The boys are now 7 and 5. They run like crazy, love sports, love eating at Indian restaurants, and feel like kings when going fishing with their dad.
Everett is in first grade, constantly loosing teeth, and working on letting go of the training wheels. His teacher and all who get to know him always remark that: He is a Thinker! Recently, he has taken on checkers and chess. So fun!
Merritt LOVES to do whatever his brother is doing. He is a fierce protector and runs from activity to activity. He is still my Perpetual Motion Merritt. No one can balance being silly, loving others, and keeping us on our toes like he does.
This picture was taken at Harvard Square during a recent visit to Boston.
It was the most epic leaf fight ever.
I think we were throwing leaves around, in each others' faces, and down jackets and shirts for about an hour. yeah, we were all itchy afterwards.
As a family, we have been having a marvelous time with our daily focus on serving others! We are almost through with the Book of Mormon. I think that it has taken us 16 months to finish it, with reading a short section each day.
In 2014, we will continue our daily service focus. Erik and I are excited to be teaching together in Primary. I seriously am so EXCITED about it. The past year was very long and hard, and I am looking forward to a refreshing change of being with children and loving their outlook on the gospel and life.
The focus on
Pennies of Time over the past 16 moths has been an incredible journey, sometimes with a reluctant attitude--from me. I am often asked by Heavenly Father to do things with Pennies of Time that I really would not like to dive into, such as: share on Pennies WAY more than I want to. But, as evidenced by the response from others, He needs voices to talk about serving with the youngest amongst us.
My capacity for work and understanding how to juggle competing factors for time has increased exponentially. I am not perfect at it, and am often up late at night, but Pennies of Time does add value to others. I certainly don't earn money from it, although figuring out how to do that at the same time would make Erik extremely happy. We have been amazed at the response from people across the world. Not everyone understands what I do; there is always some critic out there. At the same time, I do what I can with those that are willing to go along with me, and I, frankly, don't worry about convincing the rest of the world.
One of the things I would like to see in 2014 is making more time to write in this space, sharing about our family.
Just for my own reflection, I thought I would jot down a few notes about some of the things that I have learned over the past phase of life, I guess:
- Deliberate motherhood: working hard to make good choices for my family, having the courage to go against the grain or "the in-crowd" takes courage, consistency, and faith in God that all will work out in the longer view of this experience. For example: Many people don't get how I mother Merritt. I.don't.care. I know what he needs, and I am grateful to have the insight to understand that.
- No service act is small. I have seen the most gentle, seemingly insignificant, gestures of service have an immense impact upon someone.
- It is those moments when I have the greatest hesitation to reach out that it is the most important that I complete that reach.
- You can't please everyone, and that is okay. Some people will have a contrary opinion to everything. That is okay. They can do that, and so can you if you want. And, no, I don't have to always listen to those opinions. :) Neither do you.
- This life truly is not about me. Whenever I get caught up in trying to figure out how the next step will affect me, I am always given a reminder by Heavenly Father that the blessings and skills I have now have been placed for me to help others.
- I wish more parents placed limits on the mindless entertainment that erodes our culture.
- I don't want negativity in my home. And, I don't want it in my social media. I actively "unfollow/hide" (or whatever) those influences that do not uplift or teach me.
- I find that not very many adults actively listen to others. So many are ready with advice, a worse-er experience, or even just a complete change of topic . . . even before the other person has finished voicing his or her thought. I think it would be powerful if all of us made a more concerted effort to actively listen to one another. (Just because I listen to a viewpoint doesn't mean I have to agree.) I bet that an increase of listening would impart a greater degree of understanding of one another.
- I will always make mistakes, even annoying typos on the Pennies of Time Facebook page. No matter how hard try, I will make mistakes. I am okay with that now.
- The number of mistakes I make increase when a decrease in sleeping occurs.
- As I get older, I find that I really didn't fully understand how uplifting and empowering the Atonement can be in each of our lives. This past year provided experiences to witness and experience the blessings of what Jesus Christ did for us.
Feels good to share all that.
This is a collage of pictures we put together of the boys for their service birthday party invitation. They taught their friends magic tricks, and we all went to a nursing home and put on "mini" magic shows for the residents. A memorable experience.
