The Business of Play

 

The Conference Report

This past weekend was something I look forward to every six months, General Conference. I watched nearly all five sessions (I missed part of the Priesthood session doing bedtime stuff) and am looking forward to diving back in to listen to the talks again.

As always, there were certain talks that really stood out to me. Here are the top seven in no particular order:

• Careful Versus Casual by Becky Craven (Peter and Cooper said this was their favorite too.)
• A Home Where the Spirit of the Lord Dwells by Henry B. Eyring (This talk was a direct answer to prayer.)
• Behold the Lamb of God by Jeffrey R. Holland
• Abound With Blessings by Dale G. Renlund
• "Come, Follow Me" by President Russell M. Nelson
• Exercising Our Spiritual Muscles by Juan Pablo Villar
• Christ: The Light That Shines in Darkness by Sharon L. Eubank

I tried to make that a top five list and couldn't. There were several others talks that I enjoyed and learned from as well. And the music, which is always gorgeous, was stunning. The kids did a great job on Saturday and even shushed each other a few times so they could hear the talks. Sunday was a little rougher, but we made it.

There were a few unexpected moments of humor from things the kids said during Conference. I took notes.

Sophie: What's his name?
Me: President Eyring.
Sophie: President Irony? He's my favorite.

"Wow, he's young".-Peter, looking at Ryan Murphy, the Associate Music Director of The Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square.
"Does he even age?!" -Cooper, right after Peter.

"Key change!" -Sophie, every time there was a key change in any of the songs.

"I don't have a wife. What should I do about that?" -Cooper, after hearing President Nelson talk about Priesthood holders treating their wives well.

I'm so thankful for General Conference. I love the spiritual uplift it gives and the peace it brings into our home.

Trio

Sophie and I played a singing game yesterday during lunch. I would sing a note, then she would sing a harmonizing note. Then she would work to hold the note and I would sing a different note to harmonize with her. That may not sound like a fun game, but we had a grand time.

Then Topher joined in on the fun and matched my pitch! He did it a handful of times, which was amazing. He was just as delighted by it as we were and laughed and grinned when he saw our looks of surprise.

It was a fun lunch.

Artist Party

The girls went to a Rapunzel/painting birthday party last week. The main activity was an art lesson taught by the art teacher from Cooper's school. There were twenty-four kids of varying ages and abilities all trying to paint the same picture.

This was the inspiration painting.

I did my best to document the process.

After the painting, Rapunzel showed up to sing to and sprinkle glitter on the kids. So much glitter.

Here are the final products from the art lesson. The girls proudly hung them on their bedroom walls. I love that they each put their own spin on the assignment.

Dress For the Job You Want

Bipedal

Guess who took a few steps all by himself today! I'll give you a hint, it's the same person that isn't quite eleven-months-old and won't sleep in his own bed for more than a few minutes at a time tonight.

Everyone was delighted, including him!

Hand in Hand

Young Men (for Peter), Boy Scouts (for Peter and Cooper), Cub Scouts (for me), and Activity Days (for Phoebe) all take place at the same time, which makes Wednesdays late nights for us. After we get home the boys inevitably want a snack and sometimes have homework to finish. It was nearly 9:30 when the boys finally fell into bed last night.

Usually Bryan does bedtime while I take care of Topher, and sometimes I'll take care of the girls routine and maybe even Cooper's if Bryan is working late, but I rarely tuck Peter in. Last night though, Topher was asleep when we got home so I tucked the big boys in.

When I do bedtime with the three middles I have them pick a song, then I hold their hand and sit on the edge of their bed while I sing to them. I did that for Cooper last night, he asked for Hush Little Baby, or the mockingbird song as he calls it, his usual choice. Then I asked Peter the same question. He asked for the moon song, I Don't Want to Live on the Moon from Sesame Street, his favorite from when he was small. I settled down on the edge of his bed and started singing.

That's when something unexpected happened. As I sat, holding his hand, I had a flashback to when Peter was still an only child. When he was a one-year-old he and I took many walks through the Provo neighborhoods around our apartment, his small chubby hand in mine. Then I came back to the present, singing the song I'd sung so many times before, his hand in mine. Except now, my hand is the small one. Tears filled my eyes and I had to slow down the song a few times to keep my emotions from over powering the singing.

When I finished Peter said he was glad he wasn't a typical teenager who was too cool to hug his mom, then he gave me a big hug.

Oh Peter, I'm glad too.

Delayed Response

Sophie is strong. She's so strong that she's often rougher than she intends. She's also what might be termed a helicopter sister. She hovers over Topher to the point that the poor boy can't move around to play. I think most of my time these days is spent telling her to give him space and let me be the mom. Unfortunately, some of this hovering and roughness combine and Topher ends up the recipient.

Sophie usually sits next to Topher in the van, while Phoebe and Cooper sit in the back row. Yesterday morning as we waited for the school bus to arrive, after another burst of aggressive affection from Sophie, I told her that she and Phoebe were switching seats in the van so she would no longer be within reach of Topher. She was visibly distraught and pleaded for another chance. I reminded her that she had several chances each day. If she wanted to sit by Topher then she would need to be gentle with him.

Her reply? She took a deep breath, calmed her tears, then said, "I'll be gentle to Topher. Starting tomorrow."

The Swing of It

The Living Bread

One of the perks of being in a small ward is that our kids often get the opportunity to write talks and speak in Primary. Phoebe had one of those chances yesterday. Her assigned topic was "Something you learned from Come Follow Me this week," which ended up being very stressful for her. We talked through lots of different options, but ultimately she figured out her topic from reading the chapters of scripture for the week. She wrote ninety-seven percent of this talk, I did marginal editing and some suggesting. And Peter typed some of it up for her, which I thought was very sweet.

Oh, and she did a fantastic job delivering it. The very rowdy Primary kids calmed right down and listened to her.

Jesus is the living bread.

In John chapter 6 we read about the feeding of the 5 thousand. One day Jesus was walking and five thousand men, not counting the women and the children, came to him because of the miracles they had seen him do. Jesus asked his Apostle Philip where they could buy bread for these people to eat?

John verse 7 says, Philip answered him, two hundred Pennies worth of bread is not sufficient for them for every one of them will only take a little. That means they didn't have enough money to buy food for everyone. And another Apostle, Andrew, said there is a little boy here who has five loaves of bread and two fishes. But they are so little among so many. And Jesus said make the men sit down and there was lots of grass for the men to sit on and they sat. And the disciples brought the bread and fish to him and after he had given thanks and blessed the bread and the fish he gave it to his disciples who gave it to the men. And they ate and were filled. And Jesus said to his disciples gather up the fragments so that they will not be lost. And the next day the five thousand found him again and they wanted him to feed them again. John chapter 6 verse 35 says And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger: and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. That means if we follow Jesus we will be blessed and if we believe in Jesus we will be blessed even more. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.