Dan asked me what I wanted for my birthday. The only thing I could think of was another pair of jeans that fit right. Last year I bought a pair for my birthday, and they were worth every penny. So, after work he met me at the mall and spent an hour trying to analyze the fit of various pairs of jeans. He is not nearly as brutally honest as a girlfriend would be. His answer to most was "those look good - they look the same as the last ones." But, he was very patient and provided moral support for the not-fun experience of trying on 60 pairs of pants to find the pair that fit correctly. Success!
Totally unrelated . . . today Joseph asked me this. . . .
"Why does Heavenly Father make it storm when you are going to have a picnic? Doesn't He want us to have a picnic? Picnics are good things to do."
When in Utah, we drove up Millcreek Canyon with my parents for a picnic. No sooner had we eaten our KFC than it started to pour rain. This dispelled any hope we had for playing in the stream or relaxing in the woods. So his five-year-old mind has been mulling this over. He knows that Heavenly Father causes the rain. He knows that spending time with family while eating a picnic is good. So, why would He allow rain to ruin a perfectly good, uplifting time?
I tried to explain it like this: "Maybe He wants to see how we will handle it when it rains. Will we complain and make a fuss, or will we be happy and just find something else to do?"
He thought about it and then muttered, "yes, we can be happy and find something else to do, but I still don't know why it can't just be sunny."
Yes, why indeed. I look around me and see so many challenging life situations which spoil a perfectly good "picnic." It seems like the plan ought to be for everything to go smoothly and everyone to be happy - wouldn't our Father in Heaven want this? Maybe not. Maybe the plan is to see how we will handle it when it rains. Maybe that was the plan all along.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Brandon is off to BYU!
My sister Ali told me recently that I should NOT see the movie Toy Story 3 because Andy grows up and goes to college, leaving his childhood behind. She said it made her emotional, and her kids are nowhere near college. I took her at her word and have avoided this movie, as my real life parallels it too closely! My little boy has grown up into a remarkable, mature, independent young man - not sure when that happened.Two weeks ago we drove to Utah to take Brandon to BYU. He attended a Late Summer Honors program for a week before the other freshman arrived (what a great experience - definitely a fun way to start college!) He lived in a "temporary" dorm room in Helaman Halls, rooming with a friend from Vancouver.
Last Saturday the rest of our family met Brandon on campus to help him move into his "real" dorm room in Helaman Halls. His roommate for this school year (a friend from middle school) would not arrive for another four days, with the rest of the freshman. We tried to help Brandon get settled and enjoyed seeing the campus with him and and Grandma and Grandpa Springer. There was a last minute emergency run to Target for more supplies, a final refueling at Cafe Rio, and then we gathered as a family in Brandon's new home.
The dorm room is, unsurprisingly, small and unimpressive, but I think he will love it. I remember well how great it was to have a small piece of the world which was MINE, no matter how small or humble.
We had a family prayer, and then Dan gave Brandon a beautiful father's blessing. The spirit was very strong, witnessing as to the incredible potential and strength Brandon possesses. Bailey, Aubrey, and I fought tears through the blessing, the hugs afterward, and all the way home to Draper. We didn't fight them very well, actually, but we tried to save our most impressive sobs for the car, after we said goodbye to Brandon. It was hard to leave him there alone, even though we are so excited for his opportunities for fun and learning. We will miss his presence, the way he is a peacemaker in our home, his sense of humor, his interesting conversations and insights about life (talking long into the night), and his bone crushing hugs after family prayer.Then next morning we drove straight through to Vancouver. When we arrived, we found beautiful notes addressed to each family member which Brandon had left on each of our pillows. As we were leaving home, Brandon had lingered for awhile in each room, feeling the closure and the transition in his life. He must have taken a minute then to leave the notes.
Good luck on your new adventures, Brandon. There will always be people at home who love you, support you, and will always cheer you on in whatever you do. We love you!
Grandma Springer is in a wheelchair or knee scooter following a major foot surgery. Joseph insisted on pushing the wheelchair around the BYU campus. It was SO hot that day - upper 90 degrees.
Hanging out on Brandon's bed in the dorm room. The cinder block wall is oh-so-comfy to lean against!
As we left the dorm Saturday night, we took this picture of Bailey standing outside the "no women allowed" sign at Brandon's dorm. We are such rule breakers! (Look closely and you can see evidence of tears!) I am standing next to her in the picture, but I edited myself out of the picture. Let's just say that my teary-eyed look was not very attractive.
Yes, it's true. This summer Bailey grew several inches and passed me up in height. She is taking after her Aunt Kara and Aunt Ali!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Eewwwwwww!
I am a pretty brave woman. It generally takes a lot to rattle me. I can handle most "icky" cleaning jobs or parenting issues. In particular, there is no bodily fluid which grosses me out too much. I can handle any sickness, oozing infection, or revolting mess without gagging or passing out.
I have found my nemesis, and it is called . . . . . dead mouse.
We returned from Utah late Sunday night, and I noticed a gamey smell throughout the house. The house had been left clean and all the garbage had been taken out, so that was strange. For the next few days I unpacked, cleaned, and looked for the source of the smell, which had the distinct odor of death. This morning I sniffed deeply and repeatedly in the laundry room, which was clearly the epicenter of the smell. Suddenly, I saw it. A tail sticking up out of the drain of the utility sink. Flies feasting on a rotting mouse who had caught its head in the drain.
This is what I did . . . . . SCREAMED, jumped up and down in a really wacky hyperventilation dance, and yelled, "eeewwwww" while fighting back severe nausea. There was no way, NO WAY, I was going to touch that thing, but I wanted it removed from the sink. I have never seen a mouse in my house, alive or dead. I hope I never do again.
What did I do? First I found a bowl to carefully drop over the drain to trap the offending, disgusting rodent and its attendant flies. This was in hopes of trapping some of the nauseating smell. Then, I shut the door to the laundry room, turned on the exhaust fan, and shivered every time I thought about what was behind the closed door. I seriously could not think about going any closer again.
Dan is out of town in NYC, so I couldn't call on him for help in this regard. I mean, it sounds terribly sexist, but this is definitely something a man has to deal with. Mostly because I can't deal with it and I am a woman, so it must be a man thing to do, right? (There are a few other tasks which I firmly believe belong to men: killing spiders that are hairy or larger than a quarter and plunging a plugged toilet. Anything else, I will gladly handle.)
Joseph's 5 year old friend (over for a playdate) offered to retrieve the mouse for me, but I couldn't bring myself to allow him to corrupt his innocence. Later on, the dad of Joseph's friend (and a good friend of ours) saved the day. He donned two sets of gloves and armed himself with plastic bags, removed the mouse, and took it to the outside garbage. Whew. I might be able to sleep tonight. That is, as soon as I set mousetraps to catch any friends of the disgusting rodent who might still be hiding out in our house. I say it again . . . . .eeeewwwwwww!
I have found my nemesis, and it is called . . . . . dead mouse.
We returned from Utah late Sunday night, and I noticed a gamey smell throughout the house. The house had been left clean and all the garbage had been taken out, so that was strange. For the next few days I unpacked, cleaned, and looked for the source of the smell, which had the distinct odor of death. This morning I sniffed deeply and repeatedly in the laundry room, which was clearly the epicenter of the smell. Suddenly, I saw it. A tail sticking up out of the drain of the utility sink. Flies feasting on a rotting mouse who had caught its head in the drain.
This is what I did . . . . . SCREAMED, jumped up and down in a really wacky hyperventilation dance, and yelled, "eeewwwww" while fighting back severe nausea. There was no way, NO WAY, I was going to touch that thing, but I wanted it removed from the sink. I have never seen a mouse in my house, alive or dead. I hope I never do again.
What did I do? First I found a bowl to carefully drop over the drain to trap the offending, disgusting rodent and its attendant flies. This was in hopes of trapping some of the nauseating smell. Then, I shut the door to the laundry room, turned on the exhaust fan, and shivered every time I thought about what was behind the closed door. I seriously could not think about going any closer again.
Dan is out of town in NYC, so I couldn't call on him for help in this regard. I mean, it sounds terribly sexist, but this is definitely something a man has to deal with. Mostly because I can't deal with it and I am a woman, so it must be a man thing to do, right? (There are a few other tasks which I firmly believe belong to men: killing spiders that are hairy or larger than a quarter and plunging a plugged toilet. Anything else, I will gladly handle.)
Joseph's 5 year old friend (over for a playdate) offered to retrieve the mouse for me, but I couldn't bring myself to allow him to corrupt his innocence. Later on, the dad of Joseph's friend (and a good friend of ours) saved the day. He donned two sets of gloves and armed himself with plastic bags, removed the mouse, and took it to the outside garbage. Whew. I might be able to sleep tonight. That is, as soon as I set mousetraps to catch any friends of the disgusting rodent who might still be hiding out in our house. I say it again . . . . .eeeewwwwwww!
Monday, August 9, 2010
How Firm a Foundation
Six months of practice. Over 2,000 youth from a radius of 200 miles. Ten dances ranging from hip-hop to jazz to waltz to disco to ballet.
Last January our Stake began preparing for a multi-region Dance Festival. It was a huge undertaking and involved practices almost every week. As a Young Women leader, I wondered at times whether it would ever come together! The Dance Festival was held in a football stadium on the other side of Vancouver on June 24-26, the week after school ended.
I helped behind the scenes at each performances, except for one show, which I watched from the stands with the rest of the family. It was a very different experience to see the entire show from the audience. It was exhilarating, fun, impressive, spiritual, inspiring . . .
To start the show all of the youth run onto the field and immediately started an energetic dance. That's when I began to cry. It was touching to see all the youth, from different areas and of different ages, performing together and supporting each other. I knew the many hours of sacrifice involved in the practices, and I recognized the deliberate choices the youth had made to participate in something uplifting rather than the many other activities the world offers. In an area with a low population of LDS families, it was really cool to see so many youth with similar values working and dancing and laughing together.
As one of the oldest group of kids, Brandon performed in two dances, a disco and a waltz. Luckily, my zoom lens of my camera caught some of his smiles.
The above pictures were from the disco. Below, the waltz.
Bailey was part of a jazz dance with the other Beehive-age girls.
For the final number of the show, all the youth came onto the field and sang "How Firm a Foundation." Bailey was one of the few youth chosen to stand at the front and sign the words to the hymn.
During the second verse of the song, the missionaries serving throughout our area marched onto the field holding flags which represented the temples. They surrounded the youth, and everyone sang the last verses of the hymn. It was a breathtaking sight. 
I had a very spiritual moment where I felt the presence of a "bubble" of power and righteousness extending over the stadium. It felt as if the combined goodness and testimonies of the youth on the field were enough to repel the effect of the adversary, if only for awhile. I was cognizant of the power of righteousness to combat the evil of the world. I felt privileged to be a mom to two of the youth who are so valiant. I felt the power of LDS youth supporting each other. I felt a strengthening of my testimony in the restored gospel and in my Savior, Jesus Christ. I felt the love of my Savior and His desire to help me and my family.
The words of this hymn have always been one of my favorites. They are even more meaningful to me now. I will never forget the power exuded from a group of youth as they sang these words on a cool summer evening in Vancouver.
How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word;
What more can he say than to you he hath said?
You, who unto Jesus, for refuge have fled.
Last January our Stake began preparing for a multi-region Dance Festival. It was a huge undertaking and involved practices almost every week. As a Young Women leader, I wondered at times whether it would ever come together! The Dance Festival was held in a football stadium on the other side of Vancouver on June 24-26, the week after school ended.
I helped behind the scenes at each performances, except for one show, which I watched from the stands with the rest of the family. It was a very different experience to see the entire show from the audience. It was exhilarating, fun, impressive, spiritual, inspiring . . .
To start the show all of the youth run onto the field and immediately started an energetic dance. That's when I began to cry. It was touching to see all the youth, from different areas and of different ages, performing together and supporting each other. I knew the many hours of sacrifice involved in the practices, and I recognized the deliberate choices the youth had made to participate in something uplifting rather than the many other activities the world offers. In an area with a low population of LDS families, it was really cool to see so many youth with similar values working and dancing and laughing together.
As one of the oldest group of kids, Brandon performed in two dances, a disco and a waltz. Luckily, my zoom lens of my camera caught some of his smiles.
The above pictures were from the disco. Below, the waltz.
Bailey was part of a jazz dance with the other Beehive-age girls.
For the final number of the show, all the youth came onto the field and sang "How Firm a Foundation." Bailey was one of the few youth chosen to stand at the front and sign the words to the hymn.
During the second verse of the song, the missionaries serving throughout our area marched onto the field holding flags which represented the temples. They surrounded the youth, and everyone sang the last verses of the hymn. It was a breathtaking sight. 
I had a very spiritual moment where I felt the presence of a "bubble" of power and righteousness extending over the stadium. It felt as if the combined goodness and testimonies of the youth on the field were enough to repel the effect of the adversary, if only for awhile. I was cognizant of the power of righteousness to combat the evil of the world. I felt privileged to be a mom to two of the youth who are so valiant. I felt the power of LDS youth supporting each other. I felt a strengthening of my testimony in the restored gospel and in my Savior, Jesus Christ. I felt the love of my Savior and His desire to help me and my family. The words of this hymn have always been one of my favorites. They are even more meaningful to me now. I will never forget the power exuded from a group of youth as they sang these words on a cool summer evening in Vancouver.
How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word;
What more can he say than to you he hath said?
You, who unto Jesus, for refuge have fled.
In every condition - in sickness in health,
In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth,
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.
Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed!
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes:
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never - no, never, no, never forsake!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
What else did we do in the summertime?
The end of June Rich and Lindsey and their six cute kids visited us. They had taken a month long trip from Arizona, up through Utah, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, and then over to Washington. After leaving us they traveled south, through the Redwood Forest, to San Francisco, and then home to Arizona.
While at our house we showed them a few of the beautiful sights around us, including Ape Caves, which is at the base of Mt. St. Helens, and the gorgeous lakes at the base of the volcano. We also took them down to the beach house in Depoe Bay, one of our favorite places anywhere! It was a wonderful visit. They kids all got along like best friends and we loved hanging out with their family. We love to have company!
Posing outside our house, Paij, Sydney, Aubrey, and Bailey.
Joseph and Carson were great buddies.
The beautiful Oregon Coast.
These are heaven on earth . . . . Hood strawberries, which happened to be available the week we drove down to the beach. We bought a flat at a roadside berry stand and the kids ate almost the entire flat by the time we arrived at the beach house!
Brandon and I found a favorite spot at the top of tall outcropping of volcanic rock on Fogarty Beach. We sat for a long time, watching the waves crash and talking about how life is going to change now that he is headed off to college.
Logan found a starfish in one of the tidepools.
Bailey and Paij at Fogarty Creek Beach.
Dan and I standing in a little cave, hollowed out by water and wind.
Joseph spent a long time "conducting the waves." He would bring his arms down dramatically and command the waves to crash. He said he was trying to be like Mickey on Fantasia.
The girls at the beach.
Rich and Lindsey. Rich took most of the pictures on this blog posting. He had just gotten a new camera, and took some great pictures during the trip!
On Sunday afternoon after church we drove to downtown Newport and walked along the waterfront. We stopped at an area where the sea lions congregate and watched them for awhile. They are noisy creatures!
Even though the water is freezing, the kids splashed around in it several times.
Brandon drawing in the sand, just before injuring his foot by picking what he thought was a beach ball (look closely in the right side of the picture above). It was actually a buoy, and very heavy and hard. He hyperextended and jammed his big toe. We thought he had broken bones because he was in so much pain, but he improved quickly over the next few days.
The path to the "secret beach" is pretty precarious (which is what makes it so private), so Dan and Rich had to help Brandon hop up the cliff, down the hill, through the brush and the pebble beach, and to the walking paths in Little Whale Cove, where we had borrowed a wheelchair to push him back to the beach house.
Rich and Lindsey carried their stroller up and down the steep path to secret beach so they would have a place to strap the babies while everyone played.
After returning from the beach we took Rich and Lindsey and family to see the south side of Mt. St.Helens, which is breathtakingly beautiful. We walked through the Ape Caves, which are underground lava tube caves.
While at our house we showed them a few of the beautiful sights around us, including Ape Caves, which is at the base of Mt. St. Helens, and the gorgeous lakes at the base of the volcano. We also took them down to the beach house in Depoe Bay, one of our favorite places anywhere! It was a wonderful visit. They kids all got along like best friends and we loved hanging out with their family. We love to have company!
Posing outside our house, Paij, Sydney, Aubrey, and Bailey.
Joseph and Carson were great buddies.
The beautiful Oregon Coast.
These are heaven on earth . . . . Hood strawberries, which happened to be available the week we drove down to the beach. We bought a flat at a roadside berry stand and the kids ate almost the entire flat by the time we arrived at the beach house!
Brandon and I found a favorite spot at the top of tall outcropping of volcanic rock on Fogarty Beach. We sat for a long time, watching the waves crash and talking about how life is going to change now that he is headed off to college.
Logan found a starfish in one of the tidepools.
Bailey and Paij at Fogarty Creek Beach.
Dan and I standing in a little cave, hollowed out by water and wind.
Joseph spent a long time "conducting the waves." He would bring his arms down dramatically and command the waves to crash. He said he was trying to be like Mickey on Fantasia.
The girls at the beach.
Rich and Lindsey. Rich took most of the pictures on this blog posting. He had just gotten a new camera, and took some great pictures during the trip!
On Sunday afternoon after church we drove to downtown Newport and walked along the waterfront. We stopped at an area where the sea lions congregate and watched them for awhile. They are noisy creatures!
Even though the water is freezing, the kids splashed around in it several times.
Brandon drawing in the sand, just before injuring his foot by picking what he thought was a beach ball (look closely in the right side of the picture above). It was actually a buoy, and very heavy and hard. He hyperextended and jammed his big toe. We thought he had broken bones because he was in so much pain, but he improved quickly over the next few days.
The path to the "secret beach" is pretty precarious (which is what makes it so private), so Dan and Rich had to help Brandon hop up the cliff, down the hill, through the brush and the pebble beach, and to the walking paths in Little Whale Cove, where we had borrowed a wheelchair to push him back to the beach house.
Rich and Lindsey carried their stroller up and down the steep path to secret beach so they would have a place to strap the babies while everyone played.
After returning from the beach we took Rich and Lindsey and family to see the south side of Mt. St.Helens, which is breathtakingly beautiful. We walked through the Ape Caves, which are underground lava tube caves.
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