Category Archives: Immediate Family

Nap Time Gone Wrong

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Video 1, in which Paul does not want to take a nap

Video 2, in which Mommy checks on not-napping Paul twenty minutes later, after she hears loud shrieks of laughter

Video 3, in which Mommy gives up on nap time and Paul is happy

ETA: I changed the videos because apparently it wasn’t clear that there are three.

Two Years

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I meant to post this yesterday, but didn’t get the chance. It’s written as if it still were May 20. Since it’s still May 20 in the USA, I guess I can still count it.

Two years ago, my 100-day engagement drew to a close. May 20, 2006 was such a perfect day for me: I had a pleasant breakfast with friends and family, a lovely wedding, and a perfect reception. It was the perfect beginning to our perfect marriage.

Don’t get me wrong: we’re not perfect. And life has its regular ups and downs. But I very happy now, two years later. I am looking forward to the next 48 years! I’ve decided we’re going to live to celebrate 50 years together. My husband tells me that it isn’t very long and I’m going to be very surprised when we actually are celebrating 50 years. We’ll see.

We celebrated by getting our temple recommends renewed. How wonderful that we can be worthy to enter that glorious building!

I am so grateful for my husband, who already believes I’m the woman I some day hope to be.

Sunday Scribblings #111 Soar/Sore

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I lift him above my head: his mouth opens wide in a baby-grin and he laughs loudly, soaring above me, arms outstretched. I smile too, my heart memorizing the sound, the sight, and the feeling of chubby childhood joy.

***

I turn away: in my mind I still see the tears on his pumpkin-covered face and in my ears I still hear his constant scream of baby indignation. I sigh and grab a towel to wipe away the blood on my finger, wishing someone would kiss my sore better.

This is motherhood: a daily dichotomy.

Road Warrior

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Paul was a great sport on our super-short road trip this weekend. We drove for about six hours along the Great Ocean Road on Friday. Unfortunately, Paul couldn’t see the beautiful scenery as we drove. I think he was wondering why we didn’t let him out of his carseat! We only took two breaks as we drove. Friday night and Saturday morning we spent some time seeing the beautiful rock cliffs off the coast of Southern Victoria. Paul didn’t seem too impressed out in the wind and autumn breeze. But Mommy kept him warm!

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Saturday we drove (the non-scenic) four hours home. It was a very nice short jaunt to see our country. Paul won’t remember any of it, but he sure was a great sport.

My Chair

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Mommy got me a chair.

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When I sit in it, I can see a lot of things. I am up! I can see Mommy. She puts things in her mouth. I can see the table. I can see all sorts of things to grab. Most of the time I can’t reach anything.

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Mommy gives me things to hold. One thing she gives me is this long straight thing. It doesn’t rattle. It doesn’t make noise. I just hold it and try to eat it.

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I think that is the purpose of it: to put it in my mouth. Sometimes Mommy doesn’t want me to put things in my mouth. But then I sit here in my chair and she tries to put things in my mouth.

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Maybe I’ll get used to this new chair. I haven’t decided yet. It’s kind of different.

Winds-day and Lesson 11: Faith in Jesus Christ

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Yesterday, I watched a wind storm.

Paul was napping. I sat at my desk, at my computer.

When I heard a strong wind whip through the trees, I looked out. Our house is on a hill so I see trees for miles.

The sky was cloudy and gray. And there was quite a wind. Autumn leaves fell out of the sky–yellow and orange–but so did bunches of green leaves. A branch whipped across the roof. The neighbors’ garbage cans across the highway toppled over, the “for sale” sign was uprooted, and trees seemed to bend. Our lights flickered. One tree bent close to our home, and I heard something banging against our roof.

I worried: I rushed to Paul’s room.

Paul slept soundly. His eyes remained closed, and he sighed in his sleep. He brought his hand nearer his mouth and bumped his pacifier, which rested on the mattress now. He sighed again and turned his head to look at the wall. I heard the wind, but it was distant. All was calm.

I watched him sleep for a few minutes. Then I left his room, closed the door, and sat at my desk again. I don’t know why I panicked and raced to him during the wind. We were safe inside our home. The wind wasn’t going to knock down our walls: they are strong. We were safe.

But as I watched him sleep, I felt this sudden out-of-control feeling: He’s going to grow up. He’s going to go outside, into the world, away from me. Will he be strong enough against the winds, or will they topple him?

And now, my [son], remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

— Helaman 5:12

After a little while, the winds calmed, with only an occasional burst. The clouds didn’t retreat, but the sky lightened a bit.

And then there was a burst of wind, and a full-grown tree toppled over, right through our neighbor’s yard and our neighbor’s fence and our fence and into our backyard.

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As I’ve thought about the tree (and watch it sitting rudely on our lawn), I realized it was only after the worst of the storm was over that the tree succumbed. It had been weakened. In a very real way, the tree it wasn’t strong enough against the winds.

I had thought that the lesson for Sunday school this week was about faith; most of the manual discusses what faith is and examples of faith from the scriptures. But then I looked at the title: Faith in Jesus Christ. It’s not just faith; the first principle of the gospel is “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Believing, a general faith, is not enough to sustain us through the “mighty winds” that the adversary will send our way.

We can have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow; we can have faith that a seed will grow. But we must have faith that Jesus Christ truly did atone for our sins. That is how we return to our Heavenly Father. It is only in and through Christ that we can return to Him.

Joseph Smith called faith “a moving cause of action” and “a principle of power.” It is not a passive concept. The power of faith is incredible: the walls of Jericho came down, Enoch moved mountains, Jared beheld the finger of the Lord. I think of what those people had to do to exercise such faith. Then I think of the power I can receive by exercising faith in Jesus Christ: the ability to return to my Heavenly Father, despite my shortcomings. Wow! That’s more than moving a mountain in my mind.

I must actively build my foundation in Christ, and I must teach my son to build such a foundation. I can only do that if I rely on my own foundation: I am imperfect, but through Christ, I can be perfect.

I must teach my son that he belongs to God, for he is a child of God first. God has entrusted his spirit to me. What a responsibility!

I suspect I’ll always want to check on him when the winds come, even when the day comes that I must let him go outside, into the world. How will his foundation fare against the “mighty winds?”

Lesson 11 of 45

My First Easter by Paul

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I didn’t wake up for my breakfast until 5 a.m. I didn’t know what time it was, of course, but Mommy seemed so happy when she came up. She kept saying, “I just slept for six hours straight!” with amazement. I ate eagerly and then decided to go back to sleep.

Before I knew it, Mommy was waking me up and putting my white shirt on me. Then Mommy immediately put me in my car seat. There wasn’t time to spit up on anyone at all! Daddy carried me out to the car and put me in the back. I sat in the car seat for more than an hour as Daddy drove us around. Mommy came and sat by me for a while and so did this other guy we picked up. I was sleepy so I didn’t feel like talking much. I just stared at the side of the car seat.

Finally, we got to church. I wasn’t sleepy anymore. Mommy took me out of my car seat and held me on her lap. There were so many people to look at. People kept coming by and telling me I am cute. Do such obvious things even need to be said? I just giggled and ate my tie.

I sat on Mommy’s lap as she sang songs. I was pretty happy to be awake. The whole meeting was about Jesus. As Daddy passed the sacrament, Mommy told me about how Jesus was resurrected. I was happy.

I went with Daddy to the Gospel Essentials Sunday school class and took a little nap. Most of the lesson was in Chinese anyway, so I didn’t feel too bad sleeping through it. I’m having a hard enough time with English these days!

When I woke up, I was in Relief Society with Mommy. A lady at the front of the room was talking, and I wanted to show everyone how I can talk too, so I started speaking up! Did you know I can make really loud noises with this voice of mine? Really loud noises! One lady sitting in front of me kept telling me I was cute, but Mommy was trying to shush me. She walked around the back of the room, but I was so excited about my noises that I wanted to see how loud I could get. Besides, I was tired of being held. I wanted to kick.

Finally, Mommy stopped shushing me. And then everyone else was moving around and talking, so no one could hear my noises. How disappointing!

Before I knew it, Mommy was putting me back in my car seat. At least Mommy sat by me again. So did one of the other guys we had picked up, Shawn. He kept making faces at me, trying to get me to smile, but I didn’t feel like humoring him. I decided to make loud noises again. I was getting tired, though, so I wasn’t very energetic.

I think I feel asleep because the next thing I remember, I was in my crib at home. I didn’t want to be all by myself, so I called for Mommy and Daddy.

Daddy played with me for a little while and tickled me. I love my Daddy! He rubbed something dark brown on my bottom lip, and Mommy was quite concerned. She kept saying, “Don’t give him chocolate!”

Grandma Peggy called to wish me a happy Easter. I was so amazed by the voice coming out of the telephone that I didn’t say anything to her.

Mommy and Daddy found me some toys and put me in my playpen. I ate my cloth book and hit myself in the head with my rattle while Mommy ironed a tablecloth and Daddy made pear sorbet.

After a little while, Daddy was putting me back in to my car seat. “Where to now?” I thought. We headed all the way back to Shawn’s house and then back to the church. I did not want to be in my car seat any longer, and I tried to tell Daddy, who kept driving. But Shawn and Mommy just told me I was cute. Shawn told me that it was his first Easter too.

After another long while, we were back at church. Mommy read to me from the Book of Mormon Stories book. I sat with Mommy and Daddy as we listened to pretty music. After listening to some talks in Chinese, we went and watched Shawn baptize William. Mommy told me that I’ll be baptized in 7 years, 6 months, and 15 days. I’m so excited!

After we watched the baptism, we drove home again. Shawn came with us, and so did a sister in the ward and her kids. I lay on my back in my playpen looking up, and there were so many smiling faces—two girl faces and a little boy face and Shawn’s face. I didn’t know who to smile at first! The two girls were very excited to smile at me and giggle and tickle me. I was happy to humor them. The oldest girl picked me up and carried me around the room.

The youngest kid, the boy, wasn’t quite sure how to hold me, but he sat down and he did just fine. Then he and Shawn played football in the living room with a stuffed bunny. I can’t wait until I’m a little older and I can run around like that!

I was so excited with all the people around that I didn’t realize how tired I was getting. When they all put me down in my playpen and sat at the table and started eating, I was very annoyed.

“I’m still here!” I tried to say. But, of course, all they heard was my noises. “Isn’t he cute?” they said to each other.

Finally, Mommy remembered me. She picked me up and took me upstairs. She changed my clothes and sang me a song and cuddled me. I was too tired to go to sleep calmly, but she helped me go to sleep anyway.

It was a good first Easter.

The Great Big Vegetable Challenge and What’s Your Vegetable?

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I have never liked vegetables. I don’t know why. Maybe I relied too much on bagged iceberg lettuce and ranch dressing in my college days and I got tired of it. I like fruit, however, and always enjoy fresh fruit. I have a sweet tooth, and the natural sweetness of fruit is my favorite.

My husband, on the other hand, prefers vegetables. If I set dinner on the table and I have forgotten the vegetable (which happens more often than I should admit), my husband will ask “Where are the vegetables?” and he’ll prepare something.

I could go a long time and not eat green.

But last night, the meal I was making just wouldn’t work. When my husband got home, the kitchen was still dinnerless. (He got home after eight so it’s kind of sad I hadn’t worked something out by then. I was starved.) He said, “Why don’t we just eat these greens?” I had a bag of rocket (known in the USA as arugula) in the fridge. Surprisingly, none of it was wilted (they usually don’t have very good greens here). I consented. But when my husband put the greens on our two plates, there were two huge piles. I tasted some. It wasn’t very good. (And then I had rocket breath — ha ha.)

“I can’t eat that much!” I protested. There’s nothing like a salad for someone who doesn’t like vegetables to begin with.

My husband wasn’t convinced. He pulled things out the fridge for our salads.

“Cut up the leftover steaks,” he began.

I cut up the steak and added it to the salad. Then, at his suggestion, I added olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and shaved Parmesan cheese.

In the meantime, he sliced some red onions, cooked them in balsamic vinegar, and piled them on our salads. He added mustard and olive oil to the remaining balsamic, whisked it into an emulsified sauce, and heated it with some black currant jam. (He’s so good!) He poured that over the salads.

He says that the dressing was too sweet, too much. I don’t know what to say, other than I ate every last piece of green on my plate: it was delicious!

I admit: I left some of the olives. I’ve never like olives. I ate most of them because I’ve been inspired by some food bloggers at The Great Big Vegetable Challenge in London. Here’s their story: Freddie, age seven, did not like vegetables. To cure him of his vegetable-phobia, his family is eating their way through an alphabet of vegetables, getting recipes from around the world and rating each vegetable recipe 1 to 10 (10 is best) on their blog. I think that if Freddie doesn’t like a vegetable in the end, he doesn’t have to eat it, but here’s the catch: he has to try it prepared in at least two different ways. Sometimes it’s the recipe that isn’t good. It seems to me that he’s always rating things from 6 to 10. That’s inspiring.

I can see how different preparations can make a difference: I don’t think I would have liked our rocket salad last night if I’d tried to eat it with Italian dressing and tomatoes, which is what I would have done. I would have eaten a few forkfuls before being disgusted and bored with the greens and going for desert. But the combination of the black currant balsamic dressing, the steak, and the other “goodies” made it very tasty. I was too full to eat ice cream.

I’m going to take the Great Big Vegetable Challenge in my approach to food: if I don’t like a food, that’s OK, but I have to try it a few different ways before I claim I don’t like it.

I’ve eaten mushrooms a number of ways (both raw and cooked), and I still don’t like them. Find me a “good” mushroom or a good mushroom recipe and I’ll try again.

So far, olives are OK, but not my favorite. My husband says we need to find “good” olives and then maybe I’ll like them more. I love a good olive oil — I’d even eat it by the spoonful — so if I could find an olive that tastes that fruity, maybe I could say I love them too.

On the average night, I simply prepare frozen vegetables for dinner. My default vegetable is broccoli: salt, pepper, butter, broccoli … mmm. My husband will always default to peas: “They are like little explosions of taste in your mouth!”

Note that I don’t consider potatoes a vegetable: I consider them a starch. (We have potatoes in some form every night.)

What’s your favorite vegetable?