kids sing spring conerts

We recently finished our kids sing spring season. It was great. We performed 3 times. Once at a retirement community "for the grandmas and grandpas" and once for friends and family and then again at a Memorial Day event in RB, which was pretty much all grandmas and grandpas too! :)

I love the patriotic music for spring. Both groups learned Proud to Be an American. Lexey loves to break out in song every time she sees red, white and blue! Yesterday she started singing for a lady who was wearing red pants, and a blue/white striped shirt!   My little class also performed Grand Old Flag, I've Been Working on the Railroad and I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy.  They did great. The older kids did a darling show about When I Grow UP with songs about a plumber, sailor, rodeo girl, etc. It was wonderful. Jessica does a great job with them. I really knew what I was doing when I talked her into starting this group so that my girls could have her as a teacher!  I hear nothing but how amazing and wonderful she is from all the other families as well. She is so talented and also organized and easy to work with. : ) Love ya Jess!

Here are some pics from our concerts!

(notice Calvin hands on hips?  He was sooo close to a total meltdown during the memorial day show. Luckily he kept himself under control)

 After the Memorial Day performance we went out for Slurpee's to celebrate!

 Here are my silly wee Singers!

 So cute!

Yankee Doodle

 

You're a Grand old Flag

Kids Sing! The costumes are so cute!

Jessica teaching and Claire Davis - a sr. in high school whose senior project was helping us out this year. She was great.  Calvin took this seat on the front row (in the directors chairs) and stayed for the entire show. He was perfectly behaved.

Clare at the mic

Clare at the mic again

I love Jessica! Isn't Austin so cute.

Me and my lovely girls after the show!

piano recital

Dave and Clare participated in the spring piano recital.

Dave played Linus and Lucy.


Clare played  song called Country Ride.














They both did a great job.

At the end of the recital Holly recognized kids who had participated in Certificate of Merit. She also made a few comments about Dave as an adult student being willing to perform and how none of us are too old to learn something new and that as a neurosurgeon dave has found the time to learn piano.  Several people after the recital talked to dave and told him they were inspired by him and thinking about learning piano as well. 

It was fun to see all of the students that Holly teaches together in one spot. It is a very impressive group!

Clare thought it was really fun to help Dave get dressed up nice for the recital just like she was doing. They gave each other practice performances. It was a great.

Holly's daughters told me Dave was the first adult who agreed to play in a recital. Usually the adults say no!

A couple of nights ago Dave went to church to pick up Calvin from scouts. He was wearing scrubs since he was on his way home from work. A couple of girls (maybe 12-13 years old) saw him and said, "hey are you a dr?"  "Oh, wait, did you play at our piano recital last weekend?" Dave said yes and then they started laughing at him! All the little kids got a big kick out of seeing Dave play.  And as much as they sort of laughed at him I am sure they were all impressed!

Calvin's video EEG

(pretty much copied this over from my Calvin blog but wanted it here so it ends up in the scrap books.)


Last week Calvin had a 3 day video EEG to check on his epilepsy. He has been on seizure meds for 10 months now and we wanted to see if he is having sub clinical seizures.  Calvin was a little nervous about going into the hospital but he was also excited about it knowing that 1. he'd get to miss school, 2. he would get lots of TV time 3. room service.

He did pretty well over the 3 days.

The girls were also looking forward to Calvin being gone and Dave staying with him so that we could have a "girl party." in the end, we were all way to busy and getting home too late to do any movies or other fun things except for letting Clare and Lex each have a night sleeping in my bed.

Here are a few pics from Calvin's hospital stay.

This is the view from the door 

 This is the moniter keeping track of Calvin's brain waves and a video of what he's up to so they can match up any events they see with what he's doing (sleeping, resting, falling asleep, waking up, happy, not happy, etc.)

I liked watching the EEG when I was in the room. This is what it looked like when Calvin was chillin' and watching TV. Not too much going on. I totally believe TV is terrible and gives the brain nothing to do.



 For most of the time Calvin was hooked up to the monitor and couldn't be more than about 5 feet from  the bed. He was allowed 25 min off line/day.  When he was off line he carried this little bag around that his wires went into. There was a game room on the floor with games, movies, crafts, etc. that we went to on our breaks each day.

Monday night I brought the girls to visit Calvin. He had had such a relaxing day we wanted him to have a little excitement and irritation in his life so as to mirror a more real life picture of what would happen to him day by day.  We wanted him to experience a range of emotion and experience to see what/if anything triggers epileptic activity.  The girls were so excited "mom, I've never visited anyone in the hospital! This is so fun! What room is Calvins? ...." They are so full of energy!

I love my little jojo.  

Dave also asked me to bring Calvin some homework to try to irritate him a bit. But it didn't work. He was happy to have a workbook and did a couple of pages happily! :) This is not our usual Calvin. However, an hour of the girls non-stop talking did get him a bit irritated.

The girls had a good time looking at every inch of the room and eating lunchables for dinner.

This is the room from the outside of the hospital. You can see it right as you get out of the parking lot.

 4th floor of the new building.

DAY 2:

Day 2 - Calvin had a fit. Probably this is the only time I would actually be happy to have him have a fit, but we wanted to see what was going on in his head when he is really mad. The trigger for this episode was the dr coming in to see them and dave turning down the tv so Calvin couldn't hear well and then talking over his show. Dave had to hold Calvin in a restraint for a couple of hours so he wouldn't tear off his wires. He calmed down and the rest of the day was uneventful.

Dave had to go to work so Clare and I came in to keep him company from 2-7pm. Clare played games and watched TV with him. By 7 she was bouncing off the walls! (It was amazing to see the contrast between the healthy girls and Calvin. Normal kids should not be able to sit in the same spot for 48 hours).

DAY 3: The dr. made rounds at 9:30 and it took another hour or so to get the discharge orders in place for them to leave. They arrived home at noon.   The dr. read all data before she came to see Dave and Calvin and discussed everything she saw. She also re-read his previous EEG from last summer to compare.

The admitting physician was not our usual neurologist   Our neurologist this week was Dr. Wang.  She was very kind and did a good job with us. Normally we see Dr. Nespeca.  We will go to Nespeca in two weeks to discuss the official results.


Overall, the study went very well. We got a lot of data. Calvin was super well behaved for the most  part which was good. He got lots of rewards (one per 12 hours) for being cooperative and sometime soon we will all go to Iron Man 3 to celebrate him keeping his wires on for 3 days.

a few quick thoughts!

I love my kids! They are always doing and saying funny things. Most of the time I forget to write them down. Here are a few gems of late.

Jo started calling Clare "bear bear" - lex did this at the same age

JoJo calls anything sweet "cupcake" - this includes cupcakes, ice cream and chocolate milk. The first time I heard this word was a month or so ago I made cupcakes for scouts.  Jo walked into the kitchen and said "CUPCAKE!" clear as day. I had no idea she even knew the word. I love how quickly kids at this age learn new things. She probably has a new word every day.

I ran out of wheat flour this week so my usual 50/50 white/wheat pancakes and waffles went to all white. My kids think I am the best mom ever and hope I will never buy wheat flour again!

Calvin always talks baby talk to Jo.

Clare was singing this morning "I love my family, I love my family, I love my mom, except when she bosses me around, she cooks for me, she tucks me in, I love my Dad ..... "

(one of my struggles is how to be the mom without bossing. Clare doesn't like to be rushed or told what to do. She likes to do things her way.  Her way is often the right thing but she hates to be corrected! AH! Kids !)

Lexey is learning to read, she has learned a few songs on the piano b/c she won't stop trying to teach herself I finally taught her a few songs!

Lexey said "Daddy long legs are nice spiders because they have the word daddy in it. There should be nice spiders called Mommy too."

Lexey is out of her mind terrified of spiders. She can sort of handle daddy long legs because she knows they won't hurt her. Any spider moving though, she will scream and then cry and shake for a few minutes. A few days ago she was on the couch reading and a spider crawled across her leg. She nearly died. It was so traumatic to her I had no idea what had even happened (well, I knew the blood curdling scream had something to do with spiders) but, it took her a good 10 minutes to calm enough that I could understand what happened.

Reflections

Last summer as part of the summer piano homework Clare's teacher asked each student to write a song. The littler kids were supposed to pick an animal and write about that animal. Clare wrote "The Butterfly Song".  At the end of the song Holly helped Clare write out her song.  The kids performed their compositions for each other. Holly also encouraged the kids to submit their songs to the school's PTA reflections contest. The theme was "the magic of the moment."  Clare recorded her song on the computer and then submitted it by CD to her school with a statement about her song saying, "there is nothing more magical than seeing a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis."

Her song received a school award and a district award and went on to the county level as well. She was asked to perform her song a couple of different times at the award banquets for each of these Reflections events.  When I told Clare about how her song had won (for her age and category) for the school and for the district she was at first happy, but then when she realized she'd have to play in front of every body she said, "oh boy! Why did I ever get myself into this!" She is cute. She mustered up her courage and did a great job performing her song at these two special occasions.

In Jan she was recognized at a school assembly. She didn't have to play her song, but she did dress up and look nice for the occasion. She got two certificates.

Her sisters are her biggest fans! Lexey LOVES the spotlight and adores her sister so she tires to get a piece of everything Clare has going on! :)

  In Feb, she played at a reception at the SD county district offices (it was too dark for any decent pictures), and then this month at the Poway performing arts center for the district. Clare did a good job. She does not seek the spotlight and so it took courage for her to be in front of people and it is good practice for her to do so.


 Clare wanted her hair to have two braids meeting in the back of her head. This was my attempt at what she described. I am not especially gifted at doing hair but we make do!

There is a reason we have lots of great pictures of Clare at this event: Jessica!  We had a Calvin crisis. I can't remember what the cause of the problem was but Calvin was going completely crazy and wouldn't cooperate. I called jessica and she drove over and met us at the performing arts center. I sat in the parking lot with her two boys - in pj's all ready for bed - still strapped in the car, plus jo in my car and Calvin who was causing a scene in the parking lot. I am so thankful Jessica helped me or we would have either had to miss the performance or Calvin would have caused a scene at the reception. Anyway....such is life. We are lucky to live near Jessica and Pete.

And a couple of extra pictures of lovely Clare. She can be the sweetest thing. When she wants to. Love her!

best mother's day ever

Mother's Day is probably the most hated holiday on the calendar. So may of people of life's trials involve mothers and mothering.  Infertility, relationship problems, deaths, etc.  Since my Mom died the week of Mother's Day 13 years ago, there were many years that I didn't enjoy mother's day because I was sad at the loss of my Mother and felt bad that I didn't get to celebrate with my Mom. Things have changed over the years as I have been able to celebrate with Dave's awesome mom, my grandma's and my own children.

This mother's Day was my favorite so far. The kids all made little Mother's Day gifts at school and were so excited to give them to me.  Dave got me a new bike and he was so excited that I finally wanted a bike!  This morning Dave got up with the kids and let me sleep in but it was too light and warm to sleep so instead I took the dog out for a walk by myself.  I have two walks I do without the kids. One is about 30 minutes and the other is almost an hour. I did the long walk today. It felt great!    When I got home from the walk the kids  had me wait downstairs so they could get my presents ready. They lined up everything and then told me to come into the room. Then they said "Happy Mother's Day" as I cam in the room! They are cute!  They were all so sweet and gave me hugs and told me they loved me. They were all wearing underwear b/c they had just gotten up and it was already 90 degrees out. It was a super hot day today!

Dave cleaned for a little while to try to help me get the house in order, so nice!

At church I played the piano for the second hour and then I gave a lesson in Relief Society for the third hour. I love both of my callings. Being in primary I so great and teaching is a super fun calling and it isn't too stressful since it is only once a month.  (Notes from the lesson are below if you want to see them.)

Dave cooked a great dinner. Home made pasta sauce. He even cleaned up after dinner and left me with a clean kitchen!

Dan / Elder Dahlquist is 9 months into his mission and we were able to google chat with him and scott in DC which was really fun. Dan looks really good and is pretty fun to talk with.   Pete and Jessica and Dad were here which was really fun. I am 99% sure Parker started yelling  SH*&  towards the end of our conversation. We were dying laughing. I'm not sure exactly what he was trying to say.

Today our lesson was from the Lorenzo Snow manual #7.

http://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-lorenzo-snow/chapter-7-faithfulness-in-times-of-trial-from-the-shadows-into-the-glorious-sunshine?lang=eng

Attached are some of the quotes we discussed and also some conference talks that would be a good addition to your study about facing trials with faith.  A lot of wonderful comments today in class. Thanks to all who participated.

Elder Maxwell Oct 1997

Mortality presents us with numerous opportunities to become more Christlike: first, by coping successfully with those of life’s challenges which are “common to man[kind]” (1 Cor. 10:13). In addition, there are also our customized trials such as experiencing illness, aloneness, persecution, betrayal, irony, poverty, false witness, unreciprocated love, et cetera. If endured well now, “all these things” can be for our good and can “greatly enlarge the soul,” including an enlarged capacity for joy (D&C 122:7; D&C 121:42).

Next, as we confront our own lesser trials and tribulations, we too can plead with the Father, just as Jesus did, that we “might not … shrink”—meaning to retreat or to recoil (D&C 19:18). Not shrinking is much more important than surviving! Moreover, partaking of a bitter cup without becoming bitter is likewise part of the emulation of Jesus.

Lorenzo Snow A

The Lord has determined in His heart that He will try us until He knows what He can do with us. He tried His Son Jesus. … Before He [the Savior] came upon earth the Father had watched His course and knew that He could depend upon Him when the salvation of worlds should be at stake; and He was not disappointed. So in regard to ourselves. He will try us, and continue to try us, in order that He may place us in the highest positions in life and put upon us the most sacred responsibilities.

Lorenzo Snow B

If we succeed in passing through the approaching fiery ordeals with our fidelity and integrity unimpeached, we may expect at the close of our trials, a great and mighty outpouring of the Spirit and power of God—a great endowment upon all who shall have remained true to their covenants. …

Lorenzo Snow C

 You and I cannot be made perfect except through suffering: Jesus could not .

Hebrews 2: 10 For ^ait became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all ^bthings, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the^ccaptain of their salvation ^dperfect through sufferings.

Lorenzo Snow D

It [has] been said that if all our surroundings were peaceful and prosperous now, we would become indifferent. It would be a condition that would be all that would be desired by a good many natures; they would not stretch out after the things of eternity.

Lorenzo Snow E

sometimes these trials have been of that nature that we have found it very difficult to receive them without murmur and complaint. Yet at such times the Lord blessed us and gave us sufficient of His Spirit to enable us to overcome the temptations and endure the trials

Lorenzo Snow F

The sacrifices you have made, the hardships you have endured and the privations you have suffered will … sink into insignificance, and you will rejoice that you have obtained the experience which they have furnished. … Some things we have to learn by that which we suffer, and knowledge secured in that way, though the process may be painful, will be of great value to us in the other life. 

Luke 1:37 For with God, nothing shall be impossible.

Mary’s reply: Luke 1:38 Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.

Elder Nelson:  

Even more widely known than war is an understanding of childbearing. Everyone “knows” that old women do not bear children. So upon whom did the Lord call to bear Abraham’s birthright son? Sarah, at age ninety! When told this was to be, she asked a logical question: “Shall I [which am old] of a surety bear a child?” (Gen. 18:13). From heaven came this reply: “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14).

Elder Wickman - But if Not - General Conference October 2002 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2002/10/but-if-not?lang=eng

Elder Bednar - That We Might Not Shrink - CES devotional March 3, 2013 

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/ces-devotionals/2013/01/that-we-might-not-shrink-d-c-19-18?lang=eng

Elder Maxwell - Apply the Atoning Blood of Christ - Conference October 1997

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/10/apply-the-atoning-blood-of-christ?lang=eng

Elder Nelson - With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible - Conference April 1988

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/04/with-god-nothing-shall-be-impossible?lang=eng

great talk

Yesterday I listened to Pres. Hinckley's talk Your Greatest Challenge, Mother.   I love pres. Hinckley. He has a way of making you feel really good, and then gives about 100 ways you could do better without making you feel overwhelmed or  a failure to begin with.  I think I'll make several FHE lessons out of his talk with his suggestions on what to teach children. Last night we talked about respecting the body.

 

 

Here's a great quote from the talk:

 

You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be,How well have my children done?

If the answer is that they have done very well, then your happiness will be complete. If they have done less than well, then no other satisfaction can compensate for your loss.

And so I plead with you tonight, my dear sisters. Sit down and quietly count the debits and the credits in your role as a mother. It is not too late. When all else fails, there is prayer and the promised help of the Lord to assist you in your trials. But do not delay. Start now, whether your child be six or 16.

life's little ironies

Today Dave is doing the case that should Calvin ever need surgery to treat his epilepsy, this is the case he'd need. I think it's called a right partial temoral lobectomy, or right hippocampalamagdayalectomy.

(date has been changed so as not to publish on the real day Dave did the case so as to help not be as big of a HIPPA violation as it could have been and published on my private blog instead of my Calvin bog.)

While we're on the topic of the brain anatomy I should mention that I recently listened to a course from   Great Courses called the Biology of Human Behavior. It was amazing. I highly recommend it. I have listened to several courses and this is my favorite. A close or perhaps even a tie for first is Doctors: The History of Scientific Medicine Revealed Through Biography.

www.greatcourses.com

night time hoarder and bike riding for Lexey

Lexey sleeps with lots of animals and lots of blankets. She knows each one and misses them if they are not in bed with her when she gets there.

Tonight Dave took Lex out for her first bike lesson. It was such a beautiful time of evening, perfect for bike riding and perfect for picture taking!

She did great for her first time. She is so excited to try again tomorrow. I think this fearless little girl will be biking on her own within a couple of days!

Here's her biking clothes. (Dress tucked into the leggings so it wouldn't get stuck on the bike, shoes on the wrong feet) Love this girl!

her biggest fan - Jo!

(look, Dad's not holding on)

This was her huge smile after I showed her the picture of herself riding without dave holding on (see next pic below this one).

This is the first time Dave let go! Look at Clare cheering in the background!

I love our beautiful street. Not quite as beautiful with a big dumpster :)

Not many things in the world cuter than a little girl learning to ride a bike! Go Lexey go!



cute Calvin!