Got up this morning, feelin' fine...or not :).
Oh well! Doesn't mean I shouldn't record in here all the beautiful little details that make life "life"! I used to think there was nothing to write in my journal of note, until I tried to see my day through the eyes of a stranger or visitor. I go through the events in my head and try to see the beauty or lesson learned from the moment, and decide to share it or not.
Unfortunately for any who may read this, this is going to be our family journal, so I will include (at times) almost
everything :). And when you have as many kids as I do, that can take a while :). Did you know you can get your blog printed up in a soft binding for around $15? Result: A journal that I hopefully will not lose like I almost lost my last one. When my son died, my journal and scrapbooks became my most precious possessions besides my family...everything else (with the exception of a few heirlooms) can be replaced, I feel. So, I will share it for family and friends, but feel free to think, "My goodness...can this woman really pay this much attention to the details of her normal life :)?" and go and do something more fun :). I will also probably include some of the not so fun, respecting the privacy and agency of my children and others, of course, but that is also part of life, right?
So! Onto my day!
Most of it is a blur: spent most of it in bed again, but got some reading and snuggling time in again. I didn't handle it so nobly as the other day and that "lack of nobility" (=sheer frustration and grumpiness) drove me to finally make that hard decision of a doctor to chose in the meantime before I go. I guess I should be grateful for the other 37 some odd years that I have been blessed with good health and strength. I am sure this is a passing thing, but sometimes my spirit is tested in my efforts to see the good :S...especially when I see it affecting my kids.
Right now, Papaya is tapping on my arm gently until I reach over and grab her exposed "Biesinger" belly (I blame Daddy...he loves poking out his own belly to impress us all with how "fat" he is; in fact, the other day, Hava informed us, after doing some impressive sit-ups and push-ups for a 3 year old, that now "she was fat like daddy and so strong"). I think I am the only one in my family not impressed with my stomach.
Avot is playing from "Feature Films for Families" right now. Her music is such a blessing. Earlier today, when one of the other kids and I were being "less than nice" to each other, she quietly drifted off and started playing church songs upstairs. She will be such a great mother someday. Contention will definitely not be something
she introduces to her home. It has been a battle for me, but as I see her and other dear friends who focus so much on having the spirit in the home, I have been learning and doing better--most days :S. One of our favorite images is one I think I heard at our last church conference (or the one before) about not letting Satan's influence into our home. We had a little lesson on it, visualizing Satan standing outside our door, trying to get in. The little ones and I use the phrase now, "Don't let the devil get in our house!" when they are fighting or even starting to argue. It seems to help them see what they are doing by choosing to fight and works pretty well to make them stop and think about it at least.
Lek is loving Khan academy. He listened to a history lesson on it today. He is also considering studying the "economics" class that they have on there, now that their other youth group is almost over. He wants to go to the law school at BYU and become a lawyer, so we have emailed a cousin of mine who did it, asking his advice what Lek should study. I could guess, but how cool would it be (and so much more real to Lek!) coming from someone who has done it. Avot loves the mind-teasers on it. I keep telling her her obsession with puzzles, codes, and patterns are all math--just different ways of doing it. (She keeps insisting she is not good at math...)
The Goob has pinewood derby this Thursday. Q-dawg has been swamped with work, so I think it is going to be a mad dash to the finish. The Goob went from wanting a VW bug, to an imitation of our big green van, affectionately dubbed "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine". A little easier to design, but perhaps we should discuss "aerodynamics" with him :)? He is also working on the infinite details of starting a pellet gun club when he is a couple years older. He figures he will need about $1000 to start it, so said he is going to start saving :). Good idea. He asked the other day, "is 5 to young to shoot a pellet gun?" Oh my. He is valiantly battling allergies: puffy eyes, runny nose, itchy body and face, but we are trying to keep him from becoming a medicine addict while letting him live a life not completely impaired by it.
Papaya can say, "shoes, ow-wie, nay (blanket), juice, please (in a way that gets her almost everything she wants, especially from Lek), down (which actually means "up"), nose (she
loves Daddy's nose), cracker (which includes anything cracker or cookie-ish), go, eeeee (for "igen" or "yes" in Hungarian), nice, baby, sorry, night-night", and all our names to one degree or another. She
loves her Uncle Adam and gives him at least one big hug a day, which is a big change from when he first got home from his mission. It used to be that when she was being too noisy or throwing a tantrum, all I needed to do was send Adam over to give her a hug, and she would be instantly quiet :). Mark, Grandma, and Grandma have been on her winner list for a while :). She loves finding her body parts and others, taking crazy baths with her big sisters who always show her a good time in there, and wandering. The other day, I thought she was out in the sand box with her big siblings until I realized they were in the house, and I hadn't seen Papaya. At first, I ran frantically around the house, sending Chugger-dude out into the yard, but then I realized that, since it has been a little while, I should run as far as I think she could make it first, and then work my way back. Good thing, because a woman was walking up and down our residential street with her in a stroller. She had been up on the nearest busy road, pushing her stroller determinedly away from our house. Nice! Fortunately it was a good woman who wanted to find her home, who worried about finding the right home. She said she was hoping to find someone out frantically looking for her--I fit that description :S
There has been only one other case like that, and it was a little scarier, because we didn't even realize she was missing. A couple months ago I was at a friend's house that I normally haven't visited when we hear a knock at the door. It was a friend of hers down the street with Papaya in her arms: "I didn't recognize this baby, but know that you have a lot of kids and sometimes have friends over with lots of kids, so thought I would check here first." Thank goodness!! We were upstairs (around the corner from the door) the whole time, thought she had been downstairs, the backyard is gated, and she couldn't reach the door handle. The only thing we could figure happened was that helpful Hava say Papaya's indication that she wanted to go out, and let her, although Hava was still here. We will never know, but be forever grateful.
We had a great time last night with some friends, Jamie and Jeran from up the street, who stopped by for a question with their kids and ended up staying. In their Sunday clothes, my kids and theirs (and Q-dawg) played catch and then monkey in the middle for a couple hours until dark, while we sat and enjoyed our neighbors. Life always seems to fast for deliciously slow moments like that, unplanned for and healing. I was glad we were able to seize the moment and enjoy them. It was particularly fun watching Lek, the Goob, Chugger-dude and Q-dawg wrestle with the uncles in manly abandon for a football.
Last week, I had some angels descend and bless my life :). I showed up at our house we are selling to do some yard work--the lawn was long and the flower beds needed a lot of attention :). Well, I had two of my dear friends show up, at first to talk for a minute, but they ended up staying for hours! I loved it! We got so much done, and the time we spent discussing and chatting are a precious memory to me. I love my dear friends and will miss them all so much, those there on Friday, and those others I just plain miss, from there and other places I have lived before. Anyway, these angels stayed and worked and worked. At one point I said, "You know, I am just going for 'better' and the beds already look so much better--you don't need to worry about much more." Then, (an hour later) when I ran out of energy, I told them, "Okay...I think I am done. Sorry!", they smiled and said, "Go ahead and take a seat and keep talking with us...we can keep working." What saints! May blessings rain down upon them! Whenever I started feeling guilty and would pick up something to do, one of them would insist, "Mary! Sit down!" I love friends who know me well enough to boss me around :). The yard looks amazing now (between them and my boy-mowing crew), and much more appealing, I am sure, to the five people who looked at it last weekend. The boys stuck with it, my girls stayed home and did projects and took care of each other, and it all was wonderful.
Lek, the Goob, and Avot finished up their Odyssey of the Mind this weekend. It is such a great opportunity for creative learning--I am surprised that more schools in Utah don't do it. These kids came up with amazing things, and it was fun to see their creativity. My kids competed in their own division with Zach, a friend of ours, and did great. To have three siblings (and one close enough to act like one :)...) on the same team and produce a result is amazing :), and they did well. I loved the school in Park City where we were at--they had a bunch of great ideas for art projects on their walls that I hope to do with my kids.
Pipalicious insisted that she was going to run away today. After sending out Avot to the rescue, I got Pipalicious to agree to at least tell me when and where she is going to run away to next time. I think someone needs a little more attention :). Her hair doesn't grow very fast, but sure is thick. It is just like her Grandpa's (my dad), but reddish. I
love it. She has the cute pixie-ness from Q-dawg's side of the family and the hair from mine: a beautiful blend.
Chugger-dude takes great pride in how he does his hair. From mohawk, to slicked back, to "just like Lek's!", he comes strutting out of that bathroom with confidence. He also impressed me with how big his arm muscle was the other day
without flexing it :). He insists he will be stronger than his father someday--we will see :). You should have seen him mowing the other day. As I watched my 7 year old bully the old and awkward lawn mower over our sloped and bumpy lawn, I thought in passing about "child labor laws", then let him do what he wanted. He actually did a pretty fair job of it :). He is very determined. For example, the other day, he decided he wanted to earn 5 piano tickets (one ticket for every 20 minutes) in one day so he could "buy" a hula hoop from "my store". And he did!
Liliputian has done some impressive sketches of the spring. I think she is inspired by Avot and her art, and it is fun to watch. She is also great at making the home beautiful, when she is in the mood. If she is in the right mood, her room will look almost artistic, it is so well done. (Of course, that is when she is in the mood, but she does a pretty fair job the rest of the time, and I know she has it in her.) She is also very patient at putting Papaya to sleep and bathing the girls in the bath, when she is not too busy playing herself. Sometimes I forget she is only 9, despite her height, which is taller than her older brother, the Goob.
Wow...way long, but the kids like hearing personal stories of themselves from my journal, so if they are patient enough, they will find them :). Time to go get ready for dinner and FHE. I am on lesson with Papaya. My dad has invited some people over to join us for dinner and FHE tonight. Hopefully our guests will still want to try and have FHE on their own after watching our usual spectacle :). At least we will start and end with prayer :).
