Our Cousin Adriene
We had such a great time yesterday when Adriene came for a visit! Tracy’s sister Erin just moved near us and had her baby, Max, last Saturday. So Adriene and Tracy came up to visit the baby and help out. Tracy brought Adriene over to play with us for the afternoon while she helped Erin (and was jealous about baby Max’s arrival already- she’s due to deliver next week) and it was so fun. I’m trying to remember and I don’t think I’ve ever been able to have a cousin over for a visit without their parents around. I love their parents of course, but it’s so fun to see the kids interacting without them. It was such a treat to have her here, and we’re all getting more sad by the minute to know that they will be moving to Texas soon. Come back Adriene!
A Bad Memory
I was reminded today of one of my weaknesses that I also consider a blessing. It is having a bad memory. I tend to forget stories and experiences that others can remember vividly. This is especially frustrating to me when people are reminiscing childhood stories that I wish I could join in on. The plus side though is that I can also forget when someone has done me wrong. Once I had a conversation where the person said to me, “don’t you remember how badly they treated you back then?” and I honestly answered, “no.” I was glad that my memory only held onto the positive interactions I’d had with that person.
One experience I do remember quite clearly that has shaped who I am today happened when I was about 16 years old. I was having a particularly hard time dealing with all of the social issues that come with high school, friendship, boyfriends etc. I was at one of my friend’s homes and talked a little about this with his mom Kim. I don’t know if she remembers doing this for me or not, but it has had a huge impact on my life. She was very understanding and comforting as I told her of my troubles. She wrote down a quote for me on a little piece of paper and I carried it with me in my wallet for years. It read:
“The way people treat me has more to do with them than me.”
This simple yet profound statement helped me keep perspective in many situations. Instead of being offended or carrying anger when someone treats me badly, I have memorized this line and repeat it to myself when I’m dealing with a tired toddler, a bad driver, a cranky postal worker, etc. In a way, it could be seen as a judgmental statement like “that’s your problem,” but I see it more as a way to bring empathy into the experience and try to see why the person is acting the way they do. I’m still working on getting forgiveness to be second nature, but this is a good start.
Read MoreChildproofing with Style
Recently I was at my friend Heidi’s house and noticed that she has a stairway similar to mine with railings quite far apart. This is an issue I have too because Sabrina and Hannah love to stand in the hall upstairs and lean through the rails and wave down to Mom and Dad in the living room. I didn’t know quite how to solve the problem until I saw Heidi’s stairway and was inspired. She had fabric weaved through the rails to keep the little kids from falling through! So I bought a bunch of blue fabric thinking that because we’re renting and can’t paint the walls, I would add some color on the stairs. I’m really happy with the way it turned out and need to decide if I should also do along the stairs as well.
Before
After
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Hero Camp
Last week the kids went to “Hero Camp.” This was the second year of it and last year the theme was “Heroes”, thus the camp’s name. It was organized by two fantastic mothers, Amber and Stephanie, who enlisted the help of all mothers of children participating. Each Mom volunteered for at least one day doing either a lesson, craft, or physical activity, and signed up to bring a treat one day as well. I was astonished at the organization and creativity that went into the week.
This year’s theme was “Mission Possible – Operation: Divine Love.” Every child was given a T-shirt on the first day and spent Monday through Thursday from 9-12 accomplishing various missions. The children were put into groups according to their ages which were named: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc. Emma was in Charlie and Hunter was in Foxtrot.
Their first mission was called “Love of God.” They walked along the iron rod toward the Tree of Life past the temptations in the Great Buildings. Next was “Love of Family.” As part of this the moms wrote a letter to each child telling them why they are an important part of their family and about the attributes that make them special. I volunteered on “Love of Leaders” day. The bishops from the wards came and talked to the kids. Then during craft time the children decorated paper hearts and hung them on the office doors of the bishops and stake leaders.
On Thursday the mission was “Love of Neighbors.” All week long the children went through their clothes, pantries, and toys to bring in things they don’t need for those less fortunate. There was also a coin jar where they could donate money to the Wheelchair Fund for children around the world who need wheelchairs but cannot afford one.
On Friday there was a closing ceremony where every child received their “Great Choice Award” and a book with some of the papers from their lessons and also the letter written to them from their parents. There were three impressive songs that the kids had worked on throughout the week to sing for the parents. They were written specifically for camp, amazing!
Every Mom filled out a “Great Choice Award” Certificate for each child and told of a good choice they had recently made. Hunter’s award told how he got up early and did his chores before I got up in anticipation of our trip to Oregon. He was such a hard worker that we were able to leave a day early! Emma’s told how she loves to take care of her sisters. Especially by helping them dress up and do their hair for little fashion shows.
It was a fantastic experience for both Hunter and Emma and we are all looking forward to doing it again next year!
Read MoreI’ll Go Where You Want Me
Today I was thinking a lot about the hymns that we sing in church. There are so many inspirational messages and strength giving hymns. I was thinking about some of the hymns that have meaning to me. You can click here to hear a simple version of each hymn. I’m not linking to each one because I’m too tired!
I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go – This is a song that was sung in church the first time we came to our new ward here in Orange County. I have to admit I couldn’t sing it because I was too choked up and teary at the thought of having to move again to a new place. I was pretty upset and thought that the Lord was being unfair to keep having us move our kids and start over. I have since come to peace with the move and I have always believed that the Lord will put us where we can do the most good.
I Believe in Christ– This is my backup hymn that I play in my head whenever I get a thought or song stuck in there that I want out!
Be Still My Soul, How Great Thou Art– As a teenager at girls’ camp I had one of my best friends, Debi, with me every year. We were only in the same ward for the first year, but always requested to be together at camp. I remember one particular year we went on an overnight hike and shared a tent. We sang hymns together when the sun went down, and sang for what must have been an hour. I’m sure those around us were laughing and wishing we would stop because we were not the best singers. However there was something about singing these hymns that made our voices sound nice together and we had fun trying to remember all of the words.
As Sisters in Zion– This hymn reminds me of my first year at college. We would sing this as a Relief Society quite often and it always sounded amazing. There were so many of us, many of them talented musicians, and I remember feeling how important it was to build up the sisters around me and really started to understand what it means to be a friend. There were young women of all different backgrounds, and this is when I really started to appreciate what I could learn from each of them.
Lord I Would Follow Thee– This one is less known but I know all of the words because back in my youth we used to have a practice hymn at the beginning of Sunday School. I remember she made us sing this song for weeks and weeks because nobody was singing it loud enough or with real feeling! Now whenever I hear it I feel like I should be belting it out.
Come Thou Fount– This hymn is not in the standard Hymnal, but it is sung by the Tabernacle Choir and other Christian singers. It is Rob’s favorite hymn and we have several different versions of it on our playlist. Whenever I hear it, I not only appreciate the beauty of the music and lyrics, but also think of my sweet husband!
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