Saturday, January 31, 2009

In the Heart of Winter

Several years ago, I signed Siara up for voice lessons at her request. She had dreams of a future in the theatre after she and Shanna did a stint as children in the local high school production of "The King and I". She had a natural flair for the dramatic so I thought singing would round out her talents. I drove her each week to an old church that smelled like "old, mildewy basement", and hung out with the younger siblings while she sang "HIPPOPOTAMUS" and other funny phrases over and over.

After several months of lessons, it was time for the recital. Her voice teacher had a lot of students --most of them ranged from elementary to high school age. We all gathered in a large auditorium in an old Vancouver church. As is usually the case, some were better than others. I admired the courage of each one to stand in front of an audience and sing. Siara sang a sweet song: "The Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas. And in my unbiased opinion, I think she was fantastic. After everyone had sung, the voice teacher announced that she had one last student- he was the one who had done all of the technical/sound work for the recital. And he was going to sing a song he had written himself.

A rather frightening-looking guy walked onto the stage. He had long, greasy, stringy hair. He was wearing battered jeans and a ratty shirt. He grabbed the microphone like he was Mick Jagger and started wailing a creepy love song so off-key it was like fingernails on a chalkboard--but it had a lovely repeating phrase: "In the heart of winter" which he belted out much louder than the rest of the song ( that's why it stands out in my mind all these years later). This he punctuated with a dramatic flip of his stringy locks and a cringe-inducing hip swivel. The audience full of parents, grandparents and assorted relatives of the sweet children who had sung that evening sat in stunned silence.

I thought of it yesterday because when I was heading home from subbing in seminary Friday morning, the roads were frosted over and it was 26 degrees. I saw a poor woman skid down the road and crash into a wall. I pulled over and ran to see if she was ok. She was shaking and crying but she said she was fine. A police car arrived shortly after that, so I went on my way. I was thinking: "I'm tired of this cold, frosty weather. When is winter going to be over? Oh darn, we're only about half-way through it...we are IN THE HEART OF WINTER!"

Friday, January 30, 2009

Simple Pleasures

Who needs fancy toys...when you have an awesome box
and a brother


and a cat

A massage chair came in this box--something Dad ordered for Christmas but it came a little late.
The boys were getting restless when I remembered I had asked Dad to save the box for them.
He wasn't sure that we needed a box cluttering up the garage, but that's because he doesn't realize all the possibilities that are contained in an empty box.
Possibility #1: Peace and Quiet for Mom when the kids are happily occupied.
I told them to go play in the box and Shane said:
"Our afternoon just got booked solid!"
So did mine, Shane, so did mine.




Thursday, January 29, 2009

More in the Thoughtful Gift Department

While my mind is on the sweet thoughtfulness of my kids, I have to mention that my daughters went to a great deal of effort to make a favorite of mine: chocolate covered cherries. Normally I get my fix with the cheap "Queen Anne" brand at the local discount store. I have to limit myself to only one box on special occasions but it's tough! My girls decided to find a recipe and make them from scratch for me for Christmas.

Then Shanna and Austin weren't able to get here for Christmas and she had them packed in her bags. Sooooo, I didn't actually get them but the thought certainly does count!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I've Turned Into One of THOSE Grandmas

This is a Christmas gift from Scott and Nicole...The frame is so cute and the amazing thing is, they managed to take a picture of me with Bailey and get it in the frame and wrapped in the few days they were here before Christmas. I thought Scott must have printed it on our computer but he got out one day with Andy between all the snowstorms and got it done at Fred Meyer!
It's the perfect gift for grandparents--we can't have too many pictures of our little darling.
Scott called the other day and as we were talking he walked into Bailey's room and she was jabbering away in her crib. It was so sweet to hear her little voice! Then, Scott asked if I wanted to talk to her. And I said YES! Soon, I was babbling to my granddaughter over the phone. There was a time when I thought such behavior was ridiculous--no sense talking to a two-month-old on the phone. But that was before our amazing granddaughter came into the world. Of course we have important things to say to each other and she's sooo much smarter than the average baby! After I hung up, Sam came into the room and looked at me a little concerned, "Were you talking to Bailey on the phone?"
"Yes, I was--she has an amazing vocabulary--you'd be surprised."
"Sure, Mom"
Bailey, you can call me anytime.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A Christmas Thank You

This was a very thoughtful gift Siara gave me for Christmas--
It's my favorite lipgloss. A few months before Christmas, I was deeply saddended when a cold and heartless sales clerk informed me that I couldn't find NARS "Pillow Talk" because it had been DISCONTINUED!
But my daughter tracked some down! She found out there were some left at various stores and she gathered in a couple, wrapped them in a beautiful, shiny box and gave them to me for Christmas.
I have to admit, I cried.
Really, not because I am so set in my ways that I must have my perfect lipgloss, but because she remembered my distress and went to the trouble of finding them. So sweet.
Now I am trying to ration the new ones to make them last.


Monday, January 26, 2009

Happy Chinese New Year!

Every night the boys mark off the day on their calendars. Tonight as they did that, they noticed today was the Chinese New Year...so they came out to tell me in this "Dragon" get-up.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Overheard

The boys were all wrestling with Dad...

Dad: "You want a piece of me?" (his favorite fighting challenge)
Shane: "NO--I want all of you. Then make another batch and I'll take some more!!"

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

About a Boy--and Spinach

Here's an old family favorite:

When Scott was a sweet little three-year-old, I had him thoroughly brainwashed into thinking that spinach was a special treat. I happen to like spinach so it was easy to sing the praises of its deliciousness as I ate it. I told him it would make him healthy and strong and he would grow up big and tall if he ate it. We had it with our dinner on a regular basis and he always ate it happily. One day he saw that we were out of spinach and made me promise to get some the next time I went grocery shopping. He was very concerned about it and reminded me regularly until the day we went to the store.

It was the busiest time of day and the store was crowded. I had Scott and Siara and baby Shanna in and around and hanging off the cart. I was trying to hurry before we had any meltdowns and I really needed to get home and get dinner started. We got into line with our full cart and the line was long. Soon it stretched out behind us as well.

That's when Scott remembered the promised spinach.
I was desperate to get through the check-out line and get home. I began to negotiate:

Me: "Hey, we'll get spinach next time."
Scott: "Nooooooo, you promised we would get spinach."
Me: " We have all our food here and the line is long--how about I ask Dad to come back to the store tonight and get spinach?"
Scott: (volume rising) "YOU PROMISED ME SPINACH!"
Me : (Caving to complete desperation) "Look Scott, there are candy bars here by the check stand. You can choose any candy bar you want! Candy! Son look, candy!"
Scott: (At the top of his lungs) "I DON'T WANT CANDY!! YOU PROMISED ME SPINACH AND I WANT SPINACH!!!"
Man Behind Us: "Lady, I don't know how you did it but that is amazing"
Woman In Front of Us: (Giving me a look of disbelief) "Are you kidding me? He wants spinach instead of candy?"
What could I do? We got out of line and got spinach. And Scott--he grew to be 6 foot 5--so there's one more case of Mom being right. Not that I'm counting.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Blustery Day

We have been experiencing the howling east winds the past few days. It's an annual occurrence around here and we are used to it. One year the winds blew away our trampoline pad--it was completely gone so it had to have blown up and over a tall fence. The last few years the east winds have caused a VERY LOUD banging of our chimney cap at our last house. But this year, we have been experiencing it here in our 'house of sticks'--so it huffs and it puffs and it sounds like it's going to blow the house down--but so far we are safe and sound here in the cozy cabin.
Then, we were awakened early Sunday morning by a loud popping noise. I jumped out of bed and looked out the balcony doors and saw sparks shooting up into the night sky. About the same time I realized our power was out. The sparks were coming from across the river and across the road over there: A large tree had been blown over onto the power lines and snapped a power pole. Cars were coming toward the tree barrier at normal speeds and had to slam on the brakes. I picked up the phone and dialed 911. The phone I used didn't work because the base requires electricity--but the 911 operator called us back almost immediately! Dad explained the situation and soon we heard sirens. As the day wore on we saw a whole fleet of P.U.D. trucks over there working on the problem.
They cut up the tree that fell across the road, they put up a new power pole and carefully put all the wires back in place and provided a morning's viewing entertainment in the process. Luckily, they got the power back on in time for us to get showered before church. I think our ward members love us but it would have been asking a lot for them to tolerate us in our unwashed state.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

In Which I Almost Abandon My Calm Demeanor in a Verbal Conflict With a Florist in Gallup

Gentle Reader,

Today is a lesson in customer service. You would think that in today's economy, businesses would be glad for paying customers. They would be wise to treat their customers politely--even kindly. This would be especially important for those who have any association with the funeral industry. People who have lost a loved one are already distraught--they don't need to be abused by a salesclerk or other employee.

I simply wanted to order a nice arrangement of plants or flowers for my beloved cousins and aunt who are mourning the loss of their brother and son. I wish I could go to the funeral but I can't. I want them to know I am thinking of them and love them.

This is the conversation I had on the phone with a florist in Gallup:

Florist: Did you order a plant today electronically?

Me: Yes, I did

Florist: We are out of that plant.

Me: (Waiting for her to suggest a substitute--as the website says they will do)

------crickets chirping------

Me: Could you suggest an alternative?

Florist: We don't have any plants. None at all.

Me: Do you have any flowers? Flowers would be fine.

Florist: We've had a big rush on flowers because of a lot of funerals. We don't have much to work with here. This is a small town.

Me: I know, I used to live there.

Florist: A very small town.

Me: I know, I used to live there.

Me: Well, what do you have...I'm sure anything would be fine, this is a beloved family member and it's really important to me that I let his family know that I am thinking of them.

Florist: You know, the funeral home you wanted them delivered to is going to close and they plan to take the body over early and we probably can't get the arrangement to them in time.

Me Thinking: (THE BODY? THAT'S MY COUSIN! NOT A BODY!!)

Me: Do you deliver to Ramah?

Florist: Yes, but that's an extra $25 charge.

Me: That's fine. I would like to do that.

Florist: You really should have called sooner. It's too late now. If you hadn't waited so long to place your order we might be able to do something.

Me: I'm sorry. I didn't know my family member was going to die. If I had any idea that my family member was going to be in a terrible accident, I would have called you ahead of time to make the appropriate arrangements in a way that is convenient for you.

Florist: Uhhh

Me: I'll make other arrangements. Thank you so much for your time.

Florist: Uhhh

Me: Buh bye

You will notice that there was no concern for the loss of a loved one. No apology or any expression of regret that they couldn't help. Just rude remarks about my tardiness in ordering. Even though I placed the order THREE DAYS before the funeral!

I'm going to be writing a letter to Aztec Floral Design to kindly suggest that they might need to do some training in customer service--or just plain good manners.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Let's Do Lunch

Me (far right) and some of my siblings in our Blanding days
Homeschooling provides me with the opportunity to spend more time on a daily basis with our children. This in turn naturally opens up chances for me to share with them (OK... bore them with) experiences from my youth. This came up recently when I spent some time with Shayla. We got on the subject of field trips and it brought up this memory:

When I was in the third grade, I was quite self-sufficient. My mother had been sick for several years (hepatitis) and also had given birth to four of my younger siblings in a short span so she was usually exhausted. She was asleep in bed in the morning when I left for school and asleep on the couch when I came home. My Dad was working all week in another town and was only home on the weekends. I would get up and make myself oatmeal for breakfast. Since this was in the days before microwaves (I know--the Dark Ages!) and since I couldn't light the gas stove, I would put oatmeal in a bowl and pour milk on it if we had it. And water if we didn't. Yes, that's where I developed the taste for my favorite gourmet delight. I accomplished this by scooting a chair from place to place to reach the things I needed. Some mornings I also might need to change a diaper or fill a baby bottle for someone before I left for school. I didn't really know what time I was supposed to leave. I just got ready and went.

Due to these delays, I would get to school every day after everyone was seated in their desks doing a reading assignment. I didn't realize I was late and my teacher: Mr. Bayles, never said anything to me about being tardy. So I continued on like that through the school year.

Toward the end of the year, we were excited to learn that we were going on a field trip! This was in southern Utah (Blanding!) and we were going to go see some sheep get sheared somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. This would also give us the opportunity to enjoy the beauties of nature and have a picnic with the sack lunches we would be bringing.

The night before the field trip, I decided to pack my lunch. I don't think I even told my parents I needed a lunch or that I was going on a field trip for that matter. Like I said, I was self-sufficient. I found the bread bag empty except for two heels (you know--the end pieces) so I used those to make an apricot jam sandwich. We had a lot of apricot jam because we had A LOT of apricot trees. I placed the bread with the heels facing in so it looked like regular bread. We didn't have such luxuries as sandwich bags so I put the sandwich in the empty bread bag. I looked in the 'fridge for any other possible lunch items and found a plum. It was only slightly overripe so I decided it would do. A large grocery bag was all I could find to carry this lunch so I put my two items in there and went to bed.

The next morning I realized I needed to bring something to drink. I rummaged around in the cupboards and came up with a giant, heavy, stainless steel thermos. A relic from one of my Dad's old lunch boxes most likely. I filled it with water and put it in the grocery sack as well. Then I decided to throw in some Band-aids, a needle and thread and a jar of Mentholatum...just in case. (This part Shayla found hysterical: me carrying a giant grocery bag to school with random junk and only two --actually only ONE edible item in there!)

I got to school as they were boarding the buses. My teacher collected our lunches as we got on. I was happy to find out that I got to sit next to my best friend: Marcia Butt (Yes, that was really her name--and her dad was on the High Council, so when he spoke in church they introduced "Brother Butt". But let me just say, back in that time we didn't use that word, we only said 'bottom' or 'behind' or 'rump' or maybe 'hind-end'. So we didn't even know it was funny and at least when I knew her, no one made fun of her name--so you can stop laughing now and I'll get on with my story).

So off we went to the middle of nowhere. It was a long, hot dusty bus ride. When we all piled out of the bus, we gathered around a corral of sheep and watched them go from fluffy to flat. They ran around bleating in their coatless, naked state. Most of them had nicks and cuts from the sharp shears. I can't even tell you what it was we were supposed to learn from this experience. I mainly took away that it isn't very fun to be a sheep.

Then it was time for lunch. We were handed our lunches--funny, I didn't write my name on mine but my teacher knew exactly which one it was! By then the sun was beating down on our desert picnic spot and we all tried to find shade in the overhangs of rock formations. I sat with my classmates and saw them pull out various flavors of pop, Twinkies, little bags of chips, and nicely made sandwiches. They were trading around with each other. No one was interested in anything I had. I was a resilient child, it didn't bother me and I was glad to have the sandwich and I ate the less mushy parts of the plum. Unfortunately, the thermos had leaked and I only had a few swallows of water. The bag was wet but it dried in the hot sun and served me well the rest of the day holding my garbage and the "preparedness" items I had brought along.

After lunch we had a blast. We slid down the rocks and played in the sand. We chased after horned toads and the boys who caught them chased after us with them. Marcia tore her pants on the rocks--but I saved the day with my 'sewing kit'. All in all, it was a very enjoyable and memorable day.

At the end of the school year, I got my report card: Straight A's. A few absences. No tardies.

After school was out that summer, one day I saw my teacher, Mr. Bayles walking up to my house. In his hand was the giant, leaky thermos. I guess I left it on the bus and it got left in his classroom. It gave him a chance to visit with my Dad.
Mr. Bayles was also Brother Bayles, our Home Teacher. He knew my situation and didn't penalize me for something I couldn't help.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Bed Bath and Beyond Belief


Last Saturday, Shayla and I escaped from the cabin for some 'girl time'. We went into the big city to run some errands. We ended up at Bed Bath and Beyond looking for some rugs and towels to finish up the master bathroom. While there, I remembered that we needed a new air freshener for the car. It takes a strong one to banish the smell of 'boy', 'dirt', and 'trash bound for the dump' that builds up in my car now that we live in the boondocks.


I carefully perused the available smells, looking for a "clean, fresh, soapy" one. I tend to think out loud so I muttered about how I really liked the last one and I thought it was called

"Fresh Linen"

Shayla, trying to be helpful and get through the tedium of choosing a car freshener, said:

"Was it maybe 'Clean Cotton'?"

"No, I'm sure it was something about linen"

"Does it matter? Laundry is laundry and cotton or linen, clean or fresh, does it really matter?"

"Ummm, I'm sure it was something Linen."

"Look Mom, here is 'Clean Cotton' don't you think that would work?"


I noted the sound of panic in her voice--a sound that means: "My Mom is losing her mind, how will I get home if she falls to pieces here in the middle of Bed, Bath and Beyond looking for "Fresh Linen" when all there is is "Clean Cotton"--WHY MEEE?"

I immediately came to my senses and luckily pulled back from the brink of insanity. Just in time.

I threw the "Clean Cotton" into the cart and we moved on.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Families Are FOR-EV-ERRRRRR

Gentle Reader,
I have been a little remiss of late in posting. This is due in part to a cold that has been keeping me from my beauty rest and draining me of my usual vim and vigor. But our Family Home Evening last night was memorable enough to motivate me to sit my phlegm-ridden body in front of the computer and share it with all of you.

Let me preface this by saying that we are diligent about FHE. We are depending on the promised blessings for basic obedience to the admonition that families gather every week for gospel study and quality family togetherness. We need all the help we can get--believe me! But, I will say that some are more meaningful than others. I held on through all the preschool and toddler years with a dream that one day they would all be old enough to sit through a well-prepared and spiritually uplifting lesson without any crying, whining, potty emergencies, diaper changes, spitting up, throwing up, bumps, bruises, fighting over whose turn it was for treat, spontaneous twirling and/or jumping, gymnastic moves over and around the furniture etc.


But here we are with children who should be old enough to sit still and listen. Maybe even participate --and I have to say--it's not all that much better. Different maybe, but not much better.
After much thought and prayer, we chose a Family Theme for the year: "Cherish Virtue". So each week during FHE we have a thought that goes along with the year's theme. Last night I prepared the thought (thank you Shanna!) and printed it up for each of them to post as a reminder: "The chief cause of failure and disappointment is trading what you want MOST for something you want at the moment."
I told them the Bible story of Jacob working 7 years for Rachel and then getting Leah- they discussed at length how awful to get stuck with someone with 'tender eyes'
"Does that mean she had puppy dog eyes?"
"Yeah, she was a dog!"
instead of someone 'beautiful and highly favored'
"So, Rachel was hot!"
"Now boys, highly favored means she was a young woman of quality-not just a pretty face."
"Yeah, but she was hot, right?"
I tried to bring them back around to the fact that Jacob "served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her" The whole point being that some things are worth waiting for. Here you see their favorite family activity: Free-for-all Wrestling
These matches break out spontaneously and at random moments.
Last night the camera was sitting on the table near-by so I captured the moment. This was somewhere between the opening song and the stampede for treats.

Something worth waiting for: a peaceful Family Home Evening.
Unfortunately, that would be an "EVENING" without the "FAMILY"
For now, I KNOW that families are forever--because one Family Home Evening feels like an ETERNITY.
But I'm sure when I look  back, the years will seem like"but a few days" for the love I have for them.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Christmas Clearance

These are the final markdowns on our Christmas Memories...
The snow has melted away and the older kids are back to school and work. It all went by too quickly! But we can bask in the glow of these good times we had so recently:Our snowman--hairstyle courtesy of Siara
Siara, Shayla and Shane sculpting the masterpiece.

Contemplating the perfect placement of the carrot nose.


That's a whole lotta snow! More than we have EVER seen here.



How sweet it was to see our son with his little daughter.
(How cute is that little bunny jacket?!)




We were so lucky to have our own in-house stylist!
Siara took Seth from shaggy to sharp in a short time.
(You can see he loves the pink hair clips!)
Look how thick the layer of ice is on the car--this was due to the raging east winds.






Uncle Shane getting his turn with little Bailey.






Bailey in her Christmas Elf outfit.









Monday, January 5, 2009

True Love

This was my favorite Christmas present...
Compare and contrast the master bathroom BEFORE and AFTER.
Note the lovely shade of RED on the tub!

That's the sort of wonderful my husband is.
He installed and grouted all the tile and painted and hooked up the new tub.
It is a thing of beauty.
And someday I will have time to relax...and when that day comes, I'll see if it is as inviting as it looks.


Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year!

Shane partying like it's 2009
We were few in number but we rang in the New Year Country Cabin style...





Don't worry--it's sparkling cider.



Happy Birthday Scott!

 It has been awhile since I updated this little family scrapbook on the internet. I like to pop over here from time to time and look at our ...