Brennon

Brennon still wasn't feeling well yesterday, so he stayed home while we cleaned booger walls.  While we were there, Brennon got news he had been waiting for, news that Randy and I had prayed with our whole souls for, news that had the ability to make his dreams come true, only it wasn't the right kind of news.

Back in May, while at the Forte show on Caden's birthday, Brennon informed us that he was planning on auditioning for Forte.  Tyson leans over him and proclaims he's going to join the Middle School arm of Forte, Amplify.  We turned to Shelby and asked her if she was going to follow after her brothers and try out for Forte as well!  She'd been asked by another friend last year to apply but didn't.  In her normal teenage girl attitude voice, she told us "No, she doesn't sing in front of people anymore."

As Brennon gathered more and more information from his friend group about auditions, as he practiced more and told us more of what he was to expect, he told Shelby that they had only a few spots left to sign up for auditions.  In a moment of miracle, Shelby got on and registered to audition two days after Brennon's audition.

Over the next few days, Brennon worked every single day, singing, dancing, and just trying to get better and better.  Shelby would sing every once in a while and kept telling us that she'd work on the dancing later.  We always heard Brennon, we rarely heard Shelby.  Brennon has ADP and can't hear very well.  Shelby used to sing solos in Sacrament meeting and was in a choir.

Brennon found out first, on the weekend he wasn't feeling well-- He did not make it.

Shelby found out second, while out with friends on the first day she could drive others-- She did make it.

I worried for Brennon's heart.  He had told us that his friend group had spoken about the fact that because there are so many of them, the chances of them all making it were small.  It's cruel to say, but I'm "happy" one girl and one boy from the group didn't make it.  It softens the blow that Brennon isn't the only one.

When I asked Brennon how he was feeling about it, he told me that he was sad, because he really wanted just one more regular activity to do with all of his friends, but that he wasn't crushed.  "I never allowed my hopes to get up too high, I just kept reminding myself that not all of us would make it, so I couldn't be crushed if it was me."  

When I softly broached the subject of how he felt that Shelby, who signed up last second and didn't yearn for it as badly as he had, made it, Brennon once again did what he always does-- He blew me away with his rare-soul personality!

"Oh, I knew she'd get in.  She has such an amazing voice!  I am SO HAPPY for her!"

And he meant it.  No one ounce of jealousy, not one ounce of pity for himself.  He truly was so proud of her.  As I turned to look at him, astonished at his maturity that few possess, I praised him with all the love and admiration I have.  He has always been our Peacemaker.  He calms situations down, never fans the flame of any negativity, and truly just makes people feel seen, loved, understood, and accepted.

When I got home, my eye caught on this week's 52 Modern Manners for Today's Teens by Brooke Romney.  For all other topics, we've had a discussion about the topic before going throughout the week.  It's placed where we can all see it often.  But this week, we were busy with Keilie, Dallin, and Bailey on Sunday, August 27th, so I just turned the topic page, hoping the kids would see it on their own.  I know, though, that Brennon didn't have to read it, that it is something that he is just born with, that he innately knows, that he taught me in action and deed--

Celebrate Others.

When something good happens to someone, celebrate with them.  Don't rationalize, downplay their success, or say they just got lucky.  Don't act like you deserved it more.  Let them have their moment and talk it up.  Give them the chance to be the star and feel the joy of accomplishment.  Few things show emotional maturity more than being happy for the good fortune of others.

Brennon told me that he wants to volunteer as an usher, make and sell cookies for the concessions, and just do anything else that he can to help.  If he isn't part of the show, he wants to make the show work in other ways.  As I reflect on Brennon from birth, on all of my kids' attributes and personality traits, I have seen proof again and again that it isn't anything that we are doing as parents-- Our kids come from Heaven with their own gifts, talents, and personalities.  I may be his mother, but Brennon is my teacher and example in so many ways.

"We hold in our arms the rising generation.  They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities.  We cannot be casual in how we prepare them.  Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their personal faith." ~Neil L. Anderson, April 2010

How grateful I am that I was chosen to be their Mother.

Booger

One of our renters vacated early after buying a house.  Because they broke their contract early, we had the choice of whether to hire a cleaner/handyman to come in and get the house ready, or do it ourselves and earn the money.  Because it is Labor Day weekend, we decided to make it a true Labor. Day. Weekend and do the work ourselves.  And let me just say, I have a new-found love and respect for cleaning ladies that willingly go into all sorts of homes to clean.  

On the surface, the home didn't look too bad, especially having clear memories of the first time we walked into that home after buying it from the Auction.  But when you start wiping walls and realize that there are boogers on the walls not only in the room where stickers of little kittens were plastered all over the window but in the Master Bedroom (both sides of the bed) as well, I now understand why they charge what they charge...

Randy said he wasn't sure we could charge for all of the man hours, as they are really adding up.  He said we would track them and see what we can actually charge.  I told him to show Alan, our property manager, a picture of booger walls in the Master because I knew he'd understand all that we really had to do to get that house back to renting standards!  I want to be an example of good to my kids, but I do not believe that includes the art of booger art at bedtime.

Third Day

 Brennon's third day of school:

I can't see this...

Without seeing this...

Sometimes memories can knock me out and make me anxious.  I know Brennon's is just a little thing, but the way he wanted the heater and to just lay in the front room makes me jittery.  I don't know that I'll ever recover fully from cancer care.

Keilie

Keilie came over to drop Bailey off so we could watch her while she went to work.  She is a Paraeducator for Richland School District and will be working at Tyson's Middle School today.   As she snuggled with Bailey in her new "Fall" outfit she was excited to show me with her newly-natural hair color, I was struck by how beautiful my daughter is as my girl and a "mommy."  She loves her little Bailey so much.  She is going to make a wonderful Mommy someday.

I'm the luckiest Grand-Paw-rent in the world!

Subtitles

 I have a hard time hearing sometimes, so we always use Subtitles.  Always.  I read along with them to better understand what is being said, but I also learn little tidbits as well.  For example: we learned from Seinfeld last night that a particular tune that is well known not only by sound but also by taps/knocks/honks has a name!

Shave and a Haircut

"Shave and a Haircut" and the associated response "two bits" is a seven-note musical call-and-response couplet, riff, or fanfare popularly used at the end of a musical performance, usually for comedic effect.  It is used melodically or rhythmically, for example as a door knock.

Subtitles are knowledge!

Happy-Sad

 The kids are back in school.

I remember a time when I counted down the days to First Day.  I was exhausted and overwhelmed from the daily grind of raising five littles.  The messes they made that were "too big" for them to clean up without my assistance, the clothes they wore that needed cleaning (especially socks), the food they needed to eat; the necessities were hard enough.  But wanting to be a Fun Mom, I would set aside those necessities until it became a chore so I could focus on them, my beautiful babes, as much as possible.  This meant I was swimming in the current of wonderful activity, yet drowning in waves of unending chores.  School was the breath I so desperately needed between those crashing waves.

But today, my house is clean.  The kids made their own lunches, packed their own backpacks, and chose their own clothes that they washed themselves.  I've had years of easy breathing, especially without cancer care.  I don't need a break.  I'm no longer drowning.

Motherhood: I'm happy they are happy, even when it breaks my heart.

Shelby- Junior, Brennon- Sophomore, Tyson- 8th (last year in Middle School)

What heat?

 Tyson had his very first soccer practice tonight for the Libby Middle School team  We've had warm temps the past few days, but tonight was the hottest we've had for a few weeks at 103 degrees.  Because school doesn't start until tomorrow, we needed to work out getting the kids to and from practice.  I took one for the carpool moms team and signed up to take and pickup, thinking it would be good to get a few steps in by walking around the track.  Did I know it was going to be so hot? NOPE!  

Randy was a good sport and came with me.  When I was getting water bottles ready, ours and Tyson's, they both asked if someone else was going because I'd gotten an extra water bottle filled with ice and water as a backup.  They scoffed.  Even that was not enough.  How grateful Randy and I were that they built a corner market just up the street from Libby because we went through all three water bottles within the first HOUR of practice, and there was still half an hour to go.

I was a nervous wreck the entire time because of how Randy and I were feeling.  Just walking around a track, not even trying to get our heart rate up, had us feeling beaten down.  Each time we took a drink, I worried that Tyson hadn't had as many opportunities and was simply miserable.

Tyson, telling Keilie all about practice: "I didn't even notice the heat until we stopped for a water break, and there is Mom and Dad complaining about walking around the track!  I was running and it wasn't even that bad."

103 degrees, running in full-on sun, for an hour and a half.  Incredible.

He may not care, but I am beyond grateful that tomorrow's high is supposed to be 82!

Reunion

 The Sunday after Shelby returned from FSY, one of her "Company" asked if they could do a reunion down in Nampa, ID because her Grandparents were leaving for the weekend and they could use their house as an Airbnb of sorts to host everyone.  With a prayer that it would turn out better than her week at FSY, we handed her money for gas, food, and fun, and sent her on her way.

She drove an hour to Walla Walla on Friday and met up with Sadie (the host) who drove them down to Nampa where they hung out for the rest of the night with all of the other friends that could make it.  Saturday morning, at 6:00 a.m., they did a Baptism for the Dead session at the Meridian Temple and then went boating, getting nice and burned for a back-to-school glow.  Sunday, they all attended church and then made the trek back to Walla Walla, Shelby arriving home at 8:00 p.m. Whirlwind weekend of FUN!!!

When telling the dentist about her weekend, he asked how long it had been since she'd seen these friends, to which Shelby replied: 24 days.  Not a reunion of that much time, but one just the same!

Dudes

 Randy isn't one that does much with other guys.  I can think of only one or two guys from both Casper and here that he's become close enough with to do stuff with, and even then, it's few and far between.  Matt Porter is that friend here.  In fact, in all of the years we've traveled, Matt is the only friend he's ever purchased a souvenir for, asking my opinion if I thought Matt would like a certain Belizian Hot Sauce flavor.  It wasn't a big bottle, but it was a BIG gesture from a guy who basically doesn't even want to buy his kids souvenirs!

7:00 am- 5:00 pm, Randy was out enjoying dirtbikes and nature while I stayed home and got much-needed work done that normally gets put off because Randy is such a goer.  Win-win!  

How grateful I am that Dara and Matt moved into our Ward.  I found out just a few weeks ago that they had a home Under Contract in Kennewick.  Matt said, "Let's just go look at this house," and the rest is beautiful history.

Perspective

When I saw these drone pictures Cameron captured of an angle of the temple I have never seen before, I was once again just blown away that I not only live close to a temple but that I now get to work there!

I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

Fair

 Brennon's friend group made plans to go and support a little sister at the fair, so we decided to tag along later in the afternoon for our first-ever trip to the fair here.  Brennon met them there at 8:00 a.m., we met Brennon there at Noon.

Throughout the day, Randy would make his way to the entrance to see if he could talk with a mortgage guy about investment opportunities that have just come up.  I laughed that with all that was there to see, eat, and do, this was the thing that brought him the most happiness.

We shared Dole Whip, funnel cake, pizza & breadsticks, soda, and maybe something else that I can't remember right now.  It was a true Fair Experience.

When I asked the kids if they felt like they'd missed out the last 10.5 years that we've lived here and haven't gone, they all said that the Fair is a one-and-done for them-- three rides in and they were all nauseous!

And just like that-- we never have to take our kids to the Fair again!  Sweet!  $207, and that didn't include food/drinks.  No wonder we have never gone...  One thing we learned about the Fair-- prices are anything but!

Boys at Barbie

 I have wanted to see Barbie in theaters for a few months now.  I'm not sure why, exactly, I just think it looks fun.  Due to schedules and such, and maybe a lack of real motivation, I haven't gone yet.  So I find it so funny that Tyson, my teenage son, put together a friend-group date to go see Barbie in theaters before anyone else in our family has seen it.  Three teenage boys met at the theater to see Barbie!

Not only that, but Tyson asked if he could purchase a shirt just for the occasion while we were school shopping.  "It's not just for that, because I really do like it, it's just not one that I'd normally buy without a reason."

After the show, I asked if he liked it.  "Yeah, it was good.  I wore sunglasses the whole time."

As one who needs to wear sunglasses in theaters, because I have flashes and floaters in my eyes that really hurt without ambient lighting, I worried that he, too, had the same issues.  When I asked him why, his response made me smile:

"I just wanted to look cool."

Brunette Keilie

I woke and immediately called Keilie to wish her a Happy Birthday only to hear the kids in the background.  She'd come home to play with her siblings!

Cheater's Edition of Monopoly.  I do NOT understand why they like to play this!  Monopoly is one thing, but to hear the bickering and arguing because those are the rules just drives me insane.  But it is Keilie's birthday, so they played the game Keilie wants.  At one point, Keilie joked, "Today is all about me, Brennon," which got us all laughing for minutes and minutes.

Bailey is just the cutest.  Napping with her nose in Keilie's "shoes."  So funny!

Do you see a difference between Monopoly Keilie and Token Picture Keilie?  She dyed her hair back to her dark brown.  "We just don't have the money for me to do my hair every six weeks."  Adulting is lame sometimes!  But I do love her dark hair-- I have missed it.

We went to Greek Islands for our family dinner and then had her cake choice-- half Regular and half Strawberry cheesecake.  I sure do love my Keilie-girl!

HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY, KEILIE!!!

Sister...?

Soon after becoming a Temple Ordinance worker in April, I started to notice a trend-- people were getting me confused with/as "Sister Balero."  People would ask me if I was her sister, if I was her twin, or simply introduced me as her.  It made me giggle every time, especially since I was asked every single shift.  

Her real sister, Kathryn, was setting up appointments to meet with the Stake President (Randy is the Stake Executive Secretary) and said, "Also, your wife is confused with my sister in the temple all the time," and sent him a picture of her.  Crazy enough, I had a picture wearing a blue, v-neck shirt, hair pulled up with a few fly-aways, smiling just as cheerfully as she is for a comparison.

It has been fun making connections like this.  It's made Sister Balero and I closer as we giggle (because she's been working there longer, I was the one to be confused at first.  She now gets asked if she is MY sister, too!) and laugh about it, but it has also made Kathryn and I closer as we call each other Sister-- the familial kind this time-- with cheeky grins.

One day, we'll get shirts that say, "I am Sister ___" and get a selfie together so we can print it off and put it in the break room so everyone can have a good laugh along with us.

For the record-- when we are face-to-face, I don't see what others see, but I do see similarities in pictures.  The chin, the jaw, the nose, the forehead, the dark eyes and hair.  Kathryn said "It is also the mannerisms and the way they glow with their love of others," and I tell you, I love her even more for her kind words.

Bailey's Coming!

Bailey's coming!!

She really is our baby.

 

Seahawks

We met Ash & Russ in Seattle for a Seahawks game.  This was Ashlee and my first Seahawks game, which made it even more fun.

As we were walking to a burger place near the stadium that Randy had found on Yelp, we passed a Peruvian restaurant and all made the decision to try some of Russ's mission cuisine.  It was delicious!

No, we weren't this close.  But it was fun to sneak in just to see what the other 1% sees:)

 Here is my knowledge of football: If the team you want to win gets more points than the team they are playing against-- SCREAM!  I was also told how rare it is to have an interception and a safety in the same game.  Feeling blessed I got to witness such a miraculous game!  For the record: I stopped myself from screaming at the point where my throat was raw, but I knew I'd be able to do Singing Time the next day.

Dallas: 14  Seahawks: 22

We got onto I-5 at 11:09 pm and got home at 2:10 am.  It was a great day!

Holy Smokes!

The yearly Youth Boating activity has been planned all Season.  OF COURSE it's going to happen that we all wake up to severe smoke blown in from Canadian fires!

If there is a chance for Tyson to get up on a tube and surf, he's going to do it, no matter that he hasn't been boating since we sold our boat.  Love that kid!

You should be able to see the Angel Moroni and an entire mountain in the distance!

Color & Spell

I got two texts on the same day, one from Ashlee and one from Russ.

Ashlee: Everly just asked me if I would help her print off a coloring page that says, "Aunt loves child and child loves Aunt."

A few hours later, Russ sent me a text with this picture...

"Dad, how do you spell 'always?'"  

On the back of the one you can already see is colored, Everly wrote, "Aunt loves child and child loves Aunt," and on the one you can see she is writing, it says, "You will always be the best Aunt."

 Being an Aunt is one of the best positions in the world! 

I'm the luckiest girl in the world

Chicken Salad

 Conversation with Sister Missionaries:

Me: We are hosting you for dinner tomorrow.  1) What time works best for you? and 2) What sounds good?  I love doing requests!!  If you want dessert as well, let me know what sounds good.  If not, I will not have one.  We are excited to have you in our home.  Would you possibly come with stories of temple experiences that made an impact on your lives?

Sisters: Sweet! Thanks so much for having us! 1) 5:00 pm and 2) Chipotle Chicken Salad.  We would love to share stories of the temple experiences we've had!

Me: You are going to laugh, but we need clarification.  When I told my family the request for tomorrow, no joke, we all interpreted it differently.

1) The actual restaurant, Chipotle-- Chicken Salad, 2) Chicken Salad that you put on Croissants that is flavored with Chipotle seasoning, 3) Sald with Chipotle ranch-style dressing, 4) Chicken that is marinated in a Chipotle sauce that is served over salad.

Sisters: #3.  Sorry for the confusion!!

Me: No worries!!  This is one of those instances where we're shown in a simple way that we don't all think the same, but no one is wrong.  Just fun.

For the record: Randy is the one that interpreted their meal choice correctly.  He was right.  I was less-right.

The Stand

Since last year, the kids have been excited for the Wilstermans to come and do an Italian Soda Stand with them.  Today was that day!

Austen made cookies, Tyson and Brennon set up the Stand, all other girls made signs, and they were in business!

It was another $100+ day for this stand!  The girls were adorable with their dancing moves, which made it that much more fun for everyone, including those that stopped.

There are times that I loathe living on a street that people use so often, but today was not one of those days.  I am so glad it was such a success after and entire YEAR of waiting for it to finally happen.  Cousin time is the BEST time!