Proud Momma Time

I don't know why I can't just post this on facebook, but I really hate putting anything up. Sometime soon, maybe. Things have been happening here! Beulah is almost finished with her first year of college. She has done well and I am so proud of her. She has already interviewed for a good job and more interviews lined up. Janey is performing a lot ; tomorrow she is going to play with her youth symphony at the Covey Center and then this coming weekend she is performing in several different competitions. Plus she is one of six finalists for the speech contest for the Freedom Festival. T-Bone is in the pit orchestra for his junior high musical "Shrek" and he is our official beekeeper. Cheeseball just performed wonderfully in the Hope of America and he has a band concert coming up. Goose just turned 8, had her ears pierced, will be baptized soon and is enjoying Pippi Longstocking and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. The baby is sweet and perfect and fun and knows everyone's name and always has a hug and likes to sing the ABC song.

I Love Abraham Lincoln

When I was a little girl, we had the big, illustrated book about Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Paurin d'Aulaire. I loved the pictures, especially how Lincoln looked so kind and strong and singular. I felt connected to him (the strange way I felt connected to blue whales and elephants). As an adult I have always admired him in a broad way, but I have to admit, I didn't know much about him or his life. When I went to Hawaii in 2010, we went to the Punchbowl, which is a big memorial to WW2 veterans. And I read this quote:

"The solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." These are the most beautiful lines about the cost of freedom that I had ever encountered. Wow, "Lincoln was really good," I thought to myself.

A couple of years before this, I had read Killer Angels. It made me very curious about Gettysburg. I wanted to go there and see where the hills and battles were and feel the ambient emotion that I thought must be present there. I wanted to imagine Longstreet brooding and see Pickett with his curls charging the Union forces and I wanted to see Little Big Top, where Chamberlain led a desperate group into battles with bayonets because it was all that they had.

So....

In 2012, we decided to take a trip across the county, calling it "The Circle Tour." We all picked where we wanted to visit. Beulah chose New York City, Janey wanted to see Niagara Falls. Husband wanted to go to Nauvoo. Cheeseball and T-Bone were game for just about anything but wanted Washington, DC the most. Goose wanted Mt. Rushmore. I wanted the Sacred Grove and Gettysburg. We were able to see all those places and more and packed it into 13 days on the road and in hotels. It was amazing, truly, and I made the family listen to Killer Angels as we traveled.

I had also started to read Doris Kearns Goodwin's book on Lincoln's politics Team of Rivals. It was a very, very good read and Man it made me love Lincoln. His genius and sacrifice and wisdom and amazing craft with words were inspiring.

So, on our trip we visited the Lincoln Memorial, and on the walls on either side of Lincoln are his.Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address. Beautifully written with an unmatchable economy of words. Lincoln was goooood.

A couple of days later, we drove into Pennsylvania and stayed at a fine Motel 6 in Gettysburg (the best Motel 6 we've experienced, btw, with donuts and juice in the morning and an indoor pool and spa that smelt like water chestnuts!). The next day we drove to the visitor center and visited the battleground, using a CD for an audio tour. It was fascinating. We met civil war reenactors and saw cannons and I did get to Little Round Top.

A year ago, we went to DI and T-Bone showed me a framed copy of the Gettysburg Address. How I love that boy! We bought it for a dollar and put it up on our hallway way. Whenever I read it, I am moved and am grateful for Lincoln's vision of keeping our country together and proving that government of the people can work. I am glad my kids are being encouraged to memorize these words, there weren't many better written. Ever. 

Pictures in Autumn

For the past few years, every October we head up American Fork Canyon to take family and individual pictures. This year, we altered the tradition a bit and took the family pictures up Rock Canyon, because it was closer to Beulah, who is not living with us at present. I love my family, I love taking pictures together. I'm annoyed that so many of my pictures are out of focus because it shows that I don't know how to adequately use my camera. But here are some pictures:

35 Years Late

I know your eyes in the morning sun
I feel you touch me in the pouring rain
And the moment that you wander far from me
I wanna feel you in my arms again
And you come to me on a summer breeze
Keep me warm in your love and then softly leave
And it's me you need to show
How deep is your love
 

Okay, I was a very little girl when I first heard the Bee Gees. And as I grew in the eighties, the one thing we all seemed certain of was that the seventies were so over. Anything associated with that decade was so completely uncool.

So every time I heard the Gibb brothers on the radio, I'd cringe or change the channel. But a few years ago, Husband and I started playing the "What group is this?" challenge while we were in the car. (Yes, I did win most of the time), and it came out that the first album he ever bought was put out by the Bee Gees. My first album I'm fairly proud of--Billy Joel's An Innocent Man. (Don't ask about the second album, let's just say it mentions something about a material girl...) So I kinda laughed at him. But I began to tolerate some of the music from the decade of my birth. And I started having memories of when I was so young I don't recall specifics, only sounds and feelings. And guess what? Those seventies tunes actually brought back happy times, mostly associated with my older sister and how fun she was. In 1979 we had a disco act that lasted about three seconds. She would lace her fingers underneath my foot and spin me around. I loved it and that exhilerating feeling of being cherished and feeling included is still palpable.

A few months ago, my sister told me she bought a Bee Gees CD from Amazon and mentioned how it helped inspire her to clean. The only other musical cleaning partner I've heard recommended was Johann Strauss. So, I added both stations to my Pandora list. But I haven't been cleaning too much lately, so not much came of it.

Then on New Year's Eve, I felt a need to celebrate. And ever since I had Miss Darcy, I've stopped listening to all the stations that my teenage daughters like. So I cranked up my blue tooth speaker and put on my slippery socks, selected the Bee Gees channel, and I danced and slid all over the fake wood floor to "Night Fever" and "Staying Alive", as well as treasured hits from the likes of the Doobie Brothers and KC and the Sunshine Band. Woo hoo!

When I first started hearing "How Deep is Your Love," again as adult,  I didn't think much of it, having heard it as background noise for the most part of my life.

But when I started to sing along, I realized that even if it is cheesy and has questionable intent (how exactly am I supposed to show you how deep my love is,  hmmm?), it said so much that I feel about Husband! So last night on Valentine's Day, I claimed a dance with him to that very song. I held him way too close (can't fit a Book of Mormon in there!) and we shuffled around and stepped on each others' feet and even gave me a spin or two. How fun to be in love! Lately I have realized how blessed I am that we found each other and that he gave me the chance to get to know him. I can't imagine being happy with anyone else.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about this Bee Gees thing. When husband and I were seriously dating and we talked about me going on a mission and what might happen with our relationship, out of my mouth rushed the words,  "If I can't have you, I don't want nobody baby."
.

Butter Pecan

I love everything about Miss Darcy. She is sweet and gentle and her skin is warm and velvety and her head is fuzzy and soft. Her eyelashes emerge more everyday, and I love it when she coos with me. Her first smile caught me by surprise. I was holding her in my left arm and I was on the phone with a friend, looking over some cub scout paperwork (the friend was my assistant den leader, and she is taking over as Bear leader). We were discussing the art belt loop, when I looked down at my baby. She caught my eye, almost like she was trying to look at me. I lingered on her face for a moment, because that look seemed familiar, and then I saw the corners of her little mouth turn up into a smile, followed by a tiny "gaa." So cute, so easy to be in love with.

Something that I never expected to love is butter pecan ice cream. For Pete's sake, it's the stuff grandpas like. As it so happens, both of my children's grandfathers were recently visiting with us (to see Miss Darcy, of course) and when each accompanied Husband to the grocery store, they both chose butter pecan ice cream to bring home. After they left, I found myself needing a treat. We dished up some bp, and I have been hooked ever since. I must be getting older.

The Princess Who Will Never Become a Queen

A year or two ago, a character started popping up in our family fiction: a certain princess who would never become queen. When I first heard about her, she struck me as a tragic figure and I wondered why Husband would have ever come up with her in the silly stories he tells the children. Well, I came to understand that she was actually the construct of my sweet little Goose. Long, long ago we had a dinner discussion where one of the children informed her that she would be a Grandma someday. Well, it was if she were staring her mortality in the face and she recoiled in horror. And apparently she still holds this sentiment. The other day Husband brutally told her, "Goose, even if a princess doesn't become a queen, she'll still GET OLD."
But bless her soul, she's sticking to her notions. She is "playing chess" with Cheeseball right now and she insists that her queen be called a princess!

So last night I was very naughty and took a hot bath. The standard answer to whether pregnant women can bathe is, "Yes, in water that is no hotter than 100 degrees," the idea being that you don't want to raise your body temperature because that can reduce the blood flow to the baby and cause distress. Well guess what? Cold baths stink. So I filled up the tub and checked the temperature. It registered a scalding 104.7 but it didn't feel very hot to me. I figured I wouldn't stay in too long. And I don't think I did, but all night I was bothered that I wasn't really able to feel the baby move. I think I have felt it a little today, but I'm pretty annoyed with myself. Husband is right, I should just avoid baths for the next six months.

15 weeks and counting

I've been able to feel the baby move for at least four weeks now, which, according to the internet, is much earlier than the typical 16 weeks. I experience mid-abominal flutterings when I sit or lay still and I'm reassured that the little person is still there. It feels like a big ball bearing slowly rolling through the midst of me.
I have been feeling great, other than I'm totally lazy and completely unmotivated to do anything that takes any effort. The only downsides for pregnancy for me are scary, ugly veins on my legs and the rouund ligament pain that I get when I move too fast. Oh, and this time around, I apparently can't eat raw red onions without feeling a little ill.
Ever since I learned I was pregnant I've been checking up on the baby online, to see how big it is or what it looks like or should be doing. It's such a different experience than when I was first expecting 17 years ago when everything was a guess and wonder.
The other kids are pretty excited. Beulah has finally stopped suggesting names every ten minutes (don't tell anyone but I like "Violet" and Rob and I both like "Gaius" but I don't think we're considering it seriously because it is a fairly ridicuous name with Battlestar Gallactica baggage) and Goose lovingly pats my stomach every once in a while.
I ordered some maternity clothes from Old Navy last night. Maxi dresses here I come.
It's amazing how this pregnancy has changed everything in our lives and yet it feels right and almost perfectly planned. I am so excited to see my big kids come to the hosptital after the birth--this will be the first time since the first that I don't have to worry about a toddler playing with the cords around my bed and and IV hook-up.
I thank God for this miracle and gift.