Sunday, December 16, 2012

Oh, December.

Well, I have set a new record for blogging lameness. I don't know if I have ever gone more than a month without blogging since I started this blog, comin' up on 10 years ago! Go, me! But when I tell you why, you will empathize.

 So November--sick baby, trip to Utah for Thanksgiving, sick mommy...nary a photo of any of this, but trust me, it was a great Thanksgiving. Before we left I was released from the Primary Presidency and called to be the Ward Music Chair and the Ward Historian, which is kind of awesome, although leaving Primary makes me cry (I've found a way to linger longer by pinch-hitting as chorister while they find a new one, mwahaha).

Anyway, our trip-- Adeline turned 11 our first day in Utah. Nana and Aunt Jill gave a her a fun party. Our family dinner was sweet, and so was the post-TG cousin gathering the next day. But then we came home and I was tired and I got out all the Christmas stuff and we put up the tree for FHE on the 26th. Then Friday night November 30th our whole family went on the Christmas stroll and had soup and s'mores at The Pickle Barrel. It was super fun. The next day we did family pictures and went to Hailey Strupp's baptism and got an offer on our house. On Monday the 3rd we made a counter offer at noon and it was accepted that evening AND THEN MY HEAD EXPLODED. We got the kids to bed and stayed up late looking at real estate on the iPad and had our realtor call to make a verbal offer on a house we have liked for a while--the only house on the market nicer and bigger than ours. She called just as the owners signed the cancellation agreements with their agent and took the house off the market. After almost 2 years. WHAT? I know, you can't make this stuff up. So then we frantically looked at a bunch of houses, raised our budget a tiny bit (cuz hubs is a rock star and his credit score is near perfect and he scored us a rock-bottom interest rate) and got pre-approval and realized that we have to build a new house (here's where I start bleeding out my eyes...ARRRRRRGH!). So yeah...packing at Christmas time.

Oh, and did I mention that Niles has been freakishly ill since the end of September and we finally went to an ENT, got a referral,  and he had ear tubes put in and his adenoids removed so he can breath and hear now? Well, that happened yesterday and he is already so much better. Babies + General Anesthesia= almost too much for me. But he ruled that recovery.
Oh, and did I mention I am the new music chair? And it's Christmas, the most musical time of the year? Yeah, so there's that, plus a ward slideshow where I sorted through 600+ pix, created an awesome soundtrack, and then wrestled Windows8 into submission (Oh, and did I mention our computer died and we got evil Windows 8 and I have had to relearn everything I ever knew? Yep. I told Rich, "The spirit of Tom Hapgood is in this room laughing at us right now for not buying Mac!").

And we all lived happily ever after. (Well, after we drove 1400 miles each way to Christmas in Arizona and packed up our house and lived in a rental for 4-5 months)

So here are some photos:
This one is for Gramma Lyn...look at your snuggly boy!

Niles helped me fluff the tree on Nov. 26th.

We visited Santa on the Christmas Stroll November 30th, but Niles was having none of it.

Only with Daddy.

Addie & Heidi getting soup at Pickle Barrel

My Sunshines.

My big and my little lovies, post-s'mores.

Santa Daddy and James
 

Me & my girl
***
 
December 13th we celebrated St. Lucy's Day and the kids slept at Grandma's house that night so we could get up at 5am and take Niles to the Hospital in Bozeman for his surgery. We had a fun Lucia night with Grandpa & Grandma Melin.
Addie-Lucy serving peparkakor to James our star boy.

Lucia & Her attendant singing Feliz Navidad.
[We are nothing if not multi-cultural around here: Mormons celebrating a Swedish/catholic/Lutheran holiday with Mexican Carols!]


Niles is in awe
 


Star Boy, Lucy, &" Moon Girl"
...here's wishing you plenty of bright, warm days as 2013 unfolds...may your days be merry & bright like the light St. Lucy brought.



Monday, November 12, 2012

Early November Photos

If you're my facebook friend you know that my desktop computer died last week and I lost my bearings for a minute there. To add insult to injury, our new computer uses Windows 8 and it's hard to learn my way around. ACK! I'm too old for this, my brain is not as elastic as it used to be. Anyhoooo, here we are and I am thankful to be back in the blogging saddle. Here are some photos:
All our jack-o-lanterns, grown in the ranch garden by Grandma & Grandpa. Addie's Owl, Niles' silly face, Mommy's leaves, Daddy's PacMan, James' dinosaur, and Heidi's Spooky face.

Our Thankful Tree, put up on November 3 and thankful leaves added at family night on November 5.

The whole tree features these pretty ornaments from Mama B., Ellen Buchert. She paints the botanicals, then mounts them on handmade paper with a twine loop and they are beautiful. Looking at the tree with her paintings on it reminds me of "For the Beauty of the Earth"...good thought for a month of gratitude. The prickly pear is my favorite, and the pomegranate, as both grew in our yard in Arizona.

Thankful Tree is living in a real milk bucket this year, with a family photo hanging prominently.

Another shot of Ellen's pretty ornaments.

We had a blizzard just in time for a long weekend...the girls built a little igloo.

Snuggling in their snowdrift la-z-boys

cold Adeline

Wild Heidi

Cute sisters

Having a good laugh.
***

I've got more to write, lots of thoughts, a surprising pit in my stomach since midnight the sixth, and some gratitude mixed in there, too. I'll be back, now that I've learned how to turn this new-fangled computer on, heh, heh.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Learning from Alma in the Tub

I have been under the weather, taking things a bit slower than usual, which has given me time to read a lot. I’ve read so much good stuff this week, I want to share some of my favorite quotes and insights.

Later I will share about the Rich Young Man and some anti-behaviorism stuff I read from Alfie Kohn, but TODAY I read “The Book of Alma: Lessons for Today” in the October Ensign and I just found it so timely (I am sure that was the intent of the editors, I’m no dummy), given that Election Day is two weeks away, and considering the tumult in the world.

The author, Elder Peiper, introduces his ideas by pointing out that there must be something relevant to us in this book since Mormon did not edit it out. There are twenty chapters dedicated to telling us how the Nephites defended their system of government (judges vs. kings) and their liberty. He distills three main lessons for us to maintain our own liberties: (1) Maintain proper desires and motives, (2) Be kind and generous to the less fortunate (my fave), and (3) Listen to and follow inspired leaders. Here are my favorite parts, quotes I think we should ponder and take to heart:

I) “Their desire was to preserve their agency—the right to act in righteousness and to answer for their own conduct—rather than have a king prescribe their conduct. Their motive was to preserve equality under the law, specifically their liberty to worship God and maintain their church.”

“There are and always will be in societies forces seeking to manipulate public opinion to obtain power for personal gain. There is a temptation to adopt their motives and turn the conflict into a power struggle. The Lord’s way is to always act based only on pure desires and motives…” –If we want God’s support, we do things His way.

II) I am particularly fond of this next story because I'm kind of an Ammon fan, and I love that the people he taught were so committed to being like Jesus that they buried their weapons of war and vowed to never fight again. And did the Nephites mock them and call them dirty hippies? NO! They defended them and supported them... 
"When their former enemies, the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were threatened with destruction, the Nephites voted to give them a place to live and build new lives and provided them with protection. Because the Anti-Nephi-Lehies had taken an oath never to take up their weapons of war again, they provided instead 'a large portion of their substance to support the Nephite armies during these critical times. Nevertheless, there is no record that the Nephites treated these immigrants with anything other than respect and love, even though they must have been an easy political target for those who wanted to stir up dissension.

"The kind treatment the Nephites gave to the people of Ammon, as they came to be called, was reciprocated and eventually contributed to the formation of one of the most inspiring military brigades in recorded history—the 2,000 stripling warriors. Ironically, the service of these young men may have been the key to preserving Nephite society from an early destruction.

"In times of internal dissension, external attack, and economic challenges, there is a tendency to become negative toward those who are 'not like us.' It becomes easy to become critical of them and make judgments. One might question their loyalty to and value in society and their impact on our economic well-being. These negative responses are inconsistent with the Savior’s charge to love our neighbors as ourselves, and they create polarization, contention, and isolation."

III) Then Elder Peiper talks about how Moroni helped the people prepare temporally by building fortresses and armor, and Helaman prepared them by strengthening their faith and righteousness so the Holy Spirit could guide them through the conflicts. "By listening to the temporal and spiritual direction of inspired leaders, the Nephites were preserved."

“We are blessed to live in a day when the Lord has called living prophets, seers, and revelators to warn us and guide us to prepare for today’s challenges. In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) gave inspired instruction and warning to Church members: ‘The time has come to get our houses in order. So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings. …The economy is a fragile thing. … There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.’"

Did you read that? Our prophet warned us CLEARLY that a financial crisis was building a full ten years before it crashed. It is wise to gain our own testimony of our prophet and inspired leaders today so we can follow and be prepared like the Nephites.A favorite quote of mine from D&C38:30  is "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I add my witness to that...we have no need to fear when our hearts and minds are aligned with the Savior's. I am grateful for this article. It reminded me that there is something to liken to ourselves in every story in the Book of Mormon. I am so happy to have this book "for our day, when people hunger; for our time when good men wander--a book is designed to give help divine for our day."

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Chilly Thursday

For Activity Days last night (church group for girls 8-11) the girls took apples and pumpkin dip for their healthy snack. We had the leftovers for dessert tonight a discovered a recipe for mini-pumpkin pies. Here it is--you try, you like!
The ingredients are simple: Ritz crackers, Pumpkin Dip, Nutmeg, and Whipped Cream. Here's how you make pumpkin dip: Beat 2 cups of pumpkin puree with 8oz of VERY soft cream cheese; stir in 1-3/4 cup of Powdered sugar +2ts pie spice. We also love it on apples, pears, carrots, and Stacy's Gingerbread chips (like the pita chips).

So you spread some pumpkin dip on a Ritz cracker, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg. If you like pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, you also might like these with a schmear of nutella first, then pumpkin, cream, and nutmeg. Tiny, tasty pumpkin pies!


Addie's friend Sarah came over to play & have dinner with us one last time before she moves to Idaho. They had a ton of fun playing make over with our new hair crimper, and then they had fun making and eating mini-pies!

Here are the girls in action (oh, Heidi...!)

Addie & Sarah

Here are Sarah & Addie up at Pine creek...I think this was 2007.
Addie, Sarah, and Heidi


Heidi with freshly-crimped hair

Oh, it warmed my heart to see my boys wrestling today! The thing that really got me through my pregnancy with Niles was knowing James would have a brother, and it's so great to see them do brother stuff!

RRRRWAAAAAWRRR!

Glimpses of Conference Weekend

LDS General Conference Weekend has become quite the holiday around our house. This conference was especially pleasant and mellow for me because I was so prepared for it. I had the food and activities all ready, I cleared my schedule, and best of all I took the facebook Conference Challenge and read a conference talk from April 2012 every day of September and wrote about them in a  journal. I was ready to listen, but also relaxed knowing I would have six months to study what I heard this weekend. Good stuff!

Conference began with a BANG Saturday morning when President Monson announced a new temple in my hometown/heartland, TUCSON; and THEN he announced that mission ages had been lowered to 18 for men and 19 for women. You shoulda heard the hallelujah's pouring from our house! As I said on facebook, "19 year old sisters is just God's way of saying 'go on, girls--GIITER DONE!" We loved all the talks & music, the press conference and the World Report and just spending the weekend together in our "chill pants" being edified. Rock on.

Heidi's notes from first session


Potato Soup on the stove for Saturday night dinner. I had some friends & their kids over during priesthood session--FUN!

Elder Uchtdorf's talk= Conference Bingo Blackout for Addie Rose! Prize: jerky/

Daddy with his boys during second session.

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Are You KIDDING Me?

 Yesterday when the kids came home from school it was 81 degreesF and super windy. Seriously.
We woke up this morning to 29 degreesF
(I slept with my window open, btw) and THIS:


Big kids and Dad leaving for school

Niles did NOT want to come in, but he also didn't want to wear mittens.

Well...Happy Fall, Y'all!

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Happy Belated Birthday to the Hausfrau

I've posted before (but I can't find the link) about how miraculously our wants and needs are fulfilled sometimes (often). So here I go again...

It is my morning routine to get the kids dressed and start a load of wash (their dressers are in the laundry room). So yesterday I started a load, saw the kids off, then went back down stairs and heard a horrific grinding noise. I followed it to the laundry room where I found the washer growling--trying to run a spin cycle, but the tub was not spinning. FRICK!

[We knew this day was coming--the washer and dryer are 16 years old and I do 10-14 loads of wash a week, so, you know, do the math. But I digress...]

So I called Richard and told him the dreaded day had come. He sighed and said he would start looking for replacements. He checked the refurbished store here, he checked craigslist, and started pricing out our options. When he went back to craigslist, there was a new post from a nice neighborhood in Bozeman advertising a set--2002 washer & dryer in great condition-- for $250!! Two -hundred fifty bucks, y'all! So Rich emailed the guy and we waited with fingers crossed all day--Rich even showed faith by picking up our trailer on his lunch hour so he could haul them. Sure enough, the man called back and we had a fun family night picking up our new washer and dryer. We've done 4 loads already and they work like a charm--so quiet, so pretty. This seems like a lucky coincidence, but we know it's a blessing and we are so grateful!

Also, may I just give an enormous shout out to my amazing hubs? In less than 10 hours I went from having the old washer break to running a new load in my new washer (in a very clean laundry room, no less). Do you see the wonder in that statement? Not that there's anything wrong with taking longer, going to the laundromat, etc...but the beautiful thing is I almost never have to do things like that because my husband is a freaking GENIUS. He is a doer, and I love that about him (it pairs so nicely with my lack of patience, lol). K, end of brag. Love ya, Richard!

Monday, October 01, 2012

Mourn With Those That Mourn

I got sucked into this 4-hour podcast interview with an acquaintance from back home in Arizona. Of course his story was heart-crushing and disappointing, but it also led me down a thinking-path I will try to put into words.

I have spent a ton of time the past couple of years talking and listening to friends who have left the church. I find a couple of common threads that make their experiences different than mine. First, the ( false) belief inculcated by our church culture the past 40-50 years in the infallibility of the prophets and apostles--believing and trying to obey every word they say without testing it with Moroni's promise; leaving their own glorious agency in the hands of general authorities, stake or mission presidents, or bishops.  Second, the tendency to live a pharisical version of the restored gospel that I believe neither Jesus or Joseph Smith ever intended...when they tell stories of their early years, trying to live the gospel, their stories often  contain (sadly...so, so sadly) feelings of unworthiness, of trying to 'earn' God's love and approval, like rowing that salvation boat in a fruitless circle,  using the "works" oar more than the "faith" oar; like experiencing only justice when Christ is mercy. This OF COURSE has led to feelings of failure, depression, anxiety, anger against the organization, sadness, loss, etc.

I want to bear my witness right now that THESE FEELINGS & PROMPTINGS ARE NOT OF GOD. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, self-confidence tempered with humilty, strength, charity, and hope. Things that make you feel contentious, "judgey", self-hating, weak, desperate, isolation, etc. come from The Adversary. THIS article helped me to understand how much Satan uses our cultural tendencies toward unealthy perfectionism and an unbalanced focus on works without faith or grace against us. My heart aches for those whom he relentlessly attacks with these stealthy, effective weapons. There is a lot more I got out of this podcast, but this is the biggest thing--recognizing this pattern and wanting to bear witness against it. My heart goes out to Eldon and his loved ones and I hope he will make room in his heart once again--on healthier terms--for the love of God.

One other thing that I think Eldon got totally right is that Mormons (in general) suck at mourning. It's totally true. We suck at most things that are not the happy part of the Great Plan of Happiness. But I think when our faith in the Savior is strong, we can fully embrace the tragic and heart-rending parts of life as an important part of our mortal experience. I am closest to the Savior in my extremities. My closest relationships are with people who have "been there" for me while I've mourned, or with whom I have mourned. The most comforting words to me in my own sorrows were not the hopeful, "we-know-the-plan", "buck-up-little-camper" thoughts (however well-intentioned those were)--they were words like, "I've been through this and I know it hurts and I am thinking of you as you go through this," or "I don't know what this feels like, but I imagine it's terrible and I just want you to know I love you," or actions like showing up with dinner, helping me find good airfares to a funeral, or throwing a birthday party for my daughter because the ground had just pulled from beneath my feet and I could barely breathe, let alone "google" or  be festive. Encouragment to stay in bed if I felt like it, to cry if I felt like it, to walk right into and through the pain rather than running from it--these are the healthy and Christlike things people have done for me. This is what I believe it means to mourn with those that mourn. I believe we can do better.

Imagine my joy when Sister Linda Reeves spoke to us Saturday night about how to be there for eachother the way Jesus would (Click HERE to watch). Her example of the story of Lazarus was PERFECT. It was validating. I thought to myself, for Pete's sake, Jesus was JESUS--he KNEW what had happened, he KNEW that Lazarus was going to rise again, but he was so crushed by seeing his loved ones (Mary & Martha) in pain that HE WEPT WITH THEM. He "groaned in Spirit." He stopped what he was doing and mourned with them. He shared this mortal experience with them, deeply and fully. And only THEN did he commanded Lazarus to rise.

To me, this illustrates that when we gloss over pain and sorrow, we miss out. We miss the chance to feel our feelings. We miss the chance to bond with and show our love for the person who is hurting. We miss an experience that will make us more like Christ. And in the process of trying to be positive, we may add insult to injury by invalidating the sorrow of the mourner (this goes for the sinner, the addict, the depressed, or the chronically or terminally ill or their loved ones, too--mortality presents us with sorrow for a myriad of reasons). I love this quote from Sister Reeves: "Dear sisters, our Heavenly Father and Our Savior Jesus Christ know us and love us...and they do not say, 'It's okay that you are in pain right now because soon everything is going to be alright. You will be healed,' or 'Your husband will find a job,' or 'Your wandering child will come back.' They feel the depth of our suffering and we can feel of their love and compassion in our suffering." Then she quotes one of my top 5 favorite scriptures: "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and  afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him  death, that he may  loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to csuccor his people according to their infirmities" (Alma 7:11-12). How can we learn to be like Him if we don't take some of it upon us, too? We can do better. I am going to try harder to embrace the hard times and not be afraid to weep like Jesus did.

September in the Rear-View Mirror

I am completely stunned that it is October 1st. September was a complete blur of back-to-school activities, getting into a groove, house guests, trying (and failing so bad)to keep up with Niles, studying lots of scripture and books, showing the house, and welcoming fall. It flew by so fast, there is a sad lack of photography, but here is what we DO have:

On Friday September 7th, I took James & his friend William on a birthday date to Museum of the Rockies. They wanted to explore the Lewis and Clark Trail first, so here is James on the Lewis & Clark boat at MOR.

William & James on the boat at MOR.

The boys ran ahead of me onthe trai and I found them holding a camp meeting. This is what I told William's mom about it:  "I have to tell you about the really super intense, cute pretending they did on the Lewis and Clark trail at the musem. William conducted a "church meeting" and "Turned the time over to our first officer" (James) for the closing prayer, after his report about "Today's journey" and the dinner they were about to eat. It was a HOOT! I took pix, but I didn't have my camera that makes videos...THAT would have been a good one! Such cute boys. Oh, and everytime they "turned the time over", they would pass eachother on the stairs to the podium and shake hands and slap eachother's backs..."

James the "First Officer" reporting on "today's journey" to an audience of...William.



Two cute dino-lovin' boys!

After the museum, we got happy meals for dinner and new sneakers at Walmart, then came home to play with birthday toys while William's family watched his big brother play football. Such a fun time with my six-year-old!

On September 15-16th, Rich had some old friends come to visit...Dana & Denise Nichols came to town. They stayed with us Saturday night and went to church Sunday morning. Here are Rich, Dana, Shaun Spalding, and Denise. Fun Reunion.

After a doctor's appointment in Bozeman I snapped this photo heading out of town. The canyon was distractingly gorgeous with fall colors, but I was driving so I couldn't take pictures. I love fall so dang much!

Here's a silly pic Heidi took of Addie adn her friend Izzi in the car on 9/22 heading to play at the park and get wilcoxson's ice cream.
***
On Monday, 9/24 I turned 41. It was good. Lots of sweet bday wishes, cards from my kids, flowers from Westenskows, treats from Tyners, Lunch date with hubs while Kim babysat Honeybadger, Dinner with inlaws--grilled chicken and an amazing srawberry-spinach salad from mom Melin, Target gift card from inlaws, David Sedaris tickets from hubs, and around 8pm...a 5-day visit from Gram & Auntie M!

Here we are Monday night with our birthday cake...Happy Birthday to Auntie M & Maj!

On Tuesday night, Rich took us to dinner and swimming at Chico Hot Springs. Even Gram got in and enjoyed the hot water! Niles loved it and everyone slept like rocks that night! YAY! We had a beautiful week together, including a quick trip to Helena to see Lehmans and Postums, and dutch oven dessert at the ranch on Friday. They had to leave super early Saturday morning and I was sad to say goodbye. But I had a really great night watching the Women's Broadcast. So thankful for the good Mormon Women in my life! Here's to another great year of life.

FAMILY LETTER 07.28.19

Dear Loved Ones,                                                                                                        We have just ...