General Conference Weekend

I heart General Conference. A LOT.

We don't go on many vacations (I'll write a bitter post about this at a later date), so I try to concoct mini-special occasions whenever possible to make up for this bitter deficiency. Conference weekend is one of these.

I love hearing from our sweet and fearless leaders. They always say the exact things I need to hear. It’s like they KNOW what my problems are, and are now here to offer assistance. I sent up the bat signal and here they are to answer it. Of course they don’t really know me, but apparently my Heavenly Father does.

I heard a talk one time where a woman related a story about needing insight about a prospective marriage partner. She prayed that she would know if this person was the man she should marry. When she watched General Conference, she noticed that EVERY talk was on marriage. She heard what she needed to hear, and decided that this person was not the man who could be the eternal companion she desired. Later, she married someone else and had a happy life. Years later, she was assigned to give a talk or lesson on marriage. She remembered all the insight in those General Conference talks and looked them up. As she went through those talks, there was nothing specifically about marriage. Hmmm… Yet, she had heard advice about marriage, because that’s what she needed help with.

It’s amazing how that works.

I want my kids to love General Conference, too, so I try to condition them to associate General Conference weekend with FUN! FOOD! PAJAMAS! Laying around and doing NOTHING!If I were to be completely honest, I’d have to admit that this is part of the attraction for me, too. I don’t have to get dressed and go to church; I don’t have to plan a lesson, and I have eight hours of guilt-free television viewing. YAY!

We have food traditions for this weekend. I always make chili on Saturday and we eat the leftovers on Sunday. It’s interesting, though. I remember when we started the chili tradition, probably almost ten years ago, now. Wow. At that time, one pot would last the whole weekend and usually even through to Tuesday or Wed. Of course, babies can’t really eat chili. Yesterday, as I was packing up the leftovers, I realized that we’ll be lucky if it’s sufficient for Sunday dinner. Teenagers like chili. It’s bittersweet.

Collections

I've never been a collector. I prefer to travel light through life. A few years ago my sisters - fully grown adults with nearly teenage children - developed an obsession with - I mean collection of - beanie babies. (If you're reading this, don't deny it. You know it's true :)) This was no small collection. My sisters are perfectly reasonable, responsible, Relief Society Presidency types. You'd NEVER think they had this "issue".

As I said, I'm not a big fan of the idea of collecting anything. Lately, however, I've developed a compulsion for a strangely obscure -but I argue, slightly more practical - item. I've begun a collection of Old Navy holiday tees.For those of you unfamiliar with the product, Old Navy makes a graphic tee for pretty much every holiday or event. My first holiday tee was a couple of Valentine tees the T got me for v-day a few years ago. They're nice and comfy, but I had no idea the depth and breadth of the holiday tee possibilities.

Late last year I made an important discovery that marked the beginning of my holiday-tee habit. I discovered that AFTER the holiday, ON marks down their already cheap $5.00 tees to HALF that. Or LESS. I found a Thanksgiving holiday tee, right after Christmas, for $1.99.

Seriously. Can you argue with that? Can you? Try it. There. See?

I use them mostly for running, which perks me right up because they have that nice Old Navy perfect-fit fit, and they make me feel funky and offbeat. I'm wearing a holiday tee...off-holiday! It fits nicely with the rebel in me.

So now I have (going backward in time) three different Valentine tees, a New Year's tee, a Christmas/Winter tee, a Thanksgiving tee, and an ELECTION DAY tee (my current favorite). It seems like I have more than that...but that's all I can recall at the moment.

So...now, it's time to go scour the clearance rack for the St. Patrick's Day tee! I'm so excited! s

Yesterday was Little League Opening Day!


Here are our competitors:







A is on the T-Ball Red Sox.



She's number 8. The one with the red bows. :)





M is on the AAA Twins. Dad is helping coach M's team this year. They're both in this picture. Look at their awesome banner! They got first place in the banner competition for their division.


Here's K's Major League Cardinals taking the field. They were too cool to make a banner. :)

He's the 7th person from the left. So cool.
A was the only one who actually had a game on opening day, though.

Here she is at her first at-bat:

And here she is, running the bases:Second to third....

And third to home. That's the way it's done!
The base-running pictures reflect her second time at-bat, though...her first one saw her run from 2nd base STRAIGHT home. Makes more sense, really. And she set a precedent. The next kid did the same thing. Our little trend-setter. She posseses such strong leadership qualities.

So proud.


It's going to be a great season!

M's Birthday

M is 9 years old!

He is growing up so fast, but he is growing up to be such a good young man. Legos have always been his favorite things, but lately he's also enjoyed reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Harry Potter, and Calvin and Hobbes books. He has such a great sense of humor.

M is also having a great time playing baseball this season, and he requested baseball cupcakes for his birthday.

In our family we only have "friend" birthday parties on even-numbered birthdays, but our neighbors are family, so they came over for cupcakes. It was fun.

M got Legos for his birthday (of course), and one of his gifts was a trip to the Lego Store. M has never been there, and boy was he excited!

He was able to pick out just what he wanted. It was pretty awesome there.

We also went to KFC - his favorite restaurant and picked up some ice cream sandwiches at the grocery store. It was a good day.

I'm so thankful M is in our family. We love him so much.

My kids are whipping me at blog posting. I'll try to do better.

....that's all I have today....

2008 Retrospective

We have so much to be grateful for.

2008....

Although the company T was working for couldn't afford to pay him full time anymore as of - I think it was May - he was able to turn that around and go out on his own. Although not as stable and consistent as my personality would prefer, he has worked and has kept us (mostly) afloat. I am especially grateful for my job during this time. Consistency is good for me. I love teaching. Most days. :)

This fall I started teaching honors classes, which has been very rewarding, mostly since that population is more respectful and fun to work with than the mainstream kids. Although I love the mainstream kids, too. Each group poses unique challenges.

E started high school in the fall which has been a very positive thing for her - for the most part. She just received her semester report card and earned a 4.0 GPA! High school is good for her. She has good friends, a niche, and she makes an effort to do well at everything she undertakes. The future looks bright. And so do her teeth! She got her braces off right before Christmas! Between that and the new three-barrel curling iron she got for Christmas, her cuteness factor is getting into my discomfort zone.

K started 6th grade and continues playing the saxophone. He is really getting good! In the spring he played baseball, and in the fall he played football...until he fractured his foot in five places. Poor guy. That was a very big challenge for him, but he put on a brave face and didn't whine or complain a bit.


The other kids rallied around him and fetched things for him - when they weren't doing tricks on his crutches. So he was in a cast for his 12th birthday. When he turned 12 he experienced one of the most important events in his life. He received the Aaronic Priesthood. I am so proud of him and the choices he's made that have helped him get to that point. A couple of weeks later - after he got his walking boot - he was able to pass the sacrament for the first time. What an awesome privilege. He's an amazing young man.

M also had an important event this year. He turned eight years old and was baptized!

I am so proud of the choices he has made and it was a very special day that I hope he will always remember. I'm so thankful that he has the gift of the Holy Ghost, now. I know it can help so much! M has become an avid reader this year, in addition to his avid Lego-ing. He read the first three Harry Potter books and is partway through the fourth. He is a smart kid, and an amazing artist. At his parent-teacher conference, his teacher shared with me what an original and clever kid he is. His cool art projects set a standard in his class that other kids see and follow. He has turned into our resident comedian as well, and has some mad mime skills. Seriously incredible.

A had a big year this year as she graduated from preschool and started Kindergarten.

It was difficult for her to leave her awesome Toybox preschool class and all her friends there. We were so thankful for the wonderful experiences she had there, but it was time for her to move up! She loves Kindergarten and is a very good student. It's so exciting to see and help her learn to read. I love picking up my three kids at school every day and seeing them ambulating toward the van in their own very diverse ways. They're so awesome.

2009...It's going to be a good one. I am so thankful for the gospel and for the blessings that we have been given. As long as we are faithful and diligent, as long as we keep close to the Lord and stick together, all will be well. I love a new year!