General Women's Meeting

I've been wanting to take Cat to a session of General Conference since she turned 8 last summer.  We had the chance to attend during the Spring Conference, and imagine our delight when the Bishop offered us tickets to the first ever General Women's Session.  Yeah!!  We were so excited.

Our Bishop actually gave us 3 tickets, so we invited my Aunt Jeanne to join us.  We even made a girls' night of it, with dinner at "a fancy pizza restaurant" (Cat's words) in a strip mall near my aunt's house.

There was an amazing spirit there, even before we entered the building.  I could really feel the historical significance of what we were participating in, and it was exhilarating to be a part of it.

 

I also felt so privileged to experience this special occasion with Cat.  She was a great companion, and kept up with Jeanne and me very well, though she admitted later that she was a bit scared by all of the people.

We sat on the lowest level of the Conference Center, just about 12 rows from the very front!  We had a great view.

Below is a picture of Cat with the First Presidency.  :-)  When Pres. Monson walked in, Cat and I were just coming back into the auditorium from the bathroom, so we hurried to where we could see, and I lifted Cat up so that she could see over the heads of the others standing up.  That was the moment I felt the Spirit the strongest.  I was almost in tears.  What a blessing to have a Prophet of God, and to be in his presence!

We were so close to the front that there were cameras all around us, but we never noticed anyone filming us.  Imagine our surprise when we turned the broadcast on the next day to share some highlights with the rest of the family, and Cat spotted us.  Can you find us??  We're famous!

Here's a closer look:

My favorite moment of the session was when the girls stood up to sing the first verse of "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" and then the adults joined in on the second verse.  That was so touching.  (And I appreciated the way that they added videos and kept the talks relatively short in order to help the younger girls in attendance from getting too bored.)

The temple and "popcorn popping on the apricot tree" as we walked to the car.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to attend the Women's Meeting with Cat.  It was so special - an experience I'll always remember, and I hope the same is true for Cat.

Cat's Spring Piano Recital

Cat is doing so well on the piano!  It is amazing to see how far she's come in less than two and a half years.  The piece she performed for the Spring recital last month was "Tarantella" by Prokofiev, which she learned in about 3 months.  She worked hard on this piece, and really enjoyed playing it.

A couple of weeks before this recital, she participated in a solo festival.  For that, she played this piece and the first movement of the "Sontatina" by Haydn, which she learned last year.  She received an "Excellent" rating.

  

I apologize for the blurriness in this video.  I was in a hurry to start recording and didn't focus properly.  On my camera, the only way to adjust the focus once you start a video recording is to zoom in or out until the focus is right.  Ughh.  At least the sound is pretty good  :-)

PS> A word about having a child learning to play piano, especially when your child claims she doesn't want to learn to play piano.  It's hard.  I mean, sometimes it feels like combat.  While Cat doesn't fight me as much as she did for the first couple of years she played, she still has times when she resists so much that she will sit at the piano for an hour and a half and do less than 15 minutes of actual practicing.  I feel like I am always working on ways to get her motivated.  She knows that certain things such as screen time, play dates, and other "fun" things are contingent on completing piano practice, but sometimes that's not enough.  (On a "good" bad day, a piece of gum at the end of a practice session is a decent motivator, haha.)

I have laid down the law that ALL OF OUR CHILDREN WILL PLAY PIANO UNTIL THE AGE OF 16, AT WHICH TIME EACH MAY CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT TO CONTINUE.  OTHER INSTRUMENTS ARE OPTIONAL.  PIANO IS NOT.  Cat doesn't agree with this law, and tells me frequently.  Too bad.  I am thankful for the opportunity piano presents to teach children the importance of hard work, consistency, time management, achieving mastery, and accountability.  In my mind, the music itself is a secondary benefit.  I love that Cat now has, and will continue to develop, a useful and pleasant talent that will bless her life and the lives of others around her.  I love that the study of music also has benefits in other areas.  And I kind of look forward to the day when she thanks me for forcing her to play piano.  At least, I think she'll thank me one day...

Luke's 11th Month

Wow.  I really can hardly believe that this little guy will be a year old soon.

I'm mourning the loss of my baby already.

This month, Luke began climbing up the stairs!  He hasn't done it very often,

because we haven't given him very much opportunity, but he definitely has it figured out.

We've tried to teach him how to go down the stairs, but he hasn't gotten the hang of that yet.

He is becoming more and more curious, and knows how to open the

kitchen cabinets and drawers, much to his fingers' dismay.

Crawling all over the place.  Literally.

He really loves to stand in the open fridge or freezer.  We have to hurry to close

the door when we need to get something out, because if Luke crawls to the fridge

while it's open, he will want to stay perched there for 10 minutes, grabbing

random leftovers and condiments.

This is also a good time to mention that Luke is doing a LOT of standing,

and occasionally tries to keep his balance without holding on to anything.

He is cruising some, too, and will take a few steps while we hold his hands.

After I shelved all of the board books in the playroom,

Luke apparently didn't think I'd accomplished the task properly.

He quickly de-shelved them, allowing me the opportunity to try again.

Luke met the cutest baby.

He lives in the mirror, and he's fun to play with.

This month Luke began clapping, waving, and occasionally

doing something that resembles the "more" sign, though he's

not at all consistent.

Luke had a double ear infection that lasted for weeks, but after two rounds

of antibiotics and fighting through a subsequent upper respiratory virus,

he was a happy boy again.  Looking at these pictures just makes me smile.

How cute is he???

Month by month...

Chuck It Cheese Its

We decided to begin a super simple incentive system in our family several weeks ago.  Tallies.  They do something similar at Cat and Jack's school, so we kind of piggy-backed on that.  Basically, we award a tally mark whenever we recognize a child obeying, helping, being extra kind, taking initiative, etc.  I make a concerted effort not to bribe with tallies, or to punish by taking away tallies.  They are simply rewards for good behavior.  

We told the kids that when they (individually) earn 100 tallies, they could go on a date with Mom or Dad.  Well, they all earned 100 tallies in the same week, so that weekend, they decided to go on a family outing instead of 3 separate dates, which worked out well.  They'd been asking to go to Chuck E. Cheese's (or, as it is affectionately known around here, Chuck It Cheese Its) for, oh, years, so we grabbed a coupon to get a discount on tokens and went to play games for a while.  They had a great time!  (And now we don't have to go back for a couple more years, right?)

Can you spot 4 family members in this photo?

A Limerick Kind of Day

There once was a boy named Jack
Who made a cool leprechaun trap.
He cut out some gold
Because he was told
A leprechaun might fall for that.

Then Jack's mother took him and his sis

To the store for some that and some this.

Some people, they saw,

Wore NO GREEN at all.

A calendar they must have missed.

When Jack and his family came home,

They'd caught a wee leprechaun-gnome!

He came and he went,

But his clothing got rent.

While Dad was home working alone.

Jack wanted to add lots more gold.

His trap simply must be more bold!

This time, he just knew

He'd be getting his due.

The leprechaun he finally would hold.

Then Eliza and Mom made a treat
Some yummy green somethings to eat

They were festive and fun,

Enough for each one

Of the family who likes standing on feet.

When Jack saw no elf in his trap,

He begged for some help from his pap.

So, a few things they changed,

Then it got rearranged

And Jack hoped for success with a flap.

Then fin'lly it was time for the feast.

Green clovers, green eggs, and green beast.

And mother was keen

The fruit also be green -

Other colors won't work in the least.

When Jack woke up the next day

Another elf had come our way!

But this time he wrote

A disappointing note

And, yet again, got away.

Jack soon made his attitude clear.

He would NOT stand for evasion next year.

He made more plans to capture,

Become quite the elf-snatcher,

Have his own little slave living here.