I've been feeling kind of blue lately, so a little gratitude would be a good thing. It is always a good thing! Today I am thankful for my babies. I'm thankful for their unconditional love. I'm grateful for their smiles and hugs and giggles. I'm grateful that they run to me when they're hurt or afraid or need help. I'm grateful for the ability to make it all better most of the time. It's not always going to be like that, so I need to be grateful for the simple troubles that I can fix now. Each one of my children are miracles. Each one is a child of God that I have been trusted to teach and love and raise. I'm grateful for the laughter and imagination that they bring to my life.  

Wednesday Who

According to my stats tab there were almost 30 hits on this site yesterday and this morning. So the question is WHO? Do I know you? Are we related? Do you read my blog often? hummm. I know some of you that follow the blog, but who else? I'd love to hear your comments, even if I don't know you. E mail if you don't want to comment. evalaree@yahoo.com  Don't be shy now!

Tuesday's True Confession

I have an unhealthy relationship with our local Chinese restaurant. I LOVE IT! but it's bad for me. BUT I LOVE IT! We order take out maybe once every other week, and I always order the same thing. A Chinese family owns and runs it. The all speak Mandarin and very broken English. I have yet to understand what they say when they first answer the phone. I just give them my order and hope I didn't ignore a direct question. I don't know what all they put in their food, but I think I'm addicted. I think they all recognise me by now. I'll know I'm in real trouble when I know them all by name, and they say, "Hi Eva, same as usual?"

Memories Monday

I took piano lessons for years when I was little...with little success. I play, but not well. I guess I just never got excited about it. Finally it came to screeching halt when I was asked to play in Young Women's one Sunday. I said no. That was HUGE for me. I always said yes when I was asked to do something by a leader, but this time I couldn't take the potential embarrassment. I cringe just thinking about it. I took it a step further and told my mom I just didn't want to play anymore. I have since repented, and I play when I'm asked and try not to care when I mess up. Anyway, I had been playing the violin for a while and my mom asked if I wanted to take violin lessons. Talk about optimism. She had already wasted a ton of money on piano! I said yes, and then I met Mr. Shaw. He was a nearly eighty year old man who wore argyle sweater vests, slacks, and loafers....and alternately rode a motorcycle, airplane, or six speed Saab form Sedona to Snowflake twice a week to give lessons. He didn't ride his motorcycle often because he couldn't strap his violin and viola on the back at the same time. There was a short time when he had the coolest VW van. It was bright red and the whole front end opened so you could get in and out. I prayed when I knew he was flying his airplane. He had a talent for teaching that I have rarely seen. He made me want to practice. Let me say that again. He made ME want to practice. I would finish a lesson and go home saying to myself, "I'm gonna show him! I'm going to be perfect next week!" If he corrected me on a passage and then I played it wrong again, when I knew how to play it right, he would say, "how would you like a punch in the nose?" I heard that a lot. He wasn't one to dole out complements. You had to earn them. I was blown away when one day he said, "You have a damn good ear!" Then he apologized for swearing at me. He was so generous. One time I asked if he could give me and extra lesson so I could get ready for an audition. He went out of his way to meet me in Flagstaff and then would not let me pay him! Another time I was waiting to start my lesson and a young girl had a blank check and was saying, "I've had X lessons and you change X dollars and hour so thaaaats???" He told her a number that was half of what it should have been. I raised my eyebrows at him and he winked at me while the girl wrote the check. Mr. Shaw also directed the symphony for many years. During rehearsal when he wanted us to start at a certain rehearsal letter he would say,"Letter L! L! Lucious ladies lounging in Louisiana!" or similar hilarious alliterations. Eventually he decided to retire. We were all so sad, but he was eighty by then, and deserved a break. For the last concert we played Dvorak's 9th symphony and to this day it makes me miss him. After the concert we had a farewell party for him. My friend and I went over to say thank you and goodbye. We were just chatting with him and he said, "Want to know a secret?' He lifted up his pant leg to reveal black nylons! He had accidentally grabbed his wife's nylons instead of his socks!  The good memories keep going but I should stop. Suffice it to say that I will never forget Mr. Shaw. And there is good news about all the lessons! They paid off and paid my college tuition. Yay mom for not giving up on me!

Family Friday

Here's an update on all of us!
Mathan continues to amaze me with all that he accomplishes everyday. He is still holding up three demanding callings and doing great under the circumstances. He is also busy with work, for which we are all grateful. Lately he has had to be gone for two or three days at a time, which has been difficult for both of us. Still, we are grateful for the work!
I'm doing well with my full time job of Mother/teacher/cook/housekeeper/nurse and librarian. I've been enjoying a lot of reading lately too. I added some of my favorite books to my library, and it's been fun to own some of my favorites and reread them.
May is doing great in school and is starting to read simple words really well. I'm so proud of her. Next week is red ribbon week at school. Last night she was singing "Look at me, what do you see? A drug free me!" It made me feel a little uncomfortable. I wish that we lived in a world where kids didn't have to learn this stuff so early! She is so excited to dress up in her Halloween costume next Friday.
Ellen is a princess. She still insists on wearing a dress almost everyday. She is almost perfectly potty trained, but still asks for help. Yay! Mathan finished brushing her teeth the other night and she grabbed the toothbrush and started trying to brush Mathan's teeth. She said, "It doesn't hurt! It's not gonna kill you!" We love our sweet Ellen.
Thomas is our ray of sunshine. He is just so sweet and friendly. He almost always has a smile on his face. Right now he has a thing for buttons of any kind. He is fascinated by the keyboard and the phone, and has a knack for turning things off when you want them on. He says "yeah" when you ask him a question. Isn't it great that his first word is yeah instead of no? He is getting close to standing on his own, and loves to walk around holding my hands.
We'll, there's our little round up. Love all you sweet people who take time to read my silly thoughts!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

"Nothing is very very strong: strong enough to steal away a man's best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and too fuddled to shake off....Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one-- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." ~C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters

An Honest To Goodness Vacation!

Sleeping Bootie's Castle

Sleeping Bootie in the flesh!

Tarzan's Tree House

London Bridge in Lake Havasu City

May had a week off of school for fall break and we decided to take full advantage of it and actually leave home! We had a wonderful trip to Disneyland and the girls had a blast. We decided it would be best for everyone if we left Thomas with Aunt Val and Grandma Tenney. THANK YOU! We missed him so much, but we're sure he wouldn't have enjoyed all the travel and bustle and long days. Not to mention, that there is not much wiggle room at Disneyland for a little crawler. All in all it was a fun trip!

Monday Memories

Yesterday we all went to my cousin Kaila's unfairwell talk at the Snowflake Pioneer Park chapel. It's been a long, long time since I've been to my old home ward. I confess that I spent most of sacrament meeting thinking about all the memories that this building has for me. I remember hiding under the benches with Ben when we were little. I remember the first time I ever sang a solo. The first testimony. The first talk. I remember sitting on the stand for the primary program swinging my feet because they couldn't reach the floor. I sat there looking around at all the old familiar faces, the faces of the people that raised me. I remember the first time I met Mathan. Our first date, which happened to be a date to sacrament meeting. I remember when I was called to be the ward organist/pianist and breaking into a cold sweat every time I had to play. Countless meetings, activities, firesides, interviews. I had many spiritual experiences there. I had many embarrassing experiences there! The emotions run the gamut really. Funerals, weddings, tragedy, comedy. My grandparents used to sit in the pew right ahead of ours. We used to crawl under the bench and sit with them. I miss them so much! When we got out of line my dad would snap his fingers and strike terror into our hearts. He used to make us sit on our hands when we couldn't keep them to ourselves. We would vie for the seat next to mom so we could lay our heads in her lap and play with her necklaces. She would play tic tac toe and thumb war with us. She always cheated on thumb war. She would grab you thumb with her pointer finger and then put her thumb down. Mom went to choir practice every Sunday and we went with her. I grew up in that building. I fell in love in that building, I gained a testimony in that building.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

This talk really resonated with me.Go here and click on D. Todd Christoffersen

True Confession Tuesday: My Dirty Cleaning Secrets

1. I am a crisis cleaner. The home teachers are coming in five minutes?!? Commence with the crazed crisis cleaning!
2. I rarely finish a load of laundry clear from sorting to putting away. Sad but true.
3. When I'm reading a good book I'll read a chapter, then clean a room. Read a chapter, do the dishes. Read a chapter, read to the kids. This method works for me! I don't get burned out cleaning, and I don't waste a day reading. This way I can clean most of the house and reward myself for every victory. (* This totally doesn't work if the chapters are long or if you have no self control when it comes to books. :)
4.When I was a teenager I would see a messy SAHM's house and say to myself, "I'll never be like that!" Then reality happened and I realized that a messy house usually doesn't mean the mom it lazy or neglectful. It means someone is sick, there is something more important happening, or mom is mentally/spiritually/physically fatigued.
5. I believe fly lady when she says you can't organize clutter. You don't need more shelves or storage bins. You need to give away or throw away most of your stuff. I'm getting better at this. I hope to have a neat, simple, organized home, with habits that keep it that way...and a built in work force. Namely, my children. Muahaha!

Monday Momories

Once upon a time many years ago my brother Ben and I were getting ready for Halloween. Weeks in advance we planned our costumes and started digging though my  parents closet and the laundry room looking for what we needed. I went as a gypsy with a scarf on my head and canning rings for earrings. Ben tore up an old sheet and went as a mummy. It took ages for him to get all wound up and ready to go. Finally we got in the car and headed to our first stop. Mom stopped in the driveway and we jumped out and ran to the door of one of our friend's. Their house was still under construction and they had chicken wire on the sides of the house that weren't textured yet. We knocked and yelled, "Trick or Treat!" The man who had answered the door smiled and said, "trick." We stared at him in confusion with our empty bags held open. He laughed and said, "You do a trick, and I'll give you a treat."  Eager for his treat, Ben decided to do a hand stand against the side of the house. He threw down his hands and kicked up his feet, and his wrappings got stuck to the chicken wire! He stayed there with his face turning red and finally came down ripping his wrappings to shreds. Needless to say Ben's costume didn't last very long after that. Hmmm...Maybe I'll ask for tricks before I hand out treats this year.