Mother's Day Joy

 

Five grandchildren! Is there anything more joyful for our old age?

New Years' Joy

Rose and Nana Rozann (aka Rozy)

Please welcome Rose, born January 1 at 1:26 AM. Yes, she has red hair like the Nana she was named for. I'm overwhelmed at such a sweet blessing! I was named for my Nana - Rose Hansen, and now my newest grandchild is named Rose after me. We've come full circle.

A Little Christmas Joy!

Christmas with Nana!

The magic of Christmas comes through children. They are so innocent, hopeful, and charmed by simple things like lights and music. Children remind us of the Baby Jesus, the Christ Child. So sweet and lovable.

These precious cherubs came for a family dinner and gift exchange on Sunday. They will be traveling to Idaho to their other grandparents for the actual Christmas day. 

Good Tidings - More Christ in Christmas

My Christmas ABC's

J is for joy!  At Jesus's birth the angel said, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. . . (Luke 2:10 KJV)

What greater message could there be than that the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One has been born. He is the One who will break the bonds of death and hell. The One who will teach us how to live, then take upon Himself our sins to pay the price to justice; our pains that He will know how to succor us; and offer us His love and mercy, His grace, or enabling power so that we can return to God clean and worthy. Joy in redemption!

May we, like the shepherds, quickly seek Jesus, and then share the good news with everyone else.

Nana's are the Best

Jellybean at five and a half weeks

His momma said this is the first smile captured in a photo--good job Nana! I got it while his parents were out for lunch and a movie. We had such fun together!

Contentment

Finding joy and contentment in the things around us is part of being frugal. 

Not long ago I noticed a gorgeous sunset with great clouds and hundred of birds swooping through the air. I stepped outside and took a few pictures as I savored the moments.

Wednesday's Wisdom

When Noble was about ten or eleven I asked her to pick up all the books that the two youngest boys had dragged off the shelf. She resisted saying that she hadn't made the mess. I explained that I hadn't either and I needed her help to quickly pick it up and straighten the room while I was making dinner. She put her hands on her hips and said, "When I'm the mother I'm not going to make my children work." I looked at her and asked, "So, as the mother, you're going to do all the work?" You should have seen the look on her face as she realized what she had said. As an adult she has thanked me over and over for teaching her how to clean a house.

I love this story from Anita Canfield's book A Woman for All Seasons:

When I was first married, I met a woman with several daughters. One day while I was visiting in their home one daughter appeared at the door with a shirt for her mother to iron. A few minutes later another daughter came in and asked her mom to pick up her room. She was bringing friends over later and wanted it clean. Then a third daughter later came to make a similar request.

 I mentioned to this good lady that she certainly had her work all lined up for her and she replied to me, "I don't believe in making my children do any work at all. The day will come when all they'll do is work and take care of others. These years are theirs. This is their time for fun."

I thought at the time, What a great idea! This mother really has it together! We moved away shortly after that and I forgot all about the incident. Years later we lived in the same ward (church congregation) as one of those daughters. It wasn't long before I realized she had terrible housekeeping problems. One day she confided in me with a great many tears that she hated living in a pigsty--and was embarrassed--but she didn't know how to clean a house.

In this mother's enthusiasm to give her children immediate pleasure, she failed to prepare them for a fuller joy.

Children are young for such a short time, and adults for such a long time. Shouldn't we use those precious years to teach and train them to be competent, successful adults? They will thank us forever for doing so.

 

 

Finally! A Picture

Graduation Day 30 May 2014

This is my family! L to R: JET, PW (Lt. Lehi), Dr. Hair (or Mr. Movie), TopDad, Dandylion, Noble, PFCMom, Grandpa (my dad)

Photo taken in Heritage Park, Old Town, San Diego on the occasion of PW's graduation from Marine Corps Recruit Training. We were all together for the first time in over four years. It was a glorious day!

After graduation we went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Old Town, had a delicious meal and lots of fun jabbering away with each other. When it was time to get the bill, TopDad was informed that the bill had been paid in full. We asked who, but were told that he wanted to remain anonymous. All the waitress would tell us was that he was in the Navy, had worked with Marines and thought Paul looked like an especially good Marine and he was proud and honored to pay for our meal. We teared up with gratitude and humility at being so honored by this good man.

We enjoyed a quiet Fourth this year, attending the local parade to see our boys play in the band and then relaxing at home. We had steak, potato salad, corn on the cob, and fruit to eat, and then just some more relaxing. The boys went to a nearby town to watch fireworks in the late evening.

I plan to post more pictures of our vacation, soon. A huge thank-you to my niece for taking the family photos.

Motherhood

Day Fourteen of Count Your Blessings 2013

Today I'm thankful to be a mother. For lots of reasons, but today for the reason that my children have introduced me to things I would never have explored otherwise.

I'm currently reading a book that Noble recommended in a genre that she loves. I can't put the dang thing down even though I have so many things to do! She's also the reason there is a jar of Kimchi in the fridge. I just had a craving for it! I'm also learning Korean, one word at a time.

Of course, my Korean gets mixed up with the Spanish I learned in my childhood and youth and try to keep up. But I'm nowhere near as fluent as PW. He gives me an incentive to get better. And then there's the guns and airplanes to learn about! And he was my first Lego Man, but not the last.

I know a lot more about the inner workings of automobiles because of JET. He loves cars! So I hear about them when he comes to visit. I love his enthusiasm. I always thought a vehicle was just a way to get from point A to point B. But he knows how to drift!!! And other cool things.

Dr. Hair has taught me to look at movies in a whole new way. As a film-maker himself he notices effects, camera angles, bloopers and such. And he can remember dialog from movies seemingly without effort. He's also the younger Lego Man. A master builder with visions and skills that rival professionals.

I sat through a year of violin lessons with Dandylion before getting up the courage to take lessons for myself. Seeing him do it gave me hope that I could learn too. It gave me great joy for four months before finances fell apart and I had to stop. We had fun playing a few duets too. He has music in his soul! I've learned to listen closer to hear the different instruments being played. He plays percussion and those instruments are not always easy to distinguish. But I'm getting better.

My cooking skills are legendary (within my family) having been honed over twenty-four years of feeding hungry children. My patience has increased exponentially over the years. I'm grateful to have learned selflessness through motherhood. And I'm so grateful for all the joy! Especially as my children become my best friends as they reach adulthood.

My only regret is that I couldn't have had five more!