Being the Mom Part 2

I have always had a special place in my heart for Sister Sheri L. Dew. I heard her speak throughout my dating years and felt she understood my frustrations as a single young adult. I have always revered her for her understanding of what it means to be a righteous woman and to not be held back by our circumstances or lack of certain opportunities as she has not been blessed to marry or have children. In her times of trial she sought out understanding from the source of all truth and shared what she learned.

"our Father has entrusted us as women with His children, and He has asked us to love them and help lead them safely past the dangers of mortality back home.
Loving and leading—these words summarize not only the all-consuming work of the Father and the Son, but the essence of our labor, for our work is to help the Lord with His work...motherhood [is] “the highest, holiest service … assumed by mankind.” "

"we are all mothers and we have always been mothers. And we each have the responsibility to love and help lead the rising generation." Yes, she said, ALL of us. "We are all mothers in Israel, and our calling is to love and help lead the rising generation through the dangerous streets of mortality. Few of us will reach our potential without the nurturing of both the mother who bore us and the mothers who bear with us." As I think about my life I am so greatful for the mother who bore me and so many mothers that "bear with me" on a daily basis. I am ever under the influence and care of countless friends, sisters, neighbors and leaders, righteous women who influence my life for good. Some are younger than me, some have a home full of children, some have much more life expereince than me but they have all touched my life. I know that I will would not be the person I am today without the woman who bore me and the women who bear with me.

"Never has there been a greater need for righteous mothers [women]—mothers [women] who bless their children [others] with a sense of safety, security, and confidence about the future, mothers [women] who teach their children [friends, nieghbors, associates] where to find peace and truth and that the power of Jesus Christ is always stronger than the power of the adversary."

"As mothers in Israel [righteous women who know and understand their purpose], we are the Lord’s secret weapon."

So this is a call to arms. Every kind word, thoughtful action and compassionate deed are striking blows to an adversary that will be defeated. Let's go out and show the world what it means to be a woman of God. Vamos a la battalla!

(Quotations from General Conference Address October 2001)

Tough Love

This is my parent's dog. His name is Dooley. He has ripped apart many things including a number of garden hoses that had to be mended. When my sister gave him this bear everyone was surprised to see he played with it and carried it around but never tore it apart. I took this picture one day after I'd seen him come through the back yard and was afraid he's caught Mom's cat. Imagine my relief to see it was only a stuffed bear.

Anyway, I've been getting many lessons on tough love lately. I have been asked to teach the nine-year olds at church and they are a handful. I was warned I'd need to be tough on them or they'd be out of control all the time. We set rules, set consequences and I set my expectations high. I've only tought these kids twice and I'm amazed at how they are responding to my "tough love." This comes naturally to me as I've always said, "I'm a fighter, not a lover." But I'm also realizing how sensative these kids can be and how badly I want to see them suceed. I love working with these kids and look forward to seeing them grow throughout the rest of the year.

I'm always amazed as I take on new challenges with a calling how much I learn that is vital to my progress as a wife and mother. I love being in the Primary organization and having the opportunity to see Women of God interact with children on a weekly basis. They are kind, loving and have great expectations for these kids and it shows in everything they do. In essense these kids are that dog's teddy bear and we are all holding onto them as tight as we can so we don't loose them, yet being sensative to the challenges they face in their lives and always loving them. I am honored to be trusted to teach this rising generation and help them come to know the truthfullness of the gospel.

The Age of Adorable

I'm pretty sure that toddlers are cute on purpose. They get to a certain age where they can smile at you and just make you melt. Could anyone really resist a face like this?

This age of unbelievable adorableness seems to coincide with the time they're learning new skills and becoming very curious about the world around them which, more often than not, leads them to trouble. I'm pretty sure that God did this on purpose.

Case in point, if I found my sweet three-year old sitting on the bathroom sink painting a picture on the mirror with toothpaste he'd be in big trouble. So why is it that when I find my almost two-year old doing that the other day and saw the look of sheer joy on his face it somehow made it okay that he'd just made a mess.

It is at this age when they drive you crazy and melt your heart often. This is the age when they come looking for you just to make sure you're still there, they give frequent kisses just to see you smile and their laugh is impossible to resist. These high points are what keep you from loosing your mind with all the trouble they put you through. They make all the time spent washing clothes, scrubbing floors, picking up broken things and changing diapers worth it.

This is the age when they become endearing to you. This is when you learn that you'd do anything to keep them safe and happy. This age of adorable lasts about two years and then they really become little people with minds of their own but by then your love for them is so deep it givens you a firm foundation to build your relationship. This foundation is unshaken by tantrums, protests, and the occasional fight. Yep, God knew what He was doing.

Gardening

The leaves changing, the holidays coming, the last of the garden vegetables, it's just a great time of year. My husband would also add the grass not growing anymore and requiring weekly mowing. :) The garden has been such an adventure this year. To be honest, I thought we were crazy the day we dug up a 4'X16' patch of grass in the lawn to put in a garden bed but I had decided that's where I wanted it and my husband helped me get it done and we filled it in with dirt, compost, a little steer manure and some top soil. The other day we went out and picked tomatoes, dug potatoes and picked some squash. Home grown produce just tastes so much sweeter and I've really enjoyed seeing how excited my children get when they get to help harvest whatever we've grown. For dinner last Sunday we had potatoes from the garden and blackberry slump and most of the blackberries came from a small wild patch growing in our yard. We've also had zucchini bread that was made from our neighbor's zucchini (Thanks Sonja!) I also love pumpkins but have had no luck in getting them to grow the last two years I've tried. Hopefully after having such a good season this year I'll be a little braver with the gardening next year. Here's some things I've learned:

1. Peas need something tall to grow up. Mine were 4-5 ft tall this year and fell over.
2. Peas and beans do better if planted directly into the ground. They don't need to be started early.
3. For whatever reason plants I buy small and plant early do better than larger plants put into the garden later.
4. Slug killer is a must for anything that grows on the ground.
5. Size matters. Our yellow zucchini grew huge but weren't tender inside. Pick it small and give the others a chance to grow.
6. Water tomatoes from the ground, not above, and evenly.
7. If you put stuff in pots you have to water it. I know, this is a no brainer but I forgot about some plants I had in the garage and they will only come back a few times from being wilted before they give up and die.
8. If you don't fill the space with something you plant, weeds will move in. Someone suggested covering with cardboard or newspaper topped with grass clippings at the end of the growing season. To prep for the next year you just till it all into the soil. (Mulch or compost works too.)

I'm pretty sure that's the extent of my gardening knowledge. I'm looking forward to next year when we get to try even more things.

Black Berry Slump Recipe

I have no idea where my friend got this recipe but I found a very similar one here. The slump is kind of like a cobbler so it has a crisp crust on top with juicy berries underneath. We have blackberries that grow wild in our area and I found a park that has bushes loaded with them. Free food just happens to be one of my favorite things. Thanks, Angela for passing this recipe along. It's simple and delicious and I'm looking forward to trying it with other berries.

BLACKBERRY SLUMP
4c fresh blackberries washed and drained
1c sugar divided
1c flour and 2 tbsp for berries
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
3/4c whole milk
3Tbsp of butter melted divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss berries with 3/4c sugar, 2tbsp of flour and 1 tbsp melted butter in 5-6c deep ungreased baking dish. In small bowl sift 1c flour and remaining 1/4c sugar salt baking powder together, add milk and remaining butter, whisk until smooth. Pour over berries, bake until golden brown 40-45min. Cool on rack for at least 20 min.

Update (9/3/12): I made this recipe again for blackberry season.  I just love that the berries grow wild in our area.  They sell for about $5 per pint at the store and I get them for free.

Nostalgia

The great thing about having a family that has deep roots is that when you grow up and move away you come back to visit family and get to take frequent walks down memory lane and take your children to visit some places full of memories from your own childhood.

And sometimes you even get to share them with some of the people who made them special when you were a child. This is my grandmother. She is AWESOME. She came with us to the park where I spent time playing as a child, next to the tennis courts where I spent everyday after school at practice for months in High School, down the road from the library where I worked the Summer after I graduated from High School.

There was something really special about seeing them play on the same toys that once entertained me and I came to understand the true meaning of nostalgia.

I'm looking forward to many more adventures with my children sharing many of my favorite places and memories.

Teaching Letters to Children

Kids are so curious and eventually they start to show interest in things that they will retain.

After colors and shapes the next natural thing is numbers and letters. Two of my favorite tricks for teaching letters involves food. The other day I had some left over frosting from cupcakes so we got out some plates and I drew letters on their plates. Before they were allowed to eat them they had to attempt to identify them. My younger one isn't that advanced yet so I'd say the name of the letter and he would repeat it. The kids loved it and the sugar high afterword wasn't too bad.

Another eadible idea is Ceez-it Scrabble junior. They make crackers with upper case letters printed on them. I was suprised how excited my almost four year old was when he got to identify the letters before eating each one.k
One more idea is sugar cookie letters. The kids love to help roll out and cut out the dough and you can get a set of cookie cutters fairly inexpensive. If you're not into sugary sweets you could do play dough instead. This also works well for teaching shapes.

One last note, I stuck to upper case letters and it didn't occur to me to teach lower case letters and sounds at the same time. I've been told by teachers the kids use the lower case letters more than upper case when they begin to learn to read. Enjoy eating your letters.

Being The Mom Part 1

About once a year I go onto Amazon.com and buy cheap books. Every year I add a few more to my collection and usually get a few Christmas gifts ordered while I'm in there. Last year I bought a book entitled Being The Mom, by Emily Watts. The author was recommended to me by my sister. I've decided to do this as a multiple part serious of blog entries so I can share some of her "10 Coping Strategies I Learned by Accident Because I Had Children on Purpose."

My favorite strategy, and one I really needed right now was "Accept Life as a Glorious Adventure Full of Gifts for You." My husband can attest to the fact that I do not like the unexpected. I have spent much of our married life trying to plan things out enough so I'd be mentally prepared to handle anything that might come up. Wow, no wonder I was such a mess the two years of my first child's life as they are all about the unexpected.

In this stategy Emily explains that part of being the mom is finding ways to enjoy the things you "have to" do. The laundry, housework and cooking is never going to go away but there's no reason to make if feel like such a burden. She mentioned how amazing it is that our children have enough clothes that some of them can sit in the bottom of a hamper for a week before they are missed. When things become normal to us we no longer appreciate them.

My brother-in-law was visiting with a college student from a foreign country the other day and the student was telling him how people eat crazy here. He comes from a place where good food is not plentiful and many foods are availible only during certain times of the year. Here we have fresh fruits and vegatables availible year round and we always have meat and yet, we're buying and eating junk food with little or no nutritional value.

This is from the book, "For a while I lived with the illusion that life would get easier as I got older, but it doesn't. The scenery changes, is all. If we make it successfully to the next level, we get a whole new set of problems to tackle, and we learn to be grateful for the tools we've picked up along the way that enable us to cope. And if we're smart, we recognize that there's no magical plateau that represents "winning," but that the joy is in progressing from level to level and advancing farther than we would have imagined possilbe."

She continues, "The happiest people I know are the ones who seem to approach life from a problem-solving perspective rather than a problem-resenting one ." Wow that's a pretty simple shift that makes a really big difference. I've really seen this in my husband, he's a fixer and he's really happy.

One more thought from Emily, "A story has to have conflict in order to be any good [maybe that's the way it is with our lives as well]. Joy comes not from having a pain-free life but from conquering the obstacles even when they are painful."

I told my husband the other day that the past year has been the best year of my life. Thinking back on the past year we've potty trained a three-year old, had a one-year old enter the terrible twos early, struggled with teaching Sunday School, and had a difficult divorce in the family. I think this is definetly true for me. I've found joy because I have faced hardship. In Ether 12:27 the Lord explains, "I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men..." We are here to enjoy the adventures and experiences of life and each time we grow we are taking it to the next level. The real challenge is for us to realize our need for divine help in our lives and ask for it and when we do to stand back and watch what the Lord has done with you. It is an amazing and humbling experience.

3-Year Olds Say the Darndest Things

We spent alot of time in the car on vaction and I was surprised at the things we heard. Here are a few that I jotted down when we were driving through Idaho.

I have to teach my bunnies that running away is not funny. (Because he's never heard anyone say that about children.) :)

There are holes in the clouds. (Because where we live the clouds are rather solid.)

My bunnies are crazy! (This little guy was told he could have a bunny from Grandma's house so when we saw one he just knew it was his and we had a long discussion about bunnies.)

Grandma has to take me for a walk to save my bunnies because they're in a dangerous were-old (that's how is sounded). With bad guys.

Now the almost two-year old is learning to talk and he keeps us guessing what he's thinking most of the time but we sure enjoy them. Both sets of grandparents express how quiet their homes are afeter we have left. Is that because they miss us now that we're gone or it was too loud for them when we were there? :) We love you all!

How To Plan A Family Reunion

We just had an AWESOME family reunion.

Here's the matriarch of the family. The one who made all of us happen. :)

WE LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

I had to laugh as going through my pictures there was alot of eating and visiting giong on.
A big thanks to Angie for coming up with most of the fun activities and everyone who helped to run them (which was just about everyone). It really was fun. Here are some highlights.
This is me giong down the adult sized slip and slide. SO MUCH FUN!

The kids had a wiggle car tournament that ended with a mother-child team race which was hillarious. By the time we left we had really gotten good at those wiggle cars.

So here are some of the how-tos that were used.

The location was easy as we have family with large yards but a park would have worked as well.

Meals were assigned to specific families who made assignments.

Each activity was spearheaded by a couple of people who ran it. Activities were simple, inexpensive and fun, they included: Paint ball target practice with blow guns, campfire songs and stories with s'mores, wiggle car races, a teasure hunt for the kids, Wii bowling tournament, slip 'n slide, bounce house, movie night and lots of visiting and eating.

Someone also put together a recipe book with family pictures for everyone to have to take home with them. It included addresses, pictures a recipe from each family (the two recipes I've tried so far were awesome). There was also a family tree poster with everyone's pictures on it. Also, there was a slide show that had old family pictures that went back to Grandma's parents and had recent photos of all the family.

I hope this will inspire someone else to put together a family reunion. I was so glad my Sister and Cousin put this all together. Here's to more next year.