If they know who loves them . . .

A friend recently posted her thoughts on the troubles in our world. They aren't even out there somewhere in the world anymore, but in our own neighborhoods these days. It reminded me of a few things I've been thinking about lately, like: how do I raise confident, spiritually centered, contributing, successful citizens in a world that continues to focus on "me" and "satisfying me". There seems to be an endless list of reasons to keep my kids locked away for life in the safety of our home. But, then I think of the beauty, the unique, and the incredible that is out there in the world and the ever expanding opportunities for good and learning and there is no way that I could ever deny them of that. I have a friend who is home-schooling her children, which I don't have any opinion about one way or the other, you do what is best for your children and your situation. But, I think she has choosen this out of fear regarding what 'could happen'. Are we denying our children opportunities because we are afraid? Is it right to do that out of a desire to protect? Are we letting the bad win because we are afraid to stand up to it? I don't know. That is a really hard question for me to answer, because as a mother I find I'm crazy about my kids. I'm fast realizing though, that one of the tricks of parenting, that my wise mother once warned me about, is that it is a process of letting go, not holding on. As a mother I need to teach my children not only what is right, but how to know what is right, because I may not always have the answer. They need to have that power within them. They need to have the desire to discover, to learn, to put that knowledge to work and use it for good, to seek to do the right and have the courage to change direction when they are wrong. They need to not just know about Jesus, but to know him, to have a trust, a faith in Him that is unyeilding - that it is never too late and that they'll make mistakes, but that they can make them right. They need to do things because they are right, not because they are afraid. So, how do I do that? That is exactly what I keep wondering . . . and honestly, I'm not sure. But, I do know what my parents did, and that if I do those things that keep me centered on what is most important, if I try my best to really listen to my kids and "be there" for them - not just at games and important events, but in the day to day humdrum, that maybe, just maybe somewhere, somehow, they'll get it. The older they get the harder it is to cut through all the 'have to dos', the 'they need this to succeed', the 'extra-activities that will give them an edge' and get to the most important things, like time just to play, time just to talk and time just to love. I think that somewhere in there is the trick, the key to giving them all that they need to succeed - to know who they are and where they are going because they know who loves them.

The Temple Primary Activity

Well, I survived! And so did Big D! I haven't left him at all with anyone other than J.D. & Grandmas when he was tiny and was nervous because I knew I'd be gone for at least 3 hours with this activity. I had planned an activity day for primary April 26th, yesterday, on purpose, so that I would have it done before I attempted to return to work after Big D was born. Which, the closer it gets to work being a reality, the more I'm re-thinking reality! Trying to fit Primary into life is a challenge on most days, so I'm really not sure where I'm going to find time to work 8 hours a week. J.D. and I have been talking about it a lot and I think we've decided that I should at least try it. It is so flexible (12 hours every two weeks in 4, 8 or 12 hour shifts, whatever and whenever I want) and with per-Diem wage it is very worth my time as far as money goes, but we'll have to figure out if it is worth my time as far as the kids, J.D., primary and well, the kids goes! So, anyway - back to the original purpose in writing . . . we had a primary activity yesterday "The Temple is a Treasure". It is all I've been thinking about for the last several days, why I haven't had time to post anything in awhile, and why my house is a disaster today! A new temple is being built here - the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It is about 15 minutes away just off Bangerter Highway. We are very excited because we will be in the new temple district.


Here it is, under construction. It overlooks the entire Wasatch Front, so on a clear day you could see the Draper, Jordan River temple from its location. During its dedication, President Monson challenged us to build our own personal temples as we watch this one being built. Of course he meant that in a spiritual sense, but I thought it would make into a great primary activity. So, on Saturday we built our own temple!!! We had the kids go in their classes on a scavenger hunt in the church building for boxes, and they also got a clue about a gospel standard. In order to build the temple they had to act out the gospel standard . . . just like in real life, in order to go to the temple we have to be worthy and live the gospel standards and principles. It was great fun, and as you can see we built a fabulous temple. As with all activities, things never go exactly as planned -- one class thought they needed to unwrap the box - hence the brown box in the lower corner. And we had a few classes that claimed to not be able to find their box (my husband's class included -- it was behind the door). But, we had about 70 kids there, and for a Saturday morning in April I thought that was pretty good, considering the dance classes, recitals, baseball & soccer games going on. I'd like to see more, but when you have 140 in primary on Sunday, it's always nice to deal with a smaller number! (There are about 230 kids in our ward, 180 in primary and 50 in nursery.) Big D stayed with a friend in the ward and did great and I managed to be too stressed to think about him, which was probably a good thing. On to a great stretch of nothing BIG to do in Primary!!! Our next activity isn't until August, our annual Neighborhood Bike Parade and then the program in October. Yeah!

Master S' 1st Book

Master S has been doing great in Kindergarten - he is reading almost everything in sight these days, which means I have to explain a lot of things that I haven't had to in the past. And it also means that I'm a little more careful about what he sees in the paper - amazing how having a 6 year old reading changes your perspective on what is lying on the table as he's getting ready for school. So, anyway - he's doing great with reading, but is having a difficult time with his writting. Any wonder . . . have you seen his dad's handwritting?!?! J.D. is definately a programmer for a reason - no need to write legibly. So, Master S' teacher wanted us to work on this - but, have you ever tried to convince a 6-year old boy to practice his handwritting? Especially when there is a wii next to the T.V. or sunshine and friends outside? We happened to read a book from the library one night, "The Show and Tell Lion" that talked about a boy who made books for show and tell about his imaginary lion. This sparked Master S' intrest, because he loves show and tell and when we went to the dentist the following day he found the perfect topic to write about -- a wiggley tooth! Yes, he is definately six now - wiggley tooth and all. We sat down this week and spent time each night writting the book and then drawing pictures to go with it, which being the picture taking mom that I am, I promptly took pictures and thought it would be fun to post on the blog. He was so excited to share it with his class and took the book for show and tell and Friday and it was big hit. Hopefullly a big enough hit that we will have future topics to write and about and share, for somemore creative handwriting practice!

Some kind of Wonderful

Here I am, finally getting with it and starting my own blog! I kept waiting for J.D. to put together a web site for our family . . . enough said. So, I'm venturing out and attempting to be creative with something other than Kindergarten homework and Primary Activities, which may prove to be a challenge. It may take a few postings to dust off that part of my brain, so just keep that in mind as you read this! On February 13th we welcomed a new addition to the family, Big D. While he is a delightful baby and I am trying to soak in every minute, knowing they grow up so quickly - it adds a certain dimension of busy-ness to life with an ever present feeling of never getting anything done! How can one be so busy and not get anything done, you say? Well, things get done, it's just things like feeding the baby, chainging the baby, doing the laundry (which never gets done it just rotates), and the fixing of meals (which are a rotation of spaghetti, mac n' cheese, sanwiches, cold cereal and fozen pizza). None of these things ever really get done, in that you can't cross them off your list until next week, but they are perpetually staring you in the face every few hours. At least I know I'm needed - that is definately aparent at 3 am when Big D is crying from the bassinet and J.D. is snoring peacefully through the noise. What would they do without me?!?! Ah, well - life may be a crazy mix of tasks that seem to never end, but it is also full of first smiles and giggles, the singing, dancing, and imaginative play that only a two year old princess can perform, the pounding of several pairs of 6-year old boy tennis shoes on my floor, excitedly planning their next neighborhood spy game, baseball adventure or star wars lego quest, and the delightful ramblings of a husband who dares to spend time with 11-year old boy scouts once a week and joyfully embraces the troubleshooting life of a programer. Life may be crazy, but it is definately some kind of wonderful!