I almost always read, at least for a few minutes, before I slide down into my covers and go to sleep, but last night was the end of a lovely, exhausting day and the sliding in my head preceded the sliding into covers by a few good hours. =) My eyes are still puffy this morning and I would have slept in but I needed to write Mikayla before she gets on for her computer time this morning. Yesterday was Father's Day and Mom's birthday and because Eden had girls camp until Saturday afternoon and because a day trip means no packing, (YEA!) we woke up at 4:30AM so we could leave by 6'ish and drive to McCall to attend church with Mom and Dad and spend a good part of the day visiting. Because of the nature of the little mountain resort town, the ward has always been transient and has changed quite a bit since we lived there, but the few people who do remain still make it feel like home. Our former Bishop, Bro. Dillon grabbed us before we even made it inside the building and gave us big bear hugs. We adore him. The Lamb's were there, as gracious as ever, and we even got to visit with one of Jordan's best middle school friends, who is now engaged and looking so happy. The people are treasures in McCall. I guess there are treasure people everywhere you go, but because our McCall years were difficult, growing years, we were on the receiving end of people's kindness most of the time and that will always endear us to them.
I had a subtle epiphany (which may be an oxymoron) Sunday morning. I woke up at 4:30, like I told you as I said (actually I think it was 4:39 because I hit snooze once) =) and I was getting ready to go to church up at the ranch and I realized that I was being very conscious about what I chose to wear, how my hair was fixed and the general hygiene, modesty and fashion of everyone else in the family--more so than a normal Sunday morning, and it occurred to me that even at the "mature" age of 43 (is that how old I am? =) it is still so important to me that I "honor" my parents. I am still, consciously aware that I carry the Jones family name and that my actions reflect upon my parents. Of course I am now responsible for my own choices and they are not accountable, and of course the shell that we show is only a superficial kind of honor, still important because it is part of the balance of learning to take care of our bodies, but superficial because it doesn't always tell the whole story) but even so that name is imprinted on my heart. I am a Bloomquist and a Jones and a Higginson and on and on. And remembering that, guides my actions in extraneous and essential ways, just like having Christs name imprinted on our hearts. In that one commandment, to honor our parents, our Heavenly Father has been trying to teach us all along to honor Him because ultimately our ancestry ends and begins (as much as we can understand our "end and beginning") with Him! It was a profound little Ah-hah moment for me.
The weather was gorgeous at the ranch, almost as warm as being here in the valley, and we enjoyed a long walk up through the forest, first to look at Jorgensen's cabin and then blazing a trail through the bush, in our Sunday clothes, to find the Grandfather pine tree and then back around through the barn and "home again, home again, jiggedy jig", as Grandma Jones used to always say. I love Middleton--I don't desire to ever live anywhere else, but the acres and acres of land, as far as the eye can see, up in the mountains, is a calming, soothing salve to the soul. Even just driving back in the car, through endless meadows and mountains just helps me to be able to "breathe" on the inside, and sometimes, lately, that seems like such an effort. It's a blessing that we have access to a place like that to just get away for awhile. It just illuminated the day for Fred when Jordan called and when Mikayla called his cup was running over. What a resourceful, sweet girl she is. She was in the MTC during Mother's Day and so didn't get to call home, so she called her mission president and asked permission to call home on Father's Day. She didn't know if he would approve that request (as it's out of the ordinary) so she didn't plan the call with us, but it came as a wonderful surprise. She got ahold of Fred on his cell phone right before we entered the canyon, so he pulled over to the side of the road for a half hour. I think it MADE his day and because he had her call on speaker phone it made our day as well!
The very last person who called Fred on Father's Day was Mikayla's best friend, whose father passed away 2 years ago. I thought that was very sweet of her and so did he. Yesterday must have been a hard day for her.
I am so interested about the upcoming Mission President training that is open to the membership of the church. I imagine Mikayla's new mission president will be trained in that exciting meeting. I am curious to see how that transition will affect her mission, as any leadership change always brings a cascade of new and different experiences to match the strengths of the leader. And I can imagine, just from the pictures, and the meeting of Sis. Murdock, that the two mission presidents will be completely different kinds of good men.
While Eden was at girls camp, the rest of the kids did a cousin swap (Abe went to Jorgensen's and Annalie came here) for sleepover time. I'm pretty sure I got the quieter end of the deal--even Abe was exhausted when he came home the next day. He said is was super fun, but the boys had to be moving every second or they were "bored". Even when we switched back children all the little boys were crawling and jumping and climbing all over Abe and he was taking it all in stride. It's always fun to watch the oldest cousin in a group. When I brought him home he went into immediate introversion re-boot and for a good 2 hours climbed into his bed, pulled the covers up over his head (literally) and read a book. I LOVE the insight that I gained from my reading of the book called "Quiet". It has given me such a deep, important understanding of the diversity of introversion and extroversion and people's emotional needs. It helps me be a more perceptive person. I would still love to study the topic of ambiversion because I think that's where I fall--somewhere between introversion and ambiversion. Eden, on the other hand, got back from girls camp and crashed on the couch for hours just out of pure tiredness and then was rearing for friends and party mode that evening. We are all so different.
Lily and Sophie have had some financial "breaks" =) in the past few months and have been saving up their money. Sophie found the $20 "Robbie" egg at the family Easter egg hunt and then they found a dog in the neighborhood whose owner gave them $20 and then our next door neighbors hired them and Abe to take care of their animals for a week while they were on vacation and they each got $10. They really earned that one as they took three different dogs on walks twice a day and one of them is hyperactive and one is old and incontinent. =s The third, Ginger, I think made up for it because they are died and gone to heaven--in love with her tiny little self. On Saturday I took the twins to Craft Warehouse and they purchased some vinyl theme books, which are kind of like intense plastic "paper dolls" with scenery and some friendship bracelet forms and embroidery thread. They have been in toy/craft heaven. Lily is now wearing numerous bracelets on her arms legs and even toes--not my idea of refined ladylike attire but I do remember the friendship bracelet fashion crazes, even in my day--and I pulled out of it-- so I'm sure there is still time to teach them to emulate the graciousness of Sis. Dalton...right?! =)
I'm looking forward to Independence Day and the uniting family-ness of it all, but it will be hard without Mikayla, since it has always been a kind of prelude to her birthday. I hope she still feels that in Meeker. I truly feel like Heavenly Father hand picked and prepared her for this experience without any of us even knowing it would be an option. She has always been missionary material in the making. How I am sure our Heavenly Father cherishes her for her obedience and constantness. How I am sure that Satan knows that too--as he has not made this preparation easy for her, but I know as long as she continues in being obedient with exactness he will not be able to touch her and our Heavenly Father will guide her every footstep. Having a missionary is such an enormous blessing to those of us who aren't in the full time field. It cracks open our hearts--at least it does mine--and I am so often in need of "cracking"!
Fred and I are still casually looking for land, but more than anything just trying to figure out what we are supposed to be doing with our lives right now, which is a much more difficult task. It's ironic, really, because we got pre-approved for a loan, just to see what we were working with, but the bank pre-approved us for significantly more than we know we can afford right now, with braces and college and missionaries all in the works. I could just see Dave Ramsey shaking his head, so we're trying to find something within Dave Ramsey's numbers, not the bank's, and that is a definite difficulty and extremely limiting. However, I trust him more than any bank and it just feels right for us.
Fred took me out on Friday night to see the movie Oz. Fred enjoyed it fine, I enjoyed Fred, but I barely made it through the movie without resorting to uncomfortable thumb twiddling. I'm quite sure someone forgot to hire a screenwriter or maybe they hired the screenwriters from Star Wars...=) and if you think that's a good thing...well there are a few, very few, quotable lines of wisdom in Star Wars, but none here. Let's just say it wasn't my kind of movie--nor, I doubt, will it be my young children's (who are much less critical of scripting) because there is too much evil creepiness to make them comfortable either. I'm not actually sure for what audience it was intended. I heard an NPR Review that I thought was right on target, except that the critic managed to eke out some enjoyment from the witches dual at the end and I did not. Oh well, at least the date was a success, =) and that's the important thing! I've heard The Crood's was cute, but the trailer I saw in the theatre wasn't convincing. Anyone seen it? Anyone have any opinions?
I accidentally left my camera at the ranch, so I'll have to add my pictures to this post, posthumously =) this weekend.
Quote of the week:"...as is always the case with the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is required of us, not only that we endure, but also that we endure well, that we exhibit "grace under pressure." This is necessary, not only so that our own passage through the trial can be a growth experience, but also because (more than we know) there are always people watching to see if we can cope, who therefore may resolve to venture forth and to cope themselves. Every time we navigate safely on the strait and narrow way, there are other ships that are lost which can find their way because of our steady light." (Elder Neil A. Maxwell)
I had a subtle epiphany (which may be an oxymoron) Sunday morning. I woke up at 4:30, like I told you as I said (actually I think it was 4:39 because I hit snooze once) =) and I was getting ready to go to church up at the ranch and I realized that I was being very conscious about what I chose to wear, how my hair was fixed and the general hygiene, modesty and fashion of everyone else in the family--more so than a normal Sunday morning, and it occurred to me that even at the "mature" age of 43 (is that how old I am? =) it is still so important to me that I "honor" my parents. I am still, consciously aware that I carry the Jones family name and that my actions reflect upon my parents. Of course I am now responsible for my own choices and they are not accountable, and of course the shell that we show is only a superficial kind of honor, still important because it is part of the balance of learning to take care of our bodies, but superficial because it doesn't always tell the whole story) but even so that name is imprinted on my heart. I am a Bloomquist and a Jones and a Higginson and on and on. And remembering that, guides my actions in extraneous and essential ways, just like having Christs name imprinted on our hearts. In that one commandment, to honor our parents, our Heavenly Father has been trying to teach us all along to honor Him because ultimately our ancestry ends and begins (as much as we can understand our "end and beginning") with Him! It was a profound little Ah-hah moment for me.
The weather was gorgeous at the ranch, almost as warm as being here in the valley, and we enjoyed a long walk up through the forest, first to look at Jorgensen's cabin and then blazing a trail through the bush, in our Sunday clothes, to find the Grandfather pine tree and then back around through the barn and "home again, home again, jiggedy jig", as Grandma Jones used to always say. I love Middleton--I don't desire to ever live anywhere else, but the acres and acres of land, as far as the eye can see, up in the mountains, is a calming, soothing salve to the soul. Even just driving back in the car, through endless meadows and mountains just helps me to be able to "breathe" on the inside, and sometimes, lately, that seems like such an effort. It's a blessing that we have access to a place like that to just get away for awhile. It just illuminated the day for Fred when Jordan called and when Mikayla called his cup was running over. What a resourceful, sweet girl she is. She was in the MTC during Mother's Day and so didn't get to call home, so she called her mission president and asked permission to call home on Father's Day. She didn't know if he would approve that request (as it's out of the ordinary) so she didn't plan the call with us, but it came as a wonderful surprise. She got ahold of Fred on his cell phone right before we entered the canyon, so he pulled over to the side of the road for a half hour. I think it MADE his day and because he had her call on speaker phone it made our day as well!
The very last person who called Fred on Father's Day was Mikayla's best friend, whose father passed away 2 years ago. I thought that was very sweet of her and so did he. Yesterday must have been a hard day for her.
I am so interested about the upcoming Mission President training that is open to the membership of the church. I imagine Mikayla's new mission president will be trained in that exciting meeting. I am curious to see how that transition will affect her mission, as any leadership change always brings a cascade of new and different experiences to match the strengths of the leader. And I can imagine, just from the pictures, and the meeting of Sis. Murdock, that the two mission presidents will be completely different kinds of good men.
While Eden was at girls camp, the rest of the kids did a cousin swap (Abe went to Jorgensen's and Annalie came here) for sleepover time. I'm pretty sure I got the quieter end of the deal--even Abe was exhausted when he came home the next day. He said is was super fun, but the boys had to be moving every second or they were "bored". Even when we switched back children all the little boys were crawling and jumping and climbing all over Abe and he was taking it all in stride. It's always fun to watch the oldest cousin in a group. When I brought him home he went into immediate introversion re-boot and for a good 2 hours climbed into his bed, pulled the covers up over his head (literally) and read a book. I LOVE the insight that I gained from my reading of the book called "Quiet". It has given me such a deep, important understanding of the diversity of introversion and extroversion and people's emotional needs. It helps me be a more perceptive person. I would still love to study the topic of ambiversion because I think that's where I fall--somewhere between introversion and ambiversion. Eden, on the other hand, got back from girls camp and crashed on the couch for hours just out of pure tiredness and then was rearing for friends and party mode that evening. We are all so different.
Lily and Sophie have had some financial "breaks" =) in the past few months and have been saving up their money. Sophie found the $20 "Robbie" egg at the family Easter egg hunt and then they found a dog in the neighborhood whose owner gave them $20 and then our next door neighbors hired them and Abe to take care of their animals for a week while they were on vacation and they each got $10. They really earned that one as they took three different dogs on walks twice a day and one of them is hyperactive and one is old and incontinent. =s The third, Ginger, I think made up for it because they are died and gone to heaven--in love with her tiny little self. On Saturday I took the twins to Craft Warehouse and they purchased some vinyl theme books, which are kind of like intense plastic "paper dolls" with scenery and some friendship bracelet forms and embroidery thread. They have been in toy/craft heaven. Lily is now wearing numerous bracelets on her arms legs and even toes--not my idea of refined ladylike attire but I do remember the friendship bracelet fashion crazes, even in my day--and I pulled out of it-- so I'm sure there is still time to teach them to emulate the graciousness of Sis. Dalton...right?! =)
I'm looking forward to Independence Day and the uniting family-ness of it all, but it will be hard without Mikayla, since it has always been a kind of prelude to her birthday. I hope she still feels that in Meeker. I truly feel like Heavenly Father hand picked and prepared her for this experience without any of us even knowing it would be an option. She has always been missionary material in the making. How I am sure our Heavenly Father cherishes her for her obedience and constantness. How I am sure that Satan knows that too--as he has not made this preparation easy for her, but I know as long as she continues in being obedient with exactness he will not be able to touch her and our Heavenly Father will guide her every footstep. Having a missionary is such an enormous blessing to those of us who aren't in the full time field. It cracks open our hearts--at least it does mine--and I am so often in need of "cracking"!
Fred and I are still casually looking for land, but more than anything just trying to figure out what we are supposed to be doing with our lives right now, which is a much more difficult task. It's ironic, really, because we got pre-approved for a loan, just to see what we were working with, but the bank pre-approved us for significantly more than we know we can afford right now, with braces and college and missionaries all in the works. I could just see Dave Ramsey shaking his head, so we're trying to find something within Dave Ramsey's numbers, not the bank's, and that is a definite difficulty and extremely limiting. However, I trust him more than any bank and it just feels right for us.
Fred took me out on Friday night to see the movie Oz. Fred enjoyed it fine, I enjoyed Fred, but I barely made it through the movie without resorting to uncomfortable thumb twiddling. I'm quite sure someone forgot to hire a screenwriter or maybe they hired the screenwriters from Star Wars...=) and if you think that's a good thing...well there are a few, very few, quotable lines of wisdom in Star Wars, but none here. Let's just say it wasn't my kind of movie--nor, I doubt, will it be my young children's (who are much less critical of scripting) because there is too much evil creepiness to make them comfortable either. I'm not actually sure for what audience it was intended. I heard an NPR Review that I thought was right on target, except that the critic managed to eke out some enjoyment from the witches dual at the end and I did not. Oh well, at least the date was a success, =) and that's the important thing! I've heard The Crood's was cute, but the trailer I saw in the theatre wasn't convincing. Anyone seen it? Anyone have any opinions?
I accidentally left my camera at the ranch, so I'll have to add my pictures to this post, posthumously =) this weekend.
Quote of the week:"...as is always the case with the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is required of us, not only that we endure, but also that we endure well, that we exhibit "grace under pressure." This is necessary, not only so that our own passage through the trial can be a growth experience, but also because (more than we know) there are always people watching to see if we can cope, who therefore may resolve to venture forth and to cope themselves. Every time we navigate safely on the strait and narrow way, there are other ships that are lost which can find their way because of our steady light." (Elder Neil A. Maxwell)
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