Blissful, lazy summer days

Derek and Ethan left for Boy Scout camp today for 5 days. This is the second year in a row that Derek has gone with Ethan, and I am grateful that he has chosen to dedicate time like this to his sons-- he has done the same at Cub Scout Day camp, serving as the medical director.

For the first day in a long time, I didn't feel stressed about a whole list of things to do, although I was productive; I worked in our yard, I did laundry, I cleaned the kitchen.  But the best parts of my day were spent enjoying my sweet kids. 

I began my day gardening in the early morning hours while Jane sat nearby, drawing plants in her notebook, and asking me about the different plants that she now recognizes even without flowers.  After I picked up Reid, Luke, and the Oswalt boys from swim team practice, we made blueberry banana walnut waffles and enjoyed breakfast on the back porch. 

All five of us snuggled in my bed for an afternoon siesta while I read them The BFG, which we began long ago, but have yet to finish.  This evening we piled into the truck and picked up Pizza Hut for dinner, which we also enjoyed on the back porch (I love summer meals gazing out at the beautiful fields!) 

When I went to change Joe's diaper, I asked him, exasperated, "Don't you think you should be potty trained? Where should you go potty?" To which he grinned and answered slowly, "I MAKE YOU HAPPY!" Which of course cracked me up.  I often say to him, in the same tone, "YOU MAKE ME HAPPY", and so I thought it was hilarious and clever that he repeated the words back to me. 

We had Family Home Evening in the back yard, and while the lesson didn't seem to go over very well with the squirrely children picking on each other, we all had fun pelting each other with dodge balls and jumping on the trampoline.

I mowed the lawn while the kids played with the hoses, and Joe rode on my lap for part of the time.
Eustolia stopped by with her darling Cristobal while I pruned shrubs, and we "conversed" (with my limited Spanish, we actually communicate quite a bit.)

We ended the day reading scriptures and praying on the front porch.

I love summer, and it doesn't get any better than living here in the summer. 

The Grouch Slouch

You can tell when Jane is unhappy just by her posture. This hat was just the icing on the cake.
Back in April we went to Salt Lake for General Conference. The day before conference (Friday 4/6) was Jane's birthday. She was thrilled to go skiing since her first experience here in WA was great. However, Brighton didn't have the "magic carpet" conveyor belt that she was expecting, so the day was a bust. She took off her skis and walked down the bunny slope. So this was her punishment as she sulked in the ski shop.

Sage Rat Run 12K

This race was so much fun.  Initially, I was disappointed that I am still struggling off and on with plantar fasciitis, and have thus not trained above 7-8 miles for the half marathon that I hoped to do.  Derek ran that race-- the Sage Rat half marathon began at 8 am at Sunnyside Walmart.  My 12K began in Grandview.  We both finished in Prosser. 

I love running with Michelle.  We never lack for conversation, and I think it's fair to say that we push each other to work harder.  Between having her for a running partner and the adrenaline from running a race, I cut 1-2 mintues off my average training pace! Running by myself I have typically been running 9-10 minute miles; yesterday, my longest split was 8:37 and my fastest mile was my last, at 7:49.  It felt so good to run fast, and to feel great because I was distracted by having fun with my friends.

I loved the fact that I recognized so many people that I'm getting to know through school (we have managed to stay connected even though I'm homeschooling), community (Bill's Berry Farm/Michener Family, a sponsor pictured in back ground, whom Natalie and I photographed last year at their awesome U-pick berry and apple farm), etc.

The weather was perfect-- sunny but not too hot-- right around 72 degrees.

Unfortunately, Derek and I didn't meet up at the finish-- he wasn't sure when I would be done, so he rushed home to get our kids ready for the ward picnic.

What a great day! I am blessed.

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"Just finished Sage Rat 12 K. 2nd and 3rd place Women's 30-34 with my awesome running buddy & friend, Michelle!"

Dream Date

For a long time now, I have been craving two things; time with Derek and time working together with him in the yard.  It's not that I don't get any time with him-- his work schedule has actually been relatively "normal" lately (leave around 8, home around 6).  We both have actually worked quite a bit in the yard this year, too-- just not together.  And when I say "yard work", I think vegetable garden and flower beds; when Derek says "yard work", he thinks mowing and edging.

As I was running 7 miles with my friend Michelle this morning, we talked about a lot of things, as we usually do.  At one point in our conversation, Michelle remarked that Derek and I seem to have a really great relationship; that we are affectionate with one another and seem to really care about each other.  It was a very kind complement, and I agreed that we do have a great relationship.  But I confided that like everyone, we have our ups and downs, and my frustration lately was that I have really been wanting time to work with Derek, and his recent focus, when he hasn't been at work, has been to exercise, often morning and evening.  I really admire his focus and persistence when he is trying to achieve a goal (he has lost 30 pounds in the past 6 weeks!) so I am learning that sometimes I just have to be patient and eventually he will come around.  (This lesson has been a long time coming-- we have had several arguments over the years about what I have perceived as his lack of balance, and I what I suppose he has perceived as my lack of focus.)

Even though I know Derek hoped to get a bike ride in yesterday afternoon (even after his morning half marathon run), he must have sensed my wishes because after we returned home from our races and the ward picnic, he immediately joined me out in the garden.  He asked what was on my yard work to-do list for the day, and then shared his list, and struck up a deal with me; he would work with me and then I would work with him.  I was thrilled that he wanted to work together!

We started with weeding the garden, which I haven't yet touched this year.  Volunteer onions, cilantro, and spinach were growing from last year's crop, but aside from that, it was a 900 square foot weed patch, with some weeds nearly as tall as I was.  Using the tiller, hoes, rakes, and shovels, we had half of it cleared within a few hours.  We talked all afternoon; we contentedly observed Ethan and Reid playing with Gabe and Ben Oswalt, our "across-the-asparagus and mint-fields" neighbors, Luke, Jane, and Joe playing with Connor Johnson, in the driveway on bikes, on the trampoline, in the dirt.  We shared our feelings of fulfillment and happiness with our present life situation, and amazement at how Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves.  I'll be the first to admit that I had no idea how much I would LOVE country life, and even small-town life.   While I realize that this lifestyle isn't for everyone, that there are good reasons and benefits that come from urbanization (and that many of the comforts we enjoy even out here in the country come from industrialized society... like that fact that I'm writing this using a laptop, transmitted via wireless internet connected to the rest of the world through 3G), where we are and what we are doing is perfect for our family right now.  I think the social demands of a suburban community might be too much for our (not so) little family.  Derek does not do well with excessive busy-ness and I can be easily distracted if I am not constantly and consciously trying to choose "doing something better" over "doing something good."  Heavenly Father has given us everything we need and more.  I continue to learn that even if we are not blessed in the ways or time that we think we need, we are always given what we need.  The most prominent example for us right now is the kids' education.  I NEVER envisioned that I would be a homeschool mom (although I should have suspected it given the fact that I have been  exposed to different friends who have done it ever since Ethan was little, and I have always been intrigued with how and why these women have done it.)  Since we have moved here we have said that we love everything about Sunnyside except the education system.  While Heavenly Father didn't miraculously transform the school district overnight, he did miraculously lead us to our current program that, at least for now, is ideal for our kids.  It's not what I ever would have designed, but like I said, I'm learning to trust more in the Master Architect.

I was willing to quit weeding the garden after a few hours and move on to a project from Derek's list, but as mentioned above, Derek has a thing with completing tasks.  I was pleasantly surprised-- no thrilled-- at how excited Derek was getting about the garden.  I had designed a new and improved drip system from last year-- this time using 1/2" tubing instead of 1/4" which I learned from trial and error clogs much too easily with irrigation water (which inherently carries weeds and debris into the system).  Derek helped me piece the PVC and black tubing together.  We finally took a break for dinner-- more for the kids' sake than ours.  We had a yummy dinner at El Charrito-- a Mexican "squat and gobble", as the Weavers refer to fast food-- which surprised us both at how good it was.  We went to Wal-Mart (a major Sunnyside faux pas on a Saturday night) to get a few plants and seed packets for the garden.  I was giddy about seeing Derek excited to pick garden plants.  This is the first year he has taken such an interest. It really caught me off-guard.

We got home after dusk around 8:30 and worked quickly to plant the plants and add flag drippers to the black tubing (we should have gotten out headlamps... I was literally doing it by feel by the time we were done.)  We finally turned on the drip system just before 10 pm, and the sound of dripping water was music to our ears.

I would have not gotten half of the work done by myself, and it wouldn't have been half as enjoyable.  Days like yesterday are just a testament to the fact that nothing brings satisfaction like hard work and family togetherness.

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"Well, about halfway there. What you can't quite see is about equally as many weeds as the section we have tilled."

Spring is here!

Well, Spring was here, and then it was gone, and now we are waiting for it again. It seems to blow in and out with the crazy wind that we are learning to expect every March-April.  This year it took down our swing set that Fred and Nori assembled last year when they came to visit.  I hope we can rebuild it.  At least we are out of the gray winter doldrums and are inspired by the blooming flowers and sunshine.

On my to-do list lately...
* finish the King-size quilt for our bedroom that I began in January; paint our bedroom, hang curtains, and make it a "sanctuary" rather than a laundry-folding dumping ground.
* Edit a few photo jobs... "Ella Jane Photography", the little "business" that my friend Natalie and I began in 2011, maintains a steady influx of clients.  Fall is by far our busiest season and thankfully January-February months are dead, but we've already done 6 shoots this year.  (Which is more than enough for me!)  I enjoy this hobby because it puts the pressure on me to learn new techniques and improve my skills, which I would not otherwise set aside time to do.
* Organize, organize, organize... I am considering boxing up a bunch of books, toys, etc, and storing them in our shop.  A lot of it I can't bring myself to get rid of yet, because the kids "might" use some of it again some time, but let's be honest, we have so much more than we need, and cleaning up over and over again just frustrates all of us. (In my defense, we have inherited A LOT from family and friends, and not that I'm not grateful, but I'm not a shopaholic or anything. Right?!)
*  Keep on exercising... I have been doing 30 REAL push-ups, situps, and squats a day... okay, more like 4-5 days per week. But I am seeing results! Slowly, but surely. I was just relieved to hear that my longtime friend Leslie feels EXACTLY the same way about running and fitness that I do lately... running 3 miles/ week, it's just not as easy as is used to be, plantar fasciitis and sore feet, baby belly that just won't quite snap back...
* Keep paying down debts. With a hefty tax return (that's right, blessings from paying tithing that even Uncle Sam didn't anticipate... let's hope that charitable contribution tax deduction doesn't get taken away!) we made a big dent in our consumer debt.  "Living within our means" has been a challenging lesson for us to learn since we lived for nearly a decade without any means to speak of...  going into debt for living expenses during medical school so that I could stay home with our young family was what we felt was right, and although I can't say I regret it, I recognize that now is the time that we have to make up for that by continuing to be disciplined in our spending.  Maybe I'm just now learning that no matter how much money you make, it's always easy to spend more.
* LEARN SPANISH! In just a few days I noticed my ability to speak increased dramatically when I spent time with my non-English speaking neighbor Eustolia after she had her baby.  But I know my grammar is horrible, so I need to practice with Rosetta Stone.
* Finish sprinklers system and plant grass in the remaining field! We had no idea how much work it would be to keep weeds from growing in places where grass wasn't growing... and although we already have a huge grassy yard, we have finally learned that in the long run, planting more grass will be cheaper and easier than spraying for weeds all summer long!
* Finish the school year! The kids and I have grown immensely through our first year of home-school.  We have had lots of ups and downs, but I think we are finally getting the hang of it.  Jane will go to kindergarten at the public school with her preschool friends, but I think we have a good thing going with the 3 big boys, so we will go for it again this fall.  Above all, I love the time that we have right now to be together as a family and to train the boys in ways that we just didn't have time to do when they were at public school.  I know that this isn't the way we will do school forever, but for now, I am trying to cherish it (and not lose my sanity at the same time!)

Weaver boys first tourney! They did great.

26 years

A few snapshots from 1985.  I think snapshots were a lot more candid pre-digital cameras.  Even if the shots weren't well-composed, with everyone smiling perfectly, we kept the images because they served their intended purpose-- to help us remember times past-- and perhaps they are more authentic than the shots today that we take and take and take until everyone's eyes are open, looking at the camera, with smiles coaxed even from the grumpiest of subjects.

I love the two family groupings seen here-- the one of my mom in her red robe, just days after her fourth child was born, with all of us snuggled up next to her and our new baby brother and my dad lounging behind on the couch.  My mom was (and still is) so beautiful and loving and the perfect, nurturing mother.

I also like the shot in the bottom right corner of all of us on the sand trap on the 4th hold of Gleneagle Golf Course in Colorado Springs, right our back door.  The idyllic picture of young, happy, healthy family who had just moved into their new two-story house on a golf course, with a sports car out front, and a three-car garage that would soon house a ski-boat that would be taken to the private lake on weekends with friends.  This was the calm before the storm-- one year before Anthony would be diagnosed with neuroblastoma, after which he would only live another 10 months.  Anthony died on February 25, 1987.  Although I was only 8 years old at the time, that event and the way my parents endured the most heart-wrenching of trials-- the death of a child-- was the most significant experience of my childhood.  In short, Anthony's brief life taught our family that this earthly experience is a mere blip on the timeline of eternity, and that the choices we make here and now will determine the course for the rest of our eternal lives.  He taught us that it is not the houses or the cars or the boats that bring fulfillment, but loving family relationships and ultimately our relationship with God, our Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ.