Life goes speeding by!

On Tuesday, for Relief Society Homemaking meeting we went to Catholic Charities to see just where exactly the 100 pies we make every year in November go. They were super nice, and I love knowing that good people are looking out for our brothers and sisters. The only weirdness was when lovely Patrice (our hostess), typed in the wrong code for the alarm system as we went down to see the food pantry, so we spent about 20 minutes huddled in a hallway with a VERY loud alarm went off—making jokes about what the police blotter would report about the Mormons robbing the Catholics! In the end, 2 police cars showed up, but everything was resolved smoothly.

On Thursday, I got to drive down to the Columbus Temple with a sweet sister from my Ward. It was so nice being able to do something spiritual for myself. It was a very peaceful and relaxing session, and I am super glad I went, and we had a lovely lunch afterwards.

BigGirl and LargeBoy both had big weekend plans. BigGirl went to Ohayocon ("Ohayo" is Japanese for Hello, so it is a clever pun with "Ohio"--a convention for people who enjoy Anime, Manga and Japanese Culture--which perfectly describes BigGirl!) with her friend Danielle, and D’s brother & his wife, then went to church on Sunday with them, then I picked her up. She looked very cute in her costume—Toph Bei Fong from Avatar the Last Airbender (and, having learned a major lesson last year, packed plenty of food--a cooler full of Bento).

LargeBoy went hiking at Hocking Hills State Park with his best friend Tall Sam’s family (it is a little confusing that both of his best friends have the same name!)—it was lovely weather, which has since dropped like a rock into the single digits (from the 60’s!).

SmallDaughter & I also had a big weekend—we went to the lovely home of our Primary 2nd Counselor for a Primary Worker Brunch (she had a great time playing with the other kids and their toys!), then I took her to the carousel, where she (ironically, in my opinion, since she begs for horsies every time we drive past!) did not ride any horsies! She rode the tiger, giraffe (twice!), bunny, kitty, bear & chariot. Then I dragged her off to the library, and she spent the rest of the day, expressing her disgust at my actions and her desire to go ride the carousel some more!

In the evening I cleaned the Church, with help from LargeBoy & Tall Sam (They went back to Tall Sam’s afterwards), LargeCousin & Sister V. I had been worried that I would be alone to do it, so I was really relieved!

My Favorite Gentleman hasn’t been home since Christmas, so he doesn’t have much to report in news—he is really cold and working hard.

The funniest quotes do not come from my house, but from my dear Sister's, where my nephews work hard every day to make my life funnier!

Almost 4 Year old (singing):
“Mary had a little man,
little man,
little man,
Mary had a little man,
And it was quite a show.”

Also, the boys are excitedly planning the turning 4 birthday party. Last year he had a “baby cow” party, but this year his big brother(age 5) informed him that baby cows aren’t cool, and what he really needs is a “Bully-Cow” party! Blessedly, the only experience they have with “Bullys” is as daddy cows!

A New Year

I think it is very easy on blogs to get a pretty one sided view of the blogger. I know I often find myself feeling pretty down that I don't make my own yogurt or scrub down my baseboards monthly (seriously, I read blogs on both of those things today--I can honestly admit that I scrub my baseboards never!).

I could only show you the glossy highlights of my life. I want to do posts on how fabulously mellow and great our Christmas was. And how proud I am of my awesome teenagers (and how on earth, with parents like us, did they end up cool AND with rhythm? Mysteries abound!)And how awesome my Christmas party with my seminary kids went (the words hilarious and awesome spring immediately to mind!) And I could post pictures of the neat decorations we are making for a Young Women's Mother/Daughter activity (but I can't until Feb, because that one is a secret--but we are sure having fun with it!)

But instead I will confess that I spent the whole entire day working on the finances that I have been sorely (pathetically, really!) neglecting--for months . I KNOW it is not a big job to balance my checkbook, etc, if I do it every week. And, furthermore, I KNOW it turns into a big, hairy, stinky, nasty bearcat of a job if I neglect it. Sigh.

I am also worrying and praying for people I love. For babies to gestate and be born safely, for the hospitalized to have their Doctors guided and inspired, for the worried, confused, stressed and grieving to have their hearts lifted and their burdens made lighter. It makes me think of how, in the Book of Mormon, when Alma and his people were slaves to the Lamanites (and the renegade Nephites), who treated them horribly and forced them to carry heavy burdens, that the miracle they were given was NOT to have the burdens removed. It was that they were strengthened so the burdens seemed light. I pray for miracles like that for those I love whose burdens seem almost to heavy to bear.

2013. Maybe I will be able to dink around less, and accomplish a few things that will stay done! In general, I avoid New Years Resolutions (I merely have to look at my track record to see why!), and prefer to think of each day as a great place to jump in and become better.

But I am still not betting that I will scrub my baseboards every month.

Christmas Capes

I got the CTR Hero Capes finished in the nick of time--not a panicked last minute sewing (Thank Goodness!)--but I ran out of fabric paint and had to wait till I could go to the "big city store" to get more, so I finished them while watching a movie Saturday Night, so they could dry all night, then got them bundled up.

They seem to have been a hit--almost every child wore them for the rest of Primary.

The sweet little ones show off their "Hero Style"

Here are some Hero Girls with ATTITUDE!
(And, you could not find sweeter, better girls if you tried!)

(The big girls had to move their long hair out of the way so it didn't cover the CTR shields for the picture!)

I made (of course!) Red, Yellow & Blue capes (The Primary Colors!)--but the little ones overwhelmingly picked blue!

Kitty Update

We have moved our last batch of kittens out to the barn/garage. They do not like this decision. The barn does not contain any of the things they like about the house—soft places to curl up in (favorites are whatever I am attempting to sew and the newly folded basket of laundry), or yummy things on the counter to eat (which is one of the reasons they are banished from the house!) The funniest thing has been trying to use the spray bottle as negative reinforcement for being on counters and tables. It works, and is very effective—except SmallDaughter LOVES to spray them, and whenever she can get her hands on the bottle, the cat is going to get it—which confuses them—“how is sleeping (on the floor in a patch of sunshine) naughty like being on the counter?” Less effective training, but pretty hilarious!

They are more pathetic than our other batches (or maybe I just forget the past!). Since the back screen-door screen is ripped, they can jump up and sit on the edge of the doorframe, just at the height to peek in through the glass window of the back door. And meow piteously. And occasionally, fall into the gap between the doors—always good for some amusing sound effects! It doesn’t worry me particularly, since the screen door doesn’t latch, and when they remember, they can just push on the right side of the screen-door to get out.

However, girl kitty (I think she is the one named Snickers) climbed through the mail slot on the front door last week, and got stuck between the door and the screen-door—which both latch securely and are much more solid! She will be too big for that trick very soon (I actually thought she already was!). They do keep things entertaining! SmallDaughter was just showing them her plate of scrambled eggs through the window. Very amusing from this side! Pretty darn pathetic from the other side!

I am in the finishing stages of sewing a bunch of capes for the primary kids. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. The theme for Primary this year was “Choose The Right” At the beginning of the year, our Primary Presidency decided to have a “CTR Hero”, which is a child we spotlight, and tell about a few of their good choices. I made a really awesome, swishy red cloak, with a very flashy CTR shield on the back—outlined in really blingy gold glitter.

Since I have no personal dignity, each week I don this piece of awesome, and swoop around the seated children, looking for my “Hero”. After I give some clues and they guess the child, the chosen one gets to wear the cape (and a crown) for the rest of primary. It has gone over very well. So, we are giving each child a smaller version of the CTR cape as a Christmas gift. My living room floor is covered with Red, Yellow and Blue capes, now embellished with a sparkly silver fabric paint “CTR” Shield on the back. Last night, I put on a movie and applied fabric paint (to the CTR that I had already traced on the back with a stencil and a sharpie!)—after I had put SmallDaughter to bed and made sure there were no critters in the house! Then they got to peacefully dry without anybody touching or stepping on them, YAY! They look really good—I hope the kids like them.

The most exciting news (for me, at least!)—is that I got a Serger for Christmas! While this does not fill everybody else with joy, I have been wanting, wishing, lusting and pining for one since I was in college! And now, I have a really awesome, brand new machine! And it is great! They do such different things than a regular sewing machine; it is rather like asking if a can opener or a blender is a better/more important kitchen tool. I need them both to be as effective as possible. And, because of My Dear Sister’s brilliance, I have set up a little sewing room in the back hallway (by the attic stairs, at the top of the kitchen stairway). It took a couple of weeks and a lot of work to clear out all the detritus that has accumulated over the last 5 years since the top stair broke, but it is working great now!

My Christmas Post

Here is my (now) Annual Christmas Post.  I wrote it in 2011 for  Heidi Poppins, but the Christmas Music is back on the radio, and I am back on my Pandora and YouTube mixes.  Just an FYI--each word in blue (on the words "Truly great music of the ages")  links  onto a beautiful performance of a beautiful Christmas Carol.

I have stopped listening to "The Christmas Station" on the radio. I used to love to turn it on in the background to help me get into a Christmas-sy mood--but now it just enrages me, so I leave it off.

There is a simple explanation (and no, it is not my hormones making me madder than David Banner on a bad day!). It is that some of the greatest music ever written is about the birth of the Christ Child--and very, very little of that great music is played on the radio. Instead, we are subjected to the worst twaddle of the twentieth century (and yes, I am referring to Wham's nausea inducing "classic" "Last Christmas" or the electronic saccharine of "Do They Know It's Christmas").

Apparently 1984 was the bottom of the barrel, song-wise--or it would have been, except that was the year that Mark Lowry wrote the words to "Mary Did You Know" (although it took another six years for someone to set it to music).

In this song, the author, Mark Lowry cites a laundry list of disabilities and sorrows that the Savior miraculously healed. Most of us know or have interacted with people who were blind, deaf, crippled or lamed in one way or another. When I was young I wondered if being "dumb" or mute still existed, because I had never met or even heard of someone who was mute. Very few people have.

Now I am the mother of one.

Partially the reason we don't hear about it is that the name has changed. Now it is called being "non-verbal"--which is actually more accurate. My daughter can not speak, but she is FAR from being the silent creature that the word "mute" implies, and, while she has neurological and developmental issues, no one who has ever met her would consider her "dumb". Also, it is statistically quite rare.

However, that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't speak. I have never heard her say "mama" or tell someone her name or how old she is. She can’t tell me where it hurts, or what she is thinking about. I would give anything to understand what is going on in her head, what she wants and how she feels.

Which is why listening to "Mary Did You Know" invariably reduces me to tears, especially when it is sung (perfectly) by Kathy Mattea.




This song is not only beautiful, reverent and thought provoking, but when she sings (at 2:07) that "the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb" I am reminded that the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of Him who heals all sorrows, including my non-verbal child. I know that someday, my funny, loving, adorable daughter will look into her Savior’s face and "sing his praises".

So, instead of listening to the radio, I made myself a playlist on YouTube, so I can listen to the truly great music of the ages.

May you have a wonderful, joy filled Christmas--and may you be aware of the miracles that you take for granted every day.

While there are some people who would say my children are too old for story books, we know the truth:  You are NEVER too old for a really good story, and if it comes with great pictures--even better!

So, with that said, if you haven't been introduced to "Diary of a Wombat" by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley--go now, to your nearest library, and enjoy it STAT!

So fun and charming!  and such a fun introduction to an animal that lives far across the world from our family!

And, we were super excited to find that our good old friend Wombat has been joined by other friends!

AND

and then, moving on to something completely different:

"Always in Trouble" by Corinne Demas and Noah Z. Jones

and then something completely different in a completely different direction:

"Waiting for Winter" (hilariously) written and (gorgeously) illustrated by Sebastian Meschenmoser

This one may be my very favorite.  It is clever, thought provoking, and hilarious, and I love the illustrations!

Also,  if you happened to have missed the dynamic duo of Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, your life is sadly incomplete.  

Tacky the Penguin now has EIGHT books!

and don't miss their other beloved classics, such as:

"Me First" ("Would anyone care for a Sand Witch?")

"All for Me and None for All"

"It Wasn't My Fault"

and, 

of course

"A Porcupine Named Fluffy"

Just a week in the life!

We had Sunday Seminary today after an excellent Stake Conference.  We are starting Luke, so we went through Chapter 1, with the birth of John and the miracles and prophecies that went with it.  Then we started Luke 2.  The most interesting part was the contrast of having LargeCousin, BigGirl & LargeBoy, who have heard the story every year of their lives, and Constance, who is not a member (her dad joined a year ago, she is investigating—I just LOVE her—she is awesome!), and their differing perspectives.  She asked such excellent questions, it was great.

My class is really excellent.  They are such great people, and they get along well—no conflicts or antagonism.  We also, besides our regular people, have BrotherC (the little brother of BrotherA, who is in the class), who is only 12, but loves coming—and I am not about to discourage anybody who likes to come and is burning up the Scripture Mastery!  He wants to have his 1000 days of scripture reading by the time he’s a sophomore!

 I had seminary inservice yesterday, which is always enjoyable. My main insight for today (I found it interesting, at least!)  is that when Christ was hanging on the cross, and he said  (in Mark chapter 15, verse 34 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  He was quoting Psalm 22.  And, he expected his audience (who had been trained in Jewish Scholarship) to know—and extrapolate—the entire chapter from that one line.  Look it up during your scripture study.  It is very evocative imagery.   

I got to drive my new car down.  It is so nice! 

We had a nicely busy week--lots of things, but not crazy. Last Saturday, (the day BigGirl went on her date) LargeBoy and I spent the morning at the “University of Scouting”.  We got a lot of good training.  The only thing that makes me sad is that just as I get this scout thing figured out, LargeBoy is out of that phase—I need more boys to use my new knowledge on!!

On Monday, I went to Norwalk in the morning and picked up the election supplies, then, in the afternoon SmallDaughter had riding (tomorrow-Monday the 12^th is her last day this year—she will be so bummed!  She misses the horsies by Tuesday—let alone for 4 months!).    Tuesday was the election, which was nicely busy, but everybody was polite, and it was actually the smoothest election I have presided over.  We were very blessed!  For our little Township precinct (everybody in the area surrounding our town, but not actually in the city limits) we had GREAT turnout (85 absentee votes, and 265 live voters, out of 519 registered!).  It is always a long day, but I like the people I work with, and the people we see every year in our precinct. 

Of course, Wednesday was Scouts & Young Women.  The girls are getting ready for “YW in Excellence” next week.  SmallDaughter goes in to the nursery where the Faith in God girls meet, and she plays with the toys, and enjoys being near her friends.  The girls have adopted her—they talk to her, and watch out for her—it is SO sweet!

Thursday was Cub Scout Committee meeting.  Blessedly, our Committee has grown from my first meeting (which was just me and UberScoutMom!)  She was basically running the whole show single-handedly all last year.  Things are slowly progressing.  For quite a while, it was just four of us, then we added our representative from the Bishopric, and now (drumroll, please…) we FINALLY have new Webelos leaders—Scott H. is a new member of the Church, and he is gung-ho!  My dad has been called as his assistant.  I am really excited for this new year. 

My main job is generating papers—I do the monthly newsletter, and any other papers they need.  This week, I made a flyer for the bulletin, because we are starting a Uniform Exchange.  I also made invitations for the Ward Christmas Party, because the poor Sister in charge is basically doing it all by herself (I am not really a fan of having the Activities committee disbanded). 

I was looking all over for my purse on Thursday evening, so I could go to committee meeting, and I was going crazy, because I remembered hanging it up—but IT WAS NOT THERE.  I cleaned out the coat closet, and went room by room—no luck.  Finally, when I checked SmallDaughter’s room—mystery solved!  She is sure getting taller!

On Friday, we went to Wal-Mart and got the kids portraits.  They turned out cute, and I was very pleased.  BrotherA & BrotherC had another sleepover here, and BigGirl had a sleepover with her friend S, for her (S’s) 16^th birthday.  The boys burned the sticks in the yard (everything that had blown down in all the wind and that I chopped in my crazed Nopper escapade!) and had a cookout (we picked up supplies while we were at Wal-Mart, and I got them the HUGE marshmallows—which are almost a fatal dose to an adult—but they had eaten the whole bag by the time I got home from inservice!)

On Saturday, LargeBoy and the boys watched SmallDaughter while I was at my inservice, and after BigGirl got home from her party, LargeBoy and I went to his Order of the Arrow banquet.  I am really proud of him.  He is also filling out a job application to work at Scout Camp next summer—which is great, because they are the one job that doesn’t mind if he takes time off to go to the Reunion and then more time off to go the National Jamboree!

SmallDaughter has been being super cute and funny—although BigGirl was pretty grumpy when she realized that after all the work she had put in making chicken soup and rolling and cutting out homemade noodles (she took The WonderDog over to Kelly’s house for a bath while the noodles dried)—when she got back, she found that SmallDaughter had poured a whole bottle of cinnamon on them, and rubbed it in!  (BigGirl just used store bought noodles in the soup, and deep fried the noodles, and rolled them in cinnamon sugar—they were good!) 

I am off to bed to get ready for another week of adventures!