You Are Not Sleepy...As You Seem

Eli has a new declaration every night. "I never go to sleep!" I kept trying to tell him that he has to go to sleep. Everyone goes to sleep.  But no. The little guy seems to do very well in an argument.  He has the repetition strategy.  No matter what facts or reason are thrown at him, he just keeps making the same declaration at least 100 times.

"I never go to sleep."

Finally, I just picked him up to take him to his room. It was after 9pm, after all.  As we were heading down the hall, I firmly commanded him that he was not allowed to go to sleep.

"Eli, do not go to sleep."

He seemed to like my edict. He heartily agreed.  I laid him on his bed. He placidly complied. The covers went on and I tucked him in.  I kept reminding him that he was not allowed to go to sleep.

He then asked me if it was okay to lay down.  I told him he could, but no sleeping!

Then I had to sing "Stay Awake", from Mary Poppins. Do you remember that song?

Stay awake, don't rest your head.
Don't lie down upon your bed.
You're not sleepy, as you seem.
Stay awake, don't nod and dream...

He was just a naughty little noodle. Not five minutes later, he was asleep.

Galena Children's Choir

A few months ago I decided to start a children's choir at church. Our ward is really lacking in the musical talent department. I figured if I started working from the ground up, it may inspire the older folks to actually open their hymn books on Sunday.

We have been practicing for the last few months with the song, "An Angel Came To Joseph Smith". It is in the Children's Songbook, but I found a two part choral arrangement that had a little bit of difficulty.  It was wonderful. The kids did their best performance in sacrament meeting. I think there were about 25 kids.  I was so proud of them.

Music is a powerful tool that can really draw us close to the Spirit. I can think of many times as a youth, the times that I remember poignantly, and it always revolved around a song.  It could have been one that I sang in Primary, or in the Primary Program.  I also sang in my ward choir when I was pretty young, and it was one of those things that helped me to solidify my testimony.

You never forget the songs.

For one of the practices, I talked to the kids about this very idea. It can be hard being a kid, and especially when you want to stay faithful to the church and the things you know are true. I told them that this song can help to strengthen them.  They can remember Joseph Smith and the hard things that he did, and that he always stayed faithful, even under incredible scrutiny and mockery.  Just like Joseph Smith, they can follow his example and stay faithful.


A song has a way of doing that to us. It penetrates to our core and can be seared on our hearts. I hope that as I continue on with my little choir, they will gain greater musical knowledge and skills. But more importantly, they will come to know who they are and feel the love of God in the music they get to perform.

Forget-Me-Not

Tonight was the Relief Society's annual broadcast. It always comes the week before fall General Conference. What a blessing it was for me to go tonight.  The first three talks by the Relief Society Presidency were really good: Do it as if He were here, have more charity, make and keep sacred covenants.  I appreciated their messages.

But then Pres. Uchtdorf spoke, and he must have written his talk specifically for me.  He talked about the Forget-Me-Not flower and used it as a metaphor for life.

The first 'forget not' was to be patient with myself. {{sigh}}  What I am doing is just good enough and I am still loved no matter what.  

Make good sacrifices, be happy now, remember the 'why' of the gospel, and don't forget that the Lord loves me.

Sisters, wherever you are, whatever the circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you, with an infinite love.
—President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Thank you President Uchtdorf.  I don't feel 100% yet, but I feel a lot better.

Eagle Co-op

We went to Eagle Co-op today. The kids have a lot of fun going to classes...different classes. Raef takes U.S. Geography, Self Defense, and Lego Builders. Zach is in Self Defense, Cooking Around the World, and Watercolor.  They specifically told me they wanted to be in different classes. It seems to be working out well for both of them.

While they are in their classes, Eli is in a little preschool. They actually do preschool stuff. Today he learned about the letter 'B'.  Last week it was 'A'. He takes his activities very seriously and works hard coloring and stuff.

I team teach a biology class. Today I did a lecture on taxonomy.  I even did a pathetic rap to help them remember the classification levels (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus species). I don't think I have much of a future in rap.

Zach was very proud of his watercolor.  I took them to soccer practice tonight and he made sure to take his watercolor to show everyone. I had no idea he took it out of the car.  When we got home, he asked if he could put it on his blog.  Can you give the kid some love and leave a comment? I know he will be asking to see if anyone did.

But here is his masterpiece...

I didn't tell him what to type on his blog. This is what he wrote...

I made this picture all by myself.My favorite part is the clouds. It just looks so real. Don't you think?

The Mirror

Motherhood shoved a big mirror in my face and has made me take a hard look at myself. Sometimes, I really do not like what I see. It exposes all of my weaknesses. I can't hide from them and it can be overwhelming trying to overcome them.  The ruts can cut pretty deep. I have been having a hard time trying to put two solid thoughts together...so much screaming, whining, crying, incessant chatter.  My brain is on overload.

Then I realize how uninteresting my own personal life is.  I am not one who is going to measure my success based on the accomplishments of my children. Therefore, I can only look at what I have done. I am not impressed.

Victorious

The boys had their second soccer game this season.  And guess what?  They won!!!  We did a little bit of recruiting and our friend Trevor decided to join the team. His dad works with Rinar and they are in our ward. Trevor is really a baseball player. He has never actually played soccer. I am not sure why not. The kid is a natural.  I was so impressed. He got right in there.  Trevor has a killer instinct and it didn't take long for him to get the rhythm of the game and then score our first goal. It was sweet.

It was a come-from-behind win.  The final score: 3-2.  Raef scored the go-ahead goal.  He seemed a lot more evenly paced for the game, not so frantic.  The team was starting to realize that you can't follow the ball around everywhere. They seemed to reserve their energy much better.

Raef got a breakaway ball and took it all the way down the field, past about 3 defenders and put it in the goal.  After that, his step was a little lighter.  I must say that it is definitely much more fun when you win, or even when you score goals and are competitive with the other team.

Zach is still trying to figure out where he is when he is out there. But he is tough and has no fear at going head-to-head with anyone.  He even had a really good shot on goal at the very end.  I think that made him happy.

Do you know what made me happy?  Eli, Harry, and Julia stayed with the babysitter.

Birdhouses

Cub Scouts..the push is on.  I came to the stark realization that the boys are getting close to turning 10.  And there is a whole book of Cub Scout stuff that has to be completed before their birthdays.  I got the book out this last week and we have been working on stuff.  One thing in the book was to make a birdhouse.  This had "Dad" written all over it.  

Rinar did a great job.  Here is the finished product.

They were finishing up their projects at night out in the garage. Of course, Eli wanted to be in the middle of it.  It got pretty late before they finished.  Eli's latest thing is to tell us that he is not tired. "I never go to sleep!"


It worked out pretty well for him....well, almost.