What was once lost...

...is now found. Milo! For those of you who don't know Milo, he is the 6th member of our family. He has been around since Abigail was born, and we are all very attached--most particularly Abigail. He's really a remarkable little bear. Pure love. Always there for a cuddle. Does amazing flips through the air. Folds his arms for family prayer. Yeah, he's amazing.

Anyway, at the beginning of the summer, he went missing. We couldn't find him anywhere! I assumed that Nate--our little "helper"-- had put him in the trash, never to been seen again. Nate has a great/annoying habit of throwing things in the trash. It's great when I am feeling lazy and want him to take something to the trash. It is annoying the rest of the time, when he throws away toys, cups and other belongings into the trash alongside empty chicken containers and poopy diapers. AAGHK!!! (That's me making a gagging sound.)

I digress.

So at the first soccer game of the season we busted out our camp chairs. One of the camp chairs, which bears a Budweiser label (it was free--and we cover up the label with duct tape so as not to disturb any of our neighbors and friends), has a little insulated zipper pocket on the arm rest. Abigail sat down in it, and thought I had put toys or snacks in it. But, lo and behold, it was in fact Milo, who had been hiding out nearly all summer long. Squeals of delight were heard throughout the soccer field.

It's true, absence does make the heart grow fonder...

p.s. I should be blogging about Thanksgiving, Festival of Trees, dance class, etc., but my camera-to-computer connection is giving me grief and I can't import my pics. Anyway, that's why you are getting a random post connected to a random picture I saw.

Mouths of Babes

While Abigail looked in the mirror as I did her hair...

Abigail:"Mom, do you think I'm beautiful?"

Me: "Yes, I do."

Abigail: "I do, too!"

Pondering

I'm the type of person that when I am in a lot of pain, or really mad, or really sad I tend to close in on myself. I don't tend to say too much, and I sort of keep to myself.

That's how I felt a little over two years ago when I found out my mom had cancer. In fact she told me shortly after that day, that it was interesting to watch the reaction of each of her 7 children following the news. Some of us are take-action types, some of us are comforters, and at least one of us is a ponderer--no one person's reaction better than another, just different. So today I find myself in my default mode--pondering. I don't feel like saying or doing much of anything, but I do feel like expressing some of the feelings I have today. Though some of my feelings today are overwhelming, they are surprisingly not all sad. Some are quite hopeful. I wish that I was better at expressing myself so that I could really explain the mix of emotions.

My mom died this day, November 10th, two years ago.

As all of her children and in-law children gathered around her hospital bed she told us of the diagnosis of cancer. I knew what was coming. Not that I knew she had cancer, just that when I heard the diagnosis I knew she would be leaving us in the not too distant future. I didn't know, however, that I would only have 11 weeks to say goodbye.

I am so grateful for those 11 weeks of saying goodbye. I am grateful for the lessons that my mother taught me in those 11 weeks. She taught me to face my challenges with my head held high. She taught me to be positive, and not complain. She taught me to be patient in my afflictions. She taught me to have faith in the plan of our Heavenly Father and in His love. And in that final night of her life, I learned of the existence of angels and of heaven, because I felt it.

Although I didn't learn all those things from my mother only in the last 11 weeks of her life, I am reminded of them at this time of year. The wonderful thing about my mother is that she taught me those things throughout my life. By precept and by example she showed me how to live to have joy. And I firmly believe that she is still working hard to serve others and to help others learn to have joy. I also believe that I, and the rest of my family, are included on her service to-do list.

I like to think of it as a visiting teaching route of sorts, only in its purest and most sincere form. I'm sure it's just one of her many duties (because she was always capable of juggling many different tasks all at once). I think she checks in on me periodically, is genuinely concerned for my well-being, and tries to serve me however she can. I agree with Elder Holland that angels are still sent to help us, even as they have been sent to help others in the past. I believe that I am entitled to this help. And I also believe that my mother is one of those angels sent to help.

Now my part is to try and follow the angelic example my mother set for me while she was still on this earth--one of kindness, faith, patience, empathy, service, love and concern.

Fall Soccer

A couple of Saturday days ago marked the end of another fall soccer season. This year Abigail's team, The Killer Bumblebees (the "killer" part is definitely up for debate, but only Alec referred to them that way), were quite the squad. They actually caught on a lot more to the whole concept of soccer than they had previously, so that was fun to watch. But as a mother, I most loved seeing Abigail cheer on her team. I don't know why I thought it was so cute. Maybe because I always felt too shy to yell for my team at a sporting event, or maybe because I was glad that she is beginning to learn the lesson of supporting the people you're on a team with.

Please enjoy her unsolicited power kick action shot, as well as some cute pics of the boys bundled up for the game.

Leaf collecting

About a month ago, we went up into the canyon for a Sunday afternoon leaf collecting expedition. The kids always think this is so fun. Maybe it's because we don't really have any big trees in our neighborhood yet. So it's a novelty. Here are some photos of the event.

Owen really had his heart set on touching a pine tree, so Alec had to hike him a ways off the road to fulfill his wish.

Carving Pumpkins

Alec was able to come home early this afternoon so that we could carve pumpkins. We told the kids that if they wouldn't help us clean the guts out that we wouldn't carve any faces for them. Here are the two reactions...



The finished products.