Recitals.... recitals

MAYZILLA is in full force at the moment but the gloriously promising brightly beaming light at the end of the tunnel is finally in view. This means we have almost ended the school year and maneuvered our way through the following...
*Band Concert for 8th grade Marching Band
*Piano Recital for my oldest 2 daughters
*Theater Tech responsibilities
*Dance Recital (3 nights worth -- ouch) see above pictures
*Choir concert for child #3
*Testing- end of levels at school= cranky, stressed kids
*Opening & heating of the Pool in our backyard
*More doctor appointments that u can imagine for all of our many issues, all of which we are grateful for because none of them are life threatening. As hard as our issues are we know it could definitely be worse.

STILL TO COME:
*The last day of school
*Honors program
*Son to find, and begin, his first job (asap kiddo)w/Moms help.
*Our annual BIG garage sale pain in the butt on Saturday.
*Planning our upcoming trips
*Youth conference
*Scout hikes
*Especially for Youth Program (6 days away & 3 1/2 hrs from Mom!)for my oldest daughter
*Yearly trip to see family in MI---- BIG drive for us
*Trip to CA for a baptism coupled with Disneyland
*Summer school, summer programs, entertaining, HOT temps... EXHAUSTED already!

A Moment

Just caught my 4 year old looking at herself in the bathroom mirror and singing "all the single ladies" while doing the dance (very accurately I might add). Very funny. Technically, she is a single (little) lady! Love it!

Race Results

Did it. Painful. Tough Run. Gold! First place in my division by 6 minutes! Yeah! I'm feeling it today in my knees. Will take it easy this week, cross train more. Ouch!

7th overall female...
16th finisher, and only one person older than me in top 16.

The Hell Hole

The above title is the name of the next race that I am running on Saturday. It's another 5K, I am hooked all of a sudden on the competition. I don't know why I picked this one, the title didn't scare me off but instead intrigued me. I think that must be because of all the parallels in my life with the words "Hell Hole". Apparently it is named because it's a tough course, mostly uphill, and being that I am slightly insane, something inside me screamed BRING IT ON! I train on hills, I know the pain of them intimately, it's gonna be extremely painful but I have no doubt I can do it without walking it. The goal here is to finish with a decent time, not to burn out in the first 2 miles, and kick the hell holes flaming hot fanny.

The parallels to my life are as follows...
1- I believe, on occasion, that I live in purgatory itself (yes, hell), because this place can get so hot in the certain months of the year that blacktop surfaces melt my flip flops... they become squishy marshmallows under my feet. No smore's in hell tho to make that connection with.
2- My life is as crazy, chaotic, difficult, and frustrating as being in that 'place'. Blessed beyond comprehension and NOT complaining, but if on a normal day you were to see the state of my house, my car, or my un-showered overworked self u may agree with me!
3- Racing is so hard, it hurts. It is legs of fire that want to stop and u have to keep telling them it will be worth it, push it a little further.... you're half way, you're almost there, you see the finish line, give it all u've got no matter what. Think I'm gonna pass out? (Every race I've ever done) Concentrate on breathing. It not only helps that feeling of hyperventilation, asthma, lightheadedness, but keeps my brain occupied and time passes more quickly. I have to tell myself to 'just breathe' all the time in life and oxygen is a close personal friend. To keep a fire burning oxygen is an essential.
4- At this race, u are encouraged to dress up as an angel, a devil, a reverend, the pope, whatever. I think I run with angels and devils every day in life, costumes aside.
5- I want to make it thru the hell hole and win something. Yes, it will be a tremendous sense of accomplishment to finish but a medal again, or a trophy... that will inspire me to beat the "hell" out of the pavement, my running shoes, my overly protruding hips, in the future. If I can endure hell on this run, I will be all the better for having done so. When I overcome the hell hole, I am climbing to new heights, rising above the difficult, THAT is inspiring. Proof that I can change and get myself out of that place physically.... mentally... spiritually... in any possible way really where I need a tweaking. Very symbolic and I hope, very very worth it.

Wings

Last night I was chatting with an old, dear friend who was down because of some problems. Things like that really bother me, I am the fixer, the helper, the one who can't leave something like that alone... at least let me make them crack up over something completely stupid that I say and get a laugh so I know there was a smile amongst the misery. Anyway... didn't get a chance to do that last night and it bothered me. My heart goes out to them on so many levels and I truly love and am concerned about each of my friends and loved ones. So this morning I was thinking about them again and how I could help. Sometimes a good poem or a quote from a wise author or scholar is helpful so I began my quest. I searched all morning for just the right thing.... nothing fit. Nothing seemed to ring true enough for my friends situation so I gave up and did my cleaning. Somewhere amongst the dirty laundry it hit me, what I should tell them...

"Sometimes we must open our wings, close our eyes, and trust God in our faith, to be the wind that carries us for a time... just until we are strong again and can look down from where He has taken us with a new perspective. That is the point when we truly see the beauty of our friends and loved ones in all their brilliant colors, strategically placed in our lives just when He knew they would be needed most."

Anonymous... because I could never sign my name to words that were not mine, but given to me yet created by a far greater source. I believe these words did what they were meant to do, in a way that was far above my understanding. I love when that happens! So rare for me... so dang cool!

5K

I signed up for a race. Haven't done one in a long time. Since 2007 I believe. So, I'm nervous.Not nervous about doing it alone, that is usually the case. No one will run with me these days, not even my dear husband. Either that means I'm too good or that I'm just too competitive. Not sure which but it's such a bummer and honestly, the truth is I KNOW I am not too good so (head hung low in shame) I must be wickedly competitive. I need to feel that once in a while though... thus, the race.
I'm nervous about my knees holding out til Saturday and beating my last time. The last time I ran this race I won for my division... pressure! Of course that was before child #4 was born and I was super fit and 7 lbs lighter. This year the course has been changed and it's on dirt so how I will beat my time will be the question and the challenge. Wish me luck! We shall see!!!

Results are in... whew. THAT WAS COLD!!! Froze but did it. Got 2nd in my division- SILVER MEDAL. The girl who beat me was my friend though and a marathoner (curse her from stealing my chances) so I was happy for her and that I did my best. Now the problem becomes Cinda wants to do more and is addicted to racing. There are worse problems I guess! :)

Live

I want to live my life today like this;

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says "Oh crap, she's up!"

Dare

Love this. I heard it on a Brittish tv show that I'm hooked on last night and I had never heard it before. It is part of an old Christian song I guess but just love this chorus...

Dare to be a Daniel
Dare to stand alone
Dare to have a purpose firm
Dare to make it known.

The actual song can be found here.

Angel

My daughter Chloe is unique. I honestly think she is an angel and it will truly take a miracle for me to raise her right. She is a challenge, a blessing, and a roller coaster ride all in one. She is without a doubt the most sensitive of my 3 girls in every way that one can be sensitive. She won't kill bugs she finds in the house, she catches them and releases them outdoors because killing makes her feel bad. (So of course her brother makes sure to smash any bug possible right in front of her and announce it so she has a meltdown.) Siblings....

The other day this child was playing outside and it was a warm day so I was glad she was out getting some fresh air. Apparently while she was out there, completely on here own and not to our knowledge, she wrote the elderly man next door a note, folded it up, and placed it in his mailbox. We had no idea she had done this. Until that sweet little man walked over with tears in his eyes and told my husband about the letter he had received the day before from our daughter, the sweetest note he had ever been given. He wrote her back and gave his note to my husband for her when she returned home from school.

When she got home I asked "Chloe, did you write a nice letter to the neighbors?

Chloe: "Yes Mom, because they are good neighbors and I think they must be lonely."

(Keep in mind these neighbors tell us every year to let our kids know that they will not pass out Halloween candy so don't bother knocking! Kinda funny).

Me: "Do you know how much they loved that. The man brought you back a note and told us with tears in his eyes how much that touched his heart."

Chloe: "Well, I just thought they'd like a letter Mom, no big deal."

No Chloe, big big deal. She doesn't know how thrown away elderly people can feel or how society is moving so fast that it doesn't have time for them as the slow movers. She just does things like this. Oh, and yesterday, she decided to go over and knock on their door for a bandaid. I had to have the "maybe not every day" talk with her. She is a sweet one.

Full circle

I think I am at the age where I finally welcome those "blasts from the past" moments both in person (and via the wonder that is facebook). I have been becoming reacquainted with friends from childhood, high school, college, married years, dating years, pretty much every year and stage of my life. I used to live as a newlywed in the same town I grew up in and used to walk down the isle in the grocery store and retreat when I saw someone from my stupid days that I was always sure I offended. Silly thinking, I know.

For 20+ years I thought I hated high school with a passion, but today I see what good came of it. Now I have friendships and treasured relationships with people from that very place that I would not trade for the world. The joy of adulthood is that we move on, forget, forgive, and get sappy and sentimental about things easier. It has been very fun for me to play catch up with them and it has actually helped me to appreciate all the things I went through in life. I like to look at it as coming full circle and making peace... man, was it worth the wait.

I am proud to say I was a:

Martell Mustang

Boulan Bronco

Troy Colt (on dance team we were the "Fillies")

Ricks College Viking

To Do the Dew (or not to)

This is a week of firsts for my son. First day actually calling a car his 'first' car, first day driving legally with his license, and (drum roll please)...first time he was asked to a dance, yes a date, with a girl. I guess she asked him to go to "Preference" with her which is a semi-formal dance at the school. It seems to be a UT thing I guess that you can't just ask out someone to a dance, you have to creatively ask out someone to a dance.

She was very clever and had a case of mountain dew delivered to his classroom and he had to assemble the cans with the words on them that spelled out...."DEW you want to go to Preference with me, Christian ? Katlyn. (12 cans, and then he gave them away so he didn't have to carry a case of soda around all day, typical Christian). NOW the trouble is that he can't just answer her, he has to answer her back in a creative way. He is going to say yes but truly, the kid doesn't have a creative way. It's gonna be interesting. He doesn't want me to help him either so I am just hoping he doesn't blow it...the ideas he has ran past me so far were completely scary. I love you Son, but I am totally crossing my fingers that one of your friends gives you a good idea or you use good judgment and come up with a nice way of answering her SOON.

To add to this, he came downstairs today with cologne on this morning. So help me, I'm not ready for all the drama that will accompany this madness... I hope he is but I think he just innocently has NO idea.

Happy Valentines Day...

Wishing all of you a Happy Valentines Day full of little acts of love!

***A few fun Valentine facts:

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

I GET TO PLAY NURSE TODAY TO MY SICK YOUNGEST (CROUP) AND OLDEST (STOMACH FLU). SO WE ARE CAREFULLY SHOWING THE LOVE TODAY SO AS TO NOT SPREAD IT! HAPPY VDAY!!