recognizing God's kindness

In a General Conference talk given by Henry B. Eyring in October 2007, he admonished us to reflect upon, recognize, and remember evidence of God's kindness in our everyday lives. I love this talk, especially in light of my word for 2009, and before I go to bed want to record His kindness shown to me today.

I've had a very busy day, leaving the house shortly after 8 a.m. to go to the high school to measure the choir kids for musical costumes. After a couple of hours there, I ran home to pick up a set of plans needed at a jobsite (I work for a custom home builder), then picked up my mom and left for the construction site to deliver said plans. From there we went approximately 20 miles north for a slew of errands, stopping at Marshalls, Homegoods, Capabilities (a store with aids for the blind), Penneys, Lamps Plus, and Hobby Lobby. (Good thing my 82-year-old mother still has shopping stamina!)

I arrived home at 4:30 p.m., just in time to take the kids to their piano lessons, stopping at another store on my way home from dropping them off to make a quick return. After preparing, eating, and cleaning up dinner (by this time about 8:30 p.m.) I ran over to my friend Paula's house (nearby) to borrow a tool needed for framing pictures. We chatted for over an hour (so fun, as we haven't done this for a while) and when I got in my car to leave at 10:15 p.m. it wouldn't start. Would. Not. Start.

I tried the Wiggling-Wire-Trick that had worked for me previously in the parking lot of Sam's Club when my car had not started. I tried swearing at the car under my breath. I finally called Mark (who was already ready for bed) and I said a prayer that--if my car was going to die--please let it die a peaceful death at home, rather than behind my friend's car in her driveway.

Upon Mark's arrival, and with the help of Paula's handy husband--who used a broom handle to prod some contraption connected to the starter--my car started and I drove it home.

The hand of God, you ask? Think of all of the places my car might have died today, leaving my mom and me stranded far from home. Of all the stopping and starting my car did today, it gave out in the nearby driveway of a very dear friend with a very helpful husband. For this I am very grateful.

Guess I'd better look for an old broom to throw in the back of my car.

rockin' end to a snowy day

I woke up to about four inches of snow, which continued to come down heavily all morning long. Mercifully, Mark traded me cars, as mine is not so good in bad weather and I have a longer commute to work than he does. This photo doesn't really do the day's weather justice. I took my camera with me to work, thinking I would be an awesome blogger and snap a photo along the way. My drive ended up being of the white-knuckled variety so thoughts of blog posts were put aside.
It had stopped snowing by the time I got home around 1:30 p.m. and I decided to shovel a bit, "a bit" being the operative phrase here. The snow was much heavier than I bargained for and I still had my high-heeled boots and skirt on. I decided it was a good project for John to finish when he came home from school.

I decided to try one of Michelle's recipes from her blog for dinner, a creamy potato soup, which--when paired with a loaf of my mom's homemade bread--made for a tasty meal at the end of a snowy day. For FHE we talked about Remembering (sound familiar?) and wrote thank-you notes. Before the kids went to bed, John cajoled Mark and I into joining the family rock band for a round of Guitar Hero. I sang the vocals on "Heart Breaker" and must admit that I've never really listened to the lyrics of that song before. It was a little weird to sing about "releasing my inner fantasy" with my kids.

The evening had a few rocky spots, but I'm choosing to remember the good parts. Remind me next time to let someone else take the group SP so my head doesn't look so large.

back in the rafters

I finally managed to dismantle my Christmas decorations and put them all in plastic bins, ready to stow in the garage rafters until next year. I'm sure glad that Storage of Christmas Boxes falls under Mark's job description, as I am not very good at standing on high ladders while hoisting large, heavy bins over my head.

The tree always seems a bit lonely after all the decorations come off, but I still think it's pretty (though I did notice a few strands of lights are not working--oh well, I'll deal with that next year).

Susan sent me a large box of beautiful assorted red ornaments to add to my tree this year. It took me way longer than in years past to sort and wrap everything. One idiosyncrasy of mine is that I like to dust the ornaments before I put them away. After all, they've been on the tree for about six weeks and no one dusted them while they were hanging there!

Moosey kept me company, cuddled up on the dirty table cloth (from John's birthday dinner) that hadn't yet made it into the laundry pile.

So now I feel a little blue and rather tired, but mostly relieved that I can now clean my house and move on with January.

happy 15th birthday John!

I always feel a little sorry for John on his birthday. It seems almost anti-climactic after the hoopla of the holidays, and some years--this one included--school has already started after the break. Happy Birthday. It's cold. It's January. Have fun at school.

Thankfully, John is easy to please and a good sport about the whole post-holiday-birthday thing. He started the day with a traditional box of Birthday Cereal, which in his case is Marshmallow Mateys. Inspired by his sisters, he decided he wants to fix up his bedroom for his main birthday gift. Before he came home from school, I made his bed with the new bedding that will inspire the palette for his room re-do. After a stop at Starbucks for a vanilla frappuccino (a treat--we never go there) he was pleasantly surprised with not only the new bedding ensemble, but also two new bed pillows from Emily. (His old ones were frightfully limp and lifeless!)

My mom came over later, homemade cake in hand, to help make dinner. Since my dad's birthday is the day before John's, and since we didn't want to make a roast with mashed potatoes and gravy two nights in a row (they both have the same favorite meal), we combined the family birthday dinners (more about my darling 89-year-old dad in an upcoming post).

My favorite gift for John was a larger-than-life framed photo of Moosey. The frame originally had a picture of Frank Sinatra in it and was on the clearance rack at Penneys. I replaced Frank with a black and white 12 x 12 photo of our adored pet cuddled up in her blanket. It will look perfect in his soon-to-be-painted room!


In addition to things for his room, he received an iTunes gift card (from Charlotte), a charger for his iPod, and a memory card to add to his cell phone. Mark selected the latter gift and John was beyond thrilled. I didn't even know you could buy memory upgrades for cell phones. It's a boy thing, I guess.

At the dinner table, when we each said something we love about John, I told him that I'm thankful and feel fortunate that I trust him. I appreciate that he wants to do what's right, even in a world where doing what's right isn't always "cool." I also love John for always telling me that he loves me--even when I drop him off at school, and even when he talks to me on the phone. I feel fortunate indeed to be his mother.

Another blessing? Look at what's waiting for us for tomorrow's breakfast:

this one's for you, Girls

Wood Family, Wood Family,
Be the strength!
Wood Family, Wood Family,
Go the length!

Feel the power.

final hurrah

Sarah had been pestering us all vacation long to go ice skating at a nearby outdoor rink. We thought we would go before Charlotte and Emily left, but for various reasons didn't, and wound up going Monday night for Family Home Evening, the night before school started again. Not being an outdoorsy or even remotely athletic girl, I was not looking forward to spending the evening in the freezing cold. I volunteered to stand on the sidelines and take pictures, even though I sort of felt like the "Boring Mom."

Though I did freeze and was sorely tempted to slip nonchalantly into the nearby Gap store, I was glad we went because the kids had so much fun. John is quite the speed skater, and Sarah--who I thought would be clinging to the side railing--didn't fall once. I guess she takes more after her Canadian-born father than her non-coordinated mother.

Lucky for me, John and Sarah worked up a sweat while skating and shed their outer-layer coats, which I gratefully accepted. I sat on one and covered up with the other. I wrapped Sarah's fleece scarf around my head and ears, and I'm quite sure I looked ridiculous huddled on a chair.

Sarah took a break and came to comfort me in my teeth-chattering condition.

When the kids were finally tired and ready to leave, I convinced everyone to pause under the light for a quick SP. It took a little persuading on my part, but they humored me. It's a little blurry, but I'll take what I can get under the circumstances.

I was ready for the hot cocoa we had upon returning home. Call me boring, but I'll take chocolate any day over any activity requiring dangerous footwear.

2009 word of the year

Of the many fun and relaxing things we did together during the Christmas holiday, one of our favorites was looking at family scrapbooks together. I started scrapbooking in 1995, and although I haven't always kept up-to-date with my albums, I have compiled about a dozen or more books through the years. We loved looking through the collection, marveling at how much younger everyone was (myself included), how cute the kids were as babies and young children, and reminiscing about various celebrations, friends, houses, and projects that have been a part of our family life.

Inspired by many of your New Year's resolutions, I had been thinking about choosing a word of the year, as many of my blogger friends do. After some thought and consideration, I have chosen remember as my word for 2009. Though a fairly mundane word at first glance, I have come to find many layers of meaning for me. As I was reading my scriptures last night, here are a few things I thought about:

• Remember to recognize and do the most important things first.
• Remember the happy times and be rejuvenated by them.
• Remember and learn from mistakes and hard times.
• Remember to look at the "big picture" when working toward long-term goals.
• Remember the things I need to take with me each day before I go out the door.
• Remember to think of others--and let them know that I am.
• Remember and reflect upon my baptismal and temple covenants.
• Remember and give honor to my ancestors.
• Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.
• Remember to reflect upon and acknowledge how I "have seen the hand of God reaching out to touch [me] or [my] family [each] day." (President Henry B. Eyring, Oct. '07 General Conference, "O Remember, Remember")
  
• Remember who I serve--my Savior, Jesus Christ.

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Helaman 5: 12

My goal for 2009: Remember.