I Wanna Be A Mom When I Grow Up

On Saturday night as we were getting cleaned up and ready to go out for dinner, Caelan came into my closet and started watching to see what I was going to wear. She gave me some suggestions, and then started to think about what things she had to wear that would be the same as what she was choosing for me. We ended up matching that night in short denim skirts and white shirts. She got even more excited when she realized that Megan had the means to match too. It took me back in time about 18 years ago to a Merrie Miss activity (church activity for pre-teen girls) where my mom and I did a little musical number in matching denim skirts (different style, for sure) and white shirts. I got to thinking about what it felt like then to be a 10 year old girl wanting to be just like my mom, and now what an equally tender feeling it is as a mother to have a daughter who wanted to be just like me.... kind of an overwhelming responsibility.

Growing up I watched my Mom....a LOT, probably more than most girls my age. We were good friends. I got to watch her be a wife and a mother and a friend and a neighbor and a sister and a daughter for a good 22 years, and I feel thankful for the uncountable opportunities to watch and listen and learn.

So, thanks Mom for ALL the lessons that I learned at your feet:
* how to prepare a meal (a tasty one) using the bare-bone basics in the house
* how to get good at the piano simply by playing the hymns over and over again
* how to sew at least enough to alter/make your daughters modest dance dresses
* how to sometimes be okay about letting the house be and spending your limited time on more important things
* how to really savor the holidays without letting the stress get in the way
* how to talk about the gospel in conversations with neighbors in the front yard
* how to support your husband in his church responsibilities
* how to develop those special kinds of relationships with your kids that go far beyond just the care-giving
* how to accept the fact that we can't do IT ALL right now, and that's okay - as long as we are doing the BEST things right now
* how to be a mother not only to your own kids, but all the friends that they bring home (and you always encouraged us to bring them to our home)
* how to say "no" when you had to
* how to be frugal and wait for good deals
* how to be patient
* how to be spontaneous - or at least how to go along with your family's spontaneity...and love it
* how to find peace and beauty in nature
* how to teach/discipline/vent without getting angry
* how to use and love music in all different aspects of life
* how to find the good in everyone - even those people that you have to look EXTRA hard to find
* how to prioritize your time which sometimes meant neglecting dinner in order to sit on the bed with your daughter talking about ANYTHING
* how to serve
* how to love....really love your children, your husband, your friends and your Heavenly Father and His Son
* And so many other lessons that I could mention here as well as those others unrealized lessons I have yet to discover that I learned from you.

Thanks for being someone I want to be just like. I love you!
Happy Birthday Mom!

PS I'm sporting my fancy hard shell back brace in the top picture (I think that's why we all chose to wear sweatshirts to that particular church YW activity...HE HE HE)

Summer Lovin'

...well, almost.

Saturday was WARM here. (Thankfully Monday cooled back down - we actually got rain - and the rest of this week has been lovely).
Anyway, we were having a productive Saturday (chores, workin' on cars, checkin' out the yard sales, etc) and we went out to manually turn on our front sprinklers for a few minutes before we went out to dinner. Before we knew it Caelan, Ben and Megan were outside in their swimsuits ready to cool off. Nathan didn't need a swimsuit - he got right on in there in his clothes. I'm thinking we will be having a lot of sprinkler days coming up here soon.

Open House

The school Open House was last Thursday night. Unfortunately it was at the exact time that I had a Relief Society activity (and since I missed the last one and I am over these kinds of things, I thought I better be there), so Sean did major Daddy-duty and took all the kids to the school by himself. Caelan and Ben loved showing off all of their projects, and Megan thought it was pretty neat to be able to walk around in their classrooms.


Ben and his teacher, Ms. Castellano.

Caelan and her teacher, Mrs. Smith.

You're Playing So Cool.....

This weekend we went down to Murrieta to see Kyra (my youngest sister) perform in her high school musical, Footloose. It was so fun, and can I just say that my sister ROCKS! She played the part of Rusty, and she did fabulous (she's so darn talented). I've never seen that movie or play before - it has some great music. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
We also had a nice barbeque with Grandpa Sorensen, Dale, Debbie, Kent, Carol, Scott and Shelley and the rest of the regular gang.
Mother's Day I was served breakfast in bed: crepes, berries and and orange julius (DELISH). Sean got me a new IPOD nano(I seriously have struggles keeping these things - the screen on my last one broke which costs almost as much as a brand new one to replace). I've been running every night and wearing Sean's big one around my arm (this one is so much lighter - NICE). We went to the cemetery and put some flowers at my mom's grave and just sat and enjoyed some time there. Then the boys (my dad and Sean and my brothers) made us dinner than night. It was a delightful day. I feel so lucky to have a wonderful husband who always makes this holiday so special for me. I also feel so blessed to have a wonderful mother who truly taught me about the things that really matter in this life (and she did it with such grace), an amazing mother-in-law who is such an example of righteousness and accepted me just like another daughter in the family, and a fantastic step mom who has taken me and all of the rest of our big Sorensen clan into her heart with all of the love and concern and care of a mother. There are a lot of people in this world who are lucky to have a close relationship with one mom, and I am lucky enough to have this with three moms, and for that I am thankful! I also have to mention what an amazing experience it is to be a mother myself. I have learned more about love through having children than by any other way (and I mean love for them as well as an increased love for my husband and other members of my family and my Heavenly Father as well). They are perfect for me and I'm grateful that they have been entrusted to my care here on earth.

The Armor of God

We got these cute books from Sean's mom that tell stories about different people from the Book of Mormon. Sometimes I don't love the cartoon/kids version (they can get a little too "watered down" and miss some real important gospel principles), but these books are great. The illustrations are fun, the stories keep in sync with the scriptural accounts and then they have a great section about how kids can apply these stories to their own lives (and they are GOOD applications). So for Family Home Evening last Monday we talked about Captain Moroni and how we can fortify our selves and our homes from the enemy (like he fortified cities from the Lamanites). Then we read about the Armor of God in Ephesians. All the kids took turns putting on our "Armor of God" complete with:
Loin girting - a towel
Breastplate - backpack with round cake pan in front
Footwear - Sean's snowboard boots
Shield - a pot lid
Helmet - motorcycle helmet
Sword - Ben's Batman sword

We talked about how we can be protected from the "fiery darts of the adversary" and then demonstrated it by throwing marshmallows at the person dressed in the armor. It was a big hit.

(Caelan's picture is on Sean's camera - I'll have to upload it when I can get it)