Christmas joy

What can I say? I haven't posted in a long time and I have only the excuse of having too many things to keep up with.

But, I am so happy to have been able to spend quality time with my family over Christmas. My sister, Amy, and her hubby, Jeff, came over to enjoy some crepes on Christmas day with us. My brother, Jon (we call him Jon Jon Beauregard) was also there for the brunch of tasty-ness.

Jeff took these pictures of Lucy while Amy, Jon and I were cooking up a storm in preparation for the fete. (Thought I'd throw some French in there...seeing as we ate crepes and all.)

Lucy has the uncanny ability to let herself get really over-the-top happy. We could all use that ability.

busy life - an update

So, as many of you know, I've taken on a new job. Well, it's not so new now.

I've been the editor and associate publisher for Wasatch Woman magazine since mid-May this year. I had no idea what I was in for and how crazy my life would become. Wow.

I'm now working on completing the holiday issue (Nov/Dec 08) and putting together a big gala event - the Wasatch Woman of the Year awards.

My family has also been undergoing the renovation of the century. Our kitchen.

We went without a kitchen sink, dishwasher, stove, cupboards,and counter tops for more than a month. I would not like to do that again. But, our new kitchen is glorious! Watch for photos of the finished product once we get our backsplash in...supposedly next week (we'll see about that!) If there's one thing I've learned it's not to count on things getting done on time when you're remodeling.

Ava turned 4! Lucy and Sophia are back in school...Sophia's at Bryant Middle School - whoa!

Life is moving fast.

Great-grandpa's legacy

Our family recently spent a few days in the mountains at the Great Basin Environmental Education Center (GBEEC), which is run by Snow College - located at about 9,000 feet above sea level, just east of Ephraim, Utah. We were joined by three of my siblings, their children, my parents, two sets of uncles, their families (kids and grandkids), and an aunt. We had a lot of fun sleeping in cabin/cottages, fishing, hiking, playing games, roasting marshmallows, laughing (a lot) and sleeping (very little).

My uncle Jim Jensen arranged the whole adventure and prepared lots of documents, photos and history of our great-grandfather A.W. Jensen. Uncle Jim gave a talk about the history of A.W. and how instrumental he was in preserving the land in that area. He was a member of the American Forrestry Service and stood up against social, religious and political pressure to regulate the grazing that had previously destroyed much of the mountains ecology and the resulting economy of the communities in the valleys below them.

The little museum at the GBEEC is almost like a family history tour. My uncle Jim presented some documents and photographs to college administrators to add to their collection and preserve the historical relevance of our ancestor.

My kids got to know their second cousins a bit better and made some friendships which will likely last longer than the memories of the trip itself.

I have a pretty sweet family. Thanks for everything, Great-grandpa!

That Darn Cat

Carl and I have long resisted any pets other than the odd fish (the odd thing about them is they usually die within a week) or pet rocks, which usually keep the dust bunnies under the bed company.

Under the guise of being a good friend by getting a kitten to replace a beloved dead cat of her friend Phoenix (what a ruse!), Lucy brought home a kitten. We kept it for a few days expecting Phoenix to show up and claim the kitty for her own. That never happened.

After the kitty pooped and peed everywhere in our house and we threatened to give him back...we had named him. The first sign of resignation. His name is Ringo. Although, Carl, the biggest Beatle fan in the universe, has not once called the cat that. (Raoul, Rupert, Eddie, Phil, Roger Ramjet, Kitty-cat Berkowitz, to name just a few of the ones he's come up with.)

When we picked the name of Ringo (yeah, I picked it), it was at dinner. We went through several names and I suggested Ringo. Ava casually piped up, "That's a Beatle." Whoa. You should have seen Carl's face. I believe that must have been the proudest moment in his fatherhood...he beamed with a look that said, "I've raised these girls right!"

The girls have been so happy. They are very good about feeding him, cleaning his litter box (he FINALLY figured it out), holding him, cuddling him, walking him, playing with him and treating him like a sibling (which involves a lot of teasing, apparently).

Carl and I are happy too. This little guy is a part of our lives. He's playful and funny. We have laughed more and been more calm with a kitten in our lives. I'm the most surprised by this because I always thought cats were lazy and aloof. Not Ringo. He's a social, friendly little kitty who makes me smile. If I had high blood pressure, he would be the best antidote.

Who Made the Sky?

This one is another one of Ava's observations.

We were driving - that seems to be when we have our deepest conversations - and Ava asked me,

"Mommy, who made the sky?"

"God did, honey."

"Did he use fluffy stuff for the clouds?"

"Um, yes, I think so."

"And he used blue stuff for the sky."

More Ava-isms: about the crummy weather we've been having

The other day, I was driving the girls to school and Ava was in the car, talking away about the neighborhood park. It has been a topic of much discussion for us, since it is getting remodeled. New playground equipment has been put in and we're both dying to try it all out. The CAUTION tape has been around the playground for a while. This particular day, there weren't any big machines and Ava asked if we could play. I explained that the playground still wasn't ready.

"Besides, everything is wet from the rain," I said.

She responded,"We could dry it all off!" At which I calmly explained that we really couldn't do that because it would take too long and we wouldn't have enough towels to do it all...that was the sun's job: to dry off playground equipment. It was still cloudy at the time and the sky was ominously gray.

"Why isn't the sun out, Mommy?"she asked.

"Maybe because he's still sleeping, or maybe he's crabby and doesn't want to get up," was my reply - I'm pretty quick to explain fictitious reasons for things I can't explain otherwise. It's called creativity. :)

Then, she proceeded to have a "conversation" with the sun, which went something like this:

Sun, are you sleepy?
No

Are you tired?
No

Are you crabby?
No

Are you snuggled up in bed, with your blankies?
No

Are you watching SpongeBob?
No, I don't have SpongeBob. I only have football on tv. I'm watching football.

Big Announcement

About a month ago, I got an email from the editor of Wasatch Woman Magazine (the magazine where I have a column, called Momtrepreneur). She wanted to meet with me and wouldn't say why.

We met for tea and she proceeded to tell me about an experience that she had in the temple while debating what to do about leaving her position at the magazine. She told me that she felt like it was time to leave, and she needed to spend time with her daughter (who is 4) before she goes off to kindergarten. She and I have not known each other very long, in fact, we had only met twice before this happened.

In the temple, my name came to her as she was asking who would replace her. She then received a "download" of all my past experiences and qualifying personality traits that would make me perfect for the job. She told me that she was made to understand that I would be "scrappy enough" and that I would be able to understand and push the magazine where it needed to be.

When she told me all of this, I was taken aback. I had to admit to her that I had been questioning my life and what I was doing with my career for the past few weeks. I had been contemplating what to do with myself and asking my Heavenly Father for guidance and direction. In fact (and I never do this) I had just fasted for life direction the same weekend that she got the guidance for who to hand over the magazine to.

Over the next three weeks, I went through two interviews and an offer that was exactly what I had asked for...I wanted to have autonomy, the freedom to work from home when I wanted, and all of that was given to me - plus, the monetary requests, of course.

A full month after my friend, the former editor, told me I would be the next editor, I started. Since then, I have learned a lot, made a lot of changes, and I'm still learning and changing.

This experience taught me that we are not really in charge of our lives. It humbled me and it made me feel great. I realized that my Heavenly Father really knows me and loves me enough to give me something I'm totally ready for. This last year has all been preparation for this current chapter in my life. Who knows what will be next.

So, if you don't believe in God, I'm telling you right now. He is real. He knows you. He knows what you need. He will bring what you need into your life if you let Him.

This true story is a testament to that. It is NOTHING short of a miracle.

Rite of Passage

Sophia turned 12 in the last month and a half. She has really been looking forward to this age. Not only does she get to move on to Young Women, but she also gets to go to the temple. She was so excited about going to the temple and was a little bit nervous, too. It had been a really long time since I went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. I went along with her and was really impressed by how mature she was. She really enjoyed the experience and told me that she liked being there.

She's such a great kid. I'm so lucky to be her mom.

After we left the temple we stopped off at the local grocer and picked up some of their fresh sushi...since we hadn't had dinner prior to going to the temple. yumm-o! Our favorite food. We took some pictures prior to going and then, we hammed it up at the grocery store, later.

Tomorrow

When I put my kids to bed, I like to tell them if there is anything exciting happening the next day. This is a trick I learned to keep them in bed, so they can enjoy the exciting event the next day. Giving my kids something to look forward to helps them fall asleep happy. Most of what I tell my 3 1/2-year-old, Ava, has to do with having a play date with her best friend, Lily.

Ava has been asking me the same thing,frequently: "Mama....in the morning, is it going to be tomorrow, in the morning?" I always laugh at that because it's so redundant and cute. But, really, Ava thinks that "tomorrow" is a special occasion. I discovered this when I asked her some questions about "tomorrow."

Me: "Ava, when is Christmas coming?"

Ava: "Tomorrow."

Me: "How about when Nana comes. When is she going to come to visit us?"

Ava: "Um, tomorrow."

Me: "When is your birthday?"

Ava: "In the summer. Tomorrow."

Wouldn't it be great if we could view the world like that? Tomorrow is a going to be a really great day, full of joy, fun, and people we love. Maybe this is why children have so much energy and happiness.

You've GOT to be kidding me!

Ugh. There is nothing worse than an adult who talks down to kids. My kids may be different from most in that, they can detect a patronizer from a mile away. You know what I'm talking about: people who use the high, sing-songy voice and end each sentence in a lilt (almost like they are asking a question). "Okay, kids!! Now we're going to color this picture of a tin can! Won't that be fun?"
Fortunately, Ava has a fabulous Sunbeam teacher who is both kind and real with her...I think Ava was just tired of posing for pictures when this one was taken. This is the classic Ava look.

My Crazy Girls!

All these photos were taken either on Easter Sunday, or the day of my father-in-law's funeral. The girls really enjoyed being with their only cousin on their Baumeister side - Katherine - Those girls kept the adults from being too serious and sad during this hard time.

Words That Moved Me

Today I had to deal with a situation that I wasn't looking forward to. I don't like confrontations and I had to do just that. A person with whom I'd entered into a contractual agreement was trying to get out of our agreement. I was in a breakfast meeting with this person and thought about avoiding her, in hopes that the problem would go away. As I headed for the door, a friend stopped me. This friend knew the situation and how much it had affected me. He said, "What we ignore persists, what we confront goes away" -- that moved me to turn around and talk to the person I wanted to avoid. I am glad I did. We are working out the problem, and towards a situation that we're both willing to live with.

Sometimes when it's hard to do something, and you think that ignoring it will make it go away - you're actually making your life harder. I'm glad I listened to the advice:

"What we ignore persists. What we confront goes away."

My Father-in-Law

Carl has cried tears of joy that his dad isn't in pain anymore. You know, he's been sick for more than twenty years! He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1985. Since then, he's had two heart attacks, has suffered from shingles, contracted diabetes, and has had pneumonia almost every year (sometimes twice a year) for the last five years or so. When he fell from exhaustion and pneumonia, last week, he had a heart attack and fractured his neck. He'd been in the hospital for almost two weeks. He couldn't speak or swallow by this last Friday and passed away this morning at 3:50am, with his wife, Johann, by his side.

It's really a blessing that he isn't suffering anymore. I knew that he had died at 6am this morning when his spirit came into our room. I felt it and he told me that he loved us very much. I cried out to him. He sat at the foot of our bed and he said, "Oh no, don't cry. It'll be all right." He then went to Carl's side of the bed and told him he loved him. Carl was asleep, though, so he didn't hear or feel him there. Carl's father said, "I'm going to go look at those girls," and he left. I woke Carl up and told him. He told me that when he woke up he had tears in his eyes.

I have cried so much that my eyelids are puffy. I'm sure I'll cry more. We're going to be flying to Chicago tomorrow (Sophia's birthday). I really appreciate all our friend's and family's prayers, kind words and thoughts.

Life is fragile and it's very clear to me that if we withhold thoughts and words of love and kindness, we're only hurting ourselves. If there's any doubt about whether to do or say something for or to a loved one or dear friend --- thinking about whether you'll regret not doing or saying that something once that person is gone is a really good gauge to go by.

I'm glad that I had the chance to talk to him and tell him that I love him before he passed away. I wish that I had been more attentive and connected, though.

"What color are burps?"

The other day I was cleaning up breakfast in a hurry. I had a huge list of things to do and I was in that state of mind that I get in when I'm busy, stressed, and overloaded. Ava kept pulling on my leg and I kept telling her to "hold on" (a phrase I remember my own mother using when more than one thing was demanding her attention). When I finally broke from whatever important task I was doing - probably something like wiping down the counter - Ava asked me a question I have never been asked. This question is one that most kids apparently know the answer to because my 8 year old, Lucy, knew the answer immediately when asked later.

"What color are burps?"

"I don't know."

"They're purple."

My First Column!

I'm thrilled to see my name in print...yeah, I've been published many times before, but this is the first time I've actually had a column. The magazine is called Wasatch Woman and it comes out six times a year. Here's a cheesy photo of me with the first of my columns.

sick mama

I love my kids. I love that they go to school and have loads and loads of friends. But, one thing I don't like is all the germs and "critters" they bring home with them from school. Right now I'm suffering from a cold that brings along with it an ache that feels like my joints have been replaced with lead and the only way to get through a day is to take a two-hour nap. This school year has been a doozie for bugs!

I've got two school-aged daughters, both with fairly long hair. The first time the school has EVER called me during a school day this past fall was to tell me that both of my daughters had lice. LICE? What? Not my kids! They are clean...most of the time.

Over the next week, I "nit-picked" and combed through two heads of hair multiple times a day, washed every shred of bedding, clothing, scrubbed heads with lice shampoo and vacuumed mattresses, carpets and car upholstery to ensure those disgusting little creatures were expelled from my daughters' heads. It was the most I've every gagged in a one week period. Ick. But, I was triumphant! (or so I thought...)

About two weeks later, my younger school-aged daughter got into the car dejected and sadder than I normally see her. (She's our melancholy one.) She had been told by the school nurse that she had lice, AGAIN! I just about tore my hair out at that point. But, instead we set up around-the-clock lice checks. I also instituted daily heat blasts from the hair-dryer to burn those lil' buggers out of her scalp. She was surprisingly willing to let me practically scald her with the hair dryer a few times a day to get rid of the lice.

We have been lice free since December 1, 2007. I will say that I'm a lot more anal-retentive about letting my daughters sleep over at their friends' house. We don't share combs or brushes and we wash our bedding A LOT. Right about now I wish I could just wash bedding to make this draining cold go away.