Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving Memories.....


This morning we woke up to fog and I was so excited! The swirling gray around the trees and the misty cool dew on the plants made me grateful and happy. Maybe it's from my roots in the Pacific Northwest, but it just made my day start out perfect. It put me in the mood for the holidays and made me realize how grateful I am this Thanksgiving day.

For some reason today, I wish I were in Payette, Idaho at the high school (or Ontario, Oregon at the institute building or wherever they are this time) at the big Butler Bash. It's been years and though we have created traditions of our own, there's nothing like Thanksgiving with the Butlers.

The excitement of driving there will never leave me. The excitement of seeing all the cousins and aunts and uncles and friends who needed a place to go and the missionaries and especially Grandpa and Grandma Butler. The gym was crazy with all the kids running and laughing and pick up basketball games going on. Someone would be getting the pinatas ready for the big unveiling later on. There was always a television on with a football game and the older cousins "hanging out" because it was cool.

My favorite part was the kitchen....Aunt Sandy making mashed potatoes that put Martha Stewart to shame, Uncle Lee with his smoked turkey, my mom and all the aunts bustling around, laughing and breaking out in song and swatting hands out of the food and hugging me over and over again.

Grandma and Grandpa Butler were always there in the center of it all. Grandma would help out with the food and holding babies and Grandpa would be trying to figure out how we were related to the visiting missionary.

I remember the long tables with butcher paper that were for the cousins on missions. We drew on those for hours, creating masterpieces for the lucky recipient. There were always babies to hold and love and an adopted grandma or grandpa to meet and greet.

The food went on for miles, it seemed. The anticipation was almost too much sometimes. The smell would bring everyone in at some point or another in the preparation process. There was always enough to sneak a taste and if you were really good, Uncle Lee would let you sample the smoked turkey while he was carving it.

How we fit all those people in the home economics room of the high school or the cultural hall of the institute, I will never know. There were a lot of us, but there was always room for one more. As I look back, I remember the prayers being long. Only because I was ready to eat. Now, as an adult, I know why they prayed so long. There are so many things to be grateful for.

After dinner it was the pinatas. It was an exhilarating experience! There were no less than 5 pinatas every year. From the oldest to the youngest, there was serious bat swinging and anxious children as pigs and turkeys and clowns and cows and footballs and other shapes sucumbed to the blows. When the candy spilled, it was chaos for about 45 seconds as children scrambled for the goodies inside the pinata.

The grand finale, however, was the talent show....eat your heart out "America's Got Talent" because the best on your show pale in comparison to the strong man act of Uncle Lee or the new pregnancy revealing of one of the aunts. My dad with his ukelele singing folk songs or the cousins pulling together a last minute skit that was neither funny or talented, but we laughed so hard we were crying. And somehow, I can't remember exact details, "Hoya! Hoya!" got started with something Uncle Tom did. For years after that, it was "Hoya! Hoya!" when applause and laughter wasn't enough!

Funny, but at the time my grandparents faces didn't affect me, but now I can clearly see them with their smiles and Grandma Butler laughing so hard she was crying. Grandpa Butler slapping his knee and both of them holding hands. I now realize, they were loving every minute of the chaos and entertained down to the littlest cousin singing. Their faces were faces of people who had endured hard times - the depression, loss of loved ones, financial successes and failures - and yet, they were still grateful and firm in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We always got a rendiditon of "Margie" for Grandma's sake and then sang "Love at Home" with Grandpa up front, his arms around his sweetheart, singing as loud as he could.

Some year, it would snow and we would squeal with delight and run outside to let the snowflakes drop on our outsretched tongues. The adrenal rush of everything was enough to make you giddy as a child! The snow falling and the lights of Christmas being lit would make the holiday season start with perfection. As a child, I loved Thanksgiving evening. It was such a satisfying feeling to have a full belly and cousins and loved ones around me, the snow falling and the anticipation of Christmas coming in just a few weeks! The good-byes and piling in the car with the leftovers was not deflating because the laughter lingered in your mind and the hug you just got from Grandpa and Grandma Butler still tingled with how much they loved you.

Years and miles and death have now separated most of us, though I know there's a Butler Bash happening in Ontario with whoever can be there. I know my mom and Uncle Rusty are having a Butler Bash in Utah. My family is all over the world, so we are celebrating in Virginia, Germany, Utah, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon and Turkey. I wish we could all be together and hold our own Bash, but in our own ways, we will. My sister, Anna, said on her blog that they are hosting soldiers with no place to go. I know my other siblings will be with others who love them and who need a place to go also.

We are going to Jason's paren'ts house this year. I am dissapointed we are not at Hilton Head, South Carolina at the beach like we normally are. But, we are having a dear friend, Doris Janiak, whose husband passed away just ten days ago, come with us. I am bringing butcher paper for drawing and writing for the missionaries and for my step brother, Jarrid, who is in the military.

So, though the Butler Bash is impossible to get to this year, we, because of Grandpa and Grandma Butler, carry on the traditions that mean the most. Like my grandparents, it is my turn to see the delight of the children and give hugs to the nephews who will be there and sneak a taste of the turkey. Last night, the smell of cooking apples to make and apple crisp brought back so many memories. We will have plenty of yummy food and desserts and will be blessed with a prayer from Jason's dad. It may seem long to my children, but I hope, that as I do, they will someday realize that long prayers are a blessing of how much we have been given. I am grateful for the fog I woke up to to remind me of how great life really is and how blessed I am to have a roof over my head, food to eat and a family who, despite the distance, loves me and I love them. Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The voices.....

When all four children are talking and trying to get my attention....is that what it is like when you go insane and hear voices?

Friday, November 13, 2009

I am grateful for sick days....

I know, call me crazy. I am not grateful someone is sick, but I am grateful that I am forced to relax and stay at home and sit and snuggle with a baby. Savannah has a really high temp, swollen gums and is miserable, but I have gotten to hold her and snuggle with her for two full days now. Someday I will miss that......

Friday, November 6, 2009

Fourteen months....

Can she really be that old? Walking and talking and so cute! She has everyone in the pipestem wrapped around her little finger.She is a doll! She is loving and cute and has a great personality. She can hold her own in this household and lets everyone know when she has had enough! She jabbers and points and tries to say words like crazy now. She loves to snuggle for a long time and gives really slobbery kisses that everyone loves. We love you little Savannah Marie!!!



The New Violin

The violin that was originally purchased for Xander was on its last strings. Xander played it, Garrett played it and Eleanor has had it for awhile. It wouldn't stay in tune and it was sounding a little sad...lucky for Eleanor, her dad has connections and got her a brand new violin. It came yesterday and she is thrilled! It sounds fabulous and she has practiced about six times today!
THANK YOU DAD FOR MY NEW VIOLIN!!!!I will only practice only on the days I eat!




Thursday, November 5, 2009

It all started with the PE locker.....Xander is in middle school this year. (Fifth grade at Flint Hill is middle school) He came home near tears and went straight to his room. I finally got the story out of him....they were told that they had to open their lockers that day or they would not be allowed to dress down for Friday. He was the only one who could not open his locker. This meant that he would have to stand there and try and open his locker during PE instead of going to PE and everyone else would go to PE. (He isn't that great at PE anyway and we have been trying to encourage him rather than discourage him about sports!)
I panicked...he is already a sensitive and innocent child who could be an easy target for teasing. So, I pulled the "faculty father" card and told Jason to talk to the PE teacher the next morning and move heaven and earth to not let him be the "only kid who couldn't open his locker".
Part of me debated that I should let him tough it out and that this was only the beginning of hard things in his life...the other part of me refused to let this put a damper on his already least favorite subject in school.
Well, long story short....he was given the wrong combination for the locker!!!! He would have stood there all year trying to get his locker open and never succeeded! There were a series of other events that has had me a little worried about him these last eight weeks. I have been stressed out and worrying about him and sending extra prayers up to heaven to know what the best thing to do.
My prayers are always answered. Not necessarily in the way I think they should be or how I would expect, but the Lord loves me and shows it when I need it the most.
Today was his parent/teacher conference. I was reminded how blessed we are to have people who love to teach and love to teach my children. Xander has had a rough go at the beginning of this year, but thanks to his teacher and others, he is going to make it. He is going to muddle through all the changes of emotions and hormones and socialization and everything else that middle school brings and be ok. I just needed to be reminded of that and it happened today.
He is blessed with a teacher who is perfect for him, who loves to listen to him rattle on about music and is in awe at his ability to fast once a month and take on being a good big brother and talk about things most kids aren't even concerned about. She loves to talk to him and have conversations with him. She is amazed by him.
She believes in him. She is wonderful and I am so grateful for her.
Eleven years ago next Tuesday, I met him for the first time. I was amazed by him also. Can it be that my little Xander bug is turning eleven? My first born son. My first attempt at motherhood. Thank goodness for the village that is helping me raise him! I am truly blessed! I sent thank you's up to heaven all day long for this inspiration and answer to my worries as Xander's mom. Gosh, I love that kid!