Dear Mark,
I am so proud of you. You have had a great Kindergarten year! Sometimes people can’t remember Kindergarten very well. Here are some things that I remember about this special year in your life.
I know you are looking forward to adding history and spelling to your subjects next year. You will be a great first grader! I love you, I love you, XOXOXOX -Mom
I discovered these pictures of army men on the camera, taken for one of Daniel’s film projects.
They speak to me.
They are reminders that boyhood is alive here.
I like to think that someday when we move away, another little boy will discover some of our lost army men in the dirt and call them treasures.
Because these guys are treasure to us.
Rose, our Laurel president wrote a play for the youth to perform. She directed it, prepared the set, and put up tables and chairs for the dinner theater last night. It was Laurel awesomeness.
Lady Emerald, the maid, Professor Topaz (Paige), Mr. Onyx, Aunt Pearl, Mrs and Mr Ruby were the suspects in the whodunnit thriller, Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar.
Sherlock Holmes and Watson were on hand to solve the crime.
The lights went out…thunder rumbled… and someone stole the jewel cookie!
Sherlock accuses Auntie Pearl!
Oh, the drama.
Our new Beehive shouts, “Let’s hear it for Rose!”
The kids had a lot of fun. Daniel did the lights. Paige was a great bespectacled Professor Topaz. Everyone was a star.
I’ve been looking through old photographs to find a picture of my friend’s son who passed away last Friday. I found him. There he was at a Primary activity in Austin back in 1997. The children were dressed in pajamas and I was telling the children “bedtime” stories. And there he was, a member of my Primary choir at the ward Christmas party, dressed as a shepherd. I will send these to his mother who is a dear friend.
I love photos. They help to reinforce the memories of dear friends and family. When I go to a party, you can find me in the corner looking through the family’s photo albums and scrapbooks. When people come to visit, I pull out the photos and hope to find a funny one from our past for them to take home. And when someone is having a hard time I try to find a photo that will cheer them.
I hope my small offering helps my friend. It’s a record that her son’s life lives in my memory, too.
It’s the end of the school year. We’re so busy.
I’m thankful for the mothers in my life. My mother, who gave me just about everything and my grandmothers who carried faith, traditions, etiquette, and propriety through the generations. I’m glad to have elements of a Victorian woman in my own skill set because it’s kept me out of some trouble.
I’m thankful for the women who have mothered me, even though I was not their own. Some had children of their own to love; others did not. My experience has taught me that they, too are mothers.
I’m not a big fan of Mother’s Day for my own benefit. I don’t want a lot of fuss made about the “sacrifices” of motherhood. Frankly, I’m living the life I always wanted. I don’t need a cake to compensate for my time! I love to being a mother. I always have.
I will be accepting extra hugs and kisses from my children all day today. Happy Mother’s Day!
Sorry, Sue. I fell asleep on the job and didn’t post something for you yesterday. I hope you’re feeling better. We received your fun-filled letter yesterday.
The Young Men in the ward treated their moms to a Mother’s Day dinner this week. The boys prepared an invitation and were drilled in etiquette in the weeks leading up to the event. We had a lovely meal outdoors overlooking the lake. I noticed that Daniel opened every door, pulled out my chair for me at the table, and prepared my plate before his own. I enjoyed my time with my good looking, dashing and intelligent young man.
Some baseball shots for Grandpa Ross since he can’t be with us.
I don’t think of myself as a goal-oriented person because I don’t make New Year’s resolutions and if I make a goal, I rarely write it down. However, I do try to establish patterns in my life. One of those patterns is to read a book a week. Oh, snap. Now it’s written down.
I made this goal after I learned that President Bush read a book a week. If he could do it, so could I. (You can read whatever you want into that comment.) I’ve never made it to 52 books a year (and I mean grown-up books!), but it doesn’t matter. Sometimes I pick up a 900 page novel and that’s just not going to be finished in a week… unless it’s Tolstoy. Sometimes life gets too busy, but I don’t scold myself.
With my schedule, I can only read little bits here and there when I am waiting in the car and this doesn’t amount to a lot of progress. I also don’t have a lot of evenings available. What this means is that I usually have to dedicate a day each week to reading. It’s a pajama day. It’s the day we have a meal from the freezer for dinner. It’s usually a Monday or a Tuesday. I still teach and oversee school, but I do minimal housework. It’s one of my favorite days of the week. It brings me into focus. It makes me feel spoiled. The kids like it, too, because they have a little more freedom.
Do you have a goal or pattern of living that feeds your soul?