Family Growth Spurt's on the Horizon

      Our family is on the verge of a growth spurt. Thankfully not due to me experiencing a multiple birth pregnancy, that stage is long past for us. However, there was a time I would have welcomed the news of twins on the way. 
     As far as we know not one of our children is pregnant or dating someone who is pregnant, but dating IS the source for our potential growth.  Our oldest son has been friends with a wonderful young lady for five years and recently the friendship has deepened.  We met her and her two beautiful daughters last month.  Our youngest daughter met a young man at church last summer.  They, too, started out as friends and gradually their relationship became more serious.  My husband and I met him two months ago, her siblings over the last month.  It's looking like we are about to add four more to the current 13.  That's quite an increase.
     Exciting is the word for it.  Twice in the last month we've been together for several hours on a Sunday evening.  It's been an energetic, fun, and interesting dynamic watching my children meet their siblings important friends.  I have been amazed at how well everyone is welcoming and accepting each other, how we are stretching to make room, how they are fitting right in almost as if they've always been there. 
     Bonding over food, learning each others interests and work, good naturedly telling family stories on each other, sharing old photos, pulling out childhood toys for the little girls to play with and reading stories to them.  Even 'hanging out' with our oldest daughter and her family via the internet.  It's amazing how quickly bonds have formed as we've gathered together.
     It never occurred to me that I might be welcoming two little girls into my fold the way my own grandmother did when I was four or five. The two little girls were very close in age to my little sister and me.  The oldest only a couple of months my senior and the youngest about six months ahead of my sister.  In an effort to preserve my place as the first born grandchild my grandmother always introduced my cousin and I this way, "Roberta is my oldest granddaughter and Robin is my first born."  Whenever we heard her introduce us this way to her friends, she would always explain it for our benefit. I know what she intended with this explanation now, but as a child I think my cousin and I were only confused. My cousin resented having to share 'the oldest' spot with me convinced that even though she was oldest, I was the favorite. I think I bought in to being the favorite, too.
     Looking back now I can see the difficulty she faced as she welcomed two new little girls into her family.  To make it even harder, her son who was also my Uncle had just experienced a broken engagement to the girl my grandma felt was an excellent match for him. Scheduled to marry in the Salt Lake Temple, suddenly he was dating a divorced woman with two little girls who wasn't even interested in any religion. She was a wonderful grandmother to all of us, including my two 'adopted' cousins, in spite of her disappointment in my Uncle's marriage choice. 
     For me, it is different. For one thing my son has had many girl friends over the years, but he has brought only a couple home to meet us. Also, I did not hand pick who my children dated. I am not sure if this is because I lost my mother at age 11 so I didn't have anyone who did that for me, or if it has to do with my observations of my Uncle and my grandmother, I rather think it's probably influenced by both.  Finally, my two oldest grandchildren were born before the oldest little girl, and my third was born a couple of months before the youngest. Preserving someone's 'place' is a non issue. 
     With all of my being I am hoping these four additions happen in our family. These great young people and two little girls seem to fit right in and I am ready to welcome them with open arms. 

Grandmoms on Circle of Moms

Little by Little

      I just read over my December post.  Ambitious goals.  So how am I doing?  I feel like I have made some progress, but it will be interesting to see if I have made as much as I think I have or not. 

     1.  GET FIT - I am using myfitnesspal.com to track my food and exercise.  I love this site.  It is free and helps me be aware of what I eat, my portion sizes, my sodium and sugar intake (two things I need to keep an eye on), how much water I drink, and how much exercise I do.  It helps me be accountable to myself.  Both of my daughters are also on the site.  My oldest daughter is best at using the site, in fact she suggested it to me since she and I are trying to encourage each other to get our exercise in.  So it keeps me accountable to her, too, and offers me a way to reinforce her as well. 
     I also created a half a dozen play lists on grooveshark.com, a free music website.  Each is about 45 minutes in length, with warm up and cool down music at the start and end.  I stretch, and try do some strength training as a gradually speed up and slow down my movement.  I spend at least 30 minutes dancing to some of my favorite old songs.  My goal is to do this three times a week.  So far the most I've done is twice a week, but three is coming!  I feel so good when I get done as long as I remember to keep breathing properly and pace myself.  I also hope to walk for 30 to 45 minutes three days a week.  I am currently sporadic at this but I keep working toward it. 
     2.  RECOMMIT TO THE LORD - I am feeling more connected than I did a couple of months ago. We have attended our own ward more regularly, although we did miss one Sunday in January when we were in South Carolina  for a baptism and a baby blessing.  And one Sunday this month when we visited my dad.  I started attending monthly week night activities and that has helped.  I have had some good scripture study time, and while it isn't every day when I do study I tend to spend an hour or two on the topic of interest.  I keep notes in Word as I read and ponder, that helps alot, too.  I can go back and refer to it if I want to.  Prayers could be improved. 
     3.  RECONNECT WITH SPOUSE - We are working together on our finances more closely than we ever have.  Our trip in January and a weekend getaway in February also brought us closer together.  We have agreed to recommit to date night, he is going to work on things for us to do since that is important to me.  I am going to have lunch as soon as he gets home from work like we were doing last fall.  It started getting later in the day.  It works so much better if we have lunch as soon as he gets home, this is important to him.  A Sunday School lesson on gender roles enlightened both our minds and lifted both our hearts. 
     4.  PARENT ADULT CHILDREN - We met our oldest son's girlfriend and her two daughters a couple of weeks ago.  The girls are adorable and his girlfriend seems very nice.  Her children are well behaved.  Out youngest daughter is working with me on her finances, She has made an immense amount of improvement as she learns how to categorize wants and needs, then prioritize them.  Soon she and I will be looking into a good used car for her.  She is looking for CNA work that will provide insurance benefits as she will go off our insurance on her upcoming birthday.  Our youngest son spent a week in South Carolina with us when we went to visit our oldest daughter and her family.  It was a great trip.  Our middle son and his wife are in their last semester of college.  We try to see them about once a week  They are taking care of their step grandfather's house and yard work for him twice a month. 
     5. GRANDPARENT - We spent time with each of our four grandchildren, rather than send a package we put everything in a large suitcase, four quilts and many other things we knew the kids would love.  We gave them their presents while we visited.  We took each of them with us different places, one at a time.  I also had the chance to tend a couple of times while we were there.  We read stories, picked up the house, watched their dad, grandpa, and uncle move a playset from the neighbor's yard to their yard.
     6.  REORDER MY SPACE - Some deep cleaning is done, I have researched cleaning ideas, storage ideas, organizing ideas, scheduling ideas, and redecorating ideas.  A few things have been implemented.  Some of our food is downstairs, it's a dug out basement and I don't like going down there.  We have repurposed some shelves in the laundry/storage room for canned and packaged food items to move them upstairs for easier access.  I am eliminating some things on my counters that we no longer use and replacing them with things that we use frequently for easier access.  My sewing area in the TV room is now organized and usable. 
     7.  WRITE FAMILY HISTORY - I completed taping seven more tapes of my dad's history.  I still need to transcribe them.  I started working on my own history.  Recently it was impressed upon me that writing your own history is a big priority.  I can see that I will be writing, interviewing, and researching for the rest of my life. It's exciting to see the possibilities. 
     8.  SERVE MY FELLOWMEN - My visiting teaching has improved over the past few months, I hope to continue working on this.  I am working on my history calling by taking photographs and writing short synopsis's of our monthly week night activities.  I still need to set aside time for my music calling.
     9  IMPROVE SKILLS & INTERESTS - I learned how to use my Brother Innovis 40 sewing machine and bound several quilts and made some pillow cases.  I also mended my oldest son's hoodie for him.  I took two classes in Family History research, one on Family Tree and the other on Roots Magic.  I have done some research as well. I continue to read.  I have a goodreads.com account and keep it up, adding books I have read in the past, books I want to read in the future, and books I am currently reading.  Here I am writing on one of my blogs. 
     10.  ENJOY MUSIC - I think making my playlists fits here, too, since I can enjoy music and dance at the same time.  I can make time for my music calling by practicing the piano at home, and practicing the organ at the church.

     This is a good assessment.  It shows me where I have made progress and where I still need to put more emphasis.  All these things help my nest feel full to me, even if all the little ones have grown and flown away.  It is important to me to feel useful. I think I have made the most progress in the earliest goals, fitness and personal relationships.  I believe if I keep on this course -

     "All things will come, little by little!"

Grandmoms on Circle of Moms

Five years have passed since I created this blog, over four since I last posted.  I am wondering why I forgot about blogging.  Since then my oldest daughter, her husband and their children moved to South Carolina, far across the country.  My oldest son has become a very fine mechanic.  My third child returned from a two year service mission in South Korea, met and married his beautiful sweetheart, and my two youngest children have moved away from home. Empty nesters and long distance grandparents to four grandchildren, that's what my husband and I are now. 

Empty Nest, or not?  That is the question I now ponder. What will I do with the years that stretch ahead of me?  I am hoping to live a long, useful, and happy life.  I may not have children at home anymore, but I am still of a nesting nature.  There is much to do.

First, GET FIT.  Walk three to five times per week. Cook healthy meals, eat most meals at home. Watch my portions. Be aware of the quality of food and drink I am putting into my body. Have good sleep habits.  Keep regular check appointments. Lose weight and decrease medications.

Second, RECOMMIT to the Lord.  Remember my prayers, make them more meaningful.  Study the scriptures, listen to conference CD's in my car, read the ENSIGN and other inspirational writings. 

Third, RECONNECT with my spouse.  Get to know what's important to him, pray for him, help him  prepare for retirement, prepare to teach English in China, prepare to serve a mission.  Check in daily.  Take time out once a week, and quarterly.  Seek to be unified spiritually, financially, and emotionally. 

Fourth, PARENT my adult children. Keep in touch regularly, pray for them, share in their joys and sorrows, accept and love their spouses, Serve them as needed with respect for their boundaries and privacy., offer support, be there for them, keep my heart open for them.

Fifth, GRANDPARENT.  Keep in touch with each grandchild, pray for them by name and need, know the things that are most important to them, their likes and dislikes, their wishes, dreams and goals.  Write letters, send packages, email, skype, and visit as often as possible. 

Sixth, REORDER my nest.  Dejunking the nest from raising five children includes discarding unneeded items, compiling photos and scrapbooks, and repurposing space once dedicated to raising my children. Have a place for everything and put it there.  Have daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal routine chores. 

Seventh, WRITE our Family History.  Interview family, friends, and neighbors of my parents.  Write their stories.  Compile a record  for each of my children's lives,  write each of their histories until they left home as a companion to their photographs and scrapbooks.  Write our story, the Johnson family story. Write my sister's story.  Research for, find and collect my ancestors stories and preserve them.

Eighth, SERVE my fellowman. Make Visiting Teaching a high priority.  Magnify my church callings. Be a good neighbor, friend, and citizen. Act on promptings. Offer appropriate help when I see a need. Use the prayer roll.  Pray for those I am inspired to pray for.  Keep my commitments and promises to the best of my ability. 

Ninth, IMPROVE skills and talents. Keep up on new trends in Education.  Stay current with state licensure.  Take the Praxis.  Write blogs, journals, poetry, reviews, etc. Stay on top of current events and issues. Increase verbal and non verbal people skills and communication. Research topics of interest.  Read to learn.  Read for pleasure.  Improve sewing skills.  Hone needlework skills.  Volunteer to share my skills and talents with others, including those in the music section below. 

Tenth, ENJOY MUSIC.  Listen to good music.  Practice the piano.  Learn to play the organ. 

That's quite an list and will make for a full and happy nest.  Looks like I'll be busy going about doing good!

Grandmoms on Circle of Moms