undeserving Mom

I got home from church today, put Lucy down fro a nap, and started reading through my new Relief Society History book.  Brian got home, and while I was just coming to (after dozing off), we heard the children quiet down from their previous sqaubbling, and start consorting with each other in the kitchen.  Before I knew it, Brent was asking how long breadsticks needed to cook, and Spencer was "fake" whining about how hungry he was (quite realistically).  I wasn't too worried about dinner--I had a batch of spaghetti sauce thawing out from the freezer, a loaf of bread dough thawing/rising for breadsticks, and only really needed to put together a salad and boil noodles.  AND THEN MY CHILDREN MADE IT ALL---WITHOUT ASKING---INCLUDING MANY FINE DETAILS!!:  Brent not only made breadsticks (I've never had a child roll out any dough w/o asking desperately for help), he baked a cake for dessert; the salad Sp & Emily made was not just lettuce in a bowl--they found and chopped up tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots,--and Maddie threw in sunflower seeds; the table was set beautifully--with even dessert forks, all rolled up in napkins;  they had found a series of "Thank You e-cards" they presented as I walked into the kitchen thanking me for all the work I did as their Mom, and Maddie had made a tangible Thank You card they all signed, as well as a "#1 Mom & Clean Plate Club Member" Badge for me w/ a real pin! (This requires a brief story--I would always tell my children about how I was urged as a child to finish my meals so that I could be a member of the "Clean Plate Club," which I obediently did most of the time--but I confessed to my children, that I really thought I'd be getting a badge or an award I for real somewhere along the way--we had some real "Micky Mouse Club" badges in a kitchen drawer in VA that I quite loved (I even showcased a few of my favorite "pins" on school picture days, believe it or not), and so I guess Maddie remembered my unfulfilled wishes, and gave me a real pin!).
It is not Mother's Day, not my birthday or anniversary--I had just been reading in that RS book about Pres. Kimball's answer to "Where is Heaven?" and some of the places and families he had glimpsed it in--then there it was down my own hallway.  How blessed do I feel?? I even got angry (again) as we were leaving for church that all of my preparations STILL had us cutting it close getting to church.  I have tons of chances to keep trying to improve my patience and understanding (in fact, they probably felt the need to do work for me because of all the speeches they hear from me about all the work I do!).
I bore my testimony today (I called it my 7 year old testimony, since it's such a repeating and early-learned principle) about knowing our prayers are heard.  I've been working a little on Personal Progress w/ Maddie, and have tried to be more diligent in my prayers---esp. kneeling down more consistently, and as I went back to evaluate after a few weeks, I realized how QUICKLY my prayers have been answered lately, from making that little simple effort to be more diligent.  Sis. Nelson (wife of Russell M. Nelson) spoke so well at our Stake Standards Night last week, and brought up what one missionary told his mission president of his success, "I've learned that when I obey, I'm blessed; and when I obey exactly, miracles occur."  Not that I get everything I want, but from little things like praying to find my purse (or my earring, or my keys), to praying to feel the Spirit after worrying a bit too much over polygamy, or over things in our finances and in my marriage--LOTS of little things have happened--just an idea here, or a next step there, or a found purse or found key, or perspective over the still lost earring, or a VERY spiritual baptism, or perfectly timed Ensign article, and I just know the Lord cares about me and all of the minutia in my life.    A family sang "I Am a Child of God" at this baptism yesterday, and I loved the picture of it:  Mom holding the 3 year old (smiling and barely singing), Dad holding the 5 year old (too shy to even look up), and the 8 year old boy standing, smiling and singing between them.  I couldn't help but think that's JUST why the family is the perfect model for all of us.  Doesn't Heavenly Father always want us to be held up, surrounded, and supported--whatever stage of courage or accomplishment we're at,-- and to be always reminded of who we really are.  It was a good--hard to believe it's even real--kind of day.  I had to write it down to remember--esp. since my camera now seems to be broken again---yes, really--my 4th camera in 2 years---after having it at the beach yesterday.  I knew I could not end today being discouraged, so it helps to write down the good stuff. :)

Antelope Island Stampede

Antelope Island (which we live right next to) keeps trying to garner support and become a more recognized state park, and one festival they started was the "Labor Day Stampede."  The kids even had an assembly at school about the special kites that would be there, and since there was only the $15/car admission (which, for our car is a deal!) AND there promised to be a lot of free entertainment, we decided to try it out this weekend.  We got there just in time for the hot air balloons to be launched (briefly, before coming back down--the winds must've been off a bit), watched a free BMX bike stunt show (scared Anne just watching it!), saw a few really cool kites flying, and then realized a lot of the stuff we THOUGHT would be free fun for the kids (climbing walls and inflatable slides, etc.) were all additional costs.  We drove down to the ranch instead (Brian had never been there).  Remember this picture from 4 short years ago?

Looks like the horse has had his fur dyed while we were adding to our brood:

They MUST have herded all the buffalo to one side of the island for all the spectators, because we've NEVER seen that many in one day!! It was like Yellowstone, except we could see our house across the lake (not really, but we could at least see where it should be!).  With all of our trips, we still don't know why they don't call it "Buffalo Island" or "Mosquito Island."

(a distant view of a buffalo herd, the Great Salt Lake, and where our house falls--generally--on the other side)
Then we braved the beach again--at least I had Brian this time, and didn't have to carry a nursing baby in her carseat! AND---the water levels were TOTALLY different, so that the beach was much closer! After wading through the water a ways, we came to some big, round rocks we remembered clamboring over on dry ground last year.  The salt was a little brutal to Emily's chapped hands, and a small sore on Anne's feet, but it was still a lot more pleasant than our last trip.  The bugs were also a lot better!--Though in swarms, they were all only at calf level, and parted as we walked through them??-so bizarre, and so antelope-island-ish.  Lucy loved the sand, Spencer got his kite to fly for a while, and everyone's stones seemed to skip a trillion times!

 the pictures always make the place seem so picture-esque, and we do like supporting the local community, but it is ALWAYS an adventure when we go there! (maybe the children being especially tired this trip added to it).  Here is Lucy in frame by frame joy disovering no one will stop her from throwing sand:

  

 The hot air balloons WERE really neat to be close too, and the weather was so pleasant all day, I was just happy to be outside! We came home, took Spencer to his friend's baptism, and had a BLT feast w/ the first tomatoes from our little garden before Fast Sunday.  Fun to be together, since last Sunday, we abandoned the children, with a bookclub movie trip to The Help (such a good read!), a surprise 40th birthday party for our neighbor Scott Merritt, and then a stake bbq for all of the bishoprics in the stake, followed by the men playing softball as long as they could stand :).  So many ways to have fun!

Willow Flats Camping Trip

For our last summer hurrah, Brian took us all up to Willow Flats, Idaho (just past Logan, UT) to camp where he grew up going for Duncan Family Reunions.  It was beautiful!--we stayed Thursday and Friday night, had a sweet visit from his parents Friday morning, later hiked to the Willow Springs, enjoyed lots of good food, lots of dirt and exploring, a mild rain Saturday morning, and just relaxing together.  We took the first half of the week just getting all of the food prepared and frozen (jambalaya and cornbread, tinfoil stew dinners, pancakes, trail mix, apple cobbler, s'mores, eggs, snacks, juice, etc.)--then cleaning and packing, and probably not really enjoying the last week of summer like we would've liked to.  Around that, I helped put together our Activity Days "Daddy Daughter Carnival" w/  3-legged races, a frozen T-shirt race, and hot dogs and cotton candy.  Emily and Brian got to come to that one too, even though she's not quite in our group yet.  We had 9/10 girls there, and a really fun time!

Brian took off early Thursday, and the drive through Logan was beautiful.  We felt lucky to find a campsite at all, since the manager there said they'd been totally full every weekend of the summer by Wednesdays! After exploring the campground for future ideas, we still thought our site was the best!

Lucy had fun talking to Grandma while Grandpa led the other children on a treasure hike to some homemade cookies he had brought!!

Since Dad was recovering from his back going out, we waited until they had to get going before we hiked up to the springs

We forgot the dutch oven (and still survived--making cobbler in a makeshift tinfoil container, and making a sort of corn pone instead of corn bread), and twice had coolers fall out of the back of the van spilling the contents, but aside from a few dirty strawberries and watermelon, our meals weren't ruined, and it was just nice to relax together WITHOUT distraction--not even a clock to make it feel like we were behind any schedule.  Even waking up to rain, the sun dried things out fast enough Saturday morning, that it didn't do more than attract a few mosquitoes.  The children loved "skiing down the dirt hill of our campsite, Lucy LOVED just sitting and playing in the dirt, we visited w/ some of our "camping" neighbors, watched sunsets and stars, and wore ourselves out doing very little.  We got back in time for Brian and Maddie to make it to their "Miraculous Super Activity"/Youth Conference, where they went to see the movie Seventeen Miracles, and hear a few devotionals on miracles, while we unpacked and cleaned up before CRASHING in bed at home.  After a tired Sunday, ending w/ blessings from Dad for all of the children, everyone got off to great starts at school (we're even this year:  2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th)
--and Lucy and Anne even survived my aerobics class, which means I get to keep going after all!