Small Victories

Life has been crazy lately. Between work, children, battling myself, and everyday stuff, I have felt overwhelmed and ready to throw in the towel. Through a series of unfortunate events, Steve and I have come to realize that how we had been dealing with discipline would no longer work. The girls are searching for their boundaries, and working regularly on pushing them out farther than we are comfortable with. After a long week, and many hours wondering what I am doing wrong, I have come to a few conclusions. They are not earth shattering, and really they were things I knew, but didn't know. Does that make any sense?

So this morning after gaining these bits of wisdom, my ability to stick to the plan of action was pu to the test right off the bat. One of my children had gotten out of bed last night, snuck into our room, taken something that didn't belong to her and slept with it under her pillow. I discovered it as she was making her bed and happened to lift up her pillow while I was standing in her room chatting. Rewinding a bit, I had just promised this same child the night before that if she would always tell me the truth I would try to not over react and get angry about what she was confessing to. So here was the moment of truth. I knew my reaction would be key. I asked where she got it, she told me, I said thank you, and put it away. Then after the bed was made she had a time out. Head down at the kitchen table. After breakfast she wanted her hair done, but we had no time left, and I had to tell her that because she had time out, the result was no time for hair. The victory for me, was not the lesson that I hope she learned. It was that as I told her that I couldn't do her hair I really felt bad and wished that I could. Please don't judge, but even a week ago, I would have probably felt she deserved whatever she got for sneaking and taking when she knows not to. I am grateful for the shift. Hopefully this is indicative of more good things to come.

Happy New Year!

I figured I ought to start out strong and actually post something early this year. I know it is over said, but 2011 went by way too fast, and ironically very slow at times as well. We talked about some goals with the girls tonight. It's a new year, that's what you do right??? This time of year is refreshing and stressful all at the same time. I find myself swinging wildly from anticipation of what the year will hold and all the great things that will come about, and terrific amounts of doubt that I will be able to get to even a small portion of the things that I would like to. I make my goals, every year, and then December 31 rolls around and a lot of said goals are still not accomplished! I know it's not the end of the world, just a year, but man I sometimes wonder what I did all year!! So I have a question for my last 3 readers who still follow me. What sort of feelings are brought out for you at the beginning of a year???

100 Things For Which Our Family Is Grateful

Ten Physical Things:

1. We had a healthy year
2. The girls grew a lot, learned a ton, and got both more mature and more sassy(!)
   
3. Kathryn and Juliana both have eight adult front teeth grown in. Their smiles no longer resemble jack-o-lanterns
4. The girls are learning to sing in harmony
5. Steven ran a personal best marathon this year in 2:58:53
6. Steven loves to run and bike as fast and as far as time allows
7. The girls ran a 5K and a bunch of mile runs this year, including a family Turkey Trot in La Verkin
8. Megan ran a PR on a 5K this year
9. Kathryn and Juliana passed two levels of swim lessons. Now they are little dolphins!
10. Our fingernails grew, and so did our hairs
11. We enjoyed many healthy foods from our garden

Ten Foods:

1. Chocolate!
2. Peanut butter!
3. Megan's homemade bread with freshly-ground wheat!
   
4. Potstickers!
5. Barbecue chicken!
6. Jerk seasoned turkey burgers!
7. Garden tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette!
8. Homemade Neapolitan pizzas!
9. Nectarines!
10. Falafel!
11. Molten chocolate cakes!

Ten Things about Nature:

1. Our fresh-cut Christmas tree (bringing nature indoors)
   
2. Fall colors in the mountains
3. Mt. Timpanogos
4. Wood--because it makes most of the things we live in, on, and with
5. Steven enjoyed riding his bike on the Alpine Loop. Majestic!
6. Running the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (only one mile from home)
7. The beach in California
8. Birdsong
9. The miracle that delicious fruits and vegetables actually grow in our garden with only a little effort
10. Snow (Steven takes issue with this one, as he is the one who has to shovel it all winter long)

Ten Material Possessions:

1. Our new dresser
2. Running shoes and road bike
3. Our piano
4. Kathryn's Bear-bie and Juliana's Dolly
5. Books (look for our favorite books read in 2011 soon)
   
6. A warm, water-tight, secure home
7. Our beds
   
8. A water heater
9. Our new computer
10. Megan: prescription sunglasses

Ten Places:

1. France and Switzerland
2. Nashville, TN
3. Granny's House in Rancho Cucamonga, CA
4. The United States
5. The Provo Temple (Megan's favorite)
6. Edgemont neighborhood (where most of our friends live)
7. Zion National Park
8. Provo, UT
9. The library
10. Kathryn and Juliana's bedroom

Ten Modern Inventions:

1. Phones, email, and Skype
   
2. Computers, the Internet
   
3. Electricity
4. GPS watches (for running and cycling)
5. Vaccinations
6. Digital cameras
   
7. Flushing toilets
8. mp3 players
9. Automobiles (because as much as Steven likes to bike, sometimes you gotta have a car!)
   
10. Potable water and plumbing
    

Ten Living People:

1. Grandparents Nordstrom and Burdette
   
2. Cousins, aunts, uncles
   
3. Kathryn: Jimmer Fredette (why? I don't know; we saw him play once this year, though)
   
4. Megan: Maryann Jackson
5. Juliana: Sister Judd (Activity Days leader), Sister Smith (piano teacher)
   
6. Kathryn: Mme Budge and Ms. Quinn (school teachers)
7. Steven: Myrna Layton
8. Steven: John Dehlin, Joanna Brooks, Marcus Borg, Harvey Cox, Bart Ehrman
   
9. Adele
10. Marilyn Webb
11. Tina Fey
    

Ten Deceased People:

1. Emma Green Bull (Megan's ancestor)
2. Charlotte Blake Humphries (Megan's grandmother; passed away late last year)
3. Delta Cox Blake (Kathryn did a biography report on her great-great-grandmother)
4. Mohandas Gandhi
5. Fritz Nordstrom (long lost ancestor)
6. Stella Lundquist Nordstrom (Steven's grandmother)
   
7. John Lennon
8. Jane Austen
9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
10. Mother Teresa
    

Ten Milestones:

1. Kathryn and Juliana got baptized in June
2. Steven passed his third year review at work
3. Megan renewed her teaching license
4. The girls read over 150 books each, over 20,000 pages each
5. We read the New Testament as a family
6. We canned and froze apricots, nectarines, pears, plums, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and grapes in many forms. It took the whole month of October
7. Steven ran over 1,000 miles, and biked over 2,000 miles, burning something like 250,000 calories in around 300 hours of exercise
8. Juliana and Kathryn memorized addition and subtraction facts, 0-12
9. Megan scrapbooked 3 years of our memories (now we're only 3 years behind!)
10. We didn't go crazy

Ten Spiritual Things:

1. Being able to go to church every Sunday
2. Teachings of life after death
3. The Holy Ghost as comfort and guide
4. Jesus' teachings of radical love and peaceful resistance against domination systems through personal compassionate action
   
5. Singing in choir
6. Attending Primary (we're all there!)
7. Forgiveness
8. Nature
9. Prayer
10. The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ

There are many more things and people we are thankful for that couldn't be listed here. We hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. What 100 things are YOU grateful for?

Experiment

So I was messing around with wordle today and I made this. It's made using the texts from all the talks given by the first presidency in General Conference Oct. 2011. Pretty fun.

Family Pictures

Since we moved back to Provo, I have been wanting to go up the canyon and get family pictures in the fall. We have been here during four falls, and hadn't made it. So this year I was determined. As soon as the leaves started changing on the mountains, I called a friend and set up a time when both of our families could go up together, and take each others pictures. It was a perfect day, not too cold, with beautiful fall color everywhere. Here are a few that we snapped.

A Bunch of Stuff

Where to begin. Last week was Fall Break. The girls and I had Thursday and Friday off school. It wasn't a break at all. Steve took Friday off and we went to work. We knew it was going to be one of the last "warm" weekends left to get the garden ready for winter. I cut all the pumpkins on Tuesday and got rid of the vine. Then Friday the girls and I tackled the Tomato bushes. I am learning that here in the north, there are always a lot of tomatoes that don't ripen. We wait as long as we can, and always end up with A LOT of green tomatoes. Anyway, the vines came down. Steve dug up two big stumps, I cut down a lilac bush. We borrowed a friends truck and Steve go a truck load of compost. We borrow a neighbors rototill, so Steve always does her garden first. That left me to empty the truck of it's load so we could till the compost in. I emptied the whole thing except about two wheelbarrows full. Then when Steve brought the tiller, I decided to give it a try. It's a big tiller, and I wanted to know if I could do it. I did!!!! All by myself, pretty cool. (Although my body would disagree with me today).
In between all of this, we were bottling plum juice and grape juice. The tomatoes sat and waited on the counter. Thanks to Facebook I discovered a green tomato sauce recipe that doesn't require peeling the tomato. That's what I am working on tonight. I am so glad not to have to peel, but I still have lots of tomatoes to go!!! Harvest is awesome, but really tiring too.

Today the girls found out the "truth" behind Santa. They have been asking up stuff about it for a few weeks, and we kept avoiding it. This morning at breakfast it came up again, and so we spilled the beans. I really appreciate how Steve explained it, although I can't really summarize it and do it justice. Basically, he said Santa represented someone who gives their time to others all year, and give presents to show his love. So he said that the idea of Santa isn't untrue, it's just that it's your parents who give their time all year to serve, and then give you a present to show their love. We asked if they still wanted Santa to come, and the answer was a resounding yes. I guess the magic isn't dead yet. Here is a quick preview of our family photo shoot. I haven't had time to really go through all of them yet. I hope to get some others posted soon.

Kathryn


Juliana

Fall

With back to school it always seems like things stack up and don't get done. I go back to work with the kids, and my time is gone. So during my evening and days off, things are busy. This week it seemed that food was raining down on us. Not quite Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs but almost. It started off with a bucket of nectarines from my brother, then two days latter an elderly neighbor called and said that she had pears on her tree that she couldn't reach and if Steve would pick them they would be ours. I figured there would be a few, I was wrong. Thursday piano lessons got canceled so the girls and I headed out to the garden to harvest. I was met by some resistance, but eventually they both fell into the magic of it. We picked another big bunch of green beans, the second of the season, and then dug up half of the potatoes. Consequently dinner was mashed potatoes and green beans, it was delicious. Anyhow, Wednesday evening I tackled the nectarines. I didn't have a lot of lids so I just started with what I had. Peeling nectarines is tedious, so after the first batch I knew I had to find something else to do with our bucket that I had only made a small dent in. We decided to go with jam. I had never heard of nectarine jam, but they are almost a peach right? Steve and I did two batches and finally finished around 9:30 pm. I am happy to say that the pears won't be ready to can for at least 5 more days. After picking all the green beans Thursday, I tackled them on Friday. We like fresh green bean taste, so all I had to do was put them in boiling water batch by batch and then right into ice water to prep them for the freezer. Our freezer right now is full of green beans, no more room. I think we need to by another one for down stairs. Anyway, the potatoes are still sitting on the counter. I haven't decided if we are going to eat them all, or if I am going to put some up. We shall see. I love fall, and the preparations for winter, but I do wish they weren't all squished into nights and weekends. Here are some pics.

A Delicious New Recipe

Chickpea strawberry mango salad
Ingredients:
8 cups romaine lettuce, washed, dried, torn into pieces (2 L by volume)
1 batch Pumpkin spice-roasted chickpeas (see below)
1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups strawberries, washed and sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
1/8 cup fresh mint, chopped (optional)
1 batch Cinnamon vinaigrette (see below)

Directions:

Add all ingredients in a large bowl and toss.


Pumpkin spice-roasted chickpeas
Ingredients:
1 14-oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
2 TBS maple syrup (no substitutes) (1 1/2 australian TBS; 30 mL)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celcius).
2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until evenly coated.
3. Spread chickpeas on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Baked for 25-30 minutes, stirring chickpeas every 10 minutes to ensure even crisping.

Cinnamon vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 TBS apple cider vinegar (2 australian TBS + 1 tsp; 45 mL)
3 TBS lemon juice (2 australian TBS; 45 mL)
1/3 cup maple syrup (no substitutes) (80 mL)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil (60 mL)

Directions:

Whisk together all ingredients except oil in a medium bowl. Slowly add oil while whisking, until dressing has emulsified. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Pics of the Day

I thought I would do a before and after for today of the girls. They loved their first day of 3rd grade. They are really excited about their teachers, and can't wait to keep learning. They already started on cursive writing, and did great.

Kathryn

Juliana

New Year

Here we are again at the start of a new school year. The girls should at this moment be in their seats ready to start the day. I can't/can believe they are in 3rd grade already. What amazing little people they are. It's so fun and exciting to see them grow and learn and change. They challenge Steven and I almost daily, and we are always course correcting ourselves. I have pictures of them as they left today, I will post them this afternoon. I get to start work toady as well so I have to be off. I just couldn't pass the moment without marking it in some way. 3rd grade here we come!!

Example

Right now my girls are sitting at the kitchen table writing in their journal. It was something I thought to have them do this morning. Even though they started off complaining, they are into it now, and I probably couldn't stop them if I wanted to! So I figured I should follow their example and spill some of my life onto a page. Summer is finally here. We are at last above freezing. This year was cold for a long time. Anyway, the girls and I kicked off our summer by going to LaVerkin. We went last year too, and I think it's going to be a tradition that we keep doing. We spent 2 nights with my mom and 2 with my sister. It was a blast. There were soft ball games to watch, slip and slides to play on, treats, and tons of fun with cousins. We even had some impromptu baseball with some giant marshmallows. The kids thought that was great fun. One of my favorite parts was when my sis-in-law sat on a whole package of grahm crackers. It was hilarious to see her face when she felt and heard the crunch and realized what she had done. We both had a hardy laugh. When the temperature hit over 100 I seriously questioned my own sanity for wanting to visit and I had to question the sanity of those who choose to live there!! I did a lot of thinking about the early pioneers to that area, and wondered just what they thought when they arrived. It must have been a daily struggle to ever have enough water in the summer. So here are some pics, and maybe (If I can figure out how) a video.

Baptism

Life has been really busy lately. The girls turned eight years old the day after the school year ended. We threw a party for them and their friends on the last day of school, then had our own family celebration on their actual birthday.

They got new bikes, so we all went on a bike ride, and then I made them potstickers from scratch because right now that is their favorite meal. If you've ever made potstickers, you know that they take a whole of time to make, but I guess I can be grateful that they both like the same thing!!!

The next weekend they were baptized. We had so much fun with family and friends. We appreciate all the love and support, even if you couldn't physically be here, we felt your love from a distance. Here is a little slide show I made. A few days before the baptism, we went and took pictures of the girls in their dresses, so I wouldn't have to worry too much on the day of their baptism. Most of the slide show is from that photo shoot. The last couple pictures are from right before their baptism service began. Enjoy!

Funny things my children say

These are direct quotes that I have heard in the last few days. On Sunday we were coming home from church. I was asking the girls what they remembered from our Sacrament meeting. The first person talked about keeping a history of your life and how he was great full to know so much of his family history. Kathryn asked what history was. We told her, then she said, "That gives me the creeps. Family History." I have no idea why but it would seem that family history is a creepy phrase.
Next funny thing: Just now, Kathryn was sitting here with me. She has something on her face and I was trying to see what it was. She said, "It's a miple. That's what you call it." I think she was trying to say pimple. There is another thing that happened yesterday, but somehow it escapes me right now. I told Steven he would have to help me remember it, we'll see how helpful he is this evening.

Windows

Today was a big day for home improvement. Since we moved in, we knew that we needed to replace the windows on the back of our house. They replaced the windows in the front for curb appeal and left the ones in the rear for us. We have been saving up and today we finally had them installed. It will be nice to have a screen on sliding doors, not have windows that rattle in the wind, and hopefully we will save some money on energy. It was interesting to watch the process, and I even found a wasp nest that was neatly trucked in between the brick and particle board by the sliding door. They must have found a little whole in the seal around the old door and had the perfect place for a nest. Yikes!!!! Here are the pictures I took to document the event.

Projects

A couple Christmas' ago, we gave the girls a latch hook rug. They love crafts and we were looking for things that could be useful, and not just another toy to have to put away. They were very excited to get started. The excitement didn't last long, and getting them finished has been a bit of a challenge. Steve and I had to laugh today as we read on the side of the box FUN EASY QUICK. Despite the time it has taken, they did finish today. They are excited to be able to use them by their bed. Now I just have to finish them off!

Juliana

Kathryn

Sunday

Today is the General conference for our church. That basically means that we get to hear many talks given by the Prophet and apostles. Since this is broadcast on TV in Utah and many other states it also means that we get to hang out at home in P.J.'s. The girls are enjoying it. Juliana finished a project that she has been working on for over a year, pictures to follow, I am hoping that Kathryn finishes this afternoon. If you are interested in any of the talks from General Conference you can access them here: General Conference They are available in most languages, and you can read, listen or watch. We have heard a lot of messages on service and helping others in need.

We also woke up to about 4-5 inches of snow this morning. So random, but I guess that is what spring is like. Yesterday it got to be over 70 degrees and now snow!! It is beautiful, but I am glad that I don't have to venture out in it.

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday

I just went into Costco and made it out having only spent $10.00! I know it's hardly believable but it is true. My secret, I only visited the photo counter, and then the eye counter. I had photos to pick up and questions to ask. No basket, no temptation, in and out. It rarely happens but on this gray March day I needed a red letter moment.

I warned you in the title this was going to be random. Next thought is to cut yourself some slack. I recently came to the bottom (at least I am hoping it was the bottom) of a downward spiral of overwhelmedness (not a real word), guilt, self loathing (that may be a bit strong to use here). You ladies know the drill. I swear I didn't even see it coming, or realize that it was happening, until I was almost at the bottom. Of course usually the bottom occurs when you become aware of the downward motion. Everyone in my immediate world has been the brunt of my fall at some time or another, with Steve taking most of the blows. So I am just saying give yourself room to be human, women, mother's, slackers, whatever it is that you feel you don't have room for. I really think that for the most part we are doing alright most of the time. Now the trick is to remember that. Happy gray March day.

What to say

There has been so much going on around here. But when you ask me what's going on I am hard pressed to really say. Again this week I have been brought to a realization that life goes by way too fast, and that it can all change in the blink of an eye. My aunt passed away last week and we laid her to rest on Friday. She suffered from cancer and in the end lost her battle. During her funeral, something happened to my Dad. My poor cousin had to keep talking while several people in the audience were rushing out and in. We ended up with an ambulance and a long day in the hospital. Since I am writing this, I could leave out the fact that once I left the chapel, I had a moment of hyperventilation and tears where I wasn't good for anything. I completely fell apart. My mother, cool as a cucumber had to tell me to get a grip. I cannot share what it was too look at my dad, and think that he was actually going to die. I was already at a funeral, and I couldn't imagine having to do another. In a word it was horrifying. In the end he is ok, and really there wasn't much to worry about, that they can find. Life is short. To celebrate the life I have lived I want to share some photos. We finally have everything loaded onto our new computer. Enjoy a little look back into the past.

Juliana and Kathryn 6 months

Kathryn

Juliana

Divas

Leaving Nashville

Still In Love

Growing Up

Another Week

Well here we are at the end of another week. Still no new computer, and thus no pictures. Steve has been gone since Wednesday, he's in Philadelphia for a conference. The girls and I have been keeping busy to pass the time. I think this has probably been the easiest time for me that Steven has been gone. The highlight of our time has been attending the ballet of Cinderella at BYU with some friends. We went Thursday night and had a blast. It didn't start until 7:30 pm so we even had time to get ice cream before the show. The girls really loved it, and had no problems paying attention for two hours. It was my first time to see a live ballet and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One funny thing that Kathryn said, we were about 1 hr and 20 min. in and she asked, "Why aren't they talking?" I thought it was funny that it took her that long to ask. It was really fun to see a different version of Cinderella than the Disney one. Juliana did ask if there was going to be mice. :) It was a great evening.

A BIG sigh of relief.

This post was supposed to happen yesterday, but it didn't. The big sigh was heard by me in the morning when I woke. January was over. I felt like doing a little dance, but I had to be at the dentist at 8:00 am so there was no time for dancing. I had a good feeling in my bones, the day was slated to be very busy, but I knew things were going to roll smoothly. At the dentist, I got another big sigh, my teeth passed inspection and no work is needed at this time!!! So nice. Many of you may be used to hearing this, but after several years with no insurance, it took a while to get everything tip top in the old mouth again. The rest of the day sailed along. I got the grocery shopping done, things dropped off at DI and in the end even made a successful trip to the library with the girls after school. February is so much better than January. Am I the only one who feels this way????

While you are reading, and probably wondering, where are the pictures??? Well our computer, we call it "Old Faithful" has not died yet. But it is starting. We got a camera from Santa, isn't he a nice guy? It takes pictures that are 10 megapixles larger than our last camera did. On a side note, we actually paid less for the new camera than we did for our old one. So over Christmas we enjoyed having enough space on the memory card to actually take as many pictures as we wanted without running out of space. So back to Old Faithful, it has met it's match with the 200+ pictures that are now on the camera. It will not upload them. There a lot of great ones I could share, but alas they are stuck on the camera. I would do something like e-mail them all to myself a few at a time, except that we just finally ordered a new computer. So don't worry, you just need to wait a few more weeks until pictures return to the blog. Good night, and good luck.