A while back, about six months before my son Isaak died in fact, my visiting teaching companion, dear Jenny, told me how her mother wrote faithfully in her journal every day for years. She had 14 children (right, Jenny?) and still found time to do that! Some days, she would write what they had eaten for dinner; other days, she would write heart-wrenching entries like, "I am nothing...." Jenny inspired me by that and I wrote faithfully probably once or twice a week on average from then until my Isaak died. It is one of my most cherished possessions, this account of the days with him before his death.
Since then, I have been somewhat more sporadic, but the importance of journal writing has been forever engraved in my heart. For those who want the updates, here goes!
Speaking in Church- Priesthood-Piperisms-Goodbye (Jan 1, 2012)
When Quinn is being funny, he will “accidentally” call Hava-lava other people’s names, and she will firmly say, “No! I’m Hava-lava.” Today, when he said, “You’re beautiful,” she replied, “No! I’m Hava-lava.” Silly girl.
When Quinn starts tracing Pipalicious’s arm, she will stick it straight up into the air…silly girl. She is “famous” for saying things like: “You’re beautiful! And special! And awesome!” Pipalicious is incredible at painting fingernails with all the polish she got for Christmas. (As a consequence, my toenails are "beautiful and sparkly and special!")
Quinn gave an amazing talk today in church about overcoming adversity through the atonement. He was funny and charming and brought the spirit in beautifully. I loved it! The kids were even quiet so I could enjoy it. He recited “The Race”, an awesome poem that had many people crying. He is helping us stay in shape by getting us running in the mornings; he even brings along a football to motivate some of us :).
Papaya is a handful. We almost had enough food to keep her happy through Sacrament meeting today. She loved having Sunday School in the chapel…she had more room to roam and got to test out the organ. When we had finished in RS (well, the class hadn’t finished, but we were finished, apparently…Papaya kept hitting her head on things and wouldn’t leave the people behind us alone--they have a brand-new baby), we wandered the halls a bit. We made it down towards the front of the building when I stopped for a minute and Papaya pulled someone’s scarf out of their hanging coat. While I tried to get it back in, she made a break for it into the chapel again, disrupting Quinn’s High Priest lesson. I caught her at the front of the room. Busy, busy baby. She can make the signs for “shoes”, “more”, “please”, and is saying some pretty adorable renditions of those words and a few other important ones like “Dad!” (her unabashedly favorite person in the whole world). Avot taught her how to blow kisses too, which is almost as adorable as her little pucker up kiss that she freely shares. She loves bedtime with her blanket and babies, sleeps well, and climbs on everything she can. She loves to imitate and draws on everything she can get her hands on.
Hava-lava is potty-training again and is really doing pretty well, when we can get her on the potty regularly. I love that little darling. She finally understands “wet” panties vs. “dry” panties (a huge hurdle!), loves getting treats for going, and is starting to do more and more of it on her own…love it! I couldn’t have done it so easily without all the great training Avot gave her when she started her right after our move. The combined transitions of moving and potty-training was too much for Hava-lava at that time, but she seems to be alright now.
Avot and Lek have been babysitting up a storm while Quinn and I work on the house. The house looks great! The paint is amazing. The whole family has been pretty wonderful throughout this transition, especially our folks. Quinn’s dad has come out to help a lot, and my parents are so good to help out with the kids and be patient with us. I have liked having my mom around more with the holiday and will miss her after she goes back to work and stress.
The Goob is a hilarious 10 year old. He loves to make jokes out of everything, loves to read the Friend online and all our scripture story books (he is a scripture story genius). He impressed our Home teacher today with his knowledge of Moroni and his Title of Liberty. The Goob’s latest passion is trying out hot sauces.
Blossom has a good friend in this new ward, and it is wonderful how similar they are to each other. She loves being by grandma, and I love snuggling with my little eight year old. It is hard to believe she is going to be nine! She loves to color, draw, and do origami.
Chugger-dude is still my rock. He loves to ride his scooter, play football with his daddy, build his new model car with Quinn, and play games with us. He is boy through and through!
Tonight, we spent the evening at Biesinger’s…listening to their setting apart (Quinn stood in the circle for his father—awesome!), eating yummy food, and playing games.We are going to miss them sooooooooo much! They gave some awesome words of counsel, comfort and inspiration along with their testimonies, and I was so grateful to have been there. I also love playing games with them, and will miss that, but am grateful for their sacrifice and example in serving a mission in Norway!
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