Sunday, August 28, 2011

Some August Extras…

I absolutely LOVE the neighborhood school that Christian is going to for kindergarten right now.  I love the teachers and the administrators and the majority of the parents that I’ve met are gems!

The first time I went to help at the school was on August 8th for Christian’s teacher’s birthday.  They were having “red day” for red week.  When I walked into the classroom what was there to greet me but 23 red puppy dogs eating puppy food.

IMG_9425 

They had made red ears like Clifford the Big Red Dog and were eating cocoa puffs off of a plate!  It was so adorable.  I absolutely loved it!  Christian would not move his hand off of his nose when I tried to photo him.  At the beginning of the school year he really was surrounded by girls a lot.

IMG_9423

Here’s his friend Maddie.IMG_9426

This is the green table Christian sits at.

 

Another fun Birthday thing we did in August was go to Lydia’s birthday party.  It was a “Super Why” themed party and was adorable! 

Sherrada and Venetia (her mom) made super capes for every kid. including the symbols that are on the back of the appropriate capes.

The boys were super Wyatt, Lydia was Princess Pea, Jordyn and Vivian were Red…

  IMG_9437IMG_9459

and the babies were Alpha-pig!

IMG_9441

They sang the theme song,

IMG_9442IMG_9435

They acted embarrassed, IMG_9433IMG_9446

They ate yummy food, IMG_9466IMG_9469

And then, they went on a hunt for Super Letters!IMG_9470IMG_9471IMG_9481

And with those super letters they spelled out a special message:  Happy Birthday Lydia!IMG_9487

And as a reward, they all got a tasty treat!IMG_9494

We had a lot of fun!  I love birthdays!IMG_9501

Friday, August 12, 2011

Vivian and Me

One reason I was excited to have Christian start school is because I’ve never been able to spend much one-on-one time with Vivian.  Aside from the times I was in school, Christian basically got to have one-on-one time ALL the time.  Vivian and I have honestly had very little time alone together.  She was very upset the first few days without her brother but after that she’s seemed to enjoy being able to pick what we do.  It’s kind of leaking into the times when Christian is home because she now doesn’t want to just go along with whatever his ideas are so now he’d learning to compromise with her which is good.  I’ve gotten some very darling photos of Vivian from the past three weeks of her “doing her own thing” that I thought I’d share.

I love these of her scribbling in my book…

IMG_9420IMG_9421

Last week we got a special treat, my friend Claudia came for a play date with her scrumptious boy Greyson (who’s exactly 11 months younger than Vivian).IMG_9414 IMG_9415

I just LOVE his cheeks! IMG_9416  IMG_9418 Vivian my ham

    IMG_9511     The other day while I was sewing Vivian and Ginger decided to hang out…along with some play dough…     

IMG_9541      

Poor Ginger, on Wednesday I was cleaning and I heard this funny thumping noise, come to find out it was Vivian’s foot hitting the wall as she was trying to hitch a ride on Ginger’s back…

This is the same day…just a different outfit (since that’s one of our specialties around here, getting messy and changing clothes)  She was being such a ham with her facial expressions, I just had to take a series of photos:

The Faces of Vivian 

IMG_9559   IMG_9562 IMG_9563 IMG_9564 IMG_9565

She’s such a fun girl.  She’s starting to say words now and her top words are: Mama, Dad, Brao (brother), Doggie, Woof, Whoa, Apple, Uh-Oh, Oh dear, and no (in a very high-pitched sassy way).  She’s so fun to be with and her little personality is really coming out now that she isn’t playing shadow all the time.  So much fun.  I’m glad that I can spend some special time with her though I’m getting less done than I used to. ;)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Stormy weather…

Part of the reason why I’ve been needing to catch up on well, basically everything in my life lately, is because on Sunday July 31st, we had a terrific storm.  When it first started up it was early evening so we turned off the lights in our room and all of us cuddled on the bed together while watching the storm.   Here’s the view from our bedroom into the school parking lot.IMG_9379 It was coming down so hard that there was basically a waterfall coming off the roof of the school.  The wind was blowing fiercely and we watched two of the small trees in front of the school fall into the road.  We thoroughly enjoyed watching a nice storm since they are few and far between here.  What I really miss though is gentle rain which almost NEVER happens here.  Anyway, we weren’t too concerned with the storm…that is until the next morning when Jared tried to leave for work and the garage wouldn’t open all the way and glass shattered from the windows and pins popped out of the track.

IMG_9389IMG_9395IMG_9399We called a repair man and they said we’d have to wait until later that day because there were already ten other callers before us that had had similar things happen.  So Jared was stuck at home.  (Secretly, I was delighted to have him home for the day though I wasn’t excited about the reason why).  When I left with Christian to walk him to school the neighbor next door on the east side of us showed us their roof and they had lost almost all the tiles of the apex of their roof!  We felt lucky because we only had a few come loose….IMG_9384 Thankfully, we got the garage fixed last Friday and I was happy to get one without windows this time (I’m not a big fan of people being able to see my junk) and our kind friends the Matthews came and helped us with the tiles.  Thanks again Cody and Steve for helping us out.  We really appreciate you!

First Day of Kindergarten!

On July 25th Christian started his very first day of school!  I woke up that morning to the sound of someone clanking in the kitchen.  When I peeked downstairs this is what I found:

IMG_9356 

Christian was so excited for school he woke up, got dressed, made and ate his own breakfast and made his bed all before 7 am.  He was waiting to leave with his backpack and was pretty disappointed when I told him he’d have to wait for almost an hour before school.      IMG_9363 He was a little annoyed at me making him pose in front of the house because he just wanted to go, go, go!IMG_9364     

This photo shows a little better all of the things he picked out for his school gear.  I was really surprised that he didn’t pick a cartoon bag, instead he picked his favorite color…so I guess he likes green better than cartoons.  He must have good taste. ;)  Isn’t he handsome?  Even with the sun in his eyes he’s darling.IMG_9370 

He kept walking ahead of us (Jared took the day off and we all walked him to school).

IMG_9372

I thought is was so cute that they had the mascot waiting for the kids right at the front by the kindergarten playground.

IMG_9373  Christian with the principle who was there to greet the new kindergartners.

IMG_9375 

They let the parents walk their kindergartners in for the first time which I was really happy to do.  Christian posing outside his classroom!

IMG_9377 

Christian in his seat at the green table!  He was so happy to start school he kept asking why we were still there and I was taking pictures.

I am so happy that my big boy is excited about school.  This is his third week as I write this and he is still so happy to go see his friends and teacher and to learn and do new things.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Trip Down South

The Weekend before school started, we decided to head South and visit our cousins Ryan and Andy and their five children.  It was just a short trip where we drove up Friday night, stayed Saturday, went to church with them on Sunday and then left for home around 2 pm.

On Saturday we went to the San Xavier Mission.  It is a beautiful piece of workmanship and has been restored since I was there in the early 90’s.  The tour guide stated that this mission is known as the “Sistine Chapel of the United States” I think it’s because of the amount of workmanship that went into it and the style it is as well.  It’s no wonder that the Catholic church made such a huge impression on the Natives when this building had to have been so incredibly different and elaborate than anything else in their life experiences to that point.

IMG_9339 IMG_9340

The tour was very interesting and I’d love to go back and listen a little better.  It was so hot and stuffy inside that it was very difficult for Vivian and Christian to behave so we only made it about half-way through the tour.  It was much cooler outside than in.IMG_9341

Isn’t the workmanship amazing?IMG_9342 IMG_9343

The rest of Saturday was basically spent hanging out at Ryan and Andy’s house.  They had an amazing monsoon with lots of lightening.  The not so awesome thing though is their house got hit so they had problems with their A/C, their phones and their oven not working after that. :(  Thankfully though, they were able to get their A/C back on later that night.

On Sunday we went to church with Ryan and Andy’s family at 7:30am.  I am so glad I visited their ward, the speakers/teachers in the classes said exactly what I needed to hear.  In sacrament meeting the speakers where a returned couple who had served in Ohio, I believe.  The husband’s talk in particular struck me when he mentioned that it’s our memories of places and “how things were” that distracts us to a point where it’s very difficult to accomplish things.  When we sit and stew about how things were it skews our perspective into thinking that we just want to go back instead of looking forward in our life.  I know this has been a major reason why I’ve been having a really hard time since we moved out here to the desert.  I keep remembering the last ward we lived in at the University married student housing and how though it wasn’t perfect, there were so many women that I could talk to and who would reach out with a hand of fellowship.  I really felt a sisterhood there.  All of the sisters in that ward were on the same page, for the most part, financially so that no one looked down or even up their noses at the “haves” and “have not’s”.   I felt needed there and in the ward that we lived in prior to that ward I felt needed as well. 

I think that the three basic requirements for humans to be happy in a situation is to feel 1. needed 2. wanted and 3. loved.   It is possible to survive a situation where one or the other of these factors is not present but it’s not necessarily pleasant.  I think that’s why President Hinckley said that members need a Calling (needed)  a Friend (wanted) and to be Nourished by the word of God (loved).  I’ve been so stuck and frustrated with my current ward and feeling the lack of these things because I was so blessed with them previously that I have been allowing myself to be side-tracked by the lack of fellowship I feel.  Instead I need to be the giver of these things and not expect others to give them to me.  It’s easier said than done, but I’m going to try.

In Sunday school I really enjoyed how the brother who gave the lesson (the same lesson actually I had in Sunday school the week before but totally different) about the Savior’s crucifixion and how Peter denies Christ three times.  The week before the person giving the lesson kept talking about how Peter failed and we all fail and then Peter became better because of that….etc.   But this teacher brought up a point of view that I’ve wondered at many times that when Christ told Peter that he should deny Him three times, what he was really was doing was giving Peter instructions that he needed to deny Him three times.  Because where and when Peter denied Christ, Peter may not have been able to complete his own mission if he hadn’t.  Perhaps when Christ looked at Peter as He was marched through the courtyard it wasn’t a look of “How could you?” it was more a look of “Yes, I understand”.  Who really knows the thoughts of another’s heart anyway? and there is so much that is lost in translation as well as body language.

In Relief Society, I had the most refreshing experience because though I sat down and no one knew me, someone sat down on either side of me and introduced themselves and would comment to me during the lesson.  It was lovely.  I haven’t felt so included in a meeting for quite a while.  I realize that the saying “the church is true, even if it’s members aren’t” really is what I need to remember.  Those who are too busy caring how they look or how their behavior is looked upon or that they are too caught up in their own world to be friends to others who may not be like them or look like them or have the same income as them, really need help and understanding and I need to be more patient with them and just be friendly.  If they never choose to be friendly with me and get to know me, then that is their loss.  I am really grateful that I got to get away and just visit a different ward and experience  the sisterhood in their ward.

It was also nice to have church so early so that we could get the kids there on time and then have some time to play and/or visit with cousins afterwards.  IMG_9344    Harley, Christian and MaxIMG_9348 Harley and Christian with Ryan in the backgroundIMG_9349 

Ryan, Christian and Vivian hanging out in their loft.

We were pretty reluctant to leave, we had such a pleasant trip visiting with our cousins (even with our lightening adventures).  But we headed home around 2pm and got home in about an hour and a half.   I was happy that Vivian took a nice nap in the car on the way home.IMG_9351  IMG_9353 

Christian before he fell asleep ;)IMG_9354

My view of Jared on the way home.

I’m so glad that we got a chance to get away and enjoy visiting with family.  Thank you Ryan and Andy for putting us up, the delicious meals, the good conversation, and a super fun, and relaxing trip!