It was another long-list Monday.
One thing on my list was to deep clean the mudroom while doing laundry.
It’s no longer covered in dust, lint, clutter, and grime. I love spring cleaning.
An important lesson
I am teaching an important topic in Young Women tomorrow. I have spent so much time working on it and thinking about it. I read all of the suggested lesson materials, scripture references, and watched a handful of Bible movies. I read General Conference talks with the girls in mind.
Then I decided that I should anticipate questions they might have. I listed about 30 questions. I chose 22 of those questions and found scripture references to help answer each question. I typed up this list of 22 questions and scriptures to give to the girls. After printing them out and gluing a picture of the Savior on each copy, I finally realized that I had gotten carried away. WHO would take the time read 80 square inches of words in a small font that are only meant to make them THINK?
Planet Angie felt like a lonely place right then.
My hours of preparation are now whittled down to asking the girls to consider one question of their choice from only five possibilities. After the girls have had a chance to read scriptures and other materials about their topic and ponder for a bit, we’ll sit in a circle and share what we have learned and felt.
And then we’ll talk about how their understanding can influence the choices they make this week.
I will consider it a success if the girls can remember one thing that we talked about one week later.
30-22-5-1
Our Week
These frames are at Michaels in the dollar bins. These are Easter time pictures of each of the kids when they were about two years old. They were all such little sweeties.
I still have so many blank walls in the house. It’s daunting for me to decorate because I don’t put something on the wall unless it is meaningful to me, and that’s a tall order. I’ve been working on a few photo projects to cover some of these empty spaces in the house. I found this collage frame and filled it with photos of Richard and me for our bedroom.
As you can see, it’s still not on the wall. I have so many ideas, but perfectionism gets in the way.
Look at this picture I found:
Tres chic, I know. The baby’s hat! The scarf! The distinguished young man!
In other news, Richard had a birthday.
I made him good things to eat. What did he ask for? Lentil soup, steak, and lemon bars. Steaks are for the weekend. The Young Men were short on rides to the mountains for a night sledding expedition, so that’s what he did on his birthday. He went night sledding with the neighborhood teenage boys.
Paige took her first sick day since going to public school this week. She’s working on an art project with this selfie. She’s feeling better today.
Daniel is working the microphones for the school play. He goes to school at 6:45 a.m. and comes home for dinner, then back again for the performance. He likes working on the stage crew. He got his first taste of it when Paige was dancing in Arizona:
He’s a lot taller now.
I am going to begin teaching violin lessons next week. You have no idea how I agonized over my inability, then my lack of time, and finally my monthly rate. All of my creative energy this week went into that decision and then I took to my bed for a day in exhaustion and with an upset stomach. I’m such a Victorian that I should carry around smelling salts. Despite my turmoil, I believe it will help me to be teaching again.
Spring Lake house demolition
We stopped by at dusk last night to see the progress on my parents’ cabin demolition. It felt a little surreal to walk among the piles of rubble, and looked something like the pictures you see after a tornado.
We took my dad to dinner to celebrate the demolition, an early birthday for Richard, and a reading goal completed by the little boys. My mom was out of town to help take care of my grandpa who had surgery for cancer today. My day has been largely devoted to hopeful waiting for news. So far so good.
Some Essentials
I see some essentials in these photos that Richard captured. We have brothers who are also best friends, markers, a project, and lots of candy. There’s not much more that you need in life.
It’s Fun in the North, too.
A couple of weekends ago Richard and the big boys had a blowout winter sport extravaganza. I stayed warm and enjoyed a visit with my sisters.
This post looks short, but it took an hour to get these photos to post. I wrote and deleted a long post while I waited. You’re welcome. Now go have a great weekend.
Presidents Day
My brother-in-law Richard tells me that in Utah, the holiday is called Washington and Lincoln Day. Well, we celebrated it by climbing rocks.
Did you notice that Sparky is smiling in that one?
Well, that’s all for today. I need to get back to sorting papers, magazines, and toys from all of the baskets on our shelves. So far I have discovered that we have missed several non-required school assignments, allowed numerous gift certificates to expire, and that I need to stop hoarding personal letters. I also need to part with about 15 years of Taste of Home magazines. I just know that if I get rid of them, I am sure to be called to the Relief Society and have to plan meals for masses of people again and I will need those “recipes for feeding a crowd”. Come to think of it, perhaps it’s good insurance to keep them around.
A Day in Snow Canyon
We decided to take the kids to Snow Canyon on Saturday. Richard’s parents, his brother Russ and his family, and his sister Shari and two of her sons, and Rebecca’s daughter Susannah came with us. We had a great time walking beside the red sandstone cliffs. The cousins were very happy together. We brought a picnic lunch of fried chicken, rolls, and fruit which we ate ravenously after our adventures on the Johnson Canyon walk.
It seemed that the uniform of the day was fluorescent colors for most of the kids. They made a pretty rainbow along the path as they hurried ahead of the group.
We saw many families on bicycles in the park, and someday maybe we’ll do that. It seems funny that we haven’t taken advantage of this canyon before with the kids.
We landed at Rebecca’s house and ate cinnamon rolls and played on her swing (well, some of us). Sparky treed one of her cats and generally bothered Rebecca’s other cats. The adults went out for Mexican food that evening and had a great time.
As we talked about the day, Richard remembered all of the years of hearing about family gatherings and not being able to participate. Now we’re living a very different life with our parents and many siblings nearby. I am glad to be able to be within a few hours drive to the red rocks of southern Utah and the nice folks that live among them.
Goodbye, Round House
Demolition on my parents’ Round House begins this afternoon. We stopped by over the weekend to salvage some of the decorative tiles that the original owner placed under the eaves of the deck and in the floor of the family room. Daniel says that someday when he builds a cabin, he will use the tiles he has collected during his lifetime to decorate it.
Goodbye,Round House! We have loved you. Here’s a post I wrote about it several years ago.
My parents are building a new home on the land. I am very excited for them and for the family. It’s good that there are always projects to be done at the Spring Lake property.
Valentine Box
We have made our first valentine box ever. Ta da! It’s a Kleenex box and lids from milk containers. It took 10 minutes plus drying time. That’s my kind of craft. Mark and the boys are totally pleased with this Lego replica.
