Albuquerque Turkeys

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Deep Thoughts on Poopy Diapers

There comes a time in a person's life when he decides he hates getting his diaper changed.

Nathan (20 months old, now) has been in this phase of life for awhile, and amidst the struggle to hold him down so I can change his diaper, I sing songs and talk to him (in kind of a grunting voice sometimes, since I'm simultaneously in a wrestling match...) and I'm usually saying something like, "Hey! I'm trying to help you. Don't you want a clean bum? Surely you don't want to walk around in poop all day, right? I'm helping you. This is a good thing. This is going to feel better. AND you're gonna smell better! We all win when you smell better..." And the whole time, he's arching his back and screaming at me, and thrashing his legs and reaching down trying to grab the dirty diaper so he can throw it, and it ends up being WAY more of a mess and taking WAY longer than it should have because he's resisting.

Today, as I was saying these things to Nathan while he fought his diaper change, the thought occurred to me, I wonder if sometimes we are walking around in poop because we won't let our Father in Heaven help us. Maybe we fight what we're supposed to be learning so much that we make a bigger mess of things than they need to be. Maybe we are wrestling for longer than needed because we are resisting. I wonder if Father is ever saying the exact same thing to us while we're struggling with life lessons we're supposed to learn.

Hey! I'm trying to help you.

This is going to be good for you.

I know you're uncomfortable for a few minutes (weeks, months, years) but you're going to feel so much better when I'm done with you. You're going to BE so much better when I'm done with you.

And if you be still, and let me help you, you will feel better faster.

So today, I'm gonna work on recognizing when Father may be helping me in ways I don't normally perceive as help. I'm gonna work on trusting that the hard experiences I have in this life are ultimately for my good and will make me better. And just like the frequency of diaper changes, I know I'm probably gonna have a LOT of opportunities in my life to learn to be still and trust. But hopefully, if I keep practicing these things, I'll be walking around in waaaay less poop. Who knows? Maybe I'll even graduate from diaper changes someday!

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Love is

It's Valentine's Day, and I'm feeling a little gushy. I enjoy having a day to celebrate LOVE. Not necessarily romantic love, but small acts of love that make up our minutes and days and weeks. And as I've been thinking about love, I just wanted to share some of the ways I've seen love in action, recently.

Love is a brother making breakfast for his sister who takes much longer to get ready in the morning
Love is a new 5-year-old handing his little brother the balloon even though it's the 5-year-old's favorite
Love is a sister and a mother watching 3 children (including two 3-year-old twins) for 3 and 2 weeks respectively while the mother of those children is at a Trauma Recovery Center
Love is a 16 year-old offering to cancel his plans and take his mom on a date because he knows she's lonely
Love is piggyback rides and late night conversations
Love is warm legs for my cold feet
Love is a 10 year-old making his mom a milkshake and watching a movie with her.
Love is folding all the dang laundry
Love is a 7 year-old's love note
Love is listening and watching with someone
Love is knowing someone's faults and staying anyway
Love is a vase of flowers from a friend after your toddler destroyed two chairs and couches with crayons
Love is restricting screen time because it's good for them, even though, BELIEVE ME! It's way easier to let them be on screens all the time.
Love is praying for someone you don't even know
Love is a friend who stayed with my little kids so I could get to an audition on an evening when my husband and 4 big kids were gone/busy
Love is paying to see the same musical over and over because you're a big fan of some of the people in it
Love is paying the bills
Love is friends who come over and fold mountains of my laundry
Love is a text or a call letting someone know you are thinking of them
Love is changing diapers. Lots and lots of diapers. Or one really stinky one. That's love too.
Love is reading the same story ad nauseam because the listener says, "Again!"
Love is back rubs
Love is driving my people around to their activities and lessons and doctor's appointments and rehearsals and games.
Love is making your brothers' beds for them
Love is giving the benefit of the doubt
Love is messy
Love is time
They say Love it is a river...
Love is the answer...
Love is an open door...

And yeah, I don't have a strong ending for this little love fest. But I've been feeling it and receiving it and giving it too, so Happy Heart Day friends! Hope we all take a little time today for love.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Dollops of December

Bits and pieces of our lives that made this month so sweet:

1. Dec 1-2, Six Garietys participated in our Stake's Christmas Concert, "A Child is Born." It is always such a meaningful way to prepare for the Christmas season, and this year, even better because 4 of our children were able to participate as well. Dallin played in the orchestra, Daphne sang with Arthur and I in the adult choir, and Sean and Hayden sang in the "Angel Chorus" (children's chorus).

This was the first year we've had this event in our stake that I wasn't directing it and it was both wonderful and sad for me. Wonderful to not have to stress about its success, but sad not to be the one choosing the program content and lead rehearsals. Sister Bishop who is now the Stake Choir Director was very gracious in inviting me to direct "Carol of Joy" which has become something of a tradition at our stake Christmas concerts. That experience was really a treat for me.

2. Since the focus died, Arthur bought a 2013 Volkswagon Passat. It has lots of fun bells and whistles and drives like a dream. My favorite feature is the seat warmers. I drive that car as often as I can just to enjoy the lovely seat warmers!

3. Dec 7--Light the World

We tried to do a little something each day for the Light the World initiative in the month of December. We missed a few days, but even just thinking each day about ways we can be more Christlike really made the season leading up to his birth so much more meaningful. December 7th was "Jesus Fed the Hungry and so can you." So we sent the kids in with lots of food for the canned food drive. I also worked at the food bank with one of the ladies I visit teach and had a great time serving there with her.

4. Dec 10th

The Light the World initiative for this day was about walking--"Jesus Helped People Walk and so can You." So we went for a walk and I pushed Nathan, who can't walk yet, in the stroller. It was a pleasant crisp evening and we caught the Sandias at the lovely "pink moment," my favorite time of day here in ABQ.

Here is Nathan, who enjoyed the walk just as much as I did!

6 months old, and still the cutest baby in the world. We are so lucky this little sweetheart joined our family.

5. Treats for our Bennett's preschool Christmas party at our house. They wore pajamas and had cocoa and popcorn with marshmallows and M&M's while watching Polar Express.

6. One of my favorite parts of December--The Christmas cards! These all came in one day, and was my favorite mail day of the month! I think that's a record for us.

7. Got a couple of projects done that have been on my list for awhile. A holiday table runner for our new table, and Nathan's stocking. I stayed up late one night working on that stocking watching some cheesy hallmark christmas movie called "the Christmas Ghost." I was surprised that Arthur sat down and watched it with me, and even acted interested! What a nice guy.

8. Dallin got his learner's permit and is now driving! He will be license-eligible on June 20th. Not that anyone is counting.

9. Holidays are a great time for puzzles, and Sydney is a puzzle master. I love having a buddy to work on puzzles with me!

10. Dec. 24th: On Christmas Eve, a group from our ward went to volunteer at the food bank for a couple of hours. I took our four oldest, and we had a blast! If felt so great to serve the hungry in our community with wonderful friends from ward family! What a great way to spend Christmas Eve morning.

11. A funny little piece Sydney came home from school with:

12. I don't have any pictures of this, but we spent Christmas Eve night with our friends the Esplins for their traditional Shepherd's Dinner. We ate "Shepherd" food, and the kids sat on blankets on the floor to eat it. Then we read the nativity story and followed the shepherds to the manger, and ended the evening by playing christmas carols together on their homemade chimes!

Friday, December 23, 2016

Enjoying the Gifts of the Season

And by gifts, I means actual presents.

Gift-wrapped boxes, brown-paper-packages-tied-up-with-string gifts.

When I was a kid, I remember "sorting" the present with my siblings. We would pull all the presents out from under the tree and put them in piles and count them. So selfish, I know, but there it is. This year, Hayden was our chief "present counter." At least, he was the one who consistently reminded me of the tally and expressed concern that his pile wasn't equal with some of the other kids. I had to keep telling him I wasn't done shopping yet, and I also had presents hiding in my closet that I hadn't wrapped yet. In the end, everyone got an equal number. Don't worry!!

I just loved watching this happen: Nathan discovering the presents under the tree for the first time. He worked so hard to get over there until finally... EUREKA! He could touch them!

The other thing he loved to try to grab were the tree ornaments. Thank goodness this year, he still hadn't mastered his movements well enough to really do much damage to the tree or any of the ornaments. But it was so endearing to watch him trying so hard to reach that little nutcracker that was just a little bit too high!