Family Theme 2013

Our family theme for 2013 is: REJOICE! 

	Definition: Be very happy about something Synonyms:
	Be glad, be overjoyed, celebrate, delight, enjoy, exult, feel happy, glory, joy, jump for joy, make merry, revel, triumph  May 2013 be a year worth Rejoicing over . . .   And may we rejoice -- even if it isn't.

Snot-Bubbles

A good mom would have run and got a tissue . . . 

I ran and grabbed my camera. 

Genetic

Looks like Henry inherited my crazy-big eyes. Poor kid. 

Les Miserables: RAW

I loved the Les Miserables movie. It was different than I expected, but it was still amazing. I thought it was fantastic that they did the raw-cut singing . . . it made it REAL. In honor of the movie, I thought I would do some raw-singing myself, and Sammi too! 

Two of my favorite songs from the musical: On My Own, and Castle on a Cloud . . . 

Very RAW, and very REAL . . .

I. Love. Music. 

Life is Random . . .

 I take lots of pictures daily, but I am not as good at posting daily -- though I really would like to. For now, here are some random bits of life . . .

We were gathering clothes to give away, when I came across this gem from when Sammi was a baby. I was OK with giving it away, but Charles was not. He is super-sentimental. He grabbed it out and wanted to keep it "just in case." Just in case what? I am sure I don't know. Just in case I want to dress up Henry like a girl? Yeah, that is what we saved it for . . . 

After a year of having our TV, we finally started using some of the "smart" features on it, like the internet. We have been watching Kid History videos on youtube lately, they have a bunch of new snippets -- we love them! Now we can watch youtube videos directly on TV -- how cool is that? Yea! 

 If you have not seen kid history yet -- do it now. It is great.

 Just do a youtube search . . . Kid History. 

The kids were doing Wii's Just Dance, while lying on the floor  . . . it was entertaining. They were scoring just as well as standing up. 

 Henry playing on the floor. He loves to roll himself up in blankets. 

 Brothers

 I was trying to get a picture of William and Henry together, because their top teeth are both growing in at the same time. I thought it was silly. Henry is almost 9 months, and William is 6 in April. 

 SNOW! 

We finally had snow! And quite a bit for Boise, more than I have ever seen here in the last 5 years. 

The kids were LOVING it. 

 Hooray! 

 We have had some beautiful mornings around here . . . had to capture this sunrise, it only lasted a few minutes, but I caught it. So beautiful. Cameras on phones are the best -- always with you! 

Mindy (sis-in-law) and family came to visit us this week. 

She took Sammi with her to a girls college basketball game -- I think it was Wyoming vs. Boise? Yeah, that's is how into it I am! Sammi loved it though. 

 They were being twins . . . which is weird, since Mindy is my sis-in-law, and not blood-related? 

We had a herd of boys around here -- 6 of them. How did my Nan (Grandma) do it?? I just don't know?! Wow! To think she did not even have movies or video games to entertain them. (Just look at those blank stares into TV land.) 

Oh, and notice the map on the wall . . . it is my new favorite thing. 

This is what I see after school, when I go get the kids . . . I sure love them. They are such lovely beings. 

SO precious . . . 

 There was a snow day, and all the neighbor kids came rushing out to play. There were SO many of them! It was great. The kids were in winter-heaven. 

 One of our neighbors was giving rides on his 4 wheeler pulling a sled. He is now the coolest dad on the street. 

 How fun is that? Yeah, the kids were SO lucky! 

Winter Wonderland

 Despite the snow and frigid cold, I have kept running. I ran 5 days last week, and 6 days this week . . . I can feel my drive increasing, daily. It is not so much in my body, but in my mind. I can do this. I can. I have done it before, and I can do it NOW. I am doing it . . . 

My winter running view . . . 

Baby it's cold outside, but I don't care . . . I've got work to do! 

That's all for now! 

More life to come, if all goes well. :-) 

Winter Running

I am determined. To run. After doing Pilates for awhile, I was able to heal up my back and hip enough to start really running again. Lucky me, it is the depths of winter for me to get going! But since I am an Alaskan girl, what is a little cold and snow, eh? Sissy stuff. 

My favorite thing is running in the super-cold, or when it is snowing, and I have to cover my face. I am using a scarf now, but I am in search of the perfect winter face mask . . . anyone? Ideas? REI was out. 

Using a scarf over my face causes me to breath really heavy, and the moisture makes my eyelashes freeze. I have made the mistake -- more than once -- of having on eye make-up from the previous day, and the cold, plus my hot breath, forces it to slide down into pools of black tar, blurring my vision and stinging my eyes. Bad idea. Don't try it. 

I love running in the winter. It is fun. Yes, very fun. 

I was out the other day when it was 5 degrees in the morning. I saw only one other lady out walking in the frigid temperature. She saw me and said, "Are we crazy, or what?" I answered her with teeth chattering, "Yes, yes we are!" 

Sometimes, I am alone out there -- so very alone. Sometimes it feels like I am in another world completely. My hat and the snow causes a sort of tunnel-vision that leaves me alone with no view except the white snow beneath my running shoes. Having no vision, or view, makes me feel very aware of my body. There is nothing to look at but white, nothing to distract, so all I can do is feel. All I can feel is me moving forward -- sometimes painfully -- one forced step at a time. 

During these cold and alone times, I pray. I pray for help. I pray for encouragement to keep going. Sometimes I am answered in my head, and sometimes, often times, this is what I hear . . .

"HONK! HONK! HONK!" 

No, not honking from cars passing by saying, "Whoo Baby!" No, I rarely get honked at anymore. My honking comes from above me -- far above me -- just a little below Heaven really. It comes from . . . 

Geese. 

Perhaps you know this already, but the reason that geese honk at each other is because they are offering each other encouragement. They are basically communicating, "You can do it, keep going!" 

And in some of my coldest moments, when my face is frozen, and my legs can barely move, and there is no other living soul in sight -- I find I am not alone. Flying just above me, as if they are drawn to me like the woodland animals to Snow White, I find my flock of friends. They timely begin honking me along, letting me know, reminding me . . . I can do it, I just have to keep going!

Oh, and as a bonus just for me, they fly in a special formation. I hear the honking, I raise my head just a little to see my feathered-friends, and every time I find them flying in a V. How lucky am I? They fly in a "V" just for me! 

"V" for van Ormer, of course! (And Victory, too!) 

You are never alone. God answers your prayers! No matter how small. 

Hall Class

Henry and I are members of the church hall class. He is noisy, fidgety, and he likes to chirp like a bird, and I do not believe in disturbing the efforts of teaching (especially since I am a teacher and I know what it is like!). So, we spend a good portion of our time sitting on the couch in the foyer, watching all the lovely people go by (it is facinating, you should try it!). 

I love it in the hall class. In some respects, I feel I learn more from observing people and their actions, than I do sitting in on a Sunday School lesson. (There are usually people going in and out of different classes/meetings.) I am naturally a people-watcher, so it suits me just fine to view the actions of those around me. (Yes, I do interact with people, too.) During my time in the hall, I have come to observe what lovely people there are, especially at church. There are so many good, marvelous souls, just trying to do their best. I have also noticed that Mormons can be remarkably beautiful people -- which is nice, because it makes them easier to watch. :-)

"What big eyes you have!" 

"All the better to see you with, my dear."

I was not always happy to be a member of the hall class. With my first child, Sammi, I used to wonder why staying the full 3 hours of church was even necessary, since I spent at least 2 hours in the hall, or mother's lounge. I would go faithfully (and I always will), but sometimes I felt gypped as I had to remove myself from the classroom as Sammi would let out her precious baby shriek. (I left on my own accord, I was not forced out or anything.) Those new mother days were hard! I loved having my sweet baby, and snuggling in the hall (or feeding in the nursing lounge) -- but I also longed for the mental/spiritual stimulation I would receive from attending my classes, especially since I felt like I had pushed out some brain cells along with the placenta. It was a battle for me, but I made it through -- mostly unharmed -- and definitely for the better.

Now that I am older (and wiser), I love the quiet hall class that I get to share with my cherubic baby! I have realized that there is great power just being in the church building. I love being at church. I love being in the Lord's house. And when I can just let the pressure of performance go (you know, putting on the fake-happy smile until your cheeks hurt), and when I can just "be still" -- that is when I can feel the peace and joy that comes from my presence at church. No matter where I am in the building: the chapel, the classroom, the nursing lounge, the hallway, etc., I can feel my Savior's love for me. Even (and often especially), as I sit with my sweet baby in our special limited time only hall class.

And thanks to my parents, I have a special hall class "manual."  They gave me this book to write my thoughts in, and it has become the perfect thing for me to do, while I am nestled in the comfy church couch with Henry. 

My plan for this book is to fill each page with a favorite quote, and then write some very brief feelings about it . . . nothing complicated or stressful, just thoughts.

 Oh, and I really want to have my handwriting analyzed . . .  it hasn't changed since grade school! 

So, if you are also part of the church hall class, don't hate it, or feel gypped -- embrace it, love it! It will pass quickly . . . too quickly. And one day, you may wish for the sweet and simple lessons taught while holding your eternal posterity tightly in your arms. You may wish you could escape to the gloriousness of the hall class. If you are currently privileged to have a baby to hold, while knocking over chairs, interrupting the class, covered in spit-up, and making a mad-dash to the door . . . just enjoy it! You are holding the most important church doctrine in your arms -- no doubt about it!