Monster Jam

During Jeffs sabbatical this time around, it is our goal to take each of the kids out on a special date. Tonight was Jonah's turn. He lucked out and got to eat at Sweet Tomatoes AND go to Monster Jam!

He had two people listening to him talk nonstop all evening! What a dream come true! He didn't even mind that we had earplugs in half of the night. Ha!

On the way home he told us he would like to move to downtown Phoenix, because that's where all the fun stuff seems to be happening.

We sure did enjoy our time with this cute boy!



We met up with a big bunch of Davises! What a fun group!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kindergarten confidence

The other day Simon came home from school with a concern.

"Mom," he sighed, "I'm pretty much the awesomest guy in my class."

"Oh yeah?"  I prodded, wondering why he didn't seem pleased.

"So every day at recess, everybody is just like 'Simon! Simon!' and it's really hard to play with everyone all at the same time.  I really don't like being the awesomest one."

Poor guy.

A day or so later, our cousin Milo was stung by a bee in the back yard.  Simon really wished he had been there when it happened.

He told me "If I would have been there I would have just done this! (insert ninja moves and sound effects) That bee wouldn't have stung Milo!"

I'm so glad he recognizes the responsibility that comes with all that awesomeness!

Later, Mom. Later.

I love the quirky little things Eli says these days.

"Later" is the answer to everything.

Eli: Can I have a soda Mom? Can I?
Me: Not right now sweetheart.
Eli: Later Mom? Later?
Me: Sure. Maybe later.
Eli: (happily) Ok Mom. Later.

Eli: I go swim now Mom? Can I?
Me: I'm sorry, we can't swim today.
Eli: Later Mom? Later?
Me: Well... not today.  But maybe tomorrow we can swim!
Eli: Later? Ok Mom.  Later.

When it comes to suckers, though, later isn't specific enough.

Eli: Can I have sucker Mom? Can I?
Me: Sorry buddy, not right now.
Eli: I have sucker on my birday Mom? (birthday)
Me: That's a good idea! You can ask for a sucker for your birthday!
Eli: Birday coming up! Later. (nodding) Later.

You really have to see it in person to appreciate the cuteness of that "Later."

Daughters

I am so glad I have daughters.  Of course I adore my boys too, but I am really grateful for these two wonderful girls of mine.

Today was a less-than-ideal day.  I was gone a lot, and the boys spent ridiculous amounts of time being entertained by TV and video games. Sometimes that's just how things go, and I know it won't kill them to have days like that, but it still really bothers me.

After dinner I headed out to run some more errands, and asked Savannah to babysit without using any media.  When I came home they were playing hide-and seek.  They were cuddling under the blankets and giggling, and my heart just swelled up with happiness.  Even though it couldn't come from me, I knew my little ones were feeling loved and happy.

During family scriptures, I was pretty drained, and it felt like all I could do to go through the motions of the bedtime routine.  Luckily my girls were there.  Savannah had Simon on her lap, and Becca held Eli.  They cuddled them, helped them read their verses, and whispered things that made them laugh when they should have been reverent.  Again, my heart wanted to overflow.

These beautiful daughters.  This kind of interaction comes naturally to them.  There is something so warm and nurturing about both of them.  They know how to love children and make them feel important and valued, without having to be told.

I picture them in a few short years with babies of their own.  Those lucky children!  These girls will be the kind of wise and caring mothers that the world needs.  But for now they get to love on my babies, and their brothers will always remember feeling special when they were with their big sisters.

Status update

Recently I posted a picture of what summer looks like around here.  It was happy children eating homemade popsicles on a hammock in the shade.

Turns out that is nothing like summer around here.  Summer looks like me getting up with Eli at 5:00 am and trying to pacify him with my iPad for at least an hour.  It looks like me staying up way past my bedtime with teenagers who push FIRMLY against my attempts to encourage order and productivity.

I usually start off with a cheerful morning routine for the little ones, but we can only take so many hours together indoors before summer starts to look like TV, video games or fist fights.

I tell you all of this to explain, or maybe rationalize, my lack of thoughtful blog posts.

So I have decided to take a different approach to blogging for now.  Whenever I have a moment or a coherent thought that I would like to remember, I will stop by the computer (if I can pry a child away from the screen) to post a "status update."  You know... like on Facebook.  It's perfectly acceptable there to just post a one line thought.  I have no interest in posting my random thoughts for the social media world to read, but I think it will be nice to have them collected here.  For posterity.

And so here you go.  Status update #1

Tonight Eli woke up and came out of his bed to tell Savannah that there was a scary bunny rabbit on his pillow that kept biting him.  When she walked him back to his room he was surprised but happy to find that it was gone.

Cute little nightmare!

Caleb's Eagle Project

This story started in November, when our family was in Mexico.  We had gone with a humanitarian group (A Child's Hope Foundation) to serve free breakfast to the people who live in "the canyon" of Tijuana.

The canyon used to be a dump.  At one point the government came in and poured dirt over it, and now people live there.  They scavenge for things from the dump to build their houses.  Tires, old metal or wood, garage doors... whatever they can find.  Many of them don't have running water or electricity.  And when it rains, the dirt gets washed away, making rivers of trash.

This was in November 2013

Caleb was really moved by the poor conditions he saw there.  He decided then and there that THIS is where he wanted to do his Eagle project.  His first idea was to try to improve the sewer system.  (We smelled the raw sewage running down the ditches.)  We quickly decided that was too big of a project for one Eagle scout!

But I started researching and asking and emailing around, trying to get in contact with someone who could help us know how to help.  At one point I was starting to get discouraged, and tried to talk Caleb into just doing something easier and more local.  But his heart was set on Mexico!  He wanted to help people that really needed help!  (And maybe he kinda wanted an excuse for him and his friends to go to Mexico.)

Anyway... we finally found the perfect contact.  Dave- who was already doing work in that community, and needed help to get a community center up and running.  It will be used to host free medical clinics, as well as a counseling center and other things.

Caleb and a couple of helpers made up flyers and went door to door (hand-picked doors) to collect donations to fund the project.  He raised over $1000!

There was a lot of coaching from Mom and Dad, but Caleb really did a lot of the work himself.  I think he learned a lot about leadership, and how much planning it takes to pull something like this off.  And I hope he learned how important it is to have good followers!  He got frustrated when he tried to give an assignment, and people wouldn't follow through with their jobs!  (I kinda know how he feels!!)

We had more than enough unskilled (and somewhat hesitant) workers.  There were a few super helpful ones, and they were much appreciated!  But I think everyone had a good time, and hopefully had their eyes opened to how other people live.

After a morning of hard work we headed to the beach for a little fun.

 Lunches were made for us by some local ladies (included in the group shot) and they were delicious!  Dinners were taco stands.  SO GOOD!

At one point somebody started shooting hoops, and soon we had a friendly game of basketball going on.  The teams were mixed with Spanish and English speakers on both sides.  It was fun to see everyone enjoying each other regardless of their differences.

(This was just the beginning of the game, by the way.  It got much bigger)

Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the beautiful La Fonda restaurant on the beach.  Almost everyone ordered the banana pancakes with coconut syrup.  (It's just now occurring to me that the food was kinda a highlight for me!)

 

Then all the girls went over to the Door of Faith orphanage for a tour and some fun with the babies

And here we have pictures of our finished projects.  We fixed a roof, straightened and re-enforced the fence, did some trash pick up, and dug a trench.

 Good job Caleb!  And... if I do say so myself... Good job mom and dad!

One Eagle project down, four more to go!

I am a flood gate

Sometimes I feel like a floodgate.

A floodgate is put in place to control the flow of water.  It has to hold back a powerful force, but it must be moveable to allow just the right amount of water to get by.

I am standing in my place as the floodgate in my home.  There are powerful forces trying to get by me to flood my home and wash my family away!  There are cell phones, with their accompanying texting and games and internet access.   There are friends to play with and meetings to go to and sports to practice.  Not that any of those things themselves are bad... they are all good things!   Just like the water behind the gate is not bad.  It just needs to be controlled.  Too much can be dangerous.

Yesterday I had kids spending too much time, in my opinion, on their phones.  I had kids wanting to hang out with friends on family night, and a meeting on that same night.  I had one kid asking for permission to see a movie that I wasn't so sure about, and one wanting more video game time.

And I felt like a floodgate.  I felt like had water in my eyes and forcing its way up my nose.  It gets exhausting sometimes.

But I am reminded of Julie Beck's General Conference talk "Mothers Who Know."

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. 

And I am determined to be a good, strong floodgate.  One day my family will thank me.