Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Jobs, not Chores

Around our house we do JOBS, not CHORES. I find that names carry a lot of significance. It’s better be employed in a job than a chore. One implies importance and meaning; the other implies drudgery.

But doggy pick-up truly is a chore. Notice the improvised gas mask.

Running the electric blower is the favorite outdoor job. It’s loud for little ears, so Mark chooses his red ear protection and he’s ready to go.

Here’s the list of the jobs the kids do on Saturdays:

bedrooms: change sheets, clean, dust, and vacuum

help clean bathrooms

vacuum and dust family and living rooms

help with dishes

dust mop the hallways

clean, dust, and vacuum school room

clean up patio and lawn areas

help in the garden or other outdoor tasks

doggy clean up (we usually pay 10 cents per… you know)

wash windows

put away laundry

fold towels or help with socks

One of Richard’s coworkers gave him a Wii because she felt sorry for us, the only family on the planet without computer games. It is not something we planned on purchasing, but we decided that since we have one, we will let the kids play it one day per week (Saturdays) after the jobs are finished.

I hope the Wii doesn’t take over our lives.

I worry that it will.

I really don’t like the Wii.

Recent Projects for the Youth

We held New Beginnings for the Young Women last night. I made a Power Point presentation about the Young Women program and peppered it with pictures of our girls and a movie from Youth.lds.org. I like using photos and video at youth activities. We spotlighted each new blushing girl who will enter Young Women when they turn 12 this year. We love them already.

Our invitations were made by the Mia Maids and their leader. The little eggs are beads and the nest is some twine glued to paper.

Our gifts were made by the Laurels and a couple of leaders:

We decorated the tables in white cloths, blue fabric overlays, silver ornaments, tiny nests and battery-operated white Christmas lights.

Last night we placed small silver ornaments in the nests (not candies) and it was lovely. The centerpieces were low cost because we used Christmas decorations and objects from our homes. Each table was a little bit different.

Youth.lds.org has downloadable t-shirt and poster designs for the yearly theme. It’s been so helpful this month as we’ve introduced the youth theme for 2012:

Arise and Shine Forth

that thy light may be a standard for the nations.

D&C 115:5

Here are the headbands I made for the young men and young women for our kickoff activity early in January. I downloaded the design and printed on an iron-on transfer which I applied to muslin strips. The young men wore theirs on their foreheads or around their burly biceps.

Most young women wore them as headbands. These took about an hour to make 30. I didn’t sew the fabric; I just tore it into strips.

If you need a pick-me-up, here is a lovely video.

Youth Temple Tour

I visited two temples on Saturday with the youth. Here are the young women in front of the Gilbert Temple construction site. The sister missionary at the construction site gave us a wonderful idea of how temples are built and showed us the plans for the temple and helped the young women visualize themselves going there someday. The land has been dedicated and there was a beautiful spirit there.

Construction workers at temples do not need to be members of the Church, but they must abide by Church standards when on site. They do not smoke, swear, argue, eat (even and especially sunflower seeds), or listen to music of any kind while on site. Temples are built without blemish. No markings are permitted on the construction materials. If a wall has been written on, it is removed  (not painted over) and an unblemished piece replaces it. People in general are not allowed on site: only construction workers, members of the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency are allowed.

Grandma Ruth’s uncle Otto did marble work in the Oakland temple. Grandma Ruth has a lamp with a black marble base from leftover temple marble, and she also has some green marble from the temple.  Otto was not a member of the Church. Years later, the Oakland temple was a place where my dad felt the Spirit as a young man before joining the Church. The Oakland temple is where my parents were married. I love how temples bring families together.

Here we are in front of the Mesa temple where the youth were baptized for the dead.

The image of these girls in the temple, dressed in white will stay with me forever.

 

We gathered at 6:30 am at our church to make it to the temple on time for our appointment. This was Daniel’s first temple trip. It was a good day and we were tired when it was all over.

Hooray for the youth! Hooray for temples!

Oil, lights, and the power of homemakers

For days I have been trying to find a passage in a book about Jewish women’s roles as keepers of the oil, & lighters of the flame in the home. My search was inspired by this photo from our trip and it conveys the message almost as well as the text I was looking for but never found. I’ve been thinking about the significant power a homemaker possesses as she feeds and nurtures her family.

Women can be a  light to the home as we gather our families for meals and see to our families’ needs. Our metaphorical oil supply must be high and of good quality if we want to succeed.

Over time, the requirements for maintaining my personal oil supply have changed. Over the past week I have tried to listen to my body’s need for more rest; I’ve tried to face my obligations without holding my breath and letting my heart race. Sometimes writing in a journal is all I need to sort things out. Lately, I have needed to read the ideas of others more than stir up my own. It’s a time for refueling, I guess.

Here are some things I have been reading or that have caught my interest this week.

Seeking Refinement

Motherhood simplified

Poppies!

 

She didn’t explain away the miracle.

I decided to read the book club favorite, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. I delayed it for months, not sure if I wanted to read about the atrocities of a WWII Japanese POW camp… or about B-24’s… or about a rebellious punk who makes good.

I was caught almost immediately by the author’s style and the dynamic Louie Zamperini. I told Richard that I couldn’t believe it, but the author had made me enjoy reading about war planes. I caught him reading over my shoulder and he said, “You’re right. This author has a very readable style.”

However, it should have been no surprise that I enjoyed this. Memoirs are some of my favorite reads.

My favorite part is when Louie and Phil are stranded on an inflatable raft in the ocean with no food or water. The description of silence, stillness, and the accompanying sharpening of the senses and memories was profound to me. I think Louie’s journey to peace began here, long before he was taken as a prisoner of war.

Through scrunched-up eyelids, I endured the POW camp descriptions and the tales of the sadistic guards, especially The Bird. I was dismayed but not surprised when Louie came home and slipped into alcoholism and violence. I saw the book coming to an end too quickly to resolve his angst and be worthy of the title, “Unbroken.” Louie Zamperini seemed pretty broken to me.

For a week I have stewed about Louie’s amazing turn-around. At first I thought that if the author took the time to describe in detail the planes and maps and biographies in Louie’s life, the least she could have done is describe the religious awakening of Louie Zamperini with a few more words. I felt like for all the pain and trouble Louie had suffered, the solution should have taken years, not days.

But then I decided to think about things in a different way. The only real solution to problems IS simple. It’s the Savior, Jesus Christ. The author could write pages and pages about the anatomy of a man-made plane, but the process of conversion, forgiveness, and renewal are not so easily described. I’m grateful the author didn’t try to explain the miracle, making common the divine and profound.

The two friends, Louie and Phil are great foils to one another. While Louie depended on his determination and spunk to get through his trials, the author asserts that Phil’s strength came from a deep religious belief. In the end, however, Louie’s determination alone is insufficient to heal the wounds of the war. It is deep religious belief that ultimately saves each of them.

The Savior makes a change of heart possible. Changing your heart means that you choose to look at things a different way. For Louie, this meant that he now looked at his accident as a miracle because HIS life was spared. It meant looking at his tormentor with pity, not hate. Conversion propelled him into a life of service, which is also a great healer.

So, thanks, Ms. Hillenbrand for not explaining away the miracle and for the great telling of the life of Louie Zamperini.

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Weasley’s clock

If I had a clock like Mrs. Weasley from Harry Potter, the hands for Richard, Daniel, Timothy, and Mark would be pointing to “Mortal Peril” on our vacations. You should google “Mrs. Weasley’s clock” and see the fun clocks people have designed.

Our family clock would be a little less exciting. A mood clock would probably be more appropriate today. If I had such a device, the mood would be “grumpy” for Timothy, “tired” for Daniel, “overwhelmed” for Paige, “frustrated” for Richard, “happy” for Mark, and “pensive” for me.

 

 

Vroom, vroom. It’s time to take charge of this day. Wish us luck.

’tis Christmas past

We have been away from home, enjoying extended family. We came home to a house full of Christmas presents we never put away, making it seem like we celebrated 4 Christmases (one at home, one in St George, one in Provo, and once again at home).

We did everything we set out to do this season and more, and those memories will keep us going.

Readers, I am not sure how to proceed. With the new year, I am reevaluating the time it takes to write this blog, as well as its content. In the past, I’ve used this as a forum to celebrate home schooling; I’ve ranted about educational philosophy; I’ve celebrated the children; I’ve reminisced and shared old photos; I’ve regaled you with lists more times than you can comfortably endure. The common theme and motivation has always been a desire to be known. This has not changed, but my time to share has been diminished.

I’ve been thinking about sharing more of my thoughts on the literature I read. When I have tried this, it has been cathartic, but very time consuming. To this point, I have only shared the titles I read in my sidebar, and I certainly have strong opinions about them. Would you be interested in reading some book reviews now and then? Don’t answer that question. I was just teasing. This blog is for me, even though I say it is for you. But I do write because I love you.

As I review this post I ask myself two questions, “Will this ramble in the woods of my thoughts be of any worth to someone besides myself?” and “Why am I not making dinner?”

I need to make dinner. To those of you whom I saw over Christmas break, I am so grateful for our time together. It was marvelous to be with you.

 

Our Christmas time Baby

Timothy celebrates a birthday on Christmas week. I have a good friend who has a theory that people most enjoy the season in which they were born. If this is true, it wouldn’t be difficult for Timothy to love his birthday season with its generosity of spirit, lights, and hot cocoa. However, having a birthday so close to Christmas, it is a challenge to organize a party. Our solution for the past few years has been to leave the party games and food to Peter Piper Pizza.

I embroidered a hat for each guest.

Timothy’s friends ranged in age from 5 to 15. Timothy is irresistible; he is handsome, brave, generous, quiet, a good listener, funny, and a very good friend.

Games and pizza made for some happy friends.

 

 

Christmas memories

I think we will remember this Christmas for all the company we kept. In the week leading up to Christmas, we stretched ourselves and visited folks, went caroling (I played the fiddle); we threw two birthday parties, and were lucky to see Sarah and Bryan. We finished a puzzle during their visit.

Here we are at Christmas dinner, the kids at the bar and the adults at the table. We had the missionaries join us.

The missionaries were good to play with our boys.