I'm a Mormon

My profile is posted online now. I sorta wish I'd come up with a snazzy way to paint my life as a little more, well, snazzy. But there you go. I'm a Mormon and proud of it!

Elegant, Messy Birth

Reading this blog post this morning reminded me of a quote I copied in the front of my journal on February 2, 2010:


"Freed from the demands of decision and intention, adrift on some inner sea, we observe our various movements as if they belonged to someone else, and yet we admire their involuntary excellence. What other reason might I have for writing this . . . ridiculous journal . . . if the writing it did not have something of the art of scything about it? The lines gradually become their own demiurges and, like some witless yet miraculous participant, I witness the birth on paper of sentences that have eluded my will and appear in spite of me on the sheet, teaching me something that I neither knew not thought I might want to know. This painless birth, like an unsolicited proof, gives me untold pleasure, and with neither toil nor certainty, but joy of frank astonishment I follow the pen that is guiding and supporting me."


From The Elegance of the Hedghog by Muriel Barbery

And yet. The first time I copied those lines I had to stop in the middle because my 4-year-old was yelling at me to get him a drink of milk and starting to get hysterical. I wrote: "Though the 'painless birth' of this journal is lovely, I still had to leave it to go remember the daily toil that awaits me downstairs, the fruits of three painful (and joyful) births. But I came back up to finish writing, believing that for me, in the writing comes the perspective I need to see the joy amidst the work, the unfinished, the frustration, the pain, the lack of control that means I am mother."

The second time I copied those lines (just a minute ago), I heard some splashing in the bathroom, and ran in to find my baby splashing in the toilet that my older baby had forgotten to flush.

Lovely.

It's never-ending fun around here. Good thing there's more than a pen to support me.

P.S. Sorry that the next few posts seem to be missing the first ten days of our trip. Sorry—got interrupted in the middle of posting and lost the first part of my blog and didn't have the heart or time to start over. You'll just have to wonder for the time being. Or be glad for less travelogue.

Day 11: Driving to DC

(Monday) August 8

Canandaigua, NY to Washington, DC (via the Peter Whitmer Farm in Waterloo, NY)

Day 12: First Day in DC

(Tuesday) August 9

 Hey, we have this picture in our house! We did an hour-long "treasure hunt" in the National Gallery of Art, and everyone actually seemed to enjoy it. I always love a good art museum, and it was fun to see in person the prints that I bought at this museum so many years ago and have displayed in our home.

 We also went to the Air & Space Museum (actually spent most of the day there). Walking along the Mall is really long and tiring for little boys. Henry didn't want to take a nap without his trusty bike trailer, so it was a long day for him too.

We took the subway today—something I always love, and reminded me of the good old days when I commuted to my student teaching job in DC from Oakton, VA where we lived just after marriage.

Day 13: Biking in DC is Better

(Wednesday) August 10

15 miles (biking)

 Today we wised up and parked our car near the Reagan National Airport and rode our bikes into town. It was much nicer to have our bikes to help us travel up and down the Mall throughout the day.

 We did a tour of the Capitol through our state representative John R. Carter (who keeps a bread knife on his desk at all times—his staffers said he just likes to keep it handy—and a cowboy hat on his hat rack).

 Did you know the Supreme Court used to meet in the basement of the Capitol? Here it is . . .

 Our tour guide was an early childhood ed student who knew a lot of interesting facts about the Capitol—perfect for our lot.

 Proof for Henry that his parents took him places, even though he won't remember a thing.

 The Supreme Court. We met a British guy while taking this photo who didn't have much nice to say about our government. I welled up with righteous, but silent indignation!

 A dip in the pool to cool off at the Sculpture Garden.

 Museum of Natural History

 Atop the Washington Monument (they have an elevator, though we asked if we could take the stairs!)

Day 14: Monument Extravaganza

(Thursday) August 11

10 miles (by bike)

 So most of this seemed to be completely lost on our little Graham-a-rama ("I just want to go home and play with Joshua on the Wii!"). But we figure maybe someday when we show him the pictures he'll be grateful his parents took him to our nation's capital.

Pooped after a long day of monuments in the heat (but at least we had our bikes!): Arlington Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, World War II Memorial, FDR Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial.

Day 15: Final Day in DC

(Friday) August 12

10 miles (by bike)

Today we peeked at the White House through the fence for a few minutes before the Secret Service cleared the sidewalk in preparation for the Greenbay Packers coming to meet the President. We were relegated to eating our lunch on the lawn, chatting with the Packers fans.

Then we went to the Museum of American History, where we got to see Julia Child's kitchen, attend a mock training session for the lunch counter sit-ins, and hold a replica of the Star Spangled Banner with about 100 people while we sang the national anthem. Proud to be an American!

Like the Cutler Cycletrek T-shirt? Rich had them specially designed for our trip, complete with our signatures, like we're celebrities. I certainly look like one, don't I?

In the evening we joined our old friends Mike & Katie Baird at their home in Reston, VA for dinner and swimming. We had missed them, and it was so fun to catch up with them and meet all five (!) of their kids.

Day 16: On The Road Again

(Saturday) August 13

Washington, DC to Jackson, TN

800 miles

 At Gravelly Point where you can watch the planes take off and land from Reagan International Airport.

 A giant THANK YOU to our hosts in Washington, D.C., the Johnsons. They were so generous and patient with us!

We took a quick photo stop on the way out of town at 2806 Chariton Street in Oakton, VA—the basement apartment of the Clegg's house, where we lived just after marriage. We lived here just four months while I did my student teaching at Banneker High School and Rich did an internship at ADTRAN. We also made little Isaac here. Awwwww.

Day 17: The Home Stretch

(Sunday) August 14
Jackson, TN to HOME
750 miles
We stopped in Memphis for church, and then plowed home. It felt so good to sleep in our own beds again! Our ducks were alive, and Texas has stayed constant with 100+ degree temperatures and still no rain. We're grateful for the nice break we had.

Total Biking Miles: ~170
Total Driving Miles: ~3,600

School Choice

Which school would you choose for your children?

This one:

Our vision is that every student is encouraged, supported, and challenged to achieve the highest levels of knowledge, skills, and character.

Or this one:

Our mission is to provide an invigorating educational environment that develops responsible citizens who can artfully navigate our complex world and enjoy a good life with others. Each student will engage in diverse investigations, disciplined inquiry, and integrated service learning to cultivate intercultural awareness, creativity and mental acuity. 

How much does a mission statement really have to do with my children's day-to-day education?

Is the "devil" that you know better than the "devil" that you don't know—even if the new "devil" looks pretty angelic?


Ah, the tyranny of choice. . . .

What My Mom Brought on a Silver Platter

Russell's personalized Book of Mormon

Turquoise Plate for eggs

Museum Walls

Heirlooms

Taught Graham to Lie

Cafe Rio Lunch

Solitary Girl in the Garden (who turns out to not be so solitary)

Folded Laundry

Ice Cream in the Freezer

Compliments on my Garden

Random Updates

My hair is falling out. In big hunks of hair on my pillow, in the shower, in my hand when I pull my hair back. I don't have cancer, just a baby. It's growing back (thankfully) in little tufts with more bits of gray than I would like to admit. Maybe it's time to sport a Sinead O'Conner look?

I'm riding my bike again. With gas prices going through the roof, I dusted off my bike (with some help from my favorite repair guy). I don't dare ride it with Henry yet, which makes it a nice (very occasional) solitary ride with just me, the wind, and my thoughts. Last night while riding to and from the PTA meeting, I could smell the white blossoms on the trees and hear the funky sounds the frogs in the creek under the bridge were making. It quenches something that was thirsty inside, though I didn't know it before.

I planted my spring garden. Spinach, peas, lettuce, cabbage, swiss chard, parsley, cilantro, leeks, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumber. Though experience has taught me to steel myself for failure down the road, this stage of new growth, cool temperatures, and not too many weeds feels exultant.

I joined the YMCA. Though I'm sort of opposed to gyms on principle (why guzzle the gas, money and time when you can step out your front door or get some work done around your house?), having a new babe makes exercise sort of hard. So I'm trying out the "Y" for the moment. They have great child care (Graham never wants to leave it, and they almost always put Henry to sleep). In one hour I can bike 20 miles in a spin class, get my zumba groove on, or do relaxing yoga. The trick is getting everyone in the car and getting over there. But if I can do it, it feels lovely, especially if I can squeeze in a solitary shower afterwards.

Henry is growing so much. He's very wiggly, but not rolling yet (thankfully!). He must be ready for rice cereal because he wakes up multiple times during the night.

Russell is getting ready for baptism, and I'm so proud of him for how seriously he is taking his preparation. He's been teaching FHE lessons on baptism and the Holy Ghost, and really trying to be honest and make good choices all the time.

Isaac just completed his Destination Imagination competition. His team has been working together every week for several hours on their project and teamwork, and their hard work paid off: they got 4th place in the region for their division. Hooray!

Graham and I have been having fun together at home. Last week we took a long walk with Aunt Robin on Town Lake, and we've been doing "homework" in small spurts (reading, writing, math, etc.).

Rich and the boys have been building a duck house in the backyard in hopes that we can get us some egg-laying pets soon. Work has been pretty stressful for him, but they continue to move forward with the awesome invention.

Great Grandma Funk on Henry's Blessing Day

26 December 2010

Henry & Bubbas

Henry with Nana & Grandpa at Bedtime

Snowed In

One day we went to visit our Gurney cousins in Midvale. It snowed so hard and was so foggy, that we decided to spend the night instead of head back to Lehi. The kids went sledding in the morning and we had lots of hot cocoa and movies in between. Yummy!