study

It should be easy for me to study the scriptures.  I am home during the day and I love the gospel and often have talks about it, give talks about it, listen to talks about it and read it.  But to study is different and though I wish I did it well so far I have not.  I'm not a thinker really.  Once maybe I was but no longer.  I suffer from a brain cloud :) Rob is a thinker.  He has questions and seeks the answers.  This is a wonderful quality.  

It's easy to compare yourself and your spouse.  The temptation, right as I write this is that in the moment I say he is better at some particular thing than me is to say but I am better at .... and to value my strength more than his. Or sometimes the temptation is to feel discouraged because I will never be as good as __________.But I will stop that train of thought with out further elaboration.  Either path is very dangerous.  Feeling not good enough is one of Satan's great tools to thwart our progress by having us be too discouraged to try.  If that doesn't work he just lets us feel superior so we feel we don't have to try.  Sneaky sneaky.  My friend Amy told me that a good marriage take a good deal of mutual tolerance.  I laughed but it's so true.  Humans are so flawed and when you live with someone you see those things, and you live with yourself 24/7 so you see it in yourself as well.  We have to make a lot of room for growth in our hearts for ourselves and our loved ones.  At the same time we should be able to recognize and appreciate the great qualities we see without feeling jealous or defensive or like it's a competition. People are so silly.  

So, I have been searching for a study method and found an easy outline, 45 days to draw closer to the Savior.  It gives a quote and some verses and you read and think about it.  Easy peasy.  Today I did day 1.  It was lovely.  I thought of how much He went through to really know us.  Two of my brothers in law have been having some significant health problems.  Yoho, of course, with his cancer.  My thoughts have been very much with him and Andrea.  It comforts me to know that they know Christ and that He in return knows them very intimately and  knows Yoho's struggle and pain, emotional and physical, and that He can ease their pain and suffering. 

Ryan, who had surgery over 2 weeks ago to replace his ACL, and who should have been well on his way to recovery now has had set back after set back. Unexpected and frustrating as it has been he too follows the Savior and knows Him and loves Him and is held in the hollow of His hand.  What a blessing that we have someone to walk with us through the trials and challenges of life. 

My great friend and counselor, Tara, went to the temple yesterday.  She called me on her way home and we were talking about her visit there.  At the end of our chat I said to her that she should have told me she was going and I would have happily gone with her, I would have, in fact, welcomed the opportunity. She replied that she had thought about it and at the last minute decided to "be a big girl" and go alone, but she then added, we are never really alone at the temple.  Which is true.  We don't have to be alone ever if we are yoked with Christ.  Interestingly there were 4-5 other sisters from our stake there at the same time, all from different wards, none had planned or traveled together.  Yet they met and embraced and enjoyed being together with friends.  In the temple if I ever run into someone I know and love I always think of the glorious reunion we have to look forward to in the Kingdom of Heaven.  I am sure it will be the same happy feeling, the same smiles of recognition, the same joyful, loving embrace.  "You're here! Good to see you!! I'm glad we are together".

Game time

Ethan had his first soccer game of the season tonight. That field was huge, I could not believe it. He looked so tiny in the box! The Savage Buffalos lost 2-5. Not a total shut out but still disappointing. The game got delayed several times because of lightning. Finally we started and played in the rain. We were soaked. After we went to chipotle and froze so we picnicked outside, a little warmer but still chilly. Good thing the food was warm.  It was a memorable start.  Hopefully tomorrows game will be better, or at least warmer...or at least I will have an umbrella :)

Meanwhile this dude had his surgery.   This went well and we are hopeful that the whole tumor was removed.  They will biopsy and then we'll know.  Meanwhile the fundraiser has been going so well.  I am ever grateful and in awe of the generosity of so many people.  They have raised over $6000, which is almost half of what the surgery costs.  That will be such a big big help.  The whole family is thrilled and grateful beyond words.  Hopefully he will recover, the cancer will be gone, and they can focus on moving on with life with out a huge financial burden.  What a big gigantic enormous unbelievable fabulouss ....no-adequate-words-to-describe-it blessing.

a small little complaint, insignificant in the grand scheme of things

lunch date

Went to Wal mart this morning.  My weekly torture.  It's not so much Wal mart as it is how expensive everything is.

After I got home and put stuff away I went back to pick up little Ziver from the spa and we met dad for lunch.  It was a nice reward.  

Loving the washer/dryer.  The washer holds so much more than my old one.  The dryer is faster than the washer.  Crazy!

Not loving Grace's STEM experience so far.  She's had a lot of homework and isn't doing it independently.  Last night's homework had some really hard questions too.  For example one of her math questions was what two numbers who's product is 10,000 don't have "0"s in them.  One of her science questions was why don't airplanes fly in the upper stratosphere, the answer btw, was not in the text and we only could answer it because we have an aerospace engineer in house.  The bus stop was full of homework chatter.  We are writing a letter saying it's too much.  2 hours a night for 9 year olds is too much.  When E was in 4th grade I do remember hearing some of the mom's complaining but he didn't ever have very much homework.  This time around it's different and it's hard for me. A) in my heart of hearts I dont' believe kids that age need homework, they have plenty of time at school to do work and I'm pretty sure nothing new is learned on hour 7 or 8 of studying.  I actually think kids need more recess and less classroom time.  I remember when I taught 1st grade, I would get to school early and be working in my classroom and kids would begin to arrive, sometimes 30 minutes before school started.  They would then play on the playground.  (what kind of insanity is that??) They would run and yell and sometimes scrape their knees.  This was not so great on picture day but pretty darn great every other day.  The bell would ring and the kids would run to line up.  It was great. In the morning they would have a 20 min recess.  There was a recess aide. At lunch there was recess and in the afternoon we would go outside for PE, often.  It would be hard to convince me that kids learn more now than they did then.  They also stayed and played on the playground after school.  Play on a playground.  Hmmmm? And they were allowed to run.  I'm just saying.

Anyway back to homework we have a lot and it's annoying.  B.) I'm not that dumb and if I have to ask Siri the answer maybe it's a little much.  Or at least cover it in school or in the text.  I hope this is going to be a good fit.  Grace is a smart little girl and loves science, particularly biology and zoology that kind of thing.  The study of living things is her thing.  That said this has been tough, it's not coming easily to her and the work load is discouraging.  Forging on, trudging on, moving forward encumbered with the burden of a heavy and unreasonable load....with cheer and an encouraging smile. Oh and C) what about playing at home, or playing on the playground across from your home, or playing on a sports team??  Nope, no time you have homework.

So this morning she cried.  I told her the answer to the math problem (after consulting Siri), Rob told her the science answer, which I translated for her on the way to school and she wrote down in the car...pretty sure no learning happened (well I learned something if you want to know about the stratosphere thing just ask) but it did make the morning oh so pleasant, and last night when I "reminded" her multiple times to do it and then used "sign language" while on my phone presidency meeting to "encourage" her...that was pleasant too.  

random things

Yoho is having surgery tomorrow.  Saying extra prayers tonight that everything will go well.

Got my new washer/dryer today! Pretty exciting stuff!! Unexpected difficulty, I can't reach the bottom of the tub with out a stool.  Luckily I didn't de-clutter Grace's baby washing her hands at the big girl sink stool, it has a new home in the laundry room.

Ethan isn't feeling well.  Had a fever last night, went to school but came home not feeling well still and missed soccer practice. Which says something.

R also missed practice, he went fishing.  That man loves his fishing.

Hannah had audtions for the fall play.  She said she didn't do well :(

Grace started swim clinic, Ethan started earlier this week.

Reading a book I like "the Language of Flowers".

It was hot today, in the 90's.  Our pool is closed and it's been hot all week, that seems wrong some how.

Had a presidency meeting tonight.

Grace's fish tank leak last night, got all her clothes in the second drawer of her dresser wet.  Oddly the first drawer was dry, I don't know why.  Had to wash all the undies and socks (residents of the second drawer).

Walked the dogs.

Talked to Jenna, she thinks she has a job!

Talked to Mom.

Watched Extant, recorded from last night.  I'm not sure if I like it or think it's dumb.

Grace ate oatmeal for breakfast and ravioli for dinner. Ethan wanted an omelet for dinner and Hannah made her own while I was at the pool with Grace.  I like family dinners better.

First soccer game is tomorrow, hope the boy feels better.

Ziva goes to the spa tomorrow.  Yay.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my fluffy bed, thanks Nana for fluffing it up! Who knew??

I ate left-overs for breakfast, did I eat lunch? I don't remember, for dinner I ate edamame, and baby bell cheese.  Also had some of the most delicious Popsicles from Costco, fruit juice covered in frozen greek yogurt.

Grace did not finish her homework tonight.  I had my meeting and dad was fishing so she played instead.  That means homework in the morning.  (sigh)

updated in the morning to add this lovely picture of the 6am homework fun we are having.


One thing I will not miss when Mill goes to doggie heaven is the hairballs. One thing I will miss is her soft ears and her faithful nature.

Convenient?

Some days I have very few pressing things to do.  There is always stuff to do but sometimes it can wait, or can be done slowly or whatever.  Some days a lot of things find their way on my plate and it's more hectic.  Interestingly doing service for others is often not convenient.  I want to serve others and would be happy to do it every day..in theory.  In practice I sometimes get lazy and selfish or feel like I am too busy.  Doing what?? I don't know.

This morning I drove a sweet older sister in our ward to her endoscopy.  Then I stayed to help her and listen to the doctor and drive her home.  I love this dear old sister and always enjoy visiting with her.  Today was particularly funny because they sedated her for the procedure.  When she came out she was still loopy and as we walked off the elevator she saw an old friend (picture a stooped, bald, old old man) She grabbed him with both hands on the face and gave him a big old kiss on the cheek. Then as we were walking out she kept saying "I can't believe I kissed him!' " We weren't even close enough to be hugging", over and over.  When we got to the car she turned to me and said "honey, that's why you should never do drugs!'.  I laughed.  It was a delight to take her and although it took the whole morning I was very grateful to be able to help.

Our ward has a new way of feeding the missionaries.  It's by assignment with no regard to the availability or convince of the member  Tonight we were assigned the sisters, who I love to have over.  The problem is Hannah had a thespian meeting after school and Ethan had swim clinic and Grace had scouts so our window of available time was 4:30, and thank goodness it was for the sisters and not the elders because Rob is never home at 4:30 (ha ha ha)  They came and helped out in the kitchen.  We made dinner together and had fun talking and laughing while things were prepared.  Dinner was good and then they left a nice message with us. 

Tonight was our first official junior meeting of the year.  It went well.  The girls are very silly and noisy but I think they enjoyed it and it will be fun year.

Three examples of service today that I at one point or another during the day didn't want to do.  Thankfully I ignored that and went ahead with each one because they each blessed my life and brought me joy.

We miss out on a lot if we don't allow ourselves to be inconvenienced pretty regularly.

help needed

link to our fundraiser

My brother in law has recently been diagnosed with testicular cancer.  Unfortunately his employer doesn't offer health insurance so they have a huge battle ahead of them, both emotionally and financially and physically.  Our family has set up a fund for them.  Any amount of $ is welcome and will be a huge help.

Yoho is a great guy.  He's funny and smart and kind.  He's a thoughtful husband and a fun-loving dad.  Our family has been praying for him each day.  I hope you will join your prayers with ours.

Thanks
Lana

Summer leftovers

It's with great sadness that we said goodbye to summer. Someone had the great idea to have a pool party. We had about 12 families from church come and we swam and ate. We pulled grills from a couple of our homes and cooked out. There was lots of sharing of summer foods, lots of throwing kids around the pool, lots of talking.  We stayed until the last minute and it wasn't until the life guard blew the whistle that we started to gather paper plates and soda bottles to take to the trash. We sorted through goggles and towels and all the equipment needed for pool party fun then slowly divided into families and walked to our homes (or hopped in our cars if we lived out of the neighborhood). Another sweet summer season has passed.

This morning Rob and Grace went fishing. Hannah and I went to the movies and Ethan stayed home.

some of the mom's as the sun beginnings to set