I know I already posted a picture of this doll, but I finished her this week. I find these faces calming, and that’s good medicine. Have a great day.
Looking back and looking forward
Last night we planned to take down the Boy Scout flags that were up in our neighborhood for Memorial Day, but another family did it for us! We were thankful because Timothy was busy finishing his student body officer campaign video.
We gathered for a quick family home evening lesson and I asked the family to make a list of the top ten events of the school year.
- Timothy became a trombone player.
- Daniel served as a class officer.
- Paige was accepted to three colleges and was offered scholarships, but we are most excited that she will be going to BYU.
- Paige and Daniel played keyboards in the musical, Les Miserables.
- Mark read the Harry Potter series twice.
- Paige will graduate from Jordan High next week.
- Richard and I celebrated 20 years of marriage.
- We participated in the musical, From Cumorah’s Hill.
- Mark was home schooled and worked hard in Cub Scouts.
- The kids memorized pieces to perform for ensemble and solo piano federation events.
We set some summer goals after remembering all the work that has gone into the school year. We don’t want our summer to be wasted. I asked each family member to make two goals: a daily goal and a Sunday goal to work on this summer.
I read some quotes by Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the Seventy:
There is no room for average or complacent disciples. Average is the enemy of excellence, and average commitment will prevent you from enduring to the end.
Let me be clear: to “hang in there” is not a principle of the gospel. Enduring to the end means constantly coming unto Christ and being perfected in him.
I look forward to school getting out and having some new areas of focus.
Memorial Day
When I was writing my grandmother’s history a few years ago, I learned about two of her family members who were killed in WWII. Each was an only son of immigrants from Sweden. I want to remember them today. It is sad to me that they have no descendants to think of them on Memorial Day.
Pete Johnson’s son, Noble Johnson was killed on March 17, 1945 under the Remagen Bridge in Germany. He was a welder and working underwater to repair a part of the bridge when he was killed. He left behind his parents and a sister named Helen.
The other young man was Cerie’s cousin Harvey Nelson, who came home looking just fine after being wounded in the War. He died suddenly on May 7, 1949 from a piece of shrapnel that dislodged in his body. He was the only child of Judy, the widow of Waldemar Nelson.
It’s sobering to think of their sacrifice and their families’ grief. I can’t visit their graves, but I can write about them and honor their gift.
We made it!
I asked Paige to give me a copy of her AP art portfolio, so I’ll share some of it over the next few weeks. Happy Memorial Day weekend! Memorial Day always feels like a finish line to me. We made it!
What does it take to have music like that in my home?
Daniel and Paige played piano in public this week. Someone leaned over to me and asked what it takes to have kids play music like that in my home.
I deferred to Paige to tell the woman how long she’s studied piano, and I started thinking about “what it took” to get where we are now. My mind kept going back to the financial aspect of it as I drove away from the event in my 16-year-old van (which I love). Every month, instead of a car payment, we pay a piano teacher. Can a person learn to play piano with a less expensive teacher? Of course! But we wanted the opportunities a professional teacher could offer. We invested in a grand piano in 2007. The kids love this instrument and it is fun to play. This helps them want to practice. Can a person learn to play beautifully on an upright piano? Of course! For our family, having this piano in a music room has been a symbol of our commitment to music and this commitment has become part of our family culture. As for incentives for practicing, we don’t allow media time until the kids have practiced. That’s been a great motivator for the boys.
Besides the financial investment, there is an investment of time. By no means do I resent the money and time we have spent, but I started calculating how much time we have given for music study. Richard taught Paige for two years. I spend one afternoon a week shuttling kids to and from piano lessons. I’ve done that for 10 years. On piano lesson days, I don’t try to do anything that requires focused attention. I’ll fold laundry between lessons or do little projects around the house, but then it’s time to get in the car again. I have no idea how many hours I’ve spent driving. Piano lessons always go over time, so I wait. Waiting 20-30 minutes a week for 10 years means that I’ve spent over 200 hours sitting in the van waiting for the kids to finish piano lessons. Who knows how many hours I’ve spent waiting at ensemble rehearsals, judging events, and recitals. I read while I wait, so it’s nice. And then there is the time that I am home, monitoring practice, or making sure that it happens. I’m grateful that I am home to do this. Is our method the only way to produce great musicians? No! But every hour, every dollar, and every sacrifice is worth it “to have music like that in our home.”
Mark on the Move; Mom on the Floor
Mark is studying energy in science class. The information seeps into everyday conversations and is a new lens through which I see things. I’ll look at a photo and think, that’s a great example of mechanical energy, or, that trampoline has too much potential energy for that group of kids trying to jump on it together. Mark received a rubber band car for his birthday, and Richard pointed out that this would be a great energy experiment. All I could feel was gratitude that I didn’t need to come up with a science lab this week.
Timothy forgot his gym clothes yesterday and by some miracle I noticed it. I ran them down to the school and left them in the office. The receptionist added his name to a LONG list of students who would be called to the office to retrieve their forgotten work. One of the receptionists said that it was an especially “forgetful” day at the school and the office had seen a long stream of parents that morning, and it was only 8:30. It’s no wonder we forget things these days. There’s too much to remember.
HOW many more days until the schools relent on their activities and baseball comes to an end? WHY does the middle school think that it’s a good time to hold student body elections? We have to produce a video… immediately?! I’m trying to peel myself off the floor this morning and face this day. I wish I could handle this busy time, but I can’t. I canceled violin lessons yesterday and read the Bible instead. I couldn’t do another thing. I’m mostly okay with that decision. Mostly. 🙂
Look up!
Mark turns 9 years old today. We went to the Payson Temple open house this morning. It was a walking tour without a guide, but in one of the rooms, a volunteer reminded us to “look up.” The ceilings were glorious. Everything was special. It felt like home. I thought of my great-grandparents who had a farm one mile from the temple site. When I saw a painting of a woman with a basket of apples, I thought of my grandmothers who bottled fruit in this area during the Depression and beyond. I hope that Mark remembers some details of this magnificent temple and that it was part of his birthday celebration to be there. I hope that he and the kids remember to “look up” for approval, guidance, and perspective.
Nice Find
I read a book by Henry B. Eyring in 2012, just before we moved to Utah. I saved quotes from the book that were important to me, but I did it in a notebook that was shuffled around after the move. I found the notebook this week and as I looked through it, I found lists of names that I tried to remember from church in the first few weeks of living in Utah. I have misspelled names and omitted important family members of people that I now know so well that I call them dear to me. Also in this notebook I found these quotes from To Draw Closer to God and I’ll share a few with you today as we all continue to press forward.
None of the people for whom you are responsible can be truly served without your bearing testimony, in some way, of the mission of Jesus Christ. (p. 50)
You’ll understand people better if you assume that people’s behavior is rational, at least from their point of view. Try to see what they see. (p. 59?)
Be on the front row, early, whenever the Master calls. (p. 58)
If we stay at it long enough, perhaps for a lifetime, we will have for so long felt what the Savior feels, wanted what he wants, and done what he would have us do that we will have, through the Atonement, a new heart filled with charity. And we will have become like Him. (p. 71)
To know the Savior, then, is to be like Him. (p. 72)
I promise you that if you use your gifts to serve someone else, you’ll feel the Lord’s love for that person. You’ll also feel His love for you. (p. 88)
You won’t always see the miracles that come from your work, which is probably a blessing. If you did, you would get proud. But you can often underestimate what God is doing as He honors your calling. (p. 101)
The men and women who desire to obtain seats in the Celestial Kingdom will find that they must do battle every day. (Quoting Brigham Young) (p. 114)
How we react when we are surprised will tell our families whether what we have taught and testified lies deep in our hearts. (p. 180)
Our faithful effort to offer to our family the testimony we have of the truth will be multiplied in power and extended in time. (p. 182)
All of us in the pursuit of duty touch the lives of others. (p. 183)
First Class
Timothy received his First Class Rank this week. Richard prepared a great slideshow for the Court of Honor showing the activities from the last six months. This is going to be a fun couple of years with Richard and Timothy going on Scout camps together.
Hoover
When Timothy was younger, his coach in Arizona gave him the nickname of “Hoover vacuum cleaner” because he scooped up baseballs so well. He is still a ball-stopping machine as catcher and first baseman. I’ve heard a coach say that he is the best catcher among the city teams. He’s also a great first base player.
He’s also a consistent, strong hitter. More than that, I like to watch Timothy play baseball because he seems to have a good time doing it. He smiles, shakes off rough innings, and keeps a positive attitude. I love that quality in Timothy.
Richard is an assistant coach on Timothy’s team and Mark plays baseball at a different park on the same evenings. I’ve only been able to see Timothy play twice this season, but I’ve been to all of Mark’s games. We blinked and now baseball season is almost over. Wow, it’s been a quick one.
Time is something we can’t slow down, and it’s in the spring that I feel this the most. It’s Timothy’s last spring playing baseball. It’s Paige’s last month of high school. These moments are sifting through my fingers and I try to chase them and hold them down by describing them with words before they wander away on the wind.