Family Home Evening

We did manage to get a short FHE in last night. We sang a couple of songs, read and talked about a poem in The Friend magazine and played a couple of games. It was short, but right now I'm just working on making this a regular pattern for the kids. Note to self: Duck, duck goose is not the right choice of games when you only have four people playing and one of them is a little Autistic boy who doesn't quite get the rules and another is a two year old who is following everything her brother is doing. Ring around the rosy worked a little bit better.

My Epiphany

So, I guess I had a kind of epiphany this morning when I was feeling kind of down on myself. I was rushing around trying to get everyone ready to leave the house. Every morning I have this overwhelming feeling that I am never going to make it out of the house to get Cole to school. It seems like a simple task, but when you have two rather uncooperative kids to get ready, as well as yourself, and hubby who needs a lunch and a breakfast and to know where the clean towels are it starts to feel gargantuan. I was feeling, as I usually do, like I just don't have this whole thing down. I find that I spend so much energy thinking about how imperfect I am and all the things I should be doing to be perfect. So, today I just realized, I don't think I do perfect.

Of course, I know that no one is perfect. But some people do perfect better than I do. You know those people, some of you are those people. They look great, their houses look great, their kids look great. They have things organized and clean and you look at them and think, Wow, how do they manage to do it all...they have it all pulled together. Well, sadly, I don't think that will ever be me. I think my house at its best will always be tidy rather than spotless. My hair is always going to be a mess...come to speak of it so will Juliet's as she is a wild child. And I think as much as I try I'm not going to be that perfect girl.

So, I decided that's not my thing. I'm not saying I'm going to stop trying to be better person. But, I'm not going to beat myself up trying to be something that I'm not. Maybe I won't be the Mom who has it all together. I'll be the Mom who comes up with wacky games to play around the house. The Mom who sings in the car. I'll be a nonjudgmental friend and the woman that holds out hope to other women. They can say to themselves, maybe I don't have it all together, but look at Jessica...I guess I'm doing alright.

Fun, good news!

This is a little late, but I had a neat opportunity on Friday night to share in two wonderful moments for the Weidner/Gale/Maughan clan. That night Charles and I were part of a gaggle of well-wishers who watched Eldon Gale win his semi-final round at a Columbus Symphony sing off at the Ohio Theater. He sang a wonderful rendition of a song from the musical Camelot (If Ever I Should Leave You?). Many supporters there to share his moment. One supporter was not however, Lisa Maughan, his Sister in law and my best friend had her baby a little earlier that evening. Parker K. Maughan, 8 lbs 1 oz. I haven't been able to see him yet, due to some house-hold emergencies involving a squirrel and the electric line outside of our house (don't ask), but I'm so excited for them. I'll get in my cheek pinching later on.

Happy birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday and it's a big one. I won't say exactly what number it is, but let's just say I've arbitrarily chosen to highlight 50 things I love about my miraculous mother. Why 5O? Hmmmm, can't say.

1. Her smile
2. The amazing sacrifices she's always making
3. Her hair (frizzy and difficult, I love it because it is a part of her, and because she didn't pass it on to me.)
4. Her testimony
5. Her consideration of other's feelings
6. The way she writes.
7. Her voice (because it is part of her, and because she did pass it on).
8. Her hands, for all they've done.
9. Her love of fruit, especially citrus, okay listen I was just thinking of Mom and I had a memory of when she was eating so many oranges for awhile that her skin got an orange tint.
10. Her worrying.
11. Her need to feed my children whenever she sees them.
12. Her desire to do anything in her power to make those she loves happy.
13. Her love for her own parents.
14. I can count of her. No question.
15. Darcy the Dragon (this one won't mean anything except to immediate family).
16. Her love for all her Grandkids. All-consuming.
17. Her exhilirating sense of creativity. Mind-blowing.
18. Her ability to laugh at herself.
19. The fact that she comes very close to having a panic-attack if she ever sees a child crying.
20. All the overtime she's racked up as a Mom and Grandma.
21. Always overly excited about any accomplishment I make.
22. The fact that she would sometimes wake me up in the middle of the night because she was worried I didn't know how much she loved me.
23. All the letters that she wrote me on my mission.
24. The fact that she shares my addiction to getting bargains at thrift stores and garage sales.
25. Her teaching abilities.
26. Her love of nature.
27. All of her theories about life and what it means.
28. Having long walks with her and taking another turn around the block so we can keep talking.
29. Her cheerfulness, even when she has a lot weighing on her.
30. The quilts that she has made me.
31. All the time she has spent taking pictures chronicling my life and now the life of my kids.
32. All the work she put into my wedding reception, even though she hates giving parties.
33. Her love of the gospel, and her tender heart.
34. Her addiction to Grey's Anatomy.
35. The priority that she has placed upon maintaining closeness with her kids, even when we've lived far away.
36. Her quirky sense of humor.
37. Yes, even her puns.
38. Sunday Dinners.
39. My absolute favorite person to go on road trips with, because she likes listening to books on tape (me too!) and she loves driving (not me).
40. Her absolute child-like delight at being somewhere amazingly beautiful, like at the ocean, or hiking in Sedona.
41. Her continuous positive regard.
42. Her support of all my decisions.
43. Harvesting tomatoes each year with her and enjoying the wonderful taste together.
44. Being able to take trips to the zoo and to Highbanks with just my Mom and my kids. She shares my opinion that a trip isn't wasted, even if we only spend 30 minutes there.
45. Her love of reading, something she helped teach me.
46. The fact that she read all the chronicles of Narnia to us as kids, even though she hates fantasy novels.
47. Her beautiful eyes.
48. Her loyalty to friends and family.
49. Her integrity.
50. Anything else that I may have forgotten about this amazing woman.

I love you MOM! Happy Birthday!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Valentinos

We can't let Valentine's day go by without wishing everyone love from the Valentino's. We hope everyone has a wonderful day and the chance to hug someone they love. Happy Valentine's Day!

Baby Elmo

Here is Juliet, playing around with an old Elmo costume of Cole's. The sound is a little warbly, but hopefully you can hear what she is saying.

Lisa's Baby Shower

Well, I've been meaning to put this on the blog since Lisa's shower on February 2. I figure I should get on the ball before she actually has her baby, which she might be doing at this moment. Lisa is someone so special to me. We have been friends since the Weidner family moved here the summer before 9th grade. We've been through a lot together. Puberty and first loves and life and marriage. She is a dear, dear friend. This was the shower for her first child, one she and her husband Keith have been awaiting for five years. After the miracle of a successful first IVF, they are nearing the finish line, and are expecting a boy they will name Parker K. Maughan sometime this month (due date February 25, but expected sooner).

It was a special shower. I think that the spirit of the miracle and hope and pain that had gone into this baby was present. It was held at the home of Lisa's sister,Tricia Gale, and 35 people attended. Her house was bursting at the seams, and there were a ridiculous amount of gifts. We had a great time. Eldon Gale really came up with a great menu and you can see in the collage how beautifully he and Tricia set everything up for the shower. I was so happy I got to be a part of this really special and miraculous day.




(Please click on this collage to see pictures bigger)

Oatmeal time!

Well, I'm not sure if this worked this time. This is Juliet talking about her oatmeal. She says the word so cute, something like Mote-A-meal. Hopefully, you'll be able to hear her say it if you listen carefully.

Yea, I figured out videos!

Okay, I think I figured out how to post videos. Yea! Here is a demonstration of how Juliet sometimes takes over Cole's space a little bit. He usually is pretty patient with her, until he has just HAD it.