Congratulations, Gillian!

Today, Gillian turned eight years old. Today, she made a covenant with the Lord by entering the waters of Baptism. It has been a very spiritual day for me to see my own daughter get baptized and start on the path that will lead her toward the Savior.

It is truly a blessing to have the gospel in my life. The day I entered the waters of Baptism as a convert to the church was the day that change my life forever. And one of those blessings, it has been to teach my children Jesus' teachings while young, and prepare them to understand the importance of making the right choices. Today, Gillian made one of those right choices, one that will change her life forever. It is in itself a miracle to have the power of God so accessible to us, and I'm grateful my husband lives his life righteously so he can be worthy to exercise that power in performing ordinances like that of the Baptism as well as that of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest demonstrations of the love that Heavenly Father has for us. Through it, I've been able to understand the divine language of my Father in Heaven and receive personal revelation for my own life. I'm so excited that Gillian is going to learn how to use this gift. Her life will be blessed as she tries to follow the Savior's teachings and example by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
Gillian's Baptism was scheduled at four this afternoon, and we were pleased and grateful that many of our friends had come to support Gillian in this special day. Her Aunt Rebekah spoke about the importance of following the Savior's example by starting with this very important ordinance, baptism. Abel spoke about the Holy Ghost and the blessings that come by following His promptings. Primary children sang "I'm a child of God," Gillian's friend, Emily, played a hymn in her violin, and Gillian's primary class sang Gillian's favorite song "I know that my Savior loves me." The Spirit touched my heart throughout the program. The talks, the prayers, the ordinances, the children's voices, all of them combined brought a special Spirit into my heart. I'm happy for Gillian's decision to get baptized, and pray that she will continue on the right path. She is a blessing to me, my sweet daughter, Gillian.

Gillian in Wonderland!

Gillian's Birthday is tomorrow, and because she chose to get baptized on her birthday, we thought it would be wise to throw her party the day before. The party turned out wonderful. Gillian and her friends had a grand time. She had invited about 14 kids, and all of them, big and small, enjoyed themselves tremendously.

Gillian had chosen a few months ago to have an "Alice in Wonderland" theme for her party. Abel and I worked on the decorations for two days. He drew and I colored. Rebekah also helped when she got here on Thursday. We tied balloons in every tree and pole we could find. Banners with "Wonderland" drawn on them were tied and placed right as you enter our driveway. Colorful mushrooms were spread out through our lawn. As you entered out back yard, your imagination, helped by the various decorations, took you to Alice's Wonderland, except that this was Gillian's Wonderland.



We had asked her friends to come dressed as one of the characters of "Alice in Wonderland," or just wear a wacky hat. Abel composed this awesome outfit as the Mad Hatter; some of Gillian's friends dressed as Alice; Jefferson and James dressed up as the White Rabbit, and many of her friends had put on funky hats.

We started Gillian's party with the service of face painting. Since I hadn't had the time to get a costume for myself, I had Abel paint a red heart on my cheek representing the Queen of Hearts. Zoe joined my boys in having rabbit whiskers painted on her cheeks. We wanted to paint the Cheshire Cat's whiskers on Charlton, but we decided to better keep him happy for the rest of the evening. Besides, he is a character without having anything painted on him.




I had planned a lot of games for the kids. After everybody got there and those who wanted their faces painted were done, I gathered them all and had them sit on the ground. Then, with a very dramatic voice and manner, I read a short version of "Alice in Wonderland" to them. They were mesmerized. I love the power of great story telling. As I finished the story, I asked them a few trivia questions on the story, and then sent them all over the yard to find six characters mentioned in the story. Of course, they all got prizes!

The second installment of the games involved "Putting the smile on the Cheshire Cat," as well as the "Potion Test." We divided the kids into two groups. While one played one game, the other played the other. The Cheshire Cat game resembles the game "Put the tail on the donkey," except you put the smile on the cat. For the "Potion Test," I had the children divide into two teams, each member testing the same drink while blindfolded. The team with the most correct answers got the prize. After they all had a turn with both games, I had them get into a line and march. There were prizes for the best costume, the coolest hat, the most spirited marcher, as well as the most enthusiastic one. Prizes were given, and then it was time for pizza.


When we were all done, I invited the children to come inside and help Gillian open her presents. She received wonderful and thoughtful presents, and she didn't mind when others wanted to tear the paper for her. Gillian seemed radiant tonight and very happy. She kept telling me many times how wonderful her party was and what great fun she was having. After presents, came the cake. I have to admit that I didn't labor on the cake much. Knowing that I would be too busy with preparations, I went ahead and bought the cake. To keep with the theme, I bought a cake with roses on it, except I chose my kind of colors. After all, I was the Queen.


After the cake was consumed, and plates were cleaned out, I called the children to make a line that led to the Queen's pinata castle. Each child had a turn hitting the pinata three times each. In the end, the pinata gave out and the kids had a feast collecting the candy. I had given each child a party favor bag, but Emily and Jefferson used their quick wits and didn't used theirs. Instead, Emily used her Alice apron and Jefferson used a hard hat he had brought with him. They collected more candy than all the other kids combined. You see, it took way more time to put the candy into the bags than into Emily's apron or Jefferson's hat. Of course, they shared their candy with the little ones. It wasn't that they really wanted that candy; the point was that they were the ones who got the most. Ah, healthy competition!


While some of the kids were waiting for the parents, Gillian kept swinging at this rope that Abel had hung up for them in one of the trees. It didn't take long for the rest of the kids to get in line to catch a turn. Actually, when parents came, they had to wait for a while, because the kids were having such great fun and didn't want to leave.
The party had been a success, Gillian was extremely happy, all the guests had enjoyed themselves, and I was exhausted. If you didn't see many pictures of the games, it's because I was there with the kids. However, I didn't miss the opportunity of taking some awesome shots of our extraordinary Mad Hatter.

Welcome to California, Rebekah!

Rebekah, Elijah's sister, arrived in California today. She is attending BYU-Idaho this fall, so she flew to San Francisco to stay with us for a few weeks, and then will head out to Idaho. I took the whole crew with me to pick her up at the airport. The children were very excited to see Rebekah, especially Gillian. Gillian would love to have a sister. Sometimes, she tells me that I need to adopt a girl her age. I'm glad Gillian has a lot of great friends here that she can play with, just girl stuff. I'm glad that Rebekah and Gillian have a wonderful rapport and enjoy each other's company. I'm happy Rebekah has come to visit, especially after she offered to cook for us while here. This summer cooking for me has gone from being an art form to a necessary nuisance. Ah, the life of a socialite!

On the way home, I told the kids that I was going to stop at Treasure Island to get my hands on some treasure, my kind of treasure, photography. The pictures still didn't turn out as I wished them to, but it wasn't the camera's fault this time. The fog had covered everything, making the city look gloomy. Nevertheless, here are some good shots of San Francisco's skyline from Treasure Island.


This evening I took Gillian to her book club. They discussed "Mr. Popper's Penguins." I led the discussion, and we all had a wonderful time. It makes me so happy when I see children who have a love for reading and who share such great insights. Our conversations ranged from facts about penguins, to geography, to our favorite animals, to what we want to become when we grow up. The answers on the last topic varied from Caleb's desire to become an engineer, to Jack's wanting to be an inventor, to Sophie's interest in meteorology, to Mary's goal of becoming a math teacher, to Hannah's passion for art, and of course, you are all thinking of Gillian's desire to do something grand like become a writer or archaeologist. Although these professions were on Gillian's list, they weren't her first choice. Gillian surprised us, and especially me, by saying she wanted to be a Hollywood star who can dance and sing and make a lot of money. Later, when I asked her why she wanted to make a lot of money, she replied that the money would help her fulfill her other dreams like going in an expedition to find ruins of ancient cities. I was a bit dumbfounded, partly because her answer was logical, and partly because she seemed to have thought this through ahead of time. My daughter wants to be a Hollywood star?! NO WAY! I explained to her that she can make a lot of money by writing great books, which I know she will one day do. And in the back of my mind, I made a mental note that we need to get out of California when she becomes a teenager.

Life with children, not always happy and blissful (Part 2)

Note: Read 'Part 1' first.

Tuesday was no better. Charlton woke up twice during the night, and then decided to stay awake after 6:30a.m. I'm not a morning person, and if you want me to have a bad attitude for the rest of the day, come and wake me up early in the morning. By the time 7:30 approached, I sent Charlton upstairs to play with his siblings, so I could get some rest. I must have been in dream world when I thought of that, because the minute Charlton finished climbing the stairs and started to baby talk to his brothers and sister, they all flocked toward him, each of them wanting to play with him. This started a commotion with Charlton crying because of the noise his siblings were making, and with the children fighting over who would play with their little brother first. Did I mention I really wanted to rest? I called them all down for breakfast.
James wanted to say the prayer, and as I was about to consent, Gillian complained that he always said the prayer. Jefferson didn't like the kind of raisin bread I had bought for them this time. Charlton was demanding more food. My head was pounding, and it wasn't even eight o'clock yet. So much for breakfast to calm us down!


Today was going to be my cleaning day, laundry day, and project day all in one. So, I tried to involve my children in helping me out. Laundry was their responsibility, while I was cleaning out my laundry room closet. They were doing well for a while, when all of a sudden I hear screaming coming from the living room. As I go to check things out, I'm hit by some kind of clothing. There is silence for a minute, and then they each talk loud and out of order, trying to explain their behaviour. I would have been okay with the throwing of the clothes at each other, after all who can resist the temptation, but then they made me angry by assigning fault to each other and then continuing with complains. I told them they needed to be quiet for five minutes. My ears were demanding vacation from all of the talk and fights. You would think five minutes without talk is an easy task, but not for these kids. In less than a minute, I hear Jefferson tell Gillian not to throw his clothes at him. James proceeds in telling Gillian how to fold shirts. Gillian makes the unpardonable sin and comes and talks to me. I tell the kids to go and play outside. I close the doors. For five minutes, I sit down drinking cold water and closing my eyes. I could have stayed like that for hours, but I had to keep my momentum going. My house was calling me. I invited the children in and gave them separate assignments.


After the chores were done, I asked Abel to start with the party decorations. Gillian's birthday is on Saturday, and because she is getting baptized that day, we wanted to keep it special for her and moved the birthday party on Friday. A few months ago, she decided she wanted to have"Alice in Wonderland"theme for her party. Abel and I have come up with a lot of fun ideas relating to this theme, but it's going to require a lot of work from us. Since we were done with chores, I asked him to get the children's help if he wanted. He had drawn a couple of mushrooms that we are going to place in our yard, and he asked Gillian and Jefferson to color them. Well, again, Jefferson and Gillian found something to fight over. The mushrooms were identical except for the spots on them, and that was the problem. They each wanted the same spotted mushroom. I tried to keep my cool and gave them the choice of drawing the assigned mushrooms, or going to their room and color whatever they wanted. They sat and colored their mushrooms.


At dinner table, while Jefferson was eating his roll with his spaghetti, he decided to claim another one in the basket. Gillian interferes by saying she had eyed it herself and since she was done with her dinner that roll belonged to her. "My goodness, have all the rolls you want, just don't fight over such silliness." -was my not-so-calm answer.
As I started reading to them, I thought that maybe we were done with the fights and complains for today since reading time is our favorite time of the day, but it wasn't meant to be. We read for almost an hour, and we were about done with our chapter book, when Jefferson decided he was done with reading and wanted to go upstairs and play. Gillian wanted to finish the book while sacrificing her play time. James wanted to finish the book and play. Decisions, decisions, decisions. We finished the book, and they had five minute play time. And I didn't even lose my temper.


During question time tonight, Jefferson told me what a wonderful mother I was, James thanked me for helping him with the cleaning of his room, and Gillian hugged me several times and said that she was grateful I was her mother. They all told me that they loved me, and all those "I love you"s kind of melted my heart. I was physically tired from cleaning all day, emotionally exhausted from dealing with fights and complains, and intellectually challenged from not reading any books of my own for two days. Nevertheless, I was grateful to be their mother. Let's just hope tomorrow will bring us less fights and more love.

Life with children, not always happy and blissful (Part 1)

Monday morning started like every other morning. Every body was happy and hungry. We ate, got ready, tidied up the house, did the breakfast dishes, and rushed to our running club. The bad spell for the next two days started there. The children finished their 10-mile card, and started on their 15-mile one. Gillian's friends were all there, and because they all wanted to play at the nearby playground as well as run, Gillian found the solution by telling them to alternate playing at the playground after finishing each mile. Her friends liked that idea, except Gillian, who had offered it.

What I saw next made me angry. She went to her brothers, who were continuing their run, and tried to convince them to go and play at the nearby hill, therefore stopping them to get ahead of her in their card. I didn't like it, so I asked Gillian to come and talk to me. After explaining to her that it wasn't nice of her to trick her brothers, she, in return, explained to me that everybody had the agency to choose, and she was just offering another idea to them. They could take it or leave it. She just didn't want them to get ahead of her, and so was trying to find a way so they could all be the same. Translation: I'm very competitive and I don't want any one else to win, but me. I hugged her and told her that it's better to lose with honesty than win with trickery. Besides, this running thing had nothing to do with winning or losing; it's just a fun way to exercise our bodies. She smiled and went to play. Later on, she wasn't resentful, but she was aware that her brothers were one lap ahead of her.


Library came next. I put Charlton on his stroller, and Gillian took the lead by pushing him toward the door, while I was getting the books out of the car. Jefferson started fighting with Gillian at the parking lot about taking turns pushing Charlton. I was in no mood to hear bickering at the library, so I told Jefferson Gillian was in charge and left it at that. While I was looking at the books-on-hold section, he approaches me and tells me that I always tell him that he is very responsible, and isn't that as good as being the oldest? What do you say at something like that! I told him that I was so blessed to have such a responsible boy, and that next Monday he will be in charge of Charlton at the library. The truth of the matter is that when he has Charlton at the library, he behaves as if he is in a playground, pushing the stroller between isles and in the middle of the library paying no attention to others, except to his little brother. So, you can say that he is responsible in taking care of his brother, but with some consequences to others.


After we all got all the books we wanted, we proceeded to check out. Charlton started to scream, James was talking my head off about this book he had found, Gillian was wanting to read one more page before checking her book out, and Jefferson had disappeared behind the receipt printer. Let us not forget, there was a long line forming behind us. Immediately, I sent Gillian out with Charlton, I checked James' book first and gave it him, so he could read it while I was checking the rest out. Jefferson was next. I kept telling him to come to me and not touch the book receipt or the printer. He seemed to have not heard me. I called his name three times, with everybody in the line watching me and my interaction with my son. I was gradually losing my cool. I also wanted him to help me with the books. James joins us in trying to help. Instead, a fight burst out as they were trying to decide which ones were theirs. I felt like screaming, but instead I pulled Jefferson's ear and told him to quit. The tears in his eyes made me feel so embarrassed, not because the ten or so people in the line were watching me lose my temper, but because in my worrying about what others were thinking, I had forgotten to worry about my children. Jefferson later explained to me that he was trying to figure out how the printer worked. That's why he hadn't paid attention to me. He apologized, and as I write this now I wish I had dropped all the books on the floor and kissed his tears. Precious children trying to deal with the adult world! Hard working parents trying to understand a child's world!


I have to say, though, the bickering and fights of this day were not done. Jefferson and James fought over blocks as Gillian had her haircut; James strongly told his brother and sister that they couldn't play with Claire when we went to pick up Abel at Elijah's work; Jefferson kept asking for things as we were trying to figure out what we could get within our budget for Gillian's party at the party store. By the time Elijah got home, I was mentally exhausted. I had no more left to give. Elijah understood the situation, and took us to eat out. When we got home, we had the kids go to bed, and I relaxed in Elijah's arms as we each shared our day. I think I fell asleep while he was talking. I don't think he minded. He knew I was tired. I was grateful to have a shoulder to lay on. Tomorrow was bound to be better...

The Cliff House and my man

I think of myself as very easy to please. After all, I have over twenty hobbies, and I love all sorts of reading genres. There is only one little thing that ticks me off when choosing a present for me. If I feel you haven't put much thought into it, it will not impress me much, albeit a very expensive gift. So, it should come to no surprise that when it comes to our dates, Elijah puts a lot of thought into planning them. I tend to think he does that not because I'll be displeased, which unfortunately might be true, but because he loves me so tenderly that he wants to make me happy. Last night's date was no different. He had made reservation to the Sutro's restaurant located at the Cliff House in San Francisco. If you know anything about the Cliff House, you know the view is breathtaking. Located in the most west point of San Francisco, near the Ocean Beach, with giant bolder rocks not far from the shore, it looks like it hangs from this ancient old cliff. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the Cliff House with windows facing the thrilling view of the ocean's waves hitting the shore and the cliff itself. The food was elegantly presented and delicious. We were caught in traffic and we arrived a bit late for our appointment, so I didn't get a chance to take some really good pictures while there was still some light. My camera, although it has pleased me with many good photographs in the past, isn't capable of taking great pictures at night. Here is an attempt to capture the capricious waves against the sea rocks in the distance:

As we strolled along the beach, I couldn't help but compare our relationship to that of the ocean and the Cliff House. I'm glad my husband is as determined and committed in making me happy as the Cliff is in enduring the tempestuous waves of the ocean, as they ebb and flow continuously toward it. I was very happy with our date, the view and the dinner. However, what I enjoyed most was holding hands with my man, breathing the salty smell of the ocean, and spending a few minutes of quiet relaxation looking at God's marvelous creations. On our way home, we decided to take the exit that leads to Treasure Island. Every time I go toward San Francisco, I'm puzzled about what is found on that island. So, tonight we took the exit and although there wasn't much to see--since it was very dark and there were only boats and ships on docks--we were pleased to have made that decision. As we parked, we were greeted by the most beautiful view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. Again, my camera didn't do justice to the view, but I'm determined to go back during the day to get some good shots of the Cliff House and the Bay Bridge view.

What is a beach lagoon?

Today for Friday Activity, we got to enjoy a beach lagoon. What is that, you say? Well, at Contra Loma Regional Park, an amazing park full of golden rolling hills, there is this beautiful lake with a vast grassy field. And nearby it, the city has build this relaxing swimming pool with sand covering the first part of it to resemble an actual beach. There was this patch of grass where we all placed our blankets and umbrellas located a few feet from the beach. This was the best place for children to play in the water. It wasn't deep, just right for any age child to have fun, play and swim as much as they wanted. This was truly the perfect beach for moms to talk and socialize, and not be looking every second for their children. My children had a wonderful time playing with each other and with their friends. Charlton didn't seem to be in the mood for the water, but when he discovered some sand on the side, he started to play with it happily, and on occasion I would find him stuffing some of it in his mouth. I had a wonderful time catching up with my friends. We all sat by the pool's edge and talked, while the children swam, sprayed and splashed each other. What a relaxing day!

When we first drove to this park, we found ourselves in the middle of these gorgeous golden rolling hills. I loved the view, but for a moment we doubted we were in the right place. After finding our lake and beach, my photographer self was determined that when we got back, I would take some time to take a couple of photographs of those pretty views. After all, I always take one picture for the sake of photography in all of my outings. Well, I'm happy I did. Don't you think it was worth it to stop on the side of the road and take this picture?

Adventurous Spirits

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

Jawaharlal Nehru

I woke up very early today, having every intention to take my kids to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Because we go and visit places mostly every day, I try to save by attending certain museums on their free days. Today, it was this museum's free day, and because it is a very popular museum, there are long lines outside and inside, unless you arrive there before they open, which is 9:30 in the morning. That means we have to leave around 8:30 a.m. to get there about the opening time. Well, as soon as I woke up, around 7:30 a.m., I truly thought I had time to finish my book before it was time to wake up the children. As always, I miscalculated. I finished my book, and then tidied the house. The children got ready fast and after eating breakfast, helped with Charlton. Abel helped me prepare lunch while I took a shower and got ready. Regardless of my effectiveness, we left the house around 9:30 a.m. Of course, our spirits were not dampened. We kept our high spirits even when we encountered a lot of traffic on the road. When we got there, the paid parking was full, and so we drove till we found a street parking up a hill, a mile or so away from the museum. As we parked, we were astonished to see that we had found a fantastic spot near a beautiful lake. Looking at the map, I discovered we were next to Stow Lake and Japanese Tea Gardens, a spot I have been wanting to visit for a while. As you'll observe from the following pictures, we had such a fun time playing with the ducks and geese, looking for interesting spots, climbing trees, and above all taking the view all in. I had a field day taking gorgeous pictures of my children and the impressive landscape.

As we approached the museum, we were met by a long line that continued insanely for a couple of blocks. We let go of the Academy of Science idea, and set to explore what was nearby it. Across it, de Joung art museum was inviting us with open hands. We decided today was an art day. We strolled toward the art museum, and as we walked, we paused at different sculptures along the way. James and I saw this statue that looked like Shakespeare from afar, and we ran excitedly toward it. It wasn't Shakespeare, but we weren't disappointed. A statue of Cervantes and his Don Quixote and Sancho Panza looking at him enticed a great discussion on this great author and his sublime work. I couldn't believe that the kids remembered the story when I quizzed them after we got home in the end of the day. Who can forget the story of a knight fighting giant wind mills!
When we encountered a sculpture of a lion, we couldn't help talking about The Chronicles of Narnia books, that Gillian and I have read. Each of us shared our favorite characters, and favorite books of the series. Gillian had to take a picture with her Aslan:
As we approached the museum, we encountered sculptures of two sphinxes, which of course opened a discussion about the Egyptian sphinx, and pyramids, and life in long ago:
Although the distance between the Academy of Sciences and the Art Museum could be covered in two minutes, it took us about twenty minutes as we stopped and talked about various things we saw. Sometimes, it's not the destination that is important, but the journey.

I wasn't totally impressed with the art pieces at this museum, but then again I'm very spoiled having seen the masterpieces in D.C many times. I've taken my kids literally every month or so to those museums; I really enjoy great art, and the art found in the several art museums in D.C. are first class. Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves at the de Joung.

We saw an engraving of Mayan Queen on a stone dated A.D. 700. We talked about the Lamanites of the Book of Mormon.

We chose out favorite art piece and shared why we liked it. This was mine. It looked so simple, but yet very complex in constructing it.
Gillian liked this gigantic plate of fruit made out of blown glass. She was amazed that you can create beautiful art from glass.
This statue was also made out of glass, and when James saw me admiring it, he said that girl reminded him of mom, therefore that was his favorite. Delicate sculpture, sweet thought, loving James.
Jefferson was amazed to learn that this cathedral model was made out of weapon pieces, such as bullets and gun individual parts. We talked about the reason that the artist had used weapons to create a place of worship. The discussion led us to talking about the Crusades, as well as today's Muslim terrorists' idea of fighting wars in the name of their God. I don't know if Jefferson remembers all I told him about war and religion, but I could tell that he was disturbed that people killed others to impose their religion.
The museum offered a variety of art from different countries of the world. There were exhibits from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Native Americans.

After a great lunch, we headed out. We were looking forward to exploring the other side of Stow Lake.
On our way to the car, we had to pass near the waterfall we had discovered from the other side. Abel also wanted to climb the bridge and try to stand on its side on top of a little rock coming out of the bridge. Charlton was behaving like a champ, and Gillian, Jefferson and James were just happy to share their adventures with their uncle.


We arrived home just on time for dinner. The children were tired, but they had a lot of adventures they wanted to tell their dad about. I felt fulfilled to have had another fun and educational day with my children.