My theory as to why our family is full of girls!

So we don't know yet whether Hillary and Andrew's baby is a boy or girl, but I think we are destined to have mostly grandaughters, with maybe a few grandsons mixed in.  Here is my theory as to why:

I think that, with our family anyway, the next generation is mostly the opposite, gender wise, of the family that the fathers grew up in.  For example, Reggie is from a family of 5 boys and 1 girl.  He and his brothers and sister all went on to have, collectively, 10 girls and 2 boys.  Lester is from a family of 3 boys, and now he is going on to have all girls so far.  Andrew is from a family of 3 boys and 1 girl and now he and Hillary have one daughter.  I think there is a very good chance that this next baby is a girl too.  And, Ross is from a family of 4 boys and 1 girl.  So, according to my theory, when Mariah and Ross are ready to have children, they will probably have girls.  

So, obviously only time will tell.  I could be totally wrong and maybe there are a whole bunch of grandsons waiting to join our family some day.  And with Samantha and Luke growing up and possibly marrying some day, both could be true: my theory and a whole bunch of grandaughters and grandsons waiting to join us.  Of course, any scenario is fine with us and exciting to think about.  I love the streak of saying "We have _______ grandaughters" with the number growing year by year.  But I can also imagine how exciting it will be when a grandson joins the mix.  

I know that we are becoming quite a big family.  Sometimes I look at Julia and Hillary and think "wow, they are really having their babies close together" and I worry about how challenging it will be.  But then I remember that Julia and Hillary were born even closer in age, at 17 months apart.  It was hard, but I loved it; it was a blast.  Working hard at something that you love is amazing.  And I hope that they are not looking at my mothering years and thinking that they have to do the same thing, or keep up.  But I'm sure that's not the case.  They have wonderful marriages and I know that they and their husbands are prayerfully making their own decisions about their own families. I watch Julia manage these 2 girls everyday while Lester is working hard at school and work, and I think she's doing a great job.  She has a lot of love and patience with her girls, and her own set of outlets to keep her sense of self and sanity.  And I know that Hillary, to her core, loves children and wants a big family.  We've talked about how busy she will be and how fulfilling her life will be whether she is able to have a lot of kids or just these two. And for the rest of our kids, who knows?  As long as they include prayer and inspiration as they plan their lives, everything will be great!

  

GRANDBABY #4 IS ON THE WAY!

WE ARE SO EXCITED!

 Audrey is too, you just can't
tell from this picture!

Here is a better picture, which Hillary and Andrew just put on facebook

as the official announcement.

One of my favorite moments from all the family being here in August was Audrey's first

birthday.  That is when Hillary and Andrew told Hillary's siblings and parents - 

you know, just the 13 of us. They wanted to wait to tell everyone else when things

were further along.  And now they are, and now we can be as excited on the outside

as we are on the inside! 

combined activities

Last night we had a combined activity with the youth, meaning the boys and girls met together.  One of the boy's leaders led us in an improv. night - you know, improvisational acting.  I am a little shy to join in on stuff like this, but I loved sitting back and watching the kids and other adults to it.  I was amazed that all of the kids volunteered multiply times - even our most quiet/shy kids.  It was also fun to see them interacting together.  Did I already mention that this calling of mine gives me the chance to watch how Luke interacts with the girls?  I enjoy that.  But all of them seem to have this comradery going on.  It was great to watch.  Our youth group is small compared to a lot in the church, but I keep thinking about the scripture that says "by small and simple things shall great things come to pass".  I think these kids are going to be doing great things with their lives.

music time

I always thought that I would never fall into the habit of bringing my work home with me.  After all, I am an aide in the classroom and so I don't have to do lesson planning, corresponding with parents, etc.  I have to hand it to all the teachers out there because I know that their work is still going long after the school day is over.  But, recently I have been distracted/working on a project at home that is for my work/for our classroom.  I am not one to instantly volunteer for things, but last year, to try to alleviate some of our teacher's work load, I offered to do music time for the class.  I have experience with this from being the primary chorister years ago at church.  So I've gathered together some of those songs (not the religious ones, of course) and spent a few hours looking up oldies-but-goodies preschool songs on I-Tunes.  I've made a couple of CDs and am now making posters and other visual aides to go with the songs.  It has been so much fun.  Some of the songs the kids respond to and try to play along.  Some of the songs they don't.  And, some of the time we think they don't respond to the songs until we hear them trying to sing them at recess.  It's adorable.  I think my favorite moment so far is when we combined this with an art project.  The teacher had the kids make suns out of paper plates.  We then cut out the middle and the kids held them up to their faces while we sang "You Are My Sunshine".  Their little faces are adorable!

But I do want to admit that this whole project is not totally altruistic on my part - JULIA & HILLARY DON'T READ THIS PART! - I am making copies of the CDs and mini versions of the posters and visual aids for my grandchildren for Christmas.

turned out great

Well, I am relieved to say that the activity went really well.  The Exploritorium is a fascinating place. I hope that in the middle of all the fun the girls will remember the spiritual thoughts that go with this activity.  We've been talking this month about knowledge, the importance of getting an education, and the importance of lifelong learning:

giving back; well, trying anyway

My absolute favorite memory of my teen years spent in the church youth program is when Bishop Christensen took all us kids on the ferry to Angel Island.  I remember the ferry ride, running around the island, sitting down for the sack lunches all of the leaders had made for us, and I remember the time we took to pause for a spiritual thought.  When the spiritual thought time came I remember first thinking "Oh, well played.  I thought this activity was just for fun, but then they slipped in a spiritual thought anyway."  But then I remember appreciating the message.  I remember being touched by the fact that the bishop's wife made each of us a plaque with the special scripture on it.  I kept that plaque on my wall for several years afterwards, even taking it to college with me.

So, now that I am one of the youth leaders I wanted to do something similar.  I wanted to do something totally fun with the kids, and slip in a spiritual thought to make it even better.  So back in January, when we were having a planning meeting, I suggested that we take the kids to Fort Point in the city.  Everyone was enthusiastic.  We did this - or I should say tried to do this - last month.  Several cars of us headed out from the church, and I just happened to have a car full of the kids who had never been there before.  I looked up the how-to-get-there directions in advance, but unfortunately THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO LIE! and we got horribly lost.  We ended up in the middle of the city driving around until I realized that even though I couldn't find 101 North again I kept passing signs for 101 South.  So I told the girls that we better just get on that freeway and head back.  I felt SO bad, but I knew it was time to get out while we could.  I called and apologized to the other leaders who had made it there and told them to have fun without us.  The girls and I had time to kill so we went to my house to watch a movie and then went out for ice cream before I took them home.  None of the parents were angry about it, and the girls were all good sports.  But I promised them that the next time we ventured out I would at least have a GPS in the car, or another adult, or both.  And actually, the church does encourage that you have at least 2 adults per activity/per group for a number of reasons.

So, tomorrow we are heading out again.  This time we are going to the Exploritorium in the city.  Reggie is going to drive our vehicle, serving as my GPS and second adult in the car.  I'm sure we'll make it there fine.  And I am very appreciative to the other adults who are helpful and understanding. I really hope it is a good memory for the girls, like Angel Island was for me.  I appreciate Bishop Christensen, his wife, and all the leaders I had even more.

favorites

Something funny, or maybe strange about our family is that we are always asking "who's your favorite?".  Okay, I take that back, my family (not me) is always asking "who's your favorite?":  "who's your favorite cousin?  who's your favorite uncle?  who's your favorite child, Mom?".  Of course I don't have a favorite child!  Okay, maybe I have a favorite actor or favorite movie, and I'm always telling Reggie that he is my favorite husband, but I don't have favorite children!  Keeping that in mind, here is one of our favorite new songs around this house.  Maybe my kids all secretly wish they were Kermit (or Constantine) the Frog.

So Julia, Hillary, Mariah, Samantha, Luke, Lester, Andrew, Ross, Addy, Audrey & Isla - I love you!

the Prodigal Son's brother

I've been thinking a lot about the story of The Prodigal Son.  We know that Jesus told this story/this parable to try to teach us all a lesson.  From my studies of the New Testament Jesus usually led us to the point of his parables but didn't state the obvious conclusion; he lets us ponder and hopefully understand the lesson for ourselves.  I love this way of teaching.  Our Savior was so wise; in my opinion he always chose his words very carefully.

I find all of His parables wise and beautiful.  But I am having a really hard time coming to terms with the story of the Prodigal Son.  As we know, in that story there are 2 brothers who have been given an inheritance; all that their father had to give, split evenly between the two boys.  One of the brothers stayed at home and worked hard, helped the family, etc.  The other brother left home and spent his time and money in riotous living.  After a while his inheritance was gone and he was a mess; homeless, jobless, he found himself sleeping with the pigs.  He then "came to himself" as the scriptures say and went home.  He went home with a humble attitude; he repented/apologized to his father and asked if he could stay there and work as a servant.  He did not ask for or expect to be given more money, etc.  The father was so happy that his son had come home.  I can only imagine how this father's heart must have been breaking and praying the whole time he was gone.  He was so happy to have his son back that he threw a HUGE feast/party/celebration to welcome him home.

When the hardworking, loyal brother came home and saw this he was not joyful too but was upset.  When his father asked him why he explained that he had been by his side, righteous, loyal, etc. the whole time but His father had never thrown a celebration for him.  The father's answer, or part of his answer to this loyal son was "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine".

So, I love the father's response and I hope it resonated in the loyal son's ears for the rest of his life.  Because I do feel for this brother.  Of course it wasn't right or good for anyone if he was jealous or wanted revenge on his prodigal brother.  But I hope that he did get expressions of love and gratitude and attention for the life he chose to lead.  I hope that he and his emotional needs were not ignored when his brother was gone, because the dad was constantly worried about the brother, or after the brother came back.  Because I can just imagine the father being so worried about losing his boy again that he may have done anything to keep him safe at home; I think it would be all too natural in that situation for the father to continue to give the prodigal son attention, trying to not expect too much of him, etc. because he didn't want him to leave, whereas he might have ignored the other brother because he felt secure with him and wasn't worried that he would leave.  I remember reading an article once about families of teenagers who had been taken out of the home because they tried to hurt themselves.  After they were returned to the home statistics showed that most parents were very nervous about enforcing any rules, giving the child any responsibilities, etc. because they were afraid of losing them.  But the therapists told the parents that as scary as it was, their teenagers needed rules and responsibilities and boundaries to truly feel safe.

Now, I do not mean to judge anyone, including the father of these two sons.  I truly believe that parent's have inspiration for their own children, more than the rest of us onlookers.  I have just been wondering if I, as a parent, have been guilty of not giving enough attention or acknowledgement to my children when they have been doing good.  I hope that I have not been guilty of spending all of my time and attention and prayers on my children when they are a worry to me, and not when they are a comfort to me.  I do think that the point of this parable was to teach us to not be jealous and to not keep score of what is fair, but to  rejoice when someone turns their life around.  However I still can't help but find another point to this story: that the prodigal son's brother needed to be praised and given acknowledgement and attention for the things he did right in his life.
 

wish her luck!

Well, on Monday Samantha starts college!  She will still be living at home, doing an online program through BYU Idaho called "Pathways".  It is a perfect fit for her.  It is a combination of weekday online classes and a once a week attendance class held at our church building.  It runs from now through mid-July and if she sticks with it, and does well, she will have her foot in the door for actually going away to BYU Idaho or continuing with online courses towards a bachelor's degree.

Samantha's dream, though, is to move to Salt Lake City to go to LDS Business college.  Even if that is what she chooses to do in the future, I'm sure that this Pathways program will still be worth it; still give her learning experiences that will prepare her to be out and on her own.

When Samantha was graduating high school a few months ago I thought I would be so excited.  But I found myself feeling very worried, not sure what her next step should be.  I am, and she is, now very happy with how things are working out.  She will not be alone everyday, while working on her classes and me and Reggie at work, because Julia and the babies are here too.  It has been such a great experience for Samantha to have the time to help Julia with the kids everyday.  And she has been able to work on other things that you don't necessarily learn in the classroom.  Things like cooking for herself and taking on more household jobs, etc.  It's funny because I have been thinking about a line from Anne of Green Gables where her best friend Diana is not allowed to take some extra, afternoon classes that are being offered.  She dejectedly tells Anne that "Mother says I need to learn how to run a household instead of pouring over books so much."  I know that we are all supposed to hate her mother for that, but I have to admit, learning how to run a household is an important thing that takes a lot of time and effort.  Luckily most girls today don't have to choose between education and home life.  And I think that, when Samantha does go away to school, she might be more prepared for real/independent life than any of the rest of us were at her age.

Honey - Do List

Last Friday Reggie came home from a long business trip.  If it wasn't for the frequent flyer miles Southwest gives him I think he would have just skipped the plane and flown in by his superhero cape!  He came right in and knocked out a bunch of things on the honey-do list.  We all appreciate him so much!

it's not too early to think about Christmas, right?

One great thing about this school year is that I've been getting all kinds of ideas for homemade Christmas presents for my grandaughters.  I started working on them Friday night and I know it will be a project that will take me until Christmas to complete.  This makes me very happy!  I don't have a lot of talent when it comes to arts or crafts or sewing; but I get very excited when I find something that I can do, that helps me enjoy and look forward to the holidays, .  So I stayed up till 2 in the morning - working on the projects while watching movies with the family - I outlasted everyone in the house.  It was a great start to the weekend.

And then, to make the weekend even better, the #1 thing on my priority list for Saturday was to go through our computer's picture files.  Our computer has been having issues and Reggie has been reviving it over and over again.  We both want to get every bit of life we can out of it before we try to replace it.  So, in order to make sure I don't lose any pictures once it does finally die, I went through the files and backed things up on the Snapfish website.  At least they will be there for me to develop when I find the time to scrapbook again.

Yoiiii

Actually, it is spelled with only one "i" but the computer keeps auto correcting when I spell it the right way.  But the point is, tonight Reggie and I went out to dinner with my co-workers and their spouses.  We went to a Ramen house/Japanese restaurant with the above name, owned by a sweet family at our school.  It was a lot of fun and the food was great!  I am not a seafood person, and even though most items on the menu contained fish, there was enough that didn't which made me happy.  I especially enjoyed the "goizos" - and I'm not sure that I am spelling that correctly, but it is like potstickers but better.  I also got the waffle-batter chicken strips which were delicious.  I never got the concept of chicken on top of waffles, but chicken dipped in waffle batter and then fried is wonderful.  Everyone else got something different and it all looked amazing.  I hope this family has a lot of success in their restaurant endeavors.

the early bird catches the wave

You know that fall is here when the weather turns gorgeous.  It was beautiful weather all labor day weekend long, and when running errands on Saturday I noticed that trying to go anywhere near the beach meant sitting in traffic.  Apparently everyone here gets the same idea when it is nice weather on the weekend - a holiday weekend at that.

So, with our labor day beach plans (Monday) we decided to go to Rockaway Beach early/mid morning.  Luckily there was no traffic, some parking left, and plenty of room on the beach.  We played in the sand and water, I worried as Luke and cousins ventured onto far away rocks during what was not necessarily low tide, and we climbed a mountain that connected one beach to another.

  The top of this trail puts you right next to the highway traffic and I could not believe how many cars were out there.  It was stop and go for hours for such a little town.  We were feeling pretty good about our day.

Often, when Reggie leaves on a business trip . . . . .

our household appliances decide to revolt/play hookie/quit on us.  That is happening right now.  I'm afraid Reggie has quite a Honey-Do list facing him when he comes home.  He knows that and, lucky for me, he still misses us!  This trip has taken him to Vermont and other beautiful places for about 2 weeks.  (It's been comforting having Lester here to keep us women and children safe.) I'm glad he is able to see other parts of our beautiful country and do a little sight seeing when he has time.  But he says there's no place like home, and I say there's no place like Reggie.  Because besides the random household things that break down, sometimes I do too.  When I am more sad or insecure or scared of life than I want to let on, Reggie is the one that makes it all better.  So here's a song: (love you and miss you Reggie!)