On Growing Gardens & Growing Children

It is amazing what a week can bring.

Last Sunday (Easter), Maren cut her first tooth.  Yesterday, she cut her second tooth.  Yesterday, she also discovered the army crawl, which in her case looks more like a roll-and-reach body flop.  She is my buoyant little happy girl once more.  Her tooth pain is lessened, and she can play with any toy in the room.  Alas, our season of peaceful sibling relations is coming to an end (again).  We are all learning to adapt!

Last Sunday (Easter), our little early spring hardy vegetable garden was barely poking through the soil.  Today, every row of vegetables displays a healthy crop of little seedlings.  Rocky, clay soil notwithstanding, there is green life out there!  We now have spinach, kale, Swiss chard, green onions, carrots, romaine lettuce, two types of peas, and cilantro growing in the garden.

Last Monday, Daddy taught our family home evening lesson.  We talked about planting and nourishing our faith like a tiny seed.  We let Ezra plant his own little pea seeds in one corner of the garden.  He is now very interested in the garden and its watering need; he comes out with me every morning to "help the garden grow."  We often sing the Primary song On A Golden Springtime as we water.

Yesterday at church, Ezra had some extreme wiggles, so we took left the chapel and took a hallway tour to talk about all the paintings on the wall.  When we came to a picture of the First Vision, I asked Ezra to tell me about what he saw.  "This is Joseph," (pointing appropriately).  "This is Jesus and Heavenly Father," (pointing to each one).  "And then Heavenly Father says, 'This is my Beloved Son.'"  Ezra's faith is growing!  He understands, and he loves to learn about the gospel.

We have started to have more piano exploration time.  It is hardly a "lesson"; Maren is banging on one end, while Ezra and I find white and black keys on the other.  But, he enjoys it, and comes to the instrument more often of his own accord to play little songs.  He will also occasionally play me a song on his cardboard violin.  Without any prompting, he holds his violin under his chin with one hand, and moves his bow with the other hand.  His favorite song is one of his own creation: "Mommy," he will say, "I play 'Cat and the Hat' now."
   

        

My Little Miss

My Maren-girl is eight months old!  She is so happy to be alive.  She is full of energy and spunk.  She loves to be part of the action, and has lots to say.  Lately, she has been noshing on anything and everything.  If she had teeth, she would have a mean bite, thankfully though, she is just working on her first tooth--in earnest.  Maren has an intensive baby aerobics routine, but is not yet crawling.

One of my favorite Maren antics is her constant attempts at "flying."  In a sitting position she flaps her wings and rolls her ankles anxiously.  In a lying-down position she flails her arms and legs up and down vigorously.  It is hilarious to watch!  Ezra and I joke that we need to get some Tinkerbell pixie dust and send her flying with Peter Pan.  I think her little spirit is ready to run and jump with Ezra, but her body is slower to respond.  She works so hard; I am sure she will be on the move soon. 

Maren is a great night sleeper.  She sleeps ten hours literally every night.  She is starting to nap more regularly too, usually an hour in the morning and up to two hours in the afternoon.  Often when I go into her room after a nap, she has pulled the bumper pad down so she can peer through the crib railing.  So cute! 

When I sing songs, Maren will now join in and vocalize with me.  When we clap and cheer, Maren will thump and holler in accord.  She loves to eat, and has never turned her nose up at anything.  Just this week I introduced the sweet potato-flavored Gerber puffs (little melt-on-your-tongue cereal bite).  I use them sparingly, if needed, to hold Maren off until I can get her food ready.  She gobbles them almost as soon as I put them on the tray.

Changing her diaper or her clothes is often a fight to the finish.  The goal: get it done as fast as possible!  She kicks, thumps, squeals, rolls, and turns during the entire process.  Cheap entertainment!  

And then, there's the hair.  Because we don't have a lot of humidity here, Maren's hair is sort of wavy most of the time.  If however, she gets sweaty, the wild-child curly craziness comes out.  I am never quite sure how to fix it, so she often looks a little disheveled, but oh, what a cute mess she is!  I love my little miss!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!

Boy, I love to see this face at the end of day full of busy little people!  Ezra and Maren are wonderful, and tiring, and entertaining, and challenging, and such fun, but it is such a pleasant relief when this handsome husband walks in the door.

I know for a fact, I would make a lousy military wife.  I need back-up, I need my team-mate, I need Dallin!  I feel so grateful for his willingness to walk in the door and immediately join the ranks in dinner preparation or snuggling a needy child.

The working world is not always so kind, and lately, my sweetheart has been working longer and longer hours.  Though it may be distracting and cluttered and noisy, I hope it is a brief refuge from the daily battle at the office.

We love you daddy!  Welcome home!    

Let Us All Press On!

This past weekend was the 184th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As always, it was two days full of inspiring messages and music from the leadership of the church.

I loved the entire Sunday morning session of the conference.  Every speaker's message and piece of music was so uplifting, and just what I needed to hear.  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed an arrangement of "Let Us All Press On" that gave me goosebumps.  Courage!  Fear not!  The Lord is on our side!  I wanted to stand up and march in triumph when I heard it; it is such an encouraging message.

Later in the session, Elder David A. Bednar spoke, and his message acted as a second witness to the words of the hymn "Let Us All Press On".  In part he said, 

"We are not and never need be alone.  We can press forward in our daily lives with heavenly help. Through the Savior's Atonement we can receive capacity and strength beyond our own.  It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us, but we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to enliven us — not only to guide but also to strengthen and heal us."   

March Madness, Remembered

March was a busy month for Dallin.  "March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb" is an apt description of what he experienced. 

In the first week, he transitioned into a lead position at work that has been a difficult uphill climb.  It was a position he neither sought, nor a change he requested.  Our immediate family, and many of our extended family members have prayed, and continue to pray for him, constantly.  I believe as we look back on this period of life, we will see how gently, kindly, and lovingly our Father in Heaven has carried us, and especially Dallin, when we were unable to walk on our own.

In the second week, there was great cause for celebration.  After almost three years, Dallin completed his master's degree program, and took his final exam for his most difficult class.  The timing was truly a miracle.  Dallin completed his master's just a few days after taking on a much more stressful work position.  We are counting our blessings!  Graduation from The George Washington University is officially in May, but for all intents and purposes, Dallin is done!  There have been many weeknights and weekends--after working a full day at his regular job--devoted to this effort.  Hooray for finishing!  Congratulations sweetie!

In week three, we celebrated again--this time for Dallin's birthday!  It may not have been the best birthday ever, but there were warm homemade brownies with Blue Bell ice cream, which made up for a lot.  Ezra sang "Happy Birthday To You", with all the gusto and fervor of an opera star, and Maren concurred with her own celebratory laughter and highchair tray banging.

In week four, Dallin was the hero of our front yard landscape renovation project.  He hacked through a beastly web of aspen roots, some of which were six inches thick and six feet long.  Dallin and his trusty pick-axe spent many hours removing roots, rocks, thatch and weeds.  He hauled more wheelbarrows of landscape debris than should be counted, and cleared the area in preparation for a front lawn make-over.  The aftermath of the project resulted in sore muscles everywhere, lots of Advil, and ice packs.  Kudos to an incredible husband!