Awesome.

We went to Connor's football banquet last Thursday. It was held at Morey's Steakhouse and Convention Center. The food was yummy. Unfortunately, not a lot of the boys were there. Which meant there was lots of food. YUMMY. Ha ha. Connor received two awards, one of which was voted by the players. He received the Outstanding Offensive Player award. The second award was a Letter Award. He received his Varsity letter. Not sure what that means anymore as it seems like they don't really wear Letterman jackets anymore. But it was still cool. :) We were also told that he had been selected First Team All-Conference Offensive Lineman and 2nd Team All-Conference Defensive Lineman. It was a proud moment for all of us. It was nice to see him get some recognition, especially after the season turned out to be a disappointing one for the team. This also means that he is in the running to be selected for All-State. Will post that if it happens. He is an awesome kid. So proud of him. BUT now that football is over, does anyone have a JOB for him?!?

Random Thoughts/Memories

1. Whenever I hear Jerry Clower on the radio I have to stop and listen. Never fails to bring a smile and remind me of my dad.

2. Same goes for Charley Pride and Flip Wilson.

3. I remember sliding down my Grandma Huber's stairs on a number of varied items. From couch cushions to upended ottomans with wicked-looking black metal legs to a beautifully carved and painted (and I'm sure valuable and irreplaceable) round, wooden tray that came from El Salvador. ANYTHING was fair game. As I recall, the tray slid especially well and could carry at least two of us.

4. I love sandwiches.

5. Pretty sure I didn't appreciate any of my grandparents as much as I should have.

6. Especially my Grandma Perkins. She was a kind and gentle soul with a quick wit and I wish I had spent more time with her.

7. My cousin, Kirsten, and I used to dress up in Grandma Huber's scarves and costume jewelry. We also made generous use of her various smell-good creams and pomades in those lovely little pots/jars--don't think they make them any more.

8. I hate when they shoot a "dancing" movie from the waist up. The recent Footloose comes to mind. Give me a long shot when the dancing is going on so I can appreciate the dance moves and, perhaps, steal from those scenes later. :)

9. I LOVE to read. Seriously. Have since I was a very small child.

10. Another pet peeve? I hate when those words that are so popular on walls and plaques these days don't match in tense. Like when it says "dream", "believe", "inspiration" or something like that. I like the word art, but MATCH them please. Shouldn't that be dream, believe, inspire?!? Yes, it should.

11. Love tennis. To watch and to play. I will remember the Isner/Mahout Wimbledon marathon for the rest of my life. Incredible.

12. Rowan laughed at me recently when I told her I am kind of afraid of frogs/toads. Like, when they hop right by me--oogy.

13. Also, in that category? Earthworms. Have to steel myself and try not to gag to walk on the sidewalk after a rainstorm when they have all crawled out to die. Gross.

14. I think it's awesome that Dave and most of my kids like Legos. Me? I don't really get them. Probably because out of these amazing little squares I can make squarish houses/structures and that is all. Pathetic.

15. I have, however, made a couple of things with Gage by following the directions. And that was awesome. It is the free-form play that intimidates me. ha.

16. I think my parents are amazing people.

17. My parents-in-law are pretty amazing too.

18. I still cringe inside a little when one of my kids hands me their still-bloody tooth that has just come out. Have to pretend it's cool because they have that slight look of horror on their faces. I feel you, I feel you. lol.

19. I will never regret growing up in Kanosh, UT.

20. When I was fairly young, I gashed my side open on a corner of a water trough. Grandpa Huber did some of his famous or infamous "frontier surgery" (ha) with iodine, merthiolate, mercurochrome, whatever. He sewed it up while I lay whimpering on the bar/island in their kitchen. Still have the scar.

21. Island of the Blue Dolphins= one of my favorite books EVER. Must have read it 8 times as a kid.

22. Ditto Julie of the Wolves and The Secret Garden.

23. Hmmm, any significance in the similarities of the characters I wonder?

24. My mom introduced me to the book Caddie Woodlawn about a frontier girl. Love it too.

25. I used to get my books from the Bookmobile that came to our little town every two weeks. I have fond memories of the Bookmobile.

I guess that's enough for now.

Footloose

My latest venture and adventure has been to be involved with a production of "Footloose" in one of our local community theatres. The Howells Opera House in Oakley, Idaho is at least 100 yrs. old and still has a pressed tin ceiling that is just beautiful. This opportunity came along just when I needed a new challenge. Gail Gillette, a woman I had worked with before, many moons ago-ha-called me and said she was directing and asked me to help her. She was giving me complete control over the choreography: I could get other people to do it, I could do it myself, I could do some and turn the rest over to other people--whatever I wanted. So I became the Coordinator of the Choreography and also Assistant Director (that is a new job I haven't ever tried). It has been really fun! First of all, it was a huge ego boost to be remembered and asked to be involved. Gail is so great to work with and the kids and other cast members, for the most part, have been a joy to work with. Of course, there are always a few headaches when dealing with teenagers--all those fragile self-esteems to navigate around. BUT, I feel like I have been able to do it all: the navigating, the helping, the being stern when I have to be, the building-up when I need to (lots of this), and just all the time it has taken away from my family. My kids and Dave have been very supportive and I really appreciate that. Because as I said before, for many different reasons I NEEDED to do this. Come see the show if you possibly can and tell me what you think. Hopefully, it is a good reflection of all of our time and effort. It has been the boost I needed.

The Sweetness

Ok, seriously, the sweetness of this child can absolutely squeeze my heart. I was going to say "cracked" but I don't want to imply in any way that she breaks my heart, but she does sometimes make it twist in my chest like it has been squeezed--just ache in the most amazing, love-filled way. My children do that to me. It is absolutely one of the BEST things about being a mom. My children never cease to amaze me. Especially when I take the time to really see them to let that squeeze of the heart really settle into my brain and heart. Don't run from this ache, it is important. The other night, I was reading to Rowan and Josie in the girls' beds (Delise and her family were here visiting) and Rowan had fallen asleep and I read a paragraph or two more to make sure Josie also succumbed to dreamland. I got up from Rowan's side, gave her a kiss, and started to leave. She grabbed my arm and said, "Wait, Mom, wait, wait. Please." I was a little startled because she had been asleep, in fact her eyes were still closed and she had that sleepy mumble in her voice. "What, honey?" "Mom, I forgot to say my prayers." Me: "It's ok, sweetheart, tonight just go ahead and say them in your bed, lying down." Rowan: "No, Mom, I can't I'm too sleepy. Could you please say them for me?" So I did. Holding her hands and speaking aloud. When I finished, she let go of my hands and I kissed her sweet little face again and left the room with a tear or two flooding my eyes. What a sweet example. I don't think she misses a night of saying her prayers, even without being reminded. How many adults can say that? I can't. I guess that's one of the reasons it is so important. My kids teach me every day. I can only rededicate myself to praying regularly and thank my Heavenly Father for the chance to be humbled by these strong, sweet, sparkling spirits that I have been given the opportunity to rear. Boy, do I need His help. I'll never be able to keep up with them without HIS help. And I have such a responsibility to help them to not lose those beautiful gifts with which they were born. I've known since I first became a Mom that, for me, the challenge is always going to be just not to mess up the fabulous people they already are and support and encourage them. And, most of all, LOVE them. The only one I am reassured on is that I love them. With all of me. And I keep trying to work on the other things. I THINK I support and encourage. But I am equally certain I am capable of making mistakes. Just hope I don't leave too deep a dent. Love you. So grateful. So blessed.

*Quirks*

*Disclaimer: This is definitely NOT to embarrass anyone. It is just something I smile about regularly and want to note so I won't forget it.*
For some reason, both my little girls, when they are saying a blessing or a prayer, use the following phrase, "..and please bless that no harm will come to fall on us...". I am sure it has developed from some of the rest of us asking that "no harm will come to us" and "no harm will befall us". And it is probably just me that finds it grin-worthy. I just can't shake the mental image that I think they might have of a big, cartoon-like pile labelled "Harm" that is coming imminently to fall on us. And I guess I worry a little that it might be a scary thing for them, so maybe NOT such a cartoony pile. In any case, I think it's sweet and I am glad they know they can ask Heavenly Father for anything. They are asking Him to bless and keep us in their own unique cadence of language. I love it. Even though I have wanted to correct their idea (if they do indeed see it that way) that the world is just waiting to dump a whole heap on their heads occasionally, I have also wanted to preserve their "voice" and not embarrass them for how they phrase things. Also, on a more sober note, sometimes there IS a heap of trouble and harm that might befall us in this world, especially if we don't have such sweet prayers and such sweetly innocent pray-ERS to petition on our behalf. Love you sweet girls!!

Well, SOMEone's Making a Difference

Rowan was sleeping in my bed one night a couple weeks ago. In the middle of the night she woke up very scared. She had a bad dream. That happens to all my kids (I always chalk it up to their big imaginations) especially between the ages of 2-6. Usually, Rowan doesn't want to talk about them too much. She doesn't even want to tell me what her bad dreams are about, but that night she did. I was SO sleepy but I really needed to hear what she needed to say. She proceeded to tell me it was something about Gage and how he had gotten hurt and he was out in the back yard all alone. "And no one would help him, Mama, no one." She was very upset and teary. Her little arms around my neck were tensed and tight.
My normal MO is to start telling them a bedtime story, a "once upon a time" story because I believe it takes their mind away from the scare and refocuses it on something happy. Then, even if they (or I) fall asleep they won't fall back into the same bad place. So I started, "Once upon a time..." Rowan interrupted me saying, "Wait, mama, wait you can do that in a minute, but first can I say a prayer?" "Oh, honey, of COURSE you can. That is such a good idea. That is so smart." Tears came to my eyes it was so sweet and I was also a little chagrined that I hadn't thought to remind her of that option. We had talked about it before--how you can ALWAYS pray to Heavenly Father when you are scared or worried or for comfort but MY sleepy mind did not go there first. She clasped her little hands and prayed silently for quite a while. In fact, I was surprised how long her prayer was. Then she snuggled up to me again and said, "Ok, mommy, now you can start."
I am grateful for Primary teachers and others who teach my children such wise and wonderful principles because I am not sure I am covering every base. I am especially grateful for the things my children teach me each day. And I'm sure there are opportunities to learn EACH day. I just need a reminder now and then to actually pay attention to those little lessons. They are some of Heavenly Father's tender mercies.

Random Update

So, it has been too long since I checked in. Not sure what I want to relate, but need to get back in the habit.
1. LOVE that Gage likes to quote movies with the rest of us now. Sometimes he speaks his words so close together that it's hard to understand him. He gets a little frustrated when you don't get it the first time...And sometimes you get gems like this: (from Hercules) "I was going for elephants!" It cracks me up that, in his head at least, it makes perfect sense.
2. Gage is also responsible for the following line and don't ask me where it came from--"I'm gonna kick your butt like a midget." And "whoa, it's cold out there like a midget". Ha ha ha. And, no, we don't use that term regularly in our house. Brennan even asked him if he knew what that meant. His answer? "Yeah, it's a short guy." ???
3. Brennan and I have been taking tennis lessons. It is SO fun!!! Seriously, we look forward to it every week. We even go over to the lousy community courts and try to practice. So far, we've discovered that we are much better hitters when our coach is "feeding" us balls in a controlled manner. Ha ha. Recently we made another discovery--Dave is a VERY good hitting partner. He is very good at getting the ball back in play so we can practice our strokes. (Yeah, I know, it IS a little irritating that he is so naturally good at anything that involves a ball. Or anything else for that matter.)
4. Quinlyn has now mastered making "Sticky Chex Mix" AND brownies from a mix. Awesome!!
5. The tree house is now completely dismantled. In fact, in the last couple days Dave and Connor took out the ENTIRE tree! We have big plans for building a new play structure so we can utilize the slide again.
6. Getting that gardening itch again. It is almost time for spring planting. I am now in the planning stages. Have to move my tomatoes to the other side of the garden this year to avoid blight. Dave also moved back the fence on the south because he took some space on the north, next to the red barn to park the boat easier this summer. He claims the garden spot is bigger now, but I am not so sure :)
7. Right at this very moment, Rowan is behind me, sitting at my sewing table and singing a happy tune about "love, love, la la la love". (Melody is based on Josh Groban's "You Are Loved"). It is so cute and she is so shy about stuff like that that I don't dare turn around and look directly at her. I'll just enjoy the sound of her sweet little voice and sneak a peek in a minute of her sweet little face.
8. Indian Wells Masters tournament (tennis) just wrapped up today. So many disheartening losses...seemed like everyone we were cheering for couldn't quite capitalize. Rafa went down, Murray went down, and then it was Andy Roddick in the final! Yay! He needed a big one so bad after his devastating loss to Fed last Wimbledon. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Lost to Ljubicic, another HUGE server, in two tie-break sets. Dang.
9. Brennan has been invited back to Idaho Falls early to go on tour with the Orchestra. They are going to Cananda! So lucky! And fun! I think she is excited to finally get back, get away from home again. We have loved having her home and she has been so fun, but it's been a little difficult I think. So proud of her and her talents.
10. Connor continues to grow. He now wears a size 13 shoe and his hands are larger than Dave's! And not by just a little bit! I'm pretty sure he has passed his dad in height too, but shhh, not sure Dad's ready to accept that. Ha ha. He's a great kid and recently received a 26 score on an early, practice ACT! I was wondering why all these colleges were contacting him when he's only a Sophomore! Now, if he would just take getting good grades seriously...
11. Dave's knees have been bothering him terribly lately. He won't listen to me--SDS (stubborn doctor syndrome). So, if anyone has any helpful hints as to how to coerce him into getting some sort of treatment, please let me know. Wishful thinking, probably, since I have exactly two followers of my blog, but worth a try. :D
12. The Barn issue is still unresolved, but we do have a court date in June. Can't believe that anyone actually thinks he has a case, but evidently we are going to have to see it through to the end. Am looking forward to having it over with; sure wish it could be sooner.
I guess that's enough of an update for now. Need to take better notes OR update more often. Here's hoping!