Mom Remembers

Yesterday was Michaelmas, the holiday that (as Soren put it) "no one celebrates but us."  I think that's one of the things I love about it.  Since no one I know celebrates Michaelmas, there is no commercial pressure attached to it.  That means that the only expectations are the ones we create ourselves. I asked the boys in family council on Sunday which traditions were most important to them, so we could be sure to meet their expectations.  Thankfully, no one said "presents!"  So there weren't any.  The traditions that were mentioned were:    1. checking out dragon books from the library    2. decorating the house    3. making dragon bread    4. sharing the scripture story in Family Home Evening We did those things so--hooray!  Expectations met. I have my own personal expectations, of course.  I like to tell my Kindergarten story of St. Michael and the star children.  I like to sing songs abou...

Oh, how I welcomed Midsummer with open arms this year!  I was ready for summer: no school means time to write, time to plan, time to swim, and time to rest.  The kids went with wide-open eyes into our media fast and I had a plan to teach them lots of skills and chores.  I love that summer is unique in all the year; at least for stay-at-home moms and kids, it is a gift of time large enough to explore different skills and new ways of being. And, of course, we kicked off summer with our traditional camping trip.  Here's a recap: 1. We went somewhere new this year: Lake Le-Aqua-Na.  It's a man-made lake in Lena, hence the silly name.  I find it ironic that even though I associate Midsummer with the desert, we will probably always camp near water now that we live in Illinois.  The fun thing about choosing a campsite this year was that we made it an item of business for our (newly-formed) family council.  We voted not to return to Apple River, th...

I have been blessed in the last year by many experiences that are spiritual in nature.  My faith in God and His miracles has grown as the voice of His Spirit has testified to me.  I know better than before of the reality of an unseen world and the love that reaches out to me from that place. Because of that growth, Easter held extra meaning for me this year.  Christ's triumph is real  to me--and so is the hope I felt this season.   Hallelujah . Our family's celebrations this year included: 1. Soren and I kicked off the season by watching the world's largest virtual Hallelujah chorus , a project produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  That was an amazing way to get into the celebratory spirit. 2. This was our first Easter in our own home.  We set up the Easter table in the dining room.  This is one of my favorite traditions: we decorate a table with symbols that remind us of Christ and keep a candle burning there in t...

I have been looking forward to Christmas at my parent's house for months.  My mom goes above and beyond when preparing to welcome company and, as a result, her home is the most comfortable place in the world. While looking forward to our visit, I was reminded of a very old talk given by Neal A. Maxwell that reminded me of my mom.  He said that "When we return to our real home, it will be with the 'mutual approbation' of those who reign in the 'royal courts on high.'  There we will find beauty such as mortal 'eye hath not seen'; we will hear sounds of surpassing music which mortal 'ear hath not heard.'  Could such a regal homecoming be possible without the anticipatory arrangements of a Heavenly Mother?" Yeah, my mom makes coming home feel like that.  And since it had been five years since I'd gone home for Christmas, my excitement for the holiday this year was almost as great as when I was a child. Here are some of my favorite mem...

Michaelmas came like a breath of fresh air this year.  It brought certain pessimistic ruminations to a screeching halt, reminding me once again that God is at the helm and His victory is assured.  Michael and his angels have fought and conquered the dragon once before; with the help of our Savior, we will do it again.  My faith is refreshed and my courage is bolstered. Here is what we did to celebrate: 1. Yesterday, we went apple picking at a my husband's sister's friend's grandma's house.  She has more apples than she can pick and so we took a bucket and brought home plenty for our needs.  The trees were so full, it only took about 10 minutes for the kids to gather enough good apples to fill two buckets.  Soren got the idea that he might like to sell some apples so he filled up his shirt, too. 2. Then, yesterday evening, Scott helped me make boffer swords.  They were surprisingly easy but used a lot more duct tape than I expected.  We...

I have long wanted our family's midsummer festival to be a celebration of balance.  My motto every year has been: "Just enough is more."  I have tried to pare back on the excess in my life and make more room for the simple pleasures. But this year, I took to heart more than I ever have before.  Something clicked and I finally "got it".  I was so excited to slow down and do less--not just for the weekend camping trip but for the whole summer!  Maybe even for my whole life. So I made a list of things that I was going to give up for Midsummer.  I wanted to make more time in my life by doing less stuff.  For starters, I was going to be done with homeschool after Midsummer, whether or not we finished our reading list.  Also, I was going to forgive my chore and blog post back log.  And I decided to take a break from potty training Sven and put him back in diapers for the summer.  Plus, midsummer marks the beginning of our media-free summer...

Easter this year butt up right against our family's impending move to Freeport, Illinois.  Although it would have been fun to celebrate newness of life in our own new home, I lobbied for the move to be postponed until the week after Easter.  I wanted to have time for reflection as well as resources for celebrating. Here are some of the things we did to mark the season: 1. On Palm Sunday, a week before Easter, the kids and I watched the Bible video on lds.org about Christ's triumphal entry .  Then we set up our Easter table and talked about our plans for the week. 2. On Monday night, we planned an Easter program that we would share with our dinner guests on the upcoming Sunday.  There would be music, stories, and scripture readings.  Carl and I spent the week practicing a solo he would sing ("It Shouldn't Be Hard").   3. Of course, we spent a lot of time that week cleaning and packing.  During all that time, our Easter candle burnt ...

This Christmas found me eight months pregnant and closing fast on my due date.  And with the break in normal activities afforded by our vacation in Illinois, I finally found time to prepare for my fourth son's impending birth.  It seemed like an appropriate focus for my own inner work during the season.  After all, Christmas is about the birth of a very special child. In my pondering, Mary's story became a potent allegory for my own situation.  Although she was unique among women, we have much in common.  The baby she carried was the Son of God, Himself a diety, with a sacred mission to perform.  The baby I carry is also a son of God with divine potential, one who has also been sent to earth with a purpose.  Is it sacrilege to compare my experience with that of the virgin Mary?  To feel like the birth of my son will, in some lesser way, grant our family the gift of " god with us "?   I am sure that, like me, Mary anticipated the good w...

More than in years past, I have been feeling very keenly the need to gird up my loins and take courage this Michaelmas.  Starting with the official onset of homeschool, I have been feeling intimidated by my own life choices and uncertain about my abilities.  Or, perhaps more accurately, I have been feeling weary of the work and wary of the knowledge that there is only more to come. It's not just the 18+ years of homeschooling ahead that I need to face with courage.  It is also the impending winter and cabin fever, the rest of this pregnancy, the addition of child #4, and the necessary but uncertain relocation of our family.  And so this season, I have been personally edified more than usual by the stories of courage, endurance, and divine assistance that I tell my children.  They have led me to acknowledge my weariness without abandoning my cause.  They have inspired me to lengthen my stride in preparation for the future.  And they have given me hope...

As Midsummer approached this year, I found myself thinking a lot about change.  The kind of change that John the Baptist advocated when he preached: " Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ."  The summer solstice, which fell on Midsummer's Day this year, is a turning point in the Earth's seasonal dance.  And I wanted to make it a turning point in my life.  A time to make a change that would help me "prepare ... the way of the Lord" and "make his paths straight". I prayed a lot in the days leading up to our Midsummer camping trip, hoping that I would have the change of heart I needed to make a change of habits .  I had a list of character defects and bad habits I felt particularly discouraged about and hoped that God would grant me the strength to be better.  He did just that but not in the way I was expecting. I didn't really feel like I was receiving an answer to my prayers.  I didn't feel confident about going out into the ...