Spring Flowers

Spring Break

I'm slow to post about this, but Adam and Ryan had their Spring Break two weeks ago. Jeff, on the other hand, had his Spring Break back in March and wasn't free to do anything fun with us. The thoughts of trying to entertain the kids at home by myself for a whole week were less than pleasant, so the boys and I loaded up the mini-van and went to Grandma Janet's and Papa Keith's for four days. We missed Daddy, but enjoyed our break. One of these days my kids will probably realize that some people go exciting places and spend lots of money for Spring Break, and then they might not be satisfied with visiting grandparents and playing with cousins. But for now, they loved it.

WEDNESDAY
We got up early, early in the morning so we could make it to Cedar in time for the annual "Week of the Young Child" storytime at Grandma Janet's library. It was designed for preschoolers, but the librarian who told the stories did such a great job that even my big boys enjoyed it. Afterwards, Grandma took us to McDonald's for lunch. I had the Oriental Chicken Salad, about the only thing I can stand to eat there anymore. And I really don't know why it still surprises me when my kids beg for Happy Meals then don't eat them. McDonald's is mostly just a pricey playground for us, but it serves a purpose occasionally, this time as a treat from Grandma. Wednesday afternoon Mommy took a much-needed nap while the kids vegged in front of their favorite--PBS cartoons. Then cousins Will and Ellie and Catie came to play and brought pizza for dinner.

THURSDAY
Adam remembered a previous trip to the Iron Mission State Park and begged to go there again. That was an easy request to fill, compliments of Grandpa, who works there part-time. We met him there in the morning and got the grand tour, plus a couple of bonus activities. Adam and Ryan helped make a rope out of twine. And the three big boys got to practice their pictograph skills using Q-tips and bleach on brown construction paper. Maybe one of these next summers we'll get Adam and Ryan involved in the History Day Camp they do there. It sounds like they have lots of fun learning what life was like for pioneers. Thursday afternoon was more PBS (what would I do without it?!) until Mercy and family arrived from over the mountain. The kids played and played and played until they finally all fell asleep. Aren't cousin sleepovers the best?!

FRIDAY
I thought maybe the kids would sleep in after their late night, but I was wrong. Most of them were awake when I got up at 7 a.m. Ugh. They played until time to load up and go to Discovery Park, where they played some more. Grandpa had packed a yummy picnic lunch for us, which we enjoyed as fast as we could so we could go home and get out of the wind. Then the kids played some more. While they played, I alternated between visiting and reading my book--my idea of a fun Spring Break! Friday night Uncle Hal and Grandpa took the big boys to the shooting range to practice for Aaron's first turkey hunt. Adam was so excited to come home and show me the turkey he had "killed"--a paper turkey head full of holes.

























SATURDAY
I let the kids watch their normal Saturday morning cartoons. I'm not a fan of them--they aren't quite what they were when I was a kid--but I haven't figured out how to avoid them either. And it was their Spring Break after all. Grandma kept trying to get them to play games instead, but I knew it was to no avail. We did play a few hands of Golf with Grandpa when cartoons were over. It really isn't a trip to Grandma's and Grandpa's without games. After lunch we met Will and Ellie and Catie at the bowling alley and had a great time trying to knock down those white things before we headed home. I'm not a great bowler, but I love activities that the kids and adults can enjoy together. Dallin was the only one who couldn't really participate, but I think he got a kick out of it anyway. It was kind of funny to watch how frustrated he got just trying to pick up a six pound bowling ball.


After bowling we stopped for gas, then got on the road. I had a tailwind and got great gas mileage--215 miles on less than half a tank. That feels good when you know a whole tank is costing you $50. Jeff said he had a nice four days to himself--he didn't have to search for the TV remote the whole time! But I could tell he missed us. Not only was the house clean when we got home, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table and he made me a yummy candlelit dinner. Almost makes me want to have Spring Break without him more often! But I still wish he could have come and played with us instead.

A big mess

I've been following the news about the raid on the FLDS ranch in Texas rather closely the last couple of weeks, partly because I am LDS, partly because I am from Utah where the FLDS group originated, and mostly because last summer we moved back to Utah after living in San Angelo, Texas, 45 miles north of their ranch. I never saw the FLDS temple when we drove through Eldorado on our trips to San Antonio. I don't think it's visible from the highway. But I've joked (probably inappropriately) that it was our closest temple--the San Antonio and Lubbock LDS temples were both three hours away. My emotions have been snagged by the whole situation. Here are some of my thoughts about it (with apologies to Kathie, who has heard most of them already).

First, Texas had to act when they got the phone calls from the 16-year-old girl. Even if those calls turn out to be a hoax, they still had to act. And I think their warrants will hold up because of the evidence they have, even without the girl. I'm glad they acted. I think it was the right thing to do. But I'm not sure they are handling the whole situation very well. They learned a few lessons from Waco, but I really, really don't think they know quite how much of a mess they've gotten themselves into.

Second, the children are not the only victims here. They are the ones who most need to be protected, but I feel for the mothers too. Many if not all of them are just believing and doing and saying what they've been taught. I read something last week that suggested they should have let the women and children all stay on the ranch and filed restraining orders against the men to keep them away until the perpetrators can be prosecuted and punished. I guess that is often what is done in "normal" abuse situations. Might have saved Texas a whole lot of headaches if they had done something like that instead. I would think finding appropriate and helpful foster care for all of those kids is going to be difficult.

Third, despite the mess, I feel good about the judge who is handling the custody hearings, cases, etc. I didn't know who she was, but I read an article about her that indicated she has deep experience with family law in Texas, and she doesn't put up with lawyers or anyone else in her courtroom who don't have their ducks in a row. She's been in my prayers as much as anyone. I remember the family law class I took at BYU and how we just kind of skimmed through the different kinds of issues that could come up. I remember barely acknowledging how ugly and complicated some of those issues could become. They were probably nothing compared to this.

Fourth, I'm sad about how this is affecting the Church, especially in San Angelo. I know we've overcome worse, and we'll get past this and the stone will keep rolling forth (Daniel 2:31-45), but stuff like this being linked to the Church seems a big step backward from all the good will and progress we made during the Olympics and during President Hinckley's time as prophet and president. My good friend is the Relief Society president in our San Angelo ward. She says the press down there has handled it very poorly. Evangelical Southern Baptists already think the worst of us. This just doesn't help. I really feel for the missionaries there, and everywhere really, who have to deal with the flak from this. Jeff says maybe it'll give them more opportunities to talk to people, but I still feel for them.

Lastly, a lot of people (including my husband) are calling foul on Texas, saying they've violated the constitutional rights of the FLDS people--their freedom of religion and their rights to due process, etc., etc. My legal expertise amounts to nil, but I say, "Baloney." Even though Texas probably doesn't know what they've gotten themselves into, I believe they have and will continue to try resolve this situation within proper legal boundaries and for the purpose of protecting and doing their best by those children. I could be wrong, but if I am, I still believe justice will prevail. Above all though, the rights of the children to not be physically or sexually abused eclipses the rights of their parents to worship how they please. Abuse shouldn't be excused or hidden behind freedom of religion.

Edit: Deseret News coverage here, San Angelo Standard-Times coverage here

Consider the Lilies

A few weeks ago in Salt Lake City the beautiful 7-year-old daughter of a refugee family from Myanmar (Burma) was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered. As the story developed in the news, a song our ward choir sang for Easter Sunday kept running through my mind, especially the third verse:

Consider the sweet, tender children
Who must suffer on this earth.
The pains of all of them He carried
From the day of His birth.

He clothes the lilies of the field,
He feeds the lambs in His fold,
And He will heal those who trust Him,
And make their hearts as gold.

(Consider the Lilies, by Roger Hoffman, arranged by A. Laurence Lyon)

You can listen to the whole song here, or read about Roger Hoffman's experience writing the song here.

When I see or hear about innocent children suffering abuse of any kind, my heart just hurts. What a comfort to know that Christ has taken on all their pain and He will heal them. Thanks to our loving Father in Heaven who cares for and provides for His children through the sacrifice of His Beloved Son.

The Kind of Post Charlotte Can Look Forward To :-)

I need to write down a couple cute things my little boys have been saying lately, before I forget them. Dallin is just learning to talk. He can say maybe six or eight words so far. His latest are "ball" and "yes." This is the first kid I've known who has learned the word "yes" before the word "no." I think it is because I don't say no to him. I shake my head and say "uh-uh-uh" instead, and he definitely knows what that means. Anyway, the other night I was putting his pajamas on and Jeff came upstairs to tell me that the Utah Jazz had just beaten the league-leading New Orleans Hornets by 11 points. I responded with an emphatic "Yes!" Then Dallin looked right at me with a smile on his face and loudly said, "Yes!" It was very cute.

Four afternoons a week I put Dallin and Jared in the double jogging stroller and go up to the elementary school to walk the neighborhood kids home--our turn in the neighborhood "carpool." (We drive when the weather is bad.) One day last week we were about halfway to the school. Out of the blue, from the stroller below me, Jared said, "Mom, you totally rock." Ah, the small precious rewards of motherhood! It really did make me feel good, knowing that he meant it--four-year-olds are mostly without guile and not capable of much insincerity. I can only hope he'll feel the same way about me when he is fourteen. :-)

New Soul

I woke right up when the first alarm went off, way too early this morning--a rare thing for me. But with no immediate reason to get out of my warm covers, I lay there listening to the radio and heard this pretty, catchy, fun song. Some of the lyrics stuck with me, so I went looking for it on the Internet. I found it--"New Soul," by Yael Naim, a French-Israeli singer/songwriter. I really like it, and I like her voice. Although their sounds are quite different, she reminds me a little of Enya, without the Celtic influence. I'm gonna have to check out the rest of her album, especially the songs sung in Hebrew. And if I ever do a playlist, I'll definitely include this song. Give it a listen! Here's another YouTube link that includes the lyrics.

General Conference

Jeff and I had the opportunity to attend the Sunday morning session of April General Conference with my parents in the Conference Center. The Tabernacle Choir was beautiful and inspiring. I liked Craig Jessop as the director, but Mack Wilberg has a different style that I think is going to take the choir to new heights. And of course it was nice to be able to focus on the talks without the inevitable distractions of four little kids--thanks to my parents for the tickets and to Jeff's parents for babysitting! However, I think I actually got more out of conference for me personally from some of the other sessions. I felt the Spirit as I sat in my mini-van Sat. morning listening to the solemn assembly before running in to the rec center to pick Ryan up from his basketball clinic. I know the Spirit was testifying to me that President Monson is the prophet chosen by God to lead us at this time. I was motivated to be a better mother, especially now while my kids are young (Elder Ballard and others), and to try harder to make my home a place where "the storm stops at the door" (President Monson). I was also impressed to keep trying to live the gospel without apology--to keep my standards high and to share my testimony boldly by the way I live, as well as in words. Sometimes with kids it is hard to concentrate and really feel like I've been able to feast on General Conference. This time instead of trying to hear every word and feeling frustrated when it didn't happen, I just tried to listen with my heart to everything that I could. I feel like I did feast and I heard and sensed what I needed to guide my life right now. What a blessing!