First off, Happy Easter. This year I have been contemplating the feelings that Mary must have felt when she realized that Christ was risen. What a great feeling. Christ is RISEN!
Second off, this is a entry that my DAD, the father of ALL OF US CRAZY sisters wrote about one of the conversations we had at our "sisters weekend." We decided to have a little pow-wow about the sisters blog and what we could do better, or if we should even keep it up. Do we have followers and readers out there?????
Ok, so here it is...if you get confused during the conversation, remember this was SEVEN SISTERS all talking at once. It was Loud. It was crazy. AND it is our life and we love it. (I have added some fun pictures of us growing up. Classics.)
AND NOW..(drum roll please)....OUR DAD...
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| All of us sisters on a cruise in the carriebean many years ago~ |
Fontinne sang these words as her life drifted deeper and deeper into an abyss of sorrow, loneliness and despair in the play Le Miz.
I too dreamed a dream and it was of this little family all holding hands skipping down the road singing "Families can be together forever!" Well, the tigers do come at night, and they tear your dreams apart" but tigers have to eat and this is all part of Heavenly Father's plan. Kids grow up, little girls have little girls of their own, and the reality of life changes the dreams that we have.
Last night as we sat around the room after dinner and an evening of activities, we watched Judi's Mrs. Utah Pageant DVD and had Judi model her outfits. Then the talking began. It went from laughter to crying and back again from moment to moment. I was stunned and enlightened at what I heard as my "liitle girls" (and, mind you, not one of them was complaining) described their lives, their daily lives. They are living what Debi described as "my life for 30 years!" This, of course, was Debi's life, not mine.
During those years I was out slaying dragons, changing the world, making my way and "living the American dream." I now realize that the "American Dream" is different for stay-at-home moms.
I too dreamed a dream and it was of this little family all holding hands skipping down the road singing "Families can be together forever!" Well, the tigers do come at night, and they tear your dreams apart" but tigers have to eat and this is all part of Heavenly Father's plan. Kids grow up, little girls have little girls of their own, and the reality of life changes the dreams that we have.
Last night as we sat around the room after dinner and an evening of activities, we watched Judi's Mrs. Utah Pageant DVD and had Judi model her outfits. Then the talking began. It went from laughter to crying and back again from moment to moment. I was stunned and enlightened at what I heard as my "liitle girls" (and, mind you, not one of them was complaining) described their lives, their daily lives. They are living what Debi described as "my life for 30 years!" This, of course, was Debi's life, not mine.
During those years I was out slaying dragons, changing the world, making my way and "living the American dream." I now realize that the "American Dream" is different for stay-at-home moms.
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| Rindi, Stalee, Katie, and Laura (J.B.'s wife) dressed up as Wise Men for our annual Christmas Pageant. All so young and carefree |
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| Cute Sisters. All so young. |
Just a summary:
Sunee: I am soo busy, I don't have time to write on the blog. Jeff wants to play chess with me so he set up the board...he is probably still sitting at the table waiting for me to come play chess with him. If I have ten spare minutes I need to spend them doing Primary stuff. I want everyone to write on the family website (then she explained that she is multi-tasking when she writes as this is also her journal).
Katie: I don't have anything to add to the blog. Every day is the same...(Insert Debi: tell us what you do) Katie: I'll tell you now, it is the same every day...get up, get the kids ready for school, clean the upstairs, close off the upstairs to traffic, tend Lizzy and Prime, the kids come home, open up the upstairs, have dinner, go to bed, sleep, wake up and do it again...every day. That is my blog!
Rindi: I have been preparing for this blog my entire life. I have saved up entries enough for over a year. (She then went to the kitchen and returned with the rest of the big bowl of Jello and started eating it. Oh, Mom, is it OK if I eat the rest of the Jello? Debi, to all the girls: eat whatever you can find. Greg: Does that apply to me? Debi then looked at Greg as if to say, you know the answer to that question…the diet won over.)
Judi: I need help with William.
Everyone: we will come to you in order, we are now talking about the blog.
Judi: I like the blog.
Everyone: You can talk when it’s your turn. (At dinner everyone sat around the table in the same order as they did when they were children).
Stalee: I am not like Sunee or Rindi, I have things to say I just don't know how to say them.
Katie: Tell me what you have to say and I will enter it as my post. I don't have anything to say!
Stalee: I am a terrible mother. All my children have caps on their teeth because we don't brush.
Judi: William went to the dentist and did not have any cavities.
Stalee: See what I mean.
Rindi: My kids love the dentist. They skip through the little kids door and come out smiling.
Stalee: Oh my heck! My kids are back there screaming. I am going to post an entry on Angie's list telling what a terrible dentist he is.
Debi: You need a child's dentist.
Stalee: I have one!
Debi: See, Stalee, you have things to post.
Stalee: I know. I just don't feel comfortable with posting them.
Katie: I will use your story as my own.
Joni (heretofore sitting on a chair being very quite waiting her turn): I still have a lot of recipes to add. But I work on Saturdays and I would like to change days.
Sunee: Take mine, I quit!
Everyone: Don't quit, our public needs you, we need you, the world needs you...(then we had a discussion of the number of posts and the many stories of prevented suicides and divorces because of the blog…ok, not true but made us feel better about our efforts)
Joni: I feel good!
Judi: William is going crazy.
Sunee: Perhaps he has allergies, JB did, you know, and he was crazy.
Judi: But he hits me...(silence in the room as everyone ponders that this is really serious) He really hits me.
Greg makes a ball of tissues and tosses them across the room to Judi as she continues.
Judi: But then later he says he is sorry.
Everyone: Allergies, for sure. You need to take him to a doctor.
Judi: But they don't give little kids shots.
Debi: Don't listen to those doctors. We know better. Get him to the doctor right now and get him started on shots.
At this point I raised my hand and asked how long this was going to continue because I have to go to work in the morning.
Millie: My friend reads our blog every day.
Sunee: I am happy about that, but I am not sure I have time to write.
Everyone: Sunee, you can write when you can.
Sunee: But I want everyone to write on the family web-site. We are the only family on earth that has contiuned to have a viable web-site, let's not loose it.
Debi: I check it ten times a day.
Millie: I would like to show you all a dress I just bought to take on the Alaskan cruise.
Judi: (who has since gained her composure) Mike's brother Ryan is living with us and I am embarrassed the way William is acting.
Everyone: Mike's brother is living with you!
Judi: Not living, just staying with us.
Everyone: Oh, that's different.
Millie: Ryan could come and stay with us, we are closer to his work.
Everyone: Millie! You live in a one room apartment, where would Ryan stay?
Millie: Well, I was just trying to help...
At this point I stood up and said good-night and went to bed.
"Thank-you Lord for such wonderful daughters who are so full of life and so caring and compassionate and that they love each other and are willing to sacrifice so much for their families!"
The saga continues.
Sunee: I am soo busy, I don't have time to write on the blog. Jeff wants to play chess with me so he set up the board...he is probably still sitting at the table waiting for me to come play chess with him. If I have ten spare minutes I need to spend them doing Primary stuff. I want everyone to write on the family website (then she explained that she is multi-tasking when she writes as this is also her journal).
Katie: I don't have anything to add to the blog. Every day is the same...(Insert Debi: tell us what you do) Katie: I'll tell you now, it is the same every day...get up, get the kids ready for school, clean the upstairs, close off the upstairs to traffic, tend Lizzy and Prime, the kids come home, open up the upstairs, have dinner, go to bed, sleep, wake up and do it again...every day. That is my blog!
Rindi: I have been preparing for this blog my entire life. I have saved up entries enough for over a year. (She then went to the kitchen and returned with the rest of the big bowl of Jello and started eating it. Oh, Mom, is it OK if I eat the rest of the Jello? Debi, to all the girls: eat whatever you can find. Greg: Does that apply to me? Debi then looked at Greg as if to say, you know the answer to that question…the diet won over.)
Judi: I need help with William.
Everyone: we will come to you in order, we are now talking about the blog.
Judi: I like the blog.
Everyone: You can talk when it’s your turn. (At dinner everyone sat around the table in the same order as they did when they were children).
Stalee: I am not like Sunee or Rindi, I have things to say I just don't know how to say them.
Katie: Tell me what you have to say and I will enter it as my post. I don't have anything to say!
Stalee: I am a terrible mother. All my children have caps on their teeth because we don't brush.
Judi: William went to the dentist and did not have any cavities.
Stalee: See what I mean.
Rindi: My kids love the dentist. They skip through the little kids door and come out smiling.
Stalee: Oh my heck! My kids are back there screaming. I am going to post an entry on Angie's list telling what a terrible dentist he is.
Debi: You need a child's dentist.
Stalee: I have one!
Debi: See, Stalee, you have things to post.
Stalee: I know. I just don't feel comfortable with posting them.
Katie: I will use your story as my own.
Joni (heretofore sitting on a chair being very quite waiting her turn): I still have a lot of recipes to add. But I work on Saturdays and I would like to change days.
Sunee: Take mine, I quit!
Everyone: Don't quit, our public needs you, we need you, the world needs you...(then we had a discussion of the number of posts and the many stories of prevented suicides and divorces because of the blog…ok, not true but made us feel better about our efforts)
Joni: I feel good!
Judi: William is going crazy.
Sunee: Perhaps he has allergies, JB did, you know, and he was crazy.
Judi: But he hits me...(silence in the room as everyone ponders that this is really serious) He really hits me.
Greg makes a ball of tissues and tosses them across the room to Judi as she continues.
Judi: But then later he says he is sorry.
Everyone: Allergies, for sure. You need to take him to a doctor.
Judi: But they don't give little kids shots.
Debi: Don't listen to those doctors. We know better. Get him to the doctor right now and get him started on shots.
At this point I raised my hand and asked how long this was going to continue because I have to go to work in the morning.
Millie: My friend reads our blog every day.
Sunee: I am happy about that, but I am not sure I have time to write.
Everyone: Sunee, you can write when you can.
Sunee: But I want everyone to write on the family web-site. We are the only family on earth that has contiuned to have a viable web-site, let's not loose it.
Debi: I check it ten times a day.
Millie: I would like to show you all a dress I just bought to take on the Alaskan cruise.
Judi: (who has since gained her composure) Mike's brother Ryan is living with us and I am embarrassed the way William is acting.
Everyone: Mike's brother is living with you!
Judi: Not living, just staying with us.
Everyone: Oh, that's different.
Millie: Ryan could come and stay with us, we are closer to his work.
Everyone: Millie! You live in a one room apartment, where would Ryan stay?
Millie: Well, I was just trying to help...
At this point I stood up and said good-night and went to bed.
"Thank-you Lord for such wonderful daughters who are so full of life and so caring and compassionate and that they love each other and are willing to sacrifice so much for their families!"
The saga continues.
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| J.B., Judi, Stalee, and Millie |
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| We we champion trick skiers..at least we thought. |
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| The Family Band. Classic. |
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| Joni, Stalee, and Rindi on the cruise. |
I love hearing my sisters voices everyday as I read their posts. I know they inspire me. I am a little better each day as try to be like my sisters. So in conclusion the "Saga" will continue. We aren't perfect. Our posts are perfect. BUT we are Seven Sisters who are living life and doing the best we can.
9 comments:
I, for one, love the blog - but I also understand the pressures of life. I think every woman has a voice and whether she is heard at home, or by the world, she NEEDS TO BE HEARD!!! Bravo ladies. :)
I love your blog. I love that there is something new everyday that inspires me. You are all such wonderful moms, and when I read your stories, I feel uplifted and encouraged.... Even if it's about how terrible your day is. It makes me feel good to know that there are other women out there who face the same struggles I do, and continue to press forward.
For every one person who actually leaves a comment, there are at least 15 more people who didn't. I get at least 300 hits a day on my craft blog, and I only get a comment every third day or so... So trust me, you're being heard. Even if people don't comment!
Oh, and if you don't have time to post on the day you're supposed to, you can schedule posts in advance. I usually do about 5 at a time, when I have time, and then schedule them so they post on the days I want them to.
WOW! Long comment!
I read it daily!! But what do allergies/shots/william hitting have in common? Looks like you had a fun weekend!!
I subscribe to this blog in my google reader and read it pretty much very day, I just don't always get around to comment. I totally understand the pressure of writing, so don't feel like you have to keep it up for our sake!
I check this blog more than I check the rest of my families, (ooops)... it's updated everyday and you all have such wonderful insights! please don't ever quit it!!! ps, judi, you can send william to live with me :) he'll miss you so much he'll be good!!
i love the blog!
alison c
I really enjoy your blog and all of your different perspectives!
I agree with everyone else. I LOVE reading your posts! I, too, do not comment as often as I should, but just know that I am reading!
DON'T STOP!! I don't get to see your family website anymore and this is my only link to you. I will miss you tons if you stop. DON'T STOP!!
Love this post! And the blog. :)
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