Talk

So here I am. I fired up the ol' Lappy. It's funny being on here again. In the last few years I've only used it a few times a year. It makes me feel kind of bad for getting it. Jeremy knew I wanted one, so he bought me one. That pleases me, so I don't feel all that guilty. Besides, it has sure come in handy once in a while! Compared to today's computers it is a dinosaur. We bought it back when Benji or maybe Michael was the baby. I think my two favorite things I did on here was a family slideshow and helping type an ancestor's journal. Oh, and I prepared most of my talks on here when I was in the Stake Primary Presidency. I think the reason why I hardly use this poor thing anymore is that it's so heavy.

And speaking of talks, today I gave a talk in church. Bishop texted me on Friday and asked me to do it. I kind of surprised myself because I didn't want to do it. You probably think I'm crazy, but I usually like giving talks. Maybe one of the reasons why I didn't want to is that I'm out of practice and therefore really needed to. Anyway, I, of course, put it off until Saturday, and Jeremy was sick. So as I worked on my talk for about 7 hours, my poor sick hunny was trying to run herd on kiddos while not altogether coherent. Poor guy. (I'm not joking. He was feeling horrible, and I was having a really hard time getting that talk together for some reason.) Well, it seems to have paid off. And thank heavens it's done!

Bishop told me I could pick my own topic. For a while that made me kind of mad. I was responsible to come up with a topic and then write the silly talk! It turned out ok, though. I started thinking first about the gospel topics I like to study. And one stuck with me. I knew that's what I should talk about. But it sounds super cheesy when I say what my topic was. So... you may remember that we have a scripture hanging in our home. It is from 2 Nephi, and it says, "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." I made a banner of it and actually left it hanging in our home in Cedar City when we left, hoping somebody would see it and know what kind of life we lived there. Kind of like an epitaph. It's so lovely and poetic. I have it hanging in our house now, but I need a new one. This scripture means a lot to me. I hope that it can be a good definition for our family in the long run. And if you think about it, living after the manner of happiness means living in such a way that happiness finds you, doing all the things that bring lasting happiness.

So that was the basis for my talk. I also found that Joseph Smith quote on happiness and used it, because you'd have to be an idiot to not use that in a quote about happiness! It says something along these lines: "Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue that path that leads to it; and that path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God." Something like that. I may have missed a word or so. Anyway, I took that quote and broke it apart and defined some of the words. The coolest thing to me was when I looked up the words "object" and "design." Always before when I read that quote I kind of lumped those two things together to mean the same thing - our goal. But I now think that's not quite what it is saying. Object can be defined as a purpose or goal, and design can be defined as a method prepared in advanced for achieving a goal. So that says to me that happiness is not only our goal, but the method we use to get to that goal. I also found a really cool quote that I put on Facebook yesterday. (Awww.... the poor Lappy. It can't even pull up Facebook. I'll just Google it instead.) It says, "Rectitude is a perpetual victory, celebrated not by cries of joy but by serenity, which is joy fixed or habitual." Ralph Waldo Emerson said that. Isn't it awesome? I put that with the part about uprightness.

Anyway, it came out good. There toward the end of compiling I had piles of papers all around and couldn't see how to make them fit, but I prayed, and God helped me put it all together in a manner that pleased Him. That always seems to work out pretty good. :) When I write a talk I usually just do bullets instead of writing out the whole thing. That way I can get the gist and add things if I feel I should. Next time I should think more about my testimony at the end. I think all good talks should end with a testimony, but I don't want it to sound rehearsed because then it doesn't seem sincere. But I always seem to kind of stumble when I get to that part of my talk because I haven't thought it through. So next time! Anyway, I'm thankful it's all done. I'm thankful for Jeremy for taking care of everyone and Hyrum for making dinner. (He made porcupines and nailed it. Yum!) And it was also cool how Sister Badgett behind me practically jumped up to volunteer to hold Brom during my talk because Timmy got super sad right before I had to get up, and Jeremy ended up taking him out. And Brom was, of course, a perfect angel for her. The other kids on the bench were too. And Jeremy was somehow or other able to hear most of my talk too. Near the end Timmy glanced in the chapel and saw me speaking, so he hid behind the open door and watched me through the crack. And after I finished, I grabbed Brom and sat down, and then Jeremy brought Timmy to me, and he snuggled on my lap and calmed right down. Then he stayed cuddled up to me for pretty much the rest of the meeting. I liked hearing the other lady speak too. At least I wasn't nervous alone! And another lady played a beautiful piano solo. The other speaker is somebody I really like but hardly ever see. She has a daughter who is about 19 I think, and she's severely crippled. They used to get her dolled up and bring her to church most Sundays, but they don't anymore. I'm not sure why. I liked seeing their daughter and how her mother cared for her so lovingly. It was touching. Anyway, it was fun to hear her talk about how technology helps her have the gospel in her life.

And that best part about giving a talk is hearing everyone's compliments, even though they really embarrass me sometimes. I'm getting better at graciously receiving a compliment. But I'm not perfect by any means! Anyway, one lady who happens to remind me a lot of my Grandma Peterson (and also just so happens to be an amazing person like my Grandma) came and gave me a big hug afterwards. She told me I did a wonderful job and that I need to open my mouth more, that I'm too quiet. Ha ha! Her name is Sister Wheeler, and she's taught a few of my boys in Primary. They love her. And Sister Rubalcava (a sweet lady that I also just love whose husband just passed away a few months ago) said thank you so much and that she really needed to hear that today. Sister Carter said it was just an amazing talk. And another girl I don't even know said she loved it. And then I got a text from Bishop this evening. It says, "Sister Burk - You prepared and delivered an excellent talk this morning. I appreciate you sharing your faith and testimony with all of us. It touched my heart." How's that for a compliment? I could just bawl. So in the end, I'm thankful that I prepared and that I gave that talk. I'd better go because everyone's going nutso and it's bedtime.

Perspective

Maybe I'm feeling a little snarky because my phone tells me it's low on space. I have been working on it all evening. I took all the pictures off. (Don't worry. I put them on my computer.) Over the last few months I've deleted a bunch of apps, but it doesn't seem to make a dent. And today we finally bought a micro SD card so I can have more room, but it didn't make any difference. I don't understand it. I found the place where I can move things to different storage spots, but most things cannot be moved. I already moved what can be moved. I just don't know what else to do, especially since deleting so many apps did nothing. It's probably time for a new phone. Our 1-year warranties ran out about 9 months ago. They make phones like this because they expect you'll want a new one every year. I think it's dumb. I don't like tossing money to the wind. Well, it's also probably time to stop using my phone like a tablet by putting all those apps on in the first place. Ha ha!

I've been reading a lot about education lately, and what I've read has turned my world upside down. It has also helped me justify my frustration with English teachers. Don't get me wrong. Some of the best teachers I've ever had were English teachers. But I guess I'm really still frustrated with how often in my education as I tried to find meaning in what I was reading I was told that I was totally wrong. My meanings were just nothing but incorrect. It's no wonder that I'm nervous about this homeschooling venture we're headed into.

Also, Jeremy went to Globe High School's graduation, and it gets me thinking about the quality of education kids are getting these days. Everything is so dumbed down, and they just let everyone slide through, even if they never really learned to read or think. It's frightening! I don't want that for my children! I don't want them to have that kind of education. I want them to be thinkers. I want them to have the tools they need to succeed at anything. These public schools are made to cram information in kids' heads in a systematic manner, and only the information that is approved by who knows who. They say they're preparing people for college and the workforce, but what then? Public schools reach people what to think, not how to think. It seems like all these graduations are pointless because they don't prove anything. Lots of kids learn too read teachers or play the system. Lots of others never learn anything and get scooted along through anyway. And how do you take what's in somebody's head and turn it into a number? And what about people who just do not do well on tests? It's all just lame.

Please understand, though, that I look back on my own educational experience, and I don't think I'd change a thing. I was pretty darn fortunate to have so many teachers who truly cared and helped me. I'm thankful that I didn't turn out as a brainless fool but was helped along in my thirst for knowledge. It just sickens me how many people have nothing to show other than that piece of paper for all those years. I'm thankful for my years in school. They were not wasted. I hope the same can be said for my children. They are good, smart people, and I am going to try to give them the best I can.

One more thing. Here's a text I sent Jeremy back a few weeks ago: "Timmy just came up to me and said, 'Gerlella (gorilla) say oo oo oo oo.' :) It's cute how he just remembers things like that at odd moments. :) I love that he kind of giggled while he said it too. :)"

Since then Timmy has been able to tell me all sorts of animal sounds. I need to record him doing it. It just tickles me.

Stuff

Ok. Soooo... last week we were thinking of looking for a job in Salt Lake, and we've been wanting to go see Katie for a while. We realized that if we wanted to go we could just do it, but we'd better hurry up before June madness started. We hemmed and hawed and weighed our options and got things done before finally getting packed and on our way on Tuesday. It was afternoon but the time we pulled into Wal-Mart in Payson. See, we wanted to get a new DVD player for our car, but there wasn't one at our Wal-Mart. So I ran into Wal-Mart in Payson and got that DVD player and snacks. But while I was gone Jeremy got a phone call from the school district in St. Johns. They asked for an interview the next morning. What??! So we made a detour and went to St. Johns.

We stayed the night, and the next day the kiddos played in the water outside on the trampoline while Jeremy went to his interview. It turned out that I was a lame-o and really needed to sunscreen my children! Joshua came in early, so he didn't get burned. Timmy didn't get burned either. I think he was too busy with puzzles to even know what was going on outside. Jill got some sunscreen and was fine. Michael's shoulders got burned, and Hyrum's feet and arms were pretty red. He at least remembered to wear a shirt. But Benji took the cake this time. He got burned really bad on his shoulders, back, and tummy. His shoulders had blisters by Saturday. Some of them popped and the skin kind of rubbed off, and now he has a big scab on one shoulder and is peeling all over. He fussed about sunburns for the rest of our trip. Poor guy! Well, they had a lot of fun playing!

After Jeremy's interview we went and looked at a house that is going up for rent, and then we loaded up and got down the road. Jeremy decided to drive through Cedar City. I was surprised because it's not the fastest way to SLC from St. Johns, but I was glad to be there. In a lot of ways, coming back to Cedar City felt like a coming back around to the correct order of things, like the proper manner. It felt like coming home. I was quite sorry to leave again.

We got into Cedar City about 1:00 AM and found a hotel at the north end of town. The guy was really nice and let us just squish into one room. We dragged out the sleeping bags and got everyone to bed. We almost missed the free breakfast the next morning! And before we left Jeremy got a call saying he didn't get the job in St. Johns. Boooo! I was pretty bummed. It would have been so good for our family to be there near my parents. I'm sad that it didn't work out.

We hopped on the road again and made it to Katie's house (I assume it's in West Jordan and not South Jordan, but I don't know for sure) in the afternoon. She has a nice house. It's a good size and has just about the nicest backyard ever. There's a sandbox over by the shed, and there's a little garden and a big playground. There are lots of fruit trees and lovely green grass. It's a great place! Katie got pizza for dinner. Yum! We spent time just visiting and enjoying the lovely weather.

The next day Katie kept her kiddos home from school and we played at her house all day. We thought about going swimming, but it was too expensive. We were going to go to a farm, bit the kids didn't want to. What the...? I got a little laundry done. It was just a nice day. Then we watched the Lego movie. It's great. :) (Speaking of movies, if you haven't seen the new Secret Life of Walter Mitty, see it! It was so, so good!)

The next morning we loaded up and headed back down south. I was sad to pass Lynnette without saying hi. Lame! One part of the trip I really liked: I read Laddie to Jeremy. I got it for free on my Kindle a while ago, and I needed to get through it. I'm working on figuring out a homeschool system, and it requires me to read classics first. I have to get ready to help my kiddos through classics: reading, discussing, writing papers, etc. But I have to get myself started first, and Laddie was my assignment. Anyway, I couldn't keep it to myself. That would be lame! So I read to Jeremy. It was a really great book. (And it's free for your Kindle or Kindle app, so go read it!)

We had lunch in Fillmore at the little park by the gas station. It was fun. :) We stopped in Cedar City on the way home too. We got there in the afternoon. We stopped at Lin's (a grocery store) and got ice cream. Then we took it across the street to the park next to the library. The park has a new huge playground! It's really tall. It has three levels in one spot. It has a little playground for the little kids, and new swings and a merry-go-round. It's great! After letting the kiddos play we went to Wal-Mart for diapers and dinner, and then we cooked dinner (frozen burros) and had baths in the hotel.

The next morning we went to our old ward for church. It was so great! We didn't have church clothes, and that felt funny, but it was so fun to see our friends again! I'm not sure where Bishop Reynolds was. Maybe he went on vacation, but anyway he's not the bishop anymore. He was replaced in January by the Elders Quorum president, Tyler Romeril. He's such a good guy! I loved seeing my good friend Tia Fawson and her family, even if it was quick. And we saw the Mitchells and the kids' old teachers. We also saw our old neighbors, the Kellys. It looks like Hollie Kelly (the wife) has been having chemo again. I think of her now and then. I'm sure she probably has no idea how much I care. I always wish I knew how she was doing, but I never want to ask. I think I should have been a better friend and just asked those hard questions. I was just worried about being a bother. Anyway, the Kellys are such a cute family. It was nice to see them again. Michael was particularly pleased to see their kids, Jori and Aaron.

Since Sacrament Meeting was at 11:00, we just left right after that. We drove almost straight home. We did have a little stop in Flagstaff, but that's about it. It was about 10:00 when we got home. Timmy was covered in Gatorade, so he got a bath. He was so glad to get out of the car! He was such a good boy the whole time. He did do some decompressing that evening. He screamed for a long time about who knows what, but he did finally go to sleep. Phew!

Brom is so fun! He can lean way forward on his hands and knees to grab things and then sit back down. He sometimes goes all the way to bis tummy, and then he just rolls around to get wherever he wants. But he isn't crawling just yet. He's getting good at poking things. Today he discovered that if he poked my nose I would say, "Beeeeep!" He thought that was funny and did it over and over. Its cute to see him make the connection between his actions and the consequences. Amazing! He decided on that trip that he doesn't like mooshed baby food after all. (The kind that WIC buys in jars for him.) Bummer! Maybe he'll decide later that he likes it after all. That's what Timmy did. Bit he loves bananas. :) And he also loves Cheerios and other things he can feed himself. Oh, and before we got home from that trip his top right tooth broke through, and now he's working on the other one. When he sits he can scoot himself backwards a little bit, and at church on Sunday he let go of Papa's hands and just stood there for a few seconds! He's pretty amazing.

Easy to forget

In the hustle and bustle that happens around here it's easy to forget to record things (big and little) that happen here. So before I forget, I need to record the fact that today Joshua went for an interview at the church with Brother Brown and received his very first Temple recommend. I'm so proud and pleased! I know he was frustrated about having to get all dressed up on a weekday, but I'm thankful he did it. :) And on Friday morning he, Hyrum, and I will be meeting my parents at our brand new Temple to do baptisms for the dead. It'll be Joshua's first time, of course. I'm so pleased that I can be there for his first time! And Mama has found some family names for us to do baptisms for. It's so exciting! I'm so excited for Joshua to go and do this and feel something like what I felt/feel doing this vital work. There are just not words for it.

In less happy and kind of weird news, rememberthat job teaching 7th grade math that Jeremy applied for more than a month ago? They basically told him he had it, and then they told him they'd have to wait for this and that. Then they said they'd have to see if they had money to hire him. Then they said they didn't. And last week they told him to resubmit an application. He couldn't. The system wouldn't let him! And so he got that straightened out, and then they came back and said they changed it into a chemistry teacher position, and it was too late. No take-backsies. He'd already applied for the non-existent math position (which does in fact need filled because a teacher is leaving) and can't change to another position. Isn't that hilarious?! (Yeah, it's a bummer to see a job opportunity fall through, but I also think it's kind of comical.

So he has filled out the application for the job in St. John's, but we have to wait for a new superintendent to be hired there first. I'm gonna go ahead and admit that I'm going to be way, way bummed if we don't get that one! And the opportunity at the college has opened, so Jeremy is working on the application for that. I typed up a letter he'd written to go with it today so he can print it. This application is very involved, but I think it is almost done. And did I say they were basically handing that one to him on a silver platter? We were wrong. We have to go through this process and there are other candidates. (At least one we know of.)

So that's where the job situation is. Either way we may be better off next semester if we can just get one of these jobs! So we're praying! I must admit I still would love to go back to Cedar City. We talk about it all the time. Mostly we miss the atmosphere, the friends, and the aquatic center. We miss them all a lot! I wonder if we'll ever get to go back. Maybe after Jeremy gets more experience they'll just hire him. Or maybe we have to get him a doctorate first. But either way, we want to go back. But for now, please bless that one of these positions works out!

And please bless that I can ever again in my life get to bed before midnight! (And thank you for the opportunity to take care of kiddos and my hunny. At bedtime I sit with kiddos as they say their prayers, and tonight I nursed Brom to sleep as usual. I washed Timmy's sticky ice cream face and fingers and then his black legs and feet (all in the sink). And then I snuggled him at the foot of Jill's bed in his blanket and tucked Jill in at the head of her bed. See, lately at bedtime I often end up nursing Brom to sleep sitting on the end of Jill's bed. Timmy slithers up by me and falls asleep. Then when I put Brom in bed I slide Timmy into a more comfortable position (still laying perpendicular on the end of the bed and tuck Jilla back in because she's usually uncovered by then. Timmy usually comes to our bed later, but he has gotten to where he loves this routine and sometimes  gets very upset if it's not followed. I got smart and realized that, duh, we'd established a routine and he liked it. Score 1 for us! We'll keep that up! And tonight I also sang some Primary songs and Benji and Jill's songs. I don't always sing because sometimes Timmy is grouchy at bedtime and whacks me when I try to sing to him. But tonight he didn't. And then Benji came in and asked for his song, and then I saw that Jill was the only other one still awake at that point, so I sang hers too.

There is not much I love more than taking care of my family. Whenever I get Jeremy lunch and he gets to eat it all (he has such a short time for lunch!) or when I change a diaper or lay by my babies or sing to them or wash their clothes or chase Jeremy down and have an actual conversation with him it feels so good. I want them all to know they are so, so loved. They are good people. They all did so good on their jobs today. And Jeremy and Benji helped me level up a bit on Rift. It was good times. Its so rare that Jeremy and I are on at the same time these days. Gaming is not the priority it once was. But it's a worthwhile sometimes activity. It's fun working together, even if it's just in a virtual world.

And speaking of routines (like I was in the paragraph before the last one- ha ha!), I'm trying to establish a routine for calming Timmy when he has one of his meltdowns. That happens when things don't go according to his plans. He gets ideas in his head and can't stand it when things take drastic turns. (Like when he suddenly gets kicked off the computer or when he doesn't get what he wants. That's a toughie. He's actually kind of spoiled because we haven't figured out how to work with him in this. He has so much to learn. It's hard to punish someone who doesn't see connections between choices and consequences. It's hard to help him understand that we have to buy the donuts first. Meltdown! But he is progressing. So hopefully discipline will be able to progress as well.) So I thought about it and remembered he really likes to talk about animals and the sounds they make lately. That's a happy place for him. So I think I'm going to laminate some animal pictures and pull it out to distract and center him. We'll see if it works. Fingers crossed. I just really need a tool like that to bring him back around and help him be centered again. And talking about animal sounds actually helped me cut a couple minutes off the end of a meltdown once. So I'm hopeful!

Throwback Thursday

Here are Benji and Hyrum in 2005. I liked to hang out laundry back in those days.  I think I still would if the tenants hadn't ripped the plastic off the clothesline.  Now all that's left is rusty wire. :P Anyway, I used to bring Benji out in his walker, and one day he tried to go down the step.  He got stuck and just sat there kicking his legs around (they couldn't reach the ground because he was at an incline) and smiling. :) Cute happy boys!

Kiddos

Just wanted to record a few things.

Did I mention that about a month ago Hyrum shaved for the first time?  His upper lip was getting rather fuzzy, so his Papa helped him get rid of it.  Also, his voice has changed.  I'm not sure if it's done changing, but about a week ago he had a cold.  I thought his deeper voice was just because of the cold, but it's hung on.  I guess it's time for all this, but my goodness!  Teenagers.  Pfff.

On Saturday I gave Brom a bath (first time in months.  Just kidding!), and he pulled himself up to stand on the edge of the bathtub!  Crazy!  He's turning 8 months old tomorrow.  He spends time sitting on the floor every day.  He turns around in a circle while sitting and can also push himself backwards while sitting.  He's saying, "a-bah-bah-bah," a lot.  And he has mastered the pincer grasp (grabbing between his pointer finger and his thumb)!  He now can pick up tiny crumbs off the floor and get them into his mouth.  And so begins the fun times of constantly fishing things out of baby's mouth.  Whee!  It's so cute, though!  He makes a fist and extends his pointer finger and pokes things and then grabs them and puts them in his mouth.  He's pretty good at eating Cheerios this way. :)

Timmy's favorite saying lately is, "Papa, get Timmy candy."  (Or "slocklet," as the case may be.  I bet you can guess what slocklet is. :) )  He also likes to clip Buster's leash on his shirt or pants and hand me the other end. :)

Michael has a favorite shirt that he's had since he started Kindergarten.  It's a red polo shirt, and it's size 5.  He still wears it, even though it's almost too short and the sleeves are a little tight.  He's been getting tall too!

Benji and Michael switched beds so that Buster could sleep with Benji on his bed.  Benji was kind of bummed about switching to the bottom, but I think he's gotten over it.  Benji has also become the master of all whining.  I'm not sure what to do about it.  He is certain that the universe is conspiring against him.  I am sure it's part of middle child syndrome.  I've got to help him, but I'm currently scratching my head.

I found some free 3D animation software, and Joshua's having a great time figuring it out.  It was made for professionals to use.  It's pretty darn amazing.  But he's figured out how to add a background and made a little house and shoot balls at it.  Whee!

And Jill and her favorite cousin Jocee are silly!  They think that the bathroom is a great place to play.  Every time Jocee comes I can expect big messes in the bathroom and Jill's bedroom. But they also love to play dress-up.  They each come out with at least 3 different outfits on (one at a time, though) each time Jocee visits.  They're such cute friends.  They fit together so perfectly.

Today is our 15th Anniversary! :D

Yep. If I had to pick again I'd still pick Jeremy. :)