We have taken a couple of days off from our regular routines to reconnect with each other. I am related to each of these darling and amazing women.
Today I taught a little oil painting class to the group. I didn’t get a photo of one of the paintings, but here are most of them.
Then we painted these letters to hang in the craft room at Spring Lake. My mom pulled out her guitar and we sang songs as we painted. What a happy time.
Mine is the PINK Starry Starry Night “A.”
Ooooh. I finally got brave and sewed these paper hearts I cut out a year ago. I’ve never sewed paper before, but it was easy and I love how it turned out. Please don’t ask me what the camera is focused on in the above picture. Not a single bit of that picture is in focus.
I’m a little ambivalent about Valentines Day. I think it stresses Richard out. I don’t like to feel high maintenance, because I’m not. Except when I am shopping for a violin. Ahem.
My annual reading of The Gettysburg Address and Pink and Say will happen today when I find some time alone. I used to read Pink and Say aloud to the kids each February, but I gave it up. I just prefer to cry in private. Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln.
Sometimes I am guilty of giving my best to my students instead of my children. I am learning that I can give my best to both. When it is my turn to give a family home evening lesson, I share what I am learning in my personal study or preparations for lessons at church. This month I made some extra copies of the Plan of Salvation kits that I made for a young women lesson. Last night the kids cut them out and added them to their missionary/future family collections. We also prepared some for a missionary care package.
My mom told me that she would make Plan of Salvation visual aids with the missionaries all the time. She suggested that we include transparent “spirit bodies” which enter at birth, are separated at death, and reunited with the colorful physical bodies at the resurrection. I have to admit that this little detail is my favorite part of these laminated kits. Most of these elements come from The Friend Magazine, January 2008. If you want a copy I would be happy to send them to you. You can use my laminator if you’re close by, too.
I’ve made some progress in doll making this weekend. Here we see her face, missing pupils and a few final details in the eyes. I’m trying to decide if she is a redhead or a brunette. I am leaning toward brunette. My social media friends have been asked for their vote, and so far they are divided on the hair color. Eventually I hope to make many dolls of many different shades. I am also in love with a concept I found for a little boy doll.
This is so satisfying to see her come to life. I work on her for a little while now and then and come away happy each time.
As I sew, I think of my friends and family members who are facing difficult things. This doll is going to one of them.
I found this on Pinterest but couldn’t find the original source.
It’s a good time for me, writing and studying many things. My formula for success lately comes from going to bed early, getting up early, exercising, and doing “mental” work in the morning. Housework happens in the afternoon, and most days, I take a short nap. At the very least, I try to read when Mark reads and write when Mark writes. On good days, I also practice the violin when he plays the piano.
Sorry, no pictures of the kids today. I’ve taken some but haven’t edited them. I have written many more essays for my book this week than I set out to accomplish and some activities have to be dropped in exchange.
Is writing this book evidence of a midlife crisis? The only other person I know who is writing her memoirs is dealing with a terminal illness. Some days I feel like I’m doing something crazy that no one will want to read. Other days I feel like I must be very self centered to think that my experiences are worth sharing. Other days, I write something that moves me and I can’t wait to share. The Doppler effect of memories is always on my mind. I am trying not to distort my story with too much sentiment earned by time and a different perspective. The truth is, there have been a steady mixure of rough days and good days and I am trying to figure out how to share them to connect with someone who might be going through something similar.
After indulging in the literary equivalent of a selfie each morning, focusing on myself and loving the time, I try to do something completely different, preferably for someone else! I think that I’m happier for the time spent writing, even if it means that must I get up early to do it.
In this picture we had just left our home in Austin for the last time and we were on our way to the airport to move to Arizona (Timothy is strapped into a car seat behind Richard). I had just tried to vacuum all the footprint marks from our carpet after everyone walked out. There was a hopeless thought that we would be forgotten as simply as those footprints disappeared beneath the vacuum. At least I had that fabulous poncho to wear that day. At least there was that. I’m totally not kidding about that poncho love.
I wrote a few more sad things about the day and just deleted them. I’m going to go cheer myself up now…write with some colored ink, read something, and make a few stitches in some fabric.
Life isn’t always rosy, folks, is it? Hold on, though. Everything will work out. Guaranteed.
I haven’t taken any pictures of the kids lately. I spend all day with Mark and when the kids come home it’s pretty nice to just be together. I haven’t taken a picture of the college admission letters Paige has received, nor the project in the garage where Richard wired for some outlets and a light. Timothy has joined us for youth activities on Wednesday nights and joined the jazz band at school. Daniel is a class officer at school and has been introduced to the world of school responsibility and some of the perks that go with it. He has been our plumber, fixing our broken sinks and his hair is getting long but I haven’t taken the time to cut it. I had a little cry in a parking lot the other day as a new level of reality set in about Paige leaving our house this year. I am happy and sad. I write and read and sew and try to create order in my lists and stitches and words as my little people spin into their own beings. It really does feel like a spin, this emergence of their individuality through all of the activities and study, milestones and challenges. It’s difficult to capture a picture of someone who is spinning.
This year I am studying the New Testament using some Bible commentary and a study guide. It’s an early morning pursuit that I try to do when the kids are asleep. After a few weeks of study I don’t think I’m much smarter, but I am gaining more empathy for the people around me through the example of the Savior. It has been helpful to know geography, politics, language, and culture of the day to see the importance of passages. However, as I study, what shines out beyond all of the historical trappings is Jesus ministering to individuals. (It’s about people, silly girl.) People occupied his hours, days, and sleepless nights. The needs of the people were relentless. He was busy meeting their needs, which he discerned by the Spirit, not just their words and actions. So many needs are never communicated aloud! There is such a need for love and discernment in our lives.
You must enlarge your souls toward others if you’d do like Jesus. As you increase in innocence and virtue, as you increase in goodness, let your hearts expand–let them be enlarged towards others–you must be longsuffering and bear with the faults of mankind. How precious are the souls of men. -Joseph Smith
One thing that Mark and I did for school yesterday was prepare some strawberry jam. My days with Mark are full. We move through the subjects each morning in a routine way, but that boy wants to talk to me all the time. He wants to tell me about Star Wars lore, Lego designs he is working on, his frustrations, Calvin and Hobbes comics, dry skin, skiing, friends, food, favorite flavors of Lifesavers candies, Chima Lego sets, career and college plans, etc., etc., etc…
It’s an exercise in focus for both of us. I try to understand what he’s saying and he tries really hard not to speak as he works on school assignments.
When the question came up in my scripture study about how to become more like a child, I immediately thought of Mark’s desire to connect with a parent. He wants to share almost everything with me. I should be more like that in my prayers.
…turn on the Christmas lights on my wreaths that are still hanging outside. It’s so dark outside this morning. I’m not sure why I haven’t put away the wreaths. Putting away all of the other Christmas decorations on December 31st was disturbingly satisfying.
What happened during the first week of school during 2015? Someone’s parked car rolled into our parked van at the high school. We had to go to bed and get up on time. We opened our last carton of egg nog, which I stockpiled at the end of the year. I ran expectantly to the front windows whenever I heard a big truck pass by, hoping that the doll faces pattern book that I ordered had arrived, but it never did. Timothy ordered some Legos and they at least arrived in time for weekend fun. By the time the weekend came, I was ready to watch some movies and Richard was ready to take the boys skiing. We did both. Richard and I pretended we were teenagers and watched The Giver and The Fault in Our Stars.
We loved The Giver and recommend it. We did NOT enjoy The Fault in Our Stars, which is strange because I hated reading The Giver and I loved reading The Fault in Our Stars.
It’s also strange that I said we felt like teenagers by watching these teen flicks. Our teens were too busy over the weekend with homework and other obligations to watch anything.