Celebrating Our Siara

Some fun girl time in North Carolina!

Today is Siara's birthday! I am so blessed to be the mother to some really amazing people. Each came with their own unique personalities and talents and qualities. I have loved every stage of their lives but I feel like the real reward for motherhood is moving into the friendship stage with them when they become adults. 

So here are some Birthday thoughts (and awesome childhood pictures!) of my daughter who is also my dear friend...

Some birthday posts for Siara's past birthdays:

click on this and this and go here.

If you are still interested, here is the story of the day of her birth.

And, the frosting on the cake--a  funny story about our spunky gal.

A Semi-Annual Update

Well, how have you been? I've been caught up in the day-to-day of life. Moving, then not moving. Packing like a mad woman and then not packing like a mad woman. Enjoying new grandchildren--joy and rejoicing and all of the good stuff. Serving in my calling, feeling the love and partaking of the wisdom of amazing Relief Society women. Allowing for the mourning process of leaving this place I have come to love. I think I am an East Coaster somewhere deep down, even though I am born and bred of Pocatello, Idaho and parts thereabout. I have sent some sobbing prayers to heaven asking why I had to come to love the people and the history and beauty here and now I have to leave. But you know I also sent sobbing prayers to heaven when I had to leave Washington and then again California so I'm starting to get the idea that I am supposed to be learning something here. Perhaps that there are amazing people yet to meet and love and vistas ahead to appreciate and more history to be learned.

Luckily, I am an (annoying) optimist so I am looking on the bright side.

Which is a little easier with the bone-chilling arctic weather we have been 

enduring here as of late. 

California sunshine, here I come.

Eventually.

In the meantime, we have two offers on the house and we are just waiting for the paperwork and etc. to work their way through the various bureaucracies. We'll see which one comes out on top.

While we are waiting, I offer a pictorial timeline for your viewing pleasure:

I started taking pictures of the places I love around here so I can hold them

in my heart and see them in my picture file too.

This is the unique, historical building that is home to our

local paper: The Newtown Bee.

The bee on the roof and the bee on the door...just... too awesome.

Christmas came and went....Shane and I felt the need to have a

real tree this year. Christmas Spirit was in short supply with 

everyone spread out across the country.

 We brought home a beautiful, fresh tree and

the amazing pine smell was magical.

We spent actual Christmas in the Golden State. Here you see our

Christmas Eve dinner. Andy saved the day by finding a beautiful spot on the 

beach right next to this awesome diner. So we enjoyed our yummy

food as we watched the sun go down over the ocean.

A perfect California Christmas...

...was made even better with some family time talking with

our missionaries. Sister Gale serving in the Illinois, Chicago West Mission

and

Elder Gale serving in the California, Los Angeles Mission. We were able to get

everyone on our Google Hangout and I loved listening to the family banter and the

grandchildren chiming in. Sam gave us a sampling of his Spanish and they both

shared experiences and testimonies. 

A few days after Christmas, we got to see family and friends in our

old ward in Ramona, California. We were there for the very special

occasion of the Blessing of our precious Mabel.

Look how adorable she is in the dress her Mama wore.

We enjoyed our time there and the Horton family hosted us

for dinner and entertainment. 

They are always fun to hang out with.

A few weeks after Christmas,

I zipped down to North Carolina for some daughter/grandbaby time. 

I love that we get to be friends now. 

One of the many rewards of mothering awesome kids.

Cuteness Alert! 

Mom's Magical, Mystical Tour: An even longer over-due update

I seem to be falling behind here in Blogland.  I looked through my archives and found some unfinished posts from the somewhat recent past. This is from last August and it is way too long--usually I edit and pare down before I post. I don't like to bore you with my EVERY thought--just a select few thoughts. I tried to tie this together with all of the happy little lucky things that happened on this trip but I think I got carried away...


Gentle Reader,
I just returned from Utah where I settled our seventh child into his new life as a college student. I know you get this a lot here, but WHERE DID THE TIME GO?! It doesn't help that Sam skipped his last year at home and jumped into college a year early. Good preparation for mission and life and all but not enough time for Mom to take in the reality of another fledgling leaving the nest. I have a firm grip on the reality that my job is to work myself out of a job. I want my kids to learn and grow into upstanding, independent, hard-working, mature, useful adults so I can't complain when that is what they actually do. But I can complain that it happens too fast.

I took Sam out to Utah a few days early so we could take in Education Week. It has been a dream of mine for lo these many years to go to Education Week but it never seemed to work out with the constant scheduling complications of a big family, not to mention the moves from one state to the next--and one coast to the other. So, this year all of the planets aligned and even my frequent flier miles added up to allow the luxury of some Mom-time basking in the hallowed halls of learning at BYU. 

You may have gathered from my blog that I am a bit of a Pollyanna--an annoying optimist--but even I was surprised at the many ways this trip seemed especially blessed. It started when I checked in for our flight. I saw that we were seated in first class. Of course this had to be a mistake! I had paid with frequent flier miles and I was lucky to get a flight that was coming and going at the time I needed to come and go.Usually there are so many restrictions I'm lucky to leave within a month of my hoped for travel. I worried that I had clicked on an upgrade and would be charged an arm and a leg for my mistake. I checked my account and saw that I had only been charged the $5.00 fee per flight as expected--I would get to keep my arms and my legs. I printed off the receipt just in case there was any doubt about Sam and I having a seat on the plane--let alone a seat in first class! I have flown first class before but that was back in the days of Andy's premiere, business, special super duper traveler status. 

So then, as I was packing. I pulled down a bin of summer clothes I hadn't looked at for a few years. I pulled out a pair of capris and tried them on and felt something in the pocket. I knew it was money and figured it was a couple of bucks. But when I pulled it out, I was pretty happy to see two twenties. I'm thrilled if I find a quarter so I was feeling a little giddy--although I had to wonder how I had managed to pocket 40 bucks and forget about it--that's a concern all of its own! 

We got up the morning of our trip well before the crack of dawn to  beat the morning commute traffic to JFK. Sam had packed everything he owns into our biggest suitcase and we didn't have time to weigh it. According to my serendipitous first class accommodations, we each got two free checked bags. But that would only be IF those cushy accommodations were ours for real. And there was still a weight limit of 70 pounds. Even if you are fancy enough to travel first class, they still have some limitations on the pounds of belongings you can haul on your trip with you.So, you know, maybe you can only take five gold bars instead of ten.  We got to the airport an hour early and got in the special line for awesome first class people. 

I was  holding my breath hoping that my first class tickets would be legit. As we stepped up to the counter, I handed our boarding passes to the airline employee. She glanced at them and told Sam to put his suitcase on the scale. 76.6. Oops....too heavy. She looked at the flashing number and said, "This is way over. I don't have time to deal with it. Just go." So we went. We got to the gate just as they were boarding first class so we found our comfy accommodations and settled in for the flight. Sam fell asleep immediately. It was nice that he had room to stretch out his long legs and get some real sleep. I could have used some shut-eye myself but I didn't want to miss a thing: Juice in real glasses. A delicious breakfast served on real dishes with real silverware--we were even entrusted with a butter knife! Seriously! The omelet and biscuit were tasty and the fruit was ripe and sweet. Then, the warm towel. Such a civilized way to travel. 

After landing in Salt Lake City, we were fortunate to have Spencer and Adrianna there to pick us up. We enjoyed the drive to Provo visiting with them. After a quick stop for lunch, we drove to Siara and Tyler's house--our hosts for the week. Just as we were turning onto Siara's street, the car began to sputter and gave out right in front their house. Don't worry-- they were able to get it going again later--but thankfully it didn't sputter out on the freeway. Imagine hauling Sam's 76.6 pound suitcase down the road, hitching a ride.

One of my all-time favorite authors is H.Wallace Goddard. He is an author of some very helpful books and he writes for Meridian Magazine. I was pretty thrilled to see that he was speaking at Education Week. One more unexpected blessing this week! After our long day of travel across the country and in spite of the time change and jet-lag, I marched up to campus that evening and attended his class. I have given his book "Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage" to each of our children when they got married. They may not realize it is the best gift they got until that nice mixer wears out and the pretty towels are threadbare. About that time marriage begins to require some soul refining and humility and charity. And about that time, this book will be waiting.  But I digress, the man knows what he is talking about and he brought the Spirit and I was scribbling notes as quickly as possible to keep from missing any of his pearls of wisdom. 'Twas a beautiful beginning to a wonderful week of learning.

A few days before I left for Utah I got an email from my FAVORITE Institute teachers from our California days. Becky Davies and Lesley Meacham. They were a last minute addition to the Education Week schedule. So glad I am still on the mailing list for the Poway Institute! Another bonus: I got to bask in the glory of their amazing insight into the scriptures and enjoy a reunion with many dear friends from our old Poway Stake. It was heavenly. Sam even rolled out of bed and joined me for their classes. 

One of the many insights they taught on symbolism in the scriptures.

Then, I happened to find my favorite ice cream in the little kiosk at the Cougareat one day after lunch (Cherry Vanilla, thanks for asking). And as I was strolling through the Wilkinson Center enjoying that, I ran into these guys:

I just wanted a quick picture of them to prove that I actually saw them,

but they insisted that I get in the picture. So there I am awkwardly

trying to shrink down so as not to tower over Stacy and Mallory and also

keep a grip on my ice cream and my book bag. 

And the guy taking the picture insisted on his expertise at phone photography and

they all endorsed him--but the picture is blurry!

But, you know, it's still Studio C so hey!

And, as if that weren't enough, one day while I was on campus, I came across an exhibit in the Joseph Fielding Smith building. It was all about the history of BYU as well as education in the church.

I read every plaque and soaked up all of the pictures and artifacts. So much of what I was learning about the

importance of education and the importance of learning by study and also by faith, fit my personal philosophy as a mom teaching and guiding learners in our home for so many years. 

A much needed reminder of why I do what I do. 

And why it matters. 

This has turned into a novel--let me find a conclusion here somewhere...

Sunday Dinner at Siara and Tyler's

She is the hostess with the mostest!

The main serendipity was family time with Seth and Taylor, Spencer and Adrianna, Siara and Tyler.

 With Sam there now, half of our children are in Utah Valley!

Since they are all gainfully employed and/or going to school,

we were somewhat limited in times that we

could all be at the same place at the same time.

But we did our best.

It's always fun to catch up with all of them. 

Did I take pictures of all of us together? 

No...I tend to be in the moment when we are all together.

I did take this one of Siara cutting her little brother's hair:

And Sam and Wolfie cat-napping

Is this post ever going to end?

Yes.

Some Ballet in the Big City

As I mentioned in my previous post, Siara and I went into New York City to see 

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, performed by the New York City Ballet.

The grand-daddy of all Nutcracker Ballets.

Her hubby Tyler went with us and we had a fun adventure in the big city.

We took the train from Fairfield Metro to Grand Central and

 the Subway to Lincoln Center. 

It was a rainy day but that didn't dampen our spirits a bit.

We had lunch together and then Tyler went off on his

own to explore some museums while Siara and I enjoyed the ballet.

It was spectacular--the Christmas tree grows up from under the stage into the rafters

and it's huge! At the end Clara and her Prince fly above the stage in a sleigh.

The costumes were beautiful and the dancing exquisite.

Is that enough adjectives for you?

It was truly an experience. 

The Subway poster for the Nutcracker

Some amazing Subway entertainment

I love the beautiful Subway mosaic art...

Looking at the overpriced souvenirs during intermission.

Siara, my stylish ballet attending companion....

You will be proud of her, as I was, that

She didn't jump up during the overture and

shout "Let's get this show on the road!"

She's come a long way since her exuberant, spunky little girl days.

Oh, she is still exuberant and spunky--

just a little quieter when the occasion calls for it. 

Birthday Girl

Today is Siara's Birthday. I always seem to be lamenting that times goes so quickly. It seems especially so when I look back at pictures of my children. I have many happy memories of the time they were growing up, so I think I did really try to live in the moments--those moments just flew by so fast!

 

Siara in her Baptism Dress.

 I sewed a white dress for each

daughter for their baptism. As per tradition, there are

8 buttons down the front of the lace collar.

Doesn't she look like a little angel?

Just a cute picture of her as a gap-toothed little girl:

And a few moments later as a beautiful bride:

Happy Birthday Siara!

Reflections Upon Sending Our Sixth Child Off to College

Shayla (and Sam) in front of the Portland Temple
Age 7

Last week I met up with Shayla at the Salt Lake City airport. She came from Washington where she has spent the summer restoring a car with her Grandpa Gale. I came from Connecticut where I have spent the summer packing and then unpacking boxes and trying to make order out of the chaos--whilst enjoying the comings and goings of adorable grandchildren and their parents. Siara picked us up and we enjoyed that sweet mother/daughter/sister rhythm that we fall into so naturally. (We had that last month when Shayla and Shanna were both in Connecticut--I just need to hang in there 'til Christmas and we will all be together.)

We were there to get Shayla settled into her new life as a freshman at the BYU. Yes, our little Shayla is off to college. Keeping up with family tradition, I helped her move in and get her books and various supplies and necessities to make sure she was covered for the duration. Siara took time off of work to help and she had the added benefit of the wisdom and inside information on how to survive dorm life and homework and the like. She also shared her expert hairstyling skills and gave us both amazing haircuts. She and Tyler shared their hospitality with us and put us up in the Christensen Bed and Breakfast: A homey and comfortable place which includes an entertaining cat named Wolfie and delicious toast made from Dave's Killer Bread. (I am starting a campaign to get it into the Costco here!)

Spencer is between semesters and took time from his busy schedule of sleeping in and watching Fox News to give Shayla a personalized guided tour of campus. He is majoring in Chemical Engineering and she is majoring in Mechanical Engineering so he has the expertise to share on all things science and engineering. His wife Adrianna and I tagged along and  we exchanged baffled looks as Spencer and Shayla talked about chemistry and economics and physics  like they were enjoyable pastimes they happened to have in common.

It was a short trip and my 48 hours flew by before I knew it. I hugged my little girl good-bye and left her at the tiny dorm that will be her home for the next 9 months. We got a bit teary-eyed but I managed to hold back the full flood of mom tears until Siara and I started down the stairs. It doesn't matter how many times  I send  a child off on that first step of the journey to adulthood, it doesn't get any easier.  I am thrilled for the opportunities that are ahead for her. I am proud of her for doing the work and preparation intellectually and spiritually that got her to BYU. So the tears may be a little bit of sadness for me letting her go but they are more of happiness in knowing she is in a good place.

Happy (late) Birthday to Siara

Siara's birthday came and went whilst I was in Connecticut so I am catching up today with

Birthday Wishes for our Siara!

I know this is a picture of Shanna's 2nd Birthday but I love how adorable those two sisters look in this picture. I love it so much I just might use it again in October for Shanna's birthday. 

Siara and her little sister in matching Easter dresses--

this was for Siara's birthday in the Spring:

Then when Shanna's birthday rolled around in the fall, I would

make them matching Christmas dresses:

Here's to fun traditions! And sweet sisters!

And here's to Siara!

Happy Birthday!

Siara: A Baby Story

26 years ago today, Siara came into the world. Second child, first daughter, pure joy.

 I had been in labor all day on a Saturday. We had invited some friends over for dinner on Sunday, so I spent the whole day cleaning and cooking in preparation for it. I remember rolling out rolls between contractions. I would grip the edge of the counter and bend my knees as the contraction pressed in upon me and then I would get back to rolling after it passed. My state of mind was: "If this is false labor, I will need to have dinner ready for tomorrow. If it's the real thing, I will need to have this food ready so Andy can still have our friends over and have something to feed them." Crazy yes?

 By evening, I was worn out and the contractions had not gotten any closer together so I decided to get some sleep.  Around 1:00 am I awakened from a dead sleep with a very sharp contraction. I got up and walked around and soon another one hit me. It was the real thing. I called the hospital and they said to take a warm bath and see if the contractions continued. I really didn't think I needed to wait around but I am a stickler for following instructions so I ran the bath water. This woke Andy up and he was a little groggy and confused as to why I was drawing a bath at 2:00 in the morning. I told him to get ready to go and I took a quick dip in the tub--in the interest of following instructions. Then we decided to head over to the hospital. My sister Julienne had come to stay with us and help me when I had the baby, so we had her there to take care of Scott.

As we were checking in, Andy and I were laughing and joking around. This gave the nurses the idea that I was probably not very far along in the process. They put us in an exam room and ignored us for awhile. The contractions were getting closer and lasting longer but nothing unbearable. Finally a nurse came in to check me.  "Oh! You are at 9!" Suddenly, things began to speed up amongst the staff. I was rushed onto a gurney and into the delivery room. They transferred me to the delivery bed right as transition began--not an easy time to be moving around. I have a clear memory of the delivery room nurse because she had a very New York accent--not something you expect to hear in Portland, Oregon. I don't even remember the doctor. It was just whoever was on call in the wee hours of the morning that day.He seemed put out that he didn't have time to get his gloves on properly. The nurse kept expressing surprise that I was birthing a baby when they thought I was just starting labor. I felt like I should apologize for giving them the wrong impression. Soon, Siara arrived. Kicking and screaming. Andy and the nurse both exclaimed: "It's a girl!" ...this was back in the olden days before technology allowed you to find out the gender five minutes after conception--we actually had no idea until she was born! The nurse wrapped her up and handed her to me. "I wish we had filmed this birth," she said. "You were so calm, it would be the perfect teaching film for childbirth classes."

Well, lady, someone had to be calm.

She weighed 7 lbs. 14 1/2 oz. A sweet little bundle of baby girl perfection. As they wheeled us into recovery, I kissed her soft little cheek and looked at her tiny hands. Her fingernails were long and perfectly shaped--as though she had them manicured for the occasion of her birth. We had decided on her name back before Scott was born--we had picked out a boy name and a girl name to cover all the possible outcomes. Andy liked the name Sierra and I decided to tweak the spelling. It kind of became a curse for her through the years as she had to correct the pronunciation--and her younger siblings all called her "See-ra" despite her efforts to teach them how to say her name. But I thought it looked pretty in writing with her middle name: Lynnae which I got from a girl I went to school with. That girl's last name was Pipkin--Siara can be glad I didn't take a liking to that name.

And that my friends, is the story of Siara Lynnae's birth day. The beginning of her life on earth. The beginning of my life as a mother to an amazing daughter and human being.

 Happy Birthday Siara!

On a More Serious Note

...Sort of

Due to some requests for a real update, I will post the year-end wrap-up for the Gale Gang...you can hum along to the tune in your head (whatever it may be) to liven it up a little

Let's go youngest to oldest just for variety--the last shall be first and all that:

Shane: Turned 12 and he's now a Deacon. There are a lot of boys his age in the ward and he has a lot of fun with them camping and hiking. He serves as a counselor in his quorum presidency. We started a Thomas Jefferson Commonwealth school here that meets in our house so he is taking Key of Liberty (a constitutional studies course) and Shakespeare Conquest. He is in practice scholar phase so he does quite a bit of reading and writing and is taking Algebra online. We recently got a puppy and a kitten--they serve as surrogate siblings for Shane since he's the baby of the family and never got anyone younger to pester and play with.

Sam: Turned 14 and is now a Teacher. He is Teacher's Quorum President--he also happens to be the only Teacher right now. He has been doing his missionary work though and so he has a friend who attends with him and they do a lot of camping and sharpshooting together. He started seminary this year and he serves as Seminary class president. He is taking some classes at the high school: math, biology, Spanish. His last grade report was all A+'s --the grading system here is interesting. He is also progressing well with the piano. He's playing some really amazing pieces and it's fun to listen to him practice. The video is of the recital last spring so he's progressed a lot even since then...

Shayla: Turned 16 and is serving in the Laurel class presidency. She is our resident computer genius and has taken apart several computers and combined them into something better. We think she might be planning to take over the world. She gets a lot of requests to help people in the ward with technical problems. She is taking some classes at the high school as well: medical chemistry, AP US History, Spanish and art. She is a very talented artist and comes up with some pretty amazing projects. We have a computer programming class here as part of our Commonwealth school which she is taking as well. She is on the JV soccer team and plans to play lacrosse in the spring.

Seth: Turned 18 and will soon be an Elder. He earned his Eagle Scout and is at UVU in Deaf Studies. He's taking his GE classes and American Sign Language. He works at Gunnies--selling western wear and saving up for various guns. Shanna and Siara look out for him and feed him once in awhile. He is prepping for a mission next spring. He serves as a counselor in the Sunday School presidency in his student ward.

Spencer: Turned 20 in the mission field. He is serving in the California, Sacramento Hmong speaking mission. The language was a real challenge to learn--especially for someone with such a deep bass voice. But he is doing really well and loves the people. His letters are full of interesting stories about the culture the amazing spiritual experiences he is having. It's odd that he is only six hours away from us but in a whole different world.

Shanna and Austin: Are expecting their first next June! They have both graduated and Austin recently took the LSAT. He works at Gunnies and she is working as a nurse assistant for an ENT clinic.  He serves as ward clerk and Shanna is Relief Society president. They recently moved out of their basement apartment into the upstairs house so they have more room--Austin is thrilled I'm sure that they now have room for us to stay when we come to visit. I tried to download a picture of them but failed...so go here to see them.



Siara and Tyler: Were married last May in the Salt Lake Temple. Siara finished her apprenticeship at Shep Studio and is now a stylist there. Tyler recently got a job with Ebay. They serve as co-teachers for a Primary class in their ward. They are a cute couple and are enjoying married life.

Scott and Nicole: Are in Texas now where they bought a home. He is working for Dow and enjoying that. They had little Norah Ashley in September so Bailey (age 2) has a little sister now. Bailey is a little genius (I can say that, I'm her grandma) she has accumulated an amazing amount of knowledge in her short life. She also happens to be fun and adorable. Norah is a sweet little baby-- we can't wait to see the little person she will become. Nicole is an amazing Mom and serves in Relief Society on the committee formerly known as Enrichment. Scott is the Exec. Sec. in the Bishopric.

Andy is CEO/President of Veridium and working hard. He is also serving as a counselor in our ward's Young Men presidency. He is Sam's advisor which means they get quite a bit of one-on-one time. I am teaching the Shakespeare class  in our school and keeping things running with the homeschooling. I was recently released from Young Women and called to be Relief Society president. Maybe I can get it right this time.

So, there you have it...our nest is emptying and the grandkids are coming. We are a crazy, happy, busy family. I count my many blessings every day and  I am so grateful for the guiding light of the gospel that keeps us headed in the right direction. In such a confused, chaotic world, that peace is a great blessing.

Unforgettable