Invasion of the Giant Zucchinis

We finally see some signs of life (besides tomatoes) in our garden. Peppers are growing (look very closely and you can see several in the picture on the right). The corn is almost 3 feet high. And all of a sudden... hidden under the big leaves... GIGANTIC zucchinis everywhere! I think you're supposed to pick them when they're a little smaller?? I NEVER see ones this big at the grocery store. Maybe it's all that Miracle Grow juice that Jon keeps putting on them. We've grilled them, fried them, baked them and just as I think we've used our last one....surprise... there's more growing! So now I'm shredding them up and freezing them to use later in the year.
Anyone for a zucchini cookie??

The Phone Call vs The Letter

When you have a missionary out serving, Mothers' Days are extra special. The handmade cards are sweet. The breakfast cooked by the kids and husband is yummy. The gifts are great. But...

Nothing can compare to the excitement of the much anticipated PHONE CALL ! For the last 3 Mothers' Days I've had that "gift"... Matt from Argentina and Jon from Pennsylvania. We even finagled a three-way so we could all talk together when both sons were out serving! Emails and letters are great but there is nothing like hearing their voice. That amazing and spiritual young man you are talking to you swear is not the young boy you sent off! You can feel their strength of testimony through the phone lines. Or... if you are on your cell phone, that power bounces off the satellites right through the walls of your home and into your ear!!

Several of my friends have missionaries out and it was fun to hear about their calls... and the efforts to coordinate the timing of the calls from different time zones while trying to squeeze in their block of church and get extended family members together for the big event. Whew!

But, with Josh still in the MTC, I knew there would be no phone call at our house that day... If they let those thousands of missionaries in there make even a 5 minute phone call, it would probably overwhelm the phone grids all over Utah Valley! It would be a logistics nightmare! Matt called me from Hawaii so that was sorta like the "call". I always like to hear my children's voices.

But... Josh didn't forget about mom's day and I received the most wonderful letter from him this week! And it TOTALLY made up for not hearing his voice on Sunday! Because what is better than a handwritten note from your child thanking you for everything you've sacrificed for him and telling you how lucky he is to have the best mom in the world?? (I'm not bragging... just quoting him.) I had to chuckle when he said, "It's wierd...when I throw my clothes into the laundry here, they don't come out all nice and folded on my bed for me! And when I go to dinner not everything is edible... I'm not used to that!" And then he goes on to share his testimony and his feelings and how much he is learning and that he will do his best to "become the missionary you believe I am." And even though I can't hear him saying these things, I can feel him saying these things! And the tears are streaming down my face as I'm trying to read and he's writing that he doesn't know if he can totally relate to being one of the 2000 Stripling Warriors, but he slightly changes Alma 56:47-48 to read "I have been taught by my mother, that if I doubt not, God will deliver me...I do not doubt my mother knew it."

No words in a blog can describe what my heart feels... And since I wasn't blogging during the time Matt and Jon were serving their missions, just let me put into the record that I also received amazing hand-written letters from them during their time out serving and I also read them with tearing streaming down my face and feeling seriously blessed!

The Real Housewives

Sometimes late at night when I can't fall asleep I turn on the TV and watch totally obnoxious shows... like The Real Housewives of New York City or Orange County. It's kind of addicting watching these women and their over-the-top lives. And then, the other night, out of the blue, my husband asked me if I wished my life was like that. I was mortified that he would even think that!

I grew up in Orange County and I've been to New York City... and yeah, there's a lot of women like them... self-absorbed, botox-injected, plastic surgery enhanced, top designer dressed, and money and power obsessed. One "housewife" on the NYC version told her husband that she didn't want much for her birthday and then bought a purse for $16,000 (no, I didn't type too many 0's!) and then was also surprised with a new fully-loaded Mercedes SUV....and then complained that it didn't have everything she needed! These "housewives" have the average 1.5 kids who they send off to boarding schools, employ maids, personal trainers, and personal chefs, and spend most of their time worrying about being seen with the right people at the right parties. I'm sorry TV Show Producers... they may be hilarious to watch, but they are not real housewives by any stretch of the imagination!!

Let me tell you about the real housewives that I know...

Most "housewives" I know are college educated or have helped put their husbands through college at great sacrifice.
Some "housewives" I know have served 2 year missions for our church.
Many "housewives" I know are stay-at-home moms sacrificing their own desires for fame and fortune to be available 24/7 for their kids and knowing that "no success is worth failure in the home".
Many "housewives" I know work, not always because they want to, but because they have to.
Lots of "housewives" I know stay up all night taking care of sick babies and children.
One "housewife" I know spends many nights softly rocking her newly adopted little girl who is experiencing night terrors because of her memories of living in an orphanage in China.
Many "housewives" I know open their hearts to fostering and adopting children from other countries and here in Arizona.
One "housewife" I know lives each day with optimism and cheerfulness in spite of her husband's brain tumor.
Several "housewives" I know care for and help raise their grandchildren.
One "housewife" I know has ached to have a baby for many years and now is awaiting not one... but 2 miracles... twins to adopt.
Many "housewives" I know spend time working on their gardens and canning food for their families.
One "housewife" I know regularly bakes cookies with her children to deliver to an elderly lady who is paralysed with MS.
One "housewife" I know focuses much of her time and energy on finding answers and therapies to help her young daughter with a genetic disorder.
Most "housewives" I know spend time volunteering at schools, in the community, and for their churches.
Many "housewives" I know send out missionary sons and daughters to share the gospel knowing that they will miss them terribly.
Several "housewives" I know patiently teach and work with their learning-disabled children.
A few "housewives" I know tenderly care for aging parents.
Many "housewives" I know are finding ways to save money and feed their family on a tight budget.
Most "housewives" I know fill their days with kids, carpooling, cleaning, cooking, and Costco.
Most "housewives" I know don't own a $16,000 purse or even a $160 purse!
And all the "housewives" I know think that their job of being a wife and mother is the best job (and hardest) in the world!

What do all of the above "housewives" have in common??

Sacrifice... Service... Selflessness... Compassion... Patience... Charity... Faith... Hope.... and LOVE !!

It is the true essense of motherhood...

It is what the REAL HOUSEWIVES of Gilbert Arizona (and everywhere else for that matter) are doing day in and day out....

I love being a housewife and a mom... and, honey, I wouldn't trade it for all that other stuff!

Happy Mothers Day to my mom and all the moms (and housewives) out there!