A Gift of Fresh Air

Umm...I know this will be painful for my east coast friends to hear, but it is 59 degrees outside and we are going to have a high of 65 today.  I think I like January in Denver....

Sophie spent the morning riding her bike and drawing with chalk on the sidewalk.

I am mindful today once again of the gift that each day is.  My darling sister Eliza experienced a tragic miscarriage the other day.  She was nearly 16 weeks.

Today, my sister-in-law Elisabeth, who has experienced several heartbreaking miscarriages is in labor right now at the hospital with a full-term healthy baby boy.  This will be her 3rd child. 

I guess we never know what each day will bring us.  I can't help but ask myself, "Am I doing enough to enjoy my gift today?"

A Blast of Inspiration for...My Pantry

My older sister Marisa is in the process of redecorating her basement.  One of her kids flushed a garland down the toilet over the Christmas break...yep, a garland.  Let's just say that it did some damage to the sewage pipes and the flood pretty much ruined every surface in her basement.  Although it was a huge pain going through that ordeal...at Christmastime of course...she has been able to get new carpet, baseboards, paint, etc.  She is  looking for some fun new ideas for her kid's playroom, toy solutions, etc.

I jumped at the opportunity to help her come up with some ideas.  (Since I can't decorate my own, I should at least have fun dreaming up doing the space for someone else right?)  I have been peeking at different websites and blogs for inspiration.  I am blown away by the talent of so many women out there.  Ordinary woman who have created extraordinary homes. (By the way, what is the deal with so many of these bloggers being Mormon?)

One of my favorite inspiration sites of late is Centsational Girl.  This girl is amazing.  Her ideas are so practical and refreshing.  She did a guest spotlight on her post yesterday.  A girl from a blog called House Smiths. If you want to be inspired check out her guest post.  Here is just a sample of what she did in her pantry.  I am dying over this.

Photo from House of Smith

Photo from House of Smith

Are you kidding me??  Wow.  I love how the internet and more importantly blogging has opened the window to thousands of ideas of inspiration.   I get to take a peek into someone's Martha-esque house...a stranger no less...and I never even have to leave my own computer.  Pretty amazing.

Back to the playroom ideas.  I got distracted.  Marisa, I'll try and get some more ideas after I stop drooling over this pantry...

A Quilt without Fabric

I was recently called to serve as a counselor in the Relief Society in my ward.  For those of you who don't know, Relief Society is an all female organization in our church.  Its focus is to literally "provide relief" to those who stand in need of comfort.  The goal of the program is to help each other fortify our homes and strengthen our families.

Photo borrowed from my amazing friend Ellen's Blog.

We had our first meeting last night and invited all the women who are working in Relief Society in some capacity to get together to address the needs of the women in our congregation.

We sat around and introduced ourselves and had to share one or two interesting facts about ourselves.  As we each took our turn, it was very clear that I was surrounded by amazing women.  I was so touched by their life experiences.   I have so much to learn from them.

As I looked around, I couldn't help but think in many ways we are all like scraps of fabric.  Some are bold, some are subtle and some are even a little tattered, but coming together with our varied life experiences and having a chance to serve one another is forming a beautiful quilt.

 I am grateful to be a part of such an organization.  I am glad that I am testing what it feels like to truly "Embrace" this opportunity to serve.  It is already changing me.  It feels nice to be a part of something good.

Shattered Dreams of a Six-Year-Old

For the past several months, Christian has been making some big plans.  I am pretty sure that he thinks he is going to be recruited for the NBA...as a six-year-old. We signed him up for a "Little Dribblers" basketball team at our local recreation center and he has been DYING for the games to start.  For the past few weeks, he is constantly asking me to remind him how many days are left until the "Big Opening Day Game."

To get ready for his basketball season, he has spent countless hours in our basement playing on a plastic basketball standard that we set up.  He has been working on his dribbling and of course his 3-point shot.

The big opening day for his first practice/game was this past Saturday.  He got up really early that morning and proudly put on his basketball shorts, t-shirt and shoes.  He walked around trying not to smile.  It was adorable.

As we got ready to go, he asked Romney if he looked "Basketball-ish" and then proceeded to tell us that he was pretty sure that he was going to score 60 points and that he was going to dunk most of his shots.  He was completely serious. (Sorry no pics, I forgot my camera.)

Well...the game did not exactly go as he had envisioned.  He quickly found that it is pretty chaotic on the court with 10 other little 6-year-old boys who have never played basketball and have no idea how to pass to each other. Things got pretty bad when a loose ball hit him smack in the nose and a rebound or two hit him in the head.

Despite his "I'm Open" pleas, he never even got his hands on the ball...which meant of course...no 60 points.  He was so deflated.  I ached for him and wondered what was going through his head as I watched him on the sidelines rubbing his swollen red nose and desperately trying not to cry.

But I was so proud of him because every time he was put in the game, he ran his little heart out and whenever one of his teammates scored a basket, he would cheer as loud as could be.  So, even though it was obvious that it was not the start of his "glory days," he did learn that being a part of a team is also pretty cool.

Impatiently Learning Patience

A year and a half ago, we decided to sell our home in Sandy, Utah.  We lived in that house for nearly 4 years and although we loved the spectacular mountain views, the flat streets, the proximity to the elementary school and our amazing ward, we never felt fully planted there.  We sort of always felt that we had another move left before we found "The" house where our family would grow up.  So, off and on, we were on the look-out for the perfect neighborhood and home.

But in the winter of 2009, when Romney decided to quit his job due to lack of funding, we found ourselves with a decision to make.  We realized that one way we could maximize our savings and stretch our money would be to sell our house and then temporarily move our family into a home that we have owned as a rental property.  All this was going to happen until Romney was able to find stable employment.  It felt like the right thing to do.  We got the house ready and despite the stagnant and depreciating Salt Lake housing market, we got a great offer 5 weeks after the sign went in the yard. (Can someone say phew?!!)

We moved our little family into this home that over the years has been a thorn in our side.  We have always regretted this investment and it has had more problems that you can imagine.  (At one point we were convinced the house was cursed...it isn't...even though it was struck by lightning...)  Despite our temporary arrangement, we found refuge from our storm in that house.  We quickly adjusted to our new, but temporary lives. 

Then 15 months after Romney quit, a new and great job offer came and here we are in Denver in another temporary housing situation...our lease is up next month.  I find myself longing to plant my feet.  Our lives have felt temporary for a while now.  However, now that the time is nearly here to buy a home and plant my family, I find myself wanting to take it slowly.  I find myself needing to be P.A.T.I.E.N.T. 

A lot is riding on this move for my kids.  Do I really want to rock the boat for them again??  We need to get it right, so I am going to take my time to do just that.  Although I am DYING to be in a house where I can actually unpack all the boxes and in a house where it will feel like our own with our family photos hanging on the walls and where the kids will actually want to hang out with their friends, a lot is riding on this decision.  So...I will continue to impatiently... I mean...patiently wait to put up a, "Welcome Home Sign."

I am reminding myself to be grateful and more importantly to "grow where I am planted."  Patience.

A Man Who Had the Courage to Change the World

The older I get, the deeper my respect grows for Martin Luther King Jr...a man who had the courage to change the world.  The hatred and divisiveness in the country was beyond anything I can imagine, but he stood up for what he knew to be true...that we are all children of God.  And despite the resistance he faced, he persevered and succeeded.  He changed the world.

One of the most powerful things he said was, "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

I love that my kids are growing up in a world where the color of one's skin is irrelevant.  We have immediate family members and close friends of various races and my kids only see them as people they love.

Thank you Mr. King for having the courage to resist the hatred against your message of peace and acceptance...(I have a hard enough time trying to establish "sibling peace" in my own home let alone taking on the contention in the world!) 

Our country has a long ways to go, but I think we are closer than ever to the reality he hoped for which is that, "One day we will live in a nation where we will not be judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character."

Amazing What $15 Can Buy...

For the past several years, Romney and I have tried to make a habit of taking the kids on a date.  We are not that consistent at doing it, but we have found that those dates provide some quality one-on-one time that is nearly impossible to achieve at home.  (My dad was great at taking the time to do that with me and some of my fondest childhood memories with him are from those dates.)

Christian has been begging me to take him on a date, but for what ever reason, we have not been able to find the time to go.  So finally on Saturday morning, I told him that we were going on a date, just the two of us.  I did not really have anything planned, but he was so excited.

We started the morning at Krispy Kreme and ended our date at Boondocks Fun Center.  We rode a go-cart, played dozens of arcade games and climbed through the play land...together. Yep, even me.

It wasn't much effort on my part, but I'll tell you that I have not felt that loved in a long time.  He kept hugging me and telling me that I was the best mom in the world.

On the drive home, he told me with his cute squinty eyes, "Mom, this has been the best day of my life!"

A perfect way to spend a morning...all for $15 bucks and a few hours of my time. Turns out, that morning was just what I needed. Thank you Christian!