Summer Warmth and Heavenly Gifts

It's summer here in the Springs. Everybody is outside. The neighborhood hibernation is over and the streets are full of bicycles, runners, and walkers. Neighbors we've never seen before emerge to soak up the wonderful Colorado summer weather. Lawns are being meticulously cared for, new flowers are planted, new grass being laid...everything is alive.

We are no different. We spent our Saturday in the yard...mowing, trimming, planting.

It felt like this last winter was here to stay. With the kids being so sick January thru April, winter days sometimes blended into each other. Only the weekends separated the weeks... Saturday breakfasts with the missionaries and Sunday meetings reminded us that time had not come to a halt even when there were weeks upon weeks that I did nothing else but take care of sick kids. How grateful I am that our missionaries came for breakfast...if just for that hour a week, it lightened our hearts and moods. The Spirit that follows our missionaries is truly wonderful--so much so, I tell them it's addicting. We love having them in our home.

Because of the long sick winter, I did not get to work with my Midwife and Mentor, Dotti for more than just a couple of days total. I definitely did not attend any births. That was hard for me, but honestly, I was worn out in the care of my own children, and knew that I would be useless at a birth. There had been so many opportunities to serve as a Doula in 2008, that not doing anything had become depressing. I was just thinking last week, on Monday actually, what if I never get the opportunity again to assist in a birth?

Let me back up...in 2007, I rec'd a priesthood blessing wherein I was told that I "would work, and the work you will do will affect families for generations to come." It was shortly after that I was given the opportunity to host a Doula workshop in my home, and on the first day, the instructor repeated verbatim the exact words my Bishop had said in the blessing..."the work you will do as a Doula, will affect families for generations to come." Because I had written my blessing down in my journal on the day I received it, I happily showed that entry to the Doula instructor the next day when we had some time alone before the rest of the participants showed up at my house. We both hugged and cried and became instant friends.

I knew that this was my calling and have relished in it. I LOVE the gift I have been given--to be a comfort and partner in childbirth. It is so so so ME. (Speaking about our "heavenly gifts"...we have each been given something special that speaks to our hearts that we can only truly enjoy when we are using that gift to benefit others...there is so much wisdom in that, isn't there?!)

But with my first obligation and love to my family, I wondered out loud this past week if that blessing was just for that time and no longer applicable to me? Am I supposed to be doing something else, I wondered? If so, what?

Then, an email came. It was from Dotti. She asked if I would still like to work at her clinic with her on Wednesdays doing prenatals and be her birth assistant? ACK!!!! Are you kidding me?? I jumped up and down in my chair, let out a shriek that scared the dog, and made the kids come runnin' to see their momza sittin' at the puter with tears in her eyes!

"YES! oh YES!", I replied! Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

I wondered if she knew that God was using her to tell me He loves me in that hour? That she is an answer to my prayers? Her timing was perfect!

I had thought that because I had to bow out of so many things over the winter, she must have filled my spot by now, and to find out she had not but was waiting for me--well, it just filled my heart with utter. complete. gratitude.

Feeling my prayers answered so directly amazes me.

Am I even close to conveying how excited I am? I LOVE being in the room when a new spirit comes to the earth...the room is filled to overflowing with love in it's purest form.

All these words, and yet they are nothing compared to the feelings in my heart. The miracle of life is just as it is stated: A MIRACLE. As an invited guest in what I consider a sacred event, I try to make my presence there worth it to the hosts...the mother and her companion, and their family/friends who are also in attendance. A doula is there to care for the emotional and physical needs of the mother by supporting her companion and coaching that companion along to make "mother" feel safe and loved and empowered. I think I am really good at that because I love it so much. Evidently, my Heavenly Father thinks I am too. The cool wintery clouds have lifted in my heart just as the sun begins to warm the earth. It's going to be a beautiful summer. Beautiful!

It's a .....

Baby! Dani had her 1st ultrasound today and I got to be there with her and Mr. Idaho as they poked around and looked at the baby with all of it's adorable parts! Everything looks normal and healthy...technology is amazing.

The tech asked if they wanted to know the sex of the baby, and Dani said she did. So, in a matter of seconds the tech said, "Now don't go out and buy a thing blue, but it looks like a boy to me." She poked around a bit more and confirmed it 3 other times...yep, it looks like a boy.

I called the house afterwards, the girls put me on speaker phone and when I told them all, there was lots of gasping,"A BOY?! A BOY?!"

In the background I heard Joseph: "YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!"

I immediately went out and bought boy stuff at Old Navy. Nannette, I have the granma disease you were talking about. send help.

~Momza

Don't Make Me Stop the Car!

"Kids, I'm leaving!", I yell throughout the house to any listening ears. "I mean it! I'm going out to the car--if you wanna come, better get out there NOW!"
Loud footsteps are heard coming up from the basement, more coming downstairs from the loft.
"Everybody buckled up?" I ask before pulling out of the driveway.
"YES!" came the shout from the masses. Actually, I don't have a "mass" anymore. I'm down to 4 kids at home. When Nana leaves to go do whatever she is going to do, I will only have 3 children.
I've joked that I could do three children drunk. Three sounds like a vacation after seven.
I digress.

We went to the new library--it actually isn't new to the Springs, but was built after we moved away to Idaho, so it's new to us. We got our new cards, picked out some books and everyone was happy.

Or so I thought.

A slow steady whine drifts up to the driver's seat from the 2nd row. "What's wrong, Bee?" I ask.
More whining. Indistinguishable whining.
"Bee, if you want me to understand you, stop whining and talk to me." I say.
More whining. Something about not getting to go skating today like we talked about.
"Oh, yeah. The passes say we can go anyday. So let's plan next Monday, okay?" Summer break hasn't even been 24 hours, and already we have whining about plans? I'm not ready for this. I need more time to ease into the "I'm-so-bored" phase of summer...this is too soon.
More whining.
"Bee, your whining isn't fair to the rest of us. Stop right now. We shouldn't have to listen to that."
More whining...
"I am going to pull over the car...you can get out and wait until we're done at Sonic." We were on our way to get a limeade slushie during happy hour, before running another errand. Getting a slushy is a "happy thing" there should be happiness all around!
The car is filled with whining that has quickly turned into crying.
I pull the car over into a parking lot. I wish I had a camera at this point because it was getting ridiculous. Ari crawled over the 2nd row to the 3rd row of seating.
Joseph is now wondering if his mother is really going to toss his sister out of the car and says, "Mom, you can't do that! It's against the law! She's my sister!"
I look at him like, "I'm not going to do any of that."
But I said to him, hoping he might persuade her to her senses, "Then tell her to stop whining.
At the same time, I unbuckle my seatbelt and start to open the door because it occurs to me that she is acting so unusual because she was tired...she'd had a sleepover the night before at a friends' house and probably didn't get much sleep. SO I thought I'd go to the back of the car, approach that wailing wahoo, put my arms around her and put her out of her misery.
And then, it happened.
Joseph pleads with her, "Ari, stop whining before we both have to get out!"
She stopped. like mid-whine. Stopped cold.

I looked back in my mirror and said,
"Are you finished?"
Nod.
"Are we ready to go?"
Nod.

Okay then. Like I said, I'd loved to have had a camera--so I could re-play the whole thing, because I have no idea what just happened.

Pushing a teenager is like pushing a Train...

In keeping this real, I love to share what I've learned as a Mom, sometimes just writing things out helps me to see things clearer so I can continue to be a better Mom. This is my latest adventure in motherhood. So here goes:

In my role as a Mom to teenagers, I see myself more as a cheerleader, a support-person, really.
They are the ones driving the "train" that is their life, and I see myself as one who is at the end, giving all I have to push them along without taking control. I want to cheer without nagging.
I'm not always very good at this...my cheer-leader voice sometimes sound more like a drill-Sargent.
"Go! Fight! Win! You Can Do It!" sometimes sounds more like "If You Don't Do Your Part, We're all gonna die!"
"If you don't get good grades, you're gonna end up living in a box down by the river!"
"Work! Work! Work!"
I know none of you has ever done that, but it's true for me.

Going to college is important, we all know that! A successful life in adulthood begins with college. But there is something else to consider when it comes to going to college...timing.
Timing is a large contributor to success at college.
David Scott was so much more "college-minded" after his mission to Montreal, Canada than he was beforehand.
Danielle too, was more focused on college after her time as a Nanny in Europe.
And now we come to Nana. I've been pushing her "college-bound" train so hard, that I didn't notice she got off the train altogether. I was the one pushing the "fill out the forms" train,
and the FAFSA train, and the dorm train. Then when deadlines were barely being met, and some even passed, I wasn't cheering, I was lamenting and grumbling.
Finally, last night, as Mr W and I had a sit-down-serious-conversation with her, the light went on in my head about 20 minutes into it...She isn't upset about missing deadlines. red flag. Mr W was impressed to ask, "Are you feeling ready for college?"
Her lips began to quiver. Ah ha. Okay--we needed to back the train up. She had gone from being the Engineer, to being a Passenger.
The reality of leaving behind all of her friends, and going to a faraway place she's never even visited is hitting her. Letting deadlines and details escape her was her way of hitting the brakes, or just stepping down from her post as Engineer, and I did not notice. I was too busy pushing the train.
So last night, we all stopped, put the Train in Park and got out a "map" of the journey thus far, and started talking about the options she has at her fingertips. She has at least 4, which is great.
She can start school in the Fall--she has been accepted and cleared to go--but she has to talk with a campus counsellor today to get some much-needed direction if that's the path she wants to go; she can be a Nanny for a Year, no problem; she can stay at home and go to the community college and work, or she can just live at home and work...which I think she'd rather poke out her eyes than do, but it's an option.

I've learned that while I was intensely cheering, she was going thru the motions because of feeling pressured to do so--from us, from all of her friends in that "it's just what you do after High School" way. SO when I looked around to see I was the only pushing this train along, I was not a happy cheerleader. I was cranky. Exasperated. Confused. My pom-poms were crushed.

I don't know what she's going to do for sure. I do think she'll be headed off to school this Fall...
that she is having cold feet right now. She wants to be a Teacher--has always wanted to be a Teacher--and I believe she will do what that requires. I don't think she even realized what she doing subconsciously, until last night. We have encouraged her to pray about her feelings and seek guidance from her Heavenly Father. It ended, I hope, on a good note.

Just when I think I've got this "mothering" thing down, I am sharply reminded that, no, there is yet more to learn.

Later today, I am going with Danielle to her ultrasound appointment. I get to bring my pom-poms along for that one.

Freezer Jam and Aliens!

Who wants some jam? I did it. I followed the destructions on the pectin stuff and made my own Strawberry goodness freezer jam.

And the hardest part was waiting a half an hour to taste it....that was hard to resist!

Actually, that's not true.There was a small glitch. I made two batches, and after I had already poured the 1st batch into the glass jars, I realized I'd made a mistake in measuring--so I dumped it all back in the bowl and fixed it (Whew!), and though it was a little uneven in 10 jars...it made my lips water and my heart happy. I gave 5 of the jars to teachers at school. And I've tucked the other 4 1/2 jars out in the fridge in the garage...I don't want the kids to know about it just yet. You know why, right? All that yummy goodness is just sitting out there and the yahoos don't even know yet.

mwahhahaha.

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In other news: Daisie graduated 8th grade, which meant another ceremony for me. ACK!

The Air Force Academy graduation was yesterday...I took film of it, but since my camera is just a little Nikon CoolPix, the Blue Angels jets look microscopic. Wahh. But!!! It was awesome! another reason I love living here in this awesome country! I get all choked up when I see our Military all dressed up...if it were proper for a civilian to do so--I'd salute every single one of them! I love our women and men who serve our country more than--well, more than pie!

********

Daisie had a housefull of kids last night for a graduation party. One of the kids' Mom stayed and visited. I have to say, it was the best entertainment I've had in a long time right in my own kitchen. This gal should write a book, I am not kidding. She had "scientific evidence" of UFO's, the World wide Government's plot for mass genocide on the US and other countries' citizens, she became a Christian Scientist to avoid being "the victim of complusory vaccinations in the future"( that's a unusual reason to associate with any faith, imo), oh, and she's actually seen Aliens in her own backyard! It was the most entertaining evening I have had in a long time. I listened. And listened. and listened. Where she really lost me as in, "I am so not the right audience for this tale"was when she was telling her UFO story....she was 9 years old, got up at 1 am to go potty(she knew the time! red flag), looked out her bathroom window and saw a grey tent with 5 aliens dressed in silver pantsuits running around her backyard. Up to that point, I'm like, "Meh, whatever." THEN she had to ruin it...she said she didn't tell her parents or wake her brothers because in her 9 year old mind, "What good would that do?"

Ding! Ding! Ding! (red flag!) I have had six 9-year-olds so far...if ANYTHING happens in our house, the very first words out of their mouths is always: "MOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!"--no matter the time, the incident, the consequences.

Am I right? Kids don't think before they act at that age! And seriously, she said she went to bed and in the morning she went outside to look for evidence of the previous night, and found nothing. SHE WENT TO BED thinking there were aliens in her backyard???????? HA!No way.

My kids come into my room if they even THINK there's something amiss in the house...or after a scary movie!! We have to do a regular patrol of Ari's room everynight at bedtime...Mr W has to go to her closet, open it, blow a raspberry, then shut it, then turn on the nightlight, and secure the windows, etc. --going to bed is a ritual around here...and she's sayin' she went to bed after watching aliens for 20 whole minutes!! Twenty minutes is all the time she gave to watching Aliens in her own backyard before deciding she'd had enough and went back to bed. (red flag!)

but hey! it was good clean fun, I'm not gonna lie.

Just as she's leaving, she says, "You know, they could've been angels instead of aliens." Um yeah, sure, okay. Angels wearing silver jumpsuits. Sure. Why not? Who am I to say otherwise?

Hands down the best conversation

I've had in my kitchen in months!!!

HELP! I've got Ambition but no Skill!

One flat of fresh Strawberries.............Check

10 Mason jars with lids........................Check

2 packets of pectin stuff.......................Check

Sugar.......................................................Check

Desire to Make my own Freezer Jam...Check

Recipe........................................................NOPE.

Help. I've never canned before...I know, I know...just didn't learn that yet. I can help you have a baby or sell your house, give you reasons not to sell your teenager when they're driving you nuts...but I don't know how to do food preservation.

Marilyn, this is your fault. I just thought you should know.

Please send recipe ASAP.

~Momza

A Golden Memorial Day

We spent our Memorial Day with Dani and Mr. Idaho in Golden, Colorado. You've probably only heard of Golden from the Coors commercials. But truly, what a very quaint and entertaining little town it is! We got some sandwiches and ate at a Park...where there happened to be the Clear Creek River running through it....just the sweetest place to spend an afternoon, really! There are so many things to see and do, we just barely touched the surface...for starters there are kayaking courses running through the river.

That's the Caboose atop a playground thingy with "M" mountain behind..."M" is for the Colorado School of Mines, where Mr. Idaho attends and is a stellar student.

All along the riverwalk are bronze statues...Daisie getting her first kiss.

The Caboose atop wildlife.

A bronze tribute to the "Sons of Liberty".

Daisie smiling for the camera..and Nana's too short skirt behind her. I'm waiting until I see said skirt in the laundry to help it dissappear. Nana's aware of this, which is why I haven't had to "push through" any of her laundry lately.

Kayakers

Flyfishers in the same river...

More kayakers...they were so entertaining...and a wonderful example to me as to why I would NEVER do that...one guy went underwater and didn't come up for 500 yards at least. I thought I might have to use my superpowers and jump in and save him, but he came up.

The kayaking skill course.

Miners Mountain

The Caboose trying out one of the 30 creek side benches. Listen, there were even adirondacks on the creekside for people to read or meditate on as the river rushes by...my kind of heaven, I tell you!

Dani and Mr. Idaho hitchin' a ride.

So the girls were playing frisbee....and it went into a pond...then Mr. Idaho fished it out with his pole. He's good like that.

Boofus is getting attached to Mr. Idaho. Sorry David Scott--you know Boofus adores you, but you're all the way in Idaho now...he needs a buddy and Mr. Idaho is very patient with him.

So that was our day. The perfect kinda day for me...outside enjoying the familia, noone crying...tho Boofus who had been sick over the weekend said at the end of the day, "I feel like crap." Yeah, he can only get away with those ugly words cuz I believe he realy did feel like, you know...crap. But all in all, everyone enjoyed our adventure to Golden and we are excited to go back and visit. There are bike trails, tennis courts, restaurants along the riverwalk, open fields, tons of little shops to visit and little traffic. As I told Dani, she is very lucky to live in such a sweet little town.

Only two more days of school for the kiddos and then we get a whole summer to explore Colorado again. There's always so many things to see and do here...it is my heaven.

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

My last post with a musical title. Mr. W and I went to a movie. Without the kids. And I am embarrassed to admit this, but we haven't done that in years. True story. Years. We can't even remember the last time we went alone to a movie.

So, we went to dinner and a movie. We saw Star Trek. And it was really a good movie. I would even see it again!

So yeah, don't follow my example...don't wait years to do something so ordinary as go to a movie with your sweetheart. That's just ridiculous.Like wearing sunglasses at night.

Rocky Mountain High

Have you heard of "house-trading vacations?" It's where families trade homes for a vacation.

I looked at some of the sites online years ago and thought, "man, I'd love to do that!"

Well, here I go, taking charge of my own life again, seeing if I can dangle this out there and get a response. With the economy in the dumps like it is, and gas getting ready to sky-rocket this summer, I'd still like to take a vacation--but wow! wouldn't it help if we didn't have to pay for a hotel?? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Is anyone even mildly interested in swapping houses for a few days to a week with us here in Colorado Springs, Colorado? We have a 5 bed/4 bath home. It's in the foothills of Northern Colorado Springs...very near the AFA...little less than 50 miles from Denver. Think about it.

Let me know where you live, about your home, and we'll go from there.

We'll be picky. We'll want references. We have references too, of course. Think about it. Talk it over. You can email me.

P.S. We're hoping for either California or Salt Lake City in mid-to-late July.

A Vision of Love

Graduation Day! Diana and Taylor both graduated yesterday from high school. TWO different high schools...meant TWO different ceremonies at TWO different times...But! luckily at the same place--the USAFA Field house. The pic below was taken from our seats during Nana's ceremony. They had 380 Seniors graduating. What was really fun with her class was that as a class, they had made a sneaky plan to hide blow-up beach balls on their persons (which was tricky because of the Security--it is a Military School)--and through-out the ceremonies beach balls would pop up like popcorn and the kids would start bouncing them around--until the Dean would confiscate them...but no sooner would he sit down with two or three balls, than 3 more would start popping up! It was so so cute! And made an otherwise boring event entertaining! The audience even "boo-ed" the Dean when he would take the balls...my Boofus shouted, "You Stink! Give' em back the balls"! lol

Taylor's Sr. class was much more reserved....tho because of where we sat, we made little Rascals "hi-signs" at her to keep her awake and us too!

Me, Nana and Mr W

Dara, Taylor, Nana, Mr. Idaho (Dani couldn't make it, but Nana and I ran up to Lakewood yesterday morning for a quick visit so she did get to see her), Boofus and the Caboose. It was rainy all day, but the sun peeked out for half a minute for this picture, then we hurried home to get ready for Taylor's ceremony, turned around and came back! Nana and I were the only ones who came back--the younger kids would've rather had their eyes poked out than do a repeat, so Mr W stayed home with them.
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She was born in 1990--so when I was considering the song for this post, and stumbled upon the TOP songs of 1990, well, I had to put it up! What a load of fun songs--almost as much fun as my Nana!

She is headed off to college in St. George, Utah this fall. She is majoring in Secondary Education--she wants to teach High School Speech and History. Her biggest concern was tripping in her shoes on stage--that didn't happen, but her cap was knocked off as a teacher hugged her on stage--that's my Nana.

Taylor is headed to Boise State University to get her degree as a Physician's Assistant. Taylor graduated with Honors and an International Baccalaureate honor too. One smart cookie.

Hello Goodbye!

Hello Leiden, South Holland person who quietly comes to my blog nearly everyday. You know, you could say hello or hi or something like that in hollandaise...wait, I think that's a sauce. But seriously, I'd like to get to know you too...so if you have a blog, let me know. I'd like to get to know you the way you're getting to know me. It might be good for international relations and all that.
B-T-W, I didn't vote this last year. I didn't like any of them. Just sayin'.

My First My Last My Everything...a little Barry

***************

RaspBARRY WHITE Cake

1 package White Cake Mix (2-Layer Size)
3 cups fresh Raspberries
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 cups Whipping Cream (unwhipped)
Fresh whole Raspberries for garnish
Additional Cream (whipped) for garnish

Pre-heat the oven to 350-F degrees and lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and a light dusting of flour.

Prepare the white cake mix as directed on the package, making sure to reduce the amount of water you add to only 1 cup. Pour equal portions of the cake batter into each of the prepared cake pans.

Evenly distribute about 1 1/2 cups of the raspberries over the top of the cake
batter. Sprinkle the raspberries with 1/2 cup of sugar, each.

Divide the whipping cream, and pour equal portions over the top of the raspberries on each cake. Bake for about 60 minutes.

Immediately invert both cakes onto serving plates when removing from the oven. Let cool, then garnish with freshly whipped cream and whole raspberries just prior to slicing and serving.

*Did you learn any spanish today?! Bet ya didn't know Barry White loves his raspberry cake that much, eh? hunh?

And no, there's no extra charge for the "cheese" in this post...you'll never look at raspberries the same way again! You won't be able to help it if you "bust a move" in the produce aisle as you pass the raspberries. From now on, everytime you hear Barry White, you'll think of his deep baritone voice crooning about raspberries.

For that, I'm a little sorry.

Called to Serve

This is for two missionary moms out there...E. Nevels' mom and E. Babbitt's mom.
We feed the missionaries breakfast on Saturday mornings. This is one of E. Nevels first Saturdays in the mission. FYI--we love him and his tender heart. E. Nevels with his 2nd comp, E. Babbitt. They compliment each other very well and seem to have a true friendship. E. Babbitt is just a scream! We laugh so much when they're over.

E. Nevels spoke at Arianna's baptism at our invitation. E. Babbitt just spoke at our daughter's friend, T.'s baptism on Saturday. Both of these young men are truly loving servants. It is our privilege to get to know them.

Everybody's Free (to wear Sunscreen)

For Diana and Seniors Graduating Everywhere!



I love this.
"There is nothing in this world so strong as your belief in yourself."

Nana graduates this Thursday. This last week has been near miserable for her. She's been, frankly, quite emotional...cranky at times, somber at times, ornery and then hopeful...I think they make pills for this if it were long term, but since it's temporary, probably not.
I listen when she talks. The one time a day that is ours alone is afterschool--she walks in the door, and then rides with me to pick up the little kids from their school--it amounts to about 30 minutes, and I will miss that time together. Today is her last day of high school. Where did the time go? Four down, 3 to go. Will I even last until the Caboose is a senior?? From here it looks so far down the road, but life has taught me that time zooms past you when you're so busy living it.

The songwriter Baz L. is profound. His message is spot-on...for all of us. I would add one more thing: Prayer. That's the only way to get thru any of this and resemble the person you want to be in the end.

Please Mr. Postman

Mr. Postman brought me an AWESOME PACKAGE yesterday!!! Oh yeah....wait a minute wait a minute...check it and see...

I won a GIVEAWAY from the Mormon Mommy Blogs!!

P.S. I can't wait to see what everyone else posts today!

Do As I'm Doing, Follow Follow Me!

So, this is the deal. Maybe it's because of the bright Colorado skies that have inspired me or knowing that summer is nearly here or or I have slipped into another dimension of absolute nuttiness, but I'm just gonna put this out there...
For the next week, every post TITLE is going to be either a SONG title or a Line from a Song...
--music rocks my socks, so why not, I say?!
And so that I dont' feel like a total dork, I am willing to bribe others to join me. In exchange for your participation, there's something in it for you. It will be a surprise, but I think you'll like it. And it will be personalized.

So, if you wanna give this a go, just comment below so we can follow your TITLES this week. That's just 7 days. And if you wanna expound on why you chose that song or what it means to you, go right ahead! It'll be fun to learn more about my "followers".... Come Follow Me....you know you want to!

MMB Giveaway

The Mormon Mommy blogs are having a neat May giveaway...go check 'em out! Click on that blue button to the right and it'll take you right there!

Weekend Whatevers

Saturday was one of those days that I didn't really make any plans and I didn't want any. I'd hoped to hit the trail, but it was super windy and foggy most of the morning, so I just puttered around the house.

We did feed our awesome missionaries breakfast. Taylow made pancakes, Mr W made eggs, and Nana made sausage, while I cut watermelon. We love feeding our missionaries.

My puttering: going thru the kids' toys...is not my idea of a fun thing...but my goodness, when I walked down to the basement and started to cringe looking at the bins full of toys all mixed up, spread on the floor, and messy--well, I was COMPELLED to do something about it.

But in the end, it's worth it. All the Polly Pockets are together.(Do you remember when Polly Pockets were tiny and impossible to keep track of?) As are the Littlest Petshop pets, the tinkertoys have been put back in the same bin, and all 120 naked Barbies are together and their clothing too. Once their clothes are off, they all look the same: nekkid blondes. Boofus is saving all of his Rescue Heroes for his children, he says. I'm okay with that.

I also felt ambitious enough to match up all the DVDs and their cases. I don't get why my kids can't seem to put them back together once they've watched the movie. Why? Why? Why?

Then, that night was Dara's friend, T.'s baptism. I was asked to speak on "Baptism". I talked about how this decision of hers would be the catalyst for her decisions for the rest of her life. I am grateful she asked me to participate. Her parents were supportive even though they are not active in the church. It is easy to see how much they love their daughter.

Daisie spoke on the topic of the Holy Ghost and I am continually amazed at how graceful she is becoming. She expressed sweet feelings of excitement for her friend and her love of the Savior.

Sunday brought beautiful weather! It has been sunny and mild all day.

Tonight we're invited to go to a Fireside put on the missionaries for new converts. T. was invited to speak but was unable to attend, altho another friend of Daisie's who joined the Church in January was asked to speak and we're giving her a ride. Chels is just a doll...so bubbly and every bit 14 years old! It was she and Daisie who shared their testimonies and invited T. to church---the ripple effect, is it not?
*postscript: The fireside was really the highlight of my weekend. Nearly 20 recent/new converts shared their testimonies in a chapel full of missionaries. From young ones like Chels to a few folks old enough to be my parents. Every single one of them was unique and wonderfully candid. They haven't learned the LDS "lingo" yet...very refreshing & inspiring.

Overheard:
Ari to Kota, who'd chewed up something of hers: "Oooohhh, You are in SO MUCH TROUBLE! Naughty Puppy! No! No! No! Mommmm! You stop that right now, okay? Or you're going up to your kennel. Bad girl! Mommmmm!"

Dakota's World & Random Pics

The Caboose, Boofus and Dakota getting ready for school. 'Kota goes with me to take the kids to school every day. In fact, everytime this little dog hears the keys or sees me going to the door, she thinks she is going with me. I try to take her with me as much as possible.

Wild flowers on the trail. I'm just trying to learn my new camera features.

Santa Fe trail in Colorado Springs. Have I told you I love Colorado?

Kota on the trail. If she could, she'd raise her paws and ask me to carry her. She is really a great companion on the trail when she isn't zig-zagging in front of me. She doesn't even need a leash...she just sticks right by me. Until a friendly jogger comes by, then she's a mess, so I have to hold onto her.

The Front Range of the Rockies...love that blue sky!

More trail. Did I tell you this rocks my socks?

The Boofus has been attacked by a killer puppy!! Ack!

Before Bed, hangin' in the loft with the pup and Daddy.

Okay, I don't know why this one is sideways...but Mr W hangin with the pup...he always gets down on her level. She just eats him up!

Kota is just a typical lab...she loves people, she already retrieves(!), & she eats like there's no tomorrow! We're feeding her Avoderm...it's supposed to be good for her coat n stuff. She sleeps in a crate all night without incident. I can let her out the front door and she runs around to the back of the house, up the deck stairs and waits at the sliding glass door to be let in...she doesn't run away! Our last dog was always always running off, so that she doesn't is way cool to us.
And when I open her crate door, she walks right in. She won't do that for the kids though, and I don't know why. But she'll do it for me. She's already grown so much...we are really enjoying this new little gal. The Caboose wants to make Kota a guard dog...haha. right.

Matt & Dani at Nana's piano recital. Dani looks so happy doesn't she? lol Oh and the timestamp on this is way off. It was a week ago,

Nana and her piano teacher, Laurel. I like this teacher alot. She freaks Nana out to do her best.
Worth every cent.

Elder Nevels from Fulton, MO. and his companion, Elder Babbit from Illinois. And the Caboose.
We love these young men so much. We're going to know them for-ev-er.

Random pics of the here and now