Funky Tree Friday (a day late)

I've been thinking of occasionally putting up pictures of funky trees I see around the island. I've been thinking of doing it on Fridays for the alliteration but I don't seem to be off to the best start. Hopefully I'll do better as we go. Here's the first one.


These trees crack me up. The roots come out of the tree part of the way up. As they grow, more roots come out farther up the trunk. Why they don't just grow down farther into the soil I don't know. Maybe this way gives them more stability?

Parent Teacher Conferences

Monday at Anna's school we had a parent/teacher conference. I thought it was a bit funny because I don't think of it as a 'real' school but I guess it is. Jason came with us and her teacher, Puhala, talked about where Anna is developmentally. She's doing pretty well. Puhala specifically mentioned how well she talks, sits for reading and interacts with the other kids.

Puhala also had some handouts that talked about general child development with regard to writing and talking. The writing one showed different stages of writing starting with scribbles on a page then moving onto separate shapes and then onto pre-writing. The other handout was about encouraging talking. We didn't need it but she was giving it to all the parents.

She also gave us a CD with a slideshow of pictures of Anna playing. Here it is.

As you can see, we have a lot of fun.

When I Grow Up

Recently, Anna has talked about what she wants to be when she grows up. One day we were in the car and she said she wanted to be a pirate. At first I thought she had said pilot but when I asked if that was right, she said, no she wanted to say "Arrr".

Here is a little video of what she says most if I ask what she wants to be.

Apparently I can get her started in classes when she is 4.

Christmas Project

I have a friend, Amanda, who had a baby scary premature. I don't know if I've blogged about it or not but her little girl is home and doing well. For Christmas, Amanda wants to put together baskets for families who are spending the holidays in the NICU and is asking people to send cards that she can include in the baskets. For all of the information, here is what she said about what's she's looking for and how to get it to her.

First Lesson

Yesterday I gave my first Relief Society lesson. A few weeks ago, I was called as the second counselor in the Relief Society presidency. I realized I haven't been in Relief Society since we lived in Utah and I was still in school, even longer since I taught there. I was a bit nervous but it seemed to go well and I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about: Sister Beck's talk from Women's Conference.

I loved pretty much everything in the talk and had a hard time cutting back so I could fit it in the time I had (although I did have to talk kind of fast). I wanted to share my favorite part of it here:

I have said lately that women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. Whatever happens in that home and family happens because she cares about it and it matters to her. She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her. For example, if the lioness at the gate believes in the law of tithing, tithing will be paid in that family. If that family has a humble little portion of ten pesos coming in, that lioness will safeguard the one peso if tithing is important to her. If that lioness at the gate knows about renewing her baptismal covenants with God, she will be in sacrament meeting on Sunday, and she will prepare her children to be there. They will be washed, cleaned, combed, and taught about that meeting and what happens there. It isn’t a casual event, but it is serious to her, and it will be serious to them. The lioness at the gate ensures that temple worship is taken care of in the family. She encourages that participation. She cares about seeking after her ancestors. If the lioness at the gate knows about and understands missions, missionaries, and the mission of the house of Israel, she will prepare future missionaries to go out from that home. It is very difficult to get a lion cub away from a lioness who doesn’t believe in missions, but if the lioness believes in a mission, she will devote her life to preparing the cub to go out and serve the Lord. That’s how important she is. Service happens if she cares about it.Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate.

Even thinking about the term "lioness at the gate" can give me chills. I love the imagery and it makes me want to be more firm in my convictions and what I want for my family, no matter what the other people in the house say or do.

How I Spent My Day

I spent today canning. I've never canned before and thought of it like gardening and quilting: magical. Like from a Farside cartoon: then a miracle occurs and you have jars of food.

A while ago our ward got a bunch of papayas (they filled a truck bed) and we could just take as many as we wanted. I had two grocery store bags full and while they're yummy, it seemed like a bit much to just eat so I made chutney and canned it.

I was a bit wary but fortunately, Jason's mom is a crazy canning lady and talked me through how to do it. When she explained it, it seemed doable and simple. I was still a bit apprehensive but everything worked out just fine and now I have eight jars of papaya chutney. I'm amazed it worked and it's so exciting each time I hear the little thunk when the lid pops down. Now I just have to figure out how best to eat it.

Lessons Learned

The other day I was thinking about all of the things I learned during the year that I lived with my sister and her family. Here are the ones I've come up with so far:

-how to sacrifice my will for the will of the Lord

-the importance of living in a place as if you will be there forever (even if you won't)

-how to relax and let kids be kids

-making soups from scratch

-just how wonderful it is to have a vegetable garden (especially herbs)

-that my older siblings see me as a contemporary, not a little sister

-the importance of letting people know what I'm thinking and planning

-a love of visiting the temple every month

-that I'm a spring

-it's worth talking to people to get things cleared up (even if that conversation is uncomfortable) rather than avoid them

-a lot of great picture books

-the importance of generosity even if you don't think you have any to spare

-the joy of home decorating

-a little bit of what I want my home to look like some day

-how do-able regular family home evening is

-what kids are capable of an what they are not capable of

-the importance of toys and that they are worth spending money on

-that I am not ready to be the parent of a teenager (good thing I have a little bit of time before that happens)

-the need that men have to be able to support their family and women have to be able to run a home

-that Kristen and I look a lot alike (even we could see it)

-that we didn't have to live in a city for Jason to enjoy his job and I'm ok with that too

As you can see, it was a very productive year. I'm sure I learned more than this, I just don't know it yet. In a lot of ways living there was a tough year, but in other ways it was great. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.