a little gust of wind

J didn't get a Spring break so while the kids and I were visiting my parents, he was at home. He called on Thursday asking where the camera was. It was a very windy day. Windy enough to pick up our trampoline and move it (or rather throw it). Unfortunately I had the camera with me so we couldn't capture the following quite as graphically as he would have liked.

Our trampoline used to be located here in this corner, on our side of the fence:

Thanks to the wind on Thursday it ended up over there, on the other side of our fence and across the street:

Now it looks like this:

Amazing but sad. So sad for our little trampoline. Although the kids have had a great time playing in the sand underneath it.

Easter at our house

On Monday our FHE lesson was about the comparison between the commercial aspects of Easter vs. it's true purpose and meaning. We decided to do all of the commercial stuff on Saturday and set Sunday aside to think about the Savior's atonement and resurrection. So Saturday morning we did Easter baskets and home egg hunt (we didn't want to brave the weather to go outdoors). We spent time together as a family and did things mostly around the house.

On Sunday, Amber and Marcus came over for dinner (how cute are they?).

After we ate we had a little lesson with resurrection eggs (instructions found here.) I've got to say that I really liked having all of the baskets, candy, and decorations put away Saturday night. I'm not sure the kids would agree, but for me it was nice to wake up Sunday morning and just be able to focus on the Savior without all of the extra stuff around as a distraction.

Easter fun at Grandpa and Grandmas!

For us, Spring break fell on Easter weekend so we spent Thursday and Friday at my parents. We had a great time!

Here the kids are decorating Easter Eggs.

My mom made a fun little game for us that she called "mummy bunny." She had a hollow plastic bunny that she wrapped up like a mummy and put inside a giant purple egg. She had written different actions that rhymed with mummy on strips of paper and put them inside the rabbit. First we had to unwrap the bunny and then took turns drawing out slips of paper and playing charades. We were doing things like scooting on our bummy, chewing gummy, pretending to eat a sour plummy. . . Pretty funny!

Grandma hid a basket for each of them. D didn't even bother to take his out of his hiding place before digging in.

Here are their baskets from Grandpa and Grandma. I didn't think to take a picture of all of them until they were empty. Aren't they darling though?

Appley Dappley

My mom loves Beatrix Potter, so every year for Mother's Day my dad would give her one or two (or sometimes 3 or 4) of Potter's books from us kids as her gift. My favorite was always Appley Dappley's Nursery Rhymes and I could recite them all at age 3. I loved to lay in bed with my mom and pretend I was actually reading them. At some point my mom made this little shoe house to go along with the rhyme (isn't it amazing? The door actually opens and they all fit inside). So while we were there over Spring Break I read the book to D (who loves the Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny stories) and we played with the house. It's always fun to share a little bit of my childhood with my kids!

praise when due

Once a month AJ and AP have a performance class for piano where they meet with the other kids who take from their teacher. They play songs they have been working on that month for each other. Besides the practice they get performing, it's an opportunity for them to appreciate and compliment each others' progress. AP's comments are usually something like, "you really played that with style," or "that was a good beat even if you did miss a note," or things along those lines, but he never tells anyone "good job." So this month he was giving these same kinds of compliments until Nicole did her piece. When she finished and it was his turn to comment he said, "That was really good. And I'm not just saying that because you're a girl and I like you. Because I don't like you. So don't any of you (as he looks each of the other students in the eye, giving Brock, the only other boy, an especially long hard stare) think that I do. She just really did a good job."

if you need a little squeeze. . .

On Valentines day I gave each of my kids a pad of post-its with a coordinating pen so they could leave love notes around the house. Never really took off. Then I came across some glass markers on clearance at Walmart that I knew they would love. I gave them each one and told them it would be fun to use them to leave each other messages on our mirrors. I laughed out loud when I walked into the bathroom and saw this message from AJ:

A little correction: come to find out AP is actually the one who wrote this. He just did it with AJ's marker. . . things are going to get confusing if they don't use their assigned color--ha!

Keep Perspective (for when I need a reminder)

An acquaintance, who has a special needs child significantly more impaired then my own, said to me "I know that [my child] will be in the celestial kingdom, but with [your son] I guess you don't have that assurance." It wasn't meant to be hurtful, but it was. I guess because that is something that troubles me; especially since as mothers and parents we work so hard to teach and guide our children, and our greatest desire for them is to make correct choices. It's such a worry and can be very painful when they don't. I look at how far we have come over the last several years and I am grateful. Truly. But it is a constant struggle. And I expect it always will be. For a time I was bitter that promised blessings didn't seem to be fulfilled, but I have learned that healing is a process and is not so much about having something taken away, but it is about things that are given such as understanding, peace, love and acceptance. I love this quote I found in the Ensign this morning:

"When someone has an ailment or an illness and they are healed as the result of a blessing, their faith is being strengthened. But for those who aren't healed but continue faithful, their faith is being perfected. The first is a faith-promoting experience. The second is faith-perfecting." Ensign, April 2011, pp 27

And a few other quotes that comfort me:

"A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?" (What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be? Lynn G. Robbins, April Conference 2011) "

. . .the Lord knows the end from the beginning and as the prophet Joseph declared, all things--past, present, and future--are and were with him 'one eternal now.' Perspective. PERSPECTIVE. God deals with pain through and by virtue of his infinite and perfect perspective . . .all we need to do for the time being is to seek through fasting and prayer for a portion of our God's perspective--his omni-loving patience, his long-suffering, his ever-open arms, and a glimpse of the big picture. Such a perspective will not only serve us well here, in the midst of our sufferings, but it will empower our souls and fashion us into the image of our Master, who is the personification of charity, or the pure love of Christ . . .And so we pray, we fast, we plead, and we implore. And, perhaps most important, we love those who wander, and we never, never give up hope. . . our Heavenly Father knows us one and all by name and knows perfectly our sorrows and our soul's deepest longings. . .there are righteous forces at work that are beyond our capacity to perceive or comprehend. I know with all my heart that, 'the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man [or woman] availeth much (James 5:16), and that in both time and eternity our God shall wipe away all tears." (When a Child Wanders, Robert L. Millet, pp )153-155

"Our prayers ought to be to see as God sees, to flip the switch in our minds so we may see things eternally. If we listen too often to the voices of the world, we will become confused and tainted. We must anchor ourselves in the spirit, and that requires daily vigilance." (On Earth as is is in Heaven, Patricia T. Holland)

love that little body

Remember how I said we have been sick all winter?! Well since Spring's not quite here, we're not in the clear yet. Friday afternoon I took D into the clinic because he was really coughing and wheezing, and having a hard time breathing and what do you know he has RSV. We had to get a flubulator (I mean nebulizer, but for the life of us we can't remember from one time to the next what the thing is called so it has become out little joke to come up with funny names for it) and are doing breathing treatments at home. All in all he's doing well and recovering quickly. He has a strong little body and here are some funny stories about that.

Friday morning we had to run to Costco (the refrigerator was truly bare) and D was not happy (when we left for the store he wasn't coughing or wheezing yet so I hadn't realized he was sick). He was really whiny and when he is tired or not feeling good he insists on sticking his hand up my shirt so he can put his hand on my bare belly (I figure it goes back to when he was nursing because he always rested his hand on my tummy so it must still comfort him). Well he was really hiking up my shirt so I told him he needed to put his hand on his own belly instead. He was mad at first, but after a little bit I noticed he was rubbing his belly and singing quietly (to the tune of follow the prophet), "I like my body, I love my body, I like my body so-o-o mu-uch!" I love his little body too, but not so much what comes out of it. . .

Which brings me to the next story. Boogers and snott make me squeemish. No matter how many runny noses and boogers I have dealt with over the years it still make my stomach turn if I see my kids picking their noses anything like that. But even in it's grossness this story makes me laugh so I'm sharing it anyway. So D seems to have had a runny nose all winter, and I have been wiping it a lot. He gets mad at me when I do, so I tell him that it's yucky and we don't want boogers to get in his mouth because they are germy and gross and he will always be sick if they go in his mouth. He tells me the boogers are yummy and not germy and he wants them in his mouth so he likes to be sick. Since that makes my stomach turn I have just started ignoring his protests and wipe his nose without saying anything, but he still gets mad at me. Anyway last week he didn't have a runny nose and that was a bit unusual. Apparently he thought so too because he said to me, "Mommy, I want to be sick!" I said, "What?! You don't want to be sick. It's not fun to be sick," and he replied, "Yes I want to be sick! I want to eat my boogers!"

Children will listen

Last week AJ sent a sign-up around her class for an art contest she was having. She told everyone that they needed to have their entries in by a certain day and that she would judge them and award prizes. She got around 10 entries including one from her teacher. She showed me all of the pictures she had received and which ones were getting prizes. She was giving prizes for all entries but 2. So I suggested that it might be a better idea to either give everyone a prize or only give prizes for 1st-3rd so that feelings wouldn't be hurt. She said, "but Mom, these two just aren't very good." When I said that might be true, but that I didn't think she would like people to get their feelings hurt she said, "mom, that's life. Not everyone gets a prize. Sometimes you have to find out that you're not very good at something so you can work on what you are good at." Hmmm, that sounded kind of familiar. I guess my kids do listen to me, just not always when or how I want them to. . .

My sweet mom

My sweet mom came and stayed for several days while J was on his trip. She was a great help and it was so nice to have her here! I was just getting over the flu and she was so wonderful (even though she wasn't feeling great herself) to take over so I could get some rest and finish recovering. She made sure I was getting plenty of fluids and vitamin C. It was also so nice to have some help at bedtime and in the morning especially. She would sit on the couch with one or two (or sometimes all three) of the kids while I was helping the others or cleaning up or doing all of those other daily household tasks. I wish I had taken a picture of them all snuggling and reading on the couch, but since I didn't here is one of her and AJ reading on the stairs in the morning before school. The one below is of her and D on his birthday. Love you Mom!

cracks. me. up!

For as often as he brings me to tears of frustration, sometimes AP makes me laugh so hard I cry too. As a little background, he doesn't like going to scouts and is always coming up with some excuse not to go. Most often he says it's cancelled so I always make him call Mike just to double check. So last week when he called, and Mike said there was scouts, AP didn't hold anything back. He told Mike how boring it is and how he already knows everything that they talk about there, and that there are so many other, better things he could be doing with his time. So of course after he got off the phone we had a conversation about how much time and effort Mike puts into scouts, how he doesn't get paid for it, how he does it out of the goodness of his heart and because he cares about the boys. . .

After I had been lecturing him for several minutes, he said, "huh. I guess I wasn't very nice." I agreed with him and said it would be a good idea to apologize and to thank Mike for all that he does. So AP jumped right up and called him. I only heard his end of the conversation, but it went something like this, "I'm sorry I was so rude before; it's just that I've had a really hard day and a lot of frustrations. I mean, nothing, well except for maybe one or two little things, went right for me today. My teachers were mean to me, everyone including my friends were bullying me, and so I was just really looking forward to some nice relaxing time at home tonight, you know doing what I want to do. And then my mom said I had to go to scouts and I didn't want to. But thanks for all you do, because I know you don't get paid or anything."

Then at scouts he told Mike he had to hurry home to spend some time with his grandma who was visiting because she wasn't going to be alive much longer. Mike sympathetically asked what was wrong and when she was going to die. AP answered, " Well, we don't really know. I mean none of us knows when we're going to die but she's going sooner than you and I are. So I need to get home and spend as much time as possible with her!"

I wish I could remember exactly what he said and how he said it, because it had me (and my mom) laughing so hard!

Mistie's funeral

My brother, who lives out of state and was unable to attend, wanted details about the funeral so I thought I would share some here in case there were others that were unable to attend, but would have liked to.


Sharla, Carmell, and Cheri talked about her ability to make everyone feel included and welcome. How you felt as comfortable at her house as you did your own. How she made every niece and nephew feel like they were the favorite. They talked about her thoughtfulness; she was always thinking about other people and had a way of making everyone feel important and loved.

They talked about how she was always busy. How she always had a project or craft going and made sure everyone was involved, including the little ones. She was innovative and could make something out of anything. Her sisters talked about their adventures dumpster diving and her amazing ability to turn trash into the most amazing decorations and treasures. Sharla told a funny story about how they went to a construction site to retrieve cast off wood for a project. Just as they were almost to the car a voice called out, "hey!" Not knowing what to do they froze and Mistie whispered, "should be drop it and run?" Then the guy called out, "Can we get your numbers?" Sharla said that was a common occurance and guys would come up to Mistie everywhere they went to ask her for her number.

Carmell told about her giving nature and how she and Russ helped them out when they were struggling financially. She also talked about what a hard worker Mistie was and how as kids when they were digging and building their own pool she could be seen out there scrubbing down the cement with a toothbrush and bleach. She also talked about her eye for things and how after spending so much time at the hospital she had so many ideas about how the space could be used better and things could be arranged better. So when someone called doing a survey about her stay at the hospital she gave them an earful about things that could be done to make it better; and then they built a new hospital.

Cheri told a story about a painting how-to video they made and quoted Mistie as saying, "With the right paint and technique you can make any space beautiful, (and pointing to Travis' antlers hanging up), even with an elk head on the wall." She said she was sure that heaven wouldn't need a makeover, but that if anyone could do it Mistie could and that she was probably trying.

Uncle Jim talked about her desire to be able to raise her boys and how prayers were answered and she was able to be here long enough to get Calvin to the age of accountability. He commented on how each of the boys are like her in different ways; how Derick exemplifies her creativity and spirit, and Calvin her kindness and ability to see beauty in everything. He talked about how each child is a gift and that the most precious gifts are never lost. When Heavenly Father gives such a gift he gives it forever.

Russ was the final speaker and among many other things told the story of how they met at a school dance. She had asked him to dance and then it took months afterward for him to get up the courage to talk to her again and to ask her out. He was sure the only reason she had asked him to dance was on a dare or for a young women's project to "make some dorky boy feel special." He spoke of their courtship, of the dog (remember Rusty?) that he got her to keep her company while he was on his mission, about the strength of their friendship, and that not only were her sisters her best friends, but over the course of the last year through their love and support they have become his best friends as well.

Funerals are not something to look forward to, and to be honest I don't like attending them, but this was a wonderful tribute to Mistie and her life. It was good to reflect on her life, to remember her example, and to laugh about the good times even though dealing with the pain of her loss. I was amazed by the strength of her family; and it was nice to be able to gather and find strength and comfort in each other.

Remembering Mistie

Life happens. Time passes quickly. I look back to when I was small and the time I enjoyed with my cousins; playing, learning, growing. How I looked forward to that time with them. It never occurred to me then how short that period of my life was or that those good times would end, but it still make me happy me to look back on now. But we grow and life gets busy. What really matters sometimes gets lost in unimportant details. And then something happens to remind you of what is really important. My cousin Mistie passed away on Thursday after a difficult fight with cancer. She was only 33-years-old. She was an amazing person, and words could never do justice to her beauty, both inside and out. She leaves behind two sweet little boys, and that to me is the most difficult part. To know that they will grow up without their amazing mother. She has an awesome and extremely supportive family, and there is no doubt that her boys will have plenty of love, support, and wonderful examples as they grow, but it is a significant reminder to me of what a blessing it is to hold my little ones and my sweetheart, to be with them and to love them. She is my reminder. LIVE life. Make the moments count; even the most difficult ones. Cherish your little ones and be grateful for the time you have with your family. Always remember that is what really matters.

Mistie D Myers

Our sweet Mistie passed away at the age of 33, Thursday morning, April 7, 2011, surrounded by her loving family. Mistie was born in Provo, Utah to James and Delaina Nielsen. She grew up on their farm in Clawson, Utah, and enjoyed the friendships of her six sisters and two brothers. These friendships continued to grow into their adult years and she certainly counted each sister as a best friend. In 1997 Mistie married her sweetheart, Russ, in the Manti Temple. They lived in Provo while both attended college. During this time they were blessed with 2 sons, Derick, age 10, and Calvin, age 8. Shortly after receiving their second son Mistie was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. After subsequent chemotherapy and a life threatening infection she was blessed with a miraculous recovery putting the cancer into remission until April 2010. Over the last 12 months Mistie has fought valiantly undergoing several treatments while also focusing on creating numerous memories and vacations with her husband and children. Mistie was kind and inclusive of everyone. She enjoyed the outdoors from days on the desert to adventurous hiking. She also was a very talented interior designer and loved to paint and decorate. With all this, her greatest joy and desire was the raising of her young sons. We believe that now she will continue to watch over and guide them from above. Certainly the prayers of so many on her behalf were answered as we had the opportunity to have so much additional time together. Words cannot express how much she was loved or how much she will be missed. We painfully grieve the loss of someone so special, but thank our father in heaven for the opportunity to have had her in our lives. She will be forever remembered until we hold her again.

www.mistiemyers.blogspot.com

Birthday time!

My baby turned 3 last week! And he certainly isn't a baby anymore. He's getting too heavy for me to carry and that makes me sad. But it has been so fun watching him grow and he brings me so much joy that all I can really say is I love him SO much and am so grateful to have him our lives!

J was gone on his birthday (work trip) so we had to celebrate a couple of days late. He loves Buzz and Woody so of course we went with a Toy Story theme. I didn't want to decorate a cake so I looked for cupcakes toppers. Didn't find any so my mom helped me make these ones using stickers, cardstock and colored toothpicks (then I saw some at Walmart--I looked there and did not see them-- don't know how I missed them!). Anyway, I think the ones we made turned out cuter anyway and we had fun working on them together. Thanks for the help Mom!

Ooooh. I think he's excited!

Cool "mix" markers, colored pencils, paper and money from J's parents.

A talking Thomas from the Kluge's and. . .

Airheads (everyone was excited about those!)

A spiderman puzzle--I love that little face!

"Cars" sandals (that he picked out himself), Toy story games, and money from my parents

He didn't know what to think about the money he got

I know this picture is blurry, but I love it so much I'm including it anyway

And I don't have a picture, but Amber came over on his actual birthday and gave him bat, ball, and bubbles. How's that for fun? Thanks everyone for helping to make his day special!!

And that's all folks! (until next year)

Sweet helpers

A few days before J left for his trip I came down with something nasty (in fact after two weeks I am still not fully recovered). AJ was just getting over a week long bout with fever and chills, and seemed to have handed it off to me. However, I was doing ok as long as I was pumped up on ibuprofen and tylenol, and by Sunday felt well enough to go ahead and teach as scheduled. J had left that morning so I was on my own for the duration of church. I wasn't feeling great, but we made it through our meetings fine. By the time church was over what I really wanted to do was go home and crash. I couldn't though because I still needed to get everyone fed and get AP back to the church for an interview he had scheduled with the Bishop. Imagine my delight when I came home to find my sweet AJ, who had enlisted the help of little D, totally cleaning up! She was even vacuuming (yes it was Sunday, but I wasn't about to make an issue of that). She is such a good helper and so great with her little brother and I am so very grateful to have her around!

conference and the not so perfect family

I wish I could say conference weekend was nice and relaxing and that everyone sat through it quietly and happily, but if that were the case we wouldn't be talking about my family! I really wanted this to be a good experience for everyone so I decided I was not going to be uptight about making everyone sit and listen. I did make sure that conference was the only thing on throughout the house and tried to make the living room the center of events so that everyone would all want to be together. Before conference started we talked about the story of King Benjamin and how the people had to listen to conference from their tents. Then the kids built a tent out of the dining chairs and blankets while I made cinnamon rolls (AP and Avee helped me with the cinnamon sugar). Then when conference started I gave them each a cinnamon roll with apples and caramel dip. They were pretty content to eat their food and play in the tent during the first hour of conference and I breathed a sigh of relief as we were off to a great start. Then D decided he wanted to climb on the tent and that caused an uproar.


So we moved on to sugar cube temples. That started out great. Until AJ got frustrated with hers and ran off crying (anybody have suggestions on how to deal with an overly emotional 10-year-old?). Of course AP had to jump in and tell her not to be such a crybaby which only made it worse. So I sent him up to apologize. A fight ensued (why does it seem we work backwards?), so I had to go and help them work things out. I discovered that in AP's attempt to get into AJ's room to tell her he was sorry (she was really mad at him and trying very hard to keep him out) a hole ended up in her door. This all happened right before President Monson's talk (which I had intended to have them sit with me and listen to and had all kinds of sweet visions of us snuggled up together watching), but instead we all missed it. Sigh.



Well we eventually worked things out and had a nice little break after lunch. So for the second session I pulled out the candy and told them for each page of their conference packet they completed (or picture they made) they could choose a treat. That worked pretty well and we got through that session without any serious disruption. Whew. So once again, not the model family, but we keep on trying and hopefully at some point we'll get it right. And at least I have some cute pictures to look at to remind me that it wasn't all bad and we had a fair amount of fun together. Thank goodness for the camera!

The Joke's on who?

AJ pulled the first prank of the day by getting up before everyone else and coloring the milk green. Then when kids got home from school I handed them this brochure and told them I found the perfect summer camp for them. AJ has really been wanting to go to an equestrian camp this summer and we also have been looking into a celiac camp, so when I showed them this I told them it had just come in the mail and that since I seem to have such a hard time getting them to do their chores, this camp would be perfect. They were not happy. I however thought it was hilarious.

And of course a dinner trick. This will be the last year for one of these since they are on to me now and I am out of ideas. Anyway, I made chicken nuggets by cutting marshmallows in half, dipping them in caramel syrup, and rolling them in cookie crumbs. The peas are green lemonheads, and the mashed potatoes are ice cream with caramel syrup "gravy." We had our real dinner after: pizza with a movie (Tangled).