advent, I was unprepared for the emotions that I felt and I finished weeping, redirected to the true spirit of Christmas. I am often stubborn and slow to remember. I am grateful for a family who isn't.

In the World

Fred comes home today from his training convention and I think will be very glad of it. He has been eating at the best restaurants with someone else picking up the bill, has wandered through Disneyland for the first time in his life, and has generally been "schmoozed" for the last 5 days, by every vendor who finds out that he is a R.T. director with a budget to spend. He walked to church Sunday on a beautiful sunny day, and was picked up by a kind Polynesian family. He said it was such a relief to walk through those doors and leave the "worldliness" of flowing money and "dressing for success" behind. We have not been accustomed to the corporate world and he will be happy to return to his small, shared office in a sane city. Of course we will all be happy to have his peaceful, calm influence back home and the twins can't wait for the Micky Mouse suckers they've been promised.

We attended our ward Christmas party on Saturday. We enjoyed dinner and a nice program and then "Santa" came to visit with each individual child. Because of the way that we were raised I have always loved the symbol of Santa and we enjoy "playing at the game", but when my children ask questions I have always been honest with them about his reality. I think at a young age this causes some confusion because they see his influence everywhere and most adults want to allude to the magic in their presence. Lily and Sophie are experiencing this confusion. They have asked many questions and I have answered by explaining the reality of St. Nicholas and the tradition that has been carried on since his death to symbolize a good spirit of Christmas. As our ward program finished, and it was announced over the microphone, that Santa was here, Lily gasped and turning to Mikayla said, "See, Santa's not dead!" I escorted her quickly to the bathroom to try and re-explain things. When I could see that she wasn't buying into my explanation, because she had gotten a visual of him walking across the gym, I decided not to push the issue, but told her we would talk about it more at home. She stubbornly said, "No, I want to talk about it here!" I did my best not to destroy the symbol, but be truthful and we went back out to sit on his lap. She and Sophie stood in line for quite some time and finally had their turn (of course together). A very kind, well dressed, convincing Santa talked to each of them and then asked them what they wanted. Lily looked toward me, standing back from the line and said, "I want a Barbie." Unnerved, Sophie meekly said that she wanted a "heart doll", upon which Lily announced that Sophie already had one of those. I have never had my children make wish lists for Christmas, have never asked them what they wanted Santa to bring and have tried very hard to help them not focus on "getting", but of course at 4 that is still a lesson that is being learned. As Lily climbed down from Santa's lap she triumphantly announced to me what she had asked Santa to bring her. Because I do not like Barbies or what they represent and because Lily is VERY aware of this, I expressed my disappointment with her request and explained that she would not receive that gift. She was sure that I was wrong because she had asked it of Santa, not me. Not wanting to get back into a confusing subject in the middle of the gym I told her that she had to ask Santa for appropriate gifts. She wanted to know if Santa knew that and if Sophie had "told him about Barbies". The conversation finally ended in a positive light, with her perfectly contented with the candy cane that she had been given. She is a driven child and I always have my hands full trying to calm her unruly spirit, but I know she will go far, if I can last, with that kind of confidence and self determination. Sophie has her fathers talents of peaceful serenity, meek obedience and the desire to please, and they make for a perfect, though emotionally draining duo.

I was talking with my visiting teacher this week about Christmas traditions and, of all things that I am not competent to talk about, simplifying. She was telling me how she had heard a women's conference talk one year on the subject that had "changed her life". She had been in a frenzied habit of buying tons of gifts and trying to make everything balance out (if her daughter had ten things, the rest of the children must have 10 things, etc.) That year she decided each child would get one gift from "Santa" and one gift from she and her husband. I sat there thinking that we had been getting our children only one gift for many of the past years and I was still stressed out, and I realized that it is because I have still put too much emphasis on the gift. Since I'm only buying one, it must be perfectly suited-- it must be magic! I wonder if I will ever have the courage to truly simplify and gain that peace that comes from putting into practice the "true meaning of Christmas". I have been a coward for so many years.

Yesterday, Jordan had to "break up" with a girl, that he was not aware he was "dating", after a Christmas gift was prematurely and symbolically thrown at his head. After I found him in the playroom, hurt by the vehemence and struggling to understand the female mind, we had to have a talk about kindness sometimes not being kind. He has grown into such a nice young man and this adult world he is entering, can be a bit rough and tumble sometimes, and hard to come to grips with. It's hard to watch him grow up and become independent.

I have great expectations and high hopes for this week to be "a new day". Wish me luck!

Busy December

Fred left for an R.T. conference yesterday near San Diego, so that all 3 of the R.T. directors (California, Utah, Boise) could be together and Fred could get some insight into how the other two are running things. He called last night and said that he could see Disneyland out of his hotel window. We all wish we could be there with him.

Lori invited us to her stake for their annual live nativity last night. Marg and Liz and her children also came. It is outdoors and the back field is lit by hundreds of candles covered with white bags. The youth dress up and put on a sweet and simple walking tour of the city of Bethlehem where you meet the roman soldiers, the innkeepers, the shepherds, angels and of course Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus. Each year there is a live camel near "the inn", which is so memorable for the little children. It was nice to be able to stop in Decembers rush and be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas and be able to visit with family. I'm looking forward to Lori's couples party where those of us in the valley can spend some adult time together before the holidays.

Our high school Christmas concert was last night and the FX show choir (which Jordan is in) peformed 3 dances at the end. It was so much fun to watch him--I wanted to be on stage with them (I'll post pictures when I get them developed). The choir did invite all of the audience members who knew the hallelujah chorus to come up and sing with them; I did and that was fun.

Thanksgiving With the Family

Back at the farm; preparing for dinner at the Olsen's.

A lot of perfect children

Clean up

Nate in his prime....as usual.

(for those who live far away and are not used to this classic Nate pose, the belly isn't "real" ;-) Nate is still as "G.Q." as ever he was.)

Playing "Dippy-Dippy-Dip" after dinner.

Pretty Inside

There is a song entitled "The Call" from the "Prince Caspian" movie that my family hasn't stopped singing for the last week and a half. It is one of those highly addictive songs that you can't get out of your head, but it's pleasant and good and wholesome so it hasn't been annoying. The kids had it playing on YouTube while we were working on Saturday and the twins were dancing to it. Sophie danced into the kitchen and proclaimed to me, while still dancing, "I feel pretty inside when I listen to this song all the time!" I thought it was a profound thing for a 4 year old to say. It's a good measuring stick for so many other things besides music.

Our family is basking in "quality time with Dad" with the second week at Stevens-Heneger behind us. We are all getting ready for the day together in the mornings and then the older girls and Abe get a ride to school as Fred heads off to work (Jordan leaves first for a zero hour morning show choir class). Again, every evening, everyone is gathered around the table for dinner. It's surprising to realize how often we all just did our own thing for dinner, when Fred wasn't here. It's such a good thing for our family! As a couple, Fred and I are still having to make some adjustments to a schedule that we have never experienced before. Though our family is together more and at optimum times, Fred no longer has those scattered days off during the week where he and I were used to accomplishing projects and planning and dreaming. It has made Saturdays more precious and more guarded since it is the only day to accomplish time consuming things together. We are having to come up with different days and ways to get all of the deep cleaning done, so our Saturdays are not spent entirely in maintenance, as we have been so accustomed. Friday date nights are now imperative instead of optional because it is the only time alone as a couple.

One of the first adaptations that I have had to make was putting the Christmas lights on the tree myself. Traditionally I assemble the tree, Fred strings the lights (he was relegated the task after we were married, because it became obvious, very quickly, who had been blessed with the most abundant patience.) and then we all decorate it. But, since Fred didn't have any days off during the week, and because he was feeling a lot of pressure from work, I decided to be "noble" and string the lights. I did everything like Fred would have, testing every strand before stringing it, but I can tell you my mental state was not the same as Fred's always is. That quote I posted on the blog, weeks ago, about "Things I've Learned" was very accurate on this subject. Assembling and stringing took me from 6:30AM to 8:00 PM, with brief stops only to help the twins get ready for the day and help get a very quick dinner. The older children helped everyone get something to eat for the other two meals, helped me sporadically sort branches, and were otherwise, contentedly on their own. At 6:00 I realized that I would never make it to the top of the tree with the remaining functioning lights that I had, so Mikayla (as a emotional support) and I made a quick trip to Walmart to buy two more strands. When Fred walked in the door that night the tree was up but all of the twinkling lights had gone out after 30 minutes and was no longer merry and bright; neither was I! Within 10 minutes, Fred had located the blown fuse and fixed it, and me... mostly. Monday we decorated it for Family Home Evening and when we were putting on the last ornaments, the whole middle section of lights went out. Fred checked all of the fuses, but to no avail. He said he'd have to undecorate it and take off all of the lights to find the problem, but I couldn't emotionally deal with that unless I was gone shopping all day while he did it, and that has not happened yet so we have a very "special" tree right now. There have been so many other things taking up our Saturdays, which is now the only day where Fred has that kind of time that I don't know if it will get fixed this year or not. Margaret would find the problem herself, but I am learning to deal with it.

I am also trying to come to terms with the fact that I will now have to go grocery shopping on my own, with both of the twins. So far, I have made little jaunts to the store and been creative with making the groceries we have last, but it is getting to the point where creativity and bare shelves just don't complement each other. Pulling around two carts and keeping track of two overactive girls, who will not be confined to a basket seat and who constantly need to use the bathroom is not my idea of sane activities. Millions of moms do it; I have before, but I have yet to accept my place among those sorry ranks, as an indefinite task. Fred says I can do hard things; he keeps reminding me that I am a farm girl, which is exactly right-- and where I belong-- on the "farm"! Well, not to worry. My children used to pretend they were the "boxcar children" when they were little, in between my getting-up-the-courage-to-go-shopping-trips. Creativity pays off! I promise not to let anyone starve....too much.

These changes have come at the busiest time of year, so I am sure the adjustments attached to it will come more quickly with the start of the new year, but all adaptations considered, I feel so blessed to have traded the schedule of most of our married life for this one that is consistent and family oriented. I have stopped worrying so intently that my children are going to grow up without Fred, scarred by me, and am learning that peace has no price. Maybe, with his calming presence now here during the most stressful times of day, I will be reminded more often to work hard on me, so I can get to the point where I'm dancing through the house proclaiming that I feel pretty inside, all of the time, too.

TIS THE SEASON

I went to another ward last Wednesday for a stake assignment and was talking to the Y.W. president who commented that she couldn't wait until Christmas was over. It was November 19th! Come to find out that her husband had just volunteered their home for his works Christmas party and she was feeling a little overwhelmed. I told her she should probably reword her thoughts to, "I can't wait until my husband's work Christmas party is over", so everyone didn't think the Grinch had already been unleashed. As for me, I am so excited about the season. I am itching to put up decorations and play Christmas music. I have my Netflix queue full of old Christmas movies starting next week.

Every year, I plan to be done with shopping before Thanksgiving, so I can spend December doing meaningful things, but it never happens; it's not that I'm unorganized, though that is also true, but I'm just not very creative with coming up with gift ideas. It's especially hard when I have this anti-technology phobia. There have been some years where Fred talked me into buying something with batteries, but almost always the gift is broken before the next year, which is very frustrating. I like gifts that encourage wise use of time, talent building, unity etc. and something that is affordable, which is a hard mix. It happens sometimes. Last year we bought Mikayla a camera and she spent all kinds of time learning to be creative with photography, but like everything else it broke and we couldn't find the receipt that I had so carefully saved and it was another $140 down the drain, not to mention the very disappointed daughter. Young children are simple. You sew or build things for them, they love it, and it lasts forever. We still have wooden barns, playhouses, dress-ups, easels, stools, puppet theatres etc. from when Jordan and Mikayla were little that are still used continuously. Why can't I think of anything like that for people over 12?

Well, be that what it may, I am looking forward to my traditional date with Fred right after Thanksgiving where we choose a Christmas picture book for our story advent. Sometimes we even find a good Christmas CD. Maybe we'll come into Cookies and Cream for some hot chocolate if we're over that way. I'm hoping to re-make some of my dough nativity and add to it with my children this year. We've already broken out the board games, with the end of daylight savings and the cold weather, and we're preparing for all of the upcoming Christmas concerts. Mikayla and Eden will be singing with Young Artists and Jordan will be singing and dancing with the FX Show Choir. It's definitely getting festive. I LOVE TRADITIONS!

Georgie Porgie Madness

HELP! How do you balance being a personable, sincere leader of 200+ young women and a strict, protective, traditionally minded mother of a 17 year old boy, all at the same time. As a mother, "girls" have been "the enemy" since the last day of 5th grade, when a girl who was moving asked Jordan to close his eyes, then promptly kissed him and fled. They have remained the enemy, for me, through middle school. But now they are no longer faceless names; I know these girls, I'm involved in their lives. I can feel the lack or strength of their testimonies. I can see their frustrations with "16" not meeting expectations. And as a mother it has been an advantage. I have encouraged them, in safe settings, to build up these boys by giving them the opportunity to be men and take the lead. For the most part they try hard, but there are a few who, I think, have decided that "Jordan pursuing" is a full time job. In all fairness they are cute, fun, nice girls and have paid attention to Jordan for quite some time, without him caring ;-)(I can't say the same for me), but recently it's even starting to get to my very laid back, be-kind-to-everyone son. In the last two weeks he has received phone calls, visits, date offers, brownies, homemade chicken noodle soup (he had a cold), personalized music CD's, piano sheet music (so he could learn to play and sing it) and the list goes on. It has started to become a joke here, which is akin to talking behind some one's back and makes me feel two faced, but isn't there a point where enough is enough?

I have very vivid memories of baby chicks on the farm and the terror of having a mother hen come after you when she thought you were a danger. I tend to react much like a mother hen sometimes and I don't want to strike terror into any hearts. How do you kindly convince these Y.W. that disciplined restraint will pay off in the end. I guess I just keep enforcing strict guidelines, recognize that our female trait to nurture is propelling these actions, and grin and bear it. I'm sure my outlook will be tested with Mikayla in a few months when I have to deal with an entirely different problem as the mother of a 16 year old girl. We have put such emphasis on reaching this age that young women in general have built up grand "dillusions" of what it will bring, and self confidence hinges tightly on this one thing during high school. I won't be worrying about the tender feelings of her "suitors"-- boys deal well with straight talk from another mother; (another father is a whole different story) it will be her tender feelings that will be cause for concern. I hope she's been watching and learning. I hope I have.

Family Fun

We finally got everyone settled down for the evening, which seems to be quite a feat in our family. The twins are always a challenge, just trying to get them both in the same place at the same time, but they are nothing compared to the other four, the oldest two of whose energy levels spike at 10:00p.m. and who usually drag Abe and Eden into the fray. As the noise ordinance goes into effect out in the community, the Bloomquist household is booming! Fred, who seems to be the only one who has established a healthy "Word of Wisdom" sleep pattern, usually just gives up after Lily and Sophie are down and tucks himself into bed while I try to wrangle the wild herd. Mission accomplished!

Two months ago, Lily and Sophie started noticing that they didn't have an official F.H.E. assignment on Monday nights, like everyone else did, so we put our heads together to see if we could come up with 2 more assignments that we could rotate through the family. We came up with "Hero Award" and "Challenge". Whoever has the latter assignment challenges the rest of the family to do something for the week that will improve us . We just got through experiencing one of the nightly rituals that has been created from that. On Sophie's week she challenged all of us to keep our rooms clean and made a big smiley face that passes from room to room. If you discover it in your room, you can't pass it on until your room is clean. If you get caught with it in your room at family scripture time then the family gets to choose a silly song for you to sing. If you have it two nights in a row you have to sing and dance. Jordan and Abrahm just finished singing and dancing "Once There was a Snowman/Once There was a Baby". There were very good sports and we all had a good laugh watching Jordan curl up on the floor like a baby. Some of us have sung, "I'm A Little Teapot" and "Popcorn Popping", but our favorite by far is "Skida marink A Dink A Dink". Every once in a while, Jordan will have a friend over when F.H.E. starts and it's always fun to see their reactions to the crazy side of the Bloomquist family. We have such fun!

It is once again that short season for finding a good book and curling up with it. Abrahm is finished with soccer, and Jordan is done with cross country and we have a reprieve until Track in the spring when Jordan, Mikaya and Eden will all be gone. It is November and so it is time to read the Hiding Place again. This year I think I will read it aloud to my children, and then I will try to find a good Dickens book that I haven't read, unless anyone has any great suggestions for me in good adult or juvenile literature.

We continue to be blessed in so many ways. We went out to the church orchard on Saturday because it had been announced that they would be selling apples for $8 a bushel. We had enough money in our budget for a bushel and a half. When we got there they were completely sold out. They didn't open until 9:00, but by 7a.m. they had people lined up in their cars clear out to the main road. We didn't get out there until noon. The man apologized and said all that he had left were a few bins they were going to feed to the horses, but we could have as many of those as we wanted free of charge. They were nice apples, just small, and we filled 3 orange crates that he said would last through the winter if we kept them in the garage. I thought of Becky and her "the earth is full..." scripture. Jordan is going to make us apple pie for his F.H.E. dessert tomorrow night.

I am looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with some of the family. I loved what Logan said on the Cousin Connection blog about Thanksgiving making him think of long tables and pickles. Those are farm memories. It will be fun to be celebrating there again this year.


Abe and a team mate watching from the soccer sidelines.


Abe pondering deep thoughts on the soccer field. Sometimes those deep thoughts were interspersed with dandelion picking, or winding himself up in the goal net.




Abe in action.

Faith In The Future

I've had one of those endless colds this week and haven't accomplished much of tangible worth. Me and my house are a wreck, but I have hugged my children more and done a lot of pondering.

Fred came home on Monday with all of the benefits paperwork to fill out for Stevens-Henager, and we quickly realized that they were lacking. Because we have never really been in the professional job market before, we were only looking at the salary when we considered this new opportunity and had never really thought insurance could make that significant of a difference. We became concerned and spent the entire day crunching numbers and came to the horrifying conclusion that with the raise Fred received from the hospital only 3 days before and the semi-annual bonus that came with it, and the difference we would be paying in health insurance, Fred would actually be bringing in significantly less, not minimally more as we had previously thought.

We had enjoyed such good, peaceful affirmation to move forward with this decision and now we were feeling much confusion. We were starting to doubt our answers to prayer and then began wondering if the confusion we were feeling was the real answer to prayer and we had just wanted our previous feelings to be right. We still felt like the opportunity was enormous, but Fred couldn't see how he could shoulder the additional responsibility load and be worrying about our financial obligations even more than before. From conversations that Fred had with the director, we knew that Stevens-Henagar couldn't offer him more, but in these few short weeks Fred had gained such a respect for the staff that he felt he needed to call and express his concerns and see if they could help get some concrete information on advancement time lines and potential for the future. They did, but more than that they expressed their confidence in his abilities and in his character and when he came out of that room I saw a more humbled man, once again at peace with a decision that we had already made, and just looking at his face I instantly felt peace again as well.

Sometimes I let immediate worldy concerns overshadow my faith in the future. I know these first few months are going to be difficult for us. I think Fred will be pushed to stretch capacities he doesn't even know he has and we may feel like we are once again on a student budget, two things which are never fun to pair together, but because we had great dreams to go on a family vacation to New York we do have some money saved up to see us through. And though that vacation may have to wait longer than we wanted, I know the sacrifices we made to save will still be a blessing to us. It will be a good lesson for our family in frugality, a thing which we haven't been as good at as I know we can be. I always enjoy a good challenge, especially when I can see a light at the end of the tunnel :-). It's the pitch dark tunnels I'm terrified of.

I know Heavenly Father cares about our smallest concerns and he is holding our hands. Sometimes I forget to be humble and think that I am too mature to hold hands with a parent, but my "independant" plans are always embarrasingly juvenile and motivate me to cling once more to someone who knows me better than I know myself.

"I've Learned"

INSPIRING THOUGHTS -- AUTHOR UNKNOWN

I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today,
life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they
handle four things:
a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents,
you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a life.
I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt
on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you.
But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others,
your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart,
I usually make the right decision.
I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug,
or just a friendly pat on the back.
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

HAPPY HARVEST!

The children are out of school today and we are all up early preparing for Harvest festivities this evening. The older girls are preparing the prize board for Fred's annual jeopardy game and Mikayla is making a list of pumpkin pie ingredients so we can get them ready for Abe, Lily and Sophie to deliver to family friends as harvest gifts. Last night Jordan and his friends went to a haybale maze at a members home and ended up at Pres. Walkers home for ice cream. Mikayla and her friends had a group party with good old fashioned games, bobbing for apples and pumpkin juice drinking contests. The extended family Harvest party last weekend was a perfect beginning to the holiday season and really got us in the spirit.

For Mom and Dad's benefit I included a few pictures, but my camera batteries ran out early that night so I only got a handful.



This was the first activity, which ended almost before we got there, because it was almost as tall as Ben and Renee's house and there were casualties early on. Eventually a safer slide was put up with the kids enjoyed all night long!


When the evening was ending the adults sat around listening to Jordan play his guitar while the younger children enjoyed their own musical talents.



Isaac after enjoying the treats from room to room "trick or treating".
We also enjoyed good food, strobe light fun, hay rides, and most especially family!

A Stool In The Corner

Fred went into Stevens-Heneger for his 3rd and final interview yesterday and they offered him the job. We are a little stunned. We feel like David in "Sabrina" when Elizabeth Tyson asks him to marry her, he proposes, she accepts and he says, "Why?!" It's not that Fred can't do the job, because really he's perfectly suited for it, it's just that they came looking for him, and compared to some of the qualifications they were looking for on paper, namely a Masters degree, and vast managerial experience, and the fact that those "qualified" people are certainly out there, is a little perplexing. The only explanation is that these people were being led to put away paper applications and to see inside Fred's heart and mind. We are humbled by the implications and the expectations. It's like transitioning from 5th grade, at the top of your game, to middle school, where you spend the entire year just treading water and looking at the older class men as intimidating giants. Of course your potential is just the same, but it takes you some time to build your confidence back up again.

As the director of the Respiratory Therapy department at the college, Fred has been given the assignment to get the program up and running by January. From what we can gather that will include staffing instructors, and overseeing curriculum with only 2 weeks of training in San Diego. I just smile and say, "I know you can do it honey!" and skip off to cook dinner and fold a load of laundry, feeling very grateful that providing is not my role. Though a bit overwhelmed by the challenge, I know Fred is excited with this incredible opportunity to grow. After the first year, he can attend classes free of charge and they will encourage him to acquire his Masters degree at the college. We don't know yet exactly what his expected hours will be because it's a salary position, and they offer classes at all different hours of the day, but we know that it won't include weekends or holidays, a blessing which we have never experienced in our 18 years of marriage, except for those few short months working with Ben. We feel so blessed and know that the Lord's hand is in all of this. Though his salary will be just minimally more than he is now making, and we will still have to be very frugal, just like everyone else, it will allow him to forgo getting a second job, which was a consideration which was weighing on him heavily before, and the way will be wide open for advancement, since he is starting on the bottom rung of qualifications.

The college is an immense high story building, which they call the "campus", but only two floors have been finished. The remaining space is there for "expansion" as this school is just getting started here in Boise. I asked Fred if he would get an office. He said he gets a stool in the corner of a small room which he shares with two other people...........and a pointy hat. I think he's exaggerating about the pointy hat. As always, Fred is humble and teachable, which is why, I think, the Dean and C.O.O. have been so taken with him. I think they will be pleased with their choice. Fred is intelligent, creative, and resourceful and has the happy gift of being liked by everyone. He has friends everywhere, which will be invaluable in creating ties between the local hospitals and the R.T. college.

Fred's sleep lab also had their first patient last Tuesday, which was fun for him and his partner. They still have all kinds of road blocks impeding their progression, but it is a encouraging start.

Angel Maid

Mikayla is reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" for school and enjoying it immensly, but last week she came home feeling very perplexed, and informed me that Jem does not call Scout "Angel Maid", he calls her "Angel May".

Of course we were raised watching that movie, but in my adult life, I have also read the book. How both Mom and I missed that, I can't imagine, but Mikayla has grown up thinking she was named after "Miss Jean Louise", and all this time the name has been wrong! I told her she's stuck with the wrong name, and it doesn't change the source, but I think her identity has been a little shaken. At any rate, she is turning into more of a young lady every day and Angel Maid, without the sarcasm, suits her.

Things I Wish I Had Learned

The past few days I have been wishing I had learned more. You know, the kinds of skills that aren't necessarily part of the "Home Economics" curriculum in college, but are part of the home economics of real life. Things like how to give your four daughters really cute haircuts, and how to take your sons senior pictures, and how to write a professional resume for your husband. Things like teaching your family how to sing and play piano... and violin... and guitar. Things like knowing how to keep real houseplants alive and flourishing. You know, just things that create and sustain and capture beauty. I haven't been a very receptive student in those areas and have had to rely on so many other people. Oh, I know, we all have our different talents, but lately I yearn to know those kinds of nurturing things.

Saturday, I spent hours writing a resume that I had no experience with writing. Tomorrow someone else will cut all of our hair. Friday someone will spend hours taking pictures for Jordan, and every day I walk past an ivy plant that used to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and watch it die stem by stem.

Sunday, the children and I went to an Institute choir concert at our Stake Center, and I was so moved by the power of good music, that as tears ran down my face, I felt happy my children haven't been very athletic and have seemed drawn to musical outlets. But, for that, again, we rely on someone else. Of course there is a price to be paid for the help of others, and so even those avenues seem very limited.

I have no great ambitions to be Ansel Adams or Pavarotti or the English gardener of a grand estate; I just want to be useful when my family needs a little help. I wish I had learned more things. I think I will.

My Town

I was just sitting here thinking how much I love my town! When I first drove through it, I have to admit that I was not impressed. It seemed way out in the boonies, and run down, but it also seemed "right", so I invested myself. A few weeks ago, Fred and I had to do a few errands in town. Jordan needed some cultured stone for a city council presentation so we stopped by a small home improvement store here and asked if we could "check out" some samples to use. The owner just handed us a big display board and told us to bring it back, with no paperwork, just a handshake. We then went to the local hardware store for some fence tools, where one of the city councilmen was working and recognized us and asked about Jordan being at city council that evening. He was excited about Jordan's proposal and project and we left with a "good luck" to go to the hometown grocery store, where Abe's soccer coach was our checker and reminded us about practice the following evening. We drove home on the main street that has no stop lights and just felt privileged to be a part of this "podunk" town where everyone feels like family.

On these cold nights, we can hear the weekend football announcers over at the high school and the trees "over the river and through the woods" are turning brilliant colors. Until the weather turns nasty, the older girls and Abe all walk or bike to or from school and I feel safe because they are surrounded by friends and people who are watching out for them all across town. Our little library "hall" has finally broken ground for a building extension that will double it in size and with a nice little library we will finally be daily life sustaining. We have to leave town to do any shopping, but that is only 15 minutes away and we like the traffic and all of the commercialism to stay in Nampa instead of here.

Of course our dream would be to live out in the country here, but we do have a huge canal bank in back of our yard that we take walks on and pretend is our little wildlife refuge (we see muskrats, herons, snakes, red-winged blackbirds, geese, and ducks) and that ends at a big, open field that has been sold for future subdivision expansion, but which is Olive's dream world right now. And we love our neighbors, who are all friendly and look out for each other, so it is probably a good thing to be here, where I am forced to interact and not allowed to be a home hermit (which I am rather prone to).

It has truly been a blessing in our lives to be here, though it took much traveling to reach this destination. I won't say that we'll never leave, because I've learned my lesson about pretending that I'm completely in charge of my life, but we're sure happy here right now! As soon as we figure out how to simplify more and learn to enjoy the here and now better, as President Monson encouraged us, we may even find peace and true joy.

I am so looking forward to the Harvest Party and all of the months ahead that focus on gratitude and family, and in sharing in Mom and Dad's mission and Mys and Dave's daily adventures.


(The canal bank which extends along the back side of our house and subdivision)

VALIDATION

Marg was worried about Jordan's taste in fashion with the Homecoming pictures we posted. I don't blame her, but here's proof, from last year's Prom, that he and his friends know how to do class" as well.

HUMOR -- THE BEST MEDICINE

I received a phone call this morning from a solicitor. I had to say hello twice, so I was waiting for a computer to come on and then I was going to hang up. It wasn't a computer, but a very uneducated telemarketer reading a badly written script for a carpet cleaning service. I am on the no-call list, so when telemarketers do call I'm not very patient, but this one sounded like he had "special needs" and was offering to clean ALL the rooms in my house, including my laundry room and garage, if I had carpet in there. I kept thinking that this sounded like the message left on our cell phone when we were trying to rent the farmhouse, but I didn't recognize the voice, so I politely told the poor man that we had just cleaned our carpets--which we have. The salesman, then said, "Okay, what about paint?" and all of a sudden it dawned on me that it was Ben, and the reason the script was badly written was because he hadn't thought anyone would be that gullible and he was grasping for lines. It has been over an hour now and I am still laughing. I love you Ben, and your quirky sense of humor!

PUZZLE PIECES

Last week, out of the blue, Stevens-Heneger college called Fred and asked him if he would be interested in interviewing for a job as the director of their R.T. department. I guess they have just finished building here by the temple and have started hiring and, for reasons unbeknownst to us, his name was floating around among the staff. He went in for the first round of interviews on Friday. They want someone with a Masters Degree, but they are still interested in him, if he would agree to getting his Masters while he's there. He still has to go through two more rounds of interviews and we know they are interviewing other people, and that they will possibly open up the position all across the country next week. Fred is still struggling with the idea of it all. It's scary to think about this kind of a change in an economic environment where everything is so shaky. The job is very administrative and would include teaching positions and the whole enormity of the responsibility is a little overwhelming and intimidating to Fred, who is ever so humble about his abilities. He's at the top of "the ladder" at the hospital, so his job is as stable as stable can be right now, but because he's at the top there is nowhere to go either and we are feeling the tight pinch to make ends meet, like everybody else. Before Fred's dad moved in with us, Fred was working 16 hour shifts so he could get overtime and pay the bills. Then Fred's dad came and almost immediately the hospital stopped allowing those kind of overtime hours, but Fred's dad wanted to pay his way and his gifts were almost exactly what Fred had been making working overtime. A coincidence? I don't believe in those. Now Fred's dad has moved on and we are not only trying to keep things together again, but with a new debt from the funeral. Ours is the same story as thousands of other people right now in this country, many of them our friends and family. We have been praying for answers but not in this direction, however, the puzzle pieces just keep falling. We don't know if this is the path we are supposed to take, but having more "normal" time together as a family has been in my prayers and providing has been in Fred's, so he is pursuing it until he gets cut out of the interview process or he is offered a job and then we'll decide (or it will be decided for us) what path to take. We sure would appreciate your prayers in our behalf right now, though I know you all have a hundred worries and concerns of your own. Whatever happens, we know the Lord's hands are in it and he will guide us. It's just listening and hearing that seems to be hard sometimes.

As Fred always says, "Zero Deffects!" and "We're living the dream!" Just look around us and see how much we are blessed. I'm sure Mom and Dad can attest to that a hundred fold from their vantage point. I am absolutely positive that in our married life, Fred and I don't know the smallest thing about physical humility. I was sure of that as I finished reading Mom's life story last week, and as Dad and Mom share some of their experiences in the mission field, I am certain that I am a very privileged child. I have to be oh so careful, that because of that, I don't become a spoiled child.

Lori and I had a big round rattan chair in our apartment at college. We dubbed it "the whining chair", and there was a rule among all of us, that you could not complain about anything unless you were seated there. I need to remember, that If I'm ever sitting there, I'm surely being idle and idleness happens to annoy me. I'm sure it does Him as well.

Mother of Teens

It is so much fun to be the mother of teens! This week I have watched Jordan slip in and out of that adult phase of life with so much maturity. He was elected to be the Senior Boys Rep. this year in school, which makes him part of Student Council and with Homecoming this week, he has been unusually busy. He was writing the script for the assembly, planning and setting up for the formal dance, practicing to perform the song which he wrote in the Carnival talent show, and preparing paperwork for the Chamber of Commerce for his Eagle project. He had also asked his favorite friend girl to the dance and was trying to work for us to get enough money for that date. On Wednesday evening, Bishop Waltman called and asked him to speak on Sunday. He looked up at me, after that phone call, with homework spread all over the table and just smiled. I said, "Welcome to the adult world." He then packed a "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet into his backpack to study on the Cross Country bus trip the next day. On Friday, he was elected as Homecoming King which was fun for him, but that meant he had to be at the football game on Friday night and postpone corsage making, which a group of boys had planned at a ladies house who supposedly had all of the materials and expertise, if they would supply the flowers. I was pretty busy myself, and though I was concerned with all that he was trying to accomplish, I had confidence that he would be able to do what needed done. He is, after all, a "big boy". Friday night, with permission, he came home much later than curfew with a sad looking corsage and a lot of stress about date plans that seemed to be falling apart. He was going with a large group and hadn't been as involved with the planning as he would have liked because of his busy week. I asked if he wanted help. He said he was fine, but by Saturday morning, that mother hen instinct took over and while he was gone, I ran up to his date's house to get a fabric swatch to see if the tie he had decided to wear would match. It didn't. I came home, tore apart the corsage, realized I didn't have the materials I needed to fix it, grabbed Mikayla, who has become my stabilizer in such situations, and went to town for wire, tape and a tie to match a turquoise dress (the dance theme was neon). The wire and tape were easy, but no one has a turquoise tie. Neon just isn't very popular in the tie section. With Mikayla's help, I finally found one that would work, and we flew home, hoping that we would beat Jordan and that he wouldn't walk in before us and see his corsage in bits and pieces all over the bar. We did. I went all over the yard and picked bits of pretty flowers and greenery and spent the next hour trying to remember what I had learned 17 years before about corsages. Now it was my turn to be stressed. All corsages were pin-on then; none are now. You have to make them differently. I was finally able to succeed and Jordan was most appreciative to walk in to find a unique and pretty corsage and matching tie waiting for him when he got home. He had to take down the dance last night, so Fred and I and Mikayla and Eden all waited up for him until 1:30. He said, "It was all worth it!" (Don't worry Dad, I grilled him -- no kissing -- no holding hands ;-)

Tomorrow is a new week; I wonder what that will bring!

Jordan and Hannah


The corsage


Half of the group

Divine Intervention

As a Stake, we have been planning our Y.W. Standards Night for quite a while now, but last Wednesday, our main speaker fell through and our Y.W. President's father ended up in the hospital with bone cancer. She called me, crying, from his hospital room, not knowing what to do. I had the prompting to call a lady from our ward, who I felt had some things to share that would resonate with the young women. Her husband is working out of state for two months and she is trying to juggle everything here on her own, so I knew a week's preparation would be a stress, but she humbly agreed to help us out. Yesterday morning (Standards Night was that evening) she called me. She had lost her voice, and with much effort she could barely squeak out her dilemma. She had called her twin sister, who lives in another area, and she was willing to come read Terri's talk, with Terri standing by her side. Sister Fisher (the Stake YW President) approved that as a standby, but I knew it wouldn't carry the same power. Sister Fisher and I prayed for her all day and at 6:30P.M. she showed up with her twin, and still no voice, and President Walker (Counselor over YW in the stake Presidency) and his son Laren (High Councilor over YW) gave her a very sweet blessing. She stood in that meeting and bore a powerful testimony of our worth as daughters of divinity and when I went to thank her after the meeting her voice was gone again.

I know our Father in Heaven listens to our pleadings. He knows the yearnings of our hearts and he blesses us in our righteous desires. And though Lily and Sophie play "Meetings" much more than they play "House", this calling has increased my testimony tenfold and continues to bless the lives of my family in countless ways.

I love you all,
Rach

Wisdom Teeth

At the age of 39, I finally had to have one of my wisdom teeth removed today. Dr. Gray has been encouraging me to have it extracted for a few years now, but I'm not very courageous, especially when it is just a suggestion. Two months ago, it started causing problems and he stopped encouraging and got a little more aggresive in his advice. However, after telling me that it had to come out Dr. Gray made the comment that it was going to be a beast and that I would hate him for two weeks and that I would almost certainly get a dry socket. Then I made the comment that I would rather have a baby AND HE AGREED WITH ME! I have rescheduled my appointment twice, and was about to do it again on Friday but I called after the office was closed. I was so terrified this morning when I went in that I made Fred come into the room with me at first. He did have the twins, so he had to be in the waiting room during the procedure. They gave me laughing gas, which I've never had before and I almost fell asleep before they realized they were losing me and turned down the flow. I didn't like the feeling, but it did help me relax. After he was done Dr. Gray said, "well that's going to heal up nicely -- now that wasn't as bad as you thought it was going to be, was it?" I just about screamed. Apparently he had forgotten his encouraging words from two months ago.

I am happy to report, however, that I have made it through the first full day without too much pain. I will be a very good patient tomorrow and hopefully we can make it through the week without the Dr.'s dry socket prediction coming true. "Life is just a bowl of cherries!"

Love you all,
Rach

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY BLOG!

Below are some of the fun things that have been going on in my life recently:

Traditional (started this year) sisters b-day luncheon at Miss Tami's cottage (we were celebrating Renee and my birthday. We celebrated Lori and the twins earlier this year and will change to a different restaurant for next year. It's been such a good excuse for us to force ourselves to get together. Thanks Liz for the idea!

We are in the process of making "Grandpa's" room into a fun sanctuary for Lily and Sophie. They love it and spend hours drawing and coloring at their little table. A curtain and quilts are the next project in here, but Mom is going to have to give me pointers over e-mail since I have never made a quilt before.

I missed the General Relief Society broadcast ( I completely forgot) but when it was mentioned in church the next day I was horrified. I listened to it first thing Monday morning and was inspired by Elder Uchtdorf's talk about creativity and compassion. I have spent this past week making curtains for my home and ripping down dingy, worn out blinds (a thing which I have planned to do for years and always felt too busy to follow through). I realized that "tomorrow" was never going to come so I've been seizing the moment. So far I have only done the living room and dining room, but I won't stop until the whole house is done, which means I must re-paint Jordan's room and my bedroom so I have a color palette to work from. I'm also spending a little bit of time behind the camera, trying to capture memories that I have been very amiss in capturing for the last few years as well.

Dining Room Curtains

Lily and Sophie on one of our many morning walks with Olive.

Fred has spent the summer (once again) building me a fence. We tore down our 4 foot side fence (that did not contain our beloved Olive), put up a 6 foot side fence, and then Fred took all the 4 foot panels and made these 6 foot height sections to replace the back chain link fence that borders the canal. We are hoping that Olive will finally be restrained without a rope. I continue to be amazed that after 3-1/2 years people are still bringing Olive back at least 3 times a week and not once have we met anyone who was anything but kind and understanding (including police officers and animal control). It has been a great testimony to me that the world is full of good people!

This is the children's treasured pumpkin patch. These little sprouts started in our compost pit this spring, and the children, wanting to tend their own plants asked if they could have a "piece of earth" to plant them. None of us even knew what they were, but this ground by Olive's "calf shed" wasn't being used so Mikayla and Eden planted one sprout and Abe planted a sprout and they "turned" into a beautiful pumpkin patch with all kinds of colors and shapes of "fruit", and have turned some ugly, barren ground into a little garden of Eden.