Lessons from Tanner

There are some things that just need to be written down so as not to be forgotten, and these things definitely fall into that category.

They love the aquarium, including feeding the fish and even helping me vacuum it out!

Last week Tanner made something at school that he was so excited about. When I picked him up in the afternoon, he quickly put the hand-colored bag in the front seat and whispered to me that it was a surprise for Preston; a Christmas present he had made himself. Once we arrived home, the gift was put under the tree, and Preston was told that he was NOT to open it before Christmas. However, when bedtime came, it was discovered that Preston had opened it up, and Tanner was so upset. The object inside was a hand-painted ornament with snowmen on it, and I felt so sad for Tanner.

A few days later, he came home and announced that he had something for Preston, but that it was "Preston's last chance to be good." I didn't think much of it until several hours later when Nathan told me the whole story. Tanner's teacher had given each of the kids in her class a book, as her Christmas present to them. Tanner's first thought was to share it with his brother, and he ended up giving it to him as a Christmas gift. While some might consider it re-gifting, I think that root of the story is that Tanner doesn't have much in the way of worldly possessions that he could give as a gift, so he gave what he had, and isn't that exactly what the Savior taught?

Tonight Preston was being naughty, and had made a big mess in their room. Unfortunately, it wasn't discovered until late tonight, which resulted in me yelling at him and barking out orders as to what he needed to put away. Without being asked, Tanner took the hangers on the floor, and Preston's shirt, and he hung it up--a task we struggle with getting Tanner to do with his own clothes. Then, he put Preston's pants in the pants drawer, and his dirty laundry in the hamper--all on his own.

My kiddos on the first day of school 

I have had many battles with Tanner this fall, on many different subjects. However, if there is one thing I have noticed about Tanner it is that he is an incredible brother to Preston, and I can only hope that Preston one day realizes how lucky he is to have a brother like Tanner. I think I could take more than a few lessons from Tanner on kindness, which is why I am writing a blog post about this to remember.

Ramblings Regarding School Violence

I spent this morning getting ready for church, with so many thoughts echoing through my mind, all relating to this most recent school massacre. And, in an attempt to calm my mind, even if just for a few moments, I need to get some of my thoughts out.

It was with horror and shock that I read of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy.  I feel so much love and sorrow for the families who are now one family member less. Families who no longer have their first grader getting ready for bed at night. I feel humbled that I--at least for today--still have my sweet, innocent 6-year old boy. I'm scared to send him to school--which is not something I have ever felt. I am overcome with emotion when I read through the list of victims, seeing that one of the children was only 2 days younger than Tanner. That mother was probably in a hospital the same time I was in a hospital with my perfect baby. I remember wanting to keep him safe from every possible danger. That mother might have thought those same thoughts. And yet, after only 6 years, she is now forced to say goodbye to her sweet child. We as Latter Day Saints have a knowledge of eternal families, but the sting of death--especially the sudden deaths of wonderful people--is real, and is cruel.

I read a quote not long ago that is from Billy Graham's daughter. It says, "For years we have told God we didn't want Him in our schools. We didn't want Him in our government and we didn't want Him in our finances and God was being a perfect gentleman in doing just what we asked Him to do.

Has this quote ever had more truth than it does today? On the one hand, I say yes, it is absolutely true. But in the stories that are now being shared about the true heroes of December 14, 2012, I might disagree. In a tribute to one of the teachers at Sandy Hook, a commenter remarked that God has given us agency, and is not going to confiscate that agency to choose--even from those who are evil. And, as we have witnessed, pure evil was in the school that day.  But, that same individual who made that remark went on to say that if you look at those teachers--some who paid the price with their own life--who did whatever it took to save the lives of their precious students, and who cradled their students heads with her hands and told them she loved them? When someone asks where God was that day, the evidence is right there. He was shining through those individuals who showed such love and charity that day, one can only say that they were truly angels on earth.

I am filled with sadness and mourning at this time, but also with sheer anger.  Thirteen years ago, in April of 1999, I was a freshman at Taylorview Junior High School. I was home sick one day, and was channel surfing when all of the news stations began showing footage of a shooting in a high school in Colorado. The high school was Columbine High School, and the gunmen were students there--who were only several years older than myself. In the weeks that followed, I was obsessed with this tragedy, devouring every magazine and newspaper article I could find.  I was mortified by the harsh reality of it all, but was also intrigued. The more I read of the young men who brought forth this heinous act, the more I discovered that they were loners, outsiders, people who weren't considered "cool enough" to be invited to things that perhaps they wanted to be part of. As someone who was excluded, ridiculed, and bullied in previous years, I felt a strange understanding to some degree of feeling so lonely, yet angry at those who had looked down on me for so many years. Never had I--nor did I--feel so violently inclinded that I would want to take anyone's life however, other than my own. It's true--for one summer when I was mere twelve years old, I wished that I could be done with this mortal prison, one of which I was frequently ostracized by my peers.   What I found intriguing with this massacre, was how many people were scratching their heads, going "How on earth would someone be filled with such anger? What would motivate someone to do this? How could this have been prevented?" I saw such questions and pure evidence that these writers and commentaters had never felt such pangs of exclusion, nor had they been tormented and ridiculed by peers. While I did not condone the gunmen's actions, I sincerely hoped that people would see what terrible things could come from bullying.

Within a year I had moved onto high school. I found new friends, I had a boyfriend, and I joined the track team and later the cross country days. Though I realize that not many people would say this, I absolutely loved my life--and school--by the time I was a few months into my sophomore year. I still wasn't the most popular, nor was I the smartest or anything incredible. But I was happy. My friends were fun, and I discovered that I actually enjoyed running and being outside, especially while enjoying the company of high school boys. :-)  Now fast forward more than ten years. I still stay involved with high school cross country--although this time I am a coach. I have a husband who treats me like royalty, I live in a great community, and overall, I am happy. Bad days happen, as do bad weeks or even months. But isn't that just part of life?

I return to the most recent school shooting--and every other school shooting in the past 10 years. I no longer have even a shred of understanding or sympathy from those heartless individuals who carry out such attacks. It infuriates me that all of these people who do such senseless acts of violence have bought into that delusion that this is it. Death is the way out--both for themselves and for those innocent people around them. These people were already secluded from society, and have only further alienated themselves by immersing themselves in pure drivel--such as video games. It makes my blood boil when I think about how I personally know how it feels to be excluded and called "non-normal," and yet, I persevered and know for a fact that we as humans have a choice on what we choose to do with the trials we're handed.

And yet, deep down, it also troubles me that we as parents are not doing enough to educated our children about how to think beyond 'getting even." Or, we go to whatever ridiculous lengths it takes to make sure our child IS popular--whether it be based on the clothes they wear, the car they drive, the rules we govern them by, etc. We as parents are wrapping packages for birthdays and Christmas filled with violent video games for our children (and husbands).  While my own husband and myself do not purchase any sort of video games for our home, I admit that there are things we could do better at with our children, especially when it comes to discussing bullying, ostracizing, and violence.

And with that I will close this long rambling of thoughts. I will continue to pray for those affected by the recent events, and will also take this opportunity to do a lot more of invited God into my life, and into my children's lives.

Seasonal Thoughts

These days, we are doing your typical Christmas activities.....trimming the tree, the house--both inside and out, and making holiday goodies. However, the thing that isn't so typical is that the tree was decorated by Nathan (and the boys). The house has been totally decorated by Nathan, and the holiday goodies have been made by Nathan. Guess who married a Christmas fanatic and didn't know it?!? Actually, it's kind of been really nice! I want my kids to have a good "Christmas-y" experience, and Nathan is ensuring that it happens. :-)  One thing that is becoming a favorite thing to do at night is to drive around looking at Christmas lights.

Along with everything else Christmas, we've had Christmas music playing A.LOT. The primary kids in our ward learned The Little Drummer Boy, and now Tanner absolutely loves the song, which is fun. Nathan bought the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert with David Archuleta, and that's been a fun CD to listen to. But the Christmas songs that for some reason on my mind lately?
Baby....It's Cold Outside
and a little bit of Baby, All I Want for Christmas is You
and don't forget
"My Baby's Gone.....I have no friends.....to wish me greetings, once again"

Another thing that's kept us busy lately is the usual Christmas shopping. I actually went out and did quite a bit of Black Friday Thursday shopping with my friend Lindsay on Thanksgiving night. It was such a blast going with a friend, and I managed to get almost everything I wanted! It was a good time. My last noteworthy shopping trip was just a few days ago though, to the grocery store. They were having a fabulous sale on asaparagus, and I LOVE the stuff, so Preston and I got enough to last us for a little bit. I did make some other purchases as well though. Grapefruit, salad, grape tomatoes, and pickles green olives and ice cream.

But enough of the nitty gritty. How about some recent pictures of what's been going on in the Hall household?


The Thanksgiving table runner I made. Mere child's play for my sew-talented friends, but an accomplishment for a novice such as myself.

 The toy room!!! For months I have been debating what to do with the boys artwork, since I knew I didn't want it all over my fridge, but it deserved to be displayed, rather than stuck in a drawer where nobody would see it. Enter: Pinterest.

The wire holding up the artwork is from Ikea. One of my cross country runners' moms who came over to Portland for our meet was going to stop at Ikea on her way back home, and I begged her to get these for me. She did, and I was so very grateful!! I LOVE how they turned out!

 These are all of the random frames I've been collecting all year. I already had black spray paint, so I painted all of them, then had Nathan help me cut cork board to fit inside of them. I am pretty much in love with them, and am ridiculously lucky to have a husband who puts up with all my requests (believe me, there are a lot), and who still lets me go on Pinterest!

Snuggling with Preston after Thanksgiving dinner. I was actually going through the Black Friday ads, but Preston wanted to come sit with me. He wasn't feeling very good, which was unfortunate.

This picture was taken maybe 15 minutes after the previous picture. I wasn't kidding when I said he didn't feel well. Unfortunately, it would be a full 3 days later (and seeing 20 cousins) before he would be diagnosed with Strep throat and get on antibiotics.

Tanner started chess lessons a few weeks ago! My friend's husband is teaching him, and in return, I'm teaching their daughter piano. SUCH a great trade, since Tanner loves chess (and is pretty good at it!), and their daughter loves piano (and is doing quite well I must say). Too bad for Tanner he doesn't have any family members who are proficient at chess and can play with him! Hence the reason he tried giving Preston chess lessons. I don't think Preston is quite ready for the Masters yet......or whatever the chess tournament is called.

He may be cute,but my Pookie Bear Preston spends a fair amount of time in time-out.....as you can see here. I believe this time out picture was brought to you by cheese. As in, Preston throwing the cheese across the dining room.

Just in case there is some poor soul out there who doesn't know what asparagus looks like, here is a lovely picture of it for you. I may or may not have had any clue what it was until Nathan and I were engaged.

Oh, and this is what I found on November 3rd.....same day my girls cross country team ran at the STATE meet!

A picture of what we we saw yesterday, December 11th. What you are actually seeing is a parasite that has caused me to feel rather ill lately. The doctor assures me that it will be okay, but that this parasite is going to get bigger, and won't actually come out until approximately July 3, 2013, which just happens to be 2 days after Tanner's birthday. At the time of writing this blog post, the parasite you see is approximately 11 weeks, or 29 weeks from when we suspect it will leave its current location and enter the world.

Bathtime is a favorite around here, and it entertains the troops for a good long while. An added benefit is that occasionally the children get washed with soap while they are in the bath, thus leaving them clean!

And there you have it! Our lives condensed into a nutshell! Although it might be more fitting if I also had a picture of my bed. And our piano. If I'm not in my bed, I'm teaching piano lessons. I have 14 students right now, and it definitely keeps me busy. I'm also taking music theory lessons, which I am enjoying. I haven't felt very well this last month or so, so teaching piano and just taking care of the boys has about worn me out!

Grateful for: Food

I'm struggling for ideas and motivation when it comes to blogging, and what I want the purpose of my blog to be. Is it to show my mom pictures? Is it to help me remember things? Is it so I feel less guilty about always being a ghost blog-looker? I need to figure this out soon. At any rate, there might be some exciting posts this week, so stay tuned. For those 2 readers of you that are out there.

 

I've been thinking these past few weeks about things I am grateful for and specific moments that have had an impact in my life. Today I was thinking about how I am so blessed, to have never known what it like to be without food. I grew up in a home where we always had three meals a day, and I had a mom who cooked our family a meal every night. My husband came from the same type of situation, and our children are also growing up abundantly blessed. I want to toot my horn and say that much of our edible bounty that we enjoy is because of savvy shopping, home canning, and knowing how to cook. But, the reality is that for a time in our life when we made NOTHING, we were on government programs like food stamps. And I am truly grateful for that. And, I am grateful for parents who taught Nathan and me how to clip coupons, shop sales, cook, and bottle fresh produce. I'm lucky to have a husband who insists on us having a garden, and does pretty much, um, all the work (note to self: must do SOMETHING to help with the garden next year).

Nathan showing off our ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX pounds of peaches we picked this summer. Unfortunately, this was shortly after cross country started, so poor Nathan had to do a lot of the canning. The boys helped quite a bit too, which is awesome. They (and Nathan) are enjoying having so many bottled peaches to enjoy these days.

Tanner--and Nathan--picking those 196 pounds of peaches. I did think it was really neat that my boys helped pick the fruit, can the fruit, and now they eat the fruit. They did end up in a snafu on the way home with Nathan's parents though, but that is a story for another day. Something about their pickup breaking down on a mountain and all of them riding in a tow truck. Oh the memories my children will have of their childhood. :-)

Tanner proudly displaying home bottled apricot marmalade that he helped with, along with a fresh berry parfait, made with berries that we picked.

OK, enough foodie pictures. I didn't want to bore you all with another picture-less post. Now for the story that has me motivated enough to actually write a blog post.

When I was in college at BYU-Idaho we had 1:00pm church, which was a beast on fast Sundays. One Fast Sunday in particular though, will always be remembered. My roommates and I were so hungry by the end of church, but we were dreading going home because we knew that our apartment was almost completely out of food. This is one of the only times in my life that I have had nearly-bare cupboards. 

Well, 4:00pm came, and church let out, and we all looked at each other and started to head for home,dreading seeing just how bare our cupboards and freezer really were. As were started downstairs in the Manwaring Center, students were already lining up to get into the cafeteria for their Sunday dinner.  Our FHE brothers were some of the people in line, since they lived in the mens' dorms, and as such, had no kitchens but were required to buy a meal plan.  We hung our heads and begged them to let us each use a meal to be able to eat, telling them that we would pay them back.

They were more than happy to treat us to Sunday dinner (did I mention that Sunday dinner's at the BYU-Idaho cafeteria were really really good?), and told us they would certainly not let us pay them back! The gratitude I felt at that moment and the relief I felt was like no other. I don't remember what we ate that day, but I remember that it all tasted incredible, and that we had so much fun sitting with our FHE brothers, talking and laughing with them.

You never know what kind of an impact you can have on someone's life. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40)

Christmas 2011: Random Thoughts

I found this half-written post from last year, and I have no idea where I was going with it.....so I'm just going to go ahead and post it.....LOL!!

So, Christmas 2011 didn't quite follow the mental blueprint I had in my mind when I thought about how it was going to go. But....I am happy to say that it was **AWESOME!!**  I got an early Christmas gift courtesy of SkyWest Airlines. You see, sometimes being married to a pilot sucks. Husband gone at nights, a paycheck that is comparable to what most people make before going to college, have to rely on stand-by flights if you want to travel, etc etc. But sometimes being married to a pilot is the best thing ever. Like when your pilot husband gets displaced. For 2 weeks in a row.  Quick definition for those of you not in the-know: Displaced is when you get pulled off of your scheduled trip so that some newbie can fly in your place, all the while you are still getting paid to do the job that you aren't actually at. In other words, getting paid to stay home. Or, getting paid for one trip so that you can pick up ANOTHER trip and get paid for it too. Yeah, Nathan got displaced for several weeks in December, so this was a definite plus financially, and sanity-wise, it was nice there too.

Anyway, about Christmas.  Our microwave died.  We bought a new one. It was expensive. Nathan's brothers Darrin and Derrick helped install it though, which was nice. Plus, Darrin gets the military discount at Lowe's, so that was nice too. :-)  I still giggle a little when I think about how Tanner and Preston would tell people about their Christmas, and it included the microwave breaking and getting a new one.

Nathan's brother Darrin, his wife Connie, their son Matthew (9) and their dogs Jazzy (Yorkie) and Max (golden lab) drove to Pasco all the way from San Antonio, TX!  We had a lot of fun with them, and I am afraid I have falled madly in love with another man. Err, dog.  Max is so awesome.  Love him. LOVE HIM. And I am not a dog person--so that should tell you something.

Preston Dean

 Man I love this kid. I love my other kid too, don't you worry. But Preston has said and done some blog-worthy things this week, and I figured I should give into the motivation I have before it leaves.

So....we went camping last night with our good buds the Fackrells. As soon as we arrived at the campsite, we headed down to the water to play in the river.  I noticed that Preston wasn't getting too involved in the fun, so I asked him why. His reponse was "I can't play yet. I don't have sunscreen on." Background info: Lately after I get their pool set up and such at our house, I usually holler, "Do NOT go play in the water until you have sunscreen on!!!!! GOT IT??" I think they got it.

Tonight we went to the bread store outlet where I had a $10 voucher. Basically my goal was to just find 10 items on the dollar rack so as to get the most bang for my buck. The boys were with me, and I noticed that they had mini-bagels, which I pointed out to the kids. They were excited and said they wanted to get them, so I tossed them into the cart. Then a few minutes later I discovered some full-size cinnamon raisin bagels. I showed those to the boys, who seemed a little leery. I asked if they wanted them, and one of them replied, "So....if we get these bagels can we still get the other ones?"  You can tell someone has been told once or 11 times that "You can have THIS or THAT.....BUT NOT BOTH!" Also, I think this one was  Tanner quote, not actually a Preston quote.

After the bread store we made our way to WinCo. Tanner stayed with Nathan to go run and errand and Preston came with me. He had a grand time counting out apples for me and going through the bulk food section, where we spent a lot of time. And money. One of the things I had to do was re-stock my personal candy supply (I may have a slight addiction).  I had gotten gummy bears, black jelly beans, and taffy for myself when Preston picked out a candy he wanted. For a split second I debated telling him that he didn't need candy.....but then I realized the irony there. He left the bulk section with a bag of orange slice candies (his choice) which he plans to share with his brother.

I called Preston "Sweet thing" last night, and he, trying to be funny, said it back to me. Except it came out "Sweet Sing," since he hasn't quite mastered the "TH" sound. It's pretty awesome.

Top 10: Mother's Day

Mommy dearest at age 4

I have decided to follow a theme for 2012, and that theme is "Top 10." That being said, don't be surprised if you see some more of them this year.

Due to several factors, I have chosen to give my mom a "Blog-card" this year for Mother's day. Those factors include me having the good thought to get the card in the mail earlier this week.......and then not remembering to actually do it until last night.  Also, it gives me a good reason to journal-blog.

And so it is that I shall now present 

The Top Ten Gifts my Mom has Given Me

I have no idea how old my mom is here.
I see some serious proof that Will and Daniel are indeed her children though

10.  Coupons. I could go on, but it would be like beating a dead horse.  My mom couponed, it was just something you did, and now I do it.  OK minor detail to interject: when Nathan and I first moved to Portland I was telling my mom about our new digs and what was near it, and I mentioned Rite Aid. When she heard that--along with the fact that you don't pay sales tax in Oregon--she told me that I HAD to start couponing, or at least taking advantage of their rebates. So, being the dutiful child I am, I did, and have not looked back.

9.  California Memories- If you read my recent post about my grandma, then this is going to be slightly repetetive.  But, that is alright.

In June 2009, the weekend of Uncle Jim's funeral. I think this is the
last picture I have with my mom and my grandma.

My mom took us down to California every other summer, where we saw so many neat things. Here is the kicker though: all of those trips with us kids were without my dad. He always stayed home due to work and several other factors.  Now that I am a parent--and have traveled without Nathan a time or two--I am seeing how stressful and exhausting it can be!  At any rate, I have been able to see the places she lived, ride on Grandpa McDonnel's sailboat, and later, visit his grave, as well as see all sorts of places like the Rose Bowl, Fashion Island, Hollywood, Tijuana, and lots more that I am inevitably forgetting.  Random interjection:  Whenever we would go visit Grandpa McDonnel's grave, Grandma would always show us where she would be buried, and talk about how she was going to be next to her friend Elise.  Every time she would say something like that, I would think "I'm sure you will pass away SOMEday.....but that is just crazy talk, because you're Grandma! You can't die!"  It was surreal this spring to be at the cemetary with my mom (and my dad!! That alone was surreal having my dad there), and realizing that the day I never thought would come, had actually come.  I had been coming to that very place for years, but couldn't fathom Grandma not being with us.  And, even though the trip home was nothing short of miserable, I am so glad I went.

8.  Her Attention to Detail: this awesome picture is a self-portrait of Tanner. And his tongue.  My mom has been concerned with Tanner's oral issues from the time he was born. He wouldn't take a binky, nursing was a nightmare, and he had/has a huge tongue.  As soon as we moved to Pasco, she insisted we get him into speech therapy, or at least get him tested. A lot of friends of family thought we were crazy, but we did it, and are so glad we did. Tanner's speech is so much better than it was before, and I credit my mom's vigilance and her urging us to be pro-active.
My mom is an avid newspaper reader (and watcher of the news), and always knows what is going on in the community.  Just the last time I visited-in January-she had found a free pass the local athletic club was doing, which allowed me to go do some Zumba. :-)  I am often telling my friends about different things going on in town that they had no idea about, which reminds me of my mom. I suppose I can add my crazy love of reading the newspaper to her too. I just lucked out when I married someone who had delivered the newspaper for years, and also views the newspaper as something as necessary as food, water and shelter.

My brother Will and me after we ran the Teton Dam half marathon
in Rexburg, ID in June 2011

7.  Moderation in All Things: wow, where to even begin?  This was something my mom referred to a lot, which has seriously become my motto for life.  In the food department, much of what she taught me can be found in THIS blog post. Basically, there is such thing as too much of a good thing--or a bad thing--so don't overdo it.

Family picture my junior or senior year in high school

6.  My relationship with food: I should clarify that my mom is NOT the reason I am the world's pickiest eater. But she is the reason I am hypervigilant about a balanced diet and making sure that we were getting enough protein.  My mother in law (and even Nathan at first) were a bit startled at my insistence on having EVERY food group at dinner--not just on Sundays. I confess, I have a lot of room for improvement in having better dinners on nights when Nathan is gone, but I do work at making sure we eat a pretty balanced diet during the day. My mom didn't cook everything from scratch.  I think she came pretty close though. I didn't grow up with homemade bread and rolls, but I grew up with homemade chicken stock, home bottled fruit, homemade desserts, and the list goes on.  When I got to college and my roommate put "gravy mix" on the list of things to buy, I was shocked to discover that you could buy a MIX! This is ironic because my mom, who made excellent gravy (still the best gravy I know of) taught my brother Will how to make it, but I never cared to learn. So, once I learned you could buy package gravy mix, by golly, I was able to "make gravy."  Just last week I made gravy by myself for the FIRST time, although it was my mother in-law's recipe and not my own mom's. Note to self: learn how to make mom's gravy!
I have a good friend up here in Pasco who actually has her masters' degree in Dietetics, and I have to be honest, it is soo fun having a foodie friend who is as passionate (and more knowledgeable) than me when it comes to eating a nutrient-rich, balanced diet.

Mom with Preston when he was about 2 hours old

5.  Money Isn't Everything: I wasn't sure how to title this one, since there are a lot of thoughts on this one. My other choice was "Doing What you Love."  Nathan has pursued his dream of being an airline pilot, even though we have not seen much money from this job.  Whenever I complain to my mom about it, she reminds me that is is much more important that he loves what he do, than if he is doing something he hates but bringing in lots of money.  I now coach cross country, and tell people that it is the best job in the world, mainly because it is something I absolutely LOVE to do.  This spring I decided to branch out a little and coach track. It has been a......learning experience, to say the least.  One thing that has been a little different about it is the fact that I am a volunteer. I have a lot of people ask why I would do something that I am not getting paid for.  But let me tell you this: for years my mom volunteered at Longfellow (the elementary school my brothers and me went to), in my brothers' classes, and later on in the library when she had no kids at the school.  She spent years volunteering at Deseret Industries in the humanitarian room.  She has taught me that there is more to life than just doing jobs that are attached to a paycheck.

My parents, way-back-when. Couldn't tell you if they were dating,
engaged, or married here.

4.  Agency: my parents were rather strict with me in some areas, some of which differed from what freedoms my brothers were allowed, but.......we aren't going there.  I have been thinking recently about how my mom let me choose what to wear. She never said how long my shorts had to be or how big the straps had to be on my shirts.  Yes, I wore dresses to dances that didn't have sleeves (they had thick straps, but not sleeves). I wore shorts that were pretty darn short.  And when I did track and cross country, I wore what I wanted to.  The only thing I remember my parents saying about my clothes was when I went to a stake dance.  The dress I chose to wear was shorter than what my dad thought I should wear, and he told me. I didn't really care, and wore it anyway. At the dance, the woman at the door told me my dress was too short and that I was going to have to go home to change. The funny thing is that I had to ride home with the bishop's son, who had worn jeans (which were not allowed).  My dad laughed when I told him what had happened, and kept saying, "Someone needs to give that woman a MEDAL for standing up to ornery teenagers!" I don't know if my parents just got lucky that they never really had to enforce the clothes thing with me, since I went to BYU-Idaho (on my own free will), and their dress code governed me--not my parents. I am not saying that I was the epitome of a modest, obedient child. Because I wasn't. But I have always appreciated the freedom my parents gave me, and that is was a choice that I was given. I wasn't told what I could wear.

3.  Thrift Stores- again, if you read the post about Grandma McDonnel, you already knew this one.  My mom has always been a thrift store shopper, and while I may not have always loved how large the percentage was of secondhand clothes in my closet, I somehow came away with liking thrift stores.  A rule my mom had growing up was that whatever I picked out at a thrift store was on her tab.  This may have contributed to my liking thrift stores. :-)  Even now though, when we visit Idaho, I always pack my latest thrift store finds, and look forward to showing them off to her. Many a time I have called her after Value Village's 50% sales and excitedly told her about my finds.  I was so excited to tell her about the store near me in Tacoma where they sold their stuff by the POUND.
**I had to laugh because when I was putting together pictures for this post, the folder I was putting them in already had the logo for Fiesta Foods.  I took that as an omen, so I am using it. :-) When my mom came to visit me is Pasco, I was excited to show her Yoke's--the grocery store near me. Well, she wasn't too impressed. However, we did end up going to Fiesta Foods, a grocery store in downtown Pasco that is, um, rather 'cultured.' My mom was a big, big fan of Fiesta Foods!

2.  Domestic Skills: OK, so I did not learn to make homemade bread from my mom.  But that might be the ONLY domestic skill I didn't learn from her.  Well, there are a few more, but they are due to me not wanting to listen, not her not trying to teach me (ie: gravy making).  My mom is another Heloise (or as Will says, 'Hullo Hel-loys).  She knows about every stain remover there is when it comes to laundry. She knows how to clean, she knows how to use every bit of a chicken.  My mom knows how to cook like scratch like nobody else.  Heaven knows I do much better at finding ways to buy "luxury" things (like pre-shredded cheese, boneless skinless chicken breasts and chocolate milk) than I do at being as frugal as her. I got in trouble from her when she came to visit because I poured the sugar water out of a canning jar when we had eaten all the pears that were in the sugar water.  She knows how to "Waste Not, Want Not" with the best of them!

1.  And finally, the number one gift I have received from my mom is........

A certain red-headed, Irish tempered little man who goes by the name of Preston Dean!  OK, maybe he wasn't given to me by my mom, but I think of her when I see him and his bright red hair.  And apparently many of Preston's antics are similar to my own and what I put my mom through. :-)

At Preston's blessing in 2008

Happy Mother's Day mom!  I love you! As I am typing this both boys keep asking when we are going to go visit Grandma Kitty!

Preston at the 4th of July parade in Idaho Falls last summer

Things to Remember

I wrote this post a year ago, but have never taken the time to add pictures to it. I tried to add pictures that are roughly from the same month I wrote this.

Tanner bowling at Triple Play in Coer d'Alene back in February 2011

...It baffles me that no matter the holiday, my kids really don't dive into the candy stash received, and this past Easter has been no exception.  The kids Easter baskets have sat on the counter, brimming with candy. I never tell my kids "You have free reign," but I also have never once told them NOT to eat it.  It's not that they don't like candy, because they do (especially Preston!!). Several journal worthy events have come from this though:

Preston "bowling." I love this shot of his little belly!

..............On Sunday I asked Tanner if I could have a black jellybean, to which he said yes, I could have one. But, after I informed him that I REALLY love black jelly beans, he thought about it and decided to find all of the black ones, and give them to me. Although Nathan claims I manipulated him into giving them to me, I did think it was really nice.

...............Tonight after dinner, I told Tanner that if he cleared all the dishes from the table, he could have any candy in his Easter basket (I doubted it would work, because I figured he knew that he could have his Easter candy, regardless of work he's done!). He was excited, and proceeded to clear the table.  As promised, I gave him his basket, and he chose a commercially-filled egg that had an M&Ms label on it.  I got him a bowl and went upstairs to put Preston in bed.  Tanner hollered upstairs that there were two candy packets in it, and asked how many he could have. I hollered back that because it was all in his one piece of candy, he could choose to eat one or both, but if he only ate one, he could eat the other one tomorrow.  When I came back downstairs, Tanner asked if Preston was sleeping.  I said yes, and he was concerned. "But," he said, "he didn't get to eat his candy."   "What candy?" I asked. "There were two candy packets, so one was for Preston," was his reply.  I am blown away sometimes by what a good brother Tanner is to Preston.

Nathan and the boys in Hungtington, UT at Grandma Hall's funeral in March 2011.  This is the last picture we have with Grandpa Hall, as he died 4 months later.

The boys on Nathan's Uncle Owen's firetruck, named 'Jasper.' This fire truck was all they talked about for weeks, and they always included 'Jasper' in their prayers.

.......Tanner is learning to read!  Being the awesome parent that I am, I had really no idea how well he was doing until my sister in law was reading with him last week.  He has learned about 6 "sight words," such as
the, and, it, on, and maybe a few others. He loves to find the sight words on everything from cereal boxes to the newspapers, and he has been challenging himself to sound words out. He is doing great at sounding out 3-letter words! This whole concept of someone as young as him reading just blows me away, because I remember struggling with that kind of stuff in 1st grade. I ended up being one of the most avid and advanced readers of my classes, so obviously not knowing how to read going into kindergarten didn't exactly hinder me. Thus, I haven't been as concerned that Tanner know how to read by this upcoming school year as Nathan and his family have been. It is exciting nonetheless!

"Wait, these bins are for TOYS? I thought you said BOYS!"

Tanner, Preston and cousin Jessica at Jessica's granda Homer's farm

Matching airplane/helicopter jammies!

Sunday after church, Spring 2011

Tanner took the picture

.....Preston is such a chatterbox. My favorite is when it is just him and me in the car, because he just jabbers away about what he sees. Sometimes he'll be telling me one thing, and before he can finish, he'll be starting a new thought about something else he sees.  I have been trying my hardest to teach him his colors, but those efforts have proved fruitless thus far.  His speech though? It blows me away. More and more of his speech is in complete sentences lately.  One of his recent "speech things" is this: whenever he is asked a question that begins with "Why," he will almost always answer it with, "Why because." It is kind of cute. And repetetive. Frustrating at times. But still funny.  Until yesterday. He woke up early from his nap screaming bloody murder, and as I rocked him, I would ask, "Pres, why are you crying?" Between sobs, all he would say is "Because Why." Yeah. It was awesome.

Tribute to: A Woman of Dignity and Grace

Last month my Grandma McDonnel passed away, reunited with Grandpa after almost 24 years.  It was and has been a bittersweet experience for me.  When 2011 began, Nathan had two living grandparents and I also had two. We lost three of our grandparents last year, making Grandma McDonnel our last living grandparent.  As I have reflected on Grandma and the effect she had on my life, I wanted to write some of them down. And, since I am the world's worst journal keeper currently, this will have to do.

With Grandma in 2005 on my wedding day

Every other summer we would make the trek from Idaho Falls to Arcadia, CA. Up until I was about 12, we would fly. After that, we would drive. By "we" I mean my brothers, me, and our mom.  It became our tradition to stop in Mesquite, NV on the way down for the night.

It was on these bi-yearly trips that I experienced many things for the first time, including:

Subway sandwiches

Six Flags and Knotts Berry Farm

The San Diego Zoo

Riding the trolley/Going to Tijuana

Eating at Sho-Gun (think: Beni-hana)

Eating jicama

Watching television on a big-screen TV

In n Out Burger

Los Angeles Chinatown and Olvera Street

See's Candy

Seeing the route of the Rose Parade and where to Rose Bowl is played

Shopping at Target

Chicken Foot (a dominoes game, not a food)

Christmastime 2010 in Grandma's apartment at The Coventry in Salt Lake

Grandma loved it when we came to visit (and if she didn't, well, she sure didn't show it!), and we would always anticipate that first walk in through the front door, anxiously awaiting THE SMELL of Grandma's house. It was a smell we loved, and a smell we looked forward to.  The saddest part of our trips was always when we would back out of the driveway, watching Grandma standing there waving, all alone. It always broke my heart.

Whenever I would come home from school when I was growing up, my mom always listened with such intent and made me feel like the events of my day were the most interesting thing she had heard, and was never too busy. I think that's something she learned from Grandma, because Grandma was the same way. Unless you were complaining. If you were complaining, well, she didn't much want to hear it.

Grandma, me, and my mom. 3 Generations

Grandma's house was right across the street from Vons, which she referred to as "The Market." If she needed something, why, she would head over to the market to get it.

July 2011--the last family picture we took with Grandma

Grandma spent years in service at the Boys Republic Thrift store, and no trip to California was EVER complete without going to see and help Grandma in the back room(s), and I always came home with some kind of treasures from there. I am now a parent, and one of my favorite thing to do is thrift-store shop.  It was only at the close of the viewing for Grandma that her love of thrift store finds was brought up (and in a very humorous way,I might add). And, after hearing my Uncle Paul's story, I thought about how my grandma's influence has affected me in that way--something I had not considered before.

One final story about Grandma: Nathan and I went on our honeymoon to Los Angeles, and having spent so much on the airfare to get down there, it left almost no money to actually do things. Mind you, I was determined to have a honeymoon that cost no more than $500, and that made for a difficult situation in doing much. The hotel we had booked was a pretty seedy place in a scary part of town, so for the last day of our trip we spent hours on the different commuter trains traveling to the station near Grandma's house. She came and picked us up and took us to go rent a car (we weren't about to rely on public transportation or ask Grandma to drive us back to the Long Beach airport).  After renting a car, Grandma took us to eat dinner at the Claim Jumper restaurant, then back to her house where we stayed the night.  People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them that we spent the last night of our honeymoon at my grandma's house, but in all reality, after being in the ghetto, it was like staying the night in a palace at her house, and I was thrilled to be able to spend time with Grandma and introduce Nathan to such a meaningful place in my life. The next day she drove us all around to look at the Rose Parade route as well as the "Pillared Palaces" as she called them.

One thing that struck me was when, after the graveside service in California, I was all alone and was hungry. My parents had left already, and my cousins were off doing their own thing. I had no car, so I had to walk to find food. I ended up walking down the street where I'd first eaten at an Olive Garden years earlier.  I saw the Subway I first went to with Grandma. I then looked ahead of me and saw the Claim Jumper--where we had eaten that night on our honeymoon.  It hit me that that chapter of my life is officially closed. Grandma moved to Salt Lake several years ago into a retirement home, so some might say that the chapter closed before then. But as I walked down Huntington Avenue I thought about how many happy memories I have that I will cherish, and how truly grateful I am to have had the priviledge of having such a wonderful grandma, and how much I am going to miss her.

My cousin Whitney, Grandma, and me--the last picture of the 3 of us.  I have many memories with Grandma and Whitney, that is for sure!!

April 2012 Snapshots

Dad, Mom, me and Daniel at the luncheon in So. Cal after the  graveside service for Grandma  McDonnel.  The dress and sweater are thrift store finds {see post about Grandma McDonnel for why that is relevant}.  The necklace I am wearing was Grandma's.

Proof that I am not a COMPLETE failure in the domestic department.  During  the Sunday session of General  Conference, I was determined to make some delicious rolls. Homemade and from scratch, which I have never ever done in my entire life. At least not successfully.  They don't look perfect, nor do I in this picture, but by gollly, I was so darn-tootin-proud of myself! The rolls were good, and I confess, I did serve them with homemade jam that I also made myself, just so that I could lay claim to being the maker of all sorts of deliciousness.  

Easter Sunday. In our "Easter outfits" in front of our near-perfect tulips.

Daffodils from Nathan's parents' flower garden.  Don't they look stunning? I mean, they are  up there in rank--almost as awesome as our tulips. :-)