A Quick Sjolseth Update That Turned Out to Be Longer Than I Expected

The boys are now 7 and 5.  They run like crazy, love sports, love eating at Indian restaurants, and feel like kings when going fishing with their dad.

Everett is in first grade, constantly loosing teeth, and working on letting go of the training wheels.  His teacher and all who get to know him always remark that:  He is a Thinker!  Recently, he has taken on checkers and chess.  So fun!

Merritt LOVES to do whatever his brother is doing.  He is a fierce protector and runs from activity to activity.  He is still my Perpetual Motion Merritt.  No one can balance being silly, loving others, and keeping us on our toes like he does.

 

This picture was taken at Harvard Square during a recent visit to Boston. 

It was the most epic leaf fight ever. 

I think we were throwing leaves around, in each others' faces, and down jackets and shirts for about an hour.  yeah, we were all itchy afterwards.

As a family, we have been having a marvelous time with our daily focus on serving others!  We are almost through with the Book of Mormon.  I think that it has taken us 16 months to finish it, with reading a short section each day. 

In 2014, we will continue our daily service focus.  Erik and I are excited to be teaching together in Primary.  I seriously am so EXCITED about it.  The past year was very long and hard, and I am looking forward to a refreshing change of being with children and loving their outlook on the gospel and life.

The focus on Pennies of Time over the past 16 moths has been an incredible journey, sometimes with a reluctant attitude--from me.  I am often asked by Heavenly Father to do things with Pennies of Time that I really would not like to dive into, such as:  share on Pennies WAY more than I want to.  But, as evidenced by the response from others, He needs voices to talk about serving with the youngest amongst us. 

My capacity for work and understanding how to juggle competing factors for time has increased exponentially.  I am not perfect at it, and am often up late at night, but Pennies of Time does add value to others.  I certainly don't earn money from it, although figuring out how to do that at the same time would make Erik extremely happy.  We have been amazed at the response from people across the world.  Not everyone understands what I do; there is always some critic out there.  At the same time, I do what I can with those that are willing to go along with me, and I, frankly, don't worry about convincing the rest of the world. 

One of the things I would like to see in 2014 is making more time to write in this space, sharing about our family. 

Just for my own reflection, I thought I would jot down a few notes about some of the things that I have learned over the past phase of life, I guess:

• Deliberate motherhood: working hard to make good choices for my family, having the courage to go against the grain or "the in-crowd" takes courage, consistency, and faith in God that all will work out in the longer view of this experience.  For example:  Many people don't get how I mother Merritt. I.don't.care.  I know what he needs, and I am grateful to have the insight to understand that.
• No service act is small.  I have seen the most gentle, seemingly insignificant, gestures of service have an immense impact upon someone.
• It is those moments when I have the greatest hesitation to reach out that it is the most important that I complete that reach.
• You can't please everyone, and that is okay.  Some people will have a contrary opinion to everything.  That is okay.  They can do that, and so can you if you want.  And, no, I don't have to always listen to those opinions.  :)  Neither do you.
• This life truly is not about me.  Whenever I get caught up in trying to figure out how the next step will affect me, I am always given a reminder by Heavenly Father that the blessings and skills I have now have been placed for me to help others. 
• I wish more parents placed limits on the mindless entertainment that erodes our culture.
• I don't want negativity in my home.  And, I don't want it in my social media.  I actively "unfollow/hide" (or whatever) those influences that do not uplift or teach me.
• I find that not very many adults actively listen to others.  So many are ready with advice, a worse-er experience, or even just a complete change of topic . . . even before the other person has finished voicing his or her thought.  I think it would be powerful if all of us made a more concerted effort to actively listen to one another.  (Just because I listen to a viewpoint doesn't mean I have to agree.)  I bet that an increase of listening would impart a greater degree of understanding of one another.
• I will always make mistakes, even annoying typos on the Pennies of Time Facebook page.  No matter how hard try, I will make mistakes.  I am okay with that now.
• The number of mistakes I make increase when a decrease in sleeping occurs.
• As I get older, I find that I really didn't fully understand how uplifting and empowering the Atonement can be in each of our lives.  This past year provided experiences to witness and experience the blessings of what Jesus Christ did for us.   

Feels good to share all that.

This is a collage of pictures we put together of the boys for their service birthday party invitation.  They taught their friends magic tricks, and we all went to a nursing home and put on "mini" magic shows for the residents.  A memorable experience.

 

Snapshots

May 2
I think Merritt just charmed his way right out of a negative consequence. He is 4. I am doomed.

April 26
Conversation between Merritt and a friend:

4 yr old girl (very happily): We are married! So wonderful!

Merritt: (bodily function sound) TOOT!!! (Laughs hysterically)

4 yr old girl (very disturbed): We are still married but I don't like it when you use that language!

April 24
5 young boys rocked the creek clean-up this afternoon! They worked hard for 45 minutes . . . And the creek is the cleanest it has ever been!

April 18
Because this week has been overwhelming in many ways, I wanted to share my admiration in seeing a marathon runner run through our neighborhood carrying a huge American flag in support of those touched by tragedy, my respect for a mom that works so hard to support her boys and teach others how to understand their needs, my appreciation for the guy at Sonic who discounted my drink :), and the overwhelming feeling of hope brought by the many good acts of love I see each time I work on "pennies of time." You good people with your willingness to sacrifice for others inspire me.

April 6
This included a 30 min discussion/fight on how much blood should be flowing out. Deadlyaccuracyofboys

April 3
The house was really quiet.  Guess what was in the toy box?

February 13
To the Sneakiest and Sweetest Friends: Thank you! The youngest started screaming,"I SEE MY NAME!" when he saw your heart attack. And, Erik immediately tried to figure out all the languages used. We feel the love!

April 5
Caught Merritt trying to call 911 because I wasn't making mac-n-cheese for his brother.

March 14
Today was pretty tough. After I put the boys to bed, Merritt came out to apologize for getting lost at the park (horrifying story). Evy joined us, and we all talked about how we love each other, how we are grateful for being safe . . . lots of hugs and giggles (and a request for a pet cat). Great 15 minutes of little boy love! I sent them to bed and not less than 30 seconds later one boy bit another boy's finger. of course. I'm exhausted but ever so grateful for my boys and my hard working husband.

February 7
When Mom is not home, this is what we have for dinner.

 

 

January 23

Erik got a shot of Mom just as the door opened for her SURPRISE party . . . love the expression!

 

 



January 10
Many people in our neighborhood have been sick. Lots of trashcans still out. So, we rode our bikes around the block to take care of them.

January 3
Evy teaches me about unconditional love and Merritt teaches me how to live life in the fullest way possible. I'm constantly being schooled by my kids.

 

 

January 1

*someone* was feeling better. So, at 9:00 I made him clean his room. He had to don the right accessories first.

 



December 20
If Merritt has to winterize, he does it in style.

December 17
The boys have been leaving small surprises for our mail carrier . . . today he took the time to knock on our door and wait for us to answer it (takes us awhile to get to the door). He had the biggest grin on his face and gave the sweetest thank you to the 4 year old. Small acts completed by kids do make a difference!

December 15
Evy came down this morning dressed to go to the shelter. "Mom, I need to look my best."

December 9
All from our neighbors in the last 15 minutes!
clothes/diapers/coats/wipes/toys/toiletries!!!

This is what Evy said when we took the picture: Mom, my heart feels good. And we need to figure out how to help them because they are helping out homeless kids.

 

December 2

Today was one of the busiest days I've ever had. Erik was right there the entire way, picking up what I left undone and keeping our boys happy and content. And, now I sit in a mindless stupor while he *unloads* the same dishwasher that he loaded earlier this evening. Thank you!

 

November 18

A sign that dinner might not go as planned: When the dad takes a bite of the meal, swallows hard, and then turns to his son and says,"You know, I had to eat unusual food on my mission."

 



November 15
(The 3 year old slid onto the bed 30 minutes before the alarm sounded.)

As the alarm went off, I heard a little boy voice whisper from the blankets: You are doing great, Mom. You are a genius, and you are pretty. You are incredible!

What a way to wake-up! Like a love alarm. (as he then started to sit on my face). :)

November 16
Oh, yes, he did!  :)

November 7
No matter my differing viewpoint or my crazy ideas or the fact that I think that the sidepocket in the car door is perfectly designed for a trash receptacle, my husband has always been supportive and loving. Thank you, Erik Sjolseth, for being a wonderful husband and father! You love me for who I am as a person in my entirety. That is true love!

October 10
The other day, we were late getting the kids home. Everett said he wanted to take a bath and read a story. I said we only had time for one, and that he could choose. I was waiting…waiting…waiting for it…”Dad, you can read us a story *while* we take a bath”. That a boy!! Good answer. He got a story while he took a bath.

October 8
My 5 year old and I have a "Make your bed" challenge going on, and he has beat me every morning for the past week. Today, I was going to beat him. While he was taking a bath, I hurried up and made the bed. Ran into the bathroom with a triumphant yell of,"I MADE MY BED!!" He said,"Go check my room." SNAP, he beat me again!

September 20

September 6

The other day, our 5-yr old came home from school sad. He said a girl he was trying to play with wouldn’t play with him during recess. Other girls convinced her to not play with him. He asked what to do. My thought was to tell him to kick her to the curb (it’s just an expression). Fortunately, my wife responded and said that he should focus on playing with other people.

Seeing that he wasn’t thrilled by the lack of guidance, she asked him in a secretive type of voice, “Do you want to go on a ‘secret adventure’?”

Of course, he said, "yes," looking very intrigued.

“Your secret adventure is to find two different people to play with while you are at recess tomorrow.” She quickly followed up with, “But, do you want to go on a ‘*Super* Secret Adventure’?”

Of course he did.

“I need for one of those people to be someone who is not playing with someone else.” She promised him a “super secret surprise” if he was able to accomplish his mission. In essence, my wife turned a difficult situation for our son into an opportunity for him to serve someone else who might be feeling lonely.

Well, he did accomplish his mission, and he had a new (and highly coveted) snorkel and mask that he had been asking for all summer, waiting for him when he got home. More importantly, he had a great time recounting to us how his super secret mission played out, earlier that day.

Christmas Sunday Pictures

Chills and Thrills

The boys are doing well.  They worked really hard on our "pennies of time" this week.

Our family service project is in FULL swing.  I mean, we have many, many, many things to pass along to Captain Hope's Kids.  Deadline is this week and the truck comes on Friday.  Evy and I will be toy sorting at Captain Hope's Kids on Saturday.  And, we are caroling at a nursing home this week. 

Erik is doing great in supporting all of us while he balances his job.

I am awesome.  Okay, I needed that.  Merritt is supposed to be sleeping and he keeps screaming the ABC song in an effort to get attention and the attention that I want to give him is to scream "GO TO BED AND BE QUIET BECAUSE I AM TIRED!"  So, instead I self-compliment by saying:  I am awesome.  It works.

Erik and I went to a work Christmas party last night.  Here are some pictures of us just before we left.

And, just because we haven't put out much recently on this blog, here are some pictures of the boys.

O My Goodness

We have been busy.  Miss us?  Go here.

I miss chronicling our family adventures, the ups and downs.

I hope to get back to it soon.

In the meantime, here is a gem of picture or two.

My Merritt Today

It is laundry day.  The house smells like the unmistakable soft smell of laundry detergent.  Earlier, this morning, I asked Merritt to read a book for a few minutes until it was time to leave for speech class.

He grabbed his orange copy of the New Testament and started reading out loud.

"God wants us to be happy.  God loves us.  Captain America loves us. Thor loves us.  There was a scout and he was running away.  And Green Goblin.  And Spiderman got him.  They are alive.  Mom?"  he paused in his reading.

"Yes."

"The Green Goblin needs to learn about Jesus."

"Why?"

"So he can learn to be nice."

On the way home from speech class, he requested that Chunky and Speedy be moved to the "show room" because Speedy loves Dora and Chunky loves the PowerRanger with the Star. 

Merritt working on being a better listener.  He has a marble jar going, and when he fills it, he'll be able to go on a special Dad Outing.  He is working really hard to earn those marbles.

Chills and Thrills

Such a fun week!  The boys and I are VERY busy with our "Pennies of Time" Adventures.  We ended the week with what I call an Odyssey.  Check out the blog to see what we did.

Evy lost his first tooth! And, he stayed healthy all week.  Went to school every day!

We made some great new friends.  One of them taught our boys how to paint house numbers.  (he does it in a totally cool way!)

Found out that our pediatric dentist is a scammer.  Now, trying to get my money back. 

Evy ended a baseball class.  We are looking forward to a new class and a change in coaches!  You should see him in action.  He is FANTASTIC.  I'll try and get a video up soon.

I am continuing with a new therapy for my arm.  So far, so good.  It is called Airrosti.  In just over a week, I am out of all braces, using weights, and have really established some strength in my arm.  And, I get to wear some cool racing stripe tape up and down my arm.  I'm sure hoping that it continues to help me regain strength and mobility.  I am ready to be back to normal after almost 8 months of incapacitation.

As a family, we had a chance to go to a Ranger baseball game.  We always love going to sporting events.  There is never a dull moment between the boys and the actual game being played.

 

Cotton Candy!

 

Merritt charming the Texas Ranger girls, with his backwards shirt, backwards pants, and backwards shoes...and his beautiful smile

 

So cute and tired!

Posts in facebook for September:

September 27
Grateful for our dentist who helped us avoid a scheming dentist with our little one! He went above and beyond! Thank you, Dr.Nelson!

September 25
HGSE all the way! HGSE is not a diaper company. HGSE does not need to claim "hugs" in a name to show that the school is committed to achieving excellence in education. Don't like either? Then talk about it like I do: The Ed School

September 19
We just saw T-Rex arrive at The Heard, amid hundreds of butterflies!

September 17
When the pediatrician gave the positive verdict of a strep culture, she brought a new toothbrush with her at the same time. Brilliant!

September 13
Me: Merritt, how was the hearing test at school?
 
Merritt: Wike dis--beep, beep, beeeeeeep, beeeeeeeeeeep, beep, beep, beeeeeeep, beeep, beep, beeeeeeeeeeeeee!
 
Me: So, I guess you hear okay.
 
Merritt: Yeah.

It Is Called Self-Reliance, Mom!

Merritt, the master of all locks and impediments designed to keep kids under the age of 5 out of stuff, will never go hungry.  This was the third time this week that I found him making sure that his tummy didn't go hungry.  I am so glad that he is able to bust through the pantry lock.  I mean, I would hate for him to STARVE! 

Just as happy as a clam eating his favorite treat in bed, dried mangos.

Tidbits

Whenever Merritt is having trouble (upset, scared, tired, overwhelmed), it is best if you just hold his hand or give him a hug.  It calms him right now.

He just walked in and said,"I hope you have good dream, Mom!"

Both boys will spontaneously say at different parts of the day,"I love you, Mom!"  I hope I remember that when the mouth-y-ness begins.

Perpetual Motion Merritt is in a full 5-point car seat restraint.  He will be until he graduates high school.  Maybe.

Right now, Erik, Evy, and Merritt are all laying down in Evy's room to "go to sleep."  They are each taking turns saying sweet things to one another.

Evy and Merritt were separated for the afternoon (one at a party and one at the pool).  When they were reunited, Evy said,"I missed you, Merritt!"

Merritt just walked back into the room,"Which would  you want, a bad dream about a witch or a monster?"  (One of our regular car games is "choices" where we ask a question with two options for an answer.  He is clearly not wanting to stay in bed.)

Evy is a champion money counter and loves to learn more about the value of coins.  He earned money by cleaning a water table that we sold to a secondhand toy store.  His cut:  $2.  His first thought was to buy toys for a boy that doesn't have any.

Evy doesn't like to eat breakfast.  Merritt loves my protein drinks.  Neither like the kale chips I made.

Merritt has rhythm.  Even with his head on my lap, overtired from a busy day, his hand is tapping out in time to music playing in the background.

The Bros

Our amazing boys!

Evy is a questioner.  Always thoughtfully processing his world around him, he questions those pieces that don't add up.  Ever on the quest for truth and right, he does his best to make good choices and feels a strong sense of guilt and remorse when a bad choice is made.  He is the first to share, the first to step up to help, and has a giving personality.  He prefers a balance between chocolate and salt.  He loves the color red, eating macaroni and cheese, helping everyone around him, and going fishing!

Merritt uses the language of love.  If you tallied up everything he says in a day, most of the words would fall in the "love" category:  I love you, you're beautiful, how can I help, I'm sorry, I want a hug, give you a hug.  He is always in perpetual motion, and, yet, can sit for a surprisingly long time when lost in a book.  He loves to lipsync, always asks for the music to be "wow-der," and is the first to start our daily dance parties.  He loves sweet treats like Whoppers, dried mangos, and gum.  He loves almond milk, hates pickles, and prefers to do it by himself,"I GOT IT!"

They are the happiest when they are playing with each other.  The sweetest part of my day happens when we are at home after school, and they have time to play together.  They'll be superheroes, daredevils, ninjas, and spies.  There is always the inevitable argument or tussle or accidental maiming.  No matter the circumstance, they are almost always immediately back in each other's company ready to play some more.

First Day of School

Everett recently started Kindergarten and he is loving it!  He teaches me all kinds of things when he gets home:  Zero the Hero, sign language movement for smart, the three sounds that "A" makes, and other tidbits that I love to hear about from him.

The first week of school was the pits for me.  Seriously.  I missed him so much! 

Here is Evy before school started on Meet the Teacher Night:

His teacher is AWESOME!

We had a "Starting School" Party at home the weekend before school started.  Here are some photos from that party!

When he grows up, he wants to be a policeman and own a restaurant!

Merritt was to be a wolf, or own a wolf, or be a wolf.  We aren't sure.

 

On the First Day of Kinder!!!

And, he was off!!  No tears from him.  He was ready to start learning and making friends.

On that day, Merritt and I did lots of things.  He also had time to entertain himself by doing this:

Every one had a great day!