An in-spire-ing view

 When we bought this house, we were excited about the large trees surrounding it.  For the past several months, we have relaxed in their shade, climbed their branches, savored their fruit, and listened to birds sing in them.  We have enjoyed looking out the window and seeing leaves, dappled with filtered sunlight and fluttering gently in the breeze.  As autumn approached and the leaves began to fall, we wondered what views our leafless trees would reveal.  This is what we discovered one evening as we walked by our front window:

 We knew our house was about a mile from the Mount Timpanogos Temple, (it takes us two minutes to drive there) but we didn't how close it really was.

We can see it in the background when we look at our Christmas tree.  It's a good reminder to keep things in perspective and remember what is really important this season.

This is the view from our rooftop.  Every time I walk by our front windows I am reminded of how near God really is.  There may be things surrounding us that obstruct our view of Him, but He is closer to us than we realize.  I am so grateful for this source of strength and assurance, no matter the season.

She can fly!

Give a girl a wand and a pair of cardboard-and-foil wings, and she becomes a real live fairy.

 

October, Part II

Updating our blog is obviously not very high on our list of things to do.  To the masses of people who have been anxiously awaiting our next blog post for the past 3 1/2 weeks: Your diligent vigil has not been in vain.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime event: two posts in one day...

I found this robe at Goodwill and knew it was made to be worn by Clara.  Inspired by Fancy Nancy, she calls it her "dressing gown." 

 Watch out!  We have a six-year-old!

Nathan was spoiled by grandparents this year.  My parents got him this science kit (consisting of wires, magnets, batteries, a little light bulb, a tiny spinning motor, and other scientific items intended for ages 8 and up).  He is definitely in little boy heaven.

Nathan also got a scooter.  Christian climbed right on and knew just what to do.

We have 25 trees in our yard.  Several of them are quite big, and one is enormous.  We raked for two hours yesterday, but 90% of the leaves have yet to fall.  As soon as we went inside, a storm came and covered our lawn with leaves again. 

Even though it was rainy, Nathan and Clara had to trick-or-treat for at least a little while.  Ponchos make great costumes.  Nathan was a blueberry and Clara was a strawberry.

October, Part I: Cousins!!!

 We spent lots of time with cousins this month.  Jessica and Brian and their kids visited early in October.  Nathan, David, and Joshua pulled down willow branches and made a tree fort.  Clara shared from her closet so she, Katie, and Sage could all wear dresses.

 We went on a trip with David's family.  (Canyonlands, Arches, and Goblin Valley) 

3 days.  25 People.  Lots of little cousins and lots of fun!  

Goblin Valley is like a big magical playground.  Just as fun for adults as it is for kids.

This arch in Canyonlands is right on the edge of a huge cliff.  The edge is literally three feet behind where we are standing in this picture.  We did not realize this until we were right there with the kids.  Yikes!  You'd think there would at least be a warning sign posted.

Lessons we learned from the trip:

1. Food and water go down very quickly when 12 children are around.

2. It CAN get colder inside your tent than it is outside.

3. Bring at least one pair of pants per child per day. (Oops!)

4. We need to do this again!

words through a locked door

This morning, Clara locked herself and Christian in my room.  For some reason she couldn't get the door unlocked.  Somewhere in this world is the key that will unlock it, but that is for the previous owner to know and me to never find out.  While she cried and rattled the doorknob, Nathan and I sat on the other side of the door and tried to explain (in 3-year-old terms) how to unlock it.  After several minutes and no success picking it with a paper clip, Nathan collected every key in the house and I started trying them in keyhole.  After that failed, Nathan (who was nearly late for school) wanted to bring up a saw from the garage and cut a hole in the door.  With that as motivation, I was finally able to explain the unlocking procedure to Clara in a way she could understand, and she freed herself from captivity.
As we drove home from Nathan's school, I reflected on the locked door incident.  I realized that we are all like the child who has locked herself in a room, and the Lord is the loving parent who wants us to come back to Him.  He knows how to unlock the door, but each of us has to unlock it for ourselves.  He waits on the other side and instructs us on how to remove the barrier that separates us from Him.  It is up to us to take His advice.  What things in my life are obstructing my relationship with the Lord?  What is He trying to tell me?  How can I be better at following His directions?   

Here are some other things we've been up to...

 Christian has started walking, and is learning more words.  He likes play peek-a-boo and wrap himself up in blankets.

One night when we went to check on the kids, we found both of their beds empty.  Then we heard snoring coming from the closet. 

We've been preparing a plot for our garden and researching fruit trees.  Can anyone recommend good varieties of peach trees, plum trees, or apple trees?  I'm looking for a really good pie apple. (tart, sweet, and doesn't turn to mush in the oven.)

A bad case of grocery-store-itis

At the grocery store today, Clara grabbed a package of spaghetti noodles and came running toward me, begging me to buy them. (She would eat spaghetti for every meal if I let her.) Anyway, she dropped the bag of noodles, and when it hit the floor it burst open, scattering noodles across the aisle. Fortunately, the only other person who saw this happen was another mom with kids, who smiled sympathetically. Just as I was gathering up the last noodles, Clara started hollering for me to look at Christian. I turned around to discover that while I had been cleaning up spaghetti, Christian had twisted around in the shopping cart seat and grabbed a can of yogurt from the basket. He had punctured the foil lid with his teeth and was sucking out yogurt like a vampire! He was covered with yogurt, and it was dribbling down the shopping cart and onto the floor. I laughed and tried to say something funny as I glanced around looking for a way to clean up. No more sympathetic smiles from nearby shoppers. They now looked at me like I was hopelessly inept and they wished we would take our mess and leave before something else ended up all over the floor. I finally found some napkins and cleaned up the yogurt.
I am not hopelessly inept, I just don't have enough hands and the eyes that were supposed to grow in the back of my head when I became a mom have not appeared yet.

Beginnings and Endings

An era has come to an end. After 6 years of classes, homework, papers, early mornings, late nights, and Saturdays spent studying, David has finished graduate school. It is a huge accomplishment and a tremendous relief. Really, there are no words to describe how it feels to no longer have this constant weight on our shoulders. (David did most of the work, but it really has been a team effort.) We couldn't have done it without constant support from our families and the Lord.

Nathan started Kindergarten at Manila Elementary. He is a very handsome Kindergartner. He seems to enjoy it so far. David also began the school year as principal of Scera Park Elementary in Orem. There will be some interesting challenges and experiences this year, but he has enjoyed most of it so far.

We enjoy walking Nathan to school. After a couple days, Clara proposed we take the double stroller so she could ride too. I have loved this opportunity to chat with the kids while getting some exercise.

It has also been fun to have a few hours a day with Clara and Christian while Nathan is at school. Clara's personality is different when Nathan is not around. I'm excited to get to know her better.

One of our last summer outings. We hiked up to Grove Creek Falls. It ended up being a much longer, harder hike than we expected. The kids were troopers. Clara almost didn't make it, but was encouraged by the prospect of a treat at the end.

We inherited a tree full of peaches when we bought this house.

A freshly picked, tree-ripened peach is just about my favorite thing in the world.