Well, the past 6 months have flown by and I haven't managed to post on my blog once! Since I'm trying to keep a record of our family life to print out and save for posterity, here is a brief recap of the past 6 months.
Tanner was baptized on February 21, 2015. Grandma McAllister, Aunt Ruth, and Daniel all visited from Utah and we had a great time with them. Unfortunately, I can only find one photo from the big day.
In April, Archer turned four. I can't believe how fast the time has gone! He insisted on having party hats at his family birthday celebration.
In April, Hunter had his appendix removed! He was very brave and tough and recovered quickly.
Sweet Kayla turned 15 on May 16th. We were cabin camping at the Yogi Bear campground in Luray on her actual birthday, so I made her special breakfast request of crepes at our cabin. Later she had a birthday dinner at Oma's house.
Other photos from our Yogi Bear camping trip.
Mother's Day at Oma's:
Kayla and Hunter took a really great class called Key of Liberty. It was about the founding fathers and the founding documents of our country. They studied the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. At the end of the school year, we attended a program where they received rewards for memorizing the Declaration of Independence, among other things. They did a really fun rap on the constitution, but it didn't come out too well on video. Here a couple of photos:
Trip to Lake Anna with Archer, Tanner, and best buddy Will.
My wonderful piano students had a recital in June. Sadly, I only have one picture and it is a distant shot!
Our summer was full of trips to King's Dominion and Lake Anna with Oma and Grandpa. We ended our summer with a trip to Massenutten resort where we stayed a week and did various activities offered at the resort--hiking, zip lining, tubing, magic shows, nature shows, craft classes, water park, and more.
Yes, I managed not to post any pictures of myself! :)
Here's to hoping I blog again before another six months goes by!
Tanner turned 8 years old on February 17th. Somehow, I have managed to not plan a birthday party for him with friends before this age! We always do a family party with relatives, but I have been taking it easy on friend parties. Anyway, as his birthday approached, I realized that this was the year I needed to do a party because he was turning 8, and that is a big deal in our church because it's the age you can get baptized. I did really cool parties for his older siblings when they turned 8 (Kayla's was Webkinz, Hunter's was Harry Potter), and I wanted to do something special for Tanner too. It was easy to pick a theme since he loves Minecraft. Thanks to Google, I found loads of ideas on the web and tried to pick the simplest ones for the party. I have a tendency to go way overboard, so I was proud of myself for mostly keeping it simple. It was a fun party and I hope it made his 8th birthday memorable. I'm missing some of the photos that were taken on a different camera, but here are a few from my phone:
First activity was to make Minecraft faces out of small squares of paper. They boys actually enjoyed this more than I thought they would. (Hint to others considering this activity-cutting all of those squares was very time-consuming, and I guessed the wrong colors they would want, and had to frantically pull out more cardstock and a square puncher at the party to keep up with the color demands!):
Next the boys had dinner--"Golden Apples," "Carrots," and pizza. They played a Minecraft bingo game while they ate.
Next up was "Musical Minecraft," but I didn't get photos. The kids walked around on Minecraft pictures (like a cake walk) and stopped on a picture when the music stopped. We pulled a number out of a hat and whoever was on that number was "out." Really, they got to fill their minecraft block at the candy bar first. Then the block went into the goodie bags. Next they colored minecraft pictures while waiting for everyone else to finish the game. Each boy got their own set of crayons for the goodie bag too.
I saw some REALLY amazing cake ideas, but I kept it simple with homemade cupcakes from a mix. The cupcake toppers were part of a free set of minecraft printables I found online. All the signs for the food also came from that set (link below).
I bought a set of papercraft minecraft animals for the kids to put together, but when I tried it out beforehand, I realized it would be too hard for them to do without a lot of help. Kayla put them all together before the party and we let the boys pick a couple to put in their goodie bags.
Our final activity was to go mining. I froze plastic jewels in layers of ice and the boys used "pick-axes" (mini craft hammers) to mine the jewels out. The jewels also went in the goodie bags.
It was a relatively simple party, compared to some of the ideas I saw online, but it was plenty of work for me. :) I think the key to its success was limiting the number of people Tanner could invite. I knew from experience that 8 boys would be plenty!
In case anyone else is looking, here are some links to the places I found ideas from:
Today was my Music Mind Games day. Once a month, I get to attend a meeting with Michiko Yurko (the creator of Music Mind Games) and other music teachers to practice games we learned at our Unit 1 Training, learn new games, and share ideas of how we are using this system in our own studios. This is one meeting I always look forward to!
What is Music Mind Games? As I was preparing to embark on my piano teaching journey, I did a lot of "online research" into different piano teaching methods, pedagogy, etc. In this process, I discovered Music Mind Games. Music Mind Games is a unique way to teach music theory through games and hands-on activities, it is used all over the world. When I learned about this program, I was immediately thrilled with the idea, ordered a Puppy Packet, and started using the materials as best as I could. Last summer, I attended a week-long training and had a blast learning a variety of games to teach simple and sophisticated music theory concepts. It is a fabulous program and I only wish I could find more time to use it in my private lessons. It is designed to be taught as a weekly theory class in addition to private lessons, but I have not been able to fit that into the schedules of my students or myself yet. I have just been trying to fit in what I can at occasional group lessons and the few minutes I can squeeze out of private lessons. I'm determined to find a way to tweak my schedule next year and include it more because it is fabulous!
Last Sunday, I was bemoaning not being able to do all thing things I needed to do, even when I was productive all day long and engaged in good things. Well, sometimes, I'm not productive all day long, and I don't get things done because I choose to play instead. I generally try to avoid watching t.v. or movies during the week because it can be such a time-hog, but last weekend, we discovered the BBC show, The Paradise, and Kayla and I wanted to watch it every night. My intentions of no t.v. went down the drain. We finished Season 1 yesterday and I'm going to try to pace myself better through Season 2! My oh my, I do love BBC shows!
Valentine's Day was yesterday and I didn't manage to take any pictures. This is the first time in my 15+ years of marriage that I haven't decorated for Valentines Day. I went to get the box of stuff out of the basement, and there was a bunch of stuff in front of it, and so I gave up at the moment, and never got back to it. I thought no one in the family would notice, but Hunter did let me know he was sad last night because we didn't have a nice dinner with our Valentine tablecloth like we have in years' past. I guess these things really do mean something to the kids after all! I did make a couple cute things with my craft supplies for teachers, along with some chocolate covered peanut butter balls, but you'll have to take my word for it that they were cute since I was rushing to deliver everything and didn't take one photo. Jason's parents invited us for dinner at their house and it was lovely. Hunter babysat (no wonder he was sad), Kayla went to a youth dance, and Jason and I had a kid-free evening at his parents' house with delicious food, no crowds, a nice atmosphere, and nice company. It was great, but I did feel bad later when Hunter was sad. My intentions of making pink pancakes for breakfast had also fallen by the wayside...yes, The Paradise can be blamed for that too because I stayed up too late watching it the night before and slept in too late to make the breakfast! My Sweetie got up with Archer so I could sleep in and beat me to breakfast making, so I had a really great day! :)
All in all, it was a happy week. A few weeks ago, I was at my wits end with homeschooling because Hunter was struggling to stay on task and I was tired of nagging all day. Of course, the roughest times in homeschooling usually lead to better times because I start praying and pondering about what to do and the Lord always helps me. We created some schedules, charts, etc. and I have been dedicating some time at the beginning of each week to help Hunter plan out the week and what needs to be done daily. It has made a huge difference. I know what he needs to do, he knows what to do, he stays on task, and I feel happy! Hooray! I'm grateful for answered prayers.
One final thing, I'm attaching a video of Archer singing his "Goodnight Sweetheart" song with me. This is usually his number one song pick at bedtime and he totally sings it out with me. I happened to have my phone with me in the room tonight so I tried to catch it. Unfortunately, you can't see the video because we are in his dark room singing, but you'll have to trust me that he looks as adorable as he sounds when he sings it.
Every week, I have so many thoughts I want to put into words, but I know it will take me awhile and I'm usually in a hurry, so I just post about non-deep things like piano parties or Tiger Daniel. I don't have to think hard, or be vulnerable and write about my concerns, worries, and struggles, I can just stick to the easy stuff.
Once again, I feel like I don't have time to write anything meaningful. It's 10:40 p.m. and my daily goal is to finish all my stuff by 10:00 so I can have time with Jason before I attempt to achieve my other daily goal of being in bed by 11:00. That is a goal I am not meeting very often at all. I'm also trying to do a bunch of things for the Feel Great in 8 Challenge--journal each night, read inspiring literature 20 minutes a day, log all my calories, exercise, get enough sleep, track other habits, etc. Quite often, I am still trying to get those things done at night too and I'm struggling to fit it all in. I feel like I'm racing the clock from the moment I get up until the moment I hit the pillow and I just can't fit it all in, no matter how reasonable I try to make my expectations. I also want to have meaningful time with my husband and children each day, but sometimes it feels so hard to stop what I'm working on to create that time. Yet that is the most important thing.
When I look back on my day, it was filled with important things, mostly related to my calling as stake primary president--ward Council, ward conference, meeting and training with a ward primary presidency, my own ward Relief Society meeting, answering and writing e-mails related to my calling. All of these things needed to happen and I felt happy to do them, they just took up the day. When I tried to write e-mails, Jason was home-teaching and the boys were fighting, whining, tattling and interrupting me constantly. I ended up banishing them all to their rooms until I finished, and that wasn't at all how I wanted the evening to go. So many days seem to go that way. I go to meetings or read my scriptures and feel inspired to do wonderful things with my family, then I struggle to fit those wonderful things into my days. Even worse, I struggle not to be irritated by my children (the people I love the most) when they are interrupting me and keeping me from accomplishing the things I need to get done. Ah...it is challenging at times to balance it all.
We did have some family time today. I made a nice dinner and we ate together as a family. I finally pulled myself away from the computer long enough to tuck Archer in bed. I love that time with Archer, but it's crazy how hard it is to stop what I'm doing long enough to have that time. I loved seeing the wonder and joy on his face as we read stories. He gets so delighted with the simplest things, he laughs and makes me laugh, and we snuggle, and I love it. He also loves his bedtime songs and it's so delightful to have him sing with me. I love one-on-one time with my Archer and all of my kids. I love it with Jason too. I just wish I could figure out how to have more of it and still get the things done that really need to get done (many of the things I did on the computer tonight were stock-piling, things I should have done before tonight). Don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely on task every minute, I did get side-tracked (ha, ha, that never happens when I'm on the computer) looking at ideas for Tanner's 8th birthday coming up. But, I feel like I was mostly on task all day and that I was doing things that needed to get done, and somehow, it's late and there is still so much to do. I feel that way so often.
So, I guess this isn't a fluffy post after all and I am sharing some of my concerns and struggles. How do I do the things that matter most without everything else falling apart because it's not getting done? I mean, bills do have to get paid, dishes washed, laundry cleaned, and calling responsibilities filled. I guess I just keep trying, keep praying, keep looking at what I can cut out, and keep relying on the Lord to magnify my efforts so that they will be enough. This is a quote from Elder Uchtdorf that I share at every ward conference presidency meeting, and I think I share it because I need to hear it over and over:
"If your circumstances are less than ideal, please take comfort in knowing that the Lord will support and enhance your efforts, sanctify your decisions and actions, perfect them through the tender mercies of Christ, and “consecrate [your] performance … , that [it] may be for the welfare of [your] soul” (2 Nephi 32:9) and the souls of those you serve."
I love that and I'm counting on it! I also LOVE this quote by President Hinckley:
“Many of you think you are failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of
your effort it is not sufficient.
We all worry about our performance. We all wish we could do better. But unfortunately we do not realize, we do
not often see the results that come of what we do.
You never know how much good that you do.
Now, my dear sisters, that is the way with you. You are doing the best you can, and that best
results in good to yourself and to others.
Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings
of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do. Then leave the matter in the hands of the
Lord. You will discover that you have
accomplished something beyond price.”
I really believe that is true, I just have to remember it when I'm feeling discouraged. I'm so thankful for the gospel, and the opportunity to serve in the church. It is a huge blessing in my life, even though this particular post may not have made that clear. Most of my days are busy with things not church-related, so this is a situation people deal with whether or not they are members of the church with callings. I'm grateful to know I can rely on the Lord. I have felt Him lift, strengthen, and bless me repeatedly. I will keep trying to do my best and rely on the Lord to make it enough.
The last thing I want to share, because it fits in so well with the direction this post has gone, is a "Mormon Message" video about a Mom whose day goes the way my days often go. This message touches me so much every time I watch it. It is definitely worth the 9 minutes of viewing. I think every woman will relate to this!
Okay, I will admit, my 3-year-old watches way too much T.V. and I feel bad about it, but I also depend on the T.V. at times to enable me to accomplish other things and to buy myself a moment (or several moments) of peace. Of all the shows Archer watches, Daniel Tiger is my favorite. First of all, it reminds me of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood which I grew up loving. Mostly though, I love it because it teaches Archer all of these cute little songs that he actually applies to real life and starts singing at the appropriate moment.
The first song that was super valuable to us was this one:
"If you need to go potty, stop and go right away. Flush and wash and your on your way."
That little song saved us from many an accident when we were potty-training. We would be at the grocery store and he would start singing it and off we would go to the potty.
Not long ago, I told Archer I had to leave for a meeting. He started to whine and said, "I don't want you to go!" but then he stopped in the middle of his whining and started singing, "Grown-ups come back." He kissed me goodbye and was perfectly fine.
All of my kids are picky eaters. I'm sure it's my fault, but nevertheless, it is hard to get them to try anything new. Well, one night last week at dinner, I asked Archer to try my sweet potatoes and some stuffing. He said, "Ewww, yuck!" Then he changed his tone and started singing, "You've got to try new foods cause it might taste good." I was so surprised. Then he actually tried the new foods and decided he liked them. I love Tiger Daniel!
The last song that we sing often in our family is this one:
"When you feel so mad that you want to roar, just take a deep breath, and count to four."
Okay, Mommy still needs to work on that one. :)
So, if you find yourself tempted to put a show on for your preschooler, choose Tiger Daniel.
On Saturday, I had a party for my piano students who passed the one-minute challenge. I read about this idea on Susan Paradis's wonderful site here. The challenge is to name all the notes (from flash cards) on the grand staff and play the notes on the piano in less than a minute. I started this in 2013 and had only 3 students made it. For 2014, seven kids completed the challenge, but they couldn't all make it to the party. We had pizza, an ice cream sundae bar, and played a couple of games--"Around the World" with staff note flashcards and a Musical Jeopardy game. It was fun and I think the kids felt special for completing the challenge. I hope they did! They each received a certificate and a laminated tag for their piano bags. I'm sure we'll have even more kids make it in 2015!
I'm not good about remembering to take pictures, but I did manage to get a few:
Once upon a time, I used to make paper crafts and handmade gifts. I still enjoy it, but rarely find time to fit it into my life. However, I always tend to do some crafting over Christmas. This year I made just a few things:
Money holders, gift card holders
Inside look at money, gift card, and movie ticket holders.
Monogrammed Card set for my mother-in-law
Inside look at the card pouch.
Cards inside the pouch
Set of cat cards for Bonnie--Jason's godmother who loves cats.
I always want to do so many things with the kids at Christmas--Christmas stories, Christmas movies, Gingerbread houses, cookies, looking at the lights, etc. This year we did a lot of those things and I decided maybe it was too much work! I made a note NOT to do gingerbread houses and sugar cookies next year because of the effort and mess it involves, but I'm already back pedaling on that resolve when I look at these pictures and remember only the happy parts. :)
It was a happy holiday season and I was sad to have it come to an end. It always goes too quickly for me. At least I know it will come around again!
Over the Christmas break, I had a wonderful vacation with Kayla. Jason and I "won" a 3-night trip to Williamsburg by attending a time-share tour last summer. The condo was only for a family of four and we have a family of six, so Kayla and I generously offered to go on a mother-daughter trip since we couldn't all go. :) The boys didn't mind too much--they could have boy parties at home with the girls gone and be as loud and crazy as they wanted. Kayla and I had the most peaceful, relaxing vacation. We did a little bit of sight-seeing, watched chick-flicks, and enjoyed the quiet time while we each read or worked on things on our own (I loved not cooking or cleaning!). I must say we loved every minute of it and were sad when it came to an end.
We have been to Colonial Williamsburg several times, so we didn't buy tickets on this trip (they are quite expensive), we just walked around the town, visited the shops that didn't require tickets, and ate lunch at the King's Arm. I think we have eaten lunch at that place every time we've visited. It was a cold, dreary, rainy day, so we didn't stay long, but we always love to visit this historic place.
Our next stop was the amazing Yankee Candle Store in Williamsburg which is really like a department store with all kinds of little shops in it. It is "Christmas all year" in one section, and it "snows" every 4 minutes. We didn't get a very good picture here.
Our last visit was to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens where they had the whole place decorated and decked out for Christmas. Most of the big rides were closed (I'm a chicken about roller coasters anyway), but we rode the train, watched a show, and just enjoyed looking around at all the lights and displays. Kayla got to ride Verbolten so she had her roller coaster fix. We were freezing at this place too so we only stayed a few hours, but it was fun.
It was a wonderful trip and I wouldn't mind making it a yearly tradition!
I joined a Feel Great in 8 Challenge that started this past Monday. It's an 8 week challenge to help you improve physically along with some spiritual elements for improvement as well. You get points for eating the right foods, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, among other things. You lose points for eating junk food or going over your daily calorie goal. I really like the challenge, but it IS challenging to track everything. Really challenging. I'm not even coming close to the perfection level I was shooting for, but I'm learning and hoping to improve my score each week. As part of the challenge, you set a personal goal you want to accomplish in the 8 weeks. My personal goal was to blog weekly for 8 weeks. The challenge week runs Mon.-Sun. which makes this the last night of the first week and my last night to achieve my goal! So here I am. :)
I have been reading many of the talks from the most recent General Conference. I have felt so inspired and uplifted from these talks and have been wanting to write about them. Unfortunately, it is late and I need to get to bed, so I'm just going to post links for my three favorites (just click on the title to read) and limit myself to one quote from each (very hard to do). Hopefully sometime I can come back and share some of my thoughts on why these particular talks meant so much to me.
"We might all ask ourselves: do our children receive our best spiritual, intellectual, and creative efforts, or do they receive our leftover time and talents, after we have given our all to our Church calling or professional pursuits? In the life to come, I do not know if titles such as bishop or Relief Society president will survive, but I do know that the titles of husband and wife, father and mother, will continue and be revered, worlds without end. That is one reason it is so important to honor our responsibilities as parents here on earth so we can prepare for those even greater, but similar, responsibilities in the life to come.
As parents, we can proceed with the assurance God will never leave us alone. God never gives us a responsibility without offering divine aid—of that I can testify. May we in our divine role as parents, and in partnership with God, become the prime gospel teachers and examples for our children, I so pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
"Brothers and sisters, my counsel to this sister missionary is my counsel to you: acknowledge and face your weaknesses, but don’t be immobilized by them, because some of them will be your companions until you depart this earth life. No matter what your current status, the very moment you voluntarily choose honest, joyful, daily repentance by striving to simply do and be your very best, the Savior’s Atonement envelops and follows you, as it were, wherever you go. Living in this manner, you can truly “always retain a remission of your sins” (Mosiah 4:12) every hour of every day, every second of every minute, and thus be fully clean and acceptable before God all the time."
3. Ponder the Path of Thy Feet, by President Thomas S. Monson
"...physically walking whereJesus walked is less important than walkingasHe walked. Emulating His actions and following His example are far more important than trying to retrace the remnants of the trails He traversed in mortality.
We need not walk by the shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked. All of us can walk the path He walked when, with His words ringing in our ears, His Spirit filling our hearts, and His teachings guiding our lives, we choose to follow Him as we journey through mortality. His example lights the way. Said He, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”8
There is no higher end than this, that we should choose to accept His discipline and become His disciples and do His work throughout our lives. Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can."
Okay, those were some long quotes, but I was really holding myself back. I was tempted to cut and paste the entire talks! I liked them all very much, but the last one is the one to read if you are only going to read one. :)
