Joy

1999

Last summer while skiing in the sunshine across Lake Cour de alene, I had the distinct impression that my friendship with Andrea and Kelly is one of those compensating blessings in my life.  Over the weekend, I was reminded of this and felt grateful that our friendship is a shared priority.

Lughesworth is a term invented by Jackson and Eli to describe our combined families.  Over the past 10 or more years the Lughesworths have had a ton of fun vacationing together – necessary because we only ever lived in the same town for about a year.   No matter the set-backs, Lughesworth reunions press on.  Despite financial trauma, the rotavirus, head lice, broken fingers, a broken wrist, broken boats, stomach flus, strep, newly adopted children who don’t speak English, post surgery recoveries, mishaps with vacation rentals, distance, scheduling conflicts, winter storms, and challenges that can’t be spoken of here (but this would be more fun to write if they could), Lughesworth reunions do not postpone or cancel.  (The best was the year we picked up RID shampoo for everyone on the way to the coast.) Thank goodness! Because these friends always provide the rejuvenation I need to carry on. 

Our Lughesworth Thanksgiving weekend was a success.  This Thanksgiving I felt thankful for true friends who have stuck with us through thick and thin.  Thanksgiving Day was pure joy – a successful feast to share with our families made and cleaned up in the company of friends.  We cooked enough food for an army: 2 turkeys, 30 lbs of mashed potatoes, 2 pans of sweet potatoes, 3 pans of stuffing, lots and lots green beans, 108 rolls, so much raspberry fluff salad that it became required eating at every meal, and pies galore.  We may have overdone it on every dish except the rolls.   The fluff salad lasted until the bitter end and as I was locking up the beach house to head home, I noticed a trail of pink fluff salad up the front steps.  The fluff salad is a lot like our friendship – enduring.

2010

More photos and highlights of our weekend Coming soon…   



Debt of Gratitude

I’m not sure how you thank people like this. 

Jackson had planned to get his Eagle Project done over the summer after we moved to Idaho.  When we were still here at the end of July, I suggested that he pick a project that could be completed quickly and get started before we moved.  Jackson contacted a local women’s and children’s shelter to find out what they were in need of and see if he could do a drive for them.  When he found out that they were in need of beds, he decided that maybe he could build some.  We discussed this idea, and of course I was thrilled that he had finally decided on a project that he felt good about.  I think we were both naïve about the time commitment though. 

Since James was in Idaho and I had no idea how to build a bed, I suggested that Jackson contact Brother Brooking, a true craftsman, and really good friend.  Jackson found a pattern for a twin sized bed online and called Brother Brooking to see if he would be willing to give him some advice on how to go about this project.  In hindsight, I don’t know if I would have allowed Jackson to contact Brother Brooking if I'd had any idea what we were really asking of him.  Brother Brooking agreed to help and he and Jackson spent hours planning, pricing wood, buying wood, sanding, building a prototype, and then building the beds.  Jackson knew he was going to learn how to build beds the right way when Brother Brooking had him sand all the wood before he even made the first cut. 

The Brookings fed Jackson meals and put up with a big mess in their garage for several weeks while the beds were being built.  It was necessary to work at their house since they had all the tools.  All total, I am sure that Brother Brooking spent over a hundred hours helping Jackson with this project.  

Eventually the beds were brought to our house and Jackson invited friends and youth group leaders to help finish the sanding and staining.  Siblings were involved too.  Two weeks ago the beds were completed and the Brookings came over with another friend in our ward to help Jackson load them onto a trailer and deliver them.  It was pouring down (and I do mean pouring down) rain.  These friends came cheerfully and spent another couple hours with Jackson delivering the project. 

Later that evening, I asked Jackson if he realized how many hours Brother Brooking had spent helping him with this project.  He replied that he did and that he was so grateful.  I told Jackson that I hoped someday he would spend hundreds of hours helping some young boy complete his Eagle project.  He said, “I will.”  We have all learned about a lot more than building beds. 

Who's in charge?

Why is it that days like yesterday (where I go to bed feeling like a good mother because I spent quality time with one child while the other children were having a ball together luging down our stairs) are always followed by days like today where I wake-up wanting to know, "Who the heck is in charge around here?"

"Oh ya."

"Me."

The house was a disaster this morning, three out of five children left important items at home that required me to make extra trips to school, and there were complaints of no clean socks.  On days like today, I’m confident that I should be fired.  Good thing I have some job security. 

Winter Olympics

Jackson and I went to Vancouver today for an appointment and then stopped in Portland to do a little shopping on the way home.  I really enjoyed the time with Jackson, and apparently the younger kids really enjoyed the unsupervised time at home.  While Jackson and I were away, our stairs were transformed into a luge track.  Here is what we came home to…

Of course Jackson and I had to try it out too.  James, the kids insisted that I post this video for you. 

Corn

At 7:30am this morning Yuhua and I headed to a breakfast at the High School where he was honored as student of the month.  His biology teacher/cross country coach had lots of nice things to say about him and his work ethic.  Apparently, all of the kids in Yuhua's biology class were given seeds to plant corn at the beginning of the semester.  Each student grew their corn in an individual pot and after 3 months all the corn has died except for one pot.   Yuhua’s corn is still thriving.  Mr. Downs said that last week someone uprooted Yuhua’s corn plant, and when Yuhua came to class he noticed this and carefully replanted the corn.  When Mr. Downs mentioned that the corn was starting to outgrow its pot, Yuhua came in the next day with a bigger pot and soil to transplant the corn.  I was grinning during this story because this is sooooo Yuhua.  I was also grinning because I remembered the morning that Yuhua took the bigger pot and soil to school, how he asked me if we had a big pot and soil he could take to school, how I wondered why on earth he needed to cart a big dirty pot and soil to school at the last minute, how I never asked him why, how he never told me, and how lucky I was to be sitting there finally understanding what was going on in his head. I was so proud of him.  I made a mental note to myself not to squash my children’s ambitions when I am impatient and clueless about what is going on in their heads.  Usually what is going on in there is great stuff.  It’s just really hard to tell sometimes. 

Dads Are Great

James was able to come home for a visit last weekend and boy were we happy to see him.  Our water tasted bad and Jackson’s “third family car” was making noises.  James noticed many other items that needed attending to and also noticed that the children needed love and attention.  Thankfully he whipped things back into shape around here, spent Saturday morning helping Jackson make his car “Hughes worthy”, and spent some quality time with the rest of the kids.    I was so thankful for his reassuring smile as I waited to speak at conference and for his listening ear as I had lots to share with him.  James, why didn’t we take a single picture?  Next time…

Because I Love You

On Saturday night, I spoke at Stake Conference.   I’m posting this excerpt from my talk because it happened last week, and it's one of those moments I want to remember.  Don’t worry, I told the story about the cops right before I told this story --just to keep things real  ; )

Last Sunday, my bishop taught a 5^th Sunday lesson on parenting.  He said at the beginning of the class that if we remembered nothing else from the class that we should remember to do all things in love.  During the lesson I reflected on an experience with one of my children (John) the day before where I had confiscated some Halloween candy and given a lecture about responsibility.  I had not done that with much love. 

When I was tucking this child in bed Sunday night after the lesson, I told him I was sorry for the way in which I’d handled the candy issue the day before.  I asked if he knew why I’d taken away the candy, and he said, ”because you didn’t want my teeth to rot out?”  I told him yes, but there was a bigger reason too.   He said, “because you don’t want to have to pay for new ones?”  I said yes, but there is an even bigger reason.  He looked at me like he had no idea where I was going with this, and then I said, “because I love you!”  He grinned and then he gave me some candy that he was hiding to eat after I’d tucked him in.  (My bishop is so wise – at last the secret to effective parenting…  It’s actually the secret to a lot of things.)

"Our Mom Has Been Pulled Over by the Cops" and Grumpy Teenager

As Savannah and I were driving home from Young Women in Excellence on Wednesday night, I made a rolling stop at the stop sign by our house… which resulted in my being pulled over in front of our house…which resulted in my children watching the whole trauma from our front windows… which resulted in this video, courtesy of Yuhua …which made me laugh because it is so classic.  Parental Guidance is suggested.