Winds of Change

 

Spencer just got home from his first scout camp today. They chose not to go to a council ran camp this year and did a canoe trip. Long story short their canoe trip ended early from unforeseeable circumstances and ended at a lake. Spencer had so many stories to share and I witnessed it through his deacon aged eyes. I got a tear in my eye at his innocence knowing that in a few short years he will be one of the older ones setting the example for the younger ones. I wish he could be a little boy forever. I remember when he was first a Bobcat and how darling he looked in uniform. I got to experience his growth as a den leader and cub master. Again I see that sweetness in him that will shortly be replaced with eyes of an experienced youth. In my biased opinion...how lucky those younger boys will be. I have gratitude this evening for two reasons: How grateful I am for the good leaders that brought him safely home, and how grateful I am to be the person this boy calls Mom.

And it still fits!!!!!

 

This post is for all my Medford homeys. Last week I went to Julie Robinson's bridal shower and Kristi Bennion told us how she had this fabulous idea to get her wedding pictures redone...not as in touched up...as in retaken...now....18 years later. She told her photographer friend she wanted to do this and after a lot of crazy looks and Kristi modeling her dress for her she simply stated..."Not in that dress!" Next thing we knew Kristi came fluttering downstairs in her gorgeous but dated dress. I could hardly hold my camera still from laughing and I think Melissa wet her pants helping Kristi get out of her dress. You gotta love our Krazy Kristi.

Dad

Mike Neville and I were working out in the orchard one Saturday after our soccer game. The advantage of being the family whose turn it was to pick up kids after the soccer game was that there was often an uptick in manpower for Saturday chores. Sure your friend can come over and "Play". Ask Scott Charles and Mike Rose about such indenturement. No wonder I had so few friends. The project was to reset the east fence of the orchard effectively changing the boundaries of the orchard. We had just finished digging a new post hole for the old post to get reinserted. After digging about the old post to the point where we could see that is should be set free we exerted ourselves to free the post from the old location. The job of getting that post out proved too difficult even with the combined strength of two 10 year olds boys. I don't know why but neither one of us wanted ask dad for help. It was an unspoken understanding. So we continued to dig and pull and dig and pull tell one of us broke down and said "dad, its to hard." Dad nonchalantly walked over and upped it out of there before we could spell 'job satisfaction'. The ease in which he accomplished this caused us pause and then Mike breathed, "but, not for Dad's".

Jus

Right click..Save

Being a mom is hard. So much of myself is wrapped up in my children I have a hard time remembering what it was like to just be me. A time when my biggest worries were what to wear, rather than what to wear that won't show my one year olds' snotty remnants on my shoulder. A time when I could leisurely shop for things I want rather than I better hurry up and grab a few outfits because my kids have almost devoured the slurpee and popcorn at Target. That window is oh so short. Last night I had one of those mothering moments that I wish I could right click...save for the hard times ahead. I took on my friends challenge to read the Book of Mormon this summer before school starts. Part of me was like Jacque, get real, you can't even read the t.v. guide cover to cover let alone the Book of Mormon in 3 short months. The other part of me was try it...think of how accomplished you would feel if you did it. I felt like a cartoon with the little angel and devil on each shoulder. I decided to commit and I tried to read last night downstairs while the kids were watching a movie. Yaaa, a lot of inspiration going on there. I quietly went up to my room and began reading again. As I read the story again of how Lehi and his family left Jerusalem I was reminded of a video my dad showed me at Christmastime showing the path that Lehi and his family took into the wilderness. It showed evidence of how Lehi's trek followed the merchants trail almost exactly and where the land Bountiful most likely was located. I was fascinated as I was pouring into my scriptures when all of a sudden my 7 year old Lindsay walked in. I wanted to shoo her away but I let her climb on my bed. My twelve year old son came in and again I wanted to send them all to bed but I let him in. Next thing I knew Lindsay was quietly reading the Friend magazine and Spencer was snuggled up on my legs reading the Book of Mormon also. As hard as it is to see them grow, the times like these where you see the fruits of your labors make it bareable....almost

A view haloo! & A Happy Father's Day to You!

OK Jac--where's that from? (cuz I can't remember) The next line is "view haloo, oh yes, definately" or something like that!
Jacque called earlier in the week to do a little Bringhurst brainstorming. We were trying to remember some favorite "dad" moments. I gave her a few, but decided to adopt the notion and submit my own. So, in honor of my dad on his day, here are some of my favorite memories: (realizing that I have dad's memory, so cut me some slack!)
(As I thought of them this week, I saw how many of these dadisms I have adopted as my own)
*We could always find a package of Dentyne gum in dad's suit coat pockets in his closet.
(and likewise, my children know where to go looking for the package of Trident in my purse)
*As luck would have it, I got sit on dad's left hand at the dinner table (how were those seating arrangements decided anyway?) and so profited from his butter-soaked potato peels! Mmmm...
(I especially miss those now because Naoki thinks potatoes are war-time food, so I don't make them as often as I would like.)
*One of my favorite all-time dad spoofs was when we pulled up to our "new" fixer-upper house in Oregon. Not one of us questioned him out loud for fear of hurting his feelings! Inwardly, we thought he'd lost his mind.
(In hindsight, I might've enjoyed the geographical location as my Jr. High best friend would've lived right across the street.)
*I also remember dad patiently teaching each of us to drive. That's where I learned what a "rolling stop" was and let me say...I'm really good at them now! I think of him almost every time I do one. Stopping is for sissies!
*Two of the most frequent phrases out of dad's mouth were "a place for everything and everything in it's place". (my updated version of that is (would you put your cotton-pickin' stuff away already?!!) AND "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when your perfect in every way..." (And I married a man who sings "I am handsome, I am smart! I am a walking work of art!")
A couple more:
*We have a young man in our ward who reminds me of Brian Charles and I can't look at him without remembering how dad always wanted us to hook up. (He was just lacking the Asian persuasion I was waiting for.:)
*Another funny memory was dad cranking the William Tell Overture to get us out of bed in the morning, which was preceded by some very real cow sound-effects. Remember Polly and Daisy answering back?
*Finally, my most often repeated dad story is how my dad never wanted me to go out for soccer because it was too rough for his "little girls"--"Why not try water ballet?" Well, even now living in the state of water sports (swim team, diving, water polo)--there IS NO WATER BALLET! (And yet, when I went out for the soccer team anyway at age 15--he never missed a game.
So there it is. I wish I had been blessed with a little more of dad then just his lousy memory and an unparalleled ability to pack a van for vacation! I wish I had an ounce of his patience. I can't even survive a 4 year old let alone whatever teenage nonsense awaits me. I have to remind myself constantly to take the work hat off and put the fun hat on. I'm truly grateful for you dad. Moreso as I try and teach my kids some of the same lessons I found so difficult to learn. I'm grateful that I married a man that reminds me of you daily. It makes you not feel so far away. Happy Fathers Day! Love, Jen

Super Heroes

 

Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can...

 

They can leap from death defying heights...

 

tame ferocious beasts...

 

who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men...the Shadow knows!!!!

Happy Father's Day!!

I have contemplated for a long time what to do for my dad for Father's Day. I could just go and buy something...an impersonal object to relieve my guilt. It is hard to know what to get someone that lives so far away, and have this object express your most sincere love. I already blew Mother's Day because we had been on our vacation and getting back into the swing with seven people to care for took weeks. So I wanted to do better this time. I decided to share how I won the lottery. The Dad lottery. I decided to ponder the ways he influenced the person I am today.
1. I loved when I would be feeling not so special, he would hold me on his lap and rub my foot while he sang "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi(sp?)" or sing such beloved folk songs as "Where have all the Flowers gone?, "Lemon Tree", Ol' Stu ball was a race horse", and "Hangman". No, it wasn't a Primary song but I felt the love.
2. I loved when we would drive through the night to Utah and I could switch seats with Mom and listen to Tchaikovsky's 1810 Overature, or Neil Diamond and he would share his sacred Ritz crackers or Fig Newtons with me. Soul Food moments!
3. My Dad always had these phrases that became family jokes that have wormed their way into my home. Our kitchen table was the train and we couldn't get down until the train stopped. Mom always put raspberries in jello and I guess it wasn't a favorite so Dad told us that raspberries made our muscles grow. After gulping down our jello we ran to have dad check our growing muscles. Whenever we argued dad told us to argue about snow. That lasted about 5 seconds until we gave up. I guess it worked. Snow wasn't very fun to argue about.
4. I loved daddy daughter dates, but my favorite was a Dodger game. To this day pro baseball is my favorite to watch.
5. A big reason I loved to be feminine was because of my dad. On business trips to San Francisco he always stopped at the Gunne Sax outlet to buy us a new church dress. He helped teach me the importance of being a virtuous young woman. I remember being upset because I had no figure and no boyfriends and I was sure I was the most awkward girl on the planet. Dad told me that I was like a spring flower who was just beginning to blossom. All of my friends that I referred to already had blossomed. When it was time for boys to call on me I would be a new flower among old ones. I often thought of that analogy when boys ignored me "Just you wait" I thought, " I am going to be a beautiful flower and you'll be sorry!" It may seem silly but it made me feel less pathetic...thanks dad!!
6. I remember being in track. I enjoyed the practices but I hated the meets because I knew I was going to lose every time. I used to tell my parents not to come because I did not want them to see me be such a loser. Before each local race I could see my dad out of the corner of my eye. His presence quietly cheering me on. I wanted so bad not to come in last place. A few times I did not, and I am glad he was there to see it.
7. At 17 I got in a car accident. It was the fault of both parties. She was speeding but I could have avoided it. I was ashamed and frightened. I knew I was so very busted. I could not face my Mom at this time. I had them call Dad at work. He came and passed no judgement. I think he knew I was already beating myself up inside. He offered quiet wisdom even though I am sure he wanted to wring my neck. He took the path less traveled and ignored the feelings of the flesh...anger, disappointment. I felt none of it and learned everything from it.
8. I learned ways a man can appreciate his wife. My dad truly loved my mom's cooking. It may have not been that way from day one, but that is how I remember it. My mom is an amazing cook...I am not kidding...amazing. I saw my dad appreciate all of it. I knew I wanted my marriage that way. If only he appreciated it a bit more and did the dishes more often than Christmas and Easter!
9. My dad honored his priesthood responsibilities. He was a faithful home teacher to those who were difficult to home teach. He served his callings with diligence. He truly had a love for others.
10. My dad has an appreciation for the finer things. We were brought up to appreciate classical music. I remember when he brought home something called a compact disc player. He played us a C.D. called Round up. It has music for all the great western movies. It began with cows mooing and the sound of cowboys trying to round them up when all of a sudden our home was filled with William Tell's Overature (Lone Ranger music). We thought for sure our cows got out it sounded so clear. I loved it when my dad came home from work because he would turn on Bach, Mozart, or Rachmoninoff. I loved that music. He also made sure our summer vacations were well rounded. Yes we would make our yearly trek to Utah to see Grandma's and Grandpa but we would make a huge detour and see the Grand Canyon, Canada and Glacier National Park, we would see Yellowstone and Yosemite, Mesa Verde and Jackson Hole. Those trips could not have been easy...ask Mom, but what country we have seen.

The biggest most influential thing my dad did was to marry my mother. None of the above things would have been possible without her love and support. Dad, you are so many miles away but by being in my heart makes you so close. Thank you!!!!!

Love Cricket

Oldie but Goodie

 

I came across these pictures a while ago and I don't know how to scan in properly like Trina but here you go. This is a picture of Daniel Pedersen and Breanna when they were 3 and 4. They are reading a bible that Brea's Great Aunt gave her at birth. They sat there for the longest time. So cute!!

Summer Time!!

 

My oldest, Spencer had his 6th grade promotion and will now be headed off to Jr. High. Yikes! The older he gets the older he makes me feel. It was fun to see him get the Pioneer Award for attending 7 years at ALE.

 

Halley had her own Graduation from preschool. For the past two years me and four other Mom's have each taken a rotated week of preschool in our homes. Halley has loved it and still asks if preschool is really over or if we are just pretending. She has one year at home before kindergarten so we will have to keep busy doing other things.

 

I enjoyed going to the last assembly of the year because the energy was electric. The principal promised the kids that if as a school the adverage score for Accelerated Reading stayed at 85% or better she would dress up as Elvis at the last assembly. Staying true to her word she walked in as Elvis as sang "You ain't nothin' but a houndog" very off key. It was hilarious and a fun reward for these hardworking kids. Lindsay walked away with her 150 point award for reading and the Presidential Award for Fitness. I have to brag because Lindsay was pulled out of class every day for a special reading group last year because her skills were under developed compared to others in her class. She shined this year and read enough books and scored high enough on her tests to reach 150 points. Not an easy task when your books are only worth .5 points when you score 100% on the test. Yeah L.J.

Celebrate good times Come on!

 

It was not warm enough to swim but the kids are tired of our fair weather June and got in anyways

 

Evan Sean hangin' with Uncle Sean. I predict Marble Mountain buddies some day.

 

The kids sent Evan a floating tribute to his birthday. Cute

 

We closed the festivities with smores and silly stories around the fire. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Happy Birthday Evan

 

I can hardly believe my baby is one today. I cannot express the joy he is to our family. As a mother I felt very worn after one boy and then three girls in a row. I loved my children but I could not think about having another one. My life felt difficult enough yet I could never come to grips with being done having children. After much soul searching I knew that my family was not yet complete. When we found out we were having another boy after so long we were so excited and I knew that he was the reason I never felt finished. Ever since he entered our lives we have enjoyed him so much. I am such a different mother now at 34 then I was at 22 (sorry Spencer). It is not the age that has done it, it is what has happened between those years. I have felt over the years the Lord gently molding my character to try to be a mother my children can admire. When I see what wonderful mothers my friends are I am reminded how much I still need to learn, but how moldable I have become. I love you Evan. I love your darling laugh. I love how much you like to make your brother and sisters laugh, you are such a clown. I love how quickly you settle down when I sing to you. I love your fake cry when you want me to notice you. I love your smell, your breath, your kisses.
Mommy

My little Yeti

Does anyone else see the resemblance here? I know Bigfoot is usually seen in the Pacific Northwest, but I think the ones in Virginia are more cute.

Together Time

When Alice and Laura play nice I like to capture the moment. Alice was giving Laura "pony rides" on her scrawny little back. The part they loved the most was falling down.

Table Rock

 

I got to hike Table Rock with Spencer's 6th grade class. I have not hiked it since I was in the 4th grade. Here is my favorite the "blue eyed Mary"s"

 

We Made It!! The view was gorgeous and I loved being there with my boy. I was a bit amazed when he hugged me and told me how glad he was that I came.

 

The frogs had to be a highlight of the hike. These frogs were everywhere. You had to watch that you didn't squish them. They were so dang cute.

Dancin' Queen

 

Brea joined dance this year and I have seen her blossom into a beautiful girl

 

Here she is with Hannah Whitney. I was so proud of these two girls who chose to wear a t-shirt under their spaghetti strapped dance outfit. They admit it was a little awkward but they were proud of their decision. It reminds me of the scripture Job 28:18 "...for the price of wisdom is above rubies."

Some Fav's

 

I had to share a few favorite pics that make me smile. If you arrive at the Magic Kingdom for opening you get to see Pixie Dust fly. My girls got so excited they dropped to the ground to save it while throngs of people try not to run over them. I stille have some Pixie Dust on my dresser to remember their childlike glee.

 

There was a time when my kids rode Big Thunder Mt. over and over because the line was so short and I wandered off to take a few pics. How cute is that frog.

 

We were at Epcot during the Spring and garden fair and I was able to capture that cute butterfly

 

I promised in an earlier blog to post Evans reaction to Sorceror Mickey. To this day he loves "Kkkk!" Mickey Mouse.