Harvest

I hope you are not sick of my garden, I'm not. I have never had one before and I love this one. When we bought this house, I was sold when I saw the yard. Half the yard was set up for playing and the other half for growing.

I inherited a fully mature and productive asparagus patch that just needs picking every spring.

I also inherited 2 fences of boysenberries that are at least 20 feet long, each. In early spring, I spent hours and hours pruning, thinning, and taming them. It has been worth every minute and scratch. This week, they have begun to ripen. The best ones are nearly black and ready to burst and warm from the sun. They melt in my mouth. I must have picked at least 5 pounds during the week. I made one pint of jam the first day, put them on ice-cream the 2nd day, and gave the entire bowl (still warm) to my babes the 3rd day. The 4th day, my sister picked them to help me with my chores so I gifted them to her :) (I just loved the visit!) Then, the 5th day, I made 3 1/2 pints of jam and warm bread to go with it.
Can you tell that I am in AWE? Growing is truly a miracle. There is no other explanation. We are so blessed. We have also planted bikinis (according to L when he was VERY small), radishes, onions, carrots, beets, peppers, basil, lemon-thyme, and a variety of tomatoes.


Growing my garden to take care of my children and growing my children to take care of my garden. We are learning together and enjoying some time together while we are doing it.

Hints of Summertime...

The signs are all around us. As the thermometer creeps up, we can't deny the fact that an Arizona Summer is coming soon. With a new yard this year, our family has new signs to notice as well as the yearly rituals that make our family tick. See for yourselves...

Promises of sweet things to come...
The boysenberries are gorgeous and delicious!
Can you see the asparagus coming up? It grows about 4 inches each day!

Popsicles...

Summer haircuts...

It did all come off, but they both loved the in-between stage!



And... apparently his brows were a little toasty, too... notice the gap in each one? Compliments of J. Sorry it is blurry... I had to steal the proof while he was asleep. The story is that it was L's idea and he asked J for help. What big brother could turn down down a request to make his little brother look doofish?

Honestly, it is now 2 days after the eyebrow assault and I am finally just beginning to see the humor in it :)

I don't want to know you, thanks

I met cancer this year. Actually, she's an acquaintance of some friends. I definitely wouldn't call her MY friend.

I met her the first time several of years ago, through an aunt. At the time, my heart was so pained by other things, that I didn't recognize her for who she was and what she did. I avoided any contact with her as she stole that precious life.

I heard, over a year ago, that she had made the acquaintance of a woman who I didn't know, but knew of. Somehow, I knew I would meet this woman, and I have. I love her and love her children and love her sisters and mom, and her husband who serves selflessly. (How could he not, when he is in need of a miracle?) Twice, when I have seen her across the way, with her children, tears have sprung to my eyes. I even made sure her niece sneaked a picture when I saw her laughing on the couch with her husband, who's head was in her lap. Cancer has stolen her future. It will take birthdays, weddings, holidays. It will steal all the minutes of holding babies, smelling rain, and teaching her children.

A couple of months ago, I reconnected with a friend from high school. Within a month she was in a battle for her life. She had also battled 7 years earlier. This time she lost. She left a husband, a daughter and 3 sons.

A few weeks ago, a teenage friend met cancer. She is not supposed to live through the summer.

Lives stolen.

Dreams shattered.

Cancer does not always take everything. Quite often, after knowing her, people are stronger, happier, more sure of what they want. Overcoming hard circumstances can do that for us.

For my friends, cancer has been unwelcome, overbearing, intrusive, demanding, lurking and aggressive.

My friends, on the other hand, have been kind, generous, grateful, faithful, private, and hopeful.

They are beautiful women who lead beautiful lives, one second at a time...

Happy Mothers' Day!

Years ago, I was surprised to find out that some moms cannot stand this day. For them, it conjured up feelings of guilt that they were somehow falling short of what was being celebrated. Not me... I have had no guilt... about this. I think, if I was the kind of person who reflected, analyzed, critiqued more, I might. But, I'm not and I don't.

When I was a teen, 19, newly married and now a part of the Relief Society (the womens' organization of the LDS church) I heard a scripture that became one of my favorites. It is found in the book of The Doctrine and Covenants section 46, verse 12. I'll start with verse 11...

11 For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
12 To Some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited, thereby.

See?! I don't have to be able to do everything. If we all do the part that we can, when we put it all together, we will have enough.

I believed it the first time I heard it and I still believe it, today. Through out my entire life, I have been blessed by the women around me who are all doing their part. They have loved me, taught me, taken care of me (and my children), fed me, clothed me, cheered me, heard me, laughed with me, cried with me, encouraged me, had patience with me... If I can do but one of these for one person during a day, then I am giving my part.

The first mothers I watched:
(at least the ones I can remember :) )

My Angel of a mother, Dottie Layton
Muttie
Grandma Layton
Many Aunts and older cousins :)
Joyce Koster
Jane Wright
Nancy Hobbs
Margie Willis
Kathleen Anderson
Tina Wright
Kathy Nunes
Vonda Giles
Carleen Dennison
Jody Busby
Stephanie Wright
Michael John
Cherie Burrell
Vickie Smith
Glenna Tingey
Fern Anderson
Erma Anderson

Look at that... its a who's who in the old 8th ward, plus a few. I love these ladies. I watched them through my teen years.

I have watched others along the way.

Now, I watch you and the women who are in my family, ward and neighborhood. I have so much to learn :)

I am privileged to mother 6. My joy and motivation come from them. However, I must confess, I love their father first :)

Prom 2010

Prom 2010

Preparation

It is, after all, the key to success, right?

Prom has been a surprisingly big deal at our house. I can't remember K ever being this excited for anything. The final weeks of her senior year have been spectacular. YCL activities for summer girl's camp, Regional Choir, 1st soprano in All State Choir and the choir trip to San Fransisco have all been highlights. Anticipation of prom, however, lit her eyes like nothing else.

You have to understand that K has never been a girly girl. No frills, ruffles, floofs, or flounces for her. Prom, however has been another story, altogether. The preparation has resulted in the perfect coming together of the perfect parts. I'll explain:

The Date: T. Her favorite, kindest, talented, funny, most polite friend who smells good and happens to be very handsome.

The Dress: It's the one of her dreams. K doesn't like to shop. She gets it from me. Together we are quite a duo. We ventured off go AZ Mills to Group USA where we have had amazing luck finding great dresses in the past at GREAT prices (usually on the clearance rack). She told me she might want red. She spied this one almost as soon as we walked into the store. It was in a clear bag in the bridal section. She could see the color and the roses and knew it was perfect. She didn't dare step toward it, but when I saw it, I wanted her to at least try it on. Our arms were piled high as we made our way into the dressing rooms. Each dress was beautiful. She saved The Dress for last. There was a unanimously audible "ohhh" when we saw her. The other moms and girls had all stopped and turned. That, I think, is what sold her. Of course, with the price, we had only tried it on for fun. We took pictures so we could remember what the goal was as we searched for a similar dress, and if necessary, we could show granny what the goal was as we searched for patterns and fabric. We left the mall empty handed and stopped at the first fabric store, but came out disappointed. The next day, K left for her choir trip. That night, Papa came to visit. He asked if we found a dress, we told him about our new quest to either find a similar one or make one. Long story, not as long as it could be :), when K came home from her trip, she had a surprise waiting. Aunt KK "just happened" to have fabric that matched to add on the sleeves, and granny did her magic.The Accessories: R is the best dad ever and loves to shop with K. He is the one who took her and found the shoes and tiara. Aunt L loaned the gorgeous jewelry. I asked K if she wanted something "more"... fancy, bauble-y, pearl-y, sparkle-y? She insisted that the pieces from L were just what she had envisioned.
The Team: Aunt KK is an aesthetician and came and did make-up... perfectly. S, our good friend and "hair-doer" brought her sister B and they did the amazing curls and styles. Thanks team! It was so fun, and 2 friends came and got ready here, too.
It seems a little funny to me, that we made such a big deal of a high-school date. To K, though, it was a big deal.

I have learned that when we make a big deal of the things that are important to our children they grow in confidence and self worth and feel lifted by the family.

That is always worth the preparation.

As R was headed to work one particularly jumbled morning, his after smooch remark, with a hopeful smile, was "try to keep all the balls in the air..." I smiled and then started to panic.

(If I could juggle and had a picture of me doing it, I would post it here.)

It was a day with a long list and a particular order for checking the items off.

Do you know me? I keep lists so I don't forget what to do. I start one thing, do part of something else that catches my attention on the way, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, and oh yeah, that is what I started doing in the first place. Confusing enough? I know!

R's hopeful suggestion is still sitting here, in my mind even after several days of repeat, repeat, repeat.

I still think of myself as a beginner when it comes to doing what I do. What do I do? Good question. I wife, mother, sister, friend, etc... all verbs, not nouns in this sense. I have a few tried and true methods, but I am always eager for new techniques. I try to eliminate distractions and stick with the practiced routine so that the lives I lead and shuttle and share and feed and teach and encourage and scold and love will be in place. Still, sometimes I mess up big time. Sometimes, it all crashes to the ground. Sometimes, more often than I want. Then what? Pick them up and start again with one and add another and another. They will fall again. I will mess up again. Not because I want to, but because I am so just "simpley" me.

It's ok. I am completely fine with it. The ones I wife, mother, sister, friend, etc., are my favorites. They are forgiving, kind, even appreciative, sometimes. They are wonderful, fun, and, well, sigh..., so worth it.

Saturday is a special day... it's the day we get ready for Sunday!

We always have a list longer than the day on Saturday. We have chores galore and places to go and people to see and things to do. Vague? Sorry.

The chore part of the day has never been the same twice. We never have figured out a good division of labor/responsibilities for the children. Outside chores are usually done with dad, and if we don't start inside chores early enough, it becomes boys outside and girls inside. Both will get done, but not a lot of teaching or learning takes place.

Our schedule was out of the ordinary today. K was gone shortly after noon and didn't return until 11:27pm. Prom is in 2 weeks, and her group of friends had their amazingly fun and creative day activity today. I only include this to show that she was out of the picture.

When R left to go to Home Depot for the 2nd time, I knew I had to act fast. I rounded up the troops and gave orders.

The goal: a clean house.
The technique: everyone will work together in each room until it is clean. We will have people vacuum, dust and tidy. We will trade jobs in each room... GO!

It went really well... surprisingly so! In 35 minutes, we cleaned almost 3700 sq. feet! Impressive if you ask me!

2 Highlights of the job:
1) when the boys found our chunky pink and blue microphones that are basically an echo chamber with a spring inside, they all broke out into a rousing rendition of "Fat Bottom Girls" by Queen!
2) the spontaneous "wrastle" that broke out at the end!

My boys did a great job. I hope they feel good about it and enjoy their clean home on the Sabbath.

As she teeters on the edge, my grip tightens, desperately. Frantically, I grasp at anything that will keep her from slipping. My struggle seems to slow, like the time I did CPR on my infant brother. Minutes stretch to eternities, and even though I see where she is headed, there is nothing I can do to stop it. I scream inside, I plead, I dangle anything I can to lure her away, but still, she tip-toes, elated to be on the ledge... and it is narrowing. She will fall, soon and there will be nothing I can do but watch... My heart is racing and tears spill, but there is no changing the future.

I hate that it feels like this! Why is this part of my daughter's life so traumatic to me? People do this everyday, but as I type, my throat is closing off and I am shaking and forcing myself to breathe slowly.

K has every opportunity before her. She has worked so hard and deserves every good thing, but I just want to hold her on my lap and rock... hold them all on my lap and rock and read and sing. She has proved herself good and disciplined and faithful. All important, but still, I hold on, too tight. Her world will expand, soon. I see her dreaming and hoping and planning and hope the dreams and hopes and plans all come to be a reality exceeding what she envisions.

For now, I cannot bring myself to pay a housing deposit. I hold on too tight.