Everlasting Light

Our visit to Temple Square was beautiful. During the Christmas season, we light our homes and businesses and trees and yards with lights as a way to be festive. But ultimately those lights are a symbolic reminder of the true Light who brings hope, peace, love, healing, relief.

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." Isaiah 60:19-20

The sun has power to warm and give light. But at the end of the day, darkness settles in. What if we allowed the SON to light our lives. In the darkest of nights, remember that the SON always comes up. He is on duty all night. He is our everlasting light that never fades.

These are the days of . . . 
*Pure laziness. These two weeks come close to my most favorite time of the year. Time slows. I don't have yard work calling. It really is a time to catch up on reading and projects before the new year comes bustling in.

Blizzards and stud finders

This Christmas will go down in the books as one of the most memorable. With our lives kind of stalemated for the time being, we decided to take Christmas on the road. There was one other Christmas where Santa showed up somewhere other than home and that was a bit tricky. Kids were younger and still believed which necessitated hiding presents. Hiding much bigger presents . . . in the same vehicle we traveled in.

This year . . .

was much easier. Smaller gifts. Less gifts. No need to hide. We traveled with presents wrapped in plain sight.

And Alex still didn't have a clue. At Grandma's he routinely inspected the presents under the tree to see if any were for him and was a little concerned to see one from Santa to Kurtis and it was still Christmas Eve.

The snow settled over our world in large snowflakes all day Christmas Eve. With no place to go, I savored the day clad in warm socks and pjs. I'll just be in charge of pictures.

For Christmas Eve I shared a favorite song "Do You Have Room for the Savior?" found here. And Grandma shared her favorite slippers with grandkids.

Christmas morning was little more fast-paced than I would have preferred, but with Grandpa manning the presents, it was bound to be that way.

I love when Christmas falls on the Sabbath. An hour of worshiping whose birth we celebrate was the perfect culmination to a morning of gift opening.


The ultimate gift had Kiersten's name on it. A stud finder. Those college boys won't know what hit them next year. That grandpa is king of fun.


And even George found a banana with his name on it.



Ash was given a freebie -- sleepover with friends. She has asked nonstop for months. A free gift is kind of hard to ignore.

There were movies and reading and sleepovers and eating and dance offs and game playing. Did I mention eating? I know I gained at least 10 pounds as we ate Thanksgiving-type meals for three days. I may have to implement a fast day this week.


Over the pond and through the woods to the great and spacious . . . tree house where nightly sleepovers were held.


With carpet and surround sound and a tv, that little spot became a favorite haven for a few little people.


Christmas was truly a delight this year. 

These are the days of . . . 
*It only took three different drivers at least 15 tries to get our van up a very snow-packed driveway after church on Christmas Day! Kiersten was the successful summiteer.

*Two lost teeth on the same trip. Alex finally lost his other bottom tooth, and I mean lost. He dropped this one in the snow during a trip down from the tree house. That tooth fairy is gonna think we're pulling his leg. Nothing but excuse letters in place of the actual tooth. And Ash lost one in the van coming home. Shouldn't she be about done with this Tooth Fairy business?

Christmas Love

I don't really know where to start.

Our family has been shown such incredible love over the past eight weeks.

I'm asked every week at church how the job hunt is coming.

I've had several people tell me they are fasting and praying for my family.

We've had anonymous gifts left on our doorstep and not-so-anonymous gifts handed to us.

I can hardly begin to process these humbling events.

Thursday evening, December 1, me and Ash and Alex were reading "The Grinch" while the rest of the family was in California, Nevada, or working. We had just arrived at the part where Mr. Grinch is hauling off with everyone's Christmas, when a knock sounded loudly at our front door.

Of course there was a mad dash to answer it, and all Ash could say was "Mom! You've gotta come here."

Christmas had arrived on our doorstep.

We hauled it in and stared in speechless, teary awe. There was a turkey and potatoes. There were presents that needed opening right then that included Cuties and ice cream and frozen corn. 


The rest of the box was a "12 Days of Christmas" with gifts to be opened every day.

Just as we figured out what to do with it all, another loud knock came. Round two.

The floodgate of tears really unleashed then. I have no words to describe the goodness of people. Yes, we will be unemployed at the end of the year. Are we starving . . . no. We feel so undeserving when there are many other families in far more destitute circumstances. But just the thought that others in my neighborhood and ward and community are thinking of us and love us has buoyed my spirits. I have always been on the other end of such gracious giving and am not used to all the love and charity that has been shown us in the past 8 weeks from multiple people. The Light of Christ has undoubtedly been shared with our family. These small acts of kindness will never be forgotten, EVER.

At first it seemed that the two deliveries were one and the same. It was just too coincidental that they happened on the same night at roughly the same time. But as we've thought about it, our conclusion is that it is two different benefactors who were separately giving of themselves.

There have been a million guesses as to who they could be, and it will be something that we most likely will go to our graves never knowing.

This Christmas has been more magical than most. Our circumstances have not forced us to be less charitable; in fact, it has had the opposite effect. We, as a family, decided to still carry on our traditions of giving. Our Christmas tree may be a little more bare, but our hearts are full of love, great love, for others.

As a child we were the recipients of such acts. One Christmas I remember a small Christmas tree with money attached to it left on our doorstep. Another such moment came shortly after my dad's mechanic shop blew up.

I was about 7 or 8 and remember the anonymous money that was donated to help get him back on his feet. I also remember the flowers that were sent from people in our community to my Grandpa Seamons's funeral in Logan, 4 hours from our small town. As a young child, these incidents had a great impact on me at the time.

Isn't that what Jesus Christ would want? A little less self; a little more others.

"Maybe Christmas," the Grinch thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!"

These are the days of . . .
*reading and studying for my Praxis exam

*"God showed me that I have a tendency to give out of my abundance and then to expect to be blessed. I was reminded that he did not call believers to give so we could feel good about ourselves.  He called us to give because we are his children and that’s what his children do.

When I give to get something in return, whether monetary or emotional, I am stealing the glory from God and missing the point of the call. I do not want my actions to steal God’s glory." --Kim Harms, 500dresses.org

Remembering Wholeness

No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.

--Confucius

I decided a few months ago that I simply was not reading enough. Since September I've read six and am working my way through two more. My book review today, however, is a book I read long ago, dog-earring so many pages that I loved. 

And it sat and sat, waiting patiently for me to do something about those marked up pages. Today's the day.

Remembering Wholeness. The author talks a lot of finding energy in the universe and using this energy to create a better life for ourselves. A lot of it I found kind of hokey. She seemed to have this idea of being able to be in complete control of her life. I don't agree with that premise. I think the moment we think we have complete control, God will ensure that we don't. BUT, a lot of tidbits I wholeheartedly agreed with, and those little nuggets are what are captured below.

*Thriving is more than having a lot of money, a physically fit body, and great relationships. Thriving is a spiritual experience. You can know who you are and why you are here. Thriving is having an ongoing rich relationship with the heavens and calling upon its powers to effect tremendous outcomes in behalf or your life and others.

*If you want to know what the most powerful beliefs are about yourself -- whether you are aware of them or not -- just look at your life.

*Start right now imagining your life exactly as you want it to be. . . . Pain and struggle are familiar to all of us, yet it is not our natural state. Our natural state is to feel good and to know happiness.

*We come into this world with the soul intent on remembering who we are -- our gifts, our glory, our power, and our god-self. We choose an interesting way of remembering: we are remembering by experiencing who we are not.

*The heavens want to assist in creating that which brings us more joy. They want us to be in a state of joy so we can move through our lives giving joy to more people. Do not sit and wait for God to make your life better. Set an intention to partner with God in creating a wonderful life, and you will experience the miracle of how quickly it can happen.

*By choosing to be accountable and taking ownership of everything you experience, you will really have the power to create a wonderful life. . . . We learn more and more clearly what we do want as a byproduct of experiencing what we don't want. The next time you have an experience you don't want, ask yourself what you do want and start creating it.

*The success of God's plan is not dependent on us. There is always someone to replace us if we fail to fulfill our contracts. Does God love us any less if we choose out? I believe not. God has complete allowing and unconditional love for each of us, no matter what we do. If we fail to live a higher level of spirituality or choose out of our contracts, we deny ourselves blessings. We are not loved any less; we have just chosen a different experience.

*[God] wants us each to create as much success as possible; he compares us with no one. It really is up to you. What do you want to experience? What do you want to acquire spiritually? Don't be so hard on yourself. Have more fun and be more playful with all of this. It is meant to bring us joy now, not just a byproduct of joy later.

*Come unto Christ and become God-reliant as well as self-reliant. (Oooh, I really liked that.)

*Albert Einstein once said, "I want to know the thoughts of God; everything else is details." In a state of charity, we know the thoughts of God. We are connected to the light of Christ so completely, it is as if the light of heaven and the thoughts of God communicate to our intelligence directly.

These are the days of . . . 
*My Grandpa DeLaMare's birthday. It's today, November 27. He was an airplane mechanic in India during WWII.

*Santa letters . . . seems pretty easy, right. And you got to love free!

*Marshmallow pyramids

*The neverending college applications which inundate our mailbox and now have Erik's name on them along with Kiersten's

*And even more wonderful neighbors who send my kids home with food. Got to love those friends who work for Kellogg's. She assured me that my kids did not tell her they were starving. We do eat :) We are just eating food from our food storage because this is the very reason it's there.

Time Out for Women

Several months ago I had a friend ask me about attending Time Out for Women. I've been once before and have loved going to Education Week and Women's Conference. And how fun it would be to go with Kiersten also. My friend signed both of us up.

It  came at a much needed time in my life where I was needing a little lifting and reprieve from the burdens of life.

I came home feeling my load lighter, not that anything has changed, but that my spirit and hope had been re-energized. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of tears, a lot of song, a lot of good feelings. Love those endorphins.

Some of my highlights:

*God sends messages in ways that are so personal to each of us in our own language
*When you choose God, you will never be the same -- MICHAEL MCLEAN (my favorite speaker)

*You're gonna need some faith in the middle to keep you moving forward -- HILARY WEEKS (really needed this)

*Celebrate the everyday miracles
*Assume the best
*Never hold back a compliment

*God does not answer our prayers the way we want. He answers them better -- always better -- ALISSA PARKER (lost a daughter at Sandy Hook Elementary)

*Church is a support group for Christians

*God will give us 6 goods before giving us the very good
*Jesus is always looking up and seeing people -- S. MICHAEL WILCOX

*We get so concerned with the beginnings and endings that our middles are a little restless -- MERCY RIVER

*Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good

*There is a difference between God allowing things to happen to us and willing things to happen -- LAUREL DAY

*Sometimes following the spirit makes us uncomfortable -- LISA VALENTINE CLARK

This last one reminded me of some advice given to me from my wonderful bishop:

Periodically we are allowed to see the wisdom in the test. One thing I know: this life is about growth more than it is about safety, security, recreation, or control. In fact, growth often only comes when we lose safety, security, and control.

These are the days of . . . 

*pie and thanksgiving -- the one thing I am most grateful for this season is the gift of prayer

*waiting -- those boys above are waiting for pie (so glad Linda snapped this picture) and we are waiting for job interview results

*Alex and George, his side-kick stuffed monkey

My way or the Lord's way

My favorite general conference talk was by Elder Nattress: "No Greater Joy Than to Know That They Know." I received a strong impression that we were to start reading the Book of Mormon as a family again, starting immediately. For the past three years we have been reading the book of scripture that the seminary students are reading and this year we were working our way through the New Testament.

The next morning "I Nephi" commenced.

Recently we read of Nephi breaking his bow. In 1 Nephi 16:18 it says nothing of breaking the arrows, just the bow. A few verses later, Nephi tell us of crafting a new bow AND new arrows. Now, why couldn't he have just made a new bow to go with the old arrows he still had?

We have a gentleman in our ward who has been shooting bows and arrows since he was very small. He commented one day in Sunday School that Joseph Smith, with his limited background, could not have known that bows and arrows go together. You break a bow, you make new arrows to go with that bow. What an interesting insight from an expert in the field.

I was also thinking about Nephi and his brothers having to return to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates, or the scriptures.

The first attempt recorded in 1 Nephi 3:10-11 has Nephi and his brothers consulting with one another about what to do and then casting lots as to who was going to simply go ask for the plates.

Ya, that didn't work.

The second attempt in verse 22 has them trying to purchase the plates from Laban.

Yep. Didn't work.

At this point they are frustrated and angry and ready to give up. On their third attempt, Nephi heads into Jerusalem being "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."

Ding, ding, ding! This time he was successful. 

So what made all the difference?

The first couple of times, those brothers, Nephi included, tried to do things their own way, using their own wisdom and understanding, their own skills. Not until Nephi followed the Spirit were they successful.

Is there something you are badly in need of? Something you desperately desire? [Our little family understands a little about needing something desperately, like employment for instance  :)]

The Lord knew how to get those plates and he knows how to help us obtain what we righteously desire and are in need of. Listening and heeding the Spirit of God is the key.

I have a bishop who is so good at following the Spirit's direction. That is a gift I greatly desire and am working on.

These are the days of . . . 
*working my first full week -- I think that 6th grade class liked me.

*basketball tryouts -- Erik attempted again for the high school team and was cut again. What courage. I don't think I would have tried a third time.

*early morning math -- Ash was nominated to be a part of a special early morning math team with a competition coming up in February.

*fasting and prayer

*a great friend and visiting teacher who invited me to be a part of her sealing session -- I haven't done sealings since I got married and that was a special experience.

*making consecrated bread for the sacrament with my Laurels -- We are so close to completing Mel's personal progress for her.

When life hands you a lemon . . .

It's been two weeks since news of our job loss was announced, and I am so in awe at the many good, thoughtful people I am surrounded by.

Last week an acquaintance from church stopped by with a potted bulb to brighten up my day. She could tell that the Sunday before I was struggling. What remarkable kindness. Her sweet gesture will be something I'll always remember.

My brother-in-law on my side of the family called Tyler the other day, asking how he was doing. His concern meant a lot to Ty.

Today, my relief society president dropped a 25 pound bag of flour off on my doorstep. Her family has recently been diagnosed with allergies to gluten and can no longer use it. What generosity. I'm sure there are a myriad of others who could use it more than we. I also love that she is staying true to her Lake Point heritage and buying "peacock" flour :) Anyone who visits our little town will know that peacocks are our trademark by the many that roost in the trees and roam the streets freely.

I also received 4 different text messages today asking how I was doing in addition to my dad checking on us and along with many Facebook messages.

I am so blessed to know so many good-to-the-bone people. May I always remember to be more like them.

These are the days of . . . 
*a new job for Kiersten -- working at McDonald's
*a new job for Erik -- he quit Hometown Pizza and his crazy manager to try Del Taco
*candy, LOTS of Halloween candy
*straight A's for all our kids

Game on

Last Sunday was not a good day. Not only did the future look bleak but there were several other weights heaped on my shoulders that were totally unrelated to the job loss announcement we had received. 

Life felt very heavy.

There are still many unknowns but I'm feeling way more confident this week.

As a family we have cut down our spending to the very minimal. However, the hardest to give up has been the Dish bill. The Jazz just started their season and its rumored to be a good one. And our Dish hard drive houses a lot of movies we may end up losing, should we cut it.

I know, I know. Cry me a river.

Kiersten commented, "We are not good a being poor."

Game on, girl.

About a month ago, Kiersten and I did a little tour of Utah Valley University. She's narrowed her college choices down to either this school or Utah State and was feeling pretty certain she wants to attend UVU. But to help in the decision process I signed the whole family up for a tour to Utah State in Logan because, hey, free Aggie ice cream.

Tyler mentioned that there was a home football game that night and I should see about possible discount tickets. So I called and scored not discount tickets but FREE tickets.

Life did a topsy turvy and despite trying to save money by limiting our gas, Tyler and I decided this trip still needed to happen. So began our day of experimentation: could we spend a day in Logan on little or no money?

On our way we stopped into Costco to have tires rotated: $0 for rotation.

Lunch was tailgated out of our cooler at the bottom of Old Main Hill: $0 since it all came from our house.

Took the tour of campus and felt like I had come home after 18 years. School was in session; students were about; it was nostalgic: $0 for tour.

Coupons were awarded for Aggie ice cream: $0 for single scoop cups.

Visited the Deseret Industries. Ty is the only household member without any USU gear. He rummaged and found a t-shirt for $1. I found a book, The First Days of School for $1.50 and a piece of sheet music for $.50. (I'm leaning pretty heavily toward becoming an elementary teacher and getting my masters, hence the book seemed invaluable): $3.00 for our total purchases.

Got into Sam's Club on an expired card and tried every sample for dinner. Cheap? Yep. At the end of our sample tour we got a couple of pizza slices and hot dogs: $6 or $1 per person.

We made it through the first quarter of the game relatively dry before the rains hit in a steady downpour. By halftime we were all drowned little rats ready for home. All of except Ash who stayed home due to sickness. Football tickets: $0.

Are we good at being poor? I think we did a mighty fine job on our jaunt to Logan. That little day trip, besides the gas, cost us $9 total.

After our fun day, Kiersten is still pretty sure she wants to be a Wolverine rather than an Aggie. These are not easy decisions and I hope those folks at UVU pull through and get her that scholarship she deserves.

These are the days of . . .
*much fasting and prayer
*being poor
*sprucing up resumes
*job applications

Biggest Loser

Wanna lose weight? Well, I've got the perfect antidote. Just have your husband conveniently lose his job and that should take care of it.

True story. Happened to me this week. I'm down two pounds. Some people head for the refrigerator when the hurricane hits and I lock it to keep the vulturous children at bay. We're battening down the hatches and are looking for ways to ride this storm out.

It's been somewhat of a roller coaster ride these past two weeks. One week Kiersten secured a scholarship to Utah State University,  a presidential scholarship that pays for tuition and fees for four years awarded to her on the spot, and the next week I'm thinking that $27000 could really come in handy.

I've tried to have faith and hope and optimism. And then my human side surfaces with my tears and fears and more tears. (Hey Tears for Fears . . . isn't that some kind of '80s rock group?) I won't lie. It's been a tumultuous week as life as we know it imploded.

I try to look at the bright side and see that his termination could have been immediately. At least they are giving him until the end of the year. I've kept my food storage pretty constant so we can live off that for awhile, along with my meager paychecks.

God is good and very much at the helm. We're stepping out in the dark, battling some big unknowns. That is what faith is made of.

Are we going to let fear guide the way or faith?

Pray for us? We need all those heaven-sent petitions.

Oh, and if you know of any retirement/401k/pension jobs . . .ya, we're kind of in need of one of those too.

These are the days of . . . 
*layoffs
*tears and lots of them

Come Follow Me

When I got this calling I wanted to change things up a bit regarding Sunday lessons. In the past the presidency rotated teaching the first Sunday of the month and the adviser taught the remaining Sundays. I've found I love teaching. I love seeing those light bulb moments. I love studying. There are some days when the lesson goes well and others where it seems to fall flat and as I've pondered why those lessons don't reach their mark, I've found that I've relied too much on myself and my own learning.

This newish curriculum for the youth, Come Follow Me, is awesome. If implemented correctly it's supposed to make my girls more of the teacher where I'm more of the facilitator. I know some teachers might think this gives them a freebie to sit back and not prepare. But here's a few things I've learned and discovered in the past couple of months about becoming a great teacher.

OLD: The teacher was a disseminator of knowledge and information. They put in the effort and time to prepare and study for the lesson and the student's job was to listen, take notes, and give a comment or two.

NEW: The teacher is required to study and study A LOT to be prepared for whichever direction the students choose to take it. That means most of the time you most likely will not share anywhere close to the material you studied. But when you've paid the price for study, the Holy Ghost is able to "bring all things to your remembrance" (John 14:26) in the very hour that you need it. Without study, it simply doesn't work.

OLD: The teacher did the majority of talking.

NEW: The students do the talking. The teacher is there to offer insights and keep the discussion from derailing. A teacher should do no more than 10% of the talking. And a lesson plan? Well, half a sheet of notes is probably sufficient.

OLD: Silence was NOT golden.

NEW: Silence is key to allowing the Holy Ghost to function. Wait for those responses. They will come. And that is where testimonies are strengthened. A testimony is found in the bearing of it not in the hearing someone else testify.

OLD: Sunday school questions will always get Sunday school answers.

NEW: Great questions require thinking and pondering and open up the discussion.

OLD: Note taking was about writing down everything the teacher had to say as quickly as possibly.

NEW: Note taking involves recording more the impressions and thoughts that come to us through the Holy Ghost about the subject we are discussing and invites us to act on those impressions.

OLD: The teacher answered all the questions.

NEW: Help students prepare to learn for a lifetime. You know the old proverbial phrase "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Teach your students to find answers to their own gospel questions and they will have a valuable tool.

I guess the whole idea with this curriculum is to have the students take responsibility for their own learning and growth. They learn so much more when they've put into practice the doctrines and principles taught. And they learn even more when they've actually taught it to someone else.

What's happening in my yard
Just getting ready for fall. My chocolate flowers are putting on quite the display by our front porch. They also smell quite divine, like you're devouring chocolate at the See's chocolate store.

These are the days of . . . 
*College campus tours. Kiersten and I toured UVU on Friday. She's thrown this school into her mix. She can basically go where she'd like with her ACT score and awesome grades.

*Poldark. I read the first book and am loving the second season of the miniseries that is on at the moment.

Book Reviews

Last month Ty asked me to accompany him on a business trip to Portland. Heck ya! I love to fly and I love to get away. For three days I got time for just me and I read. Heavenly.

Ty and I also found mature trees of several we are thinking about for our yard.

We went hiking amidst waterfalls

and discovered a great little Korean restaurant.

Powell's Books, our favorite bookstore which literally takes up a city block, is also a must when we make it to Portland.

Not only did I get back to my favorite bookstore, but I think I broke a record for the number of books finished last month. (Note that I said finished. That does not mean I began and finished all these in one month.) I love to read but am finding it increasingly difficult to read as much as I'd like. A couple of months ago I made a commitment to myself to read more. It hasn't been easy. I carry a book with me at all times and I've given up my 10pm news watching in favor of reading.

The Secrets of Mary Bowser
I discovered this book while subbing an English class one day and gifted a copy to Kiersten. She devoured it in 2 days. I took a little longer. It's based on a real black, slave woman during the time of the Civil War. She is educated and lands a job working in the Gray House or the house that the confederate president, President Jefferson David occupied in Richmond, Virginia. Mary Bowser serves as a spy for the Union as she cleans the keeps house. Reading this book made me realize how much she might have done to help the Union win. But I also got a taste of what life for a free, black woman in the north might have been like and how those same prejudices were very much a part of their culture despite their freedoms. 

Letters to a Young Mormon
This short little composition of essays or letters to his children was beautifully written. It is one I will digest again and again.

"Like everyone, you have a story you want your life to tell. You have your own way of doing things and your own way of thinking about things. . . . As the heavens are higher than the earth, God's work in your life is bigger than the story you'd like that life to tell. His life is bigger than your plans, goals, or fears. To save your life, you'll have to lay down your stories, and minute by minute, day by day, give your life back to him. Preferring your stories to his life is sin. . . . Faith isn't about getting God to play a more and more central part in your story. Faith is about sacrificing your story on his altar."

Zucchini Pie
I just couldn't like this book at all. I tried but it painfully dragged on and on. The characters were cheesy. The scenarios were too far-fetched. The author tried to wrap up all these family problems in a short week between when grandma died and the funeral. It just wasn't real to me. I didn't care for the way the book was set up and the writing was subpar. I don't think I would have picked this book up except it was for a book club -- and not everyone has to like the book selection, right? :)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
I listened to the first half of this book, and while I liked the change in characters' voices, I felt like it dragged. The second half I finished reading the book and the pace seemed a little better. The writing was okay, although I don't think he portrayed 1986 very accurately, like he forgot what decade he was writing about.

This story about love across cultures and a Japanese interment camp is heartbreaking, and I shake my head every time I read about these and wonder how we, as a country, could do the same thing to our people that was happening in Germany at the same time. I came away from this book wanting to communicate better with my children and to be accepting of who they might bring through our front door.

Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island
Wow. What a book of resiliency and strength in children who are left to basically raise themselves and actually come out of the system as contributing adults to society. This book reminded me a lot of The Glass Castle. It was eye opening into the world of foster care where some are in it strictly for the money and others actually do it to help lives. And the mother. Are there seriously people like her. I kept wanting to believe she was a fictional character and might have some redemptive characteristics. Nope. She had no business having children. This book has a couple dozen F words. I cringe when I read it but understand that it was who these people were and how they spoke. The author was remaining true to dialogue.

Homecoming for Erik

Life seems to tumble and gather steam at times when I think it should be calm. Tyler had a business trip to Portland and asked me to tag along. At the time the week looked relatively calm. But little by little things began to unexpectedly fill in.

Cross country races. Activity days. A surprise baby shower. Homecoming. Volleyball games.

Last Sunday I finally insisted that Erik take charge of his homecoming group of boys and make some plans because I was headed to Portland for three days and needed to know what role I was to play in the whole affair.

We hosted dinner and one other mom had them over after the dance for dessert. This meant that I was unable to go home for the weekend and help my mom with a surprise baby shower for my sweet sister in law. Choosing between two good things is so much harder than choosing between black and white.

But ah, what a great group. I'm so glad Erik has such good friends with good standards to rub shoulders with. What's ironic is three of these boys used to all be in the same ward in Stansbury: Erik, Mason, and Austin S. And one of the girls also used to live in our old Gordon Lane ward.

The dinner was a success with salad and soup

and Italian sodas and chicken cordon bleu and rolls. One mom also brought cute conversation stones to put on the table to stimulate some conversation when it started to lag and those kids used them. I heard it all from my perch in the kitchen.

And where's Kiersten, you say, in all this Homecoming hoopla?

She and Nate went to Boise for a cross country meet. The races were divided into two different groups for JV girls and the first 20 to cross the finish line got medals. At some point in the race her coach yelled to her that she was number 18 which she held to the end (18th out of about 200). Wow. She has come a long way since she joined this team three years ago.

Many times I ask myself how did I get so lucky to be her mom. She is amazing. This past week she also found out she scored a 34 on her ACT. The girl is headed for good things, including a cross country homecoming in a couple of weeks.

Josh Larsen, a boy on her team and Book Battle nemesis from grade school, asked her.


What's happening in my yard
My pumpkins are just about ready to be picked. This picture is a few weeks old so the color is a lot more green than what they are now.

My tomatoes are also doing well. No more rot blossom. I'm beginning to suspect its how I watered this summer which is probably not enough for raised beds. We are also digging up potatoes -- potatoes I didn't think we had because my plants sprouted up, got leggy, and then killed over. And the raspberries have done well this year. I keep thinking they are done producing only to go out and harvest more. What we don't eat I put in my freezer to make some jam later.

These are the days of . . . 
*Little boys who love their stuffed animals so much they come alive with different voices. Sometimes we have to put George, Alex's monkey, in time out.

*Job changes. Tyler basically got fired from his current position and is having to reapply. He's interviewing for more of a sales job which would mean more travel. Thus we have been looking at buying more of a commuter car.