Take a Walk

Today when it was time to get Peter from school, I decided we should walk, so we did. Well, I did. Phoebe and Cooper rode in the double stroller. Then we walked to Peter's piano lesson. He went in and Cooper and Phoebe and I strolled around listening to birds and looking for tulips and daffodils. Then we decided to take the long way home.

After two and a half hours and more than three miles, we walked in our front door.

I hope my muscles still work tomorrow...

Peter, posing with our school mascot, while out on our walk.

Spelling Bee

Cooper has been practicing his writing skills. He writes notes, writes stories, and leaves messages in magnets, like this one he left for me. I think it's darling.

Cool Story

My sister and her husband spent a few days with us, including the Sunday of General Conference. Eugene, my brother-in-law is fantastic with my kids. During a break in the sessions, he called them together to read to them. They all enjoyed it.

Thanks for visiting us Paige and Eugene!

The Voice

I am a singer.  My voice is part of what defines me. When I'm sick and don't have my voice, I feel out of sorts, like I'm missing something vital and I can't find it.

For the last year, I have not had a full voice. Stress and illness and lack of sleep have plagued me and they usually rob me of my ability to sing my best. That doesn't mean I haven't sung. I've had the opportunity to sing as a soloist on three occasions during this school year, and while they weren't awful, I know how much better they could have been.

On Easter Sunday I had an experience very similar to the one that I detailed on this blog in October of 2009. I even sang the same song. Moments before I had to take the stand I was choking on notes in the hallway, praying that I would be able to get through the song without coughing. I know Bryan was praying too, because I asked him as I sat next to him in the pew. I was in full freak-out mode.

I got through the song. A few of the notes were pushed, but thanks to the microphone, I was able to pull back when I could feel my voice going. I didn't cough, and the Spirit was strong. I was thankful that those prayers were answered.

I've been worried that my voice is leaving me. I don't know who I would be without it. I think I've always been afraid that I would somehow lose it. My Patriarchal Blessing says nothing about music, which puzzled my mom. Why didn't it mention what was probably my most obvious skill? What did that mean for the future?

Tonight as I sang I Am a Child of God and Away In A Manger to Phoebe at bedtime, my mind wandered to one of the talks from General Conference. Elder Falabella taught us that "a child who sings is a happy child." I smiled when I heard that and thought, "Well, at least I'm doing one thing right. We sing all the time."

Then a new thought entered my head. Perhaps my voice is meant for my children. Yes, I need to share it with others as well, but the most important singing I will do will be with and to my children.

As the thought concluded I had such a strong spiritual witness that I almost had to stop singing. This was a beautiful truth that had never before occurred to me. This is why it wasn't mentioned in my Blessing, because the real purpose of my singing isn't to gain accolades, but to comfort and teach and engage my children. It is one of my most important tools as a mom.

My voice will come back, I hope. It will continue to define me, but not in the same way it used to. I am a singer who now knows her most important audience.

Feeding My Spirit

I love General Conference. It helps me refocus on what is most important. It calms me. It enriches me.

As a child I didn't love Conference. It was long and I usually fell asleep. The good thing about it was that we would watch it from my Grandma's house, so I could at least look forward to the visit.

During college my opinion shifted. I started watching Conference for the messages and the spiritual fulfillment. I began looking forward to that special weekend that would come twice a year. And it was always over too quickly.

Now as a mom, I'm lucky if I can listen long enough to figure out the topic of each talk. I spend most of my time encouraging the kids to listen and asking them questions to learn what they're catching. Saturday and Sunday of this week were spent handing out pads of drawing paper, shushing children, and trying to listen when the din died down.

In spite of the chaos, I still enjoyed Conference. Three talks stood out to me: Sister Elaine Dalton's, Elder L. Whitney Clayton's, and  Elder Jeffery R. Holland's.

They filled my soul.

Wings

In her attempt to give up her nap, Phoebe often throws herself into playing. I hear sounds of make-believe float from her room rather than the peaceful silence of slumber. But occasionally, her exhaustion gets the better of her. And on those days, she falls into bed, wings and all.

Outtakes

Remember when I said I had taken pictures of the kids in the car on Sunday in an attempt to document their Easter clothes? Well, I finally looked at those pictures tonight. They're not great. And at the same time, they're totally awesome.

Here are my two favorites, not because they're fantastic pictures, but because they're rather hilarious.

Sunshine Day

I am happy to report that today was a better day than yesterday.

The change was due in part to how we spent our time. We had some kids over to play this morning, then we met friends at the park for a picnic. After playing in the sunshine and warmth for a few hours we came home and a few of us (including me) took naps. Then we had friends over again to play and have dinner with us.

I know that I love sunshine. And I know I'm a social creature. My kids have developed those same inclinations. Perhaps the combination of the two lifted our moods enough to lead to better behavior?

Bedtime, which is usually crazy hour, was even calmer than usual.

We still had a few rough patches, but it was a marked improvement.

Pink Is the New Green

We're two days in to Spring break. The first day was fabulous. Today was... rough.

In Peter's class his teacher uses a stoplight system to track behavior. If the kids are good they stay on green. If they misbehave, they can go to yellow. After yellow comes red (and a call to the parents), then double red and a visit with the principal.

Bryan suggested that we do the stoplight thing at our house this week. Yesterday Cooper ended the day on yellow, while Peter and Phoebe ended on green.

Last night as we were getting ready for bed I told the kids what color they were each on. When I informed Phoebe she was on green, she looked at me sternly and said, "No! I'm on pink!"

I won't tell you who ended on what today, only that Phoebe made the same declaration about being on pink.

Here's hoping that tomorrow everyone is on green. Or pink.

Easter Fanciness

In their Easter bags this year the boys got new ties and Phoebe got a big flower hair clip. It wasn't until after church when we were in the car on the way to Bryan's grandparents' house that I realized I had failed to take any pictures of us all gussied up. Thankfully, Bryan's brother was willing to snap a few pictures of us while we were there. This is the best one of the whole group.

And this is the best one of me and Bryan, and it's good of Phoebe too. The boys are, well, being themselves.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter!