family theme

my mom took me to education week at byu for my birthday.  in one of our classes, i was inspired with what i want our family to concentrate on this school year...

-MA SA LAA CH'OOL-

a presenter talked about his humanitarian trip to Guatemala and said when the Q'eqchi people greet someone, instead of asking "how are you?" they ask, "ma sa laa ch'ool" which actually means, "ARE YOU HAPPY IN YOUR HEART?"

we have decided to work on this as a family this year.  

are you happy in your heart? 

 i love the whole idea of how are you, being replaced with are you happy in your heart because really how you are and choose to be, really determines if your heart feels happy, content and joyful.

our family discussed a few things we have to be and do to allow our hearts to feel that way... gratitude, forgiveness, service, repentance, keeping the commandments, and doing things we love were a few that came up during family night.  each month i want to spend a family night focusing on one of the these things that will help us have happy hearts.  

my hope is when we have happy hearts, it can have a healing effect on those around us.  i love the story in the scriptures of the lady who knew if she just touched Jesus's robe, she would feel better.  i have been around people that their countenance alone brings comfort and peace.     

we have so much to be happy about, but sometimes i get so focused on one stressful thing and it can be a joy sucker!  i can allow my worry to take over and i lose focus of the big picture and it has been good for me to do a 'heart check' every day and see what adjustments i need to make to feel happy in my heart.  sometimes it has been to forgive, sometimes it has been compare myself to others less,
re-prioritize, serve happily, or focus on the happy things around me.

most of all, i want my children to know we have a great reason to rejoice and allow our hearts to rejoice--we have a Savior and we know Heavenly Father's plan of HAPPINESS!!!

so, here's to developing happy hearts in and around us this year!
and now, we say, "have fun at ch'ool!!"

happy birthday to me

turning forty was a day i want to remember forever.  

i told dave earlier i didn't want to be around on my birthday.
i wasn't sure how i would feel about it.  lately i have been feeling the panic of growing older and i thought it would be nice to be adventuring somewhere really cool.
 but, my birthday landed on a monday, which happened to be the day before school started, we decided to stick around and have a "regular" day.  i'm so glad this was my choice.  i thought it would be important to help everyone get prepared and most importantly have family night and priesthood blessings.

it ended up being a pretty special day.

 the kids each had something important during the day- sadie and abe needed to be at school for student government prep day, kai had a party, max had soccer practice and back to school night, and abe had late soccer practice....

we fit little celebrations in though out the day.  

dave woke me up early, before the kids, and we snuggled in our big chair where he read me the love poem he wrote.  i was really surprised, even though i requested something thoughtful and romantic for my birthday gift.  he came through!

the kids woke up and we all went to breakfast.

then everyone went their ways and dave and i took vivian to park city for a trip to the chocolate factory and some fast birthday shopping.   

we divided and conquered the rest of the night.  dave made a delicious dinner and we quickly ate, then i ran to back to school night while dave figured out soccer schedules.  

we met up around 8:30 for family night.   i had a really peaceful feeling around me all day.  maybe it was the way dave held my hand wherever we went or the way the kids treated me, or walking in on kai making me a present, or abe trying to scramble nonchalantly to figure out a gift, it was just all really loving.  i realized it was going to be a "regular" day AND that is how i wanted it.  i LOVED spending some quiet moments with dave, i LOVED sitting and reading to viv in the little book store we found,  i LOVED going to max's back to school night and coming home to a cute little cake with candles and all my kids surrounding it.   we lit the candles and i took my birthday wishing very seriously.  

even though my birthday wasn't something super adventurous or extremely cool, it was REAL and LOVING, and HAPPY and i re-realized i like my life and my life is this little family that dave and i have put so much effort into.  it is good!

the best part of the day was family night!

it started out rough!  it was late.  and whenever we are going to do priesthood blessings, it seems like things get a little crazy, just enough to make us feel like we should put it off, but we didn't.

i presented our family theme for this school year and we talked a little bit about it, then dave gave priesthood blessings to each child and to me.

it was a powerful experience.

here are a few things i remember from each blessing (without too much detail):

max:  people love to be around him and this is the first year of school that he has the gift of the Holy Ghost.  he was blessed to be able to feel it and recognize it.

kai-  he was blessed to feel courageous, but not only courageous, but comfortable as he is being courageous.  that he will be a good influence on his peers and that he will make friends that will lift him as well.  he was told his teacher will recognize quickly that he is special.  also, that this is the year for him to prepare to receive the priesthood.   he was told that he will have success and will be challenged and he will be up to the challenge as he works hard and relies on God and to recognize that we are more and stronger with Gods help and that these talents and strengths are gifts from God.

abe-  he was told a lot about reaching out and talking to people in all different groups, but that his close friends should be people that make strong, good, choices.  he was blessed to feel the joy of the atonement.  i thought that was interesting. 

vivian hurried and sat in the chair while abe was giving dave a hug, so she got to go next.

she folded her arms, bowed her head and had THE cutest, content smile on her face the WHOLE time dave had his hands on her head.

i can hardly remember what he blessed her with, i was so busy watching her face.  she loved dave's hands on her head and being blessed by her dad, whom she KNOWs loves her so much.  she felt the power of it, you could see it throughout her whole little self.

sadie-  was blessed to feel deep joy throughout the year.  she was blessed as she is making lots of decisions this year that she will end up on the right track for her and that she will also be able to enjoy the process, and through this process, she will learn new talents and skills that will help her throughout her entire life.  lots of good things.

then i got a blessing.

dave immediately blessed me to feel the deep love that he and my kids have for me...and i felt it.  powerfully.  though out my whole being. it was unexpected and real.  

he then blessed me to know that my efforts to save this little family are working and important.  that this is where i was meant to be, and that i would be able and have been able to feel prompted as to things my family needs.

i honestly couldn't have asked for a better blessing or birthday.  

Happy Birthday! 40?

Hacked by Dave.

When we were in high school together, I thought I was a poet.  I was the poetry editor of our high school literary magazine.  Almost everything I ever wrote revolved around Myndie.  Due to embarrassment and a number of other reasons, I have pretty much abandoned writing.  But for this momentous occasion, I decided to try again.  To Myndie.  First the poem, and then a little explanation.

SIRIUS

You taught me to wish
on stars
in a pause of silence
the gravity of which was real
to you
and then
to me
I found you
in every night
the first and the brightest
in all the sky
          dangling from Orion's ankle.

It made me smile to learn
my star
was not alone
in the night
but binary
pulled tight in an orbital dance
eternally
and this became
my unchanging wish:
          a gravity
to keep us close.

Eight years
and 213 days ago
the photons that now light my eye
were created
the fusion of hydrogen

And I think of that day
and where we were
then
and I think of where we are
now
and of a coming day
in eight years
and 213 days
where will we be
and wish again
unchanged
for gravity

an eternal circling
          with you
my first and brightest.


Now I suppose a bit of an explanation is in order.  When I first met Myndie, she wished on stars as I had never known anyone to do before, with a reverence almost of a prayer.  And soon I would do it with her, as she silently looked up.  Every night, one of the first stars to appear was Sirius.  I didn't know its name or significance at the time, but learned to find it in the sky, always hanging just below and to the left of Orion.  Myndie would often ask what I would wish for.  My wish was always the same, or at least every wish centered around Myndie, and that things could always be good with us.

I was taking an astronomy class at the time.  We learned about Sirius, and that it was actually made up of two stars, Sirius A and B, and that its brightness was in part because of the two stars shining together.  I like that thought.  And of course, one shines brighter, and that is my Myndie.

The time, 8 years and 213 days, is how long light takes to travel from Sirius to earth.  And since she was born on this earth, the light from Sirius has come to earth and bounced back 4.66 times.  Happy birthday!  I love you, and always will!

Dave

goodnight prayer

(after dance class, we visited the christus in salt lake. 

vivian must have felt the calmness because she said, 'mom, we need to lay down.")

"all over the world at the end of day

Heavenly Father's children kneel down and pray

each saying thank you in her own special way

saying thank you, thank you

in her own special way."

-primary song book

last night, i knelt down with vivian to listen to her prayers.

the conversation went something like this:

me- "let's tell Heavenly Father thank you for your new nightgown."

vivi- kneels down, smiles at me and begins- "meow, meow, meow, meow"

says the whole prayer like a cat.

me- "ok awesome, now lets do it in english, here i'll help.  dear heavenly father..."

vivi-using the same intonation as me says, "meow meow meow-meow"

this continues through the whole prayer:)

smiling, we jumped in bed to read books.

glad Heavenly Father understands ALL languages and ultimately knows our hearts.

finish strong

ten things i loved about the last day of school:

1. vivian sitting on max's lap and he was not one bit embarrassed (plus viv's outfit describes her phase in life...pink, flow-ey skirt, wants to comb her own hair, and no time to put on shoes)

2.  "oh, this backpack is so heavy....so much homework!"  

psych!!!  it's actually a HUGE container of cheesies that kai won!  

gross and exciting all at the same time.

3.  kai ringing the bell.  a right of passage for all 4th graders graduating from elementary school.

5.  watching how confident kai was on the last day of school.  when we first moved here, i gave him "brave assignments" everyday, like saying hi to the lunch lady.  he was so timid and nervous about it all.  he had me write notes to his teachers about anything concerning.  he came a long way!

6.  the amazing people that surround us.  some of my neighbors had this huge sign and popsicles at the bus stop for all the kids.  then, later that night, we had a neighborhood party.  talk about pinterest worthy!!  it was incredible with a snack bar for the outdoor movie and everything.  impressive, kind, capable people.

7.  our finish line--  just to celebrate finishing strong!

had to re-tape and run through a few times, just to get the full effect:)

8.  abe had a party at our house--then sadie decided to have a party at our house too.  they were both ok having it together.  fun to watch.

9.  breakfast at midnight to welcome in the first day of summer break!

10.  number ten would have to be that i did it!  dave was working all night and it was tricky balancing the little kids needs at the neighborhood party and the forty teenagers at my house...a little stressful, but i made it through....and they all had a great time.  

 the end of an exciting day.

there isn't anything better than watching my kids be happy.  

it is joyful.  

fourth grade highlights

kai is a math wiz!!

the fourth grade's big deal was a math wizard tournament with harry potter type incentives.  each time students reached a certain level they participated in a magical ceremony such as getting sorted by the sorting hat or receiving a magical wand.  kai was the first one in his class to reach the goals and sometimes had to repeat them twice or do them twice as fast before he could move on.   he was very excited to get sorted.  when he got his wand, it was the only green wand which meant he was the head boy:) all of it was a big deal in the fourth grade world.  

kai worked hard and took these goals seriously.  i enjoyed watching him reach each new level.

kai's quarterly projects were always an adventure.  we made this mountain environment out of salt dough.  haha!  it looked a little better before the trees all dried out and crumbled.  i wish i took a picture of his last project, an art project out stuff that you can recycle.  abe helped him and they made a big narwhal.  it was pretty creative.

kai's reflections project was selected to move on to the next level, which meant he participated in a fun pizza party and award ceremony...and painted his face like a soccer ball.

the science fair was required for the gifted class, so kai decided for his project, he wanted to test different types of shoes and see if they made a difference as to how high you jump or running speed....only problem was that it would definitely require a new pair of shoes:)  he totally knew what he was doing when he picked his topic and worked it to get some new pf flyers.  

we liked his strategy so we went with it.

kai likes shoes a lot! 

(side note- kai describes people to me by the shoes they wear.  haha!  most people describe people by their hair or some other descriptive.  kai always tells me their shoes...)

i really like viv in this photo.

(above-kai in the newspaper)

the fourth grade studies utah history and in prep for their program they went on a field trip to 'this is the place monument'.

the fourth grade program was so well done.  i teared up a few times. 

dancing with girls= a big deal.  

the elementary felt magical on the last day of school.  all the students line the halls and all the fourth graders go through the tunnel of hands and everyone wishes them well as they graduate from elementary school.  they were shooting water guns and silly string.  the kids LOVED it!  i felt emotional as i watched viv and max stand in the hall and give kai a big high five as he ran through.

i feel like kai breezed through fourth grade.  nothing really phased him.  he really wants to be responsible and hardworking and that was evident throughout everything he did this year.

i am proud of him!

tullis easter-2015

mimi invited the kids over to decorate easter eggs.

vivian LOVES pink-every shade:)

happy easter!