Saturday, Elijah took Paul to a car show early in the morning. They spent a few hours admiring and learning about various cars and trucks. I slept in. Then, they drove to Mount Diablo, and Paul was truly amazed at the beauty he beheld while up there. They played baseball with the boys when they got back, while Gillian and I rested and read, each in our own room. For dinner, we did some grilling and finished up with watermelon to cool ourselves. I stript Charlton naked except for a diaper and let him have his first taste of watermelon. He loved it.
On Sunday, we were greeted by news, sad and happy. Our bishopric was released and a new bishopric was called. I really liked our old bishop. He was wise and kind, but at the same time didn't take himself too seriously. A good combination. I don't know the new bishop well, but I have no doubt he will do his best to lead this part of the kingdom in righteousness. In the end of our church meetings, each family had their picture taken to create a nice scrapbook of memories for our old bishop.
Monday was not a good day. I didn't do much with the children. Neither did I clean my house, nor did I feel I accomplished anything. I read a little, took a little nap, cooked a little, and the rest of the free time I had I wasted it on the computer. I'm okay when I read articles to inform myself with world events. I actually enjoy politics and arts and letters. However, yesterday wasn't spent learning. My mother had asked me to go on Facebook (I don't have an account, but she suggested I used hers) to check my brother's pictures of his recent trips in Dubai and Uganda. Well, you can imagine the rest. Because my brother and I know mostly the same people, time flew away as I checked on each of the same acquaintances. When I was done, I felt so guilty and upset for wasting my time on such frivolous things. Please, forgive me if I'm hurting anybody's feelings. I know most of you use Facebook, and I can see its benefits in connecting with people. Some might say that blogging is a waste of time. Everyone to his own. I personally felt Facebook isn't for me. Instead of doing something productive such as teaching my kids, or reading, or exercising, I did something that had no productive effect on my life. Furthermore, its afterward effect was very distracting through out my day. I kept thinking about other people and comparing my life with theirs, and this is the worst thing that a mom can do to herself. As mothers, our job isn't that glamorous and it doesn't take us to exciting places (anywhere for that matter), and the rewards of a well-done job don't come as a raise in a paycheck or a bonus. Our rewards are of a different nature and they cannot be measured. It takes courage to be a stay-at-home mom. It takes courage and confidence. Furthermore, it takes vigilance. My well balanced attitude and routine was interrupted, because I let a little distraction of the world come into my home. I work so hard each day to bring the Spirit in my home by choosing what I read and watch and involve myself in, and it's heartbreaking to see how a little thing such as checking on other people's lives can disrupt my vigilance. I may be unique in this, and perhaps none of you have such problems. I'm very glad if that's true. I'm just thinking out loud here and trying to figure out my personal issues. Maybe this blog isn't the best place to do this, but this is my journal, and I want to be honest in what I write. Now, I feel better. Well then, let's move on.
Today, we did the same kind of fun and simple things. We read outside listening to the birds sing,
played game boards, went to the library, did grocery shopping, spent some time at the playground,
cooked for the missionaries, cleaned, did family scripture study, and Elijah and I splurged a little on our time and watched an episode of Burn Notice. It was a good day.
When Jefferson got home after school today, he was so excited to show me his art portfolio. I have mentioned something previously about his individuality and the desire that he has to not always follow the crowd, which, of course, I support. So, here are three of his many art projects he had finished this semester:
He likes to add little things to his art to make it his own. In this cherry blossom project, he couldn't resist but add a squirrel eating and collecting nuts. It is such a simple drawing, but it tells me so much about Jefferson
In this one, he tried to draw the chameleon in action (I mean its tongue; chameleons don't move much), catching a fly.
This one was my favorite. Jefferson said that everyone drew the tiger as a regular tiger with black and orange stripes, but he wanted to create his own tiger found in his imagination using a lot of colors.
So, I've been teaching my boys these past days how to be polite and diplomatic. This has come about mostly because they aren't asking for things politely; they are actually just demanding them. Usually, when they do this to me, I try to help them rephrase their demands into polite requests. But they don't get that reception from Gillian. Today, when Gillian had something that Jefferson wanted, he flatly told her that he wanted it. And Gillian flatly responded that he couldn't have it. Jefferson came to me crying (we are working on the crying part, too). I instructed him that if he told her what a wonderful sister she was and how much fun he has playing with her, and then asked her if he could play with the toy for a few minutes, please, I had no doubt Gillian would share. He did it, but it didn't work. (Gillian is a hard case. She doesn't care much about flattering. She is a matter of fact girl. I need to figure out some other strategy for her.) But it did work with me later on. James demanded a treat after dinner. I looked at him disappointingly and asked him if he knew how to ask. This is what James said: "You are such a sweet mother. May I have two eclairs?" Did you notice he asked for two, when initially he demanded one? I was totally shocked that James could think that fast. What was really funny was the fact that after I told him he could (how could I deny such a sweet boy anything?) he couldn't believe it himself he had gotten what he had asked.
Tonight, when I went to say good-night to Gillian, I noticed her shirt sleeve was very dirty. After I realized that she had actually wiped her mouth on her shirt, I said: "Oh, Gillian, I can't believe you did this. It's ... it's..." and while I was struggling to find the correct word, she responded: "Yes, mother, I know. It's quite...vulgar." I just couldn't stop laughing. I love this girl. She is all I want her to be, and more. And when she uses great words like that, which truly expressed what I was feeling and must have portrayed on my face, she makes my day. I absolutely love being a mother. How can you measure moments like these!
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