Overheard at Our House

The other morning, when I called Kimball to come out to breakfast, I heard sobbing from his bedroom. I went in to investigate. Kimball was on top of the bed, crying as if all was lost (this is not terribly unusual--he only knows one way to cry, and that's as if all is lost.)

Me: Kimball, what's the matter?
Kimball: I can't come to breakfast. (sob) I can't get down from the bunk bed.
Me: Why can't you get down?
Kimball: Because I have a shell instead of legs (wail.)
Me: What? (Then, noticing that his legs are in a pillowcase,) What's going on?
Kimball: Henry destroyed the Transmogrofier and now I'm stuck forever with a shell instead of legs!
(He points to a large piece of cardboard on the bedroom floor, that has intricate drawings all over it that are obviously machine parts and a faint "X" drawn through them. Clearly, this is the destroyed Transmogrifier.)
Me: I don't think that this Transmogrifier is destroyed. Perhaps Henry was trying to ruin it, but it looks like he failed to me. Let's transmogrify you back into a kid with legs. And let's do it quickly. I'm clearing away breakfast in 15 minutes.
Kimball: (Sniffle, sob) Mom, it's destroyed. And now I'm doomed!
Me: (Deep breath) Son, let me see if I can get the shell off your legs. (I peel the pillowcase from his reluctant body.) Ok, it looks like I transmogrified you. Now come to breakfast.
Kimball: Now my hideous spider legs are exposed! I can't get down.
Me: Well, please figure out how to get yourself out to breakfast if you want to eat. (Yes, I'm kind of a killjoy. Except for the fact that there didn't seem to be any joy involved in this game, anyway.)

A few minutes later, Kimball arrives in the kitchen in an army crawl. He warns us:

Kimball: No one look at my hideous spider legs. And no one touch them--they are covered in deadly poison! (sniffle)

Obviously, this kid reads too much Calvin and Hobbes!

Woman of the Year 2007

If you've been on my blog lately, you'll see that I've been giving awards for 2007. If you've missed these, check this post and this one. My award for Woman of the Year 2007 goes to Julie Beck of Alpine, Utah. In March of 2007, she was called to be the General President of the Relief Society (the LDS Church's Women's organization.) This is a responsibility that comes without formal training or pay. Since members of the Relief Society live in countries all over the world and number over 5 million women, her stewardship is far spread and surely a heavy burden to bear. (I thought it was hard when I was responsible for the 150 women in our congregation--I can't imagine what that must be like on such a large scale. I wonder if she can ever sleep!) She oversees an organization that assists in providing for the humanitarian and welfare needs of people all over the globe, in and out of the Church. The Relief Society helps women across the world with literacy, employment skills, and homemaking skills so that they can improve the quality of their lives and the lives of their families.
This assignment comes without a salary. It comes with little glory and frequently with much criticism from those who would do it differently. It is not something that you apply for, rather it is something that she was asked to do, called by a prophet of God. It requires great personal sacrifice of time, energy, and a willingness to subject oneself to the criticism of others. Sister Beck handles all this with grace and gratitude because of her testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the things that I love about Julie Beck (and, incidentally, has brought much criticism against her) is the way that she stands up for motherhood as a divine calling. She asks us to honor all that is good and godly in mothers. When she addressed the Church as a whole in October of 2007, her talk was bold and simple and extremely heartfelt. I sensed that she felt deeply about the importance of the subject of mothers, and more than once her voice wavered as she held back tears. She taught us how vital our role is as mothers. She spoke of how important and desirable are even the seemingly mundane tasks of housework, as keeping an orderly home contributes to the atmosphere in the home. (Incidentally, she did not say or imply that our husbands were not responsible to assist us in these tasks, although many women have been resentful that housekeeping was even mentioned, as if it will just get miraculously done.) She talked about the importance of choosing wisely how we as mothers will spend our time and energy, as well as making careful choices about the time commitments of our families, so as to ensure enough time for family dinners, Family Home Evening, family prayer, and other critical family times that enrich and build our families. I loved that she essentially rejected the idea of the "Supermom", who can do everything and pointed out that we need to make choices if we want to do the most important things well, rather than spreading ourselves too thin. She offered hope and peace that we can "have great power and influence for good on [our] children," inspite of the world in which we are raising them, if we will strengthen our own faith in God and seek to strengthen our families. Her talk was inspiring and motivating, and I have listened to it on my mp3 player and studied it online many times since then.
I sustain Sister Julie Beck as called by God at this time to lead the women of the world, to stand up for women and mothers, to strengthen families across the globe, and to testify of Jesus Christ. Because she does this without apology, even when some of the things that she teaches are not popular, I have chosen her as 2007 Woman of the Year.

Awards Show Continued

Here are a few of my favorites for 2007 that didn't warrant their own separate posts:

• Favorite New Recipe--I discovered the recipe for Beef Carnitas in Cooking Light this year. It was published last year but I didn't make it until this year, so I'm counting it. It is definitely my favorite new recipe of the year. I actually make it as written, which is unusual for me. The only modification that I make is to double it so that I can (hopefully) stretch it into two or three meals. But the meat is so good that it doesn't last long! Given that I try at least a couple of new recipes every week, this is a significant award.
  
• Favorite Kitchen Tool--This would have to be my Cutco Santoku knife. It makes chopping, dicing, and slicing a dream.
• Favorite Blog Post (somebody else's)--although this was hard to choose, my favorite has got to be Debbie's Got Milk? post. I could not stop laughing, and even now, remembering, I chuckle. I can't wait for her book to come out.
  
• Favorite Reality Show-- Although we really enjoyed Dancing with the Stars and were inspired by The Biggest Loser, my favorite reality show remains The Amazing Race. (Which, painfully, we had to miss this last weekend because our satellite was out after the wind storms, as was our TiVo.)
• Favorite Comedy--Hands down, the award goes to The Office. I just laugh out loud every week at Michael, Dwight, and the gang. Curse the writers' strike! I guess I'll just have to be happy watching webisodes for a while.
  
• Favorite Drama--We've got a two way tie here for Lost (can't wait for January 31st) and Heroes.
  
• Favorite Technological Toy--As much as I love my cell phone and new Zen, now that you see how much TV we watch, this award must go to our TiVo. We couldn't do it without you, little box!
• Favorite Children's Book-- This is hard for me because I love so many of them. A couple of new board books that I got for Bronwen this year have been wonderful, both for their beautiful illustrations and their lilting text. They are Mommies Say Shhh by Patricia Polacco (one of my favorite children's authors) and Goodnight Goodnight Sleepyhead by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Jane Dyer.
• Favorite New Thing in My House (baby not included)--is still definitely this. With this being a close second. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so this was a no-brainer.
• Best Thing To Happen To Me in 2007--Besides having a daughter and having my sister move near by, I think that the best thing that happened to me is that I really fell in love with mothering and came to terms with the mother that I am, even though she's not perfect. After seven plus years of beating myself up over my faults (which are too many to be named) and worrying about the years of therapy my children will probably (read: definitely) require later, I have really felt a sense of peace that if I am trying my best and seeking the Lord's help and counsel, that it will be enough. Not perfect, but enough. After all, plenty of people turned out well even though their parents were just doing the best they could, right?

So there you have it, folks. Now you know some of the things that made me smile this past year. I still want to dedicate a post to my pick for Woman of the Year--maybe tomorrow. I've got laundry to fold!

Michal's Book of the Year 2007

I decided that I am going to do my own "awards show" this year. Why not? It seems like everyone else out there gets to do one. The first three months of the year you can't turn on the television without accidentally finding an award show. Mine will not have a red carpet with scantily clad superstars on it, but I hope you'll tune in anyway!
I'm going to start with my Book of the Year award. It wasn't published in 2007 and it wasn't even the book that I enjoyed reading the most, (actually, I haven't even finished it yet!) The award goes to Covenant Hearts: Marriage and the Joy of Human Love by Bruce Hafen. This is the book I read this year that I felt made the biggest difference in my life (not including scripture.) I actually bought the book for Jared for Valentine's Day and then decided a few weeks later to pick it up and read it myself. I'd read a chapter here and there throughout the year. I really like Elder Hafen's perspective on marriage. He spends the first several chapters making the case for why marriage is so important and why it has been so undermined by Satan. Once the reader sees the covenant marriage with new eyes, the author identifies the "wolves" that can tear apart a marriage. He draws from his experience as a marriage and family therapist as well as from the Scriptures.
This book helped me become more aware of the ways that I was unintentionally hurting our marriage. As I read it a chapter at a time, spread out over the course of many months, I had time to ponder each chapter and how its teachings applied to me in my own relationship with my husband. Reading Covenant Hearts has truly changed my heart, and has helped me unlock a deeper love and joy in my marriage--even though I was already in a loving and rewarding marriage.
This book is written for an LDS audience and includes scripture and teachings that are specific to the LDS Church (such as the doctrine of eternal marriage) as well as Biblical references. I believe that whether you are LDS or not, your marriage can benefit from reading this book if you believe that the marriage covenant is the most important relationship in your life and one worth making better, and that God has a desire to see you succeed in your marriage.
This past year has really been one of the happiest of my life so far, in spite of having my share of trials and struggles, and I believe that this is partly due to my experience with this book as I try to apply the principles in it. I wish I could give a copy to every married couple that I know!
So, check it out if you haven't read it. You'll be glad you did.

Resolutions

Here are some resolutions I had this time last year. Let's see how I did:

• Stop raising my voice with my kids--Even though I have by no means accomplished this goal, I'd like to think that I am better most days at controlling my temper with them. I am definitely mindful of this goal always, which helps. Nevertheless, it continues to be a major struggle of motherhood for me.
• Get back into a good exercise routine after Bronwen is born--I did finally accomplish this, although it was quite a bit "after" Bronwen was born. After struggling all spring and summer with this goal, getting out for occasional walks, etc, I got back in my gym groove in November and managed to keep it up pretty well through the holidays. I have a long way to go to meet my fitness goals, but I know that regular exercise will help me to get there.
• Stick to a budget and be better at discerning between wants and needs--My goodness, as I read over these in my journal, I realize that I have the same resolutions this year! I guess I still have the same old weaknesses. I do feel like I made strides in this department, particularly towards the end of the year.
  
• Eat healthy and help my kids develop a healthy lifestyle--We had our good days and our bad days--and an awful lot of those bad days came in the month of December. Once again, this is a big one on my list for the year.
• Be more regular about my scripture study and prayer. Try to do it in the morning.--This one really has gotten better in 2007, though I still have an occasional day that I miss. The point is to have the habit well established, and I think I can say that it is.
  

It's a little bit discouraging to review last year's goals and have them look so much like 2008's goals. Here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2008:

1. Take the time each morning to reflect on the day and what my goals are. Prepare myself mentally for the challenges which could push me from my course. This preparation is best done if I will rise early, exercise, pray, meditate on my day, and study the scriptures or at least listen to a Conference talk on my mp3 player.
   
2. Be content with the blessings that I have been given, rather than always wanting more, especially when it comes to material things. Take the time daily or a few times weekly to record in my journal some blessings of the day.
3. Reach outside of myself to serve other people each day. Look for opportunities to do this.
4. Continue my new habit of exercising 5 times per week. Incorporate the principles of healthy eating habits to achieve my weight loss goal for 2008 of 40 lbs.
   
5. Learn to be more self- reliant in 2008 by a) planting a garden and tending it, b) building up my food storage that is waning, and c) learning a new skill such as sewing or canning.
   

Thanks for letting me list these for you. I think that accountability is important for me. Now that I've committed this to all of you I am more likely to follow through. Feel free to share some of your resolutions if accountability helps you (translation--comment, please!:)

In the coming days, I'm going to post some awards for 2007, including "Book of the Year" and "Woman of the Year." So keep coming back!

Gang of Four

I received this game from a friend this year for Christmas and I want to play it all the time. Alas, it calls for three to four players and my kids are not quite sophisticated enough to play it(--at least if I want it to be fun for me.) Luckily, my Mom and brother Evan are headed our way to spend a few days and ring in the New Year. They voiced that they were ready for some laid back days after a hectic holiday season, and I can't think of a better way to hang out and relax with them then playing Gang of Four until we drop from exhaustion. I hope that the kids are ready to fend for themselves for a few days! I'm going to be busy!

Friday Fun?

One of my favorite parts of Tiger Academy (the kids' favorite parts, as well) is Science Friday. It is one of my favorites because Jared is the teacher and my participation is often not required. (Not that I don't love the other days, but it is so nice to have a break!) It is the boys' favorite because they learn cool stuff and usually go on a field trip. So far, Jared has taken them horseback riding, to see the salmon run at the local fish hatchery, to tour a print shop, and today we took a family outing to the zoo. Yes, even after what happened this week in San Francisco. (Although I did get pretty nervous when the air raid sirens went off for two minutes. It turns out that the city of Sacramento tests their air raid sirens on the last Friday of the month. Seems like someone should have told me, because I was looking for a spot to hide my babies from the tiger on the loose.)
Now this sounds like a great thing to do as a family on a Friday morning, and we told the kids last night about our plan. Jared would first give them a science lesson about kingdom-phyllum-class-order-family-genus-species and then we'd all go together. Neither of us considered checking the weather report before giving our children such exciting news.
So, we bundled up and went to the zoo in the 40 degree rain. I'm sure that if you live in upstate New York, Winnepeg, or Yekaterinburg you don't think that is cold. But we Californians are a bit wimpy about such things. In fact, by the time we got back to the car, I was convinced that my feet hadn't been that cold since I walked the streets of Yekaterinburg (look it up here) in the winter, talking to people about my church. There were about three other families in the entire zoo who were as crazy (or foolish) as we. The kids seemed to have a great time (except Bronwen, who did not enjoy herself beyond the first ten minutes, when I managed to get this picture!). The three one-year-old Sumatran tigers (brothers) thought it was pretty cold too. We found them all huddled up together trying to keep warm. It's funny how you can watch three tigers who are brothers and think that you are seeing your own three sons! Poor little tropical guys, living in such a frigid, foreign environment. Oh well, at least they have each other.
In the hour that we spent there before we headed for the warm car, we got to see our favorites: the tigers, lemurs, and penguins, plus a few others; so I guess it wasn't a total loss. Plus, we get to count today as a school day! That means that some sunny, lovely day in May when you are all huddled over homework with your kids, we'll be at the pool!

The Power of Positive Thinking

I walked into the hall bathroom the other day to discover that Kimball had been busy with the window markers:
I guess that no one needs to teach this kid about the law of attraction!

Our Christmas Eve in Pictures

The Prime Rib

The table setting--Kimball made our placecards

Dinner was Standing Rib Roast with Zinfandel Gravy, Potatoes with Mushrooms and Shallots, Glazed Baby Carrots, Roasted Winter Squash, Dinner Rolls, and Red Raspberry Sour Cream Jello.

Shepherds, Abiding in the Field (one scene from our nativity reenactment)

The Christmas Tree just before we went to bed.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours!