My family totally spoiled me on Mother's Day. Todd and the kids had been working in secret for days beforehand, making lots of love notes for me that they hid all over the house. I found messages in my makeup bag, my underwear drawer, the flour bin, my purse, the shower, my closet, and several other locations - so many that I was still discovering them for several days afterward! Hazel and Todd woke up early and made cinnamon rolls from scratch, so yummy! All day long, everyone was extra sweet to me and did all the work in the kitchen. It was wonderful.
The Oakland Temple Open House ran through most of the month. We spent our family scripture study time for a week before prepping the kids on why we have temples and how sacred and meaningful it is for us. It was a great experience to be able to walk through with them and share our testimonies of temple work and eternal families with them in a way we hadn't done before.
Later in the month, I was able to go back with my good friend, April, and share with her some of the greatest doctrine in the gospel of Jesus Christ. She was happy to learn about something that I hold so dear to my heart.
Usually we bike or scooter to school, but when we slow down and walk, I get to see cute bonding moments between my kids like this one:
On May 19, we met Todd up in Sacramento during his drill weekend to attend the Change of Command ceremony. He passed the leadership baton on to his old friend from flight school, Joey Burke.
Here they are, learning to fly Blackhawk helicopters, back in 2008:
It's been an emotional change for Todd, winding down and preparing for his retirement from the Army, which will happen next year. He prefers to work hard and be useful, and the fewer people he has to answer to, and the more responsibility he has, the happier he is. It's difficult for him to step down and take a backseat for this last year of his Army career, but it was either that or add another year and another deployment to his time. I am grateful for the sacrifice he is making in favor of his family and his mental health.
I was surprised to realize I probably don't have a picture of Gemma in a Blackhawk yet. I feel like I've got a bunch, but they're most likely of Hazel and Jack. Lucky for us all, I figured that out in time to snag one or two!
Hazel's class put on a play about the California Gold Rush. I helped out with the sound system, so every day for two weeks, I was at the school for an hour while they practiced. It was a big commitment, but fun to be a part of. It took me back to my drama days as a teenager. I loved it so much! Hazel claims she hated every minute of it. Her least favorite part was having to do the Macarena in front of an audience. Ha!
That same day, Todd came and spoke in Gemma's class about flying Medevac helicopters as part of their unit on community helpers. Most of those little guys weren't around to see Todd's big show at the school last year, but a couple of them were there and remembered how cool it was.
Also that same day, Jack had a field trip to Del Valle, an huge regional park in the area with a lake, hiking, and camping spots. It was rainy and cold, so he wore his winter puffy coat! We've had some crazy ups and downs with our weather the last little while.
Jack has also been studying Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with some visiting teachers from the Shakespeare society out here. The class performed an act from the play and everyone had one line. He claims he had no idea what it all meant, but he's looking forward to the opportunity to see a Shakespeare performance over the summer. When Hazel did this in second grade, the theatre troupe was also performing A Midsummer Night's Dream, so she was able to follow the plot and whisper to me what was happening. Jack and I will be going to Othello, which I know nothing about. I guess I'd better study up before we go...
Gemma, spunky little thing, is looking forward to first grade, but has shed some tears about leaving Mrs. Coon. She's starting to read a little on her own, but still prefers to listen to someone else read to her. She will often go out to the front yard and play against herself in tetherball. She's fierce and comes back in sweaty.
We drove down to Sunnyvale to watch our "California cousin" Nova perform as Ursula in The Little Mermaid. She did not disappoint! She was evil and funny and belted out her songs and completely stole the show.
On Memorial Day, we trekked up to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. We made a quick stop at the Japanese Tea Gardens because we could get in free before 10:00. The kids took lots of pictures, with the idea that they will recreate them in drawings or paintings over the summer. It was really pretty.
Our main purpose in coming, however, was to visit the De Young Museum of Art, which had an exhibit of Claude Monet's late work. Monet has always been one of my absolute favorite artists, and Hazel is also drawn to him and his style. It was an incredible opportunity, and I'm so grateful we were able to go.
It's one thing to see his work in print form, in books or on posters, but to see the real deal in person took my appreciation of his talent to a whole new level. The layers upon layers of paint were fascinating to me, the color choices, the size of his pieces and the scale of his work, were all amazing. I was just blown away by how we could walk through room after room, looking at nearly 100 paintings, and every single one of them was incredibly beautiful. He really was a master.
We had to wait about an hour after we got there until it was our turn to see the exhibit, so we had wandered through the other parts of the museum beforehand. When we came out afterward and discussed what we had seen, Jack said, "It's a good thing we looked at the other art in the museum first, because it doesn't look as good after seeing Monet's." It was phenomenal seeing such high-quality work. Every piece was awe-inspiring.
I put in a few hours in Gemma's kindergarten class, giving each of the kids a one-on-one reading assessment so the first grade teachers have a benchmark of what level each student can read at. It was satisfying for me. I need to find more volunteer opportunities to use my skills like that.
I spent most of May trying to eat low-carb to lose some weight. I'd gotten fed up with the extra 10+ pounds I've been carrying around, particularly the ones that hang over my waistband. I just didn't feel good, and finally felt motivated enough to put in some effort to take better care of my body. Well, the first four pounds came off in ten days, and it felt fantastic, but after that, I hit a plateau and that made the low energy and feelings of deprivation harder to deal with.
I started praying about it, asking Heavenly Father to help me know how best to take care of this wonderful body He's given me. And then I started studying. I looked up information on sugar and how it can be as addictive as heroin. I looked into the Paelo diet and their aversion to grains, the idea of eating fresh meat and lots and lots of vegetables. I watched a documentary about plant-based diets and thought about whether or not animal food products were good for me to eat. I read a book about processed foods and thought a lot about all the additives in the foods we buy. I studied the Word of Wisdom and prayed some more, and then it was like a fire was lit under me, and I felt an enlightening. I felt drawn to take the good from all the ideas out there, and see how it aligned with the Word of Wisdom. I felt compelled to make some changes in my family's diet, such as reducing the sugar we use and switching to whole grains. I've decided it's time to break up with highly processed foods and try to stick to ones with only a handful of ingredients, all of which could be found in a normal household kitchen. I'm excited about the idea of working with a lot more produce, and being thoughtful about the sources for the meats we eat.
It's a lifestyle change, and I'm taking it slow, but I'm definitely feeling passionate about it. I've been able to eat bread again, and I'm still losing weight. I'm feeling more energetic, more clear minded, and, to be honest, liberated. I feel like I was definitely given personal revelation on how I can treat my body and my health more mindfully, with more respect and more love. I'm just getting started, but I'm feeling like it was exactly the right direction Heavenly Father wanted me to take myself and my family. I'm feeling really grateful for how open communication with heaven feels to me right now.
I've been to the library and picked up every cook book that I thought might give me some delicious inspiration, and I'm working on a new collaboration of recipes to use, but honestly, it's really pretty simple. Just eat quality-sourced food as close to it's natural state as you can, as often as you can. Along the way. love where you're at and celebrate the journey.
