♫ Footloose ♪

Paul and I went to see the new Footloose the other night.  It was amazing what a few (or many) years will do to your perspective.  When the first Footloose came out (yes, I am THAT old) I identified wholeheartedly with the teens and looked at those parents as ridiculous.  As we sat and enjoyed the new movie, I found myself horrified at Ariel's attitude and loose morals.  I wondered what Paul was thinking about the scantily clad actress.  I looked over and realized that he was having much the same thoughts as I was.  I knew we were both thinking of our sweet little girls at home.

You know you are getting old when although you can remember what it was like to be a teenager, you identify more with the overprotective parents.

A COUPLE MORE STORIES FROM MEXICO

I am so excited!  Paul comes home tomorrow.  We have all missed him so much.  Here are a couple more experiences he has written about.  To read about others, click here.  So Neat!

9/6/11 "Today was the busiest day yet. We saw 1414 patients. It was also the hottest day, 110 degrees. I saw a 12 year old who was a -7.00 who had never had glasses, another 10 year old who was a -5.00 who also had never had glasses. Perhaps the most touching was a 53 year old lady who had been led around like a blind person her entire life who was a -15.00 and got glasses for the first time. She now has freedom that she never thought she would have. The doors to the clinic close at about 3:00 because it takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours for a person to go to every station and wait in all the long lines. That way we can leave by about 6:00. Well, there was a lady who arrived with her handicapped son at 3:20, they had been on a bus for 3 1/2 hours to get there, and had arrived late. She pleaded that we see her son because she didn't have money for bus fare tomorrow. Of course we helped them! She was so grateful and happy."

"The people here have been great. We've all made friends with each other. It doesn't matter who sits by who at dinner or on the bus. My roommate Alfonso and I have become friends. He's quite the linguist. He knows Spanish, English, Italian, and a little German."

8/7/11 "It's getting harder because our selection of glasses prescriptions is getting lower and lower with each day that passes. I feel bad sometimes because the best we have is maybe 50% of what they really need. I didn't have any heart warming stories today, but I did see a ptyrigium ( the white thing that starts on the white of the eye and grows towards the pupil) that was so bad it blocked all but about 10% of the pupils of both this lady's eyes. I should have taken a picture. I hope she gets the surgery she needs soon."

"The governor came to see the clinic today as well. You could tell that the local volunteers were a little nervous. Tomorrow another doctor and I are staying at the hotel for a few hours in the morning to check all the hotel staff's eyes. It should be interesting because we only have some of our equipment to do so."

8/8/11  "Today another Dr. and I stayed behind at the start of the day to see what the hotel said would be about 20 people. We saw 57. The battery died on the handheld auto refractor and we have to finish the last nine tomorrow at 6:30 am. We then immediately had someone pick us up and take us to the clinic site. Clinic was crazy today. There were so many people that they stopped accepting them by lunch time because we had already reached our allotment for the day. I assume we saw more than 1500 today."


I know that Paul has been grateful for such an amazing opportunity.  The other people have been asking him if he is going to do another "mission".  It has always been a dream of mine to do service trips like this and I think as our children become teens it would be life-changing for us to do this as a family.  I would love for them to see outside of our privileged society and truly understand the difference between wants and needs.  I also want them to understand that because we are so blessed, we have an obligation to help others.  I hope and pray that we will be able to enjoy some opportunities like this together.

Cuteness!

Our neighbor found this baby butterfly and so we took the opportunity to take some cute pictures!

Too bad I don't have an amazing camera that can really focus in on the details.  Too bad Emma looks like she's half asleep, but I think they are cute anyway.

Christian and his shadow

One of the moms in Christian's class came up with a fun idea for the first day of school.  She got as many students as she could to make these sculptures out of packing tape.  Then we went and arranged them in the classroom so Mrs. Poulson would see them when she came in for the first day of school.

Please don't mind the trash on the floor.  We made quite a mess getting it done.  It was really fun to make although we were a little pressed for time to get it done.  It is difficult to see but Christian chose some plastic food to put in the stomach and a picture of science equipment to put in the head.  We made it so he looked like he was raising his hand.  It took us about 3 hours in two different sittings.

One of the other kids put his head in his lap instead of attaching it and then poised it reading "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

We have had fun thinking of different things we could use him for.  With Halloween coming up, I bet we can come up with some fun ideas. 

In case anyone is interested, here is the link describing how to make your own sculpture.

Christian the triathaloner

Christian and Matthew before the race

We are so proud of Christian! He finished his first triathalon today.  He and his friend Matthew decided to do it together.   He and Christian were talking smack, it was pretty funny.  Christian trained all summer, and he did it pretty much on his own.  Paul and I worked with him a couple of times but it was all him! 
He liked it so much he is already planning for his next race in May and trying to talk me into it.  Paul has already agreed to do it with him.  He also wants to join the swim team to make it easier to train for the swimming portion.  

Coming in from the biking to get ready to run

Posing with his  medal and bike on the rack after the race.

His finishing times were

as follows:
150 meter swim: 6:26
2.5 mile bike: 18:36
1.5 mile run: 15:11
Total: 43.50 minutes.
We are so proud of him and excited that he has found a love that he can enjoy for many, many years to come.

Another funny conversation from the back seat

We were coming home from swimming when I heard this conversation from the back seat of the car:

Jordan: "It smells like mildew."

Christian: "You're mildew."

Jordan: "You're the thing that comes before mildew."

Christian: "Umm.....water?"

(At this point I cracked up. It felt good to laugh with them.) Then after a long pause...

Jordan: "No, wet dog."

Then we laughed some more. Good for Jordan, thinking of a good come back, although his timing was a little late. :)

Paul in Mexico

Paul has had the opportunity to go to Hermosillo, Mexico for 12 days on what they call a mission in order to give eye exams.  He is having a wonderful experience and has been able to help many, many people.  We are so proud of him and pray for him every day.  I thought I would post some excerpts from his emails.  There are some great stories he tells and I am sure many more he hasn't had time to relate.

7/30/11 "Starting tomorrow we leave for clinic at 7:00 am each day and work all day. We are going to try and see about 1200 people a day."  "The clinic is in an open gymnasium. It is pretty hot in there. I hope my new bandanas work. I'm looking forward to seeing patients tomorrow."

7/31/11 "We work in different stations of the clinic. I worked in dilation (making sure the people who should or shouldn't get dilated do so), and in the doctor health check area. It is not air conditioned. There are fans blowing, but that's all. We have plenty of water to drink and they provide a nice lunch for us. There are 6 docs from the states, 1 from England, and 4 local doctors helping out. Along with about 25 other people on this mission as well as about 20 local helpers. Today we finishaed at about 5:00, but I hear that on some days we won't get done until 6:30."

8/1/11 "Today clinic was very busy.  We rotate stations, and today I was at the computer trying to determine the best match for the patients to the galsses that we have.  We had to shut down early because a huge thunderstrom came that actually was blowing rain into the clinic and onto the equipment.  It also knocked power out at the hotel for about 2 hours.  Luckily it happened right at the end of the day so not too many people were affected.  The non doctor people here are opticians, frame reps, factory workers, etc.  There's plenty of work for everyone."

8/2/11 "Just got back from clinic. It was very busy today. We saw about 950 patients today. Tomorrow should be even busier since it's Saturday.  I have seen lots of weird stuff. I keep seeing patients with diabetic eye disease that don't know they have diabetes. I've seen cataracts so bad that no light can get through. One guy with a +19.00 in one eye and a -4.00 in the other. Lots of kids with lazy eye. One guy who had brain surgery and now both his eyes turn out at the same time.  Today my neck and back are sore from bending to look in so many people's eyes with the ophthalmoscope. It's an ibuprophen night for sure."

8/3/11 "Today at clinic we saw 1312 people, whew.  It was busy, but awesome.  I did scoping all day.  I saw 7 of the worst cataracts I have ever seen today.  They were so dense that no light even got through them.  We also had a 21 year old girl who had never had glasses who was a -19.00 in both eyes.  She was able to really see for the first time in her life with her new glasses.  She had tears in her eyes when she said, "You have changed my life."  I wish Ihad been there when she got her glasses and said that, but I wasn't in that section."  "Today we had an auction and raised over $4000."  (Everyone on the mission was asked to bring something to auction.)

Paul has been gone for 7 days now, another 6 to go!  I don't know how people who have spouses gone out of town all the time keep their sanity.  I miss my other half.  The other half of my life, the other half of my brain, and the other half of my heart.  I am glad he has this chance to help so many people.  That is one of the main reasons he chose his profession was so that he could help and serve others.  I look forward to the day when we can go together on service missions.  I would love to take my children.  I think it would be a very eye opening experience that would change their perspectives and their lives.  I know my mission in Guatemala did for me.  I also look forward to serving full time missions with Paul.  For now, my mission is here, teaching the future.
Love you, Paul.  I am proud of you for following through on your desire to do this despite all that you left up in the air at home.  Be safe, work hard, we love you!

A quick glimpse of summer

Remember this? Here are some photos of some of the things we did. These are not all of the things because I am terrible about remembering to take photos.

Climbing at Cherry Hill

Such a cute belly!

 

 Playing in the water @ Cherry Hill

Slip slidin' away the summer

Lagoon!!!

Driver with an attitude

Ferris Wheel @ Lagoon

Jordan wanted time at the skate park

He's getting pretty good!



Hiking on our camping trip by Sundance

We hiked up the back of Mt. Timp to Stewart Falls

A New Year

It's a wonderful time of year!  The garden is producing fresh vegetables, the near future holds a promise of cooler temperatures, colored leaves, harvest and the satisfaction of rows of bottled fruit.  Best of all, is the smell of newly sharpened pencils, backpacks, and a fevered enthusiasm for school days (the kids are excited too).
I always enjoy the return to schedule and order, especially since in anticipation of the loss of their freedom, our last week of summer is filled with bickering, teasing and fighting.  Ahhh, the sound of a whip figuratively cracking over homework laden children...

P.S.  I got the cute signs Here, however, I saw another person had made cute signs with the teacher's name on them which in retrospect I wish I had done.  That and chosen a different backdrop, but I'm lucky to get a picture at on on the crazy 1st day of school.

Sad, sad day

Last night the Hanson family in our ward lost their 15 year old son in a car accident.  There were 7 teens from our ward in the car.  Gabe was killed and two others were seriously injured, including our cute babysitter, Kauri Tye from across the street.
Gabe was an amazing boy with a huge spirit.  They are an amazing family.  They have such a strong testimony of the gospel and their six children are all caring, wonderful kids.
I grew up across the street from his dad Tyler.  Our families were close friends and went on vacations together many many times.  Tyler was always like another big brother to me and helped me through some tough times in Junior High.
I cannot express the sadness I feel for them and the pain they are going through.  Today in church the bishop taught a combined lesson to the men, women, and youth.  He gave such a message of hope and comfort addressing where Gabe is, who he is with, and what he is doing there.  He took most of his message from D&C 138.  He ended by saying that our faith creates hope.  May the Hanson family find hope and reasons to smile again soon.  We love you!

My bigger boy

(Last year's photo.  New one coming soon)

My Jordan turned 9 years old yesterday.  I can't believe it!  He is becoming the most amazing kid!  He is my boy who LOVES to laugh.  He also has a talent for making others laugh and cheering them when they are sad.  Jordan has such a tender heart and is so sweet to younger children.  He is really good at taking care of others.

Jordan loves to be outside and active.  He always chooses something active for family outings.  For his birthday he got us all on ice skates having a blast despite the bruised knees.  Jordan has a natural talent in sports and the determination to practice and improve.  However, he is not too competitive that he forgets to have fun.

Jordan is a good friend.  He is loyal and really tries to be a good example.  He is always looking for a friend to play and explore the world around him.

We had fun with Jordan on his birthday.  This year was Jordan's year to choose something to do together as a family.  As I mentioned, he chose ice skating.  Then we came home for a kind of smorgasbord for dinner.   Each person in our family gets to choose their favorite foods for their birthday dinner.  Jordan chose waffles, bacon, raspberries, asparagus, and lemon pie.  At least it had something from each food group! :)  When he opened his presents, he was most excited about a Pokemon DS game and a new trick yoyo.  He is really getting good at "yoing".  As the boys went to bed, they laughed and laughed as Paul read from Jordan's journal that I kept for him when he was young detailing all the mischief he got into.  He hasn't changed in that aspect! :)  Check out some fun stories about Jordan here!

We love Jordan and we are so grateful that he is a part of our family. Our family wouldn't be the same without him.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

My former video game hating self

I was reminded of my former self a couple of weeks ago. In Relief Society at church we were discussing different kinds of addictions and how to avoid them. Video gaming came up as something that could easily become an addiction leading to many negative consequences such as job loss, family quality, etc. There was a cute young married girl without children who made the comment that she had made the decision to never have a gaming system in her house. I was reminded of when I too had very strong convictions about the negative aspects of gaming and had decided that I would never have it in my house for my children. I knew the statistics, I had seen it in the lives of my elementary school students, it just wasn't going to happen. Then I became a mom.

It all began with a trampoline. I had also decided that we wouldn't have a trampoline. They were too dangerous and the liability of the neighbor kids jumping too was just something I didn't want to deal with. Then the neighbors got a trampoline. My kids loved it! I was a little nervous but I gave the lecture about being careful, watching out for those smaller than you, not having too many children on at once, etc, etc. Then, one day, I walked over to there to collect my children at dinner time. Not only were there 12 kids on the trampoline at once, but I discovered that the father who lived there liked to do aerial ski jumping and so had raised the trampoline to my shoulder level in order to avoid hitting the ground while practicing his aerials. I was on the Internet the next day looking for a good used trampoline. I had decided that with the trampoline in my backyard I could supervise the number of children jumping and what was happening on that trampoline. I needed to be involved and aware.

Then came video games. I never wanted gaming in my home. I just knew that I could provide more wholesome, fun ways for my kids to spend their time. I was impervious to the pleading, whining, crying, insults etc. and the kids gave me a hard time too. ;) That was until the kids began disappearing to their friends' houses for hours everyday. It wasn't as fun at our house. I was losing my children! Not only were they gone, but I didn't know anything about the types of games they were playing nor what percentage of time they spent playing video games vs. other forms of play and interaction. I suspected that hours upon hours were spent staring zombie-like at a glowing screen even when it was beautiful weather outside.

And so, I was humbled again by practicalities. We began with an old Game Boy and progressed to a Wii. Now I know the games they are playing. When they play here, after a short amount of game time, I can happily suggest other wholesome, fun activities. The thrill of the forbidden has been removed. They don't feel a desperation to play video games for as long as they can, whenever they get the chance. They don't even play every day anymore. My children are learning the value of moderation. I found it is impossible to teach moderation and complete abstinence at the same time. I will save the absolute abstinence instruction for other, more crucial aspects of life.

Now, in all fairness, this is my philosophy of what works for my family. I know many families that do not play video games or even have a t.v. for that matter, and it works for them. Paul had a friend growing up that didn't have a t.v. but everyone wanted to hang out at his house. He had other magnets such as a pool table, Foosball, and shelves and shelves of the coolest board games, among other things. They also provided an almost endless supply of snacks and sodas.

I guess what it comes down to, is the need to keep in contact with your kids. If you have boys, chances are it will include video games in some way. Maybe that cute sister in relief society will have all girls and video gaming won't really even be an issue. The key is finding a way to keep them coming home and bringing their friends. Every family needs to find what works for them. I know of the absolute necessity of keeping my kids close, knowing their friends, and communicating.