Friday, October 11, 2013

One on One

My life seems to be changing at a quicker pace in some ways.  My babies are growing up.  With all of them in school now, my daytime schedule is all new.  My evening hustle and bustle is ridiculous.  Though my parenting plate sometimes seems unmanageable, it's all very rewarding.  I'm learning new ways to appreciate my blessings all the time.  Lately, I've been reflecting on each one of my kids as individuals, and feeling incredibly blessed to have each one of them in my life.  I would like to show you a little bit about the one-on-one experiences I have with each of my four little blessings.



     Shark is my big boy.  My very big boy.  My days of being taller than him are numbered, he has just over an inch to go!  He'd like to think he's 13 going on 21, but I'd say he's 13 going on 14, growing up just one day at a time. 
      Part of my weekly one-on-one time with him comes every Tuesday night, when we go on our newspaper delivery date together.  Although we're not together the whole time, we get to spend a good 10-15 minutes together just the two of us.  Sometimes we just listen to his choice jazz music radio station.  Other times he asks me to quiz him on his new Spanish vocabulary words.  I like it when he tells me about his friends, including the girl that he likes.  I like it when he blindsides me with his amazing wit.  He has always had a knack for cracking me up at the most unexpected times. 
     This school year he has developed a new talent in running on the Cross Country team.  At his last race this week, he had the goal of completing the 2-mile distance in under 15 minutes.  He did it in 14:30!!!  And his second of those two miles was his fastest yet--a 7:04 minute mile.  I am so proud of him for working so hard and showing such improvement over the season!   I loved going to his meets and cheering as he crossed the finish line, sometimes with pain on his face, always looking like a strong champion to me.
      Just one more sweet connection we have--he's getting to be quite the musician!  I love to hear him practice his trumpet and had a great time sitting outside listening to his last private lesson.  Listening to him get all enthusiastic about his progress is heart warming for me. 
     When we're not butting heads figuring out this new parent-teenager dynamic, he's all mine to laugh with, to hug, and to love.  I love my big boy Shark.




     My Didi is sweetness, calmness, and lovingness.  My best one-on-one time with her is at 3:15 p.m. every day, as she is the first one to come home from school.   She saves her best tell-all expressions for me for that instant when she walks through the front door.  I'll either get a frown with frustrated eyes as she gives me the low-down of middle school friendship drama :(, a closed-mouth smile with relaxed eyes to tell me that everything is fine and dandy, or with eyebrows raised high she'll give me a "You're not going to believe what happened today, Mom!" greeting.  I love getting those few special alone minutes with her before anyone else comes home. 
     My Didi and I both find joy in writing.  Someday she's going to be a world-class blogger or columnist, or author.  She's a journaler, like me.  She's also a great reader, of course.  She still likes me to read to her at night, though I don't get around to it as often as I would like.  We both love her long hair, and I love her all-over beauty and humility.  She's becoming an athlete little by little.  This year she has become a leader on her volleyball team!  It's her third year of volleyball, I think (or fourth?), and I LOVE going to her games.  This year she and her teammates have started to catch the fire, focus, and win.  I think I might be the proudest parent in the crowd.
     She sings in the ward choir with me, which I love.  She has expressed interest in taking voice lessons, and that time will come, I hope (she's vocally ready but has her practice schedule already full with piano and saxophone demands).  Right now she's working on the really fun song "Popular" from the Broadway musical Wicked as an audition piece for the Honor's Society group Tri-M, and I hope that my encouragement gives her cofidence, 'cause she sounds amazing.  Hopefully I can post her performance of that soon! 
     It's easy for me to brag about my kids and their accomplishments (did I mention her straight A's?), but what I love most about my Didi is her kind heart and her quiet ways.  I can't get enough of her presence.  I can't wait to be one of her best friends for the rest of eternity.



     If there is ever a lack of energy in our home, it might be because Goldie is temporarily outdoors.  She radiates excitement, passion, and purpose.  She has been twirling since she could walk, and we still make daily efforts to control the cartwheels (they're not allowed in the house--she sometimes forgets).  She is now quite accomplished in her self-taught gymnastics moves, I don't even know what they're all called, but many of them involve the splits and U-shaped back bends that amaze all of us. 
     I get to have sometimes an hour of alone time with Goldie each day between the time Dad, Shark, and Didi leave in the morning, and the time she goes out to catch the bus.  (Tootie sleeps the latest.)  Fun elements of our time together include listening together to her favorite Disney Songs Pandora radio station, her asking for my input on all the different outfits she tries on, and me helping her make her lunch.  When Tootie is awake, the three of us will often walk out to her bus stop together, and whether it's at the bus stop or at the house, she always has about three kisses and a hug to give me for her goodbye. 
     She is our little singing piano player.  I've never seen a child sing along with her piano songs as much as she does.  She says she is counting the days until we will let her quit, but once she gets playing, beautiful sounds always pour out of her.  I'll soon post my new video clip of her singing and playing "Give My Regards to Broadway."  I hope we can find the right stage opportunities for her, because she shines so brightly in the spotlight!  She's hungry for that light just like I am, and I know she'll get it when she wants it.  She deserves it.
    Her Bear Pink Blanket is still her favorite snuggle comfort, but she saves the best love vibes for me.  (Well, her dad gets some of them, too.)  Last night we had one of those special moments as I was braiding her hair before bed, so she could wake up with it wavy.  "Do you think my hair looks good wavy, Mom?"  Like an angel's, Goldie.



     Tootie and I get our alone time after everyone else is gone for the day, starting around 8:15 a.m. and ending when I see him off to school at 9 a.m.  In the mornings is usually when we work on his homework together.  He reads to me, and we work on his beautiful handwriting.  He's super quick with his math facts, and loves to sing for me the learning songs he gets from his lessons.
     After school he's too busy for any resting or quiet time.  He's such an energy capsule, like Goldie, that when he's done with a full day of following rules in first grade, the last thing he wants to do when he gets home is sit still.  As soon as I pick him up from the school in our back yard, he throws his lunch box into the air for me to catch it, and then his back pack (the other parents duck out of the way).  If I can convince him to stay home long enough to get a snack into him, I'm lucky, and then he runs off to play with his best friend around the corner.  He's still learning to keep me informed about his running-around locations, so sometimes at the end of the day it takes a little while to find him.  Lots of safe places to play in our neighborhood, it's just hard to stick with only one.  You can understand why I feel best when he plays closest to home.
     Tootie and I also have the snuggliest reading time together at night.  I climb into his bed with him for a Scooby Doo story or he helps me read his Ninjago chapter books.  We end with a little back rub, and he stays in his bed long enough to fall asleep there.  He doesn't stay there though.  The floor is his preferred sleeping ground, particularly the floor in Mom and Dad's bedroom, which is usually where we find him in the morning. 
     When he's upset, he sometimes threatens to give me no more morning hugs.  That would be the end of the world for both of us, so we never let that happen.  If you've never had one of his morning hugs, or rare but perfect kisses, or bedtime snuggles, you're missing out.
    





 I love my four little big blessings.  I love my alone time, too.  But when it comes to choosing my favorite moments of every day and every week, you can bet it's being spent with one of these four awesome people.  (...Couple's time aside, of course.)

Sunday, September 15, 2013

I Hate Running (An Ode to Running)

My sister-in-law recently asked her facebook friends if they could please explain why they enjoy running, because she wanted to like it, but hadn't been able to find a way to get into it yet.  I refrained from answering her query, simply because I knew I could never sum up my reasons for running in one tiny little facebook box.  I decided then that I would need to blog about it, so I could sort out my reasons for myself, and also so that I could share them with her.

My oldest memory of running goes back to eighth grade, when we were required to run the mile for our best time in P.E.  I did not love it.  I pretty much hated it, but I did my best.  One day, I ran as hard as I possibly could, and I broke my record.  I was so proud! When I got to my Social Studies class a couple HOURS later, my face was STILL red.  My teacher, who also happened to be one of the football coaches, asked me in front of the whole class, "Why is your face all red?"  I told him proudly that I had just run the mile, and that I had beaten my best time.  "That's great!" he said. "What time did you get?"  "8:44," I announced, not feeling the right to brag, but proud enough that I was willing to let everyone else hear.  At that moment, the entire class busted up laughing.  Including my teacher.  And that was the end of any confidence that I had gained that day in my ability to ever be a "real" runner.

I don't remember running again until after I got to college.  I re-entered the runners' arena only by force, for my Health class.  It wasn't all terrible...I found occasions to run with friends now and then, but it was never my most preferred form of exercise.  I enjoyed walking and other less-traumatic activities to keep active, so why torture myself?

Years went by, and our family moved to Eugene, Oregon.  It didn't take long before I realized where we were:  Tracktown, USA.  Yes, it's really called that.  EVERYBODY and their dog in Eugene is a runner.  And their dog's dogs are, too.  People there do it for FUN!!!  They do it in the rain.  They do it in the dark.  They do it in the cold.  They did it by my house, every stinkin' day, and I just couldn't understand it.  WHY?  I HATE RUNNING.  Running hurts.  It makes me breathe really really hard, and that's SOOOOO uncomfortable.  There's nothing FUN about it.  I did not want to join them and their crazy ways.

But.  Pretty soon, I became friends with these crazy runner people.  They would talk about running, and they seemed so HAPPY when they talked about it!  It didn't make any sense, but they were making me start to wonder.  Not only that, but their enthusiasm started to rub off on me.

One day, some women from church decided to start an exercise group.  A walking/running group that would meet three times a week at one of the trails near our house.  One perk: the husband of one of the ladies was willing to coach us on weekends, and help us better our running skills.  (Running skills?  What are running skills?)  There were community races coming up, and people wanted to get ready :).  I was now pregnant with our fourth baby, so I was happy to stick with the walking program at that time.   Race day came on the 4th of July, and a HUGE group from our congregation got matching shirts to participate in this race.   I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, so my time was not impressive, but I did overhear a little bit of astonishment when some saw me participating "in my condition"--so that was fun.  That was my very first race: a 4.5 mile walk (or waddle?).  Crossing the finish line with the community of Eugene gave me a feeling of accomplishment that I knew I'd like to have again someday.


(I'm in the red pants.  This was taken in 2007.)

With the high school track right next door to us, I found that meeting with my girlfriends there early in the early morning before Jazz left for school was a convenient workout.  With all the girl-time conversation...it was starting to become fun.  I started jogging.  I wasn't fast, and I still hated the heavy breathing, but becoming "one of them" made me happy :).   One more 4th of July came and I was talked into participating in the race again.  This time, I jogged it.  With help from the same running coach, I worked up to running the whole 4.5 miles.  I did it!  By the time we left Eugene, I had regained some confidence.  Over time, my breathing calmed down, and I was able to work up to running 5 miles, feeling good for the duration.

Now, I run for fun.  Can you believe it?  But I still hate it, ha ha!  I rarely prefer being outdoors to being indoors,  but when the summer weather starts getting perfect (between 60 and 75 degrees), that's the one time I can't pass up the sunshine for a run.  I won't run in all temperatures, and I don't want to do it all the time.   But this summer I have had some awesome experiences.  I ran my first OFFICIAL 5K (I actually paid for the registration for my first time), and my son joined me for my second.  I've run the distance of a 10K for three summers in a row now (thanks to the goals I set together with my sister), and this summer I did it more than once!  Yesterday, I spontaneously reached for what I considered to be the next IMPOSSIBLE "milestone."  I completed the distance of a half-marathon--on a whim.  I can still hardly believe it myself. 

Shark and me before the 5K at the Fairgrounds, summer 2013
I'll never claim to be a model runner, but I'm proud to claim that I AM a runner! 

I still hate running.  The other day I was running half-mile loops at the field at the end of our street.  Since it's a trail with two big hills each time around the loop, it's tough.  At least I think so.  Those hills make me out of breath, and sometimes when I'm on them I wonder why I continue to torture myself like that.  I laughed when I discovered something that pushed me right up that big hill--as I put one heavy foot in front of the other, I yelled out loud, "I HATE RUNNING!!!"  It helped!!  I think I'll keep that technique handy to use from now on ;).

Why do I hate running?

-Because it's hard.
-Because it makes me very uncomfortable.  Sometimes it even hurts.
-Because 96% of the time, it's NOT fun.
-Because even though I try not to, sometimes I get stuck comparing myself with other runners that will always be faster and better than me.  And I feel inferior.
-Did I mention it's really hard?  REALLY hard.  That's why I drag my feet about even getting out the door.

But, besides the fact that I hate it, I love it.  I do.  Here's why:

-Because it's HARD, and it always, without fail, makes me feel like shouting to the world, "LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!!!" And, "I DID IT!!!"  I just love that feeling of self-worth it gives me.
-Because other people who run AMAZE me, and I like to feel like I'm "one of them" just by trying.


-Because it makes me healthy!
-Because it gives me those magical things called endorphins that pour happiness into my day.  I LOVE those things!!!  They're like little angels that circle around you all day whispering "You're cool" and "You did good" and all kinds of "build you up" things like that. :)
-Because it makes me physically strong.
-Because it cleanses my emotions as I breathe in and out.  I don't know how it happens, but it does.  Every time.
-Because as far as workout prep goes, it pretty much doesn't get any easier.  Tennis shoes on feet, ready to go.  (Oh wait, a good sports bra helps, too ;). )  Once you've got those things, it's FREE.  (Three cheers for free!)
- Because I know that even though it's hard, it's not as hard as it would be to be unhealthy, lazy, and unhappy, which is one common alternative.  THAT would be hard.  We get to pick our battles.  I choose the running one :).
-Because running is a mental sport as much as it is a physical sport (if not more so), and I feel PROUD to come out the victor in the mental struggle.

Half-marathon.  Done!!!
-Because RUNNING IS AWESOME. 







Oh wait, there's one more thing:


Please feel free to share my story with your friends :).  If anything I've said helps someone get their sneakers on, that would make my day!  Besides, that would make one more runner out in the world that's there to help motivate me :)!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Our Wonderful Ohio Vacation

When Jeff's brother invited us to meet his family in Ohio during their family trip, we were really excited.  They live in Utah, so it has been really hard for us to plan occasions to get together.  We only had to drive 5 1/2 hours to see them, and it was a fabulous trip for all of us!  The first thing I noticed about Ohio is how similar the scenery was to our Pennsylvania scenery.  With all of the green farmland and trees, we could have been driving around our own town.  But the landscaping at the home we were visiting (the home of Jeff's brother's in-laws) was especially awesome.  I had to capture a bit of this beautiful garden to keep with us.


All of us were super grateful that our newest Little Lovell nephew and his mommy were able to make the trip all the way from Utah to be with us.  He was exactly one month old :).

One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting this church history site, the John Johnson farm in Kirtland, where the prophet Joseph Smith lived for one year.  This is where he lived when he was tarred and feathered, and where he received some very important revelations that we have in our Doctrine and Covenants.  It was a really neat place to see.

We also got to visit a friend's stables.  This was the largest horse I've ever seen!  The photo doesn't do it justice.  I was told that this horse is about 19 hands high, and weighs probably nearly one ton.  (The medium-sized full-grown pony in the stall next to it was about 13 hands high.)  Wow! 

Clark and all of the kids had a blast catching fish in the ponds.  Lots of blue gills, this one catfish, and even a couple of turtles turned up on the hooks. 
Uncle Steve was a super fishing coach.  He encouraged Clark to go all the way--so together they prepared two of Clark's fish for eating, so Clark can earn his fishing merit badge for scouting.  Thanks, Uncle Steve!






BROTHERS! 

The pet donkeys were lots of fun to see!  The cousins were super fun to play with, too, of course!  We loved our time with them.

If there's one thing I'm grateful for about this trip, it's that our kids got along 20 times better on the way home than they did on the way there.  We were all still so happy with the fun time that we had, and just a little bit tired, so the 5 1/2 hour ride home was nice and peaceful.   YAY!!!!   What a wonderful trip!
Here's a link to some more great pictures from that trip:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AYtnDZi2cN2Jp
(just click on "View Album"...no need to log in)


Wildwoods Beach

Our kids were more than ready for a beach break, so we drove just 3 hours to spend time at an old friend--Wildwoods beach in NJ.  We all had a great time.  This beach was just right for our family, and the June weather that day was super perfect. 


Too bad Jeff didn't keep his shirt on--with no sunscreen (oops!), he was the most sunburned of all of us.












I feel a little funny about putting the bathing suit picture on here, but Jeff said, "Aw, come on, it was just for fun."  So here it is.  It was taken just before the big bad finger incident.  The pic of my hands shows the beginning of the swelling after I dislocated my pinky trying to catch one of Jeff's turbo footballs (yes, it was pretty gross).  I wonder if I can blame it on our playing with a wet ball?  "It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt!"  I have purpler-finger pics, but I'll spare you.  We were having so much fun, too... :(



So happy together!



Friday, March 29, 2013

Happy Easter to Yous!


Just before the school-hosted daddy-daughter date.  I think it's so cool that Goldie's school has this annual tradition.

Papa Lovell couldn't wait to see his son's name updated on the marquis, now saying "Dr. Lovell" instead of the "Mr. Lovell" that it said all last year.  That's one proud papa (and mom, too).
This was one of the coolest volunteer jobs I've ever done at one of my kids' schools!  I wore this giant costume for two whole sweaty hours at the book fair and had fun entertaining the kids.  It was really funny to see the difference between the friendly (and sometimes aggressive) 2nd graders, and the curious but shy and worried kindergarteners.  Tootie had fun telling kids his mom was inside the costume, and kept talking to me through the eye holes (when I was on all fours).  I thought that was funny.

Today was a great field trip with Grandma and Grandpa to our State Capitol!











Today has been a great day!  We're so glad to have our visitors here for Easter weekend.  As they would say here in PA, "Happy Easter to yous!"