The Way Plans Go

I am by nature a spontaneous girl. But I am married to a highly structured, plan ahead, kind of guy. While clashes resulted from our first efforts to meld these two views of life, time has softened me to planning. So it is frustrating to me to be caught by unplanned events that crowd into my days. I'm trying to loosen up. You would think it wouldn't be hard for a free spirit like myself but, now, it is. Last weekend the kids decided to move our annual Easter egg hunt to this weekend. Now, after years of turning the hunt over to others, I'm back in charge. So, on Saturday afternoon, the whole family gang gathered for the traditional hunt.

In the pictures above you can see our daytime and night time hunts.

We divided the kids into older and younger groups for the hunt and had two separate events. The younger ones found their eggs in the bright light of afternoon. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day, so it was perfect! We saved the other hunt, for the older kids, for night. Under a full moon, and with flashlights in hand, our 5 older kids hunted for eggs with reflector strips on them. It was an experiment. They loved it! I feel totally over my struggle with the schedule change, caught instead in the limelight of a successful hunt.

When the family gathers we usually celebrate whatever birthdays come during the month. Son Ben and grandson James were celebrated during our egg hunt day. You can see them in the accompanying picture. When there is a birthday, there must be pie. I made Ben and James each their favorite ones. Families are a lot of work but, in my quiet moments of contemplation, I feel so full of happiness over having so many good people bound to me. Indeed, now that I'm an older woman, I can see the miracles that time works as our children make more children, all caught in the circle of family. There is nothing better than this.

Ben and Jes are settled back in their home after an intense effort at de-molding the house. Things seem back to normal there. I know that because Layne and I babysat the kids on Wednesday, at their house, so Jes could take Ben on a birthday date. It's fun to have the kids to ourselves. They are great little kids. Often things that seem like such an effort when anticipated, actually turn out to be easier than planned. I seems to me that anticipation of things either makes them better or worse than real life. What I thought would be lots of work turned into just fun.

Ben's daughter, Alexis, sits amidst our poppies. I planted a few and now look what time and a little rain has brought us!

Ups and Downs

Time changes things, for better or for worse. This week things are better. My "down" is moving "up". I cannot take credit for that; it seems to simply be the cycle of things and the sweet intervention of happy circumstances and loving friends.

Layne created a match-making circumstance on Monday. We invited two single friends to dinner. It was a lovely evening. But you never know how the meeting of strangers is going to turn out. We chatted and laughed the evening away. I'm not convinced that matchmaking is our strength, but we'll see what comes of it.

Mom is caught up in books on tape. She spends her days, after exercising, in her easy chair listening to "The Work and the Glory" series. She loves it. I'm happy to see her mind engaged, for she has a very good one. I feel myself experimenting less with her care. She seems to have stabilized at a level that is not likely to improve, I'm thinking. So I am in maintenance mode. Every once in awhile, Mom says something insightful. This week she said, quite out of the blue, "this stroke has taken my enthusiasm." I can see that she is right. I miss her ideas and theories. She says very little now. Still, she is a pleasant presence in my life. Here you see her resting on a chair in the hall, in between walking exercises.

Our foster daughter Michelle, has a lovely daughter that loves to sing. Kelsey is performing in a high school musical and Michelle invited us to come and see her in it. It sometimes seems to me that little care is taken to choose dramas and musicals with a positive message for our youth in high school, so I worried about this production. We went on Friday and saw "Aida". The musical was well done and, even better, had an uplifting message! Kelsey was lovely as she joined a cast that put in a quality performance. I'm so glad we went!

Yesterday was deliciously empty of commitments. When a day opens before me I often anticipate it with all sorts of plans that excite me. But all too often I take my time getting to them. After all, when there is time it is an almost irresistible urge to let it pass leisurely by. I did that for part of the day. I quite enjoyed it.

The recent rain has fed the few flowers we have in our yard and,
what do you know, there are spots that look lovely! Isn't it
amazing what a little rain will do!

Down

Today I am struggling with a definite "down". Perhaps my problem centers around my need to feel productive. It seems like I base my feelings of esteem on what I can crowd into a day. I'm not sure why just relaxing doesn't seem to fit comfortably in my life. Today I taught my usual Sunday School class. I don't feel that it went especially well. I was disappointed. Actually, I still am. It seems to be a funny quirk of human nature to dwell on the negative a bit too much. So I rationally tell myself to simply try a different angle next time and move on. But I still feel stubbornly "down".

We awoke several mornings ago to noisy outside chatter. As we looked outside our bedroom window we became the happy witnesses of an interesting courtship going on among the local turkeys. You can see in this picture the efforts this male was going to. We figure he was hoping to catch at least one girl's eye. But, as you can see, they seem quite uninterested. So goes the world of turkey love life.
I've been helping my friend Debbie write her life story each Friday. Our routine is now established. We visit, eat a little lunch, then she describes a piece of her childhood to me as I type it up for her. I then read my version of what she has said back to her. It is a happy errand for me. I cannot say why it is so pleasurable. Perhaps it is just good company. Or perhaps it is the good feeling that comes from doing something for someone else. Hearing Debbie's story is a pleasure to us both. I suppose I am a little surprised at my enjoyment of it.

Layne and I went on one of our rare nights out on Saturday. We packaged Mom up and met friends at a Chinese restaurant in Fremont called China Chilies. It was cuisine heaven. Rarely can I say that eating out is worth it. This time it was!

A House of Many

Our family adventures continue. So much so that there hasn't been time to blog. Ben and Jes discovered mold in their home at caustic levels. So they have moved in with us while their rented home is "de-molded." What a wild and crazy time we have had as we have blended stuff, activities and life-forms. We have even shared the one-day flu. Ben began it, then shared with every single one of us, including Mom. I do my best to forget how very much I detest nausea. My memory was dramatically refreshed as I spent one night experiencing it last week. Mom experienced the same thing the very same night. By morning we were over it, just weak and depleted. On the bug moved to the others in our expanded household. Last week was all about being sick.

In the picture to the right you can see Ben's Jessica and four of their children on our front step: Jacqueline, William, Zachary and Alexis.

This week has been busy but healthy. The BJ children are very proactive. With Mom in our only guest room, the only space available for the BJ family of 7 is our study. So they all stuffed themselves in there. You can see the layout in the accompanying picture. It was a great time to influence Layne for a different arrangement. We shopped for, and found, a great Murphy bed. I'm so excited about it! It will be a queen-sized bed that folds up on the wall, again, in the study. The mattress will be a good one and, when not in use, it will take up very little space. It will be a comfortable place at last.

I also shared my dream for our "dungeon" room downstairs with Layne. It would be a great place for kids to sleep if we fixed it up. Layne is a bit less enthusiastic about this idea but I plan to wear him down. My creative juices are always way ahead of my time and energy but I'm determined to make this vision come true. It would be such a wonderful space for the children. Especially as opposed to the usual romp through our upstairs living spaces. Having our little gang here for almost two weeks has been very motivating!

I found my usual reprieve from the madness at the temple, for our weekly service. Talking over my feelings with dear friends brings out of me thoughts that I didn't exactly know were there. I try this talk-bonding with Layne but it doesn't work nearly as well. He's a great listener but doesn't have much to say to my ponderings except, "Uh huh." But women always have something to say it seems. I can see why it is such a good thing to spend time with them. I felt so refreshed after being with my temple girls.

All of the rain here has made our hills a rich green. How I love looking out upon them. We were doing just that the other day when we were embraced by a beautiful rainbow. Rainbows are always so awe-inspiring. We gazed at it and took pictures to try and capture the wonder of it. Gazing downward at our struggling front yard brought the vision of a particular plant that has rejoiced at being in the yard. I planted a few poppies last fall in the hopes that they might do well. They have exploded! They are huge and have made endless babies that have nestled themselves in desirable and undesirable places. I actually had to pull some of them out! So there you have it. There is some kind of plant that will love just about any place on earth. We just have to make the right match. I guess poppies were made for our hill.

This past Saturday the whole family made our way to Brentwood to see Reed and Dorothy's third son, Vincent, baptized. What a joyous event! As I ponder all of the frustrations of life, I feel so grateful that the growing family that surrounds us are well cared for, intelligent, healthy people. They require endless amounts of time, but what is our time for? Besides, its better to be busy than bored.