Angela – Page 258 – Letters from Home

Sleep sweet, nor fret

children-ring-around-roses

Today we entertained lots of neighborhood kids at our house. Late in the afternoon, my next door neighbor, Maria brought me some lemonade. We sat in my living room and dressed Barbies with the kids.

The day was full of small blessings like that. It’s remembering these comfortable blessings that makes all the difference when I look back over my day, which was truly a mixture of successes and shortcomings, good and bad news. I’m wrapped in a soft shawl and I feel peaceful.

I have loved this poem for years. I just discovered it is part of the Association of Unity Churches Home Blessing. I couldn’t find the author’s name. It matches my mood tonight.

My heart, The sun hath set.
Night paths With dew are wet.
Sleep comes Without regret;
Stars rise When sun is set.
All’s well. God loves thee yet,
Heart, smile, Sleep sweet, nor fret.

Kid Town

I held a lot of nieces and nephews this past weekend. This is Alex, daughter of Russ and Nancy.

I went up to Provo for half a day so I could hold Baby Charlotte on her blessing day.
I held Ammon and enjoyed his cheery face in church. The little Deacon boy passing the sacrament tried to be serious, but couldn’t help but smile back at Ammon’s little round face.
Solomon would only give me a high-five, but showed me his gum about 100 times.
Ruby did the actions with me as I sang Wise Man and Foolish Man in her ear during church.
Kaitlyn played with me when I pulled out my Strawberry Shortcake dolls.
Anna-who-smiles wore a bright green dress and let me hold her right away.
Isaac-and-Spencer still aren’t fans of old Angie, so I gave them a toy hamster in a ball to help in that relationship.
I met the spouses of a niece and nephew, too, on this trip, Josh and Andrea.
I learned that my nephew Richard is a great runner; that Rachel enjoys singing, and loved seeing Leslie’s beautiful hair and grown-up look.

Timothy lost his second front tooth. Here he is posing with Grandpa Ross.

My sons the engineers. Daniel packed his plastic thread so he could make a suspension bridge when he got to Grandma Ross’s house.

Grandma’s house is a place where Mark becomes an entertainer.

Least changed

Here is Richard and some of his friends from high school, taken at the 20th class reunion picnic in St George. Yes, I noticed that all his friends were girls.

His classmates named him one of the “Least Changed.”

My Dad and other thoughts

I loved this picture of my dad, taken last month by my mom. I tell everyone I know that he is a Mission President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It’s a big job, and I know he and my mom are fully invested in the work. I am grateful for their example of sacrifice. My parents have been on their mission for two years with one more to go. The family has been so blessed while they have been away. I really see God’s hand in helping us work through things without Mom and Dad around. I feel protected and happy because of their service.

You know, I started this post thinking I would write about my dad, but within a few sentences, I couldn’t give an adequate description without including my mom. That’s a great tribute to the quality of their marriage. They are a great example of a couple who knows how to work together.

Speaking of being a couple, I’m off to Utah for a few days to accompany Richard to his 20th high school reunion. I’ve been trying to get ready for the trip… you know, shopping for the right clothes and shoes so I can look like the trophy wife that I am. I had no luck in the clothing and shoe departments, but I hit the Bath and Body Works sale, so I will at least smell like a little bit of heaven.

This is such a weird post. All well. At least the picture is good.

Feeling good about the Saga

Above you see the front cover of the May 2009 Sahuarita Saga. I’ve been busy working on this. The picture shows the younger kids who contribute each month.

This is the last issue for volume 2 and so I decided to put all the cover art from the year on the back cover. I think it looks nice.

What’s inside? There is a letter, some poems, pictures of dance and music recitals, two Eagle Projects, several reports about people and places, triathalon stats, and awards presented to the kids. It’s my way of capturing homeschool life and it gives my kids a good deadline for finishing their writing assignments.

It’s a good day when the Saga is completed each month. It takes me about a day to compile all of the art, photos, and essays. Someday, I hope to have the kids play a bigger role in putting it all together. Paige and Daniel are learning how to use the software and type their own reports.

Girls’ Camp Eve

Paige is off to Girls’ Camp this week. I was asked to write the usual “Dear Daughter” letter to Paige to open when she is at camp. Letters from home are always a good idea. Good heavens, I still have every note my mom wrote to me.

I have to admit I don’t want to write the letter. I want to be up at Girl’s Camp. I’d rather be singing songs around the campfire with her and hiking in the pines than sitting here trying to think of the right thing to say. But since I can’t go, I’ll get to work on that letter.

Study this picture for a minute and you will see my firstborn, my companion, my helper, my friend, my hero, my doll to dress and care for, my young woman to be proud of, and the ONLY one with whom I can share Pride and Prejudice movie nights at home. I hear her playing the piano as I write this. She plays better than I do now. She is like her dad in her steady, calm demeanor. She welcomes her brothers into her room all the time and lets them fiddle around with her sparkly, sweet smelling, soft, and cute belongings. To Mark, Paige is a special confidante. I find the two of them often sitting on her bed together talking about topics obviously chosen by Mark. Paige is very patient. Her artwork is stunning and she dances like an angel. She is a faithful at studying her scriptures and writing in her journal. I can honestly say I have never seen her behave disrespectfully to anyone.

Paige came when I was 21 years old when I didn’t know anything. I know even less now, and I think she’s catching on to this truth, but she still gives me hugs every night before bed and thanks me for the meals I prepare.

Along with my assignment to write a letter to Paige, I must also come up with an adjective which describes her to print in a program after camp. Just one adjective? Now, that’s hard. Here are some words that describe Paige: graceful, pure, gentle, unselfish, talented, artistic, patient, generous, loving, steady, sweet, quiet, faithful, obedient, intelligent…

Will a longer list make it any easier to choose just one?

Probably not, but if anyone deserves a long list of positive adjectives, it’s our Paige.