Flower (Girl) Power

One of my former Young Women, Ceara, was married this Saturday in a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful day in the most beautiful place in the city.

Ceara is a very special girl--probably the most loving, most accepting, most generous person I have ever met. She has a way of making you feel like you're the most important person in the world. Ceara took a special liking to Mary when we first moved in and they have been friends ever since. Ceara even invited Mary to be one of her flower girls in her wedding party.

I think it was wonderful for Mary to see Ceara looking so beautiful and happy, worthy of being sealed to her new husband Kirk for time and all eternity.

After we left the temple, Mary and I were invited to the family luncheon. We introduced ourselves and told how we were related to the bride or groom. Mary said, "My name is Mary. I am Ceara's friend, and I like to eat."

Later we attended the reception, where everyone danced and had a great time. I was Mary's first partner, then Bryce, and finally Harrison. That girl loves to dance!

Mare made the newlyweds a card that said, "I hope you enjoyed your wedding day as much as I did!"

As you can see, she loved being a flower girl. It was a pleasure for our whole family to share in Ceara and Kirk's special day!

Gord's Gold

Last Friday Bryce and I went to the Gordon Lightfoot concert.

If I listen to "Early Morning Rain" on repeat I can make myself bawl.

In the early morning rain

With a dollar in my hand

With an achin' in my heart

And my pockets full of sand

I'm a long way from home

And I miss my loved ones so

In the early morning rain

With no place to go

(Dang, Gordon, you get me every time.)

Bryce and I thought we'd missed our chance to see him perform in this life since he'd been at death's door more than once, including being in a six-week coma at one point.

But there he was!

He is old. He doesn't have much range. He's lost the dexterity in one of his hands. But he still rocked.

We had a good time singing along (quietly). It was a very reserved crowd. We had the best seats though, fourth row, dead center. I really enjoyed hearing some of my favorite songs.

I was way jealous of the jacket hanging on the chair in front of us. That lady is a true fan. Bryce totally embarrassed me by actually telling the lady that I took a picture of her jacket and that I'd pay her $5 for it.

 
After the concert we talked about which songs we liked and didn't, whether we thought he might keel over on stage, and how glad we were to see him in concert.
 
(And then we said that we really need to find some singers who are closer to our own age.)
 
But we sure did have a fun time.

Thanks, Bryce, for being my hot date!

(And thanks, Gordon, for the show.)

How I Shall Repel Solicitors From Now On

see more Engrish

A Cause for Celebration

Remember when I told you that my parents and my brother's family came to visit in September? And that it was awesome? It was.

Tyce and his newest cousin Xochi.

The star of the show was 6-month old Evangeline Xochitl Cook, aka Xochi (So-chee). She may be small, but this little niece of mine draws in the crowd. Attending her baby blessing were her own family (Dave, Brooklyn, and sisters Cambria and Maya), grandparents (my mom and dad), my family, the Roberts family (Chris, Ellie, and their kids Sam, Sophie, Maggie, and baby Charlotte), and Betsy Fowler, whom I claim as a relative.

Xochi is lucky to have tons of fans, including her other grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who couldn't be here but they sure do love her.

1. My dad (Grandpa Jim) with Maya and Harrison.

2. Bryce with Cameron!

3. Tyce loves Maya!

4. My mom, aka Mopsie. She is the best. I took some really nice pictures of her and my dad together on her camera.

5. Brooklyn and her third beautiful daughter, Xochi.

6. The beautiful and talented Cambria.

7. Tyce playing Prince Charming for the night for Princess Cambria.

8. Happy mom and baby!

9. Since Betsy was here, it was a MUST from the kids that we play the toilet paper game! Dave and Brooklyn were fierce competitors.

10. Ellie and Chris were evenly matched.

11. But no one was more determined than Mary! Betsy had her work cut out for her!

12. Clean up was almost as fun as the game itself.

13. No party would be complete without a delicious spread--Brooklyn provided great snacks and drinks for all. I love this pretty cake!

It was wonderful to spend time with my whole family! I am happy to have another little niece to love.

Hope for a Better World

Do you ever look at the state of the world and get depressed? I felt that way last week. Everywhere I looked--the newspaper, television, news magazine--it seemed people were glorifying hedonism and mocking religion, all the while bemoaning the state of the economy, the school system, and the family.

I was most upset about my children's futures. There are so many pretty traps and shiny lures that lead them to believe that there are no negative consequences, that everything is relative, and that fun leads to freedom. Really, it looks like everbody IS doing it, no one will know, one time won't hurt, and you can stop anytime you want to. What used to be whispered encouragement on the brink of indecision in a dark alley is now a bright, bold advertising campaign in the light of day.

It is an uphill battle to counteract the message that immediate gratification is normal and fun. (And who doesn't want to be normal and have fun?)

So I was feeling depressed.

While the kids were in preschool I decided to go on a walk at the park.

And that made it worse.

If you had seen what I had seen, you'd know why a professor I had coined the term "underbelly of society."

After a while I sat down on a bench to meditate. A scripture from the Book of Mormon came to my mind, Ether 12:4.

Wherefore, whose believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh and anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

And I thought, I believe in God. And I should hope for a better world.

I also thought about Jesus himself, who walked this imperfect earth and saw vice and wickedness, poverty and pain, ignorance and corruption; more than I have seen, or ever will see. He said:

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.        

John 16:33

He has overcome the world. For me. For my children.

And I began to feel hope again. I began to feel light again. I began to feel peace again.

And that led to gratitude.

I am so grateful for Jesus Christ, my Redeemer. He took upon himself the pains and sins of the whole world, so that we can be repent and be made perfect, and attain eternal life. I know that he is the literal Son of God, who came to earth to fulfill the divine Plan to save us from sin and from death. He knows our challenges. He knows how to help us. If we have faith in Him and obey His commandments, we will have peace and joy--even in a blemished, tarnished world.

I am not the only voice my children will hear, but I need to be the clearest one they hear.

And I know that that doesn't mean that they won't have temptations, make mistakes, or even fall away.

We live in an imperfect state filled with imperfect people. (Myself included. Obviously.)

But through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can change and be better. I can change and be better.

And starting with myself, I can--with surety--hope for a better world.

My trip to a Certain Lingerie Store

I sorted through the mail, handing Bryce the bills and tossing the junk. I started to ditch a certain flyer with a $10 off coupon inside, when Bryce stopped me.

"You should take advantage of that," Bryce said, helpfully. "I mean, since you have a coupon and everything."

"Really? It might take a while," I cautioned him. "That's why I haven't gone before."

"I'll take the twins with me to JCPenney while you shop," he offered.

And so we drove to the mall the very next day.

****

As I entered the store I tried to adjust to the amount of pink.

"Hi, can I help you look for anything in particular?" a saleslady named Kiki chirped.

"Thanks, no, I'm just looking," I said, clutching my coupon.

"Let me show you our new line over here." Kiki took my hand and I followed. "Now we have these and these. Or you might like this one. What size are you? This one looks about right. Here's one for you to try on."

Kiki left and another saleslady descended.

"Hi, can I help you find something? I see you already have one of our new products. Can I show you some other good choices over here? My name is Chloe."

"Uhhh, I'm just looking, thanks," I pleaded. I doubled back and stuffed the item back into the drawer when Chloe wasn't looking. I took a few steps around a corner, when I was ambushed again, this time by a huge black woman named Jane.

"Oooh, girl, I know just what you need," Jane nodded. "Umm hmmm. Same as me. Take a look." She showed me her bra strap. "Like the leopard? Looks good with everything. Here you go. Rhonda, take her to a fitting room with that one, and the new Bio-Fit, and this one . . . "

Somehow I found myself marching off to the fitting room with a stack of leopard-print unmentionables. And I thought to myself, there is no way Jane is the same size as me.

****

"Knock knock!" I heard two dressing rooms down. "How are those working for you?"

"Great," replied the half-dressed customer.

"Mind if I see?" the fitting specialist asked, opening the door.

Oh pickles, do not open my door! I silently scream. 

***

"So how did that work for you?" the fitting specialist asked as I exited the dressing room, fully clothed. I was too fast for her to take a look for herself.

"Yes to this one, no to these," I said as I handed her the rejects.

When no one was looking I exchanged the leopard-print for something more conservative. I took my one item and ran to the cash register. On my way I heard, "Can I help you find something today, Ma'am?"

I handed over my coupon and the sales associate rang up my purchase. "Did you find everything you needed okay?" she asked with a friendly smile.

Please, stop harrassing me. Take your commission! I can't handle the pressure! I wanted to whine.

"Yes, I did, thank you," I answered instead.

Decorum is the hallmark of refinement, I tell myself.

And then I booked it out of the store, almost knocking over a mostly-nude mannequin and two tank top-wearing 12-year-olds who, frankly, should not be in this store unsupervised.

But I made it.

And I bought something.

And I used my coupon.

And that made me smile.

Just some photos

1. Harrison thought he was hot stuff when wore this get-up to the store (Indiana Jones hat, clock tattoos from Fresh and Easy, his church tie, and one glove ala Michael Jackson).

 

2. For the boys' 5th birthdays, we ordered a Speed Racer cake. The decorator was nice enough to put two cars on the cake!

3.  Cameron and Emily shared cinnamon rolls on a playdate at our house.

4. And so did Harrison and Camille.

5. I don't get many good posed pictures of Cameron but I think this shot shows that he's definitely a cutie.

6. One afternoon Mary and her friend Niki made a whole spooky set complete with graveyard, witch and cauldron, mummy in a coffin (Altoid tin), troll bridge, and giant spider.

7. A few mornings ago the boys were too quiet and I discovered they'd dumped a 2-liter bottle of water (from my food storage) into their blocks bin. I had to dump the water out and dry the blocks in the tub. No damage was done but the bathroom smelled like a petting zoo for a day or two. (This picture only shows half of the blocks--the other half are on the bathroom counter and sink.)

8. As payment for teaching Harrison to ride, Tyce took his Spiderman bike for a spin. (Remember Tyce's Spiderman backpack? The zipper didn't even make it to the month of October.) Ah, good times.

And that's about all for now.

Life is has its ups and downs but we are making it.

The student becomes the teacher

Last night I sat down to help Mary with her homework. They were working on multiplying 2-digit by 1-digit numbers using mental math. That's the kind of thing I hate. 

She said, "Don't worry, Mom. I'll teach you. Here's the first problem, 46 x 7. How would you break down 46?"

"Four times 10, plus six," I dutifully answer.

"That's right! So we can write the first part like this: (40 x 7). And then you have 6 left over, so what do you do next?"

"Six times seven."

"Good job! So then we take (40 x 7) + (6 x 7) and what do you get?"

My mental calculator whirs and clicks until I say, a little too loudly, "322!"

"See, Mom? You did it. You are smarter than most of my slow-witted classmates."

Notice she said MOST. 

But I will take the math compliments where I can get them, thank you very much.

General Conference weekend

General Conference is a semi-annual two-day spiritual feast. Inspiring speakers from church leadership, as well as music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir always strengthen my resolve to do better, to be better.


Bryce took Tyce and Mary to Utah, which I mentioned earlier. They had a great time on Friday night at the BYU vs. Utah State football game with Grandpa Al. Mary got two skeins of cotton candy--that's what I got from her report on the game. 

As they were walking from the stadium to the car, Bryce asked Mary if she was doing okay. She said, yes, but that she was a little tired and wheezy. So Tyce asked if she wanted a piggy-back ride . . . and he carried her on his back the entire way to the vehicle.


The whole way!


Sheesh, it makes me start to cry when I think about his kindness, and her willingness to accept it. I am glad they went on this trip if for no other reason than to put that friendship back into their brother-sister relationship.


Per Bryce's report, Tyce and Mary got along that well the whole weekend. They all enjoyed spending time with Grandpa Al and Grandma Judy, as well as the Prices, watching General Conference on TV, playing board games, picking raspberries (Mary) and looking at pictures from Judy's trip to England.


So even though I missed them, I am really glad they went. (And let's face it, if we'd all gone the twins would have run around like semi-domesticated raccoons and I probably would have ended up crying.)


Cameron and Harrison and I stayed home but we did not have a boring time. I put on my FUN MOM hat and took them to Chuck E. Cheese. After that we went to the store to spend their birthday money (on swords, ink stamps, pirate necklaces, and candy) and I got craft supplies for the next day.


On Sunday we painted masks, made sugar cookies, had a picnic at the park, and made craft-foam jack-o-lanterns. It was a blast.


And can you believe that I fit all 8 hours of General Conference in there? Thank goodness for the DVR.

The boys really enjoyed the talk by L. Tom Perry on Sunday morning about the building of the Manti temple. The faithful members over 130 years ago didn't know how to build a roof, but they they knew that God wanted them to build a temple. Using what they knew about shipbuilding, their architectual plans illustrated an inverted boat as a roof. Cameron and Harrison found that fascinating. They asked me to rewind it several times, so they could see how the plans turned upside down from boat to roof. That may be the only thing they really listened to the entire weekend, but I think it made an impression. To me it really shows the confidence the early saints had, to act as Nephi:


I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.


1 Nephi 3:7


I thought General Conference was particularly wonderful this time. The Mormon Tabernacle was, to me, unbelievable. I tried to sing along a few times and realized I was ruining it for myself. (And you know how I like to sing along.)

One speaker I loved is Elder Holland on Sunday afternoon--his words were so, so powerful. I have found myself thinking about them over and over. I felt my heart soaring as I cried out YES! to his testimony of the Book of Mormon. You can listen to his talk yourself here, if you like.

Other standouts were Elder Scott (Saturday morning) and President Monson (Sunday morning). There were others but these were a few of my favorites.


So like I said, a great weekend. And I am thinking of donning a lilac choir robe for this next Sunday in an attempt to improve my singing voice.

With names like those, she might be a celebrity

Mary: I have four favorite boy names. Do you want to hear them?


Me: Sure!


Mary: But you can't laugh, okay?


Me: Right-o.


Mary: Vigor and Measure . . . what! I see you trying not to laugh! And then twin boys . . .but I think you're going to think they're weird. But I really like these names. Promise not to laugh?


Me: Yes!


Mary: Okay. For twin boys, Waste Not and Want Not.


Me: I'm sorry, I can't help it!!!


Mary: Oh, and I also like the names Majestic and Emmett. Emmett is from Twilight. You're not going to blog about this, are you?


Me: No, no, no, of course not.


Mary: Well if you do, make sure you say that I really like the name Emmett, okay?


Me: Got it.

If you chance to meet a . . . what?

This morning Cameron pounced on my bed, like he does every morning at 6:30 a.m. He's my little alarm clock. He brings me toys and I vroom cars and bounce stuffed animals with one eye open. It's not as easy as it sounds to come up with kid-friendly plot lines when my last thoughts were of being lost on a beach with bad-boy Sawyer, in a most-delicious dream . . .


Ahem. As I was saying.


Today Cameron brought us 2-inch plastic slinkies--a black one for him, a purple one for me.


Look! It's a circle. Now it's a spy glass. Snap it on your nose and you're a witch doctor.


Then he arched one into a frown on his face.


I hummed, "Hum hum hum hum humhumhum....." and asked, "do you know that song?"


"Yep," said Cameron.


"If you chance to meet a  . . . " I sang, pausing for Cam to fill in the blank.


"FRIEND," he said.


I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for a sign that he was teasing me. But he was serious.


Oh, what a sad song that would be to learn in nursery!


If you chance to meet a friend, do not let it stay!
Quickly turn it upside down and smile that friend away!


Poor little guy. It's a wonder he's as normal as he is, thinking that this happy song at church is really about how to get your classmates to take a hike and leave you the heck alone.

Waiting

I'm waiting for the camera to obey me. I want my pictures out. I go through the routine but, like a stubborn child, the camera pretends not to hear me. Maybe I should say the word "candy."

Bryce is finished with his September deadline. He worked long and hard, including weekends. But you know what? He is a rock star. Don't let his conservative appearance fool you.

This weekend Bryce and the big kids are going to Utah for Conference weekend. That leaves the twins and me here alone. We might go to the children's museum. We might go to the park. We might go insane.

Just kidding. (Kind of.)

Cameron and Harrison are enjoying preschool, I think. They always look happy when I pick them up. It seems like they are making friends. I am concerned about Cameron's fine motor skills, as usual. He will start occupational therapy next month to help with that.

Miss Mary is adjusting to her new track and teachers. I had no idea that switching to Mrs. Cropp would mean switching from one teacher to a team of teachers. That's a big adjustment for someone like Mare but she seems to be working it out. They are studying the 50 states in social studies and are starting division in math. They read "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume and just finished another book called "School Mouse" by Dick King-Smith. Sara is in her class, so I can't imagine what sort of antics are going on when the teachers aren't watching.

Tyce is growing like a weed. From 1st to 5th grades, he stayed nearly the same size. I hardly ever had to buy new clothes or shoes--seriously. He just wore the same things until they wore out. But suddenly he has huge hands, huge feet, and his new pants are high waters. It won't be long before he's taller than I am. It really doesn't seem that long ago that he was a toddler . . . I guess that's what people mean when they say that kids grow up fast.

That's about all for now.

I am going through an identity crisis of minor proportions. I would really like to go back to school or get a part-time job . . . but I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Enigma

Yesterday I journaled about how hard it is raising a 13-year-old boy. Oh man, did I pour my heart out. It's been rough around here lately, and I'm sure he'd agree (though he'd probably journal about how difficult his parents are).

At dinner that very night Tyce said, "Oh by the way, I'm Student of the Month."

"You're what?" I asked, choking on my spaghetti. "Studying the months?"

"No, I'm Student of the Month! At school! And we get to go on a field trip during lunch, so I have a form for you to sign."

Student of the Month? That's good, right? It's not code for detention or anything?

"Oh, and I have all A's in my classes so far," he elaborated.

You could have knocked me over with the No Wimps sticker he bought from his friend Elijah.

"Well, I am really, really proud of you, Tyce. That's awesome! Great job," I said.

Apparently, gratefully, there are some areas where things are going better than expected.

Facebook is sucking the life out of my blog

If you're a blogger, do you feel that way? That writing "Went to the movies with Jojo!" is so much easier than writing a whole paragraph about how you know Jojo, the thought process involved in picking the movie, the weird or annoying people you invariably saw, if you got snacks, and the plot of the movie (without giving it away, of course), and  . . . . wait, what was I saying?

Right.

Anyway.

Here is my facebook-styled update for today: "Had a great weekend with my parents and brother's family!"

But there's a lot more to it than that, which I do plan on writing about. I have good pictures (I hope) on Bryce's camera. Paragraphs and paragraphs to come, don't you worry.

I limit myself to one facebook update a day--at most--but here is what I would say if I were "one of those people" who keep you up-to-the-minute on their days (and who you probably have on "Hide"):

"Love my cute little nieces!"


"Made homemade spaghetti sauce today."


"It's so windy that I took two Sudafed to deal with allergy-related congestion."


"Let the kids watch 'Land Before Time II' while I checked my email."


"Need to get in the shower before picking kids up at preschool."

Look at me, bloggity blog blog.

Take that, facebook.

First Day of Preschool

Is today the day? Is it? Do I have preschool today? Is today my first day?

Yes, my perky perserverating fellow, I do believe it is.

(Woo hoo!)

Cameron and Harrison went with their little friend Kennedy to preschool today. When I picked them I couldn't wait to hear about their day. But all I got out of them--meaning, my boys--was, "Can we get ice cream? Aww, why not? We were good!"

I thought, if I get you ice cream today, the first day of school, you will ask me every single school day from now until kindergarten.

That Kennedy is adorable. She is high-energy and a lot of fun to be around. At first I wondered if my boys would be a little much for her to take, but I think they all appreciate the same level of noise and the fine art of slapstick humor.

It appears that today was a fine start to the preschool year.

A List of 9 for 09-09-09

1. Harrison can ride his new "tippy bike" without training wheels! On Monday morning (Labor Day) Tyce took the boys out for a driveway ride. Tyce decided to teach Harrison to balance and go, and after a 30-second lesson Harrison cruised down the driveway and into the street, looking like a pro. Stopping was a different matter--he crashed into the neighbors' trashcans and Grandpa Al's truck! But he just kept getting up and going. It's now two days later and he can stop quite well.

(I forgot to mention that the same thing was true of swimming--Tyce gave Harrison a mini-lesson and suddenly Harrison could swim. For real. In the deep end and everything.)

2. Cameron doesn't seem to feel the need to compete with Harrison on his accomplishments. He's happy for him but doesn't care to try those things for himself just yet.

3. I put in my track change request during the summer, after getting the letter that Mary would be assigned to Track 3 again this year. It was a great track for us last year because of the twins' preschool schedule, but the summer break was awful . . . as in non-existent.

To make a long story short, Mary has been moved to Track 4 with Mrs. Cropp. Finally! Mrs. Cropp was Tyce's teacher one year and we love her.

4. Miss Mary got her hair done again this weekend and it is adorable. But it still took 3 hours to get it washed and styled. On the upside, I went to the Mexican market and got a delicious plum. And read an entire issue of Good Housekeeping. And listened to all the beauty shop gossip.

5. Tyce is trying out for the basketball team at Brown. Today is school picture day and he looks sharp. He's worn a suit and tie every year for school pictures since 5th grade. I think it is so unsual and awesome. He's an enigma to me because last week I wore myself out trying to make him pull up his ghetto-slacker shorts.

6. I spend too much time trying to control things. And people.

7. It is really hard for me not to roll my eyes when the big kids make outrageous statements such as, "School is so boring," or "All the other kids have cell phones," or "I'm different than you! I don't like to clean." (What?) One day I got scolded by Mary for rolling my eyes at her. And I thought, Holy Cow, it really IS hard.

I try to model the behavior I want my kids to exhibit but apparently I have failed on this count.

8. Someone has made off with my cheese grater. I attempted to make zucchini bread out of the 2-foot long vegetables Grandpa Al gave me from his garden, but it's pretty hard to grate the zucchini without a grater. I can only imagine it is outside somewhere, being used as a hotel for slugs. But no one will admit to knowing where it is. Really? Hmm.

Must. stop. self. from . . . rollingmyeyes!!!! Ugh! Sorry, I couldn't help it.

9. Sometimes I would really like to get a job, as in go back to work. Do you ever feel that way?

Happy Birthday to Cameron! Happy Birthday to Harrison!

Today our big guys are 5 years old. They are so different from each other, but they're definitely best friends. They bring so much happiness to our family!

Five things we love about Cameron:

1. He is a hard worker. He's the best cleaner and sticks with the task until it's done.
2. He tries to understand everything, which is why he asks a million questions!
3. He loves to read.
4. He has wicked break dancing moves.
5. He sees nothing unusual about having a stuffed koala he named Tigress.

Five things we love about Harrison:

1. He is a little smarty. He is quick to catch on to new ideas and concepts.
2. He likes to look good. The right outfit, the right hair, and the right shoes are a must.
3. He makes really cool Lego space ships.
4. He is extremely independent!
5. He is quick to make friends.

We sure are lucky to have them. Happy Birthday to our awesome 5-year-olds!

Warning--I'm messing with the blog template.

Do not be alarmed.

I'm going to bed and will work on it tomorrow.

***Amendment: I will work on it eventually.

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