catapults and privileges

Jack has a school project due tomorrow. They were supposed to build something using simple machines. He designed a catapult, and he and Dave built it. It works fabulously.  He is so proud of it.

Jack and his awesome catapult!

I guess some kids brought their project today. At dinner time Jack was telling us about how some other kids also did a catapult. "I liked their designs, but they didn't work as well." He then told us all about the other kids' catapults and what their designs were like and what he liked about them and what went wrong. He wasn't insulting them, just being honest. He was generous in his praise of their designs and structure.

I thought about how Dave was there to coach Jack on his design, to help him buy wood, to call our neighbor to cut the wood, and then to work side-by-side as they built it together. I thought about what would have happened if the project was due a few months ago when Dave was working so much we were all exhausted and what it would have been like if I would have had to do it with Jack. I thought about other kids whose parents maybe didn't have the time or inclination or skill to help them with each step. It made me grateful that my kids have such a great dad. Part of me felt guilty - that maybe he should have done it all on his own. But then I realized how much he learned by having his dad help him. Dave has a gift of perfection and precision (one that I lack) and Jack learned a lot about how to help it be more stable, and how to drill a little hole so that the screw goes in better and how to measure it just right. Those are all things he needed, and truthfully, I could not have provided it for him. In that moment I realized just how lucky we are.

And then we talked about it as a family. We talked about how so many people don't have the opportunities we have and I asked the kids what they think our responsibility is to those who are less fortunate. Jack's first thought was "don't brag." A valid point, for sure. We should be humble and realize that what we have isn't just because of our hard work, but of so many circumstances that we lucked into.

We talked about how we have an obligation to help lift and bless those around us. It is our responsibility.  Dave read from the Book of Mormon when Moroni wrote to Pahoran, scolding him for not taking better care of the people. "And now, my beloved brethren - for ye ought to be beloved; yea and ye ought to have stirred yourselves more diligently for the welfare and freedom of this people. ...  Behold, could ye supposed that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you?" (Alma 60:10-11)  We are privileged and blessed, and "Because I have been given much, I too must give."

I don't know if the kids were paying attention or not, but it struck a chord with me. I hope to do a better job at teaching them how to be a influence for good in the lives of others.

two years

 Today were printed some pictures of Ana through the years for a project she is doing in school. We were looking at them and trying to remember what things were like when she was 3 and 4 and it was hard to remember.  It made me feel glad I wrote so much of it down, and also sad that I haven't kept that up because who knows but in another 5 years I will look back and think "what was Charlie like when he was 2?" I don't want to forget, but I probably will, so all I can do is take the time right now to write about it. And since Charlie just had a birthday, I thought I would start with him.

The past two years have flown by, really. I can't believe he is two already! We celebrated last Sunday with a piggy cake, and gifts and teaching him to say "TWO!" when someone asks "how old are you?" 



I was pregnant with Charlie when we moved from Vermont, though I didn't know it. We were not really anticipating have a baby in the first year of residency.  God must have known how much we needed him in our family. He has been the sweetest, easiest kid in the world. He was a calm baby, and a good sleeper and eater from the beginning.  As he has grown it has been more of the same. He has always been a good sleeper and eater. He is happy and easy and sweet. He took a bit longer to start talking, but now that he has started, he doesn't stop. He says everything. He is eager to learn - colors and shapes and names of things - and he picks up on it fast.

That isn't to say everything is easy. He gets stubborn and if he wants something there is NO distracting him away from it. And if you offer him anything but exactly what he wanted he will throw it. He also yells if his siblings start to bug him. (A habit I think he picked up on from his siblings.)  He is also small, which perplexes Dave. Most of his clothes are 18 month size. He's barely 24 pounds.

We bought two identical sticker books for Ana and Jack when we moved TO Vermont (almost 7 years ago.) They were 1000 stickers and each page had 8 or 9 stickers on it and each sticker has a very specific spot. The other kids used them occasionally, but Charlie has loved them! Finally this month he finished them off. We went on Amazon and bought the exact same one for him to do. He loves sticker books, especially if each sticker has a spot.  He also is very good at cleaning up after himself. (A habit he did NOT pick up from his siblings.) I am trying to capitalize on it now.  I want to remember that about him. I also want to remember how reverent he is when we say prayers and how much he likes going to nursery at church. I want to remember how he likes to eat "cado-cado" (avocados) and he says "Thank you" and "please" and asks to watch Daniel Tiger all the time.  He loves to color and paint and do puzzles.

Mostly, I want to remember his smile. He lights up a room with that grin. It happens quickly and easily and everyone loves him for it.

Here are some pictures from the last few months that I just adore.

horizon

When I was young, I lived in Virginia and was good friends with a girl named Annie. She was kind and fun. Her dad drove what I thought must be the coolest car ever (a red convertible Mazda Miata. I'm sure it was the nicest car I had ever seen.) and she had a big cardboard cut out of the Land Before Time in her basement. Her birthday party was the first time I went to Chuck E Cheese, and her name is listed as someone who came to my baptism when I was eight. We both moved away and wrote letters for several years. After a while we lost touch.

Enter Social Media. I think it's only redeeming value is the fact that it brought me and Annie in touch again after years of separation. Today she is just as kind and cool as she was when we were 8. She is also a very talented artist. She paints homes and communities and mountains. Last year, she did these pie charts where she explored how she spent her days.  Every November she does a painting every day for the month and the theme for 2016 was "Where will you go." It was a series of Horizons and I fell in love. They reminded me of her pie charts and I couldn't get this idea out of my head. This idea that daily acts and the lifelong journey are inextricably connected. And then day 20 she summed it up so perfectly, it went right to my heart.

"What sets our direction if not the things that make up our days."

I've thought about this so much. I've looked at how I spend my days and have wondered where I could do better.  Where do I want to go? Do I spend my time on things that will get me there?

So this is what I resolve in 2017: I resolve to spend my time on things that get me where I want to be.  Not just by the end of the year but the summation of a life. A life of choosing to be a student, a creator, a nurturer, a friend, and a disciple of Jesus Christ. That is where I want to go, and what I do on a daily basis is what will get me there.

So my goals this year are to that end - exploring how I spend my time. 

I do have some specific goals too. I am studying prayer in my scriptures this year. I have books on my shelf that I have had for years and I am determined to read 3 of them. And I have been doing yoga every day so far this year (except Sundays). I didn't set out for that to be a goal, but it has been really good for me. I am spending significantly less time on social media, too.

I don't anticipate 2017 being particularly easy, with the house-buying and moving and what not, but I think it will be a learning and growing and stretching year. It will be good.

(I bought this print from Annie and hung it up in my hallway. I love it so much!)

looking back, moving forward

2016 was rough, which has been somewhat documented. But there were some good things, like that Dave signed his first job contract. Hooray! Light at the end of the tunnel.

November and December passed as uneventfully as the holiday season usually does. Dave was home a lot more, which was wonderful. We went to Rupert for Thanksgiving; it was the first time in 8 years that Dave spent Thanksgiving with his family. We went back a couple weeks last for Grandma's Christmas party - always a good time. Dave had a week off in December and we bummed around the house, celebrated his birthday, organized and decluttered cupboards, went to a movie together, and all around remembered how much we like we each other. Christmas was quiet and good. My sister joined us, the kids all seemed happy and then Dave had to work that evening.

And now it is 2017. It's going to be a good year. We are excited about the changes that are coming. As I have been thinking about resolutions, I admit I have been a bit discouraged this year. Most years my resolutions are variations of the same things. Most years I do really well for a while and then life happens and I forget or get out of the habit or go into survival mode with little energy left for change. Sometimes I look back and think that the only changes I see in myself are not for the better.

But we can't just focus on the past. All there is to do is move forward. And though it can sometimes be discouraging when we don't see progress that we want to see, that can't stop us from trying and reaching and striving. I do have a theme for the year, and I think it will be a good thing. I will write it down soon. Until then:

Happy New Year! Jan 1, 2017

Christmas Eve jammies

A picture I found on my good camera from homeschooling. Ana spent a day taking pictures and then made a slideshow. I must have snapped this one of her working on it.

Photo by Ana.