Daniel, anxious to change after his orchestra concert, pauses for a photo for his mom to share. What a good sport.
This is some of what I did last Thursday:
Cleaned the kitchen
Taught Mark about graphing, the Mycenaeans, and possessives ending with -es
Studied
Prepared food
Helped Tim memorize something
Made a dessert for a work party
Stood in line at the post office
Took Mark to the library
Went shopping
Gave 2 haircuts
Hemmed a tux for Daniel
Wrote a letter
Attended a work party
Attended a parent meeting at the high school
Attended a school band and orchestra concert
At Richard’s work party that night a female engineer asked me, “What do you do?”
I replied with a smile, thinking of all I did that day, “I stay at home.”
I guess my simple answer made her worry about my self esteem, so she told me it’s the hardest job in the world to stay at home.
Being respectful of her decision to work as an engineer, knowing that not all people have the option to stay home or the desire to stay home, and not agreeing that my life is hard, I mumbled something like, “I’m not sure about that…” and changed the subject.
These conversations are exhausting. Any job would be difficult if I didn’t embrace it, but staying home is exactly what I want to do and I love it. Maybe I need to frame my answer so people didn’t feel like they need to reassure me while downplaying their own contribution to the world. 🙂
Just a smattering of thoughts today, readers.These super hero prints were a gift to the kids from the artist, Josh Talbot. We bought my new violin from his wife.I love pumpkins, and pumpkins from a friend are especially nice.Welcome to our house!Photo is from Halloween 2006
There are fewer costumes to get ready for Halloween this year. When I think back to the years when we coordinated costumes for the kids, I feel thankful that we made those memories. Super Heroes, The Wizard of Oz, and Star Wars were my favorite themes. I spent a little time sewing Halloween bunting over the fall break. Mark has been my helper to decorate the house. One day he spent an hour wrapping little skeletons in t.p. so they would look like mummies. He emphasized to me that the mummies are NOT for the house, but special for his room. Mark and I found this to be a mutually agreeable use for the mummies.
Mark told us that he didn’t need help with his tie. Okay.
The kids had a piano recital this weekend. Paige played the Mendelssohn Concerto in g minor op. 25, 1st movement. Daniel played Maple Leaf Rag by Joplin and a nice contemporary concerto called Concerto Bravo by Olsen. Timothy played Bach’s Solfeggietto and a piece called Frenzy. Mark surprised us again with very expressive dynamics in Spy Bot (He’s a real showman!) and amazed us with his speed at playing Cinnamon Popcorn. The older kids who played concertos were accompanied by their teacher, who spent a lot of extra time working with them on their pieces. She’s in the photo with the kids.
Mark’s measurement robot. I can’t tell you how many times this robot comes to my mind when I am working in the kitchen.
Home school with Mark is comfortable, sweet, and a joy. I’m savoring the time with him. Our studies follow a familiar path through ancient history, math facts, science, and writing. With each child, however, there is zeal for different favorite subjects and I enjoy seeing Mark’s personality and strengths emerge as we work on projects. Mark is good company, and we have the best conversations, and by that I mean we talk through a depth and breadth of his thoughts about super heroes, Star Wars, planets, Calvin and Hobbes, and Harry Potter. I write down some of the things he says as a keepsake of this time together.
On another front…
I find sharing my faith on Facebook to be very tricky. I admire people who can share concise, genuine statements about their testimonies. One thing I am thinking about is how to convey my testimony more effectively (online, among friends) without sounding like a Puritan or shaking so much in my boots. I posted the following paragraph on Facebook, but didn’t get any “LIKES” from my friends of other faiths. Does this mean I sounded like a Puritan to them? Who knows.
The LDS missionaries in our area needed some teaching practice so they picked our family. I loved how they taught and shared their love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish I had invited someone to join us. Next time you see the missionaries, consider listening to their message with an open heart and mind. It will make your day. Their message is the most important part of my life.
Do you have thoughts about sharing your faith online?
I write this as the missionaries sit outside with Richard at a correlation meeting. They are around our house a lot. I am NEVER prepared when they come. One day I walked into the kitchen after showering, looking for a hair brush in my purse. It wasn’t until I had loaded the dishwasher while sporting wet, messy hair that I noticed that the missionaries were in the next room watching me make a fool of myself. Today they have to sit outside because every living area in the house is full of toys and friends. I just never know when they are going to show up.
This is probably one reason people respond well to online missionary work. I just need to learn how to do it better. Really, do you have suggestions?
I think these pictures that Daniel took on his bike ride are very nice. I am grateful for mountain views like this that are just a few steps away. I am grateful for children who appreciate beauty.
Autumn colors are on their way to my kitchen. The reds, whites, and blues of summer are feeling out of style as the golden light filters through the windows and the leaves begin to look strained. I’ve decided to sew a couple of autumn buntings. Now and then I add to a collection of objects that I might display on the mantel. Autumn is a cluttered time outdoors so I like to clutter up my indoor spaces a bit. I’m having fun finding unlikely combinations in objects I already own.
Home decoration and craft stores overwhelm me. How about you? I walk into a store and think that I want to buy a little something but there are just too many options (most of them beautiful) and I walk out with nothing. I prefer natural objects and things that already have meaning for me to put on display: a tea cup from a grandmother, a craft from a child, maybe some chalk lettering on my little chalkboard, orange candies, fruits, pumpkins, and some framed leaves. My favorite decoration, regardless of the time of year, is family photographs!
If you’ve been in my house, you probably could have guessed that.
My first college roommate taught me to surround myself with photos of people I love.
It’s a great way to cheer up a space, and you don’t always need a frame.
*Writing about decorating feels a little bit like trying to write in Russian for me. The only design elements that get a lot of attention at our house are the kids’ art and our organized drawers of Legos! 😉
Worst date ever: Richard in the E.R. after lunch with a severe allergic reaction to nuts. He got a shot of epinephrine and all kinds of medicine…quickly! (This is when he was feeling much better.)Timothy shows Dad his new Lego set he bought with his lawn mowing money.Grandma and Tyler are matchy-matchy.
Everyone helps out with the construction when you go to Spring Lake. Richard had to work on the 4th, so I took the kids to Provo to see the parade and the fair and to visit Spring Lake. Daniel skipped the parade and worked with my dad all day at Spring Lake. In the evening a few cousins joined us for Tank Wars. It was a fun day.
Paige and Timothy are off to paint a mural at a local Christian church today. It’s supposed to be a big Narnia castle and ocean scene. Timothy’s coach is a youth pastor and the mastermind behind the project and he invited Paige to help. Mark and I will paint Daniel’s bathroom door since he’s away on a high adventure trip. In fact, he’s not too far from these hills in Southern Utah.
The kids and I are working hard to limit our screen time each day. This is why I haven’t been blogging much. We have been cleaning out flower beds and planting flowers. The big boys mow lawns for our house and a neighbor. We painted the basement. Wow, that was a big job. And then there is summer reading. We love to read!
The little boys spend the day reading old National Geographic Kids magazines. We have probably 12 years worth of those dog-eared fact menageries. Mark is loving The Series of Unfortunate Events books and Calvin and Hobbes. We purchased our first water damaged library book this week: a Calvin and Hobbes book that was left in the hammock and doused by the neighbors’ sprinklers. The librarian said that the positive part about having to buy a library book is that you get to keep it. That’s true, and Mark is happy to have it.
Timothy is reading The Edge Chronicles. Daniel is reading Ranger’s Apprentice books again. And Shakespeare. And anything he can get his hands on. Paige loved The Book Thief and has a tall stack of library books in her room.
Summer reading is one of my best childhood memories. I hope it will be the same for our kids.
Summer events are coming fast. We had a parade in our neighborhood on Saturday. The boys rode motorized scooters and Richard rode his Honda 110. The scooters were decorated with streamers which trailed behind in the wind. Paige and I rode in a borrowed golf cart. Richard was one of the people in charge of inviting people to show classic cars in the parade. Paige and I trailed behind the cars and enjoyed the view of the green mountains, flag-lined streets, and happy people.
I’ve been helping a young woman in the ward prepare crafts for Girls Camp. I now have all kinds of new skills.
We are painting these rooms today! New door handles, wall plates, switches, and outlets are coming. Goodbye yellow-green paint.
I hope you are enjoying your summer break as much as we are.
We went out for breakfast one morning and discovered that we were wearing rainbow colors. Wow, that photo looks awkward. We really were enjoying being together.
Here are a few things we did together this weekend:
We planted our garden.
We delivered 200 fliers for a neighborhood social activity.
We placed flags in our neighborhood for Memorial Day.
We enjoyed homemade cookies one night when Daniel had his friends over for a movie.
I threw a birthday party for Mark but sadly only one boy that we invited was able to attend. Timothy joined the party to make things less lonely for Mark. It turned out to be a good time. I think it’s another reminder to me that I am not good at “friend” birthday parties. I will be keeping only family parties from now on. Let’s see if I can keep that resolution…
We enjoyed a neighborhood social activity where we walked among three homes where the families hosted refreshments. We met several new people and visited with many friends. The boys rode scooters and bikes.
We had a scooter repair shop on Saturday in the garage.
We attended church, 3 of us sang in the choir, and Richard was a substitute teacher in Timothy’s class.
We had fun meals, including a very colorful salad bar one night and fajitas from the grill the next night.
Mark and I made pretzels for family night. Speaking of family night, we decided to gather out beneath the trees. Things were going fine, but then Sparky lost a fight with a cat that wandered into our yard. He limped, bleeding back to the house and cowered in corners the rest of the evening. We gathered again under the trees and the neighbors’ sprinkler system came on, soaking those who were relaxing in the hammocks. Ha! That was the end of family night.
