Water Fight

This afternoon I was attending a bridal shower for one of my friend's daughters when I got a phone call from my youngest child. He wanted to know what had happened to the big bag of water balloons we had. I told him where they were and thought "water balloons sound like fun on a warm March day."
By the time I arrived home though they had tossed all the balloons and moved on to buckets and hoses. The sons, the daughter and the roommates all seemed to be enjoying themselves. It's hard to believe that it's still cold in a lot of the USA right now. I love Tempe, Arizona in March!!

Today I am thankful for

children that enjoy doing things together.

happy occasions to celebrate with my friends.

opportunities to sleep in.

Road Block

The oldest son's wedding has hit a road block.
The road block is not really a surprise.
We have been aware that it existed for a while now.
There have been warning signs flashing
along the road as we have moved toward our destination.
Every now and then we have even caught a glimpse of it
off in the distance and wondered
if there would come a time when it
might impede our forward progress.
Road workers were consulted
and they predicted that most likely,
with caution and some help
from an experienced road crew,
it could be navigated around.
That's why most of us were a little taken by surprise
when today we got right next to the road block
and discovered it's actual size.


What had appeared to be rather small and manageable
from a few miles away
now appears quite massive and a little scary.
And the hardest part of all
is that while many of us can stand here
and offer support and suggestions
the heavy duty road block removal
has fallen on the tiny shoulders of the fiancee.
It is her road block to conquer.
At the moment she's not sure if she is up to the task.
The road block appears huge
and she is so small.
She has known for a long time that this road block
was going to have to be approached
and dealt with at some point in her journey
but now that she is face to face with it
she doesn't have a clue how to make a dent
in this gigantic mountain before her.
She is feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.
It seems like it would be easier to just give up.
Perhaps turn around and take a different route,
but now that she has acknowledged the road block
it seems to stop her progess
no matter which direction she turns.
She is stuck.
I hope she can realize
that she doesn't really have to remove
this road block all by herself.
Her loving Savior, Jesus Christ,
is an expert at getting rid of
seemingly insurmountable obstacles
and he is waiting right there
ready and willing to help
as soon as she asks.
We, on the other hand,
are just waiting
and praying.

Happy News!

Just in case you read this post
and failed to read this post when I inserted it
you might want to go back and review them
before you read today's post
or you might be a little bit confused.
Actually, you might still be a little bit confused
I'll admit I am.

Now that you are all caught up
I would like to announce
that the oldest son and the roommate/girlfriend
got engaged tonight!
You can read all about it here.

I will tell you all
that he gets his romantic nature from me
and his fondness for Taco Bell from his dad.
Unfortunately,
he also gets his decision making skills from me
and proposing
and choosing a ring
are the only decisions concerning the marriage
that have been made so far.
Stay tuned for more exciting details
that will hopefully be following soon.

Today I am thankful for

a happy son and soon to be daughter-in-law.


happy occasions that get my entire family together.
helpful siblings.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - Sometimes

Tonight the oldest son decided to abandon his melancholy mood long enough to attend the Youth Concert with our family. There were a lot of us who decided to participate by being the audience including all of my children, the son-in-law and the roommates. The daughter, with the roommates, sat in a different part of the building since a couple of ex-boyfriends were located in our area, one being my son.

Following the concert the son went out to the hall to get a drink of water while I talked to some family and friends. All the sudden here comes the son back, holding hands with the roommate, big smiles on both of their faces. I'm still unsure what brought about the change and so is the son, but he says he's not going to ask any questions. He is just too happy! She seems to be pretty happy too. Go figure.

I guess in this case absence did make the heart grow fonder. Unfortunately, the other ex-boyfriend is already married to someone else and he seemed pretty fond of his wife. Sorry other roommate.

Speaking of old girlfriends, tonight there were quite a few non member youth who came to watch their friends perform. One of the girls, who was sitting the row in front of us, looked very familiar to me. I finally figured out that she was someone that the youngest son had gone to elementary school with. This young lady had quite a crush on him, especially when they were in the 4th and 5th grade. He liked her too, but he was a little more smitten with someone else. Their 5th grade teacher was engaged to be married the year they had her and so there seemed to be an extra dose of romance floating around in their classroom. For Valentine's Day the teacher decided to have a Valentine Tea and she encouraged all the boys to ask one of the girls as a date. Now, I am a prude and I was not really in favor of this idea. I thought perhaps the moms and dads should have been invited instead (perhaps I just wanted to be able to enjoy all the fancy treats that I was being asked to provide). Anyway, I remember my son stressing about if he should ask someone and who he should ask but I honestly don't recall how it all ended up. What I do remember is hearing about my son's part on the program. He and this girl sang a duet together.

They sang LOVE.

L is for the way you look at me,
O is for the only one I see,
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore.
Love is all
That I can give to you
Love is more
Than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart
And please don't break it
Love was made
For me and you.

I still have a hard time figuring out what possessed him to do that and I am still amazed that none of his friends laughed him out of the school. Oh, and remember this is the boy that "doesn't sing". Anyway, tonight it just so happened that she was there to watch the same person perform that this son was there to watch. She is a good friend (perhaps not as good as he would like however. A mother is never really sure). Well, the two girls got talking and it came out that they both knew the son, but this girl was sure (actually hoped) that he didn't remember her. He was called over and a jaunt down memory lane ensued. Yes, he remembered her. Yes, he remembered singing that song with her. They had a good laugh together. However in this case I don't think absence had made the heart grow fonder. I think absence just proved how silly elementary school crushes look from the perspective of time.

Today I am thankful for

the smile on my oldest son's face. I hope it stays there.
youth who are willing to perform uplifting music so I can feel the spirit and receive inspiration.
my Savior, Jesus Christ.

First Dates and Last Dates

We have been experiencing the dating spectrum in our home this week, along with all the subsequent emotions that accompany such associations with the opposite sex.

My youngest son announced to me the other day that he had asked a girl out on a date. His first date. This was planned in conjunction with some of his siblings, but it was definitely news to me. I remember a discussion I had with a friend exactly a year ago. She has a son who is about 8 months older than my son and I was questioning her about him driving and also dating. I told her I could picture my son driving a car much easier than I could imagine him being mature enough to actually go on a date. I still feel the same way today. I have accepted the fact that this son can drive, although I am still not convinced that he is actually ready for his real driver's license. However, this whole going out with a girl is a lot harder for me to comprehend. As this child's mother, I have seen him at his silliest, and I question what girl would consider him dating material. (Actually, he has some very mature, quite adorable moments, and I'm sure this is the side he reveals to the young ladies.) It's just hard for me to realize that my small one is growing up and moving on. Tonight was the date which included a visit to an elementary school carnival and feeding the ducks and playing on the playground at the local park (appropriately chauffeured and chaperoned by his sister) and apparently it was a good one, at least in my son's opinion.

On the same day that I received the first date announcement, I also began to realize that all was not well in my oldest son's dating life. While son #2 was experiencing the positive, hopeful side of dating, the other son was experiencing the extreme opposite. The girlfriend/roommate had decided that things weren't going where she believed they were meant to be going and had announced that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him. This has been a very challenging experience for him and one that he has to work through for himself. It is hard for me to watch him go through all that this entails.

I sometimes think that it is truly amazing that so many of us are able to find our future life partner through this challenging, frightening, exciting experience that we call dating. It often seems like the person that we can imagine spending eternity with is busy imagining spending it with someone else. Dating is hard work. It isn't easy. Dating is sometimes full of the highest highs and sometimes it brings with it the lowest lows. It is scary to open ourselves up to the possibility of being hurt or rejected. It definitely requires stepping outside of our comfort zone, and sometimes it doesn't turn out the way that we hope that it will (and then sometimes it does). However, I do know that dating is part of Heavenly Father's plan for us and that regardless of what happens he knows what that plan is. The important thing is to make sure that we have faith in Him and trust in His love for us, knowing that he will support us and uplift us through whatever experiences come our way.

I love you, my boys, and look forward to seeing both of you married in the temple to a special girl when the time is right in Heavenly Father's plan for you. Stay close to Him so you will be ready when that time comes.

Today I am grateful for

the comfort of knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of His children.
Children that support each other.
things I accomplish, even if they're tiny.

The Son's Talk

Today my youngest son gave a talk in church. He was asked to speak on his favorite address from the recent General Conference. As an unbiased mother I thought he did an amazing job. I was impressed that he took the points that Elder Wirthlin talked about and personalized them with his own experiences. Here is what he said.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a talk I really enjoyed entitled come what may and love it. In his talk he shared a story of losing a particularly tough football game in which his team ultimately met its demise. He went home feeling very discouraged. When he arrived home his mother listened to his sad story and replied. “Joseph, come what may and love it.”
He goes on to say I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems the birds don’t sing and the bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.
He gives four things that can help us through times of testing and trial. I would now like to share them with you. The first is to learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though the person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? There is an antidote for this: learn to laugh. Not too long ago my mom’s cell phone fell out of her pocket when we were changing places so I could drive home from school. I unknowingly destroyed it with the front tire of the van. She didn’t realize what had happened until we got to our house. My mom could have gotten mad at me for running over her phone or at herself for putting the phone in a pocket that she knew it had a tendency of falling out of. Instead she turned the experience into a humorous story about my hit and run accident that she was an accomplice to.
The second is to seek for the eternal. We may feel singled out when adversity enters our lives. We may shake our heads and wonder, “why me?” But the dial on the wheel eventually points to each of us. At one time or another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt. Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others. Remember the words of the savior to the prophet Joseph Smith when he suffered with his companions in liberty jail. “My son, peace be unto thy soul: thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. And then, if you endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high: thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” With that eternal perspective, Joseph took comfort from these words, and so can we.
The third is the principle of compensation. The lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the lord will be added unto them in his own way. When I was 9 my dad lost his job. As the Christmas season rolled around my parents were very worried about how they would be able to buy any presents for us. They knew the importance of paying tithing but needed all the money we had to pay the bills and there would be none left over to buy us kids presents. They decided to pay their tithing regardless. A few days later my mom went outside and on our van was an envelope with a target gift card worth $200. They were rewarded for their commitment to keep the commandments and were able to buy us presents. Despite the fact that my dad didn’t have a permanent job for over a year our family always seemed to have money to meet our needs.
And the fourth and final thing is to trust in the father and the son. Last week at the Bishop’s youth discussion we watched a video about President Thomas S. Monson’s life. I would like to share a story from it with you. It is about a young girl named Crystal Methvin. Crystal had cancer and her parents wanted her to receive a blessing from a general authority. They showed Crystal a picture of Thomas S. Monson. She said “he looks like a nice man. I think he is the one.” They planned to take a trip to Salt Lake to receive the blessing but because of Crystal’s condition they were unable to. When Crystal’s parents told her that they couldn’t make the trip her response was “well if I can’t go to elder Monson then surely he can come to me.” President Monson did in fact make it to her stake for a stake conference but because of time would be unable to travel the 80 miles to the Methvin home. As President Monson was preparing his notes to speak a voice spoke to his spirit. “Suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of god.” President Monson asked a bishop close by him to call and inform the Methvin’s that he would be in their home the next morning. When president Monson arrived at their home he knelt down by Crystal’s side and said “Crystal I’m here.” To which Crystal replied “Elder Monson I just knew you would come.” I do believe that this little girl’s faith in Heavenly Father granted her the last wish of her young life.
In closing he say’s "as we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our heavenly father, we can endure hardship and trials. We can say as my mother did “come what may, and love it.”

Now if he could just learn to walk the walk as well as he talks the talk. Someone told me today that they could tell he was my son. I'm sorry that I've passed on some of my negative traits along with the positive ones, but I'm even more glad there were some positive ones to pass on.

Tonight the roommate/girlfriend spoke in the 3rd Sunday Mission President's fireside for investigators of the church. Our family all went to listen and support her. She did a wonderful job sharing her testimony about how she came to know the church was true. Her mom also came to listen to her which was really nice. She has come a long way from wanting to crash the baptism to supporting her daughter's religious choices at least to some degree. I hope her heart continues to be softened.

Today I am thankful for

a church that gives young men and women the opportunity to speak in front of large audiences.
soft hearts.
beautiful music that brings the spirit with it.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Living in Arizona it is sometimes difficult to remember Pioneer Day since it is just another day of the week here and nothing special. I was reading a friend's blog and was grateful for the reminder she gave me that today was a day for reflection. I am grateful for my pioneer ancestors, the Smiths, the Cheevers, the Braithwaites, the Martells, the Stokers, the Rileys ... all those that were probably afraid, but were still willing to take a step (or 2 or 3 or thousands) into the dark because of the faith they had in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. I often wonder where I would be and what my life would be like if it were not for them and their faith. Did they realize how many lives they would impact when they took that first step? I have been listening to a CD about faith by Jack Christianson. He asks a question in this talk that has caused me to pause and think. "What have I done today in faith?" What choices do I make every day because of faith? Do I read my scriptures because I have faith that it will make a difference in my day and my life? Do I say my prayers having faith that my Heavenly Father is there listening and wanting to bless me? Do I get out of bed with faith that I will eventually feel better if I just get up and make an effort to do something? Do I let my 16 year old get behind the wheel of our van with faith that we will reach our destination safely? Will the choices I make in faith today make a difference in the lives of those that come after me? Do I have faith that they will? Not all pioneers lived a hundred years ago. There are pioneers all around us. My friend's mother has cancer and she is in the process of having her stem cells harvested so she can beat this disease. She is grateful for medical pioneers who spend their time and energy in looking for ways to fight other people's battles. The pioneer that has touched my life the most this year is my son's girlfriend, who is also my daughter's roommate.

She has recently taken a huge step in faith. She made the decision to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptised despite opposition from her family. She had faith that this decision would make a positive difference in her life. I sometimes wonder if I would have had the courage and the faith to join the church if I had not been blessed to be born into a family that had already found the gospel. I admire the pioneer spirit I see in this young woman.

I am grateful for all of the pioneers in my life. Hopefully I can remember their faith and follow their example. I really liked the thought my friend ended her blog for today with. I will steal it to complete mine as well.

"Thank heaven we can look backward to remember, forward to hope and be present to find peace and joy!"

I hope you remember what I'm thankful for today from reading this blog. I'm too lazy to write them again.

Poison Cake

Today daughter the younger made the announcement that her elder brother has a date tomorrow. This was news to me. Well, the date included him serving lunch in the back of his truck and he decided to bake his favorite dessert, white Texas sheet cake. This cake is his favorite because it has almond extract in the batter and the frosting and he loves almond extract! He bought neon food coloring so he could make it a beautiful shade of pink - the recipient's favorite color. Just as he was taking the cake out of the oven and stirring the frosting for the last time she called and for some unknown reason he decided to ask her if she had any food allergies. I bet you can guess what her answer was. Yup, she has two and one of them just happens to be ALMONDS. I think he really wanted to cry. We all had fun giving him a hard time about trying to kill his date. As his family we thought it was only right for us to destroy the evidence, as in eat the cake, but he insisted that she was going to get to see it even if she didn't get to eat it. Maybe tomorrow we'll get to devour it. I can hardly wait.


Here is the recipe for the cake just in case you know someone who is allergic to almonds that you want to get rid of. It's also just plain delicious if you want to try a good cake.

White Texas Sheet Cake
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
In a large saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, almond extract, salt and baking soda until smooth. Pour into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until cake is golden brown and tests done. Cool for 20 minutes.
Frosting
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup milk
41/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Combine butter and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; add sugar and extract. Mix well. Stir in walnuts; spread over warm cake.
Yield 16 to 20 servings.