I bought some chicken dinosaurs at Costco which Sarah was going to heat up to serve for the "babysitting dinner." Pete was pretty excited. "Can I have some chicken nugs?" he asked. (This one is for Bex.)

Eliza was looking at a LEGO catalog with Peter, surveying a castle, knights, and princesses. She spied one princess in the castle, "a dismal in distress!"

Making s'mores, Anna said, "Just so you know, I don't like graham crackers." After a bite, Sarah said, "Pretty heavy duty, Mom." Peter's assessment: "I could eat two billion!"

"I got a 2-headed one!" Anna, commenting on eating her puffed cereal.

"That's what you need to send me on my mission, Mom: Gatorade powder packets." Nate's random comment while eating breakfast this morning.

"Guess what?" Anna asked this morning. "Grandma has CDs that are this big [her hands stretched apart 8 inches]." She's talking about the records that are Disney stories that Anna plays on my sister Becca's old Fisher-Price record player.

I bought some live ladybugs today that Anna and Peter were arguing over as to who would get to let them out. Lane asked if we had to let them out tonight as it was so late. "They have to be let out at dark," I instructed. "Do they come back to the container in the morning?" Lane quipped. "Yes," I teased, "they're specially trained lady bugs with tracking devices on them, and you can track them on an iPad." Peter heard all of this in wonder and awe, and ran to report to his brother: "Nate! You can contact those ladybugs on Mom's iPad! And they come back in the morning to the container!" Poor Peter, when I told him I was just joking, he was so disappointed!

"What do you want for your birthday breakfast?" I asked Lane. Mockingly, he answered, "Really chunky oatmeal, 42- grain bread, hand-churned butter." Sounded perfect to me!

Peter: "1 1/2 years until Nathan will be able to drive."

Lane: "Frightening, huh?"

Peter: "And then he's going to take me to In-n-Out Burger!"

I got into the car after I had finished swimming laps during the girls' swim team practice. I commented on how I wanted to go home so I could blow dry my hair. The girls protested. Julia cheerily said, "Your hair looks beautiful. It looks like you blow dried it, and then someone dumped a bucket of water on it."

I had 22 messages on my myjobchart.com message board. About 17 of them were from Eliza. "Check your email. Nooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww," she said.

"I wish school weren't over today," Rebecca lamented, after having a year with such a wonderful teacher.

"Is Aunt Becca coming this summer?" Julia asked. "Mm hmm," I confirmed. "That's good," she continued. "Then we won't be totally bored."

I woke up the children this morning (May 24) with a "Good morning! It's snowing outside!" Their responses: Eliza--"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Nate, earnestly--"That is SO cool!" Peter, gazing out the window unbelievingly, "It's not a-posed to snow...."

Perhaps the only thing missing from the institute this week is the opposite sex. This year's students are all girls. No one is exactly sure why, but student Caroline Richards, 13, of Pleasant Grove has a guess.

"You picture angels playing [the harp]," Richards said, "and boys don't want to look like angels."

From article "Harp institute draws students from across county," by Lisa Schencker, Salt Lake Tribune, July 15, 2010.

Sarah noticed that Anna's antibiotic had a flavoring added to it: caramel-orange-raspberry (?!). She wondered what Anna thought of it. "Does your medicine taste good?" Anna explained, "Not really. It kind of tastes like rotten wood." Lane reminded me of another time when Anna had told him her medicine tasted like "the wall."

One of the great parts of having friends from another country is how a young child thinks about the possibility of a country besides their own. I love how this is shown. Nate was late getting home from school. "Where is Nate? Where is that boy?" I wondered outloud, a little annoyed. "Maybe he's in Korea," Anna suggested.

Peter was headed off to school after I dropped him off at the curb. He paused, then turned and called out: "Do I still get to go to playgroup?" "Yap!" I answered, a little surprised by what came out of my mouth. Yap? I guess that's what comes out when you think "Yeah" and "Yep" at the same time. Kind of like the Electric Company: "yeah" + "yep" = "YAP!"

One of our daughters was waxing affectionate: "Mom, you and dad are the best parents ever!" I smiled and returned to her, "Would you please keep that in mind the next time you get mad at us?" She smiled, and I happily reminded her of our exchange that night when she refused to come to dinner :).

Another daughter wrote a sweet note that she slid under our door at bedtime (after we scolded her and told her to get to bed!). "Thxs for all you do. You are the best family anyone could want. I love you....P.S. Dad, will you help me w/math tomorrow morning?" Nothing like a little buttering up....

Rebecca was sampling a new "Lara Bar" that I had picked up at Costco to try. She was excited to taste it. She took a bite enthusiastically. "Lara bars are good!" she chirped, smiling. Then she continued to chew, as she paused and her eyes looked to the corner. "They're not so good, though," she assessed. One moment and wrinkled nose later, she stopped chewing, pulled out the wrapper, and put the rest of the bar back in it. "Actually, I don't like them," she politely concluded. I was cracking up!

"Mom, do you some people have potbellied pigs for pets?" Peter asked me today at lunch. Hmm. How to answer such a random question of which I know nothing? "I bet that at least they do take them on walks!" he continued. Wow. I bet you're right!??

The children in our family have a fetish for Top Ramen. Eliza wrote me a note, wanting her siblings not to see. "Top a ramen [sic] please?" I told her there was some leftover in the fridge. She protested, I don't want a little bit! I want a lot-a-bit!"

Nate has started working on his Eagle project. Eliza asked, "Did Dad ever get his Eagle...or his Beaver?"

Peter and Lane went to watch a rugby game today with Nate. Before the game they stopped to get some fish tacos and ate them in the back (the bed) of Lane's truck. Peter, enjoying himself, plied Lane for some family history: "Dad, did you have a truck when you were little and sit in the back of it and eat tacos with your dad?" "No," Lane responded. Peter, all seriousness, furthered, "Did you have a horse and cart?"

Several of Nate's friends came over on Friday night (like 5 of them). One of them hadn't met our family before. After seeing some of the children, he remarked, "You all look alike, everyone of you!" (I think I've heard that "you didn't break the mold" comment before...)

Peter and his play group friends were talking in the car. Peter confessed that a girl in his kindergarten class had given him a kiss!! One of his friends was not impressed. Peter was concerned about his friend's reaction: "Don't get mad at me," he defended. His friend replied, "I'm just saying that's totally uncool, dude."

(For those of you Activity Day leaders who wonder if Activity Days has an impact) I walked in to Rebecca's room one morning, when she had been worried about being able to get up to finish an assignment, and asked if she had remembered her prayers. "I was just going to, because of the prayer pillow." She had made a little pillow with a jingle bell on it that week in Activity Days.

We were talking about which movie Rebecca wanted to watch for Friday night. I thought she said "Mormon Barbie." We started to chuckle at that. "I can just see it now," Rebecca started. "Barbie walks into church. 'How are you doing? I'm Barbie!'"

Nate, when Peter got a stuffed buffalo for a gift: "Buffaloes are making a comeback." (Peter loves this buffalo which came from Cody, WY.)

Anna was in her birthday suit one day when I asked her why. "I feel like I just can't wear clothing."

Anna prayed, "Thanks for Jesus and his apossibles [apostles]. And I'm sorry Jesus died on the cross."

We went out to lunch. Peter got pop with his children's meal. He made "Sprite" out of rootbeer and fruit punch!

Anna talked to the shark toy she had just gotten from the dentist's office: "Open up big and wide for me..."

I marveled at how gently Lane handled a misdeed. He was driving in from work when he saw Peter sitting on the corner of the neighbor's yard. He asked him if he wanted to hop in the truck with him for a ride up the driveway. Peter glumly declined. Lane joked with him, and tried to cajole him, but could not get him to budge. Lane asked if he'd had an accident. No, he hadn't. Finally, the reason for his immobility: "Daddy, I accidentally borrowed your hammer." "Accidentally?" Lane asked, trying to hide his amusement. "Yes." "Should we go get it?" "Yeah." Peter climbed in the card, and they retrieved the hammer together, Peter's burden obviously lifted.

We were listening to songs from the movie Mulan. Anna, obviously puzzled, asked, "Her name is Mulan. Why do they keep singing 'Anna to us all'?" (You have to know that we pronounce Anna "Ah-na").

Eliza was working on a survey for school. "Which of these five sports do you play best?" The list included volleyball, baseball, football, soccer, and tennis ball [sic]. "Is dressing up a sport?" she asked me, deadpan.

Anna challenged Peter, "Tickle me. If I don't smile that means I'm not ticklish. Daddy said so." (Can you hear that nah-nah voice?) I went over with a tickling hand, and that stoic little girl kept a stolid face the whole time. I think it's more just her iron will than her ticklishness!

Anna finished singing the Alphabet song: "'Next time won't you sing with me.' That means next time you actually have tosing with me," she accentuated.

I was eating a succulent pink grapefruit for breakfast. Anna asked for a bite. She decided, "I like it. It's just a little bit yucky."

Looking forward to playing with Paige after school today, Eliza prayed in family prayer, "Please bless school to go fast!"

God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom. The people of the Church need each other’s strength, support, and leadership in a community of believers as an enclave of disciples. In the Doctrine and Covenants we read about how important it is to “… succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.” (D&C 81:5.) So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds!

Spencer W. Kimball, “Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, Dec 1974, 2

A book a day keeps the pout-pouts away.

Deborah Diesen

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part- or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.

Elder M. Russell Ballard, "Daughters of God," April 2008 General Conference

"[Easter] is about eggs and candy...and Jesus!" Anna exclaimed jubilantly as we went down to the basement to gather the Easter baskets.

Peter, looking at the book Runaway Ralph, mentioned, "THAT is CREEPY!" Anna responded eagerly, "Can I see?"

Peter, after school: "I got stuck in the eye with the point of a pencil. It really hurt, but I didn't cry."

Liz: "That was really courageous."

Peter: "You know how Nate is tough? I wanted to be like him."

Peter had inside recess yesterday. I asked him what he did during inside recess. "I played with James. I did what I love: played with snakes. Then we did what I hate: played withgirls!"

One of our children was upset over not having been able to watch the movie we were planning on. In discussing it with Lane, she said, "You just don't understand. When you're a dad, life is so easy for you! Life has been SO hard!" When Lane asked her what had been so hard, she said, "Yesterday, I was at [my friend's] house all day!"

There was a bowl of Rice Chex waiting for Anna on the counter when she woke up late today. Nearly in tears, she adamantly asserted, "But Dad promised I could have itmeal [oatmeal] for breakfast in the morning!" I wondered if she is the only child in history, next to Oliver Twist, to have wanted oatmeal for breakfast?

"What color are Sleeping Beauty's shoes?" Anna asked while coloring a picture of her. "I don't know," I replied. "Haven't you seen the movie?!" she demanded incredulously.

Looking at the cover art for the Sound of Music CD, Anna remarked, "She jumped in her high heels!"

"Mom! Hold onto the iron rod!" Anna said to me as she extended a part of her blanket to me when we headed upstairs.

Anna and I were recounting the story of Abinadi and King Noah. We got to the part where King Noah and the wicked priests had run off, and the priests were upset with King Noah. I started to say "Then..." to tell that they burned him at the stake, when Anna jumped in and said, "They fired him!"

"I've been careful with these since I was 6 1/4." Peter

When taking a bite of a store-bought, freezer-section pot pie, Peter exclaimed, "Holy cow! That's some good stuff!"

Peter was noting how quickly the Sweet Peas are growing. He pointed to his plant and boasted, "Mine is just leading the way! It's the growiest!"

Anna gave a Family Night lesson while licking half of a lemon. I can't remember what the lesson had to do with it, but in between licks she named off what she would do to help each person in our family. For Mom and Sarah: "Help [them]." For Nate: "Clean up his room." For Julia: "Help her say her prayers." For Rebecca: "Help her put her glasses on everyday." For Eliza: "Help her clean up her room." For Peter: "Help him pick out his clothes." For Lane: "Help him teach a lesson."

Eliza's sacrament meeting note to Sarah: "You are the best bigger sister on the earth."

We were talking about summer coming. Sarah said, "Will you just ship me off to boarding school in summer and bring me home for family vacation?" This sounded kind of unusual to me for her to ask, so I questioned why. She explained, "I just don't want to do yardwork!"

Nate was telling me how his friend has a certain kind of gun, which he thought was an AK47 (but isn't). [Remember, Lane was born in Cody and his mom is as good of a huntress as anyone you know, with the exception of Lane's oldest brother, so talk about guns is nothing radical here.] "C. [a friend] has an AK47. If you were cool like that, you'd buy me one."

"I hate practicing! It is the bane of my existence, the death of me!" Nate, waxing eloquent on his great love of practicing.

"I want to make a quote: Someday I want a yarn doll. " (Anna, when I sat down to blog.)

"I'm so thankful you got married so you could have me!" Anna said out of the blue, embracing me in a bear hug.

I have learned that the great part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.
Martha Washington

It was Sunday morning. Lane and I were away for a weekend together. Peter called us on my cell phone for the 42nd time. This time he was crying. "Anna got to pick the sugar cereal," he lamented. (The first person awake on Sundays gets to choose it.) "But I woke up at 7:90-something!" he protested.

After dinner, Peter got out a pen and a scrap of paper and started to write. "Mommy, how you do spell 'sorry'?" he asked. Lane wondered aloud, "Did you make a mess?" "No," Peter told. He brought me the paper a few minutes later. It was a note to his teacher: "Dear Mrs. R., Sorry I am sick. Love, Peter."

I was helping Anna button up her sweater. "I can do this button," she informed me. "I'm a little bit of a good buttoner."

Anna walked into our room after waking up, her hair disheveled. She plopped herself on my lap. Rebecca sat close by and reached up to touch her hair. "Don't mess up my hair!" Anna chided.

Lane had just taken a look at the dishwasher drawer that had rolled out on to the floor and the inside of a kitchen cupboard that had been gauged by the drawer runner because of a missing rubber cover. "Who knew that children would be such maintenance items, both to themselves and to the things they touch?" he observed.

Anna had just finished drawing with chalk. "Mom, I have to paint everyday." She is such an painter at heart!

"It just breaks my heart to see this," Peter (6) commented when he saw a photo of a mother returning from war, embracing her little daughter in the airport.

"Mom, someday I want a typewriter," wished Anna after watching a video version of "Click Clack MOO."

"I said to him, 'That is really RUDE!' but I said it in a nice way...kinda." Peter, recounting at lunch about his day and his negotiating a sticky situation.

The definition of a good teacher: "Sister H. is SUCH a good teacher," Sarah observed. "She gave us each 3 homemade Oreo cookies!...AND lemonade!"

Sister Tanner

I grew up in a home where there was a very good marriage, but I remember my mother saying over and over to me, “This is work; to have a good marriage is hard work.” She wasn’t saying that they didn’t have a good marriage, but she meant that you never let a day go by without thinking about blessing the partner in your marriage and working on this and thinking about his or her needs....

Sister Tanner

There’s a wonderful quote from John Milton, an author, in Paradise Lost. Adam is talking about Eve, and he praises her and says, “Those thousand decencies that daily flow from all her words and actions, mixt with Love.”⁴ I think about that a lot. If we could have companionships that were like that, where we think over and over and over about what we can do—

Sister Lant

To help. You know there has to be a division of labor to some extent in a marriage, because you can’t do it all by yourself. But it has occurred to me—well, it’s evident—that the division of labor for young couples today is different than it was when I was first married. I watch the young couples in my family—my children and their spouses—and the way they do things in their family. It’s different than we did. They still get the job done. They work together in a different way. And in many ways it’s better than the way we did it. The point is, though, that it’s individual. Each couple has to work out how they will do things.

Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting: Building Up a Righteous Posterity
February 9, 2008

Roundtable Discussion

Anna and Rebecca were playing hide-n-seek. Rebecca told Anna to count to 10. In a hurry, Anna counted, "1-2-3-10!"

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried--than before, more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile against [others]..., lest ye become sinners like unto them;

But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.

Alma 34:40-41

Sarah finished her plaid skirt at the end of the week and wore it today with heels, keeping her heels on all day. "I like wearing heels," she chirped.

I had just finished a triumphant violin/harp practice session, and exclaimed joyfully, "How long did I practice? An hour?!" Peter responded, "More like TWO!"

Rebecca was singing lustily, "I could have danced all night" when Nate, eating his bowl of Lucky Charms, grumped, "Becca! Stop singing!" "Nate, practice tolerance," I chided. "I did," he defended. "Already."

The children put on some dancing music ("The Contradiction" by Celtic Woman). Anna approached Sarah and bowed and extended her hand, asking, "May I take a dance?"

Eliza took a bite out of an orange slice and grimaced. "It tastes kind of awkward...for an orange."

When I commented about the children's choice of maple bars and strawberry milk for breakfast, Nate remembered Bill Cosby and justified, "It has wheat and milk and eggs--a perfect nutritional breakfast, Mom."

A man seemed to have lost everything in a disastrous flood. He wept, not for the loss of his worldly goods, but because he could not locate his beloved wife and four children. There was a very real possibility that they had drowned. Soon the word came that they were alive and waiting for him at a nearby emergency facility. What a joyous moment when that family was brought together again! As they rejoiced, the man said, “I have my family again, and although I stand without one earthly possession left to my name, I feel like a millionaire” (quoted by Robert L. Simpson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1980, 11–12; or Ensign, Nov. 1980, 11)

"I know how to spell 'Christmas koalas: e-y-i-r. Is that correct?" (Anna)

I asked Rebecca what her favorite part of the Olive Garden was, since she chose it to go out for a birthday lunch: "The breadsticks. Without hesitation, the breadsticks."

After eating lunch out with Rebecca on her birthday, Anna recalled, "I ate the fettucine alfredo, and my tummy poofed out!"

"Man, never has 35 degrees felt so good." Sarah, after a week of record cold temps.

Anna was having a tantrum the other day. I reminded her of the song, "You better not pout, you better not cry." The following night, Anna had been too tired when it was bed time and shed more tears. Peter's prayer reflected his concern for her: "Please bless Anna to be able to get presents for Christmas."

Anna was watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie when Clarise started singing, "There's always tomorrow." Anna looked at the reindeer incredulously. "Reindeers can sing?" she asked, astonished.

Anna sat near the bowl of mini marshmallows waiting patiently for me to come help her make the ornaments I'd promised. Her cheeks were puffing out slightly. I smiled at her, and she immediately said, with some kind of unknown food in her mouth, "I only had 2!"

I am not a psychologist or a sociologist. I do have a doctorate in education, but much more important than my doctorate is my delight in kids. I devote a part of my professional life to entertaining and educating them. I like children. Nothing I've ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my five. In between these joys and rewards, of course, has come the natural strife of family life, the tensions and conflicts that are part of trying to bring civilization to children. The more I have talked about the problems, the more I have found that all other parents had the very same ones and are relieved to hear me turning them into laughter.

Yes, every parent knows the source of this laughter. Come share more of it with me now.

Bill Cosby, Fatherhood (Introduction)

Last night when I was on my moderate tirade about all the slacking that was going on, Lane could hardly contain a smile and a laugh. I was NOT about to ask him in that moment what he found humorous about it all. So I asked him later. "You looked so funny," was his answer.

"Mom, I know how to spell pernicious," Eliza disclosed at breakfast. "Really?" I queried. "P-e-r-n-i-c-i-o-u-s," she gave. "Where did you learn to spell pernicious?" I furthered. "Gabby's mom taught us memory strategies. I chose 'People eat ramen noodles in Canada. I often use spoons.' " Wow. Good morning!

Today I read Tacky the Penguin to Anna. As I closed the book, she said, "I'm a nice bird."

After recounting a humorous story from school, Peter concluded, "It just makes my funny bone stick out!"

I had just started reading my scriptures this morning in my room (still in my pjs and robe) when Anna knocked on my door. "Can I come in?" she asked in her morning voice. "Yes." I said. She walked in, heading straight to my lap. Spying a book nearby, she asked those words that often come out of her mouth first thing in the morning: "Can you read this to me?" Guess what the book was: Five Minutes' Peace. 

Don't you love being tongue-twisted as a mom? This morning I called out to Nate after dropping him off for school, "Call me on my cell phone, but call me twice in case I can't answer it the first time. Sometimes I just can't get it that fastly!"Fastly?!

Peter just came upstairs after waking up in the morning. "I just sounded out 'cupcakes:' c-u-p-c-a-t-i? No, e-s!"

ALL of our children have been in this trend the last few months of saying, "Yesssssss!" when they are excited about something, such as Sarah today: "Mom, can I have a donut?" (I give the affirmative answer...) "Yessssssss!" I think it is funny to hear everyone from Anna to Sarah use this expression. Guess it's the new "cool" for our family!

Julia: "Mommy, what do you do when you're on page 19 of a book that has 279 pages, and it's due in the morning?"

Rebecca: "READ."

We were looking at Jenny's blog and saw their family all dressed up as a farm family. I saw her husband's outfit and said, "What a hoot!" Anna asked, "Was he a hoot for Halloween?"

Scrooge went to bed again, and thought, and thought, and thought it over and over, and could make nothing of it. The more he thought, the more perplexed he was; and, the more he endeavoured not to think, the more he thought.

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (from Stave 2)

(Boy, Charles Dickens sounds like he is describing a mother!)

`Idiot!' said the Queen, tossing her head impatiently; and, turning to Alice, she went on, `What's your name, child?'
`My name is Alice, so please your Majesty,' said Alice very politely; but she added, to herself, `Why, they're only a pack of cards, after all. I needn't be afraid of them!'
`And who are THESE?' said the Queen, pointing to the three gardeners who were lying round the rosetree; for, you see, as they were lying on their faces, and the pattern on their backs was the same as the rest of the pack, she could not tell whether they were gardeners, or soldiers, or courtiers, or three of her own children.
`How should I know?' said Alice, surprised at her own courage. `It's no business of MINE.'
The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, screamed `Off with her head! Off--'
`Nonsense!' said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent.
The King laid his hand upon her arm, and timidly said `Consider, my dear: she is only a child!'
--Lewis Carroll, from Chapter 8 of Alice in Wonderland

This week my mom (an incredible mother) gave me a piece of advice that she received sometime in her life - treat your children like they are your best friend. For example you wouldn't get frustrated if your best friend was walking too slowly, you would most likely slow down to walk with them, or if your friend broke something, or got something dirty you would most likely react patiently and help them. Ever since she said this, I have been thinking about Darla and our interactions, about Bennett and our interactions. I hope I can apply this idea as I strive to raise my children with love and patience. There is much learn. I love being a mom.

Jenny Nelson, blog, November 2009

"What do witches put on their hair?" Peter asked.

"What?" I asked (after being so prompted by P.)

"SCAREspray!"

Anna decided to take a turn:

"What do witches put on their feet?" She questioned.

"What?" I asked (I'm a quick learner).

"I don't know. YOU guess."

After Julia got her princess ball gown on, Peter said in sincere awe, "You look SUPER, Julia!"

I am always amazed at the way children's minds gather information. Sometimes at night I put on some children's stories in French, from a series called Martine, for Anna to go to listen to while going to sleep. Today I was listening to the Relief Society General Meeting in French when Anna, who was by me, commented, "This sounds like Martine!"

Anna asked me this morning, "Can I have some hot cocoa for breakfast since it's snowing?" I made her some. She came to me before lunch and asked, "Can I have some hot cocoa for lunch since it's snowing?" I think I see a pattern here...

Anna to Sarah this morning: "When you are grown up, I'll come babysit your babies for you so you can go on a LONG trip with your dad [husband]."

Peter lay in bed tonight. "How long is night? 10 hours?" he asked, semi-frustrated. "Yep," I answered. "Enjoy it now." "It's too long!" he cried.

When I asked Peter where his socks where this morning as he was putting on his shoes, he said to me, "I don't know where they go! It's just like magic!"

"You know what I want to be for Halloween? St. Louis!" (Anna means Esther, played by Judy Garland in the musical movie, Meet Me in St. Louis)

"Mark my words. You're going to marry a potato farmer from Idaho who loves to camp." Lane, to Sarah

This week my mom (an incredible mother) gave me a piece of advice that she received sometime in her life - treat your children like they are your best friend. For example you wouldn't get frustrated if your best friend was walking too slowly, you would most likely slow down to walk with them, or if your friend broke something, or got something dirty you would most likely react patiently and help them. Ever since she said this, I have been thinking about Darla and our interactions, about Bennett and our interactions. I hope I can apply this idea as I strive to raise my children with love and patience. There is much learn. I love being a mom.


Jenny Nelson, blog, November 2009

"A wise man once distinguished between 'the noble art of getting things done' and 'a nobler art of leaving things undone.' True 'wisdom in life,' he taught, consists of 'the elimination of non-essentials' (in Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living [New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1937], 162, 10). May I suggest that you periodically evaluate how you are doing in this area? What are the nonessential things that clutter your days and steal your time? What are the habits you may have developed that do not serve a useful purpose? What are the unfinished or unstated things that could add vigor, meaning, and joy to your life?"

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "As You Embark upon This New Era," Brigham Young University Speeches 2008-2009(2009), 2.

"But one thing, she said, keeps her going: 'Through the thick and thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God's work. I know that in my motherhood I am in an eternal partnership with Him. I am deeply moved that God finds His ultimate purpose and meaning in being a parent, even if some of His children make Him weep.'"

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Because She Is a Mother," Ensign, May 1997, 35.

(This is one of my all time favorites talks about motherhood. I heard it years ago and have never forgotten it.)

Sarah asked Anna after she walked in from school, "Did you miss me?" Anna answered heartily, "Oh, of course!"

Peter is learning all those perrenial school phrases: "Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me," and "Trick or treat, smell my feet...."

Today at lunch Peter and Anna were having a race as to who could say this family mealtime phrase the fastest (Boy, that last phrase was a mouthful in itself!): "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." The volume kept getting louder in tandem with the increasing speed, until Anna looked like she was going to burst! I wonder how many families around the world use that sentence at meals, too?

Peter is such a good natured boy. He came in from school and started to do something. "Remember to go wash you hands," I nudged. "Thanks for telling me that," he cheerfully responded, skipping off to the bathroom. While he may not always answer me in this tone, it is particularly telling of his innate personality. I just adore it.

Peter and I were looking at some old photos of Nate when he was about Peter's age when Peter thought that a photo of Nate was actually him [P]: "I don't remember going ice skating there!" They do look a lot alike back then!

We rolled to a stop at a stoplight. "Stop, Mom, stop." Anna said. "The light is red now." When the light turned green, she quoted, "Go, Mom, go. The light is green now." I should have turned and asked, "Do you like my party hat?"

We had cinnamon rolls for dinner tonight. After Peter had eaten his, he asked if he could have more. There weren't enough to have a whole second one, so I cut a roll in half. "Can I have both those pieces on my plate?" he asked.

Anna: "I want a ballerina cake for my birthday!"

Nate: "Mom! You keep calling me Pete! Even Anna called me Pete the other day!"

We must love our children and teach them they are children of a Heavenly Father, who loves them. As they feel our love, they will feel His love and will be grateful for their good name and for the name of Christ, which they bear. As they feel our love and the love of their Heavenly Father, they feel no need for the possessions of others. Help them to measure personal progress and not compare themselves to others....

Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen, "Eternal Laws of Happiness," Ensign, Nov.1995, 78.

How many moms in the history of Lucky Charms cereal have made this comment like I did this morning? "You have to eat the cereal and not just the marshmallows!"

The past week or so has been "color week," where the kindergartners wear a different color each day. Yesterday was pink and today is purple. Pete's response both days was the same: "I am NOT wearing pink!" "I am NOT wearing purple!"

Eliza (7), walked into the kitchen, a big smile playing on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. "I'm wearing lipgloss because it's the Fall Festival."

Peter told me yesterday, in a surprised tone, "I was playing a game at school. I was trying to frighten the girls, and theyliked it! [Face drooped, voice quieted]. "But no one would be on my team."

Anna was in the car with me as we went to pick up football players. "You're so nice, Mom." Touched, I responded, "You're so nice, too, Anna." "I love you." Again, "I love you, too." Pause. "Mom, will you take me to Disneyland?" I'm smiling. "Yes, I would love to take you to Disneyland." Another pause, but not so long. "Will you take me there for my birthday?"

I like to think of the childbearing years as standing at the entrance of a diamond mine. You have only a few short years to gather as many precious gems as you can before the time's up. My [time] is up now and I'm so glad I was able and willing to have each of my children. It's hard to see the harvest when you are still in the planting season...but I promise you...it will come.

-Janene W. Baadsgaard, email Jan.31, 2005

I was singing "Honor to Us All" from Mulan when Anna announced, "I want to hear that. The John Wayne one." I went to iTunes to play the song, and clicked on the song I was singing. "No, I want the John Wayne one." "Do you mean 'I'll Make a Man Out of You' ?" I asked. YES! She replied. I guess that is pretty much what John Wayne tried to do, right?

Eliza: "Mom, guess what I'm reading at school? It's calledSomething, Something [she couldn't recall] but it's notCaptain Underpants."

Me: "Stop bouncing that ball and clean up!"

Child: "I can clean up and bounce a ball at the same time!"

Sarah and I were folding laundry together one late Saturday night. I pulled out a pair of Peter's PJs that had a hole in the knee. "Another hole? One more thing to mend! I think my lot in life is mending." I stuck the PJs on a pile, went back to folding, and starting singing a song that popped into my head. "We are sowing, daily sowing...." Sarah started cracking up. "What?" I asked, not getting the joke. Sarah kindly clarified: "We are sewing, daily sewing!"

"How long ago did that happen?" Sarah asked me when an event occurred. "Ten years ago? Wow. That makes me feel like an old woman." (!)

I handed Anna her piece of toast. "Is it toasted?" she questioned. "Yes," I answered. "Is it burned?" she furthered."No," I defended. "I wanted it burned, like Joola's [Julia's] and Lauren's!" 

In our family, we have some pretty funny memories of talking in our sleep. (Some of us are more famous than others for doing this. I won't mention who that is...) This morning, I woke up early after Peter came and crawled into our bed. Soon I got up to read in the closet where I could turn on the light without hearing him. As I was reading, I heard him say, "Blah, blah, blah." !

Eliza was reading a coupon for flavored popcorn: "Caramel corn,...white cheddar, jalapeño...." she didn't know how to pronounce "jalapeño," so I said it again for her. "Is that some kind of coffee bean?" Julia queried. 

Yesterday Nathan asked me what I would do during the day when Anna was in school--if I would work at a job. I told him I didn't think I would unless I had, because there are other things I'd like to do, like volunteer work and being able to go help when my children start having babies. "I want to have children," Anna piped up instantly. "I want to have children and play little games with them." Pause. "And they will help me work all day. And they will do everything I say."

Grandma called today, and Anna HAD to talk to her. "I have to tell you something," she announced soberly. "I have an owie on my finguh." (Finguh was her emphasis pronunciation.). I think that listening to little children talk on the phone (when they get past the just listening or breathing stage) is one of the PURE DELIGHTS of motherhood.

I love the individual personalities of my children and how they reflect what I have said to them at various times. Since I had forgotten to start the hard-boiled eggs this morning, Rebecca came to remind me. "I leave [in 18 minutes], so you have just enough time to get it done. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!"


"Share with one another, for that is the happy way. That's what my step-mom's nanny taught her, and she taught it to me, and now I'm teaching it to you," I told Rebecca this morning. Julia piped up, "Jenny taught us something. I am a long, tall Texan. I ride to Texas on my big, white horse, and people look at me, and they say, 'Yeehoo! Is that your horse?' 'Yeah, that's my horse.' "


Rebecca was practicing her piano and singing at the same time. She announced to me that her class would be having a talent show. "This time, I'm not going to be afraid to sing. I'm gonna sing my heart out!"


I asked Sarah if she would put her camera in her purse before we jumped out of the car. "I'm not bringing my purse," she explained with perfect teenage disdain. "It doesn't match."


"TIME FOR SCRIPTURES!!!" Anna yelled at the top of her lungs, followed immediately (in a very normal, satisfied, conversational tone) by, "That will do."


Peter wanted to finish watching the army movie he and Lane started last night. "It's called 'Bridge at Remagen,' " Lane inserted. "I know," Pete said, condescendingly. "You told me last night." "I know, Lane retorted, "I'm telling you again."Those smart children! (P.S. I don't recommend this movie.)


I worked on a special French dinner tonight which included roast chicken (see food blog). Julia walked in and asked, "Is that Top Ramen?"

It is not the number of hours you put in but what you put in the hours that counts.

As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us. (See footnote 6 in this link for the story.)

President Thomas S. Monson

On Sarah's driving, chipper encouragement from Rebecca: "[It was] not so jerky this time!" and, after getting out of the car, "No dents, no scratches--High Five!" And from Anna: "You're a good driver, Sarah!" and "Sarah, slow down on the bumps!"

"I have had enough camping to last me my lifetime." Sarah, after attending her 4th year hike, Young Women's camp, and Youth Conference (which was hiking and river rafting). I just had to put that down for the record. Let's watch her be a YW president for 20 years.

Anna to Peter: "Guess what?" "What?" "I love you."

"I wish I had my own horse. Then you wouldn't ever have to drive me to school!" Peter, (who has heard stories of Grandpa Doug riding his horse to school from his earliest days). Dream big, Pete.

"My dream is to have a baby like Jane. I cry sometimes I miss her so much." Eliza, when she was looking at photos. She really got close to her name-sharing cousin in June.

Eliza was spreading tomato sauce on some pepperoni slices. (It is 9:38 pm). I asked her what she was doing. "I'm making homemade pizza bites for my dinner!"

Eliza was teaching Peter how to play "Yankee Doodle" on the piano. Peter excitedly reported, "I can play 'Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pone. I can't play pon-y yet.' "

As I eyed the pieces of Eliza's meat up that I cut up for her, as per her request, I encouraged her to cut them smaller since the pieces were a little large-ish. "That's OK," she replied. "I have a big mouth."

"Mom, can I count the stars tonight?" (Anna)

I was the perfect mother and wife...when I was on my mission[before she was married].

Carolyn Hamilton

It was just a game....Volodya must remember how in the long winter evenings we covered an arm-chair with a shawl to turn it into a carriage. One of us sat in front as the coachman, someone else was a footman, and the girls sat in the middle. Three chairs were the horses--and we were off. And what adventures we used to meet..., and how gaily and swiftly those winter evenings passed!.... If you only go by what's real there won't be any games. And if there are not games, what is left?

Leo Tolstoy, from Childhood

"My dream is to have a baby like Jane. I cry sometimes I miss her so much." Eliza, when she was looking at photos. She really got close to her name-sharing cousin in June.

Eliza was spreading tomato sauce on some pepperoni slices. (It is 9:38 pm). I asked her what she was doing. "I'm making homemade pizza bites for my dinner!"

Eliza was teaching Peter how to play "Yankee Doodle" on the piano. Peter excitedly reported, "I can play 'Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pone. I can't play pon-y yet.' "

As I eyed the pieces of Eliza's meat up that I cut up for her, as per her request, I encouraged her to cut them smaller since the pieces were a little large-ish. "That's OK," she replied. "I have a big mouth."

"Mom, can I count the stars tonight?" (Anna)

Doctrine and Covenants 64:33-34

Wherefore, be ye not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

2 Nephi 13:10

Say unto the righteous that it is well with them; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. (See Isaiah 3:10)

Sarah's 15th birthday is fast approaching, and the possibility of her learning to drive is on everyone's mind. Eliza saw a police car yesterday with lights flashing and a car pulled over. "I bet it's a 15 year old driving without a parent. Or 14...."

Sugar cereal is a Sunday morning phenomenon at our home, except on Fast Sunday, when children who are fasting "catch up" by eating it for lunch. I told Julia and Nate they could NOT have 5 bowls--2 would be better. Nate objected: "Two? C'mon! I collected fast offerings with my [suit] coat on [and it's hot today]!"

"How do you know I'm old enough to do my laundry basket?" asked Peter this morning. I said that if he was old enough to go to cousin sleepovers, then he was old enough to do his jobs. He conceeded.

"It feels so lonely in here." Eliza to Becca, after waving goodbye to Sarah, Mallory, and Christina, who had just left for EFY.

Anna, with great excitement, as she watched the eggs boiling on the stove: "Mom! The eggs are dancing!"

Eliza, on driving: "I know how to drive a car. I just don't know what the gas pedal is for."

Peter to Eliza, in the car: "Hey Eliza! We just went by a sweetness car." I chuckled. "No, seriously, Mom, it was soooo cool!"  Peter's favorite superlatives these days are "sweetness" (used as an adjective) and "awesomeness," as in "That Jeep is awesomeness!"

An Unfinished Woman

Here am I, Lord,

The dishes barely done and night long since fallen,

The children would not go to bed

And would not go and

Would not go--

And now they are gone.

Gone to places of their own with children of their own

Who will not go to bed and will not go...

And I have taught them what I could and

They have learned the things they would

And now they've gone their way alone to learn the rest

Most on their own.

And I remain, not half spent.

And I remain, not yet content.

So much to do, so much to learn,

So much to feel, so much to yearn.

My past mistakes make stepping-stones,

Not millstones great around my neck but

Stones to guide my searching feet--

And I must search; I'm incomplete.

I watch my years go tumbling by

And I must use them better, I

Have yet so much to learn and do

Before I can return to You.

The hour is late. The night comes on,

My celestial self I would become.

Ah! What wisdom thou gavest to mortal life--

I, 

As sister, mother, daughter, wife--

In earthly roles have seen Thy face

In womanly life Thy heavenly place

Is taught through humble tasks and pain.

So, if royal robes I would obtain,

To wear as all Thy glories burst--

I'll need to do the laundry first.

--Jeroldeen Edwards

(She is a mother of 12. I think this came from one of her books entitled Celebration!)