---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bloomers <crogys@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, May 11, 2010 at 2:19 PM
Subject: [KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES] In Search of Ruby Slippers
To: crogys@gmail.com
From: Bloomers <crogys@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, May 11, 2010 at 2:19 PM
Subject: [KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES] In Search of Ruby Slippers
To: crogys@gmail.com
The weather has been depressingly Winnie the Pooh-like for what seems like ages here, and we are all feeling rather Eeyore-ish. The climate really shouldn't have such a claim on our emotions, but I have been saying, "I'm done with this weather!" for so long now that "I do not think it means what you think it means". I want to frolic in the fields and read languidly in the hammock. I even want to feel little droplets of sweat roll down my back while I'm working in my yard. I am tired of hearing the wind whistling and seeing wet and sog and being COLD. And yes I'm spoiled and most certainly whining! I'm done.
Fred and I had fun touring the Parade of Homes for date night on Friday. There was opulence and elegance and some decorating that made my mouth water, but we were both musing at our change of heart. We have visited Parade of Homes for years and as a young couple we used to come home a bit discontented and "longing" for things we didn't have much hope for. Now we come back inspired to clean and create and so happy to be home. Maybe that is because we know now that dreams are tangible and accessible, if we want them bad enough, and work for them hard enough...and we just have different dreams.
Fred and I had fun touring the Parade of Homes for date night on Friday. There was opulence and elegance and some decorating that made my mouth water, but we were both musing at our change of heart. We have visited Parade of Homes for years and as a young couple we used to come home a bit discontented and "longing" for things we didn't have much hope for. Now we come back inspired to clean and create and so happy to be home. Maybe that is because we know now that dreams are tangible and accessible, if we want them bad enough, and work for them hard enough...and we just have different dreams.
Boise Music Week ended this past weekend, with the traditional "free to the public" musical performed in the Morrison Center. It's a tradition that I have enjoyed since I was a teenager and with Lori, went in search of King Arthur backstage, in his dressing room. No backstage adventures this year, but my family did enjoy the fantastic performance of "Hello Dolly". The singing was superb, the acting was charming and the full 3 hours were a pure delight. What fun to be able to experience culture and the arts with the whole family, without saving up for an entire year. Some years productions are better than others, but this was a treat.
"HELLO DOLLY"
Jordan and Eden decided to quench their artistic yearnings this past week, by making paper mache masks for the younger kids. Sophie was too nervous and wanted no part of it, but Lily endured the procedure like she was a some kind of day spa (and actually fell asleep while the finished mold was drying on her face. The whole idea gave me claustrophobia, but Abe went through the same process after Lily and seemed just as at ease. What we do for fun:)
PAPER MACHE MASKS
Mother's Day was enjoyable. We did have to sit through some "My mom was perfect" talks in Sacrament mtg. but a member of the stake presidency concluded the meeting with his thoughts and that is always a boon. Sophie gave her first talk in Primary and did such an amazing job, without any help, that it made up for the cringing feeling of Sacrament mtg. Jordan, Mikayla and a friend sang in R.S., so I sneaked in to listen, making the day even more enjoyable, even though the song had been chosen for them and was about "angel mothers" (which they know nothing about). The sun even came out for a few minutes on our way to church, as a tender mercy. We came home to all 7 fire alarms going off in our home. The noise was piercing and because they are linked, they wouldn't go off without dismantling all of them. We never did find out the cause, but Jordan made me breakfast in bed and cooked the bacon extra crispy (just like I like it), so maybe all that grease floating around in the air, just settled while we were at church:) Fred changed all of the batteries and put them back up on Monday, so hopefully that won't happen again.
MOTHER'S DAY BLESSINGS AND GIFTS
DISMANTLING FIRE ALARMS
Fred has some "vacation days" that have been piling up since last year that he has decided he is going to use next week. I don't dare get my hopes us because in a salary job, "vacation days" just means that you don't have to show up to the building and they won't dock your pay, but you still have to accomplish everything you normally would anyway, because no one is filling in for you while your gone, the work is just piling up. I anticipate that we will get to work outside for a few hours together a day (if the weather would cooperate) and that will be amazing, in and of itself, and his birthday and our anniversary are that week and we will certainly celebrate, but I still expect to find him sitting in the corner of our bedroom, plugged into his laptop at various hours of the day. I'm hoping he can find a way to relax and enjoy a little bit of the time.
Jordan is working 20 hours a week folding laundry at the retirement home. He's grateful to have any work and never complains about it (and he does seem to enjoy visiting with the elderly residents), but I know he is feeling like "a lone reed", now that most of his friends are gone on their missions or have left for school. He is trying to keep motivated and stimulated by studying for his mission, improving his musical talents and reading a variety of books. Yesterday, he checked out "A Tale of Two Cities" on CD and is loving "the vocabulary". It's fun to see him try things he's never tried before and find enlightenment in them. I am enjoying hobnobbing with him during the mornings, when no one else is around. He makes life fun.
Mikayla was called to be a Family History specialist a few months ago and has been going to a mostly adult genealogy class during Sunday school. She usually comes home either bored out of her gourd, because they spent the entire class period teaching them how to save files (or some other thing that is common knowledge for these techy teens) or a little terrified by all of the aggressive adult personalities jockeying for position in how things should be done, but Thursday she went to a stake meeting where they introduced some new information and explored that in class on Sunday and she came home giddy. She has caught hold of the Spirit of Elijah and it is permeating our home. She taught the lesson in F.H.E. and showed us how to use the new tools being made available from the church and it is exciting. They have changed the way you do indexing as well and she continues to put time into that. She is really quite an amazing young lady.
Eden has decided to run for an office in student government. Jordan encouraged her to run for an equivalent position to what he held and so she is running for 9th grade Girls Rep. It is interesting to watch my children try things that I was never interested in. It is so strange to think of her being in High School next year. She is a strong, brave girl, but she seems so young. I ask her to do a lot of hard things that she doesn't understand, or see the justice in sometimes. She is not always happy with me, but I know that the right kinds of humility and obedience are the beginnings of greatness and she is starting to show her true colors in those areas. She is so talented and I see great things on the near horizon as she develops and disciplines her incredible gifts.
Abe can't wait for school to get out and FREEDOM, FREEDOM FREEDOM!
To Lily and Sophie, school getting out is equivalent to sunshine and setting up the pool. They have been disappointed on both fronts, as Fred has declared that the pool has seen it's better days and will not be going up this year. They expend a lot of energy remembering the good 'ol days when we used to have a pool. Their sad countenances might encourage Fred to try one last attempt at patch jobs, but last year it turned into a daily necessity and I don't know that any of us have the mental stamina for that. We'll have to see how enticing it seems, if the sun EVER comes out.
I helped Mindy (Kirkman) unpack and decorate for a few hours on Monday. What a hard thing to leave a beautiful home, designed and built by your own two hands and move into an old farmhouse. The house made me a little nostalgic, but our experience moving into an old farmhouse was different because we were coming from an even smaller apartment that wasn't ours to the possibilities and potential of "home". They are very talented and have done amazing things to spruce it up, but it is not home yet and my heart aches for her. It seems that none of us are in Kansas anymore! We are each experiencing trials in search of our own ruby slippers. Mindy and Kevin are amazingly good people and I love them so much. I am inspired by their courage and the courage of so many around us, family, friends and even "strangers", who continue to push forward with cheerful countenances (even though they don't feel cheerful inside) in their quest to get "home". For any who haven't seen the latest video on the church's website called, "My New Life" about Stephanie Nielson, it is a must.
--
Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 5/11/2010 02:19:00 PM
"HELLO DOLLY"
Jordan and Eden decided to quench their artistic yearnings this past week, by making paper mache masks for the younger kids. Sophie was too nervous and wanted no part of it, but Lily endured the procedure like she was a some kind of day spa (and actually fell asleep while the finished mold was drying on her face. The whole idea gave me claustrophobia, but Abe went through the same process after Lily and seemed just as at ease. What we do for fun:)
PAPER MACHE MASKS
Mother's Day was enjoyable. We did have to sit through some "My mom was perfect" talks in Sacrament mtg. but a member of the stake presidency concluded the meeting with his thoughts and that is always a boon. Sophie gave her first talk in Primary and did such an amazing job, without any help, that it made up for the cringing feeling of Sacrament mtg. Jordan, Mikayla and a friend sang in R.S., so I sneaked in to listen, making the day even more enjoyable, even though the song had been chosen for them and was about "angel mothers" (which they know nothing about). The sun even came out for a few minutes on our way to church, as a tender mercy. We came home to all 7 fire alarms going off in our home. The noise was piercing and because they are linked, they wouldn't go off without dismantling all of them. We never did find out the cause, but Jordan made me breakfast in bed and cooked the bacon extra crispy (just like I like it), so maybe all that grease floating around in the air, just settled while we were at church:) Fred changed all of the batteries and put them back up on Monday, so hopefully that won't happen again.
MOTHER'S DAY BLESSINGS AND GIFTS
DISMANTLING FIRE ALARMS
Fred has some "vacation days" that have been piling up since last year that he has decided he is going to use next week. I don't dare get my hopes us because in a salary job, "vacation days" just means that you don't have to show up to the building and they won't dock your pay, but you still have to accomplish everything you normally would anyway, because no one is filling in for you while your gone, the work is just piling up. I anticipate that we will get to work outside for a few hours together a day (if the weather would cooperate) and that will be amazing, in and of itself, and his birthday and our anniversary are that week and we will certainly celebrate, but I still expect to find him sitting in the corner of our bedroom, plugged into his laptop at various hours of the day. I'm hoping he can find a way to relax and enjoy a little bit of the time.
Jordan is working 20 hours a week folding laundry at the retirement home. He's grateful to have any work and never complains about it (and he does seem to enjoy visiting with the elderly residents), but I know he is feeling like "a lone reed", now that most of his friends are gone on their missions or have left for school. He is trying to keep motivated and stimulated by studying for his mission, improving his musical talents and reading a variety of books. Yesterday, he checked out "A Tale of Two Cities" on CD and is loving "the vocabulary". It's fun to see him try things he's never tried before and find enlightenment in them. I am enjoying hobnobbing with him during the mornings, when no one else is around. He makes life fun.
Mikayla was called to be a Family History specialist a few months ago and has been going to a mostly adult genealogy class during Sunday school. She usually comes home either bored out of her gourd, because they spent the entire class period teaching them how to save files (or some other thing that is common knowledge for these techy teens) or a little terrified by all of the aggressive adult personalities jockeying for position in how things should be done, but Thursday she went to a stake meeting where they introduced some new information and explored that in class on Sunday and she came home giddy. She has caught hold of the Spirit of Elijah and it is permeating our home. She taught the lesson in F.H.E. and showed us how to use the new tools being made available from the church and it is exciting. They have changed the way you do indexing as well and she continues to put time into that. She is really quite an amazing young lady.
Eden has decided to run for an office in student government. Jordan encouraged her to run for an equivalent position to what he held and so she is running for 9th grade Girls Rep. It is interesting to watch my children try things that I was never interested in. It is so strange to think of her being in High School next year. She is a strong, brave girl, but she seems so young. I ask her to do a lot of hard things that she doesn't understand, or see the justice in sometimes. She is not always happy with me, but I know that the right kinds of humility and obedience are the beginnings of greatness and she is starting to show her true colors in those areas. She is so talented and I see great things on the near horizon as she develops and disciplines her incredible gifts.
Abe can't wait for school to get out and FREEDOM, FREEDOM FREEDOM!
To Lily and Sophie, school getting out is equivalent to sunshine and setting up the pool. They have been disappointed on both fronts, as Fred has declared that the pool has seen it's better days and will not be going up this year. They expend a lot of energy remembering the good 'ol days when we used to have a pool. Their sad countenances might encourage Fred to try one last attempt at patch jobs, but last year it turned into a daily necessity and I don't know that any of us have the mental stamina for that. We'll have to see how enticing it seems, if the sun EVER comes out.
I helped Mindy (Kirkman) unpack and decorate for a few hours on Monday. What a hard thing to leave a beautiful home, designed and built by your own two hands and move into an old farmhouse. The house made me a little nostalgic, but our experience moving into an old farmhouse was different because we were coming from an even smaller apartment that wasn't ours to the possibilities and potential of "home". They are very talented and have done amazing things to spruce it up, but it is not home yet and my heart aches for her. It seems that none of us are in Kansas anymore! We are each experiencing trials in search of our own ruby slippers. Mindy and Kevin are amazingly good people and I love them so much. I am inspired by their courage and the courage of so many around us, family, friends and even "strangers", who continue to push forward with cheerful countenances (even though they don't feel cheerful inside) in their quest to get "home". For any who haven't seen the latest video on the church's website called, "My New Life" about Stephanie Nielson, it is a must.
--
Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 5/11/2010 02:19:00 PM
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