Soccer Pictures

Soccer season has ended.

I learned a new skill on how to coach.

Hurricane was patient with me

as I learned how to be a better Mom.

There were times when during practice

he needed a Mom and not a coach.

Hurricane loved soccer.

He was aggressive and focused.

He wanted to have the ball.

He learned to pass when he absolutely had to pass.

Underfoot had a huge learning curve.

He practiced and played games at the same time we did.

His coach said he had heart and never gave up.

He learned new skills and tried so hard.

We are thrilled with his growth and can do attitude.

Budding Photographer

Hurricane likes to take pictures with the camera or the phone.

This is one of hundreds of shots. 

I think it is perfect perspective.

He sees the world from this high.

My pants and shirt have been baking all day.

I forgot to put on an apron.

A clip about being real about being a Mom.....

even in my imperfections.

A New Perspective For Moms from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

Hurricane and his brother came to me as a great gifts from God with a great gift to love. 

They have energy that is boundless. They have imaginations that goes beyond the stars. 

They needs to have a gentle hand in their lives so 

they will know they are loved and can return to live with God one day.

Camping

Sweetheart wrote about our camping trip:

Wendy had promised the boys she would take them camping 

and needed to follow through even though she wrecked. 

They went camping and after work, I joined them for the evening.

cut from the campfire

Hurricane fell over at the campfire and 

cut the back of his head about 1/2 inch. 

Another family joined us and the boys played with their children and slept well. 

I returned to town to go to work.

healed cut

Tuesday Wendy decided to take the boys on a hike.

When they started, she thought they'd do a little hike. 

Instead they went on about a 4 to 5 mile hike.

The boys did a GREAT job! 

Underfoot asked to return only once, and Hurricane hiked a little slow at times. It took them about 4 hours. After supper, Hurricane fell into the fire. Miraculously, he burned only the bottom of his shoes. We are grateful for the miraculous protection he received. The boys fell asleep at 7:15 pm and then woke up at 6:30 am. As soon as breakfast was over, she brought everyone home.

Goofin' Around

Before we left on our summer trip,

Hurricane and I took a few minutes break from packing.

He is enchanted with my phone camera.

Obsessed might be a better word.

I've deleted it feels like thousands of walls.

But under some supervision,

we had a moment together.

A Passover Seder

I did this post for Jocelyn at  

We Talk of Christ! We Rejoice in Christ! in 2011.

She sent it to me so I could have a record of it. 

Tonight starts Passover.

We celebrated and enjoyed the evening.

=========================================================================

Growing up, we enjoyed when Easter and Passover fell on the same weekend. My Mom would make a passover meal, and we would be taught about Moses, Jesus Christ, and Elijah. All of their stories point to the atonement of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. I will share a brief history. I know there are others who can give more details and explanation to the Passover. I love to learn how all things connect together. My hope is to share the symbols and a meal and references to how simple or complicated the meal can be.

But first:  Here is a brief history lesson. 

(Note: I am simplifying the account.)

The Ten Commandments 1956 Film

 Moses came to Egypt as a prophet and told Pharaoh that the Israelites were giving their two-week notice and were moving on to a land of milk and honey. God had commanded Moses to do this. Pharaoh really didn't like the idea of losing his labor force and decided to fight against God. God always wins when He wants something to happen.

After bad water, bug bites, nasty food, and dead animals, Pharaoh was still a little reluctant to let the Israelites go. So God said that the Israelites needed to sacrifice a first born lamb and put the blood of the lamb on their door posts. This sign signaled to the Destroying Angel to leave all in the house living. All of the first born children died in the homes of anyone who chose not to sacrifice as instructed, being taken by the Destroying Angel. Pharaoh finally conceded and let the people go. He had second-thoughts though and chased them down again. But that is another story for another day.

The Israelite families held a special meal that same evening. God told them to have the meal every year to remember the sacrifice and the exodus from the bondage of Pharaoh.

Source

 During "The Last Supper", Jesus and his apostles were celebrating the Passover feast which commemorated the Israelites being spared from temporal bondage, which caused an actual death of the first born.

This was both an awakening of their faith in God and a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Jesus came to save us from our spiritual bondage and from death - both physical and spiritual. His death was the sacrifice of the Lamb not a figurative lamb, but the true Lamb of God. The first born. Christ freed us from all things as long as we are willing to be obedient and believe in Him.

Elijah has a place set for him at the table in most Jewish homes during Passover. At one point during the meal, the door is opened to invited Elijah to come and be apart of the meal. The belief is that Elijah will return with the Messiah. The hope is that the Messiah will come before the next Passover.

Source

According to the testimony of Joseph Smith, Elijah has returned.  He came to the Kirtland Temple equipped with the "keys to bring to pass the restoration of all things." (Source) Surely it is no coincidence that Elijah came during Passover. The prophesy has been fulfilled. And in accordance with that prophecy, the Messiah appeared also in the Kirtland Temple that day with Elijah. (Source)

Here are some of the symbols of the feast of Passover.

• Vegetable - Parsley, celery, or a potato and salt water are eaten together. The parsley is a reminder of the lowly station of the Isrealites. The salt water are the tears that have been shed because of the slavery in Egypt.
• Matzah - Matzah is a flat bread. Because of the flight of the Israelites, the bread did not have time to rise. It is also considered a poor man's bread.
• Bitter Herb - Horseradish or romaine lettuce is to remind of the bitterness of slavery.
• Mortar - This is usually an apple, cinnamon, nut, and wine (grape juice) salad to symbolize the mortar used for the building projects in Egypt. When the bitter herb and mortar are eaten together, it is surprisingly tasty.
• Pechal Offering - The sacrifice of the lamb's blood was used to mark the door.The rest of the lamb was eaten.
• Drink - During the meal of passover, there are 4 blessings over a glass of wine. Each has symbolism in the feast.

A whole meal can be made from the above items if a simple meal is desired. Such as:

• Vegetable - a tabouli with parsley added or just the parsley with salt.
• Matzah - flat bread or a pita bread
• Bitter Herb - a green romaine salad
• Mortar - A Waldorf salad
• Pechal Offering - Roasted Lamb
• Drink - Grape Juice with soda

All symbols are used in the meal. A Seder is the meal of Passover. Passover is known as the feast of the Firstborn or Pesach. The above menu is not a traditional Seder though. Each of the items are represented on the Sedar Plate. Also on the Seder plate, a hard-boiled egg is included representing the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem so there cannot be a Pecach sacrifice. A Seder is the whole evening with the blessings and the telling of the Exodus. This site gives a beautiful explanation of the evening. A festive meal is included in addition to the above items.

If you are looking for a more traditional Passover meal, there are many wonderful menus.  Here is a script if you are interested in having a more traditional Seder.

First Hike in the Wash

We started to meet our hiking goal on January 7.

We took friends with us.

The moon was out at 3 pm.

It is a waxing crescent.

For me, it looks like the ocotillo framed the moon perfectly.

A skeleton of the teddy bear cactus. 

See Hurricane in the orange shirt.

He touched the part of the cactus that hadn't died yet.

It stuck in his head.

He cried.

He has been obsessed with cacti since.

The boys pause for a photo opp for me.

 

The flowering teddy bear cactus brings some color
to the browns of the desert.
See the needles on this cactus.
Once the cactus touches you
the rest of the plant gravitates toward you.
The "arms" of the cactus will break off to stay with you.
This is what Hurricane got in head.
No wonder he talks constantly about cacti getting him.

Underfoot chose to wear his snow boots.

He did fine.

He got hot though.

The day warmed up to around 68 degrees.

The hike was fine for our first one.

We learned to not get into cacti,

bring water,

and dress appropriately.

First Impression

Our friends gave us a hospitality plate when we married that had the statement "A Thankful Heart." I thought for the month of November it was a perfect statement for our front door. I guess I really just want my Mom to see what was on our door for November.

This is how it all looked. The pumpkins were the ones we used for Halloween that we just turned around for November. We used pumpkin face transfers instead of cutting the pumpkins and were able to use them for one more month.

Simple and Sweet: Kindergarten

First things first about life - that happened after vacation. Where we live the school district is on a modified year round school calendar. In planning terms it means we have 7 weeks summer, 3 weeks fall break, 2 weeks winter break, and 2 weeks spring break. Then wash, rinse, and repeat.

And with that explaination.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

 

My oldest born started KINDERGARTEN!!! 

 

We live close enough to walk and do. On the first day, we got to the school play ground and Underfoot waved his hand and said, "Goodbye Mom." He ran off to play. The bell rang. He went to find his classroom instead of lining up. (I helped him get to the right line.) Then off he went and never looked back.  I didn't cry nor did he. But Hurricane is lonely without him. Underfoot accused me at supper time of not saying goodbye. I told him he was the one who ran off which he replied oh and grinned.

After school, we went to Dairy Queen to CELEBRATE and talk about the day. While seated there a bird flew indoors from outside. The bird flew into one window then other and made one more attempt. In the last attempt the bird flew at us, hit the window, and plopped nearly in my friend's purse. I was trapped in the corner with the bird between me and the exit. The DQ employee scooped the bird into a garbage can and released it to the wild.

We left DQ with big grins and took Daddy ice cream sandwichs to work because Underfoot had a special day and thought he should share it with Daddy. His coworkers were grateful for the first day of school too.

Mother Education

How does one become a mother? I do not mean physically being a mother more so using the word mother as a verb. Phrases like "being a mother bear" communicates to protect or "kissing the hurt away" as a way to nurture. Mothering is more than just giving birth or taking a child into one's care. Mothering is teaching, tending, caring, protecting, and many other act verbs. Often love is used as an action verb. I venture to say that mothering is the most active of all verbs because "motherly teaching takes time—lots of time. It cannot be done effectively part-time. It must be done all the time in order to save and exalt your children. This is your divine calling" (Benson, E. T., To the Mothers in Zion, Feb 1987).

Knowing how to be a mother is not always common knowledge. A woman spoke in our sacrament meeting about how she learned to be a mother. She said she petitioned God in prayer, listened to the Holy Spirit, and watched how other mothers mothered. She learned from the women around her and asked questions to God and others. I am learning how to be a mother and to have "perfect" children. I feel that I fail often especially when my sons pray at night and in the morning that Mama won't be angry. (I'm working on it by the way.)

Recently a resource was provided to assist mothers in their quest to be better called Mother Education. They are lessons that were taught to Relief Society sisters in the 1990s over the course of 4 years. I have enjoyed what I have started to learn to be a better Mama. I hope you will join me in learning how to mother better with your own children, nieces or nephews, or children around you. I'd love to hear of your success!

Stars

Living on the moon (named by my Mom) as we've called it hasn't been the easiest choice. Admittedly, I haven't been the happiest camper while living here by looking for the rainbows instead of seeing the heat waves come off the pavement. (The heat waves really do exist outside of the movies.) The idea of opening my front door to a snake or being "kissed" by a scorpion aren't on my to-do list every day or any day. The endless days of sunshine and few clouds are lovely until the temperatures stay at over 105 degrees and cool off to 95 at night with the hope for a real monsoon rain to come to cool off the parched earth.

My goal this year is to be happy HERE on the the moon. The story below helped one day in my transition.

Sweetheart with a DIY telescope

A young bride went to be with her husband at an army camp on the edge of a desert. Housing was scarce and costly. All they could afford was a small cabin near an Indian village. The 115-degree heat was unbearable in the daytime. The wind blew constantly, spreading dust and sand over everything. The days were long and lonely. When her husband was ordered into the desert for two weeks of maneuvers, she just couldn’t bear the living conditions any longer, and she wrote to her mother that she was coming home. An almost immediate reply included these lines:

Two men look out from prison bars;

One saw the mud, the other saw the stars.

She read the lines over and over. All right, she would look for the stars.

She determined to make friends with her neighbors, the Indians. She admired their artful weaving and pottery work and asked them to teach her. As soon as they sensed her interest was genuine, they were most willing. She became fascinated with their culture, their history—everything about them. The desert changed from a desolate, forbidding place to a world of wondrous beauty.

What had changed? Not the desert, not her environment; her own attitude transformed a miserable experience into a highly rewarding one. (From Bits and Pieces, Vol. C no. 5, pp. 21–23.) Reference

Love Her Mother

Some times as a Mom, I wonder if I am doing a good job. My sweet cousin shared this with many just before Mother's Day this year. One thing my boys KNOW is that their Daddy LOVES their Mama.



I thought it was worth sharing again to remember when I don't feel too stellar about me that my Sweetheart does.

Snapshot

He was trying to get his shirt off and put his arm through the neck of his undershirt. He then pulled his arm out of the t-shirt and got stuck. He wanted a picture taken of it.

He was smiling. Naturally.

The boys put a rubber glow-in-the-dark rat on my head and then took the camera from me. This is the result.

 A very blue sky....and a beautiful boy.

A forced smile.....

After a very exhausting day, he fell asleep at the table. 

Snapshot

At the Zoo

At the Zoo

My parents came at the beginning of January. They decided to make a kitchen make over. The bench they made just was placed and so I want to reveal the makeover. Here are the after shots. I didn't take any before pictures. The amazing part is they built a bench to hold our 5-gallon food buckets of flour, sugar, chocolate. Everyone should have a chocolate bucket.

Thanks for the make over!!!

My Mom's Designer's Touch - No Before action shots

Four New Items - A Fan/Light, Blind, Plate, and Sign above door

Installing the bench

New Bench - Hiding Place for the Food Buckets

Rather Long and Large - It holds 9 5-Gallon buckets.

Bowling - 100 Year Old Tradition

Some where in the early 1900s, Martin Christensen introduced into the family bowling ONCE a year only New Year's Day.

My great-Grandparents continued the tradition with their children. The tradition continued to my maternal Grandparents to my Mom and now our family.

My Auntie Lyn sent a report to the Christensen family sharing:

After a few decade hiatus we are trying to pick it up again. We had a great, GREAT morning. They invented bumpers after I had mostly finished raising our children. Due to the lateness of this innovation Eric and I didn't carry on the bowling tradition with our little ones. Pay for 4 preschoolers to throw gutter balls all morning while I'm chasing them off of the lane - no thank you. Our health insurance didn't cover that much psychological post-bowling care.

Cousins then responded that the tradition is alive and well coast to coast in the United States. Since New Year's Day was Sunday we all went on Monday. I'll share a few of their responses.

"I don't think I've EVER had more fun bowling. Even if I was slaughtered by a 3 year. Next time maybe I'll try the Zoolander move after every bowl." ~ Nicol

Utah

"The Christensen tradition is still running strong in Southern Maryland. I have great memories of when we all younger and together enjoying this tradition." ~ Colleen

Southern Maryland

"The tradition is still hanging on in Northern California followed by chili and corn bread at the Christensen's home in California." ~ Todd

California

My favorite response was from my Auntie Ann, "Bumpers are all fine and good but I'm not playing unless they invent a ball that doesn't break your nails." Unfortunately I don't have a picture of them. It didn't come through on my email...

Arizona

Look at the triumph in his face! He threw the ball all by himself. Around frame 5 he insisted on carrying his OWN ball, throw his OWN ball, and cheer for HIMSELF! What a determined boy!

Watching the flowers grow...

The sweet boy painted this picture. He presented it to me with a story.

Mom - This is a picture of you watching the flowers and me grow.

He has insight. I am watching him grow and grow quickly. My heart wants him to stay in his sweet boy stage. He is thoughtful, kind, helpful, and a little sassy at times. Mary watched her Son "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." I would like to follow the example of Mary and help my sons grow in intelligence, physical prowess, spiritually, and socially. We have started to talk about going to school next year and how excited he is to go to "high school" (elementary). We have some specific lessons to learn together before we make the school leap together.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for joining us for our advent! Our hope is that as you will ponder as did Mary and do as she "kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

 Merry Christmas!

Pure Religion

Last Christmas we learned about the Advent Jesse Tree. The family that invited us to participate explained to me one of their Christmas family traditions. When their daughter and son were young, they would receive a lot of presents from family for Christmas. The parents wanted their children to have a more giving heart and decided that they would make Christmas special for someone else. Their inspiration was from James 1:24

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The parents with their children put together a plan. They decided they would pray through out the year for the inspiration to know of a widow who would need to feel the love of Christ at Christmastime. Usually this would be the first Christmas without their spouse. Once a widow was identified they would learn who she was and would prepare gifts with her and her children in mind.

Source

 The giving vehicle was the 12 days of Christmas. They called it their 12 Days Ministry. Instead of giving one item and building to 12 gifts, they would give specific items they knew the family would love. They would leave a note like a ransom letter out of magazine letters so the family could never identify them. They giggle as they would tell of their night time marauding and daring dashes to safety from being discovered.

Another widow sought for aid after the death of her husband. Elimelech and Naomi had two sons and decided to move to Moab because of the famine in Bethlehem. Both sons married women in the country they were living. At the death of Elimelech and his sons, Naomi decided to return to the land of her heritage. Orpah decided stay in the land, and Ruth said, "for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

Ruth followed Naomi. Ruth supported them by gathering the left over grain in the fields. Boaz saw this and asked the gathers to leave enough to support Naomi and Ruth.

Day 9 of Advent

Naomi knew the custom of her people was that the widows would be taken care of by family members. Naomi instructed Ruth on the custom and how to have Boaz claim her as a wife. Boaz being honorable did  marry her. They were promised that through them the Savior would be born.

Source

Boaz took care of the widows in his care. He followed the example that the Savior would teach about caring for the lonely and poor in spirit.

Last Christmas the above mentioned family were directed to a widower. He in turn would write each evening about the gifts he received, but more importantly he wrote about the change he felt come over him to feel the joy of the Christmas season as he had his first Christmas without his wife. He felt the heavens were opened to him, and he was blessed.

At first he wrote, he was curious to know who his "angels" were. But as time continued, he respected their wish to remain anonymous. Each night before picking up the gift, he would offer a prayer to heaven for them. On the 12th night, he shared his manuscript with his "angels." They don't know how the 12th night turned out. This was the first detailed written response they have had. I shared this post with the family, and they responded by saying,

Since we started the 12 Days ministry, we actually haven't exchanged gifts with anyone (friends or family so the journal we received from him was on only gift but undoubtedly the best gift we've ever received from when we used to exchange Christmas gifts. I would venture to say it was the best gift any of us has ever received, regardless of the gift-giving occasion.

As this family shared this story with me, I felt the love of the Savior and his mission is being carried out by his faithful followers on this earth.

How do you plan to share the love of  Christ this season with someone?