MaeLyn's Musings

I now officially have two adult children!  John has about 5 months left of his mission. While I understand that he was disappointed to not be able to return to Brazil, and he still has some difficult days (and weeks), I think he has really appreciated the opportunity to continue to serve. His schedule now includes working on the grounds of the Fort Collins temple, helping out in the Denver North Mission office, and fielding help requests on the gospel library app for Global Services. In his free time, John plays the piano and is learning to play the sax. He also reads a lot and spends a good amount of time on his computer. He explains what he is doing from time to time, but once he starts talking about compilers, the language gets more technical and he loses me. He also attends the young adult ward on Sundays and institute classes on Thursdays. After his mission he plans to return to Colorado School of Mines to continue pursuing his computer science degree. John being John. Peter...

The day Steven first became a dad This year, Peter's birthday coincided with Father's Day, but both Peter and Steven were good sports about sharing their special day.  The morning began with the kids getting up early to make breakfast (quiche that was nearly saturated with bacon, and cinnamon rolls) for Steven before he had to leave for a meeting. At church, John gave an awesome talk about gratitude (It wasn't written down anywhere so I can't post it here... sorry.) All the men folk were given packages with microwave popcorn and Kit Kats in honor of Father's Day.  Peter's first birthday After a dinner of lasagna (Peter's choice) we opened presents. Steven opened his gift first (a set of knives) and then Peter opened his gifts which included bow ties, a couple card games, a game for his DS, and microwave popcorn. Here is a video Josh took of Peter opening one of his presents.   Once all the gifts were opened, Peter blew out the candles on a pie (one of Steven...

 Yesterday was Steven's birthday. (He turned 45.) Steven with the birthday pumpkin pie that he made himself. Gifts he received included a few books on bush craft, some paracord, a 3D unicorn puzzle, handkerchiefs, locking pliers and a jacket. Steven worked on the puzzle last night and finally finished it this morning. Last Friday, President Nelson invited everyone in the world to flood social media with messages of gratitude. He told us that "counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems." In response to his invitation, I wrote a message on Facebook yesterday morning about my gratitude for Steven. Later, at church, the sister who gave a talk mentioned the many posts on gratitude that filled her Facebook feed. At one point she turned around to where I was sitting by the organ and asked if she could read my post. I shrugged, and said okay. So she proceeded to read to the congregation: I am thankful for my wonderful husband (whose birthday happens to be ...

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 !

In January of 1999, I was struck with a bad case of exhaustion. I had no energy at all, and I wasn't doing anything that would account for it. I remember telling my mom about my affliction, and she asked if there was a chance I was pregnant. I acquired a pregnancy test, and sure enough, I was. The next nine months were a roller coaster of emotions. Steven and I were excited, nervous, elated and terrified of all that parenthood would bring. An ultrasound early on determined my due date as September 16th. On September 15th, I was at a doctor's appointment, and my doctor laid her hand on my swollen belly and made a passing comment that I was having a contraction. "A contraction? It that what it feels like?" It didn't hurt at all, but I hadn't realized that the hardening of my belly was actually a contraction. With that knowledge, I realized that I was having contractions all the time! As I walked from the doctor's office the half mile or so to the office ...

Yesterday, Joshua turned 11. A small celebration was crammed between finishing dinner and leaving for scouts, and involved opening just a few gifts - LEGOs and a remote control transformer from Grandma Kathy and a build-your-own robot set from Mom and Dad. There will be more... somehow with the vacation and everything, birthday shopping got pushed to a back burner. On the other hand, it might mean that his celebration will be more spread out, so he can enjoy it longer. It is fun watching my children mature and grow. Sometimes it seems like they haven't changed a bit, but then, one day, I'll look at them and realize that they really have changed, that they are taller, more serious, more thoughtful. Here is a snapshot of who Joshua is today: Favorite color: blue Favorite animal: dog What do you want to be when you grow up: inventor Favorite healthy food: apple Favorite dessert: chocolate Favorite dinner: lasagna Favorite outfit: elf outfit (green pants, Peter Pan ...

Steven went to the scout camp Friday evening after work, and, among other things, the scouts there celebrated John's birthday that night. John got to blow out a candle stuck in a pinguino cupcake, and Steven brought him one gift to open there: a Python programming book.  They returned home Saturday morning, but we made John wait until that evening to open the rest of his gifts. He received Legos from Grandma Kathy, rulers from Peter, candy from Josh, a book from Hannah, and more books from Steven and me. (He should have enough reading material to last him for a few days now.) After the gifts were opened, we had angel food cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries. It was delicious!

The kids with the friends who helped make the cupcakes. (Steven is working on the pizzas in the background.) Yesterday was Peter's birthday. He still wasn't feeling the greatest, and so he spent most of the day lying around watching movies and playing a few games. Hannah and Josh went to a friend's house for the afternoon, where they made monkey cupcakes for Peter. Steven made pizza for the birthday dinner. It was great, but poor Peter only managed to eat a little less than one slice. His cupcakes are still waiting for him. After dinner, Peter went on a treasure hunt to find all his gifts, and then opened them. He received a red duct tape fez, a yellow boomerang (a bananarang... which later got lost on a neighbor's roof), a pool noodle (or "poodle"), some origami creations, some gummi bananas, a book (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 8), a movie (Frozen) and a couple games (Rack-o and Pit). When the gifts were opened, some of the kids went outside to play with the...

Yesterday was Hannah's birthday. We celebrated last night for FHE. (Incidentally, why do we get so many phone calls on Monday nights? The phone rang eight times between 7 and 8:15pm!) We had homemade pizza for dinner. Hannah made and decorated her birthday cake. Steven ran the boys to the store to buy gifts, since we hadn't had opportunity previously, and then they hurried home to wrap them.   Here is the cake that she made and decorated.  She was thrilled to receive twelve rolls of duct tape. Her mind is already working on figuring out what to do with them all.  She also received art supplies, shirts and candy from her brothers and a friend. Gifts from her mom and dad will arrive tomorrow due to a delay in ordering and a longer shipping time than expected.  Happy 14th birthday, Hannah!

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!

John returned home from scout camp at 1:30 Saturday morning. (They decided to come home Friday night instead of Saturday morning, but by the time John woke up Saturday after the late night, it was about the same time he would have gotten home Saturday anyway.) He had a lot of fun there. Here are some of the highlights: John went to "the Crevasses" in Camp Deitler. The crevasses are huge rock things that have big gaps between them and some caves. John went through some of the gaps and climbed a large leaning rock. John made an electronic rectangle. It was made of a circuit board, two capacitors, four resistors, two LEDs, and two transistors. The LED lights blinked slowly when everything was put together and connected to a power source.  John participated in the "Polar Penguin" four times, which means that he got to jump in the lake right after breakfast, when the water was still cold.  He slept in a sleeping bag, inside a canvas tent that wasn't attached to...

Today is John's birthday. He isn't home today. He is at scout camp all this week - from way too early Monday morning until around noon on Saturday. But we are still thinking of him. I'm proud of my oldest boy. He is a very responsible young man. I never have to worry about whether or not he will do his chores. I never have to keep track of his homework - he just does it. I admire John's skill in origami, coming up with the intricate folds required to make almost any kind of animal. Visitors to our home are frequently asked what their favorite animal is, and before they leave, they are presented with a giraffe or a monkey or an elephant or whatever. John loves his LEGOs. From miniature pianos to multi-story tree houses for horses, or tall buildings with elevators, John is always creating something ingenious. When he isn't folding or building with LEGOs, John can usually be found curled up with a book. When we go to the library, he frequently checks out a do...

This is what Peter wanted his cake to look like. Yesterday was a big day for birthdays in our family. Not only was it Peter's 8th birthday, but it was also his cousin Natalie's 6th birthday, and his cousin Danny's 2nd birthday. We had a fun day. Peter requested and received waffles for breakfast. After breakfast, the kids played with LEGOs. (This is becoming standard procedure this week.) The boys went to the school for a free lunch (It was supposed to be turkey hoagies but ended up being pb&j sandwiches - not quite as exciting.), and then played on the playground for a little while. On the way home, they explored a trail through the park that they hadn't previously explored. In the afternoon, we went to the pool while Hannah decorated the cake she had made that morning. Peter's birthday wish list Dinner was homemade pizza that Steven made. After dinner, Peter got to go on a treasure hunt compliments of Hannah and John. He followed clues (su...

So, yesterday I got a ton of messages on my Facebook account. They were saying something about me having a great birthday. Thank you, if you were one who sent a message. I had a quiet day. Mostly. I awoke to a loud clap of thunder, and it poured rain most of the morning, but by afternoon the sky cleared and Hannah took Josh and Peter on a walk to the dollar store to get me gifts. We didn't have any flour in the house so I didn't get a birthday cake, but Hannah made some Jello and I got that for dessert. My mother in law sent a beautiful birthday banner that she quilted. I'm excited to put it up for each of the kids birthdays this summer. I also received a couple gift cards to JoAnn , so I'm contemplating what I'd like to get there - yarn or knitting needles, or beads or fabric... My sewing machine isn't working right now, so fabric isn't as exciting as it otherwise might be. The kids got me a vase with a flower and Reeses Pieces. John made me a cat ou...

Yesterday was Hannah's 13th birthday!!!  Her gifts included a duffel bag, clothes, socks, a watch, a webcam, a notebook, a pencil sharpener, stencils, and a sock purse.   Hannah made the chocolate cake herself! H ap p y B i r t h da y H a n n a h !

Joshua is nine years old! We started out his birthday with a family bike ride along the South Platte River. We now have enough bikes for everyone! Peter is still working on learning to ride his though. Steven walked beside him as he learned while I accompanied the older kids for a little longer ride. We celebrated his birthday after dinner, for Family Home Evening. First he opened gifts.  One of Josh's favorite gifts was a remote controlled cave man, sent by his Grandma.  He also received several other items. (Can you find Josh in the picture below?) After the presents were opened, we had the cake. This year, Josh requested a chocolate "gear" cake. I think it has to do with the fact that he wants to be an inventor. I did my best with it, and he seemed happy with the result. Happy Birthday Joshua!