Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Athletes

Timothy long legs

 

We try to be athletic. The big boys take a P.E. class; Daniel has been involved in golf and tennis lessons this year; Timothy is in baseball. Paige dances 3 nights a week and Zoomer-Smasher-Dune buggy is always on the go.

 

Here’s the golf boy. I promise to the grandpas that I’ll post more golf course pictures soon.

I see so many benefits from an active lifestyle. There are fewer mood swings; they sleep better; they seem happier when we’re more active. It takes work to get ourselves out the door. For instance, the kids are at this moment in the van waiting for me to take them someplace where they can run. Computer, release me!

 

 

Dad, can you call me…

Zoomer-Smasher-Dune buggy when I ride my bike?

-Mark, age 4

This is the week that Mark learned to ride a two wheeled bike and picked up a book and read it. Blast. Next thing I know he will be telling me that he is engaged.

Richard bought Mark a bike without pedals because it’s the latest thing in balance theory. (I just made that up.) We’re believers in the balance theory, though. Without training wheels, Mark learned to balance on two wheels in about a day. We live on a hill and he walks himself up and then he glides down the hill. His wrecks are spectacular. I can hardly watch.

Sigh. My little Mark is now “Zoomer-Smasher-Dune buggy.”

And if that was not enough, on the same day he decided to read.

I committed a social faux pas last week when I told two friends who are avid preschool mothers that I haven’t been “pushing” reading for Mark. It seems like everyone wants their preschool children to read. I have known for a while that Mark was ready to read but I hadn’t prepared the little books and incentive program that my other children needed/loved when they were learning. I was waiting for a little prep time before we really got started.

Paige’s incentives were stickers and pizza; Daniel and Timothy ate candy and earned pieces of a pirate ship as they learned their phonics lessons. I was hoping Mark’s incentives would involve sharing chocolates and lots of hugs and kisses.

Somehow without the incentives and the structure he learned anyway. Perhaps his was the most powerful incentive of all: he wants to be a reader like everyone else in the house. I’m not saying he’s reading everything, but yesterday his little readers arrived in the mail and he picked one up and read several pages aloud, commenting that the word “and” was sure used a lot.

So there he goes… our baby(whimper)… off into the big world of high speed and higher education.

 

Juggling

Much of this month I have felt like “too little butter spread over too much bread.” I don’t count myself as being remarkable in this feeling; I think it’s universally acknowledged that motherhood makes a person stretch. I have been tossed two new balls to juggle: baseball and a new church responsibility. New church callings always throw me off balance a while. Then I settle in and things become easier. I’m just trying to push through this rough spot.

I keep deleting grumpy sentences as I write this, so I will stop and wish you a well-balanced life this week, which is what I think will bring me and you the most happiness.

 

 

 

 

One corner of our yard

The irises arrived with great showmanship this year.

 

Daniel is our photographer.

 

Do you spy a little friend on our fence?

 

Our neighbors planted this beautiful hedge which flowers in the spring.

 

Greek History Day

We went to a Greek History event. There were costumes. There were plays. There was Spanakopita and dancing. Greek music is so distinctive, don’t you think?

There is something very comforting about mingling with other moms who educate their own children. This was on the car in front of us:

Wishing I had such spunk… but I’m willing to mingle with those who do and find ideas.

There were crafts and Olympic events. I dressed up the kids in all the white fabric I could find in the house. Paige is studying ancient history this year and is wading through philosophy by Plato. I’m pretty sure no one discussed the nature of justice at the banquet table, but it was fun to see her among some friends. I think history days like this are most beneficial for kids who are in elementary school.

This activity didn’t thrill Timothy AT ALL.

Man, it’s no fun to be eleven years old sometimes. I realized that it was probably too much to ask of my sons to enjoy this day. They are studying Medieval history this year and never want to do crafts. That’s one of the challenges I face: finding activities that will make everyone happy and meet their educational needs with a minivan, the internet (hallelujah) and 24 hours in a day.

I found Mark pushing his little friend from across the street in the swing. Isn’t age four just darling? Looking at these pictures reminds me that in all the scurrying about to find drapery to wear, we forgot to comb our hair.

I just sat in the shade and ate Spanakopita. It’s my new favorite food.

 

 

The value of meditation

The other day on the radio I heard a person discussing the value of meditation on mental health. He was advocating yoga and he sited a study where they found that people who devoted 27 minutes each day to meditation literally changed their brain. The memory center of the brain became more effective and the emotional center became more regulated. In other words, people who meditated had better memory and fewer emotional ups and downs.

Now I feel validated in my habit of resting each evening before bed, thinking (or not) and showing a blank look on my face. People who have to live with me know what I’m talking about. It’s an emotional survival skill that I developed early in my life.

I also eat sweets late at night to avoid modeling this kind of behavior for my kids. And yes, it helps me a great deal, too.

A picnic and truffles

Sarah and Bryan came to our house for the afternoon. We packed a picnic, loaded it into a basket and Mark’s jeep and we made our way to the park by our house. We ate big sandwiches, fresh strawberries and raspberries, chips, and snickerdoodles. YUM. Some of us played frisbee…

And some of us ran through the sprinklers.

And one of us just took pictures, which is all she wanted to do anyway.

Mark, as driver, learned the inherent privileges of driving with food in the front seat. Sampling!

Sarah taught us how to make truffles. We made milk chocolate truffles and raspberry truffles; some we decorated with white chocolate and drizzles; others we rolled in sprinkles, making them less edible, but very colorful.

And yes, they do taste *THAT* good.

Thanks for a fun visit, Sarah and Bryan. Come again soon!

Piano Ensemble 2011

It’s our springtime tradition: a new suit or dress and the big ensemble concert at Centennial Hall. This was Paige and Daniel’s 4th year to participate in this concert.

We invited some friends to join us. Daniel didn’t hang out with us in line because he was with his piano duet partner. Yes, Paige is taller than I am in this picture. We’re both wearing heels. I’m posting this even though I look old.

We saw some Family at the concert! Bryan’s sister was in the concert, too.

Paige and her piano partner played one of the big Steinway concert grand pianos in the front. They played the Liebeslieder Waltz by Johannes Brahms.

Paige is wearing my formal concert skirt with a shimmery silver top from her own closet.

Daniel, always the brave and independent one, went up to the conductor to thank him when it was over. He played the Russian Sailors’ Dance which was just incredible.