Benjy turns 2

This sweet boy turned 2 years old last week. His day wasn't too different (not ready for breakfast in bed yet!), but that was just fine by everyone.

After dinner, he got to open a few presents. Here is his spiffy backpack!

The blower was definitely the favorite gift for everyone under the age of 9, ahem.

Checking out a sweet book from Nana and Bapa.

Two candles on his chocolate zucchini cake. Two!

I forgot to give him a fork right away, so he just figured he'd dive in.

It was a hit.

We are so grateful that Heavenly Father sent you to us, Benjy!

Beach fun

We took a short three-day trip to Kitty Hawk last week. We rented a little cottage in Powell's Point, which was an easy 15 minute drive from the beach. The pool at the complex was spacious but boy, the water felt like a bathtub due to the heat wave we were experiencing. Still, we all enjoyed the clean pool water as a change from the ocean.

 The weather was crazy hot and the water felt refreshingly (and numbingly cold).

 Benjy wasn't too sure about the ocean at first, but by the end he was loving it.

 Robbie and Henry had a blast using their boogie boards catching waves that would ride them onto the sand. The sound of their gleeful laughter was so fun to hear as we sat by the ocean.

 Clara enjoyed relaxing in the shade the first day and also floated out on the boogie boards with me before we left. She participated in virtual young women's camp on Zoom while we were at the beach as well and throughout the trip, which added some definite conflict regarding screen time.

 Playing in the sand.

More boogie boarding.

 The little cottage that we rented was cute and had a fun loft where Robbie and Henry slept in two double beds. Benjy slept in our room--it is a challenging stage with him because he can climb out of the pack 'n play, but we made it but one of us continually putting him back in and putting his head back down.

 On the last day, we went back out to the beach in the late afternoon and saw a lot of surfers catching the waves.

 Daddy and the boys enjoyed jumping up and over the waves, too. The water was surprisingly blue that afternoon, with turquoise water closer to shore and navy water out in the distance. Beautiful.

We ate at Steamers before we left to drive home--I had some delicious fish tacos and Michael ate some shrimp and lobster. (Clara is conspicuously missing from this shot, unfortunately, because she chose to stay at the house and miss dinner. We missed her!)

We drove home that night and got in about 1am. It was a refreshing change of scenery.

Robbie's birthday and baptism

How have eight years already passed since Robbie's birth?

Wasn't it just yesterday that he looked like this? He is growing to be just as handsome and cute as he was when he was two.

 Robbie requested crepes for breakfast, something the whole family enjoyed.

 The traditional giant slip 'n slide was brought out, and neighbors the Zopps, Mr. Tim, and the Wenigers joined in the fun.

So glad that Clara joined in briefly as well.

 Even though it wasn't a "friends' party" year, our sweet neighbors still brought him some sweet gifts.

 A highlight of the day was having Nana and Bapa here!

 We did hot and cold outside this year--here Robbie was hunting behind the couch.

 Opening a cool car from Melody.

 Robbie was excited about this pogo ball board and has already been learning to use it. I gave him a cool book about speedy race cars with excellent photographs. He saw one and said, "Chev-RALL-et, I've heard of that!" I had to inform him it was pronounced, "Shev-roll-ay." :-)

Ready to blow out the candles.

 It's great to be eight! This was supposed to be a race track, in case you can't tell.

 Robbie was prepared and super excited for his baptism. So were we!

I asked Robbie if he wanted to share his testimony as part of his baptism, and he said yes and actually wanted to give a talk.

He wrote the whole talk (dictated to me) and shared several scriptures from the Book of Mormon and the Bible (he wanted to read all of them). He looked up at the end and bore a beautiful testimony. (This is just an image--for some reason I couldn't upload the video.)

Bapa was a witness and participated in the confirmation, and Nana gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost (I gave a talk on baptism). We were sad that people couldn't come in person, but we were so glad that my parents could come and that Melody could be there and especially that people could participate via Zoom. Uncles and aunts and cousins, Grandma and Grandpa, and even a few friends not of our faith joined in, for which we were truly grateful.

Aunt Melody was a great help with Benjy during the baptism and shared her testimony along with Aunt Heather and Uncle Erik about baptisms during the interim while Michael and Robbie changed.

Despite the technical difficulties we encountered during the set-up (even thought we'd come over the day before to practice), we felt the Spirit and Robbie was very proud of himself, as he should be. My fasting and prayers were answered that the Spirit would be there.

Yoked with Christ during COVID-19

The past couple of weeks I have been struggling with feelings of overwhelm and discouragement as I have tried to plan each summer day. For years, Clara's daily habit has been to ask me, typically multiple times a day, "What's the plan for tomorrow?" or "What's the plan for (fill in the blank)?" I have had to tell her many times this summer, "Well, after morning routine and our morning table time (a brief activity I do with the kids, like math on Mondays, craft on Tuesday, etc.), I don't know." Our usual summer activities of pool time, swim team, playdates, and visits to various playgrounds have been put on hold. We have successfully filled the time with neighbor playtime (a true tender mercy), a few outings a week, and are just branching out into hosting playdates, initially just outside only.

Still, while for other people in a different season of life this might be a time of self-reflection, spiritual growth, and simplicity, I feel myself pulled in every direction by concerns about each of my children, house projects, general high energy and noise and mess, and trying to meet the needs of each member of my home, including myself, not to mention those to whom I minister from church and trying to fulfill my calling as the Primary children's music leader in a meaningful way from a distance.

I have still managed to make time for self-reflection, but it has tended to be more a time of self-criticism and dismay at my weaknesses and insufficiencies and general laziness. After counseling with Michael and as I have pondered my situation, I have felt like because I am worried about the future (what will school be like? Should I just homeschool because it's probably all going to close down again anyway? How will Clara handle all of this? etc), my faith must not be strong. And that has felt even more discouraging.

However, one morning during my scripture study, I was thinking about the concept of the Savior's grace. My thoughts brought me to the concept of the yoke and oxen that Christ uses symbolically:

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

I felt like I have been dragging this heavy bag filled with all these concerns down the path of life. I realized that I have essentially been in the harness alone, trying with all my might to be strong enough, faithful enough, disciplined enough to plow through this challenging time on my own. (Michael is my true partner in all things, but since he can't be with me during the day, I generally am trying to tackle these home concerns when he's not around.) However, if I acknowledge that I desperately need the Savior's help and am insufficient without Him, if I come to Him through childlike humility, He will gladly get into the harness with me, yoke me to Him, and He will help me pull my burden (doing the lion's share of it, no less).

For me, that "coming to Him" looks like awareness of my baptismal covenant to always remember Him:
consciously praying during the day when my kids are quarreling and I need the strength to use a calm voice or not react right away;
bringing awareness to my negative thoughts about myself and the future and re-framing them, changing my self-limiting beliefs to ones of confidence;
choosing to see in gratitude the blessings I have without fearing of how long they'll last or if they'll be taken away

For example, an unconscious self-limiting thought I often have is "I can't do this," or "I am never going to improve." I can pray to be aware of those thoughts and then upgrade them with thoughts like, "I am strong enough to handle this with the Lord's help," and "I have done hard things before and I can do them again." I know I have felt Jesus Christ's redeeming power through forgiveness of my sins, and now I seek His enabling power even more earnestly as I carry my burdens with Him as my full partner in the yoke. Worst case scenarios will become the best scenario for my benefit if I turn to my Father in Heaven and His Son.

So with greater recognition of my dependence on heavenly help, I "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect [well, maybe an imperfect] brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men" (2 Nephi 31:20) with the faith that I can do all needful things through Christ as He strengthens me. And I know He can do the same for you.

 

Highland Retreat

Last weekend we stayed in a cabin at Highland Retreat, the destination for our Weiler family reunion that was postponed until next year due to COVID-19. It was a lovely time, and I am glad we checked it out in advance so we can know what fun things to do as a family. The first night we enjoyed s'mores over the fire.

 The first morning. The best part of the trip for me was that we paid for the meal plan where they give you the breakfast food and you cook it over the fire yourself. We were there for two days and enjoyed pancakes, sausage, bacon, Lucky Charms (!), biscuits, hash browns, juice, and more.

Is this boy a cutie or what? Benjy had fun but was a little young for the experience--he didn't sleep well and wasn't a big fan of the nature hike the camp counselor took us on. In fact, when we got to the pond Benjy threw his glasses into the water. After fishing them out, Michael discovered that Benjy had already popped the lenses out on the hike itself and were long gone. Ugh. Mercifully I had his old scratched lenses in my purse, so we are using those for now.

 The cabin was ideal with a set of bunks and a queen in each of two bedrooms with a little kitchenette and seating area.

 While bacon was sizzling over the hot coals, Robbie helped Daddy give a devotional from a thoughtful handout the camp host had given out about a few of the parables of Jesus for us to discuss as a family.

 This pine stand has been nicknamed "Narnia" and is lovely.

 A few bridges span a creek running through the property.

Robbie climbed this 35-foot tall climbing wall in no time.

Other highlights of the weekend include the pool, Robbie helping construct and paint a bird house, learning to make thread bracelets (which I've been helping Clara and Robbie make since we've been home), and just enjoying time together.

Smith Mountain Lake

Our friends, the Robertsons, invited us to come to Smith Mountain Lake and hang out with them on a large pontoon boat (the party-toon) a few weekends ago. The weather was perfect and the conditions ideal.

Here Henry is sliding down the slide from the second level of the pontoon boat. Henry was so brave, even though he was super nervous about being in the lake because he felt like it was so deep.

 Chillin'.

The jet ski was fun--I drove it for a little while but confess I felt pretty nervous.

Robbie really enjoyed it.

 As did Henry.

 I was super impressed by Clara's courage to go out on the jet ski with Daddy for a little bit. Michael increased in his confidence and skill and by the time we left the lake he was doing doughnuts in the water.


The pontoon was slow enough that the kids could stand up on the tube while they were going.

Gorgeous. Here Henry is with Shanna Robertson. It was a wonderful day, restful being outside and fun to be with uplifting friends.

Fun June adventures

June was a fun and full month. Even though COVID has changed a lot of our summer rhythms (namely the pool, sniff sniff), we are still making time to do fun things. The boys don't mind much that we stay home nearly every day now, but Clara misses a social life.

 The playgrounds are closed, but we live in a beautiful place with other outdoor activities if we use our imagination.

 Washing the car--I took a picture because this happens so rarely.

 Cub Run had a sweet goodbye day where the kids dropped off books and picked up a goodie bag. I am trying not to think too much about the fall and school starting and the uncertainty it brings.

 I prefer this face shield to a mask but do often wear a mask instead, depending on the situation. I never in my life thought I'd be wearing a mask to go into a store. Funny how things change. The pandemic has really brought to the forefront the different ideological lenses through which people view the world: Do you value health and safety to save lives or do you value economic growth and stability to keep people in their jobs? It has been a stressful political season and I just uninstalled Facebook and Instagram from my phone because I needed to step away from the posts about how everyone needs to wear a mask or people will die and posts about how the economy is dying because of the regulations. Other hot topics these days are issues of racism and police brutality, especially against black men. We have had more than one family lesson about racism and I read a powerful story about the children's march of the 1960s as they fought for desegregation. I realized I have my own racist issues without really realizing it, especially one of ignoring the issues of my black brothers and sisters who often face injustice and inequality. I am hopeful that we will continue to make progress as a people towards loving and accepting all of God's children no matter their race, color, or religious belief.

 S'mores for FHE. 

 Dinosaurland was on our summer fun list--it was underwhelming but still fun.

This Megalodon was pretty sweet.

 Yikes!

 A daddy who wrestles after a long day at the office is truly a rare and wonderful man.

 "Table time" in the morning consists of various small activities, like math, writing, craft, game, etc.

We were thrilled when Melody agreed to come back and visit for the summer!!

Blue Hole is a fun watering hole up past Broadway.

Robbie started piano lessons with his teacher, Kama Miller.

Water balloons on the trampoline.