I am playing catch up here…
We got a lot of snow on March 25th. Over a foot.
Which gave the kids the opportunity to try out Jonah’s invention– the Rocket Chair. It’s made from a broken dining chair and a pair of old cross country skis. Oh, and a rope to pull it back up the hill with, of course.
Now for photos. I think I’m done with the words for this post.
My Jonah had a birthday nearly a month ago. We had a fun party. I took 3 of his friends swimming with us at the nearby rec center, then we came home for pizza, cake, and presents.
This wasn’t just any birthday, it was his EIGHTH birthday!
The Saturday morning after his birthday he was baptized. My parents and grandma came for a visit. My dad gave a sweet talk about baptism, and Barry did the baptism and confirmation.
It is so fun to watch my sweet boy grow up. From the instant he came into this world he has been determined and persistent in getting what he wants and doing what he thinks is right. I have said many prayers that we can help channel his strong will toward good, and he seems to have a innate sense of what is right and fair.
And he’s super cute.
I love you Jonah!
Lest anyone get the idea that we’ve enter into organized tranquility, I thought I’d post some photos of real life here. The big table is no longer out of reach. As you can imagine, this really complicates things around here.
I hope you all had a good Easter weekend. I love it when General Conference falls on Easter weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to church on Sundays (all 3 hours of it) but the biannual break is most welcome, and when it falls on Easter it gives even more time for thought and rest and contemplation.
I try to be really positive here on the blog, try to make it a place where I can record my successes and hopefully inspire someone else out there, but I have to admit lately that I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. There are times and circumstances that just make us painfully aware of our weaknesses and shortcomings– and I feel myself in that place very frequently lately. I am doing exactly what it is I’ve always wanted to do. I’m the mother of a large family. I get to be with each of those little children everyday to help them learn and to try to help them discover and reach their full potential. I’ve been blessed with a view of the big picture, of what I want to create– I might even say I’ve been called to it. I always knew it would be hard, really hard, but there are just some things I didn’t have any clue would be this hard. Being a parent is difficult on so many emotional and spiritual levels I didn’t even know existed. Throw on top of that other relationships, church responsibilities, and never ending mountains of laundry and sometimes I just want to say– “Sorry, I just don’t have it in me. This whole thing you’ve asked me to do, Lord, is way more than I’m capable of. Is there some other way? Can it be easier somehow?”
And this weekend I realized I’m not alone in feeling that way. Jesus felt the same way. He knew what it was he was called to do. He knew the beginning from the end, the essential nature of his role in God’s eternal plan, but still he said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.” (Luke 22:42) Somehow, even with his infinite knowledge, the weight of what he was called to bear was surprising when he was actually experiencing it– more than he thought he could endure. But, he knew it was his role to fulfill, his feat to accomplish, and so he faithfully said, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. ” (Luke 22:43)
I know what I’ve been called to do does not compare in magnitude to what the Savior did, but it is important, even essential in some sense. And, it probably can’t be easier. I just need to trust in his will,
and draw strength from my angel(s).
So, here’s our new April Fool’s Day tradition. The No Manners Dinner.
We had friends in Ohio whose Christmas Eve tradition was to have a huge family gathering for a meal of spaghetti. The catch was that each person got the “dishes” and “utensils” they would eat with in a brown paper bag. Inside would be things like a pot lid, salad tongs, and a ladle and they would all have to do their best with what they got to eat their meal.
Naturally, my kids beg on a regular basis to have a No Manners Dinner of our own, but Christmas Eve just never felt like the right time.
But April Fool’s Day is perfect!
We had breakfast for dinner, of course, and instead of hiding each person’s place settings in bags I just let the boys set the table in whatever manner they chose.
Waffles, berries, and whipped cream from a steamer basket with a rubber spatula, anyone?
Or off a cooling rack with shish-kebab sticks, maybe?
How about with big tongs from a pot lid?
How about drinking out of the gravy boat?
Tonight certainly wasn’t the ideal night to do something new and crazy. We were gone all afternoon with our homeschool group, Brenna was swimming until 6, Jonah had to be at Cub Scouts at 6, Barry got home about 5:40 and had to leave again at 6:45– but today was the day I needed to make it happen. It’s all about the memories, right?
And so, it happened. The kids didn’t stop talking about it all night– about how when I left to run Jonah to scouts and pick up Brenna from swimming they put salt in my quart jar of water, about Brenna eating sausage with a whisk and how it was actually fun to eat out of a cupcake pan because there are so many compartments.
It was worth the extra effort, which really wasn’t extra at all, just a little more fun.