2009 – Page 22 – Andelin Adventures

Dinner at Granny’s

We went to Granny’s house for dinner tonight. The kids enjoyed playing with cousins (they always seem to play more than they eat when we all get together). Karen made a pot of chili, and we brought corn bread and watermelon, and Laurel and Roine brought cole slaw, and some banana lemon muffins. It was a good get-together. I heard Karen in the other room, comment on nobody giving her a mother’s day card. I didn’t get any cards either, so join the club.

After dinner the kids all wanted to go outside and look for bugs (that’s Ethan’s big thing right now). So most of us went outside for awhile. I LOVE smelling the mint patch by Karen’s back door. I need to make a mint patch of my own, so that I can smell it all the time. 😛

Before we left we put our kids in pjs (we always take pjs with to family dinners so that if the kids fall asleep on the way home, we can just put them in bed) And Dinah was just so cute ‘playing’ the piano that I had to take this picture:

Mother’s Day feelings

Well today is Mother’s day, and I have spent most of the day wondering if this holiday was invented by some naughty children that just wanted a specific day to torture their mothers???? My kids just don’t seem to like me at all. I’m mean, remember? I make them do all kinds of things they don’t want to. And Kyle is gone ALL the time working the two jobs, so they only get me. But they only want ‘daddy’. I hear a lot of “I don’t like you” “I don’t ever want to see you again” “I never want you to talk to me again” “Just leave me alone” and the one I LOVE “I’m not allowed to do what you say” Where do they get that idea? I’m the one that makes most of the rules around here, and it’s not like I’m asking them to do something naughty! That one totally confuses me.

I feel as though Kyle doesn’t teach the kids about respecting me, or doing something special for mother’s day. How are the kids supposed to make, or buy cards if he doesn’t help them? I guess I could say “well mother’s day is coming up, let’s go shopping and you guys can pick out cards to buy me” But I personally feel that sounds selfish. I don’t want them to just love me and honor me on mother’s day. I want them to respect me and love me all the time.

Today for the most part has been like any other day. I woke up at my usual time, read my scriptures, got up and got dressed. Then I had to wake up Kyle and tell him to get out of bed and get ready for church so we wouldn’t be late. Then I moved onto waking up the kids and getting them dressed so we wouldn’t be late. We weren’t late for church, thank goodness. But we had to leave without eating breakfast, so the kids all grabbed a roll on the way out the door and I grabbed a banana. I got chocolate covered strawberries from the kids, because that’s what they made for the mommies in primary. (Kyle gave me a box of See’s yesterday.) We got home and the bed hadn’t been made, because I didn’t have time to make it before leaving. The dishes from the past couple of days were still piled high, because I got tired last night and didn’t have the energy to do them. I was hungry because we didn’t have time to eat before leaving. Nothing has been done because I personally have not done it. Kyle did a few dishes, because I asked him to. I went to lay down for awhile today, because I insisted. So today has been like any other day, not a special day. And just being told that it’s mother’s day, the day we honor our mother’s has just made this ordinary day a torture filled day. I love my family, and it hurts to feel that my kids don’t love me.

Sorry if this post seems selfish or depressing, I just needed to vent.

FHE #17

Tithing Short & Sweet with a Treat Lesson 19

Opening Song: Children’s Songbook pg 150 “I Want to Give the Lord My Tenth”

Opening Prayer: Tyra

Scripture: Malachi 3:10-11 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Lesson: What is tithing? Tithing is one tenth of the money that we receive. The simple fact that Kyle has a job, and that he makes money is a blessing given by our Heavenly Father, and all he asks in return is that we give back one tenth.

Elder Dallin H Oaks (Quorum of the 12 Apostles) said that his mother, a widow, paid her tithing even on a schoolteacher’s small income. She told him that they could not get along without paying tithing. She explained that she could not raise her children as a single parent without the blessings of the Lord she received by paying an honest tithe. The Lord has promised to bless us when we pay our tithing (see “Tithing”, Ensign, May 1994).

Activity: Tithing Helps matching game. The book Short & Sweet with a treat, comes with a cd rom to print off activities to go with the lesson, and that’s where we got these pieces to play the matching game. 🙂

Closing Song: Children’s Songbook pg 150 “I’m Glad to Pay a Tithing”

Closing Prayer: Ethan

FHE Treat: Tithing toast

Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day! Here it is, the start of this special day when we celebrate those women who give so much to be our mothers. Rebecca is a mother of 4 (usually) wonderful children, as troublesome as they might be, and she’s expecting another one due next month. It’s amasing how much she goes through, dealing with my absense due to working two jobs, and still being able to get Ethan to school every day, and keep the kids from completely destroying the house. I’m always amased at how much she puts up with.

It’s interesting for me to look at the past three generations of Andelin men, that I am a proud part of. From my understanding, my grandmother Helena joined the LDS Church in Sweden when she was a teenager, and she left her family and life to come to Utah to be with people who believed the same that she does, where she eventually met my grandfather. My mother left New York along with her mother and sister (leaving behind some bittersweet experiences) for California, where they encountered the LDS missionaries and joined the church in her mid teens, and where she eventually met my father. Rebecca grew up in Fullerton with her family, and moved to Yorba Linda for a larger house, where they lost the youngest family member, which led them to meeting members of the LDS Church and eventually joining it, in her mid teens. And of course, she eventually met and married me. 🙂

I often wonder if that’s a coincidence, that three Andelin men married three converts from their teens. I’m sure their experiences were essential for leading them to meeting such wonderful husbands. Right darling? 😉 I love you!

Tyra’s Birthday

Well Tyra is now 5 years old, and she is just thrilled. She keeps saying that ‘next week’ she gets to go to kindergarten, when actually it’s next fall. 😛 We had her birthday party tonight since Kyle has Wednesday nights off, and we just had a simple dinner of ravioli (because that’s what Tyra asked for). It was just our family and Aunt Wendy, so nothing big or fancy. And we had strawberry shortcake for the dessert, at Tyra’s request.

Kyle spent part of the afternoon working on fixing up the bike that was handed down from cousin Sylvia as a birthday present (Tyra totally freaked out when we put her on the bike, just to see if the seat needed to be adjusted). And she is SO excited that she got a ‘Cinderella dress’ for a birthday present. She has been asking for one for months, and Kyle just happened to see these Cinderella pjs at the Disney store in the mall and picked it up.