My Gift to Myself

November 29, 2007

I just bought my Christmas gift. I went to the store and bought 6 0r 7 pre-made meals: Lasagna, marinated salmon, non-homemade stuffed shells, frozen pizzas, etc. They were not inexpensive, and I could have done the freezer thing, which I often do, but my heart rate is already elevated about 20 points as I look at the calendar and start negotiating with Eric about how we fit buying a tree in between my seminary meeting, the Stake Presidency's Christmas reception and the wrestling team service project. Then I have to face the fact that I have to miss both Evan's first band concert AND Sam's first meet because I scheduled a class 6 months ago on a Wednesday night, etc., etc., repeat approximately three times a week till Christmas... Now, however, several cold but precious reminders that I was in fact born into the millenial modern age and not onto a 19th century farm are now in my freezer, standing at the ready to save me from ordering pizza without a coupon on those upcoming pre-holiday nights when dinner preparation falls to the bottom of the long list. I feel so much better knowing that in the next month, there are at least a few days for which dinner is made. I can handle coming up with a salad on a busy night.

November 28, 2007

Whenever I care for someone small during the day, my kids always figure out that fact when they walk in the door and see the toys and books that are still out. The first question is, "Who was over playing today?" Then they ask if the little one is still here and are usually disappointed when they're not. They are sweet in that way. An advantage of being the oldest cousins perhaps. They really enjoy younger kids.

Today the clue was the play-doh out on the table. Earlier in the day, my young friend and I had a blast with the play-doh, and I hadn't cleaned it up entirely. When Evan saw it on the table, he immediately went to the drawer and got out his favorite play-doh tool from his younger days-the garlic press. He and Sara made "noodles" for a good half hour and then when Ev got home from scouts, he made some more. It was fun to watch them take a break from hours of GT homework and emails and video games and get lost in simple play for a few minutes. They just grow up too dang fast.

Today, the catalog count was 6. The deluge has become a comparative trickle. The unusual catalog today was called Cloudveil. At first I thought it was my Patagonia catalog, which I've never ordered from but drool over like an issue of National Geographic. It is similar in look, feel and price. They don't have the front-end, high-visibility environmental comitment that Patagonia has, but it looks like nice stuff. I hope I get a few more really weird ones to laugh about. I am in awe of the power of the sale of mailing lists.

November 27, 2007

Today I went back up to PA to a wonderfully cozy new yarn shop in a little town called Seven Valleys. It was a beautiful drive, just over the border and a few miles off of I-83. The owner was in one of my classes at a conference and now I am going to be teaching for her. We get along well and were able to work together easily. She's done a really great job rehabbing of all things an old butcher shop and making it warm and inviting but chic and well put-together. The walls are a soft sage green and the old, gigantic freezer doors are painted in a barely-metallic soft coppery color. It really works.

Anyway, I left the house at 9:15, got home around 1:15, napped for a minute or two, then got going on the usual afternoon activities. It was a good day. Tonight I am alternately working on proofing pictures and writing scriptures on Advent Calendars. I will not be getting them all sent in time for December 1, but I am really okay with it. I'm proud of myself that I'm not depressed or yelling at my kids or pulling all-nighters to get them out the door. I'm finally getting that there is little in life that is worth that kind of stress. I'll have them all done by the weekend, and that'll do pig, that'll do. Everyone helped me pound nails and paint stars for FHE last night and it was really fun to work together. It will be a fun memory that will be woven into the calendars that hopefully my family will use for many years. If I had gotten them all done last week when I wanted to, I might have missed that moment.

Now this catalog thing has become an obsession. Even the kids are in on it now. Today's count was 11. That included two copies of Title Nine Sports, one of my favorite catalogs and my 4th Lands' End Catalog in a week. No Joke. I have not ordered from Lands' End in about 5 years. There is a tie for the winner of today's unusual catalog and I have nothing but complements for both: Pajama Gram, from whence you can order a gift of fun jammies and other accessories to be sent to your pal on just the right day; and Wind and Weather, from whence you can order all kinds of nifty, geeky weather predicting and monitoring items, as well as interesting timepieces, windchimes, and the like.

November 26, 2007

Today I taught 3 private lessons. I am enjoying my private students very much. Most come regularly-once or twice a week-just like piano lessons. We talk a lot in an hour of knitting per week--I mean shoot, I don't talk to many of my friends for a whole hour in a week. As a result, I get to know these women pretty well. They are good women, and it is truly satisfying to see them progress on their projects. Here are some of my favorite things happening with students right now (Names have been replaced by letters):

-A's family told her they think the blanket she is making is ugly (it is not) but she has decided not to listen to them any more and be proud of her work. That made my day because she sometimes does listen to them and will abandon projects because she feels ashamed of them.

-B's daughter is getting married and I found a pattern for a knitted Chuppah, which is the Jewish Wedding Canopy, that (even though it might sound weird) is incredibly beautiful. It is lace, like a shawl, made of silky white yarn held together with a strand of silver.

I suggested she make it. She was afraid she couldn't do it, but decided to try. She's doing great. I LOVE it when people change their minds about their abilities.

-C is 77 years old and is recovering from multiple health issues in the past couple of years. She used to be a master knitter. Now, she has trouble with numbness in her fingers and is not "getting" the instructions as well as she used to. She won't give up though, and is determined to finish the two projects she is working on. She is learning to be patient with herself and honor the progress she makes each time we meet. She is an inspiration to me.

How blessed I feel to be part of these women's lives. I hope that they will always leave our sessions feeling stronger about their abilities, never doubting themselves more than they already sometimes do.

Today's catalog count is 21. That's TWENTY-ONE! IN ONE DAY! Holy cow. The winner for the most random, unheard of, never ordered from catalog is.....Bits and Pieces. It is a puzzle company. Some of their offerings are quite cool, if you like puzzles. Some are, well, not so much. They have, among other things, Native American Russian Nesting Dolls. Hmmm. Is it possible that cross-cultural understanding can go too far? Mostly though, I hope that someone has been helped along in the quest for the perfect gift.

November 24, 2007

Here is our "small" Thanksgiving: only 10 people together. Top to bottom is Jakey, Evan, Sophie, Josh, Cheyenne, Sam, Dave, Steph, Me and Eric. The rest of my family was in Tennessee (Mom and Pop; my Sara; Randi, Dave and their three boys), Colorado (Amy, Aaron, their two boys; my Johnathan; Steph's Chad; Ryan), Arizona (Mike, Tina, their two; Mandi and Tim and their little guy), California (Phil and Alex and their two), and of course, Panama (Jeff). Our day here in Maryland was great-quiet, full of good food, good conversation, plenty of playing together, washing of dishes and web-cam conversations with the other pockets of family scattered about. There were few leftovers, so I made a big batch of mashies yesterday to eat with my turkey sandwiches. Tomorrow comes the soup. Can't wait. It will bubble in the crock pot while we're at church and be so very yummy to come home to.

Friday was a photo day. I had two shoots: Corinne's family reunion-so much fun-and a senior photo shoot for a boy in my seminary class. They both went well. It's fun to take pictures of people I really like. Last night, on a whim, some friends and I went to see August Rush. It was sweetly romantic enough to pull me in and make me cry, but if you don't make it to the theater, don't worry about it.

Today, the family begins to come back together. Johnathan made it through Atlanta Airport (I was worried all day) and got home a few minutes ago. Evan is back from his extended cousin sleepover at Steph's. Sara gets back tonight or tomorrow morning. It will be sooo good to have everyone back together. For now, we are firmly in the testosterone zone as the boys revel in football games and working on cars. I was going to get all kinds of things done today, but instead I went to PA with a dear friend to visit a yarn shop in East Berlin.

Such pretty country up there.

After a lovely morning catching up with Elizabeth and a good ole' chicken-fried, country lunch at Cracker Barrel outside of York, I came home and crashed. The cold I've been pretending not to have all week because it just wasn't a good week to be sick has finally caught up with me. I'm losing my voice (hopefully I'll be able to croak out the song for choir tomorrow since I talked all my kids into joining the choir with me), and just feeling generally whipped. I do have to get some laundry done, though. So I'm trying to decide what movie to watch while I fold. Hmmm.

I've decided to add a new feature for the holidays: Every day I get about 4 pounds of catalogs in the mail. Every day there is a really weird one that I've NEVER heard of, let alone ordered from. Today's winner is Mrs. Prindable's. It is some sort of gourmet food catalog. I love that name. I hope I've helped someone with their holiday shopping.

November 21, 2007

So, Corinne's post about their family ham tradition made me laugh when she explained the name Ham-grenade. Then I opened an email and found this.

All Sorts

I am waiting for a large amount of photos to upload to Heritage Makers so I can finish our reunion photo book before next week's publishing deadline for Christmas. It will take a while, and I sort of need to hang around to make sure nothing goes wrong, so I get to blog a little. I discovered HM through a dear friend, the queen of Multi-level Marketing. She is at the top of the Stampin' UP! pyramid, has joined up with lots more over the years, is active with at least one other right now that I know of in addition to HM and just joined up with yet another called Bookwise that was started by author Richard Paul Evans of The Christmas Box fame. I have looked into it. It is simple, like Amway or Shaklee: you pay a fee for the privilege of buying books at wholesale cost. Then you talk other people into doing the same thing and voila! you have an instant income. I've tried several of my pal's companies out of curiosity about the product but never get past the paying-a-fee-for-the-privilege part. The secret of business is seeing the product not from an emotional point of view, but solely as a tool for making money. Then, you'll talk it up to anyone. This is not a criticism, just an observation. My interest in money does not go beyond using it as a tool for living. I don't care about it as a hobby so I'm not much of a business woman. I wish money would go away. My friend cares about it, is a good business woman and makes a ton of money through her success with Stampin' UP! I am proud of her for that.
Anyway, Heritage makers has nice, hardcover, digital scrapbooks with a lot of options from simple to complex. I do a lot of digital scrapbooking, so it is worth it for me to pay-the-fee-for-the-privilege. If you like digital photobooks, let me know and I'll set you up.
Today, my 9 year-old niece-in-law Shania is over for the day while her mom works. She is adorable and is excellent company in Sara's absence. She is helping me pick out pictures for the reunion book and also offered to help me paint stars for my advent calendars. All the detail work is done as well as the lettering. All that remains are those stars. So, I am happy for an enthusiastic 9 year-old's help.
Johnathan flew off to Denver last night and should be gearing up as I write to head to the mountains for a little snowboarding with my brothers and a cousin. Sam is fasting today because of wrestling weight certifications. This is the part of wrestling that is hard on a mom, but to his credit, he seems to have the eye of the tiger and is determined to get his place on the varsity team. He's only a sophomore, so it is exciting that the coach is grooming him for varsity. Evan just woke up. He and Shania get along pretty well, so they should have a fun day. I'm thinking we might go see Bee Movie. Other than that, I'm making a pie or two, getting my turkey in the brine and working on Christmas projects. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

November 19, 2007

Here are the latest photos from my missionary, Jeff, or Elder Nuss as he is known in Panama. He has found 4 different candy items in Panama with Nuss in the name (it is German for Nut). He was a Golden Bear in High School, now he'll be known as the Golden Nuss. We'll be able to talk to him 5 weeks from tomorrow! I'm not excited or anything.

November 15, 2007

One more thing on my laughably long list of hobbies is cycling. I used to be pretty serious about it. I have two super-nice bikes and all the goofy-looking paraphernalia. I used to have permanent greasy chain marks on my legs all summer. I've even ridden two centuries (hundred-mile rides). I got into it because Eric is into it-if he had more time, it would be his exercise of choice. Someday I dream of Eric and I cycling together, except he goes really fast and I don't, so we wouldn't actually be cycling together...but I digress. I got back into cycling when I sprained my ankle really badly about 6 years ago. I stopped cycling regularly because it just doesn't fit into a seminary teacher's life. Or a mom's life for that matter. The best time to ride is super early in the morning before the cars are all over the road, and it takes forever to get out the door to cycle-on with the teeny-tiny shoes, the gloves and the helmet, then get the bike off its hangers in the garage, check the tires, make sure you have a spare tube and your tools, etc., etc. Plus, cycling is non-impact, so you really have to do it longer and harder than running to get an equal workout. Not happening for me. But oh, how I love the feeling of being on a bike. Zooming down Murray Hill Road, topping 30 mph...that's a rush.

In the mean time, in a desperate attempt to start doing cardio work (in any form) regularly again ( I haven't run in about a month) I signed up for a cycling class at the gym. I respond really well to appointments and outside accountability, and I had apparently already forgotten about last week's near fainting spell. Eric reminded me about that later. So swathed in fearless oblivion, I got out my goofy shoes and my funny-looking padded pants, got myself over the to club, figured out how to adjust my training cycle and rode my guts out. It was so surprisingly much fun. I felt fine. Certainly I missed the wind in my face and there was no place I could politely spit (I have trouble with that when I run on treadmills, too--What??? You don't spit when you run???) but it was a serious workout. I worked hard and stuck with it for the whole hour and felt great afterward-I was wobbly-legged and red in the face, but I loved really pushing myself. The class atmosphere helped with that. No one knows how you have your bike adjusted, so you really are only competing against yourself and your mind. There was the challenge of that whole mental thing. When I'm out on a road, 5 miles from my house, if I want a shower, I have to ride home. In the class, I had a couple of moments when my brain tried to get me to jump off because it knew that I only had to walk out to my car to go home. I didn't though. I am a great starter but not always the greatest finisher, so every time I finish something hard like that class, I am happy I've made a little progress. I am going to try and take a class every week. Wednesdays at noon. Come ride with me. You don't even need the goofy paraphernalia.

November 14, 2007

Cheri has put this on her blog, but I wanted to add my appreciative second to her choice of parenting book:

The Power of Positive Parenting by Glenn I. Latham. He has other books which I love as well:

Christlike Parenting: Taking the Pain out of Parenting

Parenting with Love: Making a Difference in a Day

What's a Parent to Do? Solving Family Problems in a Christlike Way

The last is out of print, but there is redundancy among all the books, and I have a couple copies if anyone wants to borrow. Everything he writes is based on this truth: "Research has shown that the most effective way to reduce problem behavior is to strengthen desirable behavior through positive reinforcement rather than trying to weaken undesirable behavior using aversive or negative processes." What his books do is give practical advice, scripts, roleplays and situational examples of how to put that simple but oh-so-difficult truth into practice. He even includes the inevitable talking back in his role-plays and scripts. He might say something like: Here's how it could go...Here's how it should go...and here's what will probably happen...so be prepared. I actually keep the first book, which is almost like a textbook, with my scriptures, so I can get little bites of worldly parenting wisdom to go along with the other.

They were originally recommended to me by my friend Leslie. His books and insight were her touchstones as she parented her autistic son. She said many times that he saved her as a parent. When Dr. Latham passed away, she was really shaken because he had been kind enough to personally correspond with her about Lukas. To me they represent the best possible marriage of sound, scientifically based thought and the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So anyway, to make a short story long, yesterday the last book saved me. I had a really difficult parenting situation facing me. I was angry, frustrated, resentful, feeling hopeless because it is a recurring problem, and I just wanted to scream. Instead, I prayed, found one of Dr. Latham's books and started reading. The page I turned to had the insight and the perspective that I needed. He had scripts and roleplays that were, word for word, exactly like the things that were running through my mind. I had enough time before school got out to get myself together, and when the involved child and I talked about it, things went okay. We were able to figure out a solution and are on track for a much better outcome than the imagined one I was dreading yesterday. So, thanks to Dr. Latham, everything is okay today instead of our family being stuck in teenage door-slamming-freeze-out land. Of course the whole point is not changing the kid, but changing myself and the way I respond. So basic. So hard. I am so ready to trade in my natural woman. I know I need her to get where I want to be, but boy she is a pain in the neck sometimes.

November 13, 2007

This NY Times article was of interest to me, because of my own theories about the problems associated with the loss of play in childhood. I personally think that the expectation on kids today to grow up so much more quickly is a major issue in education.

As a Mormon, this Made Me Laugh

So, a little self-aware humor is always a good thing. This was not originally directed at members of the LDS church, and I certainly intend no disrespect, but as a member of a group that is often accused of being a cult, This cracked me up.


“I do what they tell me, I eat what they give me. How do I know they’re not a cult?”

November 12, 2007

This is a cross-post from my knitting blog. I have known for a few weeks, but it just became public recently so I am at liberty to discuss it. It feels right. I feel like something really good will come of this sometime next year.

Cloverhill Yarn Shop, my beloved professional home for the past 7 1/2 years, is for sale. I am taking the news quite personally because this place means so much to me. Chris's reasons for selling are personal and important, and because she's become a friend, I totally support her in this decision. I have been associated with it since before it was Cloverhill. When I started working on Saturdays to save my sanity during Eric's law school years, it was The Weaver's Place. It was Terry Flynn who first thought I could teach and gave me that opportunity. When Chris took over, thanks to Ginger's influence, I ended up back in my old classroom with a new name. Chris took over where Terry left off and continued to build the shop (which has been around in some form for about 30 years I think) into a place customers love to be. She changed things, such as refocusing the shop from weaving to entirely knitting with spinning on the side, but the atmosphere stayed cozy, unassuming and welcoming. The amazing education program continued, with fabulous teaching and a wide array of classes. Customers and students have become friends. It is so much more than a job to me. It has been the ticket to personal growth beyond my role as a stay-at-home mom, but within the confines of that first and most important focus. Teaching there gave me the confidence to teach at Stitches, which has grown to mean just as much to me. Chris has been a generous mentor, patient employer and great example to me of what a business woman should be. The other women who work there have become important friends in my life as well. I have no idea what will happen with the eventual new owners, but for some reason it feels like an ending to me. I was going to take a leave of absence from formal teaching in the winter anyway, so the news coincides with my own realignment of my professional goals. I certainly would still teach at the new shop if I find a place there, so I am not closing the door, but even if it turns out to be the end of an era, I feel sure it also signals a new beginning.

Please contact Chris through the shop if you are interested in acquiring this little gem of a place.

November 11, 2007

In my wanderings through books and talks and articles today, I came across this quote from President Boyd K. Packer, a beloved leader in the LDS Church:

“It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal. …
If [you] have a … miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, … stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out.
There is great purpose in our struggle in life”
Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, May 1978

This actually makes me feel a warm sense of comfort; of reassurance that we are indeed human during this life and that's okay. The humanness, the frailty, the emotions--they are all part of something larger. Sometimes the counsel and the pressure ( especially on women) veers a little toward being super-human, and while I know I'm capable of that in some far future day, the idea shared above says that on the way to becoming super-human, take a minute to live and learn from being actually human.

This man had his share of miserable days as he struggled with polio as a child, then re-learned how to walk, then fought in WWII. Sometimes it is sort of overwhelming and even discouraging to hear the advice to "Don't Worry, just be happy." I love that he doesn't say to snap out of it if you have miserable days, but instead to face them, acknowledge them, learn from them. I like to be optimistic, but sometimes a situation calls for a little mourning. I am not down or unhappy today, but this quote will be secreted away in my heart for the inevitable miserable day or two in my future.

November 10, 2007

Yesterday, I felt fine when I woke up, so that was good news, because I had a lot to do. It was all good, so I really didn't want to lose another day. Everything went well. My in-person book group liked the book I had suggested, and it was wedding day for my pal. What a good day-I now have a very clear picture of what an incandescently happy couple look like. They were definitely giving off an amazing amount of radiance. I am so thrilled for them.

Today, Evan is playing in his Soccer tournament. Eric is at the first game with him as we speak. I stayed behind to take Sam to the Scouting-for-food pickup. We'll be leaving in a few minutes. I'll go to the afternoon game. It is cold today, but since I like the changes that come with the seasons, I am good with that. It is fun to be able to layer up and feel the cold on my cheeks.

My big goals for today include a number of things. First is getting Jeff's Christmas package totally ready to send on Monday. I am a little behind as I wanted to get it sent out this past Monday, but a few of the things he requested were harder to find than I gave myself time for. After that, the goal is to get at least one more Advent calendar finished. I have one almost done. and all 8 in process. I am torn between assembly-lining all the rest of them (do the windows on all 8, then do the lettering on all 8, then the palm trees, etc.) but sometimes that method doesn't work for my little pea brain. I need to see finished product on big, outrageous projects like this. The last thing I have to do is get my seminary tests graded and the report cards done. I need to hand them to the parents tomorrow. I am so bad at the administrative stuff. I need to improve in that area. I mean, I get the job done, but I would just rather spend my time reading up on the content. Balance. I always need to strive for balance.

Seminary is going okay. I mean the kids come and the atmosphere is good, but I have been a little critical of myself lately, and I have to stop that because it impedes the spiritual power I need to prepare my lessons. I would say that is the biggest challenge of seminary. It is sort of like being a missionary, except I don't have the benefit of being somewhat cut off from the world. I have to be "on" just about all the time-ready at a moment's notice to act on a prompting. I know that is how I should live even if I weren't teaching seminary, but the every-day nature of seminary puts in sharp relief every thing I do. I am never more than 23 hours away from teaching again during the week, so I have to question every minute of tv I watch or everything I read. "Will this make it easier or harder to prepare my lesson and know what my kids need?" At the end of the year, I will have an impressive list of all the books I've read, but Elder Oaks' talk in Conference has caused me to consider more carefully whether they are the better or BEST books or merely good books. It is a blessing that seminary makes me think of these things, but it does bring up some hard choices, because I am so endlessly curious. I don't want to miss anything. Especially books. I have realized that I have been working hard to catch up on all my book group books, but with the coming of the holiday projects, I've fallen behind on the invitation our ward has to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. What is up with THAT? Talk about good, better and best.

Okay, enough rambling. I am off to accomplish all my goals...

November 8, 2007

I am not feeling well. I had an incident at the gym this morning during which I almost got to the point of passing out. I didn't go under but I did go very white, according to those who saw me, and I did have to sit still for about 30 minutes before I could drive home. I have no idea what happened. I ate breakfast, felt fine, had a great workout and then while I was stretching, whoosh, all the starch went out of me. I have subsequently felt weird all day. Several things I wanted and even needed to do went by the wayside as I dozed in and out of the day. The only thing I can think of is that my iron has bottomed out and my anemia took over the controls of my brain. So, instead of slogging through the mud and getting depressed, I'm going to make a list and count some blessings.

The weather has been spectacular! It has been cool and crisp with clear air so the colors of the sky and trees are vivid and full of richness.
I am really enjoying the book I am listening to right now. I have a knitting deadline, plus 8 of those advent calendars to finish so I'm listening to a lesser known Charlotte Bronte work called Villette. The words and the language are just sublime.
I have the most wonderful friends ever. This has been a wonderful week for feeling the heady glow of true friendship.
I love my F'Ugg boots. (Fake Uggs) Someday I'll spring for the real thing, but for now, my $20.00 pretenders are sooo cozy.

I've been home every day this week when my kids got home. There's not much sweeter than hearing the door, then hearing them call for me, just to make sure I'm around.

I've gotten to bed before 11 pm 3 nights this week.
Christmas is coming. I've started sorting my rather prodigious collection of Christmas music-an annual tradition of mine. I think I'll have to get the new Josh Groban one.

I got to help a little with setting up a friend's wedding reception. I love the Zion feelings of unity and common purpose that I feel when I'm part of something like that. Everyone just pitches in and puts their own agenda aside to make the event the best it can be.
Tomorrow is treat day in seminary.

I love living by my mommy even though I never planned to. I was the kid that was going to travel the world. Instead I'm the only one who has lived near my mom & dad almost my entire marriage.
Even though it's hard at the time, I'm okay with having the occasional big fight that clears the air and allows the whole family to just reboot and start fresh. Sometimes a shake-up is just what everyone needs.
I am going to go get in my jammies and watch a little inane, vegetative, recorded television to help my brain shut down and go to sleep.

I am very glad that tomorrow is a new day.

November 5, 2007

Just so everyone knows, if you have to say goodbye to someone you love, playing sad songs while you cry on the way home really does help. I belted them out for 20 minutes on Northbound I-95 and by the time I got home, I had experienced a thorough catharsis and was back to smiling about all the fun we'd packed into our brief time together. Thank goodness my pal and I can keep in touch.

November 4, 2007

The tree across the street has donned its autumn finery again. Here are views of it during this last week of cool weather. It has changed dramatically in the last 7 days. I remember when I put a photo of it in a newsletter for Jeff last year to show the change of seasons. Every year this tree is a signal to me that the leaves are changing in earnest and that they will soon be gone. Winter, such as it is around here, will be upon us.

This is my 20th autumn as a mother, and I still feel like every day is new. Every season comes with new challenges and joys, fresh adventures and interesting new ways of testing my mettle. I hope that like my tree, I can roll with the changes, be the best I can be at each season, rest when I get the chance, then burst forth again with a fresh, green kind of beauty when the warmth of spring comes back around. Sometimes joy and ease seem to go into hiding for a while, but this year's fallen leaves are the nourishment for future growth.

November 2, 2007

Being one of the elder stateswomen of this blogging world, sometimes I don't have things that are super-cute or that evince "Awwww" as the response to share about my kids. There are not so many firsts any more. It is satisfying to say that, yet again, my 15-year old went to football practice, came home and got his homework done but it is a little less exciting than reporting that a little one was successful at potty training or had a great first day of kindergarten.

Well, today, the 15-year old and his cousin did something that made me so tickled I just had to capture it on video. They both love music and on their own(that's the real excitement) they took a break from the video games and spent a major portion of their day off working on a musical collaboration. I think they spent about 3 hours on this. Sam loves the canon form and he learned this one somewhere. They used our electric piano to lay down additional tracks so they could get three voices, then Sam decided to add the guitar. They got it to the point where they liked it and decided to get dressed up for the final performance. It was so fun to listen to. I just set the camera up on a tripod and let it roll. Here is what we edited it down to. Nobody took their first steps, but the fun of motherhood doesn't end there.

Just so you know, it is about 4 1/2 minutes long, and I feel to apologize for the wacky action sequence in the middle. They are, after all, teenage boys.

November 1, 2007

This is something I signed up for through a link I found on my book-group pal Melissa's blog. I have not done a good job, but I am getting serious about it again. I forgot to post my list of books and have not posted any reviews or anything. But, in some way, the purposes have been fulfilled. I've read some great new books and and looking forward to my last few. Here is a list of the books I'm reading, with some indication of which ones I've finished with. One of my great ambitions is to spend a lot of the time after my children are raised exploring the world. I want to travel everywhere. In fact, knowing that my youngest will be off to college in 7 or 8 years has me seriously planning for the next phase, thus this reading challenge excited me and I have greatly enjoyed it so far. My list of places to go is growing rapidly.

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