Home Sweet Home

I often feel very discouraged about my house. I get discouraged that it isn't what I envision. I battle with how import it really is to have your home be aesthetically pleasing. How much is too much when it comes to spending time and money on your home? But, when I'm discouraged just by walking into my house, I know there must be something wrong. Either with me, or the house.

Most likely me.

I went to a fireside the other night given by the two men that headed up the Utah Medical Task Force that went to Haiti to give medical relief and bring 141 orphans back to their adoptive families in Utah and Idaho. I heard stories of despair, sadness and total loss of all things essential. And now the rainy season is beginning.

One young girl was released from the hospital after having one leg and one arm amputated. They simply wheeled her out to the street corner -- her new home. She had no home, no family, nothing.

I complain about my looks and my bad genetics. I'm grateful I can walk and that if I needed to, I could provide for myself.

A young girl laid a flat piece of cardboard down on the ground, went and got her little sister and they sat themselves down. This was their new home. Each other and that piece of cardboard is all they have in this world.

I have a family that, despite our oddities, is completely in tact. Not only are we all together, we are all together under one roof. We have a roof. And four walls. And a means with which to live. I complain about my ugly, thread bare carpet and yearn for hardwood floors. Compared to a square of cardboard, my carpet is suddenly perfectly lovely.

A young mother brought her baby in to be seen by the visiting doctors. She wanted to know what was wrong with her baby, who, to the trained doctor's eyes, was obviously starving to death. He asked how often the baby was eating and the mother said she nurses constantly. The doctor asked, "But when was the last time YOU had something to eat?" She said that she had had a spoonful of rice the day before. And before that? The last time this mother had eaten was before the earthquake (this was about two weeks into the disaster).

If I go without food for four hours, I start to get really nervous, and REALLY grouchy. I've NEVER had a bare cupboard or an empty fridge. And it shows. I've never known what it's like to simply be unable to physically nourish myself or my own child. I cannot even imagine.

I don't think God wants us to feel guilty about having nice things, or even for just having the necessities. But I do think he wants us to be grateful for what we have, take good care of it, and then sacrifice for the benefit of others. Give of what we have been given.

After hearing that fireside, and hearing that they are now raising money to build a hospital in Haiti, my sister thought "maybe I could turn off my cable T.V. and send that monthly payment to Haiti instead." Could you sacrifice your shows so that someone else could get medical care?

You think our health care sucks? Try living in Haiti.

As for my own home, my next blog entry is going to be about all the little things I love about what I already have.

Thinking About You

Here's a little ditty for your listening enjoyment. I love his energy and his presentation. It's maybe too long, but worth the wait for the delightful ending. Girls/women always want to understand boys/men. Here's a little insight:

Thinking About You by Mike Taylor

Sixteen, You're Still Young

Dear Mothers of Young Boys,

Do you know what you want to have happen with your boys before they grow up? Because, guess what? It's almost too late.








Andrew, March 1994


Andrew and I have always shared a love for the book Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch. All I have to say to him is "love you forever," and he gets it. This is not a picture of us reading that book, although that would be very cool.










Andrew and Helen, 1994

A mother held her new baby and
Very slowly rocked him back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth.
And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be.

From Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch

Andrew and Helen, March 1994

There are a lot of things that I wish I had done differently over the past sixteen years. I know, it's hard to believe I'm not a perfect mother, but it's true.










Andrew, Summer 2009


However, I am very happy about the relationship I have with Andrew. We really are buddies, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

So, if developing a good rapport isn't on the list of things you want to have happen with your son, might I recommend it?

Happy Sixteen Andrew! Love You Forever . . .

Tunes

And here's another one I quite like, but not the video. Well, okay, the video is kinda funny.

Michelle My Belle

Because my dear friend Michelle commented on my blog today, I decided to dedicate this post to her and all of her awesomeness. This may cause our friendship to wane a little, but I'm willing to chance it.

Michelle, I love you with the passion of forty blazing super-novas. I didn't know what super-novas were until I met you. In fact, I didn't know what a lot of things were until I met you! You taught me how to love learning and how to survive college -- and even like it!









You also taught me that because we were already good friends, we didn't have to, and even shouldn't, do everything together because that might make others feel left out. You encouraged me to sit by others at church, room with others and reach out to others. That lesson has stuck with me through the years.

















We got to know some awesome people in college. Remember our Sunday Evening get togethers? I'll never forget Glen and Jeanine singing Oh Danny Boy in the Mountain Meadow. And I'll just plain ol' never forget Larry (open your eyes Larry).







Jon and Swim Herschel Swim. Hmmm. Not sure what to say about this . . . . I suddenly feel like slam dancing.

















But before all of that, there was Israel. And may I just say you looked like you were twelve. :-)


























































































I have a lot more where this came from, but you get the idea.

No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen
the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded
of each other's worth.
-Robert Southey

Labels and St. Patty's Day

My amazing niece Anna asked me how I make my labels. I wish I could say I have some cool, exciting way to label things. But, they are just Avery Mailing Labels with a little extra packing tape for good measure.

These are 2" x 4" labels (#18163).

















These are 1/2" x 1 3/4" return address labels (#18167).


















These are 1" x 2 5/8" labels (#08860).















Wouldn't it have been cool if I had chosen a font I love and always used the same one?




Thanks to Sharlene and Ruth Ann for a quick trip to the grocery store and ideas on what to make for St. Patrick's Day dinner.

This is what I had chilling in the fridge yesterday afternoon:

Rainbow jell-o to go with our St. Patty's day meal. That is one HUGE serving of jell-0.

I was going to top it with fresh whipped cream and stick a chocolate gold coin on top. As luck would have it, things got a little crazy while I was deep frying the green scone dough and trying to get Andrew and Ashley ready for two different concerts, at two different schools. So, we ended up spraying on whipped cream and we all had gold coins thrown down near our plates.

We made the green scones into Navajo Tacos, threw some limeade into the mix and rushed off to the concerts. Emma and I attended Ashley's choir concert at the Junior High, which was amazing and fun, then came home and made Shamrock sugar cookies (cuz I bought those dang things for St. Patrick's day and I was going to cook them ON St. Patrick's day). We also washed Emma's hair in the sink because although she had taken a shower before the concert, I learned that she had been forgetting to use shampoo -- for the last SEVERAL TIMES. Ew.

I got a call from Ashley who was at Roxberry with a hundred of her best and closest friends who all needed a ride home. I think eleven teenagers piled in my van. Those poor Roxberry employees.

When I got back from dropping them all off, I was too tired to finish cleaning up (but not too tired to eat several shamrock cookies). I started feeling discouraged as I went to bed because things had been so haphazard. But I ended up going to bed with a smile on my face.

And here's why.

Andrew plays percussion in the band and was repeating Arabic words and phrases OUT LOUD as I went to bed (it was pretty funny). Ashley sings in the choir and enjoys being with her wonderful group of friends. Emma was delighted with her rainbow jell-o, chocolate coins and even her green scones (she actually ate them Navajo taco style which I wasn't expecting).

Things are as they should be, and cleaning can wait.

Besides, all this mess gave Kevin something to think about when he got home after a LONG day's work. A puzzle to solve. It was funny helping him put all the pieces together as he tried to figure out what had happened while he was gone last night.

If I had to choose between my children having culture in their lives and having a clean and organized house, I'd choose the culture. I guess I already have.

Organizing Jar

I L.O.V.E., love this jar from Ikea. I'm not sure why I love it so much. It might be the little bit of suction that happens when you pull off the lid. It might be that I like labeling things, and these are easy to label. It might be the little silver handle on top. I stare at them at Ikea, sure there HAS to be a reason for me to buy two in every size. Whatever the reason, they WORK for me . . .

in the kitchen . . .
















in the bathroom (or Ashley's bedroom floor, as it were) . . .
















and on the piano.
















I have one empty jar left. What should I use it for??

I also love these Snapware containers from Costco. I couldn't find them on line. I hope they aren't discontinued, but with Costco, you never know.

Did you know?

Did you know that God loves and values me even though I'm fat?

Ha! You laugh in my face, but it's true. I know, I know, you aren't laughing because it isn't true. You are laughing because you're thinking how silly of me to think he wouldn't love me despite being fat.

But then, what's your excuse? What is it you are doing that is so terrible you think God doesn't love and value you anyway? You know what it is. Here, fill in this sentence:

God doesn't love or value me because I _______________________________.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? That's because it isn't true.

How do I know that God loves and values me despite the fact that I __(fill in the blank)___? Because when I open my heart and mind to the idea, I can feel his love and I can feel the truth of how He feels about me. Try it.

Now, am I saying this gives me permission to indulge my weaknesses? Oddly, no. Because God loves me, and I can feel that I have value in his eyes, I want to turn to Him for help with my weaknesses. I want to be better. I want to be His kind of better.

God loves me because I'm His.

Watch this.

It's the Daddy's Job to Fly the Kites

Emma bought herself a new ladybug kite today. I usually defer kite flying to the daddy. But, on this perfect day for kite flying, the daddy was (and still is) at work. On the way home from the store, Emma started in on wanting to fly the kite right when we got home. I kept telling her she would have to wait until I fixed dinner. I said "we'll see how it goes." (That's code for I really, really don't want to but can't think of a good reason why I can't right now.) Well, being Emma, she couldn't wait for me to fix dinner or come up with other excuses. I ended up helping her put the kite together in between draining noodles and sprinkling cheese. It was about a fifteen second job - somehow I survived.

She went out alone to try and fly her kite while I made dinner. At this point I thought maybe her sister could get off the couch and help with the kite flying (Was Cinderella watching The Mentalist, you ask? No, she was watching White Collar while her fairy godmother slaved over a hot stove). That also lasted about 15 seconds. Big sister came in claiming that it wasn't windy enough outside and that our yard wasn't big enough for flying kites. If you live in Utah, and you happened to go outside today, you'll know why I laughed out loud and in her face when she said it wasn't windy enough today.






Once I got the String Pie in the oven, I put on my Super Suit (aka my parka because even though it was forty degrees outside the wind was biting cold) and went outside to save the day. We had a blast getting that thing in the air and trying to keep it there. Although, I have to admit I was a little too snippy about Emma's inability to deal with the string. She kept getting it wound around things - mostly herself. It was fun enough to make me wonder why all these years I've insisted it's the daddy's job to fly the kites.

Friends Part Two

Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person,
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out,
just as they are--chaff and grain together--certain that
a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping,
and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

-Dinah Mulock

Lynn and Julie (college roomies) and Chas (friend from Israel Group)

Michelle Benson, Heather Wix Emmett, Jeanine Bird Parker, Roger Anderson
Friends from all different times, coming together for BROWNIES!

Michelle Benson - Singles Ward Roommate

Roger Anderson - Don't these brownies make our smiles pretty?

Visiting Glenn Cooper (college friend) in NYC
(Did I think those white nylons and plaid shorts were attractive?)

Visiting John Berger (High School friend) in California

Hiking our beautiful Utah mountains with Heather and Gwen (Heather is taking the pic)

Making fun of Jeanine Bird Parker (college friend) for always making Jell-o

Pamela Holliday (Israel friend and college roomie), Jeanine Bird Parker (college roomie)

Berkeley Buddies Miriam Blackham Een (cousin) and Julianna Gee were my roomies.
They are the two on the back of the couch.

College friends Jon Armstrong and Michelle Stowel Laraway
(terrible picture, but the only one I can find of the three of us together)

Friends

When Ashley graduated from sixth grade, I gave her a book called The "Official" Friends Book, by Martha Bolton. It's a darling book full of quotes and ideas about friendship. This morning, I found it sitting by the computer and I read this little poem.

Why We Need Friends
Without friends to laugh with, we become too serious.

Without friends to talk to, we become too introspective.

Without friends to cry with, we become cold and indifferent.

Without friends to work with, we become negative and self-pitying.

Without friends to listen to, we become self-absorbed.

Without friends to care about, we become apathetic.

Without friends to share new adventures, we become boring.

Without friends to call or visit, we become reclusive.

Without friends to hold us accountable, we become too self-reliant--and we fail.

Without friends, we become unfriendly.

I wish I had more pictures of my friends. I cannot imagine my life without them. I've been blessed with incredible friendships my whole life. The most wonderful thing about friends to me is that they look passed your weaknesses and help you remember all that is wonderful and good about yourself. Thank you friends.

Israel Group

Michelle and Sage

Heather

Andrew

Andrew and Jan
Emma and Ashley

Kathy, me, Camille, Jan and Liz

Kevin has a bit of a problem holding his eyes open in photos