Fruits of our Labor

Among the many things that I will miss when we move is our garden.  We planted grapes 3 years ago and this year has yielded our first edible grape harvest.   I love that the kids can run down to the garden and snip grapes off for snacks and lunches.  I love that I don’t have to ask anyone to please pick the grapes.   I love that they are free.   I love that our kids love to eat something that we grew because that is not always the case.   I love that one of our best crops took three years and taught us about delayed gratification.   I love that our garden produces not only fruits and vegetables but so many life lessons. 

The kids eat these like candy.

These are Concord grapes that I planted to make Grandma Van's Grape pie.

Update/Priorities

I am happy to report that in response to the revolt we have moved scripture study to 6:30am and are having it first, when everyone gets up, instead of last, right before everyone leaves for school.  I think there is a life lesson here that we have learned before.  Our morning only involved minimal murmuring and everyone left for school content and on time.  Hooray!  Until the next uprising...

Jackson and I stayed up way too late last night working on this Obi Wan Kenobi costume for Homecoming week.  Today was “Saga Day.” 

Bright Spot

 Dear James,

I miss your help.  Family scripture study ended in a revolt.  Today’s house showing was a close call.  I wasn’t finished vacuuming when the realtor arrived.  Luckily I was able to shove the vacuum in the downstairs closet and escape out the back door and around the house.  There was one bright spot in the day though, and that was a bike ride with John.   I had promised one on Saturday but we were too busy.   After taking off on our ride we had to return home and grab the camera because I knew you would appreciate photos of one of the few summerlike days left here in Oregon.    Enjoy!

Love, Betsy

P.S. We need to convince John to ask Santa for a new bike with gears for Christmas.

For Sale

 

Last summer while driving home from Idaho, the kids watched a movie called Deep Impact.  I only listened sporadically from the front seat of the car, but there was this one scene that grabbed me.  I could relate to the intensity and stress as a team of astronauts tried to divert a meteor from hitting earth with only minutes to finish the task before the sun came over the horizon and fried them all.  I interrupted the movie to announce, “This is exactly how I feel every time we have to clean the house for a showing.”  I have to write this post to document, lest I forget, how much I dislike the process of selling a house. 

Tonight I got a call from our realtor telling me that I need to get our house ready to show tomorrow for the bazillionth time.  I know exactly how my morning will go.  I will have to forgo running because I will need every spare moment to clean.  I will panic.  I will fill my laundry basket with school papers, wet towels, shoes, dirty laundry, dirty dishes, you name it, and run it out to my car.   I will clean every square inch of my house.  I will run around like a crazy person and no matter when I start, I will spend the last 30 minutes completing jobs that would normally take me a full day.  Amazingly enough, with only minutes to spare, the clock will slow down, and I will recognize that my prayers are being answered and that our house will be ready in time (or a few minutes after).  And I will realize that it’s OK that I missed my run because I’ve just gotten a better workout cleaning.   And I will be dripping in sweat to prove it.  And, one minute before (or after) the realtor and clients pull in the driveway, I will run out the front door with someone’s dirty socks stuffed in my purse.  And I will smile at the realtor like my house always looks this clean and it was no big deal to get it this way.  And then, in a few days, I will do it all over again.

Saturday Evening Post

Our Saturday went something like this: 

·         long run for me

·         10K Habitat for Humanity run for Yuhua

·         soccer game for John

·         wakeboarding  for Jackson

·         shopping with the girls for fabric to make skirts

·         Jackson’s friends at our house working on Eagle Service Project and eating spaghetti

·         Relief Society broadcast and dinner

·         late night sewing so that Brooklyn will have something to wear to church tomorrow

John scored a goal in his first soccer game of the season

Jackson with Brother Burton and friends wakeboarding on the Willamette River

Mission Accomplished

Last night I stealthily snuck into the mother’s lounge at the Stake Center and turned on the intercom so that I could hear Jackson speak at the Stake Priesthood Meeting.  I called James in Idaho and he was able to listen too through my cell phone which I held to the intercom speaker on the ceiling.   Jackson did a great job.  I know he feels very busy with school responsibilities right now, but I’m so grateful he was willing to accept this opportunity to serve others and share his testimony.  No top secret information to report -- but while waiting for Jackson to speak, I heard testimonies shared of the Savior and great talks on basic principles of the gospel. I'm so glad my boys had the opportunity to attend.

Hooray!

Today’s shining star was Yuhua.  He surprised himself and everyone else too by receiving a varsity qualifying time (5K - 19.01) in his second cross country race of the season.  In an interview I had with him after the race he said, “I felt like I was going to explode!  I might have set a high expectation for myself for the rest of the season.”  That was before he actually knew how well he had done.  We had a discussion about what and how long not to eat before a race so that an explosion does not actually occur : )

Eagle Project

Tonight the Young Men came over to help Jackson with his Eagle Project.  Jackson’s project is to build beds for a women’s and children’s shelter in town.  I am so grateful for dedicated youth leaders! 

Embracing the Mud

One tradition that we will miss when we leave Mcminnville is Trask, a true cross country race that celebrates the Oregon mud. For the last three years someone in our family has run Trask and we have had a ball cheering them on. This year Brooklyn and I joined the ranks of those who have endured the course. Savannah begrudgingly sat out with a knee injury, (Lucky for us she got some good pictures) and John held down the fort at the finish line.

Brooklyn competed in the middle school event, a 3K race that covered the same terrain as the longer race minus an infamous hill known as “The Assault.” Jackson, Yuhua, and I ran in the 5K Race. We all survived! Believe me, the other alternative could have been a possibility. I should have considered myself forewarned when I read the information letter sent home.








Brooklyn - before her race





the mud pit

the pain


the competition


the mudslide - much steeper than it appears





 the finish



the moms





 

Go Brooklyn!

We made a 2 ½ hour round trip drive to surprise Brooklyn and provide a cheering section at her first ever cross country meet. We were only able to see about 2 minutes of her run, but it was worth the drive just to see her face as she ran by and then accelerated to pass the girl in front of her.

Back to School

This is the first year in my career as a mother that I have not been ready for the kids to go back to school. I don’t know if it is because the summer weather got off to a late start here in Oregon, or if it is because my house is unusually clean since it’s up for sale, or if it is because our original plan was to be somewhere else at the beginning of the school year, or if it is because my oldest is a senior in high school and getting closer and closer to leaving the nest. I think it is a combination of these things, but mostly I think it is the part about “leaving the nest”. I don’t know where the time has gone, but I want to freeze it right here. (Except for when that senior in high school gets annoyed with my mothering. Then, I want to rewind time.) But like it or not, school started this week and here are the pictures to prove it.

John - 3rd grade

Brooklyn - 6th grade

Savannah - 8th grade

Yuhua - 9th grade

Jackson - 12th grade
Seniors started school a day later than everyone else and so Jackson missed first day photos, but this is about how seriously he took the first day of school. (taken tonight)

The Beginning

A couple of years ago President Monson gave a talk titled "Finding Joy in the Journey".  I remember thinking that I should begin journaling (or blogging) about the important things in my life — first, so that I would not forget and second, so that I might recognize the joy. I’ve been thinking about that idea ever since…


Last May James took a job in Idaho and the plan was that we would get our house sold and move there too as soon as school was out. It’s always good to have a plan, but lately I’ve been learning to be flexible. Our house has not sold according to “the plan” and so the kids and I remain here indefinitely. Thankfully James’ employer has agreed to give him every other Friday off to come home every other weekend. So, while James was home this past weekend, the thought crossed my mind that I should begin journaling, or better yet blogging, about the important moments in our life so that James can share them long distance.

Then, on Monday morning I was driving to Vancouver and listening to an old session of General Conference on CD. When President Monson began to speak and I recognized the talk as the one that had originally prompted me to begin journaling about the joy in my life, I did what I always do at times like this. I called my friend Andrea.  And said, “How do I start a blog?”