How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know you'd like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a wave upon the sand

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

We've been wondering lately if there is a chance that Alyssa has ADHD. She's so busy, and sometimes it's so hard to discipline her that we finally called her doctor to see what to do. She gave us some information and some questionnaires to fill out. After talking with Alyssa's teacher about her activity level at school, we've decided that she's just your normal busy kid. She's just one of those people who is full of creativity and ideas, and she has the energy to put those ideas into practice. She's strong-willed and stubborn. She's compassionate and caring.

When we were walking home from school today, I was telling her about why she shouldn't do something, and she just turned and started waving enthusiastically to a passing school bus. I thought at that moment that she's exactly like Maria from "The Sound of Music." She has so much potential that she just needs to grow into. She wears me out with all her energy, and half of the time we don't have a clue as to what she's doing or why she's doing it, but I'm glad she's in our family. She's a wonderful person, and when she grows up, she's going to be even better.

A Mother's Christmas

When I was little I was one of those girls who knew that she would grow up to be a mother. In Kindergarten, I dressed up as a ballerina for Future Career Day, but I think even then I knew that that would never pan out, and that I would need a fall back plan. When people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say, "A mom." I was also one of those girls who went to Brigham Young University, because I wanted to meet a handsome returned missionary, get married, and have babies. I had goals for graduation too, but it's obvious that those goals came second. Soon after getting married, I became pregnant when we weren't "trying" to get pregnant. The baby miscarried, and after that I felt so strongly that someone was waiting to come join our family. When Alyssa was born, and I held my beautiful little girl in my arms, I realized the dream of becoming a mother had come true.

I've always loved pictures that illustrate the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. There is something so beautiful about the love a mother has for her child and about the love that Mary must have felt for the newborn Christ. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary he said of her baby "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest...shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:32,35) There is a Christmas song that asks the question, "Mary, did you know?" It reviews the events of Christ's life, asking if Mary knew of the things to come - that Jesus would heal the sick, perform miracles, atone for our sins, and give up his life. While Mary could not have known exactly what Christ would do during his time on earth, she probably knew more than anybody who Christ was, that he was the son of God. When a mother holds her babies, she can feel the sweet spirit that they have and know that they come from Heavenly Father. How then, could Mary not have known and felt the divinity of our Savior, even when he was a tiny baby?

Mary must have been a wonderful mother. The Lord must have chosen the greatest of all women to raise the Savior of the World. She must have had great patience, love, and understanding. She must have spent many nights on her knees, pleading for guidance and inspiration. She probably felt great pride when her son performed miracles and taught the people the Gospel; fear when he was accused and hunted down to be taken before Pilate; and sorrow when he was lifted on the cross. But she must also have felt great joy to know of his resurrection and to know that he atoned for the sins of the world so that all people could repent and return to our Heavenly Father. Being the mother of Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Redeemer and Savior of the World, must have been overwhelming and scary at times, but like all mothers, Mary was filled with love for her child. And with that love she overcame any doubts or fears that she might have had so that she could bring up her child in righteousness and truth, just as all mothers should.

A Random Act of Kindness

Today I went grocery shopping with Alyssa and Marcus. Alyssa was her usual self, fluttering around WinCo from aisle to aisle, with me patiently (then impatiently) telling her to stay close and slow down. Marcus was happy and calm until we got stuck with the dairy products, where I believe it was close to 5 degrees Fahrenheit - really cold. That's when Marcus started crying. We were almost done, so Alyssa and I ran to pick up some Italian bread and hamburger buns, then we were lucky to find a register that was open and empty. We hurried along, with Marcus crying, trying to be done as soon as possible so we could get home and feed him.

While I was loading our groceries a very nice lady came up behind me and said, "Hey Mom. Let me pack your groceries for you." I very happily let her and picked up Marcus, who was happy the instant he was out of his car seat. Apparently this lady has six kids (only two of her daughters were with her) and knew that sometimes these things (crying babies) happen, and the lady next to her in line said to her, "Why doesn't she just pick up her baby?!?"

This wonderful lady loaded my groceries, pushed my cart out, and then loaded the groceries into my car. I held Marcus until everything was in, and by that time he was perfectly happy to go back in the car seat. I will always remember her kindness, and I hope I can pass it along to another mom with young kids someday.

Nobody Likes a Grumpy Princess

I've always considered myself to be a happy, upbeat kind of person. You know, try to look on the bright side, search for the silver lining, always see the glass as half full. For most of my life it's worked pretty well. I can't say that I was never angry, sad, or grumpy, but I was generally happy and content with life.

During the past three and half weeks I've heard many people say that going from two kids to three is a lot harder than one to two. Whether or not this is true for everybody, it has definitely been true for me. I feel like I'm being stretched in five different directions at once. (Yes, three kids equal five directions.) No matter how many times I clean the kitchen each day, it's still dirty when I go in to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The laundry piles up faster than I can run it through the washer and dryer. It just seems that everything chooses the worst times to happen, and everything piles up on everything else, and I go berserk. I stress out. I yell at my kids. I complain to my husband. To be perfectly frank, I have been a grump, and I don't like it.

Last night Alyssa and I went to see "Enchanted." It's about a cartoon princess, Giselle, who gets thrown into the real world. I loved watching Giselle talk, and sing, and dance. She looks so happy. There is one scene where she asks Robert if he is unhappy, and he replies "Unhappy? No, I am angry!" She doesn't understand the emotion anger at this point in the film. She understands unhappiness and sadness, but not anger. She doesn't comprehend rudeness or harsh, mean words. Even when her tiara was stolen by an old homeless man, she was still quite polite to him.

Something that I've been realizing lately is that when things go wrong, it's okay to be unhappy or sad, or even upset. But it's not okay to get angry and grumpy and make everyone else miserable.

We were late for church this morning, and for a while I was short and rude to Brian and the kids. Then I noticed that Alyssa was starting to talk exactly like I was. My horrible rotten mood was rubbing off on my daughter, and my little princess wasn't acting like a princess at all.

I don't want to be a grumpy princess. I don't want to be the negative person that no one likes to be around. My goal for this week is to be in control of my emotions during those times when I have no control over anything else. I want to be happy, and I want to at least treat my family with kindness during those times when I am unhappy. It may sound a little silly, but I see nothing wrong with acting like a princess, as long as you're a gentle and kind and loving princess, not a grumpy princess.