Great Expectations

This is exactly how I feel when I sit down on New Year's Day to make a list of goals, and my problem is the same as Pip's. I love the feeling I get when I take stock of my life. The rub is actually doing something about it!


At certain times — meaning at uncertain times, for they depended on our humour — I would say to Herbert, as if it were a remarkable discovery:
"My dear Herbert, we are getting on badly."
"My dear Handel," Herbert would say to me, in all sincerity, if you will believe me, those very words were on my lips, by a strange coincidence."
"Then, Herbert," I would respond, "let us look into out affairs."
We always derived profound satisfaction from making an appointment for this purpose. I always thought this was business, this was the way to confront the thing, this was the way to take the foe by the throat. And I know Herbert thought so too.
 We produced a bundle of pens, a copious supply of ink, and a goodly show of writing and blotting paper. For, there was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.
I would then take a sheet of paper, and write across the top of it, in a neat hand, the heading, "Memorandum of Pip's debts;" with Barnard's Inn and the date very carefully added. Herbert would also take a sheet of paper, and write across it with similar formalities, "Memorandum of Herbert's debts."
 The sound of our pens going, refreshed us exceedingly, insomuch that I sometimes found it difficult to distinguish between this edifying business proceeding and actually paying the money. In point of meritorious character, the two things seemed about equal.
When we had written a little while, I would ask Herbert how he got on? Herbert probably would have been scratching his head in a most rueful manner at the sight of his accumulating figures.
"They are mounting up, Handel," Herbert would say; "upon my life, they are mounting up."
"Be firm, Herbert," I would retort, plying my own pen with great assiduity. "Look the thing in the face. Look into your affairs. Stare them out of countenance."
"So I would, Handel, only they are staring me out of countenance."
But there was a calm, a rest, a virtuous hush, consequent on these examinations of our affairs that gave me, for the time, an admirable opinion of myself. Soothed by my exertions, my method, and Herbert's compliments, I would sit with his symmetrical bundle and my own on the table before me among the stationary, and feel like a Bank of some sort, rather than a private individual

Woefully Behind

Umm, Where should I start? So much unblogged about water has gone under the bridge. I guess this will be one of those "month (or two or three) in review" posts.

May and Ellen had their primary program a few weeks ago and they both did an excellent job on their parts. It was Ellen's first time and she wasn't nervous at all.  

We celebrated Thanksgiving early with my family. It was fun to have everyone together, and to enjoy my parents new "rumpus room." They remodeled the garage to make room for the growing family. It's probably going to be quite a while before we're all together like this because my brother and his family are moving to Montana and I have a brother and sister in Provo. Hopefully they can coordinate their visits!

Here is my incredibly cute baby Lilly! She has recently discovered her toes. 

All my sweet babies. I tell them regularly to stop growing...to no avail.

Last week we woke up to this. The kids were so excited they bundled up and went out to play before breakfast. We've had so much fun playing in the snow for the past week. It still hasn't melted, which is fairly unusual.

Darling Lilly! We are all in love with her.

Lilly with Great Grandma Ida.

May had her Christmas concert and was asked to play Mary. She took her part very seriously and wanted me to read to her about Mary from the scriptures. She looked so sweet and dd her part just right.

We are all enjoying the Christmas season and staying busy with lots of fun activities. I'll try to keep posting as we go. Merry Christmas!

Of Borscht

I made borscht for dinner for the following reasons:
   1. My husband served his mission in Ukraine and it brings back memories for him,
   2. I had beets and carrots still in the ground, begging to be eaten.
   3. Lots of veggies and no fat if you leave out the meat.
I have learned the following lessons:
   1. There are a hundred different ways to make borscht and the way I made it is not the way my husband was taught.
   2. It is impossible to make a small batch of borscht. Midway through I had to transfer to a larger pot. No wonder the        starving soviets liked it. It's like it magically multiplies.
 When I was finished I was quite discouraged because:
   1. It looked like something even I didn't want to eat so I was sure my kids wouldn't eat it.
   2. I had enough of it to last a week.
   3. It wasn't how my husband remembered it.
However:
   1. It turned out really yummy.
   2. My husband liked it and had seconds
   3. My kids liked it and May had seconds, though she only wanted beets for the second portion.
The End

Word o' Wisdom Wednesday

I was running errands today and listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio and he said something that I liked a lot.  He gives financial advice. Anyway he said that most of the wealthy people he knows have something in common and that is that they don't care what other people think of them. Most of the people in financial trouble have gone in to debt because they care too much about what others think. I know, I know...earth shattering revelation. Still, I found it interesting that the founder of Wal Mart drove a beater pick up truck until his dying day because he could care less what people thought. Going into debt to keep up appearances is not one of my weaknesses, but caring too much what people think is. So If I get over that will I be rich? Dang, if only someone would pay me to not care!

It's been a while...

We've been busy around here and I just haven't felt like up-dating for a while. School is in full swing. Mathan has had a lot of work out of town. I've started up at the library again. Young Women's, General Conference, Stake Conference. May, Ellen, Thomas, Lilly. Yeah, we've been busy! Here are some pictures to make it a little more interesting...

 The drive to Utah is long but you can't deny that it's beautiful!

 We went up to Provo to visit Ben and Anna and their families. Amy took us to this great museum at BYU.

 Isn't it funny that the kids are all "ho-hum"? They're bears! Come on!

 This elephant was massive. Thanks for taking us Amy!

 We got to go to Mathan's mission reunion while we were there.

 It was fun  for  me to put some faces to the mission stories. The reunion included all of the mission presidents in the history of the Ukraine mission and we got to hear the first president and the latest president speak. It was really neat to hear them talk about the dedication of the land for missionary work and then hear about the temple dedication.

 We took a drive between conference sessions to look at the fall colors. It was so gorgeous, but not as pretty as baby Lilly! I sure love this baby girl.

 The people I love most. Isn't Ellen's retro dress awesome?

Mathan and Eva are pleased to announce that they have been married for seven years and are more in love than ever...and Eva's hair is more fluffy than ever.

 Love this picture! It was so wonderful to visit these people. We miss you!

 Our cabbage patch doll of a niece. Baby Hannah is so sweet.

 My girls about to fall in the fountain. Thankfully it was only a couple of inches deep.

 This one cracks me up. Isaac with his big cap. He is just an all around great kid.

 This park was so pretty and well kept. The leaves were turning but it was still perfect weather. Thanks so much for having us to stay, Ben and Amy! It was wonderful to see you and to hear Ben sing at conference!

East, West, Home's Best!

Random Ramblings

~ This week is my Alma mater's homecoming. I used to be kind of fanatical about high school football. I'm still a fan, but not as crazy as I used to be. I think I'll go to the game.

~I'm really excited to go to conference and see my family up in Provo! We are also going to Mathan's mission reunion. Should be fun!

~My 28th birthday is this weekend and I get to spend most of the day with my best friend Mathan! I can't wait. We're going to spend the day in Flagstaff just having fun and enjoying the time together. We're also going to hit savers and few other stores. I love savers!

~ Last Christmas I was given a tea set that belonged to my Grandma Pew. It's a cute little set, but it is missing the tea pot. Anyway, we found a replacement on the internet and I'm waiting for it to get here! Can you imaging trying to track down a particular piece of china before the internet was established? It would probably take a lifetime and cost a lot more than it does now! I want to have a real tea party with cucumber sandwiches and scones, but what should we drink? Peppermint tea? Cider? Humm.

~ This year we were finally successful at growing tomatoes! I've made salsa and tomato sauce, and have really enjoyed having fresh tomatoes to work with. They are so yummy! For some reason we haven't been able to make them thrive in years past. An interesting side note: our summer squash didn't even come up this year. Usually that is the fail safe crop, but not this year. The cucumbers, beets and carrots have also done well. Sad to see the season coming to an end.

~ A few nights ago May asked Mathan how old he is and he answered, "almost 30". May looked all surprised and said, "that's old!" Then Ellen asked, "are you gong to DIE?" We had a good laugh over that. It's funny how old we seem in the eyes of our kids. I think my mom was 28 when she had me. It's interesting to think of my mom as my age, and feeling the same way I feel. She always seemed so confident and all knowing, but I'm sure she must have felt just like I do; young and inexperienced. I still have so much to learn!

~ I started working at the library again. It's nice to have a little extra money. I'm thinking of using it to put the girls in dance lessons. They both enjoy dancing and seem to have a lot of natural grace. We'll see.

~May is doing well in school as usual, but I'm a little worried by her need for perfection. She gets upset if she messes up, and can't rest until she fixes whatever it is. It's a good quality in moderation, but it's unhealthy in a lot of ways. Few things in life are perfect and that makes life hard for a perfectionist.

~ Today I feel so grateful for all that I have. A loving family, a home of my own with lots of gadgets that make life easy, ample food and clothes, a reliable car, lots of help and information at my finger tips... The list goes on. What's funny is we are what is considered "poor" in this country! Life is so hard for us poor folk with electricity, computers, fridges full of food, and dishwashers!

Monday Memories

Lots of things have sent my mind into little flashbacks lately, mostly things that my kids are doing. May and Ellen were playing outside and as usual I can't leave them alone for more than a few minutes. I constantly look out the window to make sure they're safe. Yes even in our secluded little town I worry and keep a close watch. Anyway they stayed out for longer than usual and I poked my head out the door to see what was entertaining them so well. It was dirt and rocks. That's all. Just dirt and rocks and whatever happened to be lying around. It reminded me of the hours I used to spend imagining rocks into houses with balconies and swimming pools, the same way that you look at clouds and see elephants with bow ties. I remember whole afternoons being spent in a miniature world with small rocks as people and big rocks as mountains and caves. I miss being able to do that! It seems so much harder to think creatively now.
   Another little moment happened when I took May to have her teeth cleaned and my uncle's dentist office. My cousin Brenda was working at the front desk, and while May was waiting for Uncle Trent to come check her teeth, Brenda took her behind the desk to show her the cupboard where the coloring books are kept. My breath caught in my chest just looking at the evidence of the passage of time! There was Brenda all grown up, a beautiful wife and mother, showing my daughter the same cupboard that she showed me years ago when we were girls. We used to run up to the office and raid the basket of little toys that they kept for kids who had had there teeth worked on.   It seems like such a short time ago that we were May's age and rummaging through the place where the fun stuff is still kept.
     I have a stuffed animal that has survived every toy purge of my life, and now my girls play with her almost as often as I did. She is a white cat named Candy, and her shape lends itself to being dressed up. My girls figured this out on there own. They dressed her in a dress that they both have out grown. It makes me smile to see them enjoying her in the same way I did. Candy went almost everywhere with me. She went on every road trip and spent every night in my bed. She caught many tears and survived a few tug o' wars too. Needless to say she's not really white anymore and the paint on her eyes is faded and chipped. She has even had her fur trimmed a couple of times. I'm going to keep her until she has been entirely worn out, which probably won't be too much longer considering that I let the girls play with her, then I'll see if I can find one on the internet that is in good condition. I'll give the original Candy a proper burial and keep the new one in remembrance of the Candy that gave me so much comfort.