The End of September.

September has been a most lovely month.

I've truly enjoyed getting back into the flow of things with school starting. It's quite different with just Maylie home in the mornings, but we're getting used to it. As bitter as change is, it's also terribly sweet. I love to flow and adapt to the changes and different seasons of my life. I find that with the end of each chapter, another one presents itself--just as sweet, if not sweet than the chapter before.

And I feel just the same as my mother did when we were growing up. When people ask me what stage of my children's lives has been my favorite? My answer is always "the one they're in right now!"

Each day is full of wonder. Each day is full of surprises. And I have thoroughly been enjoying my 2014: My Year of Celebration!!!

This Fall I've been volunteering in Tater's classroom every Thursday morning. My neighbor and I trade off our little ones so we can volunteer in our kindergartner's classes. So I have her little girl and boy on Tuesday mornings and Maylie goes to their house on Thursday. This has been such a joy to be in the classroom again. Not only do I love being my sweet little Tater Tot and see him interact in this brand new environment, but I LOVE just being in the classroom. The second best thing to teaching is getting to volunteer, and in some ways much better. As much as I loved being in charge of a classroom when I was student teaching and writing the lesson plans, I love letting another teacher be in charge so I can spend more time helping the students. Also, I have been noticing the blessings of service in my life. And they are very grand.

This Fall has brought us several lunches and dinners with Daddy at the hospital. Every week or so we meet him at the cafeteria to dine on the most delicious, healthy, inexpensive food I've ever tasted.

Yes, this season has been ever so sweet.

 {The fish are always a highlight of Daddy's work}

{Somewhere I have pictures of me at my Daddy's work when I was about the same age. It's tender for me to see generations repeat themselves.}

 {I froze a whole bushel of fresh Brigham City Peaches!! And we ate almost as many as we received fresh peaches every week}

{These were our very first golden tomatoes!}

 {One day I made Sumo de Pessego (Peach Juice). It tasted just exactly like the Compal Portuguese Peach Nectar I drank nearly every day in Portugal. PS--the recipe is super easy. Put a whole peach (minus the stone) in a blendtec and push the "whole juice" button.}

 {This picture represents a special half hour I enjoyed with my boys. We had a "build-your-own lego car contest" the other day. I am absolutely amazed at the creative geniuses I have as sons! They outdid me for sure without even trying!}

 {This is Tate's class singing a song. His teacher is so sweet and bubbly! She is the perfect fit for my Tater Bug!}

{Every day Maylie and I wait around the corner and down the road for our Tate to come home.}

 {And this little girl models for me}

 {And explores.}

 {I love her so much}

 {Lastly, this is my newest portrait--chalked by Tate...I love my curly cue hair. Isn't it the cutest?}

The End.

Writing in the Stillness.

For those of you who don't know yet, I have started writing on a new blog...writinginthestillness.com

I have been feeling impressed to start this for some time, and a few weeks ago I finally mustered the courage to take the leap. I would love for you to visit and subscribe to my posts. It's my small effort to do as Elder Bednar counseled and share a little bit of goodness with the world...offer hope and encouragement in this ever-darkening world.

I'd love for you to join me and share your experiences as well. :)

Love,
Jamie

www.writinginthestillness.com

Story Time.

Maylie is my little bookworm. She loves to pull all of the books off our shelf and read and read and read. She is a girl after my own heart.

And though I am so far from the perfect mother, there is one tradition that I cherish--one thing that I do well--and that is read to my children. 

Back when I had postpartum depression shortly after Maylie was born, I felt so completely overwhelmed. I felt, for some reason, that I was the worst mother in existence. I thought it was hopeless and that no matter how hard I tried, I would always fall miserably short of all the mothers around me. It was a despondent feeling and a time to which I never wish to return. 

But there is one good thing that came out of that time: Daily Story Time.

I remember talking to my mom day after day as she counseled me through this rough time. And one particular conversation stands out in my mind as life-changing. She told me that I don't need to do everything or be everything to my children. I don't need to plan elaborate lesson plans or fancy homemade games or hours of one-on-one playtimes. She told me that one of the most important things I could do was to read to them for 20 minutes a day. This, she said, more than any other educational activity I could plan, would most help them in their lives.

I thought long and hard about the simplicity of her suggestion. And I had such a slight glimmer of hope arise in my heart. I knew, in my depressed and down-trodden state, that I would never be able to do even a fraction of what I wanted as a mother. But I also knew that I COULD do this. I could read to my children. I already had been reading to them pretty consistently but after this conversation, story time took on an added layer of meaning. It wasn't something I had to do. It was something I wanted to do. And it was heartwarming and quieting and calming. And I truly believe that story time became a life-saver to me during this most difficult period of my life.

To this day, if I pick up a book and begin to read, my children will gather around me and settle down and quiet themselves. They will sit like this for as long as I read. And I am grateful.

I am grateful for their love of books. I am grateful that after our half an hour story time (which always happens every day right after lunch), Maylie takes a stack of books to bed with her for her nap and reads them aloud until she falls asleep.

I am grateful for every night that we get to bed early enough that the children can have 20 minutes of "Quiet Time" to read by the light of their lamps all curled up snug in their beds.

Truly, I am grateful for books. And I am grateful to my own mother for the thousands of story times she gave to us. She passed on to me such a treasured legacy that I am privileged now to pass on to my  own little children.

Aug-tember

It's Sunday and time for my weekly reflections. These days, Sunday is the only day I really have enough quiet time to contemplate. And with how busy Fall can get, it seems like I only "reflect" twice a month. And as I opened my iPhoto today, I realized that I haven't even posted all of my August photos--let alone September. So here's to Aug-tember!

The end of August was bittersweet. We tried to enjoy the last few days of summer, but in my memory it's somewhat of a blur.

{One day after church, Easton found a Family Proclamation and began reading it. He told me he wanted to make a goal to read it every day.}

{August brought a case of raspberries and two cases of strawberries to whip into bottles of jam}

{August also brought Lasik surgery for Patrick. He has been loving his healed eyes!!}

{August also brought our very first baby green tomatoes! They are getting big and we have had just a few ripen now!}

{This was our family home evening refreshment one night--yummy, healthy, delectable Chocolate Chip Cookies)

{These are my cute Beehives during my Sunday lesson. They made banners of virtue!! I love my Beehives so much!!!}

{Sunflowers}

{Easton gave me this sunflower on our last day of playing outside before school started. To me, it kind of represented all that summer has been to me: BIG, BRIGHT, fun and vivacious. It couldn't have been better!}

{Also on this last day, we played outside int he sandbox for quite some time...building castles and buildings, all covered up by our big umbrella.}

{Tate, and especially Easton have been loving Legos lately. Easton wants mostly legos for Christmas this year. And Tate built this magnificent car structure one day and asked me to take a picture so he could always remember. He's his mother's son!}

{Most of these pictures are either blurry or grainy, and I normally would omit them, but today I felt extra sentimental and decided that even if they are blurry or grainy, they are memories worth remembering. This one was taken one Saturday when Maylie climbed into bed with me and we cuddled and talked and laughed and relaxed until Patrick came home from early morning basketball.}

{My mom found me this darling Menu Board that has been an amazing addition to my kitchen decor. It's one of Easton's favorite features now. He loves to wake up each morning and see what's for dinner so he can think about it all day long...(he's his Papa's grandson). And if for some reason I have to switch one of the nights or something changes, he is quite devastated. He likes us to stick to the plan every single night!!}

{A lazy Sunday afternoon}

{The cutest little pie squashes a sweet couple in our ward gave to us}

{Chalk art. It's become my new summertime hobby.}

{Our town parade. It's always huge and long and we get so many goodies!! Both times we've come we've gone home with bags of candy, a few bracelets, an entire bag of popsicles and otter pops, and miniature cereal bowls galore!}

 {The tractors are the most amazing part of the whole parade}

{Another summer pastime is the fort-building. I can't even count how many forts my boys have built in their few short years of life. Each one is unique and different and serves a special imaginary purpose. This one became for us a reading haven where we cuddled up and read a few chapters of "Castle in the Attic" (one of my all-time favorites!)}

{This is a face Easton ingeniously created with Pepperidge Farm cookies...this is something Easton has had a talent for since he was just a tiny toddler.}

{One Friday evening in August, we drove down to Ogden for the Temple Open House. It rained most of the way down, but when we parked and were waiting outside, it was just barely sprinkling. We sat in the tabernacle awaiting our turn to go into the movie, and when we finally stood up to file out to the movie room, I noticed a girl coming into the tabernacle with dripping wet hair--like she had just stepped out of a shower. I wondered why she came to the temple with such wet hair. Then right behind her, there was another person with sopping wet hair. And another. And another. And I realized that we had narrowly missed a downpour by only a few minutes. As we watched the short film, I could hear the rain coursing down and hitting the small structure we were in. I dreaded going out in the rain. None of us had coats and we hadn't brought an umbrella. But when we stepped outside the rain had stopped again. We were amazingly blessed to miss all the rainstorms. Even as we walked back to the car after the tour, the rain held up so we could get some pictures.}

{On our way home we stopped at one of the only Dairy Queens I know of that are left.}

 {For Young Women's a few weeks back we had a modest fashion show where the girls created their own prom and wedding dresses out of tissue paper and then we had a clothes swap.}

{I love my girls!}

{When Easton started school, the three of us enjoyed a few special days at hoe before Tate started kindergarten.}

{On this particular day, I had to document our lunch experience. These two wanted to sit RIGHT next to me. They scooted their stools so close that the legs were intertwined and I could barely move my arms to eat. But it was special and I felt so much love from these little ones as they crowded in close with their sticky fingers and sweet smiles.}

{Since school has started this year, I have been creating lots of easy, fun, healthy after school snacks. I have a little notecard taped in my cupboard with 10 different recipes that we rotate through. This day was trail mix...}

{And this is my new scent-warmer. Meet my vintage 1940's bean pot that I found on easy. I plug this cute little thing in every day, pour in some water and some spices to fill my home with fragrant goodness!}

 {Meet Miss Maylie aka Strawberry Shortcake. Playing dress-up.}

{This one is just a memory for me. When Patrick was gone it was so hard for me to see how things would look on the wall as I was decorating the children's bedrooms. So I asked Easton to take pictures while I held things up.}

 {Another after school snack: Apple Almond Butter Sandwiches. These were a real hit!}

{We've made lots of trips down to Perry this summer for our weekly CSA fruit and vegetable shares. We have enjoyed our local produce so much.}

{A few weeks back I did a photoshoot with Maylie sporting one of her new outfits. I hope to edit them someday in the future. She has loved Easton's bracelet-making kit. We've made quite a few bracelets this summer.}

{The next 2 pictures are a bit painful for me to post because my floor is filled with laundry to fold. But I couldn't help snapping these pictures of "ordinary life" in the late afternoon when we are scrambling to get the house ready for Daddy and all hungry and a bit testy.}

{And yet, even so, these two were friends this day. And that made me happy.}

{Easton hard at work coloring a new picture my friend drew for him}

{Tate hard at work making play-doh noodles that look and feel strangely similar to real-life homemade noodles.}

{Yet another after-school snack--berry parfaits with homemade granola}

{Maylie decided to get into Tate's paint one day and came over to me with a green thumb. I consider it a good omen for next year's gardening projects...I'll just have to keep her close to me!}

 {Lastly, we've started a Temple Tour for this year's theme to "Stay Close to Christ." Each month we will visit one temple on a Sunday afternoon...hopefully we'll be able to visit 12 different temples during the next year!}

 {Our first temple was Jordan River}

{And the flowers were gorgeous.}

{The End.}