Mom Remembers

Soren was assigned to read Helaman chapters 10 and 11 (of the Book of Mormon) in school this week.  This is the story of Nephi receiving power from God to do practically anything.  (He prays for a famine, hoping that it will teach the people humility.  It works.) After reading the story, Soren gave me a great narration: SOREN: In this chapter, Nephi receives root permission.  He can do anything.  The root user can even destroy the whole system with just six commands.

Sven has been talking about his upcoming birthday for two months.  He knew it was in March and asked me almost every day how far away March was.  And when March came, he became even more impatient. 1. We ended up having an unbirthday the Monday before to hold him over.  He had woken up that morning, very upset that it was still February and that his birthday was so  far away.  So I sang him the unbirthday song and we made cupcakes for Family Home Evening. 2. His Grandma and Grandpa came up the Friday before and took us out to Monkey Joe's for pizza and jumping.  That's always a good time.  It was especially fun because Grandpa was passing out quarters for the arcade games.  The boys jumped for hours while I talked with my parents and we passed Leif around.  I loved watching Sven run after the big boys, jumping where they jumped and sliding where they slid.  He has gotten so capable in the last year. 3. My parents bought a headboard...

Leif made the switch this week.  You know: the switch to walking. He took his first steps in January.  I didn't see them; I was teaching Sunday School and he was with his beloved Nan.  But he was happy enough to repeat the feat given marshmallows as an incentive. After that, "walking" became a game Leif and Scott would play almost every night while I made dinner.  But Leif would try to get away with as little walking as possible.  He would crawl to Scott, then climb up his pant legs and try to reach the marshmallows from the safety of that grip.  It usually worked so he didn't have much reason to improve. The cutest thing about the process this time was watching the way Sven and Carl responded to Leif's attempts.  Carl liked to playing "walking", too and would offer whatever bits of snack might tempt our little toddler.  We would all laugh whenever Leif clawed up Carl's pants; it seemed like they would both knock over!  As Leif got bett...

They say that later-born children have skinny photo albums.  While parents lavish attention on the firstborn (making certain to record every milestone and in both print and pixels), later children are forgotten and neglected.  So the common wisdom goes. Maybe its true.  There are certainly fewer posts on this blog about the younger boys than there were about the older ones.  And there's no doubt about it: fewer photos are taken now-a-days.  I don't even want to talk about videos.  Poor neglected Leif.  According to the records, he's hardly even a presence in this house. Except that's not true. The paucity of posts and pictures does not reflect an absence of affection.  It does not speak to my feelings about living with children at all.  I find them no less delightful and amazing than I did eight years ago when I first began my mothering journey.  If anything, the little ones delight me even more now.  I know better how to enjo...

Toddlers make me smile.  One of the really fun things about them is the things they say.  They imitate the big people in their life and for some reason that's funny.  (And endearing, which Scott would say is a survival mechanism.) Sven has been in rare form lately.  He's always listening but he doesn't always understand what's going on around him.  It comes out later, which gives me insight into the aspects of family life that are most salient to him. What he has revealed shouldn't surprise me: our family life revolves around our homeschool.  Even though a good portion of schooling happens during his independent playtime and his naptime, Sven still uses the lingo.  He wants to be a part of that most demanding part of my life and it makes me smile. Some of the things he has said: * while coloring at the table: "I'm doing my math." * after a bedtime story:  "Mom, can you give me a narration for that story?" * commenting on his brothers...

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...

I fried SPAM for the kids this morning.  Unfortunately, I fried it a little longer than they like.  It was slightly toasted on one side, which is perfect for me but is "burnt" to them.  They know they are not allowed to complain about the food but Carl always likes to comment anyway.  He used his most cheerful voice to pay me a false compliment: CARL:  Wow!  This SPAM is really well cooked! SOREN:  Yeah, it has carbon on it.  That's because SPAM is organic. Thanks, boys.