MaeLyn's Musings

School has been in session for over a week now, and we are settling into the routines for the school year. Here is an update on each of us:  Peter just started third grade. He loves playing with LEGOs, and this morning, he showed me a town he had drawn, with all the LEGO characters inhabiting it. Peter's LEGO world Peter has had difficulty adjusting to an earlier wake-up time, and has frequently needed to take naps in the afternoons after school. He is enjoying being a cub scout, and he was awarded his Bobcat patch at our pack meeting on Tuesday. He found a leaf bug in his room yesterday, and caught it and put it in a jar. The leaf bug Joshua began 5th grade. He loves the erector set he received for his birthday, and spends a lot of time playing with it. He is also into Ninjas these days. This has meant practice fighting, as well as using his erector set pieces to build Ninja tools. Josh being a ninja this morning John is in 7th grade. His classes include ...

I made pickles yesterday. Our garden this year contained, among other things, four pickling cucumber plants. By yesterday, we had about fifty 3 inch long cucumbers. I've never made pickles before, so I had to do some research to figure out how, and I ended up purchasing a Mrs. Wages Pickling Mix, and following the directions on the packet. I started by washing the jars and lids in hot, sudsy water, and keeping them hot in almost boiling water. (I used my biggest stock pot, with a rack in the bottom to set the jars on.) Then I prepared the cucumbers, slicing the more curly ones, and cutting the straighter ones into long spears. Once the cucumbers were ready, I combined the pickling mix, water and vinegar in a pot over medium heat, and stirred it until the mix was dissolved and the brine was starting to boil. Then I took a jar from the hot water, loaded it with cucumber pieces, poured the brine in until there was only about 1/2 inch of air in the top, then put on a jar top an...

In my personal scripture reading the last few weeks, I've been studying faith. I began with the normal faith scriptures: And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. ( Ether 12:6 ) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ( Hebrews 11:1 ) At one point, however, I turned to the Bible Dictionary, and was there referred to the Lectures on Faith, and so I spent a few days reading these lectures, and I think it has broadened my understanding of what faith is and how it works. According to the Lectures, faith is a principle of action. It is the cause behind everything that we do. (We would never plant a seed if we didn't have some faith that it would grow, or ask a question if we had no hope that it might be answer...

The idea for this drawing came while I was lying in bed last night waiting to fall asleep. You'd think that getting up at 5:30am, walking over three miles, plus traipsing all over Hannah's high school to meet her teachers and not napping during the day would help me be tired enough to go to sleep at night, but apparently not.

This is my most recent Photoshop project. My problem now is I've used all the people and pets that live in the house, and I can't decide on three more people/animals/whatever to use for the last three cards. Ideas I've had so far are: Duplicate people I've already done... but I only need three more, and how would I decide who? The house, the car, and something else? Extended family members, but again, how would I decide who? A few of Peter's stuffed animals... He's got a lot to choose from, but they've been confiscated for the week... The last three things the cats have brought in: a bird, a dragonfly and a grasshopper... that's a possibility, but I'd have to find pictures of some other dragonfly and grasshopper. They weren't very pretty by the time I found them lying on the living room floor and took them back outside.  What do you think I should do?

It's the first day of school. I have one child still at home who doesn't have to be at school until noon, but the other three are all at school, and the house is relatively quiet. It's the first day of school. I woke up at 5:00 this morning to "practice." Hannah starts seminary tomorrow and we plan to get all the kids up at 5:30am for family scripture reading before she has to leave. I went to bed early last night, and the night before, and the night before that, but spent all three nights lying awake for hours before I could get to sleep. I hope my body figures out the new schedule soon. It's the first day of school. I walked Josh and Peter to school this morning, and enjoyed being out in the morning sun. I handed them off to their teachers in the courtyard outside, waited until the classes began filing inside the building, and then took off for home. I hope they have fun today. It's the first day of school. Hannah went back to bed after scripture r...

I am grateful that my mom taught me to play the piano when I was young. I don't remember her giving me many formal piano lessons; she probably tried, and I wouldn't practice. But, she did teach me the basics, and whenever I had a question about what a symbol or something meant, she was ready to help. I am thankful for my mom and her patience and encouragement. When I was a teenager, I remember receiving opportunities to play in church. I accompanied the Young Women during a musical number in Sacrament Meeting. I played for a baptism. I played for seminary. I am thankful that my leaders gave me opportunities to play, and that they and my peers had patience and understanding when my playing wasn't perfect. I am grateful for the motivation to practice and improve my skills. As a missionary, I came to realize the impact that music can have. I am grateful for a mission president who encouraged us to begin every discussion with a song. I am grateful for opportunities to ser...

Yesterday morning, Hannah and I walked to the high school for a mandatory freshman orientation meeting, and then filed through long lines to turn in papers, get her schedule, have her picture taken, have her vision and hearing checked and get her ID card. The entire process took about an hour and thirty eight minutes. Then we walked home again. Last night the boys had their back-to school night, as well, and once again, I got to walk to the school, sit through an orientation meeting, find out schedules and teachers, visit those teachers and fill out paperwork, and finally walk home again. The orientation meetings covered exciting topics like pick-up and drop-off procedures, dress codes, tardy policies, and school staff, most of which information was included in packets that were mailed to us a couple weeks ago. I am looking forward to school starting again. I think that my kids will appreciate having regular schedules. I think having a reason to get dressed in the morning will be...

Ninety-nine years ago yesterday, the Panama Canal was opened. To celebrate, Hannah made a cake and cupcakes. Panama Canal 1914

Peter's latest game involves a restaurant in our playroom/patio. His customers are stuffed animals, and he even has arranged two tables - one for the bigger animals and one for the smaller animals, and two kitchens - one for the big chef, and one for the little chefs and the dishwashers. table for the little animals table for the big animals big chef in his kitchen Little chefs and the dishwashers

Last night, my Relief Society activity was on cake decorating. The young woman who was our teacher brought small cakes for everyone, so we could try the techniques she taught us. I am not an expert at this by any means, but here are a few of the things she taught us: Here are the cakes that I decorated. Put a small glob of frosting on the platter before you put the cake on it to help keep it in place. Place a huge glob of frosting on the center of the cake and spread out from there. If you need to add more frosting, add it to a spot that already has some frosting on it. Frost the top first, then the sides. Some cakes - like chocolate - are crummier than others. A crumb coat can be made to help: Spread a thin layer of frosting over the cake, let it stiffen completely, then put on another thicker layer of frosting on top of that.  When the frosting has dried to a point that if you touch it, it doesn't stick to your finger, take something flat (we used index cards) and smooth...

The boys have a new favorite place to play. This is one of the planter boxes in front of the house.They have dug to the bottom, created volcanoes and waterfalls, forts and rivers. They dig with plastic spoons and use rocks and sticks as props. They come inside with mud splattered from head to toe, but they are having fun, enjoying the last week of their summer break.

I taught Relief Society this last Sunday. The lesson was chapter 16 " That We May Become One ". I used most of the questions suggested at the end of the lessons, but here are some of my thoughts and ideas in addition to those. I would subtitle this lesson, "How to Build Zion". See Moses 7:18 . What does it mean to be of one heart and one mind? For the first four sections, I had a visual aid that represented each section, and I let a class member chose a visual aid to determine what section I would talk about next. From the Life of Lorenzo Snow I used a stuffed cow to represent this section, because of the story of the man who gave his only cow to help saints to emigrate to Zion. I thought it inspiring that these saints had suffered so much and lost so much and had so very little, and yet they gave cheerfully of what they had. This is an amazing example to me.  Teachings of Lorenzo Snow When we are united in the gospel, the Lord shows the world His ch...

On Saturday, Josh attended a birthday party for a boy in his primary class. I feel kind of guilty, because Hannah is the only one of my children who has ever had a birthday party with friends. I really don't like planning parties. Also on Saturday, Hannah and John got to attend "Youth for Excellence" (formerly Best of Especially for Youth) where they got to listen to speakers and eat pizza for dinner. They both seem to have had fun. The speakers were Brandon C Goss and Lili Dehoyos Anderson. Yesterday, John was called and set apart as 1st counselor in the Deacons Quorum presidency. I taught Relief Society again yesterday. I'll post some of my notes on it soon. Last night we attended a seminary kickoff fireside. It is amazing to me that I have a child old enough to be in high school and attend seminary! Her teacher seems like an interesting person. It is kind of cool that we have lived in this stake long enough to have gotten to know a lot of the people in the ...

Friday evening we had our annual ward swim party. According to tradition, the day was cool, with a hint of looming showers. Hannah chose to go skating with friends instead of coming with us, but she made fudge for us to bring as our contribution to the food. We ate hotdogs and hamburgers, and enjoyed salads, chips, and a variety of desserts. The boys braved the cold to actually swim. (I kept a towel wrapped around my shoulders most of the time because I was cold - not even wet!) John dives! Josh jumps off the diving board John comes down the slide Peter having fun

At times throughout my life I have wished that my hair had some natural curl to it. Now I am discovering hairs on my head that do have a natural, kinky curl - they are white, and I don't like them.

Yesterday, Hannah and John got to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead . This was John's first time, and I was excited for him. They both had a good experience. They returned home around noon, Hannah went into her room to change, and after a few minutes, she started screaming - there was a bird flying around her room! I went into Hannah's room, and there was the bird, a tiny sparrow, sitting quite composed on her curtain rod. We found a bucket with a lid that we thought was big enough to get the bird into, and I started to creep up on the bird. The bird sat there calmly, waited until I was close enough to almost reach it, and then flew right into my face! Aaaaaaargh! When it got out of my face, it flew into Hannah's closet and perched on the top shelf. Again I slowly approached it, only to have it fly back to the curtain as soon as I got close. Eventually, the bird hid under Hannah's desk, in a back corner. The round bucket I had been using wasn't working,...

Today is Josh's birthday!!! Ten years ago this sweet, adventurous, creative soul with big eyes and long, dark eyelashes was born. We actually celebrated his birthday yesterday for Family Home Evening since we have something going on tonight. He received a plastic Ninja sword, a LEGO candy dispenser (with everlasting gobstoppers to load it with), a customized lunch bag with his name and logo on it, a handheld microscope, a book to write in, a book to read, and an erector set.  Hannah made his birthday cake in the shape of a dog. Happy Birthday Joshua!

When Steven arrived home from work Friday afternoon, we loaded up the car and set off on our family vacation for the summer: an overnight campout at Boyd Lake . We arrived at our campsite, and quickly set up the tents and started on cooking hotdogs for dinner. Steven made a peach cobbler in the dutch oven for dessert. John helped with the dishes. Later on, we got caught in a brief thunder shower, but we gathered in the car to wait it out, and it soon passed over and we were able to take a walk.    Before heading for bed, Hannah played her harmonica and we practiced memorizing the periodic table. The next morning after breakfast, the kids washed the dishes, while Steven and I took down the tents and cleaned up the campsite.  We headed down to the lake, where we took a walk by the shore and played element frisbee. (When we tossed the frisbee, we said a number and the person who caught it had to say what element that number referred to.) After...

What are you reading? What is the most recent book you have read? Do you like it? Would you recommend it to someone else? Here is what I would like from you (yes, you, the one who is reading this blog right now): Click on the link below that says "comments". Write the name of the book you are reading right now (or most recently finished). On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being you really like it, 1 you hate it, rate the book and type the number. Write yes or no, whether or not you would recommend the book to someone else, like me. If you have any additional comments about the book you can type them, too. For example, here's mine: The Dragon Reborn, 5, yes. This is the third book of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and I am reading this series for the second time. If you are the type that has multiple books in progress at the same time, feel free to list all the books you are reading. I look forward to hearing from you!

Death. It's a one syllable word that means a lot. It means not being able to see and talk to someone again in this life. It means separation, sorrow, and grief. To those of us who believe in an afterlife, it means passing through a "veil", and entering into a spirit world, or returning home to the God who created us. Some deaths seem easier to deal with than others. All of my grandparents have passed away. While I was sad when they went, and I miss them, it was easy for me to accept. They were elderly. I could understand it being their time to go. Their deaths didn't come as a big surprise. More difficult to accept was when my cousin Jody, who was a little younger than me, and his wife died in a car accident several years ago, leaving their very young daughter an orphan. There was surprise that they were taken so young, but mostly there was sorrow for what it would mean for their daughter, to not have the opportunity to know her parents in this life. Even more...