Childhood Gems: Jaeda on M&M's

I took Jaeda shopping with me today and for a rare treat, and an especially good shopper, I bought her a little pink tube of Mini M&M's that were on sale, of course. After she was buckled into her seatbelt I unwrapped the M&M's and gave them to her. She popped it open and put some in her mouth. Then, with eyes closed and head tilted slightly back as she savored the little chocolate morsels she exclaimed in a very enthusiastic voice:

"MMMMmm! It tastes like CORN!"

Lessons from Little Britches #2

Children are Capable

So, Ralph is 8 years old. When spring came, most of the boys didn't come to school when it was time to plant. So school let out 3 weeks early. One of Ralph's neighbors offered him a job. He was to take the cows to pasture and then bring them back at the end of the day. He was to ride a horse (bare-back) and keep the cows out of the neighbors' crops as there were no fences. He would work from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and would be paid $.25/day. Ralph was so proud to be able to work like a man and to help support the family.

WHAT?? This is an 8 year old boy. He grew up in the city. No training, no company, supervision, no SADDLE? Ralph's parents didn't even flinch. It was hard for him at first, and he didn't do a very good job the first couple of days, but he got the hang of it. His sister would come at noon to bring him lunch and to watch the cows while he ate.

I'm thinking, "I have an 8 year old boy. And I couldn't' trust him for 1 hour ALONE in my house, let alone 11 hours being responsible for someone's livestock while riding a horse bareback!" Why is that? I think it's because back then, and especially on a farm, the children were expected to work. Not just to help out, but also it was essential to their livelihood that they learned necessary SKILLS. Having such skills made them much more capable people at a very young age. What skills are we teaching our kids? Go to school, do homework, clean out the dishwasher, then... play. So my boy is learning to do housework. Hmmm.

It just makes me wonder what he could be capable of if we lived in a different place and time. Is it possible that my 8 year old boy could be capable of holding a job (and enjoying it) and feel pride in doing his part to help the family? Is our convenient life helping us, or is it limiting us? This story taught me that children have a potential to be much more capable than I give them credit for. It makes me wonder how our lives would be different if we were given different opportunities.

Lessons from Little Britches #1

So, I read "Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers" by Ralph Moody after my sister, Shan'l, recommended it, and then friend, Sonja also passed on good reviews of it.

It's a story written through the eyes of an 8 year old boy named Ralph in the early 1900's. His family moved from the city to an old, broken down ranch in Colorado. The story is how the family fixes up the ranch and the adventures, experiences, and life-lessons this little boy learns during their time there.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the simple writing style and how wise the father was in teaching his son to become a man. There were several stories in the book that caused me to really think...

Lesson #1:
Are we raising a bunch of Sissy's?

When Ralph moves to their new ranch, he and his bigger sister have to go to a new school. His well-educated mother is determined not to raise a bunch of red-necks just because they live in the country. She sends Ralph to school in a Buster Brown suit and tells him he'd better not get in any fights. The Bible says if your enemy smites one cheek, to turn the other. Of course, he is picked on at school and a bigger boy beats him up the first day. The teacher sends home a note and suggests that he come to school in overalls like the other children. This infuriates his mother and he continues to wear a suit so school. He gets beat up every day for a few weeks. Finally one day Ralph decides to fight back. He ends up beating up the bigger boy and winning the fight. It says that recess should have been over, but the teacher didn't ring the bell till the fight was over. That day she sent a note home to his mother that said: "It looks like Ralph has made his adjustment now." After that, Ralph was allowed to wear overalls to school and never had any trouble with any of the other kids.

Although I agree with Ralph's mother in wanting to raise a gentleman, I think it's good and healthy for a boy to be able to stick up for himself and hold his own. I think the most interesting part of this story is the role the teacher played. She stayed out of Ralph's business. You know she had to be aware it was going on, but she let it take it's course. How many times do we jump in and save our kids from their own problems? I don't consider myself a "helicopter parent", but I still don't know if I could stand by and watch a neighborhood kid bloody my kid's nose. But the teacher knew that even if she stepped in, she wouldn't solve the problem...she would most likely just delay it. So she let it take it's course, and Ralph was able to solve his own problem and gain the respect of his peers.

The sad thing is, that in our modern world with everyone being so sue-happy, this could never be allowed to happen. The teacher would be held responsible for the behavior of the bully (who would continue to bully), or the child acting in self-defence would most likely receive the same punishment as the aggressor. And with the kind of things our city-boys spend their time entertaining themselves with (TV, movies, video games) may also fuel imaginations that seem to make playground issues much more serious than just flying fists. Guns and knives are brought to school, and even 2nd graders are committing sexual assault on other students.

When we take away a boy's in-born instinct to fight to defend his honor, or someone else's and opportunities to fix things, to build things, and perform hard labor, what is left to define his manhood? No wonder we live in a world with so many people with gender-confusion.

Flashback Friday - 6 year anniversary

Here is me with my sweetheart after 6 years of marriage. We were married on May 2, 1998 in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. This picture taken in my parents' backyard in Mapleton, Utah on May 2, 2004.

Summer School

In an attempt to control my little world during the summer of no-schedules and chaos, I thought up some ways to occupy my children's time with wholesome activities and continue their learning throughout the summer. This also takes up most of our mornings and I have found that it makes them happier! Who would have thought. Yesterday Rick didn't have to work and so he let me sleep in (what a guy!). By the time I got out of bed, it seemed that everyone had their work done and deep into play-time, so I skipped school. Boy, by the afternoon everyone was grumpy and spent. The kids were bugging each other, they were getting into trouble, and both parents were considering an early bedtime for the kids just to get the rotten day over with. After one frustrating conversation with a child, Rick turned to me and said "They didn't get school today."

I don't know why it is, but I find that my kids are much better behaved when they have WORK to do. Sometimes they complain, it is true. But they are usually much better behaved, more respectful and obedient, and more grateful for everything when they have worked.

This is our summer school plan for every week-day morning:

around 9:00 a.m. -ish I play "Love at Home" on the piano. This is their school bell (and I get my piano practice in!). When they hear this song, they know it's time to come to school. They are to get their calendar and be seated at the kitchen table before I'm finished with the song.

We have morning family prayer (which wasn't happening before) and then a quick little devotional (a scripture, a thought from the friend, or a quote from a general authority). Then we talk about how we can apply this to our lives and our family.

Then we talk about what is going on today. Each kid tells what chores they are responsible for that day and if there is anything else that involves them, then I let them know then (like scouts, or a family outing, or if we have company coming...) My kids are much better behaved when what is expected of them is clearly understood.

Then we have school. We usually just do one short worksheet or assignment having to do with the subject of the day. I use their workbooks from the previous school year and there are some great free resources online. I just print off a worksheet that morning- no brainer. For Jaeda, we just work on letter recognition every day.

Monday- Spelling/Handwriting practice
Tuesday- Math (our goal for Ian is to get him comfortable with his multiplication facts before school starts again)
Wednesday- journal/Blog (I've set up a private blog for each of my kids to help them with their writing skills and typing skills. I give them a topic and they can write on that subject or anything else they feel like, but they each have a minimum number of sentences they have to write about it.)
Thursday- science
Friday- art/music

After school, they are to do their chores. This usually brings us right up to lunch time. It makes me happy to see them productive and then I'm happy to let them play when they are done. I think they enjoy the one on one time and attention I give them during that time (I'm not so good with this normally). Having prayer and a spiritual thought really sets the mood for our home that day, and it is obvious when we miss a day.

Flashback Friday - Easter 2004

Here Is Ian and Rayna on Easter Morning modeling their new home-made Easter clothes. One of my few attempts at being domestic. Ian was so proud of his new duds. He loved his new vest and bow-tie and insisted that his hair be combed handsome - not spikey for the occaision. Here. We were reading about how David and Solomon had a lot of wives and that Heavenly Father only wants us to have ONE wife. Ian raised his hand and asked "What about sisters, are we only supposed to have one sister?" I explained that Heavenly Father loves big families and sometimes there are many sisters and that's okay. The next moring at breakfast he prayed that Heavnly Father would bless him with lots and lots of sisters. What a sweet kid. He and Rayna are best friends. Even when he goes out to play with the neighborhood boys, he always lets her come, too.

Pictures and commentarty taken on April 11, 2004

Jaeda's Birthday #3

So, I asked Jaeda what kind of Birthday Cake she would like to have for her birthday. She said "RED." So I said, "No, what Flavor?" She said "Chocolate." So when we went to the store, I found a flavor called "Red Velvet". I've never seen that kind of cake before, but it was very red, so we got that and some chocolate frosting. These pictures are of Jaeda licking the batter off the spatula after I mixed the cake up. I wish I would have got a picture of her with the finished product, but I didn't. The cake didn't have a particular flavor, just tasted like cake, but it was very beautiful dark red color.

I'm not a big birthday party thrower. I don't like to indulge my kids too much. I find this keeps them humble and they seem to show more gratitude when they don't expect tons of fan-fare and gifts. (This makes me happy, too). The kids each happened to have a friend over that morning, so I told the kids to go home to eat lunch, then they could come back to share Jaeda's birthday cake and ice cream (That is way too much cake, for just our little family). Boy, were those kids excited. Maybe they were expecting a "real" party, but I was serious about just sharing the cake and ice cream. We had our lunch, and 1/2 hour later, the impromptu party guests re-arrived and we sang happy birthday to Jaeda. Ian and Rayna gave her some hand-me-down toys and clothes and she opened a gift from her parents and her grandparents. Cake, ice cream, DONE!

Here is a video of our happy birthday song. Notice the very end. I had the candles in "candle holders". This must have confused the kids, because after they sang, the 3 littlest kids all grabbed a candle wanting to lick the frosting off. Inspecting the candle and seeing there was no frosting, they all hesitantly inserted the darkest end of the candle into their mouths. I'm sure ash doesn't quite taste as good as frosting.

Later that night, my parents and Mattie Rae showed up to wish Jaeda a happy birthday. Grandma brought Jaeda some new clothes and shoes. She also brought clothes for all my other kids, too! Wow! The 3 oldest all got matching patriotic shirts, so we got some fun pics of them.

Jaeda is such a sweetie. She enjoyed every gift she got (even the old jammies that Rayna gave her. She wore them that night to bed.) She loved the attention and the birfday pwesents, too!

3 Years of Jaeda

Jaeda turned 3 yesterday, on the 17th. She is such a fun girl to have around. She was such a mellow baby and has developed quite the sense of humor. She frequently catches us off guard with her little jokes. She loves to dance and sing. As a baby she was given the nickname "Jaeda Potata" and has just recently started calling herself "Jaeda Bee-tay-da." Jaeda is just so pretty with her white hair and milky complexion. Her cheeks are always rosy and her eyes are so blue they are almost like an accessory. We love having her as part of our family. I wanted to post some of my favorite pictures I have of Jaeda as she's grown.

1 week old

2 months old

Halloween 4 months old

5 months old

8 months

14 months

22 months

Halloween 28 months

33 months with baby "kicks"

35 months

One Bad Dad

We had kind of a spontaneous family reunion this last weekend with my Wilhelmsen family. I love getting together with my family, and it is so fun to see the kids enjoy their cousins so much. We didn't so anything spectacular, but we had a blast. We "camped" in my parents' big back yard and had a fire pit where we had foil dinners, a weenie roast, and a dutch oven breakfast. I brought our new swimming pool and between that and the trampoline, we ended up bagging all our other plans and outings because we were having a great time at home.

My talented sister, Shan'l, is learning to play the guitar. So, for Father's Day, she wrote a song for my dad. It was so cute. She wanted all the siblings to learn it and to sing it together for Dad later that day. We all added our special touch, refining the lyrics, adding 3 part harmony, spicing up the accompaniment and including sound effects for...effect.

We all went next door to my Grandparents' house to perform so that my Grandpa could hear our tribute to our father. We sang and Rick played the guitar (because he is much better than any of the rest of us). Our song was called "One Bad Dad". It was so cute. It was in a 60's Beach-Boys style and mostly about how our dad loves his motorcycle. After we performed, my dad requested that we go right over and record it on his computer so he could listen to it again and again. So, we did. My brother is trying to clean it up a bit and then convert it to an mp3. Hopefully I'll be able to share it, soon. Singing and making music with my family is one of the great joys of my life.

Here are the lyrics along with some pictures of me and my dad. Boy, do I love my ONE BAD DAD!:

Cruzin' in his Vega,
He became a family man
Then a Station Wagon
Soon turned to Astrovan.
Donuts in the parking lot
Skidding ‘round and ‘round the block
Wind blowing through his hair
It’s a race to beat the clock.

He’s a zoom ditty
Vroom datty va va va
Voom ditty boom ditty Daddy
Gotta love, love, love,
my good-lookin, fun-lovin’, cruzin’
One bad dad.

Kids grown and gone
He waved a grand farewell
He traded in the van
For his new set of wheels
He loves to feel the wind
Blowing thru his hair
High speed is what he craves
Cruzin’ without a care.

He’s a zoom ditty
Vroom datty va va va
Voom ditty boom ditty Daddy
Gotta love, love, love,
my good-lookin, fun-lovin’, cruzin’
One bad dad.

Ain’t no ordinary dad
Black leather and shiny chrome
A motorcycle lovin’ man
You can hear him coming home
He’s one bad dad
with a dimple in his cheek
A tease behind that smile
He peels out and leaves a streak.

He’s a zoom ditty
Vroom datty va va va
Voom ditty boom ditty Daddy
Gotta love, love, love,
my good-lookin, fun-lovin’, cruzin’
One bad dad.


Angel white hair
‘neath his helmet so black
He’s zoomin’ round the town
Like he’s never comin’ back
Don’t let the leather fool you
He’s of the sweetest kind
Hazel eyes with laughter lines
It drives me outa my mind

He’s a zoom ditty
Vroom datty va va va
Voom ditty boom ditty Daddy
Gotta love, love, love,
my good-lookin, fun-lovin’, cruzin’
One bad dad.

He give the biggest hugs
In his own gentle way
He’s tall and very strong
He ain't got much to say
He’s a hard workin’ man
He likes his gravy thick
Makes a rumble when he sleeps
Loves ketchup and lumpy dick*.

He’s a zoom ditty
Vroom datty va va va
Voom ditty boom ditty Daddy
Gotta love, love, love,
my good-lookin, fun-lovin’, cruzin’
One bad dad.

He’s a zoom ditty
Vroom datty va va va
Voom ditty boom ditty Daddy
Gotta love, love, love,
my good-lookin, fun-lovin’, cruzin’
One bad dad.

*In case you were wondering, "lumpy dick" is a depression-era recipe. Not a very appetizing name, I know.

Ring Sling

While I was taking it easy during the last trimester of my pregnancy, I came across this thing called a "Ring Sling". I had never seen anything like it before, but I liked the idea of having my baby close to me but still able to have my 2 hands free to help my other 3 kids. I found a few websites where they gave dimensions of their slings and some basic instructions on how to make one. It didn't look too hard or like it would be too expensive, so I decided I would make one for me.

It was very simple to make and I finished the whole thing in less than an hour. To test the strength of the fabric and seams, I immediately recruited Jaeda to be my model. So, being 8 months pregnant, I hoisted her into the sling in a hip-carry. I cinched up the fabric tight and wa-lah! I was carrying her with no hands. Jaeda loved it. She laid her head down on my chest and I don't know if I've ever seen her be so still before. I think that it's calming to babies to be snuggled so close. But my poor back couldn't handle that for long, so I had to put her down. For the next couple of days she carried around a long scrap of fabric wrapped around her and carried her baby dolls in her own sling.

The next time my sister, Mattie Rae, came over, I showed her my new sling. She wanted to hold Jaeda in it. Jaeda did the same thing. She just laid her head down and held oh, so still. Mattie Rae said it felt like you were getting a big long hug. I need to make one for her with cross bones, pirates, or motorcycles.

Brynlee likes it just as well. I find that if she is fussy, it is easier to carry her in my sling and still get things done, then just to hold her and stress out about all the things I can't do that need to get done. Especially having her be so young, she still needs her head supported, so holding her takes both hands. In the sling I can position her so her head is supported and I have both hands free!

The tail of the sling has a batik fabric that I've made some large pockets with. I can use these as I'd use a diaper bag. The pockets are big enough for diapers and wipes, pacifiers, PBJ sandwiches... But if I'm not using the pockets, I don't love having the tail hang down, so I just wrap it under Brynlee's bum and tuck it in behind me.

Flashback Friday - 4th of July 2003

This first picture is us at the parade in Biggs, California, enjoying the festivities for the 4th of July. My sister, Mattie Rae was living with us at the time and came to enjoy the parade as well. Pictured here, from left to right: Mattie Rae, Rindee, Ian (3), and Rayna (21 months).

My father-in-law is an avid hunter, and most especially enjoys bow-hunting. This is part of the culture of my husband's family and most of Rick's brothers also hunt. While we were living there, we got to participate in the nightly activity of target practice in the walnut orchard. Rick's dad gave Rick a hand-me-down bow while we were there, and although I wanted to participate, I wasn't strong enough to pull back the manly bows that the men were using. So, I had to be content asking questions and learning about the finer points and technique of accurately shooting a bow. For my Birthday, my father in law hands me the Cabella's catalog and tells me I can choose any bow I wanted. So this picture is me, finally participating in the Sannar target practice line-up. Pictured here, from left to right: Rindee, Mike Sannar (brother-in-law), and Skip Sannar (brother-in-law).

Rayna's New Smile

Rayna has lost her 2 bottom teeth, and they have grown in completely. It's been so long since we lost any teeth in our home that it was a surprise to me to see one of Rayna's front teeth hanging all skiwompus. She showed me that she has several loose teeth and that her 2 front teeth were very loose. She has been working on it daily to get it loose enough to fall out. The last few days I've had to take a second look whenever she smiles. Her teeth have always been perfectly straight, and so even this slight variation was catching me off guard.

We went to my parents' house on Sunday and Rayna proudly showed off her very loose tooth. My mom is always such a good sport and always seems to be sincerely interested in my kids and whatever they seem to be fascinated with at the moment. The next time I saw Rayna, she had a string of dental floss hanging out of her mouth. My mom had tied a string to her tooth to help her pull it out. It brought back memories of my childhood as I remembered my own string hanging from my mouth in an effort to pull out my own loose teeth. Everyone took their turn teasing and tugging at her string (the exact thing I HATED about having a string on my loose tooth. For some reason everyone thinks that as soon as you have a string hanging from your mouth it means that your sensitive loose tooth is public property.) Despite every one's efforts, the tooth didn't come out before the day was over.

The next morning Rayna woke up, string and tooth still in tact and carried out a normal day of playing with friends. That night before she went to bed, she came to me and asked if I would just pull her tooth out. It was soooo loose I could see the top of it if I pushed it to one side. I tugged gently a couple of times and decided I could drag it out, or I could get it over with. So the next tug was a "firm" one and out it came. I don't think Rayna was expecting that because she let out a big "OOOHHhhh!". She went to the bathroom and I told her to put some cold water on it to help the pain. She was pretty uncomfortable, and I was feeling bad, so trying a distraction method, I suggested she show us her new smile. She lifted her head up, smiled in the mirror, and the pain was history. She started to giggle and then she'd admire her reflection and giggle some more. She showed everyone she could find to show...including our next door neighbor who was mowing his lawn.

Today she says it's hard to say "thhh". I'm still getting used to her new look, and I probably won't even get a chance to before her other front tooth comes out...and another one on the bottom. What a cutie.

Brynlee's Bathtime - 6 weeks old

I just had to share some pictures of Brynlee's bathtime. She is such a sweet little baby. We sure love having her in our home. She is growing so fast and is even getting some chubby rolls on her thighs. These pictures were taken when she was 6 weeks old.

Here are the pre-bath pics:

And some pics during the bath. This last one is the tail end of the smile. I just missed it.

And here she is in action. Her sounds are so feminine and sweet. She never cries to loud or without cause. She is a very good baby.

I've been tagged

I'm pretty new to this blogging community, but I assume this means I have to post and then tag some other lucky blog-reader.

Here are 7 little known facts you may or may not know about me:

1. I am a musician. I started playing the violin in 4th grade and learned to play the viola in 7th grade. I played the string bass for a semester in 8th grade (but don't rember a thing about it except my poor fingers HURT!). I took voice lessons in 10th-11th grades and love to sing. I've directed a children's choir, taught voice and violin lessons, and after I got married, my husband bought me a guitar and is teaching me to play that.

2. I like to geocache. I've found 161 to date and have placed 8 of my own, 6 of which are still active. I've found caches in Utah, Idaho, and California. Check out http://www.geocaching.com/ if you have no clue as to what I'm talking about.

3. My 1 year of college I studied Floral Design Management. I've worked for 3 different florists and have made custom floral arrangements here and there.

4. I studied Midwifery for a year. I intend to continue my studies someday...

5. I have discovered homemaking skills make me happy. Since I've been married I've learned to sew and have sewn most of my kids' easter dresses and halloween costumes for the last 8 years. I have found I enjoy making quilts as well. After my 2nd child was born, I decided I wanted to learn to make bread. So my mother showed me how to make it by hand and we haven't looked back. After making it by hand for a year, I got a Bosch for Christmas and so for the most part, my family enjoys homemade bread nearly every day.

6. I am raising chickens. My husband built me an adorable chicken coop and we currently have 8 chickens (all hens) being housed in my parents' backyard until we have a place big enough to allow farm animals. We have 3 Buff Orphingtons, 2 White Silkies, 2 Americaunas, 1 Black Australorp. Someday I'd like to have some land and have a few more farm animals.

7. I publish a monthly family newsletter (usually around 12 pages long) for a family with nearly 300 decendants and around 100 "subscribers". I have loved family history since I was a teenager and when our current family newsletter editors were burnt out, I volunteered to keep it going. With a family this large the newsletter was my only way to keep track of all the new babies and spouses joining our family. I loved the newsletter and just couldn't sit by and watch it fizzle out. I have been doing it for about 8 months now, and I really love it.

K. Now I tag Amidey, Mattie Rae, Rachel L, and Sara A.

Flashback Friday -Easter 2002

Here I am with my two babies, Ian and Rayna on Easter Sunday Morning. Rayna is sporting an Easter Dress that I sewed in my attempts to improve my very limited sewing skills. I had to do button holes and a collar on this dress - 2 new things I learned. I had to make a few calls to Wyn to have her talk me through some of the directions. Although, in the end the dress itself turned out, I also learned the value of measuring the body that you are sewing for to make a custom fit. I knew I had a chubby baby, and was dissapointed when I tried the finished dress on Rayna. Her little arms were so chubby I could hardly get the dress off. So, needless to say, she only got to wear the dress once before it was too little for her. I also made the purple skirt that I am wearing in the photo. Ian is 2 and 1/2, and Rayna is 6 months old in this photo. Picture taken in our home in Gridley, California.

Let them be Little

About a month ago Rayna made the comment: "Mom, you're so HAPPY today! It's so nice. Do you think you could do that more often?" I was very surprised. I wasn't feeling particularly happy that day, or any different than I had been feeling, but I did happen to get up to unlock the door for her when she came home from school so she didn't have to let herself in through the garage. I couldn't stop thinking about her comment. I must have been behaving pretty badly t have one small act of service mean that much to my little girl.

Thinking about the previous months, I could see that I had been a bit impatient and at times, even grumpy. I was currently trying to recover from the birth of my fourth child after a complicated 3rd trimester. During the last few months of the pregnancy I got very ill. I lost weight, and my baby was losing weight, too. So, I had to concentrate on growing my baby in record time. My orders were to rest and take it easy so that the food I ate would go towards her growth instead of my energy. I am normally a really active person, so this was a real struggle for me. Laziness is nice for awhile, but I soon began to feel depressed and irritable because I couldn't do the things that I wanted or needed to be done. I felt like I was failing at being a mother and a wife and boy, did I have cabin-fever! Then, naturally, after the baby did come, I was still supposed to take it easy during the 6 week recovery period. I don't need to mention how sleep deprived new mothers are, as well.

So Rayna's comment was kind of like a kick in the pants for me. I knew I wasn't feeling well, but I was hoping that no one would notice, because I knew it would pass. I guess they noticed, anyway. So I apologized to my kids and re-dedicated myself to being more kind and loving to my children.

That weekend was Rayna's dance recital, and one of the classes danced to a song called "Let them be Little". I had never heard the song before, but the words of the song brought tears to my eyes. It was a song just for me. It addressed all the things I wish I could do for my kids, but I am too pre-occupied with teaching them to be well-mannered-contributors-to-society, that I forget to enjoy their childhood. I'm afraid that if I don't change my ways that they may forget to enjoy their childhood as well.

The next day was Sunday. Jaeda was sick, so Rick went to church the first 2 hours, and I got to go the last hour, to Relief Society. The teacher had asked 2 of the sisters to share a personal experience. Iris Wiseman's experience seemed to be the fireworks at the end of this week that seemed to have a theme just for me. She said that now that she had decided she was done having children, she was trying to change her focus as a mother. She said she had the most wonderful childhood, and now she wanted her focus to be just that: Creating wonderful childhood memories and environment for her own children.

I know it's not rocket-science, and I'm sure most mothers are concerned with this. I love being a mother, and I take my responsibility very seriously. I think that is the problem, though. I take it TOO seriously. I find myself getting frustrated with their messes, their immaturity, and hypersensitive feelings - all things that are very normal in childhood. I feel like my focus is teaching my children to be loving, to be good, to be kind, to be smart, to have faith, to be honest...etc. But I admit my focus isn't creating a "wonderful childhood" for them. Why can't I do both? Really, if they know they are loved and love to be home, then most of the issues that will be hard for them to deal with as teenagers won't be so hard to deal with if they know they are loved and supported by their family.

So that is my goal this summer: To be kinder, to be more compassionate, to do some fun things together as a family, and to focus more on creating a feeling of love and unity in our home. This is a huge feat for me, so I'm enlisting help from heaven and we'll see how this goes. We're doing some new things as a family, and after a week, it seems to be going really well. Hopefully someday my children will be able to say they had a "wonderful childhood".

Summer Treat

Rayna is such a good student. She went straight to 1st grade this year and did wonderfully. Her teacher said she was pleasant to have in class, and academically, she was doing great as well. At every term she had straight "E's" (excellents), and no behavior problems at all. I was so proud of her for doing so well her first year of school.

I noticed that as the days got warmer Rayna would come home from school and ask if we could go up to the reservoir that day to swim and cool off. With all the sickness that we and the community experienced last summer from bacteria in the swimming pools, I've been hesitant to to any swimming this summer. That isn't an experience I'd like to repeat.

So, because Rayna worked so hard at school this year (remember I have to have a reason to buy a gift) AND thanks to a 1/2 off sale at Shopko, Rick and I decided to buy a little swimming pool for our kids to play in this summer. Rayna could hardly keep her voice at a below-shouting level because she was so excited. Good thing we were outside! We got started late setting it up, so it was about dinner time when they finally got to jump in. Rayna couldn't find her swimming suit, but that didn't stop her from trying it out. Rick and I pulled out some camping chairs and parked them in the shade as we watched our little ones frolic in the freezing cold water.

Remember before when I said I was cheap? Well, that includes buying toys or treats for my kids. I felt bad last summer when my kids spent most of their playing time at everyone else's house. But when I thought about it, what kid would want to play with legos when there are trampolines and swing sets and video games to play with somewhere else? I couldn't really blame them. My poor kids are deprived, but were they ever excited and grateful for this summer treat we got for them. And I'm hoping that they will want to spend a little more time at home this summer than they did last summer.