Visits

Marley and her best buddy Graham had a joyful reunion yesterday after a week of not seeing each other.  I imposed a quarantine after a suspected exposure to stomach flu.  My Aunt, Uncle and grandmother are coming to visit today and, for reasons I won't go into, I'm a bit of a freak about getting grandparents sick.

Needless to say, she was happy to see him:).

Our honored guests are coming to town to hear Eric Jr. sing in the annual spring concert of the Atlanta Boy Choir tonight.  He's been rehearsing his heart out in preparation, and it's sure to be a beautiful performance, as always.

We've been doing lots of scrubbing, grocery shopping and happy anticipating.  In between, we've made visitis to the ER, urgent care and the pediatrician...mountain biking accident, broken finger, ruptured eardrum.  Word to the wise: when playing kickball, don't use a twiggy bush for first base- your ear will thank you!

After our family visit, we get to be stop number one for our very dear friends Cindy and her kids, on their long trip to Oregon.  Cindy pretty much saved my sanity when we made our departure from Durham, so I'm going to relish the opportunity to be on the giving end this time.

Happy weekend:).

Good news and bad news

The good news- the boys are now able to do their own laundry, from start to finish.

The bad news- this is a list of what I found in the dryer the other day:

1 ziploc bag

1 ball of tin foil

3 paperclips

1 jolly rancher wrapper

1 clementine peel

1 bottled water cap

foil from 1 chocolate coin

1 rusty nail

5 rocks

1 broken rubber band

1 stick

The good news- clearly, they're not littering.

Tune my heart

I had grand plans to print bingo sheets and set out bowls of healthy treats to keep my kids engaged during General Conference this weekend.  It's one of those things I'm never sure about, having not grown up in the church- do you force them to sit and watch?  All four sessions?  Are bribes okay?

I went with a yes to all three, and since I never did find the time to prep anything, I made the rash promise during the opening hymn on Saturday morning of a candy bar for each full session watched.  (By 'watched' I mean, they stayed in the room the whole time- I'm not one to set the bar too high.)  Brigham's response to my offer was a shrewd, "king-size?"

Sure, why not.

You know what?  It worked like a charm.  They mostly rolled around on the floor and stared at the ceiling, but every now and again something caught their attention, and I call that success.  One thing that caught everyone's attention was the mention of our Stake President as a newly-called area authority seventy, which prompted Eric to text our Bishop and suggest that he start growing a beard.  Our Stake President is AMAZING- we'll miss him.  We also got excited to hear Elder Halleck speak, since he was the general authority who interviewed Eric during the BYU recruitment process.

I always enjoy pulling out my journal because the boys are so impressed by my ability to write in small, straight lines on blank paper.  Hey, I'll take it.  Marley's learning to write her letters, so I designated a half-page for her to "take notes".  Other than changing her clothes several times, she mostly cavorted with her friend/soul-mate, Graham.  Or Grammie, as she calls him, which never fails to make me laugh since that's what she calls Eric's mom.  Tracy, my friend/soul-mate and Graham's mother, said he has one friend who just calls him Grandma.  Love it.

I'm off to "re-listen" to President Monson's talk, as I may have dozed a bit during the Sunday morning session.  But I definitely woke up for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's incredible rendition of Come Thou Fount.

I'm always sad when conference weekend is over, but happy to have inspiration and instruction to last another six months.

Brigham, young

My children are extraordinary.   Of course we all are, we just don't often recognize it in one another.  After all, we can't all walk around in a daze marveling at how extraordinary everyone is all the time- we'd never get anything done.  Maybe it's a special privilege of motherhood to have eyes to see the incredible, unique beauty of a few souls.

This little boy helped his chess team win the regional tournament.  And made some pretty cute personalized portrait valentines for his classmates.  And he's currently working on a life size clay sculpture of Lance Armstrong's head.  Not joking.  Definitely going on our mantel.

Recently I asked him if he was worried about moving, and he said that he was, a little bit, but he was excited for the good things- like the beach, surfing and Aunt Laura and Uncle Adam close by.  He amazes me with his resilience and optimism.

He picks and picks and picks at his dinner each night until we put him on the clock, and then he manages to shovel everything in in the last thirty seconds.  He loves to borrow my hammer (it's pink) to smash rocks open in the driveway.  His teacher emailed me to tell me how beautiful his cursive is.

Sometimes I smile to myself when I think that I get to be the mother of this amazing human being.  It's a job I love.  Thanks Briggie, for making it so fun:).

Still no winter coat, but now I need a wetsuit

Well, the best laid plans....

We had a bit of a crazy week, and it ended with a pretty major change.  Through no fault of anyone involved, our situation with Cal Poly changed, and we found ourselves contemplating a move to Utah.  I never thought I would say that.  The cold weather and (I'm so sorry if you're from Utah!) the landscape are just not up my alley.  The thing is, these BYU people, they just have to open their mouths and they've suddenly got you right where they want you- they are that nice.

Then a door we thought had closed opened again and suddenly our offer from UC Santa Cruz (the one we had originally turned down to go to Cal Poly) was back on the table.  It felt right, so we went for it.  It broke our hearts to let go of the chance to live in San Luis Obispo, but I do believe there were some bonds formed that will play some role in our future, so it was all for the best.  We're off to put flowers in our hair, eat granola and learn to surf! 

Do you think we should changed the dog's name to Banana Slug?  Or maybe Pogonip?

It's good I held off on buying a new winter coat...

...because I won't need one where we're going!  Eric accepted a job at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.  Cal Poly is not to be confused with Cal Tech- it's much more small-time, and we love it all the more for that.  The people Eric will be working with are some of the nicest I've ever met, and the students are amazing.  Most of all, we're ecstatic to be moving to a place that we think is perfect for raising our family.  It's magic.

We had three great options, and it was the hardest decision either of us has ever made.  But now that we've made it, we are SO EXCITED!  Bonus: we happen to have a dog named after their mascot:).  Go Mustangs!

Thoughts before bed...

Thanks to Google Cloud, I can see the world through Eric's eyes while he's away.  Pictures pop up in iphoto and I have to stare at them for a few moments to connect the image with where I know he's been.  I think this is a view of an N.Y.C. street from the Highline.

Right now he's on a plane back to the West Coast.  At first I thought I had the hard job, staying home with the kids while he ate steak for dinner every night.  Then we tagged along on a trip and I realized I would never want to trade places.  Can you imagine selling yourself and your work for an entire day, from the time you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at night?  Then doing it again, and again, and again?  Also- he's gained ten pounds.

The kids and I were late to church this morning so we had to sit in the foyer until the sacrament was over.  I wanted to shout with joy when a woman in an electric wheelchair approached the front door and Eric popped up of his own accord to open it for her!  Out of the corner of my eye I caught Brigham staring intently at her as she buzzed passed.  I couldn't resist asking him, "You're thinking how great it would be to have one of those motorized chairs to ride around in aren't you?"  He smiled and admitted that he was.

After dinner we had a family meeting, during which it was mentioned that Brigham needs to work on flushing the toilet more regularly.  We planned playdates this week and made snickerdoodles to have for after-school snacks.  Then we talked about the possibility of making homemade lunchables to take to school.  We hit an impasse over the cheese- Brigham is anti-unmelted-cheddar, and Eric is anti-provolone.  I might try making my own little pizza crusts for the pizza version.  They both like mozzarella.

For some reason, my heart is so full tonight.  My sweet children and my dear friends here, our wonderful, crazy ward, this beautiful city, and a bright, wide future- all of it seems like too much.  But I'm too tired to analyze it, so I guess I'll just leave it at that and say goodnight.