Up To Our Eyeballs in Chocolate

"All I really need is love... But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." (Lucy Van Pelt from "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schultz)

For Valentiene's day, Rachel sold handmade chocolates to earn the last $600 for her American Heritage trip. She went through Grandma Dixon's boxes of chocolate molds (she used to have a business) and decided what she wanted to make. I created a brochure for her and Steve and I sent it out to about 100 people by email. Grandma also took some to work and put them in the teacher's lounge with some samples. Well, when all was said and done, she brought in $1,369 ($1126 after costs), made 24 chocolate bars, 237 trays of heart mints, 459 heart suckers, 95 circle suckers with colored hearts, and 19 candy dishes filled with another 57 trays of mints. Through the undying devotion and help of her mom, and pulling her first ever all-nighter, she pulled out almost twice as much money as she needed for her trip. I was amazed at how hard she worked and how supportive our friends and parents were with her project. Several people sent the email out to their friends, and others gave her donations above and beyond what they had bought. Although we were exhausted and still scraping chocolate off the kitchen counters, chairs and floor for days, we were so grateful and it was a great experience... for both of us.

...And as if I hadn't had enough fun with Rachel, I decided this was how Sarah would earn her tuition money for her week-long summer session of EFY in August. So, we started the process again, but this time with Easter Chocolates. I knew, going into it, that Sarah is not as self-motivated, and that she couldn't stay up late and give up her sleep, so we planned to work all day while she was home on Spring Break. But, because of timing troubles, we only got half of the orders that she needed. So, we extended the order deadline for another week and got twice as many orders as we had before. She had school the week we did the second half of her orders, so this project became more of mom's than Sarah's once she went back to school. But, we did it again, and Sarah earned all the money she needed to pay her tuition and pay back all the money she owed us from fall coed. In the end, Sarah earned $485, and we made 12 chocolate bunnies, 31 bunny suckers, 32 bags of mints, and 199 peanut-butter filled eggs with 87 of those personalized and decorated. The eggs were kind of my project, so Sarah did most of the other things while I worked on those. I put in a couple of late nights, but I was grateful we didn't get the larger orders like Rachel's project. It was scaled down perfectly for the need and the kid. So, with the money she had in her bank, Sarah is completely out of debt, and a free woman! She paid us back the money for her tuition and the money she owed for coed and still has enough money for camp and some spending cash for EFY. She's also been babysitting a lot, realizing that money is much more valuable to her than before. It was a good learning experience for her, too.

I had a moment of insanity (must have been the lack of sleep) while I was working on Sarah's eggs where I thought about what a wonderful little business this could be for my girls. They could do parties, weddings, holiday treats and do it in their own time, from home. My mom has all sorts of molds and we could find suppliers for the chocolate and molds at wholesale prices...my mind was spinning, thinking of how to market it and what we'd need to do to get it going. (I think my husband has finally converted me to the entrepreneurial way of thinking. It kind of spirals out of control once you get those thoughts in there). It sounded good until the next day when I started thinking about how much of my time would be swallowed up in "helping" them. Maybe if they ever want a stay at home job bad enough, I'll help them again, or, if I get bored and need something to do (hahaha...) once my kids are all in school, I could do it myself. Until then, we'll just keep it to making occasional birthday and holiday treats for the family and remember this wonderful experience with my girls where we worked toward financial goals together while we were up to our eyeballs in chocolate!

A Patriarchal Blessing

On Saturday, February 28th, Sarah received her Patriarchal Blessing. She had been preparing for a few weeks by fasting, praying, reading articles, and having several conversations about them with me and Steve. She had an interview with the bishop, and called and made her appointment. I think we were all a little nervous, maybe for the same reasons. I was little worried, because of how many times we've almost lost her and how uncertain her future is to us, that the answers we've sought for so long might be revealed and not be the ones we really wanted. There are worries I had about her future and her potential I didn't want confirmed. I think Steve was having much of the same feelings. Sarah was nervous, as most recipients are, because of the unknown. Although she never expressed these feelings, I'm pretty sure she was also having some of the same feelings we were.

The stake Patriarch, Paul P. Peterson, is a very humble, soft-spoken man with a kind and gentle voice and demeanor. He introduced us to his wife and we sat in the living room and visited casually for a few minutes as we all got to know each other a little better. Then he took us downstairs to the room where he had the recorder and chair set up to give her blessing. He spoke beautiful, comforting words, revealing truths, and many specific instructions for Sarah. I know I shouldn't have been, but I was amazed when he mentioned the hardship of illness without knowing anything about her health history. It was a beautiful blessing, full of comfort, revelation, and hope. I was so grateful to be present, as I believe those words were something I needed to hear at this time of her life almost as much as she did. And though he didn't speak much, the tears that ran down his face and the constant squeeze of his had let me know that Steve was feeling much the same as I. Sarah had invited Rachel, as her best friend and support, and though she didn't say much either, I know she was touched by the words he spoke and saw her big sister in a little different light. It was a beautiful experience and we had such a beautiful peaceful spirit with us that none of us wanted to leave or talk. I'm really looking forward to having similar spiritual experiences with my other four children. I pray that Sarah will treasure her blessing, read and ponder if often, and follow with exactness the counsel she was given by her Heavenly Father. I also pray she will never forget how much He loves her.

Our Cat, Lady

A few months ago (I think it was January 12th), our kitty Lady, who we have had for over 13 years passed away. She had been getting skinnier and acting more lethargic over the months, and not eating very much anymore. One night while I was at a Relief Society meeting, the kids called me crying and saying that they thought she was about to die. I came home to find them all sitting on the living room floor gathered around her and petting her. Her breathing was very slow and labored, she couldn't stand up, and she didn't seem to care who touched her or where. I knew they were right and after a few comforting words, we had a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help her to die quickly so she wouldn't suffer anymore. The kids all took turns holding her, crying, and telling her goodbye. I wrapped her in a blanket and took her to my bedroom where she could be alone. The kids (especially Rachel) had witnessed the death of Rachel's hamster last fall, and though we knew Lady would soon follow, none of them were prepared to watch her take her last breaths. (That one was pretty traumatic as their first real experience with death.) So, we put her in my bedroom, and after they each got to say goodbye again, we turned out the light and shut the door. During family prayer, we asked again if Heavenly Father would take good care of her and help her die soon and peacefully. A couple of hours later, when I went to check on her, she was dead and lying so very still. I was grateful that my children's prayers had been answered and that they had been able to say goodbye properly. Steve took care of her that night and in the morning, we had a sort of memorial service. We talked about how much we (mostly the kids) loved her and good memories we had of times she made us happy, made us laugh, or even made us crazy. We had prayer again, and thanked Heavenly Father for her and for answering our prayers. It was a tearful morning and kind of a hard day for the four at school, but as time has passed, the hurt has healed, too.

Steve brought her home when Rachel was just a tiny baby after a convention in Las Vegas he attended with a friend from his mission. They had a bunch of kittens to give away, and by the time Steve had dropped him off at home, he had a kitten in his hand. I don't think I'll ever understand how Neal got to him (Steve hates cats), but the kids sure loved our Lady. When she was really little, I kind of liked her too, but as time went on, my allergies got worse, so we simply tolerated each other, as long as we kept our distance from each other. She was always really good with the kids and would let them pet her until she got tired of it, and then would just walk away. She only liked to be petted on the colored parts of her fur, so I taught all the little people who wanted to play with her to not touch her white parts (her feet and tummy). When she was younger, she used to crouch down beside the wall in the kitchen, and when the kids would walk through the doorway, she'd jump across the doorway, side-ways and spread-eagle to pounce on them. It was really funny, and my favorite memory of her. Her favorite places to sleep were in the sunshine on the living room floor and on one of the boys' beds. She really was a pretty cat (until she got so skinny). She was mostly good and definitely loved.

Job Security

In January, Steve accepted an offer for a part-time job working on U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson's re-election campaign. I call it job security, because that's who he works for in his full-time job. Since he started there in January of 2009, they learned that he was a hard worker, has a lot of connections in Southeast Idaho and obviously had a vested interest in the cause. Steve knew the extra money would be a blessing to help us reach our goal of getting out of debt, buy a few things that we needed (like a new refrigerator), and give him the opportunity to make even more connections in the political world. Besides believing his boss is by far the best man for the job, we kind of need to stay employed. So, after much talk of what that would require of me as the mommy suddenly losing much my incredible husband's help, and pledging my support in this endeavor, he took the job.

The past 3 months have been a little tumultuous in the campaign, as the lies began to fly early from the others running in the primary election against Mike. But after attending several events and a debate, Steve is feeling a little more comfortable with the chances of his boss winning the primary. He is enjoying his associations with the others involved, and is working hard to fulfill his commitments. On the home-front, my life has been crazy busy and it's been hard for me to not accept my husband's gentle kindness as he uncomplainingly takes over to let me fulfil my responsibilities. I realized one day as I looked at his tired, haggled, burdened expression that in recent weeks as he had been helping me with the family, he had not been able to give the campaign the attention that he should have been. I made him promise to be a little more selfish and let me know when work needed to be done so I could make other arrangements or skip some of my things to take care of the kids. So, we are now working together a little better with the arrangement of not having him so available to me. I'm working harder on asking others for help, learning to say no sometimes, and my life has slowed down a little. So, I think we will survive this.

On the upside, with our beginning bonus and tax return, we've payed off all our credit cards, and our only debt is now the house! We've bought a new refrigerator (and a treadmill), and are saving the rest of the the extra money for our trip to Alaska and to build up our food storage. We have prayed rather fervently for a long time to be blessed with ways to pay off our debts. I know the Lord answers the prayers of those who are trying to be obedient. Sometimes He doesn't make it very easy, but it's always there, and available to those who are willing to pay the price! ...And we are so grateful!

Piano Festival 2010

In March, Rachel participated in the annual Idaho Junior Music Federation's Piano Festival again. When we got there, they took her right back so she didn't have much time to psych her self out, or get nervous at all. She sat in a room with a really kind judge, and her teacher took me back to listen to her play at the door. She played beautifully and received an "Superior" rating...and a perfect score (50 out of 50 points)! It was amazing. She told me she thought she messed up a couple of times, and there were some comments for improvement on her score sheet, but the judge was very impressed with her performance. She was called the next day to perform again at the subsequent Honors Recital. I went with her last year, so Steve and my parents went to watch our amazing young pianist. I probably don't have to say it, but we are all so proud of her!