Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned 36 on Friday! We had some low-key celebrations and I tried to stretch the birthday perks into sleeping in each morning all weekend and getting a big fat nap today, which worked out pretty well for me. I never thought a nap would be such a cherished gift, but I can't think of anything I want or need more.

Yesterday was great, we went to the temple, had dinner together after we put the kids down, watched LOST (we're one episode behind still), and I finally "caught on" to Guitar Hero. (I wrote more on this new development in my life here.) I finally beat Tom Morello in battle--it only took me 10 times!

Lucy had some assessments this week. She is performing well on problem solving and cognitive skills, and physically is developmentally doing well. She's language-delayed, though. As part of this, both her teacher and the assessment person tell me Lucy's strong personality makes her difficult to work with and get to do things! She clearly knows what they want, but will stare them in the face, take the materials, and throw them on the floor with smug raised eyebrows.

Lucy and her teacher, Anaika, playing with curlers

The fact she's the baby of the family, our family is large by today's standards, and that she started out sickly they said often leads to this--she's spoiled! We also apparently infantalize her, even though she's almost two, because she's so small. We don't talk to her and interact with her like a two-year-old, but simply tote her around and live life around her like she is a baby.

She gets read to simply because she's on the lap if someone else is being read to, but there is no special time where we just sit with her and a book and ask, "Where's the ball? Show me." Honestly, when I saw the teacher trying to get her to do this, I thought, "That is ridiculous, how come they are trying to get a baby to do that?" Which tells you how duped we are.

She still wakes to nurse 1-3x a night like a 4 month old, that's how duped I am. I worked with my other kids to train them to be great sleepers by age 1 at the very latest, and we've all been the happier for it. How did I get here?

I think it is remarkable that I haven't noticed that she's hard. The teachers tell me that this is a credit to me, that I'm not high-strung, I am used to not getting enough sleep, I am juggling a lot of things and people, and that my idea of "hard" has adjusted since I have other children that, we'll say, are "challenging." (Meaning that they care always challenging me!)

They say that if I were a first-time mom and Lucy was my only one, I'd be pulling my hair out over her. Which is funny, because as far as parenting goes, this is nothing in comparison.

I'm glad to have this perspective, though, and after we move (we all agreed we should wait until then) I need to teach her to sleep and welcome her more to the independence and excitement of toddlerhood, along with more age-appropriate books and materials.

It's so funny how overprepared I was with my first, and how behind the ball I am now. I think some middle ground must be the best place to be. I see people at the store stressing out over their toddlers' behavior and I just think, "Oh, honey, let it go, you have no idea what's ahead of you if THIS freaks you out."

Anyway, so there's Lucy.

Noah needs Joyschool or something. I need to figure out how to occupy him in the next month. He still has that half-sick, out-of-sorts thing that comes and goes. Sweet as ever, and into everything.

Ben is doing great on his schoolwork. We are really drilling math facts right now, and we won't go on in our curriculum until he can do 100 multiplication problems in under 6 minutes. He is now doing 50 2-digit plus 2-digit addition problems in almost 5 minutes. We use this website to drill.

Sophie is actually really excited about what she says will be her "whole new life." I know there will be apprehension with the upheaval, but she seems to be going forward with a really great attitude. She is surprisingly unattached to school, although she's going to miss 2-3 of her friends.

David has more long-distance work coming up, but, in today's economy, I'm starting to feel grateful for a job that actually grows more secure with the economic problems (foreclosures can increase his workload).

David sent me this great article that I found very motivating about the potential of frugal living. Now is definitely the time for it!

And now for a very small soapbox:

I have found myself getting more involved in the election process this week, and want to encourage all my friends and loved ones out there to not let the talking heads do all your thinking for you. Seriously, the talking heads should never be your primary source of information on anything.

Get the facts about all the people (not just your people) from the people themselves. If you want to hate somebody, do it smart by knowing what it is you don't like about them.

Here's your assigned reading for the week!

http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/

And, as I said before, let hope direct your vote.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Tim. 1: 7

PS: Finally we're back into our Sunday routine of chore charts and blogging, so blogs for Ben, Sophie, and Suburban Harvest are updated.

Retraction (or, the Story in Full)

If you've been following this blog for a while, you may have heard me say, rather recently, that we are going to live in California forever, that it's the "right" place for us, etc. Well, apparently not.

While we were in Utah, David learned that more of his work will be out of California, and he also realized the quality of life we could have there was better that we could have here. He decided we should move there.

After he decided this, and I had time to pick myself up off the floor from the shock, I was sent off to Utah this past weekend to find a new house to rent (which is why the late post). It was kind of a whirlwind, and we saw 10 properties on Monday, picked one out, then found out that another place was available that we thought wasn't anymore. That was the only one we saw on Tuesday, and it was definitely the one for us. We move March 18th.

For about $800 less than we pay now, we have a much, much better way of life. You can see pictures here, click the pic. It's winter, so the trees are naked and make it look a little unkempt.

House

It is exactly what I've always wanted--a big garden, a small orchard and vineyard, trees to climb and swing in, big pine trees. Also, perks include a 2-story playhouse in back and a laundry chute!

One thing I love about Utah is that it is normal to have a living room AND a family room--seems so excessive and luxurious by California standards! David is not excited about the red master bedroom, so we'll have to make a few adjustments there, but the house is cute and so big compared to anything we've ever had.

We will also be two blocks from my sweet cousin Kim's house (and go to the same ward). Thanks for finding us this place, Cuz!

So, some very big changes, we're both a bit nervous, but it feels good and everything is opening up to go this direction, which is saying more than anything else we've tried to do in the last five years.

I have so many thoughts surrounding all this that I can't think clearly to formulate them coherently, so I won't. Suffice it to say that I thought we'd have to fix a lot of other things before being in a situation like this, things that would take decades, and I really feel the Lord is showing me that he knows me, cares about me and hears me. Some of the littlest details in this house seem unimportant, but only the Lord would know that they meant something to me.

To all our California friends, we love you SO much and never thought this day would come. Thanks to blogs, email, cell phones and the continual exodus many of you make to and from Utah, I hope to hold on to you tightly.

To all our Utah friends, let's start booking the dinner calendar now!

The Story in Part

Another excitement-filled week at the Christensen home. I am still trying to get over that bad bug I brought home from Utah, and everyone has had a tad of it, mainly minor for the rest, though. The house is woefully neglected due to the fact you can't really clean house while lying horizontally, which put it out of the question, since I was so busy doing the latter. I went to Ward Breakfast yesterday under the assumption that by virtue of being sick 9 days I must surely be better, but that just led to being completely wiped the rest of the day. I went to church today, but am now ready for a long winter's nap, not making the lasagne I have planned for dinner.

Lucy is growing up so much, such an independent little pixie. She is also a bit spoiled, which is totally my fault and I'm hoping to rectify that without too much drama. Still trying to fatten her up. Some labs are coming back this week for her, hopefully with some useful information. She is conflicted about her status as a toy for other children, as she likes being played "with" in a friend sense, but not so much being played "with" in the doll sense, which is unfortunately extremely common.

Noah has been having very few accidents (hooray!) but has seemed a little under the weather with a belly thing. He is SO mischevious and takes 100% follow-through on every request, which gets old fast when you are unwilling to leave your bed for any reason.

Sophie is continuing her complaints about school, and I feel bad because I don't blame her. The work is dry and boring and she doesn't have a very friendly teacher. But I try to be encouraging and help her bring out the positive. School doesn't have to be all fun and games, but at this stage it helps if they enjoy learning and have a good relationship with their teacher. Her reading is almost fluent, though, and she enjoys it.

Ben's doing great at home with school and is moving on to 5th grade Language arts, which he's very proud of. He enjoys it. It has been a rather bland homeschooling week, though, due to my inability to do anything, and he has made sure I am constantly aware of that. We've just done the basics.

David is getting ready to do some traveling to PA and NC this week for work. It looks like his job is going to require quite a bit more travel out of CA. That has a variety of impacts on our life and is triggering a re-evaluation of some things. So, this post isn't detail-rich on that, but I'm sure more information will follow.

Oh, apparently Noah has undressed Lucy and started a bath for them both, so I guess this post is over. Go over to mamamelodrama and take my chocolate quiz if you haven't already.

Sing it with me! "to the B to the A to the R to the A to the C - K - O - B - A - M - A!"

Let Hope Direct Your Vote

With the understanding the vast majority of this blog's readers will think I'm, at best, misled, and at worst, hell-bound, I'd still like to say that I had completely given up hope on so many things relating to American politics until I started taking a closer look at Obama. I hope today goes well for him.

Wacation in a Winter Wonderland

Our trip to Utah was wonderful. The fact that Mom and Dad Christensen's house is big enough for us to lose our own children, that we weren't on top of each other, was a vacation in itself. In line with tradition, I got terribly sick, but this time only at the very end, so I could bring it home with me and extend the vacation two more (much less comfortable) days in bed. I love my sweet husband!

Here is a rundown of what we did and some photographic evidence that this trip actually took place:

http://web.mac.com/davidchristensen/iWeb/Site/Library.html

My Thoughts on the End of an Era

As I have read so many tributes to Gordon B. Hinckley this past week, and I've thought much about the influence he has had in my life and pondered what defining messages or moments have had the most impact on me. I loved him greatly and had a testimony of his divine calling, one confirmed to me many times over his long tenure. He spoke to us as a region in a simultaneous Stake Conference across Southern California just a few weeks ago, emphasizing loving marriage and family relationships. He looked very small and frail, yet cried out with power in his frustration at the mistreatment of women.

Then, as in so many other conferences where I heard his voice, I marveled at the ridiculous deception that makes him and his fellow associates out to be oppressive, power-hungry ringleaders of blind sheep. That would be a very well-cloaked evil indeed, masked by constant pleadings to be more loving, kinder, respectful, mindful of those around us, renewed in hope and doing good. And, with each message, comes the never-failing witness of the Spirit that this man speaks with Christ, and for Christ, the great Exemplar which the prophet so clearly emulated.

The adversary will do all in his power to sow seeds of doubt, even in the face of reason, to prevent us from hearing the prophet of the Lord, and accepting His prophet's call to simply humbly come unto Christ and be healed. Our enemy seeks to make us take offense when we are asked to set aside selfishness for service. But the prophet speaks truth: that true healing from pain, disappointment, despair or confusion doesn't come from licking my wounds in a circular path dedicated to self-discovery.

Which brings me to the area where I felt the strongest influence from Gordon B. Hinckley. The story is now well known. When young Elder Hinckley was encountering illness, rejection, prejudice and despair early in his mission, his complaints written home were answered with a short letter from his father: “Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: Forget yourself and go to work.”

Hinckley recalls, "Earlier that morning in our scripture class my companion and I had read these words of the Lord: 'Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it' (Mark 8:35).

"Those words of the Master, followed by my father’s letter with his counsel to forget myself and go to work, went into my very being" (from Ensign, July 1987, 7). In describing what happened next, he said: “I got on my knees in that little bedroom … and made a pledge that I would try to give myself unto the Lord.

“The whole world changed. The fog lifted. The sun began to shine in my life. I had a new interest. I saw the beauty of this land. I saw the greatness of the people. … Everything that has happened to me since that’s been good I can trace to that decision made in that little house” (Church News, Sept. 9, 1995, 4).

President Hinckley continued by saying: “You want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause, and bend your efforts to helping people” (in Church News, Sept. 9, 1995, 4).

He said more recently: "The best antidote for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is to help someone even more tired."

I was at a recent sacrament meeting in Utah where the speaker explained that when we lose ourselves in the service of Christ, it is easier to find our true self, as there will be more of us to find. This losing myself and forgetting myself in service to Christ is not frantically busying myself with family church duties while secretly holding out for expected payback in the form of my own needed blessings, equal returned attention, or even instant personal fulfillment from a given act of service. It is taking the gospel of Jesus Christ "down, deep into our hearts" as Henry B. Eyring emphasized in the funeral. It is seeking to feel and hold within me the love of my Savior for me through communion with the Father in constant prayer and study. I have then felt this love so naturally translate into a similar love for my fellow travelers in this often hard, sometimes joyous journey.

Each time I review this story of President Hinckley's mission, I am reminded of a phrase in my own patriarchal blessing, which after discussing some talents and blessings I would have from the Lord, follows with the charge: "You should make use of them to further the work of the Lord." The Lord understood I would be tempted to use any abilities for better standing in the world, and reminds me that by losing myself in His work I will, in the end, rejoice that I was not distracted from my true mission on this earth by seeking my own comforts. It would be like being sent on an important business trip, only to miss the purpose of my trip as I stayed in my hotel room, fluffing pillows and making sure the accommodations were comfortable enough. I want to return Home without regrets.

After WWII, when Hinckley decided to end a promising career with the railroad in Denver to return to the employ of the church, he told a friend, "This is the Lord's work, and I feel I would make my best contribution in life, by doing my humble part, to further the cause." This is a sentiment I wish to echo. I would like my tribute to Gordon B. Hinckley's life to be my own covenant with the Lord to try to forget myself and go to work, and to lose myself in Christ and in building his kingdom. Instead of finding myself, to let Him find, shape and transform me.

My self is a hard thing to forget, as it is has become accustomed to so much attention, and I know it will take practice. But I always find when I am serving Jesus Christ, that I have access to much greater ability than my own. As Elder Eyring said at the funeral, "His optimism was justified, not by confidence in his own powers to work things out, but in his great faith that God's powers were in place. "

Thank you, dear President Hinckley, for showing me what is possible when one person simply forgets himself and goes to work for Jesus Christ, and inspiring me to do the same.

"'Til we meet at Jesus' feet."

Welcome me back from 1975!

I have a new cell phone to replace my old, broken one (thanks for the early b-day present, mom). Some of you may know that I was relegated not only to the home phone, but a corded home phone, like back when I was 9 or something, so I could choose to socialize while standing in a rather useless part of the house, or I could just bag that and actually live my life (something I blog, surf, email and phone-chat to avoid).

So, I'm back to being free, or no longer being free, not sure which.

Since most people who read my personal blog (this one), are the same people that used to call me when I had a phone, I just thought I'd let you know here.

PS: Important health warning at MamaMelodrama today.