Jonas's big week...

You know how I mentioned our busy schedule in previous posts?! Well, buckle up because we're starting our wild ride! This week was Jonas's big week. Monday night, the school hosted a parent engagement night. There was pizza, face painting, a magician show, and the book fair. I volunteered to help at the book fair while Jonas enjoyed everything else (minus the face painting). At one point, he even came to help us at the book fair. Jonas is always willing to help...and he enjoys feeling like he's a big kid.

Wednesday (April 26th) was the Pinewood Derby. Since January, Jonas has been participating in bi-monthly activities at the church. He loves it! Some activities are simple and some take a little more effort and planning. This was definitely the latter! Jonas and Jeff have been working on, not one, but four derby cars! I'm pretty sure Jeff was more invested in this than Jonas, but Jonas still helped. They wanted to have 4 cars so they could see which one was fastest. Jonas ultimately picked the silver car...and it was the winner! Yup, he won the whole derby! He was super excited. There was one point where he wasn't quite sure he would win because there were so many other good cars. I could see the disappointment in his face. Still, he chose to have a good attitude even when he wasn't sure he would win. Winning is nice. It's easy to handle the fun emotions from winning, but learning to deal with disappointment or frustration is hard. I know Jonas will have to deal with plenty of that as life goes on...it's just a natural part of this existence, but what I saw tonight gave me hope that those hard emotions of disappointment or frustration won't be a stumbling block for Jonas.

The fun continued! The next day, Thursday, April 27th, was Jonas's 2nd grade play! Speaking of handling disappointment, earlier in the month, the teachers held an audition to choose which students would be given the role of "host" in the play. Jonas practiced the audition piece for days; however, after the day of the audition, he came home disappointed and worried. He explained that only two kids are chosen from each class. He said that three kids from his class were called back to re-do their audition. He wasn't one of the three. He was certain that the two hosts would be chosen from those three. He cried. He was so disappointed. He really wanted to be host. I hugged him and simply let him experience those emotions. Emotions are natural and you should never be ashamed or embarrassed or feel guilty for experiencing them. Most often, they simply happen and are out of your control. However, I explained to him, that we get to be the gatekeepers of our heart and mind. We get to decide what we let stay and what we need to change or get rid of. He allowed his feelings to stay for a few minutes. He needed to let them out, then he chose to get rid of them. He chose to no longer sit in those hard feelings. He wiped away his tears then expressed hope that he could still get the part because it wouldn't be announced until the next day. His hope paid off! The next day there was quite a different boy bounding through our front door after school. He got the part of host!! (or at least one of them). For the next few weeks, we practiced his parts. He easily memorized them (and many of the other parts too) and he rocked his performance! He did so well. He spoke clearly and added a little personality too. He was so excited to finally show us what he had been working on. I still can't believe all the end-of-the-year activities are upon us.

Friday (April 28th) was one final end-of-the-year activity for him. That evening was his final Let's Play Music piano recital. For the past 6 years, Jonas and I have traversed the curriculum of Sound Beginnings and Let's Play Music. He has learned audiation (the ability to hear notes in your head then sing them on key), chords and their inversions, transposing, different scales and keys, rhythm, etc. etc. etc. It has been a wholistic program, not simply focusing on how to read music or play the keys on a piano. He has done so well and he enjoys it. For this final semester, he got to compose his own piano piece, Yin and Yang. Throughout the semester, we worked on brainstorming ideas and drafting the music. Tonight was the culmination of all his hard work and, again, he rocked it! His piece showed the difference of a minor chord in the bass clef for Yin and major chords in the high treble clef for Yang. During the piece, they kind of battled each other. The Yin was loud and Yang was soft until finally, in the end, they powerfully came together. Jonas didn't seem nervous at all. He played his piece so well. I have to admit I got a little choked up when I handed him his trophy. This is the end of an era. He will transition to more traditional piano lessons now. How is he growing up so fast?! After all the fun activities this week, we felt like we all deserved a little ice cream treat. What a week!

When heaven touches earth...

I'm not going to lie. Life is super busy right now and slightly stressful. I keep looking at my calendar trying to find where I've scheduled a time to sleep or, heck, even breathe! "Why did I schedule something else?!", I thought as I looked at the planned family activities for this particular Saturday. Why couldn't I have simply let this Saturday go? I know I'm trying to soak in all the family time we have before Danny leaves, but seriously?! Why did I schedule something on one of the only free Saturdays between now and the end of June? I honestly wondered if it was going to be another headache. Another family wrangling session where I tried to encourage everyone to positively engage with each other in an activity that maybe they really didn't want to do. Yes, they all agreed to come, but was it under duress? Did they really want to come or did they feel obligated to do so because others decided to come? All of these thoughts tumbled through my mind as I slipped on a skirt and prepared myself to attend the Saratoga Springs Temple open house with all my family (minus Laurin and Carter...they were actively involved in potty training) then grabbed a pair of jeans to change into afterward when we took everyone to Ashton Gardens for the tulip festival. I was looking forward to both things, but I contemplated whether or not we should've just skipped both or maybe just found time for Jeff and I to make a date out of it. We met up with Casey and Everly at the park-and-ride to carpool to the open house. Amber, Jacob, and Dallin met us there. As we approached the temple a feeling of peace and joy swept over me. I was suddenly excited to take my family to the House of the Lord. I was thrilled to be able to walk through the temple with Jonas and show him what we get to do inside. I was genuinely looking forward to seeing the beautiful artwork and masterful craftsmanship...and I didn't seem to be the only one. As we wandered those sacred halls, each of us walked in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. We all seemed to be energized by its beauty. We discussed the ordinances we complete and the covenants we make. We pointed out the paintings and stained glass and contemplated its symbolism. When I exited, I felt rejuvenated...and that feeling continued. 

We grabbed a quick lunch then headed to the beautiful Ashton Gardens. I love the tulip festival. Unfortunately, due to the longer winter weather, there weren't as many tulips as I'd hoped for, but there was plenty of beauty that surrounded us. Again, I was a little worried that there would be grumblings from some of our party as to why we were walking through the gardens, but when Jacob produced a frisbee from his coat, I knew all would be well. The boys played frisbee as we walked through the gardens while I was able to enjoy the creative beauty of our master Creator. At one point, Jeff and I just sat on the grass with Amber and Everly as we watched the boys toss the frisbee. This was heaven...and it continued.

That evening, we finally found some time to squeeze in a photo session for Danny's mission and graduation pictures. Krystle was crazy enough to say yes to taking those pictures and we set off on an evening of adventure. In my mind, I reflected back on the little 8-year-old boy who looked at me with such anticipation and love on the day I married his dad. Our journey has taken some crazy roads since then. Our relationship has ebbed and flowed as we traversed all the difficulties of physical and emotional growth. Yet, here we were...in a good space; a space that offers forgiveness and love; a space of hope and anxious anticipation of good things to come. 

Today was one of those days when heaven reaches down and touches us. A day full of family and fun. A day spent in His house and His creation. A day that rejuvenated a mother's heart. There is nothing more sacred than witnessing the growth of faith and family. Today I witnessed both. Today heaven touched earth.

Happy Easter!

I think Spring might have finally come to stay...or at least I hope! Jonas and I are glad that we missed the crazy winter storm that dumped 10 inches of fresh snow over "spring" break. I just hope the beautiful sun that graced our Easter weekend is here to stay. This year, our Easter celebrations were a little split up because of everyone's Spring Break plans. We started some celebrations the week before Holy Week (which was Spring Break) and culminated with the Easter weekend when we were all back together again. Last year, as we studied the Old Testament, I fell in love with the ancient Israelite (Jewish) promises, covenants, and traditions. I started to have my eyes opened to how much the Old Testament stories influenced the traditions that Christ honored and grew up with. The New Testament then took on a deeper meaning as I saw these traditions weave in and out of Christ's story, including his last week. For a few years, I have felt that our Easter celebration have paled in comparison to Christmas; yet, if there wasn't Easter, would Christmas even matter? Therefore, I have tried to establish more meaningful and memorable Easter traditions. Each day of Holy Week, we read in the synoptic gospels about what Christ was doing that day. Moreover, we have a couple of fun dinner traditions. For Palm Sunday (March 26th), we read about his triumphal entry into Jerusalem then celebrated with palm "sundaes" after dinner. (This year I also decided to have a burrito bar for dinner because Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey -- donkey in Spanish is burro -- a little donkey would be "burrito"...clever? or just silly? I think clever.)

Thursday (March 30th), Jeff, Jonas and I celebrated Passover. As we ate, I explained the significance of the Seder plate and the rituals surrounding this sacred meal. We talked about how Christ would have known these rituals and how He changed them to prepare the world for something more - for his atonement. He instituted the sacrament practices so many Christian religions practice today. We discussed what happened after the passover meal - His suffering in the Garden, betrayal, and arrest. We then had the opportunity to tour a life-sized replica of the ancient tabernacle that eventually inspired Solomon and Herod's temples. (Unfortunately, that evening, Jonas wasn't feeling well so we actually returned the day after Easter (Monday, April 10th) to finish the tour.) I loved showing Jonas how the ancient Tabernacle inspired the traditions and covenants associated with our modern day temples. 

Finally, we all returned from our Spring Break vacations to celebrate the Easter weekend together. I like to enjoy all the secular Easter traditions on Saturday (April 8th) so that Easter Sunday (April 9th) can be more focused on Christ's resurrection and the renewal of hope and life that His atonement brings. Saturday night, everyone gathered to color eggs (at least the little kids did), enjoy a yummy burger BBQ, and hunt for eggs. This year, our egg hunt was a little different. Instead of hiding each other's eggs, we spread the eggs out in the grass, grabbed a partner, blindfolded one of the partners, then the other partner would direct his/her partner to the eggs. It was actually pretty fun...and pretty hilarious too. Let's just say that not all of us are very good with our left and rights. 

On Easter Sunday, Laurin and her little family joined us at church. This year, we only attended our sacrament meeting. It was full of music and spoken word that honored our Savior. My heart was full as I considered what He has done for me personally. I am eternally grateful for His patience, His presence, and His peace. Heaven knows I need all of that! Life isn't always easy. Living in a non-traditional family can be difficult to navigate at times. Emotions are often raw and sometimes it sucks, but He is there through it all. He is the example I strive to follow and the Light that illuminates my dark times. After church, we enjoyed the day as a family. (Dallin eventually joined us too. Amber and Jacob were celebrating with his family.) I made resurrection rolls with Carter and Jonas then we had a nice meal for dinner. It was a simple day with family and an opportunity to reflect on all we have been blessed with because of Him. Happy Easter!