Self Care

When the kids discovered that they didn't have school this last Monday, they made a plan. With great excitement the girls announced they would be having a spa day. Not one to miss out on the action, Cooper declared his intentions to join them. They began with cool face cloths and cucumbers on their eyes, plus some meditation.

Then they took turns using bath bombs and soaking in the tub. Sophie and Cooper added calming music and nature sounds to the mix while Phoebe was in the bath. As I took this picture Sophie said, "Oh Mom, you should do this every night, it's so relaxing."

After they were all fresh and clean and relaxed they had a tea party, because that felt like the right way to end a spa day.

ABC Summer

During the summer of 2018 a friend posted on Facebook that she and her kids were having an ABC Summer, choosing adventures and activities for each letter of the alphabet. I was looking ahead to 2019, the next summer, already gathering ideas for what we might do. I knew that Sophie would be starting kindergarten that fall and I decided that an ABC Summer would be a perfect way to ring in her school career.

Instead of planning things on my own, I enlisted the kids. I printed out a list of all the letters and asked each child to write down an activity they wanted to do for each line. I told them we wouldn't be able to do everything they asked for (no trips to Utah, no elephant riding), but we would do as much as possible. Then I complied a list that we hung on the wall. We spent the summer marking off adventures.

What did we do during the summer of 2019?

• Applebees
• Arcade

• Blue Mountain
• Board Game Day
• Christmas in the summer
• Crafting
• Cake Making
• Dance party
• Engineering day
• Farm visit

• Gardening
• Gaga Ball
• Going to a garden

• Holiday day (This was possibly the best activity we did all summer. We celebrated as many holidays as possible in one day. We started with a New Year's Day sign, then read a book about Martin Luther King Jr while we ate a Valentine's Day breakfast of pink oatmeal. Then we dressed in green for St Patrick's Day and had a treasure hunt instead of an Easter Egg hunt for Easter. I didn't take pictures of our hot dog lunch for the 4th of July, but I did capture our Halloween costumes which we wore to trick or treat to the bedroom doors. We wrapped up the long and fun day with listing what we were thankful for, a variation on Christmas dinner, and a list of New Year's resolutions for the rest of the year.)

• Hide and seek
• Hill Cumorah Pageant

• Happy challenge
• Hiking

• Ice Cream party
• Inside tunnels
• Jacobsburg Park

• K friends
• Kindness challenge
• Library

• Laser Tag
• Movie day
• Museum

• Martin Guitar tour

• Mall
• Mom playdate
• Nickelodeon Watching
• Niagara Falls

• Optometrist
• Ophthalmologist
• Orthodontist
• Park

• Pool
• Queen for a day
• Ropes Course

• Somersault practice
• Shopping
• Swimming
• Sleeping in
• Temple visit

• Train

• Treasure Hunt
• Tree climbing
• Up and down jumping
• Ultimate Workbook Party
• Upside-down Pineapple Cake Making (This was Sophie's suggestion, I thought it was a clever use of the letter U.)

• Video Games
• Ventriloquist
• Whitefield Museum

• X-ray (dental)
• X-ray (hand)
• Yummy treats

• YouTube watching
• Zebra (sibling in a costume) riding

It was a full and fun summer.

The Recap, Part Two

A few final thoughts about General Conference occurred to me after I published my post on Friday. One was about Peter. Of all the kids, he used his Conference Notebook the least. At first I was a little bummed by this. After all, it's a fun tradition that we have. Instead of coloring the squares in his Conference Bingo, he would put a little x in each square, and he really didn't touch any of the other pages. But then I realized why he wasn't using it. He was focused on the speakers. He even asked the younger kids to be quiet so he could hear. He wasn't taking notes, but he did appear to be making mental notes. I was surprised by his maturity and focus.

The other thing that stood out to me about Conference was that the leaders of the church wore masks and practiced social distancing. There were several wide shots that showed their chairs spread out, masks on the participants. We have so few people in our area, including in our church congregation, that wear masks around other people. As I watched the example of the church leaders I kept having the thought, "We should be following the prophet. Why aren't we following the prophet?"

The Recap

I tried to narrow my favorite talks from General Conference down to three, and I just couldn't do it. There were too many that spoke directly to me. They include (but are not limited to since I'm sure I'll discover more as I listen to them again):

• We Will Prove Them Herewith by David A. Bednar
• Eyes to See by Michelle D. Craig
• Love Your Enemies by Dallin H. Oaks
• Finding Joy in Christ by Steven J. Lund
• By Union of Feeling We Obtain Power With God by Sharon Eubank
• Embrace the Future With Faith by President Russell M. Nelson
• Watch Ye Therefore, and Pray Always by M. Russell Ballard
• Seek Christ in Every Thought by Ulisses Soares
• Let God Prevail by President Russell M. Nelson
• Do Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God by Dale G. Renlund
• Waiting on the Lord By Jeffrey R. Holland

Wow, that's actually more talks than I expected. Topher's nap fell during the morning session both days, so I was able to sit and listen without chasing anyone and it was lovely and apparently I heard more than I usually do. There were several themes, including being prepared, the Second Coming, and denouncing racism, all of which I loved. The theme that stood out the most to me was that we need to love our neighbors, and everyone is our neighbor. I think that's especially important to remember right now.

Chef Sophie

 

Awkward

Tonight I attended an outdoor Young Women activity (I'm the advisor for the younger class). As I awkwardly tried to participate from the periphery, they painted pumpkins and generally behaved as if there was not a global pandemic currently going on, mine the only mask in sight. Did I mention it was awkward?

When the painting was finished, they all gathered around a fire pit and talked. Some of the Young Women started complaining about how their backs and knees were so tired and sore. One of them said, "I know! Technically I'm 17, but my knees are old, like 40 or something!"

And that's when I called out from my socially distant spot on the darkened lawn, "Yay 40!"

It was awkward.

Put Your Back Into It

 

The Kickoff to Our Holiday Season

I loved General Conference. Really, truly loved it. I always love it, but this time my soul felt filled and uplifted to an extra degree. There were so many talks that directly answered questions that I'd been pondering for our family and for the world.

The weekend started with Miss Sophie coming into my room at 6:45 and declaring, "Happy General Conference!" After I had a chance to wake up and get moving. I made our traditional waffle brunch and we settled in to be edified.

The first session each day fell during Topher's nap, which worked out nicely.

But when he was awake, he was an active little man. He did sit and listen for some of it, and he enjoyed scribbling in his Conference notebook, so that's something. He also spent a lot of time trying to sneak one of Phoebe's nice school crayons (that she was using during the sessions) away without her notice. He's not quite as stealthy as he imagines.

Phoebe and I ate our traditional ice cream and loved the women's session.

And then I just stopped taking pictures on Sunday, but we still watched Conference, even without the photographic proof.

Ready, Set, Go!

I finished prepping the General Conference notebooks tonight and we have the food we need for our traditional breakfast tomorrow. For the whole last week Sophie has squealed with delight each time she's remembered Conference is this weekend. And we've talked as a family about prayerfully bringing a question into the weekend and listening for an answer.

We are ready for General Conference!

Aging Gracefully

"Mom, why is your face so soft? (touching my cheek) Actually, no. (touching her cheek) My skin is so soft, yours is all bumpy. Why is it like that? Is it because you're getting older? (while giving me a big, loving hug and laughing) I ask funny questions." -Sophie, having a one-sided conversation with me and responding to my changing facial expressions.