Women of Virtue

Today more than ever, women who seek virtue need to band together. We need each others strength and support. Jodi is one of my troop of women. We try to influence each other for good and support each other in the pursuit of all that is good.

My dear friend Jodi 's new book titled, Women of Virtue, is finally published!!!!!! I encourage everyone to check it out at http://beta.cedarfort.com/kahuga/gallery.jsp?callMethod=newReleases or amazon.com . I marvel at the process I have witnessed in her these last 5 years. I recall her asking God how he could find and use her in a world full of wonderful women. I recall the first time a little over a year ago when we sat on her shabby chic sofa as she read me her first rough thoughts on virtue. Since then, I have witnessed thoughts and ideas flow to her... as she was willing to champion the cause of virtue. We shared numerous revisions, which she took graciously, and a few rejections and then more revisions. Finally these thoughts were ready for the world.

It is difficult to get up early mornings before the children rise to write. It is harder to put yourself out there as an "expert" as there are many waiting to pull you down. But I am changed from watching and hopefully assisting with the process, the courage, and the fire. I witnessed a woman asking to be an instrument, then receiving a voice. May it be heard. May "virtuous" be what we all aspire to.

Ladybug Falls

Growing up in the Rocky Mountains, I did not know or appreciated the chaparral. But Monday, I learned all about it.
We chose an easy 4 plus mile hike in the King's Canyon/Sequoia National Park area. I could have been happy with the drive alone. Nearing the park we drove through the chaparral. The rolling hills covered with new spring grass and oak trees begged for a horse back ride. Some areas were carpeted so thick with wildflowers they changed colors.
Elisabeth, Mark and Cami joined Mom, Ivy and our family for our adventure. Excitement and discovery sped the children on and they made the entire 8 mile round trip. We don't hike in the traditional way, however. We stop to discover whenever the mood hits us. Following this method, we discovered a group of happily mating red and orange salamanders. They mated in a large pile, then swam off with their little tails to rest. Two brightly colored brave souls were left to guard the large clusters of eggs produced. We thrilled at continuation of the circle of life.

Our hike was not without some mishap. The carpet of acorns caused us to slip and slide. Ivy and I had to sandwich Mom to keep her on the trail. Twenty feet onto the trail, Little Mother fell down a large boulder, scraped the skin off her scalp and gave herself a small concussion. Sunshine slid down a hillside and managed to jam a stick 1 1/2 inches down her ear canal.

Little Mother had missed her mom so much she needed a little extra time and attention.
At Ladybug Falls, the rocks were covered with.... Ladybugs. They flew on our hands, feet, and packs. At the top of the trail, Briz could not resist a dip in the run off water. Then he couldn't resist sharing the experience with Little Mother and I.

We all bonded. I grew to adore my little niece Cami, and enjoyed my sister and Mother as usual.

Arrival

We drove all day and through the night through deserts and mountains to Nana and Grandpa's house. At 10:00, the sweeties fell asleep, At 11:00 I fell asleep listening to Briz singing to U-2 on his MP3 player. At midnight, our time, we pulled into the farm lane. The lights were on, and we were expected. I crept up the stairs to find my 2 week missing daughter. I held her sleeping form and she happily whispered, "Momma, Momma," as she held me tight. My world righted as I held my baby once more.

As I prepared for bed, I heard squeals of glee coming from my window well. A knock and a giggle. Ladybug plopped toad after toad into her 5 gallon bucket. Briz and Ladybug finally came in after catching 1 midnight snake that had just fed on some hapless creature and a whole bucketful of toads.

Ladybug prayed before bed, "Thank you that I was able to catch so many toads on my first night."

My mind was firmly on bed and was unable to see the importance of greeting the animal life at midnight. But my sweetheart did and Ladybug wrapped her arms around a cat and slept well, secure in the knowledge that she was in her happy place and all was well with the world.

Intro to Soccer

Anxiously awaiting our new experience, some of us walked, others galloped, to the new soccer stadium dressed to battle the imposing purple cover that approached. How perfect, how wonderful that we could experience professional soccer for the first time on SOFT SEATS in a catered indoor/outdoor box with family members that are friends as well.

The play was truly beautiful. The movement of the athletes was artistry. Though I have yet to understand the calls and plays, I sat transfixed by their coordination and speed. When the players bounced the silver ball off their heads, it spun and sparkled, catching my eye as it defied gravity.

The social aspect of the game added to our experience. Teresa and Samantha explained the game. I learned about professional player's propensity to flop for a foul. I learned that the incessant drumming section was a "soccer thing" that went all game long. I learned about off sides, men in banana suits, and that warm climates produce better soccer players. All the nuts in the box sang Oooh ohhh, Oooh oooh with the crowd after each score. Melinda, Teresa, Ladybug, Adam and I danced the chicken dance at half time to the teenager's embarrassment. Briz and I reconnected with Melinda and Teresa, whom we dearly love.

My little women stayed in the indoor section, battling the boys with noise whackers. They were more impressed by the chocolate covered strawberries, the baklava, and the chips and dip than in the quality of play. I must admit I enjoyed the shrimp tray and daintily picked at more than my share.
In the final quarter, the drizzle turned to a torrent, yet the players continued their beautiful play, winning by 3 goals. Briz and I each took a little hand and jogged to our car. Bedraggled and dripping we arrived at our car, happy and laughing at the horrible smell of wet wool.

Today I am grateful for lobbyists. I am grateful that dear ones would share the benefits with us. I could do more of this.

April Fools flop

April Fools Day is a day I usually forget. I don't do pranks, practical jokes or lying jokes. I really wanted to get into the spirit, so I sent wormy apples to school today and glued Ladybug's lunch shut. I didn't get the response I wanted. No one noticed. No one cared. I feel like Eeyore. I'll try one last shot with dinner on the dinner blog. Perhaps April Fools Day is really not my holiday.

Oh, slim and slimy

Oh, grim and gloomy,
So grim and gloomy
Are the caves beneath the sea.
Oh, rare but roomy
And bare and boomy,
Those salt sea caverns be.

Oh, slim and slimy
Or grey and grimy
Are the animals of the sea.
Salt and oozy
And safe snoozy
The caves where those animals be.

Hark to the shuffling
Huge and snuffling,
Ravenous, cavernous, great sea-beasts!
But fair and fabulous
Tintinnabulous,
Gay and fabulous are their feasts.

Ah, but the queen of the sea,
The querulous, perilous sea!
How the curls of her tresses
The pearls on her dresses,
Sway and swirl in the waves,
How cozy and dozy,
How sweet ring-a-rosy
Her bower in the deep-sea-caves!

Oh, rare but roomy
And bare and boomy
Those caverns under the sea,
And grave and grandiose,
Save and sandiose
The dens of her denizens be.

-Grim and Gloomy
by James Reeves
Slurch
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
food coloring if desired

Oooze and snooze and flooze and plooze. Slimy, grimy, and very messy!!!!

Blueberry Pie

Aunt Teri lent us a favorite book of hers. We read it over and over.
We'd never tried a blueberry pie, so we thought we'd see what the elf loved so much.

We discovered the secret.
Then we read the book again.

The Dream

I woke up panicked and felt with my toes for the warm steady figure of my husband. Nothing was there. Though disoriented from such a quick wake up, I padded down the stairs. No cartoon watchers. I looked outside. No early morning yard workers. I padded down to the basement and found my sweetheart giving Ladybug her morning snuggle. I motioned for him to come with me and led him by the hand back up for my morning snuggle.

"What was it honey? Was it a dream? Tell me about it."

"Well, I forgot. We forgot. We forgot that we were married. We got lost in the room-mate living of comfortable friends and moved on. At the last minute I found a vague memory that we were must have been married to have had these little girls and we must have loved one another very much. I went to revive that memory with you, but you had already moved on."

The panic of that dream provided the determination to truly put into action "The Love Dare" by Kendrick (as seen on the amazing movie Fireproof). I will not allow our relationship to get lost in the discipline, the yard work, the church service, and the hundreds of other tasks of making a living.

I cannot fully implement each quality, each habit in a day, so I will do one a week. I will read each chapter every morning for a week before moving on. Today's habit is "Love is patient."

Here is my favorite quote for this week's challenge, "Patience understands that everyone fails. When a mistake is made, it chooses to give them more time than they deserve to correct it."

Beyond Glaze

I had two friends over for lunch. I had to try these cute little things. Not only are they the cutest doughnuts I have ever seen they were the best. The raspberry Mango and German Chocolate were my favorites today. Then the Key Lime and the Cherry Chocolate. Strawberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Peanut Butter were at the end but still better than any I had ever tasted. I was in doughnut heaven. Can't you just see one of these little beauties on each little desert plate at a ladies luncheon? It is too cute!!! Besides, I wouldn't have to make anything!!! Between the three of us, we pretty much finished the whole box. Beyond Glaze is a delightful shop full of creativity and freshness. I hope it thrives so I can go there again and again and try all the other flavors.

This Time is Precious

Little Mother is in California visiting her grandparents for two weeks. It is an exciting and heady experience for a little one to have her grandparents to herself, to travel and see the world. Her calls are full of excitement and the joy of feeling loved. In the meantime, it frees my mornings up for 2 weeks, (1 1/2 of which are left). Not that I haven't loved educating her- we have really bonded and I love being the one to waken her excitement on Egypt, Rome, and Igneous Rocks. But in the last year my home has fallen to a sad ruin I never thought possible.


To head off my natural desire to use the free time to sit, read, and dream, I listed a few projects to accomplish during my short hiatus from teacher. I've not made much progress yet, but today I wasn't scheduled to volunteer anywhere, I had no plans to visit anyone, and no company. Today is the DAY!!!

I made a list with Sunshine of the fun things she wanted to do with me and the things I wanted to accomplish today. We planned to alternate fun with work all day. But, once again life happened.

The day was half over and we had not accomplished many things on my list. Together we set the timer and worked on the craft room. The timer went off. AAAA! I've made such little progress. "Mom. It's time to play blocks. We are each going to build our own house this time."
"Honey, why don't we bring your blocks in here and you can build and I'll keep working."
"Mom, you promised. It's time to be together."
I sighed inwardly and whined to myself, "But this time is so precious! I get so very little of it."

A voice in my head immediately echoed. "Yes. This time is so precious. And you do get so little of it."
Block temples and the "house of Joseph Smith and his barn" were created with great cooperation. After switching laundry loads and mopping up all the spilled dog food in the laundry room it was on to a castle favorite, peanut butter clay.


My sweetheart often asks, "What did you do today?" Friends and family call and ask, "What is new?" I have no answers for either question. What do I do all day? How can I quantify a 4 year old's pleasure and pride, a 7 year old's discoveries, or a 10 year old's creativity?


I look at my craft room once again. After 30 minutes of hard work and a garbage can full of discards, it looks no better. But I can shut the door again, pretend the evil lurking in the basement doesn't exist.

As I prepared dinner, Sunshine said, "This was my favorite day ever. I didn't have school so I got to spend the whole day with Mom." What is a clean craft room to that I ask you? After all, this time is precious and I have very little. One day, she'll be at school, no longer seduced by peanut butter clay and I will open the craft room ... and my mess will be there ... waiting patiently.

For those of you without peanut butter clay... try ours.

Peanut Butter Clay
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 c. powdered milk
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter, powdered milk and honey. Add powdered sugar until it is no longer sticky. I set out bowls of small foods to add to the sculptures such as: raisins, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows, Rice Krispies, cheerios, etc.

Midlife Review

Matt and I graduation walk
There are few history majors or minors in most universities. So it was that many individuals shared a majority of your classes. One young man was notable for his brown nosing of the teachers and his positive friendly attitude. We sat next to each other for many classes and study groups and became good friends. During one such group, he mentioned going home to his tiny home town for the holiday. Not only had I heard of it, my husband had lived there as a boy. We discovered their close friendship in kindergarten that lasted until my husband's father died when he was 7 and the family moved away. Small world. Matt and his wife Gail took me as a project that summer since Briz was away in Alaska. Countless dinners were shared, blessings given, debates held. They even moved me into another apartment. Later as couples we became close, even sharing our little pug Ming.

Briz, Matt and Ming

Today, I remember this long friendship which has lasted 17 years on my part and 35 for my husband. I remember the countless acts of service over the years on our behalf, help with the sprinkler system when Briz was again gone, pianos moved, conferences and books shared. I remember them because tonight I witnessed a new group of people introduced to his goodwill and people orientation.

We drove up to the red brick house, decorated with black balloons and entered without knocking. The world would end if Gail did not have the table covered with treats, and though we were early, there were already many people sampling the goodies prior to our arrival. A 50ish woman had made the cake, young families with small children stood in line waiting for Gail to dish their ice cream cones, fellow city council members strolled in and joked with Matt about falling asleep or flatulence in council meeting. A shy and backward 16 year old sat on Matt's lap for a minute and he showed no obvious discomfort. My children ran in screaming, "uncle Matt!" College aged young women arrived, one in creative black funeral attire, followed by a cohort of men in dark suits, which I discovered were the stake presidency, taking a break from their meetings. What a strange cacophony of guests we were. I listened to snippets of conversation and gathered the expected information about each of their relationships to Matt. I heard of lives changed through his influence, countless acts of service and love. I witnessed how he has continued to reach out wherever he is placed in life. We left early though I longed to stay to see who else would pop in.

Today I take away from the "funeral" experience a desire to reach out to others unlike me quicker, more fully, and more often. I marvel at his gift to relate to anyone and to radiate love and caring for each person large or small that crosses his path. He is 40 today. I doubt the midlife crisis has a handle on him. His years have been too well spent.

Dinner Rush Hour Rescue

Why does everyone call at dinnertime? Why does each child need me to look and help and answer? Not that I mind, but dinner time is poor timing. Ladybug wants to go camping. Not wanting to disappoint, I put her to work to make our camping dream (detailed on the dinner blog) come true despite the snowy weather. Yes, there is snow outside again. Yes, we are tired of it. But what to do with my littlest? Colorforms to the rescue. Making dinner while listening to Sunshine hum Beethoven, Mozart, and Grieg, is calming and a perfect background to chop and stir.