14 and 16 ?!?!?!

I can't believe my boys turned 14 and 16 this week! I feel like I woke up one morning, and there they were, two teenagers. Their lives are filled with Facebook, emails, loud music even I don't like (and I grew up with heavy metal), wearing all black - which I don't mind so much - texting, and phone calls late into the night.

I miss those learning moments at a Children's Museum, having lunch by the Phoenix Zoo's "Savannah" watching the giraffes walking majestically, the wonder of fireworks on their faces, the thrill they had inventing new dives into the pool, and to go way back...the theme from Thomas the Tank Engine playing in the background at bedtime.

People are right. The time with our kids goes so quickly. I don't feel quite the same about Jordan because with her, I never worked, we'd gotten rid of our rental properties and moved west by her 5th birthday, and knowing she was my last - I spent every moment of her first 10 years treasuring and savoring it. I remember holding her in the middle of the night at about 6 months old. I remember thinking, "She'll never be this little again, not even in the morning."

Back to my boys. We've been through karate, bo staff training, tournaments, scrapbooking classes, cartooning classes, flag football, soccer, drama (my favorite of all their activities), and so much more. Now Logan spends weeks at a time away in the summer at his grandparents' house and just went on his first weekend retreat with our church. Adam spends weekends at his friend's house, goes to church with him, and works on Saturday. They're definitely not just "boys" anymore. They're quickly becoming young men, faster than I can keep up.

I think the hardest thing has been the last 2 years. We've been hit by the economy pretty bad. Tim brings home about 1/2 what he used to, yet costs keep going up. I work a few days a week, all my boss can afford to give me, and it's only enough to buy groceries & gas between paychecks - yet it's big enough to keep me from allowing them to do weekend events and activities since I'm gone and they're stuck home.

This summer we leave the city and move to the mountains. With less available for me, I think it'll be easier for me to unplug from responsibilities and choose only the best things for our family to do. I'm looking forward to more family time, more quiet, more space, fresh air, clean water, and less rushing around. I picture cool fall evenings sitting around a fire pit in the back yard, hopefully talking about the important things with our kids. Hopefully they'll play along.

Adam's First Apple Pie

Adam wanted to make an apple pie. When I asked him why, he just said because he'd never made one before, and was in the mood for one. I bought him the ingredients, gave him my Fannie Farmer cookbook, and let him "have at it". He didn't want instruction, nor help. He said if he messed up, then he could learn from it. He did everything right, except he stood the apples up in a pile instead of laying them flat, so it looked kind of weird before baking. The inside had a juicy, caramel-type of filling between the apples that was so good! When it cooled off a little, he topped it with vanilla ice cream.

Snow for the First Time

My friend Monica "Moni" was born and raised in Yuma, AZ. For those who don't know, that's where AZ, CA and Mexico meet. Needless to say, Moni's never really played in the snow. Here in the valley, you can see snow on the mountains when there's a few inches on the ground in Payson. Moni and I had plans to go out together on a Sunday, but when I saw the snow on the mountain peaks, I called her and said, "We're going to Payson!" The drive's about an hour and a half, but basically, a straight line. We headed up in the afternoon and played in the 2 or 3 inches that had fallen in the big parking lot next to McDonald's. I brought Logan & Jordan along too, since they like to play in the snow and Logan loves the cold. We had a great time. I didn't play in the snow, but I'm happier taking the pictures, anyway. It was a lot of fun for Moni, she discovered things about snow she hadn't realized...like how it's powdery, and it's ice underneath, and you can do stuff in it because it holds it's shape, it has cool textures, it melts in strange patterns from the crystals, it looks pretty dusted in your hair, and it's fun to visit, but she wouldn't want to live in it all winter. To see the excitement and wonder on her face made the trip so worth it for me. I love to see people learn and experience new things.

One Word for 2010

I heard a couple of DJ's on the radio this morning talking about a new idea for 2010...instead of coming up with a long list of Resolutions we don't believe we can really accomplish, how about just coming up with one word to use as a filter for everything you do this year instead?

Here's some examples:

LOVE - everything I do, I will do in love. I'll make time for those I care about. If I can't do something in a loving way, or if it'll make me resentful, then I should say no to it.

EFFICIENT - I will spend wisely...my time, my day, my money, my emotions. I will only do things that are efficient. I won't waste resources, especially my time, unless it makes things better or easier in the future.

BRAVE - I will try new things, stop being afraid of what "might happen". I'll be willing to believe I can do something without fear of failure.

See what I mean? Give it some thought. What will be YOUR word for 2010?

Where's January going?

Am I the only one who's month is flying by? Between school starting up again, working weekends, business webinars, webcasts, phone calls and meetings, starting up a new bible study, starting to teach a new small group, considering co-hosting a book club, and oh yeah, I have a household to run and 3 kids to raise, teach and taxi.

I think part of my business is that I know I've only got a few months left to commit to stuff here in the Valley. I may actually look forward to our move to northeastern arizona in the summer - so I can finally relax and not over-commit anymore.

My biggest plan once we're there is to take some time to just "be" with my kids; to give them all of my attention for a while. I know I've raised them at home, but I've had to do it around lots of other commitments. First real estate properties and tenant issues, then being the one to head up different organizations and groups, then once they got older - I continued to run things but they got left home more and more. Now I feel like I never see them outside of school time anymore. There's never time and money for family trips - even day trips, anymore.

So this summer, we're going to settle in up in Concho, then take some time to just unwind. We're going to learn how to relax and how to make a conscious effort to play together.

It's time.

Tea...a lost art

I can enjoy going to lunch with Tim, or one of the kids, or a friend, but there's something special about enjoying "tea" with someone. It creates an atmosphere of acceptance and familiarity that just doesn't happen over a sandwich and potato chips.

Today I had lunch with a fairly new friend. She heads up a group of homeschooled girls, aged 9 through 12, for monthly fun sessions. They've done food bank donating and helping, swimming parties, made homemade ice cream, and had s'mores around a campfire. Now we're planning a Valentine's Day tea for them in February.

Working in a tea cafe, I've heard so many wonderful stories from ladies sharing their favorite tea memories they've had with friends, relatives and loved ones. It's definitely a well-kept secret from the hustling quickly world. It's a great way to reconnect with those you care about, as well as simplifying your day to see things from a better perspective.

I really like how it makes you slow down, enjoy the food (as well as the presentation), relax with your company, and then I feel full from eating far less than what society says is normal these days. In a world where everyone wants things Super Sized, it's nice to enjoy quality in smaller quantities.

Today, I chose a red Jamaican Rooibos tea with my meal. We started off with toffee flavored scones. These aren't just any scones. They're the best scones you'll find anywhere! They're moist, and just slightly sweet, with the perfect texture. Next we had our tea sandwiches: chicken salad on white, turkey with a cranberry relish on flatbread, and wonderful cucumber sandwiches on the perfect herbed flatbread. The desserts were extra special today. One was a lemon bar topped with coconut. Then there was a nut bar that tasted like a gooey Snickers bar, and my friend Moni, the chef, made our final dessert a special treat, a chocolate-dipped extra-large strawberry drizzled with white chocolate.

If you haven't enjoyed tea with a loved one lately, go to www.teamap.com and look up locations for tea parlours in your state! Then come back here and let me know what you had, who you brought, how much you enjoyed it, and what new traditions it causes you to start.

December

Well, December was super-busy as usual. We baked cookies, went to a Christmas concert, had a few Christmas parties for our workplaces and in our business, went to look at the lights at the Mormon Temple nearby, spent a few days in the snow at Mom & Dad for Christmas, and got ready for the new year.

2009 was a bad year for us. Lots of things took a turn for the worse, and some can never be reversed. I'm so thankful it's now 2010 so I can have hope again for a better year. We're back at MVC on Sundays, and the decision to return brought many blessings, our bright spot of the year.

There will definitely be major changes this year, including our move from the Valley to northern AZ. We'll be sharing "the big brown house" with Tim's parents starting this summer, and that's comes with mixed feelings. But at least we'll all have more space, less expenses, fresh air, clean water, and a chance at a simpler life.

Front Porch Tea Cafe

So this is where I work on weekends now. It used to be the location of Abbey Gardens Tea Parlour, a Victorian, formal tea house. Now it's a more casual, country cafe where you can go for tea without all the formality. We still do a full tea, with the little sandwiches, scones, petite desserts, lace tablecloth and centerpiece, and organic loose-leaf teas. The charm of it is that it's more male-friendly so families can gather here now, or couples, and the men can get coffee or good tea without having to be surrounded by pink, lace, and fine china. (There's even a men's room now.)

The new owner is really sweet. She's part of the team to get the job done, and has a heart for people that really draws others to her. The other employees are mostly her old friends, so it's a different environment than if a bunch of strangers got together to work their own agendas. I'm a server and the chef is my friend I worked with when it was Abbey Gardens. We can help implement systems and routines that help things run smoother, while being able to shed the old familiar saying "we do it that way because that's how we've always done it". The changes are good, although a few women don't want to see the place full of guys, they say. But I think as word gets out, it'll be a great little place. So far, we've had back a handful of our old customers and they plan on becoming Front Porch's customers.

Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving alone, just our family. We tried inviting people over but they all had plans. Usually we get to spend it with my in-laws, but this year it just didn't happen. They had to be up north, and we needed to be here to work Wed. & Fri.

We had a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole with those fried onions, corn, and garlic-cheddar biscuits. For dessert we had homemade apple pie, double layer pumpkin pie and eggnog - yes, I make my own eggnog, too.

I guess it worked out for the best - Jordan got some kind of mild sickness Wed. afternoon and it's good we didn't need to be anywhere. She spent most of the past 2 days on the sofa. Logan got to see some friends while they were off from school, and Adam did what he enjoys the most...playing RockBand on his Xbox.

Tim took a nap, spent time surfing the web, etc.
I got almost 100 pages read in my new library book...that makes it a good day, right?

A New Job

Last week was interesting. I got a call from the new owner of the tea shop located where Abbey Gardens, (where I worked last year), was located. She asked me if I'd consider working weekends for her, at least through the end of the year, then we'll re-assess in January. I wasn't looking for another thing to do, but we need the money for Christmas, and maybe the people there will end up in Moni's Monavie business, under us. I started this past Saturday.

The new place is called Front Porch Tea Cafe. It's very different than the old tea parlour. Instead of cluttered Victorian, it's wide open with a strong country casual feel. It's not about white glove service, it's about making guests feel like family visiting on the weekend or something. It's not lacy and girly like before either (although I didn't mind it a bit). Instead, it's actually male-friendly, painted in cranberry and other bolder colors - although the ladies' bathroom is pink.

The prices are lower, the menu choices are fairly different, and the atmosphere is kind of exciting because of the newness of it all. Having had 3 owners before in that location, there was always a struggle with "that's the way we've always done it", even if no one knew why. Now is the time for innovative new ideas and making contemporary changes.

The crew is like a small little family, and although I'm "the new kid", everyone was very welcoming and friendly. I don't want to work as badly as I want our business to take off - but in the meantime - I think I'm going to like it there.

I like that it was my choice, and I could see God's hand in all of it. It's nice working with Moni again, too. I'll have to grab some photos when I work this weekend.

Halloween Night at Life Community Church

A few years ago, we found a local church that puts on a free Halloween night celebration. They offer free hot dogs, caramel apples, popcorn, snowcones and cotton candy. They have free paintball target shooting, rock wall climb, gyrascope, pony rides, bounce houses, face painting, and a ton more, especially for littler kids. They usually have a pretty good Christian rock/alternative band playing too. After enjoying 2 years in a row there, they weren't able to do it last year. We were looking at a community calendar page online this year and realized just a few hours before it started, that they were running it again this year. We drove over and really enjoyed it. I wasn't feeling well, but we went anyway and Logan & Jordan had a ball. (Adam was at a friends' house for the night.) We only got to stay for an hour because we were meeting Tim, going out to eat to plan our holiday gift-making ideas and holiday plans, then met friends at Mountain Valley Church for the Hallway of Horror. (That's for another post - best scary event EVER, and at $5 for unlimited admission - best value I've found this YEAR!)

Anyway, here's the photos of the free event - the cutest thing was the petting zoo. It had baby goats and baby pigs that were just FOUR DAYS OLD!!!

Helping out at a local Food Pantry

Jordan's part of a group called God's Girls. They're 9 - 12 year olds who are homeschooled and belong to the same homeschooling group. This past weekend, one of the Moms concluded a month-long canned food drive for a local food pantry. Since I don't have anyone's permission, I won't share names, or the other girls' photos, but Jordan was certainly just one of the many who participated. They unloaded the food, listened to all the food pantry does, how they work to service the community, then they stocked the shelves, and learned about how boxes are made up for families. We had a great time.

Jordan has her own food drive she's been running for a month at Mountain Valley Church to benefit the Phoenix Rescue Mission, but we'll be bringing that food down this week - last week just didn't work and I was really sick for a few days. I'll post those when it happens - also, we're considering volunteering at the Mesa food bank, through the United Way, just a few hours a week, but times that by the 5 of us, maybe we can help make a difference.

Adam tried bowling

Recently we joined a nameless local group of homeschooling teens looking for social, fun stuff to do together. Their first meeting was in a park and it was awkward, as expected. The guys played basketball and the girls walked around talking...typical, right? So today, they all tried their hand at bowling. The little kids, and the teen girls had "bumpers" on their lanes to avoid gutter balls. The guys toughed it out. They averaged a score of around 80 per game, but Adam (and only 2 other teens) broke 100.

Vegas Trip

Moni and I went to Vegas for our Fall Convention with Legacy & Monavie. We added a day in Concho on each end to really ease in and out of "the bubble" you're in during those events. Here's some great photos of our adventure.