MaeLyn's Musings

One of the scariest texts I ever got was while I was out shopping with Steven a few days ago. I had promised Steven a new suit for Christmas and we were at Men's Wearhouse picking one out. We were in the process of paying for our purchase when I received the following text from Hannah: "Peter hit a tree sledding and i think hes really hurt." I'm sure you can imagine the thoughts rushing through my head. How bad is "really hurt"? Broken bones? Concussion? Do I need to call an ambulance? Then again, she was texting, not calling... Surely she would call if she thought he was dying? I quickly sent a text back: "Paying now. Is he bleeding?" Can you give me more information about how bad it is? Please? Response: "No. but hes crying and moaning and he says his back hurts, like the center of his spine" Okay. He's not bleeding. He's conscious. But he's moaning? Is his back broken? Is my active boy going to be paralyzed for t...

It's the day after Christmas and our heroes are relaxing This holiday season has seemed very taxing. The last couple days though, have been very fun As we've spent time together now the work was all done. On Christmas Eve day, we did a good deed helping the Salvation Army feed people in need. For a few hours we stood in our places Handing out gifts, putting smiles on faces. That night we all went to the Panda Express to eat our dinner without making a mess. We came home to read from the New Testament About wise men who sought for a babe who was sent The kids opened gifts that contained nice, warm jammies Then went off to bed just like in other families. Steven began making orange rolls for breakfast While I put out gifts as a good parent must. Christmas morning came early and passed in a flurry of wrappings and presents, we weren't in a hurry. The rest of the day was spent playing a game, And exploring new toys too numerous to name. For dinner we at...

About a month ago, our hero received a phone call from a sister in the ward to ask if she would be willing to perform for an adult Christmas dinner program that she was putting together. Her first suggestion was that our hero sing a solo. Over the next second before she replied, the following thoughts passed through our hero's head: I enjoy singing. I sing at home by myself all the time. I've never actually sung a solo in public that I can remember other than in Primary when I was chorister, and that was just to show the kids how they were supposed to sing so it doesn't really count. I used to sing duets with my sister all the time when we were young. I sang a duet with my mom at my missionary farewell. I sing with the ward choir, and I sang with a small group a few months ago. I don't sing enough to have the kind of range that I used to have. I seem to have a perpetual cold that makes it hard to sing the way I wish I could. I auditioned for chamber choir w...

A few days ago, our hero was on a quest to find a Christmas songbook. She was bored of the scanty holiday sheet music she had available at home and was hoping to find something like the Readers' Digest Merry Christmas Songbook that she had seen at her parents' home and other places. She was searching at her local library. This library is called the College Hill Library because it is connected to the Front Range Community College. The public library is on the bottom floor, and the college can be reached by various staircases that climb to the second floor, which is the main level for the college. Our hero first bravely approached the computerized catalog, typing in the search box the words, "Christmas Songbook". Only one result came up: The Time-Life Christmas Songbook . That might work , our hero thought to herself. She checked the availability information. It was checked in. The location? Second Floor main stacks. ( Dun dun dun ) Our hero had been to the se...

Crazy , crazy , crazy .  Too much to do, not enough time .  Make a list , check it off , run to the store , search online .  Make it, buy it, wrap it , hide it!  Slow down , slow down ,  remember the reason!  Christ is the gift That's important this season . Practice , prepare, rehearsals and stress !  Strive to always do your best . Sing it , perform it , lead it , teach it . Are you feeling the Spirit yet? Sniffle, cough, headache - really? Bedtimes too late ,  mornings too early. Concerts and scouts , class celebrations , Homework and laundry and dishes and cleaning! Turn on some carols ,  Read the sweet story . Take a deep breath Remember God's glory. Oops,  I forgot!  It's  not as nice  as I'd  hoped. Hope  it gets there  in time ! Let it go.   Let it go. A week from today , in a flurry of paper the gifts will at last be ...

When I was in elementary school, there was a boy in my class whose name was Kahinde. I remember him because I loved his name: it was different, but I liked the way that it rolled off my tongue. Other people called him "K.K." but I usually called him Kahinde because I liked the name. Kahinde also fascinated me because he had a spot of hair on the crown of his head that was a lighter color than the rest of his dark, crinkly hair. I wondered for a long time how the spot grew so perfectly round, and what made his hair do that until one day when I learned that it was dyed to help people distinguish between him and his identical twin brother, whose name I think was Tyler. Tyler's name was normal, and he didn't have a spot on his head, so I don't remember him as well. When I was a child, I remember watching the "Cosby Show". It was a cool show about family life. There was a mom and dad and kids, and they had problems, but they loved each other and they pulled...

A flash of black fur As I'm spreading the top sheet- Now what is this lump?

On Monday, I was pondering the lesson I would share for Family Home Evening. I wanted to come up with something that would help Christmas be more meaningful for me and my family, something that would encourage us all to think about others, to serve more, to really get into the Christmas spirit and remember the true meaning of Christmas. I started with a countdown chain with a scripture to read each day. I wrote each scripture on a strip of paper, then made the slips into a chain, and each day of December (from now until Christmas, anyway) we would tear off the end link, read the scripture, and maybe talk a bit about what it means. Here is my list of scriptures: 2 Nephi 25:26 2 Nephi 11:4-7 Isaiah 9:6 1 Nephi 10:4-6 Jeremiah 33:14-16 Alma 7:9-12 Mosiah 15:1-4 1 Nephi 10:9-10 Helaman 8:22-23 Alma 39:17-19 Helaman 14:2-8 Isaiah 7:14 1 Nephi 11:14-23 Luke 1:26-33 Luke 1:34-38 Matthew 1:18-25 3 Nephi 1:9-14 Luke 2:1-7 Luke 2:8-14 Luke 2:15-20 3 Nephi 1:15-21 Matth...

Since our hero, Super Steven 's birthday a week and a half ago,  pointing has never been so easy!   With his new super gadget, pointing out belly buttons , noses and cats is a breeze !  At Family Home Evenings , there is no question who he is pointing to for an assignment any more because his handy dandy pointing stick shows the way!  Finally , as he nears the end of his fourth decade, Super Steven can point to people and things without having to extend a finger.   (of his own, that is.) His pointing stick does it for him.  Hooray for the pointing stick !

The wind is howling outside. As I walked home from dropping the kids off at school, the thought crossed my mind, "What would happen if one of those huge, dead looking branches broke off in this wind and hit me in the head? If I fell to the ground unconscious, who would stop to help? How long would I lie there before someone came to my rescue or called 911 or something? If someone did help me, would they be able to figure out who I am or who to contact? Or who to bill for any medical treatment I might need? I did have my cell phone in my pocket, so I figured that they could go through my messages and contacts and find someone who would know who to contact. If I didn't have my cell phone on me, then what? Would anyone notice that I was missing until the kids get out of school and I don't come to pick up Peter?" Cheerful thoughts, aren't they? Also, I had this song in my head that I remember from my childhood. Unfortunately, I don't really know all the words. I...

The skies were opened And styrofoam pellets fell Covering the lawn.

In institute last week, the topic was the Spiritual Law of Consecration. Our teacher gave us an article to study. It was " Becoming a Disciple ", by Elder Neal A Maxwell, from the June 1996 Ensign. Since then, I've been thinking a lot about this talk and what it means to become a disciple of Jesus Christ by spiritually consecrating myself to him. (Anything in quotes is from the above article unless otherwise noted.) "When Jesus took upon Himself the heavy, atoning yoke in order to redeem all mankind by paying the agonizing price for our sins, He thereby experienced what He Himself termed the 'fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God' (D&C 76:107)." Jesus asked if the burden could be taken away, but in the end, he submitted to the will of the Father in all things, suffering even more than we can comprehend. "So the taking of Jesus' yoke upon us constitutes serious discipleship... In this precious process, the more we do what Jesus did--al...

Since her 15th birthday two months ago, our hero Hannah has been on a quest to find the elusive learners permit. She spent thirty hours of research and study and finally received the elusive certificate for completing a drivers education course, and the time had arrived for the final battle. Yesterday, as soon as she arrived home from school and had lunch, she armed herself with her hard won certificate, her social security card, her birth certificate, and her heroic chauffeur (and her chauffeur's driver's license and check book) and together they set off on the quest. They arrived at the Department of Motor Vehicles, easily found a parking space and entered the building to find only a half dozen people sitting in comfortable chairs waiting a chance to speak with the guardians at the desk. With a sense that something was not quite right, the chauffeur spoke to an armed security guard standing by the door. "Can we get a learner's permit here?" "No."...

I was going to blog about something else today, but something happened this morning that got me on a different train of thought. The other blog will have to wait. What happened? Peter didn't want to go to school this morning. This is becoming a more and more common occurrence. This morning, he was complaining that his stomach ached, and I'm pretty sure it was because one of the other students mentioned yesterday that there might be a fire drill today. Peter has always hated drills; I think it has something to do with him being sensitive to loud noises. So there we were, standing at the top of the stairs that go down to the courtyard where the kids gather before going inside the school, and he was hugging me and crying and telling me he didn't want to stay at school, or he wanted me to come stay at school with him, and I really didn't know what to do. 1. I don't think that staying at school with him would be a very good idea. In years past, I was a volunteer in...

When we last saw our heroes, they were being attacked by the evil Winter Cold, slowly turning to ice in subfreezing temperatures which had spread throughout the state of Colorado and other parts of the nation. Each of our heroes battled the cold in a different way: Steven and our greatest hero were both hit with colds - complete with lethargy, stuffy nose, headaches, and coughs. Steven took a sick day off work on Friday to rest and recover in our heroes' hideout, and spent Saturday resting at home as well. Hannah had an orchestra festival on Saturday. Our greatest hero battled the elements to drive through thickening snow and frigid temperatures to get Hannah to and from a final rehearsal that morning, then returned in the afternoon to join the crowds for an inspiring performance. Over 500 students from twelve middle and high schools participated in the event. Hannah, as part of the High School Symphonic Orchestra, wielded her viola in "The Barber of Seville",...

What do you do when the weather grows cold- when the grass is covered with blankets of snow and the streets with patches of ice? When to go outside means to see your breath but lose sense in your fingers and toes? There are some who say, "Yay!" and run out to play with their coats, hats, mittens and gloves. They search out their sleds and carrots for noses for snowmen, build forts, and snow angels. I hate to drive on icy, slick roads, not knowing if I'll stop or I'll go. I'd rather stay inside, read books and drink cocoa, wrapped in a warm fuzzy blanket. Does that make me strange? Like a grinch or a Scrooge? I hope not. I don't mean to be. I'd just rather be warm, toasty and comfy, and I really don't like to freeze!

Warm, sunny morning, We walk to school in short sleeves. Temps drop, by noon - snow!

What do the words "Individual Responsibility" mean to you? What are the things are we responsible for? These questions set the tone for the lesson that I taught in Relief Society yesterday: Chapter 23 from Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith . We listed many things we are responsible for on the board, everything from teaching our children and doing laundry to gaining a testimony and missionary work. Then we focused on our temporal responsibilities: … The Lord said, “Thou shalt not be idle for he that is idle shall not eat the bread, nor wear the garments of the laborer.” [ D&C 42:42 .] That is good sound sense, isn’t it? Why should a man in idleness partake of the industry of the industrious—provided that this man who is idle, is in a physical condition that he can work? I am not at all in sympathy with any kind of movement that tends to destroy manhood by encouraging men to be idle, and I don’t care what age that is. It doesn’t matter h...

Last night we had our ward pack meeting. This month, my Webelos have been working on the Showman activity pin, (puppetry, music, and drama) so as part of the agenda, they got to perform a skit that they had written themselves and rehearsed. It reflected their interests: football and rugby. Because we only have two Webelos, Peter and one of the Webelos' little brother also got to participate to round out our cast a little bit. Also during the meeting, the two bears (Peter and one other boy) ran in at random moments with short run-on jokes like: "It's all around me! It's all around me!" "What is???" "My belt!" Our family was also responsible for coming up with a game for everyone to play. I had them play a charades relay. I divided the group into two teams and had them face in opposite directions. One person from each team ran to me (in the middle) to get a word, then went back to their team to act it out. When their team guessed the word...

Grandma left today With her ipad and warm hugs. Now Peter is sad. So glad my parents came to stay for a few days Thanks for the visit! Next time they will go For two years, Spanish speaking. Thank goodness for Skype!

Halloween evening The boys put on their costumes: Pencil, Doctor, Nerd.  Sweet cinnamon rolls Brought to the ward Trunk-or-Treat Fresh from the oven I load up the car with rolls, chili, and costumes. Steven meets us there. Chili is eaten, John mans the pumpkin toss game, Hannah, the fish pond. Peter takes a swing The ball goes into the cup He is a winner! Round and round he walks Until the weird music stops To win a cupcake. Adults in costume chat while the kids play at the games Are you having fun? Fun decorations, Evergreen trees and holly, A holiday treat.     Trunk-or Treating kids, confused, say, "Merry Christmas" To get candy canes. Pencil lost its point, But gained some sharp vampire teeth: What is Peter now? Sporting a bow tie And a sonic screwdriver Josh is the doctor. John goes as himself With nerd glasses and pencils And protruding teeth? Camera shy...