Living Full on Life

Influenza

by Leave a Comment

We have been sick, sick, sick! This week has been a week of laying around, fevers, aches and pains, chills, runny noses, sore throats, coughs, throwing up, lethargy and sleepless nights. Today I overheard Sam and Lizzie trying to express how sick they are:
Sam: I’m so sick that if I just relax everything my eyes CROSS!
Lizzie: If I just relax everything my eyes CLOSE!
See? Aren’t we sick?!

Service

by Leave a Comment

Lizzie is sick. She is laying in the parent bed because everyone knows that is the best place to be when you are sick! She is achy, feverish, and has a huge headache. I left her in there with the blinds down and the fan blowing on her in a cooling, comforting way. While I was getting her a piece of toast, a drink and a book to read Sam slipped in and started to read aloud to her from a book he enjoyed and just finished. They both looked so content, Lizzie in her comfort, Sam in the joy of service.

Fathers and the Little Joys

by 1 Comment

boysinigloo
Yesterday while I was at an all day Feis (I’ll save THAT for another post) with Lizzie,  Grant and the boys built an igloo and then decided to sleep in it! I love my husband who is willing to spend his free time recreating with the children. I also love that he is willing to give up a comfortable night’s sleep to give them such an amazing experience. Just look at those faces! They are so happy! Just before going out Grant said, “I feel like Grizzly Adams! I haven’t even shaved today! ” I laughed and decided I really needed to take a picture of him in the pink hat he had found to wear to bed since his was wet from the day’s igloo building. Grant and Sam lasted until morning when Sam came in a little cold. William came in sometime in the night saying that he was cold. I was really relieved since I had sleepy-mind worries about him falling to sleep and never waking up from hypothermia as he is so little.

How can our children not believe in a loving, caring, concerned Heavenly Father when their earthly father is all of those things? Tonight Grant showed us this video that made me cry. I feel so full of gratitude for my husband who is such an amazing father, for an earthly father who loves me so much and for a Heavenly Father who is in the details of my life and whose tender mercies fill me with joy. I also loved the video because it helps me celebrates the little joys of parenthood. What a blessed time in the life of our children. I need take advantage of every little thing, the snuggles, the accidents, the fits, the conversations, the practicing, the deep thoughts and developing testimonies.

William asked me last Sunday during the sacrament if I believed in Jesus. I emphatically answered, “YES!”  He then asked, “How can I believe in Jesus?” (meaning what does he need to do to have the same belief that I shared with him.) I need to never forget Anna cheerily responding, “I’d be happy to!” with our every request since Grant told her that is what princesses say, and her sweet “I love you Mother” every five minutes, William’s quiet observant nature and priceless snuggles, Sam’s never ending quest for truth and knowledge, Lizzie’s ability to make true friends and allies in everyone she knows most especially her little sister and the pleasure I feel in hearing their happy voices when they play imaginative games together in their room.

Mother Pride

by Leave a Comment

Today Sam had his Suzuki Viola Book 1 Recital. Sam has been taking violin/viola lessons for 3 1/2 years. At the end of his first two years he was halfway through book two. THEN, he started taking lessons with Denise Willey.  His first teacher Carrie was marvelous because 1) she came to our house 2) was very inexpensive 3) Did not require much out of Sam or me  and 4) instilled in him a love for the violin. We switched teachers because I could tell that it was time to take Sam to the next level and he wanted to play the viola instead of the violin. Mrs. Willey required perfection and knows how to teach it! She started Sam again at the beginning of book 1 and 1 1/2 years later  he JUST FINISHED the book. He has been the best sport. I am shocked by how long it takes to unlearn habits and re-learn new ones! I am amazed at the precision with which he plays and yet with all the demands placed on him for perfection he still loves to play. In my opinion that balance is the mark of a good teacher.
I loved watching him play those 26 memorized songs. He did such an amazing job! I felt so grateful for his patience and determination. I saw that his arms were getting a little tired yet he persevered. In French there are two words for “Proud”: “Fiere” (pronounced fee-err) and “orgeuilleux” (or-goy-you). I always loved this distinction because for the French it is ok to feel the pride a parent feels when their children work hard and do well. (fiere) Of course even the French aren’t allowed to feel ok about the other kind of pride where they feel that their children are the smartest, best children in the whole world and therefore they must be the best parents in the world!! (orgeuilleux)
Today I was proud (fiere) of Sam for who he is. I am thankful for his talents and hard work. Music and the discipline of the Suzuki program are molding our children into individuals who can do hard things. Best of all it is helping them to have humility. Who can be proud (orgeuilleux) when you are risking failure while performing for an audience? Who can be proud when they are overcome with the beauty of music? It is so much bigger than ourselves. Like looking at the night sky, when we are listening to (and performing) inspired music we can feel small and insignificant yet lifted to the highest heights through the spirit!

Car Talk

by Leave a Comment

I overheard Anna in the car saying, “I’m a good girl! I don’t say potty talk! I say, ‘I’d be happy to!'”

Lizzie shared this joke:
Q. What do you say when you get 100% on your math test?
A. It’s a mathterpiece!

I just read this post to Grant and he added his own math joke:
Q: What did the math book say to the pencil?
A.  I’ve got lots of problems.
Q: What did the pencil say back to the math book?
A: I’m not a therapist. Solve your own problems!

Apparently every child he has told this joke to at the door entering school this week has loved it. 

My Little Scientist

by Leave a Comment

Sam went outside to feed the animals and came back with a bleeding tongue. Of course it is easy to figure out why…He wanted to be a Myth Buster! He wasn’t sure if putting your tongue on a pole in freezing weather was a myth or not and so he did what every good scientist would do and tried it out for himself! Myth…not busted. Even with the pain, he still wants to be on the Myth Buster show when he grows up. It combines science with explosions and excitement! Every boy’s dream come true.

What is Family?

by Leave a Comment

Published in Logan Herald Journal from January 15 to January 17, 2013 

Our loving husband, father and grandfather passed away Jan. 12, 2013, after a courageous battle with interstitial lung disease. Greg was born Oct. 16, 1951, in Fort Sill, Okla., to Kenneth and Yvonne Howell. He was the oldest of seven children. Greg spent his childhood in Manti, Utah, and graduated from Manti High School. After obtaining a degree in Finance from the University of Utah, he spent the majority of his career as a mortgage banker. He was a man of integrity and valued honesty in all of his business dealings.
On July 23, 1981, he married Andrea Felt and they were later sealed in the Logan LDS Temple. They are the proud parents of five children. Greg had a strong testimony and faithfully served in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in various capacities. 
Extremely patriotic, he also served his country as a captain in the Utah National Guard. Greg was a commander of Battery C in the 145th Field Artillery Unit and continued his love for marksmanship throughout his life. He also enjoyed volunteering at the Cache Valley Public Shooting Range.
Greg had an unquenchable thirst for adventure. He loved world travel, aviation and riding his motorcycle. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with his family. Greg also enjoyed hunting – especially pheasant hunting with his dog. Handy with tools, he could fix anything and took pride in quality workmanship. He could often be found working on his Toyota Land Cruiser.
Greg’s greatest pride, however, was his family. He is survived by his wife and eternal companion Andrea; children Megan (Michael) Bennett, Jordan (Rachel), Robert, Lauren and Rachel; daughters Allexis (Jeff) Owen and Candice (Grant) Beckwith from a previous marriage; 10 grandchildren; mother Yvonne; and siblings Deborah Mangum, Cynthia (Matt) Thalman, Kerri (Mark) Rawlins, Kathy (Max) Anderson, Loraine Mitchell and Blake (Jennifer) Howell. He was preceded in death by his father Kenneth and brother-in-law Mike Mangum.
Honoring his wishes, no funeral or viewing will be held. A family graveside service will occur Wednesday morning at the North Logan City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the LDS Church Perpetual Education Fund.
We will miss his sense of humor, quick wit, hugs, playful spirit, listening ear and sound advice. Although we miss him immensely, we know that the separation is temporary and we will be reunited as a family again someday.

…

Read More »

Our House is Still Standing

by Leave a Comment

I’m trying to have a good perspective and a little gratitude. These are the things we have had to have repaired in the last three months:
1) Our dishwasher stopped working-it appears to be receiving no power. Last month the top rack broke, this summer it stopped working, and last fall it flooded all over our newly refinished hardwood floor because of a faulty seal. All this from a dishwasher that is only 18 months old!
2) Our garage door wouldn’t close.
3) Our furnace went out. We froze for a few hours and paid $500 to replace the motor
4) Our washing machine stopped working.
5) The piece you stick the seat belt into broke and has to be replaced. 
6)  Our toilet keeps breaking
These are the things that could have happened (this is the gratitude part):
1) Our dishwasher could have exploded shooting shards of plates and glass all over our kitchen
2) Our garage door could have gotten stuck closed and we couldn’t go anywhere
3) Our furnace could have been leaking carbon monoxide and we could have all died
4) Our washing machine could start putting rust spots on all our clothes like the machine we used in Russia instead of just not working at all.
5) The seat belt could have malfunctioned while we were in an accident sending one of my children careening through a window. At least it broke because the extreme cold weather we have been having cracked the plastic  and not while it needed to have some weight on it.
6) Our toilet keeps running, the handle falls off and sometimes it doesn’t flush.  All of these things are better than a flood of sewage all over the house!
And above all else, our house is still standing! And we can afford to fix these things so we aren’t living in a freezing house, with a perpetually open garage, and having to use dirty dishes and wear dirty clothes.

We Find What We Seek

by Leave a Comment

Last Christmas Sam and Lizzie’s belief in Santa changed drastically. Sam had been defending Santa’s existence almost daily at school and Lizzie was quietly skeptical. Sam was looking for proof that Santa existed, Lizzie looking for proof that he did not. Lizzie finally found her proof when she discovered the Santa wrapping paper hidden a day before Christmas and then noticed the gifts from Santa were wrapped in the paper she had seen in my room. That was all the proof she needed. Lizzie confronted me and I had to confirm her suspicions. We decided to tell Sam too. Poor Sam acted like we had just told him the sun would not rise the next day.
Yesterday Lizzie and I were doing some last minute shopping and she sadly said, “I wish I didn’t know about Santa. Christmas is about two things to me, celebrating Christ’s birth and the magic of Santa and presents. Now part of that magic is gone. I guess that means I am supposed to focus more on Christ’s birth now.”
I was grateful for her wisdom in focusing her attentions on the real meaning of Christmas. I was also struck by the idea that we really do find what we are looking for. The promise at the end of the Book of Mormon always seemed miraculous to me as a missionary. (It still does.) I especially love Moroni 10:4 which says, “if ye shall ask with a sincere heart with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
If we really are seekers of truth we will find it. If we seek scandal, negativity, wrongdoing or hurt we will find it. This applies to our testimonies, the church, our relationships…Santa! If I seek truth and good the magic will be there all around me. I recognize this when I am seeking the spirit. I see God’s hand in everything and everyone. I see his love, wisdom and perfection in everything and everyone. When I am lax in my spiritual enrichment I see things through the eyes of a natural man and even attribute natural man-like qualities to Heavenly Father and everyone around me.
My children teach me so much! How could I have ever known when I started out my journey as a mother that my life would be touched and blessed in so many ways by the choice children that call me mother?
For the record…I still believe in Santa Claus.