Farmington Bay

Each year we take our second graders on a field trip to Farmington Bay to see the birds, to learn about habitats and study adaptations. We went two weeks ago, and we were able to see bald eagles as well as many other birds. I've always meant to take my own kids, but never have. So this past Wednesday, we went to Farmington Bay to see the birds. We didn't see any bald eagles, but we saw many different types of ducks and many Canada geese. Did you know Canada geese mate for life and are rarely seen without their mate? You usually see them in pairs.
We saw many red-winged blackbirds. We saw seagulls and great blue herons and killdeer and several other types of birds.


I was able to show my girls coyote and fox scat and show them a fox's den (that may/may not still be used by the fox...the lady that guided us on our field trip wasn't sure...the entrance she showed us had caved in, and so she said the fox may just be using a different entrance or may have moved to a new location.) I showed them vole trails. Then we went into the education rooms and saw the stuffed birds and looked at all of the displays. The girls enjoyed comparing their arm lengths to a bald eagle's wing span.


They really loved using footprint molds to make different animals footprints in the sand. I enjoyed showing them the skulls from several animals as well as birds' nests, and furs from the coyote, fox, badger, muskrat, skunk and raccoon. We looked at and read about invertebrates, brine shrimp, and snakes. The girls learned a lot and we all enjoyed this outing. There are over 5 million birds that come to Farmington Bay and over 200 different kinds. We were able to talk about how important it is to protect their habitat and we were able to identify some of the birds we saw. We want to go back in the fall when there are pelicans. They are so cool. And the girls want to go earlier in the spring to see the bald eagles. I'm so glad we went.

Rain, rain, go away...

That is what I felt like singing when I woke up to a rainy day this morning. I don't mind rain, but my friend Carey was scheduled to take Ella's baptism pictures today, and I didn't want to try to reschedule. Fortunately, the rain ended by about 11:30 so we met Carey at 3:00 at Wheeler Farm. It was nice to get a chance to visit with her and she took some beautiful pictures of Ella. I can hardly wait to see them. So I am thankful for the beautiful weather this afternoon. It has been such a wonderful week. It has gone by too quickly, but I have been able to spend time with my family, get several things accomplished and relax a little bit. Now I will have the energy to make it through the rest of the year.

Love, Growth, Gratitude

I've remarked a few times lately, including tonight, that I'd happily go back to teaching Sunbeams or that I'd love to work in the nursery. And there is a great deal of truth in that. I truly love little children and little children are so eager to love you back and have such open hearts. I definitely think I gained more from my sweet Sunbeams than they did from me. And I'm better with kids than I am with grownups. I can be silly and playful and I'm not as shy with kids as I am with adults.

Yet, lest I neglect to show gratitude for the blessings I am receiving, there is a big part of me that would be heartbroken to be released as Relief Society President right now. I'm sure that the time will come when I will be ready and/or it will be time for me to have new opportunities to serve in a different capacity, but I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve and to learn and to try hard things and to feel the spirit and to love the sisters in my ward. And I do love them. I don't know that loving adults or at least interacting with adults comes quite as naturally to me as does interacting with kids. And there are days when I feel so very inexperienced and feel like I can't possibly do enough to ease the burdens that so many people face. But there are also so many moments when my heart swells with love for these amazing women in my ward. I watch them serve one another, and my heart is touched. I watch them begin to make changes in their lives and return to activity and I just want to hug them and grab them by the hand and lead them along. And I spend some sleepless moments worrying for them and praying for them and admiring the strength that they show. I also worry that I may say something dumb that may offend or that I may not know how to "lift up the hands which hang down and strengthen the feeble knees."

I am grateful for the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. I have felt prompted on several ocassions to say something or visit someone or make a specific change. I don't always say or do the right thing, but I'm grateful for the times where I can pinpoint that I was being led by the Spirit. It seems a little miraculous to me. A year ago, I remember feeling quite discouraged because I felt like while I often felt the spirit at church or as I read the scriptures, I remember feeling like I was rarely led by the spirit to do specific things. As I prayed about that, I realized a couple of things. First, the spirit taught me of several instances where I thought I was just following my own idea and it really had been the spirit prompting me. Second, I realized that I needed to more carefully listen for the spirit, recognize it and follow it if I wanted to receive more guidance. I know that I am receiving more guidance right now for two reasons...one because I am actively seeking it and recognizing it and even recording it in my personal journal most of the time (I haven't actually kept a journal since I started this blog...but since this call, I've started one again for things that are too personal to share here.) and second because I have a responsibility that requires me to be led by the spirit so that I can serve others. However, we each have the opportunity to have the Holy Ghost lead us and guide us and teach us on a daily basis if we live worthily of that blessing.

I am so excited for General Conference. There are always talks that speak directly to me. But this time, I am following the advice I've seen in several places to have some specific questions in mind that I'm seeking answers to. As I listen to conference I will be listening to hear answers to these questions. Tomorrow, I am going to have my children write down questions that they are wanting to have answers for. Then we will listen for answers to each of our questions. I'm also excited because we were able to get tickets to the Sat. AM session, so Alfredo and Michelle and I will be able to be there in the conference center for conference. And I'm so grateful to my sister who will stay here with Gabby and Ella (who is ALMOST old enough to go, but not quite...26 more days from Sat. until her 8th bday!)

Dog sitting

We are dog sitting my friend Brenda's dogs for 10 days while she is out of town. She has two dogs...Luna and Daisy. My girls are enjoying them, especially Luna. They carry her all over the place and even want to sleep with her.

Journals

My kiddos got journals for Easter. I have been thinking lately that I'd like them to be more consistent about writing in a journal. It's a good habit to have and it's a good way to practice writing as well as to record events, thoughts and feelings. So I've decided to devote 10-15 minutes to writing in our journals on Sunday. I won't be able to write in mine at that time...because Gabby is not an independent writer yet... but I want to help them establish this writing habit. ANd I know myself well enough to know that often I have good ideas that I start and then I get busy and they don't last. So I'm hoping that by posting it here, it will make me more accountable. We started this on Sunday. I let the girls write whatever they wanted about Easter.
Gabby asked me to draw Heavenly Father and Jesus for her and then I helped her to spell "Heavenly Father" and "Jesus" to label the pictures. They aren't very good drawings, but I have never claimed to be a great artist.

Easter baskets

While we try to do most of our secular celebrating on Saturday and leave Sunday to remember the Savior, the girls do get their Easter baskets on Sunday morning. This year the baskets were actually buckets. They got books. They got a few treats, including Peeps. I hate Peeps, but I guess the Easter Bunny figured the girls should get at least one chance to try them and decide if they like them. They each got a shirt and a journal (or in Gabby's case a writing tablet with big lines.). They also each got a webkinz which they were really thrilled about. And Michelle and Ella each received an Easter dress. Gabby received an Easter outfit. Aly had taken Gabby and Sofie shopping a few days ago and found an Easter dress for Sofie. Gabby really loved it so Aly bought one for Gabby too. So Gabs and her best friend were twins today. ;).

Gabby was SOOO happy to get some Pete the Cat books for Easter. She loves Pete the Cat. (I'm glad that the Easter bunny read her preschool teacher's post on Facebook that all the preschoolers LOVE Pete the Cat. It was/is quite a hit!)


Then we of course went to church and had wonderful meetings where the spirit was abundant.

Then we went to dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. They had hidden Easter eggs for my kids, so my kids got a second hunt. This time some of the eggs had money in them. Gabby was all about the money...she gave all the candy to me but cheered each time she opened an egg with change. She kept repeating, "I am rich!" $1.55 made a little girl very happy.


Sunday evening we held FHE. (Sundays just work so much better for me/us.). We watched a video about the Savior's resurrection and read part of John 20. We read a blog post from Daily Closer to Christ about Easter and Mary Magdalene. And we read Carol Heyer's book The First Easter.

Then I had my girls write in their new journals. It was a wonderful day.

Easter fun

We had loads of fun celebrating the secular side of Easter on Saturday. We decorated eggs. This year we used kook-aid to dye the eggs. It worked well and smelled good. The only downside was I thought I bought some blue....but the package I thought was blue was actually a dark red...so our eggs are red, pink and orange colors. I had read online that if you wrap rubber bands around the egg then you get cool designs...except I didn't have rubber bands. I tried one with the girl's hair elastics. They were hard to position, but it did turn out pretty cool. We also drew on some of the eggs with crayon which made fun designs.


I baked the yummiest Almond Joy oatmeal cookies. They are so YUMMY. The recipe came from here at Sweet Treats and More.
I wasn't sure my kids would like them because they don't like almond Joy candy bars, but they have happily helped me eat them. So. Very. Good. I haven't made cookies in months, but now that spring break is here, I am more relaxed and have more free time.

The girls painted Easter paintings.


We had an Easter egg hunt in the front yard.


We went to a BBQ. The girls even got to fly a kite thanks to a nice stranger.

The kids played outside for several hours. I even sat outside watching Gabby ride her scooter and trike and reading a book for close to an hour. It was the most relaxing day I have had in months.