This Weekend

Whew!! Ryon said, "this weekend went so fast." I agree 100%. Ryon is coaching Zach & Andrew's baseball team, the A's (Ryon has volunteered on the board for 4 years--in the beginning so the kids could play baseball for free, but now because he likes being involved and also free baseball is a nice perk!). So, Friday night started with their first practice at our house. The A's team seems to have involved parents (grandparents) and both Friday & Saturday practices looked like they went well. Although, Nathaniel had 4:30-6:30pm baseball practice on Friday night and I made home made french fries and shredded beef/pork sandwiches for Friday night dinner, so I wasn't involved in the practice at our home, I just shuttled Nathaniel and made dinner.

Saturday was a big day for us! The kids sold 93 chicks at Lehi Days, for 3 years we've given them the chance to make some money that way. The interesting thing to me is that every year one child takes the opportunity to make a few hundred dollars and the rest play at the rodeo with their friends. Even some spend some money to try to catch the greased pig or catch the money goat in the hopes to get a few dollars ($35 at the most) and they pass up the sure thing of sitting and selling chicks. I can understand time with Friends is very limited now adays, and it's only money, but it's always interesting to me to see which of my children is really interested in earning some money. We don't give them money like many families do, we feed them and cloth them, don't get me wrong. But money doesn't flow to them for toys, movies, even friend presents. They are responsible for their wants, we take care of their needs (probably mostly out of necessity...I don't know what I would do if I could afford to get them all they wanted, too...).

Then, on Saturday afternoon another baseball practice at our house, and Nathaniel's birthday date. We try to take each child out on their birthday. Years ago we'd let them choose which parent they would take, and inevitably Savanah would choose me and the boys would choose Ryon, but then one year Eli choose me, and Savanah choose Ryon, and then the kids were old enough to babysit themselves, and now Ryon and I both take the kids on their birthday dates. I really love the time when we can focus our attention one of our children:). We took Nathaniel to see "The Lorax" (he had a movie voucher from a competition he won at school, and Ryon had a voucher a friend had given him for his birthday--free always make a good date). Then, we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner, Nathaniel ordered the teriyaki chicken with white rice, one of my old favorites from my Hawaii days, and he also ordered the Hershey's chocolate cheese cake. He loved the cheesecake, but wasn't able to finish his cake, or so he said. I love how my kids love to bring food home to share with their siblings, and their siblings are always so excited to see what they bring home. There is a true desire to share and show their love for each other.

Then, Sunday was fast Sunday. All 5 of our older kids fast. Eli fasted until 5pm, with me and Ryon. I'm so often impressed with Eli lately. He has a very strong will and great self discipline. He's been getting up at 4am to go to football practice at 4:20am. He gets dehydrated there because they only give them one water break. So, when it finally dawned on me he was going to be getting dehydrated on Monday morning I had him break his fast, I hope he's o.k. today at school! Life seems to be getting so detailed and complicated so quickly. It's truly impossible for ME to keep track of 8 lives...it really is. And so, deciding what can be ignored and what is truly important is, well, it is important right now. I'm still working on it. But I've come up with this. Food and water is important, 3 meals a day, plus an after school snack (all healthy of course, hopefully). Studying the gospel is important (just as important for our spirits as food is for our bodies). And that's all there is on my list so far...although, I still do the laundry and the dishes are most always all done, and I water the garden, feed the chickens, go on dates with Ryon, help with homework, and write my blog...sometimes:) Sorry there aren't any pictures today. Some times I do that on purpose when I'm writing more personal things. I kind of hope people who just want to look at pictures will just skip over these posts:).

One last thought. Zach was ranting about us having no food in the house for breakfast this morning, even after I enumerated the countless varieties of cereal, chocolate chip pancakes, french toast, eggs with toast, scrambled eggs, and omelets, or chocolate or berry shakes. He still swore there was nothing to eat (because he wanted a breakfast burrito, but we don't have bacon or flour tortillas). So, I said what many mothers have said over the eons, something like, you are so blessed to have abundance, and yet you are ungrateful for the few things you don't have, not every child even has cereal for breakfast. Of course, Nathaniel quickly chimed in that every kid but them has their favorite breakfast cereal every morning. I so wanted to whisk them off that very moment to a quiet phoenix apartment where there's no food in any cupboard in the house, where kids don't eat at home, because there is no food. To a place where there really is hunger, where they could really appreciate the bounty they have. And then I thought about me. What do I ask for from my loving Heavenly Father, that I already have right in front of me. What are the ingratitudes that I harbor when there is so much for me to be grateful for every day. And then I shut my mouth and let them be kids, because kids are learning to be grateful, just like I am learning to be grateful, every day. Being a parent is good for me, I learn so much every day. I am hoping with everything in me that I'm doing what's right for each one of them!