All God's Creatures Got a Place in the Choir

 Okay, so it's been like 8 years since I have written on this thing. . . So why am I writing on it now? Joanne Jeffs. That's why. It's her birthday and she asked for the most ridiculous thing.

            When I asked Jo what she wanted for her birthday . . .  she said that she wanted me to “write something” for her. Write something. 

            “So Uh . . . What do you want me to write about?” I asked.

            She said, “Write about something we’ve done together.”

“Okay . . .” Seriously? What a Jo thing to ask for.

  You might think that would be an easy thing to do, right? I mean, We have done so many awesome things together. But . . .that’s exactly the problem. We have done SO many awesome things together! And we all know that I can’t make a decision to save my life! So which adventure should I choose? The Grand Canyon? That was pretty dope. Havesupai? . . . A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Half Dome?. . . Epic. Bryce Canyon? . . . That was a total Blast . . . Dang you Jo!! . . .Couldn’t you just ask for socks or something, like a normal person? No.You couldn’t. Because that would be too easy. And then BAM! It came to me. I’m NOT going to write about one of our adventures together. No. I am going to write about why Joanne Jeff’s would ask for such a ridiculous thing for her birthday. Is it because she knows deep in her heart that I am going to be a famous writer someday? Or maybe she knows the value in owning a composition by the one and only Mary Mack? . . . Hardly. I mean,  I’m a pretty dang good writer. It's true . . . But that is NOT the reason why she would ask for such a ridiculous thing. The truth is that Jo LOVES to ask people to do hard things. She glories in it. She has a way to get people out of their comfort zones. And it’s not always comfortable. In fact . . . it can be pretty dang annoying sometimes! But I absolutely love her for it. And I know I’m not the only person who has been persuaded to do something hard and uncomfortable at Joanne’s request. 

You see, Jo has this uncanny ability to not only see the best in people but also to identify talents and abilities in them that oftentimes they don’t even know they possess. And before they know what’s happening . . .they are agreeing to use their newly discovered talent because Jo asked them to. And let’s be honest. It’s so hard to say no to Jo. She just has so much faith in your abilities!  

One of these memorable “Jo getting me to do something hard” moments happened a few years ago. Jo was the choir director and music coordinator in our ward. She had successfully gotten me to sing in a few group numbers in the past, and I might have had an occasional descant here and there . . . But this time Jo asked me if I would be willing to sing a solo entitled “For the Beauty of the Earth” for Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful song set to the melody of “Scarborough Fair.” My extremely talented friend Rebecca Lewis would be playing the violin while I sang. Immediately after Jo asked me my heart started beating fast, and the anxiety started kicking in. A solo? I love to sing, and I even have a decent singing voice, but I don’t do solos. When I was a child I had dreams of becoming an opera singer. But it didn’t take long for me to give up on that dream. I have been plagued with a debilitating performance anxiety my whole life. No matter how fabulous I sound while I’m practicing, every time I get up in front of people to sing . . . I transform into Mary the Chipmunk. My voice starts to shake so badly I can barely get through whatever song I’m singing. Yep, My place in the choir has been comfortably in the background blending with the masses. Maybe I’ll agree to do an occasional group number here and there . . . but no guarantees that the chipmunk voice won’t appear. But somehow because of Jo and her super power persuasive abilities I found myself saying yes. And for the next couple months we practiced and practiced and practiced that song. Jo had picked the perfect song for my voice, and somehow she knew that if I started so far in advance practicing that song I would be able to do it. The day of the performance I was pretty nervous. And when it was my turn to get up, I walked up to the microphone, hands clenched at my sides, I stared at a spot on the back wall, and I sang. I sang the song that I had practiced for months and could now sing in my sleep.  And guess what? Mary the Chipmunk didn’t appear. I sang with confidence, and as I matched my voice with my friend’s beautiful violin the result was absolutely beautiful. I’ll never forget that experience. It was a breakthrough for me. And I was so grateful in that moment for my friend who sees the best in me, and asks me to do hard things with total confidence that I can do them.

 As I’ve thought about Jo this week, I’ve thought about that children’s song “All God’s Creatures Got a Place in the Choir.” One would only have to witness one of Jo’s inspired Choir programs to see how well she knows that. She invites all who are willing to come be a part of the choir. And while it’s true that we have more talent in our little ward than you could ever imagine . . . Most of us are pretty average people who somehow find ourselves singing in group numbers, attempting solos, dressing up and acting in Christmas Nativities, playing instruments, narrating scripts, and for the less musically inclined (Bill) sometimes ringing bells . . . You don’t have to be a professional musician to be in our choir. Jo will discover what your talents are and you can be sure that she’ll use them. 

And it’s no different in life. Jo is a pretty great choir director, but she’s an even better friend.  Jo sees that “All God’s Creatures Got a Place in the Choir” of life. Jo sees the beauty in people no matter who they are. She will reach out to you as a friend and invite you to hike, run, walk, be in a book club, serve someone in need, or even be part of a birthday parade. Whatever she’s doing, she’ll invite others to be a part of it. She has faith in people. She sees what they can do and encourages them to do it. Sometimes . . .  She'll even ask you to do hard things that you know you're good at but have given up on doing . . . like Writing. Because she loves you. I sure love your cheerleading guts Jo. Thanks for being such a wonderful example to me of inclusion and love, and for always pushing me.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!   

My "Health" Hero!!!!

Well, it was Lamon's birthday yesterday . . . and that means only one thing.

That's right, I get to write an embarrassingly cheesy blog post about him. Yeah! Because we all know that next to writing embarrassing stories about myself . . . Lamon's Awesomness is my next favorite subject!

And he is Awesome. And I think that everyone that knows me knows that I know that he is Awesome. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE it when I hear that other people know he is Awesome too. Because he is MY Awesome man. In a way it's kind of like he is my claim to Awesomeness. I claim Awesomeness through association. He + Me = Awesome. Right? . . . Or something.

Anyway the last couple months have been pretty cool, because Lamon's Awesomeness has sort of been in the spotlight. In January Lamon was recognized by Intermountain Healthcare as one of 30 "Health Heroes." Lamon was invited (along with me since I'm married to Mr. Awesome) to come to a special lunch at the Marriot in Salt Lake City where each "Health Hero" was recognized with an award. I'd have to say, I was quite proud. They had a very yummy "healthy" lunch, and then after a few speeches they read each "exerpt" written in the program about each person as they came forward,  shook hands with some pretty important IHC people, and received their awards. Pretty darn cool!

And so we came home with a plaque and inflated self-esteems and that seemed to be that. But then a couple weeks later someone approached Lamon and asked if it would be okay if they spotlighted him in their IHC regional employee meeting and asked him for a picture. They forgot to ask for mine, but I heard that they did mention me when they talked about him. He + Me = Awesome. Anyway, I don't know what they said about him, but they showed a picture of Lamon with his friend Ed at the finish of Ed's first 5k after losing 180 lbs. post gastric bypass. Lamon helped Ed train for the race and we along with other PACU employees ran along with him. It was so fun! It's been pretty cool to hear people mention that they saw Lamon spotlighted in the presentation. Anyway, here is what Lamon's co-worker who nominated him wrote to get this whole thing started! :)

"LaMon is a very healthy person anyway, but he has made a significant effort to change the culture in our department to spread that healthy lifestyle to his coworkers. He bikes to and from work daily. He and his wife have allowed coworkers to borrow fitness equipment (road bikes) and have encouraged us all to be more active by signing up to run races and marathons. He encourages us to keep our bodies fit so we can care for our patients more effectively. He also encourages us to eat well and brings recipes, ideas, and resources to keep all of us healthy. LaMon is someone who can be a support system for those who are struggling. I have really appreciated LaMon's great example and encouragement as we all try to change our workplace culture to a place where a healthy lifestyle is an expectation."

I love how many times she used the word "encourage", because that is Lamon. Lamon encourages people. In my own health journey Lamon has never told me he thinks I should exercise more, or eat better. He's never suggested I do a race or diet. But the minute "I" have decided I wanted to do something and have vocalized my desires . . . he has made it his mission to help me. Whether it was my first 5k when he helped me go from "waddling" to running 3 miles continuously (which seemed so hard at the time and was), to a 10k (because the 5k was so much fun), to a half-marathon (in which he ran with me and endured verbal abuse and heard ultimatums that I would never run a marathon) to a marathon (because I have runners amnesia), to many many many more races, hikes,  . . .  bike rides. He's always been there to support me. Whether it's helping me come up with training plans, watching the kids and allowing me the time I've needed to run, driving around with the kids to meet me on long runs to cheer me on and bring me water . . . Lamon is the true definition of "support". Lamon doesn't just tell you when he sees you, "Hey, you can do it!" Lamon will help see you get there and be there cheering for you at the finish. There is nothing Lamon loves more than seeing someone triumph and reach their goal.

And that is why Lamon is so great. He is like the fittest guy I know and has done so many hard things. And yet, he cares about the 5k you are running. In fact, he thinks you are awesome for doing it and will talk about how awesome you are to others. He will get excited about that sprint tri you are doing and will help you train for it and come and cheer you on. Oh I could go on and on, but Lamon truly loves to be there during peoples health journeys. And he will "be there!" I will never forget when Lamon ran the last 10 miles of my marathon with me in street clothes because I asked him to. In his street clothes! I am pretty sure Lamon gets more pleasure out of seeing someone else triumph and finish a race than he does from racing himself. I love that about him. He is certainly my "Health" Hero!!!

He is so Awesome . . . Therefore . . . I am Awesome . . . Right? :) . . .Right!

Ada is a Funny Girl!

So yesterday I overheard Ada talking with Aunt Lizzy on the phone. It was about 10 am in the morning and Lizzy said, "What are you guys doing?"
Ada responded, ". . . Eating ice-cream!"
Then Lizzy asked, "You are eating ice-cream for breakfast?"
To which Ada responded by bursting out laughing and saying: "Ha ha. No!!! . . . Ha ha . . . We had Cake for breakfast!!"
It was so funny that when I took the phone from Ada Liz and I proceeded to laugh for a long time. It was so funny.

So then after yesterday's culinary pleasures Ada again wanted a mid morning snack of ice-cream today, and I told her, "I don't think so Ada . . . you know, ice-cream is really bad for you!"
Ada replied, "It is? . . . Then why do we eat it so much?"

Ha ha. Okay, That is a pretty fair question. I just said, "Well . . . it tastes so yummy! But it really isn't the best thing for our bodies."

Then Ada in all seriousness turned to me and said, "Mom? . . . Did God make Ice-Cream?"

Ha ha! I love her.

Blowing out Candles and the Plan of Happiness

Oh my little Tilson is getting so big! He is turning three years old in a couple weeks, and I just can't believe it.  The time has flown by!

I was actually thinking about Tilson in the middle of Sunday School today. It was about one year ago that Tilson was turning two and as we were getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to him, Lamon lit the candles and something that we had never experienced before with the older kids happened . . . Tilson freaked out. He was afraid of the candles . . . of the fire. My oldest three kids have never really been afraid of anything. It was kind of sad. Here we were trying to sing Happy Birthday, which is supposed to be fun, and Tilson was whimpering through the whole song. Then at the end of the song Lamon shoved the cake in his face saying, "Blow out the candles Tilson!" To which Tilson turned his head and scooted backwards and cried. Come on! Really? Shove the cake in his face? That is torture! So while Tilson was crying and totally afraid Lamon didn't give up. "Come on Tilson blow them out like this. . . " and he blew them out.

"Phew . . ." I thought to myself. "Thank Heavens that's over . . . poor guy. Lets cut the cake!" But no, Lamon lit the candles again. Oh boy. So then Tilson watched the candles intently as we sang again and then Lamon pushed the cake in his face again. In fear he started turning away whimpering again. I felt bad and blurted out, "Okay Daddy! That's when Dad comes to the rescue and just blows out the candles for him!" Birthdays are supposed to be fun you know and here is Tilson scared to death!!! But then Tilson suddenly got the courage to blow out the whimpiest little blow and scooted back as he did so, not knowing what would happen. And after just seeing the candle flicker a little he mustered up enough courage to blow a little harder until he finally blew one out . . . then the other. And what happened after was quite magical! He laughed, like only he can laugh, in pure joy . . . and then he wanted to do it again and again and again. Lamon kept lighting the candles . . . and he kept blowing them out while we all laughed.

 So the reason I was thinking about this during Sunday school today was because we were talking about the Pre-existence when Satan presented his own plan for mankind that would ensure everyone of God's children would make it back. Only Satan's plan removed Agency from man. Satan wasn't thinking about our progression, or to glorify God, he in his selfishness wanted all of the glory for himself.

But God's plan was different. His plan required us to come to Earth to be tried and tested. And yes, we would face opposition. At Tilson's little Birthday party I was kind of like Satan(work with me here). I know it's a far stretch.  Any way, I was like . . . "Oh no . . . it's too hard! Look at him . . . don't make him do it!" I didn't want to watch him struggle or be afraid . . . "Just blow it out for him!" I said. And we could have done that, and he probably would have calmed down, and eaten his cake. All is Well.

But Oh seeing the pure joy on that kids face after overcoming his fear and doing something hard . . .  made me think of Heavenly Fathers glorious plan. He knew that life would present trials, hard choices, heartache, all sorts of risks . . .and that it would be HARD!And it was all by divine design! He knew that through exercising our Agency and using the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ in our lives we could overcome all . . .  sadness, heartache, fear, and sin . . . become more like Him, and just like Tilson after blowing out his candles . . . experience Happiness unlike we could ever imagine.

How thankful I am for God's wonderful Plan of Happiness!!! :)

"Positive" Talk

So you know that phrase, "If you can't say something nice don't say it at all?" It is really a great concept and we have tried to teach that to our kids, but up to this point they haven't really caught on very well. My kids are talkers and they tend to say whatever they are thinking, which is great except when what they are thinking is mean. I don't know how many times we have told them "If you can't say something nice don't say it at all" with out a whole lot of success.

So the other day I presented a different strategy. I told the kids, "What if when you are about to say something mean (even if it's true) you say the exact opposite instead?" I know that is not a perfect idea . . . but if they are going to be impulsive talkers . . . maybe it might help them quickly change a negative thought being expressed into something positive. 

So this morning I got back from my six mile run in barely enough time to take Lamon to work. We shuffled all of the kids out the door, and got in the car . . . and as we got into the car Ada says to me with total sincerity, "Mom . . . you smell good!" Ha ha ha. 

It made me laugh so hard. Oh . . . how I love my children!

2013 Christmas Card and Letter

Merry Christmas from the Mack Family!  This year has been full of joy, fun, and a lot of work.

Our greatest gift this year came in March when our 4^th little boy/ 5^th child was born. Hunter Chase Mack is pretty much stinkin cute. His brothers and sister can’t get enough of him. Hunter is almost nine months old now. He eats like a champ and has cheeks to prove it. He is sitting up and scooting backwards, but not quite crawling yet. He giggles and laughs, and brings us a lot of joy! We love him!

Tilson has found his voice this year. He turned two years old and finally started talking. And boy does he talk!! He loves to tell jokes, tell stories, ask questions and play pretend. He loves playing house and barbies with his sister, but can also be all rough and tough with his brothers too. He is our first somewhat shy child. But at home he keeps us laughing. I love his little voice and his laugh. His laugh is so over the top you would think that he is faking, but he’s not.  I could listen to him laugh all day.  He loves to snuggle and possibly has the world’s biggest brown eyes you have ever seen and knows how to work them. J We love him!

It was a big year for Ada this year. She started Kindergarten, and has been loving it. She is probably our most social child. She always wants to be playing with a friend. And she is pretty lucky because she has about 5 girls to play with on our street! Ada is taking dance again this year and is such a cute little dancer. Ada loves to draw and color and keeps our fridge adorned with artwork. Ada is my biggest helper with the babies at home. If I ask her to help me with something I can almost always count on her saying, “Sure!” and then doing it. Oh how I appreciate that! She is so Awesome!!

Hayden is just Amazing. Literally. At school Hayden ends almost every day on “Amazing” which is the highest mark up a child can achieve. He is a smart little guy and is constantly amazing us with his self motivation. He loves school, and is an amazing reader and creative writer. He loves to write stories, and for a second grader does a pretty darn good job! Hayden started Tumbling this year and if you see him he would be more than happy to show off his nearly perfect round offs and cart wheels! Hayden continues to keep life fun at our house, and we love his guts!!

Drew turned 9 this year and is there anything that this child can’t do if he puts his mind to it? Honestly. How many 9 year olds climb to the top of Timp? Well Drew did this year along with his cousin Mack and it still just amazes me. What a stud. He also taught himself to ride a rip stick, the only one to master that skill in our family. I’m still working on getting on it without falling. Drew has continued in soccer this year and was a very impressive goalie! Drew also took swimming lessons along with Hayden and Ada and is one awesome swimmer. I have a feeling that Drew will always keep our lives full of excitement! We love him!   

Lamon started the year off with another trip to Guatemala. It was his second year going with Hirsche Smiles and he had a fabulous time. He would go every year if it wasn’t so darn expensive, but we settled on every other year! He loves it. Lamon has been hard at work. He continues to be an amazing nurse, but has also picked up some extra work in landscaping this year! J He worked very hard transforming our old fashioned yard with a crappy lawn into a beautiful masterpiece. It took all summer to finish. We are very grateful for the help he received from my brother John and some very invaluable people in our ward. By the time it was done we had perfect strangers passing in their cars rolling down their windows and congratulating him on a job well done! J I have an amazing huband!!  

I spent the year basically just loving my baby and enjoying my family. A few of my favorite highlights were:  Giving birth to a handsome little boy, running a half marathon in October with Drew joining me for the last 2+ miles, and taking Hunter to Georgia to visit my parents on their mission while Lamon played Mommy at home (Did I mention he’s amazing?)! What a stud! Even though the summer was full hard work in the yard, we managed to squeeze in some fun trips to waterparks, some camping with cousins, and a very fun road trip to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Island Park, and Bear World. We had a blast! We had an awesome year. And we love this Christmas Season where we can enjoy the family we have been blest with and celebrate the life of our Savior who showed us the way and made it possible, through His Infinite Atonement, for us to return and live with Him again. Merry Christmas!!

Love,

The Macks (Lamon, Mary, Andrew, Hayden, Ada, Tilson, and Hunter)

Almost Good Enough for AFV

My kids love the show "America's Funniest Home Videos. They watch it all the time on Netflix. So for some time they have had every intention of someday winning AFV. They are always on the look out for funny videos that we might have on file somewhere. Either that or after doing something funny (which they do quite often) they will say, "Oh man! Too bad we didn't get that on video!" Then there is always the attempt to create a video on purpose that is funny . . . which never quite works out. I have tried to explain to them that it has to be unscripted. Well, we haven't had a good video yet . . . but this one is a bit of a step in the right direction. It brought a smile to my face! I guess we will just have to keep recording pointless videos until one of these days we will really catch something worthwhile. By the way . . .the noise in the background is Hunter blowing bubbles . . . Promise!! :)