the day we met

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately. Maybe its a little homesickness. Maybe its the changing seasons and the cooler weather. Either way, in the spirit of nostalgia, I thought I would write down a few memories this week. I'll begin with the day I met Dave.

To say I was boy-crazy would be the understatement of the century. I liked dating, and was more comfortable around boys than most girls, so naturally I was a flirt. And I liked it.

The Summer of 2004 would be my last summer at home, though I didn't know it at the time. It was an idyllic summer. I dated, worked, took an missionary prep course, and trained for a half marathon. I still had almost a year til I could serve a mission, but it was definitely something I wanted to do. I had life planned out: finish my associate's degree, serve a mission (Spanish speaking, preferably), transfer to BYU to finish my Bachelor's degree and buy a cell phone and a motorized scooter. Of course, marriage could find me after that. Perhaps one of my missionary friends who by then would have more schooling done.

I think God must laugh when we make plans for ourselves.

September took me back up to Rexburg. Then back down to Pocatello for my half marathon one weekend, then back up to Rexburg. One evening I walked into my apartment after a run, wearing, naturally, work out clothes with my hair in a pony-tail. I glanced around the room and spotted the only person I didn't know.

He was tall, cute, and seemed so at ease sitting in my roommate's burgundy corner chair.

"I don't know you!" I guess I like to state the obvious.

"I'm Dave," he said, with a smile. I instantly liked his easy manners. We spent a few minutes in small talk, which revealed that he served his mission in Chile.

He speaks Spanish

If ever there was a way for a guy to solidify himself into my memory it was to be Spanish-speaking returned missionary. But then I got a phone call from a friend and I flitted into the other room to chat. I flitted a lot those days. Though I didn't see much of him for a couple months, I definitely remembered him.

I guess the rest is history. Or a blog post for another day. We'll see.

big boys underwears

we tried this on saturday:




After 10 accidents in 2 hours, we decided to wait a few months. We weren't really going to start, but then Jack wanted to wear his diego underwear, so we thought we'd give it a try. He's still young; we have time.

a walk in the park

There is a park right behind our house. There is another one a few blocks away. I prefer the latter. There is something about walking to it that makes me feel introspective.

Maybe its the way my kids are fascinated with things we find along the way:



a fuzzy plant, a big leaf, a long stick.

Maybe its the way I can watch my kids and see their personality in action.

Like the way Ana always runs ahead and wants to get where we are going fast. She gets distracted and will run up stairs and over to benches until we catch up. She wants to catch squirrels (and is disappointed when they run away) and run in the falling leaves. She loves to do the monkey bars and hang upside down and meet new friends. Her hair is always in her face and her shoes flung off the moment we arrive at the park.

Jack walks slowly and steadily. He likes to find a stick and bang every tree along the way. He usually finds one thing and does that the entire time we're at the park - go down one slide, climb up and down one ladder, make a dirt pile, etc. Or, like yesterday, try to hit an acorn out of his hand with a stick. (He succeeded more often than you would think. He's got quite the coordination for a two year old.)(In this case I had to pull out my phone-camera.)


(Notice Ana hanging from the swing.)

It makes me notice that life is vivid.

Life is vivid in color, in expression, in all things that we feel and see and hear. I see it in so many things around me, but mostly the expression of life is found in my children. Each time I take this little walk, my thoughts turn in this direction. I usually leave my camera behind, because I know that I can't quite capture life in all its glory.

But in my head I make a mental snapshot of these vivid moments.

reasons why its fun to teach 4 year olds in church

1. You get to hear your daughter answer the question "what are some of God's commandments?" with responses such as: "not coloring on your body during quiet time" and "we don't say stupid about other people cuz that's not nice." and "its okay for Jack to copy me, but when I got to school he'll be big so he won't copy me anymore."

okay, maybe I just have one reason.

Yesterday we were making noodle necklaces. I started to sing the song, "When I grow up I want to be a mother." (never heard it? click HERE)

Ana said stopped and in an excited voice said, "Mom, that song... That song makes me think about Heavenly Father."

I should sing that song more often.

one year to go

I love being a mother. There is nothing in the world I would rather do than take care of my kids. And to have more.

Lately the weight of my responsibility as mother has been bearing down on me. See, in one year - 1 year - this little girl:



starts all-day kindergarten.

I'm not all weepy about it. I'm not wondering where the time went and how can she be this old. I'm not wanting to hold back clocks.

But I'm watching her and thinking, "what does she need to be ready for this big step?"

Because in one year she will be without me more than she is with me. In one year, I will not be her main influence.

I remember when she was a baby.



She cried a lot. She wasn't colicky - she was intense. And I knew - I knew - that she was going to be a strong Spirit. I knew that Heavenly Father sent me a tough one for some reason. She still is. She is restless. She is easily frustrated. She is fearless. She is easily influenced. She is persistent. She is observant.

She is tough.

It has been weighing on me lately. She is full of contradictions. She misses her old friends but doesn't want to write them letters. She doesn't like to draw pictures because they don't look just right. She loves her brother so much she can't leave him alone, constantly hugging him or dragging him or pushing him. She makes friends everywhere but is struggling being a friend to those she already knows. When she is upset about something she cannot move on from it.

But...

How can I teach her to let things go when I don't?
How can I teach her to stay calm when I get so easily frustrated?
How do I teach her to be a good example? That happiness comes from making right choices? That her actions affect others? That she can choose?
How do I teach her to love others? To play and work independently without getting into trouble? To not be so darn impulsive?

I think in a lot of ways it comes down to me. I need to be the example of love, of calmness, of happiness.

This is not easy.

I guess that is what is so great about being a mother. It requires that I love, serve, change, and grow. It requires humility, patience, critical thinking, problem solving, and cheerfulness.

And lots and lots of prayer.

camping trip 2010

Another travel log today. We are just having all sorts of fun seeing this place.

We squeezed in our typical once-a-summer camping trip this last weekend. We went with our new friends the Morey's and it was so much fun! We went to Silver Lake State Park about an hour away.

Camping:

We rented a canoe on the lake the next morning. It was awesome! We rowed near the shore and saw a little turtle resting on a log. We scared it and it swam away but then we saw another one swimming near by too. It was pretty cool.



Then we went to the town of Woodstock which was cool. They had houses built in 1801 (still in use!) We also found a consignment store there which was really fun to look at. After that we went to the Joseph Smith Birthplace Monument. My favorite part was going to see the foundations of the homesteads around there, an old stone bridge that was really used 200 years ago, and rock wall that was built when they built the road. The old toll road was a major road from Montreal to Boston in those days. Also we found out that in those days Vermont was 80% clear land. (Now it is 80% forested.) I love all the history that surrounds us here!


On the way home we drove past some cool covered bridges - all built in the 1800s.


It was so much fun!

a conversation i had with ana in the bathroom at silver lake state park, vermont

A: Mom, sometimes kids poop in their panties and that's called cheating.

M: Its called cheating, huh. Do you know what cheating means?

A: Yeah, it means when do something you are not supposed to do.

M: Oh, really.

A: Yeah, people who pee and poop in their panties are cheaters. Like babies who wear diapers. But that's okay. But all bad guys are cheaters. Maybe someday if I meet a bad guy, then I'll say, "you should not be a cheater anymore" and then they will stop being a cheater. That would be good, huh, mom.

M: Yeah.

A: Then they wouldn't be bad guys anymore and they wouldn't be cheaters.

M: Okay, lets wash our hands and go back to our tent.

Where does she come up with this stuff?

things i hear 50 times a day

Jack:
"Please can I have some more strawberry milk? Please? Please, Mom?"
"I do it all by myself."

Ana:
"I can do whatever I want to do."
"Can I watch a show?"

Things I have heard in the last few days:

"I don't wanna wear this. It looks weird!" (Ana)
"We can fix your bike with a screwdriver, make the wheels turn!" (Jack)
"Mom, I'm sorry I was screaming at Tanner's house." (Ana) (Tanner is our neighbor who is almost 2.)

lesson learned

This is what our new couch looks like:

Quite an improvement from this:

It was still in really solid shape, but it was starting to look dirty and it had a few little tears in it. Plus we found the fabric on super sale - 70% off - and we had a friend who said she'd clean and reupholster it for pretty cheap. So after having the fabric around for 2 years, we finally got it done right before the move.

We really like it. I need to make some throw pillows for it still, but I like it.

Today Jack colored on it in bright blue crayon.

Its my own fault. I saw the crayons sitting there when we went downstairs this morning. I even thought "You should just pick those right up and put them away." But I didn't. Then I fell asleep on the couch.

When I woke up 40 minutes later (!!!), my couch was blue. Doesn't really go with the color scheme. So I spent 20 minutes scrubbing it out. And I am cracking down on the coloring-on-stuff-that-isn't-paper business from my little two-year-old.

And I'm going to put the crayons away when I see them on the floor. (Duh).