I'm an ogre!!!

I know I am the only parent that won't allow my kids to wear pajamas, slippers, bathrobes, sweats, dirty clothes, ripped jeans, or the like to school. I have come to accept the fact that I am medieval in my thinking, certainly not "up with the times", and archaic. I am backwards in that my children have to be dressed to go to school, their pants have to stay at their waistlines, their shirts must have sleeves and have to amply cover their belt loops, there must be enough material in their shirts (whether it is thickness or amount) to wipe up a 1/2 cup of spilled water, shoes need to be tied, hair has to be combed and I need to see their eyes, not to mention their clothes are boring because they are clean and the graphics "are for babies."

My boys are being stifled because their hair is above their ears and off their collars, aren't allowed to have tattoos (even fake ones), or piercings. My girls live in a convent because they can't wear makeup at 12, have to wait to pierce their ears, lingerie (and we all know what I mean) is not appropriate over clothes or under for that matter, and it isn't cute to wear shirts that show the color of their bra or low-rider pants that have turned all the girls into plumbers.

Yes, I am of the monster clan. They can't play video games rated higher than "E", they can't watch TV rated higher than "G", they have to have a language filter on all their movies, they don't have all the latest hand-held gadgets, and alas we are in the dark ages because they don't have a TV in their room and the computer is password protected.

But, I wear my "ogre-ness" with pride. I had ogres as parents and I think I turned out okay. So, here is a cheer to all of us ogres out there. May we live long, polish our horns, sharpen our claws, oil our muscles, and raise the meanest monsters we can!!!!

Demons out!!!

Gremlins came to visit and reeked havoc on my piano. A couple of weeks ago I was playing and two keys in the middle of the piano were sticking together and playing at the same time. An irritation, but livable. If you pounded hard enough, they would un-stick for a couple of measures and you could keep playing.

Yesterday, I sat down those two keys weren't sticking anymore, but further up the piano about five were. What in the world? I thought I was going crazy.

The piano tuner came today and my gremlins have been discovered. Bless my pointed, little children's hearts. They were shoving pencils down into the mechanisms. Major sighs of relief. Now I have to think of REAL good punishment -- 50 lashes with a wet noodle.

Yesterday is gone . . . Tomorrow never comes. . . Therefore, you're stuck with today. So get with it already, would ya???

Wow, I'm such a philosophizer, doncha thunk???

Whoever coined the phrase, "Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, today is a gift that is why it is called the present" -- or however it goes -- must not have had kids, bad hair days, cars that won't start, leaky roofs, yards full of stickers, white socks now dirty from walking on floors (inside the house -- icky!!!), smeared toothpaste on mirrors and counters, garbage strewn all over from neighbors animals -- and then leaving their mountainous deposits in lawn . . . Dexter might step in it and sink up to his neck). Not to mention running from kid to kid trying to catch projectile discarded stomach contents and all the other lovelies that go with it!!!

I think someone once said something about cherishing the moment because when it is gone you will long for it (like to ask them if they'd like to spend a day at my house so they can relive those glory days) . . . and stop and smell the roses (impossible with a clothespin on your nose) . . . and this too shall pass (I've had enough of the passing, thank you very much) . . . and when you look back you will wonder where the time has gone (I know where the time has gone, I charted every minute waiting for the blessed angel of sleep to knock the lights out of my kids).

In retrospect though, there is a silver lining in every cloud. I got to sit on the couch holding my babies and not feel guilty about "wasting time." I didn't have to cook because it wouldn't be eaten anyway. The energy level was quite low and there was minimal fighting. No one complained when they watched a movie they'd seen "one hundred times." Andrew didn't complain when he was late for scouts because ice cream was the food of choice. And, I got to go to bed early with the sickies.

I received an e-mail reply to my last earth-shattering blog post about waking up and saying "thank you" -- already in conversation with Heavenly Father. What a magnificent thought. I'm thankful for a new day to stop and reflect on the gift that I did have yesterday of "setting myself aside" and focusing on those things that truly matter. Will my kids be malnourished because they had ice cream? Nope! Can I open windows and air out my house? Yup! Can I sit and hold my babies when they are full of energy and it isn't "cool" to be sitting with Mom? Nope! Are their brains going to rot out of their heads because we did nothing but fry our eyes staring at TV, computers, or games all day? Debatable, but Nope!

And, above all, they are off and running today. Yesterday is already forgotten. It is true . . . Cherish the moments -- they can seem eternal, but are gone in a flash. Stop and smell the roses -- even if they are rotten and stinky -- at least it means your nose still works!!!!

Writing for the sake of writing -- nothing to say!!!

Ever sit down to your computer and that little voice in the back of your head tells you that you should be writing something interesting, there has to be something worth talking about, how boring can your life be, journals -- what are they for again, and who cares anyway. Well, that is me. I looked at all those cute blog designs and figured that if I changed my blog design then at least I'm exerting some effort.

Then I saw that you could print out your blog in journal fashion and I thought how pathetic life can be sometimes.

Then that little voice inside of me slaps me across the face and repeats some of the things I heard at Women's Conference a couple of weekends ago. "Aren't you glad Heavenly Father doesn't get tired of making one more daisy?" "Aren't you glad Jesus Christ didn't get tired and complain about one more healing?" Set priorities, do those NEEDFUL things and not necessarily those things you think you SHOULD be doing. OOOHHHH, I need to repent.

So, I have decided that I will look for at least one thing of beauty each day and point it out to my kids. Heaven knows I spend enough time in the car there has to be something beautiful out there. At which point Karsten pointed at himself and said how much further do I have to look???? He has a good point. Hopefully if he combs his hair just right he can cover it. Kidding aside. The beauty is right in front of me and sometimes I look over the fence to see what is growing over there.

Don't try and outrun the spirit. And, move forward by slowing down. In Doctrine & Covenants 109, this section is the dedicatory prayer to the Kirtland Temple and a great section in learning how to pattern our homes after the temple. It emphasizes the need to organize, prepare and establish. I spend a lot of time establishing and not enough time organizing and preparing.

Repent, repent, repent. Wow, I'm thankful for another day.

And -- let me try this again!!

This is the solo part! Pretty darn good for only 6 months!!!

Andrew's violin contest

We are so proud of Andrew. This was his first competition -- and he sure looked great! He is required by his teacher to "compete" at least twice a year.

Here is Andrew as the "lead" of the group.








There were about 50 contestants from all ages. This group is only a portion of those that performed. Andrew is on the right, second row. In Andrew's defense of these pictures, his mother is a terrible photographer and these pictures were taken while they were preparing -- so he isn't staring off into space, not paying attention.










Andrew was required to perform a solo and a duet. The songs for solo were "Heel & Toe", "Edelweiss", and "Cripple Creek". The rules state that you have 30 minutes before you perform to work with your guitarist. They are not allowed to have met or practiced before this. They are judged on things like: tonal quality, rhythm, if they are in sync with the guitarist (the guitarist cannot slow down or repeat anything), strong start of each song, correct intro so guitarist can follow -- just to name a few.



Here Andrew is playing in the "Twin -- youth/youth" division. They played, "The Old French Waltz." Again, he first met this young girl (9 yrs. old) right before the performance. Andrew didn't place in this particular event, but it was a good experience for him to have to play and listen to another violinist.



Here is Andrew with the top contestants in his division. He ended up placing seventh. He wanted to place higher, but was pleased with his performance. Having never done something like this, he did a wonderful job.

Romance

Something special? Those mushy, gushy moments that make all the women blush and the men roll their eyes? Cherished moments that I hold dear to my heart and brings a smile to my face.

Actually, the first romantic experience I ever had was when I was in high school. I remember it was Valentine’s Day. Somehow my dad figured out I was going to be missing out and when I came home from school there was a red rose on my pillow with a little note telling me he loved me. Wow!!! That was going to be tough to top.

But, my honey has done just that. You would think it was a huge event, much built-up excitement, flowers, fancy clothes, or incredibly exquisite food. No, it is in all the little things that endear me so much.

For example, when we were dating Karsten’s favorite cereal was “Honey Nut Cheerios”. He used to cut the front of the box and write on it with cute poems and sayings using the “Honey Nut Cheerios” words.

When we got engaged, he didn’t have a ring because he wanted me to go with him and get exactly what I wanted. For two weeks, I wore a string he tied on my finger. Corny?? You bet!!! Special to me??? You have no idea!!!

There were those times when I would find a note on my car window, an extra bit of cash in my wallet with “no strings attached”, a closed door in the morning so I could sleep in, breakfast in bed with special foods that he knew I particularly liked, a clean house when I got home late, making the bed in the morning when I’m in a rush, and many more things that I couldn’t even begin to list here.

Of course there were flowers and chocolates, fancy dinners, and diamond rings mixed in between. But the most romantic thing my honey has ever done? That would be to take my hand, walk me to the alter, kneel across from me, look me in the eye, and tell me he would love me and cherish me for eternity in one simple word, “Yes.”

Well, with that being said. All I have to say is I’m sooo thankful that he was young, naive, and didn’t know what he was getting himself into. If he’d been able to read the fine print that said there were no refunds when the warranty ran out – you know what I mean, aching bones, gray hairs, lost memories, sagging and droopy body parts, wrinkles, arthritis, weight gain – ooohh, I better stop before I reveal all my deep, dark secrets – I wouldn’t be able to tell you that the most romantic thing now is when he still looks in my eyes, takes my hand, walks with me, kneels across the alter, and in doing so for another tells me he still loves and cherishes me forever. That is true romance!!!