Living Water

Another hands-on FHE Classic by Dub:
Where our water comes from.

We visited the well, the pressure tank, the hot water heater, the furnace and the outlet valves.

Field Trips are a good diversion/distraction.  We also talked about the importance of not wasting water.  He concluded by talking about the Living Waters, mentioned in the scriptures, and the Woman at the Well.  Dub saved our Family Night--it was one of those "She's touching me!" nights.  He is awesome. 

No wonder I love him so!

Anxious Me.

And the sad Tale of the Pumpkins.
I was going to blog all about my new babies; my two-and-a-half-month-old pumpkin plants that I've had crawling around my music room since early March.  I was feeling so proud!  That was my downfall.

Here's the new bed, and the little darlings placed so carefully in the mixture of compost and sheep poop.

And here they are the next morning.

The morning of the deadly FROST:

I wanted to cry. 

But I bought a new packet of pumpkin seeds instead.

I will place them in the pumpkin patch AFTER the danger of frost has passed.

(In New England it just takes SO long to get there!)

Know your MOM:

or how to pump her up:

empathetic

really wicked awesome!

too cool!

Through the eyes of my five-year-old:

I love that I'm 16.

I'm also thrilled that he doesn't see me as the kitchen goddess;

according to him, my favorite thing to do at home is to play soccer.  No wonder I stay so young!

And of course, know that dessert is BIG.

I love my job.

IS he ready?!?...

Yes, he IS.

All missionary exams, forms and applications are done.

... they're almost ready to be sent on their way...

(...am I ready?)

Yes.  I am.

Laundry Day

Mother's Day

I've grown to love it, but it's been a journey for me.
When I was a younger mom, Mother's Day was the day I felt guilt for all the moments in motherhood that I had botched to that point. I would focus on my moments of anger, frustration or lashing out with impatience while my kids were trying to make me feel like a queen. My mistake was that I was selfishly focused on my own reality and expectation rather than allowing the love to flow. My favorite part of Mother's Day is that from a child's perspective we get to pause and focus on the beauty that is motherhood, and that my kids are enthusiastic about it. Bring on the breakfast in bed and the homemade cards...

I love my kids and being a mother is my favorite job.

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Mom,

This is a pose I've come to appreciate more fully.

Thank you for wearing yourself out to raise me.

Thanks for not blowing your top when I told you (screamed at the top of my lungs) that I hated practicing the piano.
Thanks for not telling my secrets to everyone.
Thanks for cheering the loudest for me at all of my events.
Thanks for keeping a journal about my successes and failures, and telling me how much you love me.
Thanks for teaching me to wash and iron clothes, budget and cook meals before I left home.
Thank you for making sure I knew that while we were eating liver and gluten, we were being well-nourished on less than $20 a week most weeks.  And thanks for being so resourceful... even though I didn't feel as glamorous as you wanted me to in a dress made from curtains; it's one of my favorite childhood memories--right next to having homemade underwear and carrying a green plastic peanut lunch box with homemade-bread-sandwiches-in-wax-paper to school when other kids had brown paper bags and real ziplock sandwich bags.

Thanks for telling me OFTEN how much the gospel means to you.
Thank you for being a worker instead of a dictator.
Thanks for insisting that we help weed the garden, change diapers on younger siblings and contribute to household chores.
You were better at it than I am, but I know how important it is NOT to give in to TIRED, and keep teaching by example... to stay in the trenches of motherhood, because motherhood doesn't end when kids leave home.
Thanks for stressing the importance of honesty and integrity.
Thank you for serving the less fortunate and having the downtrodden and homeless into our home.  It wasn't always comfortable or fun, but it gave me new eyes with which to view the world.
Thank you for telling me how lucky I was to have you around while I was in college, getting married and having children.  You had to do all of that without a mother and I can't imagine the void.
Thanks for being my mom.
You're the best and I love you with all my heart.
xoxo
Jenny