Soccer fans

Both boys are playing spring soccer & Emilia & I try to go to a few games to cheer our favorite players! This was a really beautiful day, with their games back to back & the boys each played great!

Forever & Always

It's been another hectic May day. But I was just sitting here rocking Emilia to sleep & considering how blessed we are to be safe in our home, when others in Oklahoma were affected by the tragic tornado yesterday. Throughout the world each day, too many individuals are without home, family, food, love & so many other parts of life that I can so easily forget how blessed I am to have in my life.

While I sit here & hold my sweet baby & gaze at her long lashes & enjoy the sight of a slumbering babe- I'll remember that life is precious. As tragedy always teaches - life can go from "perfect" to nothing in mere seconds to minutes.

"And as the mother held her baby she sang, 'I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be'".

Athough I know my babies will be mine forever - not just while I'm living. Blessings.

never eat alone

This morning the boys were in our bedroom trying to avoid getting ready for school.  I came in while they were having a conversation over by our bookshelf, which on the bottom shelf are many of the books Bryson Sr. has acquired over the years on business matters.  They seemed to be discussing this book:

Bryson Jr.:  "See, I told you that you never want to eat alone." 

Jacob:  Why?  Why don't you want to eat alone?"

Bryson Jr.:  I don't know, it's Dad's book - ask him.  But the title says 'Never Eat Alone' so maybe its so you don't get lonely.  Or if you choke you have someone there.  Or so someone is there to tell you stuff - like to eat slowly, or what to do at the table...like Mom does."

Jacob:  Yeah......but I think that sounds like a weird book. 

that sounds a bit odd...

The boys were getting their soccer uniforms on for their games, and were asking what colors they were - they either wear their black or white jersey each week.

Madeleine was by me when I was looking on the calendar to figure out which color each boy would wear.

Madeleine:  "So, did you not put down what team they are playing on because they both play for Odd-i-das?"

"What?  What do you mean?"  I replied. 

"You know - their team names, did you not put them by their team names because they are both Odd-i-das?" 

"The boys don't have the same team name.  Where did you see that the teams both have the same name? 

"It's on their soccer shirts, up in the corner.  In a little oval it says 'Odd-i-das'" 

Oh, honey!  That says Adidas!  That's the company's name who makes the soccer shirts!  They make a lot of sports gear, so that's not the boy's team name! 

"Oh.  I thought that was a strange name." 

Me {thinking}: which one sounded strange, Adidas or Odd-i-das?  

I love when the mind works to put together sense of things that it doesn't know!  It's so often comical to hear us say what is on our mind...it's not just children, but even as adults we come up with some great lines

happiness is...

This girl.  This smile.

May 5, 2013 

If every man were like unto...

Jacob: "Mom, I want to be like Helaman.  Except....well, can I be an army guy?" 

"You can be an army guy, but you don't have to be an army guy to be like Helaman.  To be like Helaman you can be strong - he was strong physically but he was also strong because he was courageous, faithful and true.  Helaman was a great man because he followed Christ and wanted to be like him.  If you want to be like Helaman, you'll be following Jesus and becoming like him." 

Jacob: "Oh.  Then I want to be like Helaman....and like Moroni."  

I love, love my conversations with Jacob.  From the instant he was born I knew we had a wise spirit in our family.  He is a lot of fun, but he has this inner sense of who he is, what he is striving for, and I pray that he will continue to desire to be like these mighty heroes.  He has become even more interested in them and their lives with his scripture reading - what a blessing!  

Alma 48 

11 And Moroni was a ^astrong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect ^bunderstanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

 12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the ^awelfare and safety of his people.

 13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had ^asworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto ^aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the ^bdevilwould never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

 18 Behold, he was a man like unto ^aAmmon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.

 19 Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less^aserviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words.

checkmate

Bryson Jr. was in the early morning Chess Club at school for the past few months & he loved it!  Getting up to make it to school early was a struggle on some of those Friday mornings, but he usually was excited to go and play a few matches and improve his game.  He even received 3rd place in the 3rd grade category when they had awards mid-March at the end of the Chess Club season.  He was so excited about receiving a trophy for this!      

Jacob wanted to play as well - so I signed him up, but his attendance was very sporadic.  He still learned and had a great time, and there has been a renewed interest in playing the game in the past month in our home!  The only downside, is that these kiddos often feel the need to get a little too involved in someone else's game (see below - Miss M is moving one of Jacob's pieces).  Trust me - it never turns out well when there are 3 people involved in a two-person game!    

The boys in particular are drawn to the chess board at all hours of the day.  They can't wait to try their hand at getting their opponent in Checkmate & usually start playing in the morning and have a game going until bedtime.  They are a pretty good match for one another - Jacob has really had to up his game in the last month to be a competitive opponent for Bryson.  They both love to rise to the challenge of giving the other a hard game to play - and sometimes their tempers rise as well, especially when they feel that injustice has been dealt and perhaps they have received a Checkmate call much earlier than they had wanted!

Last week I was trying to think of a good movie that the kiddos could enjoy on their weekend movie night, and when I was talking to my dad (who is a champion chess player in our family!) - it was remembered that the boys might like the movie 'Searching for Bobby Fisher'.  I looked on Netflix and it was there for a limited time, and so I put it into the Instant Que to watch and excitedly told the kiddos about the show...or what I could remember.  I don't know if I remember Washington Square so much from the movie, or if seeing it in real life when we were living in NYC brought back the memory from the movie.  Either way, the first few months we lived in the city we went down by Washington Square every Tuesday afternoon to take Madeleine to a Children's Choir she was in at NYU.  I loved walking by the park and looking in at all the folks that were seated on the tables in front of their chess boards deep in thought over the games of chess.

The children were sufficiently stoked to watch the movie after I had talked it up and up for days.  As we were getting ready to watch the movie, Bryson Jr. excitedly called out, "Who is ready to watch Searching for Fishy Bobber?!"

We all looked at each other, then started to laugh and couldn't stop.  I love when words get all mixed up - it makes for such a great laugh!

Now, unfortunately it was too bad we couldn't laugh as hard when we found out that 'Searching for Bobby Fisher' was no longer on Netflix.  We had missed the deadline!  I am definitely hunting that movie down to show to the kiddos - and hopefully by then the kiddos will be even better at their game and they'll still call it 'Searching for Fishy Bobber'....that just sounds so much better anyway! :)