Yeah, yeah, I'm busy!

It was Harry Potter Day at the Suzuki Institute 2012!

These past few months have been extremely full of activity.  Between making an audition CD to send in to the Suzuki Association of America so I could qualify to become an accredited violin teacher through them, finishing up my final classes to earn my Bachelor of Science degree - including the time-consuming capstone - a trip to Hawaii with my husband to celebrate our 15th anniversary, commencement, a ten-day-long Suzuki Institute, and moving into a new home, I'm pretty tired.  But as I look back, I'm sort of impressed.  That's a lot of stuff that's gone on, not to include keeping the kids fed, the house clean, the schedule straight, and other responsibilities and activities that have come up during that time.  And I'm still standing!

So today, a month after the Suzuki Institute, I decided to gather together all of the materials I needed and teach my first private lessons.  You must understand that I have played the violin for 26 years, but knowledge of my own skills at playing hasn't made me a great teacher.  The Institute was an amazing experience and I learned exactly what I need to do in order to teach a two-year-old how to play the violin.  Since my kids are significantly older than two, and they are to be my guinea pigs so that I can figure out how to take what I learned at Institute and transform it into the skills for me to become the greatest violin teacher this world has ever known (besides Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, of course), I made my first experiment today.  Some of the lessons were shorter than others, some of the kids had better attitudes than others.  Two of the kids even went so far as to say that they never agreed to take violin lessons from me.

Basically, I gave all five kids the same lesson.  One of the kids didn't get past the first skill (respectfully bowing) before he was done.  His feelings were hurt.  I asked him if he wanted to end the lesson, and he did, so he bowed and left.  The two girls were eager to learn and happy to obey.  The youngest and eldest boys came in with the same grumpy attitude, and I made them each the deal that if they would try it out once, we would discuss whether they wanted to continue.  Each of them individually said by the end that they were super surprised at how fun it was and that they would love to continue lessons.

Now, this success rate is incredibly promising to me.  If I can get my own kids to learn to play using this method and to become respectful, loving, positive people, I may influence other children in the community!  And since the Grande Ronde Symphony Association has asked me to take charge of a class beginning in October that will teach kids in the community (grades 5-8) in an after-school program, I am feeling confident that I can do this.  I have always wanted to be a teacher, ever since I can remember.  And music is a wonderful way to beautify the world - and I like things to be beautiful.

So this post is mostly for myself, to encourage me when I'm feeling doubtful or insignificant, so that I can remember that I can accomplish things - hard things.  Life isn't always fun or easy.  Things don't always turn out the way I plan, and people aren't always nice.  There's not always enough money or time for me to accomplish everything I wish I could.  But I can accomplish those things I set out to accomplish, and there's nothing and nobody to be afraid of.  Heavenly Father watches out for me, and I know He has a plan for me that I'm often too oblivious to recognize.  And He's happy when I succeed.

This Year...

Just a few days before 2011 began, I made some resolutions.

The usual, losing weight, was at the top of the list. That's the only one I can remember right now. That may be why it actually happened. I haven't reached my goal weight...but the year's not over yet. I did lose 20 unwanted, unneeded pounds and found a new love for getting up early and dancing my rear-end off at 6 a.m. for an hour. Too bad the Zumba class is only offered two mornings a week. And I discovered that an iPod is a powerful tool. Using an app for My Fitness Pal to log in my goals, achievements, and calorie counts made all the difference. Trimming calories in turn trimmed my appetite and thus my body. I haven't used the app for a couple of months now, but it certainly helped in the thick of it...no pun intended. Now I exercise because it makes me feel happy during the rest of the day, something that my brain and body crave.

So, new year resolutions aside, what has been accomplished this year so far?

I took a statistics class. And got an A. THAT is a huge accomplishment. Not to mention that I was sick with the flu for a week and missed some critical points in class but had to figure them out on my own. The only reason I took the class is because I had planned out my school career years ago and this class was listed as a prerequisite for a required class for my minor. A week into the class, I met with my advisor and he asked, "Why statistics?" When I told him why, he said that he'd never seen it as a prerequisite for any other class. Instead of transferring out, I decided (against my instincts) to stick with it. I took this class because I chose to take it, not because I had to take it. And it was incredible! It opened my eyes to studies and science in a new and invigorating way. And it showed me that math and science are not outside of my realm of understanding, the way I'd always thought before. It stretched me in new ways, and I feel a tiny bit smarter now. Plus, isn't "statistics" fun to say?

Another great accomplishment for me in another class: I took a costume tech class and made a jacket from scratch! I don't even know how many hours I spent on it. A hundred? Maybe more? I spent several of those hours on the verge of tears. Doing that project taught me something I didn't realize it did. I have made several dresses and done countless sewing projects throughout my life, but a lot of the time I just don't read (or follow) all of the directions because I'm so concerned with getting it done NOW that I haven't taken the time to enjoy each step as it occurs. And then I hate it and want nothing to do with it when I'm done! A lady I spoke with as I was finishing up the jacket put my tactics perfectly: "I wasn't a perfectionist while I was making it, but I was a perfectionist when I saw the final results." The jacket required a series of steps we had gone over during the course of the class, and I was really concerned with impressing my teacher, so I took each step seriously. When the jacket was complete and the class was over, I started making a dress. The difference in my sewing habits now versus my "previous life" is like I'm a new person! I actually enjoy each step and don't mind taking the time to redo mistakes, because that's all part of the process of creating something I'm proud of.

Something else that I've accomplished is composing music for a video game. I never thought I would do something like that. I can barely play the piano and know barely any music theory and had to learn some new software programs and lingo in order to do it. But my husband, being the kind of encouraging man he is who believes in me even when I don't, asked me if I would make music (and do sound effects) for his Apple iPad app, "Explore With Farmer Jon." I wanted to help out with the game and said I'd give it a shot. And it's been SO FUN! Look for the app on iPad, soon on iPod and iPhone, and some other games that will be sort of offshoots of this game, particularly "Egg Drop." And when you hear the music, you'll know where it came from!

There's probably more stuff that's happened, but I can't think of much else at the moment. I'll try to fill the blog with more things, but I can't promise I'll be too diligent. Life is full and exciting, and my brain can't remember that I have a blog when it should remember I have a blog.

Zazzle Store

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Late Thoughts

(thoughts I had on Mother's Day 2009)

“I love you, Mother,” said little John;
Then, forgetting his work, his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
Leaving her the water and wood to bring.

“I love you, Mother,” said rosy Nell.
“I love you better than tongue can tell.”
Then she teased and pouted full half the day,
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.

“I love you, Mother,” said little Fan.
“Today I’ll help you all I can.
How glad I am that school doesn’t keep!”
So she rocked the babe till it fell asleep.
Then, stepping softly, she fetched the broom,
And swept the floor and tidied the room.
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and happy as a child could be.

“I love you, Mother,” again they said,
Three little children going to bed.
How do you think that Mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?
(Joy Allison, “Which Loved Best?”)

I have heard this poem many times throughout my childhood and even as an adult. I have been blessed with five children who are many times much like little Fan in the poem – children who were eager to give talks to declare their love for their mother when they heard their parents were to speak on Mother’s Day. They show their love for their mother daily through the service they render to her and to each other. And although none of us is perfect, I couldn’t ask for a greater group of children to befriend.

Eleven years ago when I had my first child, Kinson, I learned a lot of things I was unprepared for. I had been around children a lot growing up, but I certainly didn’t understand them. Most of them seemed pretty unruly, and I had little patience for them. As I cared for Kinson in his first moments of life, I loved him with a new, eternal perspective that I had never had before. He was my responsibility for eternity. He would depend on me to learn everything, from speaking coherently to sewing a button to talking to girls. I understood that he was a child of God and that in order for him to return to Heavenly Father, I must teach him righteous principles.

President David O. McKay’s wisdom in this concept is explained when he said:

“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world. True, there comes a time when Father takes his place as exemplar and hero of the growing boy; and in the latter’s budding ambition to develop manly traits, he outwardly seems to turn from the more gentle and tender virtues engendered by his mother. Yet that ever-directing and restraining influence implanted during the first years of his childhood linger with him and permeate his thoughts and memory as distinctively as perfume clings to each particular flower.”

Gordon B. Hinckley also has something to say about a mother’s role:

“You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done?

“If the answer is that they have done very well, then your happiness will be complete. If they have done less than well, then no other satisfaction can compensate for your loss.

“…God bless you, dear friends. Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days. I hope that when that occurs you will not be led to exclaim as did King Lear, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” (King Lear, I, iv, 312). Rather, I hope that you will have every reason to be proud concerning your children, to have love for them, to have faith in them, to see them grow in righteousness and virtue before the Lord, to see them become useful and productive members of society. If with all you have done there is an occasional failure, you can still say, “At least I did the very best of which I was capable. I tried as hard as I knew how. I let nothing stand in the way of my role as a mother.” Failures will be few under such circumstances.

“…May the blessings of heaven rest upon you, my dear sisters. May you not trade a present thing of transient value for the greater good of sons and daughters, boys and girls, young men and women for whose upbringing you have an inescapable responsibility.

“May the virtue of your children’s lives sanctify and hallow your old age. May you be led to exclaim with gratitude as did John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 Jn. 1:4).

Each of our children and the spirit they bring into our homes is a blessing in our lives. They teach us so many truths that we could not have learned without them. They make being a mother a pleasure more often than not. Let us show greater love to our children and know that the Lord is available at all times to help us in raising them. I love my children very much and am grateful that the Lord has seen fit to bless Sam and me with the opportunity to be parents. Let us all recognize the blessings we receive through the children we serve.

Ahem, Time?

Let's see...it's been nine months since my last post on this blog. What happened? How did time just vanish that way? I have no explanation for it, other than staying busy and living my life to its somewhat-fullest.

I've been told many different times that I should blog about our adventures with this house. I wish I had done it as it happened, because now I don't think I can remember everything that has gone on since March of 2009.

And now to ramble onto my previous subject...how in the HECK is it already 2010?

I'm no good at this blogging thing. I do pretty well with little clippets on facebook, but not with the expectations I feel are so lingering over my head whenever I post a blog entry. I feel like there should be more to it than, "Hi! Just saying hi! Well, see ya!" And isn't that really what facebook is all about? I kind of feel like my blog should be more juicy stuff - only, where is the juicy stuff I should write? Are there that many words in my head that are screaming to be put onto a blog? And why am I asking so many questions? Will anyone actually answer them? I'm weird, it's true.

So anyway, back to the original subject: time. So, hey, what's up with it? I think it should slow down. But wait, I think it can. While I was in school this past term, time was whizzing by like...something really fast that I'm too lazy to think of right now. During Christmas Break, while the kids were out of school and we all anticipated the goodies for Christmas and the food and the parties and the nothingness that filled our days with plenty of joy after a busy semester for us all - time slowed to a crawl. And it's very nice. I have enjoyed spending time with the family. So I think the key is to take time away from busyness. And that is a goal of mine - one of many, but the key goal - this year.

Little Man

Kinson is growing up. He turned eleven years old last month - I remember when I was that age! Fifth grade was when I moved from La Grande to Aberdeen and went to four different schools that year. Kinson will have gone to four different schools, too. But he will have returned to La Grande!

Our oldest child is a talented kid. We've treated him like a little man from the moment he was born and we had no clue how to be parents. We have expected a lot from him and many times catch ourselves, realizing that he needs to be a little boy. Kinson is not afraid to speak or sing or act in front of an audience. He is highly impressionable, and he remembers everything he hears or reads. Sometimes he will quote verbatim (adding in voices) Calvin and Hobbes comics he read months ago and laugh at them, then say, "I'm not really sure what that meant. So, what does it mean?" And he loves to read - he has read all of the Harry Potter series - but he has an odd way of piecemealing his reading. He read the series out of order, sometimes reading the endings first.

Kinson has a perfectly round head. I can shave him bald and he looks great! Or I can give him any haircut without worrying about cowlicks or bumps, like most of the rest of the world. His hair is thick and is getting darker, though he spent his young life as a light blond.

I love Kinson. He is dramatic, energetic, kind, intelligent, creative, and sentimental. I could go on all day talking about what a great kid he is. I'm glad he's my son.

Home of the Brave

We moved into the house a week earlier than we had planned, because Sam got the idea into his head that we would, so we did it. We moved from Elgin to La Grande on Saturday, March 14, and since there was only one more week of school until Spring Break, I wanted the kids to go to the same school that week and start at a new school after the break. That meant driving early in the mornings from La Grande to Elgin (20 miles) Monday through Thursday, and sometimes coming back to La Grande during the day to get things done, and then having to drive back out to pick up the kids and drive them back home to La Grande. It was the best solution under the circumstances.

This home is large, and the land it was built on is an acre. I didn't know how big an acre was before, but now I'm glad I have only an acre. Everything, and I mean everything, inside and outside, about this house is unfinished. There is so much work to be done. Not only that, but it is filthy. I have never had a true concept of filth, though I thought I did, until now. The kitchen cupboards were so covered in grime that had to be scrubbed for a really, really long time before it even made an iota of difference. My mom came over and helped to clean my kitchen for a couple of days before I moved in. Nothing had been cleaned before our move except what we did. A dumpster was parked outside the house - I think it was the biggest we could get - and it was filled to the brim with garbage taken out of this house and around the yard. The ceiling in two rooms on the main floor had to be removed because of a water problem upstairs that had to be resolved. The house stank like moldy wood for days and has been airing out since before the move. None of the rooms in the house is completely finished. Nearly every window sill in the house has yet to be put in. The house is at 95% completion, so we get to decide on the finishes we'll put in, flooring we can install, wall colors to paint, edgings, light fixtures, and all manner of coverings. There are mature fruit trees outside, just waiting for a different season before we can harvest their fruit. There is a big, fenced playground in the back for the kids to play on. There is a vast area ready for preparation to plant a garden. There is a chicken coop and run area that we have been preparing for our baby chicks, who have been living in a special plastic tote in the sunroom (we have a sunroom!). We have so much room to work and play, and I am happy that we found this wonderful home! It's a work in progress, that's for sure, but I can see the potential. Every day it looks a little better. And all of us are happier to spread out - and to be closer to Grandma and Grandpa Jensen!