Of Good Report

I'm backing up to Christmas for a moment. My children had a good Christmas. Everyone received the gifts they wanted most. Or so I thought until after we had visited with cousins and showed the spoils with each other. Sarah got everything she had asked for. And by everything I mean everything. And then some. She was happy until she saw that three of her younger  cousins received either an iPod or tablet. Estelle got an iPod as well. She asked for one. After that Sarah wished she had an iPod too. I didn't feel too sorry for her. She is only seven and she had never even once mentioned wanting one. Maybe she thought I would have said, "You're only 7 and you're not getting an iPod." But maybe I wouldn't have. I'm to the point where I don't necessarily want more electronic devices in the hands of my kids, but I don't want any more toys on the shelves and the floor of my house either. So maybe I wouldn't have. Right now I'm not sure what I w...

Saturday began early with Spencer and I reporting at Neptune Park at 7:00 a.m. to prepare for the city's annual Easter egg hunt. It was great to have so many of the youth city council in attendance. Destry was going to take Sarah to her friend's, Lydia Prestwich, baptism at 9:00, but she was being stubborn and refusing to go. I know that she would be sad in the end if she didn't go, but glad when she did. So we arrived a good 20 minutes late, hoping that we had not missed it. We hadn't. They had some difficulties getting the font filled and grandma gave a long talk. Perfect. Lucky for us, since Lydia was scheduled first for the font. We had a lovely time and we cam home and began our "Saturday chores." I had plenty of them to get done. We would be celebrating Sarah's birthday on Sunday so I needed to make one more trip to the grocery store, decorate her cake, and clean the house. The kids did their part and Destry spent several hours cleaning carpets. ...

Last night my three older children went with the other youth in the ward to various temples in the valley to perform baptisms for the dead. It is a spiritual experience that they had been looking forward to. They were encouraged to bring a family name with them. My mom took them a few weeks ago to do other family baptisms, so they each kept one name to take with them tonight.  As they were leaving, Estelle said to me, "Isn't it a little awkward to hold a dead body in the water to baptize them?" This was one of those parental moments where it took all the self control I could muster in order not to burst out laughing. She was sincere. Her tender feelings would have been crushed. Baptisms are sacred and not a laughing matter. However, the visual of my children gingerly holding onto the decomposed bodies of their ancestors in order for them to be baptized was not only grizzly, but funny! Poor Estelle probably was not looking forward to turning 12 so that she could have tha...

I was going to title this post, "Buckle Fractures R Us," which would have been equally appropriate. My children have had a combined total of seven buckle fractures in their arms; additionally, one broken toe, one finger and one big toe growth plate. The seventh was Sarah's last night mishap on a play set. She was climbing up and fell off. It would have been nice to have said, "End of story." But, alas, after three hours in two doctors' offices as well as several hours waiting for the results of the X-ray to get to us, the guilt verdict was delivered. She gets to play her first soccer game in a splint tomorrow and will get her cast on Monday. She will be casted for three weeks, which includes her birthday, she noted. She wanted to start of her ninth year with a bang.  Here is a brief history of the Crump children's cracked bones. Spencer started us off at age nine with a fall from his bike.There was a fair amount of drama associated with this one. When ...

Today is not going to be an "I'm awesome" post after all; unless you count going on a field trip with about 200 second graders and riding on the bus with them for 30 minutes each way and losing my charges in the crowded museum about 6 times awesome. If that is awesome, then I'm awesome. So are all of the other parents who went and so are the teachers who have to put up with second graders every day. Do you know the song that has a line that goes, "'though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid." That is how I feel about second graders. I was a bit dumbfounded when I was having a conversation with Sarah's and Estelle's first grade turned second grade teacher say that she hoped to be teaching second grade next year because she loves second grade. I'm glad she does. I'm glad she does. She was a cute first grade teacher and first graders are cute, but kids go a little weird in second grade. They learn al...

I have a friend who had her sixth baby a couple of months ago. Her mother died three weeks later. She has been on my mind for both of these things and last night I dreamed about her. I have been wanting to stop by to see her to congratulate her and to offer my condolences, but hadn't made it yet. The main thing stopping me is that I felt like I needed to take small gifts to her and not just grace her with my presence. I finally made going to the store for her a priority today. I bought diapers and a bunch of tulips. I gave her a hug, snuggled her baby, and we talked briefly. She is a strong woman and I am grateful I know her.  I like to let people know that they are loved. I like to take loaves of homemade bread, cookies or other treats to those I think need a little TLC. I like to talk to people one on one and feel who they really are. I may not always be as prompt as I should and there are plenty of times I have ignored promptings altogether, but I try not to. I try to make any...

It appears that I have changed my mind about the daily posts for the reading challenge. I decided I liked my own reading schedule better and that I really am doing the other things listed in the challenge. Instead, I have decided to spend the next 30 days focusing on the things I do well. This is not "look at me, I'm awesome" campaign; I just realized today that I don't really recognize the things I accomplish, I am always looking at the things that didn't get done, or the ones that I could have done better. As I was driving home from KW (Keller Williams) I got a bit teary thinking about this activity. In December I got my real estate license. I have continued training and have a coach at the Keller Williams office. I have to check in with her online weekly to report some numbers as well as meet with her every other week. I hate the reporting. It makes me feel like a failure if I don't do what I think I should be doing. So I am going to keep a record of the ...