Literary Euphoria

Thomas, my husband, gave me the gift of $100 to spend on anything I wanted on my jaunt around town last Friday. The text with the announcement came after I browsed through a few stores where I probably could have easily found something on which to spend the money (all the pretty art). I could not find anything the rest of the day; however, I was not deterred. Exhausted and sore from walking through several stores and malls I returned home resolved to get something out of the adventure. I turned to my trusty friend Amazon and purchased 12 books. The second book in the new Beyonders series by Brandon Mull will arrive next year. I also got the final book in the Alchemyst series by Michael Scott which will also arrive next year. I guess you can call me a die hard. The rest of the books are themed around the American Revolution. (We loved Johnny Tremain so much I decided to dive into more books on the topic.) Titles include books written by Avi, Collier and Brady. I am especially excited for three of the books in particular.

The first is Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson. Disney made a short cartoon called Ben and Me that I loved as a child. When you love the movie you often love the book more. I figured I can relive a childhood love. It is my playful take on two birds with one stone. The second book is Francis Macon and the Legend of the Swamp Fox by Kate Salley Palmer. It is a picture book. A picture book always has a place in a home library no matter how old the readers are. Again, I can attribute the excitement to receive this book on good old Disney. I am still heard singing, "Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, tail on his hat. Nobody knows where the Swamp Fox at." And, I will sing this a lot until the literary euphoria wears off. Finally, I got Swamp Fox: General Francis Marion and his Guerrilla Fighters of the American Revolutionary War by William Dobein James who fought side by side with the Swamp Fox, Francis Macon (I wanted to call him Sir Francis Macon but the irony was too much even if he is a knight in shining armor of the American Revolution.). It's a first hand account: A primary source. It cannot be more cool than that. If you were here you could palpitate the excitement that has a strangle hold on the air.

Now I just hope I can make it until Tuesday. I love Amazon but sometimes the lack of instant gratification is too much to bear. I plan on being quite happy on Tuesday when my dog goes berserk at the sound of the doorbell.

The Best Thing My Neighbor Saw This Summer

I crossed paths recently with the only neighbor I know. His name is Tim. He said he saw the funniest thing this summer in my backyard. My three youngest children took the recycling bin filled it with water and then crammed themselves into it like a can of sardines. I guess you will resort to anything in the dog days of the Aridzona summer. I must admit I got a bit of a chuckle out of it too.

Recovery

The Sunday before last my sister (Kelly), her nine year old twins (Raef and Zach), her three year old (Eli) and two year old twins (Harry and Julia) arrived after a LOOOOONNNNNGGGG trip from Reno, Nevada. (I hope you got that straight because I am not sure I can explain it again.) It did not seem too bad at first then the havoc broke loose. Oh, they are all great kids. But, no matter how great kids are, when you stick them together in a house for too long it is liable to be a circus. The biggest problem was probably the littles. I usually refer to my youngest two angels as the littles but in this case it references anyone three and under. Or, what I call Kelly's triplets. Heck, they might as well be. You see, my house has not hosted littles that little for quite sometime. So it was not prepared for what was about to happen to it. For example, I forgot that markers and crayons need to be put out of reach. Until I learned that, the children's bathroom got decorated in a lovely shade of deep blue and a book became altered art. Kelly claims I live in black and white, no color, apparently her littles also agree. Little plastic critters were everywhere. (Kelly scored a sweet deal at Goodwill.) Raisins were everywhere. Gum was in a few places, carpet included. And the kitty cats were shaking in their paws. (The best picture I did not get was when my placid cat Harry reared up on his back paws and slapped one of the two year olds in the face several times. It was only a slap because his claws went bye-bye a long time ago.) That was until they got a reprieve when they escaped.

The active littles had me physically frazzled. (I gave up trying to clean up after them by Wednesday.) The opinionated big kids had me emotional drained. While Kaylee played the rodeo clown, Lije (my oldest son) and Zach had an alpha male showdown. It was interesting because they both had a definitive point-of-view and, technically, both of them were right until they were expected to see the other's point-of-view. When all the facts were considered they were both wrong. But, that doesn't mean two alpha males can stop their showdown. Things calmed down a bit when the magic formula was stumbled upon. Raef and Lije. Zach and Chance. It was like magically linking together yin and yang. Peace ensued. That is unless it was nap time, bed time or food time. It is always one of those. I guess calm is relative.

It may have been easier for the children if Kelly and I could have given them our undivided attention. That would defeat the entire purpose for Kelly and her gaggle of geese flocking to my house. We were getting ready for a wedding. My littlest, figuratively and physically, sister was getting hitched. Thankfully, the only time the children got along was while everyone was in the temple. That is as long as Eli got to "sit in the car for just five minutes." That is just five minutes and a movie later.

Kelly seemed determined to be the Mormon David Tutera. Once she decided she was providing the reception she talked big. She eventually provided big too. Although we ran around a lot, sometimes shopping for Kelly's closet, it did not feel like we were cramming everything into that one week. Thankfully, Kelly preempted some of the wedding psychosis by doing a lot of projects at home and packing them all the way down here. Still the Tasmania wedding devil hit my house. After deciding to paint a couple of the walls in my, ever so white house, green she opted to pursue a previously planned painting project (like that alliteration?) indoors. She had the older children (much to Eli's chagrin) paint a bunch of wood blocks turquoise blue. At this I take a very deep breathe because I am still scrubbing turquoise blue paint off of the sink, walls, cabinets and floors. Now you are probably imagining the worse: paint strewn everywhere. It is really a bad case of tears and pox. A streak here and there that, I believe, are Kelly's fault and not the children's. Pox, well, those are probably a kids' disease.

The highlight of the week was when I got to pick up my Grandma Nay from the airport. Sky Harbor makes me ill but it was worth the tummy rumbles to see her again. I am so very thankful for my Grandmother. Although Kelly and her family ventured to Tucson to prepare for the reception it did not necessarily mean calm or quiet. The pace picked up drastically. I got to bake a lot of snicker-doodles and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. The whirlwind just did not stop so I ended up warming up the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies at the church. I also crafted all the syrups there too. Mind you, I did not cook or bake anything at the church (against the rules) I just warmed them up. The last couple of hours felt like I was boxing a few rounds with Ali. Kelly paints a much more pleasant picture of these moments, but she doesn't battle horrible anxiety. I managed to scrape by after taking a Xanax. I waited until after clean up and a long drive home to climb into a hole. This week I am in recovery.

Crossroads

The entire talk this quote comes from is definitely worth the read:

We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour, each day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform. Each choice is made in the context of whatever value system we've selected to govern our lives. In selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way, making the most important choice we will ever make. Those who believe there is one God who made all things and who governs the world by his Providence will make many choices different from those who do not. Those who hold in reverence that being who gave them life and worship Him through adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving will make many choices different from those who do not. Those who believe that mankind are all of a family and that the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man will make many choices different from those who do not. Those who believe in a future state in which all that is wrong here will be made right will make many choices different from those who do not. Those who subscribe to the morals of Jesus will make many choices different from those who do not. [Those who believe they are sons and daughters of God, created in the image and likeness of the Only Begotten Son, will make many choices different from those who do not.] Since the foundation of all happiness is thinking rightly, and since correct action is dependent on correct opinion, we cannot be too careful in choosing the value system we allow to govern our thoughts and actions. And to know that God governs in the affairs of men, that he hears and answers prayers, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, is indeed, a powerful regulator of human conduct.

[Benjamin Franklin's The Art of Virtue: His Formula for Successful Living, ed. George L. Rogers, 3rd ed. (Eden Prairie, Minnesota: Acorn Publishing, 1996), 88­90]
Changes added by suggestion of Richard C. Edgely

Quotes for My Daughters

Be Loyal to the Royal within you!


"But there is a beauty every girl has, a gift from God as pure as sunlight and sacred as life. It is a beauty that all men love, a virtue that wins all men's souls. That beauty is chastity. Chastity without skin beauty may enkindle the soul. Skin beauty without chastity may enkindle only the eyes. Chastity enshrined in the mold of true womanhood will hold true love eternally."

"The flower by the roadside that catches the dust of every traveler is not the one to be admired and seldom is ever plucked. But the one blooming way up on the hillside, protected by the perpendicular cliff, is the flower with the virgin perfume, the one that the boy will almost risk his life to possess."

–President David O. McKay


"I say to you girls beware of the man who comes to you professing that he loves you and then seeks to destroy and rob you of the most precious thing you have in life. No man loves the girl that he wants to harm, and don't you forget it."

–President Harold B. Lee

"Whenever we live to the best that is in us, we live up to the ideals He gave us."

–Elder Adam S. Bennion

The 15th Anniversary of the Day We Met

Today is the fifteenth anniversary of the day I met my husband, Thomas. It is a source of some debate. Let me share our story.

I lived in college housing in St. George, Utah. My Grandmother Carpenter lived in Madisonville, Kentucky. She was very ill. My father told me she did not have much longer to live. (Mind you, she did not pass away until 30 April 2011; yes, fifteen years later!) I scraped together what little money I earned after paying all my bills and purchased a plane ticket that took me to Evansville, Indiana just north of her locale. I did not have any transportation. My roommate and very best friend, Brittany, just returned from Finland so I asked her to drive me to Las Vegas, NV. She did not like the idea of two young women driving to Vegas and having to drive back alone. She contacted the Elder's Quorum President and asked if there was a young man available to drive down with us. The Elder's Quorum President volunteered the Elder's Quorum Secretary. This was Thomas.

I talked to him briefly over the phone and thanked him for doing this. I told him I would cover the cost of the gas and I would like to take him and my friend out to dinner to say thank you for going out of their way. He added that he would need to pick up his brother from the airport before dinner. So it was four for dinner on my tab.
I will never forget the moment Thomas showed up at my doorstep. He was wearing black denim shorts and a black Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt with a few tiny holes in it. He was carrying a book. I remember thinking, "All this guy needs is a little duct tape on his glasses and he would be a bona fide NERD!" Thomas, Brittany and I left for the two hour drive to Vegas. On the way down Thomas was rocking out to the Kingston Trio. I had never heard of the group but thanks to my Dad I knew all the lyrics! We sang almost the entire way down. Thomas even quizzed Brittany and me on why one of the Kingston Trio songs was banned from the airwaves for a while. Of coarse, I instantly got it right.

Thomas, Brittany and I went to the airport first. While going through security (Remember, this is well before 9/11.) Brittany was selected to be searched, or more specifically her miniature (super teeny-tiny) day planner was searched. I had never seen this happen before I asked the normal questions: who, what, when, where, why, how, grrrrr..... The airport security said it came down from President Bill Clinton. I emphatically said, "What a jackass!" The airport inspector proposed. I smiled and we left.

I wanted to take our little group to one of my favorite Vegas restaurants: Steven Spielberg's Dive. Brian sat down first. Brittany sat next to him. (Do I squeal on my best friend and mention she had a crush on Brian at the time?) I sat down across from Brian and Thomas sat next to me. This is where my version and Thomas's version GREATLY diverge. I have several nervous habits. I talk more (Yes, I already talk a lot!) and I fidget. So I was probably babbling up a storm but more specifically I was bouncing my legs up and down. According to Thomas, I was rubbing his leg the entire time. I, quite frankly, think he is out of his mind. I do not remember that happening and based on the details I am recounting here and my acute attention to detail I believe it supports my supposition that it NEVER HAPPENED! They dropped me off at my hotel, Circus Circus, and they were off; I was set to fend for myself.

Thomas and I disagree on when we started dating. He changes his date constantly and the latest version insists that this was our first date: a blind date set up by my friend. Poppycock! Although he insists on this being our first date I do not think any of this account supports his position. Yes, I may have paid for dinner BUT not as a date. I absolutely hate putting people out. Or, asking anything from others. I really wanted to make it up to them and since we were going to be in Vegas at supper time what better way, eh? Food does not always a date make. There was never any mention of thinking of this as a date until today. And, I would bet Brittany and Brian would both agree it was not a date. Thomas is just making fact out of fiction. I do believe that after I allegedly rubbed his leg he thought I liked him because he started hanging out at our apartment all the time. But that part of the story is for another time during our Fifteenth Anniversary Year. (There are practical jokes, toilet papering and proposals to write about.)

Reading Aloud: Captains Courageous

Yesterday we started reading Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling. I must admit I love Rudyard Kipling even though he is no longer in vogue in academia. This novel is a stretch for my children because the prose are not what they prefer, but read aloud time is not always what they prefer or what comes easiest. It is also about stretching their listening ability and exposing them to literature they may not chose to read and literature their mother loves. I remember loving Captains Courageous because of the general theme of the young, spoiled brat enduring trials and tribulations to become a man. Troop is not the ideal role model but some of the qualities and skills he uses to mentor Harvey in becoming a man are qualities and skills we can all examine. This book is also affording the opportunity to discuss common courtesies and the language we use to address other people. I am grateful when a book challenges my ideals and values cementing what is important into my children's hearts.