Privilege

It has been forever since I've written anything on this blog. We've had a really fun summer. I'll write more on that later, but I have been thinking a lot about something the last few days, and I wanted to document it somewhere.

Last week, the family traveled to Utah so Chad and I could be with some friends who were sealed in the temple. (I'll include some of the details of that later). While there, we stayed with my sister, Shari, and she was wonderful enough to watch all 4 of the kids for 7 hours while Chad and I drove from Logan to Boutiful, did a session in that beautiful temple, and drove back to Logan. That night after we got back to Logan we went to the Cache County Fair. It was so fun just to wander around and look at the animals (Megan was terrified of them!) and enjoy fair food. I'm lame and wouldn't let the kids ride any rides--$3 for 30 seconds on a car that you don't even steer... LAME!! But at one point Shari and I were haggling over who was paying for her dinner. I was insisting that I pay because she'd watched my kids all day. And she said, "It was a privilege to watch them." I jokingly said, "I do it all day, every day... its not that great of a privilege."

And that's what has made me think.

One definition of privilege is a right ... or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most.

It is a privilege for me to have these 4 special little people in my house, under my care, every single day. They are children of our Heavenly Father and I have the responsibility to teach them, and to train them, and to love them, and to show them the things they need to know so they can be strong citizens and builders of the kingdom of God. I need to remember this more.

Thanks, Shari, for reminding me of this privilege.

The other key word in that definition is enjoy. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the mundane routine that I forget this part. My mom and I were talking last week about being quick to laugh at things. I used to be... probably a little TOO quick to laugh at things... but I don't know that I am anymore. I forget that "Men are that they might have JOY!" That is our Heavenly Father's plan. Sure, its to have joy with our families for eternity, but we should seek to enjoy this life. Even though sometimes life is hard. And even the privilege of raising my children is hard.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave this talk in 2008. His mother gave him some advice one day: "Joseph, come what may, and love it!" Of this he said, "I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

So even as having this privilege has its times when the birds don't sing, I can be enjoy it.

Another Blog

My sister Shari and I started this blog. She's much more clever of a writer than I am, but we are excited to work on it together.

Happy New Year

One of my goals for the New Year is to be a better blogger. Not because I think we are all that interesting, or because I even think that many people read this blog, but because I want to use it as a kind-of a journal, a place where I can record some of the happenings at our house for our family.

Our holidays were filled with lots a family, friends, food, and fun. Claire and I have had birthdays since my last post. She is now 3. And BOY is she ever three. It is such a fun age, but she sure has a mind of her own. She wants to do everything on her own. She started Sunbeams yesterday and is really excited to be in primary with "the kids." Her favorite things to eat are macaroni and cheese and cheeseball. Claire is always the first to say thank you. She fills our house with laughter.

I didn't write much about Natalie on her birthday, so I'll do that now. She is 6 now, and she loves everything girly. She was taking violin lessons, but we've decided to take a break from that and start learning the piano. Natalie loves to read.... often at night we let the kids read for a short time before bed. There have been a few nights when we've thought she was long-since asleep, and she'll come out of her room carrying a book and pronounce, "I've finished this one!" She gets extra reading time at school, by far the best reader in kindergarten. Natalie loves to snuggle and loves to hold her baby sister. Unfortunately, that baby sister doesn't always like being held by her. Natalie is also very creative. She's always writing books, coloring pictures, and making up songs. She had a ballet recital in December and loved getting dressed up and performing. Not sure where she gets that from. ;)

Megan is growing so fast I can't even believe it. She is the proud owner of 2 new teeth. She loves eat baby food and big people food. Club crackers are her new favorite--and very messy--snack. She hasn't been sleeping as well lately as she was, but hopefully we'll be getting her on a better schedule. She loves to sit on the floor and play with toys, pull hair, and put fingerprints on my glasses. She hates getting in her car seat and when mom leaves the room.

Caleb's birthday is coming up soon, so I'm not going to write as much about him. He is very excited to get baptised and start Cub Scouts. He thinks he needs a pocket knife--I don't think so! Last month he taught himself to play "Jolly Old St. Nicolas" on the piano. And of course he loves school!

Chad is keeping busy with work and fulfilling his calling as 1st counselor in the bishopric. One of the physicians at work has moved to a different practice, so he's going to get even busier at work, but he's excited for the challenge. He was able to go to Texas one day last month and get some extra training to help with surgeries, so he's hoping to be spending more time in the OR.

I love being able to be home with our kids. Its certainly not without it challenges, but I wouldn't trade it. They keep me busy with their hobbies and homework. I have decided I am going to train for my first century bike ride, and I am very excited for that challenge. I am teaching Gospel Doctrine to the 16 and 17 yr olds in the ward and look forward to learning more about the life of Jesus this year.

Tonight for FHE we are setting goals for the coming year. I am excited to hear what the kids want to do!

Comedian

So Claire is quite the comedian. Here are a few of the funny to hilarious things she has said of late:

**As we were driving in the car, Caleb and Natalie were recounting some of the things happening at school that day. Claire apparently wanted to be included in the conversation and she said, "When I was at my class my friend kicked me in the privates and dang it! I was SO MAD!"

**On the way to church today she was eating a granola bar, but when she buckled her seatbelt she couldn't reach her granola bar. She had asked Caleb over and over to get it for her, and she had asked very nicely. "Caleb will you please get my grola bar?.... Caleb I can't reach it will you get my grola bar?... " For about 6 or 7 minutes, she kept asking. But then she said, "Caleb, I am starting to lose my patience!"

**Chad had to take her into the boys bathroom when he took her to go potty during stake conference a few weeks back. She was sitting on the potty doing her business, sniffed through her nose a couple of time, then declared, "This smells like BOY!"

Kindergarten and Second Grade

Here is a picture of the kids on the first day of school.

I know it was like 6 weeks ago. I'm a little behind. But anyway, it has been funny to see the differences betweeen Caleb and Natalie. For example: At the school our kids attend they have a certain number of tickets each day and if they get one taken away it is kind-of like when we used to have our names written on the board--just a warning. Then as you get more taken away there are more serious consequences, like 5 minutes of recess lost or an entire recess lost, etc. So the first time Caleb got a ticket taken away in Kindergarten it was utter devestation. I'm talking, he was in tears. The first time Natalie got a ticket taken away, Chad was talking with her about it. He said, "What does one ticket mean?" And she sang "It means NOTHING!!" (Seriously, she sang it. That girl sings everything, often opera style. Sunday morning she sang The Star Spangled Banner, opera style, for 2 HOURS!!)

I don't remember how long it took for Caleb to get the whole "do-your-homework, put-it-in-your-folder, folder-in backpack, backpack-by-the door-for-tomorrow" routine, but Natalie doesn't see the benefit because I have to remind her every day. I think she is a little too much like her mom that way--very scatter-brained. She makes us want to laugh sometimes. Other times she makes me want to scream.

Nat is loving Kindergarten. Friday we are going to go eat lunch with her since her birthday is Saturday, and she is the Star of the Week this week, so we'll also be spending some time in her class. It'll be fun to see her in that setting. She is still taking violin lessons and has started learning to read music. She is also in ballet, which she loves.

Caleb is doing awesome in second grade. We got a paper yesterday telling us they are considering him for the "Enrichment" program, which is like G.T. was for us. We kindof explained it to him and he is excited about that possibility. None of his good friends from previous years are in his class this year, which has created some challenges for him socially, but he seems to be doing better. He is still taking piano lessons and is excited for his upcoming recital in which he will get to play a duet with his friend Kaden. We are almost done with another season of fall soccer.

I think I will share news of the other two for another post.

Thoughts

I am totally behind on my blogging... July and August were really busy, and we did lots of really fun things, including: swimming lessons; 2 family reunions; building a swingset; several days in Sun Valley, Idaho; starting school; and fly fishing.

But that isn't what I am going to write about today. Today I am going to write down some of the things I have been thinking about amidst the running hither and yon.

--First, I am trying to figure out what chores are appropriate for children at a given age. And how many of these doable tasks is too much. For example, is it too much to ask a 5-year-old to practice the violin, unload the dishwasher, do homework, and clean her bedroom every day? Are my expectations unrealistic?

--On a related thought process, I am trying to figure out how to encourage children to do chores with out having to resort to yelling and beating. I have one child in particular who "hates working." (Those are exact words that came out of said child's mouth on Monday.) I have tried a point system. I have tried making lists. I have tried being there to help and tell each item to pick up. I have tried taking away privileges. I have tried incentives. I am running out of ideas.

--Next I am trying to figure out what to do with a child who tells out-right lies. As in, "Did you brush your teeth?" "Yes, I did." When I KNOW that said child hasn't brushed teeth. I have consulted several books. One said that most 5 to 8 yr olds go through a lying phase. The best thing to do is encourage honesty and make telling the truth more rewarding than telling the lie. So how do you make that child accountable for their dishonesty, while still making telling the truth more rewarding? I am really hoping this is just a phase, but I don't know what to do.

--What do you do when a child is in class with none of their friends from previous years, and they are really struggling to make friends? How do you teach a kid how to make friends?

--How do you give a child confidence without making them conceited? I want to have kids who are friendly and kind and know when to stand up for themselves and know when to compromise and when to let someone else have their way. But how do you this?

So those are some of my parenting thoughts for the day. Any suggestions anyone has would be great.

June activities

In June we spent a lot of time

Playing with our new baby.

Having fun with Granny







Snuggling with the baby and reading.








Swimming in the backyard pool.









Smiling.











Being Cute.










Playing soccer.










Watching soccer.






Sitting in the goalie box.





We had lots going on and had lots of fun.