From their own Perspective

I asked the kids what I should write about them, and Joseph, Jesse and Mary responded.  The rest is my input.  You have to chuckle just a little at this, I'm sure!

Jesse is legit and she can play the piano like Beethoven.  And she likes going to bed, and she wakes up at 5:00 in the morning to practice, and still makes it to family scripture study.

Joseph's Varsity soccer team beat the other top team in the league 3-0 on Saturday!  Wohoo!  Joseph is so awesome that he doesn't even need to say anything about how cool he is.  Oh, and all the chicks dig Joseph.  He also started on his Eagle Scout Project.  He is building a sand volleyball court at a local park.

Mary is tired!  She played two soccer games on Saturday, and came home exhausted.  Fasting today also contributed, but she was faithful and fasted the whole time.  Mary is having an awesome time in 8th grade with all her friends.  They meet every day at lunch in the art teacher's room.  The art teacher has nicknamed them her "Lunch Entourage".

Peter made a goal in his U-11 game last Saturday.  I was just getting to the game, so I happened to be walking behind the goal at the time.  All of a sudden here came Peter up the left side of the field with the ball. And there was a kick and the ball was in the back of the net!  Wohoo Peter!  It was fun to see that #25 with our last name on it running down the field.  Since Peter is in U-11 this year, he got to purchase his own uniform.  Boy, is he proud of that uniform!  He takes good care of it too.

Libby is learning to do a back walkover on the balance beam in gymnastics.  Can you believe it?  And she can also do a front handspring.  Her gymnastics teacher says you just tell Libby to do something and she does it.  When we take her to Jesse and Joseph's soccer games at the park, she can easily be spotted as the girl doing cartwheels and walkovers and handsprings all over the park.

Bruce was injured badly on Thursday helping a friend round up some cows for an auction.  Bruce said when he came home that they learned that it was a bad idea to round up black cows at night!  One cow decided to run right into him, so his right quadriceps muscle is deeply bruised.  He finally started to feel some relief today, which was good because he was grimacing with every step.  Of course this didn't stop him from working from morning until late at night.  He worked helping Joseph with his Eagle Project, and then helped round up horses for Joseph's date.  (Oh yes, I forgot to write that Joseph went on a date last night, and part of it was horseback riding.) Then he set up the sound system, etc, etc.  AND he loaded the dishwasher to boot!!

I enjoyed the General Relief Society Meeting!  When Sis Allred showed the picture of the Paraguayan family I all of a sudden had tears streaming down my face.  I thought of the Villareal family in Huanuni (a small mining town in Bolivia where I served my mission), and of course I started to cry.  I loved Sis. Thompson's words when she said, "Visiting teaching is never done!"

I got to give two Raindrops this week, which was so fun.  I love doing that.

I am looking forward to General Conference this week!  As a family we watch in on lds.org or byu.tv.  I love hearing from apostles and prophets.

Today when we came home from Church, we walked into the living room and had our own family testimony meeting.  I am so grateful that the children are willing to do that.  I don't think they have any idea how much I love to hear them bear their testimonies.  We need to Skype Joshua next time we do that.

Joshua is doing great at BYU-I.  He is enjoying his classes.  He had his first competitive soccer game (at 10:00 pm no less!) this week, and they won 2-1.  Only in a college town!!

I want to say how much I love being a mother and doing what I'm doing in my life right now.  The other day Peter said to me, "Mom you dream of having a clean house."  I thought about that for a moment, and then said.  "No, I don't dream about that, because if I did, then we would have a clean house."  My point was, that I have put a lot of other things as higher priorities.  I told Peter, "My dream is to have children that play the piano, and read, and get good grades, and are good soccer players."  He said, "But you already have that!"  Ha ha My point exactly.  This is what I really want, and that's what I've got.  I also love my Young Living business.  It is exactly what I've wanted to do for the last twenty years, and now I find myself with all the tools, the timing, the product, the mentoring - everything flowing together so I can live that dream.  All I'm missing now is about 12 more hours in the day!!  Ha ha  :)

I know, I know.  Everybody has the same 24 hours.  We just do the best we can with the time given.

I love you all who read this blog - thank you for all your comments.  I love them!!

Soccer

We are smack in the middle of the Fall soccer season and all it's attendant hair-wringing, heart-pounding, and house-ignoring days.  But most of all, it's happy children days.  In the end, I told my friends the other day, that's what it comes down to.  When the kids get in the car after being at soccer, they are laughing, chatting away, telling me all about it.  They love it.  I think the outdoors, the exercise, the social aspect, plus the competition - it all works together to make it so they love it.

Except Libby.  She plays soccer and it's OK, but her new passion is GYMNASTICS!  She has learned to do a back walkover!  She takes classes with a local teacher, and it's low key but fun.

Here are some pictures that a friend took of some of this season of the Boys High School Soccer Team.

Joseph snatches the ball...

And gets around his man!

Go Joseph!

Now here's the wind up...

And the release!

And it was a miss - wide and to the left.  But a great shot!

Josh reported that he tried out and made it on a competitive Intermural soccer team at BYU-I.  He was really excited about that!

We had Stake Conference this weekend.  On the Sat evening session, I led the music for the congregation, and also sang with a octet, singing Love One Another.  We sang the same arrangement years ago in 4th Ward.  We brought a lot of the same people back to sing - LeeAnn, Suzanne, Aaron, DaraDee and Justin, and then added Tyson and Clark, and we had a really nice group.  It was fun to sing with them!

This morning, I led the music again for the congregation, and I also directed the Youth Choir, who was the choir for the conference.  Jesse accompanied on the piano.  For prelude we sang "I Stand All Amazed", "The Lord is My Shepherd", "Abide With Me!", and "Nearer My God to Thee." On that one, I started them a cappella, and led them for about a measure, and then I just went and sat down.  It was the coolest thing.  They sang all three verses a cappella by themselves.  Afterwards, everyone that talked to me said that was their favorite part.  We also sang Sweet Hour of Prayer, a Hymnplicity arrangement, and O Holy Jesus, the same arrangement that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings on their "Consider the Lilies" album.  I loved it.  When I was walking out in the hall before the meeting, I heard a choir member, a 15 year old girl, humming that tune as she walked down the hall!  That's what I'm talking about!  Having that beautiful melody and the attendant reverence that it brings, going through your heard.  I loved that.  It was SO FUN to lead the music today, both for the choir and the congregation. Choir director - that would be my next job occupation after alternative health care.

Besides that, the speakers from the Stake Presidency were great.  Pres. _____ talked today and last night about covenants, and being bound to the Lord.  I am thankful for my covenants, and I'm grateful that they bring me unto Christ, because I want to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ and prophesy of Christ.  I want to be like Him, and to be with Him.

Friday we went out to pull pipe.  We had some good teams going - we're getting better every time because the kids are getting older and better. We only got halfway done, though, before it got dark, so now we have to carve out another two hours sometime to go out and finish.  No easy task, with our schedules, I'll tell you.

Thank goodness Grandma stacks her freezer full of good food for us!

Tender Mercies

I volunteered to coach Mary's soccer game today because both coaches were going to be gone.  I was supposed to take the net and the flags as part of my coaching responsibility.  I forgot them.  I didn't remember until we were at the game, getting out of the car.  OH NO.  The game was away, and we were half hour from being able to get the net and flags, so that option was out.  My only hope was that the other coach would be close enough to pick up a net and flags, if possible.  As I walked morosely out toward the field, I noticed that each corner had a flag already, and the nets were already up.  This is a brand new field this year, and apparently they saw fit to outfit the field with flags and the nets.  A parent was there, and aware of my situation commented, "You must be living right."  Well, I don't know about that, but I'm so grateful that the Lord provided a tender mercy for me.

Besides that, I got to the field with "Drive to Empty" miles on our truck.  And I went a long ways on that.  (I know it's not good for the engine).

Two very tender mercies for me today.  I acknowledge the hand of the Lord in blessing my life.

Dinner?

I forgot to post this about Josh being dropped off at BYU-I.  We said good-bye to him around 5:30 pm, and then we went over to Mom and Dad's and spent some time with Angie and kids there before taking off for home.  (Grandpa literally pushed us out the door).

Josh called around 10:30 pm just brimming with excitement.  They had watched the BSU game over at Jancen's (with more and more girls coming in all the time, including Raigen), and then gone to play Ultimae Frisbee.  After Raigen insisted that they "must do something for the talent show", Josh informed me that they were going over to his courtyard to practice "Beat It", the Michael Jackson dance they did last year for Show Choir.  This was at 10:30 pm.  After all that, I asked him what he ate for dinner?  He replied, "Dinner? Oh, I never had dinner.  I'm not hungry."  Ha ha ha ha.   He was having so much fun that dinner was way down on the priority list.  Now that is college life isn't it?  I love it.

Renewed Commitment

I'm going to blog. Even if it's only a few sentences at a time. I used to blog on Sunday afternoons. That time seems to have disappeared into thin air.

We dropped off Josh last weekend at college! He started classes on Thursday. He reported that none of his classes "were hard at all". Ha ha That made me grin. I hope that remains true! He went with three of his roommates to Grandma and Grandpa's. How fun is that? Is was weird for me to think that he was at my parent's house without me. That doesn't happen very often. I had to admit to myself that I was a little envious.

Joseph got a hairline fracture in his right fibula last Tuesday. It didn't even show up in the x-rays, but my friend Karen tested that the bone was compromised. We have been putting basil and marjoram (for muscle), wintergreen (for bone) and lemongrass (for ligaments) on the injury. He is able to put weight on it and walk without pain, but not for very long. It starts hurting soon. But it will heal up quickly, and he won't be out the entire season like we thought at first. Sadly, my nephew Chris did break his wrist and will be out for the rest of the season.

A sad thing happened at our high school this past week. A 15 year old classmate of Jesse's - a sophomore - was hit by a car driven by an 89-year old man in a cross-walk by the school, and died. He was not a friend of Jesse's but she had classes with him last year. Today Jesse told me that she had learned he was an only child. Oh, I just can't imagine something like that. Unfathomable.

Jesse is working so hard in soccer and piano. We got to go to a Faculty Recital last Friday night of a renowned local professor of piano performance. He did a concert in honor of the 100 year anniversary of Chopin. Two of the dozen or so pieces he played were pieces that Jesse has learned to play in the last six months. It was awesome to hear them in the concert! She is also starting as a stopper on the Varsity soccer team, and doing a great job.

Mary, Jesse and Joseph are singing in a Stake Youth Choir for Stake Conference next Sunday. I'm the director. It's so fun to direct this choir. They have a great sound, and certainly bring the Spirit when they sing. Mary is also a staple of defense on her soccer team.

Peter got invited by the U12 team to play up as a guest player on their team when he can. He was strutting around like he'd received an invitation to play in the World Cup, he was so proud and excited about that. He really enjoys his U11 team too. Last game he played forward, mid, defense, and he practices as keeper a lot too.

Libby made up a board game tonight. We played for awhile and had fun doing it. This is the second game she's made up, and they are quite creative! She is in 3rd grad and Peter in 4th now. Their classrooms are just opposite each other in the school.

Bruce is coaching the High School JV boys soccer team. They have been doing well. He is a good coach - all the Moms say their sons appreciate Bruce as their coach. He is also still irrigating on his parent's farm, although that should be ending soon.

I had a hard day today. I have so much on my plate right now. There's simply a lot to do, a lot of irons in the fire. Trying to balance everything is challenging in the extreme. Speaking of which, I need to go to bed!

So, I'll try to get in more blogging. It's another thing I'm trying to balance.