Dear Blog,

I have so many things to say to you, but no time to write. If I could locate a little extra time, I would tell you about little Greta and how finally at thirteen months she has cut her first tooth and how she loves to eat so much that whenever someone is in the kitchen she asks for food in her own little way and how she is actually showing a little interest in standing and walking occasionally. I would also tell you a few of the adventures with Tessa. . . how one day unbeknownst to me she escaped out of the back yard and was delivered by a {thankfully} friendly neighbor who lives 8 houses away, or how at a BYU volleyball game she started from the top of the bleachers and worked her way to the bottom wiggling in between unsuspecting college girls introducing herself with her full name then carrying on a conversation about these girls' hair, shoes or jewelry. Or I could tell you that right now at the top her want list is "pink high heel bunny slippers". But there just isn't time to go into all of that. I could also tell you about the boys. . . how Chandler is hilarious and can crack jokes that even his teenage brothers laugh out loud at and how he can tell you about the jerseys of almost any professional or college team out there. And if there were time, I would tell you how Caleb worked and saved and then researched bikes until he was knowledgeable about bike brands and parts and types then bought himself a really impressive bike for a reasonable price off of KSL classifieds. And I would tell you about how Cache did well at the BYU Chemistry Olympiad or how when asked to put snacks in the girls' diaper bag for church he did, but when we got there we found hidden under the crackers, pretzels and marshmallows a stash of chicken bouillon cubes. There are also many things I could say about Tom. . .like how he takes over seamlessly for me while I run to this and that Primary event or meeting or how he doesn't bat an eye at the cost or time expense when I have an idea of something I want to do that would help someone else. Or how he probably isn't going to get a ski day in this season (I feel so bad!). . .but, my dear blog there just isn't time enough. I'm swamped with decorating projects that I will one day share with you. . . but if I stop to write to you, the sharing of those things will be delayed. Dear blog I think of you often, but can't stop for long. I'm sorry. I hope to not be so neglectful at some point in the future.
Much Love,
darcee

Look! No strap!

I finally carved out enough time to run up to Moran to get Greta a good glasses adjustment. For some reason every other place I take her just doesn't do a very lasting job. (Ellen, the pediatric optician only works on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that makes it even trickier to work in.) And in discussing all the issues we face with the pollies, Ellen suggested that we cut the temples shorter. Greta has only gained 1 lb. since she got them and so in another 6 months she definitely will not grow out of them--which was the deciding factor as to why she did not cut them off in the first place.

I have to say things are sooooo much better in the glasses department now! They are so much easier to get on and off which makes dressing, putting down for naps, transfers in and out of the car seat so much easier. We don't have to worry about pulling her hair when tightening or loosening the strap. Also, without the strap, the floppy ear issue is over. And Ellen was able to make the cables hot pink instead of brown--so wish we would have done this sooner!

(Love this sweet little look she gives me often!)

Depleted

It's been one of those days. . . .

But I suppose it can't be blamed only on one day. It hasn't been the greatest week---that spring forward really threw me off. And Tessa. And Greta. Sleep just hasn't been happening this week like it should. And I went to bed drained last night. We had a Primary meeting (along with a night of visits to children in the ward) so I didn't get home until after 10:00. And unfortunately I always come home and beat myself up for not saying things correctly or not being as sensitive and I should have been. . . .maybe you know the drill too. I don't like that I do that to myself--which often starts another bad cycle. Then an even later night conversation with a teenager sucked the remaining emotional fumes right out of me.

So perhaps that is why today seemed to start so off-kilter.

After getting everyone off this morning I looked at my list of things to do. It was too long even for a day when I'm bursting with energy. I was a little depressed realizing that there was no way possible for me to tackle what I wanted to do today. {sigh} I made myself okay with that and planned a lighter load for myself. . . .

And then Tessa scribbled all over the counter top. Fifteen minutes later, she dumped an entire cup of water on her bedroom floor. Then flushed a diaper down the toilet. I decided that she needed some attention. We spent a good twenty minutes singing at the piano. Then another twenty minutes reading stories. Then Luke came to play and I played Hiss and Bob the Builder matching with them--close to an hour play time. Surely with that, she could be a little independent without causing more trouble. . . not to be. Still needing more attention, she peed on her bed, put her head out the screen of an open window and has terrorized nearly every room in the house. . . .

Sanity is not resting in great abundance in me today. I keep reminding myself that "God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be. . . " Unfortunately I can't say that I've used today to become what I should become. As the day wanes, I've found little in the reserves for patience. . . .just feeling so depleted.

I guess there needs to be days like this to appreciate varying other degrees of family life. And perhaps feeling depleted even has value. . . .it helps me be more compassionate and be thankful for the days I have an abundance of energy and some patience and ability to cope with that energetic three year old. . . .I'm thankful that I don't feel the level of frustration I've felt with her today on most days (because her behavior hasn't been that abnormal). And I guess that thought is what is giving me energy to type this post. . .

It's the next day. . . .
After a good night's sleep, and a little time at the gym listening to talks, things are better. Just a few gems I needed to hear this morning:
"The Lord will shape the back to fit the burden placed upon it."
"Our responsibility is not trivial; it is not by chance that we are who we are; the keeping of our covenants in these days of destiny will be a badge of honor throughout all the eternities." (from Neil L. Andersen's Come unto Him-April 2009)
"Shrink not from your duty, however unpleasant, But follow the Savior, your pattern and friend. Our little afflictions, thou painful at present, Ere long, with the righteous in glory will end. "
"Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you; The weight of your calling he perfectly knows. Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you; His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose." (2nd and 4th verse The Time is Far Spent)

There is purpose in all my struggles. I'll keep trying. . .

Mini Meetings

Family Home Evenings lately have been so frustrating. . . which age group do we cater to? How do we teach the boys the doctrine they need with Tessa's attention span and need for constant attention? How do we teach the gospel on Tessa's level without compromising fortifying the boys with the spiritual power they need? Doing a little of both didn't seem doable because of attention spans and older kids' unwillingness to have longer FHE's. Alternating weeks wouldn't provide the consistency they all need for gospel instruction. Something had to be done. Our solution? Mini Meetings. They are 5 minutes long--we set a timer. A mini candy bar is given at the end of each meeting. Lessons are always given by me and only the boys attend. Tom takes the girls so we can be uninterrupted. The topics vary, but all carry a theme. My goal is to teach the boys the importance of having the spirit in their lives. We've talked about how to qualify for it, how to experience it in abundance, how to discern when the spirit is speaking to you, the fruits of the spirit and how it has been prophesied that 'your sons. . .shall prophesy. . .and your young men shall see visions' (Joel 2:28) and a few other similar threads. We meet every Sunday afternoon. In FHE we now teach a lesson from the nursery manual for Tessa. It has been much better. . .they are shorter so those who are not catered to doctrinally can attend without much complaint. And it gives them the opportunity to teach on a different level than they are used to teaching. I'm not sure how long this will be the solution, but for now it is working and I'm thankful for that.

A Funny

I thought this was hysterically funny while it was happening, but when I looked at the pictures I got another giggle. They looked almost cartoonish to me. . .scrawny legs. . .big head (in comparison to the legs). . .funny positioning. . . The story: Tessa went missing yesterday for quite a while. We found her in my stash of saved baby clothes. . . . trying them on (I've saved one favorite tiny item from each child.). You can't see from the pictures that she's got on a purple diaper cover from the dress I saved for her. The shirt is also from that dress. (You can see both girls in this dress here.) The pants are what we brought Greta home from the hospital in. They are a newborn size--supposedly fitting 5-8lbs. She was sorely disappointed that she couldn't quite get them up! (But for a 3 year old, she got way too close. . .that girl needs to gain some weight!)

Birthday Girl

Has it really been a year? I guess, somehow it has. Still enamored with this great addition to our family. . . .

She is such a sweet, easy going, mellow girl! (who doesn't really take a Binky. . .she found it in a toy box and plugged it in.) I find myself thinking she is the most adorable and lovable thing ever. Here is this happy little girl a few days before her birthday.
But as easy going as Greta is, she's hard to impress. She cracked nary a smile on her birthday. . . .give her the usual tickles and snuggles then she'll show delight. . . give her a cake and some presents and she'll face it all with trepidation.
This was the best smile we got out of her that night. She is not showing a single desire to walk. Zero. None. Zilch. Which really is okay with me, except that at some point she does need to learn. Her doctor got a kick out of her at the 1 year check up yesterday. . . he tried to get her to show a little resistance with her legs. She would not. She is just so easy going and willing to go along with whatever one puts her through. She would be content on my lap or in my arms all day long if I let her (except, for some reason, during church).

She weighed in at 15lbs. 9ozs--which concerned the doctor for a small moment because that was 6oz. less than she was a few weeks ago when I had her in for an ear infection. But when I told him those little glasses weigh 9oz. and she had them on for that weight check, but not this one, he relaxed. She seems to be following Tessa's growth pattern so Greta's weight didn't even get a bat of an eyelash after the glasses explanation. (Got to skip the give-all-the-high-fat-foods-you-can pep talk!)

Here's to another great year, sweet baby!

Primary Activity

I'm so slow at getting this posted. . . this activity was February 13--and done with our previous Primary Presidency.

The theme in Primary this year is "I Know My Savior Lives". We wanted an activity to kick off that theme and help the kids gain their own testimony that Jesus Christ lives. We struggled quite a bit to figure out how to do that but when the right idea came, things pulled together seamlessly. (Love when and how that happens--so sacred--it is like Joseph Smith said "you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas") Anyway, here is what we did.

We gave each of the kids these little clue cards with magnifying glasses and pencils. They wrote their names on the detective tag. (click on picture to get a closer look)
They visited three different 'eye witnesses' of the resurrected Christ and heard of their testimonies. After they saw and heard each testimony, they marked it on their cards like in the Clue game.

Our visitors were Cleopas and a friend who were on the road to Emmaus, Joseph Smith and two Nephites who were present when Jesus Christ visited the Americas. (A BIG thank you to all of our visitors--they did a fantastic job!)

At the very end we played President Monson's testimony and explained the quote by Elder Hales that was printed on the clue card. ("We know He lives because we believe the testimonies of His ancient and living prophets, and we have felt God’s Spirit confirm that the testimonies of these prophets are true.") Then we played a little video/slide show of pictures of Jesus with the song I Know My Savior Loves Me. We talked about the feeling they were feeling. We explained that the spirit was witnessing that what they had heard and experienced that day was true--and that was their final clue.

For treats we served homemade bread with honey butter as a symbol that Jesus Christ is the bread of life. It was a fantastic activity. (Thank you Susan for the pictures!)