Spring Happenings

Here are some recent photos of our life.  Enjoy!

How naughty am I?  I've heard that we are not supposed to take photos during church.  But, I did it anyway.  Just this once!  I had my camera in my purse, I did it silently and without a flash, and I hope not too many people saw me do it, 'cause I don't like to set a bad example.  I promise I won't do it again...  This is our group of primary children singing songs on Mother's Day.  It was Tootie's first time being up front, and he did a great job for someone his age (3)!  Goldie is right next to him in the light blue shirt, and Didi is in a navy dress behind the blonde girl also in a navy dress.  Shark was home sick that day, or he would have been up there too.  I don't know about everybody else, but I love those cute primary group performances.       (P.S.  The older gentleman on the far left of this picture is the brother of Dallin H. Oaks.  Cool, eh?)  P.P.S.  Isn't our organ beautiful?  It was hand-made by a local organ-maker, and there aren't many like it. 

I love the pink blossoms near our home.  This was part of our Sunday afternoon walk (Jazz and I were willing to bear the allergies for the sake of the beautiful weather and scenery).  Can you guess which of our 2 kids could use new bikes?  Hint: one has an invisible bike, and one has a pink princess bike, and could use a slightly more masculine one.

This is my Wednesday afternoon Spanish class (with just one or two kids absent).  We were playing the Memory game, and citing the picture words in Spanish as we found the matches.  You can see my trusty assistant Shark in the background there, working on homework (on a laptop borrowed from the school--so different than when I was a kid and computers were as big as our car) and waiting to assist me in whatever I need.  I pay him $1.50 per class to hand out snacks, copy down information from the board, and help me straighten chairs and clean up afterwards.  It keeps him in the room with us (he had not wished to be part of the learning group this year), he's very helpful for me, and he gets a little spending money.  Win-win! 

Here's our lot--ready to be chopped up for our traditional breakfast the following morning, "eggs a la goldenrod".  Mostly only the girls in the house love it (and most of all me, since my dad used to make it for us when I was a kid), but Jazz obliges because he's such a fan of family traditions. 

These eggs were not hidden, we save that for the plastic eggs filled with candy, but we decorate them nonetheless.  It's one of my favorite Easter traditions.

I got to accompany Goldie on her field trip to a local arboretum, which was really fun!  We saw all kinds of different plants and a few forest animals, disgusting banana slugs (groooooosssssss) but I think the kids were just as excited about seeing a spider or a squirrel as they were about anything.  It was fun to hike around with them for a couple of hours, and just laugh about all the funny things first graders can say.  I'm sorry that I decided to leave Tootie behind--I didn't know what the situation would be like, but I think he would have loved it, too.

What a great moment.  Granted, by the time I had my camera up, the pose was gone, but they were willing to do a re-pose for me.  ; )

We let our kids dress themselves.  Once in awhile we put our foot down and say "I'm sorry, but that combination isn't okay for today." Other times, like this day, I just laugh so hard deep inside and think to myself, "I am so glad children--especially those in this community--don't care what their friends wear.  Mis-matched socks are the norm, here!!  We might as well enjoy this freedom while it lasts."  Ha ha ha : ). 

My Life Rocks

I feel like all posts need a photo, so I thought I'd put on this great one of my great sister-in-law and me that was taken at our family reunion last month.   It doesn't have too much to do with this post except for the fact that I was really happy when this picture was taken, and I'm feeling really happy right now, and I wanted to post some reasons why.  Get ready for a new list, 'cause here it comes.

*I love my husband.  Does anyone else in the world feel that way as much as I do?  I don't know, but if they do, they sure are a lucky, blessed person.  I couldn't be more grateful.

* I love my kids.  They drive me crazy most days!! But in the moments when I'm not feeling crazy, I KNOW that I have the world's best kids.  They really are amazing, and awesome.  Good, and smart, and cute, and wonderful.  I love them so much.

* I love our apartment.  It is tiny and cramped, and we hardly have enough room to house guests ever, but it is a very nice place to live.  And, it's in a beautiful, quirky city, where a lot of good people live.  It was culture shock for me when we first came, but now it's a part of me.  I feel a little more well-rounded after our almost 5 years here.  I'm not ashamed to hug trees a little more often now than I did before!

* I feel like I get to do almost everything I want, all the time.  I like working for my family as a stay-at-home mom.  I get to exercise 6 days a week.  I get to use the computer for checking blogs, facebook, and email, a bajillion times a day (and I'm trying to figure out how to limit myself on that, without cold-turkey quitting on those habits).  I get to watch TV shows and movies almost whenever I want (that is, usually when I'm cleaning, or reposing after the kids are in bed; otherwise, the TV is off.  I'll take the quiet whenever I can get it).  I am currently reading 2 books that I really like (they may both take me weeks yet to finish, but I'm having fun with them).  I even get to take a nap when I really really need one, like yesterday, when I had an awesome nap for an hour and a half, right before the kids got home from school.  OK, I don't really get to stamp as often as I'd like to, but when I NEED to stamp, I do.  And I love it.  Do I sound spoiled, or what?      (...Wow, I almost made it sound like I hardly do any work.  Rest assured that that is not the case.)

* I like my calling in the church.  I am the Compassionate Service Leader.  I get to feel like I'm doing important service when it's needed, and I don't feel the stress of preparing weekly lessons.  I'm grateful for this calling.  The harder callings will come back around to me later, I'm sure, so for now, I'm glad I have this one.

 * I have really fun friends.  People that make me laugh.  People that care about me.  People that play sports with me.  People that I look up to.  People that amaze me.  Good people that do good in the world and add beauty to my world.  I love my friends.

I am blessed, and I feel rich.  I love feeling rich--it's something I always wanted to be.  I've learned that "rich" is a feeling, not a way to be, and I feel it.  Hooray!

Happy Birthday Superman

This picture is a little blurry, it was taken by one of the kids (first time using a camera, I think).  But it's just a cute little representation of our other April birthday that we got to celebrate a couple weeks ago--Jazz' 36th. We enjoyed a nice lunch together while all the kids were at school, and opened gifts at home after dinner.  Jazz had fun receiving birthday wishes all day from friends and family, especially on facebook where he made some pretty funny jokes about people NOT wishing him a happy birthday (the nerve... ha ha). 

Here are 36 things to describe Jazz, things he loves, things he does, or things we love about him, in honor of his 36th birthday:

1. JAZZY
2. loves Smallville
3. Superman everything
4. has great hair, even if some of it is gray
5. cold cereal makes a great bedtime snack
6. hazel eyes
7. needs sunshine
8. soon to be Doctor Lovell!
9. guru of Stevie Wonder's music
10. makes jokes to help people stop being mad
11. gives great hugs (not to mention kisses)
12. wears size 11.5 shoes
13. got his first set of contacts this past year
14. NY Jets die hard fan
15. favorite movies include Lord of the Rings trilogy (as well as many superhero movies)
16. foreign language experience includes Italian, German, and Hebrew
17. not a big fan of the reality TV shows his wife watches
18. left-handed
19. loves to collect music and books
20. not a fan of rainy gray winters
21. doesn't like cats
22. does a pretty good James Stuart impression ("Merry Christmas Mr. Potter!")
23. reads stories to the kids in a cool British accent
24. closing zip-lock bags is not his thing
25. likes his chocolate "unadulterated" (no fruit or mint-flavored chocolate for him)
26. is great at following new recipes
27. likes to analyze the chord structure of hymns WHILE we're singing them in church
28. favorite kind of ice cream is peanut butter chocolate
29. is great at teaching our kids right and wrong in a loving way
30. asks the kids at dinner every night "what did you learn in school/church today?"
31. plays Baroque music to fill the home every Sunday
32. looks at his fingers when he types instead of the screen
33. takes great care of his wife on her birthday and Mother's Day (and every other day!)
34. cooks the family meal every Sunday to give Mom the day off
35. do not crunch your food near him unless he is crunching too
36. loves the babies he watches in the jr. nursery at church!

Happy birthday, Jazz!  We love you!

Random Old Favorites

With not too much new happening right now, I thought I'd just make a quick post of some of my old favorite pictures that I have have.  It's fun to see how the kids have changed so much in just the last few years.  I'll try to come up with something more current to post too, or soon.  Meanwhile, enjoy the fun faces of the past!