Inspiration

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I was a freshman at BYU when the Jordan River temple was built. Our family home evening group went to the open house before it was dedicated. Back in the day, this was a very rare opportunity, to be able to tour a temple before it was dedicated. I was so excited and looked forward to this tour with great anticipation and reverence. We dressed in our Sunday best and drove up there together. I remember the covers we put on our shoes and the excitement as we entered that holy building. "Holiness to the Lord"was engraved on the front of the building. It looked and felt like a holy place as I went past the front desk of a temple for the first time. The first stop on our tour was the locker room. 

What?! ....the locker room? All of my life I had seen beautiful pictures of rooms inside the temple and here we were in the locker room? It had.... lockers... and places to change. The tour guide explained that temple patrons came here first to change out of street clothes and into all white clothes symbolic of being clean. I felt a sweet spirit emphasizing to me the importance of being clean to enter the Lords house. Of course they had a locker room. 

Funny thing is, I don't really remember much of the rest of the tour. I remember feeling peaceful and admiring the beauty and craftsmanship but the most specific memory I have is of the locker room. 

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About a year later I when through the LA temple to receive my own endowment. I was a wonderful experience. This time I needed a recommend to get passed the front desk and before I knew it I was again in the locker room of the temple. But this time I was given a locker to use as I dressed in white clothing head to toe. As I did, I felt a sweet spirit envelop me and I knew this was Gods house and was so thankful that I was clean and able to be here. 

I've been to many temples since then and have found that for me, the locker room is a place of sweet peace and inspiration. Strange, I know. I love the sessions. I love to sit in the Celestial room after a session and ponder and pray. But more often than not, it's after the session in the locker room - when I am folding and putting away my white clothing - and when I take a minute to sit in my plain little booth with the door closed, that I often receive the inspiration I was seeking. 

A day in the life

I was thinking that I should record more of my life experiences on this blog.

Here's one I was reminded of on Facebook:

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February 9, 1971. 

I was three months past my 7th birthday. 

We lived at 23351 Bassett Street in Canoga Park California,

in the San Fernando Valley.

At 6:01 AM a 6.6 earthquake hit, with it's epicenter 19 miles away in Silmar.

Linda (who was almost 3) and I shared a bedroom - and a full sized bed.

Julie and Lisa shared a room and so did Greg and Glen (who was almost one). 

I remember being awakened by a loud rumbling noise and shaking.

I bolted out of bed in the dark and ran down the hall towards my parents room.

I'm not sure if it's because it was dark or what, but I couldn't find them. 

I ran back and forth in a panic trying to find them.

We finally all gathered in the boys room where Glen lay sleeping in his crib.

We offered a family prayer of thanks that we were all safe.

When everyone was calmed down, my dad when to find a flashlight.

As he made his way back to the boys room with the flashlight he discovered broken quart jars of fruit in the hallway outside my bedroom door. 

They had fallen from the top of the linen closet where they had been stored,
as there was not enough room in the kitchen.

During the earthquake they had fallen and shattered. 

I'm not sure how many times I ran through that area in my nightgown and bare feet, but I came through with no cuts or bruises. I don't even remember being sticky.

I knew that I had been protected - as were my other family members.

Our house was fine as far as I remember. Our brick fence had a crack going through it.

About a week later we drove out to Silmar and saw the hospital pictured above. Parts of it sank a whole floor and a one whole wing fell off. I remember seeing a wheel chair sticking up above the rubble and a  bunch of ambulances crushed under a carport. I remember being so thankful that our family had been protected - and very sad that others had been hurt or died.

and these pictures make me feel really old!

Food

I have had a little burst of recipe re-creations lately and have been posting them on the food blog.

Chicken verde mexican lasagna 302 calories per serving

Banana streusel muffins - 76 calories per muffin

I've also made some really yummy soups too that I will post soon.

Life Marches On

Twenty Thirteen.

I think it was when we were driving to St. George from Amy's house in Roseville (CA) that the conversation turned to the events this year would hold for our family:

Twenty Thirteen promises to be full of change:

big changes for me.

Jennifer will graduate from High School - my baby.

My baby who has become an amazing, beautiful woman and a dear friend.

     -No more children in public schools.

Jennifer will spend three weeks in Germany on an school organized exchange.
    - I realize that she will be 18, but my baby will be in a foreign country.
    - Mark and I will have three straight weeks to ourselves.

Exciting, different, a little taste of things to come. Three weeks is long enough to do something fun, something productive - and not quite long enough to feel lost.

Christian will return home from his mission
     -Can I really be the mother of three returned missionaries?
Ruby will start Kindergarten
Jennifer will start College

I'm getting old. 

Christian and Jennifer will move out and attend BYU.
    - Which means I retire from full time mothering...

This is the big one. 

The first twenty years of my life I looked forward and prepared to be a mother. 

It was the desire of my heart. 

The next almost thirty years I have spent enveloped in the lives of my family,

most especially my children.

This is a great blessing I have been given from my Father in Heaven

as well as my amazing husband, as he has also made it possible,

not only to have them, but for mothering and nurturing to be my full time job.

I look forward to having having a freedom we have not had for many years.

But, he will go to work and while I will have Kindermusik,

for the first time in a long time, 

no one will come through the door in the middle of the day

ready for a snack and some chatter about their day.

I will miss that. 

The house will be very quiet most of the day,

which isn't that different than it is now,

 but it will feel more empty.

I guess that's why they call it an empty nest.

Mark will be released from the MTC.

   -Which means he will have an extra 16+ hours a week.

   -We may actually get to sit together in church.

   - We will miss the great blessing of associating with the incredible Elders and Sisters at the MTC.

And then, last but not least on 11-13 of 2013, I will turn 50.

   - Not a bit deal really. But I guess a lot of it depends on the things that happen earlier in the year.

Twenty thirteen promises to be full of change, probably summed up by a fortune cookie: 

"Your path may be difficult but it will be rewarding."

Ready or not, here it comes...

Thankful

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for having me. I know that expecting number three when number two was only 7 months old must have been a shock. But I never felt like I was a burden in any way. Thank you for teaching me about life, this beautiful world, about love and what it means to be part of a family. Mom, thank you for carrying me, for nurturing this body I use every moment of every day. Thank you for giving birth to me - for going through the pain and struggle that is part of giving life.

Thank you for helping me with homework, paying for my piano lessons, taking me to the doctor and dentist. Thank you for my siblings who danced on the furniture with me while singing to My Turn on Earth and Saturday's Warrior. I know that you spent many hours and tears and worry over me when I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at 11. I am so thankful for your prayers and fasting and priesthood blessings in my behalf. I'm sure that there were days when you were sure that at age 49 I would be in a wheel chair, quite disabled. Thank you for your faith which produced miracles.

Thank you for countless meals, clean clothes, a roof over my head and family games of Rook and hide and seek (even when mom cheated and hid on the roof). I have such wonderful memories of sitting in the tangerine tree and eating tangerines, sneaking chocolate chips from the always open bag and canning all kinds of fruit in the kitchen. I remember Dad sitting on the bed with his arm around me one evening as I cried - having just had my heart broken for the first time.

Most of all, thank you for teaching me that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and provided a plan so that I could return to Him with my family; a Savior who atoned for me - who made it possible for me to repent and change and who can comfort and guide me no matter the issue; and the Holy Ghost which can guide and direct me everyday and remind me of God's love and my eternal worth.

I love you more than I will ever be able to express.

And THANK YOU SO MUCH

love,

Karen

Princess Festival 2012

 Mark and I were able to take Ruby and Olivia to the Princess Festival while they were here.

Mark and Christian took Ruby last year, but this was the first time Olivia and I attended.

The Festival is held in the children's garden at Thanksgiving Point. There are princess all around and each princess has a story that is acted out with lessons about service and kindness for the audience to learn about. Last year Ruby was a bit traumatized by the step sisters in the Cinderella play and did not want to go to any of the little plays so we wandered around a little bit. First we looked for the Princess and the frog (who was really good at math problems). We found the princess but no frog...

We found Rapunzel:

 

   and then something the girls got excited - a horse and carriage

 

Unfortunately it turned out that a carriage ride was $8.00 per person...  
Ouch! So we just pet the horse instead which the girls were quite happy with. Ruby was not afraid at all and Olivia kept a close eye on the horse. He was a very gentle and mellow, very large horse!

The playground caught Ruby's eye as she is an expert at climbing.

 The day was getting warm so we had a snack in the shade and a big drink of water before drawing chalk pictures with Peter Pan and Wendy

 It took a bit of coaxing but when we showed the girls their pictures on Grandpa's iphone they really liked putting their faces in different pictures.

 

 Near this bear statue is a cave. It was nice and cool and there were no groups there at the moment. There was a princess and a few friends in the cave and we talked with them and built up a pretend wall with cardboard blocks and knocked it down again. Both girls were brave and crawled through the tunnel in the cave which they thought was quite fun. We stayed in the cave when a group came in and watched the little play. After that we joined a big group activity on a grassy hill. We had some of our picnic lunch, a few otter pops did the hokey pokey, turned our selves around and then did the chicken dance. I thought we had a video but I can't find it. Anyway, it was getting hot and some of us were getting a bit tired. We decided that an ice cream cone on the way home would be a good idea. We took a few pictures on the carriages they had at the exit,

 
and drove off in search of ice cream. At last we found Arctic circle and got some cones. This may have been the most fun thing we did. Olivia was hilarious, She would take a bite from the top and then take one from the bottom. We kept waiting for the ice cream to drip from the bottom but she was able to eat it fast enough to avoid drips. Ruby also loved her cone and both girls wanted a second one. It was so fun to see them watch each other and giggle and interact. A few days after Ruby went home, Olivia and I were driving in the car. Olivia asked to go see Ruby. I explained that Ruby was at her house and it would take us all day driving in the car to get there. She thought a minute and said, OK. I hope these girls always remain friends and remember that they really are princesses.

Livi lou

Since Olivia moved with her parents to Illinois when she was just a few months old, our opportunities to interact in person are somewhat limited. We were thrilled to be able to have her here for just over three weeks. This series of pictures, taken on the fourth of July, provides insight into Olivia's personality. 

To say we are not big fourth of July party animals is an understatement, however I do enjoy our neighborhood "Cul-de-sac of fire"where neighbors come together and share purchased fireworks. We could hear the sounds of fireworks from around the neighborhood and Olivia, unsettled by the noise didn't really want to go out to see them. Jennifer and I were able to persuade her to go out in the street with us during a lull in explosions. We looked down the street and could see neighbors a ways off setting off some quieter ones that were just on the ground. We oohed and ahhhed and when Livi thought they were cool we decided to just go on a little walk and see if we could see some more. We ended up in the cul-de-sac (surprise, surprise) and this is kind of how things transpired from there:

She was kind of the same way on the trampoline. She and Ruby tried to bounce together but the unpredictability unnerved Livi and she preferred watching from the ground rolled in the Lighting McQueen blanket. But given the opportunity to bounce by herself and we have:

 
She was not this way with more familiar things, she LOVED the carousel,  getting ice cream cones, the splash pad - when we left the splash pad she asked if she could swim in one of the fountains (the little swimming pool)... umm probably not.

Olivia also discovered Are You My Mother as well as Robert the Rose Horse,

In fact at random times she would get a big grin on her face and say, "Ker choooooooooooooo"

to which we would reply, "up went Livi, up went Grandpa, up went the puzzle and Auntie Jenn fell down flat! (or a hundred different variations). 

She also proved to be her fathers daughter as we celebrated her mom's birthday a little early.

See the direction of the smoke and which ones went out first?

Olivia is a great helper in lots of ways!

Oliva is a thoughtful, careful child when it comes to things she is not familiar with. Give her a little bit of time and when she understands the situation and knows more what to expect she will, on her own, jump in full throttle. She likes to be in control of herself in new situations and flourishes when you allow her that opportunity - and when you are willing to do that... this little girl is pure joy. 

That's probably one reason she plays so well on her own. 

PS Aaron, a job within a one day drive when you graduate would be sooo nice!

Livi Lou, I love you!

One day Aaron asked her, "Livi, are you being facetious?" to which she smiled and replied,

"Yes, faleetious"

Last segment - "The princess festival" - coming soon!

Then maybe we'll get to our trip to Yellowstone and our upstairs remodel.