Dear Brothers and Sisters

No, this is not a talk for church, but a reflection on family relationships. This morning Tristan and all of our kids except for Lara left together for a four wheeler adventure. They all were here last night getting ready to go, other than Carson, who stayed at his own home. Once your kids leave home for marriage, schooling, or careers, it isn't often that you get to have them back home without their families or friends. What a treat it was for me to watch them relating to each other. Never before have tin foil dinners been assembled with so much laughter and artwork on the foil. Just as when they were younger, the name calling was flying back and forth. This time, however, it was in an affectionate manner and made me laugh instead of making me frustrated. This morning when Carson arrived, I couldn't help but smile when the name calling focused in on him. It was great to see them as kids again, going off on their adventure. They insisted that I come with them, even loaded a wheeler for me, but it seemed to me that there was magic in their being together and not having their mother around to worry over them.
When my mom had her heart surgery this past fall, my brothers and I spent the whole day together running errands, waiting out the surgery, and talking non-stop for all those hours. It was a rare time when none of our spouses or families were there. It was a day that reminded me of how much I love my brothers.
I hope my kids and Tristan have a good time on their ride today. I hope they really enjoy being brothers and sisters.

Kicking Coconuts in the Cemetery

Last week I watched Lara and Kirk's boys while they were out of town. Tyler (age 4) is pretty talkative, but I don't always understand him. Every day after he had been outside he would tell me that he wanted to bring something inside. It sounded like "coconut," but as we have no palm trees I couldn't figure out what he wanted. Finally, I asked him what coconut he was talking about. He took me outside and showed me a pine cone he had found in the yard and told me it was his coconut. So cute! Now every morning when we walk in the cemetery there are pine cones scattered everywhere. As we walk, sometimes I kick them out of the way. I will never be able to kick another "coconut" without thinking of Tyler.

BEAUTIFUL LEGS

I am in that middle age stage of life where my mind still feels like it is in college, but my body is beginning to tell me that I am fooling myself. More frequently than I would like, the younger sisters in my ward let it slip that I am the same age as their mother (or even older). It can be depressing!

All my life I have wanted skinny legs and small ankles. I have always admired women with beautiful legs. I have great pioneer stock legs, in other words, heavy duty legs and ankles that could have easily walked me across the plains. I am grateful for them in that they are very functional. They have helped me carry seven babies and have walked me through many miles of morning walks with my walking buddies. However, I have always longed for thin, beautiful legs. Unfortunately, as the years go by, my legs let me know I am getting older as they become more discolored with veins and squishy with extra fat.

Recently I had a pedicure. Someone gave me a gift certificate for my birthday. I am not always comfortable doing things like pedicures, where someone is fussing over some part of my body. While I sat nervously and self-consciously in the chair, an older woman came in and sat down in the chair next to me. As they worked on our feet, she was very talkative to everyone in the shop. It was fun to listen to her and I admired how friendly and relaxed she was. Suddenly, she said to me, “You have very beautiful legs!” I had to look twice to see that she was talking to me. I laughed, thanked her and told her, “Not really!” But then I looked over at her legs. She was 88. She did have those thin legs and ankles that I admire, but her legs were very blotched and wrinkled with age. I looked back at my legs. Sturdy as they are, they were beautiful in comparison.

It was a good moment for me to appreciate what God has given me. Sometimes when I see a picture of myself, I am discouraged to see how awful I may appear, how bad my hair was that day, how fat I think I look, or how old I seem. I am learning to simply put that picture away, then take it out and look at it again in five or ten years. It is amazing how great you look when you look backwards.

What a grand lesson I am learning, to always look back on myself and evaluate where I have come from and how far I have progressed. Sometimes in the middle of busy things, I don’t feel like I have grown or moved forward. As women, we can be especially hard on ourselves. Sometimes it takes looking back and evaluating to really measure ourselves. As we do this, we can find perspective, peace and contentment in our lives. Maybe someday, when I am 88, I will look back and think, “What beautiful legs you had!”

Disneyland

Here are a few pictures. We had a great time!

Zoom, Zoom

No, this is not a blog about the new Mazda.  Zoom, zoom is a statement of my life lately.  Once Lara asked me what I would do with all my time when Kaitlin went to college.  Would I get a job?  HA! no time for that!  Chris once asked me what I did all day long with no kids at home.  I couldn't even think of anything specifically that I do that keeps me so busy, but I know at the end of the day I don't get everything done on my list.

Last Tuesday night, we drove to California for a Disneyland vacation with the whole family.  It was great!  Yesterday we drove back home and arrived about 8:45 p.m.  Today I am washing clothes like a crazy woman so that we can leave at 1:00 for SLC for Tristan's back therapy.  We stay overnight, have another appointment first thing in the morning and then pick up Lara's boys to bring home with us while she goes to Japan with Kirk.  We are back by 1:00 so Tristan can go back to work.  Then we do the whole thing again next Monday (except not the California part!) (except we drop off the boys this time).  We are half way done with about 12 weeks of back therapy.  It keeps us on the road.  Zoom, zoom!