Of Good Report

We had a very dear friend pass away a couple of weeks ago.  We took the opportunity to have a family home evening lesson on the Plan of Salvation.  We have been talking about it off and on since then as well as talking about Grandma Sherrie and Grandpa Smith who have passed away.  We have had some good discussions and I am grateful for the knowledge of an afterlife that I have that I can share with my children.  It brings peace and comfort knowing we will see loved ones again.  My sweet, innocent five year old, Sarah, has made this statement twice since the fhe lesson, "I wish Taylor would die so he wouldn't be sick any more, he wouldn't have diabetes and he wouldn't be allergic to peanuts."  Fortunately, Taylor has a sense of humor and probably has an understanding of where she is coming from.  We had a good chuckle the first time she said it.   I made sure Taylor was ok with hearing her say it.  He had his wonderful smirk on his face when...

Today was bitter sweet.  We celebrated another first and because of a death we celebrated life.  The sweet "first" was Taylor's passing the Sacrament.  The death was the better; it came from the passing of Estelle's beloved former Primary teacher, Brother Anderson. My baby boy turned 12 in December, but because he has been so ill we were not able to have him ordained to the Priesthood until last Sunday after church.  So today was his first time passing the Sacrament.  He was nervous yet reverent.  He even too extra care to look his best. Taylor will be an asset to the Deacon's quorum.  After sitting down by me after the Sacrament he told me that he made a mistake, but he was glad it was with someone he knew.  I didn't see the bauble, but apparently he served the Sacrament to the bishop's daughter then took the tray to the next row forgetting the rest of the Harrison family.  His friend gently reminded him to return to their pew an...

Today has been reflective and joyful.  Yesterday my sweet 5 year old "baby" asked to play with the baby toys.  We keep a box of them on a top shelf in Emma's bedroom to entertain young guests.  I got them down for her and she played made music with the noisy toys and stacked up the alphabet blocks.  Today as I was putting them away I felt a bit of sadness as I remembered purchasing those toys for my babies and knowing that I would never again be buying baby toys for my own babies.  I have passed that stage of life, and most of the time it is with little regret.  I don't miss the long nights and the diapers and worse--the potty training, but I do miss the first smile, the first belly laugh, and the first steps.  And while those early firsts are but a sweet memory, today I experienced with my children several other firsts. The first of my motherhood firsts today was our graduating from the "baby pool."  At the Lehi Legacy Center indoor pool there ...

I love Halloween Night.  As much as I hate carving pumpkins I love the actual night of halloween.  A friend summed it up for me when she also stated her dislike of pumpkin carving when she said that she hated all the preparation for halloween, but halloween itself is great.  I fully agree.  I don't love the halloween parades at the school, or all parties at school.  I do love the magic of the night.  There is something magical about eating a nice warm dinner pulled out of the crockpot or some simmering soup then getting all costumed up and hitting the streets.  I love the honest to goodness trick or treating.  The kind where all the neighborhood heads out going door to door begging for candy.  I could do without "trunk or treat" or all the trick or treating in offices, or local businesses.  It is fun to see all of the children, and adults, dressed up in classic, or scary, or clever costumes.  I love the excitement of the...

I hate carving pumpkins.  I realize hate is a strong word and I honestly don't hate too many things, but carving pumpkins makes the short list.  I know I am the title of this blog is "of good report", but I can think of few, if any, virtues of pumpkin guts!  They are slimy, stinky and messy.  I always try to put on a happy face as we spread out the newspaper, pull out bowls and pass around sharp knives to my children.  I keep a prayer in my heart the the only guts and gore we see comes out of the pumpkin and not out of any fingers.  So far we have not had to get any stitches due to pumpkin carving--there it is a virtue. Tonight started out quite well, Spencer, Taylor and Emma were fairly independent gutters and carvers.  Estelle required quite a bit of assistance, and Sarah, bless her heart, decided to paint her pumpkin.  This of course meant we also had paint to clean up, but the fewer the pumpkin guts the better.  Sarah was...

I was planning on writing this tomorrow because that is Emma's birthday, but it looks like it is going to be another long night of blood testing so I decided to make good use of my time.  We had a party for her tonight and she got sung to at church, so it seems ok to write about my darling 10 year old daughter tonight.  Ten years ago tomorrow night I was holding my first baby daughter in my arms.  She was my easiest delivery and a sweet, sweet baby.  I felt like I had my hands full with a toddler and a preschooler to care for as well, but she was definitely a welcome addition to our family.  Her big brothers loved her right away; Taylor would shake her hand and say, "welcome, Emma, welcome."  She has a tender heart and is a hard worker.  She is very organized and responsible.  She loves animals and the outdoors.  She likes to play basketball and has a good shot.  She is petite and beautiful.  She grew her hair long so she could ...

I seriously considered having the theme of this blog be about a family who has a child with diabetes.   I decided that although there will certainly be plenty of posts about that I didn't want it to define who we are.  Even though I could put something about it every day, I will resist.  I want to focus on the good and virtuous, and by good in the case of diabetes I mean the learning that takes place on many levels and by virtuous I mean the patience and grace with which my son deals with this challenge every day.  For the second night in a row I will be checking Taylor's blood every couple of hours.  He has had two days of being extremely high--most of the time.  He had several lows this morning.  In April he started using an insulin pump.  It is supposed to make his life easier.  And in many ways it does.  He doesn't have to give himself four or more shots every day and he/I don't have to do as many calculations each day, b...