February of Joy

Trying to keep true to my goal, here is a log of my February of Joy:

• Seeing Grant in his Scout uniform for the first time.  He looked so adorable and little.
• Feeling the love and support of my fellow church members as they helped me by singing in the choir this month.  It was my first time to direct our church choir and I was feeling nervous and inadequate, but my dear friends were such a support to me.  I could feel their positive energy flowing toward me as I stood in front of them and tried my best.  In that few minutes, I learned that we learn by doing.  If we never take that step outside our comfort zone and try something new, we will never learn and grow. 
• Losing 4 pounds.  
• Watching Mariah learn and grow as she earned money with her bake sale to pay her own way to camp and outdoor school.  I loved seeing her work hard, be excited to do it, and reap the rewards.
• Watching my husband get completely involved in becoming Captain CTR (Choose the Right) for the primary children in our church.  He is in his truest form when he is playing with children and uninhibited in doing so.
• Watching the faces of the adults in the room as my husband entered as Captain CTR.  This was a side of Jason they had never before witnessed and the evidence was obvious by their looks of astonishment and  shock as their previous opinions of Jason were blown apart.
• Going to the dentist for the first time in over a decade.  

Pain in the.... ear

Poor Karina.  

Amidst the chaos of running through the house with her siblings one wild evening, 

she smashed her head into the outer corner of the hallway wall.  

Not realizing it was such a nasty bump,

and being completely benign to these sort of random bumps and injuries,

and lamenting to myself that my kids are so dramatic,

and forgetting completely I was in the running for Mother of the Year, 

I basically ignored her,
told everyone to stop running, 

and would you all please just get ready for bed!?!

A few minutes later,

my astute husband, who is running for Father of the Year,

noticed blood on the carpet and initiated a search for the injured party.

Karina was identified as the injured one and promptly taken to the bathroom for inspection and repair.

It was a nasty wound, for certain.
Once the blood was cleared away along with much wailing and gnashing,
we could see she had a tiny cut in the upper fold of her ear
and a larger cut on the back side of her ear.
Her ear started swelling with blood to resemble that of a seasoned wrestler.

Several minutes of soothing talk turned into firm persuasion and finally led to forceful wrestling
in order to calm her down and convince her to let us bandage her ear,
She simply wouldn't stop freaking out....
...until....
her big sister came with an offering of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.
The flood gates closed immediately and all was well again.
I nominate Mariah for Sister of the Year.

Making her own way

As the years continue and the lives of my children become increasingly filled with activities, the costs of these activities begin to add up for each child.  Church camps, scout camps, overnight school field trips, outdoor school, basketball, baseball, soccer.... they all cost money.  Jason and I feel strongly that our children need to learn to be productive members of society.  We don't want them to expect a handout for everything they want in life.  We want our children to learn productivity, feel empowered to provide for themselves, and be appreciative and grateful for the hard work it takes to pay for what we want and need.

Last year, both Mariah and Dallin were in school classes that took them on overnight field trips.  I asked them to each earn half of the cost of their trip.  I made a list of various jobs around the house that needed completed and paid them a little at a time to complete them.  They both were successful.

This year, the same situation with overnight field trips is upon us.  In addition, Mariah will be going to church camp this summer which also has a fee associated with it.  In total, she needed to earn over $100 for her share of her activities.  I knew jobs around the house weren't going to cut it this year, so we came up with a plan.

Mariah held a Valentine Bake Sale in early February.  She came up with a menu of desserts in varying sizes and price levels and offered them to members of our church.  It was a hit!  She baked and baked, I cooked and cooked, we packaged and packaged, and we got all of the goody baskets finished before Valentine's Day.  When she finished she had earned all the money she needed to pay for her activities.  Yay Mariah!

It was such fun to see the learning curve for Mariah during this project.  When we started the planning, she was very overwhelmed with the idea and unsure it would work.  "What if people say no?"  After she received a couple of orders her nerves were calmed and she realized this would actually work!  By the end, when she was tired of baking cookies, she reminded herself she was getting paid to do it and continued on.  Then she divided up the money and turned it in to pay for herself.  I hope she felt the satisfaction of turning in her own hard-earned money for her activities.  I know I felt satisfied as I saw her confidence level grow and her independence strengthen.  I'm proud of my girl!

Emergency preparedness

Don't worry. 

Our family is prepared should an emergency or disaster occur.  

We educate our children on the various disasters that are probable in our area.

We practice regularly our safety drills and emergency phone numbers and plans, etc.

We have a cache of food storage should the need arise.

And, yes, our children know how to defend themselves too.

Just in case.

You never know when the ZOMBIES might come.

We are COUGARS!!!!

We snatched the opportunity to watch the BYU men's basketball team play the University of Portland earlier this month.  It was a lot of fun to see the BYU Cougars and for the boys, especially, to watch some adult basketball.

I always love watching the kids as they experience a new environment, especially one as raucous and fun as a competitive sports event.  Our kids tend to be more quiet and observant of what's happening around them--at first, anyway.  Then, as they get used to what is going on they start to join in the fun.  We had many other families surrounding us in the stands and several kids in front of us were heading up chants and cheers to get the crowd going.  I thought it adorable that the kids were so understanding of the game and willing to participate as fans.  

It was an entertaining game, as the teams stayed close together in points until the end when BYU finally pulled away and won.  Yay for the Cougars!  

It was a successful evening, even though I didn't bring enough snacks and water to last us through the game.  We were all ravenously hungry by the end of the night.  I do think next time, however, we'll leave Karina at home.  She decided twice to take her four-year-old self out of the gymnasium to get a drink.  Yes, she's quite independent and very willing to do things defiantly if it will get our attention.  Sigh.  I guess basketball isn't her thing.... yet.

Grant turned eight!

Oh my, the time does fly.

Grant celebrated his birthday by having friends come and play.  We had a house-full of kids and they had fun playing laser tag, eating cheesecake, and discovering the treasure in a scavenger hunt.  Jason put together the scavenger hunt clues, hid them all, and hung the treasure in a tree.  It was pouring down rain when the hunt started but the kids didn't seem to mind as they ran across the yard, into the truck bed, onto the swings and into the fort, and up the tree to find their treasure.  It was great fun!

Letters to my posterity #2

Dearest Grant:

I had a "kairos" moment yesterday when time stopped as I looked at you and realized you're turning 8 years old yet you still seem like a tiny boy.  Why can't my mind keep up with your age?  Will you always be so young to me?  I'm sorry you're always in the shadow of your older siblings.  You are, indeed, the middle child.

Your personality, my love, is vibrant and youthful.  I love that about you.  You are all about the fun in life.  Your eyes sparkle when you see something thrilling or mischievous or humorous and I see your desire to recreate the moment yourself.  And, although you revel in dare-devilish activities, you possess just the right amount of cautiousness to keep you safe--most of the time.

You possess great physical talents and you love to develop them into ninja-moves, superman flying on the rope swing, break dancing on the kitchen floor, and other such antics.  You love to jump over the piano bench, front flip onto pillows, and cartwheel down the hallway.  You are in your element when you are physically active and you bond with others when they are participating with you.

You have an endearing sense of humor and you like to make people laugh.  I've watched you in school and other social settings and I've seen that you enjoy being the jokester with your friends, especially the ladies.

Inside all of your energy and creativity is a sweet, sensitive, tender heart that truly cares about others.  When you are feeling loved, you freely give that love to others.  When you are not feeling fulfilled, however, you cover your heart with prickly words and harsh defensiveness.  I'm working to find ways to make certain you are fulfilled so you can confidently show your love to everyone around you.

I love you, Grant.  I love your free spirit.  I love your crystal-blue eyes and soft skin.  I love the joy you bring me and the ways you teach me to be a better mom.  You challenge me in new ways and I'm grateful for it.  Be happy.  Be loving.  Be mine.

Love--Mama

Letters to my posterity #1

Dear Mariah:

Aahhh, my eldest child.  You have such high expectations placed on your head.  You fulfill them well.  I am proud of you, my beautiful daughter.

You are growing into such a pristine young lady.  You like to do your hair and nails, wear matching clothes, and have pretty things.  You have your own sense of style that is classy with a little bit of cute and femininity.  I like it.

You are impeccably responsible in your school work and responsibilities.  You are beginning to find joy in your academic success, which comes easily to you.  I am grateful you see this blessing in your life and that you are choosing to nurture it.  It will reward you well in the years to come.

I want to see you grow more in confidence and initiative.  You are so capable, so intelligent, so elect.  Do you see that in yourself?  Do you know your potential is a million times higher than you ever dream?  I have seen that when you set your mind to accomplish something, the accomplishment naturally (and easily) follows.  Again and again I have witnessed this pattern in your life, but sometimes you forget to initiate the pattern.  Keep setting your mind to higher things, my daughter.  You will accomplish them.

I am so pleased to be your mother.  I love you so very much and am grateful for your good choices, your significant role in our family, and your beautiful spirit.  You teach me to be a better mother.

Love,
Mom

Race Day

Another Pinewood Derby is in the books.  Phew!

This year, both Grant and Dallin participated, since Grant is now old enough to be in Cub Scouts.  He was thrilled to be able to be a part of the action.  Mariah even got to race in the Open Class with her race car that was made from the leftovers of Grant's block of wood.  Two race-cars for one!

The days prior to the derby were spent prepping the wood blocks and forming them into cars.  Grandpa Barker helped with Grant's design, which required a scroll saw to cut the wood.  Jason helped Dallin with his design.  Once the cutting and sanding were completed, the painting began.  The afternoon of the race was spent feverishly finishing the wheels, axles, weighing, and touch-up painting.  Jason was at work, so I  was left with these last-minute preparations, which hopefully won't happen again.  I'm not the best at handling unfamiliar tasks under pressure.

By the time we arrived at the Derby, we were ready and excited to see how the cars would perform.  To our delight, the boys cars were competitive with everyone else's and the races were exciting to watch!  Dallin took 2nd place overall and Grant placed 4th.  It was fun to see the boys' faces as they filled with anticipation.  They raced each other several times over the course of the night--the winner flip-flopping between the two of them.  It created some great "brotherly" moments and I was grateful to see their reactions be full of joy and friendly camaraderie.

At the end of the derby, we lined up the track with Mariah, Dallin, and Grant's cars to instigate a bit of sibling rivalry.  Guess who won?