Mission Beach

Cousins, sweet cousins

There are so many funny little details about this picture but one of the funniest to me is that Luke is sneakily reaching up and playing with Eliza's hair. Also, check out that tummy on Noah!

As little girls my big sister Emily and I used to lay in bed next to each other and plan out our lives. We dreamed of matching houses next to each other. Mine would be pink and hers blue. There would be a secret passage between the houses and we would spend our days doting on adorable and obedient children. Mostly though, we talked about our children growing up together, playing and being best friends.

Far and away the best part of our trip was watching the cousins. They LOVED being together. Though we don't have our matching houses in a lot of ways our dreams are coming true. These kids adore each other. Jakob leads the play in gentle and imaginative directions. He also has endless patience and nurturing for the little kids. Eliza looks out for the babies and makes sure no one's feelings are getting hurt. Ian's imagination and intelligence are key during their pretend play. Luke and Noah just adoringly follow the big kids around. One of the cutest things was watching Isaac and Tommy chase each other around.

We only wish that all of the cousins could have been there. That's what the commune is for though, right?

I love thinking about the fantastic support system my kids are being born into. What a blessing!

About connecting...

Noah Jon 3.5 years

There is a sweetness to this little man. I saw it immediately when he was laid on me after birth-- his eyes locked with mine and I could sense it. He smiled very early and spent all his early days tracking Luke around the house with his eyes. It's an awareness of others, of his surroundings and a desire to connect with those around him. He questions have always been inquiries about the whereabouts of family members or why someone was sad. Understanding this about him and then seeing some of the recent behavior broke my heart. He had taken to brash reactions, unkind words and yes, even hitting (gasp). The techniques that worked with Luke during similar phases were failing me and I was at a loss. He seemed so defensive and lost. Then I starting reading this book. None of the ideas are new to me, they are reminders of the parenting books I have read, the education and child development classes I have taken, and the positive interactions I remember having with my parents. But, the ideas here are concise and ring of truth. In the past week I have been focusing on connection again. I am pleased to report that, for the most part, I have my Noah back. It's a daily, moment to moment decision on my part though. It's about choosing peace and connection (which is easy this time of day when they look like angels in their beds and not so easy when Noah and Luke are making demands of me while I wrestle their poopy brother). I am working on it.

Sneak Peak

I am still sorting through hundreds of pictures. In the meantime, here is a little look at the lady (check out that alliteration) whose baptism brought us all to San Diego. She's pure gold.

home?

We have just returned from a dream like trip to San Diego. The sun shone, the cousins played non-stop, Eliza was baptized, the babies followed each other around the house and I soaked up all the love I could get in from my parents and sister. It was wonderful, just wonderful.

I have hundreds of pictures to sort through, some unpacking to do and lots of praying that my kids will be able to get back into the Eastern time zone. My mom spent the afternoon cleaning up after the storm of grandkids, dumping out half empty cans of orange crush and finding binkies stuffed in odd places. It's back to the task at hand for all of us. My mom has a mission to run, Emily has kids to raise and a husband to support as he attends school and works full time. And me, I have a major life change to figure out.

This time of job searching and future deciding has been hard on us. I, however, came away from this trip with a renewed sense of purpose and vision for these next couple of months. I just need to put my head down and focus on my kids, connecting with them and pointing out the Lord's hand in guiding us through these next months. That's it. It's simple. I don't need to stress, nag, or worry. I can just trust. All there is to do is embrace this idea, come what may and love it. I think that I might just be learning that the Lord is in charge and thank heavens because His plans always turn out so much better than mine.

To my mother

On Mother's Day I find myself lost in memories of the woman who bore me, raised me up, and is now my best friend. The topic of the first sacrament meeting talk was something along the lines of mothers being the givers of life. I heard very little of the talk because Isaac was doing his best to sneak crayons and color the pews.

But the idea has stayed with me all day. The idea that mothers give life seems obvious and while it is certainly an admirable feat to give physical birth, the gift of life seems like so much more than just providing a physical body. Life is so much more than that; it is the way that we relate to each other, the way we interact with the world, what we value and who we are. I have spent the day reflecting on the life that my mother gave me.

My mother valued work and taught us to do the same. There is, she taught us, no shame in any type of honest work. No one is too good for hard work. We all got jobs about as soon as we could and worked hard.

Mom loved learning. She lived a life of books and gave that love to her children. When she went back to school as an adult and received her degree, it was only a formality. She was already so well read, so educated and such a lover of knowledge. When my mom was reading a good book we all knew it and heard about what she was reading. In my college classes it was confirmed what I already had learned from my mother: children need to see their parents enjoying books. We all love to read and all see learning and knowledge as the key to solving problems. We look to books for answers.

Momma served. She taught seminary, gave countless rides, served in every calling in the church and did her very best in every one of those capacities. She did it without fanfare. She also facilitated the service my father provided to so many. Her current missionary assignment is the pinnacle of years of working in the church. She quietly keeps the San Diego mission running.

Mom listened. She listened to everyone and so many people talked. We lived close to the high school and every day my friends and I would come home for lunch and she would listen, without judgment, to all of us. I woke my mom up when I got home from dates and parties to tell her everything. While she listened she taught me to communicate and how to sort through my thoughts and feelings. The ability to communicate my needs and feelings is an asset every day.

My mom loved. Everyone.

I am so grateful to this good woman, for giving me life (and a good one, at that).

Happy Mother's Day!

Curls

Narnia Party

Warning: you might have to be a Narnia geek to understand a lot of the references in this post.

We have been in Narnia lately. Luke and Nat have read all but the last book together (which we started tonight) and it is about all Luke talks about lately. We are happy to imagine with him, discuss our differing theories about where Aslan actually comes from, and mourn with Luke as each of the Pevensie children grows too old to return to Narnia. It was a logical choice for Luke's sixth birthday party. He didn't, however, want it to be themed around The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as that is not his favorite book. So we wandered into his other favorites, creating a Cair Paraval cake, a throne room in Cair Paravel, and the Dawn Treader. We also stopped off to explore the Lone Islands, Felimath-- to be exact.

We invited three families who have children close in age to both Luke and Noah. It simplified things quite a bit to just have the three families coming.

Here are a few pictures of the preparations and the party

Invites, complete with sealing wax:
The throne room in Cair Paravel:
The tunics-- created for each of the kids with Aslan painted on the front:
The table, fit for a high king:
Luke excitedly explaining all his favorite parts to his friends (who were, I am sure, completely lost, as none of them have read the books):
His friends, patiently listening to the ramblings of a Narnia obsessed six year old:
High Kings Luke and Tade:
With High King Harrison:
Exploration of the Lone Islands:

Painting their very own Dawn Treaders:
Cair Paravel cake:
Luke and Noah did a good deal of the decorating for the cake. They lined the gum drops up, created the flags and helped me position everything. They also helped consume it. It was a pretty delicious cake, if I do say so myself.
Presents, complete with the Donaldson tradition of letting the giver bop the receiver on the head:
One of the things that I love about watching kids give each other presents is how excited they get to give the presents. Tade is showing off all the details of the dragon he gave Luke. So cute. When Luke was saying his prayers the night after the party he prayed that, "all the kids that came to my party will get great presents like I did when it's their birthday."

There were some games and activities (put the bracelet on Eustace, the dragon) that I didn't get to and it was too hot to be out on the Dawn Treader (the deck). But, none of the kids seemed to mind and they were all happy to play, paint, imagine, eat cake, and play with Luke's gifts.

Birthday Highlights

presents after breakfast

lunch with Noah (and the rest of us) at school

he wanted watermelon to share with his friends

pickles at dinner

He got lots of calls all day, chose what he wanted at each meal, and enjoyed presents all day. I would say that it was a very good way to celebrate six years of life!