Chihuly at the De Young

On Wednesday of last week, the kids and I went to the De Young museum in San Francisco to see the Chihuly exhibit. Very cool stuff! He's a glassblower from Tacoma, Washington....our old stomping grounds. It was beautiful weather in the City as we went through the museum and the Japanese Tea Garden. Then we took a drive through the Haight so I could show the kids some real, live hippies, but they weren't out that day. Maybe next time. We finished off at the Ferry building where we had some awesome cupcakes.

A little bit about me....

I've titled this post "A little bit about me" because I was perusing the blogs of other people I know and I always enjoy how much you get to know other people by reading their stuff. It allows you to see sides of them you might not already know about. So I was thinkin' to myself, "What kinds of things define ME?" I'm a mom who loves being a mom...even on those days I say I don't love it, and you can see lots of kiddo pics on my blog so that's covered. I love art and design, so more of that will be appearing; I love my husband, I love to read, I love the outdoors, and I love my spiritual self, too. So the latter is what you're getting today.

I was born into a family that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm the first one of my immediate family with that distinction, because my parents and brother joined the church a couple of years before I was born. When I look at my son who is about to be baptized when he turns 8 this month, I hope I've prepared him for this moment in his life. I hope I've taught him to choose the right, that he has a Heavenly Father who loves him more than anything he could imagine, and that if he trusts in Him, he will never be disappointed. Also, when I look at him sleeping in his bed at night, with his hair all rumpled, and his skinned knees, and his sweet little face I wonder if I have what it takes to teach him what he needs to become a missionary when he turns 19. My little boy will have the opportunity to completely change people's lives when he knocks on their door one day.....will I have him ready? There are not many things in this life that I can accomplish that will be more important than preparing my children to have testimonies, to serve missions, to be married in the temple, and to be prepared to meet the Lamb of God. Wow....the Lord chose ME to do raise these sweet spirits and I cannot fail!

I chose this picture because it represents one of my favorite stories in the scriptures....the Woman at the Well. There are so many layers to this story in the Bible, and most of all is the great love of the Master. He takes this precious opportunity to talk to this woman, to let her know He knows her heart, and He sees her potential. He gives her the strength to be better, and to redeem herself. She leaves this encounter declaring that she has met the Messiah, and He is real. She leaves this meeting at the well a new woman of faith and courage.

Am I becoming the woman I promised I would be? Am I doing the things He has asked me to do? Am I drawing my strength at the well of the Savior and leaving a better person? I hope so, but I do know some simple truths. I know that the Lord lives, and that He loves me. I know that He knows my name, and reaches out to me on a daily basis to let me know He's there. I may not have seen His hands, but I have felt His peace when I've needed it most. I know that by studying the scriptures, I will find all I need to teach my family. I know that when I am down on my knees asking my Father in Heaven for guidance and direction, I will receive what I ask.

I guess that's it for now.....there's more to come, I'm sure. :)

Time for some photos....

This is Haley and J at J's end-of-season team party last night. Haley came straight from soccer practice. My kids are cute! Sorry for all of the rest of you who think your kids are cute until you see mine....it must be hard for you.

My son has become somewhat of a "girl magnet" this year. His teacher said girls that sat next to him became unproductive, other girls were arguing over him, and we have even had girls calling the house already! Not good....

Here's my little man, known as "J-Mo" on his team. We just call him "The Boy". He's turning out to be a pretty good baseball player. He's decided to hang up his soccer cleats and not play this fall and instead he's going to play Fall Baseball instead.

This is Haley's new soccer team, Thunderbirds 97. They just had their first tournament in Reno, June 14th and they won the tournament for their age group. Pretty cool stuff!

These are the girls in Haley's class during their 80's party. Some look pretty authentic, and some....um, not so much! Sad that I can be an expert in these looks, huh? Might have to dig up some old photos....

YIKES!

Wow, how sad am I that I haven't posted in so long? Sorry for the 2 people in the universe who actually read this....I'll get better, I promise! The last month of school is kind of like a whirlwind around here, so it's hard to squeeze it all in. So let me sum up what's gone on....

• Haley passed the 5th grade and will be allowed to go into the 6th grade next year! Whew, it was kind of a close one! (Just kidding, Bug)
• Being the room mom in Jason's class paid off, and I was able to bribe his teacher into passing him through the 2nd grade, and he will be a 3rd grader next year. Another close call! (Just kidding J-Mo)
• Mother's Day went off without a hitch...we had my mom and Steph here for dinner and it was very nice. I was able to talk to my birthmom, too, so all in all a good day. It's great having an "extra" mother!
• School is out for summer! Yahoo! Now some mothers dread this time of year and spend time filling the summer with camps and classes and all kinds of "stuff". I am a wierd mom, and I LOVE when my kids are home, and I LOVE having them all to myself. We take trips, we laugh, we read, we play games, we hang out at the park, we geocache.....I get all choked up just thinking about it. This time is so precious, and will be gone before we know it....I don't want to feel like I've missed a single moment with them. They are amazing and teach me things every day.
• Seminary is done for the year! For those who don't know, I am an early morning seminary teacher and I LOVE it! I'm sure I'm kind of a suckish teacher, but the kids tolerate me, and I loved studying/teaching the Old Testament....the words of the Lord are amazing, and so many times my heart was deeply touched by how much the Lord loves these youth. It's a frightening and awesome responsibility seeing them every morning.
• Father's Day came and went.....not so fun for my Davey, though. We were in Reno for a soccer tournament for Haley (I'll post more about this in another post) so we didn't see him until late at night. My guy is such a great dad....he really connects with them in a way that is just between him and them, and he's a great role model, great advice-giver, great friend to them. I love him, and love seeing him as a daddy. Father's day is always a little tough for me....this is my 8th Father's Day without my daddy....and it never gets easier, either. Sorry folks, but that's the truth. As much as I know he's happy being with my brother Bobby again, I selfishly want him here with me, and I want my kids to know their grandpa. I do have a "spare" dad, though, and my birthfather Jack is a great man. I am truly, truly blessed to have him in my life, and I know my Daddy is okay with that.
• Jason's baseball season is officially done....more pictures later.
• Haley's soccer season will NEVER be done....ha ha!

More posts to follow.....I have some catching up to do!

Spring Break

Spring break is over...boo hoo! Most parents I know dread when their kids are home full-time, and try to fill the week with camps, and playdates, and all kinds of activities because it drives them nuts having them home. I'm considered wierd because I really love when they're home....I like hanging out with them, coming up with new adventures for the day, discovering things, or just whatever. I really enjoy them, and I know this time is so precious and it will be gone before we know it. The other day Dave said, "You know, sometimes I can't wait for the day when the house will actually stay clean. When there won't be shoes, and toys, and books all over the place all the time." I didn't say it out loud, but I totally disagree....I'll be so sad when those things aren't part of every day. As frustrating as it is to constantly tell them to clean up, or picking up after them, I LOVE that they're here. They're with us, and they are safe and happy and healthy.

So what did we do with our break? Let's see, we went to the Nut Tree in Vacaville and the kids rode on the rides, and we played with toy sailboats in this small pool they have there. Jason could have done that all day...his was a pirate ship taking over the stormy seas. Haley enjoyed it for a while, but it wasn't so much her cup of tea. The next day we went to Marine World (or whatever they call it now) and took Haley's friend Lauren with us. Jason is now starting to enjoy roller coasters, so he tried a couple he's never been on before and actually liked it! Next, we spent the day in Rockville Park hunting for geocaches. If you've never gone geocaching before, it's super geeky, but way cool! Jason especially likes it, but Haley really enjoys a good hunt as well. We've planned a whole series of caches to hide, so hopefully we'll do that soon. Thursday Haley spent the day with some friends, so Jason and I went to see the Spiderwick movie again. He's been wanting to see it again, so that was our mom and J time. Friday they spent the day with Nana Steph and Papa Ken, and then Saturday was opening day for baseball. Whew! Busy week, but lots of fun. I've added a picture of Haley and Jason in Papa's golf cart that Steph sent....they really aren't very good drivers....

My brother

Yesterday was my big brothers birthday. Yes, mom, I remembered to call him! He's WAAAAY older than I am, so I won't post his age, but just remember....he's LOTS older!

I've always been "into" my brother. When I was little I can remember going into his room, and sitting on his stomach while he was lying on his bed and talking to him. And because I was a typical little girl, I talked and talked and talked and talked, while he just made noises that sounded like he was paying attention. When my mom and dad would go out (which was rarely) he would tell me we were going to play a really cool game called "Butler." I would be the butler, and he would tell me what to do, which usually meant changing the TV channel for him. Yes, these were the olden days before remote controls. I remember when he took a trip to Yellowstone with his friends, and when he came home, I thought he went to Jellystone, just like in the Yogi bear cartoons. I asked him if he saw Yogi, Boo-Boo and Ranger Smith, and he did all their voices for me in response. Bet he doesn't remember that one! When he left on his mission, I would run away from home and take only his picture with me....I would get a stick, a bandanna and tie it up inside the bandanna. I know, I was a little wierd.

Once my brother got home from his mission, he was pretty much gone from then on....college, marriage, kids, etc. I really didn't get to spend any time with him or get to know him until I went to college. I am so grateful for all the time I spent with him during those 3 years....hanging out at the condos, talking about mom and dad, Bobby, music, etc. He really became my friend. He used to tell me to hurry up and get married to someone cool so we could spend vacations together and stuff! But, with the age gap between us, we are always at different points in our life and it makes it harder to connect. My kids are little, his kids are gone, so our paths don't connect in the same ways right now. And yet, I love him dearly and he's always been the model of what a man should be in my eyes. I absolutely adored my father, and he was my hero, but I never expected to find another someone like him...he was one in a million. But my brother is a real, day to day version of someone I can emulate and teach my children to be like. There are so few positive male role models for kids...I am truly blessed for my children to have their wonderful father, my brother, and their grandfathers to give them direction.

Dennis is more like my mother than dad, yet I see signs of dad here and there all the time. Maybe because I'm always looking for pieces of my father....I miss him so much. Dennis is funny, a little sappy, and very smart. You can ask him about most subjects and he'll know all kinds of things....he's one of those people who's opinions you like to draw from.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, big brother.....I'm thinking of you.

Not so good....

Apparently keeping up with the blog is not a priority for me right now! Eeek! I'm going to try and change that. Of course, I won't be passing this link along until I get better with it, either.

We just had Easter come and go and had a nice day. We had my mom, Dave's mom and step-dad and us for dinner. The kids woke up that morning bright and early at 6:45, but they were commanded NOT to start anything or bother mom and dad before 7! The had an egg hunt the Easter Bunny left for them, and then we all had breakfast and got ready for church. Dinner was great....ham, funeral potatoes, fruit, asparagus, yummy salad and pie for dessert. Everyone was full and ready to pop at the end of the night.

I'll get some pictures off the camera and post about spring break later.