Pace had foresight when he decided to build us a simple firepit in our backyard a couple years ago. We’ve used it a lot this summer, and of course we usually have to bust out the s’mores. I love it!
Here, Charlotte has already had her fair share, but she’s searching the empty wrappers for any signs of leftover chocolate. *Sigh* She’s her mother’s daughter and both her grandmothers’ granddaughter!
Oh, how I love the sunny days of summer! There is so much we can do outside on these warm days. I relish this beautiful time that we enjoy before the frigid winter weather shows its mean, ugly face (can you tell that I’m not a fan of cold weather?).
Fear not mcblog readers! We will be having a spike in mcblog posts starting next week. Joy will have a new setup to blog with and she will fill the internets with pictures of us.
Just a note for hope
We’re so proud of Pace’s little brother, Tyler, who has chosen to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is serving in a California mission (I will not provide further details because this is a public blog).
It’s a big, important decision to go on a mission and people sacrifice so much to do so. I feel that it’s even more of a challenge these days with all the things they leave behind, like cell phones, texting, facebook, IPods, etc. But the sacrifices are well worth it. Way to go, Tyler!
I failed to mention that a few weeks ago, we almost died! Well, our lives were in danger, at least. We were at Snowbird, a ski resort that is open year-round and has some fun attractions. We had hopped on a ski lift to go up the mountain, and almost immediately there was a heavy downpour, thunder and lightning, sleet, and hail. I was a wreck on the inside because I was nervous about the height in the first place, plus the freezing cold, the lightning, and the painful hail… and I was holding sweet, innocent Charlotte, who was freaking out and trying to wriggle herself out of my arms!!! Aaahhh! Scariest thing ever.
But Gretchen was on the same chair and helped us stay somewhat calm. It was one of the freakiest times of my life. We said a little prayer together on that chair. Pace & Chase had an umbrella with them on their chair, so they stayed somewhat dry, thank goodness. When we got to the top of the mountain, it was freezing cold. Pace immediately took off his shirt to warm Charlotte up a little.
Eventually, Gretchen found a random little heater in a tunnel so we warmed up. Then a Snowbird employee gave us a truck ride up some dusty switchbacks (almost died again!) to the tram so we could ride back down the mountain in something that was covered and not as vulnerable to another crazy storm.
We lived, which is great, but we will not be going back to Snowbird for a while! And I might not get on a ski lift ever again.
Hey, is anyone thinking of signing up to receive the Joy School lessons and materials from www.valuesparenting.com? (I highly recommend this program.)
If you are going to sign up, please mention my username when you’re filling out the form online. It is ”mcculloj”. If you do this, nothing drastic will happen, except that you will receive $5 off your order and I will receive a small commission from you signing up. Not bad, eh? Thanks!
I think I need to watch this little video every day.
Chase and his friend were talking in the back seat of the car today, and I couldn’t believe what I overheard!
Chase: “Just make sure you don’t persecute me.”
Friend:: “Huh?”
Chase: “Persecute” means you’re being bad to someone. In a movie, the man was being bad, and Jesus came to the man and said, ‘Why do you persecute me?’ And then he made the man go blind.”
Me: “Oh yeah, that was Alma the Younger. Jesus made him go blind because he was naughty.”
Chase: “Yeah, that’s who it was. Jaxon, how would you feel if Jesus came to you and said, ‘Why do you persecute me, Jaxon?’”
(silence)
Friend: “Um, we have a barbequer in our back yard.”
It was so funny! I am always glad when Chase remembers something he learned at home or at church. It makes me feel like all is not lost. We haven’t been the best at consistently reading scripture stories to our kids. We remember to do it a few times a week and we have Family Home Evening regularly, but I know that we should read scripture stories daily as a family. I know that this can improve all of our behavior and will invite the Spirit into our home.
In the Ensign magazine this month, there’s a very good talk by Elder Hales on p.30 called “Our Parental Duty to God and to the Rising Generation.” It’s a wake-up call! I like how it reminds us to take advantage of regular “teaching moments” as they arise. There’s also a helpful article on p.12 that offers ideas for “Teaching our Children from the Scriptures.” I know that these are the most important things that we can teach our children in life and that they will make a difference in our homes. Anyone have helpful hints or ideas on teaching children the gospel?
Chase is our fiery boy. I used to write his funny quotes down all the time, but it seems as though lately there aren’t as many, because everything he says now is logical! But he still amuses us from time to time.
I think every kid says funny things in their prayers. Day before yesterday, Chase was blessing our food and he poured out his soul, saying among other things, “Please help the husbands to find wives, and the wives to find husbands.” He often prays that none of us will get sick ever again.
He doesn’t remember his dreams much, but when he does, they’re intense. He told me recently that he had a nightmare in which we were going into Shredder’s round attack ball and there were lasers and a tv that had us on camera. He accidentally walked into the laser, and the tv started yelling, “Chase! Chase! Chase!” He said it was really scary.
I love it when he plays “dogs” with Charlotte, and they both scamper around on all fours, whimpering and barking.
He sometimes comes up to Charlotte and exclaims in a high-pitched voice, “Hi, Charlotte! It’s me, Brother!” and he hugs her, then she screams and pushes him away. I’m so glad he’s good to his little sister. He likes to call Charlotte nicknames like “Tiny”, “Jelly Bean”, “Baby”, and refers to her as “my sister.”
He has definite style opinions, as you can see in the way he dresses. I wish I could dress him like a sweet little boy doll, but it just doesn’t work that way! He likes to help Charlotte and me pick out our clothes. Yesterday he said, “You should wear the other flip flops, Mom. They’re prettier.”
He misses Disneyworld a lot. He was looking at our photos and kept saying, “I wish I was still there.” Also, when I was in the bathroom yesterday, he came in holding a wallet and pretended to hand me something, saying, “Here’s my Fast Pass for the bathroom.” I guess he got used to the idea of Fast Passes to get to the front of the line!
I feel like every day I ride a rollercoaster, where I feel happy and grateful for my kids, then very frustrated and hopeless, and then back again. Does every parent feel this way at different times? I don’t know how I’m doing as a parent, which is scary for me. We laugh and have fun together, we stay home sometimes and go do fun things a lot, too. I praise myself in my head for having us all dressed, and for remembering the 17 items we need to bring with us when we go somewhere for the day. Hooray, I’m doing well! Then Chase misbehaves or talks back to me, and I don’t know exactly what the best solution is, besides telling him to not talk to me like that. Now I’m NOT doing that well as a parent… But I also realize that it depends on who is judging you. Because you might do something you know is right, and everyone else looks at you and believes it’s the wrong way to do it. I am reading a book called Parenting with Love and Logic, and I’m hoping it will give me tips for specific situations with kids. I go back and forth all the time, feeling like I’m doing a pretty good job raising my kids, but more often than not, I wonder if I can handle any more kids someday, I wonder why I feel so out of control, and why it feels like the days are so slow, but also passing me by! I try not to compare myself to others, but sometimes it’s hard not to. Overall, life is good and I am thankful for so much. We have a lot of good and not so good times at home. In the evening, Pace comes home to help me out, and dinnertime is crazy, but then we all hang out together and it’s so blissful and fulfilling. And after we get the kids to bed, I wonder why I felt like things were so chaotic, and I feel like life is going just fine. Recently, I talked to my friend Melissa and it seemed that we were both feeling some of what I was just saying above. Also, I was just blog-hopping and another friend seemed to have similar sentiments, which helps me feel better. Hopefully I can get a better hold on things!