How could I NOT take a picture? It’s not for me. I picked it up for Lisa who will be making a lot of chocolate dipped strawberries. The truth is, these bags are totally unappetizing to me. Maybe it’s too much of a good thing!
This is almost all I have to show for my day yesterday. The rain makes me feel so sluggish. Today I’m forcing myself to mop my floors and vacuum my basement. My joints are ready for more movement!
My goal today is to spend an hour sitting outside in these chairs.
The AP Calculus test is tomorrow. I wonder if bonding over calculus will ever be a sweet memory for these two. They’ve worked hard all year.
Mark and I are on field trip overdrive during this last month of school. Last week was our trip to the Bean Museum. This week was our visit to Thanksgiving Point. I love looking at dinosaur bones and so does Mark. We kept just ahead of the three busses of kids on field trips and avoided being swarmed upon like we were at the Bean Museum.
Mark kept telling me great facts about dinosaurs. I assumed it was from the books he read for his second grade report. When I asked him, though, he said some of his knowledge came from reading Calvin and Hobbes. 😉
We ended by visiting the candy counter at The Emporium, which is a visual delight.
It was Paige’s last Laurel class activity before graduation last night and I got to drive these girls up to Temple Square for some pictures. While we were there we saw another group of young women doing the same thing, only they had 8 36-inch balloons in the Young Women value colors. They graciously let us use them. (We learned that it’s $50-70 to inflate this many balloons this size.)
These were just cell phone shots. Here are a few of the Real camera shots by Kelly Nelson, their Laurel class advisor.
Temple Square was nearly empty. An elderly couple held hands on a bench and looked up at the temple. A younger couple was doing the same on another bench. A couple of brides and grooms posed for pictures, but it was quiet. Golden light, air fragrant with blossoms, and a quiet spirit was there. It was one of the best Young Women activities I have ever attended.
Baseball
Construction in the neighborhood. Boom! Boom! Rattta-tat-tat! Sloosh!
Writing my book
Pursuing study
Birthdays for almost every extended family member
Music all the time
School deadlines
AP tests and study sessions
Graduation details
Messy flower beds
Anniversary love notes each day in the mail from Richard
Youth activities
Jazz band practices
A teen with a broken cell phone (The horror!)
Reading something good
Meals on the run
Pink flowering tree views out of the windows
Shorter hair
Ski equipment in storage
Almost finished with the school books
Field trip season
Crowded visit to the Bean Museum this week
First fly in the house
Open windows and bird song
Losing my view of the mountains because the leaves are back
Pastels, not blacks and browns
Snow last week, sunshine this week
I’m only allowed to bring healthy snacks to baseball?
Scout camp
Goodbye, Gilbert Blythe. I’m totally watching Anne of Green Gables this weekend.
I was asked to make a piece of a puzzle to represent our family. There had to be space for a 4×6 photo to be mounted in the center. I used some state die cuts to show where we have lived. I placed sepia prints of the kids in bottle caps with a clear glossy stickers over the photos to show where each child was born. What a sentimental journey.
My friend who is a school teacher pulled me aside last night to give me something she had saved. It was a magazine article listing positive things about homeschooling.
Bless her sweet, sweet heart. I didn’t know it until I talked with her, but I needed to feel that support.
She talked to me for the first time about her mother’s cancer yesterday. I asked her if she had any news (hoping she would share about her mother) and she almost didn’t tell me. But with flushed cheeks, she rushed to tell me details of a new study that her mom began that day.
Because chemo isn’t working.
I told her I was grateful that her mother was accepted into the study. I told her that her mom is a blessing to so many people and that her mother and the girl were in my thoughts and prayers all of the time. And because I didn’t know how to end my open expressions of hope that the new study medication will help her mom, I said, “You never know…”
What?
I should have said, “I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for you and for your mom, and that plan is beautiful.” Because that is what I know.
And I should have hugged her before continuing with the lesson.
This plant that I nearly over-watered to death has been drying out and perking up in the light of my biggest window. I’ve left it alone for two weeks and it’s thriving.
I’m remembering this lesson as Daniel now holds a drivers permit. I must not be overly zealous in my nurturing that I don’t allow him to stretch and grow in responsibility. My efforts to “protect” can weaken my children.
“Let your children have some freedom to learn, to experience, and reach for the sun,” the little plant reminds me.
Have you ever talked yourself out of giving a gift? I’m at that phase of giving where I hope that my generosity doesn’t seem silly, misplaced, juvenile, or crazy. Have you ever read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli? There are elements of Stargirl in me. I remember important dates in people’s lives. I don’t play the ukelele, but I serenaded almost every sister who joined our Relief Society in Texas with my guitar when I visited their homes. I try to figure out people’s tastes in food, music, literature, and color. I feel deeply for people in their struggles. I don’t know what to say most of the time, so I think of things to give people. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to give. What if my gift makes them feel uncomfortable?
You can do this, Angie. You can do this. It’s just a doll. And 99% of the time, it is worth it to show that you care.
