MaeLyn's Musings

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...